Emperor Yuan Ming was leading the way. No matter how confused Lu Mubai was at the moment, he could only follow Emperor Yuan Ming.
When Emperor Yuan Ming stood still, he pointed to the ground and said slowly, "Uncle, look."
All Lu Mubai saw were corpses covered with white cloth. Then Emperor Yuan Ming ordered the white cloth to be removed by the Imperial Guards.
Lu Mubai looked at the body on the ground. A flash of panic flashed across his eyes, but he quickly recovered. "Your Majesty, what's going on?"
"Uncle, these are the assassins that were found in the palace after our mother was assassinated."
Lu Mubai clenched his hands tightly in his sleeves. No wonder no secret guards came to report the situation today. It turned out that they were already lying on the ground.
These corpses were exactly the ones he had placed next to the Queen Mother, and the secret guards who were investigating the situation in the palace were all destroyed in just one night.
Lu Mubai: "Why are there so many people? Has the emperor captured anyone alive?"
Emperor Yuan Ming shook his head. "No, but an uncastrated eunuch was found in my mother's palace. He was killed during the suppression of the assassins. He and Yu Changzai are the suspects of my mother's murder."
"Yu Changzai?"
"Yes, it was Concubine Yu. She held the knife that would kill the Queen Mother."
Lu Mubai was very calm at this moment. "But why did Yu Changzai want to assassinate the Queen Mother?"
"This is something the Akagi Army needs to investigate."
Just as Emperor Yuanming finished speaking, Eunuch Li stepped forward and reported: "Your Majesty, Duke Shang, Prime Minister Lin, and Grand Tutor Li are waiting outside with officials to see you."
"Gone. Let them go and see my mother off for the last time. I am not feeling well, so I will not go." After saying this, Emperor Yuan Ming took out a handkerchief to wipe the non-existent tears from the corners of his eyes, and he left.
Lu Mubai stood there for a long time. It was only until Eunuch Li invited him to go to the Cining Palace that he left the yard full of corpses.
When Lu Mubai arrived at the Cining Palace, the entrance to the palace was already full of people kneeling. He walked to the front and knelt down.
Li Taishi: "Your Majesty, the Emperor?"
Lu Mubai didn't say anything, but he heard Eunuch Li who came with him say, "The emperor was heartbroken and ill after learning the news of the empress dowager's assassination. The imperial physician does not recommend the emperor to come here again, so as not to damage his body."
Shang Yuanshan cried out in a tearful voice: "The Emperor and the Empress Dowager have a deep mother-son relationship. What happened today is a great blow to the Emperor. May the Emperor bless his health."
As soon as Shang Yuanshan finished speaking, Prime Minister Lin and Duke Shang on the side immediately echoed him, and the ministers behind them also echoed him.
Eunuch Li: "I will convey everyone's concern to His Majesty."
Finally, all the ministers cried for a while facing the Cining Palace, and then each of them kowtowed three times before leaving the palace.
At the same time, someone found out the truth about the Queen Mother's assassination.
It turns out that the emperor's newly appointed concubine Yu Changzai and Xiao Dingzi are in cahoots. They were hiding beside the empress dowager and plotting to harm the emperor.
As for why they attacked the Queen Mother tonight, it was because the Queen Mother discovered that Yu Chang had put a love poison on the Emperor. The Queen Mother stepped forward and wanted to help the Emperor get rid of these two people.
In the end, she never expected that she would be killed by two people. When the Imperial Guards found something wrong, the Queen Mother was already dead. Xiao Dingzi resisted fiercely and the Imperial Guards had no choice but to shoot him on the spot.
We thought we could catch Yu Changzai and interrogate her, but we didn't expect that she would bite her tongue and commit suicide during her confession.
The more Lu Mubai listened, the more certain he became that everything that happened tonight was done by Emperor Yuan Ming.
Lu Mubai was a little puzzled. Emperor Yuan Ming was not afraid of being found out. Thinking of this, Lu Mubai frowned. He looked at Grand Tutor Li who was keeping his head down and keeping silent.
In Kunning Palace, Shang Yangyang sat on a chair angrily. "Uncle Emperor is so mean. Even the pinky promise was a trick."
The queen on the side tried to hold back her laughter. She looked at Shang Yangyang and said, "Yangyang is right. Auntie will help you teach him a lesson."
"Okay." Shang Yangyang nodded vigorously, and she jumped to the ground with her hands on her hips. "He must be taught a lesson."
The queen also nodded vigorously. "Okay." She looked at the three little ones lovingly again. "But it's already this late, why don't you go to bed first? After you get enough sleep, I'll take you to the emperor tomorrow to settle the score."
Shang Yangyang yawned loudly and looked at Shang Wanyue and Jiang Peixuan. "Then let's go to bed first?"
"good."
After the final resolution was passed, the Queen ordered people to take care of the three little ones. Only after she was sure that they were all asleep did the Queen go to the Yangxin Palace in a low-key manner.
Inside Prince Kang’s Palace.
Lu Mubai: "Li Hean, who do you think that Xiao Dingzi is? How come there is a fake eunuch next to Li Qingye?"
Li Taishi looked down at the ground and didn't dare to look up. He stammered, "Your Highness, that little Dingzi was brought by the Queen Mother when she returned to the palace from Ziyun Temple. I really don't know what that little Dingzi's identity is."
Lu Mubai's face was full of coldness. "Okay, I brought it back from Ziyun Temple. After I left, she found someone to accompany her. She just couldn't stand the loneliness."
Master Li was trembling all over and he didn't dare to say a word. Now his biggest backer was dead and the prince had discovered the identity of that kid Ding. What good life would he have in the future?
"Your Majesty, the Queen Mother may have been deceived."
Lu Mubai sneered: "Ha, tell me how stupid she is to bring someone into the palace casually?"
“This…” Grand Tutor Li stammered and was unable to utter a single word.
"Why are you speechless now?"
"Your Majesty, if this little Dingzi really had something with the Queen Mother, then why did he kill her?"
"What is your head made of that you can't see something so simple?"
Master Li shrank his neck and said, "Please let your Highness know clearly."
"This is the plan set by the Emperor. He discovered that he was poisoned by the Gu worm and knew that Yu Ling'er was the Empress Dowager's man, so he planned all this."
"Ah?" Li Taishi stood there in a daze. "But how did the emperor find out that he was poisoned?"
"That's something I can't figure out. Last time, the Gu worm failed halfway through. I suspect there's an expert around him."
Li Taishi lowered his head and thought: "Then should the prince go and ask that person?"
"Yes, but the matter of Li Qingye's death cannot be forgotten like this."
"Then what should the prince do?" Master Li took a few steps closer.
"It will start spreading tomorrow..."
Master Li nodded repeatedly. "Yes, I'll go back and arrange it right away."
"Go ahead~"
Lu Mubai stood in front of the window, looking at the dark sky outside and the moon hanging high in the sky. "Li Qingye, if your death can help me achieve my great cause, then your death is also valuable."
At the morning court session the next day, the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Akagi Army gave the final results of their investigation into the assassination of the Empress Dowager. This result was basically the same as what the ministers had heard last night, except that it added details and evidence.
Emperor Yuan Ming also issued an edict, requiring Duke Shang and the Ministry of Rites to jointly handle the funeral arrangements for the empress dowager and to send her to the imperial mausoleum for burial within a month.
Emperor Yuan Ming's decree made Lu Mubai even more certain that there was something fishy about the empress dowager's death.
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