Chapter 427 Tell the Truth
"The Third Prince also instructed that this matter must not be known to others, and the things inside must not be seen by others. Although I have doubts, it is the Third Prince's instruction after all, so I dare not say anything more and will do as the Third Prince ordered."
"So you took the things and wanted to deliver them out in the evening before dinner?" He Yanxiu asked, emphasizing the five words "in the evening before dinner".
He Yanxiu spoke slowly and in a low voice, with an air of authority that came from without being angry.
The young eunuch lowered his head even lower and nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes."
"Since the Third Prince told you about this matter after lunch, why didn't you deal with it then, but instead delayed it until the evening?" He Yanxiu asked.
"This..." The young eunuch hesitated for a moment before answering, "I should have gone there after noon, but I am a eunuch in the hunting garden, and I have some cleaning to do, so I was delayed for a while."
"Since you are a eunuch in the hunting garden, you can't do delicate work on weekdays, and you can't get close to the Third Prince. Why did the Third Prince let you deal with things?"
He Yanxiu asked again.
The young eunuch was speechless again, "Little one..."
"Since you can't answer, please wait a moment before answering." He Yanxiu continued, "There are many servants in the hunting garden, and there are even more serving the Third Prince. The Third Prince even brought people from the palace, all of whom are people he trusts."
"With so many trustworthy people left out, they just randomly picked a eunuch from the hunting garden to do such an important task. This is really unreasonable. This is the first reason."
"And the fact that Your Highness fell off his horse was really caused by the Third Prince. He even prepared poison needles long ago. That means he was very deliberate and well prepared. He would have disposed of the remaining Three-o'clock Hell Grass early. He would not have waited until Your Highness got into trouble to hastily dispose of these things, which would have aroused suspicion. This is the second reason."
"If they really wanted to use the method of scaring horses to harm His Majesty, the poison they used should have been smuggled into the hunting grounds from outside, so that no one would notice it after the incident. But they chose to use the Three-o'clock Hell Grass stored in the storeroom by the imperial physician, which was equivalent to putting the evidence in front of everyone. This is the third reason."
"During hunting, animals chase each other, and they are wild and difficult to tame. They often attack hunters when they are at their wits' end. It is common for horses to be frightened. Even if the Third Prince wanted to take advantage of the frightened horses, he only needed to use arrows. Afterwards, he could have said that he had failed. There was no need to use such poison needles. This is the fourth point."
"All these things are irrational." He Yanxiu said, "This matter was not done by the Third Prince. Someone deliberately framed him."
"Tell me who ordered you to do this, and why did you want to harm the First Prince, and why did you want to push the blame onto the Third Prince?"
"Of course. You don't have to explain. There are many wild wolves and other ferocious beasts in the enclosure. They have probably been starving these days. You still have a few pounds of meat on you, which is probably enough for them to have a good meal."
He Yanxiu spoke in a cold voice and winked at Zou Yunqi.
Zou Yunqi understood and touched his nose with his hand. "I think there is no need to interrogate him. Just throw him out to feed the wolves. As for the person who ordered him... the truth will come out sooner or later."
"Speaking of which, I heard that the wolves in this enclosure are the most interesting. They like to eat meat slowly, eating some and leaving some. I guess after the wolves have eaten two meals, you can still tell whether your leg bones are thick or thin. But it's okay. By the third meal, I guess the wolves will have eaten all of it, and you won't feel the pain anymore."
As soon as he finished speaking, a guard came forward and tried to drag the young eunuch out.
The young eunuch was so frightened that his face changed again and again. He broke free from the guards’ hands and kowtowed again and again in panic, “I will tell you, I will tell the truth, I will tell the truth…”
"The one who ordered me to deal with the Three-night Hell King Grass was not the Third Prince, but a guard named Zhuang Shoucheng!"
"Zhuang Shoucheng?" Qin Yishu asked, "Who is that? Why did he instruct you to dispose of these things?"
The young eunuch replied in panic, "He is a guard beside the great prince, and he is also respected by the great prince. Before the evening of today, he found me and gave me a lot of gold and silver. He also promised to help my brother find a position in the capital, and let me deal with these things."
"I was blinded by greed and agreed to this matter, but I was also very worried about what would happen if my deeds were exposed. Zhuang Shoucheng didn't care and just said that if someone found out, he would just say that it was ordered by the Third Prince..."
"I am telling the truth. Your Majesty, please understand. Your Majesty, please understand."
The young eunuch kowtowed to the ground so hard that blood flowed from his forehead. It was a shocking sight.
"You two, go and interrogate Zhuang Shoucheng quickly!" Qin Yishu shouted.
"yes!"
He Yanxiu and Zou Yunqi both responded.
Go out, arrest people, interrogate...
Zhuang Shoucheng denied it at first, but when he saw the little eunuch and those three-night Yama grass, he confessed the whole thing.
He was not familiar with medicine, but he happened to see the Three-Glance Yama Grass in front of the imperial physician and knew its toxicity.
Zhuang Shoucheng is one of Qin Peiyuan's guards. He is not taken seriously and is often looked down upon because of his inferior skills, which often makes him feel depressed.
After arriving at the hunting ground this time, Zhuang Shoucheng was once again ridiculed for his poor skills. In addition, Qin Peiyuan did not achieve much success on the first day of hunting and scolded all the accompanying guards. Zhuang Shoucheng then had a plan in mind.
He stole the Sangen Yanwang grass from the imperial physician's storehouse, mixed it with silver needles and boiled them together, so that the silver needles were contaminated with enough poison. When Qin Peiyuan was off guard, he stabbed the silver needles into the horse he was riding, so that the horse would go crazy.
"According to Zhuang Shoucheng, he did this not to murder His Highness, but to scare His Highness's horse. When His Highness panicked, he would rescue him and tame the mad horse, thereby making a contribution and winning His Highness's trust and reward."
"But I never thought that the poison of the Three-night Hell King Grass was so strong. The horses in the Western Regions are strong and difficult to control, and it actually caused such a tragedy. Zhuang Shoucheng was scared to death, and he also felt that once this happened, the emperor would definitely ask people to carefully consider the matter, so he hurriedly asked people to dispose of those things."
He Yanxiu said, "Just now, Commander Zou and I followed His Highness's people again to carefully confirm that it was indeed Zhuang Shoucheng who followed His Highness closely at that time, and the other guards around His Highness also explained that Zhuang Shoucheng had indeed had grievances with many people for a long time."
Qin Yishu stretched out his hand and rubbed his swollen temple. "Zhuang Shoucheng, as a guard, did not abide by his duty to protect the master's safety. Instead, he put his master in danger for the sake of wealth and glory. He really deserves to die. Zhuang Shoucheng and the eunuchs he ordered should be torn into pieces by five horses. All the males in his family should be beheaded, and the female family members should be made official slaves."
(End of this chapter)
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