◇ Chapter 83 (83) Why does he love you (Part 2)
Inside the hall, the Imperial Guards stood with swords drawn. Prince Yuan and several senior officials from the Imperial Clan Court stood beneath the dragon throne. Below them sat the Prime Minister and officials from the six ministries. Bahar, accompanied by the Mobei envoy, knelt quietly, awaiting the arrival of the Helan envoy.
Lianzhi followed Da Ximi calmly, performing the Helan tribe salute. He was still wearing a red robe, with a fox fur cape draped over his shoulders, making him look furry and immediately attracting the attention of everyone in the hall.
Emperor Jianguang looked at them with great interest. "The three-day deadline has passed. Prince Zhulan, what are the results of your investigation?"
"Your Majesty, please take a look." Lianzhi presented the box in her hand. Eunuch Lu took it and respectfully placed it at the feet of Emperor Jianguang.
It was a small leather box for spices that Lianzhi and Bokang had obtained from a merchant from the Arab Empire. Inside it was a pot of wine, a bottle of spices, and a letter.
"This pot of wine is the same one the Queen Mother drank at the palace banquet that day. You can have someone check it out. It's definitely the same pot from that day. No one has tampered with it."
As soon as Lianzhi finished speaking, the imperial physicians came forward to examine her. Without waiting for them to finish, Lianzhi leaned slightly aside and continued, "This bottle of spices was purchased by the Minister of Rites and Lord Daxi from a large Arab merchant in the capital. It's slightly toxic and shouldn't be consumed in large quantities, so few people in the capital buy it."
This time, without Emperor Jianguang's instructions, the imperial physician picked up the two items. Da Xi Mi stepped forward at the right moment, and after the two of them stepped aside, everyone realized that they were followed by a young eunuch.
"Little Wuzi!" Eunuch Lu exclaimed in surprise.
As the chief eunuch in the palace, Eunuch Lu naturally remembered all the eunuchs in the palace. This little Wuzi was just an ordinary eunuch who worked in the imperial kitchen. He had only been in the palace for a few months. How did these two messengers bring him up?
Lianzhi winked at him. Little Wuzi shuddered, then tremblingly raised a small white porcelain bottle in his hand, identical to the one in the small suitcase. "Your Majesty, this is a spice commonly used in cooking in the palace. It can also be added to cakes and milk wine to flavor..."
"These two spices have similar smells, but their uses are different. According to the imperial chef, the palace purchases are usually strictly selected. How could such a poisonous spice be allowed to enter the palace?" Lianzhi said slowly. Emperor Jianguang nodded thoughtfully, "Prince, do you think someone in the imperial kitchen did this deliberately?"
"No, this matter has nothing to do with the imperial kitchen." Lianzhi said, slowly spitting out a name.
After hearing this, everyone in the room was shocked.
The man was a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue and was originally the magistrate of Jiangcheng. After Emperor Jianguang ascended the throne, he was promoted from Jiangcheng to Beijing, but he was not valued. The only thing that could be said was that he had always been at odds with the Empress Dowager's faction, and he even stood up to oppose the Empress Dowager when she insisted on holding a grand wedding for Prince Yuan against all odds.
If the person who spoke was not an envoy from a foreign land, rather than a Daning person, everyone present would probably think that Lianzhi was well aware of the struggle between the two factions and was secretly taking sides.
"Prince Zhulan is saying that the Ministry of Revenue doctor smuggled poison powder into the palace?" the Ministry of Revenue's assistant minister questioned. "That day was a palace banquet, and all the officials were present. Before entering the palace, guards were stationed at the gate to check people's bodies. Not even a single thread or mosquito could get through the palace gates, let alone a medicine bottle!"
"I never said that." Lianzhi glanced at him, "Just bribe the eunuchs in the palace."
After saying this, he took a few steps forward and slammed the wine jug to the ground. The golden jug shattered into pieces, and the wine inside splattered all over the floor. The rich aroma and fragrance of wine spread, making people intoxicated. Lianzhi found the broken spout of the jug and felt the inside with her hand.
"The poison powder wasn't put into the wine. Instead, someone smeared a large amount on the spout of the kettle. When the wine was poured, the poison powder mixed with the wine. When the kettle was put back, the spout was washed away by the wine, and the powder was carried down and dissolved in the wine, making it extremely difficult to detect." Lianzhi finished speaking and laughed. "But this person probably worried that the amount of poison powder was not enough, so they smeared too much on the spout, and even now there is still residue."
After saying this, he handed the spout to the imperial physician. Several of the doctors passed it around, then compared the spices in the bottle. They replied, "We, your servants, are deeply inexperienced and have never heard of such spices. However, the spices at the spout and the ones presented by the eunuchs in the imperial kitchen are indeed quite different in color and particle size, clearly not the same."
Lianzhi pushed Xiao Wuzi again. Xiao Wuzi wiped the sweat off his face and said, "A few days ago, the father of Gao, the Imperial Kitchen's chief steward, was seriously ill. He told us he was short of silver. But a few days later, he stopped talking about it, as if it had never happened. Later, I overheard Gao and Qiu chatting. It was said that a nobleman gave Gao fifty taels of silver..."
"Inside the envelope is the banknote that Chief Steward Gao received." Lianzhi raised her chin. "Your Majesty, you can send someone to investigate. The banknote number is on it, so we should be able to find out that the doctor of the Ministry of Revenue sent someone to collect it. As long as we find the source and destination of the banknote and interrogate Chief Steward Gao, everything will be revealed."
The whole room was silent. The Minister of Revenue still didn't believe it and kept shaking his head: "You are lying. The Minister of Revenue clearly has no dealings with the merchants of the Arab Empire..."
"It seems that this gentleman has also done some investigation. Does he also know the inside story of this matter?" Lianzhi asked back.
The Minister of Revenue was speechless. Everyone had different expressions. Prince Yuan looked relieved. The old official from the Imperial Clan Court looked at Emperor Jianguang and said anxiously, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Clan Court has some clues. People from Princess Jinyang's residence have had contact with merchants from the vassal states. You have also reviewed this. Do you think..."
Hearing the words "Princess Jinyang," Lianzhi's steps quickened slightly. No sound came from above, so Lianzhi turned and looked at Bahar. Bahar lowered his head and said nothing.
After a long moment, Emperor Jianguang raised his hand and said calmly, "Pass on my order. The Imperial Guards will immediately go to the Ministry of Revenue's Langzhong Mansion and arrest the man immediately. All the eunuchs in charge of the Imperial Kitchen will be taken to the Ministry of Punishment for retrial."
Your Majesty actually believed what Prince Zhulan said!
Not only the Minister of Revenue, but even the Imperial Clan Court hadn't anticipated this outcome. Yesterday afternoon, when the Ministry of Rites had reported the whereabouts of the Princess's residence, they had already reported the matter to Emperor Jianguang. Everyone knew that His Majesty wasn't concerned about the Empress Dowager's poisoning, but rather who he would punish for it.
Although Princess Jinyang was a woman, she also had her own fiefdom and power, and was someone we needed to be wary of. If necessary, it wouldn't be wrong to pin this on the Princess.
But now, His Majesty believes what Prince Zhulan said.
Is it that His Majesty has changed his mind and cannot bear to punish the eldest princess, or is it that His Majesty's conscience suddenly arises and he wants to seek justice for the "Queen Mother", or is there some other reason?
No one dared to speculate, except for Prince Yuan, who, like a fool, was glad to have stayed out of the matter. Everyone had their own agenda. Emperor Jianguang was about to speak when Lianzhi spoke up, "Since Your Majesty has made a decision, the suspicion between us and the Mobei envoy has been resolved, right?"
"Of course." Emperor Jianguang nodded. Lianzhi said without hesitation: "In that case, we will take our leave."
After saying this, he took Da Xi Mi and bowed as they withdrew. Some people wanted to stop them, but remembering that they were envoys from the Helan tribe, no one dared to speak out. Emperor Jianguang looked at the red figure and waved his hand: "Disperse."
When they reached the outside of the palace, Lianzhi asked Da Ximi to go back first and wait at the palace gate. Although Da Ximi wanted to ask something, she was a minister and could not interfere with the prince's decision. Secondly, she did not understand this prince who had been living in Daning for more than ten years.
He seems like a Daning person through and through.
After a long while, Lianzhi finally saw the red figure. Bai Kang approached, and the two of them avoided the guards and walked away tacitly. Bai Kang said nothing, staring at Lianzhi with an unpredictable look in his eyes, his thoughts unfathomable.
After a moment, Bo Kang hugged him and buried his head in his shoulder: "Baby. When did you know?"
"I asked Da Xi Mi to investigate secretly." Lianzhi stood on tiptoe and patted Bo Kang's shoulder. "Look, it's over. But I still want to know why you deliberately led me to suspect the eldest princess."
"I……"
Bai Kang uttered short, stammering words, seemingly unsure how to begin. Lian Zhi was unhurried, knowing Bai Kang had no intention of harming him. Before Bai Kang could explain, a figure in eunuch's attire approached.
The two hurriedly separated. The man looked very unfamiliar and seemed not to have noticed their behavior. He said respectfully, "Prince Zhulan, the Imperial Concubine invites you."
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