Chapter 410 It wasn't her mother who poisoned her, but Zhou Yunshang!
The next day, Shen Lanxi, along with Wei Dongzhu and his attendant Si Cao, went to the Grand Princess's residence to confiscate her property.
It's clear that many things in the Grand Princess's residence have been rearranged, and the weapons and armor are gone.
No one dared to touch anything here except for Emperor Renxiao.
"Che Mingyuan, oversee the inventory of the valuables. Wei Dongzhu, follow Ban Sicao. You two, come with me to the secret room."
Zhou Yunshang's room has a large secret room in the basement. She had only heard about it from the guards before, but she didn't know what was inside.
Wei Dong and Ban Si Cao followed her inside, and the scene in the basement gradually came into view.
"After the gold and silver are cataloged, they will be handed over to the national treasury."
"After the jewelry and porcelain are cataloged, they are sent to the Imperial Household Department."
Porcelain and large pieces of jewelry were displayed on shelves, while gold and silver were stored in boxes. In addition, Banscao also pulled out a small box from a hidden compartment.
"There must be something more precious inside." Otherwise, it would never be stored separately.
Shen Lanxi: "Open it and take a look."
Ban Sicao fiddled with it for a few moments and then opened the box.
Unexpectedly, it contained neither gold nor silver, nor anything valuable, but rather bottles and jars.
Ban Sicao had a sudden thought. After opening it and smelling it, her expression immediately turned strange.
"Are they all poison?" Shen Lanxi had already guessed after opening the box.
What puzzled Bansicao was: "This medicine seems to be a sickly beauty."
Shen Lanxi's gaze, which had been searching the secret room, stopped and returned to the bottle in Ban Sicao's hand.
"What's the meaning?"
Ban Sicao recalled the question she had asked before and said, "This poison is very similar to what you described before. It has been modified by the Sickly Beauty. We'll have to wait until we use it to know its specific effects."
Shen Lanxi's expression changed.
"What about the rest of the medicine?"
After opening and examining each bottle, Ban Sicao frowned. After a moment of thought, she spoke: "There are several bottles here, and I don't know what they're for. They're with these poisons, so they must be poisons too. I just don't know what their properties are."
Shen Lanxi: "It seems we were right before. There are indeed people from the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect in the capital."
Ban Sicao said angrily, "It must be this person who caused our Wan Du Sect to be expelled from the Central Plains back then. I must catch him and clean house for our Wan Du Sect."
Shen Lanxi: "You can handle the medicine."
A small ripple stirred in Shen Lanxi's heart. From her observation of her mother, it seemed that there were expectations placed upon her.
If he truly had expectations for her, he certainly wouldn't have poisoned her in the first place.
Could it be that she was wrong from the very beginning?
It was not her mother who wanted to poison her, but Zhou Yunshang.
We'll find out after asking Zhou Yunshang.
Zhou Yunshang is currently imprisoned in the imperial prison, and no one can visit her without Emperor Renxiao's written order.
After nightfall, Shen Lanxi and Ban Sicao quietly sneaked into the prison.
Zhou Yunshang was woken up in a daze. Although her mind was clear, she couldn't open her eyes and couldn't see who was in front of her.
I can only act like a wooden doll, answering whatever people ask me.
"Did you poison Shen Lanxi on her wedding night with Zhou Ruyuan?"
Shen Lanxi clearly heard Zhou Yunshang say, "Yes."
"What method was used to administer the poison?"
Zhou Yunshang: "I bribed the cooks and maids in the Prince's mansion."
Why did you poison her?
“I hate her, I hate her to the bone. I am the most noble princess in the palace. The Empress Dowager and the Emperor can only see Shen Lanxi. She has repeatedly asked me to take action. I wish I could deal with her myself.”
Shen Lanxi: "Where did the poison come from?"
Zhou Yunshang: "Made by the apothecary of the Princess's residence."
Shen Lanxi's eyes flashed; this pharmacist reminded her of the person in Zhou Qiwu's mansion.
"Why not use a highly toxic substance?"
Zhou Yunshang chuckled and said smugly, "How could I let her die so easily? I'll make her suffer to death."
Shen Lanxi asked another question: "Are you involved in the Wei family army case?"
A look of surprise flashed in Ban Sicao's eyes. Wasn't the Wei family army case already closed?
"Irrelevant."
Shen Lanxi: "Besides the Fifth Prince, who else in the palace is on your side?"
Zhou Yunshang suddenly stopped moving, and then blood began to flow from her nose, eyes, and mouth.
Ban Sicao's expression changed drastically.
"Oh no, she's been poisoned."
Ban Sicao leaned closer and sniffed, smelling a rotten odor. He had actually smelled it when he first entered the prison, but at that time he only knew it as dark and damp.
It's only now that I realize something's wrong.
"Sir, something's wrong here. Let's leave quickly!" Ban Sicao sensed the danger and was eager to leave.
Shen Lanxi looked around and then reached her hand under Zhou Yunshang's nose.
"Dead."
"Walk!"
...
“Someone beat us to it,” Shen Lanxi said with a gloomy face.
Ban Sicao guessed, "Could it be that the Fifth Prince's men want to kill us to silence us?"
Shen Lanxi: "Let's go back first and talk about it later."
She already knew what she wanted to know, and Zhou Yunshang's death was not a pity.
"My lord, the princess's men have gone to the palace again." Upon returning to the residence, someone immediately came to report.
Shen Lanxi started thinking about something else. If her mother didn't poison her, does that mean she and Zhou Ruyuan aren't related by blood?
That makes sense.
If she were Emperor Renxiao's daughter, he would never have been so wary of her holding military power.
However, we cannot be too absolute in our judgments. After all, Emperor Renxiao was not very kind to his children, especially the princesses, who were often used as tools to balance the interests of his ministers.
Finding out the truth would be easy, but... she is, after all, her mother!
Zhou Ruyuan also came to court the next day.
"Is the Prince of Zhennan feeling any better?" Wu Yanzhi asked casually.
Zhou Ruyuan said coldly, "I'm feeling better. I heard that Father Emperor was in trouble, so I made a special trip back to the capital to visit him."
"Where is Shen Lanxi?"
Wasn't it said that she handled state affairs together with three other court officials?
Wu Yanzhi smiled and said, "Lord Shen is in charge of the palace's security, so naturally he can't come to the main hall often."
This is a place for discussing important matters of state; how could a woman like her be allowed to come here?
Zhou Ruyuan saw Wu Yanzhi's contemptuous face and frowned.
"I heard that she repelled the eldest princess who was trying to seize power and protected the safety of the capital. She has truly made great contributions."
Wu Yanzhi was utterly disdainful of Zhou Ruyuan's rhetoric.
Everyone knows about Zhou Ruyuan and Shen Lanxi's past. For Zhou Ruyuan to say this now is a bit like crocodile tears.
Wu Yanzhi: "Shen Lanxi is in charge of the Capital Guard and the Imperial Guard. It is her responsibility to protect the capital and the imperial city. It is not so much a great achievement as it is her duty."
Zhou Ruyuan remained silent with a somber face; handling state affairs was none of his concern. After leaving, he went straight to Emperor Renxiao's residence.
"Your Highness has arrived at the perfect time; His Majesty was just looking for you." The eunuch delivering the imperial edict, already in his hand, simply opened it and read it aloud.
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