Chapter 65: Color Change
Everyone who had just witnessed her throw the white bell in was stunned. The concubines were elderly and worried they might have seen it wrong, so they asked aloud, "How come the silver bell turned into a gold bell when it came into contact with fire?"
Qiandeng raised the bell in his hand a little higher so that everyone could see the bell that had returned to its original color: "It's mercury."
Cui Fufeng confirmed, "Yesterday, the young master inquired about the reason for the bell's color change, and the county lady suddenly had a revelation. I visited the silver shop and asked the craftsmen in detail. I learned that when gold meets mercury, it forms amalgam, a silvery-white amalgam that looks like silver jewelry. Once the jewelry has changed color, simply heat it to evaporate the mercury, and the gold will return to its original state."
Li Zi exclaimed "Wow" and said in surprise, "I said its voice was golden, and I was right!"
"This is how Yang Huaijiang stole the imperially bestowed Nine Trees of Golden Flowers. He deliberately forced a set of identical Nine Trees of Silver Flowers on me, then brought an empty bag of jewelry into the storeroom, making us mistakenly believe he had brought the silver jewelry in. But in reality, he had brought in mercury, mixed with tin into a paste and applied to a cloth or the inside of oil paper. After finding the Nine Trees of Golden Flowers in the storeroom, he rubbed them with the cloth, causing them to quickly turn white.
"Originally, there's a difference in weight between gold and silver, but jewelry like the Nine Golden Flowers, which are made from thin sheets, can seriously affect judgment. Furthermore, I already had a preconceived notion that this was a questionable silver flower tree, so naturally I didn't dare examine it closely and immediately offered to return it."
"No wonder they say thieves are so cunning!" sighed Empress Dowager Yang.
Mrs. Cui agreed, "That's right. You don't have to put in any effort. With just your mind and skills, others will naturally give you what they want."
Concubine Chen also sighed: "It's thanks to the extraordinary intelligence of Cui Shaoqing and the Lingling County Master, otherwise, who could have figured out such a trick?"
Princess Gaoguo was filled with anxiety and resentment when she heard what they said. "What's with the mercury changing color? Just because there's a silver flower tree that looks like it, can it replace the golden flower tree? Now that Yang Huaijiang is dead, how can we be sure you're not just using this as a pretext to cover up the truth?"
"Who said I don't have evidence?" Qian Deng said, walking over to Li Zi and bending over to ask, "Young Master is incredibly intelligent and has a photographic memory. I remember when I discovered the silver flower tree in the warehouse that day, you happened to be there. I bet you saw it too, right?"
Li Zi nodded. "Yes, because it's much whiter and brighter than other silver jewelry, I took a closer look at it."
"So, did you notice the markings at the base of the flower tree?"
Li Zi said without hesitation, "I see. There are two words engraved on the bottom of it: Ren Er."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone who had been in Xuanhui Hall suddenly understood.
After all, when determining whether the nine golden flowers were bestowed by the emperor on the Changhua Palace, it was based on the "Ren Er" mark of the Sizhensi.
"Ren Er is a mark made by the Imperial Treasures Department to prevent craftsmen from cutting corners. How could a private silver shop dare to imitate this mark when crafting flower trees? It's clear that the silver jewelry set that day must have been tampered with by the imperial gift of nine golden flowers." Qian Deng thanked Li Zi and finally looked at Princess Gao. "Grand Princess, are you satisfied with this evidence?"
Princess Gao's face turned pale and she opened her mouth but couldn't utter a word.
"And who was the person who colluded with Yang Huaijiang that day and went to the silver shop to get this set of Nine Trees of Silver Flowers?" Cui Fufeng turned to look at Li Gaosheng and said, "Li Zhanshi, this person is none other than your subordinate. The Dali Temple summoned him for questioning, and he has confessed that he was acting on Li Zhanshi's orders."
Li Gaosheng sighed deeply, knowing he couldn't deny it. He had already taken the blame, so he simply said, "Your Highness the Queen, Your Highness the Crown Prince, please forgive me! I once received favors from the Hongnong Yang family, and I remember it deeply. When I learned that the Yang family's descendant had come to the capital and hoped to marry the Princess of Lingling, I asked the Grand Princess of Gao for help on his behalf, hoping to help Yang Huaijiang fulfill his wish. Who would have thought that this would cause a commotion in the Changhua Palace and even implicate the Grand Princess? I am truly uneasy!"
Cui Fufeng asked, "So, Li Zhanshi's decision to help Yang Huaijiang was simply a spur-of-the-moment decision after he saw him arrive in the capital?"
"That's right!" Li Gaosheng said firmly, "I didn't investigate further because I was so concerned about the kindness we received. I beg Your Majesty the Queen to forgive me, and I beg the Princess of Lingling to forgive me!"
How could Qian Deng let him off just because of a few words? "If you really wanted to help Yang Huaijiang, why did you steal the Nine Trees of Golden Flowers from my mansion, let it fall into the hands of evildoers, and use it to frame me?"
"This was done by Yang Huaijiang. How could I know his intention? But since he wanted the same Nine Trees of Silver Flowers, I bought it for him." Anyway, Yang Huaijiang was dead, Li Gaosheng insisted.
Qiandeng smiled slightly and looked back at Cui Fufeng.
The officers from the Dali Temple had delivered all the files. Cui Fufeng took out one of the copied account books and showed it to Li Gaosheng.
"Secretary Li, the Lingling County Lady and I believe that the shape and size of the Nine-Tree Silver Flower Hairpin are identical to the one gifted by the Ministry of Treasures, and the craftsmanship is extraordinary, making it impossible for ordinary silversmiths to create it. Therefore, we have visited all the silver shops in Chang'an. We discovered that only the Jincui Tower in the West Market has ever produced a pair of this type of silver flower hairpin. It was purchased on the day Yang Huaijiang arrived in Beijing. After arriving in Chang'an, Yang Huaijiang only visited the Changhua Palace and Cuiyu Tower. He never had the opportunity to purchase it, and at that time, he was not yet a candidate for the County Lady's husband."
Cui Fufeng pointed to the date on the account book. "Jin Cui Fang closes at 3:00 PM every day, and it was already 12:00 PM when Li Zhanshi sent someone to find Yang Huaijiang. So, the purchase of the silver flower tree came first, and Li Zhanshi sent someone to contact Yang Huaijiang later. Could it be that Li Zhanshi had the ability to predict the future and knew that Yang Huaijiang would need that set of silver flower trees?"
"This... this is..." Li Gaosheng's forehead was sweating, but before the facts, he could not find any words to defend himself.
The Crown Prince stared at him coldly and spoke stiffly, "So, it seems that this matter was indeed carefully arranged by Li Zhanshi?"
Li Gaosheng was speechless and knelt on the ground, not daring to look up.
With everyone around here knowing the truth of the case, how could they not understand it?
From Li Gaosheng buying jewelry and looking for Yang Huaijiang, to Princess Gaoguo recommending Yang Huaijiang as a candidate for the husband of Lingling County Lady, and then thinking about the incident in which the female historian of the princess's mansion slandered Qiandeng with the golden flower bestowed by the emperor, the situation inside is clear at a glance.
The Queen glanced coldly at Princess Gaoguo, then turned to look at the Crown Prince: "Crown Prince, he is your Eastern Palace servant after all. When you return today, you should carefully consider how to deal with this matter. Don't let the Changhua Palace suffer any injustice."
The prince responded in a daze, gazing at the thousands of lanterns lining the corridor, his heart aching slightly. "Yes, I will handle this impartially and give justice to the Princess of Lingling."
Li Gaosheng was dragged away, but Xiao Fuyu didn't bother to pay attention to him. She just stared at the prince sadly, as if she was still expecting him to remember their old friendship.
Princess Gaoguo had a sullen face. Although Li Gaosheng had taken the blame, she dared not relax for a moment as Qian Deng had not yet finished speaking.
The Queen sipped her tea and concluded, "So, the two cases at the Changhua Palace were about Yang Huaijiang stealing the imperial golden flower and being discovered by another candidate, Shi Jingning. They then argued in the kitchen, which led to a fire. Shi Jingning perished in the flames, and Yang Huaijiang, hysterical as a result, also burned himself to death."
"Yes, judging by all the evidence, it is indeed so, but in my opinion—"
Qian Deng agreed, but after a moment's hesitation, she uttered a shocking statement: "Your Majesty, there have been two fires in my palace, but only one candidate for husband died."
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