Chapter 430 Inspection
Chen Qing and Xuanyuan Ling were asleep, but the servants in Zhaohua Palace were restless today, and Zhao Hai was also investigating the matter overnight.
Later, when Zhao Hai received Xuanyuan Ling's daily order to investigate Concubine Shun in detail, he couldn't believe it. Wasn't this person always very obedient?
On the surface, he still investigated everything, and he didn't just target Concubine Shun's palace. After all, it was Concubine Xian who said that there was no evidence. Concubine Shun was a concubine after all, and she was also the biological mother of Prince Huai. How could they arrest someone directly without evidence? It could also be someone else. However, all the servants in the harem of the Ministry of Internal Affairs who had access to the matter were investigated. He used the poisoning of Concubine Xian to expand the matter just to have a reason.
Zhao Hai was very busy that night. He checked many people, including those in Concubine Shun's palace. However, checking is not interrogation. Just suspicion cannot kill someone openly. This is because he is concerned about Prince Huai. If he really looks for Concubine Shun openly, that won't work. As a result, after all the investigation, he really didn't find out anything.
After much thought, I decided to start with the spices.
This spice is not a regular spice. It must have been brought into the palace through special channels. A spice with this effect and in that quantity cannot possibly come from the Imperial Hospital. According to the imperial physician, they cannot make such a low-quality aphrodisiac. Even if they want to help the concubines win favor and use something to enhance their pleasure, they dare not use something that may harm their bodies.
So they were brought into the palace from outside. Even if the person who brought these things from outside the palace was not someone close to the concubines, he had to be trustworthy and at least someone from the palace.
Everyone entering and leaving the palace was registered, so Zhao Hai thought about first checking who the servants from each palace were who entered and exited the palace.
It would have been fine if they hadn't checked. After checking, they found out that a servant named Xiao Mingzi from Concubine Shun's palace had left the palace more than ten days ago. The reason he gave was that his mother was sick at home and Concubine Shun felt sorry for him and went out to visit her.
Isn’t this a coincidence?
If it weren't for Shen Qing's words, Zhao Hai wouldn't think there was anything wrong with this visit to the sick, but it's different now. Isn't he wondering if there is something wrong with Concubine Shun?
He carefully checked where Xiao Mingzi had been after leaving the palace.
It was difficult to investigate what happened more than ten days ago, but the matter of the spices gave Zhao Hai an idea. It was difficult to investigate the people, but he could investigate the spices. This thing must have come from the drugstore. Since the person had left the palace, there might be clues in the drugstore outside the palace. If the drugstore's income and expenditure records matched, he could investigate again. As a result, there really was a match. After the accounts matched, he asked the person who bought this thing. The other party said that he was a young man with a strange Japanese voice. Zhao Hai thought that he might have found the real culprit. Then Zhao Hai brought the shopkeeper into the palace overnight, and then went to catch Xiao Mingzi.
Zhao Hai brought his men over and called for Xiao Mingzi by name.
Shun Fei immediately felt something was wrong, but she couldn't care less at the moment, so she just said, "We have already conducted a routine investigation, why do you still want to mention someone?"
Zhao Hai bowed to Concubine Shun and said, "I am also following orders. The Emperor has ordered us to check carefully and not let anyone off the hook. I left the palace a few days ago, so I have to check again. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
This may seem polite, but it is actually not very polite.
Concubine Shun was terrified. She wanted to keep him but couldn't. She could only watch Xiao Mingzi being taken away. When he left, she felt weak: "Mammy, Xiao Mingzi has been arrested. Will he confess anything?"
Nanny Wu was also panicking at the moment. In fact, she had never thought that this matter would turn out to be like this.
Because the love potion is a special thing, if the virtuous concubine is discovered, she will be ruined. If she is not discovered, Wu Ma thinks that the virtuous concubine will not dare to investigate it publicly because the scope is too large. If she is not caught on the spot, how can she know who did it? She also can't say blatantly that someone is framing me, and she is afraid that she will not be able to explain herself clearly at that time. So she originally thought that even if it was unsuccessful, this matter would not be a big deal.
But unexpectedly, news came that Concubine Xian was poisoned.
Nanny Wu knew that this was most likely a fake poisoning, so she was using this as an excuse to trace the source of the spice. However, she didn't expect the investigation to be so quick, and the source led to Xiao Mingzi.
Looking at Concubine Shun's appearance, Nanny Wu could only grit her teeth and say, "I have already told him that if we find out about him, he will just keep silent. As long as he doesn't admit it, there will be no evidence unless we catch him in the act."
If he refuses to admit it, there's nothing we can do. But if he admits it, it's not just Xiao Mingzi who will die.
Nanny Wu comforted Concubine Shun: "Xiao Mingzi's mother was about to die. If it weren't for the kindness of the queen who gave Xiao Mingzi money to save his mother, she wouldn't be alive today. Xiao Mingzi is loyal to the queen, and he won't tell anyone about this."
When Xiao Mingzi was arrested, he was extremely scared, but he remembered what Nanny Wu said. No matter what, as long as he denied it, there would be no evidence. In fact, if he thought about it the other way around, he would die if he admitted it, and if he denied it, at least Concubine Shun would be fine. Even if he was crippled or died from interrogation, his family would still be fine.
When Xiao Mingzi thought about it, his heart trembled, but he had made up his mind.
But he had no choice but to change his mind because Zhao Hai brought the owner of the medicine shop into the palace.
The owner of the medicine shop never thought that he would be brought into the palace one day. He was about to go to bed in the middle of the night when someone suddenly came to the shop. He thought it was a thief, but then he looked and saw that it was someone doing business in the palace. He was scared to death.
At first he thought it was just a routine check, because from their tone it sounded like other shops would also be checked. He didn't know what to check specifically, so he could only show them the accounts of income and expenditure. As a result, in the end, the investigation really led to him. He was brought into the palace and asked to identify the person who had previously bought the strong aphrodisiac.
The owner of the drugstore was terrified. He never thought that the person who bought the medicine was from the palace. If this thing entered the palace, it would be a serious crime, right? He didn't know the cause and effect, and he didn't need to know. He was already very scared at this moment, afraid that this matter would implicate himself, or that he would know something he shouldn't know. In this case, would he still have a way to survive?
Just as he was thinking, Zhao Hai had already called him to identify the person: "Take a look, is it him who bought the medicine from you at the beginning?"
The drugstore owner quickly perked up his nerves and went to check on Xiao Mingzi.
It would be hard for others to recognize him, but the eunuchs in the palace walked and talked very differently from normal men. When he was selling medicine, he naturally paid more attention to it because it was that kind of medicine. Now that he looked familiar, he didn't dare to say it directly. After thinking for a while, he still said, "Sir, can you let him have sex?"
Xiao Mingzi was terrified at this point. Even though he didn't want to plead guilty, the drug seller was right in front of him and he didn't dare to open his mouth. The more he did so, the more suspicious he became.
Zhao Hai looked at him and said, "Do you think that if you just keep silent about it, it will be of some use? If you don't speak, it means you have something to hide. I will report this to the emperor, and your master will not be able to escape the responsibility. I advise you to tell the truth. At least you will die rather than be punished. Otherwise, not to mention that you can't bear the eighteen kinds of punishment, even if you can bear it, how can your family be well?"
Xiao Mingzi was already extremely scared, and now he couldn't stand hearing what Zhao Hai said: "Master, spare me, I don't know anything."
His opening of the door prompted the owner of the nearby drugstore to confirm: "It was him, it was this voice, I remember it."
Xiao Mingzi's face was pale.
Zhao Hai glanced at the owner of the medicine shop: "Wait a minute, someone will take you out of the palace when this matter is settled, but..."
"I understand the rules, and I will not reveal a single word." The drugstore owner wiped his sweat. In fact, he had no idea of the whole cause and effect. He was just brought here when it came to doing things in the palace, especially things like this. Although he knew about the medicine, he didn't know who took it and who used it. He knew nothing and had made up his mind that today he would just pretend that he had never entered the palace and had not identified anyone. If he had any more contact with this matter, he would die!
Zhao Hai led Xiao Mingzi down and identified the person. The only thing missing was one piece of testimony. Xiao Mingzi had to say it in person before he could complete his mission.
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