The so-called Master Ciyuan was caught and panicked. He didn't expect that the Empress had become suspicious from the moment he mentioned ancient books, but he was completely unaware and thought he had fooled her. He couldn't help but feel smug.
When the Empress later inquired about the destroyed ginkgo tree at Xiangguo Temple, he never expected it to be a test from her. He thought he had never heard of any century-old ginkgo tree at Xiangguo Temple being destroyed, so he naively assumed there was no problem, which is why he slipped up.
But can you really convict him based on just a few words? It's not that easy, is it? He still wanted to argue, and couldn't help but loudly protest, "Your Majesty, this old monk did not intend to deceive Your Majesty. It's just that I am old and often forget things about what happened five years ago, which is why I used an ancient book to speak. Although using heart blood as medicine is my unique secret recipe, that recipe didn't come from nowhere. I really saw it in an ancient book, and after several refinements, it became what I call a unique secret recipe."
Seeing that Shen Mingzhuang did not speak, Ciyuan assumed that the Empress was wavering, so she pressed on while the iron was hot and said, "As for the ginkgo tree in Xiangguo Temple, Xiangguo Temple does have one, but it is not a hundred-year-old ginkgo. I was just flattering you, so I said it according to Your Majesty's words."
After saying that, he knelt on the ground, waiting for Shen Mingzhuang to order his men to release him. But Shen Mingzhuang raised an eyebrow and glanced at Xiao Dianzi with a half-smile. Xiao Dianzi understood and walked over, sneering twice, "Still dare to lie? You dare to be presumptuous in front of the Empress. If you're going to lie, at least choose something plausible. You probably don't know that the soil at Xiangguo Temple is not suitable for growing ginkgo trees. The late Emperor never intended for Xiangguo Temple to plant many ginkgo trees, but not a single one survived. Therefore, Xiangguo Temple simply cannot have any ginkgo trees!"
Ci Yuan was completely dumbfounded. He stared wide-eyed at the Empress, whose excessively beautiful face was now covered with frost. Ci Yuan shivered, shrank his neck, and completely gave up, collapsing to the ground.
"Tie him up and hang him in the well in the Imperial Garden."
Little Li and Little Dianzi felt a chill in their hearts, but they politely agreed and went to the Imperial Garden with "Ciyuan" in their names.
Man Huan was dumbfounded. She never expected that her master would have such abilities. She had not discovered any of these clues. Perhaps it was because she did not know whether there were ginkgo trees in Xiangguo Temple. She also knew nothing about the events of the previous dynasty.
She couldn't help but look at her master with admiration, and followed behind Shen Mingzhuang without saying a word, not asking any more questions.
In the Imperial Garden, Shen Mingzhuang raised his hand to signal, and Xiao Dianzi and Xiao Lizi worked together to loosen the rope tied to "Ciyuan" at the wellhead. "Ciyuan" immediately plummeted downwards and crashed into the icy cold well water with a splash.
Without Shen Mingzhuang's signal, Xiao Lizi and Xiao Dianzi dared not pull the person out. Standing at the well's edge, they could hear a gurgling sound of someone drinking water, followed by a splash of water. Shen Mingzhuang stood expressionless at the well's edge, calculating the time, guessing that "Ciyuan" must have drunk its fill of water before nodding and having someone pull the person out of the well again.
Ci Yuan was suspended in mid-air, looking down at Shen Mingzhuang as if he were a god, and he gradually began to feel uneasy.
"Is there anything you'd like to say?"
A faint, steady, and flat voice reached her ears, and whether it was the cold or the fear in her heart, "Ciyuan" couldn't help but shiver.
The voice was like a Bodhisattva in a Buddhist temple, looking down upon all living beings and asking them what they wanted. But at this moment, the words sounded more like a demon in the dark asking him if he had any last words. The simultaneous appearance of these two contradictory things in one person was so strange yet had an indescribable harmony.
"I……"
Before Ciyuan could even hesitate for a moment, Shen Mingzhuang had already raised his hand to signal, and Xiao Lizi and Xiao Dianzi immediately threw the person back into the well water.
Another splashing sound followed, and this time Ciyuan choked on several mouthfuls of water. He was dragged out again, and the same question was posed: "Do you have anything to say?"
Before he could utter a sound, he was thrown into the water again.
Ci Yuan was filled with unease. If he spoke, his master would not forgive him. But if he did not speak, he would not be able to get past the Empress. He would certainly not be able to leave the palace today. He was truly caught in a dilemma. Just then, Shen Mingzhuang's voice rang out again.
"Little one, go to the Imperial Household Department and have Chief Eunuch Zhou catch a few snakes for me, the kind that are poisonous but won't kill you."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Dianzi felt a chill run down his spine. He quickly glanced at the Empress and thought to himself: What kind of trouble is Your Majesty going to cause this time?
"Go immediately. If I don't see any snakes within an hour, throw them all into the mass grave to feed the wild dogs."
After Shen Mingzhuang finished speaking, he sat down on the plum blossom chair brought by the palace maid and calmly basked in the sun.
Little Li secured the rope to the wooden pole and caught his breath.
Ciyuan's mind was racing. He thought about how the Empress had ordered someone to find a snake, and that they had to find it within an hour, or else the people from the Imperial Household Department would be thrown to the wild dogs. He felt as if he had been thrown into an ice cave in the dead of winter, and his whole body began to tremble uncontrollably.
What is the Empress doing with the snake? Does she want him to stay with those snakes and scare him with them?
But he wasn't one of those naive young girls who had never seen the world, so how could he be afraid of this?
Ci Yuan's mind raced as he tried to figure out how to escape. If he had known this would happen, he should have swallowed a poison pouch to avoid being tortured like this. He wasn't afraid of being soaked in well water or bitten by a poisonous snake; his greatest fear was that the Emperor would also have to get involved in this matter, which would be the most painful thing for him.
The woman was rather short-sighted, only knowing some superficial ways to torture people. As the emperor was the ruler of the same country, the extreme tortures she knew were enough to make people wet their pants just by hearing about them.
Time flies. Shen Mingzhuang had only been basking in the sun and taking a nap when Xiao Dianzi came running over carrying a small basket.
"Your Majesty, we've got the snake! As soon as the Imperial Household Department heard it was Your Majesty who wanted it, they immediately sent people to find it. This snake was brought by the Imperial Hospital for detoxification experiments. Would you like to take a look?"
Just as Man Huan was about to say how could such a foul-smelling thing be shown to the Empress, Shen Mingzhuang turned his head to look into the cage. He heard a few hissing sounds from the tongue of a bird, and the cage moved. Shen Mingzhuang covered his nose and nodded: "Let him eat it."
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