Gel makeup

Chapter 248 No Progress
The empress dowager sighed, and Shen Jiangdong continued: "As for why the wife is trapped, I think that someone is planning to plot something in the past few days."

Jiang Feng was arrested, Shen Jiangdong was in a hurry, yesterday he wanted to pretend to be sick, but today he really fell into some old illness, his whole body was cold and shivering.The Empress Dowager said: "Get up and talk." She sighed, "I just want to know where your Majesty and the Empress are now! It's already August [-]th, and there is no news from the Daming Mansion."

"No news is good news," Shen Jiangdong said, "Your Majesty, the other party may choose to attack after the August Festival. I'm afraid the inner palace will be in danger then."

The Empress Dowager said: "Dangerous? Like last time?"

Shen Jiangdong said: "The empress dowager forgives the crime, and it's hard for the minister to say."

The empress dowager was silent for a moment, "I see. What are you investigating and arranging, just let go and do it. I will take care of what happened."

Shen Jiangdong quickly thanked him, and then asked: "Little lady, how many days are you staying in the East Palace in Yining Palace?"

The Empress Dowager said: "Yes. They must be staring at the three elder brothers, Taikang is probably ignored. Since Miss Cheng wants to go home, let Taikang go with her, do you think it's okay?"

Shen Jiangdong said: "Your Majesty is thoughtful, it is always safer for Princess Taikang to live outside."

The empress dowager said again: "I have something here, you can take it to your daughter-in-law, just say it's what I want."

Shen Jiangdong went to Yining Palace to meet the Empress Dowager, and after leaving Yining Palace, he vomited and fell ill.The Imperial Medical Office diagnosed him as an old illness caused by anger. Fan Ziran and others came to visit him, but seeing him in a trance, they didn't say a few words to him.

On August [-]th, the army and guards of the government went all out, but they did not find any clues.Cheng Yingzhou came to see Shen Jiangdong in a hurry in the afternoon, "There is no progress in the Li family, but there seems to be a problem with the gold workshop. Since yesterday, the goods have been cleared suddenly, and many people have gone to buy gold, and then the gold workshop has been closed, no one comes in and out. , the metalwork has disappeared.”

Shen Jiangdong said: "Didn't it disappear under the eyes of the military guard?!"

Cheng Yingzhou said: "Exactly, unless there is a secret passage dug in the gold workshop. Do you want to search now, I am afraid that the search will scare the snake away."

"Time is running out," Shen Jiang said, "Let's search."

The gold workshop was confiscated, and the gold wares inside were all sold out yesterday, and a large amount of saltpeter and sulfur were piled up in the workshop. After calculation, it seems that how much of these saltpeter and sulfur have never been used.Shen Jiangdong said: "It took a lot of effort to get the saltpeter and sulfur, why not use it? The gold utensils are gone, and the saltpeter and sulfur are neatly arranged, waiting for us to check?"

The imperial army reported that they had discovered the secret passage, but the secret passage had been blocked, Cheng Yingzhou fearfully said: "Run away!"

Shen Jiangdong asked: "Could it be that the clues of the gold workshop are also a bureau, in order to restrain the sight of the army and guards?"

There was no progress in the clue mansion of Li Yuanzhen's mansion, and the clue of the gold workshop was broken. It was already [-]pm on August [-]th, and no news was sent back from the outpost outside Beijing.At this point, the only thing left to do is wait and see.

Chaozhong is eagerly looking forward to Jinshang appearing in Daming Mansion on time, but Shen Jiangdong has mixed feelings. On the one hand, he is afraid that Jinshang will really disappear, and on the other hand, he is worried that Jinshang will be drawn into the game when he arrives at Daming Mansion.I don’t know how many people have no sleep tonight. With the rising sun, the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 23th in Xining’s [-]rd year is here.

It was the day when the Empress Dowager held a banquet in front of the Chengming Pavilion in Xiyuan, but no one in the imperial court felt at ease for the festival, and the banquet that lasted until late at night was very perfunctory.Accompanied by the faint music by the Taiye Pool, it has entered the [-]th day of the eighth month, and the imperial capital is completely quiet, so quiet that it is frightening.

At dawn, people from the harem shuttled back and forth in front of the Chengming Pavilion to clean up the mess, and the officials who had not slept all night became more energetic, because yesterday Jinshang and the queen did not appear in the Daming Mansion.

Following the previous incident at the Yining Palace, she disappeared for the second time today, and this time she disappeared together with the Queen of the Central Palace.The Daming Mansion could not wait for the royal driver, which caused an uproar in the court.Although there was a happy event to capture the Jingjiang mansion not long ago, it was not enough to withstand the impact of the disappearance of the empress.

Although the embankment of the Baixun River did not collapse, rumors of Yujia's capsize had already spread.

Today, when Chunri left the imperial capital and went south, he once pointed out that major matters can be decided by the empress.I never thought that after Han Shouchen's defeat, the queen would also go south and leave Beijing.According to the original plan, the empress should go to Jinling, but later the plan was changed and changed to Weiyang to meet Yujia.Unexpectedly, today's Yujia did not appear in Weiyang, and the queen's Yijia came to Weiyang, and there was only Yijia without the queen.This time, Imashang and Zhonggong all disappeared, and I don't know if they disappeared together, which is really creepy.Where is the emperor and the empress? Has something happened already, and people in the court are in panic.On the evening of August [-], all the officials entered the palace, and invited the Empress Dowager and the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace to preside over the event.

The empress dowager was usually quiet and never cared about the affairs of the previous dynasty. This time the incident happened to her the most difficult.So the Empress Dowager invited King An, King Xiaojing, King Yingchuan County, King Jianchang, Prince Duan's son, cabinet ministers, lords in Beijing, and the commander of Jingwei to enter Yining Palace for discussion. arrive.

Fan Ziran met Xiao Jing Wang and Duan Wang's son on the road, and the three of them also entered Yining Palace while talking.Everyone had no idea after discussing, during which only Fan Ziran and Si Ni were there, and suggested to wait a few more days, maybe they were delayed on the road today, so they haven't arrived at the Daming Mansion yet.

Xiao Jing Wang Yin said: "I don't know what the itinerary of Her Majesty the Empress is? Why has there been no news?"

The empress dowager sighed, "Originally, the empress was going to Jinling, but the itinerary was changed to Weiyang. However, the Weiyang palace did not receive the empress, nor did it receive news of the empress meeting with her majesty. This is another trouble. Where did the Empress go, did she go to Weiyang, and whether she went north, I don't even have a clue right now."

Wang An said: "The imperial capital needs to be careful in its defense recently."

"Except for General Cheng, the Forbidden Army has no capable people in Beijing," Fan Ziran said, "Habayashi Guard Tang Peng has always been safe, but he was demoted for some reason. During this critical period, I think he should be allowed to help General Cheng and act as the commander temporarily."

Fan Ziran didn't know Tang Peng's past identity, so he mentioned this, and the rest of the people expressed no objection. The Empress Dowager sighed and said, "Then follow what Fan Xianggong said. Wait for another two days, and wait to see if there is any in the Daming Mansion." News." After speaking, he asked Prince Duan, "Old Eleven, how is your father?"

Prince Duan's son said: "Your Majesty, please inquire. My father heard that His Majesty did not go to the Daming Mansion yesterday and became seriously ill."

The Empress Dowager said: "Ask Huang Yuan to go and have a look."

Prince Duan stood up and thanked Fan Ziran, and the Empress Dowager asked Fan Ziran, "I heard that Duke Jia is sick again?" Her tone was very bad, and everyone went to see Fan Ziran.

Fan Ziran bowed and said, "Mr. Jia's old illness relapsed, he vomited blood yesterday."

The empress dowager sighed, "What's the matter recently?" She was always gentle and quiet, but now she began to show irritability and uneasiness, "One by one, you are complaining every day. Women come to make up their minds."

Fan Ziran said: "I would like to ask the Empress Dowager to stay calm and wait for the news from the Daming Mansion. Everything depends on the Yining Palace to take charge of the overall situation."

The crowd didn't agree on Chou Yinmao, and after saluting, they were about to step back. The empress dowager stopped Xiao Jing Wang alone and said, "I remember that you have a yellow crown in your house, and it will be equipped with a medicine for facial sores. I have a few wives here who got facial pain." The sores have been bad, you bring me some sore medicine."

Upon hearing this, King Xiao Jing quickly agreed.

The fact that Tang Peng was a spy of Dingfan was only known to a few people.He has been in Jingwei for many years and has always been popular. No matter how he was demoted before, he seemed to be taking the blame for the military department and the Weaving Department, so no one in Jingwei questioned his reinstatement this time.In the middle of the night on August [-]th, he appeared on time in the elegant room of Wufulu Building, and the dull voice rang out on time, "How is it? You didn't deceive General Tang, did you?"

Tang Peng took a deep breath, gritted his teeth and said, "Thank you."

"That's not necessary. I believe that General Tang is a man who plans big things, and he may not take a Jingwei commander seriously."

Tang Peng asked: "When will we do it?"

"Delay for two days, give them a chance to toss, and do it on the night of August [-]."

Tang Peng closed his eyes and said, "You promise that the troubles outside Beijing have been resolved?"

"Of course, if you don't believe it, you can continue to wait and see what happens in the next two days. Daming Mansion will never wait for the person it wants to welcome."

Tang Peng still had doubts, "One more thing, Habayashi Guard has limited manpower, and the manpower to listen to my command is even more limited."

"That's enough, you don't need too much. If you capture the thief first, you will capture the king first, and the other party will naturally throw their hands at you. Besides, most of the Jinwu Guards and Fujun Guards left the capital with the emperor. The commanders of Huben and Banner Guards were not in Beijing. As long as your Habayashi guards are not moving, General Tang has always been talented, so how can such trivial matters stump you?"

Tang Peng said: "Okay, I will trust you once and for the last time."

On August [-], there was still no news from Daming Mansion.Shen Jiangdong "fell ill", while Cheng Yingzhou was busy with the defense of the imperial capital, he was still trying to find clues about the gold workshop in Jiashen Lane.He sent people back and forth between the gold workshop and the abandoned Taoist temple outside the city many times, but all failed.

On the evening of August [-], the Empress Dowager once again ordered the cabinet and others to contact Jin Shangyuan with all their strength.Because of Shen Jiangdong's illness, Prince An, King Xiaojing, Prince Duan and other princes, cabinet ministers such as Fan Ziran, officials from the six ministries, and Cheng Yingzhou's Beijing guards gathered in Jiaguo's mansion to "visit" Shen Jiangdong.

After King Duan fell ill, King An had the highest seniority among the kings, but he had the weakest temperament. At this time, he had to be the first to speak out. He first looked at Fan Ziran, and then at Xiao Xiao, the son of Prince Duan who came on behalf of King Duan. Well, neither of them spoke.King An then asked, "How is Duke Jia today?"

Shen Jiangdong's complexion became extremely ugly, and it looked like he was really sick, so he said: "With the presence of King Lao An, this is an old problem that I have suffered from in the south. It has been repeated over and over again, and it is always difficult to recover."

The King of Yingchuan County beside King An said: "Everyone, all of you, since we are all together today, I have to ask, where is Your Majesty? What are you doing?"

The official secretary interjected: "At the beginning, I should have advised His Majesty not to stay in the capital."

King An then said to Fan Ziran: "Li Yuanzhen urged Your Majesty to go to Liudu and go to the front line. What is the meaning of your cabinet? Now that the Dingfan has been destroyed, why do you repeatedly investigate the remnants of the Dingfan? What are you still investigating these days? Your Majesty There is no news from the Queen. What are you doing?"

Fan Ziran said in a daze: "Since Dingfan is leveled, it is natural to eradicate the grass and roots. It is just to track down the remnants..." He looked at Shen Jiangdong.

"My lord said the remnants of the Ding Fan," Wu Dinghou interrupted suddenly, "Don't you all know why Jia Guogong became so ill? If it wasn't for the connection between the Ding Fan and the Imperial Capital, why did it become so ugly before? Now it is for the stability of the Imperial Capital. What's wrong with tracking down the remnants of Dingfan?"

The King of Yingchuan County said: "Duke Jia has nothing to say?"

Shen Jiangdong said: "Before your majesty and Li Xiang left Beijing, you ordered Li Xiang to be in charge of the military department for the next generation. Now that the Dingfan has been flat, I have nothing more to say. If the county king insists on letting me say it, I want to say that my wife is a wife. Following the ancestral system to serve as a member of the three guards of the government army, but now he has been charged with a murder case, I should avoid suspicion." After speaking, he coughed profusely.

King An said: "Previously, Xiao Xu of King Kang's mansion conspired against him, and His Majesty has already dealt with it. When His Majesty's actions are ambiguous and the Holy Car is unknown, shouldn't you just die for the safety of the Holy Car, and investigate the remnants of Ding Fan? The Kangwang Mansion investigated How many times has it been done? Where is there any remnants of collusion with Dingfan in Dijing?"

No one spoke.

King An then said: "Mr. Fan Ge, you are in charge of the cabinet. How does the cabinet work? Li Yuanzhen urged His Majesty to visit the capital, and now Li Yuanzhen himself does not know whether to live or die. If you want to say suspicion, your cabinet is the most suspect now."

"My lord, Fan can't afford it," Fan Ziran said with a bow, "Your lord, Fan is in charge of the cabinet. He has always followed the rules and made decisions about his relationship with His Majesty. The cabinet has never dared to neglect it. As for Li Xiang's illness, this person If you eat whole grains, you will naturally get sick, and Li Xiang can't control himself."

King Xiao Jing said: "President Fan, no matter what, you are in charge of the cabinet, you should say something."

Fan Ziran then said: "If you have to talk, then Fan has no choice but to resign as the chief assistant of the cabinet."

The audience was silent for a moment, Shen Jiangdong was speechless to the point of aphasia.At the critical moment, the old man of Paper Paste Pavilion began to pick up the third child again.

Fan Ziran said again: "Fan knows that his virtue is insufficient, just now the prince said that His Majesty's deeds and the investigation of the remaining crimes of Dingfan, except for disposing of the six official documents as usual, no one reported to me. The prince questioned Fan's dereliction of duty. He can only be dismissed from office and punished for the crime.”

Now I can't even look at the noble and succinct book of ceremonies, "Your Majesty is not here, who dares to dismiss Elder Fan Ge? Who can dismiss Elder Fan Ge?"

Prince Duan's son made a rescue and said, "Before your Majesty left Beijing, you once said that urgent and difficult matters can be decided by the Central Palace. Since there is no news of your Majesty's departure, where is Your Highness the Queen?"

Now everyone looked at the cabinet ministers and Cheng Yingzhou again, Cheng Yingzhou bit the bullet and replied: "The queen was ordered to go to Liudu, and then changed to Weiyang, and now on the way..."

Little Marquis Wu Ding asked: "Why doesn't Your Royal Highness return to Beijing?"

Cheng Yingzhou said: "The Jingwei is only responsible for security, and does not know the queen's itinerary."

"I don't know how to protect the Queen's itinerary?!" Yingchuan County King asked, "What's going on with your Jingwei? Your Majesty's whereabouts are unknown, and the Queen's Fengjia is unknown. I think the ghosts of the remnants of Dingfan are in your Jingwei. The thief shouted to catch the thief, directing and acting on his own! If there is another chaos in the imperial capital, you will be the first suspect!"

(End of this chapter)