imperial concubine

Chapter 205 Entering the Palace Alone
There was a strange atmosphere above the main hall of the East Palace.Although there are three steps, one post and five steps and one sentry outside the East Palace, there are not many eunuchs and maids in the palace at all, and even the empress only has one personal maid of her own.

Fang Yuanli walked into the hall slowly, his thin back was as unshakable as a mountain.Then he pushed the golden mountain and turned the jade pillar to prostrate himself in front of the queen and Yun Jingya, "My lord, Fang Yuanli has met the empress and Your Highness the princess."

Looking at Fang Yuanli who was kneeling on the ground, Yun Jingya felt a little nervous. These days, when the court was busy allocating food and grass for Liang Dajun, Fang Yuanli was too busy to touch the ground. Why did he come now? To the East Palace?
The queen who was sitting on the first seat was extremely calm. After taking a look at Yun Jingya, she nodded slightly to signal her not to panic, and then said to Fang Yuanli: "Fang Aiqing doesn't need to be polite, I don't know why Fang Aiqing is here today. What's important?"

The most important thing now is to see if Fang Yuanli can be concealed from the past. The crown prince is highly poisoned. The more people who know such a big thing, the better. No matter how close this person is to me, only Only in this way can the situation be stabilized.

Hearing the queen's words, Fang Yuanli got up from the ground, lowered his head slightly, narrowed his eyes slightly, and said in a deep voice: "I see that the prince has not personally handled political affairs for a few days, and I am a little worried, so I came to take a look."

The queen and Yun Jingya looked at each other, naturally they didn't believe what Fang Yuanli said.If he really cared about the prince's illness, all he had to do was send an eunuch to the harem to have a look, so why did Fang Yuanli come in person?Clearly something is wrong with this.

Thinking of this, Yun Jingya said with a smile: "Thank you, Prime Minister, I will go there in person. The younger brother's condition is much better. Apart from not being able to see the wind, it is no problem to do other things. If you want to come, you can recover in a few days." politics."

Now that she had guessed what Fang Yuanli wanted to do, Yun Jingya would of course have to say something in advance, lest Fang Yuanli would visit the prince's condition in person, and she would not be able to say anything. At that time, she would seem a little too passive .

Hearing Yun Jingya's words, Fang Yuanli's expression did not change, and he said indifferently: "So that's the case. However, His Royal Highness has not gone to court for nearly five or six days. Could it be that the mere wind and cold have not healed?"

Yun Jingya had told Fang Yuanli before that the crown prince was feeling cold, but Fang Yuanli didn't pay much attention to it at that time.Now that I think about it, it was already five or six days ago. Even without medicine, the prince's cold should be cured.

Yun Jingya's complexion changed, and then she said with a smile: "At the beginning, the younger brother's condition did improve, but the maid was too careless and let the younger brother blow the wind, so he didn't recover. Please wait a few more days, Mr. Fang It is."

Although Fang Yuanli's words were sharp and he immediately found the inconsistency in Yun Jingya's words, Fang Yuanli did not have any real evidence in his hands. If Yun Jingya insisted that the crown prince was suffering from cold, Fang Yuanli would be fine. good idea.

Fang Yuanli let out a low voice, and then said to Yun Jingya: "Since Your Royal Highness said that the crown prince just feels cold occasionally, why did the number of guards outside the East Palace suddenly double? Could it be that these guards can even block the wind?" ?”

Ever since the crown prince was poisoned, Yun Jingya and the empress were afraid that something might go wrong, so even if they strengthened the guards in the East Palace, they hadn't thought of this question before, but now that Fang Yuanli asked it suddenly, Yun Jingya seemed a little caught off guard.

The empress on top took the question with a light smile, "Fang Aiqing don't have to worry, these guards just strengthened their defenses because Bengong and Jingya have been in the East Palace for the past few days. There is no other meaning."

Now in the East Palace, the queen, Yun Jingya, and the prince are all important figures. If it is said that the guard commander has stepped up his defense because the three of them are gathered together, it is reasonable.

Seeing that the queen refused to admit it, Fang Yuanli sneered and said: "So that's the case. However, on the day the prince fell ill, it was rumored that the empress scolded twelve eunuchs and maids with one stroke of the staff. I don't know why the empress is so angry all of a sudden?"

That day the empress ordered the maids and eunuchs to be punished, which was well known in the entire harem, so it is not surprising that Fang Yuanli said it at this time.As for this question, the empress had already thought of the answer.

The empress said calmly: "The prince was seriously ill that day, and these servants were very slack, so I guessed and ordered them to blame them. Could it be that Fang Aiqing thinks that I am not qualified to discipline the palace ladies and eunuchs in the harem?" ?"

If things continue like this, Fang Yuanli will catch him sooner or later.That's why the queen took the initiative to fight back. After all, Fang Yuanli was a courtier. If the queen really put on a majestic aura, Fang Yuanli would still be a little afraid.

Hearing the queen's words, Fang Yuanli had a faint smile on his face, and he said softly: "The empress, as the lord of the six palaces, naturally has the right to discipline the eunuchs and maids. It's just that I don't understand that His Royal Highness was seriously ill that day. Why is it that the empress is the maid of Yiliang Palace? Could it be that the prince's food and daily life are taken care of by the maids of Yiliang Palace!"

That day, in the Eastern Palace, they tortured and extorted confessions, out of the twelve people who were punished with sticks, ten were from Yiliang Palace.If the crown prince is indeed suffering from the cold, he should blame the maids and eunuchs in the East Palace if he wants to be blamed. How could he marry someone from the Liang Palace?
The queen was at a loss for words, Fang Yuanli looked at the queen and said with a sneer: "His Royal Highness has been ill for a long time, but the empress has increased the number of guards in the East Palace, and even scolded the maids of the Yiliang Palace. thing?"

If it is really cold, why strengthen the defense of the guards in the palace?Why bother to blame the palace maid because of a cold wind and cold, what's more, it's not the maid who takes care of the prince's diet, but the maid of Yiliang Palace!

The queen laughed a few times, looked at Fang Yuanli's awe-inspiring look, waved her hand to let the maids around her back, and then said to Fang Yuanli: "It's not that this Palace deliberately deceived the prime minister, it's just that this matter is too important. Gong can't trust anyone anymore."

The main reason for the accident this time was that there was something wrong with the person close to the prince, and the man behind the scenes was still ready to move, so the queen could only choose to trust no one and shut everyone out. Naturally, I can't get in.

Hearing the Queen's words, Fang Yuanli said slowly: "Your Majesty, Your Highness is the crown prince of a country, not just your son, so naturally you must notify the ministers outside the palace if something happens, so that Your Highness can be safe. I also hope that the empress will keep it in mind in the future."

Who in the civil and military dynasties didn't know that the crown prince was the foundation of the country?Even if such a big event happened to the crown prince, even if he couldn't tell everyone publicly, several pillars of the court should inform him, so as not to be caught off guard.

Seeing that Fang Yuanli just said this, the queen smiled and said, "I've made a note of it." Fang Yuanli only heard Fang Yuanli continue to ask: "Since the crown prince didn't catch a cold, what's going on?"

Although Fang Yuanli already knew the answer from Su Wan, it was only a guess after all.At this time, the queen knows the inside story very well, so it is better to ask her directly to verify whether what Su Wan said is true or not.

The queen sighed softly, put her well-maintained left hand by her side, and then said to Fang Yuanli: "To tell the truth, Zeshi was poisoned this time. If it wasn't for the imperial physician from the Imperial Hospital who rejuvenated, I am afraid that Zeshi would The world is now."

Even though he already knew the result from Su Wan, Fang Yuanli was still extremely shocked when the queen said it himself.He knew in his heart that there was a lot of fighting in the harem.But the strife in the harem is completely different from the poisoning of the prince. Only one person died in the harem battle, but the poisoning of the prince is a serious crime of treason, and he will directly punish the nine clans!
Fang Yuanli stabilized his mind, and then said with a long breath: "Empress, how is the crown prince doing?" After he answered in the affirmative, Fang Yuanli frowned and said, "Do you know who is the person behind it?" Who?"

The matter of the crown prince being poisoned is no small matter. If we search carefully, the entire harem will have to dig three feet to find the murderer. More importantly, since the crown prince was poisoned, the antidote must be in the hands of the person behind it. , as long as you find that person, get the antidote, and save the prince's life is the top priority, everything else is useless.

Hearing Fang Yuanli's question, the queen frowned and said, "According to the confessions of many eunuchs and maids of Yiliang Palace that day, Su Wan is undoubtedly the one behind the prince's poisoning. Whether it's medicine or contact There's strong evidence that it's her."

Although the empress beat Yunxiu in Yiliang Palace before, neither Liu Banxia's confession nor Dexi's testimony had anything to do with Su Wan, so the empress used torture to extract confessions from the maids of Yiliang Palace. one move.

Fang Yuanli, who was sitting at the bottom, nodded lightly, and then asked the queen, "Your Majesty, where is the statement recorded at that time? Can you show it and let me have a look?"

Although I said before that I would rescue Su Wan from prison, all the evidence now is against Su Wan.If you want to rescue her, you can only see if there are any loopholes in the confessions of these eunuchs and maids.

Yun Jingya personally went to collect the statement and handed it to Fang Yuanli. After reading the statement, Fang Yuanli finally frowned and pondered for a while, then said firmly, "No, Su Wan is definitely not the mastermind behind the prince's poisoning this time."

Fang Yuanli's voice echoed in the empty main hall, seeming a bit lonely and determined.After all, saying this kind of thing is equivalent to directly saying that the empress made a mistake. Although Fang Yuanli and the empress are very close, he still needs to pay attention to his dignity.

Sure enough, upon hearing Fang Yuanli's words, the queen sneered and said, "Since the prime minister said that Su Wan was not the mastermind, it means that I was wrong before? Prime Minister, please don't be aimless. Now is the critical moment, and you can't be wrong about a single word. "

Although the queen also doubted whether she was wrong, but her doubts were her own doubts. If someone dared to question, no matter who the person was, don't try to get away easily if they don't say they are ugly!

Hearing what the queen said, Fang Yuanli smiled proudly and said: "Of course not. It's just that the queen was deceived by a villain and didn't notice a loophole in this confession, so she was misled into thinking that Su Wan was the culprit."

These words subtly brought back the queen's face, and pointed out where the queen made mistakes without any trace.The fact that Fang Yuanli was able to secure the position of Prime Minister today was not because Emperor Chongwen wanted to promote him.

The Queen was taken aback when she heard Fang Yuanli's words, then looked at Fang Yuanli with a sneer and said, "I don't know what's wrong with this confession? I'd like to ask Mr. Fang to point it out to me."

The empress had read this statement over and over ten times before, but she never found any mistakes in it.Now Fang Yuanli just looked at it and concluded that there was something wrong. Could it be that he purposely made mistakes in his confession because he wanted to save Su Wan?

Fang Yuan laughed aloud, picked up the confession in his hand, pointed to a place on it, and said, "My lady, please look!"

(End of this chapter)