imperial concubine

Chapter 209
Not long after, the guard came back.It's just that what made Fang Yuanli feel a little strange was that the guards didn't bring back the maid that the Queen mentioned at all, they just came back as they went out.

The head of the guards walked into the main hall, saluted Fang Yuanli, the empress, and Yun Jingya, and said, "Reporting to empress, there has never been a single person named Shengjing in Shangjin Palace. The second prince and concubine said that Eunuch Lin must have made a mistake. gone."

Hearing the answer from the second concubine, the queen hummed lightly. The reaction of the second concubine was not beyond the queen's expectation. After all, the matter had almost been concluded before, but now the second concubine was asked to assist in the investigation , is indeed somewhat inappropriate.

After a moment of silence, the queen asked Fang Yuanli, "Lord Fang, what should we do now? Where is this maid named Shengjing now? Is there another maid pretending to be from Shangjin Palace?"

The queen naturally didn't believe what the second prince and concubine said.It's just that the queen doesn't have any evidence in her hands, so she can't search the Shangjin Palace. After thinking about it carefully, the queen has no way to deal with the second prince and concubine.

Fang Yuanli frowned when he heard the queen's words, and then said: "The palace has always been strictly guarded, and it is extremely difficult for ordinary people not to mention going in and out, even to take a look at it. Why would there suddenly be a man in the harem? A person who can come and go freely? There must be fraud in it! Maybe it is the second prince's concubine's person, but the second prince's concubine wants to protect her."

If the second concubine asks someone to capture Shengjing from the Shangjin Palace, then once it is confirmed that Shengjing is a maid in the Shangjin Palace, then the assassination of the prince must have nothing to do with the second concubine. The second princess was very passive.

The queen who was sitting on the first seat looked at Fang Yuanli and said, "Since your lord agrees with me, what should I do now? Should I order to search Shangjin Palace thoroughly?"

Now that the Empress is in control, and with Fang Yuanli as the support, it is not impossible to pull out the entire Shangjin Palace one by one to verify their integrity, but the movement is too big and it is too easy to startle the snake.

Fang Yuanli in the hall shook his head and said, "Even if we search the Shangjin Palace wantonly now, there will definitely be no results in the end. Today we have already scared the snake, let's see what the second princess will do next." Hands and feet are."

Fang Yuanli didn't stop the guards from leaving just now.Because in his opinion, it would be very good if he could use this to warn the second princess.Now that His Majesty is not in the capital, if the backyard fights openly because of this, it may be detrimental to the frontline battle.

The queen nodded, and then said: "I understand. However, the second concubine hid the person, how can I find that person? His Royal Highness is sick in bed, you can't just sit and watch the murderer get away with it."

Although the queen had already guessed Fang Yuanli's thoughts and was ready to endure the anger, the antidote was still in the hands of the second prince and concubine. If he didn't take the opportunity to make a fuss and get the antidote back, what would happen to the poison on the prince's body?
Looking at the mournful queen, Fang Yuanli got up and said, "Isn't His Highness the Crown Prince's illness much better now? If that's the case, then we can spend time with the Second Prince and Concubine, waiting for her to show her flaws, and then we will make a move." Take down the second concubine!"

Now the people on both sides are waiting, the second concubine is waiting for the news that the prince has been ill for a long time; the empress is waiting for the second concubine to reveal a small flaw, and the people on both sides have fallen into the same indescribable dilemma. situation.

Yun Jingya on the side said calmly: "The queen mother is now deterring the Six Palaces and purging Gangji. Everyone in the harem worships her. If you want to know if there is a maid named Shengjing in the Shangjin Palace, you only need to contact the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The eunuch will check to see if it is true or not. If it is true, then the matter must be related to the Second Prince Concubine, if not, then it is impossible to say who it is related to at this time."

Although the maid named Shengjing used the badge of Shangjin Palace in the imperial garden, it is hard to say whether it is really Shengjing's badge.If someone else intentionally planted the spoils on the Second Prince's Concubine, they are going to make the Empress and Concubine Shu tear their faces apart!
Hearing Yun Jingya's words, the Queen and Fang Yuanli nodded at the same time.I had thought too much about things just now, and even forgot this most effective and direct method.All the maids and eunuchs have information on the Ministry of Internal Affairs, just go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and ask.

Thinking about it, the queen nodded to Fang Yuanli, and then said to the guards outside the palace: "Go and bring the eunuch, the head of the House of Internal Affairs, to this palace. Let him bring the rosters of each palace and come here quickly. I have a request Ask him something."

The guards outside the door went away in response, and after a short while brought a eunuch with a calm demeanor and an ordinary figure to the main hall of the East Palace.Yun Jingya knew that this person was the chief eunuch of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Jiang Baohua, who was in charge of dispatching personnel.

That Jiang Baohua's demeanor was extremely calm, and he didn't panic when he saw the queen. He knelt on the ground and wanted a few people to salute, "Jiang Baohua, the little housekeeper, has seen the empress, the princess, and the prime minister."

I am used to seeing eunuchs who were timid and timid before, but Jiang Baohua's calm and calm eunuch is somewhat rare.No wonder he was able to sit on the post of chief eunuch of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.It seems that there are some extraordinary skills.

The queen nodded and said: "Jiang Baohua, you are in charge of personnel dispatch in the House of Internal Affairs, so you must know exactly how many maids and eunuchs there are in each palace, what their names are, and what they do in the palace, right? ?”

Of course, Jiang Baohua knew all these things clearly.It's just that he wasn't sure what the queen wanted him to do today, so he could only say vaguely: "Thanks to the compliment from the empress, I know a little bit."

Although I don't know what the Empress Dowager wants to do, but be careful to make the Ten Thousand Years Boat, it's better not to talk too much about yourself, so as not to annoy the Empress Empress, and in the end deliberately make things difficult for myself and create problems for myself.

Hearing Jiang Baohua's words, the queen nodded slightly, and then asked: "How many people are there in the Kunning Palace in this palace? How many eunuchs are there, and how many maids are there? Is there a maid named Shengjing in this palace?" "

The empress was testing Jiang Baohua's ability. If he was the chief eunuch of the Ministry of Internal Affairs but he didn't even know how many people there were in Kunning Palace, the empress's empress, then his position as chief eunuch of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was basically done.

Jiang Baohua pondered for a while, and then said in a deep voice: "There are 130 people serving in the Empress's Kunning Palace. Among them, there are 78 eunuchs and 57 maids. According to the villain's impression, there is no maid named Shengjing in the Kunning Palace. "

In less than a moment, Jiang Baohua reported the number of people in Kunning Palace.It's just that the last question is slightly questionable, but the queen doesn't care, after all, some maids are so insignificant that no one will remember their names.

So the queen nodded with a smile and asked, "How many people are there in the Shangjin Palace of the second concubine? Is there a person named Shengjing in her Shangjin Palace? What does Shengjing do in Shangjin Palace?"

Seeing that the minutes I had been looking for finally found its whereabouts, but I couldn't find the real person.Now that Jiang Baohua was able to find the scenic spot, the queen was naturally a little excited, so she couldn't wait to ask this question.

Jiang Baohua was still silent for a while, and then said: "There are 87 people serving in the Shangjin Palace of the second concubine. Among them, there are 42 eunuchs and 45 court ladies. There was a person called Shengjing before, but he died a few days ago. "

Hearing Jiang Baohua's words, the queen's eyes suddenly widened.It seemed that the second concubine was really related to the assassination of the prince. As soon as he found out about Shengjing, the second concubine was ruthless and murdered to silence him. It seemed that he was not allowed to continue the investigation.

The queen glanced at Fang Yuanli, only to see that Fang Yuanli was also deep in thought.After a while, Fang Yuanli asked: "Jiang Baohua, do you know how the palace maid named Shengjing died in Shangjin Palace?"

It seems that the second concubine is really not clean.However, the second concubine's hands and feet were sharp enough to eliminate all the evidence that might be unfavorable to her, and those who knew the inside story had also been silenced. It seemed that the matter was about to reach a deadlock.

Jiang Baohua, who was kneeling on the ground, thought about it carefully, and then said seriously: "The people in Shangjin Palace reported that they died of a sudden illness two days ago. If you count today together, it has already been three days."

Fang Yuanli and the empress looked at each other, it seems that the second concubine started killing people after she learned that someone started to investigate this matter.Concubine Shu must be the mastermind behind this matter, and the second concubine did it herself.It seems that Su Wan was wronged.

Glancing at Jiang Baohua who was kneeling on the ground, the queen nodded and said, "Okay, it's none of your business, you can step back!" After Jiang Baohua stepped back, the queen frowned and asked, "Master Fang, what should we do now? it is good?"

The matter of the prince has now reached a stalemate, and Su Wan is determined not to recruit; the other side has long been dead without evidence, if he continues to investigate Su Wan, he may die unjustly in prison; but there is no way to investigate the second prince and concubine. Check it out.

Hearing the queen's words, Fang Yuanli turned around and knelt down and said, "Please make an order from the empress to release Su Wan from undecided prison to assist in the investigation of this matter. After all, I am a foreign minister and cannot often walk around in the harem." , with Su Wan assisting the empress and the princess, we will be able to find out who the murderer who assassinated the prince will be soon."

The queen frowned. If she released Su Wan now, it would be tantamount to admitting to the entire harem that she had done something wrong before, and her prestige would definitely be hit hard. At that time, it would be even more difficult to manage in the palace.

Fang Yuanli knelt down and didn't hear the queen's words for a long time. He glanced at the queen quietly, saw that she was lost in thought, knew what she was worried about, and said slowly: "If the empress can release Su Wan from the prison, And try to appease Su Wan. The harem will definitely praise the empress, and it will definitely not damage the empress's prestige."

This made the empress very comfortable, but it was a matter of great importance and she should think about it carefully.

After a full quarter of an hour, the queen opened her eyes, her eyes were firm, obviously she had already made a decision in her heart.

(End of this chapter)