On this day, the mysterious man did not appear.

In the evening, Lord Cao came to the temporary residence: "Wang Gongzi, the two things you asked me to confirm have all been confirmed now. On the night of the thirtieth night of the Chinese New Year's Eve, the emperor was indeed in the dormitory of Concubine Xi, and the emperor originally wanted to sleep in the dormitory of Concubine Xi, but later a murder occurred in the palace, so the emperor hurried to Concubine Hui's residence, and then did not return to the dormitory of Concubine Xi. ”

"That is, the emperor was at the moment when Concubine Hui Niangniang's death case occurred, and he was not there after that." It was such a coincidence that the person who was not present turned out to be the emperor. Is this a deliberate arrangement by Concubine Xi?

"The Empress Niangniang also confirmed that she was at Concubine Qi's place on the night of the Chinese New Year's Eve, and it was the Empress Niangniang who felt bored and went to Concubine Qi's place just after eating the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner. The queen mother later asked Po Zhu to go out to her bedroom to get Zhenning Linglong ointment, saying that Concubine Qi Niangniang had not slept well recently, but this exquisite ointment had a sedative effect, so she asked Po Zhu to take it. ”

"On the surface, there is nothing wrong with this Pozhu coming out to bump into Qiu Neng, they are each their own master, each doing their own thing, and there seems to be nothing wrong with it." So what's the problem?

"Wang Gongzi, where is our direction next?"

"The more people try to get the problem straight, the bigger the problem. This Xifei Niangniang was kind and sent snacks to Concubine Hui. The suspicion of the queen's mother has not been ruled out, so these two people are the focus. ”

"But neither of them is easy to check." Lord Cao hesitated.

These two people are all people around the emperor, one is a concubine and the other is a queen, how to check this has to be considered. "The palace is indeed not something we can check if we say we can check it, if we can check it, who will we send to check it?"

Send Jin Yiwei or the people of the East Factory, if the emperor believes them. will not let the criminal department take over this case. Wang Laohu had a bold idea. "Lord Cao, the emperor doesn't trust the people of Jinyiwei, so the investigation can't rely on the people of Jinyiwei."

"Don't use Jinyiwei? We don't have such people in the Criminal Department, so should we transfer people from other places? ”

"These people must be our own people, and if we are transferred from somewhere else, we don't know what the character of these people is, and how can we talk about it? What is the use of us transferring such people? ”

"The people of Jinyiwei can't be used, and we can't trust the transfer of other places, so where did this person come from."

"Lord Cao, I came to Beijing this time and brought some cronies, they are strong in martial arts, and they are all smart, they are fully qualified for this job."

"But if these people of yours enter the palace, will the emperor agree? If the emperor agrees, in what capacity will we let them in. ”

"It depends on what Lord Cao says in front of the emperor. We can enter the palace this time in a certain capacity, such as being disguised as a brocade guard, and the number of people can be small, but we must have absolute autonomy, the right to act, and the right to decide. ”

"Prince Wang, okay, I'll go to meet the emperor in this matter, as for the result, it depends on the emperor's decision."

"Okay, everything is in Lady Laocao."

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, the Criminal Department began to investigate the fifth day of the violent death of Concubine Hui.

Den.

After Cao Hongting revealed Wang Laohu's intentions to the emperor, the emperor took two steps forward, bent one hand behind him, and said, "Cao Aiqing, this Wang Tiger wants to send people to the palace, what do you think about this matter?" ”

"Your Majesty, now that we are investigating everywhere, we really need to send more people."

"Can't you send someone from the Criminal Department?"

"Back to the emperor, you know the people in the Criminal Department, the case review is okay, I am afraid they will not be able to face such a complex case."

"I can order the guards of the capital to protect the army, the guards of the palace, the front guards of the Yulin and others to come to the palace."

"Your Majesty, this is absolutely impossible. This guard army performs its own duties, and the emperor rashly transferred them, which is really inappropriate. ”

"It seems that this king and tiger have expected that I have no troops to send, so he will throw stones to explore the way and see how I can deal with it."

Lord Cao saw the emperor's doubts, and said with some worry: "Wang Laohu is transferring his own people in at this time, will he mistreat the palace?" ”

"There is no suspicion in employing people, no suspicions are needed, since I agreed to let Wang Laohu investigate this case, I must believe him. However, if he wants to send someone into the palace, I will have to think about it. Lord Cao. ”

"The minister is here."

"You go back first, and Rong Zhen will think about it later."

Jail.

"Ding Aiqing, Wang Laohu asked to send someone into the palace, what do you think?"

"Your Majesty, although Wang Laohu is my distant grandson, I don't know him very well, and I just heard about his personality."

"And what did you hear?"

"What I hear is different from what I see."

"What's the difference."

"Others say that Wang Laohu doesn't know how to learn and doesn't know how to bully men and women, which is a local evil. But judging from what he did when he came to the capital, this Wang Tiger has great ambitions, quick thinking, and is a rare talent. ”

"Ding Aiqing has such a high opinion of Wang Laohu, she must have a certain number in her heart."

"The emperor's heart is like a mirror, and he can see people more thoroughly than the old ministers."

"Sometimes doing things is like betting on a treasure, we can't control it ourselves, and now we are betting all the treasure on Wang Laohu, is it a bit too big?"

"What is the emperor worried about?"

"If Wang Laohu is not a malleable person, we will lose all the games, and there is no possibility of turning the tables."

"Your Majesty, sometimes you are cautious and there is nothing wrong with doing things. But time waits for no one, the Eight Tigers harm the court and frame Zhongliang, and the people above are flattering, and now there are no available people in the court. ”

The emperor couldn't help laughing: "I laughed at myself, such a big Ming Dynasty, I am an emperor, I can't be the master by myself, and I have no soldiers to send." ”

"Your Majesty, this king tiger is my Ming person, and this king tiger is also one of your soldiers, how can the emperor say that there are no soldiers to send?"

"That Wang Tiger is a local tiger, and I am afraid that when the time comes, I will raise a tiger myself, or in addition to the eight tigers, I will raise another tiger. Or two groups of tigers converge to become nine tigers. ”

"The emperor's worries are not unreasonable. However, the situation in the DPRK and China does not allow us to think about it carefully, and the emperor must make a decision as soon as possible. ”

"Ding Aiqing, don't you hate me? I have put you in prison with my own hands, so that you cannot be reunited with your family, and you will suffer in this prison again. ”

"The minister understands in his heart that the emperor has his own hardships, and if you arrest me and put me in prison, you are actually protecting me. At the same time, you also asked the two Cabinet Lords, Lord Huang and Lord Yi, to return to their hometowns, in fact, it was also an expedient measure to avoid the traitors from being victimized by the traitors. ”

"But in front of the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty, I am a faint monarch, a faint monarch who makes loyal ministers feel pain and traitorous ministers laugh. Isn't what the emperor did useless? ”

"Your Majesty, sometimes it is not a bad thing to retreat, sometimes it will make you see many people and many things, and some people praise you in every way when you are in your glory, and they do not come from the heart, on the contrary, they have confronted you in the court before, saying that you are not the one who is good to you in your heart."

"Listening to Ding Aiqing's words, my heart lit up, you are right, retreating is not a bad thing, at least it makes me understand a lot of things."

"The emperor can think like this, Weichen is very relieved."

"Wang Laohu was able to stand up at this time, repay his kindness, ignore the danger in front of him, and have no hesitation, which is really a righteous act."

"Your Majesty, if we are reasonable to that Wang Laohu, move him with affection, and give him both grace and power, and let him help the emperor, I think he will definitely put great loyalty first and get rid of the tiger trouble in the court for the emperor."

"Eliminate the eight tigers of the court with the power of one tiger, Ding Aiqing, do you think Wang Laohu has a chance of winning."

"With the power of Wang Laohu now, it will definitely not work."

"Then when does Ding Aiqing think it will be time for Wang Laohu to help eliminate the Eight Tigers?"

"Now that Wang Laohu is not yet full-fledged, every experience he has is a good opportunity to experience him, and at the same time, it is a time to touch his heart and bottom. Whether Wang Laohu is loyal to the emperor or not, you will know at a try. ”

"Ding Aiqing means to let me agree to Wang Laohu's request, as for how he brings his people in and how many people he brings in, it is up to him to decide."

"The emperor is sage, the emperor can focus on the overall situation, and there is no doubt about employing people, this Wang Laohu is a smart person, he will definitely understand."

"I and Ding Aiqing's good intentions, I hope it will not be in vain, whether this king tiger is a tiger or an insect depends on this time."