"How not to be weird!" Wei Zhan moved his body, touched the wound of the torture, and felt that his muscles and bones were about to break, "The old man has not been very good at sleeping, and he will wake up with a slight sound, but he slept so deeply one night, and when he woke up, it was already the evening of the next day, and I didn't wake up no matter how much I shook or even beat me at that time, isn't it very strange?" ”

Du Wenhao's heart moved: "Before you went to bed, did you only drink that cup of tea?" ”

"yes."

"What kind of tea? Who brought it to you? ”

"A cup of strong tea, I have a habit of drinking a cup of strong tea when I am on duty, so that I can sleep a little more shallowly, and I can even not sleep, for fear of delaying things. The tea was brought by the palace maids who served me, and they all knew that I had this habit, and I had been like this for many years, and I didn't need to tell it. ”

"Did you drink all the tea that night?"

"Naturally, I drank it all, and when I drank it all, I lay down and fell asleep quickly."

"Does that tea taste like anything unusual?"

Wei Zhan was stunned for a moment, frowned and thought for a moment: "It's a little weird, a little bitter." At that time, I also asked the palace maid who came to bring the tea, saying if this tea was bad, and she said that this was a newly paid tribute Kuding tea, which was the taste. I did not doubt him, so I drank. ”

"Bitter taste?" Du Wenhao pondered for a moment, and then asked, "Which palace maid brought you tea, do you have any impression?" ”

"It's Dai Momo. It's the palace maid in Concubine De's house, the one with a mole on the corner of her mouth. ”

Du Wenhao often goes to Concubine De's bedroom, this generation of Tao is one of Concubine De's personal maids, as soon as Wei Zhan said it, he remembered. asked some more about the situation of the day, but Wei Zhan didn't know, because he slept at that time, and he didn't even know when the emperor died.

Du Wenhao said: "Lord Wei, drink slowly, I'll go first!" ”

Wei Zhan stood up with difficulty and arched his hand, and the iron chain led to a loud noise: "Thank you, my lord, alas! Before he died, he was able to meet with the adults and eat the wine given by the adults, and the old man was satisfied! ”

Du Wenhao smiled and said, "Lord Wei, the Empress Dowager will not be buried tomorrow." After the case is clarified, it will be dealt with according to the facts. ”

"Huh?" Wei Zhan was pleasantly surprised, "Is this true?" ”

"Hehe, even if I have the courage, I don't dare to spread the edict. The eunuch Jiao Gonggong is outside, and I will call him. Wait a minute.

"Thank you! I believe it! I naturally believe what adults say! Thank you, sir, for saving your life! With that, he lifted his robe and knelt down and kowtowed.

"This is the grace of the Queen Mother, I didn't do anything." Du Wenhao smiled and helped him up.

Wei Zhan got up with difficulty, and was so excited that he burst into tears: "The Queen Mother has already decreed that I be martyred, and the old man knows that if it weren't for the good words of the Lord in front of the Queen Mother, the Queen Mother would not have taken back her fate." The grace of the adult's life, the old decay will never be forgotten! ”

"It's hard to say whether he will survive or not, it depends on the results of the investigation. But don't worry, if it's as you say, then it means that someone framed you, and I will find out about it, if that's the case, I'm sure to save your life! ”

Wei Zhan whimpered again and again, and was about to kneel down again, but was stopped by Du Wenhao. After a few words of comfort, Du Wenhao said goodbye. Outside, Gonggong Jiao had already announced to the heavens that the Empress Dowager would exempt Wei Zhan from being martyred, and when he saw Du Wenhao coming out, he took people in and announced the decree to Wei Zhan. Wei Zhan was naturally grateful.

Du Wenhao told Gonggong Jiao about this, and Gonggong Jiao decided to take the thug team to go to Concubine De's dormitory with Du Wenhao to investigate the matter.

The group came to Concubine De's Shengrui Palace, and at this moment the palace door was closed, and a eunuch stepped forward to knock on the door, very quickly. The palace gates opened. As soon as she saw that it was Gonggong Jiao with a team of thugs, the palace maid was so frightened that she shuddered and hurriedly owed a blessing: "Father-in-law, our mother is not here, and she is guarding the spirit in the Empress Dowager's bedroom." ”

"Our family is not here to find your mother!" Gonggong Jiao pushed away the palace maid with one palm, stepped in, and glanced at the dark courtyard, "What is the palace maid called Dai Tao, is she here?" ”

"In! Already asleep. ”

Gonggong Jiao turned around and said to the palace maid of the thug team behind him: "You go to the two of you, go with her and bring that generation of peach to the lobby!" Fast! ”

The two palace maids agreed, and dragged the palace maid away. Gonggong Jiao and Du Wenhao went straight to the lobby, and a waiting eunuch lit the palace lamp.

Soon, a sleepy-eyed palace maid was brought in and knelt on the ground at a loss.

Du Wenhao asked coldly, "Your name is Dai Tao?" ”

"Yes."

Du Wenhao went straight to the point: "On the day the emperor died, did you serve a cup of tea to the imperial physician Cheng Wei Zhan?" ”

Dai Tao couldn't help but shudder slightly, lowered his head and slowly replied, "Yes." The slave servant. ”

"Where did this tea come from?"

"It was built by slaves and maids."

"What tea?"

"Well...... it seems to be...... Kuding tea. ”

Du Wenhao stretched out his hand and slapped it heavily on the coffee table, which scared Dai Tao into a tremble: "The official will tell you the truth, Imperial Physician Wei just drank this Kuding tea, but he fell asleep and didn't wake up until the afternoon of the next day, so he delayed the rescue of the emperor." What exactly do you put in your tea? ”

Dai Tao was so frightened that she knelt down with a grunt: "The slave is wronged!" ”

"Wronged?" Du Wenhao was not confident when he heard her crying out for injustice, his eyes flickered, and he suddenly understood a little in his heart, and sneered: "Hehe, you don't need to be punished for not recruiting!" Father-in-law, punish this! ”

"Good! Torture! With a wave of Jiao Gonggong's hand, two palace maids with five big and three thick came up, and their hands and feet were quick and quickly put their fingers on Dai Tao's hands. With two hard pulls, Dai Tao's screams echoed in the hall, accompanied by the sound of heart-pounding bones shattering, which was very terrifying.

Dai Tao only insisted on not having a cup of tea, and then screamed: "I ...... recruit!" Spare your life...... I've ......! ”

With a wave of Jiao Gonggong's hand, the palace maid took her fingers, and the flesh and blood of Dai Tao's ten knuckles were blurred, and several fingers were already crushed, and the pain in her heart almost passed out, kneeling on the ground and crying: "Yes, it is ......, it is the tea given by King Yong, and the slave maid is also given five taels of silver, and let me tell Imperial Doctor Wei that this is a new tribute of Kuding tea, which is also taught by King Yong." The slave and maid really don't know that the tea will fall asleep after drinking, and it's really none of the slave's business! ”

Du Wenhao was secretly happy in his heart, this matter is really related to King Yong, then don't blame yourself for being ruthless, you must investigate to the end, and interrogated the relevant details sharply, this generation of Tao said it very carefully, it doesn't look like it was made up.

The whole process was recorded by a eunuch who was specially responsible for recording the confession, and Dai Tao signed and signed it. Then put on the shackles and take it away.

Du Wenhao discussed with Jiao's father-in-law and decided to rush to the Imperial Medicine Institute immediately.

According to the regulations, all the medicines given to the emperor are double-served, one for the bottom and one for the emperor to take.

After the door was opened, they saw that it was Gonggong Jiao and Sanyadu who commanded the envoy to come, and hurriedly went to inform the envoy of the Imperial Pharmacy that the envoy was surnamed Kang, and he didn't even have time to put on the official robe, so he hurriedly went out to greet him.

Du Wenhao said: "Envoy Kang, please transfer all the samples and prescriptions of the imperial medicine before the emperor's death, and the official will check it." ”

The envoy of the Kangyuan was very embarrassed, and arched his hand: "General, I'm really sorry, the medicines and prescriptions that have been retained can only be obtained and ......examined by the emperor's order."

Father-in-law Jiao shouted at the top of his voice: "Your head is dizzy? The emperor has died, and the successor to the throne has not yet been appointed, where do you tell us to ask for the holy decree? ”

"Then ......, hehe, the queen mother's decree will also work, otherwise, you can only wait for the new emperor to inherit the throne, and then transfer, I'm really sorry, this is a dead rule, if it is violated, it is a capital crime." I don't dare to violate my duties. ”

Du Wenhao said: "Who told you to violate?" This official was ordered by the Empress Dowager to investigate the case of Wei Zhan's dereliction of duty, and it was necessary to obtain the stored drug for examination. Isn't that okay? ”

The envoy of the Kangyuan bowed: "Naturally, but, according to the rules, the general has to invite the written decree of the queen mother as a proof, and the lowly official can only order the transfer when he sees the edict, otherwise, even if the humble post agrees to the transfer, the two supervisors of the imperial history platform are afraid that they will not agree if they don't see the golden scroll yizhi, and if one of them disagrees, they won't be able to get the bottom medicine and prescription." ”

The relevant regulations on the emperor's medication in the palace are very strict, after the imperial doctor prescribes the medicine, the first by the Shang Pharmacy to conduct a review, confirm that it is correct, and hand it over to the Imperial Pharmacy according to the prescription dose of double the medicine, after the compatibility, under the supervision of the imperial history platform, the medicine is divided into two by special officials, one is sent to decoction, one is sealed on the spot and stamped with the seal of the day's sealed fire paint, and there are supervising the attendants to sign on the second day, and then sealed in the safe. The keys to the safe are in the hands of the court envoy and two wardens, and three people must use them at the same time to open the cabinet, and the strict system is to ensure that the medicine stored in the backup cannot be dropped.

In order to obtain the stored drugs for testing, there must be a special decree of the emperor. It is a capital offense to open the seal without a holy decree. This envoy can't joke with his head.

Seeing that Du Wenhao no longer forcibly transferred the bottom medicine, the Kangyuan envoy breathed a sigh of relief, and said with a smile: "General, this bottom medicine, King Yong has a strict order, and no one is allowed to access it without his consent, so if you really want to read and retest, you have to agree with King Yong." ”

Du Wenhao glanced at him: "Really?" ”

"Yes, this is the death order of King Yong, don't dare to disobey it, hehe."

"Forget it, bother! Leave! ”

Du Wenhao took Gonggong Jiao and them out of the Imperial Medicine Hospital, and Gonggong Jiao asked Du Wenhao in a low voice: "General, this matter is settled?" ”

"Of course not!" Du Wenhao sneered, "Why did King Yong give this order? Hehe, I'm afraid there are no three hundred taels of silver here! Walk! Let's ask the Queen Mother for a decree and come back! ”

Du Wenhao and his entourage came to the Queen Mother's dormitory, and the next day they were going to go out of the funeral, and on the last night, the Queen Mother and her concubines were still here to keep a vigil. After the report entered, the Queen Mother immediately summoned her.

The Empress Dowager retreated left and right, beckoned Du Wenhao to sit down beside her: "Wenhao, you came just in time, I just wanted to send someone to pass you on." ”

Now it is almost midnight, the queen mother is in a hurry to send someone to call herself, there must be something urgent, Du Wenhao did not have time to report the progress of the investigation, and hurriedly asked: "Is something wrong?" ”

"Nope! There was only one important event, which I had neglected earlier, when the deacon who had just been in charge of the initiation reported to me that the prayer ceremony would be held in the early hours of the morning, and that someone would lead the royal family to pay tribute in order. The subsequent hair leads to the funeral, and someone must lead the royal family to perform the initiation ceremony, and then the ancestral sacrifice ceremony. Hair lead out of the palace, and someone will lead the sacrificial ceremony in front of the noon gate. Who will lead the crowd? ”

Du Wenhao said without thinking: "This is naturally you." Is there anyone in the royal family who is greater than yours? ”

"The deacon said that according to the rules of the ancestors, the person who leads the crowd to salute can only be the emperor."

The heir emperor is the emperor who succeeds to the throne, and the one who dies is called the Daxing Emperor. Du Wenhao still understands this. The problem is that now King Yong and the six princes are fighting for the throne, because the leader of the initiation ceremony should be the heir emperor according to the rules, once it is determined that either of the two will be the leader of the initiation ceremony, in fact, it will be tacitly agreed that he will be the heir to the throne.

Du Wenhao nodded, and felt that this was indeed a tricky matter, and looked at the Queen Mother and said, "What do you mean?" ”

"Me?" The Queen Mother smiled bitterly, "I just don't have an idea, so I want to call you to discuss." ”

Du Wenhao sneered: "This matter is related to the inheritance of the great treasure, I can't make an idea for you, right?" ”

The Queen Mother said angrily: "Are you still polite to me? You said you would help me, if you have any good ideas, just say it! ”

Du Wenhao gently held her Rouyi and said in a low voice: "Okay, I'll help you, but there is something I want to report to you first......"

The Queen Mother frowned slightly: "I'm burning my eyebrows, you still say something else, let's talk about this first, and then talk about anything else." ”

"I'm talking about things that have to do with this. When you hear this, it may help you make up your mind who will lead the funeral ceremony! ”

"Oh?" The Queen Mother looked at him in surprise, "Then you say." ”

Du Wenhao told the investigation just now, and finally said: "Now it is preliminarily found out that Prince Yong once asked the maid Dai Tao next to Concubine De to bring a cup of tea to the imperial doctor Wei Zhan, and it was this bowl of tea that Wei Zhan fell asleep until the evening of the next day, and when he woke up, he smelled of alcohol all over his body, and he didn't drink alcohol at all!" So, I highly doubt that there is something wrong with it! ”

The queen mother's face turned a little pale: "You mean that Hao'er is a ghost in the matter of the emperor's death?" ”

Du Wenhao nodded slowly: "In addition, according to what Concubine De said, the emperor became ill shortly after taking the medicine with the pill cinnabar, and the illness was very urgent, so I suspect that the medicine has been changed." Just now, Gonggong Jiao and I went to the Imperial Pharmacy to prepare to retrieve the medicine stored for future reference for re-testing, and as a result, the envoy of the Kang Yuan said that the medicine for re-examination must have a holy decree or the Empress Dowager's decree. This is of course, but the envoy of the Kang Yuan said again that King Yong had a strict order before, and he must agree to obtain drugs for retesting. ”

"Really?" The Queen Mother bit her lip, thought about it, stood up, and said, "Go!" You come with me to re-test the bottom of the drug! ”

Du Wenhao was secretly happy in his heart, and called Gonggong Jiao to take the thug team to follow the queen mother's Luan to the imperial medicine hospital, and then slapped open the courtyard door.

The Kangyuan envoy had just undressed and lay down again, and before he could fall asleep, he got the news, hurriedly put on his official robe, and ran to greet him. The supervising chamberlain dispatched by the Imperial Observatory to the Imperial Pharmacy also received a notification from the Queen Mother that she wanted to check the bottom of the medicine, and hurriedly got up and rushed over.

The queen mother only said coldly to the three of him: "Bring the medicine that was stored on the day of the emperor's death for future investigation, and the mourning family will be retested!" ”

The envoy of the Kang Yuan and the two supervising servants hurriedly agreed, ran to open the cabinet, carefully took the retained medicine, and after checking that the seal was correct, they were carried to the Queen Mother on a tray.

The Empress Dowager said to Du Wenhao: "Du Aiqing, you come to retest!" ”

"Yes!" Du Wenhao stepped forward to take the tray, carefully inspected the seal of the fire paint, and the date was correct, to confirm that the package had not been dropped, then he took the knife, opened the seal, took out the medicine bag inside, put it on the table, untied the tether, spread it out, smiled coldly, and said to the Queen Mother: "Queen Mother, Weichen also needs to open the medicine bag before the re-inspection for comparative inspection." Let's take the last 10 days. ”

"Good! Take the medicine that the emperor took before for future reference! ”

The envoy of the Kang Yuan and the two supervising chamberlains hurriedly ran over and took the medicine that the emperor had taken ten days before. After Du Wenhao untied it, he looked at them one by one, turned back to the Queen Mother and said, "Queen Mother, please take a look!" ”

The Queen Mother got up and slowly walked to the table.

Du Wenhao pointed to the ten medicine bags lined up on the table: "Queen Mother, the formulas of these medicines taken by the emperor are all prescribed by Weichen, but one more medicine has been added to it, which is cinnabar, according to the investigation, this cinnabar was added at the suggestion of Prince Yong." Moreover, the amount of cinnabar in the previous ten medicines is very large, which has exceeded the limit of normal medicinal use several times! After three payments, the dose is more than ten times larger! Especially the last payment, the Queen Mother, please see, the cinnabar content in this medicine is more than dozens of times more than the previous three medicines! This amount is enough to make people die of poison quickly! ”

The envoy of the Kangyuan Academy was also an imperial doctor, and when he heard this, he cowered and asked: "General, isn't this cinnabar the best of the best?" I don't seem to have heard of the ...... of cinnabar poisoning"

The Queen Mother also looked at Du Wenhao suspiciously.

Du Wenhao said: "The way to verify what Wei Chen said is to do a test, use the same dose of cinnabar in the emperor's death, and give it to a fat pig of adult weight, and you can know if it will be poisoned!" ”

When the Queen Mother heard what he said, she waved her hand and said, "Go find a suitable fat pig and feed it with the same dose of cinnabar!" ”

Father-in-law Jiao agreed, and immediately personally led people to the livestock breeding place of the imperial dining room, looked for a fat pig, and rushed to the imperial pharmacy.

After weighing the dose of cinnabar in the medicine bag, the envoy of the Kang Yuan and the two imperial servants took the same amount of cinnabar, stirred it in the feed, and forcibly poured it into the fat pig.

After waiting for a short meal, the pig hissed loudly, could not stand up, lay down on the ground and began to roll, foaming at the mouth, and after a pillar of incense, he convulsed and lay on the ground, and then did not move.

Father-in-law Jiao stepped forward to probe the fat pig's snort, bowed down and replied: "Queen Mother, this pig is ...... dead!" ”

The Empress Dowager was shocked, stood up and stepped forward to squat, and also probed the pig's snort, suddenly turned pale, slowly stood up, stared at the Kang Yuan envoy and said, "What the hell is going on?" ”