"Fourth brother."

Empress Dowager Zhang called Zhao Duo and asked, "In the middle of the night, if you don't go back, what are you doing in Wende Palace?" ”

Zhao Duo's heart tightened, and he blurted out, "Why did my mother ask this again...... Erchen has already said that because of the second brother's funeral today, his son is really sad in his heart, thinking of the recent troubles in the palace and the court, I am afraid that you will not be able to take care of rest, and I am even more afraid that you will miss the second brother in your heart, as for the point of sadness and sadness. ”

When he said this, his pupils were slightly red, and there was a slight luster, as if there were tears in his mouth, and he paused in his mouth, and then said in a dumb voice: "My son is really relieved, so I want to come over to see the queen mother's ......."

As the Empress Dowager Zhang, she really didn't need to turn around and speak, so she wrung her eyebrows and glanced at him, and said, "You really can't rest assured of me, or can't you rest assured of the things next to you?" Your third brother went in and out with you today, why are you okay at all, but he is like this? ”

Zhao Duo opened his eyes, but he didn't dare to reply, and he didn't dare not reply, and after a long time, he whispered: "What is the queen mother's words...... Son...... Why don't you understand......"

He looked at a few imperial doctors not far away, lowered his voice again, and said, "Queen Mother, the third brother doesn't know where he heard the nonsense of others, but he was gullible and used it to slander his son......"

Empress Dowager Zhang frowned and said, "His evidence is conclusive, and you still say that it is slander?" You can't refute it in half a sentence......"

Zhao Duo hurriedly shouted: "Queen Mother, the son is wronged!" The first time my son knew about these things, he only felt inexplicable, shocked, and never done it, how to understand it, and how to refute it? ”

He also said: "My son now only hopes that the third brother will wake up soon and confront me in front of his mother as soon as possible, so that he can clear my grievances, how can he ...... Don't I know that if something really happens to the third brother, the first thing that matters is me? ”

Although he didn't dare to speak out, for fear of attracting others to hear it, Zhao Duo lost a little momentum this time, but his words were indeed sincere.

Since the last time he was impeached by Wu Yi in the palace for fornicating with the enemy, secretly setting up a field in Yanzhou, and intercepting minerals, Zhao Duo has been stared at by countless pairs of eyes, he just wants to bury his head in the ground, the more low-key the better, how could he do such a stupid trick at this moment?

Zhao Duo explained for a long time, and saw that Empress Dowager Zhang's face was still very ugly, and she couldn't argue in her heart, and she didn't know what to do.

It's really not a coincidence.

He was remorseful and angry, and for a while he wondered if he hadn't come to Wende Hall today, would this black cauldron not be planted on his head; I thought for a while, fortunately, I got the news and rushed over, otherwise Zhao Hao would be talking nonsense to the Queen Mother here, and I don't know what I will say about it.

What to steal and sell weapons with the Northern Barbarians!

What smuggling of salt and alcohol!

What collusion with the enemy country, handing over Yanzhou to others, intending to profit from it!

These words, Zhao Hao's cheap seed, can actually say it!

But he doesn't know how to refute it yet!

There are indeed people under his own who have made a deal with Beiban, and the two countries trade, if they don't sell wine, salt, iron, and silk tea, what else can they sell?!

But he was indeed wronged, and he was not the only one who was in the same boat as the Beiban in Yanzhou Mansion that day, whether it was the garrison on the border or the yamen, he almost did not interfere in it. Eating meat is divided together, why is he the only one who is being beaten now?

Besides, his own family is also an upright prince and grandson, and when he is full, he will give Yanzhou to others, and he will secretly sell weapons to the Northern Barbarians! Don't say that he doesn't have that need, he has to have the courage and ability!

In such a large state with heavy troops, there have been endless wars for many years, and the power is intertwined, how can a vassal king who is far away in the capital say that he will sell it?

Thinking of this, Zhao Duo couldn't help but look at the person lying on the ground, and for a while, he couldn't wait to rush up and slap him twice, wake him up, and then ask the other party what he wanted.

It was such a coincidence that it was not appropriate for him to deal with it no matter how he could.

***

Outside the Wende Palace, Cui Yongchen was already sweating profusely.

He repeatedly asked the little yellow door in front of him, and then asked the guards who were caught halfway to run errands, but only got the same answer.

"Cui Duzhi, I have been staring at the city wall, I have never seen anyone come to the flag, if someone has already entered the palace, there is no possibility that there is no news at the palace gate......"

That man was a janissary, and although he had questions and answers, he was not afraid at all.

The little yellow gate on the side did not have this confidence, and replied tremblingly: "I know, the little one will go to Xuande Gate, and once he sees Sun Fengyao's figure, he will immediately run to you to return ......."

Cui Yongchen didn't want to hear these words at all.

That Sun Zhaohe just lives at the intersection of the inner and outer cities, and he is in the palace to go to Xuan, even if he is old and his legs and feet are not sharp enough, he should climb there! Why is it still nowhere to be seen at this point?

The reply of the Yellow Gate and the Praetorian Guards was used to fool the former Emperor Zhao Rui, but if he wanted to deal with the Empress Dowager Zhang, didn't he tell him to find death? !

Cui Yongchen didn't dare to go back to the Wende Palace, let alone stand here and wait, and was about to think of a way, but suddenly heard a whistle in the distance, and the guards standing opposite hurriedly turned around, put the fire in his hands to his eyes, and looked towards the palace gate in the distance, and sure enough, he saw a big lantern hanging on the blue flag erected on the palace wall.

"Cui Duzhi, someone from Xuande Gate is here, I'm afraid it's not the one you asked?"

Cui Yongchen followed to look at the Xuande Gate, although his old eyes were dizzy, and he couldn't see clearly that the cyan flag that meant the passage according to the edict was hung up, but he could vaguely see that there was a lantern lit there, which represented that the edict was a person.

Except for Sun Zhaohe tonight, no one was summoned in the palace.

He finally breathed a sigh of relief, and he didn't care about it, his two legs were almost four legs, and he hurried back to the Wende Palace.

"Queen Mother!" Standing in front of the Empress Dowager Zhang, Cui Yongchen's face was full of anxiety, he didn't have to think about it, and blurted out after a few words, "Sun Fengyao has entered the palace, he is old, the minister is worried that he will not walk fast, and someone carried a long bamboo chair to answer, and now although the person has not yet arrived, His Royal Highness King Ji is afraid that he has eaten the wrong thing, and he always has to take medicine. ”

Empress Dowager Zhang had already waited very impatiently, although she was very annoyed, but fortunately she listened to the exact answer at this time, and saw that the other party was quite thoughtful, so she didn't blame much, just nodded, let him go, and sent another person to pick up Sun Zhaohe, and instructed him to explain Zhao Hao's symptoms clearly on the way, so as to save time.

Sure enough, there was a long bamboo chair sent by Cui Yongchen, and Sun Zhaohe quickly arrived at the place.

As soon as he entered the hall, he only had time to salute with the Empress Dowager Zhang and Zhao Duo in a hurry, so he dragged the wooden box and knelt in front of Zhao Hao. ”

The one who was arranged to be on duty in the palace at night was naturally not an old medical officer, but he could enter the Tai Hospital, his medical skills may not be top-notch, but his medical science must be ...... high.

The medical officer was only halfway through his words, and suddenly felt that there was something wrong with the place under his hands, and when he looked down, he saw that Zhao Hao's hands and feet were shaking vigorously, although his eyes had not yet opened, but the posture clearly wanted to turn over.

Zhao Hao's body was full of silver needles, and he was delirious, if he was accidentally misplaced, the bleeding was still a trivial matter, and the person was stabbed, it would be really fatal.

He was startled, and hurriedly ordered the other two: "Hold it down carefully!" ”

Because he felt that the strength of his subordinates was wrong, he hurriedly called the Huang Men on the side and said, "Come and press His Highness's waist!" ”

The two yellow doors hurriedly squatted over, and before they could stretch out their hands, Zhao Hao had already wowed and vomited on the ground.

Even though the Wende Hall was huge, the sour smell of vomit quickly dispersed.

Sun Zhaohe frowned and leaned over, and saw that the ground was a mess, but he could barely see the shape of the food, and he was immediately relieved.

He squatted on the ground and carefully distinguished, and without asking a few other medical officers, he stood up, walked up to the Empress Dowager Zhang, and said: "Empress Dowager Qiqi, looking at the symptoms of His Royal Highness, I am afraid that I have eaten the broken intestine flower by mistake, but based on the symptoms alone, the minister does not dare to assert it." ”

He carefully considered the words for a while, and then said: "The broken intestine flower has the same name as the broken intestine grass, and the white juice oozing from the flowers, leaves, and branches is highly poisonous. ”

"This poison has a bitter and numb taste, born in Guangnan, Qionghai, silverware will not change color when encountered, but if the white vinegar is dripped in, it will immediately turn black, and please ask the Queen Mother to take the things that His Royal Highness has eaten today.

The things that are served out of the dining room in the palace are to be kept at the bottom of each meal, and they must be stored for a day for later inspection.

Since Zhao Hao's poisoning, no one can be reminded that Empress Dowager Zhang has already ordered to seal and inspect the food during the day, but nothing has been found. At this time, hearing what Sun Zhaohe said, there was a way to check again, and Cui Yongchen immediately received the order and walked out with the people's congress.

When Empress Dowager Zhang saw her son lying on the ground, her hands and feet twitched, and her mouth and nose were salivating, she was really anxious and anxious, and she didn't bother to talk nonsense, so she hurriedly asked Sun Zhaohe and asked, "Can my son be saved?" ”

How can Sun Zhaohe answer such a question well, so he had to reply: "Now that the poison has not been determined, the minister does not dare to say it, but His Royal Highness King Ji has his own celestial phenomena......"

As he spoke, his hand followed the salute, and without noticing, half of his sleeve slipped to the ground.

Empress Dowager Zhang noticed that the filial piety clothes worn by the opposite person were also dragged on the ground, shoulders, sleeves, waist and abdomen, there was no fit, it was like an eight-year-old child wearing the clothes of a ten-year-old brother, how to look at it, and then looked up, Sun Zhaohe was wearing a scarf, and his white hair was dripping wet and dripping, and a small piece of water had leaked on the ground.

She was taken aback and asked, "Where are you from?" Is it raining heavily on the road? As he spoke, he turned his head to find the Yellow Gate who had been summoned to interrogate, only to find that none of the people he had sent out before had been seen at this time.

Sun Zhaohe actually had a stomach to sue, he almost lost his life on the way, but fortunately he was rescued by Gu Yanzhang, and he picked up a life, but the clothes on his body were wet, and it was too late to go home and pick them up, so he not only borrowed the other party's clothes, but simply borrowed the horses together.

At that time, there were originally three chamberlains who went to summon him, two of whom were seriously injured and could not move for a long time, but there was a small yellow gate that could barely handle the errand, and Sun Zhaohe couldn't wait for the official of the Kyoto government to arrive, so he followed the small yellow gate into the palace first.

At this time, he heard Empress Dowager Zhang's question, why didn't he want to tell the truth, but Zhao Hao's life and death were uncertain, but he didn't dare to put his own affairs in front of him first, so he said: "The minister was attacked on the road, but fortunately, he was rescued by the deputy envoy Gu who raised the Criminal Prison Division, and he has already reported to the Kyoto Prefecture, and I don't know what is going on now......"

He briefly explained what happened on the road in three or two sentences, and said: "Your Highness's health is important, and the minister will go and take a look at Your Highness." ”

***

Cui Yongchen came back not slowly, he led a small yellow door into the hall, when he went to the Empress Dowager Zhang first, while pointing to the yellow door to uncover the cloth towel covered on the tray in his hand, he explained: "The Queen Mother, the minister has checked all the wine and food in the dining room today, and there is no abnormality, because he thought that Sun Fengyao said that the broken intestine flower tasted astringent and bitter, but he felt that it would not be mixed in the dishes, so he went to find the utensils used by His Royal Highness today." ”

When he said this, he paused, pointed to the things on the tray and said, "Fortunately, there is a banquet in the palace today, and the palace people have not had time to clean all of them, and it just so happens that the dishes and utensils used by the two highnesses are still on the side......"

This time, there was no need for him to continue talking, and Empress Dowager Zhang had already followed and looked at it.

There are two wine glasses on the tray, one white and the other green, which are supposed to be used by the two brothers Zhao Hao and Zhao Duo.

At the banquet at night, Empress Dowager Zhang did not attend, but with just one glance, she recognized which one was Zhao Hao's cup.

The white wine glass on the left is an inch high, and the mouth of the cup is only the size of a chicken, and the glaze of the cup is thick and moist, but the inside of the cup seems to be coated with a thick layer of gray ink sludge.

Sun Zhaohe hurriedly took a small piece of sludge from the cotton cloth and took it aside to check it with the rest of the medical officers.

Empress Dowager Zhang's face immediately darkened, and she said sharply: "Who is serving the wine today!" ”

She gave an order, but after a few breaths, one person rolled in from outside the hall, almost lying on the ground trembling to greet the Empress Dowager Zhang, and replied: "Today is the minister serving in the palace." ”

This time, without the Empress Dowager Zhang asking carefully, he told the situation in detail one by one.

In the evening, the palace set up a banquet for hundreds of officials, Zhao Hao, the king of Ji, and Zhao Duo, the king of Wei, were the two masters, and there were two yellow doors behind them, one was responsible for holding the pot, and one was responsible for changing the dishes and adding dishes.

The cups, bowls and chopsticks used by Zhao Hao have already been prepared, and they have nothing to do with the little yellow door, he is only responsible for pouring wine, and has never touched Zhao Hao's wine glass.

The wine and flask have been inspected and there is no problem.