After Xu Chu entered the palace, he first went to find Imperial Doctor Zhao. At this time, Imperial Physician Zhao was also about to go to the inner court, but now when he saw Xu Chu, he was able to go less.

"Lord Xu, the medicinal powder and white porcelain bowl sent by the inner court, I have carefully checked it. There is a drug containing aconitum, mandala and ghost ginseng, which is the new hemp boiling powder that I developed with Chu Niangzi and others in Jing'an Palace. Imperial Physician Zhao handed the things in his hand to Xu Chu, and continued, "Because the amount of ghost ginseng is extremely light and mixed with aconitum powder, people will have no intuition in a short period of time after taking it, but they will not fall asleep for a long time." ”

Xu Chu took a deep breath, squinted his eyes, took the thing and said, "I'm tired of Imperial Doctor Zhao." ”

When Imperial Physician Zhao heard this, he waved his hand again and again and said that he didn't dare.

Just when Imperial Physician Zhao was about to send Xu Chu out of the Imperial Hospital, Xu Chu saw a maid coming in a hurry.

"Imperial Doctor Zhao, my grandmother has diarrhea again today, and now the abdominal pain is unbearable, you should hurry up and take a look."

Xu Chu stopped to look at the anxious palace maid, and always felt that this person was very familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere.

When she was silent, Imperial Physician Zhao had already looked at the palace maid again, and asked suspiciously: "After Mama Song took the antidiarrheal medicine yesterday, isn't there no big problem?" Could it be that she ate something raw and cold today, so that she had severe diarrhea? ”

The palace maid shook her head and said: "Yesterday, Mama Song said that she had eaten cold tea and had trouble with her stomach, and later after Imperial Doctor Zhao told her, the slaves and maids took care of it very carefully. The slave dared to guarantee that Mama Song did not eat raw and cold things today. ”

Obviously, Mama Song was sick, and the Queen Mother was very concerned, so she specially ordered someone to wait. Now, Mama Song has abdominal pain again, and the palace maid who is in charge of serving is naturally anxious. She urged Imperial Physician Zhao again and again, obviously very anxious.

Imperial Physician Zhao glanced at Xu Chu apologetically, and said, "Master Xu walks slowly, Mama Song in the Queen Mother's Palace is unwell, I have to go and see it first." ”

When Xu Chu heard him say this, he suddenly remembered that the palace maid was the one who followed the queen mother every day. She glanced deeply at the palace maid, slowed down her steps and saluted: "I am the first to save people." ”

When she left the hospital, she was still very confused. According to Imperial Doctor Zhao and the palace maid, Mama Song had diarrhea yesterday, but she just took medicine, so she barely attended the dinner. But the diarrhea has been cured, how can it get worse today?

For a while, Xu Chu was also a little puzzled, but intuitively she always felt that this matter was a little weird.

After leaving the Tai Hospital, she did not go directly to find the emperor, but went around the Praetorian Guard barracks.

Since that person can't wait to make a move, it must be the same as the purpose of framing Xiao Qinglang. And there are still loopholes in the layout of framing Xiao Qinglang, so the move of sending someone to assassinate her before she leaves the palace must have been done in a hurry.

If it weren't for the fact that he was worried about her bad things, and he didn't have enough time to lay it out, that person wouldn't have assassinated her in the palace. You must know that if you do this, whether you succeed or not, it will provoke the majesty of the emperor, and it will also cover up the identity of that person.

The palace hall is full of weather, and the barracks of the Praetorian Guards are particularly imposing. It's just that Xu Chu at this time has no intention of looking at those solemn palaces and buildings that are difficult for ordinary people to see.

Now she is only waiting for Xiao Song, the leader of the Praetorian Guard. Obviously, Xiao Song also knew her intention, so he didn't greet politely, and directly patted the roster in his hand and said: "There is nothing abnormal in the Praetorian Guard, and the general will send someone to check the Praetorian Guard on duty today, and no one is missing." In addition, the Praetorian Guards outside the palace have no record of going out or missing. ”

Those who can join the Praetorian Guard are either children of the family, or leaders in the army who have fought hard from the military camp. And as guards guarding the safety of the Son of Heaven, their homes are naturally not too far away, so it is not difficult to investigate.

Xu Chu nodded, in fact, when she heard Tang Qiaozheng say that the assassin was a eunuch, she had already expected that he was definitely not from the Praetorian Guard. Now I'm here to ask, but it's just a matter of making sure.

"Thank you, General Xiao, for your trouble." Xu Chu bowed his hand and thanked him, and said with clear eyes, "Then the official will leave first, and I will thank you when this is over." ”

Xiao Song said with a smile: "Ben will know that the adults are busy investigating the case, so they won't stay longer, please take care of yourself." ”

Leaving the Praetorian Guard barracks, Xu Chu returned to the inner court. And this time, she directly approached Lou An and asked: "Lord Lou, can the people in the inner court leave the inner court to serve in the harem?" ”

Lou An was stunned for a moment, nodded and shook his head and said, "Before ascending the throne today, it is indeed possible." If they are not competent for the affairs of the inner court, no matter what their status, they will be expelled from the inner court and go to the palace to be ordinary palace people. It's just that after ascending the throne today, the inner court has been reorganized, so that the inner court has real power, and it can touch the cases of the three legal divisions, so this rule has been abolished. ”

"After all, people who go out of the inner court are very likely to know some files and cases that cannot be leaked."

Xu Chu didn't care about the explanation in the back, she only keenly grasped what Lou An said earlier.

"The eunuchs who served from the inner court to the harem during the time of the first emperor, especially the eunuchs who have martial arts and fists and feet, can they have a roster?"

Lou An nodded, "Naturally, there is, but it is rare to go to the palace as a palace person during the first emperor's years." Occasionally, most of them are dead of old age. ”

He said as he sent someone to find the roster.

Since the inner court has been reorganized today, it has been the same as Dali Temple and the Criminal Department, with a clear division of labor and clear functions. For example, there is a special clerk in charge of the roster, so it is not troublesome to find.

After Xu Chu got the roster, he looked through it carefully, as Lou An said, there were really not many eunuchs who changed from a small court official to a palace man during the first emperor's years. And four people have died of old age, and they are all marked on the roster. Now, the same age as the captured assassin is Xiao Guizi, a second-class eunuch in the Taihe Palace.

Xu Chu pondered slightly, then sighed softly, and picked up the pen to circle the name of the little guizi.

According to the records on the roster, Xiao Guizi was served in the harem in the later years of the emperor. At that time, when the Dong family was powerful and the people in the court were distracted, there was naturally a lot of noise in the harem, especially the inner court, which controlled the secrets of many concubines, and it was even more chaotic at that time. And Xiao Guizi, it was at that time that he was questioned for losing the inner court file.

Originally, he was demoted to the last class of miscellaneous servants, but it happened that he was a good man with his fists and feet, and he was also clever, and he was lucky enough to help the Queen Mother block a crazy civet cat and was brought into the Taihe Palace by the Queen Mother to do things.

It's just that for so many years, I haven't heard of him being valued by the Queen Mother, and it seems that he is just doing some inconsequential work in the Taihe Palace.

Lou An on the side naturally thought a lot at this time, and he naturally knew about Xu Chu's assassination. It's just that he was sent to Dali Temple at that time, so he didn't get the truth for the first time.

And now it seems that Lord Xu sent the assassins who should have been sent to the inner court to Dali Temple, probably because she really had her considerations.

When Xu Chu opened Xiao Guizi's drawing, he said calmly: "Sure enough." ”

When Lou An heard this, he felt more and more worried, and he asked: "What does Lord Xu mean, is it because he suspects that a series of things that happened in the palace are related to the Queen Mother?" ”

Xu Chu raised his eyebrows, slowly exhaled and said, "It's not a doubt, it's a certainty." ”

Sure enough, the Queen Mother should know something. Moreover, she should know more than what they knew, otherwise how could she be in such a situation?

Whether it is the assassination or the death of the third prince, it seems that it is really a faint trick now, but it is this faint trick that makes people unguardable. After all, as long as she and Xiao Qinglang die, all the truth will be covered up, and even if Xiao Guizi is found, it can only end here.

Xu Chu put away the roster in his hand, looked up at Lou An and asked, "How is the investigation over there in the ice cellar?" ”

"It's winter now, and the ice cellar has barely been opened. And there is nothing abnormal on the ice well, and the palace people all say that no one has taken the ice cube yesterday, and no one has been there. Our family has asked people to interrogate, and the ice cellar and ice well were guarded all day yesterday, and no one left their posts without permission. ”

Xu Chu frowned, and after a little thought, asked, "In those days, has there been anything unusual in the palace?" ”

"There is no particularly unusual place, that is, the Queen Mother's birthday banquet has fallen, so the people in the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Rites are very busy. After all, for the Queen Mother's Chitose birthday banquet, they had to set up the venue and make fireworks so that they could have fun with the people after the banquet. Lou An thought about it carefully, and he didn't know how long it took before he said again, "A few days ago, when the Queen Mother and the Lord of Mingzhu were rising, they asked a craftsman to come to see the process of making fireworks in person. ”

"Then there is someone in the lower room who came to report today, saying that Xia Zhu's bedroom was stolen, and many clothes and rewards were missing. Xia Zhu didn't have relatives outside the palace, so those things shouldn't have been sent out of the palace. ”

Xu Chu bowed his head, twisted his eyebrows and asked, "In addition to Xia Zhu's things, are there any other people's belongings missing?" ”

"Not really."

Firework...... Stolen......

Xu Chu lowered her eyes and said silently, and at the same time, a light appeared in her mind, and the whole person suddenly got up.

Pyrotechnic making, Mama Song's diarrhea, and the corpses of the three princes who were frozen without using the ice in the ice cellar and ice well. Three things that were originally not related to each other could be so related......

"That's how it is...... It turned out that the secret of the body of the third prince was not in the ice cellar and the ice well...... What a surprise. ”

Lou An saw her suddenly speak, first stunned for a moment, and then hurriedly asked, "Did Lord Xu think of something?" ”

Xu Chu bowed his head, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he said calmly: "Yes." ”

She didn't explain what she thought of, she just looked at Lou An and said, "I bother Lord Lou to take someone to meet the craftsman who was summoned by the Queen Mother that day, and be sure to ask if he lost anything that day." If the craftsman is sure that he has never lost anything, he will send someone to the Ministry of Industry to check the materials used to make the fireworks. ”

Lou An couldn't help but wonder when she suddenly mentioned fireworks, and wanted to ask, but saw Xu Chu put away the roster and got up and walked out the door.

"What kind of medicine is sold in this gourd, how can Lord Xu become more and more mysterious, could it be that this is a husband and wife?" Lou An muttered, shook his head, looked at the inner court official behind him, and said, "What are you doing in a daze, don't follow Lord Xu's words to find someone!" ”