Before the second prince left Beijing, he went to Weiyang Palace, and the rain was pouring that day, and the water tank in the courtyard was splashed by the raindrops, and the lotus flowers were also some swaying in the wind and rain, and even a few koi heads in the water tank poked their heads out to listen to the huge sound of rain. He stood in the courtyard and listened to the sound of rain for a long time, until Shangguan Wan came over with an umbrella, and he withdrew his eyes.

"Say hello to the second prince, you will wet your robe if you stand in this courtyard, besides, this storm is urgent, hurry up and go in to say hello to Your Majesty, you will leave Beijing tomorrow."

The second prince stretched out his hand and made a rude gesture: "This storm, just as it comes, it doesn't look like it is in the court today, I'm afraid that this time I and the criminal department Shangshu went to the place to investigate, and I don't know what kind of secrets will be dug up, and the road is far away, I'm afraid there are no longer a few people who want to get rid of us." ”

Shangguan Wan slowly straightened up, tilted the umbrella in his hand towards the second prince, and then said: "The second prince is Your Majesty's own son, how can anyone dare to move his mind to you, it's just that the slave doesn't understand the affairs of the court, and Your Majesty is also in a depressed mood these days, if the prince successfully handles this case, it will be considered a little relieved for Your Majesty." ”

The second prince's eyes were staring at Shangguan Wan's face, and he just sneered: "The mother emperor is depressed, I'm afraid that even if I successfully handle the case, she will still be bored." ”

Shangguan Wan hung her head and didn't answer, so the second prince moved the umbrella to her side again before saying: "I'm a man, it's okay to get drenched in some rain, don't get drenched, you won't be able to serve the mother emperor at that time." Also, I'm afraid that the people involved in the court will make some trouble in the palace, and the mother thinks that her country is sitting stable enough, but in fact, how many people are staring at which position, including her favorite ministers, and ask the female envoy to pay more attention. ”

After that, the second prince entered the palace to greet His Majesty.

Shangguan Wan looked at his back and suddenly remembered what he said to himself that day, don't forget that the Wu Dynasty used to be Li Tang, and the Shangguan family was also Li Tang's loyal minister. The rain outside was even heavier, and a few lotus leaves were about to swing out of the water tank with the wind. Shangguan Wan thought to herself, a new cloud of suspicion was about to start in this palace.

On the second day, the second prince and Chen Lin, the secretary of the Criminal Department, went to visit the prefecture where the refugees were located, and many magistrates were already scared half to death. In the imperial court, Song Lin and Lin Cong were calm and composed, Lin Cong was a doctor of the Imperial Historical Stage, specializing in supervising civil and military officials, and when the second prince and Chen Lin, the secretary of the Criminal Department, had not returned from the place, Wei Ru did not dare to find out his head.

Lin Congzai got the news that the second prince had left Beijing, so he entered the palace with Song Lin, and the empress withdrew all the palace people, leaving only Shangguan Wan alone in the palace.

Yesterday's wind did not subside, and the whirring sound and the candles and lights in the temple were particularly shaky. The empress sat on the throne, just staring closely at Lin Cong and Song Lin who were kneeling below.

After the two said goodbye, the empress did not let them get up, and the two of them looked at each other, as long as they continued to kneel.

That Song Lin said: "Weichen knew that he was guilty, so he came to accept the guilt, and Weichen only accepted the silver of the Jizhou Thorn History because of a momentary greed, I thought he would be a good official, but I didn't expect to do the business of exploiting the people." ”

Before the empress could reply, Lin Cong continued: "Weichen and Lord Song have followed you for many years and are loyal to you, if the second prince finds out about the two of us this time, I am afraid that the uprooting of several people will hurt the foundation of the empress."

The lamp on the table was tilted to one side by the wind that blew in, and the light hit the empress's face, and she had no expression in her expression, and after a moment, she threw a few folds on the table in their faces.

"Look at it, I thought that a Jizhou assassin would protect you, but if you look at the Dali Temple, there are more than ten refugees from various states, and these magistrates have something to do with you, but they have all done the thing of hoarding land and exploiting the people, and there are even magistrates who are doing evil under the banner of me, does this world want these traitors and villains to engage in a miasma of smoke under the banner of me?"

The two of them knelt on the ground and did not dare to say a word.

The empress got up, Shangguan Wan helped her, and the empress said, "Go back to the house, I have my own ideas."

Back in the dormitory, the empress sat down, her mood still not calm.

Shangguan Wan took off her gorgeous clothes and waited for her to bathe and change clothes. The empress looked at Shangguan Wan, who was busy coming and going, and said: "You can see in the palace just now, that Song Lin and Lin Cong were promoted by me, and they were in high positions, and they also threatened that if their sins were cured, my foundation would be unstable, Wan'er, what do you think." ”

Shangguan Wan put down the basin of water in her hand, knelt down and replied: "The slaves and maids don't know what is going on in the court, so they don't dare to say anything, but the slaves and maids think that if they are pampered and coquettish, and they know that they are guilty, they want to bypass them today, isn't it just like what those refugees said, Your Majesty acted as the umbrella of these traitors." The people's heart is the most precious thing, and the rumors are even more noisy, and the slaves and maids are short-sighted, and they also know that the old saying stops at the Ou Moment, and the rumors stop at the knowers. And Your Majesty, you are this wise man, if you personally put an end to these rumors, it is the foundation of the stability of the society that wins the hearts of the people. ”

The empress's angry face finally had a hint of a smile: "You girl, you can see it clearly, I just don't want the princes to put their own people in these positions after this case is over, and I can use my own talents to rest assured." ”

Shangguan Wan knelt down and took off the empress's shoes and socks, and then said slowly: "Your Majesty uses your own people to feel at ease, but if those you think are at ease, but those who take advantage of your peace of mind to do evil, it will hurt you."

The empress nodded: "You girl, you can always grasp the key"

After waiting for the Empress to finish bathing and fall asleep.

Shangguan Wancai withdrew from the hall. The wind did not stop, thinking of what the second prince explained before leaving, I am afraid that there will be life changes in the palace, and I have an idea in my heart.

On the second day, serving the empress for breakfast, Shangguan Wan knelt down and said: "The second prince explained to the slaves and maids before leaving, I am afraid that this case involves a lot of people, and there are people outside the palace who unite with the people in the palace, which is not good for Your Majesty, so from today on, Your Majesty, your dishes have been tasted by the slaves and maids first, and they have been tried with silver needles, so you can rest assured." ”

The empress smiled gently: "The second prince has such a heart, it's hard for this child"

It's just a little palace maid in Weiyang Palace, just after trying the soup, her lips turned purple and fell to the ground, and the corners of her mouth oozed blood.

Everyone was shocked.

The empress clenched her fists and said: "Cao Huanzhi immediately went to send the imperial doctor over, how can Wan'er just finish saying this, someone really poisoned my meal."

Cao Huanzhi responded to the salute, and hurriedly found someone to go to the Tai Hospital to announce that the most respected Tai Doctor, Lord Mei Qing, came over.

Mei Qing arrived at Weiyang Palace, the little palace maid was still breathing, but she just took the pulse, Mei Qing shook her head: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid this palace maid can't be saved" Mei Qing checked the comparison between the food and the palace maid's symptoms, and it was the poison of arsenic.

The Empress sat on her chair and asked, "Is there a dish for every dish?" ”

Mei Qing checked them one by one: "Back to Your Majesty, only this dish has arsenic, and the other dish has chronic medicine, and after taking it for a few days, you will feel dizzy and weak, like a head wind."

The empress sneered: "There are really people who want to harm me at this moment, causing a big change in Beijing, if I am killed for a hundred years, if I eat the meal with chronic medicine, I will be dizzy and weak in a few days, and I will not be able to deal with things in the court, very good." ”

Shangguan Wan knelt down and said, "Except for the pastries made in our own small kitchen in the palace, the rest are sent by the Shangshi Bureau every day. I'm afraid that someone in this palace is secretly uniting with the outside world to dare to do this"

The empress looked grim: "Wan'er, you can find out about this matter, I want to see who ate the bear's heart leopard gall." ”

Shangguan Wan thought for a while and then said: "Back to Your Majesty, we will let out the wind today, Your Majesty has not eaten today, and his appetite is not good." If those who have a heart hear this rumor, they will definitely wait for the opportunity to act. ”

The empress nodded: "Then according to your words, Qi Xin and Qi Qing, Cao Huanzhi, and other palace people are at your disposal." ”

Shangguan Wan kowtowed.

When the empress returned to the palace, Shangguan Wan personally went to the small kitchen to make some appetizing meals for the empress, and she made the empress's diet herself in the past few days.

Then he led Qi Xin and Qi Qing to the Shang Food Bureau.

"Qi Xinqing, when I talk to Li Shangshi for a while, you two can pay attention to whether there are any suspicious people around."

"Yes," the two said in unison.

When they arrived at the Shangshi Bureau, Shangguan Wan specially said to Li Shangshi in the courtyard: "Li Shangshi, Your Majesty has a poor appetite recently, so I didn't use breakfast today, and I bothered Li Shangshi to make more appetizing meals recently." ”

Li Shangshi said yes again and again. And then something else.

Qi Xin and Qi Qing found a sneaky palace maid in the courtyard probing her brain, and the two of them recorded her appearance, and they remained silent.

It wasn't until she came out of the Shangshi Bureau that Shangguan Wan asked, "Can you see it?" ”

The two nodded, and Qi Qing wanted to go to the courtyard to find out the little palace maid.

Shangguan Wan pulled Qi Qing tightly: "Be careful to startle the snake, how can a palace maid do such an earth-shattering thing, let's hold our troops first." You let the little eunuch who came with us keep an eye on the palace maid, and when she hears the news, she will go back to meet and make peace with the person who instructed her, and the person will tell her what to do next. ”

Qi Qingcai nodded dumbly: "It's still Wan'er smart, my elm head almost did a bad thing just now"

Qi Xin sneered, and then turned around and asked the little eunuchs Chunfu and Chungui to stare at the palace maid.

At the end of the day, Shangguan Wan was busy in the small kitchen for a long time, and His Majesty didn't know how to eat.

Shangguan Wan was relieved: "Your Majesty, don't worry, we will definitely find out that person"

The Empress nodded, and went back to the palace to rest.

In the evening, Chunfu and Chungui came back to restore their lives, and they really saw that the palace maid went to the Shangyi Bureau to see Cui Shangyi, and Cui Shangyi gave the palace maid a bag of silver and something wrapped in white paper, and said that she would be in action tomorrow night.

Shangguan Wan's lips hooked slightly: "It's her?" Tomorrow night we will catch her properly, this time we have to go to Liu Shanggong to help, the last Dragon Boat Festival Palace banquet was quite fate with her, I think she will help us"

After entering the Shanggong Bureau, the night was getting dark, Shangguan Wan only brought Qi Xin, and the two of them went, Liu Shanggong was very surprised.

"Liu Shanggong is not worried, Qi Xin is also from the cabinet, and I want you to help me this time."

Liu Shanggong nodded: "Since the young pavilion master has something to do, he will open his mouth."

Shangguan Wan looked around to see that there was no one and said: "Your Majesty's breakfast was poisoned the day before yesterday, and now we have not avoided scaring the grass and snakes, so we have not released the wind, and today we went to the Shangshi Bureau to make a scene, and then hung up to the palace maid to meet Cui Shangyi privately."

Liu Shanggong took them into the house, lit the lamp and said to himself: "Although my wife is old, and now she has resumed contact with the cabinet, she naturally knows that the case of Jizhou Assassination involves a lot, and the second prince went to investigate the case, and the Diao minister in Beijing is afraid that the palace will also make trouble, but I didn't expect to be so bold and dare to poison Your Majesty?" ”

Shangguan Wan nodded.

Liu Shanggong turned around and poured a cup of hot tea for the two before saying: "Then Cui Shangyi was almost made a concubine when she was young, relying on her own family, she showed off her martial arts in our six games, and others had already seen her unpleasantly, not to mention that she had done a lot of bad things behind her back, what did the cabinet want me to do?" ”

Shangguan Wan took a sip of tea and said: "Liu Shanggong is quite popular in these six bureaus, if you unite with the directors of other bureaus, write a story about what Cui Shangyi has done over the years, and then let you act in a scene to go to her tomorrow to narrate, and by the way, tell her that the empress detained Li Shangshi, but this depends on you and Li Shangshi to help each other." ”

Liu Shanggong smiled: "The pavilion master wants her to relax her vigilance, wait for the palace maid of the Shang Food Bureau to go to her to restore her life, and then arrest her personal stolen goods and get them?" ”

Shangguan Wan nodded.

Liu Shanggong said again: "Li Shangshi and I originally entered the palace together, she has a straightforward temperament, and she is compatible with me, I can find her tomorrow morning to explain this matter." But tomorrow night, you have to go to the Shangshi Bureau to arrest Li Shangshi in person, and this scene is really acted. ”

Shangguan Wan put down the teacup and said: "Cui Shangyi will see it tomorrow, and he will definitely let people spread the message, and even the people outside will know who is making trouble at that time." ”

After speaking, Shangguan Wan and Qi Xin retired.

After another night, Shangguan Wan discussed with Cao Huanzhi and a few little eunuchs early in the Shang Shi Bureau, and the palace maid must have poisoned the Shang Shi Bureau.

Liu Shanggong sent someone to say that the matter had been done.

As the night deepened, Shangguan Wan asked Li Shangshi to detain Li Shangshi, and only said that the empress had found that someone had poisoned her after eating, and she was unwell and had sent the imperial doctor to consult her.

Back at Weiyang Palace, Shangguan Wan bent down and thanked: "Thank you Li Shangshi for accompanying us in this scene."

Li Shangshi's temperament was refreshing and hurriedly said: "The female envoy doesn't want to thank me, I am stupid, although I am a female official of Shangshi, but I can't take care of the people below, fortunately, this time Liu Shanggong's old sister came to tell me, otherwise I would have caused a big disaster, and I would have to carry the black pot for that slut." ”

Cao Huanzhi sent Chunfu back to reinstate: "The female envoy has caught the palace maid and Cui Shangyi for a private meeting, and the stolen goods have been obtained, and Cui Shangyi still has a bag of silver on him, and he also caught a sneaky eunuch in the Shangyi Bureau, and after inquiry, he found that he was not a person in the palace, and Cao Gonggong just escorted people to Weiyang Palace."

Shangguan Wan smiled and said, "In this case, let Your Majesty personally interrogate these individuals." ”

The empress was criticizing the folds, and after listening to Shangguan Wan's narration, she spoke: "You are smart and smart, Cui Shangyi?" Originally, she had smoothed out her temperament in the past few years, and she still wanted to harm me like this? Pass them in. ”

The palace maid and the little maid pretending to be a eunuch had already been frightened and paralyzed into a puddle of mud, but the corners of Cui Shangyi's mouth scolded contemptuously and angrily: "Wu Yunning, you slut, I didn't expect to poison you this time, you really have a bunch of good dogs around you."

The empress didn't care about her, but just whispered: "Cui Zhaoxian, when your father sent you into the palace to bewitch the first emperor, I opened up to you, spared your life, and turned a blind eye to let you sit in the head of this Shangyi Bureau, and now what kind of bear heart and leopard gall did you eat, and you dare to poison me?" ”

Cui Shangyi's eyes were red, tears gradually slipped down, her voice gradually trembled, and she pointed at the empress and said: "Wu Yunning, the first emperor and I are in love, he said that he wanted to accept me as a concubine, and he said that he would give our children a stable and prosperous future, it is you!" It's you! Wu Yunning, a bowl of abortion pills made my child die, and it was you who forced the first emperor to never meet me again! It's you! I can be the concubine of the first emperor! It's you who got me to this point! ”

The empress pinched Cui Shangyi's chin with her hand, and her lips hooked: "I'm Wu Yuning?" You call me by my name, it seems that you are bent on dying, but I will let you know that the first emperor has passed away, and I didn't want to mention these things about the rotten grains of old sesame seeds. Your bowl of abortion pills at that time was brought by my sister Wu Changning, and she was also pregnant with His Majesty's child at that time, don't you know, Your Majesty is also promising my sister when he is promising you. That's why you've always hated the wrong people. As for Your Majesty, show mercy everywhere, you are in this palace, if he misses you, how many steps from the Yang Palace to the Shangyi Bureau? Kindness? If I have you in my heart, why don't I see you? ”

The Empress shook her chin away, then stood up again and turned to look at the three kneeling trio. That Cui Shangyi seemed to have lost her color, and just muttered to herself: "Wu Yunning, I hate you, Wu Yunning, I hate you"

The little palace maid vomited clean without interrogation, trembling and trembling, and the little maid next to her cried bitterly and said: "The slave is the little maid of the Cui family, and he came to ask Cui Shangyi how things are doing, and I don't know anything else."

The empress asked: "Cui Zhaoxian, I only ask you, your brother is now an official in the court, and your Cui family is also a high-ranking official, why do you have such a mind about me?" ”

Cui Shangyi's eyes were red, and she slowly stood up: "Wu Yunning, you take a bite and a bite, do you really think that this country is yours?" Do you know how much eyeliner Song Lin still has from Lin Cong? As for my Cui family? Now who in the court doesn't know, the second prince was ordered by you to investigate the history of Jizhou and the cases in the rest of the states? No one in the court is afraid, if you are sick, there is room for this matter to turn around. Actually, my brother didn't dare to kill you, he was afraid of you, he had seen your iron fist, but I, Cui Zhaoxian, hated you, so I replaced the poison that was originally just making you weak with arsenic, hahahahahaha, but let you escape again. ”

Liu Shanggong entered the hall with the rest of the bureau directors at this time, and after greeting His Majesty.

"The slave knew about Cui Shangyi's poisoning, and brought some people and physical evidence."

Cui Shangyi: "Liu Shanggong, and you cheap slaves, are you in such a hurry to fall into the well?"

I saw Liu Shanggong bring several palace maids from the Shangyi Bureau to come. The palace maids knelt down and described that Cui Shangyi often contacted the ministers, and often asked several eunuchs from the Shangyi Bureau to go to the ministers' homes to exchange news under the pretext of going out of the palace to do business.

The empress snorted coldly: "Cui Zhaoxian, now I will see how your considerate brother can fulfill this remark." Stand down first, and don't let the word spread about today's affairs, but first shut the three of them into a secret room. ”