From the next day, Ming Chenyuan began to secretly investigate the pill pharmacist in Jingzhou City. Yan Guo advocates Taoism, and everyone is willing to learn Taoism, especially important ministers and families, who are proud to make friends with the so-called "masters outside the world".

Following this clue, Ming Chenyuan focused on secretly investigating several pill pharmacists who often went in and out of the courtier's mansion and the prince's family. Half a month later, he listed five suspicious characters and went to thoroughly investigate their family identities. When the details of these five pill pharmacists were found out clearly, it was the end of September of this year, and it had been nearly half a year since Nie Xingji left the Yan Palace.

During the search for the Pill Pharmacist, Nie Xingji sent two more letters, one was to deny that he had poisoned Nie Xingyi, and only instructed Wei Nong to continue the investigation secretly, but not to startle the snake for the time being, and not to cut off Tang Muyi in Jincheng; The second letter was good news, saying that after months of difficult negotiations with Yan Jiang, Jiang Guo was finally willing to join Yan Guo, but put forward a lot of conditions.

And the most important of these is that once Yanning goes to war, Jiang Guo allows the Yan army battalion to be stationed on the mainland, but it is not allowed to fight on the mainland.

It must be known that Jiang Guo is the barrier between Yanning, with complex terrain and many mountains and rivers, which was originally the best place to fight. In particular, at present, Nie Xingchen has Jiang Guo's terrain defense map in his hands, and if he really wants to use Jiang Guo's terrain to fight, it is simply like a tiger with wings!

But Jiang Guo put forward this condition, which blocked the road that Nie Xingji wanted to take the most, and to Wei Nong's surprise, Nie Xingji actually agreed!

"If you want to fight Ningguo, Jiang Country is a necessary place, if you don't start a war in Jiangguo, will you not be able to fight directly in Yan Kingdom?" Ming Chenyuan was even more irritable when he learned about it: "How can Your Highness agree to this condition?" So what's the point of our peace talks with Jiang Guo? ”

Hearing the words slightly, he also sighed long. In fact, from the standpoint of Jiang Guo, this condition is reasonable, after all, the monarch of any country does not want the flames of war to burn to the country. In the same way, no matter how stupid Nie Xingji is, it is impossible to lead the war to the mainland and make the people suffer. But if you can't start a war in Jiang Country, and you can't lure the enemy to Yan, then you must go straight to Ning Country and go deep into the enemy camp......

Directly on Ning Guo's territory, can Nie Xingji be sure? Could it be that as soon as the Yan army arrived in the territory of Ningguo, it was ambushed and raided?

"It's useless to talk too much now, I think he means that he is already planning to accept this condition." Wei Nong had no choice but to explain himself: "Thinking about the benefits, at least in the future, if Yan Ning goes to war, Yan Guo will have no worries, and Jiang Guo will fully support it." ”

"What else is 'in the future', Your Highness doesn't know who instigated you, and has already sent spies to Ningguo to explore the terrain!" Ming Chenyuan stomped his feet heavily: "I think His Highness is preparing to fight next year!" ”

"So fast?" Wei Nong was taken aback.

Ming Chen was half complaining and half sighing: "His Royal Highness is approaching the age of establishment, and he is afraid that he can't wait." ”

Wei Nong was so blocked that he had nothing to say, and there was a trace of self-blame in his heart: "He was too impulsive!" I had to write to stop him. ”

"I have replied to His Highness, and I have persuaded all those who should be persuaded, let's see how His Highness replies!" Ming Chenyuan sighed again: "Don't worry about this matter, you just need to stabilize the palace." Military affairs, or I will discuss it with His Highness. ”

Yu Gong, the militaristic affairs are slightly thick, and he really has no right to put his beak; But Yu Private, Yunchen, Qi Zhan, and Yuan Che all have a relationship with her, how could she not be worried? But Wei Nong heard the dissatisfaction in his tone, and guessed that he blamed Nie Xingji's rash behavior on his head, so he didn't say anything more.

The atmosphere was a little calm, and Ming Chenyuan probably felt that he had gone too far, so he hurriedly changed the topic and said: "Since His Royal Highness asked you to continue to secretly investigate Nie Xingyi, and you can't startle the snake, the next step is ...... What are you going to do? ”

"Jincheng has been grounded, how can it not startle the snake?" Wei Nong didn't know what to do for a while.

"But we used the audit as an excuse, as long as we are careful in the future, he may not find out that we suspect him." Mingchen returned from afar.

"I hope so," Wei Nong looked at the details of the life history of the five pill pharmacists on the table, and found that although there were people who pretended to be gods and ghosts, there were also people who were really talented and learned, who had saved people's lives with a few pills, and had also treated infertility for the wife of a certain minister.

In her slight speculation, Nie Xingyi would not find a vain person to do things for him, so she walked to the table and picked up the pen, circled three of the pill pharmacists with a good reputation, and handed them to Ming Chenyuan: "I'm sorry for you to find someone to keep an eye on them secretly, and then I will think about what to do in the future." ”

Ming Chenyuan took the paper, glanced down at the names of the three people, and was about to nod his head to say yes, when he suddenly saw a palace maid running in panting, and said anxiously: "Lord Qiyu, the housekeeper of the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion was blocked out of the palace gate, saying that there was something important to report to the Zhenguo Marquis." ”

"What's the matter?" Ming Chenyuan asked hurriedly.

"It's said that Princess Jincheng had an accident!"

"What?" The slight thickness and the bright dust were far away, and suddenly faded.

*****

When Ming Chenyuan arrived at the Xuanji Palace in Yunyang Mountain, all the female Taoist priests were standing in the main hall, waiting to be interrogated.

Wei Nong's former ancestor Qing Jingsanren looked sad and guilty, and said to Ming Chen, who hurried over: "Yesterday, Princess Jincheng did not return overnight, and early this morning, the disciples who went down the mountain to collect medicine found the corpse in the mountain stream...... Another male benefactor has also passed away...... It is a pilgrim of our Xuanji Palace, Lord Liu, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry. ”

At the same time as Qingjing Sanren spoke, crying came from the apse from time to time, and if you listen carefully, you can vaguely hear the word "master", which should be Lord Liu's family.

On the way here, Ming Chenyuan had already heard the housekeeper tell him about the cause and effect, to the effect that Jincheng had an arrogant temper after going up the mountain, and he never let people serve him close except for his personal maids, nor did he let people ask where he went. She was still in the Xuanji Palace when the lights went out last night, but early this morning, when Xiao Daogu went to deliver breakfast, she found that she was no longer in the house, and it was her personal maid lying on her bed to disguise her identity.

The maid confessed that it was Jincheng who left the palace on his own, and before leaving, he explained that she was pretending to be for two hours, and the maid did not dare to disobey. But who expected that Jincheng didn't come back overnight, and the maid was originally worried, but finally fell asleep unconsciously, and this sleep was until dawn. After Qingjingsan learned of this, he immediately sent people to search inside and outside Xuanji Palace, but there was no shadow of Jincheng, until Daogu, who had been collecting medicine for two days after going down the mountain to collect medicine, hurriedly came back, saying that the bodies of Jincheng and another man were found in the mountain stream......

Qingjingsan didn't dare to hide it, and immediately sent someone to the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion to inform Ming Chenyuan, and he personally led someone to identify the body, only to find that in addition to Jincheng, the other man was actually Lord Liu, the secretary of the Ministry of Works. This person has no children under his knees, and he comes to Xuanji Palace every year to pray for a child, until he got his wish last year, and this year he specially brought his wife to Xuanji Palace to repay his wish on the occasion of Lin'er's first birthday. Later, for some reason, he and his wife went home separately, not wanting to have an accident that day.

After hearing about this incident, anyone's first reaction was that Jin Cheng had a personal affair with that Lord Liu, and the two made an appointment to meet at night, but they both died in the mountain stream for some reason. Indeed, all the Dao Aunts in Xuanji Palace also thought so in private.

It's just that Ming Chenyuan knows Jincheng very well, and with Jincheng's temperament and vision, even if he has a foreign subordinate, he will never take a fancy to Liu Shangshu, an old man who is half a hundred years old and has a fat physique. If it is really the two of them who meet each other, it must be because of something else, and most likely because of Nie Xingyi.

After all, it was his wife who had loved him for many years, and Ming Chenyuan was sad in his heart, but because of the presence of a group of Taoist aunts, he could only endure his emotions, but he could faintly hear the wails in the backyard in his ears, frowning.

Qing Jingsanren stepped forward and explained, "It's Mrs. Liu...... Please ask Xuanji Palace to do things for Lord Liu. ”

Ming Chenyuan's anger surged up in an instant: "What are you doing at this time?" Don't let the autopsy be done yet? ”

After that, he realized that this matter was not what Qing Jingsan said. But Rao was like this, he was still annoyed: "Jincheng came to scatter people here to cultivate, because he liked the purity and freedom of Xuanji Palace, and Benhou also fully supported it at the beginning. I don't think she's only been here for a month, and she lost her life here! Sanren, should you give Ben Hou an explanation for this matter? ”

Up to now, Qingjingsan people can only blindly make amends and do not justify.

After all, it was a little Taoist aunt who couldn't see it, and whispered: "Princess Jincheng didn't come to Qing Xiu, she came to steal people, right?" ”

"What did you say?" Ming Chenyuan was furious when he heard this, and dragged the little Dao Gu out of the crowd, strangled her arm and asked, "Do you dare to slander the princess again?" ”

"Hou Ye is angry, but there is no way to discipline him." Qingjing Sanren hurriedly blocked Mingchen Yuan, and pleaded guilty again and again.

Xiao Daogu was frightened and cried all of a sudden, regardless of blurting out: "I'm not slandering!" When my sister found the princess's body, she was disheveled, and Lord Liu was naked! The two of them obviously froze to death in the river! ”

Ming Chenyuan's heart ached, knowing that it was the murderer who deliberately slandered Jincheng's reputation, but he still couldn't calm down, and angrily slapped the aunt: "It is a capital crime to talk about the princess in vain!" ”

The little Dao Gu was slapped hard, and her feet fell to the ground, and half of her cheeks immediately swelled. She bared her teeth in pain, but she didn't want to bow her head, sat on the ground and fought back with tears in her eyes: "What's wrong with the princess? Our Qingjing Sanren is the master of Princess Zhenyu, the master of Princess Qingcheng, the first king is in the world and respectfully called a 'master', you are a retainer and a marquis, how dare you be disrespectful to Sanren? ”

Seeing that the two parties had been in trouble, Dali Temple finally arrived in time, took over the responsibility of thoroughly investigating the matter, and invited several Taoist aunts from Ming Chenyuan and Xuanji Palace to Dali Temple to inquire about the record, saying that they wanted to know the details of the process.