Forbidden City, Xihua Gate.

Jin Wuwei's mental outlook was completely new, perhaps because he often met the emperor, everyone's waist was unusually straight, and his eyes scanned every visitor indifferently.

"Lord Song, the rules of the palace must be followed!"

"You can't go too fast, you can't leave the eyes of a few of us!"

"This time I entered the inner palace, except for the area where the concubine passed, the other palaces can't look around!"

……

Guo Yong personally took a few eunuchs from the Yangxin Palace to Chengxi Palace, responsible for staring at Song Cheng to investigate the case in the palace, and Guo Yong seemed to be chattering and reminding.

Song Cheng did not have a trace of expression on his face, his eyes were still not mixed with a trace of impurities, and he looked straight ahead and followed Guo Yong to the harem in a regular manner.

Originally, he was focused and efficient, so he had to walk faster than ordinary people, but at this time, he had to control the frequency of his steps and accept the constraints of the palace rules.

Although he had been to the palace several times, each time he had to walk in a specific area under the supervision of the eunuchs, and today was the first time he had entered the harem area.

Chengxi Palace is one of the three western palaces, located in the northwest of the harem.

Because Concubine Zhang Yujiao is not favored, this place usually seems relatively deserted, but now Zhang Yujiao passed away suddenly, which has added a bit of desolation here.

There is an apricot tree growing in the precincts, and all the leaves have fallen off.

Even if Concubine Shu is not favored, she is the noble concubine of the Ming Dynasty after all, and now the body is also buried in the coffin, but the face that is always aggressive has lost its motor function forever.

Two arm-thick candles burned in the center of the mourning hall, and Zhu Youzhu had already come to pay his respects yesterday.

In the original history, Concubine Zhang Yujiao was indeed a big winner in life. not only did the mother's ceremony in the world, but also created the monogamy of the Chinese imperial history, and gave birth to the well-deserved heir of the Ming Dynasty.

Although she can only be regarded as a scholarly family, her eldest grandfather is a Jiaocheng priest, and her uncle is the governor of Liaodong, so she has a strong gene of a civil official group.

was loved by the Empress Dowager Zhou internally, and supported by the civil official group externally, which led to her being like a fish in water in the position of the queen, and even more so that Hongzhi did not dare to touch other palace maids.

It's just that Zhu Youji's soul has returned to its place, and everything has quietly changed.

The success is also a civilian-official group, and the defeat is also a civilian-official group. Zhu Youjiao no longer believed in the superstitious rule of vertical arches, nor did he intend to rule the world with the scholars, and Zhang Yujiao's imprint of the civilian-bureaucratic group was too heavy, and she soon fell victim to the political struggle.

Although the civil official group very much hoped that Zhang Yujiao would take charge of the harem and give birth to a prince close to the civil official group, Zhu Youjiao chose to put Zhang Yujiao into the cold palace in disguise.

Now, Zhang Yujiao's glorious life is gone, and she has also got the tragic fate of Hongyan's early death, which inevitably makes people feel embarrassed.

Whining......

Xiao Zi and other palace maids knelt in the mourning hall to burn paper money, on the one hand, for the death of Concubine Zhang Yujiao, and on the other hand, for their sudden bleak fate.

Before the burial, the body had been examined, and Zhang Yujiao's bleeding facial features were indeed caused by arsenic poisoning, and the cause of death was the table of non-court pastries.

"Since the pastry was brought back from outside, it is likely that the pastry was poisoned from outside!" Song Cheng also made some judgments when he learned of this limited information.

Although when he learned about the case, he first suspected that the poisoning point was in Zhangfu, but he was never a sloppy person, so he insisted on going to the first crime site to look for clues.

With respect for the deceased, Song Cheng came to the mourning hall and put a stick of incense on the ground in an orderly manner.

Guo Yong knew that Zhu Youzhu was eager to know the truth, so he pointed to the room next door and said, "Lord Song, the front is the scene of the first crime, and the miscellaneous family has already been blocked yesterday!" ”

Song Cheng nodded with satisfaction, but just followed Guo Yong to the next room, he saw a beautiful palace maid holding a little flower cat and crying.

Pastry has become the most important evidence, so no one can act rashly.

It's just that there is always a little accident, it is a woman's nature to join in the fun, and the most popular thing in the entire palace is undoubtedly the non-mainstream palace maid Niu Mengmeng.

Niu Mengmeng was unable to leave the Qianqing Palace yesterday, but now he was finally able to spare free time, so he was naturally curious to take a look at the situation.

As he had just stood closer, the cat in his arms ran away, and when he looked up, he saw that the cat had eaten a piece of pastry in the food box.

Niu Mengmeng wanted to stop it too late, but saw that a piece of pastry had been eaten by the little flower cat into her stomach, and she also hugged the little flower cat Pear Blossom and cried with rain: "Little flower, don't you die, woo woo......"

At this moment, on the one hand, she was afraid that she had made trouble and destroyed the evidence, and on the other hand, she was heartbroken that her little flower cat had been poisoned.

Guo Yong knew that Niu Mengmeng was the emperor's favorite palace maid, and it was not easy to say too harsh words, but he looked at Song Cheng with a bitter face and said, "Song Cheng, this matter is okay with the investigation, right?" ”

Song Cheng kept staring at the crying Niu Mengmeng, but he didn't even blink his eyes.

Cough......

Guo Yong couldn't help coughing heavily when he saw Song Cheng so disrespectful.

"No problem!" Song Cheng shook his head lightly at first, and then solemnly asked: "Father-in-law Guo, take the trouble to find some living creatures to come over, and this official wants to verify whether the other pastries are poisonous with arsenic!" ”

"Why is that?" When Guo Yong heard this, he was immediately stunned.

Song Cheng's eyes fell back on Niu Mengmeng, who was still crying, but he helplessly pointed to the little flower cat in Niu Mengmeng's arms and said, "This pastry may not all have the poison of arsenic!" If the pastry that this little flower cat had just eaten had arsenic, it would have died of poison by now! ”

He didn't think so deeply, after all, Concubine Shu died of arsenic poison due to eating pastries, so of course the whole box of pastries had arsenic poison.

It's just that after seeing this oolong made by Niu Mengmeng, especially seeing that the little flower cat is safe and sound, he knows that he almost missed a very critical information just now.

Although this discovery cannot help you find the murderer, it will undoubtedly help you to deduce and find the real murderer.

Yes?

Niu Mengmeng looked at the little flower cat in his arms like an afterthought, and then realized that the little flower cat really had nothing to do, so he couldn't help but burst into tears and laughed.

Guo Yong then understood, but he told Niu Mengmeng to receive the punishment from His Majesty, and then go to the kitchen to make arrangements.

Although the palace does not breed, the kitchen has fresh poultry every day, so as long as it is coordinated, a batch of poultry will be quickly arranged to come and test.

Song Cheng is a person who likes to do it himself, and after marking the pastries, he feeds them separately to determine which other pastries contain the poison of arsenic.

This method of investigating cases using poultry as an experiment is unaffordable for ordinary families, but naturally it is impossible to include the Imperial Palace, but none of these poultry seem to have died.

"It's weird!"

"Lord Song, what's wrong?"

……

Guo Yong didn't react much when he looked at the poultry, so he was very sure that the other pastries here did not have arsenic, but he was appetized by Song Cheng's "weirdness".

Song Cheng did not answer Guo Yong's question, but found Concubine Shu's personal palace maid Xiaozi.

Xiao Zi, the palace maid who followed Concubine Shu from the East Palace, faced Song Cheng's interrogation, and immediately said the origin of the food box: "This box of pastries was brought back from Zhang's Mansion, and the slave maid has always carried it in her hand, and it was only placed in the East Room when she arrived at Chengxi Palace!" The east room is the residence of Concubine Shu, so without her instructions, other unrelated people cannot enter at will! ”

Song Cheng nodded noncommittally, and asked again: "When was Concubine Shu poisoned?" ”

"Sook...... Concubine Shu went to Kunning Palace to greet her, stayed there for a while, and returned to ...... When I came back, I was poisoned by eating pastries! Xiao Zi's eyes fluttered, but he said cautiously.

Kunning Palace?

Song Cheng's brows furrowed slightly, but he could see that this bun-faced palace maid didn't look like a lie.

Judging from the results of the current investigation, he found that the problem probably had nothing to do with the palace maids and eunuchs of Chengxi Palace, when even the suspicious eyes fell on the Zhang Mansion.

In the east of the city, Zhangfu is like a mourner.

This was originally the most beautiful family of relatives, as early as when Zhang Yujiao was still the crown princess, Zhang's mansion had already been the object of many powerful people in the capital.

It's just that the world makes people, and Huaxia has created a precedent that the crown princess has not been canonized as the queen. Because Zhang Yujiao did not become the queen, but was canonized as a concubine, she was snubbed by the emperor, and Zhang Fu was also a door.

Fortunately, a witty quote from the East saved the fallen Zhang Mansion, and Zhang Yujiao became the emperor's only hope for the continuation of the heir, and the Zhang Mansion has been lively again recently.

Although the palace has not heard the news of canonizing Zhang Yujiao as the empress for a long time, they always believe that the emperor will eventually submit to the mandate of heaven, and sooner or later they will have to obediently serve their daughter as the empress.

It's just that who would have thought that their illusions of becoming the home of the national uncle were completely shattered. Now that Zhang Yujiao is dead, they can't even mix in the circle of the capital, not to mention the top relatives.

You must know that although their Zhang family is a relatively large clan, it is the Zhang Qi lineage that really made its fortune, and their Zhang family can only be a side branch of the big Zhang family at most.

"Daughter, why did you leave us?"

Zhang's mother is a very ambitious woman, and now she cried in pain when she saw that all the glory and wealth that were about to come to her mouth had flown away.

Song Cheng himself is the Yin of Shuntian Mansion, and now he is ordered to investigate the case, so he can naturally enter the Zhang Mansion at will, and he can even interrogate any member of the Zhang Mansion.

"Concubine Shu is the hope of our Zhang family, how can we poison it?" In the face of Song Cheng's inquiry, Zhang Luan asked rhetorically with tears in his eyes.

Song Cheng knew that this was the truth, but he found that Zhang's mother's expression was obviously wrong.

"Lord Song, you don't suspect that Mrs. Ben did it, right?" Mother Zhang saw Song Cheng looking at her, but she immediately stopped being sad and asked rhetorically.

Although Song Cheng didn't believe that tiger poison didn't eat children, Zhang Yujiao's interests were highly consistent with his parents, so he changed the topic and said, "This official wants to know who made that box of pastries?" ”

"My wife has never touched the spring water with her fingers since she was a child, and that box of pastries was made by my cook!" Zhang Luan immediately excused his wife, pointing to his own cook.

Song Cheng knew that the case had to be taken step by step, and when he made a request: "In this case, please invite the cook here, the official has a few words to ask her!" ”

"My lord, my cook grew up watching Jiao'er, and it is absolutely impossible for her to be poisoned!" Zhang Luan patted his chest and packed the ticket.

"Adult, Jiao'er's milk when she was a child was still fed by the cook, she has already treated Jiao'er as a daughter, she is absolutely impossible to poison!" Zhang's mother also stood up to guarantee the ticket.

Song Cheng had already cultivated a pair of fiery eyes, and even if he realized that there was a problem in this, he stared at this couple who were obviously hiding something.

Although he didn't think that the case would be so simple, it was really the work of a little chef, but the cook was undoubtedly the first suspect in this case, so there was no reason not to ask.

"What do you mean, sir?" Zhang Luan looked at Song Cheng and didn't speak for a long time, and was the first to hold back and speak.

Song Cheng met the couple's gaze and said very seriously: "This official is Shuntianfu Yin, this time I am ordered to investigate the case, and the investigation is the case of the murder of Concubine Shu!" This official hopes that you will fully cooperate, not to mention that your Zhang family is the most suspicious, once Your Majesty is convicted, none of you can afford it! ”

Zhang Luan was suddenly excited, but he knew that their Zhang family was now a phoenix in the water, and it was not as good as a chicken, so he immediately arranged for the housekeeper to bring the cook over.

At this moment, he suddenly realized that his Zhang family had been suspected, and now he had to clear his suspicion, otherwise the entire Zhang family might face annihilation.

The Zhang family's cook, the, does have a bit of a look.

At this time, she was dragged up by two servants, her clothes were torn, and her body was covered with blood, and she had obviously been lynched by the Zhang family.

"Lord Song, the old man also suspected her of poisoning for the first time, so he couldn't help but lynch her into the firewood room yesterday!" Zhang Luan saw that he couldn't hide it, so he immediately explained with a smile.

Song Cheng's heart moved slightly, but he deliberately deceited: "Cook, your lord and wife have just explained everything, why is there arsenic in that box of pastries?" ”

"Your Excellency has wronged! The woman put a piece of walnut cake on the top floor according to the instructions of the lady, and I really don't know how it turned into arsenic! The young lady grew up watching the people's women, and the lord was kind to the people's daughters, how could the people's women throw arsenic on her? The cook immediately called out the wronged.

Cough!

Ahem......

When Mr. and Mrs. Zhang heard the cook's words, they suddenly coughed non-stop.

Song Cheng first glanced at the Zhang couple, and then looked at the cook seriously: "You just said that there was a piece of walnut cake on the top floor?" What's going on here? ”

"This ......" The cook was dumbfounded when she heard Song Cheng ask.

Song Cheng's face sank suddenly, but he turned his gaze to Zhang Luan and said, "Lord Zhang, do you want to go to the Shuntian Mansion to confess, or do you want to tell the official truthfully here?" ”

Zhang Luan knew that the matter could no longer be hidden, so he sighed heavily, and then told the matter 1510.

Since the appearance of the witty phrase "The emperor's heir is robbed, after every two days, Zhang is like Qin, and he is often new", Zhang Yujiao seems to have returned to a good day, and she can also handle Zhu Youzhu again.

It's just that things didn't develop in the direction she expected at all, and Zhu Youzhu not only didn't come to see her, but he didn't even have the mind to abolish the aftermath at all.

Originally, when she learned that Jiang Yan was the reincarnation of Jin Feng, her heart had fallen to the freezing point, but fortunately, King Xing successfully "grabbed the kiss" with the help of the eldest princess.

However, there was still no movement on Zhu Youji's side, but Zhang Yujiao was thinking about it, and took the opportunity of Zhang Luan's birthday to stage a bitter plan.

She took advantage of her allergy to walnuts and pretended to go to Kunning Palace to meet the queen for some refreshments, and after she came back, she ate pastries containing walnuts to frame the queen.

Once there is a rift in the relationship between Zhu Youzhu and Chang Yourong, then the emperor will canonize her, the former crown princess, as the empress.

The original plan went very smoothly, but I didn't know which link went wrong, and the pastry Zhang Yujiao ate was not the walnut pastry that made her allergic, but the arsenic that directly made her bleed to death.

Song Cheng didn't expect that there would be a palace battle in this case, and Zhang Yujiao seemed to be guilty of her own death, but she asked very seriously: "Except for the three of you, is there anyone else who knows about this plan?" ”

"Xiaozi, the palace maid next to my daughter, I heard that she came up with this idea!" Mother Zhang seemed to know more about the truth, when even revealed

Song Cheng glanced at Zhang's mother suspiciously, but judging from all kinds of signs, I am afraid that it was not the cook who poisoned her, but someone took advantage of Zhang Yujiao's plan.

"My lord, where are we going now?" Zhao Dayan, the head catcher, left with Song Cheng and asked curiously.

Song Cheng walked out of the door of Zhang's Mansion quickly, turned over directly and said, "Let's go to Chengxi Palace again!" ”

"My lord, it's impossible for the murderer to poison the palace, right?" Zhao Dayan and Song Cheng had a long time, and they also followed the horse to express their opinions.

Song Cheng slapped his horse forward, but gave his own speculation: "Maybe it's not in the palace, and it's not in Zhang's mansion!" ”

"My lord, where else could it be?" Zhao Dayan was immediately dumbfounded, but Song Cheng had already ridden away.

Because Song Cheng was ordered to investigate the case, the palace guards did not stop him, and the eunuch led Song Cheng to Chengxi Palace.

As if he suddenly thought of something, Song Cheng asked Jin Wuwei Qianhu, who was in charge of the palace gate, "Concubine Shu returned to the palace from this gate yesterday afternoon?" ”

"Exactly!" After Jin Wuwei Qianhu Huang Fu Xu was the founding general, he nodded for some reason.

Song Cheng immediately asked: "Who was on duty here at that time!" ”

"As long as Your Majesty goes to the Heart Cultivation Palace, our Commander will be here to guard Your Majesty in the afternoon!" Huang Fuxu's chin was raised slightly, looking admiring.

Song Cheng knew that Zhu Youzhu had this kind of personality charm, but he asked suspiciously: "Why don't you see anyone now?" ”

"Huh? It should be coming soon! Only then did Huang Fuxu realize that Chang Feng should be coming, so he looked at the palace road to the south.

Song Cheng didn't want to suspect Chang Feng, but wanted to collect more information, so as to restore the whole truth of the case, who wanted to kill the emperor from giving birth to an heir.

The palace maid Xiaozi has been guarding the mourning hall, trying to recall what happened yesterday: "It's about eating, even if our palace maids are in the palace, we pay special attention to it, not to mention the food outside the palace." The cook handed the food box to the slave maid, and the slave kept carrying it, but ......"

"But what?" Song Cheng observed that Xiao Zi didn't look like lying, so he asked seriously.

Xiao Zi recalled yesterday's scene, and seriously revealed: "Since everything carried from outside the palace needs to be inspected, that food box cannot be an exception. Because they moved the precious gold brought back by the concubine, the slave and maid also argued with them, so the food box left the slave and maid's sight. I don't know how they checked it, but they did open it! ”

Speaking of this, her lips moved again, but she suddenly thought of her current situation, and finally closed her mouth very sensibly and silently.

Song Cheng glanced at the palace maid thoughtfully, and after leaving the Chengxi Palace, he returned to Xihua Gate.

Although Concubine Shu's death has little to do with Empress Chang, now Jin Wuwei's commander is Chang Feng. In order to keep the position of Empress Chang and the glory and wealth of their Chang family, it is indeed possible for them to make a move to kill Concubine Shu.

Song Cheng returned to Xihuamen, but Chang Feng was still missing: "What about your commanders?" ”

"Just came the news that our commander hasn't returned home since yesterday, and now he's missing!" Huang Fuxu faced Song Cheng's inquiry, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet.

No one expected that the final spearhead would be pointed at the Chang family and at Chang Feng, the commander of Jin Wuwei. (End of chapter)