Su Mu'er has been thinking about this matter since she returned to the palace. She held the strange rouge box in her hand and looked around. Her intuition told her that there must be something wrong with the rouge box.
Xiao Yuanyuan held Ziru with her left hand and Xin'er with her right hand, and came to her happily.
Ziru's unclear voice shouted out under Xiao Yuanyuan's guidance,
"Mother... dear."
Su Muer hurriedly put down the rouge box in her hand, washed her hands quickly, then came over to hold Ziru in her arms and kissed him affectionately on the cheek.
"Zi Ru is so good, have you ever bullied sister Xin'er?"
Xin'er murmured and shook her head, "No, I am the elder sister, and I have to be humble to him."
Ziru muttered unhappily,
"I am the brother and you are the sister. I don't want to call you sister."
"No, I am the sister and you are the brother."
"I am brother..."
"I'm my sister..."
Seeing the two children arguing over who was older and who was younger, Su Muer and Xiao Yuanyuan couldn't help laughing.
It turns out that the two children were born only one hour apart, and Xin'er was born an hour earlier than Ziru. However, Ziru refused to admit that he was younger than Xin'er, so he always called himself his elder brother.
The two sweet-sounding little guys each sat down on their mother's lap. Xin'er suddenly saw the rouge box, and she stepped forward and grabbed it.
"This good-looking."
Seeing this, Ziru reached out to grab it, but Xin'er couldn't hold it for a moment, and the rouge box fell directly into Ziru's hand. Seeing this, Xin'er began to cry loudly. Su Muer hurriedly tried to dissuade Ziru.
"Ziru, you can't play with this thing. Can you put it down?"
Xiao Yuanyuan was also there coaxing her heart,
"You are a sister, how can you snatch things from your brother?"
When Ziru heard this, he immediately became unhappy. He threw the rouge box hard on the table.
"I don't want to play anymore. I'm not my younger brother."
Just when Su Muer was about to get angry at Ziru, the rouge box was smashed and a strange fragrance penetrated her nostrils, and she suddenly had a bad premonition.
"Yuanyuan, take them out quickly."
Although Xiao Yuanyuan was a little confused, she quickly took the two children out of the house. Su Muer carefully picked up the rouge box and smelled it. The smell was somewhat fragrant. She opened the lid under the rouge box, and inside
A few crushed petals have dried up...
She suddenly realized that she knew the cause of Yang Fei's death. Thinking of this, she quickly walked out of the house. Xiao Yuanyuan, who was not sure why, asked the girl to take the two children to play. She was still waiting in the yard.
Seeing her coming out, she rushed over to greet her.
"Sister, what did you discover just now?"
Su Muer was holding the rouge box in her hand and was about to speak when Xiao Yuanyuan pointed at it in surprise,
"This...this rouge box belongs to Sun Mengmeng."
Hearing this, Su Muer frowned deeply, "Is this true?"
"Seriously, she asked the craftsmen in the city to make it specially for her, and no one else is allowed to use it except her. She spent a lot of money on it."
I see.
Su Muer understood something in her heart. It seemed that Concubine Yang's death was directly related to Sun Mengmeng.
Thinking of this, she said directly:
"I want to go to the palace."
"It's getting dark now. Let's go tomorrow, or wait until the prince comes back to accompany you."
"No, this matter cannot be delayed. I must leave immediately."
After saying this, she ignored Xiao Yuanyuan's dissuasion and resolutely walked towards the door.
At this time, Ye Shihan happened to come back from outside, and she met her face to face. He hurriedly came up to ask her,
"Where are you going, madam?"
Su Muer looked at him solemnly,
"I know the cause of Concubine Yang's death, and I think I also know the person who killed her."
Ye Shihan looked at her in shock,
"So soon? How did she die? Who is the murderer?"
Su Muer frowned and said:
"I'm in a hurry to enter the palace. The palace door will be closed soon. I'll talk to you when I get back."
"I'll go with you. It's dark outside now. I'm not worried about you going out alone."
Seeing his stubborn look, Su Muer did not refuse, "Okay, let's ride fast."
So the two of them rode on a horse and galloped down the street to the palace.
It was evening now, and the palace doors were usually locked at midnight, so they had plenty of time.
After arriving at the palace, they went directly to see the emperor. The emperor was still sad and worried about the news of Concubine Yang's death, but when he saw them arriving, his expression softened a lot.
"Uncle Emperor, Aunt Emperor is here in such a hurry, but what's the matter?"
The two of them stepped forward and bowed. Su Muer opened the rouge box in her hand with a solemn expression and said to the emperor:
"Your Majesty, please see, I found this rouge box in Concubine Yang's room."
The emperor frowned and glanced at the rouge box, then nodded slightly, "I saw it in Concubine Yang's room. What's going on?"
Su Muer opened the lid of the rouge box and displayed it in front of the emperor and Ye Shihan.
"Your Majesty, please see, this rouge box looks normal on the surface, but there is another mystery under the back cover."
As soon as she said this, the emperor stood up from behind the dragon case, quickly came to her, took the rouge box from her hand, and looked at it carefully.
"What Auntie Huang means? Someone has tampered with this rouge box?"
"good."
Su Muer nodded heavily, "As far as I know, someone got oleander petals under the back cover of this rouge box. If my guess is correct, this rouge must have been contaminated with oleander petals."
Juice, oleander is a kind of flower that contains huge poison. Its leaves are like bamboo and its flowers are like peach, hence the name oleander. However, the whole plant is poisonous, whether it is petals, leaves or branches, so once people are infected with it
If you drink the juice or smell the fragrance it emits all day long, you will slowly become poisoned until you die."
As soon as she finished speaking, the emperor's hand holding the rouge box shook and he took a few steps back.
He shook his head helplessly and asked vigorously,
"Is there someone in my harem who deliberately wants to kill Concubine Yang? Who could this person be?"
Ye Shihan also looked at her with puzzled eyes, "Madam, where did you get this rouge box Yang Fei?"
Su Muer pursed her lips and pondered for a while, then said:
"This rouge box was personally made for Sun Mengmeng by a famous craftsman in the capital. If my guess is correct, she is the only one in the entire capital and even the entire Eastern Jin Dynasty who has this kind of rouge box."
Hearing this, the emperor's brows furrowed even more tightly, and he kept shaking his head.
"No, she couldn't have done it. She usually doesn't care about others, doesn't argue or argue, or compete for favor. How could she do such a thing? She even returned all the rewards I gave her. She wouldn't
Harmful to Concubine Yang."
The emperor's words surprised Su Mu'er. She had never expected that Sun Mengmeng would be so secretive. In any case, she did not believe that she would be the kind of person who would neither fight nor rob. This was just something she kept hidden.
It's just a way to win the emperor's trust.
Seeing that the emperor had no doubts about Sun Mengmeng, Ye Shihan directly cupped his fists and said:
"Your Majesty, why don't you send her directly and you will know after asking. If, as the princess said, she is the only one who owns this rouge box, then this matter really needs to be investigated carefully."
The emperor still shook his head vigorously, "I absolutely do not believe that she did this. You must have made a mistake, or someone stole her rouge box from her and then harmed Concubine Yang."
Su Mu'er was a little annoyed. It seemed that the emperor was deeply poisoned by her, and he was still trying to excuse her at this time.
But Su Muer was not going to give up on this clue that was so easy to find. Ye Shihan also said with a cold face:
"Don't you want the Emperor to give an explanation to the Changping State? If the cause of Princess Pingyang's death is not found out, the Changping Congress will pin her death on the Emperor. If this triggers a dispute between the two countries, the consequences will be unimaginable."
Ye Shihan's words made the emperor fall into deep thought. He thought for a while and then nodded, "Okay, who are you? It's said that Concubine Yu is coming to the imperial study to meet you."
Naturally, Sun Mengmeng had heard about the news that Su Muer had taken away the rouge box, but she was not afraid at all. How could she do this if she was not completely sure?
So she came in with her head raised and her face full of confidence.
"Your Majesty, good luck."
After saluting, she glanced at Su Muer and Ye Shihan again, and said humbly: "The prince and princess are here too."
Su Muer did not talk to her, but nodded slightly to her.
The emperor looked at her solemnly and directly raised the rouge box in his hand.
"Concubine Yu, this rouge box was found from Concubine Yang's palace. The princess said that there was a huge poison on this rouge box. Someone deliberately wanted to harm Concubine Yang. But you are the only one who owns this box. How do you explain it?"
After hearing this, Sun Mengmeng hurriedly knelt down and cried out in tears.
"Your Majesty, I am unjustly accused. This rouge box does belong to me, but I don't know how it got into the hands of Concubine Yang."
Su Muer looked at her coldly and asked displeasedly,
"You don't know your own stuff? Is it possible that you have a lot of stuff?"
Sun Mengmeng turned to look at Su Muer and nodded directly,
"Yes, this kind of rouge box was specially made by me from the king craftsman in the capital. But after arriving at the palace, the girls in the palace loved it so much that they couldn't put it down, so I rewarded them with one each. As for how it got into the hands of Concubine Yang.
Here, I really don’t know.”
Seeing her pitiful look, the emperor hurriedly stepped forward to help her up.
"Concubine Jade, please get up. I know this matter has nothing to do with you. Whoever comes, call all the maids from Xianfu Palace."
The emperor believed that since Concubine Jade was not responsible, it must be related to these palace ladies.
Su Mu'er and Ye Shihan looked at each other helplessly. Sun Mengmeng is such a thoughtful person, sending rouge boxes to the palace ladies? This is not something she can do. It seems that she has been prepared for this.
.
After a while, all the maids of Xianfu Palace knelt down in front of the emperor. The emperor looked at them one by one and shouted in a stern voice:
"Have you ever seen this thing?"
Several palace maids glanced at it, and then nodded in unison, "I've seen it. Concubine Jade saw that the slaves liked it, and even rewarded each of us with one."
"Do you still have yours with you?"
When the emperor asked this question, all the maids nodded in unison. Only one maid kowtowed in panic.
"Your Majesty, this servant is no longer here."
This girl is Xin'er, the girl Sun Mengmeng brought from the Sun Mansion. She continued timidly:
"I originally had one, but Cuihua, the girl next to Concubine Yang, fell in love with her. She either begged me to give it to her or let me sell it to her. I thought that my master is kind to me anyway. If I like it, one day
The master might still be able to reward me, so he gave this rouge box to Cuihua."
This incident really surprised Su Muer. Now even though she knew that Sun Mengmeng had something to do with it, there was nothing she could do.
The emperor suddenly shouted, "Send Cuihua."
Su Muer shook her head directly,
"Your Majesty, Cuihua is dead."
"How did she die?"
"She died next to the fake stone in the back garden in the afternoon when Concubine Yang died. She drank poison and hanged herself."
The emperor's face suddenly turned livid, he gritted his teeth and roared,
"Call all the people in Yangfu Palace. The emperor's uncle ordered people to check the family background of this Cuihua and find out why she wanted to harm Concubine Yang?"
Ye Shihan nodded in agreement, but even without checking the identities of these palace maids, he knew that most of them came from poor families, and only those families who could not afford to eat would be willing to let their daughters work in the palace, otherwise who would be willing to do so.
After a while, everyone from Yangfu Palace came to the Imperial Study Room with sad faces. For these people who had lost their masters, their future was slim. They didn’t know what kind of fate they would face, so since Yang Fei’s inexplicable death, their
My heart is hanging.
Everyone came to the emperor and knelt down to salute. The emperor got straight to the point and asked:
"Have any of you seen Cuihong use this thing?"
Hearing this, everyone looked up and looked at the rouge box. One of them pointed it out directly.
"Back to the emperor, Cuihua gave this to Concubine Yang. I don't know where she got it. She said that this rouge box can't be bought anywhere else. Concubine Yang also likes it very much. When the slaves dress up Concubine Yang, she always uses it.
This rouge.”
The emperor asked again:
"How does Concubine Yang usually treat Cuihua?"
The palace maid replied: "Concubine Yang is very good to Cuihua. I punished her once for stealing things half a year ago. From then on, she seemed to be a different person. Although she took good care of Concubine Yang on the surface, in fact
There are always various dissatisfactions in private, and we often try to persuade her."
Hearing this, the emperor frowned, then he waved his hand,
"Everyone, go down."
Everyone retreated, and Sun Mengmeng knelt down and saluted, "Your Majesty, I wonder what happened to this rouge box? You just said there was a huge poison on it? What is going on? Why did the Emperor launch such a massive investigation?"
The emperor glanced at her and then said:
"Concubine Jade, please go back. I will go to Xianfu Palace to accompany you later."
Seeing this, Sun Mengmeng did not ask any more questions, but nodded slightly and stepped back with a smile on her face.
Seeing that everyone had left, the emperor said to Su Muer:
"I have said that although Concubine Yu is a little older, she has a simple mind. She would not have done this kind of thing. It seems that it must have been done by the palace maid named Cuihua. Otherwise, why would she commit suicide out of fear of crime?"
Seeing that the emperor trusted Sun Mengmeng so much, Ye Shihan wanted to say a few words, but was stopped by Su Muer.
"Then please ask the prince to send someone to investigate the life experience of this Cuihua tomorrow. If she is not instigated by others, it is simply for personal revenge. At that time, the emperor will report to the Ministry of Rites to submit a document to Changping Kingdom to explain the matter clearly, otherwise, wait until
If Changping State discovered it on its own initiative, it would be difficult to explain."
The emperor also nodded in agreement, "Then it's up to Uncle Lao."
Ye Shihan came out of the Imperial Study Room angrily. He kept asking questions as he walked.
"Why do you believe the words of those palace ladies so easily? This matter should have been investigated carefully."
Su Muer could only shake her head helplessly,
"What do you think we can find out? It's obvious that Sun Mengmeng has been prepared for this matter. If we forcefully question the maids, will the emperor think that we are subdued? What's more, he trusts Sun Mengmeng so much.
So we can only do this first, take it one step at a time."
"But what should we do if Sun Mengmeng causes trouble again?"
"No, at least she won't in a short period of time. I think she is so eager to let Concubine Yang die because she is pregnant. There is an unwritten rule in the harem. Which concubine will give birth to the dragon son first?
There is a possibility of being named queen. It seems that she has great ambitions."
Anyone who knows Sun Mengmeng knows that she is not a woman who is willing to be mediocre, but the emperor thinks that she is a woman who does not fight for it and is as gentle as jade. Who can influence the emperor's opinion, even the regent?
Wang Ye Shihan, as the emperor's uncle, cannot interfere with the affairs of the emperor's harem.
This matter was finally investigated by Ye Shihan. Cuihua grew up in the home of her uncle and aunt. She had a simple background and no one was instigating her behind her back. It seemed that she really wanted to avenge Concubine Yang for punishing her.
The emperor ordered the Ministry of Rites to bury Concubine Yang lavishly. He also prepared a funeral plan and prepared generous gifts and sent them to the Changping Kingdom. He just hoped that the Changping Kingdom would not care about this matter.
But who knew that Princess Yongping was the favorite of the Empress Dowager of Changping Kingdom? She originally planned to have her granddaughter come back to celebrate her birthday this year, but now the news came that she died suddenly and suddenly. This called her
How can you accept this?
The emperor and queen of Changping Kingdom were also quite suspicious of this. If they hadn't been studying in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the emperor was still young. The regent and the princess of the Eastern Jin Dynasty loved each other. The emperor must also be from the Ye family. How could they be relieved?
Let Princess Yongping marry to the Eastern Jin Dynasty?
But the final result was her death. How could they not be annoyed?
The empress dowager of Changping State fell ill after hearing the news, and the emperor was even more furious. Some people in the court said: It seems that the Eastern Jin Dynasty does not take Changping State seriously, otherwise the princess of Changping State would just
He went to the Eastern Jin Kingdom for a year and died in vain, and he also put the blame on a girl. This was obviously bullying the Changping Kingdom.
The advice of the ministers made the emperor of Changping Kingdom very angry. He immediately decided to recruit people in Changping Kingdom. On the surface, he seemed not to care about the matter, but secretly he was making preparations to invade the Eastern Jin Dynasty one day to avenge Princess Yongping.
But the people of the Eastern Jin Dynasty were completely unaware of this matter, and everything seemed to be calm. Su Muer still ran her medicine shop, Ye Shihan still left early in the morning and returned to the military camp late at night, and Ziru and Xin'er were also living day by day under the care of Xiao Yuanyuan.