In the imperial study room, there was only the sound of deep breathing.
No one spoke for a while.
Li Shao looked at the drawing steadily, with only confusion in his eyes.
Ning An's question completely stunned him.
In the past, when questions like this were thrown at him one after another, and he was caught off guard and unable to answer, Li Shao would subconsciously think that the other party was deliberately provoking trouble, but at this moment, he had no such thoughts at all.
Because these questions touched his heart.
What else happened that night?
He was covered by the monkey-faced eunuch and fainted, and it was Madam Uncle who carried him outside the palace.
What about the eunuch?
Did Mrs. Bo meet him? Did Mrs. Bo snatch him from the eunuch's hand, or did the eunuch abandon him early and run for his life, and Mrs. Bo saw him fall to the ground and took him out immediately?
Why did he sleep in Toji's room?
Why didn’t the queen mother wake up again?
"Father?" Li Shao looked at His Majesty blankly.
He was too young at the time and could only remember this little. His father personally participated in the investigation after the fire was put out. He has been thinking about this case for so many years and wanted to know more about it.
The Holy One pressed his eyebrows and calmed down for a moment. He started with what was certain.
"The fire was too severe. After inspection, everyone died in the fire. There was no trace of corpses being destroyed after death."
Having said this, the Holy One choked up.
At that time, in addition to the local government who were responsible for investigating the case, the Third Division of Beijing Central Division also urgently dispatched personnel to arrive, and the widowers they brought were also skilled. Even considering that the prince's concubine and his wife were killed, two female widowers came.
But to distinguish whether the fire occurred during life or after death, not only the body surface must be examined, but also the body must be disemboweled.
The officials did not dare to act directly according to the rules, so they boldly asked Li Yi, who was still the sixth prince, for instructions.
Li Yi was hesitant.
It was extremely painful for his beloved wife to be in trouble, and he regretted the quarrel with her that night, and even more regretted that he had taken away the guards and monk soldiers so that the temple did not have enough rescuers.
Grief and regret entangled him, and Li Yi sat all night, unable to make up his mind.
Someone advised him that he had already left, so he should leave completely and with dignity, and don't suffer any more humiliation.
Others advised him that it looked like an accident from the scene. If it was disemboweled and it turned out to be an accident, then he would have suffered a few knives in vain.
In the end it was Cheng Yibo who touched him.
Lin Yu also sat there all night. When he came back in the morning, his chin was covered with stubble and he was tired and depressed.
He took Li Yi to the morgue, pointed at the nine corpses and said: "Your Highness, they are burned like this, can you tell them apart? Can you tell which one is the prince's concubine?"
The authors have already sorted it out. Some people have smaller injuries and can distinguish their features. Others have more serious injuries, but they can be distinguished based on their height, body shape, bones, etc. In the end, they have come to a general conclusion.
"It shouldn't be wrong."
"But I'm afraid that something will go wrong. I'm afraid that it won't be Ayun who sleeps in the same cave with me a hundred years later," Lin Yue said slowly. "I'm also afraid that I won't understand the truth and won't have the face to see her.
I also want her to be more decent. I also understand that it is possible to fetch water from a bamboo basket, but what if it is just that little bit worse?
If someone really commits a crime, I can’t accept it just because I didn’t want to investigate to the end and let him escape..."
Li Yi listened.
Every word hit his heart.
He insisted on disemboweling the body, and the authors identified the lungs, trachea, etc., and concluded that everyone was alive when the fire broke out.
Since they were alive, why didn't the other eight people escape except Shen Yun who returned to the scene of the fire?
All kinds of memories filled his mind, and the Holy Spirit's voice was hoarse: "The first one to arrive was a novice. He saw Ning'an's mother putting Shao'er on the ground and rushing back into the temple.
He didn't follow him in, he just kept an eye on Shao'er.
During the previous investigation, the scene was too messy, and there was still some lamp oil in the ear room in the east room. Therefore, the fire point was judged to be in the east room. It was believed that the fire was accidental, and that the fire was not alert in sleep, so it was not noticed at the first time. By the time it was discovered, it was already too late.
It’s now clear that the location of the fire is in the East Room, which is one East Room away from the Ear Room.”
The Holy Sage's throat became astringent as he spoke. He picked up the tea cup and took a sip. He felt that the tea was bitter.
"The nine people who were killed were all in the east room, a little while ago." The Holy Master picked up the pen again and drew one by one on the drawing. There was no hesitation in each stroke, which shows the depth of his memory.
"The Queen and Madame fell here."
Lin Yunyan looked down and saw that it was near the north window, and there was another stroke under the window.
"This is Nanny Liao, the queen's dowry nun. She probably couldn't get out of there. She wanted to open the window and climb out, but unfortunately she fell down before she could open the window." The saint explained, "Judging from her posture, , Ning'an's mother dragged the queen away, just a few steps away from the window..."
There were four people in the east room, two nuns and two maids. Some people fell to the east room, and some people fell down just after they got down and never got up.
There were also two people in the Toji room.
One nun ran towards the middle room, wanting to leave through the door, while the other eunuch faced east for a moment, probably wanting to go in and save someone.
Li Shao listened and read, trying to recall more from the Holy Master's narration.
"The eunuch who wants to save people," Li Shao murmured, "shouldn't be the monkey-faced one? He is a murderer and can't save people."
The Holy Sage said: "This man's surname is Cai. He is in his early twenties. He has a round face and a kind face. I remember him. He is not the person you mentioned, Shaoer."
"It seems he ran away!" Li Shao said.
"We have to look at the roster again," the Holy Master said solemnly. "There were not many eunuchs accompanying me to Dingguo Temple at that time. Apart from Eunuch Cai, three of them followed me down the mountain, and there were four or five who took turns keeping watch on the lanterns at the treasure hall all night long.
The female family members were accommodated in the main hall here. It was a separate area and it was far away from the monks' resting residence, so they didn't discover it earlier.
If the young novice hadn't gotten up at night and smelled the smell, and looked all the way over to see the fire, there would have been another delay."
The Holy Father lowered his eyes and looked at the drawings again.
All that is certain has been said, and now he must calm down and seriously think about the unsolved mysteries: Why did Eunuch Cai and his mother-in-law not wake up from the fire in the east room? Shen Yun from the west room also arrived. , but no one escaped from the fire in the east room?
Lin Yunyan was also thinking about it, several possibilities flashed through her mind, and she couldn't help but glance at Xu Jian.
Xu Jian thought about it and asked, "Your Majesty, is Mr. Cai always alert?"
In his early twenties, very young.
Being able to follow him up the mountain and rest in the second room shows that he has won the trust of the head of Qianfu.
Would such a father-in-law who is always waiting for others not be able to sleep?
"My impression is that he is quite clever. He runs forward and backward, so he is quite agile." The Holy Master said.
"Your Highness, did you wake up at night and call someone?" Xu Jian asked Li Shao.
Li Shao nodded hurriedly: "I woke up and was very sleepy, but I also knew how to call someone."
He was four or five years old at the time, and it was his daily habit to call someone when something happened.
"In the same room, His Highness called out. Eunuch Cai should not be unresponsive." Xu Jian paused and said, "Maybe he won't wake up."
Li Shao's eyes widened and he looked at Xu Jian in shock.
"But they are all alive..." Li Shao murmured, and the next moment he realized it, "You mean they were knocked unconscious? The medicine was poured out?"
A few words rushed out of his mouth, making him feel a chill on the back of his neck.
yes!
Ning An said that that night was a conspiracy!
How could the monkey-faced eunuch be unprepared when he starts setting fire?
"He drugged everyone. Did he order drugs to make them intoxicated?" Li Shao asked again.
"It's not like that," Lin Yunyan pursed her lips, "If it was drugged and Eunuch Cai was knocked down, how could His Highness wake up? Children are even less resistant to drug abuse."
After the words fell, Li Shao fell into thinking, but Xu Jian saw a moment of shock on the face of the Holy Master.
"Have you thought of anything?" Xu Jian asked.
The Holy One opened his mouth, but no sound came out, as if a pair of big hands had grabbed his neck.
He leaned back in his chair and held his chest to calm his breathing.
Seeing this, Eunuch Cao hurriedly handed the full tea cup to his hand and served it to the Holy Lord. He then supported someone and patted his back gently.
After a while, the Holy Father finally waved his hand, indicating that Eunuch Cao did not need to take any more pictures.
He seemed to have recovered a lot, but he was still exhausted. He covered his face with his hands, showing a look of pain.
"Father..." Li Shao lowered his voice and called tentatively.
"I have a guess, but I'm not sure." The Holy Sage's voice was completely hoarse. "It's very possible that Dong Shaojian burned sleeping incense, and she did it herself."
This she undoubtedly refers to the late queen.
"Father!" Li Shao's face was full of disbelief.
Lin Yunyan was also frightened and subconsciously looked at Xu Jian.
Xu Jian held her hand and used a little force to signal her not to worry yet.
"Your mother likes to use spices and is good at mixing incense," the Holy Sage sighed. "I remember that after arriving at the temple, she didn't sleep well.
We had an argument that night, and I was in a very bad mood. When I was cooling off in the front hall, I heard that she called Ning'an's mother to talk to her, so I wanted to let her go. The women talked to each other, and maybe I calmed down.
.
She must have calmed down a bit and wanted to have a good sleep, so she lit the sleeping incense.
This fragrance is not suitable for young children, so Shaoer, you were moved to the next room to take a nap.
It was nothing, just a good sleep, but when the eunuch set fire to it, she and the maidservants fell into a deep sleep, so..."
Hearing what the Holy Master said, Lin Yunyan suddenly understood the reason why he was in so much pain just now.
The Holy One originally regarded the tragedy of that night as his responsibility and regretted it extremely. Now that he thinks that the late Queen burned sleeping incense, even if it is just a guess, the Holy One will blame himself even more.
"That's not your fault," Lin Yunyan said, "just like the fire is not His Highness's fault."
"Ning'an doesn't need to comfort me," the Holy Master shook his head slightly, "Grudges have their own origins, and debts have their owners. I know that the eunuch who deliberately set the fire was the murderer, and his ordered master was also the murderer.
Shao'er is young, so I can't blame him, but I am not completely innocent.
It was my bad temper and my willful behavior that gave the murderer an opportunity, which ultimately led to tragic disaster."
At this point, no amount of words of forgiveness are in vain.
Seeing that the atmosphere was deadlocked, Xu Jian spoke first and continued: "The sleeping incense in the east room does not affect the next room, so Eunuch Cai and the nanny are probably drugged.
Since His Highness was fine, I guessed that the monkey-faced eunuch Xu soaked the veil in potion and covered their mouths and noses.
He should have continued to cover His Highness, but unexpectedly His Highness suddenly woke up.
He did not attack His Highness immediately because he was afraid of waking up the people in the room next door. From this, it can be inferred that he had not had time to attack His Highness. Perhaps he did not know that he had lit the sleeping incense, or maybe he did not know how big the sleeping incense was.
As a result, when the fire started, he still did not dare to let His Highness make a sound.
Although my mother-in-law didn't use traditional Chinese medicine, she was far away from her. By the time she woke up, it was already too late.
She first rescued His Highness, then rushed into the east room, and it took some effort to wake them up. Also, due to the influence of the sleeping incense, the late Queen and the nuns who woke up inhaled the smoke, causing them to stagger and persist.
Don't even open the window."
The Holy One took a deep breath.
After a long while, he said: "At the moment, this is the most likely situation. Whether it is true or not, we still need to find evidence."
The best evidence is the monkey-faced eunuch.
The Holy One calmed his mind, clasped his hands, and said: "Xu Jian, I've left this matter to you. The Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Punishment, please dig out the old case as soon as possible.
Regarding this matter, there were so many officials in the previous dynasty, and the only ones I can trust are you and Uncle Chengyi, your father-in-law and son-in-law.
I want an answer to whatever I say."
Xu Jian stood up, bowed respectfully and accepted the order: "I will do my best."
Judging from this inference, it is not beneficial to Xu Jian and Lin Yunyan.
Just as his father-in-law had told him before, the more the Holy Emperor misses the late Queen and feels guilty, the more he will favor Li Shao and the less he will give up his son.
But they still have to follow this line of investigation.
Because Lin Yunyan also wants an answer.
As a daughter, she also has the right to find out how her mother died.
Moreover, this is also a road for them to get close to the mastermind behind the scenes. Even if it is bumpy and bumpy, they must follow it.
Eunuch Cao sent Xu Jian and Lin Yunyan away first, while Li Shao stayed.
"Shao'er," the Holy Master came out from behind the big case, walked to sit next to Li Shao, and the father and son faced each other, "Do you blame me? Blame me for being irrational that day and causing the death of your mother and queen..."
Li Shao looked at him for a moment.
More than ten years have passed, and the mother's voice and smile have long been blurred, but the child's affection for the mother will still exist in the flesh and blood. Even if he does not remember it on weekdays, tonight when he recalled so many things, Li Shao's longing for his mother suddenly burst out.
come out.
To be fair, he can't be blamed, but he has some complaints. But from a rational point of view, he knows that he can't be blamed and can't complain.
"Ning'an is right," Li Shao said, "the murderer is not you, my father, and I don't blame you."
"I am not a murderer, but I have made mistakes," the Holy Sage said with a wry smile, "Shaoer, you have to admit your mistakes. If my father hadn't been a pushy man back then, he wouldn't have had this useless face and bowed his head to your mother, and things would have been completely different.
It’s different.
This is my lesson, a lesson I learned in exchange for the lives of your mother, Ning'an's mother, and others.
I never dare to forget it, and I hope you can keep it in your heart."
Li Shao was silent for a while and then said in a low voice: "My son, I will remember it."
