After Zhu Qizhen drank the licorice soup, he still felt weak and drowsy.
Jinyiwei has already heard the news and has arrived, and has put everyone in Shangshan Supervisory under control. From those who buy vegetables to those who cook, including those who wash rice and wash vegetables, they are investigating them one by one.
The emperor was poisoned and almost died. This was something that had never happened in the Ming Dynasty for hundreds of years.
Surprisingly, except for Zhu Qizhen himself, no one else showed signs of poisoning.
Now that the prince is young, King Zhou, as the only royal family, is left in the palace by the queen mother to temporarily take charge of the overall situation.
Yuan Bin, with a face blacker than carbon, came to Zhu Qizhen's bed and saluted: "I will die!"
Zhu Qizhen gave a bitter smile and said: "It's none of your business...ahem..."
King Zhou hurriedly said: "The emperor is weak and should not work too much. It is better to rest first!"
Zhu Qizhen nodded and slowly closed his eyes.
Yuan Bin wanted to ask a few more questions, but saw King Zhou waving to him, then got up and came to the side hall.
"Your Highness!"
Yuan Bin understood and followed.
King Zhou took a deep breath and said, "Commander Yuan, have you investigated anything unusual?"
Yuan Bin frowned, shook his head and said: "I have investigated the Shangshan Supervisor from top to bottom. All the ingredients have been inspected and no problems have been found."
King Zhou also fell into deep thought and continued to ask: "What about other foods? Besides lunch, what else did the emperor eat?"
Yuan Bin sighed and said: "I really can't find any problem. The strange thing is that except for the emperor, no one else in the palace showed signs of poisoning. How...how to explain this?"
After hearing this, King Zhou pondered for a long time and then said: "Either the emperor ate something special, or... someone deliberately murdered him!"
"You mean... there is an assassin sneaking into the palace?"
"I am just guessing..."
As King Zhou spoke, he looked inside and said, "It's just that the emperor is weak now, so it's not appropriate to disturb him for the time being."
Yuan Bin frowned, feeling very suspicious in his heart.
An assassin sneaking into the palace is no joke!
After a long time, he took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "In that case, I will continue to follow this clue and say goodbye!"
Returning to Shangshan Supervisor, the captains have already controlled everyone.
Imperial doctors were also recruited to inspect all the ingredients and dishes repeatedly, even the swill buckets.
However, until dark, still nothing was found.
Yuan Bin's face became increasingly ugly, and he almost turned the entire palace upside down, but where was the murderer?
The ingredients of each dish, the source and quality of each ingredient are checked no less than three times.
Even the cooking process was not neglected, and even the cooks in the royal kitchen were interrogated separately to see whether the cooking time, heat, seasoning, etc. of each dish were appropriate.
As long as there is a conflict between the answers of two people, it can be used as a new breakthrough to continue the investigation.
However, he was disappointed again.
Everyone's answers were surprisingly consistent, and even the cooking details of the dishes were exactly the same.
In desperation, Yuan Bin simply ordered the food supervisor to make all the lunches for today again.
After the dishes were served, he tasted all the dishes himself and waited to see if he had any adverse reactions.
However... there are still no problems!
On the other side, Wynn stayed up all night, and the entire Dongchang team went out to snoop around the palace, looking for any suspicious people or clues.
His luck was the same as Jin Yiwei's, he couldn't find even a clue!
Late at night, Kunning Palace.
Queen Mother Sun's face was solemn, her fingers kept tapping the armrests of the Grand Master's chair, and the worry on her face was obvious.
The last time I was so worried was five years ago, when the emperor was on a personal expedition and was ambushed by the Oara army.
Over the years, she has seen with her own eyes that ignorant child grow into a wise king step by step, and the pride in her heart has grown day by day.
Once upon a time, Emperor Taizong conquered Mobei, conquered Annan, and sailed to the West, making unparalleled achievements.
During the Second Emperor Ren and Xuan, although the territory did not expand, the people were able to recuperate and lay a solid foundation for the centuries-old foundation of future generations.
Now she saw with her own eyes that her son, the orthodox emperor of the Ming Dynasty, had made contributions that far surpassed those of his ancestors. He had spread the Han people all over the world. He had truly made the whole world a royal territory!
However, the most dangerous hidden dangers are lurking around us.
This murderer must be found, otherwise, the emperor will still be in danger.
She had arranged for people to search everywhere in the palace, but no clues were found.
Queen Qian and Concubine Zhou stood on either side of the Queen Mother, both frowning and looking solemn.
Empress Dowager Sun took a deep breath and said, "Today's matter must have an outcome."
Queen Qian and Concubine Zhou nodded at the same time, waiting for her to continue.
"Have the maids around you done any investigation?"
"Palace maid?"
Queen Qian and Concubine Zhou looked at each other with puzzled expressions.
Empress Dowager Sun continued: "Even the emperor's food can be poisoned, which shows that there are still big flaws in the security of the palace. It is still unclear how the poison was delivered and who was behind it. The Ai family thought carefully.
However, the maids in the inner palace are the ones who have the easiest access to the emperor, and their identities, backgrounds, and whereabouts all need to be verified."
At this time, Wynn walked in from the outside, bowed and said: "To the Queen Mother, all the maids on duty today have been brought here."
As he spoke, he took out a roster and handed it over.
Queen Mother Sun said: "This is the list, take a look!"
Queen Qian took it and looked at them one by one. Concubine Zhou also followed and watched.
"Bing Qingyan, sixteen years old, born into a poor family, has been in the palace for two years."
"Jiang Ruolan, eighteen years old, comes from a good family. She was sent to the palace by her parents last year."
"Zhang Yating, twenty years old, was sold to the palace for three years because of her family's financial difficulties."
The three of them carefully checked the information of each palace maid, but still found nothing suspicious.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Queen Mother Sun sighed and said, "Wynn, I'll leave the rest to you."
"yes!"
Wynn ordered people to take these maids for interrogation one by one, and then took out their confessions and cross-corroborated them.
He hoped to find some clues in this way, but after checking for a whole night, he didn't find any problems.
Everyone's confessions can be verified with others, that is to say, no one is lying.
This is difficult to handle...
That night, the entire Forbidden City stayed up all night.
Everyone is looking for the murderer hidden in the palace, but still nothing is found.
In the early morning, Queen Qian cooked a bowl of hot porridge with her own hands and ordered someone to carry it to Zhu Qizhen.
Yuan Bin subconsciously stopped the person and prepared to take a bite.
Just when he picked up the spoon, he was stunned!
"I'm so humble and rude, please forgive me!"
Maybe he was too dizzy from investigating the case, but he actually stopped Queen Qian and wanted to check the bowl of porridge.
Queen Qian didn't know whether to be angry or sympathetic.
"Commander Yuan, please get up!"
Yuan Bin then stood up, lowered his head, and said: "I'm humble and incompetent. I checked all night and still can't find any problem..."
Queen Qian said: "I and the Queen Mother also checked all night, but found nothing."
When Yuan Bin heard this, he felt even more disappointed. As the commander of the Jinyi Guards, he actually saw the emperor being poisoned, but he could never find where the murderer was hiding.
I don’t even know how they poisoned me!
Queen Qian seemed to see what he was thinking and comforted: "Commander Yuan, don't be discouraged. The emperor's condition has stabilized. If we continue to investigate, we can always find out the results!"
Yuan Bin said nothing more and silently stepped aside.
All he can do now is to stand in front of the Fengtian Palace and check carefully whoever wants to see the emperor.
Never let this happen again!
Queen Qian led people into Fengtian Hall, brought hot porridge and fed it to Zhu Qizhen's mouth herself.
At this time, Zhu Qizhen was still very weak. After two sips, he no longer had any strength.
Queen Qian put the porridge on a piece and asked: "How does the emperor feel?"
Zhu Qizhen closed his eyes, shook his head feebly, and said: "I can't die..."
Queen Qian looked at King Zhou beside him and cast an inquiring look.
King Zhou understood and said: "The emperor's pulse has stabilized. Drink licorice soup twice a day and he will recover in ten days."
Queen Qian asked again: "Is there any problem with the medicine from Tai Hospital?"
After the two incidents between Queen Mother Sun and Zhu Qizhen, her trust in Taiyuan Hospital was no longer what it used to be.
King Zhou nodded and said: "Don't worry, I have personally tested it. There is absolutely no problem."
"That's good..."
Empress Qian sighed faintly and said: "I don't know how the villain poisoned him. Why is it that only the emperor was poisoned, but the others were safe and sound?"
"Father!"
Before King Zhou could answer, a child's voice came from outside the palace.
Immediately afterwards, he saw Prince Zhu Jianshen walking over with a bowl of steaming soup, followed by Zhu Jianlin and Zhu Jianshu.
The three of them stepped forward and first saluted Queen Qian. Then, Zhu Jianshen held the soup and said, "Father, this is the fish soup cooked by my own hands to replenish your health."
Zhu Qizhen slowly opened his eyes and was about to speak when he was suddenly startled and his expression became very strange.
King Zhou seemed to notice something. He reached out to take the fish soup, looked at it carefully, and was stunned.
Queen Qian didn't know why, so she asked: "Is there something wrong with this soup?"
This is a bowl of fish soup. Generally speaking, the fish soup cooked in the imperial dining room is made from crucian carp, which is delicious and nourishing.
However, there are a few small miscellaneous fish in this bowl of fish soup!
These fish are really too small, about the size of an adult's finger, and they don't look like they were bought from the imperial dining room.
In the inner courtyard of the palace, if you can't afford any expensive food, you won't pay for such a small fish.
King Zhou was stunned for a long time, then turned to look at Zhu Qizhen, then at Zhu Jianshen, his expression became strange.
Zhu Qizhen looked like he was about to cry but had no tears. He raised his finger and pointed at the fish soup.
King Zhou asked: "Your Majesty also drank fish soup yesterday?"
Zhu Qizhen nodded, and two words popped out of his throat: "Drink..."
Queen Qian was even more surprised and asked again: "What's wrong with this soup?"
King Zhou took the spoon and scooped up a small fish from the fish soup. He observed it carefully for a long time and his expression changed drastically.
"Your Highness, who made this fish soup?"
Zhu Jianshen looked proud and said: "I survived it by myself!"
"And I!"
"And I!"
Zhu Jianlin and Zhu Jianshu rushed to answer first.
King Zhou asked again: "Where were these fish caught?"
Zhu Jianshen's face became even more proud, and he said: "It was the electric fish device that Master Tong made for me. It was made in the river ditch!"
"Electric fish device?"
King Zhou didn't understand what electricity was, but he vaguely guessed the truth of the matter.
Zhu Jianshen also explained: "You just use a battery to store full electricity, then take it to the river and connect it with two copper wires... By the way, the copper wires must be wrapped with cotton gauze, otherwise there will be leakage of electricity!"
King Zhou nodded dullly and said: "You...continue!"
"Put the copper wire in the river and turn it on when you see fish. The fish will be stunned and you can catch them."
"Corona?"
"It's just a stun. It won't kill you. It will come back to life after a while, so the fish that are electrocuted can be eaten."
"Well...then what?"
"Then I took it to make soup for my father!"
King Zhou picked up the spoon again and looked at the little fish carefully. His expression was very strange, showing unspeakable surprise.
Queen Qian had already noticed the problem and went over to take a look. It was just a strange little fish, nothing could be seen.
"This fish..."
"It's a pufferfish!"
King Zhou had a wry smile on his face, this was really ridiculous.
Queen Qian was puzzled and asked: "What is a puffer fish?"
"It's also called Latou here in Beizhili, and it's highly poisonous!"
"ah……"
Queen Qian was startled and took a step back subconsciously.
King Zhou put the spoon aside and said to Zhu Qizhen: "Your Majesty, the source of the poison has been found. It is this little puffer fish. I believe... you also drank the soup yesterday."
Zhu Qizhen was about to cry but had no tears, so he nodded and closed his eyes.
He was busy studying the drawings yesterday and didn't even notice what was in the fish soup.
I felt happy when I saw the three filial sons stewing fish soup for me...
After being poisoned, he lost consciousness. Until now, he feels dizzy when he opens his eyes. He can't remember the bowl of fish soup he drank yesterday...
Zhu Jianshen stewed the fish soup in the harem, not in the imperial kitchen, so Yuan Bin naturally couldn't find any clues.
If these three brothers hadn't come to fulfill their filial piety today, this case would have become an eternal mystery.
King Zhou was holding the fish soup and didn't know what to do. This was evidence of poisoning the emperor, but...
He looked at Zhu Jianshen, then at Zhu Jianshen and Zhu Jianshu. The three of them looked at him eagerly, as if they didn't know what was going on.
"Your Highness, you... better go back first!"
Zhu Jianshen asked: "Father, don't you drink fish soup anymore?"
King Zhou replied: "The emperor is sick and needs to rest. He cannot drink fish soup for the time being."
"oh!"
Zhu Jianshen was thoughtful, and then said: "Then when your father recovers from his illness, I will electrocute the fish for him and make fish soup for him to drink!"
Before he finished speaking, Zhu Qizhen on the bed twitched violently. It seemed that it was not the fish that was electrocuted, but himself...
King Zhou hurriedly said: "We will talk about the fish soup later. Your three highnesses should go back first!"
Zhu Jianshen nodded, then called his two younger brothers and left together.
King Zhou looked at Queen Qian and said with a wry smile: "What should I do about this matter?"
Queen Qian shook her head and said, "I don't know."
Zhu Qizhen couldn't bear it any longer. He struggled to sit up and hissed: "Send someone to Xishan immediately and tell Tong Xuan that if he dares to study electric fish again, I will punish his nine tribes!"