Your Majesty, please draw the card

Although Liu Xi couldn't get into a sad state, he didn't want to die like this, so he quickly asked Bao Zheng to investigate the whole story of the assassination.He hoped that Bao Zheng could find the culprit, and follow the clues to find the antidote.

There was a copper coin engraved with the word Zhao on the assassin's body, but Bao Zheng believed that this just proved that the matter had nothing to do with the Empress Dowager.Since the assassin was careful not to leave any clues, how could he have such important evidence on him, so this copper coin is just to muddy the water.

The emperor was on his way to Pingyuan Jun's mansion when he was assassinated, but the suspicion of Pingyuan Jun can also be ruled out.First of all, although this matter was the emperor's impromptu idea, the emperor had already informed Mr. Pingyuan more than ten days ago, and he would pay a visit in the near future.So not only did the Pingyuan Lord's Mansion prepare for a long time, but even the guard work along the way started a long time ago.Therefore, the emperor's whereabouts were not a secret. The assassins were just waiting for an opportunity for the emperor to leave the palace, and it had nothing to do with where he went.In addition, Mr. Pingyuan and the emperor are relatives, grandparents and grandchildren, and their interests are very close. Unless Mr. Pingyuan wants the whole family to seek death together, he will never want to hurt the emperor in the slightest.

The only remaining clue is the poison that may have come from Xiqiang.It has been proved that the poison is indeed very different from the poison in the Central Plains. I asked someone who is familiar with the witchcraft of the Western Qiang to look at it. Although I can't tell what kind of poison is in the emperor, it must have the ingredients of witchcraft, which further proves the poison's authenticity. source.

The relationship between Dayan and Xiqiang is not good. At present, it is the Xiongnu who are fighting fiercely with Xiqiang. This also makes Xiqiang appear in the list of countries that sneak attack on the border of Dayan all the year round.Especially after losing the Hetao area, the territories of the Xiongnu and Xiqiang directly bordered each other, which greatly facilitated their collusion and attack on Dayan.The Western Qiang and the Huns did not participate in the meeting at the Great Court Meeting at all, and the Western Qiang people looked very different from the Central Plains people. Would they really send people all the way to Chang'an to assassinate the Emperor Dayan?Even if you really want to do it, can you do it?

Bao Zheng believed that the possibility of the independent assassination by the Xiqiang people was not high.According to Zhao Yun's confession, there were three crossbow arrows attacking the emperor, one of which was a mother-in-law arrow, which was hard to defend against, so it was able to successfully hit the emperor.The crossbow arrow mechanism found on the assassin also proved that this mechanism can release three arrows at the same time, and the mechanism itself is very small, so it is not easy to be discovered.So here comes the question, do the Xiqiang people have this level of production?Both the mechanism and the arrow itself are relatively new and well maintained. No matter how you look at it, this kind of thing is from the Central Plains, and it is a skilled craftsman of the Central Plains, which means that the assassin comes from inside Dayan!

While Bao Zheng was carefully investigating the suspects, a name suddenly appeared in Liu Xi's sight.

"You mean Zhongshan King Liu Jing?"

Liu Xi glanced suspiciously at Gao Lishi, who had just rushed back from the palace.

In the past two days, because the emperor was assassinated, several capable people under the emperor, except Zhao Yun who stayed to protect the emperor, were all rushing about this matter, wishing to find an antidote for the emperor twelve hours a day.At this moment, Gao Lishi's expression was haggard, even worse than the emperor's complexion.He was originally a person who attached great importance to his appearance, but at this moment he didn't even buckle his hat strap properly.

Liu Xi had heard of Zhongshan King Liu Jing.In terms of seniority, Liu Jing should be regarded as Liu Xi's uncle and the late emperor's younger brother.Zhongshan King Liu Jing's mother, Zhongshan Queen Mother Li, and Liu Xi's grandmother Chenliu, the Queen Mother Cao, are both the emperor's favorite concubine, but Li's family status is higher, although her appearance is not as beautiful as Cao's, her status is higher. Keep pressing Cao's head.Until the sons of both parties left for the country, the fiefdom of Liu Jing, King of Zhongshan, was closer to Chang'an than that of Liu Xi's father, and relatively richer.These were of course the situation before Liu Xi succeeded to the throne.Now that Liu Xi is the emperor, although King Zhongshan is an uncle, he can only be his courtier. The power of the Li family has gradually faded out of the power center, and even the few who have been in charge of the military power have been squeezed out of Chang'an. It can only be used as a local defense.

"I heard that the king of Zhongshan once competed with the emperor for the position of crown prince." Gao Lishi explained, "The previous emperor had no heirs and wanted to choose an heir from the royal family. After some debate, it was decided to choose between the emperor and the king of Zhongshan. In contrast, the king of Zhongshan has the reputation of benevolence and kindness, while the emperor is strong because he is young. In the end, it was because of the words of the empress dowager Zhao that the late emperor made up his mind to recruit the emperor to Beijing and make him the prince."

Liu Xi nodded: "That's right. The empress dowager said that if the king of Zhongshan is crowned as the crown prince, he is the emperor's younger brother. According to the patriarchal law of Dayan, brothers will eventually reach the younger brother, and the elder brother cannot enter the ancestral temple. If a nephew is appointed as the crown prince, he can adopt him as the crown prince. Inheriting the incense, the late emperor can also enter the ancestral temple after his death. Therefore, the late emperor decided to establish the crown prince instead of the emperor's younger brother."

Liu Xi heard about this matter from Mi Tuan afterwards.To say that the King of Zhongshan, Liu Jing, was quite unlucky. Back then, the throne of the ancestor emperor was vacant. Because he was born two months later than the first emperor, his mother and concubine failed to become the queen, and he himself failed to become the prince.After his elder brother, the first emperor, was in poor health and had no sons, he had to be the crown prince at the request of the courtiers.Liu Jing, the king of Zhongshan, was a strong contender for the position of crown prince, but because he was nearly 20 years older than Liu Xi, he failed to become emperor this time.So some people just don't have the emperor's life!But would he really assassinate the emperor with resentment for this reason?

"You doubt King Zhongshan? Why?"

Assassinating the emperor is not a trivial matter, once the matter is revealed, it will be a serious crime of extermination!

"King Zhongshan has ghosts in his heart!" Gao Lishi said seriously, "I was ordered to welcome the kings from all over the country who came to participate in the great court meeting. The land of King Zhongshan is only a few hundred miles away from Chang'an, but he rushed to Chang'an early. This is a suspicious point."

Liu Xi thought about it, there are still ten days before the Chinese New Year. The grand court meeting is scheduled for the [-]th day of the first lunar month. The first batch of officials to arrive are from remote areas. The King of Zhongshan is not going to celebrate the New Year in his fief, so he rushes to Chang'an to do it. What?He didn't have any relatives in Chang'an, and it was unreasonable to visit relatives and friends, which was indeed very suspicious.

Gao Lishi said again: "The minister went to meet the King of Zhongshan at the same time as You Cheng. The next day, the King of Zhongshan invited Prime Minister You's concubine to a banquet. Afterwards, Prime Minister You found out and beat the concubine and detained him in the mansion. At first, I didn't feel that Suspicious, now that I think about it, it seems like a cover-up. King Zhongshan secretly made friends with ministers, this is the second doubt."

Although Liu Xi came here through transmigration, he also knows that it is a taboo in the court to have a relationship with a king and a minister.On the surface, Wang Ting's actions are law-abiding, but when you think about it carefully, there are some problems.In terms of status, the king of Zhongshan is only higher than the right prime minister. Even if the power is not so great, it is not worthwhile to condescend to invite the bastard of the royal court to drink.But he did so, and Wang Ting beat the concubine shamelessly afterwards, which didn't make sense.Unless the two parties have already secretly communicated with each other, they are just afraid of being discovered and deliberately use a bastard as a middleman. If something goes wrong, they can use it as an abandoned son to sacrifice.At that time, Wang Tingda can say that he has always opposed making friends with King Zhongshan. Didn't he even beat his own son?

"What else?" Didn't the ancients always say that if there is one, there is two and there is three, Liu Xi felt that Gao Lishi must have a more direct reason for doubting King Zhongshan.

Gao Lishi pursed his lips, with a murderous look on his face: "The first time I greeted King Zhongshan, I saw an attendant with dark skin and well-defined features, and his posture on horseback was different from that of ordinary people. I haven't seen this person again after several visits. After thinking about it for the past few days, I feel that this person is suspicious, so I asked Li Bai to go to the post house to spy secretly, but I didn't expect to find this person after searching."

Liu Xi was amazed: "Could it be that he was sent elsewhere?"

Gao Lishi said angrily: "It would be better if he was sent elsewhere. Li Bai sneaked into the post house again last night, and finally found a corpse in a dry well in the post house. I have personally examined the body, and it is the missing attendant. And that's clearly a Western Qiang! The King of Zhongshan was in a hurry to destroy the corpse, what else could he be if he didn't have a ghost in his heart?"

Liu Xi gasped.This King of Zhongshan, Liu Jing, was ruthless enough. He probably heard that he was only injured and did not die, so he killed the person who could detoxify first.King Zhongshan also knew that there might be the emperor's eyeliner around the post house, so he had no choice but to hide the body in the post house.This incident seemed to be unnoticed, but Li Bai still discovered it.

It's just that the antidote still hasn't been found in this way, and it's impossible to arrest King Zhongshan and question him based on one-sided words. The problem in front of him is still unsolvable...

"If it doesn't work, let's use lynching!" Gao Lishi's face flashed coldly, "As long as you give me an hour, even a stone man, I can make him tell the antidote! Even if someone finds out, I am willing to bear it!"

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But the emperor shook his head and said: "It's not right. Don't startle the snake, send someone to the Zhongshan King's fiefdom to investigate. The key is Wang Ting's attitude. Wang Ting is much more difficult to deal with than Zhongshan King. As for the antidote..."

Gao Lishi said eagerly: "Li Bai said that he has been to Xiqiang before, and he is quite familiar with the local customs and customs there. He has already hurried there, hoping to find an antidote for the emperor."

Liu Xi sighed, knowing that the possibility of success in this matter was very slim.Li Bai had indeed traveled all over the world, and he still had some Hu people's blood in him, so he could easily mingle with foreigners.But these all happened in another era!How can it be so easy to find an antidote through ever-changing time and space, rather than a cabbage?But with these people working hard for themselves, his life is worth living, so why care about the result?Liu Xi couldn't help but chuckled.

"Your Majesty..." Gao Lishi wanted to say something, but was stopped by the smile on Liu Xi's face.Although Liu Xi was young, he was calmer than Tang Xuanzong when he was in trouble, which made people admire and feel distressed.

To say that Tang Xuanzong is proficient in all aspects of poetry and music theory, and has been immersed in the gentle hometown of Concubine Yang all year round. In terms of talent, he is indeed ranked first among emperors throughout the ages, but in terms of temperament, he is not as open-minded and tenacious as Liu Xi, and he is more suitable to be an emperor.

"You are tired too, go down and rest early! Let the rice ball serve me."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

In the end, Liu Xi decided to test the reaction of the ministers first. His assassination was a difficulty, and it would be great if he could use this difficulty to understand some things that he usually does not understand.