The upright forensic doctor bumped into the drama prince

"Mother, when I proposed to drink the cup of tea given by the imperial grandfather, Eunuch Shi seemed to have a wrong expression. Is there any allusion to this that I don't know?"

"That cup was made by your imperial grandmother. Your imperial grandfather regarded it as a treasure and never let others use it. That's why Shi Min hesitated when you made such a request." The Empress Mother loves you deeply, and it is still unforgettable to this day, Alan was able to be accepted by the Emperor Father smoothly, probably because you look like the Empress Mother."

"I see. Fortunately, I didn't take the teacup away. Otherwise, it would be a crime if I damaged the teacup in ignorance." Ji Linglan couldn't help but said happily.

Ji Pingting stepped forward and took Ji Linglan's arm, and asked coquettishly, "Brother, you haven't said how to test for drugs yet."

Ji Linglan said helplessly: "This has to be kept secret, it's useless for Ting'er to act like a baby."

Seeing what Ji Linglan said, Ji Pingting was sensible and didn't ask any more questions, and said, "It's fine if you don't say anything, but you must make it up to me with delicious food. I also want to eat barbecue, especially baked tofu, hehe."

Baked tofu is Ji Pingting's favorite. It is charred on the outside and tender on the inside. With special sauce and cumin, the taste is really unique.

Ji Linglan couldn't help laughing when she heard the words, and said: "You can't eat barbecue all at once, otherwise you will definitely get angry, and I will cook it for you every two days."

"Okay, it's a deal, hehe." Ji Pingting hurriedly responded, as if she was afraid that Ji Linglan would regret it.

Princess Yaohua couldn't laugh or cry when she saw it, she laughed and scolded: "Look at you, you are greedy, if you don't know, you think there is a shortage of food in the palace."

Ji Pingting laughed twice, "Hey, hey", and said, "Isn't it because the barbecue made by brother is so delicious, doesn't mother like it too?"

"Yes, yes, only your little mouth can say it."

The mother and son went back to Yaohua Palace talking and laughing.

Ji Linglan returned to the dissecting room, put the tea into the locker, sent a message to Tang Tang, and then returned to the bedroom.Just as he was about to lie down and take a nap, he heard a knock on the door. Xu Ning's voice came from outside the door, saying, "Your Highness, the princess invites you to the front hall."

Ji Linglan got up, went to the door and opened it, looked at Xu Ning, and asked, "Does Commander Xu know what mother is calling me?"

Xu Ning replied: "Your Highness, after arriving in Kyoto yesterday, the princess sent people to search the residence of Zhang Zhou, the deputy commander of the Xiaoji Guards. We found a dark room in Zhang Zhou's residence. There were several secret letters hidden in the dark room. One of the secret letters that Zhang Zhou used to communicate with Lu Xiang was the secret letter that Lu Xiang ordered Zhang Zhou to assassinate His Highness."

"Yesterday? Then why didn't mother mention it before?" Ji Linglan asked with doubts in her heart.

"Returning to Your Highness, my subordinates did not find the darkroom yesterday. I only learned about it during the interrogation of Zhang Zhou's family today, and my subordinates have just reported to the princess."

Ji Linglan nodded and said, "So that's the case. Let's go, follow me to see my mother."

Ji Linglan went straight to the front hall, and after entering the door, she saw Princess Yaohua reading the secret letter.

Seeing him coming in, Princess Yaohua handed over the secret letter in her hand and said, "Alan, take a look."

Ji Linglan took the secret letter and looked at it carefully. There were not many words on it, only three lines. The general meaning was to find him at all costs and get rid of him. The signature was the word "Lu" and a seal was attached to it , is also a 'Lu' character.

Princess Yaohua asked aloud: "What does Ah Lan think about this matter?"

Ji Linglan frowned slightly, and said, "Why didn't Zhang Zhou dispose of such a secret letter, and instead hid it in the secret room? This is obviously unreasonable. There are roughly two reasons for this situation. One is that Zhang Zhou This person has already made up his mind, and kept the secret letter only to testify and protect himself after the incident; secondly, the secret letter was forged by others to frame the blame. Mother, I am new here and I am not familiar with the place of life, so I can only It's hard to judge when giving advice."

Princess Yaohua said with a smile: "That's the case, Alan can give an accurate analysis, which is enough to show that Alan's mind is absolutely extraordinary. As Alan said, this secret letter is probably forged. I want to involve Lu Xiang in it, so as to muddy the water."

"What is mother going to do?"

"Naturally, it's easy to push the boat along the way, so we can have more helpers, so why not do it." Princess Yaohua looked at Xu Ning and said, "Xu Ning, send this secret letter to Prime Minister Lu."

Xu Ning responded and said, "Yes, this subordinate obeys."

Ji Linglan reminded: "Mother, no matter how smart the Crown Princess is, she cannot support herself. There must be helpers behind her. These helpers are probably from her mother's family. Mother should be more careful."

Princess Yaohua nodded in agreement, and said: "The name of the Crown Princess is Gao Zhenzhen, and her father is Gao Zhenjiang, who was then the chief assistant of the cabinet and the crown prince's tutor. He is full of peaches and plums, has many supporters, and is very prestigious in the court. "

"Prince Taifu?" Ji Linglan frowned, and said, "Mother, do you think the Gao family wants to support the crown prince, or to stand on their own? What's the quarrel with Xiang Lu?"

"Speaking of the rift, there is only a big rift between me and Lu Xiang in the court." Princess Yaohua couldn't help but wryly smiled.

Ji Linglan asked curiously: "Oh? What's the reason for this?"

Princess Yaohua sorted out her thoughts, and said: "When I was young, I often disguised myself as a woman to go to and from the palace. Once when I was playing in Mausoleum City, I met Lu Xiang, the eldest son of Lu Xiang. We had similar interests, so we went out together. Later he learned that Because of my identity, I begged Lu Xiang to ask my father to give us a marriage. Your father and I have been in the same heart for a long time, so naturally we would not marry him. After asking me, my father refused Lu Xiang. Who knew Lu Just like this, Zheng went crazy, pestered me more, I couldn't bear it so I beat him up, who would have thought that he couldn't afford it, and died of illness not long after, since then there has been a grudge between Lu Xiang and me. But although Lu Xiang has a grudge against me, he is very loyal to his father, otherwise he would not have quelled the rebellion with your grandfather when there was a palace change that year."

"Mother is very hard?"

"He is Lu Xiang's son, how could I hit him too hard, I just punched him twice, besides, I'm only a woman, how strong I can be, who knows that Lu Zheng can't afford it."

"Where did mother hit Lu Zheng?"

"One punch in the abdomen, one punch in the corner of the mouth." Princess Yaohua replied almost without thinking.

"The abdomen and the corners of the mouth, as far as the strength of a woman is concerned, if there are no other accidents, it is impossible to beat a grown man to death. What is the cause of his death, does mother know?"

"The doctor said it was a heart disease caused by overthinking."

"Heart disease?" Long-term emotional abnormalities can indeed lead to heart disease, but Ji Linglan always felt that there was something hidden in it, and asked: "Did mother suspect that Lu Zheng's death was not a death of illness?"

Princess Yaohua nodded, and said: "I also suspected it, but there is no evidence, and the imperial doctor swore that Lu Zheng died of a heart attack. No matter how much I say, Lu Xiang will only think that I am shirking responsibility."

"Even if Lu Zheng died of a heart attack, it's because he couldn't think about it, not his mother's fault."

"We both know this in our hearts, but Lu Zheng died because of me, and it is reasonable for Lu Xiang to lose his parents and children and resent me."

"What mother said is true. So is there any suspicion between Gao Taifu and Lu Xiang?"

Princess Yaohua shook her head and said: "I've never heard of this. The two have been officials in the same dynasty for many years. Although they are not close friends, they have a good relationship. The reason why they are eyeing Lu Xiang should be because there is indeed a relationship between us. It’s easier to stir up suspicions.”

"Then Taifu Gao has other heirs besides the Crown Princess?"

"There are also three sons and two daughters. The eldest son is Gao Yan, who serves as a servant in the Ministry of Officials; the second son is Gao Cong, who is the Shaoqing of Dali Temple; the youngest son is Gao Lei, who is accompanied by the prince. The eldest daughter is Gao Zhenzhen, who was named The second daughter is called Gao Xiaolian, married to Han Jiao, the second son of Han Xu, Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites; the third daughter is called Gao Xiaohui, married to Liang Qinzhi, the left counselor of Jiangbei Chief Secretary."

"Then his son and son-in-law all hold important positions in the court." Ji Linglan frowned more and more tightly.

Princess Yaohua smiled wryly and said: "Yes, these are only his sons and sons-in-law. If you add his students, it can be said that his contacts are all over the government and the public."

"How could the emperor's grandfather allow such a powerful person?"

"Father originally wanted to pave the way for the emperor's brother, and wanted to make his throne more stable. Who knew that the Gao family became so powerful without knowing it." Princess Yaohua sighed, and said: "Now Now if we want to completely eradicate the Gao family, I am afraid it will cause turmoil in the court, so we need to plan well."

"So my mother wants to use this opportunity to join forces with Lu Xiang to deal with the Gao family."

Princess Yaohua said with a smile: "I really can't hide anything from you. This is indeed a great opportunity to temporarily resolve the grievances between me and Prime Minister Lu, and let us reach a cooperation."

While the two were talking, a notification suddenly came from outside the door, saying, "Princess Qi, Zhang Ye is begging to see you."

"Let him in."

Zhang Ye quickly entered the hall, bowed and said, "Princess, Zhang Zhou's wife, Mrs. Wu, committed suicide by taking poison."

"When?"

"Back to the princess, just half an hour ago."

"Kill people to silence them, their actions are quite fast." Princess Yaohua looked at Zhang Ye, and then asked, "Who is guarding the Wu family? I have carefully screened anyone who has had contact with her since she was arrested." Once again, I want to see, who is this person who eats inside and outside."

"Yes, my subordinates obey."

Seeing that Zhang Ye was about to leave, Ji Linglan got up and said, "Mother, let me go and see with him."

"That's fine." Princess Yaohua looked at Zhang Ye and ordered, "Send more shadow guards to follow Alan's command and protect his safety. If there is another violation, I will personally kill you. Zhang Ye, Can you hear me clearly?"

Zhang Ye bowed and replied, "Yes, this subordinate obeys orders and will never disappoint the princess again."

"Go."

Ji Linglan followed Zhang Ye out of the palace, and took a carriage straight to the Princess Mansion.Looking at the Princess Mansion in front of her, and then thinking about the Mausoleum Mansion in Fu State, Ji Linglan couldn't help shaking her head with a wry smile, and said: "Sure enough, this is the era when imperial power is supreme."

Ji Linglan didn't stay long. After entering the Princess Mansion, she went directly to the dungeon of the Princess Mansion under Zhang Ye's leadership.

The dungeon is on the west side of the Princess Mansion. Although it is not as secret as the water dungeon in the Mausoleum Palace, it is still guarded by full-time guards.

Seeing Zhang Ye approaching, the guard at the door hurriedly saluted and said, "I've seen my lord before."

"This is the prince of Lan County, who was proclaimed by the emperor, the son who was found by the princess and the general. From now on, he will be the master of the princess mansion, and you all recognize it clearly."

The guards hurriedly saluted and said, "This servant has seen Prince Lan."

Ji Linglan waved her hand and said, "Everyone get up."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Ji Linglan paused for a while, then followed Zhang Ye into the dungeon.The dungeon is not too small, and it has an area of ​​hundreds of square meters after walking down. There are many wooden prisons of different sizes inside.Nearly half of the prisons house prisoners.Most of them are ragged, unkempt, with numb eyes, and they seem to have been imprisoned for a long time.

Ji Linglan couldn't help asking: "Why are they locked up here?"

Zhang Ye replied respectfully: "Most of them are spies from other countries, and there are also servants who have made mistakes."

"A secret work from another country?" Ji Linglan frowned slightly, but didn't ask further.

Zhang Ye secretly glanced at Ji Linglan, and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.With Princess Yaohua's order, if Ji Linglan really asked about Fu Guoxi's work, he would have to answer, and if something happened to him, he might be implicated as well.

Zhang Ye stopped in front of a cell in the back, and Ji Linglan also stopped.

"Your Highness, this is the cell where Mrs. Wu is."

Ji Linglan stood at the door of the cell and looked inside, and found a female corpse lying on the pile of straw inside. She was wearing light blue clothes, her hair was a little messy, her face was dirty, and there were bruises at the corner of her mouth. Green, and some filth spit out.

Ji Linglan asked aloud, "Has the body been moved?"

Zhang Ye replied: "Return to Your Highness, after receiving the notification, my subordinates came over to check. It is the current situation, and there is no sign of moving."

Ji Linglan took the first look at the cell door, opened the half-open cell door wider, and then walked into the cell.After wandering around the cell, he knelt down to examine the body.

The deceased woman was about 25 years old, her face was cyanotic, her lips were also lavender, and she had punctate hemorrhage under the conjunctiva, which was an obvious feature of asphyxiation.

There was vomit at the corner of the mouth, and scratches from fingernails on the neck.Ji Linglan pinched the corpse's chin, forcing her to open her mouth and look at her throat.

Ji Linglan said directly: "Light the torch and help me shine a light."

Zhang Ye responded, took out a torch and ignited it, and approached the corpse's mouth.

Ji Linglan looked through the flames and found something stuck in the throat of the deceased. He stretched out his fingers and took it out.After a closer look, it was a piece of greased paper, the size of which should be the greased paper wrapping candies.In addition, there were burn marks on the throat of the deceased.

Ji Linglan let go of her hand, moved her eyes down, and looked at the dead man's hand. Sure enough, she saw skin flakes in the fingernails.Ji Linglan's eyes stayed on the lower body/body of the corpse, wanting to see if there was any excrement on her lower body/body, she hesitated for a moment, and said: "Carry the body out of the dungeon, find a clean and well-lit room, I want to do an autopsy. "

Zhang Ye was startled, and then responded, "Yes, this subordinate obeys."

Ji Linglan got up and walked out of the cell, watched the shadow guards carry the body out, followed Zhang Ye back to the ground, entered the prepared room, closed the doors and windows, took out the tools and started the autopsy.

An hour later, Ji Linglan came out of the room, looked at Zhang Ye who was waiting at the door, and said, "I heard from Xu Ning that you took Zhang Zhou's family under control yesterday. Did you have an interrogation at that time?"

Zhang Ye replied truthfully: "Go back to Your Highness. After bringing him back, his subordinates interrogated him, but they all didn't know what to ask."

"Then when did Mrs. Wu change her mind and tell her where the darkroom is?"

"Return to Your Highness, it's early morning."

Ji Linglan nodded and said, "Let's go to the dungeon."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The two returned to the dungeon again, and when they came to the door of Wu's cell, Ji Linglan said directly, "Zhang Ye, go and bring everyone who has had contact with Wu."

"Yes, my subordinates obey."

After a while, Zhang Ye brought the people over, and they all saluted Ji Linglan and said, "See His Royal Highness the County King."

"No courtesy." Ji Linglan looked at the crowd carefully and asked, "Which one of you was the first to discover that Mrs. Wu committed suicide?"

Everyone looked at each other, and a man came out of the crowd, bowed and replied: "Your Highness, it was discovered by the servant."

"How did you find out?"

"Returning to Your Highness, this servant is in charge of the food for everyone in the dungeon. When he came to distribute the food, he saw Mrs. Wu lying upright on the straw, her eyes wide open, her face ferocious, and she was startled. Shi is dead."

"Who was the last person she ever saw?"

Everyone looked at each other again, and another man came out, saying: "Your Highness, my slave Chang Shan is in charge of guarding today. Two hours ago, when I was patrolling, I saw Mrs. Wu. She was still alive at that time."

"How often do you make rounds?"

"Return to Your Highness, we will patrol at least every other hour."

"How many people are you on duty?"

"Returning to Your Highness, there are eight people in total, two at the gate and two in the dungeon, and they rotate at six o'clock every morning and evening."

"Then why are you patrolling alone?"

"King Hui is not alone, Liao San is also patrolling with the servant." Chang Shan glanced back.

Liao San hurriedly took a step forward, and said: "See Your Highness, the slave is Liao San, who was with Chang Shan during the previous inspection."

Ji Linglan looked at the three people in front of her, and said, "How long has it been since your inspection to the distribution of meals?"

The three looked at each other, Chang Shan said: "About an hour."

"Who has come into contact with Mrs. Wu during this hour?"

Chang Shan looked at Liao San beside him, and said, "Returning to Your Highness, the two of us were together during this period, and no one left alone. Moreover, our location is the only way to enter and exit the dungeon. During this period, except for Jiao Si who came to deliver meals , no one has the opportunity to contact Wu."

"That means that among you, only Jiao Si has the opportunity to contact Wu Shi alone."

Jiao Si immediately fell to his knees when he heard the words, and said: "Jun Wang, when the slave came, Mrs. Wu was already dead, and has nothing to do with the slave, please ask the county king to learn from you!"

"This is just your side story, can someone testify for you?"

"This... In the past, the servant and Niu Kui were the ones who delivered the meals, but today Niu Kui didn't come on duty for some reason, so the servant could only come by himself. There are no cells around here..." Jiao Si looked around and suddenly stopped. He got down, pointed to a cell in the corner, and said excitedly: "Xiao Liuer, Xiao Liuer can testify for the slave."

"Xiao Liuer? Who is Xiao Liuer?"

"Returning to Your Highness, Xiao Liuer is the son of Cai Qing. He is five years old this year. He is small and thin. This cell can't hold him, so he always runs around mischievously. Today, when the servant delivered the meal, he was playing in that cell. Can testify against slaves."

Ji Linglan frowned, looked at Zhang Ye, and asked, "Why is a five-year-old child in the dungeon?"

Zhang Ye was also in a daze, and quickly pleaded guilty: "Your Highness, forgive me, this subordinate is not very clear about this matter."

Jiao Si said aloud: "Your Highness, my lord, this villain knows about this."

"Then tell me, what's going on?"

"Caiqing is the princess's personal maid, but she is very ambitious. Once, when the general was drunk and wanted to climb into bed, he was kicked out by the general, so she was demoted from the first-class maid to the third-class maid. Not only did she have to do rough work, but she also had to accept She couldn't stand the gap, so she took the opportunity to steal the princess' jewelry and wanted to sneak away, but was bumped into by Aunt Qiaoyi. The princess got angry and took Cai Qing into the dungeon." Jiao Si looked at it. The crowd went on to say: "After Cai Qing was taken into the dungeon, she couldn't bear the suffering here, so... she seduced the guards of the dungeon, and they all slept with Cai Qing."

Everyone hurriedly knelt down on the ground and said: "I know my mistake, the king of the county forgives me!"

Zhang Ye's expression became ugly, and he said, "Absurd! You bastards! It's unreasonable for you to do such dirty things!"

"My lord, spare my life, my slave knows my mistake, my lord, spare my life!"

Ji Linglan's face was also not good-looking, and said: "Whose child is that?"

Several people looked at each other and shook their heads one after another.

Chang Shan said aloud: "Before Caiqing became pregnant, the servants had all been friends with her, so they can't be sure who the child is."

"So you left the child in the dungeon and lived with the picking?"

Seeing that everyone was silent, Jiao Si said aloud, "Return to Your Highness, Cai Qing died not long after giving birth to her little six son."

Ji Linglan's face became even uglier when she heard the words, and said: "At any rate, you also had a good relationship with Caiqing, but you left a newborn child in this dark place, has your conscience been eaten by dogs?"

"The king of the county calmed down, the slave was convicted, and the slave never dared again."

Ji Linglan ignored everyone, looked at Zhang Ye and said, "Send someone to bring Little Six and that Niu Kui. Let's see where he is and why he's not on duty today."

Zhang Ye responded and told his shadow guards to find Xiaoliuzi and Niu Kui.

Ji Linglan looked at everyone carefully, and then asked: "From yesterday to now, who else has come into contact with Mrs. Wu alone? I don't want to use torture, you better tell the truth."

Everyone looked at each other, but no one spoke for a while.

Seeing this, Ji Linglan's face darkened, and said: "I'll give you three more breaths, if you don't want to talk about it here, then go to the execution hall. One, two..."

Seeing this, Chang An quickly said: "Your Highness, we just finished our shift early this morning. During our first patrol, the slave once went to the toilet because of stomach discomfort, leaving Liao San alone to patrol."

Liao San hastily argued: "Your Majesty, although this slave is patrolling alone, he has never had any contact with Mrs. Wu, please ask your Majesty to learn from him."

"Ms. Wu made a sudden confession early in the morning. When did she say it and who did she say it to?"

"It's Liao San, the slave came back from the latrine, and he told the slave that Mrs. Wu wanted to confess."

"Yes, Mrs. Wu did tell the slave that he wanted to confess, and he was the one who called the slave. It's just that the slave was wronged. The slave has nothing to do with the Wu family. Please ask the county king to learn from him."

"Who was on duty last night, and did you contact Mrs. Wu alone?"

The guard who had never spoken aloud said: "The king of the county, the servant Liu Shuisheng, the servant and Qiao Mai were on duty last night, we both went in and out together, and did not contact Wu alone. Changshan is a little abnormal today, he It's two cups of tea earlier than usual."

Ji Linglan looked at Chang Shan, and Chang Shan quickly argued: "The slave came early because he had a stomachache in the morning. Thinking about getting up, he planned to come earlier to buy some food for the little six. Although the slave came early, he never Close to the prison where Mrs. Wu is."

"So, Little Six can testify for you, right?"

"Yes, His Majesty the King of the County is wise. At that time, the servant was with the little six sons. He can testify for the servant."

Ji Linglan turned to look at Zhang Ye, and asked, "Can Zhang Zhou have any heirs?"

"King Hui, Zhang Zhou has a son named Zhang Heng, who was born to this Wu family. He is six years old and is also in the dungeon."

Ji Linglan ordered: "Go and bring Zhang Heng here."

"Yes, my subordinates obey."

Before long, the shadow guards brought Zhang Heng and Xiao Liuer over one after another.Although Zhang Heng was only one year older than Xiao Liu'er, he was more than a head taller than him. Xiao Liu'er was sallow and thin, not like a five-year-old child at all, and could walk out of the fence with one side of his thin body.

Zhang Heng lowered his head timidly, and grabbed his clothes with his fingers.However, Xiao Liu'er opened his big black and white eyes, peeping at Ji Linglan, with no trace of fear in his expression.