Opposite the entrance hall

This year's eventful autumn, I thought that all matters, big or small, should come to an end. All kinds of events have already become the most frequently talked about stories by storytellers in teahouses in the next few years, but I don't know that the biggest long-term change since Emperor Chengde's accession to the throne will happen in an ordinary day. The twelfth lunar month happened.

At the beginning of the month, Ji Siguan went to the court for the first time after his reinstatement. He tried his best to weaken his own existence, and carefully looked at the expressions of everyone. It was obviously the same as usual, but for some reason, he felt uneasy and could only wrinkle. Frowning, suppressing this weird feeling.

The court meeting was going on in an orderly manner, and there were no problems, but there were many civil and military people in the Manchu Dynasty who had different ideas, and they were waiting for who would be the young bird.

Emperor Chengde's whole body was filled with a dead air of decay. His whole body was like a dead wood that had been hollowed out. It began to rot from the inside, leaving only a thin layer of skin. Before, he was much slower, and his spirit became worse, so he raised his eyes to look at Sun Hai.

The latter was signaled, and just about to take a step forward to announce his retreat, Li Hongyu glanced sideways at Kong Lingqiu who was behind him. Their gazes intersected across the crowd, and without a single word, only a look could understand the meaning.

Sure enough, Kong Lingqiu came out of the row and bowed, and said sharply: "Your Majesty, I have something to play."

Everyone breathed tensely, and cast their eyes on Kong Lingqiu, a little surprised that this early bird would be a member of the Ministry of Rites, and what plans they had in mind, it is estimated that only Li Hongyu and Kong Lingqiu knew.

After he finished speaking, he didn't continue, but was waiting for Emperor Chengde's reaction, and after a while he heard Emperor Chengde say, "What's the matter?"

Immediately afterward, Kong Lingqiu took over the topic. He understood that the more foreshadowing in this matter, the more troubles would be in the future. It would be better to get straight to the point from the beginning and take the initiative in his own hands with one sentence.

Thinking like this, what he said was enough to change Lin'an's world, "What I want to say is that Cao Weiyuan, the former Shangshu of the Ministry of Household Affairs, was poisoned in the prison of the Ministry of Punishment and almost died."

Without saying too much, Emperor Chengde understood what kind of drama Kong Lingqiu was singing today, his brows were slightly wrinkled, and his face sank three points, "The Ministry of Punishment will investigate this matter. What does it have to do with your Minister of Rites?" Relationship? When you mention this matter today, don’t you want to do it for yourself?”

"I don't dare," Kong Lingqiu quickly nodded and denied, "It's just that your majesty has heard that there are rumors inside and outside the palace..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Emperor Chengde, "What are you preaching? How can such rumors count!"

"It's been said that the empress wants to destroy her relatives righteously. Your majesty has always distinguished public and private affairs and set an example. Cao Weiyuan will be able to find out if you ask Cao Weiyuan about this matter. If the empress is indeed framed, then the court will testify today. The civil and military officials of the Manchu dynasty will be the witnesses. Can block the mouth of the world," Kong Lingqiu's voice was so loud that it could fall into the ears of everyone in the court, "I just don't want your majesty to be deceived by traitors and damage your majesty's reputation for life!"

"Ridiculous!" Emperor Chengde's face darkened suddenly, and he slapped the desk, gasping for breath. While clenching his fists, he pointed at Kong Lingqiu below and roared angrily: "Where do you think this court is? Interrogation Is it an annoying prison? Just based on your words, it is not too much for me to chop off ten of your heads!"

Emperor Chengde was very angry, but Kong Lingqiu did not retreat but advanced, sighed softly, and said a sentence unhurriedly, "If this matter involves a 20-year-old case in Chengde, can His Majesty try Cao Weiyuan?"

As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar.

The faces of Qi's father and son and Ji Si suddenly became serious, even Du Heng, who knew little about it, looked unexpected, and the rest of the people were also full of surprises, each of them had their own plans in their hearts.

After all, everyone knew in their hearts that the biggest event that happened in Chengde in the past 20 years was the death of Concubine Wan and the fifth prince who was not yet full-term in the sea of ​​fire.

Emperor Chengde naturally thought of this, and he pursed his lips and pondered for a long time, before he heard him say solemnly, "Wu Minqian."

"Chen is here!"

"It is said that Cao Wei is coming to see you."

"According to the order!"

Everyone's attention was in front of Emperor Chengde, no one noticed that the servant in the corner sneaked out of the side door, took advantage of no one's advice, spread his legs and ran away without a trace.

After a few months, he entered the Qianqing Palace again, but for Cao Weiyuan, it was in two different situations. There was a bit of sneer, a bit of disdain, and a bit of gloating in his eyes, which formed a sharp contrast with the ragged and humble him. He felt a bit of hatred and cruelty from the bottom of his heart. He hated Li Hongyang, Cao Yuhan, and even Qi Qi. Everyone hated it.

All kinds of thoughts surged, he walked straight through the middle, his eyes swept over everyone's faces one by one, keeping everyone's expressions firmly in his heart, he paused when he saw Li Hongyu from the corner of his eye, and then quickly moved away, without anyone noticing There is no clue.

"Sinner Cao Weiyuan has seen His Majesty." Cao Weiyuan bowed on his knees.

"Raise your head." Emperor Chengde didn't let him get up, but just asked with this posture, "I heard from Wu Minqian that you were clamoring to see me in the prison of the Ministry of Punishment, but what's the important thing to say?"

"Your Majesty, the guilty minister has no objection to the crime committed by the criminal minister. It is useless to talk about what is being confused for a while. The criminal minister knows that death is not a pity, but your majesty is merciful. I have pity on my Cao family for generations. Jin has been working so hard, and he spared the sinner's family, the sinner is very grateful, and can only chant scriptures and eat food, and pray for His Majesty, so that I can be prosperous for a hundred years."

He said with tears in his eyes, pretending to be full of emotions, and only after a while did he get to the point, "Your Majesty is kind, but someone is at the feet of the emperor, under His Majesty's nose, who wants to take the life of the criminal minister." I don't regret the sinful minister's death, lest Your Majesty will be deceived by the traitor and lose the wisdom of the whole life. The criminal minister will do his best today to expose the true face of this person, so that His Majesty will no longer be kept in the dark, and no longer be subjected to the cruel emperor's heir The harem is in trouble, and the poisonous woman who intends to damage my century-old foundation of the Jin Dynasty is bewitched!"

The words have come to this point, and it is self-evident who they are referring to. Today's situation is somewhat beyond everyone's expectations. Everyone held their breath, lowered their heads and did not make a sound.

Emperor Chengde couldn't see any joy or anger on his face, he just covered his lips and coughed, and then asked in a deep voice, "Who are you referring to?"

Hearing this, Cao Weiyuan slowly raised his head, looked directly into Emperor Chengde's eyes, then lowered his eyes again in an instant, but his tone became firmer, and he spoke clearly and clearly, "The person mentioned in the words of the guilty minister is not someone else, but someone else. She is the half-sister of the sinner, the current empress of the Great Jin Dynasty!"

"presumptuous!"

Before the words were finished, Emperor Chengde was furious. He raised his hand and swept away the papers on the desk. All the civil and military officials in the court bowed their heads and said in unison, "Your Majesty, calm down."

"Cao Weiyuan, I think you are tired of life and don't want your life anymore!" Emperor Chengde twitched his nose and roared viciously.

Cao Weiyuan was a timid and fearful person, the emperor was not angry but mighty, now he was sweating a lot, the sweat dripped down his temples and wet his clothes.

His mouth was extremely dry, he couldn't stop swallowing saliva, his body was shaking like chaff, his limbs were weak, fortunately he was kneeling, if he was standing, he might fall to the ground directly.

When he glanced at Li Hongyu from the corner of his eye, the latter frowned slightly, Cao Weiyuan immediately withdrew his gaze, gritted his teeth and said in a hoarse voice: "Your Majesty clearly checked, what the guilty minister said today is true, I dare not lie , the queen is good at confusing others with appearances, but in reality she has a deep mind and a ruthless means. She will do whatever it takes to achieve her goals. The whole world has been deceived by her. If it wasn't for the sinners who have been working for the queen these years, I'm afraid I really think that the queen of Dajin is virtuous and benevolent , caring about the people of Liming, she is a first-class empress!"

Once you have opened your mouth, it will be much easier to talk about other things later. Cao Weiyuan stopped, swallowed his saliva, and looked up at Emperor Chengde again. Hurry up after the sinful minister is eliminated! If it is not for the criminal minister who can't believe that she didn't eat much, I'm afraid she really did what she wanted, wouldn't my Dajin have such a mother who is still made fun of by other countries!"

"You keep saying that the queen has vicious thoughts and methods, but what evidence do you have? If there is no evidence, how can you convince people with your one-sided words?" Nothing wrong.

"Your Majesty only needs to send someone to Qifeng Palace to find out about the empress's cruelty to the palace people. It's just that the empress is very skilled. Those palace people may not speak up easily. Your Majesty might as well punish them, so that they may I will talk about it." Cao Weiyuan replied urgently.

I never imagined that Emperor Chengde would be even more furious after hearing this. He slapped the table heavily, pointed at the man below and yelled, "Being beaten into a trick? I see that it is not the queen who has evil thoughts, but you! I don't want to listen to it anymore, and you don't have to." Moreover!"

Yan Hao sneered twice in his heart, but on the surface he followed what Emperor Chengde said, "So you don't have any evidence, Cao Weiyuan, do you know who the queen is, and you can insult me ​​like this, even if you So what if he is the elder brother of the queen, according to the law, he should be quartered by five horses!"

"Your Majesty," Yan Hao said in a deep voice after bowing out, "This man is full of nonsense, and he humiliated the Queen in front of all the officials without proof. If this matter gets out, whether it is the Queen or the Queen, Your Majesty, that will hurt the face of the royal family, in the opinion of a humble minister, don't listen to his nonsense, just suppress him and choose a day for execution."

Cao Weiyuan was afraid that Emperor Chengde would listen to Yan Hao's words, so he hurriedly defended himself: "If the criminal minister has no evidence, how can he take the empress's book in front of all officials? Wouldn't that be suicide? Please think twice, Your Majesty. ah!"

At the same time, Li Hongxuan, who was standing in the front row, glanced sideways at Fan Yi, Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry, and raised his hand to touch the tip of his nose. It is not unreasonable, humiliating the empress is not a small crime, if he is really just empty talk, is he going all out to seek his own death in front of the court and in front of all the officials? Except that he is stupid, I can't figure out why he did this."

After the words fell, Kong Lingqiu also came out to pay respects, "I think what Fan Shangshu said is very true, let alone the fact that Cao Weiyuan was poisoned, but it is true, just say that His Majesty clearly spared his life, so there is no need for him to leave his life behind. Going to the gate of death, Your Majesty might as well listen to what he said, maybe it's not that simple."

Of these two people, one is from King Rui, and the other is from King Liang. Li Hongyang finally understands the scene completely now. This is a game against him, but he can't help it The reason for speaking out was firstly because of his identity; secondly because what Cao Weiyuan said was the truth.

He knows better than others what kind of person his mother and concubine are. A person who can poison his own son for the sake of power treats himself like this, and treats others even worse.

The situation in front of him was extremely unfavorable to him, Li Hongyang pondered for a long time, but did not find any clues, he just lowered his head and his expression became ugly.

Yan Hao glanced in his direction, seeing that he didn't give any instructions, and he couldn't make up his mind for a while, but he opened his mouth, and it was too late to take it back, not to mention that if something happened to the queen, the prince would definitely be punished. Being implicated, for the Yan family, the harm outweighs the benefit.

Thinking of this, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "Kong Shilang and Fan Shangshu have also heard what Cao Weiyuan said. His words are inconsistent, and he has no evidence. How can he count? One person can slander the Empress, and even slander His Majesty at will, without any harm. Where does this put the laws of the Great Jin Dynasty? Where does it put the royal family's Tianwei? What do you two adults intend to do?"

Fan Yi's complexion suddenly changed, but Kong Lingqiu smiled, "Yan Shangshu's intention is not simple, I just don't know if it is what I think, or..."

"Instigated by someone?"

As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere in the hall became even more tense, Yan Hao looked ugly, and hurriedly said: "Don't spit blood!"

"Okay," Emperor Chengde rubbed his brows, interrupted the two of them with haggard energy, cast his eyes on Cao Weiyuan, who was extremely nervous below, and said slowly, "I can't believe it just based on your words, and I can't produce any evidence. It can only be regarded as you deliberately slandering the queen, and you should be punished."

Cao Weiyuan was so frightened by these words that his blood faded away, his face was pale, his mind went blank, he opened his mouth but could only utter repeated syllables, and even Li Hongyu cursed in his heart: This idiot, he has more success than failure!

Suddenly, Cao Weiyuan suddenly remembered something, took two steps forward, and said frantically, "Yes, yes, yes!"

He said three things in a row, aroused everyone's curiosity, and couldn't help but wonder what he would say next, and then he heard the man speak very quickly to reveal the secrets of the royal family that had been silent for many years.

"Your Majesty, do you still remember the fire in Hanqing Palace in the 20th year of Chengde? Concubine Wan and the five princes who were not yet full-term were buried in a sea of ​​fire. , this person is Yuanfeng, the eunuch next to the empress! And the mastermind behind the scenes is the empress!"

The ministers were in an uproar, shocking the government and the public.

The expressions on everyone's faces can be described as shock. No one dared to look at Emperor Chengde's expression, but they had different thoughts and plans.

When Ji Sicong heard the word Wanfei, his body tensed up, his hands clenched into fists and trembled slightly, if Qi Ran hadn't shaken his head at him, he might lose his composure and rush forward to carry the Cao Weiyuan's clothes asked what happened back then.

He always thought that the fire back then was intentionally set up by Concubine Wan to make Qi Niantong completely sever his identity as prince. He didn't know, never knew, how painful it would be to be burned alive by the fire!

Needle dropping could be heard in the hall, if it wasn't for the coughing sound of Emperor Chengde, it would have looked like a still picture. Suddenly, a smiling female voice broke the silence, which seemed out of place with the situation, "What's the matter, what's the matter?" The court meeting is so quiet, if I didn't see someone, I would have thought that the court would have ended early, and I was worried that the trip would be in vain."

Cao Yuhan, dressed in palace attire that showed her status, walked slowly into the Qianqing Palace with the support of Yuanfeng, without looking at anyone else, walked through the crowd, walked to the front and saluted respectfully, Yuanfeng and Dan Rui also saluted with both knees on the ground, and all the ministers bowed to greet each other.

Seeing the person coming, Emperor Chengde looked dignified, and his tone was full of displeasure, "What are you doing here? Is this the place you should come to? Go back quickly, have you forgotten the rules of not being involved in politics in the harem?"

"The concubine has never forgotten it," Cao Yuhan replied calmly, "Your Majesty also knows that the concubine has seldom been out of the Qifeng Palace in recent years, and only hopes that the Bodhisattva Buddha beads prayed for by eating fast and chanting Buddha will bless me with good weather in Dajin. Your Majesty is in good health. Today, the concubine was chanting scriptures and praying for blessings in her own palace as usual, but I heard that someone read a copy of the concubine in front of the palace, so I thought that since it was related to the concubine, if I avoided seeing it, I would be falling into trouble. Tongue, why don't you confront him in front of the palace, so you can prove your innocence."

"But there are still rules!" Emperor Chengde's face became more and more ugly, "You majestic Empress of Jin is confronting people in the court, where is my royal family's face, won't it make the whole world laugh, get me back! "

"If the concubine retires today, and he still slanders the concubine with slander, and there will be a lot of rumors in the public tomorrow, then what face will the concubine, the queen, have in the future? This is what makes the whole world laugh," Cao Yuhan said. Throwing the ground, every word and deed shows the demeanor of the mother of a country, "The concubine has been in Qifeng Palace for many years, and has managed all the affairs of the harem. Although she has not done everything perfectly, it has also made everyone in the harem peaceful and worthy of heaven. Ashamed of the ground, today I will listen to how my concubines have harmed the palace people, and their thoughts are vicious!"

"After today, how will His Majesty punish the concubine? Even if the concubine is removed from the position of queen, the concubine will never complain. It's just that this matter is related to the concubine's reputation. The concubine will definitely not leave."

"You..." Emperor Chengde opened his mouth, but he didn't know what to say, in the end he just waved his hand, "That's all."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

The inherent kindness of her face, coupled with the promotion of the Queen's benevolent name these years, is really far from the poisonous woman in Cao Weiyuan's story. Standing straight in front of the officials at this time, one can't help but be convincing. Speaking of the ministers, even Emperor Chengde's eyes on Cao Weiyuan became more and more suspicious.

Cao Yuhan naturally took the look of Emperor Chengde into his eyes, frowned, revealing a heart-wrenching look, raised his eyebrows, looked at Cao Weiyuan who was not far away, and said in a tactful tone: "Brother, although the married daughter The water that was poured out, but these years, I know that I have never been ashamed of the Cao family, and I have helped you in everything, no matter how big or small, why do you want your Majesty to slander me in front of you? Is it because I begged His Majesty to punish you severely, and you did it because of this I have a grudge, but this matter is caused by your greed, although I beg His Majesty to punish you severely, but in fact, I am in a dilemma, if I really want to put you to death, how can I let Yuanfeng go to the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Affairs."

In a few words, Cao Yuhan turned her head towards Cao Weiyuan, becoming angry from embarrassment and intentionally leading her up, but she picked it up very well, and in the end, she also portrayed a selfless character of repaying grievances with kindness.

Ji Si sneered twice in his heart. Although he didn't like Cao Weiyuan, he felt more and more that what he said was reasonable. Cao Yuhan was indeed used to controlling people's hearts, but in fact his mind was deep, far less simple than it seemed on the surface.

Cao Weiyuan also thought the same way. After hearing Cao Yuhan's words, his face became tense and hurried. After she finished speaking, she hurriedly retorted, "Stop pretending, wait until I reveal your true colors in front of His Majesty, see How can you quibble! You said you treated my Cao family very well? But it was very good, and you did the same thing in front of your face!"

"Then tell me, how does Ben Gong pretend?"

"Your hands are full of crimes, you have harmed countless people, and you can even touch unborn babies. Although I know it, I can't stop it. Every time I think of it, I feel ashamed. It is because I know too much that I will You are so jealous, you want to get rid of it quickly, lest I will reveal your true face one day, and deliberately poison the food you send, trying to put me to death, how can such a vicious person deserve to be my empress!"

Hearing that Cao Yuhan seemed to understand something, she said that Cao Weiyuan, a cowardly person, how could he become so aggressive and courageous to confront her, co-authoring came prepared, there must be someone looking behind him, I just don't know who this person is.

Qi Xiang?King Rui?Or the King of Qin?

She made a circle of suspicious people in her heart, but her face remained calm, and Cao Weiyuan was still crying on the other side.

Unexpectedly, Li Hongyang went out to pay respects, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty Qizuo, the food is indeed a gift from the empress, it was made by the empress herself, and she said it was for many years of love, the Cao family will be exiled , I don’t know when we can meet each other, so I sent some food to the prison of the Ministry of Justice. If the queen really wanted to kill someone, wouldn’t it be extremely easy to see through, but it would really be a steal. What do you think? It's unlikely."

Cao Weiyuan's back was wet with cold sweat, and he didn't dare to take a breath. From the corner of his eye, he subconsciously slammed towards Li Hongyu, touched the latter's eyes full of coldness, and hurriedly moved away.

As Li Hongyang said, the food Cao Yuhan sent was not poisoned. What really poisoned him was a colorless, odorless and water-soluble poison that Li Hongyu sent someone secretly. He dissolved the poison in the soup and drank it. After that, Cao Yuhan can be blamed openly.

This move is not intended to convict Cao Yuhan, but to find a justification for uncovering the 20-year-old case in Chengde and revealing the truth that no one knew back then.

Back then, there were a lot of things involved, and he didn't want to get involved, but Li Hongyu threatened his son, and promised that he would be safe after the matter was completed, and maybe one day he would be able to return to his post.

Cao Weiyuan was already extremely stupid, and after thinking about it, he had the idea of ​​taking a gamble, and he made the knife that Li Hongyu borrowed to kill people.

He swallowed his saliva, "The empress is clever, and no one will pay attention to her tricks at that time. It's up to her to say whether this death is black or white!"

Several people insisted on their own opinions, and the officials in the DPRK and China were not good at speaking out rashly, for fear of being affected by the fish in the pond, they each had their own calculations. Emperor Chengde coughed a few times, his face flushed, and he roared in a hoarse voice, "Okay, don't make noise. It’s okay, it’s not too ugly to be noisy!”

He drooped his eyelids, squinted his eyes and glanced at Cao Weiyuan, then raised his chin slightly, "You keep saying that the fire in Hanqing Palace in Chengde in 20 years was planned by the empress, but what evidence do you have?"

"Of course there are," Cao Weiyuan quickly replied, "Concubine Wan is the only daughter of Mrs. Xu, and she is close to Qi Xiang and Fang Taifu. She is not only outstanding in talent but also outstanding in appearance. Compared with her, all the women in Lin'an They are all inferior, the empress has held grudges early on, but she has no other way to do it. She never imagined that in October 19th of Chengde, the empress accidentally saw Concubine Wan having a good conversation with a man dressed as a guard in Chengwumen, but she strictly abided by her principles. At that time, everyone in the palace said that the emperor wanted Concubine Liwan to be the queen, so he bought the maid who cleaned the bedroom next to Concubine Wan, stole a roll of copybooks, and asked the guilty officials to copy them outside the palace. In name, he handed over a love poem to the guard, and it was also the one that was presented to His Majesty after being received back then."

"Back then, it was the empress who made it difficult for His Majesty to suspect that Concubine Wan had an affair with the guard, and the identity of the fifth prince became unclear, so that Concubine Wan's life in Hanqing Palace was miserable. Your Majesty He Xingzi should be the clearest. She doesn't bother to win people's hearts, and she doesn't get close to anyone in the palace. She is used to being alone. , In addition, the queen secretly hinted that it is common to burn leftovers, and in the twelfth lunar month, you can't even get a charcoal fire, you can only hug the quilt to keep warm, your Majesty can find a surviving palace official and find out."

Ji Si's drooping eyes suddenly turned red, and he clenched his fists, and his fingertips sank into the flesh of his palm, but he didn't feel any pain.

Emperor Chengde was also taken aback, and murmured, "She never told me..."

When he said this, he kept silent, and suddenly there was a sound. Concubine Wan was thrown into Hanqing Palace after that incident. He was caused by gossip in the palace, and he became more and more suspicious of the relationship between the two, even the unborn child. It also became unclear, and every time I thought about it, I was upset, so I ordered that all matters related to Concubine Wan should not be mentioned in front of him in the future. It was the result of her being buried in a sea of ​​fire with the child on the day after Zhengdan Festival.

The information brought by these words was enough to make everyone’s jaws drop, but Cao Yuhan still stood upright, staring at the monarch on the dragon chair, seeing his loss of soul and sudden stop, and couldn’t help but sneer secretly A few times, he thought: This late affection is cheaper than grass, and I don't know why he is moving himself.

Cao Weiyuan on the other end slowed down and continued: "The Hanqing Palace is already covered by the queen with one hand, Concubine Wan is isolated and helpless than forced to... Driven crazy. There were too many officials who begged for a thorough investigation, so they wanted to kill. On Zhengdan Festival, His Majesty held a family banquet in the palace, so it was necessary to strengthen the guards. Hanqing Palace is remote and cold, so no one cares about it. Even the guards were removed in advance. In other places, Yuanfeng, the great eunuch beside her, bribed the palace servants of Hanqing Palace to lock the doors and windows, and then set fire...to burn people alive in it."

After the words fell, Ji Si bit his lower lip tightly to prevent himself from making a sound. He didn't even dare to think about how it would feel when the tongue of fire engulfed his flesh. Just thinking about it made him feel unbearable pain.

"Such a big fire..." Emperor Chengde fell into the past in a daze, his body trembled slightly, his lips moved, but he just repeated this sentence, "Such a big fire..."

Afterwards, he slowly cast his eyes on Cao Yuhan who looked normal, gritted his teeth and asked, "Is what he said the truth?"

Cao Yuhan smiled instead of anger, raised her beautiful eyes, looked directly at the king of Dajin, and answered calmly, "Your Majesty asked this, isn't it just that you want to convict my concubine after hearing his one-sided words? Said that what he said was not done by the concubine, and the concubine didn't know anything about it, would His Majesty believe it?"

Emperor Chengde didn't answer. Fortunately, Cao Yuhan had expected it a long time ago, and didn't feel a little bit sad. He just walked a few steps in the direction of Cao Weiyuan, stopped in front of him, bent slightly and asked in a disappointed voice, "You I was supposed to be a relative whose blood is thicker than water in this world, how could I have come to this point today, if I didn't know about this matter, I'm afraid that after hearing this nonsense story, I would believe it to be true, my brother's ability to make up stories is amazing Well, you said that the fire in Hanqing Palace was planned by me alone. I don’t know if anyone saw it, but is there any evidence to prove that it was done by me? You couldn’t have seen it with your own eyes, could it? Or maybe Concubine Wan dreamed with you Tell me about this? Then what is the relationship between the two of you? You have been weak and fearful since you were young, but someone instigated what you said in front of the palace today? If you tell who it is, this palace will beg His Majesty to spare you Life!"

"I……"

Cao Yuhan pressed her step by step, several questions in succession silenced Cao Weiyuan's questioning, the amount of water protruding from his forehead wet his temples, as if he had fallen into an extremely rare state, and was speechless for a long time.

"What kind of benefits did that person promise? You are so willing to plant it on me." Seeing that Cao Weiyuan was a little slack, Cao Yuhan got closer and closer, luring the prey into the trap he had set up bit by bit, as if As long as Cao Weiyuan nods her head, this farce will be a complete victory for her, "Brother, don't forget, we are a family, how can you believe what other people say, I'm afraid I will kill the donkey and fetch water from the bamboo basket It's empty!"

Cao Weiyuan raised his eyes subconsciously, and Cao Yuhan's face was imprinted in his bloodshot eyes. The two people's eyes met. Only the two of them knew the various meanings contained in it. After a long while, Cao Weiyuan's lips trembled slightly, and he said in a daze, "Yes. ……yes……"

As soon as the words came out, there were a few coughs pressed in the throat, the sound was very small and fleeting, but Cao Weiyuan was stunned, his pupils suddenly dilated, as if he was frightened by something, his body was extremely stiff and a little A slight tremor.

He could hear that the direction of the voice came from Li Hongyu, and he remembered what Li Hongyu said on the day when the person who was placed in the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice delivered the medicine. I really want to have friendship with Mr. Cao, but if Mr. Cao said something that shouldn’t be said in front of the hall, the prince can’t be merciless. It is also impossible.

Cao Kairong is the only son of Cao Weiyuan. He couldn't watch his son have an accident. Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth and slammed his head on the ground. Everything I said is true, and I hope your Majesty will learn from it! The criminal minister has been helping the evildoers for many years, but now he has come to his senses and just wants to tell the world the truth. The copybooks, and the letter that the eunuch in charge of Hanqing Palace wanted to send to the Qi Mansion, but was intercepted by the criminal officials."

After that, he looked at Cao Yuhan, showing a smile that was determined to win, "You never thought of it, I also saved a hand!"

Hearing this, Cao Yuhan's face darkened by three points, she looked at the man coldly, and unconsciously clenched her sleeve with her right hand.

She was careless, she thought that Cao Weiyuan was a simple-minded, stupid idiot like a pig, but without thinking about it, she had already secretly designed herself, and found an opportunity for him to take advantage of.

At this moment, the situation was extremely unfavorable, her thoughts turned quickly, and she carefully calculated various matters, trying to figure out a way that would be beneficial to her.

Emperor Chengde didn't say much, and didn't even cast his eyes on Cao Yuhan, but asked again, "Is what you said true?"

"Sinners dare not lie to His Majesty."

After finishing speaking, Emperor Chengde beckoned Sun Hai to close his ear, whispered a few times, and saw Sun Hai come down and stand in front of Cao Weiyuan, and asked a few words in a low voice, the voices of the two were very low, and the people around only listened. intermittently.

Afterwards, Sun Hai got up and bowed his head to Emperor Chengde in salute, then hurriedly led several servants out of the hall, and the hall became quiet all at once.

Cao's mansion is not too close, even if the patrolling guards are on the fast track, it will take a while, but Emperor Chengde's face is gloomy, and no one in the court hall made a sound, and everyone held their breath for fear of causing trouble to the upper body.

Before today, no one would have thought that such secrets of the royal family would be revealed above the court. It was truly unheard of and never seen before. A good show has its own ghosts.

Qi Kuangshan didn't say anything from the beginning to the end, as if he was watching the development of the matter with a cold eye, but in fact, only he knew in his heart that it was the turbulent book that caused the sky-shattering waves.

No one knows Qi Nian's life experience better than him. Qi Ran is his son, so he knows better than others what kind of temperament he is. Once he knows Qi Ran's affection for the young prince, he can understand that Qi Nian is not Qi Ran's son. After being able to know the cause, he informed Fang Qingrong of the matter and acted out such a play. Otherwise, it would be difficult to convince others that Qi Nian is Qi Ran's son with Qi Ran alone.

This concealment has lasted for seven years, but he has never regretted it. The kindness of the teacher is the first, and the child is innocent. If he is allowed to stand on the sidelines, how can he set an example.

The difficulty of this matter cannot be explained clearly in a few words. Because of this, he understands that if the fact that Qi Nian is the fifth prince is revealed, a sentence of bullying the king is not enough to sum it up, but it is a big treason.

Under such panic, Emperor Chengde said, "Does the Empress have something to say?"

"Your Majesty wants to hear what my concubine has to say?" Cao Yuhan asked back, "This matter is aimed at my concubine. I am afraid that this fabricated letter is also intentional. If your majesty does not believe it, then it is useless to let my concubine say it. Yu Bu, Your Majesty would rather listen to what a villain who is corrupt and accepts bribes than listen to what a concubine says, so what can the concubine say now?"

"The concubine entered the East Palace on the fifteenth day, was promoted to a concubine, and was promoted to a concubine. Now she is even more expensive as a queen. Before she knew it, more than 30 years had passed. She supported and respected each other as guests. I didn't feel sorry for Your Majesty at all. Is His Majesty going to convict my concubine just because of what someone else said, just because of what I said without evidence?"

"What Your Majesty said that day: The king is a rock, the concubine is a pampas grass, the pampas grass is as tough as silk, and the rock cannot be moved. Didn't your majesty forget it?"

Her eyes were red, and every word she said made people cry.

Emperor Chengde's heart softened when he recalled the past, he opened his mouth but didn't know what to say, so he waved his hand, "You... oh..."

Today's incident threw a thunderbolt in his heart, making his face paler than before, and his whole body looked weak, as if he was a little older again, "This matter is serious, I will investigate it clearly, give you One confession, if this Cao Weiyuan is really instigated to slander you, I will not let it go!"

After a long while, Sun Haicai rushed over from outside the hall, and he didn't care to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and saluted respectfully, "Your Majesty."

As soon as he appeared, he attracted everyone's attention. Emperor Chengde nodded, "What's the matter?"

Sun Hai was a little hesitant, he hesitated twice, his eyes flicked back and forth between Cao Yuhan and his sister, and he didn't know where to start.

"Just say what you find out."

"Yes," Sun Hai responded with a nod, and said word by word: "According to what Cao Weiyuan said, the old slave sent inspectors to check and turned his study upside down. He never saw what Cao Weiyuan said. Letters and copybooks."

After the words fell, the court fell into chaos again. Li Hongyang breathed a sigh of relief, but Cao Yuhan and Cao Weiyuan's expressions changed. The former seemed to understand suddenly, and subconsciously turned his head to look at Li Hongyu's position, his pupils were full of disbelief.

She has done countless shady things, but she kept everything from Li Hongyang, and she never thought about it.

And Cao Weiyuan's expression was even more full