Zhuo Qihua

In the West Third Courtyard, Zhuo Ji stood at the door of the room, in front of him was an eunuch dressed as a chief executive, an imperial guard and four imperial guards with knives.The leading eunuch saluted him slightly, and said with a smile on his face: "Zhuo Baolin, our (read: Miscellaneous) Zhang Xian, ordered by the Holy Majesty to thoroughly investigate the harem, and please Zhuo Baolin for convenience."

Zhang Xian's grade is fourth grade, Zhuo Ji is only the lowest grade seven Baolin, Zhang Xian would not call himself a slave in front of him.But Zhang Xian knew what Zhuo Ji meant to the Holy Majesty, that's why the Holy Majesty sent him to the West Third Courtyard in person, so Zhang Xian was very polite to Zhuo Ji.The guards outside the West Third Courtyard were also ordered by the Holy Spirit to protect Zhuo Baolin.It's just that Zhuo Baolin's life is really hard.There is no jewelry on her body, no makeup on her face, and her hair is still in a long braid hanging behind her back.The material of the clothes is the most common cotton cloth.

Zhuo Ji saluted, his salute was not standard, and then said: "It turns out to be Director Zhang. I don't know why the harem should be thoroughly investigated? My two servants and I have been living in the West Third Courtyard. If someone offends place, please bear with me."

"Zhuo Baolin is polite. Dangerous things were found in the palace. The Holy Majesty ordered me to lead people to conduct a thorough investigation of the entire harem. Even the empress' Houde Palace must be strictly investigated."

"So that's how it is. Manager Zhang, please let me know. These rooms are used by three of us, master and servant. We have never entered the others. If there is something ulterior hidden in it, please ask Manager Zhang to find out. "

"Zhuo Baolin don't worry, our family will report the truth."

Zhang Xian led people into Zhuo Ji's territory.Zhuo Ji followed him in, and he walked quietly to the recliner and sat down, while Xiao Hui and Chang Jing stood behind him in fear.In contrast, Zhuo Ji acted too calmly.He even rested his chin on one hand, looking nonchalant.Obviously, the five guards were responsible for the search. Zhang Xian stood in a place that would not hinder the five people's search, and looked at the person on the recliner from time to time.Just because of the demeanor shown by this person at this time, he is not like an ordinary person.

Zhuo Ji had very few things, at least clothes and jewelry. As the emperor's maid, he could only be described as shabby.When the imperial guard took out a rattan box from the wooden box, Xiaohui nervously grabbed Chang Jing's sleeve.Zhuo Ji still had a calm expression.The guard opened the box with obvious surprise on his face.Seeing this, Zhang Xian immediately walked over. At the first glance, Zhang Xian was obviously stunned.

On the top of the rattan box is a very ordinary white paper for the palace, which is the lowest grade.This is not why Zhang Xian was surprised.What surprised him was the person drawn on the white paper.Zhang Xian raised his eyes to look at Xiaohui, then lowered his head, and he stretched out his hand.

"It's my personal belongings."

For some reason, Zhang Xian swallowed subconsciously, closed his hands, and then raised his head and said, "Zhuo Baolin, we need to check the contents here one by one."

Zhuo Ji: "Chang Jing."

"Yes!"

Chang Jing hurried over, saluted Zhang Xian and said, "Boss Zhang, let the little one come."

Zhang Xian nodded and backed away.Chang Jing carefully took out the unfinished painting on the top.Thanks to the stewards of Lishantang and Xisanyuan, the white paper in Zhuo Ji's hand is not too much, but it is not too rare. Of course, the quality of the paper is not as good as the paper used by the harem and the emperor. Than.On the white paper, the outline of Xiaohui's face was clearly visible.

Underneath this sheet are several sheets of unused blank paper, followed by several portraits.There were Xiaohui and Chang Jing—the two of them were the most—but there were Wang Bao and the West Third Hospital who were in charge!Zhang Xian stopped muttering in his heart.There are also several landscape sketches in the West Third Courtyard.Except for Chang Jing and Xiaohui, no one had seen this kind of sketching technique before, and the five guards, who were flattered or humiliated, kept their eyes on those sketches.

All the sketches were taken out.Next, Chang Jing moved more carefully.Still paper, but slightly better quality.It was either painted or written with things that Zhang Xian couldn't understand at all.Chang Jing took them out one by one and put them aside.Below that are a few thread bound books.Zhang Xian picked up a book, opened it, and was stunned.

"This is?"

He looked at Zhuo Ji, Zhuo Ji: "My own travel notes."

Zhang Xian smiled bitterly in his heart, with a polite face: "Zhuo Baolin, our family is illiterate, but our family still knows what the characters look like." This is obviously not a character!Let alone a travelogue?

Zhuo Ji smiled slightly: "Boss Zhang knows the characters of the Mata country, and I use the characters of the Haixi country. Of course you don't know them."

"Haixi Country?!" Zhang Xian exclaimed, and the imperial guard said, "Zhuo Baolin understands Haixi Country?"

Zhuo Ji nodded: "Understand a little."

The guard took a deep look at Zhuo Ji and said, "I need to take these travel notes with me."

Zhuo Ji asked: "If there is no problem, can you return it to me?"

The guard could not promise, Zhang Xian smiled: "As long as there is nothing wrong with these travel notes, I will return them to you, Zhuo Baolin."

"Then Manager Lao Zhang, don't break it for me, let alone lose it."

"Zhuo Baolin don't worry, our family will take good care of it for you."

Four travel notes were confiscated.The guard took out two blue porcelain bottles from the rattan box.As soon as the two porcelain vases were taken out, Xiao Hui and Chang Jing frowned: "My lord, please be careful."

The guard put the porcelain bottle on the table, and Zhuo Ji said, "That's the medicine to stop bleeding."

Xiaohui couldn't help but interjected: "A bottle is worth ten thousand gold!"

The guard who was about to pick up a bottle to check stopped his outstretched hand, and Zhang Xian was startled.Zhuo Ji lifted his chin slightly to Chang Jing, Chang Jing wiped his clothes with his hands, carefully picked up a porcelain bottle, pulled off the lid, and stretched it out in front of Zhang Xian and the guards, the two of them saw that the inside of the bottle was earthy yellow of powder.Xiaohui picked up another bottle, uncapped it, and stretched it over.

Both bottles were filled with khaki powder, and the bottle in Xiaohui's hand contained a red water pill the size of a mung bean.Xiaohui boldly said: "This is a hemostatic medicine prepared by my master himself. There are only two bottles of this."

Zhang Xian: "What is this red water pill?"

"It's a safe. There is only one in a bottle. The bottle in that bottle is used up, and this is the only one left."

"Insurer?" Zhang Xian looked at Zhuo Ji.

"It can stop the bleeding and relieve the pain." Xiaohui raised her chin like a proud peacock and said, "It can stop bleeding from internal injuries!"

Can internal bleeding be stopped? !The eyes of Zhang Xian and the guards present lit up.Chang Jing and Xiao Hui withdrew their hands, put the lid on, and hugged the bottle in their arms, not being too consistent.

Chang Jing took a step back: "Mr. Zhang, this medicine is a wound medicine. If you don't believe me, I'll take it for you right now. You can't take this away. My master only has two bottles like this when he entered the palace. brought in."

Zhang Xian smiled guiltily at Zhuo Ji, Chang Jing and Xiao Hui were about to cry, and Xiao Hui blurted out: "Mr. Zhang, these two bottles of medicine are hard to buy. My master was imprisoned in the West Third Hospital for three years." , I haven’t stepped out of the West Third Courtyard. You want to check for dangerous things. What does it have to do with my master? There are only two slaves and maidservants around my master. If my master is in danger, he has already thought of a way to lure the Holy One. Pay attention! My master, it's just such a good thing, and the master brought it into the palace, Manager Zhang, my master is not to be favored, but you can't bully people like this!"

Xiaohui cried as she spoke.

Zhang Xian took a look, ouch!He hurriedly said: "Zhuo Baolin, you misunderstood. Let's take this medicine back and show it to the people in the Imperial Medical Office. As long as it is not something harmful, I will send it back to you immediately."

Xiaohui and Chang Jing tightly held the bottle in their hands, as if they would not give it up to the death.Zhuo Ji rubbed his forehead: "Chang Jing, Xiao Hui, leave it to Manager Zhang."

"master!"

"I believe His Majesty will not covet the personal belongings of me, a little Baolin."

Zhang Xian groaned, and what he said didn't seem right.

In the end, the two bottles of wound medicine were still taken away.And that's not all.All the things taken out of the rattan box, including sketches, brushes, and everything were taken away with the box.Even Zhuo Ji took Xiaohui and Chang Jing's homemade toilet paper, and more than half of it was taken away.Xiaohui was so angry that she cried.Zhang Xian, who was walking on the road with the rattan box in his arms, groaned inwardly, Zhuo Baolin might hate him this time.

■

Queen Cheng's grandfather, Cheng Kai, was a Diange Bachelor, Hong (read: red) Degong, and Zhengyipin (Honor) Zuozhu Kingdom.The reason why Emperor Mingzong appointed the Cheng family as the emperor's grandson Zhengfei was because the Cheng family had a strong background, and the relationship between Emperor Mingzong and Cheng Kai was extremely deep.The Holy Majesty suddenly sent the Imperial Forest Army to surround the Gongde mansion, arrest the people in the mansion, and ordered the house to be ransacked.Not to mention that the Cheng family was in a daze, even the officials in the capital were in a daze.As soon as the Imperial Forest Army rushed to Cheng Cheng's house, many officials there immediately entered the palace to ask for a face-to-face.Originally, all the officials thought that the Holy Majesty could not tolerate the old ministers of the former emperor, and thought that the Cheng family was too powerful to get rid of the confidant of the Cheng family. Knowing what happened in the harem, no one dared to intercede with the Cheng family.

The witchcraft case, as long as it is discovered in the past dynasties, it is a major case, and it is a major case that can implicate the nine clans.Up to the royal family, down to the common people, as long as they are exposed to this witchcraft, even the death penalty is light.Empress Cheng used witchcraft to poison the empress dowager, the imperial concubine, the imperial concubine, the emperor's heir, and even suspected of poisoning the emperor. Let alone whether the Cheng family knew about it, as long as their surname was Cheng, even the best honors could save them. not them.

Yu's 82-year-old Hongde Gong Cheng was imprisoned, and more than 26 members of Cheng's family were all arrested, and this was just the family.Hundreds of officials were involved in this, and 18 concubines in the harem were involved, including [-] concubines, eight servants, and thousands of palace people.Among the concubines implicated are Concubine Shu and Concubine Zhou.Yan Xuan was not among the attendants involved, but on the day the incident happened, Yan Xuan fell ill.This is the most serious case of witchcraft since Emperor Yong'an succeeded to the throne, and it is also the only major case of witchcraft during Emperor Yong'an's reign.

On the second day after the incident, Emperor Yong'an announced that he would go to court.The emperor of the Mata country goes to court on the fifth and tenth of every month, and the officials rest on the third day of the month.But when such a major event happened, no one cared whether the next day would be the day for Hugh Mu.The Taiji Hall of Wenqing Palace in Qiangong is the place where officials go to court.On this day, the atmosphere in the Tai Chi Hall was extremely tense, and Emperor Yong'an's dragon anger enveloped the entire Tai Chi Hall.No one would have thought that the powerful Cheng family in the Mata country would fall for witchcraft.Even the resurrection of Emperor Mingzong could not save them.However, some ministers took the risk to intercede for Zuozhu Guocheng.Cheng Kai was an old minister of Emperor Mingzong. He had made many achievements and was 82 years old. Please let the emperor forgive him.

Emperor Yong'an hated Empress Cheng to death, and it was nothing more than she harmed Jiaguixie and Xiguifei, but she even harmed his most respected mother and his emperor's heir!Especially the paper talisman with his birth date written on it, the hair he left in the Houde Palace, and the nails he cut off were all used to absorb the dragon essence to increase the hope of pregnancy, and Emperor Yong'an was so sick that he wanted to vomit.Emperor Yong'an rejected Cheng Kai's plea on the spot.Empress Cheng's assassination of the emperor, the use of witchcraft to harm the empress dowager and the harem, and the murder of the emperor's heir are unforgivable crimes, not to mention the other serious crimes she committed.The queen gave death, and the entire Cheng family killed the nine clans.The most implicated in this case were the Na and Zhou families, the three Yi clans, and the males within the nine clans were demoted as slaves and sent to the frontier fortresses to work as coolies. Brother Miao and the females were enslaved and served as official prostitutes or Baiyinfang. The implicated families are also killed, exiled, and slaves.In the entire Tianshou Palace, more than 3000 palace people were demoted as slaves and sent to a place of bitter cold. The implicated concubines were given death, and those who were sent to the cold palace were sent to the cold palace.

The whole family of the Cheng family, which had been prominent for three dynasties, was destroyed in such a disgraceful manner.Empress Cheng died at Dongsi Temple with a glass of poisoned wine. Before she died, Emperor Yong'an went to Dongsi Temple to see her.After her death, her body was randomly wrapped in a broken straw mat by the palace staff and carried out of Danyang Palace, and was thrown into the mass grave together with the beheaded criminals from the Cheng family.No one even went to collect the corpse for burial.It is embarrassing that the queen who was originally the mother of the world ended up in such a miserable end, and even affected the entire Cheng family.But when people mentioned it, they would only say that she deserved it.

It is unknown who will be sad for Empress Cheng's death, but the concubines and servants in the harem who have nothing to do with the matter secretly applaud.The Cheng family died, and the Empress Dowager, Jia Guixie, and Xi Guifei all fell ill.The empress dowager was so out of breath because of what Cheng did, especially the two mummified corpses, the empress dowager vomited when she thought about it.Both Jia Guixie and Xi Guifei were depressed because of the loss of their beloved son.Although there is no direct evidence to prove that the child Jiaguixie miscarried was the victim of Cheng, but I also know that it must be related to Cheng.However, the two children of Concubine Xi Gui who died early have evidence that they were killed.

It was not easy for Brother Mao to get pregnant, but Jiagui Xie was deeply favored, and she conceived her first child after nearly ten years of marriage with Emperor Yong'an, who is now the eldest son of the emperor, conceived after Emperor Yong'an ascended the throne.After three years, Jiaguixie did not expect that he was pregnant again. He did not know how happy he was, but the fetus was aborted at five months.Jia Guixie still remembers the appearance of that emperor's son when he left him.It was also from then on that Jiaguixie began to believe in Buddhism, chanting scriptures every day to pray for his unborn emperor's son, hoping that he would return to her side in the next life.The five-month-old fetus can already see the gender.

Xi Guifei Kuang's "disease" is the same as that of Jia Guixie.She is about the same age as Cheng Shi and Jia Guixie.In the same year when Jiaguixie became the side man, Kuang married Emperor Yong'an, who was still the grandson of the emperor, as a side concubine, and the following year, Kuang became pregnant.As a result, the child she gave birth died before she was a year old.Kuang had given birth to two children, both of whom died young. Eight years ago, she was pregnant again, but she had a miscarriage just four months after she turned [-], and she never conceived again after that.

Jia Guixie and Concubine Xi Gui were overly sad, coupled with their hatred for the Cheng family, they both fell ill in bed.Because of all kinds of stimuli, the queen mother couldn't afford to be ill.The harem suddenly lost more than a dozen noble lords, and the number of palace people who were executed or punished was unknown.The empress dowager who was in charge and the two noble lords were both sick in bed, and there was a lot of turmoil in the palace.The waists and spines of the palace people are much more bent than before.

It has been more than half a month since I started working on hair.During this half month, Emperor Yong'an spent every morning in Tai Chi Hall, and returned to Danyang Palace in the afternoon to visit the sick Empress Dowager first, then to see Jia Guixie and Concubine Xi Gui, and then to deal with the three droughts and witchcraft cases in Fengtian Hall all subsequent events.That night, Emperor Yong'an rested in Fengtian Hall.The drought in Sandao remains, but the situation of the victims has stabilized.Encountered another big case of witchcraft, and then received a report today. After the southern granary adjusted grain to three places one after another, a serious problem finally broke out.Emperor Yong'an leaned on the dragon chair and closed his eyes to rest his mind. He was so tired that he couldn't even concentrate on paying attention to the person who was still in the West Third Courtyard.

"Long live!"

Emperor Yong'an opened his eyes and sat up straight. Zhang Xian ran in from the outside with surprise on his face, and knelt down directly: "Long live! It's raining! It's raining! It's raining three ways!"

"what?!"

Emperor Yong'an Huo De stood up, and Zhang Xian cried: "It's raining! It's raining in the land of three severe droughts!"

Emperor Yong'an didn't respond for a moment.Nearly [-] counties in Sandao, which have been dry for two years, finally rained?Zhang Xian cried and got up: "Long live, it's raining! The drought is over, the drought is over..." Zhang Xian cried, and Emperor Yong'an sat back down, muttering: "It's raining..."

"Yeah, hooray, it's raining..."

Bang, there was a sudden thunder outside the house, and Emperor Yong'an stood up quickly and went straight to the window in a jerk.A dark cloud suddenly floated in the originally cloudless sky, bringing a bit of refreshment to the stuffy Fengtian Temple.

"Aunt Shen, what's the voice?"

The queen mother on the sickbed asked weakly.With tears in her eyes, Aunt Shen, the empress dowager's personal nurse, helped her up and said, "Empress dowager, it's thundering, it seems to be raining..."

"It's raining?... It's raining... It's raining..." The Queen Mother looked out the window, "I don't know if it's raining in Sandao..."

It rained, and it finally rained in Sandao, which had been dry for two years.This heavy rain lasted for seven days and seven nights, as if to make up for the rain owed.Countless victims of the disaster knelt on the ground, raised their heads and let the pouring rain pour down on them.This heavy rain came too late, too late...but in the end, it is coming!

"Master, it's raining."

"Ah."

The rattan box was taken away, and Zhuo Ji took Xiaohui and Chang Jing to make some toilet paper for going to the toilet, and there was nothing to do.The two meals a day are very rich, so rich that if each meal is a little more, it will be enough for the three masters and servants to eat three meals a day.It has been more than half a month since the rattan box was taken away, and no news came back, like nothing.Xiaohui and Chang Jing couldn't get out either, and the guards outside the West Third Courtyard hadn't withdrawn yet, and they couldn't go to Lishantang to inquire about news.

Xiaohui and Chang Jing were very worried, afraid that the master's treasure would not be brought back, that the master would be in trouble, afraid... anyway, a lot of fear.On the contrary, Zhuo Ji is like a normal person, taking a nap every day, waking up in a daze after a nap, going out for a walk after the daze, and taking a nap after taking a walk...

"Master, it's raining so hard, is it going to rain in Sandao too?" Xiaohui lay down by the window to watch the rain.

Chang Jing said: "I hope it can rain. Otherwise, when the weather turns cold, the life of the victims will be even more difficult. Now that it's raining, we can quickly replant crops."

Zhuo Ji didn't make a sound, staring at the rain outside the window in a daze.Is this rain heavy?The rain he had seen before covered the sky and the sun, with the momentum to wash away the whole world.Closing his eyes, Zhuo Ji rubbed his temples that were swollen due to perennial insomnia.It's raining, it's cooler, and he might be able to take a good nap in a while.