After the emperor's first court meeting, he specially left three ministers behind, together with officials from Xingbu, Dali Temple, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and then summoned many of the imperial doctors, eunuchs, and maids who were on duty on the night of the late emperor's death, as well as the escort Jiu Chitose.

Concubine Li, Concubine Xiang and other suspects returned to Lingxia Palace together.

Trying to restore the scene when the late emperor died in order to clarify the case, the restoration process is meticulous, and no flaws can be found!

Even with the presence of Xingbu and Dali Temple officials who have rich experience in solving crimes, they cannot deduce who has the motive to commit the crime and the opportunity to poison.

The officials knew that the case was suspicious, but they all had their own agendas and did not want the truth to be revealed.

"Your Majesty, this old slave is really unjust! This old slave has served the late emperor for many years...how dare he be disobedient!" Jiu Chitose seized the opportunity and quickly defended himself, hoping to take the opportunity to redress his grievances.

Kuchitose knew very well that he could not escape his guilt, so he tried his best to try to get through.

The emperor glanced at Jiu Chitose and said coldly: "You little slave, you haven't figured out the crime yet; you committed a false edict, not regicide! I spared your life to find out the cause of the late emperor's death.

Otherwise...I would have cut you into pieces long ago!"

The emperor noticed the ministers' intention to mediate, and warned Kuchitose not to try to escape punishment.

"The old slave is guilty and deserves to die..." Jiu Qiansui used his best trick and cried: "If the old slave had tried hard to prevent the late emperor from taking the second pill that night, the late emperor might not have died.

Wuwuwu..."

Although Kuchitose was on trial, she did not give up the idea of ​​seizing the opportunity.

No matter how hard Kuchitose performs or how hoarse she sounds, after all, the current emperor is not the late emperor, and he will not accept his tricks.

But when Kuchitose mentioned the detail of "taking the second pill", Yu Dian, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment on the side, transferred the fatal cause to the seven pills a night.

Yu Dian was indeed perceptive, but unfortunately he was too outspoken, which caused a strong backlash from Mei Xiang and others.

"To report to your Majesty, I thought..." Yu Dian stood up and said respectfully: "Perhaps the cause of the late Emperor's death was medication rather than murder."

As soon as Mei Xiang heard this, he became anxious on the spot!

He quickly jumped out and led Cheng Xiang in an attempt to push the case back towards the direction of traitor and regicide.

Mei Xiang knew the origin of the Seven Pills a Night, and was afraid that the truth would be exposed, so he impatiently intervened.

Although He Xiang said nothing at this time, he was covered in sweat and his court clothes were already soaked!

He secretly rejoiced: The lucky batch of seven-time-a-night pills was donated by Mei Xiang. If Lu Xiongying's escort had not encountered the escort, I would be the one standing there today, as anxious as an ant on a hot pot.

!

"Who gave the pills that the late emperor took seven times a night before his death?" the emperor asked.

Before Yu Dian could reply, Jiu Qiansui quickly pointed at Mei Xiang and cried to the emperor: "That pill was given by Mr. Cao Ge!"

Although Kuchitose was on trial, she was very excited. As if she had been prepared for it, she insisted that Mei Xiang would launch seven pills a night in an attempt to direct the fire towards the latter.

Mei Xiang made a thud, immediately knelt down on the ground, and then tried his best to explain how he obtained the batch of seven-a-night pills in his hand, and the ins and outs of the obtaining process, giving a complete explanation.

When Mei met, the situation was not good, so she had to desperately prove her innocence, but because she was too eager, she seemed to have many doubts.

After the emperor heard this, he turned to Yu Dian and asked, "You are the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment. What should you do if it were you?"

Yu Dian and He looked at each other, and after hesitating for a moment, he replied: "Put Mei Xiang into custody immediately...and prohibit him from seeing you!"

Although Yu Dian made a clear decision, his answer was still thoughtful, and he seemed not very sure about Mei Xiang's guilt.

"According to the report!" The emperor immediately issued a decree: "Depose Cao Mei from all official positions and escort him to Xingbu for questioning!" After saying this, Prime Minister Mei knelt down and licked his head violently, shouting injustice until he was escorted out of Lingxia Palace by the guards.

.

Mei Xiang suffered this fate because he offered seven pills a night, which aroused the suspicion of others, and because of Kuchitose's stab in the back, he was driven to this tragic end by fate.

"Who made Cao Mei's batch of seven times a night pills? Does anyone know?" the emperor asked.

"Old slave knows, I am happy... I am happy Taoist priest!" Jiu Qiansui knelt on the ground and replied very hypocritically.

Seeing Mei Xiang's misfortune, Jiu Chitose took the opportunity to introduce another scapegoat in an attempt to continue to get away with it.

The emperor looked at the ministers in front of him. Everyone bowed their heads and remained silent to protect themselves.

I thought: I’m afraid it’s hopeless to rely on them to find out the real cause of my father’s death. If we continue to investigate hard, if the officials are not protecting each other, they will be working together to oppose dissenters. It will be even more difficult to get the truth from these officials, so it’s better to find someone else.

Law.

After careful consideration, the emperor issued two decrees: "Ask the Xingbu...immediately arrest Taoist Huanxi and come to Beijing for questioning! Recruit Jiang Mingyu into the palace."

Jiang Mingyu, who was sitting at home, did not wait for the appointment document from the Ministry of Personnel, but received the edict from Duke Cheng first.

Before going out, Jiang Mingyu asked Butler Zhang: "In your opinion, is it good or bad for me to enter the palace this time?"

Butler Zhang smiled and replied: "You are a lucky person and have your destiny."

Jiang Mingyu: "How do you say this?"

Butler Zhang: "It will be a blessing if Eunuch Cheng comes here in person. If not, Eunuch Jiang will show up at this time...I am afraid he will be in chains, and he will not be able to talk and laugh with me."

Lao Xie came running over at this time and said urgently: "Master, Eunuch Cheng is urging you to hurry up, saying that the emperor is still waiting in the palace!" After saying this, Jiang Mingyu, who had changed into his official uniform, put on his black gauze hat and stood up.

Then left.

Jiang Mingyu followed Eunuch Cheng's footsteps and quickly arrived at Lingxia Palace. At this time, the emperor and the ministers were still there and had not dispersed.

When the emperor saw Jiang Mingyu appear, there was obviously a trace of joy in his eyes; but he still pretended to be calm and did not show it. This was a strict emotion control technique and a kind of emperor's art.

He grew up from elementary school to college.

But the person who is happier than the emperor is actually He Xiang!

He was worried that he would be implicated in the case, but as soon as he saw Jiang Mingyu appear, his heart was finally relieved!

He Xiang secretly rejoiced in his heart: Great, Jiang Mingyu's investment did not go to waste.

After the emperor spent an afternoon reasoning about the case, he saw that the ministers all held their own opinions and said different things. From time to time, they took the opportunity to make false accusations in an attempt to discredit their political opponents!

Such crude officialdom tactics disgusted him.

As a rare representative of the Qing Dynasty in the officialdom, Jiang Mingyu also had a close acquaintance with the emperor in private, so he was particularly favored.

After Yu Dian helped Jiang Mingyu summarize the case, the emperor made a decision.

Decree: "Give Jiang Mingyu a fifth-rank imperial envoy with full authority to investigate the cause of the death of the late emperor; hold the vajra, and give him the authority to kill first and report later!"

"Your Majesty, accept the order." Jiang Mingyu knelt down to receive the order.

After a while, Eunuch Cheng brought over a set of black gauze crowns, official uniforms and an imperial envoy badge made of pure gold.

The top of the black gauze crown is embroidered with clouds and gemstone patterns with gold thread, and is engraved with a small sapphire and a crystal stone.

Both sides of the official crown are decorated with white pheasant patterns.

The official uniform is made of azure high-grade cloud satin, with a gold edge all over the body.

The front and back are each embroidered with a gold thread python.

The official uniform has pleated satin decoration in the middle.

The collar and cuffs of the official uniform are also edged with azurite cloud satin.

The official belt is made of silver and has four round plain gold plates.

The imperial envoy's token is engraved with the word "imperial envoy" in a powerful and powerful font. The card's surface is engraved with a pattern of a Pegasus playing with clouds. The perimeter of the imperial envoy's token is decorated with cloud patterns made of pure gold. The golden light sparkles and looks extremely sacred and solemn.

Followed by two young eunuchs, they worked together to carry a three-foot brocade box.

Jiang Mingyu stepped forward and opened the brocade box. Inside was a pair of golden diamond maces.

The diamond mace is two and a half feet long and made of gold. The mouth of the mace is half-moon shaped and extremely sharp.

The handle of the mace is decorated with purple gold silk thread to carve out the pattern of Vajra Warriors, which is lifelike and extremely detailed.

The mace weighed sixteen kilograms, making it difficult for ordinary people to hold it lightly. Jiang Mingyu carefully took out the mace from the brocade box, but because it was too heavy, his elbow gave way and the mace fell to the ground with a clang.

It resounded throughout the whole hall.

Jiang Mingyu looked embarrassed. Although he had been given an important task, he was unable to hold the diamond mace, which made him seem powerless for a while.

Upon seeing this, the emperor seemed to realize that the mace was too heavy for Jiang Mingyu to use, but in order to show that Jiang Mingyu had taken over this important task, he still did not ask for a replacement.

The emperor looked around; at this time, not far to the right, there happened to be a burly, broad-shouldered and round-waisted Ouchi guard. He looked familiar, so the emperor called him over and asked him what his name was.

The guard knelt down on one knee, performed the salute of a military commander, and replied with clasped fists: "Replying to the emperor, I am a Mongolian with a surname of 'Tuke' and a first name of 'Sluo'. I am the deputy commander of the imperial guard."

"I remember, you are the guard who tested the poison seven times a night before the death of the late Emperor!"

The emperor nodded, thinking that he had taken seven pills a night and was a relatively unsuspicious person among all the people present. Maybe having him by Jiang Mingyu's side would be helpful to the case.

So I issued an order: "I order you to protect Mr. Jiang personally, day and night; if anything goes wrong, you are the only one I will ask!"

Tuckslow: "He humbles himself to receive orders."

After Tuckslow received the order, he had mixed feelings.

On the one hand, he felt extremely honored that the emperor had given him such an important task, which showed the emperor's trust and expectations for him.

But on the other hand, he is also well aware of the difficulty and responsibility of this task. If anything goes wrong, the consequences will be disastrous.

The emperor sighed infinitely in his heart.

The death of my father is still an unsolved mystery, and there is probably still a long way to go to find out the truth.
Chapter completed!