The death of Wu Yashi completely kicked off the bloody theater of winter.
The secret guards moved very quickly. A group of men in black, despite the heavy snowfall in the sky, quickly packed all the eunuchs captured in Jingqi Pavilion into the punishment department.
Perhaps it is because there are too many prisoners who died in the Shenxing Division and the yin energy is too strong, so even in the scorching summer, people in the Shenxing Division can feel the coolness of late autumn.
This is true even in midsummer, let alone in the depths of winter now.
The eunuchs who originally dared to struggle and shout in Wu Yashi's house were frightened into silence as soon as they were escorted into the gate of the Shenxing Department by the secret guards.
The cold and dark torture chamber, the strong smell of blood that assaults the nostrils, the incessant screams of howling, and the various horrific torture instruments stained deep black by old blood, everything here looks like something that has never been seen all year round.
When exposed to the sun's rays, people staying inside can feel a sense of helplessness and despair emerging from the bottom of their hearts.
A group of eunuchs were tied up with cold iron chains, like dried bacon, with their feet hanging in the air from the beams, and they were lined up neatly.
Clamp sticks, red irons, stabbing tongues, nails, brain hoops, blunt knives to cut flesh...
Before the round of torture instruments was finished, the leading old eunuch who dared to loudly curse Kangxi in front of Kangxi in Jingqi Pavilion was the first to be unable to hold on any longer. His proud orchid finger could no longer be raised.
His voice was no longer shrill, like a broken bellows. There was blood in his mouth. After whimpering and inarticulate curses, he hung his head in pain and died.
The young eunuchs hanging beside him had their skin and flesh torn apart by whips.
When they saw the old eunuch dying on his front legs, the secret guards followed him and untied his body from the iron chain. They dragged the old eunuch by his ankles with their hands, like dragging a dead pig, and dragged him away without caring.
The old eunuch's body left a long red bloodstain on the blue-black floor tiles.
The blood stains on the black floor should not be obvious, but there is a bronze candlestick made of a bull's head and a horse's face. There are several dim yellow oil lamps placed on the candlesticks. The blue flames of the oil lamps just shine on the blood stains on the ground. The flames
When it shook up and down, left and right, it also illuminated the blood stains with a heart-stopping red light.
The young eunuch who was next to the old eunuch watched the whole process of the old eunuch dying. He couldn't bear it anymore after suffering double physical and psychological torture. With his pig-headed face red, swollen and purple, he stood facing
The secret guard holding the whip high in front of him cried and begged for mercy:
"Hiss-wuwuwuwuwu, sir, stop hitting me, stop hitting me. I told you everything. I told you all the information I know."
Hearing his words, the secret guard couldn't help but squint his eyes, put down the whip raised high in his hand, stared at the thin young eunuch in front of him, and said in a cold voice with a flat tone:
"Then tell me honestly, how many of your White Lotus Sect's accomplices are still in the palace now, and in which palaces do they go on errands?"
The young eunuch did not answer the secret guard's question immediately, but glanced at the black leather whip in the secret guard's right hand with fear.
The whip exudes a strong smell of alcohol and has obviously been soaked in spirits. The secret guards use this whip to beat the prisoner. Not only can the wounds on the prisoner's body be stung excruciatingly, but at the same time, the spirit can also
Anti-inflammation, prevent the prisoners' wounds from becoming inflamed, and the prisoners will die before the truth can be dug out of their mouths.
Such a vicious instrument of torture is so painful when used on a human body!
"Say it quickly!"
The secret guard looked at the young eunuch staring straight at the whip in his hand. He didn't say anything for a long time, then raised his arm again as a gesture to whip him.
The young eunuch hurriedly withdrew his gaze, swallowed, moistened his dry throat, and said feebly:
"Sir, I don't actually know how many people from the White Lotus Sect there are in the palace. I only know that my upper line is a man named Xiao Lizi who works in Zhongcui Palace, and my lower line is a rough guy named Xiao Nianzi.
The eunuch is on errands in the imperial garden, so I only know these two people, but not the others."
As soon as he finished speaking, another young eunuch on his left also spoke weakly:
"Sir, this slave can testify that the status of slaves is really too low. They can only develop one or two upper or lower lines. The old eunuch who just died was several levels higher than us. He knew that the big bosses in the palace
For most of the hidden lines, the upper line of the slaves is Mr. An from Chengqian Palace and Xiao Jizi from Yikun Palace, and the lower line is Xiao Chunzi, the eunuch who helps cook in the imperial kitchen."
The intimidating old eunuch died, and two others took the initiative. The remaining eunuchs did not want to be tortured anymore, and they all opened their mouths to reveal their top and bottom lines.
The secret guards recorded the names of their accomplices one by one, then turned around and continued to travel throughout the Forbidden City in the heavy snow.
Even for those favored concubines, as long as there is a suspect on the list in their palace, the secret guards will all rush into the palace. After finding the confirmed palace concubine, without saying a word, they will rush up to remove their chin and use a sweat towel.
He tightly gagged his mouth, twisted his arms, and pressed his head. After a series of actions, he took all the suspected palace guests to the torture department and continued to re-inflict the bloody torture tools on the new ones.
On the prisoner.
This repeats round after round, with the upline exposing the downline, and the downline reporting the upline.
From early noon until late at night, the secret guards walked around the palaces non-stop, and the captured remnants of the White Lotus Sect filled the torture chamber of the Shenxing Department.
Wei Zhu carefully checked the list of prisoners transcribed by his secret guards, and found that even the most important imperial hospital and the imperial kitchen had remnants of the White Lotus Sect. In other words, the remnants of the White Lotus Sect had almost infiltrated the entire Forbidden City.
He was so frightened that his spine trembled and his heart trembled with fear.
After Kangxi read the list, he suppressed the anger surging in his heart, gritted his teeth and said in a cold voice, "Kill!"
The Shenxing Division became extremely angry and had heads rolling in.
Fearful and pitiful cries and screams spread far and wide during the long winter night.
This thrilling day frightened the ladies and mistresses of all the palaces.
When Da Tongbi learned that Gong An, whom she usually trusted, was actually a remnant of the White Lotus Sect, she was so frightened that her eyelids rolled up and she fainted.
Some palace concubines who were more timid than Tong Jia and Yurou, after learning that the palace people around them turned out to be traitors with rebellious intentions, became weak and fell ill from fear.
In the middle of the night, she developed a high fever, and she was carried overnight to a palace near Xian'an Palace for isolation, lest she contracted the contagious smallpox.
Due to such a commotion, the already tense atmosphere in the Forbidden City became even more tense, with everything in sight.
The palace ladies who usually met and chatted and laughed were all on guard against each other at this time, not even daring to say a single unnecessary gossip. Not only did they have to be on the lookout for whether the person they were talking to was a potential smallpox patient, but they also had to be wary of whether the person they were talking to was a potential smallpox patient.
They are not the remnants of the White Lotus Sect hiding in the deep palace.
It can be said that from top to bottom, everyone is tired physically and mentally.
Kangxi, who had not fallen asleep last night, was tossing and turning on the dragon bed late at night after experiencing a series of events during the day.
As soon as he closed his eyes, the long list of remnants of the White Lotus Sect and the words spoken by Wu Yashi would reappear in his mind like a shadow puppet show in turn, making him uneasy.
.
Kangxi, who was not sleepy, simply stood up impatiently and sat up against the head of the bed.
Liang Jiugong, who was sleeping with his clothes on and resting on the soft couch outside, heard some noises coming from the inner room. He forced himself out of the warm bed and put on the boots on the floor.
Then, he gently opened the cotton curtain of the inner room, stood behind the emerald screen, and like a thief, poked half his head in and looked into the inner room.
At a glance, under the dim candlelight at the end of the bed, he saw the emperor wearing thin bright yellow pajamas, leaning on the bed alone, his head hanging down in despair, silent.
The emperor, who was majestic and furious during the day, rarely revealed his vulnerability in this lonely and quiet snowy night.
Seeing this scene, Liang Jiugong couldn't help but pursed his lips, understanding what the emperor was worried about.
He stood behind the screen, frowned and hesitated for a while, then raised his feet and walked around the screen towards the dragon bed.
After walking to a place about three meters away from the dragon bed, he stood still, leaned over slightly and whispered to Kangxi who was leaning on the head of the bed:
"Your Majesty, the night is already very late. You haven't closed your eyes all day and all night. It's time to rest."
Kangxi did not turn his head to look at his confidant eunuch, but turned the imperial green jade ring on his hand. After thinking for a long time, he whispered in a hoarse voice:
"Liang Jiugong, under what circumstances would I be so cruel as to destroy Baocheng in the future?"
"Your Majesty, this servant is scared."
When Liang Jiugong heard the emperor thundering at him as soon as he opened his mouth, he was so frightened that his legs softened and he fell to his knees on the carpet at his feet. Sure enough, the more people who work around the emperor know, the more they know about this head.
The more heads you put on it, the easier it will be to lose it. Woo hoo hoo, it would be great if the Za family didn’t know about Jingqi Pavilion!
Kangxi turned a deaf ear to Liang Jiugong's reaction to his headache.
His eyelids were half-closed, his eyes moved downward, and he stared at the colorful cloud patterns embroidered on the bright yellow brocade quilt for a long time. His voice was low and soft, like a thin wisp of smoke, and he would ignore it if he didn't pay attention.
The miserable Eunuch Liang hung his head in discomfort and closed his eyes. The Za family wanted to live in peace and stability until old age, but they really didn't want to hear the emperor analyze his inner thoughts!
But the inner room was very quiet. Everything Kangxi said fell into Liang Jiugong's ears. Manager Liang, who was forced to be the emperor's emotional trash can, once again put on the mask of pain.
"Baocheng is the only remaining bloodline between me and Fangyi. He is the prince who has been personally trained by me since he was a baby. So far, he has no signs of growth. He is diligent and studious, has both civil and military skills, and has both political integrity and talent.
Be filial to your elders, be friendly to your brothers and sisters, and what’s even more rare is that you care about the people, be smart and know everything about government affairs, let alone draw inferences from one instance, just draw inferences from one instance. I believe that as long as you work hard, you can do it.
.”
"This kind of prince is hard to find even with a lantern, tell me, under what circumstances will I be able to protect the two sides?"
Kangxi poured out a long list of praises that he could think of for his precious son. Although Liang Jiugong, who was kneeling on the carpet, did not make a sound, he also recognized what the emperor said in his heart.
From the perspective of an onlooker, His Royal Highness is indeed the best elder brother in the palace so far. Regardless of his background or talents in all aspects, the Crown Prince is ranked first.
"Wu Yashi said that after I abolish Baocheng in the future, there will still be a fierce struggle between the nine sons to seize the legitimate rights, hehe——"
Kangxi shook his head and sighed sarcastically.
The tone contained endless sadness, sadness and loneliness.
Just deposing the outstanding prince he had cultivated for many years, and not even once, was enough to make Kangxi sad, not to mention that there were nine sons participating in the fight for the throne. They fought for the throne regardless of the friendship between brothers.
His head was bruised and bleeding, his eyes were black and blue.
Baocheng was the legitimate son, and he was a very favored legitimate son. In the end, he was deposed by himself and could not ascend to the throne. So no matter who the new prince was sitting on the dragon throne, he would not dare to let go of such a threatening deposed prince.
.
Thinking of this, Kangxi, a dignified and seven-foot-tall northern man, couldn't help but feel his nose sore.
Liang Jiugong, who was kneeling on the carpet, felt that the emperor's aura was getting lower and lower. He raised his eyelids and glanced at Kangxi. He felt as if there was a raining dark cloud floating above the emperor's head.
There was a strong sense of decadence and helplessness inside and out. Under the dim candlelight, he could still vaguely see the emperor's red phoenix eyes. His eyelids twitched, he bit his lower lip and spoke thoughtfully.
Kaijie said:
"Your Majesty, I think you are thinking too much. That Wu Ya family is very vicious. She clearly knows that you value the prince, so she deliberately disgusted you before she died."
"The purpose of her bold words was to sow discord, alienate the relationship between you and the Crown Prince, and cause discord between the Crown Prince and the Crown Prince, so that the remnants hiding in the dark can find opportunities to shake our country.
Qingjiangshan is endangering the common people. The vicious woman's methods are so clumsy that even a stupid person like the slave knows that she is using a vicious alienation plan. You are wise and powerful, so you must not repeat the plan!"
Kangxi, who was leaning on the bed, heard Liang Jiugong's remonstrance, which was like a civil servant in the court, or like an actor standing on the stage with heavy makeup and singing. He was full of emotions, his voice was full of passion, and finally he patted the dragon's fart openly.
After saying these words, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, he glanced at him from the corner of his eye, and said softly:
"Get up."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
When Liang Jiugong heard this, he quickly climbed up from the carpet.
He just breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that this stage was over. He was about to raise his sleeves to wipe away the fine sweat on his forehead because of the fatal question just now. Who would have thought that before the sweat on his forehead was wiped clean, he would fall again?
He heard the emperor's faint bass ringing in his ears:
"Then why do I have an inexplicable feeling, as if what Wu Yashi said is true, and the things she said really happened."
When he heard the word "feeling", the capable Eunuch Liang was completely overwhelmed by Kangxi.
If it was a difficult problem, he could still use his brain to help the emperor come up with an idea, but with this "feeling", he couldn't turn into a woodpecker and peck at the emperor's head with "bang bang bang", and hide the things hidden in the emperor's mind.
It "feels" like a woodpecker catching bugs. Let's talk about it all, right?
Fortunately, Kangxi seemed to have just complained casually and had no intention of asking Liang Jiugong to explain to him what this specious "feeling" was.
He sighed, raised his head and squinted his slender red eyes, looking at the bright yellow bed curtain above his head, and asked in a low voice to Liang Jiugong who was standing on the carpet:
"Liang Jiugong, the authorities are confused, but the bystanders are clear."
"I want you to evaluate all the elder brothers in the palace honestly and without adding any water. I want to see which Nine Dragons the Nine Dragons in Wu Ya's mouth are!"
"You can speak freely and boldly, and I will forgive your innocence. But if you dare to talk nonsense in a perfunctory way, I will let Wei Zhu drag you into the Criminal Punishment Department now."
Hearing this, Liang Jiugong couldn't help but glance at the emperor's expression again, and found that Kangxi's thin lips were tightly pursed, and his expression was extremely serious, and he understood that the emperor was not joking, but was really killing the four Wu Ya family's "Nine Dragons to seize the direct descendants"
The words are firmly engraved in my heart.
He also frowned slightly, licked his lips, thought seriously for a moment, and whispered unhurriedly:
"Your Majesty, I feel that the eldest brother is too straightforward. He also values martial arts over literature. He is a general's material and a handsome man who leads troops in battle, but he is definitely not an emperor's material. Moreover, the eldest brother has been with the prince since he was a child.
When they grow up, there is only two years difference between the two of them, and they are very close. There is a good chance that the eldest brother will not take the initiative to compete with the prince for the throne in the future."
It would be hard to say that Concubine Hui was forcing me from the side.
Liang Jiugong swallowed the second half of the sentence in his heart, and said the previous sentence clearly every word after careful consideration.
"You're quite right. I think so too. You can continue."
"Third Brother, I think he is capable of both literary and martial arts. However, because he could not speak clearly when he was young, he has always been shy and introverted. I think that even putting aside the small shortcoming of stuttering, Third Brother is not suitable.
As a prince, his ears are too soft, and as long as Concubine Rong cries or makes a fuss, he will have no choice but to compromise."
"I heard that yesterday afternoon, when the eldest elder brother, the third elder brother and the fourth elder brother received the news that the fifth elder brother and others had acne, they rushed to Chuxiu Palace from Nansansuo, but then they followed the original road to the palace.
When we returned to Qianqing Palace, Concubine Rong dragged Third Brother to Zhongcui Palace on the way."
When Kangxi heard this, his brows instantly furrowed.
Although he could understand Concubine Rong's cherishment of her only remaining youngest son after losing her four sons in a row, he still felt that Yinzhi had no opinion of his own. Since he had chosen to go to Chuxiu Palace with his eldest brother and fourth brother after having been vaccinated, he
It proves that he is not afraid of smallpox, but he is too easily influenced by his mother, right?
If the people with acne were Kangxi's nephews and cousins, if Yinzhi couldn't force his mother to stop looking, Kangxi might not care too much, but now the people with acne are all his brothers, or all of them.
His younger brother.
Although Kangxi could understand Rong Concubine and her son intellectually, he felt a little uncomfortable emotionally. What's more, compared with the eldest son, the behavior of the third son seemed indeed weak-tempered. He couldn't help but pursed his lips and commented:
"Yinzhi just needs to be a civil servant in the future. I don't have much hope in him. And with his temperament, I believe that even if he seizes the legitimate title, Baocheng can beat him to the ground. The next one."
Liang Jiugong nodded, bit his lip and thought for a while before continuing:
"The fourth elder brother is quite good. Although he was not raised well in his mother's womb and is physically weak, he is not very good at drawing a bow and shooting arrows. However, his mind is extremely smart and clever. However, in the slave's opinion, the fourth elder brother's temperament is too serious and his eyes are too bright.
No grain of sand is left. In this case, if you are a virtuous king, you will be the most capable general under the emperor. But if you are an emperor, it feels a little worse, but what exactly is missing, the servant cannot tell."
"Yes, you are quite right. Compared with Baoqing and Yinzhi, Xiaosi is indeed good, but as an emperor, the most important thing is to be able to balance the ministers in the court, but Xiaosi is a bit weak in this regard, too.
He is hard and easy to break, his temper is too easy to be impatient, and he is easy to get into trouble. He is the virtuous king I trained for Baocheng, and is not within the scope of consideration for the crown prince."
Kangxi frowned while turning the jade ring on his hand.
Liang Jiugong nodded and then said:
"Furthermore, although the fourth elder brother and His Highness the Crown Prince have a half-mother relationship, the two brothers get along as if they are brothers from the same mother. I believe that the fourth elder brother will never compete with His Highness the Crown Prince for the position of heir apparent.
The twin brothers must be strong supporters of His Royal Highness."
"The fifth elder brother and the twelfth elder brother, one was raised in Shoukang Palace and the other was raised in Cining Palace. They both have Mongolian backgrounds, so they are automatically eliminated."
"Sixth brother and seventh brother have insufficient congenital conditions, so they are also out."
"Eighth Prince's biological mother is from Xinzheku, his mother's family is humble, and his adoptive mother, An Fei, is a member of the Han army. Even if he participates in the fight for the legitimate son, the possibility of ascending to the throne is slim?"
Liang Jiugong looked at Kangxi tentatively and asked softly.
Kangxi did not say anything, but waved his hand, indicating to Liang Jiugong to continue.
"The ninth elder brother had a golden abacus in catching Zhou; the tenth elder brother is naturally stupid, and his brain is not as bright as the other elder brothers in terms of reading; the eleventh elder brother's mother-in-law is just a little noble,
And if the fifth elder brother and the ninth elder brother above him do not claim the title of legitimate son, I believe that the eleventh elder brother will not get involved; the thirteenth elder brother and the fourteenth elder brother are a pair of twins who look alike.
I won't get involved in the matter of seizing the direct descendants."
"After analyzing it like this, I feel that the 'Nine Dragons seizing the direct descendants' mentioned by Wu Ya is all nonsense, and the emperor does not need to care about it at all."
The more Manager Liang spoke, the more he felt that his analysis made sense, and his voice could not help but become louder.
He finished the rest of the words in one breath, thinking that the emperor must be relieved, but he didn't expect that the jade ring on the emperor's hand was turning faster and faster, and his brows were frowning more tightly, and his face was turning dark.
Scary.
Liang Jiugong couldn't help but have his head filled with questions. He couldn't figure out what the emperor's attitude was.
Kangxi angrily punched the bed beside him with his right fist, faced Liang Jiugong's confused eyes, turned his head with burning eyes to look at his confidant eunuch, and said coldly:
"Liang Jiugong, I think so too."
Manager Liang: "???"
"After my analysis from the eldest to the fourteenth, I feel that none of these people will compete with Baocheng for the throne, but I always feel that the incident of 'Kowloon seizing the legitimate son' really happened, so there is only one explanation!"
"What? Your Majesty, why can't this slave understand you?"
Liang Jiugong, who himself thought he had a clear mind, couldn't help but feel a little confused when Kangxi surrounded him like this.
"Oh, I have thought it through. You said that I am in my early thirties and cannot have more than a dozen sons based on my ability? Then Zhu Yuanzhang has more than 20 sons!"
"The Emperor is very powerful and in his prime. He will have more than a dozen younger brothers. It's absolutely no problem."
Although the somewhat confused Eunuch Liang didn't know what the emperor wanted to express with all his nonsense, when it came to the emperor's ability, he absolutely could not say: He is not good!
"Yes, so I thought that the 'Nine Dragons' that Wu Ya said must not have been born yet. I guessed that it was probably my son who was born later. There was some rebellion among them. There was a big age gap between them and Baocheng.
,close
Naturally, our relationship will no longer be close. If I get older, maybe my heart will soften, and they will compete with Baocheng for the position of crown prince even though they are still young, causing chaos in the court. This must be the case!
"
"Huh?" After listening to the emperor's seemingly reasonable analysis, Liang Jiugong couldn't help but let out a duck call in his heart.
But the more Kangxi talked, the more he felt that the truth was like this. He pursed his thin lips, looked at Liang Jiugong with deep eyes and frowned:
"The royal family does have a throne to inherit and to have more sons, but I only recognize Baocheng as the crown prince. In my heart, only Baocheng can succeed me. So, Liang Jiugong, do you understand?"
"Your Majesty, what do you mean, is it possible that in the future, after the palace concubine has gone to bed, the servants will have to hand over a bowl of soup to the empress and the mistresses?"
Liang Jiugong touched his nose with his fingers and asked in a low voice with guilt.
"No."
When Liang Jiugong heard this word, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's not them who drink it, it's me who drinks it!"
The capable and intelligent Eunuch Liang: "...Oh, my God! The emperor was really made mad by that poisonous woman of Wu Ya's family!"