Seeing that King Fu Zhu Citong was about to put all the responsibility for Zhu Hezeng's death on himself, implying that Zhu Hezeng was forced to death by Zhu Heyu, Zhu Heyu only thought for a moment and quickly made up his mind to never do it again.
Show mercy and launch a tough counterattack.
"Your Majesty, this is a big fallacy! Everything in this world is inseparable from the words 'emotion' and 'reason'. If Zengdi's death was suicide by taking poison, there would be signs beforehand, and there is a high probability that a suicide note or suicide note would be left behind.
Last words, but now we have not found any suicide note from Zengdi. Jinyiwei is interrogating relevant people in Prince Fu's Mansion, but we have not heard that Zengdi showed any abnormality before his death. Under such circumstances, if we insist on saying that Zengdi
He died of suicide by taking poison, which was inconsistent with emotion and reason. It is unavoidable that he was using strong words to make excuses and confusing right and wrong!"
On the other side, after hearing what Zhu Heyu said, King Fu Zhu Citong couldn't help but change his expression slightly.
After discovering that Zhu Hezeng died of poisoning, Zhu Citong panicked for a long time before finally regaining his composure. Linking the death of Zhu Hezeng to the prince Zhu Heyu was also his impromptu idea, without any "evidence" arranged in advance.
To prove it, now that I heard Zhu Heyu's rebuttal, I was speechless for a while.
After first denying the possibility of Zhu Hezeng's suicide, Zhu Heyu's eyes were bright, and his counterattack became more and more tough, and he said: "In my opinion, Zengdi's death was without warning and full of strangeness. In all likelihood, it was
He died of poisoning. This was a poisoning case! At this sensitive moment, maybe someone wanted to kill someone and hide the truth!
During this period of time, Prince Fu's Mansion has been blocked and monitored by factory guards. The murderer is most likely in Prince Fu's Mansion! Moreover, the person who has the ability to poison and kill Zeng's brother silently must be someone who is powerful and capable in Prince Fu's Mansion.
The big shot who calls the shots, so I think we must intensify the interrogation now, and we must not shy away from it because of our position. Everyone in Prince Fu's Mansion must accept interrogation and investigation by the factory guards. Only in this way can we find out the truth!"
Zhu Heyu's words were obviously insinuations. They were "killing people to silence" and "a big shot with weight and the ability to make the decision". It can be said that they pointed the finger directly at King Fu himself.
After hearing what Zhu Heyu said, Prince Fu became furious and asked: "Your Highness, what do you mean by these words? Is it possible that you still want the factory guard to interrogate me?"
"
Zhu Heyu's expression seemed to be serious and indifferent, but also calm and calm, and he slowly replied: "Zengdi is your beloved son, Prince Fu. Over the years, he has done a lot of things for Prince Fu's Mansion. In order to solve the case as soon as possible and find out the
The murderer wants to avenge his brother Zeng's death. Naturally, Prince Fu, you should condescend to cooperate with the factory guard's investigation! If you, Prince Fu, hinder the investigation and are unwilling to cooperate, I'm afraid that the world will not know the truth and spread the rumors...that is, to doubt you, Prince Fu.
I feel guilty for being a thief!"
Zhu Heyu's words were obviously more serious. Fu Wang Zhu Citong never expected that he was also the current vassal king and Zhu Heyu's elder. Zhu Heyu actually showed no mercy at all. He couldn't help but
He became more and more angry, stood up suddenly, and said angrily: "After all, I am also a vassal king of the imperial court, and I am also your clan uncle! How dare you humiliate me like this, with no regard for filial piety and righteousness! I will definitely impeach your majesty.
For you!"
Zhu Heyu's expression remained unchanged and he said coldly: "Prince Fu, have you impeached me too few times during this period? I have long been used to it and have never stopped me. If you want to impeach me again,
Then just write a memorial to impeach me, why bother to scare me with this kind of thing?"
Listening to the fierce argument between Prince Zhu Citong and Prince Zhu Heyu, who had completely broken their skins, both Henan Governor Zhen Zhen and Luoyang Magistrate Zheng Yicheng were so frightened that they did not dare to express their anger for a while.
, let alone interrupting to persuade.
Zhu Citong stared at Zhu Heyu, his expression became more and more ugly, and he gritted his teeth and said: "Okay! Okay! Okay! I have long heard that His Highness the Crown Prince is gentle, kind, filial, generous and humble, but now it turns out that it is better to meet him than to be famous! I will start today
Just waiting in the palace, since you can't get out anyway, His Highness the Crown Prince can order the factory guards to interrogate me at any time, and if they have the ability, let them punish me severely!"
After saying that, King Fu was no longer willing to discuss the truth about Zhu Hezeng's death with everyone, so he threw away his sleeves angrily and left.
Seeing King Fu throw away his hands and leave, both Zheng Zhen and Zheng Yicheng looked embarrassed. However, Zhu Heyu remained calm and ignored King Fu's departure. He just continued to say to everyone present: "Everyone, my attitude is very clear.
, At this sensitive moment, Zengdi is a key figure. This poisoning and murder case has extensive implications, and must be strictly investigated. No one suspected can be let go, no matter how noble the person's status is. Factory
The guards must not be merciful!
Therefore, from this moment on, I will personally sit in Fuwang Mansion and investigate and interrogate the case together with the factory guards. The factory guards only need to investigate the case boldly, with my support in everything! At the same time, the Luoyang government must also fully cooperate with this case.
Investigate, provide all support, and never slack off!"
Zhu Heyu's words can be said to be loud and clear, leaving no room for error.
After hearing Zhu Heyu's instructions, the several factory guard leaders in the room did not dare to neglect, and they all accepted the orders in a deep voice, while Zheng Zhen and Zheng Yicheng agreed with some reluctance - Prince Zhu Heyu and the feudal lord
There is no sign of victory or defeat in this struggle of forces. The two of them really don't want to offend Prince Fu's palace by being too harsh, but because Zhu and Yu have no room left at all, they have no choice but to accept their orders.
After seeing that everyone had accepted the order, Zhu Heyu said no more, just stood up with a serious expression, also quickly left the room, and then rushed to the west side of Prince Fu's Mansion.
The west side of Prince Fu's Mansion is composed of more than ten small courtyards and two small gardens, and is very close to the death scene of Zhu Hezeng. It was originally the residence of the descendants of Prince Fu's Mansion, but now it has been requisitioned by the factory guards and used.
Come investigate the case and interrogate suspects.
It can be said that Zhu Heyu kept his word and went directly to sit there to support the factory guards.
The factory guards were also eager to make meritorious deeds or get rid of responsibility. Now that they had the support of Prince Zhu Heyu, they might actually dare to directly interrogate King Fu himself.
On the other side, seeing Zhu Heyu leaving, ** Zhen and Zheng Yicheng looked at each other again and left the room one after another.
After walking out of the room and seeing no one nearby, Zheng Yicheng immediately asked in a low voice impatiently: "Master Governor, in your opinion, did the death of Prince Fu's eldest son commit suicide by taking poison or was he poisoned?"
**Zhen shook his head gently with a solemn expression and said: "This Prince Fu's eldest son has been responsible for handling various matters for Prince Fu's Mansion for many years. We have all had contact with him. Naturally, we know this person's character. He is definitely
If a person with a forbearing mind and a resolute character said that he could not bear to commit suicide just because he was interrogated several times... Do you believe it? And just like what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said, if the eldest son of Wang committed suicide,
How could it be possible that he didn’t leave any last words and didn’t see any signs beforehand?”
Zheng Yicheng asked again cautiously: "You mean... Wang's eldest son was secretly poisoned to death?"
**Zhen shook his head repeatedly and said: "I just said that the possibility of Wang's eldest son committing suicide by taking poison is relatively small, but before the evidence is conclusive, how can we dare to draw a conclusion on this matter?"
Zheng Yicheng nodded in understanding, understanding that **Zhen just didn't dare to take responsibility, but in fact **Zhen had already determined in his heart that Zhu Hezeng's death was caused by poisoning and assassination, and it was by no means a suicide by poisoning as King Fu said.
So, Zheng Yicheng asked in the same ambiguous tone: "In your opinion, if the eldest son of the king is really poisoned and assassinated... Of course, I am only talking about the worst case scenario.
.....Who is the murderer?"
This time, ** Zhen was deep in thought and did not speak, but silently led Zheng Yicheng out of Prince Fu's Mansion.
After they walked out of the gate of Prince Fu's Mansion, **Zhen finally said: "If the eldest son of Wang is really poisoned and assassinated, no matter who is behind the scenes, this approach is undoubtedly to further disrupt the situation and make His Highness the Prince
This battle with the vassal forces is becoming more and more unpredictable. Maybe it is to kill people and silence them, or maybe it is deliberately letting the world think that this is a murder and silence..."
After Zheng Yicheng heard these words, he was also thoughtful.
"Perhaps it was to kill people and silence them, or maybe it was to deliberately let the world think that this incident was to kill people and silence them." This sentence was a convoluted statement, but Zheng Yicheng quickly figured out the real hint of the murder.
The so-called "maybe to kill people to silence" implies that the mastermind behind the poisoning of Zhu Hezeng may be King Fu himself. After all, in this fierce struggle between the prince Zhu Heyu and the feudal clan forces, Zhu Hezeng is the key witness. Once
It was Zhu Hezeng who showed signs of relenting to give evidence. In order to preserve the lineage of King Fu and win the overall victory, it is very possible that Zhu Citong, the king of Fu, would ruthlessly kill his son. Among wealthy families, it was never a big deal for father and son to turn against each other and brothers to kill each other.
What's new.
As for the sentence "Maybe it was deliberately made to make the world think that this matter was a murder and silence", it implies that the mastermind behind the poisoning of Zhu Hezeng may be the prince Zhu Heyu! After all, if Zhu Heyu cannot collect it for a long time,
When he saw the conclusive evidence of the vassals' crimes, his contest with the vassal forces was bound to end in a disastrous defeat. At this time, he assassinated the key witness Zhu Hezeng who was unwilling to come forward to give evidence. Zhu Heyu could mess up the situation afterwards.
, pouring dirty water on King Fu, indicating that King Fu poisoned Zhu Hezeng in order to kill people and silence them, so he did not falsely accuse King Fu and others.
In short, in the contest between Prince Zhu Heyu and the vassal forces, as a witness and marginalized person, ** Zhenzhen did not have access to the core secrets, so he did not know that Zhu Heyu
Yu and Zhu Hezeng had already reached an agreement in private, and at this time, Prince Fu Zhu Citong and Prince Zhu He Zeng were also listed as suspects.
It is precisely because of this idea that ** Zhen has always been very taboo, not daring to express any attitude easily, for fear that he would be trapped in it and unable to escape.
Zheng Yicheng is a smart man, and he obviously understood the deep meaning of ** Zhen's words.
In fact, Zheng Yicheng was also inclined to ** Zhen's judgment, believing that Prince Zhu Heyu and Prince Fu Zhu Citong were both suspects in the poisoning case - after all, they both had the motive to poison Zhu Hezeng.
They all have this ability.
However, thinking about the previous performances of Prince Zhu Citong and Prince Zhu Heyu, Zheng Yicheng vaguely felt that this matter was not that simple. There might be someone else behind the scenes. This person was not only
It is hidden deeper and has more sinister intentions, secretly leading the situation into further chaos, causing both Prince Zhu Citong and Prince Zhu Heyu to suffer losses. In this chaos, everyone is just a pawn to be exploited.
, being involuntarily controlled by the people behind the scenes.
Of course, this feeling was just a vague intuition. Zheng Yicheng didn't dare to be sure, and he didn't dare to directly deny his superior's true judgment, so he just pondered for a moment and said quickly: "Governor Zhang
His eyes are as bright as fire, and I am impressed! After listening to the governor’s teachings, I am finally not as confused as before.”
**Zhen looked at Zheng Yicheng meaningfully and said: "But no matter what, for you and me, this is a fight between gods and we are not qualified to participate in it, even if we want to survive in this storm
To avoid being implicated by the innocent, I'm afraid it's too much to do, and we still need the protection of our respective backers! Therefore, the most urgent task now is to inform the big shots in the capital about this matter as soon as possible, and invite the Dukes Gonggun at the center of the court to
Make a decision!"
**Really, these words still mean something.
** Zhen Nai is a disciple of the chief minister Zhou Shangjing. After he became the governor of Henan, he has been trying to recruit cronies and cronies, working tirelessly to expand the power of the "Zhou Party". If he can recruit most of the officials in Henan
Among the "Zhou Party", this merit is enough for him to become a core figure of the "Zhou Party" in the future. Not only will he join the cabinet to assist the government, but he will also have a good chance to serve as the six ministers with the support of the "Zhou Party"
position.
At the same time, Zheng Yicheng, the prefect of Luoyang, was a disciple of the former chief minister Shen Changmao. But now with the downfall of Shen Changmao, Zheng Yicheng has lost his most important backer. Once something goes wrong, there will be no big shot in the imperial court willing to help him.
support.
Now because of the poisoning and murder case of Zhu Hezeng, the eldest son of Prince Fu, all the officials in Luoyang are panicking. They might be implicated or even take the blame. In this case, Zheng Yicheng is naturally helpless and his future is slim.
Therefore, what **Zhen said was to remind Zheng Yicheng, suggesting that he would surrender to him, climb up the big tree of "Zhou Party", and receive the protection of "Zhou Party". Zheng Yicheng would naturally be safe and sound in the future.
Zheng Yicheng's eyes flickered for a moment, but he followed the trend and immediately said: "It's a pity that Xianguan has no backer in the capital. Now he just feels helpless and panicked. However, unlike you, the governor, you are Zhou Shoufu's confidant."
, No matter how big the storm is, you can still sit still and remain motionless... I have a merciless request here, and I hope that you, the governor, will do it for the sake of my colleagues.
When reporting the situation to Zhou Shoufu, I can mention a little bit of my admiration for the official. As long as the official escapes today's disaster, he will definitely obey the governor's orders and follow his lead in the future!"
After hearing Zheng Yicheng's declaration of submission, **Zhen nodded with satisfaction.
Especially after hearing that Zheng Yicheng expressed his intention to serve himself instead of directly serving his chief assistant Zhou Shangjing, ** Zhen felt that Zheng Yicheng was very sensible.
After all, the "Zhou Party" has been standing in the temple for many years. It can be said that it is deeply rooted and has a strict hierarchy. However, it is not like the "Zhao Party" because its foundation is too shallow. It is always mixed and eclectic. The direct members of the "Zhou Party" are all from the Imperial Academy. , they were all secretly inspected and promoted by Zhou Shangjing. Many of them were even Zhou Shangjing's disciples. Only these direct members of the "Zhou Party" were qualified to directly serve Zhou Shangjing, the chief minister. Zheng Yicheng was not born in the Imperial Academy. He is still a member of the "Shen Party", so it is absolutely impossible for him to directly become a direct descendant of the "Zhou Party", and he is not qualified to directly join Zhou Shangjing. He can only join Zhen Zhen first and become a peripheral member of the "Zhou Party".
So, **Zhen smiled and agreed: "Since Mr. Zheng has this heart, I will naturally say a few kind words to Mr. Chief Assistant for you. Don't worry!"
After saying that, ** Zhen walked to his sedan chair, said goodbye to Zheng Yicheng, and left quickly.
At this sensitive moment, the sudden death of Zhu Hezeng, the eldest son of King Fu, was of great importance, affecting the whole body. It was really necessary to report the situation to the chief minister Zhou Shangjing as soon as possible and request Zhou Shangjing to issue clear instructions as soon as possible.
On the other side, after Zheng Yicheng sent **Zhen off respectfully, he stood there and thought for a moment, and then quickly rushed to his sedan chair not far away.
There, his long follower Zheng Jialun was waiting with his hands down.
Zheng Jialun is Zheng Yicheng's distant nephew. He has also studied for several years, but has never achieved success in the imperial examination, so he became Zheng Yicheng's long-term follower. Because this blood relationship has always been trusted and valued by Zheng Yicheng, Zheng Yicheng Many important matters will be left to Zheng Jialun, and some secrets will not be kept from Zheng Jialun.
After meeting Zheng Jialun, Zheng Yicheng immediately asked: "Are the two people I secretly met with the day before yesterday still in Luoyang?"
Zheng Jialun immediately replied: "They are still staying in the Sangjia Restaurant in the west of the city. Because you haven't given them a clear answer yet, they have not left and have been waiting patiently."
Zheng Yicheng immediately bent down and entered the sedan, and ordered: "Go to Sang's Restaurant immediately, I want to see them."
Zheng Jialun was stunned for a moment, because Zheng Yicheng had always stayed away from the two mysterious figures in the Sangjia Restaurant, but now he couldn't wait to meet them. It was obvious that his attitude had fundamentally changed.
Zheng Jialun didn't know the real reason why Zheng Yicheng changed his attitude, but he never dared to disobey Zheng Yicheng's orders and quickly led the bearers towards the west of the city.
*
On the other side, in Prince Fu's Mansion, because Prince Zhu Heyu was personally in charge, the factory guards did not dare to neglect when interrogating and investigating the case, and their attitude was extremely positive.
According to the investigation, Zhu Hezeng died around midnight last night. The cause of death was the poisoning of Hedinghong. Because Hedinghong is a poison that attacks quickly, after the factory guards took over the case, they began to interrogate everyone in Prince Fu's Mansion one by one. Especially those who could not prove their whereabouts around midnight last night were listed as suspects and controlled. Everyone was strictly interrogated. If any details were unclear, it would be a serious torture. They served them without any regard for their background in Prince Fu's Mansion.
After Zhu Heyu personally took charge, in order to investigate the truth as quickly as possible, he turned a blind eye to the factory guards' actions that seemed to implicate innocent people. He just watched quietly with a calm face, and occasionally asked for some details personally.
However, even with such a large-scale search and interrogation, there was still no progress in the poisoning case.
Under such circumstances, Zhu Heyu could not help but frown more and more tightly, and a sense of urgency and impatience could not help but appear deep in his heart.
"If I can't find clues from the stewards and servants of Prince Fu's Mansion, then I will have no choice but to interrogate Prince Fu and Prince Wang myself! This will definitely cause an uproar, but no matter what,
, there have been rumors in the court that my father is going to arrange for a new imperial minister to replace me. Before the new imperial minister arrives in Luoyang to take over the investigation, we must find out the truth about this poisoning case! Otherwise, the situation will be completely out of control.
Got it!"
While Zhu Heyu was thinking secretly, the factory guards had already begun to interrogate another suspect involved in the case.
This person's name was Zhao Lei, and he was a seemingly inconspicuous steward in Prince Fu's Mansion. He was not originally among the suspects, and the factory guards had no intention of interrogating him.
But not long ago, when the factory guards were interrogating one of Zhu Hezeng's personal maids, they got an unexpected clue. It was said that this Zhao Lei seemed to be just an inconspicuous steward of Prince Fu's Mansion, but in fact he was related to Zhu Hezeng.
I had a lot of connections and would often communicate privately with Zhu Hezeng, so the factory guards immediately sent people to control Zhao Lei and conduct interrogation.
However, after Zhao Lei was escorted into the interrogation room by the factory guards, he immediately discovered that Prince Zhu Heyu was personally sitting there.
However, after seeing Zhu Heyu personally taking charge, Zhao Lei not only showed no awe or panic on his face, but his originally hesitant expression suddenly turned into one of joy and relief, as if he had seen a savior!
"Your Highness the Crown Prince! Your Highness the Crown Prince! The villain has important information here! On the surface, the villain has an estranged relationship with the eldest son of the king, but in fact he has become a confidant of the eldest son of the king. However, the eldest son of the king deliberately concealed this information out of some considerations.
Because of the relationship, the villain helps him in secret, but in fact he is one of the most trusted people in Prince Fu’s palace! The villain has a key piece of information here, which must be submitted to you personally! "
Like a barrage of firecrackers, Zhao Lei shouted quickly to Prince Zhu Heyu.
Hearing Zhao Lei's call, Zhu Heyu's eyes suddenly lit up, and he quickly stood up and asked: "Do you really mean what you said? What key information is it?"
Zhao Lei was obviously a fast talker. He still spoke very fast and eloquently. He shook his head and replied: "I don't know the specific content, but since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince arrived in Luoyang City and began to investigate Prince Fu's Mansion, the eldest son of the King will talk about it from time to time.
He gave some books and letters to the villain for safekeeping, but the villain was only responsible for keeping them, but he never looked through them!
The eldest son Wang once said that if something unexpected happens to him in the future, the villain will hand over all these books and letters to His Highness the Crown Prince, but he must hand them over to His Highness the Crown Prince himself and must not handle them by others! The villain was still hesitating just now whether to do so or not.
Handing these things to His Highness the Crown Prince through the factory guard is obviously against the instructions given by the eldest son of the King. Now that His Highness the Crown Prince is here, it is naturally the best!
There are more than twenty copies of these books and letters in total. Now they have been locked in a box by the villain and buried under the ground near the wardrobe in his room. If His Royal Highness wants to know the contents, he will immediately arrange for someone to do so.
Just dig it out!"
The clues provided by Zhao Lei were so crucial that everyone in the room, including Crown Prince Zhu Heyu and the factory guards, were very excited for a moment.
Everyone has a hunch that the books and letters that Zhu Hezeng gave to Zhao Lei for safekeeping must be the key to breaking the current situation!
However, maybe everyone was just excited, or maybe Zhao Lei's positive performance reduced the suspicion on him, so no one noticed that Zhao Lei's eyes kept flickering when he opened his mouth to explain.
Perhaps, Zhao Lei also concealed some key information.