Volume 1: Swan Goose Chapter 374: I Can’t Cover My Ears As Much as I Am Shocked by Thunder (2)
--secret--
"So, how did Commander Yan know that there is a secret passage in Changle Hall?"
After the carriage drove forward for some distance, Ruan Lang finally spoke and asked the question he had been confused about for a long time.
Yan Rong did not answer him immediately, but opened the car window again and carefully checked whether anyone was eavesdropping nearby.
Seeing his different cautious expression, Ruan Lang knew that this matter must not be simple.
"Do you know who lived in Changle Hall before Yun Bin?" Yan Rong lowered the curtains and thought for a long time before speaking.
"I don't know Ruan."
Yan Rong sighed and said in a very soft voice: "Have you heard of Concubine Ying?"
Ruan Lang was suddenly startled: "Is it the useless concubine who was favored for a while?"
Yan Rong pursed her lips tightly and nodded cautiously.
Ruan Lang was even more puzzled: "How could there be a secret passage in a concubine's palace? Could it be..."
As if he thought of something terrible, his expression suddenly changed.
"This starts with why Concubine Ying, who had been loved by three thousand people all her life, was suddenly thrown into the cold palace..."
Yan Rong's tone was as serious as his expression: "This incident is a taboo topic in Ziwei City, and it is also the shame of Emperor Yu's life! Although he forbids anyone from talking about it, people who have experienced that incident
Everyone knows that Concubine Ying was relegated to the cold palace because of the crime of adultery."
"So, this passage was originally used by Concubine Ying to have an affair with someone else?" Ruan Lang asked tentatively.
"That's right." Yan Rong sighed and continued: "But this secret is only known to Concubine Ying's personal maid and the workers who built Changle Hall. No matter how Emperor Yu pressed Concubine Ying and Monk Jingkong, the two
They refused to tell how they had an affair. In anger, Emperor Yu ordered all the workers of Changle Hall to die, and this secret has been kept until now. Now, a fire has burned all the evidence in the past.
Already..."
Ruan Lang stared at Yan Rong and asked in confusion: "Then how did you know about this?"
Yan Rong touched his nose, shook his shoulders and smiled: "When I was a child, I often accompanied His Highness Prince Yi in the palace. We two children discovered this secret while playing."
After hearing these words, Ruan Lang fell into deep thought and his mood was extremely complicated.
"Master Ruan, we're home."
Yan Rong's voice broke the silence. Ruan Lang poked his head out of the window and found that the carriage had stopped steadily in front of his house.
Ruan Lang had no choice but to say goodbye to Yan Rong and stepped out of the carriage.
"By the way, Sir Ruan!" Yan Rong called him from behind and told him, "What I said to you today must not be heard by others! Otherwise, Emperor Yu will definitely not let you and me go!"
Ruan Lang smiled and said: "Don't worry. However, I still have a question, please Commander Yan, please help me answer it!"
Yan Rong raised his eyebrows, looking puzzled.
Ruan Lang pondered for a moment, then asked: "Since you took me and the emperor away from the fire, why did you give me all the credit later?"
Yan Rong twisted his neck and said perfunctorily: "I'm just worried that if the emperor asks me how I entered the fire scene, I will have to tell you about the secret passage. Compared with grabbing credit, I still think saving my life is more important!"
Although the excuse was a bit far-fetched, Ruan Lang didn't say anything else.
He raised his hand to Yan Rong and said sternly: "Thank you Commander Yan for your life-saving grace. If Ruan is needed in the future, Ruan will be there for you, no matter how hard it is, mountains of swords and seas of fire!"
"Easy to say, easy to say!" Yan Rong smiled and waved to him, and the carriage slowly left.
--trial--
Just when the imperial doctor announced that Emperor Yu had recovered, Emperor Yu was about to host a court meeting in person and asked everyone not to take leave.
For ordinary people, after experiencing such a disaster, even if they are physically fine, it will take a long time to recover mentally before they can slowly walk out of the shadows.
But Emperor Yu, who had always been strong, not only recovered so quickly, but also immediately devoted himself to government affairs, which made people admire him and also fear him even more.
The civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty arrived in front of Xuande Gate
At that time, the dark sky turned into a hopeful fish-belly white. Smoke was everywhere in the city of Shengjing, and the land of China was waking up.
In the majestic Long Live Hall, Emperor Yu was already sitting on the dragon chair.
He had the usual indifference and seriousness on his face, but besides Eunuch Shuangxi, there were also Yan Rong, the commander of the Jinjia Guard, and Ruan Lang from the Royal Guards Division.
The ministers hurriedly walked through the door and stood neatly in the hall, saluting respectfully and saying hello.
Emperor Yu glanced at everyone's faces, and his eyes fell directly on the minister of Dali Temple: "Is there any investigation result on the cause of the fire?"
The Minister of Dali Temple walked out with a wat tablet in his hand and said with cupped hands: "Your Majesty, I have found out that there are two places where the fire broke out in Changle Hall: one is in the hall. Someone should have accidentally knocked down the giant candle.
The fire ignited the heavy curtain again and caused a fire. The other place was at the back door of Changle Hall. Someone must have set the fire deliberately!"
Emperor Yu's eyes flashed and he asked coldly: "So, this is not a natural disaster but a man-made disaster! Did someone set the fire deliberately to burn me to death?"
The Minister of Dali Temple cupped his hands and reported back: "I sent several waves of people to conduct a thorough investigation. There is no doubt that this is indeed the case. Someone must have had ulterior motives. After learning of His Majesty's itinerary that day, he deliberately set fire outside the palace!"
Hearing this, all the courtiers present glanced at Liu Bingwen in unison. Everyone naturally believed that Liu Bingwen's strange behavior that day must be related to this matter.
However, Liu Bingwen held his head high, curled his mouth, and looked nonchalant.
"Yan Rong!" Emperor Yu shouted sternly with a gloomy face: "Call all the golden armored guards on duty that night!"
"I'm here!" Yan Rong immediately walked out, cupped his fists and cupped his hands, and then left the hall.
After a while, hundreds of golden-armored guards lined up neatly outside the Long Live Palace. Yan Rong then strode back to the palace, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, everyone who patrolled that night lined up outside the palace, and no one was absent!"
Emperor Yu looked coldly outside the palace and asked in a deep voice: "I asked you to interrogate these people, did you find anything?"
Yan Rong did not dare to hesitate and immediately said seriously: "Your Majesty, the Jinjia Guards who were patrolling that night were going to inspect Ziwei City and did not stop too much in front of Changle Hall. However, after careful questioning by the ministers, no one noticed anything before and after the fire that night.
Strangely, I didn’t see anyone suspicious!”
After a pause, he glanced at Wang Jing, who was hiding in the crowd and was timid, and then said with his hands raised: "Your Majesty, the person responsible for the security of Changle Hall that night was the Chief of Staff. They should have seen something."
Upon hearing this, Wang Jing's whole body trembled, and the color suddenly drained from his face.
He glanced at Wang Su tremblingly, and Wang Su nodded to him calmly, as if to appease his emotions.
Wang Jing calmed down, adjusted his official hat, walked to the front of the hall, bowed his hands, and was about to speak.
Emperor Yu didn't even look at him. He looked sideways at Ruan Lang and asked in a deep voice: "Ruan Lang, did you see anything when you were on duty that night?"
Ruan Lang took a deep look at Wang Jing before striding to the hall.
Wang Jing stood there awkwardly, unable to move forward or retreat, his face was turning blue and white, and his gums were clenching.
"Your Majesty," Ruan Lang said calmly, thinking to himself: "I was the only one on duty that night, so I could only patrol around the Changle Hall. When I patrolled to the back door, I found that it had been filled with piles for some time.
Straw, and a fire break was thrown on the straw.
When I saw the sparks, I immediately ran to call someone and fetch water to put out the fire. But I don’t know who hit me on the back of the head. When I woke up again, I found that I had been dragged into the sea of fire..."
Emperor Yu stared at Ruan Lang with cold eyes and continued to ask: "So, when you arrived, the person who set the fire should be nearby. Did you see anyone suspicious?"
Ruan Lang pondered for a moment, then raised his eyes slightly to look at the eldest prince hiding in the crowd.
The moment their eyes met, the eldest prince shivered all over and immediately lowered his head, his temples instantly wet with cold sweat.
Ruan Lang withdrew his gaze, cupped his hands and said, "Back to the emperor, I was in a hurry to put out the fire and didn't find anyone suspicious."
Emperor Yu stared at him coldly, taking in all the subtle expressions of him and the eldest prince.
"If you think about it again, you really didn't see anyone suspicious?" Emperor Yu emphasized his tone and asked again.
"Back to the emperor, I did not see anyone suspicious." Ruan Lang's tone was much firmer than before.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Yu suddenly darkened his face, his eyes flashing with a sharp edge.
"emperor!"
At this moment, Liu Bingwen suddenly stepped out and said loudly: "This matter is very strange. How could the only person on duty in the Imperial Guard Department be Ruan Lang! Where were the other government officials when the incident occurred? I thought we should ask more questions in detail
!」
After saying that, he glanced at Wang Su with a look of determination on his face.
Wang Su turned a blind eye to his provocation, his face always calm.
The two people were facing each other tit for tat, but they didn't notice that the eldest prince and Wang Jing had turned pale, broke out in cold sweats, and were feeling extremely tormented.
Emperor Yu ignored Liu Bingwen, but looked at the Minister of Dali Temple again, and asked in a deep voice: "When Aiqing investigated the case, wasn't there someone who interrogated the Imperial Guards?"
The Minister of Dali Temple subconsciously glanced at Wang Jing and said tactfully: "Back to the Emperor, the Imperial Guards Department is directly under the jurisdiction of the Holy Emperor, and I have no right to interfere."
"In that case, I'm here to interrogate you personally!" Emperor Yu raised his eyebrows and looked at Wang Jing with a stern face: "Wang Jing, after the incident, did you have anyone on duty on the night of the interrogation? Did anyone notice anything unusual?"
"Go back...back to the emperor..." Wang Jing rolled his eyes and said uneasily: "I...I asked the people on duty that night, they...they didn't find anything unusual."
Emperor Yu frowned and looked at him. He already hated this dandy, and when he saw his tongue-tied expression, he felt even more angry.
He suddenly slapped the desk and shouted angrily: "Where are the guards on duty that night? Get out of here!"
As soon as he finished speaking, more than twenty officials from the Royal Guards Department walked through the door neatly. They bowed their heads and bowed their hands to the emperor cautiously, looking very guilty.
Emperor Yu coldly swept away all the guards and asked in a stern voice: "Tell me what happened that night! If you dare to hide anything, I will not forgive you lightly!"