Before Yinxiang left the city, she expressed her last loyalty to Xia Houshu.
According to Yinxiang's recollection, Yi Wu didn't publicize it when she asked for the portrait of Mr. Cui Lang, so not many people knew about it. Even the boss of Shayue Zhai didn't know her identity. Moreover, she had already paid for the portrait during her lifetime.
The deposit is required, and the final payment will only be paid when you pick up the portrait after it has been framed.
Cui Langgongzi's paintings have never been short of sought after. Whenever his name is used, the paintings are always several times more expensive than others, and the prices are unmarketable. However, Shaiyuezhai is also a place that respects rules and credibility.
They would never sell a portrait of Yi Wu casually. Fortunately, the news of Yi Wu's death did not come out, and the people who were showing off the moon were not aware of the specific situation, so Xia Houshu put on a veil and claimed to be Yi Wu's maid.
After answering a few questions according to Yinxiang's instructions, and paying the final payment as agreed, I easily got the portrait.
When he saw the portrait, Xia Houshu couldn't help but marvel at Master Cui Lang's outstanding painting skills. He was so penetrating that he made the people come alive, as if he could step out of the painting and dance in the next second. The beauties in the painting are not only
She has an outstanding appearance and a charming style that men can't resist. The most fascinating thing is her weak and boneless figure, and the charming and pitiful look in her eyes. It's no wonder that Wang Chonghou is old enough to be her father.
Will fall down under her pomegranate skirt.
With the new clues, the next step was much smoother, and Xia Houshu soon figured out the ins and outs of Yi Wu.
Yi Wu was originally a dancing girl in the palace of Prince Ling. She was so beautiful that she was incomparable. The winter before last year, Wang Chonghou went to the capital as an envoy, and Prince Yu Wensheng hosted a banquet in honor of him. At that time, the king called all the counselors and capable ministers in his palace.
He came out to accompany him and arranged a song and dance performance. Yi Wu was the one who performed the dance that night.
Outside the palace was covered with snow, but inside the palace of Prince Ling, there was singing and dancing. Wang Chonghou, who had always had a good drinker, looked at the beauties dancing on the dance floor. He was so shocked that he got drunk after just a few glasses of wine. He was amazed by the figure of the dancing girl.
The appearance was full of praise.
When Yu Wensheng saw this, he quickly called Yi Wu, the lead dancer, to serve him personally as a favor.
That night, Yi Wu dressed up and entered Wang Chonghou's bedroom.
Less than three days after Wang Chonghou returned to Beijing, King Ling sent Yi Wu to his residence for him to appreciate alone.
Perhaps because the person standing behind Yi Wu was Prince Ling, Princess Mingjia, who had always been domineering, did not object and instead tolerated everything in their future interactions. As a result, the news that Yi Wu became Wang Chonghou's new favorite quickly spread throughout the capital.
The aristocratic family in the middle.
Xia Houshu originally thought that because Yi was so beautiful and skillful in dancing, and was deeply favored by Wang Chonghou, he would inevitably become arrogant, so he had deep grudges with other concubines in the mansion, so he could not rule out being killed by other concubines. But according to Yin
Xiang said that Yi Wu usually lived in seclusion and was not good at interacting with others. Apart from dancing, she had fun with Wang Chonghou. The women in the Prime Minister's Mansion resented her because they were jealous of her beauty and favor. But in front of Princess Mingjia, they were jealous.
All methods are paper tigers.
So, could Yi Wu's death be related to Princess Mingjia?
Princess Mingjia's reputation for being tough is nothing new in the elite circles in the capital. It would be reasonable to say that she did this. However, Yi Wu is a dancer trained with great effort by Prince Ling's Mansion. Yu Wensheng
First, he tried every means to get her to Wang Chonghou's bed, and then sent her all the way to the first palace in the capital. How could such a person be a weak woman who has no heart for the city?
It was well known that Yi Wu was favored, and if Princess Mingjia wanted to kill her, she would definitely not tolerate her for a year. Besides, after Yi Wu died, Princess Mingjia was the first person to be suspected.
And the other concubines in the Prime Minister's Mansion were not that capable of killing her.
Xia Houshu carefully went through the information he had collected from beginning to end, combined with Yi Wu's status and favor in the Prime Minister's Mansion, and then related the fierce quarrel with Wang Chonghou before her death, and finally focused on
On Wang Chonghou's body.
Looking at the entire Prime Minister's Mansion, the only person who has the ability to kill Yi Wu, besides Princess Mingjia, is Wang Chonghou.
Xia Houshu was about to boast that he was getting smarter and smarter, but he found another doubt - if Yi Wu was really killed by Wang Chonghou, why should Wang Chonghou be so sad?
There were no outsiders present at the time, so there was no need for Wang Chonghou to act for anyone.
The information is still too little.
After much thought, Xia Houshu decided to take another risk and visit the prime minister's house at night.
At night, after everyone had gone to bed, Xia Houshu quietly put on her night clothes and secretly climbed over the wall to leave the house. Before going out, she went to Yunxi's room to have a look and added a handful of strong ingredients to the incense burner.
, I guess Yunxi won’t wake up for a while.
Last time, due to her negligence, she lost the map of the Prime Minister's Mansion that Xia Houyi helped draw. This time she could only find Yi Wu's house from memory.
Nearly a month had passed since his first night visit to the Prime Minister's Mansion. The previous vigilance had been removed, and everything was so quiet that not even a cat came out for a stroll. This strange silence made Xia Houshu hesitate to take this risk.
After all, sometimes the calmer the situation, the more dangerous it is. But on second thought, the longer time passes, the fewer clues are left.
She was worried, jumped off the roof, and sneaked into Yi Wu's room through the side door.
The room was very dark, so Xia Houshu lit the fire and rummaged through it carefully. The furnishings in the room were still the same as before. There was no dust on the furniture. Hairpins, jewelry, lipstick, and brocade clothes were all placed neatly and orderly in their proper places.
In its position, it seems as if its owner has never left.
Xia Houshu patiently rummaged around, even carefully opening the compartments of the dowry. He didn't know whether it was because Yi Wu was too cautious, or because the house had been searched carefully by Wang Chonghou. She searched every corner and found nothing.
can find any clues.
It seemed that her work was in vain again. Xia Houshu sighed in frustration. Just as she was about to blow out the fire certificate and leave, she heard a loud noise - a large iron cage that seemed to fall from the sky tightly covered her.
In an instant, she was like a captured prey with nowhere to escape.
Xia Houshu rubbed his eyes, but before he could figure out the situation, the room suddenly became brightly lit, and a group of people surrounded her. It took a while for her eyes to adapt to the change in light, and then she saw a tall, well-dressed man.
The neat and gorgeous man walked up to where she was with his head held high. It was none other than the powerful Prime Minister Wang Chonghou in the court.
Although Wang Chonghou is nearly fifty years old, he is still handsome and energetic. He has been in the officialdom for many years and has his own aura. Just by standing there, people can already feel his inner majesty. Yin Xiang
It is said that Yi Wu once lamented that time is ruthless and beauty fades easily when he asked an artist to paint a portrait. Then these years are too kind to a man like Wang Chonghou. In addition to adding wrinkles to his face, it also adds more wrinkles to his face.
Calmness and magnanimity after settling.
Looking at the momentum, Wang Chonghou seemed to have known that she was coming. Xia Houshu's heart suddenly clicked, and he felt that Wang Chonghou was like the man waiting for a rabbit, and he was the stupid rabbit.
Wang Chonghou walked around the iron cage with gentle steps, and looked at Xia Houshu carefully with only one pair of eyes exposed. Finally, he stopped in front of her, playing with the jade ring on his thumb and talking slowly.
The ground asked: "The strong man came here late at night, what's the point?"
Xia Houshu took a careful look at the guards surrounding him, and then looked at the roof outside the door. Suddenly he lost his confidence. Not to mention that it was difficult for her to fly now, even if she had great powers and could escape from this iron cage, she would
He was shot into a hedgehog by the archer lurking on the rooftop opposite.
Wang Chonghou must have suspected this situation for a long time, and now he trapped her here instead of killing her directly, maybe because he wanted to keep her alive. So no matter what she said, it seemed inappropriate.
If you are not careful, you may fall into the opponent's trap and lose your chance of survival.
"I originally thought he was a smart person, but it seems I overestimated him." Wang Chonghou deliberately lowered his tone, then turned sideways and said to the attendant next to him, "Even if he is useless, then kill him!"
"Wait!" Xia Houshu was shocked. She was just calculating her own pros and cons, but she never expected that Wang Chonghou, who was usually dignified and dignified and respected etiquette, would act like this when he said the three words "Kill him."
Calm, as if saying "this cup of tea is cold, pour it" is as relaxed and ordinary.
While Wang Chonghou listened quietly, Xia Houshu sorted out his thoughts and collected clues. If she guessed correctly, the relationship between Wang Chonghou and the mausoleum king Yuwensheng was extraordinary, and this relationship could not be exposed openly.
That's why they publicized Yi Wu's origins and used a romantic affair to cover up their true friendship.
Now that the matter has come to this, Xia Houshu doesn't want to pretend to be a gangster like last time. What she wants in her mind is to use the trick to deceive him. So she mustered up her courage and pretended to be calm and said: "I'm afraid the Prime Minister has forgotten to talk to Ling.
A gentleman’s appointment from the king?”
"Prince Ling?" Wang Chonghou was stunned for a moment, his eyes were deep, as if he was thinking about the credibility of his words, or he was remembering an agreement they made.
Xia Houshu thought he had guessed correctly and breathed a sigh of relief. Unexpectedly, Wang Chonghou suddenly changed his expression and sneered: "What does killing an assassin who sneaked into the house have to do with the King of Ling?"
It was clear that he had to pretend to be confused while pretending to understand. Xia Houshu rolled his eyes in his heart and continued to challenge: "What about Mrs. Yi?"
Probably because the words "Mrs. Yi" touched a soft spot in Wang Chonghou's heart, or because Yi Wu's death was too tragic and strange, Wang Chonghou finally got angry and raised his voice: "How about Mrs. Yi?"
Finally getting it right, Xia Houshu secretly rejoiced. Then he said seriously: "Mrs. Yi was personally trained by Prince Ling's Mansion and was handed over to the Prime Minister properly, but you let her die tragically for no reason. Do you think Prince Ling will still do it?"
Do I trust you again?"
Xia Houshu spoke forcefully, but she had no idea in her heart. She originally only guessed that Yi Wu was a chess piece placed by King Ling in the Prime Minister's Mansion. In addition, Yinxiang had told her that Yi Wu had a fierce quarrel with Wang Chonghou before his death.
So I made a bold assumption without conclusive evidence.
Wang Chonghou was silent for a while.
Xia Houshu couldn't guess what he was thinking, so he could only quietly observe the changes in his expression.
"You are smart!" Wang Chonghou suddenly said, "How can you and other children comment on the truth about the truth and Mrs. Yi?" As he said this, he looked at the cage with sharp eyes, "You'd better tell the truth. Who sent you here?
Yes, what is your purpose?"
Xia Houshu thought that this time it was really over. Wang Chonghou immediately saw that she had been instigated by someone else. But she would never admit it and insisted that she was the one belonging to Prince Ling.
"It seems that you are unwilling to tell the truth." Seeing how stubborn she was, Wang Chonghou lost his patience and waved his hand, "Kill her!"
"Wait a minute!" Xia Houshu stopped him again, staring at the guards behind him who had a third of their swords drawn, fearing that they would all pounce on him. He asked angrily and said to Wang Chonghou: "Where is the Prime Minister?
The leader of hundreds of officials is so careless about human life, it really puts our generation to shame!"
"So what if people's lives are taken lightly?" Wang Chonghou chuckled. When he raised his eyes, his eyes were still filled with sternness and he said coldly, "Then you have to be able to leave alive and prove that the truth is that people's lives were taken seriously."
"I used to wonder where Master Ling's ruthlessness came from, but now it seems that he has the same origin as the Prime Minister." Xia Houshu sneered.
Wang Chonghou was noncommittal.
Now that the words were brought to this point, Xia Houshu was not afraid of offending him again, and simply said bluntly: "I heard that Young Master Ling robbed a good girl on the street a few days ago, and the girl had a strong temperament and could not bear the insult and hanged herself.
The Prime Minister not only failed to teach his son well, but also allowed him to commit murder. Our court has strict discipline and law. If the Emperor knows about this, there will be many people who want to take the position of the Prime Minister!"
Wang Chonghou seemed a little displeased when he heard the bastard thing about his son. He couldn't help but clench his hands into a fist, but he just smiled disdainfully and said coldly: "It seems you know a lot."
Unexpectedly, Wang Chonghou's weakness turned out to be the incompetent son he had with Princess Mingjia. Xia Houshu thought he had caught the other party, and couldn't help but secretly rejoiced in his heart. He continued to make nonsense: "Prince Ling has long suspected the sincerity of the Prime Minister.
He knows more than that... If the Prime Minister treats you with courtesy, I can tell you the truth."
Wang Chonghou looked at Xia Houshu's shining eyes, and suddenly smiled slyly, without any panic at all, and said slowly and calmly: "If the emperor knew about my son, he would at most punish him for his lack of discipline.
The phase of the original phase! As for Prince Ling..." He paused, glanced at Xia Houshu with disdain, and continued, "If he knew that someone dared to offend the original phase in his name, he would probably take action faster.
"
Xia Houshu's heart grew colder. She knew that she had underestimated Wang Chonghou's wisdom and cunning. As an assassin, she was worse than an ant in Wang Chonghou's eyes, so she still tried to negotiate terms with him. Wasn't she being smart?
Xia Houshu felt despair and slowly closed his eyes. After hearing Wang Chonghou's order, a guard immediately stabbed into the iron cage with a broadsword and a long sword in his hand. This chapter has been completed!