Li Fang led his troops and gathered all the imperial doctors in the hall. After checking them one by one according to the roster, he came to Li Ru and said, "Sir, you are indeed resourceful. There is really something wrong with the imperial doctors. This man named Wang Xuan has been missing for two days. I guess it must be this person."
It’s what people do.”
"General, don't be impatient."
Li Ru looked calm and did not make a decision in a hurry.
"how?"
Li Fang frowned: "Do you have any questions?"
"I just want to know more about it."
Li Ru responded, then glanced at the imperial doctors in the hall, watching their expressions quietly, and asked softly: "Who is the imperial physician?"
An old man with white beard and hair came out of the hall: "It's the old man Zhao Yi."
"Doctor Zhao, don't be nervous."
Li Ru raised the corners of his lips slightly, waved his hands and said, "I'm just asking you two questions as usual. Dr. Zhao only needs to answer them honestly. I guarantee that nothing will happen to you."
Zhao Yi nodded hurriedly and wiped his sweat: "Don't worry, I will answer truthfully."
"Well, very good."
Li Ru nodded with satisfaction, twisted his beard and asked lightly: "Has the imperial physician Wang Xuan had any contact with King Hongnong recently?"
Zhao Yi said yes: "Yes, your Highness has been in constant bad luck recently. First, he was dethroned from the throne, and then died suddenly of the Queen Mother. The successive setbacks caused him to become depressed and ill, and his temperament changed drastically. The old man sent the imperial physician Wang Xuan to diagnose and treat His Highness."
"Have there been any changes during this period?" Li Ru asked.
"Never replaced anyone."
"oh?"
Li Ru frowned: "Has this person ever been exposed to poison?"
Zhao Yi broke into a cold sweat: "I really don't know about this. Anything involving poisons is prohibited in the palace. According to regulations, only the imperial physician's order must be signed and approved before the medicine can be taken from the pharmacy, but Wang Xuan has never asked
Decaying."
"Who guards the dispensary?"
Li Ru knew that Zhao Yi was not lying, so he asked again.
"I'm responsible for it."
A slightly younger middle-aged man flashed out from the side.
His name is Sun Yan.
Imperial Physician Cheng, in charge of medicine.
Sun Yan seemed a little scared and his voice trembled slightly.
Li Ru felt that Sun Yan looked suspicious, so he stared at him with burning eyes: "May I ask Dr. Sun, did Wang Xuan go to the pharmacy to grab some medicine before he disappeared?"
"have!"
Sun Yan's throat rolled, he nodded slowly, and said with a worried look: "But he only said that he would give King Hongnong some soothing medicine. He should have never been exposed to poison."
"should?"
"snort!"
Li Ru noticed the change in the other party's expression and knew that he must be hiding something: "The pharmacy is an important area of the Imperial Medical Office, so the imperial court will send someone to take charge of it. Now poisonous poison has appeared in the palace and almost killed King Hongnong. Do you think you can get away with it?"
Related?"
"Spare my life!"
Sun Yan was panic-stricken and knelt down with a bang: "I beg you two to have mercy. Wang Xuan has been an imperial doctor for more than 20 years and has always been an honest man. I really didn't expect that he would use poison!"
"explain!"
Li Ru shouted loudly: "What's going on?"
Sun Yan couldn't hide his eyes and collapsed on the ground with fear: "That day, when the official was about to leave the house, Doctor Wang suddenly came to me and said that the youngest son in the family had caught a cold and needed medicine for treatment, so he gave me some money."
"The lower official thought that the wind-cold was just an ordinary disease and the medicine needed was not expensive, so he ordered him to get it himself. But who would have thought that what he got was not the medicine to treat the wind-cold, but poison!"
"Damn Wang Xuan!"
Sun Yan, the imperial physician, was so angry that his face was bulging, and tears were streaming down his face. He opened his mouth and cursed: "You have killed me! You have killed me, wuwuwu~~~"
Li Fang on the side breathed a sigh of relief: "Sir, now the evidence is conclusive. It was Wang Xuan who stole the poison and handed it over to His Highness King Hongnong. His Highness deliberately poisoned the Food Supervisor to vent his personal anger. Let's go back to the palace to recover.
.”
"oh?"
Li Ru glanced at Li Fang and said softly: "General, do you think things are so simple?"
Li Fang frowned: "Isn't this...?"
Li Ru chuckled and shook his head: "Then let me ask you, Wang Xuan is an honest man, why did he steal poison?"
Li Fang said without hesitation: "Of course he was ordered by King Hongnong!"
Li Ru glanced at Li Fang and sighed: "The current King Hongnong is just a lonely man. If he orders you to steal poison, will you act according to his order?"
"Of course not."
"You don't know how, what about Wang Xuan?"
"this......"
Li Fang was embarrassed. If he had some enlightenment, he said: "Yes, Wang Xuan has been in the palace for more than 20 years. How could he not understand the situation clearly? Why would he obey King Hongnong? Could it be that he has a close relationship with King Hongnong?"
"
Li Ru sighed and shook his head: "King Hongnong lived in the Taoist Shi Zixuan's house since he was a child. He returned to the palace only when he was three years old. Although he is weak, he is taken care of by the Taoist and has little contact with the imperial doctor. How can he be with the king?"
Xuan has a close relationship.”
Before Liu Bian was born, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty did not have any heirs, but all of his princes died in infancy. Therefore, when Prince Bian was born, he was not raised in the palace, but in the mansion of Taoist Shi Zixuan.
"ah?"
Li Fang looked in disbelief: "King Hongnong was actually raised by a Taoist?"
Li Ru nodded: "Well, only those who have lived in Luoyang for a long time know about this matter. You are new here, so naturally you don't know."
"I see."
Li Fang felt deeply that the Confucian scholar in front of him was thoughtful, and he couldn't help but respect him: "Then according to Sir's wishes, why would Wang Xuan obey King Hongnong?"
yes.
Li Ru also had the same doubts in his heart.
Wang Xuan was always honest and had no friendship with King Hongnong.
Why on earth would he take such a big risk for Liu Bian?
Now, Wang Xuanding has abandoned his official position and is on the run. Although three days is not long, it is enough time to leave Luoyang and escape far away.
This means that in a short period of time, Wang Xuan's clue will be cut off and there will be no way to pursue it.
certainly.
What shocked Li Ru even more was that after King Hongnong got the poison, he could endure it for three full days, giving Wang Xuan enough time to escape before attacking the food prison.
This kind of endurance was something Li Ru couldn't even imagine.
After all, in his eyes, the prince's behavior was frivolous and lacked the majesty of an emperor.
This may be related to the fact that he was raised by Shi Zixuan, while Liu Xie, who was also a prince, was raised by Empress Dowager Dong and showed imperial majesty from an early age.
This is also the reason why the late emperor liked Liu Xie but not Liu Bian.
But how can a person who behaves frivolously endure three days before venting his personal anger?
unreasonable!
So unreasonable!
Could it be that the dethronement of the throne and the sudden death of the Queen Mother really had such a great impact on Liu Bian?
Big enough to make Liu Bian's temperament change drastically, as if he was a different person?
"King Hongnong!"
Li Ru exhaled a breath of turbid air, and his shrewd little eyes flashed with a faint fierce light: "Let's go back to the palace and meet His Royal Highness King Hongnong."
"good!"
Li Fang hummed: "But, how should we deal with this person?"
Li Ru glanced at Zhang Yan, pondered for a moment, and then ordered: "Come here, take Zhang Yan into custody. We will investigate clearly and report back to Sikong before we release him."