Changle Floating Life

Chapter 18

In the Hall of Smoke Waves, curling smoke emerges from the three-legged binaural stove with blue and white sea water pattern, which is today's favorite dragon saliva.

On the imperial table, the emperor looked at the copy of the hall confession with ink stains still wet.In his hand is a green glaze cup, which contains the first class of wax tea offered by Cao Si in Yuezhou this spring. It is all made of sparrow tongue water buds.

Kneeling on the blue brick floor of the lotus, Qi Yan, Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice, heard the emperor say coldly in a state of anxiety: "When you get up, what day is today?" Five respects.Eunuch Gao, who was standing beside him, kindly reminded him: "Lord Qi, how long has your Majesty been interrogating?" Qi Yan suddenly realized, and after a little calculation, said: "It has been [-] days since the Ministry of Punishment filed the record."

The emperor's long and narrow phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, and the expression on his face didn't know whether it was disappointment or relief.He only heard him snort coldly: "Half a month has passed, and you just got this little thing? A few broken poems with unclear meanings, all the criminal evidence is illusory, and none of them has been verified." Qi Yan was dripping with cold sweat, kowtowed and said: "Your Majesty calm down, Rong Chen reported that Zhao Ni's uncle and aunt have been escorted from Xuzhou this morning, and Xuzhou Zhizhou has copied evidence from Zhao's family. After the confession in court today and tomorrow, the truth will surely come to light."

After a while, the emperor's dim and cloudy eyeballs rolled around, and suddenly he laughed strangely: "There is a saying that you can accept it when you see it. I don't know what you think. You have to remember the lessons learned from Dali Temple. I will return it to you." I want to leave a clean court for my prince."

Dali Temple was impeached due to incompetent trial and excessive torture to extract confessions, and impeachment was frenzied in Beijing Yushi and other counties in the south of the Yangtze River. no deposit.And Duan Wang, who was in charge of supervision, was also stigmatized and went to Zongzheng Temple to think about his mistakes.

When Qi Yan heard him mention Dali Temple's eyebrows twitching, and then mentioning the prince, his heart stopped, and he hurriedly kowtowed to plead guilty.Emperor Taiping was too lazy to talk nonsense with him, so he dismissed him with a wave of his hand.Qi Yan came out of Yanbo Hall, and when he wiped his forehead, he was sweating profusely.After returning to the Ministry of Punishment, I saw that Xuzhou's deportation office hadn't left yet, and was drinking tea waiting for him at the guest seat.This person is the confidant of Xue Renzu, the new magistrate of the state, and also the prince's close attendant.

Qi Yan was so anxious that he couldn't help but asked him in a low voice: "Then Yuan Huaike's son was really killed by Zuo Fengmian in prison?" The book office looked around and nodded.Qi Yan pressed his chest and couldn't help asking softly: "I'm just curious, what method does Zuo Fengmian have to pry the suspect's mouth open?" It was the rest of the criminals who couldn't say a word, which made him very troubled.

The secretary curled his lips in disdain, stretched out two fingers, and Qi Yan listened to him, only to hear him say: "He has a nickname called Ten Tortures. It is said that he is the second cruelest official in this dynasty, and no one dares to recognize the first one." .He is a ruthless person, so it’s fine to hit you, and you have to hit the apex of your heart in front of your dearest and favorite person. Then Yuan Shangqiu was beaten to death in front of Zhao Nanxing. , I was thrown into custody like a concubine." He couldn't help shivering when he thought of the bloody scene in the prison.

Qi Yan clicked his tongue after hearing this.

Due to the addition of new witnesses and evidence, the prince also symbolically attended the re-opening of the hall.Although he was ordered by the emperor to hear the case, most of the time he did not come to give advice.And once there is a time of execution in the hall, the prince who is stern and obsessed with cleanliness will get up and leave the seat as if he saw something filthy, and will come back to say a few insignificant words after the punishment.

He originally wanted to follow a routine like this today.But Qi Yan disrupted the rhythm in his impatience, and because of his impatience, he also forgot to speak with the prince oracle.

Zhao Nanxing was brought to the hall first, his head and face were fairly neat, there were scars on his body but no blood, only his face was ugly.After he was brought up, he was still able to bow down.After Qi Yan verified his identity, his uncle and aunt were also taken up.As soon as these two people came to the court, they shouted for grievances, and continued to curse Zhao Nanxing with vicious words. "You little bastard who kills a thousand knives, and your mother who was raised by a bitch, I know it's not a good thing. Bringing our Zhao family into trouble, a born loser..." Yun Yun.Zhao Nanxing pursed his lips without saying a word, but his eyes were flushed.

Qi Yan interrogated the Zhao couple first, but the two talked about each other but couldn't find any useful information.The only thing is that at the end of every sentence, he never forgets to attack Zhao Nanxing viciously. If he hadn't witnessed it with his own eyes, he would have thought that the couple had been enemies for several generations.

Qi Yan was also disturbed, so he drew a few lottery sticks for a while, and shouted repeatedly: "Hit me, hit me!" Zaoli on both sides stepped forward with torture sticks, and the Zhao couple immediately vented their anger and showed a look of fear. , Zhao Yi said loudly: "My lord, if you have something to say, I will call whatever you want me to call. Don't hit us!"

The crown prince showed embarrassment, and glanced at Qi Yan, who was furious and his fingers were shaking.Zaoli under the hall looked at each other, and immediately raised his stick to start beating.Before the two sticks fell on their bodies, they began to howl like ghosts and wolves.In the hall, except Qi Yan and the prince, everyone endured a lot of hard work with laughter.The prince's face was pale, and he stood up abruptly, shaking his sleeves to leave, when Zhao Nanxing said in the hall: "Your Highness, are you leaving now?"

This was the second time he spoke in the hall, and the first time was when he was checking his identity, the prince and Qi Yan both turned their heads, their eyes lit up.Zhao Nanxing held his head up, a strand of broken hair fell from the bun on his head, he shook his head impatiently, and said: "The two relatives of the sinner, although their quarrel is not clean, have raised the sinner for several years, and I dare not give you a meal." Forget, not to mention old relatives? These two are common people, killing them is useless, and there are only two dead bones in the world, but they are unknown to His Highness."

The prince frowned and looked down the hall, it looked like he had been beaten ten or twenty sticks, the crying of the Zhao couple also gradually subsided.The crown prince said: "What's ominous?" Zhao Nanxing looked at Qi Yan and said with a smile: "The sinner guesses that Mr. Qi wants to imitate Zuo Shaoqing." Born with a pair of demonic eyes, she can read people's minds.

Zhao Nanxing said: "That day was a secret trial, King Duan first hid in Jinling, today the crown prince is present, under the watchful eyes of everyone, if the criminal is beaten to death, it will be difficult to do business."

The prince had a sudden realization, and he gave Qi Yan a hard look, how dare he not discuss it with him!Qi Yan bowed his head in embarrassment.The crown prince is not going or not, he just stopped and said: "These two are grassroots, but what about the Marquis of Anning? Bring Marquis of Anning Ye Jianqing up."

Zhao Nanxing's pupils constricted suddenly, and the prince sat down proudly.After a while, two warders came up to the court with Ye Jianqing, who was handcuffed and fettered, and put him on the ground after handover.Except for the [-] rods he received during his first court appearance, he had never been beaten again. Even so, Ye Jianqing's wounds had not healed, and he still couldn't walk upright, so he could only lie down on the ground.

Ye Jianqing looked around for a while, and saw the confused look on the eyes of the Zhao couple who were executing the execution.Then seeing Zhao Nanxing, his lips moved a few times, as if to say: You are fine, it's good.Both of them are no longer handsome and good-looking.The corners of Zhao Nanxing's eyes were moist, and his face was full of sadness that hesitated to speak.

The prince snorted and said, "The one below is Ye Jianqing, Marquis of Anning?" Ye Jianqing moved his neck and nodded in agreement.The crown prince said: "How did you and Zhao criminal know each other? Tell me from the truth." Ye Jianqing said weakly: "When I lived in the south of the Yangtze River, I had a good relationship with the son of the Governor of Water Transport. Mr. Yuan studied in Xuzhou Plum Blossom Academy. I often I went to play with him, so I became acquainted with Mr. Zhao." The crown prince asked again: "Did Zhao criminal show any intention of treason when he made friends with you?" Flower commentary on willows, cockfighting and lackeys, what are you talking about? We don’t understand.”

Qi Yan patted the gavel: "Bold!" The prince also sneered: "If there is no such thing, why did you write these bold and wild poems? What's the meaning of 'the root reaches the place where there is no song in the nine springs, and only Hidden Dragon knows it', today the flying dragon is here God, you are looking for the hidden dragon in the ground, what do you mean if you are not a minister?" Ye Jianqing said calmly: "How can the poem be explained in this way? Today, I wrote my own poem: 'The people in the world look at the rain, but they don't know where the dragon is going. Zhong Pan'. The same poem, the same thing, the benevolent sees benevolence, the wise sees wisdom, the Yi family sees the scriptures, the Taoist sees prostitution, and those who have a rebellious heart first see disobedience."

The emperor once wrote a poem saying that he is a panlong (a dragon that is dormant on the ground but has not ascended to heaven), and he distinguishes this cleverly.The so-called seeing the heart and seeing the nature, you think it is against poetry, it is because you are rebellious officials and thieves, and you have a heart of disobedience, so what is white is also black.

The two people in the hall were in a panic, Qi Yan slammed the table again and said: "Sophistry! I think you don't know the severity if you don't suffer a little bit." He shouted loudly, and the Zaoli who was executing the execution next to him dragged the half-dead Zhao couple He went down, leaving a few long bloodstains on the hall.The prince unconsciously frowned and looked away.Qi Yan didn't bother to ask him to leave his seat, pointing at Ye Jianqing and said, "Please An Ninghou, eat another twenty plates!"

Ye Jianqing pouted dismissively.Zaoli on both sides stepped forward with a "mighty" sound.Suddenly Zhao Nanxing said in a trembling voice: "Wait!" The crown prince and Qi Yan shot eager eyes at him.I saw this young man who was about the same age as An Ninghou, with a pale face and a ghostly smile: "I've seen enough of this too. I'll give you what my lord wants." Ye Jianqing changed color suddenly: "What are you talking about! Nan Xing, I was used to being beaten by the princess grandma when I was a child, I am not afraid of pain."

The prince's heartbeat quickened, Qi Yan couldn't believe his ears, and said, "I don't believe that you opened your mouth so easily, why should you be patient before that?" Zhao Nanxing lowered his head and said, "I didn't say that, I don't want to see this. Especially After Shang Qiu’s death, you will know if it’s real or not after you’ve seen it. It’s brought along with my uncle and aunt, and the Zhao family’s belongings. I don’t know if you brought the clean bottle from the Buddhist hall, it’s sealed inside One-axis painting."

Qi Yan suppressed the ecstasy in his heart, nodded to the prince and said: "I will bring people to search, and I will come right away." After he finished speaking, he left in a hurry.

Ye Jianqing almost passed out.He tilted his head and looked at Zhao Nanxing who was kneeling not far away, tears streaming down his face suddenly, and said: "Nan Xing, it is obvious that Luo Zhi was framed, how can you admit such a thing? If Shang Qiuruo found out underground, what should he think?" Zhao Nanxing also looked sideways at him. This pampered and pampered son of a rich man was kneeling beside him. Even though his body was covered with scars, his eyes were still as clear as water.He is born noble and innately irrelevant to conspiracy.

The crown prince was walking up and down in front of the hall, meditating, and unwittingly walked in front of Zhao Nanxing. He looked down at Zhao Nanxing. This man had gentle features and a handsome face. According to gossip, he was the illegitimate son of Emperor Zhongzong, but this was just someone with ulterior motives. Rumors spread without evidence.Zhao Nanxing also raised his head and looked at the aristocrats in front of him who could not be easily seen by ordinary people, and said with a smile: "Congratulations, Your Highness, once you succeed, you will die."

The prince's eyelids twitched, and he felt a strange feeling in his heart.I only heard Zhao Nanxing whispering beside me: "When your Highness first interrogated me, he said that the guest star was in a hurry to violate the emperor's throne, and he meant to be a minister. Has the guest star entered Taiweiyuan?" !” After he finished speaking, he couldn't help taking a few steps back, supporting the koan behind him with one hand.Zaoli in the hall didn't know who he was going to hit, and looked at each other in blank dismay.The prince looked at everything in front of him in a trance, until Qi Yan walked in with a vase in his arms.

As expected, the mouth of the bottle was sealed. When the crown prince took it, his hand slipped, and the thin clean bottle fell to the ground, turning into powder.There is indeed a scroll painting hidden in the belly of the bottle.Qi Yan quickly picked it up and watched it with the prince.It was a green landscape, full of smoke and waves, vast and boundless.Next to the painting are inscribed two poems: Qingchuan Lili Hanyang trees, Fangcao luxuriant Yingwuzhou.The font is thin and strong, like cutting gold and cutting jade, it is unusual regular script and running script.And there are several stamps stamped on the back of the poem, one of which is the word "Changle", which is exactly the same as the jade pendant found in the Princess Zhenguo's mansion.

Qi Yan didn't know this font, thought he had copied the treasure, and smiled, so he showed the picture to Zhao Nanxing and said, "This thing is definitely owned by someone else, where did you get it?"

Zhao Nanxing knew that he wanted to say to himself: It was from Princess Zhenguo's mansion.But he grinned, looked at the prince, and said: "I have heard that the prince learned Fu Ti when he was young, and he is the number one calligraphy master in the dynasty. How come he doesn't know Jin Cuo Dao?"

The prince suddenly felt that something was splashed on his face, he wiped it with his hands and saw that it was a spot of dark red blood, and he didn't know when it was stained.His pupils dilated violently, and everything in the painting was reflected into blood-colored mountains and rivers in his eyes.Everyone in the hall heard the prince's terrified voice: "Ah——"

When the emperor was lighting the lamp, he was lying on the couch looking at a book, when suddenly he heard the report from the servant in a hurry, saying that the prince had a sudden illness.Emperor Taiping frowned and said: "What sudden illness? It was fine in the early court." The servant was shaking and his teeth were chattering.The emperor didn't react for a while, and raised his eyes to look at Eunuch Gao.The latter's two white eyebrows drooped as if he didn't hear it. "Go and see what's going on."

Eunuch Gao led the order out of Yanbo Hall.When the smokey wind comes outside the hall, the fragrance of flowers blows on the face.He looked up at the starry sky, there was a radiant comet hovering, the guest star came out of the heaven, there was a strange grievance.After passing the prince star, either the prince will be deposed, or there will be usurpation and rebellion.

The East Palace is illuminated by bright candles, just like daytime.All the palace people looked panic-stricken and fidgeted restlessly.Eunuch Gao walked outside the palace, only to see the crown princess coming out to greet her with tears all over her face.He hurriedly asked in a low voice: "How is your Highness?" The Crown Princess was about to cry at this moment, so she just walked towards the inner hall.Eunuch Gao walked through an outer room full of broken porcelain, looked around the door of the bedroom for a while, and saw that the person on the bed was twitching and shaking, like an epileptic seizure.

After he came out, he waved his hand at the princess and said, "Don't disturb the empress. Have you gone to ask for the imperial doctor?" The princess choked up and said, "The imperial doctor has already seen it. The mother's body is Da'an. How dare I disturb you. It's just tomorrow morning Afterwards, there are so many people in this palace, how can the empress not know." Gao Gonggong said: "I will go back to the Long Live Lord, my lady, don't worry."

When Eunuch Gao returned to Yanbo Hall, the emperor had already fallen asleep, turned over impatiently and said, "What's wrong with him?" Eunuch Gao said carefully, "His Royal Highness has an old disease." "Old disease? His blood dizziness is still there." Are you alright?" The emperor then hugged him and looked at him suspiciously.Eunuch Gao had no choice but to step forward, cover his mouth with his hands, and whispered a few words.

Emperor Taiping's face changed, he threw up the quilt, stepped on the floor tiles with bare feet, and said loudly: "Call the imperial doctor to answer." Everyone in the Yanbo Hall was panicked like a Jiao Lei.After listening to the imperial physician's confession, the emperor felt a slap in the back of the head and became dizzy for a while.After a long while, the eyes were clear again.He was furious: "Qi Yan! Call him! I told him not to involve the prince, he is an idiot!"

In Taiping Dynasty, He Qinghaiyan has no worries inside and outside, and only enters the court every three times.When it was time to go to court the next day, the palace supervisor and the department outside the Wende Gate notified one by one that the emperor's dragon body was not in good condition and he would rest for a day.The country is peaceful, and the only thing that can be used as a source of discussion when the civil and military bureaucrats meet is the current Qin case.So everyone formed a group according to the official office, position, and generation, and some people looked around and said, "It's strange, why didn't Qi Shangshu come?"

Qi Yan entered the Yanbo Palace dripping with cold sweat, but the emperor was not the holy bow he was rumored to be. He was in very good health, with only a layer of dark clouds covering his head. He asked him, "Do you know about the prince's old illness?" The second monk Yanzhang couldn't figure it out, and he was stunned for a long time and said: "Your Highness was afraid of seeing blood when he was a child, and he fainted when he saw blood. Now he has recovered."

The emperor breathed a sigh of relief.What Qi Yan said was not the same thing, it seems that he didn't know.He looked at Eunuch Gao wearily, and said: "You are an old man from Yunzhou Prefecture, you can tell him." Eunuch Gao hunched his back, walked towards Qi Yan, and said softly: "Master Qi, you are from the empress's clan." Brother, you should know that your mother was frightened when she was pregnant with the prince for eight months." Qi Yan nodded with an idiot face on his face, "I have heard about this before." Eunuch Gao continued: "The prince was also frightened in his mother's womb. Trauma, I had epilepsy after birth. I had seizures several times within one year old, and gradually recovered after one year old. The doctor at the time said that if there was no accident, there would be no recurrence. The empress did not hide this matter. It has to be watertight.”

Qi Yan's face was like gold paper, he looked up at the emperor on the throne, and the latter's expression was not much better than his.The prince has a hidden disease, and this hidden disease will hinder the stability of the country and the safety of the country, which no one thought of.I don't know if the prince's marriage and childlessness are related to this unmentionable disease.Qi Yanzuo knelt down and couldn't stand up, crying loudly: "It's the minister who didn't notice, shouldn't let the prince get involved in this matter..."

Emperor Taiping thought to himself, no wonder the prince has changed more than a dozen nurses and attendants since he was a child, the queen is really a good trick!Probably the blood dizziness is also one of the sequelae of epilepsy.But he thought about it again, when the crown prince was born, the biological mother of the second prince Pei Zhaoye was pregnant. With the queen's competitive personality, if she confessed that she gave birth to a sick child, she might never have a bright future!No wonder some people say that women are weak, but mothers are strong!

He turned his head to look at Qi Yan, raised his forehead and said, "Get up and answer. What happened yesterday?"

Qi Yan then got up and had to explain it in detail.Emperor Taiping's complexion changed a few times, and when he heard him talking about the painting, his cheek muscles twitched even more. "Did you bring the evidence?" Qi Yan was taken aback, and said, "It's under custody at the Ministry of Punishment, and I'll order someone to fetch it."

The emperor couldn't control the distorted face, waved his hands and said: "No need. Did the prince really say that it is a golden wrong knife?" Qi Yan couldn't help asking: "Your Majesty, my minister is dull, what is a golden wrong knife?"

The next chapter Luo Qun can't bear the coldness before dawn

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