Compared with drinking steamed toilet water for a long time, no, steamed mouse water, any sudden illness and poisoning have been thrown aside.

Even Tang Wanji couldn't tell whether it was the silver string begonia, the dirty mouse, or both that caused the empress's cough and shortness of breath.

Concubine Hongshu was furious that something like this happened to the banquet he had prepared, and immediately ordered a strict investigation.

It is not clear who threw the silver string crabapple into it, but for such an obvious thing as a mouse, it must be because the guards of the internal warehouse did not supervise well enough to get into the copper furnace.

The young eunuchs who were in charge of guarding the copper furnace, together with their stewards, were dragged away by the Department of Punishment. After an interrogation, the truth came to light very quickly.

Contrary to everyone's expectations, I thought the interrogation would reveal who was stealing, raped, and not cleaning the copper stove properly, which led to the fact that even the mice got in. Unexpectedly, several young eunuchs said in unison that after the copper dew stove was ordered by Concubine Hongshu, they cleaned it many times, and there was absolutely no unclean place.

But one of the young eunuchs couldn't bear the punishment, and finally confessed to a clue, the maid Shan Fang of Bixiao Palace went to talk to him a few days ago. During the process, he went out to pour tea, and Shan Fang stayed alone in the warehouse for a while.

Afterwards, the people from the Punishment Department carefully inspected the copper furnace, and found traces of glue left on the top.

"It was this Shan Fang who glued a bunch of silver-stringed begonia petals to the corner above the copper furnace. It couldn't be seen from the outside. As long as the copper furnace is heated and the water vapor rises, the glue will melt and the adhered The silver string begonia petals will fall."

Huang Deyin, the head of the internal treasury, reported respectfully.

"This Concubine Lu Gui and Concubine Wu entered the palace at the same time. Seeing Concubine Wu Gui's career soaring and gaining favor day by day, while her family was declining, she felt resentful in her heart. Hearing that the servants of the palace were chattering their teeth, they said that the empress had recently taken medicine. , taboo silver string begonias, these flowers in the Phoenix Rite Palace were moved out a few days ago. I also heard that Wu Guipin was going to wear this kind of flower hairpin at the Pear Blossom Banquet, so I moved this crooked idea and wanted to frame Wu Guipin A crime of poisoning and murdering the queen."

"Because the glue used by the screwdriver is honey, it attracted the mice in the library." Huang Deyin said, dripping with cold sweat. Although he has found out what happened, he still has a duty of ineffective supervision.

Concubine Hongshu listened with a straight face, her voice was so cold that it could fall into ice, "There are all the witnesses and evidences for this matter. As a concubine, I don't know how to cultivate myself diligently, so as to provoke the emperor's disgust, so I don't want to repent and reform, but Wholeheartedly plotting against the concubine who is more favored than myself."

"She harmed Wu Guifei today, and I'm afraid she will come here to harm the Palace and the empress tomorrow."

Li Chongrong was sitting at the bottom, patted his chest again and again, "Unexpectedly, this concubine Lu Gui, who looks delicate and weak, has such a vicious heart, and Concubine Wu Gui has never offended her, so he did it like this."

"That's all, it's a heinous crime to even pour poison and medicine into the empress's bowl." Xia Guiren also said.

"This kind of insane thing should be dealt with according to the palace rules, and the family should be investigated for crimes." Lin Zhaoyuan also looked angrily. She drank three or four cups of pear blossom fragrance that day, and she couldn't eat for a few days after returning home.

Concubine Hongshu finally sighed, "Report the matter to the empress, and ask her to deal with it. No matter how severely you deal with such a disobedient thing, it can't be overstated."

Wu Jie was tracing a magnolia flower on the desk in front of the window, halfway through the painting, but hearing the noise outside, she couldn't finish the painting.

She threw down her pen, washed her hands in the clean water offered by the little maid, and asked, "Isn't the next door finished yet?"

Chi Rui beside him said in a low voice, "It's still a mess, Concubine Lu Gui has been crying for grievances."

Early this morning, Mother Qiu personally led the staff of the Punishment Department to the west hall of Bixiao Palace, searched Lu Pingting's palace belongings, and locked them up.

Lu Pingting yelled for grievances loudly, her tone was shrill, and the two of them lived so close, naturally they could hear them clearly.

Wu Jie smiled wryly through the window, "Speaking of which, she was really wronged this time."

"That's right, she just wanted to harm you, she didn't intend to murder the queen, but of course she is wronged to come to this point." A strange voice came from outside the window.

Wu Jie poked her head and saw that Chen Jiao was outside the window. He was still sitting on the flower shelf in the garden, with his hands wrapped around, looking at her leisurely.

"You are kind. As soon as you crawled out of the mire, you started to sympathize with your former enemies."

Wu Jie simply left the room and came into the garden.

She looked up at Chen Jiao who was sitting on the shelf, and said with a smile, "Thank you this time."

"It's just a matter of throwing a few dead mice." Chen Jiao clapped his hands, disapproving.

Those few mice before were not attracted by honey glue, but she asked Chen Jiao to help put them in. Of course, she asked him to throw something dirty in it, but she didn't expect it to be a mouse. And put three at once, is this a pot of mouse nests?

Wu Jie complained secretly. Looking up, he saw Chen Jiao tilting his head slightly, staring at her with complicated eyes.

"What's wrong?" Wu Jie asked.

"I'm just curious, how do you know that woman is going to murder you?"

"Before, her little girl came to inquire about the bouquet I was going to wear at the Pear Blossom Banquet. She was sneaky, how could it not make people suspicious."

Chen Jiao stared at her with squinted eyes, "It's that simple."

Wu Jie nodded sincerely, "It's that simple."

"I went to the ice cellar of the Imperial Dining Room yesterday." Chen Jiaoman said.

"Ah" Wu Jie looked puzzled.

"Based on the way you speculate, I must have stolen some of the important goods, and maybe planted the blame on someone else."

"Uh"

Wu Jie had a headache. She couldn't just say that Lu Pingting used this method to harm her in her previous life. It was a few months before her death, and she had just regained her favor, so it left a deep impression on her.

In all fairness, this method is actually not clever. At that time, she was falsely accused, and she knew it was a fraud, but she couldn't refute it, because people like Queen Gao didn't want to hear her refute at all, they just needed a chance, an excuse to get rid of her openly.

It's a pity that, despite all their calculations, they still didn't expect that she happened to be pregnant at that time, so all the charges could only be sidelined.

Do it all over again in this life, and Lu Pingting wants to repeat the old tricks, so it is naturally impossible for Wu Jie to be fooled again.

Not wearing a silver string to attend Haitang, of course, can avoid this trap, but there is a thief for a thousand days, there is no reason to guard against a thief for a thousand days, Lu Pingting can't do one plan, and sooner or later there will be another plan. Wu Jie was impatient and continued to argue with her, so she simply asked Chen Jiao to throw in some material, which made things worse and everyone was dragged into the water.

She doesn't have the ability to track it down, there is always someone with the ability.

At the dignified palace banquet, such a disgusting thing happened. Concubine Hongshu was slapped in the face like this, so she will naturally pursue her severely. Lu Pingting's work is not perfect, there will always be flaws exposed.

What's more, in today's round, even if she is flawless, someone will let her show her flaws.

Wu Jie thought again, in the final analysis, Lu Pingting would target her because she "favored" these days and attracted people's attention. It's a pity that she has always been wise and safe since she entered the palace, and it was all caused by Yuan Jing, a bastard.

"It's really boring. You women in the palace can only do calculations." Chen Jiao snorted.

"Aren't you a woman too?" Wu Jie retorted immediately, disgusted by the contempt revealed in his words.

Chen Jiao was dumbfounded.

Wu Jie clapped her hands again and said, "By the way, Ma'am is not an ordinary woman. What she plans is not the palace's calculations, but strategizing and grand plans for dominance. I really can't wait."

Hearing the sarcasm in her words, Chen Jiao glared at her, but was not angry. Instead, he raised his hand.

Wu Jie raised her hand reflexively to catch it. When saw it, was stunned, it turned out to be a round and plump lychee.

This thing just came from the south as a tribute the day before yesterday, and more than a dozen fast horses were exhausted to death. There were no more than twenty baskets in the whole palace. Wu Jie only had two sets.

I thought of when I was in East Vietnam, these things were transported by sea boats, they were fresh and convenient, and I could eat them casually. But when it came to the Great Wei capital, it became a rare thing. Wu Jie enjoyed one plate by herself, and shared the other with Chirui and the others. They ate it all up quickly, but Chen Jiao didn't expect there to be more.

Stepping on the ladder, she also climbed to the flower shelf, and immediately saw that there were several plates beside Chen Jiao, full of piles of lychees.

"Where did you get it?" Wu Jie turned to think of what he said just now, "So you really ran to the ice cellar of the imperial dining room."

"That's right, that little girl named Chi Rui gave two grains a few days ago, and she immediately aroused the greediness, so she went to dig some by herself." Chen Jiao patted the place beside him with a smile.

"I heard that you also like to eat this, please have a good meal."

Wu Jie hesitated for a moment, and sat next to him.

Chen Jiao took out a plate from the back, put it in front of Wu Jie, then took out the lychee, squeezed the shell in the middle with his hand, the bright red shell immediately split into two halves, revealing the white flesh.

Wu Jie stared blankly at someone who cracked open a bunch of lychees as if juggling, and the round lychees rolled into the plate naked. He took out another small silver fork and handed it to Wu Jie.

"Let's eat." Chen Jiao smiled, "It's rare for a servant to serve the master."

It's too neatly arranged. Wu Jie took it flattered and began to enjoy it.

After eating two, I found that this one was plump and juicy, much better than the ones sent to my palace. It is estimated that they are reserved for Yuan Jing and the Queen Mother.

Chen Jiao was peeling the shells, and Wu Jie was in charge of eating the meat.

Finally finished eating a whole plate of lychees, Wu Jie wiped her mouth, feeling refreshed after eating.

She lowered her head and was about to put the plate down, but suddenly her eyes froze. She was so focused on eating that she didn't notice that the plate in her hand turned out to be an agate plate. The mountains are undulating, covered with clouds and mists, very elegant, and the color is also red with green, just like an ink painting.

I remember that there was a set of twenty-four in the imperial dining room, all of which were quarried from a huge stone. One year at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, Yushanfang made fish stew and served it with this set.

"It's all right if you steal the lychees, but you even stole the dishes as well."

"The lychees are white in color, and they need to be paired with an agate dish to taste the right taste. I searched in the imperial dining room, and found all the vulgar utensils, and these are the only ones that can barely catch the eye." Chen Jiao said flatly.

"Eat it at ease, I'll send it back to the warehouse later."

To eat a lychee and still be so poor, this guy must come from a good background.

And the appearance is so outstanding, the noble daughter of a down-and-out family, or the elite killer secretly cultivated by Prince Fu's forces. For some reason, Wu Jie couldn't help imagining a big drama. Storybook novels.

Maybe it was because she helped herself a lot before, Wu Jie got closer to Chen Jiao from the bottom of her heart, and it was no longer the complete fear and defense that she had before. Also, she could feel that Chen Jiao's attitude towards her had also changed, becoming more cordial and natural.

This kind of change is what Wu Jie likes to see. Now she really felt how important it was to have a subordinate with excellent martial arts in this deep palace. At least if you want to eat some lychees, you can rely on yourself and don't have to wait for gifts from others.

Chen Jiao's voice interrupted her thoughts, "Why are you staring at me?"

"Oh, it's nothing, I'm just thinking, it would be great if I could also learn martial arts."

Chen Jiao sneered, "It's very tiring to practice in winter and summer in summer."

"I'm not someone who can't bear hardships." Wu Jie curled her lips.

"Come on, Jiao Didi's beauty, it's better to wait in the boudoir for the servants to serve."

"Aren't you also a delicate beauty?"

Speaking of this topic, Wu Jie finally couldn't hold back her curiosity, "Are you Prince Fu's concubine? You should be his confidant, why did you kill him?"

She wanted to ask this question for a long time, but she never dared to ask it out. Now that the atmosphere is good and Chen Jiao's attitude is gentle, she couldn't help asking.

Chen Jiao's face darkened, "I didn't."

"Ah" Wu Jie suddenly felt the surrounding air was a little bit cold,

"Pet concubine or something, don't let me hear it a second time."

Such a strong murderous intent, Wu Jie nodded very knowingly.

Chen Jiao continued to get rid of the last few lychees. Behind the plate was a small basket full of lychee shells.

"Do you still want to eat?" He asked Wu Jie, regaining his carefree expression, "If you want to eat, I'll get some more tonight."

"It's not good to steal too much." Wu Jie said cautiously.

"It doesn't matter. I'll take some from each basket and stuff some ice in. They won't be able to find it."

It sounds like this guy has a lot of experience in stealing food.

The night is as cool as water.

Yuan Jing stood in a pavilion in the imperial garden, pouring himself a drink.

While listening to Wan Chongji's report next to him. It was the inside story about Lu Pingting that was found out at the Pear Blossom Banquet.

This matter is just an internal struggle in the palace, but it is not a trivial matter when it involves the Queen's body.

After listening quietly, Yuan Jing gave a non-negotiable order, "All the affairs of the harem should be left to the empress."

Qiu Momo who stood aside knelt down and replied, "The emperor is wise, and this servant thanked the emperor for his kindness on behalf of the empress."

"Let the Queen rest well, and I will visit her tomorrow." Yuan Jing raised her hand to signal Qiu Nanny to get up, and said in a warm voice.

Nanny Qiu quickly withdrew.

Yuan Jing sighed, all his energies are focused on government affairs, and he always feels that things are not going well these days.

First, the treasury left by Prince Fu, a huge windfall disappeared, most likely falling into the hands of the legendary Mrs. Yuheng. Mrs. Yuheng is a member of South Chen, and it is as if she has fallen into South Chen's pocket.

There are also the remnants of Yelan Country. Although the city and land have been pacified, the escaped bandits are scattered everywhere, causing a lot of trouble. According to various clues, a group of people sneaked into Capital City quietly.

It was like this in the previous dynasty, but now even the harem is making noise.

The more he drank the wine, the more bored he became, Yuan Jing put down his glass. Stare at the chilled lychees on the plate. Suddenly said, "Send two more plates of this to Bixiao Palace, she should eat it often in her hometown."

Wan Chongji was taken aback for a moment, but his face showed embarrassment, "Well, Your Majesty, the number of lychees to be tributed this year is small, and it has been distributed by all the empresses."

The lychees brought here this year may be for fear of the pulp rotting, so more ice was added, and the number of lychees in the baskets was far less than in previous years.

Yuan Jing hummed, "Forget it." His eyes turned to the water in front of him.

The gurgling water, reflecting the clear moonlight,

From the harem to the front court, there was really nothing that made him happy.

Just as he was silent, he suddenly saw a thick shadow floating in the distance.

Wan Chongji couldn't help blinking as he got closer.

These seem to be lychee shells.

Which palace is this where the lychees were eaten and why did they throw them into the river?