dtnovels Chapter 493 The Emperor Fainted
Chapter 493 The Emperor Fainted
Seven days later, four guards rode into the capital on horseback and asked to see Emperor Chongzhao directly.
"…Lord Wang originally intended to return to the capital to hold his son's wedding, but he met the messenger from the Northern King on the way.
"Lord Wang cried for half the night holding the letter. We only heard the words 'difficult'.
"Who would have thought that after the fourth watch, when the little ones were tired and fell asleep, the master would draw his sword and kill himself."
The guard choked up as he finished speaking, then knelt down and presented the blood-stained sword and letter.
Emperor Chongzhao had a gloomy face. He looked at the two things in Changying's hands, shook his head in disgust, and refused to touch them.
"Pass it to Chen Duo."
Chen Duo arrived quickly and checked the two items as soon as he entered the hall.
It took a full half month for the letter to go back and forth.
During this half month, the letter to Prince Shen fell on deaf ears, and Wang Xifeng neither urged nor asked about it. However, the messenger to Jinling was accidentally caught on the way by the former Chang'an garrison who was out for fun.
The Northern King has been imprisoned.
The princess committed suicide and the dowager concubine died of shock.
The once glorious Prince Beijing's Mansion has now become desolate and increasingly deserted.
Chen Duo had known the truth from Bannu a long time ago. He just glanced at it pretentiously and immediately answered affirmatively:
"The ink, paper, and handwriting are exactly the same as the letter from Jinling. They are written by the same person!"
In other words, this was indeed the second charge against Prince Beijing.
"Where is Wang Ziteng's body now? Is there a suicide note?"
As soon as Emperor Chongzhao saw Chen Duo's expression, he knew he was talking nonsense, so he had to go and ask the guard.
The guard stole a glance at Chen Duo, paused for a moment, then crossed his arms and lowered his head and said:
"Lord Wang is an official appointed by the court after all. Although he committed suicide, we humble officials cannot insult his body and damage the dignity of the court.
“Besides, there is no coroner among us, and the local county should not interfere.
"So we rode as fast as we could, bringing back the messenger alive and Lord Wang's body intact.
“Master Wang’s body has not been searched yet, so it is unclear whether he left a suicide note.
"There's none in the house."
Therefore, we have to wait until Wang Ziteng’s body is placed in the inner temple and examined by the coroner before we can decide whether there is a "suicide note" or not!
Emperor Chongzhao glared at Chen Duo fiercely.
What this means is that whether or not to forge evidence depends on what Neishi says!
Chen Duo smiled and bowed, "So, Your Majesty, should we hand this matter over to the Inner Temple or the Dali Temple?"
The four guards were secret agents arranged by the Supreme Lord, the Emperor and the Inner Temple to enter the Southern Palace, the Southwestern Border Army and the Wang family at different times.
Who would have thought that Wang Ziteng had such a good vision and accurately picked these four people to be his trusted guards.
Now four people went to the palace to report together. Since this guy was the only one who dared to kill people in an inn outside the local area, the other three had to give all the credit to him.
But in fact, the three of them were also the emperor's men, but two of them were under the management of the guard commander Guo Jian, and the other one was with Qinghai.
Chen Duo was very proud.
But this sentence made Emperor Chongzhao fall into deep thought.
According to the imperial laws, this matter should be under the jurisdiction of the Dali Temple.
But this complicated case of treason started with the Jia family, which was in the hands of the inner temple.
Later, Bei Wang and others were found out and put under house arrest, and Chen Duo also went to their homes to question them.
As for now, Emperor Chongzhao has detained Prince Beijing in the inner temple for interrogation on the grounds of "preserving dignity".
In other words, this matter has been in Chen Duo's hands from beginning to end.
If we change the generals and the government offices at this moment, there might be many fish that slip through the net when the two are handed over.
After a moment's silence, Emperor Chongzhao pointed at Chen Duo and said, "Just say that the imperial concubine was sad and didn't want Wang Ziteng's body to be exposed to the public and examined by strangers.
"That's why it was kept in the inner court and handed over to the inner temple for detailed investigation."
Chen Duo agreed promptly, clasped his fists, and dragged the guard away: "There is no time to lose! Take me there quickly!"
The two people disappeared like the wind.
Emperor Chongzhao sighed, gave a few more words of praise, then waved his hand and ordered the three guards kneeling below to withdraw.
The three people looked at each other.
Chang Ying nodded with a smile: "I just heard that the three of you are from the capital, so please go home and have a good rest.
"Chen Sibo always makes alliances when investigating cases. I'm afraid he won't just question one person. The three of you should stay at home and wait for Chen Sibo to summon you. It's important that you fully cooperate with him in his investigation."
This means you are not allowed to go out or show your face.
The three of them understood what he meant, bowed and left.
Emperor Chongzhao frowned.
Chang Ying said softly, "The Zhen family has been raided, Shi Ding has been escorted back to the capital, and now the last one, Prince Teng, has also been executed. Why is Your Majesty still frowning?"
Emperor Chongzhao let out a sigh and smiled: "You are right.
"I have already dealt with most of these blood-sucking old nobles in the capital. Even if there are others, they will not be able to make a big difference.
“It’s better to keep it as a mascot.
"——I have nothing to worry about!"
Before he finished speaking, someone outside ran quickly into the hall, crying as he ran:
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
Emperor Chongzhao was stunned and stood up involuntarily.
A eunuch stumbled in, dressed in raw hemp mourning clothes, fell to the ground, and cried hoarsely:
"The Queen Mother has passed away!"
Emperor Chongzhao's body swayed, his face turned pale, and he fell down on the throne with a thud. He swayed again, closed his eyes, and fell down!
Chang Ying was so frightened that he rushed over to hug the man and shouted, "Call the imperial physician! Report to the Empress and Imperial Concubine!"
The eunuch below was originally reporting while crying loudly, but when he saw the sudden change above, he was so frightened that he choked immediately and dared not utter a sound anymore!
Chang Ying glared at him fiercely and shouted, "Since it's a death announcement, you should follow the etiquette! How can you be so loud and noisy? How can you be so disrespectful?!
"Come here, arrest him first! Detain him in the back hall and keep him under guard. Don't let him talk nonsense or see anyone!"
Jianzhong agreed and came forward with two guards. He grabbed the eunuch's chin as he was about to speak, and lowered his voice:
"Shut your stinky mouth! Or I'll stuff you with socks!"
The eunuch nodded tremblingly, but added in a low voice: "The Supreme One has another order..."
Jianzhong turned around and looked at Changying.
Chang Ying ordered the guards to come forward, gently lift up Emperor Chong Zhao and carry him to the bedroom at the back.
Noticing Jianzhong's gaze, he sighed helplessly and waved his hand: "Forget it, bring it here first."
The eunuch was very perceptive and hurriedly ran up with his robe in hand, whispering:
"The Emperor said that the Queen Mother's coffin will be temporarily placed in another palace, and Prince Yong will go and pick him up and take the Queen Mother's coffin back to the capital together...
“The Highness was afraid that Your Majesty would ask for details, so he sent back Li Wan’an, who was treating the Queen Mother.
"Li Wan'an is now outside the palace, waiting to be summoned by His Majesty."
Chang Ying's face lit up immediately, and he hurriedly ordered, "That's great. Please ask Doctor Li to come in and take a look at His Majesty first!"