PDLP Chapter 363 Who is the thief?
Chapter 363 Who is the thief?
Luo Yu poked his chin, his eyes shining with clarity, and he smiled innocently.
"If Young Master Murong becomes the emperor, it wouldn't be a bad thing for us to survive."
Murong was slightly startled by her words, and after a moment's calm, he said, "How can this be so easy? We are facing numerous crises right now. If we want to gain control of the world, we will have to fight countless enemies. The Murong army is too weak right now."
"Then, we'll just be fence-sitters and stand on whichever side has the advantage."
Qin Bingrui was curious: "Sister, aren't you going to support the Queen's little prince to become the emperor? According to the formal procedures, the little prince is the legitimate successor."
"I'm afraid I won't be able to see my children grow up."
Murong smiled bitterly. They didn't seem nervous at all, which was just like their personalities.
"If the young lady is willing to help the Queen and the Seventh Prince, the Murong family is willing to contribute."
Luo Yu nodded. It was not impossible for the queen to personally assist the little prince. Historically, there had never been any trouble when women were in politics. Some female politicians could even do better.
But the Queen Mother's side is indeed a big problem.
If Zhu Jinyou seized the throne, would he let the queen and the seventh prince go?
Given his personality, I'm afraid even Eunuch Yao would find a way to quietly dismiss him, not to mention the legitimate bloodline on the emperor's side.
Thinking about it carefully, the reason why he wanted to stop the assassins sent by Duke Anguo from killing the second branch of the Bai family might be that he wanted to restrain the queen.
Then, would he find a way to force her to tell the truth about the little prince? If the little prince was not the queen's legitimate son, then Zhu Jinyou would have a higher prestige in the court.
The imperial guards and the Yan family army will definitely stand on Zhu Jinyou's side.
Is the reason why Zhu Jinyou is not making any move now because he is waiting for the best opportunity?
After seeing off Master Murong, Qin Bingrui chatted with Eunuch Gao again, wanting to know about the emperor's eating habits in recent years.
Eunuch Gao thought about it carefully. He followed up on the emperor's diet every day. It was absolutely impossible for anyone to poison him.
In the past few years, even the imperial physicians had declared the emperor to be in excellent health. Then, one year, he caught a cold and a fever, and his health gradually deteriorated. He took numerous medications with no effect, and he coughed for nearly six months. Since then, he has suffered from colds, fevers, and a constant cough almost every year.
Qin Bingrui pretended to be casual and asked, "If ordinary medicines don't work, why do you still consume so many pills?"
"It's because the elixir is effective. The Queen Mother was originally taking the elixir, and when she saw that the Emperor was not in good health, she recommended an elixir master to the Emperor."
"Oh, then can you recommend me to meet that master of alchemy?"
"After refining the last batch of pills a month ago, the master passed away. However, he gave all the pills to the emperor, asking him to take one pill every day."
"..."
Luo Yu asked Eunuch Gao, "Are there any pills left?"
Eunuch Gao shook his head and said, "The Emperor has been in poor health recently. He ate a lot before the accident. He said that eating this food can really relieve a lot of pain."
Qin Bingrui wondered to himself, why did this happen on the day the dragon descended? Was there a traitor on the emperor's side?
At dinner time in the evening, Xia Liang came back happily with his lackeys.
She was in a very good mood and took out a whole piece of white jade Ruyi and showed it to her two sisters.
"How is it? The treasure that His Royal Highness the Fifth Prince and I exchanged for!"
Qin Bingrui was extremely excited. He took the exquisite Ganoderma-shaped jade ruyi with both hands. This thing was carved from a whole piece of pure jade and was very expensive. How could His Royal Highness the Fifth Prince give it away so easily?
Xia Liang saw through his little intention and said with a smile: "The Fifth Prince said that these were all given by the Emperor to his mother, Noble Concubine Mo. Ever since Noble Concubine Mo fell out of favor, she has lost interest in everything. She was even more upset by looking at these treasures given by the Emperor, so she gave them all to the Fifth Prince."
"Then can I still go shopping?"
Xia Liang carefully put away the jade ruyi and treasured it very much.
"We can't be too proactive. It would be bad if Concubine Mo discovered that we have ulterior motives."
Qin Bingrui said with disdain: "So what if she was discovered? She is just an unfavored imperial concubine. What is she afraid of?"
Luo Yu suddenly asked, "I remember a concubine blocking our way into the Emperor's bedroom. That concubine seemed to be the newly favored Concubine Wan. Her skin was as white as snow and as delicate as a baby's. Do you remember her?"
Xia Liang was confused: "Sister Luo Yu, why are you asking this?"
Qin Bingrui immediately understood the reason. He asked Eunuch Gao privately. The emperor did favor Concubine Wan the night before the accident, but Concubine Wan did not carry any deadly poison. If there was anything special, it was that Concubine Wan particularly liked to eat midnight snacks, and she would often ask the imperial kitchen to prepare special foods from all over the country for her to eat at night.
Concubine Wan Guifei was still young, only eighteen years old. Before entering the palace, she had grown up in an ordinary family and was lively and active, much to the emperor's liking. Knowing she loved to eat, the emperor indulged her in her whims. However, that day, she requested a meal that included a lot of seafood and cheese curds, saying she had no appetite for lunch or dinner and would only eat in the middle of the night.
As Qin Bingrui was talking, he patted his head, wondering why he just figured out what was going on.
"If the elixir the emperor consumed contained mercury, then consuming these foods with excessive iodine content would produce the toxic substance mercuric iodide, which would definitely accelerate the toxicity of the human body. That's why the emperor exploded overnight."
Xia Liang held a washed peach in his mouth, took a bite, and said vaguely: "Why did Concubine Wan harm the emperor? Or did someone instruct her?"
Qin Bingrui glanced at Luo Yu and leaned back in his chair.
"Apart from the Queen Mother and His Royal Highness Prince Ning, who else could it be?"
Luo Yu did not say anything. These were no longer secrets. It was just that all the evidence about the elixir had been destroyed. As long as Concubine Wan refused to admit what ingredients were in the elixir that the emperor had taken, no one could convict her.
Qin Bingrui felt bored, so he said he would go out and find someone to investigate Concubine Wan's true identity, or at least to confirm who she belonged to.
Luo Yu wondered what the Empress would know about the Emperor's consumption of the elixir. He thought, why not go and ask the Empress tomorrow?
Xia Liang held her Ruyi in her arms. She was sure she wouldn't be able to go out tomorrow. Fortunately, she had agreed with the Fifth Prince to wait for half an hour at most. If he didn't show up, she could stop waiting.
Qin Bingrui had just reached an empty city wall when suddenly several dark shadows appeared at lightning speed.
"Damn it, it's because I'm a nobody that you dare to bully me, right?"
As soon as he finished speaking, swords and knives fell.
Qin Bingrui swung out the nine-section whip, using both his hands and feet. If he couldn't win, he could just run away!
Fortunately, I was wrapped in a bulletproof vest. Although it was hot, my life was more important.
As they were running, a group of men in black appeared in front of them.
This is really an attempt to wipe out everyone.
Qin Bingrui did have two pistols on him, but they could not be used unless it was a critical moment.
Who would have thought that the man in black in front would actually pull out a bow and arrow? Oh my god, if I had known earlier, I should not have been so brave. I should have brought a few bodyguards with me.
Qin Bingrui's nine-section whip moved like a python, quickly attacking the swords and knives behind him. When the arrows in front shot towards him, he just tried to turn his head as far as possible and was too lazy to dodge.
The new bulletproof vest he was wearing was not only invulnerable to swords and guns, but could also bounce back against iron objects. The arrows shot at him fell to the ground as they approached him.
The man in black was dumbfounded. Could this woman really be blessed by a dragon?
Seeing that bows and arrows were useless, the men in black switched to using swords to attack her from the front and back, leaving her no chance of survival.
At this critical moment, a figure quickly fell from the thick palace wall. This person was Ye Yucheng from the Imperial City Bureau.
"Envoy Ye, why are you here just now? I'm almost dead."
"..."