mesbooks Chapter 16 Substitution
Chapter 16 Substitution
What was unexpected was that the rouge from Cuixiang Pavilion was finally found in Concubine Li’s palace!
After examination by the imperial physician, it was confirmed that it was indeed the batch from Cuixiang Pavilion that contained aphrodisiac!
Upon hearing the news, Concubine Li’s face turned as pale as paper.
She panicked: "This... How is this possible? I have never used any rouge or powder from Cuixiang Pavilion. Someone must have framed me!"
When Liao Wuyong received the news, he frowned slightly and immediately ordered: "Temporarily detain Concubine Li in the palace until His Majesty makes a decision."
The old emperor was furious. He realized that this was not only a struggle in the harem, but also a threat to his safety!
He looked at the secret report in his hand. The rouge and powder "customized" by Cuixiang Pavilion included those for aphrodisiac, pregnancy, premature birth, miscarriage, and infertility...
The emperor was furious. Could it be that his lack of offspring was also related to this?
If someone wanted to murder him, wouldn't it be possible to do it without anyone knowing by using the rouge and powder used by the concubines?
His face was livid, his eyes were blazing with fire, he slammed the armrest of the dragon throne, stood up, and roared, "Investigate, investigate for me! We must get to the bottom of this!"
The atmosphere in the palace became tense, and all the concubines were in panic, fearing that they would be the next.
No one knows whether there is any problem with the rouge and powder in the palace.
Concubine Zhou was even more anxious. Apart from the fact that Nanny Gong could use poison, she really didn't know what Cuixiang Pavilion was. Why was Nanny Gong involved in this?
There must be something fishy going on here. Who is the mastermind behind this? What does he want to do?
At this time, outside the capital, a horse-drawn carriage was galloping on the official road.
The carriage curtain was lifted, revealing half of the pale beautiful woman's face, staring at the distant capital.
She was about thirty years old, with a teardrop mole under her left eye, which made her look even more charming.
"Xie Changan!" She uttered the name through gritted teeth.
When the second prince Nangong Xihe heard that Yuhua Palace was sealed off, he hurried to ask for an audience with the emperor.
"Father! Mother must have been wrongly accused!"
The emperor looked at his son, whom he had high hopes for. He looked like Concubine Zhou, tall and graceful, with a handsome face, like a delicate orchid or jade tree and the bright moon. He could not help but sigh.
If Xier wants to ascend to the throne smoothly, his mother cannot have any stain.
He knew exactly what good things Concubine Zhou had done in the past, and he didn't believe that Concubine Zhou was completely innocent in this matter.
If Liao Wuyong doesn't find any substantial evidence, he can let her go for the sake of the Second Prince.
"My son, don't worry. Wait for Liao Wuyong to investigate carefully. If the imperial concubine has nothing to do with this, I will give her justice."
Nangong Xihe heard the hidden meaning in the emperor's words and could not help but be overjoyed. He prostrated himself on the ground and cried, "Father is wise!"
The emperor said gently, "Go ahead, be patient, and don't walk around the harem recently. I will summon you to the palace after this matter is fully understood."
"Thank you, Father!"
At this time, Xie Changan had just returned to the East Factory when Xu Dangtou came to report: "Boss, it's bad. Shopkeeper Yang and his family of three are all dead!"
Xie Changan stood up suddenly and hurried to the prison.
The bodies of Manager Yang and the other two were lying side by side on the ground, all bleeding from all seven orifices, and their death was very similar to that of Nanny Gong.
"Where is Madam Gong's body?"
Two factory guards carried Nanny Gong's body over and placed it together with Manager Yang and his two relatives.
The coroner came forward to examine the bodies and reported back, "Sir, they all died of poisoning, but this poison is something I have never seen before."
Xie Changan hesitated for a moment and asked, "Could it be the Miaojiang poison?"
The coroner said, "I have never seen the Miaojiang Gu poison, so I can't judge."
Xie Changan stepped forward and looked carefully at the bodies of the four people.
Suddenly, he stretched out his hand and carefully felt around Nanny Gong's chin for a while. With a little force, he actually peeled off a piece of human skin mask from Nanny Gong's face!
Everyone was shocked and came forward to take a closer look. The female corpse that revealed its true appearance was not an old lady at all, but a slightly plump young woman!
Xie Changan's expression was stern: "Go check the palace maids brought back from Yuhua Palace!"
At this moment, his subordinate Yin Yi came to report that one of the servants in Yuhua Palace was missing!
Xie Changan frowned. The female corpse in front of him was naturally the missing palace maid!
It must be that when Nanny Gong was in Yuhua Palace, she killed this palace maid and pretended to be her.
She took advantage of the chaos when the East Factory was escorting the palace ladies to escape!
"Pass the order down, close the city gates, and arrest the criminal Gong!"
Xie Changan led the Eastern Depot's troops to search the entire capital, but they still couldn't find the escaped Nanny Gong.
He guessed that Nanny Gong had fled the capital.
The question is, how could a maid in the deep palace switch places with another man under the nose of the Eastern Depot and quickly escape from the capital?
There are definitely people inside and outside the palace to support and cooperate with her!
There must be something wrong with the identity of this Nanny Gong. Maybe she is not Nanny Gong at all!
The palace search was carried out extremely quickly, and Liao Wuyong blocked the news and prohibited palace servants from entering or leaving.
In the capital, all the Eastern Depot operatives were mobilized to search the entire city, but no one knew what they were doing, and everyone was in a panic.
Xie Changan had his men surround the Ningyang Marquis's Mansion and personally went to investigate Nanny Gong's background.
The Earl of Ningyang was paralyzed with fear at first, but when he learned that they were going to investigate Nanny Gong who was beside the Imperial Concubine, he became furious.
Just for a maid, Xie Changan actually started a war and surrounded the Bo's mansion?
"This is about the Imperial Concubine, please cooperate!"
When Concubine Zhou was mentioned, Earl Ningyang suddenly became anxious: "Quick, go and invite the Madam!"
The wife of the Ningyang Marquis looked bewildered: "Madame Gong? She is the housekeeper madam promoted by the Imperial Concubine after she entered the palace. She is not from the Ningyang Marquis's mansion."
Xie Changan frowned. This "Madame Gong" had actually been lurking in the palace for a long time!
He ordered people to check the palace archives.
The registration information of Madam Gong is that she entered the palace ten years ago and was originally a maid in the laundry department.
For some unknown reason, she caught the favor of Concubine Zhou, who was then Concubine De, and was transferred to her palace, where she gradually became the managing nanny of Yuhua Palace.
The laundry department was the easiest place to enter, so no one knew where Nanny Gong came from.
"I don't know whether this Madam Gong has been lurking in the palace ten years ago, or she was replaced in the middle." Xu Dangtou frowned.
"Both are possible. That woman must have been wearing a human skin mask for a long time. After killing the servant palace maid, she directly put her own mask on her." Xie Changan pondered.
Anyway, no one has seen her true face, so she can change into the clothes of a palace maid and smear a few stains on her face. Naturally, no one will notice her and she can take the opportunity to escape in the chaos!
Shopkeeper Yang and two other men suddenly died with blood gushing out of their seven orifices. Perhaps it was the poison she had planted in them long ago, and when the truth was revealed, she killed them to silence them.
Judging from her scheming and actions, this person is definitely not an ordinary person. I just don't know what her purpose is in lurking in the palace?
"Boss, how should we deal with the three members of Yang's family and the corpse of the maid?"
"Send it to the charity cemetery first, and wait for someone from Ghost Doctor Valley to take a look before taking any further action."
"Ghost Doctor Valley?" Xu Dangtou was delighted. "If they can take action, the case will be solved in no time."
The Ghost Doctor Valley has long been famous in the martial arts world and has a transcendent status. The valley master, Chu Linfeng, is an expert in both medicine and poison, and is known as the "living dead and turning flesh into bones."
Not long ago, Xie Changan sent a pigeon letter to Ghost Doctor Valley for help regarding the banned drugs in Cuixiang Pavilion and the poison in Miaojiang. He has received a reply from the valley master and his eldest disciple Shen Muchun will arrive soon.
"Continue to interrogate the palace maids. The fact that Madam Gong disappeared without a trace right under our noses means there must be someone to pick her up."
"Yes!" replied Xu Dangtou.
Xie Changan thought about it, and secretly sent a team of factory guards from the capital all the way to southern Xinjiang to pursue the suspect.