The First Auxiliary Road from the Imperial Examination

"You, tell me, who committed suicide again?"

Nan Siqing left the palace just before the palace gate was locked, and did not even return to his own residence. He returned to the Dali Temple under the stars, but as soon as he entered the door, he was hit by a loud thunder.

Nan Siqing, who was thirsty, had trembling hands at the moment. He spilled more than half of the teacup in his hand without even taking a sip.

The deputy temple official made a bitter face, bowed and reported: "It's the Grand Princess Hong'an!"

"Bang!"

The teacup fell to the ground instantly.

With his hands free, Nan Si Qing looked down at the teacup that had rolled back to his feet and shook his head in self-mockery: Now I can't even drink half of the water.

"Why don't you report this important matter to me?!"

The hoarse voice was filled with a bit of annoyance. Nan Si Qing rubbed his forehead, wishing he could resign immediately and return home.

Whoever wants to be the third-rank Dali Temple official can take the position!

It’s quite a test!

Although the deputy temple official was unaware of the chief officer's anger at the moment, his mood was obviously not much better.

That’s Princess Hong’an!

He committed suicide without any clear reason. How can the Dali Temple explain this to the Emperor? !

The deputy temple official, with a face full of sorrow, suppressed his depression and helplessness, and reported in a low voice: "I'd like to let your Excellency know that when the incident happened, Concubine Cen happened to be present, and there was also an imperial physician from the palace outside the door, so I didn't dare to make a big fuss, and directly invited people from the Internal Guard and the Ministry of Justice to come and investigate.

The Deputy Commander of the Internal Guard and the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice came over to check. After checking, they took Concubine Cen away on the pretext that our Dali Temple must avoid suspicion, saying that they would report directly to His Majesty after questioning. "

After listening to this, although Nansi Qing felt deeply aggrieved, he also knew that the incident happened in the Dali Temple. No matter what the truth of the matter was, the Dali Temple could not escape the guilt of negligence, incompetence and lax guarding.

Even if the Dali Temple was innocent, if the emperor wanted to find an outlet or a scapegoat, these Dali Temple officials would be the best candidates.

"Well, it seems like it's a good idea for the Internal Guard and the Ministry of Justice to take over." Nan Siqing rubbed his head, and suddenly remembered that there was also the concubine of King Zhao, so he hurriedly asked, "How is that noble lady? Don't be so unreasonable and make trouble too."

"I was confused and forgot to tell you for a moment." The deputy temple official patted his head and apologized directly, "When the inner guards took Concubine Cen away, they also took away the concubine of Prince Zhao. They said that they would bring them into the palace soon."

"Oh, it's quiet now." Nan Si Qing raised the corner of his mouth, but could not reveal a smile. After a while, he sat down on the chair dejectedly, sighing, "Grand Princess Hong'an and Princess Yongping were prominent for decades, who would have thought that they would end up like this?! Tsk tsk! It's really sad and lamentable! Deputy Temple, do you think that Grand Princess Hong'an really committed suicide?!"

The deputy temple official said hurriedly, "From my humble opinion, this is indeed the case! Not counting the imperial physicians from the palace, the doctors from the Dali Temple, the Internal Guards, and the Ministry of Justice have all examined her, and they all said she was poisoned. Several other coroners also conducted a separate examination, and the poison was the hairpin bead on the eldest princess's bun.

According to the maidservants in our Dali Temple, Grand Princess Hong'an said that the pearl in the hairpin was the poison she prepared for herself after Crown Prince Huaiyan got into trouble, thinking that she would just die with it if things got too difficult. However, she didn't expect that she had worn the pearl hairpin for decades.

The Internal Guards and the Ministry of Justice also said they would go to the Imperial Palace Archives, the Imperial Medical Bureau, and the two princesses' residences to see if they could find any relevant clues. If they could find evidence to prove that the Grand Princess did this, then perhaps the case would become clearer."

"Chainan beads." Nan Siqing nodded, trying to recall the decorations on Princess Hong'an's bun.

He was a little curious about what kind of poison was so powerful that it could be used whenever it was needed after decades.

"I heard that when Concubine Cen and Grand Princess Hong'an were talking, Grand Princess Hong'an threw the pearl hairpin into the teacup..." As the temple deputy was talking, he caught a glimpse of the teacup at Shangguan's feet. His head twitched, and he pointed at the teacup and said, "It's this teacup, exactly the same. It's said that it was not brewed for a long time."

"..." Nan Siqing suddenly found the teacup at his feet pleasing to his eye.

"Okay, since the Internal Guard and the Ministry of Justice have taken over, let them do it. However, I need to write two memorials and submit them."

Upon hearing this, the deputy temple official quickly handed over the prepared draft for the Southern Temple Minister to review. He also prepared two drafts, one was a letter of apology, and the other was a summary of the confessions of the Dali Temple personnel present.

Although organizing confessions is a purely repetitive act, the Internal Security Bureau and the Ministry of Justice have already submitted them, but their memorials are theirs, and what the Dali Temple submitted is the Dali Temple's responsibility.

Sometimes, even though we know that our duties are repetitive and unnecessary, we still have to express them.

Nan Si Qing didn't expect that his subordinates had such good eyesight. He immediately took the ready-made homework and prepared to copy it carefully when it was late at night.

……

Concubine Cen came to the side hall of Qingyuan Palace and told Empress Sheng Ran the whole story in a gentle voice.

At that time, Sheng Ran was reviewing the classic chess game in the chess book with his left hand and right hand.

The moment Sheng Ran heard that Princess Hong'an had taken poison, her hand paused.

Of course, that was all there was to it.

"It's such a pity. Why is she so depressed? Yongping was wrong. What does it have to do with her? The emperor and I have no intention of blaming her. Tsk tsk, I'm afraid the emperor will be sad and blame himself when he hears this."

Although she said it was a pity, Concubine Cen could see that there was no expression that could be called sad on Sheng Ran's face.

"If Yongping knew, even though she was guilty of an unforgivable crime, she would probably blame herself after hearing this news. I'm afraid she would be unable to get over it and repeat the same mistake!"

Concubine Cen wanted to laugh. The Queen spoke so kindly, but was Yongping the kind of person who would give up on her so easily?
Thinking that some of the tasks would eventually fall into her hands, Concubine Cen didn't know whether she should feel happy about her revenge or feel helpless for taking action.

"If the Queen doesn't mind, why not ask me to meet Yongping? After all, I have seen Princess Hongan off before."

Upon hearing this, Sheng Ran naturally agreed: "The Concubine Dowager should persuade him well, which will also preserve the friendship between her and Grand Princess Hong'an."

……

Princess Yongping looked at Concubine Cen expressionlessly, and felt her ears swollen and painful.

"Have you finished speaking? If you have, put down the poisoned wine and leave."

Concubine Cen looked at her and felt very surprised: "There is no Yongping in the world, but you can still live..."

"Don't you hate me? Why do you want me to live?" Princess Yongping sneered, "You, the Queen and the Emperor, all of you want me to disappear immediately, but you still pretend to be nice. Isn't it ridiculous!"

Concubine Cen crossed her arms and sneered, "I'm worried about you! It's easy for you to go down, but how can you face your grandfather? How can you tell him that his most beloved granddaughter almost ruined his family line?"

Seeing Princess Yongping clench her fists until veins appeared on her body, but she did not express her emotions as excitedly as before, Concubine Cen curled her lips in boredom: "You have improved."

It’s a pity that no matter how much progress you make, it’s all useless.

Thinking of this, Concubine Cen lost interest in chatting with the other party and was about to leave.

"You just left?"

"What else? Do you still need me to coax you? If you are smart and consider your children, you should make everyone happy;
If you insist on acting on impulse and making everyone feel uncomfortable, that's fine. With your men and women around, you won't be lonely anymore."

After the words fell, the quiet and dark space returned to its original silence after the door opened and closed again. (End of this chapter)