The prince is more stable

Chapter 626 A Desolate Temple Outside the City
The Palace Secretariat of the Song Dynasty was essentially an eunuch institution whose main function was to manage palace affairs.

The Palace Secretariat oversees six departments, including the Imperial Food Bureau, the Imperial Medicine Bureau, and the Imperial Clothing Bureau. The names of these bureaus clearly indicate their functions. The Palace Secretariat was responsible for virtually everything in the palace, from the Emperor and Empress to the concubines and noblewomen.

In TV dramas and movies, you see concubines receiving monthly stipends, eunuchs and palace maids being assigned tasks, and concubines banished to the Cold Palace being pitiful and unable to even get a proper meal. Don't doubt it, all of this was arranged by the Palace Secretariat.

The Palace Secretariat was headed by one eunuch, along with two junior eunuchs and two assistant eunuchs.

The young prince had just passed away, and now a second-in-command of the Palace Secretariat had mysteriously disappeared. Even a fool could tell that something was amiss; it would be strange if he wasn't involved in the case.

When Zhao Xiaoqian was investigating the case, he initially focused on the Imperial Medical Bureau and the Imperial Pharmacy, and indeed overlooked the Palace Secretariat, his superior department.

Until a few days ago, the Palace Secretariat discovered that the Junior Supervisor had not shown up for several days. At the time, no one paid any attention. After all, it was common for leaders of government offices in the Song Dynasty to be absent from work for a few days. Everyone was a working animal, and who didn't want to lie down sometimes?

Later, a eunuch went to the residence of the junior supervisor to inquire about matters, only to find the residence empty. Upon examining the signs of life inside, it seemed that no one had lived there for a long time. So the eunuch reported to his superiors, and the news eventually reached the Imperial City Guard.

At the Imperial City Guard office, Wei Jie stood before Zhao Xiaoqian with a look of shame on his face.

"It was my oversight, Your Highness. I beg for forgiveness," Wei Jie said with shame.

Zhao Xiaoqian scratched his chin and said, "Don't talk about apologizing. The people and things you didn't discover, I didn't discover either. We're all in the same boat."

Sighing, Zhao Xiaoqian frowned and said, "Why the hell didn't I think to investigate the Imperial Pharmacy's superiors? Wouldn't it be easier for the eunuchs in the Palace Secretariat to plot against the young prince?"

After all, the Palace Secretariat was responsible for the food, clothing, housing, and transportation of everyone in the palace, including the emperor. It would be too easy for them to tamper with the little prince's medicine.

"First, deploy your forces. The Imperial City Guard should do everything in its power to search for this junior supervisor. He is very important. He is very likely fully aware of the plot to murder the young prince. Once we get him, the case will be solved," Zhao Xiaoqian instructed.

"Yes. I have already deployed all the Imperial City Guards to the streets and alleys of Bianjing City, and I have also mobilized the connections of the idle men and ruffians in the city to help with the search."

Wei Jie hesitated for a moment, then said, "If this person has already escaped from Bianjing, it will probably not be so easy to capture him."

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded. He had probably anticipated this, so the case couldn't be solved entirely by the missing juvenile prisoner.

"Is there any news from the Imperial Pharmacy staff who inspect the medicinal materials? Is there really a problem with the young prince's medication?" Zhao Xiaoqian asked.

Just as Wei Jie was about to reply, a figure rushed into the main hall of the government office. It was a clerk from the Imperial City Guard.

"Your Highness, the Imperial City Guard has sealed off the medicine cabinets of the Imperial Pharmacy and asked the doctors to check all the medicinal materials, especially those used by the young prince. We just received news that they found trace amounts of lead oxide powder in the medicines used by the young prince."

Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly sat up straight, frowned, and asked, "What is lead oxide?"

Wei Jie, who was standing nearby, was shocked and hurriedly explained, "Lead oxide is a slow-acting poison. Those who take it will gradually experience symptoms such as dizziness, abdominal pain, convulsions, and heart and lung failure, eventually leading to death... This substance is often used by alchemists to refine elixirs."

Zhao Xiaoqian asked with a solemn expression, "Do the symptoms the young prince exhibited before his death match?"

The official in charge of the case reported, "The Imperial City Guard consulted the imperial physicians, and it does match. Before the young prince passed away, he cried incessantly for a whole month, and his face was flushed and he struggled with his hands and feet. He did not get better after taking medicine. After his death, his face was bluish-purple, which is consistent with the symptoms of lead poisoning."

Zhao Xiaoqian said coldly, "So, the young prince was poisoned for a whole month and eventually died from it?"

Wei Jie said in a low voice, "Only the power of the Palace Secretariat could perfectly bypass the palace's cumbersome poison testing process and have someone feed poison into the little prince's mouth."

Zhao Xiaoqian sneered: "After this incident, the entire Palace Province will be purged by the Emperor. It's truly outrageous that they wouldn't even spare such a young child."

Wei Jie said, "I believe that the person who poisoned the body was the missing junior supervisor."

Zhao Xiaoqian gave a noncommittal "hmm".

The missing juvenile delinquents were the ones who carried out the orders, or what are commonly known as pawns.

The real culprit was the person who instructed the junior prison guard to poison the body; that was the ultimate villain behind the scenes.

I had a deep conversation with Zhao Hao last time, and both father and son believed that Prince Zhao Ji of Suining was the most suspicious, since Zhao Ji was the biggest beneficiary after the young prince's death.

Unfortunately, no evidence has been obtained against Zhao Ji yet, which shows that Zhao Ji was indeed very cautious and never left any clues.

"First, find the missing junior eunuch," Zhao Xiaoqian instructed. "Continue investigating the Palace Secretariat to see if there are any accomplices."

Wei Jie cautiously asked, "Should we report this matter to the Emperor immediately?"

Zhao Xiaoqian hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I won't report it yet. His Majesty is very busy lately. I will report it all at once when there is more progress in the case."

While Zhao Xu was busy deposing the empress, the court was in an uproar. The struggle between the new and old factions had begun again. The new faction supported the deposition of the empress, while the old faction was determined to protect her. The two sides were about to fight to the death.

At this point, the real culprit who murdered the young prince was no longer so important.

Before the criminal cases in the palace are resolved, political struggles must take precedence.

Thinking of the innocent Empress Meng, Zhao Xiaoqian sighed deeply again. Even as the empress of a nation, once caught in the storm, she still seemed so insignificant, powerless to resist, left only to the dictates of fate.

…………

Outside Bianjing city, at midnight.

In front of a mountain god temple that had been abandoned for many years, Zhao Hao sat disdainfully on the stone steps covered with moss and weeds, occasionally dusting off the hem of his robe.

Choosing this godforsaken place was a last resort, since Zhao Hao was doing shady things, and he couldn't just openly do them in Bianjing.

In front of Zhao Hao were two large burlap sacks, bulging and wriggling occasionally.

A number of people stood inside and outside the mountain god temple, all dressed in black and masked. A faint torch barely illuminated the open space in front of the temple, and the shadows of two burlap sacks twisting in the dim light looked even more eerie.

After a long while, Zhao Hao gestured with his chin toward the sack, and the man in black behind him immediately untied the sack, and the person inside rolled out in a disheveled state.

As the torch drew closer, the two faces became increasingly clear.

Surprisingly, they were two palace servants. One of them was Gong Jing, the eunuch in charge of Consort Liu's palace, who had been flogged twenty times by Zhao Xiaoqian and was still recuperating in the palace.

Another Zhao Xiaoqian was also seen in the Funing Palace. She was a woman in her twenties with an ordinary appearance. The only distinguishing feature of the woman was that her granary was very large.

That's right, she was the young prince's former wet nurse. After the young prince passed away, the wet nurse naturally lost her job, but she was secretly smuggled out of the palace by Zhao Hao's spies in the palace.

At this moment, Gong Jing and his wet nurse knelt before Zhao Hao with fear on their faces, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

Zhao Hao smiled at them with a simple and honest smile, like the Maitreya Buddha enshrined in a temple, giving people a warm and welcoming feeling.

Gong Jing and the wet nurse naturally knew Zhao Hao. This imperial uncle, a prince, frequently entered and exited the palace, shamelessly presenting gifts to Empress Dowager Xiang and engaging in forced conversation. Over the years, most people in the palace had come to know him.

"Your Highness, King Chu..." Gong Jing said tremblingly.

Looking around, they found themselves in a dilapidated and abandoned mountain god temple. Crows and sparrows were chirping all around, and the echoes reverberated through the wilderness. Clearly, they had left Bianjing City and were in a desolate wilderness where no one could hear their cries for help.

Zhao Hao ignored them and instead casually fiddled with a jade thumb ring on his thumb.

After a long silence, Zhao Hao said calmly, "Sixth in the first tier."

Among the men in black, a man named Jia Liu stepped forward and said, "Here."

Zhao Hao said coldly, "Of the three people I requested, you only sent me two. Where is the third one?"

Jia Liu lowered his head and said somewhat fearfully, "There is another one, Huang Chenxiang, the Junior Supervisor of the Palace Secretariat. According to the investigation, he is very likely the one who poisoned the young prince. However, Huang Chenxiang disappeared without cause three days ago and his whereabouts are still unknown. I have already sent people to investigate."

Zhao Hao frowned in displeasure; he didn't like the answer.

“Go back and receive fifty lashes to teach him a lesson,” Zhao Hao said coldly.

Jia Liu actually showed a look of gratitude: "Thank you for your mercy, Your Highness."

After a pause, Jia Liu continued, "According to our investigation, the Imperial City Guard under the Heir Apparent's command is also investigating Prime Minister Huang Chen. Their scouts have spread throughout Bianjing and the surrounding areas. If we clash with the Imperial City Guard's forces..."

Zhao Hao remained silent for a moment, then slowly said, "It's alright, I will handle it myself."

Turning his gaze to Gong Jing and the wet nurse, who were kneeling on the ground, looking utterly disoriented, Zhao Hao sneered, "If Huang Chenxiang is the one who poisoned the prince, these two are probably implicated as well. Gong Jing was responsible for brewing and delivering the medicine, and the wet nurse was responsible for feeding it to him. The little prince has been drinking the medicine for so long, yet no poison has been detected. Heh..."

As Zhao Hao spoke, his tone grew colder: "Secretly imprison the two of them, provide them with good food and drink, and sooner or later, these two will be of use to me."

"Yes... Your Highness, shall we interrogate them?"

Zhao Hao said indifferently, "They probably don't know who's behind this, but it won't hurt to interrogate them. Just keep them away from me. I'll be a grandson soon, so this will be a good deed for my grandson. I don't want to see any bloody scenes; it's too brutal..."

…………

It was still midnight when a well-to-do family in Bianjing (Kaifeng) was gently knocked on the door of their home, accompanied by the barking of dogs in the dead of night.

The door was knocked on for a long time before the lights were turned on inside. Footsteps approached from inside, and the person inside yawned as they walked.

The door opened, revealing a young but weathered face, deeply sleepy and impatient.

"Knocking on the door in the middle of the night, are you going to a funeral?" the person inside cursed angrily.

The person knocking on the door whispered, "Brother Xiao Yi, I have something important to report..."

(End of this chapter)