Chapter 192 Xiao Zuo’s identity and Xiao Jinyu’s plan
As soon as he arrived at Zhaoyang Hall, Sima Maozong neatly placed the silk fabrics, portraits, spears, and flags on the straw man in front of Gao Zhan, and said: "Your Majesty, this is the evidence that was searched from the Hejian Prince's Mansion! "
Gao Zhan first glanced at the line of words on the silk, and then looked at the portrait. When he saw such a rough and crude portrait on the paper that could barely be regarded as a "person", he frowned.
"What did King Hejian say?"
Sima Maozong then replied: "Your Majesty, King Hejian didn't say anything. It was Princess Hejian who said that this portrait was of her father, Emperor Wenxiang. Your Highness often misses his father, so he made this painting to express his gratitude." Good intentions!”
After pondering for a moment, he added, "It is a concubine that King Hejian took in more than a month ago. This portrait and the small number of spears and flags prove that King Hejian has the intention to rebel!"
"But Mr. Xie believes that this concubine has not been in the palace for a long time, and she is not favored. She has only been with King Hejian for only three days. She must have been instigated by someone to accuse King Hejian of being rebellious. , suspected of being a spy from another country!”
"Therefore, this woman is currently being tortured and interrogated in Dali Temple. It won't take long for the truth to be revealed!"
Gao Zhan frowned, his expression a little uncertain.
Sima Maozong glanced at his expression, and then continued: "Shilang Xie has punished King Hejian twenty times on behalf of your majesty, and has banned King Hejian in the palace. He will not come out without an edict!"
Gao Zhan turned his attention to "Xie Zhen" and asked, "Why did Xie Qing confine him to the house?"
Xiao Jinyu then replied: "Your Majesty, there are still doubts about King Hejian. Before the truth is known, I dare not make any independent claims, so I temporarily confine him to the palace. Please make your decision!"
This answer made Gao Zhan raise the corner of his lips with great satisfaction, but the monk became anxious and said from the side: "Your Majesty, Minister Xie is clearly protecting the King of Hejian. If he really has the intention to rebel, how can he use twenty sticks?" Is that enough?"
"Then what should be done according to what Yantong said?"
He Shikai felt the displeasure in Gao Zhan's tone and curled his lips: "Your Majesty, isn't it true that you have a rebellious intention..."
Gao Zhan slapped the table and threw the silk with the words written on it in front of He Shikai.
"Is this what you said, treating a straw man as me? Yantong, you are acting more and more unscrupulously now, and you don't take me seriously. Do you think I am deaf and blind?"
"The matter of King Hejian has nothing to do with you now. I don't want to listen to any of your opinions anymore. Go down and leave Xie Qing, Bi Shangshu, and Sima Qing here!"
He Shikai's expression suddenly changed. This was the first time that Gao Zhan was not allowed to be by his side when discussing matters with the ministers. This was a terrible start for him, and it meant that the originally indestructible trust between the two began to slow down. Slowly disintegrating, but he knew Gao Zhan's temper and any more words would only annoy him more, so he said yes, bowed his head and exited Zhaoyang Palace.
When he walked out, someone from Dali Temple handed a file to Sima Maozong outside the temple.
Sima Maozong took a look at it with surprise on his face, and then handed it to the chamberlain, who presented it to Gao Zhan.
After Gao Zhan finished reading, his expression changed drastically, and he immediately shouted: "Go and tell me, General Lu Lingxuan!"
"yes!"
Before He Shikai could walk out of the Changhemen, he saw the chamberlain beside Gao Zhan rushing out of the palace.
He was suspicious, so after walking out of Zhu Ming Gate, he found a hidden place to stay. Sure enough, half an hour later, the chamberlain led Lu Lingxuan into Zhu Ming Gate.
Under the guidance of the chamberlain, Lu Lingxuan walked straight into Zhaoyang Hall without taking a moment's rest. As soon as she entered the hall, she saw that Gao Zhan looked at her with a very unsightly expression. He brushed the floor and threw away a file on the case. In front of her.
"See for yourself!"
When Lu Lingxuan picked up the file and read the content written on it, Sima Maozong also said: "Chen was originally the daughter of Princess Yunyin of Chen State and Xiao Jian, who pretended to be a legitimate heir and even a descendant of the Xiao family. Rumeng was later expelled from the Xiao family by Xiao Xian, the young head of Prince Zhaoming's branch of the Lanling Xiao family, and the Xiao family genealogy was created, so he changed his name to Chen Rumeng.
Chen Rumeng's father Xiao Jian and mother Princess Yunyin died on the same day among Chen Kingdom's court captains. Since then, Chen Rumeng has been wandering outside with her brother Xiao Yun. More than two months ago, Chen Rumeng was brought to the country by her brother. I am the country of Qi,
Her brother sold her to Fengyue Tower, but later, Junjun Lu found her and asked her to be an agent under Junjun Lu. The main task of this agent was to seduce King Hejian and install her in Prince Hejian's mansion. , the purpose is to frame the King of River Stream for today! "
Hearing this, Xiao Jinyu's heart could be described as a stormy sea. Just now in the Hejian Prince's Mansion, she only felt that Mrs. Chen looked slightly familiar, but she did not recognize that it was Xiao Jiuniang, the daughter of Princess Yunyin, also known as Xiao Rumeng. !
She still remembered the last time she saw Xiao Jiuniang, in March of this year, when she argued and confronted the girl over her mother's honor on Jingyang Street in Chen Guojiankang. At that time, Xiao Jiuniang was only about fourteen years old, and she was still bright-eyed, white-toothed, and arrogant. The appearance of the noble girl turned out to be unrecognizable to her within a year.
Xiao Jinyu recalled Chen's appearance carefully. Her face was pale, her eyes were vicious, and she even had a bit of the dissolute style of a prostitute.
When Xiao Jinyu was lost in thought, Sima Maozong continued: "Speaking of which, this Chen Rumeng has some connection with Princess Lanling. Of course, it is not a blood relationship, nor is there any so-called family affection, but this woman once had a relationship with her mother. Together with Princess Yunyin, she designed to frame and hunt down the miracle doctor Xiao Jinyu who was not yet married to Prince Lanling.
When she confessed, she said that it was because she wanted to take revenge on Xiao Jinyu, Princess of Lanling, that she agreed to Lord Lu's conditions and went to seduce Prince Lanling's brother Gao Xiaowan in order to kill Gao Xiaowan with His Majesty's help, thereby alienating Prince Lanling and Prince Lanling. The purpose of Xie Zhenzhi’s relationship.
I just want to use this incident to disgust Princess Lanling! "
When Sima Maozong finished speaking, Gao Zhan's expression could be described as furious.
"Lu Lingxuan, what else do you have to say?"
Lu Lingxuan calmed down her expression, raised her head slightly and said, "Your Majesty, I did use this daughter of the Chen family to train her into a fine craftsman. Sending her to the Hejian Palace was also a test for her. I never thought that this girl would be like this. He is weak-willed and confessed everything before even being tortured. It seems that he is really not suitable for being a spy! "
After saying that, she knelt down again and continued to explain, "However, although I am somewhat jealous of Prince Lanling and Xie Zhen, I am doing this for Your Majesty. Xie Zhen now occupies a high position and is a close minister of the emperor. If he gets closer to King Lanling again, the civil servants and military generals will join forces, which will definitely threaten His Majesty's country! "
Xiao Jinyu snorted coldly and said with a smile:
"Jun Lu, you always say that others threaten His Majesty's country. What about you? You and He Shizhong are in harmony with each other, and you have always wanted to control Your Majesty and the government of Qi. Didn't you use the Crown Prince to gain control of the Gao family? Jiangshan’s purpose?”
"you--"
Seeing Lu Lingxuan's angry eyebrows standing upright and her face turning purple, both Bi Yiyun and Sima Maozong were dumbfounded, especially Bi Yiqu, who was already thinking about whether he should join the team again!
Gao Zhan became a little impatient after hearing this, so he waved his hand and said: "Okay, Mr. Lu, please stop talking. Mr. Xie once risked his life to save me. If you say that he teamed up with King Lanling to rebel, I don't believe it. First, Gao Changgong is not an ambitious person, otherwise he would not abandon the Zheng family in Xingyang to marry a Southern Dynasty woman who is of no help to him. Secondly, Xie Zhen is now the only one left in the family and has no one to rely on. If you want to say that he wants to revive the Xie family, I believe it, but if he wants to usurp the throne, that’s a joke!”
At this point, Gao Zhan looked at Lu Lingxuan with a serious look and said coldly, "It's you, Lu Lingxuan, don't you think the power I gave you is too great, so you can use the identity and power I gave you to do whatever you want?" !”
Lu Lingxuan wanted to refute, but she heard him order again: "From today on, you no longer have to take care of our Qi State's secret spy organization. I will hand over this secret spy organization to the management of Xie Shilang!"
Lu Lingxuan's expression changed suddenly!
"His Majesty!"
"Also, you have repeatedly sent people to assassinate King Lanling and Xie Zhen, saying it was for me. Now I am tired of hearing it, and I don't want to hear these so-called truths from you anymore. From now on, you don't have to do this anymore. Your Majesty, go back and think about the past behind closed doors!"
Did she lose her job with just one sentence?
Lu Lingxuan was stunned for a moment.
Bi Yiyun and Sima Maozong couldn't believe it. The former's eyes flickered, while the latter couldn't help but look happy.
Lu Lingxuan, who was flustered and confused for a moment, shouted again: "Your Majesty!", but seeing Gao Zhan looking at her impatiently, she had no choice but to shut her mouth, said yes, and retreated.
As soon as Lu Lingxuan left, Gao Zhan turned his attention to "Xie Zhen" and then said to Sima Maozong and Bi Yiyun:
"Since King Hejian's concubine named Chen has framed Princess Lanling many times, let's kill her with a thousand swords and avenge Princess Lanling!"
Bi Yiyun and Sima Maozong were horrified again: the woman was to be cut into pieces with a thousand knives. This was the heaviest punishment. Even the murderous Emperor Wenxuan had never issued such an order.
"Yes! Your Majesty!"
The two were about to leave, but Xiao Jinyu suddenly stopped her and said, "Wait a minute, Your Majesty, Chen is also being taken advantage of. I thought she was just a woman, so she didn't need such a severe punishment!" Gao Zhan laughed.
"Xie Qing is still too soft-hearted! Since you have made a mistake, you should bear the consequences for your mistakes. If you are not punished, these tricks will become more rampant in the future.
So she was dealt with as a spy of the Zhou State, which also happened to be a warning to those Zhou State spies who were planning to ambush our Qi State! "
Xiao Jinyu opened her mouth and wanted to say something else, but Gao Zhan changed the subject again, "However, since Xie Qing begs for mercy, let's behead him!"
After a moment of pause, he looked at Sima Maozong and Bi Yiyun again:
"You all go down! Xie Qing stays here. I have something to discuss with him secretly!"
Upon hearing about the secret discussion, Bi Yiyun's eyes became even more shocked, and he and Sima Maozong said "yes" in unison and exited Zhaoyang Palace.
As soon as the two left, Zhaoyang Palace became extremely quiet.
Gao Zhan suddenly picked up the glowing Buddha tooth, stood up and walked to the main hall, looked at "Xie Zhen" and asked:
"In your opinion, how should I deal with Gao Xiaowan, King of Hejian?"
Xiao Jinyu's heart condensed. It seemed that Gao Zhan's suspicion and fear of Gao Xiaowan had not disappeared because of the evidence brought by Sima Maozong, but because there was not enough evidence to convict him!
"This Buddha tooth is really a treasure! Because he is the legitimate son of Emperor Wenxiang, my nephew often disobeys me. If I don't give him some punishment, I'm afraid that he doesn't know the bounds of heaven and earth, and is deceived into doing something. Something stupid is coming!"
Xiao Jinyu pondered for a moment and then answered with cupped hands: "Since Your Majesty is not worried about King Hejian, why not also send him to guard the border town? At the same time, using other forces to weaken King Hejian's power can not only achieve a balancing effect, but also prevent He rebelled!"
"Oh? Where do you think it's appropriate to send me?"
Xiao Jinyu then raised his head and said: "Your Majesty, although the State of Zhou has agreed to peace talks and signed an alliance with our State of Qi, it is now common among the three countries to tear up the alliance. The cold winter is approaching, and I am afraid that the Zhou army will raid our border with Qi State. I think , it is more appropriate to send the King of Hejian to Heyang to garrison.
Heyang is on the Yellow River upstream of Luoyang, guarding the northwest gate of Luoyang. It is an extremely important town. Guarding Heyang can play a very good defensive role against the Zhou army's attack on Luoyang! "
Gao Zhan's eyes suddenly brightened: "So Xie Qing actually knows so much about military affairs? Yes, Heyang is indeed a major town in our Qi State. Three cities were built there: Beizhong City, Zhongtan City and Nancheng. Now Duguyong Ye then served as Xingtai Shangshu in Heyang, and he was used to keep an eye on Gao Xiaowan! "
After that, he looked at Xiao Jinyu again, "Your suggestion is quite good. I agree. I will issue an order tomorrow to order Gao Xiaowan to garrison in Heyang!"
"Dugu Yongye?" Xiao Jinyu murmured the name again, flashing Lone Luo in his mind, and couldn't help but ask, "What is his relationship with Dugu Xinke, the general of the Zhou Kingdom?"
Unexpectedly, she would take the initiative to ask questions, Gao Zhan said with a smile: "Actually, it doesn't matter. Dugu Yongye was not originally named Dugu. He lost his father when he was young and was adopted by the Dugu family with his mother, so he changed his surname to Dugu, but he can still be regarded as Dugu. Clan people!”
Xiao Jinyu thought for a moment and suddenly requested:
"Your Majesty, I heard that Dugu Xin has an eldest son imprisoned in Yecheng. I wonder if your Majesty would allow me to release him and use Dugu Luo as a chess piece?"
When it came to Dugu Luo, Gao Zhan didn't think of it for a moment. When he heard that this abandoned chess piece could still be used, Gao Zhan became more interested: "Oh, do you have any clever ideas? How to use Dugu Luo?" "
Xiao Jinyu replied: "Nowadays, the Zhou Kingdom is also in constant internal strife. Although Yu Wenhu is all-powerful, he even wants to abolish the Eight Pillar States and turn them into empty posts without military power. This has made several warlords in the Zhou Kingdom very dissatisfied. And Dugu Xin is one of them. I want to use Dugu Luo to contain or win over Lonely Xin, and even let Lonely Xin be used by Qi State!
This plan may be a relatively long process. If His Majesty is a loyal minister..."
"You don't have to say anymore, I believe you, just start doing it!" Gao Zhan interrupted, "Dugu Xin didn't want this son in the first place, and I didn't think about using him to accomplish anything. Since Xie Qing still has If I can use it, I will just wait for the result!"
After a pause, he asked again, "But how does Xie Qing know so much about the situation in Zhou?"
This sudden question caught Xiao Jinyu off guard, but she quickly calmed down and answered:
"I captured a Qi spy who wanted to assassinate King Lanling in Yubi City, and learned some things about Zhou from this spy! And I can also guess something from the peace talks between me and Wei Xiaokuan! "
"The Qi spy who assassinated King Lanling?" Gao Zhan looked surprised, "Why didn't you mention this before?"
Xiao Jinyu was silent for a moment and then replied: "Therefore, the spy was also under the command of Lord Lu, and her family is still under the control of Lord Lu. I want to save her family first, and then make her tell all the truth!"
Gao Zhan's eyes flickered, he seemed a little apologetic, and said to himself: He must have thought that I had protected Lord Lu many times, so he couldn't believe that I could handle this matter without making sure everything was done, right?
While I was thinking about it, I heard "Xie Zhen" say in a low tone:
"Your Majesty, if there is nothing else, I will retire first!"
Awakened by a word, Gao Zhan realized that "Xie Zhen" had been standing in this hall for too long, so that his body, which had not recovered from his injuries, appeared even weaker, so he hurriedly said: "Okay, then go back and take care of yourself." Rest!”
"Taozhi, send Mr. Xie out of the palace and send him back!"
"yes!"
Sending Liu Taozhi to see her off meant to monitor or protect her.
Xiao Jinyu did not refuse, so under the leadership of Liu Taozhi, she left the palace, got on a carriage, and soon returned to Prince Lanling's Mansion.
After Liu Taozhi left, Gao Yanzong rushed to the Lanling Palace anxiously and asked about Xiao Jinyu's situation.
Xiao Jinyu told everything that happened in the palace.
Such a thrilling thing was very calm when she explained it, as if a big problem had been solved easily. People in the whole room, such as Princess Liyang and Lady Wei, were shocked. Gao Yanzong was overjoyed when he learned the result. He breathed a long sigh of relief and looked at Xiao Jinyu with admiration in his eyes again.
"Fourth sister-in-law is really a rare talent that is not seen in a century. Fourth brother is really his greatest blessing when he marries you!" Gao Yanzong couldn't help but sigh.
Xiao Jinyu smiled and said solemnly: "Although the King of Hejian is sent to Heyang to garrison, Gao Zhan's fear of him will not disappear because of this. King Hejian still needs to be careful and don't give others any clues!"
"Okay, I have already told the third brother. I believe that after this lesson, his temper should be restrained."
After a moment of pause, Xiao Jinyu said in a solemn voice:
"Also, before King Hejian goes to Heyang, we need to refine a batch of medicine as soon as possible and let him send it to Jinyang!"
"This is a secret and cannot be known to others!"
"good!"
After everything was arranged, Xiao Jinyu suddenly stopped Gao Yanzong who was about to leave and asked about Gao Xiaowan's concubine, Mrs. Chen.
As soon as this Chen was mentioned, Gao Yanzong gritted his teeth bitterly, and sighed: "The third brother did meet this Chen more than a month ago. Originally, the third brother was not interested in this woman, but Chen was. She kept stalking her and even said that she had an affair with Princess Lanling in the hope that she could be taken in by the third brother. The third brother was temporarily soft-hearted and for the sake of his fourth sister-in-law, he took her in. Unexpectedly, Mrs. Chen actually It’s still a meticulous work, but this time I really cheated the third brother!”
After saying this, he glanced at Xiao Jinyu.
"However, Fourth Sister-in-law, don't feel guilty. This matter has nothing to do with you. It's Mrs. Chen who is too poisonous. Your Majesty wants to give her the punishment of being cut to pieces with a thousand cuts. I think he really did this." By the way, Sister-in-law Four, you are still soft-hearted. She hurt you so much in the past, and you still plead for her? "
Xiao Jinyu just shook her head and said: "It's not because of her, but because she feels that such a cruel punishment should not be inflicted on anyone. She should atone for the mistakes she committed, but let her leave with dignity!"
"It's the father's fault if she was raised without education. Her parents must be blamed for Chen becoming what she is today!"
Yesterday, I was very grateful to book friend 20181205131713668 for his monthly ticket, to Yanzhihu 1 for his reward, and to Zizhuha for his reward and support. Thank you very much for your continued support. Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Have you eaten the mooncakes? I also wish everyone a happy Mid-Autumn Festival and a happy family!
(End of this chapter)