Yuqiongyin

Gently pushing open the secret door, a stale smell hits you in the face.

The secret room is filled with a mysterious atmosphere. With the faint light of the fire, one can see that the secret room is filled with ancient books and objects that the late emperor cherished during his lifetime.

Xie Chenning and Wei Ke walked forward and checked them one by one: there were precious handwritten instructions left by the previous emperor, with the handwriting on the yellowed paper flamboyantly; there were also some confidential letters, with the wax seals on the envelopes still intact; in addition, there were several thick account books, densely recording various account information.

Wei Ke lit the candle in the secret room, and Xie Chenning carefully looked through the account books with the help of the candlelight.

Suddenly, her eyes were attracted by one of the books. Her face was dignified with a hint of solemnity and her slender eyebrows were slightly frowned.

This account book records in detail the abnormal circumstances of medicinal materials entering and leaving the palace, and clearly states the suspicious transactions related to the Imperial Medical Bureau.

It seems that the Queen Mother did something she shouldn't have done.

Xie Chenning tilted his head slightly and looked at Wei Ke who was standing beside him. Although he had lost the honorable position of the crown prince, the royal bearing that was innate and ingrained in him was still clearly visible.

He was dressed in a plain brocade robe, his posture was as straight as a pine tree, and there was an unconcealable worry between his sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes.

Wei Ke's eyes fell on a sandalwood box, the lock of which was a little rusty.

Xie Chenning and Wei Lu looked at each other, and the latter stepped forward and took out an exquisite key from his arms. This was given to him by someone before the late emperor died, and he had kept it close to him ever since.

When the key was inserted into the keyhole, Wei Ke turned it gently, and with a "click", the box opened.

There were several imperial edicts in the box. Xie Chenning picked up one of them and gently unfolded it. The familiar jade seal came into her sight, but the content made her heart sink suddenly.

Looking at the content again, it turned out that the throne was passed on to a distant relative, rather than the former crown prince Wei Ke, who had always been favored by the late emperor.

Xie Chenning carefully examined the edict in the bright candlelight.

At first glance, the handwriting of this edict is indeed exactly the same as that of the late emperor, as if it was written by the same person.

However, Xie Chenning felt something was wrong.

Because her father had a close relationship with the late emperor, the two had a deep friendship for many years and exchanged countless letters.

She herself had the honor of witnessing these precious letters and was well aware of the late emperor's writing habits.

When she looked at the edict carefully again, she finally found the clue.

The strokes of some characters in the imperial edict seemed rather stiff, totally lacking the natural charm of the late emperor's usual smooth and flowing writing.

It's like the flaws revealed by an apprentice who has not yet mastered his skills when imitating the work of a master.

Wei Ke also came closer to check, his face becoming increasingly gloomy, "Is this a fake imperial edict...?"

"Well, I didn't expect that the Queen Mother would go against the late emperor's wishes and tamper with the imperial edict for the sake of power." Xie Chenning nodded slightly and murmured softly.

I saw her slender jade-like fingers gently moving on the paper of the imperial edict, stroking it gently.

Although the paper used for this edict was also specially made by the palace, its texture was slightly different from that used by the previous emperor in his daily life.

The texture of the paper surface is slightly rough, lacking the delicate and silky touch.

Not only that, if you smell it up close, you can also smell a faint strange odor, which is completely unlike the paper with the subtle scent of ambergris that the late emperor loved.

This difference may be difficult to detect for ordinary people, but for someone as meticulous as Xie Chenning, it is a flaw that cannot be ignored.

So that's how it is. Xie Chenning's eyes became sharp, and a series of images quickly flashed through her mind.

The haste with which the previous emperor passed away still makes people feel extremely strange when they think about it now. The series of unusual measures implemented by the new emperor after he ascended the throne finally found a reasonable reason and explanation at this moment.

It turned out that this seemingly kind-hearted empress dowager, in order to firmly control the government, did not hesitate to take risks, forged the late emperor's will, and forcibly pushed her favorite candidate onto the throne of the emperor.

The former crown prince Wei Ke, who should have inherited the throne as a matter of course, unfortunately became an innocent victim of this shocking conspiracy.

"It seems that the conspiracy behind this is deeper than we thought." Xie Chenning couldn't help but mutter to himself.

Back then, the late emperor had intended the former crown prince to inherit the throne, but the fake will presented to the public four years ago designated someone else as the heir to the throne, which was undoubtedly a subversion of orthodoxy.

If these false edicts were made public, the court officials who had been bewitched by the Queen Mother would certainly use them as a basis to disrupt the order of the court and might even cause civil unrest.

The Xie family and Wei Ke will also be doomed.

"It seems that Father has discovered it, but he just didn't have time to send a message."

Wei Ke lowered his head and continued to search in the box and found some fragments of letters.

After piecing the pieces together, they discovered that they were correspondence between the empress dowager and a minister. The letters vaguely mentioned the forging of the will, with the purpose of controlling the government and allowing the easily manipulated distant relative to ascend the throne, thereby allowing the empress dowager's power to continue.

But things did not go as planned in the end. For some unknown reason, they finally gave up their originally selected candidate and chose Wei Ming as the new emperor.

At this time, a slight sound of footsteps was heard from the imperial study outside the secret room.

The two men immediately became alert, extinguished the candles and hid in the dark.

The footsteps lingered in the imperial study for a while, then gradually faded away.

The two of them breathed a sigh of relief. Xie Chenning looked at Wei Ke with a hint of curiosity and inquiry in his eyes, and asked softly, "Did the late emperor mention the throne to you?"

Wei Ke was slightly startled. He didn't expect Xie Chenning to suddenly ask such a question.

His eyes were as deep as a pool, as if hiding endless thoughts.

After a long while, he slowly spoke: "No, my father has never mentioned the throne to me."

His voice was low and steady, but Xie Chenning could detect the subtle fluctuations in it.

Xie Chenning frowned slightly, she didn't believe it.

As the most beloved prince of the late emperor, Wei Ke was among the best among all the princes in terms of both talent and martial arts.

How could the late emperor never mention this? There must be something hidden.

She recalled the rumors she had heard from her father, and couldn't help feeling a surge of emotion in her heart.

When Crown Prince Wei Ke was born, the late emperor was very pleased and immediately ordered a general amnesty.

The late emperor's love for this eldest son could be said to be all-consuming and unreserved.

When he was in swaddling clothes, he was surrounded by countless rare treasures and clothed in silk and satin. After his enlightenment, the emperor personally selected famous teachers for him, all of whom were great scholars of the time.

His daily life was also arranged in great detail. In terms of training, in addition to poetry, calligraphy, etiquette, Wei Ke also learned skills such as horse riding and archery.

The prince at that time was both civil and military, and was capable of doing everything.

Such outstanding talent, coupled with acquired diligence and hard work, made the prince stand out among many princes and become a well-deserved candidate for the throne.

However, things are unpredictable, and who could have thought that it would be Wei Ming who would eventually ascend the throne.

This ending was really beyond everyone's expectations and made countless people sigh.