Use a substitute on your wedding night to scatter the ashes of your entire family

Cui Jingyu took the jade pendant and nodded: "Leave it to me, go ahead, be careful."

"Yeah." Gu Xingyan thanked Qiao Shun again, lifted the curtain of the carriage and jumped down.

Qiao Shun turned his head away and ignored him, looking angry at the patient for not listening. He saw him disappear into the dark jungle in a short while, and said angrily, "One by one, you guys are throwing your lives away, you guys are throwing your lives away!"

Cui Jingyu leaned against the wall of the carriage with his arms folded, looking at Qiao Shun who was furious, and closed his eyes to rest.

……

The Emperor of Daliang had nine princes, three of whom died in young years. In addition, in the past two years, some died, some fell ill, and some were demoted. Now, only three are still alive.

In addition to the eldest son born to the Queen and the current Crown Prince, the ninth prince Gu Xingyan, who disappeared when he was just three months old, was finally found two and a half months ago and is now on his way to Daliang.

The third prince Gu Xingyuan, the son of Concubine Chen, is both talented in civil and military affairs. He has sharp eyebrows and bright eyes. He is also good at strategy, but his personality is somewhat eccentric.

However, the prince had a deficiency since his mother's womb, and the imperial physician even asserted that he would not live past the age of 35. Moreover, after being married for many years, he still had no children.

The prince is now thirty years old. A man with such a serious illness only has five years to live. Why should he ascend the throne again?

Several court officials of the anti-Chen faction wrote to Emperor Liang to change the crown prince.

However, the Empress's maternal family, the Shuguo Mansion, is a prominent family, and a single move could affect the entire body. The Crown Prince is humble and polite to others, and has many supporters, so it is easy to establish the Crown Prince but difficult to depose him.

Moreover, the Third Prince was ruthless and showed no mercy when it came to eliminating dissidents.

However, in just half a month, the ancient and prosperous imperial city of Sijiu City has become desolate. The cold wind blew up the yellow fallen leaves on the ground, which were blown away by the wind and soon were swept into the mud by the dust ahead.

There was no longer the hustle and bustle of the past, no longer the bustling crowds of people, only the closed shop doors on both sides of the street and the locked doors of the people's homes. Occasionally a few naughty children poked their heads out, but were dragged back in by the adults.

The situation in Daliang changed so suddenly. Who could have thought that the old man who had served the emperor for decades would suddenly strangle the man to death with a belt while he was sleeping on the dragon couch at night.

The old eunuch's words before committing suicide, "My queen, I will never let you down," put the queen at the center of public opinion.

Everyone in Daliang knew that the Queen had saved his life.

Who else could the "Empress" he was referring to be other than the Queen?

The old eunuch Hong Mai clearly wanted to repay the queen's kindness by killing the Daliang Emperor so that the prince could ascend the throne as soon as possible. After all, the prince was weak, and if he just waited, he might not be able to survive the emperor.

If the crown prince died before the emperor, the throne of Daliang would fall into the hands of Concubine Chen and her son, and Empress Shu and Duke Shu would not have a good end.

The important officials in the court were divided into two factions. One was the legitimate faction headed by the Empress and her mother's family, the Shuguo Mansion; the other was the imperial concubine faction headed by Imperial Concubine Chen and General Chen, the commander-in-chief of the 26 guards. The two factions were evenly matched and on the verge of a showdown.

In the Yizheng Hall, the anti-Chen faction glared angrily, and some even pointed at Empress Shu who was standing on the high steps and cursed: "The Poison Queen bribed the eunuchs around Your Majesty and murdered the Emperor in an attempt to let her son ascend the throne as soon as possible. Her heart is vicious and her crime is unforgivable! The Crown Prince and the Shuguo Mansion should also be charged with the same crime and conspired for treason!"

The ministers who supported the orthodoxy had veins popping out on their foreheads, and they did not show any weakness: "Bullshit! Have you investigated the case thoroughly? Which eye of yours saw that it was the Empress who ordered Hong Mai to kill the Emperor!"

"Humph! Ask the guards who rushed in to protect the emperor, who didn't hear what Hong Mai said before he committed suicide? Isn't this obvious!"

"He is slandering me! You can convict the mother of a country and the crown prince just based on a dead eunuch. You are so arrogant!"

"The Poison Queen saved Hong Mai's life. Everyone in this city knows this! She forced him to kill the emperor in exchange for a favor. Who else but him would have the guts to kill the emperor who had served him for decades!"

"The Queen is kind and merciful. Everyone in the world knows this! At that time, let alone Hong Mai, if it was anyone else, even a beggar on the street, in danger, the Queen would not hesitate to help! How come, in your eyes, saving a life is wrong!"

"That's right. And why did the Queen give such an order? Although you have advised His Majesty a lot in recent years, using the health of the Crown Prince as an excuse to encourage His Majesty to change the heir, His Majesty has never really thought about it. If that's the case, why did the Queen shoot herself in the foot?"

"Oh, it's useless to say it a thousand times or ten thousand times. I still say the same thing. Your Majesty died at the hands of the old eunuch Hong Mai. The words he said before his death are the most powerful evidence."

"In that case, why not let the Jinyiwei investigate the case thoroughly? The Jinyiwei was founded by the late emperor and is only loyal to His Majesty. Now that His Majesty is dead, they will be able to get to the bottom of the matter!"

The pro-righteous faction did not refute this time, but looked at Xie Chang'an, the chief minister of the cabinet, who had been closing his eyes in deep thought since the two factions had been on the verge of exchanging insults.

"Master Prime Minister, please say something!"

Xie Chang'an is already in his early sixties, with his gray hair tied up high with a wooden hairpin. He is a veteran of three generations.

Five days have passed since the incident, when I entered the palace at midnight. I have not returned home yet, and even my clothes, which were always smooth, are wrinkled.

He slowly looked at the two groups of people standing opposite each other, and then his eyes fell on the people of the Pro-righteous group: "What do you think?"

"That is indeed a solution. The Royal Guards only obey orders from Your Majesty. If they can investigate the case fairly and impartially, we will naturally have no objection."

"What do you think, Duke?" Xie Changan asked Duke Shu again.

Duke Shu looked at the person opposite him coldly, then turned to Xie Changan and said, "Your Excellency the Prime Minister is a veteran of three dynasties. If you say it's okay, I will believe it. The case can't be delayed endlessly like this."

Xie Changan then turned to Empress Shu and Crown Prince Gu Xingcheng, who were at the center of the storm, and bowed respectfully, "What do you think, Queen Mother and Crown Prince?"

Empress Shu did not show any indignation on her face because she was suspected of being a murderer. On the contrary, she was very calm. Even when the two factions were arguing with each other, she just watched quietly with the prince.

Seeing Xie Changan asking, he said, "I also trust the Prime Minister and the Royal Guards."

Gu Xingcheng looked around and his eyes fell on Song Yafeng, the commander of the Jinyiwei who had been standing aside without saying a word. "Then the Jinyiwei will be in charge of investigating this case, and the Dongchang will assist."

Concubine Chen, who had been watching the fire from the other side, was slightly surprised when she heard that the Eastern Depot was helping, and looked at her son Gu Xingyuan.

Gu Xingyuan shook his head gently at her.