Golden Stage

Inside the Feilongwei courtyard, everything was dignified and solemn.

Mr. Yan walked into the yard refreshed, looked at the crowd like dead dogs all over the floor, and asked in surprise, "You guys were thieves last night?"

Wei Xuzhou raised his head as he was dying: "My lord, if you come a little later, the brothers will say goodbye to you forever..."

"Is that so?" Yan Xiaohan raised his foot and turned around, "Then I'll go out for a walk, you guys can leave in peace."

Everyone: "..."

"Where's Shen Jizhi?" Yan Xiaohan sat in front of the Zhongtang case, "Did the medicine test he had yesterday get results?"

"Don't talk about your medicine, Dr. Shen is still dizzy and can't get up," Wei Xuzhou said, "My lord, you haven't seen the tragedy of yesterday, Yang Hexuan's death is not wronged at all."

While speaking, Shen Yuce struggled to come back, his face was as white as a living ghost, his eyes were blue, Yan Xiaohan was really shocked by his face, he hurriedly said: "Quickly move him a chair."

Tang Guo quickly supported Shen Yuce to sit down, stood behind him and squeezed his shoulders.

Shen Yuce said wearily: "Yesterday, I used a few condemned prisoners from the Northern Prison to test the medicine. The medicine was in the form of powder, processed, and had a strange smell. Taking it would not kill you, but it would only make people feel paralyzed. Later I guessed This medicine may not be for eating, so I found a copper plate, poured the powder on it, and baked it under the fire, trying to see if it can dissipate the medicinal properties." He paused for a moment as if remembering something terrible , then continued: "After the thing was baked, it turned into something like ointment on the plate, and the aroma was so refreshing. The faces of the prisoners all looked intoxicated. I stood close and accidentally inhaled—— —”

"During the autopsy earlier, he said that Yang Hexuan had no signs of poisoning, nor did he overdose. I didn't believe it at first, but then I understood that Yang Hexuan died from this pack of medicine."

"To tell you the truth, I only have one mouthful. I am like a dream. I have forgotten my last name. I am so intoxicated, I feel like I am in a fairyland, my body is hot, I want to yell, but I feel that I am omnipotent. The feeling is indescribable, even more bliss than bliss, if not relying on this pack of medicine, ordinary people may not feel such happiness in the world in their whole life."

Pressing his temples, Shen Yuce smiled wryly and said: "Later, thanks to Xiao Tang who had been guarding outside, he rushed in and dragged me out when the situation was wrong. But when the door opened, the smell wafted out, and even General Wei and the others fell into the trap. .Although it’s not that strong, it probably kept them from getting a good night’s sleep. A few prisoners were even more crazy and couldn’t hold their hands down. The weaker ones had already collapsed this morning.”

"My lord, do you know what the scariest thing about this medicine is?"

"People are greedy. Once they have tasted the taste of bliss, they will be extremely thirsty and try to chase this happiness again and again."

Yan Xiaohan's pupils shrank suddenly: "Are you addicted?"

Shen Yuce nodded: "Also, when Xiao Tang went to collect the copper plate for me, the medicine in that plate was gone - it's not accurate to say 'burned dry', it should be said, like being exposed to the sun. Like dry dew, it disappeared completely."

For the investigators like them, this feature is more terrifying than "addiction".

It kills invisible, leaving no traces after use, and even no clues can be found on the dead. The symptoms are exactly the same as horse stroke or sudden death from sudden illness.

Yan Xiaohan unexpectedly remembered the several IOUs in Yang Hexuan's boot tuck.

At first glance, he still found it strange, Yang Hexuan's aunt is the queen, his father and brother both serve in the court, they have a lot of money, and his own salary is not small, how could he borrow money from others? 50 taels, big or small, for someone like Yang Hexuan, it was just a matter of a few meals.

But what if the silver is...for buying medicine?

Addictive drugs, once you stop, you can't bear it, so you can only keep buying, and in the end, you will lose your family and pay a debt.

"Bo Xu, what did the imperial physician say about the medicine you brought back yesterday?"

Jiang Shu took out a piece of paper and handed it to him: "The imperial doctor of Song Dynasty identified them one by one and wrote the names of the medicines on this piece of paper. They are all common aphrodisiacs. If you take too much, they won't kill you."

Yan Xiaohan looked at the piece of paper from beginning to end, folded it and put it aside: "Bo Xu, you and Daoxuan took a few people to Shuntian Mansion to find out how many people died in brothels in the past three months. case, give me a copy of the detailed case back.”

Tao Beiming, General of the Right Shenshu, came out and led Jiang Shu together with Jiang Shu.

"Faith."

General Cao Fengchen stood up and obeyed orders.

Yan Xiaohan: "Go and check Yang Hexuan's whereabouts these days, where he often goes, who he hangs out with, and take care of those who are close to him."

Cao Fengchen: "Yes."

"Brother Wei, are you familiar with the Yang family?" Yan Xiaohan said, "We have to pay a visit."

Wei Xuzhou cried and said, "Unfortunately, I'm not familiar."

Yan Xiaohan comforted, "Think hard, you must have forgotten—it is impossible for the capital to have princes and nobles who have not been married to your family."

Wei Xuzhou: "..."

"Following that, you... Forget it, you have a good rest," Shen Yuce's sequelae won't heal for a while, Yan Xiaohan couldn't bear to oppress him, "Xiao Tang, take care of him more."

The day before, he said not to mobilize the crowd, but today he gathered all the elites of Feilongwei into this one case. Yan Xiaohan took a pen and wrote an excerpt, detailing the facts of the case and the findings so far, emphasizing again and again that this medicine has never been seen or heard of before. If it spreads, there will be endless troubles.

Fei Longwei's papers could be handed directly to the imperial court, and after Tian Tong left, no eunuch without eyes would dare to block him.The emperor quickly approved a "power in a hurry".When Yan Xiaohan got Shangfang's sword, he took Wei Xuzhou to visit the uncle's mansion non-stop and confidently.

Uncle Guo's Mansion was as difficult to deal with as expected.Immediately wind is not a glorious illness, the entire Yang family is tight-lipped, and Yang Xu has no good face the whole time. Yan Xiaohan patiently interrogated him for a long time before he realized that his family had actually noticed Yang Hexuan's abnormality long ago, but no one knew about it. Don't take it seriously.

Yang Hexuan is naturally romantic, and he is still not satisfied with the wives and concubines in the backyard. He often has to go outside to find flowers and ask willows, and his body is exhausted at a young age.The family also sought medical treatment for him, but the old habits die hard, and as time goes by, no one wants to take care of him.It just so happened that the family was preparing for his eldest brother Yang Sijing's wedding recently, and the house's expenses were a bit tight. When Yang Hexuan went to pay the money, he didn't get it, so he lost his temper. He had a quarrel at home and left angrily.

The family members heard that he had been staying in Xinghua Lane, and they only thought that he lost his temper, but they didn't expect to hear about him again, but it was a forever farewell.

Irritability, irritability, burning desire...all fit the symptoms of drug use mentioned by Shen Yuce.Yan Xiaohan observed carefully, perhaps the Yang family still don't know that he died of taking medicine, they all thought it was an accident.

If a clean and self-disciplined person dies due to horse wind, people will definitely be regarded as strange, but if a person who has always been indiscreet dies because of this, even the closest family members will not be suspicious.

If Yang Hexuan hadn't happened to happen behind Mu Boxiu and attracted Feilongwei to interrogate him, this medicine would have been hidden under the undercurrent, spreading silently, attracting countless people to go crazy, and eventually eating the entire Great Zhou from the inside out. .

How many more people died from this drug?Is Yang Hexuan an innocent and unlucky ghost, or a selected firecracker?

Two days later, the flying dragon guards gathered again, but the situation was not so optimistic.The identities of the deceased were different. Although the family members described the conditions before their death as if they had taken medicine, they could not find any relics as evidence.And none of these people has anything to do with Yang Hexuan.The only thing they have in common is that they all love to visit brothels, but they all go to different places, and the girls they get along with are not the same.According to the information obtained by Cao Fengchen, none of Yang Hexuan's friends became addicted to drugs, and no one had ever seen Yang Hexuan burn any medicine in the way of roasting a copper plate.

The clues to this case were completely broken, Yan Xiaohan wanted to investigate thoroughly, but the time and place were right, he didn't take any of it, and there was still a major matter to be prepared right now, the case of the Jin Wuwei had to be shelved for the time being.

The third day of March, Longevity Festival.

Emperor Yuantai visited the Taimiao, offered sacrifices to heaven and earth, and then received congratulations in Yuji Hall.Baiguan lined up 33 salutes, presented a congratulatory table, Zuo Xiang Pei Ke held a cup to celebrate his birthday, and Emperor Yuantai gave tea to all officials.After the ceremony, he moved to Qichun Hall and gave a banquet at noon.

Today's Longevity Banquet, apart from the main protagonist, Emperor Yuantai, the most eye-catching person is Fu Shen, the Marquis of Jingning who has returned to the court.After a few months of separation, the Marquis of Jingning is even more elegant than before, and he can still be worthy of the words "the face of the imperial court".The emperor allowed him not to kneel down and salute him, and gave him a few words of comfort, and gave him new fruits of imperial wine.The monarch and his ministers were harmonious and harmonious, so harmonious that even Fu Shen himself almost believed it was true.

The Qichun Hall is far away from the Yuji Hall. The emperor can ride on the imperial chariot, and the officials can only walk slowly.There was a little eunuch pushing a wheelchair behind him. After Fu Shen politely dealt with the greetings from all parties, he suddenly squinted his eyes and looked to the front. He turned his head and asked the eunuch behind him: "Hey, the one in front with his head bowed, did he even notice?" Gu Shanlu, the censor of the academy?"

The eunuch didn't expect that he would take the initiative to talk to him, he was taken aback for a moment, and replied: "Master Gu, it's Mr. Gu."

Fu Shen: "Go, go over and say hello."

The eunuch looked bewildered, probably he had never seen a first-rank military officer rushing to get close to a fourth-rank civil servant: "...Oh, good."

"Gu Yushi?"

Gu Shanlu was lowering her head to think about something, when she heard someone calling her, she subconsciously raised her head and looked back - she didn't see anyone.

"..." Fu Shen said depressedly, "Here, bow your head."

Gu Shanlu looked down, never dreaming that it was him, hurriedly cupped his hands and said: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Lord Hou forgive me."

Fu Shen didn't take it to heart, but said politely: "I heard that Gu Yushi has been working on behalf of Fu in the case of the Eastern Tartar Mission. It should have been a long time ago to come to thank you, but it's just that there are so many complicated things and the health is so bad that it has been delayed until now. , I will meet Gu Yushi today." He bowed his hands and said solemnly: "Gu Yushi is a kind person, and Fu Mouming is very grateful. Thank you very much."

Gu Shanlu hurriedly returned the gift in a panic, and Fu Shen saw that he was reserved and funny, so he simply chatted with him a few more words: "I see that Gu Yushi's face is gloomy, and he doesn't seem very happy... Did you encounter any difficulties?"

Gu Shanlu said: "Master Hou can just call me Zhongxiu. To tell you the truth, Mr. Zeng Guang, my teacher, was convicted of a crime the day before yesterday and has not yet been pardoned. He is old and weak. The lower official was really worried, so... well, I made Hou Ye laugh."

"Zeng Guang?" Fu Shen thought for a while, "But Mr. Xixian who was implicated in the Kuangshan Academy case last winter?"

"It's the teacher." Gu Shanlu said, "The official was taught in Kuangshan Academy. The teacher's family suffered, and the teacher was imprisoned. How dare a student stand by and watch."

Fu Shen didn't seem to be listening carefully.Gu Shanlu caught a glimpse of him suddenly raising his head and taking a look into the distance from the corner of his eye. He seemed to be smiling, and then he stopped talking and comforted him: "Zhong Xiu don't need to worry too much. If Shi is auspicious, he will surely turn evil into good luck."

Gu Shanlu thanked in a muddleheaded manner, not understanding why Jingninghou suddenly changed his face.While talking, everyone came to the Qichun Palace. There were rows of guards with knives standing on both sides of the road, and the head of the guards stood on the high steps with his hands behind his back. .

Fu Shen heard the two Hanlins muttering tremblingly behind him: "Scare people... Who messed with him again?"

The little eunuch pushed the wheelchair to the front of the steps, Yan Xiaohan walked down quickly with a sullen face, leaned over and hugged Fu Shen, his gaze was like a knife, and said to the stunned eunuch: "What are you still doing in a daze? Go up."

All the officials whispered: "Look at his face, the veins on the back of his hand... No wonder he is in a bad mood. You think he wants to strangle General Fu?"

While carrying Fu Shen up the steps, Yan Xiaohan asked in a low voice, "What did you say to Gu Shanlu just now? You laughed so happily."

Fu Shen recalled the look he cast from afar just now, suppressed a smile, and replied solemnly: "I told him, 'I accidentally knocked over a jar of old mature vinegar just now'."