flstandardbreds Chapter 156 Feng Han Poisoned?
Chapter 156 Feng Han Poisoned?
Looking into Feng Yu's big, round eyes, the chubby boy's face was full of disbelief. Lin Shu couldn't help but reach out and ruffle his hair, giving him an affirmative answer at the same time:
"Yes, it is indeed Prince Xian and Young Master Qin."
She never expected that the Emperor's bestowal of marriage would bring together such a bickering couple!
Judging from Feng Qing and Qin Shi's expressions, it's clear that one is willing to hit and the other is willing to be hit. Presumably, from today onwards, rumors will begin to circulate in the capital that the Prince Xian is afraid of his wife!
They should have taken the initiative to greet Feng Qing upon seeing her, but after a short while, the three people on the other side had already left, and Feng Zhao had also returned.
After the group finished their meal, Feng Zhao personally escorted them back to the Lin residence.
Lin Mansion, study.
"Does Your Highness have something to discuss?" Lin Shu glanced at Feng Zhao, who was sitting in the seat of honor, leisurely sipping her tea, and asked this question with certainty.
Hearing Lin Shu's confident tone, Feng Zhao showed no surprise. She picked up her teacup, skimmed off the foam with the lid, took a slow sip, and then said:
"I do have important business to attend to today."
Having said that, he took out a folded book from his waist, handed it to Lin Shu, and explained his purpose:
"Actually, today I came here to deliver a secret message on behalf of the Empress Dowager."
The Empress's health has suddenly deteriorated recently, and the Imperial Hospital cannot find the cause. This has deepened her suspicions, and she has ordered you and me to investigate secretly.
"What?" Lin Shu looked up in surprise and met Feng Zhao's gaze after reading the secret paper in her hand. The Empress seemed normal every morning at court!
Feng Zhao naturally understood her meaning from her expression, so he sighed, shook his head, and said with a frown:
"I only learned in the last few days that my mother has been unable to sleep at night since ten days ago, and she also suffers from occasional heart palpitations. After the imperial physicians examined her, they could not find the cause of the problem."
The symptoms were exactly the same as those of the late Empress Dowager (the Empress Dowager) more than ten years ago, and recently, the Empress Dowager's heart palpitations have become more frequent, and her morning court sessions have been shortened considerably.
Lin Shu thought about it and realized that in the past, no matter how trivial the matter, decisions had to be made directly in the imperial court, but recently all the officials had been asked to submit memorials instead...
"Has His Majesty already suspected something?" Lin Shu guessed. Since a secret investigation had been conducted, Feng Han must have already noticed some clues.
Feng Zhao looked at Lin Shu approvingly, nodded, and said:
"That's right. At the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet, the Empress Dowager bestowed that young master Chu upon Ling Wanzhen. Logically speaking, Uncle Rui should have been unwilling, but the next day, he surprisingly sent someone to deliver gifts to the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager to express his gratitude!"
The Empress Dowager initially suspected that this matter was likely related to her uncle, Rui, but she had no evidence.
"I wonder what was sent? Has it been checked?" Lin Shu also found Feng Rui's actions extremely suspicious.
"The Empress Dowager received a golden statue of the Heavenly Bird, and the Grand Empress Dowager received a porcelain sculpture of a phoenix. Both have been checked and there is nothing wrong with them!" Feng Zhao shook her head as she recalled the two exquisite items.
Lin Shu lowered her head and pondered for a moment, then stood up with a headache and said, "If this was truly a deliberate act, then the late emperor's death back then was probably not accidental..."
Furthermore, Lin Shu is unable to leave the palace, so I will trouble the Crown Princess to investigate further. If there are any developments, please inform Your Highness! Lin Shu will keep a close eye on Prince Rui.
As for Your Majesty, Lin Shu suggested that you refrain from contact with new objects for the time being, lest you be caught off guard!
"Alright! Then I'll take my leave. The Empress has given me the memorials, and I don't have time to stay outside any longer!"
After Feng Zhao finished speaking, he stood up, dusted off his sleeves, and strolled out. As he passed Lin Shu, he raised an eyebrow and teased her, saying:
"Your mother praises you to me and the current Hanlin scholar every day for your high efficiency when you first entered officialdom! How about you go and help me out?"
"Your Highness, please take care." Lin Shu twitched her lips, pretending not to hear, and stood up to see him off. Then, as if remembering something, she added another sentence towards Feng Zhao's departing figure:
"Your Highness, perhaps you should keep a closer eye on the Empress Dowager while you are in the palace!"
Upon hearing this, Feng Zhao paused, then, as if considering a possibility, narrowed her eyes and left the Lin residence.
Although she didn't respond to Lin Shu's words, Lin Shu knew that the other party had taken them to heart.
After Feng Zhao left, Lin Shu also summoned Zi Yi and asked him to secretly investigate Feng Rui, including where the things he sent into the palace came from and who he contacted, leaving no detail unexplored.
After Zi Yi agreed, he recounted the recent major events at Wushuang Pavilion: "Master, news has come from Chou Er."
He then presented some recent information about Nanli, including that Chou Er had been sent to Nanli to establish the Wushuang Pavilion.
Lin Shu took the letter and gestured for Zi Yi to continue.
The letter was written using special symbols to prevent it from being read by anyone with ulterior motives. Zi Yi immediately summarized the contents of the letter:
"The Peerless Pavilion has risen rapidly in Nanli. Its main business has also changed somewhat from that of Fengming. It has gradually become more focused on assassination and has recruited many ambitious people. In just half a month, it has become comparable to our scale in Fengming."
After listening, Lin Shu rested her chin on one hand and lightly tapped her fingers on the table with the other, saying:
"The fact that a new force can develop so rapidly can only mean that the situation in Nanli is dire and that those with ambition are looking for a way out and a place of refuge."
Zi Yi looked at Lin Shu with admiration: "Your Majesty is wise. The situation in the court in Nanli is tense. It seems that Regent Prince Nangong Jin has all the power, but in reality, he is being hindered by the Imperial Advisor at every turn."
Lin Shu raised an eyebrow: "Do you have any news about Nangong Jin and the Imperial Preceptor? What caused their confrontation?"
Upon hearing this, Zi immediately recounted the rift between the two:
"I heard that the two became political enemies because of their differing political views."
The imperial advisor was named Zhu Yao, who was also the chief of the witch clan. It was said that he could summon wind and rain and was extremely prestigious among the people.
Over the years, she has rapidly planted many flowers in Nanli. It is said that these flowers can be used to extract drugs that can bring people to the highest bliss. However, some people have raised doubts and even suggested that the flowers be destroyed.
The person who raised the question was none other than the Regent of Nanli. Last year, the opium from Jiangnan originated from Nanli. Fortunately, only a small portion of it was transported out; the rest was swiftly destroyed by Nangong Jin! This prevented a major disaster for Fengming…”
"Drugs?" Lin Shu fell into deep thought. Drugs refer to all addictive substances. Is this world also called a drug world?
“Yes, I heard that the Grand Preceptor of Nanli named it that way because it sounds nice. But I think ‘drugs’ doesn’t sound like a good thing. Aphrodisiac sounds much better…” Zi Yi replied to Lin Shu, not forgetting to express his opinion.
Lin Shu raised an eyebrow. This was the way a normal person should think. The word 'drugs' was inherently derogatory, yet she thought it sounded nice? So this Grand Preceptor of Nanli was probably a big problem!
Seeing that Lin Shu didn't speak, Zi added, "By the way, Master, Chou Er's letter also said that the Southern Li National Preceptor sent someone to contact her, wanting to cooperate with us and support the Peerless Pavilion to infiltrate various countries..."
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