flstandardbreds Chapter 387 Blockade
Chapter 387 Blockade
Gu Jianchu and Xie Ci'an both knew who the murderer was, but without any evidence, they couldn't just arrest the person.
"Wen Zhu, go and check who is so bold as to poison the Queen's pregnancy-maintaining medicine. Since they used rat poison, she can't escape from the Wanguo Temple. Seal off the entire Wanguo Temple and find out who bought the rat poison. Not even the ministers should be spared." Xie Ci'an deliberately did not hide it, and even publicized the investigation of the ministers as well, just to warn them, so that no one would have the same idea as Concubine Shu.
After receiving the order, Wen Zhu immediately led people to seal off the entire Wanguo Temple and conducted a thorough inspection without missing a single place.
According to the emperor's order, the west courtyard where the ministers lived was not spared.
The ministers had not expected that they had come to the Wanguo Temple to pray with the emperor, but they would encounter so many things. First, Concubine Wu was murdered, and then the empress's pregnancy-maintaining medicine was poisoned. They just didn't know who was so bold as to do it under the noses of the emperor and empress. However, this served as a reminder to them that everything the emperor and empress took, whether it was food or medicine, would be strictly inspected. Anything with problems would not be brought to them at all, and almost all of them would be checked. By tracing the source, it would be easy to find the murderer.
Those who originally wanted to attack the queen had to stop completely.
Compared to wealth and glory, life and property seem to be more important.
If you lose your life and property, you will not be able to enjoy wealth and glory.
Who would want the queen and her unborn child to die? Of course, it was the ministers who wanted to take this opportunity to stuff people into the harem. Just as the ministers were suspicious of each other, the people from the Imperial City Bureau set their sights on the people from the Wanguo Temple, which was something the ministers never expected.
What made them even more confused was what benefit would it bring to them if the monks from Wanguo Temple poisoned the queen.
Is it because he doesn't die quickly enough?
Or maybe the emperor and empress had harmed their relatives, and they wanted to take this opportunity to take revenge on them.
But that shouldn't be the case. Although the emperor is called a tyrant, he treats the people well. As for the queen, she has a very good reputation among the people. The people think that the queen is a savior, especially the women. When they encounter injustice, they will find ways to seek help from the queen. As long as the queen can help, she will try her best to help them solve the problem.
This is what puzzles them the most.
Although they couldn't figure it out, it didn't stop them from always paying attention to the movements in the east yard.
The queen was poisoned in Wanguo Temple, which naturally alarmed the abbot of Wanguo Temple. The abbot never expected that the person who poisoned her was actually related to someone in his temple.
The abbot stood aside with deep eyes, and below him were three monks brought by the Imperial City Bureau.
Wen Zhu reported truthfully, "Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, after questioning, the three of them had purchased rat poison, but they all insisted that they did not poison the Empress Dowager. After all, they are monks from the Wanguo Temple, and I cannot torture them."
It was not difficult for Wen Zhu to torture them.
It was obvious that they were from the Wanguo Temple. Without the emperor's consent, if he used the criminal law and something happened, he would have a hard time explaining himself. After all, these people were not the ministers in the court who could be tortured at will.
When the three monks were brought in, they all looked panicked.
One of the monks said solemnly, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Master, I swear before the Buddha that I absolutely did not drug Your Majesty and Your Majesty, or I will be struck by lightning."
Gu Jianchu and Xie Ci'an certainly knew that it was not them who poisoned the person. They brought them here just to use them to lure out the real culprit behind the scenes.
The host boldly stepped forward and testified for the three people, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I can also testify for them. Although they bought rat poison, they would never put it in the medicine for the Empress's pregnancy. They are simple and honest people. They wouldn't even dare to kill a small animal, let alone harm a person, let alone the Emperor and the future prince."
Xie Ci'an and Gu Jianchu didn't say anything.
Gu Jianchu tapped the table lightly with his fingers, and his cold look naturally swept over the three people beside him.
She didn't confirm what the host said, nor did she refute it. She just asked coldly, "What did you buy the rat poison for? You'd better tell the truth."
The little Shani, standing on the far left and closest to the host, spoke first, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I bought rat poison because rats have attracted to the granary of Wanguo Temple. Every night they steal the grain. I've arranged for people to watch them, but it's no use. I really have no choice but to buy some rat poison and spread it around the granary. I didn't buy it to kill the rats, but to keep them away. I even asked the seller about it before I bought it."
The host then added, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, he is specifically in charge of the granary."
Gu Jianchu and Xie Ci'an nodded almost at the same time.
Xie Ci'an's gaze then swept over the little Shani standing in the middle.
"I heard that you bought some medicine to repel rats, so I wanted to ask you for some. After all, kitchens attract rats, and they've eaten a lot of things. But you said you've used it all up. So I had no choice but to go down the mountain and buy some myself. I'm going to spread it around the kitchen. Your Majesty, please send someone to check around the kitchen. Even though it snowed, I went to check yesterday, and the medicine is still nearby."
"Your Majesty, this little Shani is in charge of cooking in the kitchen." The host added immediately.
Xie Ci'an waved his hand and asked Wen Zhu to send someone to check.
Only the last little Shani is left.
Gu Jianchu fixed his gaze on the other person and asked, "Tell me, what is the use of the rat poison you bought?"
The little monk glanced at the few people and said truthfully, "The rat poison I bought is for the female donor in the backyard. Today, when I went to bring her breakfast, she said that her room had attracted rats and was disturbing her sleep. She asked me to buy her a packet of rat poison. I didn't think much of it. Seeing that my senior brother had gone down the mountain to buy some, I asked him to bring back a packet of rat poison and gave it to the female donor."
"Host, what's going on with this female donor?" Xie Ci'an looked at the host standing beside him.
The abbot then remembered that the Emperor and Empress might not know about this matter, so he quickly explained, "It's like this. Some time ago, the Empress banished the former Imperial Concubine Shu to a nunnery. Because the nunnery caught fire, she was left unattended. The county magistrate and the nunnery abbot discussed sending her to Wanguo Temple for custody and bringing her back once the nunnery was repaired. I agreed, thinking that no one would live in the backyard."