Eat the whole family? I emptied the storehouse of the Marquis' Mansion and married the crippled

Xiao Mo and Ye Jintang rode in a carriage to the imperial study together. In the carriage, Xiao Mo held Ye Jintang's hand a little tightly.

"Your Majesty has seen a lot of storms and waves, why is he so nervous now?"

Ye Jintang patted Xiao Mo's hand and comforted him in a gentle voice.

"The truth is right before my eyes. I can't describe how I feel. I am a little excited, but also a little scared to know the truth."

"No matter what the outcome is, it is all over now. No matter what the late emperor did, he is dead now."

"As the old saying goes, when a person dies, all debts are wiped out. Let the grudges of the previous generation disappear with the end of their lives."

"What we need to figure out now is, if the poison was not given by the late emperor, then who is the person behind it?"

"The most favored person in the harem back then was not Imperial Noble Consort Dehui, but Consort Ru, the second prince's biological mother."

"Ru Fei is Gu Xi, the daughter of the Left Prime Minister Gu Huai. She has been proficient in music, poetry, songs, chess, calligraphy and painting since she was a child. She is also very pretty and was known as the most talented woman in the Qin Kingdom at that time."

"After my mother had a rift with the late emperor, she became the most favored woman in the harem. That's why she was able to give birth to the second prince, Xiao Cheng."

"After my mother passed away, many people hoped that the late emperor would appoint Concubine Ru as the successor, but the late emperor did not agree."

"Later, Concubine Ru and Imperial Noble Concubine Dehui fought to the death in the palace, and it ended when Xiao Cheng suddenly fell ill and died. After that, Imperial Noble Concubine Dehui became the only one in power in the harem."

After hearing what Xiao Mo said, it is hard to say who poisoned the queen. It could be Concubine Ru, or Concubine Dehui, or even other concubines with princes.

At that time, Xiao Mo had already been named the crown prince. Only if Queen Jiang died would other princes have a chance to seize the crown prince position.

Xiao Mo was quite young at that time, and in fact he did not remember many things very clearly. Some things he found out in the palace as he grew up.

Ye Jintang tried hard to recall the original novel. There were not many plots related to Queen Jiang in the original novel. Even when Imperial Noble Consort Dehui later held great power and her power reached its peak, Imperial Noble Consort Dehui never mentioned the poisoning of Queen Jiang.

If such an important matter was done by Imperial Noble Consort Dehui, it is impossible that she would not mention it at all. It is very likely that this matter has nothing to do with him, so the most suspicious person left is Concubine Ru.

The carriage soon stopped at the door of the imperial study, and Xiao Mo and Ye Jintang got off together and headed for the east warm pavilion.

Zheng Hai had heard the noise a long time ago, and he hurried out to greet them.

"This old servant greets His Majesty the Emperor and His Majesty the Empress."

"It's been a while since we last met. You still look as handsome as ever, even a little fatter than when you were in the palace."

Xiao Mo walked up to Zheng Hai with a smile on his face. In the past, when he didn't have a mother to take care of him, Zheng Hai helped him a lot. It can be said that if Zheng Hai hadn't helped him in the palace, it would have been almost impossible for him to grow up under the care of Imperial Noble Consort Dehui.

"Thanks to the emperor, I have been able to enjoy fine wine and delicious food while traveling in the south. I have been living a carefree life and am naturally happy and healthy."

Ye Jintang on the side thought that the reason why Zhenghai looked much more energetic than when he was in the palace was because he didn't have to serve his master in fear. With a good mentality, he would naturally be in good spirits.

The three of them exchanged a few casual greetings and then entered the East Warm Pavilion together.

"I urgently summoned you back to the capital this time because I have something extremely important to ask you in person."

"If the emperor has anything to ask me, just ask me. I will tell you everything I know and will never hide anything from you."

"Okay, I just want to ask one question, was my mother poisoned or did she commit suicide by taking medicine?"

Zheng Hai didn't expect Xiao Mo to ask about this. It seemed that he had doubts about the sudden death of Queen Jiang that year.

"Your Majesty, the late queen committed suicide by taking poison. There is an unwritten rule in our Tianqin Kingdom that concubines who commit suicide cannot be buried in the imperial mausoleum. At that time, the late emperor was afraid that the late queen could not be buried with him, so he deliberately announced to the public that the late queen died of illness."

Xiao Mo didn't expect Zheng Hai to say that.

He looked at Zheng Hai in disbelief and asked again, "Didn't the late emperor order the death of my mother?"

Zheng Hai shook his head.

"Although the late emperor and the late queen were not on good terms at the time, in the late emperor's heart, the late queen was still irreplaceable by anyone. How could he bear to poison the late queen?"

Zheng Hai's words made Xiao Mo think for a moment that his memory was confused. He calmed himself down and went over the whole story in his mind again.

"But I clearly saw a palace maid bring poison to my mother. She said it was poison given by the emperor."

When Xiao Mo finished speaking, Zheng Hai looked surprised.

"Your Majesty, are you remembering this matter wrongly? I have been with the late emperor for many years, and the late emperor would hardly hide anything from me, let alone involving the late queen."

"On the day when the late queen committed suicide, I accompanied the late emperor. When the late emperor saw that the late queen was dead, he was extremely sad and did not attend the morning court for several consecutive times."

"This is not an act. I even saw the late emperor crying while holding the cup that the late queen had drunk poison from."

Neither Xiao Mo nor Ye Jintang expected things to turn out like this.

"How can this be?"

Xiao Mo murmured in a low voice. What he saw was so different from what Zheng Hai said that for a moment he didn't know which was true and which was false.

Seeing Xiao Mo's gloomy expression, Zheng Hai couldn't help but ask, "Does the emperor still remember what that maid looked like?"

"Of course I remember. Even if she turned into ashes, I would recognize her in the crowd at a glance."

"Your Majesty, why don't you describe in detail what the maid looks like? Maybe I know her. As long as we can find the maid, the truth of what happened back then will not be difficult to find out."

"Well, that maid looks about 20 years old, with an oval face, willow-shaped eyebrows, eyes that are neither big nor small, a small mouth, and a slightly flat nose. She is about the same height as the queen, and a little thin."

After listening to Xiao Mo's description, Zheng Hai stood there in a daze for a long time without reacting.

There were a lot of palace maids like this in the palace, and he had no way of checking them out.

"Your Majesty, do you remember what was so special about that maid?"

"Take an ordinary palace maid as an example. She has an ordinary appearance and an ordinary figure. There is nothing special about her."

For a moment, no one spoke in the two rooms. Zheng Hai went over all the palace maids serving Emperor Jing in his mind. Each one was a beauty and had something special about them. None of them were as ordinary as Xiao Mo described.

"Your Majesty, how about you tell me and I'll draw it for you to see if the person I draw is the same as the one you remember."

Ye Jintang took the initiative to break the deadlock.

She studied painting for a while when she was in school, so her skills aren't particularly sophisticated, but she can do the job.

"Okay, Jintang, you draw it."

"Then Your Majesty, please tell me slowly, what shape are the eyes of that maid?"

Ye Jintang drew several different eye shapes on the draft paper and asked Xiao Mo to choose. After he found a similar one, he would make changes based on his description.

The palace maid's facial features were exactly the same as those on the white paper. Xiao Mo was quite excited when he looked at the person on the paper. The one Ye Jintang drew was at least 80% similar to the palace maid.