Golden Branch

Lou Yu lowered his head slightly and did not answer "yes or no".

Because the answer is already very obvious.

The prince probably believed it in his heart, but he was too surprised, so he asked instinctively.

Seeing Lou Yu like this, the prince knew that this was the truth.

"How could she? How dare she?"

The prince was not particularly fond of beautiful women. Although he had many concubines in his backyard, his most beloved was his wife, Lu.

The young couple have been married for many years and have two sons and one daughter.

Since he was the eldest son of the General's Mansion, the couple has supported each other. Now that they have become the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess, they still support each other and are deeply in love.

The Crown Prince loves his first wife again, and the Crown Princess is also a virtuous and kind woman, quite similar to her mother-in-law, Queen Li.

She is filial to her parents-in-law, respects her husband, treats concubines kindly, and is loving to her illegitimate sons and daughters. When she becomes the queen in the future, she will surely be a virtuous queen praised by everyone.

The Crown Princess is virtuous, but not always soft. She knows how to control her subordinates, uses both kindness and power, and manages the Crown Prince's backyard in perfect order. She is the Crown Prince's most trusted wife.

Like the saint and the queen, the prince and princess also have many ties besides their husband-wife relationship.

The prince had already decided that the princess was the one who could accompany him for the rest of his life.

He was the crown prince, and Lu was the crown princess.

If he ascended the throne, Lu would be the queen.

His heir could only be from the Lu family.

Fortunately, Lu was a good fertile woman and gave birth to two legitimate sons for the prince.

Xiao Dalang is smart and steady, and has a lot of his father's style.

Xiao Sanlang is smart and cheerful, but he is also patient and able to study hard, and he also has the shadow of his father and brother.

The prince was very satisfied that one could inherit the great cause and the other could enjoy wealth and prosperity.

Some time ago, the saint even revealed some intention: he wanted to enthrone the emperor's grandson as the crown prince!

and many more!

Could it be that this incident brought disaster upon the Crown Princess?

The prince's expression was calm, his eyes were composed, and it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry.

It was as if the fleeting moment of surprise just now was just an illusion.

His brain was working rapidly, and he had already guessed the possible "truth" from the poisoning of the Crown Princess.

"Li Liang Di, or rather, the Feng En Mansion behind her, is she aiming for the position of Crown Princess? And then, perhaps, the position of Crown Prince?"

This guess quickly flashed through the prince's mind.

He suddenly thought of something, his eyes slightly stern: "Han Zhang, go and check this Miao girl carefully!"

"Oh right, and there's also the Feng'en Mansion. Besides murdering the Crown Princess, what else did they do?"

Lou Yu was not surprised when he heard the words "Feng'en Mansion" from the prince.

The prince directly suspected the entire Li family from Li Liangdi.

This is easy to understand. In ancient times, in the harem, the words and deeds of a concubine did not only represent herself!

Even if it seems like he is being jealous on the surface, it is actually for the benefit of the family.

The daughters raised in aristocratic families are not so "love-brained".

They are "available to anyone", so how could they risk their life or even their entire family for a man?

Even if a love-brained person comes out among thousands, and stirs up trouble just out of jealousy, without the support of his family, he won't be able to cause any big waves.

On the other hand, Li Liangdi not only traveled thousands of miles from the remote southwest to find a mysterious Miao girl, but also successfully poisoned the Crown Princess.

The whole process is easy to say, but it actually requires a lot of manpower, financial resources, and power.

This is not something a woman living deep in the harem can do.

It is necessary to have the support of a large family.

Feng'en Mansion is the empress's maiden home, and both the previous dynasty and the dynasty before that produced empresses.

Although he has no military power, he should not be underestimated.

"...Having two generations of queens, Grandma and Grandmother, isn't that enough? You're actually dreaming of plotting to become the next one?!"

The Feng'en Mansion is the prince's in-laws, and was once the most staunch supporter of the saint and the prince.

However, with the saint ascending the throne, the Feng'en Mansion also began a new round of plotting.

First, they sent the new generation of legitimate daughters into the Eastern Palace despite Queen Li's opposition.

Since Lu was the Crown Princess, then Li had to be more humble and become the Crown Princess.

Then, he tried every possible means to win Li Liangdi's favor and gave birth to a child.

Now, Qilang, the son of Li Liangdi, is three years old.

The little grandson is plump and healthy, and looks like he can already "stand on his own".

Then, the Li family had an ambition to have the Li family replace the Lu family and let Qilang become the crown prince!

The Crown Princess has been infected, and the next one is Xiao Dalang.

Hiding his hands in his sleeves, he clenched them tightly, but the prince's voice was as gentle as usual: "And Hanzhang has to help me take care of Ah Cheng!"

Lou Yu bowed and replied, "Yes! I will obey your command!"

He would do these things even if the prince did not order him to do so.

As it concerns the safety and stability of the Eastern Palace, Lou Yu, the prince's most trusted confidant, will naturally do his utmost.

The Li family is indeed a little arrogant, daring to interfere in the Eastern Palace.

Even though the Li and Yang families have been related for generations and have been as close as a family, Dayu's surname is Yang, not Li!

Taiji Palace would not tolerate Li's insolence.

When the prince saw that Lou Yu agreed to the task but did not leave immediately or continue to report, he knew that he had other things to do.

"Hanzhang, is there anything else you want to report?"

After a brief thought, the prince suddenly had an idea and asked, "What kind of trouble has this Miao girl caused again?"

He has a long history and behaves strangely, so he probably doesn't do just this one thing.

"Your Highness, I have already found some results regarding the frequent disappearances in the capital in recent months..."

Having said this, Lou Yu's voice paused.

The prince raised an eyebrow, "Why, is this also related to that Miao girl?"

"There is some connection. This Miao girl named Ani is known as a doctor. She has saved several noble people and is even honored as a 'miracle doctor'."

"She's different from Li Mingtang. Li Mingtang is an orthodox Taoist, and his medical skills are also learned from famous doctors. But Ani is different. Her origins are unknown, and her medical practice and medication are very mysterious. She seems to be a witch doctor used by the Yi Liao people."

To quote Wang Mian's words, Li Mingtang is from a reputable and upright family, while Annie is a heretic, or even an evil cultivator.

Evil spirits and the like usually use some sinister and vicious methods.

In order to achieve the goal, they even challenge the bottom line.

"Placenta?"

After hearing Lou Yu's report, the prince frowned slightly.

He had read medical books and had some knowledge of medical principles, so he naturally knew what placenta was and what its medicinal effects were.

"Which noble lady would murder an innocent person for a few medicinal herbs?"

The prince's voice was very soft, but there was still a hint of coldness in his tone.

Placenta is not a rare medicinal herb. If you are willing, you can still get it.

After all, Chang'an is so big that there are women giving birth every day.

Even some wealthy families have suitable medicinal herbs at home.

But some people are arrogant and disregard the law and act recklessly for their own selfish desires.

The prince is not just upholding justice, he understands the value of "people's hearts" better.

Those who treat the people like cattle and sheep are either stupid or evil.

This is the kind of people the prince dislikes the most.

The prince felt a pang of pain on his forehead when he thought about which idiot had caused the trouble again.

I'm busy with so many military and national affairs, but I still have to devote my energy to dealing with these idiots!

It was hard for the prince not to be annoyed.

"Yes……"

Lou Yu hesitated, but still uttered a name: "Grand Princess Rong'an!"

The prince was startled.

Princess Rong'an, my father's aunt, his great-aunt?

If Lady Lu of the Dugu family was half a female elder of the royal family, then Rong An was the whole one.

She was the saint's biological aunt, and after the saint lost his mother, she took on half of the responsibility of raising and educating him.

In the saint's heart, this aunt is the closest and most respected female elder, comparable to his biological mother.

After the saint ascended the throne, he conferred the title of Grand Princess on my aunt, with a fief of 10,000 households. The Grand Princess's husband, son, and even grandson were all granted titles of nobility.

If the many princesses in the capital were to be ranked, Princess Rong'an and Princess Jincheng would be at the top of the list.

Jincheng was so honored because she was born to the same generation as the saint and had made great contributions to the establishment of the new dynasty.

And Rong'an is the pure "filial piety" of a saint.

As a younger generation, the prince certainly understood Rong An's status in the Yang royal family.

Therefore, upon hearing that the missing case was somehow related to her, the usually calm and composed prince couldn't help but frown.

"Are you sure? Was it the Grand Princess who did it?"

The prince knew that what he said was nonsense, but he still wanted to confirm it.

"...Your Highness should know that the Grand Princess has a two-year-old grandson who was born with asthma."

Lou Yu did not directly answer whether it was certain or not, but mentioned why Princess Rong'an did this.

The benefits of placenta are not only to replenish qi and blood and treat infertility, but also to treat asthma in children.

Although it is a congenital asthma, it may not be curable based on Dayu's medical level.

However, Ani, a Miao girl from the mysterious southwest, is known for her strange methods. Since she dared to make a promise to Princess Rong'an, she must have a way.

"...congenital asthma is difficult to cure, so extraordinary measures must be taken."

"The requirements for medicinal materials are very strict. For example, for purple placenta, Annie specified a pregnant woman with a certain birthday and a placenta born at a certain time..."

If there are special requirements, the placenta provided by ordinary pharmacies cannot be used.

Princess Rong'an used her power to search all the clinics, drugstores, and midwives in Chang'an, and screened out suitable candidates based on the information of the pregnant women who came for consultation.

Then, there was the serial disappearance case that attracted the attention of the government!

The prince was silent.

He had to correct what he had just said. The person who committed this crime was not that stupid.

At least they have learned to "cover up" and know how to use more victims to conceal the real target, and then achieve the purpose of disrupting the government's investigation.

Unfortunately, I’m still not smart enough.

Han Zhang could easily see through such a small trick and found the mastermind by following the clues.

The case seems to have been solved!

But it can’t really be “exposed”.

Alas, that is the eldest princess, the most noble princess in the royal family.

Even a family scandal like Ping An's cannot be made public, let alone the elders who are more respected by the saints?

Although it's disgusting, the prince still has to cover it up...