Be a master through ancient times

"Mu Aiqing, do you have any evidence to prove what you said is true?" Tian Hedi sat above, as if he was not so surprised by his conclusion.

Mu Yuanxiu nodded and said: "Wei Chen has found the evidence. First, this is it." He ordered his subordinates to take out the small plate, which contained the black ball he found from the scene.

"What is this?" Zuo Xiang stood next to him, stunned for a moment when he saw this thing, he couldn't think of why this thing could become evidence.

Mu Yuanxiu crushed a grain with his hand, then looked at the black ash left on his hand, and said: "The fire in Yuchang Palace last night burned many things and left ashes all over the ground. But even if it is ashes, there are not enough The same. Just like this thing, it is the trace left after the silk was burned."

"I thought, maybe the palace is more particular. The lantern hanging on the door might be wrapped in silk, so it's not surprising that these traces will be left. But when I asked a little father-in-law to take me to another After walking around the palace, I realized that the lanterns in the palace were also made of paper. Then, where did this silk come from? Weichen guessed that it should be used by thieves to light fire."

Everyone suddenly realized that there were still these sayings.But some people think that Mu Yuanxiu is a bit arbitrary. He said: "Master Mu has observed very carefully, but I feel that, relying on this alone, we can't judge that someone set the fire on purpose, right? Maybe they were accidentally killed while fighting the fire. What was left after burning the corner of the clothes.”

Mu Yuanxiu was not annoyed by his doubts, but instead gave him an approving look, with a hint of childishness in it.He said: "Zuo Yushi is right. Although the existence of this object is a bit abrupt, it cannot completely prove that it was used by the thieves to ignite the fire. But besides this, I have other evidences."

"Before I came, I checked with the little eunuch in Yuchang Palace. Yuchang Palace has not been renovated in this period of time. The most recent one dates back to August this year. But I am there. As for the smell of fresh tung oil, the smell is pungent after burning, and it will make people feel sick after smelling it for a long time. One of my subordinates can also prove it, because this person will develop a rash when he smells the smell of tung oil."

"If it wasn't someone deliberately setting the fire, where did the tung oil come from? The smell continues from the side door to the main door, which is why the fire burns from the outside, and it is so violent when it is discovered." General fire They all burn from the inside to the outside, but here it starts from the outside. Although the winter is dry, it is impossible to easily set the gate on fire if ordinary lanterns fall down.

Emperor Tianhe praised: "Mu Aiqing is worthy of being the Minister of Dali Temple. She can analyze this case thoroughly in such a short period of time. Then tell me, if you want to find out who is behind this scene, what should you do?"

Mu Yuanxiu thought for a while, and said: "The key to this case should be the tung oil, which is unusual and only occasionally needed when repairing the palace, and it is under the unified control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Which palaces have recently come to receive tung oil, where it was used, and where the rest is, you can find out at once."

"Okay!" Emperor Tianhe looked at the ministers and said, "You should all follow the example of Mu Aiqing, this is the capable minister of our Great Wei!"

After creating a wave of hatred for Mu Yuanxiu, Emperor Tianhe ordered the head of the House of Internal Affairs to come and see him.The head of the House of Internal Affairs was He Yonggui, the great eunuch appointed by the late emperor. He was tall and strong, and extremely smooth. No matter which noble person he was dealing with, he could make others come angrily and leave happily.

"Your servant joins the Holy Majesty, I don't know what your Majesty's orders are for calling this servant?" He Yonggui had never been to the previous court, and it was a bit fresh to be summoned here suddenly today.

"I asked you to come here today to ask, has the palace bought tung oil recently?" Tianhe Emperor asked.

He Yonggui thought for a moment, and said embarrassedly: "Forgive me, Your Majesty, the purchases in the palace are too messy recently, and I can't remember clearly for a while, so please let me look it up." Tianhe Emperor approved, and he took out a bag from his sleeve. Flip through this booklet quickly.When he turned to a certain page, he stopped and pointed with his finger.

"Your Majesty, the slave has found out. In the past three months, only last month has purchased two barrels of tung oil. Winter is no worse than spring and summer, and there are fewer things to repair."

"Then you can check again to see which palaces have come to fetch tung oil?"

He Yonggui took out another booklet and read it carefully, and folded the corners when he found a place. Everyone saw that he folded it three times in total.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the slaves have found out that there are three palaces who have sent people to take it, namely, Eunuch Li of Kunde Palace took three catties, Eunuch Wang of Xiuchun Palace took three catties, and Eunuch Zhang of Xianning Palace took three catties. One catty, and the rest are still in the Treasury of the Ministry of Internal Affairs." After speaking, he closed the booklet and stuffed it back into his sleeve.

"Are you sure no one has withdrawn it?"

"Slave is sure." He Yonggui said firmly.

Tianhedi waved him back, and said: "Since the people have been found, let's bring them here for questioning."

Zhang Fuhai personally led people to pass them on, and brought the remaining tung oil after they had withdrawn it.

The three little eunuchs looked panic-stricken, not knowing what they did wrong.

"Have you been to the House of Internal Affairs to collect tung oil recently?" Emperor Tianhe's majestic voice sounded, and several young eunuchs knelt on the ground and quickly said yes.

"What is this tung oil used for?"

"Returning to Your Majesty, Aunt Jinxiu of Xiuchun Palace asked the servants to fetch it. She said that the cabinet in the room was eaten by moths, so she asked the servants to fetch some tung oil to help her clean it." Eunuch Wang said.

Tianhe Emperor glanced at the small barrel in front of him, there was only one bottom of the three catties of tung oil in it.

"How big is the cabinet, so much tung oil can be painted?"

Eunuch Wang immediately explained: "After the slave got it back, the other aunts saw it and said they wanted to paint it. The slave painted it for them that day. If the Holy One doesn't believe it, you can send someone to take a look. The slave dare not lie." .”

Tianhedi nodded, looked at the other two, and asked, "What about yours?"

Eunuch Zhang said: "The slave will come later, and its function is the same as that of the eunuch Wang. Because the aunts of Xiuchun Palace were happy to clean the cabinets, they talked a lot, but Aunt Liu Xu was angry, so she asked the slave to help. The slave dare not If you want more, I only took a catty, and after cleaning the cabinets of Aunt Liuxu and Aunt Yincao, the rest is here."

When he said this, Emperor Tianhe was a little embarrassed. It is very common for the harem to compete for favor. Xianning Palace is the palace of Concubine Shu, and Xiuchun Palace is the palace of Concubine Zhang.This servant is honest, there is indeed a lot of tung oil left in the bucket in front of him.

Eunuch Li of the Kunde Palace kept silent. Seeing Tianhedi's eyes sweeping towards him, he couldn't hold back any longer. After two times, I put it in my room.He had been there a few days ago, but when he returned to his room the day before yesterday, he suddenly smelled a smell, only to find that the barrel had been opened and the tung oil inside had been stolen.He didn't take it to heart at all, thinking that some little eunuch should have done it carelessly, but he didn't expect His Majesty to ask.

The clue seems to be broken here, but in fact, everyone knows that the person who stole the tung oil must be someone from Kunde Palace, and that person is the one who set the fire.

The Chang Dynasty ended here, and the ministers who still wanted to know more could only restrain their curiosity and leave reluctantly.However, Emperor Tianhe kept Mu Yuanxiu behind, apparently with the intention of making this matter public, and they would definitely know the final result.

……

In Kunde Palace, when the queen heard a report that Emperor Tianhe was bringing a few people over, including Mu Yuanxiu who was a foreigner, she unconsciously squeezed the needle and thread in her hand until her palm was prickled before responding. come over.

"Go out and meet him," she said.

"Yes."

As soon as a group of people reached the gate of Kunde Palace, Emperor Tianhe came. He pointed to Eunuch Li and said, "Queen, you came just in time. This person has something to do with the arson case last night. Now you put all the people in Kunde Palace together." Call out, I want to ask a few words."

The queen turned pale with shock, and looked at Tianhe Emperor in disbelief: "Does the Holy Majesty suspect that the concubine ordered people to set the fire?"

Emperor Tianhe stared straight into the queen's eyes, seeing her as unnatural, and then said: "The queen is overthinking, I didn't suspect anyone, it's just that Mu Aiqing found out that this person has something to do with the case, Just come and ask me a few words."

"The Holy Majesty brought people here to investigate the case with such great fanfare, and he said that he did not suspect Chen Qie? Even if his innocence is proved later, it will make Chen Qie's majesty disgraced, and he will no longer have the face to command the harem."

Emperor Tianhe looked at the resentful empress and sighed: "Empress, you must put the overall situation first. The clean will be clear, and the turbid will be turbid. If the people in your palace are indeed irrelevant to this case, ask a few words What are you afraid of? You don't have to worry about losing your dignity, no one in the harem can surpass you, if they talk too much, you can just punish them."

"The concubine understands the meaning of the Holy Majesty. If you want to ask, just ask. Anyway, the face of the concubine, because Ji'er has already lost it." The queen could no longer maintain her gentle appearance before, sneered, and retreated to the side.

Her appearance actually made Tian Hedi a little soft-hearted.This kind of her is more like her, instead of facing everyone with a gentle mask all day long.

But, why did she suddenly mention Yu Ji?For some reason, Tianhedi felt a little uneasy.

In the Queen's Kunde Palace, there are a total of 45 servants, including 30 court ladies and 15 eunuchs.The maids and eunuchs do not live in the same place, and the two do not communicate with each other at ordinary times, so there are only fourteen people left to be questioned except eunuch Li.

There are so many people, it is obviously a waste of time to ask one by one, and it may not be possible to ask.Mu Yuanxiu scanned the people below, determined to scam them.

"There was a theft in the palace, and some things were lost. The Holy Majesty ordered this official to come and investigate. If there is a thief, step forward quickly, and those punishments will be avoided."

The young eunuchs present looked at each other with nervous expressions on their faces, but none of them stood up and confessed.

Mu Yuanxiu stared at them, and then said: "It seems that you don't cry when you see the coffin. It just so happens that I got an artifact from Qin Tianjian two days ago. Just try it and you will know who is the thief."

After all, he walked out the door and came in again after a while, still carrying a cloth bag in his hand.

"The thing inside is the artifact. If you haven't done anything wrong, you can reach in and touch it. After everyone has touched it, the artifact will tell everyone who is the thief. Everyone, come here."

He unfolded the bag and walked over to the little eunuchs one by one. After they took out their hands, he made them clenched their fists and were not allowed to open them.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, they naturally did not dare to disobey the order. Sweat broke out on the foreheads of several people, and they knew that there must be something wrong with them.

The Emperor Tianhe and the Empress watched from the sidelines, curious about the artifact in his hands that he claimed to be obtained by Qin Tianjian. Based on the reactions of everyone, could it be that this thing is really useful?

After one round, Mu Yuanxiu said: "Now you spread your hands, I will let the artifact tell you who is the thief."

A group of people spread their hands, and among thirteen white and clean hands, there was a pitch-black hand.Mu Yuanxiu quickly pulled the man away and shouted, "This man is a thief."

The man was startled and furious, and he also yelled: "What nonsense are you talking about? How could our family be a thief?"

"What the artifact told me, is it still false?" Mu Yuanxiu stared at him closely.

The eunuch sneered: "It's just a lump of charcoal, why should Mr. Mu make fun of us?"

The artifact is actually a piece of charcoal?Everyone stared at the cloth bag in surprise.Could it be that Mr. Mu was deceiving everyone just now?