A Complete Explanation of the Negative Textbooks of the Imperial Examination

Chapter 114: King Kong

“Marquis Chengxi seems to be quite good at poison.”

After saying this, Rong Ke turned around and just met Xiao Jingduo’s eyes. The two looked at each other and smiled, with ridicule in their eyes.

The Queen Mother Cui was very dissatisfied with the attitude of the two: “What are you laughing at?”

“It’s nothing.” Rong Ke was in no hurry, smoothed his sleeves, and stretched out his hand towards Empress Dowager Cui, “The Empress Dowager continues to talk.”

“Now someone dares to poison their mother, and their heart should be punished. Gan Ning, it’s not that I speak badly, but you yourself know that when this happens, you are the most suspicious. What’s more, The Marquis of Chengxi has excellent medical skills, and I am afraid that he is also very good at poisoning, and he is your person…”

Old Mrs. Xiao stood up as early as when Empress Dowager Wu was spitting blood, and after listening to Empress Dowager Cui’s words, she quickly said: “No, no, no, Duoer spoke to the eldest princess because she was loyal to the monarch and did not Not someone from the eldest princess…”

“Grandmother.” Xiao Jingduo interrupted the old lady, “I do stand on the side of the eldest princess, you don’t have to say anymore.”

Many people raised their eyebrows in surprise, all present were the princess and the prince, Xiao Jingduo dared to say this in front of so many people, obviously he was going to stand in line.

Rong Ke is so controversial now that he dares to stand in public, and I really don’t know whether to say he is bold or eager for quick success.

“You…” The old lady choked with anxiety. She wanted to scold Xiao Jingduo for being confused, and she was afraid of the noble and noble people around her, so she held back her anger and did not mention it.

The Empress Dowager Xia was paying homage to the Buddha. She heard that Empress Dowager Wu came in a hurry after coughing up blood. When she entered the hall, she just heard Mrs. Xiao speak. Empress Dowager Xia paused and looked up at Xiao Jingduo. He glanced at him and said, “Keke and the emperor are one body. It’s really good that the Marquis of Chengxi is so loyal to protect the emperor.”

The Empress Dowager Cui didn’t bother to care about these, anyway, in her opinion, these two people have to be wiped out. She said: “Okay, since Marquis Chengxi has also admitted it, it seems that you are more suspected of poisoning. Gan Ning, do you agree with this?”

“I don’t recognize it.” Rong Ke shook his head, looked at Empress Dowager Cui and said, “If you are skilled in medicine, you will be poisoned, then you have to arrest all the people from the Imperial Physician’s Office and the Shang Pharmacy Bureau. What absurdity?”

After finishing speaking, Empress Dowager Cui turned around and said to Empress Dowager Wu: “Mother, I am worried about your safety and make up my own mind, shouldn’t you mind?”

The Empress Dowager Wu seemed to be in great pain, her eyebrows were wrinkled and her face was sweating constantly. People from Shang Pharmacy were kneeling beside Empress Wu to ask for the pulse, and Princess Hejing looked at Empress Wu worriedly, and when she heard Empress Cui’s words, she snorted coldly and said, “Aunt has already made arrangements, so she’s still pretending to come here. Ask us what to do?”

The Princess Hejing’s words were very rude, but Empress Dowager Cui was not annoyed, she smiled and said: “Fengyu still wants to treat her mother, so don’t stop here and interfere with a few people. There is a royal doctor. Come, let’s drive.”

The Empress Dowager Cui was the first to walk towards the palace outside. The emperor and Rong Ke didn’t move. The others looked at each other and didn’t dare to move first. Instead, they reached out and signaled, “Saint.”

Rong Lang looked back at Rong Ke: “Sister, let’s go.”

“You go out first.” Rong Lang didn’t move, his eyes were full of puzzled, Rong Ke added, “I’ll be there later, just leave first.”

Rong Lang and Empress Dowager Xia left together, followed by the princes and princesses of King Liang’s generation, as well as several concubines of Rong Ke. After the princesses and a large group of palace maids had left, Rong Ke went out.

“Why are you being targeted?”

“It may be my stepmother’s ghost.” Xiao Jingduo said.

Rong Ke shook his head and said, “You make me wonder if I am affected by you, and I will have this stubble today.”

“Your Highness, you don’t have to be so humble.” Xiao Jingduo smiled, “It’s uncertain who will be implicated between us.”

While speaking, no one took the poisoning to heart, including the so-called evidence of Empress Dowager Cui.

Walking out of Empress Dowager Wu’s bedroom, the main hall that received guests outside was already full of people. Empress Dowager Cui sat at the top, and when she saw Rong Ke coming out, she snorted coldly and said, “The guards have already gone to find him, so let’s wait here for a while.”

Rong Ke allowed Empress Dowager Cui to arrange, and there was no sense of distrust. After a while, several guards came back: “The Queen Mother, this subordinate found this in a palace maid’s house.”

The guard presented a medicine bag wrapped in paper. The Queen Mother Cui asked the maid to take it and opened it in front of everyone: “What is this?”

A medical woman from Shang Pharmacy came forward, picked up some medicinal residues, put it on the tip of her nose and smelled it: “It seems to be horse money.”

“What is horse money?” Princess Liang asked.

The doctor girl looked a little hesitant, she glanced at the Queen Mother Cui carefully, and said: “It’s a medicinal herb, but the seeds are poisonous, they have always grown in the southern Xinjiang, and it is not common in the Central Plains. It is normal for the princess not to know each other.”

“Southern Xinjiang?” Empress Dowager Cui repeated, and this time everyone else looked at Xiao Jingduo, “Marquis Chengxi, I remember that you were a county magistrate in that place in Nanzhao? ”

Xiao Jingduo responded: “Yes.”

Everyone was in an uproar: “The things in the southern border, not everyone can get it.”

At this time, another team of guards came back, clasped their fists and said, “The queen mother, the saint, we dug out these medicinal residues from under the tree.”

The doctor hurriedly leaned over, looked at it, and said, “There is also strychnine in the dregs of medicine. After being poisoned with strychnine, the pain is like a heartbreak. This is indeed the symptom of Empress Wu.”

Everyone in the hall took a deep breath: “How could… someone dare to do such a thing!”

“Marquis Chengxi.” Empress Dowager Cui looked at Xiao Jingduo and said, “You are the only person here who has been to Nanzhao. Chaozhong was spared outside Jiannan, and now happens to be in the capital. You are the only one who has the chance to come into contact with the harem.”

Xiao Jingduo didn’t speak, but Mrs. Xiao’s legs softened when she heard this: “Impossible, how could Duoer do such a thing…”

I’ll pull over!”

The guards went out in response, Wu Junru supported the old lady, looked at Xiao Jingduo, and said sadly, “Why do you do such a thing? How dare you!”

It is stern, “Gan Ning, you are in the harem, and you have the assassination team of Yin Xiaowei in your hand. Who else can do this kind of thing except you? You are angry and your mother doesn’t tell me, now you dare to do it yourself. Poisoned?”

After Empress Dowager Cui said angrily, a palace maid was thrown in: “Empress Dowager, she is responsible for boiling the medicine.”

The palace maid was pushed to the ground, and as soon as she stopped, she quickly got up and kowtowed: “The Empress Dowager, spare your life, the Empress Dowager, spare your life…”

“Slave, no slave…”

Princess Liang said, “What nonsense is she talking about with a slave, just pull it down and fight it, and you’re afraid she won’t tell the truth?”

“No, I beg you nobles to raise your hands and surround me.” After speaking, the palace maid crawled towards Rongke on her knees, “Princess, you can’t leave me alone, you have to save me! !”

There was a gasp in the hall, and everyone immediately raised their heads to look at Rong Ke.

Rong Ke didn’t say anything yet, but Xiao Jingduo stepped forward and stopped the other party’s move to hold Rong Ke’s clothes.

“Stop.”

Xiao Jingduo’s voice was cold and her eyes were even colder.

It all went so smoothly, Empress Dowager Cui flashed a smile in her eyes, stood up and said, “Gan Ning, what else do you have to say? Poison your mother.”

Rong Ke couldn’t help sighing: “Could it be that in your eyes, if I want to let someone die, Rong Ke will use such a stupid method? Since you look down on me like this, look down on Yin Xiaowei , I had to really call them out.”

Rong Ke raised her voice and said, “Bring the things up.”

Several men in black clothes and silver faces walked in immediately outside the gate of the hall. The guard reached out to stop him, but the other side pulled the knife half-sheathed with a ‘swipe” sound, and the guard was immediately taken a step back.

The queen mother, the emperor and many princes and princesses are still sitting in the hall, but they dare to draw swords in public, which shows how arrogant they are. This group of people ignored the people in the hall, but went straight to Rong Ke: “Your Highness.”

“Take things out.”

A silver owl guard stepped forward and presented a neatly folded paper bag with both hands. After opening it, there was a pile of slightly yellowish powder.

The Princess Hejing also came out of the inner hall and stood by for an unknown time. Seeing this scene, she couldn’t help but ask, “What is this?”

Rong Ke picked up a few grains of fine powder, put it on her fingertips and looked at it for a while, then looked up at Empress Dowager Cui: “What is this, Empress Dowager, what do you think?”

The Empress Dowager Cui’s face was as serious as ever: “How do I know this? Don’t try to divert your attention, the poisonous money is placed here, you still want to deny it?”

“The Queen Mother said she didn’t know. This was replaced by the servant I sent to the Queen Mother. You spent a lot of time mixing these powders into the great-grandmother’s medicine. You really don’t know. Do you know?” Rong Ke blew away the powder in his hand and instructed, “Bring it to the saint and your uncles and aunts, and let them take a look.”

Rong Lang wanted to take it over to take a closer look, but was stopped by the Queen Mother Xia, so he had to take a look from a distance: “What exactly is this powder?”

Liang Wang asked people to take it over and take a closer look, and even took a little bit of it and sniffed lightly on the tip of his nose: “Why do I feel that this is like some kind of stone that has been ground, not powder?”

“Yes.” Empress Dowager Cui said, “The world’s poisons are all derived from medicinal materials, so can stone powder be poisonous?”

Rong Ke rolled up her sleeves and did not speak, Xiao Jingduo stood up consciously: “Although most poisons in the world come from plants and trees, they are not always the same. This is powder ground from diamonds. , Diamond comes out of Funan. On the bottom of the water, it is like stalactite, and the body is like amethyst. It can be carved with jade. The essence of gold is what the world calls diamond. Diamond is mostly used for carving jade, and it can be found in ordinary jewelry stores. .Diamond is extremely hard and brittle, insoluble in water, but extremely viscous and oily. After being crushed, it can be mixed into medicines and meals, and it can stick to the stomach and will not melt for years. This kind of stone powder will not show any effect for a while. Come, but over time, it will slowly wear down the stomach, and eventually it will even bleed holes in the stomach.”

He Jing took a breath: “What will happen then?”

“As time goes on, blood will be progressively vomited, and it will be extremely painful.”

Rong Ke answered: “Queen Mother Cui, why is there such a thing in your palace?”

Ridiculous statement? It’s just a stone, how can it make people vomit blood, obviously the poisonous sage is the culprit.”

Xiao Jingduo was silent for a long time, and then said: “Strychnine is highly poisonous, it’s just that all the medical women came from the Shang Pharmacy, maybe even the symptoms of strychnine poisoning are recognized. Can’t you come out?”

The doctor was very dissatisfied with these words. She stood up and said: “This is recorded in the “Materia Medica”.

“Squirrel, also known as Panmu turtle, has a bitter taste and is highly poisonous. According to records, birds will be numb and twitching and die if it is poisoned; dogs will die in pain and heartbroken. If you take it by mistake, it will make your limbs cramp.” After Xiao Jingduo finished speaking, he said rudely to the doctor girl, “You have memorized the wrong symptoms.”

Rong Ke blinked and wanted to laugh, but she held it back. “From what I saw just now, although the great-grandmother vomited blood, she did not have convulsions. In this way, if it is not “Materia Medica” that is wrong, then the doctor’s diagnosis is wrong. This kind of non-toxic and tasteless diamond powder. Ordinary people will not pay attention to this kind of fine stone powder, and silver needles cannot be detected, but this is a vicious chronic poison. Not only will people vomit blood, but also It was extremely painful and unpredictable.”

Rong Ke asked people to bring the diamond powder in front of Hejing County Master: “Hejing, the soups and medicines of the great-grandmother these days are all in your hands, come and see, what do you think about this kind of food? Do you have any impression of the stone powder?”

People didn’t care and mixed the soil into the medicine, but the maid at the time told me that it was a single medicine. I also fed this bowl of medicine to my grandmother…”

“Impossible.” Empress Dowager Cui said with a sneer, “These are all your side words, who knows the truth? Besides, these diamonds are fresh from the people below and sent to the palace for pictures. Lezi, Aijia doesn’t know what’s going on with mother here.”

“Since it’s for fun, why grind it into powder?” Rong Ke asked.

The Empress Dowager Cui raised her chin high and refused to answer, but insisted: “Ridiculous. The maid who made the medicine clearly identified you, so you are her master, you still don’t admit it?”

Xiao Jingduo said: “The maid of the palace just called your highness as the eldest princess, which is not good in terms of address. The people in the Yonghe Palace and the princess’ mansion are all called their highness, not the eldest princess.”

The Empress Dowager Cui choked and said, “What does this mean? She is clearly…”

“It’s all done!” There was a sudden angry shout from the back of the main hall, the palace people quickly turned around and bowed down, and the Queen Mother Cui also closed her mouth and saluted with the armrests. “Mother.”

The Empress Dowager Wu was helped out by someone: “You are really capable, and you are all looking forward to my death!”

The other princes and princesses didn’t dare to stand, they all knelt down: “Don’t dare.”

“What are you afraid of?” Empress Dowager Wu was still angry. Empress Dowager Cui wanted to persuade Empress Dowager Wu, and called: “Mother…”

“Shut up!” The Queen Mother Wu scolded extremely rudely. Her chest rose and fell, and when she finally calmed down, she looked at Rong Ke and said, “Come with me.”

Rong Ke and Empress Dowager Cui both listed evidence, but Empress Dowager Wu only called Rong Ke. Empress Dowager Cui was scolded in the face of her head, and now she has been left on the air, her face is extremely ugly. He Jing wanted to follow in, but was stopped by the Queen Mother Wu: “You just wait outside.”

Rong Ke followed Empress Wu into the inner hall, and the people outside the hall looked at each other, all bowed their heads and fell into silence. Empress Dowager Cui stood tall with the gloomiest eyes.

The door of the bedroom was closed, and the Queen Mother Wu sat on the collapsed floor with the help of the palace maid. Rong Ke followed in front of the curtain and stopped: “What is the great-grandmother calling me?”

The Empress Dowager Wu sat on the collapse for a while and asked, “What you said is true?”

The Queen Mother Wu’s body has always been healthy, but now she seems to be aging overnight, and even her voice is old and hoarse. Rong Ke heard this and sighed, “Great-grandmother, didn’t you already guess it?”

The Empress Dowager Wu has lived to this day, and has spent most of her life ups and downs in the harem. I don’t know how many harem women have risen and collapsed. These methods of competing for favor and frame-up, Empress Dowager Wu can see it with just one glance. pretty close. Although Empress Dowager Wu stayed in the inner hall all the time, she didn’t miss anything about what happened outside. Just talking about the respective performances of Rong Ke and Empress Dowager Cui, Empress Dowager Wu could guess.

The Empress Dowager Wu was silent. She had been the supreme empress dowager for so many years. .

“You can get evidence from Empress Dowager Cui’s palace, so we still underestimate you. Cui’s organization is exhausted, but you can’t even look at your own palace. It’s really funny.” Empress Dowager Wu After laughing in a hoarse voice, he laughed for a while, and then his voice turned sharp, “When she did these things, you knew all about it? Otherwise, you wouldn’t take the plan and turn against the army at the last moment. I really raised it. Some good children and grandchildren, my daughter-in-law killed me with poison and wanted me to be tortured to death, while my great-granddaughter, who clearly found out everything, did not move forward, followed the trend, and ended up killing two birds with one stone. You are really promising! ”

Rong Ke paused for a long time before speaking slowly, breaking the silence of the room: “Grandma, in your heart, I am such a person? You have been devoted to Hejing and King Jiang An since you were a child, Those are your own flesh and blood, I know that I can’t fight it, so I don’t have extravagant hopes. But later, Xiang Hui almost killed me! You still favor Xiang Hui, is it in your heart, my life, even Xiang Hui Is this outsider better?”

The Queen Mother Wu wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Rong Ke: “I know you want to say that Xiang Hui is pregnant, and her child’s life is her life, so isn’t mine? If there is a difference, Rong Ke understands that since this is the case, I hope the great-grandmother will also write down the truth of winning the king and losing the bandit.”

Rong Ke turned around and left, obviously not wanting to stop. There was a bead curtain hanging outside the compartment. Rong Ke reached out and lifted the curtain, letting the bead curtain fall with a clatter.

The colorful glass beads collided left and right, making a crisp sound. Rong Ke’s figure was hidden behind the glass bead curtain and looked blurry.

“Great grandmother, after I learned that she poisoned you with diamond powder, I replaced the stone powder with ginseng powder.”

Rong Ke only said this, and then walked out without hesitation. Empress Wu’s heart was extremely complicated, and she asked in a hoarse voice: “Do you have to kill them all?”

Rong Ke had already reached the door, and there was Yin Xiaowei standing outside across a door. She said, “Great-grandmother, if I don’t kill them all, will they let me go?”

The Empress Dowager Wu was silent for a while, then closed her eyes, as if she had aged ten years: “I am old, and I can’t fight anymore. Will you be kind to peace after you? The only thing I can’t worry about is her.”

“I didn’t kill her that day, and I won’t do it again in the future.” Rong Ke said without looking back, “As long as she doesn’t get involved in other people’s affairs.”

After finishing speaking, Rong Ke pushed the door out.

The Empress Dowager Wu sat alone in the empty palace and sighed.

“Erlang, she is very similar to you, but she is more determined and firm than you. Your granddaughter has grown up so much, we are all old…”

As soon as Rong Ke came out, the Princess Hejing hurriedly ran in, for fear that Rong Ke would be unfavorable to Empress Wu. The others also gathered around the door of the hall, and when they saw Rong Ke coming out, they all looked at Rong Ke with scrutiny, and asked, “How is the queen mother?”

“Is mother okay? What did Feng Yu say?” After speaking, Empress Dowager Cui wanted to go inside, but Rong Ke stretched out her arm and stopped her.

“Queen Mother Cui, my great-grandmother said that I don’t want to see you again in the future.”

The Empress Dowager Cui was nervous. She and Rong Ke both showed evidence of each other’s poisoning, but Empress Dowager Wu refused to see her again. The meaning of this… Empress Dowager Cui suppressed her panic and forced a smile. Said: “Old people get angry easily when they are old. My mother must be angry. I can go in and talk to my mother…”

“The Queen Mother Cui.” Rong Ke’s eyes are beautiful in shape, smooth lines, clear and translucent, like the moon on ice, glass in the water, now these eyes are fixed on the Queen Mother Cui, and the voice is also slow It sounded, “Great-grandmother means that you don’t have to come in the future. She doesn’t dare to use your things now, and she doesn’t dare to take the medicine you brought.”

The Empress Dowager Cui’s face turned pale all of a sudden: “No, it’s not me! I really didn’t poison my mother! Let me in, I’ll tell my mother myself.”

Empress Dowager Wu’s chambermaid also stopped Empress Dowager Cui. When Empress Dowager Cui saw that Empress Dowager Wu turned to Rong Ke, her heart was cold. The panic in my heart only lasted for a few moments, and soon Empress Dowager Cui straightened her waist, raised her sleeves, and took out the empress dowager’s shelf: “Mother is blinded by you, and I have nothing to say. But I am not afraid of the shadow. Self-clearing, I have never done any of these things, and I am not afraid that you will frame it. I believe that there are people in the world who can distinguish right from wrong and know who is innocent and who is the murderer.”

“Okay. Since Empress Dowager Cui still doesn’t recognize it, then I have to tie a monkey on the road to the upper court and feed it diamond powder every day. I want to see it, a few months. Will it have symptoms similar to those of the great-grandmother after that?”

The Empress Dowager Cui turned pale, her eyes widened, and she stared at Rong Ke firmly. Rong Ke just smiled and left with the attendant.

The people from Dingyonghou’s mansion entered the palace to attend to illnesses, never expected to encounter such a thing. Wu Junru’s face was also a little reluctant, and her palms couldn’t stop sweating. She raised her head carefully to observe the reactions of the crowd, and halfway through her gaze, she met Xiao Jingduo’s gaze.

Xiao Jingduo’s eyes were extremely calm, so calm that it made people panic, he just glanced at it and retracted his gaze, turned and followed Rong Ke away from the Wude Hall. He has a straight back and looks slim and slender from behind. As a man, he can even look good in a red official uniform.

But such a person is her enemy.

The old lady watched such a farce and felt her heart pounding, she put her hand on the back of Wu Junru’s hand, and was taken aback: “What’s the matter? What’s wrong with your hand? so cold?”

When Princess Liang heard this, she turned her head and asked, “What happened to Mrs. Dingyong Hou? Are you scared?”

Hearing the voice, Princess Qi also said: “Isn’t it true, if what Gan Ning said is true, then this diamond powder is completely non-toxic and tasteless, mixed in medicine and rice, who can know But this method is still very vicious, it can make a person’s stomach pierce a hole and be tortured alive, it is really vicious! No one came up with it.”

“Yes, although diamonds are rarely used as jewelry, they can be found in jade-carved shops, and you can buy them after a few more visits. The price is still very low. If you use this method to harm People are really hard to guard against.” Princess Liang thought of the woman in her yard, and she was very concerned and secretly kept her mind. She never thought that there was such a way in the world. It seemed that she had to take more precautions after returning to the manor.

Eldest Princess Xin’an sneered when she heard these words: “Don’t worry, heaven is always there, no one who does evil will be spared! Keke, since she can find this bag of fans from the palace , and they changed it without knowing it. Obviously, they know a lot about these things. If they dare to murder the queen mother, I don’t know who gave them the courage! Look at them, these people can’t steal chicken and lose rice, and they all run away. but.”

Xin An alluded to Empress Dowager Cui. The East Palace family and Empress Dowager Cui have been at odds for a long time. Now that Empress Dowager Cui has been caught by Rong Ke for such a big omission, Xin’an is both happy and horrified. The happy thing is that Empress Dowager Cui also has today. If I didn’t come out, I was horrified… Rong Ke was able to pack things out of Empress Dowager Cui’s palace. The meaning behind this was also terrible.

The eldest princess Xin’an pointed at Sang and scolded Huai, but Wu Junru’s hand became colder. Mrs. Xiao looked at her in surprise: “What the **** is wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?”

“I’m fine.” Wu Junru smiled reluctantly, she glanced in the direction of the former, and thought to herself, what does this have to do with her? Anyway, it was all done by Empress Dowager Cui’s people.

The author has something to say: Small Theater:

【Wu Junru requested to form a team】

The Empress Dowager Cui thought about it: I agree.

[Queen Mother Cui added Rong Ke to the enemy team]

[Wu Junru requested that Xiao Jingduo be included in the enemy team, and double-kill by the way]

The Empress Dowager Cui thought about it: I agree.

[The system prompts you, please choose the enemy faction carefully]

Queen Mother Cui: I think it will work.

Wu Junru: I think it will work too.

System:  …

The principle that diamond powder poisoning causes stomach ulcers comes from Baidu. It is said that Italian nobles used this method to commit suicide in the 20th century, grinding diamonds or gems, and making themselves vomit blood and die… I don’t know if it’s true or not. I know, it’s true that noble people can play when they have money.

Squirrel, also known as Panmu turtle, is bitter and poisonous. According to records, if the bird is poisoned, it will numb and twitch and die; if the dog is poisoned, it will die in pain and heartbroken. If swallowed by mistake, it will make the limbs cramp. —- Taken from the original Materia Medica

The essence of gold is what the world calls diamond. —– Taken from Baopuzi