20demayo Chapter 778 Shu Yan Again
Chapter 778 Shu Yan Again
At this time, Shang Hong was also called to the side hall. Jiang Fenghua asked Hong Xiu, "Is it safe to talk here?"
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. The people brought by Lian Ye are all our elders." This means that the people Lin Yu brought into the palace are not the people in the palace. They no longer trust anyone in the palace. They have also placed their own people in secret to protect the little prince and princess, and they are on guard all day long for fear that something might go wrong.
Shang Hong bowed to the Queen and said, "The reason why Her Majesty asked Lord Zhang to bring Cheng Zhong into the palace is because he was actually the murderer who killed Xiao Shunzi."
Jiang Fenghua stared at Shang Hong with deep eyes. Who does he belong to? Are the royal guards in the palace really safe?
"Is Concubine Lan okay?" Jiang Fenghua suddenly said.
Shang Hong was stunned. He looked around unconsciously. His pupils changed color and he stuttered, "Mother... Why did the Queen suddenly ask about Lan'er?"
Jiang Fenghua clenched her hands slightly in her sleeves. When she saw Shang Hong's expression, she became more and more uneasy, because she could tell from Shang Hong's face that Helan Yanran was "not well".
She remained calm and smiled, "I just want to go see her and know if the baby in her belly is healthy."
This was why she asked Zhang Anyu to come to the palace to help her, because she suddenly distrusted Shang Hong. She had to doubt him, or even anyone. The safety of the palace was in Shang Hong's hands, and he was most likely to be the first to rebel. The Shang family was the confidant of the late emperor, and Shang Hong was promoted by the late emperor. Xie Shang had only come here to comply with the late emperor's arrangement. If Shang Hong was loyal, he could continue to be the commander of the Imperial Guards. It was that simple.
But someone has a handle on him, which can be used by her or by others. His secret can be secretly discovered by Aoxue and can also be known by others.
Shang Hong knelt on the ground, sweating all over, "The child is fine, thank you for your concern, Madam."
Jiang Fenghua's eyes revealed an unfathomable expression, and she spoke to herself, "I helped you escape from the palace at the beginning. I don't know if I did anything wrong, because Madam Helan has troubled me many times, thinking that I killed her daughter. I helped you conceal it under pressure, but I don't know how long I can conceal it."
"Forget it, I won't chat with Lord Shang about the past. The most important thing now is to interrogate Butler Cheng to find out whether he killed the person. This is a headache for me. He keeps reminding me of his help in the past. But human feelings are human feelings. If he really killed someone, I can't save him!"
Jiang Fenghua looked very embarrassed, "When in Prince Heng's Mansion, it was Steward Cheng who took care of the emperor. The emperor was very grateful to him. However, he had a conflict with a young eunuch over some medicinal herbs and killed someone in anger. It's just some medicinal herbs. He can let Steward Cheng take back as much as he wants." What he meant was that Steward Cheng didn't kill people because of the medicinal herbs. What is the truth behind this?
Shang Hong just felt his throat tighten. The Queen Mother had been so kind to him and Lan'er, and the Emperor had been so kind to Shang Hong. If the Queen and the Emperor were both controlled by others, Shang Hong and Lan'er would be doomed.
"Empress..." Shang Hong blurted out.
Jiang Fenghua remained calm and waited for Shang Hong to speak. Shang Hong must register for Butler Cheng's entry and exit of the palace. Without Shang Hong's permission, Butler Cheng could not enter.
Shang Hong said: "Lan Er is missing. The kidnappers left a note saying that if you want Concubine Lan and her baby to be safe, you must listen to them."
Jiang Fenghua frowned, she knew that now was not the time to blame or get angry, the most important thing was to resolve this crisis, perhaps the danger was right beside them.
She then asked, "When did it happen and what did they ask you to do?"
"Lan'er disappeared before the Lantern Festival. They asked me to help Cheng Zhong plant a killer in the palace and continue to wait for their news." Shang Hong checked the people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and found out that Cheng Zhong, the father of Cheng Zongguan, had a conflict with Xiao Shunzi. He didn't know at the time whether he should tell the queen the news or even identify Cheng Zongguan's father. He even thought that Xiao Shunzi's death was not that simple.
Unexpectedly, the Queen let Zhang Anyu bring Cheng Zhong into the palace so soon. If Cheng Zhong confessed that he had turned a blind eye, he would not be able to explain himself.
Jiang Fenghua was puzzled. "You are the commander who guards the safety of the imperial city. If they want you to release assassins into the palace, you can do it alone. Why do they want you to help Cheng Zhong plant assassins? Isn't this unnecessary?"
Shang Hong said, "The other party is very careful and has not shown his face. From what I have, I only know that the person was brought in by Cheng Zhong. Even after entering the palace, I don't know who the killer is. In fact, the palace has long been unsafe. Everyone is suspicious."
"How many imperial guards are there in the imperial city? Are there killers among them?" Jiang Fenghua asked.
"Maybe. There are 5,000 people stationed in the palace alone, plus more than 10,000 in the camp. The rest are emergency reserve troops. There are also guards who are not under my command. Their number is not as large as the Imperial Guards." Shang Hong added: "I heard that Ye Ying is missing. He is the leader of the guards. If he wants to mobilize the guards, the safety of the palace will be worrying."
Jiang Fenghua thought that there was a group of secret guards in the palace. They were the elite force cultivated by Xie Shang. In this way, both the Imperial Guards and the Royal Guards might have spies. Could there be traitors among those secret guards who rarely appeared and did not even have names but only code names?
If anything happens in the palace, that group of people will be her backup.
Shang Hong saw that the Queen didn't say anything, and also saw her calm and composed demeanor. He didn't expect that the frail Queen could be so calm.
Now the emperor is not in the palace, the enemy is in the dark and we are in the light. The other side has not made any move, and they don’t even know where to put the strength to fight back.
Jiang Fenghua said, "The other party knows that Helan Yanran was once the Imperial Concubine Lan, and also knows about you and him. These are definitely not coincidences. The only people in the palace who know about you and Imperial Concubine Lan are me, Nanny Wang, and Aoxue. I believe they didn't tell anyone. Who else might know about your relationship?"
Shang Hong said: "Shu Ronghua, she once went to Lan'er's palace to threaten Lan'er, but Shu Ronghua didn't know it was me, and there was no actual evidence. It was just a guess that she had been deceiving Lan'er."
Jiang Fenghua said: "It's Shu Yan again."
Shang Hong now regrets not killing Shu Yan, and they also don't want to cause trouble.
Jiang Fenghua said: "Have I guessed who told others about your affairs?"
Shang Hong said: "Who is it?"
"Concubine Chang, she seems to be non-competitive and calm in the palace, but in fact, she knows everything about everyone and everything in the palace." The only person Jiang Fenghua could think of at this time was Concubine Chang. She had always found it strange, but it would not be strange if she changed her way of thinking.
She was not shocked that Tiffany Ritian and Shulang admitted their affair so quickly. Now that she thought about it, it turned out that someone had been trying to make them think that way.