Painting Doctor Jinhua

Chapter 191 The identity of the spy, Xiao Jinyu's plan

As soon as he arrived at Zhaoyang Palace, Sima Maozong placed the silk, portrait, spear, and flag on the straw man neatly in front of Gao Zhan and said, "Your Majesty, this is the evidence we found in the Hejian Palace!"

Gao Zhan first glanced at the line of words on the silk, then looked at the portrait. When he saw this rough and simple portrait on the paper that could barely be considered a "person", he frowned.

"What did the River King say?"

Sima Maozong replied, "Your Majesty, Prince Hejian didn't say anything. It was Princess Hejian who said that this portrait was of his father, Emperor Wenxiang. Your Majesty often missed his father, so he painted this picture to express his feelings!"

After a moment's silence, he continued, "It was a concubine that King Hejian had taken in more than a month ago. She used this portrait and a small number of spears and flags to accuse King Hejian of rebellion!"

"But Minister Xie believes that this concubine has only been in the palace for a short time and is not favored. She has only been with King Hejian for three days. She has so confidently testified that King Hejian has the intention of rebellion. She must be instructed by someone and is suspected of being a spy from another country!"

"So, this woman is now being tortured and interrogated in the Dali Temple. I believe it won't take long for the truth to be revealed!"

Gao Zhan frowned, his expression somewhat uncertain.

Sima Maozong glanced at his expression and continued, "Minister Xie has punished King Hejian with 20 strokes of the cane on behalf of Your Majesty, and has confined King Hejian to his palace. He is not allowed to leave without an imperial decree!"

Gao Zhan then turned his gaze to "Xie Zhen" and asked, "Why did Mr. Xie confine him to his residence?"

Xiao Jinyu replied, "Your Majesty, there are still doubts about the King of Hejian. Before the truth is revealed, I dare not act on my own, so I have temporarily confined him to the palace. Please make your decision, Your Majesty!"

This answer made Gao Zhan's lips curl up with satisfaction, but He Shikai was anxious and said, "Your Majesty, Minister Xie is clearly protecting the King of Hejian. If he really has the intention of rebellion, can he be punished with twenty strokes of the cane?"

"Then according to what Yan Tong said, how should we resolve this matter?"

He Shikai sensed the displeasure in Gao Zhan's tone, and pursed his lips and said, "Your Majesty, the intention of rebellion, isn't it..."

Gao Zhan slammed the table and threw the silk cloth covered with words in front of He Shikai.

"Is this what you mean by treating a straw man as me? Yan Tong, you are acting more and more recklessly now, not taking me seriously. Do you think I am deaf and blind?"

"The matter of the King of Hejian has nothing to do with you now. I don't want to listen to any of your opinions anymore. Go down, and leave Xie Qing, Bi Shangshu, and Sima Qing here!"

He Shikai's face suddenly turned grim. This was the first time that Gao Zhan did not allow him to be by his side when discussing matters with the ministers. This was a terrible beginning for him, as it meant that the originally unbreakable trust between the two began to slowly disintegrate. However, he knew Gao Zhan's temper, and saying more would only make him more annoyed, so he said yes, lowered his head and left Zhaoyang Palace.

When he walked out, someone from the Dali Temple outside the hall handed a file to Sima Maozong.

Sima Maozong took a look at it with a look of surprise, and then handed it to the eunuch, who presented it to Gao Zhan.

After Gao Zhan finished reading it, his expression changed drastically several times, and he immediately slammed the table and stood up: "Go and bring Lu Lingxuan to me!"

"Yes!"

Before He Shikai walked out of the Qianghe Gate, he saw the eunuchs beside Gao Zhan hurriedly running out of the palace.

He became suspicious, so after walking out of the Zhuming Gate, he found a secluded place to stay. Sure enough, half an hour later, he waited for the eunuch to bring Lu Lingxuan into the Zhuming Gate.

Led by the eunuch, Lu Lingxuan walked straight into the Zhaoyang Palace without resting for a moment. As soon as she entered the palace, she saw Gao Zhan looking at her with a very unpleasant expression, and then he threw a file on the table in front of her.

"look by youself!"

Lu Lingxuan picked up the file and read the contents at a glance. Sima Maozong also said, "Chen was originally the daughter of Princess Yunyin of Chen State and Xiao Jian, who pretended to be a legitimate heir of the Xiao family by passing off a concubine as a legitimate heir. She was Xiao Rumeng. Later, she was expelled from the Xiao family by Xiao Xian, the young head of the Lanling Xiao family's Zhaoming branch, and was removed from the Xiao family tree. Therefore, she was renamed Chen Rumeng.

Chen Rumeng's father Xiao Jian and her mother Princess Yunyin died on the same day in the court of Chen State. Since then, Chen Rumeng has been wandering outside with her brother Xiao Yun. More than two months ago, Chen Rumeng was brought to our Qi State by her brother.

Her brother sold her to Fengyue Tower, but later, Lu Junjun found her and made her a spy under Lu Junjun. The main task of this spy was to seduce King Hejian and plant him in the King Hejian's mansion. The purpose was to frame King Hejian for today!"

Hearing this, Xiao Jinyu's heart was in turmoil. Just now in the Hejian Palace, she only felt that Chen looked somewhat familiar, but she did not recognize that she was Princess Yunyin's daughter Xiao Jiuniang, also known as Xiao Rumeng!

She still remembered the last time she saw Xiao Jiuniang. It was in March of this year. They had an argument over their mother's reputation on Jingyang Street in Jiankang, Chen State. At that time, Xiao Jiuniang was only about fourteen years old. She was still an arrogant and domineering aristocratic girl with bright eyes and white teeth. Unexpectedly, in less than a year, she had become unrecognizable even to her.

Xiao Jinyu carefully recalled Chen's appearance: her face was pale, her eyes were full of resentment, and she even had some of the dissolute temperament of a prostitute.

Just as Xiao Jinyu was distracted, Sima Maozong continued, "Speaking of which, this Chen Rumeng has a little connection with Lanling Wang's wife. Of course, it's not a blood relationship, nor is there any so-called family affection or favor, but this woman once worked with her mother Princess Yunyin to frame and hunt down Xiao Jinyu, the genius doctor who had not yet married Lanling Wang.

When she confessed, she said that she wanted to take revenge on Lanling Prince's wife Xiao Jinyu, so she agreed to Lady Lu's conditions and seduced Lanling Prince's brother Gao Xiaowan, in order to kill Gao Xiaowan with the help of His Majesty, thereby alienating the relationship between Lanling Prince and Xie Zhen.

In other words, he wanted to use this incident to disgust Princess Lanling!"

When Sima Maozong finished saying this, Gao Zhan's expression could be described as furious.

"Lu Lingxuan, do you have anything else to say?"

Lu Lingxuan restrained her expression, raised her head slightly and said, "Your Majesty, I did use this girl from the Chen family to train her as a spy. Sending her to the Hejian Palace was also a test for her. I didn't expect that she was so weak-willed. She confessed everything before I could even torture her. It seems that she is really not cut out to be a spy!"

As she spoke, she knelt down again and continued to explain, "However, although I hate Lanling King and Xie Zhen, I am doing this for Your Majesty. Xie Zhen is now in a high position and is a close minister to the emperor. If he gets close to Lanling King again, the civil officials and military generals will join forces and will definitely threaten Your Majesty's country!"

Xiao Jinyu snorted coldly and said with a smile:

"Lord Lu, you always say that others are a threat to His Majesty's kingdom. What about you? You and Minister He have been working together to control His Majesty and Qi's government. Haven't you used the Crown Prince to achieve your goal of taking over Gao's kingdom?"

"you--"

Seeing Lu Lingxuan so angry that her eyebrows were raised and her face turned purple, Bi Yiyun and Sima Maozong were stunned, especially Bi Yiqu, who had already started to wonder whether he should change sides!

Gao Zhan was getting impatient, so he waved his hand and said, "Okay, Lord Lu, stop talking. Minister Xie risked his life to save me. If you say he and Lanling King are plotting a rebellion together, I don't believe it. First, Gao Changgong is not an ambitious person, otherwise he wouldn't have given up Zheng from Xingyang and married a woman from the Southern Dynasty who is of no help to him. Second, Xie Zhen is the only one left in the family now, with no one to rely on. If you say he wants to revive the Xie family, I believe it, but if you want to usurp the throne, that's a joke!"

At this point, Gao Zhan's expression suddenly became serious, and he looked at Lu Lingxuan and said coldly, "It's you, Lu Lingxuan, is it because I gave you too much power that you can use the identity and power I gave you to do whatever you want!"

Lu Lingxuan was about to retort, but she heard him give an order: "From today on, you no longer have to manage my Qi State's secret spy organization. I will hand it over to Minister Xie to manage!"

Lu Lingxuan's expression suddenly changed!

"His Majesty!"

"Also, you repeatedly sent people to assassinate Lanling Wang and Xie Zhen, saying it was all for me. I am tired of hearing this now, and I don't want to listen to your so-called great principles anymore. From now on, you don't have to be the county lord anymore. Go back and reflect on the past!"

She was dismissed from her job with just one sentence?

Lu Lingxuan was stunned for a moment.

Bi Yiyun and Sima Maozong couldn't believe it, the former's eyes flickered and the latter couldn't help showing joy.

Lu Lingxuan, who was panicked and confused, shouted again, "Your Majesty!", but seeing that Gao Zhan was looking at her impatiently, she had to shut up, said yes, and retreated.

As soon as Lu Lingxuan left, Gao Zhan turned his gaze to "Xie Zhen", and then said to Sima Maozong and Bi Yiyun:

"Since the concubine of Prince Hejian named Chen has framed Princess Lanling many times, let's cut her into pieces and avenge Princess Lanling!"

Bi Yiyun and Sima Maozong were once again horrified: to cut a woman into pieces was the heaviest punishment, and even the bloodthirsty Emperor Wenxuan had never issued such an order.

"Yes! Your Majesty!"

The two were about to leave when Xiao Jinyu suddenly stopped them and said, "Wait, Your Majesty, Chen was also used by someone. I think she is just a woman, so there is no need to punish her so severely!"

Gao Zhan started laughing.

"Xie Qing is still too soft-hearted! Since he made a mistake, he should bear the consequences for his mistake. If he is not punished, these spies will become more rampant in the future.

We will treat her as a spy of the Zhou State, and give a warning to those Zhou State spies who intend to ambush our Qi State!"

Xiao Jinyu opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but Gao Zhan changed the subject and said, "However, since Xie Qing has asked for mercy, then let's execute him by beheading!"

After a pause, he looked at Sima Maozong and Bi Yiyun again:

"All of you go down! Xie Qing, please stay here. I have something to discuss with him in secret!"

Upon hearing the secret discussion, Bi Yiyun's eyes became even more surprised. He and Sima Maozong said "yes" in unison and left Zhaoyang Palace.

As soon as the two left, Zhaoyang Palace became unusually quiet.

Gao Zhan suddenly picked up the glowing Buddha tooth, stood up and walked into the main hall, looked at "Xie Zhen" and asked:

"According to your opinion, how should I deal with King Hejian?"

Xiao Jinyu's heart sank. It seemed that Gao Zhan's suspicion and fear of Gao Xiaowan did not disappear because of the evidence brought by Sima Maozong. It was just that there was not enough evidence to convict him!

"This Buddha tooth is really a treasure! My nephew often disobeys me because he is the legitimate son of Emperor Wenxiang. If I don't punish him, I'm afraid he will be ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth and be bewitched by others and do some stupid things!"

Xiao Jinyu pondered for a moment, then answered with a folded hand: "Since Your Majesty is worried about King Hejian, why not send him to guard the border town? At the same time, using other forces to weaken King Hejian's power can not only achieve a balance, but also prevent him from rebelling!"

"Oh? Then where do you think it would be appropriate to send him?"

Xiao Jinyu raised his head and said, "Your Majesty, although Zhou has agreed to negotiate and sign an alliance with Qi, it is common for the three countries to break alliances. Winter is approaching, and I am afraid that the Zhou army may suddenly attack the border of Qi. I think it is more appropriate to send King Hejian to garrison in Heyang.

Heyang is located on the Yellow River upstream of Luoyang, guarding the northwest gate of Luoyang. It is an extremely important town. Defending Heyang can play a good defensive role against the Zhou army's surprise attack on Luoyang!"

Gao Zhan's eyes suddenly lit up: "So Mr. Xie actually knows so much about military affairs? Yes, Heyang is indeed a major town in our Qi State. There are three cities built there: Beizhong City, Zhongtan City and Nancheng. Now Dugu Yongye is the acting minister in Heyang, so he can be used to keep an eye on Gao Xiaowan!"

After that, he looked at Xiao Jinyu again and said, "Your suggestion is quite good. I agree. I will issue an order tomorrow to order Gao Xiaowan to garrison in Heyang!"

"Dugu Yongye?" Xiao Jinyu murmured the name again, and the image of Gu Duluo flashed through her mind. She couldn't help but ask, "Is there any relationship between him and the great general of the Zhou Kingdom, Dugu Xin?"

Not expecting her to ask, Gao Zhan smiled and said, "It doesn't really matter. Dugu Yongye's surname wasn't Dugu originally. He lost his father when he was young and followed his mother to be adopted by the Dugu family. That's when he changed his surname to Dugu, but he can be considered a member of the Duhu clan!"

Xiao Jinyu pondered for a moment, and suddenly asked:

"Your Majesty, I heard that Dugu Xin has an eldest son imprisoned in Ye City. I wonder if Your Majesty would allow me to release him and use Dugu Luo as a chess piece?"

Gao Zhan hadn't thought of Dugu Luo for a while. But when he heard that this long-abandoned chess piece could still be used, Gao Zhan became very interested: "Oh, do you have any other ideas? How can we use Dugu Luo?"

Xiao Jinyu replied, "Now the Zhou Kingdom is also in constant internal strife. Although Yuwen Hu is all-powerful, he even wants to abolish the Eight Pillars of the State and turn them into empty positions without military power. This has made several warlords in the Zhou Kingdom very dissatisfied, and Dugu Xin is one of them. I want to use Dugu Luo to contain or win over Dugu Xin, or even let Dugu Xin work for my Qi Kingdom!

This plan may be a relatively long process. If Your Majesty is a trustworthy minister..."

"You don't have to say anything more. I believe in you. Just do it!" Gao Zhan interrupted, "Dugu Xin didn't want this son in the first place, and I didn't think of using him to accomplish anything. Since Xie Qing can still be used, I will just wait for the result!"

After a pause, he asked again, "However, how does Xie Qing know so much about the situation in Zhou Kingdom?"

This sudden question caught Xiao Jinyu off guard, but she quickly calmed down and answered:

"I captured a Qi spy who wanted to assassinate Lanling King in Yubi City. I learned some things about Zhou from this spy! And I was able to guess a little from the peace talks between me and Wei Xiaokuan!"

"The Qi spy who assassinated Lanling King?" Gao Zhan was surprised. "Why didn't you mention this before?"

Xiao Jinyu was silent for a moment before answering, "So the spy was also instructed by Lord Lu, and her family is still under Lord Lu's control. I want to save her family first, and then make her tell the truth!"

Gao Zhan's eyes flickered, and he seemed to be quite apologetic, thinking to himself: He must have thought that I have protected Lady Lu many times, so unless I can make it absolutely foolproof, he doesn't dare to believe that I can handle this matter impartially, right?

While I was thinking, I heard "Xie Zhen" say in a low and weak voice:

"Your Majesty, if there is nothing else, I will take my leave now!"

Awakened by this sentence, Gao Zhan realized that "Xie Zhen" had been standing in this hall for too long, so that his body, which had not yet recovered from his injuries, looked even weaker, so he hurriedly said: "Okay, then you should go back and have a good rest!"

"Taozhi, escort Minister Xie out of the palace, send him back!"

"Yes!"

Sending Liu Taozhi to see her off meant that he was monitoring or protecting her.

Xiao Jinyu did not refuse, and under the leadership of Liu Taozhi, she left the palace, got on a carriage, and soon returned to Prince Lanling's Mansion.

After Liu Taozhi left, Gao Yanzong rushed to Prince Lanling's Mansion anxiously and asked about Xiao Jinyu's situation.

Xiao Jinyu then told him everything that had happened in the hall.

Such a thrilling thing was explained very calmly under her explanation, as if a big problem was solved easily. People in the whole room, such as Princess Liyang and Madam Wei, were shocked. Gao Yanzong was overjoyed when he learned the result. He breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Xiao Jinyu with admiration in his eyes again.

"Fourth sister-in-law can truly be described as a rare genius in a century. It is the greatest blessing for fourth brother to marry you!" Gao Yanzong couldn't help but sigh.

Xiao Jinyu smiled, and then said solemnly: "Although King Hejian was sent to garrison in Heyang, Gao Zhan's fear of him will not disappear because of this. King Hejian still needs to be careful and not give anyone else any handles!"

"Okay, I've already told Third Brother about this. I believe that after this lesson, his temper should be more restrained."

After a pause, Xiao Jinyu said in a solemn tone,

"Also, before King Hejian goes to Heyang, we need to refine a batch of medicine as soon as possible and have him send it to Jinyang!"

"This is a secret, no one else can know it!"

"it is good!"

After everything was arranged, Xiao Jinyu suddenly stopped Gao Yanzong who was about to leave and asked him about Gao Xiaowan's concubine Chen.