To Yi Qing, these relationships were far too complicated. No wonder cousins could marry in the old days. If you traced these relationships, it would seem that everyone in the world was a cousin to someone else.
Xiao Jinghan watched Yi Qing's reaction. "Forget it. Have something to eat first. Is Duke Xie really out of danger?"
"His life is no longer in jeopardy." Yi Qing frowned as she spoke. "Did you find all the people I asked you to?"
"They should all be in the Embroidered Uniform Guard by now." Xiao Jinghan had sent Deng Xiao to arrest them.
"Then let's go to the Embroidered Uniform Guard."
"Aren't you tired?" Xiao Jinghan looked at Yi Qing.
"I have some questions to ask."
"You suspect they poisoned Duke Xie?" Xiao Jinghan's face turned solemn.
Yi Qing looked at Xiao Jinghan. "I think you have a misunderstanding about poisons. Medicine can save lives or take them. Talking about toxicity without considering the dosage is just nonsense."
"You seem to be in high spirits." Xiao Jinghan put his arm around Yi Qing's waist.
"I'm so sleepy." Yi Qing immediately nestled into Xiao Jinghan's arms and pretended to be dead.
Deng Xiao had been in a foul mood lately. Ever since Xiao Jinghan returned, he had become Xiao Jinghan's errand boy, and there were so many things to do. The matter of the Ruyi Cakes wasn't completely settled yet, and now he had to be busy with the matter of the poor scholars' petition.
"How's the investigation on Xue Bozheng going?" Xiao Jinghan walked inside with Deng Xiao.
"I checked the files. After Xue Bozheng died, a new batch of jailers was hired in the Ministry of Justice prison. Those people are no longer in the capital." Deng Xiao found this matter quite interesting.
"It's also related to the Ministry of Justice."
"And I found out that when Duke Xie was young, he was sent on a mission to Japan. The late emperor thought the overseas fairy isles were in Japan, so he sent Duke Xie there in the name of an official mission to check." Deng Xiao said proudly.
After the turmoil caused by the deposed emperor, it was difficult to find out a lot of things. It was already quite an achievement to have found this much.
"Are you saying... Duke Xie might still be in contact with the Japanese?" Yi Qing was surprised.
"We can't confirm this yet." Deng Xiao didn't have direct evidence, so of course he couldn't accuse Duke Xie.
Yi Qing shook her head.
As they were talking, they had already reached the back courtyard.
The people Yi Qing had asked to be found didn't have any charges against them, and they were all related to Duke Xie, so they weren't put in the prison cells but were just locked up in a room in the back courtyard.
Even so, the three of them were terrified. Anyone who entered the Embroidered Uniform Guard would surely suffer.
"This is Fang Da, the steward of Duke Xie's mansion. He's in charge of taking care of Duke Xie's daily life. This is Doctor Niu, who takes Duke Xie's pulse, and this is Doctor Du, who often treats Duke Xie." Deng Xiao introduced them.
The three of them stood up and bowed.
"This is the medicine we found in Duke Xie's mansion." Deng Xiao picked up a box. There were three white porcelain jars in it.
"This is the Heart - Nourishing Pill I made for Duke Xie. He's been taking it for two years." Doctor Du quickly explained.
"I can testify to that." Doctor Niu nodded.
Yi Qing picked it up and smelled it. "Does Duke Xie take it every day?"
"Yes." Steward Fang nodded. "His Grace often felt chest tightness, but he's much better after taking this medicine."
"Are there any taboos for this medicine?" Yi Qing opened all three white porcelain jars. Two of them were already empty.
"Medicine is still medicine. You can't take too much. One pill a day is enough. Duke Xie would take a month's worth at a time." Doctor Du replied.
"When did Duke Xie pick up the medicine this month?" Yi Qing looked at the three porcelain jars.
"His Grace always asked me to pick up the medicine on the thirtieth of the month. He said it was inauspicious to do it at the beginning of the month." Steward Fang replied.
"The thirtieth?" Yi Qing smiled. "It's the eleventh today, and two jars are already empty." Yi Qing held up the two empty jars.
"That's impossible. When I served His Grace his medicine yesterday, only one jar was empty." Steward Fang was very sure.
"Did you serve His Grace his medicine today?"
Fang Da shook his head. "His Grace was going to Xihua Court today. He prepared everything himself this morning." As he said this, his expression changed slightly.
"Did you think of something?"
"Nothing..." The steward shook his head nervously.
He remembered one of Duke Xie's habits. When he faced a major event, Duke Xie would organize his own things himself, slowly and methodically, as if he was arranging everything properly.
"You'd better tell the truth." Deng Xiao looked at Fang Da. "You can't bear the charge of harming Duke Xie."
Fang Da was so scared by Deng Xiao that he knelt down. "His Grace had a habit. When he faced a major event, he would organize his own things himself. He got up very early today and even tidied up his own room."
Yi Qing and Xiao Jinghan exchanged a look. It seemed that Duke Xie knew something major was going to happen today.
"Doctor Du, did Duke Xie know he couldn't take too much of this medicine?" Yi Qing looked at Doctor Du.
Doctor Du was already panicking. "Of course he knew. All medicine has side effects, and this was specially prepared for His Grace, so I definitely explained it clearly."
"Are you saying Duke Xie took an overdose of the medicine himself?" Deng Xiao looked at Doctor Du.
Doctor Du was also so scared that he knelt down. "I really don't know. My medicine is fine."
"His medicine is fine. This medicine really can't be taken in large quantities. Ten pills at a time would be enough to kill Duke Xie." Yi Qing understood.
"Are you saying... Duke Xie did it on purpose?" Deng Xiao couldn't understand. "Why would Duke Xie do this?"
"What do you think?" Yi Qing rolled her eyes at Deng Xiao.
Deng Xiao cleared his throat awkwardly. "We need evidence for this."
"The evidence should be in the cause of Xue Bozheng's death. And what if the poor scholars' petition is successful?" Xiao Jinghan looked at Deng Xiao.
If the poor scholars' petition was successful, Duke Xie's prestige would be gone, and his later years would be in jeopardy.
Deng Xiao suddenly understood.
Yi Qing thought Duke Xie was really ruthless. He must have weighed the pros and cons. Only in this way could he die in his own glory.
These people were crazy in order to maintain their so - called honor.
It was already dark when they returned to the general's mansion from the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Despite her exhaustion, Yi Qing still went to check on Duke Xie's condition. His condition was stable, but it was still uncertain when he would wake up.
When the emperor heard about this, he was very shocked. Duke Xie had actually resorted to death to change the situation in order to maintain his reputation.
The queen knelt beside the emperor without saying a word. She knew there was nothing to say in this situation.
"Get up." The emperor waited for a long time, but the queen still didn't say anything.
Thinking about it, Duke Xie had to use such means to preserve his reputation because his power had been weakened too much over the years.
The queen hesitated for a moment and stood up. As long as she was still the queen, the Xie family still had a way out. If she angered the emperor, the Xie family would really be doomed.
"Do you resent me?" The emperor looked at the queen's docile appearance.
"Looking back, my family sent me into the palace just to leave a way out for the Xie family. There are no outstanding descendants of the Xie family in the literary world, so it's normal for the family to decline." The queen analyzed.
The emperor nodded. Even if the Xie family's power hadn't been weakened so much, once Duke Xie was gone, the Xie family would still fall apart. Sending Xie Yun into the palace was already the best choice for the Xie family.
As long as Xie Yun was still the queen, the Xie family still had two generations of opportunities.