Chapter 196 Perfume is poisonous
These are just Zhao Xing's guesses, and he is not sure whether they are true or not.
It's even more difficult for him to ask directly about this kind of thing.
If what Zhao Xing guessed was true, it meant that the Duke of Ying would support him in sending troops to Western Xia.
This is enough for Zhao Xing.
Although Zhao Xing had no intention of suppressing the Duke of Yingzhou's Mansion, he was also pleased that the Duke of Yingzhou himself was not greedy for power and knew when to advance and retreat.
…………
At noon, they had lunch at the Duke of England's mansion. Zhao Xing and Zhang Guifen got on the carriage, accompanied by the Duke of England's family.
Seeing that Zhang Guifen was in a bad mood, Zhao Xing held her hand and comforted her: "The Duke of Ying's Mansion and the Eastern Palace are not far away. If you miss your parents, you can come back often. You can also call your mother-in-law to the Eastern Palace to talk to you."
"Thank you, Your Highness!"
Zhang Guifen forced a smile upon hearing this, but things were not that easy. As the Crown Princess, running back home every few days was bound to attract criticism.
However, she was still very happy that Zhao Xing said so.
"Your Highness!"
When Zhao Xing returned to the East Palace, Liu Sanshi came up to him and whispered something in his ear.
Zhao Xing listened to it without any expression. He looked at Zhang Guifen and said, "You should go back first. I have some things to deal with."
"Yes!" Zhang Guifen bid farewell to Zhao Xing and left with the accompanying palace maids and eunuchs.
Watching Zhang Guifen go away, Zhao Xing's face darkened.
…………
Chaoyang Palace, Study
Zhao Xing glanced at the two small porcelain bottles on the table, then at the eunuch kneeling on the ground, and asked, "Did that person just ask you to give this to them? Didn't he say anything else?"
"Your Highness, he said this was a top-grade perfume and asked me to give it to two nobles. He didn't say anything else," said the eunuch.
The two noble ladies the eunuch was talking about were not Yu Yanran and the others, but the two sent by Prince Yan before.
The last time Prince Yan sent him a woman, he asked someone to check the palace maids and eunuchs who had contact with the East Palace and the outside world, and sure enough, a problematic eunuch was found.
It was this person who leaked the news that Sheng Shulan entered the Eastern Palace and Zhao Xing favored her.
Although Yu Yanran entered the palace earlier than Sheng Shulan and often slept with him, it was no secret in the Eastern Palace that Zhao Xing did not really favor Yu Yanran.
These palace maids and eunuchs would also gossip and chat in their spare time.
It was because King Yan received this news that he thought Zhao Xing liked divorced women, so he sent two women to him.
After finding out the person, Zhao Xing did not alert the enemy, but just had someone keep an eye on him.
Not to mention the Eastern Palace, even in the Imperial Palace, some things might spread out of the palace the moment they happened.
Prince Yan bribed someone from the Eastern Palace, which could be a big or small matter. Without sufficient evidence, we cannot touch him based on this alone.
"Have you checked what's inside?" Zhao Xing asked.
"I checked and found that it was filled with perfume. That's why I dared to bring it into the East Palace. Please spare my life, Your Highness!" The eunuch kowtowed and begged for mercy.
He had previously leaked information about the Eastern Palace, including bringing perfume into the palace, but he did not intend to murder Zhao Xing.
I just felt that this matter was insignificant, and I agreed to it because others promised me benefits.
This kind of thing is really nothing. The nobles, female officials and eunuchs in the palace sometimes find it inconvenient to leave the palace, so they will ask the people who go out of the palace to do shopping to take some things with them.
He still doesn't even know that the person who is looking for him is King Yan's man.
The man asked him to bring the perfume into the palace, so he naturally checked it and made sure it was okay before bringing it in.
Zhao Xing frowned slightly. Could it be that there is poison in the bottle?
But the eunuch said that he checked and it was just perfume, and there was nothing wrong with it.
Moreover, there are special people to test the food and drinks for poison, unless the poison is not taken orally but is caused by smell or contamination.
Thinking of this, Zhao Xing looked at Liu Sanshi.
"I checked it and it does contain perfume. I also had someone try to apply it and there was no problem," said Liu Sanshi.
"Take a bottle and go find a live chicken to feed it and try." Zhao Xing said.
Since Liu Sanshi had tried it, it meant that it was not through smell or contamination that people were poisoned. And the ancient technology was not that advanced.
Then there are only two possibilities, either these two bottles are ordinary perfumes, or they are poisonous.
However, this poison is taken orally.
If you apply it on your body during intimacy, there is indeed a possibility of poisoning.
Upon hearing this, Liu Sanshi took a bottle and hurried away.
After a while, Liu Sanshi came back with a pale face.
"Your Highness, I found a live chicken and fed it, but it died soon after." Liu Sanshi said.
Zhao Xing guessed something from Liu Sanshi's expression and sneered, "Great, so many people want to kill me!"
"Your Highness, please spare my life. I didn't know that perfume was poisonous." The eunuch almost fainted after hearing this. He banged his head against his head and became incontinent.
Zhao Xing frowned slightly and waved his hand. Liu Sanshi understood and quickly had him dragged out.
"Have someone clean it up."
After Zhao Xing finished speaking, he picked up another bottle on the table and walked out.
Arriving at the main hall, Zhao Xing sat down and began to think.
Now that we have evidence, we can definitely capture Prince Yan.
But he suddenly remembered that Li Ge had insisted on buying the perfume making formula.
Could it be that Yelu Chongyuan also wanted to poison the Liao emperor in a similar way?
If you think about it carefully, it seems possible.
The fact that Yelu Chongyuan paid such a huge price to get the secret recipe of perfume was itself full of wrongness.
With Yelu Chongyuan's identity, there are plenty of ways for him to make money. Even if it is for making money, it seems that the secret recipe for brewing wine is more valuable.
If we say that he wanted to use this method to assassinate the Liao emperor, that would make sense.
It is normal to pay any price for the throne.
If this is true, Zhao Xing should think carefully about whether or not to give the secret recipe of perfume to Yelu Chongyuan.
The current Liao emperor is only in his twenties, and his children are even younger.
If the Liao emperor died, Yelu Chongyuan would have a chance to ascend the throne, but the Liao would definitely be in chaos for a while.
Moreover, Yelu Chongyuan might not be able to control the situation and ascend the throne smoothly.
The rest of the Liao royal family would not obey him either.
Zhao Xing was a little hesitant for a moment, not knowing whether the death of the Liao emperor would be more beneficial to the Song Dynasty, or whether maintaining the current situation would be more beneficial to the Song Dynasty.
And these are just his guesses. Who knows whether Yelu Chongyuan wants the secret recipe of perfume because he really wants to murder the Liao emperor in this way.
After pondering for a long time, Zhao Xing made a decision and decided to take a gamble.
He remembered that Yelu Chongyuan had not succeeded in history. If it was really as he wished, he would be fine to give the secret recipe of perfume to Yelu Chongyuan.
If the Liao emperor really died, no matter who succeeded him, the Liao Dynasty would be in chaos for a long time.
However, there is no rush for this matter for now. We have to deal with King Yan first.
Thinking of this, Zhao Xing ordered his men to prepare a carriage and head to the palace with the perfume mixed with poison.
…………
Prince of Yan's Palace
Ever since Mr. Chu told him that the poison had been sent to the East Palace, he has been a little uneasy.
Prince Yan tried hard to calm himself down, but he couldn't control himself.
"Someone, go and invite Mr. Chu over." Prince Yan ordered.
(End of this chapter)