Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 269's development was truly unexpected.
"Consort Du Kang?"

Wang Zuo was stunned.

His suspects included Huang Jin, an eunuch who had served the emperor since the time of the Prince of Xing.

However, he subconsciously ignored Consort Du Kang on the other side.

Those are the concubines in the imperial harem!

How could it be...?

"Wait a minute!"

"If Consort Du Kang colluded with the thieves..."

"The Li Yuan Society has all the information about His Majesty, so it couldn't be easier!"

Wang Zuo had previously speculated that the emperor's eunuchs included members of the Liyuan Society, which was the only way to obtain extremely accurate first-hand intelligence.

But this is not simple, after all, ordinary servants cannot access things like staying at the Tang Prince's Mansion or boating on the lake.

That's why he suspected Huang Jin.

However, he never considered that she might be a favored concubine who would serve him in bed.

The intelligence aspect is relatively easy to explain, but other aspects are unclear.

For example, how was Hu Sandao killed earlier?

Hu Sandao was a member of the Imperial Guard, guarding the outer gate of the imperial palace. He was not qualified to enter the inner palace or protect the emperor. He was always in the southern tour group, but he had no interaction with Consort Du Kang at all.

Moreover, the method of imperial death is so bizarre and difficult to guard against. Given the close relationship between Consort Du and His Majesty, why would she go to such great lengths to assassinate the emperor?
Unable to decipher the murder method, Wang Zuo was momentarily at a loss and appeared quite puzzled.

"Even concubines in the imperial harem have opportunities to commit crimes!"

Haiyue's gaze, however, was much more determined.

He had long since seen through the mystery of Hu Sandao's death.

It was less a killing technique and more a trick that was prepared in advance and then performed on stage.

It may seem impressive before it's exposed, but once you see through it, it's nothing at all.

"Yuan Tianzi" does not need to take direct action; he can remain a behind-the-scenes instigator without participating in the entire process.

This gave concubines like Lady Du the opportunity to commit crimes.

As long as she has trusted subordinates, she can collude with both insiders and outsiders.

"Consorts...consorts...the Renyin Palace Incident..."

Historically, the focus of attention regarding the Renyin Palace Coup was generally on the palace maids strangling each other, because the perpetrators were indeed palace maids, and their motives were clearly recorded. Due to Jiajing's long-term consumption of elixirs, he was suspicious, tyrannical, and capricious. Palace servants would be severely punished for even the slightest mistake, and more than two hundred palace servants were beaten to death.

As for the long-standing claim that "red lead pills" were made from the menstrual blood of palace maids, there is no direct evidence for this. Moreover, there are records of people taking these pills even after the Renyin Palace Coup. Even officials in the court and Emperor Muzong of Ming later took such pills. Therefore, it is unlikely that this incident directly led to the Renyin Palace Coup.

However, the main characters in the Renyin Palace Coup were not the palace maids.

The palace maids attempted to assassinate the emperor by putting a yellow silk cloth around his neck and pulling hard while he was asleep. But there should have been other eunuchs and palace maids inside the palace, and even more guards outside. Where were they?
Therefore, the most widely accepted view in the historical community is that Consort Wang Ning instigated the palace maids to commit treason. The concubine was the mastermind, and the palace maids were the executors. In addition, Consort Cao Duan, who served the emperor that night, even if she did not participate directly, must have had her palace staff bribed, which is why a group of palace maids sneaked into her palace and disappeared.

In the end, the Renyin Palace Coup concluded with the execution of Consort Wang Ning, Consort Cao Duan, and the palace maid who murdered the emperor.

That happened more than a decade later, but it also shows that the concubines in Jiajing's harem were no pushovers...

"what?"

While he was still pondering this, Zhu Houcong noticed that the pleasure boat hadn't moved and that Consort Du Kang had returned with her maid. He couldn't help but ask, "Why has my beloved consort returned?"

Consort Du Kang gracefully stepped forward, her cheeks slightly flushed, and lowered her head: "After boarding the ship, I felt even more unwell and had an unbearable urge to vomit. I have truly failed Your Majesty's expectations!"

"It's okay!"

Zhu Houcong gently raised his hand to support him, his eyes full of concern: "Should we summon the imperial physician?"

Consort Du's ears turned red, and her voice was barely audible: "Your Majesty... my period is already more than half a month late, and now this..."

Could it be that she is pregnant?

Zhu Houcong was taken aback at first, then his face lit up with joy: "Quickly summon the imperial physician to examine the pulse! If there is indeed pregnancy, I will reward him handsomely!"

This is not an act.

Zhu Houcong currently has only one son, Zhu Zaiji, the son of Consort Yan, who is the only male heir in the harem.

However, given the infant mortality rate, even if Zhu Zaiji were to turn one year old now, it wouldn't be safe; he would need to raise many more children.

If Consort Du Kang is indeed pregnant with the emperor's child, that would naturally be a great joy.

"Is Consort Kang pregnant?"

The two were not far apart, and Haiyue pricked up her ears, hearing everything clearly. Her expression darkened: 'This woman is highly suspicious!'

He suggested that they test the waters by taking everyone except Zhu Houcong and Lu Bing on board to the center of the lake.

That place is an artificially isolated environment, making it easy to trap someone like a turtle in a jar.

Feeling guilty, if "Yuan Tianzi" was indeed in the group, he would inevitably take some action.

Ever since.

Consort Du Kang voluntarily stepped down.

The situation was so rushed that even if the maidservants around her wanted to administer the medicine, there wouldn't have been enough time. It's possible that Consort Du herself suddenly fell ill. This could also be an accident.

Then, Consort Du Kang suddenly announced that she was pregnant...

If something were to happen to Zhu Houcong at the Tang Prince's residence, and his youngest son Zhu Zaiji in the Forbidden City were to die young, then Consort Du would be carrying the current emperor's posthumous child, who would have the right to inherit the throne.

Of course, the premise is a safe delivery, and the baby must be a boy.

But if that were the case, not only would Empress Dowager Jiang in the palace not want to welcome another foreign prince to inherit the throne and follow in Empress Dowager Zhang's footsteps, but even the current court officials would not want a new emperor and a new court, and who knows what kind of inside story there might be.

Of course, that's a matter for later; whether it's even feasible is anyone's guess until it's implemented.

But Du Kangpin, who was pregnant, undoubtedly had a motive!

However, for those unaware of the situation, this is undoubtedly great news.

Led by Haiyue, the group returned to the shore.

At first, Tang King Zhu Yuwen was somewhat puzzled, but upon hearing the news, he was overjoyed and exclaimed, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty! With a thriving lineage, the foundation of the nation will be forever secure. This is truly a blessing for the country and a fortune for all the people!"

"Ha ha!"

Zhu Houcong smiled brightly, but his gaze was fixed on Wang Zuo.

Their gazes met briefly before disappearing.

Zhu Houcong saw the bewilderment in Wang Zuo's eyes, and Wang Zuo saw the surprise and doubt in His Majesty's eyes; they remained silent.

"It's windy here, Your Majesty and Consort Kang, please move to another place!"

Zhu Yuwen quickly led the way, bringing everyone into the house. Just then, the Imperial Guards summoned the imperial physician. The white-haired old man knelt before the brocade stool and gently placed three fingers on Consort Du's wrist.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the old imperial physician frowned slightly, repeatedly probing the three pulse points (cun, guan, chi) with his fingertips, occasionally asking a few questions in a low voice.

"how?"

Zhu Houcong, filled with both suspicion and anticipation, finally couldn't hold back and asked the question.

The imperial physician caught a glimpse of the emperor clutching the hem of his dragon robe, pursed his lips, and hurriedly prostrated himself, saying, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! The Empress's pulse is smooth and strong, a very auspicious sign!"

Upon hearing this, Consort Du unconsciously touched her lower abdomen, tears of joy welling up in her eyes: "Your Majesty..."

"Good! Great!"

Emperor Zhu Houcong was overjoyed and personally helped the imperial physician up: "I will reward you with one hundred taels of silver! From now on, you must take good care of my beloved concubine. You will be richly rewarded when we return to the capital!"

Upon seeing this, Zhu Yuwen immediately led everyone in bowing again: "Heaven bless the Great Ming! Heaven bless the Great Ming!"

Only Haiyue noticed that when the imperial physician left, he wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

He immediately turned his head and winked at Yan Shifan and Tao Dianzhen.

'The pulse is unusual? This concerns the imperial heir…'

Yan Shifan also noticed this and was still hesitating, while Tao Dianzhen quietly retreated and silently left the house.

He caught up with the old imperial physician in a few quick steps, grabbed his collar, and dragged him to a corner.

"What are you doing?!"

Just as the old imperial physician was about to cry out in alarm, he saw Tao Dianzhen staring coldly at him: "Do you know that deceiving the emperor is punishable by the extermination of three generations of your family?"

The old imperial physician hesitated, but before he could speak, Tao Dianzhen continued, "Wealthy families in the common people often use the trick of faking a pregnancy pulse to win favor. As an imperial physician, you must know this, right? Was that person's pulse just now fake?"

The pulse of pregnancy is essentially a slippery pulse, characterized by a smooth and flowing pulse like pearls rolling on a jade plate. However, this pulse is not only seen in pregnant women, but also appears in cases of phlegm and dampness, food stagnation, fever, etc., providing a physiological basis for faking pregnancy.

This has led to methods for artificially inducing slippery pulses, such as drug interference, external stimulation, and even psychological suggestion.

Of course, truly skilled doctors can distinguish between genuine and false pulses when taking a pulse, especially imperial physicians. While there are instances of misdiagnosing a pregnancy pulse, they are indeed extremely rare.

The fact that the imperial physician hesitated to speak just now actually revealed some issues. Of course, as time went by and things settled down, he refused to admit it no matter what.

So you have to act quickly.

But now, as soon as he stepped out of the room, he was dragged aside. Faced with Tao Dianzhen's questioning, the old imperial physician trembled and slowly replied, "Consort Kang is indeed pregnant, but..."

"Just what?"

Tao Dianzhen said in a deep voice, "Speak freely, and do not deceive me, and you will be without fault!"

The imperial physician said in a low voice, "But Consort Kang is at most a month pregnant, and the signs of pregnancy should not be so obvious, which is why I hesitated..."

"Gone?"

"That's it! If you don't believe me, try having another imperial physician diagnose it; it will be the same..."

Watching the old imperial physician leave in a hurry, Tao Dianzhen's expression changed several times. He gritted his teeth and quickly returned to the room he had been in before.

At this moment, everyone had surrounded Consort Du Kang to congratulate her, their words full of flattery. Even Yan Shifan stepped forward to greet her.

After all, who knows if the child in her womb might be the future emperor? A mother's status rises with her son's, and this has always been the case, so one cannot rashly offend her.

In this situation, Tao Dianzhen came up behind her and whispered what the imperial physician had said. Haiyue's eyes flickered slightly: "The third coincidence!"

Too many coincidences mean they're no longer coincidences!

As she moved, Haiyue brushed past Wang Zuo, her clear voice reaching his ears: "Consort Du Kang is the leader of the secret society Liyuan Society—'Emperor Yuan,' who is pregnant with the Emperor's child!"

(End of this chapter)