Princess Taiping trusted Yang Fan's promise unconditionally. Although she did not know that Yang Fan had great power, she believed in Yang Fan's wisdom and his steadiness in handling matters. For so many years, Yang Fan had traveled far and wide and had indeed accomplished several great things. He had always been courageous, resourceful, and experienced in handling matters. Since he said that he was already preparing, Princess Taiping restrained her temper.
Yang Fan had indeed started to lay out the plan. He had used similar methods in the past. Although the purpose of the matter was different, the specific methods were also different, but the basic pattern was the same: deceiving people and deceiving people to make mistakes! This trick was like some of the tricks used by officials in the officialdom. After hundreds of thousands of years, there were actually only a few tricks. But when dealing with superiors and colleagues, it would always be effective.
Yang Fan found out that Zhang Changzong's mother, Lady Liu, worshiped Taoism, so he sent a man named Li Hongtai to disguise himself as a Taoist priest. He first went to the Taoist temple that Lady Liu often went to, and when Lady Liu came to offer incense, he took the opportunity to approach her. As soon as they met, Li Hongtai pretended to be surprised and called Lady Liu as a noble person.
Lady Liu was naturally curious. She originally believed in ghosts and gods. When she asked this Taoist priest, everything was strangely accurate. This Lady Liu immediately regarded this Taoist priest as a living immortal.
With all kinds of information about the Zhang family that Yang Fan had inquired about in advance, plus Li Hongtai was good at reading people's expressions and had a silver tongue, it was naturally easy to fool a woman like Lady Liu. Lady Liu believed in Taoist priest Li, so she had to spread the news to her close friends and relatives. Soon, even Zhang Yizhi's mother, Lady Azang, also became his believer.
Zhang Changzong and Zhang Yizhi were very filial. Every few days, they would leave the palace to visit their mother. Mrs. Liu only had one son. She also knew some news about her son's impeachment. Now that there was such a living god around, Mrs. Liu naturally wanted her son to meet him and ask the living god to give him some advice.
Zhang Changzong didn't really believe it at first, but Li Hongtai's divination for Zhang Changzong was all accurate. Many of the things that had happened in the Palace, some of which had happened the day before and could not have spread to the outside world so quickly, were all clearly known to Li Hongtai. Furthermore, the things that Li Hongtai predicted would happen to Zhang Changzong nine times out of ten. Zhang Changzong's attitude naturally changed greatly. He regarded Li Hongtai as a highly skilled Zhenren.
Li Hongtai skillfully used some tricks to create a camouflage spell to fool the mother and son. As for physiognomy, there was Wan'er in the Palace, and outside the Palace, there were Xian Zong's people spying and cooperating. Naturally, Taoist Li's physiognomy was not unreliable. Gradually, Zhang Changzong revered this Taoist Li like a god. Once he left the Palace, he would definitely bring him with him.
In the autumn of that year, Moche released Wu Yanxiu.
Moche had detained Wu Yanxiu in the hopes that she would be a rare commodity, but in the end, Wu Yanxiu had not been of any use. Especially after Wu Chengsi died, no one cared about his son, who had been detained on the grasslands. Moche fed and drank well to raise such a piece of trash, but he had no effect on the Zhou Dynasty.
After Wu Zetian moved the capital to Chang 'an, he successfully defeated the combined attack of the Tubo and Turks. At present, the Tubo King was young, the princes had not given up on their evil intentions, and the Tubo was in constant internal strife. They had no time to pay attention to the outside. After Wuzhile became the Turkic cavalry Shihan, he continued to cause trouble behind Moche's back. Moche could no longer rely on his mobile troops to deal with Wuzhile's harassment.
Under these circumstances, he was powerless to expand into the Central Plains. Moche adjusted his strategy in time and decided to use the power of the entire country to expand westward. As a result, even though the marriage did not succeed, Moche still took the initiative to form an alliance with the Zhou Dynasty. Both sides stopped fighting and mobilized a large number of troops from the southern borders to march westward. And under this background, Wu Yanxiu was released back to the country.
Since ancient times, whenever there was a marriage between the Zhou Dynasty and the Turks, it was the groom, Wu Yanxiu, who personally escorted the bride to the court of the Turkic Khaganate. This was a first in the history of marriage. In the end, this grandnephew of Wu Zetian was detained by Moche. Wu Zetian bowed and smiled, but was still slapped. It was truly a loss of face.
Now that Wu Yanxiu had returned, it was equivalent to reminding others of the humiliation the Empress had once suffered. Naturally, Wu Zetian was not happy with the appearance of this grandnephew. As a result, in the name of betraying the Emperor's grace, he demoted this grandnephew who had been wandering in a foreign land for six years.
Before Wu Yanxiu went to the Turks to escort the bride, he was the Commandery Prince of Huaiyang. After returning, he was demoted to the title of Duke Huan. This incited the indignation of the Wu Clan. In truth, Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi had always been fiercely at odds with each other in the Wu Clan. Moreover, before Wu Chengsi's illness, Wu Chengsi's faction had always suppressed Wu Sansi's influence in the imperial court. The two sides had no friendship to speak of.
But after Wu Chengsi's death, this kind of internal strife no longer existed. On the contrary, because of the second Zhang's rise and the oppression of the Wu Clan, the Wu Clan was now unprecedentedly united. Now that Wu Yanxiu had received such unfair treatment, as the representative of the Wu Clan, Wu Sansi naturally felt ashamed.
As a result, in order to regain some face for the Wu Clan, Wu Sansi specially held a grand welcoming banquet to welcome his nephew who had been stranded in the Turkic Khaganate for six years. All the civil and military officials of the imperial court received invitations from the Liang Household, including Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong. This was also a disguised demonstration of Wu Sansi's might.
In a Daoist temple, Yang Fan instructed Li Hongtai, who was dressed like a Daoist, "Zhang Yizhi is much more astute than Zhang Changzong, and he understands the severity of the situation. I'm afraid that he will ruin our plans. We cannot allow him to participate in the banquet. We have to think of a way to send him away."
Li Hongtai thought for a moment, then suggested, "Zhang Yizhi is a very filial person. This subordinate can use Madam Ah Zang to restrain Zhang Yizhi. If he hears that Madam Ah Zang is in trouble, Zhang Yizhi will definitely not attend King Liang's banquet. "
Yang Fan nodded and said, "That would be best. After you make a public appearance at the banquet, immediately find an excuse and disappear. Remember, do not let the second Zhang become suspicious. "
Li Hongtai smiled and replied with a bow, "This subordinate understands! After this subordinate attends the banquet, I will say that I will go to Kunlun to look for my fellow Daoists. It will take me three to five years to return. Madam Liu has always treated this subordinate like a deity, so she will not suspect anything. "
Yang Fan nodded and smiled lightly.
…
The welcoming banquet that the Wu clan was holding for Wu Yanxiu was held at the Liang Household. King Liang's actions were like those of the head of the Wu clan who cared deeply for his nephew. For this reason, he won the gratitude and approval of many of Wu Chengsi's former subordinates.
Other than entering the palace on the first day of the new year to see the Son of Heaven, there was probably no banquet as grand and grand as the one being held at the Liang Household. The Wu clan and the officials attached to the Wu clan naturally had to come. The Crown Prince, the Prince of Xiang, and Princess Taiping, the three factions of Li Tang's faction, had also arrived.
There was no other reason than that their common enemy was the second Zhang. At this time, they naturally had to stand and cheer for the Wu clan. However, the Crown Prince, the Prince of Xiang, and Princess Taiping did not personally come. Given their status, they had only sent a generous gift and had the juniors of their clans attend the banquet in their stead.
Not a single person from the second Zhang's faction came. This was a stance, but the second Zhang himself had to come. Their presence at the banquet did not mean that they were lowering their heads to the Wu clan. On the contrary, it was a demonstration of their might to the Wu clan.
Yang Fan rode his horse to the gate of the Liang Household. Pulling on the reins, he raised his head to look at the three impressive words' Liang Household 'on the lintel. This was his first time visiting this place.
There was an endless stream of horses and carriages in front of the Liang Manor's gates. High officials and dignitaries flowed in and out without end. Yang Fan dismounted from his horse and walked towards the gates. Two stewards of the Liang Manor stood at the entrance, continuously calling out the guests' names. Guests of different statuses were welcomed by their respective masters.
Yang Fan walked up to the gate and ascended the steps. One of the stewards of the Liang Household was just about to ask for his name and official rank when his eyes suddenly brightened. He walked around him and hurried to welcome him, at the same time loudly calling out, "The Prince of Hanoi has arrived …"
Wu Yizong roared with laughter and proudly said, "Go, go welcome your guest. This prince is one of our own, there is no need for brother Wang to come out and welcome me. "
As Wu Yizong spoke, he walked over to the gate. The high officials and nobles who had just arrived all cupped their hands in greeting. Wu Yizong nodded in a reserved manner. Yang Fan turned around and looked at Wu Yizong with a smile. As soon as Wu Yizong saw Yang Fan, his expression immediately changed, and his smile disappeared.
Yang Fan cupped his hands in greeting towards Wu Yizong. He was originally a head taller than Wu Yizong, and now that he was a rank higher, Wu Yizong could only raise his head to look at him. This made Wu Yizong even more displeased. With a cold snort, he swung his sleeves forcefully and walked past Yang Fan into the Liang Household without looking sideways.
Yang Fan was neither annoyed nor annoyed. He turned around and said to the butler, "Thousand Cavalry Loyal General Yang Fan is here to welcome you to the banquet." As he spoke, he handed the invitation to the butler.
The butler had never seen Yang Fan before, but when he saw Wu Yizong's unfriendly expression towards Yang Fan, he couldn't help but feel curious about his identity. Yang Fan's self-introduction gave the butler a fright. He thought to himself, "So this is the person who slept with my Wu clan's daughter-in-law, beat up my Wu clan's king, and is still alive and kicking."
The King of Hanoi, Wu Youji, had slept with someone else, yet he had remained unperturbed. The King of Hanoi, Wu Youji, had been so frightened by this person's assault on the camp that he had scurried up a tree. When he saw this person's face, he only snorted coldly. Now that this person had become a guest of King Liang, the butler naturally didn't dare show him any ill will.
The butler examined the invitation and called out loudly, "Thousand Cavalry Loyal General Yang Fan … has arrived!"
Wu Sansi's eldest and second sons were already married and had their own manors. His third son, Chonglie, fourth son, and fifth son, Chongcao, were still living in the Liang Manor because they were still underage. As soon as he heard that the Thousand Cavalry Loyal General had arrived, the youngest, Wu Chongcao, tidied up his clothes and walked out to welcome him.
When Yang Fan saw the young prince of the Liang Manor come out to welcome him, he was just about to cup his hands in thanks when a strange cry of surprise came from behind him. Yang Fan turned his head in surprise and saw a gorgeous carriage parked in front of the Liang Manor. Wu Chongxun was standing in front of the carriage, his arm outstretched, helping a graceful beauty down.
The beautiful woman Wu Chongxun was supporting was naturally Li Guo 'er. When this thought flashed through Yang Fan's mind, he turned around to enter the manor. He didn't like An Le's personality, but he didn't want to argue with her even more. And this woman's annoying habit was precisely that she didn't care about the occasion.
But when he saw Li Guo 'er's attire, he couldn't help but be startled and also stopped.
Li Guo 'er leisurely got off the carriage, the dress she was wearing reflecting a rainbow glow under the sunlight with her graceful and moving gait. The glow was shimmering, sometimes purple, sometimes red, and sometimes different colors. This kind of feather dress was enough to attract everyone's attention, let alone when it was worn by such an outstanding beauty.
When Yang Fan saw it, he was suspicious and asked, "Strange! Why is my family's feather dress on her? "
When Yang Fan looked again, he found that there was something different. The monofilament bird cage dress in his manor was not only woven from the feathers of a hundred birds, but it was also pieced together from all kinds of feathers to form a picture of a hundred birds. The smallest picture of a bird was only the size of a fingernail, but it had all the features of a bird.
That feather dress was rare. First, the material was rare. Without a year and a half of effort, it would be difficult to gather all the feathers of a hundred birds. Second, the weaver was rare. To weave a picture of a hundred birds from the feathers of a hundred birds was even more difficult than embroidering a dragon robe, and it required a year or two of meticulous effort. But although the feather dress Li Guo 'er wore was made from the same material as the one in the Yang Manor, it didn't have such a complicated picture of a hundred birds.
At this time, Li Guo 'er also saw Yang Fan. She raised her sharp chin and raised her slender eyebrows. Her delicate face immediately revealed a proud and enchanting smile.
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