Wu Zetian passed away.
At the beginning of the first year of the Shenlong era, she was removed from the throne. At the end of the first year, she passed away. The reign of the Empress came to an end this year.
The second year of the Shenlong era arrived. Although the Empress Dowager's funeral was not over, this was the first year after the new emperor ascended the throne. The court still held a grand celebration. The people of Chang 'an went out to celebrate the new year. As for the Empress … she had been completely forgotten by them. The people only cared about daily necessities. They did not care who would be in charge of the court for long.
In the palace, in the palace where Shangguan Wan 'er handled official business, Shangguan Wan' er had a cupboard in her sleeve. After dealing with a memorial, she turned her head and glanced at the two palace maids she had ordered to choose clothes for her, who were still chattering behind the screen. She couldn't help but laugh and say, "Alright, don't be so picky. Just take a man's robe."
Behind the screen, the two trusted palace maids were comparing sets of clothes. Hearing Wan 'er's words, they agreed and took a few more robes, trying to pick the most beautiful one. At this time, Yang Fan hurried in from outside. He cupped his hands to Wan 'er and said, "Greetings, Shangguan Zhao Rong."
"Ah! General Yang is here! "
Shanghai Wan 'er put down her brush and coughed. "I will discuss matters with General Yang. You can leave first."
The two palace maids quickly put down their clothes and retreated from behind the screen. They walked to Yang Fan's side and bowed to him. After the two left, Wan 'er walked to Yang Fan's side and helped him tidy up his clothes. She said sweetly, "How come you have time to come here today?"
Nowadays, Wan 'er often lived outside the palace. She was only on duty in the palace for one day out of five. She could often see her lover and daughter, so she was naturally calm when she saw Yang Fan. Yang Fan said, "His Majesty ordered ten thousand cavalrymen to choose a capable team to follow the emperor to Longqing Pool. I have just settled down and heard that you are going, so I came to see. "
Wan'er winked at him and smiled mischievously. "What are you looking at? It's not like I'm the one getting married. "As he said this, he couldn't help but feel a bit resentful.
People were greedy. At first, she only hoped that she could stay with her Langjun for a long time. She didn't care about anything else. Now that she could spend the rest of her life with her Langjun, she hoped that she could have a proper identity in the Yang family. It would be best if she could even hold a wedding that she had always regretted.
Yang Fan knew what she was thinking. He hugged her gently and said apologetically, "With the current situation, it's hard for us to get away. Sigh, who would have thought that with the death of the empress, the political situation of the world would become even more … "
Wan'er stretched out her hand and gently covered his mouth. She said, "Alright, I was just saying. Don't take it to heart. Did you come because you don't understand why His Majesty wants to go to Longqing Pool? "
Yang Fan said, "Yes, speaking of which, Longqing Pool is not a very prominent place in Chang 'an, but the Emperor has his eyes on that place. That's fine, but the Emperor is too grand this time. He wants to take the four white elephants in the palace gardens. The scale is even grander than a court meeting. Does the Emperor want to go for a walk in spring or do something else? I feel it's a bit strange. "
Wan'er looked towards the entrance of the hall and gently pulled Yang Fan to the side. She said in a low voice, "You haven't heard the rumor that Longqing Square has dragon energy?"
Yang Fan stilled and said in shock, "What? Longqing Square has dragon energy? "
In these days, all of Yang Fan's energy had been used to control Xian Zong and organize the internal affairs. One person's energy was limited, so he didn't pay much attention to the matters of the court, much less the rumors on the streets.
Other than having a few fixed eyes and ears in the court, Xian Zong did not have a specialized intelligence organization. Even with the power of the Tang dynasty, it was not enough to build an intelligence organization that covered the entire country.
Xian Zong's information sources mainly came from the members of Xian Zong who were spread across all trades. Most of these people did not know of the existence of the Succession Hall, but this did not stop them from gathering information from top to bottom when they needed it.
Usually, when the upper levels of Xian Zong wanted to pay attention to a certain area of information, they would order the people below to report the information when they had it, or order the people below to pay attention to the information during this period of time. It was impossible for the people below to report back to the higher levels when they heard any movement.
How long would the secret of the Succession Hall be kept secret, if these people, who were everywhere at the bottom, were allowed to report all sorts of news to their superiors every day, would find out, however stupid they were, that they were not merely scholars, not merely shop-assistants, not merely tenants, but that there was a very large organization above them?
Also, even if these people reported all kinds of information that they heard, saw, and even had no basis, like writing a diary every day, who would sort and choose? Even if the "Sky Observation Division" was expanded a hundred times, those people would not be able to handle it all.
But Wan 'er did not know too much about the inside story of Xian Zong. She was also careful and never asked Yang Fan about the details of Xian Zong. In her heart, she thought that Xian Zong was omnipotent and knew everything.
Yang Fan shook his head at Wan 'er and said, "I really do not know anything about this. What is it?"
Wan 'er said, "There are rumors in the streets that there is a Longqing Pool in Longqing Workshop. Longji, Longye, and Longfan live next to the Longqing Pool. When the five dragons gather in one place, the aura of a king will gather. There are also people who vividly said that they once saw a faint white dragon hovering above the Longqing Pond during heavy fog and heavy rain. "
Yang Fan's expression became serious.
Wan 'er said, "The Emperor used the excuse of going to the Longqing Pool to actually use his identity as a true dragon to suppress the dragon energy there. Taking the white elephant with him is the same reasoning. "
Saying this, Wan 'er couldn't help but laugh. "Isn't His Majesty currently favoring a few Buddhists? The saying that the Son of Heaven can suppress the dragon energy was said by that foreign monk Hui Fan. As for the white elephant stepping on the ground and the boat in the pool being able to destroy the feng shui of the place, it was said by the warlock Zheng Pusi. It is really absurd that the Son of Heaven actually believed it. "
Wan 'er said this and shook her head. She sighed. "A warlock actually became the head of the Imperial Secretariat, and a monk actually became the Chancellor of the Kingdom. Ai, no matter how absurd it is, it is nothing."
Yang Fan narrowed his eyes and said warily, "This treacherous rumor directly mentions the three princes of the Prince of Xiang's household. Would a commoner dare to make up such a rumor? Moreover, I live in Long Qing Square. Even if I didn't notice the rumor related to Long Qing Square, there are so many maids and servants going in and out of my mansion every day. How could they not hear anything? "
Wan 'er was also an intelligent person. When she heard this, she was startled. She said in surprise, "You mean …"
Yang Fan said, "The person who made up this rumor must have an ulterior motive. His goal is not to spread this rumor among the commoners, so I'm afraid that not many people among the commoners know about this rumor. This rumor was made up for the Emperor to hear."
Wan 'er's mind spun. She cried out involuntarily, "Ah! Could it be King Liang … "
Yang Fan said, "If someone in the court could report this rumor, it would not be able to escape your eyes and ears. If even you don't know where this rumor came from, then it must have bypassed the court and reached His Majesty's ears. Think about it. Who else but King Liang could enter and leave the palace at will, report to the Emperor, and avoid your eyes and ears?
Moreover, the Emperor consulted the foreign monk Hui Fan and the warlock Zheng Pusi. They seemed to agree with this rumor and even gave the Emperor ideas to solve it. They solemnly said that they would help the Son of Heaven suppress this dragon energy. And these two heterodox people just happen to be close to King Liang. Do you still need to say who all of this is pointing to? "
…
The five brothers were all seated in Li Chengqi's residence. After Wu Zetian passed away, Li Longji and the other two brothers returned to the capital to celebrate the new year. After the new year, they had to prepare the coffin for Wu Zetian's burial, so Li Longji and the other princes stayed in the capital.
The five brothers were already sixty to seventy percent drunk, so their words were somewhat unrestrained. Li Chengyi slammed his wine cup down heavily. "The palace has ordered us to prepare to receive the Son of Heaven. Ha! The Son of Heaven is our uncle. Have you ever heard of an elder paying a visit to a junior? Moreover, this elder is the current Son of Heaven. "
Li Longji twirled his wine cup and said playfully, "Second brother, you're wrong. The Emperor is here to tour Longqing Pool."
Li Chengyi said angrily, "Pah! Tour Longqing Pool? Does the Emperor even need to bring an elephant out for an outing? You brat, stop putting on an act. I know you have people in the palace. Hurry up and tell me, why did the Emperor come? "
Hearing Li Chengyi's words, Li Longye and Li Longfan became suspicious and looked at Li Longji curiously. Li Longji spread his hands. "I've already told father and big brother. You can ask big brother."
Li Chengqi sighed. "Don't force the third brother. Isn't it the same as why the Emperor came to Longqing Lane? On New Year's Day, the Emperor decreed that the Seventh Princess could open a mansion and get an official position. Do you still remember? "
Li Longfan said, "I do remember. But … big brother, what does this have to do with what we're talking about? "
Li Chengqi glared at him reproachfully and said, "You just don't have a brain. Now the Emperor's daughters have the same rights as Aunt Taiping. They all have the right to open a mansion and get an official position. What do you think Aunt Taiping is? If the Political Affairs Hall originally had one Prime Minister and suddenly there were seven, would there still be one Prime Minister? "
Li Chengqi looked at his brothers who seemed to be deep in thought. "The Emperor believed the slanderous words of scoundrels and has always been afraid of father and Miss Taiping. He took back father's military power and divided Aunt Taiping's power because he was guarding against us. As for now, he wants to visit Longqing Lane. It's even more ridiculous. It's said that someone reported to the Emperor that there's King's Qi in Longqing Lane. So the Emperor wants to use his true dragon body to suppress the King's Qi here. Haha … "
Li Longfan was furious. "If it weren't for father and aunt's help, if it weren't for us five brothers who risked our lives to serve him, would he be able to sit on the throne? Now he views us as his enemies. He's really a muddle-headed Emperor! "
"Fifth brother, be careful!" Li Longji said seriously. "Father said that it wasn't easy for me, Li Tang, to restore the empire. Now that the Wu family is still in power, no matter what the Emperor thinks, as descendants of Li Tang, we can't cause trouble to prevent outsiders from taking advantage of us. If the Emperor wants to step on the Dragon's Qi, let him. In front of the Emperor, you must not show any resentment. "
Li Longye rolled his eyes and asked word by word, "What if the Emperor's wariness doesn't stop there? What do you think he'll do next? "
Li Longji was silent for a moment. He raised his wine cup and drank it in one gulp. He then slammed the cup heavily on the table. His pair of heroic eyes faintly revealed a murderous aura. His voice faintly carried the sound of metal and stone. He said, "Block soldiers with arms and water with earth!"
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