Li Longji's seemingly ordinary words, but in the ears of Yang Fan, who was harboring a great secret, he immediately sensed something different. He immediately realized that Li Longji had sensed something, but how had he sensed it? In a flash, Yang Fan realized that he had neglected far too many things recently.
He recalled that Wan'er had once told him that when the Prince of Xiang was in the Eastern Palace, Gao Lishi was the eunuch in charge of the Eastern Palace and had an extremely good relationship with Li San Lang. The two would often play cuju together. He recalled that when he boarded the ship today, he had seen Gao Lishi and Li Longji speak. Although the two had only spoken for a few moments, their expressions were those of people who knew each other very well.
He had either heard or seen these things, but he had never deeply pondered them.
A person's energy was limited. No matter how energetic or intelligent a person was, it was impossible for them to take care of everything. He had been too focused on officialdom, resulting in one problem after another within the Illustrious Sect. Now that he was so focused on dealing with the internal strife, he had overlooked the clues that were happening right next to him in the Imperial Court.
In terms of intelligence and alertness, he was not below Shen Mu, but he could not be as single-minded as Shen Mu. His affairs were far too complicated. The army, the officialdom, the Illustrious Sect … he had to do his utmost to deal with all of them, but how could it be easy to grasp everything in one's hands? If he was not careful, no matter how many great rivers and waves he had traversed, he would still find it hard to avoid capsizing in the gutter.
It wasn't until he heard Li Longji's words that he suddenly thought of many things that he should have paid attention to, but had overlooked, that he suddenly realized something.
Before and after the Divine Dragon Coup, Gao Lishi had participated in far too many matters as one of Wan'er's trusted aides. He knew a little about Yang Fan's strength and conduct. Gao Lishi himself would not have noticed anything from these clues, but if he had told Li Longji, given Li San Lang's intelligence …
Just as Yang Fan thought this, Maqiao rushed over and urgently said, "Great General, the Son of Heaven has summoned you!"
Yang Fan rushed to the cabin and saw the emperor and empress sitting in the center with gloomy expressions. The Prince of Xiang, Prince Liang, and the others were seated to the left and right, all of them wearing strange expressions.
Yang Fan did not know what was going on and hurriedly went forward to pay his respects to the Son of Heaven. With a cold expression, Li Xian ordered: "Yang Fan, immediately mobilize a group of men, accompanied by Wu Yanxiu, to capture Wan Nian County Magistrate Zhou Xiang!"
Yang Fan was stunned. Arresting officials? Why didn't they use the people of the Three Law Divisions to capture an official? Why did they send ten thousand cavalry instead?
With a cold countenance Wu Sansi of the Liang said, "Yang Fan, the Yulin General Wang Tongjiao has colluded with a group of rebels, trying to take advantage of the Great Sage Empress Wei Zetian's funeral to murder the Empress and Ben Wang. Fortunately the righteous Song Tan reported this to us. Right now Wu Chongxun, Yao Shaozhi, Li Chengjia and the others have separately led their men to arrest Wang Tongjiao and his accomplices. You're in charge of one of the routes, capture Wan Nian County Magistrate Zhou Xiang. Remember, try to catch them alive. "
Empress Wei's face was ashen as she shouted: "Go!"
Yang Fan did not dare to tarry. He hastily received the imperial edict and left with Wu Yanxiu.
When Song Tan reported this matter to Wu Sansi, Wu Sansi was both shocked and angry. He immediately wanted to complain to the Emperor. However, he had a second thought. Wang Tongjiao was the Emperor's son-in-law. If he only said that Wang Tongjiao wanted to kill him, he might not be able to put Wang Tongjiao to death.
Wu Sansi suddenly had a bright idea. He turned around and enlightened Song Tan. Song Tan was a scholar, so his mind was flexible. As soon as he heard Wu Sansi's words, he understood Wu Sansi's intention. He immediately 'acted' according to Wu Sansi's words. Wu Sansi was very satisfied. Only then did he lead him to see Li Xian and Empress Wei.
When Song Tan told them that Wang Tongjiao wanted to assassinate Empress Wei and King Liang, Madam Wei was so angry that her hair stood up in anger. "This ingrate son-in-law actually wants to kill his mother-in-law?" Empress Wei flew into a rage and immediately ordered Li Xian to send people to arrest them.
When Song Tan complained, Zhang Zhongzhi and the others had already dispersed. In order to prevent someone from hearing the news and escaping, Li Xian didn't have time to return to the palace and immediately ordered the arrest. He assigned Wu Chongxun and the others who were useful to him, leaving Zhou Xiang to Yang Fan.
Yang Fan and Wu Yanxiu took a small boat and rushed to the shore. Because the Emperor was patrolling here, there were ten thousand cavalry, Jin Wu Guards, and Thousand Ox Guards stationed by the Long Qing Pond. Yang Fan took a hundred or so people from his own ten thousand cavalry and led them straight to the Wan Nian yamen with Wu Yanxiu.
Along the way, Yang Fan had a sense of déjà vu. It was as if he had been in a similar situation many years ago. Suddenly, he thought of Xiao Man, and then he suddenly understood. Yes, back then, when Wu Zetian sent Qiu Shenji and Xiaoman to lead troops to capture the two imperial grandsons, it was very similar to this moment.
The difference was that Wu Zetian had captured her grandsons, while Li Xian had captured his son-in-law. Wu Zetian's two grandsons were only fourteen years old, while the younger one was only nine. This so-called rebellion was simply unbelievable. As for whether Wang Tongjiao really wanted to assassinate the Empress and King Liang, Yang Fan had no way of knowing.
Another difference was that Wu Zetian had already instructed Qiu Shenji to kill her two grandsons on the spot. Li Xian, on the other hand, wanted to capture them alive. He clearly wanted to use Wang Tongjiao and the others to capture a few bigger fish. But who could be a bigger fish than Wang Tongjiao?
Yang Fan shuddered at this thought.
…
Li Xian was not in the mood to tour the lake. When he received news that the warlock Zheng Sishan had finished his ritual and released Long Qingchi's draconic aura, Li Xian immediately returned to the palace and angrily waited for his son-in-law to be interrogated. After sending off the emperor with his five sons, Li Dan immediately rushed back to the residence of his eldest son, Li Chengqi.
Li Longji saw Li Dan's gloomy expression and couldn't help but call out, "Father …"
Li Dan stopped him with a cold gaze and said, "Chengqi, Longji, the two of you come with me!"
Li Dan led the way to the back garden. Li Longji and Li Chengqi looked at each other and quickly chased after him.
Li Dan paced back and forth in the garden for a long time, then said gravely, "Longji, once your grandmother's funeral is over, you, Longfan, and Longye will immediately return to your fief."
Li Longji was startled at first, but he immediately understood. He nodded resolutely and sternly said, "Yes! This child understands. "
Li Dan gave him a gratified look and said, "Sanlang, it's still you who gives me the most peace of mind. I'm afraid that those brothers of yours are still unaware of the situation. If they hear any bad rumors, it might cause unnecessary trouble. Go and explain it to them. Keep a close eye on them. "
Li Longji acknowledged and left. Li Chengqi said anxiously, "Father, King Liang wants them captured alive. He's clearly targeting you! How can we let Longji and the others leave at this time? Longji is the smartest. With him around, if anything happens, we, father and son, can brainstorm and learn from each other. We can also work together to face our enemies. "
Li Dan glared at him and said, "If Wu Sansi succeeds, he will definitely be acting on the emperor's orders. What can we do then even if we are together? Longji and the others must leave. I can only hope that this case isn't concluded before the funeral is over. That way, Longji and the others can leave safely. The less they are by our side, the safer we will be. Do you understand? "
Li Chengqi looked at his father in confusion. It took a long time for him to understand.
Zhou Xiang was the Wannian County Magistrate. He was also in charge of guarding the perimeter on the day of the empress' funeral. Since he was determined to kill King Liang with Wang Tongjiao, he couldn't be entangled with external affairs on the day of the funeral. Zhou Xiang racked his brains after returning to the Wannian County Magistrate. He could only think of a way to leave this matter to the Assistant County Magistrate's assistant.
Wu Zetian's funeral was in two days. Time was of the essence. If he resigned on that day, he was afraid that something unexpected would happen and it would also attract attention. With this in mind, Zhou Xiang immediately sent someone to summon the Assistant County Magistrate Xie Ruiqi.
When Xie Ruiqi arrived, Zhou Xiang said that he had some urgent matters to deal with at home. It would be difficult for him to leave during the funeral, so he asked for Xie Ruiqi's help. As the Assistant County Magistrate, Xie Ruiqi would definitely have to maintain order on the streets of Chang 'an. How could he refuse this request from his superior?
Xie Ruiqi agreed immediately. Zhou Xiang smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Brother Xie. I'll treat you to a drink when this matter is over. Ah, the matter at home is quite urgent, so I'll leave now. There are still a few documents on the table. I'll have to ask Brother Xie to handle them. "
Zhou Xiang hurriedly took his leave. Before he reached the gate, Yang Fan barged in with his men and bumped into him.
Zhou Xiang was surprised to see a Yulin General leading a large number of soldiers. It was rare for a general to come to the Wannian County Magistrate. He glanced at Yang Fan without saying anything. Yang Fan also glanced at him. His eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn't say anything either.
Zhou Xiang had not changed into his official robes when he returned from the banquet. Wu Yanxiu glanced at him and thought that he had come to the yamen to handle some matters. Naturally, she ignored him. All the buildings in the yamen were the same. He and Yang Fan both knew where the County Magistrate's office was located. They led their men straight to County Magistrate Zhou's office.
If Zhou Xiang had seen soldiers come to the Wannian County Magistrate's office on any other day, he wouldn't have been suspicious even though it was rare. However, it was different today. He walked slower and slower, and an ominous feeling gradually grew in his heart. He subconsciously turned his head and saw that the general was leading the soldiers in the direction of his office. Zhou Xiang suddenly turned around and rushed back.
Yang Fan and Wu Yanxiu barged into Zhou Xiang's office. They saw a green-robed civil official sitting behind a desk and flipping through a file. Wu Yantu asked in a deep voice, "Zhou Xiang?"
Xie Ruiqi looked up at the sound and said with a blank expression, "Ah?"
Yang Fan immediately shouted, "Take him away!"
Several cavalrymen immediately rushed forward and firmly held Xie Ruiqi down. At this time, many officials rushed out of the office. They couldn't help but be shocked when they saw this scene. Yang Fan raised his voice and said, "You don't need to panic. This general is here to arrest Wannian County Magistrate Zhou Xiang by imperial edict."
When Xie Ruiqi saw the soldiers barging in to arrest him, he didn't know what was going on. He was shocked and scared. Hearing Yang Fan's words, Xie Ruiqi let out a sigh of relief. He quickly jumped up and shouted, "I'm not Zhou Xiang, I'm not Zhou Xiang. I'm Wannian County Magistrate Xie Ruiqi! "
Zhou Xiang followed them all the way back. He saw that the group of soldiers were indeed heading for his office. A dark cloud suddenly rose in his heart. When he heard Xie Ruiqi's loud voice, Zhou Xiang's heart sank. He thought, "Oh no!" He didn't say anything else. He quickly turned around and fled to the side of the yamen.
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