In the Hall of Hanyuan of the Daming Palace, at the foot of the stone steps outside the hall, a young woman in plain clothes and a three-year-old boy were kneeling in front of the palace gate. There were two lines of tears on the pretty young woman's face. The naughty boy didn't seem to understand why they were here today. Tears were still on his face, and he was looking around curiously.
Gao Lishi tiptoed out of the Palace. Seeing that young woman was still crying non-stop, weeping like a pear blossom in the rain, he couldn't help but shake his head. The eunuchs on his left and right were in a dilemma. As soon as they saw him, they quickly surrounded him as if they had seen their savior.
Gao Lishi separated them and lightly walked to the side of the young woman. In a small voice, he comforted: "Princess, Her Majesty the Empress has said that the matter of the Fuma is related to rebellion. In the face of the law, even if he is a close relative, he cannot be selfish. This matter will be decided by the court. Princess, please return to the fu and listen to Er."
The young woman who was crying in the palace was Wang Tongjiao's wife, Princess Ding 'an. When she heard that her husband had been imprisoned for attempting to assassinate the empress and King Liang, Princess Ding' an felt as if she had been struck by lightning.
She didn't understand. Her husband was the honorable General of Yunhui, General of the Right Thousand-Ox, County Duke of Langye, Commandant of the Emperor's Son-In-Law, Grand Minister of Yinqing, and Honorary Minister. Putting aside the salary brought by these official positions, her husband also had an additional five hundred households. She, as a princess, had a thousand and three hundred households. The two of them lived a life of glory, splendor, wealth and rank without any worries. What else could her husband be dissatisfied with? Why couldn't he just live a good life, why did he have to rebel?
But as much as she hated, he was still her man, the father of her child. Even though she was not Empress Wei's own child, she had always been afraid of this shrewd and strict mother. She still braced herself and ran to the palace crying.
Princess Ding 'an raised her teary eyes and pleaded, "Gao gonggong, would gonggong please pass on a message for Ding' an to ask Imperial Father to be merciful. Tong Jiao was muddled for a moment, Imperial Father can remove him from his official position and put him under house arrest in the fu. Please … please do not pass down a heavy punishment." Speaking to here, tears streamed down again.
Gao Lishi sighed deeply and said, "Princess, you … you are making things difficult for this servant. The Saint … The Saint was by Her Majesty's side at that time. The Saint also listened to Her Majesty's words. I … I've already broken the rules by delivering a message to the palace for the princess. I really don't dare to offend you again … "
When Princess Ding An heard this, she understood. Of course, Empress Wei did not care about Wang Tongjiao's life or death. It was likely that Empress Wei did not even care about her, her daughter. She had hoped that her father would be merciful, but her father had always been henpecked. Now that he knew that she was crying and begging outside the palace, he hardened his heart and refused to see her, what should she do?
Gao Lishi looked around and said in a low voice, "The case hasn't been concluded yet, and we don't know how the verdict will be. Thinking about it … the Saint will not be too harsh on the Emperor's son-in-law because of his kinship. However, if the Princess continues to kneel here and cry, it will not be good if the Saint and Her Highness dislike you. Going too far is as bad as not going far enough. Princess, you should go back. "
When Princess Ding An heard these words, she could only pull her son up and walk out of the Palace, crying and looking back every three steps. Gao Lishi looked at the backs of the mother and son, sighed sympathetically, and quietly walked in the direction of the left silver door.
Inside the Palace, Li Xian was restless. Even though he was harsh and merciless, he still had feelings for his own flesh and blood. Thinking about his daughter bringing her three-year-old grandson to knock on the door and cry, he could not bear it. He sneaked a glance at Empress Wei and probed with some guilt, "Wife, what do you plan … to do with Tong Jiao?"
Empress Wei glared at him fiercely and said, "What Tong Jiao? That is a rebel of the court, a traitor plotting to usurp the throne. Do not be softhearted. If no one reports, if you are lucky, you will be a prisoner. If you are unlucky, your head will be separated from your body. At that time, who will be softhearted for you? "
Li Xian had always been henpecked. As the power of Wei shi's paternal family rose, the communication with the Wu Family was mainly conducted through Wei shi. Wei shi's words became more and more important, and he became more and more afraid. Hearing Empress Wei's words, Li Xian no longer had the courage to plead for Wang Tongjiao.
But thinking about his daughter's youth and how few grandchildren he had, he knew that his wife had steeled her heart to kill Wang Tongjiao. He couldn't resist mumbling, "Wang Tongjiao … it is true that her death is not to be regretted, but Ding 'an is still so young. When your husband thinks about it, my heart does not feel good …"
Empress Wei rolled her eyes at him and said, "Look at your good-for-nothing appearance. Does the Emperor's daughter still have to worry about marriage? Don't worry about this matter. Didn't my cousin Wei Zhuo's wife just die last year? He hasn't remarried yet. I think it would be better to have Ding 'an marry Wei Zhuo? That would be even more intimate. "
Li Xian nodded and sighed, saying, "Ai! This is the only way. En? What did you say? "
Li Xian suddenly reacted and said in shock, "Your cousin? Ding 'an is our daughter. You … your cousin, in terms of seniority, isn't he her uncle? "
Empress Wei impatiently waved her hand and said, "They don't have any blood relationship, what's the big deal about seniority? All right, don't worry about this matter. Later, I will have Yang Zaisi go matchmake them. "
Gao Lishi went to the Imperial Kitchen and found a young eunuch in charge of purchasing. Purchasing was a lucrative position in the Palace. This young eunuch had been arranged by Gao Lishi, so he listened to everything Gao Lishi said and was Gao Lishi's confidant.
Gao Lishi went to the young eunuch and only stayed for the time it took for an incense stick to burn before leisurely leaving with a bag of dried meat. Looking at his appearance, it seemed like he was hungry and had come here to get something good to eat. But not long after he left, the young eunuch also left the Imperial Kitchen and quietly left the Palace.
The young eunuch went to the east market to stroll around and casually bought some things before returning to the Palace. The entire matter did not appear to be out of the ordinary. Ever since Yang Fan had developed suspicions about Gao Lishi, he had told Wan 'er. Wan' er had arranged for people to watch Gao Lishi's every move.
There were all kinds of networks in the Palace: the Emperor's, the Empress's, the female officials', the eunuchs', and also the powerful officials'. None of these networks could compare to Wan 'er's network of connections and ears. Therefore, Gao Lishi's every move in the Palace was under Wan' er's surveillance.
After the young eunuch in charge of purchasing left the Palace, he left Wan 'er's surveillance network and fell into Xian Zong's surveillance. In the end, the information that was sent back to Yang Fan was only one sentence: The young eunuch often went to a meat and vegetable shop and it was a shop designated by the Prince of Lin Zi's residence.
At this point, Yang Fan finally understood that he was not the only one with capable eyes in the Palace.
Wan 'er could not tolerate Yang Fan's betrayal. She angrily said: "Langjun saved Gao Lishi's life. I did not expect him to be used by Li San Lang. All factors that are disadvantageous to Langjun should be nipped in the bud. Langjun, leave this matter to me. "
Yang Fan glanced at her and smiled: "What do you plan to do?"
Wan 'er replied: "It is not a difficult matter for someone to die accidentally in the Palace."
Yang Fan shook his head: "No. Gao Lishi's life is pitiful. Although I helped him, I did not think of using him. Him accepting Li Longji's recruitment is not considered a betrayal to me. Moreover, since we know that Li Longji has this spy, he may be of great use. "
He smiled thoughtfully and said, "This person is very useful!"
… …
In order to dig out useful confessions from Wang Tongjiao and the others, the Imperial Censor Li Chengjia and the Supervising Imperial Censor Yao Shaozhi racked their brains. They were Wu Sansi's people, and of the three Prime Ministers overseeing the trial, Yang Zaisi was a typical opportunist. Wei Juyuan was a descendant of the Wei clan of the capital. Empress Wei had already recognized the Wei clan of the capital and could be considered a brother of the Empress, so she naturally belonged to Empress Wei's faction. As for Li Jiao, he was an old minister of the Eastern Palace, a pure member of the Emperor's faction.
With this group of people controlling the court, one could easily imagine the fairness of the trial. However, Wang Tongjiao and the others were all hot-blooded men. Even though they had been tortured and beaten, they remained silent in the face of enticement.
Wu Sansi's original intention was to use this opportunity to bring down the Prince of Xiang and Taiping, but not only did Wang Tongjiao and the others not give up any information that was detrimental to the Prince of Xiang and Taiping, they did not even reveal the slightest information that Huan Yanfan was plotting against Empress Wei and Prince Liang.
Helpless, Li Chengjia could only concoct a plausible confession for Wu Sansi. Faced with this confession that was full of loopholes, Li Xian actually believed it. He immediately summoned the Imperial Censor, Xiao Zhizhong, and ordered him to take over the case. At this point, the case was no longer something that a single Imperial Censor could handle.
But Gao Lishi had already secretly sent out a message, and the Prince of Xiang and Princess Taiping had already made contingency plans. Deputy Minister of Imperial Censor Xiao Zhizhong was Princess Taiping's disciple, so when he heard the emperor's order, Xiao Zhizhong burst into tears and immediately cried out, "Your Majesty, you are rich and powerful, so why can't you have a younger brother and a younger sister?
Does Your Majesty feel that they are people who are plotting rebellion? If not for them during the Divine Dragon Coup, would Your Majesty have been able to sit on the throne? When Your Majesty had just returned to Luoyang from Fangling, the Prince of Xiang was still an imperial heir, and it was he who took the initiative to abdicate the position of Crown Prince. He didn't even want to fight with Your Majesty for the throne, so why would he participate in a rebellion now? If this subject accepts the edict, it would be placing Your Majesty in an unjust position. This subject would rather die ten thousand times than obey! "
Li Xian's face turned red from Xiao Zhizhong's interrogation, and for a moment, he didn't know what to do. Xiao Zhizhong left, tears streaming down his face. The moment he left the Imperial City, he spread word of this matter. This time, Li Xian felt like he had poked a hornet's nest. Wu Jing, the Right Mending Que, was the first to rush into the palace.
As the name implied, the officials who held this position were responsible for supervising the Son of Heaven's words and actions, criticizing and criticizing the Son of Heaven's mistakes and omissions. Since this was their duty, there was no need for them to be polite to the emperor.
Wu Buque vehemently expressed his views to Li Xian, his spittle spraying all over Li Xian's face. "Your Majesty, you are muddle-headed! The imperial clan is Your Majesty's greatest support. Right now, Your Majesty's flesh and blood have withered away, and the only ones that can assist Your Majesty are the Prince of Xiang and Taiping. Your Majesty still wishes to get rid of them and become a man cut off from the world? "
Before Wu Buque could finish speaking, Cao Shiyi angrily charged in. Upon hearing Wu Buque's words, he immediately added, "Your Majesty, since ancient times, those who have trusted outsiders and alienated their own flesh and blood have never had a good end! This subject absolutely cannot sit by and watch as Your Majesty follows in the footsteps of the ancient emperors! "
Soon after, there were those who cried and remonstrated in front of the emperor, and those who submitted letters of rebuke. The emotions of the hundreds of officials were stirred up, and the court was abuzz with discussion. Everywhere, it was said that the emperor was ungrateful and wanted to kill his own brother and sister. In the face of this situation, Li Xian couldn't help but panic.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
