Yang Fan's three-day wedding was over and he returned to the palace. As soon as he arrived, Deputy General Fei Chengxuan reported to him that Wang Qingzhi had been beaten to death on Li Zhaode's orders.
Seeing his nervous expression, Yang Fan comforted him with a smile, "I have already heard of this matter. Even if this official was present, under Minister Li's strict orders, I could only bow my head and obey. What crime did General commit? You don't need to take this matter to heart. "
Fei Chengxuan thought to himself, Why is General Yang so easy to talk to? That's right, that Wang Qingzhi was pleading on King Wei's behalf. I was on duty in the palace on the day of General Wei's wedding and could not leave, so I asked Huang Xuchang to deliver the gift. When Old Huang returned, he said that even King Liang was present. In that case, General Yang is on King Liang's side of the Wu clan and has nothing to do with King Wei.
Having figured this out, Fei Chengxuan was completely relieved and happily handed over his duties to Yang Fan. Yang Fan took the day's proceedings and glanced at it. The first item was written, "Lou Shide has returned to the capital. Dispatch a guard of honor to accompany Minister Li to the Ten Li Pavilion to welcome him!"
Lou Shide had returned to the capital. Lou Shide's great victory was not only the first great victory of the Celestial Empire, but more importantly, it had paved the way for Wu Zetian to recover the Four Garrisons of Anxi. The voices of opposition to sending troops had greatly weakened. In her delight, Wu Zetian had specially sent Li Zhaode to represent her in welcoming Lou Shide.
Li Zhaode was the current Prime Minister, ranked fourth among the Prime Ministers. Lou Shide's current official position was far inferior to Li Zhaode's. For Wu Zetian to send Li Zhaode to represent her in welcoming Lou Shide showed how much importance she attached to Lou Shide, as well as the glory of Lou Shide's return to the capital.
After arranging the security matters in the palace, Yang Fan personally led the guard of honor out of the city with Li Zhaode. When he saw Lou Shide, he couldn't help but smile when he saw that this Imperial Guard general was actually Yang Fan.
Because the two of them were still far apart in terms of rank, and Li Zhaode was the one who had received him, Lou Shide didn't say much to Yang Fan. He only nodded at him with a smile and saluted Li Zhaode.
Li Zhaode said some welcoming words and then boarded the imperial carriage with Lou Shide. They set off toward the palace, rolling up the curtains and accepting the welcome of the common people.
The guards of honor marched forward, and the announcer announced the achievements and names of the people who entered the city. When the people heard that the person on the imperial chariot was Lou Shide, who had made great contributions in the Western Regions, they cheered and worshipped him, showing great respect. Li Zhaode saw this and felt even more displeased.
He looked down on Lou Shide. Lou Shide came from a humble background. Although he had been an official for many years, many of his actions were no different from those of the common people. Li Zhaode, who had received a noble education from a young age, found these actions unbearable. He found them very vulgar.
Lou Shide had been guarding the border for many years and had been exposed to the wind and sun. His skin was very rough, and in addition to his fat body, he walked with a limp. Li Zhaode, who cared a lot about appearance, found him even more disgusted. Although the two of them traveled in the same carriage, he sat far away from Lou Shide in the wide imperial carriage. The space between them was enough for another fat person to sit. Li Zhaode sat with his eyes closed the entire way, seemingly resting. He did not say a word to Lou Shide.
When the two of them reached the Meridian Gate, they got off the carriage and walked into the palace. Yang Fan stood at the side with his sword in hand. The three of them, accompanied by a few eunuchs, walked to Wucheng Hall.
Lou Shide had been guarding the border all these years. The last time he returned to the capital to have an audience with the Emperor was when Emperor Gaozong, Li Zhi, was still on the throne. This time, the capital looked very different from before. Especially inside the palace, where the Emperor held court meetings and the officials were. It had been rebuilt into a magnificent, gorgeous and solemn "Ming Hall".
And behind the Wanxiang Divine Palace, the "Heaven" was even more towering into the clouds. The huge Buddha statue could be seen from afar when they first entered the city. Its facial features were very clear. When they passed by the side of the "Heaven" and looked up at the giant Buddha, they felt that their bodies were as small as an ant. They could not help but be intoxicated.
Lou Shide walked very slowly because he had a limp. He looked around along the way, but he did not slow down. It was only because he was walking slowly that he admired the atmosphere in the palace.
Li Zhaode was an impatient person. Every time he walked too fast, he would have to stop and wait for Lou Shide. When Lou Shide caught up, he would have to stop and wait again after a few steps. Li Zhaode was getting impatient. Looking at Lou Shide who was looking around like a country bumpkin who had never seen the world, Li Zhaode finally could not hold back and scolded him, "You ignorant Tian Shehan, can't you walk faster!"
"Tian Shehan" was a scolding term from the Tang Dynasty. It meant country bumpkin. When Yang Fan heard this, his expression changed. He thought: "This Prime Minister Li's temper is not very good. How can General Lou get out of this humiliating situation?"
Yang Fan looked at Lou Shide. He saw that Lou Shide was calm and did not have a trace of shame. He only laughed and said: "Hehe, Shide is a Tian Shehan. I have made Prime Minister Li laugh. Shide's left leg is a little crippled. I can't walk fast. I will have to trouble Prime Minister Li to wait for me! "
When Yang Fan saw this, he could not help but secretly praise: "People say that Lou Shide is broad-minded and magnanimous. Seeing him today, he really lives up to his reputation!"
Li Zhaode had cursed Lou Shide indiscriminately. As soon as he said it, he regretted it. If he really argued with Lou Shide, he would be the one in the wrong. Seeing Lou Shide's attitude, he could not get angry anymore. He could only slow his steps and accompany Lou Shide step by step into the Palace.
At this time, in Wu Cheng Hall, Zong Qinke and Zhou Xing were impeaching a minister in front of Wu Zetian. The person they were impeaching was Wei Fangzhi.
After Zhou Xing received Wu Chengsi's instructions, he immediately began to prepare dirt on Wei Fangzhi. Because he was accusing a prime minister, he deliberately pulled Zong Qinke in to increase his persuasiveness.
Zong Qinke was the current assistant minister of the Phoenix Pavilion and one of Wu Zetian's trusted aides. Back then, for Wu Zetian's ascension to the throne, Zong Qinke had ingeniously planned and racked his brains, making great contributions. He and Wu Zetian had another identity. He was Wu Zetian's nephew, and his mother was Wu Zetian's cousin.
Back then, in order to publicize Wu Zetian's achievements, Zong Qinke had presided over the compilation of the Holy Mother Divine Emperor's Records. At the beginning of Wu Zetian's ascension to the throne, he had specially created twelve new characters. The character 'Xuan' in Wu Mei's current name, 'Wu Xuan', was also created by him, taking the meaning of the sun and moon in the sky.
Therefore, this person was very trusted by Wu Zetian. After Wu Zetian ascended to the throne, to Zong Qinke, it was only natural that a descendant of the Wu clan should inherit the throne. Only then would he and his descendants be able to continue living in glory, splendor, splendor, and wealth. Therefore, he was one of the most enthusiastic people about the removal of Crown Prince Li Tang. As a result, he hit it off with Wu Chengsi. As soon as Zhou Xing revealed his intentions, Zong Qinke readily agreed to impeach Wei Fangzhi together with him.
Zhou Xing reported to Wu Zetian all the rebellious acts he had concocted regarding Wei Fangzhi, and also presented some confessions he had obtained from the prisoners on death row. Zong Qinke added fuel to the fire, "Because of His Majesty's trust, Wei Fangzhi was promoted to prime minister. But this person does not intend to repay His Majesty's ascension to the throne, and is often spouting nonsense outside.
I heard that Wei Fangzhi has a few plum trees in his back garden. This spring, the plum trees are blooming like clouds, lush and beautiful. Wei Fangzhi is extremely happy, and even specially held a family banquet under the plum trees. He laid out the banquet and drank wine. After he was drunk, he said, 'Today the plum trees are blooming luxuriantly, and after autumn, the fruits will surely be plentiful. At that time, I will drink with you all again to celebrate!' "
Wu Zetian's face was gloomy, her well-maintained jade-like palm, as delicate as a young married woman, slapped the imperial table with a 'pa' sound. Standing to the side, Shangguan Wan 'er saw this scene and thought to herself, "This Wei Fangzhi is going to be out of luck!"
Sure enough, Wu Zetian was enraged. Two years ago, she had put Gong Siming in an important position, but he actually hid Seo Kyung-jin, the younger brother of the traitor Xu Jingye, and did everything he could to help him escape. Now that she put Wei Fangzhi in an important position, the man was leaning towards Li Tang, and was still trying to overthrow her rule. 'Are these people really a bunch of ungrateful wolves?'
Wu Zetian ordered Zhou Xing furiously, "Immediately throw Wei Fangzhi into prison and investigate him! Once he's proven guilty, his family will be confiscated, and he'll be banished to Danzhou (Hainan Island)! "
Zhou Xing was secretly elated, and he quickly bowed and responded, "Yes, Your Majesty!"
At this moment, Eunuch Xiao Hai reported from the door, "Everyone, Lou Shide is waiting for the decree outside the Hall!"
When Wu Zetian heard that the great hero had arrived, her face relaxed a little, and she ordered, "You may leave, I'll summon Lou Shide for an audience!"
Since Zong Qinke and Zhou Xing had achieved their goal, they hurriedly left, and Li Zhaode led Lou Shide into the hall to meet the Emperor.
Yang Fan sent Li Zhaode and Lou Shide to the Hall of Martial Accomplishment, and his mission was over. Initially, he wanted to return to the palace, but he suddenly saw Zong Qinke and Zhou Xing coming out from the hall with a proud look on their faces, and he could not help but be moved.
After Eunuch Xiao Hai had passed on the decree, he was about to return to the palace. When Yang Fan saw him, he quickly called him over, and asked softly, "Nobles in the palace, why are the sect's Eunuch and Minister Zhou here?"
Xiao Hai was Shanghai Wan 'er's confidant, and although he did not know that Yang Fan had a personal relationship with the Imperial Edict, he knew that Yang Fan had a close relationship with the Imperial Edict, and could be considered as one of them, so he answered softly, "They're here to accuse Wei Fangzhi of treason. Everyone is furious, and has ordered the Ministry of Justice to investigate!"
Because Wu Zetian was now named Wu Zong, the word "Zong" sounded like the word "Zhao", so the imperial edict was taboo, and was called "Zhi". The imperial edict was not called an imperial edict, but rather, it was called "Zhi". Xiao Hai did not dare to stay for long, and after saying this, he excused himself to Yang Fan, and hurried into the hall.
Hearing Little Hai's words, Yang Fan couldn't help but stand outside the hall in a daze. The news of Wu Chengsi's failure to recruit Wei Fangzhi hadn't spread yet, so Yang Fan didn't know why Zhou Xing would act against Wei Fangzhi.
However, Wei Fangzhi was the backbone of the Li Protectors. The plan of Yang Fan, Shen Mu, and the others was that Wu Zetian's ascension to Emperor was unstoppable, and they could only hope that she was too old to cultivate a qualified successor from the Wu clan, so they temporarily lay low, and preserved their strength, and after she passed away, they could take back the country from the Li family.
Therefore, it was necessary to preserve and cultivate the strength that was loyal to Li Tang as much as possible. Wei Fangzhi was loyal to Li Tang, and as the Prime Minister, he was an important force to inherit Li Tang's legacy. Who would have thought that he would be destroyed just like that?
Yang Fan did not know if the Prime Ministers had a good plan for this, but judging from similar incidents in the past, perhaps it was because Wu Zetian was too stubborn, and once she made a decision, no one could change her mind, or perhaps it was because Zhou Xing and the others were too skilled at using torture to extort confessions. As long as you fell into their hands, there was no need to fear that you would not confess. As a result, once you were imprisoned, there had never been a case where you came out clean, so it was impossible to count on the Prime Ministers to help.
"What should I do?"
Yang Fan rubbed his hands and frowned, his heart heavy. When he walked to the palace gate, a thought flashed in his mind, and he suddenly thought of Wu Sansi.
Zhou Xing was Wu Chengsi's henchman, and Wu Sansi now had the evidence to destroy Wu Chengsi. As long as he could take down Wu Chengsi, once the big tree that was Wu Chengsi fell, the monkeys would scatter, and Wei Fangzhi's crisis would be solved.
Thinking of this, Yang Fan wished he could grow wings and fly to Wu Sansi, but he was currently responsible and could not leave the palace, so he changed his mind and walked towards Jia City.
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