Wang Zhu, the supervising censor, received Wu Chengsi's instructions and told Ji Xu about the rumors that Lian Yao had the aura of the Emperor and was about to become the Son of Heaven as a joke.
He knew that his peer was meticulous and meticulous in his work. Ji Xu would not take this joke as a joke and would definitely report it. In order to prevent others from finding out that Wu Chengsi was behind this case, Wang Zhu could not steal this credit. He deliberately found Ji Xu to make use of Ji Xu, but it was also equivalent to giving his old friend a great credit.
After the incident, Wang Zhu himself had 'mistakenly' treated this important news as a joke. Naturally, he would be punished for neglecting his duties, but he was not worried. With Wu Chengsi's protection, at most he would be reprimanded and punished. Even if he was really demoted, with Wei's support, he would definitely be able to make a comeback.
But he never thought that Lai Junchen would actually accuse him of being a traitor. Moreover, the Empress had given this case to the Prince of Hanoi, Wu Yizong, to investigate. Wu Yizong also happened to be on Wu Sansi's side. One wrong step led to many wrong steps, and he finally fell into this trap. Even Wu Chengsi could not save him.
But Ji Xu was different. Ji Xu was the one who secretly reported this news to Lai Junchen. He was the Ming Tang Captain, and Lai Junchen was his immediate superior, the He Gong Captain. Once Ji Xu heard this news, he immediately sent someone to secretly report this to Lai Junchen. This case of rebellion could be solved mainly because of him. No matter what, there was no reason to accuse him of being a traitor.
But when did Lai Junchen ever speak reason? It was unknown whether he wanted to monopolize this credit or if his insanity was acting up again. Everyone thought that it was unreasonable, but he still did it. He wanted to bite Ji Xu into this as well. He wanted to arrest the criminal, he wanted to arrest the person who leaked the secret, and now he even wanted to arrest the person who snitched!
Not only did Wu Chengsi not understand Lai Junchen's strange and crazy actions, even Yang Fan, who was soaking in the hot spring on Dragon Gate Mountain and knew everything that happened in Luoyang like the back of his hand, could not understand it either. When Wu Chengsi angrily cursed Lai Junchen for being a madman, Yang Fan also shook his head in confusion. "Is Lai Junchen crazy?"
"Lai Junchen's actions are really strange. Wang Lei and Wang Zhu are Wu Chengsi's people. Even if Lai Junchen didn't know this from the start, the brothers would have given him a hint when he was investigating the case. Although Lai Junchen had harmed many people in the past, he rarely touched anyone from the Wu Clan. But this time … could it be that he has secretly sided with Wu Sansi? "
Yang Fan rubbed his chin, muttering to himself for a long time before finally coming to this possible conclusion. However, someone standing in the shadows outside the pool immediately rejected this possibility. This person was in his early forties and was a little chubby. He wore a sheepskin coat that was very good at keeping out the cold. He looked like a very ordinary person.
If he washed away the turmeric on his face, tore off the mustache on his lips, and lightened his deliberately thickened eyebrows, perhaps many officials and celebrities who had been to the Tenderness Village of the Tenderness Village would be shocked. Because this person was the manager of the Tenderness Village of the Tenderness Village, known as the "Master of Fragrance", Liu Qingqian.
"It shouldn't be. From the information this subordinate has, Lai Junchen has never had any contact with Wu Sansi. Moreover, he was able to return to the capital this time because Wu Chengsi spoke up for him in front of the Emperor. To him, it can be said that he is indebted to him. Lai Junchen's current actions are really … really … "
"It's very puzzling, isn't it?" Yang Fan smiled. "Since we can't understand, let's continue watching. In the game of officialdom, every chess piece is very important, but the overall outcome is never determined by a single chess piece. Let's not pay attention to him for now. "
After thinking for a moment, Yang Fan asked again, "This time, which side is the majority of the people implicated?"
Liu Qingqian continued to report from the shadows. His work was indeed outstanding. He had clearly investigated the identities, backgrounds, political leanings, and forces of those who had been implicated by Liu Sili and Ju Lianyao and sent to prison.
Because Zhao Gan had just taken office, the officials he had redrafted in the Southern Border were all idle officials or even candidate officials. They had no connection with Ju Lianyao and Liu Sili, and they didn't even know each other's names. Moreover, these people were not the targets that Wu Yizong was keen to attack, so they were almost unaffected.
Hearing this, Yang Fan secretly heaved a sigh of relief. No matter how much trouble Lai Junchen stirred up in the court, it was fine as long as it didn't affect his people.
Liu Qingqian continued, "Most of the court officials who were arrested did not clearly belong to any faction, in other words, the so-called neutral faction. But from the conversation they had while staying in the brothel, as well as the bits and pieces of information that the ladies found out, we can infer that they are more sympathetic or perhaps loyal to Crown Prince Dan."
Liu Qingqian smiled. "Wine and beauties are always easy to open people's hearts. These people definitely wouldn't have thought that those who were as gentle as water would remember their drunken words and complaints. Therefore, the information we have should be credible. "
Yang Fan nodded. Liu Qingqian's tone was full of confidence, but he agreed.
Since ancient times, there were too many outstanding people who fell into the hands of women. There were emperors, ministers, heroes, and famous scholars. In front of those women who were more beautiful than flowers, the more outstanding a man was, the more he felt that they were just a fragrant flower, ignoring everything else other than her beauty and alluring body.
Because he despised her, he did not guard against her. Because he felt that she was weak, he was willing to protect her. Yang Fan suddenly felt a little proud. "Fortunately, I am clean and honest, and the women in the village are all stunning beauties. I can control myself!"
Liu Qingqian immediately poured a bucket of cold water on the head of the self-satisfied Lord Sovereign. "Her Royal Highness Princess Taiping is very anxious and is now running around trying to rescue them. Sect Master, can we lend her a hand? "
Yang Fan coughed and Liu Qingqian immediately closed her mouth.
Liu Qingqian knew that Princess Taiping was the Sovereign's woman, and the Sovereign had always been committed to restoring Li Tang's empire. This goal was the same as Princess Taiping's. Because it was appropriate for both public and private interests, he dared to make a suggestion. But Yang Fan's perspective was obviously different from his.
After many purges, the officials in the court who had a clear anti-martial stance had almost all been purged. Most of the officials who were implicated this time did not have a clear political stance. But with Xian Zong's information channels, they were very clear that many of the officials implicated this time were sympathetic to and loyal to Crown Prince Li Dan.
So, that mad dog Lai Junchen might have been randomly biting people, but behind him, there must be someone guiding him so that he had a target. This person could be Wu Sansi, or even Wu Zetian herself. Because of the limited information, Yang Fan could not make an accurate judgment now. But no matter what, this storm would not be as simple as a mad dog randomly biting people.
As the crown prince, Li Dan had long since become a thorn in the side of the Wu Clan. He was often attacked by the Wu Clan, and it was precisely because he was the crown prince that he attracted the most attention. As a result, the people who attached themselves to him were often killed before they could grow up. This wasn't the first time this had happened.
As a result, after Yang Fan learned a lot of information, he couldn't help but wonder what Wu Zetian's true goal was in supporting this half-dead Crown Prince.
Was it because the heir to the throne had not been decided, or did she want to use Li Dan as the light in the night to attract those unresigned moths and eliminate them in batches to ensure that the Wu Clan would not fall?
Yang Fan's faction also had the goal of restoring Li Tang, but who should they support?
Crown Prince Li Dan or Prince of Luling, Li Xian?
From the current situation, they were more inclined towards Li Xian because Li Xian's goal was not as obvious as the Crown Prince's. Li Xian, who had always been under house arrest in Fang Province, was far from the center of politics. If they used him as the core, they would not be discovered by the Empress before they could grow up and carry out another great purge.
More importantly, if the Empress did not want to risk the world by making a descendant of the Wu Clan the heir to the throne, then the possibility of her choosing Li Xian as the heir was much higher than Li Dan. Because Li Dan was the Crown Prince, he had been attacked by the Wu Clan many times, both openly and secretly. His two favorite concubines had also lost their lives because of this.
Li Dan himself had almost lost his life because of the Curse Loathing Case. In Li Dan's heart, he had probably already hated those with the surname Wu. If he really became the Empress, the Li Clan and the Wu Clan would definitely be like that civet cat and parrot raised by Wu Zetian. They would never be able to get along peacefully.
Therefore, they chose Li Xian. Although they had the same goal, the people who supported them were different, so they were destined to not be on the same side.
The sky could not have two suns, and the country could not have two rulers. Since they had chosen Li Xian, they could not risk their own strength to save Li Dan's faction.
Princess Taiping was different. She was a member of the Li Clan. Regardless of whether it was Li Dan or Li Xian, they were both her elder brothers. No matter who ruled the world, it would be the Li Clan's empire. Therefore, she could spare no effort to protect her elder brothers' strength, no matter which elder brother's strength she was loyal to.
Yang Fan was different. He could not be as "universal" as Princess Taiping. Don't be fooled by the fact that they were all supporters of Li. Because of the different supporters, it would eventually turn into a life-and-death political struggle. The cruelty of it would not be more peaceful than the current struggle between Wu and Li, just like the current struggle between Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi.
Now, moderately weakening the forces that supported Li Dan would make it easier for Li Xian to stand out. It would also be easier for them to peacefully resolve the problem of who was the leader of the Li Clan after the Wu Clan was taken care of. If the strength gap was too big, they could avoid internal conflicts. In the long run, this might not be a bad thing.
Thinking of this, Yang Fan smiled faintly and slowly immersed his body in the water. He calmly said, "The storm has not yet settled. Let's just wait and see. After the storm subsides, we must try our best to fight for these official vacancies! "
"Yes!"
"This matter should be put aside. It would be best if we could get benefits, but it doesn't matter if we don't. The most important thing is to ensure that nothing goes wrong in the Southern Border. We only lost a few official positions in the capital, but the Southern Border represents half of the country. Once the situation worsens in the future, it will be our capital to make a comeback!"
"Yes!"
Speaking of capital, Yang Fan suddenly thought of Young Master Jiang. Young Master Jiang was only concerned about winning and not about losing, so he was now in a difficult situation and lacked a capital to make a comeback. From the fact that he recklessly used the power of Taoist Shifang, the old nun of Hanoi, and the other three swindlers to accumulate wealth, it could be seen how difficult his current situation was. Yang Fan also deduced that he was still in Luoyang.
"When will the master of the illusion artiste in Chang 'an arrive in the capital?"
"Sect Master, our people have already escorted those illusion artistes from Chang 'an. They must have been delayed by the snowstorm. Recently, it has been snowing everywhere. Those old artistes are old, so we don't dare to let them travel too much. Otherwise, it will be troublesome if they get seriously ill as soon as they arrive in Luoyang."
"Got it. There's no need to rush them. It's fine as long as nothing goes wrong. You can go now! "
"Yes!"
Liu Qingqian quietly disappeared. Yang Fan breathed a sigh of relief and rested his head on the thick towel by the pool. The warm spring water enveloped his well-built body, and the mist quickly covered his face.
The current situation was like the mist in front of him, confusing and confusing. However, even if the mist was thick, Yang Fan still knew where the door and the window were. If he wanted to leave, he could leave.
It was not because he was more brilliant or wiser than the others in the situation, but because he held an enormous power in his hands and had eyes and ears that were far more informed than others. But he still had to be careful, as if he was treading on thin ice!
Because his predecessor, Young Master Jiang, also had this power, but he still fell, and lost miserably. He fell because of arrogance, stubbornness, and leaving no way out. Yang Fan did not want to repeat his mistakes.
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.
