By the time the sky was bright, everyone had already had their breakfast and were packing up for the journey. At this time, Princess Taiping gave an order. Before long, everyone saw the Prince of Luling walking out of the inner chamber with the support of two of Princess Taiping's personal guards.
Last night, several hundred people had fought in this small courtyard of the palace. Every room, including under the windows, in the cupboards, and even in every crevice and every brick, had been searched, but he was nowhere to be found. But now, Li Xian was leisurely walking out of the rear hall.
Wu Sansi and Wu Chengsi looked as if they had seen a ghost, dumbfounded. They simply couldn't imagine where he had hidden last night. As soon as Li Xian came out, he repeatedly cupped his hands and apologized to everyone. After all, everyone had come for him, but he had avoided them until now. After the chaos last night, no one would blame him.
In fact, everyone present knew that the assassin from last night was definitely sent by Wu Cheng Si and Wu Sansi, but the wonderful thing was that everyone pretended not to know. Even Wu Cheng Si and Wu Sansi pretended not to know. When everyone saw each other, they were still polite and courteous. Those who needed to be courteous, those who needed to be courteous, those who needed to be greeted.
When the Prince of Luling arrived, the troops were ready to set off. Princess Taiping's eight female guards guarded the innermost area, the eight mountains of flesh surrounding the Prince of Luling impenetrable. Next came the one hundred cavalry and internal guards led by Yang Fan, followed by the Imperial Guard led by Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong, followed by the Southern Guard led by Di Renjie, Yao Chong, and Wei Zhigu, and finally, the family warriors of Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi.
Princess Taiping had made it clear not because she didn't trust the two princes, but because the two princes had brought private troops. When the Prince of Luling returned to the capital, he naturally had to be surrounded and protected by the troops of the imperial court. There was no reason for him to borrow the private troops of Prince Liang and Prince Wei.
Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi had already given up on the idea of assassinating the Prince of Luling, so they wouldn't argue with her over this matter. A majestic army left the Dragon's Gate.
Early in the morning, there was news from the capital: the Emperor heard that the Prince of Luling was ill in Fang County. Anxious to save his son, he had already ordered the Minister Counsellor Xu Yanbo to go to Fangzhou to summon the Prince of Luling, his consort, and his sons back to Luoyang for treatment. Today was the day the Prince of Luling would arrive in the capital.
Wu Zetian had drafted this decree a long time ago, and it was only after the Prince of Luling safely arrived at the capital that it was announced to the world. However, that Minister Counsellor Xu Yanbo had only accompanied Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong on a trip. From beginning to end, he had never shown his face or spoken a word, and the imperial court had only borrowed his name.
Of course, summoning the prince only required an edict and a messenger. The glorious Tang dynasty, the son of the Son of Heaven, what problem could there be if he wanted to return to the capital? The hundred cavalry, the internal guards, the assassinations along the way, the numerous dangers, the princes, the Prime Ministers, and even the Emperor's personal bodyguard to ensure the safety of the Prince of Luling — these things had never happened before and had to be erased.
When the procession was about to arrive at Luoyang, the two princes, Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi, as well as the three Prime Ministers, led their troops away. Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong retreated behind the scenes. That Minister Counsellor Xu, who had never shown his face, rode to the front on a large horse and became the messenger to welcome the Prince of Luling back to the capital.
What needed to be clear was that he was the Prince of Luling who had been escorted all the way back from Fangzhou. The Prince of Luling had never lived at the Dragon's Gate, so there had never been a riot like last night on Dragon's Gate Mountain.
The common people of the capital had heard the news of the Prince of Luling's return to the capital announced by Bōshō early in the morning. When they saw such a grand procession entering the city, those who didn't know immediately knew that the Prince of Luling had returned. The common people immediately burst into enthusiastic cheers.
In fact, whether it was the Prince of Luling or the Crown Prince Li Dan, their influence among the common people had long been waning. As long as the common people had food to eat and clothes to wear, they didn't care who the Emperor was. It was just that Wu Zetian's various actions of excluding dissidents and putting the Wu clansmen in important positions in the court were unpopular. His prestige among the common people had also been declining day by day due to the large scale construction and the unfavorable war.
In comparison, the common people were naturally very happy that the Prince of Luling had returned to the capital. They hoped that this prince would one day inherit the throne and work hard to restore the grandeur of the Tang dynasty during the reign of Taizong and Gaozong, rebuilding a rich and powerful country.
… …
With the protection of Princess Taiping, Elder Di, Prime Minister Wei, and Prime Minister Yao, Wu Sansi and Wu Chengsi's confirmation, Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong's personal welcome, and the Emperor's procession, could this prince still be a fake?
No one thought so. As a result, the secret scouts at the various city gates of Luoyang had already withdrawn with their tails between their legs. However, Huang Xuchang and A 'Nu, who were still outside the city, were still unaware of this sudden change.
When Yang Fan led the enemies to hide on Mount Longmen yesterday morning, Huang Xuchang had already taken a shortcut and rushed to Luoyang. However, he did not enter the city immediately. Instead, he followed Yang Fan's orders and hid in a small village nearby with Prince of Luling, Li Xian.
This village was home to three brothers of the Ox clan. The eldest was a farmer, the second sold vegetables, and the third ran a small business. In the Ox Village, they could be considered an above average family. The father of these three brothers was the old steward of Yang Fan's estate.
After hiding in the Ox Village with Prince of Luling, Huang Xuchang soon arrived at the home of Steward Niu's second son. Soon, Niu Er entered the city carrying a basket of vegetables. He wandered around the various shops while shouting. When he arrived at Yang Fan's house in Fortune Kindness Square, a cook from the Yang clan came out and bought two bunches of chives, a dozen cucumbers, and three bundles of spinach. Then, Niu Er left with the basket.
After less than an hour, Old Steward Niu of the Yang Family led a few young workers to Nan City. No one paid attention to them, and even if they did, they wouldn't be able to tell that one of the young workers was Yang Fan's second wife, A 'Nu, disguised as a young worker. When it was almost evening, these young workers carried a few things back from their own shop in Nan City, but the old steward and A' Nu, who was disguised as a young worker, had already disappeared.
Early the next morning, A 'Nu escorted Prince of Luling back to the city. Because Huang Xuchang's appearance was too distinctive, even if he changed his appearance, it would be difficult to change his physique. Therefore, A 'Nu sent him to the northern part of the city alone, leaving the important task of protecting Prince of Luling to A' Nu.
A 'Nu had dressed Prince of Luling up as a butcher. The wrinkles on his face had turned into ferocious scars, and his cheeks had also become fierce-looking. With an apron stained with oil tied around his waist, he sat on a greasy cart, reeking of the smell of lard and sheep. A' Nu, on the other hand, was dressed as a butcher, holding a whip and driving the two donkeys that were pulling the cart.
Originally, A 'Nu had prepared a few backup plans just in case, but unexpectedly, these countermeasures were not used at all. The procession that entered the city from the southern gate and traveled along the most prosperous Ding Ding Street all the way to the palace had already attracted the attention of the entire city. Even though there were still a few people sent by Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi who hadn't withdrawn in time, they no longer had the interest to search the people entering the city.
The process of A 'Nu bringing Prince of Luling into the city went very smoothly. The first wife of the Yang clan, Xiaoman, was also in disguise, leading a few of the Yang clan's workers to secretly support the procession at the southern gate. Originally, she had planned to create a mess if anything happened. Seeing them enter without a hitch, Xiaoman didn't make a sound and just followed them in the dark. Only when she saw the meat cart enter the southern city did she smile and return to her shop first.
The Yang clan's business was getting bigger and bigger, and Xiaoman's management was very good. Her shop was very profitable, and now she had taken over a few poorly run shops. However, she also knew that a tall tree attracts the wind, so she went through two more procedures to prevent people from knowing that these shops had been annexed by the Yang clan.
Now that Xiaoman had a lot of people at her disposal, she didn't need to personally take care of these shops. If she needed to check the accounts, she could send someone else, so for now, no one knew that these shops were also under the surname of the Yang clan.
Although wealthy families never lacked for meat, meat, and poultry, the "Slaughter Prohibition" only existed in name. As long as it existed, it was impossible to openly sell meat in Luoyang. If meat was sold secretly, the price would inevitably rise, and it was already very difficult for small families to sell meat.
Now that the "ban on slaughter" had just been lifted, it was the time when the meat business in Luoyang was booming. There were millions of people in Luoyang, and the consumption of meat was astonishing. Xiaoman had converted one of the shops she had taken over into a meat shop, and the business was quite booming.
The meat cart drove into the Yang clan's butcher shop and went straight to the backyard to unload the goods. When the empty cart left, the butcher and the assistant had all been replaced. Li Xian and A 'Nu, who were disguised as the butcher and the assistant, had already become a middle-aged Scribes dressed in green, and a delicate and pretty attendant who was his study companion. They walked slowly in Luoyang, one in the front and one in the back.
Luoyang had a population of millions, and the Son of Heaven's capital was far more prosperous than other places. In particular, scholars could be seen everywhere in Luoyang. The two people dressed like this, a master and a servant, were inconspicuous on the streets of Luoyang. The two slowly walked forward, passing by the Hui He and An Zhong workshops, and arrived at the Luo River.
A 'Nu paid three copper coins, rented a small boat, and helped Li Xian onto the boat. They rode on the waves and sailed all the way to the Tianjin Bridge. Only then did the "master and servant" abandon the boat and disembark.
Standing at the Tianjin Bridge and gazing at the magnificent palaces and pavilions, Li Xian couldn't help but tear up.
A 'Nu said in a low voice, "Your Highness, we haven't entered the palace yet. We still need to be vigilant!"
"Ah!" Li Xian heard her warning and promptly turned to look at the river, taking the opportunity to quietly wipe away the tears at the corner of his eyes.
Huang Xuchang had driven a carriage to the Tianjin Bridge a long time ago. A 'Nu had only agreed to meet him here, so he didn't know what appearance A' Nu and the Prince of Luling would take, what they would ride, or which direction they would come from. Thus, when he arrived at the Tianjin Bridge, he had been looking all around.
A 'Nu helped Li Xian disembark from the boat and disembark. They had already been standing at the bridgehead for a while when Huang Xuchang finally noticed them. Overjoyed, he hurriedly drove the carriage to their side.
A 'Nu and Li Xian saw Huang Xuchang as soon as the carriage moved. Thus, Huang Xuchang didn't say anything even when he drove the carriage up to them, only looking at them with an expression of uncontrollable excitement. A 'Nu vigilantly scanned the surroundings before whispering to Li Xian, "Your Highness, please board the carriage!"
A 'Nu didn't put down the pedal. Instead, she reached out to grab Li Xian's ribs and pulled him onto the carriage. Li Xian also knew that this was the final moment of success or failure. He was both nervous and excited, and his movements unexpectedly became nimble. He quickly crawled into the carriage and sat down. Huang Xuchang then cracked the horsewhip and drove the carriage toward the palace.
Within the boundaries of the palace, unauthorized people were not allowed to linger or linger. Merchants were also not allowed to set up stalls, so the square was completely empty. A 'Nu followed the carriage forward a few steps. Seeing that the carriage was flying away, knowing that there could no longer be any accidents here, she finally stopped. With a faint smile, she turned around and walked toward the bridgehead.
In the distance, a guard of honor slowly appeared amidst the cheers of tens of thousands of heads …
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