Outside the palace walls where Li Dan and his son were watching, Gu Zhuting, disguised as the Prince of Luling, braced herself and walked toward the Hall of Martial Accomplishment under the guidance of Xu Yanbo and the eunuchs. Along the way, the eunuchs and palace maids made way for him, either bowing or greeting him.
Although they still lacked the proper respect for this prince, they clearly understood that if nothing unexpected happened, this former Son of Heaven, today's prince, would one day be the master of this palace.
The new Heaven and Hall of Brightness were about to be completed, and the scaffolding attached to the tall building was still there. The craftsmen were busy finishing the final construction and decorating. The Son of Heaven was already old. Perhaps by the time the new Wanxiang Divine Palace was completed, the new master would already be this seemingly frail old man in his fifties. Who would dare to disrespect him?
They arrived at the Hall of Martial Accomplishment. The first door was heavily guarded. The second door was heavily guarded. The third door …
Gu Zhuting was somewhat flustered, but since Yang Fan had not followed her in and she could not receive any instructions, she could only brace herself and walk forward.
Gu Zhuting had just stepped into the third door when an old eunuch suddenly appeared beside the door. With a beaming smile, he blocked her path and gestured for her to turn to the side. Gu Zhuting's eyes flashed and saw two pretty female officials gracefully standing in the corridor. They were smiling at her and nodding at her.
Gu Zhuting subconsciously walked over. When she stood still, she saw that the two female officials were looking behind her. She couldn't help but turn around. She saw Li Xian, dressed in a green robe, flashing out from the other side of the door and standing next to the Minister Counsellor Xu Yanbo.
Xu Yanbo did not know that the prince he had been accompanying was a fake. Seeing this scene, he stood there with an astonished expression. He looked at the prince beside him who looked seventy to eighty percent similar to the one from before. Of the two, one was dressed in the robes of a prince, the other in an azure robe. It seemed that the one who had walked away was the real one.
However, the person in front of him was the steward eunuch of the palace, Eunuch Gao, and the person leading the Prince of Luling to the side was the emperor's most trusted female official, Shangguan Wan'er, and Fu Qingqing. Xu Yanbo, who was feeling a little dizzy, had no choice but to accompany the prince in green.
The internal court guards standing there like spears did not look sideways and ignored everything that was happening in front of them.
Shangguan Wan 'er watched as Xu Yanbo accompanied the green-robed Li Xian to the front of the hall. She loudly announced her arrival and led Li Xian inside. Only then did she turn to the splendidly dressed' Li Xian 'next to her with a faint smile. She grasped her hand and softly said, "Miss Gu, right? My surname is Shangguan, and my given name is Wan 'er. Please follow me, Miss! "
"Shangguan Wan'er! This young lady is the current Minister of Internal Affairs, Shangguan Wan'er! "
Gu Zhuting was stunned by this name. Before she could understand, she had already involuntarily followed behind Shangguan Wan'er.
When they approached the city gate, Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi deliberately slowed down to allow the Prince of Luling's guard of honor to enter the city. The two rested for a full two hours at the Sanli Pavilion outside the city before setting off to return to the city.
Wu Sansi did not return to his own residence. Instead, he followed Wu Chengsi's carriage all the way to the Prince of Wei's residence. The Prince of Luling had already returned to the capital, so it would be even more difficult to assassinate him. Moreover, to assassinate a prince in the capital, it would be fine if they failed, but if they succeeded, the political risk they would have to bear would be far too great.
Wu Sansi had no idea what to do, so he could only follow along and discuss the matter with his old rival, Wu Chengsi.
When Wu Chengsi returned to the residence, he first drank a bowl of soup to soothe the lungs and stop coughing. Seeing that Wu Sansi was still lonely and depressed, he said, "Don't be like this! Although Aunt has brought back her own son and has made it seem like she wants to pass the throne to him, based on my understanding of Aunt, she definitely does not wish for the Wuzhou Empire that she single-handedly created to change its surname to Li Tang.
Aunt is the founding monarch of the empire. She was born to be the Emperor of the Nine Five, and even in death, she wants to enjoy the imperial ancestral temple. She hopes that she will be enshrined in the imperial ancestral temple as the founding monarch of the empire, and not leave her name in the annals of history as the daughter-in-law of the Li clan. Therefore, Aunt will definitely make arrangements for the future. You and I should wait patiently. It won't be too late to make plans after we understand Aunt's intentions. "
Wu Sansi clenched his fists and lightly pounded the table, sighing, "This is the only thing we can do now!"
While the two of them were talking, someone else came in from outside. Wu Chengsi raised his head to take a look, and saw the newcomer was tall and sturdy, with five locks of long beard, his appearance somewhat similar to the Marquis of Han Shou Ting in the Guan Di Temple. He recognized him as one of Wu Sansi's family warriors, so he did not say anything.
When Ji Zubing entered the main hall, he glanced around and saw that his master was leaning on the table with both fists, looking depressed. He hurriedly ran over and went around to Wu Sansi's side. He stroked his long beard and bent down, whispering a few words into Wu Sansi's ear.
Wu Sansi had his eyes closed and was pretending to be in deep pain. After hearing a few words, his eyes suddenly opened. Ji Zubing whispered a few more words. Wu Sansi, "Ah!" Wu Sansi screamed and heavily pounded the table with both hands. Then, with a loud shout, he flipped the table in front of him away.
Wu Chengsi was startled and frowned unhappily, "Sansi, why are you acting out now?"
Wu Sansi clenched his fists and trembled all over. He repeatedly said, "Wrong! Wrong! I'm really wrong! "
Wu Chengsi was puzzled and widened his eyes, "What did you do wrong?"
Wu Sansi looked up at the sky and wanted to cry but had no tears. He shouted, "He's telling the truth! He's telling the truth! Why didn't I believe him? Why didn't I believe him? What's done is done, how can I reverse it? "
Wu Chengsi's mind was still muddled, and he asked in bewilderment, "Who's telling the truth? Who didn't you believe? "
Wu Sansi suddenly jumped up and said with a pained heart, "Forget it! It's the will of the heavens! If it's the will of the heavens, there's nothing I can do! "With that, he flicked his sleeves and strode out. When Ji Zubing saw that his lord had left, he hurriedly flung his long beard and chased after his lord in high spirits.
In front of him, Wu Sansi's face was full of pain but he did not cry. He did not look like a big-eared thief. Behind him, Ji Zubing's posture and mannerisms were exactly like Guan Yunchang. Wu Chengsi stared at Wu Sansi's back for a long time. He flicked his sleeves and scolded, "What a useless idiot!"
Inside the Hall of History, Shanghai Wan 'er's residence.
Gu Zhuting sat cross-legged in front of an octagonal bronze mirror with cloud-patterned patterns. She used a wet handkerchief to gently wipe away the last wrinkles at the corner of her eyes. Shanghai Wan 'er and Fu Qingqing, who were standing opposite her, saw the whole process of removing her makeup and could not help but look at each other in amazement.
Fu Qingqing could not help but praise, "The world is so big and the skills of an extraordinary person are unimaginable and unimaginable!"
Shanghai Wan 'er nodded and said, "Wan' er has really widened my horizons today. I did not think that there would be such a godly skill in the world!"
Gu Zhuting only smiled faintly at the two women's compliments. She then went to the copper basin and scooped up some clean water to wash her pretty and fair face. Wan'er handed over the silk handkerchief from the rack and smiled, "Miss Gu, please use it!"
"Thank you, Shangguan Wan 'er!" Gu Zhuting felt a little flattered by Shanghai Wan' er's attentiveness.
Shanghai Wan 'er smiled and did not correct her. Because the Emperor's name was "Zhao" (pronounced the same as the imperial edict), her status as a waiting for an imperial edict had become a waiting system.
Fu Qingqing waited for Gu Zhuting to wipe her face and took the silk handkerchief. She smiled and said, "The clothes have been prepared behind the screen. Miss Gu, please follow me!"
Gu Zhuting followed Fu Qingqing to the back of the screen. When she came out again, she had already changed into a light yellow palace gown, making her look more delicate and charming than a flower. Fu Qingqing happily praised, "Miss Gu is really pretty. With such a beautiful and charming appearance, when you are disguised as a man in his fifties, you actually have no flaws."
Shanghai Wan 'er was also smiling, but she couldn't help feeling a little jealous in her heart. "That stinky man without a conscience. Even in the face of death, he didn't forget to bring a woman as beautiful as a flower and jade with him. Could it be that all the men with martial arts have died?"
…
In the Hall of Martial Accomplishment, mother and son had finished their conversation and were facing each other in silence.
The Prince of Luling, Li Xian, had actually thought of many things along the way. When he saw his mother, how surprised, how excited, and how much he missed her. All these thoughts were like acting, and he had already thought of the steps. But he had already come here once. At that time, he only cared about explaining to Wu Zetian why he had followed Huang Xuchang away from the main entourage and quietly entered the palace.
At that time, he didn't have time to act, but this time, he was really acting. Acting together with Wu Zetian, he had already met his mother once. At this time, it would be too fake for him to put on an appearance of 'revealing his true feelings'. But he didn't have any quick thinking, so his original plan couldn't be used. For a moment, he couldn't find anything to say, but he also couldn't bear to give up this opportunity to get closer to his mother. Thus, he could only stand there frozen, anxiously trying to find something to say. Unfortunately, the more anxious he was, the more he couldn't think of anything.
Seeing that her son wanted to buy something good yet appeared timid, Wu Zetian was also greatly disappointed. Although in her heart, power, status, and the imperial inheritance were far more important than her son, he was still her own son, her own son whom she hadn't seen for sixteen years. She was already too old and had begun to value kinship. When she first saw Li Xian, she was still a little excited, but unfortunately, Li Xian's clumsy performance extinguished the little enthusiasm in her heart.
Wu Zetian sighed, her heart full of bitterness. But wasn't all this because of her tireless pursuit of power? The indifference between mother and son was caused by her own hands, what else could she say?
Wu Zetian thought for a while and suddenly remembered that her son had mentioned that he had brought back a little granddaughter this time. She seemed to be the youngest granddaughter of the branch in Luling, and she had never seen her before. She couldn't help but feel a little interested. Her son's appearance was repulsive, that little granddaughter who was ignorant of worldly affairs should be able to comfort her old heart.
Wu Zetian opened her mouth and called, "Xian 'er!"
"Ah! Mother! "
Li Xian, who was racking his brains for a topic, hastily bowed.
Wu Zetian slowly said, "I remember, this time you returned to the capital with another daughter?"
Li Xian was delighted, he thought, "That's right, how could I have forgotten about Guo 'er? This child is clever and quick-witted, she's the best with words. If I had remembered her earlier, I wouldn't have been so embarrassed."
Li Xian hastily replied, "Yes! Er has brought Mother's youngest granddaughter, Guo 'er, back to the capital. She's now waiting outside the hall for the decree. "
Wu Zetian raised her brows and asked doubtfully, "Guo 'er? Why did you give her such a strange maiden name? "
Li Xian hesitated, "Guo 'er … Er was born on the way to Fangzhou. Because things happened in a hurry, I didn't have time to prepare swaddling clothes, so I used Er's clothes to wrap up the newborn, so … I gave her this name."
Wu Zetian's expression changed. After a moment of silence, she said to Eunuch Gao who was waiting in front of the hall, "Go, bring my little granddaughter here, I want to see her!"
…
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