"Your Majesty, Princess Fenyang is requesting an audience outside the palace."
Li Bing was reviewing the memorial when he suddenly heard from the chamberlain that Li Xi was here, and he couldn't help but feel a little surprised.
At this time, there are still three days before Li Xi and Murong Xue's wedding. Why is she entering the palace at this time? Did he come here specifically to express gratitude for the marriage?
Li Bing thought for a moment and asked, "Did the princess tell me why she saw me?"
The chamberlain lowered his head and responded: "I asked the old slave, and the princess made it clear that she has a major case to report, and because it involves the King of Huaiyang's rebellion, she must make a statement to the emperor."
Hearing this, Li Bing laughed dumbly: "Report for treason? So, Li Xi is completely breaking up with her brother this time?"
"The old slave thinks so too," the chamberlain said with a smile: "The King of Huaiyang was defeated and captured, and the princess is about to marry the hero who suppressed the rebellion. This story has come to an end, so naturally it needs a finale that makes sense."
Li Bing nodded: "Okay then, I will give Princess Fenyang a chance to kill her relatives out of justice, and let the world see how Li Jian betrayed her relatives in the end. Let Li Xi enter the palace."
Following the call from the chamberlain, Princess Fenyang, dressed in royal attire, slowly walked into the palace and prostrated herself in front of the imperial steps.
"Mei Xi, please get back on your feet." Li Bing stood on top of the throne, looked at Li Xi who looked slightly sad, and asked, "How are you preparing for the wedding? I want to congratulate you in advance."
Li Xi quickly saluted again: "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty."
Seeing that the other party's tone was lukewarm, Li Bing knew that she was feeling bitter and did not share her common understanding, so he turned to ask: "What's the matter with you coming to see me today?"
"Your Majesty, I want to report my sister for treason!"
Li Bing nodded slightly and said: "I have considered before that Li Kuang's matter should be dealt with after your wedding is over. This is also to show sympathy for you. After all, he is him and you are you, there is no need to involve him. In my opinion, you are still the sensible seventh princess."
Li Xi responded in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, Li Kuang made a big mistake. I am deeply saddened by this, and I feel sorry for the late emperor. No matter how you deal with him, the royal family, the court, and the people of the world will not have any objections." However, my sister is here today not to accuse Li Kuang, but someone else."
Hearing this, Li Bing couldn't help but be stunned: "Is there someone else? Who do you want to sue?"
Li Xi raised his head, looked directly at Li Bing, and his tone gradually became colder: "The person I want to accuse is the former Shaoqing of Dali Temple, the director of Beiya Nilin, and the Marquis of Changning Shen Lie! He conspired to monopolize power and bewitched Huai Yang Wang Li Kuang conspired to rebel and intended to harm the emperor, and the crime cannot be punished!"
Li Bing was taken aback. He supported Long An with both hands and stood up: "Li Xi, do you know what you are talking about? What crime do you want to accuse Shen Lie of?"
Princess Fenyang raised the brocade bag containing evidence and said loudly: "Your Majesty, Li Kuang is indeed guilty, but he was deceived and encouraged by Shen Lie, and then he embarked on the road of no return step by step. The government and the public need to know the truth!"
"What is in your hand?" Li Bing asked in a deep voice, "Is it evidence?"
Li Xi responded: "Exactly! Inside, there is a secret letter written by Shen Lie to Li Kuang, a record of the equipment and funds donated by Nilin Division to the Huaiyang Prince's Mansion, and the tiger talisman for mobilizing troops stolen from the late emperor."
Li Bing felt a chill on his back and quickly ordered the waiter: "Bring it here quickly and show it to me!"
The old chamberlain also panicked, ran down the imperial steps in three steps, took the bag, and hurried back to present it to Li Bing.
Li Bing opened the kit, took out the evidence one by one and carefully identified it, and the expression on his face gradually became serious.
"Ximei, where did you get these things? And when did you get them?" Li Bing's tone was cold and emotionless.
Li Xi had already prepared his words and said loudly: "Reporting to your majesty, Li Kuang's internal affairs manager Su Wen is the husband of my sister's wet nurse. He followed Li Kuang to Lianghuai. After the rebels were defeated, Su Wen took advantage of the chaos and escaped. , and secretly sent these things in his custody to the imperial capital and presented them to me."
Li Bing asked: "Where is the person? Where is Su Wen now?"
"He delivered the things to the house and then left," Li Xi replied: "At that time, I was accompanying Concubine Hui to worship Buddha at Xiangji Temple, so I didn't see him and couldn't keep him. "
"when did it happen?"
"Three days ago."
"Three days ago?" Li Bing was immediately annoyed: "Why did you only come to report what happened three days ago today?!"
Li Xi replied calmly: "Your Majesty, I know that Su Wen is a key witness and must not be missed. Therefore, I have not reported it in the past few days and have been sending servants to look for him everywhere. Besides, reporting is a must. Shen Lie, is this child's play? My sister hesitated again and again, and finally came to see you with a desperate intention. If Your Majesty feels that my sister is guilty, Li Xi is willing to be punished."
Li Bing was stunned for a moment, then waved his hand and said: "You are not guilty, but you have merit. How can I punish you? However, Su Wen has not been found for so long. I think he has already left the imperial capital and fled in fear of crime."
Li Xi nodded: "My sister thinks so too. However, Su Wen's escape does not actually affect the confirmation of the case. The letters, account books, and tiger talismans are all there. As long as you ask the Third Law Department to carefully verify them, you can naturally distinguish the authenticity."
Hearing what she said, Li Bing also felt that it made sense, so he ordered: "Mei Xi, I already know the matter, and I will ask Beiya to investigate it carefully. You go back and wait for the order first, and don't delay the wedding ceremony. If Shen is really Lie is causing trouble behind your back, I will reconsider your brother's guilt."
-
The case of Shi, the former director of Nilin, took a turn for the worse due to Princess Fenyang's sudden accusation.
On the day Li Xi entered the palace, Shen Lie was taken away from the Dali Temple prison by the imperial army and transferred to the imperial prison controlled by Nilin Division.
At the same time, all the senior spies from the Nilin Division were transferred to other places for business, and those who stayed in the imperial capital were all newly recruited after Tian Mu took office.
In an instant, the government and the public were talking a lot, and it felt like a storm was about to come.
After receiving the news, the groom-to-be Murong Xue didn't even bother to prepare for the wedding. He directly led Xu Youchang, who came to celebrate, to find Dong Tianxing to discuss countermeasures.
Lao Dong was also worrying at home at the moment. When he saw the two generals coming, he couldn't help but sigh: "This time it may really be a big trouble."
Xu Youchang asked: "Master Dong, did you hear anything in court?"
Dong Tianxing frowned and shook his head: "There is too little useful information. Princess Fenyang entered the palace alone to face the saint, and then the emperor ordered the Nilin Division to conduct a close investigation. Zhou Xing and the others were also deliberately separated and sent to Out of town, so I am still confused as to what exactly happened. I just heard that the Seventh Princess accused Shen Changshi of conspiring to incite the King of Huaiyang to rebel. "
"Fart! It's just nonsense!" Murong Xue said angrily: "Others don't know the ins and outs, but I know the whole story best. Are you saying that Shen Lie is treasonous? If he really had treason in the first place, it would never be the emperor's turn to ascend the throne. Great position; if he wants to monopolize power, who can put him in jail? Li Xi, this crazy bitch, is just biting people!"
Xu Youchang couldn't help but joked: "She is your unmarried daughter-in-law. If you scold her so harshly, do you mean you don't want to marry her?"
Murong Xue waited for him and said, "What a shame! A woman with such a scorpion-hearted heart will be a disaster when she comes into the door!"
Dong Tianxing was afraid that Murong Xue would act impulsively, so he quickly tried to persuade her, and then said: "In my opinion, Princess Fenyang was probably taken advantage of by others. Do you think that it would be impossible to come up with irrefutable evidence of Shen Changshi's death?" If the princess can do it, there must be someone behind the scenes. Either it’s the ministers who have a grudge against Chang Shi; or it’s the traitor Wong Wong, or it’s simply Lao Jianhua.”
Xu Youchang nodded slightly: "I agree with Mr. Dong's judgment. Li Xi obviously wants to use this matter to exonerate her brother Li Kuang. But in any case, Princess Fenyang is just a woman who has lived in a boudoir for a long time. She has neither the ability nor the ability to do anything. To frame the dignified Nilin Changshi. If you ask me to guess, it’s 10% to be Lao Jianhua.”
Murong Xue frowned and said in a deep voice: "What I am more concerned about now is Shen Lie's safety. The Nilin Division is ordered to investigate and interrogate secretly. It can directly convict and sanction without informing the government and the opposition. By then, Shen Lie's safety will be The body is too cold, so we probably don’t know.”
"So we must race against time to save Mr. Shen first." Dong Tianxing thought: "Only by ensuring that the person is alive first can we have the opportunity to slowly sort out the conspiracy behind it and figure out what the whole thing is about."
Xu Youchang asked: "How about we jointly sign a petition? With the strength of many people, it will put pressure on Li Bing."
Dong Tianxing shook his head: "You can try it, but it may not work. The main problem is how many people are willing to co-sign as guarantees. You know, if it involves rebellion, no one dares to get involved easily."
"It is true. There is no weight if there are too few people, and the emperor will not care." Murong Xue nodded: "At present, only a few of us are willing to sacrifice our lives to save others. It is not only very difficult to persuade other ministers, but also takes a long time. , I’m afraid that Shen Lie’s side can’t wait.”
Xu Youchang scratched his head depressedly and couldn't help but muttered: "It would be great if Jiang Yao were here, he would definitely be able to do something."
When Li Jiangyao was mentioned, Dong Tianxing was slightly startled, and then asked: "You two, we are so familiar with the Protector General, why not take a guess at what kind of countermeasures he would take if he were here?"
Murong Xue was a little confused, and subconsciously looked at Xu Youchang beside her, who responded seriously: "When Jiang Yao is facing the enemy, his ideas are often unconstrained and courageous, and he never acts according to the opponent's expectations. Change. In other words, as long as he can defeat powerful enemies and achieve his goals, he has nothing to fear and dares to do anything."
Hearing this, Dong Tianxing suddenly understood something and tried to ask: "Then you two, tell me, what is our primary goal right now?"
Murong Xue said without thinking: "Of course, as you just said, save Shen Lie's life first, and then slowly investigate the case until the truth comes to light."
Dong Tianxing nodded slightly: "That's easy. According to the style of the Great Protector, shouldn't we just snatch Master Shen out?"
