On the day of Huaiyang King Li Kuang's execution, Guanzhong, which had been dry for more than a month, suddenly suffered a heavy rain.
Dark clouds rolled in the sky above the Imperial City, lightning and thunder thundered, and huge raindrops were like broken beads, crackling to the ground.
Some good-hearted people said that this must be the unjust death of King Huaiyang, so it shocked the world. But more people said that this was the revenge of the dead souls killed by Li Kuang, and even God could not help but shed tears for them.
However, no matter who was sad for whom, Princess Li Xi of Fenyang locked herself in her room and cried secretly.
No matter how bad Li Kuang is, he is still her biological brother after all.
Since ancient times, the most ruthless emperor's family.
For that throne, fathers and sons kill each other, brothers kill each other, and sometimes even the concubines in the harem are involved. Stories like this happen every year, from generation to generation.
Li Xi always thought that he was lucky and had the advantage of being a daughter. Otherwise, he might have been involuntarily dragged into the bloody killing field, fighting to the death with others for a long live.
She quietly offered three sticks of incense to the emperor's brother, then changed into court clothes herself, covered the traces of her crying with makeup, and prepared to enter the palace.
This is the custom and the rule.
The lucky ones who were not implicated because of their close relatives' violation of heaven's rules and guilty pleas should take an attitude and show their own position - thank the emperor for not killing them.
To be more positive, we should also severely reprimand those daring ghosts to show our infinite support for the emperor's wisdom.
To put it bluntly, this is a necessary move to save one's own life. The subtext behind it is: Your Majesty, I don't hate you at all. Don't worry about eradicating the roots.
The consort Murong Xue has returned to the front line at this time, and it is best not to let him get involved in this kind of thing. Li Xi secretly thought as he took a carriage alone and entered the Tai Chi Palace from Changxing Gate, and then walked to Yangxin Pavilion under an oil-paper umbrella in the steady rain.
That was probably my father's favorite place to stay during his lifetime. If he had known that his own son was beheaded in public today, how would he feel?
The more Li Xi thought about it, the more desolate she became. She was sad for her brother Li Kuang, sad for her father Li Chengwu, and also sad for herself.
"Princess, Your Majesty calls you in."
The voice of the chamberlain pulled Li Xi back from her complicated thoughts. She responded quickly, then moved her steps lightly and walked into the pavilion.
"My dear sister, Li Xi, I bow to Your Majesty, long live my emperor."
"Mei Xi, please get back on your feet."
Li Bing put down the volume in his hand and said kindly: "It's raining so hard, why do you have to come here?"
Li Xi bowed his head and said: "Today, the rebel king Li Kuang and the traitors have pleaded guilty and are facing justice. The prosperity of our Holy Tang Dynasty can be expected, and I am very happy in my heart. I have come here to express my congratulations to Your Majesty."
After saying that, she respectfully presented the memorial with both hands.
The chamberlain took it and handed it to the emperor. Li Bing looked at it briefly, put it aside and ordered the princess to be given a seat.
"Ximei, you came at the right time," Li Bing said lightly, "I have been a little upset recently and want to find someone I can trust to talk to."
The three words "trustworthy" are of great significance at this moment: it is an indirect hint that Li Xi has passed the test.
Li Xi looked as usual and said softly: "Your Majesty is working hard day and night on state affairs. You must not worry too much. You should still put the dragon body as the most important thing."
Li Bing said "upset", but Li Xi persuaded "dragon body". The difference between the two also shows Princess Fenyang's attitude: Emperor, there are some things you can tell me; , it’s better not to say anything. I don’t dare to listen, and I don’t want to listen either.
Li Bing, who has lived in the palace for a long time, naturally understands the meaning of Li Xi's words. However, he didn't seem to care much, and said to himself: "Recently, rumors have spread among the people, saying that I am the illegitimate son of the rebel king Li Chengxing. Now that I have stolen the throne, it is not as legitimate as the origin of Li Zheng from Jiangnan. Moreover, Many discussions involve the missing secret files of Beiya Nilinsi, and it is extremely frustrating to say it is conclusive."
Li Xi pretended to be surprised and said: "Is this happening? My sister has never heard of it."
"I guess Murong didn't mention it to you." Li Bing knew that the other party was pretending to be confused with him, but it was hard to point it out: "This kind of criticism has great impact on me, the court, and the Holy Tang Dynasty. The harm. Alas, although the Three Law Departments have begun to strictly investigate and deal with it, I feel helpless because I am more concerned about protecting people than Sichuan."
Li Xi knew that such mysteries related to the orthodoxy of imperial power often first affected not the imperial court, but the royal family. The attitude of the Li royal family towards this is the fundamental factor.
Li Bing insisted on chasing him to talk about this matter today, and his intention was very obvious.
After thinking about this, Li Xi had to make a clear statement: "Your Majesty, all the foolish men and women among the people like this kind of intrusive remarks, why should we care about it? Who among us relatives doesn't know this? Your Majesty is The legitimate son of Emperor Xian Zhaolie and Queen Xian Jingwen, the heir to the throne designated by the Holy Religion Covenant."
Li Bing waved his hand: "That's true, but sometimes I myself can't get over this hurdle. After all... Well, after all, when I was an infant, there were strife in the world and chaos in the country, and many things couldn't be explained clearly. .”
Li Xi was silent for a moment, and suddenly asked quietly: "Is this matter really that important?"
Hearing this, Li Bing couldn't help but be stunned: "Isn't this important?"
"Whether it's important or not, I don't know much about being a prostitute." Li Xi raised his head, looked into Li Bing's eyes, and said solemnly: "However, I remember what my father once said."
"He said that what history remembers is never bloodline, but name and achievements."
Li Xi's words hit Li Bing's heart so hard that the young emperor was stunned on the spot.
-
Li Xi returned to the Prince Consort's Mansion from the palace. As soon as he entered the door, he was stunned by the scene in front of him. Seven or eight Yamen servants from Jingzhao Mansion were standing neatly in the front yard. The housekeeper in the mansion was talking to a man who looked like a headhunter. .
Seeing her appear, the catcher hurried forward and knelt down on one knee: "Jingzhao Mansion is inspecting Lu Qing to see the princess."
Li Xi ignored him and looked at the housekeeper: "What's going on?"
"Princess, something happened in the mansion." The housekeeper looked a little panicked: "Your maid was killed."
"My maid?" Li Xi was surprised: "Which one?"
The head catcher, Lu Qing, stood up and said, "My maid, Xiaoting."
Li Xi said in surprise: "Xiaoting died? When did it happen?"
The housekeeper said with a sad face: "Just when you were going to the palace. She was going to Andefang to pick up the two pieces of embroidery you had before. As soon as she went out and before she got in the car, she was hit by a poisonous arrow shot from the alley and died on the spot. "
Li Xi's scalp tightened when he heard it, and he scolded: "You dare to kill my slave in the street in broad daylight, who did it?!"
Lu Qing quickly handed over his hand: "Princess, calm down, our Jingzhao Mansion is investigating. The opponent used crossbows, which are military equipment..."
Before he could finish his words, Li Xi ordered: "Steward, immediately send someone to the camp outside the city, call the soldiers left there by the prince-in-law, and notify the palace at the same time that I have been attacked by gangsters!"
The housekeeper quickly agreed, turned around and left in a hurry.
Li Xi glanced at the catcher Lu Qing and snorted coldly: "Go and ask your governor to come and talk to me in person!" After saying that, she flicked her sleeves and walked into the back house without looking back.
Xiaoting's untimely death is a warning to Li Xi.
This shows that Li Jiangyao's previous strategy of long-term fishing for big fish has been noticed by the enemies behind the scenes and has made corresponding countermeasures. And she herself is also under threat from the other party.
Li Xi did not expect the Jingzhao Prefect to find out the real culprit.
Are the local yamen qualified to deal with entrants of this level? Therefore, both Lu Qing and Jingzhao Fuyin were just going through the motions.
What we can really count on are the people from the Intelligence Department of the Zhenjiang Army.
They had been secretly monitoring Xiaoting, and they must have noticed the killer's traces immediately. They must have started to hunt and kill him at this time.
The primary issue at the moment is to try to protect Li Xi's own safety first, so as to avoid being unjustly killed for unknown reasons. Therefore, Princess Fenyang didn't ask any questions and asked the housekeeper to quickly mobilize soldiers outside the city to strengthen the defense of the Prince Consort's Mansion.
In the evening, as the rain outside gradually diminished, the governor of Jingzhao personally visited the house to inquire about the murder of the maid.
Li Xi was too lazy to bother, saying that he was frightened and could not see the guests, so he only asked the old housekeeper to deal with it.
Not long after, people came to the palace. One chamberlain and twenty imperial troops came to protect the safety of Princess Fenyang, saying that they were following the emperor's decree.
For a time, inside and outside the Prince Consort's Mansion, there were more than two hundred soldiers wearing different armors, including soldiers of the Qinglong Legion, princess guards, tiger and leopard cavalry of the Forbidden Army, and soldiers of the Jingzhao Mansion, standing guard every three steps and one sentry every five steps. Arranged tightly.
Li Xi drove all the servants and maids out and sat alone in the room, reading a book and waiting for someone.
What she is waiting for is Shi Feng.
Inspector Shi Feng of the Imperial City Branch of the Zhenjiang Army Intelligence Department.
When Li Jiangyao left the imperial capital before, he had designated Shi Feng as the liaison of the Prince Consort's Mansion, responsible for delivering news between Murong Xue, Li Xi and the Zhenjiang Army.
Sure enough, at three o'clock in the morning, Shi Feng, who was covering himself as an officer of the Qinglong Army, asked for a meeting outside.
The old housekeeper didn't know Shi Feng's true origin, but he knew that General Murong Xue had told him that Captain Shi was a trusted person and could directly meet him or Princess Fenyang at any time. Therefore, the old man did not dare to neglect and hurriedly Shi Feng led him to Li Xi.
After the butler closed the door and left, Shi Feng cupped his hands and said, "Princess, what happened today has shocked you."
Li Xi smiled lightly and said: "It's just a cheap servant who died, and I'm not at the scene. Why should I be frightened? Have you found out what happened?"
Shi Feng nodded: "When the killer committed the murder, we happened to arrange for two brothers to watch in secret, so we immediately chased him. Just now, the person in charge of the operation raided the killer's hiding place and captured him alive on the spot."
Li Xi's eyes lit up: "Have you found out who sent it?"
"Asked," Shi Feng's face darkened: "He is a member of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry."
