Beiya Prison is a very mysterious place, and even Li Linfu does not dare to inquire about it easily.
But he could inquire about the Du family and reveal the clues.
For example, ten years ago, the Du family bought a maidservant who was the granddaughter of the Huangfu family, the biological mother of King Guang Li Yao, one of the three common people; Huangfu Ran, one of the five sons of Chunwei, was a student of Zhang Jiuling; Du Youlin had received Zhang Jiuling's favor and funded the publication of the book. Crossing Qujiang Collection...
Putting these details together, combined with what Xue Bai did and his literary talents that fluctuated high and low, everything became clear.
Chen Xuanli also met Li Linfu once. After listening to these analyses, he finally nodded and said, "We will know when Han Yu is captured."
In this way, Li Linfu knew what was going on and began to make arrangements.
Pei Dunfu once again sued Pei Kuan, claiming that his subordinate Cao Jian had been wronged by Pei Kuan, and produced evidence that Pei Kuan "constructed the East Palace and criticized Chengyu".
Solid, real evidence.
A letter written by Pei Kuan when he introduced Prince Sheren Wang Zeng to Pei Dunfu is undoubtedly related to the East Palace. In another letter, Pei Kuan complained in his own handwriting that the saint had appointed Ge Nu as prime minister for many years, which ruined Bian Shuai's path to becoming prime minister, and criticized him. There is no doubt that Chengyu will be there.
Suddenly the whole court was filled with fear, and even Yang Zheng felt in danger.
Yang Zhao, who had not been to the Right Prime Minister's Mansion for some time before, also asked to see Li Linfu again. He was leaning on crutches and dragging an injured leg, saying that he fell while riding a horse and was delayed in serving the Right Prime Minister.
~~
Donggong's response was also very quick, and he directly wrote a memorial of self-incrimination.
Li Heng argued that he had no personal friendship with Pei Kuan, and he had never been to the East Palace, and he had never seen the people in the East Palace. Someone who was interested submitted the salt law to him. He believed that this move might be beneficial to the country and expressed his support. He never thought that it would be used by Pei Kuan.
At the time of Wei Jian's case, he and Concubine Wei were "not on friendly terms" and were afraid of unrest in the northwest; now they have "no personal friendship" and only think that salt can be used as a substitute for miscellaneous taxes.
Because of his filial piety to the saint, he gave in step by step, giving up personal feelings and friendships, but always put the country first. What is shown is that he is respectful, filial, weak, and pitiful, but he is also compassionate and considerate of the people.
When the son has reached this point, if the saint wants to save money again, the people will not allow it.
~~
Liyuan.
Several memorials were placed beside the imperial desk.
One hundred dancers on the stage were singing "Debao Song" again, showing the Jiangnan style.
After the song, Li Longji put down the album in his hand and said calmly: "Since the performance is over, let's bring them here."
~~
Yushitai.
No official dared to come to the official residence of the imperial censor anymore.
Pei Kuan raised his head and looked at the window, as if he felt that even the birds were unwilling to rest in his yard.
Sadness came to his mind. He took up his pen and wrote a memorial to himself.
He knew that he had lost too. In recent years, no one could resist Li Linfu's attacks. If you go here, you can probably be relegated to a place where you are engaged in history.
The worry about life will only be within a year or two.
"Doctor Pei."
The door was pushed open, and a chamberlain came in and said, "There will be a banquet in Zichen's inner palace tomorrow, and the saint invites Dr. Pei to watch the singing and dancing."
Pei Kuan became more and more sad, knowing that this was the last dignity the saint gave to his family in Hedong.
~~
"real?"
At the Ten Kings' Residence, Li Long was in disbelief at first, and then his eyes burst into surprise as he said, "The saint really called me to attend the banquet in the Daming Palace?"
"good."
"I, I learned dominoes, is it useful?"
"Jiushiro just wants to attend the banquet."
Except for the grand banquet in which all members of the clan were present, Li Xuan had not been summoned by a saint for many years.
He vaguely realized that the saint had already disliked him shortly after the death of the three common people. The reason why he was ridiculed by everyone for taking away his wife was that although Yang Yuhuan was really beautiful, she seemed to have that kind of disgust.
This time, I thought maybe Li Niang's words had an effect.
Li Ying's remaining members intertwined with Yang Zhen and Pei Kuan, making the saint realize that Li Ying was really planning to rebel, and thus changed his view of him? That's how it should be.
Thinking about this, Li Xuan rushed to Princess Wei's house.
"Princess, you will go to the palace with me for a banquet tomorrow. You should show your love for me."
Webster was busy embroidering. He raised his head with a blank look on his face and murmured: "Love?"
"Remember, we are very much in love." Li Long finally cheered up, "We want the world to know that we are very much in love."
~~
The next day, Daming Palace.
The inner palace of Zichen is built on Longshou Mountain. It lies on a high ground and is surrounded by clouds, making it look like a fairyland.
Today is a small banquet, and there are only a few tables for more than 20 people in the hall.
Li Chen held Wei's hand and entered, and they sat down cross-legged on the seat.
Sitting below him are Li Niang and Yang Hui and his wife; sitting above him are Li Cong and Dou; and at the top are Li Heng and Zhang Ting.
Sitting in the opposite row were Li Linfu, Yang Zhen, Pei Kuan, Zhangchou Jianqiong, Wang Xian, Xiao Jiong and other foreign ministers.
Li Cong had injuries on his face, with a few raised scars, which looked a bit scary. He had always been silent and low-key, but he didn't expect to be here today.
The sage did not appoint the eldest son as the heir apparent, and the officials felt that it would be difficult for him to be the king if he was not good-looking. However, in fact, there has never been such an explicit rule.
Li Chen thought to himself, this eldest brother is not honest either.
The saint has not yet arrived, but music and dance have already begun.
There was a "dong" sound from the drum.
A high-pitched voice suddenly sang.
"What if Ding He rebels and Dong rebels against He?! Is He Nang decent?!"
Li Chen was startled and thought it was a ghost screaming.
"It seems to be in Jianghuai dialect." Li Niang said: "This is the "Debao Song", has the saint started listening to it again?"
In fact, the sage did not come to listen and only asked them to listen.
After singing over and over again, everyone became more and more uneasy and at a loss. Pei Kuan, in particular, was sweating on his forehead.
finally.
"The saint has arrived."
With this shout, everyone stood up quickly and saw Li Longji, wearing a headdress facing the sky and a flowing crimson gauze robe, walking towards him. He looked like an old god.
Yang Yang peeked over and saw that Concubine Yang was not there. A chill ran down his spine and he buried his head lower.
"Why are you all so boring?" Li Longji sat down comfortably and said, "I invited you to a banquet. It seems like you made a mistake, but who really made a mistake?!"
At first, the tone seemed to be joking, but by the last sentence, the voice suddenly became louder.
Pei Kuan was so excited that he fell to the ground and held up the letter of self-incrimination.
"Old minister is guilty!"
"What's Pei Qing's crime?"
"I...are lying, please ask the saint to allow me to grow old."
"Is it just a lie?"
Pei Kuan hesitated, his face became more and more bitter, and said: "I was instigated by others, and I asked you to implement the salt law. I don't know that this law will harm the country and the people. I have sinned greatly."
Li Longji drank a glass of wine and smiled without saying a word.
Gao Lishi asked: "Who instigated Doctor Pei?"
"Xue Bai."
"Xue Bai is just a child, how can he instigate Doctor Pei?"
"I dare not hide it. I only know Xue Bai and don't know anything else. I sincerely ask your Majesty to trust me."
Gao Lishi asked again: "Don't you know Han Yu?"
Pei Kuan was startled and shouted: "I don't know Han Yu, this is absolutely true!"
"Doctor Pei has put this old slave in a difficult position." Gao Lishi smiled, glanced both ways, and said, "What does King Shou think?"
Suddenly, with these words, Li Linfu and Li Heng's expressions suddenly changed, and their bodies seemed to stiffen.
Li Chen was extremely surprised and didn't know what to do.
On the contrary, Li Niang spoke directly after encouraging her brother with her eyes.
"What are you afraid to say? Xue Bai proposed the salt law, and Han Yu was the instigator behind Xue Bai. As for who is behind Han Yu, can the court still not find out?!"
With that said, Li Niang raised her hand and pointed at Pei Kuan, showing the arrogance of a Tang princess, and shouted: "Pei Kuan, what do you want to do by colluding with Han Yu?!"
Pei Kuan couldn't explain his suffering, so he prostrated himself to the saint again and said: "I have failed the saint's grace. Please allow me to become a monk."
"What does Pei Qing mean by this?"
"Your Majesty, an old minister became an official at a young age and met with Your Majesty when he was appointed as the captain of Chang'an County. Later, he managed all the households in the world and rented mediocre activities for Your Majesty. He was transferred to Taichang Temple to manage rituals and music. He was transferred to the Ministry of Punishment to rectify the national law. He was moved to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. The commander-in-chief of the border, interviewed Hebei, guarded Fanyang, left the customs to expand the borders; entered the court to administer the Constitution... Throughout his life, the old minister has been serving His Majesty from his youthful glory to his gray head. Now that he is old and weak, he can only There is Buddhism that I have not yet understood, and my wish has not yet been fulfilled. I just want to serve as an official and become a monk."
In his lifetime, Pei Kuan made outstanding contributions as a local official, a capital official, a field official, a household official, a judge, a provincial official, a ministry official, a border commander, and a constitutional official. With his qualifications, it's okay to be suppressed by others and not be able to worship the prime minister, but he is suppressed by Ge Nu?
Ge Nu has been the prime minister for more than ten years, but he, Pei Kuan, can't do it?
尻!尻!尻!
Every time he thought about this, he was so angry that he couldn't sleep all night long. But precisely because of this, he knew that once he lost power, Ge Nu would kill him.
These words at this time were filled with anger, grievance, fear, dissatisfaction, disappointment, and survival. All kinds of emotions were mixed together. After Pei Kuan spoke, he burst into tears.
Li Longji stood up slowly, seeming a little moved.
"Pei Kuan!"
Jingzhao Yin Xiao Jiong immediately stood up, pointed at Pei Kuan and cursed: "How dare you criticize Chengyu! What do you mean? You have worked hard and achieved great results, has the saint wronged you?! Are you dissatisfied and want to rebel?!"
"I don't dare, I don't dare! I don't dare!"
Pei Kuan is really not good at saying nice things. A proud man like him usually has too few opportunities to practice pleasing others. I am so used to venting my emotions that even begging for mercy seems like a complaint.
He knew that the more he said, the more wrong he became, and he kept pleading to become a monk. As a result, even this sounded to others like he was accusing a saint of being ruthless and unkind.
Li Niang was extremely excited, thinking that killing Pei Kuan today was not enough, she had to involve Li Heng and Li Cong.
"Pei Kuan, don't complain in front of the emperor about who is behind you!"
"enough."
Li Longji finally spoke and said calmly: "Today is a banquet, not a court meeting. Let's all sit back... But since we all want to pursue the case, we invite 'Han Yu' to come."
Everyone was stunned again. Yang Wei and Pei Kuanru fell into the ice cave. The others, including Li Heng and Li Linfu, were all overjoyed.
There really is Han Yu!
Bei Ya indeed revealed the truth.
A eunuch led the two people into the palace. Looking from a distance, one was Xue Bai and the other was a middle-aged man with a long beard.
Li Heng and Li Linfu both narrowed their eyes and nodded secretly, feeling that Han Yu's demeanor did not disappoint them.
It is such a person who is worthy of making secret arrangements. But if this person is not detained and can still walk around like this, has he fallen into the eyes of a saint?
Only Jingzhao Yin Xiaojiong stood up in surprise.
Because he has recognized that figure... Yan Zhenqing!
~~
"They all want to find Han Yu, and they all have good plans. Let's see where Han Yu is." Li Longji suddenly laughed heartily, "Why are you so nervous? There is no need to sing and dance at the banquet today. Let's appreciate the calligraphy of famous artists!"
"I have admired the name of Duke Yan for a long time." Li Cong echoed, trying to improve the atmosphere of the banquet, and said with a smile: "I am finally lucky enough to meet him today."
Everyone laughed, awkwardly.
It was in this atmosphere that Yan Zhenqing saluted and asked: "Please ask the saint to give me a title, so that I can know what the book is."
Li Longji finally got interested, drank the wine, and said loudly: "The letter... Xue Bai's poems in prison. Only his poems and your words can be called Han Yu."
Yan Zhenqing's expression changed, and he responded with some embarrassment: "I obey the order."
The servants held up the long scroll, and Xue Bai polished the ink. Yan Zhenqing held the pen in his left hand and wrote furiously.
Thick ink is spread freely, it is cursive writing.
Crazy grass.
Unknowingly, everyone stood up, their eyes full of shock.
"When I was young, I used my left hand to write cursive script. I felt that I could never surpass Zhang Changshi, the 'Cao Sage' in my life, so I changed to learn regular script with my right hand. Today I am very generous."
Following these words, Yan Zhenqing stepped aside and revealed the words behind him.
Li Linfu looked at it intently, unable to regain his consciousness for a long time. What surprised him was the poem on the scroll. He couldn't believe that he saw such a poem at the royal banquet. Who was he knocking?
With such doubts, he read the poem over and over again in his mind.
"The Duke of Zhou fears the day of rumors,"
"Wang Mang was humble and did not usurp the time."
"Xiang Shi died right away,"
"Who knows whether it is true or false in life?"
Li Linfu shuddered suddenly, feeling lucky in his heart, and turned to look at Li Heng opposite.
Li Heng's face looked even more ugly, and he was simply uncontrollably defeated.
He felt that Xue Bai's sentence "Wang Mang was humble and did not usurp the time" was simply scolding him by name. He also felt that everyone thought so.
They broke up in public.
Xue Bai completely gave up on his future career and publicly declared his discord with the prince.
After three things, no one can frame him on the charge of "constructing the East Palace".
…
Pei Kuan couldn't come back to his senses for a long time.
He felt that Xue Bai's sentence "The Duke of Zhou is afraid of the rumor day" was simply praising him by name. He also felt that everyone thought so.
After doing so much for Sheji, there were so many rumors and crimes thrown at him. Li Linfu accused him, and Dong Gong was happy to see his success.
But now when he looked at the word "Han Yu" signed at the end of the scroll, Pei Kuan was refreshed.
Well, he just colluded with Han Yu!
Who is behind Han Yu?
Today’s saint!
Thinking of this, Pei Kuan burst into tears.
He doesn't plan to become a monk anymore. He wants to continue to support Queyan in order to become the prime minister!
At this point, the whole thing is pretty simple.
Xue Bai proposed the salt review method to Yang Zhen. Pei Kuan supported the matter in order to fight for power with Li Linfu. Li Heng heard about it and deliberately befriended Xue Bai to seek fame. In order to stop the salt review, Li Linfu wrongly accused them of having ulterior motives. Some rumors were based on rumors, and Li Chen and Li Niang were used to file complaints.
This is the truth in everyone's heart.
Including Li Linfu and Li Heng also knew that this was the truth, and this is what they did. But there is still a cry in their hearts - "This is Xue Bai's trick!"
They knew very well that Xue Bai did it on purpose, sometimes showing his talent and sometimes showing his clumsiness, deliberately making people think that he had a master behind him, but it turned out to be a lie that could be easily exposed.
Xue Bai calculated what they would do, because they would respond with the same trick every time, and Xue Bai's purpose was to expose them in front of the saint.
"Sage, please see, the prince is really good at asking for names. He seems to be forbearing, but in fact he is not willing to suffer at all. The right prime minister always uses the name of 'Constructing the East Palace' to get rid of ministers who are loyal to the saint but threaten him."
But they couldn't reveal it.
Even if the saint knew that they were tricked by Xue Bai, would he sympathize with them?
The sage would not blame Xue Bai, who was not threatening and would make him happy. The sage would only be more angry with them.
"You are so incompetent, how dare you want to take over my empire?!"
This foolish king has been selfish to the extreme...
~~
Zhang Ting took a sip of wine and felt Li Heng's hands trembling.
She then gently shook his hand and motioned for him to look at Li Chen.
Li Chen trembled even more violently, and his eyes had lost their luster, as if they had lost their souls.
Seeing this scene, Li Heng calmed down. After all, Dong Gong was just thinking about inviting names, and it was the Shou Wang family who really took action.
"Eighteen Master." Zhang Ting steadied her husband and lost no time in speaking, "What's wrong with you? Are you drunk?"
Although she was only eighteen years old, she sounded like a sister-in-law and a mother.
The sage invited King Shou to come, which shows that the sage understands everything. She didn't need to expose Li Xuan at this time. Instead, she reminded Li Xuan to bear the wrath of the saint quickly, which would be good for everyone.
Li Chen didn't dare to worry. His lips were trembling and he never spoke.
Zhang Ting frowned, thinking that if she didn't give it a chance, then don't blame her for bringing out Prince Shou to shield the East Palace.
She picked up her wine glass and stood up.
"Sage." Xue Bai said, "I have something to ask King Shou."
"ask."
"The saint has given back the body deed to Mrs. Daxi who presented the dominoes with me before. I wonder why Prince Shou forced her to sell her body to Prince Shou's palace again?!"
"I didn't force her, it was..."
Li Chen was still about to explain, but he saw Li Linfu suddenly turned around and glared at him fiercely.
"Say!" Li Longji suddenly shouted angrily.
In recent years, few people have seen the saint look so angry, as if thunder exploded and the sky darkened.
"Boom!"
There was a loud clang, but Li Xuan knocked over the table in panic and fell to the ground.
When he raised his head and looked into Li Longji's angry eyes, Li Chan was so frightened that his feet went weak. He couldn't stand up after a while, but instead spilled wine all over his body.
"King Shou is drunk."
"It's disrespectful to behave before the emperor. Take him down so he can sober up. He will never leave the ten kings' residence in the future."
Immediately, a eunuch came forward and dragged Li Xing out with half support and half dragging.
From beginning to end, Li Chen even forgot to look at Princess Wei.
Webster was forgotten at the banquet. It took him a while to remember to salute the saint, and he hurriedly left.
Li Niang was stunned.
She watched this scene helplessly and opened her mouth several times to say something. When she turned around, she saw Xue Bai turning back to look at her and nodding.
Li Niang was startled for no reason and burped.
~~
"Sit down, Yang Qing and Pei Qing. My son has failed to live up to his expectations and has made you laugh. Let's have a feast and not talk about state affairs."
"Thank you, saint."
Yang Zheng and Pei Kuan looked at each other and resisted not looking at Xue Bai, but their hearts were already boiling with passion.
So far, Li Longji has not had any public outburst at all.
He will not carefully interrogate and punish anyone, and he does not need to let his subordinates know how much he has found. It was enough to show that he was in control of everything and maintained the supreme majesty of the king.
Li Heng and Li Linfu had obviously felt his blow and were afraid of his dissatisfaction.
But this is not enough.
A Donggong who should have been content and self-reliant, kept asking for fame and competition; a right prime minister who was supposed to keep an eye on the Donggong hides his selfish motives time and time again, which only increases the prestige of the Donggong.
It's really time for someone to keep an eye on them in the court...
Thinking of this, Li Longji already made up his mind.
The matter of appointing Yang Zheng and Pei Kuan was left to the Taiwan Province to issue an edict. At this banquet, Li Longji remained calm, stroking his palms and calling for singing and dancing. Let the ministers feel that he is in control of the overall situation, but he still downplays it and shows his style.
"Honghou, Honghou... I just remembered something."
After the banquet, Li Longji seemed drunk and actually played a konghou song for everyone, laughing loudly.
"You all say that Xue Bai has no talent, so you suspect that he is being instigated by others, but I recently learned an interesting story about him. There is a little stone monkey who can do a somersault over a thousand miles, but guess what, this monkey can Turn out the Buddha's palm?"
"this……"
Everyone looked at each other and glanced around, seeing the saint spreading his palms.
Li Linfu bowed first, with a solemn look on his face, and responded in a deep voice: "I think it cannot be revealed!"
"My son also thinks it can't be uncovered!"
Listening to these shouts, Xue Bai lowered his head and took a sip of wine, smiling imperceptibly.
I went to bed at 4 o'clock and started writing at 10 o'clock until now. I tried my best to write and post the entire plot at once, otherwise I would have to break the chapter and I was so sleepy~~ Today there are more than 10,000 words. Please vote for me and subscribe~~ I feel like the more I write, the more my rankings keep falling~~
(End of chapter)
