After dawn, the Lishan Hot Spring Palace was under full martial law, with all doors closed. Groups of East Palace guards armed with guns, crossbows and swords replaced the local hot spring palace guards. In the streets and alleys dotted with many soup courtyards There was endless patrolling, and there was a tense atmosphere inside and out.
The main hall of Lishan Hot Spring Palace is located in the Hall of Eternal Life on the halfway slope of Lishan Mountain. Because he was woken up overnight, Prince Li Hong looked tired and tired. After the last few envoys who reported the report retreated, he pressed the With his forehead twitching, he sighed at Jiang Tian who came out from behind the scenes:
"Thanks to Li Sheng's meeting at the right time. Otherwise, Gu Zhen would regret it for the rest of his life and die with his eyes closed. Xiao Twelve has been Cheng Huan's two saints since he was a child, and he is the closest to my younger siblings. But he never thought that Traveling privately, I was almost taken by others, which is a great regret."
"Gu Ye knows that the cause and effect involved in Xiao Twelve's body is too heavy, almost no less than that of his future mother. Therefore, Li Sheng does not want to take credit easily, and it is inconvenient to be involved. But please let Gu Laochao express his gratitude! Otherwise, if the two are involved because of this, The wrath of the Holy Spirit will cause great disasters, who can be spared alone?"
"In this case, I will be disrespectful and prepare the best banquet for me as a private offering!" Jiang Tian also nodded and then asked: "Last night, His Highness sent the manpower to clean up and maintain the scene. , have you ever gained much on the spot?"
"I'm really ashamed to say it!" After hearing this, Prince Li Hong's pale face became darker and darker, and he sighed again: "Zuo Qingdao Lv and You Nei Lv searched dozens of miles around; except for the corpses and pillows everywhere, , but the whereabouts of several other thieves who escaped from the scene were not found."
"It was as if he disappeared from the world out of thin air; but in the pile of corpses that identified the thieves, it was found that the leader of the thieves was still alive; therefore, he was transferred back secretly. It's just that his injuries were too serious, even with a little treatment. I don’t know when I will wake up and be interrogated.”
"However, the people who were sent by Gu met reinforcements from Xinfeng County at Baqiao Station." The next moment, Prince Li Hong's eyes became sharp again: "The leader of Zhaoying Mansion attacked Du Wei Qiu Shenji and led The Eighty-Sixth Cavalryman has been detained alone in the stadium outside the Hot Spring Palace."
"This is not just Gu's specialization." He then explained: "According to the daily structure of the imperial court, all localities are not allowed to attack the military headquarters rashly. Anyone who dispatches a man with ten cavalry or more than ten collars in armor must be informed by the guards where he is located. Xing Tie and the military letter of the Ministry of War; but Captain Qiu obviously acted without authorization."
"Qiu Shenji?" Jiang Tian was stunned when he heard the words. He suddenly felt that the name was familiar, and then he remembered: "Isn't this the order of the Empress Wu to go to Bazhou (today's Bazhou District, Bazhong City, Sichuan Province) ten years later? , the man who forced to death Prince Zhanghuai Li Xian who was exiled to the local area?"
"..." Upon hearing this, Prince Li Hong couldn't help but a sharp light flashed in his eyes, but then he calmed down: "Qiu Shenji is just a mere captain, and he can be dealt with without any hindrance, but his fathers Qiu He and Qiu Xinggong , are all ministers of the imperial court, but it is inconvenient to use this to excessively hold people accountable."
"Next, I have to worry about how to deal with it. After the two saints of Dongdu heard the news, they followed up and questioned each other. After all, this is a robbery that happened in Gyeonggi and targeted the relatives of the Tian family; Gu and everyone Since the prime minister has the responsibility of supervising the country, it is natural that he cannot absolve himself of the blame."
"But no matter what, I will try my best to clear up the relationship for Li Sheng; please stay in the palace to rest peacefully for a while." However, after Jiang Tian left quietly, Prince Li Hong read Qiu Shenji several times. name, he sighed again: "Queen mother, is this the best?"
Because at this moment, he remembered the eldest sister who had never been masked but was regretted by his father. It was said that he died in infancy shortly after birth - Princess Anding; and a certain person who had been lingering in the palace. A rumor. At this time, the sound of the golden bell suddenly woke him up from his meditation.
Later, the Crown Princess Pei also came in with the female officials' money, and after exchanging greetings and retreating, Pei said: "His Twelve Highnesses cried in fear all night, and did not fall asleep until three o'clock in the morning. But I woke up many times; fortunately, the imperial doctor checked me back and forth."
"Except for some bruises and bruises left by scratches, His Highness did not suffer any more injuries; it is just that his mind was disturbed too much, and he was a little exhausted. In addition, he had short-term confusion and incomprehensible symptoms. He needs help. I wish the Curse Master of Youke can perform the method of praying to calm the gods."
"Just do what the medical officers say! As long as the little sister can recover as soon as possible, let them use whatever she needs!" Prince Li Hong sighed: "She is too ignorant. A dear member of the Tian family unexpectedly suddenly had the idea to secretly travel among the ministers' ceremonial guards?"
"There is one more thing that I must report to you, Your Majesty." After hearing this, Mrs. Pei pursed her lips. Instead, he said: "The other accompanying female officer who ran to the Hot Spring Palace with His Highness has been rescued. She woke up, but she kept asking to see you, and said that someone was secretly saving her."
"This is a big matter, but she can't just talk about it. Everything needs to be inspected on site and followed up." Prince Li Hong said with some worry: "And let people keep a close eye on her secretly. It's inconvenient for me to see her in private." ; Let’s wait until Xiao Twelve wakes up and compare the testimonies together.”
"By the way, have you checked the origins of this escort?" Prince Li Hong asked again: Pei was hesitant to answer, "Her... real name is Wu, and her maiden name is Wu." Xuan Shuang, who claims to be the adopted daughter of an old doctor and a samurai, has been secretly ordered to personally protect His Highness."
Hearing this, Prince Li Hong's face suddenly darkened: "If this is the case, then we need to conduct a strict investigation to see if she is hiding something; or is being evasive or avoiding the truth." words; and even use weird and absurd words to confuse the audience..."
"Your Highness..." Crown Princess Pei couldn't help but called softly with some worry: Prince Li Hong came back to his senses and said with a somewhat apologetic wry smile: "This matter involves too much, so I lost my sense of proportion; however, She is just the adopted daughter of the Wu family, there is nothing to be taboo about."
"Next, Zhirou, don't get involved easily anymore. The most important thing is to take good care of Xiao Twelve; as long as she can explain the reason, everything will be fine. As for this Wu Suihui, Guzihui By assigning others to conduct inquiries, the situation will not get out of hand."
At the same time, Jiang Tian, who returned to the outer soup courtyard, was also greeted by the abnormal reaction of Zheng's mother and daughter. Especially when they looked at Jiang Tian's body, which had some defects, burnt curls, and blackened fur, as well as the broken claws in many places on his limbs, their eyes turned red and they started to cry while hugging him.
In order to temporarily appease their anxiety, Jiang Tian had to lie down and asked the two women to wrap his paws in silk handkerchiefs and apply ointment on the damaged fur. Then he was taken in turns to be held in his arms and never let go. It took him two days and two nights of feeding and companionship to get over it.
Therefore, when Jiang Tian saw the second crown prince Li Hong in front of a large table of imperial food specially provided for reward, his face became slightly more anxious and sad. The look in Jiang Tian's eyes became more and more complicated; because he had already obtained the on-site survey documents and personnel's dictation.
According to the descriptions in the inspection documents, a total of twenty or thirty thieves died at the claws of unknown beasts; and most of the injuries were located on the chest, neck, shoulders, and head and face; even some armors were scratched It's so broken, it's a bit weird and creepy.
On the contrary, apart from the messy signs of destruction, no traces of this beast were found at the scene; whether it was hair, blood or anything else. Therefore, the Qingdao rate guards led by Li Xiaoyi had spontaneously searched and killed several ferocious beasts nearby.
There are tigers, bears, and a large wild boar that hibernate in winter. However, no trace of that ferocious beast has been found, so someone suggested posting a notice offering a reward for this potential threat near Gyeonggi. Of course, with such a conclusion, Prince Li Hong inevitably scolded him for taking advantage of the topic.
After all, leaving the Yu Dang, the thieves who attacked the Tian family's flesh and blood, to track down the so-called "ferocious beasts" that are suspected to exist in the wild is obviously putting the cart before the horse. Thinking of this, Prince Li Hong said to Jiang Fang again: "Li Sheng is really good at what he does. Those thieves have no single enemy."
"The Crown Prince is overrated. It's just a means of self-preservation that is limited to this person." Jiang Tian pointedly said to him: "Even if it is placed in front of His Highness, it is just a small trick; on the contrary, everyone in the world has his own destiny and future, but because of this The general trend of the times has created the situation, and it will not be easily changed because of people."
"I'm afraid I've misunderstood. I don't have much life left, so how can I care about this?" Li Hong smiled helplessly after hearing this: "It's just that I really can't let go of the Tang Dynasty behind me, and the Tian family." My brothers, sisters, and relatives will not suffer so much that their flesh and bones will wither away..."
"To be honest with Li Sheng, I have already apologized to Dongdu, and a decree will be issued in the near future. However, some of the matters planned in advance with Li Sheng will inevitably be affected and delayed. In addition, in A comprehensive search launched by Gyeonggi Province resulted in some seizures, but none of them have anything to do with this."
"On the contrary... we have made another breakthrough in the search and morphological drawing of the thief's body." After saying so many words in one breath, Prince Li Hong coughed and wheezed again before continuing: "Donggong Yusi made a guess based on the belongings he carried with him. , these thieves are suspected to come from Hedong or even Daibei."
"According to the description drawn on the scene, after it was posted on all sides of the museum, someone also identified it; he had seen it in a villa in Xiwei Bridge." Speaking of this, Prince Li Hong frowned again and said: "This villa belongs to the eldest grandson Yuanyi, who inherited the title of Duke Zhao last month."
Jiang Tian understood immediately; Changsun Yuanyi was the grandson of Changsun Wuji, the founding father, imperial minister, former uncle, and Taiwei who had been given death by Emperor Gaozong. Not long ago, Emperor Gaozong took advantage of the situation and issued an edict to pardon the exiled Changsun family, and granted permission for Changsun Wuji to be buried with Zhaoling.
Therefore, it is inevitable that someone will take the opportunity to set the pace in this matter and indirectly affect the current situation of potential disputes between emperors and empresses. Jiang Tian thought for a while and said: "Then let me meet the thief leader who was brought back secretly!"
I’m taking my two kids to Sea World tomorrow, so updates may be delayed.
(End of chapter)
