The night wind was blowing, and the man in Tsing Yi stood in front of the window on the fourth floor, watching Zhou Zhi sit in the carriage and slowly leave.
He looked around the long street with vigilant eyes. Until Zhou Zhi left, there was no special figure moving around.
Not to mention Li Xuan herself.
The people in Tsing Yi know the traces of the King of Nanchang better than anyone else.
Li Xuan is staring at them, why aren't they staring at Li Xuan.
After last night's incident was settled, Li Xuan went to Prince Ying's Mansion, and even left the palace recital to Ming Chongyan, as if at this time, he really no longer cared about Tubo affairs.
The Qianniu Guards around Zhou Zhi withdrew.
In other words, the people of Qianniuwei withdrew very early.
No longer staring at Zhou Zhi, nor anyone on their suspicion list.
"What a good idea. Withdrawing Jinwu Guard and Qianniu Guard makes people relax their vigilance, but they can continue to stare at places where they can't see." The man in Tsing Yi couldn't help but smile coldly, looking at the tall central watchtower in the distance, and whispered Said: "Relying on the watchtower outside and entrusting secret guards on the inside, what a good trick!"
Although there is no evidence, the people in Tsing Yi believe that this is what Li Xuan did.
Looking back from the watchtower, closing the window, the man in Tsing Yi sat back in the room alone.
He was the only one in the dark room, and he was thinking about how to break the situation. After all, to achieve his goal, he still had to deliver the secret message to the hands of Wanxiang Pavilion, and then send it to the hands of the Tubo people through Wanxiang Pavilion.
Maybe it can be delivered directly to the Tubo people without going through Wanxiang Pavilion.
It's just that people from Tubo have always been cautious. Except for the people in Wanxiang Pavilion, no one knows where he is hiding.
No one knew whether he was hiding inside the city or outside the city.
…
Darkness enveloped the entire study.
In the early morning, although the morning light has emerged in the east, it still cannot be found in the courtyard.
Today is the time for the palace examination. Li Xuan has already packed up and is sitting in the study eating a simple breakfast while reviewing the intelligence summary of the past two days.
"Zuo Qianniu Guards, the Prince of Beiping, told us not to check Qinxiang Garden, let alone go in; the secret guard, Dr. Chaosan, told us that we can check Qinxiang Garden at will, and all the secrets in it, You can check it out at will." Li Bi stood to one side wearing a heavy cloak, coughing from time to time.
Li Xuan nodded slightly, without expressing his position, and asked calmly: "What do you think about this matter?"
"We can't see, Qinxiang Garden, we can't move." Li Bi took a deep breath, stabilized his breath, and then said: "Although the words of the King of Peking and the doctor Chaosan seem to be completely different, they are actually telling us, Qinxiang Garden is undoubtedly related to the palace.
The Prince of Peiping said very directly, if you are not completely sure, don’t touch Qinxiangyuan easily; and Dr. Chaosan warned us, even if we have full evidence, then go to Qinxiangyuan. , it is also very likely that nothing will be found. "
Li Xuan nodded in agreement, put down his chopsticks, and said softly: "Both Uncle Wang and Uncle Peiping made it very clear that Qinxiangyuan has a strong background. If we don't understand Qinxiangyuan's background, we shouldn't act rashly. action."
Li Bi coughed twice, then looked at Li Xuan and said, "So, we need to find out the background of Qinxiangyuan."
Li Xuan chuckled lightly and said, "You've been checking for several days. Have you found out?"
"Can't find out." Li Bi was a little depressed. Now the Nanchang Palace's intelligence network in Chang'an is all in his hands.
This time, although not all were used, all high-level connections that could be exposed were also used, but the real owner behind Qinxiang Garden was never found.
But fortunately, it’s not all nothing.
Li Bi took a deep breath and said helplessly: "In the end, my subordinates only found out that the incident was related to the Jiaofang Division and the palace."
None of the brothels in Pingkangfang have anything to do with Jiaofangsi, it's just a different relationship.
But in the final analysis, Jiaofangsi is just a tool that is pushed to the forefront. The real trouble is for the public.
Li Bi didn't find much, but it was enough to corroborate the words of Peiping County Prince Li Jingjia and Zhao Gong.
"Once anything is found to be related to the palace, it will be difficult to continue the investigation, because you don't know who will be traced in the end. Even if you work hard to bring the person you traced to justice, but unfortunately, He is just a scapegoat." Li Xuan sighed helplessly.
The palace is not easy to mess with. The servants, female officials, even the old concubines, the soldiers guarding the palace, and the generals are not easy to mess with.
Once these people unite, even the emperor's fate will be at stake.
Li Xuan looked more cautious and said: "If you are not careful, in the end, others will only need to trip you up when you don't expect it. And once you are tripped, countless enemies will immediately pounce on you and kill you." You are completely defeated.”
Li Zhu was silent, while Li Xuan waved his hands and said, "But I don't care about this; what I really care about is that this matter may eventually be traced to the Queen of Heaven, Your Majesty, or even the Crown Prince. Although they may not know the inside story, the wanton behavior of their subordinates will inevitably bring disgrace to their faces."
The minds of superiors are very sensitive, and they will catch you immediately if you show something strange.
Favor and rejection are just a matter of thoughts.
"Your Majesty, shouldn't we continue to investigate this matter?" Li Bi said with some disappointment.
Li Xuan shook his head, raised his eyes, and said with a cold smile: "How could we not investigate? We have to investigate, but we cannot do it ourselves. We have to rely on the help of others... Ming Chongyan, Wang Fulai, they can all investigate. , and even the best result is that Qinxiang Garden may still be there, but the enemy behind it has disappeared."
…
"So first, we still have to figure out who our enemy is?" Li Bi said, directly solving the biggest problem behind this.
Qinxiangyuan is Qinxiangyuan. Even within Qinxiangyuan, there are different forces. They cannot attack them all, and they need to find the enemy accurately.
"Yes, who is our enemy?" Li Xuan smiled bitterly and said: "I originally thought that everything would be completely settled after finding out that a fifth-grade disciple was involved in the matter. Who would have thought that the truth behind this matter It actually got implicated in the palace.”
Empress Wu, the one in charge of everything in the palace is of course Empress Wu.
Regardless of whether the emperor or the prince, Li Xuan was confident enough for them to conduct an internal investigation, but to Empress Wu, even if Li Xuan reported this matter in detail, it would make Empress Wu feel that he was spying on something forbidden.
The crime of spying on the forbidden, the crime of spying on the palace, the crime of treason.
The reason why Li Jingye could never turn over was not because he built a caravan for personal gain, but because he was used by the King of East China Sea to spy on him.
Li Jingye was only a little suspected, and in the end it was useless for anyone in the court to plead for mercy.
To eradicate hidden dangers and eradicate enemies, the first thing is to preserve yourself. The other thing is to kill people with a borrowed knife.
Li Xuan raised her head, looked at Li Zhu, and said softly: "This matter is not urgent. The most important thing before was to catch the outermost rat. As for the rest, let's take our time."
Li Bi raised his eyebrows suddenly, looked at Li Xuan and said in surprise: "Does the prince already have a plan in mind?"
Li Xuan took a deep breath and said softly: "To eradicate these people completely, we can't take action. We can't take action in the political hall, the prince can't take action, and your majesty can't take action. In the end, the only one who takes action in the most practical way is the Queen of Heaven, and the Queen of Heaven herself. .”
Li Bi stood aside with a solemn expression, listening carefully and remembering carefully. It is very likely that he will be responsible for these things in the future.
"As long as the Queen of Heaven determines that the existence of these people will pose a huge obstacle to her, then there will no longer be the foundation for the existence of these people in the palace." Li Xuan had already outlined the general strategy in one sentence.
"So what's the specific plan?"
"No." Li Xuan shook her head slightly and said softly: "This matter can only be dealt with according to circumstances. Unless we can grasp the special key, we can only treat it as if we don't know everything."
"Are we really going to do nothing?"
"How is it possible to do nothing?" Li Xuan raised his head and glanced at Li Bi, and said in surprise: "Not only you and me, but even the prime minister can't control the affairs in the palace, but outside the palace, as long as they dare to take a step If they make a mistake, what awaits them is the most powerful murderous intention."
Inside and outside the palace, the rules of form are completely different.
Li Xuan has no control over the palace, but if the people in the palace go out without purpose, they will die.
Li Bi immediately became solemn and bowed his hands deeply to Li Xuan.
Li Xuan stood up, walked to the study door, then opened the door, and the morning light fell.
…
Li Xuan rode in front. When he arrived at the Zhuque Gate, Li Xuan dismounted, and the four people in the carriage got off one after another.
Among the four, the leader is the youngest Zhuge Minghui, followed by the eldest Lu Lou, and the third and fourth are the younger Xu An and Sun Xian.
Lu Lou is a descendant of the Lu family in Wu County, but a collateral branch of the family.
The Lu family has always kept a low profile in Chang'an. Even Lu Yuanfang, who serves as a censor, only has a small house in Chang'an.
It's barely enough for you and your family to live in, but it's a bit crowded if there are other people living there.
There were not many people from the Lu family doing scientific research in Chang'an this time, but even if one or two people lived under his house, they would disturb each other too much, so this time, including He Zhizhang, Li Xuan all stayed in his house Inside the mansion.
Among the people, only Zhuge Minghui was pushed up by Li Xuan.
Lu Lou is the oldest and relies on his own hard power.
Xu An and Sun Xian relied on more luck. This time the court recruited five or six more people than in previous years, and they were on the list by the way.
This also prevented Li Xuan from being suspected.
The four of them slightly bowed their hands to Li Xuan, and then walked into the waiting team of Jinshi.
The leader among them was Cheng Xingmou, whom Li Xuan had met before, followed by Xu Qie, and the third person was Zhuge Minghui.
Yang Wen, whom they had met at the Shangqing Palace in Luoyang, was not among the Jinshi this time.
Among thousands of people, the probability of choosing thirty-nine people is really low.
Li Xuan nodded to everyone, then turned around and entered Honglu Temple.
When he met everyone again, he had already arrived at Hanyuan Hall of Daming Palace.
Palace examination.
Since the palace examination began in the second year of Emperor Xianqing's reign, to this day, the emperor must hold a palace examination every two or three years.
Normally, the first person in the official examination would be the number one scholar, but once the emperor held the imperial examination, the first person in the imperial examination would be the number one scholar.
Generally speaking, the first place in the general examination will basically be the first place in the palace examination, but occasionally, the first place in the palace examination will be chosen by someone else.
This is also something that cannot be done. The emperor personally chooses it, and others cannot influence it.
However, before the emperor's personal selection, there is usually a public election of the prime ministers and examiners. The emperor will basically not refute the face of the prime ministers and examiners, and the prime ministers will not easily refute the face of the official officials, but will test the first one. , basically selected by the Ministry of Civil Affairs Kaogong Lang.
Unless something goes wrong.
…
Li Xuan stood at the back of Hanyuan Hall, and Prince Li Xian took the place of the emperor and walked slowly around among the Jinshi who were concentrating on answering questions.
Li Xian tried his best not to disturb their answer sheets, but at the same time he could not help but exert some influence.
This is not an exaggeration. Once these people become officials in the future, they will have to face the emperor directly in court.
If they can't bear the current pressure, how can they face you head-on?
Although some people were a little panicked because of the arrival of the prince, after all, everyone had passed the exams one after another.
Coupled with the broadcast in the name of Li Xianren, even if I have some worries in my heart, I can suppress them all and it will not affect my exam.
Li Xuan stood on one side, scanning everyone, and her mind returned to this year's test questions:
If there is conquest but no war, the Tao has the opportunity to control; evil killing and good life are transformed into the principle of Hanting education. In the evening when the fortress was built, the soldiers were cooking in the morning, but the city and the river source were still restored, and the north gate was not opened.
On the banks of the Qiaosu Sea, the eastern suburbs were closed; Fang proposed to drive the long hub to climb Long, build a high flag and point to the fortress.
The sky shook, and everyone was in mourning.
The husband is leaning against the sun in the spring snow, and the cold fur is easy to curl up. Now I want to send out instructions, temporarily suspend the military punishment, write arrows and send them to the officials, blow the bamboo pipes and return the captives to ride.
What is the rationale for planning and planning?
(End of chapter)
