Zhao Gong stepped out of the Zichen Palace. After the night rain, the fresh air was breathed into his mind, and his whole body immediately cleared away the confusion and regained consciousness.
What happened tonight is finally over.
Zhao Gong then thought about what Empress Wu said about not expanding at will. It seemed that Empress Wu already knew who would be involved.
At this moment, Empress Wu's cold voice suddenly came from the Zichen Palace behind her: "Zhang Zui!"
"Pah! Pah! Pah!" The sound was very heavy and loud, and every time it struck, people could not help but feel frightened.
Zhao Gong stopped for a moment outside the palace, his expression darkening slightly.
The image of someone being slapped in the mouth with a thick wooden board suddenly appeared in his mind.
After only stopping for a moment, Zhao Gong continued to walk quickly towards the outside of the palace.
He knew that the young eunuch Xu Zhong was finished.
Not only him, but everyone under Xu Zhong's command may also be destroyed.
Poor scapegoat.
Zhao Gong quickly left the Daming Palace and walked out of the Danfeng Gate. He was just about to mount his horse. At this moment, three fast horses, a chamberlain, and two forbidden soldiers passed behind him and moved towards him quickly. Go to Tai Chi Palace.
The Queen of Heaven has a purpose.
The Queen is already taking care of things in Qinxiangyuan.
Nowadays, the Queen actually doesn't want to see any disturbance in this matter. It is best to let it pass silently.
But how could Li Xuan not investigate? In addition to finding out the mastermind behind the scenes, Li Xuan also had to express his position.
If he does nothing today because Qinxiangyuan is related to the palace, then tomorrow, countless people related to the palace will step on his head under the banner of the Queen of Heaven.
This matter seems to have nothing to do with many people, but soon everyone will figure out the relationship with Empress Wu, so Li Xuan must not be afraid of Empress Wu and do nothing, and not only do it, but also properly handle the palace. The relationship between Zhong and Tianhou.
In particular, he must explain the misunderstanding to Empress Wu, and even let Empress Wu fully support him.
Only then did Zhao Gong and his party appear in the palace. Empress Wu had a troubling mind, and Li Xuan could only deal with it properly through Zhao Gong.
Zhao Gong sighed deeply. This nephew of his was really not easy to worry about.
Before Zhao Gong had gone far, there was another wave, three fast horses, a chamberlain, and two forbidden soldiers, quickly heading towards Tai Chi Palace.
Zhao Gong was stunned. What was the Queen trying to do?
Turning sideways, Zhao Gong whispered: "Go and see, where are you going to deliver the message?"
A black guard walked out of the dark shadows, slightly arched his hands to Zhao Gong, and then walked quickly towards Tai Chi Palace.
…
Pingkangfang, outside Qinxiang Garden, inside the carriage.
Li Xuan frowned and looked at Zhao Gong: "The Queen of Heaven sent people to Yushitai and Dali Temple?"
"Well!" Zhao Gong leaned on the wall of the car and said softly: "The Yushitai impeachment, the Dali Temple officials arrest people, do not use Qianniu Guards, everything is done openly, and then tell the world that they should be convicted and convicted , when it was time to kill someone, the queen’s response was quick and decisive.”
"Isn't this foreseeable?" Li Xuan sighed softly.
Zhao Gong nodded silently, and then said: "Then hurry up, it won't be long before Dali Temple will be looking for someone from you."
"That's just right. The people from Dali Temple are just right to arrest people with me." Li Xuan smiled casually, and then said solemnly: "Uncle, you can handle other things as per the rules, but if you arrest someone in the palace man of……"
"How can people in the palace appear outside the palace?" Zhao Gong refuted Li Xuan with just one sentence.
"Nephew understands." Li Xuan stuck her head out and whispered a few instructions outside.
The next moment, on the long street, He Qiniang stepped forward in full view of everyone, and then walked into Qinxiang Garden step by step.
People who were paying attention intentionally or unintentionally while walking on the street saw this scene and suddenly understood and started to understand.
The Qianniu Guards have been besieging Qinxiang Garden for nearly an hour. A large number of people came in and out, but were all stopped.
Those who were obedient were persuaded to return, and those who were disobedient were arrested directly.
How could people outside Qinxiang Garden dare to approach so easily after seeing such a posture?
The people in Qinxiang Garden, no matter how stupid they are, know that someone is looking for trouble.
But they are more willing to believe in Qinxiangyuan's background, even though they know that the person standing outside is Jinwu Guard, and the person standing behind Jinwu Guard is Li Xuan.
These people still believe that Li Xuan will retreat directly before long.
So many people are now staying inside Qinxiangyuan, quietly preparing to watch the joke.
But when they saw He Qiniang slowly walking into Qinxiang Garden, they didn't know what Li Xuan wanted to do.
Whatever he does, whatever he can do, it is naturally a frame-up.
The rain stopped completely. Li Xuan stepped down from the carriage and looked up to the sky. In the clear night sky after the rainy night, there were stars.
Lowering his head, Li Xuan took steps.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Li Xuan walked into Qinxiang Garden step by step.
At this moment, a whole team of Qianniu Guards followed Li Xuan directly from behind the Jinwu Guards and rushed into Qinxiang Garden.
Everyone who saw this scene was in an uproar.
…
Quiet and elegant, luxurious and beautiful.
Inside the Qinxiangyuan Pavilion, everything looks very simple, but the few furnishings still give people a sense of luxury.
Ivory from southern Xinjiang, pearls from the East China Sea, animal skins from the wilderness, spices from the Western Regions, silks and satins from the south of the Yangtze River, and gold from the Central Plains.
There are all kinds of sculptures, some are carved like mountain scenery, some are covered under silk and satin, some are floating in the green smoke, or some are directly made into wine glasses.
Li Xuan stood in the pavilion of Qinxiang Garden. There were many people inside and outside, but no one came out to meet him. However, there was a figure swaying gently behind the curtain.
Li Xuan looked indifferent and said calmly: "Li Xuan, the king of Nanchang County, was ordered to suppress thieves. There were thieves breaking into Qinxiang Garden in Pingkangfang. I led the Qianniu Guards to chase them. By accident, a fight broke out. , burned down the entire Qinxiang Garden, burned eighteen innocent people to death, please forgive me!"
Please apologize to whom, apologize to the court, apologize to the emperor.
Please forgive me, please forgive me for accidentally burning down the Qinxiang Garden and burning to death 18 innocent people.
How to punish the crime? The fine is three hundred and sixty pounds of copper.
If one person dies, he will be fined 20 jins of copper; if 18 people die, he will be fined 360 jins.
A plump woman wearing a light blue cloud-patterned double-breasted robe finally walked out from behind the silk tent.
This woman was in her mid-twenties, when she was extremely beautiful. The robe she wore showed off her plump figure, but the thick rouge and gouache on her face made it difficult for people to like her.
A silk fan suddenly blocked Li Xuan's sight, leaving only a pair of calculating eyes behind.
"The Thirteenth Mother of the slave family has met the King of Nanchang." The Thirteenth Mother was slightly blessed, looked at Li Xuan, smiled proudly, and then said: "How did the King of Nanchang calculate that there are eighteen people in the slave family? Is it possible? Prince Hui made a mistake in his calculation, there are far more than eighteen people in the slave family?"
"It's not a mistake in the calculation. It's just that you heard it wrong. What I said was that there were eighteen innocent people, not eighteen people who were burned to death." Li Xuan raised her head coldly and said one sentence, which made Thirteenth Mother freeze on the spot. , even though there was still a smile on his face, his expression was extremely stiff.
Not only Thirteenth Niang, but also the entire Qinxiang Garden, everyone who heard these words had serious expressions on their faces.
"The King of Nanchang is really murderous." Thirteenth Niang sneered, looking at Li Xuan and asked softly: "Even innocent people have to burn eighteen people to death, so what about those who are not innocent, what will the prince do?" How many will be killed?”
"There are no innocent people. Under the fire, only eighteen corpses will be found here and presented to the ministry." After Li Xuan finished speaking, everyone who heard this sentence in secret could not help but be slightly startled. He began to think about Li Xuan's words.
According to the report to the Ministry of Justice, the King of Nanchang finally reported only eighteen dead people to the court.
But now, there are far more than eighteen people in the entire Qinxiang Garden.
The King of Nanchang wanted to kill everyone. In the end, only eighteen names were reported to the court.
More people will die silently, without even a corpse; in this way, there is no need to implicate the people behind them.
Then the only people who are reported to the court are those officials of the court, and they are the so-called innocent people.
They are all going to die too.
In this Qinxiang Garden, only the eighteen people with the highest official positions had the opportunity to leave their names and report to the court, and none of them had a good reputation.
In addition to this, everyone else will die because they have people behind them and cannot be known to outsiders at all.
The King of Nanchang is here to silence him.
But how dare he.
Stormy waves rose in the hearts of countless people.
…
"The prince has been in the capital for many days, and he must know where this Qinxiang Garden is. If anyone acts recklessly here, then the dozens of colleagues in this building will probably not let the King of Nanchang go." Thirteenth Niang stared at Li Xuan with her sharp eyes.
Li Xuan smiled disdainfully and said softly: "Madam, do you think the king really cares about this? Maybe madam has forgotten that when the king spoke just now, it was in accordance with the order. In response to the situation today, I have already reported everything to His Majesty and the Queen. Now who will let you know? You are all dead, don’t you have any thoughts in your mind?”
The faces of everyone hiding out of sight suddenly changed.
They all remembered that the King of Nanchang came here on an order to catch thieves, and the thieves he caught were all Tibetan thieves.
The crime of collaborating with the enemy, even if it means killing him on the spot, is not a crime.
"Your Majesty is here to catch thieves. If Your Majesty wants to search, he can search as he pleases. If he finds someone, he can take him away as he pleases. Qinxiangyuan has always abided by the laws and regulations. The laws of the imperial court are everywhere, but there is no hindrance." A somewhat sharp voice came from above the pavilion. came.
A sixty-year-old man wearing light blue brocade clothes, with a stooped figure, sagging skin, and white hair tied up with a wooden hairpin, walked out from above.
Eunuch, internal official.
Seeing this person appear, countless people breathed a sigh of relief.
"It turns out to be Mr. Xu. No wonder he can be in charge of Pingkangfang."
A plain voice came from behind Li Xuan, and Zhao Gong, wearing black brocade clothes, walked out of the building step by step.
Mr. Xu raised his head to look at Zhao Gong, narrowed his eyes slightly, and said with some clarity for a moment: "It turns out to be Mr. Zhao. The last time I met Mr. Zhao was at Mrs. Rongguo's 90th birthday, right? I thought, after not seeing each other for several years, Zhao Langjun is already the commander of the secret guards."
"Where, when you were the all-powerful old man, I was just a small figure. But now that you are old and have been away from the court for a long time, you don't know about the changes in personnel in the court." Zhao Gong bowed slightly and looked at Mr. Xu with a look full of vigilance. .
There is no simple character among the people who came out of the palace alive.
Mr. Xu was not fooled by Zhao Gong's compliments at all. He looked at Zhao Gong and said, "So, when the King of Nanchang came here today, he really followed the imperial edict."
"The King of Nanchang suppressed thieves with His Majesty's imperial edict, so he only surrounded this place before and did not fight in. But just now, the official came back from the palace to meet the saint and received the decree from the Queen of Heaven." Zhao Gong said Those words made everyone who was watching, secretly or openly, feel their expressions change.
Your Majesty, Queen of Heaven.
Zhao Gong said softly: "Today's matter is not to kill everyone. As long as you obey, you can live a little; some people can live, and some can even leave, and they can leave safely; the last memorial of the King of Nanchang can be eighteen corpses, it can be Eight bodies, not even one.
As long as there was no fighting, there would be no accidental fire, and there would be no other aftermath.
But if they don't obey, then the final corpses will be more than eighteen. "
(End of chapter)
