At this time, in the city of Chengdu, the Yizhou gentry often met secretly.
Du Qiong was waiting anxiously for someone in the hall.
Not long after, a waiter came in from outside the hall.
"Master, Yang is here to play."
"Let him go around to the back door and let him in when he is sure there is no one around!"
"only!"
Not long after, Yang Wan entered the courtyard through a small door at the back.
"Come to the hall quickly and talk to me!"
When Du Qiong saw Yang Wan, he said a word and hurried into the hall.
Yang Wan did not dare to hesitate and hurriedly followed Du Qiong.
When they arrived at the hall, before Yang Wan could be greeted, Du Qiong waved his hand and said:
"There's no need to say pleasantries, let's take a seat first.
Since last night's dinner, I have never had a chance to talk to you alone.
You and I are the only two people in the room at this moment. Why did the daily broadcast suddenly assassinate His Majesty yesterday?
Don’t you know the current situation of the Yizhou princes? "
Yang Wan was already eager to explain. Last night, he made eye contact with Du Qiong for a long time, but Du Qiong didn't understand what he meant.
"Ah! Du Taichang, you have misunderstood Changbo about this matter.
The assassination target of Changbo last night was He Zong! "
"What? He Zong! Are you crazy? He Zong is an important person in our Yizhou gentry.
Why do you want to assassinate He Zong in front of His Majesty? "
Yang Wan looked anxious and explained:
"In the past, about the assassination in the Royal Garden, someone in the court deceived the assassin into changing his previous plan.
Chang Bo often harbors a grudge, and after much thought, he suspects that He Zong did it.
After repeatedly asking He Zong to no avail, and finding no chance to retaliate against He Zong, he decided to take action while His Majesty was having a banquet for the ministers! "
When Du Qiong heard this, he felt panicked and his face darkened instantly.
After adjusting his mood slightly, he said displeasedly:
"Now you are in big trouble!
Although it is somewhat exaggerated to say that He Zongcai is a member of our Yizhou family.
How could you assassinate He Zong in front of everyone just because of wishful thinking?
Now His Majesty has captured Chang Bo. With His Majesty's scheming methods, Chang Bo will definitely not be able to hide the truth.
If Chang Bo tells the truth, wouldn't the previous assassination of His Majesty be exposed? "
"Du Taichang calmed down. I have heard that your Majesty has not yet found out the matter.
Just want to use the previous assassination to frighten the princes of Yizhou, so that they are often suspicious of each other and cannot unite as one?
In this case, Du Taichang please keep your heart in your stomach.
Based on my understanding of Chang Bo, he would never say anything casually. "
"That's nice to say. If Chang Bo remains tight-lipped, then His Majesty will make his own guesses.
When Chang Bo assassinated He Zong, His Majesty happened to clink glasses with He Zong.
If Chang Bo didn't say it clearly, His Majesty would definitely think that this was another attempt by the Yizhou princes to assassinate the emperor.
At that time, we will inevitably have to argue with His Majesty in the court hall again.
If this happens, won't the strategy we just set have to be broken again? "
"This...according to what you said, whether or not we often send out moves or not, our Yizhou nobles will all die..."
“For the current plan, we can only try to muddy the water so that His Majesty cannot distinguish the truth from the truth.
Your Majesty is always careful in handling matters and will not make any hasty conclusions before having certain evidence.
As long as your Majesty is temporarily deceived, we will have time to come up with a complete solution to this matter. "
"Then Idu Taichang means, how should we muddy the water?"
Hearing this, Du Qiong couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth, pretending to be helpless and said:
"You and Chang Bo are both officials of Guangdu County, both civil and military, and have the closest relationship.
If you go to His Majesty and reveal some false news at this time, I believe that His Majesty will consider it carefully..."
"Fake news? Please tell Mrs. Du clearly!"
Du Qiong stood up and came to Yang Wan, whispering:
"Chang Bo failed to assassinate His Majesty and was captured. There is no chance of survival for the crime he committed.
The assassination is also related to the wealth and lives of our Yizhou nobles. Since Chang Bo is destined to die, why don't we make his death more valuable? "
"Which one is more valuable? Does the public want to make Chang Bo take all the blame and completely eliminate the rest of the public responsibilities?"
"If not, Your Majesty will find out about us sooner or later, and then it won't be something Changbo can solve by dying."
Yang Wan looked at Du Qiong's expression, listened to Du Qiong's tone, and combined with the many details he knew, his heart skipped a beat.
I thought to myself: Du Qiong acted like this, completely different from his usual image of being easy-going, benevolent, righteous, and highly respected.
Even if all the blame is really put on Chang Bo, given His Majesty's ability, can he believe it?
From his own point of view, Du Qiong seemed to want to force himself and Chang Bo to death and use His Majesty's hand to silence them!
"Du Boyu! Hidden good intentions, your Majesty doesn't know that I am involved.
If I report Changbo, wouldn't I be falling into a trap?
Insidious villain! Do you want me to argue with Chang Bo in front of His Majesty to exonerate the people you ordered?
You are delusional! Or do you just wait for His Majesty to make your decision, or do you want me to die? Don't even think about it! "
Du Qiong was so angry that Yang Wan saw through his thoughts. He pointed at Yang Wan's nose and shouted:
"I don't know how to praise! They only want to survive for themselves and don't think about our Yizhou nobles. Such people are not worthy of our Yizhou nobles!
Come on, drive this madman out. From now on, Yang Wan will no longer be a member of our Yizhou gentry! "
Seeing Du Qiong's rage, Yang Wan strengthened his suspicion and decided to argue with Du Qiong.
But then I thought about it, a good man won't suffer the immediate consequences. Du Qiong is so powerful that he can't be completely angered.
"Okay, okay! If that's the case, there's no need to drive them away, I'll go on my own!"
After saying that, before Du Qiong came to his senses, Yang Wan quickly left the courtyard through the small door at the back.
As soon as he went out, Yang Wan lifted up his robe and ran towards the place where he was staying...
Yang Wan left with his first foot, and there were secret guards following behind him, following him all the way.
After a long time, Du Qiong lowered his head and put his hands on his hips, and slowly walked out of the courtyard.
Before going out, Du Qiong paused for a moment, as if he had thought of something, and then nodded with satisfaction, then returned to his former self and stepped out of the courtyard...
Li Shimin and others worked hard all afternoon and finally found out all the action records of Du Qiong, Qiao Zhou, and He Zong.
After screening, Li Shimin marked several key and valuable records.
"Look, Du Qiong has several times entrusted domestic slaves or subordinate officials to go out to do things alone.
Especially these two times, Wang Peng and Yao Min met Du Qiong first, and then they went to Guangdu County Government. "
Zhang Yan remembered several names often reported on the radio, including Wang Peng and Yao Min.
"Brother Adou, it seems that what Chang Bo said is true.
Du Qiong's whereabouts coincided with it.
Could it be that Du Qiong was the person behind the assassination of the emperor in the past? "
Li Shimin put the slip aside, looked at the sky outside the hall, and began to think deeply.
"Little sister, Huang Hao, Chen Zhong, this matter is over here. I don't want to pursue this matter any further.
As for Du Qiong and others, now is not the time to touch them, they are still of some use to me. "
Zhang Yan said in confusion:
"This matter has just become clearer. As long as Wang Peng, Yao Miao and others are captured and interrogated, evidence of Du Qiong's guilt will surely be obtained.
Why did Brother Adou suddenly press this matter? Could it be that he was afraid that the Yizhou gentry would be too powerful to fall out with them? "
"Little sister, just do what I want. When have I ever disappointed you?"
Upon hearing this, Huang Hao took over His Majesty's words and said timidly:
"Your Majesty, I seem to understand your thoughts.
Since Miss Zhang Er has doubts, why not let your servant try to clear up Miss Zhang Er’s doubts?
I don’t know, Your Majesty…”
"Huang Hao, this is not an opportunity for you to show your cleverness in front of me. No matter what you think, it is best to keep it in your heart.
Just follow my will and don’t use all your intelligence to speculate on the holy will! "
Seeing that His Majesty was displeased, Huang Hao quickly knelt down and kowtowed:
"Your Majesty, please calm down. I acknowledge my sin! I will remember your Majesty's teachings and will definitely focus more on how to serve Your Majesty in the future..."
Zhang Yan was still a little curious and wanted to hear what Huang Hao had to say.
Upon seeing this scene, Zhang Yan quickly put away her curiosity and stood beside His Majesty with her head lowered, not daring to ask any more questions.
At this moment, the guards outside the palace came to report.
"Your Majesty, Duke Xiaoyao is asking for an audience outside the palace."
As soon as Zhang Yan heard that Duke Xiaoyao had arrived, she immediately became energetic and forgot about the unpleasantness just now.
"Brother Adou, Mr. Xiaoyao is here, why don't you respond?"
Li Shimin glanced at Zhang Yan inexplicably and said with a smile:
"I was about to issue a decree to order Xiaoyao Gong to appear in court, but I didn't let you take the lead. Why didn't you respond?"
After saying this, Li Shimin looked at the guards.
"Go and invite Mr. Xiaoyao!"
The guards took the order and left.
"Huang Hao, I got some new ones from the wine and food on the table. I want to have a few drinks with Mr. Xiaoyao."
Huang Hao accepted the order and was about to prepare when Li Shimin added:
"By the way, add one more, and you can have a drink with me tonight."
Huang Hao heard this and said gratefully:
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty! I will go and prepare now."
As soon as Huang Hao left, Duke Xiaoyao arrived.
As usual, Fan Ji still looked energetic and ethereal.
"Your Majesty, I have something urgent to do, and I have no choice but to come here to bother you at this time.
I hope your majesty will not blame you! "
