"Liu Qi is dead!"
"Dead? Brother Renshou, what do you mean? Isn't it possible that the dead person is the person mentioned in the prophecy?"
"Yes, if he is the person mentioned in the prophecy, he will naturally have destiny. Since he has destiny, how can he be killed by you so easily?"
Wang Wenzuo opened his mouth and was speechless for a moment: "What you said is a bit ridiculous, isn't it? Why does the person mentioned in the prophecy have destiny? Why can't he die easily? If the emperor really believes in the prophecy, then why not Isn’t it okay to comply with destiny and give the Zen position to that person?”
This time it was Jin Renwen's turn to be speechless. Wang Wenzuo's rebuttal hit home to the ruler's ambivalent attitude towards the prophecies: He believed in the authenticity of the prophecies, so he looked for potential threats to himself based on the prophecies and tried to It was eliminated in the bud; but he also believed that there was some kind of mysterious power in the prophecy, so that the person he easily killed would not be the person the prophecy truly corresponded to, but he also believed that he could resist this mysterious power. Secure the throne. This contradictory view makes the ruler extremely weird - after killing someone according to the prophecy, the ruler will not only not feel safe, but will also suspect that he killed the wrong person and missed the person who should be killed. And continue to look for the enemy that does not exist.
"Forget it, let's not talk about it!" Wang Wenzuo sighed: "Brother Renshou, do you know how the emperor knew the prophecy? I obviously burned the piece of paper?"
"Liu Rengui mentioned it in his memorial to the imperial court. He heard a nursery rhyme singing like this on the street when he was recuperating in Luoyang!"
"Ah!" Wang Wenzuo opened his eyes wide: "Is Liu Rengui crazy? Doesn't he know that his surname is Liu and he once lived in Baekje? These two sentences can also be applied to him!"
"Yes!" Jin Renwen sighed: "Maybe he is too busy with the country to take care of himself, or maybe he feels that if he reports it first, the emperor will not consider him. No one knows the specific reason now. Yes, I also heard about it from a friend from the Central Publishing House, and I don’t know much more about it!”
"Crazy, really crazy!" Wang Wenzuo sighed: "Then what should we do now? Is there any way to help Liu Gong clear his name?"
"Sanlang, I know you have a good relationship with Liu Renyuan!" Jin Renwen sighed: "But the trouble with this matter is that it is not a crime, it is just a knot in the emperor's heart. How can you get away with it without a crime? If you If you go to the Emperor to plead with you about this matter, the Emperor will never admit it!"
"That's true!" Wang Wenzuo was fully awake at this time. As Jin Renwen said, it is not a crime in any dynasty or generation to have a name in a prophecy. After all, since the Han Dynasty, celestial phenomena, prophecies, and omens have been There is no such thing as killing a minister directly. Even if a tyrant like Emperor Sui Yang wants to kill you, he will let his cruel officials find a decent crime for you and let you die in a decent manner. Li Zhi would not do this even more. After all, he also knew that believing in prophecies was not a decent thing, let alone killing innocent people because of prophecies. Anyway, he had many cruel officials who were proficient in the law and understood what was going on. As long as he casually hinted After a while, someone will naturally take care of things for him and will never get his hands dirty.
"By the way, there is more than just Mr. Liu in the court, right? Why does the emperor only want to punish him?"
"How is that possible?" Jin Renwen showed a wry smile: "Yesterday I heard a rumor in the palace. The emperor asked the Ministry of Personnel to submit a list of officials with the surname Liu above the sixth rank in the country. He probably has to personally select them!"
"An official with the surname Liu of the sixth rank or above in the country?" Wang Wenzuo took a breath, and the image of the dark husband and wife team of Li Zhiwu, a married couple, holding a brush to draw circles and crosses on the list, suddenly appeared in his mind, and he felt a chill. It is clear to the bones that this is really a situation where people are sitting at home and disaster comes from the sky. If my surname was not Wang but Liu, I would probably be like the officials on this list and be put into another list for no apparent reason. At worst, the future will be bleak, and at worst, the family will be destroyed.
"This feudal autocratic imperial power is so dark!" Wang Wenzuo murmured to himself. Frankly speaking, Li Zhi can definitely be regarded as a wise emperor among ancient Chinese emperors, and the posthumous title of Emperor Dasheng Dahongxiao is not entirely for future generations. It's flattering, but the emperor's personal talents do not mean that he is a good person. The alienation of people by the autocratic imperial power is vividly reflected in the couple. When I think of it,
Wang Wenzuo felt shuddering to have to work under this dark couple all the time.
"What's wrong, Saburo, are you scared?"
"Of course I'm afraid! It's a ghost if you're not afraid. If the prophecy is talking about Wang instead of Liu, then wouldn't I be the unlucky one?"
"Yes!" Jin Renwen sighed: "There is really no way around this kind of thing. You took such a big risk to hide the prophecy, but it's still like this. This is destiny!"
——————————————————————
Daxingshan Temple in Jingshanfang, Chang'an.
In a side courtyard deep in Daxingshan Temple, Li Xiayu plunged himself completely into darkness.
She closed the curtains, fell into a deep sleep, cried silently when she woke up, and then fell asleep again. When she couldn't fall asleep, she huddled in the bed, grief-stricken and trembling.
Sometimes her sleep was as heavy as lead, and she had no dreams all night long. When she woke up, she was exhausted, even more tired than when she closed her eyes. But that's not bad, because if she is dreaming, it must be related to her mother. Sleeping or waking up, all she could see was the scene of her being pushed to the ground by the palace maid. The eunuch who announced the decree strode towards her, then read out her mother's crime loudly, and then...and then...she just wanted to turn her head. Come on, she really wanted to turn her head away, but her feet were already weak, so she fell to her knees. And somehow she just couldn't look away. People around him showed gloating smiles. Didn't his father laugh at himself? He really smiled, and she thought everything was okay, but only for a moment, and then her father's face turned away, and it turned out that he was smiling at the woman.
As for her mother, she only remembered her mother's head hanging down... and then being dragged out. The moment before she was dragged out, her mother turned her head back and looked at herself and her sister earnestly. Suddenly, her mother's face suddenly changed into that of Wang Wenzuo.
I might as well die, Li Xiayu said to herself, and she found that this idea was not scary at all. Tear up the sheet, braid it into a rope, throw it over the rafters, tie it in a tight knot, stick your head in it, and kick off the bench to end all misery, and years later poets will sing of her sorrow. Li Xiayu picked up the sheets several times, but when she thought of her sister, her courage immediately left her, and she could only bury her head in bed again and cry bitterly.
The door of the room was pushed open. Li Xiayu looked at the door in panic. It was the palace maid who usually guarded him. Her face was full of a gloating smile. Li Xiayu's heart suddenly thumped. Could there be something else? Is disaster going to happen to me and my sister?
"You two!" The palace maid bowed to Li Xiayu and Li Suwen and said, "The palace has decreed that in three days it will be the day for the two of you to become a monk, so you two must take a bath and fast during these three days."
"Ordained a monk?" Li Suwen snorted coldly: "We have nothing wrong, why should we become a monk if we are good?"
"Haha!" The palace maid showed a sarcastic smile: "Did you make something wrong? For you two, becoming a monk is a great blessing! No matter how many people ask for this blessing, you can't get it! "
"Blessed, why don't you become a monk? Come on, I'll give you my blessing!" Li Suwen retorted.
"I cannot be your blessing!" The palace maid smiled and said, "By the way, I have two pieces of news here, one good news and one bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"
"You can just say whatever you want, good news or bad news. Why bother trying to make a big difference!" Li Suwen said coldly.
"Then let me tell you the good news first, and make you two happy!" The female officer said with a smile: "I remember that you two brought two beds of rough felts, and you were reluctant to throw them away as if they were treasures, so I gave them to you. He is a man named Wang Wenzuo who has joined the army, and you two still miss him very much, right?"
"The news about Wang Canjun, didn't you say that he offended Her Majesty the Queen?" Li Xiayu raised his head, his eyes shining with hope.
"Yes! He did offend Her Majesty the Queen, but Her Majesty the Queen is generous and cherishes talents. Not only did she not blame the king for joining the army, but she also promoted him to an official. Now he should be the fifth rank, right? He and Jin Ren Asking General Jin how to make friends, I am so unhappy living in Chang'an during this time!"
Li Xiayu didn't hear the words that the palace maid said behind her at all;
When I heard "I didn't blame the king who joined the army", I was overwhelmed with joy. I just folded my hands and knelt down and chanted Buddha's name. Li Suwen on the side was startled and hugged her sister quickly: "Sister, what's wrong with you, are you okay?" She even called seven or eight times to no avail. Li Suwen couldn't help being frightened, pointing at the palace maid and scolding: "You This bad woman used false news to harm my sister again!"
The palace maid smiled and said: "Young lady, what you said is wrong! I told you sisters about Wang Wenzuo's situation clearly out of good intentions. It's because your sister has such a genius in her heart. By the way, you two are about to become a monk. You must abide by the Buddhist rules and regulations. Then Wang Wenzuo is not related to you. It is very unseemly for your sister to have a daughter's family. If word spreads, your sister will lose all dignity of the royal family! "
"You -" Li Suwen was furious when she heard this. She was about to argue with the female officer, but was held back by a hand from behind. When she turned around, she saw it was Li Xiayu. Her face was filled with tears, her eyes were clear, and she was obviously sane. .
"Sister, you're okay!"
"Suwen, I'm fine!" Li Xiayu patted his sister's hand and bowed deeply to the female officer: "Thank you for telling me that Wang Canjun is fine now. He has been kind to our sisters. I really don't miss him. Because our sisters are implicated, this way our sisters can become monks without any worries. Just now you said there is another bad news, what bad news is it!"
"Bad news?" The female officer rolled her eyes: "You two heard some noise outside a few days ago, right?"
"Yes, I heard from the monk who delivered the food that a mob was causing trouble!" Li Xiayu said, "I just don't know if it's true or not!"
"Yes, it is indeed true. Tens of thousands of people set fire to and looted, and the thieves even armed with bows and crossbows to resist the conquest of the army!"
"Is there such a thing? What's going on now?" Li Xiayu was surprised and asked quickly.
"It has been calmed down. Thousands of thieves have been killed. That Wang Shenjun made great contributions to this matter, so he was promoted!"
"Amitabha, thank you Bodhisattva for your protection!" Li Xiayu hurriedly clasped his hands together: "He is not injured, right?"
"The oily skin is not scratched at all!" The corner of the female officer's mouth turned up slightly: "Don't thank the Bodhisattva first. The court is now strictly investigating the people behind the scenes. Their elder brother Li Sujie is also implicated. Just last night, in He committed suicide by hanging himself in prison!"
Their elder brother Li Sujie was also implicated. Just last night, he hanged himself from a beam in the prison!
Li Xiayu felt as if he was hit by a muffled thunder in the head. Without saying a word, he raised his head and fell down. Li Suwen quickly stretched out her hand to support her and called her sister's name. There was no response. She turned around and cursed: "You're such a bitch." Wife, are you here specifically to harm our sisters today?"
"Haha!" The female officer laughed: "What a heartless person. I just made it clear that there is good news and bad news. You two must listen to it. I just said it. Who knows what she is suffering from?" If you don't live, what does it have to do with me? Besides, I have just said that it is a blessing for you two to be able to become a monk. Think about it, if your brother Li Sujie also became a monk like you, what would happen to you? How could he be implicated in what happened this time? How could he die at such a young age? You two only hate the loneliness of the temple, but you don’t realize how much your majesties love their children. You really don’t know what’s good and what’s good!”
Li Suwen was furious when she heard the sound and was about to yell, but she felt her sister in her arms move twice. She quickly patted her sister's back twice and said, "Sister, sister, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I just can't take a breath, I'm stuffed!" Li Xiayu took out a long breath and showed a wry smile. With the help of her sister, she stood up and walked to the female officer: "My brother really hanged himself last night. And died?"
"That's natural. Would you still be able to deceive you about this kind of thing?" the female officer said with a smile.
"Then you only brought one maid to see us today?"
"Really?" The female officer was confused by Li Xiayu's strange question: "As you know, Daxingshan Temple is a pure place and cannot be crowded!"
"It would be great!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Xiayu suddenly punched the female officer in the right eye. The female officer wanted to scream, but was covered by Li Xiayu's left hand and couldn't scream.
Speak up. The two fell to the ground and struggled.
"Suwen, come and help, hold her hands and feet down!" Li Xiayu said sternly. She covered the female officer's mouth with one hand and held a bloody gold hairpin in her other hand, with an eyeball pointed at the tip of the hairpin. , it turned out that she had just secretly taken off her golden hairpin, and with the first blow, she blinded the female official's right eye.
