"I'm rude, please forgive Mr. Liu!" Yiji Lianbode bowed to Liu Yuanzhen and saluted. Although Liu Yuanzhen knew that this was just Wang Wenzuo giving him a step down, but in this case, there was no point in holding on to him any longer. He waved his hand: "Well, this is not a place to stay for a long time. If you have anything to say, Saburo, just tell me!"
"Since the imperial government said so, I won't be polite!" Wang Wenzuo pursed his lips, making him look very serious: "What did you and Zhou Xing say in the Daming Palace that day?"
"Your subordinates have already asked about it at my home!" Liu Yuanzhen replied impatiently: "I have made it very clear. I was kicked out of the palace by the queen just after I said a few words. How could I know what Zhou Xing said? What!"
"Then tell me clearly what you saw and heard before you left!"
"Wang Wenzuo, don't you think this is too much?" Liu Yuanzhen's eyes shone with dim fire, like hot charcoal in a furnace: "This is a forbidden language, and no one can know it!"
"It's not that I want to know!" Wang Wenzuo said: "You should know who is really asking you!"
Liu Yuanzhen felt that his back began to ache. Whenever the weather changed, his back began to ache unbearably, as if there were hundreds of worms squirming in the bone marrow. He once heard a doctor say that this kind of disease occurs in warm weather. The south will be much better. Maybe it's time for me to leave Chang'an and go to Yangzhou or Bashu to become a governor.
"If I tell you the truth, can you let me leave Chang'an and go to the south to become a governor?" Liu Yuanzhen asked.
"Want to leave Chang'an, a place of right and wrong?" Wang Wenzuo smiled: "No problem, I can promise you!"
"I only heard Zhou Xing say two words before I left that night!" After getting Wang Wenzuo's promise, Liu Yuanzhen answered quickly: "'Zhou Guogong was framed, he fell into a trap set by others!'"
"That's all?" Wang Wenzuo couldn't help but be disappointed: "There's nothing else?"
"Of course what Zhou Xing said in front of the queen that day was more than this, otherwise the queen would not reward him heavily! But the queen was in a bad mood at the time and said she would only let us say two sentences. If we can't understand the two sentences, get out. I I couldn’t say it, but Zhou Xing said these two sentences, so he stayed and I went out.”
"Duke Zhou was framed. He fell into someone else's trap?" Wang Wenzuo repeated: "The inner government has a good plan. Just based on these two sentences, it is a bit too much to want to change the governor."
"Sanlang, you asked me to tell you what Zhou Xing said that night, but I only heard these two sentences last night! How can I say more? As for the governor, you have already agreed. If you regret it, there is nothing I can do to you. !" Liu Yuanzhen said with a smile. When he saw Wang Wenzuo like this, he felt like he was able to win back the game, and he felt happy in his heart.
"Okay!" Wang Wenzuo sighed: "In this case, it can only be like this. Don't worry about the governor's matter, I will naturally tell His Highness the Crown Prince!"
"That's good!" Liu Yuanzhen stood up: "If there is nothing else, I will leave!"
"Why is the imperial government so anxious!" Wang Wenzuo stretched out his hand to stop him: "You said you only heard Zhou Xing say a few words at that time, so before entering the palace, Zhou Xing must have told you the purpose of entering the palace, right? "
"Yeah!" Liu Yuanzhen nodded: "Yes, he mentioned it, but this guy was very strict. He only said that he had discovered the reason why Duke Zhou was harmed. Oh, by the way, he said he had discovered a big A conspiracy that can turn the whole of Chang'an upside down!"
"A big conspiracy? Turn the whole of Chang'an upside down?" Wang Wenzuo frowned. If it comes to the cause of He Lan Minzhi's death, he knows the best. It is true to say that there is a conspiracy, but it is too much to say that there is a big conspiracy, let alone A big conspiracy to turn Chang'an City upside down. The main reason why he killed Helan Minzhi was to cover up the prince's shame. Anyway, even if he didn't do it, Helan Minzhi would be dead in this kind of thing. He might as well just kill him to make the prince famous. Sound nicer. Considering what this person did in history, it is most likely that he was beaten into a trick, fabricated accusations, implicated, and made a case out of thin air. After He Lan Minzhi's unexplained death, Wu Zetian was in extreme panic. She felt that there were enemies everywhere, so she used Zhou Xing, a cruel official, as a tool to eliminate political enemies. One of the two wanted fame and wealth, the other wanted to set up a major case to clean up the court and eliminate political opponents. It can be said that they hit it off.
"By the way, that guy also mentioned a person, Lu Zhaolin!" Liu Yuanzhen said with a smile: "He was very proud when he mentioned this person, saying that this person was closely related to the death of Duke Zhou. If he could find this person, Then all the truth will be revealed!”
"Lu Zhaolin?" If Wang Wenzuo had always had a relaxed attitude as a bystander, this time he couldn't help being startled. Of course, Lu Zhaolin was not the main reason why he borrowed Yang Sijian's help to kill He Lan Minzhi, but if it had anything to do with it, it would not matter. No, that would be a lie. This Zhou Xing was able to reach all the way here. He was quite capable. It seemed that he had to find an opportunity to get rid of him, otherwise it would be a catastrophe sooner or later.
"What's wrong, Saburo, do you know this person?"
"Yeah!" Wang Wenzuo didn't hide anything: "My wife belongs to the Cui family of Qinghe, and she is a family friend of Lu Zhaolin, so after he was imprisoned, I had a romantic relationship with Zhou Guogong, but he still refused to let me go!"
"There are such things!" Liu Yuanzhen said with a smile: "Then the Duke of Zhou died at your hands, right?"
"Liu Neifu, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't talk nonsense!" Wang Wenzuo sneered: "That night Duke Zhou died in the Yang Mansion, along with the Yang family's daughter, the future crown princess, what do you think of me? How capable is Yang Sijian that he would risk his own daughter’s life to kill Duke Zhou even if his future father-in-law is not the emperor?”
"Hahaha! It's a joke, it's a joke! Don't take it seriously, Sanlang!" Liu Yuanzhen patted Wang Wenzuo's right arm and said with a smile, but he didn't know that what he just said was already very close to the truth.
Wang Wenzuo snorted coldly and pretended to be angry. Liu Yuanzhen said a few more soft words. Just after he passed this hurdle, Wang Wenzuo sighed: "Listening to what you said, Zhou Xing is probably going to cause a stir. A bloody storm is coming, hey, it's a pity that I have been favored by the prince, otherwise I would have followed your example and found a way to leave Chang'an to avoid the limelight!"
"Sanlang is joking. You have the soldiers of the East Palace in your hands and the prince is protecting you. What are you afraid of?" Liu Yuanzhen said with a smile: "If anyone in Chang'an City is the supporter of Mount Tai, except for the emperor, queen, and prince, it's their turn. It’s your turn. Regardless of the majesty of those colleagues in the political hall, they are really not as good as you at this time. If you are involved in anything, you will either be exiled to the misty land of the southwest, or your clan will be exterminated! Okay, If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave and remember my business!”
After sending Liu Yuanzhen out of the house, Wang Wenzuo fell into deep thought. Although the other party basically didn't hear the conversation between Zhou Xing and the Queen, he felt that the danger was approaching step by step. Maybe it wouldn't be long before the Queen found out about her. .
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Chang'an, Mingde Gate.
"I'm back again. I miss you so much! Brother Lu returned to Chang'an a few months before me. Let's go visit him first!" Looking at the wide Zhuque Street in front of him, Wang Bo let out a long breath and laughed softly.
In order to catch up with the subject selection in the autumn and winter of the second year of Xianheng (671), Wang Bo and Lu Zhaolin originally planned to go together. However, Wang Bo suddenly fell ill, so Lu Zhaolin had to return to Chang'an alone. Wang Bo rested in Chengdu for several months and waited until he recovered. He didn't set off until midsummer of 671 AD and didn't return to Chang'an until midsummer. However, what greeted him was not the friendly smile of his old friend, but the familiar name of his old friend on the wanted document posted beside the city gate.
"What? Brother Lu has become an imperial prisoner? The imperial court issued a list of arrests. If anyone finds any clues, he will be rewarded with five hundred pieces of silk. If he takes his own, he will be rewarded with a thousand pieces of silk!" Looking at the number of rewards on the list, Wang Bo couldn't help but be stunned. , this reward is already quite scary. What did Brother Lu do while he was away? This reward is enough to capture the culprit of the treason.
"Get out of the way, get out of the way!" The officer waved his stick and drove away the people who were watching. He also posted two arrest documents. They were both guilty of treason and rebellion. The reward was less than Lu Zhaolin, but he got a job. There are also three hundred and five hundred pieces of silk. Wang Bo looked at the list carefully and found that it was unclear. It only said how much the reward would be for arresting so-and-so, but it did not explain clearly what the crimes of these people were. He was an extremely smart man and thought to himself: "Can't the details of this case be announced now? So the list only mentioned the arrest and reward, but did not mention the specific details of the case. In this way, Brother Lu is most likely involved in this case. He is just a small fish and shrimp. Taking him is just the beginning. The specific big shot has not surfaced yet? The small fish and shrimp are rewarded with a thousand pieces of silk. How much reward does this big shot want? Tsk, tsk, it seems that Brother Lu is really the one this time Fell into a big pit!”
After Wang Bo read the article, he entered the city and walked along Zhuque Street. Although the street was still bustling with people and the style of the imperial capital, he had long lost the mood to watch. He originally planned to visit his old master at Prince Pei's Mansion first. Next, Ke Xuan investigated the news, but what happened at the city gate made him change his mind. He remembered that his friend Ling Jiyou worked in the Ministry of Punishment, so he changed his path and went to his old friend first.
After some inquiries, Wang Bo finally found Ling Jiyou's residence in the evening. This man rented a house in Changshoufang. But when Wang Bo arrived, he found that General Tie was holding the door and there was no one in the room. He waited until the first watch and saw Ling Jiyou coming back with a tired look on his face, and hurriedly greeted him.
"Brother Zian, why are you here?" Ling Jiyou was also surprised when he saw his old friend's appearance.
"It's not about the autumn and winter subject selection!" Wang Bo sighed: "I traveled thousands of miles from Chengdu and waited at your door from dusk to now. I am thirsty and hungry. How do you want to compensate me?"
"You can't blame me!" Ling Jiyou said with a smile: "I just got a new boss, and I've been struggling from morning to night every day for seven or eight days. Don't say it's you who's here, even if it's your own parents. , I don’t care anymore!”
"New boss? Who is it? Why is this happening?" Wang Bo asked.
Ling Jiyou answered as he opened the door: "My surname is Zhou Mingxing. I am from Chang'an. He was originally the magistrate of Wannian County. Now he is appointed as the Minister of Provincial Affairs. He handles a big case with the decree of Her Majesty the Queen! Everyone was urged by him. Working in two shifts day and night, there are still a group of colleagues running errands in the yamen!"
"Is it so urgent?" Wang Bo thought with a thought: "By the way, when I entered the city, I saw the notice at the door with the document for arresting Lu Zhaolin. The reward is very heavy!"
"Shut up!" Ling Jiyou quickly covered Wang Bo's mouth, walked to the window and stuck his head out to see if there was no one outside, then lowered his voice and said: "Are you willing to die? How dare you mention his name? If anyone hears it, , if you seize it, you won’t be able to get out!”
"What a joke!" Wang Bo was unconvinced: "Brother Lu's poetry is well-known all over the world. If he is arrested just by mentioning his name, there will be many people arrested. I don't know if the Yongzhou Prefecture Prison is pretending. Down!"
"You don't need to worry about this! There's no room for those in Yongzhou Prefecture, and there are also prison cells for those in Yeting, the Ministry of Justice, and various counties!" Ling Jiyou sneered: "Don't be unconvinced, you know who has been captured Already? Deng Wang Li Jiong, Dongtai Minister Hao Chujun and others, there are twenty or thirty officials above the fifth rank alone, and they are all related to that guy, including you!"
"Prince Deng Li Jiong? Dongtai Minister Hao Chujun?" Upon hearing these prominent names, Wang Bo's face turned pale: "What on earth is going on? Why is there such a big prison? Brother Lu came to Chang'an just to seek an official position?"
"How do I know?" Ling Jiyou sneered: "He should just be involved, there are many more things to come! Anyway, the prince of the East Palace got engaged to the daughter of Siwei Shaoqing Yang Sijian a few days ago, and that night the Yang Mansion held a banquet for guests and friends , and the Duke of Zhou and the daughter of the Yang family both died that night. It is said that the attempted rape was attempted, so Yang Sijian killed the Duke of Zhou, and the daughter of the Yang family also hanged herself from the beam!"
"This, this -" Wang Bo was dumbfounded: "Who is the Duke of Zhou?"
"His real name is He Lan Minzhi, and he is the nephew of the queen. The queen was not in harmony with the family, so she gave him the surname and let him inherit the title of the queen's father!" Ling Jiyou said coldly: "Do you know this now? The water inside is really too deep. If Lu Sheng is involved, there is only one way to die. If you don't want to be involved, you must never mention that you once knew him, otherwise you will be completely ruined if you just talk about it! "
Wang Bo nodded. At this time, his heart was already cold. His original enthusiasm for coming to Chang'an had long been gone. Suddenly he thought that if he hadn't gotten sick in Chengdu, he and Lu Zhaolin would probably not have come to Chang'an together. Caught in one swoop.
"Then, what should I do now?" Wang Bo asked.
"Just stay here with me!" Ling Jiyou said with a smile: "Eat and sleep when you should, and don't wander around. Wait until this wave of limelight passes, and then think about the subject selection! In fact, this is also a good thing for you. After a major case, there will definitely be a lot of vacancies at the top, and with your talent and learning, you will definitely be able to get a good official position!"
(End of chapter)
