Start with detective Li Yuanfang

Chapter 157
Li House.

Li Jingxuan sat in front of the chessboard, looking at the stalemate chess game, lost in thought.

He was thinking about how much he had to compromise this time to satisfy the saint.

The prime minister is a very special position. Throughout the dynasties, there have been overt or covert struggles for power and profit between the emperor and the prime minister.

Undoubtedly, Li Jingxuan came to this position as Li Zhi's confidant. At first, he was obedient and obeyed the arrangement of the saint, but gradually, he also began to strengthen himself.

They are all extremely human ministers, so they naturally want to enjoy the feeling of being in power. He is a saint in everything, so why is he working so hard to get promoted?
And it is precisely because of the authority of the prime minister that Li Jingxuan can continue to test within Li Zhi's tolerance and gradually expand his power.

Although Li Zhi's disgust is piling up, he won't really take him down.

After all, it would not be better to remove Li Jingxuan and replace him with another prime minister.

Under normal circumstances, it is normal for both parties to hold power and see each other.

Only this time it was clearly an accident.

Li Jingxuan knew very well that the rumors had greatly angered the saint, and his son had done some foolish things again, so he should make concessions to appease the saint's anger.

After calculating how many key positions he had to give up, Li Jingxuan frowned distressedly, and snorted angrily, "Niezi! Niezi!"

Scolding is scolding, caring still has to be caring, he recruited the steward: "How is the situation at the inner guard?"

People around said: "Ah Lang, there is no news, it should not be a bad thing."

Li Jingxuan nodded slightly. There is no news at this time, but it is good news. If something bad happens...

A panicked cry came from outside: "Ah Lang, it's not good! It's not good!"

Li Jingxuan's head was dizzy, and he said in a deep voice: "Screaming, what a shame, after reporting the matter, go and receive the punishment!"

The steward who notified was about to cry, but hurriedly said: "Cui Shilang has been arrested, and I heard that they have started interrogation in the inner prison!"

Li Jingxuan was stunned: "Cui Shouye is the leader of the Neiwei Pavilion, who dares to offend the superior... What is the order of the saint?"

The steward said: "The sage dismissed Cui Shilang's official position, his official robe and official seal were stripped off, and he was immediately put in prison!"

Li Jingxuan was thoughtful: "Why is the saint punished like this? Could it be...the rumors are spread by this person? It is not impossible!"

No one knows Cui Shouye's attachment to the prime minister better than Li Jingxuan, otherwise he would not have been able to easily pull him onto the boat back then.

Taking this opportunity, Cui Shouye wanted to drag him into the water, which was nothing more than a normal political struggle.

Thinking of this, Li Jingxuan lightly stroked his beard, regained his composure, and waved his hand: "It's okay, this matter is not necessarily a bad thing, go down and get ten lashes yourself!"

The unlucky ghost retreated and was whipped, while the others remained silent.

This Alang is very disciplined and cherishes his reputation, so he is very strict with his servants.

Ten to fifty strokes of the whip is called "cane punishment", and if it is beaten from sixty to one hundred strokes, it becomes the "stick punishment" of this era.

The government's cane punishment can only be beaten up to two hundred times, but some servants of Li's mansion were directly beaten to death. From then on, other people lived their lives more cautiously, not daring to tarnish the reputation of their master.

"Cui Shouye is finished, there will be no further blows in this case, and I don't have to back down so much..."

And Li Jingxuan looked at the chessboard, put a few chess pieces on it again, and smiled.

After the mood improved, it was unavoidable to be a little strange.

He wrote so many letters, why hasn't one of them returned yet?
Although some things can be tacitly stated, they are not as good as black and white.

Thinking of this, Li Jingxuan hesitated for a moment, took down a few chess pieces, and muttered: "Forget it, let's back down more!"

At this moment, the servant of the inner house came to report again: "Ah Lang, Madam seems to be going home."

Li Jingxuan was startled, showing confusion, and hurriedly got up.

This newlywed is the daughter of the Wang family in Taiyuan, and her background is not cheap.

Li Zhiqian's former king and empress, on the surface, came from the Wang family of Taiyuan, but they were actually a branch of Pan, and the main line was not recognized. Relying on being a descendant of Wang Sizheng, the queen was supported by the Guanlong gentry, and was supported by Changsun Wuji, Chu Suiliang and others. The support has nothing to do with the Shandong gentry.

As for Li Jingxuan's third wife, she was the real daughter of the Taiyuan Wang family. After the wedding, the dowry brought from the main family alone was enough for the food and clothing of Li's family, and it went up to a higher level.

Li Jingxuan hurried over and stopped Wang Shi who was being hugged by the maidservants in the backyard: "Ma'am, where are you going?"

Mrs. Wang saluted with an impeccable posture: "Fu Lang, I'm going back to my mother's house."

Li Jingxuan frowned and said: "This is a special time, we can't make extra troubles, I hope Madam will let go of this thought, and when I come back in the future, I will send Madam personally."

Mrs. Wang shook her head: "Don't bother Fulang anymore, I will send you the letter of reconciliation when I go home now."

Li Jingxuan was stunned, he couldn't believe his ears for a moment, and after a full ten breaths, he said in a deep voice: "What is the meaning of this? Have I treated Madam wrongly? Do you want to do such a willful act?"

Wang said indifferently: "It's not that my concubine slandered my husband-in-law, it's just my predecessor's misfortune. I don't want to repeat the same mistakes. When I wrote home, my parents also agreed with my concubine."

"I thought I lost power, so I can't wait to get rid of the relationship!"

Li Jingxuan was expressionless, furious in his heart.

The death of his second wife was also a commotion back then. After all, the parents in the family were nobles. Seeing how miserable his daughter was before she died, there were naturally complaints after returning home.

But Li Jingxuan published more than a dozen articles about loving his wife in a row, and Shilin crazily praised him, and then there was nothing more.

The Shandong gentry still obediently sent their third wife, and the Li family of Zhaojun also offered to join the clan.

As a result, his son-in-law has just been arrested, and the Wang family is about to reconcile, and he still uses his ex-wife to talk?

Wang was actually not that anxious, but after she wrote the letter, she soon received a reply from Brother Chang'an.

The letter told her to quickly reconcile with Li Jingxuan, so as not to affect the clan.

When she was with this icy prime minister, she always felt an indescribable feeling of depression. What she said in the letter was exactly what she wanted, and she saluted again at this moment: "The letter of peace and separation has arrived, and the financial account will be handed over. My concubine bid farewell!"

Watching the bride leave, Li Jingxuan's cheek muscles twitched violently.

He is greedy for power, but not for money.

Because there is no need to be greedy.

The first two wives were both prostitutes with five surnames, and the dowry was a huge fortune.

The wealth was obviously in the wife's name, and after the wife died, it naturally became the property of the Li family.

Therefore, every time Li Jingxuan gets married, his living standard rises to a higher level.

In addition, he is associated with the Li family in Zhaojun, and the business of the Li family's chamber of commerce must be done with his clansmen.

With all these things, there is no need to consider the issue of money.

But now that his wife is reconciled and the property is divided, the news of this matter will inevitably cause an uproar.

No matter how much he shirked his responsibility, the reconciliation of the dignified prime minister with his wife would be a huge blow to his reputation.

Li Jingxuan thought about it, but there was no way to eliminate the influence, so he silently made up his mind: "We can't make up, we must let Wang take back his mind!"

Immediately, he thought of Shihlin again, and summoned his confidant who was in charge of contacting him, and gave orders in a low voice.

Unexpectedly, after listening to the order, the manager said in a difficult way: "Ah Lang, I went to look for those literati yesterday, but I couldn't find them. They seem to be hiding."

Li Jingxuan said indifferently: "Just change the batch."

Compared with all the people in the world, scholars are indeed a small group of people, but compared with the world's scholars, officials are also a small group of people.

In Chang'an, there is no shortage of scholars who aspire to become officials, and it is extremely convenient to order them around.

The steward took the order to leave, and after only two hours, he rushed back: "Ah Lang, the situation is not good, those literati dare to refuse, and say... and say..."

Li Jingxuan's eyes sank: "What's the rule of hesitating? Say it quickly, and you will receive ten lashes yourself!"

The steward said aggrievedly: "They said that you, A Lang, are duplicity, hypocrisy, wife abuse, you are a hypocrite through and through!"

Li Jingxuan was stunned: "Wife abuse becomes crazy? How dare they be so jealous!"

He sat and watched his second wife die miserably, and he also saw the harm of Yundan. He knew that after taking it for a long time, he still couldn't escape the word death. Long-term pain is worse than short-term pain.

Facts have proved his predictability...

He had always framed others by himself, but now he was smeared by scholars, Li Jingxuan was furious: "I will never forgive, the officials will be elected, they will never have another chance!"

But the prime minister is the prime minister after all, he cursed and cursed, suddenly came to his senses, his complexion changed drastically: "No! It's not them... It's His Majesty! Your Majesty wants to kill me!"

If a courtier has a good reputation, even if he did something wrong and was killed by the emperor, the world will discuss that it is all the fault of the emperor, and Shilin was excited.

If a courtier has a bad reputation, even if he does not make mistakes in his work and is killed by the emperor, the common people will applaud him, the emperor is holy.

The latter is the principle of Wu Zetian's killing of cruel officials in history, and His Majesty the Emperor understands it.

Apparently, the internal guards of Plum Blossoms began to tarnish Li Jingxuan's reputation, not simply to demote him for crimes, but to kill him.

Li Zhi really hated this former attendant this time, and if he didn't kill Li Jingxuan, he would probably feel panicked.

Li Jingxuan finally realized the crisis, his legs went limp, and he almost collapsed, the servant beside him hurriedly supported him.

He had a sharp pain in his head: "I didn't spread the rumors, I was wronged, Your Majesty! No! I have to think about it, who can replace me! As long as I suppress that person, Your Majesty will give me grace, and there will be a turnaround!"

A mature politician will not act too hastily.

Before taking down Li Jingxuan, Li Zhi had to consider who would replace him as prime minister.

It's like sending people to Lingnan to take those relegated Wu's children back to the capital before mobilizing Wu Min.

First of all, think about who will take over the key position, so that after random appointment and dismissal, there will be no more suitable ministers to take over, and you will fall into a passive situation for nothing.

Li Jingxuan thinks he is very important.

It's not just pure ability. In terms of ability, there are many people who are stronger than him.

But among the four prime ministers, they must not only suppress the Guanlong gentry, but also win over the Shandong gentry to a limited extent.

Under these conditions, it is not so easy to choose a successor.

Therefore, Li Zhi sharpened his knife and selected candidates at the same time. The process could be as short as a few months and as long as a year.

At that time, Li Jingxuan's reputation will be completely rotten, and he can use his sword to kill him.

And Li Jingxuan's only way to save himself is to restore his reputation as much as possible during this period of time, and suppress his successors on the other hand.

Let Li Zhi realize that he is still better to use after all.

"Help me up! I'm going to write... write!"

Li Jingxuan desperately thought of a way, trembling and began to write the letter.

The main wife, Wang Shi, left, and the four beautiful concubines also came to the middle hall to serve Li Jingxuan, with pleasant surprises and worries on their brows.

The surprise is not to become a regular wife. It is impossible to become a regular wife if you are not born enough, but at least without the oppression of the regular wife, the degree of freedom in the concubine room will be much higher.

What was worrying was that they had never seen Li Jingxuan like this, and they were so frightened that even the hand holding the pen was shaking.

After writing five letters, he couldn't hold on anymore, put down his pen, and gasped for breath.

At this moment, another shrill voice came from outside the mansion: "The imperial decree has arrived!"

"Your Majesty knows that I have been wronged?"

Li Jingxuan raised his eyebrows with joy, braced his body, and led the crowd to welcome the edict of the saint.

"Order Li Jingxuan, the servant of Xitai, to go to Xuanwu Gate to watch the destruction of the poison pill."

Li Jingxuan knelt down, trembling all over.

At this time, let him go to see Pin Dan?
The waiter waited for a while, with a half-smile: "Li Shilang, accept the order, and then hurry to Da Nei!"

Li Jingxuan swayed and tried to stand up, but finally collapsed and cried out in a mournful voice:

"I have a grievance that is hard to avenge! A grievance that is hard to avenge!!"

(End of this chapter)