Start with detective Li Yuanfang

Chapter 98

"Gao Neiguan, it's already late at night, and this person is only a little suspicious. Let's go to the inner guard's garrison first and interrogate him in detail!"

Walking out of the gate of Taipingfang, Li Yan saw Eunuch Gao's impatient expression, so he proposed.

"This……"

Eunuch Gao agreed with the cautious attitude, but he was more aware of Empress Wu's urgency for this case, so he waved his hand to a servant behind him, who understood and rushed into the palace to report.

Sure enough, as soon as the crowd arrived at the gate of the imperial city, a servant came to report with an edict in hand: "The queen has an order, Li Wuwei has worked hard, hand over the suspect immediately!"

Li Yan was puzzled: "I haven't tried yet..."

Eunuch Gao said in a low voice, full of hints: "Li Wuwei, this matter is of great importance. During the interrogation, in case this woman reveals something that is not good for outsiders..."

Li Yan was stunned: "Understood, thank you, senior officer, then this suspect..."

Eunuch Gao smiled: "Leave it to us!"

"No! Don't send me to the queen!"

Lady Ye was praying along the way.

As long as it was Li Yan who interrogated herself in the end, there was still a possibility for her to escape.

But at this time, seeing several eunuchs escorting her to another prison car, their complexions turned pale, but they didn't dare to struggle, they could only look ashen and tremble.

Li Yan watched the group go away, stomping his feet in anticipation of what would happen next, the contest between the two saints.

It's a pity that I can't record by the side wearing an invisibility cloak like those historians.

Fortunately, knowing that among the two saints, someone must not be able to sleep comfortably tonight, so Li Yan returned to the mansion humming a song and fell asleep soundly.

……

"Good! Li Yuanfang didn't disappoint me!"

When receiving the news, Empress Wu, who had just finished her work and was about to rest, immediately got up and dressed, and came excitedly.

The reason why she has been unable to persuade the prince is because this matter is completely unreasonable.

Although politicians ignore morality at all, the world is big, the truth is the greatest, and good and evil are black and white, which are still deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

It's just that the superiors can often use many means to cover up the truth, instead of completely reversing the black and white rules.

When it really comes to that time, morality will be ruined, order will collapse, and it will often be the advent of troubled times, and the sky street will be full of public officials.

Therefore, as a ruler, Empress Wu must at least maintain a superficial justice.

She thought she had caught the prince's handle.

Look, you are not clean, pretending to be a ghost to scare people, not to mention blasphemy, Wu Minzhi is a first-rank Duke after all.
It's better for everyone to take a step back, Wu Minzhi will be exiled and strangled, the prince's revenge will be avenged, and the past will be over.

Empress Wu happily came to the violence room in the palace.

A place where wrongdoers are whipped, labored, or otherwise punished is a good place for interrogation.

Empress Wu had just walked in, and seeing Lady Ye's uncontrollable panic, she knew that she had been caught right, and said calmly, "Who told you to play a ghost to scare Duke Zhou?"

Lady Ye said: "No concubine... please spare my life... please spare my life!"

Empress Wu's eyes suddenly became sharp: "You really know me, you look good, and you used to serve the empress?"

Lady Ye didn't expect that she would reveal herself with a single address, and immediately regretted not falling.

When Empress Wu came in just now, the servants didn't shout. Empress Wu was wearing a short coat and long skirt with plain color and dark patterns, and she didn't look like an empress.

Seeing her flustered to the extreme, Empress Wu took advantage of the situation to add fuel to the fire: "Are you an old man from Shaoyang Courtyard?"

Lady Ye was stunned.

"what?"

Empress Wu immediately felt that something was wrong, her reaction was extremely fast, and her tone changed very naturally: "It seems that you still dare not frame the crown prince. You were punished in Ye Ting Palace before?"

This short sentence directly broke Miss Ye's defense.

She cried bitterly: "The empress forgives, the empress forgives, the sinner was born in the Yeting Palace, and she devoted herself to serving her, and she never disobeyed the slightest bit!"

Empress Wu's heart sank.

Yeting Palace, located in the Taiji Palace, is the place where the maids live and where the female family members of criminal bureaucrats work.

The point is, the prince can't control that place at all.

The only thing that can be restrained is...

She instinctively didn't want to believe it, and looked at Lady Ye again: "What's your real name?"

Lady Ye said: "The sinner's surname is Qi, and my father used to be the county magistrate of Runzhou."

Empress Wu had an excellent memory, and nodded slowly: "I remember your father, he was imprisoned because of the Yundan case."

Lady Ye burst into tears: "Yes, my father is guilty of failing the emperor's grace, of failing the emperor's grace..."

Empress Wu regained her composure, with an undetectable tremor in her voice, and finally asked, "Tell me, who are you?"

Lady Ye replied: "The sinner is the internal guard of the plum blossom."

Wu Zetian tightly squeezed the hands behind his back.

Of course she knew about the existence of the Plum Blossom Internal Guard.

After Sun Wuji, the third chief cabinet leader of the inner guard, committed suicide, the inner guard was immediately abolished by Li Zhi. Those who were demoted were demoted, and those who were transferred outside were transferred outside, but one cabinet leader was left behind.

The chief of the pavilion was in charge of monitoring the officials and letting Changsun Wuji speak his mind in the court. The officials only dared to speak ill of the emperor, but did not dare to say anything wrong about him.

Since then, the more concealed club insider has been established.

Empress Wu didn't know why the sage chose this name. Did she miss the deceased Empress Wende, or satirized her uncle Changsun Wuji?

Empress Wu was also not familiar with the internal personnel and specific operations. Once she wanted to ask questions, but was lightly blocked by the saint.

She knew that this organization could not intervene and belonged to Li Zhi alone.

As for suppressing courtiers, the interests of the two are the same.

Taking advantage of the time when the Guanlong Group had no leader, the Meihua Neiwei continued to instigate divisions, making the officials suspicious of each other. Invisibly, the emperor's prestige became more and more serious, and the officials were more and more afraid to obey others.

But this time, the plum blossom inner guard pointed the finger at her.

"Saint, has it always been you?"

The so-called authorities are obsessed, and bystanders are clear.

Empress Wu was in authority before, and was temporarily confused, only staring at the prince.

But as soon as he was pointed out at this time, he immediately understood the cause and effect.

She looked towards the bedroom and bit her lip.

Gradually the blood came out from the bite.

……

bedroom.

In the huge cauldron in the hall, the soothing incense from the Western Regions is exhaled, mixed with the strong and bitter medicinal fragrance, forming a strange smell.

Li Zhi stared at the bed screen, immersed in his own thoughts, coughing lightly from time to time.

What is painted on the bed screen is not mountains, rocks, flowers and birds, but a family of several people, outing in the countryside.

Empress Wende's eldest grandson died of illness when Li Zhi was nine years old, and in the last few years she was in poor health and never had a chance to take him out for fun.

Listening to his elder brothers Li Chengqian and Li Tai talking about how their mother took them to play when they were young, Li Zhi was very envious, and later asked the painter to paint this painting specially, and admired it all the time.

Empress Wu walked in and looked at Li Zhi.

Just at this moment, Li Zhi also turned his gaze.

Four eyes facing each other.

Empress Wu's anger subsided like a tide.

By the way, he brought along the question that was brewing.

"Your Majesty, it's time to rest!"

She gathered herself together, walked forward, helped Li Zhi lie down slowly, pulled up the thin quilt to cover him, stretched out her long and slender fingers, and rubbed his head.

"Without Mei Niang, I cannot sleep..."

Li Zhi showed a comfortable expression, and leaned his head gently in her arms.

Where Li Zhi couldn't see, Empress Wu's eyes kept flickering.

The reason why she is the queen, what is the biggest advantage?
From the perspective of the foreign minister, maybe it was the young mother's temptation, or maybe it was because she was able to give birth.

Four sons and two daughters, if it wasn't for Li Zhi's physical failure later, they would still be able to reproduce, which is much better than the infertile king and queen.

Some people will also say that the work ability, Empress Wu's diligence is indeed the most empress of all dynasties, not only helping Li Zhi handle government affairs, but also overfulfilling the empress's tasks.

For example, the ceremony of kissing silkworms, in ancient times, farming and weaving was the foundation of one's life, men plowed and women weaved, the ceremony of kissing silkworms was presided over by the emperor, and the ceremony of kissing silkworms was in charge of the empress.

This kind of etiquette is very cumbersome, but it is very important. One year before Empress Wende's eldest grandson died of illness, her gas disease relapsed, and she dragged her sick body to perform the sericulture ceremony.

Queen Wang was very lazy, and she didn't want to go in person, forcing Li Zhi to let his courtiers do it for him.

Later, "History of the Song Dynasty" also included "according to the first agricultural regulations, dispatching officials to take care of things", since the previous dynasty could fish, so can we.

In comparison, Empress Wu kissed silkworms five times and did it herself. This frenzied number of times would almost kill other empresses.

This is a standard workaholic.

But Empress Wu knew very well that the reason why she was able to be made queen by Li Zhi was not because of the above reasons. The biggest reason was her poor family background.

Compared with the Queen Wang who is a descendant of Wang Sizheng, who was accepted and supported by the Guanlong family, Concubine Xiao Shu has the Lanling Xiao family and the Jiangnan gentry behind her, and the Wu family came from a poor family, and only the generation of samurai Yi has made great contributions to the dragon. Li Yuan was later forced to abdicate , unattended, totally inadequate to cross class.

Under the background of the high-ranking gentry in the Tang Dynasty, the power of this foreign relative was extremely shabby.

But it was precisely this that Li Zhi valued, and he chose to make her the queen after he had tasted the fear of being ostracized by Changsun Wuji.

As a result, now Wu Minzhi wants to become bigger and stronger?

Whoever dies will die.

"It was indeed my mistake..."

After thinking about it, Empress Wu said softly, "Your Majesty, I have something to ask for!"

Li Zhi raised his head slightly, and said in the same gentle way: "Meiniang, if you have something to say, just say it."

Empress Wu said: "Xianci devoted all his heart to the Buddha during his lifetime, and followed the law in his daily life. Now the Buddha statue has been in the imperial city for a long time, and he can walk the streets to pray for blessings and hold the Dharma assembly."

She sighed: "He Lanmin didn't have the mercy of his grandma in the slightest for He Lanmin's evil deeds. I am afraid that the spirit of the kindness in the sky will not be safe. If this is the case, the crime will be serious.

Li Zhi nodded: "People say that mother and daughter are united in heart, and Mei Niang is kind and filial. This is the most appropriate solution. On the day Mrs. Rong Guo turns seven, hold a Dharma meeting!"

Empress Wu was determined, knowing that the scandal ended here and would not involve her mother, and said: "He Lanmin is crazy and innocent, with numerous crimes, first exile to Leizhou, and then order him to commit suicide!"

Li Zhi frowned: "But he continues your Wu family's incense..."

Empress Wu said: "The elder brother's descendants have been exiled in Lingnan for a long time, they should have a heart of repentance, and they can be brought back to continue the incense."

Li Zhi nodded again: "Meiniang's move is an example of killing relatives righteously. It just wronged you. Once this happens, the position of Queen of Heaven will have to wait."

The muscles on Empress Wu's cheeks twitched violently, and the hand massaging Li Zhi's head became softer and gentler: "As long as I can share your majesty's worries, I'm not in a hurry, I'm not in a hurry..."

Li Zhi hugged her: "Sleep! Sleep!"

The couple, who had known each other for nearly [-] years and married for [-] years, fell asleep one after another hugging each other.

(End of this chapter)