Datang: Hiding private money, exposed by Xiao Sizi

Shen Lian suddenly grasped a key point, and asked: "In the Haoyue Temple, how did he not come into contact with other people during this month?"

Xu Gou nodded: "Yes, Wuyazi seems to have been traumatized by the injustice in the past. He has been in a bad mental state and has a very withdrawn personality. He usually either meditates in front of the Three Pure Ones statues or stays alone. He rarely interacts with others."

"In Haoyue Temple, no one has a good relationship with him or interacts with him frequently. All the Taoists can testify to this."

"Then that's weird."

Shen Lian narrowed his eyes and said, "If Li Wencheng is not lying, Beichen needs to have contact with Wuyazi for ten consecutive days in order to control him. But as you said, Beichen had no chance to plant the Gu worm in Wuyazi in Haoyue Temple, so... Beichen planted the Gu worm in Wuyazi before?"

"When was that? The dungeon?"

Shen Lian shook his head.

Dungeon impossible.

As for Wuyazi, he was imprisoned a month ago for a serious crime that had not been assessed before, and his sentence was definitely a death row in a small dark room. After all, the grain and salary that affected the foundation of a country were robbed, so it was considered good that Li Shimin did not kill him on the spot.

Being locked up in a dungeon, you won't be treated very well.

In places like that, the prisoners are kept separately and it is difficult for them to meet each other, not to mention... it is extremely difficult to get out once you get in there.

Wuyazi was lucky enough to meet someone who could help him clear his name.

Others don't have this opportunity.

So Beichen would not go to jail just to control Wuyazi.

So, it was before Wuyazi went to prison?

That is to say...

Shen Lian's eyes flashed suddenly.

"Could it be that Beichen controlled Wuyazi when Wuyazi was still in Taiji Temple? So, is Beichen a Taoist priest of Taiji Temple? Or, a Taoist priest who once stayed in Taiji Temple for quite a while?"

Suddenly, a flash of lightning flashed through Shen Lian's mind.

Beichen said that he had some connection with Wuyazi.

Does this origin mean that they come from the same place?
Shen Lian narrowed his eyes slightly, and suddenly felt that things that were originally clear began to become confusing as more and more secrets emerged.

Perhaps there are deeper secrets hidden in the food and salary case from a month ago.

Shen Lian's eyes flickered, and he suddenly said, "Xu Gou, go help me check something."

Xu Gou hurriedly said, "Master, please give me your orders."

"Immediately retrieve the case file of Taiji Temple from a month ago, and then go to the Ministry of Rites to check the number of Taoist priests registered with Taiji Temple a month ago. Then compare the files to see if there was any change in the number of Taoist priests in Taiji Temple before and after the case. At the same time, look for the Taoist priests in Taiji Temple who are still alive and ask if Wuyazi behaved abnormally at the time, and which Taoist priests he had a good relationship with and often spent time with..."

Xu Gou's eyes flashed, and he said, "Master, could it be that..."

Shen Lian's mouth curled up slightly: "If you want to turn a person into a puppet, the person must do it personally, so if I'm right, maybe Beichen was in Taiji Temple when the case happened a month ago!"

"Check it out carefully, maybe Beichen's veil will be lifted!"

"Yes!" Xu Gou immediately nodded excitedly, then left quickly.

Shen Lian exhaled lightly, and his black pupils flashed with bright light.

Are there other secrets hidden in the cases that I have already investigated?

If there really is a secret, being able to hide it from me during my first investigation shows that he is quite capable.

However, Shen Lian was not ashamed or felt that he was incompetent... After all, the case happened a month ago, and what he could find now was very limited.

Moreover, at that time, the case of Locust was hastily closed without considering that there were other secrets behind the strange prophetic stone tablet.

So he ignored it.

But this time, he would definitely not ignore it.

No matter how deeply the truth is hidden, Shen Lian will dig it out bit by bit.

"Beichen, this gift you gave me is really a bit big. Why... do you think that even if you tell me that Wuyazi is the direction of the investigation, I won't be able to find you? Or do you think you have erased all the clues and traces?"

Shen Lian's eyes flickered, and he was more motivated than ever before.

Reviewing the cases he had investigated was something Shen Lian had never experienced before.

"Master."

At this moment, Sishe suddenly came over and said, "Sir, there is an order from the palace, asking you to come to the palace immediately to see the emperor."

"Enter the palace?"

Shen Lian raised his eyebrows.

Who is looking for me!?

Can enter the palace...

Well, there is only one possibility.

It was Li Shimin who was looking for me!

But why did Li Shimin want to find me at this time?
Did something happen again?

He pondered to no avail, so he nodded: "Let's go into the palace."

Because it was his first formal meeting with Li Shimin, Shen Lian spent some time tidying up his appearance, and then he was able to enter the palace without any obstruction.

When they arrived in front of the Purple Palace, a guard said, "Lord Shen, His Majesty has ordered that Lord Shen has arrived. There is no need to inform him and he can enter directly."

Shen Lian nodded, not surprised at all.

He thanked the guards and quickly entered the hall.

When he entered the hall, he found that Li Shimin was the only one in the hall.

Today he was not wearing a dragon robe, but a simple black suit, and his back looked tall and lonely.

This……

Is this the Tang Dynasty Emperor Li Shimin?

Shen Lian took a deep breath. This was the first time he met the number one person in the world after traveling through time for so long, so he couldn't help but feel complicated.

"Greetings, Your Majesty." Shen Lian bowed slightly, neither humble nor arrogant, and said to Li Shimin.

Li Shimin turned around after hearing the voice.

He looked at Shen Lian, his eyes flickering with an inexplicable charm.

After a while.

Her eyes were gentle and there was a smile on her lips.

He smiled and said, "I've heard that Shen Qing is young and promising, handsome and elegant. Seeing him today, it's really as the rumors say."

The words fell.

After hearing such an evaluation from Li Shimin, Shen Lian didn't know whether to cry or laugh.

"Please stand up. No need to be so polite." Li Shimin continued.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Then,

Shen Lian felt a little uncomfortable facing Li Shimin. After all... they were related to each other, and it was like meeting an elder, so it was inevitable that he wanted to run away.

He got straight to the point and asked directly: "Ahem, Your Majesty summoned me here, but what happened?"

When it came to serious matters, Li Shimin's expression turned stern. He nodded slightly without hiding anything.

After all, he asked Shen Lian to come over, not to talk about Xiao Changle's affairs, nor about the relationship between father-in-law and son-in-law, but to get along well and have a meal together.

He only came to Shen Lian because he really had an emergency.

"I asked you to come here. I have two things to tell you."

Li Shimin looked at Shen Lian and said, "First of all, Mr. Shen, you should be more careful recently. The number of memorials impeaching you and seeking to divide your power has suddenly increased. It is much more than before. I think there may be some trouble."

"Impeach me?"

Shen Lian was stunned: "Suddenly increased? Your Majesty means that there were also cases before?"

Li Shimin rolled his eyes at Shen Lian, then suddenly smiled and said, "Shen Qing, you are so smart, couldn't you have thought of this?"

"Or do you think too highly of people?"

"Don't you know that solving a case is the most offensive thing? Also, at the Chang'an Poetry Festival, I heard that you offended the Cui family completely."

"The five clans and seven noble families are all in the same boat. Think about it, one of the seven clans and five noble families has been made notorious by you. How can they not target you?"

........................

"People living in this world definitely have their own circles, their friends, their families, their factions... There will definitely be people who hold a grudge against you because of this, no matter if you are right or wrong, many times, many people are unreasonable."

When Shen Lian heard what Li Shimin said, he immediately understood.

He thought that he had done a very good job by not coming to the court and keeping a low profile, and had not upset many people.

However, he did not expect that he still underestimated some people's thoughts.

And this was because he did not come to the court. If he had an official position and came to the court, there would probably be a company of people who would hate him.

But Shen Lian just listened and didn't care.

When he embarked on this path, he had already realized something.

Those people hated him for various reasons, but he didn't care. If they offended him, he would beat them! He would beat them so that they wouldn't dare to offend him!

Anyway, there are many people who hate him. He is not even afraid of an old silver coin like Beichen, let alone those guys who only dare to talk nonsense in memorials.

As long as they don't block his way to find the truth, otherwise... Shen Lian is no longer the rootless duckweed before.

With the support of Li Shimin in front of him, plus Wei Zheng and Cheng Yaojin...

With his strength, he wouldn't mind some violence in the court.

Seeing that Shen Lian didn't care at all, Li Shimin nodded slightly.

Be determined and calm in mind.

Even if I know that some people don’t like it, I don’t care.

This kind of demeanor is that of a prime minister!
He said: "Before, there were few memorials, so I didn't care. After all, Fang Xuanling received dozens of impeachment memorials every day, and Zhangsun Wuji even received hundreds when there were many. I didn't care."

"But before, there were only a few of you, but in the past few days, the number has suddenly increased to hundreds. I am worried... maybe someone is afraid of you and wants to attack you, so you should be careful. I am not sure who is going to deal with you for the time being."

After hearing what Li Shimin said, Shen Lian was even less worried.

The memorial was addressed to Li Shimin. Since Li Shimin was helping me, there was nothing I should be afraid of.

Ok……

Of course, he also had to appease his wife at home. It would be bad if Madam Changle complained to Li Shimin if things didn't go smoothly.

Shen Lian smiled lightly. Even though he knew the possibility was low, he couldn't help but think so.

After all, he knew clearly the relationship between his wife and Li Shimin.

but……

At this moment, Shen Lian's heart was moved. He just checked his past cases and found that he might have missed something. As a result, the number of memorials impeaching him increased sharply...

Is there any connection here?
Shen Lian narrowed his eyes slightly. If there really was a relationship, he wouldn't mind letting some people know the price.

After Li Shimin reminded Shen Lian, he didn't say anything more. He knew that with Shen Lian's ability, as long as Shen Lian was careful, nothing would happen.

The ones who are really in trouble are those who want to harm Shen Lian.

"And the second thing."

Li Shimin's eyes suddenly turned serious. He looked at Shen Lian and said, "Myriad nations wish to pay tribute to you..."

Inside the Zichen Hall.

"All nations are coming to pay tribute?"

When Shen Lian heard what Li Shimin said, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

At this time, the Tang Dynasty was still far from reaching its most prosperous period in history.

Tuyuhun has not yet been destroyed and is still on expedition.

The Turks were still active and constantly threatening the Tang Dynasty in the north.

The Tang Dynasty during this period had not reached the point where it could intimidate other countries and make them bow down and submit to it, so...how could it be possible for all nations to come and pay tribute to it at this time?
Shen Lian looked at Li Shimin and said, "Your Majesty, what's going on?"

Li Shimin did not hesitate. After all, this was the most important reason why he summoned Shen Lian.

He said: "In the past few days, I have received letters from many countries, including Nanzhao, Dashi, Tiele, Persia, Bolor, Turkic and other countries, hoping to send envoys to our Tang Dynasty to discuss world affairs."

"I have also checked the time they requested to go on the mission. If there are no delays on the way, the envoys of these countries will arrive in Chang'an at the same time within three days."

"This is a bit too coincidental. If it was just one or two countries, it would be fine. But dozens of countries sent letters almost at the same time, and they arrived almost at the same time. This is a problem."

Li Shimin looked at Shen Lian and said, "Mr. Shen, you helped Chang'an to eliminate the locust plague, and you also made a big splash at the Chang'an Poetry Conference. You are also the most powerful champion in the history of the Tang Dynasty. I have to admit that you are the smartest person in our Tang Dynasty."

"So I asked you to come here to ask for your advice. Do you think these countries are just coincidences or have some ulterior motives? Should we agree to their mission?"

Shen Lian narrowed his eyes slightly.

He understood what Li Shimin meant. What Li Shimin said about foreign nations wanting to pay tribute was different from what he had imagined about all nations paying tribute.

Li Shimin was just a literal meaning, not what he imagined. The Tang Dynasty was honored as the Heavenly Khan.

He thought for a moment, then said, "Your Majesty, I never believe in coincidences. In my opinion, so-called coincidences are just that someone is making some efforts in places we don't know about. It's just that we don't have much information, so we feel it's a coincidence."

"Not to mention this time, there are dozens of countries involved by coincidence."

Li Shimin's eyes moved and he said, "Shen Qing, do you mean... that there is some contact or collusion between them?"

"Some of these countries have always been in a state of hostility, just like our Tang Dynasty and the Turks. It is impossible for them to cooperate closely, so I think..."

"Some of these countries have always been in a state of hostility, just like our Tang Dynasty and the Turks. It is impossible for them to cooperate closely, so I think..."

(End of this chapter)