Tibet.

Chapter 1304 Seize the handle
In Xuanyifang, Chang'an, a tall and thin man walked hurriedly into the square, quickly came to an alley, looked around, then went into the alley, walked to the end, came to a wooden door, took out the key and opened the door. Just as he was about to go in, he suddenly found someone inside the door. He was so scared that he turned around and ran, but was grabbed by someone in the yard and dragged in.

There were five or six burly men standing in the yard, and the tall and thin man was so frightened that he knelt down and begged for mercy, "I will definitely pay you back, I promise to pay you back, please forgive me today!"

A man in the uniform of the inner guards walked out of the room. He looked at the tall and thin man for a moment and asked, "Are you Zhao Yi from Tianzhaiya?"

"I am!"

The tall and thin man suddenly realized that they were not his creditors, and asked in surprise: "Who are you and why did you break into my house?"

"We are the Internal Guards, and we have something to ask you!"

The internal guard commander signaled, and two burly men carried Zhao Yi towards the guest hall.

When Zhao Yi heard that the other party was an internal guard, he was more frightened than meeting his creditor. He knelt on the ground, shaking like a sieve.

"Don't be afraid. We won't hurt you. Just tell us something honestly. Maybe we can get something for you!"

"I will tell the truth!"

The general of the Internal Guard asked calmly, "About two years ago, you took a job to find a house for a mother and son. We want to know where they live?"

"Two years ago, a mother and son!"

Zhao Yi tried desperately to recall, and then said, "I can't quite remember, General, do you have any other hints?"

The internal guard general said coldly: "It was the steward of Prime Minister Li Xian who asked you to find it."

When it comes to Prime Minister Li Xian, Zhao Yi suddenly realizes, "I know, it is indeed me who found it, it is in Xuanyifang, it is a three-acre house, and I am the owner of this land and house!"

Li Xian was a cautious official and had never accepted bribes, so it was difficult to find evidence against him. The internal guards found Li Xian's housekeeper, and after some coercion and inducement, the housekeeper finally provided a clue that Li Xian had an illegitimate child, but no one knew where he was hiding. He asked a manor broker named Zhao Yi to find him a house.

The internal guards followed the clues and found Zhao Yi.

"Tell me! Where is the house?"

"I can't explain it clearly, but I can take you there."

Zhao Yi said with a bitter face: "It's just that I can't show up. If I show up, the creditor will come to arrest me!"

"Don't worry! It's only fifty strings of cash. If you can handle the matter for us, the creditors won't come looking for you in the future."

Zhao Yi was overjoyed, "I'll take you there right away!"

Soon, Zhao Yi and several guards arrived at a small house in Xuanyifang. The house covered an area of ​​about two acres and the gate was closed.

Zhao Yi pointed at the small house and said, "The woman and child you are looking for live here!"

"Didn't they move away?"

"No! I'll know if you move away."

At this time, the side door of the small house opened, and a little maid came out with a basket on her shoulder, and walked quickly into the alley.

Zhao Yi whispered, "This young lady is that woman's personal maid. I saw her when I rented the house."

The commander of the inner guard nodded and winked, and two inner guard soldiers immediately followed silently.

.........

Early in the morning, Li Ye met with Ning Wang Li Lin. Li Ye had received news from the internal security that Li Lin finally came to his senses and did not sign the joint statement, which made Li Ye very relieved.

After all, Li Lin had done him a favor, and he would not touch Li Lin unless he had no other choice.

"I was confused and listened to the instigation of some people with ulterior motives. I almost went the wrong way. Fortunately, Leng Yue reminded me and your Highness advised me that I did not become someone else's pawn."

Li Ye smiled slightly and said, "Concern leads to confusion. It should be that the prince has a lot of slave property, and abolishing slavery will cause losses. The prince is anxious, I can understand."

"No! No! No!"

Li Lin waved his hands and said, "I am a little confused. Eight thousand slaves are nothing compared to my wealth. Why should I care? Besides, my father told me before he died that I should treat the servants and the people well to atone for his sins. I should have released all the slaves as civilians long ago, regardless of whether there is an abolition order. This is the only way to give my father an explanation. I am a fool."

Li Ye smiled slightly and said, "Your Majesty, it's not too late to give them freedom now!"

Li Lin nodded and said, "I have already instructed Butler Qiao to turn all the slaves into civilians. If they want to leave, I will not stop them. If they want to continue to rent the land, I welcome them even more. Their current residences will belong to them.

I have already informed all the slaves who farmed the land that they would be exempted from paying rent for two years, and the slaves who were engaged in business would be compensated with two years' wages. This was all given in my father's name, and I hope my father can rest in peace. "Li Ye smiled and nodded, "I have long appreciated the prince's kindness."

Li Lin sighed again, "I only have one son, who has actually been independent for a long time and has his own property. I have so much wealth now that I cannot spend it all in dozens of generations. I hope to donate some to the elderly and orphans. I hope Your Highness can set up a special organization to take care of these poor elderly people and children, so that they can have food to eat, clothes to wear, and a place to live. I will donate some money to this organization."

Li Ye said happily: "Your Highness' suggestion is very good. We should respect the elderly as well as the young. I will instruct the Ministry of Revenue to set up a charity bureau and a nursing home as soon as possible, establish a complete assistance and supervision system, and take a portion of the official land as special land to help them."

“Once it is established, I will donate immediately!”

Li Ye personally sent Li Lin out of the Purple Palace, which was a gesture of attitude.

Just as Li Lin left, Li Chenghua, the commander-in-chief of the internal guards, hurried over.

She bowed and said, "Your Highness, the inner guards have found Li Xian's child and the woman he kept."

"Is there any evidence?" Li Ye asked calmly.

"There is evidence. Our people found some letters in the study, which included the name of the child and the arrangements between the mother and the child. I believe that once the child comes forward, Li Xian will not dare to deny his identity."

Li Ye nodded and said, "Transfer them properly, and then hand over all the witnesses and evidence to the Censorate."

"I understand. I will hand it over today!"

Li Chenghua bowed and left in a hurry.

Li Ye stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back, staring into the distance, his eyes full of murderous intent.

Originally, this kind of illegitimate child matter could be a big or small matter. If Li Mi and Liu Yan committed it, nothing would happen. If other important officials committed it, it would not be made public and at most they would be asked to resign on their own.

But Li Xian was different. His persistent theory of bloodline violated Li Ye's bottom line. In the Li Yu incident, he was the number one supporter of Li Yu's group. Li Ye had given him a chance because of his honest official conduct.

But Li Xian did not cherish it, and attempted to use the abolition order to collude with others. His purpose was to create a wave of opposition on the eve of his enthronement, forcing him to delay or even cancel his enthronement.

Li Ye has reached the limit of his tolerance. He will not let him off this time. He must use the incident of his illegitimate child to completely overthrow and demote him and never use him again.

Li Xian just received news that Prince Ning Li Lin had an audience with the Regent this morning, which made him very angry.

He originally thought that Li Lin was just a little undecided and needed his guidance before he would sign the statement. After all, he had agreed to it right away.

I didn't expect that Li Lin would turn around completely and not leave me any wiggle room, which was equivalent to turning against me directly.

He was really depressed. He had been on the run for so many days, and only about twenty members of the royal family signed the statement, all of whom were younger members of the royal family. The real older generation of royal family were frightened by the Li Lin case, and they all fled to Luoyang and lived in seclusion.

The only one who can shake things up now is Ning Wang Li Lin. He is also the only prince in the royal family. Now even he has turned against us. What is the point of this statement?
It didn't make any waves at all. It seemed that it was difficult to change Li Ye's ascension to the throne.

Li Xian attached great importance to bloodline. Although Li Ye was also a royal family member, a descendant of Li Shuliang, Prince of Changping, and grandson of Li Linfu, in Li Xian's view he was simply a heretic in terms of bloodline. The essence of his ascension to the throne was usurpation of the throne, and the real Tang Dynasty was destroyed by him.

But now that Li Lin has also betrayed him, Li Xian actually feels deeply powerless.

Just then, a voice came from the yard, "Excuse me, is Minister Li here?"

"Who are you?"

"We are officials from the Censorate, and we are here to invite Minister Li to go to the Censorate to cooperate with the investigation."

Li Xian was startled. He walked out of the official room quickly and saw three officials standing at the door. He knew the leader of them, the Imperial Censor Liu Anyi.

"Liu Yushi, what's the matter?"

Liu Anyi bowed and said, "I have been ordered to ask Minister Li to go to the Censorate to assist in the investigation."

Liu Anyi took out a letter of assistance in the investigation signed by Imperial Censor Yan Zhenqing, which had the seal of the Censorate.

Li Xian knew that as long as the seal of the Censorate was stamped, it would be a case with solid evidence. It was only because of his high status that he was a little polite and used the words "assisting in the investigation."

Li Xian snorted, "What crime have I committed that I should be taken to the Censorate for investigation?"

"It's not a crime, but it's not in line with Li Shangshu's status and it's a violation of official ethics. Li Shangshu knows a ten-year-old boy named Li Changkun, right?"

It was like a blow to Li Xian's head. He felt dizzy all of a sudden. The illegitimate child he had concealed for a full ten years was finally exposed.

(End of this chapter)