People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 1158 Li Guangren, Prince of Linzi County

In the Zichen Hall, the lights flickered.

Empress Wu held a gold pen in her hand and stopped aside. She raised her head and frowned at Su Liangsi: "You said there are many brand-new wine vessels in Duke Zhou's mansion?"

"Yes, and they are all newly made gold objects."

Su Liangsi cupped his hands and said solemnly: "I have been observing for a long time. In the Duke Zhou's mansion, there are many wine pots, wine bottles, wine banks, and lamps, all of which are made of brand-new gold, and..."

"And what?" Empress Wu leaned forward.

Su Liangsi handed over his hand and said seriously: "Also, almost all of these gold vessels are made with a ratio of 75% gold and 25% silver. The composition is very special."

Empress Wu frowned and said, "Why is there so little gold in this?"

Generally speaking, gold and silverware made in the homes of nobles in the imperial court were made of a mixture of 80% gold and 20% silver.

Once silver is used a lot, its luster will be different, and its true nature will be easily seen, which will cause great loss of face.

This is the case with the goldware in Wu Chengsi's home.

Although the amount of gold and silver was only a little wrong, the keen Su Liangsi still saw the clues.

Su Liangsi worriedly raised his hands and said, "These gold and silver wares are most likely remade after smelting the finished products."

Empress Wu's face immediately darkened.

Because the original gold vessel itself contained too much silver, when it was smelted again, the silver could not be extracted, so it had to be crafted according to its original composition.

So where do the original ingredients come from?

……

"Is there any evidence?" Empress Wu raised her head and looked at Su Liangsi, breathing heavily.

If Wu Chengsi's previous rumors framed Li Xian and Li Xuan, the consequences were not serious, just a few words of scolding.

Later, he was implicated by the Demon Cult and was involved in the Turkic War, but the final result had not come out yet, so he was allowed to stay in Chang'an.

Now, it has emerged that there are a large number of gold objects in the house with unknown origins. Once there is evidence...

"Queen of Heaven." Su Liangsi stepped forward, took out a piece of gold cake from his sleeve and handed it to him, then he handed it over and said: "I found this in a mine in northern Shaanxi Province in the East Palace. At that time, Prince Xian sold a lot of ore privately, but because of It was a private sale, so the value of the gold and silver exchanged was not high, and they were mixed together to create these gold cakes..."

Military resources.

Empress Wu's breathing became serious, and she looked at the gold cakes placed on the table with serious eyes: "The composition of these is similar to that of those gold utensils?"

"Exactly the same." Su Liangsi sighed softly in his heart and said: "If these gold cakes are smelted and made into gold vessels, whether they are for personal use or given to others, it will be difficult to find out. If I hadn't gone to Zhou Guogong's residence today, it would be difficult to find out. You may not be able to see these things.”

"Yes, you took the initiative to go to Duke Zhou's Mansion." Empress Wu looked coldly and said softly: "Do you think the King of Nanchang knew about this in advance, so he deliberately took you to Duke Zhou's Mansion?"

Su Liangsi lowered his head, thinking about everything that happened before and after, and finally shook his head and said: "Winning over Zhou Guogong was actually a plan made by the King of Nanchang last month when the East Palace was just established.

I even heard that before the prince moved into the East Palace, the King of Nanchang had already made a plan for his highness to win over the North Gate bachelors and win over Zhou Guogong. Therefore, today's visit to Zhou Guogong's mansion was planned very early. After all, Zhou Guogong's birthday was not I can wait for you to decide. "

Empress Wu nodded slightly, her eyes thinking.

Su Liangsi continued to speak and said: "As for the matter of the mine, it was Princess Ying who mentioned it first, and then the King of Nanchang found out about it. The reason why Princess Ying knew about it was that I was ordered to investigate, and finally found out that the problem was with the young master. Mansion."

"Young Master?" Empress Wu frowned and then said, "Wei Hongji?"

"Yes!" Su Liangsi cupped his hands and said, "Wei Hongji, the former eunuch of the Young Mansion, and Wei Hongmin, the prince's family magistrate, are brothers of the same generation.

Princess Ying first asked Wei Hongmin to inquire through Wei Hongji's relationship, and then she found out that there was another hand behind all this that had robbed the gold and silver belonging to the East Palace, so she wanted to use the powerful hands of the King of Nanchang to investigate the matter. "

"There is some scheming." Empress Wu nodded slightly. Webster's method looked good, but in fact it was very naive.

"Who would have imagined that the King of Nanchang could easily blame this matter on his ministers and others." Su Liangsi's mouth felt bitter, and in the end all the most troublesome things fell on him.

The case was traced to Wu Chengsi. Even if Wu Chengsi was convicted in the end, Empress Wu would inevitably be dissatisfied with him, so Su Liangsi was actually in a dilemma in this matter.

But Li Xuan stood in front, completely blocking his other path, so at this time, he had few choices.

"The Queen of Nanchang didn't check it herself?" Queen Wu looked at Su Liangsi seriously.

Su Liangsi held up his hands and said, "I don't know whether the King of Nanchang has checked, because he is currently concentrating on the Prime Minister and the Beimen Scholars, and the King of Nanchang has entrusted this matter to me."

Empress Wu nodded, she understood the meaning of Su Liangsi's words.

It's not that Li Xuan didn't check, but the time is still short and he hasn't had time to investigate further.

"Queen of Heaven, I'm being presumptuous." Su Liangsi cupped his hands, and then said worriedly: "If Duke Zhou Guogong hadn't been too arrogant and careless, I wouldn't have discovered this matter. As for the King of Nanchang, I'd like to tell you the truth. , even if the King of Nanchang knew about this, I'm afraid he wouldn't expose it, but would help cover it up."

"Oh?" Empress Wu raised her head and looked at Su Liangsi: "You continue."

"Yes!" Su Liangsi bowed and said thoughtfully: "I have been in contact with the King of Nanchang for a long time. The King of Nanchang acted in a grand and grand manner. For example, he summoned Zuo Shi Fan Lubing to serve in the East Palace, and went to the Duke of Zhou's Mansion to celebrate the Duke of Zhou. , Doing more is a way to achieve multiple goals with one stone, and most of them are scheming."

After a slight pause, Su Liangsi licked his lips and said, "If the King of Nanchang knows what happened today, he probably won't expose it. In the end, he will only mention it to Zhou Guogong before leaving and let him take a closer look. The congratulatory gift from the East Palace...I believe that these things will appear in the East Palace before tomorrow."

"His situation is bigger than I originally thought!" Empress Wu nodded gently, her eyes twinkling slightly.

The King of Nanchang was not so powerful originally. When did he start to change step by step?

It was after Li Xian was deposed and before Li Xian was named crown prince.

Li Xuan had gradually begun to be wary of Webster, and gradually moved closer to him, and then gradually attracted Beimen bachelors, including Wu Chengsi.

In fact, this was Empress Wu gradually influencing and controlling Li Xuan.

But this kind of influence and control is even more uncontrollable.

Because Li Xuan is growing up, and because there is Li Xian behind him.

With the help of Li Xian's power, Li Xuan was able to gradually pull out the power of Beimen Bachelor and Wu Chengsi, and he gradually became stronger.

At the same time, Li Xian is gradually becoming stronger, and Li Xuan will not threaten Li Xian at all.

Even if it weren't for something else in the past two years, Li Xuan would have to come back early every year. Otherwise, he would often stay in Changzhou, return to Beijing at the end of each year before the twelfth lunar month, and then leave Chang'an after the ninth day of the first lunar month. The time will not exceed half a month.

In half a month, it was difficult for Li Xuan to do anything he wanted to do.

Empress Wu suddenly keenly captured a piece of information, Tian Youyan.

It seems that Li Xuan's changes all occurred after accompanying the emperor to see Pan Shizheng.

The structure of the East Palace was quickly built, and Li Xian gradually grew into a qualified prince.

A qualified prince. …

"Continue to keep an eye on things in the East Palace. The King of Nanchang should keep an eye on him more. Also, Zhou Guogong should find out all his secret hands and feet and interrupt them. After doing so, send an order to him to remove all his secret hands and feet. All the gold and silver will be sent to the East Palace." Empress Wu's eyes were stern.

Su Liangsi's heart skipped a beat, then he cupped his hands and said, "Here!"

Empress Wu did not keep these gold and silver in the palace, but sent them directly to the East Palace.

This means that the inner treasury and the Shaofu are omitted in the middle.

Originally, these gold and silver were given from the East Palace. Regardless of the quantity or reward, Empress Wu could do something about it, but she sent them all to the East Palace.

In addition to reducing Wu Chengsi's crimes, he also secretly made calculations.

These hands and feet are how the East Palace disposes of this batch of gold and silver.

How Xue Yuanchao, King Nanchang, Yao Lingzhang, Li Xian, and even Concubine Wei handle the gold and silver here will reveal the current situation inside the East Palace.

Especially the human calculations involved, Su Liangsi still couldn't figure it out clearly, but he also knew that it was by no means simple.

"I excuse myself." Su Liangsi handed over his hand. Empress Wu raised her head and nodded slightly, and Su Liangsi carefully retreated.

Empress Wu lowered his head and looked at the memorial in front of him, which contained many conversations between Li Xuan and Yuan Wanqing.

Finally, Empress Wu sighed softly and said: "The hidden dragon is in the abyss, don't use it!"

Raising her head, Empress Wu said directly: "Here comes someone."

"Here!" A scholar stood up from behind the curtain.

"Go to Duke Zhou's mansion and slap him ten times, harder." Empress Wu looked extremely angry.

"Yes!" Shiren left quickly, and several Qianniu Guards followed closely.

In the Zichen Palace, Empress Wu's expression unexpectedly calmed down.

Calm with indifference.

Under the cold eyes, there is scrutiny.

With deep calculating thoughts.

……

The howling west wind roared outside the palace.

In the palace, Li Xian held his son Li Guangshun and looked nervously into the inner hall.

A miserable roar came from the inner hall, and several maids kept coming and going.

Although Li Xian was deposed as an acquaintance and imprisoned in Xineiyuan, his treatment was actually not so miserable.

After all, he is the son of the Emperor and Empress Wu.

Man has been deposed, and the past is done with.

Moreover, Li Xian also brought Li Dan, Princess Taiping, to request that Li Xian's son be adopted as Li Hong's heir.

That is at least the title of a county king.

The intention of protection is clear.

Without the deliberate instructions of Empress Wu and the Emperor to create difficulties, no one dared to target Li Xian at will.

But even so, Li Xian's current life is completely different from before.

Fortunately, there were several maids following him, otherwise when Fang gave birth to a son, Li Xian would be the only one in front of him, which would be another big trouble.

The roars continued, and Li Guangshun hugged Li Xian's arm tightly, trembling.

Although Li Xian looked nervous, he was still calm. After all, this was not the first time Fang had given birth.

Time was as long as dripping water, and suddenly, the weak screams stopped.

The next moment, a clear baby cry came from the inner hall.

Li Xian breathed a sigh of relief. He was completely exhausted and almost collapsed on the ground.

At this time, a maid in blue came out with a look of joy on her face, cupped her hands towards Li Xian and said, "Congratulations, Your Highness, you are a prince."

Li Xian suddenly became extremely happy, and he subconsciously rushed into the room.

At this moment, there was a sudden "bang" outside the window.

Dazzling thunder streaked across the night sky, and the next moment, heavy rain had fallen.

Li Xian's face turned extremely pale at this moment.

After dawn, the imperial edict arrived.

"Edict: Li Guangren, the worthy second son of the deposed crown prince, is entered into the royal genealogy. In order to respect the emperor's heirs, he is granted the title of Prince of Linzi County. He is granted the title of 800 households. I admire this."

"My son received the order to thank you."

Li Xian trembled and knelt on the ground, obeying the leader's order.

"The Empress of Heaven decreed that the prince of Linzi County should stay in Xineiyuan for one month, and after the full moon, he would be sent to Luoyang."

"My son thanks his mother."

After the chamberlain left, Li Xian took a long breath and then slumped to the ground with a wry smile on his face.

It is better to go to Luoyang and be the heir to the emperor than to be imprisoned here forever.

……

In the early morning, Li Xuan sat alone in the study.

The morning light penetrates outside, and the light and shadow are colorful.

　Not Li Longji, Prince of Linzi County

　　

　

(End of this chapter)