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

Chapter 1481 That night, Li Dan was in Songshan
"Your Highness, do you know how many provincial governors there are in the three hundred states in the world and in the three branches of my Cui family?" Cui Zhiwen sat at the bottom and looked deeply at Li Xuan.

"There will always be a dozen or so." Li Xuan nodded calmly. He knew what Cui Zhiwen meant.

The Cui families of Boling, Qinghe, and Yanling all have countless children, and most of them are successful.

Now, there are only Li Xuan and Cui Zhiwen in the inner room of the side courtyard.

Cui Zhiwen's emotions were somewhat extreme. After all, he had just paid homage to Lady Cui of Tong'an.

"There are twelve provincial governors in total, and the other officials, including vice ministers, junior officials, doctors, servants, grooms, chief secretaries, and military officers, are more than sixty people above the fifth rank. The number of military officers and county magistrates is countless."

Cui Zhiwen raised his head, clenched his fists, and looked at Li Xuan: "So, please tell me, Your Majesty, why was my cousin in Songshan that day?"

That day, Prince Xiang was also in Songshan.

Li Xuan looked outside the door. He heard clearly that the entire side courtyard had been completely blocked off, leaving only Li Xuan and Cui Zhiwen.

Now, what Cui Zhiwen wants to find out most is the real cause of death of Mrs. Cui of Tongan.

Li Xuan retracted his gaze and looked at Cui Zhiwen, saying seriously: "Prime Minister Cui must also know that my actions in Luoyang are subject to many restrictions. I am not very well-informed about various news and rely heavily on the East Palace."

After a short pause, Li Xuan said, "I don't know much about Madam Tong'an. The Crown Prince told me that on the night of the twelfth, Madam Tong'an took her granddaughter Zheng Qiniang to Chang'an overnight, and there has been no news since then."

"That day, Qi Niang had a high fever and wouldn't go away. We sent people to Luoyang City to ask for the imperial physician, but he didn't come back for a long time. Finally, we could only go to Shanzhou and then to Chang'an." Cui Zhiwen looked up at Li Xuan and asked, "Does the prince not know about this?"

"I know, but I think the so-called illness is just fake news deliberately released by Madam Tong'an. After all, it is embarrassing for her to stay in Luoyang, so she found an excuse to leave." Li Xuan sighed and said, "If a high fever does not go away, even if there is no doctor in Luoyang City, there are many good doctors outside Luoyang City."

Cui Zhiwen seemed unaware that Zheng Qinnan had been poisoned.

In other words, no one in the Zheng family in Luoyang now knows that Zheng Qinnan was poisoned by Empress Wu.

Li Xuan's eyes flashed. This kind of thing is easy to conceal for other things, but how could it be concealed when Youwei and Dali Temple were examining the corpse?

……

"Your Highness is right. Although there are countless famous doctors in Luoyang City, there are also countless wealthy families outside Luoyang. It is still possible for retired elders to find one or two famous doctors, not to mention that the Zheng family already has a famous doctor. Colds are not a serious illness, so..."

Cui Zhiwen took a deep breath and sighed softly, "So, my sister went to Songshan Mountain overnight to find the Prince of Xiang."

That night, Li Dan was in Songshan, and was even just one step away from the precipice of Cui's decline. It was difficult to get rid of the suspicion here.

"But, the Prince of Xiang and the Zheng family are no longer connected." Li Xuan looked serious and said to Cui Zhiwen, "Prince Cui should know that the Eastern Palace suppressed the Prince of Xiang's mansion very severely in those days. Almost all the officials of the Prince of Xiang's mansion were driven out of Luoyang. The Prince of Xiang was too busy to stop his actions, so how could he still have contact with the Zheng family?"

Cui Zhiwen fell silent.

Li Xuan’s meaning was very clear. Perhaps Cui went to meet Li Dan, but it was definitely not Li Dan who asked Zheng to go.

"So, did my sister and Prince Xiang meet that night?" Cui Zhiwen looked at Li Xuan with a serious expression.

If you want to know what Prince Xiang is doing, just ask the East Palace.

Once we meet, it means life and death.

Li Xuan hesitated slightly, but still said, "Xuan only knows that no one went up the mountain to enter the place where the Prince of Xiang lived that night."

Cui Zhiwen looked at Li Xuan deeply.

After all, his cousin only reached the mountainside that night, and the accident happened there, so it was naturally impossible for her to go higher.

But this does not mean that Li Dan did not come down on his own initiative.

……

"Your Majesty has ordered the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice to jointly investigate this matter." Li Xuan looked up at Cui Zhiwen and said seriously: "If you have any questions, Prime Minister Cui can directly ask Wang Siqing and Minister Duan. They should be able to give you the answer."

"I'm afraid they are hiding something." Cui Zhiwen sneered.

How could he not see the trick behind this?

This matter concerns the emperor's son, and Duan Baoxuan and Wang Jishan are both the emperor's confidants. Even if they really find out something about this matter, they will not make it public.

Li Xuan smiled and said, "Prime Minister Cui is over-worrying. In many cases, one person reports the case, but another person handles the investigation... Xuan believes that even if Wang Siqing and Minister Duan have any instructions, Prime Minister Cui should be able to find out the truth."

"Thank you, Your Highness, for the reminder." Cui Zhiwen nodded calmly. He had been a prime minister for many years, so how could he not have thought of this?

There was a gloomy look in his eyes.

Because from Li Xuan's words, he could be sure that this matter had nothing to do with the Eastern Palace.

Then he must be the Prince of Xiang.

……

"There is something your Highness may not know." Cui Zhiwen looked at Li Xuan and said, "After my sister's body was sent back, the family hired someone to clean it up."

Li Xuan's expression suddenly became solemn.

Although Madam Tong'an died from falling off a cliff, there was something wrong with Zheng Qinnan.

That was Empress Wu's doing. She sent someone to poison Zheng Qinnan.

If Cui Zhiwen finds out that Zheng Qinnan was poisoned, then many things can be connected.

Seeing Li Xuan's solemn expression, Cui Zhiwen sighed and said, "Sister was originally carrying something, but it was gone in the end."

Li Xuan raised his eyebrows, then frowned and asked, "What is it?"

"I don't know." Cui Zhiwen lowered his head slightly, then looked at Li Xuan and said, "What do you think it will be, Your Majesty?"

Li Xuan was stunned, and a thought flashed through his mind. Then he smiled nonchalantly and said, "Why does Prime Minister Cui have to do this? The only thing that Madam Tong'an can carry with her is the marriage certificate, but that marriage certificate is no longer useful. The original copy has been burned by this king."

Cui Zhiwen smiled a little embarrassedly. He wanted to trick Li Xuan, but in the end he got nothing out of it.

The expression on his face darkened, and Cui Zhiwen said with a little sadness: "Then your Highness, what do you think is the reason why my sister wanted to meet the Prince of Xiang?" "I can't guess." Li Xuan shook his head slightly and said: "But it's nothing more than unwillingness. For this kind of thing, the closer you are to it, the more unlucky it is. Isn't it because of this that Prime Minister Pei was dismissed?"

Cui Zhiwen fell silent. Although Li Xuan called him Prime Minister Cui, he was actually no longer the prime minister.

Li Xuan respected him, and now he respected him even more for his origin as a member of the Cui family of Boling.

But what is the Cui family of Boling compared to the Li family of Longxi?

Especially when it involves the struggle for imperial power, one could end up dead and killed if one is not careful.

Li Xuan sighed and said, "From Xuan's point of view, the incident on Songshan Mountain has nothing to do with Prince Xiang. If there is any involvement, it is Yuan Wanqing's business.

Prime Minister Cui should know that Yuan Wanqing was the one who took care of many things, and the Prince of Xiang was deceived by Yuan Wanqing in many things. "

Cui Zhiwen nodded slowly, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Yuan Wanqing has been beheaded by the emperor. If one wants to find out what happened on Mount Song, one can either ask Prince Xiang directly or go to the underworld to find Yuan Wanqing.

"The past is gone, the living are here." Li Xuan looked forward and said softly, "Mr. Cui, your majesty has asked Mr. Cui to work with the Ministry of Personnel to take charge of the imperial examination next year. This is your majesty's compensation. But if Mr. Cui continues to pursue those irrelevant matters, your majesty will have a hard time saying anything."

Cui Zhiwen looked up at Li Xuan. Li Xuan looked calm, without any sign of the soft or hard tactics in his words.

Although he felt a lot of resentment in his heart that he couldn't vent, Cui Zhiwen knew that this resentment could not be directed at Li Xuan.

He has nothing to do with this matter, and the Eastern Palace has nothing to do with this matter, but what about the Prince of Xiang?

It was not so easy for Prince Xiang to act. Although it snowed heavily that night, there were too many people watching his actions.

Perhaps it was Yuan Wanqing who did it, but Yuan Wanqing was already dead, and even Dou Sitai was dismissed from his post.

It is impossible to hold Prince Xiang accountable, so it is better to hold Yuan Wanqing accountable. But don't forget that Yuan Wanqing is the cousin of Yuan, the wife of Zheng Xuanguo, Duke of Tongan.

In the final analysis, this matter is the Zheng family's own business...

"Your Highness is right. The closer something is to the throne, the more dangerous it is to be involved in." Cui Zhiwen thought of the dead Yuan Wanqing and his expression became sad.

After all, Yuan Wanqing was the teacher who had taught Li Dan for many years.

He was also the Northern Gate Scholar, who assisted Empress Wu in dividing the power of the prime minister.

But people like him can die at any time.

Empress Wu didn't even try to save him.

"The Zheng family's affairs should be handled by the Zheng family themselves. Besides, since Donggong is marrying Zheng Jiuniang, even the Zheng family may not want to pursue these matters any further." Li Xuan said lightly and Cui Zhiwen's face changed slightly.

When his cousin had just passed away, the emperor still asked the Crown Prince to marry Zheng Jiuniang, with the purpose of splitting the Zheng family.

The fundamental reason why Zheng Xuanguo's lineage was able to become the main branch of the Zheng family was because Zheng Rentai was a meritorious official of the Xuanwu Gate and had some relationship with the emperor.

Now if the emperor no longer favors Zheng Xuanguo's lineage, and instead trusts Zheng Xuankai's lineage, then Zheng Xuanguo's official career will probably go downhill.

Three years of mourning is not a joke.

If it were in those days, it would not be too bad as one would only have to observe mourning for a year. However, since the Empress Dowager required officials whose parents passed away to observe mourning for three years, it would be much more difficult for them to take up an official position again.

And it's not just the Zheng family that's facing this crisis. The Cui family isn't much better off.

Cui Zhiti is in poor health and will retire next year.

Cui Zhiwen's health is not that strong, and the key point is that he is no longer the prime minister.

Cui Zhiwen suddenly understood the emperor's purpose in appointing him to be in charge of the imperial examinations together with the Ministry of Personnel next year.

The Cui family is the Cui family, but Cui Zhiwen is Cui Zhiwen. Among the four brothers, Cui Zhiwen has the best career, but even so, he is not young anymore.

His fourth son, Cui Zhixun, is now only the chief officer of Xuzhou. At this age, his official career has come to an end.

Now that the emperor allowed him to participate in the imperial examination, it was nothing more than giving him an opportunity to exchange some benefits with others.

Given his current situation, apart from the aristocratic family, the only person who can think about his children's future is... the person in front of him.

"Your Majesty, I don't know if my son..."

……

It was late at night, and Li Xuan returned to Yulong Garden with a frown.

Li Xuan took off his outer robe and sat down at the table. Liu Jinyu poured him a cup of hot tea and asked, "How did you handle today's matter?"

"Not bad." Li Xuan nodded slightly, but then looked at Liu Jinyu with confusion and said, "The Cui family has been appeased, the Lu family will not make trouble, and the Zheng family is basically stable except for the Duke of Tongan. It's just that my husband still has a problem."

"Husband, please speak." Liu Jinyu sat down next to Li Xuan.

Li Xuan nodded, and then said, "It's about Madam Tong'an. Madam Tong'an fell off a cliff in Songshan that night, but they only found the bodies of Madam Cui and Zheng Qiniang. So where are the people who were protecting Madam Tong'an? Why are none of them missing? Zheng and Cui haven't mentioned this matter today?"

You know, that night, the Zheng family's housekeeper followed with two guards.

Although those two people were secretly Li Xuan's people, it was strange that the Zheng and Cui families did not care about it.

Liu Jinyu shook his head slightly and said, "They are definitely investigating, but it's hard to find anything. Of course, they may be waiting for the Duke of Tong'an to come back."

"Zheng Xuanguo?" Li Xuan frowned slightly and said softly, "He is in Yizhou now. It will take at least seven or eight days for him to come back. Is it still in time?"

"It depends on what they think now. If they have grasped some key points and things get awkward, it's easy for others to deal with, but as for Your Majesty, it's your husband's responsibility." Liu Jinyu looked at Li Xuan with a little worry.

Li Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Yes, His Majesty has been watching."

(End of this chapter)