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

Chapter 1483 The First Step to Assassinating the Emperor

Under the night sky, a black pigeon hawk stood silently on the high wall, with everything in the entire manor in its sight.

Not far away, a lantern suddenly appeared in the east.

Under the dim light, three figures walked slowly forward.

A guard led the way. Cui Zhiwen, dressed in black, walked forward calmly, with a guard following behind.

The three of them came to the side yard under the high wall where the pigeon hawk was.

Cui Zhiwen stopped, looked sideways at the two of them, and whispered, "Come here, go back and rest, you are all tired today."

"Yes!" The two guards bowed immediately, and one of them handed the lantern to Cui Zhiwen, and then the two of them bowed and retreated.

Although the two retreated, there were still countless guards guarding in the light and dark corners around them.

……

With a creaky sound, the door to the main hall in the side courtyard was opened.

Cui Zhiwen walked into the room alone, closed the door with one hand, and gently moved the lantern forward with the other hand to illuminate the room. Cui Zhiwen whispered, "Da Lang!"

In the darkness, a figure walked from the corner into the light. He had white hair and was dressed in black. It was none other than Zheng Xuanguo.

Zheng Xuanguo walked in front of Cui Zhiwen, then knelt down directly, raised his head and looked at him, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably, and shouted in a choked voice: "Uncle!"

"You..." Cui Zhiwen looked at Zheng Xuanguo in such an appearance, and didn't know what to say for a moment.

With a long sigh, looking at Zheng Xuanguo who was suppressing his pain, Cui Zhiwen patted his shoulder and said, "Okay, don't be sad. My sister is also eighty years old, so it can be considered a happy funeral."

"But what about Qi Niang?" Zheng Xuanguo suddenly gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, and said with great resentment: "She was only fifteen, but she was poisoned to death. How can there be any joy in this?"

"Poisoned to death?" Cui Zhiwen looked at Zheng Xuanguo in disbelief, grabbed his shoulders and said, "What are you talking about? Poisoned to death? Didn't Qi Niang fall off a cliff and die? What on earth is going on?"

Zheng Xuanguo knelt on the ground and gritted his teeth and said, "He was poisoned to death by the order of the Demon Queen. His mother also fell off a cliff and died on the way to Songshan to find Master Pan."

Cui Zhiwen was stunned. He didn't expect the truth of the matter to be like this.

"My nephew rushed back after receiving a letter from his mother. Who would have thought that he would receive news from home as soon as he arrived in Tianshui..." Zheng Xuanguo lowered his head heavily, endless sadness surged in his heart, and tears flowed out again.

"So it was Qi Niang who was poisoned first, and then my sister went to Songshan to find Master Pan to detoxify her, and finally she fell off a cliff in the snow." Cui Zhiwen said softly: "So this matter has nothing to do with the Prince of Xiang, the Crown Prince, or His Majesty."

"It's the marriage certificate from Prince Xiang. Mother... Qi Niang is gone, so the marriage certificate is useless. That's why they want to wipe out the roots." Zheng Xuanguo explained the whole story.

Without Zheng Qinnan, what use would it be for Cui to have the marriage certificate in her hands?

"This is indeed the Queen Mother's usual method. Over the years, countless people have died at her hands," Cui Zhiwen's face was a little dull, and the figure of Li Xuan appeared in his mind: In this kind of thing, the closer to the throne, the faster one will die.

……

After a long time.

Cui Zhiwen sat at the head of the table, looked at Zheng Xuanguo solemnly, and said, "What are you going to do in the current situation?"

"Revenge." Zheng Xuanguo looked up at Cui Zhiwen, then knelt down again: "Uncle, help me."

Cui Zhiwen lowered his head, his face extremely solemn, took a deep breath, stared at Zheng Xuanguo and said: "Since you came back a long time ago, why don't you just come in?

Today in Luoyang, the Five Surnames and Seven Families, the Longxi clans, and the Jiangnan noble families all have people here. As long as you come in and tell the truth, the nobles of the world will stand up for you and ask the Queen... ask His Majesty to give an explanation, and even collectively depose the Queen."

"You can't get in." Zheng Xuanguo shook his head bitterly and said, "There are already countless secret guards and spies inside and outside the family. As long as my nephew shows up, they will immediately capture him."

Zheng Xuanguo knew very well that the best opportunity was to reveal everything in front of everyone, but he was worried that he simply didn't have that chance.

King Peng was in charge of the manor, and he had deployed countless men inside and outside the manor. Even when he came to Dengfeng today, he also sent a lot of people to protect Zheng Xuankai.

But this might not be without purpose in finding him in secret.

Cui Zhiwen frowned slightly, he heard a hint of unnaturalness in it.

Although things are a bit difficult today, if we make careful arrangements, we may not be without any chance.

As long as this can be done, then he will be able to leverage the power of the larger aristocratic families to fight against the Emperor and Empress Wu.

In this way, the Zheng family and the Cui family will be safer.

However, Zheng Xuanguo was worried about internal and external obstacles and gave up the best strategy.

Cui Zhiwen was really disappointed with his vision and pattern.

Cui Zhidao immediately collected his thoughts and asked, "How did you arrange things in Yizhou? If His Majesty and the Queen knew that you had left Yizhou and returned to Luoyang, but were not visible, they would immediately guess your intentions and strangle you."

"Don't worry, uncle. After receiving the news, my nephew has already sent his trusted men back to Yizhou. In Yizhou, after receiving the letter from the court, they wrote a memorial to observe mourning according to the regulations, and then handed over the government affairs. After that, they slowly set off. When they return, it should be the end of the year." Zheng Xuanguo looked up at Cui Zhiwen and said, "Everything will be over by then."

"What do you want to do?" Cui Zhiwen looked serious. He grabbed Zheng Xuanguo's arm and said, "Dalang, don't forget that you still have a wife and children. Although Qi Niang is gone, you still have three sons. Don't implicate them, otherwise even your mother will not forgive you." "That's why I need my uncle's help." Zheng Xuanguo looked straight at Cui Zhiwen.

"Okay!" Cui Zhiwen breathed a sigh of relief and said, "You can think this way, which means you have an idea in mind. It's good... Tell me what to do. Someone must pay for my sister's revenge with blood."

Zheng Xuanguo breathed a sigh of relief, and then said, "My uncle knows that my nephew was the general of the Right Jinwu Guard. He knows that among the secret guards, there are four commanders in Luoyang now, Wang Yinke, Zhao Gong, Li Zhaode, and Yuan Wanqing."

When he mentioned the last name, Zheng Xuanguo's face darkened.

Cui Zhiwen nodded. This was the safest approach as it did not target the Crown Prince, Prince of Xiang, Princess Taiping, the Emperor, or Empress Wu.

Thinking of this, Cui Zhiwen raised his head and looked outside, and said softly: "Zhao Gong is now the General of the Left Jinwu Guard, and Li Zhaode is the Chief Clerk of King Peng. This matter has nothing to do with them. The only ones left are Wang Yinke and Yuan Wanqing... So you have to target Wang Yinke."

"Yes!" Zheng Xuanguo lowered his head and gritted his teeth, "Although Wan Qing is a bastard, he will never target his niece, so it can only be Wang Yinke."

What's more, Yuan Wanqing is dead now.

"But, what should we do?" Cui Zhiwen thought and looked at Zheng Xuanguo, saying, "Wang Yinke's whereabouts are hidden, even his uncle has no way of knowing his whereabouts, what can you do?"

"Songshan." Zheng Xuanguo raised his head and looked at the vague mountains in the west. He said softly, "If we burn down the palace in Songshan, then Wang Yinke and his men will surely take action. If they find a chance, they can naturally kill him. Then, my nephew will go west and then return east, and everything will be completely over."

Cui Zhiwen instantly understood in his mind that what Zheng Xuanguo really wanted to do was to burn down the palace in Songshan.

When the emperor wanted to perform Fengshan ceremony, Mount Song was the top priority.

If a fire breaks out at Mount Song now, then no matter what happens, the Fengshan ceremony will not be held on time next New Year's Day.

If it is impossible to perform the Fengshan ceremony on time, the emperor will have to wait another year. Can the emperor's body last another year?

Ruining the emperor's dream of becoming an emperor can be considered as revenge.

Moreover, if something happens in Songshan, the secret guards will inevitably move. At that time, they will naturally seize the opportunity to kill Wang Yinke.

"Okay!" Cui Zhiwen thought for a moment and finally nodded and said, "Uncle will help you with this matter."

Zheng Xuanguo was finally completely relieved. The reason why he came to see Cui Zhiwen today was because Cui Zhiwen was no longer the prime minister, and he had no responsibility for the affairs of Songshan.

In this way, no matter what happens in Songshan, it has nothing to do with him.

"Thank you, uncle." Zheng Xuanguo breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, and bowed solemnly, saying, "In that case, please trouble uncle to find Wang Yinke's whereabouts in the palace on the day when the prince marries a concubine."

Cui Zhiwen looked at Zheng Xuanguo in great surprise.

He now finally understood that his nephew had never been that simple.

The prince married Zheng's daughter as his concubine, but Zheng Xuanguo, the head of the Zheng family, wanted to burn Mount Song and kill Wang Yinke that night.

There is a whole set of methods involved here, and the timing is just right.

"Okay." Cui Zhiwen nodded with a smile and said, "Someone has to pay the price for what happened to my sister."

"Thank you, uncle!" Zheng Xuanguo bowed deeply, and after he stood up, he said with gratitude in his eyes: "Uncle, don't worry, my nephew will be extremely careful in doing things, and after the matter is completed, the Zheng family and the Cui family will not be contacted at all."

"Yes!" Cui Zhiwen nodded, then took out a badge from his waist and handed it over, then said: "You'd better not show your face now. It will be more convenient to stay in Luoyang with the identity of a child of the Cui family."

"Thank you, uncle." Zheng Xuanguo took the badge with a smile, then lowered his head and said, "This is exactly what my nephew needs."

"So what's next? Are you going to pay homage to your mother?" There was a hint of sadness in Cui Zhiwen's eyes.

Zheng Xuanguo fell silent, and finally shook his head slightly and said, "Forget it. When my nephew comes back from the west with a legitimate reason, I will go to pay homage to mother and Qi Niang, and get Wang Yinke's head. Only then can I truly comfort the spirits of mother and Qi Niang in heaven."

"Okay!" Cui Zhiwen sighed and said, "You can rest here tonight. It's safe here, uncle."

"Okay!" Zheng Xuanguo bowed slightly and said, "Nephew, please go to the next room. I won't disturb my uncle's rest here."

"Yeah!" Cui Zhiwen looked at Zheng Xuanguo deeply.

……

It was late at night and everyone was asleep. A window suddenly opened and the next moment, Zheng Xuanguo climbed out through the window.

In just three or five jumps, he had left the side yard.

Behind the door of the main hall, Cui Zhiwen watched the scene calmly, with a hint of sadness and regret in his eyes.

……

While running among the mountains and fields, Zheng Xuanguo subconsciously looked back.

Looking towards Zheng's villa in the distance, there was a hint of sneer in his eyes.

The next moment, Zheng Xuanguo was running again and headed straight for Luoyang.

(End of this chapter)