Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 629 The demons dance wildly
"Master, it's autumn now, and the leaves are turning yellow."

"Ah."

"The persimmon tree you planted is ripe again, right? Shouldn't we go back?"

The person asking the questions was a little Taoist boy named Xianyun. While he was grinding ink for Li Mi who was writing furiously, he asked in a crisp voice, his eyes always looking out the window.

"When we went down the mountain, the Taoist priest told the master that we would be back after three months, but now more than half a year has passed."

"Soon, when the country is stable, I can go back."

Li Mi stopped writing and looked in the direction the Taoist boy was looking. He saw a persimmon tree in the yard, with red persimmons hanging and swaying on the tree.

Interestingly, he has lived in this house for half a year, and today was the first time he discovered a persimmon tree in the backyard, and it had produced so many fruits because he was too busy.

Just before today, he had slept in the government hall for more than half a month.

As the prime minister of a country, he not only had to organize reforms but also had to worry about the turbulent court situation. One can imagine the pressure he faced.

"Taoist priest?"

"If you want to pick persimmons, go ahead." Li Mi said.

Xianyun was immediately delighted, but he was also curious and asked, "Why are the persimmons grown by the Taoist priest so hard and astringent, while the persimmons in Chang'an are red and sweet?"

"That's the Fire Crystal Persimmon from Lintong. As the saying goes, 'Red persimmons come from Huashan, with a thin and lovely skin and a sweet and precious taste.' This Fire Crystal Persimmon is meant to be sucked. With one bite, all the juice and flesh go into your stomach, leaving only a layer of skin."

"Really?" Xianyun couldn't help swallowing.

"Really? Hit him gently, don't break him."

"Master, why do the trunks of the persimmon trees in this courtyard look like they were pieced together?" Xianyun asked, "The color underneath the trunks is different."

"It was grafted," Li Mi said. "The stump was originally a jujube tree or a wild persimmon tree, and the branches of the Fire Crystal Persimmon were grafted on it."

"Wow."

Xianyun was very surprised and exclaimed: "Can such a big persimmon tree be grown in this way?"

"Yeah, it's like..."

Li Mi stopped talking halfway and became distracted.

He thought that this persimmon tree was like the current emperor. It was originally just a wild tree, but after being grafted with the branches of the fire crystal persimmon, it has now grown into a towering tree and bears abundant fruits.

What people want is the Fire Crystal Persimmon. Does it matter what kind of root it is?

"Taoist priest?"

"You go ahead." Li Mi came back to his senses and said, "Leave two persimmons for me."

"Okay!"

Xianyun cheered, turned around and ran away.

Li Mi continued to bury himself in official duties. After dealing with many state affairs, Xianyun hurried over and handed him a wax-sealed letter that had not been opened.

"Master, a letter from Luoyang."

"give it to me."

Li Mi opened the letter with deeper thoughts in his eyes, and then he went to visit Li Xiazhou in person.

~~
The next day, when Li Mi entered the palace for an audience, he brought two fire crystal persimmons and presented them to Xue Bai.

He must mention the method of grafting. He doesn't expect Xue Bai to feel relieved immediately, but it will always be useful to persuade him indirectly.

However, after Xue Bai ate the persimmon, he did not agree with his words. Instead, he asked a question that made him very embarrassed.

"Brother Changyuan, you must know about the matter between me and the Yang sisters."

Li Mi simply played dumb and replied calmly, "I don't know."

Xue Bai has become even more shameless now, and said: "I have a deep friendship with the Yang sisters, and I want to give them a name. What do you think, Brother Changyuan?"

"I don't know who these Yang sisters are?" Li Mi's tone was a little stiff.

Xue Bai then said frankly, "Yang Yuyao, Yang Yuhuan."

"Your Majesty! Do you know what you are talking about?!"

"Isn't this the way things have always been in the Tang Dynasty? Why can others do it but I can't? Is it because you still don't obey me?"

After hearing this, Li Mi's face turned serious and he finally lost his temper.

"What kind of emperor do you want to be?!"

"You want power, so you took it by any means necessary; you want to reform the law, so you insist on doing it your own way, and you are willing to wield the butcher's knife to force all officials to obey you; you are the only one who is in power, so why do you want to violate justice for personal reasons? You can't stand the slightest restraint, and you only want to do whatever you want. If you are not a tyrant, what else can you be?!"

"I am a man from the mountains. I came down the mountain at the invitation of Mr. Yan. I wanted to eliminate the disaster and then return. For this reason, I obeyed you in every way, but you turned a deaf ear to me and made the disaster worse. How selfish you are!"

Li Mi did not speak these words as a subject to his king, but rather as a heart-to-heart talk between friends.

Then, realizing that his tone had been too harsh, he lowered his posture and became much more respectful.

"Your Majesty, are you deliberately torturing me and the people of the Tang Dynasty? How long will Your Majesty torture us?"

"Yes."

Xue Bai actually answered frankly.

He was very calm from beginning to end, even calmer than Li Mi, the Taoist monk.

"I am just a wild tree that has weathered the wind, frost, rain and snow, and managed to get out from between the boulders. But you still regard me as a fire crystal persimmon that you have cultivated artificially. I will remind you all the time."

"Your Majesty, why don't you just kill me and let me be a free wild tree from now on!"

After Li Mi finished speaking, he disregarded the etiquette between the emperor and his subjects, angrily threw his sleeves and left.

When he walked out of the Xuan Zheng Hall, his face was filled with an expression of anger that he had never had before.

Until he left the palace and returned home.

After entering the door, the angry expression on his face disappeared and he quickly regained his composure.

Walking to the corridor, he took off his shoes and was in the mood to sweep off the dust on his shoes with a duster. Then he walked through the corridor and breathed in the quiet room.

He was not actually overreacting, his outburst just now was just acting.

"Taoist Master."

Xianyun poked his head in and said, "I heard from the concierge that you are angry?"

"Maybe." Li Mi said.

Xianyun had never seen Li Mi angry before, and originally wanted to see something new. Unfortunately, after running over in a hurry, he still came empty-handed and felt disappointed.

Then, he walked to Li Mi and whispered, "Master, someone wants to see you."

This was not unusual, but Xianyun looked mysterious. Li Mi opened his eyes and asked, "Why are you acting like this?"

"Because it was a woman who came, and a very beautiful woman."

……

The person was quietly led in from the side door and was waiting under the persimmon tree in the backyard. Although she was a woman, she was wearing an inconspicuous men's robe and a fu hat on her head.

Li Mi recognized her at a glance and greeted her politely, "Princess."

Li Yuetu turned around and bowed, "It's been many years since I last saw you, sir. I'm no longer a princess."

She was no longer the carefree girl she used to be, and there was a hint of sadness in her expression.

"I heard that you have returned to the court, and I have wanted to come and see you for a long time, but I was worried that I might bring trouble to you, so I have been putting it off until today."

Li Mi asked, "Why did the princess come today?"

Li Yuetu said, "I happened to hear Princess Boping discussing the current situation and learned that you have angered the emperor today. I am worried about your safety, so I came here."

What happened today just happened not long ago, and many important officials may not have received the news. Given Li Yuetu's identity, he was able to arrive here at the first time. This in itself is a very strange thing.

Li Mi then took a deep look at her and said, "The princess has changed."

"Yes."

Li Yuetu admitted: "How can a person remain unchanged? I am no longer the same person I used to be."

A tenacity gradually emerged from beneath her sad eyes, which made her somewhat similar to her brother Li Chu.

"I often feel that it is my fault that the Tang Dynasty has fallen to this state."

"My princess, you think too much." Li Mi said, "The current Tang Dynasty may not be a bad place. Even if there are problems, it is definitely not your fault."

"When my father and brother fought with Xue Bai for the throne, I did not support them." Li Yuetu said, "On the surface, it was because I didn't like fighting for power and was soft-hearted and easy to be taken advantage of. In fact, I was too stupid. I secretly wanted to get close to Xue Bai... I liked him at that time, so I did too many stupid things. Now when I think about it, I want to strangle that extremely stupid me to death."

Li Mi did not deny her reflection, but calmly explained to her: "Princess, there is no need to be jealous. It is human nature for young people to admire Ai."

"But I can't get rid of my self-blame." Li Yuetu said: "My father and brother are dead, they hated me until the last moment."

Li Mi sighed slightly.

He was a cultivator and should have helped her overcome her mental difficulties.

But at this moment, he stood in front of her and found that he could not save her. Past experiences had left a deep crack in Li Yuetu's heart, which could not be erased by his Taoist philosophies.

"I'm sure you've noticed that I'm no longer as kind and ignorant as I used to be. In recent years, I've been learning to be a person like her."

"Du Erniang."

"Yes."

Li Yuetu actually lived with Du Jin for some time.

She lost her mother when she was young and was raised by Concubine Wei. When Du Jin became the Prince's Concubine, she was much younger and more beautiful than Concubine Wei, and she was extremely threatening.

When Du Jin entered the Prince's Villa, Li Yuetu could feel that Du Jin was scheming and ambitious. She didn't like her like that and never thought that one day she would become like that.

"I never helped my father and brother when they were alive, but after they left, I inherited their legacy and secretly accumulated strength. I went to see Pugu Huai'en, Guo Ziyi, Li Guangbi... At the same time, I had to avoid Du Jin's eyes and ears. I could only do this if I became someone like Du Jin."

To this day, all of this is particularly difficult for Li Yuetu. She must have suffered a lot of grievances. As she spoke, her nose turned slightly red.

She sniffed and continued, "In fact, I have been secretly investigating you, sir, to see if you are really loyal to Xue Bai. Today I dared to make a judgment and came to see you."

Li Mi said: "I have never been able to find it."

"After all, I have suffered so much, I should be smarter." Li Yuetu said: "Xue Bai wants to make Yang his concubine, right? This matter has crossed the bottom line of Mr.

Li Mi said: "Your Majesty really went too far in the matter of Concubine Yang."

Li Yuetu said: "Guo Ziyi failed to win, I have no other ideas. Now the Li Tang country is in danger, how about asking you to help me assassinate Xue Bai?"

~~
Li Mi's Taoist robe was already eye-catching, and coupled with his conspicuous action of entering the palace with a persimmon in his hand and leaving angrily today, the news soon reached Yuan Zai's ears.

Yuan Zai suddenly became alert, feeling uneasy and kept thinking about the matter.

"Last time I offered two red pills, which made His Majesty suspicious of me. This time I offer two red persimmons, which seems to be a sinister intention."

Just when they were at a loss, the doorman came to report that Xue Yaoying had returned.

Xue Yaoying was a hostage that Yuan Zai had placed with Du Jin. Her sudden return at this time must have meant that the situation had changed drastically, so Yuan Zai couldn't wait to see her.

"Alang."

Xue Yaoying hurried into the room, and because she was too anxious, she tripped over the hem of her skirt when she crossed the threshold. Yuan Zai hurried forward to support her.

With the gentle beauty in his arms, and the two of them not seeing each other for a long time, they should have been passionate about each other, but Yuan Zai asked anxiously, "What happened? Why did Du Erniang let you come back?"

Xue Yaoying's heart was beating fast. She finally took a breath and whispered something earth-shattering.

"Alang, big news... Li Mi wants to assassinate His Majesty."

"what?"

In fact, this is not new news at all. Before this, it was Yuan Zai who found out about Li Mi's thoughts from Zhang Yong and told Du Jin.

However, Yuan Zai suffered a loss because he was outmaneuvered when he filed a complaint. He was not sure whether Li Mi would take action again, so he was suspicious.

But he thought again and felt that this was indeed the time for Li Mi to take action.

"Do you know his plan?"

Xue Yaoying nodded and said, "Li Mi secretly met with some people, and even Second Mother didn't know the identities of the people. And in five days, His Majesty will go to the outskirts of Beijing for an inspection, and I'm afraid Li Mi will take action then."

"This time, it should be Du Erniang who should go and tell His Majesty."

After suffering a loss last time, Yuan Zai did not dare to go to Xue Bai to inform on the matter again. But he changed his mind and thought that even if Du Er Niang presented the matter in person, the emperor might not believe it.

Xue Yaoying said: "Second Lady's idea is to catch him first and get rid of Li Mi directly, and kill those who are loyal to Li Tang, and support Your Majesty to change the country's name to Dai Tang."

In this way, the benefits after the success will be completely different. Yuan Zai can also become a founding hero, which is much more likely than assisting the founding monarch to conquer the world immediately.

"Then go tell her to do as Er Niang said..."

~~
A few days later, Xue Bai went on a tour to the outskirts of Chang'an.

He left the capital in the name of hunting. In addition to the imperial guards, he was also accompanied by his trusted ministers, including Li Mi and Yuan Zai.

That night, the team camped north of the temporary bridge. Yuan Zai was extremely cautious and repeatedly reminded Diao Bing to be careful in guarding the emperor. He also privately checked several places where Li Mi might have set up an ambush.

But strangely, Yuan Zai did not find anything unusual.

He felt uneasy about this and wandered around the emperor several times at night, with a thoughtful look in his eyes that became more and more intense.

"That's not right. How could Du Erniang's news be false?"

suddenly.

"Who's there?!"

Yuan Zai turned around and saw a group of imperial guards rushing towards him.

Soon, he was brought before Xue Bai.

Xue Bai hadn't slept yet. When he saw Yuan Zai, he didn't show any surprise. He just asked calmly, "What happened?"

When things got to this point, Yuan Zai could only respond: "I am worried that someone is going to assassinate Your Majesty."

"This time, Li Mi is going to poison me with two persimmons, right?"

"I have never been able to dispel my suspicion of Li Mi, and I have also discovered that he is behaving strangely."

Yuan Zai did not dare to say that he had received the news from Du Jin, lest Xue Bai knew that they were united in dealing with Li Mi, so he had to say that he had found out the news himself.

At this moment, someone outside reported something.

"Your Majesty, Mr. Li has requested to see you, saying that he has something urgent to do."

Yuan Zai immediately felt something was wrong, worrying that Li Mi had once again plotted against him in the same way.

After a while, the figure in Taoist robes came in, looking much more calm than Yuan Zai.

"Your Majesty, all is well." Li Mi saluted but did not talk about business. Instead, he glanced at Yuan Zai, as if he was unwilling to say it in front of him.

Xue Bai said: "It's late at night, if you have something to say, just report it. It happens that you two are here, so you can discuss it with each other."

"Yes, I got some clues about the Luoshui assassination case..."

"His Majesty!"

Before he could finish his words, there was a sound of hurried horse hooves in the distance, and someone rushed in and fell to the ground.

"Your Majesty! Madam Yang was assassinated!"

"What did you say?"

Xue Bai rarely lost his composure in front of his subjects, but at this moment he stood up with a look of disbelief on his face.

The man immediately knocked his head heavily on the ground, making a dull sound.

"I am guilty! I failed to protect Madam Yang. Your Majesty, please sentence me to death!"

"Tell me!" Xue Bai shouted, "What's going on?!"

"Today, Madam Yang heard that someone in the East Market was performing White Snake, and that it was a famous actor from Hangzhou, so she decided to go and watch it. She booked a private room and sat down. Just then, she saw an old woman selling persimmons walking downstairs. She looked very pitiful. Madam Yang said, 'Xue Lang said a few days ago that the seasonal fire crystal persimmons are delicious.' She told me to go buy some. As soon as I left, several people with crossbows rushed into the private room... I am guilty!"

Yuan Zai raised his eyes and glanced over, and saw Xue Bai standing there, with no discernible expression on his face.

But he could fully feel the terrible anger and murderous intent.

The next moment, Yuan Zai looked at Li Mi.

Li Mi looked calm and was not surprised by this.

"Your Majesty, I believe this must have been done by Li Mi!" Yuan Zai spoke decisively.

He knew without thinking that the so-called "Madam Yang" must be Yang Yuhuan, and the mastermind behind this matter could only be Li Mi.

Not long ago, Li Mi had behaved unceremoniously in front of the emperor because of the emperor's plan to confer a title on Yang Yuhuan. Later, in order to prevent this, he simply killed Yang Yuhuan. Unfortunately, although Du Jin found out the clues, she mistakenly thought that Li Mi wanted to assassinate the emperor.

All this happened naturally and there was nothing to doubt about... Even if there was, Yuan Zai would insist that it was Li Mi who did it.

Upon hearing this, Xue Bai looked at Li Mi with an extremely intimidating look in his eyes.

"Li Changyuan, you go ahead."

Li Mi said: "Your Majesty, I beg you to mourn."

The tent became quiet.

Xue Bai stared at Li Mi, giving him a last chance to explain. If he didn't hear a reasonable explanation, he would kill Li Mi.

Gradually, even Yuan Zai, who was standing by, could no longer bear such silence and pressure.

"His Majesty."

Du Jin's voice sounded outside the tent, and then, without waiting for Xue Bai to speak, she went straight in.

"This matter is my fault." Du Jin whispered to Xue Bai, "I noticed something was wrong, but I was only concerned with protecting the safety of His Majesty and reminding Yuan Zai to deal with Li Mi, but I didn't expect that he would kill Yang Yuhuan."

"Do you have any evidence?"

"We caught the murderer and found the evidence."

Du Jin waved her hand and immediately had someone bring in an old woman and several men in black.

Xue Bai looked at the old woman and said, "You look familiar. Have I seen you before?"

The old woman lowered her head and said nothing.

Xue Bai picked up the candle, took a closer look, and soon remembered that this was someone close to Li Yuetu. Back then, Li Yuetu and Xue Bai were neighbors in Xuanyangfang. He had also seen this old woman several times, and she often called him "Mr. Xue" with a smile.

Du Jin said, "This is Princess Hezheng's wet nurse, the remnant of Prince Zhong."

"Pooh."

The old woman finally spoke up, "I have served the Crown Prince for over thirty years. Don't I know who the usurper is? You two adulterers are the remnants of evil!"

Du Jin was not angry at being scolded by her, and pointed at the men in black.

"Tell me! Who ordered you to kill him?"

Those men in black knew they were going to die, so they kept silent.

Before Du Jin could torture them again, Xue Bai ordered, "Take them all away and kill them."

"Here!"

Immediately, the imperial guards rushed forward and took all these people away. After a while, several screams were heard outside.

Du Jin didn't need them to find out who was behind this. She looked at Li Mi and said, "Li Mi, you secretly met with Li Yuetu seven days ago, right?"

"Yes."

"Admit it?" Du Jin said, "Don't worry, she can't run away. I have ordered people to arrest her."

Li Mi did not answer, but turned to Xue Bai and said, "Your Majesty, I have not yet finished what I just reported."

At this moment, he actually thought that Xue Bai was still in the mood to listen to him.

"explain."

Xue Bai really agreed with what he said.

Li Mi said: "I ask you to dismiss the attendants."

Xue Bai sat down and waved his hand. Soon, they were the only ones left in the tent.

Li Mi just said: "In the case of Du Erniang being assassinated at Tianjin Bridge in Luoyang, I have found out who was behind it."

Upon hearing this, Du Niang became curious and asked, "Who?"

"It's you, Du Erniang."

"I?"

Du Jin was not at all flustered. Instead, she sneered as if she had heard the funniest joke and asked, "You mean, I assassinated myself?"

"No, you want to create the illusion that someone is trying to assassinate His Majesty." Li Mi said.

“Why would I do this?”

"To force Lord Yan to leave."

"Li Changyuan, I know you are very smart, but don't think you can alienate me and His Majesty with just a few gossiping words." Du Jin finally got angry, "Although I am a woman, I will never attack my own people in times of crisis."

Li Mi said, "But in your eyes, Lord Yan is not one of your own. You hope that Your Majesty will change his surname to Tang, but Lord Yan is loyal to the Li Tang state. You think that Your Majesty's power comes from your schemes, but in fact, Your Majesty was born with the destiny. You have no choice but to get rid of all those around Your Majesty who protect his orthodoxy, such as Lord Yan and me."

"Ah."

"You wanted to become the queen from the beginning, and you never gave up this ambition." Li Mi said, "For this reason, you assassinated yourself and eliminated Lord Yan to strike at the power of the royal family. This time, you planned and killed Concubine Yang in order to anger His Majesty and force Him to execute me, and then overthrow the Tang Dynasty."

"You claim to be a gentleman, but you only speculate and guess what I am thinking with the heart of a villain. It is ridiculous." Du Jin said: "Your Majesty cannot believe a word you say."

"Your Majesty knows."

Li Mi suddenly uttered these four words, which made Du Jin stunned for a moment.

"Your Majesty must have known all along." Li Mi turned to Xue Bai and said, "Du Erniang is your Majesty's knife. Your Majesty wants to use her to intimidate our ministers, so he always indulges her. But your Majesty, have you ever thought that you are the destiny of Li Tang and do not need to rely on Du Erniang. She is your Majesty's inner demon."

When Yuan Zai heard this, he suddenly felt a sense of fear in his heart.

He looked up and saw Xue Bai completely hidden in the darkness, his mind was unfathomable...

(End of this chapter)