Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 630: The Sky is about to change

"Your Majesty, Li Mi was once Li Heng's think tank. He used all means to restore the Li Tang ancestral temple. What he said today is a trick to sow discord and make Your Majesty cripple his own arm."

"I have proof."

When Du Jin began to defend herself, Li Mi immediately pursued her relentlessly.

"In order to protect the Li clan temple, Lord Yan arranged for someone to come forward to testify to Your Majesty's background. Whenever someone slandered Lord Yan about this matter, Du Erniang would send someone to silence them. It seemed that this was to protect Lord Yan's reputation, but in fact it was to force Lord Yan into a dilemma. On that day, Lord Yan invited Du Erniang to meet him in the imperial city. After talking with Wu Lang, she learned that Your Majesty had secretly returned to Luoyang, so she staged a scene of being assassinated in front of Your Majesty to force Lord Yan to take responsibility."

"The amount of gunpowder that could blow up Tianjin Bridge must be huge and it is not easy to get. Moreover, the time for preparation was short, so the gunpowder must have been taken from Luoyang. I ordered people to investigate many workshops and arsenals near Dongdu, but found nothing unusual. The production and whereabouts were all registered. This must be the reason why Du Erniang always claimed that she had no clues. By the way, during the process, I found that Du Erniang had never checked these things."

"How do you know I haven't checked?"

"We'll know once we ask," Li Mi said. "Not long ago, I visited Li Xiazhou and confirmed during the conversation that Du Erniang has not made any effort to investigate the matter since she was assassinated. Otherwise, with your temperament and ability, how could you have failed to find the real culprit for so long?"

"Why do we need to investigate? The assassins of His Majesty are you, the ministers who protect the Li clan's ancestral temple."

Although Du Jin appeared calm on the surface, her response to Li Mi's words became somewhat incoherent.

Li Mi said: "You let Yang ask His Majesty for a title, which intensified the conflict between me and His Majesty, giving me the motive to kill Yang. Then you let Yuan Zai come forward to complain, and secretly sent assassins to get rid of Yang."

"You've been talking for so long, but there's still no evidence."

"I have long suspected the Luoshui assassination case, so I was alert when your Majesty mentioned enthroning Yang." Li Mi said, "So, earlier today, I reminded your Majesty that 'if you encounter an assassin, it must be sent by Du Erniang', and you can keep the murderer for careful questioning. I just didn't expect that you didn't want to frame me for assassinating your Majesty, but to kill Yang."

"What did you say?"

Du Jin finally showed a look of surprise. She had clearly heard the screams just now, so she subconsciously turned her head to look outside the tent.

Then she looked at Xue Bai. Because she couldn't see Xue Bai's expression clearly, she was panicked for a moment in front of him for the first time.

"That's not what he said... Your Majesty, those assassins..."

Halfway through his words, Xue Bai leaned forward.

The candlelight illuminated his face, and he was staring at Du Jin, his eyes filled with a variety of complex emotions, including suspicion, disappointment, anger, and regret.

Du Jin only felt a sting from his gaze.

She had never seen Xue Bai frustrated before. No matter how great the difficulties and setbacks were, he was always extremely tough and strong.

This made her subconsciously feel that his heart would never be hurt. Only at this moment did she suddenly realize that she might have really hurt him.

Du Jin's eyes suddenly felt sore for some reason and she almost burst into tears. She wanted to explain, but the next moment, Xue Bai had already spoken, and his voice was calmer and colder than she had expected.

"Those assassins have been executed by me."

Hearing this, Li Mi couldn't help but be surprised.

He was not trying to deceive Du Jin. This evening he had indeed reminded Xue Bai to be careful of assassinations and to investigate the murderer.

Unexpectedly, Xue Bai was so tolerant of Du Jin, which made him feel that things were far more difficult than he had expected.

But the next moment, Li Mi calmed down and said, "Your Majesty must have known what Du Erniang did..."

"Li Mi."

Xue Bai interrupted Li Mi and said, "Do you think I don't know what you are thinking?"

"I have no selfish motives."

"You knew that the assassin's target was Yuhuan, so you deliberately cooperated with me. You waited until the evening when it was too late to remind me hypocritically. You played a trick of killing someone with a borrowed knife!"

Li Mi remained silent and stopped explaining.

Indeed, he had guessed it from the beginning.

The assassination at Luoshui was staged by Du Jin herself, and she successfully excluded Yan Zhenqing. This simple method of achieving the goal is the easiest to make people dependent, and she will definitely repeat the same trick, get rid of Yang Yuhuan and put the blame on him, killing two birds with one stone.

The reason why it was not a fake assassination of Xue Bai, but to get rid of Yang Yuhuan was because Li Mi could see that Du Jin cared too much about Xue Bai and did not dare to take risks with Xue Bai.

On the other hand, Li Mi also wanted to kill two birds with one stone.

He took advantage of the situation, hoping to take the opportunity to get rid of the two women who were "stains" on Xue Bai.

The death of these two women means that the crimes of the current emperor "causing chaos in the palace and violating human ethics" will become a thing of the past, and those obsessions will slowly fade away.

Not only that, there was another person that Li Mi wanted to get rid of.

"If Your Majesty thinks so, I have nothing to say. I only ask Your Majesty to be careful of Yuan Zai. He is corrupt and has colluded with Du Erniang..."

Yuan Zai had kept his head down, thinking that the struggle between Li Mi and Du Jin would not involve him. When he heard this, he jumped up immediately.

"Li Mi, you slander me!"

However, since Li Mi spoke up about this matter, he must have sufficient evidence.

Even Du Jin’s secrets could be discovered, so how could Yuan Zai’s crimes be concealed?

Yuan Zai himself knew this, and although his voice was loud, he felt weak in his heart. He could only hope that Xue Bai would forgive him again.

When he was in Luoyang, he thought he was doomed, and asking Du Jin for protection was just a last-ditch effort. But Xue Bai really didn't pursue him, because he guessed it was for the sake of reform.

Since the reform, the aristocratic families and ministers have strongly opposed it. However, Yuan Zai, who came from a humble family, passed the imperial examination and was a senior financial official of the dynasty. After Yan Zhenqing was dismissed from his post, he became one of the representatives of the new law.

If Xue Bai trampled on the bones of the ministers in front of the Mingtang and then punished him the next moment, in the eyes of the world it would inevitably be seen as a compromise or exchange of interests between the emperor and the ministers and the nobles. Xue Bai certainly did not want to see such a situation.

This may be the reason why Xue Bai tolerates him.

Yuan Zai simply bowed down and said, "Your Majesty, I have offended countless nobles for my reform. They have done everything they can to slander me. It is really difficult for me to defend myself. If the new law can be accomplished after my death, I am willing to be your Majesty's Shang Yang!"

"Boom!"

Xue Bai suddenly kicked over the brazier in the tent.

The red charcoal fire suddenly poured out, sparks flew everywhere, and hit the carpet, burning it with a smell.

The three people in the tent were all shocked and quickly took a few steps back to avoid being burned by the charcoal fire.

"You are all my most trusted people, but you all have selfish motives. Do you still have me in your eyes?!"

Xue Bai tried his best to control his emotions. His voice was not loud, but the anger contained in it was extremely scary.

This time, even Li Mi felt panic.

He knew that he had caused a big disaster. Once Yang Yuhuan died, Xue Bai would be enraged, and the Tang Dynasty might change...

~~
Chang'an, Shengpingfang, Duzhai.

"problem occurs!"

It was originally a peaceful morning. Du Wulang was still asleep, but he was suddenly awakened by a scream outside the house.

He could tell that it was his grandfather shouting at the top of his lungs, as if he had seen a ghost.

You know, even in the Liu Ji case, when Du Youlin almost died in the Dali Temple, he was never so panicked.

Du Wulang then wrapped himself in a quilt and ran out of the house.

"what happened?"

Du Youlin was seen standing barefoot in the corridor with his hair uncombed and clothes in disarray, and was about to push Du Wulang's door.

"The world is changing! Your second sister has angered the Saint, Li Mi is involved in a major treason case, Yuan Zai has also lost power, the world is changing!"

"Grandpa, what are you talking about? Are your feet cold?"

Du Wulang didn't understand anything at all. He just felt that his grandfather's confusion was really unbecoming of a prime minister.

"The court is in chaos, and all officials don't know what to do. This time the Du family may be implicated..."

Du Youlin was still describing the chaos in the court. Du Wulang became more and more confused as he listened, so he had no choice but to ask, "What happened?"

"Yang... Yang Taizhen is dead."

"Who?"

Du Wulang was stunned. He was a little unconvinced at first, then his mind was in a mess and he realized that the matter was serious.

"How did he die? Who killed him?"

"Some say it was Er Niang who killed him." Du Youlin's voice was filled with fear, but he also said with a bit of luck: "Some also say it was Li Mi who killed him."

"Don't worry, I'll go and ask clearly."

Du Wulang was just about to put down the quilt wrapped around him when he heard a noise outside the courtyard gate.

Soon, someone walked into the yard with a group of subordinates.

"Du Wulang, come with me. I have something to ask you."

"Da Xi Yingying?" Du Wulang asked in surprise.

"Let's go."

Da Xi Yingying acted calmly and in a businesslike manner. She ordered people to take Du Wulang away, and then she went to Du Jin's room herself and took away all the documents.

Seeing this, Du Youlin could not help but stop Da Xi Yingying and said, "This is the prime minister's residence. You can't search it just because you want."

"Mr. Du, I am also following orders. Please don't make things difficult for me."

"Madam Da Xi, you and Er Niang have known each other for many years." Du Youlin whispered, "Tell me the truth, what happened?"

"It is still unclear how serious the situation will be. Mr. Du should not interfere with public affairs."

"Did you betray Er Niang?"

Da Xi Yingying frowned and was about to speak when Du Yan arrived outside the courtyard gate.

"Grandpa, cooperate with her."

"Auntie, what's going on?" Du Youlin hurried forward when he saw Du An.

Du Yan whispered, "Second Mother has made a serious mistake. The Du family should just admit their mistake and not cause any more trouble."

"That Second Lady..."

"Don't worry, Grandpa. I'm here."

Du Jin appeased Du Youlin, but did not protect Du Wulang, allowing him to be taken away. She also promised Da Xi Yingying that she would help her take over all of Du Jin's power as soon as possible.

~~
Du Wulang originally thought that he would be taken to Fenghuihang in the East Market, or Da Xi Yingying's private residence, but he unexpectedly went all the way into the imperial city.

In the southwest corner of the imperial city, next to the Secretariat, a small yamen was separated from the original Sinong Temple Caofang.

"go in."

Du Wulang looked up and saw a brand new plaque hanging above the yamen with three words written on it - Imperial City Division.

"Hmm? What government office is this? I've never been here before."

"Has Wulang ever been to the Imperial City Prison?"

"Is there a big prison in such a small government office?" Du Wulang couldn't help but be curious.

Da Xi Yingying did not actually send him to the prison cell, but instead took him into a small official residence where an official in a green robe, a eunuch, and a clerk with paper and pen ready to take notes were already sitting.

"Du Wulang is here, let's start."

"Da Xi Dusi, please."

Da Xi nodded and said, "Du Zhuo, did you tell Aunt Du where Madam Yang lived?"

When Du Wulang heard this, he knew something was wrong and wanted to ask, "Is Madam Yang really dead?" But he also knew that this was not the time to ask.

"I didn't tell you."

Afterwards, Da Xi Ying Ying asked many more questions in a businesslike manner, and finally asked Du Wu Lang to put his fingerprints on all the confessions. "Let's go."

"Is this good?"

"Ah."

"I'm leaving."

Du Wulang stood up and walked out, but he looked back several times reluctantly.

After the other three had left, he turned back and asked Da Xi Yingying, "What are you doing?"

"I'm learning to be an official."

"what?"

"In the past, the secret agents who were gathering information from the people were arranged by Second Mother at will. It will be different in the future, now that I have an official position." Da Xi Yingying sighed, "In fact, I don't know what to do. Anyway, I will try my best to do some official work."

"You're taking over for my second sister?"

"That's it."

"Madam Yang is really dead? Did my second sister send someone to kill her?"

Da Xi Yingying was silent for a while, but still answered: "Based on the clues I have found so far, it is true."

Du Wulang said: "No, my second sister is not that kind of person."

"Isn't that what she is?"

Du Wulang scratched his head and thought carefully. In fact, with Du Jin's personality and ambition, she could indeed do such a thing, especially since she and Yang Yuhuan had never had much of a friendship.

But in the end he still had to say something for Du Jin.

"It is impossible for my second sister to disobey His Majesty."

"Jealousy is common among women." Da Xi Yingying said, "You men only know the benefits of having many wives and concubines, but you don't understand the hardships women endure."

Du Wulang has always been single-minded, but he never expected that these words were said to him by the romantic Da Xi Yingying.

"Where is my second sister?"

"Imprison him in the palace for the time being."

"How will your majesty deal with her?"

"Then I don't know." Da Xi Yingying said, "I'm tired too."

Du Wulang asked: "Of course it's tiring, but can you handle Second Sister's work?"

"I am only in charge of the Imperial City Department, which is the intelligence department." Da Xi Yingying said, "Fenghui Bank has been merged with the National Treasury, and your eldest sister and officials appointed by the court have taken over."

"Big sister?" Du Wulang asked, "Then His Majesty is not taking his anger out on the Du family?"

"Well, I asked you to come here, just for routine questioning."

Du Wulang asked a few more questions.

Suddenly, he vaguely remembered that Xue Bai had mentioned the matter of bringing Fenghui Bank under the control of the imperial court a long time ago, and Du Jin had strongly opposed it at that time.

"Dusi, everyone has been taken."

Suddenly someone spoke outside the door. Du Wulang turned around and saw that it was Shi Zhong.

Shi Zhong used to be Da Xi Yingying's steward, but now he was wearing a beautiful military robe and a jade belt around his waist. From the jade belt, it could be seen that his rank was equivalent to that of an official below the fourth rank.

"Take Wulang out and interrogate them one by one."

"Here!"

Du Wulang was taken out by Shi Zhong and soon his eyes widened in surprise.

He saw people dressed in gorgeous clothes being tied together and escorted towards this side along the main street of the imperial city.

So, he couldn't help but look back at the Imperial City Office and muttered, "Can such a small office accommodate so many people?"

There were cries of injustice coming from the front.

"It's unfair. What does Li Mi's rebellion have to do with us?"

"It's really none of my business..."

Du Wulang took a closer look and recognized that King of Chu Li Qiu was among them.

Then he discovered that most of those brought here were members of the Li Tang royal family.

He couldn't help but look back at the Imperial City Division again, and this time he finally realized the power that Da Xi Yingying now held.

From this, he realized how powerful Du Jin was...

~~
After returning to the Du residence, Du Wulang sat in the hall, drank a sip of water to calm himself, and then became lost in thought.

Before the silence lasted long, Du Youlin arrived and started cursing because he was anxious.

"Rebellious son, why don't you tell me what happened?"

"Grandpa, I'm thinking that something bad might not be a bad thing. Should we retreat at the height of our trouble?"

"You said you want to quit again. Why are you so cowardly?" Du Youlin asked, "Is someone wronging Second Lady? She and Your Majesty are so..."

Du Wulang murmured, "Mrs. Yang is dead. Grandpa, do you think it was my second sister or Li Mi who killed her?"

Du Youlin stroked his beard for a while, and finally spoke his true feelings.

"Li Changyuan is an upright person. He would not resort to assassination unless it is absolutely necessary. But does Second Sister really dare to do such a thing?"

Du Youlin knew that his second daughter had always been bold without Du Wulang's answer.

He finally realized that his position as prime minister was likely to be lost. He sighed, looked unhappy, and went to his study to write his resignation.

Du Wulang continued to sit for a while, but Xue Yunniang came over and said, "My dear, someone wants to see you."

"Who?"

"It's Princess Boping." Xue Yunniang said in a low voice.

They met on the way to Dongdu and kept in touch with each other afterwards.

"Alas, at this time, I'd better not see her."

Du Wulang actually knew that he should protect himself, but in the end he was soft-hearted and finally agreed to meet Li Yiniang.

"I have seen the eldest princess..."

"Don't be so polite, Wulang. Today I have something to ask of you."

Li Yiniang grew up in the Ye Ting, so she was not shy about being polite and would get straight to the point.

"In fact, I also know what happened. It is said that Mr. Li was involved in the assassination of Madam Yang, and the investigation led to Asu."

"Princess He Zheng?"

"Well, since the death of Prince Zhong and his son, Asu has not shown hatred on the surface. It was only this time that I learned that she was secretly opposing Your Majesty. Some time ago, she went to see Mr. Li. The Imperial City Bureau investigated and found that she had met Pugu Huai'en in the past and had contact with the Uighurs through Pugu Huai'en's daughter..."

"Such a big deal?!"

Du Wulang was surprised.

He had also met Li Yuetu several times, and his impression of her was that she was a kind and quiet girl.

“In that case, no wonder the Imperial City Division arrested so many people today. I still think that Your Majesty is because of Madam Yang’s death.”

Speaking of this, Li Yiniang couldn't help but burst into tears.

She wiped her eyes and said, "When I was reduced to poverty in the imperial court, only A-Tu was willing to visit me. She is also kind to Your Majesty. Can Wu Lang ask Your Majesty to spare her life?"

"Your Majesty, are you going to kill her?"

"She is still on the run. If she is caught, she will surely die."

Du Wulang was speechless. He found that Princess Boping only cared about personal likes and dislikes and never cared about the interests of the country. She was close to Xue Bai, so she believed from beginning to end that Xue Bai was Li Qian. She had a good relationship with Li Yuetu, so she would protect Li Yuetu no matter what she did. As for so many clan members, she did not plead for any of them, and never said the words "Li's ancestral temple".

However, he could feel from this incident that the Li clan ancestral temple was in danger.

Involved in so many major cases, the Li clan may face another purge like the one during the Wu Zetian period. After this incident, if Xue Bai wants to replace Li Tang, he can do it even without Du Jin's assistance.

"If I could see His Majesty, I would speak for Princess Hezheng."

Du Wulang finally agreed.

Although he thought it would be difficult.

~~
In the following days, Du Wulang felt more and more the tension and subtlety of the situation.

The Imperial City Bureau was dealing with the Li Tang royal family ruthlessly. In addition to the major case of rebellion, they also found out many of their crimes of bullying men and women. Based on these crimes, they were executed, exiled, dismissed from office and their property was confiscated.

Soon, the case involved more nobles and aristocratic families.

They probably didn't expect that they were not purged for opposing the emperor's new laws, but suffered because they were implicated by the royal family.

Amidst the blood and gore, the dignitaries were in a state of panic and could not live their whole lives.

This time, no one rose up in rebellion.

That's the subtlety.

The emperor's anger was caused by the death of Yang Yuhuan, but only very few people knew that it was Du Jin who did it. After all, the murderer was executed as a slave of Princess Hezheng. Based on the circumstances of that night, people speculated that Du Jin, Li Mi, and Yuan Zai all had an unshirkable responsibility.

And Xue Bai's performance was, to some extent, extremely restrained.

He exiled Yuan Zai on the charge of corruption, but did not execute Du Jin. As for Li Mi, he was not even dismissed from his position as prime minister.

On the surface, this treatment seems a bit biased, but the situation has achieved a certain balance.

After this year, most of Yuan Zai's subordinates had been won over and promoted by Li Mi. In addition, Cui Youfu and Zhang Xun were persuaded by Li Mi to support the reform and were appointed as prime ministers. The new policy was not affected by the loss of Yuan Zai.

Du Jin's fall from power made the nobles and aristocratic families think from the beginning that this time the rebellion was not aimed at them. By the time they were liquidated along with the Li Tang royal family, it was too late for them to resist.

The key is that Li Mi, as the "culprit" of the whole incident, was not punished. If we speculate on the reason, it is difficult for the emperor to punish a prime minister for the death of a woman who cannot be made public.

But since Li Mi was still the prime minister, he had to be responsible for all the royal family members and ministers.

People's minds are sometimes strange. They dare not resist the more terrifying Xue Bai, thinking that Xue Bai has always been in this position, but they will blame Li Mi for not protecting them well.

As a result, Li Mi took on almost all the pressure from the royal family and ministers.

It was not until the Imperial City Division beheaded seventy-six royal family officials in one day that Chang'an was shocked. It was said that Li Mi went to the palace to resign that day, but the emperor refused to see him.

At this point, rumors that the Xue family would replace the Tang Dynasty were rampant. Some people said that the emperor wanted to change the country's name to "Xin" and imitate Wang Mang.

What is even more bizarre is that under such circumstances, an abnormal balance was maintained in the court.

This time, everyone was afraid of the emperor's methods and could not guess his thoughts, so they were cautious and did not dare to act rashly.

It was in this situation that Du Wulang learned that Li Yuetu had finally been caught.

After much thought, he decided to ask Xue Bai to plead for her.

He didn't even plead for Du Jin.

Because he knew that Xue Bai would not kill Du Jin, and he had seen too many people die in disputes recently, so he hoped to take this opportunity to persuade Xue Bai to settle this big case and put an end to the rumors of replacing Li Tang...

(End of this chapter)