Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 388 Thunder on the Ground
Although winter has entered, Huaqing Palace is still as warm as spring.

At noon that day, Imperial Physician Cao took a bowl of Guiling Soup and placed it on the table next to the Jiulong Soup Bath, and then quietly stepped aside.

Since staying at Huaqing Palace, after undergoing multi-pronged "comprehensive treatment", Brother Ji's condition has improved a lot and his mood has improved.

"Can I drink this?"

Brother Ji looked at Imperial Physician Cao and asked softly, not being angry and intimidating, so that the imperial physician who was solely responsible for treating diseases did not dare to look up at him.

"Back to the saint, Wei Chen has already taken care of the matter of finding someone to test the medicine. The medicine boiled from various turtles and Smilax cocos found from various places has also been given to different patients.

This recipe, so far, has the best effect. "

Dr. Cao said cautiously, fearing that he might say the wrong thing and be beheaded by the emperor, Brother Ji.

"Go back."

Brother Ji waved his hand and said nothing unnecessary.

After Cao left, Gao Lishi led a young eunuch in with the same medicine in his hand. Gao Lishi personally mixed the two bowls of medicine, divided them equally, and gave one bowl to the young eunuch.

The latter drank the dark medicinal soup in the bowl without saying a word.

Seeing that he was fine after drinking the medicine, Brother Ji drank his bowl of medicine, which made him speechless.

After he recovered, Brother Ji did not forget to tell Gao Lishi beside him: "We must find the medicine without delay, and we must find it at all costs."

"I understand, please rest assured, saint."

Gao Lishi replied respectfully.

Brother Ji nodded slightly, noncommittal, and showed no signs of joy or anger.

"What has the prince been busy with lately?"

Brother Ji suddenly remembered this. He hadn't heard from Li Xuan for a long time.

"Saint, wasn't the prince praying for you at Huashan? He was also supervising the construction of the altar there."

Gao Lishi reminded in a low voice.

Brother Ji suddenly realized that people's memory deteriorates as they get older. In addition, Li Chen was not involved in any government affairs at all, so Brother Ji had no idea what Li Chen was busy with all day long.

Maybe he's not busy at all.

At this moment, a eunuch hurriedly walked in and said a few words to Gao Lishi in a low voice.

Suddenly, Gao Lishi, who was normally aloof and indifferent to emotions and anger, was so frightened that his complexion changed. The medicine bowl in his hand fell to the ground and broke into pieces.

……

Just one day ago, the completion ceremony of the second phase of the Guangyuntan project on the outskirts of Chang'an was held as scheduled.

The expansion of the ferry also cleared the silt on the shore, allowing larger ships to dock. At the same time, many supporting warehouses were built to temporarily store goods and collect rent.

In short, this project is a good thing that benefits the country and the people, and there is no disagreement between the government and the opposition.

Therefore, Li Linfu, as the Right Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty, attended such a completion ceremony, implying that this was a political achievement under his rule, and it was also what he should have meant.

Of course, the emperor should have participated, but Brother Ji's current situation... can only be said not to be mentioned, he can't count on it.

If the emperor doesn't go, the right minister must go, otherwise there won't be anyone important enough to support the show.

Standing on a two-story building near Guangyuntan, overlooking the entire ferry.

Seeing the rows of ships of various colors, the bustling ferry and the gradually emerging shops, Li Linfu felt a surge of pride and ambition in his heart.

The Tang Dynasty is so powerful!
The Tang Dynasty was so magnificent!
The emperor was just a decoration, he was the operator of Datang! These are all achievements under his rule!
"Right Prime Minister, please come this way. The big ship has docked. Please step onto the boat and enjoy the beautiful scenery of Guangyun Lake."

Chen Xilie, the Minister of Rites, stepped forward and said with a low eyebrow.

On the surface, Li Linfu came to "inspect the work" and check how the completed new ferry was operating.

But in fact, no one, including Chen Xilie, the Minister of Rites, expected them to be bureaucrats who could see anything.

Including Li Linfu, they are just here to show their presence and take advantage of their work days to fish.

Everyone understands, no need to explain too clearly.

The right minister works hard on weekdays, can't he just relax and unwind?

Chen Xilie has already prepared silk and bamboo orchestral instruments on the big ship, and even singers and dancers are all ready.

Even Li Guinian, who was good at playing the flute and bamboo baskets, was also on board, waiting for Li Linfu to arrive so that the banquet could begin.

Of course, most of the officials on the ship were Li Linfu's cronies, and even several of his sons-in-law were present.

"Oh, Chen Shangshu is too polite, too polite.

We’ve pretty much seen it here, so let’s get on the big boat and patrol the ferry along the shore.

The sage is very concerned about the expansion of Guangyuntan Ferry. With this canal, grain from Guandong can be transported into Guanzhong, which saves a lot of effort.

Hahahahaha! "

Li Linfu was in a good mood, stroking the long beard on his chin and laughing.

Nowadays, Ji Ge basically no longer cares about government affairs, and Li Linfu decides all matters in the DPRK with a single word. When Ji Ge is silent, Li Linfu is the actual manager of this huge empire.

With Brother Ji delegating power, Li Linfu has become more and more comfortable.

Accompanied by the accompanying officials, the two came to the trestle of Guangyuntan Ferry, and then saw a large building boat parked beside the trestle, which was three stories high and extremely spacious.

The shape is simple and heavy, full of domineering.

As soon as Li Linfu saw the boat, he felt that it was to his liking. He couldn't help teasing Chen Xilie: "Chen Shangshu is very thoughtful. Today's itinerary is well arranged."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xilie quickly crossed his hands and saluted: "As a humble official should do, right minister, please come on board."

"Well, let's go together."

Li Linfu got on the building boat with a smile on his face, and soon saw a lot of acquaintances, basically all his party members. Everyone in the large cabin of the building boat had already set up the table and was waiting for Li Linfu to serve.

Since the slenderness ratio of the building boat is very small and the width is sufficient, there is almost no shaking.

Li Linfu couldn't help but glance at Chen Xilie, feeling secretly wary.

Riding on a horse, this guy is really good at flattering, and he actually makes himself feel so comfortable. If it continues like this, it will be incredible!
He couldn't help but make up his mind that Chen Xilie must be suppressed a little bit in the future. This kind of person who can flatter you is much scarier than those who can do things well.

Because Li Linfu himself is a very good flatterer.

Chen Xilie never expected that the one-stop arrangement of eating, drinking and having fun that he had painstakingly prepared would actually make Li Linfu determined to suppress him.

I have to say, this is really ironic. Fortunately, Chen Xilie doesn't have the superpower of "eavesdropping on people's voices", otherwise he might not be able to help but curse directly.

"I feel very sorry for keeping you all waiting for so long.

Let's have a party, let's have a party, don't be stunned. "

Li Linfu looked around at everyone with a smile and said with a very humble attitude. I didn't know who he was, so I thought he was a kind old man with a kind and honest personality. Snapped! Snapped!
Chen Xilie clapped his hands twice, and the servants on the boat filed out and brought plate after plate of delicacies to the table.

Basically, they are Chang’an’s local famous dishes! They are also Li Linfu’s favorite dishes on weekdays!

"This fish is good."

Li Linfu pointed at the fish pieces on the plate in front of him and said that the chef had cut them into pieces so that the ingredients could not be seen, but Li Linfu knew very well that this was carp, and it was extremely fresh, carp that had just been fished out of the Yellow River!

Of course, you can eat it, but you can’t say it out loud because it would be a taboo.

While everyone was drinking and drinking, under the guidance of Li Guinian, the musicians on the ship also began to play music. A sense of Western style permeates the cabin, which is fascinating.

How can there be music without dancing?

Almost at the same moment when the music started playing, six dancers in red gauze skirts, like stars surrounding the moon, circled around a dancer in a colorful gauze skirt, dancing as erratically as butterflies.

Li Linfu squinted his eyes and looked at the lead dancer Hu Ji, casting ambiguous glances at him from time to time, feeling proud in his heart.

"Right Prime Minister, I will ask her to loosen the right Prime Minister's muscles and give her a massage later in the cabin upstairs. I will take the others to patrol elsewhere and will not disturb the Right Prime Minister.

Oh, speaking of which, this Hu Ji is also pitiful. She was resold several times. Because she was a perfect body, the traffickers forced her to learn dance every day without a day off.

The right Prime Minister needs to take care of this poor guy. "

Chen Xilie approached Li Linfu and said calmly.

"Chen Shangshu has taken the trouble."

Li Linfu nodded with satisfaction, saying nothing.

Can't the right phase just relax and relax? Please show some concern for what happened to the dancing girl who fell into the hands of human traffickers?
Li Linfu quietly glanced at the dancer in the colorful gauze skirt. She had a graceful figure and delicate face. She had a sense of fragility that particularly tempted men to care for her.

This Chen Xilie really found out a lot of things.

Li Linfu has decided that after today, he must suppress Chen Xilie.

Half an hour later, the banquet dispersed. Chen Xilie helped Li Linfu, who was slightly drunk, into the cabin on the top floor of the ship.

This cabin is well-decorated. It is not gorgeous, but it looks quite cultural. The landscapes and calligraphy paintings are hung on the walls. It can be seen that they were made by famous artists. People who don't know better think that this is a study room rather than a cabin.

Chen Xilie carefully exited the room, let the lead dancer Hu Ji in, then closed the door, took all the servants on the ship, and left the building together, leaving no one behind.

Hu Ji's slender white fingers pressed on Li Linfu's shoulders, making the Right Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty groan in comfort.

I have to say that Chen Xilie really knows how to get things done!

Orchid or something like that would be completely boring if you take it home and play with it. It's just that in this strange and special environment, with this strange and beautiful young woman, you will have a different kind of excitement.

Li Linfu very naturally grabbed the beautiful Hu Ji's left hand, stroked it slowly, and then asked in a frivolous tone: "I have more than twenty daughters, do you want to give me another daughter? Ben?" Xiang’s health is still very good!”

"Right Prime Minister, you are really good and bad."

Hu Jijiao said something, the sound was like a silver bell, very pleasant to the ear, and made Li Linfu's bones feel a little lighter.

"Hey, I'm not bad at all. I never force the little girl to do things she doesn't like."

Li Linfu said proudly.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his lower back.

Li Linfu turned around with a horrifying look on his face, only to find that Hu Ji was staring at him coldly, holding his hand tightly with his left hand, and then stabbed him in the back with an unusually sharp right hand!

"you……"

Li Linfu's body softened, he fell to the ground and stopped breathing.

The Hu Ji threw the knife into the Guangyun Lake, and then changed into the clothes of a servant on the ship. While there was no one around, he quietly left the ferry and disappeared into the bustling city of Chang'an, never to be seen again.

……

In the winter of the ninth year of Tianbao, Li Linfu, the right prime minister, was assassinated on a building boat moored at Guangyuntan Ferry. The perpetrator was said to be a dancing girl who was supposed to be incapable of tying a chicken. This woman absconded after the murder and is missing. Yamen, including Dali Temple and Jingzhao Mansion, issued arrest warrants to arrest the murderer. I just didn’t know where to start for a while.

When Brother Ji learned about the situation, he immediately returned to Xingqing Palace to handle the case.

However, although the court tried hard to search for the murderer and looked for clues, they could not find even a single hair.

The dancer was selected by Chen Xilie just to be dedicated to Li Linfu and to please Li Linfu. He didn't know the other dancers at all.

Li Guinian didn't know in advance that this woman was going to attend the banquet. Chen Xilie slipped her in halfway.

As a member of the Liyuan family, Li Guinian could ignore what the Minister of Rites said, but it was hard to fall out with him. Because the Ministry of Rites controls all kinds of "ritual and music" resources, without their cooperation, it will be difficult for Li Guinian to be a good person and do things after that.

As for the other people on the ship, they didn't know about it, let alone preparing for the assassination. There were several people on board who were Li Linfu's sons-in-law, and it was impossible for them to attack Li Linfu either emotionally or rationally.

All the evidence points to Chen Xilie!
However, Chen Xilie couldn't argue. This dancer was indeed the Orchid he bought from a trafficker. But were there not many dignitaries in Chang'an who bought Orchid?

He saw that Hu Ji was young and beautiful, good at singing and dancing, pure and lovely, and had not been touched by a man, so he wanted to offer it to Li Linfu in order to encourage him to support him in the future.

Is this also an outrageous operation?
Isn’t this how things work in officialdom? Li Linfu didn’t refuse much!
Who would have thought that this is the assassin!
Chen Xilie still wanted to cry, he didn't know what happened!
However, Chen Xilie could say this, but Zheng Shuqing, the chief minister of Dali Temple who was handling the case, did not want to hear his excuse.

The cunning Zheng Shuqing took him directly to Xingqing Palace, where he was interrogated by Brother Ji in person!

Don't ask, asking means the official is too young to make the decision!
Zheng Shuqing submitted a memorial to Brother Ji on the grounds that "the matter was of great importance and he had no right to deal with it" and asked Brother Ji to interrogate him in person.

In desperation, Brother Ji had to take over the mess.

After all, Zheng Shuqing did have his own reasons.

The person who was assassinated was the right prime minister of the Tang Dynasty. How could Dali Temple handle the case of the prime minister? No matter how the case was solved, it would easily fall into irrelevant political vortex.

"Chen Xilie, the reason why I promoted you to be the Minister of Rites back then was because of Ge Nu's recommendation. Even if you kill someone, how can you repay your favor with such kindness?

If you do this, you are simply worse than an animal! "

In the imperial study room of Qin Zheng Wu's main building, Brother Ji looked at Chen Xilie helplessly and asked.

Why is Brother Ji feeling helpless rather than angry at this moment?

Because he knew that it was impossible for Chen Xilie to pay for someone to kill someone, let alone for a dinner he arranged. That would be tantamount to telling others that he was the one who killed Li Linfu!
But in order to calm the situation, Brother Ji had to point the finger at Chen Xilie!

The right prime minister of the Tang Dynasty was assassinated by someone else. Doesn't the emperor want to give an explanation to the officials and the people?

That was the right prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, a prime minister who had been in power for many years, not just a cat or a dog!
Even if it wasn't Chen Xilie who killed him, he still had to stand up and take responsibility.

The worst case scenario is to rehabilitate him later. In short, it won't work without an explanation. Otherwise, wouldn’t everyone in Chang’an be in danger?
"Sage, I am so unjust!"

Chen Xilie was so anxious that he cried, but Brother Ji didn't want to give him any chance at all.

"Zheng Aiqing, send Chen Xilie to Dali Temple Prison and take good care of him. Don't neglect him."

Brother Ji said to Zheng Shuqing with a cold face. He also understood that Zheng Shuqing was not material for investigating the case. This person's ability could only be described in two words: Fooling!

This ability was just right when used in the case of Li Linfu's assassination.

After Zheng Shuqing left, Brother Ji called Gao Lishi over and asked with a gloomy face: "Lishi, who do you think will kill Ge Nu?"

(End of this chapter)