Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 616 Blindfold

The "Emperor's Palace" in Chenliu County is the largest mansion in the area. It originally belonged to a member of the outer royal family of the Li Tang Dynasty.

Since Li Lin came, the mansion was given to him for use.

After ascending the throne, Li Lin, who was already dissatisfied with the accommodation conditions, felt that this place was not worthy of his status at all.

Unfortunately, the rather large imperial city was still under construction, so he had no place to complain.

Li Lin got up early that day, which was a rare occasion. Since he did not spend the previous night on the belly of the imperial concubine Zheng, he was in better spirits that day.

Li Lin came to the study, sat down at the desk, and pretended to look through a volume of "government decree" sent by Fang Zhongyong, asking him to stamp it with the imperial seal.

That's right, just let him stamp it. Whether these government affairs are good or bad, Li Lin has no part in them. In fact, Li Lin is only interested in power and has no interest in these complicated government affairs.

"The Farmland Irrigation Act? The Five-Acre Vegetable Garden Act?

What's the point of giving the land to those peasants?"

Li Lin flipped through it casually and frowned, thinking that what Fang Zhongyong was going to do was just a waste of time, like taking off his pants to fart.

Just distribute the land to the wealthy and then collect taxes from them. This is how it has always been done.

In order to collect taxes from the peasants who made a living in the fields, we had to send many people to collect the taxes. Not only was it extremely troublesome, but the efficiency was also extremely low.

Li Lin had never eaten pork, but he had more or less seen pigs run.

"Well, let him do whatever he wants.

Anyway, he is the one who has a headache! "

Li Lin stamped the imperial seal on the decree and then threw it aside.

As for the remaining decrees, such as the "Law on Equal Taxation of Square Fields", the "Law on Reforming the Imperial Examination System", the "Law on the Three Dormitories of the Imperial College", etc., he did not even read them and just stamped his seal at will.

These decrees are only general rules. The specific details will be formulated by the central government including three provinces and six ministries, and finally promulgated and issued.

Of course, these government offices have not been established yet, and they are just makeshift teams operating on a makeshift basis.

Now he is just perfunctory about those stamping matters.

During this period of time, Li Lin found that he didn't seem to be the material for being an emperor. In other words, he only wanted to enjoy the treatment that an emperor should have, but didn't want to bear the responsibilities that an emperor should bear.

"It's so boring. Being an emperor is so troublesome."

Li Lin couldn't help but sigh. He didn't think there was anything wrong with being a puppet, at least for the time being.

"Your Majesty, a servant of Fang Qing wants to see you. He said he has important news to report to you in secret."

Gao Shang quietly walked into the study, came to Li Lin, and spoke in a low voice.

"The servants around Fang Qing?"

Li Lin was stunned at first, then he immediately became alert!

As long as it is related to Fang Qing, it is definitely not a trivial matter!
After a while, Da Congming, who came to inform on the culprit, was brought in.

When they saw this person, Li Lin and Gao Shang both gasped.

What a handsome young man!
Gao Shang also considered himself a handsome man back then. He had no money at all, yet he was able to flirt with Linghu Chao's concubine and even have sex with her.

But when seeing how smart he is, he has to admit defeat and feel inferior to him.

"Who are you? What do you want to tell me?"

Li Lin straightened his back and asked casually, but his heart was in his throat.

Afraid of hearing words like "mutiny".

Da Congming didn't say anything, but just looked at Gao Shang, indicating that he wanted to report in private.

Seeing this, Li Lin explained calmly: "He is my personal eunuch, there is nothing you can't tell him, just tell him directly."

It seemed that Li Lin was also a little impatient.

"Your Majesty, Fang Qing had a private meeting with Hou Mochen from Daxiangguo Temple last night. The two of them had a very pleasant conversation and chatted for more than an hour!
Houmo Chen was your majesty's former princess, how could she have a secret meeting with Fang Qing at night? I have come to report this to your majesty, you must not ignore this matter!"

Da Congming said in a tone that was both anxious and suppressedly excited.

Houmo Chen! Fang Qing! Daxiangguo Temple! Secret meeting at night!
One key word after another hit Li Lin's nerves.

At this moment, his pupils suddenly shrank! His face was tense!

"What is the matter?"

Before Li Lin could speak, Gao Shang rushed forward and asked anxiously.

"talk!"

Seeing that Da Congming was hesitant to speak, Li Lin became anxious.

Da Congming had no choice but to tell him everything Fang Chongyong had told him, without missing out on any information.

Da Congming had been reading since childhood and had a good memory, and could even be said to have a good literary talent. He described the events that took place during the period vividly.

When he told the story, a picture emerged in Li Lin and others' minds:
Hou Mochen was guarding the cold temple alone, feeling disheartened, but Fang Chongyong took advantage of her with sweet words.

This situation was just like when Zhao Ji was invaded by Lao Ai.

The pornography was so violent that it was beyond words. The more Li Lin thought about it, the more heartbroken he felt.

"Adulterer and adulteress! How could they, how dare they!

"Did you see the two of them having an affair with your own eyes? Are you sure?"

Li Lin slammed the table angrily and asked with red eyes.

Houmochen's beauty has faded. According to the current situation, Li Lin may never touch this woman again in his life.

But just because he doesn't touch it doesn't mean he allows others to touch it at will!
Even if he doesn't need the woman, it's not the turn of outsiders to touch her!
If there is such a scene in the future, one day after Fang Qing and Hou Mochen had a fierce battle on the bed, Fang Qing hugged Hou Mochen and asked: Who is stronger, me or the emperor?

What if Houmo Chen said "You are strong".

Li Lin will collapse when he finds out!

Is that Fang Qing playing with his woman? That's slapping him in the face!

“I did not see it, but I heard the flickering figures under the candlelight in the room, and from time to time I could hear Hou Mochen’s sweet laughter. I heard it with my own ears and saw it with my own eyes.

I hope Your Majesty will understand this clearly."

Da Congming saluted Li Lin with his arms crossed and bowed deeply.

Was he telling the truth? Not entirely, because he was in the house at the time.

But the figures flickered under the candlelight, and it was an ironclad fact that Hou Mochen and Fang Chongyong were having a very pleasant conversation.

This clever lie was beyond the imagination of Li Lin and others.

Saying what you should say and not saying what you shouldn’t say is the advanced stage of lying.

"So, you didn't see Fang Qing and Hou Mochen having an affair with your own eyes?"

Gao Shang quickly discovered the flaw in Da Congming's words.

In fact, it was hard for him to imagine that Fang Chongyong would attack Hou Mochen. In his impression, Fang Chongyong was indeed vicious and had evil intentions. But he had an excellent eye for women.

To be honest, Fang Chongyong didn't need to do anything to Houmo Chenshi. There were a lot of beauties in Zhengshi of Xingyang. If Fang Chongyong wanted to, he could play with them until his kidneys died!
As for the former princess or something... Gao Shang didn't see any fun in doing so.

It is understandable that Fang Chongyong had his hands on Li Lin's current queen, Zheng.

Da Congming looked nervous. He didn't dare to answer the lofty question, let alone meet the other person's eyes!
"Tell me! You were Fang Qing's follower, why did you betray your master?"

Gao Shang walked over, kicked Da Congming to the ground, and questioned him harshly.

Li Lin also stood up, looking puzzled.

"Everything I just said is true! Your Majesty can send someone to the Daxiangguo Temple to inquire. Everything I said is true!"

Da Congming knelt on the ground and kowtowed! Li Lin said nothing, and handed the sword he had drawn to Gao Shang, signaling him to start. Gao Shang took the sword with his right hand. As a "one-armed hero", he paid great attention to the strength training of his remaining arm.

There would be absolutely no problem in killing Da Congming with one sword.

"If you don't tell me, then die. I'll just consider it as helping Fang Qing clean up the mess."

Gao Shang sneered.

"I said it, I said it!"

Da Congming suddenly knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Li Lin!
Gao Shang took a step back and waited for Da Congming to tell his story.

"I have been obsessed with my half-sister Da Zhenhui since I was a child, but I didn't expect that Fang Qing would steal my love. The two of them frequently expressed their love in front of me, and they were inseparable all day long. I was resentful of them..."

Having a crush on your half-sister, this sounds... so exciting!
Li Lin and Gao Shang looked at each other and actually thought that it was quite normal for Da Congming to come here and inform on others.

Many big things are ruined by trivial things, and the causes of these trivial things are often even more trivial things.

Isn’t this the case with the mess that happened to Duke Huan of Qi’s family?
"Are you willing to be His Majesty's spy? If you are willing, you will be granted a title of nobility and become a prime minister in the future!"

Gao Shang asked in a deep voice.

"Yes, yes!"

Da Congming knelt on the ground and kowtowed desperately.

Gao Shang looked at Li Lin and saw that he nodded, so he said in a deep voice:

"Then you continue to stay by Fang Qing's side as His Majesty's spy, understand? If you have any ulterior motives, we may not be able to do anything to Fang Qing, but it will be easy to deal with you.

If you do your job well, you will naturally get benefits. Go back first. Someone will contact you secretly!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Da Congming kowtowed desperately, thanked the emperor profusely and left.

After he left, Li Lin looked at Gao Shang and asked, "Is this person loyal? Could he be someone sent by Fang Qing?"

“I had a private meeting with Houmo Chen yesterday, and today I sent my men to inform Your Majesty. This is obviously not in line with common sense.

This smart person may not be loyal to Your Majesty now, but he is definitely not sent by Fang Qing.

In the future, you might as well listen to what he says and watch what he does, and win him over with money and beauties. Maybe it will work wonders at a critical moment.

Even if he has ulterior motives, it doesn't matter. When the time comes, I just need to reveal what happened today to Fang Qing.

No matter what he does, he is not with us, so it doesn't matter if he lies, we just don't listen. Your Majesty can kill such a small person with just a wave of his hand, so why should we care?

You are already the Son of Heaven!
Although Your Majesty cannot touch Fang Qing's military power for the time being, there is nothing wrong with dealing with the servants who follow Fang Qing.

Your Majesty, please do not underestimate yourself."

Gao Shang bowed to Li Lin and said.

It must be said that his words made some sense. If Dacongming wanted to be a guard beside Li Lin, then the problem was indeed serious and his loyalty needed to be repeatedly verified.

But Da Congming is still Fang Zhongyong's follower!
So this matter didn't matter. No matter how this person acted, it couldn't affect Li Lin. If he could listen to what the other person said, he would listen. If he couldn't listen, he would just treat it as a dog barking.

Essentially, it's fine.

"What you said does make sense. Fang Qing is too powerful to be controlled, so we have no choice but to let Zheng Clan of Xingyang compete with him.

I can't wait, but I can let my men wait."

Li Lin said with a sigh.

He didn't have any good way to deal with Fang Chongyong for the time being, but he must find an opportunity to deal with the bitch Hou Mochen in the near future.

For example, let her catch a cold and die in the temple.

As for why a healthy person would catch a cold, Li Lin felt that it was not his concern. On a winter night, pouring ice water on Hou Mochen, whether she could survive it or not, depended on her luck.

Is there anyone who cannot be killed?

Li Lin, who had already become the emperor, had many ways to make the Houmochen family disappear silently.

The news brought by Dacongming made Li Lin uneasy the whole day, and he felt that something big was about to happen.

Sure enough, at night, someone from Bianzhou came to inform Li Lin:

When he ascended the throne, he should have held a court meeting, but it was omitted because there was no suitable place for it.

But the affairs of the court cannot be stopped, and your majesty must personally participate. Therefore, an important court meeting will be held in the lobby of the Bianzhou government office tomorrow. We will make do with what is available and only invite important officials of the court to participate. Your majesty must be present.

Upon hearing the news, Li Lin’s first reaction was “Oh no!”
"What Dacongming said is indeed true. This time at the court meeting, Fang Qing probably wants to establish a queen and force Hou Mochen to take the throne!"

Li Lin's face turned pale, he had already guessed the cause and effect.

Last night, Fang Qing and Hou Mochen had probably had sex, and in the future, the two of them would get pregnant!

Then this child will become...

Li Lin didn't dare to think about it anymore. This vicious plan of using someone else as a substitute was really insidious!

"Your Majesty, Houmo Chen must be killed."

Gao Shang said in a deep voice.

"Yes, that Fang Qing is even more cruel than Lao Ai! I am really furious!"

Li Lin took a deep breath. He had made up his mind.

Houmo Chen can’t be kept here any longer, the sooner we act the better!

"Your Majesty, don't act blindly tonight. Since Fang Qing is going to do something big, he will definitely protect Hou Mochen well.

We will pretend we don't know first, and then strike him once he relaxes. "

A trace of hatred flashed in Gao Shang's eyes.

"Well, you're thoughtful."

Li Lin nodded somewhat unwillingly. Although he wanted to kill his original wife right now, it was just as Gao Shang said, Fang Chongyong was meticulous in his work and had a lot of tricks up his sleeve.

How could he not be on guard at all?
For example, Li Lin’s niece Li Yi, the two had met and even talked in Prince Zhong’s mansion before.

If Fang Chongyong only wanted to "hide a beauty in a golden house", with his power and skills, he could have made it so that everyone didn't know Li Yi's background, or even noticed the existence of this concubine.

But the current situation is that almost everyone knows that Ji Ge's granddaughter has become Fang Qing's concubine, and she is not even a concubine, but only a mistress.

This was obviously done intentionally by someone. To put it bluntly, this adulterous relationship was deliberately performed for outsiders to see.

In Li Lin's opinion, since Fang Chongyong and Hou Mochen wanted to play the game of "stealing and replacing the pillars", how could the latter not be protected?

"Your Majesty, now that we are here, we should make the best of it. Even if Houmo Chen is crowned as the queen, Your Majesty can still make her the former queen."

Gao Shang made a chopping gesture.

Many things are just afraid of "leaking secrets". If Da Congming hadn't come to report the news, then Fang Zhongyong's intentions would not be clear.

But since Dacongming had already reported the news, Fang Zhongyong’s so-called deployment was not worth mentioning.

Li Lin now felt the mystery of the operation of power politics. The so-called conspiracy was always carried out together with the open conspiracy.

Now is the critical moment when he is preparing to make Zheng the queen and announce it to the public. Fang Zhongyong's "supporting the old people" is obviously a tit-for-tat, and he intends to teach Zheng of Xingyang a lesson!
"Your Majesty, appointing a queen is a family matter. Even if Fang Qing is aggressive tomorrow, Your Majesty can temporarily not appoint a queen.

Get enough rest today, tomorrow's court meeting will be the battlefield!"

Gao Shang persuaded Li Lin.

"Yes, I understand."

Li Lin nodded slightly, a fighting spirit surged in his heart.

(End of this chapter)