The Flourishing Tang Dynasty: Beginning with Marrying Yang Yuhuan

Chapter 58 Conspiracy
"Open your mouth."

Li Ying scooped a small spoonful and handed it to Yang Yuhuan's mouth with a smile on his face.

Yang Yuhuan took a bite obediently and said, "This camel hoof soup would be better if it were seasoned with some loquats. Unfortunately, there are no loquats now, so I added a little honey."

"I was wondering why it had a sweet aftertaste." Li Heng said as he fed Yang Yuhuan another mouthful.

Yang Yuhuan ate it and said, "Honey is very sweet."

Li Ying smiled and said, "Actually, if you want it sweet, you don't need to add honey."

"Really?" Yang Yuhuan was curious, "Then what should I add?"

Li Heng pretended to feed Yang Yuhuan another mouthful, and when Yang Yuhuan opened her mouth, he leaned over and kissed her on the lips, saying softly, "This is the sweetest."

Yang Yuhuan was stunned for a moment, then started to giggle.

Li Heng looked at Yang Yuhuan, who was smiling like a flower, and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

Yang Yuhuan smiled so happily because they had been married for a year, but Li Ying was not tired of her at all. On the contrary, he was getting better and better to her. Such intimate actions made her heart beat faster every time.

But Yang Yuhuan didn't want to tell the truth. She wanted to keep this feeling in her heart, so she shook her head and said with a smile: "My dear, what you just kissed was my lip balm, which is made of flower petals. Do you think flower petals are sweeter than honey?"

"This..." Li Heng didn't know how to respond for a moment after hearing such direct words.

Yang Yuhuan took advantage of Li Heng's daze and took the initiative to move forward and kissed Li Heng on the lips, and said with a smile: "The lipstick has faded just now. Now there is no lipstick. Is it still sweet?"

Li Ying smiled and said, "You learn very quickly."

"My dear, you just said that we should not owe anyone anything, so of course I have to pay it back." Yang Yuhuan said with a smile.

"Really?" Li Heng handed the bowl to Yang Yuhuan, hugged her in his arms, and said, "Then I hope that neither of us will ever be able to repay the other."

"Yes." Yang Yuhuan nodded, noticing that Li Heng seemed to be a little worried, and added: "As long as you don't abandon me, I will stay with you forever."

Just as Li Heng was about to speak, Feng Changqing's voice suddenly came from the doorway, saying, "Your Highness, the evidence has been obtained."

"Okay, bring Zhou Yuyou out, and call General Gao." Li Heng replied, kissed Yang Yuhuan on the face, let her go, stood up and whispered to her, "I will try my best to prevent us from facing life and death."

After saying that, he opened the door and went out.

……

……

……

in the lobby.

Li Ying is looking at the evidence collected by Zhou Yuyou.

There were two booklets, one of which recorded Zhao Cheng's instructions to Zhou Ziwu, as well as the records of their transactions and division of spoils.

The other one is Gai Jiayun’s arrangement of several events. It is not a complete record, but it is still useful.

In addition to these two booklets, there were also some stolen goods that Zhou Ziwu got.

After reading the evidence, Li Heng looked at Zhou Yuyou and said, "Preparing these things, it seems you have been planning for a long time."

"Yes." Zhou Yuyou admitted, "People like this who deceive heaven and earth, harm the people under their rule, and do all kinds of evil should be punished by everyone."

Li Ying said, "Why didn't you report them when Yan Tingzhi was appointed as the envoy to depose the officials? And your cousin Zhou Ziliang, who is now the Censor-in-Chief, you can also explain to him."

"How can Yan Tingzhi be a match for General Gai and his men? If I fail to report him, I will suffer the consequences. As for my clan uncle..."

Zhou Yuyou sighed, "Anxi is far away from Chang'an. If I want to go to Chang'an, I will have to abandon her here alone. When my clan uncle investigates her from the court, she will not be able to survive. Besides, my clan uncle has his own things to do now, so I am afraid I can't spare the trouble."

Li Ying nodded and said, "I thought you would say that you were afraid of implicating your grandfather." "This..." Zhou Yuyou was stunned, "Perhaps, that's what you meant."

Li Heng had already noticed that Zhou Yuyou and his father seemed to be at odds with each other, but since this was someone else's family affair, Li Heng did not want to ask any more questions. He turned to Gao Xianzhi and asked, "General Gao, have you arranged the troops properly?"

Gao Xianzhi replied: "It has been arranged and can be started at any time."

Just as Gao Xianzhi finished speaking, the guard outside the inn came to report, "Your Highness, someone outside the gate claims to have an important grievance that needs to be reported to Your Highness in person."

"Hmm?" Li Ying hesitated for a moment and said, "Bring him in."

"Here."

The guard retreated, and after a while, a man in his thirties walked in.

As soon as the man entered the room, he knelt down and cried, "Your Highness, please help me!"

Li Ying said, "What's the matter? Tell me."

"I went out at dawn and a family of fifteen was killed. I heard that Your Highness is a god in solving cases, and is more fair and strict than Di Gong. Please, Your Highness, make a decision for me!"

After hearing this, Li Ying felt that something was wrong. After thinking about it carefully, he finally understood.

If a normal person's entire family was killed, why would he think of flattering others first?

Li Heng hesitated for a moment and said, "I understand. Don't worry, I will make the decision for you. Get up."

"Thank you, Your Highness." The man stood up.

Li Ying asked, "What do you do?"

"I am just an ordinary farmer."

"Where is your home?"

"It's in Ershan Village outside the city."

"Ershan Village?" Li Heng felt something was wrong. After thinking for a while, he said, "You go to the side hall and wait. I will go with you after I finish what I am doing."

"Yes." The man stepped back.

After the man left, Li Heng said to Gao Xianzhi, "I remember Ershan Village is at the foot of Baishan Mountain, a hundred miles away from here. The road conditions from Ershan Village to here are heavy snow, so even if we ride a horse, it will take nearly two hours."

"Your Highness is right." Gao Xianzhi understood what Li Heng meant and said, "He just said that something happened at home when he left home at dawn, and now he is here. In other words, someone died in his family, and he did nothing else but ride his horse to look for Your Highness as soon as possible."

Li Ying nodded and said, "This is a bit unreasonable."

Gao Xianzhi thought for a moment and said, "Your Highness, when you leave the city and reach Ershan Village, you will pass through a valley. In the 22nd year of Zhenguan, General Guo Xiaoke was attacked and killed in that valley."

Li Ying just felt that something was wrong, and after Gao Xianzhi's words, he began to understand a little.

Li Heng asked, "If someone ambushes us there, can General Gao handle it?"

"If we knew about this in advance, we could have gone around from the west and attacked their rear." Gao Xianzhi finished speaking and asked, "Your Highness, do you think this could be a conspiracy?"

"It's possible." Li Heng was not too sure.

Gao Xianzhi wondered, "If it's a conspiracy, the entire Anxi is under the control of the Tang Dynasty, where can they find someone to ambush?"

"The Tibetan secret agent!" Gao Xianzhi asked this question and found out everything about Li Heng. He connected the matter with the previous incident and said:
"The Tibetan secret agents! If we add some traitors, we can gather a lot of people."

Although Kucha is currently under the control of the Tang Dynasty, there are still some Kucha restorationists who want to make a big move with the support of Tubo.

(End of this chapter)