Tiantang

Chapter 149 Deal with the old emperor
Chapter 157 The deal with the old emperor
"You...force...zhen..." Li Longji tried his best to squeeze out these three vague words, one hand tightly grasped the brocade quilt, and hissed like a beast's muffled roar from his throat sound.

"It's not about persecuting His Majesty, it's just asking His Majesty to restore my innocence." Zhang Xuan smiled again, "If Your Majesty refuses, then I can only think of other ways."

"A rebellion was quelled by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince... However, His Majesty's princes, princesses, nephews, his sisters, and close ministers of His Majesty - there will be more people involved at that time. I can assure you, in order to protect myself His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Yang will not be lenient."

"As long as your Majesty is willing to restore your innocence and ensure the crown prince's position as the heir apparent, you can swear to heaven that you can guarantee two things: First, as long as your majesty is alive, your majesty will always be the supreme emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and no one can replace you; Second, this time we only punish the chief villain, and do not implicate the followers."

"Even, the minister can intercede with His Highness the Crown Prince to keep His Highness Yuzhen."

"So, this is not coercion, but a transaction between the minister and the majesty." Zhang Xuan smiled and bowed down, "Your Majesty, please think twice!"

"Your Majesty, please think twice!" Zhang Xuan raised his voice and shouted loudly.

The old emperor trembled suddenly, his head drooped weakly, his eyes closed slowly, and a cloudy tear fell from the corner of his eye.

……

……

Under the starry night, the lights in the palace city were twinkling, and there was a festive atmosphere everywhere.But who knows, behind this graceful and luxurious celebration, there are endless murderous intentions hidden?

This New Year's Eve is destined to be a thrilling sleepless night for many people.

On the quiet path from Xingqing Palace to East Palace, Zhang Xuan led people to escort Li Longji's Luanjia and drove forward quickly, but the close eunuch who was waiting beside Li Longji changed from Gao Lishi to Li Jingzhong.

In the main hall of the East Palace, including Prince Li Heng, everyone was impatiently waiting.It's just that at this time, no one dared to say anything, no matter whether they were courtiers or royal relatives, they were actually afraid of getting into trouble.

Li Lin was already standing there in despair, because her hands were bound for too long, her feet were numb, and she almost collapsed to the ground.

Because Zhang Xuan didn't give orders on how to deal with them, the Habayashi guards didn't do anything to Gao Lishi and Li Lin except to let Gao Lishi and Li Lin move around at will.

The longer Princess Yongmu and the others waited, the more anxious and frightened they became.

Although she doesn't have much interest in power, she is equally afraid of death.She saw anger and disgust, as well as undisguised murderous intent, in Prince Li Heng's eyes.On the surface, he disapproved, but in his heart he gradually became afraid.

Yongmu left the table suddenly and hurried to Princess Yuzhen, knelt down on the ground with a plop, choked up and said, "Aunt Yuzhen, help me..."

Princess Yuzhen sighed and said softly, "Yongmu, I'm actually very surprised, why did you get involved, you shouldn't be involved in these things."

Yongmu gritted his teeth, his face became ferocious and distorted, "Yongmu hates it so much, yes, they killed Wandi—if Li Heng and Zhang Xuan killed them all, why did Wandi commit suicide in front of Yongmu's gate? ?”

Sheng Wang Li Qi next to him felt his heart skip a beat, and glanced at Princess Yongmu, who had become crazy due to excessive emotion, and thought to himself that the rumors that Yongmu and Li Wan had an affair were true...

Princess Yuzhen obviously thought of this, the corners of her mouth twitched slightly, and she let out a long sigh, "Yongmu, I am in danger now, I can't save you."

At this moment, I suddenly heard a shrill and powerful shout from the entrance of the palace - "Your Majesty is here!"

Gao Lishi was standing there with his eyes closed. Hearing the shout, he suddenly opened his sharp eyes, and said an angry and suppressed name from his mouth—"Li Jingzhong!"

At this moment, Gao Lishi suddenly realized where the problem was.It must have been Li Jingzhong who informed Zhang Xuan secretly, which caused their attempt to force the palace to fail.

Gao Lishi did not expect that this subordinate who had always been loyal to him would betray him!The person least likely to betray betrayed, this only shows that Gao Lishi didn't really understand Li Jingzhong.

Li Jingzhong may not be ungrateful for profit, but he has ambitions.He has been unwilling to live under Gao Lishi, and was firmly suppressed by Gao Lishi.Now that he has a chance to stand up, how can he let it go?
Of course, this is only one factor.Another factor is that Zhang Xuan did a lot of tangible or intangible "kung fu" on Li Jingzhong in advance. At the critical moment, this kind of "burning more incense every day" showed an irreplaceable role.

Zhang Xuan also made "hard work" on Gao Lishi, but it turned out that Gao Lishi was indeed a loyal dog of the old emperor, and no amount of price was enough to make him betray Li Longji.

This is not Zhang Xuan's fault, nor is it Gao Lishi's fault.

"Li Jingzhong, this dog slave who deserves to be killed a thousand times!" Gao Lishi figured this out, his heart became angry, and the corners of his mouth were clenched tightly, bleeding from the bite.

……

……

Li Longji lay on the open chariot, covered with a gorgeous brocade quilt, and was carried in.

Beside the chariot, Zhang Xuan followed suit.On the other side was Li Jingzhong with an expressionless face.Although Gao Lishi's angry eyes that wanted to eat people projected towards him, Li Jingzhong remained indifferent.

Everyone's eyes were focused on Li Longji in an instant. Although Li Longji looked haggard and ashamed, his eyes were open, obviously his mind was very clear.

Li Heng's heart skipped a beat, and he took the lead in bowing down, "I pay my respects to my father."

The crowd and a group of royal family also quickly bowed down in place, "I wait to pay my respects to Your Majesty, long live my emperor!"

Princess Yuzhen was the last one to kneel on the ground. She stood there and stared at the old emperor's expression. Seeing that the old emperor's face was calm and his eyes were normal, she bent her knees suspiciously.

The old emperor waved his hands slowly and laboriously, and these loud "Long live my emperor" stimulated his nerves and made him look refreshed.

Li Jingzhong's high-pitched voice sounded at the right time, "Your Majesty has an order, my lords please rise up!"

Li Heng quickly ordered his servants to vacate the center of the hall, just to accommodate Li Longji's soft couch.

When Li Longji's soft couch was finished, and the old emperor's complex eyes slowly fell on Gao Lishi and Li Lin, Zhang Xuan took a slight step forward, and just about to speak, he saw Gao Lishi rushing out like crazy. Surrounded by the Habayashi guards, he knelt down in front of the old emperor's soft couch with a plop, crying bitterly, "Everyone, this old slave is incompetent, and I am ashamed of your majesty's entrustment. This old slave deserves to die!"

"If you ruined His Majesty's important event, the old slave will not be able to atone for his sins with a hundred deaths! Please punish him!"

Gao Lishi kowtowed, his forehead was covered with blood.

Zhang Xuan stared at Gao Lishi quietly, feeling a little emotional in his heart.Although Gao Lishi was stupid and loyal, Zhang Xuan was really moved by this loyalty. If it was not a last resort, Zhang Xuan really wanted to give Gao Lishi a way out.

It's a pity that Gao Lishi, as the culprit, had to die.

There was a strange tenderness in Li Longji's eyes, but he slowly closed them.

Zhang Xuan stepped forward and bowed to salute, "May I ask if your Majesty has a secret decree to abolish the crown prince and pass on the throne to the successor King Ning?"

The corner of Li Longji's mouth twitched, and he suddenly opened his eyes to look at Zhang Xuan, but shook his head slowly and seriously.

The old emperor shook his head, and Prince Li Heng and Yang Guozhong breathed a sigh of relief.And whether it was Gao Lishi who was kneeling on the ground, or Li Lin, Princess Yongmu, Princess Yuzhen Li Chiying and others, they were extremely shocked and desperate.

Princess Yuzhen got up in disbelief and stared at Li Longji, then walked forward quickly and said in a trembling voice, "Brother Huang..."

Li Longji looked at Yuzhen with indifferent eyes, raised his head slowly and laboriously and waved it.Li Jingzhong smiled lightly and said softly, "Your Highness Yuzhen, Your Majesty asks His Highness to step down for now!"

……

……

"Everyone, Your Majesty is suffering from apoplexy. Although his mind is clear, he still has speech barriers. At this moment, Your Majesty needs to recuperate and rest, and it is not appropriate to disturb him, but the matter is of great importance. I have to go to Xingqing Palace in person and risk my life to see you. Your Majesty, please Your Majesty to come forward and make the decision."

Zhang Xuan glanced at the people with swaying eyes, then turned around and bowed to the old emperor, and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, the inner supervisor Gao Lishi conspired with the Sining King Li Lin, Princess Yongmu and others to control the palace gates and threaten the old emperor." The Crown Prince of the Jian Kingdom, plotting to commit crimes—all kinds of things, please punish him by His Majesty!"

The corners of Li Longji's mouth twitched, making a faint, vague sound.

Li Jingzhong leaned down, listened to his ears, stood up for a long time and said loudly, "Your Majesty has an order. Li Lin, Gao Lishi, and Princess Yongmu conspired against each other. They should be punished for their crimes! They should be punished themselves. Princess Yuzhen Li Chiying neglected to follow the thief, and he must bear the blame , to take away the title of princess and three thousand households, and return to Yuzhen Temple to contemplate behind closed doors!"

"Followers, let Prince Li Heng deal with it expediently."

There was a dead silence in the hall.Gao Lishi and Li Lin's faces were pale, and Princess Yongmu was also terrified and collapsed on the ground.Gao Lishi was better, staring blankly at the old emperor who nodded slowly, lost his mind in despair; but when Li Lin heard the words, she cried out hysterically, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, my nephew is wronged!"

"Help, Your Majesty!"

Li Longji closed his eyes tiredly.

At this time, Yang Guozhong suddenly got up and shouted violently, "General Zhang, Your Majesty has an order, so hurry up and take down the rebellion!"

Zhang Xuan's playful eyes swept over the menacing Yang Guozhong, he waved his hands calmly and said, "Come here, push out a group of traitors—"

Habayashi Wei, who was like a wolf like a tiger, rushed forward and took Gao Lishi, Li Lin, Yongmu and others out.

And Yuzhen sat there in a daze, his face gradually paled.

Although she saved her life, she was deprived of her title and food, and her power disappeared.I am afraid that from now on, Princess Yuzhen Li Chiying will completely withdraw from Datang's vision.

Princess Yuzhen suddenly felt very wronged.For her, this is almost tantamount to an unwarranted disaster.If it wasn't the emperor's intention, how could she get involved in such a thing?But at the end, the emperor turned his face and refused to recognize anyone.

Yu Zhenxin vaguely guessed that the emperor's performance must have something to do with Zhang Xuan.And she, Gao Lishi, Li Lin and others are nothing but victims abandoned by the emperor.

(End of this chapter)