People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 1540: Kill the Mother and Save the Son

The night was dark and the sound of night watchmen could be heard faintly from the street.

In the Prince of Dai's Palace, Pei was lying on the bed. She unconsciously lifted the quilt and felt a little stuffy.

As the moonlight shines in, the lotus flowers on the silk shirt become more vivid.

Suddenly, a slight sound was heard and Pei suddenly opened her eyes. The next moment, a figure jumped directly onto the bed and leaned gently against her back.

"It's me!" A familiar voice sounded, and Pei's hand, which had just been holding the dagger under the pillow, suddenly relaxed.

Pei tilted her head slightly. It was indeed a familiar figure with a familiar body temperature. She whispered, "Why are you here?"

"I'm leaving tomorrow, so I came to see you. At the same time, I have something to tell you." Li Xuan stretched out his hand and gently held Pei in his arms.

"Yeah!" Pei responded softly, leaning against Li Xuan, and subconsciously asked, "What's the matter?"

"Big event." Li Xuan sighed and said, "Something big is going to happen in the court."

"Ah?" Pei tilted her head and looked at Li Xuan, with a confused look on her face.

"Wang Fulai is dead, you know that." Li Xuan put his head on Pei's cheek and whispered in her ear: "Before Wang Fulai died, he asked someone to spread the word that the death of the late emperor was in doubt."

"Ah?" Pei looked at Li Xuan in disbelief.

Li Xuan nodded gently and said, "A few days ago, the secret guards were searching everywhere, and Wang Fulai left a message, saying that the late emperor left a will before his death, and asked the secret guards to take him out of the palace."

"Queen of Heaven?" Pei's face was filled with horror.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Li Xuan sighed helplessly and said, "If it's the Queen Mother, then His Majesty, who normally inherits the throne of the late emperor, once he gets the late emperor's will, he will have an excuse to make the Queen Mother withdraw from the court completely. The rest is to contact the Prime Minister, but the Queen Mother will not be given this opportunity by His Majesty. She will depose him first."

Pei fell silent, letting Li Xuan hug her tightly. He whispered in her ear, "Once your majesty is deposed, the Prince of Xiang will take the throne. Similarly, the Prince of Xiang may also avenge the late emperor and your majesty. So, when the Prince of Xiang takes the throne in place of your majesty, the Queen will choose the next person to replace the Prince of Xiang. Who do you think it will be?"

Pei raised her head, a trace of confusion flashed in her eyes: "Shouldn't it be the Prince of Yongping?"

Li Xuan shook his head gently: "If your majesty is deposed, the crown prince will also be deposed, and the prince of Xiang will ascend the throne, then the crown prince will naturally be the prince of Yongping. But the queen must be on guard against the prince of Xiang, so although the prince of Yongping will be made the crown prince, when the prince of Xiang is deposed in the future, the prince of Yongping will not replace him."

"The deposed crown prince... no, it's Ren'er." Pei suddenly came to her senses and understood why Li Xuan came tonight.

Li Xian was deposed and Li Dan took over the throne.

After Li Dan was deposed, theoretically Li Xian and Li Hong should have taken over.

But Li Xian had been deposed and Li Hong was dead, so it was impossible for either of them to ascend the throne.

But the filial emperor Li Hong had an heir, Prince of Linzi Li Guangren.

He was not only Li Hong's adopted son, but also Li Xian's second son. The most important thing was that he was still very young.

"That's right. Once the Prince of Xiang ascends the throne, the Queen will begin preparing to use the Prince of Linzi as a replacement."

Li Xuan sighed and whispered, "Once this starts, in order to ensure that the Prince of Linzi is under control, anyone else who has an influence on the Prince of Linzi will be eliminated."

"That's me." Pei murmured.

She knew that Li Xuan was not exaggerating at all and that this was absolutely the truth.

Based on her understanding of Empress Wu, she would never let go of any threat.

“If you were a woman from an ordinary family and had no ability, then it would not be a bad idea to make you the empress dowager and the Queen Mother the grand empress dowager. But you were born in the Pei family of Wenxi, so how could the Queen Mother let you go?” Li Xuan couldn’t help but sigh.

"Not only me, but also the deposed crown prince. The Queen Mother will not let him go either." Pei nodded gently. She had already seen a series of bloody storms.

Li Xuan held her gently, and he could feel her body trembling slightly.

Suddenly, Pei looked up at Li Xuan and asked in disbelief, "Then where is my uncle?"

"Prime Minister Pei must either lean on the Queen Mother or be killed. What do you think?" Li Xuan looked at Mrs. Pei. Mrs. Pei was a member of the Pei family and knew Pei Yan better than Li Xuan did.

"My uncle has a straight-forward character. He won't tolerate the Queen Mother's attempt to do what Empress Lu did." Pei's eyes were heavy with sorrow. She had already foreseen Pei Yan's death.

"So, if someone wants to take you away in the future, just obey and leave." Li Xuan held Pei's hand, and she finally stopped shaking.

"Then what about Ren'er?" Pei raised her head and looked at Li Xuan with pleading eyes.

"If you want to take him away, my people will take him away with them. After that, they will take you to Nanyang, and then return to Chang'an from Nanyang." Li Xuan looked at Pei calmly, and Pei was stunned for a moment.

Li Xuan hugged her and said with certainty: "The Queen dare not return to Chang'an. If she deposes and enthrones the emperor, countless people will die. Most of these people are nobles from Guanzhong, and their families are in Chang'an. By then, countless people will have deep hatred against the Queen. If she returns to Chang'an, she will either cause more bloodshed or be killed herself. That's why she dare not return to Chang'an."

Pei shivered slightly again. Suddenly, she raised her head and looked at Li Xuan: "What about you?"

"If it's just that His Majesty is deposed and the Queen is willing to continue to use me and my family is at peace, I will endure it, but if she doesn't tolerate me, I will naturally not sit idly by and wait for death. I will definitely fight back." Li Xuan looked at Pei and asked softly, "Do you think the Queen can tolerate me?"

Pei fell silent. Who would tolerate a general who commanded a large number of troops and had strong offensive power?

"If she doesn't tolerate me, I will fight back and overturn everything. No, I will put everything back on track." Li Xuan looked solemn.

"What about Ren'er?" Pei suddenly grabbed Li Xuan's collar tightly.

Li Xuan hugged her, patted her back, and said softly: "Let's survive first, survive first, and then we'll see how the situation develops. If there's a chance..."

Looking at Li Xuan's sincere eyes, Pei bit her lip and said softly, "Survive first."

Li Xuan nodded.

Pei huddled in Li Xuan's arms and whispered, "Hold me tight!" "Yes!"

……

……

The sky is about to brighten, in the Yulong Garden.

Liu Jinyu personally helped Li Xuan put on the golden armor, stood in front of him, and looked at him with concern.

Li Xuan shook his head slightly, patted the back of her hand, and whispered, "Don't worry, I have already made all the necessary preparations. After I leave, you just need to keep a low profile at home. Di Huaiying is now the Sima of Luozhou, and Liu Zirou, the Chief Clerk of Luozhou, is my colleague in the Honglu Temple. I have already asked him to give me a message."

"Yeah!" Liu Jinyu breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Xuan had already handed over all the arrangements for the entire Luoyang to her.

The chief constable of Luoyang County, the magistrate of Henan County Lu Xiu, the county magistrate of Henan County Song Jing, and the people under Li Bi's control, as well as the industries in Luoyang and even the industries in Jiangnan have all been handed over to her.

"Let's go." Li Xuan raised his head, looked forward, and walked out of the room.

In the courtyard, Xia'er, Zhao'er and Ming'er were all looking at their father with curiosity and excitement.

Li Xuan walked over, hugged Xia'er in her arms, and then strode out.

In the front yard, five or six carriages were already parked there.

Pei Shitong and Chang'er were standing beside a carriage.

Li Xuan will bring them both with him on this trip back to Chang'an. Li Xuan is worried about Ouyang staying alone in Chang'an.

It would be enough for Liu Jinyu to stay in Luoyang with Xia'er, Zhao'er and Ming'er. Even the emperor could not stop Li Xuan from returning to Chang'an to fulfill his filial piety.

"Let's go." Li Xuan jumped on the horse. Liu Jinyu took Xia'er, Zhao'er and Ming'er and sat in one car, while Pei Shitong and Chang'er sat in another car.

The group had just left Yulong Garden when Liu Rengui's carriage came out of the Lecheng County Mansion nearby.

That’s right, Liu Rengui also has to return to Chang’an.

On the first day of February, the emperor took off his mourning clothes.

All local governors who have already paid homage to the emperor must return to their respective places.

Crown Prince Li Chongzhao also had to return to Chang'an to supervise the country.

After all, Luoyang was a secondary capital, and only Chang'an was the imperial capital of the Tang Dynasty.

Liu Rengui returned to Chang'an as the Shangshu Zuo Pushe to assist the prince in an audience. Liu Yuanshen, the Shaoqing of the Zongzheng Temple in his family, would stay and cry and offer sacrifices to the emperor on Liu Rengui's behalf every day.

Liu Jinyu stayed behind to replace Li Xuan.

……

Outside Duanmen, a number of three-masted ships were parked on the Luo River.

The prince left the palace and returned to Chang'an. The emperor personally saw him off, and even Empress Wu saw him off.

The ministers bid farewell to the Emperor and Empress Wu, and the ship then sailed towards Chang'an with the southeast wind.

Liu Jinyu stood on the north bank of Luo River, watching Li Xuan leaving with a complicated expression.

At this moment, a voice sounded behind Liu Jinyu: "Sanniang."

Liu Jinyu quickly restrained his expression, turned around and said, "Uncle."

Ouyang Tong and Zhao Gong were already standing behind him.

Ouyang Tong nodded calmly and said, "It's not necessarily a bad thing that Dalang has left the capital. You don't have to worry. Just stay at home. If there is anything, you can send someone directly to my house or to the Zuo Jinwu Guard."

Ouyang Tong looked at Zhao Gong, who smiled, nodded and said, "With the two of us in Luoyang, no one dares to threaten you."

"Thank you, both uncles." Liu Jinyu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Turning around, Liu Jinyu saw the Luoyang County Chief Constable, Henan County Magistrate, Henan County Magistrate, Luozhou Sima, and Luozhou Chief Clerk opposite him.

Standing solemnly beside him was General Li Jingjia of the Left Thousand Bull Guard.

Plus Zhao Gong, the General of the Left Jinwu Guard.

There were also the Imperial Censor Su Liangsi, who accompanied the emperor back to the palace, and the Minister of Justice Duan Baoxuan, both of whom had close relations with Li Xuan.

Not to mention, among the Youwei in the eastern suburbs of Luoyang, there are countless confidants of Li Xuan.

Liu Jinyu finally understood that if Li Xuan really wanted to do something, even without the hundreds of thousands of troops from Fanzhou and Changzhou, he would be able to stir up a storm in Luoyang.

Liu Jinyu looked up in the direction of Chang'an. She knew that Li Xuan's power in Chang'an would only become stronger.

For some things, what he lacks is just a name.

And soon, someone will deliver this thing to Li Xuan.

(End of this chapter)