The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 426 The Aftermath
Jiangning City, Prince Qi's Mansion.

Under the corridor, Li Jingda walked in front of him with an ivy stick, his steps were slow and heavy, his back was hunched, and he would cover his mouth with a handkerchief and cough from time to time.

Li Congjia and Xu Xuan followed him.

"How did Xiao Liu come to see Fourth Uncle today?"

Li Jingda turned his head and glanced at Li Congjia, coughed twice, and smiled at Xu Xuan: "And Xu Shangshu, you are a busy man, why do you have time to come here?"

Li Congjia said hurriedly: "I met Uncle Wang last time in court because he was in poor health. My nephew has been thinking about him. I happened to have nothing to do today, so I went over to visit with Mr. Xu."

"Haha, Xiaoliu is interested. Don't worry, your fourth uncle and I are not as capable as you, but my body has been hardened since I was young. Cough cough~"

Li Jingda covered his mouth and coughed, his face turned red and the veins on his neck bulged. Li Congjia quickly patted his back gently.

Xu Xuan cupped his hands and said, "The young prince and Xu have something important to report to His Highness. Could you please arrange a quiet room for us to discuss it in detail?"

Seeing his serious expression, Li Jingda nodded and said, "Xu Shangshu, please!"

Li Jingda's voice was hoarse. He was probably coughing for a long time and his throat was hoarse.

In the study room of the inner house, after the servants served refreshments, Li Jingda waved them away.

"Xu Shangshu has something important to say now." Li Jingda moved the bowl and took a sip.

Xu Xuan and Li Congjia looked at each other and said, "May I ask, Your Highness, when did this cough onset?"

Li Jingda thought for a while and said with a wry smile: "It's only half a year.

As you know, I have practiced martial arts since I was a child and have always been strong. Even in the cold winter months, I only wear a single coat and I don't catch a cold.

Half a year ago when I was in the Jianwu Army, Jiedushi He Yanxi and I went hunting in Tianchang Mountain. After we came back, we couldn't afford to fall ill.

The imperial doctor's diagnosis concluded that I had drank too much and had a weak physical condition in recent years, and was infected by the cold evil in Tianchang Mountain, which led to a sudden illness.
Hmph~ These bastards are simply nonsense!

There is only one concubine and two concubines in my house. These are the legal concubines that a prince can have according to etiquette and law.

There are a bunch of censors in the court who have three wives and four concubines, and I don’t know how many concubines there are. Who have the right to speak against me."

The more Li Jingda talked, the more annoyed he became. He slapped the armrests of the chair and coughed repeatedly when he got excited.

Li Congjia blinked and whispered: "But my nephew heard that my father was very angry after receiving the report from the Imperial Medical Office. He sent eunuchs to Prince Qi's Mansion and dismissed 12 concubines."

"Ahem~" Li Jingda's face turned red, he covered his mouth and coughed until he was out of breath.

"Ahem~" Xu Xuan also coughed twice.

"Mr. Xu also suffers from a cough?" Li Congjia looked at him in surprise.

Xu Xuan was a little embarrassed and kept winking.

Li Congjia didn't seem to understand, his fat face wrinkled, and he said to Li Jingda seriously: "Fourth Uncle, what the imperial doctor said is true. Too many women can easily harm the body. I hope Fourth Uncle will exercise restraint."

Li Jingda rolled his eyes in anger. He was such an ignorant little boy who didn't know how to save some face for his old uncle.

"Ahem~" Xu Xuan sat upright and hurriedly changed the topic:

"What the imperial doctor said is one thing, but has your Highness ever thought that the sudden cough may not be due to illness, but may have other causes."

"What do you mean by this?" Li Jingda frowned, his face full of confusion.

Xu Xuan said solemnly: "I have some knowledge of medical science. According to my opinion, your Highness's complexion is not only due to a long-term illness that has weakened the qi and blood, but also looks like he has been poisoned."

"Poisoned?" Li Jingda raised his voice in disbelief.

Xu Xuan said in a deep voice: "Has Your Highness ever sent someone to check the food, clothing and daily life in the palace? Especially the food. If poison is accidentally introduced, it will be too late to regret it."

Li Jingda said: "The daily life of the palace is taken care of by an internal official. He is an old eunuch who has been with me for more than ten years. There will be no problem."

"Has Fourth Uncle ever examined the kitchen workers in the palace, such as those who are usually responsible for washing, screening, cooking, and several chefs?" Li Congjia asked.

Li Jingda looked at him in surprise. This fat nephew seemed to be very familiar with the division of labor in the kitchen.

But how could he, the dignified prince, have the time to investigate a group of kitchen workers in person?
"Never." Li Jingda couldn't laugh or cry and shook his head.

"The chefs in the palace are all women, and the princess sometimes likes to make some dried meat cakes herself."

Speaking of this, Li Jingda suddenly smacked his lips with emotion, as if he had a deep memory of the princess's occasional cooking, and his expression was very intriguing.

Xu Xuan solemnly said: "Your Highness must not be careless. Please immediately start a thorough investigation of all the servants, servants, guards and eunuchs in the palace. No one who serves in the palace can be missed."

"This" Li Jingda hesitated whether this was necessary.

He has always been kind to the people in the palace, and most of the servants, women, and slaves he serves are selected from the family members of his old army, and he does not believe that these people will do anything to harm him.

"To nip things in the bud, it would be better for Your Highness to conduct a thorough investigation." Xu Xuan insisted.

"Okay. I'll tell my confidants to take care of it."

Li Jingda seemed to realize something. Xiao Liuzi and Xu Shangshu came here specifically to remind him.

After talking about business, Li Jingda smiled and said: "Xiao Liu, Zhu Xiucong and the state gods escaped without knowing it. Is there anyone who can help them?"

A trace of panic flashed across Li Congjia's fat face, and he hurriedly denied: "My nephew has been wronged! Zhu Xiu deceived the emperor and dared to escape privately and commit the crime of treason. How dare my nephew violate the law of the country and join in the rebellion!"

Li Jingda smiled disapprovingly and said, "Don't be nervous. Even if you are involved in this matter, my fourth uncle will not say anything, let alone report you to the emperor."

Xu Xuan said: "What does Your Highness think of Zhu Xiu's family running away?"

Li Jingda took a sip of tea and didn't take it seriously: "I ran away, so what can I do? Zhu Xiu is indeed talented, but it's a pity that his heart is not in our Tang Dynasty.

It's useless to force them to stay. It's better to be a favor and let them go back to the north. Anyway, as far as my Tang country is concerned, there is no loss.

The one who suffered the most serious loss was Mrs. Zhou. His daughter was abducted by Zhu Xiu. This incident is quite funny and absurd.
But no one can tell whether it was Zhu Xiu who abducted him or whether the young lady left voluntarily.
When Zhu Xiu returns to Kaifeng, he will be favored by the Lord Zhou in the future. It would not be a loss for the old master to have a powerful son-in-law of the Zhou Dynasty, haha~
According to this, Zhu Xiu’s family was able to escape smoothly. It’s hard to say whether the old lady was helping behind the scenes.”

Xu Xuan and Li Congjia looked at each other in shock. In just a few words, Li Jingda told the inside story about Zhu Xiu's family's escape.

I don’t know if he said it casually or if he had already analyzed it.

This King of Qi, who is known for his uprightness and forthrightness, has a keen sense of the court situation.

After talking for a while, Xu Xuan and Li Congjia stood up to leave. Li Jingda did not keep them to eat and sent someone to take them out of the house.

After sitting quietly in the study for a while, Li Jingda found the eunuch in charge of the palace, an old eunuch in his 50s.

Li Jingda whispered some instructions to him, and the old eunuch asked a few questions in a low voice before leaving.

Five days later, the old eunuch secretly reported to Li Jingda with a booklet.

"Your Highness, among the chefs in the inner house, only Zheng has been acting strangely recently."

Li Jingda did not accept the book and said calmly: "Tell me." The old eunuch continued to report in a low voice: "Zheng is from Nanling County, Xuanzhou, and she and her husband He Wu are from the same hometown.

He Wu was originally a guard of the royal palace. Seven years ago he followed His Highness on an expedition to Fujian and died in Shaowu.

After that, Zheng entered the palace and worked in the kitchen of the inner house.

Three years ago, the princess thought her skills were good and promoted her to one of the chefs."

Listening to the old eunuch's report, Li Jingda gradually recalled.

Seven years ago, he led his army to attack Shaowu. He encountered strong resistance from the Fujian army and was almost surrounded by enemy troops who came to support him. He fought desperately to break through the danger.

And He Wu, an honest and dull man, his royal guard died in that battle.

"What's wrong with Mrs. Zheng?" Li Jingda's tone was cold. Could a servant who had been in the house for many years be the murderer of his illness?
The old eunuch whispered: "The old slave discovered that Mrs. Zheng takes three days off every month, almost always at the end of the month, and each time she goes to Caishiji."

"Huh?" Li Jingda noticed something was wrong and asked warily: "Why is she going to Caishiji?"

Caishiji is located in the southwest of Jiangning City. It takes exactly three days to come and go and stay overnight.

Caishiji is an important crossing on the Yangtze River. It has vast river banks, gentle terrain, wide river surface, and gentle water. It has always been an important battleground for Yangtze River defense, and the imperial court sent heavy troops to garrison it.

In peacetime, the sails of Caishiji Ferry cover the sky, there are countless merchants coming and going, and the waterway is very busy, so it forms a prosperous ferry town, which is much busier than Banqiao store downstream.

The old eunuch presented the booklet again and said in a low voice: "The old slave sent someone to follow and discovered that Zheng was having a tryst with a man in Caishiji. This man's name is Liao Chang, and he is a sergeant in charge of the East Palace Guards."

Li Jingda took the book and flipped through it quickly. The more he read, the more frightened and angry he became.

This Liao Chang turned out to be Zheng's maternal cousin. The two had a tryst for two or three years, and Zheng seemed to have secretly given birth to a child for Liao Chang.

"The old slave asked the lady in charge of the princess. In July last year, Ms. Zheng said that her father passed away in her hometown and she wanted to go back to bury him. The princess allowed her half a year to go back and make arrangements for the funeral.
Mrs. Zheng came back after the New Year. Since March, she has been going to Caishiji every month. Every time she comes back, she brings a bag with her, not knowing what is inside."

The old eunuch's tone was faint.

Li Jingda gritted his teeth in anger. The female kitchen worker in his house actually had an affair with a guard in the East Palace. If it was a coincidence, he would never believe it.

"Send someone to keep a close eye on Zheng. When she comes back from Caishiji next time, capture her on the spot and search her carefully to see what secrets she has hidden." Li Jingda shouted.

The old eunuch said: "Old slave, I obey. In a few days, it will be the end of the month. Zheng should make some moves in these two days, and I will keep an eye on her personally."

Li Jingda thought for a while and then said: "Find an excuse to ask Mrs. Zheng to leave the inner kitchen in the past few days, so as not to make her suspicious."

"Don't worry, Your Highness, I will take care of it now."

A few days later, at the end of July, Mrs. Zheng came back from Caishiji. When she stepped into the back door of the palace, she was pushed to the ground by several vicious servants. On the spot, a bag of ground powder was found from the baggage she brought back. The subdivided unknown items smelled a little pungent, like they were mixed with sulfur.

The old eunuch took it to the major medical clinics in Jiangning City for appraisal. The doctors said that this substance is highly poisonous, but as long as the dosage is small each time, it is not easy to detect when it is mixed into food, and there will be no abnormality in the human body.

It’s just that after a year and a half, the toxicity accumulates, and the poisoned person will definitely die!

Li Jingda was furious and ordered Zheng to be executed secretly. At the same time, he conducted a strict investigation on the people in the palace and did not miss any detail.

A group of slaves were also transferred from the princess's natal family to be responsible for the daily life and food of the inner house.

Before she died, Zheng was tortured and revealed all her conspiracy.

As expected, those poisons were given to her by her lover, Liao Chang, the sergeant of the East Palace Guards. The two of them had even secretly married, and the son born to Zheng was fostered in an imperial estate under the prince's name.

The prince promised them both huge profits and threatened his son, so Zheng naturally obeyed.

"Li Hongji! You are so cruel! I will not give up until you seek justice!"

After learning the truth, Li Jingda was furious and drew his sword to kill the criminal in the bedroom.

~~~
Shouzhou City, in a guesthouse on a side street.

Wang Lingwen pretended to be an old jujube seller and lived in a simple house at the end of the ground floor.

It had been three days since Zhu Xiu crossed the river and went north. It seemed that he had already entered the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty. There was no big problem in terms of safety. He could leave calmly and return to Kaifeng to resume his life.

However, this morning, Wang Lingwen received a secret report that Du Yi, the envoy of Shouzhou, was suspected of leaking confidential military information.

Li Hongji led the Chuzhou soldiers to pursue Zhu Xiu's family members, which made him suspicious. According to the plan, they could have come to Shouzhou quietly to reunite.

How could he be chased and intercepted all the way?
As a result, the Fifth Capital and Wude Division lost their troops and generals.

If Du Yi really leaked the secret, it would make sense, but Du Yi should be killed by a thousand cuts.

Wang ordered Wen to secretly capture Du Yi and torture him until he confessed.

With a creak, several peasants carrying baskets pushed open the door and entered.

Several baskets were filled with jujubes. One of them overthrew one of the baskets, and the full jujubes rolled to the ground. A bloody man poured out from the basket, and it was Du Yi.

No part of Du Yi's body was intact. Small but not fatal wounds were all over his body, dripping with blood.

"Commissioner, please forgive me!" Du Yi lay on the ground and stretched out his hand towards Wang Lingwen with difficulty, his voice hoarse.

Wang Lingwen picked up a date from the ground, wiped it and put it in his mouth, then bit it into pieces. The date was very crisp and delicious.

Wang Lingwen had no expression on his face as he listened to his subordinates' report on the interrogation.

"Hehe~ Wang Jun's hand has stretched a bit, and even Wude Si wants to take care of it."

Wang Lingwen sneered, "Tell me, who is the person Wang Jun sent to contact you?"

Du Yi, whose face was stained with blood, said feebly: "My subordinates, my subordinates only know that his surname is Tao. He seemed to have served under Lord Zhu Hou before."

Wang Lingwen thought for a while, nodded, stood up and walked out: "Don't make it too dirty. Let's get out of the city as soon as possible."

Du Yi's swollen eyelids showed fear: "Please spare my life!"

Soon, a muffled groan came from the house. Several people cleaned up, picked up baskets filled with dates, and followed Wang Lingwen out of the city.

At the same time, on the main street of Shouzhou City, a shop called Changxing Goods Store was decorated with lights and colorful decorations. The proprietor was a young man named Zha Hui. He was wearing a brand-new silk robe and was visiting the neighbors door to door with a smile on his face. , gave him a small gift, and the shopkeepers of the shops on the same street said that he was smart, sensible and a natural businessman.

"Proprietor, I've made inquiries. There is indeed a Zheng Chong in the Qinghuai Army, but he's just a small squad leader. I heard that he was recruited into the army only last month."

During the break between firecrackers, the waiter at the goods store found Zha Hui, leaned into his ear and loudly reported.

Zha Hui smiled and said: "You keep an eye on this person for me. When he is promoted to the capital, we will go and visit him."

The waiter felt very strange. The proprietor wanted to get close to the official. There were many candidates, so why did he have to keep an eye on Zheng Chong?

The waiter was also from the Banqiao store and wanted to curry favor with the proprietor. Fortunately, the newly opened Changxing Store had a firm foothold and did not dare to question the proprietor's orders. He patted his chest and said loudly: "Okay!~"

(End of this chapter)