Jiuxi

Chapter 848 846 [Solving the Problem]

Shangshu Mansion, the study room in the inner house.

As the night deepened, Li Shizhi finally received secret information from Jiangbei.

Chen Zhaochang was a hidden man he had placed next to Ding Hui seven years ago, and had long since gained Ding Hui's trust and respect. The swordsman Meng Tao was one of Li Shizhi's loyal followers, and his martial arts skills were quite superb.

According to Cui Yu's judgment, Meng Tao has the strength to be at least on the lower level of the Jianghu Martial Arts List.

Li Shizhi had taken into consideration that Jiangbei was Lu Chen's territory, and he also knew that Lu Chen had the powerful Seven Stars Gang under his command, so he did not make a big move to attract attention. He only let Meng Tao quietly go north with a few followers, and then cooperated with Chen Zhaochang from inside and outside to kill Ding Hui by surprise.

After all, there is no such thing as guarding against thieves for a thousand days.

However, the reply he received was that Meng Tao and Chen Zhaochang had disappeared, while Ding Hui was under the close protection of his entourage, bodyguards, imperial guards, and a troop from the Dingzhou Military Governor's Office, and the specific situation could not be found out.

"how?"

Cui Yu looked at Li Shizhi who was lost in thought, and there was finally a hint of concern in his tone.

Li Shizhi forced a smile and said slowly, "Judging from the current information, Ding Hui has been rescued, Meng Tao and Chen Zhaochang are not dead but are under control, and Ding Hui has seen Meng Tao before and knows that he is in my hands. Since Ding Hui is not dead, the so-called coma is probably a deliberate attempt to confuse people. Maybe he is gritting his teeth and wants to inform on me now."

Cui Yu frowned and said, "Then why didn't he just have someone explain the whole story to the emperor?"

"It may be because Ding Hui still has concerns. After all, there is no way for the Ningtan Ding family to hide. Or maybe he wants to secretly return to the capital and confront me in front of the emperor."

Li Shizhi raised his hand and pinched his brows, and said in a deep voice: "There is another possibility. Lu Chen used Ding Hui as bait to lure me into death. I just thought about it carefully. Meng Tao and Chen Zhaochang have no obvious relationship with me. These two people can't bite me."

Cui Yu reminded him, "But don't forget that Ding Hui has been following you for so many years and recognizes Meng Tao's face. In his grief and anger, he may reveal all your secrets."

Li Shizhi took a sip of tea and said, "Except for you, I will not tell all the secrets to anyone. Among the secrets that Ding Hui holds, the most important one is the rebellion in the capital. I fanned the flames and planted many officials afterwards. In addition, he knows that Pei Fangyuan and Qi Weili are both my people, and these two have been dismissed by His Majesty. Generally speaking, if he turns against me, it will indeed cause me a lot of trouble, but it will not kill me and my clan."

"Perhaps Ding Hui also has a hidden trump card."

Cui Yu knew that this cousin was trying to comfort him, so he said sternly: "It will be difficult for you to kill Ding Hui now, unless you let me go to Jiangbei."

"Killing someone to silence them at this time is the worst option. The other party might be expecting me to do this."

Li Shizhi shook his head, his eyes gradually showing a hint of determination: "I told you before that I started planning many years ago, and then took advantage of Lu Chen's visit to Beijing to gradually implement it, but the effect was not very good, because Lu Chen is indeed a young but difficult opponent. He did not completely break up with Your Majesty, on the contrary, he wanted to use Ding Hui to turn the tables on me, so even if the time is not yet ripe, I can't wait any longer."

He looked more like he was trying to convince himself.

Cui Yu sighed silently in his heart and nodded, "You decide."

Li Shizhi looked at the candlelight on the table and took a deep breath.

Two days after he made up his mind, at noon, Li Zongben was preparing to return to the harem to rest for a while when Yuan Yuji, the Junior Supervisor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, hurried over.

Although the capital appears calm on the surface these two days, there are actually undercurrents.

Yin Bo, the left vice-minister of the Ministry of Justice, led a large team to the distant Dingzhou to thoroughly investigate the case of the attack on the governor Ding Hui. Naturally, there was a lot of discussion about this among the people.

The powerful families were keeping silent about this, as it was obviously a bottomless pit. Regardless of whether the mastermind behind this case was Duke Qin Lu Chen or not, it would eventually cause a shock in the court, and no one wanted to be implicated. Therefore, not only did those high-ranking dignitaries keep silent, but their sons and nephews were also placed under house arrest.

The playboys who usually roamed around in the pleasure quarters were all trapped at home and naturally complained bitterly.

Li Zongben now has two groups of people, the Weaving Bureau and the Palace Secret Guards, so he naturally knows about these situations. However, the Qin Mansion, which he is most concerned about, has been unusually quiet in the past two days, and Lu Chen has not even left the house.

Seeing Yuan Yuji's hurried appearance, Li Zongben signaled his attendants to withdraw, and then asked, "Is there a problem in the Lu Mansion?"

"Your Majesty, no."

Yuan Yuji looked solemn and whispered, "Your Majesty, we have found out the origins of the two murderers in the imperial mausoleum assassination case!"

"What did you say?"

Li Zongben frowned.

That was two and a half years ago. In order to frame Li Zongjian and force Qin Zheng to resign, he asked the eunuch Wen Changbao to assassinate him at the late emperor's funeral. However, he did not expect that two assassins hiding among the craftsmen would attack at the same time.

Afterwards, this major case was handed over to Lu Chen for investigation, and then Mrs. Xu made a scene, and Li Zongben had no choice but to keep quiet.

Of course he wanted to find out the origins of the two assassins, but the problem was that Wen Changbao was the man he arranged, and he did not have control over the Weaving Bureau at that time. If the Weaving Bureau was to be implicated, it would obviously be something he could not accept.

He waited until the palace secret guards formed by Yuan Yuji were formed before he let Yuan Yuji investigate the matter secretly.

"Your Majesty, I have found that the two craftsmen have some connection with the remnants of the Changle Ning family."

"The remnants of the Changle Ning clan?"

Li Zongben's tone was gloomy. This answer was not surprising. After all, the Ning family was confiscated for rebellion and treason, and such aristocratic family had countless side branches, so it was normal for some people to slip through the net.

Yuan Yuji's expression became more complicated. He said carefully, "Your Majesty, this morning I received a secret report that a hidden clue I had previously obtained had made progress. The person admitted that he had heard someone talk about the mastermind behind the craftsman assassin shortly after the assassination of the emperor."

Li Zongben asked coldly, "Who?" Yuan Yuji replied, "The former Minister of Justice Gao Huan, and his brother Gao Que, the head of the Longlin Gao family."

It was as if a thunderclap exploded in Li Zongben's mind, and all the doubts he had previously had instantly became a line.

Lu Chen was in charge of investigating that major case. In front of all the important ministers, he accused Li Zongjian of being the mastermind behind the incident. Empress Dowager Xu actually received the news and rushed over to make a big fuss. In the end, the case was hastily concluded.

During the entire process, Gao Huan, the Minister of Justice who was assisting in the investigation, did not give Li Zongben any reminders.

Could it be that the two assassins were instigated by the remnants of the Changle Ning family, and the Longlin Gao family was also involved, and after Lu Chen discovered this, he secretly recruited Gao Huan under his command?

Li Zongben's mind raced and his face turned increasingly pale.

Yuan Yuji asked fearfully, "Your Majesty?"

Li Zongben stood up and said slowly: "Have you verified the news?"

Yuan Yuji nodded quickly and said, "The undercover agent is a manager of Longlin Gao's property in the capital. He said that he heard the Gao brothers discussing this matter with his own ears, and there were many treasonous words. Before, His Majesty dismissed Gao Huan and asked me to secretly send someone to keep an eye on Longlin Gao, and I secretly controlled this person."

Li Zongben paced with his hands behind his back, a fierce look suddenly flashing in his eyes, and said coldly: "Immediately lead 200 secret guards and 300 imperial guards to Longlin City in Hezhou with the imperial edict, and capture the Gao brothers and bring them to the capital!"

Yuan Yuji said: "I will do it right away!"

"and many more."

Li Zongben stopped him and said word by word, "Go to the Secretariat and ask the two prime ministers to draft an imperial decree. And make it public so that all the important officials in the court know that Gao Huan is suspected of planning a major assassination at the imperial tomb. It is in accordance with the court law for you to arrest him."

Yuan Yuji was startled. Looking at the emperor's increasingly dark and cold eyes, she suddenly realized something and bowed, saying, "I obey your order!"

Li Zongben stood with his hands behind his back, muttering to himself, "Lu Chen, if you are really the backer behind Gao Huan, you must hand over enough chips this time, otherwise you will not be able to explain to the whole world."

……

With the help of some people, in less than half a day, the news that Gao Huan, the former Minister of Justice, was suspected of planning a major assassination case in the imperial tomb and Yuan Yuji led the imperial guards to capture Gao Huan spread throughout all the major mansions in the capital.

In the flower hall of the inner courtyard of Duke Qin's Mansion.

Lu Tong looked at his calm son and asked curiously, "Is this why you spared Ning Bugui's life and asked him to go and cause trouble for those Jiangnan clans some time ago?"

Lu Chen said frankly: "Not entirely, because at that time I didn't know how many people wanted to deal with me, so I used Ning Bugui's identity to test the waters. Now it seems that these aristocratic families are really in the same boat. Even if Ning Bugui has something on them, they still stand firmly on Li Shizhi's side."

"Since Gao Huan has a clean record and was not involved in the so-called assassination, you don't have to worry too much. Moreover, this old bureaucrat knows the pros and cons very well. As long as he keeps his mouth shut, he can still survive. If he wants to slander you and beg for the emperor's forgiveness, he will eventually die."

Lu Tong analyzed calmly, and then said with concern: "But keeping Ning Bugui is a hidden danger after all. What if he falls into the hands of the emperor and reveals that you secretly spared his life... After all, he really did have someone assassinate the emperor."

"Father, don't worry."

Lu Chen said calmly: "Ning Bugui is in a very safe place now."

Lu Tong looked into his eyes, and suddenly something occurred to him. He asked, "You hid him in the camp of three thousand cavalrymen outside the city?"

Lu Chen smiled and said, "Father is wise, and Qu Zhong is accompanying him. I have warned Ye Jitang in advance that there will be no mistakes."

Lu Tong was relieved, and then he said thoughtfully: "Now it seems that your biggest enemy is not the emperor, but the Minister Li who is hiding behind the scenes."

"My uncle Wang told me about the methods and schemes of the aristocratic families. I realized that the enemy's thinking was very complicated. It was not a simple dispute between the central government and the border troops. After my senior sister and Chu Long helped me rescue Ding Hui and I read Chu Long's secret letter, I became more and more certain of this."

Lu Chen stretched his arms slightly and sighed: "I have an inappropriate sigh. These people really like to do things in snail shells."

Lu Tong asked: "What do you mean?"

"I deliberately created confusion by saying that Ding Hui is still alive. If Ding Hui was only sent by the emperor and Li Shizhi to Dingzhou to spy on me, then Li Shizhi could have obtained the emperor's consent in advance before he had someone kill him. Even if he fails, he doesn't have to worry because the emperor will help him cover up the matter. Otherwise, it would be a conspiracy between the emperor and his subjects to frame a meritorious official of the country."

Lu Chen smiled coldly, and then said: "I know Li Shizhi is not stupid, and he will not make the stupid decision to continue killing people to silence them, but he is so impatient to play the Gao Huan and Ning Bugui card, which means that he did not discuss the killing of Ding Hui with the emperor in advance. This is his own decision, so he must speed up the process to divert the emperor's attention. Father, why do you think he did this?"

"He wants you to break up with the emperor..."

Lu Tong suddenly realized and said in a cold voice: "So all the conflicts between you and the emperor after returning to Beijing may have been pushed by Li Shizhi behind the scenes."

"This should be."

Lu Chen nodded and continued, "Whether Han Zhongjie will be reinstated, the mystery of the late emperor's illness and Gui Qiuliang's death, Chen Lanyu's suggestion that the emperor leave my family in the capital, and Ding Hui's assassination in Dingzhou, the fundamental purpose of these things is to cause me to break up with the emperor. If Li Shizhi gets all his wishes, I'm afraid the emperor and I will not be able to meet normally. At this time, if he throws out the Gao Huan and Ning Bugui cards, it will definitely cause a storm."

Lu Tong's expression was not good. After all, if Lu Chen had not been alert enough and had good luck, he might have been tricked by the other party. So he frowned and said, "This person has such a sinister intention. It seems that he really hates you to the bone and wants to kill you by the hand of the emperor."

"not necessarily……"

Lu Chen shook his head, a hint of sarcasm on his face.

"I roughly guessed what he wanted to do. Perhaps in the eyes of this arrogant Minister Li, I am just a chess piece that he can use."

(End of this chapter)