Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 134: It’s Really Hard to Be the Emperor’s Son (Part )

The winter wind is cold and the red lights on the long street are swaying.
Chai Lingwu rode his horse along the long street, looking melancholy.

In a few days, after the New Year, the curfew in Chang'an City will be lifted.

Unlike now, there are few people on the streets.

"The news from the palace is that the Prince of Wei was frightened and is recuperating in the palace. The princess wanted to visit him, but was stopped." Chai Lingwu sighed and said, "It's probably because the princess doesn't know what Ziyun Pavilion is. Otherwise, she would be terrified if she knew."

"Since the Prince of Wei has already entered the Purple Cloud Pavilion, he must have made a mistake. So the question now is, what exactly did he do wrong?" Su Xu turned to look at Chai Lingwu and asked seriously, "Prince Consort, what exactly is going on with the Prince of Wei?"

"Uncle, do you think Erlang knows?" Chai Lingwu smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying, "That day, Erlang arrived at the Prince of Wei's mansion even later than you did. When he arrived, the Prince of Wei had already entered the palace.

Perhaps the Prince of Wei said something wrong in front of the Emperor, angering him, which is why he was confined to the Purple Cloud Pavilion."

Su Xu didn't say anything and nodded slightly.

"The most important thing now is to rescue the King of Wei from the palace." Chai Lingwu looked forward and said, "It's almost the end of the year, and the compilation of the 'Book of the Later Han' is complete. It needs to be presented to His Majesty in person before it can be considered complete."

"But now, His Highness is under house arrest in Ziyun Pavilion. I don't know what's going on. How can we rescue King Wei from the palace?" Su Xu turned his head to look at Chai Lingwu.

"Find someone." Chai Lingwu looked at Su Xu and said seriously, "Can you ask my aunt to come forward and plead with His Majesty?"

Su Xu is an old minister of the Prince of Qin's Palace and the husband of Princess Nanchang. It might be more appropriate for Princess Nanchang to handle such matters.

"Do you think it would be helpful if Princess Baling came forward?" Su Xu asked softly.

It is true that Su Xu is the son-in-law of Princess Nanchang, but Chai Lingwu is also the son-in-law of Princess Baling, and Princess Baling is the emperor's daughter. It is more appropriate for Princess Baling to come forward.

"Although the princess is His Majesty's daughter, to be honest, she only sees His Majesty a few times a year." Chai Lingwu shook his head and said, "If this doesn't work, then let's see if we can ask Minister Liu for help."

The Imperial Court Minister Liu Li. The last time Li Tai got into trouble, it was Liu Li, Su Xu, and Yan Liben who pleaded for him.

No matter what happens this time, it can't be more serious than the last time, so it is actually most appropriate to ask Liu Li to come forward.

"That'll have to wait until after court is adjourned tomorrow." Su Xu shook his head and said, "Tomorrow is the last court session of the year. Liu Li and the others are currently busy with the affairs of Guangzhou Governor Dang Renhong and don't have the energy to consider other things right now."

"Okay, let's talk about it tomorrow." Chai Lingwu breathed a sigh of relief and said helplessly, "This incident happened suddenly. No one knows what happened."

"Actually, there is a way." Su Xu suddenly spoke up, looking at Chai Lingwu and said, "There is someone who not only knows what is going on, but if he speaks up, the King of Wei will most likely be released."

"Uncle, are you talking about the prince?" Chai Lingwu looked at Su Xu in surprise. He didn't know why Su Xu thought of the prince.

"It's very difficult to find out what's going on in the palace regarding the King of Wei's affairs right now, which means the King of Wei must have made a serious mistake." Su Xu said cautiously, "The Crown Prince is currently in charge of the investigation. Regardless of whether it succeeds or not, it would be most appropriate to ask him about the King of Wei's affairs."

"But will the prince help?" Chai Lingwu looked at Su Xu uncertainly.

"The Prince of Wei is, after all, the Crown Prince's biological brother." After a brief pause, Su Xu said, "Tomorrow I will go to the Eastern Palace to meet the Crown Princess. Then, together with the Crown Princess, we will go to the Crown Prince. That way, the Crown Prince will be able to leave behind three truthful words. With these, we can go and find Liu Li."

"Just do as uncle says." Chai Lingwu looked at the sky, then bowed to Su Xu and said, "Uncle, Erlang will go home first. If there is anything, we will discuss it after court is dismissed tomorrow."

"Okay!" Su Xu watched Chai Lingwu ride away on horseback. After a moment, he couldn't help but snort coldly.

The King of Wei made a mistake and was put under house arrest.

The emperor might be able to fool the princess about such things, but in the entire Chang'an, the prime ministers such as Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng, and Gao Shilian all knew about it. Even Chai Lingwu knew a lot.

Yes, Chai Lingwu knew more than Su Xu.

For example, last year, when King Wei asked Fang Yiai to kill someone, Su Xu knew nothing about it. It was only when King Wei was whipped that Su Xu learned some of the truth.

Later, Fang Yiai finally left, and then Chai Lingwu came.

These people, for the position of crown prince, did secret things like crazy, even to the point of being disgusting.

Although Su Xu was also helping Li Tai fight for the position of crown prince, he usually did it openly, such as in the case of Cen Changqian.

There are very few people who act like Fang Yiai and Chai Lingwu.

The point is, for these kinds of private matters, just do it, but you'd better finish it!
Of course, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui also did a lot of such things in the Prince of Qin's Mansion, but most of them were accomplished in the end.

Unlike Fang Yiai and Chai Lingwu, who made mistakes in everything they did.

Su Xu pulled the reins slightly and headed towards the Princess Nanchang's Mansion not far away.

"Guo Di Zhi" will be completed in two months. No matter what, let's finish "Guo Di Zhi" first.

……

Chai Lingwu rushed into Anxingfang on horseback, and the gate slammed shut behind him.

Chai Lingwu breathed a sigh of relief, then slowly walked towards Princess Baling's mansion.

Sitting on the horse, Chai Lingwu recalled his previous conversation with Su Xu. He could hear that Su Xu seemed to have noticed something and was not very enthusiastic about rescuing the King of Wei.

King of Wei.

Thinking of Li Tai, Chai Lingwu frowned deeply.

He was a little confused as to what Li Tai had done to make the emperor so angry that he imprisoned him in Ziyun Pavilion.

If the assassination goes as expected, it should be done by Qi Zhixuan.

There were many things that Su Xu didn't know, but Chai Lingwu knew them all.

That day, they failed to impeach Li Dejian in the court. They revealed too much and immediately faced a counterattack from the prince.

Not only was the Xueyantuo envoy Shange targeted by the Dali Temple, but even the Supervisory Censor Wang An was targeted by the Qianniu Guards. Fortunately, Chai Lingwu had no connection with either of them, so there was no need to worry. However, for some reason, Qi Zhixuan went to find Wang An again, and suddenly the Qianniu Guards targeted him.

When Chai Lingwu got the news, Qi Zhixuan had already escaped from the Qianniu Guards.

He had already started preparing and making some arrangements to send Qi Zhixuan out of Chang'an City. After all, Qi Zhixuan knew too much.

But he never expected that the assassination of King Wei would happen immediately afterwards, and then King Wei would enter the palace. Even Chai Lingwu reacted quickly.

Assassination, damn assassination.

How could there be such an assassin who could come in and leave quietly?

Chai Lingwu knew at a glance that Qi Zhixuan couldn't find a way to leave Chang'an, so he went to find King Wei.

The King of Wei deliberately created a big commotion, even alarming the emperor, and then entered the palace. In the end, he didn't know what he said wrong and angered the emperor.

Qi Zhixuan.

Chai Lingwu knew in his heart that the problem must be with Qi Zhixuan.

This so-called "assassination" case has already revealed a flaw, and the sharp hunting dogs of the Hundred Cavalry Division have already smelled something.

There is no need to worry about the details here. Qi Zhixuan has already escaped from Chang'an City, so there is no point thinking about the rest of the things. The key now is to rescue King Wei.

Liu Li, Su Xu, Yan Liben, Yan Lide, these people...

Chai Lingwu looked thoughtful. If these people couldn't rescue the King of Wei even after asking the emperor for help, then who should they turn to?

Prince?

Chai Lingwu sneered lightly. He was not as confident as Su Xu. It was good enough that the prince did not take advantage of his misfortune at this time.

Who to call?

Before he knew it, Chai Lingwu had returned to Princess Baling's residence. However, as soon as he entered, the housekeeper came up to greet him and handed him a letter, saying, "My dear, a letter just arrived."

"Hmm?" Chai Lingwu nodded in surprise. He took the envelope and took a look at it. His expression suddenly changed. He then looked at the housekeeper and said, "I'll go to the study first and see the princess later."

"Yes!" The butler bowed again.

Chai Lingwu entered the study even faster. In the study, he quickly opened the envelope, and the letter inside fell directly onto the table. A line of words immediately appeared in Chai Lingwu's eyes.

Su Dingfang, General of the Left Guard, Zhang Wenguan, Secretary of the Dali Temple, and Li Yifu, the Censor, left the Chunming Gate at noon and headed for Luoyang.

Chai Lingwu's face suddenly turned pale.

……

Under the night sky, in the backyard of the East Palace.

Li Chengqian turned over and entered Cheng'en Hall.

Su Shu was playing with her daughter in the hall. When she saw Li Chengqian enter the hall, she immediately waved her hand, and the maids around her immediately came forward to help Li Chengqian change his clothes.

After changing his clothes, Li Chengqian breathed a sigh of relief and said, "You all can go down."

"Here!" After all the maids left, Li Chengqian walked over and picked up his daughter.

Su Shu knelt aside, watching Li Chengqian and his daughter playing together, with a smile on her face.

After Li Chengqian put his daughter down again, Su Shu took her in her arms and whispered, "News came out from the palace today that the Prince of Wei has been confined to Ziyun Pavilion. Does Your Highness know what's going on?"

"I know." Li Chengqian relaxed and looked at Su Shu. "Qingque staged an assassination plot himself, then came before father and cried, saying that I had someone assassinate him?"

"Ah?" Su Shu's pupils widened in surprise. She asked in disbelief, "Why would the King of Wei do such a thing?"

"Perhaps he thought he had no other options." Li Chengqian shook his head calmly and said, "But regardless, Qingque has made a grave mistake this time. He has no idea that Father is keeping an eye on the Eastern Palace even more than on Prince Wei's Mansion. So Father knew it wasn't me who did it, and he also sensed Qingque's hidden agenda. In his rage, he nearly killed him. It was only at my plea that Qingque was imprisoned in Ziyun Pavilion."

"Your Highness shouldn't beg for mercy." There was a hint of hatred in Su Shu's words.

Li Chengqian reached out and hugged Su Shu into his arms, then whispered, "If I don't plead for mercy, my father will suspect me of being cold-blooded."

Su Shu couldn't help but pursed her lips, then said: "It's really hard to be the emperor's son."

Li Chengqian couldn't help laughing, and then said: "Qingque is too stupid. He can no longer pose a threat to the East Palace. Shu'er can rest assured."

Su Shu looked up at Li Chengqian in surprise, and the matter was settled just like that.

"My father said that once the compilation of the Comprehensive Geography is completed next year, Qingque will be sent to his fiefdom." After Li Chengqian finished speaking, he breathed a sigh of relief.

No matter what happens in the future, Li Tai will no longer have any chance of ascending the throne.

"So, can we rest assured now?" Su Shu tightly grasped Li Chengqian's hand.

"Hmm!" Li Chengqian smiled gently. Su Shu immediately buried her head in Li Chengqian's arms and couldn't help sobbing.

"Oh!" Li Chengqian sighed softly, hugged Su Shu, and said nothing more.

He didn't tell her that he didn't actually have much confidence in what the emperor said today.

Maybe by next year, the emperor will change his mind and keep Li Tai in Chang'an.

No, he definitely will.

(End of this chapter)