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

Chapter 239: The Selection of the Princess of Jin, Queen Wang and Wu Zetian (Part )
In the Wude Hall, Li Chengqian's expression became serious.

This time when Li Tai was plotting a rebellion, although Fang Yiai was blocked by Du He at Ziwu Pass, he was only one step away from returning to Chang'an.

At that time, everything was different.

Naturally, the emperor wouldn't care much about it now, but who knows if the seeds have already been planted in the emperor's heart.

No one needs to know, Li Chengqian is sure that although Li Shimin is sure that Fang Xuanling will not betray him, he has already begun to be wary of such things.

Otherwise, Gao Shilian would not have been appointed as the Shangshu You Pushe.

It was the same in my previous life.

Just be wary of him.

Later, after Li Zhi ascended the throne, Fang Yiai was executed for treason, and the key factor was Princess Gaoyang.

Gao Yang hasn't met Bian Ji yet?

Fang Xuanling was resourceful, and naturally suspicious.

He had already thought that the emperor had begun to doubt him, so he tried to drag Li Chengqian into the water.

Because Li Chengqian was not innocent in the matter of Li Tai's rebellion. He was suspected of knowing that Li Tai was practicing witchcraft and rebellion, but deliberately condoning it.

……

Looking at Fang Xuanling, Li Chengqian said calmly, "Prime Minister Fang, the Dali Temple has inquired about the Zhang family's affairs. What did they say?"

"The Zhang family says they know nothing." Fang Xuanling glanced at Li Chengqian and said, "They say it was the King of Wei who sent the witchcraft into the Eastern Palace when they weren't paying attention."

"Then what does Qingque say?" Li Chengqian raised his head slightly.

"The King of Wei didn't say anything." Fang Xuanling couldn't help but frown. Li Tai seemed to be concentrating on acting crazy now, and seemed to have no interest in dragging Li Chengqian into the water again.

After a brief pause, Fang Xuanling continued, "Although the King of Wei hasn't spoken, there's still Duke Xun. He was coerced by the King of Wei using the witchcraft story. Now that he knows it's fake, he's cursing even more."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Even Duke Xun knows that the witchcraft story is fake, so is there any need to investigate it? As for the Zhang family, the Zhang family's daughter joined the Eastern Palace with the Xiao family's matchmaking and the emperor's approval. They may have some connection with Zhang Liang, but other than the uncertain fake witchcraft story, is there any other evidence that they were involved?"

Li Chengqian was suspected of inducing Li Tai to rebel, but the witchcraft story was false, so this matter would not be too serious no matter what.

Li Chengqian looked up at Fang Xuanling and said, "Prime Minister Fang, Gao Yang is due to give birth in four months, and the King of Wei's second son is only a month old. I originally asked your father to confer the title of king on Li Xin. Although Qing Que's actions may have been aberrant, Li Xin and Qing Que's second son are both safe. I would like to write to your father to ask for their forgiveness."

"Your Highness is filial and brotherly." Fang Xuanling bowed and looked at Li Chengqian with some confusion.

He understood that Li Chengqian wanted him to join in the petition, but he couldn't understand what benefit this would bring to him.

Especially at this time, they should have stayed away from Li Tai.

"People should be true to themselves." Li Chengqian nodded, then sighed and said, "Qingque made a mistake, but not as much as his son, and they are both the bloodline of our father."

Fang Xuanling understood that he had to be frank, especially with the emperor.

If there is, there is, if there is not, there is not.

Although Fang Yiai rushed back from Songzhou because of Li Tai's secret letter, he really knew nothing about Li Tai's conspiracy to rebel.

No evidence was found in the Prince of Wei's mansion to prove that Fang Yiai was involved.

All Fang Xuanling had to face was the emperor's suspicion.

Then the emperor's concerns will be fully exposed.

Fang Yiai had indeed been a military officer under Li Tai, Prince of Wei, but that was all arranged by the emperor.

After several years of getting along, there is some affection between the two sides.

Because he is open and selfless, he is able to plead for mercy through his temperament.

This might make the emperor angry for a while, but after a long time, the emperor would react and the anger in his heart would disappear.

"Your Highness is wise." Fang Xuanling nodded, then said thoughtfully, "Your Highness's method is indeed feasible, but in my opinion, it is not appropriate to act now. We must find an appropriate time."

"What time?"

Fang Xuanling thought for a moment and said, "The Prince of Wei's second son has just turned one month old, and the Princess of Wei is not in good health. Let's wait and see if they feel unwell. Your Highness can send the imperial physician to treat them, and then write a letter to His Majesty to plead for mercy."

Li Chengqian was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "What Prime Minister Fang said makes sense."

"Finally, Your Highness will submit the petition alone first. When Your Majesty inquires about the King of Wei's treatment, I will then plead for mercy on the grounds of being the heir of the Prince of Wei. Of course, it would be best if I could do so together with Duke Shen." Fang Xuanling finished speaking, then he sighed and nodded to Li Chengqian, saying, "If Your Highness insists then, as brothers, we can be filial and respectful, and then this matter will be over."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian nodded with a smile.

"In that case, I will take my leave." Fang Xuanling stood up and bowed to Li Chengqian. "The princess will probably give birth in late August or September. I'm afraid I'll have to trouble the Crown Princess to offer some comfort then."

"Okay!" Li Chengqian stood up and nodded, saying, "Goodbye, Minister Fang."

"Your Highness, please stay!" Fang Xuanling bowed, then turned and left.

Watching Fang Xuanling's back disappear in the distance, Li Chengqian narrowed his eyes slightly.

What a pity that he was not tricked.

If Fang Xuanling could be allowed to submit a petition with him, the emperor would inevitably feel that Fang Xuanling was fickle.

Unfortunately, Fang Xuanling was smart enough to subconsciously avoid this point. However, his suggestion would be very effective.

……

Fang Xuanling was walking alone along the palace path, a thoughtful look on his face.

He was recalling every word Li Chengqian had said to him before.

It seems that the prince is not worried about any consequences of witchcraft.

Fang Xuanling raised his head slightly. His Majesty would indeed not really pursue anything on this matter, but it was hard to say about others.

Use the Zhang family as a breakthrough point to connect with the prince.

After all, any smart person could see that the King of Wei had definitely made a voodoo doll, but the prince discovered this in advance and then tampered with it.

If it's specifically targeting the Zhang family...

wrong.

Suddenly, a flash of light flashed through Fang Xuanling's mind.

Witchcraft, witchcraft.

Fang Xuanling immediately thought of the scene of investigating witchcraft in the Eastern Palace that night.

You know, not only he was there that night, but also Li Jing, Yu Zhining, Chu Suiliang, Ma Zhou, Li Daliang, Zheng Rentai and others were all there.

They all came to the conclusion that there was no witchcraft.

If anyone wants to bring up the witchcraft incident again, none of them will agree.

In other words, the prince secretly linked all of them together through the witchcraft incident.

Once someone challenges the prince again, he is implicitly challenging all of them.

He even used more sophisticated tactics. If someone challenged the crown prince, the crown prince would just have someone bring up the witchcraft incident again to attack the Eastern Palace, and then a large number of people would immediately stand up to support the crown prince and attack the challenger.

Fang Xuanling was slightly stunned. The prince had already connected all the officials left in Chang'an City through some invisible means.

Fang Xuanling couldn't help but look back in the direction of Wude Hall, his face full of surprise.

He once thought that the prince's actions were taught by someone, such as Dai Zhide, but now it seems that it was not Dai Zhide at all, but the prince himself.

"They are indeed father and son, so alike!" Fang Xuanling shook his head slightly. The prince, who was extremely clever and cunning, and the King of Wei, who was well versed in conspiracy and scheming, all of these were inherited from their father.

Fang Xuanling turned around and walked towards the Secretariat.

After the incident with King Wei, Fang Xuanling felt that his position as crown prince was becoming more stable, so he needed to think about the Fang family and his relationship with the crown prince.

Of course, it doesn't matter to him, he has enough merits to ensure that he is safe.

As for Erlang, Fang Xuanling shook his head. The prince now seemed more and more wise. Such a person would not ruin his reputation because of Erlang.

Therefore, it will not have much impact on Erlang's future career.

Of course, the highest position he could hold was just the governor of a province, and there would not be the possibility of having six ministries, nine temples, and five prisons, but it was enough.

As for the Fang family, let's leave it to the eldest brother. The eldest brother's personality may be similar to that of the prince.

In the palace corridor, Fang Xuanling's steps were steady and slow. Although he was old, he was still firm.

……

After seeing off Cen Wenben, Ma Zhou followed Li Chengqian back to the palace, but Li Chengqian went to the Wude Hall, while Ma Zhou remained in the East Palace.

Suddenly, the eunuch Xu An appeared in front of the official residence and bowed to Ma Zhou with a serious face, saying, "Young Secretary, His Highness has an urgent matter to summon you."

"Oh?" Ma Zhou immediately stood up and followed Xu An out of the official residence.

Only at this time did he realize that the prince had summoned not only him, but also the prince's attendant Zhang Da'an, the prince's attendant Zhao Hongzhi, and the prince's attendant Gao Zhenxing.

Ma Zhou was from Bozhou, Zhang Da'an was from Weizhou, Zhao Hongzhi was from Xingzhou, and Gao Zhenxing was from Jizhou. It turned out that they were all officials of the Eastern Palace from Hebei Province.

What is the prince doing?
With doubts, Ma Zhou came to the Wude Hall and saw the prince with a calm expression.

Seeing everyone about to bow, Li Chengqian simply waved his hand and said, "No need, everyone, please sit down."

"Yes!" Everyone knelt down immediately.

Li Chengqian raised his head, looked at the crowd and said, "I called you all here today because I have something to ask you. Yangzhou Governor Zhao Jie just sent a letter saying that my father is going to Hebei to select a princess for Zhinu. It was the Zhao family of Qinghe who notified him."

Zhao Hongzhi suddenly looked up. He was from the Qinghe Zhao family. He immediately bowed and said, "Your Highness, I have never heard of this!"

Li Chengqian smiled and waved his hand, saying, "This matter is still a secret in Hebei, and not many people know about it. I have come to you all to ask, if Hebei really wants to choose a princess for the Prince of Jin, which family is likely to be hers?"

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. How could they not understand that His Majesty was going to support Prince Jin?

The Prince of Wei had just gotten into trouble, and Your Majesty was about to choose a princess for the Prince of Jin. The hint of checking and balancing the Crown Prince was too obvious.

It’s no wonder that the prince looked unhappy.

(End of this chapter)