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

Chapter 28: Fang Mou, using life to fight for life

In the twilight, the sunset glows on the road.

Outside the gate of the East Palace, Li Chengqian stood calmly on the palace road.

A sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth as he watched Lu Hu being carried onto the carriage by a group of Dali Temple guards wearing black shirts and white robes and wearing swords on their waists.

This doesn't look like he's taking care of his colleagues, it's clearly like he's escorting a prisoner.

Lu Hu is the prisoner.

Everyone noticed this.

Li Chengqian, Yu Zhining, Zhang Xuansu, Kong Yingda, Li Baiyao, Li Anyan, Changsun Xiang, Linghu Defen, Xiao Jun and others behind Li Chengqian were all like this.

Even, there is Lu Hu himself.

Of course, there are also those in charge of the Dali Temple.

When Sun Fujia, the Minister of the Dali Temple, sent someone, it was obvious that he had already made arrangements.

The emperor had made it clear enough during the court session.

If Sun Fujia didn't understand this, then his efforts to become the top scholar in the Tang Dynasty would have been in vain.

After the carriage completely disappeared from his sight, Li Chengqian slowly turned around and looked at the officials of the Eastern Palace with cold eyes.

"Your Highness." All the ministers bowed.

"Pass the order down. No one in the Eastern Palace is allowed to visit Lu Hu. No one is allowed to approach his gate. Even if they pass through the gate, they must walk along the wall on the other side. No one is allowed to send any of their trusted aides to investigate this matter." Li Chengqian looked up indifferently at the Eastern Palace that belonged to him and said softly, "Now that he has left the Eastern Palace, all the past is wiped out."

"Yes!" The ministers accepted the order solemnly. While bowing their heads, they were also carefully pondering Li Chengqian's words.

Lu Hu, the Crown Prince's servant Lu Hu, was obviously involved in the Crown Prince's fall from his horse and injury. The Crown Prince noticed this, and now I'm afraid Your Majesty has also noticed this.

Lu Hu alone would never dare to act so recklessly and risk the annihilation of his clan. There must be someone behind him.

Now Lu Hu has fallen into the hands of the Dali Temple in disguise, and it is only a matter of time before he speaks.

In order to prevent him from speaking, killing him is the most inevitable measure.

Logically speaking, the Eastern Palace should have sent someone to watch Lu Hu's gate at all times, and any outsiders entering or leaving should be closely watched.

This way we can follow the clues and find the mastermind behind him.

They even arrested people at the scene of the crime.

But the prince obviously did not have much confidence in this.

Lu Hu, he is dead.

But the person who killed him was not so easy to catch.

The purpose of withdrawing all people related to the Eastern Palace is to get rid of the Eastern Palace's suspicion in this matter.

The person standing behind Lu Hu must be related to the King of Wei, or even a prime minister.

It gets troublesome here.

But if there was no interference from the Eastern Palace, this matter would be much easier to investigate.

This is at least the attitude of the Eastern Palace.

The sound of "dong dong dong" evening drums rang out simultaneously throughout Chang'an, and everyone couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Morning bells and evening drums.

It’s worth it.

Li Chengqian raised his head, his gaze fixed on the sky above Chang'an City outside the palace, and said calmly, "Everyone, go back and have a good night's rest. Come back tomorrow. The East Palace still has a lot of important things to do."

"Yes!" All the ministers bowed in unison. The prince's attitude was very clear. The East Palace would not wade into this muddy water.

……

In Guangtian Hall, Li Anyan helped Li Chengqian sit down, then asked in a low voice, "Your Highness, do you want to keep an eye on Cui Qian and Prime Minister Fang?"

"There's no need for Cui Qian. He will definitely go to Lu's house tonight. He will be watched by people from the Dali Temple whether he goes there or not. There's no need for our people to do anything extra. As for Prime Minister Fang..." Li Chengqian's eyes became thoughtful.

Lu Hu was doomed to die, and the person who killed him must be Fang Xuanling.

The person who is most afraid of Lu Hu speaking at the moment is Fang Xuanling.

The Dali Temple has already taken action, which shows that the emperor is keeping a close eye on this matter.

If the emperor really found evidence, even Fang Xuanling would probably have his property confiscated and his family exterminated.

So he had to kill him before Lu Hu could speak.

It's easy to track the movements of people coming and going here.

After a moment, Li Chengqian finally shook his head and said, "Forget it. We can all think of these things. It's impossible for Prime Minister Fang not to have thought of them. He might have already posted secret sentries outside his own door. If our people are caught, it will be easy to cause trouble."

Fang Xuanling, the Shangshu Zuo Pushe, was known for his wisdom as "Fang's strategy and Du's decision", which was directly recorded in history books.

Li Chengqian was staring at Fang Xuanling, and Fang Xuanling was also staring at Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian wanted to find Fang Xuanling's weak spot, and Fang Xuanling also wanted to find Li Chengqian's weak spot.

Now, the emperor's gaze has swept over Fang Xuanling.

If Fang Xuanling caught Li Chengqian in the act, it would be bad news. "Yes!" Li Anyan bowed solemnly.

Li Chengqian looked up and said, "Regarding Lu Hu's matter, the Eastern Palace should just wait quietly for news. Father and the Dali Temple will take care of the rest. Tomorrow, send two teams to bring back Prince Dugu's servant and Yao Sicheng."

"Yes!" Li Anyan bowed seriously.

"Let's stop here today. You can go back and rest. Also, have someone tell the Crown Princess that I will not be going back today. I will also think carefully about the matter of the new Crown Prince's servant." Li Chengqian waved his hand slightly, and Li Anyan immediately bowed and left Guangtian Hall.

He walked to the inner room and lay down on the bed, while the eunuch in the outer room blew out the candle.

Li Chengqian looked at the darkness in front of him and began to think about Dugu Dabao.

Li Chengqian served as the crown prince for more than ten years, and was even later deposed and exiled until his death. He also gained the memory of Li Qian in later generations.

However, even in their shared memories, Dugu Dabao only appeared a few times.

Only in Li Chengqian's own distant memory, when he got married and even earlier when he was named the crown prince, did he vaguely see Dugu Dabao once.

But I have almost no impression of it.

In the mind of Li Qian, a later generation, there is no image of Dugu Dabao, which means that he did not achieve any achievements in the future.

This means that he either had no special talents or died young.

The former is more likely.

Then the emperor sent Dugu Dabao to the Eastern Palace probably more because of his background.

Someone from the Dugu family.

In today's court, they will not walk together with the Guandong nobles, and they have little connection with the Guanzhong families.

He only had close relations with the Linghu, Zhao, Yuan, Zhang, Yun and other clans that also came from the old clans of Longxi. However, these families did not have smooth careers during the Zhenguan period.

But it is also because of this that they do not have close relations with the Guanzhong clans who now control the government, as well as the Guandong clans further east.

This way it can be better used by the emperor.

Li Chengqian smiled lightly. He understood that his father was on guard against Prime Minister Fang.

Of course, those who were suspected of causing Li Chengqian to break his leg were also on guard.

Even Li Chengqian was on guard.

Most of Li Chengqian's subordinates are descendants of the Qin Palace team that helped the emperor conquer the world. Who knows which old minister he can contact.

If both sides attacked at the same time, even his wise and powerful father would worry about not being able to control the situation.

When you are alone, no enemy is to be feared.

However, if both sides act together and chaos and conflict arise and it is difficult to distinguish between friend and foe, it can sometimes be fatal.

But it doesn’t matter. Li Chengqian has no plans to take any action now, so let others watch.

Li Chengqian turned slightly to the side and slowly closed his eyes.

The last question before going to bed: When will Prime Minister Fang take action?

……

At three quarters past noon, the dawn in the east finally dispelled the remaining darkness.

In the winter, the gate of Chongyifang finally opens.

Fang Zheng yawned and walked out during the morning bell.

The sun shines on my face, bringing warmth.

Looking at the empty long street, Fang Zheng was already planning to go back and sleep for a while. At this moment, he suddenly caught a glimpse of black in the Qingming Canal on the side from the corner of his eye.

Fang Zheng was stunned, then subconsciously turned his head to look over.

A long shadow floats on the Qingming Canal.

Fang Zheng's face immediately turned dark. Although there was a well in the town, many families also used the running water from the Qingming Canal.

Fang Zheng came over immediately and was about to take something to salvage it. At this time, he also saw clearly what was in the canal.

A corpse wearing a green official robe, a jade hat on his head, with a pale face and arms outstretched, was floating in the canal.

A copy of "Li Sao" was right under his armpit.

The thin ice on the Qingming Canal trapped them outside Chongyifang.

With a pale face, swollen skin, and eyes full of horror and disbelief, the corpse with willow wood and white linen tied to its legs was Lu Hu.

he died.

Just left the palace yesterday.

He died in the Chang'an canal today.

……