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

Chapter 284: Backtracking in the Palace (Part )

In the Wude Hall, two Jinwu Guards dragged Li Yu to the center of the hall.

Li Yu knelt on the ground, his expression trembling slightly.

The ministers withdrew their gazes, turned around and bowed slightly to Li Chengqian.

They understood that the deaths of Li Yu, Yang Hu and Zheng Han must be related, so he was so scared when the prince mentioned it.

Only the emperor could determine how to investigate Fang Xuanling's conspiracy to rebel.

They were unable to suppress this matter. Even Li Chengqian, as the crown prince, could only use the excuse of heavy snow to delay the matter a little.

But now, it can't be delayed any longer.

……

Li Chengqian looked at Li Yu and said indifferently, "The first of all crimes is the Ten Evils: one is treason, two is high treason, three is rebellion, four is evil treason, five is immorality, six is ​​disrespect, seven is unfilial piety, eight is disharmony, nine is injustice, and ten is civil strife."

Li Yu knelt on the ground. Every time Li Chengqian said something, he couldn't help but tremble.

His face was terribly ugly, as if he had committed these ten evils himself.

"The first of the ten evils is treason." Li Chengqian lowered his head, looked at Li Yu, and spoke calmly, "Li Yu, a native of Didao, Longxi, has reported to the Minister of Works, the Governor of Chang'an, the Minister of the Left, and the Duke of Liang, Fang Xuanling, that he was plotting treason. I am asking you, is this true?"

"Yes!" Li Yu's voice was a little hoarse for some reason.

Li Chengqian nodded calmly, then looked to the side: "Ma Zhou, take the memorial and have him sign it."

Ma Zhou, who was sitting behind a table on one side, took a memorial with what Li Chengqian had just said written on it, stood up and walked to Li Yu, put the memorial on the ground, and placed the brush in front of him.

Li Yu took a look at the memorial, which was written by Li Chengqian based on the words just said, about Li Yu accusing Fang Xuanling of treason.

It was written above, and attached below was the official document submitted by the Dali Temple.

Li Yu’s signature was on the official document, and now Li Yu’s signature was also required on Li Chengqian’s official document.

Li Yu looked at the brush in front of him and wanted to reach out to take it, but at this moment, it was as if he touched a red-hot iron, and he immediately retracted his hand.

Many officials in the court could not help but show extreme mockery in their eyes.

By now, everyone can see that there is something fishy going on when Li Yu accused Fang Xuanling of treason.

But who was it that instructed him to accuse Fang Xuanling of treason? All the ministers knew that the Qianniu Guards were investigating, but the time was too short and they didn't find out anything.

"Your Majesty, Father is wise and powerful, with a profound understanding of the situation. This matter is of great importance. No matter what, Your Majesty will thoroughly investigate it." Li Chengqian looked at Li Yu, leaning forward slightly, and then said calmly, "Don't worry, as long as the facts are true, it will be as it should be."

Li Yu shuddered again for no apparent reason.

The emperor is wise. Is the emperor wise?

The reason why Li Yu accused Fang Xuanling was that he actually had no actual evidence. All he relied on was a sentence Yang Hu once said.

Fang Yiai once participated in the rebellion of King Wei.

He was originally hesitant, but Yang Hu said that he would go to Fang Xuanling to blackmail him, and the casino was chasing him fiercely, so he went to the Dali Temple to file a complaint without any hesitation, but he happened to encounter heavy snow, and everything was delayed for another three days.

Within three days, Yang Hu died.

In three days, Li Yu had a deeper understanding of the emperor.

Originally, he imagined that once the emperor knew that Fang Xuanling was plotting a rebellion, he would immediately become furious, then set up a large-scale prison and eventually kill countless people.

As the informant, he would naturally receive numerous rewards from the emperor.

However, he first followed Fang Xuanling and saw with his own eyes the white-haired Fang Xuanling working hard to handle official duties every day without seeking pleasure. At the same time, in Fang Xuanling's study, he also saw with his own eyes Fang Xuanling handling countless extremely secret matters.

All these matters must be reported to the emperor.

The emperor was not as wise as the people said.

So if he accused Fang Xuanling of treason, would the emperor really believe it?
Especially after Yang Hu died.

After Yang Hu's death, the things that he had been so sure of in his heart were no longer certain.

Did Fang Yiai really participate in the King of Wei’s rebellion?
If the emperor finally finds out that Fang Yiai did not commit treason, then he would be the one to die.

Finally, even if the emperor found out that Fang Yiai was involved in the Prince of Wei's rebellion, it was only an involvement. In the end, only Fang Yiai was dealt with lightly, and he might even not deal with Fang Xuanling at all. At that time, could Li Yu still be alive?
Countless thoughts kept hitting Li Yu's mind at this moment. In his eyes, the brush in Ma Zhou's hand was as heavy as a thousand pounds, and he didn't dare to take it at all.

……

Looking at Li Yu who was completely shaken, Li Chengqian couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

If he were given enough time, he could follow Fang Xuanling for a month and see with his own eyes how Fang Xuanling, a sixty-year-old man, handled countless court documents.

It would be best if Fang Xuanling could still be sick for two more rounds, otherwise Li Yu would probably really regret it.

It's a pity. Firstly, Fang Xuanling didn't really work hard to handle the affairs of state. Secondly, he was given too little time to do all this.

So they could only piece together various coincidences to intimidate him.

Li Chengqian looked at Li Yu and spoke again, "When people do things, the most important thing is to be true to their conscience. If you feel that you are right, please sign and seal it. I will send the memorial to Liaodong and hand it over to the emperor. However, if you feel that your conscience is uneasy and you are willing to turn back, that would also be a good deed of immeasurable merit.

I'll say the same thing again. If you feel you've wronged Prime Minister Fang and want to stop, I promise that no one will harass you or disrupt your life in the future." "Anyone?" Li Yu suddenly looked up, a look of immense surprise.

"Yes, anyone!" Li Chengqian nodded, then looked at Li Yu and frowned, "Did anyone disturb you?"

All the ministers immediately looked at Li Yu.

"No, no!" Li Yu waved his hands quickly.

"That's good." Li Chengqian looked at Fang Xuanling, then shook his head and said, "Prime Minister Fang has a broad mind, and I'm afraid he doesn't even look at people like you."

Fang Xuanling bowed calmly.

Li Chengqian turned to look at Li Yu, his expression calm, and said, "Be honest with the facts. Based on what you know now and your own judgment, you can make the decision yourself: sign or not!"

For a moment, all the ministers looked at Li Yu with deep eyes.

Li Yu hesitated for a moment. Three days ago, he had solemnly accused Fang Xuanling of treason and asked the prince to send him to the emperor. Now, he was asked to go back on his word. Even if he had a conscience and facts as a basis, it was difficult for him to open his mouth.

"Your Highness!" Li Yu suddenly raised his head, looked at Li Chengqian, and kowtowed, saying, "I, a humble person..."

Just after saying two words, Li Yu, who was kneeling on the ground, suddenly tilted his body and fell over.

Li Chengqian suddenly stood up from the couch.

Ma Zhou reached out and felt Li Yu's breath, then turned to Li Chengqian and said, "Your Highness, he is fine, he just fainted."

Fainted?

Li Chengqian was slightly stunned, and Ma Zhou shook his head slightly at Li Chengqian at this time.

Li Chengqian immediately understood that this so-called fainting was also fake.

Li Chengqian suddenly felt extremely funny. At this moment, he actually fainted.

Talent!
Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "Summon the imperial physician and wake him up!"

"Here!"

……

Li Yu woke up faintly, glanced at Ma Zhou in front of him, then looked up at Li Chengqian who was lying on the couch.

Finally, Li Yu turned to look at Fang Xuanling and kowtowed to him, saying, "Duke Liang, I've been following you these past few days and have witnessed your busy schedule until late at night. You live a simple life, eating and drinking simply, not much better than the average citizen. I knew I might be wrong, and now, after hearing about Fang Zheng's death, I realize I might have been used."

Fang Xuanling was slightly stunned. He was being used by someone. Could this sentence absolve him of all responsibility?

However, Fang Xuanling knew that it was not easy for things to get to this point.

In fact, from the day Li Chengqian asked Li Yu to follow him at all times, Fang Xuanling keenly perceived Li Chengqian's intentions.

Being a prime minister has never been an easy job.

There are countless documents to process every day, and I have to meet countless people inside and outside.

In other words, Fang Xuanling was in good health, otherwise he would have collapsed long ago.

Look at Gao Shilian, he has requested retirement several times.

Therefore, Li Chengqian asked Li Yu to follow Fang Xuanling to let him know that Fang Xuanling would not rebel.

As for the affairs of the Hundred Cavalry Division, some of them needed to be handled by Fang Xuanling himself, and some were let go by Li Chengqian.

This sounds a bit intimidating.

Coupled with Yang Hu's death today, Li Yu was already scared out of his wits.

But this guy is still interesting. At least he can seize the opportunity to take advantage of the prince's words.

Fang Xuanling nodded calmly at Li Yu and said, "You are not a bad person. I know this clearly."

"Thank you, Prime Minister Fang." Li Yu breathed a sigh of relief and then kowtowed.

Li Chengqian saw this and turned to Ma Zhou and said, "Ma Qing, please rewrite the memorial and submit it to Liaodong later."

"Yes!" Ma Zhou immediately bowed, then returned to the table and started writing.

Li Chengqian then looked at Li Yu and said, "Tell me what's going on. I need to explain it to the emperor as well."

"Yes!" Li Yu kowtowed, then continued, "A few days ago, I went to a tavern to drink and happened to see Fang Zheng talking to a stranger. I overheard him say he had evidence to prove Prime Minister Fang was plotting treason, and that he was going to his mansion to extort an official position... As a member of the Longxi Li family, I was outraged and came to the palace to report this."

The ministers looked at Li Yu with endless contempt.

He came forward because he was afraid that others would succeed in extorting money from him first, but he was seeking the emperor's reward for reporting treason, not extortion.

Otherwise, he should have mentioned Yang Hu long ago.

But how did Yang Hu die?

(End of this chapter)