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

Chapter 358: Holding the Emperor Hostage to Rule the World (Part )
Li Shimin walked into the hall with a calm expression.

Wu Meiniang had already arrived at the inner hall door and bowed to the emperor, saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

"Stand up," the emperor waved his hand nonchalantly, walked to the couch and sat down, then looked at Wu Meiniang and asked, "I heard that Lady Yingshan has also entered the palace today?"

Wu Meiniang was slightly startled, then immediately nodded and said, "Yes, mother hasn't seen me for a long time, so I came to see you."

When she raised her head, Wu Meiniang's face was filled with brilliant joy.

"That's good." The emperor breathed a sigh of relief and looked around and said, "Madam Yingshan should also be allowed to come to the inner palace. She shouldn't just be received in the inner guest courtyard."

"Your Majesty, I am extremely happy to see your mother. As for where she is, it doesn't really matter." Wu Meiniang shook her head sincerely, with a hint of gratitude on her face.

"After all, I am sorry for you." The emperor shook his head, his eyes slightly hesitant, but he still didn't say anything.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me for embarrassing you." Wu Meiniang was so frightened that she quickly bowed.

"Okay, get up." The emperor smiled and shook his head.

"Yes!" Wu Meiniang stood up. She looked around and waved her hand slightly. All the eunuchs and palace maids in the hall retreated silently.

"Your Majesty!" Wu Meiniang bowed slightly.

"Yes!" Li Shimin stood up and let Wu Meiniang help him take off the dragon robe.

When Wu Meiniang took off the emperor's robe and the plaster on his back, the emperor's wound immediately appeared in Wu Meiniang's eyes.

Some hideous scabs appeared in front of Wu Meiniang.

There was no pus or blood in the wound, only a slight redness.

"Your Majesty!" Wu Meiniang leaned forward with a voice that was somewhat joyful and choked with sobs, and said, "Your Majesty, everything is fine. The wound has not broken open, and the scab is still healing. Compared to yesterday, everything is much better."

Although the emperor's injuries had improved a lot after a year of recuperation in Zhongnan Mountain, they still relapsed every now and then even after he returned to the palace.

This is also the fundamental reason why the emperor did not take over power as soon as he returned to the palace.

"Why are you like this?" Li Shimin stroked Wu Meiniang's cheek with some pity. The pretty beauty in her prime, with a look of both joy and tears, made people feel soft-hearted.

"I lost my composure." Wu Meiniang quickly lowered her head, then started again, helping the emperor change the medicine and put on his clothes.

At this moment, the emperor's voice rang out: "Mei Niang, after two years, I will raise your title to Jieyu. After a few more years, you will become Zhaoyi. As for the four concubines... it depends on your luck. If you have children, I will definitely grant them to you."

"Yes!" Wu Meiniang's face was suddenly filled with surprise. She then knelt on the ground and sobbed for a moment, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"Why are you really crying?" The emperor helped Wu Meiniang up, wiped her tears with the back of his finger, and whispered, "You don't need to think too much now, just be fine."

"Yes!" Wu Meiniang nodded vigorously.

"Okay, I'll rest for a while, you go ahead and do your thing." Li Shimin waved his hand, then walked to the bed and lay down, then closed his eyes and slowly fell asleep.

He completely failed to notice the black box placed on the inside of the bed.

Wu Meiniang stood up, calmly lowered the curtains, and then sat down at the end of the bed.

Her eyes swept across the emperor and finally fell on the pillow beside him.

Wu Meiniang sighed silently, with some tear marks on her face.

Prince Jin, you really need to be more careful!

Is it so easy for people around the emperor to communicate with the outside world?
As soon as the emperor opened his mouth, Wu Meiniang knew that the emperor already knew about her mother's visit today.

Even though she had sent away the officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs in advance, her maid was still there.

It was too easy for the emperor to know everything she said today.

Fortunately, my mother mentioned the promotion of the imperial concubine today, which made the emperor focus on it. Otherwise...

However, the emperor was not completely unaware of Prince Jin's actions.

Her brother-in-law Guo Xiaoshen used to be a member of the Prince of Jin's Mansion. Even though he has not been in contact with the Prince of Jin for several years, he still attracts special attention.

But is there really no connection?

Wu Meiniang took a deep breath. Her mother was now well supported by her two sons-in-law, so where did their money come from?

No one's money comes from the wind.

The same goes for the Guo and Helan families.

Although both families were powerful families, Wu Meiniang was certain that the Prince of Jin must have had tentacles behind her two brothers-in-law.

Now I just hope that Prince Jin can be more discreet and not be found by the Emperor.

Wu Meiniang's eyes became a little fierce.

The King of Jin also brought over her elder brother-in-law Helan Yueshi.

Yes, Wu Meiniang was sure that relying solely on the power of the Helan family, it would be absolutely impossible to push Helan Yueshi to the powerful position of Zuo Jieshi of Zuo Jinwuwei.

Only the Wei family has this ability and can avoid being noticed.

Although the Wei family now has an ordinary relationship with the Prince of Jin, Wei Ting was once the Chief Secretary of the Prince of Jin.

His dismissal and death were both related to Prince Jin, and the relationship between the two families is not so easy to sever.

The only lucky thing was that Wu Meiniang never had a good impression of Prince Jin.

Because she never thought that Prince Jin had much chance of seizing the throne from the Crown Prince.

……

Thinking of the prince, Wu Meiniang's face became solemn, but then her face darkened again.

Offspring, offspring.

Wu Meiniang's eyes swept over the box beside the emperor's bed. Inside the box were just simple red dates, peanuts, longans, and lotus seeds.

It means having a baby early.

Even if the emperor opened it, Wu Meiniang could still say that it was given to her by her sister Wu Yi, implying that the emperor hoped she could give birth to a child soon.

But in fact, it was given by Li Zhi.

Li Zhi naturally would not kindly wish her to have a baby soon. In fact, it was just the opposite. He was mocking her, mocking the fact that it was impossible for her to have children.

Wu Meiniang's face turned completely gloomy.

Wu Meiniang only fully understood the emperor's true health condition after she had plotted to get rid of Xu Hui.

The pain caused by the abscess on the emperor's back continued to torment him.

Even if the injury improves, you still have to pay attention.

But is the emperor the kind of person who can pay attention all the time?

He is going to court.

Even when the crown prince was in the palace, the emperor had to sit on the imperial couch and listen.

But his condition was the kind that required him to stay in bed for a long time to recuperate, just like he did in Zhongnan Mountain.

And the weather needs to be suitable.

Under such circumstances, it was difficult for the emperor to support himself, let alone have children.

Even sexual intercourse was not allowed by the imperial physician.

Wu Meiniang was also in Zhongnan Mountain, but she only saw Xu Hui always by the emperor's side, but the emperor did not favor her at all, which made Wu Meiniang completely determined to kill her.

I didn't expect this ending.

Wu Meiniang raised her head slightly and looked upwards.

Li Zhi was the culprit who caused all this, so he knew this. That's why he used things like "giving birth to a son soon" to mock her.

Taunting her that she would never have a son of her own.

What will happen if you don’t have your own son?
There was already a precedent for Emperor Gaozu.

All concubines with children were expelled from the palace, granted the title of imperial concubine, and allowed to live with their children in the local areas, outside the vassal state, and enjoy their old age.

Concubines without children became nuns and lived in seclusion for the rest of their lives.

There were very few people like Concubine Xue who were left behind to take care of the emperor's offspring after the queen's death.

Where is she, Wu Meiniang?

She had no children, and outside the palace, she had two brothers with whom she had a very bad relationship.

Now that she is a concubine, it is still okay, but once the emperor dies...

Thinking of that, Wu Meiniang couldn't help but shiver.

Will her future be handed over to the next emperor, the current Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, or the Prince of Jin who has been trying to seek her help?

Wu Meiniang suddenly shook her head. The Crown Prince at least had a chance to plead, but the Prince of Jin might not even know how he died...

Wu Meiniang curled up at the end of the couch, closed her eyes unconsciously, and slowly fell into a deep sleep.

Just like the emperor.

……

East Palace, Cheng'en Hall.

Xu An handed a secret note to the table in front of Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian opened the secret letter, read it carefully, and then handed it back to Xu An.

Xu An picked up the secret note, took it to the candle, lit it, and then put it in the brazier to burn it completely.

Then crush the ashes bit by bit.

Xu An stood up, stood aside, and bowed silently.

Li Chengqian raised his head and looked ahead.

The Wu family only has one chance to meet Wu Meiniang every year, so how could Li Zhi bear to miss it?

This time too.

Although Li Chengqian didn't know what was in the box, he knew that it must be something that would shake Wu Meiniang.

However, this is not important.

It would be better if Wu Meiniang and Li Zhi were truly connected.

This means that if they want to take action, there is only one possibility.

Use the emperor to control the world.

However, the emperor was not a waste like Emperor Xian of Han.

What Wu Meiniang and Li Zhi wanted to do was to control the emperor and everything around him. The first step was to control the emperor.

There are too many invisible people around the emperor, inside and outside.

Even Zhang Ananda might not be able to control everything around the emperor.

But first, Li Zhi and his men must control Zhang Ananda, or kill him, before they can control everything around the emperor.

But it would be very difficult to kill Zhang Ananda. Wu Meiniang and Li Zhi alone could not do it.

Therefore, they had to have someone by the emperor's side.

Killing Zhang Ananda and controlling everything around the emperor meant that he could not stay in the palace, and everything could only be done in Zhongnan Mountain, Cuiwei Palace.

Because in the palace, there were people like Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Yang Shidao, Ma Zhou, and Li Ji.

Only in Zhongnan Mountain can they plan more conveniently.

He ordered Li Chengqian to go to Mount Zhongnan alone and then killed him.

This was the only feasible strategy for Li Zhi.

Moreover, Li Zhi must have enough manpower outside Chang'an City to help him control Zhongnan Mountain and prepare to attack Li Chengqian.

There can’t be too few people like this.

There must be at least three thousand people.

After all, Li Chengqian is not Fusu, so he can't let them kill him.

With enough manpower, internal and external connections, and other things, as long as Li Chengqian died, the world would belong to Li Zhi.

Li Chengqian smiled lightly.

Zhinu, you really want to take this step!

"Send a message to Hangzhou..."

"Send a message to Luoyang..."

"Send a message to Songzhou..."

……

The lights are bright and the Hongmen Gate is crimson.

At the end of the 30th year, firecrackers blasted.

In the Liangyi Hall, all the kings, princesses, princes-in-law, as well as Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Yang Shidao, Tang Jian and others were in the hall, looking upwards.

On the middle step, a wooden box was opened, half filled with water, and a small boat was floating inside.

Li Chengqian took action personally and gently pulled a penetrating rod. The next moment, the boat was actually standing directly in the water.

Li Chengqian raised his hand and pulled up the boat. Four wheels suddenly appeared at the bottom of the boat, clearly displayed in front of the emperor.

"This is what I, your son, and the other ministers of the Eastern Palace came up with while we were dealing with floods this year... If we had a boat that could serve as a vessel when there's water, and could also be used as a carriage when there's no water, then if there's another flood, the people could use this boat to easily evacuate. This way, the damage from the flood would be much less."

Li Chengqian handed the boat to Zhang Ananda.

Zhang Ananda turned around and placed it on the table in front of the emperor. The imperial concubine Wei Gui, who was sitting next to the emperor, looked at it curiously.

"This kind of boat has existed before, and some people have used it in Jiangnan, but no one thought of using it for flood control. No one has also thought that the wheels of this kind of boat can be recycled." The emperor gently pushed the lever on the bow of the boat.

The pull rod drops and the four wheels are immediately retracted.

The emperor smiled with satisfaction, looked at Li Chengqian and said, "The Crown Prince's dedication to government affairs should be a model for other princes."

"Thank you for the praise, father." Li Chengqian bowed solemnly and then sat back in his seat.

Su Shu, Li Xiang, Li Jue, Li Yu and Princess Ankang sat on one side.

The emperor looked at Li Chengqian's family, his gaze swept across Li Zhi and Princess Zhao of Jin, and finally fell on Princess Jinyang.

"Sizi is about the right age now." The emperor looked at Li Chengqian and Li Zhi and said, "Crown Prince, young slave, years ago I asked you to think of a good husband for Sizi. Today, in front of Sizi and all the royal family members in the palace, please tell me!"

"Father!" Princess Jinyang blushed first and couldn't help but let out a coquettish cry.

All the kings, princesses, princes-in-law, and relatives in the hall looked at Li Chengqian and Li Zhi with smiles.

"Your Majesty, I do have a candidate here." Li Chengqian looked up at the emperor!

(End of this chapter)