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

Chapter 609 Uncle, I’m Here to Clean You Up (First Update)
A series of hurried footsteps came from the front yard of the princess's mansion.

Princess Gaoyang and Fang Yiai, who heard the sound, had just walked out of the room when they were blocked by several Qianniu Guards with knives.

Gao Yang was about to get angry when Fang Yiai grabbed her and shook her head gently at her.

Princess Gaoyang did not recognize these Qianniu Guards, but Fang Yiai recognized several of them at a glance.

The Dou family, the Cheng family, the Duan family, the Qiu family, the Du family, the Wei family... all of them are children of important officials in the court.

Although many of them are second sons and illegitimate sons, they are enough to represent the people who come after them.

Seeing Fang Yiai's solemn expression, Princess Gaoyang had to suppress the anger in her heart.

Just at this moment, a heavy sound of footsteps came from outside the yard.

Immediately, Li Baiyao, the Minister of Zongzheng Temple, Qiu Xinggong, the Governor of Yongzhou, and Zhang Ananda, the Chief of Internal Affairs, walked into the backyard together.

The leader was actually Li Baiyao, the Minister of Zongzheng Temple.

Princess Gaoyang's heart couldn't help but sink slightly.

Qiu Xinggong once ate Liu Lan's heart and liver raw, and Zhang Ananda was the leader of all the eunuchs in the palace.

Their status is higher than Li Baiyao, but now everything revolves around Li Baiyao.

Li Baiyao walked to the backyard door with a gloomy face. He gave Princess Gaoyang a cold look and said, "His Majesty has ordered Princess Gaoyang and her husband Fang Yiai to immediately go to the Zongzheng Temple to recuperate. They must leave upon receiving the imperial decree without delay."

Gao Yang and Fang Yiai were stunned.

They knew very well what the emperor's edict meant.

If the palace maids and concubines made mistakes, they would be confined in the Ye Ting.

However, if the princes and princesses of the royal family made mistakes, they would be imprisoned in the Zongzheng Temple.

In other words, he was imprisoned in the Zongzheng Temple before being formally tried.

After their rebellion failed, Li Tai and Li Zhi were both imprisoned in the Zongzheng Temple.

Now it's Gao Yang's turn.

At this time, Zhang Ananda stepped forward, bowed to Princess Gaoyang and said, "Your Highness, please come in. There are people waiting in the palace."

Princess Gaoyang clenched her fists and looked at Zhang Ananda with gritted teeth: "Why?"

"Don't you know what the princess has done?" Zhang Ananda sighed softly, then looked at Qiu Xinggong and said, "Your Highness, do you want me to send someone to do it, or do you want the Duke of Tianshui to send someone to do it?"

"We'll go on our own." Fang Yiai looked at Princess Gaoyang calmly, nodded calmly and said, "Princess, maybe it's just a misunderstanding."

Princess Gaoyang calmed down immediately and turned to look at Zhang Ananda: "I can leave, but what about my family?"

"The Zongzheng Temple will take care of them." Li Baiyao looked at Princess Gaoyang coldly and said, "The princess's sons are also members of the imperial clan. Before they are expelled from the clan, I guarantee that nothing will happen to them."

Princess Gaoyang's body suddenly felt cold, and a bad premonition finally overwhelmed her completely.

However, before she could ask anything, several Qianniu Guards came up from the side, took Gao Yang and Fang Yiai hostage and walked out of the courtyard.

After the two men disappeared, Zhang Ananda bowed slightly to Qiu Xinggong, then waved his hand and said, "Investigate! Dig three feet deep into the ground!"

"Yes!" Everyone bowed.

Zhang Ananda looked up at Qiu Xinggong and said, "Lord of the County, outside the city?"

"I will go there myself. The people from Yongzhou Prefecture and the Right Jinwu Guard will dig deep into the ground." Qiu Xinggong nodded and looked at Zhang Ananda and asked, "Zhang Jian, Your Majesty, what will happen this time?"

"Your Majesty is absolutely sure." Zhang Ananda nodded calmly, then turned and walked out of the courtyard. He still had to go back to interrogate Princess Gaoyang.

Li Baiyao nodded, then turned and walked out of the yard.

Qiu Xinggong couldn't help but sigh.

Spying on the celestial phenomena and the affairs of the palace is tantamount to treason.

If the princess rebels, no one knows how many people will die.

……

On the occasion of the Crown Prince's wedding, although the Emperor held a night banquet and the curfew in Chang'an was lifted, all the officials in the palace still went to work as usual.

Because seven days later, the emperor will go on an eastern tour to Luoyang.

At that time, the Tang Dynasty's war against Goguryeo was about to officially begin.

Nearly half of the people in the court wanted to go to Luoyang together.

Therefore, even though Princess Gaoyang was quietly brought into the palace through Anfu Gate, the western gate of the imperial palace, many people still saw her, and the news spread quickly.

Many people stood on the palace road looking around, not knowing what was going on.

Dou Xiguan learned about this as soon as he arrived at the palace.

Seeing Dou Dexuan standing in a corner not far away, Dou Xiguan quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Uncle!"

Dou Dexuan glanced at Dou Xiguan and asked in surprise, "Qilang, you are now the prince's father-in-law. Now that the prince is getting married, you should rest at home."

"Uncle, when His Majesty promoted me from the magistrate of Chengdu County to the Junior Supervisor of the Palace, he instructed me not to be negligent, to work diligently, and to share His Majesty's worries." Dou Xiguan bowed with a solemn expression.

"Oh right, His Majesty is on an eastern tour, and the Crown Prince is regent." Dou Dexuan immediately understood and nodded, "This time, His Majesty's trip to Luoyang will be longer, so he needs the Dou family to support the Crown Prince more. I was wondering why I wasn't on this trip?"

"My uncle is now the Minister of Rites. Being by His Majesty's side is naturally more useful than staying in Chang'an." Dou Xiguan sighed, then asked in a low voice, "Uncle, what's going on today?"

"I'm not sure, but I heard something happened in the palace last night, so they arrested people today." Dou Dexuan couldn't help but snorted coldly and said, "I'm not in front of His Majesty now, and those guys won't tell the truth anymore."

"Uncle!" Dou Xiguan couldn't help but ask.

Dou Dexuan's expression calmed down. He looked at Dou Xiguan and said, "The specific situation is not very clear. It is said that someone is spying on the palace..."

Dou Dexuan stopped talking midway and looked behind Dou Xiguan.

Dou Xiguan turned his eyes away and saw Yang Sina, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, standing there with a serious expression.

Dou Dexuan nodded to Yang Sina, then took Dou Xiguan and left.

Yang Sina didn't pay attention to the actions of the two.

He had also heard some of the rumors in the palace last night, but he didn't understand why Princess Gaoyang was involved when they clearly had no arrangements.
……

In the Liangyi Hall, Li Chengqian put down his thin bamboo gold pen and looked up in surprise: "Gao Yang confessed."

"Yes!" Zhang Ananda bowed and said, "I didn't do anything. I just placed the torture instruments in front of the princess and explained their usage and effects. The princess collapsed and answered all her questions."

Li Baiyao, Yin Jun, Liu Dewei, and Sun Fujia, who were standing next to Zhang Ananda, all twitched their lips slightly.

Although the rumors about Princess Gaoyang were outrageous, she was a royal daughter after all. She had never even heard of the things that the eunuchs did, let alone seen them.

It’s good enough that I didn’t get scared to death.

Li Chengqian nodded, took the memorial, and said, "Go call all the ministers over. We should discuss how to handle this matter."

"Yes!" Zhang Ananda bowed, then turned and left quickly.

Li Chengqian lowered his head and began to carefully examine the contents of the memorial. The more he looked, the uglier his expression became.

With a loud bang, Li Chengqian slammed the imperial desk with his hand and shouted angrily, "Damn it!"

"Your Majesty, please calm down!" All the ministers in the hall bowed.

Li Chengqian looked up and found that Zhangsun Wuji, Zhang Xuansu, Li Jing, Tang Jian, Ma Zhou, Yu Zhining, Lai Ji and others were already standing on both sides of the hall.

Li Chengqian handed the memorial to Zhang Ananda and said coldly, "Look here! This is my sister, my husband, my uncle, and the Minister of Justice. They've actually teamed up and planned to wait until the Goguryeo front is blocked. Then they'll lead their troops into the palace, seize the Empress and the Crown Prince, and then purge the emperor's court... Uncle, they're going to purge you."

Zhang Sun Wuji quickly glanced at the memorial, handed it to Tang Jian, and then bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I request that the person be arrested. Now the evidence supports your Majesty's arrest."

"Your Majesty!" Tang Jian stood up after reading it and said with a bow, "Your Majesty, this case involves the King of Jing and the Minister of Justice, and it also coincides with the court's eastern expedition. I don't think the evidence is strong enough. I request further investigation."

"Indeed, the letters found in the Fang Mansion and Princess Gaoyang's villa, while full of resentment, cannot prove they were plotting a rebellion. If there was a rebellion, it was only Gaoyang who was plotting a rebellion. I agree to investigate further." Li Chengqian smiled softly, looked to the side and said, "Uncle, come out and tell Prime Minister Tang and the other ministers everything you know. Then we can investigate based on the clues and arrest the perpetrators."

"Yes!" Xue Wanche walked out from the side hall on the west side amid the surprised gazes of the ministers.

Glancing at the ministers, Xue Wanche bowed to Li Chengqian and said, "Your Majesty, I have reported that Princess Gaoyang, Fang Yiai, Yang Sina, the Prince of Jing, and others are plotting rebellion. Since they invited me to a meeting at the end of last year, they have met several times in April, May, and June of this year. They discussed raising an army to remove the emperor's entourage and then enthroning the Crown Prince as emperor... In addition, I have a letter from the Prince of Jing, in which he describes a dream in which he held the sun and the moon in his hands. He asked me what this meant."

Li Chengqian waved his hand, and Xue Wanche immediately handed the letter to Tang Jian.

"Capture the Prince of Jing first and see if we can find any evidence of Yang Sina's involvement in the Prince of Jing's mansion." Li Chengqian glanced at the ministers, then looked at Zhangsun Wuji and said, "Uncle, go ask Fang Er and see what he says. As long as he tells the truth, I won't implicate Fang Yizhi!"

Fang Yizhi, Fang Yiai's elder brother.

Princess Gaoyang rebelled and Fang Yiai was finished.

In addition, the King of Jing was Fang Yize's father-in-law, so Fang Yize was also finished.

It is very likely that Fang Xuanling's lineage will disappear completely.

This situation was enough to break through Fang Yiai's defenses.

Tang Jian glanced at Zhangsun Wuji, who had bowed and accepted the order, gritted his teeth, and finally stepped forward. He bowed to Li Chengqian and said, "Your Majesty, may I ask if Your Majesty has known about Princess Gaoyang's rebellion for a long time?"

(End of this chapter)