Tang Dynasty Puppet Doctor

Chapter 47 The Truth
"I don't know about that..."

Before Guo Hongba could finish his words, he felt a red-hot iron whirling around his ear. He howled in fear and begged for mercy, "Alright, I'll tell you. It seems that it was because these two women from the Xie family had submitted a letter of accusation in a bronze box, accusing Guo, General Qiu, and the King of Wei of slaughtering officials and civilians in Bozhou. The letter of accusation was discovered by the King of Wei before it even reached the Saint. So General Qiu asked me to bring them to Huanxue Pavilion under the pretext of meeting an honored guest."

"Is that just the reason?"

There was a sizzling sound again in my ears, and a burning smell came from it.

Guo Hongba closed his eyes again, uttered a wail, and replied repeatedly, "And... there's another reason. These two women from the Xie family are actually nieces of my wife's mother's family. The Xie family used to be a merchant family, specializing in the grain transport business, and they were quite wealthy. Moreover, the Xie family was once good friends with Su Minghe, the Second Master of the Su family, and his wife. They often interacted with each other and even founded a chamber of commerce with other merchants, and the wife of the Second Master of the Su family was the leader of this chamber of commerce.

This is why I arranged to marry Mrs. Xie. The King of Wei wants all the information about Su Minghe and his wife."

When Su Minghe and his wife were mentioned, Xiao Muchen couldn't help but walk down from the hall. When he strode in front of Guo Hongba, he asked, "Why does the King of Wei want information about Su Minghe and his wife?"

"Because Su Minghe's wife was the most trusted and closest secret guard of the late Crown Prince Li Hong. That woman not only knew everything about the late Crown Prince Li Hong, but also many of the Wu family's secrets. After Li Hong's death, she even took away the Crown Prince's private seal. And... and she also knew Li Chunfeng's final prophecy, and knew who would ultimately destroy the Great Zhou."

"So, it was the King of Wei who sent you to assassinate Su Minghe and his wife?"

Faced with such a direct question, Guo Hongba lowered his head in fear and trepidation:
"Yes, yes! In fact, the King of Wei just wanted her to tell him who would replace the Wu Zhou Dynasty, but that woman was too stubborn. The former Crown Prince Li Hong had been dead for many years, and the Sage had ascended the throne as he wished. What was the point of her being so persistent and loyal to the Li Tang royal family? Moreover..."

"And what?"

"Moreover, the King of Wei suspected that she had taken away the orphan of the late Crown Prince Li Hong. He was afraid that she would use this orphan to make trouble in the future and follow Li Jingye's example, supporting Tang and opposing Wu. That's why he sent General Qiu to assassinate this woman and search for the child. We are only following orders!"

When Xiao Muchen heard this, his heart skipped a beat, and a bad guess arose in his mind.

"What did you say? To honor Emperor Li Hong and leave behind an heir?"

As far as he knew, Li Hong's death was a mystery. Some said he died of illness, while others said he was poisoned by Empress Wu. But no matter what the truth was, this kind-hearted prince seemed to have left no offspring until his death.

Originally, Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu had chosen Yang as the Crown Princess for Li Hong. However, unexpectedly, Yang was raped by Empress Wu's nephew Helan Minzhi before the wedding. Later, Wu Zhao had no choice but to choose Pei, the daughter of Pei Judao, as Li Hong's wife. However, less than two years after Pei was married to Li Hong, Li Hong died suddenly in Hebi Palace. According to historical records, Emperor Filial Piety Li Hong had no children until his death.

Not long after Li Hong's death, Pei also died suddenly of illness and was buried with Li Hong in Tang Gongling.

Where did this orphan come from?

Facing Xiao Muchen's condescending aura, Guo Hongba grew even more terrified and uneasy. He quickly explained, "I heard about it as well... I wonder where the King of Wei got the news from?"

"Grand Master, I have told you everything I know. Please forgive me for my devotion to the Great Zhou and the Saint. Please forgive me, okay?

What's more, no matter whether it is the Internal Guard, the Censorate, or the Supervisory Council, we are all people working for the saint. Who doesn't have a few lives on our hands and a lot of money? Isn't it enough as long as we are loyal to the saint?
Grand Lord, is that right?"

Xiao Muchen nodded and sneered, "You're right, but the saints like to use people like you who have no bottom line to eliminate dissidents. But does Censor Guo understand why the Inner Guard Bureau and I exist?"

Guo Hongba was stunned and waited for an explanation, but Xiao Muchen seemed to no longer want to talk. Instead, he ordered Xuan Yu to place a piece of white paper, pen, inkstone, and inkstone in front of Guo Hongba. "Write down all the evil deeds you've done! According to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, if you confess all your crimes without hiding anything, you can be exempted from the death penalty, and serious crimes can be punished with lighter sentences!"

"You want me to write a confession?"

"That's right! Whether it's killing the entire Xie family, participating in the assassination of Su Minghe and his wife, or all your crimes of corruption, bribery, murder, and robbery, not a single detail can be left out! Otherwise... I'll deal with you the same way you dealt with those officials you framed and imprisoned. Oh, and have you heard of the story of the trap?"

How come I haven’t heard of it? Didn’t Zhou Xing die in his own jar?

It was said that he was full of evil and had committed many crimes, so even the Buddha appeared and asked him to jump into a jar to atone for his sins. Some even said that he was possessed by the evil spirit he had killed in the middle of the night, which not only wrapped around his neck but also burned him to death.

In short, Zhou Xing's death became a mystery that the people of Luoyang talked about but could not explain.

And since Zhou Xing's death, his nightmares seemed to have become more frequent.

By writing this confession, can he get rid of those nightmares?
"Okay, I'll write it. I'll write it right away!"

……

After Guo Hongba finished writing his confession, Xuan Yu handed the filled sheet of paper to Xiao Muchen. As Xiao Muchen read it, Xuan Yu sighed, "How shameless! He's done so many evil things, he deserves a million pounds! My dear, what are you going to do with this guy?"

After he asked, he was stunned when he found that Xiao Muchen's eyes fell on the end of the paper. There was even a hint of shock and sadness in the pair of phoenix eyes behind the mask.

"What's the matter, Lang Jun?"

"Nothing!" After putting away the confession, Xiao Muchen sighed, "I just didn't expect that Su Minghe's death was actually the work of King Wei. Wu Chengsi has mentioned the old case of Pei Judao to the Saint many times, suspecting that there are still remnants of the late Crown Prince. The Saint is also urging me to investigate this old case. King Wei must have said something to the Saint that I don't know.

Whether it was Pei Judao or Pei Yan, the Hedong Pei clan all supported the Li Tang royal family, and the sage was quite wary of their followers.

"My dear, what you mean is that even if we know that it was the King of Wei's handiwork, we can't get an explanation for Su Minghe's death, and the little girl can't avenge this? This matter may have been tacitly approved by the saint!"

Xiao Muchen nodded. "Do you know why the sage was so wary of Prince Zhanghuai Li Xian? Not only because Li Xian's talent and virtue earned him the support of many aristocratic families, but also because of his annotations to the Book of the Later Han, which revealed that the most prominent characteristics of the entire Eastern Han Dynasty were the Empress Dowager ruling the country and the abuse of power by relatives of the emperor.

Perhaps Li Xian had no other intention, but he allowed someone to make a fuss about this matter and alienate the mother-son relationship between him and the saint. Just one book, "Book of the Later Han", could become his death warrant.

As far as I know, Su Minghe was once a guest of Prince Zhanghuai and may have participated in the annotation of the Book of the Later Han. The King of Wei only needs to make a big fuss about this matter, and perhaps the entire Su family will suffer as a result."

Having said this, Xiao Muchen pondered for a moment and then warned, "Hide this confession for now. Don't let anyone know about it. Have him write another one. Don't reveal anything about Su Minghe yet. Just expose his corruption, abuse of power, retaining retainers, and murder. We'll use him for other purposes!"

Xuan Yu nodded and said yes, then asked, "So, should we kill Guo Hongba or not?"

Xiao Muchen pondered for a moment: "Don't kill him yet. His death must be of some value to us!"

"Well, then what can we do to make his death valuable to us?"

When Xuan Yu asked this question, Xiao Muchen glared at him coldly.

"My dear, please don't glare at me like that. I'm not very smart and I don't think as much as you do. If you give me a little more guidance, maybe I can figure it out!"

Xiao Muchen stood up and said, "I remember that every year on April 15th, Princess Taiping would hold a Peony Banquet in Zhengpingfang, inviting famous scholars from the capital as well as talented people from humble backgrounds to attend. Even young ladies who prided themselves on their talent could attend this banquet. By then, all the famous noble ladies from Luoyang, young talents, and even students from the Imperial Academy would appear at this banquet."

"That's true, and the day after tomorrow is April 15th! Then what?" Xuan Yu still didn't understand what this matter had to do with Guo Hongba.

Xiao Muchen rolled his eyes at him again and said, "This is an opportunity. The only one in the court who can rival the King of Wei and is equally matched with him is the Saint's most beloved daughter, Princess Taiping.

Guo Hongba's crimes require more people to bear witness, and Princess Taiping and all the dignitaries in Luoyang City are the best witnesses!"

At this point, Xuan Yu's mind finally flashed with enlightenment, and he said with sudden realization: "Yes! I understand. Xuan Yu will arrange it now!"

"Wait, there's one more thing..." Xiao Muchen called Xuan Yu back and whispered, "Privately investigate whether Crown Princess Pei was pregnant after the death of Emperor Li Hong? Or, did another woman give birth to Li Hong's child?"

Xuan Yu frowned upon hearing this. "My dear, this is difficult to investigate. It's been fifteen or sixteen years since the incident. All the former ministers who followed Emperor Li Hong have left the imperial court. Some have died, some have been exiled. The Crown Princess's father, Pei Judao, was also accused of treason by Zhou Xing and executed when the Saint ascended the throne. Now there are only a few members of the Dongjuan Pei clan left."

The Dongjuan Pei family refers to the Pei Judao branch. He certainly knew that because of their relationship with Li Hong, the Pei Judao branch was framed and killed by Zhou Xing, and there were not many people left. However, the Hedong Pei family was so powerful and deeply rooted that even if a saint wanted to kill, he could not kill the entire Pei family. What's more, the empress was not a bloodthirsty person.

"Since Guo Hongba said so, it means this rumor is not groundless. There is no such thing as an impenetrable wall. Let's start investigating the people around the King of Wei!"

"Here!"

After Xuan Yu accepted the order, he saw that Xiao Muchen looked worried, so he couldn't help but jokingly said, "My dear, you seem to be more concerned about the affairs of this little girl from the Su family. Could it be that you...really like this little girl?"

Before he could finish his words, he felt Xiao Muchen's two cold and sharp gazes slashing towards him like a cold knife. Xuan Yu immediately bowed his hands, smiled apologetically and changed his words: "Pretend I didn't say anything!"

Who would have thought that I would hear my husband say:
"Send someone to notify Uncle Lu and Aunt Ning immediately and have them clean up a yard!"

What are you doing to clean up the yard?
Xuan Yu was stunned, then his eyes lit up, as if he had thought of something. He straightened his back and answered loudly, "Yes! I'll do it right away!"

(End of this chapter)