Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 10 Pei Xingjian and Xue Rengui

Changsun Wuji ordered the news of his assassination to be blocked.

However, in less than half an hour, the news that he was assassinated after entertaining his ministers reached Empress Wu's Lizheng Hall.

Empress Wu immediately sent Zhang Duohai to tell Li Zhi about the matter, and even ordered him to repeat the words shouted by the assassin word for word.

After Li Zhi learned about it, he fell into deep thought.

When Emperor Gaozong of Tang ascended the throne, he wanted to support the royal family to fight against Zhangsun Wuji. Li Yuanjing and Li Ke had always been at odds with Zhangsun Wuji, so they were chosen by him.

Later, Li Yuanjing colluded with Fang Yiai and others and indeed plotted evil and attempted to usurp the throne, but King Wu Li Ke remained loyal.

At that time, Chu Suiliang was exiled to a county because of the house-buying case, and the influence of the Guanlong nobles was greatly reduced. In order to re-establish his prestige in the court, Zhangsun Wuji framed Li Ke!
At that time, Emperor Gaozong of Tang was far inferior to Zhangsun Wuji in political wisdom and did not realize the seriousness of the matter.

As a result, after Li Ke was killed, the court was shocked. All the civil and military officials in the court turned to Changsun Wuji. No one dared to go against him anymore. Even Li Ji claimed to be ill and did not dare to go to court.

Not long after this incident, Chu Suiliang returned to Chang'an, and the government was once again controlled by the Guanlong Group.

Wu Meiniang was obviously reminding him that the current situation was very similar to the original one, and he must not let Zhangsun Wuji find an opportunity to recall Chu Suiliang back to Chang'an.

A quarter of an hour later, Wang Fusheng also came to report the news.

He was in charge of the Imperial Household Department and had his own intelligence network, but the news he received was never as fast as that from Wu Meiniang.

In addition, the news he brought was slightly different from that of Wu Meiniang.

"Your Majesty, my men have not heard what the assassin said."

Li Zhi asked, "Did your men see the assassin kill Changsun Wuji?"

Wang Fusheng whispered, "That's not the case. Changsun Wuji's inner courtyard is heavily guarded, with over thirty secret sentries. It's very difficult for anyone to sneak in."

The implication is that Empress Wu's people should not be able to get in either.

Li Zhi saw that Wang Fusheng was constantly competing with Wu Meiniang, and it was difficult for him to judge the authenticity of his information. He waved his hand and said, "Forget it, you can leave. Let Xue Qing come over."

Wang Fusheng hurriedly said, "Everyone, General Xue is off duty tonight and has gone home."

Xue Rengui was born in the southern ancestral branch of the Xue family in Hedong. After his family fell into poverty, he made a living by farming and was not included in the family tree.

His wife, Liu, was a daughter of a wealthy family and married him despite her family's opposition.

It was at the persuasion of his wife that Xue Rengui joined General Zhang Shigui and participated in the Battle of Liaodong.

Later, after Xue Rengui was promoted to General of the Central Army, he rented a small courtyard in Chang'an and brought his wife and children to Chang'an. The couple loved each other very much and respected each other like guests.

Xue Family Courtyard is located in Dayefang in the south of the city.

After Xue Rengui returned to the neighborhood, he bought a brocade box on the street, wrapped the Lantian jade chess pieces, and bought two "cold tools" on the way. Then he returned to his door and knocked on it.

A series of "da da da" sounds were heard, and the door was opened. Behind the door was a fat boy of six or seven years old.

The little boy was wearing a tiger-head hat, a thick felt coat, and a small jacket, looking lively.

"Oh, Dad is really back. Did he bring me any food?" The little boy turned behind Xue Rengui and turned his hand over. "Oh, it's cold food!"

This little boy is Xue Rengui's eldest son, Xue Na.

Xue Rengui touched his son's face and said with a smile, "Why are you still awake so late? How did you know Daddy was coming back? Did Mommy tell you?"

While eating his cold food, Xue Na peered at the brocade box in Xue Rengui's other hand and said, "Uncle Pei is here. He said you might come back today."

When Xue Rengui heard that Pei Xingjian was coming to visit, he was pleased. Although Pei Xingjian was from a Hedong noble family, he did not look down on him like other noble families. The two of them had a good personal relationship.

He first went to the kitchen and found his wife Liu busy at work.

"My beloved is back." Liu was filtering wine.

"Madam, this is for you." Xue Rengui handed over the brocade box.

Liu was very surprised and said with a smile: "Today is not my birthday, why did you suddenly give me this? What's inside it?"

Xue Rengui said, "A set of Lantian jade chess pieces given by the Queen."

Liu was startled and pushed it back quickly.

"You are the Saint's guard, how can you accept the Queen's reward? You are too humble to accept the reward. What will you do if the Queen asks you to do something for her in the future?"

Xue Rengui smiled and said, "Don't worry, Madam. The Saint knows about this matter. He asked me to accept it. It is a gift from the Saint."

Liu finally put her mind at ease and opened the brocade box. Inside, she saw two exquisite chess boxes. She lifted the lid of one box, revealing a gleaming box of white jade chess pieces. Liu covered her mouth and exclaimed, "I've never seen such fine Lantian white jade at home. This box is probably worth hundreds of thousands of coins!"

Xue Rengui raised his eyebrows and said, "This is a gift from His Majesty. It can be passed down as a family heirloom. How can I sell it?"

"I didn't say I wanted to sell it." Liu gave him a reproachful look and handed him the filtered wine.

"County Magistrate Pei is waiting in your study, go quickly."

Xue Rengui kissed his wife on the cheek, picked up the wine jug, pushed the door open and entered the small study.

Pei Xingjian was standing in the corner, admiring a painting of the frontier hanging on the wall.

Xue Rengui smiled and said, "My wife bought this from a poor scholar in the West Market. It's not from a noble family. I'm sorry to have embarrassed you."

Pei Xingjian just sighed and said nothing.

The two of them drank at the table, and after a while, Liu brought two side dishes.

Xue Rengui knew that Pei Xingjian must have something to ask him, but after waiting for a long time, Pei Xingjian didn't say a word, which made him very strange.

Xue Rengui was a dull person, while Pei Xingjian was quite talkative. When the two of them were together in the past, Pei Xingjian talked more and Xue Rengui listened more.

Now Pei Xingjian suddenly became taciturn, which made Xue Rengui quite uncomfortable.

"Shou Yue, what's wrong with you?" he asked.

Pei Xingjian raised his glass and said, "Let's not talk about anything else for now. I heard that brother has been promoted to the rank of General of the Thousand Oxen Guards and has earned the trust of the Saint. Congratulations."

Xue Rengui raised his glass and said, "Thank you very much."

Last year, when Emperor Gaozong of Tang was touring the Wannian Palace, heavy rain fell and mountain torrents broke out. The flood rushed to the north gate of the Wannian Palace, and the soldiers guarding the gate fled.

Xue Rengui risked his life to climb up the city wall and shouted a warning to the palace. In the end, Emperor Gaozong of Tang was able to escape danger. Xue Rengui was rewarded with a horse and was responsible for guarding the Xuanwu Gate.

Since then, everyone felt that Xue Rengui had a bright future and would be highly valued in the future, and it was only natural that he was transferred to the Qianniu Guard.

Pei Xingjian said slowly, "It's been nearly a month since Empress Wu was enthroned. At the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month, the ministers protested, claiming illness, but Your Majesty remained indifferent. Therefore, there will surely be a major discussion at the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month tomorrow."

Xue Rengui was a pure military commander. He didn't care about the court struggles. He silently poured a glass of wine for Pei Xingjian without saying anything.

Pei Xingjian said softly, "Brother, after the court meeting tomorrow, you and I may not have the chance to sit together and drink."

Xue Rengui was stunned and asked, "Why is that?"

Pei Xingjian sighed, "I have offended Empress Wu. Tomorrow someone will attack me in the court. I'm afraid I'll be exiled to a prefecture or county like Chu Suiliang."

Xue Rengui was silent for a moment, then said, "If that's the case, I'll defend you in court tomorrow!"

"No," Pei Xingjian said, raising his hand. "I had anticipated this day when I opposed the empress's dethronement, and I have no regrets. However, I have a memorial to present to His Majesty. If I am impeached tomorrow, I'm afraid His Majesty will be angry with me and won't want to read it."

Xue Rengui asked, "Do you want me to help you deliver this memorial?"

Pei Xingjian said, "That's right, and it would be best to present it to the Saint after the court session to avoid interference."

Xue Rengui asked, "Where is the memorial?"

Pei Xingjian took out an official document from his sleeve and handed it to Xue Rengui. Xue Rengui opened it and his expression quickly became solemn.

"Is what's recorded here true?" Xue Rengui looked up at him.

Pei Xingjian said in a deep voice, "I have personally investigated all of this, and it is absolutely true. If we ignore it, Chang'an City will suffer a great famine."

Xue Rengui carefully read the memorial twice more and said, "You wrote above that Guanzhong will have a poor harvest next year. Has this also been investigated?"

Pei Xingjian said, "I sent twelve trusted men, who spent three months thoroughly inspecting all the fields in Guanzhong."

Xue Rengui nodded and said, "I will personally hand this memorial to His Majesty."

Pei Xingjian smiled and said, "With your words, I can leave Chang'an with peace of mind."

Xue Rengui thought for a moment and said, "Keep your promise. Why don't I go to the palace now and present this memorial to the Saint? Perhaps the Saint will be kind to you..."

Pei Xingjian interrupted, "Brother, I appreciate your kindness. However, although Wu has been made empress, Grand Marshal Changsun has shown no intention of backing down. This will lead to an even more intense struggle at court. Being exiled to a prefecture or county to avoid disaster may not be a bad thing."

Seeing that he insisted, Xue Rengui stopped trying to persuade him.

(End of this chapter)