Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 15 Wu Meiniang's Worries
In the Lizheng Hall, Empress Wu sat behind the phoenix table, concentrating on reading a book, taking notes with a pen in her hand, appearing to be very focused.

The cover of the book says "The Chef's Dietary Therapy Notes", but it is actually a book about diet therapy.

The chef was the doctor in charge of the emperor's diet. Every day when the emperor served his imperial meals, there would be a medicinal dish, which was prepared by the chef.

The chief imperial physician of the Shang Pharmacy, Meng Shen, happens to be the best chef in the Tang Dynasty, and this book was written by him.

Empress Wu looked up and ordered, "Go to the Imperial Pharmacy and Guanglu Temple and get me some of the latest medicinal recipes."

A eunuch agreed and left quickly.

After a while, Zhang Duohai walked quietly into the hall. He weighed more than 200 pounds, but he walked like a cat without making any sound.

"Your Highness, I'm back." He whispered.

Empress Wu didn't even look up, she just asked, "Is the court meeting over?"

Zhang Duohai said cautiously, "It is noon, and the sage has ordered all the ministers to go to the veranda to eat."

Empress Wu asked, "Since it's not over yet, what are you doing back?"

Zhang Duohai said, "Our spy stationed in Zhangsun Wuji has reported a piece of information, and I think I should report it to His Highness."

Empress Wu frowned and raised her head, saying, "It's the middle of a court meeting now. Changsun Wuji isn't home waiting for the outcome. Is he still running around outside?"

Zhang Duohai smiled and said, "Your Highness, you may not know that a major event just happened in the court. A censor named Lu Botao died, and before his death, he submitted a memorial of remonstration."

Empress Wu snorted and said, "These noble families love to use this trick of sacrificing the chariot to save the king. What do you think, Your Majesty?"

Zhang Duohai smiled and said, "The Saint has ordered the summons of Lu Botao's family."

Empress Wu was slightly stunned, then she reacted and smiled.

"Your Majesty, this is a brilliant move. They've sacrificed Lu Botao, the rook. Lu Botao's wives and concubines will surely be resentful. If they ask a few questions, they'll reveal their true intentions."

The smile on his face quickly disappeared, and he said calmly, "So, Changsun Wuji's sudden action was to warn Lu Botao's family not to say anything nonsense?"

Zhang Duohai said: "Your Highness is wise. Zhang Sun Wuji went to Xue Daoshen's residence in person."

"Xue Daoshen?" Empress Wu pondered for a moment and said, "So, Your Majesty is sending Xue Rengui to fetch the Lu family?"

"Your Highness is wise." Zhang Duohai chuckled, "But Xue Rengui is not stupid. He did not fall for Xue Daoshen's instigation and do anything stupid."

Empress Wu nodded secretly: "Your Majesty is still good at judging people. Although Xue Rengui is not smart, he is still loyal."

Wu Meiniang asked again: "Besides this matter, what else did the court discuss?"

Zhang Duohai said, "They wanted to call Cheng Zhijie back, but Minister Xu used the incident of Po Run to stop them."

Wu Meiniang nodded, she had known about this for a long time.

Zhang Dahai hesitated for a moment and said cautiously, "Your Highness, the Fifth Prince... was not appointed Crown Prince..."

"What did you say?" Empress Wu stood up suddenly, her eyebrows raised.

Zhang Duohai fell to his knees in fear, his voice trembling, "Li Zhong has been deposed. Originally, the Fifth Prince was to be made Crown Prince, but it was all because of that old Yu Zhining. He said that rushing to appoint a Crown Prince was a curse on the Saint to die early, so the Saint put the matter on hold."

Empress Wu gritted her teeth and said, "Yu Zhining!"

A thought suddenly occurred to him: "After recovering from his illness, the Saint has been extremely concerned about his health. If I rush to appoint Hong'er as the Crown Prince, I'm not sure he won't become suspicious. I need to be cautious about this matter."

Zhang Dahai continued, "The sage also said that to make up for the dethronement of the crown prince, Liu will be canonized as one of the nine concubines."

Empress Wu had regained her composure and sat back down, saying calmly, "Your Majesty is kind and benevolent; this is as it should be. By the way, has anyone impeached Pei Xingjian?"

Zhang Duohai said, "Yuan Gongyu impeached Pei Xingjian, and the emperor expelled him from Chang'an and demoted him to the military."

Empress Wu was stunned and asked, "Why would you go to the army?"

Zhang Duohai said, "Perhaps it was because Li Ji pleaded for him that the Saint gave him a chance."

Empress Wu's face turned slightly pale.

She had clearly told Li Zhi about this matter in advance, and also told him about Pei Xingjian's discussion behind his back about deposing Wang Liwu.

Li Zhi, however, put this man into the army. This did not seem like a punishment at all, but was clearly an opportunity for him to gain experience.

Wu Meiniang began to feel irritated and asked, "Is there anything else?"

Zhang Duohai said, "Minister Xu submitted a memorial proposing a change of reign title, but Han Ai again opposed it, saying that during the reign of the previous emperor, the Zhenguan reign title had been used for over twenty years, and the empire had remained peaceful and prosperous. Therefore, the sage disagreed."

Empress Wu's heart sank again.

Li Zhi had discussed this matter with her before. At that time, he agreed to change the reign title, and she even helped him think of a name, Xianqing!

Now that he had actually overturned what had already been agreed upon, coupled with his recent series of unusual behavior, she felt even more uneasy. Zhang Dahai, a master at reading expressions, took a few steps closer and whispered, "Your Highness, you should have noticed too. The Saint seems like a different person since his headache. Everyone's saying..."

Empress Wu stared at him and asked, "What did you say?"

Zhang Duohai swallowed and said, "Do you remember that the Saint went to the Imperial Ancestral Temple two days before his headache?"

"So what?" Empress Wu looked a little unnatural.

Zhang Duohai said, "Everyone in the palace is whispering that the late emperor had a dream for the Saint, which is why the Saint has changed so much..."

Empress Wu slammed the table and shouted angrily, "How dare you!" But there was a hint of imperceptible panic in her eyes.

"Your Highness, please spare my life." Zhang Duohai bent down and lay at Empress Wu's feet.

Empress Wu took a few breaths and her expression gradually calmed down.

She was so angry because she felt that Zhang Dahai's guess was reasonable.

Since Li Zhi woke up, he has been hot and cold towards her, his emotions change very quickly, and he seems to have a strange fear of her.

Wasn't it that the late emperor appeared in his dream and accused him of having an affair with his stepmother and doing something shameful?
After all, she was a rational woman and would not lose her composure because of groundless speculation. She kicked Zhang Dahai lightly.

"Get up."

Zhang Duohai said, "Thank you, Your Highness, for your mercy." He slowly got up.

"Where is Yang Yuchen?" Empress Wu suddenly asked.

"We should be in Shanzhou now."

Empress Wu asked, "Are you sure Sun Simiao is in Shazhou?"

Zhang Duohai said repeatedly, "I have received accurate information that many people in Shazhou have contracted a strange disease. When Sun Simiao learned about it, he immediately took his disciples there."

Empress Wu said, "Send a message to Yang Yuchen, telling him to be respectful and not act rashly. He must invite the Medicine King to Chang'an."

Zhang Duohai said: "Yes."

Empress Wu stood up and said, "Let's go to the court and take a look."

The meal in the corridor lasted only two quarters of an hour. When the ministers ate, they gathered with those they knew and took the opportunity to discuss the recent court meeting.

Xu Jingzong, Yuan Gongyu and others were no longer as high-spirited as they were before attending court.

Although the emperor rejected the two important issues raised by the aristocratic faction, he did not agree to establish a crown prince or change the reign title, which made them feel a little uneasy.

Li Yifu's mood was not as bad as theirs.

He had a different stance from Xu Jingzong and others, so his perspective was also different. He was keenly aware that the emperor and the empress did not seem to be completely on the same page.

Of course, this is just his guess now and needs careful observation and verification.

On the other side, Han Ai, Lai Ji and others also had gloomy expressions.

Just when they left the court, they had received a message from Zhangsun Wuji, asking them not to mention Chu Suiliang again.

From this we can see that the Lu family had been taken away by the Qianniu Guards, and Changsun Wuji was unable to contact them.

What they were considering now was no longer whether they could recall Chu Suiliang, but they were worried about whether the emperor would punish them after knowing the truth.

The three veteran ministers, Li Ji, Yu Zhining and Cui Dunli, were the most relaxed and at ease. They sat together between two pillars.

The three of them are veteran officials with long experience in officialdom, each one more shrewd than the other. They have already smelled something unusual in the court today.

Yu Zhining was delighted that his suggestion had been accepted. He smiled at Li Ji and said, "Li Sikong, the Saint's attitude today seems quite intriguing. What do you think?"

Li Ji did not answer, but looked up at the sky and sighed: "Looking at the weather, I'm afraid there will be a heavy snow soon."

Yu Zhining pondered his words for a while, still unsure of what he was thinking. He turned to Cui Dunli and asked, "Mr. Cui, what do you think?"

Cui Dunli closed his eyes and did not move.

Yu Zhining said, "Mr. Cui? Mr. Cui?" and pushed him with his hand.

Cui Dunli finally opened his eyes and said bewilderedly, "Is it time for dinner? Sigh, I'm getting old. I almost fell asleep..."

Yu Zhining rolled his eyes and thought to himself, "Old fox, you really act like one."

At this moment, a eunuch shouted, "The time has come, the court meeting continues!"

The ministers went into the hall in groups of three or four.

(End of this chapter)