Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 377 Lantern Festival Lantern Festival

The next morning, Li Zhi got up early, ran around the Xihai Pool, took a bath in the nearby Ziyun Pavilion, changed into new clothes, and walked to the Lizheng Hall.

While he was handling government affairs, the eunuch came to report that Gao Youdao wanted to see him.

This is the third time Gao Youdao has asked for a meeting.

Li Zhi knew that he was pleading for Du Fu, so he ignored him and waved his hand, saying, "Just say that I don't have time to see him." He still refused this time.

A eunuch suddenly came in from outside the main hall and whispered a few words to Wang Fusheng.

Wang Fusheng's eyes lit up, and he came to Li Zhi and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, General Xue sent someone to bring news that the White Horse Trading Company has been taken under control."

Li Zhi quickly stopped the eunuch who had delivered the message and said, "Send Gao Youdao to see me." He then instructed Wang Fusheng, "Send Di Renjie to see me."

Gao Youdao was in the side hall next door and came over quickly.

Just as Li Zhi guessed, he came to see the emperor because of Du Fu's matter.

"Your Majesty, this letter of accusation from Schoolmaster Du..."

Li Zhi raised his hand to interrupt, "Mr. Gao, I know your intentions. There is nothing wrong with Du Fu's letter of accusation."

Gao Youdao was stunned: "Then why does Your Majesty..."

Li Zhi said, "Simply put, I deliberately imprisoned him so that I could secretly investigate this matter. Please wait on the side, Di Renjie will be here soon."

Gao Youdao's heart was lifted and he said, "Yes." He stood aside with his hands hanging down.

Li Zhi continued to handle government affairs. More than half an hour later, Di Renjie arrived.

Li Zhi looked up and said, "Di Qing, Xue Rengui's case has been handled. How's your investigation going?"

Di Renjie bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I have discovered eight serious crimes committed by the White Horse Trading Company, including murder."

Li Zhi's face darkened slightly as he said, "Du Zhenglun can participate."

Di Renjie said, "There are three cases, all related to Minister Du."

Li Zhi was silent for a long time, then waved his hand and said, "Alright, we can close the net now. Gao Qing, you and Di Qing go to the Dali Temple together and release Du Fu. Explain to him a few words and tell him that I will compensate him after this case is concluded."

Gao Youdao hurriedly said, "I obey your order." The two left together.

Inside the Dali Temple, Li Yuanfang had already assembled five teams, ready to go.

When Di Renjie returned with the imperial edict, the five groups immediately set out to arrest all the people involved in the case from the Baima Trading Company and the Huanshui Du family.

Gao Youdao came to the prison and explained the situation to Du Fu.

When Du Fu heard that the emperor wanted to arrest Du Zhenglun, he was very surprised. After he was released from prison, he did not even bother to take a shower or change clothes, and went straight to the Du family in Huanshui.

The settlement of the Huanshui Du family was in Chongdefang.

North Street has three main streets and six alleys, covering an area of ​​more than 300 acres of land. All the houses are owned by the Du family of Huanshui, so this area of ​​streets is called Du Street.

There are five most luxurious mansions in Du Street, namely Du Zhenglun’s mansion, and the mansions of his two elder brothers and two younger brothers.

These four people are also officials. With the help of Du Zhenglun's connections, the five of them have been very successful in officialdom in recent years and are collectively known as the "Five Dus."

In addition, because of Du Zhenglun, the descendants of the Huanshui Du family from all over the country were able to obtain a mansion in Chang'an City and live a life of ease and comfort.

Many of the Du family's descendants do not do any work at all. They are idle on weekdays. They only need to go to the mansions of the Five Dus to flatter them every day and rely on them for support to survive.

It’s a pity that such good days are over.

The originally bustling and bustling Du Street was now in chaos. The Dali Temple runners were like wolves and tigers, arresting all the guilty people in the Du family.

For a moment, there were sounds of donkeys neighing, horses groaning, chickens flying, dogs jumping about, and women shouting and children crying.

Du Fu looked at everything in front of him and felt extremely familiar. Wasn't it the same scene when the Jingzhao Du family was ransacked?

Heaven is so good at reincarnation, who will be spared by Heaven!
Du Zhenglun, do you ever regret digging up my Du Gu and seizing my property? He cried in his heart.

The crowd was too chaotic. Du Fu looked for a long time but did not see Du Zhenglun. Instead, he saw a few people at the opposite corner of the street, namely Changsun Quan, Little King Wu and Helan Minzhi.

The three of them were riding on their horses, silently watching everything in front of them, with complicated expressions on their faces.

They had no hatred towards Du Zhenglun, but were involved in this matter under Du Fu's planning.

Changsun Quan already knew that Du Fu was the mastermind behind the incident, but Li Ji and Helan Minzhi didn't know yet.

Helan Minzhi whispered to Li Ji, "Brother Li, you said the Du family's sudden confiscation of property, could it be related to your attendance at the Yibao meeting that day?"

Li Ji touched his nose and said with a wry smile: "It shouldn't be that serious."

Helan Minzhi smiled and said, "Anyway, since they've been arrested, you can go find them and ask about Zhou Chun's whereabouts!"

Li Ji nodded and said, "The Dali Temple must be very busy right now, so let's go and ask again in a couple of days."

In fact, in his heart, he always felt that Zhou Chun was dead, and this investigation was just to give Xiaoxiang an explanation.

However, the next day, Di Renjie suddenly sent someone to invite him over and told him a shocking news: Zhou Chun was still alive!

……

The harem, the Xiguan Bureau.

"Hey, take your medicine quickly. Don't let His Royal Highness the King of Wu find your brother and you die of illness. Wouldn't that mean we've taken care of you in vain?"

"The medicine is too bitter. I, I don't want to take it..."

"Hmph, don't be ungrateful! This is a prescription personally prepared by Dr. Sun's apprentice, Imperial Physician Meng. Besides, my sister and I have only served the Imperial Concubine and the Princess, but now we are serving you, and you are so reluctant."

Xiaoxiang hurriedly said, "Okay, I'll drink it." He gulped down the whole bowl of medicine.

The two palace servants looked at each other, smiled, and said, "That's right!"

They were not very old. The older one was sixteen years old and was called Da Shuang, and the younger one was fifteen years old and was called Xiao Shuang. They were originally the two youngest palace maids around Concubine Zheng.

Later, Princess Gao'an moved to the Princess Courtyard, and Concubine Zheng transferred the two women there to serve Princess Gao'an.

Seeing Xiaoxiang pinching his throat, his face full of bitterness, as if he had drunk poison, Dashuang smiled and said, "Just bear with it, it will pass. I'll play some flute for you."

Xiaoxiang asked, "Can you also play music?"

Xiao Shuang hummed, "Of course, every palace maid from Xunfeng Palace knows how to play a musical instrument."

Xiaoxiang asked: "Then what can you do?"

Xiao Shuang blushed and said, "I can play the drums."

"Well...haha..." Xiaoxiang held it in for a long time, but couldn't help laughing out loud.

Xiao Shuang glared at him and said, "What are you laughing at? Can't women play the drums? Sister, don't play music for him. He's so annoying!"

As he said this, he took Dashuang's hand and was about to go out. Unexpectedly, as soon as he walked out of the house, he saw Princess Gao An and Li Ji coming from the corridor.

The two women were startled and quickly retreated into the house while no one was seeing them. One of them sat by the bed and massaged Xiaoxiang's legs, while the other poured a cup of tea and fed it to Xiaoxiang.

"What happened to you suddenly?" Xiaoxiang looked confused.

Xiao Shuang looked at him threateningly and said, "Open your mouth!"

Xiaoxiang had no choice but to open his mouth.

With a creak, the door was pushed open and Princess Gao An and Li Ji came in together.

Seeing the scene in the room, Princess Gao An was very satisfied and turned around and said, "Brother Xiaoji, how is it? My two maids have taken good care of your friend, right?"

Li Ji nodded, took out two golden beans from his arms and handed them to Dashuang and Xiaoshuang.

"You've worked hard these past two days, take it."

The two women were overjoyed. They took the gold beans, thanked for the reward, and stepped aside.

Xiaoxiang asked anxiously, "Your Highness, King Wu, have you found my brother?"

Xiao Ji smiled slightly, clapped his hands, and said, "Zhou Chun, come in."

As the applause sounded, a young man walked in from outside. When he saw Xiaoxiang, he cried out, "Brother!" and threw himself beside the bed.

Xiaoxiang cried with joy and said, "Xiaochun!" The two hugged each other and cried bitterly.

Xiaoxiang quickly regained his composure and was about to rise from the bed to kowtow to Li Ji. Li Ji supported him and said, "No need. This is just a small favor for me. Just take care of yourself."

Xiaoxiang responded.

Princess Gao An suddenly said, "Brother Xiaoji, I can always ask you now, how did you rescue him?"

When Li Ji first brought Zhou Chun into the palace, Princess Gao An asked about Zhou Chun's situation. In order to let the two brothers meet as soon as possible, Li Ji did not answer at that time.

"Zhou Chun, tell your story to the princess and your brother."

Zhou Chun agreed and glanced at Xiaoxiang, but his expression was a little timid.

Xiaoxiang said anxiously, "Tell me quickly, where have you been for the past six months?"

Zhou Chun whispered, "Mobei, Baima Town."

Xiaoxiang was stunned and said, "White Horse Town? What kind of place is that?"

Zhou Chun said, "It's the White Horse Trading Company's stronghold in Mobei, home to over 10,000 people. Tang Dynasty laws don't apply there; only the White Horse Trading Company's business rules are everything."

Xiaoxiang was surprised and asked, "Why would you go to a place like that?"

Princess Gao An smiled and said, "I know. It must be someone from the White Horse Trading Company who captured you and locked you up there."

Zhou Chun whispered, "Yes, just as Her Royal Highness the Princess said."

Princess Gao An asked again, "Then why did they arrest you? Did you see them threatening that Hu merchant?"

Zhou Chun said, "You guessed right. I was hiding in a corner when I saw Shopkeeper Fang talking to Hu Shang. But I didn't know what they were talking about at the time."

"And were you discovered?"

Zhou Chun shook his head and said, "No, I was hiding far away at the time, so they didn't see me."

Princess Gao An asked curiously, "Then how did you get caught?"

Zhou Chun lowered his head and said, "Later, I followed Hu Shang out of the city. I was planning to follow him to Sanqiao Town and then return. However, when we were passing through a forest, a group of men in black suddenly appeared, killed Hu Shang, and arrested me as well..."

"Wait a minute."

Princess Gao An's little head was a little slow to catch up, so she raised her hand to interrupt, sorted out her thoughts, and asked, "Why did you follow Manager An out of the city?"

Zhou Chun whispered: "Because... because..."

Xiao Chun said angrily, "Okay, so that's how it is. Kneel down right here. What do I teach you every day?"

Zhou Chun knelt on the ground, lowered his head and said nothing.

Princess Gao An looked confused and said, "Brother Xiaoji, what are they talking about? I don't understand. Why is Zhou Chun following that Hu merchant?"

Li Ji asked, "Do you still remember why Zhou Chun wanted to find that Hu Shang?"

"To return his lost cloak to him."

Li Ji said: "Have you figured it out now?"

Princess Gao An blinked and said, "I don't understand."

Li Ji said, "It's very simple. Zhou Xiang didn't want to return the cloak to him, but he was afraid that the Hu merchant would suddenly remember the cloak and return to get it, so he followed him all the way. If the Hu merchant suddenly returned, he would pretend to have just chased him and return the cloak. If the Hu merchant forgot about it, he could keep the cloak for himself."

Princess Gao An opened her eyes wide and asked, "Just because of a cloak?"

Li Ji looked at her and said, "Sister, to you, a cloak is nothing, but to Zhou Chun, a valuable cloak is equivalent to several months' wages."

Princess Gao An was stunned for a while and nodded.

Xiaoxiang cursed Zhou Chun loudly and apologized to Li Ji and Princess Gao An repeatedly.

Li Ji said, "Xiao Xiang, I plan to have your brother come to the palace to work. I will have the servants in the palace teach him to read. What do you think?"

"Thank you, Your Highness. Xiaoxiang will be your slave in my next life and will definitely repay your kindness! Xiaochun, why don't you kowtow to His Highness the King of Wu?"

Zhou Chun kowtowed quickly.

Li Ji asked Xiaoxiang to take good care of his health and took Zhou Chun away. Before leaving the palace, Princess Gao An took out a cloak and gave it to Zhou Chun.

By mid-January, Di Renjie had completed the trial of the cases involving the Huanshui Du family and the Baima Trading Company.

Yu Zhining, Zhang Jianzhi and Wei Siqian also added a set of supervisory regulations called "Eight Articles on Integrity Inspection".

This is a simple and targeted code of law, which has made more detailed provisions for some of the laws in the Yonghui Code, especially those related to bribery.

The previous regulations prohibited bribery by giving or receiving gifts, but now a few more regulations have been added, such as bribery through transactions.

With this law, Yibao of Yibaohui can be defined as bribery, and those officials who accept the black boxes will all be charged with bribery.

Mo Jiaxuan was also investigated for providing a place for bribery, but the richest businessman in the Arab world was not in Chang'an, so Mo Jiaxuan was sealed off.

The main person involved in the case was an important member of the White Horse Chamber of Commerce. Because multiple lives were involved, Du Long and several core members were sentenced to execution in autumn.

Du Zhenglun was aware of many of these crimes and was guilty of failing to report them and of harboring criminals. According to the law, he should be sentenced to exile.

Li Zhi cancelled his exile sentence in consideration of his past contributions and the plea of ​​Lu Chengqing, Yan Liben and others. He only dismissed him from office and confiscated his property.

After Du Zhenglun was released from prison, he wrote a letter to Li Zhi.

In the letter, he mentioned the difficulties he encountered in searching for coal mines in Hedong and the hardships he encountered in establishing the Mobei trade route. Between the lines, he hoped that Li Zhi would show leniency to him.

This made Li Zhi feel a little helpless.

He had clearly shown leniency to Du Zhenglun, but Du Zhenglun seemed unaware of it and continued to plead with him.

This is in stark contrast to Changsun Wuji.

Before this incident, Li Zhi always thought that Du Zhenglun was a sensible and self-disciplined person, and he would never have thought that he would indulge his family and do such things.

Or maybe, the Du Zhenglun in his mind is just the Du Zhenglun of the past. People change too easily in the face of power.

No wonder emperors are prone to becoming suspicious.

Because the people around them hold power and are easily changed under the influence of power.

Therefore, in the eyes of the king, people's hearts are more fickle and naturally become suspicious.

Perhaps the king who holds supreme authority is the one who has changed the most, but he himself does not know it, and no one dares to tell him.

Just as Li Zhi's thoughts were wandering, a clear shout came from afar.

"Yeah yeah!"

Li Zhi turned around and saw that it was Princess Gao'an and Princess Yiyang who came together.

The two of them greeted each other together.

Princess Gao An took his hand and said with a smile, "Yeah, what are you thinking about?"

Li Zhi said: "Nothing. It's dinner time now, what are you doing here?"

Princess Gao An said, "Yeah, tomorrow is the Lantern Festival. My sister and I want to go to the Lantern Festival with Brother Xiaoji. Do you allow us?"

Without waiting for Li Zhi to answer, she continued, "You promised me last time!"

Li Zhi asked curiously, "What did I promise?"

"You said you wanted to go out and play in the future, so I'll just tell you directly. I won't hide it from you anymore, otherwise you'll be in danger!"

Li Zhi touched her little face and said with a smile, "You're just trying to find something to say about me. Okay, go ahead. Remember to bring guards with you."

The two were overjoyed, bowed, and then jumped away.

Li Zhi was no longer sentimental after seeing their disturbance. He returned to Ganlu Palace, but suddenly an idea came to his mind.

He hasn't left the palace for a long time since his last tour. Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival. Do you want to go out for a walk?
As soon as this thought came to his mind, he could no longer suppress it. He immediately ordered Wang Fusheng, "Fusheng, make some arrangements. I need to leave the palace tomorrow night."

Wang Fusheng responded and whispered, "Your Majesty, should we inform the Queen and the concubines?"

Li Zhi thought it would be boring to play alone, so he said, "Tell the Queen to get ready and accompany me out of the palace tomorrow."

Wang Fusheng received the order and sent someone to inform Empress Wu, while he himself went to the Internal Affairs Office to arrange with Wang Jishan the security matters for the emperor's departure from the palace.

(End of this chapter)