Tang Dynasty Hidden Guards

"This is my elder brother Chengqi, a year older than you. His wife is also from the Yuan family, specifically the Yuan family of Chang'an. Amin, do you know him?"

Yuan Min smiled and nodded. "We've met once."

Li Chengqi was tall and fat, with a huge physique, which reminded Xue Wei of Hagrid, the forest ranger in Harry Potter, except that Li Chengqi was only twenty-three years old!

However, Li Chengqi was very steady and seemed very kind, which is why he was known in history as the Emperor Rang.

Li Chengqi smiled gently, "Awei, keep in touch more often in the future."

Li Lingyue then introduced her second son, Li Chengyi, but Li Chengyi was rather aloof, merely bowing slightly without uttering a word.

The truly enthusiastic one was Prince Xiang, Li Dan, who grabbed Xue Wei's hand, calling him "nephew" repeatedly, and even forced a jade pendant from his waist onto Xue Wei.

"Please accept this. It's just a small token of my uncle's appreciation."

Xue Wei had no choice but to accept it, and he glanced at Yuan Min again.

Yuan Min kept whispering to her cousin Yuan Qin next to her. Yuan Qin was two years older than Yuan Min, but she was rather thin and frail. When she stood next to her husband Li Chengqi, Xue Wei felt that they looked like bean sprouts standing next to an egg.

Li Dan's wife, Doulu, was his third wife. Her nephew married Li Lingyue's second daughter, and the two were not only sisters-in-law but also in-laws. She had always had a good personal relationship with Li Lingyue.

Doulu also enthusiastically took off her own bracelet and put it on Yuanmin's wrist.

Li Longji, needless to say, took the initiative to introduce his two younger brothers, Li Fan and Li Ye, to Xue Wei. The two were just teenagers, obediently following behind their elder brother and bowing.

Compared to the enthusiasm of Prince Xiang Li Dan's family, Li Xian's family was somewhat displeased. Apart from Li Xian himself being very enthusiastic, his three sons were silent, and his daughters were even more indifferent.

But what made Xue Wei most uncomfortable was Li Guo'er. She stared at him with resentment, and although she didn't say a word, the hatred in her eyes was enough to kill him a hundred times over.

Xue Wei quickly realized the problem with Li Xian's family: it lay with Crown Princess Wei. She had high cheekbones and thin lips—a typical sharp-tongued face. She looked Xue Wei and Yuan Min up and down, then suddenly said, "You two haven't broken off all ties, have you? Can you still be together?"

These words were too harsh. Xue Wei and Yuan Min's faces immediately darkened. Li Xian, standing to the side, was truly embarrassed and didn't know what to say. Li Lingyue waved her hand behind her back, signaling them to be quiet.

She sneered, "Has my sister-in-law forgotten about Chongrun so quickly?"

Li Lingyue's words were equally heavy; he was telling the Wei family: Why did they break off their relationship? Wasn't it because of your son Li Chongrun's case?

Li Lingyue was also warning Wei that if she continued to act recklessly, it wouldn't be as simple as losing her son again.

Lady Wei dared not utter a sound. Li Lingyue sighed and said to her elder brother Li Xian, "Third brother, take care of the family affairs first! Otherwise, you won't be able to hold onto your position for long."

Li Lingyue turned around and led Xue Wei and Yuan Min back to their seats.

Li Xian slumped down and sighed deeply. Although he was somewhat dissatisfied with his wife's words and actions, the thought of their mutual support and their unwavering companionship during difficult times made him feel that he owed his wife too much.

Moreover, he knew that his wife's words and actions today stemmed from her love for their daughter and her dissatisfaction with Xue Wei, which made it impossible for him to blame her.

Just then, his nephew Li Ye ran over and handed him a note. "This is from Father to Third Uncle."

"I understand, go ahead!"

Li Xian opened the note, which contained only one sentence: "The Emperor has secretly ordered Xue Wei to investigate the coarse silver case from six years ago!"

These words struck Li Xian like a thunderbolt, leaving him stunned.

..........

The banquet finally ended, and the guests gradually went home. Xue Wei and Yuan Min finally boarded their carriages. Inside, both of them collapsed onto the carpet, exhausted. Yuan Min tossed her bag aside, took Xue Wei's hand, and asked, "Old Xue, are you alright?"

"I'm alright. I met a lot of relatives today, and my cheeks are still sore."

"Who told you to fake a smile? Can't you be sincere?"

"A whole litter of old foxes and their cubs—I can't be sincere with them!"

Yuan Min whispered, "It's too tiring for you to deal with the Wu family and the two Zhangs all by yourself. You need allies. The Li family is your natural ally. Didn't you see your mother's intention? She's started to let you get in touch with the Li family."

"The Prince of Xiang is doing well, but the Crown Prince's wife, Lady Wei, is a big problem. Your seat was changed today because of her."

"What happened? Tell me!"

Xue Wei then recounted how Li Guo'er had urged her mother to switch seats. Yuan Min sighed, "This Consort Wei doesn't understand the bigger picture and is too clever for her own good. She's indeed very dangerous. You must be careful of her in the future. But unfortunately, the Crown Prince is afraid of his wife, so you can't rely on him. On the other hand, the Prince Xiang values ​​you very much..."

"Even the Prince of Xiang can't be relied upon!"

Xue Wei coldly replied, "He's only so enthusiastic now that he knows I'm a member of the Hidden Guard. What if I weren't? Like last time we went to Chang'an, how Li Longji played us—did Li Dan really not know anything about it?"

"But….."

Yuan Min said worriedly, "The Zhang family and the Wu family are already showing signs of joining forces. Once the Li family falls, we will also be in danger. Although the Li family is not trustworthy, at least you can use each other and keep each other warm."

She paused for a moment, seeing Xue Wei deep in thought, and continued, "Moreover, the Crown Prince is not as incompetent as you think. His desire to marry Li Guo'er to you was to pull your mother back from the Wu family. Also, I think the killing of Li Chongrun was the result of a secret power struggle between the Crown Prince and the Emperor."

"I'm too tired to think about that anymore. By the way, what's the deal with me having two younger sisters? Tell me about it."

Yuan Min smiled slightly, "I'll tell you about your sister when we get back. I want to tell you something else: did you notice today that Li Guo'er is pregnant?"

...........

Upon returning to the East Palace, Li Xian said he was tired and went to his bedroom to rest. Crown Princess Wei Xiang also finished washing up and entered her husband's bedroom.

After their contact, Lee Jung-yoon, died, the couple began sleeping together again.

There was no other way; the Eastern Palace was full of spies, so the couple could only talk in bed without being overheard.

Wei Xiang closed the door and crawled under the covers. Li Xian then criticized her directly, saying, "You were too reckless today. Yuan Min's seat was specially approved by the Emperor. Once the Emperor finds out that you changed seats, Wei Wen will be finished, the Wei family will be completely purged, and we will suffer heavy losses."

Knowing she was in the wrong, Wei Xiang said after a long pause, "I didn't know that Yuan Min was specially approved by the Emperor. If I had known, I would never have done this."

"Your biggest problem is that you are easily blinded by your emotions. Guo'er is already pregnant. Do you think she can marry Xue Wei again? She is acting recklessly and without thinking. If you follow her, you and your daughter will surely kill me."

"My husband, I was wrong. I really didn't mean to cause trouble."

"You didn't think of it, but that's exactly what you did. When people came over to offer a toast, why did you have to mock them for severing ties? Do you know that the Emperor has already secretly ordered Xue Wei to investigate the coarse silver case from six years ago? And yet you had to offend him at this crucial moment."

"Ah!" Wei Xiang was stunned. "Husband, wasn't that case already closed?"

"Where is the case closed? Do you think the Emperor is so easily fooled? The Emperor will not rest until the National Guardian Seal is found. And why didn't you tell me about Chongrun's secret chamber sooner? I secretly sent people to check, and the chamber was empty; there was nothing inside!"

"I...I..." Wei Xiang couldn't say a word. She didn't tell her husband because she had selfish motives. Two years ago, her son told her that there was a lot of gold and silver inside, and she became greedy.

After her son was killed last year, she was too frightened to do anything rash. Later, when she heard that there were troops stationed in her son's palace, she dared not send anyone to check. It wasn't until last month that she finally couldn't help but tell her husband.

Li Xian paced back and forth in a state of unease, then stopped and asked, "Did Chongrun say anything about anything other than gold and silver?"

"No! He only told me there were over ten thousand taels of gold and silver, and said nothing else."

"He didn't say!"

Li Xian sighed. Just because he didn't say anything didn't mean there wasn't something else. He sat down and forced himself to calm down. "Tell me again how he found out, and what he told you."

Wei Xiang gathered her thoughts for a moment, "In November of the year before last, wasn't Chongrun sick? When I visited him, he secretly told me that he had accidentally discovered a secret room inside the calligraphy last month, containing hundreds of thousands of taels of gold and silver..."

"and then?"

"Then his maid brought in the medicine, and he didn't say anything more. Later, the imperial physician also came, and I had to go back. Later, I wanted to ask him more questions, but then he was caught."

Li Xian slapped his forehead hard. He understood. Chongrun didn't not want to say anything else, but she didn't have the chance to say it. His stupid wife had kept such an important matter from him.

"If you had told me sooner, Chongrun might not have died."

Wei Xiang was shocked. "Husband, could it be that Chongrun died in this secret room?"

"It's very likely that Chongrun got into trouble two months after discovering this secret room. This is not a coincidence; there is a cause and effect involved. I suspect that the Zhenguo Divine Seal is also in the secret room. It is very likely that it is the wealth that Wu Chengsi prepared to use for rebellion. There have long been rumors that the Zhenguo Divine Seal and the Emperor's Treasure are in his hands."

"Who would have placed the gold and silver in Chongrun's mansion?" Wei Xiang asked the most crucial question, her voice trembling.

Li Xian stared at the top of the tent for a long while before saying in a deep voice, "I suspect it is the second-generation hidden guard, Ming Chongyan. There are rumors that he is not actually dead. He has been searching for the Divine Seal. Perhaps he found it, along with Wu Chengsi's wealth, and hid them in Chongrun's mansion. Chongrun only left the palace to establish his own mansion two years ago."

"Does my husband have any basis for saying that?"

Li Xian nodded. "Ming Chongyan once served as the Junior Supervisor of Crafts and was ordered to renovate the royal residences and official residences in Luoyang. His wife, Zuo Ming, was a master of mechanical devices. Ming Chongyan and his wife built a secret chamber together. Moreover, Ming Chongyan was highly skilled in Taoist arts, so it is quite normal for him to find Wu Chengsi's hidden wealth."

"Does this have anything to do with Xue Wei?" Wei Xiang asked again.

"I don't know, but the Emperor seated him and Yuan Min in the first-class VIP section, and secretly ordered him to investigate the case of the coarse silver. Also, Guo'er said that Wu Chongxun failed in his bid for the Hidden Guard. So I'm suspicious... I'm suspicious..."

"What does my husband suspect?"

"I suspect that Xue Wei is the fourth-generation hidden guard appointed by the Emperor."

Li Xian's eyes were filled with anxiety, but also faintly revealed a glimmer of hope. Xue Wei was Princess Taiping's son, and if he really became a hidden guard, it would obviously be more beneficial to the Li family than if Wu Chongxun became a hidden guard.