Tang Dynasty Hidden Guards

A man with an ethereal, otherworldly air emerged from behind the screen.

The man was about thirty years old, extremely handsome, with a slender and tall figure, fair and translucent skin, a high nose bridge, and a pair of amorous peach blossom eyes paired with a pair of pink and juicy thin lips.

He wore a Taoist robe with gold silk and a white jade Taoist crown. A golden hoop held his hair back, and his hair, dyed snow-white, flowed gracefully down his shoulders.

If it weren't for his prominent Adam's apple, Xue Wei would have thought the other person was a female Taoist priest.

"I am Zhang Changzong. We met two years ago."

It turns out they were the Zhang brothers, Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong, the male consorts most favored by Empress Wu Zetian.

"I don't remember, but I'm very grateful to Young Master Zhang for rescuing me from the water prison."

Zhang Changzong stepped forward, stared at Xue Wei, and smiled slightly, appearing somewhat charming, but his words were cold and hard.

"Our friendship isn't enough for me to take risks for you, Young Master Xue. There's no such thing as a rescue without a reason in this world. Even a monk helps others for the sake of his own spiritual cultivation."

Xue Wei paused for a moment and then asked, "Young Master Zhang saved me because I am Princess Taiping's son?"

Zhang Changzong nodded, then shook his head. "It has something to do with your mother, but that's not the real reason. The real reason is that you survived a year in the Blackwater Prison. The Blackwater Prison is the number one of the four torture instruments created by Lai Junchen, and it's also the most terrifying place in the Dali Temple. No one has ever survived more than three days there. You actually stayed there for a year without dying. We greatly admire your willpower!"

That last sentence is very hypocritical, like a woman who clearly covets a man's money but insists on saying she likes his character and temperament.

Xue Wei didn't expose him, but simply said, "Perhaps the reason I survived a year in the water dungeon was because my mother secretly took care of me?"

Zhang Changzong laughed. "We've been keeping an eye on you since the day you were arrested. We know very well that your mother has never cared whether you live or die."

Xue Wei felt a pang of sadness. Although Princess Taiping was only his mother in the Tang Dynasty, the fact that she ignored her son while he was imprisoned in the water dungeon still left him with a bitter taste in his mouth.

Zhang Changzong stared at him for a moment, then asked a completely unrelated question.

"The Dali Temple reports that you have amnesia. Do you remember your name?"

Xue Wei was slightly taken aback. Why did the Dali Temple report say that he had amnesia?

Unable to understand the reason, he shook his head. "I only remember that my surname is Xue, but I can't remember my given name or courtesy name."

"Your original name was Xue Chongyin, the eldest son of the former imperial son-in-law Xue Shao. After your mother remarried Wu Youji, her father-in-law's courtesy name also contained the character 'Yin,' so you changed your name to Xue Wei."

Xue Wei narrowed his eyes slightly. Xue Wei was his name in his previous life. So the body he possessed after transmigrating was also named Xue Wei.

Xue Wei's heart stirred, and he suddenly realized something: the real Xue Wei of the Tang Dynasty was actually dead, poisoned by arsenic, and he was merely using his corpse.

This explains why I know nothing: Xue Wei of the Tang Dynasty is dead, and I have not merged with his consciousness.

"I....."

Xue Wei suddenly realized that this was an opportunity to cover up the truth about his time travel.

He feigned a somber expression, his voice becoming somewhat hoarse, "There are many things I truly can't remember!"

Zhang Changzong stared sharply at Xue Wei. He had read the Dali Temple report that Xue Wei had been beaten on the head when he was imprisoned and had forgotten who he was when he woke up. He didn't know if he had really lost his memory or if he was faking it.

"Let me tell you!"

Zhang Changzong said slowly, "A year ago, you were implicated in the Li Chongrun case and were imprisoned on death row."

"Li Chongrun!" Xue Wei had a vague impression of him. Li Chongrun was the eldest son of Emperor Zhongzong Li Xian. Could the young man who was poisoned be Li Chongrun?

Xue Wei suddenly remembered Li Chongrun's last words: what treasure could be hidden in the secret room of the study?

Just then, a thought flashed through Xue Wei's mind: Wait a minute, wasn't Li Chongrun in history executed for criticizing the Zhang brothers' misrule?

Xue Wei looked at Zhang Changzong warily.

Zhang Changzong seemed to understand his thoughts and smiled, "The Li Chongrun case is related to me, but you have nothing to do with it. Someone is trying to frame you and is just using this as an excuse."

Xue Wei remained silent for a long while before asking in a low, hoarse voice, "What year is it now?"

"The second year of Chang'an, do you remember?"

Xue Wei silently repeated the reign title twice. He seemed to have seen this reign title somewhere before. After a moment of contemplation, he suddenly looked up and remembered. The reign title of Chang'an was not many years away from the Shenlong Revolution, and the struggle between the Li and Wu families had reached a fever pitch.

Could it be that I was released from prison because...?

His deep gaze fixed on Zhang Changzong, all pretense gone.

"Just as Young Master Zhang said, there is no such thing as a rescue without a reason. Young Master Zhang, you must have come with some conditions for rescuing me!"

Zhang Changzong waved his hand, and the middle-aged man and the two warriors withdrew, leaving only the two of them in the room.

Zhang Changzong narrowed his eyes into slits, a confident smile spreading across his face.

"Young Master Xue is indeed a smart man. There are people in this world who want you dead, but we think you still have value. Whether you can live or not depends on whether you can prove your worth."

After Zhang Changzong finished speaking, the smile on his face disappeared, and his gaze gradually sharpened. "Do you agree to cooperate?"

Xue Wei was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly. "I agree!"

"Smart!" Zhang Changzong clapped lightly. "I enjoy dealing with smart people."

Xue Wei had no choice. The other party could release him with an imperial token, but could also send him back in with a single word. He didn't want to go back to that hellish water dungeon.

"Young Master Zhang just said that someone is using this as an excuse to frame me. Who is it?"

Zhang Changzong said calmly, "It's Wu Sansi. The major families in Hedong support the Li imperial family, so the Wu family needs to make an example of someone. Wu Sansi is the one who did it. You and your father, Xue Shao, were both chosen by Wu Sansi. Thirteen years ago, Wu Sansi used the Li Chong case to starve your father to death. Last year, he used the Li Chongrun case to frame you and imprison you, in order to intimidate the families in Hedong. Not long after you were imprisoned, Wu Sansi's son even took your woman..."

Zhang Changzong closely observed Xue Wei's every subtle expression and found that his eyes were calm and undisturbed.

"What, isn't the hatred of killing your father and stealing your wife enough?"

Xue Wei slowly closed his eyes. Killing his father and stealing his wife was a serious matter, and he should have been very angry, but... these overwhelming hatreds seemed to have no effect on his heart.

His father died when he was very young, and his mother soon died of grief.

As for his wife, because the club went bankrupt and he was terminally ill, she decisively divorced him and left.

Xue Wei of the Tang Dynasty, who should truly bear the hatred of killing his father and stealing his wife, died in prison a year ago; I am merely using this body.

What did Xue Shao's death have to do with him? What did Princess Taiping have to do with him? As for the woman who was taken from him, Xue Wei felt no ripple of emotion whatsoever.

"I've forgotten all of that!"

Xue Wei's tone was full of exhaustion. He felt no affection for these relatives from the Tang Dynasty, only endless heartache.

"Forgot?"

Zhang Changzong sneered, "A year ago, Wu Sansi had someone force-feed you arsenic, but when he found you weren't dead, he ordered the Dali Temple to throw you into the Blackwater Prison to rot there. What, have you forgotten the taste of the Blackwater Prison so quickly?"

At this point, Zhang Changzong's tone became sincere. "Young Master Xue, I am telling the truth. Given my status, I have no reason to lie to you. Li Chongrun's case was tried by Imperial Censor Wan Guojun. He told me personally that Wu Sansi instructed him to include you in the case. In the end, it was also Wu Sansi who instructed Yu Chengye, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, to throw you into the Blackwater Prison. If you don't believe me, you can investigate for yourself."

There was no sign of lying in Zhang Changzong's eyes. Xue Wei's fist finally clenched slowly, his knuckles turning bluish-white from the force. How could he forget the endless darkness and fear in the water prison, those three hundred and sixty days of living hell? That was his deep-seated hatred, his only hatred in the Tang Dynasty.

Even the hatred etched into his bones did not ignite his raging fury. A year of brutal training in the water dungeon hardened his heart to the point of being as cold as iron, but the light in his eyes betrayed him.

For a fleeting moment, his gaze suddenly turned exceptionally cold, like a bottomless abyss of ice.

"You want me to deal with Wu Sansi?"

Zhang Changzong was still stung by the cold gaze that flashed by, and felt a little dazed. Was this still the same idle, womanizing playboy?

Although Zhang Changzong felt somewhat uneasy, he quickly regained his composure. He shook his head. "It's not just Wu Sansi, it's the entire Wu family!"

Xue Wei laughed, but his smile was cold. "Young Master Zhang thinks too highly of me."

"You might not be able to, but your mother can!"

Xue Wei instantly understood that Zhang Changzong wanted to use him to incite a struggle between Princess Taiping and the Wu family.

This is the real reason why Zhang Changzong released himself from the water dungeon. It wasn't because he survived a year in the water dungeon and had a strong will, but because his mother was Princess Taiping. That's all. My initial guess was correct; the Zhang brothers were indeed doing it for Princess Taiping.

Although he understood perfectly, his face remained expressionless, and Xue Wei's tone remained calm, devoid of any emotion.

"What do you need me to do?"

Zhang Changzong took out a wax pill from his pocket and handed it to him, saying, "This is your first task. Test your abilities and complete it within three months."

After saying that, Zhang Changzong stood up. "Now I'll take you back to the Prince Ding's residence!"

"The Prince Ding's residence?" Xue Wei paused, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes.

Zhang Changzong smiled faintly, "Of course it's the Prince Ding's Mansion. It seems you've forgotten again that your mother remarried Wu Youji long ago."