Tang Dynasty Hidden Guards

The room was brightly lit. Yuan Min locked the door from the inside. The two sat down on the bed. Xue Wei took out a wooden box from his arms. The box was not locked. It was two halves of the box joined together. After removing one half of the box, a bead the size of a goose egg was revealed, wrapped in a gold setting.

The two recognized it at a glance: it was a luminous pearl, much larger than Yuan Min's. Yuan Min's pearl was priceless, and this one was even more unimaginable.

The gold setting is engraved with four characters: "Pearl of the Marquis of Sui".

So this was the Sui Pearl, which had always been kept in the royal collection. Seeing Yuan Min in a daze, Xue Wei gently nudged her. "What's wrong?"

"Didn't you notice? This bead is only half."

Xue Wei was taken aback. He picked up the luminous pearl and found that it was indeed only half. It had been cut in half and placed in a golden holder, with only half of it showing.

Yuan Min suddenly said, "I heard that the Suihou Pearl was buried with Emperor Gaozong. Was it only half of it buried with him, and the other half is here?"

"It's very likely that the half that was embedded in the wall to provide illumination had to be cut in two."

Xue Wei casually extinguished the candle, plunging the room into darkness. In just a moment, the luminous pearl emitted a white light, growing brighter and brighter until it illuminated the entire room as if it were daytime.

Xue Wei suddenly realized that the luminous pearl was not a hidden object, but was used to illuminate the secret room. Li Chongrun did not need to bring a tinderbox or lantern. He entered the secret room, removed half of the box, and the luminous pearl lit up.

Xue Wei also realized where the dozens of luminous pearls accumulated by the Sui and Tang royal families had gone.

They were all buried with the emperor, cut in half, and embedded in the ceiling of the tomb chamber as lamps, shining brightly. Haven't the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum and the Qianling Mausoleum never been excavated?

"Old Xue, what should we do with these three treasures?"

Xue Wei was also at a loss. "Let's put it in the cabinet tomorrow and deal with it later. Anyway, this bead is ours, and we can leave it to the children in the future."

Yuan Min blushed and gently bit her lip. Since last night, their relationship had quietly progressed, evolving from "roommates but not quite lovers" to real lovers.

So when Xue Wei said "leave it to the child," Yuan Min didn't react excessively except for being slightly shy.

Yuan Min picked up the imperial seal thoughtfully, "So, the emperor only has seven treasures, lacking the Imperial Seal of the State."

"What Eight Treasures?" Xue Wei asked, puzzled.

"It is the Eight Jade Seals, the Imperial Seal of the State, the Mandate of Heaven Seal, the Three Treasures of the Emperor, and the Three Treasures of the Son of Heaven. The Imperial Seal of the State is the Imperial Seal of the State. When the Tang Dynasty was founded, the Imperial Seal of the State was taken to the Turks by Empress Xiao. Emperor Taizong then carved his own Imperial Seal of the State."

Later, Empress Xiao returned from the Turks, and the Tang Dynasty obtained the Imperial Seal of the State. The seal carved by Emperor Taizong was renamed the Mandate of Heaven Seal. In short, the emperor's power was only complete when he possessed all eight treasures. But how did the Imperial Seal of the State end up in Li Chongrun's hands?

Xue Wei thought for a moment and then smiled and said, "The Imperial Seal of the State did not fall into the hands of Li Chongrun, but into the hands of his father, Li Xian."

Didn't Li Xian reign as emperor for a period of time? I suspect he forged a fake imperial seal and replaced the real one. He had eunuchs monitoring him, so he didn't dare keep it with him and instead entrusted it to his son, Li Chongrun, for safekeeping.

"That should be it!"

Yuan Min's eyes lit up, and she couldn't hide her smile. "Old Xue, guess what I'm thinking?"

Xue Wei glanced at her. "My eyes are sharper than yours. I'm thinking about those hundred-plus chests of gold and silver."

Yuan Min chuckled, "Aren't we two big money-grubbers? We actually thought of the same thing."

"That's called a meeting of minds!"

Yuan Min's beautiful eyes lit up. "We're of one mind! Is this a poem? Do you still have a poem you haven't written for me?"

"It's an unfinished four-line poem!"

Xue Wei spread out a sheet of paper, picked up a pen, and wrote down four unfinished lines of poetry:

The stars last night and the wind last night, the east side of Guitang on the west side of the painting building.

The body has no colorful phoenix wings and wings, and the heart is a little bit better.

Yuan Min held the four lines of poetry, murmuring them to herself. She was momentarily stunned, forgetting all about the Imperial Seal of the State and the Pearl of the Marquis of Sui. Her beautiful, deep eyes were filled only with these four lines of poetry.

..........

The next morning, the two returned to Mingyue Tower and found a carriage parked downstairs, with Xue Chongjian already waiting beside it.

Xue Wei helped Yuan Min out of the carriage. Xue Chongjian quickly stepped forward, bowed to Yuan Min, and said to Xue Wei, "Brother, Mother has urgent business with you!"

Xue Wei frowned. "What is it?"

"I don't know either. My mother was looking for you yesterday."

Xue Wei winked at Yuan Min, "I'll be right back!"

Xue Wei boarded the carriage, which then turned around and headed towards Princess Taiping's quarters in Zhengping Ward.

"Why isn't Mother staying at the Prince's Mansion anymore?"

Xue Chongjian sneered, "Wu Youji used to pretend, but after Wu Liankun died, he completely stopped pretending. He drove all the servants his mother brought out of the mansion, and then conducted a blood test on his four children. In the end, he kept his two sons, Wu Chongmin and Wu Chongxing, and sent his two daughters back to the princess's mansion. His mother also moved back to the princess's mansion three days ago."

"Does this mean they're divorced?"

"Wu Youji wouldn't dare to get a divorce. It's more like a separation! They remain husband and wife in name only, living their own lives and not disturbing each other."

Xue Chongjian shook his head and said, "When I went to help my mother move, I found that Wu Youji suddenly looked ten years older, and he was even using a cane. He looked at me like I was an enemy, as if I had killed Wu Liankun. It's utterly ridiculous!"

Xue Wei simply smiled and didn't say anything more.

Before long, the carriage arrived at the princess's residence and slowly stopped at the main gate. Xue Chongjian led Xue Wei into the residence through a side gate.

Upon entering the courtyard of the study, Li Lingyue stood at the door and smiled at Xue Wei, "Wei'er, congratulations on winning the individual competition!"

"Thank you, Mother!"

Li Lingyue then said to Xue Chongye, "Go! Take good care of your wife."

Xue Chongye nodded, turned and left. Li Lingyue then said to Xue Wei, "Let's talk inside!"

Xue Wei entered his mother's study. The study was luxuriously furnished. The incense burner was as tall as a person, and the air was filled with a strong sandalwood scent. The table, which was ten feet long and half a foot wide, was filled with various jade and stone utensils.

"Sit down, I have something to ask you."

Xue Wei sat cross-legged on the couch. Li Lingyue looked him straight in the eye and asked directly, "Did you kill Wu Liankun?"

Xue Wei didn't deny it, nodding slightly, "He first sent five men to assassinate me!"

"I know about that incident, so I deduce that you killed Wu Liankun. You had a motive, but you didn't do it cleanly. You didn't deal with the mess that should have been cleaned up. Now Wu Youji is asking the Dali Temple to reinvestigate the case. Someone saw you at the Twelve Palaces on the morning of the day Wu Liankun died."

Xue Wei shrugged, neither confirming nor denying, "This doesn't prove anything. Anyone could appear in the zodiac."

"Ma Kunniang said that someone offered her money to send her away, and then Wu Liankun died. Based on her testimony, the Dali Temple changed the verdict to murder. There was also a pimp who went to inform Ma Kunniang that he had seen you. If the Dali Temple asks him to identify you, you'll be in trouble."

"Does my mother want me to leave Luoyang?"

Li Lingyue shook her head. "I'm just reminding you that next time you do something like this, you need to clean things up properly. I've already taken care of Ma Kunniang and that pimp for you."

"Thank you, Mother!"

Li Lingyue then took out another envelope and handed it to him. "This contains your house and sealed valuables. The Emperor has returned them to you. The house is in Qinghua Ward and is now back in your name. I will send someone to deliver your belongings to you. Should it be delivered to your residence or your current place?"

Xue Wei thought for a moment, "Let's send it to where I live now! I don't want to move back for the time being."

Li Lingyue was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Did the Emperor give you the Hidden Guards?"

Xue Wei nodded. "They gave me two gold medals!"

Li Lingyue laughed, "There are only five imperial gold medals in total, and you alone have two. Actually, I guessed it when the emperor summoned you to the Qilin Pavilion."

"Is it special that the Qilin Pavilion summoned me?"

Li Lingyue nodded. "It's very special. The Qilin Pavilion is the Emperor's quiet room. I've only been inside once in all these years. Even Shangguan Wan'er and the two Zhangs weren't qualified to go in. The last time someone went in was four years ago when Di Renjie was summoned. And tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM, the Emperor will summon you again in the Qilin Pavilion. She asked me to inform you."

"Mother, what is the role of the Hidden Guards?"

Li Lingyue pondered for a moment and said, "The Hidden Guards have two duties: one is the Emperor's Hidden Guard, and the other is the State's Hidden Guard, corresponding to your two gold tokens. The Emperor's Hidden Guards are the Emperor's private investigators, helping him investigate the truth of certain matters. The Emperor will tell you the duties of the State's Hidden Guards. You cannot reveal the secrets here to anyone, including me and Yuan Min. So, that's it. Don't ask any more questions."

"Alright! Also, regarding my remarriage with Yuan Min, has Mother inquired with the Emperor?"

"I asked, and the Emperor said she would answer you personally, Wei'er, there will always be a way."

"So even the emperor wouldn't agree, right?"