Tang Dynasty Hidden Guards

Inside the hall, a huge yellow dragon was coiled in the air, its body swaying, baring its fangs and claws, its face ferocious, and its blood-red eyes were silently staring at them.

Xue Wei was so frightened that he took a step back, and Yuan Min screamed and hid behind Xue Wei, trembling with fear.

Xue Wei suddenly understood, and gently patted Yuan Min's hand, "Don't be afraid, it's fake!"

Yuan Min then cautiously raised her head to take a closer look. She finally breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that the yellow dragon was made of extremely thin silk. There were several pots of burning charcoal on the ground. As the heat rose, the yellow dragon took flight.

But what surprised Xue Wei was the yellow dragon. What did it have to do with the yellow dragon in the Wei River?

"The Yellow Dragon you're looking for is it, or more precisely, its twin brother. I made two of them back then."

Granny Zuo walked in and said calmly, "They don't have any spare Yellow Dragons. They only have one. The Yellow Dragon that Qingling and you found was indeed misled by Wu Chongxun, because they themselves did not find a Yellow Dragon."

Xue Wei suddenly turned around and looked at Granny Zuo, his eyes sparkling with expectation.

"Grandma Zuo, you know who they are, right?"

"Of course I know. Zhu Ling, a local tyrant in Wugong County, used illusion magic to create the reincarnation of Maitreya, and then had Maitreya designate him as the true Son of Heaven. He wanted to rebel. Not only do I know, but Yu Jianxiu also knows, Prince Xiang also knows, and Wu Chongxun also knows."

"Then why did they...?"

"Because Zhu Ling's desire to rebel was only on the surface; what everyone was watching was the hidden secret behind Zhu Ling's rebellion."

"What secret?"

Granny Zuo laughed, "Young Master Xue, you are a hidden guard, you should investigate this secret yourself."

Xue Wei was very frustrated. He gave a bitter smile and said, "Everyone knows, but I'm the only one who looks like a fool."

"Young Master Xue, you are very clever, not just ordinary clever. You don't know because you are too young. The Wei River Yellow Dragon case is actually related to an unsolved case from twenty-seven years ago."

"What unsolved mystery?"

Grandma Zuo said, word by word, "The death of Emperor Xiaojing, Li Hong!"

..........

After leaving Granny Zuo's house, the carriage was quiet, and Xue Wei remained silent the whole time.

Li Hong was the eldest son of Emperor Gaozong (Li Zhi) and Empress Wu Zetian. He was made crown prince and died suddenly in the palace 27 years ago at the age of 24. The cause of his death has never been found, making this case the first unsolved mystery of the mid-Tang Dynasty.

Emperor Gaozong of Tang posthumously honored Li Hong as Emperor Xiaojing. Emperor Gaozong believed that Li Hong's death had shaken the foundation of the country. In order to investigate the cause of Li Hong's death, he established the Hidden Guard and appointed Xu Shiji as the first Hidden Guard to be responsible for investigating the cause of Li Hong's death.

However, Xu Shiji never found out the cause of Li Hong's death until his death.

The gates were already closed. Yuan Min instructed Zuo Qingling to give the gatekeeper five hundred coins, and the carriage left the gates, heading directly towards Xuanyang Ward.

There were still many pedestrians on Chunming Street, and carriages passed by from time to time. The curfew in Chang'an had become a joke.

When the carriage arrived at the gate of Xuanyang Ward, Zuo Qingling stuffed five hundred coins into a hole in the wall. The gate opened, and the carriage went straight in.

Money can make the devil turn the millstone, let alone just opening a gate. In this era, there are no surveillance cameras, so who knows if the gate has been opened? Only a fool wouldn't make money if he could.

As soon as the carriage stopped, the maid Xiaoluoer rushed out of the mansion in a panic.

"Girl, something's happened!"

"What is it?"

Little Snail handed over an arrow with a message attached, "This was found on the young master's courtyard gate."

Xue Wei immediately took the letter and opened it. The letter contained only one line: "Beware of Yu Jianxiu; he is a man of the Crown Prince."

Xue Wei sat down in the study. He suddenly felt very tired. The case was very complicated. He had finally found out who was manipulating the Yellow Dragon of the Wei River, but he learned that it was just a facade and that it was actually related to the death of Li Hong twenty-seven years ago.

Now they are being told that Yu Jianxiu, the commander of the Plum Blossom Guard in Chang'an, is a man of Crown Prince Li Xian. What is Li Xian's connection to this case?

Also, who provided you with this information?

At this moment, Yuan Min came in carrying a cup of tea. She placed the tea on the table and gently held Xue Wei's hand. Her hand was smooth and soft, like warm water soothing the troubles in Xue Wei's heart.

"Are you feeling completely confused?"

"My head hurts!"

Yuan Min smiled and said, "Then observe patiently. You see, everyone knows that it was Zhu Ling, a local tycoon from Wugong County, who released the Yellow Dragon, but no one is making a move. In fact, everyone is waiting. You don't have to rush. Maybe another message will be sent to you, telling you the truth."

Xue Wei nodded. "I haven't been sleeping well these past few days. I'll catch up on my sleep tomorrow, and we'll go to the music hall to relax tonight."

..........

The following morning, Xue Wei was awakened by his maid, Xiao Luo'er.

"Young master, wake up! There are guests outside looking for you."

Xue Wei groggily opened his eyes. "Who's looking for me?"

"He said his name was Yu Jianxiu, you know that."

Xue Wei felt a headache coming on and slowly sat up.

"Pour him a cup of tea and tell him I'll be right there."

Xue Wei washed his face with well water, and the cold water jolted his drowsy mind awake.

He put on his outer robe and hurried to the VIP hall in the central courtyard, where Yu Jianxiu was sitting and drinking tea.

"I apologize for disturbing Young Master Xue's rest!"

"How did Commander Yu know I lived here?" Xue Wei asked curiously.

Yu Jianxiu smiled slightly, "I am a Plum Blossom Guard, of course I know."

"Please tell me the truth, Commander Yu."

Yu Jianxiu nodded. "To show my sincerity, I can tell you the truth, young master."

"I can tell you, young master, that yesterday you sent someone to deliver Huanglong to us. I sent someone to follow the person, and they ended up here."

Yesterday, Xue Wei had Uncle Tian deliver the Yellow Dragon to the Plum Blossom Guards, because it turned out that Uncle Tian was being followed.

Yu Jianxiu shook his head. "But that's not the truth. The truth is, the boatman surnamed Yuan who brought you to Chang'an was actually one of my men. He and the other two boatmen were all members of the Plum Blossom Guard."

Xue Wei narrowed his eyes. Yuan Laoyu was indeed suspicious; he had been watched since Sanmenxia.

"How did you do that?"

"It's not just you, young master. I've been keeping an eye on everyone who came to Chang'an to investigate the Huanglong incident, including people from the Dali Temple and the Censorate. This is actually the duty of the Plum Blossom Guard: to monitor and control everything. Of course, ordinary people are none of my business. I only monitor the people on the list, but I don't interfere or meddle."

"Have you taken control of Zhu Ling in Wugong County?"

A hint of surprise flashed in Yu Jianxiu's eyes. "Who did you meet in Chongrenfang last night, young master? How did you come to know Zhu Ling?"

"That's none of your business. I just want to know what you're here for today? And why are you being so honest with me?"

After a moment of silence, Yu Jianxiu said, "I want to cooperate with you, young master, to completely eradicate Zhu Ling, this root of trouble."

"Why don't you do it yourself?"

Yu Jianxiu gave a wry smile and said, "Because General Li Duozuo forbade me to take action, but helping the young master wouldn't be considered disobeying orders."

Xue Wei was still puzzled, "Why didn't Li Duozuo allow the Plum Blossom Guards to take action?"

"If you are willing to join forces with me, I will tell you the truth."

Xue Wei pondered for a moment, then high-fived Yu Jianxiu. "We've made a deal!"

He did want to know the truth, and he originally intended to use the power of the Plum Blossom Guards so that the two could cooperate and each get what they needed.

Yu Jianxiu then slowly revealed the truth.

"Li Duozuo is one of the Zhang brothers' men. I am closer to the Crown Prince, so the Zhang brothers had Li Duozuo issue a military order forbidding me from investigating Zhu Ling's affairs without authorization. Therefore, I want to take the opportunity of helping the young master to participate in this matter."

Xue Wei understood. The letter with the arrow was real. Yu Jianxiu was the Crown Prince's man, and now Yu Jianxiu himself admitted that he was going to intervene in Zhu Ling's matter on behalf of the Crown Prince.

"Let's continue talking about Zhu Ling. So many people are watching him; isn't he just a local tycoon?"

"Young master is very intelligent; he is certainly not just a local tycoon."

After organizing her thoughts, Yu Jianxiu revealed the truth: "Wugong County was once Wu Chengsi's fiefdom, and Zhu Ling was Wu Chengsi's trusted steward, who was sent to manage Wugong County."

Four years ago, Wu Chengsi failed in his bid for the crown prince position. He had considered rebelling and had been actively preparing for it. Zhu Ling was his trusted confidante who helped him prepare for the rebellion.

As a result, Wu Chengsi died of illness before he could rebel, and Zhu Ling was left without anyone to care for her. The large amount of weapons and money that Wu Chengsi had prepared unexpectedly ended up in Zhu Ling's possession.

But how could Zhu Ling possibly benefit from this? Various factions were secretly vying for the property left by Wu Chengsi. Zhu Ling was driven to desperation, and he released the Yellow Dragon three times, meaning three warnings to all factions: if they pressured me again, I would truly rebel.

Xue Wei was shocked yet suddenly realized how complex, yet also how simple, the matter was. After a moment's thought, he asked, "What does this have to do with the death of the former Crown Prince Li Hong?"

Yu Jianxiu shook her head. "I really don't know. I only know that Wan Guojun came to eliminate Zhu Ling, but Wu Chongxun came to seize the property left by Wu Chengsi. It is the Zhang brothers who want this property."

"So Wu Chongxun was actually there to seize the property on behalf of the Zhang brothers?"

"Absolutely right!"

Xue Wei thought for a moment and then asked, "How will we divide the final results?"

"It's very simple. You solved the case and found the valuables. You can report the facts, but you can't take the weapons and money with you, nor can you take the perpetrators with you. So we, the Plum Blossom Guard, will handle it."

"What if Wan Guojun and Wu Chongxun also try to seize it?"

"That's my business, and I will never let them succeed!"

Xue Wei nodded. "When do we depart?"

"The day after tomorrow night, Zhu Ling will have a Maitreya Manifestation Conference. That will be a good opportunity to make a move. We will set off for Wugong County early the day after tomorrow. We should keep a low profile for the next two days."

.........

As night fell, Xue Wei and Yuan Min arrived at the Tianlai Music Hall in Pingkangfang. Many people came to the music hall to listen to songs and watch dances, such as couples and spouses who came out for nightlife. After dinner, they wanted to go somewhere to have fun. They couldn't very well take their wives or partners to brothels!

This necessitates a formal entertainment venue similar to bars, cinemas, and theaters in later times, and music halls were such entertainment venues.

Tianlai Music Hall offers singing and dancing performances in the square, as well as twenty large private rooms where you can drink while listening to music and watching dances, just like a bar.

There were too many people, so Xue Wei led Yuan Min through the gate. Unexpectedly, they ran into each other and Xue Wei spotted Wu Chongxun and Li Guo'er.

Yuan Min also saw Wu Chongxun and Li Guo'er. She took Xue Wei's hand and walked in another direction.

But after taking only two steps, an unexpected event occurred. A young man in a brocade robe suddenly rushed over from the side, and without saying a word, punched Xue Wei hard in the face.