Tang Dynasty Hidden Guards

Li Lingyue pointed tremblingly at the jade seal in the cabinet, "How...how did this get here?"

Xue Wei kept the imperial seal as an ornament in his bookcase, but he forgot to put it away when his mother came to visit.

"I found this at the ghost market in Chongye Ward, Chang'an. I don't know which dynasty it is from, but the jade is of very good quality, so I kept it."

Xue Wei took out the jade seal and handed it to Li Lingyue, saying, "Mother, please take a look at it for me."

Li Lingyue took the imperial seal, but didn't look at it; her gaze remained fixed on Xue Wei. "Wei'er, tell your mother the truth, where did this imperial seal come from?"

Yuan Min, standing beside her, laughed and said, "Mother, he's telling the truth. I bought it with him at the ghost market in Chongye Ward. The seller even said it belonged to Wu Chengsi, but we didn't believe him."

Li Lingyue slowly said, "This is indeed Wu Chengsi's thing."

Xue Wei and Yuan Min exchanged bewildered glances. Xue Wei asked, "Mother, what exactly happened?"

Li Lingyue sighed and said to Yuan Min, "Amin, go and lock the door from the inside, kick everyone out, and don't let anyone in!"

Yuan Min was about to leave when she temporarily arranged for the female warriors and Xiao Luo'er to go to the fourth floor. She locked the main door and then the door on the stairs before returning.

"Please sit down!"

Li Lingyue gestured for the two to sit down, then composed herself and asked Xue Wei, "Did you uncover the truth behind the Huanglong case when you went to Chang'an to investigate?"

Xue Wei nodded. "It's about various forces vying for the wealth left behind by Wu Chengsi."

Li Lingyue nodded. "Actually, this case is also related to the death of my elder brother, the former Crown Prince Li Hong."

Xue Wei's gaze turned serious; this was the secret he wanted to know.

"You've found the answer to this secret, even if you don't know it yourself."

Li Lingyue pointed to the imperial seal, "It holds the secret to the death of the former crown prince."

Xue Wei was taken aback. "Could it be real?"

Li Lingyue nodded. "It is the imperial seal of this dynasty that Crown Prince Li Hong lost."

"Mother, could you tell me in more detail?"

Li Lingyue leaned back on the soft couch, her gaze gradually falling into deep thought.

"Twenty-seven years ago, my elder brother went to the Linde Hall to see our father, but he was not there. There were eight jade seals on the imperial desk. My elder brother was momentarily bewitched and stole two of the jade seals, which he then had his trusted eunuchs, who were waiting outside, take back to the Eastern Palace."

But he quickly realized his mistake, knelt down to apologize to his father, and sent someone to the Eastern Palace to retrieve the imperial seal. Strange things happened at this time: the eunuch who took the imperial seal did not return to the Eastern Palace; he disappeared, and both imperial seals disappeared with him.

The emperor was furious. He drew his sword and threw it at him, demanding an apology. This was originally a momentary outburst of anger from the emperor, but in his terror, the elder brother actually drew the sword and committed suicide.

At this point, Li Lingyue became saddened. She wiped away her tears and said, "Father Emperor was heartbroken and full of remorse. He couldn't reveal the shameful matter of stealing the imperial seal, so he appointed Xu Shiji as a hidden guard, ostensibly to investigate the cause of the Crown Prince's death, but actually to track down the stolen imperial seal."

After Xu Shiji passed away, the task was handed over to the second hidden guard, Ming Chongyan, and the third hidden guard, Di Renjie, to continue the investigation.

Later, Di Renjie finally found a clue. When Wei Wang Wu Chengsi was drunk, he said that he was the crown prince by destiny because he had obtained the imperial seal. When the emperor questioned him, he denied it and said that he had obtained the imperial seal of the Chen Dynasty. He actually took it out.

However, people didn't believe Wu Chengsi, because so many dynasties before had their own imperial seals; there were many imperial seals, nothing to boast about. Only the imperial seal of the current dynasty was worth showing off.

Xue Wei suddenly realized, "So the reason so many people are investigating Zhu Ling is not only because of Wu Chengsi's wealth, but also because of this imperial seal."

Li Lingyue nodded. "Not many people know this secret. It was just a coincidence that you managed to buy it. It seems that your appointment as a hidden guard was truly destiny!"

Yuan Min sighed, "At the time, I didn't want him to buy it because I thought it was impossible and would bring trouble. But he was greedy for the quality of the jade, so he bought it. I guess it was because many people didn't believe it and didn't dare to buy it that it ended up in Lao Xue's hands. It was fate, and it was his destiny."

Xue Wei was well aware that because he was from a later era, he had no reverence for the imperial seal and dared to buy it because of its jade quality. Who in the Tang Dynasty would dare to buy an imperial seal?

Li Lingyue shook her head. "Not entirely. Li Longji and Wu Chongxun are also looking for the Imperial Seal. They are not afraid. They are eager to find someone who sells the Imperial Seal. Wei'er's encounter with it should be its first appearance. That's why I said it was fate."

Xue Wei admitted that his mother was right. It was probably the first time the imperial seal had been revealed, and he had just happened to come across it. It did indeed feel like fate.

Xue Wei suddenly thought of another question, "If this jade seal is lost, we can just carve a new one. Why be so persistent and send three generations of hidden guards to retrieve it?"

Li Lingyue hesitated for a moment before saying, "If it were just the Emperor's Seal, that would be fine, because what was lost back then wasn't just one jade seal. Besides this Emperor's Seal, there was also... the Imperial Seal of the State."

Li Lingyue's last four words struck Xue Wei and Yuan Min as if they had been struck by lightning, leaving them completely stunned and speechless.

Li Lingyue noticed the strange expressions on their faces, and her gaze suddenly sharpened. "Wei'er, tell your mother, did you find the Imperial Treasure of the Nation as well?"

Xue Wei was speechless. He had searched for the right person a thousand times, and suddenly, he found him in the dim light. How could he explain that the Imperial Seal of the State had been in his hands all along?

At this moment, Xue Wei also vaguely guessed that the wealth that everyone was desperately searching for in Wu Chengsi was probably the 120,000 taels of gold and silver that he had found in Li Chongrun's secret room.

This realization pierced Xue Wei's heart like a knife, and all sorts of emotions welled up inside him. Could there really be a destiny in the dark?

Yuan Min suddenly gently grasped Xue Wei's hand and whispered, "Old Xue, tell me the truth! She's your mother, and only she can help you solve this problem."

Xue Wei suddenly realized that Li Longji might also know this secret, which was why he was so calm. If Li Longji found out about this later, he would be in big trouble. Yuan Min was right. If the secret could not be kept, it would be better to let his mother know, at least she would not kill her son.

"Wei'er, tell your mother, what secret is it?"

Xue Wei gave Yuan Min a wink, and Yuan Min understood, taking out the Imperial Seal of the State from the secret cabinet next to her.

Xue Wei then revealed the secret that Li Chongrun had told him before he died in prison, and also told his mother that they had indeed found the imperial seal and 120,000 taels of gold and silver in the secret room of Li Chongrun's study.

The study was quiet. Li Lingyue's gaze towards her son no longer held reproach, but rather a complex mix of shock, confusion, and a hint of expectation.

"Besides you and Amin, who else knows about this?"

Xue Wei shook his head. "No more!"

"You don't know about the female warriors?"

"They only know about money, but they don't know about the Imperial Seal."

Li Lingyue wanted Yuan Min to kill all four female warriors, but she also knew that this request was excessive and that Yuan Min would not agree.

"Make them swear a solemn oath never to divulge a single word."

Yuan Min nodded, "I will!"

After pondering for a long time, Li Lingyue said to Xue Wei, "Li Chongrun asked you to hand the treasure over to his father, which means that the Crown Prince was unaware of it, and also means that all those who knew about it are dead. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for it to have been preserved for a year without being stolen."

Before Xue Wei could speak, Li Lingyue waved her hand to stop him, "Let me finish!"

Xue Wei fell silent. Li Lingyue continued, "First of all, this secret can only be known by the three of us. We must never let a fourth person know about it. Secondly, I will take the two jade seals with me. You can keep the money. If you want to exchange it for shops, that's fine with you."

"Does Mother not intend to tell the Emperor?"

Li Lingyue said to Yuan Min, "Min'er, please step aside for a moment. I want to speak with Wei'er alone for a few minutes."