Tang Dynasty Hidden Guards

Yuan Min nodded, got up and left.

Li Lingyue then lowered her voice and said to Xue Wei, "Wei'er, there are some things I can't tell outsiders. In my heart, only you and Chongjian are my sons. I don't even know who the fathers of my other two sons are. Although it's a scandal, it's the truth. I've never considered them my sons. So you must believe me. I've lost my husband, and I absolutely cannot lose my sons too."

Xue Wei did not respond; it certainly took courage for his mother to say those words.

Li Lingyue continued, "After Di Renjie died two years ago, the duties of the Hidden Guards changed. They were no longer to pursue the Imperial Seal, but to plan for the future after the emperor's death. The emperor had actually decided on four candidates long ago: you, Wu Chongxun, Wu Yanji, and Li Chongrun."

You think Li Chongrun was punished for discussing the Zhang brothers? It's not that simple. Wu Sansi had already colluded with the Zhang brothers. On the surface, they were making a big fuss over Li Jiongxiu's appointment as prime minister, but that was actually for the emperor's benefit.

Wu Sansi wanted to make his son, Wu Chongxun, a hidden guard because the hidden guard possessed a golden token that granted the emperor's personal authority—a very important document. Wu Sansi intended to obtain this token and then orchestrated the Li Chongrun case, using the Zhang brothers to eliminate Li Chongrun and Wu Yanji in one fell swoop. The emperor was aware of this, but wanting to warn the crown prince, he tacitly approved of Wu Sansi's actions.

"What if I go to jail?"

"Your imprisonment was fabricated by Wu Sansi and Shangguan Wan'er, but it had nothing to do with the two Zhangs. I went to plead with the Emperor, but he said you were too spoiled and that it was not a bad thing for you to suffer in prison. He also warned Wu Sansi not to go too far, so I stopped pleading for you."

Unexpectedly, Wu Sansi dared to defy the emperor's will in order to eliminate his son's rivals and force-feed you arsenic. When he found out that he had failed and was afraid that the matter would be exposed, he threw you into the Blackwater Prison. At that time, I had just given birth and was in confinement, isolated from the outside world. I only received the news after I finished confinement.

I immediately went to the palace and knelt before the Emperor. The Emperor immediately berated Wu Sansi, but when the Emperor heard that you had been given arsenic but had not died, and had not died after a month in the Blackwater Prison, she felt that there was a divine will involved, so she decided to let you stay in the Blackwater Prison for a full year. My desperate pleas were of no use.

A year later, the Emperor hinted to Zhang Changzong to release you; otherwise, where would Zhang Changzong have gotten the Emperor's golden token? Wei'er, this is the whole truth behind your imprisonment.

"So Zhang Changzong doesn't dare to actually kill me?"

"No! Wei'er, don't think too highly of the Zhangs. They only rose to power because of their looks. They are complete idiots. They think they understand politics, but they have been used by others all along."

They knew nothing about the Hidden Guards; only Shangguan Wan'er and I knew. Shangguan Wan'er told Wu Sansi, and Wu Sansi then used the two Zhangs to orchestrate the Li Chongrun case.

Until the end of last year, Wu Chongxun secretly colluded with the Zhang brothers and told them about the Hidden Guards without their father's knowledge. Only then did the Zhang brothers learn about the Li Chongrun case and that they had been used by Wu Sansi and Shangguan Wan'er. During that time, the relationship between the Zhang brothers and Wu Sansi and Shangguan Wan'er became very strained.

Zhang Changzong released you to kill Gao Jian, forcing me and Shangguan Wan'er to turn against each other. They were only after revenge against Shangguan Wan'er and Wu Sansi; they had no other intentions.

"I'm not trying to speak well of the Zhang brothers. They are indeed very wicked. They only used you before trying to kill you. I just want to tell you that the power struggles in the Tang Dynasty are deep and dirty. The Zhang brothers are nothing compared to Wu Sansi and Shangguan Wan'er, who are the real formidable enemies. But there are people even more cunning than them."

Xue Wei hesitated for a moment before asking, "Does Mother know about Zhou Yinfeng's matter?"

Li Lingyue nodded. "I know. She was just used by the Emperor to break you and Li Guo'er up. She was just used by Wu Sansi to promote her as a famous courtesan and then spread rumors about your disgusting affair with the courtesan to ruin your reputation and make you lose in the struggle for the Hidden Guards."

Actually, I didn't want you to become a hidden guard. My initial goal was simply for you to live a peaceful life, so I didn't stop you.

Why did Zhou Yinfeng want to assassinate me?

"I don't know the specific reason, but I guess Shangguan Wan'er found out that the emperor had decided to abandon Wu Chongxun and choose you as the hidden guard. She and Wu Sansi were desperate and wanted to make a last-ditch effort. But I can't understand why Shangguan Wan'er didn't kill Zhou Yinfeng to silence her."

"Perhaps Zhou Yinfeng also possesses some leverage over Shangguan Wan'er, making her hesitant to act against her?"

"Perhaps! Shangguan Wan'er has always been a ruthless woman; she won't spare anyone unless she has no other choice."

"How did Mother know about these things, which are so secretive?" Xue Wei asked pointedly.

Li Lingyue was stunned for a moment. Yes! How did she know that Wu Sansi and the Zhang brothers were secretly colluding? And how did she know that Wu Chongxun had secretly pledged allegiance to the Zhang brothers?

Li Lingyue gave a helpless thumbs-up, "Wei'er, you're amazing and very smart!"

"So my mother wants me to cooperate with you. You have to tell me about some of your resources. I'm not interested in anything else, nor do I want to know, but I just want to know, how do you know these secrets?"

Li Lingyue gave a wry smile. "Wei'er, this is my most crucial piece. Can you please not ask about this?"

"Mother, I am your most crucial piece; I am your guardian!"

Li Lingyue was shocked. She thought that her son had already obtained the Imperial Seal and Wu Chengsi's wealth. She also felt that there was a divine will in this. Perhaps if her son became a hidden guard, he would really become her most powerful helper and her protector.

At this moment, Li Lingyue finally made up her mind to tell her son her biggest secret.

Li Lingyue gazed at her eldest son and slowly said, "Wei'er, do you know about the Plum Blossom Silver Guards?"

"I know, the surveillance was later disbanded."

Li Lingyue nodded. "I was in charge of the Plum Blossom Silver Guard. Later, the ministers objected fiercely, so the emperor issued an edict to abolish the Silver Guard and merge it into the Iron Guard, making it a civil service officer. However, I secretly kept some resources, and some secret monitors were not removed and are still under my control. This secret is unknown even to the emperor. Now only my son and I know it. Wei'er, this is my deepest secret weapon. You must keep it a secret and not even tell Amin."

"Okay! I promise you this secret, but please don't spy on us."

Li Lingyue hesitated for a moment, then said, "I can stop monitoring you, but there are people on Amin's side who want to seize her wealth. I'm not monitoring her, but protecting her. I'll let you know if there's any danger."

"Not monitoring her personally?"

"No, it's just monitoring her businesses."

"Alright, it's a deal!"

Xue Wei then laughed and said, "Now, Amin can come in too!"

Li Lingyue nodded, and Xue Wei opened the door and called Yuan Min, who was sitting outside, in.

"Please sit down, Mother has something else to say to us."

Yuan Min sat down next to Xue Wei. Li Lingyue pondered for a moment and said, "You asked me earlier whether we should tell the Emperor. I'm telling you, if this gets out, the Crown Prince will be in danger. The reason why Li Chongrun hesitated to tell his father is because he knew the consequences would be severe."

But have you considered this: Li Chongrun has always been in Luoyang, so how did he obtain the Divine Seal and Wu Chengsi's wealth? And what does this have to do with Li Longji?

A thought flashed through Xue Wei's mind: "Could it be that Li Longji found the imperial seal and the wealth?"

Li Lingyue nodded. "That's right, it was the one he found the year before last, but I didn't know he would give it to Li Chongrun."

Yuan Min, who had been deep in thought, suddenly asked, "But... how did Li Longji find it? And why did he entrust the wealth and the imperial seal to Li Chongrun?"

"That's a good question!"

Li Lingyue nodded approvingly to Yuan Min, then asked, "How much do you know about Li Longji?"