The immortal of the Tang Dynasty, but the game starts at Xuanwu Gate?

March of the second year of Zhenguan.

Feeling utterly bored at home, Chen Huai'an leisurely walked out of his house and onto Zhuque Street, where he began to sample various delicacies.

Those who recognized him froze on the spot, then screamed, "A ghost...a ghost!"

Suddenly, everyone looked over.

At first, many people thought someone had gone crazy, but when they saw Chen Huai'an, they were dumbfounded.

"There really is a ghost! There really is a ghost! Minister Chen has come back from the dead!!!"

The crowded street was thrown into chaos, with people shouting and running away.

Chen Huai'an helplessly stretched out his hand and pressed it lightly: "Um... everyone, I'm not a ghost. I was indeed poisoned before, you could say I had one foot in the grave, but by chance, I didn't die."

"I'm still alive and well, I'm not a ghost."

"Besides, what ghost would dare to come out in broad daylight?"

"..."

At first, the people still didn't believe it, but after Chen Huai'an explained it to them, some even mustered up the courage to poke his hand and feel his body temperature, and only then did they believe that he was not a ghost.

The people, relieved that Chen Huai'an was alive, quickly accepted the fact that he was still alive. One old farmer said happily, "I knew it! Minister Chen was such a good official; he must have been blessed with good fortune and a long life. Heaven would protect him. How could he die so easily?"

"That's right, that's right." A vendor selling sesame cakes was very happy and greeted Chen Huai'an warmly, "Minister Chen, do you still remember me? You used to often come here to buy sesame cakes."

"I'm so glad you're not dead. I'll treat you to some flatbread."

"Haha!" Chen Huai'an laughed upon hearing this. "I'm not dead, which is indeed something to be happy about. But don't bother treating me to a meal. I know you're running a small business and don't make much money."

"Give me two sesame cakes."

Another vendor enthusiastically called out, "Minister Chen, I also have mutton soup here. I know you must have mutton soup with your flatbread. I'll serve you a bowl."

On the street, many simple, ordinary people chatted with Chen Huai'an, or invited him to eat.

Chen Huai'an often came over to eat, and had long been familiar with these vendors.

Furthermore, the fact that he didn't die made the people equally happy.

They didn't care about the Lu or Zheng families; all they knew was that Chen Huai'an was alive, that the good official who had served them wholeheartedly was still alive, and that there was hope for the future.

That's the most important thing.

Chen Huai'an understood this, of course, and without any airs, he ate flatbread dipped in mutton soup and sat on the ground chatting with everyone.

The atmosphere was quite cheerful.

However, this completely confirms that Chen Huai'an is not dead.

Upon hearing this news, all the major powers in Chang'an City were momentarily stunned.

Inside the Wang family residence, all was silent.

After a long pause, Wang Yu exhaled a breath of stale air and couldn't help but say, "Is this even human?"

"He actually faked his death?"

Wang Ren said with a strange expression, "Father, you know what, Chen Huai'an's actions have really wiped out the Lu and Zheng families. The purge and siege of the two families is not over yet."

"I don't know how many people from both sides, or officials who were courted by both sides, have been forced to step down. Chang'an is just the beginning."

Wang Ji slowly shook his head: "The problem cannot be viewed in this way. Chen Huai'an's fake death only caused all the existing contradictions to erupt completely. At most, it just made the contradictions bigger."

"To call it the cause is an exaggeration. Chen Huai'an's faked death was at most adding fuel to the fire."

"Don't forget that the Li family of Zhao County contacted us before, saying they wanted to take action against the Zheng family."

"Chen Huai'an's faked death only intensified the conflict, forcing many originally neutral forces to side with the royal family, which is why both sides were able to be severely damaged so quickly."

Wang Yu blurted out, "Isn't that still heartless?"

Wang Ji: "..."

"...What you say makes sense. It's a certainty that the Lu and Zheng families poisoned Chen Huai'an, but they didn't kill him."

Chen Huai'an decided to play along and faked his death.

"In the end, Chen Huai'an is indeed heartless."

Moreover, Wang Ji even suspected that Li Shimin and his group had known about this fact all along.

Therefore, after learning that Chen Huai'an had faked his death due to poisoning, they immediately rallied many forces to take action against the two families.

Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain why Li Shimin would be so enraged and reckless because of a minister.

If Chen Huai'an is really dead, then going to such lengths for a dead person is completely inconsistent with the behavior of an emperor.

Wang Gui raised his head and looked at everyone: "Gentlemen, haven't you all realized the key point yet?"

"Lu and Zheng have fallen, completely losing their voice in the court and their influence over the court has been almost completely severed. Next is the time to divide up the spoils."

"Furthermore..." Wang Gui said in a deep voice, "Lu Zheng poisoned Chen Huai'an. Based on our understanding of them, what coincidences do you think led to Chen Huai'an not being killed?"

"Even that fool from the Cui family of Boling knew to send out six assassins when he wanted to kill Chen Huai'an. Normally, the other party would have absolutely no chance of surviving."

"Besides, these two companies are acting together. Would they have made a move if they weren't absolutely certain of success?"

Wang Yu frowned and said, "What do you mean? The facts are clear: they did make a mistake and didn't poison Chen Huai'an. What's there to discuss?"

"No!" Wang Ji said gravely, "This matter is indeed worth discussing, and quite certainly worth discussing!"

"Wang Gui is right. With two families involved, and possibly the Cui family of Qinghe as well, that makes three. How could they possibly fail when they join forces?"

"According to the news from the Dali Temple, both the Lu and Zheng families admitted to poisoning Chen Huai'an and that they saw him eat it. As a result... Chen Huai'an did not die."

Wang Yu was taken aback, realizing that something was unusual.

Wang Renbiao asked incredulously, "You mean, Chen Huai'an was indeed poisoned, but the poison didn't work at all? Chen Huai'an isn't afraid of the poison?"

"How is that possible?" he said, then immediately contradicted himself, "How could anyone be immune to drugs?"

"Could it be that Chen Huai'an happened to have the antidote on hand, which is why he was able to survive?"

"Do you think the three of them working together would give Chen Huai'an a poison with an antidote?" Wang Gui asked rhetorically.

Wang Renbiao was speechless.

Yes, if the three families don't make a move, or if they do, they definitely want Chen Huai'an dead. How could they possibly have poison with an antidote?

Wang Gui said calmly, "There's no need to argue. I heard from Fang Xuanling that Chen Huai'an was poisoned with arsenic. Don't you know that's arsenic?"

"There is no antidote for this, but it has no effect on Chen Huai'an at all."

"Even arsenic is ineffective; you should understand how serious the problem is!"

"..."