Tang Dynasty: Taking the Empress Dowager to a brothel, Father Emperor, what a coincidence!

The inn, room number one.

There are three things on the table.

One is a copy of the account book made by Xiao Shunzi. The other is a contract of goods with Wang Renzhe's handwritten signature and official seal.

The last item was an urgent secret letter from Wang Gui.

Each of these three things was enough to bring the Wang family of Taiyuan to their doom.

"Your Highness, this second Prince Wang Gui really thinks you're some brainless sucker in Chang'an City."

Cheng Chumo was amused when he read the contents of the letter.

"If he knew this letter had fallen into your hands, he'd probably be scared to death on the spot."

Li Chengqian tossed the letter to Xiao Shunzi, who was standing next to him.

"Send this letter to Wang Renzhe. Since Wang Gui wants to give me a pass to travel in Hedong Road, how can I refuse his good intentions?"

Then Li Chengqian looked at the Hundred Cavalry Secret Agent standing beside him, pointed to the evidence on the table, and continued to give instructions:

"Travel day and night, bypassing all official post stations, and personally deliver this evidence to Lord Wei Zheng. Tell him that I am waiting for his memorial in Hedong."

"Yes, sir!"

The agent bowed, picked up the evidence from the table, and quickly left.

"Yiai, go and inform our people that I want all the officials in the court to hear about what's happening in Hedong."

Fang Yi'ai quickly replied:

"Your Highness, rest assured, I guarantee I will handle it well."

"Chu Mo, you must go to the Governor's Office of Youzhou immediately, in case the Wang family of Taiyuan resorts to desperate measures."

"Yes."

Cheng Chumo nodded.

"Go, you must leave Longmen County before dawn."

Li Chengqian waved his hand.

Cheng Chumo and Fang Yi'ai immediately got up to take care of their business.

Just then, Xiao Shunzi walked in and said:

"Your Highness, the caravan you arranged has arrived."

......

On the outskirts of Longmen County, there is an old kiln that has been abandoned for many years.

More than a dozen large trucks covered with heavy tarpaulins were parked in the overgrown yard.

Li Chengqian brought Xue Rengui here.

He walked up to a large truck and suddenly ripped off the tarpaulin.

Inside the vehicle were rows of crates.

Li Chengqian drew a dagger from his waist and casually pried open a box.

The box contained bundles of repeating crossbows.

Xue Rengui was completely astonished by what he saw.

These things are not something that ordinary people can obtain.

Xue Rengui stepped forward and picked up a repeating crossbow.

He only had to touch them to know that these repeating crossbows were definitely superior to the junk in the county town.

"Ren Gui" (仁贵).

Li Chengqian patted Xue Rengui on the shoulder.

"By noon tomorrow, I want you to transform those villagers into warriors who can draw this bow and don this armor."

Xue Rengui turned around, clasped his hands in greeting, and said:

"Okay. I understand."

Just then, Fang Yi'ai, who had just delivered the letter, rushed back from outside.

Upon seeing the yard full of repeating crossbows, he excitedly shouted:

"Master! Are we going to rebel against the hell?"

Li Chengqian rolled his eyes at him, annoyed.

"Get out! What do you mean by rebelling?"

"We are merchants, and those refugees are our private property, which we bought for two hundred strings of cash. Now some troublemakers are trying to steal my property, so I'm forming a caravan to protect my own things. Is there a problem with that?"

Fang Yi'ai was completely bewildered by Li Chengqian's twisted logic, and after a long while, he managed to stammer out:

"Your Excellency is wise."

......

Chang'an City, Da'an Palace.

Li Yuan was looking at Princess Chang Le opposite him with a happy smile.

The little girl has a good appetite today. She's holding a pair of chopsticks, eagerly preparing to devour a steamed sea bass.

"Grandpa, why doesn't the fish smell fishy at all today? Did you change the chef?"

Chang Le picked up a piece of fish and looked at Li Yuan, asking him a question.

Li Yuan's smile faltered slightly.

Change the chef?

In his Da'an Palace, the people haven't changed for many years.

Just as Chang Le was about to put the fish into her mouth, Li Yuan knocked the jade chopsticks out of her hand with a chopstick, and the fish fell to the ground.

"Grandpa Emperor?"

Chang Le looked up at Li Yuan with a wronged expression.

She didn't understand why her grandfather would suddenly get angry.

Li Yuan did not explain, but instead looked at the fish and meat on the ground with a gloomy expression.

Then he turned to the old eunuch who had served him for many years and asked:

"Did the palace change its chef?"

The old eunuch quickly bowed and replied:

"Reporting to the Emperor Emeritus, the staff in the Imperial Kitchen are all veterans who have served you for decades and have not been replaced."

"Oh? They didn't change players."

Li Yuan nodded, then looked at Chang Le and reached out to pat her head.

"My dear Lizhi, this fish is cold, it won't taste good. How about Grandpa sends someone to buy you roast duck from Deshunlou Restaurant outside the palace?"

Although Chang Le was still a little aggrieved, she still obediently nodded:

"Okay, I'll do whatever Grandfather says."

"Go."

Li Yuan waved to the old eunuch.

The old eunuch hurriedly withdrew and personally arranged for someone to go out of the palace to buy vegetables.

An hour later, after Chang Le had eaten and drunk her fill, she was coaxed by the palace maids to go back to rest.

Li Yuan sat in a chair, toying with a teacup in his hand.

Kneeling before him were the secret agents of Tingfeng Pavilion:

"Reporting to Your Majesty, there is indeed something in the dish."

It contains henbane, which is ground into an extremely fine powder and mixed into the seasoning.

This substance is colorless and odorless, but skilled cooks will subconsciously use stronger spices to mask its herbal smell.

That's why the fish didn't taste fishy at all.

This poison is not immediately fatal, but if ingested over many years, it will slowly damage a person's internal organs, eventually leading to a silent death in one's sleep, outwardly appearing no different from a natural death.

Li Yuan did not speak, but simply gently stroked the rim of the teacup with his fingers.

Chronic poison?

A clever trick: boiling a frog in lukewarm water.

Did they calculate that he was too old and that no one would suspect anything even if he died?

What a great way.

Who wants to kill me?

Is it that good son sitting on the dragon throne in the Taiji Hall who finds his old man an eyesore?

Or are those powerful clans that were thoroughly humiliated by that kid Gao Ming trying to remove the strongest pillar supporting the Crown Prince?

Or perhaps it was some woman in the palace who wanted to rise in rank, or some impatient prince?

A series of thoughts flashed through Li Yuan's mind.

Finally, he burst into laughter.

"Great...that's really great..."

Li Yuan muttered to himself,

"Everyone thinks I'm old, everyone thinks I'm a toothless tiger, that anyone dares to touch my whiskers?"

He suddenly slammed the teacup in his hand onto the ground.

"By my decree, summon Pei Ji, Chen Shuda, Xiao Yu... to the palace to see me tonight."

Li Yuan rattled off a string of names, all of whom were old ministers who had fought alongside him to conquer the country and were now retired to enjoy their old age.

The spies dared not delay and took their orders.

One hour later.

The Da'an Palace was filled with elderly men with gray hair.

Leading the group was none other than the former prime minister, Pei Ji.

They stared in horror at Li Yuan's frosty expression and the shards of porcelain on the ground.

It's unclear why this retired emperor, who has been abdicated for many years, would become so angry in the middle of the night.

"Your Majesty... what is this...?"

Pei Ji spoke cautiously.

Li Yuan looked around at his old comrades and said in a hoarse voice:

"Someone wants me dead."

One sentence froze the air in the entire study.

The faces of all the veteran officials were filled with disbelief.

"Your Majesty! Who dares to be so audacious?"

"Your Majesty, please issue a decree, and we will surely tear this traitor to pieces."

The crowd was immediately outraged.

These veteran officials may have long lost their power, but their loyalty to Li Yuan is beyond question.

Li Yuan raised his hand to silence the crowd.

"check?"

He sneered.

"How do we investigate? Should we alert them?"

Since the other side dared to make a move, they must have been fully prepared, and might even be hoping I would launch a large-scale investigation to further complicate matters.

Pei Ji frowned and asked:

"Then... what does Your Majesty mean?"

"Use their plan against them."

Li Yuan stood up from his chair and walked to the front of the crowd.

"Don't they want me dead?"

Then I'll die to show them.

"I want to see how many monsters and demons will eagerly jump out of Chang'an after this old man dies."

These words shocked everyone in the room.

Fake death?

"Your Majesty, you mustn't!"

Pei Ji was the first to stand up and object.

"This matter is too dangerous; if we are not careful, it could become real."

"Danger?"

Li Yuan laughed disdainfully.

"Back in the day, you and I wielded three-foot swords and conquered the world. Every day we were on the verge of death."

Now you're scared just because we're playing a part in a show with a bunch of cowardly cowards?

I am not discussing this with you.

I'm telling you, I'm going to do something big.

Li Yuan walked up to Pei Ji and patted him on the shoulder.

"Starting tomorrow, I will fall ill, and I will become very ill, getting worse day by day."

What you have to do is to make this performance as realistic as possible for me, and spread it far and wide.

I want the entire Tang Dynasty to know that I am dying.

......

Inside the abandoned kiln.

Hundreds of refugees each held a repeating crossbow in their hands.

Most of them looked completely bewildered.

They've only ever dealt with farm tools their whole lives; who has ever seen such a deadly weapon?

Xue Rengui stood at the front of the crowd and shouted:

"Listen up, all of you. This thing is called a repeating crossbow. You don't need much strength. Just aim and pull the trigger."

He grabbed a man's hand and helped him straighten the crossbow.

"Don't be afraid! Think of your wives, think of your children. Think of how those corrupt officials drove you to ruin and death. This is the thing you need to get justice from."

Xue Rengui casually picked up a repeating crossbow, raised his hand, and fired at a distance.

Three thick wooden stakes, serving as targets, stood a hundred paces away.

"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!"

The next moment, the three wooden stakes in the distance suddenly shook.

Everyone stared wide-eyed at the three swaying wooden stakes.

What kind of divine weapon is this?

Can an arrow shot from a hundred paces away be fired in three consecutive shots?

If this were pointed at people, wouldn't it be able to shoot down a whole bunch of them in the blink of an eye?

After a brief moment of shock, everyone's expressions changed when they looked at the repeating crossbows in their hands.

A man raised his head and roared:

"Damn it! With this treasure, I'm going to personally kill that corrupt official Wang Renzhe."

"Kill! Kill all those beasts!"

The hatred that had been suppressed for too long was finally ignited at this moment.

Seeing the renewed fighting spirit in everyone's eyes, Li Chengqian nodded in satisfaction.

He winked at Xiao Shunzi behind him.

Soon, several guards carried over several large, steaming iron pots. As soon as the lids were lifted, the rich aroma of meat instantly filled the entire kiln.

There were also baskets of steamed buns next to it.

"Come on over, everyone, let's eat."

Li Chengqian looked at everyone and smiled.

"You need to be well-fed to have the strength to take revenge."

In an instant, everyone threw down their weapons and rushed to Xiao Shunzi, forming a queue.

While everyone was lining up for their meal, Xue Rengui followed Li Chengqian to a high point in the kiln.

Li Chengqian stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the myriad lights of Longmen County in the distance.

Xue Rengui looked at Li Chengqian and said:

"Young master."

Xue Li isn't stupid. I dare not guess your identity, nor do I want to.

Li Chengqian didn't turn around or even move; he just listened quietly.

"All I know is that it is you, young master, who has made this rough man like me live like a human being. It is you, young master, who has made my wife and mother able to eat their fill and stay warm."

My life was given to me by you, young master. All I have is this strength, and I am willing to go through fire and water for you.

Not for titles or honors, but simply for justice to prevail in this world.

Li Chengqian slowly turned around and looked at Xue Rengui:

"Ren Gui, I am Li Chengqian, the Crown Prince of the Great Tang Dynasty."

From this day forward, you will be my blade, and I will be your protector. Together, we will seek justice for this world.