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

The Prefectural Governor's Office of Jiangzhou.

After Wang Chong was captured alive, none of his loyal followers or those who had committed numerous evil deeds escaped.

The people of Jiangzhou have now transformed into the people of Chaoyang.

He reported all those bastards he knew.

Li Chengqian ignored these trivial matters and began issuing orders.

"Open the granaries of the governor's mansion and all the granaries to provide relief to the people of the city."

A court will be set up to retry all the unjust cases that have been backlogged in Hedong Road for years. Anyone who has been wronged can come and report.

All the land and property confiscated from the homes of Wang and his cronies were inventoried and distributed to the victimized people.

The entire Hadong Province, which had been a living hell a few days earlier, has been completely transformed into a sea of ​​revelry for the people.

Li Chengqian's prestige in Hedong Province has reached an unprecedented peak.

"Your Highness, we're going to make a fortune this time!"

Fang Yi'ai ran in carrying an account book.

"Guess what? The gold and silver treasures confiscated from that old scoundrel Wang Chong's cellar alone are enough to cover the expenses of our Royal Guard for three years."

And that doesn't even include the farmland and shops. Minister Tang is probably going to be so happy he won't be able to sleep again.

Cheng Chumo was boasting about his great achievements to the others.

"You didn't see how I cursed them from below the city walls."

That old turtle Wang Chong almost committed suicide on the spot after I scolded him.

I reckon if I had another half day, I could verbally abuse him until he jumped off the city wall.

Everyone burst into laughter at Cheng Chumo's antics.

Looking at the team he had personally built, Li Chengqian felt a surge of satisfaction.

With Xue Rengui and Qin Qiong, what great things cannot be accomplished?

Once I return to Chang'an, thanks to what happened in Hedong, no one will dare to obstruct my long-cherished reforms.

But fantasies are always beautiful.

Just then.

"Report!"

A messenger rushed in from outside.

"Urgent message from Chang'an! Presented to Your Highness for your perusal."

Cheng Chumo looked at the urgent letter and joked:

"His Majesty must be impatient and urging Your Highness to hurry back and collect your reward."

Everyone agreed that what he said made sense.

Li Chengqian himself thought so too.

He smiled and took the envelope from the messenger.

After he tore open the envelope and looked at the contents of the letter.

Li Chengqian's world seemed to freeze in time.

"Emperor Emeritus Li Yuan passed away peacefully three days ago in the Da'an Palace..."

Li Chengqian's mind went completely blank for a moment.

The whole world seemed to be spinning before my eyes.

All sounds and all colors faded away from him at that moment.

How is that possible?

Li Chengqian's hand trembled, and the letter fell to the ground.

Cheng Chumo and the others were stunned by Li Chengqian's state.

An ominous premonition washed over everyone.

Li Chengqian slowly bent down and picked up the letter again.

He looked at it again and again, as if trying to find a trace in the few words that proved it was a joke.

"Grandpa..."

The images of his time with Li Yuan kept replaying in Li Chengqian's mind.

Every time I encountered difficulties, my imperial grandfather was always there for me.

How could an elderly man who was healthy and able to rollerblade with Chang Le just a few days ago suddenly pass away without a trace?

A sudden surge of metallic sweetness rose in his throat, and Li Chengqian's body swayed violently.

"Your Highness!"

Cheng Chumo and Fang Yi'ai were shocked and rushed forward to help him.

Xue Rengui ran directly behind Li Chengqian.

"puff!"

Li Chengqian coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Along with the blood flowed uncontrollably, tears streamed down his face.

This was the first time he had shown such a vulnerable side to outsiders since his rebirth.

He cried.

Inside the hall, everyone stood there helplessly, having never seen the Crown Prince so out of control.

Cheng Chumo cautiously looked at the letter in Li Chengqian's hand.

After he clearly saw the handwriting, he roared:

"Which son of a bitch did this? The Emperor Emeritus was in better health than me, how could he suddenly die without any illness?"

"Your Highness, if you give the order, I will immediately lead my troops back to Chang'an, drag those bastards out one by one, and avenge the Emperor Emeritus."

"Your Highness! No!"

Fang Yi'ai grabbed Li Chengqian, who had just stood up.

"Hedong has just been pacified, and the people's hearts are not yet settled. If you leave now, and if the remnants of those aristocratic families cause trouble again, the consequences will be unimaginable. Moreover, this time it is clear that someone wants to transfer you out of Chang'an. If you go back without authorization..."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Cheng Chumo also realized what was happening and hurriedly tried to persuade him.

"A gentleman takes revenge even after ten years. You are now the Crown Prince, the heir apparent to the throne; you must not act impulsively. Besides, His Majesty is useless..."

Li Chengqian calmed down.

Fang Yi'ai is right.

This is a blatant and overt conspiracy.

He realized that his selection to quell the rebellion in Hedong Province was a trap from the very beginning.

They wanted to transfer themselves away from Chang'an so they could take action against Li Yuan.

Li Chengqian's eyes had turned blood red.

He forced himself to calm down.

He can't follow the other party's script.

But that was his own grandfather.

Li Chengqian walked up to Xue Rengui, looked at him, and said:

"Xue Rengui, I entrust the fate of Hedong to you."

All the money and grain seized, except for those distributed to the people, are to be allocated by you.

You will reorganize all the surrendered soldiers.

I hereby issue you a written order. With this order, you may execute first and report later!

If any remnants of powerful families dare to show their faces, kill them!

If any official dares to disobey, kill him!

If any refugees dare to cause trouble, kill them!

His face, bearing the three characters for "kill," instantly lowered the temperature in the room.

Xue Rengui kowtowed and said:

"Your humble servant obeys."

Li Chengqian didn't say anything more and turned to walk outside.

"Prepare the horses! One man, two horses, and we'll travel through the night."

Xiao Shunzi, Chu Mo, come with me.

......

On the official road, a dozen fast horses pierced the night sky.

The dust kicked up by the horses swirled in the moonlight.

Li Chengqian lay sprawled on the horse's back, his eyes bloodshot, and he had not eaten or drunk anything.

After two days and two nights of frantic running, with three different horses, the riders hadn't slept a wink.

As the outline of Chang'an came into view, Li Chengqian and his entourage had completely changed.

They looked even more disheveled than the refugees who had fled from Hedong.

An official post station thirty miles outside the city.

When Li Chengqian dismounted, he stumbled and almost fell to the ground.

The postmaster was a middle-aged man with a pointed face and monkey-like features. He was bowing and scraping as he served a richly dressed merchant.

Upon seeing Li Chengqian and his group, he roared with disdain:

"Get out of here! What kind of beggar are you? Get lost. Don't get in the way of our distinguished guests."

"What the hell did you say?"

Cheng Chumo was furious when he saw this bastard dare to talk to him like that.

Li Chengqian raised his hand to stop him.

He has no time to bother with such insignificant people.

Just then, a young man disguised as a post station clerk walked over. He glanced at the crowd casually, then whispered to Li Chengqian:

"The shopkeeper has just received a new batch of tea. Would you gentlemen like to come to the back courtyard and sample some?"

This is the secret code of Tingfeng Pavilion.

Li Chengqian nodded slightly.

The waiter immediately led them around the front hall and into a secluded backyard.

As soon as he entered the room, the waiter knelt down on the ground with a thud.

"Secret Agent Number Three of the Listening Wind Pavilion greets Your Highness!"

He took out a small bamboo tube sealed with wax from his pocket and raised it high above his head with both hands.

"Your Highness, this is a message that Prime Minister Pei risked his life to send out."

Pei Ji?

Li Chengqian snatched the bamboo tube and crushed the wax pellet with trembling hands.

After scanning the note inside, he froze on the spot.

The note contained only a few words:

"My grandson is brilliant; seeing this letter is like seeing you in person."

"I am not dead."

The shock of turning from great sorrow to great joy made Li Chengqian's vision go black, and he almost collapsed to the ground.

Xiao Shunzi quickly helped him up.

"Your Highness! What's wrong?"

Li Chengqian forced himself to calm down and continued reading.

"I noticed something amiss with the food; it was a slow-acting poison called 'Heavenly Hydrangea.' To lure the snake out of its hole, I devised a plan with Pei Ji to fake my death."

The unusual movement of medicines in and out of the palace points directly to Consort De, who is related to the Wang family of Taiyuan by marriage.

This situation is dangerous. Remember, only by using a counter-strategy can you capture them all in one fell swoop.

Consort De?

The Wang family of Taiyuan?

Grandfather is risking his own life to set up a terrifying trap that could turn out to be real at any moment.

Consort De was the Emperor's concubine, and being deep within the inner palace, she was naturally heavily guarded.

The Wang clan of Taiyuan held deep roots and immense power in the imperial court.

Grandfather's move is tantamount to asking a tiger for its skin, or dancing on the edge of a knife.

At that moment, Li Chengqian understood.

He had to cooperate with his grandfather and make the performance seem even more real than the real thing.

Only in this way can all the venomous snakes hiding in the shadows be made to show their heads.

"Little Shunzi!"

"Yes, sir!"

"You shall immediately change into civilian clothes, take my gold token, and sneak into Chang'an via a back path."

Li Chengqian gave the order in a very fast voice.

"Don't disturb anyone, go directly to the Lizheng Hall to see the Empress Dowager."

Tell her I'll be entering the city in an hour, and tell her to stay calm; it's all a plan, and she absolutely mustn't give herself away.

"Yes, ma'am!"

Xiao Shunzi hurriedly went out.

Li Chengqian then looked at Cheng Chumo and said:

"Fetch water, wash up, and change into mourning clothes."

He walked to the basin in the yard, looked at his haggard and disheveled face reflected in the basin, and slowly scooped up a handful of cold water and splashed it on his face.

The cold touch brought him fully awake.

A moment later, a clean-faced Crown Prince reappeared before everyone.

He straightened his mourning clothes and said:

"Let's go back to Chang'an to attend the funeral of our Imperial Grandfather."