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

Da'an Palace, the mourning hall.

The officials knelt listlessly on the prayer mats.

Li Shimin had already gone back to the side hall to rest, citing excessive grief as the reason.

Pei Ji, wrapped in two layers of cotton clothes, leaned against a pillar and snored, occasionally smacking his lips.

Wang Gui exchanged a subtle glance with Cui Mingan beside him.

Something's not right here.

The emperor's sudden order to seal off Da'an Palace and imprison these important court officials here must mean something serious has happened.

"Brother Cui."

Wang Gui said in a low voice.

"What is Your Majesty trying to do?"

Cui Mingan glanced at his drowsy colleagues around him and said through gritted teeth:

"He's waiting."

"What are you waiting for?"

"Wait until we lose our composure."

Cui Minqian sneered.

"The scene Pei Ji caused during the day was clearly orchestrated by someone else."

His Majesty is using this as a warning, wanting to see who will lose their temper first.

Wang Gui's heart skipped a beat.

Could it be that the affair between the Imperial Hospital and Consort De has been exposed?

impossible.

Wang Gui quickly dismissed the idea.

Consort De is always cautious in her actions, and the matter at the Imperial Hospital has been thoroughly resolved.

The two old eunuchs drowned, and the imperial physician surnamed Chen also vanished without a trace.

Who can possibly find out this?

If we can just get through these few days, once the Emperor Emeritus is buried, our plans can continue.

Just then.

A young eunuch carried a bucket of oil to the coffin and added oil to the eternal lamp.

As the eunuch passed by Wang Gui, the oil bucket in his hand shook, and a few drops of oil splashed onto Wang Gui's mourning clothes.

"My lord, please forgive me! This servant deserves to die!"

The young eunuch was so frightened that he quickly pulled out a handkerchief from his sleeve and hurriedly wiped Wang Gui's face.

Just as Wang Gui was about to lash out, he suddenly felt something in his palm.

It turned out that while wiping, the little eunuch had subtly slipped a small note into his hand.

Wang Gui, without changing his expression, pulled his hand back into his sleeve and waved it impatiently:

"Get out of here, you clumsy thing!"

The young eunuch thanked him profusely and left with the oil bucket.

Wang Gui secretly unfolded the note under the cover of his sleeve.

I only glanced at it.

Wang Gui was struck dumb.

"What's wrong?"

Cui Mingan noticed Wang Gui's unusual behavior and asked him in confusion.

Wang Gui didn't say anything, but simply handed over the note.

Cui Mingan took it and looked at it.

The note contained only a few words.

"Consort De was caught in the act of adultery with Imperial Physician Liu by the Empress and has been drowned in Taiye Pond."

Cui Mingan almost jumped up from the ground.

One of the four imperial concubines, the legitimate daughter of the Wang family of Taiyuan, was thrown into the Taiye Pond and drowned by Empress Zhangsun?

"Idiot! Utterly stupid piece of trash."

Wang Gui was so angry that his molars clenched so tightly they made a grinding sound.

He never imagined that his daughter would do such a foolish thing, defiling the harem, at this critical juncture.

Not only did he have an affair, but he was also caught red-handed by the Empress?

This completely disrupted their subsequent plans.

"Brother Wang, calm down."

Cui Mingan grabbed Wang Gui's arm.

"Now is not the time to lose your temper."

"With Consort De's death, the trail went cold."

Wang Gui gritted his teeth and said.

"But that poisonous woman, Empress Zhangsun, will definitely hold us accountable for this."

His Majesty's sealing off of Da'an Palace is probably more than just a warning shot.

"The fact that Consort De committed adultery was a pretense; the real purpose was to kill her to silence her."

Cui Mingan incisively pointed out the core of the problem.

"The Empress went to catch the adulterer in the middle of the night, and without even interrogating him, simply had him drowned in the pond. What does this tell us?"

Wang Gui was taken aback, then realized what was happening:

"This means that His Majesty and the Empress already know about the Emperor Emeritus's poisoning, and have even traced it back to Consort De."

"That's right."

Cui Mingan held the note up to the candlelight beside him.

"They're clipping our wings; they're preparing to make their move."

Wang Gui panicked instantly.

Once the emperor has solid evidence, a major purge awaits the five clans and seven noble families.

"Brother Cui, what should we do now? Da'an Palace is surrounded like an iron barrel, and we can't even send out any messages."

A ruthless glint flashed in Cui Minqian's eyes:

"Since His Majesty is not giving us a way out, then we can't be blamed."

"you mean......"

"The plan has been moved up."

Cui Mingan gritted his teeth and said,

"We can't wait any longer. If we wait any longer, we'll all die here."

Wang Gui's mind began to race with thoughts.

Their original plan was to kill Empress Zhangsun after the Emperor Emeritus's funeral.

Then they launched the Xuanwu Gate Incident and installed Li Ke, the Prince of Shu, on the throne.

If we launch it ahead of schedule now, the risks will be quite different.

"But we're trapped here now, how can we contact the people outside?"

Wang Gui looked at Cui Mingan and asked.

Cui Mingan looked around and then his gaze fell on Pei Ji, who was snoring not far away.

"We need to create some chaos and get me out of here."

Cui Mingan stroked his chin.

"Brother Wang, please bear with this."

"What do you want me to do?"

Cui Mingan leaned close to Wang Gui's ear and whispered a few words.

After listening, Wang Gui's expression changed, but he finally gritted his teeth and nodded.

"Alright! For the sake of our families' legacy, this old man will risk everything."

Half an hour later.

Wang Gui let out a piercing scream:

"Ouch! My stomach. It hurts so much!"

He clutched his stomach and rolled on the ground in agony.

This sudden turn of events startled the surrounding officials.

"Lord Wang! What's wrong?"

"Quickly! Summon the imperial physician!"

Several officials who were usually close to the Wang family of Taiyuan quickly surrounded them.

Cui Mingan pushed his way to the front of the crowd and shouted loudly:

"Lord Wang's old ailment has flared up again, and he has fainted from the pain. Quickly, fetch the imperial physician!"

The Imperial Guards outside rushed in immediately upon hearing the commotion.

Seeing this formation, the captain in charge did not dare to be negligent.

After all, Wang Gui was an important official of the court, and they could not bear the responsibility if he died in Da'an Palace.

"Quickly go to the Imperial Hospital and summon someone."

The captain gave instructions to his men.

Before long, two imperial physicians arrived in haste, carrying medicine boxes.

These two imperial physicians were actually spies planted by the Cui family of Qinghe in the Imperial Hospital.

They pretended to take Wang Gui's pulse, then said to the captain:

"Lord Wang's condition is caused by extreme anxiety and grief, which has triggered severe abdominal pain. He must be treated with acupuncture and medication immediately, or his life will be in danger."

The captain frowned:

"His Majesty has decreed that no one may leave Da'an Palace without authorization."

"General, lives are at stake!"

Cui Mingan said anxiously from the side,

"This is a mourning hall; the yin energy is too heavy, so it's not suitable to administer acupuncture here."

"Please, General, do me this favor and have the imperial physician carry Lord Wang to the side hall for treatment."

The captain hesitated for a moment, glanced at Wang Gui lying half-dead on the ground, and finally nodded:

"Someone come and help carry Lord Wang to the side hall. You few stay at the door and don't allow anyone to come near."

Several Imperial Guards stepped forward and carried Wang Gui to a side hall next to the mourning hall.

Two imperial physicians and Cui Mingan also went inside.

The door to the side hall was closed.

Wang Gui, who was in excruciating pain, immediately sat up from the bed.

"Time is of the essence, hurry up and change your clothes."

Cui Mingan urged.

One of the imperial physicians quickly took off his outer robe and hat and handed them to Cui Mingan.

Cui Mingan changed into the clothes of an imperial physician, carried his medicine box on his back, lowered his head, and covered most of his face with his hat.

"Brother, I'm leaving this place to you. Just lie here in this side hall and stall for as long as you can."

Cui Mingan said in a deep voice.

Wang Gui nodded:

"Brother Cui, rest assured, everything outside depends on you."

Cui Mingan pushed open the door of the side hall and walked out with his head down.

The guards at the gate glanced at it, assuming it was the imperial physician going to get medicine, and did not stop him.

Cui Mingan walked out of Da'an Palace.