Chapter 275: Killing with a knife (Part 2)

Another man wore a small gauze hat, a green robe, a leather belt, and a pair of black leather boots. This dress was everywhere in Chang'an, and there were a lot of picks at him, so Cui Guangyuan did not notice him when he entered the account. The moment Cui Guangyuan entered the account, the man quickly left the back account, but he was still a step slower, and Cui Guangyuan saw his side clearly.

This person turned out to be the former crown prince Li Heng. Of course, Li Heng went out of the city in a miserable manner not to accompany Cui Guangyuan to drink. Cui Guangyuan was just a sixth-rank county magistrate. How could he have the right to let Li Heng accompany him?

Li Heng got news from Li Qiu this afternoon that King Di was going to take charge of Anxi. This news surprised him. So far, their deployments were aimed at King Di. Unexpectedly, King Di was suddenly transferred, causing all Li Heng's plans to fail. He was anxious and went out of the city to find Li Qing'an in vain, but unexpectedly, he happened to encounter this banquet.

Li Heng had already left, and Cui Guangyuan was still standing there in a daze. He didn't expect to see the former Prince of the East Palace in Li Qing'an's military camp. He didn't even have time to salute. Seeing that Cui Qing'an had seen Li Heng, Li Qing'an gently patted his shoulder and smiled apologetically: "Mr. Cui, I originally planned to accompany you tonight to hunt, but if there is something happening temporarily, I can only have another day."

Cui Guangyuan woke up and hurriedly said, "Where! Where! The general is in trouble, how can he deposed the prince for me? To be honest, today I am disturbing the general."

Li Qingan smiled and said to the other two: "We won't say so much, let's sit down! Come on! County Magistrate Cui sat beside me."

In another small tent not far away, Li Heng paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. He just went to find Li Qing'an, but he was almost touched by Cui Guangyuan. He also realized that he had lost his composure, but the anxiety in his heart made it difficult for him to calm down. If his father was unsure that King Di entered the East Palace, who would it be? King Ying or King Yong? Moreover, Li Qing'an has been back from Anxi for five days, but he has not come to see him. Does he also think he has no hope to enter the East Palace again?

Li Heng never longed to return to the East Palace as he is today. The cold reception over the past two years has caused him to suffer the pain of losing power. He is unwilling to let himself disappear in the power struggle in obscurity. In any case, he wants to fight this.

At this time, the curtain was lifted, and Li Qingan walked in and said with a smile: "Let Your Highness wait for a long time!"

"Don't you go and have dinner with the guests?" Li Heng asked.

"They are accompanying him, so I will come to see Your Highness."

"But he is Yang Guozhong's person, why are you...?"

Seeing that Li Heng's eyes were full of doubts, Li Qingan explained with a smile: "He betrayed Yang Guozhong in the assassination case. Yang Guozhong no longer tolerated him, so he came to surrender to me."

"But when he saw me, would he use this to invite Yang Guozhong to reward him?"

Li Heng was a little worried that if he came to see Li Qing'an privately, he might cause trouble again. After being a frustrated prince for so many years, he developed his habit of being cautious and cautious. He knew that Cui Guangyuan was promoted by Yang Guozhong, but he did not know how much Cui Guangyuan betrayed Yang Guozhong, and he was afraid that Cui Guangyuan would go to inform Yang Guozhong.

Li Qingan also thought of this, but since Cui Guangyuan came to his military camp for dinner and brought the evidence he needed, can Yang Guozhong forgive this person again?

"Don't worry, your highness, if he dares to inform Yang Guo, I will not be able to forgive him."

Even though he was worried, Li Heng had no choice but to sit down, pick up the teacup and take a sip of tea, then asked, "Why have you been back for five days and haven't come to see me?"

Li Qingan quickly explained: "Your Highness should also know that as soon as I came back, I encountered Pei Xiao intercepting the memorials in the court without authorization, which led to the cancellation of my entry into the city. I originally planned to support the prince in the entry into the city, but unfortunately the plan was not as good as change. Then the assassination of King Di happened. The atmosphere in the court was particularly tense. In this case, the ministers did not dare to act rashly, so as not to make your highness suspicious. Then I was involved in the assassination by Xing Jian. These highness officials must also know that I have no time from beginning to end."

"Is that true?" Li Heng sneered: "But you have time to go to Li Linfu's mansion to drink, so you can explain it to me."

Now there are not many people who support him, Li Heng. Li Qingan is the only powerful person and the greatest hope that Li Heng has placed. He is most afraid of Li Qingan and abandon him, so he will really become a lonely man. At this time, he is like a resentful woman in a deep house. He hopes that Li Qingan can support him as always, but he is also full of doubts about him.

Li Qingan heard the dissatisfaction in his tone and sighed, "Does your Highness think I am going to Li Linfu's mansion to drink and have fun?"

"Isn't it?"

"No!" Li Qing'an straightened his waist and said, "Your Highness, Li Linfu is just a matchmaker. I went to his mansion to meet Wang Gong. Do you understand?"

"Wang Gong?" Li Heng suddenly understood that Li Qing'an had joined forces with Wang Gong. Of course, he knew that Wang Gong was also a very powerful person in the court, holding more than twenty positions, and his power even exceeded that of Yang Shenjin and Chen Xilie. If Li Qing'an formed an alliance with this person, would Wang Gong turn to support him? There should be this possibility.

Thinking of this, Li Heng's face gradually became gentle. He smiled and said softly: "General Li, I really didn't expect King Di to be transferred to Anxi. I heard Li Qiu talk about it this afternoon, so I was anxious. Please forgive the rudeness in my words just now."

Li Qingan smiled faintly. Li Heng actually apologized to him. If time went back two years, as the prince of the Eastern Palace, how could he apologize to him? At that time, he would only think that he was flattering him and surrendering to him, and would never bow his noble head to him.

Although Li Qing'an supported Li Heng, this does not mean that he obeyed Li Heng. It was just his attitude. From the beginning, he had impure motives. At that time, he was just a pawn of Li Linfu, and he was not a person who reads the books of sages. He had no idea about what the king was the leader of his ministers, what the king wanted his ministers to die, and what the ministers had to die, and what he had to die. He had only a desire for power and only his inflated ambitions.

This is why he didn't want Li Heng to go to Anxi to take charge, but instead took a fancy to King Qing Li Cong. He had long seen that Li Heng was a person who was unwilling to be calm. If he was asked to go to Anxi, it would only be Anxi's misfortune and only Li Qing'an's constraint.

But Li Heng was useful to him, especially when he learned that the prince of the Eastern Palace that Li Longji really wanted to establish was actually the eldest grandson of the emperor, and Li Heng was so famous that he was very talented.

"Your Highness, although I didn't come to visit Your Highness, this does not mean that I don't care about Your Highness. On the contrary, I have always been thinking about how to get Your Highness back to the East Palace. Even my initial purpose of dealing with Yang Guozhong and King Di is this. However, even if Your Highness doesn't come tonight, I will go to your Highness to report a major news to Your Highness."

“What big news?”

Li Heng immediately sat upright. With an instinct, he vaguely guessed that what Li Qingan was going to say was most likely a dispute between the East Palace.

"Your Highness, I heard that the Lord has appointed the Lord of the Eastern Palace."

Li Qing'an's words were like a thousand pounds of powerful force, which suddenly pushed Li Heng out of the cold ice cave. Li Qing'an said this, it must be him. Li Heng's heart was extremely bitter, his face turned pale. After a long time, he whispered weakly: "Who is the one who is determined?"

Li Qingan smiled and said, "Things are not that bad? Your Highness might as well guess."

"King Yong?"

Prince Yong Li Lin is the sixteenth son of Li Longji and is the same mother and brother as Li Heng. He was raised by Li Heng since he was a child. If he was named the prince of the Eastern Palace, it would not be too bad. At least he will take care of his descendants in the future.

Li Qingan shook his head. Seeing that Li Heng was extremely depressed, he didn't want to hide it from him anymore and smiled and said, "Your Highness can't think of it! It's the eldest grandson of the emperor."

"Chu'er?"

Li Heng was shocked. He never dreamed that it would be his own son, and his father would actually have a grandson to inherit the throne. Why?

His mind was covered in white, as if he had stopped thinking. He didn't know whether he was happy or sad, nor even where he was.

"Your Highness! Your Highness!"

Li Qingan woke him up in a low voice, Li Heng's soul flew back, he grabbed Li Qingan's wrist and asked anxiously: "Is this news reliable?"

"It was Gao Lishi who told me that Li Linfu thought so too."

Since Gao Lishi and Li Linfu both thought so, the news would not be wrong. A joy of drought and rain poured into Li Heng's heart. His pale face immediately became energetic. It was his son, and his son actually wanted to be the crown prince. Then he would be the emperor in the future. Although Li Heng still felt a little regretful, after all, the emperor did not have the power of the emperor, but this was much better than his brothers moving into the East Palace. He also knew how difficult it was to return to the East Palace. Except for Li Qing'an, there was no support from the support of the important ministers, and Li Qing'an was far away in Anxi. Now that his son could enter the East Palace, he was satisfied.

Thinking of this, Li Heng could no longer suppress the joy in his heart and asked with a smile: "General Li, how sure do you think Chu'er is to enter the Eastern Palace?"

Li Qingan was quite calm, and he smiled and said, "If Your Highness can keep the secret strictly and not tell anyone, including the person next to him, then I think he is 70% sure. If you want to rebel, if you know too many people, someone will immediately destroy and obstruct it and try every means to slander Changsun, then you will only have 30% of the confidence."

Li Heng of course understood what Li Qing'an meant. The dispute between the East Palace has been more than two years. The more we reached the last moment, the more tragic the struggle would be. It can be said that the real struggle had just begun. So what could he do for his son? Li Heng thought for a long time. In addition to keeping the secret, he could also provide money and goods to his son. Most of the 50,000 taels of gold that Li Qing'an gave him was useless. Apart from that, it seemed that he could do nothing. Li Heng glanced at Li Qing'an, and he suddenly cursed himself inwardly. Why did he forget Li Qing'an? If he was willing to support his son, the strength of his son would be greatly enhanced. Li Qing'an was good to support him, but it did not mean that he would support his son.

Li Heng quickly stood up and gave Li Qing'an a deep salute, "Li Heng was grateful to beg General Li to continue to support my son."

Li Qing'an also returned the courtesy and said, "Please rest assured that Li Qing'an will do his best to be loyal to him, both your highness and the eldest grandson of the emperor."

After secretly meeting Li Qing'an, Li Heng left the military camp and quietly returned to Chang'an City. Cui Guangyuan also left first. At this time, it was less than half an hour before Hai'an. Outside Chang'an City gradually became quiet. Passers-by hurried to their homes, and soon the streets and alleys of Chang'an were empty.

At the entrance of Salu Lane in Yongfufang, a light carriage was still parked at the entrance of the alley. At this time, the door of a small courtyard opened, and Yanzhi's middle-aged woman sent Sun Ruren and her maid out of the courtyard.

"Madam, do it according to the method I teach you. Put one piece every three days, and within ten days, his heart will always belong to you. This is my promise to Madam."

Mrs. Sun nodded and smiled, "If it works, I will repay my fifth aunt twice as much."

She carefully put a small paper bag on her back, then got on the carriage and ordered: "Go back home!"

The carriage turned around and drove towards the Di Palace. The middle-aged woman stretched her neck and kept watching her disappear. Then she took out two ingots of yellow gold from her arms, her eyes shining. She hurried back to the yard, and the gate of the yard creaked and closed.

About a quarter of an hour later, the entire Saluo Alley became completely quiet, and there was no more pedestrian. Suddenly, more than a dozen black shadows emerged from the opposite alley. They moved quickly and were as light as monkeys. They jumped gently and climbed into the courtyard wall.

After a moment, a low scream came from the room, and there was no more noise.

At the hour of the 19th, the rumbling drum sounded. The time to close the gate and the city gates was up. A large group of Jinwu Guards began to patrol the streets. Just as the drums were about to stop, a carriage rushed over and stopped in front of Prince Qing's mansion. Li Qiu pushed open the car door and walked towards the mansion with great strides. He ordered: "No gambling and drinking tonight. People on duty must not be slacked off. Those who do not pay close the door early. If anyone dares to make trouble, they will beat fifty tacks and rush to the manor."

He quickly walked into the door and asked again, "Have your father been asleep?"

The housekeeper hurriedly said, "The prince is still in the study and is with Mr. Yan."

"Oh! His movements are quite fast." Li Qiu laughed and walked straight to the inner house.

The study was brightly lit, and the incense burner at the corner of the room was shimmering blue smoke. The room was filled with a clear-headed scent. This was a way for Li Cong to curb his sleepiness. When others were too fat, he would fall asleep as soon as the sky got dark. He had developed a habit in recent years, but he could not sleep tonight. His aide Yan Kai and his son Li Qiu had heard news one after another, and both of them were found. He suppressed his sleepiness and waited for them to arrive.

Yan Kai had already arrived first. He placed a yellowed letter paper in front of Li Cong. This letter paper was naturally the evidence that Cui Guangyuan found in the file piled up like a hill in Chang'an County.

"Your Highness, Han Baiyan is the aide of King Di. He is a powerful figure. The knights and powerful people in the folk call him Mr. Baimian. This person once sent hundreds of killers to King Di. The Jinzhou Two Monsters are one of them. In the seventh year of Tianbao, they were bought by Han Baiyan from Wannian County Prison. This receipt was an agreement he reached with the Prison Chief at that time. Did Your Highness see that, and wrote it clearly. He bought the Jinzhou Two Monsters with one thousand guan and Han Baiyan's autograph. Originally, this was a private contract signed, but the Prison Chief was afraid that something would happen, so he kept it. I spent 2 thousand guan to buy it today. Now it is the evidence of King Di's assassination of Li Qing'an."

In fact, Li Cong was not sleepy anymore. The evidence in front of him made him extremely excited. He read the contract over and over again. Suddenly, he frowned and said, "How can we prove that the two monsters in Jinzhou participated in the assassination of Li Qing'an?"

"Your Highness, don't worry, the second monsters in Jinzhou were caught by Li Qing'an and sent back to the capital. They left confessions at the Censorate, admitted their identity and assassinated Li Qing'an, but they didn't know who the latter was. They were silenced shortly after being transferred to Dali Temple."

"This bastard!"

Li Cong gritted his teeth and said, "I dared to frame me back then, which made me fall to this day. If you have any grudges, you are not a gentleman. This time I insisted that he taste the taste of thinking about his past."

Yan Kai also sneered: "Your Highness, don't worry. I heard that the little prince has also discovered the handle of King Di. It's better to work together to make him never have a day to turn over."

"Yeah! Well said."

Li Cong nodded, and he looked at it even more and said unhappily: "Why haven't you come yet? The gate will be closed soon."

"Father, I'm here!" Li Qiu's voice came from outside.

He walked in quickly and bowed and said, "Children, see the father."

"No gift! What handle did you find?"

Li Qiu smiled and said, "Reporting to the father, the child did find the handle of King Di. This King Di has a beloved lady, and he actually went to find a witch to ask for charm. The child found this witch today and got the exact news."

Speaking of this, he whispered a few words in Li Cong's ear. Li Cong said in surprise: "Can he really do this?"

Li Qiu nodded affirmatively, "It must be like this, the thing must be on him."

"Okay! I will complain to my father tomorrow, so that he can't afford to take it."

Li Qiu smiled and said, "Father, I mean, don't come forward if you ask me to be nice."

Li Cong was stunned, "Why is this?"

"My father thinks about it, the assassination of Li Qing'an was the father who was trying to cleanse his innocence, so the father has been investigating the truth for the past two years. But the matter of his slutty man asking for charm was a bit deliberate. The father said that it seemed that there was a suspicion of setting up a trap. I mean, it would be best to let people around him report it, so that the emperor would not be suspicious."

Li Cong lowered his head and thought for a long time, and said, "But whoever would sue him is relying on him for his sake."

Li Qiu smiled, "Father, I heard that the eunuch Zhang Fengen, who served his daily life, had a very bad relationship with him. Generally speaking, such a thing is the duty of a great eunuch. If he does not report it, he will be dereliction of duty. It is better to leak this information to him and then bribe him with a heavy bribe. He will naturally come forward to expose it."

"Miaoji!" Yan Kai next to him laughed with a blow with both fists: "If Your Highness sues King Di, the emperor will definitely confront Zhang Fengenlai. At this time, he will reveal the secret of King Di again. I guess King Di can't explain even if he has three mouths. This is absolutely dead!"
Chapter completed!