Liu Ziqiu frowned and said, "Oh, the Empress Dowager has returned to the palace? She came so quickly. What about Madam and the others?"
Daleng said again: "Back to my lord, Madam and the others have also entered the palace at the invitation of the Empress Dowager!"
In order to avoid suspicion, after Liu Ziqiu occupied Luoyang, he replaced all the guards, but did not adjust the guards in the palace. Those who guarded the palace gate were still the guards from the Left and Right Jianmen Palace, and the guards who patrolled the palace were still the guards from the Left and Right Beishen Palace.
.
However, Liu Ziqiu was not worried about the dangers Gao Xiuer and the others would encounter when entering the palace. With the help of the divine arm and bow, Mu Duoli's archery skills had already become superb, and she also trained a female guard. Although this female guard was not large in number,
There are many, but the combat power cannot be underestimated. With Mu Duoli and this female guard here, I believe those guards will not dare to act rashly.
Of course, Li Yuan's cronies are probably indispensable in the Left and Right Prison Gate Mansion and the Left and Right Preparation Mansion. These people should be replaced as soon as possible. Since Queen Xiao has entered the palace, she is the master of the palace. It is necessary to replace these people.
A very good excuse.
Thinking of this, Liu Ziqiu pushed the wine cup and said loudly: "Ji Rentai, Daleng listens to the order!"
The two of them quickly raised their hands and said, "My subordinates are here!"
Liu Ziqiu's face darkened: "You two each order five hundred elite soldiers and follow Liu into the palace!"
Hua Yun stood up: "Second brother, I haven't seen my second sister-in-law and nephew for a few days. Something happened to my second sister-in-law and nephew a few days ago, and I was really worried for a while. Now my second sister-in-law and nephew are safe and sound.
The younger brother is also very pleased. I wonder if the elder brother is willing to bring the younger brother into the palace with him?"
Li Jing's face looked a little strange. He wanted to say something, but he opened his mouth and held it back. But Liu Ziqiu said without thinking: "Why not!"
In fact, there are Liu Ziqiu's troops stationed around the palace. These troops are equipped with the fastest horses and sophisticated crossbows. Not even a fly can fly out of the palace, so Liu Ziqiu can safely let the left and right guards and guards
The palace continues to guard the palace, so there is no need to worry even if Queen Xiao, Yang Tan and Yang You return to the palace.
However, Empress Xiao invited Gao Xiuer and others into the palace, which Liu Ziqiu had not expected in advance. With the lessons learned from Li Shimin's sneak attack on Changshan Village, Liu Ziqiu was much more cautious even though he believed in the abilities of Mu Duoli and the female guards.
It was then decided to immediately change the guards of the palace.
…
At this moment, in the palace, a conspiracy against Empress Xiao, Gao Xiuer and others is being quietly planned, and the chief director of this conspiracy is the palace manager Li Cheng.
There is no doubt that Li Cheng belongs to Li Yuan. The sudden change of ownership of Luoyang happened so quickly that he did not even have time to discuss countermeasures with Li Yuan.
But Li Cheng is an old man in the palace. Even without Li Yuan's instructions, he still knows what to do when. More importantly, his nephew Li Ben, who he relies on to inherit the incense, is still controlled by Li Yuan. He can do anything
We must consider the problem from Li Yuan's perspective.
Then again, even if things like Li Ben didn't happen, his own situation still forced him to tighten his strings at all times.
After Empress Xiao returned to the palace, Xiao Concubine naturally gave way. As for the scandal between Xiao Concubine and Li Yuan, he, Li Cheng, knew it best. Not only did he know about it, he also contributed to it and played a very important role. As long as these things are dealt with
If it is revealed, even ten of his heads are not enough to chop him off.
When he learned that Empress Xiao had returned to the palace, the first thing Li Cheng did was to rush to pay her respects. Empress Xiao had also met Li Cheng when she was in Luoyang. Knowing that he was an old man in the palace, she was very kind to him.
He continued to take charge of palace affairs.
Seeing that Empress Xiao was in a good mood, Li Cheng also breathed a sigh of relief and said quickly: "I'm going to tell you, your Majesty, I'll prepare dinner and ask your Majesty to move to Zhaoyang Palace."
Zhaoyang Palace was Empress Xiao's old residence when she was in Tokyo. It had just been cleaned today. However, Empress Xiao obviously didn't want to go anywhere, so as not to see things and miss her. She waved her hand gently and said: "No need, just leave it here."
Come here. The Ai family will receive a few distinguished guests soon, so please make more generous arrangements."
Hearing that Queen Xiao was going to receive distinguished guests, Li Cheng had an idea in his mind. There were many of his confidants inside and outside the palace. As long as he sent someone to inquire a little, he would know who Queen Xiao was going to receive. Li Cheng walked outside the imperial dining room.
After walking away, it took him a long time to make up his mind. After calling a few confidants to give some instructions, he turned around and went to Bishenfu.
The Prefecture of Beishen was originally commanded by Li Ben. Li Ben tried his best to get rid of the inside and outside. After being captured by Li Yuan, the Prefecture of Beishen never arranged a new general, but was led by Li Cheng. From this point, it can also be seen that Li Yuan
Trust in Li Cheng.
The captains on duty at Bishen Mansion tonight, one named Gong Zhen and the other named Ma Liu, saw their superior officers arriving and hurriedly stood up to greet them.
Li Cheng glanced around the room and saw several plates of side dishes and a jug of light wine on the table. He couldn't help but smile and said, "The two generals are in such good spirits."
You are not allowed to drink alcohol while on duty. This is the most basic rule. Of course, this rule has been broken since Yang Guang passed away. But after Li Cheng broke it in person, Gong Zhen and Ma Liu still felt guilty and looked at each other.
, said quickly: "My lord, General Manager, I was so depressed that I drank to drown my sorrows. I hope you will forgive me!"
Li Cheng sighed and said: "It's not like our family is not worried. Generals, why don't you add a pair of cups and chopsticks so that our family can also drown our sorrows."
Gong Zhen and Ma Liu hesitated for a moment, unable to see that Li Cheng was unhappy at all. Then they quickly brought the bowls, chopsticks and wine cups, helped Li Cheng fill up the wine, toasted Li Cheng together, and said in unison: "Once the emperor
As a courtier, now that the palace has a new owner, I don't seek glory and wealth, I just want to be able to go home and plant a few acres of poor land and live in peace, and I hope the steward can say a few kind words in front of the Queen Mother."
Li Cheng sneered and said: "Don't you know how many things have happened in the palace recently? If the Empress Dowager no longer uses you, can she still let you out alive and spread the word everywhere?"
Ma Liu cupped his hands and said: "That's why we two brothers want to ask the manager to help us say a few words. We have no other extravagant hopes. We just want one of us to survive. We can swear to God that as long as we can survive, we will keep our mouth shut."
Li Cheng let out a long sigh again and said: "Didn't you say that once the emperor and his courtiers were together, the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager would always have people around them, and even our family might not have a good life for a few days, so where can we help?"
Can you guys talk?"
Gong Zhen was shocked and said repeatedly: "What can I do? I have an old mother who is ill in bed and a young son who is waiting for feeding. If I die, how can our whole family survive!"
Ma Liu was smart and knew that Li Cheng would never come to complain to them at this time, so he quickly fell to his knees with a plop and kowtowed repeatedly: "Please, please show us a clear path!"
Li Cheng waved his hand and said, "Get up quickly. Do you know who the Empress Dowager is going to entertain tonight?"
Ma Liu shook his head in confusion and said, "I don't know what will happen to me!"
Li Cheng gritted his teeth and said, "They are Liu Ziqiu's wives, concubines, and sons!"
Gong Zhen was taken aback and said: "A few days ago, I heard from the brothers in the Tang Palace that the prince sent the second and third young masters south to capture Liu Ziqiu's family. He didn't want to lose the third young master's life. He didn't want to lose Liu Ziqiu's family.
He actually came to the palace."
Li Cheng drank a glass of wine and snorted coldly: "Drinking makes me sad and makes me even more sad! What's the use of just drinking? Only by capturing Liu Ziqiu's family can we find a way out!"
Ma Liu was a little uneasy and said hesitantly: "If we attack Liu Ziqiu's family, I'm afraid Liu Ziqiu will not let us go."
"Confused! Haven't you heard of the phrase "rat-killing weapon?" Li Cheng played with the wine cup in his hand and said with disdain, "We can force Liu Ziqiu to negotiate terms with us and let us go if we capture Liu Ziqiu's family members.
After leaving Sishui Pass, you can live a happy and free life whether you go to Wagang Village or Liu Wuzhou, or you can hide in the mountains and forests."
The room fell silent. After a while, Gong Zhen gritted her teeth and said viciously: "Forget it, we will just follow the steward! Then we can also ask Liu Ziqiu for a large sum of gold and silver, enough for us to live for several lifetimes!"
"
At this moment, a young eunuch flashed in, looked at Gong Zhen and Ma Liu, and hesitated to speak.
Li Cheng waved his hand impatiently: "We are not outsiders. If you have anything to say, please tell me!"
The young eunuch lowered his voice and said, "Back to the manager, the guests invited by the Empress Dowager have come into the palace. There are four women and two children in total."
Li Cheng chuckled strangely and said, "They brought it to our door themselves, but we can't blame them."
The little eunuch looked a little strange: "Master Manager, they have guards."
"There are guards?" Li Cheng was stunned and said, "Isn't Liu Ziqiu pretending to prevent their soldiers from breaking into the palace? Why did he change for a few women?"
The little eunuch said: "Those guards are all women."
Ma Liu had already made up his mind to take a gamble with Li Cheng. He couldn't help laughing and said: "Female guard! What use can it do? Colonel Gong, do it!"
But Li Cheng waved his hand and said, "I'm not busy. I've already made arrangements. I'll just take the person when the time comes."
While he was talking, another eunuch came in and whispered: "Master Manager, things are not easy to handle."
Li Cheng frowned and said, "What's not easy to do?"
The eunuch hurriedly said: "After each dish is delivered, a palace maid will taste the dish first. After making sure that it is fine, it will be brought to them."
It turned out that when Li Cheng was in the imperial dining room just now, he sent someone to tell a few eunuchs who were serving the dishes, asking them to wait for an opportunity to put some medicine into the food and wine. Of course, these medicines will not kill people, but will make people temporarily lose consciousness.
It was a bit similar to the Mongolian sweat medicine in Jianghu. He did not expect that after experiencing so many changes, Queen Xiao was always worried that someone would harm her, and she had become extra cautious.