Chapter 449 Bringing the Queen Home (Final Chapter)
When they arrived at the gate of Taichu Palace, a group of people suddenly chased them from behind, and the leader was the Attendant Zheng Qiong.
He said loudly: "Wu Zongbao, you are so audacious that you dare to send people to kidnap me. This is an official document to arrest you. Come with me to the Criminal Department!"
Wu Zongbao looked at him coldly and said nothing.
Zheng Qiong shouted: "Someone, take him down!"
At this moment, another group of people rushed out from the palace gate.
The leader was a few years younger than Wu Zongbao and had a refined temperament. He was the current prince Wu Zongqian.
After Wu Zongbao came to Luoyang, this was the first time he saw this brother.
"Your Highness, Wu Zongbao has committed a serious crime. Please do not hinder me from carrying out my official duties." Zheng Qiong was not afraid of the prince and said with a gloomy face.
Wu Zongqian glanced at Wu Zongbao with complicated eyes and sighed: "Fourth brother, I am really convinced by you this time. You go in quickly. I will help you block it here. Xiao An, Melo, you don't go in."
"
Xiao An opened his mouth, a little worried about Wu Zongbao's safety, but then he thought about it, Wu Zongqian was Wu Zongbao's brother, and there was no way he could harm him, so he stayed.
Wu Zongbao didn't say much, and carried Lu Wenjia through the palace gate. Behind him, the faint sound of Zheng Qiong and Wu Zongqian's argument could be heard.
He ignored it and moved forward silently, the anger in his eyes getting stronger and stronger, as if it was about to turn into substance and burst out.
When he arrived at the Jixian Hall, he was blocked by the female officials outside the door. All the female officials looked at Wu Zongbao with strange eyes.
This was the first time they saw someone carrying a corpse to worship the saint, and it was such a horrific corpse.
Wu Zongbao could no longer hold back the anger in his heart and roared: "Your Majesty, Wu Zongbao wants to see you!"
Not long after the voice fell, a person walked out of the hall, it was Zhang Yizhi.
When he saw Wu Zongbao carrying a corpse on his back, he was shocked and yelled angrily: "Wu Zongbao, you are so bold, you brought a corpse to the Immortal Collection Hall. You have tainted the immortal energy in this hall!"
Wu Zongbao cursed angrily: "Bullshit fairy energy, I only see demonic energy. You two idiots are just two demon clowns. This palace has been defiled by you a long time ago!"
Zhang Yizhi was dumbfounded. Ever since he was favored by the Queen, even Liang Wang Wu had to think twice about leading his horse and holding a stool for him. No one had ever scolded him like this to his face.
Wu Zongbao pushed him away and tried to force his way into the palace. Only then did Zhang Yizhi wake up and roared: "Stop him, stop him quickly and arrest him!"
The Qianniu Guards general at the door waved his hand and was about to lead people forward. At this time, the sound of armor crackling was heard, and another Qianniu Guards came from a distance.
The person taking the lead was Qianniu Guard General Li Duozuo.
Zhang Yizhi said anxiously: "General Li, you came just in time. This man is so bold. You should capture him quickly."
Li Duozuo ignored Zhang Yizhi and said to Wu Zongbao: "Go in quickly."
Wu Zongbao nodded and carried the body into the palace.
Zhang Yizhi hurriedly followed in, shouting: "Your Majesty, it's bad, Wu Zongbao and Li Duozuo are going to rebel."
In the Jixian Hall, Wu Zetian saw that Wu Zongbao seemed to be carrying someone into the hall. He stood up from the dragon chair and said coldly: "Wu Zongbao, are you really going to rebel?"
Wu Zongbao placed the body on the ground and said coldly: "Your Majesty, you might as well take a good look at who this body is."
Wu Zetian was furious. This was the first time in so many years that someone had spoken to her with such an attitude.
"How presumptuous! You falsely accused Zheng Qiong before, but I didn't even settle the score with you. Don't think that I wouldn't dare to kill you as long as your father is here!"
Zhang Changzong shouted loudly: "Wu Zongbao, how dare you disrespect His Majesty, come, come quickly!" However, despite shouting several times, no one came in from outside the palace.
Wu Zongbao said sternly: "Your Majesty! You see clearly, this person is Lu Wenjia who reported Zheng Qiong to you more than ten days ago. Look at his face. Did he really commit suicide after recanting his confession?"
Wu Zetian was slightly startled, and finally lowered her head and glanced at the corpse.
"You said he was the housekeeper of Zheng's house who reported Zheng Qiong?"
Wu Zetian looked at it for a while and frowned. She didn't remember Lu Wenjia's appearance at all. What's more, Lu Wenjia's body was completely naked and it was extremely difficult to identify.
Wu Zongbao gritted his teeth and said: "I just brought him out of the morgue of the Ministry of Punishments. Lu Wenjia's testimony was reasonable. Don't you think it's strange that he suddenly retracted his confession?"
Wu Zetian looked at the corpse silently and said calmly: "But none of the evidence he provided was found."
Wu Zongbao said loudly: "Of course we can't find it, because someone destroyed the evidence in advance."
Wu Zetian's face changed slightly and she said nothing.
Wu Zongbao gritted his teeth and said, "You should have already thought of who it is, right? The person who can destroy the evidence is naturally the person in the palace at that time."
Zhang Changzong jumped to his feet angrily and said angrily: "Wu Zongbao, you...you don't want to spit on others!"
Zhang Yizhi said sadly: "Your Majesty, are you just going to watch this man slander our brothers?"
Wu Zongbao snorted coldly: "This is called not asking for help. You jumped out on your own before I even said it was you. Your Majesty, as long as you are willing to investigate this matter thoroughly again, the truth will come to light."
Wu Zetian's expression changed, her eyes wandered around the three of them, and she said loudly: "Here comes someone!"
There was a sound of armor clashing, and Li Duozuo came in with Qian Niuwei.
Wu Zetian slowly sat back on the dragon chair, waved his hand and said: "Put Wu Zongbao into prison!"
All the Zhang brothers breathed a sigh of relief and looked happy.
However, Li Duozuo remained motionless, as if he had not heard anything.
Wu Zetian's expression changed drastically and he said sternly: "Li Duozuo, didn't you hear my order?"
At this moment, a deep voice came from the gate of Jixian Hall.
"Aunt, do you really want to put Zongbao in jail?"
Wu Zongbao was shocked. He turned around and saw a man in his forties slowly walking into the hall. It was his father Wu Chengsi.
Wu Zetian stood up from the chair in an instant, the expression on her face seemed to be frozen, and her hands, which were as well maintained as those of a young woman, were trembling slightly.
Zhang Yizhi pointed at Wu Chengsi and said, "You... when did you come to Luoyang?"
Wu Chengsi did not look at him, but stared at Wu Zongbao with a pair of bright eyes.
Wu Zongbao's eyes were a little red, and he flattened his mouth and said, "Father, why are you here?"
Wu Chengsi said calmly: "My son is going to turn Luoyang upside down. Can I, the father, not come? Okay, you go out first and let me have a few words with your great-aunt."
Wu Zongbao agreed, and even though he was full of doubts, he went out obediently.
"General Li, please take the Zhang brothers down with you," Wu Chengsi said coldly.
Li Duozuo responded and ordered someone to hold the two of them. Zhang Yizhi said sadly: "Your Majesty!"
Wu Zetian shook slightly and her lips seemed to be trembling, but she did not say a word and silently watched the Zhang brothers being taken away.
The corpses on the ground were also taken away by Qian Niuwei.
Before Wu Zongbao left and closed the door, he took one last look inside the palace and saw his father slowly walking up to the throne and helping Wu Zetian sit down.
After leaving the Jixian Palace, Prince Wu Zongqian stood outside the palace gate with a smile, with Xiao An and Melo standing behind him.
As soon as the two of them saw him coming out, they immediately ran to him and asked with concern: "Master, are you okay?"
Wu Zongbao waved his hand, indicating that it was okay, frowned and asked Wu Zongqian: "Fifth brother, what is going on?"
Wu Zongqian smiled slightly and said: "Fourth brother, you are so smart, haven't you understood it yet?"
Wu Zongbao was silent. He had already seen that his father was trying to force the emperor to go to the palace, but he had no clue when he came to Luoyang and why he suddenly attacked the emperor.
After being silent for a long time, he had a vague feeling of being kept in the dark and excluded from his father's plan, and a shadow fell on his face.
"Has your father been in Luoyang all this time, using me to investigate Wang Jin's case to attract the attention of the court, and secretly planning a coup with you?"
Wu Zongqian was stunned for a moment, shook his head and laughed: "Where did you think you were? It was Di Pushe who wrote a letter telling my father that you were in danger, so my father came in a hurry from Chang'an."
Wu Zongbao blurted out: "What danger am I in?"
Wu Zongqian smiled and said: "Fourth brother, this is not the place to talk. You come with me."
Wu Zongbao followed his younger brother to a room not far from the Jixian Palace. There was a row of guards standing outside the door, guarding it very tightly.
Wu Zongqian asked Xiao An and Melo to stay outside, and only took Wu Zongbao into the house.
After entering the house, they saw five officials wearing purple robes standing inside. Three of them were known to Wu Zongbao, namely Wang Bo, Meng Huailiang and Zhou Xing, but the other two had not been seen before.
The five people all bowed to Wu Zongqian and smiled at Wu Zongbao. Wu Zongqian introduced the five people to him. The other two were Yao Chong, the minister of the Ministry of official affairs, and King Luo Bin, the chief minister of the imperial censor.
Wu Zongbao secretly thought: "These people must be like Li Duozuo and follow my father in the coup."
But when I think about my father letting so many people participate but keeping him in the dark, I feel extremely uncomfortable.
Zhou Xing is the best at observing faces. Seeing his depressed expression, he immediately guessed his thoughts and said with a smile: "Silang, don't think too much. Your father didn't mean to hide it from you. In fact, the reason why he agreed to deal with His Majesty was because of you.
's sake."
Wu Zongbao asked hurriedly: "Uncle Zhou, what is going on?"
Yao Chong said slowly: "Silang, I'm afraid you still don't know that what you are dealing with this time is not Zheng Qiong alone, but a huge interest group in the DPRK."
Wu Zongbao was slightly shocked and said: "After Lu Wenjia died, I guessed that the Zhang brothers were also his accomplices. Were they not the only ones?"
Wang Bo sighed: "Of course there are more than just the three of them. Over the years, the Zhang brothers have relied on His Majesty's favor to form a clique for personal gain and form a huge interest group. We have been fighting against them all these years. Unfortunately, due to His Majesty's favoritism, we have been
There’s no way to deal with them.”
Wu Zongbao's expression changed slightly: "You have known for a long time that Wang Jin's case was framed by Zheng Qiong?"
Wu Zongqian said hurriedly: "Fourth brother, we didn't know it at first. It wasn't until the fight between you and Zheng Qiong became a big deal that Di Pushe became suspicious of the case. After investigation, it was found that the case involved the entire Zhang family.
party."
Wu Zongbao's eyes flashed slightly and he said: "I remembered it. No wonder Di Pushe asked me not to investigate this case."
Wu Zongqian said: "Yes, it's a pity that you didn't listen at the time, so Di Pushe had no choice but to tell his father the situation."
Zhou Xing said leisurely: "Actually, Di Pushe and others have been urging His Highness King Zhou to clean up the Zhang family over the past few years, but His Highness did not want to directly conflict with His Majesty, so he did not agree."
Wu Zongqian said: "Three days ago, my father quietly led 20,000 Western expedition troops into Luoyang. He first entered the city to find Di Pushe. After asking about the situation, he made two preparations."
Wu Zongbao asked: "Which two hands?"
"My father originally asked Di Pushe to collect evidence of the Zhang family's crimes, and then asked him to hand it over to you, who would present it to His Majesty. He still hoped that Your Majesty would take the initiative to deal with the Zhang family's party after obtaining the evidence."
Wu Zongbao scratched his head and said with a wry smile: "So, Di Pushe sent the housekeeper to come to me just to give me the evidence?"
Wu Zongqian smiled and said: "Isn't it? But you refused to come over. Later, when my father learned that you directly carried Lu Wenjia's body to find His Majesty, he felt that your approach had the same effect, so he asked us to help you with all our strength."
Wu Zongbao nodded silently.
He already knew what the other plan was. If the emperor still refused to deal with the Zhang brothers, his father would force the emperor to deal with them.
After a pause, he complained: "Since my father entered the capital three days ago, why didn't you tell me and kept hiding the plan from me?"
Wu Zongqian smiled and said: "Who can understand my father's thoughts? Anyway, don't you know it now?"
At this time, a guard came in from outside the door, cupped his hands and said: "Your Highness, Di Pushe and Zhang Shangshu have taken control of the Yulin Guard and the Jinwu Guard."
Meng Huailiang immediately raised his hands and said, "Your Highness, it's time for us to take action."
Wu Zongqian's expression was solemn and he said: "Go, I am waiting for you with good news here."
Wu Zongbao touched his temples and knew that they were going to start purging Zhang's party, and maybe they would also purge some of the emperor's confidants at the same time.
After Meng Huailiang and others left, Wu Zongbao looked at his brothers with complicated eyes and said: "Lao Wu, after today's incident, you will ascend the throne and become the emperor, right?"
Wu Zongqian's face was both excited and a little scared, and he whispered: "Maybe, it depends on your Majesty's choice."
In the Jixian Hall, Wu Zetian sat on the dragon chair, and Wu Chengsi stood beside him.
Neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere was a little tense for a while.
I don't know how long it took, but a gust of wind leaked in through the crack in the door. There were two lamp holders made of circling bronze flying dragons in the hall. The candles above continued day and night, flickering slightly under the quiet breeze.
Wu Chengsi looked at Wu Zetian's slightly trembling body and couldn't help but sigh.
Since Wu Zetian came to the throne, she has treated him very well. Not only did she often stay at Prince Zhou's Mansion in Chang'an, but she also treated all of his children with great favor.
This is also the reason why he has always been unwilling to deal with Wu Zetian.
But after all, Wu Zetian was getting older, and she no longer cared as much about government affairs as before. She began to indulge in pleasure, which caused the Zhang brothers to control the government and persecute Zhongliang.
Especially after learning about Zheng Qiong's case, he really couldn't change his ways and could only attack Wu Zetian.
Because of Wu Zetian's trust, his power not only did not weaken, but became stronger and stronger. Wu Zetian also reused all the ministers he recommended to Wu Zetian.
In addition, the empress was old and her control over power had declined. The actions of the Zhang brothers also made the ministers resent her.
This has led to today's coup being particularly smooth.
He said slowly: "Aunt, my nephew would never want to cause today's situation, but what the Zhang brothers did is really outrageous."
Wu Zetian's face was tense and silent.
Wu Chengsi added: "You don't know something. In this case, they not only protected Zheng Qiong, but were also involved in it. Many of the abducted girls were sent to their house."
Wu Zetian's expression changed, but she still didn't speak.
Thinking of what the Zhang brothers had done, Wu Chengsi gradually became more angry and said in a deep voice: "As an emperor, you have no objection to having a few male favorite nephews, but it is precisely because of your connivance that they
You are acting recklessly and taking human life seriously!"
Wu Zetian said angrily: "Even if they committed a serious crime, you can investigate clearly as before and just hand over the evidence to me. Why betray me?"
Wu Chengsi raised his eyebrows and said: "Zongbao has placed Lu Wenjia's body in front of you. With your shrewdness, you should have figured out who is lying to you, but you still favor the Zhang brothers."
Wu Ze was trembling as he said, "Your son is so shameless. He spoke to me in such a disrespectful manner. I was so angry that I ordered him to be put in prison."
After a pause, she continued: "And I don't completely disbelieve what he said. In fact, I have already become suspicious of Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong, but we must investigate clearly before we can convict them!"
Wu Chengsi sighed: "Aunt, if Zongbao goes to prison, can he still come out alive?"
Wu Zetian was stunned for a while, and then sighed quietly: "Yes, yes, I am really angry. Whatever, I just want to ask you now, what do you want to do with me?"
Wu Chengsi shook his head and said: "My nephew has never thought of dealing with you. I came to Luoyang this time just to clear out the Zhang family."
Wu Zetian said: "That's it?"
"That's all!"
"Won't you force me to give the Zen position to your son?" Wu Zetian stared at him.
Wu Chengsi shook his head and said: "No." After a pause, he continued: "But my nephew hopes that you will take the initiative to put down the throne."
Wu Zetian sneered: "I knew it was like this."
Wu Chengsi said patiently: "Aunt, please think carefully. Today's coup has already occurred. The prince and other ministers are already purging Zhang's party."
Wu Zetian's expression suddenly changed. She had always had high political acumen and naturally understood what Wu Chengsi meant.
In order to prevent her from counterattacking, these ministers would inevitably purge all the ministers she valued. Even if she continued to sit on the throne, she would still be alone.
Even Wu Chengsi could not stop this situation.
After all, those ministers cherished their lives. Since they participated in the coup, they would never give her another chance to avoid her revenge in the future.
In other words, if she continues to occupy the throne, her life will be in danger.
Wu Zetian's shoulders slumped, and she seemed much older for a moment. She waved her hand and said, "That's it, that's all. I just hand over the throne."
Wu Chengsi knelt down and said sincerely: "Aunt, please go home with your nephew."
Wu Zetian was startled: "Go home?"
"Yes, when we return to Prince Zhou's Mansion, my nephew has already renovated the old house. It is the place where you were born and grew up. Let my nephew honor you from now on."
"Zhiying has always wanted to ask you for advice on how to stay in shape. Zongxiu's second child is about to be born. And Lan Shuang, haven't you always liked listening to her music? You have been the emperor for so many years, you should take a rest.
In one fell swoop, you can enjoy the blessings of your children and grandchildren!"
Wu Zetian lowered her head and looked at him for a moment. After confirming that his words were sincere, her expression softened a little.
She raised her head, looked west, and stared into the void, as if she could see the thick and high walls of the old residence of Prince Zhou through the mountains and rivers.
She didn't know what she suddenly thought of, a hint of moisture appeared in her eyes, and nodded slightly: "Okay, I will go home with you."