Chapter 333 The Opening of the Stele Wu Dynasty Li Tang
The moment he saw Princess Zheng, Zhuge Sanyuan finally understood Yang Xuan's purpose. At this time, it was too late to save the villager, and there was a bad guy hiding beside him.
Zhuge Sanyuan had already guessed who sent this bad guy, and he was filled with fear, so he didn't dare to act rashly.
On the other side, the guards of Prince Zheng's palace rushed forward and hacked the stone to death with knives. However, Li Mao was already dead.
Princess Zheng let out a shrill roar and said angrily: "Kill all the untouchables in this village! I want to avenge the prince!"
Zhuge Sanyuan could no longer sit idly by and flew back, while shooting a stone at the man in black who was hiding in another tree.
The stone hit the branch at the feet of the man in black, and with a click, the man in black fell to the ground along with the broken branch.
When the guards heard the noise, they immediately spotted the man in black.
Princess Zheng's eyes flashed and she said sternly: "Catch him, I will live!"
The guards immediately ran towards the man in black.
The man in black thought that the branch under his feet broke because it could not bear his own weight, but he did not know that it was Zhuge Sanyuan's hand.
After he turned over and landed on the ground, he quickly jumped towards the fields. It didn't take long for all the guards of Prince Zheng's palace to follow him.
Zhuge Sanyuan was already quietly following behind.
The man in black ran all the way for more than an hour before finally slowing down. At this time, the sky was getting dark, and Zhuge Sanyuan was becoming more and more difficult to follow.
At this moment, the man in black entered a canyon, and Zhuge Sanyuan also followed in from the side. Then, he saw a man wearing a black robe and a white cloth covering his face in the canyon.
After just one glance, Zhuge Sanyuan exited the canyon without looking back.
He recognized that special attire, and with his martial arts skills, he didn't dare to peek too much in front of the man, lest he be noticed.
He needed to quickly tell Wu Chengsi what he had just seen.
In Wu Chengsi's small hall, after hearing Zhuge Sanyuan's narration, Wu Chengsi and his wife looked at each other, took a long breath, and said, "It turns out it's him."
Li Zhiying said anxiously: "Are those villagers okay?"
Zhuge Sanyuan said: "I later went back and took a look. Those villagers were not killed. Princess Zheng must have regained her senses."
Wu Chengsi was silent for a long time and said: "The news that Zi Niang overheard should be aimed at the prince. Since it has nothing to do with us and His Majesty also knows it, we don't need to go deeper."
…
At the same time, Prince Pei's Mansion.
King Han threw a tea cup on the ground with force and said angrily: "How did you do it, so that people can see it clearly? Now, won't our killing of Li Mao be exposed?"
King Han and King Pei also looked a little unhappy. Yang Xuan's plan was originally very good, and the villager was also ordered to be killed by Princess Zheng himself, and he died without any evidence.
Unexpectedly, a man in black appeared in the end and spied on what Yang Xuan had done.
Yang Xuan lowered his eyes and said nothing.
The King of Yue frowned and said, "Since you found the man in black, why didn't you chase after him?"
Yang Xuan said: "The guards of Prince Zheng's palace were nearby at that time, so it was difficult for me to show up."
"What a waste. You can't even handle such a small thing." King Han said angrily.
King Pei was silent for a while, then touched his chin and said, "It's strange, how could a man in black appear in such a small village?"
Yang Xuan said: "I have a guess."
"What guess?" King Pei asked.
"The man in black couldn't have followed us to the village, so there is only one possibility. He followed Li Mao there."
"Why is he staring at Li Mao?" asked the King of Yue.
Yang Xuan said slowly: "The man chose to run away after seeing the guards of Prince Zheng's Palace, which means he is not from Prince Zheng's Palace."
The King of Yue rubbed his hands and said with a wry smile: "That should be Wu Chengsi's people. He wants to know what news Ziniang told Li Mao. It is normal for him to send someone to keep an eye on Li Mao."
Yang Xuan stopped talking, he also guessed the same.
King Pei said coldly: "If it is really Wu Chengsi, it would be easier to handle. Tomorrow is the Zen Ceremony. We can act according to the plan in the afternoon. Then it will be the end of the Wu family!"
King Han clenched his fists and gritted his teeth: "This stinky boy Wu Chengsi has been riding on my head and toying with me in Yangzhou. When he falls into my hands, I will return double the shame to him!"
The King of Yue breathed a long sigh of relief and said: "Finally, we have waited for this day."
At this moment, the study door was suddenly knocked open, and Zheng Yuanning was seen hurriedly entering the study. His toes got caught on the threshold and he almost fell down.
King Pei had never seen Zheng Yuanning so panicked before. He stood up suddenly and said, "Mr. Zheng, what's wrong?"
Zheng Yuanning gasped and hissed: "Your Highness, it's not good, His Majesty's condition has suddenly worsened. He has issued a decree to cancel the Zen status and return to Chang'an tomorrow!"
"How could this happen?" King Han almost jumped up from his chair.
The King of Yue gritted his teeth and said: "Something must have happened? Otherwise it wouldn't be such a coincidence!"
King Pei clenched his fists tightly and said with twinkling eyes: "Could it be that Wu discovered our plan? So he persuaded His Majesty to return?"
The King of Yue frowned and said: "Probably not. If they really find the stone tablet, they only need to send people into the water and destroy the words on it."
King Han looked up at the ceiling and said in confusion, "Is this God's will?"
King Pei said angrily: "Uncle Wang, this world belongs to me, Li Tang, and the emperor is also named Li. How could God favor the Wu family?"
The King of Yue hurriedly said: "Emperor's nephew, don't worry, we will discuss it in the long term."
King Pei said coldly: "We have been preparing for this for so long. If we still can't succeed, the chance of success in the future will only be smaller."
"What do you mean?"
"Activate the mechanism tonight and let my father see the stone tablet before he leaves!"
The King of Yue hesitated and said: "If the stone tablet appears without sacrifice, I'm afraid the effect will be greatly reduced."
King Pei said coldly: "Even if you discount it, it will be enough to make the Wu family feel better. I don't believe that after seeing that stone tablet, my father still dares to let the Wu family control the government?"
King Han slapped the table and said: "Yes, we have worked hard to plan. We can't just give up. Let's start tonight!"
The King of Yue thought for a while and said, "Okay then."
King Pei stared at Zheng Yuanning and said word by word: "Father-in-law, ask Yang Wulian to take action immediately. Afterwards, you must remember to destroy the mechanism and not let them discover the secret of the raised stone tablet!"
Zheng Yuanning took a deep breath, cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, don't worry, I'll go then."
"That's right." King Pei suddenly said.
Zheng Yuanning turned around.
"Let Li Dan go visit my father." King Pei said softly.
Zheng Yuanning felt a chill in his heart. He understood that King Pei was leaving a way out for him. After nodding in agreement, Zheng Yuanning left the study.
Soon, the news that Li Zhi was seriously ill spread throughout the palace, and all the officials were shocked. Compared with this, the news that Huainan King Li Mao was killed did not cause much of a sensation.
King Zheng and Princess Zheng went to see the emperor and the queen respectively, but they were not received by them. King Zheng and Li Yuanli were extremely angry and immediately ordered his bad men to investigate Li Mao's death.
…
Darkness quickly enveloped the entire palace. This night, the autumn wind seemed to be particularly violent, and the wind whistled loudly.
At midnight, the originally calm water of Yanwei Lake suddenly rippled in circles, and in the middle of the lake, a dark shadow could be seen rising slowly.
Under the surface of the lake, a huge mechanism was operating in Kazikaz, and all the noisy sounds were muffled by the lake water.
For everyone in the palace, Emperor Li Zhi's sudden illness made everyone feel a little irritable, and the same was true for Wu Chengsi.
And he knew more than others. Li Zhi's condition did not suddenly worsen. He probably became angry after learning what happened in Mitsui Village.
However, Wu Chengsi was not most concerned about this matter. He knew very well that after learning that Feng Chan was cancelled, King Pei and the others were likely to make a desperate move and start the plan tonight.
This kept him from sleeping.
Suddenly, a soft little hand grabbed Wu Chengsi's hand. Wu Chengsi held the hand with his backhand and turned around to see that Li Zhiying was looking at him with concern.
Wu Chengsi said nothing, just held his wife's hand and lay there until early morning.
Early the next morning, a piece of news like a bolt from the blue impacted the minds of everyone in the palace.
On the surface of Yanwei Lake, a stone monument unexpectedly rose!
Qianlong Hall, sleeping hall.
Wei Dongfu stumbled into the palace and hissed: "Your Majesty, something serious has happened."
"What's the big deal?" He was answered by a majestic female voice.
Only then did Wei Dongfu see Empress Wu sitting by the bed, feeding Li Zhi porridge.
Wei Dongfu's throat tightened and he was speechless.
Li Zhi asked weakly: "Dongfu, why didn't you answer the queen's words? What happened?"
Wei Dongfu glanced at Wu Mei and saw her phoenix eyes staring at him coldly. He kowtowed hurriedly: "Your Majesty, Your Highness the Queen, a stone monument has been raised on Yanwei Lake!"
Li Zhi was stunned and said: "How can a stone monument rise in the lake?" His face darkened and he said angrily: "You are not talking nonsense, are you?"
"This old slave is definitely not lying. You will know when you go and take a look."
Li Zhi was silent for a while. Although he was seriously ill, if what Wei Dongfu said was true, and considering that today was the day of his enshrinement, it was probably a decree from God, and he had no choice but to go.
"Pass the message and drive to Yanwei Lake!"
When Li Zhi and Wu Mei came to Yanwei Lake together in the dragon boat, they saw that the lakeside was already crowded with people, and everyone's faces looked frightened. Li Zhi had a bad feeling in his heart.
Looking towards the lake, you can indeed see a stone monument standing on the lake. The part above the water is more than five feet high.
After seeing the four big red characters on the stone tablet, the expression on Li Zhi's face seemed to be struck by lightning.
"Budai Li Tang!"
The four words seemed to be stained with blood, and some long-time court officials could already smell the smell of blood on this stone tablet.
King Han said loudly: "Your Majesty, today is the day of Zen enshrinement. This stone tablet must be a warning from heaven. God's will cannot be violated!"
"Mother, please explain to your father quickly..." As soon as the prince spoke, he was grabbed by Liu Rengui beside him.
Wu Chengsi looked at the officials present.
Among them, King Pei's party and the prince's party all showed a bit of gloating, the Wu family's children all looked pale, and the officials who were close to Wu family also looked frightened.
No one could figure out why the stone tablet suddenly appeared on the lake, even though there was nothing on the lake yesterday.
In addition, this is Mount Tai, the place closest to heaven and earth, and today was originally the day of Zen.
Most people think this is a warning from God.
However, even at this juncture, it was not that no one spoke for Wu.
Su Dingfang said loudly: "Your Majesty, you did not offer sacrifices to heaven today. Why did a stone monument suddenly appear? I feel something is wrong!"
King Han said loudly: "What's wrong? His Majesty's dragon body is unwell and cannot be sacrificed. God must have understood this, so he issued a warning in advance!"
"Shut up!" Li Zhi suddenly shouted, and after speaking, he covered his head, as if he had a serious headache.
Seeing Li Zhi's attitude, King Pei felt cold and said: "Father..."
"You...you shut up too!"
King Pei was horrified. Could it be that Li Zhi didn't believe it?
However, when she saw Wu Mei going to help Li Zhi, she was thrown away by Li Zhi, and she felt a little relieved.
Although he didn't understand why Li Zhi had such an attitude towards him, he didn't doubt that this stone tablet was fine.
When the ministers saw the emperor's strange attitude, they all looked at each other in confusion. They all thought, could it be that under such circumstances, the emperor still chose to trust Empress Wu?
Yang Wulian, the general eunuch, said loudly: "Your Majesty, we are living under Mount Tai. We must not disobey the will of God, otherwise we will only fear natural disasters."
Li Zhi stared at the stone tablet for a long time and asked in a low voice: "Prince, what do you think?"
The prince had already been instructed by Liu Rengui, and he lowered his head and said: "Father, since it is a warning from heaven, we must not ignore it, but my mother has not done anything serious, so please deal with her lightly."
Li Zhi glanced at all the ministers, then turned to look at Wu Mei, and said softly: "Mei Niang, what else do you have to say?"
Wu Mei sighed and said, "Your Majesty, you might as well ask King Changping for his explanation."
Li Zhi was stunned, turned to look at Wu Chengsi below, and said, "King Changping, do you have anything to say?"
Wu Chengsi put his hand on his forehead, pretending to look at the stone tablet, and said: "Your Majesty, I seem to have seen a row of small characters in the lower left corner of the stone tablet. It must be a warning from God. I kindly ask your Majesty to go and take a look in person."
King Han stretched his neck to look at the stone tablet and said loudly: "That's nonsense. Why didn't I see anything?"
Wu Chengsi smiled and said: "Your Majesty, did you forget about the royal banquet so quickly? You only need to take a look at the stone tablet and you will understand everything."
Li Zhi was shocked. At the beginning of the year, Wu Chengsi broke up Li Yunxian's pretense at the royal banquet. Could it be that someone is pretending to be a ghost again this time?
When the ministers saw Wu Chengsi's expression, they all felt something was wrong. Li Ji and Su Dingfang looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief. King Pei Li Xian had a vague premonition that something was not good.
"Father, why don't you let me go over and take a look."
Li Ji said coldly: "His Royal Highness King Pei, this matter is of great importance. It would be better for Your Majesty to go and check it in person to prevent anyone from causing trouble!"
The King of Yue said: "Your Majesty, since you are feeling ill, why not ask His Highness King Pei to take a look at you."
Zhang Da'an, Zheng Yuanning, Zhang Qianxu, etc. from King Pei's party, as well as a group of Li's descendants, all expressed their support.
Li Zhi sneered: "Why, Bage, are you forcing me?"
The King of Yue was startled and said, "I don't dare!"
Li Zhi took Wu Mei's hand and said, "Queen, come with me and take a look."
"I accept the decree."
Before Li Zhi and Wu Mei left, they ordered all envoys and relevant personnel of the envoys from various countries to leave, which disappointed the envoys from all over the world who wanted to see a good show.
Soon, a huge dragon boat carrying Li Zhi and Wu Mei slowly passed towards the stone monument. Some of the ministers on the shore were whispering, some were wiping sweat from their foreheads, and some had gloomy faces.
Wu Youji, Wu Youxu and other Wu family disciples came to Wu Chengsi one after another.
"Second brother, what on earth is going on!" Wu Youji asked anxiously.
Wu Chengsi squinted at the river and said calmly: "Don't worry, I will explain all the reasons later."
On the lake, Li Zhi's dragon boat had already approached the stone monument. Li Zhi and Wu Mei stood on the bow of the boat, closest to the mountain, and looked at the stone monument carefully together.
Wu Mei clenched her fingers and felt a little nervous. After seeing a line of small words on the left side of the stone tablet, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Your Majesty, look quickly!" Wu Mei pointed in the direction of the small print.
Li Zhi turned around and looked around, and sure enough he found a row of densely packed small characters three feet away from the water, but the font was too small to read clearly.
Li Zhi immediately ordered people to put down the boat, and then asked Wei Dongfu to take a boat to see it himself.
After Wei Dongfu finished reading it, his face was as pale as paper and he reported back: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, it's true... there is a line of small words."
"Of course I know there are words. What words are I asking and what is written on them?"
"Yes...yes...yes..." Wei Dongfu's lips trembled, unable to utter a complete sentence.
Li Zhi was shocked and angry, so he and Wu Mei got off the boat and leaned towards the stone monument.
Everyone on the shore whispered to each other and looked at each other in confusion. King Pei, King Yue and King Han surrounded Yang Wulian, and King Han shouted angrily: "What's going on?"
Yang Wulian was a lean middle-aged man with much longer hands than ordinary people. He was holding his head with those particularly long hands, his face turned pale with panic, and he could not answer a word.
Yang Tai beside him gritted his teeth and said: "Your Highnesses, I am responsible for everything here. My father is only responsible for the agency, and all the responsibilities are on me."
With a crisp sound of "pop", King Han slapped him hard and roared: "Can you take the responsibility? You are a piece of trash. All the big things have happened in your hands!"
The King of Yue on the side noticed that many people were looking over and hurriedly grabbed King Han and said, "Don't talk nonsense."
At this moment, Li Zhi's ship sailed back, and all the princes, princes and ministers looked at Li Zhi's face.
It was the first time for many courtiers to see Li Zhi as angry as he was now. The anger in his eyes almost turned into reality and was poured out on the King of Yue.
"Li Zhen! What a good thing you did!" Li Zhi roared angrily, his whole face turning red.
The King of Yue gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, I don't know what you are referring to!"
While Wu Mei caressed Li Zhi's back, she looked around and said: "The stone tablet says: King Li Zhen of Yue built this monument on Changye Island on the eighth day of the sixth lunar month."
The officials were immediately in an uproar.
Naturally, these words could not appear in the warning from heaven. No matter how stupid the official was, he immediately understood that this stone tablet was a tool used by the Yue King Li Zhen to frame the Wu family.
Li Zhen's face suddenly turned pale, and she lowered her head with a long sigh.
King Pei said bravely: "Father, those words might have been written by someone else to frame Uncle King Yue!"
Li Zhi pointed at his second son and roared: "You traitor, you framed the prince and the queen. Once you get rid of them, it's time to deal with me, right?"
King Pei was shocked. How could Li Zhi know that he was going to deal with the prince?
However, there was no time to think about it at this moment. He knelt down with a pop and shouted loudly: "Father, have you ever thought about it, if this stone tablet is really framed by Uncle Yue Wang, how can there be such a line of small words!
"
Li Zhi was stunned and frowned tightly.
"Brother Emperor, what King Pei said is not unreasonable. It's best to investigate this matter first before talking about it." Prince Ji Li Shen, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke.
Prince Zheng Li Yuanli followed: "Your Majesty, my son died yesterday without any explanation. In addition, what happened today is extremely strange. I suspect there must be someone behind the scenes."
These two princes, who had always remained neutral, still chose to side with the Li kings at the critical moment.