The Marquis of Hedong said anxiously: "Your Majesty, Chief Chun has confirmed that what His Royal Highness King Zhou said is a lie, so what he said about going to sober up is also a lie!"
Li Zhi said nothing, and his eyes gradually turned to Wei Baizi who was on the ground. He had been kneeling on the ground with his head lowered and said nothing since he was woken up by the splash.
"Wei Qing, you are also a participant in this matter, I want to hear what you have to say!"
Wei Daiqi lowered his head, put his hands on the ground, and veins popped out on the back of his hands.
Suddenly, he kowtowed hard to the ground and hissed: "Your Majesty, they... they have the handle on me... I also... have nothing to do!"
The Marquis of Hedong screamed in his heart that something was wrong, and shouted: "General Wei, when your Majesty asks a question, you must answer it carefully and think clearly before answering, otherwise your whole family..."
"Bastard!" Li Zhi shouted sharply: "I am the one asking the question. If you dare to talk too much, I will chop you up!"
Hedong Hou trembled all over and fell to his knees with a thud, with only one thought in his mind.
It's all over.
Wei Daiji then said: "Your Majesty, they used trickery to get the handle of Quanzi, so as to force me to poison the King of Zhou. If I don't listen to them, they will ruin Quanzi's reputation!"
"Who are they?" Li Zhi said sharply.
Wei Daiqi glared at the Marquis of Hedong and said, "It's the Xue family!"
Xu Guogong was full of cleverness and couldn't help but glance at Song Guogong, admiring him extremely in his heart.
It was he who insisted that the Xue family do it alone. Even if the Xue family failed, they still had a chance to turn defeat into victory.
This decision saved both families’ lives!
Li Zhi staggered and almost fell. He turned to look at Concubine Xue Xian, pointing at her with trembling arms, and said: "Sure enough...it's you...why...why would you do such a thing?"
Concubine Xue Xian knelt on the ground, sobbing and making no excuse.
Wu Mei ordered someone to fetch a chair, asked Li Zhi to sit down, and advised: "Your Majesty, let me handle this matter. You go and rest first."
An abnormal flush appeared on Li Zhi's face, he waved his hand, pointed at Wei Baijie and said: "You continue, I want to know the whole story!"
Wei Daiqi put his forehead on the ground and said: "Your Majesty, you have also seen the situation of the minister and His Royal Highness the King of Zhou today. Xue Shao used the same medicine to make Quan Zi almost insult Yu Long's daughter."
"They used this matter to blackmail me. I was so confused that I agreed to cooperate with them."
"What cooperation?" Li Zhi said coldly.
Wei Daiqi said calmly: "They have two plans in total, both of which are aimed at His Royal Highness the King of Zhou."
Li Zhi nodded and sneered: "That's great, there is a plan!"
Wei Daiji said: "Another plan was implemented this morning, but it was a pity that it did not succeed..."
Li Zhi laughed angrily: "Good...very good...my winter hunt has become a cover for their conspiracy!"
"What is the first plan?" Li Ji asked in a deep voice.
Wei Daijia said: "They asked me to present the mount to His Highness the King of Zhou. Before that, they cut some blood from the mount and fed it to a tiger."
Li Zhi narrowed his eyes and said, "Is it the tiger that attacked Chengsi?"
Wei Daiqi nodded and said: "The tiger was brought in by the Xue family. They released the tiger in the forest. The tiger had been hungry for a long time. As long as it smelled the blood of my black horse, it would attack the black horse."
"But I hid in the dark, waiting for the tiger to attack, and shot secret arrows at His Highness the King of Zhou, pretending to be shooting a tiger and accidentally shot him."
Li Zhi turned his head sharply and said, "Chengsi, why didn't you tell me about this?"
Wu Chengsi remained silent.
Wei Daiqi smiled bitterly and said: "His Royal Highness the King of Zhou thought that I was trying to save him, so he covered up the matter for me."
Li Zhi patted Wu Chengsi's arm and said nothing more.
Wei Baiji continued: "After the first plan failed, they decided to put all their efforts into the second plan."
Li Zhi said coldly: "I generally understand their second plan. What I don't understand is why you appear here?"
Wei Daiqi gritted his teeth and said: "After I failed to assassinate His Royal Highness the King of Zhou, I feel regretful and relieved at the same time. My heart is really full of contradictions."
"Later, they asked me to drug His Highness the King of Zhou, and I agreed to them in a confused manner, and took the drugged wine to propose a toast to His Highness the King of Zhou."
"After seeing His Royal Highness the King of Zhou drink, I felt a little regretful. At that time, I didn't know the effects of that medicine. A eunuch happened to come over. I deliberately got very close and heard him say that His Majesty had summoned His Highness the King of Zhou.
"
Li Zhi glared at Chunliang fiercely and said sternly: "Send him to death row!"
Several guards dragged Chunliang down. He seemed to have accepted his fate and did not make a sound for mercy.
Wei Daiji continued: "I was full of hesitation at that time, and unknowingly followed His Royal Highness King Zhou. I really wanted to tell him everything and ask him to find an imperial doctor to detoxify him quickly."
"But then I thought, if I do this, Quanzi's life will be ruined. And I have already assassinated him once, so I feel it is too late to turn back."
"When they followed His Highness King Zhou to the outside of the palace, the eunuch left. His Highness King Zhou was about to enter the palace, but suddenly he turned around and left. I stood alone outside the palace, feeling uncertain.
"Later, I recalled the trust that Your Majesty and His Royal Highness the King of Zhou had in me, and finally made up my mind to confess everything to Your Majesty. Unexpectedly, when I entered the palace, I only saw Your Highness the Concubine Xian."
"I only smelled a strange fragrance in my nose, and then I lost my mind and became trance-like. It was only now that I woke up that I realized that what the Xue family gave me was an aphrodisiac."
Li Zhi listened silently and said nothing for a long time.
Liu Qixian touched his nose and said with a wry smile: "Your Majesty, it seems that Cheng Boxian suddenly went crazy because of taking that kind of medicine."
Li Zhi closed his eyes and still didn't speak.
Everyone can feel the overwhelming anger in him, and they are afraid that when he opens his mouth, it will be like thunder.
The Marquis of Hedong suddenly raised his head and winked at Princess Chengyang.
Princess Chengyang gritted her teeth and said loudly: "Xue Hui, you... why do you do such a thing?"
The Marquis of Hedong sneered and said: "Your Highness Princess, since the death of my eldest brother, you have been alienating the Xue family intentionally or unintentionally. You are perfunctory and cold every time when I ask you to do things. What qualifications do you have to question me now?"
Princess Chengyang said angrily: "When did I alienate you? Don't talk nonsense!"
The Marquis of Hedong snorted and said: "Wouldn't it be better if you admit it now? After what happened today, you will definitely be eager to put aside your relationship with our Xue family, won't you?"
Princess Chengyang said angrily: "You... you are slanderous. I am a member of the Xue family. What the Xue family does is no different from what I do."
He turned around and knelt down towards Li Zhi, saying: "Brother Emperor, if you want to punish the Xue family, punish me too!"
Wu Chengsi secretly marveled, the decisiveness of these big families to cut off their tails and survive was really admirable.
The two deliberately quarreled to make people think that the relationship between the two was not good and that Princess Chengyang was not involved in the matter.
Li Zhi said coldly: "Chengyang, you recommended the Xue family daughter to me, don't you have any responsibility? Go back to the palace and be confined for a month. Don't interfere with things here!"
Princess Chengyang turned pale, stamped her feet, turned around and ran away.
Li Zhi stood up, stared at Xue Hui, and said word by word: "First it was Xue Rengui, and now it's you. What did your Hedong Xue family do for my trust?"
The Marquis of Hedong raised his head and said, "Your Majesty, all crimes are committed by me alone. My daughter was also persecuted by me. Please tell me clearly!"
Li Zhi said sternly: "No matter whether she was forced by you or not, since she did such a thing, she must bear the price. Pass the decree and send Concubine Xue Xian to the cold palace, and the entire Xue family to death row!"
"Your Majesty!" Concubine Xue Xian raised her head and let out a shrill cry.
Li Zhi remained unmoved, turned around and walked towards the door.
However, after taking a few steps, he suddenly fell straight forward.
"Your Majesty!!" Everyone exclaimed in unison.
…
In Fengming Hall, Wu Chengsi sat on a chair, holding his hands together and looking towards the door from time to time.
Suddenly, a person entered the palace, but it was Princess Taiping.
"Taiping, how is your Majesty?" Wu Chengsi stood up in a hurry.
Princess Taiping said with red eyes: "My mother won't let me in, but... I saw Doctor Liu talking to my mother from a distance. Judging from his expression, my father's situation is probably not good."
Wu Chengsi was stunned and sat back on his chair.
He had actually guessed that Li Zhi would not be able to stand the stimulation and his health would deteriorate.
But the opponent is aggressive. If he doesn't fight back, I'm afraid he will hit the road before Li Zhi.
Not long after, Wu Mei returned to Fengming Hall, followed by Shangguan Wan'er and Xie Yaohuan. Her face was also very pale, but her steps were still steady.
"You come with me."
She said something to Wu Chengsi and Princess Taiping, and walked towards the inner room.
Then, she dismissed Shangguan Waner and other palace maids and eunuchs, and ordered Xie Yaohuan to guard the door and not allow anyone to approach.
"Mother, how is your father's condition?"
As soon as Wu Mei sat down on the couch, Princess Taiping asked eagerly.
Wu Mei was silent and stared blankly at the corner.
This was the first time Wu Chengsi saw her expression, and he thought that Li Zhi might not survive for a few days.
The room was quiet for a while, and none of the three people spoke.
After a long time, Wu Mei raised her head and said, "Chengsi, have you seen Wan'er?"
Wu Chengsi said: "I saw it."
Princess Taiping wondered: "What's wrong with Shangguan Wan'er?"
Wu Chengsi said: "Actually, I didn't leave because I wanted to sober up in the middle, but Shangguan Wan'er stopped me, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous."
Princess Taiping was secretly surprised and thought: "Second cousin has known about their plan for a long time. Even if there is no Shangguan Wan'er, he will be fine. Doesn't he mean to tell the truth to his mother?"
After some thought, he decided to cooperate with Wu Chengsi and pretended to be surprised: "Mother, did you already know their plan?"
Wu Mei shook her head and said: "No, I just heard some clues just before they took action. I only knew that they were going to deal with Chengsi, but I didn't know what methods they were planning to use."
Princess Taiping patted her chest and said fearfully: "It's really a critical moment. Fortunately, you heard it, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous."
Wu Chengsi said: "Aunt, has your Majesty told me how to deal with General Wei?"
"He didn't say that I ordered people to imprison Wei Daiqi in the sky prison. What, do you want to plead for him?"
Wu Chengsi sighed: "He was threatened by the Xue family, and later he woke up spontaneously and came forward to identify the Xue family, otherwise your majesty might not believe me."
Wu Mei was silent for a while and said, "Let's wait for a while."
Wu Chengsi nodded, understanding that she didn't want to do anything that might irritate Li Zhi.
Princess Taiping said coldly: "It's a pity that the Wei family and the Xiao family were not involved in this incident, allowing them to escape."
Wu Mei said solemnly: "Chengyang is grounded, the Xue family is imprisoned, and the remaining two families cannot make a living. After returning to the palace, I will take action against them."
Princess Taiping said in shock: "Queen Mother, after all, they are the leaders of the Guanlong Group. If we attack them rashly, it will definitely cause chaos. On my father's side..."
"I have my own sense of discretion, you don't need to worry."
Wu Chengsi and Princess Taiping both noticed that Wu Mei was in a bad mood, looked at each other, and then left.
Princess Taiping said she wanted to see Li Zhi, so she parted ways with Wu Chengsi outside the palace.
Wu Chengsi returned to his temporary palace. When passing through a corridor, he suddenly heard someone calling him.
Following the sound, he saw Shangguan Wan'er hiding behind a rockery, waving to him.
Wu Chengsi walked over and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Of course I'm waiting for you."
Shangguan Wan'er looked around like a spy, then grabbed Wu Chengsi's sleeve and entered through a hole in the rockery. There was a small space inside.
Wu Chengsi smiled and said, "What are you waiting for me to do?"
Shangguan Wan'er looked up at him with a very serious face and said, "Have you told Her Royal Highness the Queen and Her Royal Highness the Princess the truth?"
Wu Chengsi smiled and said: "What truth?"
Shangguan Wan'er frowned and said seriously:
"It's okay to deceive others with the words you told His Majesty. I was with you at the time, and I clearly saw the general greeting you before going in. He didn't go to see Your Majesty at all, right?"
Wu Chengsi nodded and said, "Yes."
Shangguan Wan'er asked doubtfully: "Then why don't you tell the truth?"
Wu Chengsi was silent for a moment and said, "Should I tell Your Majesty that I deliberately let General Wei in?"
"Then why did you let that general in?" Shangguan Wan'er was even more confused.
Wu Chengsi said in a deep voice: "If this were not the case, how would your Majesty know that the Xue family was using such despicable means to frame me?"
"Can't you tell His Majesty directly?"
Wu Chengsi shook his head and said: "How can he believe such a bizarre thing if he is not allowed to see it with his own eyes?"
Shangguan Wan'er was silent for a while and whispered: "You are right. Your Majesty trusts Concubine Xue Xian very much. If you cannot expose their lies in public, it will be difficult for Your Majesty to punish her."
After a pause, he raised his head again: "Then why don't you tell Her Royal Highness the Queen and Her Royal Highness the Princess the truth?"
"How do you know I didn't tell them?" Wu Chengsi smiled.
"If you had said so, you wouldn't have come out so quickly." Shangguan Wan'er said seriously.
Wu Chengsi smiled and said: "What a ghost. You are right. I did not tell them."
Shangguan Wan'er blinked, as if urging him to explain the reason.
Wu Chengsi touched his nose and said, "Do you know how I learned about the Xue family's conspiracy?"
Shangguan Wan'er shook her head.
Wu Chengsi said slowly: "Because last night, someone told me in advance what they were going to do against me."
"Is it that General Wei?"
"No, after that person came to me, I went to find Wei Baiqi. He didn't want to join the Xue family in dealing with me, so he acted in this scene with me."
"Then who told you first?" Shangguan Wan'er's big, bright eyes were full of curiosity.
Wu Chengsi said: "When that person told me about this, he put a condition on me, requiring me not to tell anyone about her leak after I learned about it."
Shangguan Wan'er secretly thought that that person must be worried about being retaliated against.
"So, is it because of that promise that you didn't tell Her Majesty the Queen the truth?"
Wu Chengsi nodded and said: "Since I promised her, I should abide by my promise."
Shangguan Wan'er smiled slightly, with approval in her eyes, and said, "Your Highness, I'm going back."
When he passed by Wu Chengsi, he lowered his voice and said, "Doctor Liu said that your Majesty may not survive until the end of the month."
Wu Chengsi's heart sank, he looked up at the sky and sighed softly.
Once Li Zhi dies, the situation in the government will inevitably change drastically.
…
An hour later, the sky turned dark, Long Chu carried Li Zhi and Wu Mei out of Furong Garden, and the other ministers also went back to their homes.
Wu Chengsi rode at the front of the convoy just like when he came, but compared with when he came, there was one more carriage following him.
He had only met the woman sitting inside twice, but from now on, the two of them would be together for the rest of their lives.
When we were walking halfway, a horse suddenly came running from a distance.
After seeing the person clearly, Wu Chengsi leaned to the side of the road, ordered the convoy to continue moving forward, and then asked the man: "Di Shaoqing, can you find the Khorasan Kingdom envoy?"
Di Renjie raised his hand and said: "We found it. In a manor outside the city, they thought we were with the Xue family. They were in a bad mood. After getting out of trouble, they were unwilling to return to the city and asked to go back to the country directly."
Wu Chengsi thought for a while and said: "Take them to the Piao envoy's post and let the Piao people explain the situation to them."
Di Renjie nodded and was about to take the order and leave.
Wu Chengsi said again: "By the way, we can start arresting Xiao Siye, and send someone to release the prison guard, General Li."
Di Renjie agreed and rode off. Wu Chengsi caught up with the team and returned to the palace not long after.
Taking a concubine is not like marrying a wife, the ostentation can be big or small.
Xu Wenqing originally lived in the palace, and Liu Lanshuang was matched by the emperor. Now that they are brought back to the palace, they only need to have another banquet in the evening, and they will become members of the Zhou palace.
In other words, tonight is his wedding night with his two concubines.
So whose room are you entering tonight?
Wu Chengsi hesitated for a moment before making a decision.
Although Xu Yuanju has been notified of Xu Wenqing's matter and he will never object, after all, he has not yet received his approval.
What's more, Xu Wenqing's eyes were not healed yet, so he really couldn't do anything.
At this moment, Li Zhiying walked into the lobby and said: "Husband, the two sisters have settled down. Sister Xu has moved into "Qingzhu Courtyard" and sister Liu has moved into "Xinglan Courtyard"."
Wu Chengsi asked curiously: "When did our mansion have these two courtyards?"
Li Zhiying smiled and said: "They are the Xinghua Courtyard to the west of the back garden and the Bamboo Courtyard to the east. I changed the name of the courtyard after one of their names, hoping that they can live more comfortably."
"You are still attentive." Wu Chengsi praised.
Li Zhiying took out another booklet and said: "This is tonight's guest list. I made it with my two sisters when they were in Furong Garden. Do you think there is anything that needs to be changed?"
Wu Chengsi smiled and said: "You can just discuss this kind of thing."
On this night, the Zhou Palace and the East Palace held wedding banquets at the same time, making Chang'an City extremely lively.
Only a few people could realize that shortly after this excitement, the court was about to undergo a major change.