Under a clear sky, on the Shanglinyuan racecourse, Li Hong rode a white horse and galloped wildly.
Not far in front of him, Yaruo turned back and said with a sweet smile: "Your Majesty, come and chase me!"
Li Hong said loudly: "Just wait, I will catch up with you soon." He waved his riding whip, and the white horse felt pain under his crotch and ran faster.
No wonder he was so happy. After nearly half a month of heavy rain, the weather turned sunny. The heavy rain finally passed, and the flood problem would be solved soon.
Moreover, Wu Chengsi led the army and left Chang'an, and he suddenly felt that the pressure was greatly reduced. If possible, he really hoped that Wu Chengsi would stay at the border forever and never come back.
After chasing for a while, Li Hong's riding skills were not good after all, so he could not catch up with Ya Ruo.
His physical strength was not good either, and he was panting and coughing.
Worried about his health, Yaruo slowed down and deliberately let Li Hong catch him.
The two got off their horses and hugged each other tightly. Dou Wenming was about to order the eunuchs to set up a tent so that the emperor could have fun.
Suddenly, I saw Cen Changqian walking over in a hurry.
"Your Majesty, something happened!"
Cen Changqian's voice was full of panic, something she had never heard before.
Li Hong stood up hurriedly, straightened his clothes, and asked, "What happened?"
Cen Changqian swallowed and said: "The Queen Mother...The Queen Mother is missing."
Li Hong was stunned for a moment, almost suspecting that he heard wrongly, and shouted: "You say it again?"
Cen Changqian said with a pale face: "The Queen Mother is missing! I'm afraid something big will happen!"
Li Hong was stunned.
Dou Wenming reacted very quickly and immediately said: "Your Majesty, if the news of the Queen Mother's disappearance is known to the Wu family's party, I'm afraid there will be a rebellion!"
Cen Changqian did not refute Dou Wenming this time. This was the reason why he was so panicked.
"Your Majesty, did you order someone to do this?" General Qian Niuwei asked through gritted teeth.
Li Hong seemed not to hear his question and said in a daze: "How could it be...how could the queen be missing..."
Seeing his reaction, Cen Changqian knew that it was definitely not his fault.
But within the Daming Palace, besides the emperor, who else has the ability to make the Queen Mother disappear?
Ya Ruo smiled happily. She did not understand the crisis of the situation at hand. She only felt that it would be better if the Queen Mother died.
After a long while, Li Hong came back to his senses and said word by word: "Explain to me how my mother disappeared!"
Cen Changqian wiped the sweat from her forehead and said, "I heard Master Cao Ren say that the Queen Mother was worshiping Buddha in Cixin Hall, and he was guarding the outside with Qianniu Guards. However, after a long time, the Queen Mother did not come out, so he went in to check."
"It turned out that the two palace maids who followed the Queen Mother were lying on the ground, dead, and the Queen Mother was nowhere to be seen!"
Li Hong roared angrily: "Pass the decree to search the entire palace immediately. Even if we dig three feet deep, we must find the queen mother!"
Dou Wenming said anxiously: "Your Majesty, the top priority right now is not to find the Queen Mother, but to find ways to deal with Wu's party!"
Li Hong ignored him at all, picked up his skirt and ran away.
Ya Ruo, Cen Changqian and others hurriedly followed, shouting: "Your Majesty, where are you going!"
When Li Hong rushed to Cixin Hall, he was out of breath. The place was already surrounded by Qianniu Guards.
Entering the main hall, I saw two corpses lying on the ground, one was Xie Yaohuan and the other was an old palace maid.
"Mother! Queen!" Li Hong shouted.
At this moment, a bearded general came in and asked angrily: "Your Majesty, where did you kidnap the Queen Mother?"
This general is none other than Cao Renshi, General Zuo Qianniuwei, who has been responsible for protecting Wu Mei's safety.
Li Hong said angrily: "You bastard, how could I attack my mother? You are not good at protecting me, but you still dare to question me here. Someone will come and capture him!"
Master Cao Ren originally suspected that Li Hong was responsible. Seeing that he wanted to take advantage of him, he was shocked and angry, and said to himself: "No, he dares to harm the Queen Mother, let alone me. We need to leave the palace immediately, and the general will be killed."
Tell the news to His Highness King Zhou!"
Suddenly, thinking of Wu Chengsi leaving the capital, I shouted in my heart: "Yes! Yes! He deliberately took advantage of His Royal Highness the King of Zhou to leave the capital to attack the Queen Mother! I want to spread the news quickly!"
Without saying a word, he rushed out and left. However, as soon as he reached the door, he was blocked by Cen Changqian and others.
Many Qianniu Guards in Cixin Hall were deployed by him. He immediately shouted: "Brothers, follow me and rush out!"
Cen Changqian shouted: "I am your general, who dares to attack me?"
Li Hong followed him out and shouted: "Get Master Cao Ren!"
The Qianniu Guards behind Cen Changqian immediately stepped forward to capture Master Cao Ren. Seeing that the Queen Mother was not around, the men around Master Cao Ren did not dare to openly confront the emperor.
After a while, Master Cao Ren was bound and roared: "Brothers, the emperor killed the queen mother and committed rebellion, why didn't you take action?"
Those Qianniu Guards looked at each other, very hesitant.
At this moment, another large group of Qianniu Guards came from a distance and surrounded all Cao Renshi's men.
Seeing that Li Hong decisively captured Master Cao Ren, Cen Changqian nodded secretly, cupped her hands and said, "Your Majesty, what should we do next?"
Li Hong said angrily: "Didn't I just say that? Immediately send people to search the whole palace, and the queen mother must be rescued!"
Cen Changqian was stunned and said: "Then...should the Queen Mother's disappearance be concealed from the outside world?"
Li Hongdao: "Why hide it? By the way, Di Renjie of Dali Temple is very capable. Let him enter the palace and help us find the queen mother!"
Cen Changqian finally couldn't help it and said:
"Your Majesty, if the news of the Queen Mother's disappearance spreads, the Wu clan will definitely rebel. Most of the Jinwu Guards and the Sixteenth Guards are in their hands. If they cause rebellion, I'm afraid the situation will be dangerous."
Li Hong was stunned for a moment and thought to himself: "They are just afraid that like Master Cao Ren, they will think it was me." He hesitated and said nothing.
Dou Wenming suddenly said: "Your Majesty, I have a suspicion."
"What suspicion?" Li Hong asked.
"Could this be a conspiracy by the Queen Mother? She deliberately pretended to be missing so that her ministers could lead troops into the palace to rescue her. Then they would say that you had her under house arrest, and in this name, you would be deposed!"
Li Hong shouted in his heart: "Yes, this is the palace, who can kidnap the queen, conspiracy, this must be her conspiracy!" His whole body was trembling slightly.
Cen Changqian also felt that what Dou Wenming said was reasonable. As General Qianniuwei, he understood how incredible this matter was.
There are Qianniu Guards everywhere in the palace. If it hadn't been for the emperor, no one would have been able to rob the Queen Mother without being seen!
Thinking of the Queen Mother's ruthless tactics, Cen Changqian said anxiously: "Your Majesty, the situation is critical now and we need to make a decision!"
Li Hong was filled with fear and said in a trembling voice: "Decision? What decision?"
"We need to prevent Wu's party from bringing troops into the palace. First we should send people to seal all the gates of the imperial city, and then you can issue an order to gather all the generals above, including the Sixteenth Guardsman, and put them under house arrest. Then they cannot be mobilized
Sixteenth Guards."
Li Hong said hurriedly: "Okay, according to your words, I will issue an order now!"
Cen Changqian continued: "The Jinwu Guards have been completely controlled by the Wu Clan's Party. In order to prevent the Wu Clan's Party from mobilizing them, you must immediately issue an order to summon Su Qingjie and Wu Youji into the palace to control them both."
Li Hong had already lost his mind and nodded repeatedly, saying: "That's it!"
Cen Changqian said: "These two things are the most important. We need to do it immediately. You can then issue an order to summon Li Shangshu and others to the palace. We will discuss the rest later!"
Dou Wenming suddenly said: "Your Majesty, I think that when we are in this difficult situation, we should release King Pei immediately to increase our chances of winning!"
Li Hong didn't hesitate to think carefully before agreeing.
Yaruo suddenly said sharply: "No! King Pei has always wanted to seize the throne from Your Majesty. Wouldn't letting him out give him a chance?"
Dou Wenming said anxiously: "Your Highness, King Pei has lost his power now. He is not harmful to Your Majesty and cannot threaten the throne!"
Yaruo said angrily: "Little Douzi, you always speak for King Pei, are you getting any benefits from him?"
Dou Wenming's face changed slightly and he said hurriedly: "I am loyal to you and Your Majesty. Please tell me clearly!"
Yaruo said coldly: "Then please be careful when speaking, do you understand?"
Dou Wenming respectfully agreed and did not dare to say anything more.
Li Hong immediately issued two decrees, which were executed by Cen Changqian. The results were unexpectedly smooth. The generals of the Sixteenth Guards, Su Qingjie, and Wu Youji were soon placed under house arrest.
However, despite Li Hong's order to blockade the palace, news from the palace quickly spread outside.
The first person to get the news was Princess Taiping. She immediately rode to Prince Zhou's Mansion without informing her and rushed into the mansion.
Unexpectedly, after entering, I couldn't see a single person for a long time.
Walking along the corridor to the backyard, it took a long time to see a maid, who asked solemnly: "Is the princess in the palace?"
The maid hurriedly bowed and said: "Back to Your Highness, the princess has not gone out. She is currently..."
Before she could finish speaking, Princess Taiping had already walked past her.
All the way to Li Zhiying's dormitory, I saw people outside the room. In addition to Liu Lanshuang, Xu Wenqing and Wen Rong, Li Ji and Li Siwen were also standing outside.
At this moment, a heartbreaking scream was heard coming from the house. Princess Taiping said "ah" and thought to herself: "Second cousin sister-in-law is giving birth!"
When Wen Rong saw her arrival, he hurriedly stepped forward to greet her. Liu Lanshuang, Xu Wenqing, Li Ji and Li Siwen did not notice her, but looked anxiously into the room with worried faces.
Princess Taiping was very worried:
Gu: "In this extremely critical moment, why do you happen to meet your second cousin-in-law giving birth to a child? Do you want to tell me about the fact that your mother is under house arrest by the emperor's brother?"
Suddenly, her face turned red and she looked even more anxious than Li Ji and others. Wen Rong just thought she cared about Li Zhiying and didn't think much about it.
After a long time, a baby's cry was heard from inside the house, and everyone outside the house was overjoyed.
A midwife walked out of the house, bowed and said, "Congratulations to Mr. Li, mother and child are safe."
This midwife was invited by Li Ji two months ago. She was the best in midwifery in Chang'an and she had been sent to Prince Zhou's Mansion early for preparation.
Li Ji twisted his beard and said with a smile: "Okay, okay!"
Xu Wenqing chuckled and said, "Can we go in and see the baby?"
The midwife smiled and said, "Of course, please come in."
Xu Wenqing went in immediately. Li Ji, Liu Lanshuang and Li Siwen all noticed Princess Taiping at this time and came to see her.
Li Ji was experienced in the world. When he saw Princess Taiping looking worried, he hurriedly asked: "Your Highness, has something happened?"
Princess Taiping glanced at the room and said, "Let's go and talk next to it."
When they walked under a big tree, Li Ji, Liu Lanshuang, Li Siwen and Wen Rong all followed.
Princess Taiping's face sank, and she gritted her teeth and said: "Just now news came from the palace that the emperor's brother has placed the mother and queen under house arrest, fearing that she will cause chaos!"
Li Siwen lost his voice and said: "The Queen Mother is under house arrest by Your Majesty. How is this possible?"
Li Ji's eyes flashed slightly and he said in a deep voice: "Logically speaking, with your Majesty's temperament, you would not do such a thing. Your Highness, is this news reliable?"
Princess Taiping hesitated for a moment and said: "I also find it unbelievable, but if it is false, my people will never be so bold as to spread false news to me."
Li Ji said coldly: "Whether it's true or not, we might as well take it as true first. If His Majesty really takes action against the Queen Mother, we will all become his targets."
Princess Taiping said repeatedly: "Yes, Li Zhongshu, you have been in court for a long time, how should we deal with it now?"
Li Jilue pondered for a while and said: "First send someone to inform His Royal Highness the King of Zhou, and then tell Su Situ and several men of the Wu family about the news. I immediately go to the Zuo Xiao Guards Station to control the military power, so as to prevent the emperor from taking extreme measures."
Liu Lanshuang was the calmest one among them. She nodded slightly and said: "Old man, please go quickly. If you go late, I'm afraid something will change. Just leave the other matters to us."
Li Ji secretly praised her and thought: "No wonder Zhiying always said that she is a girl with a very good character and she has the air of a general."
Just as he was about to turn around and leave, he suddenly saw a tall and powerful old man walking from a distance, it was Su Dingfang.
Li Ji's heart sank and he said, "Brother Su, why are you here?"
Su Dingfang said with a dark face: "Just now Qian Niuwei sent an order to summon our boss into the palace. I smelled something wrong, so I went to your house to look for you. After asking, I learned that you were here."
Li Ji's face changed slightly and he said: "It seems that the emperor is serious about it. He is in charge of the Jinwu Guard during Qingjie. The emperor summoned him, and I'm afraid he will also be put under house arrest."
Su Dingfang frowned and said, "What happened?"
Princess Taiping said anxiously: "Su Situ, my mother has been placed under house arrest by the emperor's brother!"
When they were talking, Liu Lanshuang did not participate. She ordered someone to summon Long Yang and others, and asked them to spread the news that the Queen Mother was under house arrest to the houses of members of the Wu clan.
Li Ji looked pale and said: "The emperor struck preemptively and was decisive and ruthless. I am afraid that the Sixteenth Guards will also be controlled by him. Brother Su, you go to Liaodong immediately. If the situation turns to the worst, you and Pei Du will In the name of Qingjun, I will lead my troops back to the capital!"
Su Dingfang asked: "What about you?"
"I stayed in Chang'an with Emperor Zhou Xuan."
Su Dingfang had led troops for many years and was extremely decisive. Without saying a word, he turned around and strode away.
Not long after he left, a group of Qianniu Guards came outside the Zhou Palace and, with the emperor's decree, invited Li Ji and Li Siwen to go to court.
In the dormitory, although Li Zhiying's face was pale, her face was full of joy.
She gave birth to a baby boy for Wu Chengsi. The newborn Wu Zongxiu could not open his eyes yet. He was held in Li Zhiying's arms and cried loudly.
Xu Wenqing said with a smile on his face: "This child cries so loudly!"
He couldn't help but put his fingers on Wu Zongxiu's little mouth. Wu Zongxiu opened his mouth and sucked, taking her fingers into his mouth.
Xu Wenqing couldn't stop laughing.
At this time, Li Zhiying noticed that Li Ji, Liu Lanshuang and others had not entered the room for a long time, and frowned and said: "Sister Xu, why didn't my grandfather come in?"
Xu Wenqing turned around and looked surprised: "Hey, they were waiting outside with me just now, why didn't they follow me?"
At this moment, Liu Lanshuang slowly entered the room, glanced at the baby, showed a smile, and then said: "Sister, are you feeling well?"
Li Zhiying said: "I'm fine. Did something happen?"
Liu Lanshuang nodded and said slowly: "Princess Taiping just sent news that the emperor has placed the queen mother under house arrest. Then Qianniuwei followed the emperor's order and took away Li Gong and Li Shangshu."
Li Zhiying was shocked. She knew that Liu Lanshuang was a serious person and would never joke. She couldn't say a word for a while.
Xu Wenqing was also shocked.
After a long while, Li Zhiying gritted her teeth and said: "Sister, this matter is of great importance. My husband must know about this as soon as possible!"
"I have sent three personal guards to leave the city from the west, south and east gates to inform the prince."
Li Zhiying nodded, pondered for a while, and asked: "Why did your Majesty invite my grandfather and uncle to the palace?"
Liu Lanshuang said coldly: "It seems that there is going to be a court meeting, and the emperor has taken a preemptive strike against General Su of the Jinwu Guard. Li Gong guessed that the Sixteenth Guard and the Jinwu Guard may not be able to be mobilized."
Xu Wenqing finally came to his senses and lost his voice: "How could this happen? Why would Your Majesty suddenly do such a thing?"
Liu Lanshuang said coldly: "I think he wants to take advantage of his husband's departure from Beijing to take back the imperial power."
Li Zhiying's face was full of anger and she said: "It's a shame that he is the king of a country and he adopts this method. Even if it succeeds, who will really obey him?"
Liu Lanshuang remained silent and thought to herself: "I'm afraid my father has also been invited to court by the emperor. The Queen Mother has always been smart and capable, and the emperor is cowardly. How could things suddenly develop like this?"
Outside the prison, Li Dan said coldly: "If you don't get out of the way, don't blame me for being ruthless."
In front of him was Wu Mei's newly appointed jailer.
The prison commander stared closely at the army behind Li Dan, gritted his teeth and said: "Your Highness King Yin, Her Royal Highness the Queen Mother has a decree that you are not allowed to step into the heavenly prison!"
Li Dan sneered and said: "It's a pity that your Queen Mother is no longer able to protect herself. From now on, I no longer need to obey her orders."
"Your Highness King Yin, if we are going to do a big thing today, we must kill someone to sacrifice the flag. How about we sacrifice this person to the flag first?"
A man with thick eyebrows and big eyes behind Li Xian suggested, it was General Quan Zhijie of Zuo Yu Lin Wei.
The prison commander said angrily: "General Quan, what do you mean by this?"
Quan Zhijie pulled out his sword and swung it forward. A stream of blood spurted out from the prison commander's neck, and he fell to the ground with a thud.
Quan Zhijie sheathed the sword and said coldly: "That's what it means."
The other jailers were all shocked. Facing so many Yulin guards, how could they dare to resist?
Li Dan stepped over the prisoner's body, entered the prison, and came all the way to the door of Li Xian's prison.
There was a clang and the door lock was cut off.
Li Yuanjia behind him grabbed the fence and said with great joy: "Your Highness, King Yin, is this great success a success?"
King Yin said "Hmm" and said to Li Xian: "Brother Six, come out quickly."
Li Xian was not in a hurry to get out of prison, and said calmly: "Has Li Hong promised to let me out?"
Someone suddenly walked out from behind Li Dan and said respectfully: "Go back to your highness, because of that bitch Turkic woman, Li Hong did not issue an order to let you out."
That man had a pair of triangular eyes and a beardless face. He was none other than Dou Wenming.
He paused for a moment and then continued: "However, my subordinates have forged a copy of Li Hong's decree to release you. When he dies, no one will be able to tell whether this decree was issued by him."
Li Xian said "Yeah" and slowly walked out of the cell. Dou Wenming held a gorgeous robe and changed it for him.
Li Yuanjia said anxiously: "Please release me quickly!"
Li Dan gave an order and not only released Li Yuanjia, but also split the locks on the cell doors of Yue King Li Zhen and Langya King Li Chong next door.
King Pei said to the three people who came out: "According to the plan, you should return to Yangzhou immediately and contact the old ministry. After the eighth brother ascends the throne, we still need to eliminate the local Wu clan one by one."
All three of them agreed.
After leaving the prison, Li Dan and Li Hong walked towards the palace. Li Dan lowered his head and said: "Brother Six, you should be the emperor. I will only assist you."
King Pei smiled and said: "Old man, given the current situation, even if Li Hong dies, the ministers will not agree to let me be the emperor. You are the only choice."
Li Dan thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll do it first, and then I'll let you do it when the situation improves in the future."
King Pei shook his hand, said nothing more, and asked Dou Wenming, "Where is Li Hong now?"
Dou Wenming said: "He is holding a court meeting. He listened to the suggestions of Li Chongyi and Cen Changqian and plans to purge the entire Wu family through this court meeting!"
King Pei smiled slightly and said: "He did a good job this time. He has finally made some progress. You can send someone to release Wu Youji and ensure that he reaches the Jinwu Health Department safely. General Quan, this matter is very important. You can go there personally."
Let’s go.”
Quan Zhijie agreed and went with a team of people.
King Pei's face turned cold, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Let's go, we can go see the Queen Mother!"