Wu Chengsi, Shangguan Wan'er, Feng Wu and other personal guards followed Yang Tai and headed west of the city.
On the carriage, Wu Chengsi asked Yang Tai: "What danger are they in?"
Yang Tai said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, when Wang Chen and his wife were in Shu, their home was attacked by thieves. Later, when they came to Chang'an, they were chased by thieves again. Thanks to the help of Qinzhou Wang Changshi and Longzhou Niu Duwei, they finally managed to survive.
Arrive safely in Chang'an.
Originally, Beizhi, Mr. and Mrs. Wang Shen, King Ying, and Commander Niu were planning to come together to see you. However, on the way, the Queen Mother sent someone to let Wang Shen, Mr. and Mrs. Wang and His Royal Highness the King of England enter the palace. Commander Niu refused and was confronting them, so Beizhi hurriedly
Come to you for help!"
Wu Chengsi frowned and thought secretly: "The Queen Mother just allows the British King to enter the palace, why do she need to allow Wang Shen and his wife to enter the palace?"
Suddenly, I was startled, remembering that Wang Chen had helped King Pei murder Wu Mei. Could it be that Wu Mei was planning to settle the score with her queen?
But after that incident, he asked Wu Mei for mercy, hoping that she would forgive Shangguan Wan'er and Wang Chen. Wu Mei agreed at that time.
He thought for a while and said slowly: "Does the Queen Mother just want to see him?"
Yang Tai lowered his eyes and said: "Your Highness, the gang of criminals who are chasing Wang Chen and his wife are the secret guards sent by Her Highness the Queen Mother!"
Wu Chengsi felt a chill in his heart and thought: "It seems that my aunt's promise to me was not sincere. I am afraid she has not let go of this matter in her heart."
Soon, the carriage came to a street, and the atmosphere was tense. A group of Qianniu Guards faced off against a group of Qianniu Guards wearing light yellow armor.
The Qianniu Guards were far superior in numbers and could have taken away Wang Chen and others by force.
But Wang Chen had the King of Zhou's token in his hand, and everyone in the army respected the King of Zhou. The leading Qianniuwei general did not dare to offend the King of Zhou, so he only ordered to surround the opponent and did not dare to take action rashly.
This led to a confrontation.
Seeing Wu Chengsi's arrival, not only Wang Chen and others breathed a sigh of relief, but the Qianniu Guard generals also breathed a sigh of relief.
He took the lead to step forward, dismounted, saluted, and said, "I have met His Highness King Zhou."
Wu Chengsi got off the carriage and raised his eyebrows: "What's going on here?"
The general said hurriedly: "Go back to Your Highness. On the order of the Queen Mother, I will bring His Royal Highness the King of England and a couple into the palace for questioning. The couple showed your token, so I will not dare to move without permission. Your Highness, please."
Instructions, how to deal with this matter?"
Wu Chengsi said: "You go directly back to Her Majesty the Queen Mother and tell her that I have brought this couple back to the house for the time being, and I will explain to her later."
The general accepted the offer and ordered his men to take Li Xian away.
Niu Yong saw that Wu Chengsi did not ask for the British king to stay, so he did not stop Qian Niuwei.
Li Xian hesitated to speak, but finally followed Qian Niuwei and left obediently.
After Qian Niuwei left, Wang Chen and his wife were about to step forward to salute. Niu Yong quickly ran past the two of them, knelt on one knee and said loudly: "Niu Yong, the former captain of Zuowu Guards, pays homage to the commander-in-chief!"
Wu Chengsi smiled and helped him up, and said with a smile: "You are also the captain of Longzhou Zhechong now, why are you still acting so well?"
Niu Yong touched the back of his head and said with a naive smile: "I haven't seen the commander in a long time, so I am too excited."
At this time, Wang Chen and his wife also came over. They knelt down and made a big salute.
Wu Chengsi said: "Get up. You go back to the palace with my wife first and wait in the study. I want to go to the palace and ask you questions when I come back."
He turned around and gave Shangguan Wan'er a few more instructions, then separated from everyone and took a few personal guards to the Daming Palace.
On the way back to the palace, Shangguan Wan'er asked Wang Chen and his wife what they had experienced on the way.
She asked very carefully and refused to let go of any detail.
When she learned that the Queen Mother had ordered her men to capture King Pei and King Yin, and gave the order whether they should live or die, her expression immediately changed.
After a long silence, she said softly: "Did those secret guards tell you why the Queen Mother wanted to kill you?"
Wang Chen shook his head: "They didn't say."
Mrs. Wang suddenly said: "His Royal Highness King Pei seems to know, but when we asked him, he refused to tell us."
Shangguan Wan'er trembled all over and didn't ask any more questions after that.
After sending the three people back to the palace, she took a few guards and left the palace alone.
After walking aimlessly on the street for a while, I suddenly headed towards the imperial city.
After entering the imperial city, she went straight to the outside of the Heavenly Prison. After revealing her identity as a concubine of Prince Zhou's Palace, the Heavenly Prison Supervisor came out in person.
"I have met Her Royal Highness in this humble position!"
Shangguan Wan'er said: "The supervisor does not need to be polite." He paused and asked: "I heard that Dou Wenming, the former deputy supervisor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, is imprisoned in the sky prison. Is he still alive?"
The eunuch was startled and said: "Her Royal Highness the Queen Mother ordered her to be executed two months ago."
Shangguan Wan'er hurriedly asked: "How did he die?"
The emissary hesitated for a moment and then replied: "Her Royal Highness the Queen Mother issued an order saying that this man had committed a heinous crime and ordered someone to strangle him to death with a rope."
Shangguan Wan'er bit her lip and asked, "What about Quan Zhijie, the former Yu Linwei general? Is he still alive?"
There was a strange look on the monitor's face and he said: "He is also dead. He was ordered to die by the Queen Mother more than a month ago."
"Yes, was he also strangled to death by someone sent by the Queen Mother?" Shangguan Wan'er said in a trembling voice.
The supervisor nodded and defended himself: "It is indeed against the rules to execute a prisoner like this, but Her Royal Highness the Queen Mother has an order, and I dare not disobey it despite my humble position!"
Shangguan Wan'er nodded and returned to the Royal Medical Building in despair.
She originally planned to move to Xu Wenqing's courtyard today, but suddenly she lost interest in anything and lay on the couch, her mind going blank.
After a long time, Yuping, the girl who served her, entered the hospital building and reminded her in a low voice: "Madam, dinner is already prepared, and the prince is back. Is it time for you to have dinner?"
Shangguan Wan'er was startled, sat up and said, "Is it already so late?" When she came to the window, the sky had indeed become dark.
She did not go to the dining room immediately, but returned to the couch and sat down, asking: "Yuping, how long has it been since the prince came back?"
Yuping said: "It must have been more than an hour."
Shangguan Wan'er wrung her fingers and whispered: "How did his face look when he returned home?"
Yuping was stunned for a moment and said: "I don't know, little maid. If you want to know, I will go and find out now."
Shangguan Wan'er nodded and said, "Go ahead and stop by the dining room. Tell the prince that I'm not feeling well, so I won't go there to have a meal."
Yuping agreed and left the small building.
After a long time, she returned to the building and said softly: "Madam, I have inquired clearly. The prince did not look very well when he returned to the house. He seemed a little unhappy."
Shangguan Wan'er's heart became heavier and heavier, and she asked again: "Where is that couple? How did the prince arrange them?"
Yuping said: "Your Majesty asked them to live in the palace temporarily."
Shangguan Wan'er was silent for a moment and said, "You go out, I want to be alone for a while."
Yuping resigned and left. Not long after, a servant delivered the food to the small building. Shangguan Wan'er had no appetite and did not use her chopsticks.
Half an hour later, she heard heavy footsteps.
Among the people who came to her hospital building, only Wu Chengsi's steps were so heavy.
After a while, Wu Chengsi opened the door and came in, walked to her, looked at her face for a while, and asked with concern: "Wan'er, how are you feeling? Are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere?"
Shangguan Wan'er stared at him closely and asked: "Your Highness, you just entered the palace to find Her Majesty the Queen Mother. Did you ask clearly?"
Wu Chengsi was stunned for a moment and whispered: "You don't have to worry too much about this matter, I will solve it."
Shangguan Wan'er bit her lip and shook her head: "No, no, she won't let me go!"
Suddenly he threw himself on the bed and cried softly.
Wu Chengsi sighed.
When he entered the palace in the afternoon, Wu Mei's attitude towards him became much colder. When Wu Chengsi asked about Wang Chen and his wife, Wu Mei did not admit that she wanted to kill them and only said that she wanted to ask them a few questions.
Originally, Wu Chengsi was most concerned about whether Wu Mei would be harmful to Shangguan Wan'er, but the atmosphere of the conversation between the two at that time was so bad that he couldn't ask again.
This was the second time that Wu Mei's attitude towards Wu Chengsi became cold, which made Wu Chengsi secretly angry.
Wu Chengsi knew clearly in his heart that Wu Mei was dissatisfied with him this time because of Wang Chen's affairs, so she showed indifference, hoping that he would take the initiative to hand over Wang Chen to her.
But this time, Wu Chengsi did not intend to give in.
Wang Chen is his person. If he can't even protect his own people, who else will dare to follow him in the future?
And if Wang Chen is handed over, Wu Mei will probably force him to hand over Shangguan Wan'er.
If he can't even protect his own woman, what else can this commander-in-chief do?
Thinking of this, he gently patted Shangguan Wan'er's back and said in a deep voice: "Wan'er, don't worry, as long as I am here, I will never let anyone hurt you, and the Queen Mother is no exception."
Shangguan Wan'er was startled and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, please don't get into trouble with the Queen Mother because of me..."
Wu Chengsi snorted coldly: "She went too far in this matter. She clearly promised to expose this matter at the beginning, but now she insists on it."
Shangguan Wan'er lowered her head and said: "Actually... I can actually understand her. She is the Queen Mother of the current dynasty. If we know about such scandals, of course we will have trouble sleeping and eating."
Wu Chengsi was stunned: "What scandal?"
Shangguan Wan'er lowered her eyes and said, "Your Highness, do you still remember the secret room in the Buddhist hall?"
Wu Chengsi frowned and said, "I have never been in."
Shangguan Wan'er bit her lip and said: "There is a secret of hers in that secret room. She never wants this secret to be known to anyone. Only by killing everyone who knows the secret can she feel at ease."
Wu Chengsi's heart trembled and he asked, "What's the secret?"
Shangguan Wan'er's face turned pale and she shook her head silently.
Wu Chengsi held her in his arms and said softly: "Actually, I am not interested in her secret, but since you know this secret, I must know it."
Shangguan Wan'er's eyes turned red, she hugged his chest tightly, and said tremblingly: "Your Highness, there are... two portraits in that secret room... one is of Emperor Taizong... and the other is of the late emperor!"
Wu Chengsi smiled and said: "This is no secret. It is normal for her to miss the two of them and keep their portraits as a souvenir!"
Shangguan Wan'er raised her head and said anxiously: "No, she often stays alone in the secret room for several hours. She must be talking to the portrait in the secret room. With the Queen Mother's temper, she never wants others to know that she is like this.
Weak side!"
Wu Chengsi was silent for a long time, and he suddenly realized that it was no wonder that Wu Mei had a bad relationship with him over this matter. It turned out that there was such a relationship between them.
But even if she had her reasons, Wu Chengsi was not going to give in.
At noon the next day, Shangguan Wan'er moved to Qingzhuyuan. Although she was not completely relieved, most of her fear dissipated when she saw that Wu Chengsi would not hesitate to fall out with the Queen Mother because of her.
She is a smart woman. Although she really wants to know how her husband plans to solve the problem, she does not pester him with questions every day.
During dinner in the evening, Wu Chengsi didn't mention official matters, and she didn't ask too many questions.
But since that day, she often went to see Liu Lanshuang, tried her best to please her, and then secretly gathered information about the court.
Shangguan Wan'er is intelligent and intelligent, and her mother has nurtured her since she was a child. She is not only good at poetry and painting, but also proficient in music, chess, singing and dancing.
Every time she brought an instrument to Liu Lanshuang for advice. Within two days, the relationship between the two became much closer.
On this day, Shangguan Wan'er went to see Liu Lanshuang again with a jade flute.
After the two of them each played a song, Liu Lanshuang suddenly sighed, put the flute aside, and looked out the window at the gloomy sky without saying a word.
Shangguan Wan'er hurriedly asked: "Sister Liu, what's wrong with you? Are you unhappy about something?"
Liu Lanshuang was silent for a while and said, "Your Majesty, recently..." She stopped mid-sentence.
Liu Lanshuang said quietly: "There seems to be some problems in his relationship with the Queen Mother recently."
Shangguan Wan'er's eyes lit up and she immediately asked: "What's the problem?"
Liu Lanshuang walked slowly to the window and said quietly: "At the court meeting two days ago, Her Royal Highness the Queen Mother proposed to move the court hall to the Eastern Capital, but the prince did not come forward to second the proposal. In the past, no matter what suggestions the Queen Mother made, he would support it."
Shangguan Wan'er lowered her head and said nothing.
Liu Lanshuang added: "Because the prince did not come forward to support, many officials did not come forward to second the proposal, including Li Zhongshu and Su Situ. I heard that the Queen Mother's face was ugly at that time."
Shangguan Wan'er was silent for a long time and whispered: "Sister Liu, are you worried that the break between the prince and the queen mother will bring disaster to the prince's palace?"
Liu Lanshuang was stunned for a moment, shook her head and said: "No, I just don't understand why the prince did this suddenly."
Suddenly, she stared at Shangguan Wan'er's face and asked, "Sister Wan'er, do you know the reason?"
Seeing her bright and penetrating eyes, Shangguan Wan'er was secretly shocked: "Did she already guess that this matter was related to me, so she deliberately brought up this topic so that she could ask me about it?"
"I, I think it might have something to do with the couple who lived in our house." She answered ambiguously.
Liu Lanshuang gave a faint hum and did not ask any further questions.
After that day, Shangguan Wan'er was too embarrassed to go to Liu Lanshuang again, so she changed her strategy and targeted Li Zhiying.
She still used the old method of trying to suit her needs. She went to see Li Zhiying the next day, talked to her about children-related matters, and kept teasing Li Zongxiu.
The effect was immediate, and Li Zhiying soon became very affectionate to her.
On the morning of the third day, when Li Zhiying was chatting with Shangguan Wan'er, she took the initiative to talk about the situation in the court, with a worried look on her face, because the matter she was talking about was related to Li Ji.
"Starting from the day before yesterday, the imperial censor impeached my grandfather for two days in a row, saying that he could neither teach the younger generations, which caused the eldest brother and Li Jingwu to associate with the rebels. He also could not discipline and deploy, which led to Guo Daifeng's defeat in Hexi."
Shangguan Wan'er was secretly shocked.
She had been with Wu Mei for a long time, and her sensitivity to court affairs was still higher than that of Li Zhiying. She immediately guessed that the Queen Mother planned to replace Li Ji and replace her with one of her confidants as Zhongshu Ling.
Li Zhiying touched Li Zongxiu's little face and said softly: "My husband has also been very strange recently. He did not support the Queen Mother in moving to Luoyang. Taiping even came to ask him specifically about this matter."
Shangguan Wan'er lowered her head and said nothing. In this matter, she felt that it was herself who caused Wu Chengsi to break up with the Queen Mother, so she felt a little guilty.
That night, both Li Ji and Su Dingfang came to the palace and discussed something with Wu Chengsi in the study.
After Shangguan Wan'er learned about it, she came to wait near the study. After waiting for a long time, Wu Chengsi finally came out of the study together with Li Ji and Su Dingfang.
Wu Chengsi personally walked the two of them to the door, and when he turned around, he saw Shangguan Wan'er.
"Wan'er, what are you doing here?" he asked.
Shangguan Wan'er stepped forward and said quietly: "Your Majesty, does the Queen Mother intend to remove Mr. Li from his position as Zhongshu Ling?"
Wu Chengsi was slightly startled and nodded.
Shangguan Wan'er said again: "Were you just discussing the countermeasures?"
Wu Chengsi smiled, scratched her nose and said, "Girl, I told you not to worry, why don't you listen?"
Shangguan Wan'er pouted and said: "How can I not be worried? You don't know how ruthless Her Majesty the Queen Mother is. I am afraid of you..."
"Are you afraid that if I can't defeat the Queen Mother, then the entire Zhou Palace will be beheaded or exiled?"
Shangguan Wan'er's eyes turned red and she whispered: "I...it's not that I don't believe you, it's just..."
Wu Chengsi held her little hand and said slowly: "I know that you are particularly afraid that the same thing will happen to Prince Zhou's Mansion because of the shadow left behind after you were a child."
After a pause, he raised his head and said: "Don't worry, since I dare to confront her, I am fully confident. I don't really want to fall out with her, I just want her to understand that some things should not be taken too far."
There was moisture in Shangguan Wan'er's eyes, and she knew that all he did was to make the Queen Mother dispel her thoughts of killing her.
He took two steps forward, leaned against him, and said softly: "Your Highness, do you want me tonight?"
Wu Chengsi's face changed slightly and he hurriedly said: "No, it can't be done."
Shangguan Wan'er's face suddenly turned pale.
Wu Chengsi hurriedly explained: "Don't think too much, it's not that I don't want you, it's just that you... you are still too young, please wait two years."
Shangguan Wan'er's face turned from white to red, and she said angrily: "I'm already sixteen, how can I be younger?"
Wu Chengsi touched the bridge of his nose and said with a wry smile: "You have to listen to me on this matter. We have a long way to go, so there is no rush."
Shangguan Wan'er glanced at him, turned around and ran away while holding up her skirt.
Early the next morning, Wu Chengsi did not go to the military camp, but went to Zhongshu Province.
When he saw several memorials written by Cao Renshi, the general of Qianniu Guard, appearing in the provincial platform, he felt relieved and left the palace.
This was the countermeasure he discussed with Li Ji and Su Dingfang last night, and asked several military generals to impeach Cao Renshi.
If Wu Mei still insists on deposing Li Ji, then the three of them will rely on their prestige in the army to exclude Cao Renshi from Qianniu Guard.
If Wu Mei forcibly stops her, the three of them will take further measures to isolate Cao Renshi, or even make the Qianniu Guards mutiny, thereby forcing Wu Mei.
Of course, Wu Chengsi believed that Wu Mei would not be so stupid to let things progress to that point.
Since he was named Marshal of the West by Li Zhi, he has never stopped strengthening his strength in the army. This is his greatest security guarantee.
Even after Wu Mei ascends the throne, he has no intention of returning military power.
He knew very early on what ridiculous things Wu Mei would do when she got old, so he had secretly prepared for a conflict with Wu Mei early on.
However, he did not expect that the conflict between the two would happen so soon.
Shangguan Wan'er's reason is naturally the main reason for this, but there is another important reason. He is deeply disgusted with Wu Mei's sudden change of attitude towards him.
Wu Mei suddenly turned cold towards him because of Wu Sansi's instigation. Later, it was him who uncovered King Pei's conspiracy and then rescued her, and the two reconciled.
The responsibility for this incident lies entirely with Wu Mei, but she did not reflect on it and turned her face towards herself because of Wang Chen's incident.
If the incident had happened a few months ago, when Wu Mei still needed to unite with him to deal with the emperor, maybe she would not have done this.
As a result, with Wu Chengsi's help, the emperor's prestige was completely lost, and Wu Mei gained power, but her attitude towards him was not as good as before.
This was the place that chilled him the most.
In fact, if it were him in the past, he might not care so much, and would be content to just hold Wu Mei's thigh tightly and have a stable life.
But now that he has military power, he doesn't like to act based on other people's faces, even if that person is the future queen.