Li Tengkong suddenly learned that something was going on at home, and considering that the only person in the court who could compete with Yang Guozhong was Chen Xilie, she came without hesitation. However, she also knew that the evil consequences of the Li family had already been sown, and she did not have high hopes in her heart, so she tried her best to
Just for that.
Chen Xilie was weaker than she expected. She could only endure it when facing someone as strong as her grandfather, but she didn't even dare to stand up to Yang Guozhong.
But at this time, it was unexpected news to learn that An Lushan and Yang Guozhong had cooperated.
She did not ask immediately, but calmed down and thought about it before she said, "Many of Li Xianzhong's clan members are under the command of An Lushan. Presumably, An Lushan will send people to the court to testify?"
"Young lady is smart." Chen Xilie stroked his knee and praised, "If all the gentlemen in the Taiwei Mansion were as quick-thinking as this young lady, and five years earlier, things would have turned around, but now... it's too late."
"But there is no physical evidence." Li Tengkong said.
Chen Xilie disagreed with this sentence and shook his head: "In recent years, the Taiwei has given An Lushan many conveniences in preparation for using force to prevent the Crown Prince from ascending the throne. Now it can be used as evidence of his collusion with Li Xianzhong."
Li Tengkong's face remained calm, but his heart was almost desperate.
This is indeed a fatal blow.
She expected that the only hope to save her family was to prove to the saint that this was a false accusation while Yang Guozhong had no evidence. Unexpectedly, An Lushan, who was usually the most respectful, was the first to add insult to injury.
"I might as well tell you." Chen Xilie said: "Everyone in the court knows that the reason why Li Xianzhong defected was because An Lushan unjustly killed his clan member Zuo Xian Wang Gejie. An Lushan had long been secretly trying to cover up the matter.
In tandem with Yang Guozhong, he tried to inflict insults on the Taiwei... Unfortunately, I learned about it too late and couldn't do anything."
He cares about friendship, and at this juncture, he can still tell the whole story. This is his last kindness to Li Linfu and his family.
"Old fool!" Li Shiniang was anxious and shouted: "Even I can see that if you agree with them now, you will end up in trouble sooner or later. Now, we can help you, fight!"
"You guys?" Chen Xilie found it ridiculous, "What are you capable of?"
"I……"
When Li Shiniang's words came to her lips, she paused. She couldn't think of any other loyal and capable disciples of Li Linfu, so she said: "My husband's family, the Hongnong Yang family, can help you fight for power. Now if you
I don’t know what’s good or bad, it’s just a slap in the face!”
"Yang Qixuan has surrendered to Yang Guozhong. The dust has settled."
"What?!" Li Shiyiniang didn't believe it.
"Who is Yang Qixuan? Can't you see clearly, little lady?"
"No, Yang Lang won't." Li Shiniang gritted her teeth and finally told the truth, "You know he doesn't have the courage? He is always cowardly and would never dare to betray me."
She had no memory of her refuting Li Tengkong outside the door, seemingly defending Yang Qixuan, but actually protecting her face.
But she still understands the principle of husband and wife becoming one.
"It is weakness that leads to betrayal first." Chen Xilie was deeply touched by this.
Li Shiniang felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave, her face was ashen, and she didn't know what to do for a moment.
The worst plan she made was to save herself if she couldn't save her parents' family. Unexpectedly, it was her husband who stabbed her first? After thinking about it, she had no other way to survive, so she could only not believe it.
He shook his head repeatedly.
In fact, Chen Xilie had already arranged for the guards of Dali Temple to wait outside the door. At this time, he looked concerned and said: "You guys should run away quickly. If you can catch up with Princess Yuzhen, you can still have a way to survive."
Li Tengkong said: "Why don't you think more carefully, Prime Minister Zuo? This matter seems to be dealing with my grandfather, but it is actually a battle for prestige."
"Please come back."
Chen Xilie didn't want to talk any more, so he stood up and walked inside.
He was quite polite and arranged for a group of strong women to drive them away.
"No, you must help us." Li Shiyiniang said.
She didn't know how else to persuade Chen Xilie, but it was useless to show off as her husband.
Just as she was about to be kicked out, she suddenly had an idea and shouted: "There is also Xue Bai."
Chen Xilie stopped and looked back, feeling a little confused.
"Xue Bai will help us. He has a good relationship with Qi Niang." Li Shi Niang said: "Since the Left Prime Minister has transferred him back to Beijing, why not wait a little longer? Xue Bai must be on our side, and he will definitely do it when the time comes.
I can think of a way."
After she finished speaking, she was surprised to find that Chen Xilie didn't refute. This argument seemed to be useful. She is a woman who knows how to take advantage of others, and is best at bringing out men to support herself.
So, she worked harder and said: "If you don't help us, when Xue Bai comes back, Seventeenth Mother will cry to him and become your enemy. You don't want to add another enemy, right?"
This is a rather ridiculous threat.
But Chen Xilie still didn't refute, but looked at Li Tengkong.
"I heard that at the Longchi Banquet, the Taiwei clarified these rumors in front of the saint."
Li Tengkong didn't say anything. He lowered his head. After a moment, he raised his head again and met Chen Xilie's eyes firmly. She neither denied nor admitted, giving a specious attitude.
Chen Xilie pondered for a moment. After all, it was impossible for a young man to go against the general trend and continue to walk away.
Li Shiniang was greatly disappointed and shouted to Li Tengkong: "Say what you want, bring out your lover to scare him."
Li Tengkong shook his head.
She knew very well that Chen Xilie was a mature man and could not be frightened by a few false words.
What's more, Xue Bai is not her best friend either.
~~
Dali Temple Prison.
Li Tengkong had been to Dali Temple Prison. She remembered that it was during the Tianbao Six Years Imperial Examination "Wild Wu Yi Xian" case. The five Chunwei sons headed by Xue Bai were imprisoned in Dali Temple Prison. She came to see him.
At that time, she probably still had some hope in her heart that the two of them would eventually get married. Thinking about it now, she just finds it very ridiculous.
Her family is ruined, and she is no longer the silly girl she used to be.
When she entered the prison this time, all kinds of cries of "Unjust Accusation" echoed in her ears. There were many of her family members in each cell, as if her family had been moved to Dali Temple Prison.
"Seventeenth Mother?"
In the dim firelight, someone clearly saw Li Tengkong being escorted through the passage, and quickly shouted: "Please Princess Yuzhen, please save me!"
"Seventh brother?"
Li Tengkong looked back and found that it was her brother Li Yu.
Li Yu, appointed Taichang Shaoqing, was usually very dignified, but today he was covered in bruises, obviously from torture, and looked extremely embarrassed.
He had never experienced such a miserable experience. He could not bear it more than ordinary people. He was in pain to the point of almost madness. He stretched out his hand from the fence and shouted: "Save me! Save me!"
Li Tengkong couldn't bear to look any more and continued to walk forward. She saw Twenty-one Man Li Wei shouting to confess. Every time she saw Li Wei, she would think of his rape of a civilian girl on the night of Shangyuan. Sometimes she really felt
The family deserves to be in this situation.
"I'm going to recruit you now, don't torture me." Li Wei cried to himself: "I'm going to recruit him. My grandpa really wants to rebel, but I have injured my leg over the years and have been recuperating behind closed doors.
It has nothing to do with me..."
Further forward, there were many female relatives locked in the cells, all crying.
Most of them were the daughters-in-law of the Li family. Today, Li Shiniang happened to go back to her parents' home for a funeral, so she was also imprisoned. She fell ill at this time. The first thing Li Tengkong did when he arrived was to treat her.
Li Shiniang was in a bad mood, and she inevitably started to vent her emotions again, saying: "What's the use of checking her pulse? There's no medicine in the cell!"
Everyone was already miserable, and here came such a master who usually dominated the house, so they all cried loudly.
"Crying? Did I make you cry?! I told you a long time ago, beware of that white-eyed wolf in the spit pot!"
…
The time in prison passed very slowly. After two days, it seemed like two years. Li Tengkong finally understood what it meant to live like a year.
The presiding officials and jailers seemed to be in a hurry. From time to time they would go to the prison to take people out for torture, and every time there would be a lot of excitement. Yang Guozhong had just been appointed Prime Minister to handle such a big case, but he was far from calm enough to deal with small matters.
You can see, for example, that there is no prison food at all.
After being hungry for two days, Li Shiniang no longer had the strength to shout. She complained softly from time to time: "We are the family members of important ministers, how dare we treat them like this?"
No one paid attention to her, everyone was very weak from hunger.
What was even more unbearable was the stench emanating from the corner of the cell. Every time the women went there to relieve themselves, tears would fall from their eyes.
Li Tengkong huddled by the fence, thinking that he must be sick. He was thinking about the stir-fried lamb tripe at Fengwei Restaurant, and he realized with some shame that he was also such a greedy person. In the past, he considered himself to be an infernal person.
Fairy, but she is not as lucky as Xue Bai. Even if she is imprisoned, someone will give her a food book.
Finally, there was a clang sound. On the other side of the passage, two jailers dragged Li Xiu over.
In the past two days, the Li family members were interrogated back and forth, but Li Xiu was never seen. At this time, Li Tengkong realized that Li Xiu had been tortured. Not to mention the shocking scars, his two
The eyes became protruding outward.
It was because he had gone through too much physical pain and stared like that.
"Brother." Li Tengkong shouted weakly.
Li Xiu had no strength to raise his head and cried silently. His lips trembled for a long time before he made a sound and said: "I am a waste...I can't keep...the family business."
With these words, the entire Dali Temple Prison fell into tears.
It's over.
In the past, Youxiang's Mansion had endless scenery, but now there is only endless suffering.
Li Shiniang looked at it and couldn't help but stand up and shouted: "Yang Qixuan!"
She saw that the red-robed official standing behind Li Xiu, half of his face hidden in the darkness, was her husband Yang Qixuan. He also held a file in his hand, and he seemed to be one of the chief judges.
"Yang Qixuan, you traitor!"
"Are there too few confessions?" Yang Qixuan responded loudly, raised his hands and pointed at the prison, and shouted righteously: "Li Linfu committed the crime of treason. If I hadn't tried my best to protect you, you would have been executed instead of exiled!
"
"How dare you..."
Li Shiniang gritted her silver teeth and clenched her fists with hatred.
But she had an adaptable temperament, and when she thought about it, she no longer wanted to stay in jail and suffer, so she pinched herself and tried to change her mentality.
Others were still yelling at Yang Qixuan, but she suddenly shouted: "That's enough!"
After she stopped the people's curses, she wiped away her tears and said, "Now that the matter has come to this point, Yang Lang can't do anything about it. It is because of his painstaking efforts that he can change the execution to exile... Yang Lang, can you take me out?"
I'm going crazy."
Yang Qixuan was silent for a moment, walked forward with his head lowered, and sighed when he arrived outside the cell.
"Eleventh Mother."
"Yang Lang, take me out." Li Shiniang stretched out her hand to shake Yang Qixuan's hand and said: "If you marry a chicken, follow the chicken, if you marry a dog, follow the dog. I am from the Yang family."
"Are you from the Yang family?"
Yang Qixuan asked back, somewhat sarcastically, saying: "Over the years, when have you ever considered yourself a member of the Yang family? Aren't you relying on the power of the Right Prime Minister's Office to bully me?!"
At the end of his words, he suddenly raised his voice and sounded stern.
Everyone in the prison was shocked, and Li Shiniang's face changed drastically, and she murmured: "I have always protected our little family, and I will get you an official position... Yang Qixuan! Didn't I get an official position for you?"
!”
After being scolded, Yang Qixuan habitually shrank back, feeling a little guilty. But he soon thought that he made this choice because he no longer wanted to live such a useless life.
He then handed over a document he was holding.
"What is this?" Li Shiniang actually realized what it was and refused to reach out to pick it up. She said: "You rescue me first, and I will not be willing to make peace with you until I get out."
"This is the letter of divorce." Yang Qi announced.
He threw the divorce letter into the fence, clapped his hands, and suddenly felt relieved. He turned around and was about to walk out, but saw Li Tengkong in his peripheral vision, and couldn't help but think that Li Tengkong might be used to show kindness to Li Jilan.
His heart felt hot, and when he saw Li Tengkong huddled there with a pitiful look on his face, he thought that it would be great if he could take in both of these girls. In the past, he was intimidated by the power of his wife and the prime minister, so he did not dare to do this.
I thought about it, but now I think about it, the Li family has committed a serious crime, and it is not too difficult to redeem Li Tengkong.
All he had to do was send Li Tengkong to the Shaofu Prison as an official slave, then buy her as a concubine, and then let Li Jilan come to his house to see her... What a brilliant idea!
Yang Qixuan thought of his success, strode out of the cell, called the cell leader, and asked: "Is there anyone who wants to visit Li Tengkong recently?"
"Yes, there was a beautiful lady who came to hand over the food book just now."
"Where?"
"She should still be outside the government office. The villain chased her away, but she refused to leave."
Yang Qixuan hurried out, stood on the stone steps and looked around, and saw a beautiful figure.
~~
Li Jilan was wandering around the imperial city, followed by Jiao Nu and Mian'er. These two maids were still carrying Li Tengkong's luggage on the carriage that day, and were thrown into the queue of Princess Yuzhen.
"Ji Lanzi!"
"Brother-in-law." Li Jilan turned around and saw Yang Qixuan. He followed Li Tengkong's call and asked with concern: "How is the situation?"
"Tell me this way."
Yang Qixuan raised his hand and deliberately tried to support Li Jilan's arm. He walked aside and whispered: "I am trying my best to rescue you. However, the conspiracy of the right minister is true. The evidence is conclusive. It is impossible to reverse the case. But I managed to save it."
The Li family is full of lives, so the sentence is lenient and is banished."
"What about Teng Kongzi? She is a monk or a disciple of Princess Yuzhen!"
"It is inevitable that he will be sent to the eunuch."
"What?!" Li Jilan's face turned pale, and she turned around and ran away.
Yang Qixuan was taken aback for a moment and was unexpected by her reaction. He quickly stopped her and asked, "Where are Ji Lanzi going?"
"I'm going to find someone to save Tongzi!"
Yang Qixuan suddenly felt deeply frustrated. He, a high-ranking official in red robe, was in front of Li Jilan, but she still wanted to find someone else? Thinking more deeply, she must not want to involve herself.
"It's a serious crime of treason!" Yang Qixuan emphasized, "No one can save me, but if I want to save a loophole, I have a way."
"What?"
"I can redeem the vacant space."
Yang Qixuan frightened Li Jilan a few more times. After that, he deliberately let her know that he had divorced his wife. He thought about it and spoke slowly.
"Oh, if I want to protect the lives of my wife and Tong Kongzi, I must protect myself first before I can redeem them. But if I want to protect myself, I must draw a clear line with my husband."
Saying this with a helpless tone, Yang Qixuan showed deep affection in his eyes, choked twice in pain, patted his chest and said, "I have no choice but to make peace with Eleven Niang."
After finally giving out this important news, he turned to look at Li Jilan and found with some disappointment that she didn't care at all whether he and Li were getting along...perhaps she was hiding her feelings.
"Is there really no other way?" Li Jilan cried to herself: "For a noble person like Teng Kongzi, she can't lose her citizenship."
"This is the only way." Yang Qixuan said: "But don't worry, I will definitely rescue her."
In this way, after comforting Li Jilan and getting one step closer to the goal of finding a beautiful woman, Yang Qixuan returned to Dali Temple in a very good mood.
"Is the right minister still there?"
"The right minister is about to go to see the Holy Spirit. If you want to see Dr. Yang, please do it as soon as possible."
Yang Qixuan rushed to the official residence and saw that the officials were sorting out the files. Yang Guozhong looked satisfied and was putting a piece of chicken tongue in his mouth. This was preparation for meeting the saint to avoid bad breath.
"Right Prime Minister, I have something to ask you..."
"Um?"
Yang Qixuan stepped forward and said: "The lower official believes that all the female relatives in Genu's family should be sent to the eunuchs. In this way, the right minister can win over the hearts of many officials."
"Yes." Yang Guozhong smiled knowingly and said, "But Li Qiniang let go of that female crown."
"Why?"
"Chen Xilie sent them here deliberately, hoping to offend Princess Yuzhen and Xue Bai. Will I be fooled?"
"But……"
"Go ahead and do it." Yang Guozhong waved his hand casually and walked out.
Yang Qixuan turned his head and glanced at the officials in the official residence. He and Yang Guozhong were talking in a low voice just now, and they obviously didn't hear it. Judging from these details, Yang Guozhong was not as careful as Li Linfu in his work.
"The Right Prime Minister has just ordered that all the female relatives of Brother Nu should be sent to the eunuchs!"
"Okay! Very happy!"
There were cheers in the official hall, Yang Qixuan's eyes flashed, and he never mentioned the matter of releasing Li Tengkong. He decided to blame it on these officials later, saying that they were negligent in doing things, and that Yang Guozhong could not do anything to him.
Fearing a long night and many dreams, he also urged the officials to handle the matter immediately.
~~
With a "bang" sound, the cell door was opened.
Li Tengkong raised his eyes and saw several vicious jailers coming in, shouting: "Drag them all out and send them to the eunuch prison!"
"Ah!" Li Shiyiniang screamed and shouted: "Don't touch me!"
"Shut up! Take them all away!"
"Warden, that one is dying."
Li Tengkong cowered aside in fear and wiped his face with mud. After hearing this, he turned around and saw that Li Shiniang was dying. He quickly said: "She is not dead. Can you give her some decoction? I will prescribe a prescription..."
"
"If you go to the eunuch to be treated, don't die in Dali Temple!"
While she was talking, Li Tengkong's wrists were tied up. The pain made her tears well up unconsciously, but she could only hold back.
They were tied up in a bunch and taken outside. After leaving the cell door, Li Shiniang couldn't support herself and fell to the ground. The guards immediately whipped her with whips, causing a lot of crying.
"Crying? There's no point crying! The case has been decided, and you still think you are a noble person?!"
Unexpectedly, these jailers also had resentment towards Li Linfu and acted mercilessly.
For more than ten years, Li Linfu has even saved paper for official documents in order to "increase revenue and reduce expenditure" for the national treasury. He has also been careful about the salary of Chang'an miscellaneous officials. There are few people who don't hate him.
Now, in order to show his benevolence and righteousness, Yang Guozhong only sentenced the sons of the Li family to exile, but these miscellaneous officials can guarantee that none of them can leave Guanzhong alive.
Li Shiniang looked up and saw someone in the attic not far away looking at her. As soon as she caught sight of it, the person ducked and hid. It was Yang Qixuan.
"Eating dog intestines." She cursed bitterly and received another whip on her back. She immediately got angry and shouted: "Stop it! Who do you think you are, you dare to hit me?!"
"Ha, let me tell you, you are the slave now!"
"Slave."
Seeing the whip hitting Li Shiniang, she obviously couldn't stand it any longer. Li Tengkong had no choice but to block it with his body. Hearing the words "Bitch slave" in his ears, he responded: "I'll leave right away, I'll leave..." …”
Suddenly, the whip stopped, and the jailers suddenly stopped talking.
An official from Dali Temple hurried over and cursed in a low voice: "What should I do if I'm caught lynching someone without permission?"
During the discussion, Li Tengkong faintly heard someone say, "It's Mrs. Guo Guo who's here." She thought and suddenly realized that it was Yan Yan who persuaded Yang Yuyao to come forward.
But in fact, she felt extremely uncomfortable accepting this kind of favor.
She helped Li Shiniang up, and out of the corner of her eye she saw several figures entering Dali Temple, and some people were talking in low voices with the warden.
"Then the Dali Temple Prison is reserved by the Right Prime Minister's family."
"Isn't it?"
"Your men are too cruel, how can they beat women?"
"Don't you hate Ge Nu? Besides, this is a prison, not a liquor store. Unless you are an official whose case has not yet been finalized, who doesn't endure hardship?"
"In this way, I am lucky..."
Li Tengkong heard the man's voice was familiar, turned around and saw a young man with a round face, it was Du Wulang.
She was stunned for a moment, and looked outside the door involuntarily.
After a while, someone was talking and walking towards this side. There were two people walking in front. One of them was wearing a purple robe, and the other was wearing a gray robe with mud on his face. But All this dust and dirt couldn't cover up his spirit.
Xue Bai.
Since he left Beijing at the end of summer last year, and now it's early summer again. He hasn't seen Li Tengkong for nearly a year, and it feels like he's been a lifetime away.
But her first reaction was to lower her head to prevent him from seeing her extremely embarrassed appearance.
But he wasn't any better. He was walking so calmly, but the muddy boots under his feet were actually torn, exposing his toes wrapped in dirty socks... Li Tengkong wanted to look up. , but he didn’t dare, so he simply turned his back.
"The situation in the court is chaotic, and the holy will is difficult to guess. After all, Li Linfu was once an important minister of the country. Li Siqing should also treat it with caution. In my opinion, wait and see how things turn out for the better."
"Xue Lang came to Dali Temple just after arriving in Chang'an, just to remind me?"
"Even if Li Linfu is guilty, he has helped me." Xue Bai said, "As a person in this world, I must repay my kindness and pay my debts."
"Okay." Li Daosui, the minister of Dali Temple, nodded and said, "As Xue Lang said, I won't take action for the time being."
Xue Bai said: "The most important thing for the court at the moment is the surrender of prisoners. When the saint disposes of Ge Luofeng, the dignity of the Tang Dynasty can be restored, and the impact of Li Xianzhong's defection can be minimized."
"yes……"
While talking, Li Daosuo also saw Du Wulang who was chatting with the jailers.
This was not the first time they had dealt with each other. Xue Bai and Du Wulang had been taken to Dali Temple many times, but finally got away with it. Such experiences forced Li Daosui to face them with caution.
Xue Bai did not make any excessive demands. He only said that the saint had not yet made a decision and asked Dali Temple to treat Li Linfu's family well. This simple request can still be agreed to.
"Xue Lang!" Seeing Xue Bai, Li Shiniang also became excited and wanted to rush forward, but she pulled the people tied to her and shouted: "Hurry, help us."
"Don't worry, the court will make its own decision and wait until the case is concluded."
Xue Bai looked very calm and didn't even bother to look at Li Tengkong, looking like he was doing business.
After all, Li Shiniang is the prime minister's daughter, so she understands that he cannot immediately overturn the case when he comes back, so it is enough to support them. For such major cases, are there any powerful officials in the court who are supporting them? What is the attitude of the officials in the government office?
But it's a world of difference.
She then said: "Okay, when Xue Lang comes back, he will definitely reverse the case. These cheap slaves dare to bully Qi Niang, Xue Lang should stand up for Qi Niang."
Xue Bai shook his head, not falling into this trap.
He didn't have much to do with Li Linfu, and he had no reason to stand up for the Li family. He was even the first to draw a clear line with Li Linfu because he had expected this day. The reason why he came today was just because he was with Li Tengkong.
friendship.
To put it bluntly, this matter to him is just a matter of affection between his children.
Therefore, despite Li Shiniang screaming in his ears, he was quite polite to the jailers.
"The case has not yet been adjudicated, and there is no reason to impose punishment now. Isn't it illegal to send them to the eunuch now?"
"Yes, yes. The temple minister has given orders, and I will take them back now."
"I'm here to hand over the food book." Xue Bai said: "We haven't been judged yet, so important ministers and their families should not be treated too harshly. I think someone is sick. Can I ask a doctor for diagnosis and treatment?"
"Don't worry, Xue Lang. I will make arrangements now, and it will definitely be no worse than when Xue Lang lived here."
Since the word "live" is used, the situation is naturally different.
Therefore, the female relatives of the Li family were taken back again.
The ropes tied to Li Tengkong's hands had been untied. She walked back to the cell, intending to look back at Xue Bai. But she felt a little disappointed for no reason. She imagined that if he came, he shouldn't have such a dull attitude.
But what should we do? Can't you see her suffering and rush to hug her at all costs?
Thinking like this, she felt it was ridiculous and did not look back.
She just wiped the dirt from her face with her sleeves after returning to the cell.
~~
From beginning to end, Xue Bai was very restrained and did not show much concern for Li Tengkong.
It wasn't until Li Tengkong was brought back to prison that he asked the warden: "This case must be decided by a saint. Who made the decision to send them to the eunuch now?"
"this……"
"I am a member of Zhongshushe. I will know this matter as soon as I investigate. Why should you hide it?"
"Yes, it was ordered by the admonishing doctor Yang Qixuan."
After hearing this, Xue Bai immediately noticed some of Yang Qixuan's little thoughts, and a hint of anger flashed through his originally calm eyes.
The next moment, he turned to look at the attic not far away, and saw a timid figure flashing past.