The surroundings were very noisy. The old soldiers were still shouting and running. Someone bumped Li Heng's shoulder.
He turned around and saw a face with scars under the armor.
After a quick glance, he didn't take it seriously and continued to look at Li Longji.
"I have not wronged you."
Li Longji scolded with sullen eyes.
Although he was sulky, he also felt confident and content that he had everything under control.
Sure enough, he is so wise and sees everything clearly. When the Wei Jian case happened, so many people petitioned him not to be suspicious of the prince, as if he had caused a huge injustice.
Who was wronged? He was wronged.
"Treasonous son, I knew you were planning to rebel."
"Hunjun, you deserve it!"
Instead, Li Heng became more and more excited, feeling that he would soon succeed in ascending to the throne.
When the time comes, he will have a good discussion with Li Longji about who was right and who was wrong in those years.
The next moment, he felt something warm in his hands. When he looked down, he unexpectedly found that his hands were stained with blood.
At first he thought he had been accidentally injured, but when he took a closer look, he discovered that there was a small dagger stuck in Li Longji's abdomen, and blood was trickling out.
"Father?"
"you……"
Li Longji's expression quickly faded, he closed his eyes and fell down before finishing a sentence.
Li Heng was stunned, he didn't want Li Longji to die.
He had not had time to repay the many grievances he suffered back then, and he had not yet let Li Longji see with his own eyes what kind of prosperity he would create after he ascended the throne.
If this most important audience is gone, all these years of hard planning will be overshadowed.
Li Heng still wanted to reach out to help him, but shouts rang out in the hall.
"Li Heng regicide!"
Li Longji's body had fallen to the ground. Li Heng looked back and saw blurry figures in front of him. It seemed that everyone was shouting the word "regicide".
It seems that he has returned to the situation when he was criticized by thousands of people during the fifth year of Tianbao. He will always be questioned throughout his life.
"I don't!"
"No!"
No one paid attention to him. People only cared about what happened, not the truth.
The old soldiers seemed to be petrified. They stopped chasing Xue Bai and lowered their weapons holding hands.
The fleeing officials and generals arrived outside the palace and saw that the Imperial Guard had arrived to protect them. They stopped and turned to look at the scene of Li Heng's regicide, muttering.
Li Heng quickly took two steps back, moving further away from Li Longji who fell to the ground, trying to prove that he was not the murderer.
"Not me."
"There was just one..."
Halfway through the words, Li Heng understood, roared angrily, and raised his hand to point at Xue Bai.
"It's you!"
"You arranged all this, and your purpose was to frame me for killing my father!"
"You are so cruel!"
Xue Bai stood there without saying anything or showing any expression.
From now on, until he puts on the imperial robe, he no longer needs to say or do anything. Someone will naturally support him to ascend to the throne.
"You should believe me." Li Heng still had to work hard to convince everyone, "It was all arranged by him, so... these are his people."
After he spoke, he came to his senses and quickly backed away, staying away from the old soldiers.
Looking around, the old soldiers were all looking at him, with clear mockery in their eyes.
They were clearly supported by Li Heng, but they actually had an inexplicable malice towards Li Heng. And the way to express this malice was to call each other out.
"Your Highness."
"Your Highness."
Those calls for loyalty now seemed like a life-threatening curse.
Li Heng couldn't help but cursed and said: "Fart, you are not my people at all. Admit it, you are arranged by Xue Ni!"
He explained very laboriously, but they only used a few simple sentences to confirm his accusation, leaving him unable to defend himself.
"Protect His Highness."
The old soldiers dispersed in a crowd, followed Li Heng and fled to the back of the palace, leaving Li Longji on the ground.
"Let me go."
Li Heng struggled hard, but his arms seemed to be clamped by iron pincers, and it was impossible to break free. He could only look back at Zichen Hall, and saw the dragon chair quietly placed on the golden steps, getting closer and closer to him.
Farther, farther and farther.
His strong attachment to the throne can be felt by everyone in the palace, but no one is willing to assist him anymore.
"Chase." Xue Bai ordered.
Zhang Ting huddled behind a large pillar in the palace and shivered. A palace change had almost shattered all her expectations.
Peering around, I saw a pool of blood flowing out from under Li Longji. I wonder if he was dead. The agreement with Li Longji had failed. Li Heng had no hope of becoming the queen he promised. The throne became Xue Bai's possession.
, but it was unclear whether she could even save her life.
She had seen with her own eyes that Li Heng arranged for his pawns to kill Xue Bai and Li Longji. From this point of view, Li Heng was not unjust.
But she knew very well that Li Heng would kill Xue Bai first and then Li Longji. From this point of view, the current incident was probably arranged by Xue Bai.
Zhang Ting could scream for Li Heng, but after thinking about it, she said loudly: "Li Heng has planned to kill the king a long time ago, and I have evidence! Li Heng is a rebellious traitor, and everyone will punish him!"
In front of everyone, although the evidence is not important, what is important is that she now expresses her support for Xue Bai.
Xue Bai didn't lack a supporter like her, he stood there without even looking back.
~~
Li Heng was held hostage and escaped from the Zichen Palace. He looked up and saw that the vermilion palace walls still stood tall one after another, like a cage for his life.
"Let me go!" He roared and cried bitterly at the same time.
Unexpectedly, the old soldiers actually let go of his arms.
The sudden freedom made him feel a little at a loss. He stood among them, not daring to escape. He could not dispel the fear in his heart unless he did something.
"You are not my people, it was Xue Bai who asked you to kill my father."
"How come?"
Suddenly someone tapped Li Heng on the shoulder, making him tremble in fright. When he looked back, he saw a man with a scar on his face, grinning with a scary smile.
"His Highness promised us a life of prosperity and wealth, of course we must repay His Highness well."
"You...I know who you are."
Li Heng suddenly recalled all the past events. That year Li Linfu bit him like a dog, and Pei Mian had to deal with the last batch of dead soldiers.
At that time, he also told Li Jingzhong that if you cut the grass without eradicating the roots, there will be endless troubles.
Now comes the trouble.
"My brothers died in front of me one by one." Jiang Hai said with a cruel smile: "I should repay you well."
Li Heng quickly spread his legs and ran away, but before he could take two steps, he was hit hard on the back of his neck, his vision went dark, and he fell to the ground.
Before he fainted, the last words he heard were shouts from not far away.
"Prince Zhong resisted with force and was shot dead!"
Li Heng had an idea in his mind, why was he shot dead when he was clearly not dead?
Soon he lost consciousness.
He didn't know how long it had been since he woke up again. He felt extremely stuffy. When he opened his eyes, he saw pitch black in front of him.
Li Heng reached out and touched it, and found that he was in a very narrow space, like a coffin.
With a hard push, a faint light came out from an extremely small gap, bringing hope of life.
Looking at this light, Li Heng suddenly realized that he really didn't want to die.
For the first time in more than twenty years, he felt that it was so happy not to fight for the emperor but to just be a peaceful king.
The coffin was not nailed, and the cover was pushed with a slight sound. This little good thing appeared in a desperate situation, which made Li Heng feel the joy he had not seen for a long time.
"Let me out. I was wrong. I have something to say to...your Highness, no, your Majesty. I have something to say to His Majesty."
"Is anyone there?"
"Your Majesty must really want to hear my begging for mercy and let me see him."
"I am useful, I am very useful, don't bury me alive."
Just as he was gradually igniting hope of survival, a "tuk-tuk-tuk" sound sounded from above.
Someone was nailing the coffin lid shut, and they were nailing it tightly from all directions.
"Don't!"
"Let me go, I can give you whatever you want."
No matter how Li Heng shouted, the people outside remained silent, nailing the coffin boards so tightly that no matter how hard he pushed, they couldn't shake it even a bit.
Then the coffin was lifted and swaying.
If there was no fear of death, it would be quite comfortable and not as bumpy as a carriage, but Li Heng was already sweating profusely.
When the coffin stopped, a crackling sound soon came from above, like rain hitting the eaves on a rainy day.
Only then did Li Heng vaguely hear someone say something.
"Bury it deeper and don't let him crawl out."
Li Heng was furious and shouted: "Let me out!"
He beat the coffin like crazy, but there was no movement around him.
He seemed to be the only one in the world.
This despair of waiting to die alone was much more terrifying than he imagined.
He was finally overwhelmed by fear and collapsed emotionally.
"Kill me!"
Li Heng didn't want to stay here and wait for death, so he banged his head against the coffin lid above like crazy, but it was all in vain.
The violent struggle resulted in violent panting, and soon he felt suffocated.
Curling up in pain, he recalled the past scene after scene in his mind.
In the courtyard of the Tenth Prince's House, Li Jingzhong walked up behind him and reported, "Your Highness, Du Liangdi's slave has brought evidence and said he can save the Du family."
"Father, if you doubt me, will you look at the evidence?"
Thinking about it now, Li Heng still doesn't realize there is anything wrong with his choice.
It's obviously not his fault, but why should he bear the consequences of all this?
"Xue Bai, you are so narrow-minded. You took away the inheritance left by my ancestors, and you still want to retaliate against me in this way. Is this your magnanimity?"
Li Heng murmured, hatred did not alleviate his pain, but intensified his suffocation.
The world is ruthless, leaving him only darkness.
…
The sun shines on the wilderness of Chang'an City, and the sky gradually gets brighter.
There is an extra piece of flat land without weeds on the grassland by the river.
I believe that next year, there will be lush flowers and plants here.
~~
Daming Palace.
The palace incident seemed to have subsided, and everyone was busy dealing with the aftermath.
Zhang Ting was sent to Eagle Dog House and locked up.
This was the palace where Li Longji kept pets in the past. Princes and grandsons were often imprisoned here when they committed crimes.
In recent years, there have been many turmoils, and the palace did not have the financial resources to raise too many birds and beasts, so this place was abandoned. This time, many criminals were detained here, and Zhang Ting was given a separate room, which was considered to be a good treatment.
"I want to see His Highness."
Whenever he saw someone from the palace moving around, Zhang Ting would rush to the door and shout through the crack in the door.
"I have something very important to report to Your Highness!"
She is a very persevering person, and with great difficulty, someone finally came to her and asked, "What do you want to see His Highness for?"
"I can make the world peace with His Highness after he ascends the throne." Zhang Ting said: "I know many hidden secrets."
"I will report it."
"This matter is very important. You have to tell him face to face and let him hear it with his own ears." Zhang Ting explained again.
In this way, she felt a little relieved and sat down to wait for Xue Bai.
This process was very long. After much thought, she decided that she could not just give up.
She can also do some of the things that Du Jin can do.
She looked around and saw that there was no water here, so she could not wash herself. She smoothed her hair with her hands and deliberately pulled away the shawl on her body.
Fidgeting with the damaged underskirt, she posed in a few poses, looking at her slender legs, she simply tore the underskirt completely open, then lifted it up with her hands to cover the exposed skin.
What I want is a vague feeling.
As a result, time was somewhat insufficient. While she was still adjusting her bra, there was already movement outside.
A palace official came forward with a key and opened the lock on the door.
It's time for Xue Bai to come.
Zhang Ting quickly lowered her head, bit her lip, and entered a pitiful state.
When she looked up again, she saw Du Jin standing there, looking at her with interest and sarcasm in his eyes.
"Is it you?"
"The legs are good." Du Jin said.
Zhang Ting's expression turned cold and he said, "I have something extremely important that I want to tell Your Highness personally."
Du Jin said: "It's the same with me."
"Who do you think you are?"
Before he finished speaking, Qu Shui, who was behind Du Jin, stepped forward and slapped Zhang Ting on the face.
"I'm afraid you have forgotten that you are rebellious now."
Zhang Ting did not dare to confront Du Jin again. He put away his sense of superiority and said honestly: "The Emperor told me that His Highness is his grandson."
Du Jin said: "Do you still need to talk about this matter?"
"It's different." Zhang Ting said: "The Supreme Emperor told me his Highness's identity in private, and said that it was him who gave the order to protect His Highness."
Du Jin still disagreed and said, "I'm still busy. Instead of talking to me about this trivial matter, you might as well talk about the thing you lied to me about."
Zhang Ting's expression changed and he took two steps back.
"Really, the Supreme Emperor really told me that Li Zuo is his great-grandson, and no one is allowed to hurt his hair. Gao Lishi and I have both heard about this. If you kill me, no one in the clan will be able to prove his identity.
There will be one less person.”
"You people." Du Jin sighed, "To this day, you still care about these unimportant things, bloodline and identity. I don't know how I lost."
Zhang Ting felt her murderous intention and said: "Do you want to miss His Highness's important event because of our personal grudges?"
Du Jin sneered.
"I understand." Zhang Ting said: "You don't care about this, because His Highness is destined not to leave the throne to your son, and you can't give birth to a child. My testimony is very important to Li Zuo, but he is Yan Yan's child.
you……"
"Crack!"
This time, it was Du Jin who raised her hand and slapped Zhang Ting. She hit Zhang Ting much harder, knocking him to the ground.
But instead of being afraid, Zhang Ting smiled.
"Let me get it right. There is a group of officials in the court who believe that His Highness has settled the chaos and can only ascend the throne now. However, they will definitely prevent His Highness from appointing his son as the crown prince in the future. My testimony can eliminate these hidden dangers.
, so you blocked me."
Du Jin shook his head and said, "It's beyond stupid."
"Why else? If you have the ability, let me see His Highness."
"You take yourself too seriously."
After Du Jin finished speaking, he turned around and walked out.
After leaving the door, she looked back at Zhang Ting. Her original anger had dissipated, and she decided to let Zhang Ting go out in a dignified manner.
"Record her testimony and give her a glass of poisonous wine."
This was Du Jin's kindness. She had always been cruel and small-minded, so when she dealt with Li Heng, she specifically ordered him to be buried alive so that he could taste the pain Xue Bai suffered back then.
But towards Zhang Ting, she felt pity for being a fallen person in the world.
Before leaving Eagle Dog House, Du Jin met Du Youlin and Yan Zhenqing.
She originally wanted to avoid him in a low-key manner, but Yan Zhenqing specifically waved her hand and said, "Du Erniang, please have a few words with me."
"yes."
Walking through the deserted palace garden, Yan Zhenqing said, "Did you just meet Mrs. Zhang?"
"yes."
"The Emperor told Madam Zhang about His Highness's identity?"
"Yes." Du Jin said, "Did Mr. Yan hear about it from Gao Lishi?"
"That's right." Yan Zhenqing said: "Zhang wants to see you, presumably because he thinks that His Highness still needs to prove his identity to the world?"
"Your Highness no longer needs proof."
Yan Zhenqing said: "But Mrs. Zhang relies on this, and she still doesn't agree with His Highness's identity from the bottom of her heart."
Du Jin became more solemn and said: "Mr. Yan, this matter is no longer important. At this point, who can stop His Highness from ascending the throne?"
"When the Wu family came to the throne, no one in the world could stop her. But what do you think happened after that? I wonder if the Wu family is in the world today?"
"Don't worry, Mr. Yan. Your Highness is different from Emperor Zetian. Your Highness is the legitimate son of Emperor Fengtian." Du Jin said, "Your Highness does not need to defend himself. As a traitor, Zhang Ting cannot get away with proving what is the truth."
, I have given her death."
"That's good."
Yan Zhenqing nodded, seemed to be really relieved, and was about to walk back, then said another word casually.
"By the way, I was talking to your grandpa just now. He said that the Du family has known about His Highness's identity for a long time. That must be why you assisted him, right?"
Du Jin said: "Yes."
Perhaps because of her personal relationship with Xue Bai, or perhaps because Yan Zhenqing's aura was too strong, she always felt a little uncomfortable standing next to him, just like when she was a child, she was lazy in her homework for fear of being discovered by her husband.
She always felt that Yan Zhenqing was asking her, "Did you plan with Xue Bai from the beginning to assume Li Qian's identity?"
Yan Zhenqing asked again: "His Highness told you personally, right? You should be the first person to gain his trust. Unfortunately, he never revealed anything to me back then."
"It's just a coincidence." Du Jin said: "The Du family and His Highness have experienced life and death, and Your Highness only informed me when it was critical."
She suspected that this matter might have been exposed by Yan Zhenqing. If Xue Bai was really Li Qian, why didn't he dare to tell Yan Zhenqing back then?
But in recent years, she often thought that Xue Bai was really Li Qian. Perhaps the "impersonation" Xue Bai said back then was a euphemism.
"That's good."
Yan Zhenqing didn't ask any more questions.
Du Jin turned around and looked at his back, somewhat unable to see through him.
With his integrity, if he knew that Xue Bai was a fake, no matter how much glory and wealth he had, he would probably not support Xue Bai anymore.
~~
Although Xue Bai is busy, there are still some red tape matters to be done.
The main thing he should do is to bury Li Cong, ascend the throne as emperor, and reward the meritorious officials.
There was an interlude during this period, which was that Li Longji was not dead yet.
That stabbing blow that happened in full public view but no one really saw clearly would definitely end Li Longji's life, but the old man obviously had a tenacious vitality and was still lingering on, trying to survive.
Even if it was just out of courtesy, Xue Bai had to visit him.
"You all go down."
"Here."
There was a faint odor permeating the Hanxiang Hall. I couldn't tell what it was, the smell of medicine, or the stale smell of Li Longji's body.
Xue Bai walked to the couch with the medicine bowl and was a little surprised that Li Longji's eyes were still so bright and lively.
"You want to kill me." Li Longji said, "You are so brave."
"If Li Heng makes a move, I won't do it again." Xue Bai said: "With this little time left, I can still afford to wait."
Li Longji felt desolate. He really did not have much time left. Presumably Xue Bai could bury him after he buried Li Cong.
"Is...is it Gao Lishi?" he asked.
If Xue Bai was able to arrange a trusted force beside Li Longji, he must have placed an informant around Li Longji.
Moreover, since the Daming Palace is so big, and Li Longji was captured so quickly after escaping from the Zichen Palace, it is likely that someone passed on the news.
After much thought, he was certain that it was Gao Lishi.
Xue Bai did not deny it and said: "He is doing it for your own good, and he doesn't know that I want to kill you. I promised him that as long as I ascend the throne, I will definitely let you go."
"Can you fool him?"
"He is old, so you can only trust me." Xue Bai said, "Because he is sober, your coup cannot succeed."
"I'm just a little short."
"That's because you are crazy. You have a kind of madness called 'self-righteousness'. Unfortunately, Gao Lishi didn't go crazy with you. He couldn't bear to watch you destroy the Tang Dynasty, so he had to help me."
This sentence did not anger Li Longji. He shook his head and said: "You all don't understand. I am the only one who is right."
"Maybe, it's not important anymore."
Xue Bai was a little bored. In order to show his filial piety, he had to stay with Li Longji who was dying.
Li Longji asked: "Why do you do this? I can make you ascend the throne, why must you kill me?"
Xue Bai only needs to lead his troops into the palace. If their plan fails, they will naturally admit defeat, just like admitting him to supervise the country and admit him to the throne.
From this point of view, Xue Bai's arrangement was somewhat unnecessary.
Killing everyone is refreshing for a while, but it can also easily leave a reputation, no matter how well he conceals it.
Xue Bai answered honestly, saying: "I know you can compromise with me and find a balance of interests again, but if you play this game of intrigue too much, I'm afraid I will become more and more like you.
"
He shook his head, his eyes showing some disgust.
"You are too much of a nuisance. Let's just kill them all."