Despite the turmoil in the world these years, Du's house in Shengpingfang seems to have not changed much. The bamboo garden in the yard has become denser, and the tiles and beams have become older.
In the afternoon, the wind blew the window coffins in the east wing and made a slight creaking sound. Finally, Lu Fengniang couldn't help but push the door open and enter.
"You still can't get up? How old are you? You've been lying around all day long!"
Du Wulang was wrapped in the quilt, lazily raised his eyelids and closed them again. It took a while before he said a word in a hurry.
Others could not understand, but only Lu Fengniang knew that he was saying that he was unable to come back because he stayed in Lingwu during the Lantern Festival last year, and this year he planned to take his children to play all night to catch up on their sleep in advance.
"There are still ten days left before the Lantern Festival, so you're just catching up on sleep?" Lu Fengniang complained, "I've been catching up on it for more than half a year and you're still catching up on it."
"Auntie, why are you talking so much all day long? If you keep doing this, I really want to start my own business."
"Did I want to wake you up? Your grandfather, with his stern face, scolded you for not going to the office."
"Huh? Didn't I hire someone to order the dough for me?"
Du Wulang was surprised for a moment and quickly put the matter behind him. Fortunately, he finally sat up.
This is already the first month of the third year of Zhengxing. He is thirty-one years old. He is sitting on the couch rubbing his eyes but still has a childish look. I think it is because he has stayed at home for a long time and does not worry about anything.
Everyone else in the family had already eaten, but Lu Fengniang not only left food for him, she also sat and watched while he ate.
Just such a mother and son, discussing national affairs.
"Your grandfather said that I would like you to advise His Majesty when you are free."
"Um?"
"After the New Year, His Majesty said he wanted to visit various parts of the world." Lu Fengniang said: "In recent days, your grandfather has been so worried that he can't sleep well. He has been turning over all night."
"What's there to worry about? Mom, today's radish is salty, and the egg custard is evenly mixed, but the taste is bland."
Du Wulang didn't take it seriously and just kept eating.
He thought of what he had said to Guo Ziyi when he was in Lingwu, and said in turn: "I also want to persuade my uncle to retire as soon as possible and live a leisurely life."
Lu Fengniang said: "He doesn't want to be an official. With his ability, he finally became prime minister, how could he let him go so easily?"
At this point, she looked around, lowered her voice, and said something secret.
"Besides, if Mr. Yan retires, he will be the most senior person in the court."
Du Wulang was surprised and said: "Why did Mr. Yan retire? Isn't it because I want to fight for power with Mr. Yan?"
"No." Lu Fengniang whispered in his ear: "There were rumors as early as two years ago that Duke Yan had ambitions and planned to let His Majesty seize the throne. Or he knew His Majesty's identity early, so he married a daughter.
What's more, it is said that he helped His Majesty forge his identity..."
"So I say, we have to retreat bravely." Du Wulang said: "Today it is Mr. Yan who attracts the wind. If he retreats, it will be my turn to talk to you."
"That's different." Lu Fengniang said: "The reason for this is that too many people came to Yan Gong's family to seek an official position, but were rejected by him, and they felt resentful. Is it deliberately arranged?"
"If grandma said that, if it were grandpa, would he be able to handle it better?"
"I'm just saying that if anything happens, all those who spread rumors will be killed by Your Majesty. It's already gone out of fashion now."
Du Wulang was even more surprised and said: "His Majesty killed him? How?"
"It seems like he died suddenly at home. I am a woman, so how can I understand this?"
"I see that my mother-in-law knows a lot about people. Where did you hear all this?"
"That's not what your grandpa said."
"oh."
"Speaking of which, Your Majesty wants to build a ship and go on a trip. Isn't that the style of Qin Shihuang? How can this be done? He must be persuaded."
Du Wulang only listened to it as amusement, shook his head and said: "Qin Shihuang sent people to sea to seek immortality. Your Majesty is different. It was purposeful."
Lu Fengniang didn't understand this, so she just said: "Your grandpa said, if you don't want to persuade me, let your sister do it."
"Don't recruit me, okay. I'll just listen to you."
"That's pretty much it."
Du Wulang had no choice but to pick up the big bowl and drink the custard in one gulp, then went to find Xue Bai.
He hadn't seen Xue Bai for a while.
If someone else had a friend of the emperor, he would either show off his talents and become an important minister, or stay at the emperor's side to ensure prosperity, but he did not like to visit him frequently because he felt that Xue Bai was very busy.
Moreover, it is very tiring to enter the palace. It is not a short walk from the palace gate to the front hall.
When they met, Du Wulang asked: "I heard that you want to build a large ship, but Zhongshu's disciples haven't approved it for several months?"
"When you are an emperor, you cannot do everything you want." Xue Bai said: "After all, the benefits of this matter are not visible to the officials, but the cost is not small."
"Are there really those places and products you mentioned on the sea?" Du Wulang said: "Just prove it to them."
"yes."
Du Wulang just said something stupid casually. If he really wanted him to help Xue Bai prove this, he couldn't do it.
On the other hand, he knew that Xue Bai could build ships and go to sea without the consent of officials. Even if he was not the emperor, Xue Bai still had a huge industry.
Every year, the emperor's internal funds not only do not require local tribute, but can also replenish the national treasury.
Sure enough, Xue Bai said: "You don't have to worry about this matter, I have my own way."
"I knew they couldn't stop you even if they wanted to."
"It's not so much to stop me as it is to restrain the imperial power, which is what it should be." Xue Bai said, "So, I didn't force the province and Taiwan to approve it, but..."
Xue Bai had a rare hesitation.
Du Wulang hurriedly asked: "Just what?"
"Help me check something out." Xue Bai thought about it, hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke.
Du Wulang had just felt it. Xue Bai's attitude was very peaceful when it came to the emperor's patrols and shipbuilding and going to sea. He did not intend to have a fierce conflict with the courtiers. He just had different opinions on governing state affairs.
He then relaxed, and then he felt the caution in Xue Bai's last words.
But right now, what else is going on?
The world is at peace and everything is stable.
"What's the matter with sending me again?"
"Fang Guan had a disciple named Cui Zhongwei. He once asked his father-in-law for an official position, but his father-in-law thought that he was a talker and had no real talents, so he never gave him an official position. At the end of last year, Cui Zhongwei held a banquet at his home. After he got drunk, he
It was said in public that my father-in-law had a deep palace and arranged for me to seize the throne. Not long after, Cui Zhongwei encountered thieves on the way to Zhongnan Mountain and was cut into five pieces."
Du Wulang was surprised: "Didn't he die suddenly at home?"
Xue Bai glanced at him and said, "It seems that you have also heard about this?"
"I have heard of it."
"Then who do you think killed Cui Zhongwei?"
Du Wulang said: "Maybe he really met a robber?"
Xue Bai asked: "Don't you think I sent someone to kill him?"
"Many people should think so." Du Wulang said, "Didn't His Majesty send someone to kill him?"
Xue Bai said: "I can kill, but I can't finish the killing, so I let you investigate."
Du Wulang opened his mouth and wanted to ask Xue Bai if he planned to use this incident to beat Yan Zhenqing and make Yan Zhenqing more obedient when handling government affairs.
He felt that this was really something Xue Bai could do.
"What does Your Majesty want to know?"
"Who killed Cui Zhongwei, and what did Cui Zhongwei know?"
Du Wulang changed his mind and said hesitantly: "Your Majesty, it seems that it would be better not to investigate this matter?"
Xue Bai thought for a while and suddenly asked: "Who taught you this? I asked you to tell people that you knew I was the emperor's grandson when we first met."
"Ah?" Du Wulang said, "I think this is good for you and good for Datang."
"It's actually not important anymore." Xue Bai said: "There is no point in proving these. If the Tang Dynasty rises again, no one will care who I am. If I can't manage this country well, someone will overthrow me sooner or later."
"In this case, why would anyone want to kill Cui Zhongwei?"
"The essence of this matter is still a struggle for interests. If we want to establish a new order, it will damage the old order. The old order will inevitably attack us, and the best attack is to take advantage of our weaknesses." Xue Bai said: "For the time being,
What Cui Zhongwei said is our weakness."
Du Wulang said: "So, someone killed Cui Zhongwei because Cui Zhongwei knew your or Yan Gong's weaknesses? So you asked me to find out what he knew?"
"Um."
"But how should I check?"
Xue Bai pondered: "I have always been curious about who arranged Guo Suo."
Du Wulang was surprised and asked: "Why did it have to be arranged by someone? He couldn't have come out on his own? I mean, everything he said is true. Of course, no one arranged it."
"I have an intuition." Xue Bai said firmly, "I asked Du Jin to investigate this matter, but after so long, she never gave me an answer."
"Second sister?" Du Wulang felt very embarrassed, so he started to dodge and said, "Then you can just ask her directly."
"Because I realized she was hiding something from me, I asked you to check it out."
Du Wulang said: "But, these are all things in the past. If we pursue it again, it will cause trouble. How bad it is."
"Don't worry." Xue Bai said: "I just have a guess and need to confirm it."
"You already know who it is?" Du Wulang was surprised.
"Yes." Xue Bai said: "I have made speculations for a long time. Originally, I didn't intend to investigate and get to the bottom of it. But as I just said, this has become our weakness."
"That's what I think." Du Wulang said hesitantly: "Cui Zhongwei doesn't need any evidence to slander Duke Yan. He just sees that Duke Yan is the head of the country, so it is easy for him to say nonsense like that. Maybe your Majesty is paranoid?"
"So I asked you to check."
"All right."
~~
After leaving the palace, Du Wulang thought about it again before he fully understood what Xue Bai meant.
It might have been a coincidence. Cui Zhongwei was talking nonsense and was killed by bandits. There was nothing to investigate. After all, there were many people gossiping because they didn't want to see the Yan family flourish. But since Xue Bai mentioned Guo Suo, that was suspicion.
It was Yan Zhenqing who installed Guo Suo to confirm his identity.
Then, Xue Bai asked Du Jin to investigate, but Du Jin concealed the matter.
In this case, Xue Bai should have suspected that Du Jin sent someone to kill Cui Zhongwei, because Cui Zhongwei really had evidence that Yan Zhenqing arranged for Guo Suo to testify?
"It's all intuition. None of the guesses are reliable. You still have to ask me to check."
Things are difficult to say, and simple to say. The simple thing is that Xue Bai has already figured it out, but the difficulty lies in how to prove it.
If you ask Yan Zhenqing directly, he will definitely not tell you; if you ask Du Jin directly, you are afraid that she will give you a lesson; or if you secretly go to the place where Du Jin keeps confidential documents and take a peek?
But can there be any documents left behind for such a thing?
Du Wulang thought about it and decided to find Da Xi Yingying again. She was now Du Jin's most capable person.
When I arrived at Da Xi Yingying's residence in Qujiangfang, I walked through the corridor and met two unparalleledly handsome young men walking towards me.
"Follow Wu Lang, come with us. My wife is waiting for you at Wanqing Tower by the pool."
"Oh, okay."
Du Wulang looked around and saw that their facial features were exquisite, their eyes were like stars, their noses were high, their skin was smooth and flawless, their bodies were tall and strong, and they were full of youthfulness. He couldn't help but think of the years when he and Xue Bai were famous in Chang'an.
"How old are you?"
"Hui Wulang, I am already eighteen, and he is seventeen."
Du Wulang asked again: "Looking at your extraordinary appearance, you are not a member of a high-ranking family, are you?"
"The family is in decline, and its former glory is not worth mentioning."
"You...were you not kidnapped by her?"
Du Wulang hesitated for a while, and then asked like this. He was deeply afraid that Da Xi Yingying would return to her old career. She not only liked good-looking people, but also valued good temperament.
"What did Wu Lang say? It's too late for us to look up to the lady. We would rather die than follow her."
"Really?" Du Wulang didn't know what to say, "Okay then."
He suddenly felt inexplicably melancholy. He thought of some past events and suddenly felt that they were so far away. After all, it had been more than ten years.
Da Xi Yingying was sitting in the attic taking a nap, stroking her face with one hand. When she saw Du Wulang arriving, she raised her eyes slightly.
More than ten years have passed, and she has lost her former beauty, but she is still very charming.
Du Wulang looked away and looked down at the attic, where the two teenagers were standing by the pool.
"What? Goro cares about them?"
"No." Du Wulang was slightly flustered.
"Are you jealous of me? Or do you think I'm an old cow eating young grass?" Da Xi Yingying asked.
"No, it's just that, anyway, it's better that you weren't kidnapped."
Da Xi Yingying smiled and said: "I should always find a companion. The two of them combined are exactly the same age as me."
"Okay." Du Wulang laughed twice.
"Just now I woke up from my nap, and I remembered that I had liked you, Wulang, but if I followed you, became your concubine, your concubine, clinging to you, what good would it be? After all, I am your vassal.
, how could he have the power he has now?" Da Xi Yingying said: "To be honest, I owe you two favors. One is that you helped me when I was at my weakest."
"Where's two?"
"Second." Da Xi smiled and said, "Thank you for not being in a hurry."
Du Wulang was so embarrassed that he touched his nose and thought to himself that he shouldn't have come to her and asked for trouble.
"Since it's a favor, can you do me a favor?"
"What?"
"Cui Zhongwei, did you send someone to kill him?"
Da Xi Yingying said: "I don't know what you are talking about."
Du Wulang said: "That's it. There is nothing you don't know about Chang'an City. I tell you, His Majesty asked me to ask. If you know anything, just tell me."
When Da Xi Yingying heard this, her expression changed. She stood up and paced: "I should not be responsible for this matter. My mother will explain it to Your Majesty."
"Your Majesty just didn't want to be kept in the dark by the second sister, so he asked me to ask you."
"It's very difficult for me to be like this, Goro."
"Your Majesty has already guessed it. Just tell me quietly so that the second sister won't know."
"What does Your Majesty want to know?"
Du Wulang was shocked instead and asked in surprise: "Did you really do it?"
He just wanted to deceive Xi Yingying.
"Um."
"Why?"
"Cui Zhongwei knows something he shouldn't know."
"What is that?"
Da Xi Yingying said: "I don't know either, I just got rid of him on Er Niang's order."
Du Wulang said: "Did you order the body to be divided into five pieces?"
"Yes." Da Xi Yingying said: "No, it won't deter some people who follow the trend."
"When did you become so cruel?"
Da Xi Yingying glanced at Du Wulang and said: "After all these years of intrigue, who else has not changed at all except you? You haven't changed, you are not ruthless, and it's not because you have a sister and His Majesty's protection."
Du Wulang took a step back and asked again: "What exactly does Cui Zhongwei know?"
"I really don't know."
"If you don't say anything, I will report it to Your Majesty like this."
"Okay." Da Xi Yingying sighed, "If it were anyone else, no one would be able to find out about this matter, but His Majesty asked you to ask. I really don't know the details, but in the past year, I have
For this reason, more than forty people were killed."
"Wha...what?"
Du Wulang was still shocked when Da Xi Yingying handed him a list of names.
He looked down and saw that there were more than forty names crossed out on it, but only one name had just been written on it. The ink was very fresh and had not been crossed out yet.
"The next person you want to kill is...Zhang Bian?"
"Yeah." Da Xi Yingying said, "I'm waiting for the news of his death."
Judging from her tone, it seemed like she was waiting for the pastries she wanted to be delivered.
Du Wulang turned around and left.
He once heard Yan Quanming say that after Zhang Bian became a monk, he first practiced in Chongguang Temple, and then the court destroyed Buddhism and moved people to other temples. At that time, he was still wondering why Zhang Bian was ordered to do so because his Buddhist teachings were not profound.
Return to the secular world.
Princess Ningqin has always been worried about this matter.
~~
"Boom——"
Following the melodious ringing of the bell, Du Wulang quickly rushed into Jingfa Temple in Chang'an City.
"Zhang Bian, oh, is Zen Master Wuzhen here?"
"Amitabha, the donor came a step too late, Zen Master Wu Zhen has just passed away."
"Did he pass away?" Du Wulang asked, "How did he pass away?"
"He passed away sitting alone in the meditation room."
Du Wulang didn't believe it, so he hurried to the temple and broke into the Zen room where Zhang Bian stayed when he passed away. He saw that it was spotless inside.
Zhang Bian's body was still there, with a calm face, as if he had died naturally. No matter how he looked at it, Du Wulang could not see any flaws.
The more this happened, the more terrifying he felt, and he felt that Du Jin's assassination skills were extremely proficient.
In the evening of that day, Du Wulang returned home and saw Du Wei coming back for dinner.
"Sister."
"Huh?" Du Wei was still gentle and asked, "Are you worried?"
"Do you know what the second sister is doing recently?"
"She's always busy."
Du Wulang originally wanted to ask Du Mei if she knew that Du Jin was busy killing people, but looking at Du Jin's gentle look, he still didn't ask.
He thought to himself, so what if the eldest sister knew, so what if she didn't know, this matter would have to be handled by Xue Bai in the end.
The next day, Du Wulang entered the palace again and handed the list to Xue Bai.
"I know." Xue Bai said, "It's enough for you to check this matter here."
"But I haven't asked Cui Zhongwei what he knows."
"My suspicion has been confirmed."
Du Wulang was very worried and said: "How will your Majesty deal with the second sister?"
"Why should we deal with her?" Xue Bai said: "I asked you to investigate because I don't want her to know that I am suspicious of this matter."
"Then... will the second sister kill many more people?"
"It's almost done."
Du Wulang was stunned and said: "Your Majesty asked me to investigate this matter, didn't you want to prevent it?"
"No, I said it. I just wanted to confirm my suspicion."
After Xue Bai finished speaking, he put the list in the brazier and lit it.
A wisp of blue smoke filled the hall.
"His Majesty."
Du Wulang opened his mouth, hesitated, and finally changed to the tone of a friend and asked: "What do you think when you asked me to investigate this matter?"
Hearing his tone, Xue Bai smiled.
"Actually, you have always known that I am not Li Qian. You have known it since the fifth year of Tianbao."
"I don't know." Du Wulang said, "I didn't know you were Li Qian for five years in Tianbao, but I knew it later."
"You are pretending to know that this matter does not matter to us." Xue Bai said, "but it is very important to my husband."
"Is it really Mr. Yan? No, right?"
"It must have been very painful for him to make this decision." Xue Bai said: "When I approached Chang'an as King Yong, the general trend of the world was determined. If my identity was not recognized, the country would be overturned. Let me ask you, at that time, whether you
I hope that the world will be peaceful as soon as possible, and I also hope that Li Tang’s orthodoxy will not be lost, what will you do?”
"I didn't think about anything at the time."
"What about my husband?"
Du Wulang scratched his head, feeling that this was really difficult to answer.
Xue Bai said: "For him, the best ending is that I really am Li Qian."
"Yes, as long as you are true, all problems will be solved."
"So he asked Zhang Bian to find out the truth. Then, he arranged for Guo Suo to meet me at Lantianyi to confirm my identity."
"Maybe, if he just found out, then it's true."
"If it were true, he wouldn't hide it from me." Xue Bai said, "Because he knew that I was not Li Qian, he never said anything about it."
"What's the meaning?"
Xue Bai said: "He hopes to deceive me too and make me think that I am Li Qian."
"Maybe not, maybe..."
"I know he did this without any selfish motives." Xue Bai asked: "Do you believe it?"
Du Wulang scratched his head again, unable to answer.
It seems unreasonable to say that a person disguised his son-in-law as a prince and grandson to help him ascend to the throne without any selfish motives. But at that time, the son-in-law was already certain to ascend to the throne, and his identity was recognized by the emperor. In fact, there was no need to prove it.
once.
If Yan Zhenqing really arranged Guo Suo, there may really be only one purpose, and that is to make Xue Bai recognize that she is Li Qian.
"Perhaps Mr. Yan is really out of public interest?"
"It doesn't matter, he has given up his reputation for life by doing this." Xue Bai said: "But I have always had an intuition that Guo Suo was arranged by someone, so I asked Du Jin to investigate. Du Jin must have found out
The truth, but I can’t bear to tell me.”
"Second sister is hiding this from you?"
"Yeah, Du Jin also wanted me to believe that I was Li Qian. She said that she couldn't find anything, and even said that I had lost my memory and couldn't remember my identity. She actually wanted to pretend to be the real me. In this matter, she chose
Stand on my father-in-law’s side.”
Du Wulang asked: "Do you blame them?"
Xue Bai said lightly: "This matter ends here. There is no need to let my husband know. He must not know that Jin Niang is helping him silence him."
Du Wulang hesitated to speak, wanting to talk about those people who died under Du Jin's hands, but feeling Xue Bai's calm tone, he realized that everyone except himself had changed.
How can it remain unchanged?
Keeping it a secret like this was the best outcome, and he didn't dare to mess it up.
"What about me?"
Xue Bai said: "No need to say anything, just pretend that we don't know..."