Li Xian walked slowly and steadily, with a very steady look on his face. He seemed confident, but in fact, he was not at all calm in his heart - yes, this lawsuit was in front of him. You can't afford to lose. Once you lose, the prince will be completely disgraced and will no longer be able to stand in the court. Even if Empress Wu is not in a hurry to kill him, the prince basically has no capital to make troubles. But even if he wins, he can still So what? With Empress Wu's courage in daring to listen to politics behind the curtain, there is nothing she dare not do. Even if she can be suppressed once this time, it will not be able to stop her ambition to coerce the emperor and run rampant in the court. The most she can do is to It was just a delaying effect. In other words, as soon as Empress Wu made the move to listen to politics behind the curtain, the value of the civil war in front of her was greatly reduced. But even so, Li Xian could not accept the result of failure, even if the gains were limited. , it’s better than losing everything.
"Does Xian'er have something to play?"
Looking at Li Xian walking slowly out of the queue, Emperor Gaozong felt flustered and palpitated for no reason. He didn't wait for Li Xian to say anything before he asked.
"I reported to my father and mother, and I thought that since Prime Minister Xu was a veteran of three dynasties, it was natural for him to take charge of the Dali Temple case. However, this case involved too much, and the details of the case were complicated and difficult to understand. There were thousands of cases involved, and there were thousands of other cases involved. Regardless of the case, it is not easy to just verify them one by one. It takes a lot of effort and effort. Mr. Xu is a very virtuous man and is the mainstay of the court. If we work too hard on this case, it will be a loss that our court cannot bear. I think this may have some consequences. It's not appropriate. I ask your father to take a closer look." Seeing Gaozong in a panic, Li Xian felt a burst of sadness in his heart, but it didn't come to his face. He just bowed respectfully and saluted. He politely expressed his opposition to Xu Jingzong's proposal to take charge of the case.
"Well, what Xian'er said is quite reasonable, Mr. Xu, look..."
In his heart, Emperor Gaozong actually wanted to find out what was going on in Dali Temple, but because of Empress Wu's reputation, he did not dare to object openly. At this time, seeing Li Xian give a reasonable reason, he decided to Feeling energetic, he looked at Xu Jingzong in a deep voice and asked half of the questions tentatively.
"Your Majesty, I like to eat meat. I eat three meals a day, and each meal requires half a catty of meat. I can still eat three bowls of rice. My ears are sharp but my eyesight is not dim. Is this the ancient integrity?" Xu Jingzong's old face was blank. Extremely calm, he bowed to Gaozong and started to answer questions that were not answered. However, the meaning behind his words was clearly expressed, that is, he was saying that Xu Jingzong did not have any physical or mental problems. The problem is enough to bear the heavy responsibility of reviewing the case.
"I would like to inform my father that Mr. Xu will be strong and healthy, which is truly a treasure of our dynasty. As the saying goes, if there is an old man in the family, if there is a treasure, having Mr. I have worked hard, but my son is not talented. I would like to request an order to thoroughly inspect Dali Temple and restore the purity of my court. I sincerely ask my father for your permission!" As soon as Xu Jingzong finished speaking, King Lu Li Xian strode to the palace and asked for orders loudly.
"Father, what Sixth Brother said is true. The war is going on in the north right now, and there are many important military and state affairs in the court. It is urgent for Prime Minister Xu to be in charge to ensure that everything is safe. As for investigating the case, which is a tedious matter that only requires patience, it is not appropriate. Mr. Xu, the Prime Minister of Labor, has always been meticulous, and he is the best candidate to investigate the case. I sincerely ask my father for permission." Li Xian originally intended to let Li Xian use this matter to strengthen his strength, so he would naturally not object to Li Xian's request. , without waiting for Gaozong to say anything, he immediately followed up and echoed.
"Your Majesty, I think what His Royal Highness King Lu said is true, and I beg your Majesty to make a clear decision!"
"Your Majesty, I believe that His Royal Highness Prince Lu is very wise and is the perfect candidate to investigate the case."
"Your Majesty, I second your opinion!"
…
After the Li Xian brothers made such a statement, the courtiers who were attached to the two kings did not dare to neglect them. Yang Wu, Lin Qi, He Long and other officials immediately stood up and waved flags and shouted loudly.
"To inform my father, I think that my sixth brother, a great talent, is indeed a good candidate for a thorough investigation of Dali Temple. I sincerely ask my father to make a clear decision."
Seeing that the Li Xian brothers actually started to rob someone at this moment, Li Hong couldn't help but look a bit unhappy. But the problem was that Li Hong couldn't lose this time. No matter what, he couldn't sit back and watch the trial.
The power fell into the hands of Empress Wu. When comparing the two evils, one could only choose the lesser. In view of this, although Li Hong was unhappy, he still stood up without hesitation and loudly supported Li Xian's request.
"I implore your majesty to judge!"
Now that Li Xian had spoken, Yan Liben and other officials from the prince's line understood it and came out again one after another, echoing in unison. With the large number of people and the strength of the crowd, the momentum was huge. For a time, the people who were originally controlled by Empress Wu
The situation has reversed again.
"My dear friends, please rise. I, I also think that Xian'er is indeed a good choice for a thorough investigation. Hmm..." Seeing the three sons working together, all the civil and military officials in the dynasty joined in support. Emperor Gaozong could not help but be moved, and he also had some intentions.
Cultivating Li Xian, after all, this was Gaozong's intention in dragging the Li Xian brothers into the court. However, because of concerns about Empress Wu, Gaozong did not dare to make a decision. After hesitating,
, turned to look at the bead curtain, and said hesitantly: "Queen, Xian'er is so loyal, I think it might work. What does the queen think of this?"
"Your Majesty is wise, I think that Xian'er is smart and capable, and he will definitely live up to your majesty's love. I have no objections, but Xian'er is young after all. This matter requires the assistance of mature and prudent ministers to ensure that it is not in vain and that Liu is involved in the matter.
Yi Zhi is a mature and practical man. It may be suitable for him to assist a wise son. I sincerely request your majesty to judge." Empress Wu, who was behind the bead curtain, did not hesitate at all. As soon as Gaozong finished speaking, Empress Wu responded politely.
After some discussion, surprisingly they did not object to Li Xian being responsible for investigating the case, but only added Liu Yizhi, a die-hard rear party member.
"That's very good. I have made my decision. The king of Lu, Li Xian, will take charge, and Liu Yizhi will assist in the matter. Each has its own department to cooperate. It is necessary to find out whether the disadvantages of the backlog of cases in Dali Temple are true. Do you have anything else to say about this?
Do you have any objections?" After hearing that Empress Wu had no objections, Gaozong secretly breathed a sigh of relief and almost couldn't wait to issue the edict.
"My father is wise, but I believe that the investigation of the case is unusual and requires the assistance of a minister who understands the name of punishment. I proposed that Liu Boying, the Minister of Punishment, be the assistant to the sixth brother."
The three brothers were unanimous in dealing with Empress Wu's political interference, but they were not monolithic with each other. They could even be said to compete with each other. Seeing Li Xian get such a big piece of pie, Li Hong was not very happy in his heart.
, so he stood up and thought about getting a share of it.
"Well, what Hong'er said makes sense, I'm sure!"
Although Gaozong was cowardly, he was not stupid. He could understand what Li Hong's intentions were when he said this. However, this was something Gaozong was happy to see. He would not object to it and agreed to it. After that, he did not wait for the courtiers.
When they had something to say, they got up and walked to the back hall.
"Retreat!"
Gao Hesheng, who was waiting on the side, saw that Gaozong had left, so he did not dare to neglect, shouted at the top of his voice, and hurriedly led a group of palace maids and eunuchs to follow Gaozong. As for those behind the bead curtain,
Empress Wu had quietly left the hall before Emperor Gaozong got up, and a court meeting that might have been a life-and-death struggle actually ended in such a dull manner.
"Sixth brother, congratulations."
Gaozong and Empress Wu had left, but the prince did not follow him as usual. Instead, he stood up from his seat, walked slowly to the Li Xian brothers who were surrounded by a group of confidants, and bowed with a smile on his face.
He cupped his hands and congratulated sincerely, but there was something profound in the eyes he glanced at Li Xian.
"I don't dare. I should do my best to investigate this case thoroughly and live up to my father's kindness."
Li Xian and the prince had never been on good terms with each other. Even though they had joined forces several times to stop Empress Wu, they still had no friendship at all. When the prince came to congratulate him, Li Xian still didn't appreciate it.
It's all official talk without any emotion at all.
"Well, if this can happen, it will be a great blessing for the court. I will wait for the good news from my sixth brother." Li Hong was not angry at Li Xian's coldness. He took on the posture of a prince and encouraged him with a smile,
Then, regardless of Li Xian's expression, he looked sideways at Li Xian who was silent and said: "Seventh brother, there is still a lot of wine in the orphan palace. When you have free time, you can come to find the orphan. There is enough wine."
Don't you think it's tiring that this guy actually resorted to alienation tactics without concealing it? Li Xianduo is such a shrewd person, how could he not see through such a little trick played by Li Hong, but he didn't bother to tell the truth.
He just laughed and said: "Thank you so much, Prince. I will definitely be nagging."
"Well, I welcome you."
Li Hong smiled, glanced at the livid Li Xian meaningfully, then flicked his sleeves and led a group of young eunuchs away.
"snort!"
Li Xian was obviously extremely dissatisfied with Li Hong's attitude. Although it was not easy to scold someone on such an occasion, he still couldn't help but snorted angrily.
"Brother Six, let's go. The case in Dali Temple is not easy to try. We need to consider the long term."
Seeing that Li Xian looked wrong, Li Xiansheng was afraid that he could not hold back his anger and said something he shouldn't have said, so he quickly interrupted.
"Well, let's go!"
Although Li Xian has an upright personality, he is not a ungrateful person. He also knows that under such circumstances, it is not appropriate to behave like Meng Lang, so he stamped his feet bitterly and ignored all the confidants beside him.
Li Xian walked out of the palace. Seeing this, Li Xian shrugged his shoulders with a wry smile, and without saying any more nonsense, he strode after him, half a body behind Li Xian, and walked shoulder to shoulder toward the palace gate.
Just after leaving the Chengtian Gate, he saw the two young eunuchs Zhang Che and Gao Miao wandering around not far away anxiously. Li Xian's heart couldn't help but "thump", and he felt a strong sense of ominous premonition.