Enough is enough, too much is not enough! After Li Xian quickly calculated, he finally made a decision. He did not want to be resented by Emperor Gaozong for this matter - this case was presided over by Li Xian, and if such a major event that forced the emperor to go to the palace happened, Li Xian
There is no way to escape the relationship. Once the prince is done playing, Li Xian will definitely not be able to escape the disaster of overthrowing the nest. This is obviously not the result that Li Xian wants to see. Besides, Li Xian is not sure about Empress Wu's behavior.
There is no back-up plan to escape. If he forces the palace too hard and Empress Wu suddenly strikes back, the fun will be great.
"Brother Prince, let's go together."
Li Xian was determined, so he no longer hesitated. Taking advantage of the commotion around him, he whispered back to Li Hong.
"Well, that's fine."
Although Li Hong was still unwilling to give in, he also knew that it would not be possible without Li Xian's cooperation. After hearing what Li Xian said, he could only reluctantly agree.
"Everyone, please be quiet." Li Hong was also a decisive person. Seeing that he could not encourage Li Xian to take risks with him, he gave up and stood up. He pressed his hands and shouted.
The courtiers who had been besieging Gao Hesheng fell silent and retreated, pretending to be listening respectfully to the prince's instructions.
"My lords, although there are some scoundrels in the court who are doing lawless things, they are nothing more than clowns. With all the lords and other pillars here, I never know that the world is in danger of being turned upside down. Fortunately, the King of England has discovered the treacherous traitor and reported it to my father.
Your Majesty, eradicate evil and restore the purity of our country. The day after tomorrow will be the morning court. I also ask all the princes to write letters to express their opinions. With the wisdom of my father, I will make a decision." The prince is very eloquent, and his words are very resounding.
I didn't forget to tie Li Xian tightly to his carriage.
"I respectfully obey the Crown Prince's order!"
Most of the courtiers present were the prince's confidants. Of course, the prince was the only one who obeyed. The rest of the neutral courtiers, such as Pei Xingjian and other neutral courtiers who came after hearing the news, were mostly disgusted by Empress Wu's interference in politics. They would not come forward to oppose the prince. They responded immediately.
Under the crowd, the prince's prestige was fully demonstrated.
This boy really has the eloquence of an orator. Hey, what a pity. When you meet that ruthless old rascal, your boy's dream of being a wise king is probably destined to be shattered. Li Xian lowered his head, seemingly also affected by the prince's words.
Although he was moved, in fact, he was lamenting that Li Hong was born at the wrong time. Although he had a slight thought of helping Li Hong to secure his position, when he thought of Empress Wu's cruelty and viciousness, these thoughts immediately faded away.
Go, because Li Xian simply doesn’t believe that Li Hong can defeat Empress Wu. Even if Li Xian fully assists him, the most it will do is to postpone the time of Li Hong’s defeat. The reason is very simple. Li Hong still
It's not ruthless enough. Just take today's incident as an example. If Li Xian and Li Hong had changed positions, they would have been forced to go to the palace to the death or death. At worst, Li Xian, the chief judge, would have been used as a scapegoat.
"Seventh brother, please stop."
Li Hong was so addicted to showing off that he didn't pay any attention to what Li Xian thought. After briefly chatting with Yan Liben, Le Yanwei and other old prime ministers, he greeted Li Xian with a smile.
"Brother Prince, please."
At this point, Li Xian was too lazy to talk nonsense. After responding with an expressionless expression, he walked half a body behind the prince, silently marching to Zetianmen and heading straight to Qianyuan Hall along the palace avenue.
"My son, I bow to my father, the emperor, and my mother, the queen!"
As soon as the brothers turned around from the screen at the door of the palace, they saw Gaozong and Empress Wu sitting side by side on the couch. The difference was that Gaozong looked gloomy and Empress Wu looked indifferent. The two brothers did not dare to After taking a closer look, they rushed forward hurriedly and each of them saluted and said hello.
"snort."
Emperor Gaozong was obviously still angry, and did not show any response to the greetings from his two sons. He just snorted softly from his nostrils.
"Now that you're all straight, someone comes and shows the prince his seat."
Gaozong didn't say anything, but when Empress Wu saw the two brothers arriving, her indifferent face immediately showed a kind smile, she raised her hand and shouted softly.
"My sons and ministers are waiting to thank my father and the emperor, and my mother is very kind to me."
Li Hong and Li Xian were both scheming people, and they would not behave inappropriately because of Gaozong's anger or Empress Wu's kindness. They each thanked them, and several eunuchs presented them with a brocade invitation. The prince took his seat, while Li Xian stood aside calmly, showing no intention of speaking in a hurry to report anything.
"Tell me, you all are making a lot of noise, okay?"
Li Xian, the person in charge, did not speak. Li Hong was impatient but could not force himself to speak out. Empress Wu obviously had no intention of provoking the topic. The palace became strangely quiet, and the atmosphere became suffocating. At the end of the day, , Gaozong was the first to lose his temper, glared at Li Xian angrily, and asked in a hateful voice.
Yeah, I'm going to choke you. Sure enough, your anger has been turned on us! Even though Li Xian had known for a long time that there would be such "treatment", but when he actually encountered it, he still couldn't help but feel a little resentful. But what, at this moment? Even if Li Xian was dissatisfied, he did not dare to express it. He could only stand up, bowed, and reported in a frightened tone: "To inform the emperor, I have been ordered to review and supervise the emperor." Shi did not dare to relax a little bit about the impeachment case of Zhou Guogong Wu Min, but because of occasional physical discomfort, he postponed it for two days. Unexpectedly, he was shocked to hear that there was a big change in the prison yesterday. Someone secretly assassinated Wu Minzhi with the intention of killing him and silencing him. I was afraid that things would change after a long delay, so I had to hold on to my sick body to hold a trial. At this trial, I realized that the seriousness of the case was beyond my expectation. Fortunately, the prince's brother supported me. Now the case has been revealed, and Wu Min is now Here is my confession, and I would like to ask my father to read it."
"Well, an assassination? Why didn't I know there was such a thing?"
When Gaozong heard the word "assassination", his eyes immediately widened. He didn't rush to take the confession handed over by Li Xian, and asked with surprise and confusion on his face.
"Returning to my father, this is what happened. Last night... thanks to my father's grace, the three thieves who were responsible for the assassination were all executed. Only one of my guards died at the hands of the thieves. Erchen has already written this chapter. I was thinking After reviewing the case, I reported it to my father, but I didn't expect that the case would take a turn for the worse today. I failed to report it to my father in time, which is really a dereliction of duty. I still ask my father to convict me." Li Xian bowed, looking uneasy. The court briefly described the prison fire last night as a murder case, concealing the relevant ambush and arrangements, and never mentioned the fact that there were still two survivors in hand.
"Well, this is really weird. Huh, what is Dali Temple doing? Fires and assassinations. Every time this happens, Hou Shanye, the minister of Dali Temple, is deeply disappointed!" After listening to Li Xian's explanation, Gaozong was full of joy. The anger immediately transferred to the officials of Dali Temple, and they cursed mercilessly.
"Father, it is clear to me that Hou Shanye is deeply involved in Wu Min's case. I have detained him. We have Wu Min's confession and account books and other evidence here. I implore my father to investigate in detail!" Li Xian is a man who knows his way to the bone.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Gaozong turned his anger on Dali Temple and immediately hit the snake on the stick, adding insult to injury without any courtesy.
"Um?"
Emperor Gaozong scolded him, but he never expected that such an important minister as Hou Shanye would actually be involved in Wu Min's case. When he heard that Li Xian was so sure, he was stunned and looked at Li Xian suspiciously.
Seeing Li Xian's serious look, which didn't look like he was lying, the anger in his heart immediately surged up. He took the thick stack of documents in Li Xian's hand and flipped through them quickly. The more he read,
His face became more and more gloomy, and in the end, he couldn't help but swore: "Mei Niang, look at it, take a good look, this is your good nephew, huh, I'm so angry, you bastard!"
"Your Majesty, please calm down. Min is young and ignorant, and his debauchery is bound to happen. His crime is absolutely unforgivable. It is just about forming cliques for personal gain. I think Min is not so bold. The people in the court are just seeing Min being favored and intending to make friends with him."
If you are better than him, it is reasonable to give him some property in order to curry favor with him. Now that he has committed such a crime, my concubines will not dare to protect him, so everything will be dealt with according to the law." Empress Wu took the hand from Gaozong and handed it over.
However, he did not rush to look through the confessions and other documents. Instead, he tried to persuade her very gently, making it clear that He Lanmin and his party were going to be sacrificed to protect Empress Wu and his party involved in the case.
"Father, the emperor, and the sons and ministers think that what the mother and queen say is reasonable, and the sensitive person deserves what he deserves. However, the courtiers do not expose his evil, but instead try to please him, which is really suspected of helping the emperor to commit cruelty, and most of the ministers involved in the case are newly promoted ministers.
, The family is not rich, but the gifts given are really astonishing. If there is no intention in it, I am afraid it will be impossible, so we should investigate deeply." As soon as Empress Wu finished speaking, the prince immediately said something unceremoniously and killed the person involved in the case.
The minister who befriended He Lan Minzhi had other motives, and also expressed his attitude of pursuing and fighting to the end.
"Well...well, Xian'er, as the presiding judge, do you have any concerns about this case?"
Although Emperor Gaozong was cowardly, he was not stupid. At this time, how could he not know that the quarrel between Empress Wu and the prince had reached the point of incompatibility. In addition to having a severe headache, he really didn't know how to deal with it and hesitated.
After waiting for a while, he turned his attention to Li Xian and kicked the ball to Li Xian's feet with a big kick.
"Xian'er, don't panic, just tell me what you need. Mother and your father will make the decision for you."
Before Li Xian could speak, Empress Wu had already spoken. Her tone was gentle, but it was full of threats.
"What the mother said is true. Since the seventh brother is in charge of the trial, he should make a decision. No matter how difficult this matter is, with my father here, the seventh brother does not need to worry."
As soon as Empress Wu finished speaking, the prince immediately followed her without hesitation, making it clear that he was ready to fight Empress Wu in the ring.
Okay, this time, we are the center of attention! Facing the expectant eyes of everyone, Li Xian secretly felt bitter in his heart, but it was obviously impossible not to answer. A slight mistake between advancing and retreating would be a lot of fun.
Fortunately, Li Xian had already calculated this scene before entering the palace, so he would not be too nervous, so he muttered and said: "When I return to my father, I think that Wu Minzhi is despicable, and his actions are also despicable."
Evil, although death is not enough to punish his crime, but considering the dignity of the heavenly family, he should be punished with the punishment of losing his family property and being banished for three thousand miles. No matter what his intentions are, the other ministers involved in the case are inevitably suspected of aiding the emperor. Furthermore,
, Bribery cannot be forgiven lightly, and each person should be demoted or relegated according to the law, as appropriate."
Li Xian's words made it clear that he was leaning towards Li Hong's side, but he did not take things to the extreme. There was a lot of room for maneuver, but how to grasp it was very subtle.
Everyone in the crowd fell silent, each pondering in silence...