"Eunuch Gao, our family is here to convey the decree on the order of the Queen of Heaven. We must not delay. Please go and report to Eunuch Gao again."
In front of the Chunhua Gate of the East Palace, Gao Miao and several young eunuchs were chatting nonsense with Cheng Denggao. At first, Cheng Denggao had the patience to chime in a few times, but as time went by, Cheng Denggao's patience wore out.
After finishing it, he put down the fly whisk in his hand extremely impatiently, and interrupted Gao Miao's chatter with a cold expression.
"It's easy to say, it's easy to say. Let's go to a certain family one more time. Eunuch Cheng, please wait a moment."
Gao Miao was ordered to delay time, so he tried his best and told a lot of lies. Seeing that Cheng Denggao was about to get angry, but he didn't want to get angry on the spot, he responded with a smile and ordered his men
The eunuch waited carefully and walked slowly into the palace. After leaving for a long time, no one showed up again, which made Cheng Denggao very angry.
He was furious, but he didn't dare to act wild in front of the East Palace Gate. In desperation, he could only stay on the spot with great annoyance, his face as gloomy as the bottom of a pot, and he was thinking about whether he should go back to the Daming Palace to be so angry.
When he was accusing Li Xian of being unreasonable, he saw that after a commotion in the palace, Li Xian had already walked out of the door surrounded by a large group of eunuchs and guards.
"The old slave comes to see His Highness the Crown Prince."
Cheng Denggao had suffered a lot from Li Xian. Even though he was itching his teeth with hatred before, once he saw Li Xian's face, he didn't dare to neglect it at all and quickly put on a smiling face.
, hurriedly rushed forward and bowed respectfully.
"Eunuch Cheng, you're too polite. I'll excuse you."
Li Xian was extremely disgusted with Cheng Denggao, Empress Wu's die-hard loyalist, but he still needed to be polite for the sake of face, so he smiled warmly, raised his hand weakly, and called out.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince, the Empress has issued a decree, announcing that you will come to the Daming Palace immediately to have an audience. Your Highness, please come!"
Cheng Denggao came here on urgent orders from the Empress Wu, but more than half an hour had passed, and he couldn't help but feel extremely anxious. He didn't dare to delay for a moment, so he stood up straight and hurriedly
Then he announced Empress Wu's oral instructions.
"Well, okay, then Eunuch Lao Cheng will lead the way. Come, show me the Daming Palace!"
An ugly daughter-in-law must meet her parents-in-law. There is no way to avoid this disaster by hiding. Li Xian was too lazy to talk nonsense and gave the order directly. A group of eunuchs under his command rushed to the gold chrome carriage and waited on Li Xian as he entered the carriage.
, a group of people left the city in a mighty manner and headed straight to the Daming Palace on Longshou Plain...
"My son, I bow to my father, the emperor, and my mother, the queen!"
When Li Xian entered the Xuanzheng Hall, he saw Gaozong and Empress Wu sitting side by side on the dragon bed, with Li Zhen, Pei Xingjian and other ministers and assistants standing below them. Their postures were vaguely like those of a court trial, and he couldn't help but feel
Shingled, but not daring to say anything, he strode to the front of the emperor and quickly bowed and saluted.
"Excuse me."
After Gaozong stared at Li Xian with a complicated expression for a long time, he called out in a calm voice, but he did not offer him a seat as usual, but let Li Xian stand in the hall. This was obviously not something.
A good sign is coming.
"My son, I would like to thank my father for your kindness."
Li Xian knew before he came that this trip would not be easy, and he would not be upset by Gaozong's change in attitude. After respectfully thanking him, he stood up straight and calmly, his eyes clear and calm, without any trace of a trace.
The panic included.
"Xian'er hasn't been to the palace much lately. I guess he's very busy. Isn't it possible that everyone is very busy? Could you please come and talk to your mother?"
After Li Xian finished his salute, Empress Wu began to speak. Although her tone was calm, there was a hint of eeriness in it.
"Returning to my mother, this is the time when spring plowing is busy. Last year, my son, according to his father's decree, promoted overseas grain crops. I dare not be a little negligent and neglect to say hello. It is my crime. I still want to ask you.
Queen Mother Haihan is the only one."
Li Xian understood the intention behind Empress Wu's question, but he was not panicked and answered respectfully.
"Oh? So Xian'er is really dedicated to serving the people?"
Empress Wu didn't know that the impeachment of various states had been known to Li Xian. When he heard that Li Xian fell into the trap he had hidden in his words, he couldn't help but reveal a proud smile at the corner of his mouth, but it was very faint.
It's almost imperceptible.
"My mother has given me too much praise. My sons and ministers are just doing their jobs and deserve no praise from my mother."
Li Xian's ability to observe colors was very strong. Although Empress Wu's complacent smile was very faint, Li Xian could see it at a glance, and the anger in his heart suddenly surged up. Fortunately, the city was deep, so
He didn't bring it to his face, he just said quietly and humbly.
"Duty? Do you still know your duty? Huh, here comes Xuan!"
Empress Wu was obviously waiting for Li Xian's humble words. Before Gaozong could express anything, she suddenly changed her expression, snorted coldly, flicked her sleeves, and gave a loud command.
"promise!"
After Empress Wu gave this order, Cheng Denggao, the eunuch who had been prepared for the ceremony, immediately stepped out from the side with the young eunuch holding a stack of memorials in his hand, responded loudly, and then reached out to take the eunuch's hand.
Zhezi
, he proclaimed from the script in a drawl: "I, the Governor of Luzhou, Han Wang Li Yuanjia, I have written to Heaven to listen, hereby Wang Fanming, the special envoy for spring plowing, has done something to disturb the people under the guise of promoting overseas grain seeds. There are several Chenjia Villages in Shexian County under my rule."
ten
Because one family refused to plant overseas grains, they had a dispute with the envoys and were beaten and insulted arbitrarily. Several families were humiliated and sued the county government. This was allowed by law, but unexpectedly they were beaten and insulted by the envoys.
make servants public
The expulsion caused several people to surrender in despair, and the grievances are difficult to describe. The matter involves imperial envoys, and I dare not make arbitrary decisions. Please ask Your Majesty to uphold justice! In addition, Liu Wu, the governor of Tongzhou, also has this chapter here, impeaching Lu Youning, the special envoy for spring plowing, for his arrogance and excess.
…”
"Is this what Xian'er is busy with, huh?"
Cheng Denggao's voice was extremely high-pitched and unpleasant, but Empress Wu enjoyed it very much. The smile at the corner of her mouth became a little thicker. As soon as Cheng Denggao finished announcing the five memorials, some of them couldn't wait to get angry.
"The mother clearly knows that the child has indeed sent many spring plowing envoys to supervise the spring plowing matters. All the itineraries have been recorded. It is true that she has never heard of anything like what happened in the five states. The child thought that there must be something fishy inside. What exactly happened?
You must investigate clearly before you can distinguish right from wrong. The so-called biased listening is dark, but it is nothing more than this."
Before Li Xian came to the Daming Palace, he had already planned a response strategy, so he would not be panicked by the sudden impeachment. Faced with Empress Wu's attack, Li Xian did not show any excitement at all, and just explained in a calm tone.
"It's good that one listens only to the secret. According to what you said, the governors of the five states are all talking nonsense, right?"
Empress Wu gathered all the ministers and assistants today and dragged Gaozong out. The fundamental purpose was to capture Li Xian in one fell swoop. How could she let Li Xian sneak past with just a few explanations? Her face darkened.
, asked in a cold voice.
"Right and wrong have their own justice. I dare not say that all the governors of the five states are deceiving the emperor. However, there must be some absurdity in it. A thorough investigation is required to distinguish right from wrong. I sincerely request my father to issue an edict to investigate this matter thoroughly. If it is
I dare not defend myself about the responsibility of my son and minister. If there is no solid evidence, what responsibility should the governor of the five states bear? Then he will be punished according to the law!"
Although he has not yet received the official investigation results from "Mingdi", Li Xian has enough confidence in the envoys sent out. In his opinion, both Wang Fangming and Lu Youning are cautious.
It may be difficult for someone like him to act flawlessly, but it is impossible to make such a big mistake. At this time, Li Xian refused to bow his head and admit his guilt. No matter how cold Empress Wu's face was, she stared at Gaozong with her eyes.
Ask for the order proudly.
"This..., well, I should check it out."
When Gaozong read the historical bulletins of the Five Prefectures before, he was very dissatisfied with Li Xian. But when he heard what Li Xian said, he couldn't help but have doubts. After hesitating for a while, he still agreed with Li Xianche.
Check request.
"Your Majesty is wise, and I also think that there may be something fishy in this. I would like to ask for an order to do it. I sincerely request your Majesty, the Holy Judge of the Queen."
As soon as Gao Zong finished speaking, Gao Zhizhou stepped out from the side and volunteered to investigate the case.
"Your Majesty, I believe that the Prime Minister has always been fair and honest, so there is no need for him to take charge of the investigation."
As soon as Gao Zhizhou came forward, Jia Chaoyin immediately stood up and agreed, and the cooperation was extremely tacit.
"Your Majesty, the high minister is old and virtuous and has a good reputation. He is responsible for the thorough investigation. I think it is very good."
As soon as Jia Chaoyin finished speaking, Yue King Li Zhen also stepped out from the side and agreed in agreement.
"Hmm..., what do you think, Mei Niang?"
Gao Zong could ignore Gao Zhizhou's volunteering, or he could ignore Jia Chaoyin's echoing words, but he could not just go back to his brother Li Zhen's suggestion, even if he felt that there was something wrong with the suggestion in his heart.
, then he pondered and asked Empress Wu for her opinion.
"Your Majesty, the high minister has been in the country for a long time and is familiar with government affairs. He is the best candidate. I think there is nothing wrong with him."
The original intention of Gaozong in asking this question was to ask Empress Wu to raise objections. His intentions were good, but it was a pity that he was just asking blind questions. Empress Wu was already in collusion with the King of Yue, so how could she speak out against it at this time.
"Well, okay, let me see..."
Gaozong had been away from government affairs for a long time, so he could not clearly see the changes in the situation. In his opinion, Li Zhen's side was the best buffer to balance the dispute between Empress Wu and Li Xian, and should have a neutral position. At this time, he had no objection to Empress Wu, so it was natural for him to
Without thinking any more, he immediately decided to settle the matter.
"Father, wait a minute, I think this is inappropriate!"
Li Xian had long known that this matter was a conspiracy concocted by the Yue King's party and Empress Wu's party. How could he let Gao Zhizhou, the backbone of the Yue King's party, take over the power of investigation? Seeing that Gaozong wanted to make a decision,
He didn't dare to show any slightness, so he interrupted without hesitation.
Li Xian's interjection really went against the rules that a minister should have. To be more serious, it was suspected of deceiving the emperor. As soon as these words came out, the eyes of all the courtiers in the palace immediately turned to Li Xian.
After seeing the past, the meaning is complicated and difficult to understand. Some people are shocked, some are surprised, and some are gloating...
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