Tiantang Splendid

Lizheng Hall.

The palace was quiet, and the maids and eunuchs walked around carefully. The queen was kind and never punished the palace maids easily, so the palace maids were indignant after the queen was "slapped" by her majesty, and expressed their support for the queen to the outside world through this "silence"...

When Wang De arrived outside the palace gate, someone had already gone in to report. Soon, two eunuchs came out and led him into the palace.

The queen was in a side hall. The afternoon sunlight shone through the window panes on the west side, casting a variety of light and dark patterns. The queen, dressed in a palace dress, was sitting on a chair, looking beautiful and graceful.

"This old slave is here to see the Queen."

"No need to be polite. I am here at this time, but what do you want from your Majesty?"

The queen sat upright on the chair, smiling.

Wang De hesitated for a moment and whispered, "His Majesty said that he had just discussed important matters with the ministers in the previous court and was a little tired and needed to rest... Therefore, he could not come to the banquet."

The palace maids standing on both sides lowered their heads, and the atmosphere in the hall became increasingly solemn.

The queen's beautiful face did not change at all, and her tone was still gentle and soft: "Your Majesty has been working hard for military and national affairs. You should serve him well and not slack off."

Wang De bowed and said, "Yes."

The queen took a sip of tea from the teacup in her delicate hands. She did not ask Wang De to leave, but asked, "What did Your Majesty discuss in the previous court?"

Wang De pondered for a moment, then told Fang Jun about the "nature of currency". After thinking about it, he concealed the fact that His Majesty asked for "new paper" but was rejected by Fang Jun.

He was outside the palace gate at the time, so he could hear everything that was said inside the palace clearly...

The Queen was very interested and read this carefully. She exclaimed: "The Duke of Yue is truly a scholar, unparalleled in the world."

"..."

Wang De looked at the Queen's beautiful, sparkling eyes and her expression of admiration and respect. Although her praise was exactly the same as His Majesty's for Fang Jun, he felt a pang in his heart for some reason. He felt that the two compliments of "unparalleled in the world" had completely different meanings.

He had seen that look of reverence and admiration on some young palace maids before when they were blessed by him...

He doesn't understand women, but he has seen too many women, especially in the imperial palace, where women's temperaments are exaggerated to the extreme. He has a unique understanding of women's minds.

Am I overthinking it?

I hope so.

Otherwise... I hardly dare to think about it.

When I was distracted, I heard the queen's soft voice: "Okay, since your majesty is not coming, the prepared banquet should not be wasted. Someone, go and invite the two princes Jinyang and Xincheng to the banquet... If Wang Zongguan is not busy, how about staying for dinner together?"

"Thank you, Queen. I need to go back and serve Your Majesty. I dare not stay outside."

"Then you can go back."

"Old slave, please retire."

Watching Wang De walk out of the palace, the queen pursed her lips slightly.

I'm sure Wang De will tell everyone his reaction truthfully...

Besides, not everyone in the Lizheng Palace was her confidant. There were always some who were secretly betraying her. Her tone and expression just now could not be concealed from others, and the news might spread outside the palace in the future.

Even though the "discord between the emperor and the empress" could give others an opportunity to take advantage of and lure out the enemy, there is no need to sacrifice the dignity and reputation of a queen, right?

Although she could not resist this strategy which was almost "degrading" herself, the Queen was extremely dissatisfied.

……

"You went to Lizheng Hall?"

"The Queen is very enthusiastic and has prepared a banquet to invite Your Majesty. This is obviously a good opportunity to mend the relationship, but Your Majesty is too tired to attend the banquet. The Queen may misunderstand. I will go and explain. I acted on my own initiative. I apologize."

Watching Wang De kneeling on the ground to plead guilty and explain, Li Chengqian looked deep and unmoved, and asked, "What did the queen say?"

Wang De said: "The queen is magnanimous and sympathetic to your majesty's hard work for state affairs. She told me to serve your majesty well."

"Did the Queen ask you anything?"

"This one……"

"Tell it like it is."

"Yes..." Wang De was sweating. He knew that there must be spies in Lizheng Palace. If he lied, it would be a heinous crime. He could only tell the truth: "The Queen asked what Your Majesty was busy with, and I told her about the previous court."

"What did you say?"

"… Mainly because of Duke Yue's remarks on the 'nature of money'."

"How did the Queen react?"

"The Queen...praised the Duke of Yue as 'unparalleled in the world' and admired him very much."

Wang De was sweating profusely, and he regretted going to Lizheng Hall to explain himself...

"Haha, it seems that the Queen favors Duke Yue."

Li Chengqian sneered, his face gloomy.

Wang De knelt on the ground and bowed his head, refusing to speak.

...What is going on?

Is there another reason why Your Majesty slapped the Queen?

And is it related to Duke Yue?
Damn, no way...

Wang De was trembling with fear, as if a thorn in his back was attached.

*****
into the night.

Daxingshan Temple.

Waves of Buddhist chants echoed melodiously in the temple. The locust trees and ginkgo trees planted five hundred years ago were lush and leafy, towering like a canopy, swaying gracefully under the moonlight.

Li Shenfu sat alone with his eyes closed in a Zen room among the trees, drinking tea and listening to Buddhist chanting. He felt a peace in his heart. All the struggles for power, ambitions for hegemony, and the prosperity of his descendants were suppressed at this moment by the supreme Buddhist teachings. He had a faint wish to leave the world.

A figure walked in from outside the door, walked on the smooth floor and sat down opposite Li Shenfu, smiling and said: "Uncle King is really in a refined mood, a cup of tea, a Buddhist chant, cut off the worldly affairs, live a carefree life, and achieve a perfect state of life."

After saying that, he poured himself a cup of tea and took a sip.

Li Shenfu opened his eyes and looked at the gaunt middle-aged man in his forties. He said calmly, "With greed and impurities, can we cleanse our minds and minds by listening to the Buddhist chants? Even if the Buddha himself came, it would be difficult for him to convert ordinary people like us."

The middle-aged man smiled and nodded repeatedly: "Uncle Wang has a clear mind and is a hero of the time."

Li Shenfu took a sip of tea and asked, "At this critical moment, we should have avoided meeting each other, so as not to be targeted by Li Junxian. Since you are willing to take the risk, what big thing happened?"

The middle-aged man's eyes suddenly lit up and his face was full of excitement: "Uncle King, do you know what happened in Lizheng Palace today?"

"Lizheng Palace?" Li Shenfu was slightly stunned, and said, "I heard that the Queen prepared a banquet to entertain Your Majesty, intending to mend the rift and restore the old relationship, but Your Majesty was still angry and refused... Is that it?"

He has his own information channels in the palace. Although he is not like the person in front of him who is always by His Majesty's side, he can always know what is going on in the palace.

The middle-aged man laughed, then leaned forward slightly, approached Li Shenfu, and whispered: "Wang De went to Lizheng Hall to explain to His Majesty. During the discussion, he talked about Fang Jun. The Queen's original words were 'he is both civil and military, unparalleled in the world'."

Li Shenfu frowned: "Although Fang Er is not a good guy, such praise is not excessive. Moreover, his strong support for Your Majesty is tantamount to a rebirth for the Queen. What's so strange about the Queen praising him like this?"

"Haha, uncle, you don't know. Such praise is not surprising. But the tone and expression of the queen when she said this were like a young girl in the boudoir who was longing for love and had just begun to fall in love..."

"..."

Li Shenfu's eyes widened in shock: "You...you...are you serious?"

The middle-aged man continued, "Why do you think His Majesty has been so irritable recently that he even slapped the Queen?"

Li Shenfu was no longer able to speak, his mind was in turmoil due to the shock of this news.

Could it be that the Queen and Fang Jun are having an affair? !

Your Majesty felt it or witnessed it with his own eyes, so he slapped the Queen in anger?

This is indeed the most reasonable explanation, because Your Majesty and the Queen were a young couple, and they supported each other through such a dark period when they were in danger of falling into the abyss at any time. Even if there was not much true love between them, they should have had the friendship of sharing wealth and honor hand in hand. With Li Chengqian's character, how could he hit someone?

Mother!

Li Shenfu didn't know what to say.

But in a flash he realized how beneficial this matter was to him. His eyes flickered as he stared at the middle-aged man: "My dear nephew An Liang, if this is true, then we..."

"A God-sent opportunity!"

The middle-aged man said decisively.

Li Shenfu's old heart began to beat rapidly, and his mouth felt dry. He drank a sip of tea to calm himself down, and then asked, "Is your brother all right?"

The middle-aged man said, "I have never mentioned this matter to my brother, so he knows nothing about it. But even though he is lying low for a while now, how can he forget the deep hatred he had in the past? He is thinking about avenging His Royal Highness the Crown Prince all the time!"

Li Shenfu shook his head and said, "This is a serious matter, it concerns our lives and property, how can we be so self-righteous? Let's contact your brother first, persuade him with emotion and reason, and wait for him to agree, then we can take action. If we don't act, it's fine, but if we act, it will succeed!"

Middle-aged people disagree. Haven't you always looked down on those who "do great things but cherish their lives"? You believe that man proposes, God disposes, and as long as the opportunity comes, you just do it... Now you are starting to "do nothing, and you will succeed if you move"?

Is there anything that is certain to happen in this world?

"Don't worry, uncle. I will find a chance to tell my brother about this matter. No matter what, I will seek his approval. With his secret help, it will be safe!"

Li Shenfu nodded: "There is no time to lose. The sooner we contact your brother, the better. Once the opportunity comes, we will act immediately and accomplish our goal in one fell swoop."

"Well. My nephew will take his leave for now."

"Be careful to hide your whereabouts and don't arouse suspicion."

"Uncle, don't worry."

Watching the middle-aged man's figure disappear into the shadows of the trees outside the door, Li Shenfu let out a long sigh.

It is not difficult to achieve the goal, but the difficulty lies in how to deal with the aftermath. Such a heinous crime of rebellion will certainly be condemned by thousands of people. Even the allies at this moment will turn against you. As long as you eliminate this "traitor", you can openly participate in the redistribution of power and interests.

Therefore, he would never allow such a situation to happen and would not bear the crime of "regicide".

Now he has an unparalleled shield, and he can put all the blame on her, while he stays out of it, sits back on the throne, and leads the royal family to come to the court and assist the new monarch in the name of supporting the country.

As for whether the Queen had an affair with Fang Jun...it doesn't really matter. As long as someone thinks so, that's enough.