Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4911 King Wei Returns to Beijing
"Li Chengqian is such a fool! The Li Tang Dynasty will surely be destroyed in his hands. The family business that our Li family members have fought so hard for is in danger!"

Li Shenfu stood in the newly renovated main hall with a frown on his face, cursing and roaring.

The eldest son, Li Demao, also sighed and lamented: "Your Majesty is confused! How can you easily grant the position of the Three Dukes? Even if you want to grant it, you have to give it to someone with royal family merit like my father. The world's military is in the hands of outsiders. Will we have to hand over the Li Tang Dynasty to others in the future?"

"Ok?"

Listening to his stupid son's complaints, Li Shenfu suddenly stopped being angry...

"Your Majesty is stupid and untalented, but he would not make such a mistake. I think he did it on purpose."

Li Shenfu had some understanding and after thinking about it carefully, he felt more and more that he had grasped His Majesty's thoughts.

"This is flattery. Your Majesty wants to set Fang Jun up against the court officials, making him suffer impeachment from the censors and hatred from the generals. The rift between these two is indeed deepening, and their dirty deeds are not shallow!"

Thinking of this, I felt excited.

Since Li Chengqian ascended the throne, the throne has been unstable. Two consecutive military rebellions almost overthrew him and the throne changed. It was all thanks to Fang Jun's efforts to turn the tide. It can be said that Fang Jun was the cornerstone of Li Chengqian's throne. Whether it was changing dynasties or plotting to usurp the throne, the biggest obstacle was Fang Jun.

As long as these two people do something dirty, Fang Jun will no longer support Li Chengqian as unreservedly as before, then it will be an opportunity for him to take advantage of...

Li Demao blinked. Could it be like this?

Li Shenfu said, "Notify our people in the palace to immediately find out whether the rumors between Fang Jun and the Queen are true."

Li Demao said in embarrassment: "It's hard to find out. Even if there is such a thing, it must be kept strictly confidential. How can outsiders know it?"

"idiot!"

Li Shenfu was unhappy: "The Queen is the head of the six palaces and the mother of the country. Her every word and action is recorded and there are countless people following her. If she does something shameful like that, she must hide it from others. There won't be many such opportunities. We just need to have someone check the Queen's whereabouts. Once we find that she is alone or even missing, we can find out Fang Jun's whereabouts and match them. As long as the two are not in public at the same time, we can basically confirm it."

"Father is wise!"

Li Demao stood up and left in a hurry with a look of admiration on his face.

Li Shenfu looked at his eldest son's back, shook his head and sighed, and then seemed to be thinking about something.

*****
The news that Fang Jun, the Duke of Yue, was about to be conferred the title of "Grand Marshal" by His Majesty had indeed caused a huge wave in the city of Chang'an. Some were envious, some were jealous, and some were afraid that the powerful minister would run rampant and bring disaster to the country and the people... For a time, public opinion in the court and the country was surging and in an uproar.

As soon as Li Tai, the King of Wei, entered the city, he learned about this and immediately took a deep breath. He wanted to turn around and leave the city to go to Luoyang again, and then stay in Luoyang and never come back...

Chang'an City used to be "undercurrent", but now it is "windy and turbulent". If one is not careful and is swept away by it, he will suffer a devastating disaster!

But it was almost the end of the year, and various sacrificial activities were held one after another. As the legitimate son of Emperor Taizong and the younger brother of the current emperor, he had to attend them no matter what, especially the grand sacrifice to commemorate Emperor Taizong. Otherwise, the censors would impeach him to death.

"Unfilial piety" is one of the "Ten Evils". Once violated, death is the last resort...

Frightened, Li Tai quickly restrained his entourage: "Everyone, keep a low profile, stay at home and don't cause trouble. If anyone causes trouble for me, I will break his legs!"

The entourage was trembling with fear and obeyed orders in a hesitant manner. They removed their support, lowered their flags, and quietly entered the city through Chunming Gate. While sending people to report to the Zongzheng Temple, they returned to their residence in Furong Garden.

After entering the house, he was relieved to see Princess Yan of the Prince of Wei coming out. He went to the main hall and drank a sip of tea. He listened to Princess Wei's detailed account of what happened in the capital, and became even more frightened. He immediately ordered the servants in the mansion: "From now on, close the door and refuse to see anyone...especially Fang Jun!"

When the waiter went out to convey the King of Wei's order, the Princess of Wei was very surprised: "Why is this? Although the 'Grand Commander' is a hot potato, it has nothing to do with Your Highness after all. Why do you avoid him like a snake or scorpion?"

Li Tai said, "You don't understand. Fang Jun is just a cover. What I'm really afraid of are those people in the royal family! The rebellious heart of the Prince of Xiangyi is obvious. If he starts a rebellion, he must have a pretext. If the pretext is not right, then the words will not flow. But what pretext can he have? All they can do is to fabricate some shameless things about Your Majesty, list them one by one, and then explain that Your Majesty is not qualified for the throne of the emperor and should abdicate and let someone else take over... Who is this 'virtuous'? He, Li Shenfu, can't be so shameless as to call himself 'virtuous', right?"

Princess Wei was shocked, but also a little excited: "Among the people in the court, the only one who can be called 'virtuous' is probably Your Highness!"

This "贤" naturally does not mean "virtuous", but the qualification to ascend the throne.

In terms of qualifications, looking across the world, apart from the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, who else can compare to Li Tai, the legitimate son of Emperor Taizong and your Majesty's younger brother?
If those people join forces to drive Li Chengqian off the throne, they will naturally not support the crown prince. That would be digging a hole for themselves, waiting for the crown prince to become more powerful one day and settle accounts with them one by one...

That's why Li Tai ran to Luoyang and hid.

I thought that I would only be back in Beijing for a few short days to celebrate the New Year and worship my ancestors, and then I would rush back to Luoyang to hide. However, I did not expect that Chang'an City would suddenly become turbulent and the situation would deteriorate.

Li Tai was surprised to see her expression: "Are you quite happy? I'm telling you to give up on that idea! Anyone can sit in that position, but I have absolutely no chance of getting it!"

Princess Wei suddenly felt embarrassed.

She was not a fool. The couple had already made a serious and in-depth analysis of the various situations. They both believed that it was impossible for Li Tai to sit in that position. On the contrary, as long as the throne changed hands, Li Tai would be the first target to be eliminated by the new emperor.

But that is the supreme position in the world after all. As one of the people who has recently taken that position, even if it is not wise and full of dangers, it is inevitable to fantasize about it...

Princess Wei was also a decisive person. She knew it was impossible, so she suppressed her extravagant hope in her heart and nodded, saying, "Your Highness is right. During this period of time, I will not see anyone or participate in anything. I will stay in the mansion honestly. After the New Year and the ancestor worship, I will set off for Luoyang immediately."

But at this point, the subject suddenly changed: "Your Highness, since you returned from Luoyang, why are you still riding in the same carriages as when you left the capital?"

Li Tai was confused for a moment. "Are you talking about the tributes from the local officials? There are some, but I thought it would be best not to be too conspicuous to avoid trouble, so I left them at the Prince of Wei's residence in Luoyang. I will arrange for two trusted men to slowly transport them back after the New Year."

Princess Wei curled her lips, her eyes deep, "Your Highness, are you pretending to be ignorant? You are going to Luoyang to serve as the governor of Luoyang and to build the Eastern Capital. I don't know how many interests are involved. I don't believe that those people only send money and not people?"

Li Tai suddenly realized and was furious: "I am the emperor's governor and responsible for building the Eastern Capital. I have been up all night and have never thought about anything else. I have never taken concubines in Luoyang. At most, I have visited brothels and played around, but most of the time it was for social occasions."

Besides, as a prince, it is his duty to expand the Li Tang family. What's wrong with taking concubines?
Why should I explain it to you?
The waiter came over in a hurry and reported: "Your Highness, the Duke of Yue is here to visit!"

Li Tai: "..."

I am really afraid of what will happen.

"Just say that I have come a long way and have had a hard time. I have just taken a bath and gone to bed. I will meet him again in a few days."

The waiter looked confused...

Li Tai's heart skipped a beat and he asked, "Why are you so hesitant?"

Before the waiter could reply, someone outside the door said, "Your Highness is in high spirits, but you are avoiding me. This is not the right way to treat guests. It is beneath your dignity."

Li Tai said angrily: "Why don't I see you? Don't you have any self-awareness?"

Fang Jun walked into the hall, greeted Princess Wei first, and then said with a smile: "I thought that Your Highness and I had a close friendship and a relationship stronger than gold, so I naturally thought that Your Highness would not care about the rumors in the outside world, but would lend a helping hand when I was in trouble."

Princess Wei returned the gift with a smile, invited Fang Jun to take a seat, and told the maid beside her to make tea quickly.

Then he smiled and said, "Erlang is right. You have a very good relationship with His Highness. If you encounter difficulties, you should ask His Highness for help, and His Highness will have no choice but to help. But by the same token, if His Highness is in danger, Erlang should also help him with all his strength."

That's a nice way of saying it. Your difficulty is just that you are the target of public criticism and are being impeached by everyone. However, your visit this time is likely to bring great danger to His Highness, so His Highness's difficulty is actually related to his life and property...

Fang Jun had never looked down on the Princess of Wei. It was hard to imagine that a woman from a scholarly family could be so proficient in the art of power and intrigue. Even Li Tai often had to seek advice from the Princess...

Fang Jun sat down with a warm smile: "Princess, you are indeed a smart person. How could you know that I came here today to help Your Highness solve his problems?"

Princess Wei was stunned and asked, "I wonder what Erlang means by this?"

Li Tai waved his hand and said, "Let's talk in the study if you have anything to say. The princess has asked someone to prepare some side dishes and heat a pot of wine. This prince and Erlang haven't seen each other for a long time. Let's have a good chat. Erlang, please move. It just so happens that this prince got a beautiful painting in Luoyang. It's as precious as a treasure, but it still lacks a poem to accompany the painting. I have to ask Erlang to paint and leave a good work for future generations."

The main hall is drafty on all sides, so it is difficult to keep secrets, and important things cannot be said here.

Fang Jun stood up and followed Li Tai into the back hall, and asked with a smile: "A painting that His Highness treasures must be extraordinary. Who created it?"

"Erlang is a world-renowned talent. We should appreciate it carefully and see if we can guess who wrote it."

Princess Wei watched the two of them go to the study, thought for a moment, and then ordered someone to prepare wine and food.