Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5323: Trapped in a cocoon
Princess Gaoyang's pretty face changed color. She naturally knew that these three people were not only close friends with her husband, but also the foundation for her husband's stability in the Eastern Palace. Once these three people were replaced, transferred, or even detained or imprisoned, the six guards of the Eastern Palace would completely change hands.

The storage location is very likely to be replaced as a result.

She hurriedly said, "I'll send someone to inform them right away..."

"Wait a minute!"

Princess Chang Le raised her hand to stop her.

Princess Gaoyang was puzzled: "The fate of the Six Guards of the Eastern Palace is related to the succession. These three must not be harmed. Why did you stop them, sister?"

Princess Chang Le did not answer, but looked at Guo Xiaoshen and asked softly, "Did Dugu Lan personally order you to go and check the accounts?"

Guo Xiaoshen replied, "Yes."

"Could you send someone to go with you?"

"That arrangement was never made. Those clerks are all my subordinates."

"When you left the Imperial Guard Temple, did no one stop or monitor you?"

Guo Xiaoshen thought about it carefully and shook his head, saying, "No."

Princess Changle turned to Princess Gaoyang and said, "This matter should not be acted upon lightly. Dugu Lan is a former official of the Sui Dynasty and a veteran of three dynasties after entering the Tang Dynasty. He may seem inconspicuous at times, but he has an ironclad control over the Weiwei Temple, one of the Nine Temples. He is not someone to be trifled with. It is not right for him to make such a careless oversight."

As the Grand Commandant's confidants and the cornerstone of the Eastern Palace, Li, Cheng, and Qu Tu were untouchable except by the Emperor. Therefore, the sudden audit could only be His Majesty's decision.

With His Majesty's imperial decree issued, how could an old fox like Dugu Lan bear such a grave mistake and cause the news to leak prematurely?

Princess Gaoyang suddenly realized: "That old fox did it on purpose!"

Princess Jinyang interjected, "These three are my brother-in-law's confidants. By targeting them with such a trivial matter as checking past military equipment counts and imprisoning them, my brother-in-law will surely cause him trouble afterward. He dares not disobey the imperial order, and he is also worried that my brother-in-law will settle scores with him. My brother-in-law doesn't care about any imperial orders and will definitely not let him off... So he deliberately leaked the information. Once we inform the three generals to hide, it will be tantamount to confirming their embezzlement of military equipment."

Princess Chang Le nodded and said decisively, "In that case, if the three generals are not arrested and imprisoned by the Imperial Guard, Dugu Lan can remain uninvolved. However, if the three generals go into hiding, their crimes will be confirmed, and even if Erlang returns later, it will be difficult to deal with them. Your Majesty can then justifiably demote and transfer them, and logically place your preferred people in their positions, thus fulfilling Your Majesty's orders."

Princess Gaoyang understood and said irritably, "That old fox is really cunning! Since that's the case, let the three generals obediently accept the investigation. So what if they really lost some weapons? Surely they won't strip the generals who guard the Eastern Palace and have made great contributions of their lives for such a small crime, will they?"

Guo Xiaoshen was dumbfounded, watching as the three princesses sorted things out in an instant, and he was shocked.

Women are just as capable as men...

He couldn't help but say, "But if the three generals are detained by the Imperial Guard, their positions will be changed and replaced. Wouldn't the Six Guards of the Crown Prince be completely out of control?"

Princess Gaoyang shook her head and said, "In the past, the Six Guards of the Eastern Palace were indeed the cornerstone of the Eastern Palace and the Crown Prince's protection, but that's not necessarily the case now."

As early as after the last coup by Li Zhi, the "Shenji Battalion" that made great contributions became an official unit, not under the control of any government office, but only the personal guard of the Crown Prince.

Fang Jun, under the pretext of "protecting the crown prince and serving as a shield for the country," stipulated that the soldiers of the "Shenji Battalion" could only be students of the academy...

This is the true insurance for the Eastern Palace.

Princess Chang Le said softly, "Registrar Guo, there's no need to worry. Let them do whatever they want; it won't really affect the overall situation."

Guo Xiaoshen breathed a sigh of relief: "It was I who was worrying unnecessarily."

Princess Gaoyang said, "What are you saying, Clerk Guo? We are relatives, so it is only natural to help each other. I am very pleased that Clerk Guo came to report this news. I will definitely inform Erlang afterwards and have him treat you to a drink to express his gratitude."

Guo Xiaoshen was overjoyed. He had taken a huge risk to come and deliver the message, all for just this one sentence.
"Thank you, Your Highness. It is what I should do!"

……

After Guo Xiaoshen left, Princess Changle sighed softly: "His Majesty is truly obsessed. He is determined to change the heir apparent and doesn't care at all what kind of huge upheaval this move will cause or what kind of damage it will do to the empire."

Princess Gaoyang snorted and said, "He treats the empire as his private property, always assuming that all his subjects and common people should be loyal to him. It's not that he looks down on the crown prince, but rather that he wants to use this to declare to the world that this is his empire, and he can give the throne to whomever he wants! He can manipulate power and have the power of life and death!"

Princess Jinyang sighed softly, her pretty face full of worry: "My brother the emperor has gone mad, and he is completely reckless. Brother Zhinu has seen through his changes, so he is full of fear and only wants to escape the capital as soon as possible to avoid being involved."

The three sisters looked at each other and sighed again.

*****
Weiwei Temple.

Dugu Lan was old and frail, and lacked energy. After arranging some government affairs for a while, he dozed off and decided to take a nap in his duty room to recharge.

Several clerks compiled and delivered the accounts of all military equipment taken, maintained, and returned by the Crown Prince's six guards since the first year of Renhe to the duty room, and only then did Dugu Lan wake up.

He yawned, and seeing that they were several clerks, he asked, "Where is Clerk Guo?"

"Registrar Guo had an upset stomach and went to the outhouse. We went to look for him but couldn't find him. He probably went home to see a doctor. Should we go and bring him back?"

Dugu Lan waved his hand: "No need for that. Everyone gets sick sometimes. Let it be. You guys have already taken care of it... So, are there any problems with the accounts?"

The clerk hesitated for a moment before replying, "There are some issues, but the amounts are not significantly different and are generally within the permissible range for losses..."

"What's the word?"

Dugu Lan, dissatisfied, slammed his hand on the table: "The rules are right here. If there's no problem, ask a question; if there's a problem, ask a question. Who gave you the limit on the amount of damage?"

The clerks were trembling with fear and dared not say a word.

Dugu Lan summoned Li Bi, the Junior Minister, and instructed him: "Today, during the audit of the accounts, we discovered some issues with the number of military equipment lost by the Six Guards of the Eastern Palace. You are to take men and bring back Li Siwen, Cheng Chubi, and Qu Tuquan. If these three refuse to comply, they may be detained and brought to justice."

Li Bi bowed and replied, "Your humble servant obeys."

He then turned and went out. There was a flurry of footsteps and shouts in the courtyard as he led dozens of people to the camp of the Six Guards of the Eastern Palace.

He was Li Ji's younger brother, and Li Siwen was his nephew...

Dugu Lan boiled water and brewed a pot of tea in the duty room. He took a sip from the teacup and then picked up a miscellaneous book to read leisurely.

He was genuinely worried that Guo Xiaoshen was either inflexible and cowardly, or too afraid to do anything. Now that Guo Xiaoshen had left under some pretext, he figured he had already gone to inform the others. As long as the three generals hid and avoided the limelight so that Li Bi couldn't find them and returned empty-handed, he would be completely relieved.

He fulfilled His Majesty's orders without offending the Crown Prince or Fang Jun...

Feeling a bit hungry, he asked the clerk to bring him some pastries, which he ate two pieces with his tea.

I guess it's really because I'm getting old and my energy is waning; I'm feeling sleepy again after just a short while.

With a sigh, Dugu Lan put the miscellaneous books aside, feeling somewhat anxious.

Logically speaking, someone of his age shouldn't be clinging to power and refusing to leave, but none of his sons are promising, and he's raising a bunch of spoiled brats who play with eagles, dogs, and caged birds. If he were to retire, his family wouldn't even be able to see the direction of the court...

But even if you're unwilling, it's time to step down.

I only hope that His Majesty can succeed this time, and remember his merits, and treat the Dugu family better in the future.

Although figures like Dugu Mou still exist in the court, their blood ties are growing increasingly distant, and they can no longer benefit from his influence...

His thoughts gradually stagnated, and Dugu Lan, slumped in his chair, nodding his head as he drifted off to sleep.

A commotion in the courtyard startled him awake.

Rubbing his eyes and picking off a piece of sleep, Dugu Lan called the clerk in and asked, "Why is there such a commotion outside? Although I have been quite lenient with you, this is still a government office, and the rules must be followed. How can you be so lawless?"

The clerk hurriedly said, "Minister, please calm down. It's not that we made a fuss for no reason, but the Vice Minister has brought Li Siwen, Cheng Chubi, and Qu Tuquan back and is placing them in separate rooms for interrogation."

Dugu Lan: "..."

He thought he was deaf and hallucinating, and asked in astonishment, "What did you say? You brought the person back?"

"Exactly."

Dugu Lan: "..."

So what exactly did you, Guo Xiaoshen, do?
Don't you even know how to give a heads-up?

"Summon Shaoqing immediately, I have something to ask him."

"Here."

The clerk withdrew.

A moment later, Vice Minister Li Bi strode in.

"Reporting to the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, the three have been brought back and imprisoned separately. I request that the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices personally preside over the interrogation."

Dugu Lan asked curiously, "These three were just brought back obediently?"

Li Bi nodded: "I took some men to the military camp to explain the situation. These three men didn't say a word, just left their seals in the barracks and came back with me. They were very cooperative."

Dugu Lan's head was throbbing with pain. Not only was Guo Xiaoshen unable to understand the information being relayed, but he himself had also been tricked by Li Ji and Li Bi. He wanted to stay out of it, but the Li brothers wouldn't allow it and insisted on dragging him into the vortex.

Everyone knew that Li Siwen, Cheng Chubi, and Qu Tuquan were not only close friends with Fang Jun, but also the foundation Fang Jun had placed among the six guards of the Eastern Palace. He could almost imagine how furious Fang Jun would be when he returned to the capital and learned of this.

All the friendship I had with Fang Jun back then is completely insignificant compared to what I've done today.

The mere thought of that scoundrel possibly barging into his house to demand an explanation filled him with anxiety, irritability, and fear… He had somewhat trapped himself in his own web of problems.

But what can be done now that things have come to this?

He sighed and waved his hand listlessly: "I'm not feeling well, so I'll leave these matters to you, Shaoqing."

Li Bi replied respectfully, "Yes, sir."

He turned around and strode out, his back straight as a javelin.