The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 1074 Cen Wenben's Concerns
Li Yan knew that Hou Junji had done this kind of thing in the third year of Zhenguan. At that time, Li Ke's intention to take advantage of Haitang deeply stimulated Hou Junji.

Hou Junji sent out his hired assassins to directly target Li Ke. If he had not taken Li Shimin into consideration, he would have assassinated Li Ke at that time. This time, he used the same trick again, with the same method and the same flavor, but with a different way of playing.

The target was also Li Ke, but the plan was more sophisticated.

It became a frame-up.
Li Yan was somewhat amused. He knew that Hou Junji did this because he wanted to relieve him of his worries. He wanted to eliminate those who threatened the imperial power out of kindness, and Li Yan could not blame him.

In Li Yan's opinion, although Hou Junji's tricks this time were crude, they were fatal to Li Ke.

It is not that sending assassins to the Wu Wang Mansion and knocking on the door of the palace can frame Li Ke. But now Li Yan is the emperor in the court. Although Hou Junji's behavior is rough, it can hint to some court officials.

Let them think that the emperor wants to deal with the King of Wu, and then attack him together.

After losing his strategist Cen Wenben, Li Ke was unable to see the situation clearly, nor did he know how to keep a low profile. He even wanted to use his own brother to sue Hou Junji.

Li Yan underestimated Li Ke even more in his heart. This man was indeed a warrior who could not hide his true intentions. Not only could he not see the current situation clearly, but just looking at what happened yesterday, Hou Junji, the father-in-law of the emperor, was assassinated, and his close confidant who had followed him for decades died on the spot.

The assassin ran to your door and Hou Junji was seriously injured again.

No one said anything, so you just stayed there quietly. But you dare to be the first to complain. Do you really not know how to write the word death?

Do you really think that the unconscious Li Shimin and the Queen Mother can save you?

Li Ke did not notice the unusual behavior of the civil and military officials in the court. If Li Yan had given a clear signal, those people would have rushed up and drowned him immediately.

Zhang Sun Wuji was even more eager to make a big fuss about this matter. If Li Yan had not rejected it outright, Li Ke would never have gotten away with it today.

Changsun Wuji looked at Li Ke unwillingly. This person was the first one he wanted to take down, but he had too many things to do recently and didn't take care of him. Otherwise, there would be no need to hold the court meeting today. He could have stripped Li Ke of his princely title.

However, Changsun Wuji did not know that Li Yan had other arrangements for Li Ke.

I had originally planned to proceed step by step, but now that things have developed to this point, they must be put on the agenda. If it is delayed any further, Li Ke's move will be wasted.

The court meeting was held normally. After an hour and a half, the ministers filed out and walked out of the hall in twos and threes.

Li Yin is five or six years younger than Li Ke. Both are born to Concubine Yang of Ningxin Palace, but his personality is more impulsive than Li Ke.

After the court was dismissed, the two walked together. Li Yin said indignantly: "Brother, this emperor is too partial. Hou Junji has brought people to the gate of your palace, but he didn't do anything. If the emperor was still alive, he would definitely not ignore it."

"Forget it. He has a lot of experience and has made great contributions. Now he has the title of father-in-law of the emperor."

Li Ke did not feel the slightest bit disappointed, but instead said with a little joy: "Besides, he was indeed assassinated yesterday. Hou Gui died on the spot, and two guards were injured. The assassin fled to my palace."

"No wonder he looks so grumpy. Should we not bother with him?"

"Brother, who do you think assassinated him?"

Li Yin speculated with some doubt: "Could it be that he hired someone to assassinate himself and deliberately sent the assassin to the Prince of Wu's mansion to frame you?"

"I don't think so. The old man was shot by an arrow yesterday, and blood was all over the floor."

Li Ke frowned and thought for a while, then shook his head hesitantly: "Besides, Hou Gui is his confidant who has been with him for half his life and is his most capable arm. He doesn't need to pay such a high price to frame me, right?"

"I think this was most likely done by someone else. He wanted to kill two birds with one stone and trap both of us. That person can then hide in the dark and reap the benefits?"

Li Yan's face suddenly turned ugly: "Brother, then you still want me to make a report?"

"Hush, keep your voice down, don't you see where this place is?"

Li Ke was startled. He looked at the ministers around him, and quickly pulled Li Yin aside and whispered, "No matter what, our Wu Wang Mansion is having a hard time right now, and Hou Junji is also our opponent. It's always right to play the victim in the memorial."

"Brother, I think this matter is either Li You or Li Zhi. They must want to kill someone with a borrowed knife. They either want to use us to deal with Hou Junji, or use Hou Junji to deal with us, or both?"

Li Yan's eyes kept changing as he tried to guess who was behind the scenes. Li Ke felt a little annoyed and pulled Li Yan out of the palace: "You can't say that outside. Let's go back to the palace and talk about it later."

Originally, Cen Wenben wanted to talk to Li Ke after the court was dismissed, asking him to be careful recently and not to be caught by others. Yesterday's assassination happened very abruptly. Cen Wenben relied on his many years of experience in the vortex of power.

It was obvious that someone was targeting Li Ke and was planning a big move. Judging from what happened just now, it was not the emperor's doing, otherwise he would not have stopped Changsun Wuji. But apart from the emperor, all the princes who had once aspired to compete for the throne would be eliminated one by one.

He had long ago advised Li Ke to go to his fiefdom early and stay away from Chang'an, a place of trouble, but Li Ke just wouldn't listen.

Fighting for the throne is a road of no return. The winner becomes a king and the loser becomes a thief. It is difficult for anyone to have a good ending.

Cen Wenben had already known this. After the emperor took the throne, he would immediately deal with those hidden dangers. It was just a matter of time. A new emperor appoints new ministers, not to mention those competitors who had revealed their ambitions.

Even if the emperor didn't care, the ministers of the new dynasty would not let those people go in order to please the emperor, consolidate the imperial power, or even to squeeze the living space of opponents and develop their own power. They would do everything they could to stir up trouble in the name of protecting the emperor.

The emperor was probably indifferent to this and was happy to see it happen.

To be honest, Cen Wenben found it very strange that the emperor stopped Zhangsun Wuji from making trouble in the court just now.

Cen Wenben followed the crowd out of the hall and saw that the Li Ke brothers had already mixed in with the officials and walked into the square. It was too late to catch up with them now.

In addition, seeing the vigilant and defensive look from Changsun Wuji beside him, Cen Wenben did not dare to act rashly. This man regarded him as an opponent and was looking for something to hold against him. If he saw him meeting the King of Wu again, he would report it to the Emperor.

I don't care. I'm old and have only worked in the court for a few years. The worst that can happen is that I can retire early.

But if this harmed the King of Wu, it would be bad. In the end, Cen Wenben watched the two Li Ke brothers leave and sighed.

Forget it, I will remind her when I visit Concubine Yang some other day, and let Li Ke go to the vassal state as soon as possible. Li You and Li Zhi are better, after all, they emerged to compete because the emperor was not in Chang'an in the past few years.

Li Ke and Li Tai had shown their intention to compete for the throne when the emperor was the crown prince, and they had fought each other openly and secretly several times. Even if the emperor was magnanimous and could spare Li You and Li Zhi, he would not let this one go.

King Li Tai of Wei was imprisoned, and it was impossible for him to live a peaceful life as a prince.

Li Ke was lucky, at least he was still free, and while the emperor was focusing on the nobles, he could still go to the vassal state. If he was really imprisoned, it would be difficult for him to escape unscathed.

Perhaps this assassination was carried out by Zhangsun Wuji or Hou Junji, or perhaps it was Li You or Li Zhi who used someone else's knife to kill someone.

No matter which one it is, it means that Li Ke has been targeted.

Thinking of this, Cen Wenben clenched his hands hidden in his sleeves into fists. He felt extremely anxious and wanted Li Ke to leave Chang'an immediately.

"Lord Cen, you look very unhappy. Are you feeling unwell?" Changsun Wuji walked to Cen Wenben at some point and asked with concern. At the same time, a meaningful smile appeared in his eyes and he stroked his beard.

Cen Wenben turned around, with an earnest look on his face, even a hint of pleading in his eyes, and cupped his hands: "Lord Changsun, it's been so many years since the incident. They are all the flesh and blood of the retired emperor, why do you have to hold on to it, please forgive them when you can."

"hehe!"

Seeing that Cen Wenben had made his point clear, Changsun Wuji stopped trying to cover it up. He looked up at the Taiji Hall Square below, and saw two young figures about to disappear at the palace gate in the distance. He frowned and said, "Whether you believe it or not, what happened yesterday has nothing to do with me."

"The Grand Commandant is the Crown Prince's grandfather and the Queen's father. If I were to take action, I would have many ways to avoid playing with the father-in-law's life."

"I believe that this clumsy double-edged sword is clearly not the work of Lord Changsun."

Surprisingly, Cen Wenben also agreed: "It seems that someone is secretly doing something to sow discord and catch us all in one fell swoop?"

"Master Cen, you are joking. There is no such large network in the Tang Dynasty yet."

Zhang Sun Wuji glanced at Cen Wenben calmly, with a sharp light in his eyes: "However, some people have been trying for so many years, and they obviously don't have any chances, but they still don't give up. It seems that they are still not very smart, right?"

"Lord Cen, to be honest, if you are willing to gamble, you must admit defeat. It is foolish to fight and fail to win, but give up unwillingly. The emperor has already found a way out for them. Don't let him down for his good intentions."

Cen Wenben quickly straightened his body and bowed with a serious face: "Master Changsun's reminder, Wenben will keep it in mind."

"Humph, what's the point of remembering it?"

Seeing that Cen Wenben had a good attitude, Changsun Wuji had no intention of teasing him. He turned around and left: "That also requires others to listen to you."

After Cen Wenben ascended the throne, Changsun Wuji had been sending people to keep an eye on him. But this person was very careful and never dealt with Li Ke in private again, as if he had cut off all ties with him, so Changsun Wuji couldn't find any evidence against him.

(End of this chapter)