Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 110: Changsun Wuji's Crisis

Wu Meiniang had been standing outside Yuehua Gate for a long time.

Zhang Duohai saw that the wind was very strong today, so he put a cloak on Empress Wu and said, "Your Highness, what are you doing standing here?"

Wu Meiniang said, "When I came to see Your Majesty that day, Your Majesty seemed to be standing here."

Zhang Duohai thought for a moment and said, "Yes, it seemed like the saint was about to go in that day."

Wu Meiniang tilted her head and asked, "What palaces are there behind Yuehua Gate?"

Zhang Duohai said: "There are only Qianqiu Palace and Princess Courtyard."

Wu Meiniang pondered and said, "Qianqiu Palace is where the banquet is held. Your Majesty should be going to the Princess Courtyard."

Zhang Duohai nodded and said, "The Saint probably wants to visit Princess Changshan. I heard that she has been very ill recently."

Wu Meiniang glanced at him and asked, "Why have I never heard your report?"

Zhang Da Hai suddenly felt wronged.

Wu Meiniang and Princess Xincheng were not on good terms, and Princess Changshan was Princess Xincheng's best sister.

If I report the matter of Princess Changshan myself, wouldn't that be asking for trouble?
"I have failed in my duty." He said with his head lowered.

Wu Meiniang snorted, walked towards Yuehua Gate, and said, "Your Majesty is busy with official duties. Since the princess is seriously ill, I should visit her on your behalf."

Zhang Dahai smiled and said, "Your Highness is so thoughtful. His Majesty will definitely be happy when he knows about this."

Princess House.

With a "bang", a teacup fell to the ground.

"Princess, Princess, what's wrong with you?"

A young palace maid ran into the bedroom and saw Princess Changshan lying on the edge of the bed, motionless, and shouted in fear.

Princess Changshan raised her head with great effort, pressed her hands tightly against her chest, and weakly called out, "Medicine...medicine..."

The little palace maid hurriedly said, "Please wait, I will go and boil the medicine."

When the palace maid returned to the bedroom with the prepared medicine, Princess Changshan had already fainted.

The little palace maid was not panicked. She stretched out her two thumbs and pressed on Princess Changshan's philtrum for a long time. Princess Changshan finally woke up slowly.

"Princess, drink the medicine quickly!" The little palace maid hurriedly handed over the bowl and accidentally spilled some of the medicine on the bed.

Princess Changshan drank the medicine with difficulty and lay down on the bed.

The little palace maid looked at her eagerly and said, "Princess, are you feeling better?"

Princess Changshan shook her head and said nothing.

She has been bedridden since she contracted a strange disease twelve years ago.

Even the imperial physician was helpless and could only use precious medicines to alleviate her symptoms and keep her alive.

If she had not been in the palace, if she had not been a Tang princess, she would have died long ago.

Now, after taking the medicine, she can't feel any obvious improvement in her health, and her chest still hurts.

Princess Changshan has now realized that her end is near.

Her mother was of humble origin, so her position in the palace was not high either. Now that she was almost dead, no one in the palace came to see her.

Princess Changshan leaned on the bed, looking at the wind chimes swaying slightly by the window, her expression peaceful.

She has endured illness for more than ten years and is now finally free, so she has no fear of death in her heart.

There were only two palace maids serving her.

One of them was an old man, in his sixties, and his hearing was not very good.

The other one was only twelve years old, clumsy and unable to serve others.

However, these two people are Princess Changshan's closest people now.

The only thing she was worried about now were these two servants.

"Cai'er." She looked at the little palace maid.

The little palace maid said, "Princess, I'm here. Are you feeling better?"

Princess Changshan shook her head and said, "It's not going to get better."

Cai'er's eyes were suddenly blurred with tears. She grabbed her hand and sobbed, "Princess, don't you love flowers the most? I'll pick some for you. Once you're happy, you'll definitely feel better."

Princess Changshan smiled and shook her head, saying gently, "Please help me take the box out of the closet."

Cai'er nodded, took a stool and placed it in front of the cabinet. She stepped on the stool, took out a large box from the cabinet, and placed it on the edge of the bed.

Princess Changshan opened the box, which contained her annual cosmetics money, plus the gifts given by the Queen on New Year's Day every year.

Although she didn't receive much reward each time, she accumulated quite a bit over time.

Princess Changshan said softly, "Cai'er, you are still young. Don't waste your whole life in the palace. Before I die, I will ask His Majesty for permission to send you out of the palace. Half of what's in here is my dowry for you. Marry a good husband in the future."

Cai'er cried, "Your Highness, you will not die. I will serve you for the rest of my life."

Princess Changshan touched her little face and smiled, "Silly child, everyone will die. It doesn't make much difference whether you die early or late. Go call Rong Po over."

Cai'er sniffed and ran away in small steps. After a while, she came over supporting an old palace servant.

"Little princess, little princess, why are you so worried? You're so young, don't say that word, it's unlucky!"

Rong Po had obviously heard what Cai'er said, and she came over and started scolding her.

Princess Changshan was raised by her, so in her eyes, she was always a little princess.

Princess Changshan said softly, "Mrs. Rong, half of the money in this box is what I leave for you. When I die and you go to another palace, use this money to hire young palace maids and eunuchs to help you with your work. You are old now, so you don't need to work so hard anymore."

Mrs. Rong said “Pooh, pooh, pooh” three times.

"Don't mention the word death anymore. I'm not dead yet, so how could the little princess die? When I die and see the Buddha, I'll ask him to bless you with a long life!"

Princess Changshan smiled slightly and said without further argument, "Cai'er, go pick a branch of plum blossoms for me."

Cai'er said hurriedly, "I'll go pick some from the garden next to Penglai Palace. The plum blossoms there are the best!"

Princess Changshan shook her head and said, "No need. Just pick some from the plum tree in the yard."

She knew that every time Cai'er went to other gardens to pick flowers, she would be bullied by others, so she didn't want her to go.

Cai'er agreed with her mouth, but she made up her mind to go to the plum garden next to Penglai Palace to pick the most beautiful plum blossom to make the princess happy, and perhaps her illness would be cured.

She rushed out of the princess's courtyard and bumped into someone unexpectedly as she passed through a moon door.

"How dare you! Which reckless and daring little slave dares to offend Her Majesty the Queen!" A sharp rebuke rang out.

Cai'er was small and light, and was knocked back. Then, hearing the words "Her Majesty the Queen," she thought to herself, "Oh no!" and tried to run. Two eunuchs quickly approached, grabbed her arms, and brought her to Wu Meiniang.

Seeing that she was still young, Wu Meiniang said, "Be careful next time." and walked straight past her.

Seeing Empress Wu's attitude, Zhang Duohai waved his hand and signaled his men to release Cai'er.

Wu Meiniang walked into the yard and after walking for a long time, she couldn't see a single eunuch or palace maid.

There are so many houses in this villa that Wu Meiniang couldn't tell which one was Princess Changshan's residence.

Just then, she heard a faint noise coming from a room. She walked in and passed through the door. A smell of medicine hit her in the face.

Princess Changshan heard footsteps and turned her head to look. When she saw Wu Meiniang, she was shocked.

She had never seen Wu Meiniang, but she knew about this queen from other people.

As soon as he saw the woman's demeanor, he knew she was undoubtedly the queen.

"Chang Shan pays his respects to Her Majesty the Queen. I am ill and cannot complete the ceremony. I beg Your Majesty's forgiveness."

Wu Meiniang walked over to her and sat down beside her, saying softly, "It's okay, I came to check on you on behalf of His Majesty. Are you okay?"

Princess Changshan forced a smile and said, "I can still bear it."

Wu Meiniang said, "I'll ask Dr. Sun to come to the palace and take a look at you some other day."

Princess Changshan said, "Thank you, Your Highness."

It was the first time the two met, and Princess Changshan was wary, so the atmosphere was not very good.

After a long silence, Wu Meiniang stood up and said, "I'll be leaving now. I'll come see you another day."

Princess Changshan said, "I respectfully bid farewell to Your Highness."

When Wu Meiniang reached the main gate, she suddenly turned around and asked, "You have a close relationship with Princess Xincheng, so you should know about Zhangsun Quan, right?"

Princess Changshan was stunned for a moment and said, "Indeed, I often hear my sister mention it."

Wu Meiniang pondered for a moment and asked, "Do you think he is a greedy person?"

Princess Changshan shook her head and said, "Absolutely not. I heard from my sister that sometimes when the fiefdom couldn't pay the taxes, the prince consort would suggest that they exempt the taxes for a year to allow the people to recuperate."

Wu Meiniang thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Thank you for telling me. You should have a good rest."

……

Duke Zhao's Mansion.

Chang Sun Chong entered the study with a pale face and said, "Father, a total of 300 thousand cattle guards have entered the mansion, and the Xuanwu guards have all been controlled."

Changsun Wuji sat on the chair and said calmly, "I understand."

Chang Sun Chong walked over to Chang Sun Wuji and whispered, "Father, if we use those corpses and the people on that list, we might be able to escape Chang'an."

Zhang Sun Wuji glanced at him and said coldly, "If you really do that, it will play into Wu's hands."

Chang Sun Chong said anxiously, "But if we do nothing, won't we just sit there and wait for death?"

Zhang Sun Wuji said calmly, "Don't panic. I already know why His Majesty sent the Qianniu Guards to the mansion."

Chang Sun Chong was stunned and asked, "Why?"

Changsun Wuji said, "Your Majesty will be here soon."

Chang Sun Chong's face changed and he said, "Isn't that worse?"

Zhangsun Wuji glanced at him and said, "Leave the mansion immediately and go to Zhaoling Mausoleum. Kneel before the tomb of your aunt, Empress Wende. If I cannot survive this test, your aunt will be the last hope for my Zhangsun clan."

Chang Sun Chong asked, "Will they let me out?"

Changsun Wuji said, "Your Majesty is here for me. Just go ahead. They won't stop you."

Chang Sun Chong took a deep breath and said, "Father, that son is gone." Then he turned and left the study.

Changsun Wuji straightened his clothes, stacked the books on the table neatly, and then stood quietly behind the door, as if waiting for something.

After an unknown amount of time, the door was pushed open and it was Li Zhi who walked in.

Changsun Wuji kowtowed and said, "I, the guilty minister Changsun Wuji, pay my respects to Your Majesty."

Li Zhi looked at him and asked, "Why does my uncle call himself a criminal?"

Changsun Wuji said, "Your Majesty asked me to concentrate on compiling the book, but I still interfered with Changsun Quan's affairs. This violated Your Majesty's will. Please punish me, Your Majesty."

Li Zhi said, "Then let me ask you, why did your uncle interfere in Changsun Quan's affairs?"

Changsun Wuji sighed, "I am also responsible for Changsun Quan's current situation, so I cannot just leave him alone."

Li Zhi's heart moved. He helped Zhangsun Wuji up, walked to the table and sat down, and said slowly: "Uncle Yuan, please help me understand. What does his crime have to do with you?"

Changsun Wuji said, "At the end of April last year, the imperial court decided to send troops to rescue Silla. I proposed collecting taxes from the five provinces to provide for the military. Your Majesty, do you remember this?"

Li Zhi nodded.

Changsun Wuji sighed, "To be honest, Your Majesty, I was struggling with this matter at the time. I didn't know which regions to collect taxes from. Changsun Quan came to me and helped me solve this problem."

It turned out that Changsun Quan approached Changsun Wuji at that time and offered to use the fiefdoms of the princess's mansion to provide this tax revenue to the court.

This was not Changsun Quan's own decision, but also Princess Xincheng's intention.

The couple both knew the court's difficulties, so after discussion, they were willing to take the initiative to share the court's worries.

The two men's plan was that after the court collected the tax, the princess's mansion would exempt the fiefdom from taxes for three years to compensate the people in the fiefdom.

Changsun Wuji said slowly, "This old minister never thought that he and the princess would be so sensible and willing to make such a sacrifice to relieve the court's worries."

Li Zhi took a deep breath.

Now everything becomes clear.

Because of Chang Sun Yang, the imperial court collected taxes twice from the people in those fiefdoms, completely crushing them.

These people therefore resented Changsun Quan.

Changsun Quan never expected that his sincere desire to serve his country would result in such a result, making the people in his fiefdom live in dire straits.

Therefore, he wanted to take the money back from Chang Sun Yang and return it to the people in the fiefdom.

Changsun Wuji stood up and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, no matter what mistakes Changsun Quan made, please consider his original intention to serve the court and be lenient with him. I am an old minister on the verge of death, so please punish me if you wish."

Li Zhi sighed, "Uncle Yuan, this is serious. Even so, it's no wonder you're intervening in this matter. I will carefully consider the punishment for Changsun Quan. I'll take my leave."

Changsun Wuji heaved a long sigh, bowed, and said, "I respectfully bid farewell to Your Majesty."

(End of this chapter)