Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 137 Choosing the Prince Consort

"Brother Xue, I really don't understand, do you miss Princess Shang that much?"

Outside the Xue Mansion, Pei Yan couldn't help but joke as he watched Xue Yuanchao walk out.

Today is the day when Princess Xincheng holds a literary and wine party.

Xue Yuanchao and Pei Yan, as the most famous talents of the Qingliu, were naturally invited as well.

After Pei Yan left the yamen at noon, he went to find Xue Yuanchao, wanting to go to the princess's mansion with him.

Unexpectedly, Xue Yuanchao insisted on going back home, changing his clothes and dressing up carefully, looking very showy.

Xue Yuanchao smiled and said, "Today's literary and wine gathering is held for me. Naturally, I have to dress up a bit to not disappoint the princess's kindness."

Pei Yan held his head with an expression that showed he couldn't bear it.

"It's fine that you're arrogant and conceited on a daily basis, but you dare to say such nonsense. Aren't you afraid of being beaten up?"

Xue Yuanchao smiled and said, "There is a mystery behind this, but I can't tell you now. I'll tell you when I become your consort."

The two men rode tall horses and headed towards the princess's mansion together.

Xue Yuanchao is handsome to begin with, and after dressing up today, he looks even more suave and dashing. Pei Yan standing next to him is also a handsome man.

When the two of them passed through the neighborhood, countless young women secretly looked at them from behind doors and windows, their faces blushing.

Soon, the two men arrived outside the princess's mansion, handed in their business cards, and were invited into the hall.

Many people have gathered in the hall, all of them are famous young talents in Chang'an City.

There are not only new officials such as Gao Youdao, Lu Zhaolin, Du Yijian, and Di Renjie, but also famous Chang'an scholars such as Gao Zhizhou and Fan Lubing.

Everyone also guessed the purpose of this literary and wine gathering. Some were in high spirits, some were nervous, and some were calm.

There were dozens of tables in the hall, exactly the same number as the invited talented people.

There was a name written on each desk.

Obviously these positions are carefully arranged, and there will definitely be an examination similar to the imperial examination later.

The one accompanying the guests was Chen Wang Li Zhong, who was too young and sat on the upper chair, looking like a decoration in the hall.

Quite a few people gathered nearby, all wanting to take the opportunity to get close to King Chen.

Xue Yuanchao sneered at these people and walked to his own desk and sat down.

At this moment, he noticed that there was also a young man sitting on his right.

This person was different from the others. He had a look of indignation and depression on his face.

Xue Yuanchao frowned, glanced at the man's desk, and found that the man's name was Wang Lun.

He flicked his sleeves and said to Wang Lun, "Brother Wang, since you don't want to participate, why force yourself? You look so resentful, are you doing this for Her Royal Highness the Princess to see?"

Wang Lun glared at him and said, "Don't meddle in other people's business."

Xue Yuanchao snorted coldly, "I'm sure Her Royal Highness the Princess wouldn't even give a second glance to a piece of shit like you."

Suddenly, a short young man walked between the two of them and said with a grin, "It's a rare opportunity for everyone to be invited by the princess to attend a reception. It's best to be friendly and harmonious. Why argue?"

Xue Yuanchao nodded and said, "This gentleman is absolutely right. We were invited by the princess because she thinks highly of us. May I know what your name is, sir?"

The short young man bowed and smiled, "I'm Liao Ping, from Yizhou. This is Shanggu Mo from Yizhou. It's an honor to meet you two today. I'd like to ask if you two would be willing to be my friends."

As he spoke, he handed over two boxes of ink.

Yizhou Shanggu ink is extremely famous, and a box of this costs one or two thousand coins.

Seeing his generosity, Xue Yuanchao took the ink and said with a smile, "Okay, I'm glad to have made a friend like you."

Wang Lun on the other side also nodded and accepted the ink.

The Liao family was a commoner family, and Liao Ping wore a large ring on his hand, looking like a nouveau riche, and his speech was somewhat vulgar.

After Xue Yuanchao talked to him for a few words, his attitude became a little colder.

Liao Ping noticed his attitude and did not argue with him. After bowing, he went to talk to a young man behind Wang Lun.

Without saying a few words, he presented another box of Shanggu ink.

Xue Yuanchao shook his head secretly, knowing that this person was using this literary gathering as an opportunity to meet celebrities. He despised him even more and stopped looking at him.

After a long while, everyone finally arrived. Prince Chen Li Zhong coughed and said in a crisp voice, "Everyone, please take a seat."

Everyone immediately went to their respective tables and sat down.

Xue Yuanchao suddenly noticed that there was a corner door in the northeast corner. There was a gauze curtain hanging on the door, and the gauze curtain was shaking. He was afraid that someone was secretly peeking at him from behind.

Xue Yuanchao's heart was pounding, and he thought to himself, "It must be Princess Changshan coming."

He immediately sat up straight, looked straight ahead, and showed his best side.

He was not wrong. Behind the gauze curtain were Princess Xincheng and Princess Changshan.

Princess Xincheng smiled and said, "Sister, do you have anyone you like?"

Princess Changshan asked, "Who is the new number one scholar?"

Princess Xincheng laughed and said, "I don't recognize it. Go find my brother and ask him to show it to you."

Princess Changshan shook her head and laughed, "Brother, how can you hide behind the curtain and watch people?"

Li Zhong said, "Today is a gathering of literature and wine. Literature comes before wine. Please each write a poem about the four seasons and a poem about the frontier. After you finish writing, I will take you to the back hall to sit and drink."

Everyone guessed that there would be a test today, but when they heard that it was just poetry writing and not difficult, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

The time limit is half an hour.

Xue Yuanchao did not use the ink on the table, but took out the ink given by Liao Ping.

Good ink also has an impact on the font, and he hopes to give his best performance today.

After a long time, Xue Yuanchao finally finished writing two poems.

As he was carefully refining it, he suddenly heard a "thump" sound. Turning around, he saw Wang Lun lying on the table, motionless.

Li Zhong was startled and stood up and asked, "What happened to him?"

A servant came to Wang Lun, shook him, and said, "Young Master...Young Master?"

Di Renjie, who was sitting in the west corner, stood up suddenly, walked quickly to Wang Lun, and reached out to touch the tip of his nose.

"He's dead." Di Renjie said in a low voice.

...In the back garden of the princess's mansion, Li Zhi was playing chess with Wu Meiniang when he suddenly saw Princess Xincheng and Princess Changshan jogging towards him.

Li Zhi smiled and said, "You came here so soon, you've already..." He stopped talking halfway because the two of them looked extremely ugly.

"Brother, someone died." Princess Changshan said in a trembling voice.

Li Zhi's face paled slightly as he asked, "Who died, and how did they die?"

Princess Xincheng turned pale and said, "I invited a famous scholar named Wang Lun from Luoyang. He was sitting at his desk composing a poem, and then he suddenly died."

Li Zhi suddenly stood up and said, "I'll go take a look."

Wu Meiniang reached out and held him, saying softly, "Your Majesty, don't go yet. It might be dangerous."

Li Zhi turned his head to look at her, and seeing that she was looking at him with concern, he nodded and sat back down.

With his status, he really shouldn't put himself in danger in this kind of murder case where even the cause of death is unknown.

Wu Meiniang continued, "Didn't Xincheng also invite Di Renjie? Since he's nearby, he should be able to solve the case quickly."

Princess Xincheng gritted her teeth and said, "How abhorrent! He actually killed someone on my sister's important day! If I find out who did it, I will never forgive him!"

Princess Changshan said softly, "Brother, Prince Chen is still in the front hall."

Li Zhi said to the Qianniu guards surrounding the pavilion, "Go and protect Prince Chen."

A Qianniu guard responded and went to the hall with several Qianniu guards.

The life of an emperor for more than half a year has improved Li Zhi's character a lot. He calmed down and continued to play chess with Wu Meiniang.

A quarter of an hour later, Princess Xincheng could no longer bear it and said to Li Zhi, "Brother, I'll go to the front hall to check the situation."

Li Zhi nodded and said, "Take a few guards with you and be careful."

Princess Changshan was worried about her sister, so she followed her.

……

In the hall, everyone was under guard and stood in the corner, with only Di Renjie standing beside Wang Lun, checking carefully.

Pei Yan stood next to Xue Yuanchao and asked in a low voice, "Brother Xue, you were right next to Wang Lun. How did he die? Did you notice anything?"

Xue Yuanchao frowned and said, "No, I didn't notice anything. The tables are so far apart. I really don't understand how someone could have killed him."

Someone nearby said, "It seems they didn't even notice the wound."

Xue Yuanchao turned around and saw that it was Gao Youdao who spoke.

"Looking at his face, he looks like he's been poisoned," Lu Zhaolin followed.

Du Yijian smiled and said, "We don't have to rush. With Brother Di here, are we still worried that we won't be able to find out the truth?"

The gauze curtain in the northeast corner was suddenly pushed open, and two women walked in. They came to King Chen together and spoke to Li Zhong in a low voice.

Pei Yan's eyes lit up, and he nudged Xue Yuanchao with his arm, saying with a smile, "Brother Xue, those two should be the princesses."

Xue Yuanchao was stunned.

Pei Yan noticed that he looked strange and asked, "Brother Xue, what's wrong?"

Xue Yuanchao smiled bitterly and said, "I may have made a big mistake."

Pei Yan asked: "What mistake?"

Xue Yuanchao said, "I'll talk to you when we get out."

At this time, Di Renjie was called over by Li Zhong. After the two princesses asked Di Renjie a few questions, they left together again.

In the pavilion in the back garden, Li Zhi and Wu Meiniang were still playing chess.

Only figures were seen swaying, and Princess Xincheng and Princess Changshan returned to the pavilion together.

"Brother, Di Renjie said that Wang Lun died of poisoning, and it was an extremely strong poison. The time of death was when they were writing the poem." Princess Xincheng reported.

Li Zhi tilted his head and asked, "How did you get poisoned?"

Princess Xincheng frowned and said, "That's exactly what's strange. Everyone's desk is six feet apart. It's impossible to poison him from that far away."

Li Zhi asked, "What did Di Renjie say?"

Princess Xincheng said, "He said it still needs to be investigated."

Princess Changshan said, "I saw him check everything on Wang Lun's desk, and then he checked the desk of the person next to Wang Lun. Maybe he found something."

Li Zhi said calmly: "No hurry, wait a little longer."

Another quarter of an hour later, a Qianniu Guard came hurriedly and said with a bow, "Your Majesty, His Royal Highness Prince Chen has sent me to report that Di Renjie has solved the case."

Princess Xincheng rushed to ask, "Who is the murderer?"

Qianniu Wei said: "He is from Yizhou, his name is Liao Ping."

Princess Xincheng exclaimed, "Ah!" and said, "He's also a famous scholar I invited. How did he kill Wang Lun?"

Qianniu Wei said, "He used ink. He mixed the poison into the ink and gave it to Wang Lun. When Wang Lun was grinding the ink, the poison spread and entered his body, killing him."

Li Zhi was surprised and asked, "Wouldn't the people nearby also smell the poison? Are they okay?"

Qianniu Wei said, "Di Shaoqing said that Liao Ping gave ink to everyone around Wang Lun, mixed with the antidote, so these people were fine after smelling it. As for the others, they were too far away, and the hall was well ventilated, so it didn't have much of an impact."

Princess Xincheng snorted, "Killing people with ink? How shameful!"

Wu Meiniang asked, "Have you interrogated Liao Ping? Why did he kill Wang Lun?"

Qianniu Wei said, "Di Shaoqing conducted a preliminary interrogation, but Liao Ping refused to speak. Di Shaoqing said he needed to be taken to the Dali Temple for questioning."

Wu Meiniang said to Li Zhi, "Your Majesty, this man dared to kill people in the princess's mansion. There must be someone behind this."

Li Zhi nodded and said, "Order Di Renjie to thoroughly investigate this case. Report any leads to me immediately!"

At this time, another Qianniu Guard came from a distance and said with a bow, "Your Majesty, it's bad, Liao Ping is dead."

Princess Changshan and Princess Xincheng both exclaimed.

Li Zhi raised an eyebrow and said, "Didn't you keep an eye on him? How did you let him die?"

Qianniu Wei said, "Di Shaoqing ordered his men to tie him up, but he was wearing a ring on his hand with a mechanism that ejected an iron needle. He used the needle to cut through the ropes and stabbed himself in the throat."

Li Zhi nodded, without saying anything more, and said to the side: "Mei Niang, let's go back to the palace, and leave the rest to Di Renjie."

(End of this chapter)