Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 138 That Night in Chengqing Palace

At the middle of the Xu hour, the gate of the princess's mansion was pushed open from the inside, and the young men attending the banquet walked out in twos and threes.

Pei Yan and Xue Yuanchao came out of the second gate leading their horses.

As soon as they left the Princess's Mansion, Pei Yan couldn't wait to ask, "Brother Xue, can you tell me now?"

Xue Yuanchao smiled bitterly and said, "You really are holding on to it."

Pei Yan squinted at him and said, "This is the first time I've seen you look like this. How can I not ask for clarification?"

Xue Yuanchao lowered his voice and said, "Then I'm telling you, you can't tell anyone."

Pei Yan smiled and said, "These words came from your mouth and entered my ears, and no third person will know."

Xue Yuanchao took a deep breath and said, "Do you still remember the banquet His Majesty held in Chengqing Palace?"

Pei Yan said: "Of course, you were talking to Di Renjie the whole day."

Xue Yuanchao smiled bitterly and said, "I drank too much that day and went to the small pond behind the palace to sober up. I ran into a woman and she just…"

Pei Yan's eyes widened and he asked, "Are you guys having sex?"

Xue Yuanchao quickly made a silent gesture, glanced around, and whispered, "Keep your voice down."

Pei Yan looked at him in disbelief.

"Do you know what you've done? That's the imperial palace. If anyone finds out, your future will be over!"

Xue Yuanchao smiled bitterly and said, "I don't know why I felt that way at the time. I just couldn't control myself."

Pei Yan suddenly remembered something and said with a change of expression, "Is that woman Princess Changshan?"

Xue Yuanchao touched his nose and whispered, "I thought it was her, but I just realized that I might be wrong."

Pei Yan was stunned and asked, "Why do you think that woman is a princess? Did she say anything?"

Xue Yuanchao shook his head and said, "We just fought, without any communication."

Pei Yan glared at him and said, "Then why do you think she is a princess?"

Xue Yuanchao said, "Don't you find it strange? If she were an ordinary woman, how could she do that to me without saying anything?"

Pei Yan said unhappily, "Not to mention an ordinary woman, even a princess wouldn't do that."

Xue Yuanchao whispered, "Have you heard about Princess Changshan's illness?"

Pei Yan thought for a moment and said, "I seem to have heard that this princess has always been ill, so she stayed in the princess's courtyard and has not married in her twenties."

Xue Yuanchao whispered, "After that day, I went to the Palace Department to inquire, and heard from a female official that Princess Changshan had been seriously ill for a while, almost dying, and even refused to take medicine."

Pei Yan stared at him and said, "I understand. You thought she was going to die, so..."

Xue Yuanchao smiled bitterly and said, "If it were you, would you think in this way?"

Pei Yan refused to answer this question. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Strange! If that woman isn't Princess Changshan, who is she?"

Xue Yuanchao sighed, "I don't want to know anymore."

Pei Yan was about to speak when he suddenly saw a carriage coming towards them.

The carriage stopped about ten feet in front of the two men. A man got out of the carriage, smiling and looking at them with his hands behind his back.

The two of them stepped forward together, bowed and said, "Greetings to Mr. Li."

The visitor was none other than the Prime Minister, Li Yifu. He smiled and said, "You two have just come out of the Princess's Mansion, right?"

The two nodded.

Li Yifu said, "I heard someone say that a murder occurred in the Princess's Mansion. Is it true?"

Xue Yuanchao said: "It is true."

Li Yifu raised his eyebrows and asked, "Who dared to kill someone in the princess's mansion? Has the murderer been caught?"

Xue Yuanchao said: "He was caught. He is from Yizhou named Liao Ping."

Li Yifu asked, "Who was the one who died? Why did the people of Yizhou want to kill him?"

Xue Yuanchao said: "The deceased is Wang Lun, a native of Luozhou. As for the murderer's motive, it is still unclear."

A barely perceptible flash of shock crossed Li Yifu's eyes, but unfortunately neither of them noticed.

He lowered his head and thought for a while, then said, "Such a serious case must be investigated as soon as possible. I won't disturb you two anymore. Goodbye." He turned and got on the carriage.

The two of them bowed and watched his carriage leave.

Li Yifu's carriage arrived all the way to the gate of the town. Although there was a curfew at that time, it had no impact on him as the prime minister.

He took a carriage to Changxingfang and entered the courtyard on South Street.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, a young woman came out of the house, stood beside a wooden pillar, and stared at him silently.

The woman had long, beautiful hair, delicate features, snow-white skin, and captivating eyes. She was incredibly charming. Li Yifu walked over, hugged her, and leaned over to kiss the back of her snow-white neck.

The woman panted softly and asked, "Husband, have you asked clearly?"

Li Yifu said nothing. He embraced her and entered the inner room. After a while of lingering, he said, "After investigation, it is clear that Wang Lun is indeed the one who died."

The woman's face changed slightly. She looked up at him and said, "Husband, didn't you send someone to kill him?"

Li Yifu showed an unhappy look and said, "Who am I? Do I need to do such a thing?"

The woman said quietly, "If it's not you, then who is it? I'm so scared."

Li Yifu stared at her and said, "Don't you want him to die?"

The woman hurriedly said: "No, I am yours now. I will serve you forever and will never think of other men again."

"That's good, you don't have to worry, I will take care of this matter." Li Yifu threw her on the bed and began to take off his clothes.

At this moment, an old servant called out from outside the door: "Sir, Madam Jiang is here."

Li Yifu's expression changed slightly, and he murmured, "Why is she here at this time?"

After getting dressed and going outside, I happened to meet Lady Jiang walking towards me.

Seeing his disheveled appearance, Lady Jiang glanced inside the room and said with a smile, "It seems I've come at the wrong time. Please continue. I'll take my leave."

Turned around to leave.

Li Yifu hurried forward, took her hand, and said, "Yan'er, listen to me."

Jiang Shang Gong laughed and said, "Oh, you look so nervous. I already knew you had another woman. You wouldn't get angry about something like this."

Li Yifu smiled and said, "Are you really not angry?"

Concubine Jiang said, "Today, Her Majesty the Queen and His Majesty went to the Xincheng Princess's residence. After returning to the palace, they asked me and Zhang Dahai to investigate the murder case in the princess's residence. I have to be away from the palace, so I came here uninvited. Please don't be offended."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

Li Yifu did not stop her this time.

He was shocked by the news just now. The emperor and the queen were actually in Princess Xincheng's mansion?

He stood there for a long time, finally turned back into the house and started to put on his clothes.

The woman lay on the bed in an alluring posture and said softly, "Husband, are you leaving?"

Li Yifu said in a deep voice: "The situation has changed a bit. I need to confirm immediately how Wang Lun died."

……

A meditation room in Da Ci'en Temple.

Li Yifu sat cross-legged on the cushion with his eyes closed, holding a string of Buddhist beads in his hand and muttering something.

He was not a Buddhist, but only became a frequent visitor to the temple after supporting Empress Wu's ascension to the throne, and often donated money to the temple.

After an unknown amount of time, I heard the sound of a door being pushed open behind me. It seemed like someone walked in and stood behind Li Yifu.

Li Yifu still had his eyes closed and said calmly, "Did you send someone to kill him?"

The person behind him said, "Do you know?"

Li Yifu said in a deep voice: "Why do you act on your own?"

The man said, "Wang Lun found me and discovered the secret in the cell. I had no choice but to kill him."

Li Yifu said coldly: "Then why did you take action in the Princess's Mansion? Do you think your life is too long?"

The man said, "I originally wanted to kill him with a more thorough plan, without revealing any flaws, but he suddenly received an invitation from the princess and went to the princess's mansion."

Li Yifu said, "So what? Can't you do it later?"

"I'm so scared. I'm afraid he'll reveal the incident at the Princess's Mansion. Then I'll be finished. I'm afraid you'll blame me, too. I have no choice but to take action in advance."

Li Yifu said, "Are you afraid? I think you are very brave. Even Di Renjie is in the princess's mansion, and you dare to kill someone in front of him."

The man was silent for a moment, then whispered, "I really didn't handle this matter well. Prime Minister Li, can you think of a way to prevent Di Renjie from investigating?"

Li Yifu shook his head and said, "I can't help you."

The man said anxiously: "Husband, I am doing this for you..."

Li Yifu interrupted, "Did you know that the Saint and the Queen are also in the Princess's Mansion today?"

The man lost his voice and said, "What?"

Li Yifu said, "So you should know that no one can stop Di Renjie from investigating this case. What you should do now is to prevent Di Renjie from finding you."

The man took a deep breath and said, "I understand what I should do."

(End of this chapter)