Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 154 The Heroine Wu Wang
King Li Zhen of Yue also had a mansion in Xuanyangfang, Chang'an.

It was already dusk. Li Zhen stood outside the mansion gate, looking anxiously towards the street.

Half an hour later, a carriage drove up the street. It was an ordinary carriage with the word "Inner" written on the lower right corner of the eaves. It was the carriage of the Eunuch Supervisor.

Li Zhen walked over quickly, and a young eunuch got out of the carriage. It was Xiao Ji.

Li Zhen reached out and patted his shoulder, saying, "Kid, you've suffered."

Xiao Ji was surprised and said, "Your Highness the King of Yue, what are you doing..."

"It's okay, Xiaoji. Since His Majesty has sent you back, it means he knows your identity and will not punish you. Changsun Wuji has already retired. I will raise you as my own son in the future." King Yue said gently.

Xiaoji choked up and shouted, "Eighth Uncle!" and cried while hugging the King of Yue.

The King of Yue patted him on the back and said, "Come on, go inside. Your aunt has prepared the meal, and your brothers and sisters are waiting for you."

Xiaoji nodded and followed Li Zhen into the mansion.

In the distant corner, a pair of eyes watched all this silently.

……

Three days later, in the study at Changsun Mansion.

Changsun Chong placed a booklet on Changsun Wuji's desk without saying a word.

Changsun Wuji looked up at him and asked, "What is this?"

"You'll know just by looking at it."

Changsun Wuji picked it up and took a look, his eyes flashing rapidly several times.

"That young eunuch...is he the son of King Wu Li Ke?"

Chang Sun Chong said, "Father, now you understand. The Saint has always kept that young eunuch by his side, which shows that he has never forgotten the King of Wu."

"Is this news reliable?"

Chang Sun Chong said, "This is what you found out for the child's Xuanwu Guards. If you don't trust your son, can you trust them too?"

Zhang Sun Wuji was silent for a moment, then said, "Since Your Majesty has sent the young eunuch to the Prince of Yue's Palace, it means that he no longer intends to pursue the matter."

"The Saint does not intend to pursue the matter, but what about the King of Yue? What about the Queen? Recently, the people from the Wu Mansion have been very close to the King of Yue's Mansion. Why do you think that is?" Chang Sun Chong asked anxiously.

Changsun Wuji looked up at him, his expression more solemn than ever before.

"Chong'er, there are some things I didn't tell you before, thinking you would understand them on your own. Unfortunately, your first half of life was too smooth, and you haven't experienced any setbacks, so you think things are too simple. This old man can only make things clear to you."

Chang Sun Chong was stunned for a moment and said, "I am incompetent. Please give me some advice, father."

Changsun Wuji said slowly, "I am half buried in the earth, and there is nothing for me to linger on. I yielded to Your Majesty and tolerated the Wu family because, firstly, the situation was no longer in my control. I could not win even if I fought. Retreating while the tide is turning is the wisest course."

He paused, his voice softening.

"Secondly, I am thinking about you. Others respectfully call you the Prince Consort, but you should know that you are no longer a Prince Consort and have no one to rely on at court. If I yield and endure, His Majesty will consider our old friendship and take care of you. Only then can the Changsun family continue after I am gone for a hundred years."

Chang Sun Chong whispered, "Even if Your Majesty cares about our old friendship, how could the Wu family let my Chang Sun clan go?"

Zhang Sun Wuji said solemnly, "To tell you the truth, after I retire, if Wu takes advantage of the situation and pursues me relentlessly, I will have a way to deal with her and depose her from the position of empress."

"Unfortunately, she was too shrewd. Despite having the upper hand, she remained calm and didn't rush into action. Even blessed by heaven, she gave birth to a dragon son for Your Majesty. Her position is now very secure. It can be said that the battle between me and her has been decided, and I have lost."

Chang Sun Chong knelt on the ground and said anxiously, "Father, why are you so discouraged? Don't we still have the list?"

Changsun Wuji shook his head and said, "The thing I regret most now is letting you see that list. Do you think that with their help, I can turn defeat into victory?"

"I, Changsun Wuji, am not one to hesitate. If there was a 50% chance of winning, I would have already attacked the Wu family. Why would I need you to remind me every time?"

Chang Sun Chong was stunned and lowered his head.

Changsun Wuji said, "Having said this, I have nothing to hold back. All my planning and forbearance were for you and the Changsun clan, so I now give you the right to choose."

Chang Sun Chong was stunned and said, "Give it... to me?"

Changsun Wuji said in a deep voice, "Yes, you are the next generation leader of the Changsun clan. I have made too many choices for you in the past, which has led to your lack of adaptability. So this time, I will let you make the choice."

Chang Sun Chong swallowed hard and said, "You really want me to decide?"

Changsun Wuji stared at him and nodded.

Chang Sun Chong took a deep breath and said decisively, "I know I'm no match for my father, so I'm even less capable of dealing with Madam Wu. Madam Wu is younger than me. If I don't get rid of her, I'll have trouble sleeping and eating for the rest of my life!"

Changsun Wuji nodded and said, "Okay, come with me." He strode out of the study and headed towards the backyard.

Not long after, Changsun Wuji came to the Buddhist temple.

He walked behind the Buddha statue and pressed some mechanism. With a "click", a small door appeared on the wall.

Chang Sun Chong was shocked. Even he didn't know about this secret door.

When he saw Changsun Wuji lower his head and enter the door, he followed him in.

There is only a small rectangular secret room behind the door.

It was a little over ten feet long and five feet wide, with two chairs placed on the east and west sides. On the west wall was a portrait of the late emperor. Beneath the portrait was a table with an incense burner on it, and next to the burner was a wooden box, covered in dust.

Changsun Wuji lit the wall lamp with a flint, opened the box, and took out a scroll from it.

Chang Sun Chong's eyes flashed, and he asked, "Father, is this the imperial edict?"

Chang Sun Wuji said slowly, "This is an imperial edict. It only has the seal of the late emperor, not the seal of the Secretariat."

Chang Sun Chong was overjoyed and asked, "Is this the will left by the late emperor?"

Chang Sun Wuji shook his head and said, "If it was really a will, I would have used it long ago. This is a will I forged."

Chang Sun Chong's face turned pale: "Fake?"

Changsun Wuji said solemnly, "The paper of the imperial edict and the seal of the late emperor are both genuine. I have put in a lot of effort to obtain such a blank imperial edict with a seal."

"As for the words on the imperial edict, they were written in the third year of the Yonghui reign by Chu Suiliang, imitating the handwriting of the late emperor. The imitation is so similar that even I cannot tell the real from the fake."

"The ink used is a special kind from Jiangnan. If you leave it for two or three years, it's like it's been there for seven or eight years. You don't have to worry about anyone noticing the flaws."

Chang Sun Chong said: "The third year of Yonghui..."

Changsun Wuji interjected, "It was the second year after Your Majesty took Concubine Wu out of Ganye Temple. At that time, Your Majesty appointed her Zhaoyi. I had a premonition that Your Majesty wanted Concubine Wu to be the Empress, replacing Concubine Wang. So I prepared this edict as a backup plan."

Chang Sun Chong asked, "What is written in the edict?"

"Do you still remember Li Junxian?" Changsun Wuji asked back.

Chang Sun Chong thought for a moment and said, "He seems to be a fierce general close to the late emperor. Before the late emperor's death, he seemed to have colluded with evil people and plotted evil, so he was executed by the late emperor."

Changsun Wuji smiled faintly and said, "That was just an excuse made up by the late emperor."

Chang Sun Chong was surprised and asked, "Then why did the late emperor want to kill him?"

"Because there was a prophecy among the people at the time: after the third Tang Dynasty, a female ruler, King Wu, would rule the country. The late emperor deeply detested this, and in the 22nd year of the Zhenguan reign, Taibai appeared repeatedly during the day. The historian divined and concluded: 'The emperor will rule for three generations, and King Wu will replace King Li Xing.'"

Chang Sun Chong was stunned for a moment and asked, "What does this have to do with Li Junxian?"

Zhang Sun Wuji said, "He was also unlucky. In the 22nd year of the Zhenguan reign, the late emperor held a palace banquet. During the drinking game, he asked everyone to reveal their childhood names. Li Junxian's childhood name happened to be 'Wu Niangzi'."

"His official title was General of the Left Guard, his noble title was Duke of Wulian County, and he was from Wu'an County. Naturally, the late emperor suspected he was the one who responded to the hexagram, so he found a random excuse and had him executed."

"Wu... Wu..."

Chang Sun Chong muttered to himself, his expression suddenly changing as he said, "Father, that Wu family, could it be the one who responded to the hexagram?"

Zhang Sun Wuji smiled faintly and said, "That's just a folk rumor. Do you really believe it? Even though Wu is the queen, she is just a woman. How can she respond to the hexagram?"

Changing the subject, he said, "However, I do want to make a fuss about this matter."

Zhang Sun Chong suddenly realized, "That forged imperial edict is related to this?"

Zhang Sun Wuji said in a deep voice, "Indeed, I used this incident to forge a will from the late emperor - anyone with the surname Wu may not be appointed prime minister or made empress!"

"Father, since you had this thing, why didn't you take it out when you established the Queen last year?"

Changsun Wuji glanced at him and said, "That's why I say you're overthinking it. Was His Majesty's goal at the time really to establish a queen? He wanted to control the government and no longer be constrained by me. Did you think it would be useful if you took it out at the time?"

Chang Sun Chong was stunned and asked, "Will it be useful now?"

"About 20% chance."

Zhangsun Wuji said slowly, "Your Majesty now holds great power. Like the late emperor, he may be more concerned about prophecies that threaten the Tang Dynasty. Moreover, it is the late emperor's will. He is a very filial man. It is not impossible for him to depose the Wu family for this reason."

Chang Sun Chong asked, "Only 20%?"

Zhangsun Wuji sighed, "After all, His Majesty is still young and ambitious. Wu is also very good at entertaining and has given him three sons. The possibility of him deposing the Empress is not very high."

He glanced sideways at his son and said, "You still have the opportunity to make a new choice. It's up to you whether you want to take a gamble or not."

He knew very well that if he continued to make decisions on his own, even if there would be peace for a while, his son would still cause trouble in the future.

That's why we let him make decisions, which will promote his growth regardless of success or failure.

Chang Sun Chong thought for a moment and said decisively, "I'm more optimistic than you. I think there's at least a 50% chance. We can give it a try!"

Changsun Wuji nodded and said, "Okay, go find Han Ai and Lai Ji and ask them to come over."

Chang Sun Chong asked, "Should we have them come quietly to avoid being discovered by Wu?"

Changsun Wuji waved his hand and said, "No need. The mansion has been under surveillance by Changqiutai. Coming quietly will only make them more alert. Just let them come directly."

Chang Sun Chong said, "Okay, son will go right away."

　Regarding Li Junxian, the "Old Book of Tang: Biography of Li Junxian" records: "At the beginning of the Zhenguan period, Taibai was seen several times during the day. The historian predicted: 'A woman will rule the country.' There were also rumors that 'a female warrior will emerge.' At a banquet, during a drinking game, each player had to say their nickname. Junxian introduced himself as 'the Fifth Lady.' The emperor was stunned, then laughed and said, 'What kind of woman is this?' Furthermore, Junxian's official position in the county and its subordinate counties all had the name 'Martial', so the emperor was wary of her."

　　In addition, this record is recorded in the New Book of Tang and Zizhi Tongjian, which shows that this record was credible in the eyes of the Song people.

　　As for why this prophecy coincided with Wu Zetian's ascension to the throne, I personally believe it was simply coincidental. During the feudal era, the people were superstitious, and similar rumors abounded, though they were not recorded in history books.

　　It happened that Wu Zetian's fate matched this prophecy, so she used it as proof that she was favored by God, and it was widely circulated and recorded.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)