Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 157 Can the King Live Forever?
It was December, the middle of winter, and the sky was overcast.

Outside the Suzaku Gate, a large number of officials attending the court meeting had already gathered.

Although what happened last night was kept secret, news still spread from the two provinces.

What everyone knows is very simple.

Han Ai, Lai Ji and Liu Yingdao entered the palace overnight.

Han Ai went to see the emperor. Lai Ji and Liu Yingdao each drafted a draft edict and wanted to meet the emperor, but were stopped by Li Yifu and Li Jingxuan.

In addition, even Shangguan Yi went to the palace to meet the emperor.

Later, Han Ai left Ganlu Palace, and several people left the palace one after another, with Shangguan Yi leaving last.

Although the situation is not clear, how could people in officialdom not smell something?
What could be so worthy of two prime ministers coming to the palace overnight?

What happened that caused Li Jingxuan and Li Yifu to stop the two from seeing the emperor?

And what about Shangguan Yi? Why did he also go to see the emperor? Was it a coincidence, or did he have any connection with this matter?
The officials were full of questions.

The same was true for Xu Xiaode. As soon as he saw Shangguan Yi's carriage arrive at Zhuque Gate, he hurried to greet him.

"Brother Shangguan, what happened last night?"

Shangguan Yi looked surprised and asked, "Brother Xu, what do you mean by that?"

Xu Xiaode was stunned and asked, "You don't know?"

Shangguan Yi said, "I entered the palace last night to report to His Majesty an urgent matter from Longyou. That's all. Is there any problem?"

"What's the urgent matter?" Liu Rengui also came over, but he was more concerned about the issue of Longyou Road.

Shangguan Yi explained, "Several small Turkic tribes, lacking food, robbed merchant caravans and were held accountable by the Anxi Protectorate, leading to their rebellion. Brother Liu, don't worry; the Yuan Protectorate has already dispatched troops to quell the rebellion."

Liu Rengui nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

Xu Xiaode raised his hand and said, "Wait, wait, let's not talk about Longyou for now. Han Ai, Lai Ji, Li Yifu, and Li Jingxuan all entered the palace last night. Didn't you know?"

Shangguan Yi said, "I saw Lai Ji and Li Yifu from afar at Ganlu Gate. They seemed to be arguing. I didn't want to get involved, so I took a detour to Ganlu Palace."

After a pause, he asked, "What happened?"

Xu Xiaode shook his head and said, "I don't know, but the four of them entered the palace together at night. There must be something going on, otherwise His Majesty would not have called a court meeting so suddenly."

Shangguan Yi said, "That's true."

"Look, Changsun Wuji is here." Pei Yan said.

A few people turned their heads and saw Changsun Wuji getting off a carriage, accompanied by Han Ai, Lai Ji and Changsun Chong.

Xue Yuanchao laughed and said, "Hey, Duke Zhao always used to ride in a sedan chair when he went to court, but this time he was much more low-key."

Pei Yan said, "After all, I've retired, so naturally I have to be more restrained."

Xu Xiaode asked curiously, "Since he has retired, why is he still attending the court meeting?"

Liu Rengui said: "Of course His Majesty summoned him to court."

Everyone was stunned.

From this we can know that what happened last night must be related to Changsun Wuji, and something big will definitely happen at the court meeting later.

Although Changsun Wuji had retired, his prestige remained. Like a magnet, all the nobles immediately gathered around him.

Shangguan Yi silently looked at Changsun Wuji in the crowd and sighed secretly, knowing that this was Changsun Wuji's last glory.

Li Yifu and Li Jingxuan also knew the inside story.

However, when Xu Jingzong asked the two about what happened last night, they both remained silent.

They were all smart people, and although the crisis of deposing the queen was safely overcome, the situation was not clear.

They also didn't know what Han Ai said when he met the emperor that made them take the edict of deposing the empress.

They didn't dare to speak until the situation was settled.

A quarter of an hour later, bells and drums rang.

Imperial Censor Cui Yixuan led the ministers through the Suzaku Gate, along Chengtian Gate Street, through Chengtian Gate, and came to the corridors of the Liangyi Hall.

The guards at the gate read out the names of the students, and all the procedures are the same as those for the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month.

After entering the hall, the ministers stood beside their respective mats. Before long, Li Zhi passed through the corner gate and strode into the main hall. After the ministers finished their greetings, they returned to their respective seats.

Li Zhi glanced around the hall and finally stopped at Yuchi Gong.

"Yuchi Qing, I heard that you have been in the mansion for more than ten years, devoted to practicing Taoism. I wonder if you have gained anything?"

Yuchi Gong grinned and said, "I, this old minister, practice Taoism only to show off to others, not to truly practice it."

Li Zhi said, "Then according to your words, are the Taoist magic and magic credible?"

Yuchi Gong laughed and said, "I have heard many stories in my life, but I have never seen it with my own eyes, so I don't believe it."

Li Zhi turned his gaze and looked at Li Ji again, and asked, "Mr. Li, you are knowledgeable and experienced. Do you think what the alchemists said can be trusted?"

Li Ji said, "It's unbelievable."

Li Zhi said: "Oh, why?"

Li Ji said slowly, "In the 22nd year of the Zhenguan reign, Wang Xuance was defeated in Central India and brought back a Taoist alchemist named Naluo'er Suobomei. He claimed to be over 200 years old and possessed an elixir of immortality. The late emperor sent people to various locations to obtain rare herbs and stones, and asked him to make an elixir of longevity. Prime Minister Cui personally supervised its manufacture. Prime Minister Cui, do you still remember him?"

Cui Dunli said in a hoarse voice, "Of course I remember. After the late emperor took the medicine, it had no effect and wasted money, so the man was expelled from Chang'an."

Li Ji said, "This shows that there is no secret to immortality. Otherwise, why have so many emperors throughout history never lived past a hundred years?"

Li Zhi nodded and said, "Mr. Li, what you say makes sense!" He turned his gaze and said, "I wonder what your dear ministers think about this matter?"

The emperor had expressed his opinion. Even if some people believed in Buddhism and Taoism in their hearts, they did not dare to speak out at this time and just spoke out in agreement.

"Your Highness and I agree with Lord Li's words."

Li Zhi said slowly, "In the 20th year of the Zhenguan reign, a secret record circulated among the people. It contained various theories, one of which stated that after the third Tang dynasty, a female ruler, King Wu, would replace the Li family and rule the world. Does anyone still remember this?"

When the ministers heard this, they realized that the emperor had gone through a long circle and his purpose was here.

Li Yifu stepped out quickly and said with a smile, "I know about this matter, but it's just a rumor among the people and cannot be trusted!"

Li Jingxuan glanced at Lai Ji and said coldly, "If anyone digs this up and spreads rumors to confuse the public, they must have ulterior motives!"

Wang Jishan suddenly said, "Your Majesty, there are actually many similar rumors. I also heard a similar rumor when I was investigating the Yanshan Society in Hebei."

Li Zhi said: "Oh, what's the rumor?"

Wang Jishan said, "After the third Tang dynasty, the Xia King, the Dou Lord, replaced the Li family and took control of the world. Later, after investigation, I found that this rumor was secretly spread by the Yanshan Society in order to confuse the people."

Li Zhi nodded and said in a deep voice, "This shows that there is no such thing as predicting the future. So-called prophecies are often deliberately spread by people with ulterior motives to achieve their ulterior motives."

Xu Jingzong said: "Your Majesty is wise. In my opinion, the theory about the female leader Wu Wang was most likely spread by the Ge Zao Sect."

Li Zhi asked curiously, "Why do you say that, Mr. Xu?"

Xu Jingzong said, "The leader of the Ge Zao Sect, Chen Shuozhen, loved playing tricks. Later, she rebelled and proclaimed herself Emperor Wenjia, hoping to deceive the people by spreading rumors that she was the ruler of the country!"

When Cui Yixuan heard the three words "Chen Shuozhen", he immediately became alert and stepped out quickly.

"Indeed, when I was suppressing Chen Shuozhen, that female bandit claimed to be able to command ghost soldiers, so her soldiers were very motivated. When I was confronting the bandits, I saw a falling meteor, so I took advantage of the situation and said it was a sign from heaven that the general had fallen and Chen Shuozhen would surely die. Our army's morale was greatly boosted, and that's how we defeated the enemy in one fell swoop!"

This was Cui Yixuan's greatest achievement in his life, and he would mention it to everyone he met. Now he could recall his past achievements in the court, and his face was beaming.

Seeing that he wanted to say more, Li Zhi waved his hand, motioning him to return to his seat, and slowly said, "From this, we can see that all these stories about gods, ghosts, and spirits are fabricated by people with ulterior motives and are untrustworthy. Uncle Yuan, what do you think?"

Changsun Wuji naturally knew that the emperor's words were directed at the decree of the previous emperor.

He strode out of the group, kowtowed, and said, "This old minister is ignorant and foolish. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

Han Ai, Lai Ji, Chang Sun Chong, and Liu Yingdao all stepped out and kowtowed, saying, "We are guilty!"

When the ministers saw their expressions, they knew that the emperor's remarks were related to what happened last night.

However, I still can't guess what the connection is.

Li Zhi said slowly, "Han Qing, please explain what happened last night to the other ministers."

Han Ai agreed and told the emperor about how he had seen him last night with the late emperor's will.

The emperor did not question the authenticity of the decree, so the situation did not reach the worst.

So he is now very cooperative and actively pleads guilty, hoping to reduce his guilt.

(End of this chapter)