Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 200 Empress Wu's Plan
"Crack, crack, crack..."

One chess piece after another falls on the chessboard.

The chessboard was made of rhinoceros horn, and the chess pieces were all made of black and white jade. They were placed on a plain silver-footed table on the phoenix couch in the Lizheng Hall.

On the left and right of the foot table sat Li Zhi and Wu Meiniang respectively.

After Wu Meiniang placed a piece, she looked up at Li Zhi. She could see that Li Zhi came to her for something and his mind was not on the chessboard at all.

"Could it be about Hong'er?" Wu Meiniang thought.

Li Hong had moved to the Eastern Palace, and Wu Meiniang visited him several times.

Once, when no one was around, Li Hong hugged Wu Meiniang's legs, looked up at his mother with tears in his eyes, and hoped to return to Lizheng Hall and continue living with his mother.

After all, he is just a child of five years old.

However, in Wu Meiniang's eyes, he was already the crown prince and could not be so weak. She made up her mind and scolded him severely, telling him not to say such words again.

Wu Meiniang secretly observed Li Zhi's expression for a while, but felt that it was not the case. If it was really about Li Hong, Li Zhi would not be hesitant and hesitant.

Just as she continued to ponder, Li Zhi finally spoke.

"Mei Niang, how has Xiao Shuren been doing outside the palace lately?"

Wu Meiniang was shocked. After a moment's silence, she whispered, "I don't know her situation, but if Your Majesty wants to take her into the palace, I can arrange it."

Li Zhi raised his head and said, "Don't overthink it, that's not what I meant."

Wu Meiniang looked up and met his gaze, saying, "Then why did Your Majesty suddenly ask about her?"

When mentioning Concubine Xiao Shufei, Wu Meiniang's emotions would fluctuate greatly, and no one knew what happened between the two when they were fighting in the palace.

Li Zhi said slowly, "When I was reviewing the memorials just now, an imperial censor impeached the Lanling Xiao family. I just thought of Xiao Shuren, so I asked casually."

Wu Meiniang's eyes flickered as she asked, "Your Majesty, what did the censor impeach Xiao for?"

Li Zhi said, "I have impeached the Xiao family for annexing land and oppressing the local people. I have ordered the household registers to be brought to me. The Xiao family in Changzhou does indeed own a lot of land, but this is true for many wealthy families in Jiangnan, and many of them were granted by the late emperor. This is probably a fabrication."

Wu Mei Niang gave birth to a child and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, if you only look at the household register, can you find the land annexation in Hebei?"

Li Zhi was stunned for a moment and said, "You suspect it's fake?"

Wu Meiniang said softly, "I dare not speak rashly, but think about it, would local officials dare to offend those big families?"

Li Zhi was silent for a moment, then said, "Then we can only send someone to investigate locally."

Wu Meiniang lowered her head slightly and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to apologize to you for."

"Oh, what's the matter?"

"When I was fighting with Commoner Xiao, I investigated a lot about the Xiao family, including their land and property."

Li Zhi waved his hand and said, "That's all in the past. I won't dwell on it anymore. Now, tell me, how much land does the Xiao family own in Jiangnan?"

Wu Meiniang took out four chess pieces from the chess box and placed two of them in the corners of the chessboard.

"If we only look at Changzhou, their actual land holdings exceed 200 hectares."

Li Zhi was startled. More than two hundred hectares is more than 20,000 acres, more than twice the registered amount.

Wu Meiniang placed two more chess pieces in another corner and said, "If you count all the land in other places in Jiangnan Road, it will add up to nearly two hundred hectares."

Li Zhi took a deep breath and said, "Mei Niang, since you know, why don't you tell me?"

Wu Meiniang said quietly, "If I tell His Majesty, he will definitely think that I want to kill the Xiao family. How can I speak?"

Li Zhi sighed and said, "Never mind. I was wrong to blame you. I just never imagined that the Xiao family would be so audacious as to seize so much land. I wonder how many people will be exploited by them."

Wu Meiniang said nothing more and continued playing chess silently.

Not long after, the game was over, Wu Meiniang lost three moves, and Li Zhi left the Lizheng Hall.

After the emperor left, Wu Meiniang returned to the bedroom, sat beside the foot table, and stared at the chessboard in silence.

Zhang Duohai came up to her and said with a smile, "Your Highness, this is what you sow. It seems that you don't have to do it yourself to deal with the Xiao family. His Majesty will take care of them."

Wu Meiniang shook her head and said, "No, I have to do this."

Zhang Duohai was stunned and said, "From the tone of his majesty just now, he will definitely not let Xiao off easily. Why should we intervene?"

Wu Meiniang placed a piece on the south side of the chessboard and said calmly, "You underestimate the Xiao family. They are also from the royal family and have a huge influence in Jiangnan. Just impeaching them and annexing their land with just one censor will not hurt them at all."

Zhang Duohai was shocked and said, "That's right. Besides, there is also Xiao Siye. If he pleads for mercy, His Majesty might give him a lighter punishment."

Wu Meiniang pondered for a moment and said, "Have you investigated the matter you reported a while ago?"

Zhang Duohai said: "I have found out that every time before the Princess of Yue went to the Xiao Mansion, the Prince of Wu would go to the Yue Mansion."

Wu Meiniang frowned and said, "So, it is the King of Wu who is trying to find out about the Xiao family?"

"Yes, I also found out that every time the King of Wu finished his investigation, he would come to the palace to pay his respects after two or three days, and he would always go to Penglai Palace."

Wu Meiniang's eyes flickered as she said, "Xu Jin is a smart man and has no connections with the Xiao family. It's unlikely that he asked the King of Wu to do this."

Zhang Duohai whispered, "Your Highness, do you think it could be Princess Gao An?"

Wu Meiniang was silent.

This is the most likely answer. After all, the mother and daughter have a deep affection for each other, and perhaps Princess Yi Yang and the fourth prince Li Lian are behind them.

Although these people are still just children now, they will grow up in a few years, especially Princess Gao An, who is extremely favored by the emperor.

Wu Meiniang knew that she could not wait any longer and it was time to settle accounts with the Xiao family.

She took action while Li Zhi had a bad impression of Xiao. Even if Li Zhi realized what she had done later, he would not blame her too much.

Moreover, she had a vague feeling that Li Zhi seemed to intend to use her to deal with the Xiao family.

Of course, this is just a hunch and has no basis in fact.

In any case, now is indeed a golden opportunity to deal with the Xiao family.

She had already planned countless plans to deal with the Xiao family in her mind, and now she just needed to choose the most suitable one.

Li Zhi just mentioned land annexation to her, so making a fuss about this matter is the best choice.

Wu Meiniang closed her eyes, her mind full of thoughts. After a long while, she opened her eyes and asked, "Is Xiao Shu still in Chang'an?"

Zhang Duohai said, "Yes."

Wu Meiniang asked, "Has there been any mishap with the previous arrangements against him?" Zhang Duohai smiled and said, "My spy has been waiting for your orders, Your Highness."

Changqiutai has a secret team under its command, which is responsible for handling some shameful things for Wu Meiniang, such as dealing with the Xiao and Wang families.

These people are not on the list compiled by Changqiutai and are directly under the command of Zhang Duohai.

Wu Meiniang nodded and said, "Besides Xiao Shu, who are the children from the noble families that she has the best relationship with?"

Zhang Duohai hesitated, he didn't know these little things.

Wu Meiniang waved her hand and said, "Forget it. You can figure it out yourself. Just send Xiao Shu to Dali Prison, and then have the people from Shijiazhuang go to Chang'an and report Xiao Shu to Di Renjie."

Zhang Duohai asked, "Do you want to say hello to Di Renjie?"

"No need. He's a smart man. As long as he knows about Shijiazhuang, he will naturally investigate thoroughly."

"I'll do it now."

Changqiu Terrace, the secret office.

Zhang Dahai stood in a room with his hands behind his back, his back to the door. After a long while, a woman entered the room and said to Zhang Dahai with crossed arms, "Young Master, Wu Niang is here."

Zhang Duohai didn't turn around and said calmly, "Wu Niang, Yun Niang is under your care now, right?"

"Yes." Because of her effective work last time, Wu Niang was promoted to a second-class spy and transferred to the secret team, becoming one of Zhang Duohai's most trusted confidants.

Zhang Duohai asked, "Who has Yunniang been hanging out with lately? Are there any children from wealthy families?"

"Reporting to the Junior Supervisor, there is the young master from the Marquis of Laiyang, and the young master from the Duke of Yingguo's mansion."

Zhang Dahai turned around and asked, "Duke Ying's Mansion? Li Ji's grandson?"

"Yes, the eldest grandson of the Duke of Yingguo, Li Jingye."

Zhang Duohai smiled and said, "I've heard that this Mr. Li has a fiery temper and can easily ignite. I don't know how many troubles he has caused, and he has given the Duke of Ying a lot of headaches."

Wu Niang said, "He is indeed a troublemaker, often causing trouble in Chunfeng Tower."

Zhang Duohai nodded and said, "Then choose him." He whispered some instructions to Wu Niang, and Wu Niang took the order and left.

Two days later, a vicious fight broke out in Chunfeng Building.

Xiao Rui of the Lanling Xiao family, with a group of strong slaves, fought with Li Jingye of the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion.

The reason was jealousy, which was a very common thing in Chang'an City.

At the beginning, Li Jingye was outnumbered and suffered a loss, and was beaten black and blue.

Later, he asked someone to call a group of Wuhou from Wuhoupu, broke one of Xiao Shu's legs, and killed two of Xiao's servants.

Both sides were powerful, and Wannian County did not dare to intervene. No one knew who reported the case, so the Dali Temple was dispatched and all of them were taken to the Dali Prison.

It is said that when Li Jingye was arrested, he resisted, but Li Yuanfang punched him one by one and knocked down all of his Wu Hou subordinates before he was taken away obediently.

When Li Ji learned about this, he was so angry that he didn't even eat dinner and sat alone in his study in silence.

The eldest son, Li Zhen, came to the study and said with a bitter face, "Father, it's my fault for not disciplining me properly. Even if you're angry, please don't be too hard on yourself. Let's go and have dinner."

Li Ji said, "You didn't discipline him strictly? I see you clearly didn't discipline him at all. Sooner or later, our Li family will be destroyed by this brat!"

Li Zhen smiled bitterly and said, "Then transfer him out of the capital to avoid your annoyance when you see him."

Li Ji said coldly, "Let him leave Chang'an? If that happens, he'll cause even bigger trouble, and you'll keep hiding it from me, right?"

Li Zhen sighed and fell silent.

Just then, a family member came to report that Xiao Siye wanted to see him.

When Li Zhen heard that someone from the Xiao family was coming, he felt a surge of anger in his heart.

"Father, you may not know that Jingye is indeed impulsive, but this time, it was Xiao Shu who started it. It's one thing for the Lanling Xiao Clan to run rampant in Jiangnan, but they actually dared to act so arrogantly in Chang'an!"

Li Ji glanced at him and said, "Let's hear what others have to say about the situation. Please invite Minister Xiao in."

After a while, Xiao Siye came to the study with a bit of anger on his face.

"I, Xiao, have met Mr. Li and Young Supervisor Li." He said in a low voice.

Li Zhen looked at his expression and asked, "Why, Minister Xiao is here to call for an explanation?"

Xiao Siye said, "I dare not. The Chunfeng Tower incident was caused by that evil creature Xiao Shu who offended your young master. I am willing to apologize. However, your actions are too excessive!"

Li Ji asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Xiao Siye stared at Li Ji and said, "The Suzhou man who reported Xiao Shu was not sent by your government?"

Li Zhen said angrily, "What Suzhou people? Don't be so unreasonable."

Xiao Siye said, "Mr. Li, I want to hear it from you."

"you……"

Li Ji raised his hand to interrupt his son and said to Xiao Siye, "What are you talking about Suzhou people? Can you tell me a little bit about it?"

Xiao Siye said in a deep voice, "Two hours ago, a man named Shi from Suzhou went to the Dali Temple and falsely accused Xiao Shu of killing dozens of people in Shijiazhuang Village in order to annex land!"

Li Ji was shocked and vaguely realized that this matter was not that simple.

"I assure you that this matter has nothing to do with my Li Mansion."

Xiao Siye was stunned for a moment and said, "It's really not you?"

Li Zhen sneered, "You guys did a good deed yourself, and now the victim comes knocking on your door, and you still have the nerve to blame it on my Li Mansion?"

Xiao Siye said, "The matter of Shijiazhuang has nothing to do with my Xiao family. I ask Li Shaojian to be careful with his words."

Li Zhen said calmly, "I'm careful with my words? How about you tell the Xiao family members to be careful in their actions in Jiangnan?"

Li Ji raised his hand and said, "Alright, no need to go off on a tangent. Minister Xiao, please go back. This matter has nothing to do with the Li Mansion. You should think about whether you have offended anyone recently."

Xiao Siye bowed and said, "Mr. Li's words are as good as gold. I naturally believe them. Goodbye." He turned around and strode away.

Li Ji suddenly looked at Li Zhen and said, "Go to the Dali Temple immediately and warn your son to behave himself there. This matter is not simple, don't get involved."

Seeing his serious expression, Li Zhen hurriedly said, "Yes, son, I'll go right away."

(End of this chapter)