Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 298 Summoning Yang into the Palace

After Wu Shun, Helan Minzhi and others left, Wu Meiniang sat quietly in the hall, closed her eyes and thought, without saying a word for a long time.

Zhang Duohai followed carefully by his side, more cautious than before, and glanced at Wang Hong from time to time.

After the incident with Zhu Zhenlian, he was beaten with fifty sticks. Although his injuries have healed now, the adverse effects still remain.

During the months when he was recuperating from his injuries, his adopted son Wang Hong served Empress Wu very well and was promoted to the position of internal attendant, and was allowed to serve in the bedroom.

Wang Hong is different from Zhang Quan. He was not promoted by him. Now that he is favored by the queen, he has shown his ambition to replace him.

Zhang Da Hai felt a strong sense of crisis, so she was more cautious than usual.

Wang Hong on the other side had the exact opposite idea.

He took advantage of Jang Da Hae's recovery period to become a popular figure around the Queen.

It’s a pity that Zhang Duohai is so rough and tough that he recovered so quickly. He knows very well that if he can’t make further progress, he will definitely be tortured to death by Zhang Duohai in the future.

"Your Highness, Prince Zheng is so bold and presumptuous that he dares to plot against the Crown Prince. This is truly hateful. I think this matter should be reported to Your Majesty as soon as possible." He took the initiative to speak.

Wu Meiniang opened her eyes and glanced at him.

"You mean as soon as possible?"

Wang Hong hurriedly said, "Yes, Prince Zheng must have known about Tuesday's entry into the palace and will come up with a countermeasure. But don't let him see the emperor first and completely deny the matter!"

Wu Meiniang clenched the heater in her hand, and a faint blue vein appeared on the back of her snow-white hand.

"Do you mean to say that this was really done by King Zheng?" she asked.

Wang Hongdao: "Judging from what was said on Tuesday, it should be good."

Zhang Duohai sneered secretly when he saw this.

He could tell from Empress Wu's body movements that she was very angry, but unfortunately Wang Hong had been with the empress for too short a time and did not notice it.

Empress Wu, who always kept her emotions to herself, showed no trace of anger at this moment. She simply asked, "What if Zhou Er's words were false?"

Wang Hongdao said, "That shouldn't be the case. As an old servant of the Yang family, how could he lie?"

Zhang Duohai laughed and said, "What Wang Changshi said is not true. People's hearts are fickle. Even servants in the Wu Mansion are likely to betray their masters, let alone former servants."

Wang Hong was shocked and said, "But Prince Zheng does have a motive to plot against the Crown Prince. Plus, Zhou Er's words are reasonable and have no flaws. I think his words are probably true!"

Zhang Duohai said, "He doesn't need to lie completely, he only needs to conceal part of it. Besides, even if what he said is true, we can't be sure that the person behind it is definitely King Zheng."

Wang Hong was about to retort when he was suddenly startled.

Although those slaves claimed to be from Prince Zheng's Palace, there was no clear evidence. It was possible that they were other people who pretended to be from Prince Zheng's Palace and framed Prince Zheng.

Thinking of this, he stopped talking.

Zhang Dahai continued, "If Her Majesty tells His Majesty that it wasn't Prince Zheng who did it, how will His Majesty view Her Majesty?"

Wang Hong knelt hurriedly on the ground and said, "I spoke carelessly. Please forgive me, Your Highness."

Empress Wu looked down at him and said calmly, "If you can't even understand such a simple truth, what's the point of me keeping you?"

Wang Hong was shocked and frightened, and kept bowing his head.

"I am guilty...I am guilty..."

Wu Meiniang waved her hand and shouted, "Why don't you retreat!"

Seeing that the queen had not punished him, Wang Hong breathed a sigh of relief and hurried out of the hall.

Zhang Da Hai secretly felt it was a pity.

Wu Meiniang glanced at Zhang Duohai and said, "Duohai, how do you think this matter should be handled?"

Zhang Duohai said, "Your Highness, I think we can hold off on telling His Majesty first and send someone to investigate thoroughly before making any decisions. This matter concerns the Crown Prince, and as his biological mother, His Majesty will not blame you for interfering in state affairs even if you investigate."

Wu Meiniang nodded, this was indeed what she was most worried about.

"Who should be asked to investigate?"

Zhang Duohai thought for a moment and said, "The last time you invited Yang into the palace was two months ago. Why don't you invite her again?"

Yang was Di Renjie's wife.

Since Li Zhi summoned Di Renjie to the capital, Empress Wu has been trying to win over Yang and often brought her into the palace.

For this reason, although Empress Wu had only met Di Renjie two or three times, she had a very good relationship with the Di family.

Inviting Yang into the palace was obviously to let Di Renjie investigate.

Di Renjie was the emperor's favorite, and by investigating the matter he could indirectly let the emperor know about it without any hidden dangers.

Wu Meiniang nodded and said, "Send an order to summon Yang to the palace tomorrow."

Early the next morning, Yang came to the palace with a big belly.

Wu Meiniang, who had a close relationship with her, took her to her bedroom and sat her down. She smiled and said, "Your belly is so big now. In two months, the baby will be born, right?"

Yang touched her belly and said, "I became pregnant two months later than you did. It is also my blessing. I came to the palace to pay my respects to Your Highness and share your blessing of pregnancy."

Yang had given birth to three children for Di Renjie. The eldest son Di Guangsi and the second son Di Guangyuan were both born in Bingzhou.

The third son, Di Guangzhao, was born in Chang'an.

When Wu Meiniang was pregnant, she visited the palace once, and not long after she returned, she also became pregnant.

She always told others that she was pregnant because of the queen's blessing.

Wu Meiniang asked with concern: "How is the situation at home recently?"

Yang sighed and said, "It's the same as always. At the end of the year, there are so many cases. Not only does Liangren have to handle the cases in Chang'an City, but he also has to send people to investigate the latest case in Luoyang."

Wu Meiniang smiled and said, "Your husband is now the Minister of Justice. He is responsible for all the wrongful convictions in the country, so he is naturally busy." Yang said with a bitter face, "He has always been a man who doesn't care about his family. Even though I helped him take in two concubines, he still doesn't care about the family."

In other families, wives worry that their husbands will favor concubines and neglect them.

The situation in Di Mansion is particularly different.

Yang specially helped her husband take in two concubines, both of whom were young and beautiful women. Anyway, she had three sons, so she didn't have to worry about her status being shaken.

Unfortunately, these two concubines were unable to help her keep Di Renjie at home.

On weekdays, she could only see her husband in the morning and evening. On weekends, Di Renjie would still go out to investigate cases and never leave home.

Wu Meiniang said slowly, "Your husband is a talented man and a diligent official. If he hadn't been so hardworking, he wouldn't have been able to continue to enjoy His Majesty's favor just based on his dreams."

Yang whispered, "Your Highness is absolutely right."

Wu Meiniang said, "I asked you to come to the palace this time because I have something I want your husband to help me investigate."

Yang's heart trembled, and she said solemnly, "If you have anything to say, Your Highness, please give me your orders!"

Wu Meiniang then briefly told Yang about what happened on Tuesday.

After hearing this, Yang was shocked and angry. She never thought that someone would dare to set their sights on the prince.

"Don't worry, Your Highness. I will tell my husband when I get back and ask him to find out who is behind this and hand him over to you for punishment!" she said through gritted teeth.

Wu Meiniang said, "Then I'll leave it to you. Please tell Di Renjie that if he encounters any difficulties, he can tell me at any time. Take this token, and you can enter and leave the palace freely for the next few days."

Yang thanked him.

She was impatient and immediately took her leave, wanting to help the queen with her work.

After returning home, he was supported by his maid and returned to the outer hall. As soon as he sat down, he asked someone to call Di Shun over and told him to go to the Dali Temple and invite Di Renjie back.

More than an hour later, Di Shun reported back, saying that Di Renjie was busy and would be back later.

Yang couldn't sit still, so she got in the carriage and headed towards the Dali Temple with her big belly.

Soon, he arrived at the Dali Temple and stood outside the Dali Temple yamen, waiting, and ordered Di Shun to go in and pass on the message.

When Di Renjie heard that his wife had arrived and was still standing outside the yamen, he had no choice but to put down what he was doing and quickly left the Dali Temple.

"Madam, what are you doing? If you have anything to say, wait until I get back home!"

He took Yang's hand and was about to help her into the carriage to avoid being laughed at.

Yang grabbed his hand and pulled him into the carriage, saying sternly, "My dear husband, it's not that I'm being unreasonable. Her Royal Highness the Queen just summoned me to the palace."

Di Renjie asked, "Doesn't the Queen often summon you to the palace?"

"Hey, this time is different. She told me something and hopes you can help her investigate."

Di Renjie suddenly fell silent.

In fact, he had long known that since Empress Wu was trying to win over his own wife, sooner or later she would ask him to do something for her.

"What are your orders, Your Highness?" he asked.

Yang then told him what happened on Tuesday.

"My dear husband, this matter involves the Crown Prince and is of great importance. If you encounter any obstacles, don't try too hard. Even if you can't find out the truth, it doesn't matter. At most, I will apologize to the Queen."

She was not a brainless woman. She knew that anyone who dared to go against the crown prince would never be a good person. It was very risky for Di Renjie to investigate this matter.

Empress Wu did her a favor, but compared with her husband's safety, she could only take a back seat.

Di Renjie smiled slightly and said, "Don't worry, if it's just this kind of thing, I can handle it."

As long as it was not to help Empress Wu deal with people she hated, Di Renjie was not afraid of using public resources for personal gain.

Yang stared at him for a while and saw that her husband's brows were very relaxed, obviously his words were not forced.

"Okay then, I'll wait for you at home. If you encounter any difficulties, please tell me at any time and I will go to the palace to talk to the queen on your behalf. Since we are helping her, we don't have to be polite to her." She said with a smile.

Di Renjie nodded and said to Di Shun, "Send the lady back."

Yang waved her hand and said, "No need for him to send me off. I have enough people around me. It's better for him to stay with you and be of use to you. General Li has gone to Luoyang, and you don't even have a capable person by your side. How can that work?"

Di Renjie asked curiously, "How did you know Li Yuanfang went to Luoyang?"

Yang looked at Di Shun.

Seeing Di Renjie staring at him, the latter lowered his head and stuck out his tongue.

"You little boy!" Di Renjie cursed, but was too lazy to argue and ordered the coachman and the accompanying maid to send Yang back home.

After Yang left, he was about to return to the Dali Temple when he suddenly heard a shout from behind him.

"Please stay, Lord Di."

Di Renjie turned around and saw a young man riding a horse galloping towards him. He dismounted and bowed, saying, "My humble self is Helan Minzhi, and I'm honored to meet Lord Di Si."

Di Renjie met Helan Minzhi and returned the greeting with a bow, saying, "No need to be so polite, Mr. Helan."

Helan Minzhi pointed at an attendant behind him and said with a smile, "This man is Zhou Er. I am following my aunt's orders to hand him over to Di Siqing."

Di Renjie glanced at Zhou Er and said, "Thank you for your help."

Helan Minzhi smiled and said, "My aunt has repeatedly told me not to interfere with your investigation, so I will stay with you for a short time. Goodbye."

He bowed, mounted his horse in a dashing manner, and left with the other followers.

Di Renjie took Zhou Er to the Dali Temple.

After listening to Zhou Er's explanation of the situation, he immediately sent Di Shun to visit the Prince of Wu's palace.

(End of this chapter)