Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 330: Changes in the Eastern Palace
There were a total of 24 states in the Hanhai Protectorate, each of which represented a Turkic tribe, with the tribal chief serving as the governor.

The governor of Baideng Prefecture was named Ashidewenfu, also an Eastern Turk and the chief of the Baideng tribe.

The Turks admire the strong, but Wen Fu is not physically strong. He is in his forties and tall and thin.

Turkic people with such thin bodies usually do not receive support from their fellow tribesmen.

Wen Fu is an exception because he is very smart.

There are many strong people among the Turkic tribes, but few smart people, especially smart people who serve as chiefs.

It is also difficult to gain others' attention on this grassland just by being smart. Smartness has another name on the grassland: cunning.

Wen Fu was able to sit on the throne of chief and make the Baideng tribe one of the most powerful tribes, not only because of his intelligence, but also because of his ruthless methods.

Whenever he smiled, someone would suffer misfortune and die.

There is a saying on the vast grassland.

I would rather see Feng Zhi’s knife than see Wen Fu smile.

Fengzhi is a Turkic royal family member who inherited the royal family's bravery. He is the chief of the Zhishi tribe and is known as the strongest warrior in the Hanhai grassland.

However, in the eyes of the Turks, Wen Fu's smile was more terrifying than his scimitar, which shows their fear of Wen Fu.

Wen Fu was laughing at this time, which also meant that he wanted to kill someone.

The personal soldiers around Wen Fu broke out in cold sweats when they saw his smile.

Wen Fu pointed to the fire in the tent.

"Tangren, do you see how brightly this fire is burning?"

A man wearing a felt coat and a felt hat nodded seriously.

"The charcoal fire is burning brightly."

Although this man was wearing Turkic clothing, he looked like a typical Tang person, well-mannered and gentle, like a scholar going to Beijing to take an imperial examination.

Wen Fu smiled and said, "That's good. Come, put it on a stick and roast it. It's a good change of taste today."

Several Turks immediately rushed forward like wolves and tigers, tied up the scholar's hands and feet like a sheep, and hung him on a wooden stick.

Seeing that he was about to be put on the fire and roasted alive, the scholar remained calm and said not a word.

Wen Fu asked him, "Do you have anything else to say?"

The scholar said, "I thought there were still a few brave men among the Turks, but today I see that they are all pustules. I have nothing to say."

Wen Fu sneered, "What did you say?"

The scholar was hung upside down on a wooden stick, and his face was already beginning to turn red.

He tilted his head slightly and smiled, "Isn't it? I just said a few words, and you were scared like this. Are you really brave?"

Wen Fu said coldly, "One word? Do you dare to say this to others in the Tang Dynasty?"

The scholar smiled and said, "That's why I came to Turkic."

Wen Fu said sternly, "Are you kidding me?"

The scholar said calmly, "Are you some remarkable person? Is it worth my life to play tricks on you?"

Wen Fu snorted and said, "What is your intention in coming to see me?"

The scholar said, "I just said that I just wanted to give you a chance to besiege the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty!"

Wen Fu slapped his thigh and said sternly, "I am the governor of the Tang Dynasty. You are courting death by saying such things to me."

The scholar laughed and said, "Do you really consider yourself the governor of the Tang Dynasty?"

Wen Fu stared at him without saying a word.

The scholar was very close to the fire at this time. The rising heat had made his hair curl slightly and the wool on his felt hat turned slightly black.

He didn't care and continued, "When Chubi Khan was at Yanmen Pass, besieging Emperor Shang of Sui, his fame is still spreading. Don't you want to emulate him?"

Wen Fu's eyes flashed with a gleam, and he slowly asked, "Who sent you?"

The scholar said, "You don't need to know."

Wen Fu said, "Your master doesn't even dare to reveal his identity, how can I trust you?"

The scholar said, "If the identity of my master is revealed, it will be of no benefit to either you or me."

"Why?"

The scholar said slowly, "Someone within the Tang Dynasty is opposing the emperor. Isn't that a good thing for you? Why bother asking about the master's identity? If the master's identity is revealed, what good will it do you?"

Wen Fu was silent for a moment, then said, "Just based on what you said, do you expect me to believe you?"

The scholar said, "Soon, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty will travel to Mobei. We will tell you his whereabouts, and then you will believe it."

Wen Fu waved his hand and ordered his men to untie him and let him down.

A Turkic general said, "Chief, don't believe him. The Tang people are extremely despicable. They leave such a large grassland empty and yet they don't allow us to graze. Why should we cooperate with them?"

The scholar was tidying up his clothes and hat, and he laughed when he heard this.

The Turkic general angrily said, "You're going to die soon, what's so funny?"

The scholar held up two fingers and said, "I want to tell you two things. First, the establishment of a trade route in Mobei is the policy of the current emperor and has nothing to do with my master."

"Secondly, the Mobei Grassland is Tang territory. Whether we give it to you or not is up to us. Your resentment is simply driven by greed. Isn't that ridiculous?"

The Turkic general was furious and drew his sword to kill the scholar, but was stopped by Wen Fu.

Wen Fu stared at the scholar and said, "You don't seem to understand your position. Now your master is asking me for help and seeking my cooperation!"

The scholar laughed and said, "It's you who haven't figured out your position."

Wen Fu narrowed his eyes and asked, "Why?"

The scholar shook his sleeves and said arrogantly, "Whether my master's plan succeeds or fails, you must still submit to the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty will always be your overlord. You'd better understand this."

Wen Fu's face was filled with murderous intent: "Then why should I help your master?"

The scholar said slowly, "First, my master is different from the current emperor. He does not support the control reform. If he becomes emperor, the Turks will still rule over the Turks. The Tang Dynasty will not interfere with you. The Mobei grasslands can also be used for grazing."

When Wen Fu heard this, the murderous intent on his face faded, and he asked in a deep voice, "Anything else?"

The scholar said, "Secondly, if you can besiege the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, your prestige in the Turkic community will reach its peak. All the Turkic tribes will support you, and even Fengzhi will be unable to compete with you!"

Wen Fu was slightly stunned and said, "You know quite a lot about the situation of my Turkic people."

The scholar said, "Third, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty is about to go to war in Liaodong against Goguryeo. After conquering Goguryeo, he will continue to reform the policy of vassalage. By then, it will be clear whether you, as the chieftain, can still maintain your position."

Wen Fu fell silent.

The scholar stopped trying to persuade her and just closed his eyes and waited.

Wen Fu thought to himself, "My Eastern Turks have recovered their strength. I was planning to persuade other tribes to join me in rebelling against the Tang. This is a good opportunity. I might as well take a chance!"

Just as he was about to agree, a Turkic man came in and performed a Turkic greeting to him.

"Chief, a transfer order has come from the Hanhai Protectorate." An official document was handed over.

Wen Fu reached out to take the document. After reading it, several veins popped out on his forehead, and he was obviously extremely angry.

The scholar's heart sank, and he had a bad feeling. He asked, "What's wrong?"

Wen Fu gritted his teeth and after a long while, he suppressed his emotions and handed the document to one of his subordinates.

"Show it to him."

After reading it, the scholar was petrified on the spot.

The Hanhai Protectorate suddenly issued an order to summon the Turkic chiefs of various tribes to Yunzhou City to meet the emperor, and no troops were allowed to accompany them.

In this situation, naturally nothing can be planned.

The scholar sighed and said nothing more.

Wen Fu looked at him and said, "Now that things have come to this, I can't let you leave alive. Do you have any last words?"

The scholar closed his eyes and said, "Nothing more to say. Please start now."

Wen Fu came up to him and said slowly, "Warrior, can you tell me your name?"

The scholar said arrogantly, "You don't need to know."

Wen Fu said no more, pulled out his scimitar, and stabbed it into his heart with a "swish".

The scholar soon fell in a pool of blood. The Turkic general said angrily, "Chief, why don't you roast him alive?"

Wen Fu sheathed his sword and said in a deep voice, "Although he is a Tang man, he is also a warrior worthy of respect. There is no need to humiliate him."

……

"What? You said Wei Ziliu is dead?"

In the secret room of King Han, King Lu asked in astonishment.

The King of Han leaned back in his chair and whispered, "The people who accompanied him reported that he entered the Baideng tribe and never came out again."

The King of Lu was both shocked and furious. He asked, "Isn't Wei Ziliu a very eloquent man in Shu? He never loses a debate. How come he messed up when trying to persuade a few Turks?"

King Han sighed and said, "This is not his fault. News has come from Hedong Road that the Hanhai Protectorate has issued a summons, ordering all Turkic chieftains to accompany the emperor."

After hearing this, Prince Lu was stunned. After a long while, he angrily said, "Our emperor is so cautious when traveling abroad, leaving no chance for others!"

King Han sighed and said, "Perhaps this is God's will."

In an instant, both of them stopped talking, and the secret room fell into silence.
Suddenly, footsteps were heard, and a scholar walked in from outside. He bowed to the King of Han and said, "Your Majesty, something has happened in the palace!"

King Han's eyes flashed, and he asked, "What happened?"

The scholar laughed and said, "An official of the Eastern Palace has died, and he was a Fu Bao Lang!"

Both of them were stunned, and then King Lu jumped up from his chair and laughed.

"Okay, finally someone else has taken action. Damn, I really thought they all turned to vegetarians!"

The death of an official in the Eastern Palace was a big deal in itself, let alone the fact that the person who died was Fu Baolang.

Fu Baolang was an official in charge of seals. He was affiliated with the Menxia Province. There were eight of them around the emperor and four around the Eastern Palace.

Although his official position is not high, he is in charge of the seal, which is extremely important. Since the other party has set his eyes on the seal of the Eastern Palace, the target is obviously the prince.

Although their goals are different from those of the other two, at this time, if someone jumps out to create chaos, they will have an opportunity to take advantage!

King Han was also very excited, but he was more rational. He calmed himself down and asked, "Is the prince's seal lost?"

The subordinate said, "I don't know. The Eastern Palace has blocked the news, and not much information has been circulated."

King Han said in a deep voice: "Go and find out more!"

……

Although the number of people in the Eastern Palace is not as large as that in the Taiji Palace, there are still several thousand people.

Even though Li Ji and Yu Zhining ordered the news to be blocked, the news still spread quickly due to so many mouths.

For a time, Chang'an City finally fell into chaos.

It was the end of the year, and the city of Chang'an was a mixed crowd, including princes, governors, and provincial governors from all over the country, as well as many foreign envoys.

These people knew that the emperor was not in Chang'an, and they were very nervous, worried about whether the eight-year-old prince could control the situation.

As soon as the incident happened, Li Ji and Yu Zhining not only ordered the news to be blocked, but also took action separately, one to control the stability of the army and the other to appease the prince's emotions.

In addition to the two of them, several guests of the prince also took action, each arranging various matters and trying their best to maintain stability in the court.

Xu Jingzong had just been promoted to the Prince's guest, and he worked extremely hard. As a result, he was too busy and accidentally tripped when crossing a threshold, and his old bones were almost broken.

After being persuaded by everyone, he had no choice but to have people carry him back home to recuperate.

When I returned to the door of my house, I suddenly saw a doorman with a panicked look on his face, running into the house quickly.

Xu Jingzong was startled and shouted, "Catch him!"

Immediately, an attendant rushed forward, grabbed the doorman, and dragged him in front of Xu Jingzong.

Xu Jingzong sat on the sedan chair, gave the doorman a cold look, and without asking any questions, ordered his men, "Carry me in."

After entering the mansion, Xu Jingzong opened his dim eyes wide and scanned everything in the mansion.

Soon, the servants carried him outside a house in the backyard.

This was the room of his wife, Yu, and he could hear bursts of panting sounds coming from the room.

Xu Jingzong was so angry when he heard this that he jumped down from the sedan chair, opened the door and limped in.

When he looked up, he saw his son Xu Ang and Yu huddled together on the couch in dishevel.

"Evil son! How dare you do such a thing!" Xu Jingzong was so angry that he was about to smoke.

Xu Ang was shocked and jumped out of bed. He quickly grabbed two pieces of clothes and without even bothering to put them on, he ran to the window and jumped out.

Yu was so frightened that her face turned pale. She huddled in the corner and trembled, saying, "Alang, my humble concubine..."

Xu Jingzong said sternly: "I'll deal with you later!"

He took the crutch handed to him by a servant, limped out of the door, and ordered the servants to arrest Xu Ang.

However, Xu Ang had already fled the mansion. Chang'an was in chaos at the moment, and Xu Jingzong did not dare to make the matter public.

He sat quietly in the outer hall for over an hour, then ordered someone to call Yu over. In a hoarse voice, he asked, "Did you take the initiative... or was it that evil creature..."

Yu fell to her knees and cried, "Ah Lang, it was my husband who forced me to do this. There was nothing I could do!"

Xu Jingzong stared at her beautiful face with tears in her eyes, his eyes flickering constantly, and it was obvious that he was extremely hesitant.

At this time, the housekeeper came to report that the young man had arrived.

Langzi means son-in-law.

Xu Jingzong's son-in-law was named Wang Dejian. When Wang was deposed and Wu was enthroned, it was he who persuaded Li Yifu to deal with Zhangsun Wuji.

Later, when the emperor was rectifying the administration of officials, Wang Dejian was also banished from Chang'an for committing a crime.

Fortunately, the crime he committed was not serious, and he had the merit of supporting Empress Wu. With the help of Xu Jingzong, he was finally transferred back to Chang'an and served as a groom in the Eastern Palace.

Xu Jingzong always valued this son-in-law very much. He immediately ordered people to take Yu into custody and invited Wang Dejian to the hall to talk.

Wang Dejian quickly entered the house. He was just over forty years old and in the prime of his life, but his hair was completely gray and he looked very old.

"The son-in-law greets his father-in-law." He bowed.

Xu Jingzong snorted and said, "That evil creature came to you to beg for mercy, right?"

Wang Dejian said in a deep voice, "That's true. But father-in-law, Chang'an is in chaos right now. Please calm down for now and don't make things worse."

Xu Jingzong sighed and said, "What sin did I commit to give birth to such a thing?"

Wang Dejian whispered, "Father-in-law, Dalang has talked to me about this. He has his reasons for doing this. Don't be too sad."

Xu Jingzong asked angrily, "What's the reason?"

Wang Dejian whispered, "You are not feeling well, so I can't tell you right now."

Xu Jingzong became even more angry and kept asking questions, but Wang Dejian remained silent.

Xu Jingzong sighed and stopped asking, changing the subject: "What's the current situation in the Eastern Palace? Has Di Renjie found out who killed Fu Baolang?"

Wang Dejian said: "Although the case has not been solved yet, we already have clues."

Xu Jingzong asked hurriedly: "What?"

Wang Dejian stepped closer and whispered, "Di Renjie found a tortoise jade pendant on the corpse. Someone recognized it as a tribute from the Stone Kingdom and later bestowed it upon Princess Xincheng by His Majesty."

Xu Jingzong was surprised: "Could this be related to the eldest princess?"

Wang Dejian whispered, "I heard that the princess gave this jade to her husband, Changsun Quan. Changsun Quan likes to wear it very much. When Dalang was in Yongzhou Prefecture, he often saw Changsun Quan wearing this jade."

Xu Jingzong asked anxiously, "Did Zhang Sunquan go to the Eastern Palace yesterday?"

Wang Dejian said, "He went there. I heard he was going to report a case to the Crown Prince. The time he went to the Eastern Palace just happened to coincide with the time of Fu Baolang's death!"

Xu Jingzong was stunned and said, "Could it really be him who did it? But what reason does he have to do such a thing?"

Wang Dejian narrowed his eyes and said, "Father-in-law, don't forget that there is a Zhangsun Wuji behind him!"

Xu Jingzong's heart trembled.

Although Changsun Wuji had become a commoner, Xu Jingzong still felt a chill down his spine whenever he heard his name.

Wang Dejian bowed and said, "Father-in-law, I am going back to the East Palace. The Crown Prince is in a state of panic, so I need to be there to comfort him."

Xu Jingzong sighed, "If that evil creature had half the knowledge you have, I wouldn't have to work so hard. Go and comfort the Crown Prince."

Wang Dejian agreed and left.

(End of this chapter)