Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 332 Pretending to be the Emperor and Empress
In mid-December, there was a heavy snowfall in Chang'an City.

The cold snowflakes could not conceal the restlessness in Chang'an City. Just as noon arrived, officials left their offices and ran around to discuss the murder case in the Eastern Palace.

At this sensitive time, it is difficult for most officials to focus on their official duties.

Yuwen Qiao was wearing a large cloak and riding a snow-white horse.

This horse was a gift from Wei Hongji to his son Yuwen Rong a few days ago when he turned one year old.

He was riding the horse at this moment, heading towards Wei Hongji's mansion.

There were two musk deer hanging on the horse, which were his hunting catch yesterday.

Yuwen Qiao loved hunting and also liked to give the prey he hunted to his friends.

Soon, he rode to Wei's mansion and was led into the mansion by the doorman and taken to a warm room.

Wei Hongji was sitting in the warm room, playing chess with a monk.

The monk's name was Yuance, a Silla monk. Because he came from a royal family and was good at speaking, he became a guest of honor in many powerful and wealthy families in Chang'an City.

The three of them exchanged greetings, and Yuwen Qiao sat aside and watched the two play chess.

Yuance was good at observing people's words and expressions. He saw that Yuwen Qiao had come for something, so he deliberately lost the game and left.

Wei Hongji naturally saw through Yuwen Qiao's intention, so he dismissed the servants, took Yuwen Qiao to the inner room, and personally made tea for him.

"Brother Yuwen, if you are here for the matter of the Eastern Palace, I can clearly tell you that this matter has nothing to do with me."

Yuwen Qiao smiled and said, "I thought so too. I just heard that Changsun Quan recently arrested one of your nephews, so I came over to ask a few questions."

Wei Hongji glanced at him and said, "Since you've come to see me, this matter has nothing to do with you now, right?"

Yuwen Qiao picked up the teacup and said, "Of course. Changsun Quan did come to my residence two days ago, but I didn't send anyone to steal his things."

Wei Hongji took a sip of tea and said, "Since it has nothing to do with you and me, let's just wait and see what happens."

Yuwen Qiao whispered, "Brother Wei, while this is chaos, do you think we should..."

Wei Hongji suddenly put down his teacup with a "clang" sound, interrupting Yuwen Qiao's next words.

Seeing his sullen face, Yuwen Qiao smiled and said, "I just mentioned it casually, there's no need to be angry."

After several years of self-cultivation and self-improvement, this civil servant, who was born into a military family, no longer had any impatient temper.

Wei Hongji looked at him and said slowly, "Do you think that Fu Baolang was killed by Changsun Quan?"

Yuwen Qiao said, "Of course not. No matter how stupid Changsun Quan is, he wouldn't have left his jade pendant behind after killing someone. This is clearly a frame-up!"

Wei Hongji asked, "Then do you know why he was framed?"

"Of course it's because of Zhangsun Wuji."

Wei Hongji said in a deep voice, "That's right. Zhangsun Wuji is a huge target. Whoever wants to do something will frame him. Why is that?"

Yuwen Qiao was silent for a while, then said, "Because he is a commoner now, right?"

"Do not."

Wei Hongji shook his head and said, "Because he was too flamboyant back then. Even though he's been dismissed from office now, his reputation remains. He has a great reputation, but no official position to support it. If I were him, I would quickly find a place to hide. But he doesn't realize it. This is a way to his own death!"

Yuwen Qiao smiled and said, "He may still be nostalgic for his former wealth and glory, and still harboring fantasies."

Wei Hongji said, "When the Du family was expelled from the family, I realized one thing: reputation is harmful to aristocratic families. Seizing its benefits and hiding in obscurity is the long-term solution."

Yuwen Qiao laughed and said, "I've heard you say this several times, why bother mentioning it again?"

Wei Hongji said calmly, "Because you didn't remember it. You just said that you would take advantage of the current chaos to do something, right?"

Yuwen Qiao forced a smile and said, "What I meant is that our two families joined forces to take advantage of the opportunity to profit, but we didn't say we were going to do anything rebellious."

Wei Hongji said, "What you are doing now is like drawing a target on your head to help Changsun Wuji attract other people's attention."

Yuwen Qiao was stunned and said, "It shouldn't be that serious, right?"

Wei Hongji said, "I just said that Zhangsun Wuji was a target, but in fact, you and I are almost the same. I am sure that Li Ji, Yan Liben and others are most suspicious of us, the nobles, right now!"

Yuwen Qiao said, "We haven't done anything recently, so why would they suspect us?"

Wei Hongji said, "This is the harm that reputation brings. Back then, with Zhangsun Wuji's support, how glorious were our family? Hehe, even words like 'Wei and Du in the south of the city, five feet away from the sky' have emerged. It's not unfair that the Du family was punished by the emperor."

Yuwen Jie was silent for a moment, then said, "According to you, do we have to stay here?"

Wei Hongji said: "The storm has not yet passed, and the nobles can only stay at home for now."

Yuwen Jie frowned and asked, "Who did this incident?"

Wei Hongji narrowed his eyes and said, "The more suspicious a person is, the less likely they are to do such a thing. I have a feeling that the person behind this crime will surprise everyone."

Yuwen Jie suddenly asked, "Could it be Xiao Siye? When I saw him yesterday on Chengtianmen Street, I thought he looked a little off."

Wei Hongji said, "This person is hard to predict. It's hard to say whether he is really him."

Xiao Siye stood outside the Li Mansion with his hands behind his back, looking up at the gloomy sky.

He looked haggard, with black spots at the corners of his eyes, as if he hadn't slept for several nights.

Li Zhen walked out of the mansion and came to Xiao Siye's side. He said, "Minister Xiao, I don't know where my father has gone, nor do I know when he will be back. It's snowing heavily outside. You should go inside and wait."

Xiao Siye said in a hoarse voice, "No, I'll wait here." His voice was weak and difficult, like a beast trapped in a cage, full of despair.

Li Zhen looked at him in surprise, wondering what had happened to make this dignified Minister of War look like that.

Li Zhen quickly thought of the incident in the Eastern Palace and thought to himself, "Could this matter be related to him?" Without saying anything more, he turned around and went back to the house.

After more than an hour, Xiao Siye's face turned red from the cold wind and his body was covered with a layer of white frost from the snow. Only then did Li Ji return to the mansion in a carriage.

He was also a little surprised to see Xiao Siye standing outside the mansion gate like a popsicle.

He got off the carriage and asked him, "Minister Xiao, what are you doing?"

Xiao Siye's eyes were red as he stared at Li Ji and said, "Mr. Li, can we have a few words alone..."

When Li Ji heard his voice, he narrowed his eyes slightly, looked at him carefully for a while, and said slowly: "Please follow me."

He brought Xiao Siye into the mansion, dismissed everyone, and ordered his confidants to guard outside the door.

"Okay, if you have anything to say, you can say it." Li Ji said while standing beside the desk.

Xiao Siye took a deep breath, fell to his knees with a thud.

"Please, Lord Li, save me."

Li Ji paused for a moment, scrutinizing him, and asked, "Is it because of the Eastern Palace incident?"

Xiao Siye said in a voice as deep as rust, "Yes, on the afternoon of the day Fu Baolang was killed, a clerk from the Eastern Palace came to the Ministry of War and delivered an order from the Crown Prince."

Li Ji had a bad feeling and asked anxiously, "What order?"

Xiao Siye said, "The Crown Prince's decree mentioned that the Governor of Puzhou reported that a group of bandits was rampant within Puzhou, causing harm to many merchants." "The Governor of Puzhou was prepared to annihilate them, but was also worried that they might cross the Pujin Ferry into Hexi and enter Guanzhong. Therefore, he requested that the Ministry of War dispatch a detachment of troops from the Hexi Zhechongfu to guard the Pujin Ferry to prevent the bandits from crossing."

Li Ji's expression turned extremely grim, and he gritted his teeth and asked, "Pujindu?"

There are two most common routes from Chang'an to Hedong. One of them is to pass Tongguan and take Fenglingdu.

This place is located at the bend of the Yellow River. The water of the Yellow River is blocked by Mount Hua and turns eastward. The water flow is calm, and many merchants like to take this route.

Another way is to take Pujin Ferry.

This ferry is located twenty miles upstream from Fenglingdu.

Although the water flow is faster when crossing the Yellow River through this ferry, it can bypass the four dangerous places in Guanzhong and be faster. This is the road Li Yuan took when he entered Chang'an from Taiyuan.

Li Ji had already sent someone to tell the emperor the news of the murder in the Eastern Palace. Such a major event had to be reported.

He didn't know whether the emperor would return to Chang'an after learning about it.

However, if the emperor really intended to return to Chang'an, the most likely route would be Puzhou Ferry.

What bandits, Puzhou governor, these words are totally unbelievable, and he has never heard the prince mention them.

It was obvious that someone had killed Fu Baolang and used the prince's seal to issue a false decree.

Its target is the current emperor!
If a large group of troops were directly dispatched, it would definitely not be hidden from him and Cheng Zhijie and others. Only by using the name of suppressing bandits and mobilizing a group of troops from the Zhechoufu through the Ministry of War could it be possible to do it without anyone noticing.

Li Ji felt dizzy and had to hold on to the table before he could stand steadily.

He didn't bother to ask Xiao Siye about the details at this moment, and only asked: "Has the transfer order from the Ministry of War been spread?"

Xiao Siye said bitterly: "Yes, I didn't know about Fu Baolang's murder at that time, so I didn't pay much attention to it."

Li Ji said word by word, "You didn't send anyone after him?"

Xiao Siye said, "We sent out three groups, but none of them caught up. I was confused at the time, but later I realized that the enemy had been prepared. As soon as the military order was sent out from Chang'an, the messengers might be attacked by the enemy."

"If they get the military mobilization documents from the Ministry of War, they can mobilize an army from Tongzhou in Hexi and use them to attack the emperor."

Li Ji asked, "Can you send someone to inform His Majesty?"

Xiao Siye whispered, "We've sent them, but I'm afraid that Your Majesty will be separated from the main force and by the time we get the news, it will be too late."

Li Ji clenched his fists and asked word by word, "Why are you telling me now?"

Xiao Siye said in a hoarse voice, "This matter is of enormous importance. If... anything were to happen to Your Majesty, my Xiao family would be doomed. That's why I've been considering this for several nights before coming to see you."

Li Ji was stunned and speechless, and finally understood why Xiao Siye looked like that.

Anyone who encounters Xiao Siye's situation would probably find it difficult to make a decision.

Although this matter was not planned by Xiao Siye, if the emperor really met with an accident, who would believe him?

His Xiao family had a fourth prince, and Xiao Siye had every motivation to do such a thing.

Even if others were willing to believe him, he was in control of the Ministry of War. If something went wrong and led to the emperor's death, he would not be able to escape the death penalty.

In this situation, Xiao Siye probably wanted to die.

Because even if the emperor survived the crisis, when the investigation came, the Ministry of War would still be the source, and they might not believe him.

Under such circumstances, it was not easy for Xiao Siye to not continue to make mistakes and come to him to tell him everything.

"Where is the Eastern Palace official?"

Xiao Siye said: "He has disappeared."

Li Ji asked again, "Which Zhechoufu did the Ministry of War mobilize?"

Xiao Siye said, "Tongzhou's Third Zhechong Mansion. When I heard the news, I sent someone to the Tongzhou Governor's Mansion to forbid the movement of Tongzhou troops. However, the person who reported back said that someone had already taken the Ministry of War's transfer order and transferred 300 soldiers from the Third Zhechong Mansion, and they are nowhere to be found."

With a "bang", Li Ji's fist slammed heavily on the table.

Even the report has been sent back. Considering the time spent on the journey, the army may have entered the territory of Puzhou.

Even if he led his troops to rescue the emperor now, it would definitely be too late.

Having said that, he couldn't just sit there and wait. Li Ji said to Xiao Siye, "Wait for me here." He quickly left the study, ordered someone to bring a horse, and headed towards the Left Guard Office.

……

Hedong, Puzhou.

On a north-south official road, wheels were rolling, and a carriage was speeding along, followed by dozens of elite riders.

Inside the carriage sat a man and a woman, both dressed in luxurious attire.

The carriage was extremely spacious, with a large wooden table on which were placed many snacks, all of which were palace pastries.

The woman was eating, her hands moving as fast as the wind. She grabbed the pastries and gobbled them up ravenously, licking her fingers.

Tang Ping frowned and said, "Wu Niang, you are pretending to be Her Majesty the Queen now. Can you be more dignified? Do you think Her Majesty the Queen would eat like you do?"

These two people were Tang Ping from Sigongtai and Wu Niang from Changqiutai. After the two stations merged, they became colleagues.

They were the first of the five groups of scouts sent by Wang Fusheng. They were responsible for pretending to be the emperor and empress and checking whether there were any dangers on the road.

Naturally, you have to do a full set of performances.

In order to avoid exposing their identity, Wang Fusheng made them wear clothes and eat food that were all used by the emperor and empress.

Wu Niang rolled her eyes at him and said unhappily, "I'm eating in the car. How could a thief with piercing eyes see me?"

Tang Ping patiently advised, "That being said, you should pay more attention to details. Even if no one sees you, you should still treat yourself as the queen, so as not to reveal any flaws!"

Wu Niang snorted and ignored him, continuing to eat voraciously. There were not many opportunities to eat palace snacks!

At this moment, there was a sudden "whoosh" sound and the carriage stopped.

The two of them immediately became alert.

Wu Niang quickly put down the snacks and wiped her hands on Tang Ping's sleeves. She coughed and said in a strangled voice, "What happened outside? Why did you stop the car?"

"My lady, there's a carriage ahead that has slipped and is blocking the road." A deep voice sounded.

Wu Niang was about to lean over to take a look when Tang Ping grabbed her.

"Her Majesty the Queen rarely shows up in public. In times like this, I should handle it."

After saying that, he lifted the car curtain and stuck his head out to look outside.

I saw a caravan ahead, one of the carriages had overturned on its side. The coal that was originally piled on the carriage was now scattered on the ground.

The other carriages also stopped, and several men who looked like businessmen gathered around the carriage with the lost wheels, talking about something.

(End of this chapter)