Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

But what harm could there be in having his poems selected into a collection of poems?

Fang Yiai thought about it for a while and found that there was no harm in it, so he quickly went home to arrange the sponsorship fee.

This great thing should be done as soon as possible.

If Du He changed his mind and gave these benefits to other princes-in-law, he would suffer a great loss.

At the end of noon, Fang Yiai sent his servants to deliver the sponsorship money to the Secretariat and Chongwenguan respectively.

Yan Shigu and Liao Jun both laughed so hard that they couldn't stop.

The poems written by Fang Yiai were also officially selected into the collection of poems.

The B grade given by the Ministry of Rites and its selection into the poetry collection are reasonable. Who dares to accuse them of favoritism and fraud?

...

Time flies so fast when you are busy.

In the blink of an eye, it is mid-October.

As the weather gradually turned cooler, a rumor of a murder by "Zhe Ze" suddenly spread in Chang'an City.

And within just two days, the rumor spread like a plague.

"Xie Xie" is an evil ghost in folk legends that specializes in eating human internal organs. It can also be called a Xie ghost. It first appeared during the reign of Emperor Wu of Liang in the Southern Dynasties.

According to folk rumors, whenever the court is corrupt and the country is in turmoil, the Xie ghost will come out to stir up trouble.

The ghost will not disappear until a wise ruler comes to power.

In Chang'an city, more than ten people have been killed by the ghost.

According to rumors from the people who witnessed the incident, the victim's chest had been hollowed out by the ghost.

For a time, everyone in Chang'an City felt in danger.

As the rumors became more and more intense, people were afraid to go out at night after dark.

Princess Chengyang's Mansion.

In the back garden.

Du He was taking a walk with Li Yi, whose belly was slightly bulging. They were already wearing thick clothes.

Behind them, Linglong, with a pale face, was vividly describing the news she had heard from outside.

"Your Highness, Prince Consort Du, five more people were killed by ghosts in Chang'an County yesterday!"

"I heard that their chests were hollowed out by ghosts. How tragic."

"The officials of Chang'an County and Wannian County have been investigating for two or three days, but they still have no clues."

"Now everyone is afraid to go out at night."

After hearing Linglong's words, Du He, who knew the rumors about the ghost, frowned tightly.

He knew that this was a rumor deliberately spread by someone with ulterior motives.

I don’t know who the person behind the scenes is going to target.

Li Shimin? Or Li Chengqian?

Du He turned around and frowned as he asked, "Linglong, besides talking about the ghost, do the common people talk about other things?"

During this period, in addition to hosting a banquet with the three musketeers Cui Shenji, Wang Jingzhi and Xiao Kai, he also hosted Pei Xingjian at Baihua Tower.

The rest of the time, he either stayed in the palace or stayed in the princess's mansion with Li Yi. He basically never went out to the folk markets for fun.

So I didn't know about the fact that the ghost eats people.

This kind of rumors is completely different from the rumors spread by Li Tai. If it is not controlled well, it will cause serious consequences.

If rumors are not controlled, they can have disastrous consequences.

Linglong glanced at Li Yi, shook her head and said, "I dare not say."

Du He whispered, "There are only three of us here, speak boldly."

"Besides, I'm only asking you to relay rumors from the public, not to make them up. What are you afraid of?"

After hearing Du He's words, Linglong hesitated for a long time before making up her mind and speaking.

"Sister Taozi said that there is a new rumor in the market that the ghost appeared because the court was incompetent."

"We have to wait until a wise ruler ascends the throne before the ghosts disappear."

There are some rumors that Linglong dare not tell.

For example, Li Shimin's throne was not obtained in a legitimate way. He usurped the power by killing his brother and imprisoning his father.

The appearance of the ghost was due to the immorality of Emperor Li Shimin.

Linglong tilted her head slightly to recall, automatically skipping over some words that could get her beheaded. After a while, she continued.

"There are rumors that the prince who was born from Ziwei Xingjun is a wise ruler, and as soon as the prince succeeds to the throne, the ghost will know the news."

"Now people are beginning to call for the Crown Prince to replace Your Majesty as soon as possible and become the new ruler of the Tang Dynasty."

"Then the ghost will disappear..."

Hearing Linglong's words, Du He's pupils suddenly widened.

It turned out to be a rumor against Li Chengqian!

The purpose of the Xiegui incident and the rumors that followed was to stir up Li Shimin's suspicion of Li Chengqian.

After all, Li Shimin is only 44 years old now. Although he has minor health problems such as rheumatism, he is still in his prime.

If he had been in good health, Li Shimin could have stayed in power for at least another ten years.

Now the person behind the scenes is pushing Li Chengqian into the fire, which shows how vicious his intentions are.

Du He frowned, thought for a moment, and then asked, "Linglong, is there anyone among the people still talking about the King of Wei?"

"No, the people are talking about the murder of a ghost."

Linglong said, shaking her head.

The people talked about Li Tai just for entertainment and to pass the time.

However, the murder case of the Xie ghost is closely related to the personal safety of the people.

And now more than ten people have died. If the ghost cannot be dealt with as soon as possible, no one knows who will be the next to die.

"Could it be Li Tai who did it?"

Du He frowned and thought to himself.

But it involves the lives of more than ten civilians, and it is also a lie to confuse the people. If Li Shimin finds out, Li Tai will have no chance of becoming the prince.

Du He quickly rejected the idea.

However, from the perspective of the beneficiary theory, this matter is definitely related to Li Tai.

Even if it wasn't Li Tai who did it, he must have been one of the driving forces behind it.

Li Yi asked worriedly, "Sir, the public opinion is very bad for Father and the Crown Prince. Can you think of a solution?"

Du He gently patted the back of her hand and comforted her: "Don't worry, Yi'er, His Majesty will definitely get to the bottom of it."

The people who had the most headaches after this major event must have been Li Shimin, Fang Xuanling, and Changsun Wuji.

The second is Crown Prince Li Chengqian.

At this time, a servant from the princess's mansion ran over. After bowing respectfully, he spoke in an anxious tone.

"Prince Consort Du, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince asks you to go to the East Palace immediately!"

Du He nodded slightly and said, "I'll go right away."

He knew that Li Chengqian sent someone to find him at this time because of the matter of the Xie ghost.

After the servant left, Du He said to Li Yi, "Yier, the Crown Prince must have come to me to resolve the matter of the murder by the ghost."

"If I come back late, you don't have to wait for me, go to bed early."

Li Yi is now more than four months pregnant and is even sleepier than usual.

In order to accommodate her schedule, Du He almost turned into a pig.

Out of twelve hours in a day, he can sleep for six hours.

Li Yi said obediently: "Husband, please go quickly. I have Linglong with me, so you don't have to worry."

Du He nodded and then strode away.

...

East Palace, Mingde Hall.

When Li Chengqian saw Du He come in with a limp on his face, he said with a serious expression.

"Du He, you've heard about the murder case of the ghost in Chang'an City, right?"

Du He nodded and said, "I just found out."

Li Chengqian frowned and said, "The killing of the Xie ghost happened just two days ago, and there are already rumors that the Xie ghost appeared because my father was incompetent, and the Xie ghost will only disappear if I succeed to the throne."

"This is a conspiracy against me!"