Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

When Du He saw Pei Xingjian close the door, he first poured him a cup of tea, then pointed to the cushion opposite and said.

"Sit down and talk."

At present, officials and common people in the north are accustomed to drinking tea soup. No one uses tea leaves to make tea, and no one sells tea in the folk markets.

When I have the chance in the future, I will go to the Jiangnan and Lingnan areas and visit the people there to see if I can get some tea.

"promise!"

Pei Xingjian responded respectfully, then walked to the cushion opposite Du He and sat down cross-legged.

After he finished drinking the cup of tea poured by Du He, he immediately reported in a low voice.

"Prince Consort Du, last night Fang Yiai sold the house in Jiahuifang, Chang'an County, and bought a manor in Jiaohuafang, Wannian County."

"He placed the Western Region woman he secretly kept in the manor of Jiaohuafang!"

Upon hearing Fang Yiai's action, Du He paused while drinking tea.

You should know that Jiahuifang in Chang'an County and Jiaohuafang in Wannian County are far apart, one is in the east of Chang'an and the other is in the west of Chang'an.

Fang Yiai is making a fuss late at night. Does he know that someone is secretly monitoring him?

Du He asked curiously, "Did Fang Yiai do anything unusual before and after he moved the house to house the Western Region Demon Girl?"

Pei Xingjian quickly replied, "After Fang Yiai left Baihua Tower, he first went to Princess Gaoyang's residence, and after staying there for a while, he came out with a dark face."

"I suspect this matter has something to do with Princess Gaoyang."

The prince consort of the Tang Dynasty was not allowed to take concubines, and even had no close relationship with other women.

Although the arrogant and domineering Princess Gaoyang also hangs out with monks, she probably would not agree with her husband Fang Yiai openly keeping a mistress outside.

Moreover, that woman from the Western Regions was once one of the most beautiful girls in Luoyang Yanzhi Tower.

Du He nodded thoughtfully.

The two relationships that are most difficult for Du He to understand at the moment are, first, the father-son relationship between Li Shimin and Li Chengqian, and second, the husband-wife relationship between Princess Gaoyang and Fang Yiai.

The former is mainly about the succession issue of imperial power, while the latter is about the emotional issue between husband and wife.

The two of them are now doing their own things, their relationship as husband and wife is in name only, and they often hurt each other.

But when faced with common interests, the couple are surprisingly united.

For example, Princess Gaoyang sought an official position for Fang Yiai, or Fang Yiai was now standing up for Princess Gaoyang and preparing to take revenge on his two guards.

Thought for a moment.

Du He suddenly thought of the location of Jiaohuafang, which was very close to Qinglongfang, the headquarters of the Eastern Palace spies, and both were around Furong Garden.

These two markets are far away from the hustle and bustle of the city, with beautiful environment and pleasant scenery.

"Fang Yiai wanted to hide it, but he didn't expect to run into the base camp of the East Palace spies."

Thinking of this, a faint smile appeared on Du He's face.

He said to Pei Xingjian, "Keep your promise. The manor that Fang Yiai bought in Jiaohuafang is only a few miles away from our spy headquarters in Qinglongfang."

“It will also be easier to send people to monitor them later.”

In the past, Fang Yiai settled a Western witch in Jiahuifang, Chang'an County. When the spies from the Eastern Palace went there to keep an eye on her, they had to sleep in the open air.

Now, while the spies are monitoring Fang Yiai and the Western Region Enchantress, they can also find time to come back and have a hot meal.

Pei Xingjian nodded and replied, "Yes, Fang Yiai thought he did it secretly, but he didn't expect that he would walk into our sight."

He was also surprised when he received the news passed on by his subordinates.

At the same time, because of Fang Yiai's incident, he fully understood the importance of foresight.

The two chatted for a few more sentences, and Pei Xingjian went on to talk about the second thing.

"Du Shangshu, Fang Yiai's bodyguard Fang Wu secretly found Huang Mazi, the leader of a small gang in Wannian County, and went to other places to hire eight thugs to come to Chang'an."

"According to my analysis, these eight thugs are hired by Fang Yiai to attack your two guards!"

Although Chang'an is located at the foot of the emperor, there are still many large and small forces in the major markets.

Most of these ruffians are thugs hired by officials and gentry families. They specialize in doing dirty and tiring work, as well as things that are shady.

And those hooligans who have no one to look after them can only do whatever they want in a small area of one or two streets.

Of course, these ruffians are no different from ordinary ants in front of a noble family like Du He, who can be crushed with just a finger.

But to ordinary people, these ruffians are extremely vicious.

Du He smiled and said, "Fang Yiai has become smarter. He even knows how to find someone from outside to take action."

If this group of thugs attacked Du Wu and Zhang Shizheng, even if they were eventually caught, they would be the ones to take the blame.

Because these thugs were targeting two guards, neither the Dali Temple nor the Wannian County government would dig deep to find out the mastermind behind it.

They will only target those who committed the crime and make them bear all the blame.

Pei Xingjian asked in a low voice: "Minister Du, do we need to take these people down in advance?"

Du He lowered his head and thought for a moment, then said with a sly smile on his face.

"Keep your promise. I plan to set up a trap and make things bigger."

Then Du He told Pei Xingjian about his plan.

When Pei Xingjian heard that Du He was actually going to get involved, his face was full of worry and he tried his best to persuade him.

"Minister Du, even though the enemy only has eight minions, swords have no eyes. How can we let you put yourself in danger?"

"How about I send a few spies to secretly protect Du Wu and Zhang Shizheng, and then catch those hooligans when they take action?"

Du Wu and Zhang Shizheng were both masters themselves. If it weren't for the sneak attack, the two of them might have been able to deal with those eight thugs.

Together with the spies he sent out, it was more than enough to deal with these people.

Du He shook his head and said, "We are not going to deal with these eight minions, but we need to make things bigger so that Fang Yiai and Gao Yang will not dare to continue."

"Unless Fang Yiai and Princess Gaoyang are eliminated, Du Wu and Zhang Shizheng will always be in danger."

But the time is not right yet, and Du He can't do anything to Fang Yiai and Princess Gaoyang at all.

The most appropriate strategy at the moment is to warn them both first and make them feel afraid.

Pei Xingjian saw that Du He's attitude was very firm, so he responded in a deep voice.

"Shangshu Du, I will send spies to cooperate with you!"

Du He nodded slightly.

Having Pei Xingjian's intelligence support is always more convenient than sending people to investigate on your own, and it can also avoid many unexpected events.

Pei Xingjian then reported, "Minister Du, Prince Teng Li Yuanying set out for his fiefdom this afternoon. He brought a large number of craftsmen with him, and our people were among them."