Tang Dynasty: Father, if you don't rebel, I will!

"Master is back. Why is the magistrate so late today?"

Fangfu.

Madam Pei looked at Fang Xuanling, who returned home exhausted late at night, and helped him take off his official robes while asking him questions in confusion.

Suddenly, Fang Xuanling sighed and placed a brocade box inlaid with exquisite jade on the table.

I was slightly taken aback.

"What is this?"

Fang Xuanling's expression was complicated, and he sighed again.

"The entire Fang family's heads..."

Madam Pei frowned, stepped forward, and opened the brocade box, which was itself a treasure.

Then, upon seeing what was inside, his expression instantly changed.

"This, sir, why did you bring this back? Could it be a treasure from the palace? You…"

Inside the brocade box was a hair ornament, neatly arranged, its body gleaming with gold and jade, its overall shape resembling a tree crown.

"Master, how could you harbor such greedy thoughts?!" Madam Pei asked anxiously.

This kind of thing, not to mention that it is obviously passed down from ancient times, is a royal item in terms of its regulations.

If Fang Xuanling brings this item home now, and it gets out or is discovered in the palace, it will be a serious crime of treason.

A hundred heads wouldn't be enough to chop off...

"Do you think I want to take it back?!" Fang Xuanling, who was afraid of his wife, roared angrily, a rare occurrence for him today.

"If I don't take it today, the future wealth and prosperity of my Fang family will be completely cut off."

"This is a pledge of allegiance! A pledge of allegiance!"

He got up angrily and paced back and forth in the living room.

Madam Pei looked nervous.

"But... but what if His Majesty finds out..."

Fang Xuanling shook his head and sighed, "There are no 'what ifs'... This action today will surely be discovered, and the Emperor Emeritus will definitely inform His Majesty. Alas..."

"I have spent my life studying literature, and have teetered between life and death for many years. I thought I had finally risen to prominence and could accomplish something that would be remembered in history, but now..."

"How did we end up with His Majesty and his three generations of descendants? What a miserable fate!"

A similar situation occurred at Du Ruhui's residence at this very moment.

Du Ruhui's wife turned pale as she looked at the colorful, purple-gold gourd with a coiled dragon inlaid with different colored jade and agate in the brocade box.

Du Ruhui let out a long sigh.

"Grind the ink for me... I need to write a letter to He'er. Serving a ruler is like walking on thin ice; how could I have been so destined to face such a fate of three tigers on one mountain? My body is weary, and my heart is weary."

"I'm actually a little envious of that old fox, Changsun Wuji. Although he was stripped of his title as Duke of Zhao, he managed to ensure the stability of his Changsun clan for at least three generations. The major issues are no longer a concern."

Changsun Mansion.

By the light of the candle, Changsun Wuji looked at the latest secret report from the Embroidered Uniform Guard in his hand, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

"Is there really no trace of the Hidden Crown Prince? Not even any evidence of his possible illegitimate children left in this world?"

Cui Xiaoguo shook his head.

"Upon arriving in Yuexi County, we immediately conducted a secret investigation of all Buddhist temples, large and small, in the entire Yuexi County, except for Hanting Temple, and found no trace of the Hidden Prince's activities."

"In fact, we have been watching that monk Juexin of Hanting Temple for over a month, but we still haven't found any trace of his collusion with the imperial court."

Changsun Wuji's face was gloomy.

Even though his own nephew, the Crown Prince, had already said that the Crown Prince was definitely dead, he still felt uneasy and worried that there might still be some bloodline among the common people.

The Crown Prince focused all his energy on governing the country, and as his uncle, he needed to help him clean up these disgusting little things.

However, the results of the investigation at this moment are...

This only made Changsun Wuji more and more confused.

Wei Ting was not a fool. The other party's entire family was currently imprisoned in the imperial prison. If he dared to tell even a single lie, he would face an even more miserable end.

"What about people?"

"Walking in the imperial prison, locked up!"

Changsun Wuji snorted coldly and suddenly stood up.

"Let's go! I'll personally go and meet these damned Buddhist monks. Yuexi County is a bit too far away, yet they dare to impersonate the royal family!"

Chang'an Imperial Prison.

It seemed as if ghosts were haunting the area. What was originally just an ordinary government office became eerie and cold after Li Shimin ordered it to be converted into the Imperial Prison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The autumn wind is chilly, the night is gloomy, and there is no moon or starlight.

Illuminated by several lanterns, Changsun Wuji alighted from the carriage and walked directly into the imperial prison.

"Sir, those imprisoned here are all monks from Hanting Temple. Those imprisoned over here are some of the monk Juexin's friends, whether they are from the Buddhist community or local merchants and officials."

Choi Hyo-guk's face was cold and his dark complexion was visible to the prisoners in the jail.

They were so frightened that they huddled together like quails.

Almost all of these men were injured; clearly, the Imperial Guards had no concept of courtesy on the way back to the capital...

Changsun Wuji looked coldly at one of the people who was locked up alone in a cell.

The monk, bound by ropes, was tied to a wooden stake.

A face that's hard to describe as easily memorable, yet incredibly endearing.

His eyes were bright, as if he could see through everyone's thoughts.

But the peaceful aura between his brows, as if he were about to save all living beings, effectively dispelled the wariness people felt because of his eyes.

"You are Juexin? Where is the Crown Prince Yin?"

"This humble monk does not know," the monk shook his head.

Changsun Wuji sneered: "What a fine way of saying you don't know! The Crown Prince's rebellion has long been executed. Everyone in the world knows he's already a skeleton in a tomb. But you Buddhist sects don't know that."

"What a clueless... Commander Cui! Treat this eminent monk well. I think he's gone mad from chanting scriptures; he doesn't even know where he is!"

Cui Xiaoguo gave a cold laugh and waved his hand.

"Execution!"

Monk Juexin's expression changed instantly.

However, before he could say anything, a rag that still carried a strange smell was pressed against his face.

As the wooden stakes tied behind him were lowered, the supports beneath them collapsed.

Monk Juexin was immediately pulled down flat, along with the wooden stake behind him.

They still didn't understand what these imperial henchmen were up to.

"Crash..."

"Ugh, cough cough cough, ah waaaah....."

The intense feeling of suffocation made his whole body tense up and struggle instantly.

however.

Bound all over, he was unable to even struggle. He could only gradually become panicked and terrified by the suffocating feeling of being drowned.

Looking at the other person's neck, the veins gradually bulging on the back of their hands, and the increasingly stiff and strained struggle.

Cui Xiaoguo raised his hand.

The soaking wet rag was ripped off by the Imperial Guard.

"Ugh... cough cough cough"

Looking at the monk Juexin, who was coughing and panting.

The peace on the other person's face vanished, leaving only the most genuine fear of being close to death and the happiness of being able to breathe.

Changsun Wuji did not rush to ask, and Cui Xiaoguo raised his hand again.

Suddenly, amidst Juexin's terrified struggles and screams, the rag from before was pressed against his face again.

"Crash..."

Changsun Wuji, carrying a kettle of boiling water, walked to the side of Monk Juexin.

He crouched down, ignoring the water splashes that had gotten on him during the other person's struggle.

"Even if you don't say it, I know exactly what you're thinking. Are you trying to avenge the hundreds of thousands of evil Buddhist monks in Bingzhou? Do you think His Majesty and the Crown Prince should be living in constant fear because of the Hidden Crown Prince?"

"It's just a psychological tactic, not very clever."

"What I'm curious about is... how did you manage to get Wei Ting to meet the Crown Prince and trust him so completely..."

"What angers me is... I have not provoked you at all. I have been busy on that river all day long. This is a golden opportunity for me to make a name for myself in history and enjoy incense offerings after my death... but you have chosen this time of year."

Do you know how I felt at that time?

Changsun Wuji's voice was cold, and his eyes were as vicious as a vengeful ghost.

As he spoke, the boiling water from the kettle in his hand was poured onto the monk Juexin, who was tied to the wooden stake.

The palms of his hands, which were constantly opening and closing due to suffocation and struggle.

"Wow..."

"Well!!!"

Changsun Wuji gritted his teeth: "High monk, do you know what it means to experience both ice and fire?"

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

Juexin's tragic end caused the other involved persons in the surrounding cages to turn pale, each uttering terrified cries.

"Ding ding dong~ ding ding dong~"

The erhu, gongs and drums, sanxian, cymbals and other musical instruments played loudly.

"As night deepens and palace secrets unfold, a storm brews in the heart of the Crown Prince Qin."

"Life is cut off, Luoyang is impossible, life and death, fortune and misfortune, hang in the balance."

"My father, clad in blood-stained armor and turban, fought valiantly on the battlefield, yet now he lies dead, poisoned by the Crown Prince, his life hanging by a thread on the road between the underworld and the netherworld."

"Calamity has befallen the Prince's family—his parents, siblings, and other relatives!!!"

The strangely sung lyrics echoed from the Pear Garden behind Yangcheng Palace.

When Hou Qianya arrived here with Wang De, she immediately saw Crown Prince Li Chengqian, who was swaying his head and looking quite content in front of a stage.

While listening to operas in a style completely different from what he had heard before, he would occasionally give instructions to an elderly man dressed as a professor at an Imperial University.

"That's good, this part is excellent. The lyrics should be intense and filled with grief and indignation... Ah, the grievances and indignation I felt back then, let's not even mention it."

Hou Qianya: "......"

I have a feeling that His Highness the Crown Prince is doing something extraordinary again.