Chapter 452: The saint is dying...Hurry up and pop the champagne at halftime!
Outside the Gaoyang County Duke’s Mansion.
Wei Chengqing and Wei Xuanzhen walked out of the carriage, surrounded by servants, and walked inside.
Compared with Wei Chengqing's high-spirited appearance, Wei Xuanzhen was actually reluctant to come. He didn't see anyone greeting him along the way, so he couldn't help but whisper: "Uncle, with the attitude of the Xu family, why should we condescend to you?"
?”
Wei Chengqing smiled and said: "Just because Gaoyang County Duke was once the courtier who supported the Queen the most, didn't you just see that the carriage parked in the front yard is not just ours!"
Wei Xuanzhen understood and nodded: "I heard that when the saints were discussing matters in the Zhenguan Hall, they could not sit on the dragon throne, but sat in the imperial palace. Now even the prime ministers can't see how the saints look...
"
The corners of Wei Chengqing's lips curled up and he said in a very low voice: "This means it's almost over. Li Yuanfang can finally stop being so rampant. Hey..."
Just as he was beaming with joy, there were hurried footsteps in front of him, and an elegant man appeared. He bowed from a distance: "My nephew is so rude, I hope Mr. Wei will forgive me! Forgive me!"
Wei Chengqing said with a smile: "General Xu's words are just out of touch. Since you and I are called uncles and nephews, why should we care about these things? There must be many people visiting my house recently!"
The elegant man smiled: "They are all familiar elders. They move around and move around from time to time!"
The two parties laughed loudly and walked all the way to the central hall. As expected, they saw many familiar people. Wei Chengqing's uncle and nephew greeted each other one after another, and everyone understood it tacitly.
The person receiving the guests at this time was Xu Jingzong, the third son of Xu Jingzong, who was now a doctor in the Ministry of Industry and General You Yulin.
Xu Jingzong was a staunch supporter of the Empress Wu Party. Even after his death, the anti-Empress Wu Party suggested that his posthumous title be changed to "Miao". With such conflicting hatred, it was naturally impossible for Xu Jingzong to change his family. He always supported Empress Wu. However, due to his father's relationship,
He did not have to be as explicit as Doulu Qinwang and Wei Chengqing later, so he has always been less conspicuous.
But this time the saint's dragon body was deteriorating, and the party members who had supported Empress Wu finally gathered together to celebrate the victory.
The hall was bustling with excitement, but little did they know that there were people watching inside and outside the mansion, keeping an eye on all the people coming and going in the Xu family, and even got the greeting cards.
Ming Chongyan was dressed in a scarlet robe and looked very noble. Looking at the invitations from these dignitaries, he smiled coldly, but when he thought of the Xu family's network, he felt a little solemn.
The prominence of some high-ranking sects is obvious, such as the Jingzhao Wei family, the Longxi Li family, and the Hongnong Yang family. They are all famous sects in the country, and their power is obvious at a glance. However, the influence of some powerful people is not obvious.
There is no dew in the mountains.
Xu Jingzong was the latter. Ming Chongyan knew that he had been appreciated by Gaozong and Empress Wu, but he did not expect that this man had such a marriage relationship.
The second son of Xu Jingzong got married to the Duke of E and the great-granddaughter of Yuchi Jingde.
Xu Jingzong's eldest daughter was married to the son of Geng Guogong Feng Ang. This Feng Ang was the grandson of the famous Mrs.
Now this person has the final say in Lingnan Road.
Other direct children and even grandchildren all have good homes. The key is to keep a low profile and not make any big announcements.
Ming Chongyan sent out personnel in the past few days to conduct a thorough investigation of Xu Jingzong's family, and basically confirmed that this great scholar was not the father who "succumbed to his fate".
Xu Jingzong has a despicable character. He will do unscrupulous things, but he will not do stupid things such as losing his wife and losing the army. If he marries his daughter as a concubine, then the Duke of E, Duke Geng and other in-laws will have no shame. In order to curry favor with him,
It is obviously not worth it for the Changsun family to offend so many powerful people.
However, as Li Yan said, Xu Jingzong did not marry a daughter as a concubine, but as a great Confucian, he most likely knew who did such things. Although Xu Jingzong had died of illness, there was still a possibility that it would be spread in the family.
Of course, the Plum Blossom Internal Guard and Empress Wu have always had a hostile relationship. Under normal circumstances, even if the other party knew about it, they would not tell him, so Ming Chongyan took out the case file and targeted one person.
Xu Jingzong's eldest son, Xu Ang, once had an affair with Xu Jingzong's second wife. When his father discovered it, he was furious and was exiled to Lingnan. He was later recalled.
With such a notorious scandal, Xu Ang's future is undoubtedly ruined. Do you really think that everyone is the late emperor?
Ming Chongyan wanted to trace the clues, so he started with Xu Ang and dug out everything the Xu family knew.
Looking at the gathering of guests and the comings and goings of dignitaries from a distance, a sneer escaped from the corner of his lips.
When the saint comes out of the cage, he will come back to see with his own eyes the reaction of this group of people...
That scene must be very interesting!
…
Inside Changshengyuan.
Empress Wu continued to enjoy the flowers, but this time she was followed by a group of similarly dressed ladies.
Even Wei Xuanzhen's daughter Wei Shi was among them, with a low eyebrow and a submissive look, as if the turmoil of Wu Yizong in the past did not exist.
Politics are always changing.
In fact, Empress Wu is not willing to be so ostentatious now.
She was very patient, hoping to wait until Li Hong was seriously ill and completely lost the ability to handle the affairs of the court, and then she could use the power of the late emperor's decree that "if military and state affairs are undecided, the queen will be the one to stop them" to unite the power of the foreign dynasties.
Of course, since Li Yuanfang still exists in the edict, it is unrealistic for her to hold power alone, but it doesn't matter. Li Yuanfang will not be able to affect the harem after all. Don't look at the fact that she became the empress dowager after the saint's death. It seems that she has no chance of being promoted to the empress dowager.
The Pei family is important, but the political fighting abilities of the two parties are not at the same level. It would be fine if the Pei family is obedient, but if she dares to disobey her mother-in-law, she will be forced to death, and she will naturally monopolize the power of the harem, and then control the outer court.
Only then will he be able to regain power, and now this group of women will follow him, which is just a superficial flourish.
But because her reputation had been lost and her family was in the cold, now various families came to rely on her, and she couldn't refuse. She smiled from beginning to end, making a few comments from time to time, appreciating flowers and people, and all the ladies listened attentively, never seeing each other again.
Regarding the queen's spontaneity, she didn't dare to miss a word.
When the positions of the two parties returned to domination and being dominated again, Empress Wu knew that it was too much to do too much: "The Changshengyuan has not been so lively for a long time. Everyone, please go back. You don't have to accompany me as an old woman anymore!"
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The ladies looked at her radiant face, and they were even more in awe with envy. They all saluted: "I will leave and come back to the palace tomorrow to see the Queen Mother!"
Empress Wu smiled with satisfaction.
Returning to the palace, she summoned her chamberlain and asked about the situation in the palace today, mainly the situation in the Zhenguan Palace: "I heard that the saint ordered preparations for war against Tibet?"
Eunuch Cai was the first to say: "Reporting to the Empress Dowager, it is indeed the case. The ministers were quite critical of this, and they all said that Liaodong had just recovered and it was time to recuperate and that it would not be appropriate to start a war against Tubo again! The imperial censor's desk even made a memorial, and the internal guards repeatedly made meritorious deeds.
The declaration of war is actually an act of violence and should be punished..."
Empress Wu seemed to be smiling but not smiling: "What the saint has done recently is indeed a bit anxious, but wiping out the foreign enemies and bringing peace to the Tang Dynasty border is probably the saint's last wish. We cannot disobey him at this time, let alone attack the internal guards.
But... instead, we have to guard against the internal guards, that Li Yuanfang is a very brave person!"
These words were very explicit. Eunuch Gao hurriedly lowered his head and raised his ears to listen, preparing to write a briefing and pass it on. Eunuch Cai couldn't help but smile on his face and even let out a light hey.
The sound was very slight, but Empress Wu's eyes immediately fell on him: "The saint's dragon body is ill, but you are laughing, are you looking forward to the saint Bintian?"
Eunuch Cai was stunned, and quickly knelt down symbolically: "I have lost my temper! I hope the Queen Mother will forgive me!"
His tone was very relaxed, as if these close confidants didn't know that since the saint refused to let the Queen Mother assist the government, the person who was most looking forward to the opening of the imperial mausoleum was the biological mother. The relationship between mother and child had long since ceased, so naturally he didn't
panic.
However, this time Empress Wu's voice was filled with a biting chill: "Excuse me? The cursed saint, how can I forgive you for your crime? Drag me down and kill you with a stick!"
Eunuch Cai was stunned. He couldn't believe his ears at first. It wasn't until the guards came in from outside the palace and grabbed his shoulders that he collapsed to the ground. The stench gushed out from his lower body: "Spare your life! Spare your life! I am loyal to the Queen Mother."
!Loyal and loyal——"
The shrill wails gradually faded away. Empress Wu looked at the filth left by Eunuch Cai with a look of disgust. The palace maids hurried over to wipe it away, trembling with fear.
Eunuch Gao's head dropped even lower, almost pressing on his chest, but his eyes were so sad that he was not surprised at all.
The reason why Empress Wu reused these eunuchs was because Ming's wife was scared away by Wu Yizong's evil deeds. She had no choice but to use eunuchs. Now that Ming's wife has returned, how could the connections behind these noble ladies from well-known families be different?
Are these chambermaids comparable?
Therefore, the role of eunuchs has become dispensable in addition to being eyeliners in the palace. After all, there are palace maids who are used by Empress Wu, and they, the personal servants, know that Empress Wu has many stains. If Li Yuanfang catches up before the saint dies,
If you want to attack her, it is possible to start with the chamberlain.
Eunuch Gao has been with Empress Wu for too many years and has long seen clearly that this person who is so cruel to others cannot be kind to people with physical disabilities like them. After taking advantage of him, he will kill him without any hesitation. Only then
It's Empress Wu.
Sure enough, after Empress Wu dealt with Eunuch Cai, she turned around again with a stern look in her eyes.
Eunuch Gao remained motionless, already wanting to die.
But in the end, Empress Wu still did not decide to beat the servant to death with a stick. After all, it was not the moment of victory yet. It was enough to get rid of the most arrogant ones. It was not too late to do some things in the future. Her face softened and she comforted:
"Don't be afraid, you have always been diligent, stick to your duties, and just do your job well!"
Eunuch Gao then knelt down and said in his usual submissive manner: "Thank you, Queen Mother! Thank you, Queen Mother!"
Empress Wu waved her hand: "Go! Call the others in!"
Eunuch Gao replied: "Yes!"
He bowed again and wanted to get up, but the fear between life and death spread.
It was obvious that one of them had the power, but his legs and feet became weak and he staggered back.
All the way back to his room, Eunuch Gao took a deep breath, wrote the briefing in more detail, and prayed silently:
"May the saint live a long life! May the Queen Mother's evil be punished!"