The tall and thin guard who left with Li Chengqian had exactly the same physical features as Jin and Xuan Bin.
And since the two of them were so close, it was probably Jin and Hyun Bin who were threatening Li Chengqian with sharp weapons.
Although Li Shimin was angry and sad, he quickly cheered up and sent an order to Liu Gui to search the whole city and dig up to three feet to find the crown prince!
Early the next morning, the sun slowly rose from the east, and its light illuminated the entire palace in Chang'an City.
In the court hall, civil and military officials stood on both sides, and Li Shimin, wearing a golden robe, sat on a dragon chair.
At this time, Li Shimin waved his hand, and the old eunuch Liu Gui beside him read out the imperial edict: "The Emperor of Heaven has decreed that Muchuan, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, has made a meritorious service in rescuing the enemy. His loyalty and bravery are commendable, and he will be rewarded with a special reward of ten thousand taels of gold."
, I am conferred the title of 'Duke Mu' and enjoy thousands of acres of fertile land and ten thousand dans of grain. I admire this!"
Muchuan Ke was alert and bowed happily to accept the order.
Muchuan expressed great satisfaction with the emperor's reward. The emperor rewarded him with money, land, grain, and titles all at once.
After all, Muchuan's contribution this time is very important. He saved the emperor's life!
What makes him a little unhappy is that his official position has not been promoted. He is now the third-rank Minister of Household Affairs. Let's give him a promotion to one more rank! However, we can understand that it is not easy for Li Shimin. Muchuan's promotion speed is too fast.
He has made many meritorious deeds and has been awarded the rank of third-rank official when he is only thirty-five years old. At this rate, he will probably become the prime minister before he is thirty-five.
The key is that high-ranking officials in the imperial court are "a carrot and a pit". If the old ministers don't retire, Li Shimin won't be able to promote Muchuan. Muchuan can understand this.
After awarding the rewards, Li Shimin waved his hand again and ordered Liu Gui to announce his resignation.
"Your Majesty's dragon body is not in good condition today. If there are any important matters, we will discuss it tomorrow and withdraw from the court!"
As soon as the voice fell, Liu Gui followed Li Shimin back to the inner palace in a hurry and disappeared without a trace in an instant.
All the civil and military officials in the court looked at each other, obviously aware that something was wrong with the emperor.
"The Emperor is feeling uneasy today. It seems that the rumors are true?
The Crown Prince is really missing..."
"Yes, I didn't see the Crown Prince in the morning this morning. The Crown Prince will be there on weekdays."
"No wonder the emperor is in such a state today. God bless and protect the crown prince."
The civil and military officials were chatting in idle chatter. Muchuan stood aside and naturally heard what they were talking about. It turned out that the crown prince was missing!
From Muchuan's point of view, Li Chengqian disappeared when he disappeared. This kid couldn't become the emperor anyway, and his throne would even be given to Li Tai in the near future.
Moreover, from the perspective of comprehensive ability and moral character, Li Chengqian is not a good person, let alone benefiting the people, so Muchuan is not worried about his situation at all.
Muchuan yawned at this time and planned to go back to the mansion to sleep.
However, someone stopped Muchuan at this time, it was Changsun Wuji.
"Master Mu, please stay. I wonder if I can take some time to say a few words to you?"
"It turns out to be Lord Changsun. Of course it's okay. What's the matter?"
"This matter is extremely confidential, I'm afraid it's not convenient to talk about it here."
Changsun Wuji looked around, as if he was afraid that others would hear him, and then he led Muchuan directly to Changsun's residence in Chang'an City.
Changsun's Mansion, close to the imperial palace, has a magnificent building and a typical Sihe courtyard.
In the east main hall, after Changsun Wuji ordered someone to serve tea, he lowered his voice and said carefully: "I think... Mu Guogong also heard some rumors, right?
Regarding the disappearance of the Crown Prince."
"yes."
"I am calling Duke Mu this time, hoping that Duke Mu can help find the crown prince."
Changsun Wuji is Li Chengqian's uncle. This time his nephew has disappeared. As an uncle, of course he is very concerned.
But there were so many people in the entire Tang Dynasty, why did the other party come to find me?
Muchuan asked this question.
Changsun Wuji smiled boldly: "Mr. Mu is talented and resourceful. I feel that if I have Gong Mu's help, I will definitely be able to find the crown prince."
"Lord Changsun, you are so flattering to me. There is a huge sea of people. Where can I find the Crown Prince if he is missing?
There’s nothing I can do!”
"To be honest with Duke Mu, I actually know where the prince is, but I just have no way to save him."
"oh?"
Muchuan was stunned, did Sun Wuji know where Li Chengqian was?
It seemed that there was something hidden inside, so Muchuan asked, "What on earth is going on?"
"Actually, the crown prince was kidnapped. If the guess is correct, it should be Kim He Hyun Bin, the Goguryeo envoy."
"I see."
Muchuan nodded very calmly.
Changsun Wuji noticed Muchuan's expression. Muchuan was not surprised at all, as if he had known that the crown prince had been kidnapped by the Goguryeo people.
"Could it be that Duke Mu, you already knew this?"
"ah?
How could I have known this a long time ago? Of course I didn’t know, haha.”
Muchuan said pretending to be stupid.
In fact, Muchuan was able to guess it. Combining the rumors he heard, plus the whereabouts of Jin Hexuan Bin who disappeared yesterday and Li Chengqian who disappeared today, he could make a rough guess by connecting all these things together.
It's just that Muchuan didn't want to cause trouble, not to mention that as a person from the future, he already knew Li Chengqian's fate, so he thought it would be better to do less than to do more, so he pretended to be crazy and fooled him.
But now it seems that it can no longer be fooled, because Changsun Wuji has told Muchuan the truth, which means Muchuan must help!
Soon Changsun Wuji began to ask: "I wonder if Mu Guogong can help find the crown prince?
With Duke Mu’s intelligence, he will definitely be able to come up with a solution.”
"Of course there's no problem!"
Muchuan readily agreed.
Changsun Wuji has a noble status and is the number one hero of Lingyan Pavilion. Considering his status as a relative of the emperor, I am afraid that behind his so-called help, there should be requests from the emperor and Changsun Empress.
It's just that those two people couldn't come forward directly, so they asked Changsun Wuji to do the talking.
Therefore, Muchuan had no way to refuse. If he refused, he would definitely offend some powerful people.
In this case, it's better to be a favor and agree quickly.
However, he agreed, Muchuan still had to add: "The life of the Crown Prince is related to the stability and inheritance of the country. I will get the Crown Prince back even if I go through fire and water. It's just... these Goguryeo people are despicable and cunning. I'm afraid
You may not be able to find it.”
"This is why I entrusted Duke Mu! Please make sure that the crown prince is safe, otherwise even Duke Mu cannot stay out of the matter."
