There were too many people who wanted to kill Long Chen, and they were all powerful people, but they all failed in the end.
Wan Jinlou's assassinations were always successful, but this time he missed. Li Chengdao was not angry, he thought it was normal.
Just as he was talking, the eunuch Zhong Gui came in from outside, holding a box in his hand, and said: "Your Majesty, the Empress of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty has sent her credentials."
Li Chengdao's face darkened, and he had a plan in his mind.
After tearing down the certificate of credence, the empress' handwriting was beautiful, but the content was extremely angry, accusing Li Chengdao of breaking the agreement and hiring Wan Jinlou to assassinate Long Chen.
"Reply a letter to Emperor Shitian. I have never hired Wanjinlou. I don't know what she is talking about."
Li Chengdao was unwilling to reply in person and asked Zhong Gui to write it for him.
"The slave obeys the order."
Zhong Gui received his credentials and exited the imperial study.
Xuan Jizi was a little worried and said: "Your Majesty, if the empress also contacts Wan Jinlou to assassinate my minister..."
Li Chengdao's face became more and more ugly. Wanjin Tower couldn't kill Long Chen. It wasn't that Wanjin Tower couldn't do it, but that Long Chen was too weird.
If the empress asks Wanjinlou to commit murder, the consequences will be disastrous.
"The princes in the palace are ordered not to go out without any reason, and the ministers in the court must be escorted when they go out."
Xuanjizi paid his respects and said, "I will convey it to you now, poor Taoist."
After Xuan Jizi left, Li Chengdao called Yu Fuguo in again and asked the people from the Imperial City Department to guard around the palace and secretly investigate the traces of Wanjin Tower.
....
There is a mountain twenty miles south of Jinling. The snow scenery in winter is excellent. There is a Wangyou Pavilion on the top of the mountain. Next to the pavilion is a waterfall of tens of meters. Ice pillars of more than ten meters hang on both sides. The trees are frozen into ice sculptures. It is really beautiful.
Most of the literati in Nanliang liked to recite poems and write poems in the pavilion.
The fourth prince, Li Wenji, was sitting in a warm sedan chair, being carried up the mountain by four strong men, followed by more than a dozen imperial soldiers, each of whom was an expert.
When we arrived at the Wangyou Pavilion at the top of the mountain, nine literati were already waiting in the pavilion.
"The prince is here."
When all the scholars saw the sedan coming up, they stepped forward to greet it.
The warm sedan came down, and Li Wenji came out holding the warm hand, wearing mink velvet, and said with a smile: "Let the gentlemen wait."
The literati all laughed and said, "What can I say? The snow scene is perfect today. The princes will gather here to compose poems. Tomorrow it will be spread all over the world and become a grand event in our literary world in Daliang."
Li Wenji laughed and said: "Yes, writing poems about the snow is an elegant thing for a scholar like me."
A scholar wearing mink velvet next to him smiled and said: "His Royal Highness rarely leaves the palace now, so he will return home having a great time today."
Li Wenji smiled bitterly and said: "Father said it is not safe recently and he is afraid of the assassins from the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, so he is not allowed to come out."
A tall scholar with an extraordinary temperament smiled and said: "What little Dong Zhou can do is just relying on a eunuch. After all, he will not be able to get on the stage."
A scholar complimented: "Yes, your highness is the foundation of our country. How can you be afraid of a eunuch?"
Li Wenji pretended to be humble, shook his head and said with a smile: "The second prince should not be underestimated, it's hard to say..."
Everyone laughed and said, "I have only heard that a country was founded by civil and military forces, but never by merchants."
Li Jiye was in charge of business, and Li Wenji was in charge of scribes, so many literati praised him so much.
"Thank you sir, let's get started."
After the wine, food and stove were set, the literati sat down around Li Wenji, while the guards looked around with vigilance.
"Who comes first?"
Li Wenji asked with a smile.
The tall scholar recited a poem first, and the others praised him and applauded him.
"Brother Lingyun, it's your turn."
A literati who looked a bit girly and looked harmless came forward and said, "You're showing off your ugliness."
Li Wenji had never seen this person before and asked, "Is this person unfamiliar..."
When the guard next to him heard this, he immediately became alert and wanted to stop the scholar, but it was too late.
Under the rice paper, a dagger suddenly appeared and stabbed Li Wenji straight in the throat.
Before Li Wenji could react, his throat had been cut open and blood spurted out instantly. The guard was horrified and furious: "Assassin! Kill!"
The guards reacted and drew their swords to attack, but the assassin did not bother him. He turned back and jumped out of the Wangyou Pavilion. He stretched out his arms and plunged into the waterfall, disappearing into the ice water.
"Go down and search!"
The captain of the guard wanted to jump down, but he hesitated and still didn't dare.
Li Wenji fell to the ground, completely dead.
The literati in Wangyou Pavilion were so frightened that their faces turned pale.
"Brother Lehao, why did you...bring an assassin here?"
The scholar named Le Hao was already frightened.
Le Hao "accidentally" met this assassin. Seeing that the assassin had good literary talent, he asked him to meet the fourth prince. Who knew he was an assassin?
When the captain of the guard slid down to the bottom of the waterfall, there was no trace of the assassin, so he had to climb up and carry the body of the fourth prince back to Jinling.
Royal study room.
Eunuch Yu Fuguo came in in a hurry and said: "Your Majesty, the fourth prince was assassinated by Wanjin Tower in Wangyou Pavilion."
Li Chengdao was reading Hu Feiyang's military report. When he heard the news, he was stunned.
"Waste! Waste!"
Li Chengdao was so angry that he cursed loudly. He didn't know whether he was calling Yu Fuguo a waste or Li Wenji a waste.
"The fourth prince secretly went out from the side door, but the servant failed to discover it in time. He is punished by death."
Yu Fuguo kowtows to plead guilty.
Li Chengdao leaned on his chair, closed his eyes and said nothing.
"Call Taoist Master Xuanji."
Yufu Guima uploaded a mystery.
Entering the imperial study, Xuanjizi bowed and said, "I have met the emperor..."
He already knew about Li Wenji's assassination, and he was very upset. He had opened the Pandora's box of Wanjinlou. Now the Eastern Zhou Dynasty took revenge and asked Wanjinlou to assassinate the prince and minister of Nanliang.
"I will pay another 100,000 gold to buy the life of the Princess of Eastern Zhou Dynasty!"
Li Chengdao said fiercely.
Xuan Jizi was helpless, but still said: "Your Majesty, I suggest you stop here, and then..."
Wow...
All the documents on the desk fell to the ground, and Li Chengdao cursed: "My three sons died, and you said stop! Why didn't you tell Long Chengen to stop! Go! Get 100,000 gold! I want to kill him.
The princess of Guangdong Zhou!"
Li Chengdao lost his mind at this time, and his persuasion was useless, so Xuanjizi had no choice but to accept the order and retreat.
When they arrived outside, Xuanjizi did not contact Wanjinlou. He wanted to give Li Chengdao a cooling-off period.
After the anger has passed, Li Chengdao will become rational.
....
Fengming Palace.
The empress took the credentials sent by Li Chengdao and sneered: "Look, Li Chengdao is finally awake."
Long Chen took the letter of credence and read it carefully. Li Chengdao said that the two sides would give up and no longer entrust Wanjinlou to assassinate each other.
"He first asked Wan Jinlou to assassinate him, but in the end he asked to stop."
The empress was very happy. In this assassination duel, Long Chen was not injured, but a prince died in Nanliang. It was Nanliang that suffered the loss.
"As an emperor, you should do the things of an emperor. This kind of despicable assassination should not have happened. He will suffer the consequences."
Long Chen returned the certificate of credence to the empress.
"Okay, that's it for the Wanjin Tower matter. Xixia's envoy is coming soon. Please prepare."
"I heard that this Mojie is difficult to deal with, so don't be careless."
Long Chen bowed and said, "Wei ministers accept the decree."
