Tang Dynasty Swordsman

Page 75

"Then, Lord Li, ask yourself honestly, when you wanted to get rid of Prince Qi, was it purely because the succession was difficult, or were there also personal motives involved?"

Regarding Li Tan's near-fatal attempt to seize the throne, Li Ji and Li Bi had discussed it privately several times. The supposed plot was merely a pretext—frankly, even to this day, even if Li Tan truly harbored such intentions, he hadn't revealed them at all. The key was that Li Tan had repeatedly advised Li Heng to eliminate the abuses of eunuchs and the empress's interference in politics. So, Li Fuguo, don't play games with me; was your desire to kill Li Tan truly driven by personal motives?

Li Fuguo seemed taken aback by Li Ji's question, and shook his head, saying, "So what if it's selfish? Who isn't selfish? You're still young and can't see through the Prince of Qi's character, yet you still went to Longyou to support him. Let me ask you, if the Prince of Qi truly intended to seize the throne, would you regret saving his life back then?"

Li Ji answered without hesitation: "The guilty must be punished, and the innocent need not be questioned. If we only consider one's intentions, has Lord Li never once violated the law?"

Li Fuguo said impatiently, "What if one day he not only has the intention, but also puts it into practice? Will you regret it?"

"If the King of Qi has truly committed treacherous acts, it is acceptable to expel him or depose him, but I cannot bear to see father and son kill each other!"

Upon hearing this, Li Fuguo couldn't help but curl his lip: "In the history of imperial family affairs, it has always been common for fathers and sons, brothers to kill each other. Are you not too young? You are not familiar with the cunning in the palace and the court. You are not fit to shoulder heavy responsibilities. I can only leave you to the Prince of Fengjie to await the future."

Through these few words of conversation, Li Ji finally understood Li Fuguo's intentions.

It seems that through Li Yu's "humility and deference," coupled with Empress Zhang's increasingly domineering attitude, Li Fuguo gradually moved closer to the Crown Prince, believing that his hopes for continued wealth and authority could be pinned on the Crown Prince. In that case, Li Fuguo and Li Ji were essentially on the same side, and they needed to find an opportunity to mend their past grievances and temporarily join forces.

Of course, in terms of taste, Li Fuguo was like a god, while Li Ji was like a drudge. Li Fuguo had no reason to extend an olive branch to Li Ji—it would be a mercy for him not to plot to kill that little brat. But Li Ji had indeed rendered a great service in rescuing Consort Shen, and he held a certain position in Li Shi's heart. Moreover, behind Li Ji stood the unpredictable Li Bi…

As things stand, once Li Yu ascends the throne, the position of Crown Prince will most likely fall into the hands of Li Shi. Li Fuguo cannot possibly only consider one generation and ignore the next. Moreover, Li Yu is currently in a state of imprisonment, and it seems that Li Shi is his only contact and representative outside the palace. It is estimated that it was because of Li Shi's persuasion that Li Fuguo was willing to set aside his pride and take the initiative to curry favor with Li Ji.

In fact, Li Shi had already hinted at this matter to Li Ji several times. The problem was, given Li Ji's status, even if he wanted to curry favor with Li Fuguo—which was of course impossible, as Li Shi knew Li Ji's personality was quite stubborn—he couldn't find a way to get an audience. Therefore, the only option was for Li Fuguo to issue the summons. Besides, that old man was both gentle and firm, and having been a servant his whole life, he didn't care about his own reputation at all.

Today, Li Fuguo passed by the Yingwu Army Headquarters and intended to take the opportunity to summon Li Ji to see him. However, when he looked out from the gate, he saw Li Ji wielding double maces... The old man had been held hostage by Li Ji before, and was inevitably traumatized. Seeing this, he dared not enter and quickly turned and left.

After finishing his official business, he sat in the Right Jinwu Guard's quarters and summoned Li Ji—"When you enter the hall, you should at least put down your weapon. Even though you could kill me with your bare hands like it's nothing, at least I'd feel more at ease, wouldn't I?"

Li Fuguo summoned Li Ji, and upon meeting him, he immediately shouted, "You've done quite a feat!"—clearly intending to deflate Li Ji's arrogance. Unfortunately, although the young man looked puzzled, he remained completely composed, leaving Li Fuguo at a loss. Since intimidation failed, he resorted to a less desirable tactic: offering a seemingly kind gesture—"I'll find you a master who wields the mace; are you happy now?"

With Li Fuguo's intelligence and after making inquiries from various sources, he had long realized that Li Ji was rough on the outside but shrewd on the inside, and was not just a reckless man. At the same time, he believed that Li Ji was tough on the outside but soft on the inside, and was a man of character. If he were to extend an olive branch, Li Ji would probably be too embarrassed to beat up the smiling man.

Looking back, why did Li Ji risk his life to save Li Tan? It was because Li Tan had been bringing him food and drink for several days. That Li Tan was truly shrewd; he actually tried to use this method to win over Li Ji and then curry favor with Li Bi. His intentions were unfathomable!

Therefore, Li Fuguo felt that as long as he offered benefits, even if they faced each other face to face, Li Ji would no longer glare at him. They could then have a heart-to-heart talk. When dealing with people who value relationships, heart-to-heart talk is the best way to win them over. As for whether the heart-to-heart talk is genuine or not, let's not worry about that.

To be honest, we two not only ended up on the same path because of the Crown Prince, but we also didn't have any deep-seated hatred for each other before. I wanted to kill Li Tan, but I didn't succeed, so why do you hate me? As for you making me lose face in front of the Emperor… if I didn't lose face every few days, would I have maintained the Emperor's favor until today? Actually, Yu Chaoen lost face even more than me, and I was quite happy to see it…

Later, I tricked you into going to Luoyang and arranged for someone to poison you along the way. As a result, you had some people drowned in the river and others taken away... But because of this, you rescued Consort Shen and clung tightly to Li Shi's powerful leg. In a way, I did you a favor!

If I were truly not of one mind with the Crown Prince, dealing with you would be a piece of cake. But since I want to support the Crown Prince, I must curry favor with that boy Li Shi. The easiest way is to let bygones be bygones with a smile. Anyway, you're in the palace; I can find a way to kill you at any time. Why rush things and ruin the overall situation? I wouldn't be so foolish as to let a small ant cause a major breach in the dam.

Therefore, Li Fuguo said to Li Ji, "Leaving aside the past, everything I do today is for the sake of the sage and the country. Although I am in the palace, it is not my original wish. Do you, Li Erlang, judge people by their background and writings, instead of their talents and aspirations?"

Li Fuguo's implication was: Are you just like those bookish sages in the outer court, convinced that eunuchs can't do politics? In what way are my talents inferior to those mediocre people in the Council of State Affairs? Just because I can't write poetry or flowery prose? Aren't you the same?

Upon hearing this, Li Ji was speechless. To be honest, his aversion to eunuchs stemmed mostly from a physiological reaction—the thought of men without testicles was disgusting—and partly from the fact that historically, periods when eunuchs held political power were generally fraught with corruption. But upon reflection, one couldn't simply discriminate against them because they lacked testicles; after all, they were victims of the vile eunuch system, pitiful figures in their own right…

Therefore, after a slight pause, I could only reply, "It's not in accordance with the rules."

Li Fuguo smiled and said, "Even systems are established by sages." He then leaned forward slightly and asked in a low voice, "Li Ji, do you know what my lifelong wish is?"

"Please give your instructions, Lord Li."

Li Fuguo sighed deeply, feigning a sorrowful expression, and said, "Originally, I only wanted to serve the Crown Prince in the palace, to be loyal and devoted to him until the end of my days. If I could be granted the rank of a general of the third grade or above in my old age, like Yang Sixu and Gao Lishi, and have it engraved on a monument and erected on my tomb, that would be enough for me!"

"Unfortunately, rebellions broke out, the two capitals fell, and the Emperor went on a western hunt. At that time, the people blocked the roads to stay, and the Emperor was in a state of panic, not knowing whether to go or not. None of the ministers or attendants could offer a good solution to this great calamity. In desperation, I boldly advised the Emperor to go north to Shuofang. Subsequently, the Emperor ascended the throne in Lingwu, which was indeed due to my plan..."

In fact, Li Heng parted ways with his father and went north to Shuofang, which was largely due to the efforts of Li Yu and Li Tan; his ascension to the throne in Lingwu was supported by the military and the people... However, Li Ji also believed that Li Fuguo, as Li Heng's most trusted eunuch at the time, must have contributed a lot to the process.

"After the Tianbao era, the affairs of the state gradually deteriorated, and the scholar-officials could not escape blame! Was Li Linfu's misrule orchestrated by Gao Lishi? Was An Lushan's rebellion summoned by us? The country was ruined by Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong, which is why I had no choice but to step forward. I do not seek personal wealth or honor, but only to assist the emperor in saving the crisis."

"Therefore, my only wish today is to enter the Hall of State Affairs and serve as prime minister. Then I can assist the wise ruler above and bring peace to the common people below. The scholars and officials will no longer have any objections."

Upon hearing this, Li Ji was taken aback—"Lord Li wants to become prime minister? That's against the rules..."

"Did the Tang Code ever explicitly state that eunuchs were not allowed to enter the Hall of State Affairs? It all depends on the Emperor's mind."

"Now that Lord Li is effectively in charge of the prime minister's administration, officials outside the capital all address him as 'Fifth Brother' or even 'Fifth Father.' Why bother with those empty titles anymore..."

Li Fuguo gritted his teeth and said, "Without a reputation, the scholars and officials will never be truly convinced!"

Li Ji thought to himself, "Forget it. Even if you become prime minister as you wish, no one will truly see you as a bureaucrat. They'll still see you as a eunuch. Once your penis is cut off, your status is set—a penis cut off cannot be reattached, and a status set cannot be changed." After thinking for a moment, he said:

"The current state of the nation is not solely Li Gong's fault, but Li Gong's leadership of the inner court cannot absolve him of all responsibility. Moreover, even if Li Gong enters the Council of State Affairs, if he does not change his old ways, I'm afraid the scholars and officials will still not be truly convinced."

Li Fuguo's eyes flashed with cold light as he asked in a chilling tone, "Is my conduct really that despicable?"

Li Ji met his gaze without fear and slowly said, "Just now, Lord Li said that regardless of whether one is a subject or a subject, Lord Li is merely a servant of the imperial family. Yet you hold the heart of a servant, instead of relying on your status as a guest to obey and remonstrate. Such a person, even if he comes from a scholar-official family, will probably not be able to escape the label of 'sycophant' in the annals of history."

Upon hearing this, Li Fuguo's eyes flashed even colder, and he raised an eyebrow, about to erupt in anger. However, he ultimately suppressed his rage, lowered his eyes, and began to silently recite Buddhist scriptures while fiddling with his prayer beads—for although Li Ji's words were blunt, they were indeed true. If I did not possess the mindset of a scholar-official, even if I became prime minister, would my colleagues wholeheartedly accept me and regard me as an equal?

Then Li Ji said, "Moreover, Lord Li set up the 'Hall of Investigative Affairs' to investigate the private affairs of all officials. Is this something a prime minister should do? If one has no heart for a prime minister and does not act like a prime minister, how can one aspire to be a prime minister?"

Li Fuguo couldn't help but sigh softly: "If all officials could be loyal and devoted, and abide by the law, why would I need to supervise and urge them on..."

"There was an imperial censor present..."

Li Fuguo curled his lip: "They couldn't control Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong in the past, so what can they do now? If the Emperor Emeritus had also used Gao Lishi and others and established the 'Inspection Hall' earlier, then Linfu would not have been able to abuse his power, Guozhong would not have been able to disrupt the government, and An Lushan would not have dared to lead his troops in rebellion."

Li Ji naturally disagreed with this statement. What Li Fuguo was currently implementing was the so-called "secret police politics," the biggest difference between which and the traditional supervisory system lay in its secrecy and irregularity. The lack of transparency inevitably led to injustice, and the irregularity inevitably led to incompleteness. The result could only be that the military and civilians alike lived in fear, and the atmosphere in the court and the countryside became dark and gloomy... In particular, this kind of secret police politics was often led by the emperor alone, with the head of the secret police in charge, a direct management system without any checks and balances. It had almost no advantages, but a myriad of drawbacks.

However, such a complex issue was not convenient to discuss in detail with Li Fuguo, and there was a 99% chance that the other party wouldn't listen at all. Therefore, Li Ji simply replied: "According to the established system, censors can impeach the prime minister, and the prime minister can also restrain the censors; but only the 'Hall of Inspectorate Affairs' is solely managed by you, Lord Li, with no one to supervise you. This will inevitably cause all the officials to fear you and not feel any gratitude towards you—is this the conduct of a prime minister?"

Li Fuguo thought to himself, "It's already good enough that someone's afraid of me. Why would I expect those scholars to respect me? They're simply not meant to look down on people like us! Only you, Li Ji, have the guts to argue with me about these things… It's probably because you're not very well-educated." Thinking this, he suddenly realized that he and Li Ji actually had quite a lot in common.

—Of course he didn’t know that Li Ji had actually read far more books than the so-called learned scholars of his time; Li Ji simply refused to memorize the classics by rote.

So he said, "If I have acted improperly, the sage will surely hold me accountable!"

Li Ji retorted, "If the emperor can supervise the prime minister, what use is the censor? If the emperor can supervise the censor, what use is the prime minister? There are many prime ministers and censors, but the emperor is unique, and his energy is ultimately limited. Even if Qin Shi Huang were as diligent in his administration, examining fifty baskets of bamboo slips a day, he still could not get rid of Zhao Gao and control Li Si, which led to the Sand Dune Incident..."

Chapter 52, The Scheme to Move the Palace

Li Fuguo feigned sincerity and engaged in a heartfelt conversation with Li Ji. Li Ji seized the opportunity to point out the many drawbacks of eunuch rule, but Li Fuguo naturally wouldn't listen. He waved his hand, as if to say, "Don't say any more—the establishment of the Observation Hall was truly the intention of the sage."

Li Ji thought to himself, "Forget it, I won't lecture you on grand principles. Even if you understand, you'll just pretend you don't." So he changed the subject and said, "For example, after the defeat at Xiangzhou, the armies were without commanders, so the supervising officers must be blamed. If you, Lord Li, could persuade the Emperor to demote Yu Chaoen and reopen the army, and reinstate the general to lead the Henan troops, it would be better to mend the situation than to forget it. Moreover, the officials and generals would surely be grateful to you, Lord Li. As the military advisor, it would be your duty to offer military advice."

Li Fuguo was appointed as the Marshal's Military Advisor by Li Heng after Li Tan stepped down, though it was merely a nominal title. The problem is that although the military campaign was abolished, for some reason, Li Fuguo's title of Military Advisor was not revoked, and he continued to wear the hat—presumably to facilitate the old scoundrel's interference in military affairs.

After hearing Li Ji's words, Li Fuguo remained silent for a long time.

In truth, Li Ji didn't expect a few words to make the other side repent. Instead, he hoped to sow discord between Li Fuguo and Yu Chaoen, using Li Fuguo's power to bring down Yu Chaoen first—because that guy was truly despicable. Li Guangbi had warned him about the defeat at Xiangzhou, but he completely ignored it, and then tried to shift the blame onto Guo Ziyi. Without eliminating Yu Chaoen, the generals wouldn't be convinced, morale would be difficult to restore, and perhaps another major defeat would soon occur in Henan!

However, Li Fuguo simply smiled and did not respond to Li Ji's words. Instead, he changed the subject and said, "Three days later, the Emperor will move from the Southern Palace back to the Western Palace. He has ordered the Left and Right Heroic Army to send five hundred cavalrymen to escort him. Chief Secretaries Dou and Huo will personally lead the troops, and Li Ji... you will also be going."

Li Ji bowed and accepted the order, and then Li Fuguo waved for the guest to leave.

Along the way, Li Ji pondered Li Fuguo's words and attitude repeatedly, especially the last order... It was reasonable for the Emperor to send the most combat-effective Yingwu Army to protect him when he moved the palace; the Yingwu Army had no generals, and the highest-ranking officers were the Left and Right Chief Secretaries Dou Wenchang and Huo Xianming, so it was also reasonable for Li Fuguo to order the two of them to lead the team; but why did he insist on going along as well?

Li Ji thought to himself, "I'm just an office clerk right now; I shouldn't be on any overseas assignments. What is Li Fuguo up to, or what evil scheme is he plotting? Could it be... that an assassin is planning to kill the Emperor on the way?"

Back in Ding'an, a group of assassins—the "Divine Machine Guards" recruited by Zhou Zhi—slipped through the palace to assassinate Li Yu at the Marshal's residence. Based on the confessions of the prisoners afterward, Li Ji and Li Bi repeatedly discussed the matter, and later obtained some clues from Cui Qi and others. Li Ji suspected that it was very likely that Li Fuguo had heard rumors beforehand and may have even made some deals with that "Mr. Guo".

Li Fuguo likely intended to lure the assassin into the palace, then ambush and capture him in one fell swoop. This would allow him to gain a great merit while shifting the blame for lax palace security onto Li Tan. It's estimated that "Mr. Guo" saw through Li Fuguo's scheme, which is why he changed his mind at the last minute, bypassing the palace to assassinate Li Yu instead…

So, could history repeat itself? Li Fuguo knew that assassins intended to murder the Emperor Emeritus during the palace relocation, but for some ulterior motives, he didn't plan to stop them beforehand. Theoretically, however, Li Fuguo couldn't just stand by and watch the Emperor Emeritus die, which is why he had Li Ji participate in the protection operation. Perhaps by using Li Ji's martial prowess, they could ultimately thwart the assassins' plot.

In other words, Li Fuguo was happy to see the assassination attempt take place, but did not want it to succeed, so he sent Li Ji as a last line of defense.

Is that really the case? Is it really that simple? Could Li Fuguo be plotting to kill two birds with one stone and try to trap himself as well? Li Ji pondered repeatedly but couldn't figure it out, so he could only take it one step at a time.

Upon returning to the Yingwu Army headquarters, the two eunuchs, Dou and Huo, were overjoyed to see him return unharmed. They surrounded him and asked, "Why did Lord Li summon the guards? We thought he was going to harm you, and we were just considering whether to send someone to deliver a message to the Prince of Fengjie..."

Li Ji smiled and said, "Nothing else. First, I recommend Qin Huan, the great-grandson of Qin Shubao, to join my Yingwu Army; second, I have instructed that in three days, when the Emperor moves to the Western Palace, he will order my left and right Yingwu Army to send five hundred men to protect him, and I and the two chief clerks must go with him."

Actually, he made a slip of the tongue and misspoke a word. Huo Xianming immediately corrected him, saying, "The Emperor Emeritus is not moving his residence, but rather relocating his palace."

"Moving the emperor's residence" is temporary, indicating only a personal action; "relocating the palace," on the other hand, is permanent, signifying a complete change of residence. Huo Xianming sighed, "Even the Emperor Emeritus cannot escape this fate today..."

The three dismissed the others and closed the door for a private discussion. Only then did Li Ji learn the whole story from the two eunuchs.

After Emperor Emeritus Li Longji returned from Shu and went back to Chang'an with Li Heng, he refused to reside in the Western or Eastern Palaces, insisting instead on staying in the Xingqing Palace in the Southern Palace. Although his ministers had left, and only a handful of people, including General Chen Xuanli, the Director of the Palace Attendants Gao Lishi, and his sister Princess Yuzhen, remained by his side, his power and influence over the court remained undiminished.

Therefore, when the court officials plotted to establish Li Yu as the crown prince, some suggested that they should not only plead with Emperor Li Heng in the Eastern Palace, but also go to the Southern Palace to speak to the Emperor Shang. Li Yu also had to go to great lengths to barely suppress this unforeseen trend.

Therefore, Li Fuguo secretly reported to Li Heng—though it was a secret report, it could not be kept from those in the palace who were interested, and the two eunuchs Dou and Huo were naturally aware of it as well—saying: "The Emperor Emeritus resides in Xingqing Palace and communicates with outsiders every day. Chen Xuanli and Gao Lishi are plotting against Your Majesty. Now, the generals and soldiers of the six armies are all meritorious officials from Lingwu, and they are all restless and uneasy. I have explained the situation to them but they cannot understand, so I dare not fail to report it."

Not long ago, Li Fuguo secretly took action to purge Li Longji's confidants. First, he demoted and exiled Gao Lishi on charges of "secretly colluding with the rebels." Then, he ordered Chen Xuanli to retire due to old age. It is said that he also planned to invite Princess Yuzhen to live in Yuzhen Temple. That old widow had already become a nun and a Taoist priest, so why was she still living in the palace?

Their last resort would be to ask the emperor to move the palace.

The Taiji Palace in the Western Palace was originally the earliest forbidden palace of the Tang Dynasty, rebuilt on the foundation of the Sui Dynasty's Daxing Palace. However, in the early Tang Dynasty, the Daming Palace in the Eastern Palace was also built. After Emperor Gaozong's reign, successive emperors resided in the Eastern Palace, leading to the gradual abandonment of the Western Palace. Especially after falling into the hands of rebels, when Li Heng returned to the capital, he devoted all his remaining resources to repairing the Daming Palace, completely neglecting the Taiji Palace. In short, the Taiji Palace was the Li family's old residence, dilapidated and too old to be habitable…

Li Longji was then moved to Taiji Palace, which was tantamount to imprisonment. He could no longer maintain regular contact with the outer court as he had when he lived in Xingqing Palace.

Huo Xianming seemed quite indignant, saying, "The Sage is benevolent and filial, he would not do such a thing. Moreover, the Sage has been unwell recently, and when we went to pay our respects yesterday, he could only see us from his bedside... Could it be that Lord Li is forging an imperial edict?!"

Dou Wenchang quickly waved his hand: "Old Huo, watch your words." He then looked at Li Ji, who was head down, silent, seemingly lost in thought...

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Three days later, Li Longji set off from Xingqing Palace, riding in a gold-decorated carriage, and slowly made his way to Taiji Palace. The streets on both sides of the road were cleared, and officials and commoners were prohibited from walking or peeping—of course, countless people were secretly watching from the high buildings inside the walls on both sides.

The Emperor Emeritus's procession was sparse, consisting of only about twenty eunuchs and a hundred palace maids on either side. The Imperial Guards were arranged in front and behind him as a ceremonial procession—these days, the Six Armies of the Northern Army were basically only used as a ceremonial guard—while the 500 elite cavalry of the Heroic Army stood guard on both sides to prevent any unforeseen events.

Li Ji, naturally dressed in robes with double maces at his waist, rode in the procession. Fearing his worries might come true, he positioned himself very close to the imperial carriage, only a few feet away, so that he could arrive in an instant should an alarm be raised.

Most of the eunuchs and palace maids were not empty-handed either, because Li Longji was not on an inspection tour this time, but rather moving house on a large scale. Therefore, there were countless carriages and trunks, which made the journey very slow.

Originally, one would exit from the northwest gate of Xingqing Palace, first passing north between Yongjia and Anxing Wards, then turning west, passing through Daning, Laiting, and Yongchang Wards, and entering Yanxi Gate—north of Yanxi Gate lies Taiji Palace.

As they turned the corner, their speed naturally slowed further. Li Ji braced himself, scanning his surroundings. He felt that if there were indeed assassins, this was the perfect opportunity to strike. Suddenly, he heard someone in front of his horse ask, "Are you Li Erlang, the one who defeated the barbarians?"

Li Ji glanced down and saw an unfamiliar old eunuch in red robes—probably a eunuch from Xingqing Palace, which was why he had never seen him before—so he immediately bowed from horseback: "It is indeed Li Ji, and your superior is…"

The old eunuch nodded: "The Emperor has summoned Li Ji to court. Come with me."

Li Ji was puzzled, but he could only dismount and follow the old eunuch to the imperial carriage—his double maces were still hanging at his waist, and no one had come to remind him to take them off…

But it wouldn't be convenient for Li Ji to take away his double maces. If no one is blocking his way, wouldn't it only raise more suspicion if he just held onto the weapons?

The eunuchs and palace maids seemed indifferent, and their faces were gloomy, as if they had lost their parents—going to Taiji Palace meant the end of their good days.

Li Ji approached the imperial carriage, deliberately keeping a distance of more than five feet, and knelt down, saying, "Your subject Li Ji pays homage to the Supreme Emperor."

The curtain was lifted, revealing a gray, wrinkled face, white hair sparse and disheveled, looking almost like a dying man. Li Ji glanced up briefly, thinking to himself, "This is the former emperor? The one who was once a young and dashing figure, who quelled the Wei faction and seized power, creating the so-called Kaiyuan Prosperity, only to shatter that illusion with his own hands?" He looked quite a bit like Li Heng...

Then a hoarse voice asked, "Are you Li Ji?"

"Your subject is Li Ji."

"Come closer and speak."

Li Ji thought to himself, "I haven't even taken off my weapon yet. You're the one who told me to come closer. It's not my fault..." In fact, he really wanted to get closer because Li Longji was weak and had a lot of phlegm, so his speech was muffled. Even if he had good hearing, he couldn't hear clearly from a distance.

So he stood up, bowed, and took three steps forward. Just as he was about to kneel down again, he heard Li Longji say, "Stand still, so I won't have to bow my head."

"Yes."

Li Longji, with his hazy old eyes, looked Li Ji up and down, then smiled slightly and said, "I mentioned you before. You are Li Bi's cousin and once saved the lives of Li Tan and Lady Shen... Indeed, what a valiant and brave man! If you had been born twenty years earlier, you could have fought alongside the likes of Geshu Han and Gao Xianzhi on the battlefield..."

"Your Majesty is so complimentary."

Li Longji took a breath and continued, "Do your job well, and our Tang Dynasty will certainly not fail those who have rendered meritorious service..."

Li Ji thought to himself, "Stop talking nonsense. 'Respecting meritorious officials'? What happened to Wang Zhongsi? What happened to Geshu Han? An Sishun, Gao Xianzhi, Feng Changqing—are their heads still on their necks?"

"Alas, the cycle of karma is truly swift, and retribution is inevitable..." Li Longji suddenly sighed, "In the past, I wielded my three-foot sword to annihilate the Wei clan, who murdered the emperor, and helped my late father ascend the throne. Forty-eight years have passed in the blink of an eye, and now we have come to this... I wonder if there is still a Chen Xuanli in this world? In the future, to whom will my Tang dynasty belong..."

Upon hearing this, Li Ji frowned, his suspicions growing.

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Just north of Li Longji's carriage, in the Daning Ward, next to Xing Tang Temple, there was a residence with a two-story pavilion built against the ward wall. At this moment, on the upper floor, bamboo curtains were hanging low, and a person was secretly peeking down through a gap with the middle finger of his right hand.

Looking at the imperial carriage moving to the new palace, the man couldn't help but sigh softly: "In this power struggle, the Emperor has ultimately won."

A voice came from behind: "That's not necessarily true."

If Li Ji were here, he would surely recognize the person inside as Cui Guangyuan, the former military governor of Weizhou, whom he had once summoned and met once before. Although Cui had fled after his defeat, Li Heng pardoned him and appointed him as the Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince.

Cui Guangyuan sat at the table, on which lay a complete set of tea-making tools. He held a small stone mill between his legs, using the roller to finely grind the tea leaves that had just been cut from the tea cake, while waiting for the water to boil. Beside him, a small charcoal stove burned, with an iron jar on it. Cui Qi, dressed as a maid, was fanning the charcoal fire with a palm-leaf fan, her eyes fixed on the jar, not daring to look away for even a moment.

As for the person peeking through the window, Li Ji did not recognize him. It was none other than Yan Zhuang, the former rebel and now the Minister of Agriculture.

Upon hearing Cui Guangyuan's words, Yan Zhuang turned his head slightly and asked, "Oh, what do you mean?"

Cui Guangyuan put down his work and held up two fingers: "The Emperor placed two pieces earlier, which seem like idle moves, but they may be able to turn the tide of the game in the future."

Yan Zhuang curled his lip: "The future? Does this old man even have a future?"

Cui Guangyuan laughed and said, "He has been an emperor for forty years. He has enjoyed all the power, glory, and even beauties. What regrets could he possibly have? Now that he is old and frail, who cares about his posthumous reputation or the fate of the country? He only wants to avenge his grievances. Then he can rest in peace in the afterlife."

Yan Zhuang couldn't help but smile: "This place is quite interesting, unlike the An family, who, even with my assistance, are still careless and clueless, yet they're shrewd enough to understand intrigue and scheming. It's just that the Emperor's plans are probably not unknown to the Sage..." He glanced slightly outside, then suddenly frowned:

"The carriage has stopped, and the Emperor has summoned someone... Could this person be...?"