Princess Jinyang of the Tang Dynasty

Su choked for a long time, trembling lips and tongue indistinctly confessed again: "I'm sorry Your Highness."

"I'm envious of you, I just left, but Jueqing still needs someone to take care of me." Li Chengqian looked at her coldly, frowned, reached out to wipe the tears on Su Shi's face, and then left the East China Sea with great strides. temple.

"I'm sorry for you father and son. Promise me that you must live well and help me take care of him." Su grabbed Li Chengqian's hand, threw himself into his arms and cried bitterly.

At this time, the guard Mu Xuyuan entered the palace and told Li Chengqian that the time had come, "The princess said it can't last longer."

"No—" At the moment Su Shi separated from Li Chengqian, she was desperate and heartbroken to the end. In the end, she looked at Li Chengqian's leaving back in despair, with her arms on the ground, crying uncontrollably.

Li Mingda was stunned for a moment, she never sent anyone to urge Li Chengqian, nor did she limit how long Li Chengqian and Su Shi would have to talk.Hearing the sound of Li Chengqian's leaving footsteps gradually drifting away, Li Mingda quickly regained his senses.She immediately ordered Zuo Qingmei to take someone to take care of the Su family as soon as possible, so as not to do anything cruel under the agitation of her emotions.As for Li Chengqian, Li Mingda led Tian Hanshan and Cheng Chubi by his side and followed him from afar.

Out of the East Sea Hall, and then go south for about a stick of incense, you can see the Jinshui River. This river is diverted from the Weishui to the Xuanwu Gate. It is clear that the open channel is clear, the river is gurgling, and the weeping willows are surging on both sides. An excellent place to appreciate.

Seeing no one there, Li Chengqian slowed down and sighed annoyedly.Standing near the waterside pavilion, he clenched his right fist and thumped the railing hard.

"The slut caused trouble for no reason, and caused me to the point where I am now. Our plan was almost exposed because of her. I really shouldn't have been deceived by her gentle and honest look at the beginning. I didn't know that she turned out to be so strong-tempered until I married into the Eastern Palace. .”

"Fortunately, there is room for redemption. When Your Highness parted with her just now, I saw that she was reluctant to part with her in every possible way. She must have a deep old love for His Highness. For this feeling, she will not leak our affairs. " Li Chengqian's bodyguard Mu Xuyuan replied.

"Send a letter to the concubine Fang later, so that he and the princess are stable, and don't open your mouth if you can during these days. Don't fall into the trap of Sizi. I see that girl has become more and more nosy recently, no Very annoying."

"Yes." Mu Xuyuan paused, and hurriedly replied: "Your Highness, but we haven't found the thorn in the crown princess's hand yet."

"Sting? I don't know if there is one, or not. In order to save her life, she deliberately intimidated me by making up random things."

"The princess is thoughtful and has a strong temper. She doesn't seem to be unprepared. The subordinates feel that the thorn must be there. The most important thing now is to let her take the initiative to tell who the thorn is before she dies, and then Pull it out for him. Otherwise, it will be a disaster sooner or later. Once Su Shi dies, if His Highness's important affairs are really pierced by this thorn, it will be really difficult to deal with it. Maybe it will be—" Mu Xuyuan didn't say the following words, tabooing that word.

Li Mingda naturally guessed what Mu Xuyuan wanted to express, it was nothing more than the fact that the matter was revealed, everyone was dead, and we finished playing together.After thinking about it, Li Mingda felt that their so-called "big plans" and "major events" were probably related to rebellion.

Li Mingda didn't have time to continue to think deeply, Li Chengqian over there spoke again.

"In order to get Su Shi's sympathy, I didn't even care about my face this time. Fortunately, I cheated that stupid woman. I pretended to be so affectionate that I felt sick. Thanks to your good memory, you can remember Su Shi's old I can clearly remember her manners and eyes, otherwise it would be really hard for me to convince her just by relying on 'affectionate' and not making up stories. When I opened my mouth just now, Su Shi's face was so amazed that she regretted not being good to me at the beginning. With that expression on her face, she even apologized to me in every way full of guilt." Li Chengqian sneered, "Just because she cared about this love, she probably wouldn't stab me in the end."

Mu Xuyuan hurriedly cupped his hands and said to Li Chengqian in admiration: "Your Highness is wise."

"I knew I would have used this trick at the beginning, so why bother me now. I only hope that the sage can fool us and not delay our plan." Li Chengqian beat the railing with his fist again, and Fang took Mu Xuyuan back to the East Palace .

Cheng Chubi was accompanying Princess Jinyang to enjoy the shade under the big tree at the moment, with a dazed expression, wondering why the princess was so leisurely today, after seeing the high wall behind the East Sea Palace, he turned to look at the big tree again.

This is a sycamore tree with a thick trunk and towering branches. Standing under the tree, only a few dappled rays of sunlight shine down. It is really a good place to enjoy the shade.

But here is more than 30 feet away from the Jinshui River. Because the garden is full of flowers, plants and trees, you can't see the situation there at all. I don't know if the prince is passing by or staying for a short time, and then he will say a few words talk.

Originally, Cheng Chubi thought that the princess was going to bring the two of them to eavesdrop, but he never expected that the princess would stop chasing the prince when he saw the figure of the prince sneaking into the garden.

Cheng Chubi moved his eyes and aimed at Tian Hanshan.This eunuch is stronger than him, with a blank face, holding a dust whisk in his hand, standing upright, just staring at the ground in front of him in a daze, in short, he is not at all curious about the sudden behavior of her princess standing under the tree .Cheng Chubi looked at Li Mingda again. The petite figure was leaning against the tree trunk, with her head raised halfway, her eyes were fixed on the leaves, her ears were facing the southwest, with a serious expression on her face. I don't know if she was thinking about something, or if she found the leaves. something on it.In short, the demeanor is very dignified.

"Let's go." Li Mingda said.

Cheng Chubi finally heard the princess's words, and glanced at Li Mingda again.He is a military commander, and he is usually not very good at observing people, but even he noticed today that the princess is not in a good mood.Cheng Chubi also discovered that the princess' complexion would gradually become heavy when she was in a daze behind the East Sea Palace and under the sycamore tree in front of her.

Cheng Chubi couldn't figure it out, but he is a guard, he just sticks to his duty, so he will only rot in his stomach with these doubts, and he won't say a word.

Li Mingda immediately returned to the Lizheng Hall, and when he heard that Li Shimin was there, he thought he should report back.But Li Mingda could hear that there were other people in the hall, so he didn't want to disturb him, he planned to go back to his room first and come back later, he didn't want to meet Fang Qirui and bring someone over with some fruit.

Fang Qirui saluted, "The sage just mentioned the princess, and the princess is here."

Li Mingda had no choice but to enter the palace with Fang Qirui.

The people in the hall who listened to the orders were actually Fang Yizhi and Yuchi Baoqi.The two stood side by side in the center of the hall, one cautious, the other neither humble nor overbearing, just in proportion.

"Let the two of you go over this matter, and report to me immediately after finding out the reason. When the imperial court is in the midst of employing people, it will first take care of you children, and don't let your father lose face." Li Shimin saw Li Mingda enter the door , he quickly finished his orders, and sent the two of them down.

Li Mingda didn't hear the previous words, so he didn't know what happened, but he wasn't curious.There are too many important national affairs assigned by her father every day, so she can't let her worry about them one by one.

Yuchi Baoqi was a little excited when he saw Li Mingda.Glancing at her secretly, the corners of his mouth raised slightly, and he secretly greeted Li Mingda.But the princess is a princess, she didn't look at him, and just ignored her.

Yuchi Baoqi turned to look at Fang Yizhi, this guy was different from her after all, so she followed Fang Yizhi's example and obediently retreated.

When Li Shimin saw Li Mingda, a smile appeared on his solemn face, he hurriedly called her over, and asked her if she had any more questions from Mrs. Su.

"I asked my eldest brother to meet her, and say goodbye for the last time." Li Mingda said.

Li Shimin immediately understood Li Mingda's approach, praised her for being clever, and asked her to continue talking.

"It's inappropriate to say too much, and I don't feel at ease if I don't say more. It's the same sentence, don't talk about things without evidence." Li Shimin is her father, but he is also the king of a country, so in terms of repaying, Li Mingda feels that he It's best to be cautious.

Li Shimin was stunned for a moment, and said to Li Mingda: "At this moment, you and I are father and daughter, not kings and princesses. If you talk nonsense, Aye will just listen to it casually, and don't take it seriously."

Only then did Li Mingda agree, and recounted to Li Shimin the conversation between the Su family and Li Chengqian in the East Sea Palace.This is what Li Mingda claimed to have sent someone to eavesdrop, and he can still say it, but Li Mingda has no way to repeat what Li Chengqian said in Jinshuihe and Mu Xuyuan.

After hearing this, Li Shimin immediately scolded Su Shi for being unworthy, and Li Chengqian for being stupid. "What's this called! A prince, a princess, a good husband and wife, have to break up and break up to torture each other before they are willing?"

Li Mingda continued: "Aye, you said that if one person is really good to another person, just like Aye doting on me, people can always feel it, right? Why didn't my sister-in-law notice it and make such a fuss? Big misunderstanding?"

Li Shimin's heart sank, and there was a trace of suspicion in his heart.Could it be that Li Chengqian was just coaxing Su's words, with his mind, he should have expected that there would be ears around the East Sea Palace.If Li Chengqian used his feelings as a falsehood, then his words that he took so much trouble to say are really intriguing.But just now when Si Zi recounted Li Chengqian's words, there are many details to show his deep affection for Su Shi, and it doesn't sound like a fake.

Which is true and which is false?

"By the way, I remember that there seems to be a guard named Mu Xuyuan next to my elder brother. It is rumored that he has a good memory, but he has a good memory. He is so good that he even remembers the leaves growing on the tree in front of his house ten years ago. Clear, is it true?" Li Mingda then asked Li Shimin.

"The photographic memory is somewhat exaggerated, but Mu Xuyuan's memory is indeed better than ordinary people."

After being reminded by Li Mingda, Li Shimin suddenly thought that Li Chengqian could get those details from his bodyguard Mu Xuyuan. To sum up, it is not impossible to fabricate an affectionate story to deceive Su Shi.But if this 'possibility' is true, it can be confirmed that Li Chengqian does have a secret, and the Su family knows about it.Now that Su's family is in trouble, Li Chengqian is afraid that Su's mouth will leak out, so he goes out of his way to deceive her feelings in an attempt to silence her.

If this is the case, Li Chengqian's city mansion is too amazing, and this secret is probably something that will shock him as well.

His eldest son, Sizi's eldest brother.After Li Shimin expected that Li Chengqian was very likely to harbor treasonous intentions, his heart suddenly ached. From this, one can imagine how uncomfortable Sizi would be if faced with such a truth.This matter must not be allowed to be further investigated by Sizi, but as long as this child is in the Taiji Palace, she will inevitably want to care about her elder brother.

Li Shimin immediately thought of an idea, and said to Li Mingda: "Since the matter of your sister-in-law has been found out, let's let her receive the punishment she deserves. This matter will stop here. Although your eldest brother is sad, but After all, he is the prince of a country, as long as he cares about the affairs of the country, these sons and daughters' love will eventually pass."

Li Mingda nodded.

Li Shimin saw that she was quiet and didn't show too much, and she felt even more distressed, "Actually, Aye doesn't want you to see these family ugliness, but there is nothing you can do about this situation. You have to grow up, and you have to face some things by yourself. Aye is an emperor, and it is impossible to protect you everywhere. You should understand the truth of being vigilant at all times and protecting yourself.

Now that you have seen these intrigues and deceits, you should also understand that there are good and evil in people's hearts.

When something happens, as long as we deal with it properly, it will eventually pass, nothing serious.If the seasons change, winter comes and flowers fall, there will always be a time when spring comes and flowers bloom again, understand? "

"Sir, I understand." Li Mingda nodded his head in resignation.

Li Shimin smiled gratifiedly, his daughter is always so smart, sensible, and has always lived up to his favor.

"There have been a lot of things happening recently, and your aunt just sent a letter saying that she is not well. I heard that there is a Ling'an Temple in Anzhou that prays for blessings, so I want you to go there. One is to pray for my Tang Dynasty; the other is to visit your aunt. The third is just to get rid of the darkness on your body, and bless you with safety and success in the future, and don't have any dangerous things like falling off a cliff to make Aye worry about you."

Li Mingda understood his father's intentions, nodded in agreement, and then resigned.

Not long after, Li Mingda heard from the main hall in the house that Li Shimin ordered his subordinates to monitor Li Chengqian from now on, and asked them to report all abnormalities in the East Palace every day.

The next day, Li Mingda heard that Su Shi hadn't eaten or drank since yesterday, so he went to see her again.

Su's gaze was distracted, and she squatted on her front feet, not looking at or paying attention to anyone, but she heard that Li Mingda was coming, she just blinked a few more times, and did not make any other movements.

"Early in the morning, the sage asked me to interrogate her again, and wanted her to explain something related to the prince, but she didn't say a word, just like this." Zuo Qingmei whispered to Li Mingda.

Li Mingda nodded, leaving only Tian Hanshan and Zuo Qingmei behind, he drove away the idlers in the house, and said to Su Shi: "My elder brother lied to you yesterday."

Su's eyes moved again, and suddenly rushed over like crazy, Zuo Qingmei and Tian Hanshan immediately stopped her.

"Go away, I don't allow anyone to say anything about separating our husband and wife. Why hasn't the saint's punishment come down? I intend to kill the princess, why don't you let me die."

"Mu Xuyuan, do you know?" Li Mingda continued, "As the bodyguard of the eldest brother, he has the ability of photographic memory, do you still remember?"

"What exactly do you want to say?" Su Shi glared at Li Mingda.

Li Mingda: "My sister-in-law is so smart, I should know it in my heart."

Su Shi gradually calmed down, sat on the ground, weeping and laughing, "Si, I think you hate me so much, you want me to die badly, and you want me to die unreconciled and make it more painful, so you insist on being tortured after me." Before, you said these things to stab me. Don’t talk about your elder brother anymore. I believe he has a deep affection for me. It’s my fault. I misunderstood him and hurt him too much! I beg you not to provoke The affection between us!

I really don't understand, he is your big brother, why don't you think of family affection, why do you still target him like this after I have pleaded guilty?Don't you understand, what I said about 'another big thing' that day was just to shirk responsibility and save my life.Now I have seen through it too, they are all dead, why bother to drag someone, he is still Jueqing's father. "

"It seems that my sister-in-law is going to be obsessed with it, or she knows it in her heart, she just wants to lie to herself and leave in a daze." Li Mingda said.

Su glared at Li Mingda, and sneered, "My husband and my sister-in-law, if I choose one to believe, I will naturally believe in the former. You want to provoke me so much, mess with my heart, and make me not live in peace before I die? That's just right. , I also have something to tell you here."

Li Mingda looked at Mrs. Su.

"On the Shangsi Festival, I was the one who pushed you off the cliff. But it may not be me who made me decide to push you down the cliff. There may be someone else. There was something I didn't tell you at the time, but now I am getting closer and closer. The more I think about it, the more strange I feel. At that time, I was arguing with you, and indeed I missed you and almost caused you to fall off the cliff, but when I first grabbed your hand, I didn't hesitate, just because I wanted to pull you.

But then something hit me on the head suddenly, I thought it was Yu Feng reminding me, persuading me to deal with you decisively, so I thought about it, and finally let go.

But when I asked Yu Feng afterwards, he flatly denied it. Qiaoer also said that Yu Feng didn't throw anything away, and said that the two of them were dumbfounded and didn't think about anything else.I thought it might be my delusion, but afterwards I really had a lump on my head, which was red and swollen. Thinking about it, it must be a stone hitting me on the head.

Besides, Si, you didn't even have a maid by your side, what were you doing alone in the woods?Could it be that you, like me, also plan to meet a lover privately? "

"I should have chased you after I found out that you were leaving the palace in disguise. I wanted to ask you first in private." Li Mingda explained.

Su sneered, "How is this possible, do you really think I'm stupid? Since I asked Yu Feng to take me out of the palace, I naturally had to avoid all acquaintances. I came by car with the imperial chef and Guowan from the Shangshi Bureau, God Before dawn, I went up the mountain early, and you are all on the road when you go hiking, it is absolutely impossible for you to see me before you meet me in the woods."

When Li Mingda heard this, his heart tightened.Because it was too shocking and difficult to adapt when she found out that the Su family was related to her falling off the cliff, she really neglected to check the specific path that Yu Feng took Su's into the mountain at that time.If it was true what Su Shi said, she would have arrived on the mountain long ago, and he didn't first see Su Shi and recognize him, so he went to argue with her in private.Why do you want to be alone in the woods?Did someone really hit the stone on Su's head on purpose, or did it fall from the top of the mountain by accident?

"How about it, isn't it uncomfortable to be planted with doubts in your heart? I beg you, don't come here again, don't mention your elder brother to me again. No one will ever try to frame him with false words from my mouth Let me tell you, the prince is conscientious and diligent, and has never failed Datang!

Although I have committed a lot of crimes and hated him to the utmost, but when a person is about to die, his words are good. I will not make up false stories to frame him again.You go, I don't want to see you. After saying that, Mrs. Su turned around coldly, facing the wall, and said nothing more.

Li Mingda was silent for a while, and then left the East Sea Hall.

Although she didn't show any joy or anger on her face, her heart was extremely heavy.

Zuo Qingmei is well aware of the princess's temperament, she followed the sage to deal with state affairs since she was a child, and she has seen some scandals in the court, in fact, she has the ability to be calm when she practiced early.But the accident of a close relative this time is still a big blow to the princess. Although she has never cried or complained, her heartache is definitely not less than that of the Su family.

"Can you decide how to deal with the Su family?" Li Mingda asked.

"I can't escape death, but it's not certain whether it will be announced to the outside world. After all, there is still an eldest son. If Su's scandal is announced, all the ministers will definitely ask for decree to depose his crown princess. The young one—"

Li Mingda raised his hand to signal Zuo Qingmei not to say any more, and then quickly walked back to the Lizheng Hall.

Tian Hanshan knew that his lord was thinking about what Su said, he hurriedly said: "People are crazy, what they say is still somewhat credible, your lord should not take it too seriously."

"I can't prove Shizi's story, but the way up the mountain can be checked. You take someone to interrogate Yu Feng again, and then go to Shangshi Bureau for verification." Li Mingda said.

Tian Hanxi took the order and came back two hours later, nodded to Li Mingda and said: "The story about Su's going up the mountain is indeed not a lie. But the thing about the stones really seems to be fabricated, your lord, don't think too much about it." , said one thousand words ten thousand, she is the one who let go of your hand and let your lord die, and she has nothing to do with Shi Zi."

"do not talk."

Li Mingda drank pear juice from a bowl, kept a silent face, and said nothing more.

……

The next day, Li Mingda heard that in the main hall, Li Shimin was discussing privately with Fang Xuanling on how to deal with the Su family.For this reason, Li Chengqian came to the Lizheng Hall to kneel down and beg.In the end, because of Jueqing, it was decided not to announce it to the public for the time being, and the Su family was ordered to commit suicide. After death, he was buried in another poor place, and he was not allowed to be buried in the royal mausoleum.

After that, when Li Shimin saw Li Mingda again, he stopped mentioning this matter.

Li Mingda also knew that Li Shimin had a lot of calculations in his mind, so he knew how to avoid it, so he stopped asking, and even presented a coat that he just made a few days ago to Li Shimin.It was a casual dress, made of sackcloth, and it could be seen that it was the clothes worn by ordinary people.

"Aye saw that I was sad, and asked me to go to Anzhou to relax, why not. The world is prosperous, the people are happy, and Aye is free. Why don't you go and see how the world you govern is peaceful and prosperous."

Li Shimin was very moved when he heard these words, felt the weight of the coarse clothes in his hands, and felt that his daughter was sensible and knew his heart.So he, who had been depressed by Li Chengqian's incident for several days, finally avoided the clouds and met Qing, and happily agreed, "I will wear the clothes Sizi made for me in a few days and go out for a walk. Unfortunately, I can't walk too far. Otherwise, Aye must go to Anzhou with you."

Three days later.

Li Mingda is about to leave for Anzhou.Linxing was about to say goodbye to Li Shimin, when he heard the spies in charge of monitoring the East Palace report to Li Shimin, saying that the son-in-law was going to and from the East Palace on a daily basis.Li Shimin immediately ordered people to monitor the Princess Gaoyang's mansion.

For Li Mingda's trip this time, Li Shimin specially ordered someone to calculate the auspicious time, saying that it is best to start when the sun is shining in the afternoon.So after saying goodbye to Li Shimin at noon, Li Mingda and his party left Tai Chi Palace.

Changsun Huan and Cheng Chubi are in charge of all the escorting matters for the princess.

After walking for less than five days, Li Mingda felt that the speed of the car was too slow and wanted to ride fast.Cheng Chubi originally disagreed, but he was speechless when Li Mingda retorted, "You must visit the sick as soon as possible." In addition, Changsun Huan lobbied from it, so he had to agree.A group of people changed to ride fast horses in Gyeonggi-do.

The princess is not arrogant and indulgent, she is very able to endure hardships, and does not need too much care from them, so she arrived in Anzhou in just over a month.

It was also an auspicious time to enter the city, but Li Mingda didn't want to publicize it, so the group prepared to enter the city in a low-key manner at noon.Because of the news that the princess was coming, the city gate was under martial law, and the people had to be interrogated when they came in and out, so a long queue was formed at the gate of the city. A place was bustling with activity.

Li Mingda immediately recognized Yuchi Baoqi's laughter in the noisy voices.Yuchi Baoqi's smile has always been very characteristic, with a bit of romantic meaning that the voice is deliberately lowered to appear magnetic.Li Mingda had a good idea, so he followed the sound to look, and happened to meet Fang Yizhi's eyes.