The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 619: Li Ke's Advance and Retreat Are Even More Difficult

Seeing Li Ke in a hurry and in a state of confusion, Cen Wenben shook his head helplessly: "What is the truth? You know, I know, and even the court officials know it. I dare say that even the emperor knows it."

"But the key is that after all the investigation, Wei Zheng only found you. Quan Cheng, the butler sent by Quan Wanji to bribe people, was caught by Wei Zheng. He has confessed that it was Quan Wanji who ordered him to spread these rumors."

"He hired storytellers, singers and idlers from the market to praise you and belittle the prince."

"Let alone other things, this alone is enough to make him a murderer. Not to mention the subsequent words of ambition that were inflated and overriding the imperial power. Zhangsun Wuji saw this clearly, so he wantonly sent people to the streets to add fuel to the fire. Once the case was exposed, his people had already retreated."

"But those people that Quan Cheng bribed were caught by Wei Zheng, and now you have no way to defend yourself. Can you explain to the emperor that the rumors that praised you and belittled the prince were yours, and the treasonous words that followed were fabricated by others? Can you explain clearly? Can you distinguish between the two?"

"This"

When Li Ke heard this, his face suddenly became extremely ugly. He sat down on the chair dejectedly as if he had lost his parents, and was unable to speak for a long time.

"My Lord?"

Cen Wenben said anxiously, "Usually, Concubine Yang advises you to take a rest and cultivate your character, not to seek the limelight, and not to show off. But you just don't listen. We avoid such things as standing out from the crowd and attracting attention. How can you let people deliberately spread it?"

"Rumors are a double-edged sword, they can hurt others as well as yourself. If you are not careful, both sides will suffer. You only set a small fire, but one person will spread it to ten people, ten to a hundred, and it will spread back and forth. Can you control what the final result will be?"

"Even if Chang Sun Wuji didn't go along with it behind the scenes, it's not uncommon for the people to just follow the crowd and make a tiger out of three people. Chang Sun Wuji saw this point clearly. Now you are like yellow mud falling into your crotch. It's shit, right?"

"From the beginning to the end, Zhangsun Wuji didn't say a word. You said someone else did it, but where's the evidence? Wei Zheng investigated for several days and didn't find any traces related to him. If you blame him at this time, it will only make the emperor more disgusted and say that you framed the prince, which is an even greater crime."

Well.
Li Ke realized that he had fallen into a bottomless vortex. He couldn't find his way out. He couldn't move forward or backward. He was a little flustered and asked at a loss: "What should we do now? Sir, can you think of a solution?"

Even though Li Ke was ignorant of the seriousness of the matter, he knew that being born with miracles and having a canopy over the head were all mysterious things that those ambitious people in the past had added to themselves in order to promote legitimacy after they succeeded in usurping the throne. This time, he was not only putting himself above the crown prince, but also the emperor.

"The only solution now is for Your Highness to pretend he knows nothing and put the blame on Quan Wanji."

Cen Wenben said as he pondered, "Quan Wanji is a smart man. He would not have revealed His Highness' identity. He just said that he was confused for a moment and wanted to publicize His Highness's reputation. He didn't expect that in the end, rumors would spread and his reputation would be completely distorted."

"In this way, perhaps the emperor, considering the upcoming campaign against the Turks and your hard work in repairing the Yongtong Canal, will keep this matter low-key and get away with it."

"But Your Highness must be sincere in his attitude and only say that he failed to discipline his subordinates, which led to this incident. You must not talk back to the Emperor or accuse others. Otherwise, if the Emperor intends to protect you, I'm afraid the court will be furious."

"This"

Li Ke was filled with endless frustration and grievance in his heart. Under Cen Wenben's stern gaze, he finally nodded helplessly, with unspeakable bitterness on his face. He didn't expect that Changsun Wuji was so cunning and actually framed him like this.

Li Ke sighed dejectedly. He always thought highly of himself, but this time he was defeated by the opponent. He also experienced the power of the old ministers in the cabinet.

The other party just took advantage of the situation and gave a slight push, which changed the direction of public opinion drastically. He even shot himself in the foot and ruined the good situation he had risked his life to build. The reputation he had accumulated among the ministers and officials was shattered.

Li Ke sighed and said, "Then I'll send someone to tell Wan Ji now?"

"Absolutely not!"

Cen Wenben flatly rejected the idea, saying, "The Emperor stopped Wei Zheng from investigating further, which was a protection for Your Highness. Now Your Highness dares to defy the will of the world and go to Quan Wanji to collude with him. This shows that you don't take the Emperor seriously."

"If this gets to your Majesty's ears, it will be an even greater crime."

"None of us can go to Quan Wanji's place. We can appease him later. Your Highness should stay in the mansion and reflect on yourself. Think about how to deal with the court tomorrow. Leave the rest to me. I will find a way."

After saying that, Cen Wenben bowed, said goodbye in a hurry and left the Prince of Shu's Mansion!

What Li Ke didn't know was that the attack launched by the Eastern Palace against him was just the beginning. At the Yongtong Canal construction site, as soon as he left, the others did what they were supposed to do. After working hard all day, the workers returned to their temporary residence at night to make fire and cook, while the soldiers of the Zuotun Guard also set up camp nearby.

Wu Qing said hello to the people below, rode his horse out of the camp alone, and came to the nearby Weinan County. He found an inn and looked around quietly. Seeing that no one was paying attention, Wu Qing went to the second floor of the inn and knocked on the door regularly.

With a creak, the door opened.

Wu Qing dodged and walked into the guest room swiftly. A man inside stuck his head out and looked at the corridor. It was Chang Sheng, the General of the Left Guard of the Eastern Palace and the Junior Secretary of the Honglu Temple.

Chang Sheng carefully looked around to make sure there was no suspicious person following him, then closed the door tightly.

Before Wu Qing even sat down, he hurriedly asked, "General, how are you doing in the East Palace recently? Is there any progress?"

"No, I don't know why, it seems to have been idle recently!"

Chang Sheng frowned, his face was haggard, but he still had a serious face. He shook his head and said, "The prince transferred me back from the front line in Yunzhong and put me in the position of the Left Guard of the Eastern Palace, and also served as the Junior Secretary of the Honglu Temple. However, he transferred two veterans, Su Dingfang and Liang Jianfang, to the positions of the Qin Mansion and the Yi Mansion."

"You also know that the inner court of the East Palace is just an empty shell, with only a form for its own sake."

"The Emperor later added 500 soldiers to the Eastern Palace, but the Crown Prince designated two veterans, Su Dingfang and Liang Jianfang, to lead the troops. The two set up a camp at the foot of the mountain by the Wei River, more than ten kilometers north of the city, for special training. I don't know what they were doing."

"Recently, the Emperor has entrusted the task of mobilizing grain and grass between the capital and the border to the Crown Prince. I wanted to ask the Crown Prince for permission to participate and look for opportunities; but the Crown Prince said that these are trivial matters and that veterans like us are not needed. Even Su Dingfang and Liang Jianfang were not used."

"I brought a few tutors and some officials from the Eastern Palace with me. I ran between the Eastern Palace and Tongguan all day, busy collecting taxes and transporting grain. I am now completely free, otherwise how would I dare to come to Weinan?"

Wu Qing was stunned, and asked seriously, "Do you think the court has doubts about your true identity?"

"No, I'm sure it's impossible."

Chang Sheng said solemnly: "You should know that I am the confidant of Prince Yin. If the emperor really finds out, I will not..."

"When I was at the front line in Yunzhong, he could have captured me. There was no way he would have transferred me back to Beijing and put me under arrest. It was even more impossible for him to appear next to the prince. Wasn't he afraid that I would harm the prince? Not to mention the emperor, no father would allow the remnants of his mortal enemy to come into contact with his son, let alone the prince of the Tang Dynasty."

"That's right. Li Shimin doesn't have such courage, let alone the risk of taking the crown prince."

Wu Qing stood in the room, pacing back and forth in annoyance. These intrigues were not what he was good at.

Originally, Changsheng and Sun Da had discussed the matter of seizing military power over Zuotunwei. Now that Sun Da is dead, he could not compete with Changsheng in carrying out these conspiracies.

Few people knew Chang Sheng's identity, and he was trusted by the prince and the emperor. If time went on, Chang Sheng's mind would become active, and if he had other ideas and didn't want to do it anymore, he would not be able to control it.

Wu Qing looked at the many former Eastern Palace personnel in the Zuotunwei Army who had become content with the status quo. Li Shimin's regime was becoming increasingly stable, and the hope of revenge was becoming increasingly slim. If Changsheng also gave up, who would avenge Prince Yin?

In any case, he couldn't wait any longer. Wu Qing decided to take some action as soon as possible to force Changsheng to make a decision.

"General, I think we can't wait any longer. The Yongtong Canal will be completed in the next few days, and Li Ke was called back to Chang'an today. If the project is completed in two days, Cheng Huailiang, the Lieutenant General, will be more stable after his contribution this time. When can the general return to our Zuotun Guard?"

Wu Qing finally made up his mind and said, "The Zuotun Army is stationed in the capital all year round. There are not many opportunities to be transferred out to do things like this. Once the project is completed in two days, they will return to the Western Inner Courtyard and stay at the palace gate and train all day. Will there be no chance for them to do things like this?"

"It just so happens that Li Ke is returning to Chang'an today, so why not choose tonight?"

"Find an opportunity tomorrow and get the job done without anyone noticing. When the position of General Zhonglang becomes vacant, go and ask the Crown Prince for help. He will definitely keep his promise and give you the position."

Chang Sheng was stunned and a little hesitant.

(End of this chapter)