Tang Dynasty Puppet Doctor

Chapter 169 The Emperor's Green Hat, Triumph
The envoy immediately knelt down, pleading, "No, no, alright, I'll tell you, I'll tell you. It was Princess Anle... After Princess Anle covered up the contents of these two imperial edicts, she had the emperor affix his seal, and then lied to the emperor, saying that she had come to appease the soldiers on the frontier..."

Upon hearing this, Lu Shiyilang's eyes widened, and he roared, "What? How could such a thing happen? Is the current emperor an idiot?"

"You dare call the emperor stupid? You don't want to live?"

Xie Zi'e gave Lu Shiyilang a hard knock on the head, but the envoy couldn't listen to Lu Shiyilang's words at the moment. Instead, he was trembling as he looked at Li Linghuan, who was holding a red-tasseled spear and had the imposing aura of an empress.

"What's the situation in Luoyang now... no, in Chang'an?" Xiao Muchen asked, somewhat incredulously.

"Speak up, or I'll kill you right now!" Lu Shiyilang continued to shout.

The envoy then answered tremblingly, "It was after the Crown Prince became emperor that he changed the name of the Zhou Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, and then moved the capital to Chang'an with all the civil and military officials. He made Lady Wei his empress and married Princess Anle to Wu Chongxun, the son of Prince Liang, Wu Sansi."

The Emperor feared the five ministers, but he especially trusted the Prince of Liang, regarding him as a confidant. Not only did he frequently visit the Prince of Liang's residence incognito, but he also sent Empress Wei to play backgammon with the Prince of Liang. Even Consort Shangguan became an envoy for the Emperor to win over the Prince of Liang…

"Wait a minute—" Lu Shilang couldn't help but interrupt, "Isn't Empress Wei dead? How can the Emperor still send Empress Wei to play chess with Prince Liang?"

The messenger trembled and cried, "She was originally dead, but on the very day after the emperor ascended the throne and posthumously honored her as empress, she suddenly woke up. It is said that her virtue moved Heaven, and she was resurrected."

"what……"

Lu Shiyilang laughed in disbelief, then asked, "And what about Princess Anle? How can a princess interfere in court affairs and get the emperor to stamp a decree on her at will? Doesn't that make her the emperor?"

The envoy replied, “Right now, the most popular figures in Chang’an are, firstly, the Prince of Liang, and secondly, Princess Anle. The Emperor greatly favors Princess Anle. Not only did he promote Cui Shi to the position of Vice Minister of War and Chancellor at the Princess’s suggestion, but he also granted Princess Anle the authority to establish her own government and offices, and allowed her to participate in politics like Princess Taiping.”

Because the Emperor felt guilty towards the princess and genuinely loved her, Princess Anle often presented him with her own written edicts, requesting him to affix his seal. Now, the princess was even begging the Emperor to make her Crown Princess, but this was stopped by some ministers in the court who submitted memorials to the Emperor.

Upon hearing this, Li Yi, Lu Shiyilang, and the others were not only surprised, but also shocked and incredulous, as if struck by lightning.

"Is this the return to the Tang Dynasty and the return of the people's hearts that the five ministers sought? They forced the Empress to abdicate, and this is the kind of emperor they have been given?"

"I wonder what those five ministers are thinking now?" Lu Shiyilang teased.

"What else can one feel? Under the scheme and framing of the King of Liang, Prime Minister Zhang Jianzhi and Cui Xuanwei of the eldest branch of the Cui family of Boling were both exiled and died of illness. Jing Hui, Huan Yanfan and Yuan Shuji were all tortured to death by the new cruel official Zhou Lizhen."

"When the birds are all gone, the hunting dogs are cooked—this is their fate!"

Li Linghuan couldn't help but sneer inwardly: I wonder if these five ministers regret their choice to support Li Xian?

Because of her words, everyone's mouths dropped open.

"Madam Xiao, how did you know? Even if the news came from Chang'an, it wouldn't be this fast, would it?"

Xiao Muchen then replied, "I told her that Xuan Yu is still in Luoyang, but he has now gone to Chang'an with the Emperor. He sent me the message using the Fire Phoenix."

"Oh!"

No one doubted the matter anymore, but Xie Zi'e asked in confusion, "However, even if this Princess Anle is favored by the Emperor, why would she forge an imperial edict and falsely accuse the Anxi military governor of our border region of treason? What grudge does she have against Madam Xiao?"

"Yes, why would she frame my Ah Huan?"

Ah Shu angrily replied, then glared fiercely at the messenger.

The envoy wasn't afraid of A-Shu, but under Li Linghuan's pressure, he didn't even have the courage to stand up. He could only glance at Xiao Muchen and answer truthfully, "This old servant guesses that the princess might... have taken a fancy to Prime Minister Xiao, so she wants Madam Xiao to... disappear?"

"Pfft—" Liu Sheng suddenly spat out a mouthful of tea.

"Just...this is the reason?" Lu Shiyilang was still somewhat incredulous.

Li Yi replied meaningfully, "It's not impossible. After all, some people's jealousy can be terrifying when it burns. I've witnessed it firsthand."

Aren't Cui Ying and Cui Ying living examples?
After Li Yi said that, the crowd could no longer laugh.

"That would be terrible. Now she can forge imperial edicts at will and treats Madam Xiao as an enemy. Wouldn't it be very dangerous for us to return to Chang'an?"

Inside the tent, everyone's gaze was fixed on Li Linghuan, but Li Linghuan's mind was filled with the heroic spirits of the forty thousand soldiers from his previous life. So he said resolutely, "It's alright! Chang'an, we must go back! And we must set off immediately!"

"Since she wants me dead, then I'll stand alive in front of her and see how she tries to kill me."

……

The day the army set off was near the end of the year.

On this day, thousands of lights illuminated the city of Chang'an, just as described in the ancient poem about Chang'an, where fine horses and carved carriages still adorned the city, and prosperity remained unchanged.

However, besides Princess Taiping's residence, Princess Anle's residence in Shangshanfang is now bustling with carriages and horses.

Princess Anle, Li Guo'er, now possesses a mansion comparable to that of Princess Taiping, and has appointed "hundred officials" within it for her own use. Many of these officials were recommended by her to enter the court, and even several prime ministers came from her household.

However, these people relied not on talent, but on beauty and money. Originally, during the reign of the Empress, most of the prime ministers in the court were truly talented and entered officialdom through the imperial examination. However, many of them failed the Empress's assessment within three years and were dismissed or had their families wiped out. Therefore, there was a saying at that time that prime ministers could not serve for more than three years.

But things are different now. The current emperor is benevolent and tolerant, and anyone who is recommended can enter the court. As a result, high-ranking officials and nobles have started to sell official positions, including Shangguan Wan'er and Princess Anle.

Princess Anle's criteria for selecting talent were appearance and money. In other words, as long as you were good-looking and had enough money, you could buy the official position you wanted. Those who were mediocre in appearance and poor would never be able to find their place no matter how hard they tried.

Li Guo'er made a fortune by selling official positions and gradually indulged in a life of extravagance and debauchery. In order to compete with the noble ladies in wealth, she not only created the Hundred Birds Skirt, which was made at the cost of shooting a hundred birds, but also demolished other people's houses and occupied fertile land for her own use.

An imperial censor impeached Princess Anle for forcibly abducting children from ordinary people to be their slaves and advised Li Xian, but Li Xian did not heed the advice and instead allowed her to do as she pleased.

At this very moment, Li Guo'er was hosting a banquet in her mansion, dressed in an extremely gorgeous Hundred Birds Dress, and the distinguished guests she invited were mostly scions of famous families in Chang'an.

These scions of noble families would spend their days drinking and reveling, composing poems and lyrics, praising her to the skies. But Li Guo'er always felt something was missing. After listening to these young nobles recite their poems with a sense of boredom, she returned to her room. While dressing in front of the mirror, admiring her stunning beauty and the most gorgeous new clothes in the world, she asked, "Has the envoy I sent to Anxi not returned yet?"

"Is that woman dead or not?"

A maidservant answered tremblingly, "No news has come back yet!" Noticing Li Guo'er's gaze was like a sharp blade, the maidservant changed her answer, "But it should be soon!"

"Hmph, if that woman knows what's good for her, she'd better commit suicide to atone for her sins, otherwise I won't spare the Su family." "Yes, yes!" the maid replied anxiously.

Li Guo'er was finally satisfied. She then picked up an imperial edict that had been sitting on the table for a long time, and her face suddenly darkened.

Her father doted on her in every way, but refused to make her the Crown Princess. This made her very depressed. She thought to herself: "My father refuses to make me the Crown Princess because there is still my illegitimate son, Li Chongjun. If he dies, there will be no one to compete with me."

Just then, someone came to report: "Princess, something terrible has happened!"

"What's wrong now?"

"I just heard news that a minister has submitted a memorial accusing Prince Liang of committing adultery in the harem..."

Although Li Xian has a large harem, he is a man of deep affection. Apart from Lady Wei and the newly appointed Consort Shangguan, almost no other woman has won his favor. Moreover, even Shangguan Wan'er is only in charge of imperial edicts for him.

To say that the King of Liang was corrupt in the harem, isn't that directly pointing to his mother, Empress Wei?

……

At this moment, a young official who had just entered officialdom jumped out and submitted a memorial directly accusing Empress Wei of having an affair with Wu Sansi. He bluntly stated that Emperor Li Xian's hat had been tainted, and that it was as green as a green field. Li Xian was furious and immediately wanted to behead this clueless official who was completely ignorant of the ways of the world, but he was stopped by Song Jing, the Yellow Gate Attendant.

Li Xian was so angry that he rushed out of his palace without even putting on his shoes, pointed at Song Jing's nose, and shouted: "I have already ordered him to be beheaded, why don't you carry it out?"

Song Jing answered frankly: "Someone has accused the Prince of Liang of having an affair with the Empress. Your Majesty wants to execute him without asking a single question. I fear this will cause the people of the world to gossip. Therefore, I beg Your Majesty to allow me to investigate this matter thoroughly."

They want to investigate this thoroughly? Do they think he hasn't embarrassed himself enough?

Li Xian was so angry that his eyes almost popped out: "I think you just want me to be talked about by the world!"

But Li Xian had no choice but to tolerate Song Jing's outspokenness.

As Li Xian had predicted, the affair between Prince Liang Wu Sansi and Empress Wei soon became an open secret throughout the court and among the people.

Moreover, this secret spread to every corner of Chang'an, becoming a source of amusement and amusement for literary figures.

Even with the rumors reaching such a fever pitch, Li Xian did not take any action against Empress Wei, nor did he severely punish Wu Sansi. This open secret seemed to have become the emperor's own choice. The ministers were helpless about this, but since the emperor himself could tolerate it, they could only pretend not to know about the green hat shining brightly on his head.

In the dead of night, Lady Wei hid in Li Xian's arms and cried. Li Xian not only did not blame her, but also comforted her, saying, "I know that you made a sacrifice for me. They don't understand you, but I do. I will always remember the hardships you endured with me. Don't listen to those rumors!"

Li Xian always believed that when Lady Wei often played chess with Wu Sansi, it wasn't out of love, but rather because they shared a common goal: to help him consolidate his power and suppress dissidents.

"With Your Majesty's words, I have nothing to fear!"

Tears welled in Mrs. Wei's eyes, but a smile played on her lips.

……

The next day, Li Guo'er came to the Empress's palace and said in a very indignant and coquettish tone:

"Mother, what should we do? Father just won't agree to make me the Crown Princess. He says he can grant me any wish, so why is this one thing he won't do?"

Lady Wei was also very troubled. Recently, Shangguan Wan'er had been advising her to wait for the current emperor to die, just like the previous empress Wu Zetian, and then take the throne herself. However, Li Xian was still in good health and might live to be eighty years old like his mother. If she wanted to wait until he passed away, she herself might not be around anymore, so how could she possibly take the throne?

But when she thought of her mother-in-law sitting on the dragon throne, enjoying the adoration of all the officials, Wei's heart surged like a turbulent sea.

If even a woman from a merchant family could attain such a supreme imperial throne, why couldn't she?
"Yes! He refuses, so what can we do?"

Thinking of this, Wei's eyes lit up, and he realized a highly improbable possibility.

"Mother, why don't you become the emperor, just like my grandmother? After you become emperor, you can make me the crown princess, what do you think?"

Li Guo'er seemed to have found the fastest shortcut and whispered.

These words were exactly what Madam Wei wanted to hear. The mother and daughter exchanged a glance, understanding each other without saying a word, as if they had reached a consensus.

……

After Li Guo'er returned to her princess residence, she summoned Cui Shi again. Cui Shi had dressed up carefully for the occasion, but in Li Guo'er's eyes, this person seemed to be increasingly out of her aesthetic sensibilities. Both his appearance and behavior disgusted her more and more.

She couldn't help but regret how she had ever fallen for this man with his fake smile and no sincerity whatsoever.

Thinking about it this way, she missed the day when she first met Xiao Muchen on the street of Fangling County even more, thinking to herself: such a person deserves to be called a celestial being who has fallen to the mortal world, an unparalleled genius, a true genius among men.

"How's the matter I asked you to handle?" Li Guo'er asked impatiently as soon as they met.

"Are you saying we should send a legendary assassin to kill Murong Huan, or have an envoy force him to commit suicide?"

"Anyway, it doesn't matter which one it is, as long as she's dead."

Cui Shi smiled and replied:

"I have heard that the military governor of Anxi has returned in triumph with 40,000 Tang troops!"

"How is this possible?" Li Guo'er stood up abruptly in anger. Perhaps the movement was too great, as it aggravated her already protruding belly. At this moment, she seemed to find even the child extremely annoying. "How can she still be alive? What about the messenger I sent?"

“Princess, we are returning in triumph, so the envoy is no longer important. You would prefer that the envoy has been killed, otherwise, if he turns against you, it will be very disadvantageous for you.”

"Hmph, Father Emperor won't blame me for a mere messenger, but why did it take you so long to inform me of such a significant matter? And how did you even find out about it?"

"The good news has already arrived from Anxi. As the current Chancellor, I also have an intelligence network under my command, so I am naturally aware of this matter."

"Then what do you suggest we do? She's returned with merit, so what grounds do I have to kill her?"

"I do have a plan, but it depends on whether you, Princess, are willing to give it up?"