Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 3: Queen Wang killed the little princess?

The Tang people loved to eat mutton, and even distributed it to ministers and princes in the form of salaries.

For example, officials from the prince down to the second rank were given twenty sheep each month, officials from the third rank were given twelve, and officials from the fourth to fifth ranks were given nine.

When Li Zhi drank mutton soup in the morning, he was already thinking about roasting a whole lamb for lunch.

After visiting Queen Wang and Concubine Xiao, he ordered people to remove the wooden planks and set the two women free. He also left Wang Fusheng behind to secretly protect them to prevent Wu Meiniang from getting them drunk.

Because of his headache, he doesn't have to deal with state affairs these two days, and the ministers won't urge him.

It was noon, so he ordered people to build a fire near Beihai Pond and enjoy the feeling of a palace picnic.

It was a pity that he had never roasted a whole lamb, and the eunuchs around him had never tried it before, so the first lamb was burnt.

Li Zhi didn't want to suffer any more, so he gave the roasted lamb to the eunuchs and palace maids. He then asked his attendants, "Do you know who in the palace is good at roasting lamb?"

A palace maid timidly said, "I heard that General Xue Li, who is stationed at Xuanwu Gate, is from Hedong. I heard that the Han people in Hedong all knew how to roast lamb."

Li Zhi was slightly stunned: "Xue Li, he is stationed at Xuanwu Gate?"

Xue Li is Xue Rengui, a super powerful general during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty. How could he be guarding the city gate?
The palace maid responded repeatedly.

Li Zhi smiled and said, "Then send an order and ask him to come over and see his craftsmanship."

The eunuchs and palace servants quickly went to convey the emperor's oral instructions. Not long after, Xue Rengui arrived with several eunuchs.

Li Zhi looked at him carefully and found that Xue Rengui was about forty years old, tall, with strong arms, thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a dignified appearance.

He knew that Xue Rengui came from a poor family and made a living by farming. He joined the army at the age of 30 and was a late bloomer. It was not easy for him to become a General of the Central Army in just ten years.

"Your humble servant Xue Li pays homage to Your Majesty." Xue Rengui knelt down and kowtowed.

After standing up, he put his hands on his hips, kicked his legs left and right, then took a horse stance and waved his hands.

Li Zhi coughed and said, "There's no need for the dance ceremony."

When Tang Dynasty officials met the emperor, in addition to bowing and clasping their hands, they would often perform dance ceremonies. This was a tradition left over from the Sui Dynasty.

Xue Rengui blushed slightly and said, "Yes. I am so happy to see Your Majesty in good health that I can't help but dance in honor of you."

Li Zhi smiled and said, "You saved my life. There's no need to be restrained. Sit down and talk."

The emperor of the Tang Dynasty could call himself "I" or "I", depending on his mood. Generally speaking, when he called himself "I", it meant that he was in a good mood.

Xue Rengui readily agreed and sat cross-legged on the grass.

Li Zhi said, "I had a bowl of yokan this morning, and at noon, I wanted to try roasting a lamb. I heard you're good at roasting lamb, so I asked you to come over."

Xue Rengui smiled and said, "Everyone says that Hexi sheep are the best, but Hedong sheep are also acceptable. Our Hedong sheep are not as fat as Hexi sheep, so we put a lot of effort into the seasoning. I will use the seasoning commonly used by the people of Hedong. Please taste it, Your Majesty."

He picked up the sheep prepared by the eunuchs, and skewered a large sheep by himself like a chicken, and roasted it over the fire.

While roasting the lamb, Xue Rengui smiled at Li Zhi and said, "Your Majesty, have you ever heard of the story of 'The Lamb in the Repentance Soup'?"

Li Zhi said, "I've never heard of it. Tell me about it."

Xue Rengui said, "During the Spring and Autumn Period, the State of Zheng sent troops to attack the State of Song. The State of Song sent Hua Yuan as its commander. To boost morale, Hua Yuan killed sheep to reward his soldiers, but he forgot to give the coachman Yang Zhen a portion of the mutton soup. Yang Zhen harbored a grudge, and during the battle, he deliberately drove his chariot towards the Zheng position, resulting in Hua Yuan's capture..."

Just then, a warm and pleasant voice came from afar.

"The only thing we can do is blame Hua Yuan for not knowing how to judge people. He hired such an ungrateful person as a driver, which led to this defeat."

Li Zhi turned around and saw a beautiful woman with graceful manners walking towards him.

Xue Rengui quickly stood up, bowed politely and said, "Your humble servant Xue Li pays homage to Her Majesty the Queen."

Li Zhize did not move.

Empress Wu walked briskly to Li Zhi's side, knelt beside him, and said with a smile: "Everyone is roasting lamb, why don't you call me? I also have some experience in cooking lamb."

Li Zhi looked at her bright smile and smelled the delicate fragrance emanating from her body. He thought to himself, "She is indeed a peerless beauty." After calming himself down, he said calmly, "Since the Queen is here, let's try Xue Qing's cooking together."

Empress Wu was very good at observing people's expressions. Seeing that Li Zhi seemed to be a little cold towards her, she was annoyed and thought to herself, "It must be those two bitches Wang and Xiao, pretending to be miserable in front of everyone!"

Her face remained expressionless, and she asked with concern, "Is everyone feeling better?"

Li Zhi said: "It's all right now."

Empress Wu said softly, "I heard that there is an old man named Sun Simiao among the people. He is a master of medicine and is known as the King of Medicine. Why not summon him to Chang'an and let him serve as the imperial physician in the Shang Pharmacy to help everyone recuperate." Li Zhi's heart moved.

This suggestion is indeed good. No matter how much he exercises, he may not be able to avoid headaches. It would be safer to let Sun Simiao take a look.

"Okay, let's do as the Queen says." He nodded.

Empress Wu smiled and said, "Oh, right, everyone asked me to remind you at all times not to forget about next year's imperial examination. It's almost here, so we need to prepare early."

Li Zhi nodded.

When Hara Haruga ascended the throne, he always wanted to expand the scale of the imperial examination and break the monopoly of the aristocratic families on the court. Unfortunately, he was always opposed by people like Zhangsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang.

Now that Wang Liwu has been deposed, Chu Suiliang has been demoted, and the Guanlong nobles have lost their power, it is indeed a good opportunity to reform the imperial examination system.

For Li Zhi, a modern man, increasing the influence of the imperial examination system and giving ordinary people the opportunity to change their fate is also to his liking.

"Okay, I'll remember it. Thank you for the reminder, Queen." Li Zhi patted Queen Wu's arm.

After a while, Xue Rengui's lamb was roasted. The skin was golden yellow and the meat was fragrant, which made people's mouths water.

Li Zhi ordered someone to bring a dagger and cut the mutton into pieces. He found the mutton fresh and tender, and the fishy smell was almost covered up. He praised Xue Rengui highly.

Wu Meiniang cut off a few pieces of the fattiest meat, put them on a plate, sprinkled some unknown seasoning on them, and brought them to Li Zhi.

"Everyone, try this," she said with a smile.

Li Zhi tasted a piece of mutton and found it smoother and sweeter. He nodded and said, "Yes, the Queen is a good cook."

Li Zhi ordered Xue Rengui to taste it. Xue Rengui was flattered. After taking a bite, he kept praising it, but he didn't dare to eat more.

At this moment, Wang Fusheng came running from a distance.

Empress Wu was the first to notice. She took Li Zhi's hand and said with a smile, "I have just written an article on admonitions to foreign relatives, and I would like to ask for your help in correcting it."

"Let's talk about this later." Li Zhi waved his hand. He also noticed Wang Fusheng coming over and asked him, "Fusheng, you're so flustered. What happened?"

Wang Fusheng bowed his head and clasped his hands, his voice trembling as he said:
"Master, Master, Junior Eunuch Zhang Dahai led a group of eunuchs to Leng Ning Palace, saying that they were under the orders of Her Majesty the Queen to beat Wang Shuren and Xiao Shi with sticks, chop off their hands and feet, and throw them into a wine vat."

Li Zhi turned to look at Wu Meiniang and said sternly, "Queen, is this true?"

Empress Wu was about to cry and said, "Everyone, I dreamed of An'er again last night. When I thought of her appearance before her death, I couldn't help it..."

Li Zhi was slightly stunned, and a new memory appeared in his mind.

An'er is Wu Meiniang's eldest daughter.

Once, Wu Meiniang spoke ill of Queen Wang in Emperor Gaozong's ear, and Queen Wang went to Penglai Palace in anger to settle the score with Wu Meiniang.

However, after waiting for a long time, Wu Meiniang did not return to the palace. After Queen Wang left, the little princess died. The palace maids all said that it was Queen Wang who killed the princess.

This matter is indeed strange.

No matter how reckless Queen Wang was, it was impossible for her to actually run into Queen Wu's palace and kill people, especially since there were so many palace maids and eunuchs in the palace.

Haraji did not listen to the palace maids' one-sided story and sent people to investigate. After interrogation, a palace maid finally confessed.

The little princess has been weak and sickly since birth, has difficulty breathing, and often faints.

Because Queen Wang arrived, the palace maids all knelt on the ground and were unable to take care of the little princess. As a result, the little princess died due to this half-hour of negligence.

The palace maids could not bear the blame and were afraid that Wu Meiniang would punish them, so they framed Queen Wang.

So to put it simply, this was an accident caused by Queen Wang.

During this period, medical conditions were inadequate and the infant mortality rate was very high, including among the royal family.

After investigating, Haraji also realized this, so he did not do anything to Queen Wang at that time.

Wu Meiniang also knew the truth, and it was unlikely that she would seek revenge. It was more likely that she wanted to use this as an excuse to get rid of Queen Wang and Concubine Xiao because she had been to Leng Ning Palace.

After thinking this through, Li Zhi said in a deep voice: "Okay, Queen, this matter ends here, and you are not allowed to pursue it further. Fu Sheng, please go to Leng Ning Palace." He walked towards Leng Ning Palace.

Empress Wu stood there in a daze. A cold wind blew, making her feel chilled.

(End of this chapter)