Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 503 Meeting the Emperor in Shanzhou
After entering the study, Li Ji remained silent, simply sitting and drinking tea.

Xu Jingzong stared at him, his face growing paler and paler, before finally letting out a long sigh.

"Grand Tutor Li already knows?"

Li Ji nodded.

Xu Jingzong hissed, "What do you plan to do?"

Li Ji gazed at him and said, "Brother Xu sent someone to remind me of Jingye's matter a few days ago, so I will not tell His Majesty or the Crown Prince."

Xu Jingzong breathed a sigh of relief, bowed deeply, and said, "Thank you."

Li Ji sighed, "Brother Xu, even if I don't say anything, I'm afraid it won't make a difference."

Xu Jingzong's expression changed, and he asked, "Why?"

Li Ji said, "Di Renjie has already begun to investigate this matter in secret."

Xu Jingzong's expression changed drastically. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Brother Li, do you think Di Renjie can find out?"

Li Ji said, "If even I can find out, let alone Di Renjie."

Xu Jingzong sighed and said, "I painstakingly planned this, thinking I could deceive others, but I never expected it to be so easily investigated."

Li Ji thought to himself that if Changsun Wuji hadn't reminded him to investigate Xiao Zhiyan, he might not have been able to find out.

Xu Jingzong's plan this time was actually quite clever, but unfortunately, it still couldn't escape the eyes of Changsun Wuji and Di Renjie.

"Brother Xu, is it worth it?"

Xu Jingzong gritted his teeth and said, "I have worked hard all my life, but Xiao Siye has ruined it all. If I do not take revenge before I die, I will not rest in peace!"

Li Ji stood up and said, "I've come to remind you that Di Renjie has already begun investigating that gold hunter. You'd better watch yourself." He then turned to leave.

"Brother Li, can you do me a favor?" Xu Jingzong called out to his retreating figure.

Li Ji stopped walking, but remained silent and did not turn around.

Xu Jingzong said with a wry smile, "I'm not asking you to plead for me. Before doing this, I had already made arrangements for my funeral."

Li Ji then turned around and asked, "What do you want me to do?"

Xu Jingzong said, "I hope you will go to Shanzhou to meet the Emperor and tell him and the Empress about this matter!"

Li Ji's expression changed, and he said, "What did you say?"

Xu Jingzong said slowly, "Anyway, it will be found out sooner or later. It's better for you to tell the Emperor than for Di Renjie to find out."

Li Ji said in a deep voice, "What exactly does Brother Xu want to do?"

Xu Jingzong said slowly, "Next year, my grandson's sentence will be completed. I only hope that this matter will not involve him."

Li Ji was tasked with reporting this matter, so that he would have a voice when the emperor dealt with Xu Jingzong.

Li Ji understood his intention, took a deep breath, and said, "Okay, I agree."

Xu Jingzong bowed deeply and said, "Thank you."

After leaving the Xu residence, Li Ji went straight to the Dali Temple.

Since he had decided to help Xu Jingzong, he could not let Di Renjie continue his investigation; otherwise, things might change when he went to meet the emperor.

Upon arriving at Dali Temple, we followed the covered walkway to Di Renjie's office.

Yuan Shaoqing, who was leading the way, said, "Minister Di has gone out and has not yet returned. His Highness Prince Wu is also waiting inside. If Grand Tutor Li is in a hurry to see Minister Di, he can also wait inside."

Li Ji nodded and said, "Okay, thank you." He then pushed open the door and went inside.

Inside the room, Li Ji was sitting and dozing off. Hearing the sound, he thought Di Renjie had returned. He opened his eyes and saw that it was Li Ji who had walked in.

Li Ji quickly stood up to greet him, saying, "Grand Tutor Li, what brings you here?"

Li Ji returned the greeting and said, "I have also come to see Minister Di."

Li Ji asked curiously, "What business do you have with Minister Di?"

Li Ji said, "There is indeed something I need to attend to. Since he's not here, I'll wait for him to return." He then walked to a chair and sat down.

Seeing that Li Ji was unwilling to say more, Li Ji did not press him further.

After waiting in the house for more than half an hour, Di Renjie finally returned.

Having already heard from his subordinates that Li Ji was waiting for him in the house, Di Renjie cupped his hands and said, "Lord Li, is there anything you need me to do?"

Li Ji said calmly, "Minister Di, you're investigating Wei Shen's case, aren't you?"

Di Renjie hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Yes."

Li Ji asked, "Did you find anything?"

Di Renjie hesitated to answer, his gaze turning to Li Ji.

He was acting on the emperor's orders to conduct a secret investigation, and he was unsure whether he should tell Li Ji.

Li Ji was unsure whether he could leak the secret, and showed a hesitant expression.

Li Ji said slowly, "You don't need to be troubled. After I hear this, I will go to Shanzhou to meet the Emperor and report on this matter."

Di Renjie knew that Li Ji was not the type to lie and deceive, so he stopped hiding it and said, "To be honest, Lord Li, I have already made progress in this case."

Li Ji stared at him and asked, "Was it Yuwen Kang who killed Wei Shen?"

Di Renjie said, "No."

"Who is that?"

Di Renjie said, "It's not certain yet, but I've found the gold hunter that Yuwen Kang hired. He's already a corpse."

Li Ji exclaimed in surprise, "Dead?"

Di Renjie said, "Yes, Yuwen Kang thought that the Gold Hunter he hired killed Wei Shen, but in fact the Gold Hunter died earlier than Wei Shen and could not have killed him."

Li Ji was stunned.

According to Di Renjie, someone knew that Yuwen Kang wanted to kill Wei Shen, so they sent someone to secretly kill Lie Jinlang, then kill Wei Shen, and then switch the official document belonging to Yuwen Kang's attendant, causing him to be exposed and frame Yuwen Kang for the matter.

The gold hunters are reputable; they always collect money in advance and never meet with their clients again after the job is done.

Therefore, Yuwen Kang believed that it was the gold hunter he had sent who killed Wei Shen, but he did not know that the murderer was someone else, which is why he confessed.

The question is, why would the person behind this do this?
If he only wanted Wei Shen dead, he could have had Yuwen Kang's gold hunter do it. Why did he kill the gold hunter hired by Yuwen Kang instead of doing it himself?

Li Ji felt completely overwhelmed, shook his head, and asked, "Minister Di, who exactly is behind this? Do you have any clues?"

Just as Di Renjie was about to reply, Li Ji suddenly said, "There's no need to investigate further. I know who's behind this."

Upon hearing this, a glint flashed in Di Renjie's eyes, and he cupped his hands towards Li Ji, saying, "Please enlighten me, Lord Li."

Li Ji sighed and said, "Let His Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress decide this matter. Minister Di, Your Highness Prince Wu, you will come with me to Shanzhou to meet the Emperor."

A carriage quickly drove out of Dali Temple, exited through the Golden Light Gate, and headed towards Shanzhou.

Li Ji sat in the carriage, looking at Li Ji and then at Di Renjie, his heart filled with confusion.

Li Ji said he knew who was behind it all, but he was in a low mood and refused to say it directly. Could that person be Li Jingye?
If it really was Li Jingye, he couldn't ask too many questions, so he could only say to Di Renjie, "Minister Di, I have a question for you."

Di Renjie said, "Your Highness, please speak."

Li Ji asked, "How exactly did you find out that the gold hunter was dead in such a short time?"

Di Renjie said, "Your Highness, do you remember when I parted from you, I said I was going to a dangerous place?"

Li Ji nodded.

Di Renjie said, "The place I went to was a coffin shop. The shopkeeper was the contact person for the Gold Hunter."

Li Ji asked, "Contact person?"

"Yes, gold hunters are very secretive and difficult to find. So if you want to hire a gold hunter to kill someone, you usually contact a contact person first. A reputable contact person usually has a dozen or so gold hunters under their command. They have a symbiotic relationship."

Li Ji suddenly realized, "So that's how it is."

Shanzhou is not too far from Chang'an; the carriage arrived after three days of rapid travel.

The seat of Shanzhou was named Huangshui County, and Li Zhi lived in a manor outside the county town, which was named Ningshou Garden.

Ning Shou Garden was the villa of a wealthy family surnamed Li in Shanzhou. Hearing that the emperor had come to Shanzhou, they took the initiative to go to the governor's mansion and offer the villa, hoping that the emperor and empress would stay there. As long as the emperor and empress stayed in this garden, its value would skyrocket, and the Li family's status in Shanzhou would also rise accordingly.

That's why so many people donated their gardens.

Ning Shou Yuan was ultimately able to stand out because of its unique geographical environment.

Ning Shou Garden is located on the top of Jin'e Mountain in the north of the city.

There is a high peak on the mountain. In the morning, when you watch the sunrise from the peak, the golden sun bursts out from among the mountains, and the rosy clouds are magnificent.

Ningshou Garden was built on a high peak.

After Li Zhi and Wu Meiniang arrived in Shanzhou, they learned that Xue Rengui and Pei Xingjian would not arrive for another month or so, so they treated this trip as a leisurely visit.

The two enjoyed the sunrise together several times and often visited scenic spots nearby. Being confined to the palace for so long, these occasional outings made them feel relaxed and refreshed.

That morning, the two went to tour the Huangshui River again, and in the afternoon they went hunting in the nearby forest. Li Zhi hunted a roe deer and two pheasants, while Wu Meiniang also hunted two rabbits.

After returning to the garden, the two took a bath together, ate the wild game they had hunted, and played chess in the house.

Just then, Wang Fusheng came to report that Li Ji, Di Renjie, and Li Ji requested an audience.

Li Zhi put down the chess piece in his hand and said, "Meiniang, the three of them came together, there must be something going on."

Wu Meiniang frowned and said, "Hong'er sent someone to write a letter saying that Wei Shen's matter has been resolved satisfactorily. Is there still a change in the situation?"

Li Zhi sighed, "Even Di Renjie has come; something must have changed." Prince Fusheng gave an order, and the three were summoned to an audience.

Before long, Li Ji and the other two entered the house and greeted Li Zhi and his companion.

After the ceremony, Li Zhi glanced at the three men and asked, "Minister Li, Minister Di, and Ji'er, have you come to Shanzhou to see me? Has something happened in Chang'an?"

Li Ji cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, a murder case has recently occurred in Chang'an. Wei Shen is dead, and His Highness the Crown Prince has found out that Yuwen Kang was the culprit."

Li Zhi said, "The Crown Prince has already written to me and the Empress about what happened. Could there be another twist in this matter?"

Li Ji said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, there is actually someone else behind this matter."

Li Zhi raised an eyebrow and asked, "Who is it?"

Li Ji said, "The person who killed Wei Shen was sent by Xiao Zhiyan."

Li Ji was greatly surprised upon hearing this, but Di Renjie remained very calm, clearly having already guessed what was going on.

Li Zhi glanced at Di Renjie and asked, "If it was Xiao Zhiyan, why did Yuwen Kang admit to doing it himself?"

Li Ji said, "According to my investigation, after Wei Shen met with Xiao Zhiyan, someone told Xiao Zhiyan that Wei Shen was being watched by the Inner Guards, so Xiao Zhiyan decided to kill Wei Shen."

"At the same time, Yuwen Kang also harbored murderous intentions towards Wei Shen due to Wei Shen's blackmail, and hired a gold hunter to assassinate Wei Shen."

Li Zhi pondered for a moment and said, "So, both of them want to kill Wei Shen?"

"That's right. However, the gold hunter sent by Yuwen Kang was killed, and Wei Shen was killed by someone sent by Xiao Zhiyan. But Yuwen Kang was unaware of this and thought it was the work of the gold hunter he sent. So when his trusted subordinate was captured, he honestly confessed."

"Wait a minute." Li Zhi raised his hand and said, "You just said that the gold hunter sent by Yuwen Kang was killed?"

"Yes."

"Who killed him?"

Li Ji took a breath and slowly said, "It is Xu Jingzong."

Li Zhi's expression changed slightly, and he glanced at Wu Meiniang.

Wu Meiniang had been listening quietly without interrupting, but when she heard that it was related to Xu Jingzong, her phoenix eyes narrowed and she stared at Li Ji.

"Grand Tutor Li, how is this matter related to Xu Jingzong again?"

Li Ji slowly said, "Actually, after Wei Shen approached Xiao Zhiyan, Xu Jingzong had his eye on Wei Shen. Later, after Wei Shen met with Yuwen Kang, Xu Jingzong also sent people to monitor Yuwen Kang."

"Not long after, Xu Jingzong discovered that Yuwen Kang wanted to kill Wei Shen. He then sent someone to tell Xiao Zhiyan that the Inner Guards had their eyes on Wei Shen. Xiao Zhiyan was terrified and also wanted to kill Wei Shen."

"Xu Jingzong sent someone to kill the gold hunter sent by Yuwen Kang, hoping that Wei Shen would die at the hands of the people sent by Xiao Zhiyan."

Li Ji asked in astonishment, "Why would he do that?"

Li Ji glanced at Li Zhi and Wu Meiniang, and seeing that neither of them spoke, he knew that the emperor and empress had already guessed.

This matter involves Xiao Siye's assassination attempt on the emperor years ago. Because there was no evidence and Xiao Siye voluntarily sought death, this matter is unknown to the world.

However, in order to extricate himself from the situation, Xiao Siye used Xu Jingzong's son, Xu Angding, which nearly led to the extermination of the Xu clan.

Xu Jingzong was also demoted and stripped of his title, becoming a commoner. It's understandable that he wanted to take revenge on the Xiao family.

Li Ji had actually heard Li Zhen mention that the assassination attempt on the emperor might be related to Xiao Siye.

Seeing that the others were silent, he vaguely understood what was going on and didn't ask any more questions.

Di Renjie suddenly said, "Was the fake official document belonging to Yuwen Kang's subordinate also switched by Xu Jingzong?"

Li Ji replied, "Yes."

Di Renjie said, "Since Xu Jingzong's target is Xiao Zhiyan, why does he want to shift the suspicion to Yuwen Kang? Isn't this just to exonerate Xiao Zhiyan?"

Before Li Ji could answer, Li Zhi said, "He did this to control Xiao Zhiyan."

Di Renjie was a smart man, and after hearing these words, he understood everything.

Li Ji, still confused, asked, "Why are you trying to manipulate Xiao Zhiyan?"

Li Zhi said slowly, "If this matter is exposed directly, Xiao Zhiyan will indeed be unable to escape the death penalty, but it will not implicate the entire Xiao clan."

"Xu Jingzong deliberately let Xiao Zhiyan get away with his crime so that he could use this as leverage to control Xiao Zhiyan and then use him to deal with the Xiao family."

Li Ji felt a chill run down his spine; Xu Jingzong's scheme was simply too ruthless.

If Xiao Zhiyan were controlled by him and incited the Xiao clan to commit heinous acts, he could push the Xiao clan into an abyss of no return.

This is just like when Xiao Siye sent people to bewitch Xu Ang.

Xu Jingzong wanted to use the same methods to retaliate against the Xiao family!
Li Zhi looked at Wu Meiniang and said, "Meiniang, what do you think should be done about this?"

Wu Meiniang said in a low voice, "Xu Jingzong committed this serious crime for his own selfish reasons. Your Majesty, please deal with him as you see fit and do not worry about me."

Li Zhi nodded and was about to pronounce the verdict when Wang Fusheng suddenly walked in, looked up at Li Zhi, and seemed to have something to say.

"Fusheng, what's wrong?" Li Zhi asked.

Wang Fusheng said softly, "Your Majesty, news has just come from Chang'an that Xu Jingzong has died suddenly."

After hearing this, Li Zhi paused for a moment, then sighed, "Since he is dead, there is no need to pursue this matter any further. What do you think, Li Qing?"

Li Ji said in a low voice, "This old minister also feels that there is no need to pursue this further."

Li Zhi waved his hand and said, "You've all had a long journey, go and rest."

The three took their leave.

Xu Jingzong's sudden suicide left Emperor Gaozong feeling very heavy-hearted.

When Li Zhi first arrived in the Tang Dynasty, he was able to gradually gain control of the court thanks to the support of the military faction which counterbalanced the aristocratic factions.

Xu Jingzong was a smooth man who was good at guessing the emperor's intentions. If he hadn't been implicated by his son, he would never have ended up like this. How can one not sigh with regret?

Wu Zetian was also saddened, but she was better at controlling her emotions and quickly regained her composure.

"Your Majesty, Xu Jingzong's matter is settled, but what about Hong'er and Xian'er?"

Li Hong and Li Xian have completely mishandled the case this time. If the truth is revealed directly, it will not only affect the Crown Prince's prestige, but also cause psychological damage to the two of them.

Li Zhi understood Wu Meiniang's considerations. After pondering for a moment, he said, "How about this: summon Xian'er to Shanzhou for an audience, and then have Di Renjie return to Chang'an to guide Hong'er in investigating Xiao Zhiyan's matter. Xu Jingzong's matter can be kept hidden. What do you think?"

Wu Zetian asked curiously, "Why did you summon Xian'er to an audience alone?"

Li Zhi said, "Mei Niang, Fu Sheng received news that Hong'er originally intended to have Di Renjie reinvestigate the matter, but Xian'er stopped him. Xian'er is indeed intelligent, but this has also fostered his blind arrogance. He should be given a good talking-to and tempered, otherwise he will become even more self-righteous in the future."

Wu Meiniang nodded and said, "Your Majesty is right. This child should have been disciplined long ago. What about Hong'er? Why wasn't he summoned along with him, and instead was Di Renjie led by him?"

Li Zhi said, "Hong'er is gentle by nature and lacks his own opinions, so we need to have Di Renjie guide him and find out the truth so that he can gain confidence."

Wu Meiniang said softly, "Your Majesty's considerations are profound, and I have no objections."

The following morning, Li Zhi ordered Di Renjie to return to Chang'an to guide Li Hong in solving the case, and also issued an imperial edict summoning Li Xian to Shanzhou for an audience.

(End of this chapter)