Inheriting a Taoist temple, the story begins with Wu Zetian offering incense.

Chapter 144 Princess Taiping: Do you two know my mother? [Requesting monthly votes]

Early in the morning, Li Bai got up and first swept the fallen leaves in the yard with a broom. Then, he took the precious sword given to him by Zhou Yi and practiced swordsmanship with Gongsun Da Niang.

When it was first consecrated, Li Longji assigned some menial servants, but they were sent back by Gongsun Da Niang.

Yiyuan Temple doesn't need many servants since it doesn't require incense offerings. For occasional big cleanings, they can just borrow a few people from the Shenwang Mansion next door, which Li Chengyi would absolutely welcome with open arms.

After the sword practice ended, the steward of Prince Shen's mansion brought breakfast.

The two of them didn't need to cook; the Prince Shen's residence provided meals. For Li Chengyi, it was just a matter of adding two more sets of bowls and chopsticks, nothing at all.

Today's breakfast is mutton soup with silver thread rolls, plus some vegetables.

As Aunt Gongsun put chili oil into her bowl, she muttered to herself:

"Eating this first thing in the morning, no wonder Li Chengyi is becoming more and more like David Day. He needs to eat more vegetables and exercise more. With this kind of diet, he'll be facing a major challenge at forty."

The steward of Prince Shen's mansion looked conflicted, wishing he could just rip his own ear off on the spot.

He dared not relay these treasonous words to King Shen.

To prevent Granny Gongsun from uttering any more offensive words, the steward subtly changed the subject:
"May I ask, Fairy Pomegranate, what would you like to eat for lunch?"

After thinking for a moment, Aunt Gongsun said:
"Let's make steamed dumplings, make a lot, so there won't be enough to eat."

The steward agreed and took his leave, leaving Granny Gongsun and Li Bai to eat in the Yiyuan Temple's kitchen.

At the same time, the morning court session in Taiji Hall was still ongoing, with the prime minister, Cen Xi, arguing fiercely with Wang Ju over the decrees concerning the defense of Chang'an.

Both sides cited numerous sources and racked their brains to prove that their arguments were correct, which made Li Longfan and Li Longye yawn, finding the argument utterly tedious.

Li Longji, seated on the dragon throne, seemed to be in a meditative state, oblivious to the argument before him, lost in thought.

While he sat in the court, Wang Maozhong, the commander of the 10,000 cavalry, led 300 carefully selected soldiers to sneak into the palace in batches through an unused courtyard.

This force has just assembled in the open space in front of the Wude Hall and is about to march through the Qianhua Gate toward the Menxia Province. Using the edict that Li Longji had already signed, they will capture Chang Yuankai, the Left General of the Imperial Guards, and Li Ci, the Right General of the Imperial Guards, and seize command of the Imperial Guards.

Once this step is completed, the rest will be much easier.

Among Princess Taiping's followers, the Imperial Guards, who were stationed in the palace, posed the greatest threat to Li Longji, so the commander of the Imperial Guards had to be eliminated first.

As for Cen Xi and others in the imperial court, they are not such a great threat because they have no soldiers under their command and can be dealt with calmly.

Once assembled, Wang Maozhong mounted his horse, drew his sword from his waist, and silently led three hundred soldiers toward Qianhua Gate, from where they would storm into the Menxia Province.

Wang Maozhong was very experienced in palace intrigue. In the Tanglong Coup that eliminated the Wei clan, it was Wang Maozhong who led his troops into the palace and wiped out all of the Wei clan's supporters.

Now that a similar scene is unfolding again, Wang Maozhong is very excited, feeling that after this battle, he will most likely be granted the title of Duke.

However, the title alone could no longer tempt this general; his goal was the position of Minister of War, which he would mention to His Majesty once things settled down.

After risking his life for him so many times, isn't it fair to appoint him as Minister of War?
Thinking about all these things, Wang Maozhong led his army out of Qianhua Gate and headed straight for Menxia Province.

Half an hour earlier, Chang Yuankai and Li Ci had received the imperial edict and were on their way to the Secretariat. Soon, the two sides met in the garden outside the Secretariat.

Wang Maozhong led three hundred elite warriors selected from ten thousand cavalry, while Chang Yuankai and Li Ci thought they were coming to the Secretariat for a meeting and only brought a few attendants.

As soon as the two sides met, Chang Yuankai realized he had been tricked. He turned and ran, but after only a few steps, an arrow shot from behind and pierced straight through the back of his head.

The general fell heavily to the ground without saying a word, and was dead beyond any doubt.

His few followers were also slaughtered by the charging cavalry, their bodies trampled into mincemeat by the horses' hooves.

Li Ci, quick-witted, immediately dropped his weapon, raised his hands, knelt by the roadside, and shouted that he was willing to surrender. But Wang Maozhong did not give him a chance, and with a swift stroke, chopped off Li Ci's head.

After killing both commanders of the Imperial Guard, Wang Maozhong ordered his deputy to take the heads of Chang Yuankai and Li Ci, along with the Emperor's edict, to take over the camp and purge the officers within.

After the group of men left, Wang Maozhong led his troops through Gongli Gate, Guiren Gate, Nayi Gate, and Xingren Gate, essentially circling around the Taiji Hall, and arrived at the Inner Guest Province.

The Inner Guest Department was located together with the Secretariat and the Imperial Secretariat, where officials such as the Imperial Secretariat Attendants and the Palace Attendants worked.

When Wang Maozhong arrived, Jia Yingfu, a Gentleman-in-Attendance, was discussing with Li You, a Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat, what official position the princess should apply for after seizing the throne.

Instead of receiving good news of the princess's success, they were met with an army of ten thousand cavalry.

A group of soldiers rushed in and tied the two men up without saying a word. Wang Maozhong read out Li Longji's edict, instructing the officials of the Secretariat to go about their business as usual, and that only the ringleaders would be punished today, without any collective punishment.

After capturing Jia Yingfu and Li You, Wang Maozhong rode his horse and escorted the two through the Right Yanming Gate. He then bound Cen Xi and Xiao Zhizhong, who were engaged in a heated debate during the morning court session, and dragged them out of the court.

This caused an uproar among the court officials, who never expected that Li Longji, who usually said everything so agreeable, would actually tie up the prime minister and drag him out of the court.

Outside the Taiji Hall, Cen Xi and three others knelt in a row, their heads chopped off in front of all the officials. Throughout the entire process, Li Longji, seated on the dragon throne, remained expressionless, as if nothing had happened. However, after the heads of the four men outside the hall had all been severed, he twitched his finger slightly. Gao Lishi immediately withdrew, went around to the side door of the Taiji Hall, and found the murderous Wang Maozhong.
"General Wang, His Majesty has decreed that Princess Zhenguo, as the imperial aunt, should not be subjected to violence unless absolutely necessary, and should not be arrested indiscriminately. No matter what, she must be left with some dignity."

Wang Maozhong waved his hand dismissively:
"Please rest assured, Eunuch Gao, I know exactly what to do."

Now only Dou Huaizhen, who is in charge of the Six Ministries, has not been brought to justice. We need to race against time to get to the capital to avoid any unforeseen complications.

As they left the palace, the adjutant beside Wang Maozhong asked him for advice:
"General, if we capture Princess Taiping, should we really let her go?"

Wang Maozhong looked disdainful:

"Bullshit! These royal relatives are all our military merits. How can we capture them and then let them escape?"

They rushed into the imperial city to find Dou Huaizhen, only to discover that the prime minister had already received the news and fled to the moat outside the city, where he hanged himself against a crooked tree.

Wang Maozhong relayed the news to the palace, and Li Longji quickly issued an order:

“His corpse was mutilated and his limbs were severed. Dou Huaizhen’s entire clan was forced to change their surname to Du.”

That's so naive. Do you think suicide can get you out of punishment?
Following Li Longji's instructions, Wang Maozhong dragged Dou Huaizhen's body out of the moat, dismembered it into eight pieces at the gate of the imperial city, and then led his troops to Xingdaofang to capture Princess Taiping.

Inside the Hunyuan Palace, after Zhou Yi finished moving a stack of bricks, he chatted with Wu Meiniang about the arrangements for the God of Wealth Hall:
"The main beam of the main hall needs to be erected as soon as possible, and the roof tiles should be laid before the end of the year... Leaving the God of Wealth Hall open like this is too detrimental to our fortune."

Wu Meiniang asked:
"Although the other halls are not yet completed, at least they have been topped out. Why doesn't the God of Wealth Hall even have a roof yet?"

Even the Book of Changes doesn't know:

"Perhaps the Temple of the God of Wealth is of great importance, and Grandpa intends for me to handle it; or perhaps Grandpa has always been poor, so he doesn't really like the God of Wealth... It's not important, we can fix it slowly in the future."

Wu Meiniang glanced at the date and said with some doubt:

"Today is the day Sister Gongsun is coming, why hasn't she arrived yet? Could she have forgotten the date?"

Zhou Yi lifted the plastic sheeting and, while inspecting the main beam of the God of Wealth Temple, said:
"Don't worry, with that girl's greedy nature, she might come over by lunchtime. I'll make pork ribs and green beans for lunch today, so she won't keep nagging me about getting thin from hunger."

Wu Zetian nodded:

"I'll start steaming the rice in a bit."

While the two were talking about Granny Gongsun, the girl was also struggling with her own thoughts:
"Brother Li Bai, today is the day I should go back. What do you think, should I stay here and watch the show, or go back to Hunyuan Palace for a good meal?"

After reciting a passage from the "Treatise on the Response of the Supreme Being," Li Bai stood up and said:

"You can have lunch before going back. Doesn't the Prince Shen's Mansion make steamed dumplings? You can try them before you go."

Gongsun Da Niang thought this made sense. After eating the steamed dumplings, she went to Hunyuan Palace to eat some delicious food. She ate twice in one meal and was very happy.

The two were quite curious, and after reciting the scripture again, they planned to go to Prince Shen's mansion to ask about the progress of the matter. However, as soon as they arrived at the gate of Yiyuan Temple, they saw a middle-aged woman with an air of nobility running in in a panic.

Upon meeting Gongsun Da Niang and Li Bai, her first words were:

Do you two know my mother?

Huh? This is... this is my niece?

Gongsun Da Niang kept calling her "Little Taiping" all the time, but when she finally met Princess Taiping, she discovered that this princess, who had a fief of ten thousand households, was actually older than her own mother.

Li Bai remembered that Princess Taiping in history hid in a mountain temple for three days, but he never expected that this time she would actually run into Yiyuan Temple. He told the truth:
“Your mother is indeed in Hunyuan Palace. We will treat each other as equals.”

The princess's life is nearing its end; let's not hide it anymore.

Upon hearing this, Princess Taiping's tears instantly streamed down her face, and she bowed deeply in respect.
"Could you two please allow me to speak to my mother? If my wish is granted, I will die without regret."

say?

After thinking for a moment, Aunt Gongsun decided that she could record a video to take with her, and then have Sister Meiniang record another video to bring back... Just as she was thinking this, the sound of loud hoofbeats suddenly came from afar.

She dragged Princess Taiping and slipped into the gate of Yiyuan Temple:

“Niece, come with me. Brother Li Bai, guard the gate!”

Since my niece wants to say something to Sister Meiniang, as her aunt and uncle, we should at least grant her wish, right?

As soon as Gongsun Da Niang and Princess Taiping entered, Wang Maozhong led three hundred iron cavalrymen to attack.

Li Bai straightened his Taoist robe, held a token in one hand and a sword in the other, and stood alone at the entrance of Yiyuan Temple, blocking Wang Maozhong's way:

"This temple is a place of quiet cultivation; weapons are strictly prohibited inside!"

(End of this chapter)