My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 260 Evidence of crime
"No."

Li Jiancheng was already somewhat angry, but he still calmly said, "He once sent Li Shanheng to find me, wanting to meet with me."

"I went to see him."

“When we met, he told me that the sage was going to take action against people with the surname Li because of a nursery rhyme, and he hoped that I could clear the name of the Li surname.”

“He said I could catch the real traitors in the court, and we could frame Yang Xuangan together and impeach him. He would help me find evidence and persuade the sorcerer Pan Dan to help me.”

“I did not agree to this. I said that a sage is wise and virtuous, and the distinction between loyalty and treachery will be made. He would never do such a thing.”

Li Jiancheng spoke with righteous indignation because these were all the truths; Li Hun had indeed said them, and Li Jiancheng had indeed answered them in the same way.

Pei Yun pondered for a moment, "That's all?"

"that's it."

Pei Yun grinned again, "Why hasn't the young master taken up an official post yet?"

At that moment, Li Jiancheng almost burst into a tirade of curses.

Li Yuan glared at his son, then smiled and looked at Pei Yun, "If Lord Pei is willing to recommend him, he can take office today!"

Pei Yun didn't say anything more, gave Li Jiancheng a meaningful look, and quickly left.

After he left, Li Jiancheng finally couldn't help but curse aloud, "That scoundrel! He came to my house specifically to humiliate us?!"

Li Yuan sneered, "This fellow is trying to gain some credit."

"If we only uncover Li Hun's crimes, it won't do him any good. The credit goes to the whistleblowers and the arresters. Only by implicating others through Li Hun can we truly claim credit."

"This guy is obsessed with getting promoted."

"Do not go out during these days; stay in the mansion."

"Here."

"Grandpa, will he still convict Li Hun?"

"Hehe, it's not important. Pei Yun has received the emperor's rewards several times in a row and has become a bit blind to his own worth. He doesn't take Duke Xu seriously at all. Let's wait and see."

"Has the goods been delivered?"

"It was shipped over a long time ago and should arrive soon."

Pei Yun investigated for several days and then reported to the emperor that he had found no trace of Li Hun's intention to rebel.

When Yang Guang received the memorial, Yuwen Shu was right beside him. Upon seeing Pei Yun's memorial, Yuwen Shu remained completely unperturbed, just as before. Only when Yang Guang handed the memorial to him did Yuwen Shu reveal his exasperated state.

"No trace at all?? Could it be that we arrested the wrong person?"

“What should I do?”

"Your Majesty, what should we do now?!"

Yang Guang's face was gloomy, and it was unclear what he was thinking. "Pei Yun has done a poor job. You should take charge of this matter."

Pei Yun investigated for several days but found no evidence of wrongdoing. However, after Yuwen Shu took over, the situation changed. Yuwen Shu quickly found Li Hun's residence outside the city and discovered many weapons and warriors in the residence. He also found many letters, in which Li Hun and his confidants from various places conspired on how to clear Tong Yao's name.

Li Min's wife further served as evidence, proving that Li Hun intended to rebel during the emperor's southward journey, and detailed his plan to frame Li Yuan's family through Li Jiancheng. She even found his correspondence with Pan Dan.

All the evidence was irrefutable, yet Yuwen Shu accomplished it in just one day.

Upon seeing these things, Yang Guang was so angry that he wept. He immediately ordered the execution of Li Hun and other principal offenders, the exile of the remaining accomplices, and the summoning of Pan Dan to Luoyang.

It was at this time that Wang Zhiyuan requested an audience with the emperor.

If it were an ordinary Taoist priest who came to Luoyang and said he wanted to see the emperor, he would definitely suffer a terrible fate. But Wang Zhiyuan was different. He was summoned to see the emperor as soon as he arrived, and he also corresponded with the emperor. As a result, Wang Zhiyuan was soon brought before the emperor.

When Yang Guang saw Wang Zhiyuan, he was very excited, took his hand, and shed tears again.

The two began to reminisce about the past, and then talked about the present. Yang Guang complained to him about the troubles caused by treacherous officials in the country.

Wang Zhiyuan said, "That is precisely why I have come!"

Yang Guang was taken aback, and asked with displeasure, "Does Minister Wang intend to plead for the traitor?"

Wang Zhiyuan hurriedly shook his head, "Your Majesty, it's about that prophecy from before!"

Wang Zhiyuan said solemnly, “When I was preaching in Heluo, Pan Dan wrote to me, asking about my alchemy techniques. Knowing that Pan Dan was now serving His Majesty, I corresponded with him.” “Later, I observed the celestial phenomena at night and secretly examined a nursery rhyme, and came across a prophecy. I was unsure of it, so I wrote to Pan Dan. Unexpectedly, this fellow Pan Dan rushed to Luoyang that very night, but misinterpreted the prophecy and gave it to the Emperor. I only came here after hearing about this!”

"Wrong??"

Yang Guang looked somewhat bewildered. "What did you say to Pan Dan?"

There is a children's rhyme in the Central Plains that says: "Ten sons will rule the world." When I read this rhyme, I saw a poplar tree fall down and ten plum trees rise up. I told this to Pan Dan.

"Pan Dan made a grave mistake by directly informing His Majesty that his ten sons would adopt the surname Li!"

Wang Zhiyuan then told Yang Guang about the changes in the celestial phenomena he had observed, and detailed his divination results. Yang Guang listened in astonishment, "Ten sons? Li?"

"Li Shizi?!"

Yang Guang clapped his hands suddenly, "That's right! Li Hun was the tenth in his family!"

"This prophecy refers to Li Hun! He is indeed plotting a rebellion!"

Wang Zhiyuan hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Yang Guang was overjoyed at the elimination of the traitor and immediately said, "You have spoken frankly; I will not blame you!"

Wang Zhiyuan said helplessly, “Your Majesty, Pan Dan has only rudimentarily studied Taoist arts, yet he always claims to be an expert. The strategies he offers Your Majesty are all things he has heard from others. Every time he carves a mountain, he asks me for directions, but he himself cannot discern the truth. This time, he stole my prophecy and offered it to the Sage, almost delaying a great undertaking!”

As Yang Guang listened to Wang Zhiyuan's words, his gaze gradually turned stern.

Wang Zhiyuan did not directly call Pan Dan a fraud, knowing the consequences of saying so. He simply raised his doubts, feeling that his colleague was not competent enough and lacked integrity.

Yang Guang did not delve any further into this issue. He granted Wang Zhiyuan an official title and allowed him to remain in Luoyang to serve him.

A few days later, Pan Dan returned to Luoyang and was quickly brought before Yang Guang.

Pan Dan already knew about Li Hun's arrest, which made him even happier. After all, he was the first to report that someone in the Li family was plotting a rebellion. Now the facts proved his prediction right. He was already thinking about how much reward the emperor would give him when he met him later.

As for the correspondence with Li Hun, Pan Dan didn't take it to heart. Since he made that prophecy last time, he had been corresponding with so many people. Although Li Hun had corresponded with him, they hadn't discussed anything inappropriate, so he wasn't afraid.

Therefore, when he met the emperor, his eyes still showed joy.

"saint!"

Yang Guang simply stared at Pan Dan, sizing him up. "Following your advice, I have spent a great deal of money and manpower, and have been carving through the mountain for many years. Has there been any progress on the matter of the elixir?"

Pan Dan paused, realizing something was wrong, and quickly said, "Your Majesty, the results will be available soon."

"Since that's the case, you must have unearthed quite a bit of gallstones and marrow, right? Wang Zhiyuan recently came to Luoyang. He's also a highly skilled alchemist. Why don't you bring the gallstones and marrow you dug up over here so he can take a look?"

Upon hearing this, sweat finally appeared on Pan Dan's forehead.

But he quickly said, "Your Majesty, we haven't found the stone gallstone or stone marrow yet, but it will be soon. If we dig for a few more years, we will definitely find it!"

At this moment, Yang Guang could no longer suppress his anger. He angrily questioned, "You've been digging for so long, yet you've found nothing. Are you going to keep digging for several more years? Do you think I dare not punish you?!"

Pan Dan hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, I have another idea."

"any solution?"

"If there is no gallstone or marrow, one can use young boys and girls, crush them to death to refine elixirs, and take three bushels and six pecks of their gallstones and marrow, which can serve as substitutes."

Yang Guang laughed loudly. He stood up and looked at Pan Dan with extremely fierce eyes.

"What kind of person do you take me for? Using young boys and girls to make elixirs?! Do you think I'm some kind of tyrant like Jie or Zhou of the Xia or Shang dynasties?! How could I commit such an atrocity?! What will the people of the world think of me?!"

"Guards! Drag this traitor out and behead him!!"

"His Majesty!!!"

Pan Dan only had time to shout once before he was escorted away by the warriors.

Yang Guang sat down again and let out a long, helpless sigh.

"Quickly summon the Duke of Tang!"

"Oh, right, let Xuanba come along too."

(End of this chapter)