Sheng Tang: What is Liu Jianjun going to do today?

Chapter 194 The Chaotic Wu Zhou Dynasty

Li Xian wasn't sure if Wu Youji was telling the truth, but he felt that the atmosphere in the room seemed to lighten up after he said those words.

Liu Jianjun kept a straight face, but couldn't hide the smile on his lips: "No way! You have to wait for me to come back, otherwise you'll run out of your essence, and next time we go to a brothel together, you'll just be able to watch from the sidelines?"

Wu Youji immediately retorted defiantly, "I'm the most famous man in Chang'an who can have sex seven times a night!"

The barrier between the two seemed to vanish in an instant.

The two laughed heartily, talking about the prostitutes in Pingkangfang, the ever-victorious generals in the cockfighting arena, and the hunting grounds in Zhongnan Mountain. After chatting for a while, only memories and sighs remained in their eyes.

But as they talked, Wu Youji suddenly fell silent.

He suddenly said in a low voice, "I miss E'niang a bit. I used to love adding soy sauce to my dishes, but our family wasn't as wealthy as we are now. E'niang would scare me by saying that there was a legend in her hometown that eating too much soy sauce would make your face dark. I was young and vain back then, so I was scared and really didn't dare to eat it."

"But later, when E'niang saw that I had no appetite, she tricked me by saying that if I put soy sauce on the tofu, it would not turn black."

"So I foolishly ate tofu and soy sauce for several years..."

Wu Youji's voice gradually choked up. He blinked hard, trying to force back the sour feeling that welled up inside him, but to no avail. Tears silently slid down his face, dripping onto his coarse linen clothes and spreading out a dark stain.

Liu Jianjun put away all the smiles on his face. He didn't say anything to comfort him, but silently walked to Wu Youji's side, raised his hand, and pressed it heavily on his shoulder.

Wu Youji didn't push him away, nor did he look at him. He just let the tears flow. After a while, he wiped his face haphazardly with his sleeve, took a deep breath, and tried to calm himself down. His voice was still nasal as he looked at Li Xian and said, "Your Highness... please forgive my rudeness."

Li Xian shook his head: "You can still call me cousin. As for E'niang's matter..."

Li Xian pursed his lips, unsure how to continue.

But Wu Youji shook his head, forcing a nonchalant expression, and said, "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore, I have to go back to Chang'an!"

He left without hesitation, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Li Xian and Liu Jianjun, and turned to walk away. His back view carried a deliberately feigned ease, as if he was afraid that if he lingered any longer, his forced composure would crumble.

Li Xian and Liu Jianjun exchanged a glance.

"See him off," Li Xian said in a low voice.

Liu Jianjun nodded.

The two men made no sound, simply leading their horses and silently following behind Wu Youji, who was walking. They left the Prince of Pei's residence, passed through the gradually bustling streets, and headed towards the gates of Luoyang.

Wu Youji did not notice at first, but when he was almost at the bustling crowd at the city gate, he seemed to sense it, stopped and turned around.

Seeing Li Xian and Liu Jianjun not far away, he paused for a moment, opened his mouth as if to say something to refuse, but looking at their calm and persistent gazes, he couldn't bring himself to say it. Instead, he sighed, turned around and continued walking, but slowed his pace.

Once outside the city gate, a wide official road stretched out, dust billowing in the early autumn sunlight.

There were simple tea stalls along the roadside for people to rest, and peddlers and laborers hurried by.

Wu Youji's luggage was pitifully simple, consisting of only a small bundle slung across his shoulder, which, combined with his coarse linen clothes, made him appear particularly lonely and isolated amidst the flow of people.

He stopped by the roadside, turned around again, and smirked at Li Xian and Liu Jianjun who were walking towards him: "That's enough for you, Your Highness. Liu Jianjun, if you go any further, you'll have to go all the way to Chang'an."

Liu Jianjun stepped forward, still with his usual nonchalant tone, and pulled a heavy little cloth bag from his pocket, stuffing it into Wu Youji's hand: "Here, take this."

Wu Youji weighed it in his hand; it made the sound of broken silver and copper coins clinking together.

"It's just a little money, don't try to refuse. I spent more than this on a single bottle of wine with you back then."

Wu Youji laughed: "Who would refuse? And this is all you're giving me?"

"Nonsense, what if giving too much attracts thieves on the road?" Liu Jianjun rolled his eyes and said, "Go back and find Wang Bo, report to the cotton mill, and if you need money, just go to the accounting office and get it directly. You can get as much money as Wang Bo can use!"

Wu Youji laughed again, then stood still.

Liu Jianjun was taken aback: "What are you doing?"

"Then you have to give me some kind of token, right? Am I supposed to just go there and ask him for it without any proof?" Wu Youji rolled his eyes.

"Just say I said you want any token..."

Liu Jianjun paused here, then said, "Well, according to our custom, we should recite a poem when saying goodbye. Here's a farewell poem for you. When you get back, recite it to Wang Bo and he'll understand."

Hearing this, Li Xian also came over with great interest.

Liu Jianjun hasn't seriously composed poetry in a long time.

Liu Jianjun cleared his throat and recited: "I dismount to drink wine with you, and ask you where you are going. You say you are not content and will return to lie down by the southern mountains. Just go and do not ask again, for the white clouds are endless."

Wu Youji didn't move, standing still, awkwardly scratching his head.

Liu Jianjun asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

"I can't remember," Wu Youji answered honestly.

Li Xian couldn't help but chuckle, while Liu Jianjun rubbed his forehead and said, "Alright! Wait a minute..."

As he spoke, he rummaged through his clothes, seemingly looking for paper and pen, but only managed to pull out a piece of charcoal pencil. He didn't know where to write, so after thinking for a moment, he snatched the money pouch from Wu Youji's hand, poured out a few pieces of silver, turned the empty pouch over, scribbled a few lines on the inside of the pouch, and then stuffed it back into Wu Youji's hand.

"Here, the token! Is that alright now? Wang Bo recognizes my handwriting."

Li Xian couldn't help but laugh again.

He saw that the money bag had the words "Let him in" written on it.

But the key point is that Liu Jianjun's calligraphy is already unique.

This time, Wu Youji, clutching the tattered money pouch with "Calligraphy" written on it, was both amused and exasperated. He carefully tucked it into his robes and clasped his hands in a fist salute to the two men again, saying, "This time I'm really leaving!"

He turned around, strode onto the official road, and mingled with the flow of people coming and going.

Watching his receding figure, Liu Jianjun suddenly seemed to remember something. Raising his voice, he recited the poem again in his distinctive tone, his voice carrying far across the empty official road:

"I dismount to drink with you, and ask where you are going. You say you are not happy and have returned to lie down by the southern mountains. Just go and don't ask again, for the white clouds are endless."

This time, he didn't ask Wu Youji if he remembered it or not; he just stared blankly at Wu Youji's departing figure.

Li Xian and Liu Jianjun stood there for a few more moments until the figure completely disappeared from sight.

After a long silence, Li Xian said softly, "Let's go back."

Then, he turned around, looked at the wide street behind the city gate, rolled over, and mounted his horse.

……

Wu Youji's departure did not have any impact on Luoyang.

The turbulent city of Luoyang is no longer something that a mere Wu Youji can cause to alarm.

But another matter did indeed stir up a storm in Luoyang.

Zhou Xing is dead.

As Wu Zetian's number one cruel official, Zhou Xing's death caused a minor tremor in the court.

Zhou Xing's death was actually related to another cruel official.

Come to Junchen.

Previously, Lai Junchen had been neglected by Wu Zetian because of his false accusation against Li Xian. After he sought advice from Liu Jianjun, Li Xian had not heard much from him since.

I never expected that the next time I heard news about him, it would be related to this matter.

It is said that Lai Junchen and Zhou Xing were investigating the case together and also having a meal together. While they were eating, Lai Junchen asked Zhou Xing for advice: "Now the criminals are unwilling to confess. You are a senior, do you have any ideas?"

Zhou Xing laughed heartily and said, "That's easy. Find a big vat, surround it with charcoal, and make the fire burn brightly. Invite him in and sit for a while. Then, just ask him to summon whatever he wants!"

Lai Junchen couldn't help but exclaim "Good!" He immediately ordered his men to bring over a vat. Seeing that the charcoal fire was already burning, Lai Junchen stood up and bowed deeply to Zhou Xing: "By imperial decree, I am investigating your case of treason. Please enter this vat!"

Zhou Xing was stunned on the spot and knelt down with a thud, saying, "What do you want me to confess? I'll confess everything."

It turned out that Lai Junchen had used the "Strategy of Framing" on Zhou Xing, and after secretly informing Zhou Xing, Wu Zetian ordered him to handle the case.

Therefore, the case was closed quickly and without much effort. The crime of treason should be punished by death according to the law, but Wu Zetian, considering Zhou Xing's merits, made an exception and exiled him to Lingnan.

However, Zhou Xing committed many evil deeds and made too many enemies, so he was killed by his enemies halfway through his journey.

With Zhou Xing dead, Lai Junchen became almost the number one cruel official under Wu Zetian.

Liu Jianjun finally revealed the real reason for helping Lai Junchen: "The cruel officials under your mother's command are very troublesome. These people are unreasonable and resort to despicable means when they fight. If they provoke us, it will be very troublesome."

"Helping Lai Junchen rise to power, even if he doesn't remember our kindness, it's like we have leverage over him. At the very least, we can keep to ourselves and not interfere with each other."

Liu Jianjun was right after all; Lai Junchen started acting recklessly as soon as he took office.

As an uncultured thug, the first thing he did after taking power was to arbitrarily seize other men's wives and daughters. As long as Lai Junchen took a fancy to someone, regardless of whether she was an unmarried girl or a married woman, he had to get his hands on her.

If the other party refuses, he will politely issue a false imperial edict to make them hand over the person to him. If the other party is unreasonable, he will accuse them of treason, kill their entire family, and then bring the person over.

That's how he married his wife.

Lady Lai came from the famous Wang clan of Taiyuan, one of the top "five surnames" of the Tang Dynasty. Logically speaking, she would never have married someone of such humble origin as Lai Junchen.

In fact, this is indeed the case.

This woman, surnamed Wang, was already married to a man named Duan Jian, but because she was too beautiful, she caught the eye of Lai Junchen.

Lai Junchen then went to the Duan family and falsely claimed that the Emperor Wu had already bestowed the Wang family upon him.

Although Duan Jian knew that Lai Junchen was talking nonsense, he was afraid that Lai Junchen would frame him for treason, so he had no choice but to give his wife to him. As a result, Lai Junchen became the son-in-law of the Wang family of Taiyuan.

In addition, he wantonly framed ministers.

Lai Junchen himself rose to power through this means, so after taking office, he went to great lengths to frame ministers.

In Liu Jianjun's words, if there were no more rebels in the world, wouldn't he lose his job?

Therefore, he would frame anyone who posed a threat to Empress Wu, or he would falsely accuse anyone he disliked.

Later, when such people were gone, he became bolder and bolder, and too lazy to rack his brains anymore. He simply found a large pile of stones and made them into targets. He wrote the names of current officials on the stones, and then he and his cronies threw small stones at these targets from a distance. Whoever was hit was the target to be executed.

Fortunately, none of the targets bore the names of people connected to Li Xian.

Li Xian was very fortunate that Liu Jianjun had taken precautions in advance.

……

While the court was in chaos due to Lai Junchen's actions, another person was also not idle.

Wu Chengsi.

After Wang Qingzhi's encouragement to urge Wu Zetian to make him the crown prince failed, he also began to panic.

He then began to urge Wu Zetian on, constantly flattering and gesturing in front of her, saying, "Since ancient times, no emperor has ever chosen a different surname as his heir."

Since the emperor's surname was Wu, the heir should be a member of the Wu family; this is called keeping the wealth within the family.

To strengthen this advantage, Wu Chengsi went to great lengths. He spearheaded a petition with 5,000 people, demanding that Wu Zetian be given the honorific title of "Golden Wheel Holy God Emperor".

Wu Zetian did not refuse. Her original name was Holy God Emperor, and it was at this time that she became Golden Wheel Holy God Emperor.

……

While the entire Wu Zhou dynasty was singing praises, urgent news came from the northern border.

The Turks invaded.

Since the Turks were restored to power, they have repeatedly invaded the borders of the Tang Dynasty. Of course, now it should be the Wu Zhou Dynasty.

However, Wu Zetian was busy with the change of dynasty. Firstly, she killed and deposed too many military generals, and fierce generals such as Cheng Wuting were no longer around. Secondly, she herself did not have much trust in the military generals of the Li Tang dynasty. Therefore, she sent someone to the battlefield who was unexpected by everyone.

Feng Xiaobao.

Or, to put it another way, Xue Huaiyi.

Li Xian now knows Feng Xiaobao's true identity—Wu Zetian's male lover.

The fact that Wu Zetian had Xue Huaiyi build the Mingtang was actually a favor that Wu Zetian had arranged for Xue Huaiyi; in Liu Jianjun's words, it was called "gilding."

But now, Wu Zetian has sent him out again to serve as the Grand General of the Xinping Road Army to suppress the Turks, which Li Xian finds rather unbelievable.

It is said that Xue Huaiyi is skilled in martial arts and has a handsome appearance, but Li Xian does not believe for a second that he can lead troops to kill enemies on the battlefield.

Personal bravery and leading troops into battle are two completely different things.

However, Xue Huaiyi returned in triumph not long after leading his troops into battle.

Whether it was a genuine or feigned victory, Li Xian didn't know, but the military report he brought back said this: the enemy was terrified at the mere mention of his name.

This is even more outrageous than Wu Zetian appointing him as the Grand Commander of the Xinping Road Army.

He told Liu Jianjun about it.

Liu Jianjun said: "What nonsense! Wu Zetian's decision to send him was a foolish one, but this guy is a simpleton. Ignorance is bliss, and he actually went!"

"But sometimes fools are lucky. The Turks are a nomadic people who live by following the water and grass, appearing and disappearing without a trace. It is estimated that when he arrived at the front line, the Turkic soldiers had just retreated. He wandered around and did not find the enemy, so of course he returned in triumph!"

Li Xian felt that Liu Jianjun must have guessed the truth.

Regardless, Xue Huaiyi won the battle, and Wu Zetian was very pleased. She immediately appointed him as a second-rank Assistant General.

Seeing how effectively he had fought against the Turks, Wu Zetian entrusted him with the task of dealing with the Turks in the future.

With this, the Wu Zhou Dynasty had its own publicly known military leaders.

……

Besides these widely circulated rumors, another piece of news is the secret that Shangguan Wan'er brought out from the palace.

This news is related to Li Dan, but Li Xian doesn't know whether to say it's good or bad.

Li Dan is having a lucky streak with women.

A maid named Wei Tuan'er fell in love with him.

The term "household maid" refers to a palace maid who was in charge of managing the gates of the palace.

According to Shangguan Wan'er, Wei Tuan'er was quite beautiful and clever, and was highly favored by Wu Zetian. Every day, she led Li Dan to pay homage to Wu Zetian, and before long, she fell in love with the former emperor.

But it's a pity.

"The heir of the throne is now like a fish that has escaped the net. He even holds his breath when he sees the palace lanterns swaying. How could he dare to peek into the spring scenery of the forbidden garden? Even if Tuan'er were to act like a moth drawn to a flame, he would only remain in deep meditation."

Li Dan's attitude infuriated Wei Tuan'er.

Wei Tuan'er was a very serious person. She vented all her resentment at Li Dan for not getting what she wanted on his two concubines, thinking that Li Dan didn't like her because she already had two concubines.

So the complaint was submitted to Wu Zetian, accusing Li Dan's two concubines of using witchcraft in the palace.

This so-called "amulet" is actually the practice of making small, voodoo dolls.

They said they buried a small wooden doll in the courtyard with Wu Zetian's name and birth date carved on it, and cursed the doll every day, trying to curse Wu Zetian to death through this means.

When Liu Jianjun saw the secret letter, he was dumbfounded and said, "My son, is this kind of voodoo doll a family heirloom of your Li Tang imperial harem?"

Li Xian certainly knew why Liu Jianjun said that.

Because when I told Liu Jianjun about palace secrets before, I mentioned that when Wu Zetian was fighting with Empress Wang, Wu Zetian had falsely accused Empress Wang of using voodoo dolls.

Wu Zetian herself was once accused of using voodoo dolls. In the first year of the Linde era, a eunuch named Wang Fusheng reported to Emperor Gaozong that Wu Zetian and a Taoist priest were performing witchcraft in the palace.

However, it remains unknown who Wu Zetian actually stabbed; this secret seems to have been deliberately concealed.

Seeing the voodoo doll again now, Liu Jianjun was naturally surprised.

Li Xian looked at Liu Jianjun with annoyance and said, "Witchcraft is a serious crime under the laws of the Tang Dynasty, but according to the unwritten rules of the inner palace, how to deal with it depends on the emperor's will."

Then, he frowned and said, "Wei Tuan'er... I seem to remember him?"

Liu Jianjun said, "How could I not remember? Didn't Xianzi tell us about it before?"

Liu Jianjun's reminder brought back memories for Li Xian. It was during a hot pot feast in Liu Jianjun's courtyard when Li Xian had just arrived in Chang'an and resolved his inner conflict.

Then, Li Xian suddenly remembered.

His eyes widened in surprise. "Brother Xian said that Wei Tuan'er and Wu Chengsi are secretly in contact!"

“Isn’t that obvious?” Liu Jianjun wasn’t surprised at all. “This woman was obviously sent by Wu Chengsi to stir up trouble for Danzi. Now it seems like a good thing, at least Wu Chengsi’s attention hasn’t been focused on us yet.”

Then, Liu Jianjun clicked his tongue in amazement and said, "Tsk tsk, this is the Wu Zhou Dynasty. Inside, there are troublemakers like Wu Chengsi and Lai Junchen. Outside, there is the war god Xue Huaiyi who can intimidate the Turks. Even in the palace, there are people like Wei Tuan'er stirring up trouble."

"Tell me, with so many upsetting things happening to your mother, according to her usual practice, shouldn't she change the era name again?"

……

(End of this chapter)