Duke of Zhenguan

Chapter 117 Rumors Spread in the Streets

Before leaving, Lin Chuan called Xu Laosan and instructed him, "Lao Xu, find two people to go to Hedong and see if they can find Wang Sanzhu's mother and sister!"

Only then did Wang the blacksmith learn from Lin Jiu about Wang Sanzhu's surrender to the Dali Temple and subsequent suicide. He was immediately terrified, his knees buckled, and he knelt before Lin Chuan, saying in a panic, "County Lord Lin—"

"Uncle Wang, get up. This has nothing to do with you!"

Lin Chuan didn't have time to pay him any attention. After casually saying something, he turned to Cheng Yaojin and said, "Uncle Cheng, you don't need to accompany me for such a small matter. I can go by myself!"

Cheng Yaojin nodded.

Lin Chuan arrived at the palace with his entourage and was led by palace eunuchs to the Lizheng Hall. In the hall, besides Li Shimin, there were also Empress Zhangsun, Li Chengqian, and Li Tai.

The family of four was having breakfast when Lin Chuan stepped forward and respectfully said, "Greetings, Your Majesty! Greetings, Your Majesty!"

"Sit down! Haven't had breakfast yet? Someone, prepare a meal for him!" Li Shimin waved his hand and then instructed the eunuch beside him with a smile.

After Lin Chuan sat down, the eunuch quickly brought him breakfast, which consisted of steaming rice porridge and mutton.

Lin Chuan was woken up early by Mei Xiang and rushed into the palace. He was indeed a little hungry, especially when he smelled the aroma of rice porridge and mutton. He didn't care about anything else and picked up the rice porridge to eat it in big mouthfuls.

Li Shimin ate slowly and deliberately, waiting for Lin Chuan to finish before putting down his chopsticks. He then asked curiously, "Did you make gasoline at home using lacquer? Or did you use the method of distilling alcohol?"

"That's right!" Lin Chuan replied awkwardly.

"The method of making gasoline from lacquer will eventually spread. Even I cannot guarantee that all the craftsmen will be loyal. I do not blame you!"

"But you've been too lenient with your family. There still needs to be some discipline!" Li Shimin said with a smile.

"Your subject knows his crime!" Lin Chuan said honestly.

"Alright, go back now. I will have someone investigate the murder of Li Cang's family!" Li Shimin waved his hand.

"Your Majesty, I take my leave!"

After Lin Chuan left the palace, Empress Zhangsun smiled and said to Li Shimin, "Lord Lin is being a little too cautious in his actions—"

"The matter was discovered by the Right Guard. That scoundrel Cheng Yaojin must have known about it. Lin Chuan came to see me in such a hurry, which must have been instructed by that scoundrel as well."

That kid is just a farmer's son, how could he have such a mind! But it's better to be careful, if he doesn't have a little respect, I really wouldn't dare to use him!" Li Shimin said irritably.

Empress Zhangsun chuckled, then thought it made sense. She then said to Li Shimin in a deep voice, "Second Prince, Li Cang certainly deserved to die, but those seven- or eight-year-old children cannot be allowed to die in vain!"

"The one who made the move is a skilled soldier. The Hundred Cavalry Division is chasing after him, but they may not be able to catch him!" Li Shimin sighed.

Even without Empress Zhangsun saying anything, he wouldn't let the person behind it go. If someone could kill someone on the outskirts of Chang'an and leave unscathed, where would he, as the emperor, put his face?

When Lin Chuan returned home, Cheng Yaojin had already gone back, and only Li Shi was waiting in the front yard with a worried look on her face.

"Mother!"

"Big Brother, are you alright?"

"It's alright, His Majesty said he'll have someone investigate this matter!" Lin Chuan said in a deep voice.

"That's good!"

Li breathed a sigh of relief, hesitated for a moment, and asked Lin Chuan softly, "Eldest brother, is Wang Sanzhu really dead?"

"Uncle Cheng's information should be true!" Lin Chuan said.

"Wang the Blacksmith —"

Li opened her mouth, but didn't know how to continue.

"Mother, this matter has nothing to do with Uncle Wang, I will not make things difficult for him."

However, since Wang Sanzhu is his nephew, and he knows that Wang Sanzhu stole things from the house but keeps it a secret, our family can't keep them here!

"Mother, give him some money and tell them to leave the Lin family!" Lin Chuan said.

Lin Chuan had always treated the neighbors in Tiechi Lane as kindly as possible and trusted them enough, but it was clear that Wang the blacksmith had betrayed that trust. Whether Wang Sanzhu had been set up was unknown, but Wang the blacksmith could no longer stay in the Lin family.

Li did not try to persuade him further. Although she cherished their past relationship, she cared more about her son.

The next day, the Wang family left the Lin family with their valuables, retrieved Wang Sanzhu's body from the Dali Temple, and then left Chang'an.

The first court session after the Lantern Festival was uneventful; even the officials from the Dali Temple did not mention Li Cang's murder in court.

But those in the know understand that this matter will not end there.

Lin Chuan always thought that the person who killed Li Cang would take action against him in the imperial court, but he never expected that the real killing move would come from the streets.

On the evening of the twentieth day of the first lunar month, Lin Chuan returned home from his duty at the Ministry of War. Li Shi pulled him aside and whispered, "Eldest son, the West Market is all saying that you were originally dead, but were possessed by the Maitreya Buddha and brought back to life. They say the Maitreya Buddha is not only omniscient, but can also see the past and the future!"

Lin Chuan's expression suddenly turned extremely ugly.

Those who spread this rumor probably never expected things to be so coincidental. Although he is not the reincarnation of Maitreya, to a certain extent, isn't he omniscient?

They even possess the ability to foresee the future.

These things were probably all rumors in Li's eyes, but Lin Chuan himself knew that some of them were true.

Moreover, he knew that Li Shimin must have some suspicions about him. A sixteen-year-old peasant boy suddenly knew how to brew wine, medicine, arithmetic, and all sorts of other miscellaneous knowledge. Any emperor would be suspicious!

Lin Chuan wasn't afraid of Li Shimin's suspicions. Geniuses were not lacking in that era, and Li Shimin didn't care how geniuses were cultivated. He only cared about whether geniuses were beneficial to his rule.

But now, something that Lin Chuan was starting to worry about has happened: he has been given the title of the reincarnation of the Maitreya God.

Unfortunately, the Maitreya sect has been advocating the overthrow of the imperial court since its emergence at the end of the Sui Dynasty, and there may still be remnants lurking in the shadows.

Such prophecies are what make emperors most suspicious.

Li Junxian is a living example. Just because of a folk prophecy that "the female ruler will rule the world," Li Junxian, a great general who was guarding the Xuanwu Gate, was unjustly killed.

Seeing her son remain silent, Li asked worriedly, "Eldest son?"

"Mother, it's nothing, just a rumor! It'll be over in a few days!" Lin Chuan forced a smile and comforted her.

But Lin Chuan wasn't unprepared; he had fabricated a story about a mysterious old Taoist priest. Now it all depended on Li Shimin's attitude.

The next morning, Lin Chuan went to court as if nothing had happened, and in the afternoon he even taught Li Chengqian a math lesson.

The rumors spread more and more wildly in Chang'an, and some other rumors also emerged, the gist of which was that Li Shimin was bewitched by Lin Chuan, the reincarnation of Maitreya, and that Heaven would send down natural disasters as a warning!

The Tang Dynasty will inevitably suffer a severe drought and an overwhelming locust plague.