In my dream of returning to the Tang Dynasty, I snatched Wu Zetian from my lap.

The core members of the Yin family knew that they would surely die in the defeat, so almost all of them followed Yin Hongzhi to their deaths in battle or committed suicide.

At this point, they couldn't even find anyone to interrogate, so they could only investigate little by little.

Approximately five hundred people entered the Yin Mansion to search it, almost digging three feet into the ground. Even Li Yuanchang personally joined the search, inspecting Yin Hongzhi's study and cabinets.

However, after several hours of searching, almost nothing was found; it only added another charge against Yin Hongzhi.

But he's already dead, so whether or not to add it is irrelevant now.

The main task is to find out the origin of this batch of money and grain.

But almost nothing related to it could be found throughout the entire underworld.

By dusk, Li Yuanchang was already prepared to give up, having already dug three feet into the ground.

But a message suddenly brought by his subordinate gave hope back to the investigation that had reached a stalemate.

"Your Highness, this is the place."

"In order to survive, the servants of the Yin Mansion claimed that Yin Hongzhi often came here alone in secret and did not allow anyone to approach, not even to clean the dust." The guard pointed to a secluded side room.

Li Yuanchang raised an eyebrow and strode in.

The side room was small and simply furnished, somewhat resembling a side room for storing books.

At a glance, you can almost take in the entire room.

He began to lead his men to search the shelves, taking down stacks of books, but they found no clues.

Inside the cabinet were some letters, but they had nothing to do with money or provisions. At most, they were letters from Yin Hongzhi plotting a rebellion by his subordinates.

It looked like the side room was about to be emptied again, and they still hadn't gotten anything.

Li Yuanchang frowned. If it were so ordinary, Yin Hongzhi would have no reason to forbid anyone from getting close.

He kept looking around, his sharp eyes sweeping over every corner, trying to glean something.

suddenly!

A corner caught his attention.

He walked slowly over, staring at the two blue and white porcelain vases, one on the left and one on the right.

He crouched down, twisted his body, and focused his gaze.

In the twilight, faint handprints appeared on the vase, along with sweat stains, almost invisible unless you looked closely.

The one on the left has one, but the vase on the right doesn't.

Li Yuanchang subconsciously reached out and overlapped with the vague handprint, then tried to twist it.

Guo Chao and the others looked at them expectantly.

But the vase didn't move at all; there was no mechanism involved.

Everyone was disappointed.

Click!

Just then, Li Yuanchang changed the twisting motion to pressing, and the base of the vase emitted a crisp mechanical sound.

Then, crack crack crack!

The exquisite mural on the wall was split in two and slid open automatically to the left and right, revealing a very small space!

"A locked room!"

"It's a secret room!" the guard exclaimed.

Li Yuanchang immediately took a deep breath; there really was a secret.

At this moment, he was not happy, but rather somewhat nervous. If some terrible secret were found here, implicating the people of the Eastern Palace, it would truly be a chain reaction of trouble.

He remembered that Li You's rebellion in history was a precursor to Li Chengqian's rebellion, and the two were related.

He took the torch that his men had lit.

"You all stay here and guard the place. I'm going in to take a look."

"yes!"

Those present were all personal guards of the Prince of Han's residence, so they naturally wouldn't discuss anything.

A hidden, secret room, illuminated by a single lamp.

This small, secluded room, barely a few square meters in size, was completely empty except for a table, some writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, and a hollowed-out stone wall at the back.

The firelight startled Li Yuanchang!

Inside the hollowed-out stone wall, a spirit tablet was enshrined, appearing extremely eerie and sinister under the light.

Li Yuanchang took a closer look and saw that it was a statue of the Yin family ancestor worshipped by Yin Hongzhi.

This is also the root of the rebellion, spanning decades of grievances. Back then, when Li Yuan raised an army against the Sui Dynasty, Yin Hongzhi's father, Yin Shishi, was a Sui Dynasty general, and the two sides were at odds.

Yin Shishi killed one of Li Yuan's sons and also dug up Li Yuan's ancestral grave.

Later, after Li Yuan stormed into Chang'an, he wiped out almost the entire Yin family.

Yin Hongzhi and his sister, the famous Consort Yin, escaped the calamity because they were too young. Consort Yin was later taken by Li Shimin and gave birth to Li You.

However, this did not resolve the grudges. Behind the apparent glory lay a deep-seated hatred that had been brewing for over a decade or two.

History is often downplayed, but no one really knows what happened behind the scenes.

Li Yuanchang intended to search the desk, but his gaze swept over it before he looked away.

"Um?"

He had sharp eyes and noticed a protruding shadow. He subconsciously reached out and touched it, only to find a letter behind the memorial tablet.

The letter cover was blank.

But the contents inside made Li Yuanchang's pupils shrink sharply, and his facial features showed shock, disbelief, and overwhelming doubt!

This was a handwritten letter from Yin Hongzhi, which had not yet been sent out. When it was opened, the wax seal was still intact.

The letter explicitly mentions that Qizhou needs copper and iron, and the source of Yin Hongzhi's demand is actually the Begonia Villa in Chang'an!

Those four glaring words magnified infinitely in Li Yuanchang's pupils, causing a storm to surge in his heart!

boom!

He staggered, grabbing the table for support while clutching the letter tightly in his hand.

His pupils were filled with shock, lingering fear, and disbelief...

Copper and iron are the raw materials for weapons and supplies, and it's obvious what Yin Hongzhi wanted to do with them.

But the person he wanted was actually at the Begonia Villa!

Wu Zetian?

Li Zhi?

Song Sanlang?

Li Yuanchang could not believe it; his facial features were numb.

Considering the massive amount of money and grain involved, it seems the truth has come to light.

But this truth is too shocking. How could it be someone from the Begonia Villa?

That doesn't make sense!

These two forces are completely unrelated and belong to different worlds.

Wu Zetian was incredibly intelligent, almost supernatural, with a natural political mind; she couldn't possibly be foolish enough to support someone like Li You.

Li Zhi couldn't do it either. At this moment, he was just a weak child who couldn't handle anything. He didn't have the guts, nor did he need to.

As for Song Sanlang, he was merely a wealthy merchant who was basically at the beck and call of Wu Zetian.

Li Yuanchang wondered if he had misread it or if it was a case of the same name. He checked it several times, but the facts spoke for themselves.

"Meiniang, what are you doing?!"

Li Yuanchang gritted his teeth, his face turning red with anger.

With just this one thing, she will die without a burial place.

What he found most unacceptable was that if his guess was correct, then Wu Zetian would have completely begun to manipulate events and plot conspiracies.

How many people died indirectly because of what she did!

She's overreaching.

Why did she give money and provisions to Qizhou and associate with Yin Hongzhi?

Helping Li Zhi isn't done like this, is it? What exactly is she trying to achieve?

At this moment, ten thousand questions kept surfacing in Li Yuanchang's mind, but there were no answers and no response.

He couldn't believe that the innocent and carefree girl had become the mastermind behind the Qizhou mutiny!

Du Xingmin failed to quell the rebellion and was killed, which was very likely due to the behind-the-scenes support from Haitang Villa!