The Bad Guys: Playing the Fake Li Xingyun at the Beginning

Because times have changed.

Li Cunli was not qualified to know what happened during the fight for the Longquan treasure, but this did not prevent him from making the right judgment.

Then he changed into a white scholar's shirt and went to the front hall to meet Li Siyuan.

At this time, Li Siyuan was standing in the hall, distracted. In just one month, a large patch of his hair turned white and the wrinkles on his forehead became deeper.

When he saw Li Cunli, his eyes lit up, as if he had seen a savior, and he smiled and walked forward, "Sixth brother, you have to help me!"

Chapter 252 I am the most loyal to Your Majesty!

Li Cunli was confused. What was going on?

Seeing Li Siyuan holding his arm affectionately with a flattering and fawning look on his face, Li Cunli's first reaction was not that he was trying to please him, but that he was plotting against him.

As the sixth member of the Tongwenguan, Li Cunli had followed him for a long time, and no one knew better than him what kind of old coin Li Siyuan was.

"Your Highness the Prince of Jin has come to visit unexpectedly. I am sorry for not welcoming you in person. Please forgive me." Li Cunli pulled out his arm without leaving a trace and stepped back.

Li Siyuan was stunned for a moment before he realized that he was a bit abrupt and smiled awkwardly.

Li Cunli returned to the main seat and sat down, and ordered the servants, "His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin is here, why don't you quickly serve the tea!"

After saying this, he smiled at Li Siyuan and said, "I am sorry for the poor hospitality. Please forgive me, Prince Jin."

Things are different now. Li Cunli is the deputy minister of the Secretariat and the prime minister of the Executive Yuan. He has a dignified demeanor and is no longer the little brother who followed Li Siyuan around. His aura is just as strong as Li Siyuan's.

Li Siyuan's pupils shrank slightly, his expression froze, and then he smiled, "No, I haven't had the tea in your house for a long time. This time, I have to taste it carefully."

After a while, the servants brought tea. Li Cunli motioned them to leave, took a sip of tea, and then started talking. "Your Highness the Prince of Jin came here today, I think you have something important to discuss with me. Let's not talk nonsense, let's get straight to the point."

Li Siyuan was stunned at first, then he put down his teacup, stood up from the chair, and bowed to him, "Sixth brother, for the sake of our past friendship, you must save my life."

This was the second time Li Cunli heard such words today. After being slightly distracted, he declined, "Your Highness Prince Jin, you are joking. You are the most powerful governor in the Central Plains. The land of Hedong is easy to defend but difficult to attack. With tens of thousands of elite soldiers under your command, who dares to touch you? Not to mention taking your life."

Li Siyuan showed a bitter expression, "Sixth brother, I didn't lie to you. I can't think of anyone else who can help me except you. Your Majesty got the Longquan treasure and wants to take over the Central Plains, unify the world, and restore the Tang Dynasty."

"How can a person like me have a good ending? Sixth brother, I really envy you. You surrendered to His Majesty so early, and now you are second to none and above ten thousand people. A hundred years later, your name will be recorded in history."

"I'm your elder brother and I'm in a miserable situation. It's still uncertain whether I can survive." His words were filled with sadness and despair, and his eyes were full of pleading as he looked at Li Cunli.

Li Siyuan, you have come to this day!

To be honest, when Li Cunli saw his eyes, he felt extremely sad. He had been serving him so long and had been bullied by him all these years.

In the end, he was still suspicious of me and I was completely dismissed from my position, and I got nothing.

Li Siyuan was so arrogant at that time. After Li Cunxu died, he led his army into Luoyang and put down the rebellion single-handedly. He became famous and almost had the final say in the court.

But if he stomped his feet, the entire Central Plains would tremble. In less than two years, he ended up like this, which really made him proud.

Although he was secretly happy, he still had no intention of giving in. Instead, he said in a high-handed tone, "King Jin, are you kidding me? You have a large army under your command, and the land of Hedong can be decided with a single word. His Majesty is too busy trying to win you over, so how could he possibly kill you?"

He would not easily agree to Li Siyuan's request before he fully understood the whole story.

Li Siyuan was stunned for a moment, looked into his eyes, and confirmed that he was not lying. He was stunned for a moment, and was silent for a long time before he spoke, "Sixth brother, it seems that you don't know the real inside story of the fight for the Longquan treasure this time."

Li Cunli frowned, "What did you say? Fight for the Longquan treasure? Didn't His Majesty send you and King Qi to find the Longquan treasure?"

Li Siyuan shook his head slowly and sighed, "You will know it sooner or later anyway, so I might as well tell you first."

"In fact, your majesty is not the real Li Xingyun, but a substitute..."

……

As Li Siyuan told the story, Li Cunli was completely stunned. This was truly too bizarre and unbelievable. If this story were to get out, most people would not believe it.

But Li Cunli was not an ordinary person. He used to be the director of Tongwenguan and had collected a lot of intelligence. At that time, they felt that Li Xingyun had changed too much and grown too fast, but no one thought about it in this way.

Now, Li Siyuan told him the whole story, which solved all the doubts in his mind, but this news was far less surprising than the news of Yuan Tiangang's defeat.

That was Yuan Tiangang who had lived for more than three hundred years, and he actually lost!

No wonder Li Siyuan was so humble, no wonder he was so anxious to save his life.

After thinking this through, Li Cunli let out a long breath, took a cup of tea to moisten his throat, and began to organize his thoughts.

If it were him, he might have made the same choice as Li Siyuan.

Li Siyuan was sitting in the hall, no longer as panicked as when he came. To be honest, there was some panic, but it was not that exaggerated. The emperor had said that he would not kill him, so he would not die.

All the way from Hedong to Luoyang, he submitted memorials to Su Ming every day, but all of them fell into the sea and he has not received a reply to date.

Looking for Li Cunli was purely for the purpose of building a closer relationship with him so that the situation could end in a dignified manner and not be too tragic. If he simply wanted to survive, the capital in his hands was enough.

"Prince Jin, do you want to surrender to His Majesty?" Li Cunli asked after thinking for a moment.

Li Siyuan sighed, and the wrinkles on his forehead looked deeper. "Your Majesty, the situation is already determined. How can I do something like a mantis trying to stop a chariot? I just hope that Your Majesty and the court can give me a decent way out so that I can enjoy my old age. I dare not ask for anything else."

"This matter is simple and easy. It just depends on whether you are willing to give it up or not."

"Oh? What do you mean?" Li Siyuan had fought with Su Ming several times in the court, and knew that Su Ming was a man of deep thoughts. He just couldn't figure out his ways, so he came to Li Cunli to test the waters.

"You must fully cooperate with His Majesty in whatever he wants to do. You must do whatever he asks you to do. Hedong is a strategic location, and you will definitely not be able to protect it. However, how to return power to the court still depends on His Majesty's wishes."

"In my opinion, your majesty will not take over Hedong so casually. Looking at the situation in Heluo, you will know that your majesty is definitely not a mediocre person."

"You and I have already seen His Majesty's methods. Now he has more cards to play. With the loyalty of the Bad Guys and Yuan Tiangang, he is even more powerful. Unifying the world may only be the first step."

Li Siyuan narrowed his eyes, "You mean?"

"Rebuilding the glory of the Tang Dynasty and recreating its prosperity is what Your Majesty really wants to do."

"How is that possible? The world is divided into pieces, and the Khitans are eyeing us covetously. How can it be easy to restore the great Tang Dynasty?" Li Siyuan retorted subconsciously.

As a vassal lord, he understood all of this.

Li Cunli smiled and shook his head, "Li Siyuan, to this day, you still look down on His Majesty. His martial arts are actually secondary. His Majesty's scheming and forbearance are even more terrifying than yours."

"Who would have thought that he would be able to wrestle with you in the court when he just ascended the throne? Who would have thought that Yuan Tiangang was just a fox using the power of another to bully others? In the end, neither you nor I could see it."

"As for Yuan Tiangang, he kept his secrets for such a long time, and only revealed his unique martial arts skills at the very end. You wouldn't be able to do that at your age. He's only twenty years old now."

"The more tolerant a person is, the greater his ambitions are. You should know this better than I do."

After this speech, Li Siyuan fell silent.

Li Cunli's words had touched his soul, because he himself was such a person. He put himself in the emperor's shoes. He should not have judged the emperor by his own standards.

Thinking of this, he sighed quietly, "Sixth brother, you have indeed made a lot of progress by following His Majesty. I am grateful for your guidance." After saying that, he bowed to him.

Li Cunli smiled slightly, walked down and helped Li Siyuan up, "Brother, although we had conflicts in the past, we are now ministers in the same court, and you and I should share the worries of His Majesty."

"How about this, if you have any ideas, you can write a memorial first, and I will submit it for you to test the emperor's attitude. What do you think?"

Li Siyuan looked up in surprise, "Really?"

Li Cunli said sincerely, "You and I are brothers. I must always remember our old friendship. A man's ambition should be like the Yangtze River flowing eastward to the sea. Why should we dwell on small grudges?"

"Sixth brother, I was sorry to you before. I apologize to you." Before Li Cunli could react, Li Siyuan, with a guilty look on his face, bowed again.

Li Cunli showed a generous smile and helped him up. "Brother, you are too serious. Let the past be the past. There is still a long way to go in the future."

"That being said, I always feel like I owe you. These things are my apology to you." After saying that, Li Siyuan took out a cloth bag from his arms and handed it over.

Li Cunli's eyes widened and he nodded without refusing. Now that they had turned hostility into friendship, there might be opportunities for cooperation in the future, so there was no need to be polite.

However, after opening it, Li Cunli was stunned. There were two secret books inside, one was the Supreme Saint Qiankun Gong, and the other was the Five Thunders Heavenly Heart Sutra.

Coming back to his senses, he looked at Li Siyuan, somewhat puzzled, "Brother, this?"

"In the past, in order to guard against you, my adoptive father didn't let anyone except me and Li Cunxu learn the complete Supreme Saint Universe Skill. I got the Five Thunders Heart Skill from the Tianshi Mansion, but it didn't have the general outline. You and I are different. You are still young, and you have a long way to go in the future." Li Siyuan patted Li Cunli's shoulder, speaking earnestly.

"Thank you, big brother." The word "big brother" was really sincere and contained a bit of gratitude.

Li Siyuan smiled, with a complicated expression on his face, "We are all brothers. Okay, I just arrived in Luoyang, so I will go back home first. I will give you the memorial tomorrow."

Immediately afterwards, Li Cunli sent Li Siyuan to the gate of Prince Xue's mansion and watched him leave on horseback.

Back in the hall, the two secret books were lying on the table.

Li Cunli picked up one of the books and opened the cover. The brand new ink mixed with the scent of ink showed that it had been written not long ago. There were not many pieces in the secret book, so he finished reading it quickly.

As for the other copy of Five Thunders Heart Sutra, he did not even touch it. Although he was jealous, Li Cunli knew what he could take and what he could not take, as this was the unique skill of the Tianshi Mansion.

However, the contemporary Heavenly Master Zhang Zifan is currently serving His Majesty at the frontier. How could the unique skills of the Heavenly Master's Mansion be so easy to learn?

Li Siyuan, Li Siyuan, even at this point, you still don't forget to dig a hole for me and drag me into it.

A mocking smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. He put the Five Thunders Heart Sutra in his arms, packed up his things, left Prince Xue's Mansion and headed straight for the imperial city.

……

Qinyan Palace.

Su Ming was lying in the bathtub taking a bath. Behind him, the three holy ladies were serving him. Their tender white hands kept massaging his body, making him feel numb and his mind relaxed.

After running around for more than three months, I can finally have a good rest.

Just as he closed his eyes and took a nap, his mind was empty, a palace maid came in and reported, "Your Majesty, His Royal Highness Prince Xue has entered the palace and is waiting in Qianqiu Palace."

"Okay, I understand." Su Ming did not move and replied lightly.

Half an incense stick later, he finished bathing. The Three Holy Ladies helped him to dress, and he used his true Qi to dry his wet hair directly, which was very convenient.

……

In Qianqiu Hall, Li Cunli stood inside, motionless, with his brows furrowed, as if he was thinking.

At this moment, a voice came from the inner hall, "Come in!"

His expression tensed, he straightened his clothes, and walked in slowly, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."

"Stand up." A familiar voice, as calm as ever.

"Tell me, you came into the palace just after I came back, what's the matter?"

Afterwards, Li Cunli told Li Siyuan everything about why he came to see him. After that, he took out the secret book of Five Thunders Heavenly Heart Sutra from his arms.

Su Ming glanced at it calmly, stretched out his hand, and the Five Thunders Heavenly Heart Art fell into his hand. "You will be the one to take care of Li Siyuan. There are many things to do in Hedong, and we still need his help. Do you understand?"

Li Cunli was startled, and was glad that he had not shown off his power and retaliated against Li Siyuan before. "I understand."

“As for the Five Thunders Heavenly Heart Art…” Su Ming pondered for a moment and felt it was a bit tricky.

Li Siyuan and Zhang Zifan are sworn enemies, and a fight is inevitable between them. How can the hatred of their fathers being killed and the pain of separation from their loved ones be settled with just a few words?

Don't persuade others to be kind to others without suffering.