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

Li Xingyun, are you willing to give up all your friends and brothers around you for the sake of your own freedom?

It was not until this moment that Yuan Tiangang suddenly realized that the reason why Li Xingyun could give up easily in the past was because the stakes were not heavy enough to make him bear a heavy price.

Now, Zhang Zifan, Lu Linxuan, Qingguo Qingcheng, and the Empress are all involved in this game called power. Not only themselves, but also the forces they represent behind them, Tianshi Mansion, Khitan, and Qi State.

After hearing Yuan Tiangang's words, Li Xingyun turned around and looked at the wooden house on the island. Ji Ruxue was sleeping peacefully inside. His eyes were filled with love and reluctance.

When he turned around, his eyes became firm in an instant, "Okay, Yuan Tiangang, I promise you, but you have to remember what you said, you will let us go after you find the Longquan treasure."

"There is already someone who has revived the Tang Dynasty. There is no need for me to intervene. He has done a better job than me. I believe he will be a good emperor in the future. The Longquan Treasure is the last help I can give him."

"Once this is done, Ji Ruxue and I will retreat to the mountains and forests and no longer show our true faces to others. From now on, there will only be one Li Xingyun in the world."

Yuan Tiangang didn't say anything, just looked into his eyes and nodded slowly.

At this point, he didn't want to say anything more. Li Xingyun was still too naive, so naive that he couldn't bear to look at him. He hoped that he could learn his lesson after this.

……

Luoyang.

Li Maozhen sat upright in the carriage, waiting to enter. There was a long queue at the city gate, with carriages lined up in one row and pedestrians walking in another passage.

Noticing that the carriage had stopped, Li Maozhen lifted the curtain and looked outside through the window. All he saw was a cloud of smoke and dust. From his direction, he could see the mottled city wall in the distance.

Familiar scenes and places, which he had not seen for sixteen years. Back then, he left here, went to govern the local areas, and then fought in the south and the north to establish a foundation. In the remaining years, he often led his troops to Luoyang, and once stared at the ministers across the city wall.

Most of the people he knew in the past have passed away, and he is the only one left struggling to survive in the world. With this in mind, he took a carriage to Luoyang.

The carriage was driving on the street when it was suddenly blocked and stopped moving.

Li Maozhen raised his eyebrows coldly, "What's wrong?"

Suddenly, a steady and powerful voice came from outside the carriage, "My master wants to see King Qi for a moment. Your Highness, please move."

"Who is your master? How dare you invite me?"

"Your Highness, my master is the current Prince of Jin. He has specially ordered me to wait here and invite Your Highness to his mansion for a banquet." There was a sense of pride in his voice, as if he was proud that his master was the Prince of Jin.

Inside the carriage, Li Maozhen's eyes instantly became sharp. He knew that the news of his reappearance in the world was no secret in the eyes of those who were interested, but he did not expect that he would be visited as soon as he entered Luoyang, and this person happened to be Li Siyuan, the person he least wanted to care about.

"Lead the way." After saying that, Li Maozhen closed his eyes and paid no more attention.

The carriage started moving again, but in another direction.

At the same time, at a street stall, a vendor's eyes flickered, his figure flashed, and he disappeared.

……

In the Imperial Palace, Ganlu Hall, Su Ming was drinking tea and reading a book comfortably. As the wedding day was getting closer, the attention of the court was all focused on this matter.

There were fewer memorials from various places, which gave him a few days of free time. He had never been so free since he became emperor.

"Your Majesty, a secret letter has been delivered." A dark figure emerged in the hall.

Su Ming stretched out his hand without even raising his head. The invisible internal force gathered in his palm and turned into a suction force to take the secret letter from the black shadow's hand through the air.

Only then did he put down the book in his hand and opened the secret letter.

"You should step back first."

"As ordered."

After reading it, Su Ming exerted force on his palm, and the secret letter instantly turned into dust and fell from his fingers. "I didn't expect him to come so quickly. Even if the tree wants to be still, the wind will not stop. Yuan Tiangang, you really know how to pick the time."

He narrowed his eyes, thinking in his heart that Li Maozhen's arrival would undoubtedly upset the balance of the court. Now in the court, the empress and the Prince of Jin were in their own factions, and he, the emperor, was the mediator.

The empress has always had the desire to help the world and has no ambition, so Su Ming supports her to gain a foothold in the court.

However, Li Maozhen is different. He is an ambitious man with the ability to be a tyrant. His entry into the court is definitely not a good thing for Su Ming.

It is possible that as soon as he entered the court, he would join forces with Li Siyuan to sideline him. This is entirely possible given his ambition and strength.

If this is the case, then he will most likely follow in the footsteps of Emperor Zhaozong.

If he fails to subdue Li Maozhen this time, the foundation he has just established in the court will be destroyed and he will become a scapegoat for others.

Thinking of this, Su Ming sighed deeply. He could only say that Yuan Tiangang was worthy of being the one who had dominated the world for three hundred years. If he hadn't made a move, it would have been fine, but once he did, he hit his soft spot.

If something goes wrong with the King of Qi, his cooperative status with the Khitan will no longer be equal, and a puppet emperor will no longer have the greatest value.

Even if the Khitans interfered in the affairs of the Central Plains, they would not invest too much.

Once the Khitans retreat, those military governors who originally intended to get close to the emperor will hesitate and consider making new bets. In this way, most of what he has worked so hard for will be wasted.

Unless he learned from Shi Jingtang and asked the Khitans for help, thus inviting the wolf into the house, he could not think of any other way to break the impasse. However, he would never take such a risky move unless it was absolutely necessary, and he might not even have the opportunity to make this move.

Having said that, Su Ming was not panicked and no expression could be seen on his face.

He would have been surprised if Yuan Tiangang had not taken action. But since he had, things would be easy. After removing the bomb of Li Maozhen, he would be more at ease in the court.

All parties will have more confidence in him. With so many forces tied to him, how can Yuan Tiangang make sure Li Xingyun can take over safely?

Now it depends on what conditions Li Siyuan offers to Li Maozhen and whether he can convince him to cooperate.

Su Ming was not surprised at all that Li Siyuan could find Li Maozhen at the first opportunity. Luoyang was Li Siyuan's territory, so it was easy for him to find someone.

He thought he could subdue Li Maozhen, but if he wanted to subdue him, he was powerless. This matter depended on the empress to persuade him with both emotion and reason.

After going over the possible development of the situation in his mind, Su Ming got up and went to Qianqiu Palace to look for the empress. He had to mediate the matter of Li Maozhen, otherwise, Li Maozhen would most likely leave.

There is no place for him in the court or in Qi State. What else can he do if he doesn't leave?

Chapter 170 The King Meets the King

The carriage moved along the street, turned into the alley, and stopped in front of Prince Jin's Mansion.

"Your Highness Prince Qi, we have arrived at the palace."

Outside the car, a respectful voice sounded again.

Li Maozhen opened his eyes, his red pupils were as calm as a still pond, very peaceful. He slowly got out of the car, and when he looked up he saw the gate of Prince Jin's Mansion.

Three feet away from him, a young man in scholar's clothes was waiting there. He was holding a folding fan, had a good temperament, a handsome face, and an elegant demeanor.

"Li Cunzhi from Tongwenguan has met with King Qi."

"Tongwenguan?" Li Maozhen frowned. "I haven't heard of it. Lead the way." There was a bit of contempt in his words. Even though he was alone now, not just anyone could come up and introduce himself.

Instead of getting angry, Li Cunzhi smiled faintly and bowed as if to invite him, "Your Highness Prince Qi, please come in!" Then he stepped into the gate of the palace and led the way for him.

At this time, the gate of the palace was wide open. Li Maozhen glanced at the plaque and stepped into the gate.

In the courtyard, carved railings and jade bricks, interlaced wood and stone, pavilions and towers are extremely elegant, and the rockery and waterside pavilions are cleverly integrated with the surrounding environment. In Li Maozhen's eyes, this palace is not much worse than the imperial garden of the palace.

After a while, Li Cunzhi took him to a palace and retreated quietly.

Li Maozhen didn't care about his departure at all. He walked up the stairs step by step and stepped into the main hall. Then the scene of the entire main hall came into view. A golden animal-shaped incense burner stood in a corner of the main hall. The smooth floor was covered with precious cashmere carpets. The hollow palace lanterns were beautiful and unique, emitting dazzling light.

The whole hall was resplendent and golden under the illumination of palace lanterns. A figure stood in the hall, majestic and obscure, like a mountain.

The first moment he saw him, the blood in Li Maozhen's body seemed to be aroused and became ready to move. His scarlet eyes became sharper and sharper. An indescribable domineering aura slowly emerged from him, as if he didn't take the whole world seriously.

The low and rhythmic footsteps echoed in the hall until they stopped. The two men just stood there, not saying a word, as if each was waiting for the other to speak.

When kings meet, who is stronger and who is weaker is determined here.

After a moment, Li Siyuan turned around, his narrow eyes swept across Li Maozhen's face, and he smiled casually, "Prince Qi, long time no see."

Unexpectedly, Li Maozhen looked at him for a few times and asked in confusion, "It seems that I have never seen you before. How can it be said that it has been a long time since we last met?"

As soon as these words came out, the smile on Li Siyuan's face froze for a moment, and then returned to normal, "I have seen the heroic demeanor of His Royal Highness Prince Qi many years ago, and I didn't expect to see him again today, and he is still as handsome as ever."

This sentence is both a compliment and can also be interpreted in another way: you were very good sixteen years ago, but sixteen years later, can you still be as good as before?

However, facing Li Siyuan's flattery, Li Maozhen did not buy it at all. He glanced at Li Siyuan a few times and looked away, "Now I finally understand what Ruan Ji meant by 'When there are no heroes, young men become famous'."

This sentence is very impolite.

He almost pressed Li Siyuan's face to the ground, implying that if Li Keyong and Zhu Wen were not dead, how could you stand in front of me?

Even though Li Siyuan was very well-mannered, he was still ridiculed. Since he became the Prince of Jin, no one except Yuan Tiangang dared to speak to him like that. Even the emperor was polite to him. Where did you, Li Maozhen, get the confidence to speak to me like that?

However, thinking of the purpose of inviting Li Maozhen to his house, he still held back. "King Qi, you are joking. When you dominated the world in the past, I was just a general under your adoptive father. I have also seen the heroic figure of your highness King Qi galloping on the battlefield. My adoptive father, the old villain Zhu Wen, has passed away. I didn't expect to see King Qi again today. I am really surprised."

Li Maozhen had just returned to the Central Plains and did not have enough information. If he had gone to see the empress first, he would probably have known how Li Keyong was killed. Seeing that Li Siyuan was not angry, Li Maozhen's eyes changed and he stopped getting angry. His tone also softened, "The courage of the past is not worth mentioning. Now that you are in Luoyang again, things are really different."

"Prince Qi has a good reputation in the court. He is also in charge of the Secretariat and is valued by Your Majesty. We will work together in the court in the future and there will be many opportunities for us to interact with each other." Li Siyuan began to fan the flames in a subtle way.

Li Maozhen's eyes fixed, and his tone, which had just relaxed, became a little colder. "The affairs of the court will be judged by the officials. Prince Jin doesn't need to worry about this."

"As for dealing with each other, I also believe that I will have many opportunities to deal with the King of Jin in the future. Li Keyong is such a heroic figure. I hope his successor will impress me."

At this point, he had already politely rejected Li Siyuan's solicitation, but he did not want to give up. With an eager smile on his face, he said, "Look at me, King Qi has just arrived in Luoyang and is exhausted. Why don't you rest in my house today? I will welcome you tonight. What do you think, King Jin?"

Li Siyuan is indeed an old hand, and he started to add fuel to the fire, saying, "No matter how powerful you are, your sister has taken over your position and you don't even have a place to stay."

……

In Qianqiu Palace, the empress was reading an official letter from the Ministry of Rites. This month the court was preparing for the emperor's wedding. This was the most important event for the court this year, and officials from top to bottom were treating it with great caution.

At this moment, Su Ming walked in from outside the hall. He waved his hand, signaling the eunuch to go down. Suddenly, there were only two of them left in the entire hall.

"What's wrong?" The empress raised her head in surprise, her eyes full of confusion.

Su Ming's face was solemn, and he shocked her as soon as he spoke, "Li Maozhen has come to Luoyang."

"What?" The empress' pupils shrank slightly and she stood up suddenly, in disbelief.

However, Su Ming's next words surprised her even more, "As soon as he entered the city, he was invited away by Li Siyuan's people."

"My brother..." The empress opened her mouth, with complicated emotions in her eyes: joy, confusion, shock, and a hint of strangeness.

Su Ming knew that it was hard for her to accept it, so he consoled her, "Don't worry. I had expected Li Siyuan's actions. Luoyang's defense is still in his hands."

The empress was very confused. He had been away for so long, shouldn’t he come back to see her first?

"But how can he go to see Li Siyuan like this?"

Su Ming shook his head and explained, "Li Maozhen went to Qi State and now thinks of himself as the King of Qi. How could he be timid when Li Siyuan sent someone to invite him? He is his junior."

The empress not only did not understand her brother's behavior, but also felt heartbroken. He was her own brother. He had been gone for sixteen years and there was no news from him. Now that he came back, he did not come to find her first, but went to Qi State first and met with her political enemies.

This really made her sad!

Chapter 171 Are you qualified to negotiate with me?

"I can't guess your brother's thoughts for now. I can only confirm it when I meet him. However, Li Maozhen is such an arrogant person. It's simply a pipe dream for Li Siyuan to control him."