Chapter 408 The Person Behind the Scenes is Locked

Xiangzhou.

That day, Wei Shuyu was fiddling with coal.

The third lackey delivered another letter from Choi Shin-ki.

"Qiqi, take a look at what's written in the letter." Wei Shuyu's hands were covered in soot, making it inconvenient for him to take the letter.

Okay.

Wu Qiqi happily accepted it.

Wei Shuyu's willingness to speak frankly about himself is the greatest sign of trust!

After looking at it, he said, "Shenji said that the court was arguing fiercely about the Ministry of Commerce, and he almost became the head of the Ministry of Commerce."

Upon hearing this, Wei Shuyu put down his work.

I went to the washbasin and washed my hands.

"Who are the competitors?" Wei Shuyu asked.

"King of Shu, King of Wei, King of Yan, Chongyi, Shenji, Cheng Huailiang..." Wu Qiqi read aloud what was written on the paper.

He had been listening to everything until he heard Cheng Huailiang's name, at which point Wei Shuyu's eye twitched involuntarily.

There's no escaping it.

Cheng Yaojin is definitely stirring up trouble again.

"Who will ultimately take on this role?" Wei Shuyu asked.

"No result has been reached through the discussions."

Wu Qiqi pouted and said, "Wei Shuyu, let's go back to Chang'an."

"As long as you return to Chang'an, the Ministry of Commerce will definitely still be yours."

Wei Shuyu shook his head at this.

"What's so good about being an official?"

"Getting up earlier than the chickens and going to bed later than the dogs every day, and there's always the risk of losing your head..."

cut.

Wu Qiqi gave her a disdainful look.

"Have you said this to Uncle Wei?"

"..."

Wei Shuyu was speechless.

If Lao Wei heard these words, he would definitely chase me for ten blocks with a rattan cane.

"Wei Shuyu, you've already been dismissed from your post, so why are you still concerned about matters of state?" Wu Qiqi suddenly asked with a smile.

"Isn't this a letter from Little Jiji?" Wei Shuyu replied casually.

"Still not telling the truth?"

Wu Qiqi put her hands on her hips and said angrily, "With Choi Shenji's personality, I would believe you if you told me he wrote to you about who he beat up today or what new ways he came up with to prank people."

"How could he possibly discuss court affairs with you?"

"And since he's so afraid of His Majesty and Cheng Yaojin, how could he possibly go to the Taiji Hall on his own initiative?"

Wei Shuyu was stunned.

"Then tell me, what do I plan to do?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Qiqi began to ponder.

He paced back and forth in the yard, chin in hand...

"You're not resigning to lure out the person behind the scenes to fight for it, are you?"

After a long while, Wu Qiqi suddenly asked in shock.

Before Wei Shuyu could reply, Wu Qiqi shook her head and muttered to herself...

"That doesn't make sense either."

"You don't know who's behind it all, so how can you be sure they'll come after you? Unless..."

As she spoke, Wu Qiqi suddenly raised her voice: "Unless you already know who's behind this!"

"It's just a guess."

Wei Shuyu smiled and asked, "Want to know?"

"In no mood!"

Wu Qiqi said angrily, "I want to guess it myself..."

"..."

This damn competitive spirit.

Fine, whatever.

"Qiqi, there's nothing to do in Xiangzhou these past two days."

Wei Shuyu changed the subject, saying, "I think Xiangzhou isn't far from Jingzhou, so why don't we take you home first?"

ah?

Wu Qiqi was unhappy: "You hate me?"

"..."

Wei Shuyu remained silent.

What kind of thought process is this?

"You were going home anyway."

"My father is still in Chang'an."

"Then you don't want your mother anymore?"

"this……"

Wu Qiqi's eyes darted around: "How about I bring my mother to Chang'an too?"

You're such a clever little devil.

Once the idea came to mind, Wu Qiqi couldn't hold back any longer.

In the afternoon, we purchased some local specialties.

The next day, the two set off for Jingzhou.

On the carriage.

Wei Shuyu's buttocks hurt from being poked.

Without shock absorbers, and on ancient roads, a horse-drawn carriage felt like riding a bumpy car.

But Wu Qiqi wouldn't let him ride a horse, saying that it would be boring to ride in a carriage alone.

"I've got it!"

Wu Qiqi suddenly shouted with joy, then grabbed Wei Shuyu's arm and shook it vigorously.

"What are you thinking about?" Wei Shuyu replied listlessly.

"Is the person behind this... connected to the King of Shu?"

Why do you say that?

"because……"

Wu Qiqi was startled and opened the carriage curtain to glance at the coachman.

After confirming that the other party was focused on getting to the train, he leaned close to Wei Shuyu and whispered...

"Because the people behind the scenes always stirred things up when Li Ke was in Chang'an."

"And... all of these were around the time when Li Ke was about to leave Chang'an!"

Um?

Wei Shuyu revealed a slight smile.

He truly is a master of analysis.

That's a quick way to think.

"Go on..."

Wei Shuyu also became interested in listening.

"First, Princess Chang Le has been attacked!"

"Ling Jing attacked Princess Chang Le with the aim of creating panic. If the lives of the princes and princesses were threatened, Li Ke would not need to go to his post."

"The person behind the scenes just didn't expect that you would sabotage things and even expose and kill Ling Jing."

"Once the crisis is over, Li Ke must go to his post."

Wei Shuyu nodded.

This signals to the other party to continue.

"The second item is a duel between Songtsen Gampo!"

"Songtsen Gampo's ability to overthrow the entire younger generation of the Tang Dynasty is definitely related to the person behind the scenes."

"The purpose is to hold a contest of imperial principles in the Taiji Hall."

"If Li Ke wins, he can take this opportunity to stay in Chang'an!"

Wei Shuyu nodded.

What's needed to seize the throne is merit—merit that wins the hearts and minds of the officials and makes them willing to follow.

"Next, assassinate the retired emperor."

"Perhaps it was better than nothing, and it just so happened that Liu Shuyi rebelled, so the people behind the scenes just went with the flow and helped him out."

"It is not hard to see from the matter of the Crown Prince that the retired emperor also had the personality of primogeniture rather than junior prince."

Wei Shuyu nodded.

Even though Li Yuan has lost power, unless he is placed under house arrest like Li Shimin did.

Otherwise, Li Yuan would have absolute say in the matter of establishing the heir apparent!

"Nothing major happened when Li Ke left."

"Until Li Ke returned to Chang'an..."

"The Sirius incident was launched to get rid of you so that Li Ke could seize the position of head of the Ministry of Commerce!"

"In this way, Li Ke can stay in Chang'an openly and legitimately!"

Wei Shuyu nodded.

This is easy to understand.

"The matter of Li Chengyi was actually just a coincidence."

"What Chen Shuozhen accidentally discovered while searching for a way to survive in order to protect herself."

"Uncle Wei will not support changing the crown prince."

"Therefore, Uncle Wei must die!"

Wei Shuyu nodded.

As everyone knows, Wei Zhongxian's personality makes it impossible for him to support changing the crown prince.

"Next, regarding the divine foundation..."

"The matter of Shenji is very likely related to the Eastern Turks. I don't know what they will do yet."

Wu Qiqi frowned, slightly worried.

"And what about you?"

Wei Shuyu suddenly asked with a smile.

"I……"

"I don't know."

Wu Qiqi lowered her head shyly: "Perhaps she wants to use me, Madam Wei, to threaten you and force you to hand over the Ministry of Commerce..."

As she spoke, Wu Qiqi suddenly raised her head: "Wei Shuyu, you will save me, right?"

"Didn't I save you?" Wei Shuyu asked speechlessly.

"What I mean is, am I more important than the Ministry of Commerce?"

"..."

Wei Shuyu suddenly remembered a joke.

If your wife and mother fall into the river, who should you save first?

"Didn't I give up my position in the Ministry of Commerce?" Wei Shuyu shrugged.

Um?

Wu Qiqi was taken aback.

Wei Shuyu resigned from his official post clearly to find out who was behind it all...

This is purposeful.

Wu Qiqi pouted, dissatisfied with the answer!

“You’ve forgotten to mention the issue of military rations,” Wei Shuyu said, changing the subject.

Military rations?

Wu Qiqi's delicate eyebrows were tightly furrowed.

He thought for a while before replying...

"The military rations must be related to the former subordinates of the retired emperor!"

"The reason why the sons of the retired emperor's former subordinates entered the capital without imperial decree was to transfer that batch of military rations out of the capital!"

"But who knew that because of your intrusion..."

"All of the retired emperor's former subordinates were taken back to his residence and placed under guard by Xiao Yu."

"This prevented the other party from making contact."

"After the matter was over, all of the retired emperor's former subordinates were sent back to their fiefdoms."

Wei Shuyu nodded.

This is the most likely explanation.

"So the person behind it all is..."

Bang.

The carriage bumped into a rock.

Wu Qiqi collapsed into Wei Shuyu's arms.

Oh.

Wu Qiqi immediately pushed Wei Shuyu away, her face as red as a ripe apple.

But she soon regretted it.

Why did I push Wei Shuyu away?

Wouldn't it be better to hold him a little longer?

Wu Qiqi secretly regretted that she had lost an opportunity.

"This road is really no good."

Wei Shuyu lifted the carriage curtain and looked at the road. It was not only muddy but also full of potholes.

On rainy days, it's impossible to travel.

"Looks like it's time to get the money back," Wei Shuyu said, stroking his chin.

"What money?"

"His Majesty's money."

"Wei Shuyu, are you plotting against His Majesty?"

"This isn't scheming...this is taking from the people and using it for the people!"

(Ugh, when I scheduled the new chapter to be published, it gave me some kind of error message. I saved and exited, and when I tried to republish it, the chapter was gone... I can't find it anywhere. Ugh, I'm rewriting it...)