Li Zhi looked at Wu Mei's eyes as she was staring at him questioning him, so the expression on his face unconsciously imitated Li Hong's, with one eyebrow high and the other low, and his eyes squeezed as close as possible to look cross-eyed, and then he made a dry "hmm" sound from his throat.

Wu Mei could only roll her eyes helplessly at Li Zhi's behavior. This was the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, who was almost forty years old. She couldn't treat him the same way she treated Li Hong. She could only roll her eyes helplessly and then slowly sit down next to Li Zhi.

"You know better than me what crime it is to privately mint new coins. Now that Li Hong has discovered it, do you think there will be a good outcome? When that little bastard came to you to ask for the new coins, I had already sternly told him that even with such a large industry like Taiyi City, they didn't dare to exchange them privately. All the exchanges were done through the royal bank. You also know that other merchants exchanged them through banks in various places. By minting them privately, aren't you just stepping on the little bastard's tail? It would be strange if he wasn't anxious." Wu Mei sighed earnestly.

"That being said, as a royal relative, you can't let Li Hong really do anything to those two people in Chang'an City because of such a small matter, right? If the whole city is in turmoil, where will the face of the royal family be? So be it, follow me back to Chang'an tomorrow."

Li Zhi rubbed his thigh with one hand involuntarily, thought for a moment and continued, "One is the wife of Wei, and the other is the Duke of Zhou. Even if they are to be convicted, according to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, they must be approved by the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Central Affairs before they can be convicted. Judging from Li Hong's usual style of doing things, we can leave the memorial with the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Central Affairs after we rush back. We can't delay any longer. They are all royal relatives. If we make a big fuss, people will laugh at the royal family."

"Are Madam Hanguo and my mother, Madam Rongguo, doing well in Prince Pu's Mansion?" Wu Mei asked with a calm expression, glancing at the conflicted Li Zhi.

"He shouldn't do anything rash. This little bastard has been eyeing Changlefang for a long time. This time, we will let him do what he wants, but on the premise that the matter of privately minting new coins cannot be pursued any further. Even if he doesn't consider me, he should consider you. How about this, you and I will each issue an edict today and let him wait for us to come back before investigating the case." Li Zhi looked at Wu Mei's calm face, not knowing what she was thinking.

"I'm afraid I can't issue an edict to him." Wu Mei's face was calm. Without waiting for Li Zhi to ask, Wu Mei said calmly, "There are rumors that I, Wu Mei, treat my son worse than my nephew and niece. If I issue an edict right now, it will not only make Hong'er unhappy, but Xian'er and the others will also feel bad. It will also let those rumors fill the court. Wouldn't that make Hong'er even more embarrassed?"

Li Zhi was stunned. He had never expected Wu Mei to disagree. He stammered, "Why... why are there such rumors? We can't just let Li Hong do whatever he wants. Wouldn't there be rumors that the royal family doesn't care about family affection? In this case, forget about issuing the decree. Follow me back to Chang'an tomorrow."

...

...

"Taiping has not been feeling well recently, and Dan'er is also not feeling well. I'm also having my period. I'm afraid I won't be able to go back to Chang'an with Your Majesty tomorrow. Your Majesty might as well go back to Chang'an City by yourself tomorrow. I'll take Taiping and Dan'er back when I feel better. I hope Your Majesty will grant my permission." Wu Mei looked at Li Zhi tenderly, forced a smile on her face, and said.

Li Zhi was extremely anxious. Although he was sitting here at the moment, his mind had already flown to the Dali Temple in Chang'an City. Helan Minyue had always been impatient. If he continued to follow his temper after entering the Dali Temple, he would probably suffer.

As for Helan Minzhi, that's it. He has already been traumatized by Li Hong. Even if he doesn't die this time, he will probably be a disabled person.

However, what made him feel a little relieved was that Lady Han Guo was safe and sound. She was just under house arrest with Lady Rong Guo. He thought there would not be any big problem.

Li Zhi looked at Wu Mei's determined expression and knew that he would not be able to set off tomorrow. He was at a loss for a moment. Taiping and Li Dan were not around either. After exchanging a few words of greeting, he left the Hebi Palace and returned to his own bedroom to leave.

Watching Li Zhi's figure disappear, Wu Mei's hazy and beautiful eyes flickered with coldness. She stood at the door and looked at the passage where Li Zhi's back had already disappeared. After a long time, as if she had made up her mind, she said to Lian Tie beside her indifferently: "Kill the Lady of Korea."

After saying that, he walked towards the depths of Hebi Palace without looking back. Wu Mei thought that Helan Minyue and Helan Minzhi would not be able to survive.

If only Lady Han Guo Wu Shun was left behind, His Majesty, who is always soft-hearted, might feel sympathy for her and would worry about her even more. If she is really promoted to the harem, it would be a loss.

As the saying goes, cut the grass at its roots. Now that Helan Minyue has been touched, Wu Shun will only be a nuisance if he lives alone. I will feel uneasy if I don't get rid of him.

A white dove hurriedly flew from Hebi Palace towards Chang'an. Not long after, another white dove flew from Qianyuan Palace towards Chang'an.

Inside the Dali Temple prison, Helan Minzhi looked much better this time than when he was in Taiyi City. Apart from looking a little haggard, he was not tortured.

Li Hong was sitting behind a table. Di Renjie took the confession he had obtained and read it carefully. He handed it to Li Hong and said, "Your Highness, the confession is exactly the same as the investigation of the case of privately minting new coins. It can be confirmed that Helan Minzhi was the mastermind behind the private minting of new coins."

Li Hong took the confession and took a look at it. It still needed signatures from the Ministry of Justice and the Censorate. Both Helan Minyue and Helan Minzhi were nobles of the Tang Dynasty. According to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, the signatures of the three ministries were required at the same time, and then it could be submitted to the Secretariat for approval, and then the Ministry of Personnel would issue it. Only then could Helan Minzhi and Helan Minyue be beheaded.

Li Hong frowned, looking at Helan Minzhi who was being untied and about to be put into prison, and asked calmly: "Do you have anything else to say? If everything goes as expected, this will be the last time you and I meet in this life."

Helan Minzhi's eyes were dull, but after hearing what Li Hong said, he shuddered all over, and his eyes began to shine. He slowly turned around and looked at Li Hong, his lips moved a few times, and then he said dryly: "Li Hong, I know I can't survive. You have always had a deep prejudice against me. I really want to know why? Don't tell me, it's because of Cuiwei Palace?"

Li Hong looked at Helan Minzhi's resolute eyes, which were full of death. Obviously, he knew that he would not give him a chance to live this time.

"Isn't the Cuiwei Palace incident enough? I won't be wrong to kill you ten times."

"Then why didn't you kill me? Why didn't you just torture me like crazy? Do you know that because of the Cuiwei Palace incident, I had nightmares for half a year after I came out of Taiyi City! If it weren't for Madam Rongguo accompanying me to sleep every night and hugging me after I woke up, I don't know if I could have survived those six months! Yes, I hate her! I hate her shamelessness! I hate that she seduced me under her skirt since I was a child, but Madam Rongguo gave me a sense of superiority that no one else could give me!"

Looking at Helan Minzhi, who was trembling all over and standing there as if recalling his life, Li Hong waved his hand and asked Di Renjie and others to leave the cell. At this time, Li Hong and Helan Minzhi were the only ones left in the cell, and even the guards had all been called away by Di Renjie.

"Since you know, you shouldn't ask such a stupid question. Yes, it was because of Mrs. Rong that I didn't kill you. If you behave yourself after returning to Chang'an, I might not pursue you anymore. But minting new coins privately..."

"You're talking nonsense! This is not a reason for you not to kill me, absolutely not! Privately minting new coins is just an excuse. Even if I don't privately mint new coins, you will still find another chance to kill me!"

Helan Minzhi staggered to Li Hong, his eyes full of bloodshot, and said to Li Hong word by word: "Although I, Helan Minzhi, am unruly, I am not stupid! Lady Rong? Humph, she is not worthy of you not killing me because of your concerns! Let me die knowingly, why did you let me go back then? I know you wanted to kill me, but then you changed your mind, why?"

Li Hong still sat calmly, looking up at Helan Minzhi's somewhat distorted handsome face, and said calmly: "Because of Lady Hanguo and Lady Weiguo, I think Lady Rongguo should have mentioned it to you many times. If your mother and your sister entered the palace, then you would be even worse than you are now, right? When you came to Chang'an with your mother and sister, my father allowed your mother to enter and leave the palace freely. Your sister intervened, which emperor was not romantic? At that time, you were in the palace, almost like a crab. Except for meeting me, you met Li Xian and others. Who didn't you walk sideways in front of?"

"So what? Don't forget that your mother was able to become the queen because of Madam Rongguo's contribution! I had an affair with Madam Rongguo, and your mother was against it, but she could do nothing about it. At that time, I knew that as long as my mother, Madam Hanguo, entered the palace, I could become a prince, and I could be on an equal footing with you, and I could also get rid of Madam Rongguo's control, so what was there for me to be afraid of? Why wouldn't I dare to walk sideways in the palace!"

"Then tell me, do you deserve to die? If you don't die, won't our royal family be bullied by you? You went to Cuiwei Palace and acted arrogantly, trampling on the face of the royal family. Don't you deserve to die? Your mother and your sister forced my father to confer them in the harem, tarnishing the royal clan. Don't you deserve to die? Why didn't I kill you back then? It was because I didn't figure out my mother's situation back then. If I had figured out in time that your purpose was to divide my mother's rights in the harem, I would have killed you without hesitation!" Li Hong slowly stood up and looked into Helan Minzhi's bloodshot eyes without giving in.

"So, it was Wu Mei's idea? She wanted us to die, and you, Li Hong, were just instigated by someone. In fact, you don't have the courage to kill me. You are afraid of your mother, right?" A cunning smile suddenly appeared on Helan Minzhi's face.