Cage (21)
Emperor Liang can do without anything in his life except money and women.
Now that things have come to this, Emperor Liang calmed down and realized that he could no longer escape from Li Qi's clutches. He just wanted to retain his last benefits.
He cannot leave his harem, especially Jiao Lan.
Li Qi gave him a look of disappointment, sheathed her dagger, and raised her chin towards the still noisy outside the palace gate, indicating, "You should know what to do."
No honorifics, no scruples, just direct orders.
Emperor Liang had never been treated like this before. He was furious, but he dared not say anything. He walked slowly to the door in humiliation and said to the ministers arguing outside, "I am tired. My dear ministers, please go back."
"Your Majesty!" a minister cried out in sorrow, "How can you sleep when your country is crumbling? I've heard something's happened to the wedding procession from Southern Yan. If Southern Yan sends troops, I'm afraid Yunzhou won't be the only place that's lost!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, the late Emperor once said that you should be diligent in your work. Now the fire is about to burn down the capital, Your Majesty, do you still want to do this?"
"Your Majesty, you should shoulder the responsibility of the main beam!"
“…”
The ministers were chattering back and forth, making Emperor Liang's head buzz like countless bees fighting in his brain. He snorted angrily, "How dare you ignore my words like this? Do you think I'm dead?"
"His Majesty……"
A minister wanted to say more, but was angrily interrupted by Emperor Liang: "Enough! I have made it very clear. I am tired. We can talk about it tomorrow!"
"Your Majesty, don't you even care about the Queen's safety?"
A minister said desperately.
Emperor Liang was really angry this time. He was already unable to express his anger because he was controlled by Li Qi. Now the actions of these ministers only made him feel deeply insulted.
He never knew that his prestige in the court had actually disappeared, which was why he dared to let them rebel like this.
Emperor Liang roared angrily, "If you have anything to say, leave it until tomorrow! Anyone who speaks any more will be executed!"
“…”
As soon as these words were spoken, the ministers outside began to sigh, and their attitudes showed disappointment in Emperor Liang.
But in the end, no one dared to say anything, and after a while, the crowd outside the door cleared away.
Emperor Liang turned around and asked, "Is it okay now?"
Li Qi hummed, "Come here."
Emperor Liang swallowed his saliva in panic and slowly moved in front of her. His timid look did not look like that of an emperor at all.
"What are you doing—ah!" As soon as Emperor Liang opened his mouth, Li Qi suddenly threw a small round pellet into his mouth.
He swallowed it without paying attention.
Emperor Liang quickly touched his throat and looked at Li Qi in shock: "What did you give me to eat!"
"Poison," Li Qi made up. "You need to take the antidote regularly, otherwise you'll die of the poison in seven days. You'd better suppress those thoughts of trying to play tricks on me. Otherwise, if you anger me, you won't survive without the antidote."
"ah?"
Emperor Liang covered his throat and coughed a few times, trying to spit out the poison, but it was no use and he only coughed up some saliva.
It was just an ordinary sweet candy, but he believed it and was so afraid.
Seeing his silly look, Li Qi felt a chill in her heart when she thought that he had been ruling Daliang for eight years and would probably not achieve anything.
How the people live is entirely up to the person in this position, and what kind of person this person is depends entirely on luck.
Logically speaking, every emperor will have many heirs. Even if a crown prince is appointed, other princes will be unwilling to compete for the throne. Isn't competing for the throne a form of screening?
Anyone who has the means to ascend to this position must not be too bad. The strange thing is that Emperor Liang was too lucky. When the previous emperor passed away, the original crown prince made a big mistake, and none of the previous emperor's sons were useful. They were either violent or cowardly. Only Emperor Liang was relatively normal.
Although he is lustful, at least he is not fatal in other aspects.
Now it seems that they were all wrong. Emperor Liang was only focused on women and had no time to show his worse side.
Li Qi stared at the dragon throne in the room and thought, no matter what, the most difficult times have passed, and soon the incompetent emperor will have to give up the throne.
Li Qi said to Emperor Liang, "You keep watch."
As she spoke, she lay down on Emperor Liang's original dragon bed and occupied his place.
Emperor Liang was in agony but could not speak, so he huddled down on the bed where the eunuch kept watch. As soon as he lay down, he felt the bed was hard and narrow, and it hurt his back so much.
Emperor Liang couldn't help but feel curious. How did the eunuch who was on night watch endure such a hard-to-sleep bed? If he had known earlier, he would have rewarded him with an extra mattress, so that he wouldn't be so miserable today.
well.
Emperor Liang sighed, closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep.
Just as he was feeling a little sleepy, he was woken up by a knock on the door.
Li Ke's voice rang out from outside: "County Lady, the imperial physician is here."
Emperor Liang felt himself being kicked. He opened his eyes and saw Li Qi standing above him, her bare feet just retracted. She ordered, "Go, light the lamp, and bring in the imperial physician."
Emperor Liang exclaimed, sat up, and pointed at his nose: "Me?" If others saw him, the emperor, in this state, where would he put his face?
Li Qi looked at him coldly without saying much.
Emperor Liang was nervous and had to bite the bullet and get up. However, he had no idea how to light a lamp, so he could only grope in the dark to open the door. Fortunately, the young eunuch who followed the imperial physician was holding a lantern, which provided some light.
The imperial physician looked at Emperor Liang in shock and was about to ask why His Majesty came out to open the door in person when his eyes caught sight of Li Qi sitting on the dragon bed inside the room.
He was startled, thinking he was seeing things. He rubbed his eyes uncertainly, but he was sure she was Li Qi. Just as he was about to speak, Li Ke, who was standing beside him, suddenly said, "Shut up if you shouldn't say anything, or you'll be separated from your head tomorrow."
The imperial physician's face turned pale and he swallowed his doubtful words.
He walked in slowly, carrying a small medicine box, but he was thinking in his heart that the situation in Kyoto was about to change. If he went back tonight, he would probably have to take his family with him, resign from his official position and return home.
Li Qi had already cut open her sleeve, and the imperial physician arrived to treat the wound on her arm.
The knife wound was not deep, and the imperial physician quickly treated it. He wrapped her with gauze, told her not to touch water or lift heavy objects, and then hurried away.
It was almost dawn at this time. After sending the imperial physician away, Emperor Liang lay back on the hard bed, yawning.
Li Qi glanced at his back, then lay down on the dragon bed and closed her eyes to rest.
Li Qi didn't dare to sleep too deeply, and remained vigilant as she slept lightly. When the day began to dawn, the door to the main hall was pushed open, and Li Ke walked in: "Your Majesty, it's time to rise and attend court."
He was not at all surprised that Emperor Liang slept on the night watch board, so he took out Emperor Liang's court clothes and helped him put them on.
Emperor Liang climbed up listlessly, opened his arms and let him do whatever he wanted. Then he remembered something and glanced back at Li Qi on the dragon bed. He said resentfully, "What about you?"
Li Qi sat up and said, "Of course I will go to court with you."
"You want to go into politics?"
"Is there any difference?" Li Qi glanced at him indifferently.
Emperor Liang sighed and stopped talking. There really was no difference anymore.
Li Qi said, "You can use the excuse of having a sore throat to let me speak for you in front of the emperor. If I don't give you a signal, you can just be mute. Understand?"
Emperor Liang nodded helplessly, there was no room for him to refuse now.
Emperor Liang was dressed neatly, and Li Ke brought breakfast. After breakfast, Li Qi followed Emperor Liang to Taiji Hall.
Li Qi was the first woman in history to attend court.
When she appeared in everyone's sight, the ministers sighed and angrily asked Emperor Liang what his intention was.
Emperor Liang followed Li Qi's instructions and used the excuse that his throat was uncomfortable, leaving all the memorials for the day to Li Qi.
Upon hearing this, His Majesty's Chen Hu was the first to speak up. "Your Majesty, what is your intention? She is only a county lady. Moreover, she was supposed to marry into the Southern Yan clan, and the Southern Yan army was completely annihilated. Why is she standing here unharmed? Could it be that she really wasn't the one who orchestrated this?"
Another minister stepped forward and said, "Prime Minister Zhang is no longer with us. Your Majesty is fully capable of handling the affairs of state. Why is he letting a little girl do all this?"
"Yesterday, there was an assassination attempt at Fushou Palace. The Empress' body was completely gone. She was abandoned and disappeared. Then who was the bride who died in the wedding procession?!"
“…”
The entire court was filled with dissenting voices. Li Qi had anticipated this and calmly replied, "Yesterday's assassination attempt on Fushou Palace was from Southern Yan. As for my return, it was because the Empress had given me clear instructions. She wanted me to wipe out all the Southern Yan soldiers and avenge Yunzhou. The Empress understood the greater good, and because word of this matter leaked out, Southern Yan attacked the Empress."
Chen Hu knew it was impossible, so he asked, "Why should I believe your one-sided statement?"
Li Qi took out Zhang Wan's phoenix seal and said, "This was given to me personally by the Empress. She is very intelligent and had long anticipated this day, so she gave it to me specifically to let me take charge of the situation."
"What is your Majesty then?"
Li Qi sneered, "After all these years, I believe you all know better than me whether His Majesty can be relied upon!"
Li Qi said this and gestured to Li Ke. Li Ke clapped his hands and asked someone to present the weapons of Southern Yan.
Li Qi pointed at the scimitars and said, "These were found in the Fushou Palace where the assassination occurred. They are indeed owned by the Southern Yan. The Southern Yan has occupied Yunzhou for many years and now extends its hands into the harem. Can you tolerate this?"
Everyone was silent.
Just as Li Qi had said, everyone knew that Emperor Liang was unreliable. They were all very smart and could guess that everything was probably Li Qi's fault, but what could they do?
Since she has come this far, she must have complete confidence. If you are still going against her now, who will have a chance to survive when she completely controls the government?
There was a deathly silence in the Taiji Hall, and you could almost hear a pin drop.
They didn't want to let Li Qi, a little girl, take the lead, nor did they want to die at her hands. Even though they didn't know what she was capable of, they could tell she was no ordinary person just by the fact that she was standing there while the Privy Councilor remained silent.
Not simple means not easy to mess with.
Upon seeing this, Li Qi raised the Phoenix Seal in her hand high, and her powerful voice echoed throughout the hall: "Since everyone has no objection, from today on, I will be the Empress of the Central Palace. Southern Yan has bullied me to this extent. In the name of the Queen Mother, I will personally lead the army to attack Southern Yan and recapture Yunzhou, which has been lost for eight years!"
Everyone was silent. Chen Hu said angrily, "The Queen is nowhere to be found, and you declare yourself the Queen? How can this be so unreasonable?"
Li Qi just looked at him coldly without saying much.
Li Ke coughed twice and said to the crowd, "Why don't you come and pay your respects to the Queen?"
In the Taiji Hall, everyone looked at each other, sighed and whispered to each other, but no one knelt down.
An unknown amount of time had passed when suddenly a sound of armor was heard outside the hall. Li Qi looked over and saw Dong Linche and Ye Lan leading their troops. Countless soldiers surrounded the Taiji Hall.
The ministers were silent in fear, watching Dong Linche walk into the hall with wide eyes. He held his neck high, very confident, and looked at Li Qi with eyes full of respect.
Dong Linche knelt on the ground and shouted loudly: "Long live the queen!"
Dong Linche holds military power and is surrounded by soldiers. Who can't understand this situation?
Those who don't want to die have to accept this political situation.
At first, those old stubborn people who refused to kneel down one after another, and the unanimous shouts of "Long Live the Queen" echoed throughout the hall.
There were people kneeling in the hall, making Chen Hu, who was still standing, very conspicuous.
Li Qi raised her eyebrows and looked down at him from above, almost provocatively.
Chen Hu read the cruelty in Li Qi's eyes.
You can only choose one: die or obey.
Chen Hu remained in a stalemate for a long time before he knelt down reluctantly and shouted, "Long live the Queen."
This shout was made with gnashing teeth. Chen Hu knew that he and Zhang Wan had been fooled, and now Li Qi was the final winner.
Li Qi controls the government, Dong Linche has military power, and now almost everyone's life is in her control.
Will she let him live?
Neither Zhang Zhouzhu nor He Zhangjing escaped, so what's the difference between me and him?
The more Chen Hu thought about it, the more he felt that the air in the Taiji Hall was blocked, making it difficult for him to breathe and he felt indescribably suffocated.
It is now clear that Li Qi did all this because she came here only to retake Yunzhou.
Chen Hu gritted his teeth. He admired Li Qi for being able to get to where she was today, but he was also worried that she would take his life.
Fortunately, Li Qi did not find any fault at the morning court session. After the court session, Chen Hu went to the prison without stopping.
After recuperating for a period of time, Feng Siji's injuries have improved a lot.
Although it still hurts occasionally, at least the bleeding is no longer as severe as before. He is wrapped in gauze and is sitting by a small table reading a storybook.
Chen Hu came quickly and saw Feng Siji's appearance. He suddenly felt fortunate that he had not killed him before.
Now, he has become his only lifeline.
Chen Hu stood in front of the cell fence and looked at Feng Siji: "It's already this time, and you still have the mood to read a storybook."
Feng Siji paused as he was turning the pages of the book, and glanced at him slightly.
"What?" He returned his gaze to the book.
He had bought these books for Li Qi to pass the time, but he didn't expect that she hardly read them, and now they became his use.
Although it's boring, it's enough to kill time.
During this period, Chen Hu had not come to cause trouble. Feng Siji could not guess his intentions. Seeing his anxious face and bad tone, Feng Siji realized something, closed the storybook and stood up: "What happened?"
Chen Hu snorted coldly: "I thought you didn't care."
"Did something happen to Li Qi?" Feng Siji asked directly.
Upon hearing this, Chen Hu couldn't help but frown and looked at Feng Siji.
Although he didn't understand, he could see that Feng Siji's attitude towards Li Qi was unusual. At least in his heart, Li Qi must be the most important person.
What else can Feng Siji do to protect himself now?
Chen Hu was glad that he had not allowed anyone other than Li Qi to see Feng Sixi, including Ye Shu. Fortunately, Feng Sixi's news was kept secret from the outside world, and he knew nothing.
Chen Hu thought for a moment and said, "Li Qi is the queen now."
Feng Si paused.
His face darkened: "What nonsense are you talking about?"
Hearing his cold and hard voice, Chen Hu said, "Why would I lie to you or talk nonsense in front of you?"
Chen Hu explained the whole story one by one, and finally said, "You took the blame for her, did so much, and stayed in prison in the darkness of the night, while she thrived outside and now ascended to the throne. How could you, Feng Siji, have anything to do with her? Are you willing to accept this?"
Feng Siji will not be influenced by Chen Hu, but he will be influenced by Li Qi.
If he could comfort himself before Li Qi entered the palace as a concubine, now he can't even lie to himself.
Chen Hu continued, "For someone like her, only money and power are important. Why would she really be willing to wait for you, a special case officer with nothing?"
Feng Siji pursed his lips and remained silent.
He didn't completely believe what Chen Hu said about Li Qi.
But he understood Li Qi.
Li Qi was able to give up Wei Ming for his gold and silver, so today, she can give him up again for the status and rights of the queen, and there is nothing wrong with that.
She has always been this kind of person, not caring about friendship, but only caring about the tangible benefits that can be obtained in her hands.
Feng Siji couldn't help but smiled.
I was deceived by her again.
Chen Hu then said, "If you help me leave the capital, I will let you go."
Feng Siji looked up at him and asked, "Do you want to leave Beijing?"
Chen Hudao said, "To be precise, I'm running for my life. I don't think Li Qi will spare my life. I know too many of her secrets, and you must know more than me. Do you think she will spare your life?"
Feng Siji was silent for a while, "Just because of your wife?"
Chen Hu nodded.
Feng Siji said: "The Yunzhou incident is Wang Xiu's betrayal of his master. Li Qi will not implicate innocent people."
Chen Hu said: "I won't gamble."
What Chen Hu didn't say was that when Feng Siji was demoted, he secretly assisted Zhang Zhouzhu in preventing Feng Siji from investigating the Yunzhou case.
Li Qi is from Yunzhou. She has so much hatred in her heart that even the queen was implicated. Who knows if she will hold a grudge against herself?
Chen Hu said, "She even killed Zhang Wan. I won't bet on that."
Feng Siji frowned.
Chen Hu couldn't wait any longer. "Are you going to agree or not? I'm worried that she'll set an ambush on the road. I'm going to take you as a hostage and let you go."
"You're wrong," Feng Siji said, "Taking me as a hostage is the most useless approach."
She may have never cared about him. Even if she did, it was not much. What was more important to her was fame, wealth, money, or Yunzhou's knot in her heart, not him.
At least, Li Qi would not sacrifice anything for Feng Siji, not even if they had a little friendship.
Chen Hu got a little anxious after hearing what he said: "What should we do then?" Is there no other way out?
Feng Siji said, "Let me go, I'll go see her, and I'll find a way to get you out of the capital."
"What if you play tricks on me?"
"You can only trust me now."
Chen Hu clenched his fists and had to admit that Feng Siji was telling the truth.
He also wanted to leave the capital alone, but Dong Linche's soldiers were everywhere. Without Feng Siji, who was close to them, to cover him, Chen Hu was worried that he would not be able to escape.
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