Liu Zhao's voice rang in Prince Ning's ears, "Concubine Li De and the little prince are just tools in their hands."
Once again, the group of rats hiding in the gutter tried to interfere in the throne and influence the fate of a country.
It must be a great feeling to have the whole world in your hands.
Their plan was implemented step by step very smoothly.
It can be said that it went more smoothly than expected.
Unfortunately, they overlooked a minor figure, the actor Lan Xiang.
A thousand-mile long dike is destroyed by ants.
That group of people certainly didn't expect that the actor Lan Xiang, whom they personally trained, always remembered that he was abducted and still had vague memories of his family in his hometown.
As Lan Xiang grew older and gained more experience, the hatred in his heart grew deeper and deeper.
In the eyes of many people, Lan Xiang is just an ant that can be crushed at any time.
It was this ant that overturned the entire kingdom of sin.
Prince Ning looked unhappy.
The more I think about it, the more scared I become.
There were only two things he could be sure of: his biological mother, Concubine Xiao Shufei, was definitely not supported by that group of people.
His first wife, Ms. Pei, was definitely not chosen by that group of people.
Prince Ning's maternal family and his wife's family are both powerful and large families.
No wonder those people wanted to kill him.
If the little prince was not too young to inherit the throne, he and the King of Zhao, these princes of noble birth, would probably have died an untimely death.
Prince Ning said angrily, "It is better to worry with others than to worry alone. Chang En, find a way to spread what I have said to the eldest son to the ears of the other princes, so that they will also be afraid."
Prince Ning's move is clearly intended to muddy the waters.
The more muddy the water, the easier it is to fish in troubled waters.
Chang En obeyed the order.
This kind of task is a piece of cake for him.
With the connections he has built up over the years, everyone who should know will know within two days.
Liu Zhao asked, "What is Minister Li's position? He obviously knows something about the inside story."
Prince Ning frowned, "Don't worry about Minister Li for now. He's still kind to me. You should be careful about the people around you."
Liu Zhao raised his eyebrows and said, "The people Xiao Jiu brought from the Gu family are all trustworthy. As for those eunuchs, please ask Eunuch Chang to carefully check their backgrounds for me."
Chang En nodded, "Don't worry, sir. I will check everyone's ancestors for eight generations."
Liu Zhao felt relieved.
"I don't want to, I don't want to."
Prince Ning looked annoyed.
I continued to think deeply about it and nothing happened in the following days.
"Let's see how the old man deals with these people first."
By observing the emperor's words and actions, we can guess some of the truth.
Perhaps their previous speculations were all false. Perhaps they had misunderstood the Emperor.
Prince Ning sighed repeatedly.
It’s almost the end of the year, and suddenly a major case breaks out. It’s terrible.
Prince Ning was worried.
Liu Zhao was not at an easy time either.
This matter concerns the throne, palace order, and life and property, so no one can relax.
He returned to the East Courtyard exhausted.
The East Courtyard was brightly lit, and his heart was healed by the way.
Gu Jiu was waiting for him in the small study.
A cup of fragrant tea was served and the question was, "How are things going?"
Liu Zhao held the teacup and asked, "Have you ever thought about what the most serious consequences would be if this case involves the palace?"
Gu Jiu understood it in her mind. She had been thinking about this problem for the past two days.
"The worst consequence would be confusing the royal bloodline and interfering with the throne's dethronement."
When Liu Zhao heard this, his worries deepened.
He and Prince Ning discussed various possibilities, but avoided the issue of confusing the royal bloodline.
It’s not that I didn’t think about it, but I didn’t dare to think about it.
If the royal bloodline is mixed up, are they still considered royal descendants? Are they still members of the Liu family?
So there is no way to delve deeper into this issue.
Once you delve deeper and trace the roots back to previous generations of ancestors, your own identity will be denied.
Liu Zhao frowned, "How dare you say that!"
Gu Jiu laughed, "What are you afraid of? You are you, you are Liu Zhao. You and your father are just worrying about nothing."
Gu Jiu knew exactly what was worrying Liu Zhao.
She continued, "I had some free time today and reviewed the royal family tree. I have a bold guess."
"you say."
Liu Zhao was very interested in listening to Gu Jiu's bold guess.
Gu Jiu said, "Don't you think it's suspicious that Xianzong has no children?"
Liu Zhao raised his eyebrows, "What do you mean?"
Gu Jiu lowered his voice and said, "I checked the information. It says that Xianzong was weak and frail. It can be said that he was too weak to bear any child. The information also says that Xianzong had a long face and looked a bit like a boy and a girl.
Then I looked up information about other ancestors. I found a characteristic of the Liu family: the men were generally tall and handsome. This had been the case since Taizu.
Taizu came from a noble family. Both official and unofficial histories mentioned that Taizu had outstanding looks and was a serious and handsome young man in troubled times, which attracted many girls' hearts.
As a descendant of Taizu, when I think carefully, none of the royal relatives and descendants of Liu that I know are ugly. It can be said that all of them have outstanding looks and tall and straight stature.
Even the Third Young Master, who has been bedridden for years, is quite tall, just a little thin. "Thinking back to the comments about Xianzong in the literature, don't you find something wrong?"
Damn it!
After hearing what Gu Jiu said, Liu Zhao was terrified.
Gu Jiu's words clearly implied doubts about Emperor Xuanzong's bloodline. Someone had been trying to confuse the royal bloodline, using a bastard as the prince to inherit the throne of the Great Zhou.
Fortunately, God was merciful and Xuanzong had no children.
If Xuanzong had had children, who knows who would be sitting on the throne now. Maybe even the country's name would have been changed.
Gu Jiu's words were shocking, "The mysterious person behind the kidnapper was able to extend his tentacles into the imperial palace and operate for decades or even hundreds of years. It wouldn't be difficult for him to interfere with the throne's dethronement. With careful planning and sufficient patience, it's feasible."
Xuanzong's ascension to the throne was already jaw-dropping. In retrospect, who sent Xuanzong, a prostitute, to Gaozong's side? Who helped her secure his favor?
Xuanzong was weak and had no support from his maternal family. How could he defeat so many princes of noble birth and ascend the throne?
Also, Xuanzong had no children until his death. Could it be that there was another group of people fighting with the mysterious person behind the kidnapper back then?
Xuanzong ascended the throne, and the mysterious man behind the kidnapper emerged victorious. Xuanzong died childless, representing the failure of the mysterious man behind the kidnapper. Did something happen during this time?
Could it be that the fact that Zhongzong was adopted as a concubine's son and ascended the throne to Emperor Xuanzong was the result of a compromise between the two groups?
Thinking of this, I reviewed the timeline again. It seemed that all the changes occurred after the previous generation of Zhenguo Duke passed away. After the previous generation of Zhenguo Duke passed away, Empress Cui Ruizhen and Your Majesty fell out.
From then on, no one around His Majesty spoke up for Crown Prince Inseong. Later, Queen Ruizhen Cui died, and Crown Prince Inseong passed away. Consort Li De entered the palace and was favored, and she gave birth to a little prince without any problems.
Liu Zhao frowned, "You mean, the person fighting against the kidnapper's forces is most likely the previous generation of the Duke of Zhenguo? After the previous generation of the Duke of Zhenguo died, there was no one to suppress that group, so they became rampant.
But you overlooked the age of the Duke of Zhenguo. When Emperor Xuanzong passed away, the previous Duke of Zhenguo was still a child, and Empress Cui Ruizhen was not yet born.
Gu Jiu chuckled softly, "What about the Duke of Zhenguo of the previous generation? What kind of person was that Duke of Zhenguo?"
Liu Zhao shook his head. "This happened so long ago, I'm not too clear on it. Another question: why couldn't this generation of the Zhenguo Duke suppress the people behind the kidnapper?"
Gu Jiu said, "There are two possibilities. The first possibility is that the previous generation of the Duke of Zhenguo passed away before he had time to explain this matter. The second possibility is that the current generation of the Duke of Zhenguo has limited ability and is not enough to suppress those people."
Liu Zhao tends to the second possibility.
"It seems that I need to pay a visit to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion."
Gu Jiu reminded him, "Don't forget to write to Lord Lu. Perhaps Lord Lu also knows something about this matter."
It is impossible that a plan that has lasted for hundreds of years has not been leaked at all.
Some people may forget what they have heard and not take it seriously at all.
Some people keep it in mind after hearing it, but do not delve into it further.
Only a very few people, driven by curiosity, would secretly investigate this matter.
Gu Jiu had never met Lu Hou. He could only judge Lu Hou's character from various rumors.
With Marquis Lu's temper, if he heard that there was such a group of people in the palace, could he suppress his curiosity?
I’m afraid not!
The Duke of Lu was leading troops outside and the emperor still favored him. Could it be that this group of people had contributed to this?
No matter what the relationship between Marquis Lu and that group of people is, the lid has been lifted by Liu Zhao and the secret has been exposed to the sun. Given Marquis Lu's temper, there is a 99% chance that he will add insult to injury.
Don't expect the Duke of Lu to have any moral sentiments.
The Duke of Lu has always been a person with no bottom line, no morals, and no integrity.
Only talk about interests, not benevolence and righteousness.
One day, if Prince Ning's Mansion falls into trouble, perhaps Marquis Lu will take the opportunity to step on it.
Gu Jiu asked Liu Zhao to write a letter to Duke Lu based on this judgment.
What a great opportunity! First, we should win over the Duke of Lu, and then we can work together to overturn the table and redefine the rules of the game.
Can the Duke of Lu refuse such a great temptation?
Once the rules of the game are re-established, it won’t matter if I turn against the Duke of Lu.
Anyway, the two parties were just cooperating for a while, and there was no mention of long-term cooperation.
Liu Zhao said, "I previously speculated that my royal grandfather might have known about the existence of this group behind the kidnapper. I even speculated that my royal grandfather was able to break through the siege and ascend the throne to become emperor, perhaps with the help of this group.
Now that you've mentioned the previous Duke of Zhenguo, I've overturned that assumption. I believe my royal grandfather's smooth ascension to the throne was largely due to the previous Duke's assistance. It was the previous Duke of Zhenguo who suppressed that group, allowing my royal grandfather to rise to prominence.
I remember that several of my royal grandfather's brothers were born into humble circumstances. One of them was born to a lowly official slave, who had already given birth to a daughter before ascending to the throne. This humble prince once had a chance to ascend to the throne, but he died suddenly and under strange circumstances.
Gu Jiu smiled and asked, "Do you suspect that it was His Majesty who killed the prince?"
Liu Zhao nodded without denying it. "Yes, I have speculated this way. But now I have overturned this speculation. The person who did it might be the Duke of Zhenguo.
If my memory serves me right, Chen Dachang seemed to have had some contact with the previous generation of Zhenguogong. As for why Chen Dachang later rebelled against Crown Prince Renxuan, perhaps something unexpected happened in the process.
Gu Jiu said, "Rather than calling it an accident, I prefer to believe that Chen Dachang rebelled against Prince Renxuan because of a difference in ideology. Prince Renxuan clearly disliked Chen Dachang and his people. If he ascended the throne, Chen Dachang and his people would have no good end. As the saying goes, if you don't work for yourself, heaven will punish you, and earth will destroy you. Everyone will make choices that are beneficial to themselves."
…
Gu Jiu wrote a letter to Deng Cunli, asking him to return to Beijing.
Deng Cunli was an old man in the palace and was familiar with the affairs of the palace.
A major case breaks out, and Gu Jiu needs Deng Cunli by his side.
Liu Zhao worked tirelessly, going out early and returning late every day, and sometimes he would be away for a whole day and night.
Prince Ning asked for leave and hid in the palace without going out.
People in the capital were in a panic, and all kinds of rumors were flying around.
It is horrifying that a kidnapping case could implicate the imperial palace.
The Shaofu Prison Secretary and the Jinwu Guards worked together to arrest people in the palace all day long.
I heard that thousands of people have been imprisoned and tortured.
The Li family was implicated in human trafficking and aiding the enemy.
However, no evidence was found that the Li family interfered in the palace's internal affairs.
The emperor suffered from severe headaches, which made him very irritable.
When the emperor loses his temper, he wants to kill people.
Liu Zhao joined forces with the Embroidered Uniform Guards and captured hundreds of kidnappers, hundreds of whom were chopped to death.
Corpses were dragged out of the imperial prison every day.
As a result, no one in the capital dared to pass by the gate of the imperial prison.
No one or animals are allowed to approach within a two-mile radius of the imperial prison.
The imperial prison can stop children from crying at night, and it is very effective.
The Li family was involved in two major cases, one was Ma Zheng and the other was human trafficking.
In the final analysis, it's all about money.
Concubine Li De was always paying attention to the tension of the case and she had made the best plans.
But before the last moment, she still wants to give it a try.
She took the initiative to go before the emperor to plead guilty and asked him to sentence her to death.
It was because she failed to discipline her family strictly and allowed them to commit crimes. She deserves to die.
In front of the emperor, Concubine Li De cried bitterly, regretting her decision. However, her determination to die was also firm.
"Your Majesty, please decree that I be put to death. I have betrayed your Majesty's trust and am ashamed to face you!"
Concubine Li De was very emotional, crying and sobbing, and it sounded heartbreaking.
The emperor's face was frosty and he remained silent.
Concubine Li De was feeling uneasy, but she could only continue to perform with all her might.
Just at this moment, a palace maid risked her life to report that the little prince was ill.
When Concubine Li De heard this, she was extremely panicked.
"The child was fine, how could he suddenly fall ill? Is it serious? Call a doctor quickly!"
The palace maid knelt on the ground, trembling with fear, but remained silent.
Concubine Li De's heart was broken. She cried, "Your Majesty, I deserve death, but the little prince is innocent. Please order the imperial physician to treat the little prince. I will work like a slave in my next life to repay your kindness."
Bang bang bang!
After Li Defei finished speaking, she kowtowed repeatedly.
His forehead banged against the floor again and again, breaking the skin and oozing blood, looking extremely miserable.
“That’s enough!”
The emperor, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke.
The emperor ordered Chen Dachang, "Ask the imperial physician to treat the little prince and report any situation immediately."
Chen Dachang accepted the order.
Then, the emperor said to Concubine Li De: "You leave first, I will make my own arrangements later."
Concubine Li De sobbed, "Your Majesty, I bow to you and thank you."
She knew that her life was saved, and the little prince's life was also saved.
But I’m afraid the lives of the Li family cannot be saved.
Liu Zhao, King of Ning!
Concubine Li De gritted her teeth.
It was this father and son who lifted the lid and exposed the dirty truth to the sun, which led to the Li family being implicated.
All her previous efforts were in vain.
She almost couldn't save herself.
Fortunately, there is the little prince.
The little prince is the real amulet.
Concubine Li De was filled with immense hatred, but she suppressed it with all her might.
She cannot act rashly or go against the trend.
The lid is lifted, the crime is exposed, and the Li family and the palace are implicated. This is the general trend.
Although the emperor was irritable, he still had a trace of rationality.
No matter how much the emperor hates the Li family, he has a father-son relationship with the little prince.
The little prince is still young and cannot be without his mother.
Therefore, we must give Concubine Li De some dignity.
The emperor summoned Wei Zhong, the left guard of the Jinwu Guard, to the palace and gave him instructions in person.
Wei Zhong understood what he meant.
Everyone will die eventually, but how they die is very important.
Two days later, several male members of the Li family died suddenly in the imperial prison.
The Jinwu Guards announced that the Li family members had died of a cold.
The weather is cold now and the conditions in the imperial prison are poor, so it is normal to catch a cold.
It is even more common for a few people to die.
No matter how he died, Li Jia could not have committed suicide out of fear of punishment, nor could he have died because he could not bear the punishment.
Only a "natural" death could save some face for Concubine Li De.
As for the female members of the Li family, they were all released.
The men are all dead, and a few women can't cause any trouble.
This was also the only kindness the emperor showed to Concubine Li De.
When Concubine Li De heard this, she spat out a mouthful of blood and then burst into tears.
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