Chapter 178 Reincarnation
At dawn, the morning drum sounded on time, echoing over Chang'an City. The prime ministers were waiting at Chengtian Gate to attend the court, and they received the final result of the turmoil last night.
Crown Prince Li Chongjun conspired with the Minister of War and issued an imperial edict to order the generals of the Left Jinwu Guard and the Left and Right Yulin Army to launch a mutiny and besiege the Prince of Liang's mansion. They took advantage of the chaos to kill the Prince of Liang and his son and more than ten of his staff. They also ordered troops to guard the gates of the palace. The crown prince personally led his troops to besiege the Xuanwu Gate, intending to commit a crime of insubordination and disobey the emperor and the empress. Fortunately, the emperor was destined to be the emperor and was deeply loved by the people. The emperor and Empress Wei climbed the Xuanwu Gate and angrily accused the crown prince of being disloyal and unfilial. The soldiers surrendered one after another, and killed the crown prince's party members under the city tower, and the rest of the party dispersed. The crown prince led more than a hundred of his subordinates on horseback and left Chang'an from the Suzhang Gate and fled to the Nanshan Mountain.
When the ministers heard that the prince was plotting a rebellion, their eyes remained motionless. Only when they heard that Prince Liang and his sons and their cronies had all died in the turmoil last night did they finally open their eyelids.
The sound of whips came from the front, and the ministers stopped talking and stood still. They lowered their eyes, seemingly waiting patiently, but in fact they were all calculating the next changes in the situation in their hearts.
No one took this seemingly trivial mutiny seriously, but the fact that the Crown Prince killed the Prince of Liang and his son was a pleasant surprise.
With the death of the Liang prince and his son, the Wu family has lost its pillar of power and is on the verge of collapse. A large number of lucrative positions will be vacant in the court, and no one knows who will be able to take advantage of the opportunity next.
At the morning court, as expected, the topic of the day was the Crown Prince's rebellion. The Emperor angrily accused the Crown Prince of rebellion and ordered the abolition of Li Chongjun's title of Crown Prince. He also ordered the Imperial Guards to search Zhongnan Mountain and quickly arrest him to comfort the souls of the Liang Wang and his son.
The emperor punished many people in one breath. Those who dared to follow the deposed prince in rebellion yesterday were all confiscated and exiled. Even many families who did not participate in the rebellion but had close ties with the Eastern Palace in the recent period also suffered.
The emperor was merciless in dealing with his son Li Chongjun, but was very compassionate to his youngest daughter, Princess Anle. He comforted Princess Anle, who had escaped death and lost her husband, and gave her a lot of land and jewelry, and ordered a grand funeral for the Prince of Liang and his son. Princess Anle was in her prime, and it was not appropriate for her to be a widow at such a young age. After Princess Anle had recovered from the pain of losing her husband, the emperor would choose a suitable husband for her.
The emperor's statement made many families with sons start to think. The emperor favored Princess Anle so much that he even said he would depose the crown prince. Who knows, there might be a princess in the future? Princess Anle herself is a rare beauty. If he became her consort, wouldn't he have everything under his control?
After the crimes were settled, it was time to reward the meritorious officials. The imperial guards who had escorted the emperor yesterday were all rewarded, and among them, Pingnan Hou was specially called out by the emperor for his meritorious service in defending the city and bravely killing the enemy. Ren Yao thanked the emperor for his grace in front of everyone, but that was not all. After the morning court was over, Empress Wei sent someone to summon her and asked her kindly what books she read and what martial arts she practiced. Ren Yao answered truthfully, and Empress Wei became more and more satisfied as she listened. She waved her hand and gave her another wave of rewards.
Before Ren Yao returned home, her heroic act of saving her driver had spread throughout Chang'an. After she came out of the palace, she, who had been invisible, suddenly became visible, and her colleagues came forward to congratulate her and make friends with her. Looking at the faces of these people, Ren Yao felt uninterested. She turned down all social engagements and returned to Pingnan Marquis's Mansion alone in the name of reporting safety to her elders.
As she walked along the road, she was thinking about how she would tell her grandmother and whether she would be proud of her after she found out. She was feeling anxious, and when she looked up, she saw a person standing at the door.
He was wearing a colorful round-necked robe, leaning against the stone lion statue in front of the Pingnan Marquis's mansion, and seemed to have been waiting for a long time. When he saw her coming back, he patted the dirt off his body and slowly stood up.
Ren Yao was used to seeing Jiang Ling being so carefree, so he was a little uncomfortable when he suddenly saw him being so serious. Ren Yao looked nonchalant and asked, "Why are you here?"
Jiang Ling quietly scanned her body to make sure she was not injured, and said, "Nothing, I just wanted to come and see you."
Ren Yao said "oh" lightly, pretending not to care: "Then come in and talk."
"No need." Jiang Ling suddenly grabbed Ren Yao's hand and said, "Come visit the old lady of Pingnan Marquis another day. But there are some things I want to talk to you alone."
The doorman recognized Ren Yao and a young man, who were talking and looking over here. Ren Yao glanced at the people in Pingnan Marquis's mansion who were busy and said calmly, "Come here."
Ren Yao led Jiang Ling to an alley, out of sight of the Pingnan Marquis's residence. She made sure that no one was around, and asked stiffly, "What are you doing here?"
Jiang Ling stared at Ren Yao and asked, "I remember you were not in the city defense team yesterday."
It turned out to be because of this matter. Ren Yao said casually, "Yes, I switched shifts with someone."
"Why?" Jiang Ling suddenly stepped forward and tightly grasped Ren Yao's wrist. "Didn't I tell you to just do your job and ignore their disputes?"
His hand was tightly clasped around Ren Yao's wrist, as if he would not let go until he got an answer. Ren Yao had no idea when Jiang Ling had acquired such great strength.
Ren Yao was quiet for a while, then said, "You have your father behind you, so of course you can protect yourself. As long as you do your job well, no one will dare to mess with you. But I am different from you. I have no one to back me up. If I stop, those jackals will rush up and tear me to pieces. I can only keep moving forward, no matter if there is a road ahead or not."
Jiang Ling pursed his lips, as if he was hurt, and suddenly said loudly: "What's the difference? I am Jiang Ling, not the son of Marquis Jiang An. You still have me, I can help you back up, even if I can't do it now, but we can discuss it."
Ren Yao seemed to be frightened by his suddenly loud voice, and said without thinking: "Who are you to the Pingnan Marquis Mansion? What right do I have to discuss this with you?"
"Because I like you."
After Jiang Ling finished yelling, both of them fell silent. Ren Yao stared at him with wide eyes, as if he had heard something horrible. Jiang Ling was hurt by that look, and he had no intention of stabbing back, but in a hurry, he could not control his emotions at all.
Jiang Ling took a deep breath, tried to regain his composure, and said, "I'm sorry, I may have scared you. But what I said just now is from the bottom of my heart. I waited for you for a long time yesterday. I originally planned to introduce you to my father after you came."
Ren Yao looked at Jiang Ling, her head was buzzing like being hit by a hammer, and she couldn't think at all. Her childhood experience only taught her to compete, and she wanted to win. The sons of her relatives and friends practiced martial arts for three hours every day, so she practiced for four or five hours. Only by surpassing all her peers could she prove that she was doing well.
Before she met Ming Huashang, she didn't even eat cakes. It wasn't that she didn't like to eat, but she felt that she shouldn't like it. She wanted to be the pillar of the family, the female general, so she couldn't like sweet, soft, beautiful things, she couldn't have the sensitivity and gentleness of a woman, and only by being like a man could she be successful.
Now, a man confessed his love to her. Ren Yao was surprised, terrified, and afraid. No one had ever taught her how to be a woman, and now she was like a frightened bird facing her own feelings.
She should be a strong woman who can defeat men in every way. How can she fall in love with a man? This is an insult to her ambition and a betrayal of her past efforts.
Ren Yao seemed to be burned by something and pulled her hand back. Jiang Ling's heart tightened when he saw her expression and he couldn't help but say: "Ren Yao, I..."
"I'm sorry." Ren Yao interrupted him and lowered his eyes, "I just treat you as a teammate."
Jiang Ling's heart sank, he stared at her eyelashes and asked, "Just a teammate? A teammate like Li Huazhang and Xie Jichuan?"
Ren Yao bit his inner lip, not knowing who to tell, and said firmly: "Yes, you are the same as them. In the past, I had to discuss with you in order to complete the mission, but other things are my private affairs, you don't have to worry about it."
Jiang Ling was shocked and his face turned pale, but he still pulled her sleeve and refused to let go: "I don't believe it. We have been together for such a long time, don't you feel anything at all?"
Ren Yao gritted his teeth, ruthlessly pulled his sleeve out of his fingers, and walked towards Pingnan Marquis Mansion without looking back: "No. You think too much, I just treat you as a partner."
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After receiving the news of the prince's rebellion, Li Huazhang and Ming Huashang rode back to Chang'an at full speed. As soon as they entered the city gate, they heard that the deposed prince had fled to Zhongnan Mountain after his rebellion failed, and wanted to go to Luoyang to ask for reinforcements. He was beheaded by the soldiers beside him while he was sleeping at night. The soldiers took the deposed prince's head and came to the emperor to claim credit.
No one knew whether the emperor pardoned these people's death sentences. The court and the public only knew that the emperor placed the head of the deposed prince in front of the tombs of Prince Liang and Prince Liang's son to comfort the spirits of the Wu family. At the same time, he sent rewards to Princess Anle to comfort her grief over the loss of her husband.
Although Princess Anle seemed to be happily choosing a new prince consort, the bereaved husband did not seem to be in much pain.
The King of Liang died, the Crown Prince was beheaded by his men, everything was settled, and Chang'an returned to peace and prosperity. Li Huazhang tried his best to arrive as late as possible, but he was still a step too late. He sighed deeply, and quietly returned to the Prince Yong's Mansion to mourn for Empress Wu Zetian, pretending that he didn't know anything.
What else could he do? The person was already dead, so it was too late to do anything.
Ming Huashang knew that he was not feeling well, so she could only accompany him silently. After she returned home, she learned that Ren Yao had come to see them a few days ago, but they were not at home. The concierge remembered their instructions and refused to see any guests. Ren Yao left a letter, which said in code that the prince intended to rebel and that he should return as soon as possible. Ming Huashang looked at the letter and could only sigh.
It was such a coincidence that they rarely left Chang'an, and Li Chongjun was plotting a rebellion during that time. They were not at home when Ren Yao came for help, and when they came back, the coup had already been settled.
Maybe, this is destiny. Ming Huashang certainly heard the news that Ren Yao made meritorious service in the rebellion and was reused by Wei. She didn't think there was anything wrong with Ren Yao's plan for her, nor did she think it was a betrayal. She just felt bored.
The same thing happened over and over again. In the past, the Wu family persecuted the Li family. Now that the Wu family was almost dead, it was the Li family's turn to kill each other. From the results, it seemed that there was no difference.
At night, Li Huazhang had not returned for a long time. Ming Huashang went to the study alone to look for him, holding a lamp, without bringing any attendants.
The door creaked open, and Li Huazhang looked up and saw that it was her. He stood up familiarly and asked, "Why are you here?"
Ming Huashang was too lazy to move, and let Li Huazhang help her get the light, take off the shawl, fold her clothes, warm her hands, and then protect her to sit down. Ming Huashang leaned on Li Huazhang's shoulder, closed her mind at ease, and said: "I have already replied to Sister Ren's letter. Don't feel too guilty. Even if we were in Chang'an that day, it might not change anything. Li Chongjun and the emperor and empress have already left each other. If not this time, there will be a next time."
Li Huazhang was silent for a moment, then hugged her tightly: "I know. I just feel that what I did seems to be completely meaningless."
"How can it be meaningless?" Ming Huashang leaned in his arms and looked up at him. "You prevented a rebellion and benefited countless people. It is of great significance."
"But after stopping one coup, another one breaks out in Chang'an," Li Huazhang sighed. "Different people are singing the same play, going back and forth on this stage, struggling back and forth. What's the point?"
Ming Huashang hugged his waist tightly, shook him coquettishly, and said, "This is not your fault."
Li Huazhang felt the warmth and softness of the jade in his arms, looked down at her, and smiled: "I understand, you don't need to comfort me. I used to think that the Queen's suspicion and the rampant cruelty led to the struggle for power in the court, and no one did practical work. Now I know that it would be the same if the Li family came to power. The only meaningful thing in these years is probably that I married you."
Ming Huashang chuckled and said, "Second brother, you have become more and more good at sweet talk recently."
"No way." Li Huazhang also laughed. He hugged the person in his arms tightly, rested his chin on the top of her head, and said softly, "Every word you say comes from the bottom of my heart."
Li Huazhang gradually understood what the Duke of Zhenguo said. After fighting for power for most of his life, he realized at the end that fame and fortune could not be retained by anyone, and only the time spent with family members was irreplaceable. Li Huazhang was very lucky that he was not too old when he understood this truth.
He stopped worrying about the royal family's mess and focused on running the household with Minghua. They discussed what to eat for each meal, how to celebrate each solar term, and went to the market to buy things together. If they didn't want to cook, they would go back to the Duke of Zhen's Mansion for a meal. Anyway, the two houses were close and could be reached in a short walk.
To outsiders, Prince Yong had lost his edge and had completely retired to his family. No one knew that the tiger talisman of Xuan Xiaowei was in the hands of Li Huazhang, who checked on Xuan Xiaowei's daily tasks and was actually the most informed person in the court.
Li Huazhang holds a sharp blade in his hand, but he is willing to return to an ordinary life. However, he wants to live a peaceful and stable life, but someone insists on provoking him.