Chapter 179: Release

The wind in April was refreshing and gentle, as if it was filled with the scent of mugwort, and the sun shone warmly on the body, making people drowsy. Ming Huashang leaned against the window, her fingers moving flexibly, weaving five-colored silk threads soaked in mugwort into longevity ropes.

Ming Huashang was a little sleepy from the sun, and had just finished weaving a long rope. She let out the thread and leaned against the window to rest. Suddenly, a shadow fell in front of her. Ming Huashang opened her eyes and saw Li Huazhang standing outside the window, holding out his hand to block the sunlight for her.

"Why don't you sleep inside?"

Ming Huashang shook her head and cheered up: "It's okay, only my father's is left, I can finish it soon. Didn't you go to the palace? Why did you come back so soon?"

Li Huazhang thought of what happened in the palace and sighed slightly. He walked into the room and sat beside her. He took the wire basket and gently and carefully separated the wire for her: "Shangshang, I..."

Ming Huashang seemed to be able to read my mind and said, "Stop it. We are husband and wife. We share happiness and hardship. Don't say anything like you are sorry for me or that you are causing trouble for me."

Li Huazhang moved his thin lips and pursed them gently, feeling more and more guilty: "It's my fault. When I was your brother, I took over your family. Now as your husband, I have to separate you from your family."

Ming Huashang's eyes moved. She put down the half-woven longevity rope and looked at Li Huazhang seriously: "What's wrong? What did the palace say to you?"

Li Huazhang sighed again: "Although the deposed crown prince has been executed, the emperor and the empress are very frightened, fearing that other princes will follow his example and rebel. The empress is especially worried about the second prince, Prince Qiao. When Empress Wu Zetian was still alive, Prince Qiao informed the two Zhang brothers and killed Prince Yide and Princess Yongtai. Now he is the governor of Junzhou, and the empress is worried that he will lead troops to rebel."

Prince Qiao was the second prince Li Chongfu. Empress Wei insisted that it was he who informed the two Zhang brothers, which led to the Danfeng Gate Massacre and killed her only legitimate son Li Chongrun. Empress Wei hated Li Chongfu very much. After the emperor ascended the throne, she did not allow Li Chongfu to stay in Chang'an. She arbitrarily named him Prince Qiao and sent him to Junzhou, which was full of malaria and poverty, as a governor. Even though the emperor issued amnesty several times, Empress Wei did not allow Li Chongfu to be pardoned.

After the failed coup by the deposed crown prince, Empress Wei's suspicion was aroused. She was dissatisfied with the remaining sons of the emperor, especially Prince Qiao. Although there was no evidence, Empress Wei felt that Prince Qiao would rebel.

Ming Huashang raised her eyebrows when she heard what Li Huazhang said and asked tentatively: "So, the Queen asked you to..."

"The Saint and the Queen said that I had made contributions in the Shenlong coup and they trusted my ability very much, so they ordered me to go to Shangzhou, nominally as a governor, but actually to monitor Prince Qiao. If Prince Qiao has any thoughts of rebellion, they will immediately send troops to suppress him."

Ming Huashang uttered a soft "ah" after hearing this, and was not surprised at all.

Empress Wei is now advancing rapidly, placing her own party members in the court, presiding over the imperial examinations, and even intending to go to Mount Tai to meditate. If you look closely at these actions, aren't they a replica of what Empress Wu Zetian did before she became emperor?

Empress Wei's imitation was not very good. Not only Ming Huashang, but many people in the court saw that Empress Wei intended to imitate Empress Wu Zetian. According to Empress Wu Zetian's way, after taking control of the government, the next step was to clear out the legitimate heirs to the throne and prepare for her own ascension to the throne.

The emperor had four sons in total. The eldest son Li Chongrun was beaten to death by Empress Wu Zetian, the third son Li Chongjun was beheaded by his subordinates for rebellion, the fourth son Li Chongmao, Prince Wen, was young and easy to manipulate, and the second son Li Chongfu was old and had an old grudge with Empress Wei, so he was undoubtedly the next focus of Empress Wei's attention. Empress Wei sent someone to check whether Prince Qiao had the intention of rebellion. Even if he didn't have it originally, he would become convinced that he did after learning that his mother had sent someone to investigate.

Empress Wei sent Li Huazhang to monitor Prince Qiao, which was a two-birds-with-one-stone strategy. Empress Wei could not trust the emperor's son, so how could she trust her nephew?

Li Huazhang was the son of Crown Prince Zhang Huai, who had both meritorious service and achievements, and had always enjoyed a good reputation in the court. After all, Empress Wei was the legitimate mother of Prince Qiao, and had a natural advantage in terms of etiquette and law. She could use her status to suppress the illegitimate son, but she might not be able to suppress her nephew who had made great contributions.

With Li Huazhang around, even if all the emperor's sons died, the court officials would not agree to let Princess Anle or even Empress Wei be the emperor. So Empress Wei came up with this plan and sent Li Huazhang to Shangzhou. Shangzhou and Junzhou are adjacent to each other. Junzhou is full of miasma, and Shangzhou is not much better. Even if Li Huazhang can survive the miasma, when Prince Qiao rebels, he will be the front line. When Prince Qiao and Li Huazhang fight and both suffer losses, Empress Wei can reap the benefits.

Queen Wei's plan was very clear, she wanted to kill two birds with one stone and eliminate the two most threatening heirs to the throne at the same time. Her plan was not very clever, Ming Huashang could see it, and Li Huazhang, the person involved, probably knew it better.

Ming Huachang sighed for Li Huazhang in his heart. He quietly protected the stability of the Tang Dynasty, but the biggest beneficiary did not appreciate it at all, and instead kept suspicious of him. Repaying kindness with injustice, Li Huazhang must be very disappointed.

Ming Huashang silently held Li Huazhang's hand. Li Huazhang sensed her emotions, gently pinched her face and said, "It's okay, I don't mind, don't be angry."

"How can I be angry? I just feel sorry for you." Ming Huachang became more and more angry. She hugged Li Huazhang tightly and said, "They don't deserve to have such a good person like you. I will make up for what they owe you. In the future, I will definitely treat you twice as well."

Li Huazhang's heart was filled with warmth, and he could hardly control his expression. He hugged Ming Huashang tightly, and said in a hoarse voice, choking for some reason: "Okay, this is what you said, and you are not allowed to regret it."

Queen Wei was afraid that Li Huazhang would not leave Chang'an, so she prepared a lot of official rhetoric. Li Huazhang knew what Queen Wei was thinking, and he was completely disdainful of calculating with her. Except for Ming Huashang and a cart of books, he took nothing with him. He drove out of Chang'an in a low profile early in the morning and went to Shangzhou to be the governor.

Empress Wei was secretly happy that her plan went smoothly, but she didn't know that this was exactly what Li Huazhang wanted. Li Huazhang and Ming Huashang came to Shangzhou, where there were no palace rules and regulations, and no social relationships that they had to deal with. The two of them were finally able to live a peaceful life.

Together, they inspected agriculture, mulberry and water conservancy, rectified criminal discipline, and cleared up unjust cases. During their days off, Li Huazhang took Ming Huashang to travel around. No one knew that they were once brother and sister. The people only knew that Prince Yong and Princess Yong were deeply in love and accompanied each other wherever they went, just like a fairy couple.

Half a year passed in a blink of an eye. Ming Huashang corresponded with Ming Yuji every month and learned that Ren Yao was highly valued by Empress Wei and was a popular female general in Chang'an. Even when she went to Mount Tai for meditation, Ren Yao was her guard. The Pingnan Marquis's mansion was booming and crowded with people. The situation of others was not so good. Jiang Ling was still his idle prince, living a lazy life in the Yulin Army. His official position was soon surpassed by Ren Yao, and the two gradually had no intersection.

Xie Jichuan took the emperor out on the day of the coup, which was not a big deal at the time, but it left a grudge in the emperor's heart. The emperor no longer relied on Xie Jichuan as much as he did in the Eastern Palace. Xie Jichuan now held the position of editor, and although he seemed noble and respectable, he had actually been squeezed out of the power center and was no different from a marginal person in the court.

Because Su Xingzhi helped Ming Yuji last time, Princess Anle hated him and he was treated coldly in the history hall. Ming Yuji scolded Su Xingzhi for being stupid. She didn't say it in the letter, but Ming Huashang could see that the situation of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion was getting more and more difficult.

When Li Huazhang was in Chang'an, everyone was jealous of Prince Yong's face and did not dare to do anything too extreme. Now that Li Huazhang has left the capital and it is not certain when he will return to the court, everyone feels that Prince Yong has completely lost power and has become more and more reckless in the face of the Zhenguo Mansion. Ming Yuji is the only one who supports the Zhenguo Mansion. It is hard to imagine how hard it is.

Ming Huashang closed the letter and couldn't help but sigh. She suddenly remembered the training in Zhongnan Mountain. At that time, Han Jie was their teacher. The seven of them went up and down the mountain, skipped classes, copied homework, and had a simple joy and pain. Now, only three years have passed. Zhongnan Mountain has not changed, but the seven crazy boys and girls on the mountain are no longer the same as they were back then.

Everyone has obsessions hidden in their hearts, and therefore, they embark on completely different paths.

Let’s go our separate ways and don’t ask about the future.