Chapter Seventeen: Sudden Turn for the Worse

  "Your Highness, a major event has occurred in the imperial prison. Last night, Chui Xuanzhe hanged himself and Shang Guanfu died by crashing into a wall. General Xue Rengui of the Left Feathered Forest Army has already received an imperial order to blockade the imperial prison, and all news from inside and outside is completely cut off."

  "What? Such a thing has happened?" Li Xian's face immediately showed a look of astonishment upon hearing this, but in his heart he was calm and peaceful, because he had already guessed such an outcome several days ago, so he didn't think that something that should be extremely surprising was unusual.

  Over the years, Wu Zetian was able to manipulate power in the court, not because her party members were everywhere in the imperial court. In fact, among all the civil and military officials in the imperial court, the number of hardcore supporters of Empress Wu was not that many, and those who had the qualifications to attend the imperial court meetings were even fewer, only about a dozen or so. However, it was precisely this small group of people who were able to dominate the imperial court, which was due to certain reasons. Apart from the two top officials Li Yifu and Xu Jingzong, who controlled the Chancellery and the Secretariat respectively, and thus dominated the power to issue imperial edicts and approve or reject memorials, the main reason lay in the fact that the Supreme Court had basically become a stronghold of Empress Wu's party. Although the President of the Supreme Court, Duan Baoyuan, was not a member of Empress Wu's party, he had been severely punished by her for impeaching Li Yifu and had since become a timid person who did not dare to interfere with anything. Moreover, as he was already old, he basically no longer took care of official business, but only held the title in name. As for the Vice-President of the Supreme Court, Yuan Gongyu, the Chief Justice Hou Shanye, and more than half of the judges of the Supreme Court, they were all hardcore supporters of Empress Wu.

  With the power of the Dali Temple in hand, combined with officials like Cui Xuanwei, anyone who dared to oppose Wu Zetian would not have a good ending. Just submit a petition and lock them up in the Dali Temple, and there was no crime that could not be investigated. Silencing people was even easier. This method was Wu Zetian's unbeatable magic weapon. Li Xian, who had experienced hardships in his previous life, naturally understood this very well. Therefore, when Wu Zetian proposed to continue investigating the case with the Dali Temple in the Taiji Hall, Li Xian could already predict that Cui Xuanwei and Shangguan Wan'er, two key witnesses, would definitely die. Unfortunately, Li Xian did not dare or was unable to express this inference out loud, ultimately because he did not have the power to do so freely.

  "Your Highness, this is absolutely true. It's the second brother of Lin Hu who risked his life to send out the news from the imperial prison. It must be genuine." Gao Miao saw Li Xian's face full of disbelief and couldn't help but feel a bit anxious, so he hastily explained.

  "Alas, so it was. This matter is of great importance. Very well, since Lin Hu has achieved this merit, promote him to the position of Zhi Zhang Qin Shi (a official title, as a close guard of the king, with a rank of 7th pin). Also, take out 15 guan from the treasury and reward all those who have rendered meritorious service. You see to it, I want to rest quietly!" As for the truth or falsehood of this matter, Li Xian naturally had his own thoughts, but he did not want to reveal them in front of others, even if it was Gao Mo, a loyal and devoted subordinate. So he pretended to be troubled and sighed, but still didn't forget to heavily reward those who had rendered meritorious service.

  "Yes, I'll go and take care of it." Since Li Xian had given the order, Gao Yan did not dare to ask any more questions. He hastily responded with a single word and went off to attend to his duties without another mention.

  Finally took action, what a ruthless move! Wanting to cut off the wrist of a strong man is not that easy, huh? Xue Ren Gui? He actually let Xue Ren Gui lead his troops to the Da Li Temple. This must be the woman's doing. It seems that Father Emperor should have had doubts about it. Unfortunately, Xue Ren Gui is good at fighting, but having him investigate the case might be a waste of effort. Is there something here that can be taken advantage of? After Gao Mei left, Li Xian was alone in the main room, pacing back and forth, carefully thinking about the subtleties behind this whole thing, trying to find some space to take advantage of. He had thought of many methods, but as for the success rate, he didn't have much confidence. For a while, he couldn't help but feel a bit anxious.

  Opportunities are not non-existent, but unfortunately, they are difficult to utilize. The reason is simple: things need to be done by people. What Li Xian lacks most at the moment is manpower. Not to mention the high-ranking officials in the court, even minor officials like the Supervising Censor-in-Chief are not under his control. It's almost impossible for him to take advantage of the imperial prison incident. Even if he were to jump out and shout loudly, it would be hard to stir up a big wave. Moreover, this is not the right time for him to take the lead and confront Wu Zetian head-on. At least before his wings are fully grown, Li Xian does not plan to have a direct confrontation with Wu Zetian. What he did in the Taiji Hall last time was already an extreme limit, or rather, a risk that cannot be taken again. This is something Li Xian understands clearly in his heart. However, watching opportunities slip away, Li Xian is really unwilling to give up!

  Using Li Xian again? That's somewhat feasible, but the problem is that Li Xian isn't a puppet in Li Xian's hands. If Li Xian sees through it, it'll only make things worse. After all, for a long time to come, Li Xian will still need Li Xian as a shield to cover up his own little moves, and he doesn't want to risk everything at this point.

  "Your Highness."

  Just as Li Xian was deeply absorbed in thought, Gao Mei came and went back, calling out softly, and instantly startled Li Xian awake from his contemplation.

  "Hmm? What's up?"

  Li Xian Zheng was already annoyed in his heart, and being disturbed by Gao Miao like this, his eyebrows involuntarily furrowed, and he coldly snorted, his tone full of displeasure.

  "Your Highness, Zhang Gonggong from the Lu Wangfu has arrived. He says that Lu Wang invites Your Highness to visit the mansion immediately for a chat." Upon hearing Li Xian's tone, Gao Miao dared not be slow and hastily bowed his head in response.

  "Going to the palace?" Upon hearing that Li Xian had invited him, Li Xian couldn't help but pause for a moment, his eyes rolling around as he muttered to himself. However, he didn't rush into making a decision and instead furrowed his brow, pacing back and forth in the room several times before finally lifting his head and waving his hand expressionlessly: "Prepare the carriage, I'll go take a look!"

  In the study of Wang's mansion, Li Xian sat on his knees in front of a low table, his face dark and menacing, with an air that warned people to keep their distance. Scattered around him were scraps of paper, clearly torn apart by Li Xian in a fit of rage. The servants standing nearby looked terrified, their faces tense as they dared not glance at Li Xian even once. The atmosphere in the room was oppressive to the extreme.

  "The King of Zhou has arrived!"

  A voice came from outside the study, but Li Xian remained kneeling as before, without even raising his head.

  "Sixth Brother." As soon as Li Xian and his entourage entered the study, they saw Li Xian's puffed-up little face, and their hearts moved. They had already guessed what was on Li Xian's mind, but instead of revealing it immediately, they pretended not to know and walked forward, bowing and greeting him.

  "Come, sit down." Hearing the noise, Li Xian finally raised his head, impatiently gesturing with his hand to indicate that Li Xian should sit opposite him. He then waved his hand at the attendants standing beside him and said: "You all withdraw!"

  "Yes." The crowd of people had long been standing up and shivering, and when they heard Li Xian call out, each one responded with a "yes" as if they had been given a new lease on life. They hastily retreated and went out, leaving only the two brothers sitting opposite each other in the study.

  "Seventh brother, you must have heard that the imperial prison has had another incident. Hmph, they say someone was so afraid of punishment that they took their own life. In my opinion, this is clearly a case of silencing them, it's shameless, too shameless! I, Li Xian, will definitely submit a memorial to impeach these corrupt officials! Seventh brother, are you willing to co-sign?"

  It's indeed the case, this guy is really impatient! Li Xian secretly despised Li Xian in his heart, but on his face, he was full of respect, cupping his hands and saying: "Sixth brother, rest assured, you say how, I will do how, isn't it just a matter of course? I wouldn't be unwilling, it's just that..."

  "What's wrong, Seventh Brother afraid?" Li Xian saw that Li Xian's words had only reached halfway before stopping abruptly, with a hesitant look on his face. He couldn't help but feel a surge of anger and cast a sideways glance at Li Xian, letting out a cold hum.

  "Sixth brother, what are you talking about? Am I afraid of trouble? What's wrong with this chapter anyway? However, I don't know who you want to visit and what purpose you want to achieve?" Li Xian remained calm and asked back.

  "What kind of official is this? Hmph, what a good official, those treacherous courtiers actually dare to do such a rotten thing. Is it that I, the Emperor, cannot punish them? Is there still justice and law in this world? You say, you say!" As soon as Li Xian's words fell, Li Xian had already jumped up like a fired cannon, pointing at Li Xian with his fingers and letting out a loud shout, looking like a madman.

  Cut, if you really want to participate, you would have done so long ago. Why bother with such pretentiousness? It's just that you're afraid of losing the rice while trying to steal the chicken. Ah, it seems you still want us to help you take the lead. How interesting! Li Xian was very astute and saw right through Li Xian's hypocrisy, secretly laughing to himself, but not showing it on his face. He let Li Xian vent for a while before slowly opening his mouth to say: "Sixth brother, don't be impatient, this is a big matter, let me explain a bit."

  "Alright, alright, you say it, you say it!" After Li Xian vented for a while, the annoyance in his heart had dissipated somewhat. Upon hearing what Li Xian said, he seemed to have a plan in mind and didn't make another fuss. He waved his hand and sat down with a somewhat dejected expression.

  "Sixth brother, although the matter is serious, there are still nuances to be considered. Now that the imperial prison case has been exposed, it's actually a case of trying to cover up but ending up revealing more, and everyone on the street knows about it. As for us, now that Xue Renguigong has gone to the imperial prison, I think he must have received an order from the emperor, seemingly wanting to investigate the truth. However, I secretly believe that General Xue will not achieve anything this time, without obtaining any real evidence, even if he participates it would be in vain, and the only ones who can be punished are low-ranking soldiers, which won't harm the root of the problem. This is just a futile effort, and I don't bother with it. However, if we can save Official Shang from death, then this memorial can be submitted. What do you think, sixth brother?"

  "Oh? Is the plan to rescue An out?" Li Xian was not foolish, and his previous clamor was just a venting of his discontent. He had also considered rescuing Shangguan Yi in his heart, but after careful consideration, he couldn't find a way to do it successfully, fearing that if he failed, it would damage his reputation as a wise king. So when he called Li Xian over, his intention was just to have him test the waters, not to really discuss strategies with him. But now, seeing that Li Xian's words were reasonable and to the point, he became interested and asked after a moment of contemplation, in a slightly softer tone.

  "Sixth brother, this matter is difficult, but it's not impossible. I have a plan here that might work. Please correct me if I'm wrong." Li Xian saw that Li Xian had already taken the bait and couldn't help but smile. He stood up straight, leaned over, and whispered into Li Xian's ear, saying...