Chapter 4: The Two Realms of Life and Death (Part 2)

  Is he being reckless? It seems to be a bit, compared to Li Xian's usual evasive personality, today's self-recommended behavior is indeed a bit too much. Of course, if possible, Li Xian actually didn't want to expose himself in front of Wu Hou so early, not only because of the consideration of strength, but also because Li Xian himself had not yet been able to accurately position himself, in other words, Li Xian had not yet been able to fully integrate his three different careers or three different souls. It's not suitable for him to participate in such a big court event at this time, unfortunately, Li Xian has an unavoidable reason.

  The cause of Shangguan Yi's death, the process of his wrongful death and the significance of his death are not clear to others, but Li Xian, who has experienced it once, is very clear in his heart. On the surface, Shangguan Yi was accused by Pei Jingzong, a powerful minister of the Hou Party, of colluding with the deposed Crown Prince Li Zhong to rebel, and was subsequently executed along with his family by order of Wu Zetian. However, in reality, Shangguan Yi was actually framed by Wu Zetian through Pei Jingzong because he had assisted Gaozong in drafting an edict to depose her, which failed.

  In the previous life, Emperor Gaozong of Tang also made considerable efforts to save Shangguan Yi's life. He wanted to take advantage of Empress Wu's postpartum confinement to issue a general amnesty, but unfortunately, his edict was rejected by Xu Jingzong on the grounds that the birth of a princess was not enough to warrant a general amnesty. Even when Emperor Gaozong personally spoke with Xu Jingzong, it was to no avail. The emperor and his minister argued for three days before Xu Jingzong reluctantly agreed to sign off on the edict. However, by then, all the male members of Shangguan Yi's family had already been secretly executed in prison the day before. Emperor Gaozong's efforts were completely in vain. After this incident, a disheartened and disillusioned Emperor Gaozong became increasingly withdrawn, allowing Empress Wu to gradually take control of the court. Therefore, it can be said with certainty that Shangguan Yi's unjust death was a turning point marking the acceleration of power shifting from Emperor Gaozong to Empress Wu.

  Li Xian had always admired Shangguan Yi's talent, and this was the case in his past life as well. However, this was not the main reason for his sudden intervention this time. The real reason was that Li Xian did not want to see Wu Zetian completely grasp power too early, and he needed enough time to lay a solid foundation for himself. In Li Xian's thinking, Shangguan Yi could die from a horse accident, illness, or even assassination, but he absolutely could not die due to Emperor Gaozong's inability to save him. In his past life, Li Xian had chosen to remain silent and do nothing, but this time he did not want to stay silent anymore. To change his own tragic fate, Li Xian chose to take action, wondering if the butterfly effect could trigger a storm that would change his destiny!

  It's a natural thing, but Li Xian was getting anxious as he stared at his father for half a day without making a decision. He didn't dare to speak further because his previous voluntary offer had already raised suspicions from his two older brothers. Li Xian didn't want to become the target of his two brothers after showing off. Moreover, Li Xian knew his father's temperament well, and if he spoke too clearly, it would not only fail to help Gaozong make a decision but also scare him into retreating. Therefore, no matter how anxious he was, Li Xian could only grit his teeth and wait quietly for Gaozong to make a decision.

  "What Xian'er said is quite reasonable, it's just that Xu Shi Zhong..."

  Gaozong Emperor Li Zhi apparently understood the unspoken words of Li Xian - bypassing normal procedures, creating a fait accompli first and then dealing with the court officials later. By that time, due to Empress Wu's postpartum confinement, the imperial party would inevitably be unable to obtain effective support from Empress Wu. The outcome of this court debate was hard to predict, even if they lost, it didn't matter, after all, the imperial family's face had to be maintained. As a result, the lives of Shangguan Yi and his family were saved, at most, they could only be given a punishment of exile to the border, never to be reused. Compared to the consequences of Shangguan Yi's entire family being executed, this was already many times better. The strategy couldn't be said to be bad, unfortunately, Emperor Li Zhi's weakness was inherent, even if he understood the crux of the matter, in the end, he still hesitated and didn't dare take a risk, after pacing back and forth for a while, only half a sentence came out.

  Alas, Emperor Taizong, can you be any more timid? A great emperor like yourself has been reduced to such a state! As soon as Li Zhi spoke in this manner, Li Xian's heart sank to the bottom. He wanted to loudly protest, but unfortunately, he could only think about it and not act on it - one careless mistake can be considered reckless, but repeatedly blurting out astonishing words would be suicidal. Therefore, no matter how unwilling he was inside, Li Xian could only force himself to hold back, lowering his head and avoiding looking at Gaozong's bewildered face.

  Gaozong's apprehension towards Xu Jingzong can be said to have been a long time coming. This was not only due to Xu Jingzong himself being the Right Chancellor and concurrently serving as the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, wielding great power at the time. It was also because behind Xu Jingzong stood Wu Zetian, a towering figure. Of course, Xu Jingzong's own cunning nature was also an important factor in Gaozong's concerns.

  Xu Jingzong, courtesy name Yanzu, was from Xincheng, Hangzhou. He gained fame for his writing at a young age and during the Daxing period of the Sui dynasty, he passed the imperial examination as a xiucai and was appointed as a sheren (a low-ranking official) in the Huaiyang Commandery. Not long after, he entered the Imperial Censorate and served as a tongshisheren (an official responsible for reporting on current events). After his father Xu Shanxin was killed by Yuwen Huaji, Xu Jingzong joined Li Mi's rebellion at Mount Wugang, serving as a records officer in the marshal's office. Following the defeat of the rebels, he surrendered to the Tang dynasty.

  Later, Emperor Taizong of Tang heard of his reputation and summoned him to serve as an academician in the Institute for Literary Studies. Xu Jingzong went on to hold various important positions, including that of a mid-ranking official in the Imperial Secretariat, the Minister of War, and the Minister of Rites, earning fame throughout the land for his skill in handling historical records. In the sixth year of the Yonghui era (655 CE), he gained favor with Emperor Gaozong by supporting Wu Zetian's ascension to the throne and was appointed as a shizhong (a high-ranking official) and later also given the title of Right Chancellor.

  Xu Jingzong was known for being ruthless and cunning, striking fear into the hearts of all officials in the court. Even Emperor Gaozong himself had some reservations about him.

  "Your Majesty, the great amnesty is a manifestation of your benevolent heart. It should be carried out as soon as possible. I, your son, am not talented, but I wish to request an order to go to the Ministry of Rites to take charge of this matter. I humbly beg for Your Majesty's approval." Li Xian originally had a strong dislike for Xu Jingzong, and now seeing Gaozong speak in this manner, his anger flared up immediately. Moreover, with the precedent of Li Xian's previous outspoken words, he was not willing to fall behind and stepped forward, volunteering to take on the task.

  "Alright, it's fine if you want to go, just don't cause any trouble." Li Zhi hesitated and looked at Li Xian, then glanced at his other two sons beside him. After a long pause, he finally spoke up, reluctantly agreeing to Li Xian's request. However, he still worried that Li Xian would make a big deal out of it, so he carefully added another warning.

  "Father Emperor, rest assured, I'll be back soon." Li Xian, although only twelve years old, had already begun to get involved in government affairs. However, due to his identity, he usually did things secretly and never dared to participate openly. This time, with a legitimate reason, he was excited and didn't carefully consider the pros and cons of the matter. He hastily responded, took the imperial edict, and left the grand hall, leading several young eunuchs to hurry to the Front Court Gate.

  No chance, absolutely no chance! Watching Li Xian hastily leave, although Li Xian hoped that Li Xian could handle this matter, his rationality clearly told him that it was impossible to succeed. Not only would it not work, but it would also alarm the enemy. Although he wanted to offer some advice, after looking at the eunuchs and palace maids attending in the hall, Li Xian wisely swallowed his words.

  As expected, Li Xian left quickly and returned even faster. Before the eunuchs could bring out Princess Taiping from the inner palace, Li Xian had already rushed back, his young face red and purple from being choked. Without asking, it was clear that Li Xian had suffered a severe scolding. Seeing this, Emperor Gaozong's hopeful expression instantly dimmed.

  "Your Majesty, let the attendant come in, he... humph!" Li Xian walked to the dragon table with a huff, slapped the rolled-up imperial edict on the table, his face red with rage, about to burst into a loud scolding, but when the words reached his lips, he felt it was not suitable and forcibly swallowed them back, looking extremely stifled.

  "Wait, my son, let me think about this again..." Although Li Xian didn't explain the situation clearly, Li Zhi had already guessed what was going on. Seeing Li Xian's anger, he couldn't help but smile wryly. Just as he was about to offer some words of comfort, a group of palace maids surrounded a midwife carrying a newborn baby emerged from the inner palace. With his loving heart, he didn't even finish speaking and suddenly stood up, rushing over in big strides.

  "Congratulations to Your Majesty, the little princess weighs six jin and six liang, fair and tender, born with a beautiful appearance, unparalleled in the world..." The midwife was obviously a master of flattery, as soon as she saw Gao Zong, she rushed over, bowed her head, held up the baby in her arms, and kept flattering him non-stop, just like a chattering magpie, of course, it was the biggest and fattest kind.

  "Haha... Okay, okay, reward, all have rewards, quick, let me hold you." Gaozong's love was overflowing at this moment, and he had already thrown away his previous unhappiness. His heart and eyes were filled with the newly born Princess Taiping. He hastily held the little princess in his arms, smiling from ear to ear, his mouth corners stretched to his ears.

  Li Hong and his two brothers were still planning to discuss the imperial edict, but when they saw their father's current state of mind, they knew it was futile. The development of the amnesty edict was no longer in their control. The brothers looked at each other, unable to say anything, so they adjusted their mindset and gathered around their newborn sister, trying to make merry. Of course, it was just a pretense - newborn babies, regardless of gender, all have wrinkled skin like old men, not particularly pleasing to look at. The crowd's flattering words were just empty flattery, making one's skin crawl, especially for Li Xian, who already knew the future of Princess Taiping. However, in this situation, he couldn't let his true feelings show, so he could only pretend to agree, while his mind wandered elsewhere...