In the midst of grief and darkness, the 100-day period of national mourning ended. After the Taishi Bureau finished dividing the auspicious culprit, the new emperor personally circled the day of the funeral. On that day, the royal family and civil and military officials all wore filial piety clothes to send each other. Advocating elegy, the honor guard of the halo book, stretching for hundreds of miles, the beginning and the end are far away; There were bursts of crying, and the sorrow spread far away, as if it resounded throughout Chang'an City. Such a scene is more majestic than when Emperor Gaozu returned to the tomb.

The prince was dressed in white, standing on a high place, looking at the white plain dress honor guard inside and outside the city gate. Among the white flags, paper horses, and plain fans, chariots, horses, and thousands of vehicles, thousands of people in plain clothes walked quietly. The huge coffin, covered by a white canopy, moved slowly, leaving deep ruts along the way.

It was so far away, he naturally couldn't tell where Li Hui was. Moreover, the funeral of the king of the county should not be on foot, but accompanied by horseback. Not long after, many ordinary people who had just arrived after hearing the news came on both sides of the road, all wearing plain clothes and filial piety clothes, weeping and kneeling down to send the funeral. So the funeral procession became larger and larger, winding and winding, heading towards the Zhaoling Tomb of Jiuzhi Mountain, which was more than 100 miles away.

"Ah Lang, the Xu family has taken control of the maidservants beside the county lord of Yichuan and has obtained enough confessions. The county lord of Yichuan was moody, and the servants in the house had already separated from her and fell to the Xu family. There are those who disobey, and they have also been detained by the Xu family. The county lord of Yichuan was busy pretending to be filial and did not notice it for the time being. Sun Jinniang once again dressed up as a young man and came to his side silently, "The elders of the Xu family hesitated for several days, and finally acquiesced to Xu Khotan's plan. In a few days, he should be in front of the Emperor. ”

"Your brothers and sisters have worked so hard. In order to persuade and guide Xu Khotan, Sun Dalang should have spent a lot of effort. The prince bowed slightly, "After this matter is over, you can use the connections of the Xu family to continue to operate and make friends with more small families." At the same time, they should gradually stay away from the Xu family, and don't teach them to notice. ”

"The slave and the brother can save it." Sun Jinniang paused, and asked curiously: "I heard that Ah Lang wants to travel with Mr. Song?" When do you plan to go? What do you need to do to prepare the brother and the slave? Ah Lang can rest assured, we are no longer more financially rich than before. What's more, even if we lack food and clothing, we must not wronged Ah Lang and Mr. Song. ”

"There is no need to prepare, Qingsu and Cao Shilang have already started to handle this matter. Food, clothing, shelter and transportation are within one's means, so as not to arouse suspicion. The prince said, "The two of you continue to stay in the capital, no matter what happens, just listen to Xuanqi's dispatch in secret." Follow Xuan Qi well, find out the news for him, and give me a letter every month, describing the situation in Jingzhong and Shangzhou. If the situation is urgent, after handing it over to Xuan Qi to deal with, it's not too late to talk to me. ”

"Yes, slave understood." Sun Jinniang arched her hand and simply left neatly.

A few days later, Emperor Taizong and Empress Wende were buried in Zhaoling, and the new emperor took his brothers and sisters to hold a grand Yu sacrifice, and the funeral ceremony was completely over. Chang'an City, which has been shrouded in grief for months, has gradually regained its peace and tranquility, and the common people and official eunuchs have become lively again, and the sound of playing and feasting and drinking silk and bamboo is endless.

After several days of admonition from the ministers, the new emperor, who was still in grief, finally cheered up and held an enthronement ceremony. Then, he officially canonized the crown princess Du as the queen, Liangdi Yang as the virtuous concubine, Liangdi Yuan as the concubine, and the widow Zhang as Zhaoyi, as well as several other unfavored beauties and talents. Subsequently, the eldest daughter of Changning County was canonized as the princess of Changning, the second daughter was the princess of Yong'an, and Tang Muyi was sealed with 300 households; The eldest prince was crowned the king of Qi, and the second prince was crowned the king of Shu.

Immediately, he added the title of household to the elders of the clan, King Jing, King Peng, King Lu, etc., all increased the number of household seals by 500, and the eldest princesses increased the number of households by 300; The elder brother King Yue and King Pu increased the household by 500, and the three sisters added the eldest princess and sealed the household by 300; As for the nephews, the county king added three hundred, and the three heirs, including the heir of Chu, were rewarded, and the nieces were also rewarded; All the kings of the Yuanzhi clan have added two hundred households, and there are many rewards.

All in all, none of the royal clan's big rewards fell this time, and everyone was happy.

Just when the clans were smiling and thanking the new emperor Longen, a shocking news suddenly came out, which made the entire Chang'an City shake: Xu Khotan, the husband of the county lord of Yichuan, the sister of the king of Chu, sued his wife the county lord of Yichuan for slandering the first emperor, cursing Queen Du, and intending to rebel.

It is said that the new emperor did not believe that the always well-behaved county lord of Yichuan would do such a thing at first, and thought that Xu Khotan was really a false accusation, and his attitude towards him was very harsh. However, Xu Khotan repeatedly begged the prime minister, claiming that he had enough evidence and was willing to confront the county lord of Yichuan, so he was reluctant to send someone to verify the truth of the matter.

It stands to reason that such a secret event should not have been so widely reported. However, it seems that overnight, the high-ranking official families in Chang'an City have learned about the matter and have discussed it in private. Many clans wanted to wait and see for a while, but many keen people had already detained the children of the family who were originally close to the county lord of Yichuan.

King Jing originally planned to hand over the matter to the princess for disposal, but unexpectedly received an anonymous letter. When he read the three lines at a glance, his face suddenly changed, and he staggered to his feet, almost overturning the bookcase. At this time, the princess sent a servant to report that Li Ge was shouting to wash away her grievances for Li Qianniang, and was waving a whip to rush out of the house, planning to go to Taiji Palace to see the saint.

Hearing this, King Jing, who had always been gentle and elegant, suddenly became furious and scolded: "Don't tie up this little beast who is looking for death!" Throw him into the courtyard and seal the gate of the courtyard! Don't let him come out again!! After that, he was still a little uneasy, and personally carried a horsewhip to supervise the servants to seal the courtyard of Li Ge, and then ordered his most trusted palace people to guard outside the courtyard: "Without my order, no one is allowed to release this little beast!" ”

When Princess Jing heard the news, she cried and wanted to ask for mercy, but King Jing had no time to pay attention to her, so she quickly changed her clothes and went to the palace. Along the way, he meditated, and he didn't know who handed him the news, claiming to have helped him clear up the trouble. Once this kind of scandal is revealed, the new emperor will definitely not be able to tolerate this sand. Moreover, with such a handle in the hands of others, he, Zong Zhengqing, should be trembling, it is better to abdicate and let Xian get better. lest they be attacked and used by others in the future, and they will not know what earth-shattering conspiracy they will be involved in.

"Why did my uncle say that?" Because he had just survived the national funeral, the saint looked much thinner, and his demeanor was still gentle, "Zong Zhengqing's position, if you are not an uncle, you can't bear it, so why mention abdicating to make way for Xian?" Over the years, Grandpa has often told me that only my uncle's temperament is the most suitable for Zong Zhengqing's position. With Uncle Peng Wang and Uncle Lu Wang, it is impossible for our clan to understand the affairs of our clan so clearly. ”

King Jing sighed, and he seemed to be much older in one day: "The minister is deeply ashamed, I didn't expect that among the women of the clan, there would be such a ...... as Yichuan And the unfilial children of the ministers were very close to her, but they didn't notice anything, and they were convinced that she must have been wronged. ”

"It's human nature. Even I still can't believe that Qian Niang would actually slander Grandpa and Auntie, and dare to curse Zitong. The saint was also a little stunned, and her eyes were slightly red, "Last year, she was also involved in some right and wrong, and later it turned out that she was indeed innocent." I felt that I had to try my best to understand this case before I could restore her innocence. Although the eldest brother is in the lineage, he ...... in terms of bloodline."

As he spoke, the sage couldn't help but shake his head: "Alas, it is unbearable for Qian Niang to stay alone in the capital, and I must not let her endure any more grievances." Later, my uncle presided over the interrogation of the case in the palace, and I and my brothers and sisters were present to attend the hearing. For the time being, there is no need to let Uncle Peng and Uncle Lu come here, so as not to make too much trouble in this matter. ”

King Jing was silent for a long time, and then he fell to the ground and cried bitterly: "The minister really has no shame to interrogate this case, the sage doesn't know anything, and the minister only found out today...... I found out ......"

The saint seemed to have a heart in his heart, and instantly understood what he was going to say: "Uncle, this matter has not been confirmed after all, and now it is just the words of the Xu family." Perhaps it was because of Xu Tian's resentment that he dared to have the courage to falsely accuse Qian Niang. It is not too late to talk about this matter after the case has been cleared. ”

His reaction was too calm, and at this moment, even King Jing seemed to believe that everything in the letter was false. However, as long as he thought of what Li Ge had done, said and done in the past, he felt very desperate. Knowing the son Mo Ruo's father, what can that fool do, how can he not be completely unaware, how can he never have doubts?! It's just that he hasn't thought about it in that direction!!

Not long after, the sage and King Jing came to the Chengqing Hall where Li Qianniang was temporarily under house arrest. King Jing looked around the hall and saw Li Heng, King of Yue, Li Tai, King Pu, Li Xin, King of Siyue, Li Wei, King of Xin'an, Li Jing, King of Tianshui County, etc., all present. Princess Linchuan, Princess Anxing, and Princess Qinghe also sat a little farther away. There is also a screen separating Princess Yue and Princess Pu.

After glancing at the screen very indifferently, the sage took out Princess Changning, who was dressed as Xiao Langjun with the intention of confusing the public, and then sat down on the main seat. After King Jing received the salute from his juniors, he ordered someone to bring Xu Khotan up. Xu Tian knelt on the ground and bowed and repeated the content of his complaint again.

The facts he said were of course richer than the rumors, including how Li Qianniang, the county lord of Yichuan, maliciously cursed when the saint was seriously ill, how he was rude to the deceased Empress Wende, and how he insulted and cursed Empress Du, and so on. It is not an exaggeration to say that all kinds of words are extremely vicious. In addition, when the saint ascended the throne, he mentioned the resentment of the deposed prince Li Song a few years ago, claiming that she was the princess and other rebellious words.

Li Heng, Li Xin and the others reacted a little softer, but frowned tightly; Li Tai, Li Wei, Li Hui and Li Jing all showed stunned expressions; The three princesses could not hide their anger, and the subtleties seemed to be a little different. The saint glanced at them, his eyes drooping slightly.

King Jing immediately asked, "Is there any evidence for what you say?" ”

"Of course there is proof!" Xu Tian said, "Her personal maidservants can all testify!" Moreover, the minister also suspected that there were witchcraft buried in her yard!! After saying that, he raised his head suddenly, gritted his teeth and said: "She has no scruples when she acts normally, and the minister has never dared to step into her yard for half a step!" I also ask the saint to send someone to search and collect evidence, and be sure not to let go of the sinner who has committed such a rebellious act!! ”