Liu Ziqiu frowned and said, "Oh, the Empress Dowager has returned to the palace, so soon, what about the ladies?"

Da was stunned and said: "Back to the princess, they were invited by the empress dowager to enter the palace."

In order to avoid suspicion, after Liu Ziqiu occupied Luoyang, he removed the guards everywhere, but the guards in the palace were not adjusted, and the guards guarding the palace gate were still the original guards from the left and right prison gates, and the guards from the left and right guard houses were still patrolling the palace

However, Liu Ziqiu was not worried about what danger Gao Xiu'er would encounter when they entered the palace, with the help of the divine arm and bow, Mu Duoli's archery skills had already been superb, and she also trained a female guard, although the number of female guards was not large, but the combat effectiveness should not be underestimated, with Mu Duoli and this female guard, I believed that those guards did not dare to act rashly

Of course, the left and right prison mansions and the left and right reserve mansions are probably indispensable to Li Yuan's cronies, these people still have to be replaced as soon as possible, since Empress Xiao has entered the palace, she is the master of the palace, and there is a good excuse to remove these people

Thinking of this, Liu Ziqiu pushed the wine cup and said loudly: "Ji Rentai, Da was stunned and listened to the order"

The two hurriedly arched their hands and said, "The subordinates are here"

Liu Ziqiu's face sank: "You two each ordered five hundred jīng soldiers to enter the palace with Liu."

Hua Yun stood up: "The second brother and the younger brother have already seen the second sister-in-law and the nephew, the second sister-in-law and the nephew had an accident a few days ago, the younger brother was really worried for a while, and now the second sister-in-law and the nephew are safe and sound, and the younger brother is also very relieved, I don't know if the eldest brother is willing to enter the palace with the younger brother."

Li Jing's face was a little strange, and he wanted to say something, but he opened his mouth and still held back, but Liu Ziqiu said without thinking: "Why not?"

In fact, there are Liu Ziqiu's garrisons around the palace, these troops are equipped with the fastest horses and jīng Liang's crossbows, and even a fly in the palace will not want to fly out, so Liu Ziqiu will rest assured that the left and right prison gate mansions and the left and right reserve mansions will continue to guard the palace, even if Empress Xiao and Yang Qi and Yang Yu return to the palace, there is no need to worry

But Empress Xiao invited Gao Xiuer and others into the palace, which Liu Ziqiu did not expect in advance, with the experience of Li Shimin's sneak attack on Changshan Village, although he believed in the ability of Mu Duoli and the female guard, Liu Ziqiu was still much more cautious, so he decided to immediately change the guards of the palace

……

At this moment, in the palace, a yīn conspiracy against Empress Xiao, Gao Xiu'er and others is quietly planning, and the chief director of this yīn conspiracy is Li Cheng, the head of the palace

Li Cheng is Li Yuan's person, there is no doubt that Luoyang's sudden change of ownership came too quickly, and he didn't even have time to discuss countermeasures with Li Yuan

But Li Cheng is an old man in the palace, even if there is no Li Yuan's instructions, when to do something, he still knows, more importantly, his nephew Li Ben, who inherited the incense, is still controlled by Li Yuan, and he must consider the problem from Li Yuan's point of view when he does anything

Then again, even if there was no such thing as Li Ben, his own situation made him have to tighten the string all the time

Empress Xiao returned to the palace, Concubine Xiao naturally wanted to give way, and the ugly things about Concubine Xiao and Li Yuan, he Li Cheng knew best, but he not only knew it, but also played a very important role in it, as long as these things were leaked, he had ten heads, and it was not enough to cut off

Knowing that Empress Xiao returned to the palace, Li Cheng's first thing was to rush to meet Empress Xiao when she was in Luoyang, and she also saw Li Cheng, knowing that he was an old man in the palace, and he was also very kind to him, so he continued to be in charge of palace affairs

Seeing that Empress Xiao was in a good mood, Li Cheng also breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly said: "Qi Niangniang's slave prepares dinner, please move to Zhaoyang Palace."

Zhaoyang Palace is the former residence of Empress Xiao when she was in Tokyo, and it has just been cleaned today, but Empress Xiao obviously doesn't want to go anywhere, so as not to see things and think about things, she waved her hand lightly and said: "No need, just put it here, mourn the family will receive a few distinguished guests later, you can arrange it more richly."

Hearing that Empress Xiao was going to receive distinguished guests, Li Cheng thought about it, there were many of his henchmen inside and outside the palace, as long as he sent someone to inquire a little, he would know who Empress Xiao was going to receive, Li Cheng walked around outside the imperial dining room for a long time before he made up his mind, called a few henchmen, instructed a few words, and turned around and went to the preparation house

The Reserve Mansion was originally led by Li Ben, and Li Ben ate inside and out, but was taken down by Li Yuan to reserve the Body, and the Reserve Mansion has not arranged a new general, but Li Cheng has led it on his behalf, which can also be seen from this point that Li Yuan trusts Li Cheng

The lieutenants on duty in the Beishen Mansion tonight were named Gong Zhen and Ma Liu, and when they saw their superiors coming, they hurriedly got up to greet them

Li Cheng glanced at the room, only to see a few plates of side dishes and a pot of light wine on the table, and couldn't help but smile: "The two generals are so interested."

No alcohol is allowed when on duty, this is the most basic rule, of course, since Yang Guang died, this rule has been broken, but after being broken by Li Cheng in person, Gong Zhen and Ma Liu were still a little weak-hearted, looked at each other, and hurriedly said: "Lord Steward, the last general will wait for the heart to be depressed, so I will use wine to drown my sorrows, and hope that my lord will forgive my sins."

Li Cheng sighed and said: "Our family is not bored in their hearts, why don't the two generals add a pair of cups and spoons, so that our family can also pour out their sorrows."

Gong Zhen and Ma Liu hesitated for a moment, and couldn't see that Li Cheng was not happy at all, so they hurriedly brought bowls, chopsticks, and wine cups to help Li Cheng pour the wine together, and toasted Li Cheng with a glass and said in unison: "Once a son of heaven and a courtier, now the palace has a new master, and the last general does not seek glory and wealth, but only to be able to go home and plant a few acres of thin land, and live a peaceful life, and I hope that the chief steward will say a few words in front of the queen mother."

Li Cheng sneered: "Don't you know how many things have happened in the palace recently, if the Empress Dowager is no longer used, can you still let you go out alive and spread it everywhere?"

Ma Liu arched his hand and said: "So the two of us want to ask the chief steward to help say a few words, we have no other extravagant hopes, just one to live, we can swear to the sky, as long as we can live, we will keep our mouths shut."

Li Cheng sighed again and said: "Didn't you say that once the Son of Heaven and a courtier, the Empress Dowager has her own people around you to use, even our family is afraid that it won't be a few days away, where can I help you speak?"

Gong Zhen was shocked and said: "How is this good, I still have a sick mother in my family, and my young son who is waiting to be fed, if I die, how can this family live?"

Ma Liu was clever, knowing that Li Cheng would never come to complain to them at this time, so he quickly "pounced" and knelt on the ground, kowtowing again and again: "Please also ask the chief manager to show us a clear way."

Li Cheng waved his hand and said, "Come on, do you know who the Empress Dowager is going to banquet tonight?"

Ma Liu shook his head blankly and said, "The last general doesn't know"

Li Cheng gritted his teeth and said, "It's Liu Ziqiu's wife and son."

Gong Zhen was taken aback and said: "A few days ago, I heard from the brothers of the Tang Palace, that the prince sent the second and third princes south to capture Liu Ziqiu's family, and he didn't want to lose the third son's life, and he didn't want Liu Ziqiu's family to come to the palace."

Li Cheng drank a glass of wine and snorted coldly: "When the wine is sad, I am even more worried, what can I do with drinking, only by capturing Liu Ziqiu's family can I break out of a way to live."

Ma Liu was a little apprehensive and hesitated: "If we do something to Liu Ziqiu's family, I'm afraid that Liu Ziqiu will not let us go."

"Haven't you heard of the phrase "Confused rat bogey," Li Cheng played with the wine cup in his hand and said with a disdainful face, "Let's capture Liu Ziqiu's family, we can force Liu Ziqiu to negotiate with us and let us go out of Bishui Pass, whether it is to cast Wagangzhai or Liu Wuzhou, or hide in the mountains and forests, we can also live a happy life."

There was silence in the room, and after a while, Gong Zhen gritted her teeth and said viciously: "Okay, let's follow the head manager, and when the time comes, we can ask Liu Ziqiu for a large sum of gold and silver, enough for us to live for a few lifetimes."

At this moment, a little eunuch flashed in, looked at Gong Zhen and Ma Liu, and stopped talking

Li Cheng waved his hand impatiently: "It's not that outsiders have something to say."

The little eunuch lowered his voice and said, "The guests invited by the Empress Dowager came to the palace, and there are a total of four women and two children."

Li Cheng smiled strangely: "It's no wonder that they sent it to the door by themselves."

The little eunuch was a little weird: "The chief steward, they have guards"

"There are guards," Li Cheng was stunned and said, "Didn't Liu Ziqiu pretend to make a gesture to prevent their soldiers from breaking into the palace, how could he change for a few women?"

The little eunuch said, "Those guards are all women."

Ma Liu had already made up his mind to accompany Li Cheng to gamble at this time, and couldn't help laughing: "Female guard, what can you do with Captain Gong?"

Li Cheng waved his hand and said, "I'm not busy, I've already arranged it, and I'll take people directly when the time comes."

While he was talking, another eunuch walked in and whispered, "The chief manager, things are not very easy to handle."

Li Cheng frowned and said, "What's so hard to do?"

The eunuch hurriedly said: "After each dish is delivered, a palace maid will taste the dish first, and it will be served to them after being sure that it is okay."

It turned out that when Li Cheng was in the imperial dining room just now, he sent someone to tell a few eunuchs who were passing the dishes, and asked them to wait for the opportunity to put some medicine in the wine and food, of course, these medicines will not kill people, but they will make people temporarily unconscious, a bit similar to the sweat medicine on the rivers and lakes, but he didn't expect that after so many changes, Queen Xiao was always worried that someone would harm herself, and she had become extra careful