Since the restoration of the two capitals, Suzong sent people to Shuzhong to welcome Xuanzong's return to the dynasty. However, the road is far away, and it will always be after December to reach Chang'an. The solution to Dugujing still has more than 20 days to make a detailed deployment.

Li Jiao is busy with affairs, Feng Shengyi is cautious and steady, and he is a person who can be trusted, but the Criminal Department has not solved the two cases of Su Zong and Shufei being assassinated, and Su Zong was furious. Li Li sometimes couldn't help but be annoyed, seeing that there were almost no available people in front of him, Yan Ming was loyal, but it was a pity that he was too loyal and lost his cleverness.

Fortunately, within a few days, Chen Zhou sneaked back to Chang'an by Fengxiang. After Chen Zhou was seriously injured in Jincheng County, he was treated for half a year before he gradually recovered, but it was still hindered to go to war, so although he had begged Li Li bitterly to secretly serve as a guard to accompany the army to fight An Qingxu, he did not agree. When I returned to Chang'an City this time, my body had already grown strong and strong, and I was adding wings to Li Jiao. It's just that his identity is still not known to others for the time being, only day and night, dormant in the marshal's mansion, he is very fine, Li Li entrusted him with planning to assassinate Dugujing at this time, which is appropriate.

According to Chen Zhou's thoughts, on the day Xuanzong returned to Beijing, Suzong would lead the ministers of civil and military affairs, princes, concubines and princesses to Xianyang Wangxian Palace to greet him, and Concubine Zhang Shufei must go, but Dugujing's identity is not clear and cannot accompany him. That's the perfect time.

But Dugujing lives in Concubine Zhang Shufei's bedroom, there are many guards, and the masters are like clouds, it is not easy to lure away the guards and calmly take Dugujing's life. It is not easy to escape after the assassination. The only way is to lure Dugujing out to a secluded place, and take the palace guards to travel with them, so as to start.

How is this going to lead her out? Dugujing is not an ordinary alert, and she can't be deceived by being idle. What's more, since she entered the palace, she seems to be extremely cautious, according to the observation of the guards under Li Jiao, she must be guarded when she enters and exits, almost never walks alone, and has been staying in the palace all day recently.

Su Porcelain's illness has not improved, and he is still unconscious all day long. Li Jiao led people around to inquire about the news of Changsun E and Murong Lin, but the information he got was varied. Some say that they saw the master and apprentice of Sun E, the chief physician of the national hand, traveling to the Tianshan Mountains, some say that in recent years, a beautiful and superb goddess doctor has appeared near Helan Mountain, and some say that Sun E, the chief doctor of the first generation, has already passed away, and his female disciples are too sad and have nowhere to stay, so they enter the Tao and practice...... This last rumor, Li Jiao simply didn't dare to say it to Shen Zhu.

Ye Hu and Li Li returned to Chang'an together, Su Zong naturally rewarded him greatly, Ye Hu thanked the emperor for his grace, and said that the two wars lost a lot of war horses, and when he returned to the royal court, he extracted good horses and then helped the thief. Su Zong was even more overjoyed when he thought that the foreign troubles of the Hui State were still so gracious, and specially instructed Li Jiao to personally send Ye Hu to the outside of Chang'an City.

Li Jiao and Guo Ziyi, Li Guangbi and others have made great contributions, and the honor and favor are unmatched for a while, it is reported that Su Zong once personally held Guo Ziyi's hand, and cried: "The Tang family is all thanks to the marshal to protect it." Even Li Fuguo and others saw the three of them, and they were flattering and didn't dare to be presumptuous.

After An Qingxu retreated to Ye County, although he raised tens of thousands of horses in Hebei counties, he eventually belonged to a rabble, Su Zong made up his mind early to wait for the emperor to return to the dynasty and return to the war horses, so he raised troops to recruit and take down the An's rebels as early as possible to calm the hearts of the people.

The Tang family has now taken advantage of the rebels, and the capital is particularly jubilant, and the palace has been renovated on a large scale, and the lights are brilliant at night, and the scene before the chaos is restored. Su Zong's edict was issued from November 17 to 193 to be closed at night, and the city was lit with lights (Note 1). Driven by such a prosperous atmosphere, Shen Pearl was in a cheerful and happy mood, and even sneaked out of the palace with Li Jiao many times at night, and traveled to the night scene of Chang'an with his arms.

Shen Pearl loves this kind of travel very much. This year, Chang'an is unusually cold, and the wind is like an ice pick and snow is like a curtain. He and her only dressed as ordinary people, from the Hong Lin Gate out of the palace, bypassing Andingfang, the sky was already dark, the lights were brilliant, the houses and pavilions were wrapped in the ice and snow, like a jade carved Qionglou, reflecting half of the sky crystal bright, melodious a piece of snow fell on her eyebrows, he raised his eyebrows and leaned over to blow it away for her, the suede boots stepped into the snow half a foot deep, he only held her hand tightly, smiled consistently, everything was as beautiful as a dream.

The West Market is still performing juggling operas, and at first there were many onlookers, but the snow became heavier and heavier, and gradually there were very few.

The stall owner is a middle-aged couple with an honest appearance, thinking that they are preparing to close the stall, the man has just played a round of martial arts, sweating profusely, but his face is frozen red and purple, Zhang Luo put away the obtained coins, and put all kinds of props on the dilapidated pallet next to him. After a short time, the man shouted, and went to pull the cart, and his wife pushed behind the car, thinking that the car was very heavy, and half of the wheels were stuck in the snow, and the man was tired for a day and had no strength, and he did not pull for a while, panting, and the woman hurriedly stepped forward and took out a wide handkerchief from her arms to wipe his sweat, whispering a few words, and the child's immature call came from the back of the car - "Daddy", the man turned around, and his original rough face was kind and loving for a while, and he agreed, and then grew up and shouted, Finally pulled the vehicle and walked away slowly. The trestle car is shaky, and the rear compartment is vaguely made of firewood, which is extremely simple, and it is impossible to avoid the wind and snow.

Shen Pearl looked at this scene, in a daze for a long time, unable to move her steps. Li Li called her again and again, jokingly: "What are you thinking?" Why did you fall into a stupid bird?! ”

Shen Pearl felt all kinds of things in her heart, and she didn't know how to answer, so she was silent. Li Jiao took her hand and said, "Why are you so sentimental now?" I know what you're thinking - I'm just not reassuring you? He looked up at the place where the trestle car went, and said slowly: "Poor couples have all kinds of troubles and sorrows, I am your husband, and I must give you the best in the world......" After a pause, he looked at her and chuckled: "I don't know if I'm the best in the world?" ”

Shen Pearl raised her eyes slightly to look at him. He is naturally the best in the world, when and where he stands, he is so extraordinary, if he reigns in the world one day, how many outstanding women like Zhang Hanruo should fall for him! smiled at him and wanted to say something, but he felt a trance and his feet were loose. Li Jiao hurriedly hugged her: "I can't resist you, on such a cold day, I still come out with you to make trouble." ”

Shen Pearl calmed down, smiled sideways, and said, "I prefer this." The palace is gloomy, and it teaches people to be uncomfortable. ”

Finally returned to the palace along the same road, Shen Pearl only felt that there was no reason for that trance, and his heart was faintly uneasy.

Li Shi was particularly irritable this night, and when it was time to go, he rolled around on the bed and messed around with the nurse, refusing to sleep. Li Jiusu indulged his beloved son, and simply carried him to the room, the father and son played on the couch, Li Shi "giggled" from time to time, and called "Daddy" in a milky voice.

Shen Pearl saw that his father and son were really making trouble, so he shook his head and picked up the brocade embroidery casually. The snow outside the hall rustled, unprovoked restlessness, in a trance, the embroidery needle was piercing the fingertips, rolling up small beads of blood, with the palace maid screaming, she took a silk scarf to cover, but Shen Pearl "shh

The dull and chaotic footsteps are the official boots stepping into the snow, walking not fast but hurried. In just a moment, the sound of those footsteps became louder and louder, as if a noisy whirlwind gathered from all directions, and the torches outside the hall were densely turned, and the people were fluctuating. He Lingyi looked anxious, rushed in and shouted, "Princess, it's not good, our Shujing Hall has been surrounded. ”

"Panic what!" Li Jiao straightened up from the couch, brushed his robe at will, looked calm, and walked towards the outer hall, Shen Pearl hurriedly put on his outer robe, and followed closely.

The sound of boots in the heavy corridor was loud, the iron armor touched the bell, and the heavy palace lights reflected the faces of the leading people.

Li Jiao stopped, stood on his side with his negative hands, the cold wind outside was everywhere, and a thin layer of ice had already condensed on the East China Sea Pool. He snorted coldly from his nose: "Lord Cheng is so big. ”

Cheng Yuanzhen was not arrogant, and stepped forward and said: "Cheng is just following the edict of His Majesty, His Royal Highness Xuan and the princess Jinluan Palace. ”

Shen Pearl made up his mind at this time, smiled and said, "I see, I want to tie up His Highness and meet me." ”

Cheng Yuanzhen only said "don't dare" again and again, and did not use strong words. Shen Pearl knew that Cheng Yuanzhen was upright and extremely loyal to the Tang Dynasty, and had always only been in the name of the emperor, when the emperor was the emperor, and the same was true after the emperor ascended the throne.

The lights of the Jinluan Hall are brilliant like a feast, Su Zong sits high in the dragon chair in the hall, and the concubine reclines on the side. Li Jiao and Shen Zhufang knelt down to see His Majesty, but they heard Su Zong pat the dragon chair and shouted angrily: "No, Xiaozi, you are so bold!" Shen Pearl heard his anger surging, uncontrollable, his heart was shocked, although he didn't dare to raise his head, he still raised his chin lightly, peeked towards the hall, and saw Su Zong raise his hand and pick up a piece of paper with a width of more than a foot, like a cloud, fluttering in front of her and Li Li's knees.

Li Jiao picked up the note, his eyes swept away, and in an instant, he had finished reading the book on the note, put the paper still on the ground, kowtowed heavily, and said in a deep voice: "Father Emperor Mingjian, this is Xue Song's words, and the son has never done such a rebellious thing!" ”

"No?!" Su Zonghuo stood up, almost gritting his teeth: "This Xue Song's confession is clearly written-you actually coerced him to intentionally relax his vigilance and instructed his subordinates to assassinate me and Concubine Shu!" He had to raise his hair, and his anger grew stronger and stronger, "I have no intention, I just want to punish Xue Song's careless things, and then teach the three divisions to interrogate him, who would have thought that such a result would be achieved!" Li Jiao, you killed your father and killed the king, and you wanted to usurp the throne! As he spoke, he caught a glimpse of the Longquan sword standing in the hall, and without thinking about it, he took a few steps and pulled it out casually, and stabbed at Li Jiao when he stepped down from the hall.

When Shen Pearl heard this, she was so shocked that there seemed to be a cluster of flames burning in her chest, burning her internal organs so painfully that she choked people.

That sword is a murderous sword, although Su Zong's body is weak and he does not know martial arts, he still has a strong sword aura in his hand. Just like the imperial power, anyone who holds it in his hands has a certain amount of murderous energy, and he will make people surrender.

Shen Pearl was at a loss, and intuitively just wanted to cover herself and block in front of Li Li. The Italian side got up, his body had moved, his wrist was tightened, and he had been held by Li Jiao, and only in this instant, the sword had been stabbed to Li Jiao's chest-

Shen Zhu's mind was dizzy, and he suddenly heard someone shouting in front of him: "Your Majesty, slow down!" ”

She came back to her senses, but saw a person kneeling on the ground, holding Su Zong's right hand with a sword. And the tip of the sword is less than half an inch from Li Li's chest!

Li Mi. Although the world is big, only Li Mi can have this trust!

Su Zong remained stunned, and his anger did not decrease: "Li Yu, what do you mean by this!" However, the sword's momentum had declined, and the tip of the sword had sunk slightly.

At this time, Li Jiao kowtowed again, and said squarely: "The minister is wronged, please confront Xue Song." ”

Li Mi still pulled Su Zong's sleeve and said hurriedly: "There is something strange about this matter, Your Majesty is wise!" Seeing that Su Zong's expression had loosened, he continued in a low voice: "You must know, one pick makes the melon good, and the second pick makes the melon thin-" This sentence was very effective, Su Zong immediately lowered his sword, but he still said: "Can I still be wronged by this unscrupulous son?" Seeing that Li Mi was still kneeling on the ground, he said casually: "Sir, please get up!" ”

Li Mi got up, raised his eyes and saw Concubine Zhang Shu sitting in the hall, first saw the salute, and then said to Su Zong: "The laws of the Tang Dynasty, ordinary people still have the right to confront the court, let alone the royal family?" His Royal Highness claimed that he had been wronged, and asked His Majesty to send Xue Song to confront him in the court? It's just that the lady concubine Niangniang in this case is also a bitter master, I don't know what happened to the mother's accident? ”

Concubine Zhang Shufei rolled her eyes and said, "Exactly." As he spoke, he walked down the hall and said with a smile: "Yu'er has always been loyal, good and filial, how could he do such a thing?" Your Majesty, you are too reckless, don't wronged your good son and daughter-in-law! She bluntly said that Su Zong was "reckless", but Su Zong was not angry, pulled off his beard, squinted at Li Jiao, and said with a heavy "hum" from his nose, and said: "Since you said it, then pass on Xue Song!" ”

Concubine Zhang Shufei immediately ordered Li Fuguo to personally escort Xue Song to see the driver. Li Li and Shen Pearl were still kneeling in place, Li Yu saw that Su Zong did not mean to ask the two of them to get up, and persuaded again, the meaning was nothing more than how to see the reason why the princess of the county knelt aside when the criminal saw him, where was the royal demeanor, and Concubine Shu also seemed to help persuade him decently, so Su Zong asked him and his wife to get up and stand aside to listen to the order.

Xue Song was detained in Dali Prison, although it was not very close to Daming Palace, but from the time the word was passed to the time it arrived, it was only a moment or three of a moment's effort. Concubine Zhang Shufei prayed several times, but she didn't come for a long time, and she couldn't help but say angrily: "This Li Puguo, how can he be more and more procrastinating now!" ”

Shen Pearl was worried in her heart. Xue Song is certainly a first-class soft bone in the world, but this kind of slander is by no means something he can come up with and dare to do on his own, it must be instructed by others and promised supreme benefits. Looking at today's situation, most of them are the masterminds of Concubine Zhang Shu. In this case, the confrontation is more than lucky. But I saw that Li Li's face was sinking like water, his expression was cold, and his heart was very uncomfortable. The emperor killed Li Li first, and suspected that Li Li was second, for this throne and imperial power, there was really no half of the father-son affection, how could it not make Li Li feel cold? What should Xue Song do if he says something unfavorable to Li Jiao after being escorted? The emperor was so suspicious that he decided that his son would usurp the throne and kill the monarch based on Xue Song's confession.

She thought about it, but there was no way, and her palms were full of sweat.

This hour seems to be extremely long, and the five people in the palace have their own thoughts, and they are all silent and silent.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Niangniang,——" Li Fuguo panted and rushed to the palace, running too fast and too fast, tripped over the threshold, and "pounced" into the palace first. Su Zong's brows were furrowed, and before he was angry, Li Fuguo had already crawled under Su Zong's robe, and said with a sad face: "Hey, back to the Holy Lord, Xue Song was just robbed in Dali Prison!" ”

The whole house is shocked!

The dignified Dali Prison was robbed, and it was a big joke to spread it, Su Zong's anger was not trivial, and he patted the case and said: "What's the matter!" ”

"It's a woman in red, she doesn't look like she's fourteen or fifteen years old, she calls herself 'Xue Hongxian', her martial arts are so good, and the slave doesn't see how she moves her hands clearly. In the blink of an eye, she disappeared with Xue Song's kid. What an evil sect! Li Fuguo wiped the sweat on his forehead with his sleeve as he spoke, and wiped it for a while before he remembered that such a rude action in front of the emperor was so rude, and hurriedly flashed to the side.

Su Zong didn't see what happened, he only said that what Li Fuguo said was exaggerated, and he was even more angry that his hands and feet trembled, pointing at Li Li's nose and scolding: "Okay, what a salary, knowing that I want to pass on Xue Song to confront him, I actually strike first." You're getting better and better! When Li Li heard that Xue Song was robbed, his face turned white, and he didn't dare to defend at this time, so he lowered his head and let Su Zong scold.

Shen Pearl listened to what Li Fuguo said, and her heart moved, could it be that the woman who robbed the prison was Xue Hongxian? The word "red line" is thought to be misheard by Li Fuguo. Immediately knelt down and said: "Father's anger is calm, and his son has something to say to his father!" ”

Su Zong said: "If you want to exonerate your husband and retreat, you don't need to say much!" ”

Shen Pearl kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, if Pearl says that in the name of Mrs. Zhenguo of the Tang Dynasty, she will intercede for His Royal Highness the King of Guangping, will Your Majesty agree?" Su Zong was stunned for a moment, and was about to answer, but Shen Pearl continued: "It's just that today's ministers must not intercede in the name of Mrs. Zhenguo. Pearl is the wife of His Royal Highness, naturally he shares the glory and disgrace with His Royal Highness, Pearl is also the daughter-in-law of the father, the son bears the charge in vain, seeing that the father is angry and does not dare to argue, only the daughter-in-law riskes death to say a word, begging the father to listen, and the pearl is willing to receive any punishment! ”

Note 1: In the Tang Dynasty, there was a night ban system, with drums and drums at night, and pedestrians were prohibited on the streets; Xiao drum agitation, lifting the ban on traffic. From the first watch to the fifth watch, two or three o'clock, it is the time of night fasting, and if you walk on the street during this time, it is called "committing a night", and according to the law, you will be beaten, sometimes very severely, and there are also people who die because of it. Only three days in the first month of each year or a special edict of the emperor do not prohibit the night. (Reference from Mr. Yang Hongnian's "Sui and Tang Dynasty Beijing Examinations")

(Tianjin)