On the day of the execution of Li Kui, the king of Huaiyang, Guanzhong, who had been dry for more than a month, suddenly rained heavily.

Dark clouds rolled, lightning and thunder roared in the sky above the imperial capital, and bean-sized raindrops crackled to the ground like broken bead curtains.

Some good deeds said that this must be the unjust death of King Huaiyang, so it alarmed the heavens and the earth. But more people said that it was the souls who were killed by Li Jiong who got revenge because of their great revenge, and even God couldn't help but cry for them.

However, no matter who was sad for whom, Li Xi, the princess of Fenyang, locked herself in the room anyway and secretly cried.

No matter how bad Li Kui is, he is also her own brother after all.

Since ancient times, it has been the most ruthless imperial family.

For the sake of that throne, fathers and sons killed each other, brothers killed each other, and sometimes even the harem concubines had to be swept in, trying to see the poor dagger. There are such stories every year, from generation to generation.

Li Xi always thought that he was lucky to have the advantage of a daughter, otherwise, he might have been involuntarily dragged into the bloody killing field, and he would have fought to the death with others for a long life.

She quietly finished putting three pillars of incense on the imperial brother, then changed into court clothes by herself, and covered the traces of crying with fat powder, preparing to enter the palace.

It's convention, it's a rule.

The loved ones violated the rules of heaven and confessed their crimes, and those lucky people who were not affected by this should show an attitude and show their position - thank the emperor for not killing him.

More positively, we should also reprimand those bold dead ghosts to show unlimited support for the emperor's wisdom.

To put it bluntly, this is a necessary measure to save his own life, and the subtext behind it is: Your Majesty the Emperor, I don't hate you at all, don't worry about cutting the grass and eradicating the roots.

Murong Xue had already returned to the front line at this time, and it was best not to let him get involved in this kind of thing. Li Xi secretly thought, took a carriage alone, entered the Taiji Palace from Changxing Gate, and then walked to Yangxin Pavilion with an oil-paper umbrella in the continuous rain.

That was my father's favorite place to stay during his lifetime. If he had known that his own son had been beheaded for public display today, I don't know how he would feel?

The more Li Xi thought about it, the more sad he became, sad for his brother Li Jiong, sad for his father Li Chengwu, and also sad for himself.

"Princess, Your Majesty will pass you in."

The voice of the waiter pulled Li Xi back from her complicated thoughts, she hurriedly answered, and then moved the lotus step lightly and walked into the pavilion.

"Sister Li Xi, knock to see Your Majesty, long live my emperor, long live long live."

"Sister Xi, let's be flat."

Li Bing put down the scroll in his hand and said kindly: "With such a heavy rain, you still have to come here, why bother?" ”

Li Xi lowered his head and said: "Today, the anti-king Li Kui and the traitor confess their guilt and surrender to the law, and my Holy Tang Society can be expected to prosper, and the courtiers are happy in their hearts, and they have come to congratulate Your Majesty." ”

With that, she presented her respectful hands to the recital.

The chamberlain took it and handed it over to the emperor. Li Bing looked at it slightly, put it next to him, and ordered the princess to be given a seat.

"Sister Xi, you came just in time," Li Bing said lightly: "I have also been a little upset recently, and I want to talk to someone I can trust." ”

The three words "trustworthy" are of great significance at this moment: this is tantamount to indirectly implying that Li Xi has passed the test.

Li Xi's expression was as usual, and he said softly: "Your Majesty is working hard day and night on state affairs, you must not worry too much, and you should still focus on the dragon body." ”

Li Bing said "upset", while Li Xi persuaded "dragon body", the difference between the two also shows the attitude of Princess Fenyang: Emperor, there are some things you can say to me; But there are some things that are better not to say. I don't dare to listen to it, and I don't want to hear it.

Li Bing, who has lived in the deep palace for a long time, naturally understands the meaning of Li Xi's words. However, he didn't seem to care much, and said to himself: "Recently, there have been rumors among the people, saying that I was the illegitimate son of the anti-king Li Chengxing back then, and now I am stealing the throne, it is not as good as the legitimate way of Li Zhi, who is in Jiangnan. Moreover, a lot of discussions involve the disappearance of the secret files of the Beiya Reverse Scale Division, which is very infuriating. ”

Li Xi feigned surprise and said, "Is there such a thing? The courtiers had never heard of it. ”

"I guess Murong didn't mention it to you much." Li Bing knew that the other party was pretending to be confused with him, but it was not easy to break it: "This kind of criticism is extremely harmful to me, to the imperial court, and to the Holy Tang Jiangshan." Alas, although the Three Law Divisions have begun to strictly investigate and deal with them, the mouth of the people is more important than the defense of Sichuan, and I am also quite helpless. ”

Li Xi knows that this kind of mystery about the orthodoxy of imperial power often affects not the imperial court first, but the royal family. What attitude the Li royal family maintains towards this is the fundamental element.

Li Bing had to talk about this matter after himself today, and his intention was very obvious.

Thinking about this, Li Xi had to give a clear statement: "Your Majesty, the foolish men and fools of the people like this kind of chiseled words, why bother with it?" Who of us, our relatives, is not clear? His Majesty is the concubine of Emperor Xian Zhaolie and Empress Xian Jingwen, and the heir to the throne designated by the Holy Covenant. ”

Li Bing waved his hand: "That's right, but sometimes I can't get over this hurdle." After all...... Alas, after all, when I was in infancy, I coincided with the world's strife and turmoil, and many things could not be explained clearly. ”

Li Xi was silent for a moment, and suddenly asked faintly: "Is this matter really that important?" ”

Hearing this, Li Bing couldn't help but be stunned: "Isn't this important?" ”

"It doesn't matter whether it's important or not, the courtiers and sisters are women, and I don't understand it." Li Xi raised his head, looked at Li Bing's eyes, and said solemnly: "However, my sister remembers that my father once said a word. ”

He said that what history remembers is never bloodline, but names and merits.

Li Xi's words hit Li Bing's heart hard, causing the young emperor to be stunned on the spot.

-

Li Xi returned to the Horse Mansion from the palace, and as soon as he entered the door, he was stunned by the scene in front of him, seven or eight officials of the Jingzhao Mansion were standing neatly in the front yard, and the housekeeper in the mansion was talking to a person who looked like a head catcher.

Seeing her appear, the head catcher hurriedly hurried to the front and knelt down on one knee: "Jingzhao Mansion inspects Lu Qing, see the princess." ”

Li Xi ignored him, but looked at the housekeeper: "What's the matter?" ”

"Princess, there's something going on in the house." The butler looked a little flustered: "Your maid has been killed." ”

"My maid?" Li Xi was taken aback: "Which one?" ”

Lu Qing, the head catcher, got up and said, "Maid Xiaoting." ”

Li Xi was surprised: "Xiaoting is dead? When was this? ”

The butler said with a sad face: "Just when you went to the palace. She was going to go to Anderfang to pick up the two embroideries you had before, and just went out, before she got into the car, she was hit by a poisoned arrow shot at the entrance of the alley and died on the spot. ”

Li Xi's scalp tightened when he heard this, and he scolded: "In broad daylight, you dare to kill my slave and maid on the street, who did it?!" ”

Lu Qing hurriedly bowed his hand: "The princess is angry, our Jingzhao Mansion is investigating." The opponent is using crossbow arrows, which are military equipment......"

Without waiting for him to finish speaking, Li Xi ordered: "Butler, you immediately send someone to the camp outside the city, transfer the personal soldiers who stayed there with the horses, and at the same time report to the palace, saying that I have been attacked by gangsters!" ”

The butler hurriedly agreed, turned around and hurried away.

Li Xi glanced at Lu Qing, the head catcher, and snorted coldly: "Go and ask your Fu Yin to come and talk to me in person!" With that, she flicked the sleeves of her robe and walked into the back house without looking back.

Xiaoting's death is a warning to Li Xi.

This shows that Li Jiangyao's previous strategy of casting a long line to catch big fish has been detected by the enemy behind the scenes, and corresponding countermeasures have been made. And she herself is under the threat of the other party.

Li Xi didn't expect Jingzhao Mansion Yin to find out the real culprit.

How can a person of this level be qualified to deal with by the local yamen? So whether it is Lu Qing or Jingzhao Mansion Yin, it is nothing more than a formality.

What can really be counted on is the people from the Intelligence Department of the Zhenjiang Army.

They have been secretly monitoring Xiaoting, and they must have noticed the killer's trace for the first time, presumably they have already begun to hunt and round up each other at this time.

The first problem at the moment is to try to protect Li Xi's own safety first, so as not to be an unjustly killed ghost. Therefore, Princess Fenyang didn't ask anything, and asked the housekeeper to quickly go outside the city to mobilize her own soldiers to strengthen the defense of the Horse Mansion.

In the evening, the rain outside gradually became lighter, and Yin of Jingzhao Mansion personally visited the door and asked about the murder of the maidservant.

Li Xi was too lazy to bother, and said that he was frightened and it was inconvenient to meet guests, so he only asked the old housekeeper to deal with it.

It didn't take long for someone to come to the palace. An inner servant and twenty forbidden soldiers said that they had come to protect the safety of Princess Fenyang by the emperor's holy decree.

For a time, inside and outside the Horse Mansion, the Blue Dragon Legion's personal soldiers, princess guards, forbidden army tiger and leopard cavalry and Jingzhao Mansion soldiers, more than 200 soldiers wearing different armor, three steps and one post, five steps and one sentry, were arranged in a strict and solid manner.

Li Xi drove out all the servants and maids, and sat alone in the house, waiting for people while reading a book.

What she was waiting for was Shi Feng.

Shi Feng, the Imperial Capital Branch of the Intelligence Department of the Zhenjiang Army, inspected the school.

When Li Jiangyao left the imperial capital before, he specially designated Shi Feng as the liaison person of the Horse Mansion, responsible for the transmission of news between Murong Xue, Li Xi and the Zhenjiang Army.

Sure enough, at three o'clock in the morning, Shi Feng, who was covering as an officer of the Qinglong Army, asked to see him outside.

The old housekeeper didn't know Shi Feng's true origin, but he knew that the horse general Murong Xue had told him that Captain Shi was a close confidant and could meet him or Princess Fenyang directly at any time, so the old man didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly led Shi Feng to Li Xi.

When the housekeeper closed the door and left, Shi Feng arched his hand and said, "Princess, today's incident has frightened you. ”

Li Xi smiled faintly and said: "It's just a cheap maid who died, and the palace is not at the scene, what is there to be frightened?" Has the matter been found out? ”

Shi Feng nodded: "When the killer committed the murder, we happened to arrange for two brothers to be secretly watched, so we chased after him. Just now, the person in charge of the operation raided the killer's hiding place and captured the person alive on the spot. ”

Li Xi's eyes lit up: "Did you ask who sent it?" ”

"It's asked," Shi Feng's face sank: "He is the one who rides the tiger and leopard." ”