"Princess, have you seen Your Majesty?" As soon as Li Xiuming saw Princess Fenyang, he immediately got up and asked, "How is it?" Are people better? ”

Li Xi shook his head, sat down in his seat with a gloomy face, and said to several cronies and officials around him: "The recovery is not very good. I only had to talk to the emperor for a few words, and he was dizzy and uncomfortable, and the queen kicked out several of our royal families. Later, I asked a few imperial doctors, and they said that this poisoning had hurt the emperor's internal organs, and in addition to the emperor's hard work and anxiety over the years, his body was already deficient in qi and blood, so the condition became more serious. ”

Li Xiuming frowned when he heard this: "Does the Imperial Doctor have any good plans?" ”

"I can only adjust and take a look first," Li Xiying said: "But it will definitely not be able to go to court in the short term, and it will be difficult to even review the chapters." ”

Ma Xinqi, the servant of the ministry, said worriedly: "That's troublesome." Jiangnan counterinsurgency, Qilu banditry, and this year's imperial examination, how many things need the emperor's approval, isn't this all delayed? ”

Guangluqing Xue Kui was slightly puzzled: "However, the excerpts I handed over have been approved in the past few days." What's going on here? ”

Li Xixiu frowned lightly and said in a deep voice: "The problem is here." The reply should be from Cheng Wen's hand. ”

"What?!" Hearing this, several ministers all jumped to their feet, dumbfounded one by one.

Li Xiuming hurriedly said: "Isn't this equivalent to the harem interfering in politics?" How dare the Queen? ”

"Whether you dare or not, it depends on how you explain it." Li Xi said: "If these replies are the opinions of the emperor himself, and Cheng Wen is just helping to record and copy the family, then no one can say anything." ”

"But the question is, whether those replies are the emperor's holy will or not, no one can prove!" Li Xiuming said angrily: "If the queen carries private goods in it, it is no different from rebellion!" ”

Li Xi suddenly sneered: "Maybe this is exactly what she wants." ”

Li Xiuming was slightly stunned when he heard this, and after looking at several other colleagues for a moment, he tried to ask: "What does the princess mean is that there is a conspiracy behind what Xin Zhong said?" ”

Li Xi gathered his sideburns and said lightly: "Xin Zhongshu is old, and he hasn't been in the palace for a long time, why did he happen to be on duty in the Taiyi Pavilion that day?" He often consulted dignitaries and dignitaries, and the handwriting was left everywhere, and it was not difficult to get it, and it was easy to find a master to imitate his handwriting and prescribe another prescription. Mrs. Xin has been sick all her life, but in the end she made a low-level mistake that even an apprentice wouldn't make, do you think it's possible? ”

Xue Kui frowned and thought for a while, then said in a deep voice: "The princess is right! Xin Zhongshu was trapped, and someone wanted to plot to assassinate His Majesty! This is a rebellion! ”

"Will it be the Queen?" Ma Xinqi hesitated: "Although she has gained a firm foothold in the palace, if Your Majesty has three longs and two shorts, what benefits can the queen get?" The courtiers will definitely not let her participate in government affairs. ”

"So the emperor was not poisoned by that medicine," Li Xi said coldly: "Your Majesty is still here, and no one can shake Cheng Wen's position, and Your Majesty is unable to handle government affairs normally due to physical reasons, so she can take this opportunity to meddle in the affairs of the court." Before Cheng Wen gave birth to a prince for the emperor, this is probably the most favorable situation for her at the moment. ”

Li Xiuming couldn't help but say angrily: "The femme fatale is extremely terrifying. No, we must stop the Queen's misdeeds immediately! ”

Ma Xinqi asked, "Master Li, how are you going to stop it?" Your Majesty can't go to court at all now, and our concerts will fall into the hands of the queen again, and the so-called prevention is completely out of the question. ”

"How about looking for the Forbidden Army?" Xue Kui said: "Inform the forbidden army that the emperor is in danger, and let them try to protect him." ”

Ma Xinqi shook his head: "There is no evidence, purely based on speculation, directly arguing that the queen plotted to kill the emperor, and a few of us will immediately be killed." What's more, in the past half a year or so, the Forbidden Army's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry and the Beiya Reverse Scale Division have been getting closer and closer to the queen, and they may have colluded together a long time ago. ”

Li Xi bowed slightly: "Master Ma is right, Cheng Wen's younger brother is serving in the forbidden army, and his position is not low. And Tian Mu, Ouyang Lin and others are also more or less related to the Cheng family, if we act rashly, we are likely to be grabbed by the other party and chased and beaten. ”

"How about a protest with the courtiers?" Li Xiuming said: "Could it be that the queen and the Zhenguo Mansion have the courage to arrest all the civil and military officials?" ”

Li Xi glanced at him: "Protest? Protest against what? Protest against the emperor not going to court because of poisoning? Or is it a protest that the queen was ordered to approve the chapter on behalf of the emperor? Do you have any reason for these things? ”

Li Xiuming sat down in frustration and asked, "Princess, you have always been resourceful, tell me, what should we do?" ”

Li Xi looked at Ma Xinqi and Xue Kui, who were also full of concern, and said in a deep voice: "First of all, don't worry about the few of you. Let's decompose and speculate first, if it is really Cheng Wen who is behind her back, taking advantage of the emperor's poisoning to secretly meddle in the affairs of the court, then what does she want to do and what can she do? ”

Ma Xinqi stroked his beard and thought, "It's nothing more than two things." On the one hand, it is rumored that the Cheng family has a deep grudge against Li Dadu of the Zhenjiang Army, and presumably the queen will take advantage of this opportunity to continue to embarrass Dadu. Just like the current reward of Jiuxi, it further intensified the contradiction between the imperial court and the military. ”

He paused and continued: "Two, the Zhenguo Mansion has always been the representative of the noble lords, and the children of the Cheng family have the intention of taking charge of the government and monopolizing power. ”

Xue Kui added: "Interfering with personnel appointments will inevitably involve the original officials. If we ministers who are not all the way with them don't take them out first, there won't be enough seats for the queen's family. So, we're going to be targeted as well. ”

"That makes sense," Ma Xinqi nodded: "Before, because of the arrest of spies, Ouyang Lin of the forbidden army seemed to ascend to the sky in one step and became the de facto head of public security in the imperial capital. Now that there is a big case of the emperor's assassination and poisoning, the queen will definitely make a big fuss about it and take the opportunity to cut off dissidents. If the Reverse Scale Division completely lets go of his hands and feet and acts recklessly, I don't know how many courtiers will suffer. ”

Li Xiuming thought about it and said, "These are still trivial matters. I'm afraid that if the queen puts her hand in the army, it will be troublesome. Now that the counterinsurgency war has reached the most critical moment, the three major armies of Zhenjiang, Qinglong, and Phoenix have all crossed the Yangtze River to conquer the Yangtze River, and the destruction of the traitors is just around the corner. However, the commanders of these three main legions are all thorns in the queen's side. Needless to say, Li Dadu protected himself, the commander of the horse and the Murong concubine, with the two concubines and concubines behind them, and the queen family categorically did not want to see them return to the dynasty in triumph. ”

Xue Kui said worriedly: "If the army is unstable, the sky will fall." After ten years of war, our Shengtang has been riddled with holes, and we can no longer afford to withstand another military change. ”

"Who's to say it isn't?" Ma Xinqi said: "Lord Li's worries are not unreasonable. It's okay to replace me, the servant of the ministry, but if I replace the commander of Ma and the commander of Murong, the country may be on the verge of civil war. Think about it, if the Cheng family masters the Blue Dragon Legion and the Vermilion Bird Legion, will they fight with the Zhenjiang Army? ”

Li Xi nodded: "What the three of them said is similar to what Bengong thinks." Cheng Wen is acting for the emperor, and the most likely starting point is to investigate the case and personnel, and the target she is aiming at is the military forces represented by Li Daduhu. Therefore, if we want to deal with it, we must treat both the symptoms and the root causes, and we must address all three ways at the same time. ”

"What is the meaning of treating both the symptoms and the root causes, and the three ways to come out at the same time?" Li Xiuming said: "I'm stupid, and I ask the princess for advice." ”

Li Xi explained: "The so-called standard refers to the various decrees issued by the queen in the name of the emperor; The so-called ben refers to the emperor himself recovering as soon as possible, resuming the government, and recovering Cheng Wen's power. The three roads are case investigation, appointment and dismissal, and escort. ”

She motioned for Ma Xinqi and Xue Kui to sit down as well, and then said: "Cheng Wen issued those wills that are not conducive to the stability of the court and the stability of the army on behalf of the emperor, we must do our best to delay the resistance, even if it is to cut officials and dismiss them and lose their lives, this is a matter of treating the symptoms." Trying to secretly protect the emperor's safety, prevent him from being controlled by Cheng Wen and others, and help the emperor regain power and put things in order, this is the root cause of the problem. ”

Xue Kui said: "What the princess said is very true. However, we can do this symptomatic task, as you said, even if you lose your life, you must resist the chaos, as a Shengtang official, this is not to be said. However, it is not easy to solve the root cause. Your Majesty is in the palace, as long as the queen doesn't nod, it is impossible for the forbidden army to let us in, and the specific situation inside is not clear, how to escort it? ”

Li Xiuming nodded: "Lord Xue's words are also what I want to say." The queen secretly controls the inner court, in case she uses some means, her majesty will always be unable to heal, and even the dragon's body will deteriorate, and we, as foreign ministers, will be very difficult to deal with. Unless...... Unless a coup d'état is staged to rescue His Majesty. But this must first be done by His Majesty's will, otherwise it will only be a tragic farce in the end. ”

"I'll be responsible for the affairs in the palace, so you don't have to worry about it." Li Xi said in a firm tone: "If Cheng Wen dares to be unfavorable to the emperor again, I will definitely find a way to collect evidence, and then hand it over to you for negotiation and disposal." But before that, the imminent storm in the court will depend on the princes to bear it. ”

Li Xiuming said angrily: "The Lu of the food monarch is the matter of loyalty to the king." As officials of the Holy Tang Dynasty, it is incumbent upon us to do so. Princess, I also have a suggestion, should I contact the king of Hejian in advance, tell me about the current situation, and strive for the two sides to join forces against the harem? ”

Hearing this, Li Xi agreed: "Yes, you can do it as soon as possible." Those who were allowed to visit the emperor in the palace today were all members of the Li royal family, including Li Maoxun. When he left the palace, he had been frowning and sighing, and he probably had already moved his doubts. Find him at this time, let's take precautions together, I don't think the king of Hejian will refuse. ”