Li Hong didn't stay in Lantian for a few days, and before he saw Pei Wanying's beautiful figure, he was recalled to Chang'an by his mother.
Rushing to the back of Penglai Hall in the Daming Palace, I saw Long Ma sitting thoughtfully at the top, while standing next to her were Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi.
"My son has met with his mother. I wonder if there is something wrong with the queen's urgent summoning of my son back to the palace?" Li Hong looked at Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi and asked with doubt in his heart.
"Listen to what they say." Wu Mei said lightly, and then continued to think deeply.
"What happened? You were asked to report directly to the Queen, bypassing the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Finance?" Li Hong turned his head and looked at the two of them and asked.
"Back to Your Highness, Helan Minyue is dead."
"What? How did you die?" Li Hong was shocked. How could Helan Minyue, who had been keeping vigil for Long Ma's mother, Mrs. Rong Guo, die for no reason.
Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi looked at each other, looking a little hesitant and hesitant when faced with Li Hong's questioning. They obviously knew the inside story, but didn't know what to say.
Wu Mei sighed, pointed to a piece of paper on the table, and said lightly: "It is said that this was left behind by Min Yue when she died. Take a look."
A bad premonition suddenly came to Li Hong's heart. He frowned and looked at Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi. Then he walked to Wu Mei and picked up the paper on the table. As expected, there was just an extremely scrawled line on it. The handwriting: "The prince ordered me to be killed, and I will die without regrets."
Xianyang is only a hundred miles away from Chang'an. If Helan Minyue is dead, why haven't I received the news yet, while Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi got the news first
"I asked someone to compare it. This is indeed Helan Minyue's handwriting. Although it is very sloppy, I can confirm that it was written by her in an emergency situation." Wu Mei looked at Li Hong, with a faint look, and her eyes were extremely meaningful. distinct.
"When did this happen?" Li Hong looked at Wu Mei's questioning eyes and did not answer. Instead, he continued to question Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi.
"What happened yesterday was that other people who were keeping watch over Mrs. Rongguo found that Helan Minyue had not seen her for two days, so they went to look for her. Unexpectedly, she had died of anger." Wu Chengsi's eyes clearly read Li Hong You are the murderer.
After knowing the whole story, Li Hong was no longer anxious. It was obvious that someone had set up a trap for him. I am afraid that the two bulky and round-waisted women he sent there were already dead people who could not speak. It is estimated that even the body may not be found.
"It seems like there is irrefutable evidence. I have to admit it even if I don't admit it. And I still have a motive for killing. After all, she and Li Zhong stopped me from returning to Chang'an last year, so I killed her. That's reasonable." Li Hong sneered and placed Helan Minyue's handwriting on the table again.
"Isn't it you who did it?" Wu Mei looked at Li Hong, her expression was still as calm as water, and she couldn't see any emotional fluctuations.
"I don't know." Li Hong looked up at the ceiling and said inexplicably: "I don't know if it was me. It depends on how much strong evidence they have prepared and whether it is all conclusive. If the evidence is conclusive, I'm afraid it is What I did.”
Wu Mei didn't speak and looked at Li Hong intently. After receiving the report from Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi, she immediately reacted. She didn't believe what Li Hong said, and she didn't believe what Li Hong said about murder just now. The motive is completely impossible to be the real reason for Li Hong to kill. What's more, if Li Hong really had murderous intentions, Helan Minyue would have died long ago, and he would not have been able to survive until now.
But then again, if he hadn't taken his father's feelings into consideration, that year, mother and son would have been in Luoyang and the other in Chang'an, working together to get rid of his sister: the Korean lady Wu Shun, and his mother's beloved nephew He Lan Minzhi , Helan Minyue.
Now, he, Li Hongke, will have to pay the price for his original indecision.
The enemy also chose the time very well. After His Majesty's personal expedition to Liaodong, they started to take action. When the news came that Helan Minyue was dead, they took advantage of the fact that Li Hong had considered His Majesty's feelings at the beginning and put this situation in the context of His Majesty's personal expedition. After setting it up, he was forced to do it, and Li Hong couldn't help but jump in.
Moreover, if you are Li Hong's enemy, you should make this game deeper, like a quagmire or swamp, so that Li Hong cannot escape.
That is, since Helan Minyue is dead, what about Li Zhong, who was imprisoned in Loulan by Li Hong? He should not be far from death, right
No matter what, Helan Minyue won't attract much attention. After all, he is just a relative of the emperor. Both himself and His Majesty should only frown slightly. What's more, since the year before last, His Majesty has almost completely forgotten about Helan Minyue.
But... what if the prince dies too? Even if a prince who was deposed as a commoner was framed to death by the current prince after His Majesty personally led the expedition? What's more, although Li Zhong is imprisoned in Loulan, His Majesty has never issued an order to demote Li Zhong to a commoner. He is still the prince of the Tang Dynasty, Prince Liang!
If Li Hong's enemies couldn't think of this, they would be really stupid. Do you think Helan Minyue can kill Li Hong just because he died? That would be so naive.
"Where is Helan Minyue's body now?" Wu Mei looked at Li Hong, who was frowning and thinking, and had to ask for him.
"Back to the queen, she is still in Xianyang County. Because there is no decree, the Xianyang County magistrate just carefully placed Sister Minyue... Oh no, Helan Minyue's body was carefully placed." Wu Sansi did not expect that Wu Mei would ask the question on Li Hong's behalf. He almost called out Sister Minyue like before.
"How did you die?" Wu Mei's expression was slightly dissatisfied, but it only faded away.
"He died of poisoning. It was the same poison that Wang Jing and Wang Kang of the Wang family in Jinyang were poisoned back then." This time it was Wu Chengsi who answered.
Hearing the names of Wang Jing and Wang Kang, Li Hong laughed again. This opponent was quite attentive. He knew that both his father and mother knew that Wang Jing and Wang Kang were poisoned by his own orders back then, and they still use poison now. To poison Helan Minyue to death was obviously his own fault.
Li Hong paced back and forth in front of Wu Mei, almost making Wu Mei dizzy. Then he raised his head and murmured: "What happened yesterday, the tombkeeper said that Helan Minyue didn't come out for two days in a row. In other words, in the end, At least as of today, he has been dead for four days at the latest. It may even take longer? You two go and wait outside the palace gate. Maybe there will be a memorial from the red feather messenger soon. come over."
Wu Chengsi and Wu San thought for a moment, wondering what the Crown Prince meant by this move. And now that he is a murderer, why can he still be so confident? Shouldn't we kneel down in front of the queen and cry loudly: "My son has been wronged, and I hope my mother and father will understand clearly?"
Wu Mei looked at Li Hong, who still looked a little leisurely and was giving orders to Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi, then looked at Wu Chengsi and said, "Go and see if it is as he said."
"Yes, Queen, the nephew is leaving." Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi bowed respectfully before retreating.
Watching the two people leaving, Wu Mei asked: "What do you want to say again? Are you going to send them both out of the palace? Then if An Xi has an urgent memorial, shouldn't Fei Ge pass the message first?"
Wu Mei looked at Li Hong who just sat down next to her and asked with some confusion.
"Mother Yingming seems to have guessed that the boss in Anxi Loulan is probably in danger, isn't he?" Li Hong looked at Wu Mei's indifferent face and said with a smile: "Since they want to frame me, , using Helan Minyue is obviously not enough to incriminate me, at least it cannot make me feel threatened. Back then, Helan Minyue blocked me from returning to Chang'an, so I was charged with this crime. Even though I only realized it later, I think about it now. It's not an exaggeration to stand up and kill her. After all, I am the current crown prince, and He Lan Minyue will not be able to escape the death penalty for innocently blocking and assassinating the crown prince who returned home in triumph."
Wu Mei nodded in agreement. It seemed that her son was not stupid. No wonder he could remain so calm in front of her after hearing that Helan Minyue was killed by her. I am afraid this is also related to the tacit understanding between mother and son back then.
"Then do you think Li Zhong is dead?" Wu Mei glanced at Li Hong with raised eyebrows and asked.
"If the prediction is correct, he should be dead. By the way, you asked me just now why I didn't use flying pigeons to deliver messages. I guessed that they may not have the flying pigeons under their control. These flying pigeons have been controlled by Shangguan Yi and Chongwen Hall over the years. The control with Ren Yaxiang of the Ministry of War is extremely strict, not to mention the flying pigeons that can travel such a long distance between Chang'an and Anxi. Those are precious flying pigeons, and it is impossible for ordinary people to obtain them. Therefore, I think it is still possible for them to deliver the message as a red-feathered messenger. "Li Hong knew very well that it was extremely difficult to cultivate a group of carrier pigeons that could fly between Anxi and Chang'an. These carrier pigeons were not just any. People can have it.
Wu Mei nodded thoughtfully again and asked: "Then what are you going to do? I have taken the initiative this time. I want to kill you. However, the timing is also very appropriate. It happens to be before your father." After the emperor's personal expedition, this is to cause a conflict between you and your father. At least, your father will feel that the current prince and queen are not the prince and queen who were dominated by the emperor. As His Highness the Crown Prince's position becomes more and more stable, his ambitions are growing accordingly."
At the end of the sentence, a faint relaxed smile appeared on Wu Mei's face. Helan Minyue was her and Li Hong's common enemy. It could also be said that Li Hong understood his situation in the harem back then. As a son and a mother, Jieyou, so he teamed up with himself to get rid of Wu Shun and Helan Minyue.
He secretly ordered people to go to Prince Pu's Mansion where Wu Shun was imprisoned, and quietly killed Wu Shun. He originally expected him to kill the brother and sister in prison.
But in the end, he was still afraid of making his father unhappy, so he left his confidante Helan Minyue for his father indecisively. He wanted to please both sides, but now it was better to pay the price for his youth.
(End of chapter)