Princess Fangling was first married to Dou Fengjie, the nephew of Empress Dou, the mother of the late emperor Li Shimin, but during this period she had an affair with Yang Yuzhi, the daughter of Li Yuanji, the king of Chaosi, and the consort of Shouchun County.
And this Yang Yuzhi was not an outsider, but the half-sister of Princess Fangling, the son of Princess Changguang and Yang Shidao, who was then Zhongshu Ling.
Li Hong just shook his head after hearing this. The royal affairs were so chaotic that he could no longer figure out who was with whom. If Hua Meng and Cheetah hadn't been in the palace back then, and they could be considered people with ears to all directions, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to do this. knew.
"Then did Dou Fengjie just let them have an affair? Didn't he notice it?" Li Hong asked gossiping.
"Of course I know, but Duke Dou has never caught the clue. Until the death of Princess Changguang, Yang Yuzhi continued to have an affair with Princess Fangling during the mourning period. Later, he was caught by Dou Fengjie and his retainers led by Duke Dou. She was executed by lynching. However, Dou Guogong became a joke among the nobles of Chang'an City, and the two were later separated by the late emperor. It was not until the fifth year of Yonghui that his Majesty changed her title to Princess Fangling and married her now. The prince-in-law Murongjia."
"Murongjia? The father of Murong Bin, the husband of Yuyao County Lord?" Li Hong suddenly raised his head, looked at Hua Meng and asked.
"Yes, he is the father of Murong Bin, the husband of Yuyao County Lord Li Lin."
"Princess Fangling has no children. Neither Dou Fengjie nor Murong Jia has a son or a half left. Will she be involved in this matter?" Li Hong was holding a small branch in his hand and was messing around on the ground. He pulled her back, wondering if Princess Fangling might be an accomplice of Li Qian and others.
At this time, Hua Meng wisely shut up. This was a royal matter and it was inconvenient for him to express his opinion. However, he could only speak about the royal past if His Highness asked about it. If he didn't ask, he would naturally not speak out. Even one word.
Li Hong, who pondered for a long time, did not fully understand whether Princess Fangling was in cahoots with Quan Shancai and the others, or whether she was also involved in their affairs.
Although this person lacks moral character, he has always maintained an excellent relationship with the royal family. He also keeps a low profile and has a good reputation among the people. If she gets involved, it will not be a good thing.
Chengdu Prefecture is known as the land of abundance and is called a natural warehouse. Whether it is food or other things, it can be self-sufficient and even ensure the food shortage of the imperial court.
What's more, when Zhuge Liang wrote "Longzhong Dui", he also attached great importance to Yizhou, the land of Bashu: "Yizhou is a dangerous fortress with thousands of miles of fertile fields. It is a land of abundance. The great ancestor used it to become an emperor."
From these few sentences, we can see that Chengdu Mansion occupies an extremely important position both strategically and in terms of food. Therefore, the royal family has always valued this place as a place where the Tang Dynasty could avoid chaos and war.
Quan Shancai and Su Honghui accepted Fan Huaiyi's accusations frankly. After a few quibbles in the face of Fan Huaiyi's accusations at the beginning, the two easily confessed that they had forced Fan Huaiyi's wife to surrender and forced Fan Huaiyi to submit.
But they forced Fan Huaiyi solely because they impeached him for cutting down trees in Zhaoling, and they flatly denied the smuggling of grain.
Fan Huaiyi had no choice but to ask Li Hong for permission to go to Dujiangyan to retrieve the evidence he had hidden.
So during this day, Li Hong has been waiting in this thatched house. Quan Shancai and Su Honghui, because of Li Hong's order, could only spend their time here. In addition, the guards monitored the two very strictly, so they He couldn't even think of running away.
Wen Wen dutifully prepared meals for Li Hong with other guards, including Hua Meng and Cheetah. Only when she had free time could she occasionally hide in one place and think secretly.
A dozen other rangers are now being held in a thatched hut, their freedom restricted by the guards.
"Who is there in your family? Why did you choose to be a ranger?" Li Hong sat by the lake, holding the fishing rod made by Hua Meng, and fished by the lake again.
Wen Wen served next to him, looking at the empty fish basket with some disappointment as she thought about her thoughts. She didn't know whether her slightly disappointed look was because she was arrested by the government, or because the prince was alone. It's been an hour, but not even a single fish has been caught.
An hour ago, she remembered clearly that His Highness the Prince had vowed to herself that he would have a bonfire and eat grilled fish at night, but now... there was nothing in the fish basket except lake water.
Wen Wen was awakened from her disappointed thoughts by Li Hong's words. After sorting out her thoughts for a moment, she replied: "Back to Your Highness, my daughter grew up with the master. She has been with the master as long as she can remember, and later she was with the master. Built this star-gaining temple.”
"What about your master?" Li Hong turned his head and looked at Wen Wen. His jade-white face made Wen Wen's long eyelashes even more gentle and beautiful. He looked at the lake with a somewhat lonely expression.
"I don't know where I went. I left after the first day and didn't come back." Wen Wen sighed, feeling like a reed floating on the lake. It finally drifted to the shore with the wind, but it also drifted to life. The end of.
"Does your master have close contacts with the Du, Gao, Wang, and Xue families of Chengdu Prefecture? Could that mysterious person be your master..."
Wen Wen didn't wait for Li Hong to finish, then he shook his head at the sparkling lake. The setting sun crossed the mountain peaks and shone on the lake, causing a dazzling golden color to gradually appear on the lake.
As for this question, this is the question that Li Hong has asked her seventy or eighty times today, and the beginning of each question is the same, starting from his parents.
"When Master was here, mysterious people kept appearing, so the mysterious person cannot be Master's. I heard them talk about it from the four major families, but... I don't know what the four major families are." Wen Wen turned her head and said this This was the second time today that she dared to look at Li Hong.
That beautiful face, under the afterglow of the setting sun and reflected by the golden lake, shone with a trace of confusion. Those beautiful eyes, as gentle as her name, also looked with some hesitation and helplessness, staring blankly. By Li Hong.
"So, you have a high status in the Taoist temple?" Li Hong liked to look at Wen Wen's gentle eyes, which contained some strength and weakness in the helplessness, especially the fluttering eyelashes when they blinked. Those eyes add a touch of beauty that makes people's hearts flutter.
"Well, Wen Wen likes living in the Taoist temple very much. Everyone is very kind to me. I don't have to worry about food and clothing. I feel comfortable and happy every day. All I need to do is practice my martial arts every day."
"Have you never been down the mountain? Have you never been in contact with other people?" Li Hong felt that this beautiful woman was like an isolated... beautiful savage
Wen Wen smiled. After hearing Li Hong's words, Wen Wen's eyes curved into a crescent shape, as if the frozen water finally melted in the warm sun, revealing a gentle poetry.
"Of course I have gone down the mountain before, and I will go down the mountain often. Naturally, I go to Chengdu Mansion often. I like everything about Chengdu Mansion, including the people." After a day, Wen Rou is no longer as nervous about Li Hong as before, especially As long as she didn't think about Li Hong's cruel methods when he killed people that night, she even felt that His Highness the Crown Prince could give people a sense of warmth.
At the very least, he had no airs. Whether it was toward his subordinates or toward himself, his senior brothers, and the group of rangers who had assassinated him, he never behaved as harshly as he did that night. He didn't look like a high-ranking prince at all.
"Then you went down the mountain just to be a ranger, right? You didn't just want to assassinate the officials of my Datang Dynasty, right? If you go down the mountain, I will lose the lives of several officials. Sooner or later, one day, my officials of the Tang Dynasty will be killed." Aren't you going to kill all the officials?" Li Hong said with a gentle smile on his face, looking at Wen Wen.
Although the words he said were what Wen Wen was most afraid of talking about, because of Li Hong's gentle tone, it didn't make Wen Wen feel uncomfortable all of a sudden. However, the jade-like cheeks were quickly stained with a blush under the setting sun. Embarrassed, he quickly lowered his head and continued to look at the empty fish basket.
"Ranger can act chivalrously, uphold justice for the good people, and let those officials who commit evil crimes and oppress the people be punished as they should be. Although it is contrary to the government, but... you... I didn't say you, I meant... It means that there are indeed evil officials here who deserve what they deserve and who oppress the people. However, after they are sent to the government, they are often given a symbolic reprimand and then let go. After that, they still go their own way and do not take anything from the people. Life and death were at the heart. There was an old woman who was forced to death by the government. One of her two sons was living alone with a servant. If the family hadn't been rich and her two sons were dead, the old woman would have had no one. Wouldn’t it be more pitiful to take care of you?”
"Pity?" Li Hong looked at the empty fish basket and smiled softly after speaking for a long time, and continued to ask: "Then have you ever thought about what happens after an official is killed by you? , what should his family do? Without the salary given to them by the court, the pension of our Tang Dynasty is not very high for civil servants. Do you think the officials’ wives and children are pitiful after they lose the only breadwinner of the family? Is it pity? Is it the old woman you say is pity, or is it the officials’ wives and children?”
"They are all pitiful, but... that old lady is very kind and treats me very well." Wen Wen finally turned her gaze from the empty fish basket, tilted her head and moved it to Li Hong's face.
"People are divided into good and bad, and things are right and wrong. People who treat you well are not necessarily good people, and people who are not good to you are not necessarily bad people. But no matter what kind of person or thing , Anyone who violates the laws of the Tang Dynasty should be punished by the government, not you rangers." Seeing Wen Wen about to retaliate, Li Hong finally added: "No matter whether the government acted or not, the rangers have no qualifications to do so. "
(End of chapter)