The Imperial Palace sent a fast horse to Shouzhou, but it was still a step too late and failed to intercept the messenger sent by Fan Zhi to Shouzhou. The matter could not be solved, and Yang Shiliang and others did not act rashly for a while, but increased their manpower to secretly investigate the Guo family in Shouzhou and the Fan family in Tokyo, and the Fan family held the funeral as usual.
When the emperor re-granted Li Chuyun military power, he was originally going to prepare to quell the rebellion in Shouzhou; but unexpectedly, Li Chuyun died, and the order to transfer troops was also stopped. For a time, the court had no time to do anything about the old party's rebellion.
The matter dragged on for ten days when suddenly an urgent report was sent to Tokyo: Guo Jin had been killed.
It turned out that after Fan Zhi reminded Guo Jin, Guo Jin restrained himself and wanted to wait for the right time. However, his secret conspirators were afraid that the court would send troops to capture Shouzhou and settle accounts, so they suddenly mutinied and killed Guo Shao, and searched out his secret letters and other items of rebellion and presented them to the court to ask for credit.
Some handwritten letters of Fan Zhi were taken out from Guo Jin's house as real evidence. The funeral of Fan's family could not be held because the imperial guards soon surrounded Fan's house, imprisoned his family members, and searched the house.
Soon, many of those implicated were convicted and imprisoned.
Guo Shao summoned Wang Pu, Huang Binglian and Yang Shiliang to the Yangde Hall and asked them to combine the three major cases of Fan Guo and other old party members' rebellion against the Zhao family and the conspiracy to assassinate the emperor and Li Chuyun's poisoning to take charge of the overall situation.
Huang Binglian said: The ins and outs of the rebellion of Fan and Guo and their followers have been roughly figured out. They simply wanted to take advantage of Your Majesty's illness and political turmoil to support the restoration of Zheng Wang Chai Zongxun. The Zhao family and the bribed officials conspired to murder the king. It was the collusion of Your Majesty's enemy Xiao Siwen and the old enemy Zhao family. Founding Duke Li Chuyun was poisoned to death. It has now been confirmed that it was done by his aide Zhongli, but his motives have not been found out, and Zhongli is also dead.
Guo Shao sat on the couch, his body and spirit still weak, recovering very slowly. He spoke very little, and after listening, he just asked: Are there any connections between these three forces
Huang Binglian said: Your Majesty, there is no connection. They each have different goals.
Guo Shao rubbed his forehead with his palm, frowned and asked: Since Zhong Li is dead and has no motive, how can we be sure that he was the one who poisoned the founding Duke
Although Guo Shao was in poor health, he still grasped the key points from a large amount of reported information.
Huang Binglian seemed a little surprised, clasped his fists and bowed, saying: "We have found some IOUs from Zhongli's residence, signed by Li Liangshi, the cousin of the founding duke. We immediately arrested Li Liangshi and tortured him, and his confession has been stored in the case. Judging from Li Liangshi's confession, Zhongli became the founding duke's confidant and aide, which was intentional; and the piece of paper in his mouth that was intended to frame him was also intentional, which made things more obvious.
After listening to this, Guo Shao nodded thoughtfully and turned to look at the crumpled piece of paper on the table.
You are ordered by the emperor to get rid of Li Chuyun, make amends for your mistakes, and seek peace for your relatives and friends. Whose order is this? It certainly is not the order of the Emperor of Liao, but the order of Emperor Daxu; otherwise, the phrase "make amends for your mistakes" does not make sense. Zhongli, a person who has never been to Liao, has no mistakes, and he does not need to make any contributions to Liao.
Huang Binglian said: "But why Zhongli wanted to harm Li Gong is really confusing. He originally lived in seclusion in Mount Zhongnan and practiced Taoism. He was known as a hermit far and wide. Later, he was invited out of the mountains by Li Yun of Hedong to be a counselor. He lived in Hedong for many years. When Li Yun was plotting a rebellion, Zhongli repeatedly dissuaded him. Therefore, Li Yun was destroyed. When his followers were cleared, he was released because of the government's tolerance."
Li Yun's party had already been completely destroyed and disbanded. At that time, the government had investigated Zhong Li's background and found that he was not a dangerous person. Therefore, the court was able to let him go, and Li Chuyun must have examined his identity before he dared to use him.
Guo Shao pondered and said: Why did Zhong Li use such extreme means to harm the founding Duke
The three people standing opposite Guo Shao looked at each other, and no one could answer.
Yang Shiliang said carefully: Your Majesty, the deceased Zhongli intended to frame the court for Li Gong's death. Perhaps he was not targeting Li Gong, but was angry at the entire Daxu. It seems that the old man still remembered the kindness of his old master and wanted to avenge his old master Li Yun.
Guo Shao thought for a long time and shook his head slightly: He hated me so much that he would resort to any means, just because the favor of knowing me was not acceptable. Zhong Li's background after becoming a Taoist priest is well documented. What did he do before he became a Taoist priest
Yang Shiliang said: "In the past few decades, there have been wars and chaos all over the country, and countless people have been displaced. And because it has been a long time, it is impossible to trace it now."
Guo Shao did not blame them after hearing this. Even among the generals of the imperial army, some had been servants of other families, and some had been refugees. It was very difficult to verify with real evidence. This was the situation just after the end of the chaotic times.
There was silence in the Yangde Hall for a while, and everyone seemed to be thinking about Zhong Li.
Guo Shao's way of thinking is different from that of the ancients, because he was educated differently from a very early age. He thought about this matter in this way: First, Zhongli's relationship with the important monarch and minister of Daxu only intersects with one place, that is Li Yun; second, to do such a big thing as poisoning Li Chuyun, there must be a deep grudge relationship. From this, it can be inferred that the key reason at this time is how Zhongli's life experience in the first half of his life that disappeared could be related to Li Yun.
Zhongli, this name is very strange. Guo Shao said slowly, maybe this person had changed his name and surname, and was also a member of the Li family before. The court exterminated Li Yun's entire family for treason, so Zhongli avenged his family.
The expressions of Wang Pu and the other three changed. Huang Binglian said hurriedly: Your Majesty is wise, this makes sense. But how can we verify the speculation
Guo Shao said calmly: At this point, the facts may not be important. What the court needs most is not the facts, but explanations.
The ministers nodded slightly.
What Guo Shao meant was that since the truth could not be found out, he had to create a truth to give an explanation to Li Chuyun's family, especially Concubine Li Yuaner.
At this time, Yang Shiliang said seriously: Your Majesty reminded me that I remembered that a Taoist priest in Zhongnan Mountain could testify that Zhongli's surname was Li before he became a monk.
Guo Shao and others were stunned. If there was such important news, why did Yang Shiliang say it now? Guo Shao did not ask and pretended that he had not thought about this part. He immediately said: Send someone immediately to get the confession of this person.
Yang Shiliang clasped his fists and said: I obey your order.
Wang Pu added: Zhongli not only hides his family hatred, but also colludes with Fan Guo and the spies of the Zhao family and Liao country. Several forces are plotting evil. This is a big situation. Unfortunately, the devil is always higher than the Tao. Even if several major undercurrents collude, they still cannot escape destruction. Daxu's foundation is unbreakable.
Guo Shao immediately understood what Wang Pu meant. The more powerful the internal rebellion was, the more it would show the strength of the court. This would tell the world that even such a powerful force could not succeed, and those with ulterior motives would have to consider how much strength they had.
Guo Shao immediately said seriously: Envoy Wang has a sharp eye and can see through the conspiracy at a glance.
Only Huang Binglian stood there with a puzzled look on his face, while everyone else spoke seriously as if it were true. Guo Shaoguan thought that Huang Binglian was best at criminal law, and his political strategy was somewhat lacking. However, he said nothing and did not question it, which showed that he had some experience in assisting the cabinet for so many years.
The three ministers took their leave, and Guo Shao did not deal with the memorials. He rested for a while in the Yangde Hall, then slowly filled a teacup with water to water the plants in the pots.
Soon, Fu Jinzhan came in from the study. Guo Shao put down the cup in his hand, sat down on the couch, patted the seat next to him, and said: I should take the initiative to show Li Yuaner the case file after the case is finalized, but I don't know if she believes it.
Jinzhan sat down and said softly: As long as Your Majesty is not suspected, it will be beneficial to the country's government.
Guo Shao sighed and said to Jinzhan in a kind way: Jinzhan has given so much for me, and I wanted to repay you for your kindness. However, now that I have everything, I can't give you anything. Instead, I have caused Jinzhan to fall into constant trouble.
Fu Jinzhan looked at Guo Shao with a half-smile: Your Majesty, how do you want to compensate me
Guo Shaodao: Give you the best things, make you noble and wealthy, let you live a happy life, have everything you want, and do whatever you want.
Shaoger Jinzhan's tone suddenly changed.
When Guo Shao heard this name, he stopped talking and stared at her.
Jinzhan whispered: Shao Ge'er's former sister, and I now, don't want anything in return.
Guo Shao asked casually: What do you want
Jinzhan said: What I want, Shao Ge'er has already given me. In the most difficult and dangerous times, who are you willing to give your life's efforts to, who are you willing to trust
Guo Shao pondered for a long time.
Jinzhan smiled: "Everyone is for themselves. In times of crisis, there is no need to talk about feelings. Shao Ge'er's behavior at that time was your truest side. You believe in me, and I believe in you."
Guo Shao gradually understood Jinzhan's meaning, and the two looked at each other silently. Time seemed to be frozen here like the motionless light coming in through the window.
Jinzhan said softly: I don't want Shao Ge'er to give me anything. Shao Ge'er can't let go of those thoughts of compensation, but it's meaningless. You are such a wise person, don't you think that if the simplest things are difficult for you, how can I be happy easily? If you are happy, why shouldn't I be comfortable
Guo Shao was stunned there, as if he felt that Jinzhan's words made sense, but why couldn't he let go of it for so many years
Perhaps everyone has obsessions and weaknesses. A wise man may not be able to see clearly what seems to be very simple to ordinary people.
Shao Ge'er, you should let it go. Jinzhan's voice was like a spell, letting go of the sister who had passed away, and also letting go of the gratitude towards me.
The soothing and charming voice seemed to be ethereal and mysterious, coming from the void of the sky. Guo Shao was confused, as if he suddenly didn't know where he was, who he was, what he was doing, and why he was doing it.