plumnovel Chapter 36 Su Wan interrogates Xiao Deyan, Crown Prince bravely attends the Hongmen Banquet
Chapter 36 Su Wan interrogates Xiao Deyan, Crown Prince bravely attends the Hongmen Banquet
When Xiao Deyan and Sai Xishi arrived at the thatched hut, Xiao Deyan saw two horses tied up in front of the door and wondered, "Whose horses are these?"
Sai Xishi was a little flustered, but on the surface, she remained calm: "I don't know either, it wasn't there when I left."
Do you have any relatives who are government officials?
"I'm not sure either. Let's go inside and take a look."
Sai Xishi was afraid he wouldn't come inside, so she grabbed his arm and pulled him inside!
As soon as Xiao Deyan entered the room, he heard a man in black say, "Don't move, or I'll kill you!"
Xiao Deyan was shocked to see a sharp sword pointed at his throat. He was terrified and cried out, "Brave warrior, don't kill me! Let's talk this over!"
The man in black who spoke was Su Gui.
Xiao Deyan looked at Sai Xishi's mother and saw that she had a rosy complexion and was in good spirits, showing no signs of illness.
He thought to himself that Sai Xishi, that vixen, had colluded with outsiders to deceive him. He had spent so much money on her, had it all gone down the drain?
Su Wan's voice was icy: "What's your name?"
"My name is Xiao Deyan."
Are you from the Literature Museum?
"Exactly."
What do you do every day in the literature museum?
"Our main task at present is to compile the 'Kuodi Zhi' (a local gazetteer), and we have to consult a lot of materials every day."
"Besides that, what else did you do?"
"That's about it, basically nothing else."
"Um?"
Su Gui pushed the sword forward a few more inches, the tip pressed against Xiao Deyan's throat, and blood was already being drawn!
If Su Gui had applied just a little more force to his wrist, Xiao Deyan would have died instantly.
"Oh, I'll talk, I'll talk." Xiao Deyan's voice trembled, and sweat beaded on his forehead. After all, no one's life comes from a sudden storm.
Su Gui thought this kind of person was a scoundrel, and he wouldn't know fear unless he was taught a lesson.
"After we finish our work each day, we sometimes go to Pingkangfang Beili for drinks with other colleagues."
"You went to Beili?" Su Wan was also taken aback, because everyone knew that it was Chang'an's red-light district.
"Yes."
"Just drinking?"
"Occasionally, I'll invite a few girls to drink with me."
"and then?"
"If you drink too much, then... you can stay there overnight."
Ok?
Upon hearing this, Sai Xishi was so angry that she was practically fuming.
She jumped over and slapped Xiao Deyan twice across the face. Pointing at his nose, she cursed, "So this is the kind of person you are! You have me, but you're still not satisfied and go play with other women!"
I was so blind to have mistaken you for a good person!
Xiao Deyan was a little dazed from the beating, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth: "Sai Xishi, don't be angry, I... I was just playing along!"
"What, just playing around? I'll go sleep with another man tomorrow, just for fun, okay?"
"Uh—." Xiao Deyan was speechless.
Xue'er pulled Sai Xishi aside and comforted her, saying, "Men are all like that, you'll get used to it."
Upon hearing this, Su Wan couldn't bring herself to laugh. With a stern face, she continued, "That's not what I'm asking. I'm asking you, did Li Tai leave any instructions before he went to Yangzhou?"
"Before leaving, the Prince of Yue convened a meeting with us and made some arrangements, such as submitting a memorial to the Emperor to impeach the Crown Prince for his close ties with the Commander of the Imperial Guards, assassinating the person who reported to the Emperor that the Eastern Palace had buried a wooden figure, arresting Su Wan, the eldest daughter of the Secretary Su Dan, and severely punishing Du He. In addition, he arranged for people to monitor the Eastern Palace's every move and collect all evidence that was unfavorable to the Crown Prince."
After hearing this, Su Wan and Xue'er exchanged a glance. Su Wan thought to herself that the person who came to her residence that night and tried to assault her was indeed sent by Li Tai, and that he had also injured Xue'er.
"I'll ask you again, who was the person sent to Lord Su's residence?"
"I really don't know that. I only know that the King of Yue kept a group of assassins under his command, and he was just one of them."
Hearing Xiao Deyan's words, Su Wan's suspicions were completely confirmed. Sure enough, Li Tai had other assassins under his command, and more than one.
How many assassins does Li Tai have in total?
"I don't know exactly how many there are, but it's no less than twenty. They are all heroes of the outlaw world, and each of them has unique skills."
Su Wan thought to herself, no wonder Li Tai was so arrogant. He had a wealth of talented people under his command, including civil officials, military generals, assassins, and doctors.
"What are your next plans?"
"The King of Yue plans to return to Chang'an in five days under the pretext of checking on the progress of the compilation of the 'Kuodi Zhi' (Records of the Land). He will invite the Crown Prince to the Daxingshan Temple in the east of Chang'an to welcome him. His plan is to kill the Crown Prince at the welcoming banquet and then lie to the Emperor that the Crown Prince has died suddenly from an illness!"
Upon hearing this, Su Wan, Su Gui, and Xue'er were all shocked. They hadn't expected Li Tai to be so quick to poison the Crown Prince, and that the plan was so meticulously crafted and discreet.
Fortunately, they knew about the plan beforehand; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
"Li Tai is really ruthless; he could even bring himself to harm his own brother and take them all away!"
For safety reasons, Su Gui tied up Xiao Deyan, Sai Xishi, and Sai Xishi's mother with ropes, carried them to horseback, and put them in the Imperial Guard's prison. She assigned special guards to watch over them, and of course, publicly claimed that she had only captured a few thieves.
The Eastern Palace.
Ever since Su Wan told Li Chengqian her thoughts, Li Chengqian had been feeling uneasy.
Li Chengqian thought that Su Wan's "cutting off the fuel supply" plan seemed pretty good. So, were there any such cases in history?
Wherever his thoughts led him, the screen of the strategy simulator displayed:
During the Three Kingdoms period, Emperor Xian of Han, Liu Xie, was gradually sidelined by his ministers.
Yuan Shao gave General He Jin a terrible idea: summon Dong Zhuo to the capital to intimidate Empress Dowager He and deal with the "Ten Attendants";
However, He Jin never expected that the eunuch clique would strike first and kill him!
The Liangzhou soldiers under Dong Zhuo were brave and skilled in battle, rarely encountering their match. He held absolute power, controlling the court and gradually replacing those ministers who opposed him with his own trusted confidants, killing or exiling them.
Later, Wang Yun used a double-dealing scheme, presenting Diao Chan to Lü Bu in marriage. He first promised her to Lü Bu, then secretly gave her to Dong Zhuo. This created conflict between Lü Bu and Dong Zhuo, ultimately leading Lü Bu to kill Dong Zhuo.
Following Dong Zhuo, his subordinates Li Jue and Guo Si raised troops to attack, claiming to avenge Dong Zhuo. They killed Wang Yun, drove away Lü Bu, and seized control of the court, leaving Emperor Xian of Han still a figurehead.
Cao Cao arrived, and he preemptively welcomed Emperor Xian of Han into Xuchang, whereupon Emperor Xian fell into Cao Cao's hands once again.
Although Cao Cao outwardly showed great respect for Emperor Xian of Han, his methods were far more sophisticated. He used Emperor Xian as a trump card, "holding the emperor hostage to command the feudal lords." Cao Cao placed his own confidants in various important positions both inside and outside the court, effectively sidelining Emperor Xian.
However, history played a cruel joke on Cao Cao. Just as he initially sidelined Liu Bang's descendants, the Sima family did the same in the later stages of the Cao Wei regime.
As time went by, the Sima family gradually grew stronger. After the deaths of Cao Pi and Cao Rui, Cao Fang and Cao Mao were essentially sidelined by the Sima family. They attempted to rebel, but their resistance was weak and ineffective. Their schemes were poorly planned and quickly discovered and suppressed by the Sima family.
Cao Shuang, the son of Cao Zhen, was a brave but reckless fellow. As a general, he could not distinguish between truth and falsehood. Sima Yi only pretended to be sick once, and he was completely fooled.
As a result, Cao Shuang lowered his guard and indulged in hunting and revelry outside the city. In the first year of the Jiaping era, Sima Yi seized the opportunity to launch the Incident at Gaoping Tombs, ultimately eliminating Cao Shuang and seizing power in the court.
After the Incident at Gaoping Tombs, Cao Huan became a puppet emperor, manipulated by others, and ultimately had no choice but to abdicate in favor of Sima Yan; Sima Yan established the Jin Dynasty.
Furthermore, when Li Shimin was the Prince of Qin, he began to gradually win over and cultivate relationships with some ministers and generals, including Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, Hou Junji, Li Jing, Xu Shiji, Yuchi Gong, and Changsun Wuji, who gradually became his confidants.
After the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Wei Zheng and Xue Wanche, former subordinates of Crown Prince Li Jiancheng, also wholeheartedly submitted to him. Most of the important positions inside and outside the court were filled by Li Shimin's people, and Li Yuan was completely sidelined.
After recognizing the situation, Li Yuan was forced to abdicate in favor of Li Shimin.
Um?
Li Chengqian thought to himself, "Did my father do something like this too? He actually sidelined my grandfather."
Therefore, Su Wan's plan still has a chance of success. If she can get rid of everyone around Qing Que, then Qing Que will be all alone, and he'll be all jumping around by himself.
Just as Li Chengqian was lost in thought, Su Wan walked in from outside.
"Your Highness, it's so late, why aren't you asleep yet?" Su Wan looked at Li Chengqian with her beautiful eyes, her voice soft.
"Not yet, what brings you here?"
Su Wan gently stroked her temples and smiled, "Let me give you an update on the situation."
"Any new developments?"
Su Wan then recounted the recent events to Li Chengqian.
Li Chengqian was also surprised after hearing this: "You didn't kill Fang Yi'ai, did you?"
Su Wan smiled: "No, that won't happen. He'll just be in a coma for about a month."
"I didn't expect the physician who treated Xue'er to be so skilled; even Physician Sun couldn't diagnose her condition."
"Yes, from now on, if we don't like someone, we'll get some more medicine from the physician and make him drink it, turning him into a living dead."
One sentence made Li Chengqian turn pale: "Such methods may work once in a while, but they won't work if used too often. If someone finds out, it will also implicate that physician."
"That's true," Su Wan paused, "Don't you think all scholars are prone to romantic escapades?"
Li Chengqian frowned: "What do you mean by that?"
"Putting aside other things, take Xiao Deyan for example. He looks dignified and like a gentleman. He is already married, but who knew that he was keeping a woman named Sai Xishi in the south of Chang'an City. He was very close to her and even pretended to be her son-in-law when he went to visit his mother-in-law."
Li Chengqian stood up, put his hands in his sleeves, and paced back and forth in the hall: "You can't say that. Xiao Deyan can only represent himself, not all scholars."
When the emperor allowed Qingque to recruit scholars according to his own preferences, some people objected. However, the emperor did not listen. People often say that birds of a feather flock together. Given Qingque's nature, what kind of virtuous people could he possibly recruit?
No one is perfect. Xiao Deyan's moral character is flawed, but his strategic thinking and talent are quite good. We can't condemn him outright.
"I've already had Su Gui lock him up in the Imperial Guard's dungeon. Let him suffer a bit first."
Overall, you did a good job.
Having received Li Chengqian's praise, Su Wan's face was full of satisfaction: "Li Tai has temporarily lost Fang Yi'ai as his informant, and he has also lost Xiao Deyan as his right-hand man. I think this is a blow to Li Tai, and it is also a warning to him. I hope he can restrain himself."
Li Chengqian shook his head: "Qingque is ambitious. He won't give up until he wins the position of Crown Prince."
"According to Xiao Deyan, Li Tai is returning to Chang'an soon, and he has arranged a 'Hongmen Banquet' outside the city to invite you there. They plan to kill you at the banquet!"
Li Chengqian stared out the window, his pupils gradually shrinking: "Did Xiao Deyan really say that?"
Su Wan nodded.
Li Chengqian felt a pang of heartache.
He remained silent for a long time, then said calmly, "If he invites me, wouldn't it make me seem cowardly and impolite if I didn't go?"
"But if you go, it'll be like a lamb entering a tiger's den, a dragon's pool and a tiger's lair. The chances of survival are slim," Su Wan said with a worried expression.
Li Chengqian waved his hand, interrupting her: "I've made up my mind, I must go! I'd like to see just what tricks Qingque has up her sleeve."
Su Wan understood Li Chengqian's temperament and knew that once he made up his mind, nothing could change it: "If you really want to go, then I'll go with you."
"No need. You don't know martial arts. Your presence would only make me worry."
Su Wan thought about it and felt that Li Chengqian's words made sense: "Then you should take more men with you."
Li Chengqian laughed: "I'm going to a banquet, not to fight a war. Why bring so many people?"
"Then let Su Gui go with you."
Li Chengqian nodded in agreement.
Sure enough, two days later, Li Chengqian received a letter from Li Tai. When he opened it, he read that the letter said that he had been separated from his elder brother for some time and did not miss him much.
Father Emperor entrusted me with the task of compiling the "Kuodi Zhi" (Records of the Land), which is of great importance. Therefore, I am returning to Chang'an this time to check whether the people in the Literary Academy are slacking off, and to inspect their progress and quality of compilation, so as to prevent them from producing shoddy work.
I plan to visit the Daxingshan Temple in the east of Chang'an City three days from now. I have heard that it is the ancestral temple of the Esoteric School, one of the eight schools of Buddhism. I will prepare a vegetarian meal there to welcome Your Majesty. Words cannot express all that I have to say.
After reading it, Li Chengqian sneered and immediately wrote a reply, which he sent back to Li Tai. The letter was very simple: Qingque, I miss you very much and will definitely attend the banquet on time.