Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5546 Palace Purge

Chapter 5546 Palace Purge

In the Taiji Hall, Fang Jun looked at Empress Dowager Su, who was kneeling before the coffin, weeping uncontrollably, and suddenly felt as if he had never truly understood this woman. It was hard to imagine that just an incense stick's time ago, she had spoken to him intimately and without any restraint in the Wanchun Hall, and now she was experiencing such heart-wrenching, unbearable pain…

Or are all women born actresses?

He shook his head, too lazy to bother with it.

A eunuch bowed slightly and walked briskly behind Fang Jun, whispering that General Cheng Wuting of the Left Golden Guard was outside the hall and had urgent business to attend to.

Fang Jun looked around and saw that all the matters concerning His Majesty's funeral were proceeding in an orderly manner, with Minister of the Imperial Clan Li Yuanjia and Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices Wei Ting jointly managing the affairs, which was very appropriate.

He then apologized to Li Yuanjia, who was standing to the side, and temporarily withdrew from the Taiji Hall.

As he stepped out of the hall, he saw Cheng Wuting, wearing a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat, waiting to the side. Upon seeing him, Cheng Wuting quickly stepped forward, his tone slightly anxious: "Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, we just interrogated the rebels imprisoned in the Jingzhao Prefecture and Dali Temple prisons. One of them confessed that Tang Zhiqi, a censor, was an accomplice of Li Jingye. I personally led men to arrest Tang Zhiqi. According to his confession, Li Jingye had previously arranged for a group of people to go to Huating Town..."

Even Fang Jun, who was usually as calm and collected as a rock, couldn't help but be shocked by this news: "He wants to assassinate Meiniang?"

Cheng Wuting's expression was solemn: "Tang Zhiqi's confession is as follows. He said that the commander-in-chief's power mostly came from Shanghao. Li Jingye believed that even if the commander-in-chief could be killed in the process of plotting rebellion, there would still be concerns that the business would become too powerful and take the opportunity to cause trouble. As long as Wu Niangzi is successfully assassinated, the business will be leaderless and collapse in an instant."

Rainwater slid down the edge of his straw hat, Fang Jun's face was ashen, and cold sweat was visible on his forehead.

It must be admitted that Li Jingye's move to undermine the company's foundation was indeed ruthless. Once he and Meiniang died one after another, the imperial family, nobles, and powerful clans would inevitably turn against each other and fight each other for the huge profits of the business. The business, which was capable of making or breaking up a country, would fall apart in an instant.

Merchant firms, being the largest force operating outside of imperial power, would inevitably see a rise in imperial authority if eliminated.

With Mei Niang in charge of such a massive business, whose interests involve countless people, her security is naturally extremely cautious.

But anything can happen...

"I used to think this kid had a sincere and loyal heart, but now I realize he's actually as venomous and vicious as a snake!"

Chang'an is thousands of miles away from Huating Town. Even if he sent people to rescue them immediately, it would be too late. He could only grit his teeth and rage helplessly.

"Immediately send someone to Huating Town and bring the news back as soon as possible! If anything really happens to Meiniang, I'll rush to the Duke of Ying's mansion, drag Li Jingye's body out, throw it in the street, and tear it to pieces for wild dogs to devour!"

"Yes, Your Majesty! I will immediately dispatch elite troops to Huating Town, traveling day and night without delay!"

He could feel Fang Jun's anger, but although he said that, both of them knew that sending someone to Huating Town was just to get the news back as soon as possible. As for whether Wu Meiniang could escape the assassination, whether she lived or died, that was already a foregone conclusion.

……

Just as Cheng Wuting left, before Fang Jun could turn back to the Taiji Hall, he saw Princess Jinyang, dressed in a blue Taoist robe and with her hair tied up with a white jade hairpin, carrying an umbrella and accompanied by several maids, jogging from the direction of the Taiji Gate.

The candlelight illuminated the Taiji Hall and the entire square as bright as day, and the splashing rainwater dampened the corners of our clothes...

Princess Jinyang, who was usually calm, elegant, and poised, stopped in front of Fang Jun. Her chest heaved with rapid breathing, and her beautiful face was flushed from the exertion. Her eyes were already brimming with tears.

Upon hearing the news of His Majesty's death, she returned by carriage from Xuanqing Temple in Leyouyuan. She was in a daze and her mind was elsewhere the whole way, and she could not believe the news of her emperor brother's death no matter what.

Fang Jun sighed softly and said gently, "Your Highness, please accept my condolences."

It seemed that only upon seeing the mournful clothes and the mournful music in the palace did Princess Jinyang truly believe that His Majesty had passed away, or perhaps it was only upon seeing her beloved that she let down all her guard. Princess Jinyang cried out in anguish, threw herself into Fang Jun's arms, and burst into tears.

Fang Jun held her in his arms, gently stroking her slender, delicate back. He didn't offer any words of comfort, but simply embraced her, using his body heat to soothe Jin Yang's grief. Once Jin Yang's trembling body gradually calmed down, he took her hand and led her to a room in the waiting courtyard on one side of the square. He also instructed the maid who had accompanied Jin Yang to wait at the palace gate and guide Gao Yang and Chang Le there when they entered the palace, so that the sisters could go to the Taiji Hall together and look after each other.

Tonight's vigil is attended by many women, including princesses of Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Taizong, as well as the wives, concubines, and princesses of various princes—probably no fewer than a hundred. Although they are all of the same bloodline, their relationships vary in closeness and distance, inevitably leading to some trouble…

Princess Jinyang sat obediently beside Fang Jun, letting him put his arm around her waist. Her bright eyes were red and brimming with tears, and the tip of her pert nose was slightly red. She said softly, "Who would have thought that my Emperor brother would suffer such a calamity? He has suffered a lot since he was a child. Father Emperor has repeatedly tried to change the heir apparent. The entire Eastern Palace was filled with fear and trepidation. He finally ascended the throne, but he has not had many comfortable days. He is diligent in his duties, working from dawn till dusk, spinning like a top..."

Fang Jun listened silently to her unusually long-winded rambling.

Li Chengqian was a man of low self-esteem, limited talent, and stubbornness, with a whole host of flaws, but he was indeed a good older brother. He might have been somewhat shrewd and calculating in his dealings with his brothers, but he was genuinely kind to his sisters, especially his full sisters, whom he cherished like treasures, showering them with gifts and granting their every wish.

If it were a different emperor, how could he tolerate Jin Yang following him without any official status?

Even the greatest merit won't do!

Therefore, the reason why Li Chengqian tacitly approved of his affair with Jinyang was not because Fang Jun had made any great contributions or was so loyal to the emperor and patriotic, but because Jinyang was willing...

As long as his sister was willing, Li Chengqian was even willing to abandon his own dignity and become a laughing stock. His sense of responsibility as an elder brother was truly unmatched.

Not long after, Gao Yang and Chang Le arrived together.

Fang Jun then got up and personally escorted the three into the Taiji Hall. After silently watching them weep bitterly before the spirit tablet, he summoned a maid to help them to the back hall, where they were handed over to Empress Dowager Su for care.

Meanwhile, a major purge was carried out within the palace.

The Tang Dynasty inherited from the Sui Dynasty. The two dynasties shared the same roots, were of the same lineage but with two separate bodies, and were so deeply intertwined that they could not be completely severed. Therefore, since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the Taiji Palace has been filled with spies from various factions. No one knew whose mark they bore or which faction they secretly belonged to.

This resulted in the fact that although the Wude, Zhenguan, and Renhe emperors repeatedly purged the palace, they were never able to completely sever the ties between palace women and the imperial family, nobles, and powerful clans.

He caused trouble more than once, but always managed to succeed in everything for various reasons...

Now is the best time.

The "Hundred Cavalry Division" has been completely abolished and is about to undergo the most severe purge from top to bottom. Even whether this organization will be retained is under debate, and even if it is retained, it will inevitably be completely rebuilt. Palace maids and eunuchs all have various connections with the outside world. This palace upheaval involves a wide range of people, and no one can say that they are completely uninvolved. Being swept up in it is inevitable.

The Imperial Guards were particularly hard hit. In the chaos within the Forbidden City, it was impossible to distinguish between Imperial Guards and assassins. Some even took advantage of the chaos to loot, and countless palace maids and female officials suffered as a result, with countless valuables stolen...

The reason it was difficult to purge palace servants in the past was because members of the imperial family, noble families, and powerful clans all had influence within the palace, and the emperor could not simply purge them indiscriminately. But now the situation is completely different. The late emperor was poisoned and died, a crime deserving the unforgivable punishment of exterminating his entire clan. Anyone who dares to oppose the purge of palace servants is suspected of poisoning the late emperor.

You can't even get involved in something like this, let alone be officially listed as a suspect.

Besides, how many people are truly clean?

Your Majesty's ascension to the throne continues the late Emperor's ideal of "benevolence as the foundation," and you do not wish to implicate a wide range of people or carry out a massacre. For many people, being able to escape from this matter is already a stroke of good fortune. How could you be targeted for trying to stop the purge of palace servants?

Furthermore, in the past, the emperor, who held absolute power within the palace, had to maintain a balance for various reasons and couldn't act unilaterally. But now, His Majesty and the Empress Dowager are both puppets of Fang Jun; if Fang Jun disagrees, no one can do anything about it.

Of course, even so-called cleaning cannot truly achieve a thorough cleaning.

Maintaining the daily operation of the vast Taiji Palace requires at least two thousand palace maids, five hundred eunuchs, and several thousand imperial guards responsible for security. If all the current palace maids, eunuchs, and imperial guards are purged, where can so many trustworthy people be found to fill the gap?

Therefore, the main focus was on screening, and a small portion of them would be retained. The palace would then be replenished through various means, such as selection from good families, confiscation of property due to crimes, offerings from officials or vassal states, special recruitment, and tribute women from war captives or border regions.

This matter naturally involved enormous power, which naturally aroused envy and jealousy in Cheng Wuting, the Left General of the Golden Guard who was in full charge.

But who can blame them when they've been loyal to Fang Jun from beginning to end?

Even though he still protected Fang Jun despite being subjected to cruel punishment by Changsun Wuji, Fang Jun's kindness to him was only natural for that reason alone...

*****

The British Duke's mansion was shrouded in mourning, with white banners fluttering in the cold rain and cries of anguish filling the air.

As the eldest grandson of the third generation of the Li family, Li Jingye was brave and generous from a young age and had a high reputation in the family. Almost everyone regarded him as the future head of the family. Even if he could not surpass his grandfather in terms of achievements and official position, the glory of "two dukes in one family" was not impossible to achieve.

But who could have imagined that such terrible news would suddenly come down?

The entire household wept not only for Li Jingye, but also for themselves.