boyutpedia Chapter 1197 [The Glory of Tang Dynasty 24]
Chapter 1197 [The Glory of Tang Dynasty 24]
Yang Guifei knelt before the emperor with tears in her eyes, begging him to forgive her brother Yang Guozhong. She cried about Yang Guozhong's contribution to the country and the deep affection between them.
The emperor looked at Yang Guifei's pitiful appearance and his heart was moved. In fact, the emperor had no intention of severely punishing Yang Guozhong. The reason why he wanted to punish Yang Guozhong was just to use him to check and balance the prince and An Lushan.
In the end, the emperor decided to give Yang Guozhong a lighter sentence, only confining him to the prime minister's residence for a year and retaining his position as prime minister. This way, Yang Guifei was given face, and Yang Guozhong could continue to be used to contain the prince and An Lushan.
However, while Yang Guozhong was under house arrest, Dongzebu was assassinated in prison. This news shocked and puzzled Li Chu and Li Shen. Li Shen was furious and said angrily: "What is the difference between the emperor's behavior and that of a tyrant?"
Li Chu quickly reminded Li Tan to be careful with his words outside to avoid unnecessary trouble. Although Li Tan was still dissatisfied, he knew that what Li Chu said made sense, so he stopped talking.
Then, Li Chu told Li Shen an important task. He asked Li Shen to go to Longyou to visit his old friend An Sishun. It turned out that An Sishun, the governor of Longyou, was An Lushan's cousin, and he had a lot of evidence of An Lushan's intention to rebel.
The reason why Li Chu asked Li Shen to go was because he knew that Li Shen and An Sishun were old friends, and he hoped that Li Shen could persuade An Sishun to report everything he knew to the emperor in order to expose An Lushan's conspiracy.
At the same time, the grievances of Wei Jian's family were finally redressed. Li Chu went to the Water Temple in the north of the city in a happy mood to meet his mother, Concubine Wei. He hoped that his mother could return to the palace with him to share the joy of family life.
However, when Li Chu met Concubine Wei, he found her attitude was unusually cold. Concubine Wei said that Chang'an was only a place of endless desolation and painful memories for her. The ruthlessness of the royal family made her disheartened, and she never wanted to return to that place full of intrigue.
Although Li Chu was unwilling in his heart, he had no choice but to respect his mother's decision. Concubine Wei looked at Li Chu with deep concern and love in her eyes.
"Ch'er, mother knows that you have always been very sensible. You have known how to shoulder the responsibilities of the eldest son and take care of Neng'er and Ruo'er since you were young. However, it is you that mother is most worried about. Mother is really worried about you being alone outside." Concubine Wei's voice was a little choked.
Li Chu quickly comforted his mother, "Don't worry, mother. I have grown up and can take care of myself. And next time I come back, I will bring the woman who will accompany me for the rest of my life to see you."
After hearing Li Chu's words, Concubine Wei finally showed a relieved smile on her face.
……
Li Tan returned to the capital. He hurriedly found Li Chu and the crown prince and said solemnly, "Brother, father, I have important things to report. I saw with my own eyes that An Sishun wrote a memorial and submitted it directly to the capital."
Li Chu and the prince looked at each other and saw a hint of worry in each other's eyes.
"Is there any reaction from the Emperor?" Li Chu asked.
Li Neng shook his head. "There is no news yet. I think the Emperor has read the memorial but chose not to comment on it."
Li Chu pondered for a moment and said, "It seems that the emperor also has doubts about An Lushan's rebellion."
At the same time, An Lushan, who was far away in Fanyang, was also secretly plotting. He knew that his ambition had aroused the emperor's vigilance, so he decided to take the initiative and raise an army to rebel.
However, when the emperor summoned him to Beijing to meet him, An Lushan lied that he was unwell and could not go. In order to conceal his true intentions, he also asked Shi Siming to take An Qingxu to the capital.
When the emperor learned that An Lushan was not coming to Beijing due to illness, his suspicions grew. He immediately summoned the crown prince and Li Chu to discuss the matter.
Li Chu pondered for a moment and volunteered, "Father, I am willing to take people to Fanyang to take back the good horses that An Lushan selected for you, and go to Fanyang to investigate."
The emperor was very pleased with this and ordered Li Chu to leave for Fanyang. After Li Chu received the order and thanked him, he turned around and said goodbye to Cui Caiping and Shen Zhenzhu.
Cui Caiping expressed her hope that Li Chu would return safely, and said nothing else. Shen Zhenzhu, however, held back her tears and smiled as she told Li Chu to be careful along the way. Just as Li Chu was bidding farewell to them, Ruo'er suddenly ran over, clamoring to go to Fanyang with her brother.
Li Chu looked at his sister helplessly. Although he was reluctant, he still firmly rejected her request. However, Ruo'er did not give up easily. She continued to act like a spoiled child and even told Li Chu that she liked An Qingxu.
After hearing this, Li Chu's heart tightened. He didn't expect his sister to have such feelings for An Qingxu. But at this time, he had no time to care about these things. After comforting Ruo'er for a few words, he led the imperial guards on the journey to Fanyang.
Along the way, Li Chu led the imperial guards to gallop without stopping. However, when they passed through Caizhou, they encountered an unexpected situation. An Qingxu and Shi Siming led 3,000 fine horses and appeared in front of them like a divine army descending from the sky.
These three thousand fine horses were exactly what the emperor needed urgently. Seeing this, Li Chu knew that he might not be able to continue his trip to Fanyang. Although he was somewhat unwilling, he also knew that the emperor's order was difficult to disobey, so he had to order the horses to turn around and return to the capital.
On the other hand, Shen Zhenzhu couldn't calm down after Li Chu left. She decided to go to Li Chu's study to see if she could find some clues about him.
After entering the study, Shen Zhenzhu began to carefully read Li Chu's information. In an old book, she found some records about Li Chu's mother, Wei. It turned out that after Wei was deposed, Li Chu began to secretly investigate Shen Zhenzhu's father, Shen Yizhi.
This discovery surprised Shen Zhenzhu. She couldn't help but think of the secret symbols she found in Li Chu's shop before, and the symbols on the jade whistle she found at home, which were exactly the same as Li Chu's secret symbols. These clues made Shen Zhenzhu more suspicious of Li Chu, and she began to worry whether Li Chu was the real murderer who killed her family.
This speculation made Shen Zhenzhu feel frightened and uneasy, and she didn't know how to face this fact.