Chapter 105: Wu Zetian Arrives

It is a sunny day.

But inside the Huzhou Governor's Mansion, there was a slight smell of oppression in the air.

Shangguan Wan'er stood in front of the window, looking out.

She held the message tightly in her hand, feeling somewhat uneasy - Wu Zetian was going to arrive in Huzhou today.

The two should not be as leisurely as before, but should be serious and prepare to receive the emperor.

However, Zhao Ji seemed to be out of the world. He sat at his desk, calm and relaxed, reading a military book.

Shangguan Wan'er stared at Zhao Ji's figure intently and nodded secretly, thinking that he had good self-control and was not panicky when faced with situations.

"Weren't you very worried about Di Gong and the prince before? Why are you not panicking now that the emperor is here?" Shangguan Wan'er couldn't help but ask curiously.

Zhao Ji didn't put down the book, and didn't even look up: "Before, I was too concerned and didn't think it through. Now calm down and think about it carefully. Di Gong and the prince will be fine."

Shangguan Wan'er couldn't help but frowned, wondering, "What do you mean? The prince left the capital without permission, intending to meet secretly and rebel. Neither of these two crimes can be taken lightly."

"Given Di Gong's personality, he will definitely be implicated by the prince. How do you know that the two of them will be fine?"

Zhao Ji smiled slightly, put down the book in his hand and stood up.

He walked to the window, stood side by side with Shangguan Wan'er, and looked into the distance.

"If Your Majesty really wants to punish the Crown Prince, just for the crime of leaving the capital without permission, all he needs is a messenger, or at most a team of Qianniu Guards, and the Crown Prince will have no choice but to surrender and accept your punishment."

"But Your Majesty went to so much trouble to personally visit Huzhou." He turned around, bowed his head to Guan Wan'er, and continued, "The meaning behind this is intriguing."

Shangguan Wan'er nodded thoughtfully after hearing this: "Yes, that makes sense."

In fact, Zhao Ji still had some extremely treasonous words that he had not yet said.

Assuming that Wu Zetian really believed that the prince was plotting a rebellion and wanted to depose him, the first thing she would do would be to order his arrest, and the second would be to return to the capital immediately and control the situation.

But Wu Zetian came to Huzhou in person. If this move was just to confirm that the prince was plotting rebellion, it would be unnecessary, and even with the protection of the Yulin Guards, there would still be considerable risks.

If the prince and Di Renjie were pushed into a corner, and the two of them brought their guards or even local troops to launch a military remonstration, the situation would be difficult to resolve.

Zhang Jianzhi and other old officials of the Li Tang Dynasty could even start an uprising in the central government, echo each other from afar, or even directly eliminate Zhu Wu and support Li Dan...

If one thing goes wrong, Li Tang will recover ahead of time. Even if it fails, it will still shock the world.

Judging from this, Wu Zetian came to Huzhou because she had absolute trust in Di Renjie, and she was sure that Li Xian was a coward and would not dare to rebel.
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Zhao Ji and Shangguan Wan'er did not have to wait too long, as Wu Zetian secretly arrived in Huzhou City at noon that day.

Most of the accompanying Yulin Guards stayed outside the city, and the emperor only brought a few people into Qiao Tai's governor's mansion.

As soon as she entered the palace, Wu Zetian dismissed her attendants and summoned Shangguan Wan'er alone.

Shangguan Wan'er lowered her head and looked submissive, carefully reporting everything she knew.

Afterwards, Wu Zetian summoned Zhao Ji alone.

Zhao Ji walked quickly into the house and bowed respectfully to the empress.

He observed Wu Zetian's expression out of the corner of his eye and found that her face was calm and expressionless, showing no joy or anger.

"Stand up." Wu Zetian's voice was not loud, but full of majesty.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Zhao Ji stood up with his head slightly lowered.

Wu Zetian praised him, "I have received the memorial you sent to the Qianniu Guards, and I have also received the two volumes of Blue Shirt Records. It is commendable that you were able to investigate this matter in such a short time."

Zhao Ji bowed his hands and humbly said: "I am just doing my duty. It is my honor to share your worries."

Wu Zetian smiled and said, "You are too modest. If you hadn't investigated in Huzhou, I would still be in the dark about many things."

"So according to your investigation, Xu Shide's claim that the crown prince was plotting rebellion is completely false. He lied to me for the sake of the Yue King's treasure?"

Zhao Ji thought for a moment and answered carefully, "I can confirm that Xu Shide coveted the treasure of the King of Yue, but I dare not speak rashly about the prince's rebellion." Wu Zetian's face darkened when she heard this, and her voice revealed a bit of displeasure: "Li Xian has ulterior motives, this is an indisputable fact. Otherwise, why would he leave the capital privately and run to Huzhou?"

Zhao lowered his head and dared not refute.

"Xu Shide sent a message yesterday saying that Li Xian is in Changcheng County and is colluding with the remnants of King Yue to rebel. Even Di Renjie may be involved. Do you know about this?" Wu Zetian continued to ask.

Zhao Ji was startled, but quickly regained his composure and replied, "Your Majesty, I don't know. Since the Crown Prince and his men were plotting treason, they would have kept it a secret. How could they have let me know?"

He added: "Besides, I have been in Huzhou City recently and have not left the governor's mansion. I have no way of knowing about this treasonous act."

Wu Zetian nodded, agreeing with Zhao Ji's statement.

Then she asked, "According to what you said, Xu Shide had evil intentions. Do you think what he said is true?"

Zhao Ji took a deep breath and answered decisively: "I can assert that Xu Shide is lying to the emperor again. It may be true that the prince is in Changcheng County, but it is impossible that the prince is colluding with the remnants of the King of Yue in Changcheng County."

Seeing Zhao Ji was so determined, Wu Zetian couldn't help but ask, "Why do you think so?"

Zhao Ji explained: "Your Majesty, as far as I know, the so-called remnants of the King of Yue are Li Gui, but he has been a prisoner of Xu Shide for a year. The other is Liu Chali, who is blinded by greed and colluded with Xu Shide to plot against the treasure."

"If the prince was able to collude with the remnants of the King of Yue in Huzhou to plot a rebellion, there are only two possibilities: either Xu Shide himself participated in the rebellion, or Xu Shide failed in his duty and allowed Li Gui to escape or be rescued by the prince."

"No matter which situation it is, if Xu Shide does not explain it to Your Majesty, he will be suspected of deceiving the emperor and dereliction of duty. Your Majesty, please understand."

After hearing this, Wu Zetian remained silent for a long time.

Suddenly, she became angry and stood up abruptly.

The Queen's face turned pale, and her words were filled with rage. "Well, well done Xu Shide! He has repeatedly taken advantage of my trust and lied to me! I will chop him into pieces and turn him into minced meat!"

Zhao Ji was shocked when he heard this, and he felt deeply sympathetic towards Xu Shide's fate. This time it was not divided into five equal parts, but could be divided infinitely.

Wu Zetian immediately calmed down her anger and asked knowingly, "Have you seen Di Huaiying?"

Zhao Ji replied: "I only know that Di Gong is now in Changcheng County. Since he arrived in Huzhou, I have not had the opportunity to meet him."

Wu Zetian nodded slightly: "If that's the case, then go and meet him. From now on, you are officially the Lieutenant General of the Right Thousand Oxen Guard. You will take my imperial edict to Changcheng County and take over the Jiangnan Dao Demotion and Promotion Envoy Guard."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ji quickly bowed and said, "I obey your command and thank your majesty for your grace."

Wu Zetian ordered Zhao Ji to stand up and said, "I will send Wan'er to accompany you. She will take over the inner guards under Xu Shide. You two will arrest Xu Shide, Liu Chali and their followers on the spot."

She paused and added, "According to Xu Shide's report, the prince is now in Changcheng County. You will work with Di Huaiying to find the prince and keep him under guard. I will deal with him after I arrive in Changcheng County."

Zhao Ji quickly bowed his head and accepted the order: "I obey your order."

"You must set off immediately. Regarding the matter of the Crown Prince and Xu Shide, you must keep it strictly secret and not leak any of it." Wu Zetian emphasized again.

"I understand." Zhao Ji slowly retreated.
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Zhao Ji left the room and breathed a sigh of relief. Every time he saw Wu Zetian come back, he felt like he had escaped death.

The empress was still prudent. Although she trusted Di Renjie, she still took away his military power first and sat firmly in Huzhou City.

Finally, Shangguan Wan'er was sent out to act as a spy and double insurance.

When Zhao Ji was daydreaming, Shangguan Wan'er came over.

She raised the imperial edict in her hand and said with a smile, "Let's go, General Zhao, we will set off for Changcheng County immediately."

Zhao Ji looked at the imperial edict and couldn't help wondering, "Did your majesty prepare this edict long ago?"

"Of course not, I just drafted it." Shangguan Wan'er smiled and shook her head in denial.

Zhao Ji rolled his eyes and shook his head secretly. If the ink on the imperial edict is not dry, I lose.

"So Wu Zetian just talked to me for a long time, but she is trying to PUA me? She has made up her mind. This is the mind of an emperor..."

　Thanks to Uncle95 and book friend 20180113125819227 for their rewards.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)