Uncle Detective Di Renjie, I build a crime-solving team

Chapter 863 Returning to Beijing to Meet the Emperor

At the same time that Di Renjie and others received the urgent message of 800 miles, Li Cunxi also set out on the journey back to Luoyang.

Those who were able to go back to Luoyang were basically with Li Cunxi, and those who could not go back to Luoyang followed Long Feng and Wulezhi to Yangzhou, and then set off from Yangzhou to Luoyang.

Before leaving, Luo Binwang, Yuan Tiangang, Pei Rongxian and others said goodbye to Li Cunxi and headed to Yangzhou under the protection of bandits, cavalry and assassins.

Li Cunxi and others began to rush to Luoyang.

It took Li Cunxi and others seven full days to return to Luozhou.

The war in the north has not started until now. Yuzhou, who is next to Helu Khan, has been delaying Helu's dispatch of troops on the grounds that the troops have not moved and the food and supplies have been sent first.

Helu not only did not object to Yuzhou's behavior of delaying the war, but he also felt it made sense.

Therefore, due to repeated delays in Yuzhou, Li Cunxi entered Luozhou, and Helu's army had not yet moved south to attack Chongzhou.

After entering Luozhou, Li Cunxi ordered the army to rest for one night under the cover of darkness, and then rode alone on a Qianli Yizhangqing to the Youwuwei camp stationed in Dengfeng County.

As if he had already anticipated Li Cunxi's arrival, Li Bin did not sleep, but sat in a house waiting.

After the two met, they exchanged some pleasantries. Li Cunxi didn't want to waste time talking and went straight to the point.

"I came here in the middle of the night with only one question: my cousin could have just taken the throne. Why did he do this?"

Li Yan took a sip of tea and replied, "According to our generational level, I have to call you uncle. Uncle, if you were the person involved in this matter, you would choose the same outcome as that uncle."

"Rather than returning to the throne as a deposed emperor and continuing the Li family's shame, he would rather nail Your Majesty to history's pillar of shame with his own blood."

"In this case, Your Majesty must relinquish the throne in order to prevent your reputation from becoming even more infamous."

"And at this time, Her Majesty's reputation was in tatters. If there wasn't a way out for her, she would definitely not want to step down. Wu Sansi, who ruled the Nineteen Prefectures of Jiangdong, proclaimed himself emperor, providing her with that opportunity."

Li Cunxi listened to Li Yan's answer and began to connect the dots.

If you only listen to Li Yan's answer, it is the same as his own guess.

But how could he just listen to Li Bin's answer?

The fall of Wu Sansi of the pseudo-Wu regime can indeed serve as a stepping stone to a successful end of the Wu Zhou dynasty.

But Li Xian didn't know about this step during his lifetime.

"Is my royal brother hiding something from me?" Li Cunxi asked seriously.

"Perhaps so, but with His Highness's death, all of this will become an eternal mystery." Li Yan rubbed his red eyes. "I don't know when he started to become so meticulous. The rest of us are, at best, just his helpers."

The helper does not deserve to know all the inside stories.

"Thank you."

Li Cunxi stood up, bowed to Li Bin, and rushed back to the camp overnight.

The night was extremely peaceful. After returning home, Li Cunxi rested for less than two hours. After dawn, he set off again.

When the carriage approached Luoyang, civil and military officials had already lined the streets to welcome it. After experiencing the life of regent, Prince Wu Chengsi of Jin came out to greet it with the prime ministers.

In order to show his respect to everyone, Li Cunxi dismounted in advance and walked to the outside of the city gate to greet the prime ministers and civil and military officials.

"Cunxi, you are finally back. His Majesty asked me to be the regent, but how dare I do that?"

"Well now, I'll leave this job to you. I'll go talk to His Majesty later."

Wu Chengsi felt relieved and was about to hand over the power of regent.

"Master, there's no rush for this. After meeting His Majesty, you'll most likely have to continue as regent."

Li Cunxi "comforted" Wu Chengsi and chatted with Di Renjie for a few words before entering Luoyang City with the support of civil and military officials.

Wu Zetian, who had disappeared for a long time, appeared again in Qianyang Palace today. Shangguan Wan'er knelt down to look after the white-haired emperor, with a hint of heartache in her eyes.

Ever since she was provoked by Li Xian that day, Wu Zetian's health became worse day by day. There was even a period of time when she had nightmares every day. In her dreams, Emperor Taizong and Emperor Gaozong turned into evil spirits and came to find her.

It was precisely because of her poor health that she had to let Wu Chengsi, who was not supposed to be the regent, take over the country after Li Cunxi went out.

She was really afraid that she would not be able to wait for the day when Li Cunxi would come back.

"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin and his men have arrived."

Shangguan Wan'er reminded softly.

Wu Zetian opened her eyes weakly and sat up with the help of Shangguan Wan'er. She looked down and saw that Li Cunxi, Li Wenzhong, Wu Yanhao, Li Gui, Dalha, Li Kaigu, Song Wuji and others had already knelt down.

"I will pay my respects to Your Majesty!"

"You are all meritorious officials. Stand up," Wu Zetian said weakly. "Li Gui, you must have been uncomfortable in Yangzhou these past few years. From now on, don't leave. Stay in the court. As the King of Yue, you have to bear a lot of responsibilities."

It has been exactly six years since the Blue Shirt Case.

The young man Li Gui has now entered middle age. He has studied for six years, and his whole temperament is different from what it was back then.

He bowed respectfully to Wu Zetian and said:

"Your Majesty, I have been on the run for many years, and this time I have finally come to terms with it. No matter how Your Majesty wants to punish me, I will not run away again."

Wu Zetian laughed "Hehehe":

"How could I punish you? You are already the King of Yue. Go to the Ministry of Rites and serve as a minister. I just ordered Chengsi to kill a minister of rites. You can take his place."

Li Gui bowed and agreed.

"Are Xue Qinglin and Wu Youde outside?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Let them in. I want to see them."

"Yes."

Xue Qinglin and Wu Youde, who were outside the Qianyang Palace, walked into the Palace under the guidance of the eunuchs. They stood at the place where Li Gui had knelt before and bowed to the emperor.

"His Majesty!"

"His Majesty!"

Wu Zetian narrowed her eyes and looked at Xue Qinglin.

The Xue Qinglin below was different from the Xue Qinglin she had in mind. This one did not have the cunning and treacherous air, but rather had a more heroic air.

"After the Jiangzhou case, why didn't you reveal your identity and follow Cun Xi to the capital? Instead, why did you wait for so many years?"

The document that Li Cunxi had reported previously contained information about Xue Qinglin's past deeds.

Therefore, Wu Zetian finally knew that Lin Yongzhong, the chief officer of Jiangzhou after the Jiangzhou case, was the real Xue Qinglin.

After seeing the real person, she couldn't wait to ask the question she wanted to ask most.

Xue Qinglin also had an answer to this question. He bowed and said:

"Before I kill Mang Sansi, I can't prove that I am the real Xue Qinglin, and I don't have any evidence to prove that I am Xue Qinglin."

"In the eyes of the world, Xue Qinglin has long been dead."