Tibet

The next morning, it was the seventh day of the reign of Prince Li Yu. Li Ye came to Fushou Temple in Daming Palace to burn incense in memory of Li Yu.

He silently inserted the three pillars of incense into the incense burner, knelt down and kowtowed three times to Li Yuling tablet. The eldest son Li Shi, who was 16 years old next to him, had red eyes and knelt down to pay homage to Li Ye.

Li Ye helped Li Shi up and asked with concern: "Are you okay?"

During the Autumn Hunting in Wutingchuan, Li Ye once saved Li Shi's life. Li Shi burst into tears and choked with sobs and whispered: "Uncle Emperor, my father did not commit suicide!"

Li Ye nodded, "I know. King Jinfu, the imperial doctor, told me that your father is also my brother. One day, I will give him Zhaoxue!"

Li Shi knelt down and kowtowed again, sobbing and about to cry. He bit his lips desperately to hold back. Li Ye patted him on the shoulder and found a seat below to sit down. Although he had laid incense to pay homage, he could not leave immediately. Generally, you have to wait for the eminent monk to finish reciting a round of sutra before leaving.

When Crown Princess Shen saw that her son had cried just now, she quietly stepped forward and asked, "Shi'er, who is that person?"

"He is King Qi Li Ye, who saved the child's life back then."

"It turned out to be him! What did you just say?"

"The child told him that his father did not commit suicide, but was killed."

Shen was shocked, "How could you say this to him!"

"Mother, he knows. He said that the imperial physician King Jinfu was hiding in his place."

Mrs. Shen was surprised and confused. She thought for a moment and said to her son, "Please invite him to see me in the back tent. I want to ask him about his situation."

Shen stood up and walked to the back tent, but Shen didn't notice. There was a pair of cold eyes watching her go to the back tent, and then coldly watching Li Ye being invited away by the palace maid.

In the back tent, Crown Princess Shen Yingying performed a Wanfu ceremony, "The widow, Shen, pays your respects to His Highness Prince Qi!"

Li Ye quickly returned the gift, "The Crown Princess has killed Li Ye."

"Your Highness, please take a seat!"

The two of them sat down on the temporary cloth pier. Shen said, "How does Your Highness know that the prince did not commit suicide?"

"I didn't know that the next day, the imperial doctor Wang Jinfu came to me for help. He said that the eunuch Sun Liu had been silenced. If he knew the truth, he would also be silenced."

Mrs. Shen nodded, "I asked why Doctor Wang suddenly disappeared. It turned out that he was protected by His Highness. The Crown Prince did not really take poison, so it is completely nonsense to say that he suddenly took poison and committed suicide. Doctor Wang also told me that he tested The remaining medicine contained highly toxic arsenic. He had never given it to the prince. He was obviously murdered. It was probably Sun Liu who poisoned him. He had the best chance and was the most suspected. However, he also hanged himself in the middle of the night and was silenced. Yes, does your Highness know who did it?"

Li Ye said slowly: "I did some research and found out that Sun Liu once embezzled two thousand taels of palace silver and was caught by Li Fuguo. He monitored the prince for Li Fuguo."

Shen's eyes burst with hatred, "Not only did they force the prince to abdicate, they also refused to let him go."

Shen suddenly knelt down in front of Li Ye. Li Ye was startled and said quickly: "Prince Princess, please get up quickly!"

Mrs. Shen said with tears in her eyes: "Your Highness is willing to show off to the Crown Prince, but I have nothing to repay. Please accept my respect, Your Highness!"

Shen kowtowed to Li Ye three times before standing up. Li Ye nodded, "Princess, remember this sentence: a gentleman takes revenge, and it is never too late in ten years!"

"I remember!"

Li Ye turned and left.

After walking out of the big tent, Li Ye felt depressed and panicked. He knew clearly that this revenge could not be avenged, but he said words that he did not mean. He raised his head and let out a long sigh.

"Brother-in-law!" Someone called him from behind.

Li Ye turned around and saw Dugu Qiming, who was wearing filial piety, walking over.

Dugu Qiming's eyes turned red and he rushed towards Li Ye's arms. She wanted to cry bitterly in Li Ye's arms. Li Ye quickly took a step back and held her arm, "Qiming, don't do this!"

Dugu Qiming covered his mouth and cried: "I became a widow just over a year after I got married. What will I do in the future?"

Li Ye comforted her and said: "After the prince is buried, you can go back to live in your parents' home. After the filial piety is removed, you are still very young and can remarry."

"When the time comes, I will come to join my brother-in-law. Can my brother-in-law take me in?"

Li Ye was silent for a moment and said, "No one can decide your fate except your parents."

"Is my brother-in-law willing to accept me?"

Li Ye felt a strong revulsion in her heart. She said such words even though her husband's body was still cold.

Li Ye said slowly: "You know this is impossible. It was impossible before and it will be the same in the future."

Dugu Qiming's face turned cold. She stopped pretending and said coldly: "Is this your final decision?"

Li Ye nodded, clasped his fists in salute, turned around and walked away quickly. In front of him, Dugu Ming was waiting for him with dozens of guards. This was the palace. Li Ye came to the palace to pay tribute, and Dugu Ming wanted to ensure his safety.

Dugu Qiming looked at Li Ye's retreating background and said coldly: "What gentleman wants to take revenge? It's never too late in ten years. I'll see if you can live to be ten years old."

She also turned around and hurried back.

Dugu Ming took Li Ye out of the palace, and the two got into the carriage. Then he asked Li Ye, "What happened to Qiming just now?"

Li Ye said lightly: "She said she doesn't know what to do in the future?"

"Then what do you say?"

"I told her that she can remarry after she removes her filial piety, and her parents will make arrangements for her, so she shouldn't worry."

Dugu Ming sighed and said: "Among the sisters, she is the most scheming. You should stay as far away from her as possible in the future, she might keep an eye on you."

Li Ye was silent for a moment and said: "I don't like her, and I won't accept her. It has nothing to do with whether she has been married."

Dugu Ming nodded and said: "I'll tell you some news. The emperor summoned Cui Yuan and Li Zhen this morning and gave them a formal promise. After the prince was buried, he would appoint King Yong as his younger brother. They have returned to Bashu."

"According to the clan etiquette, what is the normal order of succession?"

Dugu Ming thought for a while and said: "The prince is the eldest son. After his unfortunate death, the first in line should be the eldest grandson, the second in line should be the eldest son, the third in line should be the eldest son, and so on, the eldest son should come first. Later concubine."

"Where is the emperor's brother?"

Dugu Ming laughed, "Of course the throne is given to one's son and grandson, there is no reason to give it to brothers, so generally there is no such thing as brothers. In fact, King Yong is the same as His Highness. Although they both have the right to inherit the throne, they basically follow the normal order. It was not his turn, only under special circumstances, such as when the Emperor launched a coup to kill Empress Wei, and then it was the turn of Emperor Ruizhong, the crown prince's younger brother."

Li Ye nodded, "If there is no order, then we can only rely on strength!"

"Your Highness is right, great strength can completely surpass the ranking."

After a pause, Dugu Ming asked again: "When does His Highness plan to leave?"

"After receiving the Anxi Army the day after tomorrow, I will go directly to Yanzhou, then to Taiyuan, and leave Chang'an to Liu Yan."

In the Queen's Palace, Queen Zhang narrowed her slender eyes, "You mean, they suspect that Li Fuguo poisoned the prince?"

Dugu Qiming nodded, "I heard clearly. They thought it was Sun Liu who poisoned them, and Sun Liu was Li Fuguo's spy, so they thought it was Li Fuguo who poisoned them."

"Strange!"

Empress Zhang frowned, "How did Li Ye know that Sun Liu was Li Fuguo's spy? This matter is very hidden. How could he, a foreign minister, investigate the secrets in the palace?"

"I guess it was my third uncle Dugu Ming who found it for him."

Empress Zhang pondered for a moment and said, "Do you know about your third uncle's spy in the palace?"

Dugu Qiming shook his head and said, "I don't know!"

Empress Zhang whispered: "He is your third uncle. You must have a way. If you help me find out, I will ask the King of Yue to accept you as Liangdi. When the King of Yue ascends the throne in the future, I promise to make you a noble concubine."

Dugu Qiming blushed, "But the King of Yue is my brother-in-law."

"What does the brother-in-law have to do with each other? This is the Tang Dynasty. The father-in-law of the Tang Dynasty can marry his daughter-in-law, and his son can marry his stepmother. What's not allowed between uncles and sisters-in-law? Didn't Li Shimin also accept his sister-in-law?"

Dugu Qiming quickly stood up and saluted, "It all depends on the Queen!"