Chapter 158: Fading Away Without a Trace-The Glory of the Tang Dynasty(Wolf with a Dog's Tail)

The Zetian Gate was the main entrance of the Luoyang Palace, situated quite a distance from the Qianyuan Hall in the inner court—a full mile and a half away. Of course, such a distance was hardly an obstacle for Li Xian, who had practiced martial arts for years. Under normal circumstances, he would have walked it effortlessly; not only would he have felt no fatigue, but not a single drop of sweat would have formed. Yet today, Li Xian's steps felt exceptionally heavy, and perspiration unconsciously beaded across his forehead. It was not due to the heat, but rather to psychological tension, for a grueling and hard-fought battle lay ahead of him.

Ever since his rebirth, Li Xian had engaged in numerous covert and overt struggles with Empress Wu. Counting from the rescue of Shangguan Yi, they had clashed at least a dozen times. In most of those confrontations, however, Li Xian had merely acted as a mastermind behind the scenes, while the Crown Prince and Li Xian (Li Xian’s older brother, Prince Li Xian) had stood at the forefront. But this time, Li Xian could no longer use his two elder brothers as buffers; he had to face the crisis entirely on his own. The pressure was, naturally, unimaginable.

It was not that he lacked confidence—in fact, his confidence was quite high, at least in his own estimation. To be frank, the reason Li Xian dared to execute such a risky strategy was that he held a winning trump card. This trump card was the fact that Empress Wu was forced to protect Helan Minzhi. Even though the Empress currently felt extreme dissatisfaction toward Helan Minzhi, she still could not sit by and watch him be brought down by accusations. This was not because the Empress cherished family ties, nor because she was soft-hearted, but because it involved a scandalous affair of earth-shattering proportions: Helan Minzhi had committed incest with Lady Rongguo. There was only one current Lady Rongguo, and that was the Empress’s biological mother, Lady Yang, who was already eighty-seven years old. Yet, in her old age, she had lacked propriety and engaged in an illicit relationship with Helan Minzhi. Precisely for this reason, before Lady Rongguo passed away, Empress Wu would never move against Helan Minzhi, nor would she allow anyone else to do so. Her aim was to prevent Helan Minzhi, in a state of desperation, from broadcasting this scandalous secret to the world. This was the very core of the trap Li Xian had set to force Helan Minzhi's hand.

However, having a trump card was one thing, but whether one could utilize it effectively was quite another. Li Xian knew full well that gaining the upper hand against Empress Wu was an immensely difficult task, not to mention the need to guard against her subsequent retaliation. The slightest lapse in concentration carried the risk of total defeat. Under such circumstances, how could Li Xian possibly feel at ease?

"Your Highness, both His Majesty and the Empress are in the rear hall. Please follow this humble servant."

No matter how long a road was, it eventually came to an end. Li Xian walked in silence through two connected courtyard gates and arrived at the small plaza outside the Qianyuan Hall. Just as he was about to head straight inside, he saw Yan Desheng running up from behind, bowing with utmost respect as he made his report.

The rear hall? Ah, what a convenient rear hall! Li Xian’s mind was exceedingly sharp; the moment he heard this, he understood Empress Wu’s intentions. It was nothing more than an attempt to reduce this formal confrontation between ruler and subjects into a mere family dispute. Still, this happened to suit Li Xian’s wishes, so he raised no objections. He merely nodded slightly and allowed the eager Yan Desheng to lead him into the Qianyuan Hall.

"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty and the Empress Mother."

As soon as Li Xian turned a screen, he saw the Emperor and Empress Wu seated side by side on a couch. He hurried forward and kowtowed repeatedly, his etiquette flawless, yet his expression was extremely grim, as if harboring boundless grievances within his chest.

"Xian'er has come. I, I... Ah, come, rise, rise quickly."

Seeing Li Xian’s grim expression, Emperor Gaozong inevitably felt awkward. A blush flashed across his face as he hastily told him to get up.

"Your subject thanks Your Majesty for your boundless grace."

Li Xian executed the ceremonial bow meticulously before standing up, hands clasped and hanging by his sides, lowering his head in silence while his face remained as dark as ink.

"Xian'er need not be so formal. I, I..."

Emperor Gaozong naturally knew why Li Xian had come, but words of comfort were truly difficult to utter. He stammered with "I" for a long time without managing to form a coherent sentence, awkwardly rubbing his hands together.

"Has Xian'er come on account of the incident at the White Horse Temple?"

Emperor Gaozong had his reservations, but Empress Wu had none at all. She smiled as she took over the conversation and asked with blunt directness.

"Replying to the Empress Mother, this subject was originally relaxing at my manor when I was shocked to hear that bizarre and outrageous events had occurred within the White Horse Temple. I was deeply astonished, yet since the matter involves this subject, I naturally dare not stand idly by. I earnestly implore Your Majesty and the Empress Mother to dispense justice for this subject." Li Xian bowed neither obsequiously nor arrogantly, acknowledging the matter directly.

"This, this, I... Ah, Meiniang, what do you think..."

Emperor Gaozong truly wanted to grant justice to Li Xian, but the words died on his lips as he grew wary of Empress Wu sitting close by. After stuttering for quite a while, he ultimately handed the decision back to Empress Wu.

"Your Majesty, this concubine believes there may be some misunderstanding in this matter. Wang Ping'er is inherently a well-behaved person and has never had any prior acquaintance with Min'er. How could they have crossed paths? Perhaps there is some other trickery behind it all." Empress Wu cast a cold glance at Li Xian, then spoke with a veiled meaning.

*Old thief, are you trying to scare me? Hmph, who’s afraid of whom!* Li Xian had come fully prepared, and naturally, he did not take the threatening undertone in the Empress's words to heart. Unyielding, he immediately followed up, "May Your Majesty examine this clearly! This subject believes the Empress Mother’s words have some reason to them. This matter must be thoroughly investigated to uncover the root cause. If there has indeed been a misunderstanding, the world should naturally be given a clear explanation. If not, this subject cannot simply swallow such a great humiliation. I earnestly implore Your Majesty to dispense justice for this subject!"

"Of course, of course. My son speaks reasonably; this matter must be investigated. Well, what are Meiniang's thoughts?"

Before Li Xian’s arrival, Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu had argued heatedly over the matter. In his heart, Gaozong had absolutely no desire to see Crown Prince Li Hong's fate repeat itself. He genuinely wanted to rein in the daring and reckless Helan Minzhi. Unfortunately, Empress Wu was determined to protect Helan Minzhi and refused to consent to a thorough investigation. Unable to overcome her persistence, Gaozong had no choice but to adopt a delaying tactic, attempting to put the White Horse Temple case on ice before deciding on a course of action. However, Li Xian's timely appearance changed the dynamics. Reason and logic dictated that Gaozong could not refuse to see Li Xian, the aggrieved party. Hearing Li Xian speak with such grief and indignation, Gaozong’s heart immediately softened. He voiced his agreement, but in the end, he still lacked the courage to issue an imperial decree on the spot, choosing instead to ask for Empress Wu's opinion.

With father and son in agreement, Empress Wu distinctly felt that the situation had become troublesome. Her brows furrowed, and she hesitated, unwilling to immediately state her stance. Empress Wu knew very well what Helan Minzhi's character was like, and she understood the underlying reasons for his repeated antics. In her view, given Helan Minzhi's personality, he was indeed lustful, and he harbored desires to commit malicious acts to avenge his mother and sister; calling him unhinged was by no means an exaggeration. Yet, the Empress did not believe that Helan Minzhi would genuinely target Wang Ping'er. She knew that Helan Minzhi had the patience of a saint in reverse; if he wanted to cause trouble using Wang Ping'er, he would at most have forced himself upon her and violated her, utterly incapable of spending so much effort to deceive her. Clearly, there must be another story behind this, and nine times out of ten, this plot originated from Li Xian's own hands. If she truly resolved to investigate, the Empress figured she might unearth where the trickery lay. The problem was that she did not dare.

Her reasons were simple: first, since Li Xian dared to execute this strategy, he must have already cleaned up his loose ends and perhaps even laid out traps related to the investigation; second, she worried that Helan Minzhi would babble incoherently during the investigation and drag countless unspeakable secrets into the light. With these two concerns hanging over her, Empress Wu naturally did not dare to easily entertain the idea of a thorough investigation. Yet, facing an impassioned Li Xian, finding a plausible reason to object was no simple matter, making her hesitation inevitable.

"How does Xian'er intend to investigate?"

Empress Wu was, after all, no ordinary person. After a slight pause, she formed a plan, smiled faintly, and kicked the ball back to Li Xian's feet.

"Since this matter involves this subject, I ought to recuse myself. I will obey whatever Your Majesty and the Empress Mother decide."

Empress Wu was shrewd, but Li Xian was no fool either. He saw through her tactic of leveraging his own momentum to counter him, refused to take the bait, and neatly kicked the ball rolling right back to her side.

"Not so. The matter concerning Wang Ping'er has not yet been finalized. If we drop it right here, Xian'er will have no further ties to her, and the matter can be investigated freely." Seeing that Li Xian was as slippery as an eel, Empress Wu had no choice but to lay her cards on the table.

*Hah, I've been waiting for those exact words from you. Well then, game over!*

What Li Xian wanted was precisely this result. Hearing the unmistakable signal of compromise in the Empress's words, he felt a wave of secret delight inside. However, on the outside, he feigned a look of utter astonishment. After a dawning pause, he spoke hesitantly, "May the Empress Mother examine this clearly! If that is the case, since the pretext for this matter no longer exists, why investigate further? This subject is dull-witted and begs the Empress Mother to enlighten me."

"Your Majesty, although Min'er is unworthy, he is still a close relative of the imperial family. Investigating this matter with great fanfare would ultimately be unseemly for the dignity of the house of Tian. On the other hand, if we do not investigate, it will be difficult to give the officials a satisfactory explanation. If we simply call off the prior talk of marriage, this whole storm can pass quietly without a ripple. Once some time has passed, we can find a day to summon Min'er back and give him a severe reprimand. This is merely this concubine's shallow view. I hope Your Majesty will make a wise judgment." Empress Wu did not answer Li Xian's question; instead, she turned her gaze toward Emperor Gaozong and offered her smooth explanation.

"This... I actually think this is feasible. It's just that it would inevitably wrong Xian'er, and I truly cannot bear it." Hearing Empress Wu's proposed solution, Gaozong was secretly willing to implement it, but he worried that Li Xian would be dissatisfied, leading to renewed hesitation.

*Oh, please don't hold back! You two should wrong me a little more with such a good thing; I certainly don't mind!* Li Xian had gone to great lengths and devised so many schemes precisely to cancel this damned marriage engagement—how could he possibly feel any dissatisfaction? Yet, even if he were a thousand times willing, Li Xian was not foolish enough to show it on his face. Instead, he assumed a noble and magnanimous expression and said, "May Your Majesty examine this clearly! This subject being wronged is a trivial matter, while peace in the imperial court is paramount. If this matter can be settled this way, this subject has no other objections."

"Very well, then let it be done thus! Convey my decree to publicly inform all officials: I never favored the daughter of the Wang family to begin with, and this matter must never be brought up again!" Hearing Li Xian express his stance, Gaozong breathed a massive sigh of relief and hastily issued the imperial edict.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

Once Emperor Gaozong's decree was issued, the matter was settled. Empress Wu and Li Xian had each gained what they wanted and each harbored their own reservations, so naturally they would stir up no further waves over this issue. They chorused their praises until Gaozong broke into a broad, radiant smile of pure delight...