nycdaug Chapter 144 The eunuch who stole the fruits of victory gets slapped in the face.
Chapter 144 The eunuch who stole the fruits of victory gets slapped in the face.
Gao Chen is the kind of person who forgets the pain once the wound heals.
At this moment, he had completely forgotten how he had been thrown into the bandits' den in such a sorry state, hoping that Li Mao would come to his rescue.
Before Li Mao and Guo Ziyi arrived, Gao Chen took it upon himself to go directly to see Li Longji: "Your Majesty, this is the assassin clue that I have compiled overnight. Please take a look."
He completely ignored the contributions of Li Mao and Guo Ziyi, emphasizing instead his own hard work throughout the night.
Little did he know, Li Mao entrusted this item to him precisely because he anticipated that the man would harbor thoughts of stealing the fruits of victory. This matter involved Princess Taiping, violating a major taboo of Li Longji; anyone who intervened risked incurring Li Longji's wrath.
Li Mao's move was clearly a ploy to shift the blame, making Gao Chen bear the emperor's wrath in place of himself and Guo Ziyi.
But Gao Chen didn't understand this; he was only thinking about taking credit and getting rewards.
"Damn it!"
Just as Gao Chen was feeling smug, believing he would be even more favored by the Emperor, he heard Li Longji roar and smash a cup. Not satisfied with smashing the cup, he then threw all the clues he had painstakingly compiled at Gao Chen's head.
Gao Shen was both shocked and frightened. Looking down at the clues scattered all over the ground, he was on the verge of tears.
Trembling, she said, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please calm down! These things are the result of His Highness Prince Shou and General Guo's hard work over the past few days. There may be some incomplete parts, but I believe they certainly did not do it on purpose."
Just now, thinking it was a request for credit and reward, I only mentioned myself.
Upon discovering Li Longji's fury, he immediately dragged the other two into the mess.
Over the years, Li Longji had actually known about the inner thoughts of the eunuch beside him.
but……
Gao Chen was, after all, Gao Lishi's adopted son. Gao Lishi had been loyal to him, helping him break through the palace gates and regain imperial power. Later, he also assisted him in his power struggle with Princess Taiping, showing utmost dedication. When the Tang Dynasty entered its golden age, Gao Lishi introduced his adopted son, Gao Chen.
Gao Lishi said, "Let Gao Chen replace me in serving Your Majesty. I no longer wish to wield power, nor do I intend to leave my name as a eunuch in history." Therefore, Li Longji became much more tolerant of Gao Chen, and whenever he wanted to deal with him, he would think of Gao Lishi.
"That's it, that's all!"
Li Longji waved his hand and said, "What you brought is merely superficial; it doesn't reveal the deeper meaning. You've lived in the inner palace for too long and don't understand these matters well enough. You should go and discuss it with Prince Shou and the others before drawing any conclusions. I will forgive you this time."
Gao Chen accepted the order and was about to leave, wishing he could escape from there.
But Li Longji stopped him again: "Wait, although your godfather has left the palace, he has been active in Chang'an in recent years. I haven't seen him for a long time. Send him a letter and ask him to come and help investigate the assassination attempt by the rebels."
Gao Lishi was an old man who had rendered meritorious service to the emperor. Although he was just a eunuch, he was very capable.
It was with Gao Lishi by his side that Li Longji broke down the palace gates, executed Empress Wei, forced Li Chongmao to abdicate, and later killed Princess Taiping, who was helping him gain power, thus ushering in the Kaiyuan era of prosperity...
All of this was done with Gao Lishi by his side.
Now that Princess Taiping's people are rebelling against him, if Gao Lishi could help them, they would definitely feel safer than they do now.
Seeing Gao Chen's blank expression, Li Longji angrily said, "What are you still standing here for? I want you to contact Gao Lishi and ask your godfather to come and help. Don't you understand?!"
"Yes, yes, yes! This servant will go right away!" Gao Chen trembled with fright and left in a panic.
He was wrong. He thought that with a few more tricks, he could easily gain the Emperor's favor and appreciation as usual. But he didn't expect that although it was the Crown Prince who was assassinated, this time it dealt an unprecedented blow to the Emperor.
The emperor began to fear that the empire he had built was not secure.
He even feared that what the rebels said might actually come true, and that the An Lushan Rebellion was the legendary divine retribution!
After realizing this, Gao Chen broke out in a cold sweat.
Luckily, he had his godfather protecting him; otherwise, if he had said the wrong thing or handed the wrong thing to the emperor, he wouldn't even know how he lost his head.
Seeing Gao Chen's embarrassed expression, Guo Ziyi couldn't help but chuckle.
But then his expression hardened, and he said to Li Mao, "After this, Gao Chen will definitely not be used as a pawn by us anymore. Next time we report to His Majesty, Your Highness will have to do it personally."
Gao Chen at least had a godfather to protect him, but Li Mao had nothing.
Ever since Consort Wu Hui died, Li Longji (Emperor Xuanzong of Tang) has grown increasingly displeased with his son, Li Mao. Aside from his title of prince, Li Mao's standing before his father seemed even lower than that of a eunuch.
Li Mao shook his head: "No matter what, Father Emperor would never take my life. Everything else is trivial except for life and death. So what if I get scolded a couple of times, or even beaten up? It doesn't matter!"
After speaking, Li Mao looked at Gao Chen, who looked utterly dejected.
No matter what, they are still people planted by the emperor, and cannot be ignored.
“Eunuch Gao, you’ve had a long night. Tell us your conclusions.” Li Mao gave Gao Chen a chance.
Gao Chen had just been scolded by Li Longji, so he was very honest and said word by word, "This servant thinks that, based on His Highness the Crown Prince's description, the shape of the hidden weapon, and the tavern owner's testimony, it can be deduced that this matter is inseparable from the followers of Princess Taiping in the past. I just didn't expect that after so many years, a woman would still have followers in the world, who are determined to avenge the people she once followed."
Upon hearing this, Li Mao shook his head.
No wonder Gao Chen got scolded by Li Longji.
He didn't hold back his experience, speaking frankly: "Eunuch Gao is wrong. It is precisely because all the evidence points to Princess Taiping's followers that it proves that this matter is most likely unrelated to them. Someone has taken advantage of Father Emperor's concern about this matter to cause trouble and mislead us astray. Their intentions are far-reaching."
The prince's testimony hadn't proven anything before, but after the tavern youths caused trouble, everything was confirmed.
There were indeed true believers in Princess Taiping, but they would never publicly insult the emperor or announce to the world that they were related to Princess Taiping; they were not that foolish.
Moreover, it was Li Longji, not Li Heng, who killed Princess Taiping.
If they were to assassinate someone, their target should have been Li Longji.
therefore……
Li Mao concluded, "I believe the person behind this knows the Emperor very well, and whether the assassination of the Crown Prince succeeds or fails, it will be in their favor. This person must be a member of the Tang Dynasty's royal family, and must reside deep within the palace; otherwise, they couldn't have orchestrated such a scheme!"