Chapter 416: Princess of Huo State (Part 2)

When her residence was raided, the Princess of Huo State was indeed not there—she was conducting religious ceremonies at Xingshan Temple. Despite being in the spotlight for nearly a month, she remained calm and unfazed, not taking the incident to heart. In her sixties, she had long since grown indifferent to wealth and loss. More importantly, her elder brother, Li Longji, had promised her that Li Yu would pose no threat to her.

Li Longji’s promise still echoed in her ears when the Yulin Army rushed into her residence, injuring her adopted daughter Huainiang and plundering all the wealth she had accumulated over decades. Upon hearing the news, the Princess of Huo State could no longer contain her anger. She left Xingshan Temple in a fit of fury and rushed to Xingqing Palace, determined to complain to her brother Li Longji about Li Yu’s disrespect toward her.

At Xingqing Palace, Li Longji was already awake. He had been awakened by the news of Li Yu’s sudden attack on the Princess of Huo State’s residence. A few months earlier, when he was seriously ill and had just recovered from a coma, he might have approved of Li Yu’s decisive action. But now, all he felt was anger. Li Yu had dared to order the raid on the Princess of Huo State’s residence despite his repeated warnings not to take action against her—this was tantamount to a slap in his face.

At the same time, Li Yu’s audacity made him resolve to depose this wicked grandson and appoint a new heir to the Tang throne.

The Princess of Huo State wept before Li Longji, saying, “All my wealth came from my brother’s generosity. I did not acquire it in violation of Tang law. If the court is in need of money or goods, I am willing to donate. But they shouldn’t storm my residence like bandits, loot everything of value, and injure Huainiang. That poor girl has been raised by me since childhood. Her husband died, and she has lived as a widow, relying on me. I have no other demands—only that my brother revoke my title as princess. I would rather be an ordinary citizen and keep my family safe. I truly no longer want to be a princess.”

Her cries disturbed Li Longji, but he couldn’t lose his temper with her, especially since his promise had only been made just two days earlier, leaving him in an awkward position.

“Sister, stop crying. Your property will just be stored elsewhere. I promise you it will be returned in full. I will punish those who injured Huainiang and give you an explanation. Stay in my palace for these few days; within a month at most, I will make that wicked grandson kneel and apologize to you.”

At this moment, Wu Ruiniang also stepped forward to persuade Princess of Huo State, “Princess, the late emperor is not in good health. Please don’t add more worries to him. Since he has promised to make a decision for you, just be patient and come with me!”
With an assurance given, Princess of Huo State had no choice but to follow Wu Ruiniang. Meanwhile, Li Longji sighed to Gao Lishi, who was sitting beside him, “A’weng, this wretched grandson really disappoints me.”
It was only after repeated pleas from Li Longji that Gao Lishi returned to his side. Having gone through a near-death experience, Li Longji finally realized that Gao Lishi was the only person he could trust. Despite Gao Lishi’s close friendship with Li Qing’an and his firm support for Li Yu to ascend the throne, Li Longji knew that Gao Lishi would never betray him for his own interests. As for Yu Chaonen, Li Longji saw through him—he had already betrayed him.
Yet Gao Lishi was no longer as vigorous as before. Time mercilessly consumed his life; his hair and beard were white, and age spots were clearly visible on his face and hands. The imposing presence he once had was gone, and he had become almost unrecognizable. But one thing remained unchanged: his loyalty to Li Longji. Despite how badly Li Longji had treated him, he still served him wholeheartedly without complaint.
It was no longer serving in the traditional sense. Too old to attend to him personally, his role now was to be Li Longji’s companion—talking to him or massaging his hunched back. As for offering advice, he no longer had much interest in it.
Hearing Li Longji’s complaints about his grandson, Gao Lishi sighed and said, “Your Majesty, I’ve also heard that the court is short of funds. The Grandson is kind-hearted; he wouldn’t take such a step unless forced. Please show some understanding for him!”
“I can understand him, but the problem is he’s gone down the wrong path—turning his blade against the imperial family. What does he want? To sever the lineage of the Tang Dynasty?”
As soon as Li Longji finished speaking, a young eunuch rushed over in panic, shouting from afar, “Your Majesty, it’s bad! The army has surrounded Xingqing Palace and won’t let anyone in or out!”
Shocked, Li Longji stood up abruptly. Filled with rage, he trembled violently and fainted from sheer anger. Gao Lishi and several eunuchs rushed forward, shouting, “Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”
After a while, Li Longji slowly regained consciousness. Gao Lishi quickly comforted him, “Your Majesty, I think the emperor is afraid something might go wrong, so he’s keeping you out of it. He would never dare harm you.”
“I regret it so much!”

Li Longji struggled to get up, his heart filled with remorse. He really shouldn’t have appointed this grandson. In the end, he even turned on himself. He sat there in a daze for a while before suddenly gritting his teeth and saying, “Since he’s heartless, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

He turned to Gao Lishi and said, “Elder Gao, not everyone can be stopped. I’ll write a secret decree; you find someone to deliver it to Zhang Yun on my behalf!”

…

Since last year’s silver coin incident, Zhang Yun had resigned from his position as Minister of Revenue after being investigated by Yang Guozhong regarding his role in the money leakage scandal. He also stepped down from his role as Vice Chancellor, meaning he was completely removed from Li Yu’s cabinet and free from any ties to court affairs. Zhang Yun’s life became even more leisurely. He enjoyed fishing and reading, spending his days fishing in the backyard or reading in his study, living a carefree life. One afternoon, as usual, Zhang Yun was fishing in a small river near his residence. There, he met a group of elderly fishermen with whom he would chat about daily life, which kept him from feeling lonely. Zhang Yun now dressed like a fisherman, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, coarse linen clothes, rolled-up pants, and straw shoes. His skin was just a bit fairer than theirs, making it hard to believe that this fisherman was once the Minister of Revenue who had controlled the Tang Dynasty’s finances for over a decade.

Fishing required silence, and most of the time, everyone remained quiet. Zhang Yun was no exception. He stared at the float on the water’s surface, but his mind was occupied with the major events happening in Chang’an that day. Frankly, Li Yu’s decisive actions surprised him and earned his admiration. Although he knew Li Yu was acting under pressure, the fact that he took steps to resolve the crisis showed that he was still quite clear-headed and aware of the impending danger. Zhang Yun certainly understood Li Yu’s current situation. If last year the local princes had been in an awkward position with no reason to rebel against the central court, Li Longji’s revival changed that situation. Li Longji became the princes’ greatest reliance, and similarly, Li Longji would rely on them. In fact, Li Longji had already done so—over the past month, he had summoned Zhang Yun to Xingqing Palace three times for secret talks, clearly indicating his intention to depose Li Yu and appoint Li Liu, the Prince of Shu, as the crown prince.

Zhang Yun couldn’t help but admire this old man for realizing his connection with Li Liu and only now deciding to replace Li Yu—what had he been doing all this time?

Since Li Longji had already decided to depose Li Yu, the situation was highly unfavorable for Li Yu. If he took no action now, Li Longji would strike. Therefore, Li Yu’s actions today were probably the right ones. By using Princess of Huo as a starting point and clearly opposing land annexation, he could at least gain the support of mid- and lower-ranking officials and peasants. To some extent, his decision was very sound—though it was a bit late. If it had been half a year earlier, he would have had money, grain, and a strong army in Guanzhong. But now, it was too late.

At that moment, a horse rushed toward them. A cold smile appeared on Zhang Yun’s lips—he knew Li Longji had come for him.

“Sir!”
One of his family members called from the bridge, “There’s an urgent matter at the mansion; please return.”

Zhang Yun was fishing under the bridge. His family member’s loud voice made his fellow fishermen frown. Such noise would scare away the fish. Zhang Yun grew annoyed and said, “I know. Stop calling.”

Frightened, his family member fell silent. Zhang Yun continued fishing calmly, and silence returned, as if nothing had happened. After about fifteen minutes, he shook his fishing rod, and a half-foot-long carp bit the hook, thrashing in the air with a shimmering glow. Zhang Yun laughed heartily. Would Li Longji also be like a big fish? Only then did he slowly pack up his fishing gear and said to the others with a smile, “Gentlemen, there’s an urgent matter at home. I’ll be leaving first.”

“Take care, Sir Zhang!” The fishermen stood up in return. Zhang Yun walked onto the bridge, where a carriage was already waiting. He got in and ordered, “Back to the mansion!”

……

That night, a homing pigeon flew swiftly toward Jiannan, carrying Zhang Yun’s secret letter and Li Longji’s orders—to the region of Bashu, which had a hundred thousand troops: The former emperor wanted to depose the grandson and establish another ruler as the legitimate heir. The ruler should quickly lead his troops to the capital.

……

Li Yu raided Princess of Huo’s mansion, ordered the royal family to hand over their land, surrounded Xingqing Palace with troops, and ordered the army to clear lands in Guanzhong. Li Yan, the Minister of Punishments, went there as an official in charge of land clearance. These sudden events shocked the court and the entire Tang Dynasty.

In Jinman County of Anxi, Li Qing’an personally led forty thousand Anxi cavalry to Beiting City. The unrest in Chang’an caught the attention of the whole country, attracting this high-ranking official from the Western Regions. For Li Qing’an, who had just ended the wars in the Western Regions, the sudden changes in Chang’an came at just the right time. Of course, every political faction would be interested in this political upheaval in Chang’an. It was almost certain that all factions would get involved. Who would gain the most benefits would depend on the tactics and strength of those playing the game.

It should be said that although Li Qingan has absolute strength, he also has his greatest weakness, which is the excessive distance, giving him a sense of being out of reach. Therefore, getting closer to Chang’an—even just a little closer—is Li Qingan’s top priority.