Chapter 213: Please call me Your Majesty! (ask for monthly votes)
This sudden reminder of maternal love left Fang Yiai a little confused.

What's going on?

How come all of a sudden, I hit you with an uppercut?

Fortunately, Mrs. Fang is not Doomsday Iron Fist, and she did not follow up with the Earth-Destroying Punch after the uppercut, otherwise Fang Yiai would have been skinned alive.

"Mother, it's a misunderstanding..." Li Shu hurriedly grabbed Madam Fang, who had even picked up a sword to chase after him, "It's not my husband's fault..."

"Really?" Mrs. Fang heard Li Su's words and silently put down the sword in her hand.

As the saying goes, a loving mother holds a sword in her hand, and it will chop down her wandering son. Fang Yiai always felt that if Li Shu shouted a little slower, his mother's sword would chop him down.

Since ancient times, the land of Yan and Zhao has been home to many tragic and generous men, as well as many fierce women.

While escaping from the disaster, Fang Yiai was still feeling fortunate that his wife Li Shu had not learned his mother's character.

"What's going on?" Mrs. Fang looked at Fang Yiai and asked with a fierce face.

Fang Yiai felt as if an electric shock had occurred throughout his body and he shuddered.

He quickly told Mrs. Fang everything in detail, from how his cousin Lu Xuan invited him, what happened after he arrived, and who he met.

Mrs. Fang frowned, and a fierce light flashed in her one eye.

We finally have a good life, why does someone come out to mess with us?
But her reason made her believe it, but emotionally it was a little hard for her to accept it, after all, she had watched Lu Hyun grow up.

Fang Yiai also noticed his mother's hesitation, so he gave Li Shu a wink.

Li Su was such a smart person that she immediately understood what he meant.

Besides, she didn't expect that this speculation would cause Mrs. Fang and the Lu family to become estranged.

So she said, "Mother, I think that instead of being schemed against, it is better to take the initiative and test what the other party is going to do."

"Oh?" Mrs. Fang immediately became interested, "Shu'er, tell me quickly."

Although it is hard to accept that my nephew grew up in my care, the flesh on the palms is always thicker than on the backs of my hands.

What's more, what Li Shu just said was exactly what she wanted.

A bad thing cannot be good, and a good thing cannot be bad. It’s good to test it out and see whether the other person is a human or a ghost.

"In that case, why don't I pretend to be tricked and invite Master Bianji to come to my house to pray for my mother." Li Shu smiled and said, "My mother happens to be a Buddhist, so you can be present when she prays. This will also prove my innocence."

"Okay, let's act according to this plan." Mrs. Fang naturally had no objection. She was still satisfied with the IQ of her daughter-in-law.

After making the plan, early the next morning, when Fang Yiai went out on duty, Li Shu ordered someone to prepare a car and go to Hongfu Temple to invite Master Bian Ji to come to his house.

When she arrived at Hongfu Temple, Cui Shi also learned the news.

"Haha, I thought you were a chaste and heroic woman, but you're just like this!" Cui Shi stroked his chin and smiled obscenely: "It's a pity that such a beautiful woman like Princess Gaoyang fell into the hands of that wild monk!"

Wang Qian also echoed, "Who said it wasn't true? At the banquet yesterday, they pretended to be a loving couple, but in private they were so shameful!"

"Well, stop mocking me. Are you ready for everything?" Cui Shi reached out and knocked on the table in front of him.

"Don't worry, brother Zhi." Wang Qian crossed his arms and said, "By tomorrow at the latest, the rumors about Princess Gaoyang secretly meeting with the wild monk will surely spread in the streets and alleys of Chang'an City."

"That's good." Cui Shi's eyes flashed and he said with a sneer.

Humph, this time, I will destroy the reputation of the women in your Li family!

Little did people know that Li Shu had put a lot of thought into inviting Bian Ji into his palace.

At the beginning, Bian Ji didn't want to go at all.

"Amitabha, Princess, please forgive me. I still need to help you complete the collection of my experiences in the Western Regions and compile them into a book. I'm sorry that I can't obey your order."

Li Su took a deep breath and felt that he and the monk could not talk about this.

She had no choice but to tell Bian Ji about her guess.

Who would have thought that after hearing this, Xuanzang spoke before Bian Ji could say anything.

"In that case, disciple Bian Ji, you can go." Xuanzang suddenly said, "The Buddha has the heart of a bodhisattva, but also the eyes of a vajra. If they dare to use you to ruin the reputation of our Buddhist sect, we will destroy their reputation!"

"It's just... Master, monks should abstain from greed, anger, and ignorance. How can a disciple..."

Bian Ji was still arguing when he was interrupted by Xuanzang.

"The sea of ​​suffering is endless. I am asking you to enlighten them."

"Disciple understands." Bian Ji was helpless. Since his master had spoken so, what else could he do?
Just agree to it.

In this way, Bian Ji rode in a carriage and followed Princess Gaoyang into the Fang Mansion.

On the first day, nothing happened.

The next day, even Li Xiang heard about Princess Gaoyang's secret meeting with Bian Ji in Fang Mansion with great fanfare.

Gossip is human nature, especially royal gossip.

Of course, the people certainly could not point out directly who had a secret meeting with the monk Bian Ji, so they used the term “a lady who must be avoided.”

When Li Xiang, who was sitting in the office of Jingzhao Prefecture, heard about this, his teacup fell to the ground.

"What did you say?" he asked incredulously.

"Brother, it's absolutely true. This is what people are saying!" Li Jingren said worriedly.

Li Xiang stood up, paced back and forth, and asked, "Jingren, what do you think?"

Li Jingren thought, how can I see it? How can I see it...

But he still gritted his teeth and said something nice: "I think Aunt Gao Yang is definitely not that kind of person. She must have ulterior motives..."

Having said that, Li Jingren suddenly felt that his intelligence had taken the upper hand again.

Yes, he just brought Monk Bianji home yesterday, and today the whole city is talking about it. There must be someone with ulterior motives spreading rumors everywhere!

It has to be! It has to be!

Without any further ado, he set his sights on the Shandong gentry.

There is no other reason. The only ones who have such public opinion power in Chang'an City are the aristocratic families.

The Hedong and Jiangnan gentry had no past or present grudges against the Li Tang royal family. The Pei family, representative of the Hedong gentry, and the Xiao family, representative of the Jiangnan gentry, were both married to the crown prince's grandson. It was even more impossible for them to do such a thing as giving birth to a son without an ass at this critical juncture.

Then, the scheming frog keeps touching your belly!
Who else could it be except the Shandong gentry?
"Brother, do you think this is the revenge of the Shandong gentry on you and Aunt Gaoyang after they have been dormant for a long time?" Li Jingren asked tentatively.

"It's very likely." Li Xiang reached out and knocked on the table: "Except for these little slaves, no one else would do such a thing as giving birth to a son without an eye!"

Li Jingren took a breath, damn, his brother is still the best at scolding people!

In fact, he doesn't know that, as the saying goes, when you hit someone, hit them in the face first, and when you scold someone, you must scold their mother first. When you scold someone, you must scold their parents first. This is a traditional cultural custom with a very long history in our country.

Don’t say that Li Xiang’s identity is not suitable for swearing. As far back as the Warring States Period, our ancestors left us the classic national curse of cursing someone first.

King Wei of Qi was furious and said, "Your mother is a slave girl!", meaning your mother is a lowly slave girl. In addition to kings, emperors also scolded like this. For example, during the Song Dynasty, the beam of the palace was broken and needed to be repaired. The three officials reported to the emperor and said that they should cut a big tree to use.

However, Zhao Kuangyin didn't buy it at all. He thought that if the beam was broken, it could be fixed by just joining it together. Why damage a big tree and then cut it into smaller pieces? He was really bored. So he wrote on the memorial: "Cut off your father's head and your mother's head".

What it means is to cut off your father's head and your mother's head.

Li Xiang's words can be regarded as an innovation, and they also include their descendants.

But having said that, Li Xiang still trusted Li Su 100%.

His first reaction was shock, his second was disbelief, and then he thought that his aunt was not an easy person to deal with, and she must be planning something big to plot against others.

"Then what should we do?" Li Jingren asked, "Should we just let them slander our aunt like this? This is intolerable!"

"Just keep your troops in place."

Li Xiang pondered for a moment and said, "My aunt has her own ideas. If we rashly get involved, it will ruin their plans. Just pretend you don't know."

"Is this really okay?" Li Jingren was still a little hesitant: "This concerns my aunt's reputation, how can we remain indifferent?"

"What else can we do?" Li Xiang sighed, "Do we have to order the arrest of the rumormongers? Isn't this an official acknowledgment of the matter?"

"Why?" Li Jingren asked in surprise and confusion.

"The first law of politics is that only news that is officially denied can be trusted." Li Xiang sighed.

Li Jingren: ...

Well, there is some truth in what you said.

"If we intervene in this matter now, it will undoubtedly give people an excuse. They will say that we are refuting the rumor out of guilt." Li Xiang sighed and said, "It's better to just ignore this matter. Just let it rain and my mother marry. Let it be."

"Okay." Li Jingren nodded.

Not long after, Quan Wanji and Generals Heng and Ha also walked in from outside.

"Your Highness, something happened!" Lao Quan said seriously.

"It's about Aunt Gaoyang, I heard it all from Jingren." Li Xiang nodded.

"I think that there must be someone with ulterior motives behind this matter, otherwise the news would not have spread so quickly, and even the people in Jingzhao Prefecture would be talking about it." Quan Wanji said solemnly.

It’s not that he really trusts Princess Gao Yang, but his intuition tells him that this matter is not that simple.

"Your Highness, please give the order!" Hegan Chengji knelt on one knee and said loudly: "As long as Your Highness gives the order, Zhang Sizheng and I will definitely kill the rumormongers on the spot..."

"What about on the spot?" Li Xiang glanced at Hegan Chengji.

"Execute him on the spot!" Zhang Sizheng added.

"You two are only making things worse. Just ignore this matter." Li Xiang sighed and repeated to Quan Wanji what he had said to Li Jingren before.

"Then we're just going to stand by and watch?" Hegan Chengji said somewhat unconvinced.

Li Xiang pondered for a moment, thinking that just standing there and watching was not a solution, he had to come up with some countermeasures.

"For the time being, please hold your troops still. I will go to the palace and discuss countermeasures with the Saint."

After leaving Jingzhao Prefecture, Li Xiang took a carriage to the imperial palace.

When Li Shimin heard about this, he almost had a seizure on the spot.

How could he remain indifferent when such a big thing happened?

This is a serious matter concerning his daughter's innocence, and Princess Gaoyang also occupies a significant position in his heart.

First of all, Li Shu's biological mother died early, and she was raised by Empress Zhangsun. This made her feel superior in Li's heart.

Secondly, Li Shu is Li Xiang's right-hand man. Old Li always feels that this matter is not only aimed at Li Shu, but also at his eldest grandson.

Finally, Lao Li is a man who protects his son.

He quickly summoned Li Chengqian and his two brothers to the palace, intending to discuss countermeasures with them first, and by the way sent someone to Jingzhao Prefecture to summon Li Xiang.

However, Li Xiang missed the person who was summoned to Jingzhao Prefecture and did not know about this matter.

When he arrived at the Lizheng Hall, Li Shimin was still a little stunned.

"Why did you come so fast?"

"With such a big thing happening, how dare I delay, grandson?" Li Xiang said.

As he spoke, he bowed to Li Mingda who was sitting not far away: "Aunt."

"Yes, Xiang'er." Li Mingda nodded in greeting, but his face was a little angry.

Among these sisters, her relationship with Li Shu was pretty good. After all, not only did they grow up together, but Li Shu would also always come to the palace to see her when he had nothing to do.

Under such circumstances, how could Li Shu not be angry when she was being schemed against by others?

What's more, even if Li Shu had an average relationship with her, she would not remain indifferent.

Not long after, the three brothers Li Chengqian, Li Tai and Li Zhi arrived at the Lizheng Hall.

At Li Shimin's signal, five people from three generations of a family sat in a circle around the table.

"Have you heard about what happened in Gao Yang?" Li Shimin asked straight to the point.

"What's the matter?" Li Chengqian asked.

"What did you hear?" Li Tai was a little confused.

"Who is Gao Yang?" Li Zhi was still a little sleepy.

Hearing Li Zhi's words, Li Shimin knocked on the table, which scared Li Zhi.

This fright not only broke out in a cold sweat, but also completely dispelled his sleepiness.

"Such a big thing happened in Chang'an City, don't tell me, you don't know anything!" Li Shimin looked at his three sons angrily, and first questioned Li Chengqian: "Gao Ming, as the crown prince, don't you care about everything?"

"There are naturally professionals to do the job. What I do is to let the officials do their respective duties. Why do you ask this question, father?" Li Chengqian gave a Chen Ping-style answer.

Li Xiang was standing by and immediately felt something was wrong.

Damn, this is what I taught you how to deal with the Censor in the 16th year of Zhenguan, right?

I only told you to deal with the censor, not your father!

Li Xiang's premonition was correct. When Old Li heard this, he was so angry that he slammed the table with his hand.

"What do you mean by Aye? You should address him as Your Majesty during a meeting!"

(First update sent)

(End of this chapter)