Chapter 193: Taking Advantage of the Situation A thoughtful person can avoid many loopholes no matter whether he does good things or bad things.

The knife Gu Qing made on his back successfully concealed the last trace of suspicion of all insiders.

Li Longji is a suspicious emperor. He never trusts anyone or anything easily, but he can't explain the wound on Gu Qing's back. Jingzhao Prefecture Yin is right, an individual cannot scratch his own back by himself.

A long wound.

As for why King Ji wanted to harm Gu Qing, almost everyone knows the motive.

The incident in Qingcheng County has not yet passed. The more than 200 dead soldiers sent by Prince Ji's Mansion were all wiped out. For Prince Ji, this was a huge loss. The prince had always been proud and arrogant, so how could he not be angry after receiving such a blow?

It is not impossible to accuse Gu Qing in anger.

The only doubt about this matter is that no matter how angry King Ji was with Gu Qing, he would not openly harm him in the palace. Doing so was clearly giving someone a handle. If King Ji was uneducated and incompetent, how could he even do the most basic things in the city?

No, do you have to attack Gu Qing in the palace?

Li Longji suppressed the suspicion in his heart. He always felt that the matter was not that simple. He always felt that Gu Qing's harmless face was just a disguise, and that the young man's city was actually not consistent with his age.

Suspicion is just an intuition, and Li Longji has no evidence. The whole story is that King Ji occupied the people's fields in Qingcheng County, the county magistrate killed the wealthy gentry and took back the land, King Ji had a murderous intention to kill the county magistrate, and Gu Qing left the capital to protect the county magistrate.

, after returning to Chang'an, he was hated by King Ji. Gu Qing took the initiative to come to apologize, and King Ji harmed Gu Qing in the palace...

From the beginning to the end of this matter, Gu Qing's behavior made it impossible to find fault with him. It seemed that everything he did was reasonable. Gu Qing was completely just a passive person, a victim, and an innocent person in this matter.

So, where did the doubts in his mind come from? Li Longji was puzzled.

"How is Gu Qing's injury? Can he walk?" Li Longji suddenly asked.

The governor thought for a while and said: "Gu Changshi could not move when he was in court at the government office. He had lost too much blood. After diagnosis and treatment, the doctor said that Gu Changshi's injuries are not serious, but he needs to recover for a long time."

Li Longji hummed and said, "Is he still awake?"

"Sober. When recording the confession in the government office, Gu Changshi was clear and coherent, and his words and thoughts were coherent. However, his energy and blood were weak and he was not as good as ordinary people."

Li Longji pondered for a while, then turned to look at Gao Lishi next to him and said: "General Gao, at noon tomorrow, Gu Qing will be announced to enter the palace, but the Yulin Guards will carefully carry him here."

Gao Lishi bowed to receive the order.

At noon the next day, Gu Qing lay in a soft bag and was carried to the Changqing Hall of Xingqing Palace by several Yulin Guards.

Gu Qing was wrapped in a thick Persian wool blanket and waited for Li Longji to leave the court under the corridor outside Changqing Palace. The biting cold wind blew by, and Gu Qing was still a little chilly even though he was wrapped in a thick blanket, but when he entered the palace to meet the king

The rules were so strict that no matter how cold it was, Gu Qing could only wait in the cold wind until Li Longji had dismissed the court before he could enter the palace.

After waiting for about half an hour, Li Longji's emperor's chariot slowly came from the Xingqing main hall. After Li Longji entered the Changqing hall, Gao Lishi came out with a fly whisk, looked at Gu Qing with a smile and said: "Your Majesty, are you there?"

With the purpose, Gu Changshi enters the palace."

Gu Qing thanked him with a smile, and just as he was about to struggle to get up, Gao Lishi said with a smile: "Gu Changshi is inconvenienced. Your Majesty has said that you are allowed to allow Yu Lin Wei to carry Gu Changshi into the palace. You have to obey the authority, and you will be exempted from the courtesy of a monarch and a minister today."

"

Gu Qing burst into tears of gratitude and raised his hands towards the palace door: "I thank Heaven for his great kindness."

After being carried into the palace by the Yulin Guards, Gu Qing saw Li Longji sitting upright, but he struggled to sit up and barely bowed.

Li Longji waved his hand and said with a smile: "Gu Qing is inconvenienced, so no courtesy."

As he spoke, Li Longji stood up and walked to Gu Qing. He leaned over and looked at Gu Qing's injuries. Gu Qing's thighs had been sewed with medicine and were wrapped layer by layer with strips of cloth. The wounds on his back were also sewed with medicine. Li Longji observed carefully.

, don’t miss any detail.

"Gu Qing was injured so seriously, it really makes me feel very sad." Li Longji sighed with sympathy.

At first, Gu Qing thought that Li Longji simply cared about him, but when he saw Li Longji's face filled with loving expressions and his emotionless eyes, Gu Qing's heart skipped a beat.

He instantly understood that Li Longji was not concerned about him, but was suspicious of his injuries. Li Longji was still doubting whether Gu Qing's injuries were caused by him, and perhaps even doubting whether Gu Qing's injuries were real.

Gu Qing suddenly showed a look of panic, and forced himself to sit up and hold his hands towards Li Longji: "My carelessness has caused injury, and your majesty is worried. What's the crime?"

As he spoke, Gu Qing secretly tightened the muscles in his back.

He was injured yesterday, and the wound was not completely closed. As soon as the muscles tightened, the wound suddenly burst open. Gu Qing endured the pain, and his back gradually felt a little wet.

Seeing that Gu Qing was fine, Li Longji suddenly broke out in sweat on his forehead. He couldn't help but asked with concern: "What's wrong with Gu Qing? Does the wound hurt again?"

Gu Qing's face turned pale, and he forced a smile and said: "I am guilty of death, and the wound seems to be acting up..."

Li Longji hurriedly said: "Take off your outer clothes quickly, don't miss the diagnosis and treatment."

As he said this, Li Longji said to Gao Lishi: "Go and announce that the imperial doctor is coming. Go quickly."

Gu Qing hesitated and said: "The Holy Master is here, I dare not lose my etiquette."

Li Longji said displeasedly: "The etiquette of a monarch and his ministers also has to follow the authority. How can I be a pedantic and ignorant monarch, disregarding the lives of my ministers? Take off your outer clothes quickly, I am not guilty."

Gu Qing hesitated for a while, then thanked Li Longji, then took off his belt with difficulty, and slowly removed the outer official uniform.

Underneath the official uniform was a white undershirt. Li Longji walked behind Gu Qing and suddenly found that the back of the white undershirt had been stained red with blood. Gu Qing's shoulders twitched in pain, and a large amount of cold sweat fell down his forehead.

.

The imperial doctor quickly entered the palace. In front of Li Longji, the imperial doctor carefully removed Gu Qing's inner garment, revealing his smooth and white back. Li Longji could clearly see that the white strip of cloth wrapped around Gu Qing's back had turned into blood red, and the wounds

The burst of blood slowly flowed down the skin of his back.

The imperial doctor untied the cloth, revealing a wound about a foot long on Gu Qing's back. Then the imperial doctor frowned and said, "This injury is not serious. If it is not closed, it is still not suitable to move. It will easily burst."

As he spoke, the imperial doctor cleaned up the medicine on Gu Qing's wound, sprinkled a layer of medicinal powder of unknown texture to stop the bleeding, then applied a layer of dark medicinal mud on him, and finally wrapped a new cloth strip.

.

Li Longji stayed behind Gu Qing and looked at Gu Qing's wounds quietly until the wounds were completely exposed to his sight. After confirming the authenticity of Gu Qing's injuries, Li Longji's brows gradually relaxed and his acting became more and more distracted.

Already.

"Does it still hurt? Oh, Gu Qing, you are too unwilling to let me worry. How could you be so seriously injured if you are fine? If Concubine Taizhen knew about it, she would be heartbroken to death." Li Longji sighed affectionately.

After the bleeding was stopped and the medicine was applied again, Gu Qing was still twitching in pain, but some color had returned to his face. He smiled weakly and said, "I was not careful. I was too reckless while walking on Chang'an Road yesterday and fell hard.

I don’t know what it was that scratched me.”

Li Longji said slowly: "Did you injure yourself?"

Gu Qing said resolutely: "Yes. I have one more thing to report. Yesterday, I heard that rumors were spreading in the government and the public, saying that His Highness Prince Ji committed an attack in the royal palace and injured me. These are all rumors. There must be a traitor who maliciously framed His Highness Prince Ji and alienated the Tian family.

As for the love between father and son, I hope your Majesty will take a clear view and strictly investigate those who spread rumors."

Li Longji raised his eyebrows and said: "Oh? But the official of Jingzhao Mansion recorded your injuries in the document and said that your injuries were caused by a sharp weapon. Doesn't this contradict your statement?"

Gu Qing said categorically: "Wu Zuo must have misunderstood how I was injured. I know best. My injury has nothing to do with outsiders and was caused by my own carelessness. Your Majesty, just imagine, even if His Highness King Ji holds a grudge against me, he wants to

It is impossible to plot against the life of a minister in his palace. The prince is a noble man and is very talented. It is impossible for the palace to not even have this."

Li Longji's eyes showed deep thought.

After a long silence, Li Longji suddenly asked: "What did Gu Qing do at Prince Ji's Mansion yesterday?"

Gu Qing whispered: "I dare not deceive you. Your Majesty should be aware of the affairs of Qingcheng County. Although what I did was to save the lives of my friends, I still offended His Highness Prince Ji. Yesterday, Your Majesty summoned me and I left the palace.

I feel uneasy. After all, I am only a sixth-grade official, and I am still a little afraid of offending the prince, so I took the initiative to come to the door to apologize to His Highness Prince Ji..."

Li Longji said with a smile: "Has King Ji forgive you?"

Gu Qing smiled bitterly: "I dare not lie to you. His Highness King Ji still dislikes me. After I apologized, King Ji still did not forgive me, so I had no choice but to resign."

Li Longji said oh, "Is that so?"

Gu Qing looked directly into Li Longji's eyes and said firmly: "Yes."

In the few dialogues between the monarch and his ministers, Gu Qing's words were half true and half false, and Li Longji's expression was also half true and half false. The strange thing was that Li Longji knew which of Gu Qing's words were true and which of them was false, but he knew even more about Gu Qing's

The lie was to maintain the dignity of the royal family and not to embarrass Li Longji, so he endured the humiliation and shouldered the responsibility alone.

As for Gu Qing, he knew that he had never told a single truth from beginning to end, but some of his lies, supported by the consensus of everyone and his own injuries, had turned into irrefutable truths, and even Li Longji had to believe them.

Under the premise that Li Longji already believed him, he told a few lies that everyone knew well, maintained the royal dignity with a sincere and respectful attitude, and won Li Longji's favor. Why wouldn't Gu Qing do it?

After the conversation between the monarch and the minister, they became very jealous.

Having said that, there is nothing to talk about next. How to deal with King Ji is Li Longji's business. Gu Qing believes that Li Longji cannot spare King Ji this time. Even if he favors his son, the censors in the court will not do it.

Won't let him go.

As a party concerned, the attitude that should be made clear has been made clear. From the beginning of the interrogation in Jingzhao Mansion yesterday, Gu Qing bit him to death and claimed that the injuries were caused by himself. He even refused to admit that he had any relationship with King Ji. In Li Longji's heart, Gu Qing

At least he has established a persona that "understands the righteousness and understands the general principles" without leaving any hidden dangers for himself.

The bitter meat plan is complete, now it’s just a matter of looking at the results.

Of course, Li Longji couldn't tell Gu Qing how to deal with King Ji. He only gently told Gu Qing to rest and take care of himself. He also gave Gu Qing some good medicinal materials to replenish qi and blood, and ordered the imperial physician to treat Gu Qing's injuries until he recovered.

.

Gu Qing thanked him with tears in his eyes, and was then carried out of the palace by the Yulin Guards.

After Gu Qing left, Li Longji sat in the large and empty hall, frowning and thinking for a long time.

After a moment of silence, Li Longji finally spoke slowly: "General Gao, I asked you to prepare a decree. The twenty-second son of the emperor, Ji Wang Huan, is wild and rebellious, cruel and without virtue, greedy and forgetful of shame.

Maliciously occupying the people's fertile land and ruining the reputation of the Tian family. He was deposed as a king, demoted to a commoner, exiled to Jiangzhou, and not allowed to return to Chang'an within ten years."

Gao Lishi next to him was shocked when he heard this and couldn't help but said: "Your Majesty, is the punishment too severe? The matter has not been found out yet. Your Majesty, you have not even listened to His Royal Highness King Ji's explanation in person..."
To be continued...