Chapter 142 Alone
The strategy Di Renjie proposed was still the sting operation he was best at.

After Wu Zetian and Di Renjie finished their plan, Di Renjie and Zhao Ji pretended to leave, and Wu Zetian returned to bed to sleep.

Chunxiang watched Di Renjie and Zhao Ji leave the bedroom one by one, and her mind became active.

She received a strict order to eliminate Wu Zetian as planned tonight at all costs.

There was no other choice, Chunxiang had to act. She learned to be smarter, attracting attention in the open while sending her accomplices to act.

But once the action started, the outcome was doomed. Another "familiar person" appeared on Wu Zetian's bed, and Chunxiang and many of her accomplices were also exposed.

The outcome of the incident made Wu Zetian furious again. There were quite a few eunuchs and palace maids involved in this incident, and there was also someone like Chunxiang who was in a key position. Wu Zetian could not help but be frightened.

Fortunately, after some digestion, Wu Zetian's furious state temporarily subsided.

But her face was still not looking good, and she gave orders one by one: "Wan'er, I hand the people over to you. You have to clear out all the rebels in the palace for me. All the palace servants in Xianju Palace must be replaced."

Turning to Zhao Ji, she continued, "Zhao Ji, you must immediately convey my order to seal the palace gates. No one is allowed to enter or leave at will. You must strictly keep the news and not let any leaks! You must personally lead the team to the Zixia Temple in Mangshan to capture the traitor Wang Zhiyuan. There must be no mistakes!"

"We will follow your majesty's orders." Zhao Ji and Shangguan Wan'er both agreed and left.

Only Di Renjie and Wu Zetian were left in the hall. There was an indescribable subtle atmosphere in the air, and both of them were silent.

Finally, it was Wu Zetian who broke the silence. She sighed softly and said with gratitude: "Huaiying, you saved me again."

Di Renjie said modestly: "Your Majesty, you are too kind. In fact, it is all thanks to Your Majesty that you sent Zhao Ji to me. He has made great contributions to this case. Without him, I would have found it difficult to solve the case."

Wu Zetian smiled and said, "It was Princess Taiping who casually mentioned this that gave me this idea. I didn't expect it to save my life."

When Di Renjie saw Wu Zetian mentioned Princess Taiping, his face changed and he was considering whether to speak.

However, before Di Renjie could react, Wu Zetian spoke again: "Huaiying, I don't understand. I have never treated Wang Zhiyuan and He Yun unfairly, let alone Chunxiang. Why do they dare to do such a treasonous thing?"

After thinking it over again and again, Di Renjie finally said, "Your Majesty, this is because there are bigger figures behind these people directing them."

Wu Zetian's eyes turned fierce again when she heard this: "Who is it? Who is behind this?"

Di Renjie said slowly, "If the rebels follow their plan, after His Majesty's death, the Crown Prince and the Prince of Liang will fight to the death, and it is very likely that both will suffer losses in the end."

"At this time, the mastermind behind the scenes used his influence and the anti-military forces gathered by Wang Zhiyuan and He Yun as a backing to come out and clean up the mess, thus reaping the benefits."

Di Renjie recalled what Zhao Ji had said to him before: "We have to mention the green toad again. There are only a handful of people who know about this green toad and can get it and carry out the subsequent series of plans."

When Wu Zetian heard this, a hint of realization flashed across her eyes. She naturally understood that these things were most likely to be known by her children.

"You might as well be more clear. Who are you referring to?" Wu Zetian stared at Di Renjie with lightning eyes.

Di Renjie took a deep breath and said helplessly, "How did Wang Zhiyuan, the Imperial Preceptor, gain favor with the Emperor? Your Majesty, don't you know?"

When these words were spoken, Wu Zetian felt as if struck by lightning, and she froze on the spot. She really did not think about her beloved daughter at all.

The next moment, there was a sparkling mist in Wu Zetian's eyes, and then she slowly lowered her head, without saying a word.

Thinking of the number of times Princess Taiping had entered the palace in recent times and her various behaviors, Wu Zetian closed her eyes dejectedly.

Wu Zetian could not accept that her daughter was willing to use the most vicious method to deal with her. Di Renjie noticed that Wu Zetian was mumbling something, but he could not hear it clearly.

Those were the words that only Wu Zetian herself could hear clearly and kept repeating: "I am a lonely and helpless person, a lonely and helpless person..."
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Zhao Ji took the imperial edict and enjoyed the treatment of an inner guard. On a rainy night, he led a large group of Qianniu guards to open the city gates and headed straight for Zixia Temple on Mangshan Mountain with great momentum.

After running around for a long time, they finally arrived at Zixia Temple. Zhao Ji immediately ordered the Qianniu Guards to surround Zixia Temple.

The sound of a large number of government troops arriving seemed to be heard in Zixia Temple, and there was a burst of noise, but it soon became quiet again.

Zhao Ji was just about to order the gate to be opened, but suddenly another group of Qianniu Guards on horseback caught up with him.

"General Zhao, His Majesty has a new order." the guard shouted.

A hint of something flashed in Zhao Ji's eyes, and he dismounted to receive the order.

Unexpectedly, the guard only brought one sentence: "Your Majesty has ordered that all the rebels in Zixia Temple, including Wang Zhiyuan, must be killed on the spot without any survivors."

Zhao Ji immediately understood that the empress was too soft-hearted towards her own little daughter and was going to kill her to silence her and stop the case at this step.

By this time, Wang Zhiyuan was ready. He was brave enough to open the door and go to see Zhao Ji alone.

"Who are you? How dare you lead troops to surround the place where my great master Fuguo practices immortal cultivation? Do you want to rebel?" Wang Zhiyuan shouted.

Zhao Ji laughed dumbly and said coldly: "Master, didn't you see my Qianniu Guards? Of course, His Majesty asked me to come."

Zhao Ji waved his hand and said, "Wang Zhiyuan attempted to usurp the throne, his crime is unforgivable. Your Majesty has ordered that all the people in Zixia Temple be killed without mercy!"

Wang Zhiyuan's face immediately changed and he quickly retreated into Zixia Temple.

He was about to order his men to close the door, but Zhao Ji had already caught up with him and knocked down the two Taoists who were closing the door.

The Qianniu Guards followed closely behind Zhao Ji and rushed into the Zixia Temple.

Wang Zhiyuan retreated behind a group of Taoists, who were brandishing swords and knives, and there were even some unidentified people dressed in martial arts clothes around them.

Zhao Ji understood clearly that this was the so-called "anti-military force" that Wang Zhiyuan had recruited for his own use.

These people were just a mob, after all. They were no match for the elite Qianniu Guards, so it was basically a one-sided massacre.

Zhao Ji's target was only Wang Zhiyuan, to prevent him from escaping during the chaos of the night rain.

The guards in front of Wang Zhiyuan seemed to be quite elite, but they were no match for Zhao Ji. Zhao Ji wielded his sword freely in the rain, and soon solved all the obstacles in front of Wang Zhiyuan.

"No, General, spare my life, I have something important to tell you..."

Zhao Ji was afraid that he would open his mouth and say something he shouldn't, so he stabbed him to death with a sword.

"You're lucky. You're much luckier than Xu Shide." Zhao Ji shook his head and threw himself into other battles.

　The order of Chapters 141 and 142 is wrong. I have asked the editor to help change it, but I don’t know when it can be changed back.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)