Chapter 143 Disposal
After a night, the thunder stopped and the rain ceased.

Unlike previous days, a beam of sunlight broke through the clouds, the sun came out, and the days of thunder and rain in Luoyang seemed to be over.

Zhao Ji was staring at the soldiers cleaning up Zixia Temple, clearing away corpses and traces of killing.

After a night of fierce fighting, a quiet place like Zixia Temple has turned into a dangerous place. In a few years, legends of evil spirits like those in Jiang Family Courtyard may spread here.

Shen Tao took a list and presented it to Zhao Ji: "General, this is what I found in the secret compartment of Wang Zhiyuan's bedroom."

When Zhao Ji took it and looked at it, his expression immediately became solemn.

He immediately ordered: "Shen Tao, I'll leave the matters here to you. I'm going back to the palace to meet His Majesty and report."

Inside the Shangyang Palace, Wu Zetian sat stiffly behind the imperial desk, her eyes dull, allowing the sunlight to penetrate the window lattice and fall on her graying temples.

The two bright lamps on the imperial desk were still burning. The surroundings were so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. No one dared to disturb the empress's meditation.

Time in the palace seemed to freeze until Shangguan Wan'er walked into the palace and broke the silence with a whisper: "Your Majesty, General Zhao is back."

Wu Zetian was in a daze, immersed in her own thoughts, and seemed not to hear Shangguan Wan'er's voice.

Shangguan Wan'er looked at the exhausted empress in front of her and hesitated whether to speak.

Eventually, Wu Zetian came back to her senses. She flicked her sleeves, regained her composure, and her eyes suddenly became sharp, regaining about 50% of her former majesty.

"Let him in."

Shangguan Wan'er retreated in response and immediately led Zhao Ji into the hall.

After Zhao Ji bowed respectfully, he presented a list with both hands.

He naturally knew Wu Zetian's current state, and spoke carefully: "Your Majesty, I was ordered to go to Zixia Temple to arrest the traitor Wang Zhiyuan, but Wang Zhiyuan mobilized the rebels he had taken in and gathered to resist stubbornly."

"I had no choice but to wipe them out on the spot, without letting any of them escape. Wang Zhiyuan was stubborn and unyielding, so I killed him. I then searched Zixia Temple and found this book, which records the contact information and names of Wang Zhiyuan's rebels."

Shangguan Wan'er took the initiative to step forward, took the list from Zhao Ji's hand, and presented it respectfully to Wu Zetian.

But Wu Zetian was only forcing herself to stay alert and had no desire to look through the list. She just let Shangguan Wan'er put the list on the imperial desk.

"Okay, I understand. You handled this matter very well. Go away." Wu Zetian said in a steady voice and sent Zhao Ji away.

Zhao agreed, took another look at the list, and slowly stepped back.

When the palace was peaceful again, Wu Zetian took a deep breath, closed her eyes and rested for a moment, then told Shangguan Wan'er, "Okay, everything in Shangyang Palace should be normal. There is no need to close the palace gates."

"Also, summon Xiao Qingfang and Huang Shengyan from the Internal Guard to come see me."

"According to the order."

Shangguan Wan'er left as soon as she was told, and Wu Zetian was left alone in the palace again.
-
When Zhao Ji walked out of Wu Zetian's bedroom, he saw that Wang Zhiyuan's set of ghost-exorcising instruments in front of the palace had been dismantled by the guards.

Di Renjie was standing quietly in front of the Tixiang Gate of Shangyang Palace, as if waiting for someone.

"Sir, who are you waiting for?" Zhao Ji walked over and greeted him with a bow.

Di Renjie turned around and saw that it was Zhao Ji. He couldn't help but smile: "What do you think?"

"If you are not waiting for me, you must be waiting for Princess Taiping." Zhao Ji said with a smile.

Di Renjie smiled and nodded, acknowledging Zhao Ji's statement. Then he changed the subject and asked, "What's the situation at Zixia Temple?" Zhao Ji lowered his voice and answered, "Wang Zhiyuan has indeed gathered a group of people. I have followed the order of His Majesty and have wiped them all out. Imperial Master Wang Zhiyuan is also dead. But Wang Zhiyuan left behind a list of names, which should be the names of the anti-military forces he had won over."

Di Renjie frowned when he heard this. He knew that this would be another bloody battle.

Just as Zhao Ji and Di Renjie were talking, a magnificent carriage with many attendants slowly approached. It was Princess Taiping's carriage.

Two people were blocking the way. Princess Taiping's attendant knew that it was Di Renjie in front of the palace gate, and quickly reminded Princess Taiping.

Princess Taiping then immediately ordered the carriage to stop and got off to meet him in person.

When Di Renjie saw that it was Princess Taiping, he and Zhao Ji slowly stepped forward to greet her.

When Princess Taiping saw Di Renjie waiting here, she felt very uneasy and had a premonition that her plan had failed. At this time, she could only pretend to be calm.

"Why did Lord Di come to the palace so early? Is there something important?" Princess Taiping said with a fake smile.

Di Renjie was polite and bowed first, then said, "I am not entering the palace. I just met your majesty and am about to leave the palace and return home. Your majesty has something for me to pass on to the princess."

Princess Taiping looked suspicious and asked, "What is it?"

Di Renjie slowly took out a green toad from his sleeve, which was the one he gave to Li Xian.

He handed the green toad to Princess Taiping and said, "It can be considered as returning it to its original owner."

Princess Taiping could not help but take two or three steps back. After a long time, she reached out her trembling hand and took the green toad.

"Mother, are you going to sentence me to death? Just like my brother?" Princess Taiping's face was pale. She obviously thought that she would have the same fate as Li Xian.

Di Renjie shook his head repeatedly and sighed, "Your Highness, I am not the kind of person that Qiu Shenji is. Your Highness has always been close to Taoists. You should practice well after you go back."

Upon hearing this, Princess Taiping collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably, as if she had just escaped a disaster.

She then faced the direction of Shangyang Palace and knelt deeply as a token of thanks and gratitude for Wu Zetian's generosity. She then got in the car and went back home without mentioning going to the palace.

Watching Princess Taiping's carriage drive away, Zhao Ji breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "It's finally over. I've been worried for a while, fearing that something might happen to Your Majesty. Now I can finally rest assured."

Di Renjie didn't say anything, but he also had a smile on his face. However, his feelings about this matter were more complicated, and he was not as relaxed as Zhao Ji.

Princess Taiping was naturally extremely rebellious, but her surname was Li after all, so she could be considered decent with such a peaceful and quiet life.
-
In the Xianju Palace, Xiao Qingfang and Huang Shengyan were kneeling on the ground listening to instructions.

Wu Zetian's emotions finally stabilized, and she turned back into the emperor that everyone feared, or rather, she had to have this expression in front of the inner guards.

Wu Zetian did not show any anger, but said calmly: "...You two have taken on important responsibilities in the Inner Guard Office, and you have made the Inner Guard Office like this for me. Do you have anything to say to me?"

Huang Shengyan looked up at Wu Zetian and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, the Internal Guard is under the command of Xiao Da Ge Ling. These matters are beyond my control..."

"Shut up!" Wu Zetian slammed the imperial desk and stood up suddenly. "At this time, you are still blaming each other. It is precisely because the inner guards are full of people like you that they have caused such chaos!"

Huang Shengyan quickly pleaded guilty and kowtowed: "I am guilty, I deserve death."

Xiao Qingfang was very proud to see Huang Shengyan being the target of anger, but she knew very well that this was not the time to add insult to injury, and she even had to lend a helping hand.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. Huang Geling is right. It is because of my incompetence that people like Xu Shide, He Yun, and Wang Zhiyuan have infiltrated the inner guard. Your Majesty, please punish them."

After saying this, Xiao Qingfang lowered her head to the ground, extremely respectful.

(End of this chapter)