Chapter 246: Snake Spirit's Past

Zhao Ji's fantastic reasoning left Li Yuanfang and Ruyan dumbfounded.

"You mean, Jingkong is the snake spirit spy in Hanguang Temple?" Li Yuanfang asked in surprise.

Zhao Ji nodded slightly, his expression solemn: "Although it is hard to believe, if what the abbot said is true, this inference is reasonable."

Li Yuanfang still had doubts between his brows: "Impossible! If Jingkong is a spy, then wouldn't the Snake Spirit have rescued the mysterious person long ago? Why wait until today?"

Zhao Ji shook his head slightly and analyzed: "It's hard to say. Maybe the guards of Hanguang Temple are too strict. The dungeon has five gates, and the keys are in the hands of different people. Hanguang Temple is guarded by hundreds of internal guards. Even if there is an insider, it is not so easy to succeed."

"Besides, not everyone in the Snake Spirit wants Yuan Tiangang to be rescued. I'm afraid not many people would want to have another old master above them."

"Nothing is impossible. Even Xiao Qingfang, the Grand Chief of the Inner Guard, can be the master of the snake spirit. I would not be surprised if there are more snake spirits in the Inner Guard!"

But then again, if Jingkong was in the temple when it was first built, how was Yuan Tiangang captured? There may be another hidden story...

Zhao Ji was distracted, but at this moment, Ruyan said, "Jingkong is right there. Why don't you go and ask him in person and you will know?"

Li Yuanfang smiled upon hearing this and patted his head: "Really! Master Abbot, thank you so much for this. We will tell His Majesty what you said right away!"

The abbot chanted the Buddha's name repeatedly: "Amitabha, in this way, the Dharma energy has a spirit in heaven and can rest in peace."
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In the side hall on the other side, Wu Zetian and Di Renjie were talking about the secrets of the past.

Wu Zetian sat on the couch, staring at Di Renjie for a long time, and sighed: "Huaiying, why do you have to know the truth? With your experience, you should know that some things are not your business!"

Di Renjie looked solemn and said, "Your Majesty! I am not a person who likes to explore the mysteries. However, the mysterious person in this dungeon is related to the snake spirit."

"According to reliable information, the Snake Spirit still has 22 branches and thousands of followers, distributed throughout the country. Xiao Qingfang is at large and ready to stir up trouble at any time!"

"The assassination of the emperor at Hanguang Temple this time, where they robbed and killed the inner guards and rescued the mysterious person, was only the beginning of the action. I can assert that the Snake Spirit will make a bigger move later, which may endanger the country and the people. I have to investigate!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Zetian suddenly stood up from her seat and sighed, "Snake spirit! Snake spirit..."

Di Renjie observed Wu Zetian's expression and said persistently, "Your Majesty, judging from the current situation, the identity of that mysterious person has become the core of this case."

"If this matter is unclear, it will be difficult to figure out the motives and movements of the Snake Spirit's actions, and there will be no way to solve the case. I hope Your Majesty can tell me!"

Wu Zetian did not comment, turned her back and slowly paced back.

Di Renjie was extremely curious and continued, "Everyone has weaknesses! Your Majesty, please tell me the name of this man. I will issue a military order to capture him within three months!"

After hearing this, Wu Zetian finally turned around and sighed, "He is my teacher, Yuan Tiangang!"

When Di Renjie first heard the name, he recalled with great effort: "Yuan Tiangang? It seems that he was once the director of the Imperial Observatory. There are rumors in the court that he had a close relationship with Your Majesty before Your Majesty ascended the throne..."

Since Wu Zetian had decided to speak, she no longer concealed it and told the whole story: "That is not a rumor. When I was the queen, I relied on him very much. This man participated in all my secret operations!"

Di Renjie was shocked when he heard this, and his memories became clearer and clearer: "But wasn't Yuan Tiangang executed by His Majesty's order ten years ago?"

Wu Zetian sighed and said, "Huaiying, do you know the real reason why I ordered the execution of Yuan Tiangang?"

Di Renjie glanced at Wu Zetian, shook his head pretendingly and said, "I don't know."

It is nothing more than a case of the dog being cooked after the rabbit dies and the bow being put away after the bird is dead. Those "secret actions" carried out by Yuan Tiangang must have been very dirty. Now that the emperor has ascended the throne, the white gloves must be thrown away.

Wu Zetian explained: "As I said just now, before I ascended the throne, I relied heavily on this man, and after I ascended the throne, I favored him even more. However, Yuan Tiangang has become more and more reckless. I have warned him several times, but he has become arrogant and turned a deaf ear to me!"

Di Renjie just listened carefully and didn't take it seriously.

Wu Zetian said to herself: "So I began to criticize him and reduce his salary and position, which made Yuan Tiangang even more dissatisfied. Once in Shangyang Palace, he actually said to me, 'I can help Your Majesty, but I can also destroy Your Majesty.'"

Di Renjie then added: "Oh, this thief actually dared to say such a rebellious thing, he is really bold!"

However, the tone is a little exaggerated, with a hint of two-part performance.

Wu Zetian was very satisfied with Di Renjie's supporting role and continued, "Yes! At this time, someone reported to me a secret."

"What secret?" Di Renjie asked.

Wu Zetian sighed and said, "When Li Xian was demoted to Bazhou, the deposed Crown Princess Fang was already ten months pregnant and gave birth to a child, but the child died within two months."

When Di Renjie heard the name of Prince Yong Li Xian and the death of his young son, his face showed sadness.

However, Wu Zetian continued: "However, the truth is not so. The accusation letter said that the child was not dead. In fact, someone stole the child away under the pretext of death!"

When Di Renjie heard this, his face finally changed: "Are you saying that Yuan Tiangang stole the child?"

Wu Zetian shook her head and said, "It cannot be said that he stole. It should be said that Li Xian was worried that I would do something to him, so he asked Yuan Tiangang to take the newborn son away."

"It was at that time that Li Xian handed over a list of his confidants to Yuan Tiangang. Based on this, Yuan Tiangang secretly contacted a group of people with ulterior motives. These were the Snake Spirits!"

Di Renjie was shocked, and his mouth was wide open in astonishment: "What? What? Is this how the snake spirit came about?"

Wu Zetian nodded: "That's right."

Di Renjie came back to his senses and suddenly realized: "I was wondering why the Snake Spirit Organization was so deliberate and spared no expense to rescue him. It turns out to be like this! I just didn't expect that the Snake Spirit was also related to His Royal Highness Prince Yong."

Wu Zetian continued, "After receiving the secret report, I immediately ordered the then Inner Guardian General Xiao Qingfang to detain Yuan Tiangang and lead the Inner Guards to eliminate the snake spirit..."

Di Renjie was stunned and thought it was very funny: "Xiao Qingfang? Clearing out the snake spirit???"

Wu Zetian had an embarrassed look on her face. She coughed twice and said, "That's right. A month later, Xiao Qingfang returned to the court and reported that the snake spirit had been completely destroyed and the rebel leader had been captured. At that time, I was very happy and rewarded her handsomely. She was promoted to the position of the head of the inner guards."

Di Renjie didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but he tactfully changed the subject: "Your Majesty, please talk about Yuan Tiangang. You only said why you killed Yuan Tiangang, but you didn't say why you pardoned him."

Wu Zetian took the step handed over by Di Renjie: "At that time, Yuan Tiangang was arrested. I questioned Prince Yong about the child and the matter of the snake spirit, but he said nothing. In my rage, I ordered his body to be abandoned in the East Market."

"But I didn't expect that when I was leaving, he said something that made me change my mind..."

Wu Zetian showed a fearful look on her face: "I remember very clearly that he was wearing shackles at the time and said, 'Your Majesty, your prosperity is due to the Luo River, and your decline is also due to the Luo River.'"

(End of this chapter)