Chapter 308 Return to Di Mansion
Speak of Cao Cao, he will appear. Just as Ruyan was talking about Li Yuanfang and Zhao Ji, Li Yuanfang was one step faster and finally returned to Di Mansion.

At this time, Xiaomei had just left the main hall and almost brushed past Li Yuanfang.

Li Yuanfang thought he had grasped extremely important information and had no time to think about anything else. He only wanted to meet Di Renjie immediately.

Di Renjie was explaining to Ruyan the profound meaning of letting Xiaomei go when he saw Li Yuanfang rushing in.

"Sir, I'm back!" Li Yuanfang's breath was still uncertain, but he could not hide his eagerness to return.

Ruyan felt relieved, her worry turned into joy, and she hurried forward with concern in her eyes.

Di Renjie also showed joy at first: "I'm glad you're back...but where's Chengyuan?"

Not seeing Zhao Ji, Di Renjie couldn't help feeling a little flustered.

Li Yuanfang took a few breaths and said in surprise, "Chengyuan and I sneaked into the East Palace together and found the place where His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was imprisoned, but we were discovered by the fake Crown Prince. Then Chengyuan took the initiative to lead the pursuers away. I thought he had returned early!"

Di Renjie frowned and said quickly: "He didn't come back!"

Li Yuanfang thought for a moment and thought it was nothing serious, so he comforted him, "Don't worry, sir. Chengyuan seems to be trying to lead the fake prince to the palace. The snake spirit may not dare to chase him easily. He will be fine!"

Di Renjie's frown eased slightly, he nodded, and then asked again, "What about the Crown Prince?"

When Li Yuanfang mentioned the crown prince, his eyes lit up and he was in high spirits: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is fine. After Cheng Yuan led away the pursuers, I hid down and saw a woman directing her men to secretly transfer the crown prince."

"I followed him closely and sneaked into the hiding place, and met His Royal Highness the Crown Prince again. However, His Royal Highness was concerned about the safety of the Crown Princess and her family, and was unwilling to flee the East Palace with me rashly."

When Di Renjie heard this, he looked a little disappointed, but he quickly regained his composure. He didn't want to blame him, but just nodded slightly to show his understanding.

Seeing this, Li Yuanfang spoke again, his tone a little serious, "Although we failed to rescue His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, this trip was not in vain."

"Your Highness the Crown Prince told me that behind the Snake Spirit's actions, there are some court officials loyal to the Li Tang Dynasty, and even members of the Li Tang royal family are involved!"

Upon hearing this, Di Renjie's expression suddenly changed, almost to the point of shock: "What did you say?! Are the court officials and the Li Tang royal family also involved?"

Li Yuanfang nodded firmly, and said in a positive tone: "It is absolutely true, this is what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said himself! That fake Crown Prince should be one of the Li clan members who participated!"

"The prince also said that the Eastern Palace has long been infiltrated by the snake spirits and has become like a sieve. Many of the eunuchs and guards have been replaced by their people. Now the entire Eastern Palace is completely under the control of the snake spirits!"

"They actually intended to coerce the crown prince into launching a coup, saying that they would assassinate the emperor and then support the crown prince to take the throne and restore the Li Tang Dynasty!"

When Di Renjie heard this, he was shocked and felt a chill rising from his spine.

He swallowed involuntarily, his body swayed slightly, and then he sat back in the chair weakly, with beads of sweat oozing from his forehead.

"The Li Tang royal family and court officials are involved... in plotting to assassinate the emperor? Supporting the crown prince to the throne! Restoring the Li Tang?" He muttered to himself, and it was obvious that the development of events had far exceeded his expectations.

Li Yuanfang nodded innocently and looked into Di Renjie's eyes: "Yes, sir, what should we do?"

Di Renjie frowned, his eyebrows were twisted like twists, and for a moment, he was speechless. Although the antisocial terrorist organization like Snake Spirit was powerful, it would not harm Li Tang's foundation.

But once court officials and members of the royal family of Li Tang were implicated, that would be a different story. Wu Zetian would inevitably take the opportunity to make a big fuss, and that was what Di Renjie was really afraid of.

At this moment, Zhao Ji also returned to Di Mansion. He also took an unusual route and landed from the roof to the front of the main hall.

When Di Renjie, Li Yuanfang and Ruyan heard the noise, they all looked up at the same time, their eyes focused on Zhao Ji.

"My Lord, I'm back!" Zhao Ji strode into the room, but was surprised to find that the three of them were staring at him. He was stunned for a moment, "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that..."

Di Renjie took several deep breaths to calm himself down, then signaled Li Yuanfang to pass on the urgent information to Zhao Ji.

"With the Li Tang royal family involved and colluding with court officials, the scale of Snake Spirit's action this time is not small! Can this...can this still be called Snake Spirit's action?" Di Renjie's voice was trembling, his worry was evident in his words.

Zhao Ji listened attentively to Li Yuanfang's retelling, but his expression did not show excessive panic.

He pondered for a moment and analyzed: "The so-called Li Tang royal family is nothing more than exiles like Kui Wenzhong. As for the so-called court officials, most of them are spies that the Snake Spirit has not yet cleared out."

"Your Highness knows very little about the matter of the snake spirit, so he may have exaggerated it. In addition, he was not very detailed. I don't think the situation is as you worry."

As soon as these words came out, Di Renjie's frown gradually relaxed, but he added: "It's not all about the snake spirit, the key is to see what the emperor thinks..."

Zhao Ji was distracted for a moment, then he comforted him, "Your Excellency is worried. However, the most urgent task is to wipe out the snake spirits, no matter how large their scale is. I have already figured out their general action plan this time!"

Di Renjie's eyes lit up and he quickly asked, "What do you mean?"

Zhao Ji paused and replied, "I escaped into the imperial city last night and accidentally discovered a tunnel that is several feet wide and high. It connects the East Palace with the Imperial Palace and then to the southeast to the Luo River."

"I think the so-called miracle of Luo River must be here! In addition, the thousands of snake spirits in the East Palace are their reliance for disaster!"

Fortunately, Di Renjie was startled by Li Yuanfang first. When he heard that Zhao had dug the tunnel next to Wu Zetian, although his heart was in turmoil, he still managed to remain calm and did not lose his composure.

Di Renjie stood up slowly, his eyes far away: "It's simple to put it this way. As long as we control these remnants of the snake spirits in the East Palace, they won't be able to cause any big trouble!"

Zhao Ji smiled and nodded: "Your Excellency is right! I just don't know how the Crown Prince is doing..."

Before he finished speaking, Di Chun rushed in: "Master, someone in the palace has issued an order, asking you and General Zhao to enter the palace immediately!"

Upon hearing this, Di Renjie hurriedly looked at Zhao Ji, wondering why the emperor suddenly allowed the two of them to enter the palace at this time.

Zhao Ji had some guesses, and smiled awkwardly: "Your Excellency doesn't know, last night I had a big fight with the fake prince in the palace, and the fake prince was rescued by his accomplices in the palace."

"But his accomplices alerted the Qianniu Guards, and I hid here and there, so I came back late. Since His Majesty heard that there was an assassin, he must have thought that it was the snake spirit, so he summoned you and me to the palace to ask for clarification..."

Di Renjie couldn't help but widen his eyes when he heard this, then shook his head and smiled bitterly, saying helplessly: "You...you! Well, since this is related to the prince, I should go to the palace. I just hope that Your Majesty will not investigate further!"

(End of this chapter)