I am Li Shen and Li Shimin, the free kings of the Tang Dynasty

After Li Shen returned to Prince Ji's Mansion, he acted as if nothing had happened and went to the back house to have a meal.

Then he chatted with his women and took care of the children for a while.

Everything is the same as usual.

It was after noon that Li Shen slowly came to the study.

"Someone, go call Mr. Wang and Shopkeeper Wang."

After Li Shen gave the order, he climbed onto the bed and found a comfortable position to lie down.

The first to arrive was Wang Xuance, who was working in the front yard;

"I have met the prince."

"Well, how have you been lately?" Li Shen hummed and closed his eyes to rest.

"My Lord, there has been no major event in the court recently, except for the recent mobilization of troops and food supplies.

It seems that the war against the Western Region is getting closer and closer."

Wang Xuance replied.

"Oh, is it really nothing serious?"

It is normal to deploy troops and generals, and Li Shen doesn't care at all.

"Your Majesty, nothing major has happened." Wang Xuance thought about it carefully and finally nodded.

"Haha, what a coincidence! Something big happened today."

Li Shen chuckled.

"Today? How did the prince know? Did the prince enter the palace?"

Wang Xuance was a little confused, but then he figured it out.

"Yes, I did enter the palace, but I did not do it voluntarily. I was impeached for the crime of treason."

"The crime of treason?" Wang Xuance was extremely surprised. He thought, is this the big thing that the prince is talking about?

“Yes, the noble family has taken action, using the events of Xizhou as an excuse to impeach me for eight major crimes, including the intention of treason.

This prince has gone to court with them this morning, with Zhangsun Wuji and Ma Zhou as the chief judges, and the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple assisting."

Li Shen recounted the general situation and finally said:

"What is coming will come, and we have all expected it."

“Yes, we had expected their impeachment, but we didn’t expect that they would find witnesses and physical evidence.

Now both our evidence and their evidence need to be investigated, which has lost its meaning. As for what is happening in Western Province, we can find out by asking the various tribes.

Your Majesty, we are in a passive position now."

Li Shen had also heard this sentence in the palace, and now Wang Xuance was also worried about this.

What Wang Wencheng did was real and there was no fraud.

Anyone can find out.

“It is indeed somewhat passive, but don’t forget who I am. I am a prince, and I cannot be convicted by anyone who wants to.

Besides, our Ji Wang Mansion is not a soft persimmon that anyone can squeeze."

Li Shen said this to the end, with a fierce tone in his voice.

"Your Highness, could it be that the aristocratic family was behind this?" Wang Xuance was also a little confused at this moment.

Now more and more people are involved.

"I have this doubt as well, but I am not sure yet. However, judging from the surface, the family has both the strength and motivation.

The possibility that it was done by a noble family cannot be ruled out.

But what we found...”

Before Li Shen finished speaking, Wang Hongfu arrived.

After entering, he saluted Li Shen breathlessly:

"Greetings to the King... the King... His Majesty."

"Well, no need to be polite, just sit down and relax." Li Shen waved his hand symbolically without even opening his eyes.

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty, I have something important to report." Wang Hongfu said immediately after sitting down.

"Then tell me."

"Your Highness, Wang Wencheng's wife Liu just told me a secret." Wang Hongfu reported impatiently.

"What secret is that?"

“My Lord, Liu said that Wang Wencheng gave him an iron box, saying that the things inside could save their lives at a critical moment.

I guess that the iron box must contain evidence of Wang Wencheng's bad deeds over the years.

There is a high possibility that there are clues to the mastermind behind this.”

Wang Hongfu was as happy as if he had discovered a shocking secret.

"Oh? There is such a thing?" Li Shen opened his closed eyes and showed a look of surprise.

"Your Highness, it is absolutely true. Liu told me this herself." Wang Hongfu confirmed.

"Then ask her to hand over the box."

"Your Highness, this is why I hurried here. Liu said she hid the box in the secret compartment of the carriage."

Speaking of this, Wang Hongfu became a little anxious.

"Your Highness, is the carriage that Liu was riding in still there?"

"In the carriage?" Li Shen sat up and glanced at Wang Xuance inadvertently, and Wang Xuance also looked over at him.

The two looked at each other and then passed by.

"Shitou, do you remember where Liu's carriage went?"

Li Shen asked the stone standing nearby.

“Your Majesty, at that time, Your Majesty ordered that everyone be taken to the Dongshan Military Camp, so the carriage also went to the Dongshan Military Camp.

But..." He paused when he spoke of Shitou.

"But what?" Li Shen frowned.

"But in order to eliminate all evidence and traces, the carriage was burned." Stone continued.

"Burned?" Li Shen raised his voice octave higher, with an expression of disbelief.

"Yes, it was burned, and it was Wang Changshi who gave the order." Shitou nodded.

Wang Xuance immediately said:

"Your Highness, it was indeed my minister who ordered the burning. At that time, we were going to eliminate all traces and prevent the outside world from knowing about it. The carriage was useless if it was kept, so I ordered it to be burned."

"Is it really on fire? Mr. Wang, did you find anything on the carriage?"

Wang Hongfu asked anxiously. It was so hard to find a discovery, but the hope was just about to be burned.

"Nothing was found. Everything in the carriage was taken out, but no secret compartments or anything like that were found."

Wang Xuance shook his head.

"What a pity, what a pity, there must be very important information in it.

Otherwise, Wang Wencheng would not have said it was a life-saving thing.

Why didn't Liu say so earlier? What a missed opportunity, what a missed opportunity."

Wang Hongfu beat his chest and stamped his feet, his face full of regret and annoyance.

“Alright, old prince, stop acting in front of me. I know you are loyal and worried about the Ji Palace.

But since it has been burned, there is no point in regretting it. Maybe there is no important information in it.

You don't need to worry about this matter. Go back and ask Liu to write a confession, have her sign it, and then send her back to her hometown.

As for Wang Wencheng's concubines, they were still young, so there was no need for them to remain widows for Wang Wencheng.

This king makes the decision. If they are willing to leave, let them go and find another family."

The rules for women in the Tang Dynasty were not that strict, and women were allowed to remarry after their husbands died.

Many princesses in the Tang Dynasty remarried, and no one said anything about it.

The main reason is to increase the population, that is, the labor force.

Li Shen was also considering this issue. Only when the population increases, the labor force, talent, and economy will all increase.