On the official road about five miles away from Mingxiu Villa, General Wu Youxu of Qianniu Guard led 3,000 Qianniu Guard soldiers to advance quickly.

The competition between various forces with key witnesses in the assassination caused strong dissatisfaction with Wu Zetian. She ordered Wu Youxu to lead his army to Mingxiu Villa to pick up Li Zhen, and at the same time, he captured all the forces besieging the villa.

After crossing the treetops, Wu Youxu could already see the tall buildings in the villa in the distance. At this time, Zhao Qiuniang rode a horse and ran to him loudly, saying to him loudly: "General Wu, it is better to go hand in hand and surround the villa from three sides, so as to prevent people outside the villa from escaping."

Wu Youxu nodded. Zhao Qiuniang made a point. He immediately divided the three thousand troops into three groups. Zhao Qiuniang led the inner guards and one thousand soldiers to intercept them from the east. He and another Lang general each led a thousand people to intercept them from the south and west. Qianniu guards divided into three groups and surrounded Mingxiu Villa from three directions.

Wu Furong led more than 60 Wu family generals to lurk in the east of the woods, waiting patiently for the night to fall. The opponent's defense was very strict. Entering the village during the day would cause fierce conflicts and cause major casualties. He might not be able to catch the assassin who missed the net. Only when the night fell will he have a chance to appear.

Wu Furong also learned from Princess Taiping that the assassin fell into Li Zhen's hands, which made her heart full of anxiety. The assassin knew all the plans and the details of the Wu family generals. As long as he was interrogated carefully, his father would not be able to deny it in front of the saint, and the problem would be very serious. Only by capturing or killing the assassin would they turn their danger into danger.

Wu Furong was more anxious than anyone else. She looked up at the sky from time to time, hoping that the sky would get dark as soon as possible, and she was almost unable to wait.

At this moment, a long scream suddenly came from the dense forest behind her. Wu Furong was shocked and turned around to look into the woods. She saw a warrior running towards her and shouting: "There are officers and soldiers, officers and soldiers are here!"

The warriors around were suddenly panicked. Without waiting for Wu Furong to give orders, they ran around in separate directions, but it was too late. The Qianniu Guard soldiers came from all directions. They had no way to escape, either fled towards the villa. Wu Furong chose this way, but she and more than a dozen subordinates ran towards the villa, but only ran for dozens of steps. A group of inner guards came from the diagonal thorn, with about a hundred people. The leader of the school captain Zhao Qiuniang, intercepted the way Wu Furong and her subordinates.

The soldiers of the inner guards raised their military crossbows and pointed them at them. Zhao Qiuniang said coldly: "Miss Wu should be honest! Otherwise, it would be unpaid to die here."

Wu Furong was so scared that her face was pale, and then thousands of murderous guards surrounded them with swords, bows and crossbows. Wu Furong immediately reacted and shouted loudly to the Wu family generals: "Put down the swords, don't resist!"

Dozens of Wu family generals put down their weapons and knelt down. Zhao Qiuniang ordered the soldiers and said, "Bind them all!"

Not only Wu Furong, but also all the warriors lurking around Mingxiu Villa encountered the same fate, surrounded and captured by Qianniu Guards. Although some warriors who were watching on the periphery escaped, they could no longer affect the overall situation.

Lai Junchen was furious and shouted at Wu Youxu with his neck straight: "I am here to handle the case and investigate the assassination under the will of the emperor. You must not interfere with me, let all my people be released."

Wu Youxu said coldly: "I am also here to arrest people according to the will of the emperor. The emperor has an order. No one who surrounds Mingxiu Villa is allowed to let go. If you have any dissatisfaction, come to Zhongcheng to explain to the emperor!"

He waved his hand and said, "Take it all away!"

Qianniu Guards escorted Lai Junchen's men to the forest. Although Lai Junchen was not arrested, he was the only one left. Lai Junchen was so angry that he trembled all over, but he had no choice but to yell, "Wu Youxu, let's go and see!"

Lai Junchen turned over the horse, whipped the horse hard, and urged the horse to run towards Luoyang City. Although Lai Junchen was extremely angry, he was extremely cunning. He had realized that they had all fallen into the trap set by Li Zhen. At this time, he had to explain to the emperor clearly and leave himself clear.

At this time, Li Zhen also saw Qianniu Guards appearing from all directions on Zhaixing Tower. He couldn't help but sneer. This is the best way to solve the assassination, it depends on how these people explain it!

......

In the imperial study room, Princess Taiping lowered her head deeply. Faced with her mother's anger, she did not dare to say anything more. At this time, it was still difficult for her to protect herself, and she had no intention of pleading for Wu Chengsi. Not only that, she also had her own responsibility to fall on Wu Chengsi's head.

"How could I have a ungrateful daughter like you? For a little profit, I will betray the principle and put me injustice. How do you explain to me?"

Princess Taiping was so scared that she knelt down and said in tears: "My daughter was confused for a moment and accepted his heavy gift. Due to her affection, she had to do something to help him get rid of his crime. Her daughter knew her mistake and was willing to accept any punishment from her mother, without any complaints!"

No one knows her mother better than her daughter. Princess Taiping knows her mother too well. She knows that her mother is extremely smart and her mother is very clear about the causes and consequences. If she blindly defends herself and refuses to admit her mistakes, it will only make her mother even more angry and completely disappointed herself. She would rather admit her mistakes and be punished than get her mother's forgiveness, so that she has the opportunity to make a comeback.

Wu Zetian was so angry that he was trembling all over, "Okay! OK! You even admitted that you had accepted the bribe, so you waived him against your conscience. Last time I listened to you and thought he had repented and let him go. What was the result? Less than a month later, he sent someone to assassinate important officials of the court. He was lawless. This was to destroy my country and my reputation. I will never let him go!"

"My daughter was confused for a moment!"

"You go! I don't want to see you now, go out!"

Princess Taiping kowtowed with tears in her eyes, slowly retreated, and walked to the door, but happened to meet Shangguan Wan'er. The two of them looked at each other, and a sarcastic smile appeared in Shangguan Wan'er's eyes. Princess Taiping was immediately shy and annoyed, snorted heavily, turned around and left quickly.

Shangguan Wan'er walked into Wu Zetian's imperial study room. At this time, Wu Zetian's heart was still annoyed. Shangguan Wan'er said with hatred: "I always thought that she was wise and knew the general, but I didn't expect that she was as short-sighted as she was to cover up her evil deeds for a little profit. Don't she know the serious consequences of assassinating the court officials?"

Shangguan Wan'er bowed, "Your Majesty, please take care of the dragon body. The reason why Wan'er doesn't want to promote this is because she is afraid that Your Majesty will be angry. Unexpectedly, it will cause a lot of controversy. This is definitely not Wan'er's original intention."

"I know you have good intentions, but it's a pity-"

Wu Zetian sighed deeply and said heartbrokenly: "My two nephews, one is crazy and the other is despicable and cunning, has made me extremely disappointed. There is really no wise and steady person in the Wu family."

"Actually, General Wu Youxu is good!"

Wu Zetian shook his head, "He is just a little steady, but he is still far from wisdom. You don't need to improve him. To be honest, Li Zhen is much better than him, I know in my heart."

Wu Zetian couldn't help but praise: "I didn't expect that Li Zhen was so determined, bold, meticulous, and courageous. It was a bit incompetent to make him a small deputy commander of the inner guard."

Shangguan Wan'er hurriedly said, "Thank you for your praise to him. He is still young and lacks qualifications. It will be more beneficial to him for a few more years of training."

"You're right. He needs to be tempered again. I also hope he can become a great talent in the country."

Wu Zetian pondered for a moment, then turned back to the main business, and said to Shangguan Wan'er: "What do you think should be dealt with by Wu Chengsi?"

Shangguan Wan'er felt a chill in her heart. Since the emperor said this, it means she didn't want to execute Wu Chengsi. However, Shangguan Wan'er was mentally prepared. After all, she was her nephew, so how could she really do it?

She immediately said: "Maybe he was confused for a moment and did not realize the consequences. If he really could repent, His Majesty could give him another chance."

Wu Zetian has never been an indecisive person. For the sake of her throne, she can even take action on her own son, let alone a nephew?

The last time she forgave Xue Huaiyi, which eventually led to Xue Huaiyi burning the Mingtang, has already made the ministers extremely dissatisfied. If she forgives Wu Chengsi this time, it may seriously affect the stability of the court and her credibility.

Wu Zetian snorted coldly, "He is a stupid and unwise man, and it is in vain to give him ten chances. If he is not punished severely, it will be difficult for me to calm down the court. I will pass on my will to remove Wu Chengsi from his post as the people, and be slapped 100 times, and be sent to Lingnan to serve as the army."

Shangguan Wan'er didn't expect that she would be sent to Lingnan to be exiled in the end, which made her secretly happy. Although she could not execute Wu Chengsi, the result of exiling to Lingnan was enough to make her breath.

At this time, Wu Zetian said again: "Let Gao Yanfu come to see me!"

After a moment, Gao Yanfu walked in quickly and bowed, "I'm going to see Your Majesty!"

Wu Zetian said with a gloomy face: "You go to the Liang Palace and tell him, don't think that I don't know what he did. I will spare him this time. If he dares to frame his tribe again, Wu Chengsi will be his fate."

"Old slave obeys the order!"

Gao Yanfu bowed and retreated. Wu Zetian waved his hand and said, "Wan'er, you should retreat too! I am a little tired. I will discuss with you tomorrow's imperial examination in the afternoon."

"Wan'er takes his leave!"

Shangguan Wan'er left the imperial study room and walked towards her official room lightly. She was extremely happy. Not only was Wu Chengsi exiled to Lingnan, but Princess Taiping and Wu Sansi were also seriously warned at the same time, which made her feel particularly comfortable.

Especially Princess Taiping, I'm afraid she doesn't even know that she is. The emperor has decided to give her a chance to go into politics, but she was ruined by her short-sighted move. She will not have another chance to go into politics for at least one or two years. If she knew about her losses this time, I wonder if she would be so angry that she would vomit blood.

Shangguan Wan'er couldn't help but think of Li Zhen again. This young man is worthy of being praised by the emperor and is indeed very determined. This time he actually played with so many powerful people in his palms. It was also his own luck to have such a right-hand man.

Shangguan Wan'er walked back to her official room. In the room, Li Zhen and Zhao Qiuniang immediately stood up. Shangguan Wan'er waved her hand and smiled, "Sit down first!"

The three of them sat down, Xiao E served them tea, and Li Zhen asked tentatively: "What's the result?"

"Lai Junchen is very cunning. He escaped this disaster by chance and has successfully transferred. However, Wu Sansi and Princess Taiping were both severely warned and had a great impact on their career. Of course, the most unfortunate thing was Wu Chengsi. Although he vowed to repent, the emperor still did not spare him easily, dismissed him for the people and sent him to serve as a military officer in Lingnan. I guess he had no hope of coming back."

Li Zhen and Zhao Qiuniang looked at each other, and both of them showed relief in their eyes. The emperor did not protect their shortcomings. Although it was not the ideal result, it was not easy to see such a punishment.

Shangguan Wan'er said to Li Zhen again: "There is another thing. I have convinced the emperor to expand the inner guard to 500 people. Wan Guojun will increase by 100 people, and you will increase by 100 people. You can think about it yourself! Come up with an expansion plan."

Li Zhen was overjoyed and added 100 people. This was a good thing. He hurriedly thanked Shangguan Wan'er for her concern.

Shangguan Wan'er smiled and said, "Last time I gave you a house, I didn't ask you to use it as an official office. I also blamed me for not considering it carefully. I forgot to arrange an official office for you outside the palace. I also have a house in Fushanfang, but it's a little older. I'll give it to you. Since the house in Shanfang is used as an official office, I won't give it to you."

Shangguan Wan'er took out a bunch of keys and handed them to Li Zhen, "This house is right next to Qiuniang Martial Arts Hall, you should know!"

Li Zhen was moved. Although he did not need a house for the time being, he still appreciated the affection and quickly stood up and bowed: "Thank you, the servant!"

At this time, Shangguan Wan'er glanced at Zhao Qiuniang. Zhao Qiuniang knew it and immediately got up and said goodbye first. She took the door and left, leaving only Shangguan Wan'er and Li Zhen in the room.

Shangguan Wan'er walked gracefully to Li Zhen, smiled with a charming smile on her eyes: "Do we need to have a drink to celebrate?"

Li Zhen also smiled and said, "I wish to be happy with the servants!"
Chapter completed!