Chapter 143: The First Signs

Empress Dowager Wu had been in quite a good mood lately. The *Great Cloud Sutra*, which proclaimed the rule of a female sovereign, was being widely propagated by monks throughout the Tang realm. Wu Sansi had also incited a group of court officials to submit a second memorial, earnestly imploring her elderly self to replace the Tang dynasty and establish her own. Even Emperor Ruizong, Li Dan, had repeatedly expressed a desire to abdicate the throne.

In Wu Zetian's view, the time was ripe. After struggling bitterly behind the dragon throne for thirty years, she could finally sit upon that seat with upright dignity.

However, Di Renjie...

The moment the Old Dowager opened the memorial and glanced at the first line, her face turned green.

"How does the Holy Empress govern? To actually condone such a vicious official as Su Yuanli?! Are we not far from the destruction of the state?"

"..."

Wu Zetian thought to herself: Very well, Di Huaiying, you certainly have quite the nerve! Is my blade losing its edge, or are you, Fat Di, getting too full of yourself? How dare you speak to me like this?!

She cried out in fury, "You, Di Renjie, are truly audacious beyond compare!"

"..."

"..."

Wu Sansi and Shangguan Wan'er, who had been keeping Wu Zetian company and chatting about court gossip, were startled. What on earth was going on? Di Renjie had only just been promoted to prime minister; how had he managed to incur the Holy Empress's wrath?

"Look!! Look at this!!"

Wu Zetian's lips were trembling with anger as she tossed Di Renjie's memorial to Wu Sansi and young Shangguan. "He is deliberately denying me peace! He has even resorted to talk of state destruction!!"

Wu Sansi and Shangguan Wan'er hurriedly picked it up and cast their eyes over it. Well, Di Huaiying certainly dared to fire big guns!

Holding the memorial, Wu Sansi felt a mixture of exasperation and amusement.

"This Di Huaiying—the Holy Empress's favoritism toward him is enough to make even me, her nephew, quite jealous. Why does he still not know when to advance or retreat, and insist on crossing the Holy Empress at a time like this?"

"Humph!!"

The Old Dowager let out a cold snort, which served as her tacit agreement.

To be fair, Wu Zetian had indeed been lenient enough toward Di Renjie. Back then, it was Di Renjie who opposed her ruling from behind the curtain, and later it was also he who tried to stop her from deposing Li Xian.

Now that she was about to assume the imperial title, this fat man was still repeatedly submitting memorials in opposition. If it were anyone else, being executed eight times over wouldn't be excessive.

Yet, the Old Dowager deliberately chose not to kill him, and even appointed him as prime minister.

For one, she valued Di Renjie's ability; for another, she had always felt that within this imperial court, there needed to be a figure like Di Renjie who could constantly keep her in check and remind her of reality.

However, why was this fatty growing increasingly bold? How could words like "state destruction" even leave his pen?

"Holy Empress!"

Wu Zetian was too angry to speak, but Shangguan Wan'er was holding the memorial with furrowed brows.

"Hmm?" The Old Dowager responded, raising her eyes to look at Shangguan Wan'er.

Seeing that Shangguan Wan'er said nothing, she simply handed the memorial back. Judging by her expression, she had clearly finished reading it, and there was evidently something within the text that Wu Zetian needed to inspect personally.

A premonition stirred in the Old Dowager's heart, and she instantly turned solemn.

She took the memorial and, suppressing her anger, continued to read.

***

It was fine as long as she didn't read on, but the moment she looked further down, cold sweat broke out on Wu Zetian's forehead.

Di Renjie's memorial stated that the Guerrilla General Su Yuanli had no sooner arrived in Fangzhou than he was trampled into a bloody pulp by the local populace, who abhorred his ferocious reputation.

At that moment, public indignation in Fangzhou was running so high as to be nearly uncontrollable, with everyone questioning the wisdom and martial prowess of the Holy Empress. How could such a heinous and wicked villain as Su Yuanli be entrusted with high office?! Could it be that the Great Tang had run out of capable men, forcing her to employ these tyrannical officials and vicious magistrates to prey upon the common folk?!

"This..."

Wu Zetian wore a look of utter astonishment, acutely sensing that something was amiss.

"How could popular resentment in Fangzhou erupt so suddenly?!"

She looked at Wu Sansi. "You have been to Fangzhou. Was there anything out of the ordinary?"

Wu Sansi wished he could slap himself across the face. He shouldn't have just read the opening and jumped to conclusions. Now he knew nothing about the situation—how was he to answer?

With no other choice, he could only report the truth. "No! His Highness the Prince of Luling observes his duties strictly and never steps outside. The household staff in the prince's manor are very few; it is hardly likely they could incite public grievance."

Well, with that single sentence, Wu Sansi had dragged Li Xian into the mix as well.

Yet, strangely enough, Wu Sansi had guessed correctly. Upon seeing reports of boiling public anger in Fangzhou, Li Xian was the very first person Wu Zetian had suspected.

At the present juncture, just as the Old Dowager was on the verge of replacing the Tang dynasty to establish her own, what she feared most was any commotion stirred up by her sons.

Now that Wu Sansi had said this, Wu Zetian felt considerably more at ease.

However, an eruption of public grievance was still the last thing the Old Dowager wanted to see right now.

If it wasn't Li Xian, could it be Wu Ning? Su Yuanli happened to be heading there to confiscate his charcoal kiln.

That couldn't be right either. Wu Zetian truly didn't believe that young brat possessed the immense audacity to play with the dangerous blade of public wrath.

"Holy Empress!"

Just as she was pondering, Shangguan Wan'er's gentle voice pulled the Old Dowager out of her train of thought.

"Hmm?" Wu Zetian furrowed her brows. "There are no outsiders here; speak your mind freely."

Shangguan Wan'er nodded. "Could it be... that the problem truly lies with Su Yuanli himself?"

"Su Yuanli? What about him?"

"This..."

Shangguan Wan'er hesitated for a moment, exchanging a glance with Wu Sansi. She thought to herself: You elderly lady always give orders for executions without bothering about the aftermath! Do you genuinely have no idea what kind of character Su Yuanli and his ilk possess?

Just as she was hesitating whether or not to speak, Wu Sansi chimed in.

Having heard this much, even without reading Di Renjie's memorial, Wu Sansi could roughly guess what had happened. Most likely, Su Yuanli had committed some outrageous transgression in Fangzhou and handed Di Renjie the perfect handle against him.

"Since Palace Official Shangguan dares not speak, let your nephew say it."

The Old Dowager straightened her posture. "Then speak!"

"This..." Wu Sansi paused slightly to gather his thoughts and organize his words.

"The Holy Empress resides deep within the palace and it is entirely natural for you to be somewhat removed from the trivial affairs of the outside world. However, this Su Yuanli, relying on Your Majesty's trust, has run amok across the countryside, deceiving his superiors and concealing from his subordinates. He has long since incurred the wrath of both gods and men. Not only do the citizens of the capital harbor a bone-deep hatred for him, but looking across the entire realm, who is unaware of Su Yuanli's ferocious reputation?"

***

"In your nephew's view, the people of Fangzhou must have acted out of sudden, righteous indignation, fearing that Su Yuanli would continue to plague their homeland."

"..."

Wu Zetian remained silent, quietly gazing at Wu Sansi and Shangguan Wan'er.

After a long while, she lowered her gaze again to look at the memorial in her hands, thinking: So Di Huaiying was warning me all along!

Warning the Old Dowager that a disaster was about to happen!

***

In truth, Wu Zetian was well aware of the nature of men like Su Yuanli and Lai Junchen; she employed them precisely because of their viciousness.

Even if she didn't know the full extent of their private atrocities, she had expected them to be ruthless.

Yet she never imagined they could be vicious to this degree—to the point where they had made enemies of the entire court and provoked public outrage that could no longer be tolerated.

Shangguan Wan'er had not dared to speak, but why had Wu Sansi dared?

It wasn't that he was particularly brave; rather, he disliked Su Yuanli as well and seized the opportunity to kick a man while he was down.

Looking again at the memorial in her hand, what was Di Renjie's intent?

This memorial was no longer targeting Su Yuanli alone; it was aimed at the entire cohort of cruel officials currently in power.

Di Renjie was telling Wu Zetian that these ruthless officials could no longer be employed, or a major catastrophe would ensue.

"Wan'er..."

"This concubine is here."

"Draft an imperial edict," the Old Dowager said, closing her eyes to ease her headache. "Remit the taxes of Fangzhou for the next two years to pacify the hearts of the people."

"Order Di Renjie to concurrently investigate the case of Su Yuanli and deliver justice to the people of the realm."

"Wait," she called out, stopping Shangguan Wan'er as she turned to leave to draft the decree.

"Does the Holy Empress have further instructions?"

"..."

Wu Zetian fell silent for a long moment. "Tell Di Renjie in my tone: conclude the case swiftly, and do not let it implicate too many others."

"..." Shangguan Wan'er froze, her lips parting as if she wanted to say more.

In the end, she merely bowed deeply and withdrew to carry out the decree.

Ultimately, the Holy Empress still could not bear to let Di Huaiying use this opportunity to completely eradicate the faction of cruel officials.