Chapter 860: On the Eve of the Palace Coup

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty."

Queen Inhyeon was quickly cast into the Heavenly Prison.

It collapsed in an instant!

She began to wail loudly; this sudden turn of events left her somewhat bewildered.

"Vile woman! I trusted you so much, yet you, yet you..."

Li Tun was furious and left with a flick of his sleeves.

"Your Majesty!"

Queen Inhyeon sat on the ground in a daze.

This Zhang Yuzhen was truly too ruthless! It was almost a fatal blow! Who didn't know that Li Tun dreamed of having a son to inherit the throne? Queen Inhyeon had also racked her brains for the child in Zhang Yuzhen's womb, coming to visit Zhang Yuzhen every single day. Ever since giving birth to Li Xuanya, Queen Inhyeon had been infertile; this problem had always troubled her and made her feel extremely guilty, which was why she had welcomed her greatest rival, Zhang Yuzhen, back into the Wanggong, all to bear a son for the King.

This was entirely a conspiracy!

Suddenly.

:

She had exhausted her heart and efforts, so how could she have given this Zhang Yuzhen abortifacients?

A conspiracy!

It must have started from the moment she sent her brother to Jingcheng; they had been plotting behind her back.

That's right, if Min Weizhong's three thousand Divine Crossbow Guards were not in the Wanggong, wouldn't this Wanggong have become their world?

Queen Inhyeon felt cold all over.

All of this...

Throughout this entire night, in the Li Dynasty Wanggong, footsteps were constant, various guards began changing shifts, various guards began strengthening their vigilance, and all sorts of people began running about for the changes occurring in the Wanggong.

Fear!

Queen Inhyeon's expression changed drastically; it seemed the Li Dynasty was about to change its sky!

Because Li Xuanya was arranged in a room near his own, he instructed Pei Qianyun to keep watching from the side; the temperaments of these people were extremely unstable, and if they didn't trust his plan and launched a midnight raid, there would truly be no Method to deal with it.

"Bring it here quickly!"

"Young Master, a letter has arrived."

Liu Zheng had not slept either.

This letter came from Zhang Xuan.

Speaking of this man Zhang Xuan, it was quite interesting. In Liu Zheng's eyes, this man was an absolute opportunist. When Suzong was competing for the throne back then, Zhang Xuan exhausted his family fortune to support the Southern Faction forces like Prince Fukchang, and after failing, his whole family was exiled. Later, he managed to return to the imperial court solely by relying on Zhang Yuzhen.

A member of the Dark Night dressed in black handed a secret letter to Liu Zheng and then left without a sound.

Liu Zheng opened the letter, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

This man's greatest flaw was that he was a merchant by origin and valued profit above all else.

Especially since he relied on his trade channels with Longyan to be highly valued by the imperial court.

However.

This man Zhang Xuan had no small ambition and was not wholeheartedly wanting to support the Southern Faction.

Liu Zheng was not stupid.

A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall.

This time, the Buffalo Horn was a transaction between him and Zhang Xuan.

Liu Zheng had also relied on this line to establish a connection with Zhang Xuan.

This man was no good. Because in history, he chose to betray, was eventually slaughtered, and handed the great situation of the Westerner Party over to the Southern Faction.

Then.

If he wanted to preserve Li Xuanya's life, or even her status, and even wanted Li Xuanya to profit from this upcoming palace coup, he had to find an effective assistant in the Hancheng imperial court.

Min Weizhong?

Therefore.

He intended to take a risk!

If he had to choose, it could only be Zhang Xuan.

Every time he saw Li Xuanya's tear-streaked, miserable, and self-pitying appearance, it would be a lie to say Liu Zheng's heart didn't ache; she was a natural beauty, but also a resolute woman who was wholeheartedly devoted to her country.

First, if Zhang Xuan remained neutral at this time, Liu Zheng would consider handing over all future trade between Longyan and the Li Dynasty to him. For a wealthy man in Joseon like Zhang Xuan, this condition was undoubtedly hard to refuse.

Second, regardless of whether Zhang Yuzhen's son ascended the throne later or Li Xuanya's Westerner Party won, Liu Zheng would guarantee that Zhang Xuan would definitely ascend the imperial court as the father-in-law of the King!

As long as there was profit to be made, a merchant would be willing to choose his side.

Therefore, the conditions Liu Zheng offered were very generous.

Third, for the sake of safety, Liu Zheng would leave a way out for Zhang Xuan in Liaodong Prefecture. If the Li Dynasty failed, he could flee to Longyan and continue living his carefree life.

Zhang Xuan was tempted.

This was also what Zhang Xuan dreamed of.

Liu Zheng knew that the agreement between Zhang Xuan and Zhang Yuzhen was exactly this: Zhang Xuan would do his utmost to support Zhang Yuzhen, and Zhang Yuzhen would reserve the position of father-in-law for Zhang Xuan, thereby allowing him to truly enter the inner circle.

He still wanted to remain neutral, pointing out in his reply that he would only make a final choice when the "situation began to clear up."

That was enough.

Of course, it was almost impossible to make this guy, who was wavering in his stance, support Liu Zheng's side immediately.

Therefore.

"My Lady, My Lady, Imperial Physician, how is it, how is it?"

Liu Zheng smiled; this was enough.

Only then did he lie down peacefully and close his eyes.

"Lord Zhang, please remain calm; do not disturb the Consort's rest."

The imperial physician hurriedly stopped him.

Zhang Yuzhen's Penglai Gong was bustling with people again today; of course, not everyone was qualified to go inside to visit. This Zhang Xuan was one of them.

"Shh."

If the child in Zhang Yuzhen's womb were lost, then he and Zhang Yuzhen would immediately fall out of favor.

The imperial physician replied: "Rest assured, my lord, the amount of toxin ingested was not significant, and the fetus is completely normal."

Zhang Xuan looked anxious: "How is the situation? How is the situation?"

He knew it too.

"Lord Zhang, could we move over here to talk?"

At this moment, Li Hang walked out from inside and chuckled.

"Fine!"

Only then did Zhang Xuan give an excited shout.

Li Hang looked deeply at Zhang Xuan, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes: "Lord Zhang, the opportunity to crush the Westerner Party in one stroke has arrived!"

Zhang Xuan was also shaken to his core, bowing his head in silence.

Zhang Xuan nodded and followed Li Hang to the study nearby.

People were already accustomed to Li Hang being so casual in Penglai Gong.

The state of the Li Dynasty thereafter was something that even the Donglin and Yanwei Dang would likely sigh at in inferiority.

After being attacked by the Westerners, the Easterner Party split into the Southerner Party and the Northerner Party. Subsequently, the Wanli Korean War broke out, and the Toyotomi army pressed upon the border; the Li Dynasty court was not idle either, as the Southerner Liu Chenglong seized military power, only to be countered by the Northerners, with most Southerners being sent into exile.

Li Hang sighed, tears streaming down his face: "During the Gichuk Prison Incident, our Easterners were almost completely wiped out, executed or imprisoned; until today, we finally have a chance to wash away our shame!"

The Gichuk Prison Incident was a notorious factional struggle of the Li Dynasty. At the time, Jin Xiaoyuan lived in the western corner of the capital, so his faction was called the "Westerner Party"; Shen Yiqian lived in the eastern corner, and those who followed him were naturally called the Easterner Party. The two sides sat in the east and west of the court, attacking each other incessantly. In the twenty-fifth year of Seonjo, the Easterner Zheng Ruli intended to rebel; the Westerners seized the handle and attacked with all their might, leading to the exile and execution of the Easterner Party, which history calls the "Gichuk Prison Incident," sounding the horn for the most tragic era of factional struggle in the Li Dynasty.

In short.

To sum it up.

Afterwards.

The Wa pirates invaded, the Northerners were no match, and the court once again employed the Southerners, granting them military power.

Their hatred was absolutely a matter of life and death.

Watching Li Hang's heartbreak and tears, Zhang Xuan gave a cold smile in his heart.

The factional struggle of the Li Dynasty had already become the main theme of the entire country.

It was different from the Nobles and Scholar-officials of Longyan.

Maximizing benefits!

That's right, "maximizing benefits"—this was a new term from a letter sent over ten days ago by that Vice Minister Liu from Longyan.

Your factional struggles, what does that have to do with a merchant like me?

He only wanted profit!

Wasn't this exactly what he had always been pursuing?

At this moment.

It was precisely this term that successfully stirred Zhang Xuan's heart.

Maximizing benefits.

At this time, in the entire Hancheng, besides the City Defense Army, only the Imperial Guard remained.

And then.

This Westerner Party looked like it indeed held the advantage.

Successfully passing through Jingcheng, Li Zhenzhu lured away Min Weizhong and the three thousand Divine Crossbow Guards.

Zhang Yuzhen held the initiative.

With Min Weizhong not in the court.

It was Zhang Xuan's own merchant caravan guards!

Queen Inhyeon was cast into the Heavenly Prison.

It is just that.

Zhang Xuan lowered his head.

It seemed the scales were tipping toward the Southerners.

Li Hang naturally became arrogant.

Everyone had overlooked one problem.

Sukjong.

He recalled once more a point that Vice Minister Liu had reminded him of in the letter.

It seemed.

Li Hang smiled slightly, saying nothing.

He sighed deeply.

Li Tun.

He took a deep breath: "Lord Li, are you thinking of..."

He gently patted the grand master chair he was sitting on.

Zhang Xuan's expression changed instantly.

Li Hang.

His ambition was too great!