Chapter 305 Domineering
As soon as Yang Guozhong arrived in the palace, he knelt down and apologized, saying, "I was drunk and acted recklessly, and almost caused a disaster. I beg the saint to forgive me!"

Li Longji looked Yang Guozhong up and down.

To Li Longji, Yang Guozhong's crime was nothing. When An Lushan, who was born a thief, was defeated and sent to Chang'an by Zhang Shougui to plead guilty, Li Longji not only spared him but also promoted him.

Although Yang Guozhong was suspected of abusing his power for personal gain and coercing the victim, the location was a brothel and he was drunk, so Li Longji could fully "understand" Yang Guozhong.

Moreover, Li Longji had been in the arena of power for a long time, and he felt that if the water was too clear, there would be no fish. When employing people, he increasingly focused on how useful they could be, rather than how virtuous they were.

He was now thinking about what Li Ying had just said: "Yang Zhao is good at managing money."

Li Longji pondered for a while and said, "Since it was caused by alcohol, I will punish you by not allowing you to drink for three months."

Yang Guozhong did not expect Li Longji to punish him so lightly. After a moment of shock, he said gratefully, "I thank the saint for his grace!"

Li Longji motioned Yang Guozhong to stand up and said, "Just now, Shibalang advised you not to get involved in this case. What do you think?"

Yang Guozhong cursed Li Ying in his heart and said respectfully: "Although I am not talented, I know that as a minister of the Tang Dynasty, I should not avoid difficulties and should be brave enough to take on tasks. I beg the saint to allow me to make up for my crime and make meritorious contributions."

Li Longji said: "Well, since you have this intention, I will order you to cooperate with Jingzhao Prefecture to investigate this case."

"I bow to thank the emperor." Yang Guozhong thanked him quickly, but he was worried in his heart because Li Longji asked him to cooperate with Jingzhao Prefecture to investigate the case.

The prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture was Wang Bo. If Li Longji was determined to protect Wang Bo, he would let Wang Bo investigate the case himself. If Li Longji did not want to protect Wang Bo, he would let someone else investigate.

Now Li Longji asked Wang Bo to be the host and to assist. What was he thinking?
Yang Guozhong was undecided and retreated doubtfully.

……

On the other hand, Wang Yu, like Yang Guozhong, had no idea what Li Longji was thinking, so he shamelessly went to Li Linfu's mansion, intending to sound out Li Linfu.

Li Linfu was old and in declining health, and was ill at the time, but he still met with Wang Yu.

The two exchanged a few pleasantries at first, and Li Linfu got straight to the point: "Doctor Wang, if you have anything to say, please speak frankly."

Wang Yu said, "To be honest with you, Right Prime Minister, I have a relative from the Luoyang Cai family who committed a murder. The emperor ordered me to preside over the trial, and Yang Zhao to assist in the trial. I don't know how to judge the case, so I came to ask for your advice."

Li Linfu glanced at Wang Yu.

Speaking of which, Li Linfu has made a lot of efforts behind the scenes to help Wang Yu and Yang Guozhong get to where they are today. Before that, Li Linfu even supported Yang Guozhong to fight against Wang Yu.

But now, Wang Yu came to ask him for advice on how to deal with Yang Guozhong, and he had to teach him, because his relationship with these two people was like you are in me, I am in you, if he didn't care, he would be implicated.

Li Linfu was silent for a moment, then said, "Doctor Wang, as the prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture, must be familiar with the law. Just do everything according to the law."

Wang Yu was stunned when he heard this.

Over the years, their application of the law has been to first set the tone and then find the legal correspondence. When will they truly use the law as the criterion?

Moreover, the reason he came to ask about this matter was not just to know how to deal with it, he wanted to know what Li Longji was thinking. As long as he knew what Li Longji was thinking, he would naturally know how to deal with it.

Wang Yu asked, "Could you explain it in more depth, Right Prime Minister?" Li Linfu coughed a few times and said, "I am very pleased that Doctor Wang came to see me, but you chose the wrong opponent this time. This matter was exposed by Prince Shou, and Prince Shou is not comparable to other princes and princesses."

Li Linfu's words pointed out two things.

The first thing was that Wang Bo thought he had figured out Li Longji's desire to play a balancing act, so he deliberately confronted Li Heng.

The second thing is the arrogant past of Wang Bo’s other son, Wang Zhun.

Wang Zhun and Li Linfu's son Li Xiu both served as officials in the palace. Li Xiu was the chief of the imperial palace, in charge of the palace construction, and was a third-rank official. Wang Zhun was the junior minister of the imperial guards, assisting the minister of the imperial guards in the palace, sacrifices, and court meetings, and was a fourth-rank official. Li Xiu's official position was slightly higher than Wang Zhun's, and Li Linfu's official position was also higher than Wang Yu's, but Wang Zhun often insulted Li Xiu, which Li Linfu tolerated.

That was all he did, but Wang Zhun actually expanded his target of teasing to Princess Yongmu and her husband Wang Yao.

Wang Yao was the son of Tang Zhongzong's third daughter Princess Ding'an and her husband Wang Tongjiao. He later married Tang Xuanzong's eldest daughter Princess Yongmu. Princess Yongmu and Wang Yao were kind and basically did not participate in government affairs, but Wang Zhun still came to the door like he was sick, bringing his group of evil slaves.

When they arrived at the Prince Consort's Mansion, Wang Zhun proposed to compete with Wang Yao in archery. He suggested that each of them put an apple on their head and only shoot the apples instead of people, in order to compare their archery skills.

Faced with such a difficult and dangerous action, the son-in-law Wang Yao did not want to do it, but under the power of Wang Zhun, he had to agree.

Then Wang Zhun said that he was the guest and had to shoot first. Wang Yao had no choice but to stand trembling in the square with the apple on his head.

In order to scare Wang Yao, Wang Zhun aimed his arrow slightly lower, shooting off Wang Yao's headband and official hat, leaving Wang Yao with disheveled hair and looking extremely embarrassed.

Then when it was Wang Yao's turn to shoot arrows, Wang Zhun said that the game was boring and he stopped shooting, so the game ended.

That’s not all. After shooting the arrows, Wang Zhun wanted to have a meal at the prince consort’s house. He asked the princess to cook for him personally and only left after he had eaten and drunk his fill.

Someone reported this matter to Li Longji, who simply asked Wang Bo to scold Wang Zhun a few words and let the matter go.

This made Wang Bo's family even more domineering in Chang'an. The other princes were very respectful when they saw Wang Bo, which also made Wang Bo feel that he was capable of challenging Li Heng.

But unexpectedly, things took a turn for the worse.

Li Longji could tolerate his son provoking the princess and her husband, but he would not let go of a relative who was not very related to him.

Of course, he could "enforce the law impartially" as Li Linfu said and cut ties with the Cai family, but if he did so, it would mean that he was a coward. Once he was a coward, Yang Guozhong would most likely find a way to involve him or even find other things for him to do.

He has done a lot of bad things over the years, and he will not be able to get away with it once he is investigated.

What Wang Yu could not bear was not the "impartial law enforcement" this time, but the chain reaction caused by the "impartial law enforcement".

Wang Yu recalled the past and said, "Doesn't the Right Prime Minister want to continue fighting against Prince Shou?"

Li Linfu couldn't help but shook his head and smiled, saying, "I have tried my best to be able to fight against His Royal Highness Prince Shou on equal terms. If Doctor Wang has such talent, you can give it a try."

"My talent is not as good as the right prime minister." Wang Yu stood up and bowed to Li Linfu reluctantly, saying, "In this case, I will take my leave first."

After saying that, he strode away.

(End of this chapter)