Pei Mansion.
Beside the dressing table, the woman was applying powder carefully in front of the bronze mirror. Her face was dignified, her eyes were like water, and there was a sense of spring between her brows.
A hand stretched out from behind, took the eyebrow pencil picked up by the woman, and gently drew the woman's eyebrows.
"Excuse me, husband, please paint your eyebrows by yourself."
Li Dewu looked at his wife in the glasses and said with a smile: "The joy of the boudoir is better than that of a thrush."
Pei's cheeks turned red and she spat quietly, but her eyes were full of smiles.
Although the war in Hebei is raging, the lights in Chang'an City were still brightly lit during the Lantern Festival yesterday. Li Dewu accompanied his wife out of the house to enjoy the lanterns, and they returned happily. They looked like a loving couple.
At that time, Li Dewu was a noble son from a well-known family, he was polite and military, handsome and unrestrained... Of course, he was not outstanding enough, and Pei Shiju, who was already the prime minister in the former Sui Dynasty, would not betroth his only daughter to him.
Once the couple separated, they reunited after more than ten years, and her husband was gentle and considerate. How could Mrs. Pei not be satisfied?
Picking up a peach-shaped mother-of-pearl in the box, Li Dewu carefully placed it between his wife's eyebrows. Li Dewu asked with a smile: "It has been more than ten years, has your craftsmanship fallen behind?"
Mrs. Pei frowned slightly, and Li Dewu immediately realized that he had said the wrong thing and said with a smile: "The last time I put eyebrows on my eyebrows was the day after the wedding. It has been more than ten years. I am so unfamiliar. Don't blame me."
The reaction was quick and the words were tactful. The important thing was that he pointed out that he was not close to the Lingnan woman. Pei's unhappiness flashed away and he just said angrily: "It's really unfamiliar. Indigo eyebrows are not popular nowadays. But Liu Yemei is all the rage."
Li Dewu sat down on the side and said with a smile: "Speaking of Liu Yemei, a poem about Liu Jia was circulated in the market a few days ago."
"I don't know who cut the thin leaves. The spring breeze in February is like scissors." Pei nodded and praised: "I heard that Xue Bo praised him as not inferior to his father, but I don't know whose family he is?"
"This person's surname is Li, his first name is Bai, and his courtesy name is Taibai. I haven't heard whether he is Longxi Li or Zhaojun Li."
Mrs. Pei was about to say whether she wanted to ask someone to inquire, but when she saw her husband frowning, she couldn't help but asked softly: "Yesterday, when I was watching the lanterns during the Lantern Festival, I saw my husband frowning..."
"It's nothing serious." Li Dewu stroked his brow vigorously and said with a wry smile, "I passed by the old house yesterday."
Mr. Pei was speechless for a moment, while Li Dewu looked gloomy.
At that time, Li Hun's wife was Yu Wenshu's biological sister. The two families were both family friends and relatives by marriage, but later they fell out. Yu Wenshu secretly accused Li Hun and Li Min of plotting a rebellion, which resulted in the death of all Li Hun's brothers and nephews, except Li Dewu. When he was exiled to Lingnan, all his family property was taken away by the Yuwen family.
In terms of hatred, Li Dewu naturally hated the Yuwen family the most, but now that Yuwenshu had died long ago, Yuwen Wenji and Yuwenzhiji were all defeated and died. Only Yuwenshiji fled to the west and defected to the Tang Dynasty, and he lived in Li Dewu's house at that time. In the house.
After a while, Mr. Pei asked: "It's fine that he is a scholar of the Yuwen Dynasty, a duke of the state, an official and a minister of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, but he is the Sima of the Prince of Qin's Palace..."
When the prince seizes the heir, the family will inevitably be involved. The two brothers Pei Ji and Pei Shiju have close contacts with the East Palace. The latter also serves as the prince Zhanshi, and is vaguely biased towards the prince. He has little to deal with the influence of the Qin Palace.
In this case, the Pei family would not risk offending Li Shimin by standing up for Li Dewu.
Pei was a little embarrassed, and she was embarrassed for Li Dewu. The Li family had been ruined long ago. Now Li Dewu has been living in the Pei family for a long time...it is inevitable that he will be regarded as a son-in-law.
Li Dewu was a very thoughtful person. Not only was he not disappointed after hearing this, but he was secretly happy.
"My husband has long thought about living in Pei Mansion for two months after returning to the capital." Li Dewu said with a gentle smile: "But now that I have moved out, firstly, I can't find a suitable house for the time being, and secondly, I don't want my wife to move out." Being wronged.”
Mrs. Pei felt sweet in her heart and whispered: "Husband, there is something about me here..."
"No." Li Dewu flatly refused. Seeing his wife's expression change, he explained: "Although Chang'an has 108 squares and covers a very large area, in fact... it is difficult to find a suitable house."
Mrs. Pei breathed a sigh of relief and nodded in agreement, "I heard about it when I returned to Chang'an with my father a few years ago. The better houses are all..."
There are not many houses in Chang'an City that are suitable for the residences of officials and the children of powerful people. Most of them are on the north side, close to the imperial city. Since Li Yuan captured Chang'an, all the houses with some appearance have been occupied.
In other words, a house in a good location either has an owner or is left to a saint to assign a house. The rest... are so expensive that even the children of the aristocratic family would frown. The Pei family would spend so much money to help their son-in-law buy a luxury house. ?
"It's better to show off your ambitions than to find an ordinary house that will make you feel wronged." Li Dewu said eloquently, "Now that the Tang Dynasty was first built, it is the time to employ people. If you can become an official..."
Mrs. Pei nodded repeatedly after hearing this, and after a moment he hesitated and said: "But I heard from my father that the prince and the king of Qin were fighting, and the government was in chaos..."
"Although my father-in-law also serves as the crown prince, he actually has little to do with the East Palace." Li Dewu said softly: "Being a county magistrate should be no problem."
"County magistrate?" Pei frowned, "How to do this?"
In fact, even in the eyes of the children of aristocratic families, starting an official career as a county magistrate is considered good, but in the eyes of Pei, whose father is a prime minister and his uncle is also a prime minister, he is really unworthy of a husband.
"What if it's the Chang'an order?"
After another quarter of sweet talk, Mr. Pei agreed to intercede with Pei Shiju, and Li Dewu breathed a sigh of relief.
Although the Chang'an Ling was not in a high position, he had a lot of power, and he had many contacts with dignitaries in the court. He was the best choice for accumulating contacts, and he might even be able to meet the saint directly.
At the end of last year, when King Qin went on an expedition, Li Dewu took a fancy to the position of Chang'an Order.
The reason is very simple. Wang Xu, the current commander of Chang'an, led 3,000 soldiers to accompany Li Shimin on the expedition to Hebei. No matter whether he lost or lost the battle, it would be difficult for Wang Xu to stay in office and he would either be demoted or promoted.
Moreover, Wang Xu's political stance is obviously biased towards the Qin Palace, and this time he is under the command of Li Shimin, which will inevitably arouse the suspicion of the East Palace.
Once Wang Xu leaves office, the Chang'an order that takes over will either favor the East Palace Party or take a neutral stance. Pei Shiju's son-in-law Li Dewu exactly meets this standard.
The Pei family is a bipolar person. If Pei Shiju is willing to come forward and say something, it is unlikely that the East Palace will refuse.
Li Dewu had his eye on this position late last year, but he didn't say it until now.
Two reasons.
First, Li Dewu just found out that the court has decided that his uncles Li Hun, Li Min, his father and other ancestors who were beheaded for crimes back then have been restored to their official titles and re-buried with ceremony.
This means that Li Dewu is qualified to serve as an official.
Secondly, Li Dewu was homeless in Lingnan and later studied medicine to make a living. After returning home from the lantern viewing last night, his wife Pei suffered from chest tightness and vomiting. As soon as he took a pulse, Li Dewu discovered that his wife was pregnant.
After the reunion, Li Dewu knew very well that the first thing he had to do was to sow seeds. Now that the seeds had sprouted, he should have gained something.
Li Dewu considered himself talented at that time, and received Li Hun's attention and support. He was the leader of the Li family. He was about to succeed his father's dukedom of Miguo, and he married the only daughter of Prime Minister Pei Shiju, but he ended up being exiled to Lingnan. .
He did not hesitate to abandon his wife and children, but also wanted to climb onto the thick leg of the Pei family in Hedong. Li Dewu naturally wanted to find ways to revive his family, and for this he could give up anything he thought he could give up.
Although the Pei family is bipolar, Pei Ji and Pei Shiju are both old, so Li Dewu naturally has to make early plans.
After leaving the courtyard, Li Dewu thought for a long time, beckoned to his attendant Wu Zhong at the door, and whispered, "Find a merchant who went to Lingnan, go to Lingnan and ask them if they have gone back..."
Wu Zhong trembled and nodded in agreement.
Zhu and Li Shan are bombs. Once they are revealed, they will be finished. Their status and future wealth and power will all come from Pei.
Li Dewu couldn't even imagine the consequences of his wife giving birth to a son only to find out that he was not the eldest son.
A real man should act informally. Li Dewu gritted his teeth and secretly sighed that he was still soft-hearted. He knew that Zhu had a strong temperament. If he had known about it, he should have had a backup plan back then.
Just go back to Lingnan. If you dare to do bad things, don't blame me for not cherishing our old friendship!
