Princess Gaoyang's little palm-sized face was flushed, her expression was both shy and proud. She shyly raised her wine glass, covered her lips and smiled: "Brother Qingque is so complimentary, I am really flattered and ashamed to deserve it." , but Brother Qingque’s literary talent has always been admired by my little sister, so I’ll give him a drink in return.”
The brother and sister clinked their glasses and drank in one gulp.
Princess Chengyang on the side looked at the radiant Princess Gaoyang with envy in her heart.
As the legitimate daughter of His Majesty Li Er and Queen Wende, she naturally has her own pride. While she felt deeply regretful that Princess Gaoyang married Fang Jun, she never felt the slightest bit lucky or proud. Because my legitimate daughter has a higher status than you, she can even marry better than you.
At that time, Fang Jun was a well-known stickman in Chang'an City. He was dark, unattractive, and useless. How could he compare to Du He, who was handsome and had an out-of-the-box personality?
There may not necessarily be much of a "hating people who are poor", but it's just the comparison in the heart of the youngest daughter's family.
However, within a few days, the situation suddenly reversed.
The original Erlang Bangchui Fang had accomplished both civil and military feats, and his official power had skyrocketed. He not only won the favor of His Majesty Li Er, but also gradually became a pillar of the imperial court, a truly high and powerful person, and a well-deserved leader among the younger generation.
But Du Erlang, who has a handsome appearance and is the best at eating, drinking, having fun, and talking sweet words, still spends his days idle and idle, unwilling to make progress and sinking. He is thrown thousands of miles away by others and follows them even to the ground. miss a meal……
We are not afraid of not knowing the goods, but we are afraid of comparing goods.
As Du He becomes more and more lazy and indulges in pleasure, but never puts his career first, Princess Chengyang has long been extremely disappointed with him.
Now looking at Princess Gaoyang's triumphant appearance, it is natural to feel sour in her heart...
Not to mention her narrow-mindedness and womanly views, how many people in the world can watch other people's homes rise and become wealthy without feeling sorry for themselves?
…
After three rounds of drinking.
Princess Chengyang made an excuse and left the table in a hurry.
Others didn't care about her thoughts, and Du He didn't even notice. He rolled up his sleeves and drank with Fang Jun. His handsome face was red from the steam of the wine, and his eyes were a little glazed, but he still pulled Fang Jun. He raised his arm and said, "Fang Er, I'm a little jealous of you."
Fang Jun didn't care about what Du He called him. No matter how high a person's status is, he must maintain a certain degree of humility and low-keyness. Childhood playmates like Du He, although they may not have the same ideas when they grow up, they don't have to talk to others. People are so cold and distant.
Then he laughed and said, "Why are you jealous of a high-ranking official who can do something, ride a horse, have countless fierce generals under his command, and has the trust of His Majesty?"
"No, no, no,"
Du He shook his head repeatedly and said with a breath of wine: "That's not to say that I don't envy these things. Men, who doesn't want to have the power to decide life and death with just one word? But I know how much I weigh, even if I am placed in front of you today. In this position, it is impossible for me to surrender to those arrogant and powerful generals. Let alone the troops that marched out of Baidao, rampaged across Mobei, and destroyed Xue Yantuo. Who wouldn't be jealous of those feats? But I also know that, not to mention what Yi would have done at that time. On the ground, can I have the determination to lead a guard of soldiers out of Baidao and into Mobei? Even if I go, can I defeat Xue Yantuo's cavalry like melons and vegetables? It's impossible..."
Even Li Tai was a little surprised by these words.
It is important for people to be self-aware. Everyone has heard this and everyone understands it, but very few can actually do it.
People are always jealous of the success of others, imagining what would happen if that opportunity came to them, but they never think about whether they have ever had such an opportunity but let it slip away in vain, or even A desperate attempt ended in disastrous failure.
It is very rare to be able to clearly recognize your own shortcomings without blindly envying them.
Fang Jun couldn't help but wonder: "If it's not jealousy, then why?"
Du He burped, shook his head, and sighed: "I'm jealous of your ability to live in harmony with a wife and concubine like you! Needless to say, His Highness Gao Yang is as beautiful as a flower, and now he shows off the dashing grace of a heroine. It won't take a few days for word to spread, and I don't know how many men are envious of it. Take a look at your concubines, all of them are beautiful and talented...and what about me? Some time ago, someone gave me a beautiful maid, I think To bring him into the house, Princess Chengyang didn't even look at me for three days... Tell me, we are both consorts of the Tang Dynasty, how come there is such a big gap?"
He turned to pull Li Tai: "Your Highness, please comment. Confucius said, 'Don't worry about being few but worrying about inequality; don't worry about being poor but worrying about insecurity.' Fang Jun married several concubines and it became a good story for a while, and his family We live in harmony and happiness, why is it so difficult for me to have a concubine?"
Li Tai was speechless: "This is your own family matter. What can I do?"
Du He glared: "Why is there no way? You are the prince and Chengyang's brother. The elder brother is like a father. As long as you give me permission to take a concubine, how can Chengyang stop it? If she dares to stop it, then It’s disrespectful to my brother, so just fix her!”
"Hey!"
Li Tai laughed angrily, opened his hand, and reprimanded: "You are really rude. Whether you take a concubine or not is your own family matter. As long as you can tell Chengyang, you can go and marry her." That's home. But you yourself are so short in front of Chengyang, how can you ask your wife and brother to help you? Since today's talk has come to this point, I might as well warn you that if Chengyang agrees, you can have as many concubines as you like. You, if Chengyang disagrees and you dare to make her suffer, I will have to teach you a lesson!"
Fang Jun added with a smile beside him: "Don't say you didn't predict what you said!"
Li Tai clapped his hands and laughed: "That's right!"
Du He felt that he had been wronged and said dissatisfiedly: "Your Highness, why do you prefer one to another? In addition to the main concubine and the side concubine, don't you have a lot of beautiful concubines? Which one was married with the consent of Princess Wei?"
Before Li Tai could speak, Princess Jinyang, who had always been obedient and quiet beside her, frowned, snorted, and said in a clear voice: "You are a lustful person, you are a shameless person!"
Du He:......
Little princess, you have gone too far!
Your brother and brother-in-law married one after another without you saying a word, but I married each one back. Just thinking about it, you branded me a shameless person?
He felt a little aggrieved: "Your Highness, you are unfair."
Princess Jinyang would not give him a good look, and said calmly: "If you want to be fair, you might as well go back and give Sister Chengyang a piece of paper and a divorce document. From now on, we can live happily together. Even if you marry a hundred concubines, Who will care about you?"
Du He:......
Unexpectedly, I didn't realize that under the young and beautiful appearance of this little princess, there was actually a sharp mouth hidden...
Princess Gaoyang on the side was already laughing so hard that she was holding her stomach. Seeing Du He's embarrassed expression, she quickly took Princess Jinyang's hand and said with a smile: "Let these men brag about it here. Let's go see Sister Changle. We don't know where she is." Not a little better."
"oh."
Princess Jinyang obediently stood up, and the two sisters bowed to the three men and walked away hand in hand.
Princess Changle caught wind and cold and felt a little uncomfortable today, so she rested in her bedroom...
When the two princesses walked away, Du He breathed a sigh of relief and complained: "Your Highness, look at it, Princess Jinyang's attitude is really too much, isn't it? I think when she was little, so was the minister. All kinds of gifts were sent to the palace every now and then, trying every possible way to make her happy. The result? Your Majesty has so many consorts, but this one only calls Fang Er "brother-in-law", and the rest just call her "brother-in-law". Just like other people... It’s simply too much!”
Li Tai deeply agreed with this.
Now within the royal family, Fang Jun has caused "public outrage" to a certain extent, precisely because the title and attitude of his father's favorite son-in-law towards the consorts are so different. They are both the sons-in-law of their father, and Changle and Chengyang are Si Zi's biological sisters. However, neither Changsun Chong back then nor Du He today can win Si Zi's favor.
In her mouth, the title "brother-in-law" refers to only one person, and that is Fang Jun. The others either refer to him by their official positions, or simply call him by his surname, "so-and-so Prince Consort"...
These princes-in-law are all descendants of ancestral relatives and descendants of aristocratic families. They are always supported by each other and highly respected. However, in the end, they are not even called "brother-in-law". How can they not feel resentful?
Naturally, this resentment did not dare to be vented to Si Zi, so Fang Jun naturally shouldered the responsibility...
But Li Tai also knew that most of the reasons why other consorts were close to Si Zi were because their father doted on her and wanted to use her to express their closeness to him. However, Fang Jun really regarded Si Zi as his own. Treat her as her own sister, or even her own daughter.
That kind of sincere and deep feeling is absolutely impossible to fake.
Li Tai comforted him and said: "Why do you envy this? People are actually mutual. If you are sincerely good to others, others will naturally feel it and repay you accordingly. You are being hypocritical. How can you criticize others for treating others sincerely if you are just pretending?"
Although Du He smelled of alcohol on his face, he was not drunk and felt a little embarrassed when he heard this.
They chatted for a while, but the atmosphere at the table was no longer as harmonious as before. Du He was given a lesson by Li Tai. He looked awkward and hesitated when speaking, thinking over and over again.
Fang Jun picked up the wine glass and said with a smile: "I am injured, so I don't dare to drink more. After drinking this glass, we can go back to our rooms to rest."
The topic was chatted between Du He and Li Tai, and the atmosphere was a lot worse. There was no taste in drinking any more. Li Tai and Du He raised their glasses together, and the three of them drank it all in one go and broke up the banquet.
Fang Jun walked out of the side hall, followed by the servant holding an umbrella, and went straight into the backyard and walked to Princess Changle's residence. Since Gao Yang and Sizi were both in Changle, he didn't need to avoid anything and went to visit Changle. The princess's condition, otherwise it would be difficult to feel at ease...
