If you eat too much at lunch, you will always feel sleepy.
Du Wulang only recited a few lines from the scriptures and squinted in the guest room again.
This is also one of the reasons why he likes to come to Xue's house. No one will severely force him to study.
He slept until noon when a knock on the door woke him up. A loud voice in the front yard shouted, "Is Mr. Xue really not here?"
Afterwards, the three Xue brothers screamed strangely.
Du Wulang suddenly woke up and thought that someone must be coming to collect debt from Xue Ling.
When I rushed out of the guest room, I saw a burly man standing in the courtyard, hanging the three Xue brothers on his body, like three monkeys hanging on a big tree.
"General Guo?"
"Don't call me Wu Lang like that." Guo Qianli said: "I am no longer a general, and I have been demoted again. Demoted."
Du Wulang rubbed the shit out of his eyes and asked him to sit down in the lobby. Without asking, he started talking like he was pouring out his bitterness.
"I haven't seen you for two or three months. Wulang, do you know why I was demoted? I offended too many people!"
"oh?"
"In April, Dong Yanguang, the general of Youjinwu Guard, said that he was going to attack Shibao City. How could a fool like Dong Yanguang be able to attack Shibao City? He couldn't even sit in half of Jinwu Guard's yamen. I said , Dong Yanguang is not even a stone, it is just a hard lump of feces, which can be broken by a knock and cannot be pressed down in a latrine, so how can you expect it to break the wall?"
Du Wulang said: "General Guo's words seem a little rude."
"Are no one allowed to tell the truth?" Guo Qianli said, "In May, I offended someone again."
"oh?"
"Isn't the Princess of Tubo married to King Xiaobolu? Xiaobolu Kingdom and its more than 20 surrounding countries are all dependent on Tubo and have no contribution. Over the years, Anxi Jiedushi has been attacking Xiaobolu Kingdom but cannot win. The saint is so angry Incredible..."
Du Wulang opened his eyes wide, wondering if he could hear these words.
Although Guo Qianli was reckless, he still had a sense of discretion when it came to leaking military aircraft. As soon as he saw Du Wulang's expression, he knew what this kid was thinking. He waved his hand and said, "It's okay. There's a battle thousands of miles away. What's wrong with a few words? Oops. , the saint sent Bian Lingcheng to supervise the army and urge the governor of Anxi. When I used to guard the palace, I often saw Bian Lingcheng, a eunuch, who was timid and greedy for money. How could he supervise the army? "
"General Guo also said these words?"
"If I don't say it, I'll feel bad."
Guo Qianli sighed and said, "After being demoted again and again, my salary is no longer enough to support my family. I heard that your grandfather has been promoted?"
"Ah, yes, I have been reinstated, junior official."
"I originally wanted to invite Mr. Du as a guest, but it can't be done now." Guo Qianli said, "Xue Langjun doesn't have an official status yet, so I wanted to ask him."
"this……"
Du Wulang felt embarrassed for Guo Qianli when he heard this. He hesitated and said, "General Guo, you actually have great wisdom. Maybe you don't need a secret servant. Maybe you just need to... restrain yourself a little bit when dealing with others?"
In the evening, when Xue Bai returned home from Princess Yuzhen's mansion, he heard the two of them chatting in the hall.
When he entered the hall, he could already tell what was going on from the rich conversation.
"Haha, Xue Langjun is back." Guo Qianli said loudly: "With this fragrance, you must have gone drinking with the young lady, right?"
Xue Bai looked at him without saying anything and didn't know what he was thinking.
Seeing this situation, Du Wulang had no choice but to come to the rescue and said: "I have the best nose, but I can't smell much fragrance."
Xue Bai was considering whether it was worth helping Guo Qianli, and finally nodded.
"Look." Seeing him nodding, Guo Qianli said firmly: "Sure enough, Xue Langjun went to drink with the young lady."
"Seriously, General Guo wants to be promoted?"
"of course."
Xue Bai asked Du Wulang: "Has General Chen been to Fengwei Tower recently?"
"Yes, but..."
"It doesn't matter, I'll take General Guo to meet him."
Guo Qianli said: "Could it be Chen Xuanli who Xue Langjun said."
"good."
"If Mr. Xue Lang wants to help me transfer to the Longwu Army, I'm afraid he won't be able to do it." Guo Qianli scratched his head and said, "I can only serve in Nanya."
"Why?" Du Wulang said, "General, are you afraid that your temper will displease the saint?"
"That's not true. The saint liked me before. I was a general in Beiya and was on guard duty. Therefore, Li Taibai said that I 'entered the silver platform to protect Ziwei.' Is Haoru dreaming?"
"Why?"
Guo Qianli has always been outspoken, but now he shook his head and kept his words secret.
Du Wulang asked again and again several times, but he refused to say more.
"In that case, we can't help you."
"Okay." Guo Qianli had no choice but to stand up on his knees, "I'm not asking for promotion."
Xue Bai's expression suddenly changed and he asked, "But is it related to the case of the three common people?"
Guo Qianli was stunned for a moment, with a look of shock on his face, maintaining his half-standing and half-sitting posture, not knowing how to react.
Xue Bai walked outside the hall and looked around.
"That seems to be the case. Before the Yuan Dynasty Imperial Banquet, I saw General Guo boldly going in and out of the Flower Calyx Tower and laughing with the saints. He didn't look like a little Jinwu Wei Zhonghou."
Guo Qianli didn't answer, and sat down again, staring at Xue Bai with a look of regret.
"He took charge of Yintai to protect Ziwei. General Guo used to guard the Zuoyintai Gate in Beiya." It's the East Palace. In the case of the three commoners, did the deposed prince enter the palace through the palace gate guarded by the general? "
"That's not true. If I had let it go, I would have died long ago."
"But this must have something to do with the general?"
"Don't ask." Guo Qianli said, "This is not something you, a young man, should ask about."
"It won't have any more impact on me whether you inquire or not. If the general doesn't believe me, why does he come looking for me every time he is demoted?"
Guo Qianli was in a dilemma, his thick eyebrows were twisted together, very tangled.
Xue Bai stopped talking and waited for him to speak.
"Oh, it's not a big deal actually." Guo Qianli lowered his voice and said mysteriously: "I didn't order the Zuoyintai Gate to be opened, but I saw the saint's edict that night."
A grass edict is an edict issued by a saint, but it has not gone through Zhongshu Sheng.
"Later, the three common people were captured. Others said that they broke into the palace without permission." Guo Qianli said, "But we all saw that it was the saint who ordered them to enter the palace."
"Then what?"
"I was taken to Beiya Prison until the three common people were dead for a while. Li Linfu came and told me that the grass edict was fake and asked me to tell the imperial guards. After that, I was demoted to Nanya."
"that's all?"
Guo Qianli nodded and said solemnly: "I haven't mentioned this matter to anyone in ten years. You must not spread it."
Xue Bai asked: "Is the imperial edict true? Or is it false?"
Guo Qianli was stunned again.
Xue Bai looked directly into his eyes, repeated the question slowly, and said: "Really...false..."
"Fake." Guo Qianli swallowed, "Of course it's fake."
"good."
~~
After sending Guo Qianli away, Du Wulang was still a little confused and asked Xue Bai in a low voice: "What did you mean just now?"
"If the imperial edict is false, then the case of the three common people was caused by Concubine Wu Hui falsely transmitting the imperial edict; and if the imperial edict is true, then it is not a false edict."
Du Wulang didn't understand, so he blinked and asked, "Is that true or false?"
"Guo Qianli is still alive because he said the right thing."
~~
In the summer of Jixia, Youxiang Mansion also became busy.
It is not only necessary to prepare for the collection of rents, Hebian, Zase, etc., but also to recruit troops, because there are particularly many wars this year.
Under such circumstances, Li Linfu did not have much time to be jealous of talents and exclude dissidents, but the rising Yang Party was like a thorn in his throat, making it difficult for him to sleep and eat well.
He often worried that Yang Zheng and Pei Kuan would replace him, so he had nightmares several times.
"Right Prime Minister, there is someone asking for an audience with a greeting card. He claims to be Hu'er's subordinate and has come to give you a gift."
"Let him in."
After a while, a red-robed official hurried over and knelt down in front of the hall.
"The lower official, Zhang Lizhen, pays homage to the Right Prime Minister. On behalf of An Lushan, the governor of Fanyang and Pinglu Towns, Hu'er wishes the Right Prime Minister good health and great blessings."
"Get up and talk." Li Linfu said calmly: "Hu'er didn't come to Chang'an until autumn, and now he sends you here?"
"Come to give gifts to the right prime minister. I have good news to tell you." Zhang Lizhen imitated An Lushan's tone and said: "After Pei Kuan left, Hu'er has subdued his subordinates, including Pinglu military envoy Shi Siming. He also told Hu'er that Pei Kuan committed many serious crimes when he was in Fan Yang. Hu'er also heard at the border that Pei Laogou dared to offend the right prime minister. When he arrived in Chang'an this time, he must say this for the right prime minister. "
Li Linfu sneered after hearing this and said, "I think this Hu'er wants to covet Pei Kuan's position as imperial censor again."
Zhang Lizhen was startled and exclaimed: "The right prime minister is really a god! This is probably what An Dafu has in mind."
No matter what, such flattering words still made Li Linfu happy.
He was framed twice by Xue Bai a while ago, and the Holy Family was no longer enough to deal with Yang Zhen and Pei Kuan. After all, he had to have helpers, and he could only take action after An Lushan entered the court.
After looking at the long gift list for a long time, Zhang Lizhen retreated.
Later, Pei Mian came to ask for an audience, and Li Linfu was a little surprised when he spoke.
"Right Prime Minister, I have found out about Xue Pingzhao."
"explain."
"The lower official sent people to Jingzhou and found that Zhang Jiuling's wife, Tan, had passed away many years ago. However, they found that Zhang Jiuling had indeed settled a house in Chang'an under the name of Tan."
"really."
"The villa is located in Anyefang, Sanjin Courtyard. According to neighbors, the people in the house live in seclusion and never interact with others. After careful investigation, it was found that Tan had indeed adopted several orphans from the Sanju case and settled in them. She After his death, He Zhizhang first sent people to take care of the house, and in the third year of Tianbao, when He Zhizhang became an official, the consort Zhang Bian sent people to take care of it."
"Zhang Bian?"
Li Linfu murmured the name, and the first thing he thought of was Zhang Shuo, Zhang Bian's father... Zhang Shuo was a famous prime minister during the Kaiyuan Dynasty. Zhang Jiuling was appreciated by Zhang Shuo when he was very young, and became a famous minister after Zhang Shuo's death. Prime Minister, we have a lot of friendship.
As the son of a famous prime minister, Zhang Bian was originally going to marry Princess Tang Chang in August of the 16th year of Kaiyuan. However, for some unknown reason, Princess Tang Chang suddenly married Xue Xiu in May of that year. Zhang Bian married Ning Ning instead in August. Dear princess.
Until the case of the three commoners occurred and Xue Xi died, Princess Tang Chang was implicated and imprisoned; Princess Ning's brother Li Heng became the new prince, and his status rose steadily. The fate of the two princesses and their consort has been completely different since then.
"Although Zhang Bian is Princess Ning's consort and helps take care of the house, he must be remembering his friendship with Princess Tang Chang."
Pei Mian continued: "At the beginning of the winter of the fifth year of Tianbao, Princess Ning discovered that Zhang Bian was doing this secretly. She became furious and sold the house and all the slaves. Because Tan was dead and the deed had not been changed, And the money and goods actually provided for the house came from Princess Ningqin's house, so Tan's fingerprints on the deed were fake, so we searched for a long time and went in circles."
"Did Princess Ning sell Xue Pingzhao to Princess Xianyi's mansion?"
"Yes." Pei Mian said: "But the official believes that Princess Ning does not actually understand the identity and background of these slaves, and the reason why she is angry is just because of jealousy."
If Li Linfu realized something, he murmured: "Anyefang?"
"The right minister is wise, that villa is in Anyefang with Tang Changguan." Pei Mian said: "Zhang Jiuling, He Zhizhang, and Zhang Bian were all entrusted by others to provide money and people to take care of the families of the criminal officials. What's behind this matter The chief messenger is Xue Xi’s wife, Princess Tang Chang.”
"Is this what you found?"
Li Linfu was not satisfied with this.
After the three common people case occurred, the saint killed his three sons, killed the Xue family brothers and sisters, and implicated the Huangfu family. There was only one group of people who were not killed, including grandchildren, daughters, and grandsons.
Li Ying's sons were adopted into the name of Li Cong, and Princess Tang Chang and her son Xue Guang were imprisoned in Tang Changguan... However, these people were also under the strictest surveillance and were unlikely to cause a big disturbance.
Xue Pingzhao was different, but Xue Xiu's concubine had no blood relationship with the royal family. Princess Tang Chang had no need to protect him. If she did, it would be out of kindness.
"The truth is I never believe that if Princess Tang Chang was the instigator behind the scenes, she could cultivate such a powerful character as Xue Bai."
Pei Mian reminded: "Zhang Jiuling, He Zhizhang, and Zhang Bian are all scheming people..."
"Since these people did not personally take Xue Bai by their side to teach him through words and deeds, but just placed him in a separate house to take care of him and live in seclusion, how could they develop such scheming minds?"
"So, is it a cover-up?"
Li Linfu paced and pondered, then slowly ordered: "Continue to investigate. No matter what the truth is, get the evidence first, and hold in your hands the key evidence that can get rid of Xue Bai. Remember, this time the truth must be something tangible, No more attempts will be made to frame and slander us.”
"Here." Pei Mian was about to retreat.
"Did you know that Li Ying is still..."
Li Linfu suddenly thought of an unsolved secret from that year.
Pei Mian then stopped again and listened.
After waiting for a while, Li Linfu behind the screen did not continue talking, and just said lightly: "It has nothing to do with this, you can continue to investigate."
"Well, I will send someone to keep an eye on Tang Changguan and pay attention to whether Princess Tang Chang has any contact with Xue Bai."
~~
Changshoufang, Yanzhai.
Yan Zhenqing saw that Xue Bai had rarely been calm for two months, and his complexion had become better recently.
"In the autumn, there will be a yearly examination. Don't embarrass me, and don't make it difficult for me to sacrifice wine."
Xue Bai understood as soon as he heard that this was the intention of the prince of the country to offer wine to Wei Shu to ensure that he passed the New Year's exam. He thanked him quickly and said: "Teacher, the student came today, but there is a good thing. Yesterday, the student came to Princess Yuzhen." A banquet at the house..."
Speaking of this, Yan Zhenqing actually frowned and secretly thought that this boy was either going to Madam Guo's Mansion or Princess Yuzhen's Mansion, both of which were not serious places.
But what Xue Bai said next made him a little moved.
"Princess Yuzhen said that she plans to stay at Yuhua Temple at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain for a while. It seems to be a grand gathering of Taoism. Master Qixuan will also come down the mountain and we can take Sanniang to see the doctor together."
"real?!"
"Yes, Princess Yuzhen has promised that Master Qixuan will take action."
"well."
This was the only thing that could make Yan Zhenqing and his wife so excited that they were speechless.
…
The location of Yuhua Temple is the world-famous Louguantai, located at the northern foot of Zhongnan Mountain.
Yin Xi once built a thatched building here to watch the stars and watch the energy. Laozi once set up an altar here to lecture on scriptures and teach Taoism. Li Yuan personally led hundreds of civil and military officials to pay homage to Laojun, and the edict was changed to "Zongsheng Temple".
Today's saints have expanded it many times, making it the largest royal Taoist temple in the world and known as "the most blessed place in the world".
Xue Bai thought that when Princess Yuzhen invited him to leave Chang'an, it must be more than just her enthusiasm to help introduce Zhenren Qixuan.
At that time, it is very likely that some people who are inconvenient to meet in Chang'an also want to meet.
Now that his fame is getting bigger, these things will inevitably happen sooner or later, and there is no harm in meeting him.
(End of chapter)
