Yanyue Hall.
Li Linfu put his hands behind his hands and looked at Xiaoxue outside the window, and said, "I heard that Xue Bai has been in contact with Li Mi, Yuan Zai, and even Wang Zhongsi recently?"
He was obviously unhappy and worried that Xue Bai would want to interfere with him in seizing the Jiedushi of the four towns.
Starting from the Wei Jian case during the Shangyuan Festival in the fifth year of Tianbao, he finally launched a decisive attack on the East Palace, and his troops were directed at Wang Zhongsi, the main force of the East Palace.
Unlike those trivial matters in the past, this kind of military and national affairs cannot be interfered with by relatives or jesters. The saint and his prime minister had decided not to allow any nonsense. The most Xue Bai could do was to give Wang Zhongsi advice.
Li Linfu felt that there was no need to worry about this, but he couldn't help but worry about it.
At this moment, a slave came forward and reported: "Alang, the news has arrived. Xue Bai has gone to Xingqing Palace with Mrs. Guo Guo to pay an audience."
"really."
Li Linfu's eyes flashed with anger, and he was annoyed that Xue Bai didn't keep his promise, so he ordered: "Hurry to the palace gate to deliver the news. It turns out that I have urgent state affairs and want to see the saint."
Xingqing Palace was not far away, and this time it was an impromptu decision. Li Linfu hurried to the palace gate without waiting for Jinwu Wei Jingjie.
Fortunately, no assassins were encountered.
Today Li Longji is playing cards in the Qinzhengwu Building, and his poker partners are the Yang sisters and Xue Bai.
"Sage, the right minister has arrived."
Li Linfu was led by his chamberlain to the palace and heard Xue Baizhen talking about Shibao City.
"It's the maid next to me. Her ancestral home is Anding County. She once saw the giant stone cannon and told me how to use the counterweight to throw stones. What I hope is to capture Shibao City and take credit for her, in addition to her humble status. "
"Rebellious crime and low status?"
"Yes, she is a member of Huangfu Deyi's clan, and her grandfather is Huangfu Xi. He was convicted in the 25th year of Kaiyuan."
Li Linfu stopped and looked up. Xue Bai, who was sitting on the card table, was casually pushing out a card. He looked calm and relaxed, as if he didn't realize that the people related to the three commoners case should not be mentioned in front of a saint.
Sure enough, when the saint touched the card, his face was already a little unhappy.
Xue Bai continued: "When Mr. Du Youlin was young, he was taught by Mr. Zhang Jiuling. He happened to buy a slave of a convicted official in his family, and he happened to take me in. Therefore, there are always people accusing me of being Xue Xi's son..."
"That's enough." Yang Yuhuan suddenly shouted, "If you don't know what to say, just shut up."
It was rare for her to teach others with such a frosty face. At this time, it was obviously because Xue Bai didn't know how to behave.
"What a fool."
Li Longji didn't look at the cards, and once again showed off his skill of drawing cards. He put down the cards in his hand, and it turned out that he was wrong.
Then he waved his hand lightly and said: "There is no need to teach this child a lesson about a small matter. Xue Bai, why do you want to redeem this maid?"
If this is done selfishly, that's all. If you want to let the three common people's case get loose, it's a heinous crime.
Xue Bai said frankly: "She wants to give me a child. I can't bear to let her child live under the name of a big woman in the future, so I want to take her as my concubine."
Li Longji finally laughed, first smiling slightly, and finally bursting into laughter.
"Since you have accomplished great feats, just allow a humble servant girl to redeem her status. But you, a brat, want to take concubines and have children before you get married. Which lady is willing to marry you?"
"Thank you, Saint, for your concern." Xue Bai's voice became softer and he was a little embarrassed, and said: "But there is a daughter from a good family who is willing to make a lifelong commitment to me..."
Li Linfu lost no time in stepping forward to salute and stood behind Xue Bai.
At this time, a new round of poker had just begun. Li Longji smiled and asked: "What are the urgent state affairs of the right minister?"
"I heard that Wang Zhongsi returned to Chang'an the day before yesterday. May I ask if the saint personally summoned him?"
"Did Juro miss me?" Li Longji smiled and said, "It's such a small thing that I went to the palace specially."
Li Linfu saw the saint telling a joke and quickly apologized, his smile was sweeter than honey.
Xue Bai said: "Sage, the right prime minister may want to see me, so as soon as I entered the palace with my front foot, he followed with his rear foot."
"What trouble did you cause?"
"There are always people who ask me for help in speaking up in front of the emperor, but I refuse." Xue Bai said bluntly, "I am not a jester or a minister. I am determined to become an official in the imperial examination in the spring. How can I run around like this? But the right minister Maybe you don’t trust me?”
Li Longji laughed and asked, "What did Shiro say?"
"Xue Lang is a good talker." Li Linfu said, "Before the old minister said a word, he had already made up a story."
"Speaking of stories, I will finish writing the monkey story soon. Will I send it to the saint for reading?"
"What story will you write next?" Li Longji said with a smile: "As soon as winter is over, spring will come. I will have to see your writing."
Xue Bai said honestly: "We are already preparing. This time the scroll will definitely satisfy the saint."
"Haha, if you dare to boast, your shame will be lost."
"We must go all out..."
Li Linfu stood there listening and realized that he was a little too nervous.
Xue Bai was just busy with his own future and had no intention of interfering in important military affairs. The saint would not listen to him. If he spoke to Wang Zhongsi, he would be stretching his hand too far and not knowing how to measure it.
The card game was finally disrupted by Li Linfu. After playing for another half an hour, Li Longji dismissed everyone else, leaving only Li Linfu to discuss the selection of the governor of the border town.
This is a major matter, and the saint only discusses it with the prime minister.
~~
The snowflakes in the sky are getting bigger.
Xue Bai left Xingqing Palace and drove his horse for a while. Yang Yuyao opened the curtain and said, "You can come in."
"Third sister, have you noticed? Someone has been staring at me recently."
"What does that have to do with it? You and I are siblings, so what's wrong with riding in the same car?" Yang Yuyao said, "Look at you, you're covered in snowflakes."
Xue Bai then reined in his horse and said seriously: "Today, the third sister said we are siblings, but don't change your words again."
"Yes." Yang Yuyao nodded, pulled him into the car, and whispered: "If you don't change your words, you won't change your words. Then you can call me sister."
"It's a little too much."
…
Qinglan knew that Xue Bai would stay for two or three days every time he entered the palace, playing cards with the saint all night long. Every time, he would count the time to heat up the fire and wait for his return.
Finally, the door creaked open.
"Mr. Lang is back? Are you sleepy? Do you want to sleep for a while?"
"I came back after waking up." Xue Bai was in high spirits, his hair was neatly combed, and he still had a faint fragrance. He stepped forward and took Qing Lan's hand, "Let's go, we have to go to the Dongshi Department and the Shaofu Mansion. Supervisor, we have to go to Jingzhao Mansion."
"Ah, is it really done?"
"It's done. By the way, this is for you."
Qinglan looked around and saw Xue Bai handing over a box. When he opened it, he saw that it was full of jewelry.
"This... Lang Jun, this is too precious... I..."
"Take it, don't you want to be my concubine? That's considered acceptance. Well, besides, Mrs. Guo Guo gave it to you."
When it was mentioned that he would accept it, Qinglan accepted it shyly, and then became confused for a moment.
"Mr. Lang, why did Mrs. Guo give me such an expensive gift?"
"You also know that she is mine..." Xue Bai replied, with memories in his eyes, "She is my sworn sister."
~~
"Snapped."
With a soft sound, Xue Bai took the document from Jingzhao Household Cao's hand, looked at it, and smiled.
"It's really Huangfu'e now, let's go."
"oh."
A soft cat held Xue Bai's hand. Qinglan was a little uneasy, as if she was afraid of being lost by Xue Bai and wanted to lead him away.
"After regaining your identity, what do you want to do next?" Xue Bai asked: "Where is your original house? Let's go take a look?"
"The Anrenfang area has changed a lot. Huangfu's residence has been demolished a long time ago."
"It's okay, go take a look and celebrate your progress."
Qinglan was not used to too many changes, and she was afraid of the feeling of having everything become its own, and she felt more and more at a loss.
Suddenly, she raised her head, sniffed, and asked, "Mr. Lang, can I do whatever I want?"
Xue Bai looked at the sky and said, "Today's words..."
"Can we go eat mutton noodle soup? To celebrate, how about we eat a bowl of mutton noodle soup like when we came out of the vat?"
"good."
Xue Bai lowered his head and looked into her eyes, and was suddenly touched. He took her and walked eastward.
"Where are you going, Mr. Lang?"
"Go to the restaurant in Dongshi to eat."
"Okay, but will it be too delayed?"
"It's okay, I've been very busy lately."
Xue Bai looked back and saw that those who were following him were still there. It doesn't matter to him, just follow him if you like.
~~
"What is Xue Bai doing recently?"
Zhang Ting asked while holding a civet cat, caressing its fur, looking at the snowflakes outside the window.
With the current situation of the East Palace, even sending people to follow it requires the efforts of her parents, but no matter what, the more she does now, the more she will gain in the future.
"Back to Erniang, Xue Bai only interacts with women every day. He goes to Yuzhen Temple during the day, spends the night at Du's house, goes to the palace to play cards, and spends the night at Mrs. Guo's house. After that, he takes the maid around for the next two days. , saying that he wanted to take a concubine..."
"Am I asking you this? Has he met anyone important?"
"Mr. Li came to visit, but was chased away by the manager of Xue House. 'Lang Jun said that he had asked all the questions that should be asked, and he would not have any further contact with Mr. Li.' This sentence could be heard from a distance. After that, Mr. Li came to Chengdu When I visited Xinshu Shop, I didn't see Xue Bai; Wang Yunxiu also came to the door and stood outside the door covered with snow, so I was sure that Xue Bai was not there."
Zhang Ting frowned and asked, "Where's Zahu? How did Zahu react?"
"Zahu either goes to the palace to report on his duties, or he goes around giving gifts."
"What happened to the murderer Fan Yangjin? Can Zahu be rescued?"
"Second mother, wait a moment."
It took a while before the news was sorted out.
"Zahu asked me to behead the murderers under my command for public display. Fan Yang's soldiers have already lost their heads."
"But it was Jifang Xiao'er who took action first... He didn't intercede for his people?"
"This little guy doesn't know."
Zhang Ting opened his mouth in surprise, knowing that An Lushan was different from Wang Zhongsi in that he never bribed the military. This comparison made the saint dislike Wang Zhongsi even more.
The next moment, a servant hurried over and said: "Second mother, General Wang Zhongsi is here to visit..."
"How dare he come?!" Zhang Ting was shocked.
"General Wang heard that His Highness was ill and must come to visit. Duke Li couldn't stop him and asked General Wang to break into the front yard."
"Breaking in?"
Zhang Ting quickly put down the cat in her arms, took off her shoes and hurried outside.
After rushing past Yimen, I could only hear the sound of footsteps stepping on gravel in front of me.
The open space in the Prince's Courtyard was covered with large amounts of gravel, making it difficult for assassins to approach quietly. And Wang Zhongsi rushed in as if he was coming to assassinate the prince.
"General Wang, slow down, slow down!" Li Jingzhong cried loudly and followed Wang Zhongsi to persuade him.
Zhang Ting originally wanted to stop him, but when he saw Wang Zhongsi's powerful appearance, he didn't dare to offend him and was at a loss.
Soon, a young eunuch named Zhu Huiguang hurriedly came behind Li Heng.
"Your Highness invites General Wang to come in."
Zhang Ting was curious about what the sworn brothers were going to say, so she turned around and rushed to Li Heng first, helping him up with her own hands.
~~
"Your Highness."
"Brother-in-law is here. We haven't seen you in some years."
Li Heng looked deeply at Wang Zhongsi, with deep affection in his eyes. He raised his hand and asked Li Jingzhong to guard him in the courtyard.
He wanted Zhang Ting to step down as well, but Zhang Ting refused. She used her family's power to help Dong Gong, how could she always be kept in the dark about everything.
Li Heng had no choice but to say: "Sister-in-law, this is my new wife, the second wife of my cousin's family. Ahem, step-brother, you don't have to be polite."
"Excuse me, may I catch up with His Highness?"
"My sworn brother is here today. I think I have something to discuss. There is no need to hide it from Er Niang, but it doesn't matter." Li Heng turned to look at Zhang Ting and said softly: "I can trust Er Niang and I can trust my sworn brother. You both can." The one closest to me.”
Wang Zhongsi sighed slightly, and his aura of authority also faded a little.
"Your Highness is really sick?"
"Yes." Li Heng said with a bitter smile: "I'm very ill...brother step forward."
His lips were bloodless and he looked very old and weak. He struggled to get up and wanted to see Wang Zhongsi.
Seeing this situation, Wang Zhongsi also softened his heart and stepped forward.
"Brother-in-law is getting old too." Li Heng murmured: "I remember it was the second year of Kaiyuan. You arrived in Miyagi City when you were nine years old. I was four years old and followed you every day. I was ignorant, but you practiced martial arts hard. But I want you to play with me. In the blink of an eye, more than thirty years have passed, and I haven’t seen my sworn brother for several years... and I have a head full of gray hair."
As he spoke, he burst into tears, held Wang Zhongsi's hand and patted it.
"Your Highness is actually older than me?"
Wang Zhongsi also felt sad when he said a word.
He has been tall and mature since he was a child. He has always regarded Li Heng, who is a few years younger than him, as a child. In the blink of an eye, Li Heng is really older than him.
"This seat is not easy to sit in. Others don't know it, but my sworn brother knows it. I really didn't want to sit in it back then."
"I know."
At this point, Wang Zhongsi actually no longer wanted to ask the next question.
However, forced by the situation, he still said: "It is not appropriate for me to come to see His Highness, but there are a few things I have to ask clearly."
"Brother, it's okay to ask."
"After five years of Tianbao, Huangfu Weiming resigned, and His Highness found for me the governors of Hexi and Longyou towns..."
"It's not me." Li Heng said: "Who else can guard the situation in Helong except my sworn brother?"
"That's the case." Wang Zhongsi pointed to the key point and asked: "Why did the saint have to depose Huangfu Weiming?"
Li Heng was silent for a moment and said: "I can answer my sworn brother, Huangfu Weiming did not want to rebel, but wanted to investigate the matter of Wang Fei's exploitation of the family of the soldiers who died in the war, and was framed by Suo Dou Chong."
"What about the old soldier from Longyou left behind by Huangfu Weiming?"
Li Heng's eyes widened, a little surprised, and said: "Brother, did you listen to other people's instigating words and doubt me? Who is talking nonsense? Asking for cockfighting or Yang Dang?"
"Your Highness, please make it clear."
"As soon as Huangfu Weiming died, those old soldiers from Longyou were bribed by Yang Shenjin."
Li Heng was a little weak, but he still managed to hold on and slowly and quietly explained.
"Yang Shenjin is a descendant of Yang in the Sui Dynasty. He has always had ulterior motives and has been preparing secretly. He is Xue Bai's adoptive father, and he has an affair with Du Youlin's eldest daughter. He wants to use the Liu Ji case to disrupt the Tang Dynasty, so he orders his adopted son Xue Bai... ...seduce Du Erniang."
Wang Zhongsi raised his eyebrows, a little surprised.
Zhang Ting was also surprised. This was the first time she heard Li Heng say such scandalous things.
"This matter is not difficult to investigate. If my sworn brother doesn't believe it, he will find out as soon as he checks it." Li Heng closed his eyes helplessly and sadly, "I will not lie to my sworn brother about this kind of thing."
There is no evidence that Yang Shenjin is dead. If Wang Zhongsi investigates, he must start from Xue Bai's life experience. It will take time, but Xue Xiu can be found first, and then everything will make sense.
Wang Zhongsi asked: "Those dead soldiers?"
"After Yang Shenjin's incident happened, Xue Bai quickly changed his family and defected to Yang's party. He turned around and exposed Yang Shenjin. Those dead soldiers also defected to his hands."
"He's just a teenager with no power."
"He is the son of Xue Xiu, and he has the support of my second brother's old friend." Li Heng said in a low voice: "They want to help the eldest brother succeed to the throne, I can give in, lest the throne is moved again, the country will be in turmoil... sworn brother , you know me, I really didn’t want to be a prince back then..."
Wang Zhongsi frowned and said nothing, still not recovering from the news.
"Everything I said is true." Li Heng said: "It was Xue Bai who instigated the old soldier from Longyou to kill Pei Mian. He first blamed miscreants, forced Suo Douji to compromise, promoted Yang Dang to the top, and then they worked together to deal with me. It’s just useless storage, you can know these things once you check them.”
"If we can find out clearly, can we tell clearly?" Wang Zhongsi asked, "How can a saint believe you and me?"
"Cough cough cough..."
Li Heng cried sadly when he heard this and murmured: "There is nothing we can do, there is nothing we can do."
Wang Zhongsi said: "Your Highness, I have an idea."
"Brother, please tell me."
"I will investigate what Your Highness said. This matter sounds ridiculous, but it is probably the truth. I am afraid... the saint will not believe it."
Wang Zhongsi had heard two kinds of "truths" and believed that he should not discuss either side. He had a clearer understanding of the situation. He was thinking about ways to break the situation, and suddenly thought of the method proposed by Yuan Zai.
If the method is slightly changed, the saint may be able to eliminate some suspicions.
For example, if Wang Zhongsi proposed to kill Li Jingzhong, it would be better to let the prince do it himself... The price would be high and high, but he was really worried about all the four border towns falling into the hands of others.
"Your Highness, I am not for military power." Wang Zhongsi pondered, and slowly said: "I think that Li Jingzhong beside Your Highness has never been a kind person..."
"Is your adopted brother crazy?"
Li Heng was shocked.
Of course he is willing to push Li Jingzhong to take the blame, if Li Jingzhong can withstand it.
What is the difference between Wang Zhongsi's idea and what Li Mi said?
"Li Jingzhong is just a pitiful person. How can a saint believe that he is capable? What's the difference between pushing someone closest to me to take the blame and saying that these things were all caused by me? My sworn brother has been taken advantage of!"
"At least in name..."
"It's officially confirmed that Dong Gong is guilty, how can you and I end up well?" Li Heng said: "Who is instigating the sworn brother? But Yang Dang? Yuan Zai? Doesn't the sworn brother not know? Your son-in-law only sees fame and wealth, and doesn't care at all. The country is in turmoil...ahem...rather than this, it would be better for me to 'die of illness', so that it would not be too dangerous to establish a crown prince instead."
After he said this, Wang Zhongsi could only comfort him: "Your Highness, there is no need to be like this. How about we talk about it after we recover from illness?"
Only Zhang Ting was listening, and suddenly a thought came to his mind.
If she could retain her position as crown prince, she would actually be able to accept it, even if her military power was abolished. It's just that the conditions have to be discussed again. The key is to ensure that the prince can succeed to the throne in the end. As for whether Li Heng can take power after losing his prestige, and can he stabilize the borders of the Tang Dynasty? It won't be too late to talk about it after she has a son and becomes the heir apparent.
Kill Li Jingzhong? She doesn't care at all...
I also wrote 10,000 words today. With this update, I just want to take a breath. However, it seems that I hope to enter the top ten of the monthly vote list this month. I will try my best~ Please give me a monthly vote~ Please give me a monthly vote~~
(End of chapter)
