At the end of Si Shi,
In a private room on the third floor of Ximeng Tower, two young men wearing bright red robes with round necks and narrow sleeves were standing by the window chatting.
There is not much difference in height and age between the two.
One has a fair face, no beard, and a handsome appearance.
The other has a sallow complexion and is just starting to grow a beard.
At this time, the older boy, holding on to the window lattice, pointed to the group of people wearing gray cloth in the lobby on the first floor and said:
"Your Highness, look, there are more and more merchants downstairs right now."
"Haha...it's ridiculous to say that, with their humble status, are they worthy of contracting the officialdom of the imperial court?"
"It's simply wishful thinking and whimsical."
The young man with a pale face and no beard said noncommittally:
"Cousin, please be careful. My father has already made a decree on this matter. Let's not explore it any further, lest it spread to the ears of the censor."
"Besides, Qingque's petition to convene a bidding conference is the first time that his father has approved it since he participated in the court meeting."
"Therefore, I also hope that Qingque can handle this job well."
The handsome young man who spoke was driven by curiosity, Li Chengqian, the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty.
The man next to him, with a yellowish complexion, is Changsun Chong, the newly appointed general secretary of the East Palace and the eldest son of the Duke of Qi.
Changsun Chong couldn't help but curled his lips when he heard this.
[How could such a contracting method be thought up by that greedy little fat man! ]
[Behind this, it is probably Qin Ming’s idea. ]
Thinking of Qin Ming, Changsun Chong couldn't help but reappear that graceful figure covered with gauze.
As soon as the idea came up, Changsun Chong, the little brother who had been immersed in it for many days, suddenly felt ready to make a move.
Changsun rushed down to test it out, and couldn't help but be overjoyed.
[I just knew I was okay. ]
[Before, although the ladies in the house were veiled, they lacked her charm. ]
[It must be because of this that I am not interested. ]
Thinking of this, Changsun Chong was in a good mood, but then he thought that the woman was the maid of Qin Ming's house.
There was a hint of sinisterness in Changsun Chong's eyes.
Seeing Changsun Chong's uncertain expression, Li Chengqian patted Changsun Chong's arm gently, frowned and asked:
"Cousin, are you feeling unwell? Are you looking so ugly?"
Changsun Chong was startled when he heard this. He turned his head and saw Li Chengqian with a worried look on his face, and suddenly had an idea.
He looked worried, stretched out his hand to hold Li Chengqian's wrist, and sighed:
"Hey, I made His Highness worried, but I'm fine."
After saying that, Changsun Chong shook his head with a wry smile, sighed again, and then walked to the chair with empty steps and sat down.
Seeing this scene, Li Chengqian became even more worried, so he quickly walked over and sat down next to Changsun Chong.
"Cousin, how can I feel relieved when you look like this?"
"Why don't we go back to the East Palace first? I'll ask the imperial doctor to check your pulse?"
Changsun Chong raised his head, looked at Li Chengqian who looked worried, and said with a forced smile:
"Chengqian, my cousin is really fine."
Li Chengqian frowned and asked:
"Then why does my cousin look so painful?"
Changsun Chong raised his eyelids and looked around.
When Li Chengqian saw this, he immediately understood and said to the rest of the people in the room:
"You go down first."
Hearing this, the palace maids and eunuchs in the room quickly bowed in response and walked towards the door.
One of the old eunuchs was very discerning and closed the window before going out.
When Li Chengqian saw that everyone else had left, he turned around, looked at Changsun Chong and said:
"Cousin, can you talk now?"
Changsun Chong pretended to hesitate, stood up and turned his back to Li Chengqian, asking:
"Cheng Qian, I really want to know why my cousin sighed?"
Li Chengqian looked at Changsun Chong's back, becoming more and more confused.
He stood up, walked to Changsun Chong, and said:
"Yu Gong, you are an official of the East Palace. Yu Si, you and I are cousins."
"Is there anything you can't say?"
"As long as I can help, my cousin, just ask. I will do my best and never refuse."
Upon hearing this, Changsun Chong stamped his feet and lamented:
"Hey, that's all, that's all."
"I will be a villain today."
Li Chengqian was even more confused when he heard this, and said doubtfully:
"Cousin, where did you start talking about this?"
Changsun Chong turned around, took Li Chengqian's wrist, and sighed:
"Chengqian, you, hey, are just too kind."
"Have you never thought about what would happen if the King of Yue really gets things done today and gets a reward from my uncle?"
"Aren't you worried that one day, he will threaten your status?"
Li Chengqian was stunned for a moment when he heard this, shook his head and said:
"Qingque is my brother from the same mother. How could he threaten me?"
"Besides, I am now the crown prince and he is just a prince. Even if he achieves success in the future, he still has to listen to me?"
Changsun Chong sighed after hearing this:
"My lord! You are confused!"
"Have you forgotten how Prince Yin..."
Li Chengqian's face changed drastically when he heard this, he reached out and covered Changsun Chong's mouth, and said:
"Cousin, be careful what you say, be careful what you say."
After speaking, Li Chengqian lowered his head and said to himself:
"My mother has taught us since childhood that we should love each other. I believe Qingque will never disobey..."
Li Chengqian didn't say the rest.
He clenched his hands as if to cheer himself up, and said with a firm tone:
"Qingque doesn't know how to do that."
Changsun Chong turned around when he heard this, bowed to Li Chengqian, and said with fear and fear:
"I made a mistake for a moment, and please forgive me, Your Highness."
Li Chengqian reached out to hold Changsun Chong's arm and said in a gentle tone:
"My cousin is serious, get up quickly."
Changsun Chong heard this and said respectfully:
"Your Highness is kind."
After standing up, Changsun Chong sighed and continued:
"Hey, in the final analysis, the Qin County man is also to blame for this matter."
Li Chengqian frowned slightly and asked:
"What does this have to do with Brother Ming?"
Changsun Chong snorted and said:
"It was he who proposed building cement roads in the first place, and he is also the chief officer of the Roads and Bridges Department."
"He is the owner behind the scenes of Ximeng Tower."
"My cousin won't believe it if he says that the idea of inviting bids has nothing to do with him."
"Maybe this whole thing was his idea."
"He deliberately gave the credit to the King of Yue."
Li Chengqian trembled when he heard this and murmured:
"If this thing is done, the credit will be considerable. Brother Ming shouldn't do this, right?"
Changsun Chong curled his lips when he heard this and said:
"Why not? I heard that the King of Yue often visited the Qin Mansion during these days when he was building the Changlan Cement Road."
"Perhaps the two of them have already negotiated privately..."
Just as he was talking, it suddenly became noisy outside the room.
The two people in the room looked at each other, then quickly ran to the window, opened it, and looked downstairs.
Then they saw Qin Ming and Li Tai walking side by side on the stage in the middle of the hall.
Upon seeing this, Changsun Chong secretly looked at Li Chengqian out of the corner of his eye.
When he caught a glimpse of the gloom on Li Chengqian's face, he couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth slightly.
Then he raised his chin and looked at Qin Ming in the audience with contempt.
[Hmph, you deserve to have such a beautiful little lady? ]
[On the battlefield, a certain person died without knowing how. At that time, not only the masked young lady belongs to a certain person, but also Princess Yuzhang belongs to a certain person. ]
.......
