While he was talking, Li Xiuning's personal maid came in. After saluting, she whispered a few words into Li Xiuning's ear.
Li Xiuning smiled slightly, then suppressed it, waved her hand to ask the maid to leave, and then said: "I'm a little tired, you guys just chat..."
…………
Seeing her hurried away, Wan Shi and Li Xiuying looked at each other. Li Erniang leaned back, half-lying on the couch, beat her waist, sighed comfortably and said with a smile: "Sanniang is tired..."
Hee hee, I am too tired to talk to her."
Wan's eyes widened, and she quietly stretched out her legs. Li Xiuning was very similar to her mother, Empress Taimu. She paid attention to etiquette. When talking to her, it was best to have a straight back, eyes level, and an upright position.
, otherwise she will ask for correction.
Women are different from men. Their waists are thin and soft, and it is indeed very tiring to hold them up for a long time.
Wanshi smiled and said, "Are you going to stay in the house tonight? How about we come to my place and sit down?"
Li Erniang nodded lazily, "Okay... What did you think Sanniang did?"
Wan stood up and said, "It's hard to guess Sanniang's thoughts. If she guesses correctly, she will annoy you. Why bother?"
Li Erniang also got up, "What's so hard to guess... Humph, she's so angry that I'm also her sister, what else can she do to me?"
With Li Xiuning gone, the two women began to talk more and more wildly.
Wan Shi laughed and said, "Then you go look for her now, and I won't stop you."
Li Erniang snorted twice, but she didn't muster up the courage to go out and have a look, so she could only follow Wan to her place to drink tea.
…………………………
Li Po entered the room with a cold air. Li Xiuning quickly took off his cloak and boots. As for the one with red eyes, she couldn't take care of him.
Every time Li Po came over, he took it with him. He was obviously very favored. Now that he was in charge of the Qianniu Beishen Mansion that she used to control, he naturally had some hostile attributes.
She also specifically inquired about the origin of Concubine Ashina, the daughter of Chuluo Khan of Western Turks. When Chuluo Khan came back, Yang Guang sealed his tribe in Loufan County.
Her father, Li Yuan, once governed Loufan County, which was on the border of Daizhou. It is believed that he met the emperor there and was left by his side.
She also heard that the imperial concubine is the recognized Shiboluo of the Western Turks. She is quite brave and must have fought with the emperor in the north. She has made military achievements. Now she has a daughter, and her honors and favors are almost the same as those of the empress.
The general meaning is that this is a woman who cannot be messed with. Although Li Xiuning is a little unconvinced, she can distinguish the priorities. After all, she is different from the women in the palace. She does not need to quarrel with them, which will not do her any good.
"When it's freezing cold, you go out of the palace and wander around, no one advises you, and you only have so few followers...these ministers are really..."
While having someone bring the hot tea soup, I complained at the same time.
Li Po rubbed his hands and sat on the couch, smiling and saying: "This is called a private visit incognito. I can't bring too many people with me."
Li Xiuning sat next to him and watched Ashina Rongzhen sit down opposite, "It's so cold that there are probably not many people on the street. What are you asking for, brother?"
The tea soup was served, and Li Po took two sips and said, "It's hard to say... I went out of the city to the academy. There was a cultural gathering there. I met many young talents and learned a lot. Unfortunately, I joined the army in my early years and didn't do much.
Reading, or socializing with them would be a very interesting thing."
Li Xiuning couldn't help but laugh after hearing this. She still had the same authority as she had just scolded her sister, "Brother is too humble. I still remember the poems he wrote.
When you draw a bow, you should draw a strong one, and when you use an arrow, you should use a long one. When you shoot a man, you shoot a horse first, and when you capture a thief, you capture the king first. There is a limit to killing people, and all countries have their own borders. If you can only control the invasion of the mausoleum, how can you kill more people?"
Li Po was very happy after hearing this. This was much more pleasant than the flattery of his ministers. Looking at her shaking her head, he couldn't help but think of the dizzy little girl who was deceived by him.
"Thank you for remembering it so clearly, it was not my doing..."
"It was done by Medicine Master Li... Haha, I showed it to Medicine Master Li, but he didn't seem to remember that he had done it. I don't know if any of you have a bad memory."
Li Po was not embarrassed to be exposed on the spot. With his current status, the quality of his poems did not matter much. Besides, it was not something to be happy about if the emperor's poems were good.
He just thought that his father-in-law had been in her house for many years, and he didn't know how much he had revealed. He seemed to get along well with her, so he couldn't blame him for killing Chai Shao so simply...
Over there, Li Xiuning rolled her eyes and asked: "How is the academy? Are there many students? It only took a few months to complete, but its reputation is not small. I have heard people say it several times."
Li Po looked at her and smiled, "What did you say? Did everyone say that the gardens there are nice and you want to visit them?"
Li Xiuning covered her mouth and laughed. There was always no shortage of jokes when she was with him. She was in a happy mood and the atmosphere was particularly good. Regardless of the lack of attendance, the happiest times in the past few years were spent with him.
"I didn't say that, it was all my own guess."
The school has really turned into a park. Is it possible that we should follow Li Shimin's example and get some prostitutes to live there to attract popularity? Wouldn't it become a brothel?
Li Po was thinking in confusion and said: "The people in Chang'an are very treacherous. If they don't see the benefit, they won't send their talented people there. Ordinary ones don't have that ability, so it's a bit embarrassing."
Seeing his troubles, Li Xiuning also suppressed her smile and comforted: "All major schools have private schools, and the academies are indeed inferior to them, but time is still short after all. As time goes by, and there are Chinese studies, it will be better by then."
It’s a different situation.”
Having said this, she carefully looked at Li Po's expression and then said: "There are several children in my family who have reached the age suitable for school. I wonder if my eldest brother can allow them to enter the academy."
You little clever guy... Li Po pondered for a moment, then smiled and said: "This is a good thing. If you are locked up in the mansion, you will inevitably have random thoughts... I will send it over next year, but there are a lot of people in Prince Qin's mansion over there, so you have to be more careful.
"
Li Xiuning's heart skipped a beat, and she said solemnly: "They are going to study. If they want to attract friends instead of doing their job, I will break their legs first."
Li Po nodded slightly. Currently, Li Zhiyun is the only adult son of Li Yuan, and the others are still young. I don't worry about them causing any trouble, but there may be some trouble in the future.
Let’s see in a few years. It’s also true that Li Yuan and his son are very capable of giving birth to a large group of children. If they give them a few more years, they may not be able to count their children. What kind of genes is this...
It is precisely because they have too many children and relatives that killing one or two is of no use, and killing too many is inappropriate, so they have been able to survive until now, but it is not all due to Li Xiuning's effective protection.
……………………
After chatting and laughing for a while, Li Xiuning had food and wine brought to her. At this time, she no longer paid much attention to the rules. The three of them gathered at the table, exchanging glasses of wine while talking.
Drinking with beauties on winter evenings was the most important entertainment for the nobles of the world, and the emperor was not exempt from it.
While drinking, Ashnarong was completely drunk, and the two men and women hung out in the Nuang Pavilion all night...
Li Po woke up at dawn the next day, rubbed the woman's smooth and delicate shoulders for a while, tried hard to suppress his early morning agitation, and stood up to put on his clothes.
Li Xiuning also woke up, looked at the sky lazily, and quickly got up to help Li Po get dressed, which made Li Po want to hang out again several times.
But in the end, self-control prevailed.
"You can sleep a little longer, I will go back to the palace now."
Li Xiuning was a little reluctant to give up and wanted to ask him when he would come again, but the words came to his lips, "Brother, be careful with your health. Don't come out casually in the winter."
They were all smart, and Li Po just smiled and immediately changed the subject, "It's not a problem that the plaque on your mansion is always empty. You can choose whatever title you want. Post it to me and see if it's suitable.
Let’s settle it.”
Li Xiuning felt a little sad after hearing this. It was true that she didn't want to enter the palace, but she really wanted to completely block this road, but she was not willing to do so. However, she still nodded and asked: "Mrs. Guo?"
Li Po joked, "We all have the surname Li, do you still want to be a princess?"
Li Xiuning smiled like a flower and was full of charm, "Father, daughter, brother and sister do such sloppy things, which is a serious crime, and the emperor is an exception..."
Li Po couldn't help laughing, the fire in his heart was surging, and he couldn't resist it. He quickly packed his clothes and ran away before the battle.
……………………
In November, the weather became colder and colder, with two heavy snowfalls, and news from outside gradually stopped.
At the great court meeting in mid-November, the reward for meritorious service finally came to an end. The military meritorious service was promoted and rewarded for more than an hour. There were too many people who had made military meritorious service.
These are only those that can be read out at the court meeting. Most of the other military merit rewards are at the level of the Ministry of War and the Guards. There are countless people who were promoted to officers and nobles during the founding war.
Because there is no competition between the King of Qin and the Crown Prince, the merits of the soldiers will not be too biased. According to each person's current position and the merits they have made, after being reviewed layer by layer by the three provinces, it can basically be achieved.
Nothing is left out.
Moreover, not only the generals had meritorious service, but also the courtiers and local ministers had meritorious service, and they were all rewarded at this time.
Of course, with merit comes fault. This year, three governors were dismissed, twenty-eight high-ranking local officials were demoted, and five were ordered to be executed.
There are many kinds of crimes, including tax resistance, conspiracy, and ineffective suppression of bandits. Well, basically it can be said that they collude with bandits to cause trouble in the local area, but there are not many that are unfavorable in governance.
This is a typical feature of troubled times. If the central government is not centralized enough, many monsters and ghosts will appear in the local areas. It is estimated that the situation will be better next year, but there is no way to prevent such things from happening.
There are also some former military generals who delayed the opportunity to fight, fought poorly, and disobeyed orders. Most of them were actually dealt with immediately by the leading generals. A very few reported to the Ministry of War and the Guards because of their status.
They are rather special, that is, some noble children.