Chapter 446 Li Hong: Yuanfang, Im afraid I dont have much time left...
Inside Changshengyuan.
Empress Wu was walking in the fragrant garden, with her jet-black hair in a high bun. She was obviously admiring the flowers, but she had an awe-inspiring and awe-inspiring attitude.
At least Wu Sansi, the new Duke of Zhou who came in to pay his respects, thought this when he saw this scene. After calming down, he stepped forward and prostrated on the ground: "Greetings to the Queen Mother! Wish you all the best!"
Empress Wu hummed noncommittally and asked, "How are you doing at home?"
Wu Sansi's face stiffened slightly and his voice lowered: "Reporting to the Queen Mother, I want the other Wu family disciples to leave and settle down in their own careers, but they are not willing and are still discussing it."
Empress Wu's voice became stern: "When you get together, you will only influence each other and do more bad things. Let them go to various places. If God favors them, they may be able to do something. Didn't I make it clear enough at that time?"
"You are now the Duke of Zhou, inheriting the incense of my Wu family, and you are in charge of dividing the family. What reason do they have to compete with you?"
"Didn't I reward you with property? Just give it all to them!"
Wu Sansi's eyes rolled, and his voice became deeper and deeper: "But they are greedy and are not satisfied with this small amount of property. I also thought about the feelings of the same clan, so I delayed. Please don't worry, Your Majesty, I will break it up as soon as possible after I return."
Home! Separate the family quickly!"
However, by the time he said these few words, Empress Wu had already walked far away and was too lazy to listen to his sophistry.
After being trained by Wu's children, Empress Wu felt that her last weakness, emotional control, had also been significantly improved.
At least when I found out that Zhou Guogong was not as good as the other, not only was he not disappointed, but he actually wanted to laugh.
Wu Chengsi was not as good as Wu Minzhi, and Wu Sansi was not as good as Wu Chengsi.
Even if Wu Chengsi was too stupid to cultivate, he at least knew how to make progress. If Empress Wu came to power, he would run around to build momentum for her, while Wu Sansi was cowardly and greedy for wealth.
However, he was no less evil-minded than Wu Chengsi. Most of the property that Empress Wu gave him as a separate family was squandered by greed, and he was unwilling to share it with other children of the Wu family. Those people had no skills in the first place, so naturally they were unwilling to leave the capital and go to other states.
They were all clamoring for life in the Duke of Zhou's palace.
Empress Wu tried a little, but since the other party couldn't control it, she just let them die. Wu Sansi soon disappeared from her heart, and she focused instead on the prosperity and beauty of the garden.
As I was walking, I reached the edge of Changshengyuan, and suddenly I heard the sound of children playing not far away.
Empress Wu's eyes moved slightly. Not only did she not avoid it, but she made a special circle and walked out of Changshengyuan.
As expected, not far away, Queen Pei was playing with Prince Li Rui.
After all, the Ziwei Palace is not as big as the Daming Palace, and it has not been expanded since Li Hong came to power, so it is still possible to hit it. The first lady beside the queen saw it and hurriedly said in unison: "Meet the Queen Mother!"
Only then did Queen Pei find that Empress Wu was standing not far away, looking at her with a half-smile, and was startled: "Happy mother!"
Prince Li Rui also saluted in a similar manner: "Hello, grandma!"
Empress Wu opened her arms: "You're so good, grandma will hug you!"
Prince Li Rui first looked at the queen, then at Shangguan Wan'er who was in the group of married women, and then walked towards his unfamiliar grandmother.
Empress Wu hugged her eldest grandson, her brows filled with kindness, and pointed at the flying butterflies, chatting and laughing with him.
The atmosphere on the other side was very solemn, and even Queen Pei could not hide her inner nervousness on her face, for fear that Queen Wu would make a mistake and drop the child.
Wan'er is not worried about this. After practicing Qianqiu Jue, her figure has become lighter and lighter. Even if she is several feet away, she is sure to catch this junior brother. However, looking at Empress Wu's energetic and ageless appearance, she thinks of meeting her not long ago.
He looked like a saint, but his heart sank.
Nothing happened in the process. Empress Wu held the prince for a while and put the little guy down: "What a good boy!"
Li Rui was not afraid at all. His dark eyes followed the flying butterflies, and then he ran all the way back to his mother's arms.
Seeing her son back in her arms, the queen was relieved, but she saw Empress Wu swaying in front of her: "This child is lively and active. He is much stronger than your majesty when he was a child. You have worked hard to take care of him. He is very good."
The mother's attitude towards the world!"
The queen whispered: "This is what I should do. I don't dare to be praised by my mother!"
Empress Wu waved her hand: "You don't have to call her so unfamiliar. This is not an edict. You can also call me Queen Mother, just Empress... From now on, you can bring your children more often and come to my palace to walk around, so as to satisfy my old man's wish to entertain his grandchildren."
Can the Queen please rely on me?"
The queen actually didn't want to go, but her filial piety came first, so she couldn't say no after all, so she had to agree: "Yes!"
Empress Wu nodded with satisfaction, turned her eyes, and looked at Shangguan Wan'er in the group of betrothed women: "Shangguan's young lady is becoming more and more charming. Has your mother been a matchmaker for you and betrothed to another family?"
Wan'er said calmly: "In addition to my concubine, I also have a master, so I don't need to worry about it for the Queen Mother!"
Empress Wu's eyes sharpened: "You are so sharp-tongued!"
Wan'er pursed her small mouth, fiercely.
She is not a kind person. With the foundation of Weishi Jin and Qianqiu Jue, she can practice the Shadowless Needle that Shang Gong once taught her, and she is becoming more and more proficient. If she really wants to be defeated by Empress Wu, she will find an opportunity to give her a shot.
Look what else she can do!
Of course, that was the last resort. After all, Empress Wu's health was very good. The sudden death of the Empress Dowager was a huge event. No matter how you looked at it, there were problems and it was difficult to end it. Only if she was already on the sickbed could things be logical.
Thinking that it was the current saint who was about to linger on the sickbed. The prince was so young. If something like that really happened, and the already stable court situation would suddenly change, Wan'er sighed secretly: "Master, please come back soon, because
Your Majesty, please share more of the government affairs and stop being so idle..."
Thinking of Li Yuanfang who was about to return to the imperial court, Empress Wu calmed down her stern expression and regained her composure. She also encouraged the women in charge, and under the fearful gazes of the women, she returned to Changshengyuan with great ambition.
Wan'er rolled her eyes and prepared to leave the palace and discuss with Uncle Di how to stabilize the next court situation. The other wives also left with their own thoughts.
Queen Pei returned to her palace and looked at the lively Li Rui. She couldn't help feeling worried and took her son to the Zhenguan Palace.
When the chamberlain announced, she held her son's hand and walked into the palace. The first thing she smelled was a strong medicinal smell, mixed with the tranquilizing incense from the Western Regions, forming a familiar and strange smell that made her feel like she had returned to the time when the late emperor was still alive.
, Zichen Palace also looks like this.
Fortunately, yesterday was not completely repeated.
Li Zhi liked to sit upright in the imperial palace, covered with a layer of curtains, which not only concealed his sick appearance, but also allowed him to observe the ministers, but the ministers could only see the faint figure of the saint, creating a sense of superiority.
Imperial power is sacred.
But Li Hong did not choose to do that. He just leaned on the dragon chair and listened to the ministers' reports with a pale face.
Seeing his wife and children appear, Li Hong looked happy and wanted to stand up, but his body swayed and he couldn't get up for a while.
Seeing her husband's weak appearance, the queen's eyes turned red. She quickly let go of her son's hand and touched him lightly: "Go to your Aye side!"
Li Rui ran over quickly and stepped up the steps: "Aye! Aye!"
Li Hong showed a heartfelt smile of joy on his face, opened his arms and hugged his son: "Run slowly! Good boy!"
Li Rui talked about today's interesting things in a clear voice, and finally said: "...I just met my grandmother, and she wanted to take me to catch butterflies!"
Li Hong sounded very happy before, but until here, his face suddenly darkened.
The eyes of the ministers who were saluting the queen and prince at the steps also fluctuated after hearing this.
Li Hong was silent for a while and then said: "There is no need to waste people and money on the sacrifice of prisoners. Please step aside and go to the political hall to discuss it and show me the charter!"
The ministers received the order: "Yes! I will leave!"
After leaving the Zhenguan Hall, the four prime ministers Hao Chujun, Pei Sijian, Li Yiyan, and Zheng Rentong had different expressions. They looked at each other and quickly moved away.
Among them, Pei Sijian walked in a hurry and seemed to be isolated. Hao Chujun looked at the direction of Changshengyuan, full of worry. Zheng Rentong thought about the Jiangnan forces after Heng's death, and Li Yiyan sighed secretly.
In fact, they did not object to the queen's participation in political affairs. Not to mention that Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty Yang Jian and Dugu Jialu were both called two saints. Even Taizong often consulted Queen Wende for her opinion, as long as the queen was not as ruthless as Empress Wu.
Li, and there is a possibility of usurping the guest and usurping the host, the ministers will not object.
It's a pity that not every queen is Dugu Jialuo, Changsun and Empress Wu. Just as Li Zhi's first queen was a lazy person and was too lazy to do silkworm wedding ceremony. Today's Pei has a cheerful temperament, which is similar to Li Hong's.
The husband and wife are deeply in love, but their brains are not very good, and they were even fooled by their destined wives.
Fortunately, Li Hong was unable to accept a concubine, otherwise she might not even be able to resolve the intrigues in the harem, let alone deal with major national affairs.
In this way, it is completely foreseeable that if the current emperor really dies young and the prince Li Rui is young, even if he ascends the throne as emperor, under normal circumstances the queen mother should be in charge of the affairs. This person is easy to fool, so he has to consider his personal status.
Will the Hedong Pei family, who is a maternal relative, become so powerful that it is difficult to control and control the artifact...
A new political storm has begun to brew. The most important thing is that there is a restless but extremely capable Empress Wu in the harem, always waiting for the opportunity to regain power.
In the Zhenguan Palace, Mrs. Pei looked at Li Hong, reached out and gently touched his thin cheek: "Your Majesty! You can't go on like this!"
Although the former prince was sick and frail, he had a peaceful expression.
At this time, the saint's face looked sick and weak, but his brows were filled with excitement, which was actually more dangerous.
Li Hong touched his son's head with one hand and gently stroked his wife's hand with the other. He said softly: "I have reached my limit when dealing with government affairs before. You have repeatedly persuaded me not to work hard anymore, but I have to deal with many government affairs. In the end, I still have to deal with them."
Falling ill... Being a saint is not an easy task, not to mention that I still want to be a wise king and create a prosperous Tang Dynasty!"
Mrs. Pei heard the helplessness and unwillingness in his tone, and felt great grief in her heart. She hurriedly said: "Your Majesty will get better! He will definitely!"
Li Hong shook his head slightly: "I have been very aware of my own body since I was sick. Fortunately, I have been nursed back to health by Master Sun, otherwise I would have collapsed long ago, and this disease will return to the worst time..."
As he spoke, he felt sad: "I'm just unwilling to accept it. I'm just a Silla, and my body can't hold on. I thought I could at least hold on until Tubo is destroyed. Our Tang Dynasty has no foreign troubles, but
After all, God never leaves the New Year! God never leaves the New Year!"
Pei's tears finally couldn't be restrained and welled up in her eyes.
Li Rui was confused and looked at his parents who were shedding tears: "Aye! Madam! Don't cry, okay?"
"Don't cry! Aye, don't cry!"
Li Hong hugged his wife and children tightly, looking at the empty palace with blurred eyes, and vaguely seemed to see the figure sitting upright, still heroic.
Thinking of the most capable minister and best friend who was fighting abroad, he murmured:
"Yuanfang, I'm afraid I don't have much time left. Please come back soon..."