The news that Bai Gui was conferred the title of Marquis of Linyi at the court meeting and served as the Protector of the Jingnan Protectorate spread like wildfire in Chang'an, and many dignitaries began to send gifts to Jinxianguan.
Those who come early will start delivering gifts in the afternoon after the morning service, while those who come later will deliver gifts the next day.
Giving gifts also pays attention to status!
The first people to give gifts are basically members of the royal family.
After the royal family members had given gifts, it was the nobles from Chang'an City. After the nobles had finished sending them, some courtiers secretly began to give gifts.
They are all very good people, and they know that it is taboo to give gifts directly, so the reason for giving gifts is to give support money to Jinxian Temple.
Jinxian Temple is a Taoist temple!
However, it is Princess Jinxian who always sends donation money to various Taoist temples in Chang'an. It is rare to see anyone sending donation money to Jinxian Temple.
But this is common practice!
Bai Gui and Princess Jinxian were worried about the lack of money for practicing Waidan. They did not expect that so many dignitaries would send donations to Jinxian Guan. After hesitating for a while, they chose to accept it.
First, these people did not give gifts too blatantly. They found the reason for making donations to the Taoist temple, which was not too taboo. Second, the people who gave the gifts were as smart as Concubine Wu Hui. They said they were money to support Jinxian Temple, but did not directly say that it was for Bai Gui.
She is a new member of the imperial court, so whether she refuses or not, Princess Jinxian should come forward. However, Princess Jinxian is the emperor's sister and only collects some "support money". Even if the emperor knew about it, he would turn a blind eye.
The last point is that the gift was given to Jinxian Guan, not to Linyi Hou Mansion. To dig deeper, the money was given to Princess Jinxian... The person who was fawning was the princess, and it was not directly given to him. It just happened to be.
There are a lot of people giving gifts on this day.
In the same way, the reason why the dignitaries in Chang'an City are willing to give gifts to Jinxianguan is inseparable from Bai Gui's relationship.
A princess is just a princess, no matter how close her relationship with the emperor is, she is still just a princess.
But the combined influence of a princess favored by the emperor and an upstart in the court cannot be underestimated. It is extraordinary. Anyone with a discerning eye can feel the influence on the future court.
Xue Ne also prepared generous gifts and came to thank me.
Although Bai Gui only begged for love for Xue Ne, a veteran, in the memorial, he had just made a great contribution and was in the emperor's heart. Even though the plea was obscure, it was a great favor to Xue Ne.
If you are kind, accept the gift.
Bai Gui will not deliberately refuse this.
Otherwise, if he pleads with Xue Ne, and then Xue Ne prepares a gift, but he chooses not to accept it, what is the purpose?
"General Xue has been on the battlefield for a long time, and once skipped the Beiting affairs. Now even though he is old, he is still full of energy and action. The saint dismissed you from the official position in order to stop Youyou's mouth..."
"There is currently no one available in the imperial court. Although there are soldiers and horses, there is no general to coordinate the overall situation. Therefore, whenever there is a war on the border, the saint will definitely rise up again to attack General Xue."
When Xue Ne thanked him and left, Bai Gui spoke.
This is not because he talks too much and reveals the emperor's thoughts.
He has been away from the Central Committee for many days now, and is not the original member of Zhongshushe, nor a close official of the emperor, so this statement is only a reasonable speculation.
In addition, now that there are no outsiders, even if he really tells Li Longji's thoughts, Li Longji will not know about it. And Xue Na is obviously not a talkative person, so such secrets will not be disclosed to the public.
"Thank you Baiduhu for the tip!"
Xue Na bowed deeply and expressed gratitude.
"General Xue, you're welcome. You and I are both generals guarding the border for the Tang Dynasty."
"This price is just out of public concern."
Bai Gui hurriedly avoided Xue Ne's bow.
There were some deviations from the history in his memory. Perhaps because he captured Nanzhao, which aroused the Tubo people's fear, Tubo did not invade the Tang Dynasty in the second year of Kaiyuan. Therefore, Xue Ne was not recaptured in January after the defeat.
Li Longji returns to power.
"Bai Duhu has great military exploits, but lives a simple life and is humble. He is really a minister of our country in the Tang Dynasty."
Seeing this, Xue Na sighed repeatedly.
When it comes to fighting, although he is a veteran on the battlefield, his achievements may not be as great as those made by Bai Gui. He can destroy a country, so he is definitely a famous general in the world.
Such a person is not arrogant, but is not arrogant or indulgent towards a common man like him.
Xue Na thought to himself that if it were him, he would never be able to become what Bai Gui is now.
After talking for a few more words, Xue Ne resigned.
The two of them had no other friendship apart from Bai Gui's petition for mercy. During this visit, Bai Gui's words were somewhat superficial.
But if not, how could we have a close relationship with Xue Na...
"Princess, eunuch, concubine, prime minister, general..."
“Unconsciously, the tree’s roots have reached this deep.”
After Xue Ne left, Bai Gui meditated for a while, thinking about the social circle he was in in Datang, and sighed silently.
He obviously just goes with the flow most of the time.
But I didn't expect that step by step, I would reach this situation.
…
Soon, the day came when Princess Jinxian held a banquet in Furong Garden on the south bank of Qujiang Pond.
The banquet is divided into two banquets: internal and external banquets.
In addition to the royal family members and concubines, there were also some officials who were friends with Bai Gui.
However, most officials accepted the invitation and gave some gifts but did not go.
This is not because Bai Gui is not popular, but because officials and nobles are different. Attending a banquet will inevitably lead to the suspicion of forming a party for personal gain. If you go, the censor will be easily impeached.
Therefore, most of the foreign banquets were held by county princes and princes who were inherited from the royal family, and who were far away from Li Longji's lineage. For the sake of Princess Jinxian, they came to attend the banquet.
There were also some distinguished disciples who came together.
Therefore, Bai Gui said a few polite words at the banquet outside, and after getting to know some of the royal family members whom he would never meet on ordinary days, he went straight to the banquet inside.
Don't look at these princes. The princes all have first- and second-grade titles, but if they do not hold power and are far away from the royal family, their status is actually not high.
Royal titles are worthless!
Indoor banquet.
Just walked in.
Bai Gui felt a little confused.
Beauty is like clouds, surrounded by green pearls.
But he had seen a lot, so he just paused for a moment and then returned to normal.
Furong Garden is a royal garden, so it is not a big deal for concubines and concubines to go there.
In the Tang Dynasty, the restrictions on concubines in the harem were not too strict. Empress Wei and Wu Sansi could play backgammon on the dragon bed of Emperor Zhongzong of the Tang Dynasty, and Jiang Jiao, the favorite of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, could fight cocks and play Cuju with the concubines.
Some concubines could even live outside the palace.
"He entertained himself at private banquets, stayed on the same bed with his concubines, and played cockfights with each other. He was often called Jiang Qi but not named." - "Old Book of Tang Dynasty".
"This is the emperor's sister-in-law."
Princess Jinxian introduced Bai Gui to the noble lady who was sitting with her at the banquet.
"I have met the Queen."
Bai Gui bowed slightly and saluted.
It's not that he has never met Queen Wang. As a close minister of Li Longji, he has met Queen Wang many times, but Queen Wang has never officially met him.
When I was an official in the inner dynasty, although the number one scholar was rare, it was a regular subject every two years. No matter how rare it was, it was just like that. In the eyes of ordinary people, after the number one scholar and the number one, you can expect to be blue and purple, but for the queen, it is a bit ordinary.
.
"I have often heard Sanlang mention Marquis Lin Yi. Marquis Lin Yi is a very talented person... and he will definitely be a pillar of the imperial court in the future."
Queen Wang, a beautiful woman, smiled and said a few polite words, then pondered for a while, and then said: "I heard that Wu Jieyu gave Lin Yihou a volume of Alchemy Sutra a few days ago. I have nothing to give as a gift, so I
A pair of purple jade lions are presented to Marquis Lin Yi as this congratulatory gift."
"The emperor's sister-in-law said it wrong."
"That's the alchemy scripture given to me by Wu Jieyu. I just asked Brother Bai Dao to hand it over."
Princess Jinxian heard the smell of gunpowder from the harem fight and quickly picked up Bai Gui on herself.
Again, Li Longji can have countless concubines, just as many as his younger sisters.
No matter how hard she fights in the palace, she is always invincible.
But when Bai Gui, a foreign minister, was involved, the nature changed.
"I see……"
"I just said that Wu Jieyu and Marquis Lin Yi are strangers to each other, so how could they give him the Alchemy Sutra?"
Queen Wang squinted her eyes and said calmly.
"Empress, you are blaming me because it involves Marquis Lin Yi. Aren't you afraid of missing important military and state affairs?"
Wu Jieyu, who was sitting at the bottom, covered her mouth and chuckled, saying in a bitchy tone.