The officials dispersed at Danfeng Gate, thinking that the Chunwei farce had subsided, but few noticed what had happened to the prince.
Because the whole thing seems to have nothing to do with the prince.
But after the sound of silk and bamboo in the opera house stopped, a eunuch cautiously warned him.
"Sage, the prince has been kneeling in the palace all night."
Li Longji had a series of wins at the card table last night. He was in high spirits and had his breakfast with a smile. After hearing this, his face immediately turned cold.
Gao Lishi hurriedly stepped forward, kicked the young eunuch aside, and scolded: "You are always talkative, and others think you are taking advantage of it."
"This slave knows his crime."
"I'm tired."
Li Longji was easy to get along with and rarely blamed the people around him. He calmly ordered people to arrange a ride to rest.
"Sage, how will the prince arrange it?"
"Can I arrange it? Can I arrange it?"
"Old slave talks too much."
His interest subsided, Li Longji felt tired and couldn't help but sigh.
Recalling that when he was a boy, he was so beautiful that he supported his father's coup, and after his father abdicated the throne and became the Supreme Emperor, he took over the power. Ascend to the throne in the 95th year, he created the prosperous age of the Tang Dynasty, commanded the ministers, and people said that "the seventies"
"And follow your heart's desires", he has already done so.
There was only one thing that didn't go his way - old age.
Just because he is old, the ministers insist on a prince.
What is a prince? On the surface, he is respectful, but secretly he has been coveting everything that belongs to him. He can’t wait for his death, and after his death, he will chase the beauty in this forbidden garden...
What Li Linfu said that really angered him last night was actually "The prince is also a prince", which made him so angry that he wanted to depose the prince.
Unfortunately, it will be very troublesome.
This is how the murderous intent at that time came about. The king had a mind that encompassed all the world. He only wanted to kill in anger when he was powerless, and he was targeting the prince.
Therefore, once Xue Bai drew a clear line, it didn't matter how many little thoughts he had.
Li Longji had already seen through these people. Civil servants, jesters, and ministers, so what if they were bad to the core? They had to change their tricks to make the king happy, and rack their brains to serve delicious and fun things.
The only threat is his son.
"well."
The sighs fell into the ears of the palace ladies, and they thought the saint was pitying the prince who had been kneeling all night.
~~
"Your Highness, get up."
Yu Chaoen carefully walked around behind Li Heng and helped the prince up.
"The saint played dominoes all night and has gone to bed."
"Father doesn't see me?"
"I dare not say..."
Li Heng lowered his head, gently shook Yu Chaoen's hand, secretly gave him a sincere look, and said softly: "Please save me, please."
"The saint said that His Highness could not be arranged, and it was General Gao who made the decision to ask His Highness to go back."
"Li Chu and Xue Bai are young and impulsive. I am definitely not instigating them." Li Heng was anxious and whispered: "I must explain to my father."
"But how can this slave help His Highness?"
"Can you let me meet Aweng?"
Yu Chaoen was in a dilemma, but in the end he stamped his feet and turned around to invite Gao Lishi, only to say that the prince refused to leave.
Gao Lishi had already helped Li Longji to sleep, shook his head, and finally came to see him in person.
"Ah Weng." Li Heng burst into tears, "Please Ah Weng, save me."
"Your Majesty, don't worry, let alone see this old slave. Go back and have a good time, and don't worry about things in vain to save yourself."
"I really didn't instigate it!" Li Heng said, "I neither ordered Li Chu to stand up for others, nor did I order Xue Bai to show the blood test in public."
Li Heng knew very well that Xue Bai's move had completely ruined the saint's perception of the East Palace.
The saint appeased everyone, banned the emperor's grandson, scolded Li Linfu and Xue Bai, but ignored him. Why?
Because the more thunderous the saint is, the more calm he becomes!
"My father has met with the Prime Minister and Xue Bai, but not me? At least he should give me a chance to explain..."
"Explain, what does Your Highness want to explain?"
"Aweng, listen to me..."
"His Highness wants to say that it is better to talk to Wang Zhongsi and King Guangping." Gao Lishi finally softened his heart, "The saint wanted Shibao City, but His Highness asked Wang Zhongsi to preserve his strength; the saint wanted to appease all living beings, but Your Highness asked Guang Ping
Prince Ping took the lead. Since Your Highness is so capable, why bother talking to this old slave?"
"Don't even Aweng believe me?"
"It doesn't matter if I believe it or not, it doesn't matter if the saint listens or not. What matters is your Highness's own heart."
"It's Ge Nu who is slandering me again, and Xue Bai's bloody condition is also..."
"If Your Highness is willing to be calm, can others get the handle?!" Gao Lishi saw that the prince was still speaking harshly, and struck: "The sage said, 'You don't need to listen to explanations. If you can't destroy him, what's the use of explanations'?"
"
There was a "buzzing" sound in Li Heng's head, as if he had been struck by thunder. He was so frightened that he froze there, with cold sweat covering his back.
~~
Large beads of sweat broke out from Xue Bai's back and flowed down his strong waist.
Du Jin held on to the wooden railing beside the couch to prevent her head from being hit.
Covered by the sound of dusk drums, she shouted.
"Gonna die!"
With this cry, the bed that seemed to be falling apart finally gradually stopped.
The setting sun shines through the window paper, dyeing the small attic into a golden color.
When her breathing stopped, Du Jin smoothed away the wet hair on her face, her eyes were different again.
"It would be better if we died together just now."
"You don't have to be so uneasy all the time." Xue Bai gently stroked her slender waist covered with sweat, "You won't die."
"Will you abandon me in the future?" Du Jin suddenly asked, looking much softer.
Xue Bai looked into her eyes.
He thought about what he said when he first met her, that if Dong Gong abandoned the people around him again, it would be bad for people's hearts. This was their consensus and the common bottom line.
Since then, the two have reached this point, driven by desire and interests, as well as a life-or-death friendship.
Although Xue Bai is not a moral gentleman, he still has his own principles, otherwise he would not have risked taking out the blood test yesterday. It is not comparable to Dong Gong's approach of abandoning his son if he is not willing to take the slightest risk.
He was suddenly thinking, what would he do if he were the prince?
Thinking about it, after all, there is no way to be as forbearing as Li Heng. I can only try my best to be better than Li Ying. Now that they are all wearing armor and marching into the palace, I don't know what to hesitate. It's just death.
In this way, his cultivation of political power is actually low. Of course, it may not be good if he cultivates political power too high.
There was no need to say anything more to each other. Du Jin understood him and leaned forward gently, saying, "Well, I wanted you to rest more."
"Have enough sleep."
"Actually, I don't think you need to take risks for others when it comes to Chunwei."
"I think I've figured out a little bit of the saint's temper. He's quite easy to get along with, as long as he doesn't get too close to Donggong. In this regard, Genu has some tricks up his sleeve, and he wants to tie me to Donggong."
"Li Heng also knows this. After this incident, he will definitely pretend to be generous, get close to you, kidnap you into the water, and let the world think that you are on the same side with him."
Xue Bai muttered: "Don't be afraid, if he comes to tie me up, I will tie up his people."
Du Jin was not very happy after hearing this, so she pressed on Xue Bai and pressed him to death, saying: "I have been yours for a long time..."
~~
At nightfall, Li Jingzhong walked down the corridor holding a set of new clothes.
"Your Highness, the wedding robe is ready, would you like to try it on?"
Li Heng was looking at the moon by the window and said without looking back: "At this time of year, wedding matters are simple. This robe is too extravagant. I need to change it."
Today's saints are extremely luxurious, and there are 700 people in the palace who tailor clothes for Concubine Yang.
And as a prince, he didn't even want to wear rich clothes when he got married. This is how frugal he is.
Li Jingzhong reminded in a low voice: "I'm afraid Zhang Liangdi will be dissatisfied."
This sentence refers to Zhang Liangdi, but it implicitly refers to the saint.
Li Heng said intentionally or unintentionally: "Of course she is dissatisfied, but the marriage has been decided, how can she not marry me as her husband?"
"Yes, is there anyone else in the world who is worthy of Zhang Liangdi?" Li Jingzhong said with an apologetic smile.
The same is true for the reserve position. Can a saint feel at ease if he changes to another son?
Longevity King?
In short, after Li Jingzhong said a few words of comfort, the prince felt a little better.
"Give me the guest list."
"Your Highness, what is this?"
"At this time of year, please invite fewer people."
"But it's not easy for His Highness to have this opportunity to get close to the ministers..."
Li Jingzhong was very upset, thinking that if this was the case, it would be better not to let King Guangping snatch that reputation. What was even more hateful was that Xue Bai took out the fatal thing in public.
The guest list has been reviewed dozens of times, and those who have been carefully considered will be of great use to the East Palace in the future and can be invited.
Unexpectedly, after Li Heng took over, he did not hesitate to remove Pei Kuan, the imperial censor, and gave him to Fang Guan, the leading general on the right, Lai Qi, the leading general on the right, Xue Hui, the general on the Jinwu Guard on the left, and others.
Li Jingzhong stepped forward to take a look and saw that only the clan and artists such as Jia Chang, Li Guinian and Gongsun were left.
Seeing him feel distressed and hateful, he couldn't help but said: "Your Highness, Pei Mian came up with an idea to make people pretend to be cockfighters, except Xue Bai..."
Before he finished speaking, Li Heng directly dropped the pen in his hand on Li Jingzhong's head.
"What time is it now? What's the point of killing someone to vent your anger? How dare you cause trouble for me!"
"The old slave knows his crime."
Li Jingzhong was so frightened that he quickly changed to a new pen.
Li Heng took the pen and slowly wrote several new names at the end of the guest list.
~~
Xue Bai took the pen and slowly wrote a series of words.
"Right and wrong are just because of talking more, and troubles are caused by forcing oneself to speak out."
The early morning sunlight shines on the tables and stools in the lobby of Yanzhai, and the handwriting on the rice paper looks correct.
Yan Zhenqing took a look, but shook his head and sighed.
"If you can't write well, you can't remember the principles."
"Teacher, should you teach students principles or calligraphy first today?" Xue Bai asked politely.
One sentence made Yan Zhenqing laugh out of anger.
He put down the book in his hand, sat down in the hall, and said, "Tell me, how was the night before?"
"The sage first asked me who was being used to uncover the Caoqu case, and I replied that I had a personal grudge against Ge Nu. Then in the dominoes game, I won a thousand coins from the imperial concubine and Guo Guo's wife, but the saint won them all back, and ended up losing three.
One hundred guan, including the 800 guan I won last time, was also filled in. I said I had no money, and the saint gave me many tributes, including a priceless bronze mirror, which I placed in the Fengwei Tower.
The saint is very generous..."
Yan Zhenqing's face looked sad when he heard this, much more sad than when he was worried about Xue Bai.
The saint is famous for his generosity. Whenever he is in a good mood, he always gives countless rewards to those around him.
But what benefit does this kind of generosity have to our country, our country, and our country?
Having mentioned money matters, Yan Zhenqing sighed: "Your two tax laws, Fang Gong has been thinking about it carefully recently and thinks that now is probably not the time to implement it..."
It is conceivable that with the saint's current state of mind, it is impossible to reform the tax law. Moreover, as long as this unconstrained emperor refuses to be thrifty, any tax law will only become a tool to plunder all people.
Fang Guan mentioned this matter in order to win over Xue Bai, meaning "Prince, if King Guangping will implement it in the future, you will be reused."
Xue Bai also had a purpose and mused: "Teacher may reply to Fang Gong. The saint seems to be dissatisfied with Ge Nu, because there are many places to spend money in recent years. It would be good if there are important ministers who can manage money, such as Pei Gong and Fang Gong.
.”
Yan Zhenqing sighed and shook his head.
Xue Bai knew that the teacher had seen through some of his thoughts, but he remained calm and continued: "In addition to increasing revenue, there is also cutting expenditure. I heard that the saint wanted to expand the Huaqing Palace. Although I don't know how to build it, I feel that the cost estimated by Ge Nu is too high.
.”
Yan Zhenqing's expression changed. It was the first time he discovered that a jester beside the saint to inquire about information could be so useful.
But he scolded: "You still haven't repented! You are stirring up trouble in front of me."
"Students must do their duty honestly and study with peace of mind."
Seeing that this attitude was good, Yan Zhenqing nodded.
In fact, he was not part of the Donggong family, but he was familiar with Fang Guan. Even if he saw through Xue Bai's intention to stir up trouble in the Donggong to counterattack the Youxiang Mansion, he would still tell such information.
"I remind you again, never use the opportunity of serving the saint to interfere in state affairs again."
"Yes, the student told the saint that he will serve the country as an official in the future and can no longer play dominoes in the palace."
"Quite sensible. Let me ask you, why did you hand the blood sample to King Guangping?"
"If you take it out in public, it won't make the saints and prime ministers admit their mistakes and it will cause trouble, but it will create a big momentum and make them somewhat afraid in the future. In recent years, everyone is afraid of taking risks and keeps silent. King Guangping is the most important person among saints.
My beloved grandson, I am the saint’s poker partner. If we don’t dare to take risks together, wouldn’t the whole world be a fool?”
"Tell people what they say when you see them, and tell ghosts when you see ghosts."
Yan Zhenqing originally wanted to beat Xue Bai and stop him from targeting the East Palace. At first, he didn't believe Xue Bai's excuse at all. However, after thinking about it carefully, he finally believed it.
If he didn't have such sincerity, how could he accept him as his disciple?
Yan Zhenqing got up, went outside the hall to summon people and said, "Go to the study and bring the scroll from my desk."
…
After a while, it was Wei Yun and Yan Yan who personally delivered the scroll.
"You are still young. In the future, you should stay less involved in state affairs, study hard and practice calligraphy. Take a look."
Xue Bai took the scroll with both hands and opened it, but it was an article titled "The Twelve Meanings of Zhang Changshi's Writing Style".
When he saw the beautiful running script with dragons and phoenixes dancing on it, he couldn't help but ask: "Teacher, can the student practice running script?"
"No way." Yan Zhenqing put his hands behind his hands and sneered, "If you don't have to work hard, just practice regular script for another thirty years."
Yan Yan secretly smiled and rolled her eyes, full of gloating.
Xue Bai looked at the scroll and first saw the preface to the narrative, telling the story of Yan Zhenqing's study with Zhang Xu, followed by a detailed explanation of the twelve meanings of the brushwork.
"I gave up Zhiliquan and went to Dongluo. I visited Zhang Gongxu, the chief historian of Jinwu, and asked him to learn brushwork..."
After he read it carefully, Yan Zhenqing asked: "Do you understand?"
"Students don't quite understand it yet."
"Write the word forever."
"yes."
"You haven't understood it at all. I asked you to "pitch with etiquette" and "vertical and horizontal with images." The intention is to be as natural as Cui Yuan and the image as Cai Yong, then write."
"..."
When Xue Bai wrote a few more words in succession, Yan Zhenqing was still dissatisfied and turned away impatiently. Wei Yun hurriedly arranged breakfast.
Yan Yan walked to the table, took a look at it, and reminded her softly: "When writing vertically, you must use your strength. There is no need to restrain. The vertical strokes are straight down. Brother, can you understand the meaning of the word 'vertical'?"
What she said became much simpler. Xue Bai got some guidance and made some progress in writing.
This improvement was nothing in Yan Zhenqing's eyes, but Yan Yan was much more patient. She nodded and said, "Brother is talented. He has mastered the brushwork, but he still needs practice."
After saying that, she turned around and saw her grandpa and grandma talking, so she asked Xue Baixiao in a low voice: "I heard that you come from a gambling family. Your grandpa ran away due to debts, and you play dominoes every night.
, is it true?”
"Huh? Who said that?"
"Your grandma said it."
Xue Bai was speechless and turned around to take a look, only to see her beautiful eyes full of curiosity and exploration, as well as a bit of cunning teasing.
Inexplicably, he seemed to be less able to speak in front of this little girl.
"Brother, can you tell me what happened between you and the refiner?"
"Why do you ask this?"
"The master healed my illness, and I want to know more about her."
Xue Bai didn't know what to say.
Yan Yan seemed to have seen through the entanglement between him and Li Tengkong, but she did not point it out. She asked Yan Zhenqing: "My master has too high attainments. Is my attainment just right for my brother? Can I ask my brother to write a manuscript every day?"
Shall I make a review?”
"It's up to him to write or not, calligraphy articles are his own business."
Xue Bai said: "Teacher, don't worry, I will definitely write it and send it to you."
Yan Yan was proud, she put her chin on her finger and thought for a while, then said, "Brother, I will write something tomorrow, something special like the poem "The Sapphire Case"."
"good."
Wei Yun looked over and saw Xue Bai bowing out and bowing out. She was slightly confused and said to Yan Zhenqing: "You said this disciple is shameless and cunning. Why do I become more and more reserved when I see him?"
"Evil people will be punished by evil people."
~~
Xue Bai returned home with the scroll, recalling the events of Chunwei along the way. Compared with the East Palace and the Right Prime Minister's Palace, he increased his reputation and broadened his contacts. In fact, he gained the most.
"May I ask, are you Xue Bai and Xue Langjun?"
When he was about to enter the door, he heard this soft question. Xue Bai turned his head and saw a young man who looked like a servant.
"It's me."
"Mr.
They were two matching pieces of bamboo, tied together with red thread, which looked quite simple.
When I opened it, I found a single piece of colored paper inside, which read: "On the second day of the Lunar New Year in Meng Xia, we have a wedding banquet in the East Palace. We will have a few drinks with only a small amount of money. We will wait for you at the end of the application."
