During the Shangyuan Festival, Yang Shenjin's case happened, and Lu Xuan, the imperial censor, bit Xue Bai. Concubine Yang demoted him from the seventh rank to the ninth rank of palace supervisor with a "cheating in front of the emperor".
Now half a year has passed, and the Ghost Festival is approaching. The sage will visit the Zongsheng Palace in person. Lu Xuan goes to the palace in advance to make arrangements and gets Pei Mian's instructions.
"You were demoted because of Xue Bai. If you want to reinstate him, you must get rid of him. This time Princess Yuzhen took Xue Bai to the tower to watch, and moved Princess Tangchang to arrange for them to meet. You must expose this matter and let the saints hear about it.
"
"Why?"
"The saint never likes others to interact with Princess Tang Chang, let alone Xue Pingzhao?"
After arriving at Zongsheng Palace, Lu Xuan arranged for people to keep an eye on Princess Tang Chang. On this day, Princess Yuzhen sent someone to take Princess Tang Chang to the main hall to discuss the marriage ceremony, which took her out of his sight, and he knew something was wrong.
When he learned that there was a man among the disciples brought by Princess Yuzhen, Lu Xuan was sure that it was Xue Bai who had come to meet him, and immediately brought people to find out.
All the way to Ziyun Temple, I saw an old female crown guarding the side courtyard.
"Get in!"
Lu Xuan did not hesitate, led his men to break in, and banged open the bolted courtyard door.
Passing through the deserted courtyard, I saw Xue Bai pulling a female crown into the small hall.
"Xue Bai, what are you doing here?"
Lu Xuan approached directly and at the same time asked his men to invite the clan relatives and Taoist priests in Zongsheng Palace to come over.
Previously, Princess Xianyi identified Xue Bai as the son of a traitor, but no one believed it. Today, it was confirmed. Since Xue Bai dared to secretly meet Princess Tang Chang, he could live with their mother and son for a long time in the future.
"Why are you hiding?" Lu Xuan sneered: "Could it be that you teased the little Kun Dao of Ziyun Temple..."
Before he finished speaking, he was suddenly startled.
Xue Bai was indeed in the palace, and indeed he was holding a little crown in his hand. She was not Princess Tang Chang, but a beautiful little crown in her twenties and eighties.
"you?"
"Lu Yushi." Xue Bai said: "You are always in trouble with me because you have a personal grudge against me, right?"
"Find quickly."
Lu Xuan was shocked and ordered people to search the side courtyard.
At this time, several old Taoists came together, Wang Bing was among them, and they arrived before they arrived.
"Master Lu, why are you making such a fuss?"
"I have met the real Qixuan."
Lu Xuan saluted, and when he looked back, he saw an immortal Taoist standing next to Qi Xuanzi Wang Bing. He hurriedly exclaimed: "I have seen the real Xuan Jing!"
The old Taoist priests ignored them, and their eyes fell on Xue Bai and Li Tengkong.
"Tiankongzi, what happened?" Wang Bing asked.
Li Tengkong was a little surprised when he was surrounded by so many people. He lowered his head and said: "They... suddenly broke in..."
"Are we barging in?" Lu Xuan felt that this little girl was being unreasonable, and said anxiously: "You guys are flirting with each other in Kundao Palace, and I am the supervisor of the palace. If I barge in, I shouldn't be the one?"
Suddenly, someone pulled him and whispered something in a low voice.
"Master Lu, that is the daughter of the Right Prime Minister's Mansion."
Lu Xuan was startled and seemed to have lost his voice. He looked back and forth at Xue Bai and Li Tengkong. He quickly leaned over and apologized: "It's the lower official who shouldn't have done it. It's the lower official who was too reckless."
"..."
Xue Bai didn't even look at Lu Xuan, his eyes fell on the old Taoist priests, knowing that these people had unusual identities and were arranged by Li Cong to come to the rescue.
He could intuitively feel what Li Cong wanted to express.
The eldest son of the emperor is eager to win over him and show his strength.
But in Xue Bai's eyes, this is not strength, this is just favor.
Princess Yuzhen, Master Qixuan, and Master Xuanjing can help out of favor, but they absolutely cannot help Li Cong seek the throne.
This point must be made clear.
~~
In a few days, it has arrived at the beginning of July.
The Yang Qi is gradually declining, but the weather is still a bit hot, and there is still heat after the beginning of autumn.
On the official road from Chang'an City to Zhongnan Mountain, there was an endless stream of carriages and horses. The imperial cavalry came back and drove back to let pedestrians get out of the way.
In the middle of the procession, neatly guarded by the Longwu Army on the left and right, the sound of silk and bamboo was playing continuously under the yellow umbrella, and the music was flying, making the whole trip feel like a banquet and dance.
The carriages and horses of King Qing Li Cong were in the middle and rear of the team. Compared with the luxurious carriages of the Yang family in front, they looked very simple.
In the carriage, an eleven-year-old boy was lying by the window, looking greedily at the scenery outside, feeling that everything was so novel.
"Grandpa, what is that?"
"That's the old scalper, pulling the cart."
"Qiu'er really wants to take a closer look, hey, what is that?"
"That's the persimmon forest. Have you ever eaten fire crystal persimmons?"
"Grandpa, it's because I've said it, and the fire crystal persimmon is used for saying it."
Li Cong couldn't help but laugh, very cheerfully.
Along the way, Li Qiu had to ask questions about everything he encountered. Faced with these problems, Li Cong was extremely patient.
At this time, both father and son were wearing Taoist robes. Li Qiu suddenly lowered his head, touched his sleeves, and muttered.
"Grandpa, it's great to be a Taoist priest."
"Why did Qiu'er say that?"
"You can leave the Ten Kings' Residence and go anywhere."
Li Cong felt inexplicably sad, and patted his son on the shoulder. The joy in his eyes gradually faded away, and he looked more solemnly, staring blankly at the Zhongnan Mountain in the distance, which was as beautiful as a picture scroll.
Gradually, the car drove into Zhongnan Mountain.
Princess Dou of Qing glanced at Li Qiu and whispered: "Are you asleep?"
"Shh."
Li Cong leaned over, picked up Li Qiu, and got off the carriage.
"Prince Qing, come here, old slave?"
"Need not."
Li Cong shook his head, stepped onto the stone steps, and walked towards the magnificent mountain gate at the top.
The mountain wind blew his robes, and if you only looked at his back without seeing the scars all over his face, you would actually see a father with a tall figure.
But in fact, Li Cong did not have a biological son.
He married the Dou family when he was young, and had a wife, two children and ten concubines, but he never had any children. At that time, others only said that he lost the position of crown prince because of the scar on his face. In fact, it is difficult to say that having no children is another problem.
important reason.
Until ten years ago, after the deposed prince Li Ying died, his four sons were adopted into his lap.
He has always regarded his four sons as his own and has almost no partiality. But if he has to say which one he loves the most, it is Li Qiu.
At the beginning of the adoption, Li Yan and Li Shen were already at a sensible age; Li Qiu was one year old and Li Bei was born not long ago. They regarded him as their father and were naturally close to him from the moment they could remember. Among them, Li Qiu was the direct descendant of Li Ying and Concubine Xue.
His temperament is more affectionate; Li Bei was born into a palace, and his temperament is a bit dull and taciturn.
It was extremely rare to be able to escape from imprisonment this time, and his four sons were eager to accompany him out of Chang'an City. Li Cong was in a dilemma for a long time, and finally chose Li Qiu.
Step by step, he entered the Zongsheng Palace and arrived at the annex where he was staying. Li Cong was slightly out of breath. When he looked around, he saw that the imperial guards were already patrolling in formation... Everywhere he went, he felt like he was in the Ten Kings' Residence.
A Taoist came over and saluted: "I have met King Qing. Wei Jingzhao, a poor Taoist named Huai Baozi, is a disciple of Master Xuan Jing."
"Thank you, Master Lao." Li Cong said softly.
Wei Jingzhao quickly led them to settle down and left the house, sighing in a low voice: "King Qing is kind and treats the young man so well."
There was a slight smile in Li Cong's eyes.
In recent years, no one has raised the question of whether he and his sons are biological children. In fact, he doesn't care anymore. They are all descendants of the Li family in terms of blood. The important thing is that he has raised them little by little in the past ten years.
He is their biological father.
They are no longer Li Ying's sons, but Li Cong's sons.
"A small incident happened a few days ago."
After chatting for a while, Wei Jingzhao mentioned it as if accidentally.
"The daughter of the Right Prime Minister and Xue Bai, who was famous in Chang'an, had a tryst at Ziyun Temple, but they were caught by the palace supervisor..."
Li Cong listened and knew that Fourth Sister had successfully contacted Xue Bai.
He also knew that Princess Yuzhen, Master Xuanjing and others were just helping out of favor, and they never thought that he would also compete for the heirloom. Because they pitied him and looked down upon him.
But why, as the eldest son, can't he compete for the heir apparent?
Ugly? Childless? This should not be the reason!
Isn't the ability to govern a country more important than appearance? And is being an emperor just to pass on the throne to his descendants? Why does the world simply ignore the natural ambition of an emperor's eldest son? What's more, he has a son.
Ignore! Everyone is ignoring him.
And he has realized that he is qualified to fight. Recently, a new force is rising in the court. In the fierce battle between the Right Prime Minister and the East Palace, he cleverly unites the upstart Yang family, Hedong Pei family, and the old party who have lost power.
, the key figure among them is actually a young man, Xue Bai.
It just so happened that Xue Bai could naturally be won over by him.
He really needs such a consistent confidant who can freely accumulate power for him outside the Ten Kings' House.
~~
All night long, Xue Bailian felt the growth of ambition in his sleep.
As if dreaming or waking up, various thoughts are popping up.
There are actually not a few people who have heard that the emperor's grandson disappeared, but very few people know the details. The matching age and unknown life experience gave Xue Bai an excellent opportunity to impersonate.
From the fact that Li Longji named his newborn grandson "Li Qian", it can be inferred that he confirmed that Li Qian was dead. If he wanted to compile a conspiracy, he would have to wait until Li Longji died.
Then we need to establish an emperor who can vindicate the three common people, and also have the authority to persecute this emperor.
Once your ambitions change, some risks you didn't want to take suddenly become worth taking...
In a daze, Xue Bai turned over, feeling hot due to these thoughts.
He thought that if he told Du Jin about this, she would be very excited.
The desire for power has always been linked to other desires, and the more you think about it, the more vigorous it becomes.
Therefore, the moment the door opened, Xue Bai suddenly thought it was the Du sisters coming together.
But when he opened his eyes, he actually looked at Li Tengkong.
"Um?"
With a soft sound, the whisk in Li Tengkong's hand fell to the ground.
She picked it up in a panic and said, "Master invites you to greet him at Zongsheng Palace."
"The royal chariot has arrived?"
"Well, we arrived yesterday evening."
Li Tengkong turned her back, feeling very embarrassed, but just now it was Yan Yan who said to her, "Brother seems to have gone out. Go inside and ask Sister Qinglan." She didn't know if it was intentional.
Standing next to the door and looking around, Yan Yan was practicing Qigong in the guest room. She looked innocent and innocent, so she shouldn't have such scheming.
Xue Bai sat up in a daze, and his eyes fell on Li Tengkong's back. He saw her graceful neck and slender waist... He couldn't help but think that if he could conquer the world, he could give her the name of a concubine.
He quickly shook his head and cursed himself secretly. He had nothing but an idea at the moment, but he was thinking about concubines? He was confused and could not stand the test. Even if he competes for the world, he will be a fool.
"Why don't you get up?" Li Tengkong asked with his back turned.
"Woke up."
Xue Bai sat for a while, stabilizing his ambition to make progress, then waited for Qinglan to come back from fetching water to help him wash up, and then went to Zongsheng Palace.
…
Because the saint came with some of the emperor's relatives, the guards at Zongsheng Palace were much stricter and even more solemn.
This time, when walking past the thousand-year-old ginkgo tree, Princess Yuzhen said to Li Tengkong: "Tengkong, your sister and Princess Xianyi are at the Hua Nuquan Taoist Temple. Go and meet them."
"yes."
"Xue Lang, follow me."
She led Xue Bai to the west, winding along the path. After more than a hundred steps, the terrain suddenly opened up.
In front is a sutra preaching platform, with an octagonal pavilion on the west side and a Bagua hanging roof. There is also an octagonal pool next to it, with a stone dragon spitting water on the inner wall.
"This is the Supreme Good Pond. Lao Jun once made elixirs and dissolved them in it."
As Princess Yuzhen spoke, she waved her whisk lightly, walked into the pavilion, and sat down in a corner, looking like a fairy.
Others have many bad things to say about her, but in fact she has acquired the most talented and talented people in the world. She has already cultivated a very high vision, a solid Taoist foundation, an air of immortality, and no trace of vulgarity.
The same goes for the other male and female Taoist priests in the pavilion, all of whom look like worldly masters... except for Li Cong, whose face is full of scars.
The strange thing is that the old Taoist priests in the pavilion are all closing their eyes and relaxing, listening to a Taoist priest in his twenties who is very spiritual and talks about the Tao Te Ching.
Xue Bai stood behind Princess Yuzhen and did not look at Li Cong. Instead, he focused his gaze on the young Taoist.
"As the saying goes, 'If you don't see yourself, you will be enlightened; if you don't know what you are, you will be enlightened; if you don't cut yourself off, you will be successful; if you are not proud of yourself, you will be long.'" When Bi was sixteen years old, he was conceited of his talent, so he wrote a long song: "Please, sir."
Looking at the achievements of a hundred years, the achievements will be carried out in a small boat across the five lakes. Zhang Qujiang's announcement warned that "if you get a good reputation early, there will be setbacks. You should keep it secret and do your best. Hiding the utensils in the body is valued by the ancients, and the boy is evil."
! But when writing poems to appreciate the scenery and chanting ancient sages, it is better not to praise yourself.' After hearing this, Bi Fang will be enlightened..."
Hearing this, Xue Bai had a thought in his mind and suddenly understood who this little Taoist priest was, Li Mi.
When he came back to his senses, Li Mi was already looking at him.
The two looked at each other, and Xue Bai suddenly felt that what he just said was what he was talking about.
In terms of talent, Li Mi, who was sixteen years old, was by no means inferior to Xue Bai today, and he was known as a child prodigy. The saint personally promised to entrust him with important tasks as "an important weapon of the country". He believed that the time had not come yet, so he refused.
It's just an official job.
Xue Bai understood this truth and nodded. He also felt that he was too vulgar than Li Bi, but everyone has his own ambitions, and not everyone in the world can be immortal.
After continuing to listen to their discussion for a while, a chamberlain came over and summoned several old Taoist priests and Li Mi.
Only Princess Yuzhen, Li Cong and a few others were left in the pavilion.
"I heard that the saint also plans to take Master Jingxuan as his teacher and practice the method of immortality." Li Cong said.
Princess Yuzhen said: "I have practiced Taoism for many years. If I heard about the method of immortality, how could I not repay it to the saint?"
"It was also because of Li Shi's case that the clan's reputation was damaged, and the saint wanted to honor Taoism to show his reputation. This time, he wanted to honor Taishang Xuan Yuan Laojun's 'Sacred Ancestor Dao'."
Xue Bai listened on the sidelines and thought to himself, Li Longji knew all about the problems of the Tang Dynasty, but he just did whatever he liked.
And Li Cong's words inadvertently revealed a little bit of his thoughts on governing the country.
Princess Yuzhen was not interested in such political affairs. She sat for a while and led others to see the scenery, giving Li Cong and Xue Bai a chance to talk alone.
The Bajiao Pavilion is located on a high ground, so there was no risk of someone overhearing their conversation.
…
"Prince Qing and I seem to have met too many times recently," Xue Bai reminded.
In fact, they only met twice in half a month, and there were still many things they didn't agree on.
Li Cong was very sincere and said: "I told my aunt that you are the son of my old friend. She only thinks that our meeting is for personal matters, so you don't have to worry."
"Prince Qing, I am very worried." Xue Bai also said sincerely, "Many people have died."
"It seems that you have met the fourth sister." Li Cong said: "Then you should also know about your life experience?"
After hearing this sentence, Xue Bai's eyes showed an imperceptible strange color. He pondered for a moment and said slowly: "Yes, I already know my life experience."
The last time they met, he believed that getting close to the prince was risky but had little benefit, and he was somewhat resistant to Li Cong's attempts to win over him. Today's attitude has changed subtly, and he is no longer so distant and cold.
Sure enough, once one's life experience is determined, one's stance will naturally be different.
Now they are traveling together.
Li Cong smiled. Although the scars on his face were a bit ferocious, his attitude was kind and gentle. He said in the tone of an elder: "Your grandpa and I are brothers, and I will treat you as my nephew from now on."
"Thank you, Prince Qing."
"Just call me uncle."
"Yes, uncle."
Xue Bai only hesitated slightly and followed the trend.
He has realized that he has a slim hope of fighting for the throne, and needs a temporary support object in the process, and Li Cong is very suitable.
Such an emperor's eldest son who is imprisoned in the house of the Ten Kings allows him to use his name to accumulate power and deal with crises.
Chapter 2 will take about half an hour, I’m catching up~