The sky darkened very quickly, and as if to suit the occasion, the snow that had been holding back for several days finally began to fall.
But it wasn't heavy snow, and it didn't even accumulate on the ground.
But it was originally a lucky draw, as long as God is willing to give it down.
Auspicious snow heralds a good year, and the snow that falls just before the Chinese New Year is a harbinger of a new year and a new atmosphere.
In front of the rockery in the Royal Garden and under the balcony, a fire was burning brightly in the snow.
"A year of bad luck will be burned away." Xiao Xiang reached out and threw a piece of bamboo into the fire, listening to the crackling sound of the bamboo pieces.
Li Xingchen, holding his daughter in his arms, watched as Ning Yuan also threw the bamboo in.
Next to him, Lechang, who had a bulging belly, was chatting in a low voice with Yuchi Chifan, while Zhang Lihua reached out and handed pieces of bamboo to Ning Yuan. Now Zhang Lihua's identity has been recognized by the harem. After all, the harem has also heard the news, and now During the negotiations with the Northern Zhou Dynasty, marriage with Yang Jian was mentioned, and the marriage partner was Li Xingchen himself.
Yang Jian can be regarded as a tycoon of his generation, and by marrying his daughter to Li Xinchen, he made it clear that he wanted to influence Li Xinchen's decision-making through his daughter's competition for favor. This was naturally a huge threat to the harem, and Lechang and others were also ready to fight. Preparations for the "blocking war".
As for Zhang Lihua, her sensitive identity is here after all, and the reputation of "Rouge Well" has long been known to everyone, so Zhang Lihua may eventually obtain a status, but the fact is that there is no threat at all.
Besides... Lechang glanced at Li Xingchen.
This guy seems to have been with another female official yesterday, that is, another favored concubine of Chen Shubao, who played a role in Li Xunchen's annexation of Nanchen and played a role in passing the news - of course, she is also the other woman Yanzhi Jingzhi joked about. The protagonist cuddles and hugs.
Lechang naturally turned a blind eye to this. It is impossible to expect a person who has the world in his heart every day to be as clean and self-sufficient as Liu Xiahui, not to mention the likes of Zhang Lihua and Kong Bin. A normal man would probably be moved by such a beauty, not to mention that compared to previous emperors, the size of my husband's harem can be said to be very small.
What Lechang has to do now is to unite all the forces that can be united to resist external threats. Of course, she has a noble enough status and prestige. Most of the people in the harem are former elders. For this former palace Her Royal Highness the Princess, who is famous for her good heart, naturally obeys her orders, so Lechang has nothing to worry about.
To say that the one who is truly mentally unstable is probably Yuchi Chifan.
After all, Li Xingchen and her father and brother are enemies rather than friends now, and they may put their lives at risk one day, so the smile on her face is somewhat forced, not to mention that after Yang Jian's daughter arrives, she will definitely bear the brunt.
It would be nice if this time could pass slower...
Lechang smiled and said: "Has my sister seen the new jewelry added to the New Year Palace?"
"I've seen it..." Yuchi Chifan said hurriedly.
"Is there anything you like?"
"I remember that I have a nice hairpin, the jasper one."
"Okay, then I'll give it to my sister."
"What are you two whispering about?" Li Xinchen handed his daughter over to Zhang Lihua who was standing next to him, squeezed over and said with a smile, "Are you sneaking around and saying bad things about someone?"
Lechang smiled and said: "No, why is my husband so suspicious?"
Li Xingchen snorted and looked like he was in control: "You must be worried about Yang Jian's daughter, right?"
Lechang and Yuchi Chifan were suddenly told about the central issue and looked at each other speechlessly. Li Xingchen couldn't help but smile and said: "Actually, there is no need for you to worry so much. It should be impossible to negotiate. What's more, even if the negotiation is successful, I
Will you accept Yang Jian's daughter?"
"This..." Lechang and Yuchi Chifan were both a little surprised, but they soon understood.
Yang Jian is just a minister no matter what, while Li Xingchen is the monarch of the Han Dynasty. The status of the two parties is not equal. If Li Xingchen accepts Yang Jian's daughter, wouldn't it mean that Li Xingchen has put himself in the same position as Yang Jian?
Huh? Even if the Han Dynasty made peace with the Xiongnu before, they would at least marry off the princess.
And if Li Xingchen really wanted to marry Yang Jian's daughter, then the only possibility was to turn Yang Jian into his courtier.
It is more likely that Yang Jian made this suggestion just to show his sincerity. It is impossible for him to not understand the connection between this.
As for the feasibility of the negotiation itself, since the imperial court has now regarded Yang Jian as the primary target, the current negotiation is just to stabilize Yang Jian. Just a few hours ago, the Taiwei Mansion just submitted the goals for the first half of next year.
Come up.
What the big man needs most now is to recuperate, but that doesn't mean he can just leave Nanshan. After the spring plowing next year, a war is likely to break out between Yu Wenxian and Yang Jian, and the big man will take this opportunity to capture Nanyang.
As for the method, the Taiwei Mansion does not plan to place its hopes on negotiations. Instead, it plans to directly use Xiangyang, Nanxiang and other places as the starting point, attack across the board according to the current Han Dynasty's defense situation, and defeat the Nanyang enemy in one battle.
Chance.
Of course, it's just Dahan's preliminary plan for next year, and it's still top secret.
Li Xingchen's thoughts were interrupted by a crisp voice.
"Husband, I gave it to you, and now you are the only one who has not thrown it in." Xiao Xiang ran over and handed the bamboo piece to Li Xingchen.
Li Xingchen nodded slightly and threw the bamboo slices directly into the fire: "New Year is here, get rid of bad luck!"
"New Year is here!" People laughed in the light snow.
Li Xingchen took a breath and held Lechang's already cold hand: "Let's go back and keep vigil!"
As for important family and country matters, we might as well wait until tonight after this year.
————
The first day of the first lunar month of the first year of the Han Dynasty.
The first day of the new year.
The palace started to get busy early for today's Zhengdan ceremony.
On the first day of every year, the emperor would give a banquet to all his ministers.
All kinds of ingredients were continuously transported into the imperial kitchen, and the soldiers on guard had already begun to line up despite the fine snow.
The morning bell struck three times, and Li Xingchen sat up almost subconsciously.
Having been in the military for a long time, he has developed the habit of getting up on time, especially in the last period of last year, when Li Xingchen was planning to go to the battlefield at any time in Jiangling and Xiangyang.
But when he opened his eyes, Li Xingchen felt dizzy and realized that he had only slept for a few hours. Xiao Xiang on the left and Ningyuan on the right, the two little girls fell asleep after listening to Li Xingchen telling stories yesterday.
Yes, he's still asleep now.
After all, Lechang and Yuchi Chifan were both going to be mothers, so it was naturally impossible for them to squeeze together with Li Xinchen in such a graceless manner. (To be continued)