The carriages and horses headed all the way to Jiangxia Prince's Mansion, walking slowly and leisurely. Qin Mubai and Princess Gaoyang were sitting in the car, laughing and talking to each other. The driver and the maid sitting in the front couldn't help but laugh.
"Be honest and don't **!"
"Hey, Mu Bai, your body is so strong! Is it polished by practicing martial arts every day?"
"Don't just make excuses for excuses!"
"Wow! What is this hard thing? Play with it for a while!"
The coachman and the maid couldn't help laughing, and then heard Qin Mubai roaring in the carriage -
"...My Hundred Rider Token! Return it to me quickly!"
The two were having a good time when they suddenly heard someone in front shouting: "Stop the carriage!"
Qin Mubai lifted up the car window and took a look. He was still some distance away from the gate of King Jiangxia's palace. Why did he stop? Moreover, Li Ke got out of the car and was walking this way. He walked straight to the two's car, stepped on the shaft and walked into the car.
"Your Highness, why don't you leave?" Qin Mubai asked.
Li Ke frowned, looked at Princess Gao Yang with a strange look, and said, "It's weird. My father's car is actually placed in front of the emperor's uncle's house, along with a large group of Royal Guards."
"Then don't go!" Princess Gao Yang's face darkened and she said without hesitation, "I don't want to see him!"
Qin Mubai and Li Ke looked at each other with confused expressions on their faces. Li Ke walked out of the car and said at the end: "Leave it to you."
Princess Gao Yang turned her head as if on conditioned reflex, and glared at Qin Mubai angrily: "Don't try to persuade me, I won't go if you say you won't go!"
"I haven't spoken yet, do you know what I want to say?" Qin Mubai said with a smile.
"Hmph!... You and Third Brother always work together to bully me!" Princess Gaoyang pouted and muttered, "King Jiang Xia is also bad! He invited us to dinner even though he knew that I was at odds with him. It’s really disappointing to call him here! I won’t go, didn’t you promise to take me hunting yesterday? Let’s go to Zhongnan Mountain now!”
"Ling'er, don't you want to marry me?" Qin Mubai said suddenly.
"Of course not!" Princess Gao Yang shouted hurriedly, "Why do you suddenly say such rude words?"
"Then how can you possibly marry me when you and the emperor have been at such a stalemate?" Qin Mubai said, "For a commoner's daughter, her parents have the final say in marriage matters. As a princess of the Tang Dynasty, how can you be so childish about your marriage? It's obvious. King Jiangxia did not invite us to a family dinner randomly yesterday. Maybe it was arranged intentionally by the emperor. Since your majesty made such an arrangement, he means to take the initiative to make peace with you. He is an elder and an emperor. He lowered himself down and took the initiative to reconcile with you, how could you still be so ignorant and not appreciate his kindness? "
Princess Gao Yang still bulged her mouth, lowered her head in grievance, but did not speak.
Qin Mubai took her into his arms, gently stroked her back, and said softly: "Okay, don't worry about the past. At that time, His Majesty the Emperor was riding a tiger and was in trouble. He had no choice but to do it. There are reasons. After all, your father still loves you. Otherwise, based on his temperament... wouldn't we be broken into pieces by now?"
"According to what you said, I would also like to thank him for being merciful and not killing us?" Princess Gaoyang said sourly.
"You just like to get into trouble." Qin Mubai chuckled, kissed her face softly, and said softly, "Be good, go and reconcile with the emperor, okay? I bet that His Majesty the Emperor still has love in his heart. You love me. Even if you don't believe him, you should believe me, right? Well, even if you really don't want to care about him, just treat it as a mistake for me, okay?"
"For you, what can I say?" Princess Gao Yang blushed, smiled, held Qin Mubai's face and kissed him back, biting his ear playfully and asked.
"Aren't I asking the emperor to allow me to be transferred outside now?" Qin Mubai said, "I can't tell you the pros and cons of this at the moment. In short, if I continue to stay in the capital, I'm afraid I will be in big trouble; if the transfer can go smoothly, There are all kinds of benefits. But if you don’t reconcile with His Majesty, he won’t treat me like a prince, and maybe he won’t allow it.”
"Well, I'll do anything for you!" Princess Gao Yang grinned, revealing a pair of naughty little fangs, "Although I really hate him... But this time, I'll just be aggrieved. !”
After that, Princess Gaoyang walked to the carriage door and told the maid: "Go and send a message to King Wu that I agree."
Soon, the carriage and horse continued to move forward, and finally stopped in front of the palace of King Jiangxia.
The three of them got out of the car and entered the house together. Officials had already been here to welcome them and led them in together.
The palace of King Jiangxia in Chang'an is much grander and more beautiful than the palace in Jinzhou. It is said that after the emperor ascended the throne, he personally sent people to supervise the construction of the palace in order to highlight the contribution of Li Daozong, a hero of the royal family, in founding the country. Its scale and momentum are not inferior to those of the imperial palace.
The emperor is indeed here. Along the way, there were guards from the Royal Forest Army. Of course, most of them were Baiqi soldiers that Qin Mubai was familiar with. The three of them entered together, and when they arrived at the main hall, they saw Li Shimin sitting at the main seat from a distance, and Li Daozong sitting at the second seat with him. Both of them raised their eyes and looked towards this side.
"Your Majesty, they are here." Li Daozong said softly.
"I saw it." Li Shimin raised his head slightly and squinted his eyes, with a look of expectation and hope on his face, and murmured, "My Ling'er looks good!"
"That's right." Li Daozong chuckled, "He is still the same naughty and quirky person as before."
"That's good, that's good!" Li Shimin smiled and nodded, his loving expression clearly revealed.
Qin Mubai and Li Ke entered the main hall, without squinting their eyes, and bowed to the emperor first.
Only Princess Gao Yang looked around with her phoenix eyes but did not look at Li Shimin. After watching Qin and Li bow down, she slowly bowed down reluctantly and hummed in a strange tone: " Your Majesty, please pay homage to your father! May your father be prosperous and prosperous forever!"
The King of Jiangxia laughed: "Gao Yang, who taught you this weird accent?"
"It's not like I haven't read a book yet. Do I need someone to teach me something like this?" Princess Gaoyang stood up before waiting for the royal order to give her lower body. She walked to King Jiang Xia and sat down next to him to return the favor. He scratched his armpit and said with a smile, "Uncle and great prince, what delicious food have you prepared for us today?"
Li Shimin may have noticed that Princess Gaoyang was distracted and kept silent, so Li Ke and Qin Mubai were still bowing to the ground. When the two of them saw Princess Gao Yang's frivolous and weird behavior, they each grinned bitterly, and black lines almost appeared on their foreheads.
"Ahem!" Li Shimin coughed slightly. Princess Gaoyang was frightened and hurriedly ran back to kneel down. She said coquettishly: "Your Majesty, it is a capital crime for you to forget that your father is here! Father, please do not hesitate to do so. Don't be angry, if you chop off the emperor's head, no more heads will grow."
Everyone's hearts twisted, and Li Shimin's face trembled slightly, but he quickly put away the unpleasant expression and said with a smile: "No need to be polite! Today is a family dinner, no need to be too polite. "
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Li Ke and Qin Mubai stood up, while Princess Gaoyang was still kneeling in a daze. Li Ke was a little annoyed. He stepped forward and lifted her up, and scolded her in a low voice: "I asked you to get up but you couldn't stand it. It's obviously a trick! Don't be so rude to your father!"
"Ke'er, what are you doing!" Li Shimin suddenly became anxious and shouted sternly: "Let her go!"
Li Shimin's majestic scolding caused the scene to fall into silence. Princess Gao Yang was also stunned for a moment, looking at Li Shimin blankly without blinking.
Li Ke hurriedly stepped aside and said, "I'm sorry, my father, please forgive me!"
Li Shimin sighed softly, stood up and left the table, walked to Princess Gaoyang who was still kneeling, bent down, touched her shoulders with both hands and patted her gently, and said: "Linger, be good, get up!"
Qin Mubai and others have never heard such a voice from Li Shimin. A moment ago, he was still scolding Li Ke with great power. Suddenly, his voice revealed a lot of love and concern, as well as a hint of fatigue, sadness and loss.
This short sentence of six words fully revealed Li Shimin's complicated mood at this moment.
Princess Gao Yang's body trembled slightly, she raised her head, looked at Li Shimin a little dreamily, opened her mouth, and seemed to want to speak, but could not spit out a word.
Li Shimin simply squatted down, face to face with Princess Gaoyang, looked at her kindly and concernedly, and asked softly: "Ling'er, what do you want to say to your father? Besides calling me a devil...how many times have you He hasn’t spoken to me in months.”
"I, I..." Princess Gao Yang's face turned a little pale, and her lips trembled a little. She stared at Li Shimin with bright eyes, and there seemed to be a slight mist in her eyes.
"That's all, if you don't want to say it, just don't say it. Just get up." After saying that, Li Shimin stretched out his arms to pick her up.
"Father! -" Princess Gaoyang suddenly shouted loudly, threw herself into Li Shimin's arms, and burst into tears!
"Be good, Linger, be good! Don't cry, don't cry!" Li Shimin also hugged Princess Gaoyang tightly into his arms.
Li Daozong waved his hand, and all the guards outside the hall retreated a hundred steps away.
"Woooooo-Father, Father!" Princess Gaoyang held Li Shimin's dragon robe tightly with her small hands behind his back, crying hysterically.
Li Shimin's eyes seemed to be stinging a little, and they were also slightly red. Due to the large number of people present, he took a deep breath to suppress the urge to cry. Instead, he chuckled: "Ling'er, be good, stop being naughty. Can you stop crying? Look, your uncle Wang Huang of Jiangxia is laughing at you for crying!"
"He is a bad little old man, ignore him!... Woo hoo!" Princess Gao Yang still cried loudly.
"Haha!" Li Daozong, Qin Mubai and others laughed loudly.
Li Shimin's teasing and Qin Mubai's and others' smiles just right alleviated the sadness and embarrassment of the scene, and it suddenly became much more relaxed and casual.
Princess Gao Yang also burst out laughing with tears in her eyes. She got out of Li Shimin's arms embarrassedly, covered her face and hurriedly wiped away her tears.
"Okay, let's go down and dress up. Look at you, your face is covered with makeup and powder, haha!" Li Shimin lifted Princess Gao Yang up from the ground with a smile and let out a long sigh.
Princess Gaoyang gave an embarrassed "hehe" laugh and ran away with her face covered. He deliberately rushed past Qin Mubai, and when the emperor turned around and was not paying attention, he deliberately nudged Qin Mubai with his elbow, exposed a slit in his small hand, and winked at her.
Qin Mubai grinned numbly, admiring Princess Gaoyang's superb acting skills in her heart.
Li Shimin then walked back to his seat and said with a somewhat self-deprecating smile: "I'll make you laugh."
"Today's family dinner, His Majesty licked the calf with deep affection, and Ling'er showed his true feelings, which actually makes us admire him!" Li Daozong said with a chuckle.
"That's all, let's not mention it." Li Shimin waved his hands and smiled, somewhat helplessly, and said, "This Ling'er has been naughty since she was a child. It's also my fault for spoiling her - well, Ke'er, Mu Bai, you don’t have to be polite, just sit down!”
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the seat!" The two of them sat down one after another.
"It's rare for King Jiangxia to come back to the capital. Today, I paid a special visit to get together with you." Li Shimin said with a smile, "Ke'er, Mubai, don't blame King Jiangxia. I specifically asked him to let him know in advance I didn’t tell you I was coming.”
"Haha!" Li Daozong laughed, "Your Majesty said something serious. It's just an ordinary family dinner!"
"Yes, that's right." Li Shimin also smiled and said, "I haven't been able to get together with the royal family for some time. By the way, Mu Bai, go out and give an order to the Baiqi soldiers and ask them to send people to the harem. Please bring Zhinu and Sizi together. I just left from Wude Palace, but he forgot about them for a while."
"Wei Chen just needs to go there in person." Qin Mubai stood up and paid his respects. I thought to myself, Li Shimin is deliberately trying to push me away, so they can talk easily!
"That's fine, I'll just trouble you to go." Li Shimin laughed and said, "The two of them miss you very much!"
"Wei Chen will leave now." Qin Mubai said goodbye to the emperor and others, and took a few hundred horse guards with him to the palace.
Not long after Qin Mubai left, Li Shimin said to Li Ke: "Ke'er, I read the memorial you handed over. I want to ask you, have you followed Qin Mubai's opinion?"
"Replying to my father, Qin Mubai himself has agreed." Li Ke replied.
"Well... Qin Mubai is the commander-in-chief of the Guards who I have raised with my own hands. It is not convenient for me to give him away. But now that you have spoken and he agreed, I have no choice but to bear the pain and part with him." Li Shimin nodded and said. , "However, a mere fourth-rank captain would be too unfair to my Hundred Cavalry Envoy. I plan to appoint him as the governor of Jingzhou. What do you two think?"
Li Daozong didn't know about this beforehand. At this time, he frowned in confusion and said, "Is your Majesty planning to release Qin Mubai to serve?"
"You heard it just now, it's Ke'er who wants to poach someone from me!" Li Shimin said with a helpless smile.
"This... His Majesty has already opened his mouth. I have nothing more to say." Li Daozong cupped his hands and said, "It's just that I think that although the post of governor is prominent and noble, it is not as practical as being a captain."
"Oh, how do you say this?" Li Shimin asked.
Li Daozong replied: "Your Majesty also said that Qin Mubai is a young general who has been cultivated by your Majesty personally and will be entrusted with big posts in the future. Since he is sent to serve as an official, he must be hardened and tempered. The post of Governor of Jingzhou To put it bluntly, he is just a simple commander with power and no soldiers, that is, he deals with the generals and officials in those places and orders them to do things with words, as for the training of troops, the deployment of troops and generals, etc. Qin Mubai is still young and has little experience in battle. Instead of entrusting him with a leisurely governor with few official duties, it would be better to let him go to Zhechong Mansion and lead troops to practice on the ground. Being able to understand everything in the military will be more conducive to his growth. "
"Okay, hit the nail on the head!" Li Shimin raised his finger and nodded in praise, "As a veteran in the army, you are better at cultivating people. Qin Mubai was born as a general and has excellent qualifications. I have long been determined to train him to become our great Tang Dynasty. Hearing your words, he is the successor of the younger generation of generals. I feel enlightened and appoint him as the commander of the army. In the spring, he will be responsible for cultivating mulberry trees. In the summer, he will be on guard. In the autumn, he will gather grain and store grass. In the winter, he will train hard. I went to Xiangzhou and practiced hard for three to five years.”
"Uncut jade cannot be used, your majesty is wise!" Li Daozong said, "Qin Mubai's generation was born in a peaceful and prosperous age, and they grew up in the official family. They have had little hardship since they were young, have experienced few things, and have not experienced blood. The battle formation of fire will be difficult to achieve greatness if it lacks on-the-ground training. My brother also believes that Qin Mubai is both wise and brave, and the only thing missing now is practice and training!"
"Then it's settled!" Li Shimin stroked his palm, "After I returned to the palace, I drafted an edict from Zhongshu Province and appointed Qin Mubai to the post of Zhechong Commandery of Xiangzhou Prefecture, and he and Li Ke will take up the post in the next year! "
"No!!!" Suddenly there was a scolding sound, and Princess Gaoyang hurriedly ran out, stood in the hall and faced Li Shimin, and said sternly, "Father, you took Mu Bai away, what should I do? "
The expressions of everyone present changed. Li Ke stood up in a hurry and whispered: "Ling'er, please stop being rude!"
"Why, why am I being rude?" Princess Gaoyang argued without thinking, then hurriedly bowed down and said in a pleading tone, "Father, I beg you! I can't control your major affairs, but... if you Transfer Mu Bai away, and please let him take me with him, okay? If I leave him... I will die!"
Li Shimin's face twitched violently, he took a deep breath and said calmly: "Ling'er, get up first. This matter must be discussed in the long run."
"Any long-term plans? Can't you agree now?" Princess Gao Yang raised her head and looked directly into Li Shimin's sharp eyes without flinching, and said stubbornly.
Li Daozong stood up, walked to Princess Gaoyang and whispered: "Ling'er, you are so confused. You are the princess of the Tang Dynasty, the emperor's favorite daughter. You want your father to agree to Qin Mubai now | take you Come on, have you ever thought about whether your majestic princess will run away with Qin Mubai without any name or status? In this way, not only will the Tang Dynasty royal family become the laughing stock of others, but your father will also lose face. You will be laughed at, right? Even if you are stubborn and don't care about this, you should always consider Qin Mubai's reputation and future, right? Your father said that this matter must be considered in the long term, and he is not just perfunctory with you. Uncle Huang, the old man has never lied to you, you should know this, right?"
Princess Gao Yang thought for a moment and then nodded: "Oh... then I'll just accept it."
"Get up quickly and apologize to your father." Li Daozong lifted Princess Gaoyang from the ground with a smile.
Princess Gao Yang stood up, with an angry look on her face just now, but she suddenly started laughing again. She quickly ran to Li Shimin and sat down next to him. She even stretched out a hand to touch his bulging belly and giggled: "Your Majesty, please calm down and don't be angry with Ling'er." Okay? It’s Ling’er who doesn’t know what to do, so just forgive Ling’er for being young and ignorant!”
Li Shimin was immediately amused. He stretched out his big hand and patted her little face gently. He laughed loudly and said, "Look at this ghost girl, her face changes faster than the sky in June!"
Li Daozong and Li Ke also laughed together, and thought to themselves: The person who is most capable of defeating the emperor in the world is none other than Princess Gaoyang! She can make the Emperor furious in one moment and make him laugh the next! … It’s true that all things are born, and one thing descends from another!