Late at night, Li Daozong's father and daughter and Li Ji just returned. The three of them talked for a long time at Bingzhu Night. In addition to clarifying the unity of interests, they also reached a consensus on their positions - advocating the use of troops in Lanzhou to quell the Gaochang rebellion.
With Li Jing's retirement, Li Ji has become the No.1 military leader in the court today. How could he allow Changsun Wuji to take charge of the court alone? This is not because of Li Ji's greed for power and selfishness, but because of his habitual thinking since the founding of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty valued military merit, and the status of soldiers was quite high. Although Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng and others have always been in the limelight since Li Shimin ascended the throne, as long as military and national affairs are involved, it is the stage for people like Li Jing and Li Ji. Civil and military equals each guarded half of the country, which was the usual scene in Zhenguan during the Tang Dynasty. Now, Changsun Wuji is almost in charge of the government alone. What will happen to the military? Although Li Ji is always low-key and tolerant, when it comes to "issues of principle", he is not ambiguous at all. What he said was nothing more than: I, Li Ji, can guard Northern Xinjiang for many years without returning to Chang'an, and ignore state affairs and ignore government affairs. However, there is no way for me to bow my head to Changsun Wuji and obey his advice! -We are the same age, why
Li Daozong made such a stance, on the one hand, it was out of the idea of "the fox is sad when the rabbit dies" and his personal regard for Qin Mubai. The other reason was, of course, about his daughter. Li Xueyan, a mere weak woman, was willing to sacrifice her country to marry a Tufan in order to quell the war and civilize the Tubo people. The Tubo people, on the other hand, thought she was a fake princess, so they walked away and put up their weapons to start a fight. Isn't this just hanging Li Daozong high and slapping him in the face with a whip? Not long after this incident, Changsun Wuji actually brought up the old matter again, and wanted to send Li Xueyan out to resolve the war with Tubo... Fortunately, Li Daozong was a well-educated man in the city. If he were a reckless man, he would probably have to do it on the spot. I have fallen out with Changsun Wuji - everyone has said they don't want my daughter, but you still want me to beg for nothing to give it to others. Do you think I am not embarrassed enough? What are you worried about? !
In the dark, there is a destiny.
Qin Mubai never thought about becoming an enemy of Changsun Wuji or causing any huge political disturbance in the court. But the torrent of fate always involves people inadvertently. At this time, you will either catch the tide and be on the cusp of the storm, or you will sink to the bottom of the river and be buried in the sand, never to be able to stand up again.
As Li Ji said, Qin Mubai is now at a turning point in his life.
It was very late at night, and Qin Mubai was not sleepy at all, so he was walking alone in the courtyard.
The moonlit night is bright and the shadows of the sycamore trees are combing.
In the night sky, intermittent sounds of pipa came from nowhere. The playing was rather jerky and the music was out of tune. But it is vaguely identifiable as the song "Lanzhou Hong"!
Qin Mubai was suddenly startled and thought almost reflexively - Yao'er? !
The fleeing sound was the sound coming from the other courtyard where Yao'er lived before his death!
In addition to the intermittent sound of pipa, there are also crying sounds.
Qin Mubai was stunned for a moment!
Yao'er...resurrection
Is there really such a thing in the world? !
At this time, Qin Mubai was not afraid at all, and strode towards the room. He wanted to scream, but he was afraid of scaring away Yao'er's soul, so he held his breath and did not dare to go out, and walked to the door.
When he saw it, he couldn't help but laugh and was a little disappointed.
It turned out that it was Shuang'er who was practicing pipa with the group of little orphan girls.
"It's midnight, why aren't you still sleeping?" Qin Mubai walked in and asked with a smile.
"It's the third brother..." Shuang'er's eyes were a little red, and she put down the pipa in her hand a little embarrassed, and came over and said, "We can't sleep!"
"What's wrong?"
"On weekdays, Yao'er and I coax them all to sleep first, and then sleep together." Shuang'er said softly, "Now that Yao'er is gone, it feels weird for me to sleep alone."
"Are you afraid?"
"No. Even if Yao'er comes back, I don't have to be afraid of anything. She is such a kind person, and she is just like my biological sister. What should I be afraid of?" Shuang'er wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, "I just... no I'm really not used to it. I feel like I'm empty in my heart, as if I'm missing arms and legs. As soon as I lie down, half asleep, I squeeze to the side to lean on. I hugged Yao'er's body to keep warm. But when I found myself empty, I woke up and couldn't fall asleep again. "
"Silly girl." Qin Mubai stroked her head, smiled, and said, "Come, I'll coax these little girls to sleep with you, and then I'll have a chat with you, okay?"
"Okay." Shuang'er smiled and nodded, "Third brother, you haven't cared about me like you did today for a long time!"
"Is there any?" Qin Mubai was slightly surprised and thought to himself: Is this really the case? Perhaps Yao'er's departure made me realize the value of my relatives? Only then do you know how to cherish? Yao'er, she is both my best friend and my compatriot. Hey, now, all I have to do is pour all my feelings for Yao'er into Shuang'er.
The brother and sister took the little orphans to the bedroom and coaxed them all to sleep peacefully. Then Shuang'er brought some refreshments, and the brother and sister sat in the small courtyard and chatted.
"Brother, you have been really haggard these past few days, and my mother and I are almost heartbroken. But we don't know how to persuade you, and you have to take care of state affairs at this time... Brother, you are too tired. . Over the years, you have traveled all over the country and conquered the west, and you have never really had a good life. What are you doing so hard?" Shuang'er said.
Qin Mubai smiled slightly and said: "Silly girl, this is not as simple as wanting what you want. If a man doesn't do anything in his life that he had ambitions and fantasies about when he was young and frivolous, when he is old and can't move, What do you remember? From the beginning, I had such a simple idea. Then once I stepped in, everything was out of my control.”
Shuang'er hugged her elbows and curled her lips slightly: "You men, always have to think about things so complicated. It's obviously a very simple thing, but it has thousands of twists and turns, and it doesn't bother you. "
"Oh? I heard your sour words, it seems that you have other intentions?" Qin Mubai said with a joking smile, "Silly sister, who are you thinking of?"
"Who am I thinking about? I... I'm not thinking about anyone!" Shuang'er blushed.
"Haha!" Qin Mubai smiled and said, "Actually, I don't feel any pain or tiredness. Compared with a person, I am in heaven."
"Who are you talking about..." Shuang'er said sourly.
"You ask knowingly." Qin Mubai said with a smile, "By the time Li Ke went to Goguryeo, you must have been worried day and night and couldn't sleep well, right?"
"No way... Since he is ruthless, why would I care?" Shuang'er gritted her teeth and said bitterly.
"What's wrong? I didn't ask about this for a long time. When did you guys fall out?" Qin Mubai said in surprise.
Shuang'er opened her mouth to speak but stopped, and finally sighed and said: "Forget it, there is no need to mention this matter again. After all, he and I are destined to be together, and we can't be together in this life. Brother, if you have anything If you find a suitable man, please marry me! Sister, it’s up to you.”
"What did you say? Did I hear you right?" Qin Mubai said in surprise, "Shuang'er, you didn't even listen to my father before and would rather die than marry someone else. Now this is... "
"Brother, please stop talking..." Shuang'er's eyes were red and her voice was slightly choked. She whispered, "Li Ke, he is no longer the Li Ke he used to be. In his heart, the only thing he can't hold is the country. With Hongtu, Shuang'er is gone."
Qin Mubai frowned: "Did you break up with him?"
"It's him and me!" Shuang'er said without crying, with red eyes, "Just after you came back from Xiangyang last time, I met him once. At that time, he said to me with a livid face, "Don't do it again. I won’t be entangled with him anymore. He also told me that the Li Ke of the past has left with the princess. The Li Ke of today is no longer the Li Ke that Shuang’er knew.”
Qin Mubai was confused for a moment and said, "Why have I never heard of this matter? No one has mentioned it to me for so long?"
"He didn't let me tell you."
"Then you won't say anything?" Qin Mubai said, angry and funny, "He broke up with you like this, and you still listen to her?"
"No..."
"Hey, dad is right. It's true that no one can keep a good girl." Qin Mubai smiled and sighed, "Silly girl, don't think too much. From what I know about Li Ke, the more ruthless he is to you, the more likely he will be. It means that he is worried about you more and more."
"Why?" Shuang'er said in surprise and joy.
"It's hard to put it into words." Qin Mubai smiled mysteriously and said, "In short, Li Ke is an extremely affectionate person. If he really doesn't have you in his heart anymore, he will stay away from you and ignore you from now on. , or just do the job casually.”
"Then why did he... say such heartless words to me?" Shuang'er said in confusion and annoyance.
Qin Mubai patted her hand and smiled: "When I came back from Xiangyang, the situation was relatively delicate. Li Ke couldn't get too close to us. He knows your friendship for him. If you and him take advantage of it after he returns to Beijing, If you get too close, you will inevitably mention marriage. And your marriage was absolutely inappropriate at that time. Furthermore, Li Ke had already decided to leave the court to avoid trouble, and he didn't know where he would go in the future or what his situation would be like. Therefore, he cannot drag you along to suffer. So..."
"Don't listen, don't listen!" Shuang'er covered her ears angrily and shouted, "You men are all selfish! You only speculate on women's thoughts! No matter what the overall situation or the subtleties, it's just mediocre! Am I the kind of person who only thinks about women's thoughts? Can we share wealth and wealth, but not women who share adversity?”
"Shuang'er, you can't say that." Qin Mubai said with a smile, "I remember Li Ke said something. It was a long time ago, when I first joined his palace to serve. That sentence made a great impression on me. Profound. Now that I understand his approach, it’s not surprising.”
"What words?"
"He said that truly loving someone is not to possess someone, but to hope that he or she will live a better life." Qin Mubai smiled, "This is a person with deep feelings. After having a deep understanding of feelings, Shuang'er, feelings are selfish. If you love someone, you want to have him and be with him. It's normal for two people to be happy and stay together for life, but the world is not as good as it should be. It's a common occurrence that lovers don't get married. The world is so helpless, what can one do? So, isn't it a sublimation of feelings to sincerely wish the other person a better life? "
"I don't understand this. I only know that if you love someone, you must stay with him no matter what. No matter how difficult, difficult or dangerous it is, it doesn't matter!" Shuang'er said stubbornly.
Qin Mubai smiled and said: "This is your pure persistence, which is worthy of appreciation and admiration. However, it doesn't matter if you can sit quietly in a corner and appreciate his wonderfulness with a smile, or be willing to fall into reincarnation and give him a corner of peace. Isn’t it a state that can only be achieved by loving like crazy?”
"It's very tragic and great, isn't it?" Shuang'er sniffed slightly and choked in a low voice, "Brother, what did I do wrong? I didn't think about anything, I just wanted to be with him. I I don’t have to be Princess Wu or even a child. I just want to be with him quietly. Isn’t he in Goguryeo, very dangerous and miserable? I don’t want to hear him say that! If I say anything about breaking up, I would rather he tell me, come with me to Goguryeo, we will live and die together!"
"Silly girl. If Li Ke takes you to Goguryeo, then he is not Li Ke." Qin Mubai sighed softly and said, "Just like Yao'er, the moment he turned over on the carriage to block my arrow... She She said she was so happy that she could finally do something useful for me and die for me... "
"Brother..." Shuang'er's tears fell down and she choked, "If it were me, I would be willing to block the arrow for you and Li Ke. I'm worried now that Li Ke is far away alone. Goguryeo, where the Three Kingdoms are constantly fighting, is extremely dangerous. If anything happens to him, I..."
Qin Mubai held Shuang'er's face with both hands, pressed his forehead against hers, and whispered softly: "Don't think blindly. Li Ke is not a loser. If Goguryeo could kill him, he wouldn't be alive today!" "
"I mean, what if...?" Shuang'er sobbed, "You don't know how worried I am about him. Although he said such heartless words to me, I still can't help but think about him and worry about him. !”
"If he really can't come back, then you..." Qin Mubai raised the corners of his mouth slightly and said softly, "Marry a good man, live your life how you want, and live it happily. In this life, he will be very happy. Then, you can put him in the softest and most holy place in your heart and worship him forever."
"Like... you did that to Yao'er?" Shuang'er said with tears streaming down her face.
Qin Mubai's heart ached slightly, tingling.
"Silly girl, it's very late, go to bed! Tomorrow, accompany me to the palace to find Princess Gaoyang!"
"Um… "
The next morning, Qin Mubai had just woken up. Suddenly, the servant of the front palace came to report that the King of Jin was visiting!
Qin Mubai was quite surprised: It's strange, King Jin of the Supervisor Kingdom, why did he suddenly come to visit me? At this time, shouldn't he be sitting in the Dragon Court and attending court in the prison country
So I straightened my clothes and went to the front hall to meet Li Zhi.
When they arrived at the front hall, Qin Mubai saw a young man named Li Zhi from a distance, wearing a yellow robe and walking around anxiously with his hands cut off his back. He looked like an adult in that situation.
"The humble minister Qin Mubai came to visit Jin..."
"Teacher, save me!!!" Before Qin Mubai finished his salute, Li Zhi knelt down on his knees and shouted loudly.
This shocked Qin Mubai, and he hurriedly pulled him up: "Your Highness, King Jin, what are you doing? How can a king kneel before a minister?"
"Once a teacher, he is always a father. Why shouldn't a student worship his teacher?" Li Zhi said with a bitter face, "Teacher, please stop talking about these complicated etiquettes. Please save me!"
"Save you? Where do you start talking about this!" Qin Mubai was even more surprised. He hurriedly invited Li Zhi into the quiet room and asked him, "Tell me, what happened?"
"Hey! I just can't figure it out. Why does my uncle insist on pushing me to the throne and supervising the country?" Li Zhi raised his eyebrows and hummed with a sad face, "I grew up in a deep palace, and I have no idea about the affairs of the court. I don’t know anything. Besides, I’m only fourteen years old. How can I oversee the country? I get a headache when I see those memorials. When I hear those ministers kneeling on the ground with their buttocks in the air and calling the King of Jin a thousand years old, I His eyes turned dark. Isn't this difficult for me? "
"Is that the reason?" Qin Mubai couldn't help but laugh, "After a while, when you get used to it, it will be fine. Maybe then, you will still be reluctant to get off the dragon chair!"
"Impossible!" Qin Mubai's joke made Li Zhi turn pale with fright. He immediately stood up and swore and complained, "I, Li Zhi, swear to God that I will never be greedy for the throne. Otherwise, I will be struck by five thunderbolts from the sky and I will not die!"
"Okay, okay, okay, please don't be so nervous. Can you be more successful?" Qin Mubai pulled him down and said, dumbfounded, "Shouldn't you have a good discussion with your uncle about this kind of thing? How to run away?" Come to me?"
"Hey! My uncle, I don't know what he was thinking. He knew clearly that I was not the material to supervise the country, so he had to drag me up." Li Zhi said in frustration, "The first time I went to court that day, I wanted to The position of supervising the state was given to the prince brother. The result was good. Not only did he fail to give up the position, but he also pulled the prince brother out of Chang'an. I really didn't expect this. Now, I don't know how many people there are. Accusing me of being hypocritical, trying to harm my own brother, and pretending to give up my position to him... I am really crying! This is really not my intention."
"I know you and I believe you. You don't have to explain to me." Qin Mubai smiled and said, "Others don't know that you are kindhearted, filial and honest. Don't I know that? I really can't blame you for this matter. The current situation In this way, there is nothing anyone can do.”
Li Zhi became more and more frustrated. He clenched his fist and smashed it on the table. He said bitterly: "Yes! I didn't know how much I wanted to save my elder brother at that time! Even if he is not allowed to supervise the country, there is no reason to accuse him of treason." He was kicked out of the East Palace and demoted to a commoner for this crime, right? I don’t know how sad my father is and how much he hates me! I’m afraid our brothers will never be able to meet again! —That’s my compatriot. Dear brother! How could I do such a thing, drive him out of the East Palace, and sit on the dragon throne to supervise the country? Don’t all the people in this world have to call me Li Zhi, a wolf-hearted person? "
"No." Qin Mubai persuaded, "Anyone with a little bit of brains will know that it was not your original intention. It is indeed a fact that the prince wants to rebel, and it has nothing to do with you; supervisory director, this is not the case either. If you want it, your uncle has to force it on you."
"He forced it on me, so I have to take it?" Li Zhi curled his lips and said sourly, "How can it make sense? People give me things, and I still have to take them! Don't tell me, I really don't Rare! I just like to read and play with Si Zi, so happy and free!"
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[Update next chapter, 0:30 minutes]