When Qin Mubai returned home, it was noon and dinner was about to be served at home. When I walked in, I saw that the house was very lively, with many people coming.
Wu Meiniang and Princess Gaoyang are here, chatting with Qin's mother and Shuang'er in the house. Now, Wu Meiniang is often inseparable from Princess Gaoyang. In the words of Princess Gaoyang, "We are sisters who share beds" - compared to "sharing tables" when men drink and have banquets, she came up with a new term for sharing beds. Even Qin Mubai had to praise her for being so clever. talent.
In addition to these two daughters-in-law of the Qin family, Jiangxia King Li Daozong came, and there was also a guest who rarely came to the house, Su Dingfang.
The two men were wandering around on the polo field in the backyard, chatting about martial arts and military affairs, waiting for Qin Mubai to come home. Depending on the situation, there are some things.
Qin Mubai took a photo with Princess Gaoyang and others in the front hall, and then went to the polo field in the backyard. Li Daozong and Su Dingfang had a lively chat. When they saw Qin Mubai coming, they laughed from a distance.
"You two, why are you so happy and laughing?" Qin Mubai came over and asked.
"Of course there is something ridiculous, that's why I laughed like this." Li Daozong raised the corner of his mouth and said with some fun, "My daughter is going to be thrown to the border like bait. Whether the Tubo people want it or not, it's up to them. Isn’t it funny to treat her as if she’s just another person?”
Qin Mubai cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, don't think too much. Since His Majesty has appointed you as the betrothal envoy, he may have considered that you will be unhappy."
"What did you say?" Li Daozong said in astonishment, "His Majesty appointed me to be the betrothal envoy? Why didn't I know?"
"Oh?" Qin Mubai was startled, "Didn't anyone tell you yet?"
Li Daozong shook his head, looked at Qin Mubai thoughtfully, and said, "You were not at home last morning. Did you go to see the driver?"
"Yeah." Qin Mubai nodded and admitted.
Li Daozong frowned slightly and said, "Then what else did your Majesty say?"
"Nothing, other than that, he just talked to me about some personal matters." Qin Mubai said, "He appointed you as the envoy and gave you the initiative in the marriage. From this point of view, the emperor also took it into consideration It's about your face. In addition, more importantly, I feel that the emperor is not very enthusiastic about the marriage. Otherwise, he could just ask Changsun Wuji to appoint an official from Honglu Temple to go there, but he would have to go to war. Princess Wencheng's biological father is going to be the marriage envoy? He clearly knows that you are against the marriage."
"Yes, there is an article in it." Li Daozong frowned in thought and said, "It can be seen that His Majesty the Emperor was forced to adopt a compromise plan due to the pressure of public opinion in the court. At this time, he specially admired The purpose of appointing me as the marriage envoy is to allow our main war faction to take more initiative in dealing with Tibet. No matter how powerful Changsun Wuji is in the court, he will not be able to dominate us generals outside. The decision-making power of peace and marriage lies more in our hands, of course, as long as we don't go too far and embarrass the emperor. "
"There's one more thing. It turns out that my father has already launched an army." Qin Mubai sighed and said, "Earlier, when the prince and Li Maogong were discussing matters, they mentioned that the old man has a fiery temperament. If he is angry, It would be a great disservice to us to raise an army to resist. Unexpectedly, this happened anyway. It seems that my letter was either late or had no effect at all. "
"Oh??" Li Daozong and Su Dingfang both looked at each other in surprise and asked, "What did His Majesty the Emperor say?"
"The emperor naturally knew that if such news was brought to the court, especially when the two factions were at odds with each other, it would definitely cause a drastic change. So, he suppressed the news vigorously, and Company Commander Sun Wuji doesn't even know." Qin Mubai said, "Here, I have to mention the character Chu Suiliang. On the surface, he and Changsun Wuji are both the Zuofu and Youbi of the Prince Jin. He and Changsun Wuji are really not of the same mind. He is just the emperor's confidant. Other than that, he may not be the one who secretly withheld the military report and presented it to the emperor during the vote at the Hongwen Hall. He also took a resolutely neutral stance."
"Hmm..." Li Daozong nodded and said, "Changsun Wuji is too strong. In his eyes, everyone who stands on the same side as him must be subordinate to him and cannot be treated as equals. Look at his attitude towards Fang Xuanling, Chu Suiliang and others, it seems that he is their leader. Who among the officials in the court, especially the great Confucians like Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng, are not somewhat proud and bloody? Changsun Wuji often puts up such a high profile in front of them, and it is reasonable to vaguely offend them. This time, Fang Xuanling unexpectedly joined our main battle group. It must be said that Wei Zheng changed his stance for the first time in his life. All have a great relationship with Changsun Wuji’s character.”
"Maybe!" Qin Mubai smiled and said, "In terms of talent and virtue, Changsun Wuji is not better than Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng, but in terms of qualifications and background, this is Changsun Wuji's biggest advantage. Of course, what he relies on most is the emperor's trust in him. People's desires are always expanding. In the one or two years after the death of Queen Changsun, Changsun Wuji said that his relatives should not be involved in politics otherwise the family would suffer. In the past two years, the emperor and Changsun Wuji seemed to have forgotten the last words of Queen Changsun, so Changsun Wuji finally made a comeback and gained important positions, and gradually became the leader of the palace. Officials. Hey, this time we can see it! Changsun Wuji waved his arms, and more than 80% of the court officials above the third rank were silent. Even the King of Wei would not dare to make a mistake. If you fight him in Chang'an, you will be dead. As soon as possible, go to the border and look for trouble with the Tubo people! In that place, you still have the final say in life and death. Even if you die in battle, you will have to die in a grand manner, which is far better than staying in court. The man in the hall died of violence from his own people’s cold guns and secret arrows.”
"Well said." Li Daozong nodded with a smile, raised his finger to Su Dingfang and said, "Then you should know what your senior brother is here to do?"
Qin Mubai looked at Su Dingfang, smiled and said, "Does senior brother also want to go to Lanzhou?"
"You guessed it." Su Dingfang raised his hand and smiled, and said, "Su has been among the prison guards for several years. Sooner or later, he will be a useless guard dog. This time Mu Bai returns to Lanzhou to build up a military, and he must use the right people. On this occasion, Su is not talented and is willing to do his best for Mu Bai!"
"Senior brother, what you said is serious!" Qin Mubai said in surprise, "When it comes to using troops, I am definitely far behind you. With the help of senior brother, Lanzhou is really more powerful than a tiger! - I just don't know whether my mentor agrees or not?"
"I didn't ask." Su Dingfang said with a smile, "My mentor doesn't care about the affairs of the DPRK now, and he is even less willing to interfere when I go to Lanzhou. Rather than doing this, it is better not to embarrass his old man. When the matter is settled, I will talk to him Just say it.”
Li Daozong smiled and said: "This is interesting. One of Wei Guogong's three students is staying in Lanzhou. Hou Junji, Su Dingfang, Qin Mubai, what will it be like if you three join forces to fight? Wang is really curious, haha!”
Qin Mubai also smiled and said: "Although Hou Junji is our senior brother, we rarely have contact with each other. This time he suffered a terrible disaster and was demoted to Liangzhou, so he must be full of anger. I returned to Lanzhou this time, You have to persuade him to help him. Besides, I, Qin Mubai, definitely support the decision to go to Lanzhou, but whether it can be done or not depends on the Ministry of War!"
"Just kidding, the Minister of War is Li Ji. If he dares to disagree with me, he will demolish his ruined house! The person in charge of Lanzhou's deployment of troops and generals this time is Fang Xuanling. He is much easier to talk to than Changsun Wuji. As long as he does not violate the rule of law "Tang Gangji, that's basically no problem." Li Daozong laughed and said, "Su Dingfang must go to Lanzhou. In this way, Lanzhou has you, the Qin family and his son, me, Hou Junji, Su Dingfang, brothers Xue Wanche and Qibi Heli." , plus your two Tiger Division generals Xue Rengui and Yuwen Hongtai, that place is an important stronghold of our military. Mu Bai, after all this time, everyone still regards you as the core! Keep up the good work and lead our group of people to achieve great achievements!"
The three of them laughed so happily!
Qin Mubai said: "Changsun Wuji refused to go to war with Tubo, and he also wanted to let us lead the troops. We who lead the troops have the confidence to have military power in our hands. Who is afraid of Changsun Wuji?" Taboo? Besides, if he gains military honors and gains a foothold in the court, it will also pose a great threat to his status. It is conceivable that Changsun Wuji feels very worried now. Kushui had nowhere to complain and could only watch us go to Lanzhou in a big way. "
"However, after all, the roots of the army and generals are still in the court. Unless it is absolutely necessary, we should not have an open conflict with Changsun Wuji." Li Daozong said, "Insulting him in public like Yuchi Jingde did , except for a good talk, there was no good result. I heard that after the meeting yesterday, the emperor called Yuchi Jingde and scolded him severely. Then late last night, Yuchi Jingde opened the gate of Chang'an and ran back to his house in despair. Yuchi Jingde has a fiery nature and has always been at odds with Changsun Wuji. This time the feud between the two is really big. A reckless man who wants to play tricks on his mind, who is Changsun Wuji's opponent?"
"Yes! Let us all learn from this! Just don't provoke Changsun Wuji if you have nothing to do." Qin Mubai said, "If nothing else, if he makes a fuss for us in terms of food, salary and military resources, Wearing small shoes is enough for us. Speaking of which, if I return to Lanzhou this time, I don’t know how much money and food the court will allocate to me. Or will I go back to Lanzhou alone and rely on Lanzhou’s own troops and horses to rely on myself? "
"I don't know." Li Daozong shook his head and said, "This account is all in the mind of Fang Xuanling, who is in charge of military affairs and responsible for dispatching troops and generals to Lanzhou. If you want to ask, you can ask him."
Qin Mubai was startled for a moment, smiled bitterly, and said: "It seems that I have to visit Fang Xuanling both in public and private matters... I just don't know if I will be able to do anything if I enter his house." Was he torn apart by the claws of the famous tigress in his family?"
Li Daozong laughed happily and said: "No one knows this, just ask for blessings! Fang Xuanling is a sensible and open-minded person, as is known to the world; but he has a jealous and vicious wife, who is also known to the world. Famous! A great prime minister like Fang Xuanling is actually henpecked, hehe... Qin Mubai, you smashed Fang Yiai into pieces with just three or two punches. If you still dare to visit Fang's house, I, Li Daozong, will be the first to admire you! "
Su Dingfang smiled and said: "Mu Bai, if a man dares to act like a real man, he will beat or kill him. If Mrs. Fang wants to do this to you but doesn't stop Fang Xuanling, then she will admit it. But according to my estimation, Fang Although Xuan Ling is henpecked, he will never allow his wife to mess around when it comes to big things. Just go with it, nothing will happen."
"Okay, then I'll bite the bullet and go for a trip!" Qin Mubai gritted his teeth and said, "Besides, whether senior brother can go to Lanzhou with a certain person, that still requires Fang Xuanling's nod!"
At noon, Qin Mubai left Li Daozong and Su Dingfang at home to have lunch together. After dinner, Qin Mubai casually mentioned that he was going to Fang Xuanling's house. The whole family was shocked and hurriedly said that Fang and Qin's families had a murderous feud, so how could they interact with each other? Qin Mubai insisted on going, but his mother, sister and others could not persuade him to come down.
In the end, Princess Gaoyang made a tragic decision and said that she must accompany Qin Mubai to Fang's house!
The people present were even more frightened! Who doesn’t know that Princess Gaoyang was previously engaged to Fang Yiai, which was also the initial poisonous trigger for the feud between the two families. If Princess Gaoyang wanted to follow her, wouldn’t it add to the chaos
But Wu Meiniang smiled and persuaded Qin's mother and Shuang'er: "To untie the bell, you need to tie the bell. Mu Bai is an official in the court, and Fang Xuanling is the central minister. How can we not keep in touch with each other? If this feud is allowed to remain dormant forever If it keeps brewing there, the hatred will become worse in the long run. It is better to take the initiative to resolve this feud. If it can be resolved, of course it is best; even if it cannot be resolved, the situation will not be much worse than it is now. The family also dare not touch Mu Bai and the princess."
Hearing what Wu Meiniang said was reasonable, Qin's mother, Shuang'er and others reluctantly stopped stopping her.
Princess Gao Yang's eyes rolled, she pulled Wu Meiniang with a smile and said: "Meiniang, you are so resourceful and can talk, come with us!"
"What am I going to do?" Wu Meiniang asked blankly.
Qin Mubai smiled and said: "There is an extremely jealous and fierce woman in the Fang family, who is Fang Xuanling's wife and Fang Yiai's mother. If it weren't for a character like you, she would definitely not be able to control her, and sooner or later she would ruin my life." . Mei Niang, come along and help me!”
"Okay, I'll rest assured if the three of you go together!" Qin's mother said quickly.
Wu Meiniang shook her head helplessly, smiled, and said: "Since Auntie has given the order, Meiniang should obey it."
Li Daozong and Su Dingfang stood aside to watch the fun and said with a smile: "Look at this family, even the women are wise, intelligent, courageous and resourceful. Tsk tsk, the Qin family is not prosperous, it is not allowed by heaven!"
"The prince rarely flatters you, so Qin had to laugh a few times with joy, haha!" Qin Mubai laughed in a very triumphant way, and thought to himself: It is said that behind every successful man there must be a good one. Women support him—I have a group of people behind me, can it not succeed
"Get ready, let's go to Fang's house!"
"Wait a minute! Send servants to the door of Fang's house to keep an eye on her. We can't go until Fang Xuanling returns home." Wu Meiniang said, "Otherwise, if only his wife is at home, aren't we just like moths flying into the flames?"
"Meiniang is still careful! Okay, it's up to you!"
Fang Xuanling, who had been recovering from illness in the emperor's palace for a while, moved out of the palace and lived in his own house after appearing in Hongwen Hall that day. Although the emperor still urged him to stay in the palace and be treated by the imperial doctors, he refused.
At this time, the memorial table of Fang Yi's family was still placed in the main hall of the Fang family, and the funeral table of the deceased family owner had not yet been removed. The mother-in-law, Mrs. Lu, cries in front of the hall every day, enacting the tragedy of a white-haired person giving away a black-haired person. After Fang Xuanling returned home, she refused to ask her to open the case. Since Fang Xuanling was helpless and felt some unspeakable anger and sorrow, she let her do it.
Qin Mubai, Princess Gaoyang, and Wu Meiniang came in a car. They were driving the consort and the princess, which looked very formal and grand. The door of the Fang family's house was closed tightly, and the sounds of sorrow, joy and crying came from inside. Qin Mubai's heart trembled when he heard it.
"Why don't we come back another day?" Princess Gaoyang said with some anxiety, "They are holding a funeral. I guess Fang Yiai hasn't been buried yet... My God, I really don't know how they collected Fang Yiai's body. His head has been beaten into pieces by Mu Bai... "
"Okay, stop talking." Qin Mubai waved his hand and said, "Fang Yiai has passed away many days ago and was buried long ago. I know this. It is estimated that the memorial tablet has not been dismantled, and the water and land dojo at home has not stopped. Pass. My time is limited and I can’t wait any longer. Even if I stretch my neck and shrink my neck, it’s already here. There’s no reason to look back—I’ll call the door!”
Princess Gao Yang and Wu Meiniang got out of the car and followed Qin Mubai. The three of them arrived at the door, and Qin Mubai clapped the animal head ring on the door.
After a long time, someone came to open the door. A middle-aged male servant opened the door and looked at the three men and women in luxurious clothes. He asked in surprise: "Where did the three of you come from? Are you looking for my master?" What's the matter?"
Qin Mubai bowed his hand to the servant very politely, which made him a little flattered, and said to him: "Excuse me, please tell Mr. Fang that Prince Consort Qin Mubai, His Royal Highness Princess Gaoyang and his wife have made a special trip to visit."
"Ah!!!" The servant was suddenly frightened and couldn't help shouting. He forgot about the etiquette and pointed at Qin Mubai and said tremblingly, "You said... you are Qin Mubai and Princess Gaoyang?"
"Exactly." Qin Mubai said calmly, "Please inform me."
"Wait!"
With a "bang" sound, the servant closed the door as if he had seen a ghost, and ran towards the back room quickly. Standing outside the door, I could hear him yelling all the way - "Master, madam, big event, big event! Qin Mubai and Princess Gaoyang are here!"
Qin Mubai and Wu Meiniang shook their heads in confusion, while Princess Gao Yang stamped her feet angrily: "That's unreasonable! They regard us as ferocious beasts. This servant really doesn't deserve to die, but he is so rude!"
"Forget it. When people hear our names, they get confused and forget everything. After all, they are servants, so don't pick on him." Qin Mubai said, "But this also illustrates a problem. At the moment, Fang Fang The whole family may have a lot of resentment towards us. It’s nothing like this.”
"It doesn't matter." Wu Meiniang said with a calm smile, "Killing people is just a nod. Since we have taken the initiative to resolve the grudges in front of the door and not hit the smiling person, if there is a sensible person in the Fang family, they will not embarrass us, at least Not today. What's more, Fang Xuanling is a gentleman and generous, he is the head of the family, and nothing will happen. "
After hearing what he said, Qin Mubai couldn't help but smile and said, "Mei Niang, you are not in the court, but you know the people in the court better than I do. It is a pity that you don't join the court as an official."
Wu Meiniang smiled sweetly and said with some pride: "You are right. I remember my mother once told me that when I was young, a famous fortune teller Yuan Tiangang showed me my fortune-telling and said If I were born as a man, I would be an emperor. If I were an official, nothing would happen to you men! Maybe... I could still be a queen!"