Rule the Roost in the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 2: Curtain

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The birth of the fifth prince Li Hong still brought a sense of joy to the entire palace. The ministers in the court no longer had any objections to the matter between Li Zhi and Wu Mei. Naturally, they felt Li Zhi's joy at this time. Congratulations could be heard in the court, which made Li Zhi naturally It's Longyan Dayue.

Wu Mei, who had not given birth to a son for Taizong at first, gave birth to a prince for Li Zhi one year after being taken into the palace by Li Zhi, which also made the courtiers aware of Wu Mei's vague presence in the harem.

Li Zhi originally wanted to tell the world, celebrate with the people, and grant amnesty to all the people in the world, so as to express his joy at winning Long Zi.

However, Wu Mei, who had only entered the palace for a year, firmly opposed it. She knew that her affair with Li Zhi had been lost to everyone in the court. But after all, time is short, and celebrating the event may only lead to slander and too much speculation from interested people.

What's more, Wu Mei is still not established in the harem now. Whether it is Queen Wang who has never given birth to an heir for Li Zhi, Concubine Xiao Shu, or other concubines, they are all better than her, the second-grade Zhaoyi who just entered the palace. The roots are deep.

Moreover, she, the second-rank Zhaoyi, was promoted to the rank of Li Zhi two days ago after giving birth to Li Hong. This also made Wu Mei warn herself in her heart that she had to be careful in her daily life. Too much favor would only bring disaster to herself.

Therefore, because of Wu Mei's efforts to keep a low profile, after the fifth prince Li Hong received some awards from his father, the palace did not become particularly lively and joyful because of the addition of him as a prince.

Li Hong leaned in the palace maid's arms, and put his little hands into his mouth to lick and bite from time to time. Although he didn't want to do such actions all the time, his thoughts were obviously not synchronized with the baby's body, so he could only ask the palace maid over and over again. Take his little hands out of his mouth.

The maid looked worriedly at the fifth prince who had dull eyes. Starting from the past two days, for some reason, the fifth prince often had such dull eyes after waking up from his nap. If it weren't for the fact that he was still a baby, the palace maid would have thought that those bright little eyes were , is the look of an adult thinking.

Sometimes, she even accidentally encountered the fifth prince's eyes, which were deep, bright, and slightly mysterious, which always made her heart skip a beat.

Li Hong raised his head and looked at the maid's astonished eyes, naturally knowing what was going on. I thought to myself: "Oh no, I can't just be in a daze and think all the time. I have to show the ignorance and innocence that a baby should have."

So Li Hong put his little hand in his mouth and laughed happily at the palace maid. Seeing that Li Hong had returned to normal, the palace maid immediately showed an expression of relief. The fifth prince was very cute most of the time, which made her feel happy from the bottom of her heart.

Li Hong had been born for more than a hundred days, and everyone in the harem had already seen him. On the hundredth day, the Queen, Queen Xiao, Concubine Xiao Shu and other concubines all came to see him. They sat down and exchanged a few words with their mother and concubines. , they all returned to their homes.

His own mother-in-law also came to thank her one by one, especially in front of the queen and Xiao Shufei. Her mother-in-law Wu Mei showed full sincerity and humility, she looked like a little daughter-in-law, and was different from the domineering one recorded in later history books. The queens of one generation are completely different from each other.

Li Hong also has four royal brothers and two royal sisters. Naturally, the prince Li Zhong is the eldest among them, and they all followed their mother to see Li Hong.

Li Hong's little eyes kept wandering between Queen Wang and the prince Li Zhong. Li Zhong was born to the palace maid Liu. His biological mother came from a humble background and was adopted by Queen Wang. He managed to become the prince for several years, but he was weak by nature. Even worse than when Li Zhi was a child, he was actually panicked by Li Hong's little eyes.

Li Hong's thoughts were flying wildly, and he couldn't help but sigh when he thought of Li Zhong's fate, but in the eyes of the palace maid, why did the fifth prince feel sleepy again just after waking up, and he was yawning so much, could it be because he didn't sleep

Everything in the harem remained calm. To Li Hong, things outside the palace were simply things in another world. However, he could occasionally tell from the conversations between his father and his mother that it had only been three or five years since Taizong's death. There is already an undercurrent surging in the court, and some people are even thinking of seeking power and usurping the throne.

Sure enough, just when Li Hong was staggering around, his father Li Zhi ordered the execution of Fang Yiai, Xue Wanche, Chai Lingwu and others. These people were all the original consorts of the Li family, so naturally Li Zhi had to be dealt with. His sisters, including his uncle Li Yuanjing and his elder brother Li Ke, ordered him to commit suicide.

Of course, these things have nothing to do with Li Hong. What is most relevant is that the queen mother is pregnant again. Li Hong calculated with his fingers that this is the rhythm of one child a year. He will have three younger brothers and a younger sister later.

All of his father's future children will be his biological brothers and sisters. Apart from the children he had with his mother and concubines, Li Zhi never had any children with other concubines in the harem.

In the harem, the mother concubine Wu Mei has gradually become the backbone of the harem. Although they will discuss every detail with the queen and Xiao Shufei, the two of them have obviously put down all their wariness towards the mother concubine and treat them like sisters. Naturally, Wu Zhaoyi finally had a place in the harem.

The more the harem behaves like this, the more afraid Li Hong becomes. History books record that he can live to be twenty-three years old, but who knows whether history will be rewritten? I can live nine reincarnations and ten lives, so it is not difficult for the fifth prince Li Hong to die young, right? This is the harem, the place where Sun Tzu's art of war was best practiced in China's five thousand years of history.

But fortunately, the mother-in-law still relies on herself. As the eldest son, she is very important to the mother-in-law. At least if she wants to occupy a place in the harem, then she has to rely on herself as the eldest son, right

But if she were a girl, I'm afraid her position in Wu Mei's heart wouldn't be so valued.

Li Hong and Wu Mei had the same idea on this point, so the one-year-old Li Hong got his own maid and eunuch earlier than the other three royal brothers. The two maids were gentle, virtuous, smart and sensible. The most important thing is that she is still young but she is already a beautiful woman, so she is naturally comfortable and comfortable serving him.

The two eunuchs were obviously selected from Li Zhi. At first glance, they looked like masters of martial arts. They were always following the two palace maids to protect Li Hong. This also made Li Hong, who had delusional persecution, I no longer worry about being drowned in a bucket of urine if I am alone in the palace.

Such an arrangement naturally made Li Hong feel great in his heart, and he also greatly appreciated his father. Whenever his father came to see him and his mother, Li Hong would fawn over and run over to ask for a hug, which could be regarded as repaying his father's kindness. His own care, this action naturally made Li Zhilong happy, and he hugged him and laughed heartily.

In front of his father and mother, Li Hong completely hid his thoughts in front of the palace maids. In the eyes of these two people, Li Hong was just a complete baby.

This also made Li Zhi touch his little head and tease him every time he saw Li Hong: "Do you want your mother-in-law to give birth to a younger brother or younger sister for you?"

Every time Li Hong heard this, he would stagger to his mother and concubine, put his little feet up and stretch out his little hands to caress his mother's big belly, which was about to give birth, and then look at Li Zhi and giggle.

Just like a repertoire, every time Li Hong did this, Li Zhi would laugh dotingly, and then the two of them would giggle at each other.

Li Hong welcomed his first sister Li Si, but Li Hong couldn't be happy at all. In his impression, she should be a younger brother. He only has one sister, Princess Taiping, who was the last child of his mother-in-law. Why did he come out now? A sister? Is it ahead of schedule

Li Hong, who no longer staggered when walking, sat down on the steps of the harem, his calves hanging down, followed by two palace maids and eunuchs.

The four of them have long been familiar with this little adult's temperament. Although in front of His Majesty and Zhaoyi, the fifth prince's behavior is no different from that of a child over one and two years old, when the fifth prince is alone, he will behave from time to time. It will reveal the maturity and behavior that an adult should have.

Li Hong looked into the distance and saw Queen Wang, accompanied by the palace maids and eunuchs, walking towards the palace of her mother-in-law. She must have gone to see her sister Li Si.

Li Hong looked at Queen Wang and his entourage, feeling unspeakable irritation in his heart. But he couldn't tell anyone about his irritation at the moment, and he couldn't speak clearly either. Who said he was less than two years old!

The twitching in the corners of his eyes became more and more intense, which made Li Hong feel a deep sense of powerlessness. He didn't know what was going on, but he always felt that something big was about to happen.

He stood up and looked into the distance, sighed, and stretched out his hand to signal a eunuch named Hua Meng to come over. Then he stretched out his hand and asked someone to pick him up. He stretched out his little hand and turned around to point at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda that was about to be built in Chang'an City.

Hua Meng understood immediately and turned Li Hong in his arms so that the Fifth Prince could see clearly the Big Wild Goose Pagoda that was about to be completed.

Li Hong stared blankly at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. At this moment, he felt that the irritability in his heart was a little better, but the beating in the corners of his eyes was getting faster and faster.

I don't know how much time passed. Hua Meng's arms were numb, but he didn't dare to put the fifth prince down. Hua Meng could feel that the fifth prince seemed to be very upset, so he continued to hold him without saying a word. Li Hong.

"Your Highness, the fifth prince, your Majesty invites you." A palace maid ran over in a panic, with a look of horror on her face and said with her head lowered.

"What's all the fuss about?" This is what the palace maid Xia Zhi asked.

"I don't know, your majesty. Your Majesty asked your servant to quickly invite the fifth prince to go to Zhaoyi's palace." The palace maid lowered her head, her body trembling.

Li Hong motioned to Hua Meng to put him down without saying a word, walked up to the palace maid like a little adult, and looked up at the frightened and trembling palace maid.

"Go to the concubine's palace quickly." Li Hong had already guessed what happened to Wu Mei in his mind. No wonder Wu Mei would expose herself. It turns out that she has already started her conspiracy to frame the Queen.

(End of chapter)