Since His Majesty's expedition, during the three court meetings in Luoyang, Li Hong would go to Zhenguan Hall to meet Wu Mei every time, but Wu Mei did not even ask about the political affairs of the court.
However, in the past few days, he had summoned a Luoyang gardener every day and went to Luoyang Palace two or three times a day. Li Hong was a little confused as to how a small gardener could attract Long Ma's attention so much.
Sitting in the Zhenguan Hall teasing Li Dan and Li Lingyue, the little fat Li Dan has been very successful in losing weight recently. He has lost a lot of weight. He looks more clever and less honest as he was bullied by Li Lingyue, but his experience It's still the same, being bullied by Li Lingyue.
"My servant has met His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness the Princess. Please report to Your Highness the Princess that the gardener Song Danfu has arrived in the back garden and is introducing to the Queen the peonies that have been replanted from Chang'an and asked if you would like to come over. ." The palace maid said obediently.
"Peony?" Li Hong was stunned for a moment. Luoyang peony was indeed the best in the world, but at this time, peony was still popular in Chang'an.
At least since the Tang Dynasty, peonies have always been popular in Chang'an. Although the soil quality in Chang'an is more suitable for peonies than that in Luoyang, when people today talk about peonies, they will naturally talk about peonies in Chang'an.
"Yeah... come on, come on, let's go see the peonies." Li Lingyue jumped down from the chair excitedly, took Li Hong's big hand, and waved to Li Dan, who was standing aside, and was about to go over.
"Brother Imperial, I'm not going." Li Dan spoke in a flash, not looking into Li Hong's eyes.
"What do you want to do? There is no food in Zhenguan Palace. After knowing that you came, I ordered the palace maids to hide the food. If you want to eat, go to the East Palace and ask Xia Zhi to take you there." Li Hong said to the foodie Li Dan But I know him well, and looking at the little guy's appearance, I know that he was ordered to lose weight by Mother Long during lunch, and now he is probably hungry again.
When Li Dan, who was just ten years old, heard that there was food in the East Palace, his eyes immediately lit up. But when he looked at Li Lingyue, who had a wrinkled nose, he flinched a little. He was deeply afraid that Li Lingyue would go to his mother to complain again. It's troublesome if you don't have anything to eat all night.
"Don't worry, Li Lingyue won't tell." Li Hong motioned to Xia Zhi to take Li Dan away. He, Li Lingyue, and Bai Chun went to the back garden to see why the queen wanted to cultivate peonies in Luoyang.
According to myths and legends, the queen mother drove the peonies from Chang'an to Luoyang in a fit of rage. According to legend, when Wu Mei was admiring the snow scene in winter, she saw a flame-like firework in the snow, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a single flower. Blooming red plums.
When Wu Mei saw the red plum blossoms in full bloom, she couldn't help but sigh, but the person accompanying her to enjoy the snow flattered her and said: "No matter how beautiful the plum blossoms are, only one blooms alone. If you decreed that the garden should be filled with hundreds of flowers, wouldn't it? Better looking.”
Since there are flattering people around, there are honest people who say: "It is the right time to beautify and bloom in the cold winter. If you want a hundred flowers to bloom, it is better to wait until the next spring."
With the help of drunken Wu Mei: "It's not surprising that flowers bloom in spring. Hundreds of flowers blooming against the snow only suit my wishes."
So he immediately issued an order and wrote a poem: "I will visit Shangyuan in the Ming Dynasty to announce the spring as soon as possible. The flowers will bloom all night long, don't wait for the morning wind to blow." Then he ordered people to burn them to report to the flower god.
On the morning of the second day, all the flowers in Shangyuan were blooming, but the peonies were not blooming. So Wu Mei was so angry that she set fire to the peonies in Chang'an, leaving not a single peony.
In the end, his anger still lingered, and he once again ordered Peony to be uprooted, expelled from Chang'an, and thrown into Mang Mountain in Luoyang, so that it could never be extinct.
Although Li Hong didn't know where such myths and legends came from, he could imagine that when Wu Mei ascended the throne as emperor, the evaluation of her in the history books would never describe her as a gentle and intellectual woman.
But even so, Li Hong also knew that he might never understand why his mother would erect a wordless monument after her death and let the world comment on her.
Is it because she is so arrogant that she feels that her achievements are so great that any comments about her are insignificant and no one is qualified to judge her? Wu Mei had already seen through people's hearts. Instead of erecting a monument and setting up a legend, it would be better to proudly erect a wordless monument and leave a thousand-year legend between heaven and earth.
Wu Mei listened to the myths and legends told by Li Hong, and while admiring the colorful peonies, she said lightly: "I see, your myths and stories made out of nothing are simply stupid. There is nothing." It's logical. The person who made up the story is not an open-minded person. Such slander is really the behavior of a villain. "
"Ah, why did the Queen Mother say that? The Queen Mother demoted the peonies to Luoyang just because they were not in full bloom. It was a natural thing, and it was in line with the Queen Mother's ruthless character." Li Hong told the myths and legends He told the story to his Dragon Mother exactly as it was, except that the person involved was changed from his Dragon Mother to the Queen Mother.
As for the place names, Chang'an and Luoyang, Li Hong didn't even bother to change them, so he simply used Chang'an and Luoyang to describe the place. After all, there was a Han city in Chang'an, too. In this way, the queen mother would not be suspicious of herself. body.
What's more, this mythical story was only fabricated after she ascended the throne as emperor. Before she ascended the throne, Peony was not expelled.
Wu Mei glanced at him with a half-smile, and continued to say lightly: "Since the Queen Mother likes to stay in Luoyang more than in Chang'an, then since when hundreds of flowers bloom, this beautiful and noble peony has not bloomed according to the decree, the Queen Mother In a fit of anger, she would banish the peonies who disobeyed her to her favorite place, Luoyang. Is this logic reasonable? If so, then no one in the world should be allowed to plant or cultivate peonies. She would just be expelled. It’s still my favorite capital city, it doesn’t make sense because of emotion and reason.”
Before Wu Mei could stop him, Li Hong quickly picked off a peony and inserted it in the center of Li Lingyue's forehead. Suddenly, the noble and elegant royal princess turned into a silly girl, with her forehead fluttering. Above, a blooming peony flower is still jumping unconsciously among the flowers, giving a vivid image of Huang Laoxie's disciple Silly Gu.
"That's for you to appreciate, who asked you to break hers!" Wu Mei pushed Li Hong, and she had to break off the beautiful peonies.
"Is the queen good-looking?" Li Lingyue cooperated with Li Hong's performance, or she wanted to take this opportunity to let the queen beat her royal brother who always liked to tease her when he had nothing to do.
"It's beautiful. Your imperial brother has a unique eye for appreciating beauties. Look at Bai Chun, don't you know?" Wu Mei said lazily, not bothering to pay attention to the silly girl's silly expression.
Gardener Song Danfu introduced all the cultivated peony varieties to Wu Mei. Wu Mei nodded her head. Li Hong also said intentionally or unintentionally that the soil in Luoyang was more suitable for the cultivation of peonies, which made Wu Mei Mei couldn't help but be moved and wanted to cultivate more peonies in Luoyang.
Li Lingyue, a brat, saw that her mother had no intention of cleaning up the little brat for her, so she began to imitate her royal brother's wretched behavior. Without Wu Mei's attention, she secretly broke off a white peony flower, He quietly held it in his hand, then followed Bai Chun closely, and in a short time, he tied the peony flower to the ends of Bai Chun's vertical buttocks.
Seeing that his trick was successful, he immediately raised his face and smiled triumphantly. His smile was pure and unclear, and Li Hong was baffled.
Wu Mei glanced helplessly at Li Lingyue, then looked at Bai Chun who was helping her tidy up the peony flowers. She stopped Bai Chun herself, helped Bai Chun untie the peony flowers from the ends of her long hair, and then Then he said to Li Lingyue: "Li Lingyue, do you know the consequences of offending Bai Chun? There will be no toys for you in the future."
When Li Lingyue heard that her mother didn't help her, but actually helped Bai Chun, she immediately frowned and snorted: "The emperor's brother bullies his son, and the son will bully his woman. It is only natural."
"Hey, hey, I've gone against you. When did I bully you? My dear, it's not too late for you." Li Hong suddenly cried out.
Li Lingyue still curled her lips, pointed to the peony flower drooping weakly above her head, rolled her little eyes and said, "Do you think I don't know it looks ugly like this?"
"It's very pretty, so cute and cute."
"You are so cute and cute." Li Lingyue pouted, she couldn't bully His Highness the Crown Prince. Now even His Highness the Crown Prince's women are protected by the Queen Mother. Hmph, the Queen Mother is partial.
Wu Mei was too lazy to pay attention to why Li Hong always liked to quarrel with Li Lingyue, and seemed to enjoy it every time. For such an old man, he just refused to grow up, and he really didn't have any manners like a prince.
"Tell me, when do you plan to return to Chang'an? I'll be ready." Wu Mei and Bai Chun placed a bright red peony among a group of white peonies and said with satisfaction at the arrangement.
"We will set off in three days. I have informed all the officials in the court today that they can return to Chang'an on their own within these three days, or they can return to Chang'an with you, my queen mother, and let them choose." Li Hong looked at Bai Chun He bent down and hurriedly waved to Li Lingyue.
Li Lingyue hurriedly pulled off another peony flower, took two quick steps with her calves, and the brother and sister once again worked together to tie a peony flower on the end of Bai Chun's hair.
Wu Mei didn't even stop her at this time. She just watched the brother and sister acting like monsters. She took the handkerchief handed over by the palace maid and wiped her hands. She sat down in the pavilion and admired the peonies all over the ground with satisfaction. Then she looked again. Looking at Song Dan's father who had brought the peonies over, he pointed at Li Hong and said, "In a short while, these peonies will increase tenfold from the original price. Just ask His Highness the Prince for the money."
"How dare you, how dare you, the queen likes these peonies, it is really a blessing for the common people, how can you ask for money?" Song Shan's father was the first person to cultivate peonies. He said no with trepidation from the first time he saw the queen. As for speaking, I can now speak fluently. I have to say that I have improved a lot.
"Then how can we do it? You still have to collect the money. Just ask His Highness the Crown Prince for it. Remember to pay it ten times." Wu Mei leisurely picked up the tea cup and drank tea. She looked at Li Lingyue's hair and wondered. When was Li Hong filled with peonies
After passing through those hateful hands, a little flower fairy turned into a silly little lady on the streets of Luoyang.
And Bai Chun obviously couldn't escape the clutches of the two brothers. Her long, bright and smooth hair was tied with peonies like knots from tip to tip.
(End of chapter)