Li Xian stood beside the five aunts to accompany him. He was definitely not a simple escort. Recently, he was completely opposite to Li Hong. He was getting closer and closer to the two imperial aunts Wencheng and Honghua, and when Wencheng was forced to return from Tubo At the beginning of his arrival in Chang'an, Li Xian also gave Wen Cheng a brilliant idea, which was to suggest that Princess Wencheng follow the example of the previous Zanpu Songtsen Gampo and ask for a royal marriage.
It would be best to let one of the two princesses Yiyang or Gao'an marry, so that the actual control of Tubo can be returned to Tubo hands.
Wen Cheng nodded with a smile. When she wanted to understand, she didn't know that Li Hong had already taken action. It was not only Li Hong, but also Wu Mei and Li Zhi. That day, Li Hong was inexplicably asked to find Concubine Xiao Shu to talk about Yiyang and Gao An. Li Hong was still confused about the marriage. It wasn't until Concubine Xiao Shu said lightly that it might be related to Princess Wencheng's return to Chang'an that Li Hong truly understood why Father Long and Mother Long were so anxious to marry Yiyang and Gao'an. intention.
In the high wall of the Nine Immortals Gate, Concubine Xiao Shu was looking at the large group of maids and eunuchs at the door in surprise. This familiar and unfamiliar scene made her sober-minded mind suddenly become throbbing.
This kind of scene happened every day when I was Xiao Shufei. The palace maids and eunuchs around me, and the wing screen behind me symbolized the ceremonial guard of my concubine Shu. Whether in the palace or following His Majesty out of the palace to offer sacrifices, it was so majestic. .
Now, I have always been accompanied by a green lantern and a palace maid. As for the ceremonial scene of the concubine Shu, it only occasionally appears in my dreams.
"The Queen has arrived." A loud voice sounded from the Nine Immortals Gate.
Concubine Xiao Shu looked at the queen's unique ceremonial guard with a complicated expression. Accompanied by the maid next to her, Concubine Xiao Shu bit her lip tightly. After a while, she gradually calmed down and put that calm smile on her face again.
"The daughter of the common people, Mrs. Xiao, has met the Queen." Concubine Xiao Shu followed the common people's etiquette and saluted Wu Mei, who was graceful and noble, and her mother respected the world.
"Get up, I haven't set foot here for many years, and I almost forgot that there is an old friend here." Wu Mei looked at the honor guard behind her with satisfaction, and accompanied by Wang Lou, slowly walked towards Concubine Xiao Shu's courtyard.
As soon as she stepped into the neat little courtyard, what caught Wu Mei's eyes was the row of blue brick houses. In front of the house was a grape trellis planted by Concubine Xiao Shu herself. The grapes, as green as soybeans, were not yet ripe at this time, but there were a bunch of them. The strings are hanging down, but they look elegant.
Under the grape trellis, there is a shady place covered by grape vines. There are two bamboo chairs in the middle, and a table between the bamboo chairs. Apart from this, there is nothing else in the entire courtyard.
Concubine Xiao Shu lowered her head and led Wu Mei into the courtyard. The palace maid immediately opened the door, and Concubine Xiao Shu whispered from the side: "Your Majesty, please."
"No, I'll just talk to you here for a while. This small courtyard is elegant and unique, not bad." Wu Mei looked around again. Except that the surrounding palace walls were a bit high, blocking some of the sight, the rest of the courtyard was not bad. Speaking of which, it can be regarded as an excellent and pure place for self-cultivation.
Concubine Xiao Shu smiled and said nothing, and took the lead to move to the bottom of the grape seedling trellis. She raised her arms in the air and asked Wu Mei to move under the grape vine trellis.
Wu Mei sighed in approval and praised again: "Not bad, not bad. It is indeed suitable for self-cultivation. Sit down."
"Thank you, Queen." Concubine Xiao Shu did not refuse and sat down on another bamboo chair.
The palace maid had already made tea and brought it over. However, she did not immediately put it on the table between the two of them. Instead, she brought it to Wang Lou, the eunuch behind the queen. She naturally understood the rules in the palace, not to mention This is the first time the Queen has come here in many years.
As a palace maid, considering the relationship between the queen and Concubine Xiao Shu in the harem many years ago, it doesn't matter whether the queen drinks the tea she made.
But what she didn't expect was that as soon as she brought the tea to the eunuch and was about to let the eunuch check it first, she heard the queen's faint voice.
"Come here, I've been walking all the way, and I'm indeed a little thirsty." Wu Mei waved with a relaxed expression, stopping Wang Lou's inspection.
"Yes... Queen." The maid saluted Wu Mei, and then carefully placed the tea on the table.
Concubine Xiao Shu picked up the teapot that was as white as jade on the table and filled the white porcelain cup that was as white as jade to Wu Mei with tea: "Please, Queen."
"All of you, please go down. No one is allowed to come in without me." Wu Mei nodded lightly to Concubine Xiao Shu, and then said to the palace maid, Wang Lou behind her, and a whole yard who followed them in, holding wings in her hands. The maids and eunuchs with screens and brocade fans said.
Concubine Xiao Shu was stunned again, what's going on? What is the purpose of the queen coming here today? Didn’t she come here to show off her majesty as a queen after His Majesty’s personal conquest
Thinking of this, I looked at Wu Mei again. She was wearing a brocade narrow-sleeved shirt, a futou on her head, and a pair of thin-soled cyan short boots. Although she was sitting on a bamboo chair, she gave people a refreshing, neat and heroic appearance. A cool feeling.
After everyone went out, the whole courtyard fell into a brief silence. After a long time, it was Xiao Shufei who finally took the lead and said: "Ms. Xiao is grateful to the Queen for coming here, but I don't know why the Queen is here today. Instruct Xiao?"
Wu Mei smiled freely, put down the tea cup in her hand, and said lightly: "That's not the case. Several royal princesses were invited to the Penglai Palace. After I finished handling the political affairs at hand in the Xuanzheng Palace, I have nothing to do. I have nothing to do. I planned to take a walk in the back garden, but I didn’t want to just walk to your place. Oh, by the way, did Yiyang and Gao An come to the palace to see you? "
"I have to thank the Queen for her magnanimity. They have been here before, and they brought these tea leaves. They said they were gifts from the Queen. Mrs. Xiao has been reluctant to drink them these days..."
"Are you reluctant to drink, or are you afraid to drink?" Wu Mei asked with a smile on her delicate and slightly heroic snow-white cheeks.
Concubine Xiao Shu shook her head and chuckled, then raised her head and said softly: "The queen is serious. Although Mrs. Xiao had grievances with the queen back then, they were just forced by the times. Now that times have changed, Mrs. Xiao is not the concubine she used to be. How can you be afraid of this? What's more, you only have kindness to Mrs. Xiao, and Mrs. Xiao is very grateful, so how can you be immersed in the rights and wrongs of the past. "
Concubine Xiao Shu, who had undergone plastic surgery, was now less stoic and more sincere and grateful towards others.
Wu Mei sighed softly, looked up at the green and unripe grapes, and said casually: "I entered the palace at the age of fourteen and was named a talented person by the late emperor, but I didn't want to meet your majesty in the end. Back then, I wanted to It’s not your suggestion. I’m afraid Your Majesty still doesn’t know when he will be able to firm up his mind and dare to bring me close to the palace.”
"Your Majesty has always been indecisive and troubled when things happen. It's thanks to you that you have been working and assisting His Majesty these years. Otherwise, there might have been so much chaos in this court. This is not Mr. Xiao's flattery of you. , but even though I have been in the palace these years, it is difficult to pretend to turn a blind eye to the royal affairs. Therefore, neither the Queen nor I would be as afraid as you. "Concubine Xiao Shu is not afraid. While she was talking, Wu Mei's phoenix eyes were staring at her intently.
Because what she is saying now is from her heart, and a large part of it was also talked about by His Majesty when he occasionally came here to take a nap. But whenever she talked about the Queen's affairs, Xiao Shufei would immediately choose to remain silent, as if there was no such thing. With only ears in his mouth, he has achieved the standard of a best listener.
Wu Mei smiled, leaned on the back of the bamboo chair, as if immersed in the past, and continued: "It is no exaggeration to describe the internal and external troubles of this palace back then. It is necessary to prevent anyone in the harem from being detrimental to this palace. Your Majesty is here to compete with me for favor after you and the Wang family, and you must work together with your Majesty to deal with the officials of Guanlong, headed by Changsun Wuji, who have been controlling the court, and even my own sister and relatives. Niece, I have to guard against them threatening my position as queen. By the way, at that time, I had to deal with Li Hong who caused trouble for me every day. Thinking about it now, I don’t even think about it. Knowing how I got here back then, I lived with trepidation every day.”
"Hong'er is just being naughty. I also heard about Wu Shun and He Lan Minzhi back then. His Majesty was indecisive and made constant decisions, and so was Hong'er. This matter almost did you a disservice, but it's okay. Fortunately, The remedy was timely and no big disaster was caused." Concubine Xiao Shu felt calmer and calmer when facing Wu Mei.
Whether it is talking or moving, there has been a big change compared to when the two of them just sat down. If someone who didn't know the inside story saw it, they would think that it was the two best concubines in the palace. Just chatting.
"Disaster? Yes, he did not leave any trouble for me, but he left a lot of trouble for himself. Everything else is fine, he is resolute and courageous, but when it comes to facing women, he is too similar to his father. She will become indecisive when encountering this kind of thing, she is just carved out of the same mold." Wu Mei shook her head and curled her lips.
Concubine Xiao Shu was startled. She inadvertently tightened her hand on the armrest of the bamboo chair, and the blue veins on it were clearly visible: "What's wrong with Hong'er? Didn't he follow His Majesty on the expedition to Liaodong?"
Wu Mei saw everything. Xiao Shufei's every little move just now, even her face, which was originally calm and stoic, suddenly became nervous when she heard that Li Hong was in trouble. .
She saw all this clearly. Although she was indifferent on the surface, but her heart was full of ups and downs, she still misjudged Li Hong's status in Xiao Shufei's heart.
What benefits did this unfilial son promise to Concubine Xiao Shu? Why did she look more anxious than her own daughter when she heard something happened to him
Thinking of this, Wu Mei couldn't help but think of the royal princesses in the Penglai Palace, Lanling, Chengyang, and Xincheng. They all looked nervous after hearing that something had happened to Li Hong and that someone had blamed them. .
Wu Mei did not doubt how they knew these things from her own mouth.
After all, as soon as the incident happened, Li Hong was hurriedly summoned to Liaodong by His Majesty's decree the next day before he had time to come up with a clever plan to break the situation.
Therefore, whether it was Concubine Xiao Shu or Lan Ling and others who did not know about the death of Helan Minyue and Li Zhong, it is reasonable that the blame is now being placed on Li Hong.
(End of chapter)