Li Zhegu stared at Li Hong standing in front of him. He thought for a moment and asked again: "But... but you set up a trap for him to burn down Prince Wu's Mansion. This... wouldn't it be a serious crime if the father blamed him? Lao Liu Isn’t it still hard to escape?”
"I will help him solve the matter of Prince Wu's Mansion. Winter is now entering, the weather is dry, and Prince Wu's Mansion is in disrepair, so it is natural to catch fire. Besides, my father has ordered me to rebuild Wu Prince's Mansion on the way back to Luoyang from Liaodong. The palace will be clean if it is burned down. It will save you the trouble of tearing it down and repairing it." Li Hong took the wine poured by Li Zhe and touched it with Li Zhe.
"Then how are you going to save him? Put all the people he has managed to win over over the years and put him in jail? Then they won't give him away?"
"So I want to separate the people around Lao Liu from Lao Liu, and even cause them to have internal conflicts, in order to clear Lao Liu's suspicion, weaken Lao Liu's ambitions, and finally make him give up, like you , Wouldn’t it be better to be a wise king of the Tang Dynasty?”
"That's fine with me. I don't want your position in the East Palace either. Looking at the scars all over your body, it's too difficult to hold the position of prince. The same goes for my father. The dragon body is getting worse every year. Although it is getting better, But it may not be completely cured. Even Divine Doctor Sun is helpless about the vertigo. I don’t know what Lao Liu is thinking now, but... Oh, I can only take care of myself, anyway... In short, don’t worry, I will treat you. I'm not interested in that guy. If you keep me as far away as Li Sujie and Li Shangjin, and treat me like an idle prince, I'd be quite willing." Li Zhe waved his hands impatiently, saying that he didn't know. How to help Li Hong and Li Xian resolve the conflict between them.
What he wants is very simple. It is best to be like King Ji, who can enjoy a high reputation among the people and gain the trust of his father. It would be even better if he and his soon-to-be princess can choose a fiefdom with outstanding people. , stay away from the court, stay away from these messy royal infighting.
Looking at the frowning Li Zhe, Li Hong fiddled with the water, poured water on Li Zhe's face, and said with a smile: "You think well, you still want to run far away, my father is not in good health. Since you know this, you should fulfill your filial piety in front of your father. How can you run away? Nowadays, there are only a few princes in the Tang Dynasty, and the only ones who can stand under the knees of our father and mother are the four of us. Li Lingyue is still young and ignorant, while Li Dan is older, but he is only nine years old, so my father just points at you to make him happy."
After listening to Li Hong's words, Li Zhe slowly raised his head, looked at the scars on Li Hong's back thoughtfully, and murmured: "Aren't you afraid that I will often be in front of my father and mother and attract them too much?" Favor me?"
"Why are I telling you this if you are afraid? In fact, I know even if you don't tell me, Xue Yuanchao and Gao Zhizhou were sent by Pei Yan. They originally wanted to stop Lao Liu, but Lao Liu was too impatient and took it upon himself to enter. He fell into my trap and without Prince Wu’s Mansion, I really had no reason to surround him if he didn’t burn Prince Wu’s Mansion.”
"Do you know it's Pei Yan... ahem...?" Li Zhe choked on a sip of wine in his throat. He wanted to spit it out, but he couldn't swallow it down. He coughed for a long time before he recovered.
"I know a little bit, but I don't know the details. I'm afraid I don't know as much as you do, otherwise I wouldn't come over to ask you."
"Then you say that Pei Yan really wants to support Lao Liu? I feel that Pei Yan does not seem to have this ambition. For the position of the right servant, he should find you. You are the minister, and Lao Liu is a prince. Most of them are closely related to the Five Surnames and Seven Families."
Li Hong still turned his back to Li Zhe, smiled knowingly, turned around and said, "Yes, even you can see that Pei Yan has a plot, and he must be using Li Xian, but this idiot Li Xian didn't see it, so I What we have to do is to try our best to rectify the court after the father returns and before the first day of the year, demote or remove some people with evil intentions, and keep them away from Li Xian. When Li Xian loses these so-called right-hand men and confidence, , After your ambition is thwarted, you probably won’t have the heart to fight with me anymore, right?”
Li Zhe suddenly realized, pointed at the proud Li Hong, and shouted repeatedly: "You are... the so-called draining the firepower, right? Divide and disintegrate Li Xian's power. Others are not important in your eyes. Everything you have done , just to keep Lao Liu?"
"Yes, at least let him live a peaceful life, but if he does it again in the future, I won't be able to do anything about it."
"Definitely not. Your suppression of him this time is probably enough to teach him a lesson. I'm sure he will be honest in the future. He hugs Fang Muqing every day and gives birth to several little counties in a few years. King, I have been playing with the little prince every day." Li Zhe straightened his thin body and stood up from the water, but he was standing on the steps. If he stood on the lowest stone floor, he would have to give up the bath water. He took a few more sips, and then said in a relaxed manner as if he was taking a big breath.
"Then are you going back to Chang'an now?"
"Go back, why don't you go back... No, I won't go back..."
"Why are you staying here if you don't go back? Let those two maids and eunuchs serve you in the army every day? How unbecoming is this? How can the maids stay in the army." Li Hong's eyes widened, this boy What on earth do you want to do? Why do you seem to be addicted to staying here
"It's quite fun here, and I live a fulfilling life every day. There are lawless people, maids and eunuchs to serve me, and I work out with the soldiers every day, run, dance with guns and sticks, and play polo, although I didn't win anything except today. Yes, but I also feel very fulfilled. I want to stay for a while longer." Li Zhe watched as Lao Wu's frown became more and more serious, so he could only continue to defend: "Well... look at you, your body is like a tiger. Looking at me again, I look like a little chicken, but compared to the past two days, I feel that I am full of strength. Although I cannot be trained like you in the military, I still have to look like a man. Only your physical fitness is enough, right?”
Li Hong stood in the water and looked at Li Zhe suspiciously. After a while, he said doubtfully: "Is this your sincerity? Or do you have some hidden secret?"
"What secrets can I have? I don't get involved in your shabby things. I just want to stay here for a while. By the way, I heard that there will be a martial arts competition in the army in the next few days. I also want to try it, so let me I'll stay, I'll go back after the competition," Li Zhe said with a flattering smile.
"What should I tell my father and mother when they come back?"
"Just say that I have to practice for a few days in the army and let them wait... Oops."
"If you are brave enough, let your father and mother wait for you. What are you thinking? Let's do this. After your father and mother return to Chang'an, you must return to Chang'an as soon as possible."
"Yes, Your Highness the Crown Prince."
"Also, the palace maids cannot stay here and must be taken away. I will take them back soon and send someone to take them back to the mansion for you..."
"That won't work. Who did you take away to serve me? Are you expecting those two rough guys who are lawless? Then I might as well go back with you. I won't stay any longer."
"The two eunuchs stayed, and I didn't say that they would be taken away." Li Hong wiped his body, looked at Li Zhe who was still in the water, and shook his head.
"Okay, it doesn't matter if you don't want a palace maid, I'll just follow your arrangements. I seem to remember that when someone went to war in Anxi, he was both a palace maid and a eunuch. And if that wasn't enough, he even summoned Hua'er from Taiyi City. , typically only state officials are allowed to set fire..."
"I changed my mind, you must go back with me..."
"It's my fault. I'll treat you to a drink. Come on, I can smell the aroma of meat." With a splash, the chicken cub ran out of the water, wiped itself off in a hurry, and began to hurriedly put on the clothes that had been prepared. clothing.
After the two people walked out refreshed, Lawless and Yan Lingbin were waiting at the door. Li Hong was naturally familiar with everything in the army, not to mention that this was the pagoda camp that he relied on the most.
In the past few days, Li Zhe, accompanied by Lawless, had also walked around the barracks. He was extremely happy staying here and felt like a fish in water. Naturally, he was unwilling to return to Chang'an so early.
So when the sun was about to sink into the Western Mountains and Li Hong set off from the barracks back to Chang'an, Li Zhe didn't have a trace of reluctance on his face. Instead, he wished that Li Hong would leave quickly so that he could become king and dominate here.
Li Hong, who got on the carriage, looked at Li Zhe's cheerful look, then looked at the two eunuchs and Lawless, and finally said: "From tomorrow onwards, the King of England must be treated like other soldiers, and nothing special can be done. The room can be used. Mine, everything else will be cancelled. I will eat and live with the soldiers, and my daily training must be the same."
"Hey..." Li Zhe looked at Li Hong's firm eyes and wanted to protest, but was interrupted before he could speak.
"There are two ways, either follow me back to Chang'an, or do as I say here. Which one should you choose?" Li Hong asked with a sneer.
"You are so cruel, let's do it! Let's see, I will definitely get the ranking in the military competition in a few days..." Li Zhe raised his head and said to Li Hong unconvinced.
"Just brag, I'm afraid you don't believe it yourself." Li Hong's ruthless words hit Li Zhe, and the carriage slowly drove out from the entrance of the barracks, and Li Zhe's two maids were naturally attracted by him. Brought back to Chang'an.
When the swaying carriage arrived at the gate of Chang'an City, it was already time to close the city gate. He entered Chang'an City at the right moment, without stopping anywhere else along the way, and headed straight towards the Imperial City and the East Palace. .
After returning to the East Palace, he randomly found someone to send Li Zhe's two maids back to the palace. However, Bai Chun, Xiaoxue and others had not returned yet. The entire East Palace, except for Li Hong and Yan Lingbin who were staying at the entrance of Li Zheng Hall, there was no one else. They were some palace maids and eunuchs.
Looking blankly at the deserted East Palace, Li Hong silently pointed to the door, then pointed to the palace maid, and asked: "Where... where have all these people gone?"
"Back to Your Highness, Miss Bai is taking them to Taiyi City. It was the students from Chongwen Hall who invited them there, saying they had made important discoveries."
"What discovery?"
"This slave doesn't know, Miss Bai didn't say anything."
(End of chapter)