Through the transparent glass window, Li Zhi looked at Li Hong's dusty back with his hands behind his back, and sighed helplessly.
"You said... Where is Hong'er's ambition? What should I do now?" Li Zhi frowned and said seriously.
Li Hong had been in the East Palace for so many years, and neither he nor the queen had made them feel that Li Hong was bound to win the throne. Sometimes, he even wished that he could continue to sit on the throne, so he was willing to be the prince, as if I am satisfied.
But if you want to say that he has no ambitions for the throne, it is not necessarily true. At least the position of the prince in the East Palace, which is closest to the throne, is very important to him and does not allow anyone to provoke, touch or covet it.
"Aim for the Tang Dynasty." Wu Mei stood up slowly, stood on Li Zhi's side, watched the tall figure slowly disappear, and said with a smile.
"Aiming at the Tang Dynasty?" Li Zhi turned around in confusion and looked at Wu Mei's fair and smooth cheeks under the sunlight: "What's the explanation?"
"To protect the throne above, to protect the country below, to live a free and leisurely life on weekdays, touring the mountains and rivers, hanging out with clouds and wild cranes, this is probably his ultimate goal." Wu Mei looked at Li Hong with a determined expression. He exited the corridor pavilion and continued: "To put it bluntly, he just wants to be a free and easy prince of the East Palace, and he doesn't want others to covet the throne, and he doesn't want anyone to undermine the stability of the country. So for him, you can be the emperor. It is most suitable for him to be the prince."
"Eating from the bowl and looking at the pot?" Li Zhi curled his lips coldly: "Oh, he doesn't want others to get involved in the throne, and he himself doesn't want to inherit it. He occupies the seat in the East Palace and idles around. He comes up when he wants to deal with political affairs. If he doesn't want to deal with political affairs anymore, he just wanders around the world? Anyway, he has me in charge of the court, so he doesn't have to worry about chaos in the rear. No wonder Li Xian has been coveting the position of the East Palace. He deserves to be looked at. that is."
Wu Mei smiled and shook her head. She knew that Li Zhi was speaking out of anger. What made her angry was that she was tied to Chang'an and Luoyang and could not go anywhere.
If Li Hong could be tied up in Chang'an or Luoyang and allowed to travel around with the title of emperor every day, he wouldn't have so many complaints.
"But in the past few years, in the stability and prosperity of our Tang Dynasty, which major event has left Li Hong's shadow? From the time when Dai Zhide, the Minister of Rites, it has been seen that what he can't stand the most is restraint and etiquette. The etiquette system, Taichang Temple, Honglu Temple, including Zongzheng Temple, have been treating Li Hong in recent years. They have no choice but to turn a blind eye. Isn't this why some people have been leaning towards Li Xian? The reason? Li Xian has always been a model of etiquette, and this has been the case with Li Zhe since he was a child. But now Li Zhe is very interested in the military, but has no ambition. He just wants to be an idle prince every day and follow the discipline of Yue Er. Wang is a role model. But this... Now that they have made the conditions, what are you going to do?" Wu Mei said, not knowing which side to take sides.
As the saying goes, no one is perfect. Li Xian has also been extremely smart since he was a child. Although he is not as good as Li Hong, he has never been able to match Li Hong in terms of observing etiquette and law.
And it was also because Li Hong was far inferior to Li Xian that Li Xian always felt that he had the ability and qualifications to compete with Li Hong for the position of prince.
"What does the queen mean?" Li Zhi was hesitant. He originally wanted to use Wu Mei's probing and negotiation, hoping that Li Hong could give in one more step and try his best to reduce the big scandal of the brothers' rebellion to a trivial one. Invisibly.
But Li Hong's firm attitude just now not only made him feel cold, but also made him lose his opinion.
"Does Your Majesty think that our Tang Dynasty is now peaceful and peaceful, prosperous and prosperous from east to west, and from south to north? We should also imitate Sima Yan, the founding emperor of the Jin Dynasty, who put swords and guns in the treasury and mounted horses. Released to Nanshan?" Wu Mei looked down at her skirt, then raised her head and looked directly into Li Zhi's eyes and asked.
Li Zhi didn't speak, but also quietly stared at Wu Mei's bright eyes. The air flowed and solidified silently between the two of them, and a needle could be heard in the study.
After being married for many years, Li Zhi still didn't expect that the Queen knew him so well. He just wavered slightly in his attitude and was noticed by the Queen.
"You can't say that. I just don't want to see what happened in the hands of the late emperor happen again to Li Hong and Li Xian. The Tang Dynasty is now peaceful and prosperous, even if it is Li Xian..."
"You'd better not even think about it. Once Li Hong knows that you have this idea, the entire court will have to cause him to have an uproar. There's no telling whether Li Xian will be alive to hold the wedding tomorrow." Wu Mei looked stunned. The tone was very stern.
"Of course I don't think so. I'm just telling you, telling him, why won't he just take over my kingdom? I... I just can't bear to send Li Xian to such a far place, and even demote him to a commoner. People... these are the flesh and blood of me and the queen, I feel sorry for both of them." In Li Zhi's mind, the memory clips of Li Hong as a child were playing back and forth, and the clips of Li Xian's childhood were playing back and forth, one on the left and the other on the left. Right, tugging at his wavering heart in his mind.
Wu Mei also had a complicated look on her face. What Li Zhi was worried about was not what she was worried about. But compared to His Majesty's indecisiveness, from the perspective of thinking about the country, Li Hong's actions were also for the stability of the country. , that’s why it has to be so.
But it has to be said that people have the psychology of sympathizing with the weak. Whether you are the supreme emperor or queen, or a beggar at the bottom of society, people tend to easily develop sympathy when facing the weak.
"There must be something hateful about poor people. The actual unsatisfactory situation of a person who seems to be pitiful must be due to previous mistakes or self-imposed faults. He knows that he is wrong and refuses to correct it despite repeated admonitions. This is the hateful thing about such people." Li Zhi held a piece of paper that looked like Li Hong's notes, looked at this sentence and said, "Does this sentence have a source?"
"No, he said it himself." Wu Mei smiled reluctantly.
When I saw this sentence for the first time, like Li Zhi, I thought about all the classics of the sages that I could think of. I didn't know where this sentence came from. Later I found out that this sentence was said by Li Hong himself. .
"This is forcing me to make a final decision. Li Xian is indeed unyielding and has challenged Li Hong's rights again and again, but... let's discuss it after tomorrow." Li Zhi still couldn't make up his mind.
Just like in the original historical trajectory, when Li Xian was deposed as a commoner, Wu Mei was still needed to help him make a decision.
But with the change of historical trajectory, Wu Mei's character has already changed. At this moment, it can be said that she is in the same difficult decision stage as Li Zhi.
Facing Li Hong's first aggressive move, she, like Li Zhi, lost her opinion and chose to delay.
But she knew very well in her heart that Li Hong might not delay it any longer. After the wedding, she was afraid that Li Xian would be deposed as a commoner. However, she didn't know how Li Hong would make everything perfect. At that time, all it takes is a decree from His Majesty to silence the mouths of the courtiers and the people of the world.
When Li Hong returned to the East Palace, Bai Chun and others returned to the East Palace in advance without knowing where they came from. Xiaoxue and others looked at each other with affectionate expressions. They had not seen His Highness for many days, and now they were naturally very happy to see His Highness. .
However, due to the difference in status and the fact that there were many people in the entire Li Zheng Hall, everyone's faces were filled with excitement, and the movements of serving Li Hong became much brisker.
"Have the gifts been sent?" Li Hong asked Bai Chundao next to him, squinting his eyes and resting his head on Xiaoxue's towering chest, enjoying the massage from several people.
"Sent it away. Yang Wu and the officials from the East Palace went there with him. Whether it was etiquette or face, they gave King Pei enough. I don't think it will make him suspicious." Bai Chun sat aside, busy with the wedding of King Pei tomorrow. At that time, I needed to help His Highness prepare some items. He raised his head and said calmly.
"What should I do tomorrow?" Li Hong opened his eyes and asked.
Only then did I remember, no wonder Li Lingyue, Li Dan and others were not seen in the palace. At this time, most of them had gone to Prince Pei's Mansion to eat and drink, right
Especially Li Dan, I am afraid that he is eating and sleeping under the service of the palace maids and eunuchs at this time.
"Your affairs tomorrow should be arranged by Taichang Temple. I think there should be nothing wrong. The East Palace must just follow His Majesty and the Queen." Bai Chun put down his work again and thought After thinking about it, he said.
The prince's marriage was no different than the royal family marrying a princess, but it was much more grand in terms of etiquette and other aspects. But as for the role of His Royal Highness, she really didn't know.
Li Zhe, on the other hand, has been in Prince Pei's Mansion these days. It is said that he has been shamelessly asked to take the post of best man and has to be Li Xian's best man.
"He is the best man? Do you really think you have a good figure? When you were the son-in-law, did you forget the consort Quan Yi of Yiyang and how badly you beat the consort Wang Xu of Gao'an? You don't have a long memory." Li Hong said with a smile.
Bai Chun also smiled and was about to speak when she heard Xiaoxue say above Li Hong's head: "It's not the slaves and others who want to beat me. It's Princess Yiyang and Princess Gao'an who told me not to be polite."
"Then you can't be cruel. You are really a bunch of white-eyed wolves. When Quan Yi was in Anxi, you came and went away as soon as you called him. I didn't expect that you would beat him so badly on his wedding day." Li Hongyang He squeezed Xiaoxue's towering chest with his head, looked at Xiaoxue's little cheeks that could be broken by blows, and said with a smile.
"What do you mean...?"
"Forget it, let Li Zhe go. He is not just the best man. From nightfall, the Futu Camp will be fully armed outside Chang'an City. Within three days of Chang'an City, no other armed forces are allowed to be seen except Jinwu Guards." Hong looked at Mang Zhong and others and said, and this order will be issued quickly from the East Palace. Even the city guards and others will have to evacuate Chang'an City after nightfall.
(End of chapter)