Pei Ji'an was so anxious that he almost ran over from behind. Lingbo Pavilion is built near the water, opposite to Jiuzhou Pool. At this moment, the sky is high, the clouds are wide, and the autumn light is crisp. The forests around Jiuzhou Pool are dyed, orange red, golden yellow and green are intertwined, and Lingbo Pavilion is hidden among them. It is beautiful from a distance.
However, Pei Ji'an had no interest in admiring the scenery, he quickly ran outside the Lingbo Pavilion. The servant standing outside saw Pei Ji'an and asked in surprise, "Pei Sheren? What happened to Sheren, why is he so anxious?"
Pei Ji'an didn't have time to elaborate, he immediately asked: "Where is the saint?"
"The sage is enjoying the scenery upstairs... Hey, Pei Sheren..."
After Pei Ji'an heard the exact location of the emperor, he rushed in immediately. He quickly climbed up the stairs with his clothes on. Li Huai was standing in front of the railing looking at the lake. When he heard footsteps behind him, he turned around in surprise, "Pei Aiqing? Why are you here?"
After Pei Ji'an came up, he saw a maid standing next to Li Huai holding a tray, her eyes were full of spring, and her cheeks were flushed. Pei Ji'an's eyes narrowed sharply, it was her!
Seeing the shy and timid look of the maid, it should be? I haven't expressed my heart to Li Huai, so that's it? Well, Pei Ji'an still has time. Pei Ji'an pretended to look away calmly, and saluted Li Huai: "Sent me to the sage? Greetings."
Li Huai waved his hand and said boldly: "There are no outsiders here, so what to do with these things. Pei Aiqing, what happened, why are you running in such a hurry?"
Pei Ji'an lowered his eyes halfway, and said, "Isn't the ceremony of the emperor and minister? It can be abolished. I have some state affairs, and I want to discuss with the sage."
The palace maid learned that Li Huai was in Lingbo Pavilion today, she specially changed into light clothes, and came to Lingbo Pavilion to serve the emperor with great joy, unexpectedly, Pei Ji'an came at such a time. Pei Ji'an said that there are state affairs to be discussed, and the court lady can't stay any longer. She thought that she hadn't had time to say what she said, and she was quite regretful, but in front of political affairs, she had nothing to do.
The maid put down the fruit plate, and regretted to quit after saluting. Pei Ji'an seemed to be sitting upright, but in fact he kept looking downstairs from the corner of his eye, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the maid walking away with his own eyes.
Seeing Pei Ji'an's performance, Li Huai was quite surprised: "Pei Aiqing, what's wrong? You look so weird today."
Since there were no outsiders, Pei Ji'an didn't shy away from it, and said directly: "Saint, that woman just now...is there something else?"
Li Huai now sits in the harem. Before he ascended the throne, he was also a prince who grew up in a heap of splendor. How could he not see? A woman's thoughts? Although the court lady didn't speak, Li Huai understood her intention as soon as she came in.
He had seen her beside his mother before, but this woman was mediocre in appearance, lacking in talent and art, and her conversation was also mediocre. In short, she was a woman with no shining points at all. Li Huai was used to seeing women's admiring gazes, and his eyesight had already been cultivated extremely high. How could ordinary women catch his eyes. Doesn't Li Huai care? He said: "I've seen this kind of woman a lot. She comes from a humble background, and she wants to climb high. I didn't expect her to be so bold that she wanted to cling to me. She doesn't? Look at yourself." Any maid beside me is better looking than her, how dare she run in front of me and make trouble?"
Li Huai directly satirizes the palace maids for climbing the dragon and the phoenix, and the language is very rude. It is inevitable for Li Huai to have this kind of thought. He is the direct son of the palace. These years, no matter where he goes, he has been praised by others. Now, a poor-looking court lady? If he dares to move his mind, Li Huai will not ? I feel greatly offended.
Pei Ji'an sighed, and Li Huai just said that in front of him, but in his previous life when he rejected the maid, his tone was also very mean. Although the court lady is mediocre in talent and appearance, she has a very high spirit? After being insulted, she became angry from embarrassment, and because of love, hatred, she tried her best to take revenge on Li Huai.
This court lady is also someone close to the Queen of Heaven. Due to many factors, she really succeeded in taking revenge.
Pei Ji'an hesitated to speak, even if it was a close relationship, things involving men and women would be embarrassing. Pei Ji'an? It's too straightforward to say, and reminded Li Huaidao by beating around the bush: "The sage is rich all over the world, so he doesn't have any kind of woman. But after all, the maid is a person close to the queen mother, and her identity is very sensitive. If the sage accepts it, the courtiers will say that the sage is his mother and maidservant." If the sage doesn't accept it, you can't guarantee that the woman will hold a grudge and tell the queen mother about the sage's fault in the future. Whether to accept it or not? It is not good for the sage, anyway, the sage is not around? Lack of talent and beauty, this woman should be respected and kept at a distance
Li Huai didn't think about this at first, he refused a woman dignifiedly, did he still have to consider the other party's mood? But after what Pei Ji'an said, did Li Huaicai realize it? Yes.
That's right, isn't this court lady? An ordinary woman, but a servant of the Queen of Heaven. If this woman provokes Tianhou's ears, it will be troublesome.
Li Huaisi was angry and humiliated at this point, didn't he? You sighed a long time. Li Huai doesn't regard Pei Ji'an as an outsider, and it's rare to avoid the eyes and ears of the Queen of Heaven. Looking at the queen mother's face, how can there be an emperor like me in the world? Before his death, the emperor handed over the Tang Dynasty to me, and I managed to finish my filial piety and was waiting to show my strength. As a result, the court has been surrounded by the queen mother. Shumen? All of them belong to the Empress Dowager. When I arrange a matter randomly, they push it back and forth, and finally say directly, 'the sage needs to intervene? ?"
Pei Ji'an secretly sighed, Li Huai was not raised as a prince when he was a child, he never learned the art of being an emperor, and he never suffered setbacks. In fact, this is just the beginning.
Even if there is no Queen of Heaven, it is not the emperor who has the final say on issuing an imperial decree. There are many entanglements in the interest of many parties. Li Huai only encounters a small matter now? No? Be patient, what should I do when I encounter things such as the establishment of the reserve and war in the future
But Li Huai is the emperor, and once he becomes the emperor, even his good friends who grew up together cannot cross the line between monarch and minister. Pei Ji'an held his temper and persuaded him kindly: "Sage, don't worry. Governing the country does not happen overnight? There are still many courtiers in the court who are willing to share the worries for the king. The sage just wait patiently."
Li Huai sighed. How could he not know how to govern the country? It is a simple matter. What he said was not to complain about the difficulty of governing the country, but to complain about the tyranny of the Empress Dowager.
Every confidential position is occupied by the Queen of Heaven. After Li Huai ascended the throne, he wanted to show off his skills and reward the heroes who followed him, but he couldn't find a vacant position after searching over and over. There is a radish and a hole in the officialdom, and the people above? Go, where is Li Huai going to reward his own people
In particular, Li Huai recently got a new queen and concubine. Li Huai is newly married, and he really wants to show off in front of his good wife and concubine. The first emperor granted titles to Tianhou's father, mother, and sisters. Li Huai just wanted to promote the queen's father. Isn't that too much
However, such a simple idea cannot be realized. Li Huai couldn't find a place to intervene, not to mention how depressed these days are.
Seeing Li Huai, Pei Ji'an was still sighing, and didn't hear the meaning behind his words. Pei Ji'an could only say a little more clearly: "All ministers are for the good of the country, so they are cautious about the imperial decree. Be cautious. Eat the king. As for the matter of loyalty to the emperor, since we are courtiers of the Tang Dynasty, we naturally wholeheartedly share the worries of the emperor. As long as the saint is cautious in his words and deeds, and does not betray the virtue of heaven, the subjects and common people will naturally stand on the side of the saint."
Li Huai's heart moved, and he seemed to hear something. Yes, he is the orthodox emperor. His power comes from the former emperor and has nothing to do with the queen. Li Huai was named the crown prince first, and then ascended the throne. Regardless of his status or procedures, he couldn't be more justified. Even if Tianhou is nostalgic for power, she is old after all, can she still compete with Li Huai
As long as you wait patiently, the power of the Queen of Heaven will withdraw from the court sooner or later, and Li Huai has the final say in this world.
·
Since the conversation with Pei Ji'an in Lingbo Pavilion that day, Li Huai's mood has calmed down a lot, and he is not in a hurry when facing the court situation. After another half a month, Liu Yanjing came to the palace to see his daughter. Li Huai heard that his father-in-law was coming, so he ran over to talk to him.
Empress Liu is the granddaughter of Liu Dewei, Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice, and the daughter of Liu Yanjing, the governor of Shanzhou. Now that the Liu family has been conferred, Liu Yanjing has also been transferred back to the capital as the head of state. Li Huai originally wanted to give his father-in-law an official position, but there were no vacancies in the three provinces and six ministries. Li Huai could not find a suitable official position. If the appointment was low, it would hurt the emperor's face, so Liu Yanjing's promotion was delayed like this.
Now that Li Huai saw Yue Zhang in the Queen's bedroom, he was quite embarrassed. He wanted to save face for himself, so he said: "Recently, the empress often says that the harem is lonely, and no one talks to her. I plan to make the head of the country a servant, so that the head of the country can often go into the palace to talk to the queen."
The servants at the bottom of the door are the second rank, and there are only false titles such as Taishi and Taifu at the top, which can be said to be the highest rank among civil servants with real power. Surprised, Liu Yanjing stood up and said: "The sage loves you, but the minister has no talent or virtue, how can he lead the door? How can he be the prime minister?"
Li Huai waved his hand, not caring: "You have given birth to such a good daughter as the queen, and you have made a contribution to the country, and you deserve a great seal."
Empress Liu was of course very happy to hear that the emperor wanted to promote her father. Empress Liu smiled happily, but hesitated: "Thank you, saint. But my father has not been appointed to the Sixth Ministry, but he was directly promoted to the servant of the door. Will the others agree?"
Especially Tianhou suddenly promoted such a high-ranking official, does Tianhou agree
When Li Huai heard this, he was immediately excited: "I am the emperor, not to mention just a servant, even if I give the whole world to the head of the country, why not?"
When Empress Liu heard this, she was immediately charming. She thanked the emperor with a smile, and Liu Yanjing was quite satisfied. The incident in the Queen's Palace was quickly spread outside. In the Palace of Longevity, the maid relayed the conversation between Li Huai and Liu Yanjing to the Queen of Heaven. After listening to it, the Queen of Heaven gave a soft sneer.
It's such a big breath to hand over the world to others.
Tianhou didn't say anything, she called the eunuch and asked, "Where is Princess Sheng Yuan?"
"The eldest princess hasn't come back yet." The eunuch looked carefully at Tianhou's face and asked, "Is there anything urgent for Tianhou?"
Tianhou didn't answer, but said, "Go and call the servant over."
"yes."
At this moment, Li Chaoge was standing by the Luo River basking in the sun. She was patrolling along the river bank, and Bai Qianhe followed behind. She couldn't help but asked, "Commander, what are you looking at?"
Li Chaoge didn't say anything, she finally found a corner. She stopped on the bank of the river and threw a stone under the water, watching the sound and the waves carefully. After a while, Li Chaoge nodded in satisfaction: "Just? Here."
Bai Qianhe raised his eyebrows suspiciously. He stared hard at the water below, but unfortunately he didn't see anything except fish and mud. Li Chaoge had already turned to leave, Bai Qianhe scratched his head inexplicably, and strode to catch up: "Commander, wait for me."
Li Chaoge returned to the yard where they were staying. This time they were out of business, strangely they didn't wear the uniforms of the town monsters, and they didn't stay at the inn. Li Chaoge said that she is still wearing mourning, can't she be too ostentatious, but Bai Qianhe always felt that this reason was far-fetched.
In the courtyard, Zhou Shao was grinding stones. It was a white stone slab, engraved with the words "Holy Mother Comes, Emperor Yongchang". Mo Linlang pounded the purple stone into powder and mixed it with potion to fill the writing. After finishing all this, Mo Linlang clapped her hands and said to Li Chaoge: "Commander, we're all done. I specially made this potion with herbs. It won't fade. Soak it in water for ten years. The year? It's as bright as ever."
Li Chaoge nodded and said, "Okay. Put away the stones, you guys? Go and rest for a while, after nightfall, we? Let's act."
Mo Linlang agreed. She seemed a little puzzled, after a pause, Mo Linlang asked tentatively: "Commander, what kind of monster am I here to catch?"
This time the monster hunting was very different from the usual ones. They sneaked up to the edge of Luoshui and did not inquire. The villagers did not search the scene. Instead, Li Chaoge warned them not to attract attention. Mo Linlang thought that there was something important to do, but in the end, Li Chaoge just asked them to grind stones in the yard and chisel and carve characters.
A little confused. What kind of monster is this, with such a strange way of catching
Li Chaoge still kept secret, but said: "I have my own arrangements. You guys? Go back and rest, and listen to my orders after nightfall."
Mo Linlang was confused, Nuonuo nodded: "Okay."
Mo Linlang waited for the dark in fear. She thought there would be a fierce battle, so she prepared weapons and medicine powder on her body. Finally, when the night was completely dark, Li Chaoge asked them to come out, motioned Zhou Shao to carry the stone on his back, and followed her out.
The four of them quietly came to the edge of Luoshui. Li Chaoge came to the place he was looking forward to during the day, and said to Bai Qianhe: "This is right here. You take the stone and dive to the bottom of the river, and bury the stone in the river bed. Remember? It should be buried too deep, only half of it is fine. "
Bai Qianhe thought there was some mystery in the bottom of the river, and cautiously entered the water with the rope, while the two people on the bank also stared nervously at the surface of the water. After a long time, bubbles appeared on the surface of the water, and Bai Qianhe came out and said, "Commander, I have buried the stone at the bottom of the river as you ordered. Then?"
Li Chaoge didn't care about the situation at the bottom of the river, so he opened his mouth and asked, "Where's the rope?"
Bai Qianhe stretched out his other hand, revealing the rope in his palm. Li Chaoge nodded in satisfaction and said, "Okay. Get rid of all traces and swim up."
Bai Qianhe paddled the mallard to the shore, and after landing, Bai Qianhe wrung the water from his clothes and said, "Others are flattering and rewarding for meritorious deeds in the capital, but we are digging mud here. Commander, What on earth is this stone for, and why was it buried at the bottom of the river?"
Li Chaoge looked at the dark water and said softly: "Who knows what God means? Let's go, everyone? Be quiet, don't you want to disturb the fishermen. We? We can go back to Beijing."
When Li Chaoge returned to the Eastern Capital, she had just entered the imperial city, and she was called away by the Queen of Heaven before she had time to go back to the town demon division.
When Li Chaoge entered the Hall of Eternal Life, Tianhou saw her and asked, "How is it?"
Li Chaoge saluted, bowed his head and said: "I searched along the Luohe River, and saw a river bay with lush water and grass in the area of Yongzhou, which was blessed by nature. I chose someone to calculate Feng Shui, and found that this place is a treasure land of Feng Shui, which naturally gathers dragon energy. Queen Mother In the dream, I saw the god-man coming out of the dragon chariot, maybe it is here."
Tianhou was satisfied and said: "Okay. You have worked hard this trip, go back and have a good rest. These days? Dongdu? No? Taiping, many veterans have been infected with the cold, you have to step up the patrol, don't let it? Clean things are infesting Miyagi."
Li Chaoge was slightly stunned, and replied with lowered head, "Yes, my servant has taken orders."
Li Chaoge came out of the Hall of Eternal Life and first went to the Habayashi Military Guard Station to carefully inspect the guards and patrols. By the time she finished all this, the sun had already set in the west, and soon? It was time to leave the office. Li Chaoge hurried back to the imperial city. She had only drank a glass of water in Zhenyaosi when she heard a message from the servant, "Commander, the queen mother has an order to go to court tomorrow."
"Go to court?" Li Chaoge was surprised. The late emperor Li Ze was not in good health. Later, the court was changed to every other day, one day to go to court, and two days to rest. Tomorrow is a double day, why do you suddenly have to go to court
Although Li Chaoge was puzzled, he still complied. In the palace, Li Huai was also at a loss.
Are you going to court tomorrow? Why not the emperor? You know? But Li Huai didn't think much about it. Since the Empress Dowager asked her to go to court, why not go one more day? Yes, Li Huai agreed without much hesitation.
The next day, hundreds of officials came to Xuanzheng Hall one after another. They all looked bewildered, obviously, they didn't know why the Queen Mother suddenly called the court meeting.
Li Chaoge stood at the position of the demon master, Gu Mingke stood across the aisle, and behind him was Pei Ji'an.
At the same time, it is not good to be an official in the court, and there is no way to hide if you want to hide. It's not enough to say hello when we meet each other, and it's not enough to say hello if we don't. Especially Gu Mingke, they? They are a husband and wife. They got close when they went to court. Others would suspect that they formed a party for selfish purposes. If they went far away, there were rumors in the palace that they were not a husband and wife.
Li Chaoge was extremely tired.
The early court is a very serious occasion. It is strictly forbidden to whisper and not to dress neatly. If you lose your etiquette, you will be impeached and lose your official position. Li Chaoge pretended not to see those two, looked ahead, and waited for Tianhou and Li Huai to arrive.
Fortunately, the time to go to court is coming soon. Surrounded by all the eunuchs, Li Huai entered the palace and sat on the throne. There is a bead curtain hanging behind, and Tianhou sits in it.
Li Huai didn't know what to do when he suddenly added an early morning court. Seeing that everyone was here, he cleared his throat and asked, "Queen Mother, why did you suddenly call for a court meeting today?"
Although Li Huai was afraid of his mother, after he ascended the throne, he was called Long Live every day. Li Huai's self-confidence gradually inflated, and he was no longer as cautious as before when facing the Queen of Heaven. However, this time, after Li Huai finished speaking, Tian Hou snorted coldly, and said sharply: "Nie Zi, you still have the face to speak!"
Everyone was taken aback, and Li Huai was even more dazed. The Empress Dowager suddenly showed a domineering attitude, and Li Huai's imperial arrogance quickly slumped, and he returned to the submissive King Zhao in an instant: "What does the Empress Dowager mean by this?"
There was no smile behind the sky, and he looked at Li Huai coldly. At this time, a maid came out from behind the screen of the Xuanzheng Palace. After the maid kowtowed to the queen, she imitated the voices of the two, vividly recreating the conversation between Li Huai and Liu Yanjing that day.
Pei Ji'an immediately changed his face, he raised his head and wanted to say something, but Tianhou slapped the table vigorously, and angrily said: "No? Dutiful son, the great Tang Dynasty was brought down by our ancestors through untold hardships. How can you say that you should give it away to others?" Just? Give it away? Are you doing this worthy of your father and the ancestors of the Taimiao?"
Li Huai was dumbfounded, his words were just a joke, who would take it seriously? But Tianhou didn't at all? Giving him a chance to argue, Tianhou waved her hand, and immediately a guard stepped forward and dragged Li Huai off the dragon chair. Tianhou sat behind the bead curtain, her eyes were dark and sharp like a sword: "The emperor lost his morals, so he is not worthy of being an emperor. Since the first emperor entrusted the country to my palace, I will never see the prodigal family. Tang Jiye, come here, send the emperor to the palace to reflect, when will the reflection be clear, and when will he come out again."
Li Huai finally came to his senses, he struggled hastily and shouted presumptuously. But those two guards were tall and big, and they came prepared. They held the emperor on one side and one on the right, and they didn't wait for Li Huai to say more, then dragged him down.
This series of changes came quickly and violently. Before the officials below could react, Li Huai had already been pulled out of the Xuanzheng Hall. At this time, Zhongshu Shilang stepped forward and said: "The emperor has lost his virtue. If he continues to stay on the throne, he may be punished by heaven. According to my opinion, the emperor should temporarily abdicate. After the emperor has corrected his virtues, he will re-execute the jade seal. But the court can’t have no one in charge, and the ministers petition to ask the Queen of Heaven to be regent and guard the country on behalf of the emperor.”
After Zhongshu Shilang finished speaking, the hall echoed one after another. Li Chaoge finally knew why Tianhou asked her to check the city defense. It turned out that it was for today.
After a long time of preparation, the Empress deliberately chose one of them to use the day of the court to attack, and caught the emperor and his courtiers by surprise. And Li Huai didn't live up to his expectations, and rushed to give Tianhou a handle, and gave the country to his father-in-law, thanks to him daring to say it.
Li Huai made a mistake, and the Prime Minister of Zhongshu Province publicly supported him. The most important thing is that Li Huai has already been dragged down. If the courtiers don't agree, Li Huai's head will fall immediately. Li Chaoge admired Tianhou holding the emperor in her hand to make the princes have a good time. A thought quickly popped up in her mind. Since Tianhou planned to start an incident today, why not yesterday? Tell her
But soon Li Chaoge figured it out, Tianhou had already prepared for an incident today, Li Chaoge just came back yesterday, didn't Tianhou know Li Chaoge's attitude, she definitely wouldn't take risks. After all, Li Huai is Li Chaoge's younger brother. Even if he is not close, blood is thicker than water. If Li Chaoge disagrees or even informs him, it will be troublesome. So Tianhou asked Li Chaoge to inspect the palace gate? On patrol, with Li Chaoge's personality, she would definitely check carefully and would not let any suspicion go. The imperial guards were supposed to belong to the Empress Dowager. It would be better now that Li Chaoge was back, and the Empress Dowager added another layer of insurance for herself, so she could launch a coup d'état without any worries.
Li Chaoge knew it was time for her to express her opinion, so she raised her hand and said clearly: "I invite the Queen Mother to be regent."
Pei Ji'an looked around, Zhongshu Shilang was the first to support, and the other prime ministers didn't dare to express their opinions rashly; Li Chaoge originally leaned towards the queen, but now he openly supports it, so it can be said that he is completely on the side of the queen; many low-ranking officials are selected by the imperial examination. At this moment, it is natural to support the Queen of Heaven. Pei Ji'an closed his eyes in despair, and the high-ranking civil servants, low-ranking civil servants, and imperial guards all expressed their views. The outcome of this round was decided.
He helped Li Huai hide the reason for abolishing the emperor by insulting his mother and maid, and then came a more serious one. As everyone knows, the real crisis lies in the abolition of the emperor, not the reason.
As long as Tianhou has this kind of thought, why can't she take advantage of it
In the Xuanzheng Palace, there are queen parties like Li Chaoge, royalists like Pei Ji'an, but there are more silent neutral parties like Gu Mingke. The superior? It doesn't matter who he is, no matter who proclaims the emperor, Dali Temple will solve the case, as long as the superior can handle it clearly, no? If he wants to disrupt the court, Gu Mingke doesn't care about who holds the throne.
Tianhou looked at the expressions of His Highness and everyone, with a satisfied smile on her face. The eunuch stepped forward, held the jade seal on the emperor's seat in front of the queen, raised her arms high
At this moment in the Xuanzheng Palace, no matter who agrees or disagrees, supports the queen or supports the emperor, they all have to bow their heads, follow the crowd and say, "The queen mother is respectfully invited to be regent."