In the spring season, the sun is setting, and the outside is pattering with rain. The servant hurriedly opened the umbrella for Li Shan, and carefully escorted Li Shan to the East Palace: "Prince, walk slowly, be careful where you step."
This year, there has been a lot of rain. Since March, it has been raining half of the time. A gust of wind blew, with damp air, Li Shan couldn't help but tightened his cloak, and raised his eyes to look at the gray sky.
This year is the 23rd year of Yonghui, Li Shan's tenth year as Prince. Looking back on his past ten years, Li Shan couldn't think of any achievements worth mentioning. He is well-clothed and well-fed because he is the emperor's son, and he can be a prince because he is the queen's son.
Seeing that Li Shan seemed to be in a low mood, the servant of the East Palace couldn't help asking: "Your Highness, the sage has given you some troublesome things? Why? Why are you not interested?"
Li Shan shook his head slowly, his voice was low and hoarse, almost not as loud as the rain outside: "If the emperor arranges difficult government affairs for me, it will be a good thing instead."
As a prince, what is more terrifying than not being loved by his father is not being expected by his father. The emperor treated him kindly, but after all, he only let him recuperate, but did not arrange government affairs for him.
That's right, Tianhou handles the daily government affairs, and Li Chaoge handles the talk about monsters and monsters. The mother and sister are doing a good job, and there is no room for Li Shan to use her skills.
Seeing that the prince was in a low mood, the servant persuaded softly, "Your Highness, the sage is thinking about your health. Only when you take good care of your body can you have the energy to deal with political affairs. The civil and military officials of the whole dynasty are looking forward to your prosperity."
Li Shan shook his head and didn't want to say any more. Seeing this, the waiter had no choice but to shut up. At this time, a cat meowed suddenly in the rain. Li Shan turned his head and saw a cat curled up under the eaves in front of him. Its fur is pure black, and its eyes are dark green. It seems to be aware of Li Shan looking at it. It stands up, bows down, and jumps lightly to the corner of the wall.
The servant scolded: "Go, go! Cats are not allowed in the palace. Where did this wild cat come from?"
The black cat stopped on the wall, not afraid of being chased away by the servants at all, and its green eyes were still staring deeply at Li Shan, as if it had something to say. The cat stopped on the wall, and its hair was soaked by the rain. Li Shan looked at the wet cat in front of him, and felt strangely sympathetic.
Aroused by Li Shan's compassion, he stopped the servant's movements and said, "Mother doesn't like cats. If she invites people from the palace, she will inevitably be beaten to death. Although a cat is a beast, it is still a life. Let it go." .”
The servant bent over: "Yes. Your Highness is benevolent."
Li Shan said to the cat: "Go quickly, someone should find out in a while."
The black cat wagged its tail at Li Shan and barked in a low voice, as if saying something. Li Shan was a little surprised when he saw it, and asked, "Are you talking to me? What do you want to say?"
The black cat flicked its tail and jumped away. Li Shan was rarely curious and said, "Follow me and have a look."
The waiter was a little anxious: "Your Highness, the rain is getting heavier and heavier. You are not in good health. If the wind blows outside for a long time, I'm afraid you will be sick when you go back."
"It's okay." Li Shan tightened his cloak and said, "Gu is not so weak. Let's go."
When the servant heard that the prince had used the self-proclaimed "solitary", he didn't dare to say any more, obediently held an umbrella, and followed the prince to chase the cat. The black cat stopped and went, keeping a certain distance from Li Shan all the time. After reaching a palace, it got into the grass and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Looking at the desolate and desolate palaces around him, the servant became more and more unable to stand. He couldn't stop persuading Li Shan to go back: "Your Highness, this is Ye Ting. You should not come to this kind of place. Let's go back."
Li Shan also felt bored looking at the empty palaces around him. It seemed that even the wind in Yeting was three points colder than other places. Li Shan was about to speak back, when suddenly the small side door in front opened, and a woman in a half-worn skirt came out. With a jump, the umbrella in his hand fell to the ground with a clatter.
The woman appeared to be in her twenties, and her facial features were not ugly, but there was a gloomy air between her brows, which immediately gave her appearance a big discount. Her umbrella fell to the ground, rolled half a circle in the shallow puddles, and immediately got wet. The woman quickly lowered her head and squatted down to pick up the umbrella.
Li Shan looked at the figure in front of him, hesitated for a long time, and then asked tentatively, "Sister?"
The woman called by Li Shan to be the elder sister lowered her head and saluted quickly: "His Royal Highness."
Li Shan couldn't describe how he felt at this moment. Li Changle, Li Huai and others were born late, and by the time they could remember, their mother was already a queen. The queen of heaven is rich in clothing and food, and calls the wind and rain, as if it has always been like this, but Li Shan is much older, and there are many things in his childhood that Li Changle and others don't know, but he remembers.
He remembered that his mother was only Zhaoyi at the beginning, and the empress had someone else, even the concubine position was occupied by someone else. The mother wanted to be a concubine, but was always suppressed by the queen and Concubine Xiao Shu, and she couldn't do it. After Shuofang's change, Queen Wang was abolished, concubine Xiao Shu fell out of favor, Wu Zhaoyi finally ascended to the post, and the life of their family improved.
Later, Queen Wang and Concubine Xiao Shu died, and how they died was a taboo in the palace. No one dared to talk about it publicly, but Li Shan knew it clearly. At that time, Tianhou first came to the throne, and many people in the imperial palace opposed her. Even the Queen and Concubine Xiao Shu were ready to move, and they kept sending letters to the emperor, hoping to change his mind by showing weakness. In order to intimidate everyone, Tianhou followed Lu Zhi's example and cut off the hands and feet of Queen Wang and Concubine Xiao Shu, stuffed them into a wine jar to make human pigs, and killed them cruelly.
After the death of Concubine Xiao Shu, her children were not spared either. Concubine Xiao Shu's son Li Xu, King of Wu, was dispatched to a remote place, and his title was cut again and again, almost imprisoned; Concubine Xiao Shu's daughter Li Zhen was imprisoned in Yeting, without the title of princess, without the treatment of a princess, it seemed that there was no such thing as her in the court Like human beings, everyone enthusiastically flattered Tianhou, Li Changle and others, and no one remembered that there was another princess in the palace.
In this sense, Queen Wang is indeed lucky to have no biological children.
As the queen's son and the beneficiary of this court struggle, Li Shan felt really complicated when he saw his elder sister being tortured into this appearance by his mother. Li Zhen is two years older than Li Shan, and she is already twenty-two this year. Li Shan has already married a wife, but Li Zhen has not yet married as a woman. As the emperor's daughter, what kind of life did Li Chaoge and Li Changle live, and what kind of life did Li Zhen live
Li Chaoge moved to the princess mansion before he got married, and his basic necessities were all the best, while Li Changle was held in the palm of his parents' hands, and the whole capital was careful to curry favor with the little princess. On the other hand, Li Zhen, wearing half-worn clothes, lived in the cold Yeting, went out on rainy days, and didn't even have a court lady by her side.
Li Shanxin is kind. He always felt that the method used by his mother to kill Queen Wang and Concubine Xiao Shu back then was too bloody. Since the victory has already been won, it would be fine if they were imprisoned. Why bother to kill them all? Taking a step back, since you have already killed the other party's mother, why make things difficult for the child, Li Zhenhe? After all, Li Xu is the blood of his father.
Li Shan looked at this scene, sighed deeply, and couldn't bear to say: "Sister Chang, how are you doing here?"
Li Zhen kept her head down, looking timid, not at all like a princess. She laughed at herself and said: "It's just going through the day, the left and the right will die alone? It doesn't make any difference. My father and the empress are in good health, and the Tang Dynasty has a good government and a harmonious people. This is my greatest blessing."
Li Shan couldn't say anything. Tianhou is his biological mother, and everything Tianhou does is for them. Li Shan can't blame his biological mother, but Li Zhen's falling into this situation has something to do with him.
Li Shan nodded dryly, and said: "Father is in good health, elder sister can rest assured. Is elder sister still rich in food and clothing? This is some of my wishes, elder sister accept it."
Li Shan untied the bag on his waist, didn't even look at how much money was inside, and handed it to Li Zhen directly. Li Zhen didn't answer, she squeezed her hands tightly, and said: "I am humble, and I dare not accept things from the prince."
The things in Li Shan's hand were empty, he sighed, put the money bag into the hand of the waiter, and said: "Sister, don't say such things, no matter what, you are always the daughter of the emperor. These things are not counted." What? Eldest sister, stay here. After a while, I'll ask Donggong to send you some household items."
After Li Shan finished speaking, he couldn't bear to look at Li Zhen anymore, turned around and left. The waiter holding the umbrella hurriedly followed, and the team serving the prince left in a mighty manner. A waiter stayed at the end and handed the money bag to Li Zhen: "My lady, this is His Highness's wish, you just accept it. My lady Ankang, this slave will retire."
Because of the Empress Dowager, the servant did not dare to call Li Zhen a princess, so she could only vaguely call her a lady. The eldest princess is the unparalleled Princess Shengyuan, so what is Li Zhen? Tianhou didn't say that Li Zhen is a princess, who dares to think that Li Zhen is a princess.
The servants did not dare to be sloppy in the slightest, the Queen of Heaven had heard a lot of reports in the harem, if what happened today? If it got to the Queen of Heaven's ears, they would die. After the servant finished speaking, he didn't even want to stay for a long time, so he quickly tied his hands and left.
The group of people walked away in a blink of an eye, and the rain dripped from the eaves without stopping. Li Zhen squeezed the brocade bag embroidered with gold thread tightly with her hands and fingers, and her thin knuckles turned blue.
When Li Shan returned to the East Palace, Crown Princess Lu was waiting at the door. Seeing him coming back, she hurriedly greeted him: "Your Highness, why are you coming back now? Your Highness is so wet, how do you serve him?"
The crown princess looked at the servants angrily, but the servants folded their hands and bowed their heads, not daring to answer. After staying in the wind and rain for so long, Li Shan's body really couldn't bear it. Seeing that Li Shan's expression was not good, the crown princess tried to touch Li Shan's hand, and was shocked: "Your Highness, why are your hands so cold? Send the imperial doctor quickly."
Fortunately, Li Shan has been in poor health, and the East Palace always prepared medicine. After a while, the imperial doctor withdrew his hands and got up and said to the princess, "Reporting to the princess, the prince's body is wet and cold, and I'm afraid he needs to rest for a while."
When the princess heard these words, she sighed deeply. It was time to recuperate again, the prince had just recuperated for a while, and today he finally regained his energy, but in the blink of an eye, he was caught in the rain and fell ill again.
The crown prince couldn't help thinking, Tianhou is already forty-three years old, she writes papers until late at night every day, and goes to court in Maoshi the next day. The two younger sisters of the crown prince, one Princess Shengyuan is omnipotent, and the other is Guangning. The princess also runs and jumps, and has never been sick since she was a child. I heard that this branch of the Wu family is in good health, and Tianhou's mother, Mrs. Yang, is in her eighties and is still full of energy. The Wu family has a rare advantage of longevity, but it has not been passed on to the prince. The prince is only twenty years old, and his body is already worse than the emperor.
Li Shan leaned on the bed, his face was pale, and he looked a little weak: "My body is too useless. When the news reaches the ears of the emperor tomorrow, I will bother the elders to worry about me."
Even if the princess is full of worries, she can only comfort Li Shan at this moment: "Your Highness, don't worry too much, just take care of it with peace of mind. The saint and Mr. Xianggong are all for your own good. Only when you recover will they be relieved."
Li Shan sighed leisurely: "My body has been like this since I was a child, and I've gotten used to it over the years. It's just that I feel guilty and uneasy. As a prince, I can't share the worries of my father. Instead, I have to work the elders to worry about me. It's really useless to be a son of man."
When it came to the emperor, the princess did not dare to judge lightly, so she could only whisper comforting words that she herself did not believe. The concubine wanted to divert Li Shan's attention, and said, "Princess Sheng Yuan moved to the princess mansion two days ago, and today she sent a gift box. I am preparing a return gift list, Your Highness, would you like to see it?"
Li Shan waved his hand and said, "No need, these things? You can decide."
Li Shan is in poor health and can't even handle the government affairs of the court. How can he have time to care about the internal affairs of the Eastern Palace. The internal management and human relations of the Eastern Palace are all handled by the Crown Princess.
The Crown Princess agreed, seeing the look on her face as usual. This is a trivial matter? But Prince Zhan paused after hearing this, cupped his hands and said, "His Royal Highness, there has never been a precedent for an unmarried princess to open her own mansion. Princess Sheng Yuan moved into the princess mansion before she got married. It is not taboo for foreign guests to come and go every day... I am afraid it is not a proper act."
Li Shan also felt that it was against the law. What does it look like for an unmarried lady to live outside by herself? But the emperor and the Queen of Heaven agreed, so what else can I do.
After hearing this, the crown prince Sheren also said: "Yes, not only the princess' mansion, the sage is responsive to Princess Sheng Yuan's requests. I heard that today, the sage even gave the soldiers of the Beiya mansion to Princess Sheng Yuan. The sage specially gave it to Princess Sheng Yuan. A thousand people were transferred to be dispatched by Princess Sheng Yuan at will. It is inappropriate for women to participate in politics, and Princess Sheng Yuan also has a hand in military power. If things go on like this, disasters may arise."
After making a start, the subordinates of the Eastern Palace talked about Li Chaoge one after another. Their dissatisfaction has been accumulated for a long time, but it was difficult to speak out because of the crown prince. Today, Li Chaoge has a very high reputation among the people, and the streets and alleys are talking about the feat of Princess Shengyuan's capture of a horse on the day of Shangyuan, and some operas are even compiled and sung. Fortunately, Li Chaoge is a princess. If she is a prince, the courtiers in the Eastern Palace will definitely suspect that she has other plans.
Li Shan went to see the emperor today, did he know about the forbidden army? Li Chaoge has made great achievements one after another, and now the emperor trusts Li Chaoge very much, even the two princes Li Shanhe and Li Huai are far behind. The emperor was relieved to delegate power, on the one hand because Li Chaoge was really capable, on the other hand, because Li Chaoge was a princess.
If it is a prince, before the emperor grants military power, he must consider the thoughts of courtiers. The emperor's every move represents the direction of the court. Does the emperor give other people military power, does it mean that he is dissatisfied with the crown prince? Even, do you want to change the prince
Therefore, the emperor did not dare to give Li Huai power arbitrarily, but he was at ease to promote his daughter. A daughter will never pose a threat to the throne. No matter how much credit Li Chaoge makes, in the end, it will always be attributed to his brother. The prince is weak, and one more person in the court will help the prince. In the future, the power will be handed over, and the prince will be more stable.
The emperor's support of Li Chaoge is probably the same reason as he tried his best to cultivate the Queen of Heaven. The emperor himself has experienced the time when he was controlled by powerful ministers, and he understands how uncomfortable it is for a weak ruler and a strong minister. No matter how loyal a courtier is, no one can withstand the erosion of power, no matter how close brothers and uncles are, they will turn against the imperial power, but mother and sister will never betray.
Li Shan understands that the emperor is paving the way for him, but in his father's eyes, he is such an incompetent and weak image, which is still difficult for Li Shan to accept. The emperor would rather support a woman than trust him.
The crown princess lowered her eyes and said softly: "Princess Sheng Yuan has just been found, and it is inevitable for a saint to spoil her. However, Princess Sheng Yuan is too overreaching. The Queen of Heaven intervenes in the government because the Queen of Heaven is the mother of the Crown Prince, but Princess Sheng Yuan is just a princess, how can a younger sister care about elder brother's affairs?"
Li Chaoge is now more popular than the Crown Princess in the Eastern Capital, and Li Chaoge is always the first in the court. It is all right for the Crown Princess to tolerate Li Changle, but Li Chaoge is just a princess who has just been found, and it is hard to say if she is a real princess, so it is a bit ignorant to dare to rush ahead of the Crown Princess.
Seeing the approval of the Crown Princess, the servants of the Eastern Palace became more and more morale-increased, and they all remonstrated: "Yes, Your Highness. Princess Sheng Yuan has reached the age of marriage and should stay in the deep palace to be married. What's the point of showing her face all day long? She I hang out among men all day long, if something happens, it will be the face of the saint and the prince. The saint may have thought it through carefully when he built the town of demons, but there are so many good men in my court, so men should be in command and envoys. , acting as the commander of the town demon division. Is there any reason for a princess to point fingers at important events in the court?"
"It's a pity that the government affairs are all approved by the Empress Dowager now. What request does Princess Sheng Yuan have? The Empress Dowager directly agreed to it. I can't even make an appeal if I want to. Your Majesty has a serious headache and it is difficult to govern. No matter in terms of etiquette or reason The crown prince should oversee the country. But the Empress Dowager takes care of everything and doesn’t delegate power at all, what’s the point? "
The East Palace has its own small imperial court, and these people will be the future Zaifu team after the crown prince ascends to power. Their interests have long been tied to the crown prince, and when they mention Li Chaoge and Empress Dowager, they are full of resentment. The more these people talk, the further they go. They have gone from complaining about Li Chaoge to complaining about the Queen of Heaven.
After all, there is only so much power, and if Tianhou holds it alone, the East Palace will have nothing to share. The servants of the Eastern Palace couldn't help but think a little deeper. You must know that the Queen of Heaven is not the only son of the crown prince.
Although the possibility of setting up Zhao Wang Li Huai as the prince is small, it is not impossible. Parents all over the world love Yaoer, and they have to guard against it.
When Li Shan met Li Zhen today, he was already in a depressed mood, but now he heard the officials and the Crown Princess complaining about the Empress and Li Chaoge, and his heart became more and more depressed. Li Shan felt depressed? He suddenly tilted his head and coughed, and the voices in the hall stopped immediately. Li Shan finally finished coughing, his face was as white as gold paper, and he said weakly: "These things? We will discuss them later. You are lonely and tired, so go down."
The people in Zhan Shifu didn't dare to say any more, they all bowed their hands and retreated silently. The Crown Princess looked at Li Shan's weak body, no matter how ambitious she was, it turned into a weak sigh. The Crown Princess got up, pulled the quilt on Li Shan, and said, "Your Highness is recovering from illness, so I will retire."
·
After the case of Feitiantu, the town demon master gradually became famous, not only among the people, but also in the officialdom.
Zhenyaosi finally exists as a court institution, not a dispensable toy for a princess.
In the east of the imperial city, the number of staff in the Town Demon Division has gradually increased. Apart from the three laborers like Bai Qianhe, the number of civilian staff has also gradually increased. Recorder? Waiting for others to dry books outside, Li Chaoge gathered Bai Qianhe and the others to hold a regular meeting in the main hall.
Li Chaoge asked: "Who was the first to spread the drawing of Fushi, have you found it?"
Bai Qianhe was in charge of this task. Bai Qianhe slowly shook his head and said, "I can't do anything. I'm asking people to ask."
Back then, the Fushi picture that summoned the ghost was all the rage in the Eastern Capital, and the transmission routes were criss-crossed. It was not easy to find out the source. Li Chaoge had expected it a long time ago, and was not disappointed when he heard that there was no progress. He said, "Continue to investigate. Spend time with him. I don't believe that we can't find the person behind the scenes."
Mo Linlang quietly asked: "Commander, why do you want to inquire about the Fushi map?"
This is undoubtedly the voice of everyone. Li Chaoge let out a breath, loosened his cuff buttons, and said, "I can't tell. I just feel that there is a line behind it. The Qianyuan Sword was sold by the tomb robbers to the old owner of the Hidden Sword Villa, and the resurrection of Feitiantu. The Ye Mingzhu is also related to the tomb robbery. I always feel that the formation symbol on the Fushi picture is a large formation for summoning ghosts. It is not a coincidence, but a deliberate one."
In this way, it is true that these cases are all related to the dead. Mo Linlang nodded silently, lost in thought. Li Chaoge thought for a while, and then said to Zhou Shao: "Zhou Shao, the government can't get in touch with the news on the road of tomb robbery. You should inquire about Qian Yuanjian and Ye Mingzhu. Fan Yong confessed that Ye Mingzhu was someone For those buried in the emperor's tomb, you'd better find out which emperor it is and where the tomb is."
Tomb robbers are very shy of government officials. Li Chaoge can't be found through normal channels. He can only tell Zhou Shao to investigate through street gangsters, third-party? Zhou Shao nodded in response, still cherishing words like gold as always: "Understood."
Li Chaoge said that she asked Zhou Shao to search for the Ye Mingzhu, but in fact she had an intuition in her heart that this pair of pearls was most likely also dug out from Emperor Kui's tomb. No proof, pure intuition.
After Li Chaoge dealt with the accumulated clues, he began to talk about the new cases. The Monster Suppression Division is now gradually on the right track. Apart from emergencies and the appointment of the emperor, other departments gradually transfer the cases of monsters to the Monster Suppression Division. This is a good sign. You must know that in the previous life, Zhen Yaosi and all the prison temples were enemies. When other officials saw Li Chaoge, they could not wait to eat his flesh and drink his blood.
The demon town master had a very bad reputation in his previous life, and both inside and outside the government and the public confuse the town demon master with the cruel officials. In fact, Li Chaoge is very disgusted with the gang of cruel officials. In this life, she has to pick out the town demon and the cruel officials early. She is not the same as those ignorant gangsters.
The new cases were all simple, and Li Chaoge quickly assigned the task almost. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone waiting outside the door, she said rudely, sent Bai Qianhe and the others away, and then asked the court envoy: "What's the matter?"
The female official knelt down to salute Li Chaoge, and said softly: "Princess Sheng Yuan, there is an edict from the Queen of Heaven, please come with your servants."
Li Chaoge followed the female officer into the palace. There were many court ladies standing outside the Great Hall of Fame. Li Chaoge was wondering why these people came out, but as soon as he approached, he heard a crackling sound of things falling from inside the hall.
"Bastard, you actually feel pity for Concubine Xiao Shu's daughter. If it wasn't for me, how could you brothers and sisters survive? I have worked so hard to make you the crown prince, but now, you are blaming me for someone else's daughter?"