Traveling through the early Tang Dynasty starts with hanging

Chapter 263
Speaking of which, Li Kai also has some reputation among the children of the aristocratic family, but this reputation is not very good.

Li Kai is the younger brother of the Danyang house of the Li family in Longxi. He accompanied the Qin king Li Shimin to conquer Liu Heitao at the beginning of the fifth year of Wude. Zheng's daughter died of illness.

And this bad luck was not the first time, or even the second time.

Six years ago, Li Kai was engaged to the Lanling Xiao family, and the nine-year-old woman died the following year.

Five years ago, Li Kai was engaged to the Bohai Gao family, and the 11-year-old woman died of illness the following year.

Uh, female over male, has a bad reputation.

Men beat women... This reputation is not good.

Mrs. Changsun frowned, waved her hand to let the maid back, and looked at Li Kai, who seemed to be unaffected, with a bitter face, "Sanlang..."

"Mother, don't worry." Li Kai smiled lightly, "It doesn't matter if Shiro is in front."

There were a few interested parties, but without exception, they all aimed at Changsun's fourth son, Li Qi, and avoided Li Kai.

At this time, Master Li came back, asked a few words casually, and couldn't help frowning.

"Wu Xingshen's and Wu Jun's Gu's are interested..." The Changsun family obviously doesn't think much of these two families. Although they were common surnames back then, they have declined now.

At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, there were many powerful families in the world, but generally speaking, the north is the most expensive, and the top families are basically in the north of the Yellow River, mainly in Shandong, Hedong, and Guanzhong. Among the seven families with five surnames, only the Zheng family in Xingyang is in the middle. Around the Yellow River.

Even those aristocratic families who moved to the south of the Yangtze River hundreds of years ago, whose ancestral home is around the Yellow River and in the north, can still maintain their prestige, such as the Lanling Xiao family and the Langya Wang family, while those Jiangnan gentry families have lost their momentum.

Wu Jun Zhu, Wu Jun Zhang, Wu Jun Gu, Wu Jun Lu, Wu Xing Zhou, Wu Xing Shen, these are all Jiangnan gentry, and their rise is basically after the south crossing. There is an instinct to cling, and now that the world has been unified, there is an urgent need to marry a family from the North.

Master Li thought about it, and scratched his head a little. Now the Li family in Longxi can be called the number one family in the world, but in fact, if you don't look down, there are not many targets you can choose for marriage.

After pondering for a while, Li Keshi looked at his son, "What do you think of Sanlang?"

Li Kai said with a smile: "It's up to the parents to decide, but... Huairen mentioned it once during the dinner today."

"Has Huairen entered the city today?"

"Delivery..." Li Kai tilted his head, "To Zhigui."

After hearing what her husband and son said, Changsun suddenly became interested, "Is it Zhang Wenguan from the Zhang family in Wucheng?"

"Yes, Zhigui arrived in Chang'an yesterday, Huairen sent a letter today."

"Meet?"

"Yes."

Changsun clicked his tongue twice, "I'm afraid it's a poem!"

Master Li asked curiously, "Why do you say that?"

Mrs. Changsun recounted everything that happened yesterday, and specifically named Mrs. Cui before leaving, and solemnly saluted Mrs. Zhu, "Zhang Zhigui is Mrs. Cui's cousin, and his mother is Mrs. Cui's aunt. It was sent by his mother..."

"Don't you want to scrutinize?" Li Keshi couldn't help laughing, "Cui Shi still wants to be kind?"

"Anyway, that little lady Cui..." Mrs. Changsun coughed twice, thought for a while and said, "Sanlang, since Huai Ren has become a poem..."

Li Kai nodded with a suppressed smile, "I must ask and report to my mother in detail."

Li Keshi was a little speechless, he also knew that his wife was very dignified on weekdays, but her temper was actually very detached.

But the point is... is it crooked?

"Sanlang went on to say...how did Huairen say it?"

"Oh, Huairen asked Mrs. Zhu which girl she hates the most." Li Kai said solemnly, "As long as you don't like it, there is a [-]% or [-]% certainty, not to mention nine out of ten."

Master Li Ke and Mrs. Changsun were stunned, first frowning in thought, and then couldn't help laughing.

Master Li nodded again and again, "That's true, that's true!"

The relationship between the eldest grandson, the eldest daughter-in-law, and the second daughter-in-law... well, anyway, it is a normal relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, a family, but it is always not pleasing to the eye, picky about this and that.

Changsun said angrily: "Could it be that the mother-in-law didn't like the concubine's body back then?"

Master Li didn't speak but just smiled.

A strange woman who robs her son...does it please her?
After laughing for a while, Mrs. Changsun snorted, "It will be easy in the future. After a while, just ask the sister of the Zhu family, which young ladies you don't like the most..."

Li Keshi smiled and said, "You should pay more attention to Huairen's marriage, but don't be in a hurry, the court situation is like this... you need to be cautious, and..."

"And the Pei clan of Hedong." Changsun nodded and said, "If you really intend to, you have to explain... Although Huairen is famous now, he has no foundation."

Li Kai sighed, that's true, it is impossible for Li Shan to marry a woman from a poor family, but there are not many families who are not afraid of Wenxi Pei's family at all, and there is not much room for choice.

The most important thing is actually the King of Qin. If the King of Qin ascends the throne, the Pei clan of Hedong who is attached to the East Palace will inevitably decline, so that Li Shan is qualified enough to marry a family, even a top family... For example, the little lady Cui who should have received the letter by now.

Therefore, for other people, whether King Qin can seize the heir is related to his official career, and has little influence on himself.

For example, for Danyangfang of the Li family in Longxi, if the crown prince ascends the throne, Li Keshi’s official career will definitely be affected, but with Li Jing and Li Qianyou around, Li Keshi himself will not be treated harshly, and even the official careers of several sons will be affected. will not be affected.

As for Li Shan, whether the King of Qin can seize the heir apparent is related to too many aspects of him... even his marriage will be affected.

Li Kai was thinking in his heart, how long will it take for the king of Qin and the crown prince to decide the winner?

If it continues... for ten or eight years, tsk tsk, Huairen will not get married until almost thirty!
A family of three was chatting, a servant woman came to report outside, and the king of Qin summoned him.

Master Li is a little strange. Although he was born in the Li family in Longxi, his status in Tiance Mansion is not high, and his relationship with King Qin is not as close as that of Cheng Yaojin, Qin Qiong, and Yu Chigong, and he rarely enters Chengqian Hall... ...much less than his wife, Changsun's.

He galloped all the way into the imperial city and into Chengqian Palace. As soon as Li Keshi was led into the side hall, he heard Li Shimin's angry scolding.

"The imperial medical office is full of scammers!"

"If the third sister dies, I must ask the crime!"

Master Li's heart tightened, he knew that he was talking about Princess Pingyang who had not returned to Beijing soon, after hearing this, the Imperial Medical Office was powerless.

"Senior Brother Ke is here." Fang Xuanling greeted him.

Master Li returned a salute, and with a sweeping gaze, there were only King Qin, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and Changsun Wuji in the side hall, and the last three were King Qin's confidants.

Li Shimin forced a smile and nodded, "I have some small matters to ask today."

"Your Majesty, please ask your Highness for more information."

Master Li glanced out of the corner of his eye, Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji looked as usual, Du Ruhui's face was ashen.

Li Shimin took a deep breath, "Demou and Li Huairen are best friends, and Chang'an ordered Li Qianyou to be commensurate with his uncle and nephew, is there such a thing?"

Why did you ask Li Shan... Master Li was even more surprised, "That's true."

"Did Li Ganyou not say a word when Yuhuchun was closed that day?" Li Shimin asked, "I heard that Li Zhaode, Li Qianyou's son, is also on good terms with Li Huairen?"

Master Li Ke was confused by the question, Changsun Wuji beside him said softly: "Brother Ke, who behind the scenes ordered Chang'an to seal Yuhuchun that day?"

"Given the name by a sage, the door was closed for half a month. He is definitely not an ordinary person... Even an ordinary person can't touch the disciples of the Li family in Longxi."

Li Shimin nodded slightly, and stared at Li Keshi. He knew that Yuhuchun was closed for a long time. He thought it was the unconscious Li Dewu who did it, but he didn't know there was another mystery until yesterday.

If you want to check these things, the easiest way is to ask Li Qianyou and Li Dewu to find out what happened, but the former is the master of Qi Wangfu, and the latter is the prince Qianniu Beishen of the Eastern Palace... Although Li Shimin doesn't take it seriously, he doesn't care about it either. Willing to be provocative in such trivial matters.

What's more, if what Fang Xuanling reported yesterday is the truth, I need to be more careful in dealing with it.

Therefore, Li Shimin summoned Li Keshi. Li Ganyou was Li Keshi's cousin.

Theoretically, the Yuhuchun Winery has been closed for so long, even if Li Keshi didn't come forward in person, he still has a reason to ask.

Under the stares of these four people, Li Keshi said frankly, "At first it was Wang Renyou, a son of the Wang family in Qixian County, Taiyuan, and later Wei Qingsi of Jingzhao Webster...Because it is the order of the prince's family, it is inconvenient for Qianyou to go back. protect."

Fang Xuanling sighed softly, it turned out to be true, it was really Wei Qingsi, the prince's family order.

Both Li Shimin and Changsun Wuji remained silent.

It seemed that the atmosphere was a bit dignified, and Li Keshi felt that he should say a few words... Then he smiled and said to Du Ruhui: "I also want to thank Keming, if it wasn't for Jingzhao Du's action, the Yuhuchun Winery might still be closed. .”

Speaking of which, Wei Qingsi, as a son of Jingzhao Wei, served as the prince's family order, and acted behind the scenes... Few people knew the inside story. Li Dewu was shot by an arrow in the knee. Although the guest master was from the Li family in Longxi, he had no justifiable excuse to make a move.

Only the Du family of Jingzhao can do it. On the one hand, the two families have been close to each other for generations, and on the other hand, Du Ruhui is the confidant of King Qin. Whether it is private or public, it is enough to check and balance, and even suppress Wei Qingsi.

That's why Master Li Ke, who regards Li Shan as his nephew's descendant, would thank him... Du Ruhui's face was blue and white, his chest heaved violently, his mouth moved, and finally he coughed violently.

Mr. Li was puzzled, but he also knew... Maybe he said something wrong.

"This matter must not be leaked." Li Shimin told Li Keshi to leave after a few words, and said with a sullen face, "What the hell does Donggong want to do?!"

Changsun Wuji raised his voice and said: "East Palace's attempt to seize Eastern Shanxi Road failed, and now the old trick is being repeated. This matter cannot be ignored!"

Fang Xuanling nodded lightly. The night before yesterday, Feng Lun, Minister of the Procuratorate and Tiance Mansion Sima, suddenly found him, and mentioned that Du Yan asked Wei Qingsi, the prince's family order in the East Palace, for a private matter.

From the point of view of personal relationship, this is nothing, after all, Du Yan and Jingzhao Webster had a good relationship in the early years, but this incident reminded Li Shimin and Fang Xuanling and other counselors... Is this an accident?Or do it on purpose?

After all, Wei Qingsi's status is too special, the prince's family order, Li Jiancheng's confidants can't take it... Why did Du Yan go to Wei Qingsi for such a private matter?

Li Shimin and Fang Xuanling had to think of a possibility, did Du Yan switch to the East Palace?
Anything, I'm not afraid of you thinking too much, but I'm afraid you won't use your brain... So Li Shimin, Fang Xuanling and others became vigilant.

Speaking of which, the possibility of Du Yan switching to the East Palace is not small.

First, Du Yan has not held a position in the Tiance Mansion so far, only a bachelor in the Hongwen Museum, and has not yet been included in the list of eighteen bachelors, so Du Yan was quite annoyed that he was not allowed to be promoted.

Especially before, Fang Xuanling had hinted in private that Du Yan would serve as the soldier of Tiance's government and join the army, but Ling Jing appeared in the blink of an eye. How could this not make Du Yan angry?
Second, although Du Yan and Du Ruhui are uncles and nephews, they have long been at odds with each other.

The feud between uncle and nephew was not the reason for Du Yan to switch, but uncle and nephew was the reason for Du Yan to switch.

Aristocratic families never put all their eggs in the same basket. For example, Jingzhao Webster, Wei Ting, and Wei Qingsi are all Li Jiancheng's confidantes, but there are also Webster's children who entered the Tiance Mansion, and Wei Ting's younger brother was in Tiance. The government served as a meritorious Cao and participated in the military.

Third, Feng Lun, as the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, is responsible for selecting officials. If he hadn't noticed some clues, he might not be so conclusive.

So, let alone Li Shimin, even Fang Xuanling, who has always been gentle and refined, looked gloomy.

"Definitely not!" Fang Xuanling lowered his voice, but firmly said: "This is Your Highness's foundation!"

Both Changsun Wuji and Du Ruhui nodded in agreement. Last year, Crown Prince Li Jiancheng wanted to conquer Hebei himself, temporarily restraining the Eastern Shaanxi Road. He might recruit many generals. This is within the scope of Li Shimin's permission... After all, his prestige in the army is too high.

But this time the nature is different.

Although Du Yan does not work in Tiance Mansion, he is a Bachelor of Hongwenguan, this status determines that he must not be wooed by the East Palace.

In the fourth year of Wude, Li Shimin swept the Central Plains and captured two kings in one battle, laying the foundation for Li Tang to rule the world. Went to the Hongwen Museum.

The appearance of the Hongwen Museum is a symbol of Li Shimin's transition from an invincible commander to a civil rule, and it is a symbol of Li Shimin's prelude to the struggle for the throne.

The [-] bachelors of the Hongwen Hall are all working in Tiance Mansion, and many of the bachelors below are all attached to Li Shimin.

If Du Yan defected to the East Palace, Li Shimin's reputation would be severely damaged... Li Shimin would have no advantage over Li Jiancheng in this regard from military rule to civil rule.

Du Ruhui felt ruthless in his heart, why didn't he ask clearly that day, if he knew that the prince's confidant had intervened, he would not have fallen into the situation he is in today.

After a long silence, Fang Xuanling got up suddenly, walked to Li Shimin, and straightened his clothes.

"Brother Xuanling..." Du Ruhui stood up abruptly after being stunned for a moment, "A certain..."

"Keming is Wang Zuo's talent, Your Highness must not be far away." Fang Xuanling said with a smile and bowed solemnly.

Li Shimin sighed softly, stood up and helped Fang Xuanling up personally, "Keming is the left arm, and Xuanling is the right arm, can Gu just abandon him?"

Fang Xuanling nodded and said, "It's just a stopgap measure."

After being silent for a while, Li Shimin nodded slightly.

In fact, the solution to this matter is very simple, the four people present knew it well, just give Du Yan an official position in the Tiance Mansion, as long as he entered the Tiance Mansion, Du Yan would never be able to switch to the East Palace no matter what.

But Tiance Mansion is not like Qin Wangfu, official positions are regulated, starting from Tiance General, Chang Shi, Sima, Zhonglang, Jijiu, Chief Bookkeeper and so on.

Basically there are no vacancies, currently there are only vacancies for the recorder who is in charge of the transmission of books, the ninth-rank junior official... and Du Ruhui is a Zhonglang, a fourth-rank official.

This is unacceptable to Du Yan.

But Fang Xuanling stood up, he joined the army as a recorder of Tiance Mansion, a fifth rank official... but Du Yan could accept it.

(End of this chapter)