Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Chapter 834 Arrival
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For the people in Chang'an City, the upcoming wedding between Hu Liang and the eldest princess is not the most important thing. The day when Empress Yang is pregnant for the fourth time is getting closer. Everyone knows that as long as it is a son, then Will be canonized as prince. Everyone inside and outside Chang'an City was watching the birth of this child with different emotions.

Chang'an, Tai Chi Palace.

A group of people came along the long and narrow palace road. The leader was a chamberlain in a scarlet robe. Behind the chamberlain were two palace ladies, and behind them were four eunuchs in green robes. They worked together to carry a small sedan, slowly. Walking slowly forward, behind the sedan were four rough messenger women, carrying parcel boxes and cages in their hands. At this time, several local birds frightened the locust trees beside the road, and the sound of flapping in the air suddenly frightened the four women into screaming.

"Silence!" The leading servant in the scarlet robe shook the whisk in his hand and scolded: "What kind of behavior do you have to behave like a yeller?"

The four rough ladies were scolded by the chamberlain and remained silent. One woman smiled bitterly and said: "Prince Wang, where are you going? Why are you getting more and more desolate? Are you going to leave the palace?"

"Shut up!" the scarlet-robed waiter shouted with his belly protruding: "Your Majesty the Queen's decree, just listen to it, and you still dare to talk!" He stopped the woman, looked at the small sedan with pride, and waved: "Quickly These are coming soon!”

After about half an hour, the group of people came to the gate of a palace courtyard. This palace courtyard is called Shanchi Courtyard. It is located in the northwest corner of Taiji Palace. It is only separated from Beiyuan by a wall. It is the most remote corner of Taiji Palace. This palace, which was built during the reign of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, is almost a century old and has begun to deteriorate. The courtyard is wide and overgrown with grass, the citrons that have begun to decay are covered with rusty iron horses, and the walls of the alleyway have fallen off. The red paint seems to be talking about the past glory of this place.

"We're here!" The servant in the scarlet robe bowed to the sedan chair: "Empress Xu, Your Highness, please get off the sedan chair! This is the Shanchi Courtyard!"

The sedan curtain was opened, and a young woman came down, holding a four or five-year-old child in her hand. She was wearing a bright yellow brocade robe and was looking around curiously.

"Empress Xu!" The servant in the scarlet robe said with a smile: "According to the decree of Her Majesty the Queen, from now on you and His Royal Highness the Poyang County Prince will live in this Shanchi Courtyard. If you have any other instructions, please tell me, otherwise I will go back to resume my duties. !”

It turned out that this young woman was Xu Cairen who gave birth to Li Hong's eldest son and the only son he had. Li Hong was quite indifferent to the mother and son. According to the custom, the son of the emperor was usually named the first-class king. The food and salary of thousands of households was high; but Li Shouwen, Xu Cairen's son, was only granted the title of county king and received only half of his food and salary, so his treatment in the palace was naturally not good. Xu Cairen looked at the dilapidated scene in front of him and said to the servant in the scarlet robe: "Thank you, Young Supervisor Wang. Please thank Her Majesty the Queen for my concubine. The Shanchiyuan looks very dilapidated. It's getting late now, so why not?" Please bring some brooms and basins so that I can clean up a room after tonight!"

Although Wang Shaojian was a confidant of the queen, he deliberately brought Xu Cairen's mother and son here to make things difficult. However, the other party was neither humble nor overbearing, so he felt a little embarrassed. He forced a smile and said: "How dare you do something like this, my lady? I will send someone immediately." Just come and clean it up!”

"It doesn't matter! I'm not that delicate, and I have four servants!" Xu Cairen said, "Young Master Wang, just ask someone to bring you the cleaning tools."

Wang Shaojian called for cleaning tools. Xu Cairen chose a room in better condition in the Shanchi courtyard, changed into a pair of coarse clothes, tied up his hair, and started cleaning with the four maids. Then Li Shouwen He also picked up the rag to help. Xu Cairen smiled and said, "Shouwen, what are you doing?"

"Of course I'm helping my mother!"

"You are of high status, how can you do such rough work!" Xu Cairen said with a smile: "Come on, just sit on the side obediently, don't get your clothes dirty!"

"If mother can do it, Shouwen can do it too!" Li Shouwen rolled up his sleeves and wiped the cabinet in a decent manner, while saying: "As for my status being valuable, it's my mother who is coaxing me. If my status is valuable , how could I be driven to this place and make my mother suffer together!"

Xu Cairen didn't expect his son to say such words, and he didn't know how to answer for a while. After a while, he said: "This Shanchiyuan is actually good, but no one has cleaned it for a long time. After a few days, It’s different when you clean it every day!”

"Mother! In fact, I quite like coming here!" Li Shouwen shook his head: "Although it looks shabby, at least it is far away from the Queen. I know she dislikes me very much. Every time she sees me When she gets angry, she will find ways to torment you, mother. If she lives here, she will rarely see you. If she gives birth to a son this time, I can go to my fief with my mother. Our life will definitely get better! ”

Xu Cairen couldn't help but feel sad when he heard his son's childish words. As Li Shouwen said, although Li Hong almost ignored this son, as long as he did not give birth to a son with Queen Yang, Li Shouwen, the eldest son of the concubine, would be the first heir to the Tang Empire and could only stay in Taiji Palace. middle. And every time Empress Yang saw Li Shouwen, she would naturally not be in a good mood, and would definitely try her best to suppress and torture the mother and son. But if Empress Yang really gave birth to a son, Li Shouwen would not have to stay in the palace to be tortured. He would either leave the palace and give it to a prince, or leave Chang'an and go to a certain state or county (this is the most likely), both of which are in a different place. The world is far better than living in a palace under the fence. But the more well-behaved and intelligent Li Shouwen was, the more bitter and bitter it sounded to Xu Cairen's ears. After all, if he had not been born in such a humble state, even if the eldest son of a concubine like Li Shouwen could not be crowned a prince, he would not be in this situation now. .

"Shouwen, it's all my mother's fault. If you weren't born in my womb—"

"Shouwen never thinks there is anything good about staying in the palace!" Li Shouwen said: "Really, others think it is good here, but Shouwen knows that the people here are either thinking about how to harm others or thinking about ways to harm others all day long. Why can't I live a comfortable life without being harmed? If possible, Shouwen wouldn't want to stay here for a day. I really hope that the queen will give birth to a son as soon as possible and let us mother and son go!"

"Well!" Xu Cairen knelt down, hugged his son, and said softly: "Then let us pray to the Bodhisattva that the queen will give birth to her son one day early, and that we, mother and son, can leave Chang'an and live in a good place. !”

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Guangtong Canal.

The paddles of the water wheel were rising and falling. Wang Wenzuo was sitting on the bow of the boat. He put his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist, and Lu Zhaolin accompanied him. Master Shen sat in the second boat from behind, and Hei Te Changzhi sat in the third boat. Their boat cut through the water, the water wheels on both sides turned, and the water roared. There were crowds of people on both sides of the Guangtong Canal. They shouted Wang Wenzuo's name and official position. The military flag of the Tang Dynasty was fluttering in the wind. It was an exciting sight.

After entering Guangyuntan, the fleet made a big turn and passed straight through the turbulent river. The boatman pedaled the waterwheel vigorously. The grand outline of the observation tower next to Guangyuntan came into view, as well as neat guards of honor and gorgeous The bright yellow Luo Gai looks even more magnificent in the sunshine.

"The Emperor should be on the observation tower!" Lu Zhaolin whispered. "Yes!" Wang Wenzuo nodded noncommittally. It was expected that Li Hong would come to greet him in person. Hu Liang's achievements in Jiannan and his humble attitude should have restored a lot of trust between the two parties. Although it is impossible to return to the original state, it is already very good. The peace in the Tang Dynasty was so precious at the moment. He did not want to see another civil war in his lifetime.

With a slight vibration, the boat stopped, and Wang Wenzuo stepped off the pedal. When the crowd at the pier saw his figure, they burst into another burst of high-pitched cheers. Wang Wenzuo raised his hands and bowed to all around, then walked forward. He passed through the arch and came to the observation building. He climbed the steps and saw Li Hong standing at the stairs of the second floor, smiling. Waiting for yourself.

Compared with a few years ago, Li Hong looks much more mature. He has a short beard on his chin, and his eyebrows no longer have the childishness he once had. A lavender cloak hangs from his thin shoulders. Wang Wenzuo took two steps forward, knelt down and worshiped: "Your Majesty, your Majesty, Wang Wenzuo!"

"San Lang is exempt from the gift!" Li Hongxu asked, and smiled: "From now on, we are not only monarchs and ministers, but also relatives. Hu Liang is really a rare general, and no one expected that he would enter with four hundred horses. Shu can pacify the Taoist thieves!"

"Your Majesty is ridiculous!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "As far as I know, it was mainly Li Jingye's credit for defeating the Taoist thief, and Hu Liang just happened to take down the thief's head!"

"It's a coincidence, how can there be so many coincidences in the world?" Li Hong said with a smile: "Sanlang, just let me listen to what you say, but don't say it in front of my sister later, otherwise she will not let you go!"

"Oh? Her Royal Highness the Princess is here too?" Wang Wenzuo asked.

"That's not true!" Li Hong said with a smile: "After all, Sanlang, you are his father-in-law. It is a little inconvenient for her to show up in public before the wedding! Let's talk about it in a few days!"

"Then where is Guliang now——?"

"I have sent a message to recruit him back to Chang'an. It will arrive in three to five days!" It can be seen that Li Hong is in a good mood. As he talks, he and Wang Wenzuo sit down separately. Wang Wenzuo then Noticing that Queen Yang's lower abdomen was obviously bulging, she quickly stood up and said: "Congratulations, Your Majesty the Queen!"

"We are happy together, we are happy together!" Empress Yang was also full of joy: "This time I just hope that thanks to the great general's son's happiness, I can give birth to a prince for your majesty!"

"That's for sure!" Wang Wenzuo was telling the truth at this time. The marriage between Hu Liang and Princess Taiping has connected his family with the Li family. Only when the Li family is stable can he devote more energy. Expand overseas and establish a long-lasting foundation.

"Then let me borrow the general's good words!" The queen laughed, with a smile on her slightly swollen face.

The atmosphere on the observation floor was lively, and everyone was saying pleasant things. No matter what they thought in their hearts, at least on the surface it was a festive atmosphere. However, due to the queen's pregnancy, this meeting did not last too long. After only about two-quarters of an hour, the emperor and the queen drove back to the palace. After Wang Wenzuo sent the emperor off respectfully, a group of people Then he came to his mansion in Chang'an to rest.

"Congratulations to the general!" Murong Miao and Di Renjie said in unison.

"Congratulations, congratulations!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "Hu Liang can't be where he is today without the help of the two of you, especially Murong Miao. You deserve the most credit for the success of this marriage with the eldest princess!"

"Don't dare!" Murong Miao hurriedly bowed down and said, "The main reason for this marriage is that Mr. Hu Liang is a talented person in the world. The emperor and the eldest princess favor him. I just did my duty!"

"You don't have to be humble!" Wang Wenzuo said: "Other people don't know what you did in Chang'an, so don't I know? It's my Wang Wenzuo's blessing that Hu Liang can marry the eldest princess, it's also a blessing for the Tang Dynasty, and a blessing for Hebei." , Haidong’s good fortune, you Murong Mu have done a great job!”

"Your Majesty, you are so complimentary!" Hearing Wang Wenzuo praising him like this, Murong Miao secretly rejoiced in his heart: "My Lord, when you come to Chang'an this time, are there any other matters apart from the young master's marriage?"

"Yes!" A smile of approval appeared on Wang Wenzuo's face: "Yes, Murong Mu, the fact that you have this idea shows that you are not dawdling in Chang'an. Yes, in addition to protecting Liang's marriage, I have one more thing to do when I come to Chang'an this time! That is to end the great enemy Qin Ling for Datang!"

"Qin Ling?" Murong Miao was startled, and then he felt a surge of ecstasy in his heart: "If the general is willing to take action, the end of Qin Ling is not far away!"

"I don't dare to be so arrogant!" Wang Wenzuo smiled: "But I am almost at the age of knowing my destiny, so I will end this trouble for the emperor and my descendants!"

"General! Has any emperor ever mentioned your intention?" Di Renjie asked.

"Not yet! Let's wait until Hu Liang's marriage is completed before mentioning it!" Wang Wenzuo said: "Besides, I guess even if I don't mention it, someone in the emperor and the court will mention it!"

Hearing what Wang Wenzuo said, Di Renjie and Murong Mu both nodded. Since the defeat of Dafeichuan, the Tang army has fallen into a passive situation on the front line against Tibet in Qinghai and Gansu. Under the continuous attack of the Tibetan army commanded by Qin Ling, they were very passive. Regardless of his qualifications, martial arts skills, and strength at his disposal, Wang Wenzuo is already the undisputed number one in the military circles of the Tang Dynasty. If it weren't for his awkward relationship with the Chang'an court, he would have been transferred to Longyou long ago. The front line went to deal with Qin Ling. It would be damned if the top people in the Chang'an court would not take advantage of the marriage between Hu Liang and Princess Taiping to mend their relationship and convince Wang Wenzuo to go to Longyou to deal with the Tubo people.

(End of this chapter)