Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 106 The East Palace Wedding Banquet
Meng Xia in April, the first day of junior high school.

The peach blossoms in Chang'an City are at their most beautiful, and the cherries are ripe.

A blooming peony flower is inserted in the bun of the girl carrying the fruit basket.

A group of horse-drawn carriages passed by, and Shou Wang Li Wei lifted the curtain to stare at the slim figures on the street, feeling sad.

He got off the carriage at the Baocha Temple at the north gate of Chongrenfang, took a deep breath of the smoke from the incense candle, and rarely felt the freedom outside the Ten Kings' House.

Rather than saying that he believes in Buddhism, it is better to say that what he likes is that he can leave the surveillance in the name of worshiping Buddha on the first and fifteenth day of each month.

After offering incense in the main hall, Li Tong strode towards the meditation room in the backyard.

Every month in the past, Daxi Yingying would bring him money, and sometimes some beauties, except last month.

"Is she here?"

"inside."

Li Zhen's decadent eyes finally burst out, and he pushed the door straight in.

Daxi Yingying's plump and alluring figure fell into his eyes again, and this time it finally aroused his emotions.

"Snapped!"

Li Yan strode forward and slapped her on the face, and bloodshot eyes immediately appeared on her beautiful face.

She fell to the ground, Li Yan stepped up, slapped her backhand again, and rubbed her roughly.

Daxi Yingying was so painful that she shed tears, she gritted her teeth and endured it, instead she stroked herself and said coquettishly, "Shou Wang..."

Seeing her being so profligate, Li Yan frowned, got up, and kicked her hard.

"Baby maid, dare to betray me!"

"I don't dare." Daxi Yingying hurriedly hugged Li Jun's boots, begging for mercy: "I have always only had the King of Shou in my heart, it was Xue Bai who separated us, he designed to let the slave enter the palace..."

"Don't say it!"

Li Yan was furious, leaned over and strangled Da Xi Yingying's neck.

Her face was flushed red, and his face was even redder with anger. Endless hatred and grievances surged up, completely devouring his reason.

"The lowly servant girl dares to laugh at me!"

Daxi Yingying had already prepared an excuse. She could say that she couldn't explain it to him because of the tight security of the Ten Kings' House, but the Prime Minister knew she hadn't betrayed her.Unexpectedly, she was about to be strangled to death with an inadvertent word.

She was suffocating, her eyes rolled up.

"Cough cough cough..."

There was a coughing sound from inside the screen, and Li Yan woke up from the painful memory, let go of his hand, and exclaimed: "Who?!"

He looked around the screen, and saw an old man in a gown coughing with his head bowed, only pointing his head at him.

"Dog thief."

Li Wei was terrified, he took the wooden fish on the shelf in his hand, and raised his hand to hit the old man.

But when the other party raised his head, he was so surprised that he took several steps back.

"Right...right phase?"

"Shibalang, long time no see." Li Linfu coughed and stared at the wooden fish.

Li Yan quickly put down the weapon in his hand, and asked, "Why is the right minister dressed like this?"

Today, it is very rare for Li Linfu not to bring his retinue, not even his confidant female envoy, which can be said to be unprecedented in ten years.

"Since Shibalang sent someone to talk about it, the old man had no choice but to come and return her deed to the original owner."

"This is?"

Li Yan stepped forward to take it, and opened it to take a look, with ecstasy in his eyes.

It's not because he cares about Daxi Yingying so much, but because he was finally able to maintain his face in the dark for once, preventing others from taking his woman away.

Daxi Yingying regained her breath, walked around the screen, and prostrated herself on the ground.

"Not much time." Li Linfu said indifferently: "Let's get down to business."

"Here."

Daxi Yingying seemed to have completely digested everything just now, and spoke without any emotion.

"Xue Bai is the son of Xue Ruo, Xue Pingzhao. In the past ten years, the person who adopted and taught him is named 'Han Yu'. From the only one painting, one book and two articles so far, it can be seen that this person is academically proficient, literary and pen Lao La, he is Zhang Jiuling and He Zhizhang, presumably Xue Bai’s poems are also directed by him behind the scenes, and Han Yu’s threat is not only in writing, calligraphy and painting, but also in power tactics.”

"He has been laying out the law for ten years. He proposed the law of salt to Yang Yu, won over Pei Kuan, Zhang Qiu and Qiong, and supported a force in the court. It should be to support King Qing as the heir. King Qing is the eldest son of the emperor and adopted Li. Ying's son is the best choice for Li Ying's remaining party. But once they are allowed to succeed, the first person to be killed in the future will undoubtedly be King Shou."

Li Yan was startled and exclaimed, "Is all this true?"

"Shou Wang can't trust the servant's family, can't he also trust the right minister?"

"The truth is that I went to see it in person, and it's true."

Li Linfu went to Fengwei Tower to look at it, and found that the calligraphy was not written by familiar opponents such as Li Yong, Zheng Qian, and Zhang Jiugao, but had a slightly Zhang Xuzhi style, which was very different from Yan Zhenqing's style.

More importantly, he personally observed how Du Wulang was at a loss in front of Daxi Yingying, and confirmed that this news channel was reliable.

All this confirmed his initial speculation.

Although there is no proof, it's okay, he didn't intend to reveal these things in front of the saint at all...

Li Yan said: "But I don't even know who Han Yu is!"

"This person has no official position, but he has the patience to lie dormant for such a long time. How cruel is he to do so?" Daxi Yingying said: "He also sent Xue Bai to Princess Xianyi's residence, he must want revenge."

"Concubine Wu Hui's sudden death must be related to Li Ying's remnants." Li Linfu said.

Li Yan was puzzled, and said: "Back then Li Ying really wanted to rebel, so he left behind such a vicious person. Right Prime Minister, you should tell the sage about these poisonous schemes!"

"Oh." Li Linfu sighed and shook his head.

"Right Prime Minister?"

"The Son of Heaven's family affairs, how can outsiders speak?" Li Linfu said: "Xue Bai presented dominoes to the saint, taking the opportunity to slander the old man. Now, the saint no longer trusts me, and there is no evidence for this."

"Then what should I do?!"

"The remnants of Li Ying seem to be at odds with the crown prince, but in fact they have already united. The purpose of this fight for the right to the salt tax is to weaken the power of the truth. Once the old man is dismissed, there will be no one to check and balance the crown prince. At that time, the crown prince Holding the four towns in the northwest, getting the salt tax from the river east, being favored by the generals in Sichuan and Sichuan, he can ascend to the throne without any risk. Perhaps, the crown prince also promised that Han Yu would rehabilitate Li Ying... that will be something after your death."

"Right Prime Minister, you have to stop all this!"

"Everything in the world depends on the will of the sage. Old man, you can't persuade the sage."

Li Linfu said, patted his knees and sighed, and got up.

"Entrusted by others, it's a matter of life. Shibalang wants to investigate, and I'm here today to inform you of the results. With the current situation, there's nothing I can do about it."

When he left the meditation room, female envoys and guards immediately came up to him, guarding him vigilantly.

Looking back on today's trip, there was a lot of traffic in front of the Fengwei Building, and the Baocha Temple was almost smashed by a wooden fish. There were many crises, so Li Linfu decided not to take such risks in the future.

Fortunately, it was worth it, no one else was present for the secret talk today, and what happened to Li Zhen has nothing to do with him.

……

"Yingniang, tell me what should I do?"

Li Yun asked, and saw Daxi Yingying turned around, the palm prints on his face and the pinch marks on his neck were red.

He immediately softened his voice, stroked her face, and said, "I'm not in a good mood. You know I wasn't like this before. These years, I've been too uncomfortable."

Daxi Yingying lowered her head and asked: "Since the right minister can't change the holy will, maybe Ah Lang can come forward?"

"Me?" Li Yan said, "Don't you know how much the saint hates me?"

"The matter of Xue Pingzhao, at first it seems...Princess Xianyi asked Alang to investigate, right?"

Li Yanru was rescued, thinking that Princess Datang would live a much better life than princes like them.

Daxi Yingying raised her head and glanced, and saw that a corner of her body was still protruding from his arms.

She retreated with all blessings, left the Zen room, and whispered a word before leaving, while Li Wei was thinking and didn't pay much attention.

"My family doesn't blame Ah Lang."

Daxi Yingying was indeed thinking that he shouldn't blame the longevity king, it was not his fault.

He is just a poor man who was ridiculed by thousands of people after his father robbed his wife, and his mentality was distorted. He was just an incompetent person who was locked in the Ten Kings House and turned into a waste.

She used to pity him, but now she can't even pity herself.

~~
The kitchen of Fengwei Building was busy.

As soon as the steamer was opened, thick water vapor rose, and the big white steamed buns were at their fullest.

Nowadays, steamed buns are also called cage cakes, which are filled with miscellaneous meat. Today, Du Wulang chose the best white noodles and steamed steamed buns that are delicious without filling.

He was sniffling when he suddenly heard someone behind him say: "Wulang is here, isn't Erniang here?"

Looking back, he saw that Daxi Yingying's face was red and swollen, and there were marks on his neck. Du Wulang said in shock: "What's wrong with you? Who beat you like this?!"

Amidst the lingering steam, Daxi Yingying suddenly met a pair of concerned and sincere eyes, froze, covered her face and walked out.

"Wait a minute." Du Wulang frantically looked for something.

After leaving the kitchen, Daxi Yingying looked back, but she didn't see him chasing her out, so she turned back to her room.

All the way through the courtyard gate, I suddenly heard Du Wulang shouting from behind: "Hey, are you okay?"

She ignored it and went into the house.

"It takes a lot of effort to make it like this..."

Du Wulang hurried to keep up, and just stepped over the threshold, still muttering, when he was suddenly pulled, and Daxi Yingying had already pinned him against the wooden wall.

"What are you doing here?"

"You were beaten too hard, which beast is it?!"

"Are you distressed?"

"I...Of course I care..."

Du Wulang didn't know what to say, but was suddenly embraced by Daxi Yingying. He immediately felt that his whole body was wrapped in a soft steamed bun, but he still remembered her shocking injury.

"you……"

"Fuck me."

Daxi Yingying was emotional, bit his ear directly, and said eagerly in a eager tone.

"Fuck me."

The hot air entered Du Wulang's ears, and there was a "buzz" in his head, and he didn't know where his soul flew.

The tip of the nose became hot and bled.

Dick.

The bright red blood fell on the fair skin, slid down with the arc, and seeped into the belt.

Daxi Yingying didn't care, she pushed him to the ground and stretched out her hand to fall on him.

This shock made Du Wulang tremble all over.

He was taken aback for a moment, then came back to his senses, hurriedly pushed her away, avoided her, turned his back to her, and said, "Don't do that."

"Didn't you say you cared about me? Disliked me again?"

"Of course it's not dislike, but caring is not like that either... I can't let down the person who has his heart attached to me... Well, anyway, a gentleman should respect himself."

Daxi Yingying sneered, and looking back, the young man's back was full of foolishness.Still turning his back to her, he took out a coarse cloth-wrapped item and handed it over.

"It's still hot, you can apply it."

"what is this?"

"Egg, if you roll it on the wound, it might work, right? I don't know either."

Daxi Yingying reached out to take it, and found that the egg had been crushed, but it was still warm.

"That... I've sent someone to invite a doctor." Du Wulang said: "Also, the second sister said, don't you think we don't trust you, they have made arrangements and will take your deed back. "

He pushed the door, only to realize that the door opened inwards, opened the door in a panic, and left in a hurry.

Daxi Yingying looked down at the nosebleed on her dress, hesitated for a moment, then put the warm egg on the bruise.

In fact, she has wound medicine in her room, and she came here to get medicine...

~~
At dusk, Li Yan left Princess Xianyi's mansion, thinking about what Li Niang said today, a rare smile appeared in his eyes.

"Brother, why are you panicking? Li Heng looks respectful and filial, but in reality he is ambitious. Do you really think that the father is not guarding against him? Now that the right minister has found out, as long as the father knows that Li Heng secretly colluded with the courtiers to cause such a big thing , let him go down to find Li Ying."

"Yes, there is no evidence."

"Do you need evidence for this kind of thing? It is enough for me to hint a few words in front of my father. Tomorrow's Li Heng's wedding banquet is the reason for me to speak."

~~
It was night, and Shangzhu Guozhang went to Yi's house to be brightly lit all night, because the second daughter of the Zhang family was about to marry into the East Palace and become the prince Liangdi.

It is said to be married, but Liangdi is actually the prince's concubine, but her rank is higher.

Today's sage was brought up by Zhang Quyi's mother, Zhang Ting is naturally worthy of the Crown Princess with the honor and favor of the Zhang family.

The problem is that the crown prince's eldest son is already 21 years old, and his biological mother Wu is still a court lady who was relegated to Yeting. If the crown prince concubine gives birth to a son, it will definitely pose a threat to Li Chu.

Therefore, Zhang Ting can only become Liangdi.

She felt bad at first.

But after thinking about it carefully, after the Liu Ji case, the prince replaced Du Liangdi with Zhang Liangdi, who seemed to be persecuted by Li Linfu, but actually won; The position of degree was handed over to the brother-in-law who was closer to him.

Everyone underestimated Donggong, but it was the best time for her to marry. The more wronged she seems today, the more rewarding she will gain in the future...

She didn't sleep all night, and at the third watch, she sat in the luxurious boudoir and began to dress and change clothes.

Reaching out her hand to caress the somewhat frugal wedding dress, she nodded in satisfaction, sat down, smiled at the bronze mirror, and put on a graceful expression.

~~
The morning drum in Chang'an was still the same, and it didn't look any different from the usual because of the prince's marriage.

Xue Bai had a good night's sleep, and only went out at a quarter to two, looking refreshed and indifferent to the world.

The four sons of Chunwei met at Zhuque Street and drove their horses to Chongrenfang.

"Aren't you going to the East Palace?"

"Who said the wedding banquet is in the East Palace?"

"The invitation says 'Eastern Palace Wedding Banquet'."

"Could it be called a 'wedding banquet at the Courtyard'? Since the building of the Ten Kings' House, all the weddings of the kings and princesses have been held in the Courtyard of Chongrenfang, and so has the crown prince. If it is written on the invitation card, it would be useless."

Xue Bai felt that this was not useless, but it could better bring out Li Heng's frugality. Compared with Li Longji, it was no wonder that more and more courtiers were looking forward to the crown prince.

……

There are lanterns and festoons in the courtyard, the scene is definitely not grand, it is quite satisfactory.

The daughter of Prince Natangtang, who was not favored by saints, was Liang Di. The standard etiquette of the wedding banquet must have troubled the officials of the Ministry of Rites who were in charge of the matter.

When entering the door, the three sons of Chunwei handed mediocre gifts, but Du Fu was eclectic and gave him a piece of calligraphy, because he really had no money, and he didn't want to borrow money to give gifts to the East Palace.

Xue Bai looked at it, and felt that the regular script was very good, but the official who received the gift shook his head and muttered "thin and hard as a bone".

After all, Tang people like round and full characters.

Du Fu didn't know that people didn't like the gift he gave.

In front of the hall, Li Jingzhong was full of joy, and when he saw Xue Bai, he came forward enthusiastically.

"Xue Lang is here! This old slave is here to guide Xue Lang, how about sitting with Le Sheng?"

With such a high-pitched shout, many guests looked sideways at this side.

Another servant led Yuan Jie, Du Fu, and Huang Furan to the back to sit at the table, but Xue Bai's seat was quite at the front.

Along the way, I could occasionally hear whispered discussions.

"Xue playing cards is here."

Xue Bai is now well-known. Some people care about his poems, some people care about his demeanor, and some people care about his deeds.But for the dignitaries at today's banquet, what he cared most about was playing cards with the saint.

"Mrs. Gongsun!"

Du Fu was about to go to the last table, but he suddenly turned around and called out.

Xue Bai turned his head to look, and saw a woman in her fifties leading several disciples to the table.

This woman is already gray-haired, but her waist is still straight, her figure is well-proportioned, her eyes are full of heroism, she is sassy yet gentle.It makes people feel comfortable when looking at it.

"Miss Gongsun is very polite. When Du Fu was young, he had the honor to watch Da Niang's sword dance in Yancheng, which is still fresh in his memory."

"I am fortunate to have read Du Zimei's poems."

"Really?" Du Fu was overjoyed.

Suddenly someone asked, "Du Zimei is there?"

While talking, three middle-aged men with beautiful beards floated over. They were the "Sage of Music" Li Guinian and his two brothers, all of them were handsome.

Later, Jia Chang, the prodigal chicken boy, arrived and brought his wife Pan, who was a superb dancer.

"Xue Lang is here? We meet again."

"Xue Lang is a romantic figure nowadays, Du Zimei's poems are famous far and wide, and he is also a Jinshi of the new science. Today's wedding banquet will add luster."

After everyone greeted each other, Xue Bai entered the table with them, sat cross-legged, and sat in the best seat other than the royal family, getting along happily.

Sometimes I think about it, if he is willing to be honest, become a court enshrinement, and please the saints, he must be like them...he will suffer disaster in the Anshi Rebellion.

~~
"King Yong is here."

"King Shou is here."

"Princess Xianyi and her son-in-law have arrived at..."

Li Niang just sat down with Yang Hui on her arm, still whispering and laughing, "Finally let Li Heng seize the opportunity to have a banquet, it's really nice to be separated, don't you think so?"

Inadvertently, she caught a glimpse of a handsome face, so she looked at it intently, only to realize that it was Xue Pingzhao.

The strangled person appeared in front of her eyes, making Li Niang's face turn pale again. Fortunately, she had heard from Li Linfu that this was all a conspiracy. After thinking about it, she felt that it was a good thing.

Li Heng was cautious and did not invite important ministers, but she finally discovered the secret of colluding with Li Ying's remaining party.

Li Niang then clung to Yang Hui's ear and said in a low voice, "Let's see me tomorrow in front of the saint to use my tricks."

(End of this chapter)