Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 552 Shaoyang Courtyard

Chen Xilie was so agile despite his old age that he rushed to Feng Changqing in three steps and asked in a deep voice, "Feng Changqing, what are you doing? You must not offend His Highness."

Feng Changqing was a man of strong character. When he spoke, everyone's expressions changed. He said, "I suspect that Prince Yong was plotting to usurp the throne and had bad intentions."

"What nonsense?!"

Chen Xilie sternly rebuked, "The King of Chu begged for resignation, and the Saint personally ordered that Your Highness has made contributions to the country and is the eldest son, so you are the only choice for the crown prince. Are you trying to disobey the Emperor's order by making slanderous remarks?"

Feng Changqing decided to rush to the capital to defend the emperor after hearing the news that the emperor was driven out of Chang'an by Prince Yong. At that time, the soldiers in Hebei were busy farming, and he was in a hurry to send troops, so he had no time to prepare food and supplies, so he only took 3,000 light cavalry first and let the main army follow behind. When he rushed to Guanzhong, he heard that Prince Yong's rebellion had ended, but at the same time, there was also a piece of news that made him alert - Prince Yong became the regent prince.

It is conceivable that this matter must be related to the powerful officials coercing the emperor.

Feng Changqing came to question Xue Bai face to face, and certainly did not consider his own future, but he also believed that Xue Bai would still give him an explanation and would not kill him directly. Otherwise, he would not have left his troops outside the city, and could have made long-term plans and planned things secretly.

"Prince Yong, you and I have fought side by side. I believe in your loyalty to the Tang Dynasty."

Feng Changqing ignored Chen Xilie and only looked at Xue Bai, saying word by word: "But if you act in a rebellious way and set a precedent for disaster and chaos, and the clan society is shaken, wouldn't all our efforts in the past be wasted?"

Xue Bai did not agree with his blind loyalty. In his opinion, the throne should be occupied by a strong man. Weak rulers like Li Cong's brothers and sons would only lead the Tang Dynasty to decline step by step.

However, there was no need for him to debate in person at the moment. Before Feng Changqing finished speaking, a group of officials had already blocked Xue Bai's way and shouted at him.

"The position of Crown Prince was begged by the King of Chu, and Your Highness declined several times. The Saint agreed. How can you make unwarranted guesses? Why don't you apologize to Your Highness?"

This is due to the situation and the popular expectation. Even if Xue Bai does not want to be the crown prince, it is not up to him. It is even more impossible to change it with Feng Changqing's personal wishes.

Among the officials who were shouting and scolding, there was one who stood out the most.

The man was in his thirties, wearing a green official robe. Relying on his youth and strength, he quietly pushed Chen Xilie behind him and stood at the front of the queue, face to face with Feng Changqing.

"Your Highness's loyalty is obvious to all. Your accusation that you are rebellious is totally groundless. Your Highness has suppressed the rebellion and brought peace to the country. You are trying to shake the country based on your own conjecture. If the chaos breaks out again, who will be the sinner of the country?!"

As soon as the young official opened his mouth, his aura was extraordinary. What was even more rare was that he was able to convince the crowd, and the officials behind him responded one after another.

As an old minister and a prime minister, Chen Xilie suffered a loss in front of a young official but he endured it. It was obvious that he knew that the other party was a tough guy.

Xue Bai recognized this man, Cui Youfu.

Cui Youfu and Xue Bai were appointed officials at the same time. Both were in the capital counties of Luoyang, one was the Wei of Yanshi and the other was the Wei of Shou'an. They had cooperated with each other. Over the years, Xue Bai gradually gained power, and Cui Youfu was not bad either, and he was promoted to an important position like the Emperor's Attendant. Although his rank was not high, he was a close minister to the emperor.

He was born in a distinguished family. When he was young, he was arrogant and tough, and gradually gained a reputation for being upright. Before this, Cui Youfu had also said many disrespectful things to Xue Bai, but he was not afraid of Xue Bai's power at the time.

He did not just scold Xue Bai. When Dou Wenyang thought that he was Xue Bai's enemy and promoted him, not long after, he submitted a memorial to impeach the corrupt eunuch.

This time, Cui Youfu's scolding not only temporarily blocked Feng Changqing's words, but his attitude towards Chen Xilie was also very intriguing.

From the perspective of an upright official, Cui Youfu and his group may just look down on Chen Xilie, who has always been submissive. But in fact, he is very smart and is by no means a rash person.

He probably guessed that although Xue Bai temporarily needed an old minister like Chen Xilie to stabilize the situation, given Xue Bai's style of doing things, he would definitely not use such a mediocre person who could only smooth things over for a long time. After the situation was stabilized, he would definitely remove Chen Xilie from the list of prime ministers.

It is not difficult to see through this, but not everyone dares to not give face to Chen Xilie in public.

Cui Youfu's gentle push showed the spirit of "get out of the way, old man, and let's see the young people dare to take charge of the younger generation."

At least Xue Bai's eyes lit up slightly after seeing it, and there seemed to be a hint of smile in his eyes.

Cui Youfu's actions today, to some extent, also represent the change in the attitude of the noble families towards Xue Bai.

Recalling the time when Xue Bai became the top scholar in the imperial examination, he was suppressed by the aristocratic families, and they went through wars in the meantime. Now they finally recognize the authority of this prince who is the regent, which is not easy.

Even the proudest aristocratic families acknowledged the Crown Prince as Regent. Upon hearing the news, officials and imperial guards in Chang'an also rushed to show their support.

When the imperial guards' long halberds blocked Feng Changqing's way, he finally bowed his hands in hatred and said, "Prince Yong broke his oath today, and he will be punished by heaven one day. Good words cannot persuade him, so just wish him good luck!"

In his opinion, this matter was that King Yong broke his oath and deceived him, but he could do nothing about the behavior of such a dishonest villain. After saying this, he left in hatred.

Xue Bai stood among the crowd, looking at Feng Changqing's back, feeling a little regretful for not getting his support, but the world is like this, there are always some people who cannot be easily changed.

"This guy is so out of place." Du Wulang sighed quietly behind him, then glanced at the crowd gathered outside his house and said, "There are so many sensible people, and he won't make a difference."

Xue Bai originally wanted to stay at Du's house tonight, but with his current status, everything he did would attract attention, and he had lost some of his original freedom.

~~
"It's okay. It's the same if my sister and I come here."

At night, the moonlight shines through the window paper, and a faint fragrance fills the house.

Du Yan lay on the side of the couch somewhat tiredly. She had been busy with many things today. When she heard that Xue Bai was at Du's house, she hurried back. Later, she rushed to Xue's house in Xuanyangfang. She was inevitably tired at this time.

Du Jin was still in high spirits. She drank some wine and was slightly tipsy. She was swaying slightly, with an unconcealable cunning and complacency in her eyes.

"You know what? I heard that the first thing you did after becoming regent was to come to my house to find me. I was so happy."

"I will move into Daming Palace in a few days. Please follow me."

Xue Bai took the wine glass from her hand and interlocked their fingers.

They are enjoying the pleasure of their conspiracy succeeding.

"No."

After a while, Du Jin let out a long sigh, leaned on Xue Bai, and said, "No, with our status, there is no reason for us to follow you into the palace."

Xue Bai said: "I plan to build a Taoist temple in Shaoyang Courtyard, named 'Zhenxiu Temple', you can go there to practice first."

This was a ready-made method, and it could be said to be a common practice in the Tang Dynasty. Wu Zetian entered the Ganye Temple as a nun, and after she came out, she became the Zhaoyi of Emperor Gaozong; Yang Yuhuan became a female Taoist priest, and later became a noble concubine.

Xue Bai knew that Du Jin cared a lot about this rank, and now was the time for him to repay her.

"I don't practice." She rejected his suggestion.

"It will only take a year or so. Once the situation is stable, I can confer the title upon you..."

"The Crown Prince's Consort?" Du Jin suddenly asked.

Since she is not the legal wife, if Xue Bai has not ascended the throne by then, she will naturally be the prince's concubine.

Then, without waiting for Xue Bai to answer, she laughed at herself and said, "After falling from that position and going through life and death, it would not be bad if I could regain that position. I used to think that these were what I wanted, concubines, imperial concubines, queens, and queen mothers, but things don't always go as planned. Now I know I can't do it. I have no children, and my beauty and love will fade year by year. If I enter the deep palace, my life will get worse and worse."

After the fun, she suddenly felt sad.

Xue Bai was about to comfort her, but she pressed his mouth with her fingers.

"You don't have to promise me. I don't believe in men's oaths. Today you like my looks and my intelligence. I have to keep my intelligence and my power among the people so that you can't leave me. How can I give up my martial arts and move to the deep palace?"

Although Du Jin has no official status, she has power. A large part of Xue Bai's power in the dark is in her hands.

The pleasure brought by this power is also one of the reasons why the two of them can be closely dependent on each other, and she will not give up easily.

Xue Bai understood her, so he embraced Du Yan.

"Where's Auntie?"

"I don't seek a name." Du Yan was passionate when she was passionate, but at this moment she was very calm, and whispered: "The pleasure of the dew is enough, I don't want to enter the palace, it will cause trouble to you, and it will be unbearable for me."

Previously, because Yang Shenjin deliberately spread rumors and caused trouble, she was very afraid of this. She knew that if she entered the palace, the criticism she would have to bear would be much greater than what she had endured at that time, so she was really unwilling to do so.

"Just go out of the palace and meet me often."

"Ok."

Xue Bai had already made arrangements, but he didn't expect them to react like this and sighed slightly.

He could only compensate them in other ways.

……

The next day, Du Jin slept in and vaguely heard the sound of Xue Bai and Du Jin going out together. After a long time, she was awakened by the singing of birds outside the window.

She put on her makeup leisurely and walked around to the back hall, where she saw Yan Yan sitting there reading a book, while Qing Lan was directing the maids to pack up their belongings for the move.

Today was the first time they had seen each other since they had gone to Yangzhou.

"Second Mother is here." When meeting Du Jin, Qing Lan still followed the usual etiquette and greeted her with greetings.

"She's getting prettier and prettier."

Du Jin praised Qing Lan and turned around, only to see Yan Yan had put down the book in her hand and was looking at her with a smile.

"You, the mistress, don't worry about anything."

"If I worry too much, I'll be disliked." Yan Yan said, "Does Sister Du want me to take care of more things?"

"What a sharp tongue."

Du Jin looked over and found that Yan Yan looked much better, less sickly and weak than before. Her hair was completely tied up, and there was a little more charm between her eyebrows and eyes. She seemed to have become a little fuller... She finally took on the responsibility of Xue Bai's wife.

This made Du Jin inevitably feel a little jealous.

She always felt that Yan Yan got everything she wanted easily, while she always tried her best and still had regrets in the end.

Yan Yan did not confront her anymore. She walked up to her, held her hand, and showed an innocent and cheerful smile.

"I was just kidding Sister Du. I brought you a gift from Yangzhou."

Although Du Jin looked stern, she was actually soft-hearted. She accepted the water-shaped mirror, round fan, rouge and other small items that were not expensive but quite exquisite, and ate two snacks. She no longer spoke in a sour tone.

The two of them also went around to the garden to see the cats and dogs adopted by Yan Yan. They were told that it was not appropriate to bring all of them into Shaoyang Courtyard, so some of them had to be entrusted to Du Jin.

"Don't you have other friends?" Du Jin refused at first, "I'm very busy."

But somehow, in the end she still agreed and asked Qushui to arrange someone to take care of it, which seemed quite capable.

"Do you remember what you promised me?" Du Jin suddenly asked when there was no one else around.

"Remember." Yan Yan responded straightforwardly, "We agreed at that time that if you have a child with your husband, you can adopt him under my name."

"Now I want to add one more condition."

"what?"

Du Jin said: "If you give birth to a child, you can recognize me as your stepmother."

Yan Yan turned her head and looked at her with some confusion in her eyes.

Du Jin felt a little uncomfortable being stared at. She snorted coldly and said, "Xue Bai is on guard against me."

After that, she walked away.

Yan Yan was still confused and said to herself, "Can that kind of thing... be prevented?"

~~
Xue Bai finally had to move into the Shaoyang Courtyard of the Daming Palace.

He was actually a little reluctant. Deep down in his heart, he had not yet accepted the name "Li Qian" and had never thought about life in the imperial palace.

Most of the time before, his behavior pattern was still like that of a prime minister or a powerful official. He was concerned about how to handle various affairs instead of putting himself in a high position and being worshipped and worshipped.

But to become an emperor, you have to do both.

The vermilion palace gates were slowly opened, and Xue Bai walked under the three big characters "Shaoyang Courtyard". He could no longer ride a horse straight to the gate of his own courtyard and then take off his outer robe and go shirtless.

He is the center of attention and every move he makes must be polite.

Since he lived in the palace, Xue Bai had to have eunuchs around him. The eunuch he chose to be in charge of the Eastern Palace was somewhat unexpected: it was Li Zhuer.

After Li Zhuer betrayed An Lushan in Luoyang and joined Xue Bai's camp, he had actually been working for Xue Bai. Now he finally got the chance and was reused by Xue Bai.

Xue Bai himself was born in poverty and did not need anyone to serve him. Therefore, Li Zhuer's real mission was to monitor the entire Daming Palace for Xue Bai.

As for those serving in Shaoyang Courtyard, they were basically the maids that Yan Yan had always kept by her side, plus some eunuchs and palace maids who knew the details of the situation. Although there were not many of them, they lined up early, and when they saw Xue Bai and his family arrive, they saluted respectfully.

"Your Highness."

"Princess."

"Huangfu Liangdi."

Qinglan was just about to go and get a bundle herself when she heard the voice of "Huangfu Liangdi" and was startled.

She had worked in the Du family since she was a child, and thought it was great to be the head maid of the family. When she heard others call her "Du Liangdi", she always felt that there was a world of difference between her and her. She never thought that one day she would have such a status?

She then moved closer to Xue Bai, feeling a little shy. After all these years, her youthfulness had not changed.

Xue Bai found Qinglan's silly look slightly amusing and his negative feelings towards Shaoyang Court faded a little.

Looking back at Yan Yan, she was looking around the courtyard, pouting slightly, obviously not liking the palace life. But she was born in a Confucian family, a famous lady, these expressions flashed across her face, and then she immediately restrained herself, and soon put on a dignified manner, arranging everything in an orderly manner.

As for how to move and how to organize things, Xue Bai didn't worry too much about these trivial matters.

In the evening, when Shaoyang Court was busy, Xue Bai was already sitting alone in the tidied study, thinking about the various affairs after he became regent.

To get things done, you must first employ people.

The prime minister's team must be adjusted. This time, Xue Bai plans to appoint five people to the list of prime ministers in order to achieve the goal of balancing the forces of all parties while having available talents. He also has to give some meritorious officials the honorary title of co-prime ministers.

In addition, he also planned to add some practical ministers to the prime minister's team to reform the long-standing problems of the Tang Dynasty.

He has roughly drawn up the list and some transfer orders have already been issued.

But there is definitely resistance and interference, and it is not small.

The first interference he faced was that many ministers submitted petitions requesting that Chang Qing be demoted.

This is definitely not what Xue Bai wants.

He was not a narrow-minded person. On the contrary, although he did not appreciate Feng Changqing's blind loyalty, he also believed that the court really needed some such people. Today, when he forced Li Cong, no one spoke for Li Cong. If someone forced him in the future, no one would speak for him.

Even when dynasties changed, the new dynasty would praise the loyal ministers of the previous dynasty, so what couldn't he do?

But on the other hand, Feng Changqing openly slandered him and accused him of plotting to usurp the throne. If he was not severely punished as a warning to others, everyone would follow suit and the situation would be in chaos. And the officials were so protective of Xue Bai, the new crown prince, that if he failed them, it would inevitably make people lose confidence.

Feng Changqing had to be demoted, but to where he should be demoted still required careful consideration.

Xue Bai was thinking about the light reflected on the window paper which gradually changed from bright to golden, and then gradually dimmed.

"Your Highness, Huangfu Liangdi requests to see you."

A maid was bowing outside the door.

Xue Bai stood up and walked over. Seeing Qinglan peeking over here from the corridor, he waved.

"Your Highness, it's time to eat."

"Let's go eat together. Why don't you just come over like usual?"

"Once you enter the palace, you have to follow the rules."

"Remember when I first arrived at the Du residence, you also wanted to set rules for me, right?"

"No way." Qinglan felt embarrassed and denied it quickly.

In the past they always ate together at home, but now the rules in Shaoyang Courtyard were a little different. The kitchen brought the meals from far away and let them eat separately.

Xue Bai then drove the palace servants out of the house and continued to eat with Yan Yan and Qing Lan, complaining that the dishes tasted bad.

"My dear, guess how much does this small plate of cabbage cost for the palace?"

"How many?"

"Fifty dollars."

"I'm afraid the vegetable vendors won't get a penny." Xue Bai said, "Although the palace market has stopped, the palace finances still need to be completely rectified."

Yan Yan said: "Qing Lan is very good at managing money. She has been in charge of your personal finances in the past."

The royal family's money is kept in the Zuo Cangku, which is the emperor's private treasury, and is managed by the Duzhi Department. Now that Xue Bai is the regent, he has to put it in order.

Yan Yan knew all this, it was just a joke.

Qing Lan was frightened again, and quickly shook her head and said, "I can only manage some small amounts of money... Do I have to hand it over when I get to the palace?"

"She was teasing you."

The three of them had an expensive but extremely unpalatable meal. Qinglan actually did the math on an abacus and felt quite distressed. He wondered how the people living in the Daming Palace could be so ignorant and make such a stupid mistake.

The first night after moving to Shaoyang Courtyard did not change Xue Bai's habits much.

Night falls.

In the study, Qinglan was still busy tidying up various things, always leaving only her back to Xue Bai.

Occasionally, she would smooth down some of her scattered hair, her eyes filled with thought, wondering where to place a certain object.

When Xue Bai saw this, he couldn't help but go forward and hug her.

"Huangfu Liangdi, what are you still busy with?"

"Lang Jun."

At this time, Qinglan knew to call him by his old name, but she lowered her head and shyly rejected Xue Bai.

"My wife said she was scared after moving to a new house, so she asked us to go there early."

That night, Xue Bai slept together with Yan Yan and Qing Lan again. This was a childish habit of Yan Yan. In the past, she didn't seem to find this matter inconvenient.

This matter was actually very simple at the beginning.

They talked for a while longer, all about the various places in Shaoyang Courtyard that were not as good as their residence outside the palace.

As Qinglan was talking, she fell silent. She had been busy all day and soon curled up and fell into a deep sleep.

"Go to sleep."

"Yes." Yan Yan responded honestly, and asked with some worry: "Will there be many coups in the palace?"

She always has a lot of weird ideas.

But in fact, it is normal for someone like Xue Bai, who plotted to usurp the throne, to be chopped down.

Xue Bai then let her lean into his arms and said, "Don't worry, living in the palace is not comfortable, but it is safer than an ordinary house."

"That too."

The house became quiet.

Xue Bai closed his eyes and seemed to have slept for a long time, but he always felt vaguely that the new environment was unsafe and he couldn't sleep well.

In the dead of the night, he felt something gently brushing his face.

He opened his eyes and found Yan Yan was still awake in the dim moonlight. He blinked and found that her eyelashes touched his cheek.

"Go to sleep."

"Can't sleep."

Xue Bai then patted her back gently.

Although their relationship has made a breakthrough, sometimes he still takes care of her like a child.

"Let me ask you a question." Yan Yan whispered, "Are you afraid of a woman getting pregnant with your child?"

"Ok?"

Xue Bai was surprised that she could ask such a strange question.

He looked at her for a while, and felt that there was a hint of eagerness in her curious eyes. This girl was gradually becoming more aware of things recently.

"Are you on guard against me too?" she asked again.

The two didn't speak anymore.

Qinglan, on the other hand, had a dream that night.

She dreamed that the underground dragon under the Daming Palace turned over and swayed. She dreamed that Yan Yan and Xue Bai fell down in the earthquake and let out dull screams of pain.

She wanted to wake up and save them, but she was too tired during the day, her eyelids were so heavy that she couldn't wake up...

After a long time, Yan Yan finally fell asleep while hugging Xue Bai.

In fact, she was not yet used to life in Shaoyang Courtyard, but she felt that her relationship with Xue Bai had become closer, which made her feel at ease and gave her the courage to adapt to the new life.

~~
The sun rises in the east.

The morning sun slowly rose from the palace wall on the east side of Shaoyang Courtyard, and then shone on the stone slabs on the central axis of Daming Palace.

"Your Highness."

"Your Highness."

As the call came, the first ray of sunlight reflected from the eaves above the Xuan Zheng Hall, and the young man in the imperial robe had already walked up the stone steps.

He looked back and saw all the officials coming to pay homage...

(End of this chapter)