Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 566: Divorce Again
The red paint on the courtyard gate is mottled, and it matches the moss on the wall. There are red doors like this one after another, big ones near and small ones far away, with a simple texture under the sunlight.

Li Heng sat on the stone steps, waiting for any movement from the red gate in the distance.

He was used to waiting in his life, even though every time he waited for something bad, it turned out to be a bad result.

"Still watching, but even if those people succeed, they can only ask the emperor to take control of the government again. What benefit will it bring to you and me?" Zhang Ting walked behind Li Heng.

"It's better than having a chance now. At least, you can play dominoes with him again."

Li Heng held Zhang Ting's hand on his shoulder, patted it, and said in a teaching tone: "You are not as sharp as before."

When he was talking today, Zhang Ting just listened, unlike before when she could give him a lot of advice and inspiration.

"Recently, my mind has been on Qi'er." Zhang Ting said, "He is so sick, how can I care about anything else?"

"Whether this will work depends on whether we can win over the Imperial Guards." Li Heng didn't look away and murmured, "It's easy to connect with the court officials. Now that Buddhism is banned, the court officials are panicking and hope it will stop. But these people change their positions the fastest, and they may change if they are frightened. I have some prestige in the Imperial Guards. If you can let me meet some of them, my chances of success are not small."

He analyzed a lot and predicted the development of the situation with yearning and expectation.

Gradually, it got dark and the sound of evening drums could be heard in the distance.

"Don't worry, opportunities often appear at night." Li Heng said.

Sure enough, the red courtyard gate was opened and a palace servant came slowly in. Li Heng was overjoyed and stood up expectantly.

But the palace maid walked up to Zhang Ting, bowed, and said nothing.

Zhang Ting remained calm and said, "Follow me."

"Here."

"Wait." Li Heng asked in astonishment, "Where is she taking you?"

"Qier is sick. I'll take him to see a doctor."

"Sick?" Li Heng asked, "When did you get sick?"

Hearing what he said, Zhang Ting couldn't help but smile sarcastically and said, "Yeah, you didn't know he was sick, blame me for not telling you."

"I was too impatient."

Li Heng reacted immediately, took two steps forward and whispered in her ear: "You know, soon we can hire an imperial physician to nourish him with precious medicinal herbs, don't worry."

Zhang Ting looked at him for a long time, and suddenly said, "You are not as sharp as before."

Li Heng didn't react to what she meant at first, but after thinking about it, he realized something was wrong. He turned his head and looked at her blankly, and asked, "Did I miss something?"

"You missed what I said, 'Qier is ill and has been ill for a long time.'"

After Zhang Ting said this, she turned around and was about to leave.

Li Heng grabbed her and became inexplicably angry. He scolded her, "What do you mean? Didn't I care? I have been praying for him in front of the Buddha!"

"It's hard for you to take time out of your busy schedule to pray for him. You are now even busier here than when you were in Lingwu. How could you not even look at your young son for more than a hundred days? It's true that my mother and I were useful to you back then, but now we are not worth mentioning."

"Zhang Ting! You wouldn't betray me, would you? At a time like this, you took Qi'er away to see a doctor. How can I not be worried?"

At the end of his words, Li Heng's eyes became affectionate.

Zhang Ting listened to his long speeches patiently all day, but her patience finally ran out. She simply said in an impatient tone, "I forgot to mention that we should get divorced."

"what?!"

Li Heng was greatly surprised, as if he had never heard of the word "divorce" before.

He didn't believe that such words could come out of Zhang Ting's mouth. He shook his head and asked, "Who forced you to do that? Was it Xue Ni who threatened you?"

A sarcastic smile appeared on Zhang Ting's face again. She found that Li Heng always said something that made her laugh today.

The next moment, her hands were held tightly by Li Heng.

"You and I have a deep love for each other, and we have been through thick and thin together. How can we part now?"

"Did they say the same thing when you divorced Wei and Du before?" Zhang Ting asked.

Li Heng was stunned.

From what he saw, Zhang Ting seemed so ruthless and indifferent, just like him when he decided to divorce Concubine Wei and Di Du Liangdi.

And he, like them, couldn't help but shed tears and sobbed.

"You are different from them." Li Heng held Zhang Ting's hand and refused to let go. "They are just passers-by, but you, you are the love of my life!"

"I'm not even your princess."

"I can……"

"That's enough. Don't you feel disgusted?" Zhang Ting pulled her hand out of Li Heng's hand, sneered, and said, "You are a waste. I have had enough of your weakness."

"I will not divorce you!" Li Heng said, "You want a divorce letter? I can't write a single word!"

"It doesn't matter. The imperial edict has arrived. You will write it."

After saying that, Zhang Ting turned and left.

Li Heng was struck by lightning.

He had never dared to think about this, but now he finally understood it completely. Zhang Ting did this because he made a deal with Xue Bai.

Xue Bai's condition was to help her get a divorce and allow her to leave the Ten Kings' Residence with Li Qi. What did she do?
The first thing that came to Li Heng's mind was a picture of a man and a woman desperately trying to make love, accompanied by the sound of heavy breathing. But he soon realized that it would be fine if it was just like this.

What is really scary is that Zhang Ting betrayed him to Xue Bai.

"What did you do to me?!" he yelled angrily.

Zhang Ting stopped, turned around, glanced at him, and replied, "Guess."

"Bitch!"

Li Heng was so furious that he wanted to rush forward, grab Zhang Ting's hair, and smash her head hard on the corridor.

However, the clanking sound of armor was immediately heard outside the nearest red door, which frightened him so much that he had to stop, but his anger still made his body tremble uncontrollably.

"How dare you? You dare to betray me for a divorce letter? You..."

"You're only worth this price."

Zhang Ting sneered and said this, then walked away without looking back.

Only Li Heng's word "bitch" echoed among the corridors and pavilions.

When it comes to nobility and humbleness, in addition to the nobility and humbleness of one's birth, few people realize that one's character can also be noble or humble.

Although Li Heng was a descendant of the emperor, he divorced his wife twice. So when the same situation was faced with Zhang Ting, she only needed to take a quick look to know that this man was not worthy of her sharing the joys and sorrows.

If one's character is not worthy of it, then he is cheap.

……

A few birds on the branches were startled and flew away in all directions.

A group of people left the Ten Kings' House, and as the moonlight faded away, only the moonlight remained, unmoved by the world's affairs.

Li Heng sat on the ground dejectedly, feeling defeated once again.

"Short-sighted bitch, one day you will regret it."

Gradually, he regained his confidence.

He still held the same judgment that Xue Bai's position was wrong. Even if he did not cause unrest this time, he would be unable to avoid it sooner or later.

There will be another chance, just be patient.

~~
Xuanzheng Hall.

Yang Yan lowered his head, looking like he was about to be captured. He pondered for a moment and said slowly, "I have never seen the Emperor."

"I know." Xue Bai said, "Is Li Chu behind this?"

Yang Yan was surprised again, his eyelids twitched, but he did not answer.

Xue Bai picked up an old newspaper from the table and handed it to Yang Yan.

Many years ago, Xue Bai first came to the Tang Dynasty and did not understand many things. He felt that the most fundamental problem of the Tang Dynasty was the collapse of the rent-labor system. He believed that to solve the problem, the tax law must be changed first. So he submitted the proposal of the Two-Tax System to Yan Zhenqing, who was the magistrate of Chang'an County at that time. After many twists and turns, the proposal finally fell into the hands of Li Chu.

After a few years, the tax system became a trend in newspapers, and occasionally people would discuss it in newspapers. In the tenth year of Tianbao, when Xue Bai was still in Nanzhao, a young man published an article in a newspaper, which was appreciated by Li Chu.

After Li Chu had tried several times to win over Xue Bai, he accidentally discovered this young man named Yang Yan. He then copied the newspaper, hung it on the wall for easy reference, and tried every means to promote Yang Yan. However, Yang Yan had been insulted by Shenwu County Magistrate Li Dajian after he got drunk, and once he gained power, he took the opportunity to retaliate and killed someone. Li Chu was also unable to take care of himself, so his career was delayed.

Now that he has returned to Chang'an, he is grateful for Li Chu's old kindness and works secretly for him.

The fate of these people intersects in this newspaper.

"How did Your Highness find out about me?" Yang Yan couldn't help but be curious. "I just went with the flow and didn't do anything big."

"I have always been on guard against Li Chu." Xue Bai said bluntly, "Also, not long ago, Li Xian came to tell me about you."

"Him?" Yang Yan was greatly surprised and asked, "Why would he support Your Highness? He is clearly a member of the royal family..."

"It shows that I am of orthodox status."

Xue Bai responded casually, but with a hint of indifference, and added: "It can be seen that Li Xian agrees with my approach. He can see clearly whether confiscating the temple property in the world is beneficial or harmful to the country."

"But His Highness caused unrest."

"Oh, I forgot to tell you that the case of Da Ci'en Temple has been closed and did not involve treason."

Yang Yan was stunned. He didn't expect Xue Bai to be so broad-minded, or to be so calm that he could resist taking the opportunity to suppress his political enemies.

There are still many people who oppose Xue Bai, but Xue Bai has gained the favor of some officials such as Yang Wan and Li Xian. Once these people's attitudes change, a delicate balance is achieved in the court, just like a scale.

"Your Highness may not win."

"Oh?" Yang Yan smiled slightly and said, "If we dare to do it, we will definitely have more than just this one trick."

"I know you are deliberately pointing out Li Mi." Xue Bai said, "But I have already asked Li Mi to appease the court officials."

Yang Yan was a man who would accept defeat, so he simply said, "Your Highness, please sentence me to death."

"If I want to kill you, I won't waste my time talking to you."

Yang Yan flatly rejected Xue Bai's attempt to win him over. Having received great kindness from Li Chu, he would never serve Xue Bai and harm members of the royal family.

But Xue Bai said: "Don't worry, I don't lack counselors to fight for power, what I lack are capable ministers to govern the country."

Yang Yan's eyes moved, and he was very pleased with the term "capable minister in governing the country".

Xue Bai is no longer the unknown person who discussed with Yang Guozhong how to make progress. He has experienced too many conspiracies and no longer needs those intrigues.

"Political tactics are just a side job. We should do something to change the world."

Yang Yan was ambitious and wanted to make progress. After hearing these words, two flames of ambition seemed to be ignited in his eyes.

~~
The two men were sitting by a fire, over which was a common pot with pears boiling.

Li Chu's eyes were full of disappointment, and he said, "The only thing I didn't expect was that you would stand on his side."

"I am not on anyone's side," Li Mi said. "I am protecting the stability of the country."

"If he destroys Buddhism, how can the country be stable? Buddhism believes in retribution and cause and effect. Isn't this the supreme method to stabilize the country?"

Li Mi said: "He is a pragmatic person. He can see that the temples are annexing land and hiding many fugitives."

"Because of this, the country will be overthrown by him in the future. Do you believe it?" Li Chu said, "Who are the people who annex more land in the world? Is it just the monks in the temples? Now he is picking the weak ones to squeeze, and if he stirs up chaos in the future, won't it bring disaster to the country?"

In the final analysis, the reason why he thought this time would be successful was because Xue Bai had touched the land and population, and had affected the interests of a large number of people. Unfortunately, these people were still short-sighted and thought that sacrificing some monks was not a big deal. As soon as Xue Bai paid a little attention to the measure, their hearts were not in harmony.

Li Mi said: "In any case, the result of this matter is good and beneficial to the country."

Li Chu smiled bitterly and said, "Sir, are you here tonight to kill me?"

He is not afraid of death. On the contrary, his death would be a way to intensify the conflict and perhaps bring an opportunity to the emperor.

Li Mi naturally did not come to kill him, but had other purposes.

When Li Heng went north to Lingwu, he brought a group of imperial guards to escort him along the way. These people were led by brothers Li Chu and Li Tan. Although Li Chu no longer had the power to command them in name, he still had personal relationships with some of the generals.

This is also Li Chu's greatest reliance.

Li Mi came here to ensure that Li Chu could not contact his old subordinates while the court was destroying Buddhism and the atmosphere in the country was in panic. While he was in charge, he sent people to investigate all the imperial army generals who were on good terms with Li Chu.

Li Chu actually knew this, but he was just trying to shake Li Mi with words, hoping that he would show mercy.

"The country is in chaos now, the people are poor, the treasury is empty, and foreign enemies are eyeing us covetously. Your Highness has a solution, so how can Prince Yu take advantage of the opportunity to cause chaos?"

"I thought you were a man of high moral integrity, but I didn't expect you were so dazzled by wealth and fame!"

In the end, seeing that Li Mi was unmoved, Li Chu finally couldn't help but say a few angry words.

"You keep talking about the people, the country, benevolence, righteousness and morality. In the final analysis, it's just because he holds power and can appoint you as prime minister! You completely ignore the kindness we have shown you in the past and only focus on your career. Is this what you call the virtue of a cultivator?!"

"Misunderstood."

"I didn't misunderstand!" Li Chu stood up suddenly. "The winner goes to the king and the loser goes to the bandit. I've lost, so I admit it. But since you've become a traitor, don't point fingers at me with those hypocritical words. There's no need for that!"

Li Mi was speechless, just silently watching the pot of pear juice boiling on the fire.

This pear juice is actually the friendship between him and Li Heng, Li Chu and Li Tan. That was the most difficult time for them when they were in Lingwu. The north wind was strong and dry. At that time, they were extremely short of supplies, not much food, and no seasoning or tea. After discussing military affairs, even if there was only one pear left, they would boil it into pear juice and eat it separately.

"I am a rebel, and you are the prime minister." Li Chu said, "I believe in Buddhism, and you believe in Taoism. My temple is small, and I am afraid it cannot accommodate a prime minister. Please come in."

After saying this, he raised his foot and kicked the pot that was cooking on the fire, overturning it, spilling the pear juice, and the soft and ripe pears also fell to the ground and broke into pieces.

Divide the pears, divide the pears, and finally they have to be separated.

Li Mi sighed slightly, stood up and left the hall.

Li Chu stood there, glancing at his figure, secretly hoping that Li Mi would turn around and express his determination to him.

Even if I just say "I don't really support Xue Ni, I'm just pretending to be nice" would be fine.

But Li Mi actually walked out step by step without looking back, and Li Chu suddenly felt more and more lost.

He felt that people's hearts were gradually turning to Xue Bai.

Xue Bai doesn't need to kill him at all. Xue Bai's greatest weapon is time.

Li Chu felt extremely painful at having to watch himself lose everything.

But he still told himself in his heart: "Don't worry, Xue Ni will make mistakes, he has already started to make mistakes."

~~
"Tell me, can the people feel that the court is doing this for their own good? There will be a major war in the northwest this fall, and the court is in urgent need of military funds, but it has not imposed taxes on them. Why are they still complaining?"

“There’s no place to burn incense.”

It was midsummer. Du Wulang and Yan Quanming were riding horses on the official road in the western suburbs of Chang'an, riding side by side and chatting casually.

They were returning from an inspection tour of Guanzhong on behalf of Xue Bai to investigate the confiscation of temple property. They were still dozens of miles away from Chang'an, but it was almost dark.

Tonight they planned to stay in an inn ahead that was converted from a temple.

Looking from the official road towards the mountains and forests in the south, gradually, you can see a building showing its eaves.

"It's right there. It's really big." Du Wulang raised his hand and pointed, saying, "It's not on the official road. Oh, there is a small path that can lead to it."

He saw a small path built beside the official road, which was quite convenient.

"This temple was originally called Chongguang Temple. It was built during the Kaihuang period of the Sui Dynasty and renovated during the Wu Zhou period." Yan Quanming said, "It's not far from the official road, so we just made some simple renovations and used it as an inn."

Unlike Yan Jiming who was sent to Hedong, Yan Quanming has been in Chang'an and Luoyang for the past two years. As a very outstanding son of the Yan family, although he tried his best not to show off so as not to attract attention, he was also Xue Bai's confidant and did a lot of things in a low-key manner.

"You have a really good memory. You remember all of this." Du Wulang sighed. After walking for a while with Yan Quanming, he suddenly remembered and said, "Oh, right, after Zhang Yi became a monk, he lived in Chongguang Temple for a while, right?"

"Yes."

"And where is he now?"

"Maybe he should move to another temple to practice." Yan Quanming said.

"Eh?" Du Wulang asked, "Is his Buddhist teachings very profound? There aren't many monks left in each temple nowadays."

Yan Quanming didn't want to answer these persistent questions, and said: "Maybe he doesn't want to go back to Princess Ningqin and practice hard."

"Brother Yan is really humorous." Du Wulang said, "Come to think of it, Zhang Yi also said that Your Highness's identity is not..."

"arrive."

As they were talking, the two had already arrived at the post house which was converted from a temple. They could see a lot of donkeys, horses and camels tied up in the stables. When they went inside, they could see boxes of goods piled up in the courtyard and a few people guarding it. It was obviously a big merchant caravan.

Du Wulang looked around and went to book a room first.

In the past, post houses were mostly for officials to live in, with three types of rooms: upper, middle and lower, allocated according to their ranks. Now that the temple property has been confiscated, the number of post houses has increased, and the conditions for merchants and civilians to live in post houses have been relaxed a lot.

Du Wulang and Yan Quanming came incognito, and they didn't need to show their seals, so they quickly booked a room. They also bought a newspaper, which was from that year. It was said that after the newspaper was distributed in Chang'an City, someone would deliver it together with the letters and supplies that needed to be brought from the city, so the timeliness was quite high.

Du Wulang was not in Chang'an during this period, so he bought several newspapers and ordered some hot-baked Hu cakes.

Yan Quanming was talking to a merchant, asking why they were still trading since the trade route in the Hexi Corridor was cut off.

"My dear, why don't you guess where I'm going."

Yan Quanming said: "I see that your goods are all specialties from Guanzhong, not treasures from the Western Regions. They must have departed from Chang'an, but why didn't you bring more silk, but instead transported heavier porcelain?"

"My lord, you have good eyesight. We have been living in Chang'an for two and a half years. The passage to Hexi is blocked, so we dare not do business easily. We did leave Chang'an this time. But we are not returning to the Western Regions. Although the Tang Dynasty is negotiating with Tubo, it seems that the Longyou area will be unstable this year."

Even a traveling merchant knew that there would be a war in the northwest, which showed that there were also extraordinary people among the people. Of course, since it was related to their livelihood, they had to inquire carefully.

They were not going back to the Western Regions, so Yan Quanming frowned and wondered where they were going.

"I know where you are going." Du Wulang suddenly said.

"Oh? Please go ahead, young man."

Yan Quanming was also a little surprised. He didn't even know it, but Du Wulang, who was not very smart, knew it first.

"You go to Shu County, sell these goods, buy tea, Shu brocade, bamboo paper, and silk, then return to Chang'an, sell some goods, buy some more, and set off for Anxi, right?"

"Haha, young master is really smart."

"That's right. I've always been known for being smart."

Yan Quanming saw through Du Wulang's trick at a glance, so he took the newspapers from him and started reading.

Sure enough, many things were reported in recent newspapers.

The imperial court now did not allow envoys and merchants from various states to stay in Chang'an doing nothing. It sent some of them back and registered some of them. It also encouraged merchants to purchase tea and sell it to the Western Regions in newspapers.

The newspaper also said that the Tang Dynasty was now in peace talks with Tubo, and that there would be results before the beginning of next spring, by which time the road to the four Anxi towns would be opened.

Tea brewing has gradually become popular now. If the situation is really as reported in the newspapers, it will naturally be a good business. The merchants and travelers stranded in Chang'an finally started to move.

Yan Quanming knew very well that the so-called peace talks were only negotiations with the Tibetan king Trisong Detsen, and Daza Lugong would not easily withdraw his troops. By then, the merchants had purchased tea. If the Hexi Corridor had not been opened, it would seem that the court had broken its promise, but the Hu merchants' urgent desire to connect to the Western Regions might also contribute to the victory of the Tang Dynasty.

At this moment, a horse galloped from the west, raising a cloud of dust.

The knight on the horse had not arrived yet, but the sound had arrived first.

"Eight hundred miles urgent! Eight hundred miles urgent!"

In an instant, another knight rode out of the inn to receive the urgent news from the west...

(End of this chapter)