Li Chen felt that this year's winter was particularly long.

The famine in Guanzhong reached the winter, and there was no relief, and my father was worried about the natural disasters, and attached great importance to the comfort of the hungry people by local officials. After Wu Zetian asked to abdicate the throne, Li Zhi began to hand over more political affairs to the crown prince Li Hong.

Li Hong reported to his father: In the year of famine, the people were afraid that the price of rice would skyrocket, and now that there is a famine in Guanzhong, the government should order to prevent such a situation from occurring. If there is grain to be sold in the private warehouses of wealthy and wealthy merchants in various private areas, they must give priority to selling it to the government, and the cost of buying rice is paid by the state treasury.

Li Hong said that if the people can't eat enough, what is the use of the national treasury being sufficient?

As a result, the crown prince Li Hong won a good name in this winter, and the ministers praised the prince for caring for the people, which was the blessing of the Tang Dynasty.

But it was also in this winter that Wu Zetian's mother, Rongguo's wife, Yang, died.

A month after Wu Zetian abdicated the throne, Mrs. Rongguo fell ill, and she died in the Luguo Mansion one morning after the winter. In order to comfort the queen, Li Zhi specially ordered to bury Mrs. Rongguo with the gift of the princess, and was called a martyr, and later added the princess to the princess.

Although his mother's posthumous name is very good, Wu Zetian still has no face, Li Zhi in order to make Wu Zetian happy, so he asked several children to often go to Qingning Palace to accompany her, and sometimes the family is like a folk family, sitting around the table to eat together.

After dinner that night, when the parents were exchanging feelings with several children, Wu Zetian suddenly said to Li Zhi: "My mother died, and I want to do my filial piety for her." ”

Li Zhi was stunned and looked sideways at her. Since the death of Mrs. Rongguo, Wu Zetian's whole person has been reduced a lot, and now looking at the past, his brows are lightly locked, compared to the graceful and elegant before, Wu Zetian at this moment is a little more elegant, which makes Li Zhi feel a desire to protect himself.

Wu Zetian raised his eyes, met Li Zhi's gaze, and said, "Lord, the concubine wants to become a monk and cultivate the Tao for her mother. ”

Li Chen blinked and looked at his mother.

The Li Tang royal family boasted that they were the descendants of Taishang Laojun, so they have always believed in Taoism, and there is a Sanqing Hall in the Taiji Palace, which is dedicated to the Sanqing. Taoism believes that if an elder in the family has passed away, if there is a younger generation in the family who has become a monk, it is actually to cultivate the blessings of the deceased elders, so that the elders can live better in the underworld. Therefore, during this period, if the parents of the family die, some families will choose a younger generation to become a monk for them.

Li Chen felt that her mother was the queen, and her mother, Mrs. Rongguo, died, so she was naturally very sad. But according to her mother's personality, even if she mourns, she will not think about becoming a monk, and a person who is ambitious and obsessed with power will not have the idea of becoming a monk.

Li Hong immediately said to Wu Zetian: "A-Niang is the mother of the country, how can she become a monk?" ”

Li Zhi frowned, and was about to angrily scold her for messing around.

Wu Zetian stretched out his hand at the right time, and his white hand rested on the back of his hand. "The lord will listen to the concubine first."

Li Zhi: "You say." ”

Wu Zetian smiled slightly and said: "The concubine also knows that as the mother of a country, it is impossible to leave the matter of the harem and leave the house. Since the concubine entered the palace, her mother has worried a lot about the concubine, running around for the concubine before and after the saddle, and now she has died, as a daughter, the concubine also hopes that her mother can live better in another world. ”

Li Zhi frowned and said unhappily: "Among the Zhou State Mansion, there are so many juniors of the Wu family, can't you choose one of them and let him cultivate for a few years to cultivate the blessings for Mrs. Rongguo, do you have to do it yourself?" ”

Wu Zetian pursed his lips, "Those juniors cultivate the blessings for my mother, in order to fulfill their filial piety for themselves, what does it have to do with concubines?" ”

Li Xian, who was playing with a cricket in his hand, raised his head and said, "But as long as they are monks, my grandmother can live well in another world." ”

Li Chen nodded violently in agreement, but the two adults didn't have time to deal with them.

When Li Zhi heard Wu Zetian's words, his brows furrowed even tighter, and his face could no longer be stretched.

Wu Zetian said: "The concubine wants to do her filial piety. ”

When Li Zhi heard this, he was about to slap the table, but Wu Zetian said again: "The concubine can't become a monk, but you can let Taiping become a monk for me, and Taiping will be filial to my grandmother, which is the concubine and my mother." ”

As soon as Wu Zetian's words came out, everyone was silent.

Li Chen flattened his mouth: "Sister Taiping, you want to become a monk?" If you want to live in the Taoist temple, what can Yongchang do? Then he stood up and looked at his mother, stomping his feet, "A-Niang is good to her grandmother, everyone in the world will praise A-Niang's filial piety, and her grandmother can be buried as a princess, also because of A-Niang." A-Niang is thinking about her grandmother in her heart, and her heart is sincere, what must she do to be a Taoist? And Sister A is Aya's daughter, surnamed Li and not surnamed Wu! ”

When Wu Zetian heard this, he looked at his little daughter, she is not yet six years old, she is pampered, and she can say whatever she wants. Although she felt that she had been demolished by her youngest daughter, Wu Zetian did not show her unhappiness, what did she care about with a child who was less than six years old? What's more, that is still her favorite daughter.

Li Chen was very aggrieved as he spoke, and his eyes were red: "Anyway, I don't want Sister Ah to leave the palace, and I don't want her to be a Taoist priest!" ”

When Taiping heard this, he touched Ah Mei's head with a smile, and said comfortingly: "Ah Mei, don't worry, Ah Niang said, if I become a monk for her, I just give me a Taoist name, and I can show my face when there is a celebration, not really a Taoist priest." Sister will still accompany you in the palace. ”

When Li Zhi heard this, he already understood what Wu Zetian was thinking in his heart.

has been married for many years, how could he not understand Wu Zetian's personality of being in the limelight, she didn't really want to become a monk, but she just wanted to make a good name for herself in front of the world. A good reputation is loved by everyone, including Li Zhi himself, so when he understood Wu Zetian's thoughts, his face turned a little pale.

Wu Zetian lowered his eyes, sighed lightly, and then said quietly: "Although Taiping is also the daughter of a concubine, it is the blood of the royal family after all, if the lord is unwilling, then it will be fine." ”

Li Zhi stood up and looked at Taiping, only to see that there was no reluctance on her face with a smile on her face, which showed that Wu Zetian had already agreed with her.

Seeing this, Li Xian stood up and said to Li Zhi: "Father, if Taiping can stay in the palace, it is not impossible for Taiping to become a monk for his mother. Taiping cultivation, one can cultivate the blessings for her grandmother, and the other is that she is a monk for her mother, so she is also filial piety to her mother. In this way, it can not only fulfill the mother's mood of filial piety for her grandmother, but also let the people of the Tang Dynasty know the virtue of filial piety. After a pause, Li Xian continued: "After a few years of Taiping growing up, you can return to the vulgar." ”

Li Chen listened to the words of the second brother, and really wanted to roll her eyes indecently, but she couldn't, so Li Chen sat next to Taiping, looking like I couldn't understand what the adults said, but she was muttering in her heart: It turns out that I became a monk and a female Taoist priest in these years, and I can do this, I knew that I wouldn't be tossing around just now...... In this way, if you can cultivate the blessings, I am afraid that Sister Taiping is also cultivating the blessings for the Li family, because Sister Taiping's surname is Li, and her mother is now also the daughter-in-law of the Li family.

When Li Zhi heard this, he did not hesitate any longer and agreed to Wu Zetian's request.

So, in the winter of this year, the queen, who had asked to abdicate herself in the autumn, resumed her former high profile after keeping a low profile for a while. The people of the Tang Dynasty all know that Her Royal Highness's mother, Mrs. Rongguo, died, and Her Royal Highness the Queen, in order to express her sorrow and filial piety to her mother, endured the pain and asked Princess Taiping to become a monk for her to cultivate the blessings for Mrs. Rongguo. The people of the Tang Dynasty gave a thumbs up, praising Her Royal Highness the Queen for her true filial piety, and also praising Princess Taiping for being the daughter of the royal family, who knew how to be filial to her parents at a young age.

Li Chen sat in the carriage to Luoyang, the eastern capital, thinking back to the events of last winter, and had to say that her mother asked Taiping to become a monk for her.

Originally, Wu Zetian's reputation among the people was not as good as before, but his popularity finally gradually recovered because of this matter.

But the mother's popularity does not mean that the power in her hands is greater, they went to Luoyang, the eastern capital, and the prince's brother stayed in Chang'an.

Li Chen opened the curtain and looked at the scenery outside, although it was already February, it was not yet the time for the spring flowers to bloom, and the scenery outside was not very good. And after a famine winter, there are many potholes on the roadside outside and not far away, which are the traces left by the people who experienced famine in order to find all kinds of wild vegetables or tree roots to feed their stomachs...... In any case, now that the famine has finally subsided, we can breathe a sigh of relief.

Moreover, the prince's brother implemented the words "the teacher of the past and the future" very thoroughly, and not long before his father went to Luoyang, the eastern capital, he and his father built yì to hoard farmland and fill the granaries of various places. Li Zhi was so careful and thoughtful about the prince's handling of things, he was very relieved, and immediately rewarded the prince with 10,000 pieces of silk.

She pulled her thoughts back, lowered the curtain a little boringly, and began to miss Sister Taiping who stayed in the Taiji Palace.

Sister Taiping became a monk for her mother, although it was only in name, but at the beginning, she pretended to be, and she should pretend to be decent, so when Li Zhi and Wu Zetian arrived in Luoyang, the eastern capital, none of their children brought their youngest daughter Li Chen. Li Xian stayed in Chang'an to share the worries of the prince's brother, while Li Xian and Li Dan ...... Li Chen wanted to say that the third brother likes cockfighting and lackeys and has never paid attention to business, he stayed in Chang'an probably to relieve the boredom of Sister Taiping, and as for the fourth brother, it is probably the same as before, and he goes to play with the musicians in the palace whenever he has free time.