After recuperating in Shiqiao Village for a few days, and walking from Qingcheng County to Chang'an City for half a month, according to the time, Li Longji and the court should have known what happened in Qingcheng County.

Gu Qing said firmly in front of Song Gensheng, but at the moment he was still a little apprehensive in his heart, the sacred heart was unpredictable, and it could not be measured by common sense, it was the prince who committed the crime, with Li Longji's stupid temperament, Gu Qing was really not sure whether Li Longji would turn black into white, and in turn cure Gu Qing and Song Gensheng's crimes.

So Gu Qing looked at Li Guangbi worriedly and said, "What is Your Majesty's reaction?" ”

Li Guangbi laughed, but avoided answering, but looked Gu Qing up and down, and said, "I heard that you were also injured in this battle?" Where's the injury? Is it serious? ”

"It's just a skin injury, it's not serious, the injury has healed."

Li Guangbi stroked a messy beard, stared at Gu Qing for a long time, and then sighed: "He is a good boy, he can travel thousands of miles to help his friends without hesitation, sacrifice his life for his friends, and forget about death for his friends, obviously he has a good future in Chang'an City, but he fought to the death for a county order until the end, in the end, it is the blood of the Gu family, and the blood in his bones carries the word 'righteousness'." ”

Gu Qing said suddenly: "Uncle Li, I am a little shy when you suddenly praise me so hard...... You don't want to borrow money from me, do you? ”

Li Guangbi was stunned for a moment, then snorted, and scolded with a smile: "I'm not as thick-skinned as you, and I can't open my mouth to borrow money." ”

After a pause, Li Guangbi said: "The matter of Qingcheng County spread to Chang'an more than ten days ago, and Zhang Jiuzhang and I also received your letter later, Zhang Jiuzhang sent the guests on the house to quietly let out a little rumor, and deliberately let several imperial historians in the court know, those imperial historians are not mixed with sand in their eyes, and they immediately went to Shushangshu Province, and the matter started like this, and it was known by the Son of Heaven the next day. ”

Gu Qing said worriedly: "What did the Son of Heaven say?" ”

Li Guangbi hesitated and said: "The strange thing is that Your Majesty didn't react at all, as if he didn't know it at all, and he didn't even reprimand King Ji. There was no order to investigate and punish the king, nor did he punish him in any way. ”

Gu Qing frowned: "The palace privately raised the dead, and sent more than 200 people to attack and assassinate the county order, no matter how small the county order is, it is also appointed by the imperial court, is this kind of blatant assassination of the court officials not pursued by Your Majesty?" To put it mildly, this is a provocation to the imperial power. ”

Li Guangbi shook his head: "Don't worry, the matter is not over." His Majesty didn't say a word, but the matter was not trivial. If he only reprimanded King Ji into the palace and punished him for a year and a half, maybe the matter would be over, and now His Majesty does not say a word, maybe there will be a heavier punishment for King Ji. ”

Gu Qing suddenly thought, this is logical, otherwise a prince raises so many dead soldiers, and it is under the nose of the Son of Heaven, it is impossible to spare this matter, and the assassination of the county order is not mentioned first, and it is difficult for King Ji to explain clearly in front of his own father.

"What is King Ji doing these days?" Gu Qing asked.

Li Guangbi sneered twice and said: "After the impeachment of Queen Ji in the imperial history, King Ji hurriedly entered the palace to ask to see His Majesty, who knew that His Majesty was not seen, only to order him to return to the palace, and later King Ji explained to His Majesty, His Majesty did not say a word, these days King Ji stayed in the palace in a panic, and he didn't even dare to go out. ”

"Why hasn't Your Majesty dealt with King Ji for a long time? It's better to deal with it early to cover up the crowd in the court. ”

Li Guangbi thought for a while and said: "Your Majesty has his own reasoning, if you look at an ordinary thing in the eyes of Your Majesty, it is unusual, Your Majesty has been in power for forty years, if you talk about the means of employing people and doing things, among the Tang Dynasty Emperors in the past dynasties, Your Majesty is very outstanding." ”

Glancing at Gu Qing, Li Guangbi said leisurely: "The news of your return to Chang'an, presumably Your Majesty also knows, wait, Your Majesty will definitely summon you tomorrow, you should be cautious in front of Your Majesty about the affairs of Qingcheng County, don't be involved in the court camp, with your current official position, once you are involved, it will be like a bedbug being run over by a carriage, and there will be no suspense in the end." ”

Gu Qing's mood suddenly became as unhappy as his appearance: "Uncle Li, the words are good words, they sound very reasonable, but you are a military general, don't engage in any figurative rhetorical techniques, okay?" ”

Li Guangbi smiled: "Isn't it appropriate? ”

Gu Qing said seriously: "Uncle Li, the 'bedbug' you just described, call you 'uncle'......"

Li Guangbi was stunned for a moment, and then sighed: "It's sloppy......"

After chatting for a while, Li Guangbi suddenly felt that his mouth was dull, he was a drunkard, he was not happy without drinking, and he was about to order his subordinates to serve wine, Gu Qing hurriedly said goodbye.

I have drunk a few times with Li Guangbi, and Gu Qing knows a lot about the amount of alcohol he drinks, he can't afford to mess with this product, and he will enter the palace tomorrow, so he can't get along with his body.

Before leaving, Li Guangbi suddenly stopped him, and said with an extremely serious expression: "Gu Qing, tomorrow you are so good, don't mention the matter of the powerful enclosing the land, even if Your Majesty mentions this matter, you must not talk about it, remember, this matter is very serious, if you say the wrong word, you will offend the powerful people of the Manchu Dynasty, and the matter of Qingcheng County only involves King Ji, understand?" ”

Gu Qing looked hesitant, the letter written by Song Gensheng is still in his arms at the moment, should this letter be presented to Li Longji tomorrow?

It is the song written by Song Gensheng with all his heart and soul when countless fresh lives were fighting with the enemy, it should be the alarm bell of the prosperous era, not the last sorrow of the times.

…………

When he left the Li Mansion and returned home, Hao Donglai and Shi Daxing were not there, and Steward Xu greeted him into the house and told Gu Qing that the two shopkeepers were very busy now, and after Chang'an opened four shops, the two shopkeepers rarely came back, and almost all of them took care of business in the shops.

After dealing with Steward Xu's cold and warmth, Gu Qing went to bed very early, and before dawn the next day, Gu Qing got up early, put on his official uniform, wore a silver fish bag, and instructed his subordinates to carry a bunch of gifts brought from Shuzhou onto the carriage.

After doing this, Gu Qing sat calmly in the courtyard, waiting for the eunuchs in the palace to announce it.

The morning sun was rising, the red light was shining, there was a little more warmth in the yard, the crows were perched on the bare trees and chirping vigorously, Gu Qing sat in the yard, slowly drinking the soufflé of the tired dead, and frowned after only taking a sip.

The drinks of these years are very simple, except for the wine is soufflé, tea is not strictly speaking, it is not a drink, but a ritual tool when the literati discuss the Tao, which is defined as an elegant thing, ordinary people are not qualified to drink, maybe even the powerful do not like to drink, after all, the taste of cooking tea is really indescribable, and no one should like that thing in normal people.

Calculating the time, the tea saint Lu Yu is still only a teenager less than twenty years old, he is still trying to change the method of cooking tea, and the famous "Book of Tea" has not come out, Gu Qing is thinking about whether to go other people's way again, so that others have no way out, so he simply got the method of roasting tea, and he didn't have to use it to make money, just want to drink it refreshingly.

In the future, you can also use roasted tea to entertain guests, a handful of tea leaves are thrown into a large porcelain cup, and the boiling water will be fragrant as soon as it is brewed, which is good for entertaining friends, I believe they will soon become addicted to roasted tea, at that time, Gu Qing stood at the door of his house and waved a small handkerchief to greet friends, "New tea is on the market, uncle come and play", friends must be very happy.

Thinking of it, Gu Qing immediately called the housekeeper and asked him to collect fresh tea after the beginning of spring, the more the better, and the housekeeper Xu respectfully wrote it down.

At the end of the day, the eunuch in the palace really came, Steward Xu got Gu Qing's instructions in advance, and greeted the eunuch into the door diligently, and the eunuch walked into the courtyard and saw Gu Qing wearing an official uniform, sitting leisurely in the courtyard with Erlang's legs basking in the sun, the eunuch was stunned, and before he could speak, Gu Qing got up and smiled: "Is it Your Majesty's call?" No more nonsense, let's go. ”

After speaking, Gu Qing took the lead in walking out of the door and getting into the carriage at the door, the eunuch followed and got into the carriage, looking back at the gifts piled up in the carriage, the eunuch couldn't help but smile and praised: "Gu Changshi, you are really a clever person......

Gu Qing flipped his palm, and there was an extra piece of thumb-sized broken silver in his palm and handed it to the eunuch, who took it in surprise and thanked him a thousand times.

Gu Qing blinked and smiled: "Dare to ask Huang Menlang, how is Your Majesty feeling today?" ”

Of course, the money can't be collected in vain, the eunuch is also an old sparrow in the palace, naturally understands the rules, after collecting the silver cake, the eunuch smiled: "Your Majesty is in a good mood today, get up early and go to the imperial garden with the Taizhen concubine, the slave and maid follow from afar, and I heard His Majesty laugh a few times, and the mood must be good." ”

"Did Your Majesty summon anyone else today?" Gu Qing continued to ask.

"I have not summoned others, but Your Majesty issued an order to give the East Palace a piece of imperial food, and sent a decree to the East Palace to read the books of the sages diligently and not to slack off in their studies."

Gu Qing sighed, his eyes flickered, and he asked again, "Your Majesty often gives imperial food to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?" ”

The eunuch smiled: "It's rare, in the past, most of the books were given, and they were also given silk and rare treasures. ”

Gu Qing nodded, the broken silver just now was not in vain, and in a seemingly useless conversation, he seemed to understand something.

The carriage stopped in front of the gate of Xingqing Palace, Gu Qing entered the palace after tidying up his clothes, and the warriors in front of the palace gate checked the gifts in the carriage one by one, and sent a team of people to follow Gu Qing into the palace with the gifts.

In the calyx building, Li Longji and Yang Guifei sat upright, and Gu Qing worshiped after entering the hall.

Li Longji still smiled heartily, I have to say that although Li Longji's heart is very dark, his attitude towards his subordinates is very remarkable, so that people can't detect the gloomy side of his heart, no matter who he interacts with, he is very sunny and cheerful, as if he is an old friend, easy-going, like Uncle Wang, the next-door neighbor who often comes to visit the house.

"Gu Langjun, a talented young man who hasn't seen me for many days, you still look unhappy, not festive at all, haha." Li Longji laughed.

Yang Guifei covered her mouth and chuckled beside her: "It's also because San Lang knows heroes, otherwise even if he is admitted to the Jinshi, he won't be able to enter the eyes of the officials of the ministry." ”

Li Longji saw a team of warriors outside the hall holding many gifts in their hands, and couldn't help but say in surprise: "What is outside?" ”

Gu Qing hurriedly said: "Back to Your Majesty, the minister just returned to Beijing from Shuzhou, and thought that the concubine Niangniang was also from Shuzhou, so he purchased some local specialties in Shuzhou and returned to Chang'an to dedicate them to His Majesty and the concubine Niangniang, in order to relieve the nostalgia of the Niangniang." ”

Yang Guifei was surprised and said, "Is it a specialty of Shuzhou?" Take a look. ”

The warriors were ordered to enter the hall and stood in a row in the hall, and Yang Guifei stepped forward to check one by one.

The gifts prepared by Gu Qing are not expensive, but they are full of intentions, including Shu brocade, a special product of Shuzhou, newly fired porcelain in Shiqiao Village, peace talisman paper from the Taoist temple of Qingcheng Mountain, a mat cushion made of Shu bamboo, and a snack unique to Qingcheng and so on.

The more Yang Guifei looked at it, the more surprised she became, looking at Gu Qing and saying with a smile: "You still know how to be considerate, and it is not in vain that this palace loves you, and the palace accepts all your wishes, and I don't give you anything, you take more skills to come out, and make a great contribution to Your Majesty, and this palace will ensure that you are promoted to a great official in front of Your Majesty." ”

Saying that, Yang Guifei turned around and shook Li Longji's arm coquettishly: "The concubine's words can be said, if Gu Qing makes new contributions to San Lang in the future, San Lang must promote Gu Qing, otherwise the concubine will have no face." ”

Li Longji laughed and said: "Since the lady has opened her mouth, I will definitely do it, Gu Qing, you have no jokes, the lady often says that you have a skill, quickly take it out in exchange for fame, I will definitely not hesitate to reward my official position." ”

Gu Qing hurriedly saluted: "Thank you, Your Majesty." ”

Yang Guifei has lived in the deep palace for a long time, how exquisite her heart is, and after greeting Gu Qing, she said goodbye to Li Longji with interest, and ordered the palace people to return to the harem with gifts.

Only Li Longji and Gu Qing were left in the huge hall.

Li Longji still had a smile on his face, and said: "In the past, those who met me and the lady, the gifts offered were all treasures of the city, which seemed to be luxurious and rare, but it was always a dead object, only to see the price but not the heart, you are a simple child, although the gift is not valuable, but it is full of human affection and local flavor, I can see that the lady really likes the gifts you give, no wonder the lady often praises you for your youth and extraordinary in front of me, it seems that not only because you are her fellow countryman, but also in terms of being a person, you also have a unique place." ”

Gu Qing said humbly: "Your Majesty is falsely praised, the minister is young and ignorant, I think that Your Majesty and the concubine are used to seeing rare treasures, and no matter how expensive the gift is, it is just the icing on the cake, it is not enough, the minister simply collected some hometown products, although it is not so valuable, but every cent of the minister's mind is in these worthless things." ”

Li Longji laughed and said: "Yes, whether it is a person or a work, if every word and everything is mixed into the mind, even if you don't say it, others can feel it, although I am old, but I am not old and confused, the courtiers who do things with their hearts, who are perfunctory, I can still see it at a glance." ”

Gu Qing lowered his head and frowned inadvertently.

Feeling that Li Longji had something to say, Gu Qing had to think carefully about it with 120,000 spirits, did these words mean something, were they deliberately warning him, or did they occasionally sigh?

His mind was spinning rapidly, and Gu Qing still said respectfully on the surface: "Remember Your Majesty's admonitions." ”

Li Longji smiled: "This is not a warning, you don't take it to heart." ”

After a pause, Li Longji asked again: "I heard that you returned to your hometown in Shuzhou a few days ago?" ”

"Yes, the minister left in a hurry, so he could only temporarily ask Zuo Wei Zuo Lang to temporarily ask Li Guangbi to take leave to General Guo on behalf of the minister, and the minister is guilty of negligence, please punish Your Majesty."

Li Longji hummed lightly and said, "From Chang'an all the way back to Shuzhou, how are the customs and people on the way?" ”

Gu Qing was stunned for a moment, I don't know why he didn't come up with this sentence coldly, when it comes to this, shouldn't he ask King Ji about assassinating Qingcheng County?

The customs and customs on the road, Gu Qing has naturally seen it, and objectively speaking, it is not very good. Along the way, large tracts of farmland were barren, and I also encountered waves of refugees fleeing to the north, and I even saw the phenomenon of government officials bullying the people.

Gu Qing was about to tell the truth about what he had seen and heard, but just as he was about to speak, a warning signal suddenly appeared in his mind.

What kind of emperor is Li Longji? When he was middle-aged, he may be called a Ming Jun, but now Li Longji is definitely a faint king, the world has been plagued by the powerful like this, and he is still immersed in the great achievements of the Kaiyuan Dynasty created by himself.

Can such an emperor listen to a trace of negative words?

Who's to say who's unlucky?

Of course, Gu Qing is not a loyal minister, to be honest, if his face looks a little more festive, he must give up his face to be a traitor who is corrupt and flattering. Like Wei Zheng, a minister who was working against Emperor Taizong in the early Tang Dynasty, Gu Qing couldn't follow suit, he admitted that he didn't have the guts.

Although the current Gu Qing is not a loyal minister, at least he cannot be regarded as a traitor. Some words can be silenced, but you must not whitewash the peace and tell lies, he is already a faint king, isn't he happy to go to heaven after listening to these welcoming lies?

"Back to Your Majesty, the minister was in a hurry, and he never stopped sitting in the carriage, but he never saw the customs and customs of various places, and the minister was ashamed."

Li Longji was quite disappointed by Gu Qing's answer, glanced at him lightly, and said, "Why are you going to your hometown in Shuzhou?" ”

Gu Qing was silent for a moment, and said softly: "A little private matter, don't dare to disturb the Holy Hearing." ”

Li Longji raised his eyebrows and said with a smile: "Private matter? ”

"Yes, private."

Li Longji said leisurely: "Gu Qing, what is the charge of bullying the king in front of me?" ”

"Back to Your Majesty, it is indeed a private matter, and if a friend in the minister's hometown encounters a little trouble, the minister will go back to help him."

Li Longji's tone gradually became cold: "The friend from your hometown you are talking about, is it Song Gensheng from Qingcheng County?" ”

Gu Qing lowered his head and said: "Your Majesty knows that you can't hide anything from Your Majesty, and the ministers are full of admiration." ”

"What's the trouble with him?"

"Song County ordered the administration to offend people and was assassinated by Xiaoxiao."

Li Longji stared at his face and said, "Was it just that he was assassinated by Xiaoxiao?" ”

"Yes. It was a group of unknown Xiaoxiao, fortunately, Song Gensheng did benevolent politics in Qingcheng County, and was loved by the people under his rule. ”

This statement was thought of by Gu Qing before entering the palace.

You must not take the initiative to mention King Ji, let alone take the initiative to mention the assassination of the county order by the dead soldiers of King Ji's Mansion, to retreat as advance, simply pretend not to know anything, whether to advance or retreat depends on Li Longji's attitude, if he wants to pursue this matter, he will take the initiative to speak out, if he wants to suppress this matter, Gu Qing will cause trouble for himself and Song Gensheng if he says it.