Li Xiuning has been a child in her womb for more than seven months, her belly is high and bulging, this is the third child she is pregnant, the eldest daughter Yang Lu is three years old this year, the title is Princess Wu'an, the second child was conceived when the army went on an expedition to Goguryeo, and unfortunately miscarried due to fatigue on the road, this incident made Li Xiuning sad for a long time, but she was pregnant again last year, this time she was careful to maintain, even if she practiced health Tai Chi was also careful. But today she heard that her eldest brother had come to Luoyang, and under the joy and excitement, she returned to her previous heroism, ran out of the Fengyi Hall in a hurry, and went straight to the Wensi Hall east of the Qianyang Palace. The Wensi Hall is the place where the concubines receive their relatives, and the Wencheng Hall in front of it is the place where the queen used to receive the women of the imperial court, and various activities about the female dependents of the officials of the Great Sui are carried out there.

In the main hall of Wensi Palace, Li Jiancheng is leisurely drinking tea, as if he is a group of Mount Tai collapsed in front of him and his color remains unchanged, but if you are careful, you will find that he looks up from time to time, which shows that his heart is not so calm.

At this time, he heard a ring sound, and saw more than a dozen maids walking in with their radiant sister, and hurriedly got up to greet him.

Li Xiuning was also so excited that her eyes were red, and she called out "big brother" with tears in her phoenix eyes, and then rushed forward with a big belly.

Li Jiancheng was so frightened that his sweat flowed out, and he was so angry that he wanted to scold, but when the words came to his mouth, they all became "Be careful, be careful." ”

Seeing that his brother, who had always been steady, was so frightened that his face changed, Li Xiuning stopped with a 'poof' smile.

Li Xiuning has been married to Yang Tong for almost five years, and her heroic and robust character has also converged a lot, although she is still honest and refreshing in her bones, but in front of outsiders, she always has the grace and luxury of the imperial concubine, she knows that she represents Yang Dong and the majesty of the royal family at some times, so she has to pay attention to some etiquette. So after the initial excitement, it quickly recovered.

Li Jiancheng saw that she was finally quiet, so he let out a long breath and said angrily: "It's all mothers, and you're still so frizzy, when will you be able to grow a little better." ”

"Isn't this big brother coming?" Li Xiuning said with a smile and sat down in his seat.

Li Jiancheng, who couldn't do anything about her, shook his head, and took a closer look, but found that his most cherished sister was wearing a fine linen short shirt, and the long skirt she was wearing was also woven of fine linen, and there was no gorgeous jewelry on her head, only a purple bamboo and phoenix hairpin was used to wear it, and she was dressed like a woman from a common people's house, but her demeanor was calm and majestic, which made people respectful.

As a person who advocates frugality, Li Jiancheng naturally doesn't care whether his sister's clothes are luxurious, he only feels sincerely gratified in his heart, using simple and simple cloth clothes and bamboo hairpins, decorated with a rare luxurious temperament, is their Li family's most magnificent and noble princess, casually smiled and asked: "Benevolence is rich in the world, how can the third sister dress like this?" ”

Li Xiuning's beautiful face revealed a naughty smile: "My clothes are first woven into cloth by the queen, the virtuous concubine, and the concubine, and then cut and sewn by the imperial grandmother and the queen mother, and the bamboo hairpin is ......carved by Renjin himself."

"You are priceless, no wonder I feel luxurious." Li Jiancheng laughed dumbly.

"The main thing is that the silk is not breathable, and I don't like it very much." Li Xiuning saw the palace maid serving good tea and ordered her to retreat, so she asked: "The eldest brother is the prince of the Tang Dynasty, why did he become an envoy?" ”

"My father intends to make a truce with the Sui Dynasty, but there are some details that need to be discussed with Renjin. You also know that most of the important ministers of the Tang Dynasty who can see Renjin are old ministers of the Sui Dynasty, and they are also related to the Yang family, and Renjin hates these people, so naturally he will not meet them...... Things can't be discussed, it's secondary. Li Jiancheng pretended to smile lightly: "The main reason is to meet my sister and niece, so I went through a private affair." By the way, I heard Renpu say that the fawn is quirky and very cute, but what about people? Why don't you bring me to see my uncle? ”

"That little girl played with her sister all morning and was taking a nap." Speaking of her daughter, Li Xiuning's smile also softened, adding a bit of maternal brilliance, "I let people wake her up." ”

"No, no." Li Jiancheng shook his head again and again, and said very experienced: "The child has bed gas, and if she can't sleep enough, she will make a lot of noise, which hurts her body, and it's not too late to see her when she wakes up." ”

When Li Xiuning heard this, his eyes were filled with deep respect and gratitude when he looked at his brother.

The younger brother Li Xuanba, who died early, was frail and sickly, was a sick man, and his parents were away from home for many years, Li Jiancheng, the eldest brother, was a father and a mother, and took care of him day and night, but Li Xuanba finally died in the arms of his eldest brother, which was a pain that Li Jiancheng could not heal, he had always condemned himself and blamed himself, and later in order to avoid this tragedy from happening to other brothers and sisters, he also painstakingly learned a superb medical skill. It is precisely because of Li Jiancheng's wholehearted dedication that those younger brothers and sisters who grew up in his hometown respect and love him.

After a moment of silence, Li Xiuning opened his mouth and asked, "Is the eldest brother coming alone?" ”

"In addition to me, there is also Deputy Envoy Chen Xiangguo, by the way, there is also a shop, he is also here," Li Jiancheng couldn't help but say: "Ziwei City, where we entered together, he should also go to see his sister." ”

"No wonder Concubine Xian is also coming this way." Li Xiuning suddenly realized: "They are either in the Great Yi Hall in the east." ”

"I don't know... That's right..."Li Jiancheng looked at his sister with a strange gaze, and asked meaningfully: "Third sister, you two, that, did you fight?" ”

Li Xiuning's pretty face was slightly red, but she didn't have the cowardice of other women, but straightened her slender and white neck, and said as a matter of course: "When you enter the Yang family, you are a family, she is so gentle, how can we fight, big brother, you are too underestimated." ”

Li Jiancheng said embarrassedly: "You didn't say hello to me, I'm just a little curious, you two ...... after all."

Li Xiuning was furious: "Then you still say." ”

"Don't say it, don't say it. I'm too lazy to care about you. ”

"......" Li Xiuning's face was so red that she was about to drip blood, speaking of which, she and the eldest grandson Wujian seemed to be pregnant on the same night and on the same bed, and after a long time, she asked again: "How is my father's health recently?" ”

"My father is getting older, and his energy is indeed not as good as in previous years, but my father has tried to avoid socializing over the years, and has paid attention to the way of health preservation, which is also a sign of longevity in the long run. The third sister can rest assured, the brothers and sisters are all right together! ”

Li Xiuning asked: "I heard that my father wants to make peace with Tubo, and the princess is Linhai's sister?" ”

Li Jiancheng pretended to be indifferent and said: "After the lawyer's death, Linhai sister has been widowed so far, she is still so young, and she has no sons and half daughters, if she no longer marries and has children, she will not even have a person to send her to the end when she is old, if our generation is gone, I am afraid that I will not even be able to enjoy the incense." Langri Zampu is a masterpiece of a generation, and he promised to take Linhai as the queen, which did not insult her. ”

In ancient times, patriarchy was extremely serious, believing that if there was not enough incense after death, it would become a lonely ghost and a wild ghost, and it would be difficult to reincarnate forever. Princess Linhai has no children and no daughters, guarding her princess's mansion alone, once she dies, and cares about her relatives for a hundred years, she will not be able to enjoy the incense.

Although Li Xiuning also believes in this superstition a little, it does not mean that she agrees with this family business, and said worriedly: "Even if you want to get married, you don't need to marry Tubo far away." The poor mountains and bad waters of Tubo are cold and snowy all year round, and it is very difficult to even breathe. When General Xue and General Wei Chi led the 'Silk Road Coalition Army' to conquer Tuyuhun last year, they suffered extremely heavy losses, and six or seven percent of the soldiers did not die on the battlefield, but were killed by bad weather. A physically strong alien soldier is still like this, and Sister Linhai marries a weak woman there, isn't it sent to death? ”

"Is that really the case?" Li Jiancheng said movingly, he also knew that in the battle at the end of last year, the coalition soldiers were extremely heavy, and he didn't expect it to be the weather.

Li Xiuning said: "Anyway, Shu is not far from Tubo, if the eldest brother really doesn't believe it, you can send someone to inquire." ”

"I'll take this matter to heart and talk back to my father." Li Jiancheng nodded cautiously, looked at Li Xiuning and said, "Let's not talk about the matter of Linhai for the time being, let's talk about your problem." ”

"What's wrong with me?"

"You know it yourself."

"What's wrong with me?" Li Xiuning was a little inexplicable.

"Third sister, I know that you are very filial, and I also know that you are very embarrassed to be caught between the Sui and Tang Dynasties......" Li Jiancheng accentuated his tone and said solemnly: "But I told you before, once you marry into the Yang family, you are the Yang family, everything is important to yourself, all husbands are important, even if you can't help Renjin, don't get involved in the disputes between the Sui and Tang Dynasties, this is a matter between men, and it has nothing to do with you..."

Without waiting for Li Jiancheng to finish speaking, Li Xiuning interrupted the eldest brother and said with a blank face: "I understand what the eldest brother means, and I also know that the eldest brother is for my good, and I have never participated in the Sui and Tang disputes." If my husband cherishes me and takes care of Datang in a place I don't know, that is also his intention, and it really has nothing to do with me......"

"Letter ......" Li Jiancheng said a word, in vain he felt that this was not the place to debunk his sister to 'steal' Dugu's entire letter, if people overheard this, his sister would be miserable.

"Believe what?" Li Xiuning wondered.

"You're really angry with me......" My sister's innocent appearance was so angry that Li Jiancheng wanted to hit the wall, and after a while, he endured the anger in his heart and said bitterly: "In short, you just need to keep to yourself, husband and children... You don't care about the mess between the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and you can't interfere, understand? ”

"Big brother, I'm like this." Li Xiuning looked at the eldest brother who was almost crazy in front of him with a smile, and his big eyes were full of innocence.

"Third sister, I know you too well, you have been like this since you were a child, once the lie is exposed, you will pretend to be innocent and pitiful, and win sympathy, so I am reluctant to punish ......" Li Jiancheng wanted to make it clear, the place was not suitable, and she wanted to scold, but she had a big belly, and it was not good for her to move the fetus.

"Big brother, did you have any misunderstanding?"

"What did you do yourself, don't you know?"

"I really didn't do anything."

"Only by believing in you can you have ghosts." Li Jiancheng sighed, since his sister doesn't want to mention it, then forget it.

"Mother ......" The milky voice that suddenly sounded interrupted what Li Xiuning was about to say.

Li Jiancheng greeted the prestige, only to see a little girl wearing a pink palace skirt, running like a butterfly, the little girl's delicate face like a porcelain doll, with a little baby fat, Li Jiancheng asked the little girl gently: "Are you a fawn?" ”

The little girl raised her head when she heard this, looked at Li Jiancheng with two pairs of big black eyes, and said, "I'm a deer, what do you call uncle." ”

Li Jiancheng approached cautiously and said with a smile: "I am your uncle." ”

Yang Lu said in a milky voice: "Hello uncle! ”

Li Jiancheng's heart melted, and he smiled: "Call again." ”

"Uncle!" Yang Lu shouted again.

"That's good, my uncle has a gift for Xiaolu......"

"Thank you......"

Li Jiancheng was so happy that he forgot about his sister who had been taught repeatedly.

。。。。。。。。。

At the same time, the eldest grandson brothers and sisters are also talking in the main hall of the Dayi Palace, and unlike the Li brothers and sisters, this side is always very quiet, and every question and answer is polite and courteous, but there is a sense of estrangement.

It's not deliberate, it's a matter of character. The eldest grandson is dignified, rational and polite, and when he speaks, his tone is soft, as if he is telling the story, and people who are not familiar with her will have an indescribable quiet and serenity, but there is an invisible distance. She was certainly very happy about her brother's arrival, but with such a personality, she would not be as excited as Li Xiuning.

The eldest grandson, Wuji, is shrewd and capable, and is currently the head of the Tang Dynasty's East Palace, and is Li Jiancheng's most effective assistant, talented but not a talkative person, which also causes the conversation between the brother and sister to seem a little formulaic.

"It seems that my brother is not bad under Brother Li." The grievances and grievances between the eldest grandson Wujian and the Li family are already in the past, and the Li family is just a passerby in her life, but looking back, there is a little emotion... Others don't care, but Li Jiancheng, who has always been a father and brother, is admirable, and it is not an exaggeration to call him 'Brother Li'.

And Yang Tong, the man who suddenly appeared in her life, she accepted it from the beginning with an attitude of resignation, but his own goodness, as well as the life of gathering less and leaving more after all these years, made the not deep feelings precipitate and sublimate to the death. Her mentality is completely in response to what a female writer said, conquering a woman starts with her body.

"Your Highness is different from his father, he is genuinely benevolent and generous, sincere and generous. For his brother, under his command, like a fish in water. The eldest grandson Wuji smiled contentedly.

"I know that." The eldest grandson Wujian was silent for a long time, stared at his elder brother and said: "But the Great Sui of the world is monopolized, and the general trend is already very clear, no matter what, Li Tang will not have a chance to dominate the world...... Although Brother Li is virtuous, he is not the lord of Li Tang after all, as long as he is still the prince, even if Bai Qi, Li Mu, Zhang Liang, and Han Xinqi come back to life and help him with all their might, he will not be able to control Li Tang's court, and it is impossible to decide Li Tang's fate. He couldn't save Li Tang. My brother is talented, and he is in the prime of his life, so he can't, he can't just go away, right? ”

Eldest Sun Wuji snorted angrily and said sharply: "Is this what you mean, or is it what Emperor Shengwu means?" ”

"My brother and sister lost their father when they were young, and their mother was kicked out of the house by their half-brother and lived a life under the fence; After my mother passed away, my brother and sister depended on each other. Now seeing that my brother is going to be martyred for a dying dynasty, the little sister really can't bear to ......" In the eldest grandson's beautiful eyes, tears couldn't help but roll: "The eldest brother has always been ambitious, is he willing to go away with unpaid ambitions?" ”

"The method of agitation is useless to me." The eldest grandson Wuji laughed, and then said: "Just as the little sister thinks, I really want to become a master, and I want to return to the family with the posture of a master, so that the clansmen who looked down on us in the past know that my eldest grandson Wuji is the most outstanding son of the eldest grandson clan, and let them realize that the eldest grandson Anye and the eldest grandson Hengye are not even qualified to carry shoes in front of me." ”

"Wouldn't it be better to make you a master in Dasui?"

"Today's Great Sui, full of talents, civil and military officials are all young and powerful honest ministers, how can they be brothers? And in the Tang Dynasty, once His Royal Highness the Crown Prince ascends the throne as the emperor, how can I also be a second-grade minister, although I will not monopolize power, but at least, my ideas can be taken seriously. ”

"The saint employs people, does not stick to one pattern, respects the Legalist, and the way of punishment happens to be the eldest brother's strength, and the Great Sui Dynasty, which governs the country according to law, is not the place where the eldest brother has great ambitions? Sooner or later, he will be able to get ahead in the Great Sui and become a master. The eldest grandson Wujian persuaded.

"My ambition does not conflict with my loyalty. This is called doing something and not doing something. The eldest grandson Wuji said with a smile: "My little sister has always admired her proud and loyal father, you don't want me to be a traitor, right?" ”

"......" eldest grandson was completely defeated.

"Okay, even if we are brothers and sisters, but we have different aspirations and different political opinions, so there is no need for the little sister to persuade us." The eldest grandson Wuji smiled, he said so much, in fact, the most critical point was hidden by him, that is, it was difficult for the Sui Dynasty to achieve his wishes.

His greatest wish is to run the eldest grandson clan into the first family under the royal family, and Yang Tong, who hates the family gatekeeper, obviously will not agree, the way of knowing people and employing people, no one in the world can be beaten, if his eldest grandson Wuji does something secretly, the other party will immediately destroy him.

In addition, Yang Tong is just a young man in his early twenties, and it is impossible for him to die earlier than his eldest grandson Wuji, and although Li Tang is risky, Li Jiancheng has soft ears and is easy to be swayed by emotions, so if he is loyal to Li Tang, his wish still has a chance.

"Maybe it's a bit too early to say this, and the eldest brother can't accept it for a while. But Xiaomei hopes that the eldest brother can face up to the clear general trend of the world and make the right choice at a critical moment. The eldest grandson sighed.

"Okay, for the sake of the brotherhood. My little sister is pregnant, so you don't have to worry about me. The eldest grandson Wuji agreed quickly this time, and changed the subject: "What about my niece?" ”

"Still taking a nap." The eldest grandson is very smart, how could he not hear his brother perfunctory? But as he said before, everyone has their own ambitions, and they can't help it.

。。。。。。。。。。。

Night.

Yang Tong stayed in Li Xiuning's dormitory, put his hand on her big belly, and pressed it gently, the child in her womb seemed to respond, and her bones moved, and she said excitedly: "Ning'er, this child is so smart." ”

Li Xiuning chuckled lightly and said softly: "I think this little guy is a boy, he moves more vigorously than a deer, and I like meat dishes very much recently."

Yang Tong smiled: "What does this have to do with meat and vegetables?" ”

"Of course it matters, when I was pregnant with Xiaolu, I liked vegetarian and hated meat, and I wanted to vomit when I saw meat, and so did Sister Wujian and Sister Qinghua. Concubine Wu's guy is different. "is also a heroine among women, Li Xiuning and Shui Tianji have a good relationship, and when they talk about her, they seem to be more casual.

"What's the difference?"

"When he was pregnant as a child, he had big fish and meat every day, and he was not happy without meat."

"It does make sense." Yang Tong actually wanted to say that Shui Tianji herself was an outlier who had no flesh and no joy, but he understood that people in this era had the idea of 'having children and having enough to do everything', but it did not hit Li Xiuning's confidence.

"Husband, my eldest brother came to see me today." In the dark night, Li Xiuning said quietly.

"Of course I know, or I'll let you know."

Li Xiuning twisted his arm and said coquettishly, "Can you follow my tone." ”

Yang Tong smiled: "It's too capable." ”

Li Xiuning sighed, "The eldest brother told me a little bit about his mother's family, although the eldest brother said vaguely, but I know that he is caught in that position, he has not been easy at all these years, and he lives on thin ice every day." This made me suddenly feel that my daughter was more worried than a boy..."

Speaking of this, she gently pressed her husband's hand: "I want to have a son, but I want this child to be a daughter, it's very contradictory." If it were a daughter, I would dress her and Xiaolu beautifully, I would teach their sisters to read and write, and then ask Sister Qinghua to teach piano, chess, calligraphy and painting. ”

"I thought you were going to teach them war strategies and battlefield skills." Yang Tong said with a smile.

"Don't teach any of them, resolutely don't teach them." Li Xiuning simply and decisively expressed her attitude, and then said softly: "Because in this world, not every man can be like my husband, pampering and loving a woman who only knows how to wield a knife and stick all day long, and be arrogant and domineering." ”

"Our daughter must be both strong and soft." An indescribable emotion surged up in Yang Tong's heart.

"Husband, are you giving great favor to Datang because of my sake?" Li Xiuning suddenly asked solemnly.

"Nope. I am an emperor, how can I collaborate with the enemy? Yang Tong flatly denied it.

"There must be. Otherwise, my eldest brother wouldn't have scolded me. ”

"What did he say?" Yang Tong was a little embarrassed.

"He didn't say anything, just cleaned me up, saying that I couldn't interfere in the Sui and Tang disputes, but in fact, I didn't do anything."

"I know that."

"But it's impossible for the eldest brother to scold me for no reason, and he is so angry, which means that the matter is quite big. It can only be you, the emperor, who can order the generals to make any changes that are unfavorable to the Great Sui. Li Xiuning snuggled her face on her husband's shoulder, and said with tears in her eyes: "I know that my husband loves me and loves me, but I don't want my husband to do something stupid for me like 'Beacon Opera Princes'." ”

"......" Yang Tong...

"If my husband is defeated, my father will not be able to tolerate you, and you will definitely die. I don't want my husband to fail. Li Xiuning saw that Dou Jiande and Xiao Mo were living well, and they also became big officials, knowing that if the Great Sui wins, his father and brother will survive, otherwise, it is not.

"......" Yang Tong had a sense of ridicule, this pile of letters was shot, not only to Li Yuan, to seek the Guanlong nobles, but also to win the beauty by mistake.

is obviously a bad guy, but as a result, Li Xiuning is a good guy and a big delivery.

He looked down, but found that Li Xiuning was already asleep, so he carefully laid her flat, kissed her wet face, and after a while, he also fell asleep.