The banquet in the East Palace, the singing and dancing in the main hall continued, the guests laughed and laughed Yan Yan to talk about the wine, and Li Jiancheng, as the host, also frequently raised his glass, bringing the banquet to one climax after another, even if it was Li Shimin, at this time it seemed to let go of the fight, the two brothers laughed from time to time, and saluted each other a few glasses, a beautiful scene of brothers, friends and brothers.

Li Xiu sat opposite Li Shimin, and he didn't know if it was his illusion, whenever Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng were talking and drinking, he always felt that there was a bit of gunpowder in the air, which was obviously very ordinary, but when it came to their brothers' mouths, it seemed to have a few more meanings, and some invisible swords seemed to appear in the air, and every collision brought out a spark.

"It's so tiring to live!" Li Xiu watched the intrigue of Li Jiancheng's brothers coldly, and then looked at the other people at the banquet, some forced to laugh, some were proud, some were good at dancing with long sleeves, and some people looked like pig brothers, staring at the thighs of the dancers on the field, and their saliva was about to flow out.

Life is full of all kinds in his eyes, so that Li Xiu can't help but think of his past life, he was also one of these people, for fame and fortune to wear their own masks, intrigue to live in those false prosperity, only when night falls, will feel tired, but the next day, but the next day, but energetic into Vanity Fair, happy all day long, he also died once to see these clearly.

"Uncle Ma, can you leave early?" Thinking of the above, Li Xiu felt even more bored, and asked Ma Ye next to him in a low voice, he would rather go home and help the craftsmen build their own houses than accompany these people to act.

"Wait a little longer, if it weren't for you, Lao Tzu would not usually be bothered to come to this kind of place!" Ma Ye drank without a sip, he was actually very bored here, he couldn't interject when Li Jiancheng's brother spoke, and he didn't bother to pay attention to other people, so he, like Li Xiu, wanted to leave here early.

"Uncle Ma, do I usually have to work as a sacrificial wine, and I don't have to do it like other officials, every morning and evening, right?" Li Xiu suddenly thought of something at this time, and asked with great concern at the moment, I don't know who invented the system of clocking in and out of work, and the Tang Dynasty has already begun to implement it, especially the management of officials is very strict, and it is difficult to be lazy.

"Do a job, although the princess has the power to open a mansion and build a government, she never planned to really form her own small forces like King Qin, and even the princess never interfered with the internal generals of the women's army, so your sacrificial wine is actually just a fictitious title." Ma Ye replied with an indifferent face.

"That's good, this kind of job that only takes money and doesn't work is just too suitable for me!" Li Xiu also nodded with satisfaction when he heard this, the sacrificial wine is an official from the fifth grade, which is much higher than Li Xiu's loose official level, and it only needs to be appointed by the princess and reported to the ministry, as for the Yulu, it is issued by the imperial court, and there is no need to come out of the princess's mansion.

Ma Ye had long known the point of interest in Li Xiu's heart, and now he didn't bother to talk about him, so he thought about it and said again: "But since you are already a member of our women's army, you also have to know something about the situation of our women's army, it just so happens that you are bored now, if you don't know anything, just ask, I'll tell you!" ”

"The situation of the Women's Army ......" Li Xiu also showed a contemplative expression at this time, he also knew a lot about the situation of the Women's Army, before in Gyeongju and on the way back, he also came into contact with many soldiers of the Women's Army, and he also knew some from their words, such as now the Women's Army has been reduced to 10,000 people, divided into four Zhechong Mansions, each of which has 2,500 people, led by Ma Ye, Qiu Shili, He Panren, and Xiang Shanzhi.

Thinking of Qiu Shili and these generals, Li Xiu suddenly thought of the dispute between several people when he first met them, and Li Xiu said with great interest at the moment: "Uncle Ma, last time we ate mutton in Gyeongju, we scolded General He, General Qiu and King Qin are very close, what is going on?" ”

Hearing Li Xiu ask this question, Ma Ye couldn't help but look up at Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin above, and then replied in a low voice: "This matter is not a secret, you also know that the crown prince and the king of Qin have been striving for the support of civil and military officials, among which the king of Qin has made great military achievements, and naturally has the support of most of the generals in the army, and our women's army is naturally no exception." ”

When he said this, he saw Ma Ye pause for a moment and then said: "Lao He is a native of the Western Regions, although we have a lot of Hu people in the Tang Dynasty, and even some Hu people are officials in the imperial court, but relatively speaking, these Hu officials are still excluded in the court, either explicitly or secretly, and Lao He is a more utilitarian person, and he wants to climb up, so he has been very close to King Qin very early, but Lao He's loyalty to the princess still has nothing to say, he is a person who can be trusted!" ”

"No wonder Uncle Ma said that General He had his own troubles, it turned out to be this reason!" Li Xiu also said to himself suddenly when he heard this.

"As for Lao Qiu, he has been a little wronged, he has actually been loyal to the princess, but his younger brother Qiu Xinggong was originally a member of the women's army, and was later sent by the princess to the account of King Qin, and became a general under King Qin, and he has made many military exploits, with this relationship, Lao Qiu can be regarded as having some connections with King Qin." At this time, Ma Ye continued to introduce.

"It turns out that General Qiu's younger brother is Qiu Xinggong, I have heard of this person, and he is also a famous brave general of King Qin!" Li Xiu said again, although Qiu Xinggong is not as famous as Qin Qiong and Wei Chigong, he is also an important general in the early Tang Dynasty, but it is said that this person has a harsh nature and likes to eat people's hearts and livers, and he doesn't know if it's true or not.

"As for Lao Xiang, I don't need to say it, this guy's mouth is very stinky, if there is anything he can't get used to, just say it directly, he never thinks about the consequences, and he offends many people for this, but he is also the most loyal to the princess!" Ma Ye finally spoke, including him, the four generals of the women's army, although He Panren is a little selfish, but the loyalty of the four can be guaranteed.

After hearing this, Li Xiu also nodded, and then he asked some details about the internal details of the Women's Army, and finally had a clear understanding of the Women's Army.

When it was nearly two watches, the banquet was finally over, Ma Ye and Li Xiu immediately stood up and said goodbye, Li Jiancheng did not stay, in fact, he still had some complaints about Li Xiu, although Ma Ye said that the princess appointed Li Xiu as a sacrificial wine, but Li Jiancheng also knew that this was probably Li Xiu's means of refusing to solicit himself, and with his feelings for Princess Pingyang, he couldn't say anything.

It is precisely because of this that Li Jiancheng's attitude towards Li Xiu is also obviously cold, and when Li Xiu left, he didn't say much, just asked the master of ceremonies to send them out, but this was exactly what Li Xiu wanted, and he and Ma Ye left the East Palace in a hurry, and secretly swore in a heartbeat that they would never come back for the second time in the future.

It was dark, Li Xiu wanted to go home early to rest, but someone didn't let him get his wish, just when he and Ma Ye had just left the palace gate of the East Palace, they only heard someone behind him say: "Captain Li stays!" ”

As soon as he heard this voice, Li Xiu rolled his eyes very helplessly, then adjusted his expression again, showed a false smile, turned around and saluted: "I don't know what happened when King Qin called him to stay down?" ”

I saw Li Shimin walking out of the gate of the East Palace, still followed by Qin Qiong and Wei Chi Gong, the two generals, it is also interesting to say, when he rode alone to see Jieli Khan, he only brought Qin Qiong alone, but today he came to his eldest brother's banquet, but he took Qin Qiong and Wei Chigong with him, is it in his heart, is the East Palace more dangerous than the Turks?

Li Shimin walked about five steps in front of Li Xiu, then stood still, and then looked him up and down with a strange gaze for a while, and then suddenly smiled: "Captain Li...... No, you should be called Li Saijiu, before Li Saijiu repeatedly refused the king's solicitation, and even did not hesitate to bet that I would not bother you again, this king always thought that you were ready to take refuge in my eldest brother, but I didn't expect that you would rather accept the false title given to you by the third sister than become the eldest brother's person, which made this king really surprised! ”

Hearing Li Shimin's straightforward words, Li Xiu couldn't help but sigh, he wanted to be cheeky and pretend not to understand, after all, as long as these words are clear in his heart, there is no need to say them all, but when the words came to his mouth, he didn't want to lie anymore, and said helplessly: "There is a saying called 'rare and confused', why did His Royal Highness King Qin say it so clearly?" ”

"It's hard to be confused! Haha~, this sentence is good! Li Shimin was in a good mood, and laughed again at the moment, after all, what he couldn't get, he naturally didn't want Li Jiancheng to get it, and now he finally got his wish.

However, after Li Shimin laughed, he suddenly spoke again with a serious face: "Captain Li, the position of sacrificial wine given to you by the third sister is just a false title, and it is impossible to do anything big in the future, you are still so young, are you willing to go on like this?" ”

Hearing that Li Shimin's words were still a little unwilling, Li Xiu thought about it for a while and then sighed and said: "Everyone has their own ambitions, His Royal Highness has the world in mind, and he is very comparable, but for Li, fame and fortune are like floating clouds, and plain and plain is true, and I hope His Royal Highness will be fulfilled!" ”

Seeing Li Xiu's firm expression when he spoke, Li Shimin finally showed a disappointed look at this time, and after a long time, he suddenly sighed and said: "This king understands, and he will not disturb Li Xijiu in the future!" ”

After Li Shimin finished speaking, he turned away, Qin Qiong and Wei Chigong also glanced at Li Xiu at this time, and then turned to leave, which also made Li Xiu finally relieved, from today on, he no longer has to worry about getting involved in the battle between Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng.

It's just that Li Xiu forgot, there is a saying that people are in the rivers and lakes, and they can't help themselves, it seems that he has stayed out of the matter, but where there are people, there are rivers and lakes, and where there are rivers and lakes, there are grievances, and now Princess Pingyang is kind to him, and with the relationship between Princess Pingyang and Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin, she may be difficult to stay out of the matter in the future, and when Princess Pingyang is involved, can Li Xiu really be able to stand by coldly?