Old Summer Palace, Peony Terrace.

Lan Guifei walked among the flowers, it was the time when the spring breeze was proud.

Xiao Dezi hurriedly walked over and reported: "Master Qiqi, Lord Sushun asks to see you!" ”

"What is he doing here?"

"The minions don't know, it seems to have come with a gift."

Lan Guifei pinched off a peony, sniffed it, glanced at the distance and smiled slightly, and said, "Let him come over!" ”

Xiao Dezi received the order and immediately sent someone to call Su Shun.

After a while, Su Shun held a box and came to greet Concubine Lan.

"The slave Su Shun has asked Concubine Lan for peace!"

Su Shun claimed to be a slave, but it scared Concubine Lan.

"Oh, Lord Su is a dignified member of the court, how can he call himself a slave, this palace can't afford it!"

"Afford it! Afford it! Su Shun barely squeezed out a smile, and hurriedly said: "Concubine Lan gave birth to a dragon son for the emperor, this is a great credit, now the emperor has only one prince, and you are the mother of the prince, the mother is expensive by virtue of the son, and the future queen is none other than you." It is the honor of a slave to be a slave to the future queen. ”

Su Shun took the initiative to come and stammer, but Concubine Lan was still very happy, so she said: "Get up, if you have something, just say that the palace still has to help the emperor approve the folds, but I don't have time to listen to your flattery!" ”

"Yes, yes, Lan Guifei taught you a lesson!" Su Shun accompanied the smiling face, and then said: "It's not a big deal, it's just that I found a treasure, I heard that Concubine Lan likes it very much, so the slave personally sent it to you!" ”

As he spoke, Su Shun held the small box in his arms high above his head, and his own little virtue took it and handed it to Concubine Lan.

Stretching out her hand not to hit the smiling person, Lan Guifei still likes the gift very much, so she opened it and took a look. But I saw that it was a blue crystal ball the size of a goose egg, which was very beautiful.

Concubine Lan liked it very much, and even couldn't put it down, and asked, "This thing must be very valuable, right?" It seems that you can't buy it in China! ”

Su Shun replied proudly: "Concubine Lan has good eyesight, this thing is called the Smurfs, and it is a Western thing. One is worth 10,000 taels of gold, and it has no price, and many people can't buy it if they want to. It took a lot of effort for the slave to get it, and he specially dedicated it to the concubine to talk about his heart. ”

Concubine Lan was surprised, a blue crystal ball was worth 10,000 taels of gold, and she was also very happy to see Su Shun give it to her so happily as a gift.

However, at this moment, a little eunuch came to report.

"Qi Qi Guifei Niangniang. Li Weiguo, the governor of Liangjiang, sent someone to present a gift to congratulate the concubine on her birthday! ”

As soon as she heard that Li Weiguo had sent someone to give her a birthday gift, Lan Guifei's eyes suddenly lit up, but she knew that the gifts that Li Weiguo paid to her every year were very good and suited to her heart.

"Quick!"

When Su Shun heard that Li Weiguo's person was coming, his face changed slightly, and when he saw Lan Guifei's happy face, his heart sank even more. He heard that the relationship between Li Weiguo and Concubine Lan was extraordinary. Thinking that Li Weiguo was against him everywhere, he preemptively slammed Concubine Lan. Su Shun's heart is uncomfortable.

"Since the concubine has a guest arriving, the slave will retire first!"

"Don't be in a hurry to leave, doesn't Lord Su want to see what kind of gift Lord Li gave to this palace?" Concubine Lan said with a smile, her eyes rolled, and she didn't feel good.

"This-since the concubine has a will, the slave dares to stay and take a look. I heard that Lord Li is rich and rivals the country, and the slave also wants to see what gift Master Li is willing to give to the concubine, I hope he will not be petty! Su Shunpi said with a smile, thinking that the blue crystal ball he gave to Concubine Lan was priceless, and the gift he sent from Li Weiguo was definitely not his opponent. That's why I decided to stay, ready to watch Li Weiguo's jokes.

I saw a group of people carrying a large box in front of Lan Guifei, and the man led by was an envoy sent by Li Weiguo, named Zhang Qiang.

"Villain Zhang Qiang, please say hello to Concubine Lan!"

"It's all acquaintances, don't be polite, get up!"

"On the orders of my lord, I will bring gifts to congratulate Concubine Lan on her birthday, and wish Concubine Lan a healthy body and rise step by step."

Lan Guifei nodded, looking at the big box, her eyes reflective.

Every year, Li Weiguo's gifts to her are very valuable, and she likes them every time, I don't know what they brought this year, and how they compare with the blue crystal ball given by Su Shun.

"It just so happens that Lord Sushun is also here, Xiao Dezi, go open it and see what it is?"

"Huh!"

Xiao Dezi stepped forward to open the box, and everyone's eyes looked at it together, and they were stunned.

I saw a tripod placed in the box, and on top of the tripod was a huge crystal ball, the size of a watermelon, and it was also blue.

"Wow, there's such a big crystal ball!"

"Hey, it's blue too!"

"Yes, it's the same as the blue crystal ball that Lord Su Shun just gave to Niangniang!"

"What's the same? Lord Su's one is only the size of a goose egg, and if you look at the one given by Master Li, it is the size of a watermelon, and it can't be compared at all! ”

Everyone was speechless in surprise, only Zhang Qiang was very calm, he glanced at Su Shun, and snorted coldly: "Master Su, do you know what this is?" ”

After Su Shun was surprised, he suddenly understood why Li Weiguo didn't give away anything else, but also sent a blue crystal ball, which was more than ten times larger than what he Su Shun sent.

Isn't this a deliberate slap in the face?

Don't take such a bully!

"This—this—you—"

Su Shun pointed at Zhang Qiang, trembling with anger.

Zhang Qiang looked at Su Shun's old face, which was longer than a donkey, and he was very happy in his heart.

That's right, Zhang Qiang did it on purpose. Originally, Li Weiguo prepared several gifts for Concubine Lan this year, and the blue crystal ball was just one of them. However, before coming, Zhang Qiang unexpectedly learned that Su Shun had purchased a blue crystal ball from Wanbao Zhai at a high price of 10,000 taels of silver.

You must know that this Wanbao Zhai is not an ordinary jewelry store, but the intelligence station of the China S.H.I.E.L.D. in the capital.

The blue crystal balls sold by Wanbao Zhai, the size of a goose egg or more are made in the glaze factory in Jiangwan Industrial Zone, and all kinds of color crystal balls are synthetic, this technology is only Li Weiguo in the world who has the ability to use physical and chemical knowledge to realize the synthesis of artificial crystal balls.

Su Shun bought the blue crystal ball the size of a goose egg, which was originally the treasure of Wanbao Zhai's town store. In the end, due to the forces of Su Shun, he had to sell it to him for 10,000 taels of silver.

After Zhang Qiang learned about this, he immediately changed his mind, he knew very well that Li Weiguo and Su Shun had a grudge and were mortal enemies, so Zhang Qiang exchanged the gift for a blue crystal ball the size of a watermelon, and deliberately looked at the time when Su Shun came to see Concubine Lan. Then came and slapped Su Shun's face.

"Qiyu Lan Guifei, my lord learned that you love crystals, so he specially transported back a large sapphire stone from Taixi, hired the top craftsmen to polish it day and night, and it took a year to complete it, especially for the concubine!"

Lan Guifei touched the blue crystal ball the size of a watermelon and liked it very much, and said happily: "Lord Li has a heart, go back and tell Lord Li." It is said that this palace is very happy and thinks of his goodness. ”

"Thank you Concubine Lan, my family master said it, this is as it should be!" Zhang Qiang replied with a smile, turned his head and looked at Su Shun again, and saw Su Shun's extremely embarrassed appearance, and his heart was very happy.

"I heard that Lord Su spent 10,000 taels of silver to buy a blue crystal ball from Wanbao Zhai, the size of a goose egg. I don't know if it's true or not? ”

Zhang Qiang said suddenly, and at the same time gave Xiao Dezi a look.

"This—" Su Shun was so angry that his beard cocked. Heart Dao, this damn Zhang Qiang, which pot is not opened, which pot is lifted, and the left side of the face is fanned and faced.

"Okay, you are so obedient, you dare to deceive Concubine Lan? For only 10,000 taels of silver, you lie about 10,000 taels of gold? What are you guilty of? "Xiao Dezi doesn't take much of Zhang Qiang's benefits on weekdays, so he naturally wants to go to Zhang Qiang.

After a brief shock, Lan Guifei quickly understood. How could there be such a coincidental thing in the world, this Zhang Qiang made the time card so accurate, it was clearly aimed at Su Shun, and slapped Su Shun in the face in front of her, so that he couldn't get off the stage.

But Su Shun deceived her about this. Lan Guifei naturally wouldn't give him a good face, she suddenly turned cold and asked, "Lord Su, are you easy to deceive when you are in this palace?" ”

"Don't dare! How dare a slave deceive the concubine? It's really—it's true—" Su Shun hurriedly knelt down, and suddenly said with an old face: "It's really a slip of the tongue, it's wrong, please forgive the concubine!" ”

Zhang Qiang suddenly fell into the well and said: "What a slip of the tongue!" Master Su actually spoke without brains, is he old and confused? This deceiving the emperor is a crime of deceiving the king, so what should be the crime of deceiving the concubine? ”

"Concubine Niang's life! The concubine spares her life! Su Shun was so frightened that he was urinating, and he kowtowed vigorously and begged for mercy.

Lan Guifei glanced at Zhang Qiang, how could she not see that Zhang Qiang was deliberate with her shrewdness, this was to be rectified to death. And it was premeditated, to borrow her hand to clean up Sushun.

"If you are confused, this palace will spare you once!"

Su Shun suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly knelt down and thanked: "Thank you, concubine!" ”

"Grab your stuff and get out of here! Hongu doesn't want to see you again! ”

Lan Guifei was still thinking that if Su Shun took refuge in her, she would also have an extra boost in the capital. But such a thing happened, in front of Zhang Qiang, if he received Su Shun's gift again, it would make Li Weiguo unhappy. So after weighing the pros and cons, she still felt that she already had a prince, her position was stable, and it didn't matter whether she had Su Shun in the capital or not, but Li Weiguo was promoted to the governor of Liangjiang, with an army of more than 200,000 people, and she was a powerful foreign aid, so she could only drive Su Shun away in front of Zhang Qiang.

Su Shun crawled away.

Zhang Qiang borrowed the hand of Concubine Lan to teach Su Shun a lesson, which is equivalent to venting his anger for Li Weiguo, on weekdays, this Su Shun has made a stumbling block for Li Weiguo, and he is already the number one enemy of the Shanghai Army Group.

Seeing Zhang Qiang's happy smile, Lan Guifei snorted coldly and said, "Zhang Qiang, are you satisfied with this palace?" ”

Zhang Qiang was startled and hurriedly said, "The villain doesn't dare!" Lan Guifei's eyes are as wise as a torch, so naturally she will not be deceived by villains! ”

Concubine Lan deliberately scared Zhang Qiang, and said with a smile: "What are you afraid of, this palace doesn't blame you!" It's just that you have to be careful in the future, if you let Su Shun not come to the stage today, I'm afraid he will retaliate against you. You must know that he can't help your master, but if he wants to move you, it's as easy as crushing an ant! ”

Zhang Qiang was not afraid, and said with a smile: "With the noble concubine in charge, the villain is naturally not afraid!" ”

Concubine Lan said with a smile: "You have a lot of words today, do you have something to ask for this palace?" ”

Zhang Qiang said with a smile: "She is worthy of being a concubine, her eyes are like torches!" That's right, the villain is here this time. In addition to giving gifts to the concubine, I hope you will do me a favor! ”

Lan Guifei touched the blue crystal ball the size of a watermelon, and said reluctantly: "Say, what's the matter?" ”

Zhang Qiang then said: "My lord heard that Baiwang Mountain has good feng shui, and he plans to build a courtyard in that area, so that he can rest there when he enters Beijing in the future." ”

Lan Guifei raised her head and said, "That's a good thing!" It's just a courtyard. With the official position and financial resources of the head of your family, it is no problem to build ten or eight seats! ”

Zhang Qiang said with a smile: "Naturally, there is no problem with financial resources, but the location chosen by my family master is close to the Old Summer Palace, and I am afraid that the forbidden army will not let me, so I ask Concubine Lan to help!" ”

Concubine Lan understood, so she said: "The Old Summer Palace is a royal garden, and it stands to reason that it is not allowed. However, your family is an important minister of the court, and he is deeply respected by the emperor, and it is nothing for the palace to say a word to the emperor. But. The emperor lives in the Old Summer Palace for at least ten months every year, and your lord arranges the garden so close to the Old Summer Palace, what does he want to do? ”

Zhang Qiang was shocked in his heart, and secretly criticized that this Lan Guifei was really not easy to deal with, and he was very shrewd, so he explained: "Lan Guifei is too careful, my family master just wants to be closer to the emperor and Lan Guifei, and I can say hello to the emperor and Lan Guifei every day." Of course. The most important thing is that if the small ones in the court are not good for my lord, my lord will get the news in time. ”

Lan Guifei dispelled her doubts in her heart. Suddenly smiled: "The words in the front are too watery, but the words in the back are believed by this palace." It's not a big deal, and the main palace should be down. ”

"Thank you Lan Guifei!"

Zhang Qiang then said goodbye to Concubine Lan and left the Old Summer Palace.

Three days later, Xianfeng issued an order to be in the area of Baiwang Mountain on the outskirts of the Old Summer Palace. 200 acres of land were set aside and given to Li Weiguo, and at the same time, the Ministry of Internal Affairs allocated funds to Li Weiguo to build a mansion as Li Weiguo's other courtyard in the capital.

Although Concubine Lan Guifei said good things about helping Li Weiguo in front of Xianfeng, the real reason for Xianfeng's agreement was that Xianfeng was ready to recruit Li Weiguo into Beijing again.

Since last year's recruitment of Li Weiguo into Beijing was interrupted by foreigners. Xianfeng's suspicion of Li Weiguo is increasing day by day, and he is thinking about what excuse to use to recruit Li Weiguo to enter Beijing again, and when he learns that Li Weiguo wants to build a courtyard on the outskirts of the Old Summer Palace in the capital, Xianfeng was immediately overjoyed, and he thought that as long as Li Weiguo built the courtyard, then Li Weiguo would have to enter Beijing to thank him. Once Li Weiguo enters Beijing, it is not a matter of Xianfeng's words to kill or chop up.

With this idea, Xianfeng agreed, otherwise even the princes and nobles would not be qualified to build a courtyard near the Old Summer Palace, how could a good thing be left to Li Weiguo.

Zhang Qiang quickly sent the news back to Shanghai, and Li Weiguo was immediately happy when he learned about it.

"Xianfeng is really generous, he built a house on 200 acres of land for Lao Tzu at once, and he didn't have to spend a penny on Lao Tzu, it was all allocated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs!"

"Order Zhang Qiang, act according to the plan, don't save money for Xianfeng, let me spend it to death!"

Seeing Li Weiguo's happy appearance, Wu Yong was worried: "My lord, I'm afraid Xianfeng is going to recruit you to Beijing again!" Think about it, Xianfeng paid for you to build an official residence, once the official residence is completed, the Ministry of Rites will have a reason to invite you to Beijing to thank Xianfeng personally, I heard that Xianfeng has recently sent several batches of secret talks to Shanghai, I am afraid that you will be suspicious of you again. ”

Li Weiguo smiled: "Don't be afraid! The Anglo-French forces are coming, and I will refuse for any reason! ”

Wu Yong continued: "But the Anglo-French alliance will always retreat one day, and Xianfeng will recruit you into Beijing sooner or later, and this pass is unavoidable!" ”

Li Weiguo glanced at Wu Yong, and said in his heart, don't you know that Xianfeng will have to be angry to death in another year, and when the time comes, Xianfeng will have braids, Su Shun and other eight ministers will have to be killed by Lan Guifei and Yixin, and no one in the entire Qing Kingdom will dare to touch him Li Weiguo, afraid of a ball.

But naturally it was impossible to say this to Wu Yongming, so sometimes Li Weiguo himself was very entangled, and he could only "dictate the cadres" again.

"There must be a road before the car reaches the mountain! It's all in my hands! ”

Wu Yong suddenly smiled bitterly, standing in his position, he could only think that Li Weiguo was too arrogant.

"By the way, my lord, the fourth town of the Shanghai Army suddenly left the garrison last night, and its whereabouts are unknown, and the military command department only said routine military exercises, and did not disclose anything else.

"Is this-" Li Weiguo coughed dryly twice, and said: "I asked the Fourth Town to go out to the field to practice, and now that it is about to start a war with the British and French forces, and adapt to the terrain and environment." ”

Wu Yong was scheming, and seeing that Li Weiguo didn't tell the truth, he pretended to be angry and said: "Don't you believe Wu Yong so much?" The military movement of a town, I, the chief of the general staff, know nothing, if the adults can't believe Wu Yong, Wu Yong will go! ”

Seeing that Wu Yong turned around to leave, Li Weiguo hurriedly grabbed him, so he told the truth.

"I sent Fourth Town to the North!"

"Going north? Where did it go? ”

"Capital!"

"What?" (To be continued......)