On this night in Daming Palace, Xue Chongxun didn't sleep well, and had several dreams in one night. The dead Tang Tuan was smiling, surrounded by swords and swords, and the roars and screams of the soldiers were in his ears, as if he had returned to the battlefield...... Suddenly, two black shadows fell from the sky, and the horse's paw was about to come down, and his brain "buzzed".

He sat up all at once, and after a moment he realized that he was dreaming, and reached out and wiped a handful on his forehead, which was covered in sweat. At this moment, a thought flashed through me, all this qiē is only for his own glory and wealth?

"Xue Lang, are you having a nightmare?" A woman's shout sobered him up. He looked back to the left and right, and saw a large palmetto bed, surrounded by an ornate silk curtain, and outside the curtain there was an antique brass lampstand, on which were lit a dozen oil lamps.

A familiar palace maid was opening the curtain and looking at herself with concern, she was only wearing a white profane dress, as if she had just gotten up.

"I'm having nightmares." Xue Chongxun repeated in a daze, "Who are you, why are you here?" ”

After the words came out, he realized that it was nonsense, since she was in the palace, she was probably just a palace maid sent by her mother to serve her.

Unexpectedly, the woman sighed faintly: "Xue Lang forgot, my name is Cheng Ting, last time you spent the night in the Taiping Princess Mansion of Zhenguo, didn't I also wait for you to live?" ”

"Oh! Thinking about it......" Xue Chongxun took a long breath and looked back at the spacious dormitory. The room where I slept was too big, but I didn't feel safe and unaccustomed. He asked again, "What time is it...... How many days? ”

Cheng Ting said: "It's not yet the fourth watch, Xue Lang will sleep again." ”

So he lay down again and continued to sleep, Cheng Ting came up and pulled the quilt for him, and then left gently.

I just fell asleep and dreamed again. It's strange to be able to realize that you're dreaming in a dream...... A hazy beautiful girl walked over, he wanted to see her face clearly, but she couldn't see it clearly, one moment like Jin Cheng, one moment like Yu Wenji, and another like Li Yan'er.

She lightly untied: Isn't this what you want?

At this time, Xue Chongxun forgot that it was in a dream, he was very happy and looking forward to it, and he was about to go up and hug him, but the strange thing was that the woman was like a ghost, and he couldn't catch it.

She really said: I am a female ghost, and you will never get me.

She then laughed weirdly, laughing so creepy that Xue Chongxun laughed, she smiled and said: You can sacrifice a qiē for your own life, for glory and wealth, but you killed me......

Don't leave! Xue Chongxun was in a hurry.

At this time, the heavens and the earth swirled, and a cloud of fog hit...... "Wake up!" Wake up! ”

After he woke up, he found that the woman in front of him was Cheng Ting again, and she gently put the back of her hand on Xue Chongxun's forehead: "Xue Lang, are you sick?" ”

Xue Chongxun sat up: "I choose a bed, I'm not used to sleeping in this Daming Palace." Well, don't sleep, I'll go home tonight. After that, he lifted the quilt and got out of bed, Cheng Ting hurriedly took a new set of dirty clothes for him to change, and then waited for him to wear official uniforms, hats, and accessories. The costumes of the Tang Dynasty were more complicated, and men also had to comb their hair, and they also had to wear fish bags, jade, knives and flints.

When he had cleaned up, he went to the desk and grabbed grass from the basket to feed his rabbits. Cheng Ting was also very interested when she saw this, silently watching what trivial things he was doing, and after a long time, she couldn't help but say: "Xue Lang is really a good gentleman......

Xue Chongxun smiled and said in his heart: It turns out that feeding pets and pretending to be love is a good way to pick up girls.

Cheng Ting watched him feed the rabbit for a while, so she went out and brought in a copper basin with willow branches, and waited for him to "brush his teeth". The willow branch was soaked in water the night before, soaked overnight, and the next morning got up and bit the bento toothbrush...... In ancient times, the rich were very clean, at least the Han people. When eating breakfast, the palace is also more elaborate than the Weiguo Mansion, there are four palace maids waiting, the containers are made of jade and gold, filled with crystal translucent pastries and soups, in the eyes of the Tang people, the transparency of food is one of the criteria to measure the quality of the goods, so Xue Chongxun eats these square cakes and round cakes look transparent.

After breakfast, Xue Chongxun first went to Zichen Hall to greet his mother, and then when he was in the middle of the time, he came to see Taiping after the meeting of the prime ministers in the political hall, and he also participated in military affairs by the way.

Six prime ministers, among which Zhang said that he was under the military department Shangshu Lingtong Zhongshumen, which was equivalent to Youcheng, and according to the previous rules, Youcheng was the largest. But he had been Li Longji's teacher a long time ago, and his relationship with Li Longji was not clear, so it was obvious that Taiping and the other prime ministers had a distrustful attitude towards him. As a result, the government hall has no backbone in its daily meetings, making a mess, and the central operation is slow and inefficient.

Today they discussed the candidate for the envoy of the Hexi Festival, and Zhang Shuo recommended a person, but everyone disagreed...... Just because it was recommended by Zhang Shuo, who knows if the person recommended by him is reliable or not?

Hexi Province led the seven prefectures of Liang, Gan, Su, Gua, Sha, Yi, and Xi, and now in order to deploy troops to defend Tibet, the imperial court needs a capable and loyal person to lead the 42,000 soldiers in the Hexi prefectures, and this position is very important.

Zhang said that he complained there and expressed his public heart, but the others just didn't believe it. Taiping sat on the top seat without saying a word, calmly listening to their arguments, and didn't know what she was thinking.

Even Xue Chongxun, who basically has no experience in governance, can see at this time: the new power structure needs a prime minister who serves the public.

Dou Huaizhen, Xiao Zhizhong, Lu Xiangxian...... Among the six people, in terms of ability and political performance, only Zhang Shuo is the most capable, but Taiping can spare Zhang Shuo's life in order to calm people's hearts, but it is impossible to hand over the power to a former prince.

At this moment, Lu Xiang stood up first and said, "Since everyone has a disagreement, then the old minister recommends someone." ”

Taiping finally spoke: "Prime Minister Lu, please speak." ”

Lu Xiang said first: "Cheng Qianli, now it is the deputy capital of Anxi Town." ”

Taiping asked again: "Why did you recommend him, what is so good about this person?" ”

Lu Xiangxian said with a smile: "Last year, he returned to Beijing to report on his work, and he played a game of chess with his old ministers, and he was quite accomplished in Go. ”

Zhang's face turned red with a "swoop...... The person he recommended before had many merits and achievements, and now Lu Xiangxian actually said that someone played chess well, so he entrusted him with a heavy responsibility?

What's even more speechless is that Taiping actually agreed at once, she nodded and said: "People with chess skills will not be too bad in other aspects, so according to what Lu Xianggong said, use Cheng Qianli to be the envoy of Hexi Jiedu." ”

Zhang said that he wanted to speak and stopped; Everyone else was silent, they suspected that this Cheng Qianli was determined by Taiping, and then they just said it through Lu Xiangxian's mouth...... There is a question of the distribution of power, the distribution of power between the emperor (the person in power) and the foreign dynasty in major matters: generally the prime minister mentions, and then the emperor only needs to approve or veto; Usually the emperor does not propose any plan himself, but the ministers conceive a political strategy, and then obtain the emperor's support and then implement it.

After saying that, Xue Chongxun also said goodbye to Taiping and prepared to go home. When he walked out of the Zichen Palace, he suddenly remembered Cheng Ting, who was waiting for him last night, why did he have the same surname as Cheng Qianli? The Cheng family is a family of Guan Long's military generals, and although it is now defeated, Cheng Qianli may also be a member of that family.

Xue Chongxun thought about it carefully, and suddenly felt cold in his heart, his mother's mind was really difficult to figure out...... If you guess correctly, then Cheng Ting will definitely have to come through the door in the future, if you want it, you have to ask for it, you have to ask for it!

He thought of the princess Huo Guo that his mother had chosen for him, the woman who was as fat as a pig, and perhaps there were some political considerations.

So what am I? A favorite minister, a guard, and a chess piece in front of my mother?

He sent someone to the palace next to the Hanlin Courtyard and fetched the cage for the rabbit, where he slept last night, and was about to go home...... Then he remembered his own family business.

The mother insisted on marrying the daughter of the Emperor Taishang, probably in order to appease the people on the Emperor's side and win over all forces as much as possible. So Xue Chongxun also became a victim of politics, and he had to marry a type that he completely disliked, to put it mildly, a woman like a sow.

It's not good for anyone to leave this matter there, and he is also very helpless. At this moment, he suddenly remembered Li Yan'er again, isn't she also in the same vein as the emperor? The granddaughter of the Emperor. Even if you marry Li Yan'er, it is many times stronger than marrying Huo Guo...... Xue Chongxun's mind came up with Li Yan'er's cute face, big eyes, and a diamond-shaped mouth...... Although the generations are different, they are not related in the Tang Dynasty.

Xue Chongxun thought about it in detail, maybe he could really have both. Because in my mother's heart, the political needs are still the big head, what way can I resist now?

There is a big problem that Li Yan'er doesn't have a good impression of Xue Chongxun, because he killed her father with his own hands, although the grudge is nothing, but it is also a very unpleasant thing to let her marry a person with a shadow.

Xue Chongxun decided to take a look first. So he asked the eunuch Li Yan'er beside him where he lived, then turned his horse's head and walked along the bank of the Tai Armpit Pond to the west bank.

The South and East Shores are the liveliest places, and the further west you go, the more deserted they become. At this time, the eunuch pointed to a small courtyard and said: "It's over there, where King Fen used to live, the world is impermanent, and now King Fen is going to be the emperor." ”

Xue Chongxun nodded, and rode his horse to the gate of the courtyard, which was a small courtyard with seven or eight rooms inside and out. In the Daming Palace, such low buildings are mostly places where palace maids live or pile up sundries.

At this time, it is estimated that the people inside heard the movement, and the courtyard door suddenly opened, and a woman wearing a plain dress appeared at the door. This person Xue Chongxun had just met, and what he saw in the Fifth Prince's Mansion was one of Li Changqi's princesses, and it should be Li Yan'er's biological mother.

I saw that she was wearing a fallen bun, about thirty years old, a woman with a beautiful face, and she had lived in seclusion for a while, and she was even thinner than the last time...... The cheekbones are high, heard of this kind of physiognomy Kefu?

"Xue Lang?" The woman looked at him in amazement. G