A strip of red silk hung in the house.

Qinglan looked up for a long time, and her heart was full of joy.

But thinking about it, she was inexplicably a little worried, and asked in a low voice: "Lang Jun, if you take a concubine...... Won't it affect your wife? ”

"Will it affect?"

Xue Bai was also a little puzzled by this.

The two were in a daze with the decoration in the house, and suddenly heard a movement in the yard, but it was Mingzhu who came in a hurry.

As soon as Qinglan saw that this was Mrs. Qiuguo's personal maidservant, she became nervous in her heart, worried that it was Mrs. Qiuguo who came to prevent Xue Bai from taking her as a concubine.

It's true that she doesn't know much, but she won't be frightened by Xue Bai's lies about the "righteous sister", and she has already guessed what their relationship is.

"Xue Lang, something happened."

Mingzhu spoke in a hurry, leaned into Xue Bai's ear, and said in a low voice: "Today, Zahu went to Xingqing Palace again to play tricks, coaxed the saint to be very happy, and proposed to worship the concubine as his mother-in-law, and to recognize you as a little uncle." ”

"Huh?"

Xue Bai paused for a moment and asked, "What is the attitude of the saint?" ”

"The saint was very amused, and wanted to recruit the Yang family to the palace to recognize his relatives." Mingzhu said in a low voice: "Yao Niang is worried that she won't be able to stop it this time." ”

"I know, you go back and tell Yu Yao, just act when you have the opportunity."

Mingzhu retreated, while Xue Bai frowned and pondered.

He was thinking more than just An Lushan's recognition of his mother, and muttered in a low voice: "Hedong Jiedu envoy." ”

Sure enough, not long after, someone from the palace summoned him to Xingqing Palace for a banquet.

Xue Bai agreed, and responded: "Dare to ask if Uncle Guo has entered the palace?" ”

The chamberlain naturally knew that he was asking Yang Chen, and replied that Uncle Guo was in the palace.

Xue Bai frowned slightly, asked a few more words, and learned that Yang Zhao had not yet entered the palace, nor did he change his clothes, so he rushed straight to Xingqing Palace and waited for Yang Zhao.

"Ah Bai has arrived?" Yang Zhao saw Xue Bai from a distance, so he drove forward, approached and lowered his voice: "Zahu still doesn't give up, and he still wants to recognize his mother, so shameless." ”

"Brother, do you know why Zahu is like this?"

"Why?"

"Recognizing one's mother is not the goal, promotion is."

Yang Zhao couldn't help but be annoyed, and said: "I have made a decision with Wang Jie, and I swear not to let Zahu get the title of Imperial Doctor." ”

"Zahu not only wants the imperial doctor, but also wants the envoy of the Hedong Festival." Xue Bai said in a low voice, "Yesterday evening, Wang Zhongsi has already approached me, saying that he has the intention of switching to the eldest brother......

Yang Zhao raised his eyebrows when he heard this.

He is also the core of the Yang Party, and if the Yang Party can get Wang Zhonghe's dependence, its power will inevitably increase greatly.

Xue Bai continued: "Wang Zhongsi didn't dare to ask for the four towns, he only hoped that the eldest brother would help keep the position of the envoy of the Hedong Jiedu. Brother Ling thought, in this way, the salt tax, the soldiers' salary, and the prisoners of war ...... How much of it is at stake? ”

"Done?"

"No, An Lushan moves faster." Xue Bai said: "Brother, look, he recognized his stepmother today, and tomorrow he is bound to take the lead and take the post of envoy of Hedong Festival." ”

"How are we going to make salt then?"

"Is it still time?"

At this time, it was inconvenient to talk more, Yang Zhao showed anger on his face, and said: "Look at me in front of the palace to stop this miscellaneous beard." ”

~~

Yanshoufang, the king's house.

"The saint hasn't summoned Grandpa yet?"

Wang Yunxiu asked worriedly, only to see Wang Zhongsi nodding.

In the name of compassion, the saint recalled the righteous son who had just captured Shibao City, but ignored it, and only summoned An Lushan, who was more obedient to the holy will, every day.

This move seems to be out of suspicion, but Wang Yunxiu has heard Yuan Zai say that this is actually a sage who gave Wang Zhongji a chance.

"Grandpa, can you just go to the book to express your position?"

"Let's go down."

Wang Zhongsi seemed to be waiting for someone, and he shouted back from his chattering daughter.

looked outside the hall, waited for a long time, and finally saw a maid hurrying over, and when she arrived in the hall, Wan Fu said: "My second mother ordered me to deliver a message, and His Royal Highness promised to present the results of Pei Mian's case to the third division, everything is over, and the general doesn't have to worry about it anymore." ”

"In that case, I am also at fault, why didn't anyone come to interrogate?"

"This slave and maid don't know, and only listen to His Highness's words to Erniang, 'Never implicate the righteous brother'."

"What does Changyuan say?"

"Mr. Li is waiting to be summoned in the palace, and he doesn't know about it yet......"

Compared with pleading guilty to the saint with Li Heng, this kind of "never implicated" made Wang Zhongsi feel a little uneasy.

The next moment, a figure wearing a light green official robe appeared in the courtyard, and Yuan Zai hurried over.

"Father-in-law, my son-in-law heard the news that An Lushan is in Xingqing Palace, and he wants to worship the concubine as his mother-in-law again."

When Wang Zhongji heard this, he frowned and looked at Yuan Zai.

Yuan Zai knew that no matter what he said, Wang Zhongji would still think that he had ulterior motives, so he simply confessed his position on the side of the Yang Party, but appeared sincere and calm.

"The son-in-law may wish to tell his father-in-law one more thing, today An Lushan visited his uncle before entering the palace, and gave him a generous gift, hoping that his uncle can support him as the envoy of the Hedong Festival, saying that there will be heavy thanks in the future, and this recognition of his mother is a step for him to express his sincerity."

"It's too urgent, the old man is still in the Four Towns Festival!"

Wang Zhongsi shouted, and his majesty was awe-inspiring.

Yuan Zai bowed deeply, stepped aside, and didn't even persuade him more.

Wang Yunxiu heard the movement, and had rushed back to the hall, pulled Yuan Zai, and spoke softly.

Yuan Zai shook his head helplessly, patted his wife's hand, and said, "It's useless to say more, let Grandpa decide for himself." ”

As he spoke, Wang Zhongsi had already strode out.

"Grandpa?"

"Don't come along!"

~~

The horses' hooves lifted the snow from the ground.

"Phew!"

Wang Zhongsi turned over and dismounted, and broke into Shaoyang Courtyard again.

The guard standing on the steps in armor and halberd tried to stop him, but he pushed him away.

"Get out of the way, I want to see the prince."

In the midst of the noise, Li Jingzhong rushed from the other side of the corridor again, and when he saw Wang Zhonghei, he hurriedly stepped forward to persuade him.

"General Wang? Why is it here again? Although His Royal Highness is sick and the general is concerned, he can ......"

Before the words could be spoken, his whole person had been lifted up by Wang Zhonghe.

"This ......"

"Smack!"

There was a crisp sound, and Li Jingzhong's neck "clicked", and his head was tilted, and the slightest turn was a sharp pain.

His eyes were full of tears in pain, he tilted his head to look at Wang Zhonghe, and said in shock: "Why did the general beat me?" Old slave ......"

After opening his mouth three times, he couldn't finish a sentence completely, and Wang Zhongji had already left him aside and broke directly into Li Heng's house.

"Brother ......"

"Since His Royal Highness told me that the person was killed by Xue Bai, why did he close the case with the dead generals under Pei Dunfu's command?" Wang Zhongsi asked.

Li Heng was stunned.

Wang Zhongsi said: "I have been to Dali Temple, His Royal Highness is still sick, but the case has been investigated? ”

"Ahem, ahem...... Let's stop it, this case is over, don't implicate others anymore and cause turmoil in the court. ”

"Your Highness is confused as a saint? Or is His Highness confused? Don't understand that the simpler the case is closed, the heavier the suspicion of the saint? ”

Li Heng asked rhetorically: "Is this suspicion my fault?" ”

"Your Highness is always at fault." Wang Zhongsi said: "I am also wrong. If you are wrong, you will admit it, what's the big deal? ”

"What's the big deal? Because he won't give me a chance to admit my mistakes! ”

"Changyuan told you." Wang Zhongsi suddenly hugged Li Heng and said, "I can also say it to His Highness one last time, you and I refuse to admit our mistakes, and the saint's anger will not subside...... You know the truth, but do you know that the brother slave did not hesitate to let An Lushan prevent you from ascending the throne by force?! ”

"How dare he?!"

"No one is sure if he will dare."

Wang Zhongsi was calm after all, lowered his voice again, and said: "But at this moment, he is seeking the envoy of the Hedong Festival, it is obvious that what is the benefit of letting this person serve as the three towns at the same time?" What are the benefits for the community? ”

"What can I do? The saint did not listen to me, and Jin Yu persuaded and persuaded me, but he only favored those traitors who followed his will, and he regarded that Zahu as a son who was a hundred times closer than my son! ”

Li Heng said, but he became angry.

He came up angrily, broke away from Wang Zhonghe's hand holding him, raised his hand and asked, "You come to question me, what did I do wrong?" I just closed the Pei Mian case at the lowest cost......"

"Don't play dumb."

Wang Zhongsi did not use the respectful attitude towards the prince, his tone became serious, and said: "I have told you since I was a child that I am a rough person and will not go around the bend with you. You and I know how this matter is, you don't admit your mistake, the fault is mine, it's okay to lose it in the four towns, An Lushan ......"

"Brother Yi, let's talk about it, but I still can't bear to make the military power, right?!" Li Heng said: "I haven't done my best enough to protect this military power for you?!" ”

Wang Zhongsi was stunned.

Li Heng sat up, became more and more excited, and said: "Wei Jian's case, I would rather give up Wei's family, give up Huangfu Weiming, and hand over Hexi and Longyou to you." That's because in my eyes, my wife, brother-in-law, and beloved general are not as important as your brother-in-law! ”

"Your Highness, ......"

"In the past two years, I could have confessed my mistakes to the saint in one big case after another, why didn't I admit it? Because I know that as soon as I admit my mistake, he will soon take the opportunity to take your position, and now you think that I am not doing enough to protect your military power?! ”

"Your Highness has done your best, I see in my eyes, now there is just a better way with Mr. Li."

"Your solution is to make me the laughing stock of the world, a prince in name only?"

"At least, Your Highness will have a chance to ......"

"Opportunity? Wang Zhonghei, the opportunity you said is that when I ascend the throne, I will have no prestige and authority, so that the Northwest Domain will be a country alone?! ”

There was a sudden silence in the room.

Wang Zhongsi pursed his lips and wanted to speak, but he didn't know how to say it, so he had to look at Li Heng's eyes in a daze.

After a long time, he said, "Your Highness, this is ...... Words of the Heart......"

Li Heng cried, walked down from the couch, shook his head and said, "I'm afraid, brother-in-law!" The sage is afraid of me so far, since the Shang and Zhou dynasties, I don't have the power that the prince of a country should have, you look at the East Palace...... How have I ever been to the East Palace? Have you ever seen a vassal? ”

"Your Highness, I understand."

"Since the founding of the country, the prime minister has been in office for a short time, this is the first truth that a Ming monarch should understand! But you see, Suo Douji has been the prime minister for more than ten years, a minister of power, even the border town wants to master, and a prince, nothing, nothing...... There is only one last point left, the last point of the sustenance of the people of the world, and you still want to strangle it? What am I left with? You tell me. ”

Wang Zhonghe's eyes were red, he lowered his head in shame, and said, "If Your Highness is willing to believe me, I will never let my brother humiliate Your Highness in the slightest." ”

"Of course I believe in my righteous brother."

"Then why doesn't His Highness dare to offend Li Jingzhong, and protect me from the town?"

"You ......" Li Heng was furious and shouted: "Because you have been deceived by those traitors, they will not keep their promises at all, they will only kill you and me!" ”

"Your Highness may have misunderstood?" Wang Zhongsi said: "Yang Zhen has no intention of abolishing the reserve; Although Yuan Zai drilled the camp, after all, it was my son-in-law, how could he harm the Wang family? As for Xue Bai......"

"That's Xue Pingzhao, the son of Xue Rust, and his sinister purpose is ......"

"If it's the son of Xue Rust, he won't let Brother Nu and Zahu succeed, will they? Your Highness, I am not smart, but I can at least understand a little. Whether he protects me or not, it doesn't make much difference to Xue Bai, he has the holy favor, even the brother slave doesn't want to offend him, he can become an uncle and nephew with Zahu, laughing and playing, but why bother wading into this troubled water? ”

"Then why do you think he?!"

"Out of public interest, he wants to stop Zahu from working part-time in the three towns......"

"Huh?" Li Heng only felt ridiculous, turned around, pointed at Wang Zhonghe's nose, and sneered: "You said that Xue Bai has a public heart? You are my brother-in-law, I said that he fornicated with my wife, have you checked it?! ”

"Your Highness, I'm only talking about border towns, can't I see the pros and cons of such a simple one?"

"Enough! After all, you'd rather kill me for the sake of a town's military power, wouldn't you?! ”

"I ......"

Wang Zhongsi wanted to say something more, but in the end, he was speechless.

What to say?

In the final analysis, it turned out that Li Heng no longer believed him.

If you have to choose between "the righteous brother holds the military power of a town" and "the righteous brother has the sustenance of the world", Li Heng wants to hold his fate in his own hands.

It is understandable that, since this righteous brother dares to force his righteous brother to commit crimes, he is not credible. Second, with the sustenance of the world, there will naturally be other festivals in the future.

Thinking of this truth, Wang Zhongsi crossed his hands and bowed deeply.

"In this way, I hope that everything will be as His Highness wishes, and after I remove the military power of the four towns, the saint will also be able to let go of his suspicion of His Highness."

"Brother ......"

Li Heng still wanted to comfort him, but Wang Zhongsi had already turned around and left.

He wanted to catch up, but when he thought of his brother's last words, he hesitated for a moment and finally stopped.

It can be heard that Wang Zhongsi is already disheartened and doesn't want to fight for the Hedong Festival anymore...... In this way, these important ministers of the East Palace did not want to push him, the prince, out to take the blame, and it ended up being the envoy of the Four Towns Festival.

Since then, the East Palace has been defeated, leaving only a little prestige of the prince.

There is no way to do it, I have been struggling year by year, and after all, I can only be so defeated and dormant, lying on my salary and trying my courage, waiting for the future.

"Brother Yi, I'm incompetent, I can't keep your ......"

Thinking of the more than 30 years since this acquaintance, Li Heng also felt heartache.

~~

Wang Zhongsi led the horse out of the East Palace, looked up at the light snow in the sky, and felt relaxed for a moment.

Everything is over, and a boulder pressed in his heart has been unloaded, and he will no longer care about the war on the border of Datang and the future of the soldiers, nor will he have to worry about the future of Datang.

From now on, just live comfortably...... This is a thought that has never been had since his grandfather died in battle when he was nine years old, and he is very happy.

The next moment, I felt empty and at a loss.

At this time, it was almost evening, and the sound of twilight drums was heard in the distance, and the crowd of people who came out of Xingqing Palace poured out of the long street in the east, which was very lively.

"General!"

Suddenly, someone shouted, and Wang Zhongsi turned his head to look, only to see that it was Tian Shengong, a general under his command.

He nodded lightly, but saw Tian Shengong beckoning to the east, and after a while, Xue Bai rode over.

"General Wang, what a coincidence?"

"Coincidentally?"

Wang Zhongsi asked rhetorically, faintly feeling that Xue Bai was no longer the one who didn't care about him.

"Would you like a drink?" Xue Bai asked, "I'm not in a good mood today." ”

Wang Zhongji was about to refuse, but inexplicably nodded and said, "It's okay, let's drink for a night." ”

……

The wine was drunk in a private room in the backyard of the Fengwei Building.

Wang Zhongsi sat down, drank a pot first, and asked, "I heard that Zahu wants to recognize the concubine as his mother today, but Xue Lang can stop it?" ”

"Nope." Xue Bai said: "The sage wishes, who can stop it." ”

"It's a pity."

"It seems that General Wang has also failed to persuade the prince to bow his head and dispel the sage's wariness of the prince of a country."

"yes, I didn't move." Wang Zhongsi sighed: "He has his troubles. ”

Xue Bai didn't ridicule Li Heng anymore, nor did he provoke again, took a small sip of wine, and sighed: "I'm very frustrated, I feel that I can't change anything." ”

Wang Zhongsi laughed at himself and picked up another pot of wine.

He felt that the wine in Fengweilou was good, stronger than that in other places, and could be drunk.

"Does the general believe in the Mandate of Heaven?" Xue Bai only took a sip, but he was a little crazy, raised his finger to the sky, and said: "I have immortal skills, and I told Li Changyuan, I said that An Lushan will be opposed." ”

"What immortal magic? In the third year of Tianbao, I attacked the Turks in the north, and when I saw An Lushan raising his own respect, he said several times that he had different aspirations. ”

"Why does the general think I'm doing this? Fight down the prime minister and the prince? I'm just a white body, what good can I do? It's just to stop this fat man. can't stop it, today I saw Hu Er dancing, not dancing through the Central Plains and not stopping, listening to his voice 'Auntie' and 'uncle', as if hearing him call the king and call me ......"

"Xue Lang is drunk?"

"Really? I'm a shallow drinker. ”

"Half a cup?"

Wang Zhongsi turned his head to look at Xue Bai and squinted his eyes, as if he saw a trace of sincerity in the young man's eyes.

He was a little solemn and said: "Even if An Lushan has different intentions, he can't make any big waves if he wants to." ”

"Perhaps, after all, the saint is extremely prestigious." Xue Bai nodded approvingly, and at the end, said, "However, the East Palace has been cut too much, and it is difficult to say what will happen in the future." ”

"You're really drunk."

Wang Zhongsi stopped with a calm face, but there was a hint of gloom in his eyes.

His mood was getting worse and worse, and the ease of unloading his burden was gone.

Xue Bai waved his hand and said, "Don't talk about state affairs, I'm still young, it's not too late to pay attention to these things after I go to the department." ”

"I'm getting old."

The two drank for a long time, and Wang Zhongsi became more and more sober the more he drank, and when he turned his head to look, he saw Xue Bai holding a wine glass and not drinking, thinking about things in a daze.

He wanted to talk about something, but he didn't want to talk about state affairs, so he said: "Xue Lang once promised that I won the battle and gave me a poem." ”

"It's okay if you don't send it."

"Why?"

Xue Bai said solemnly: "General Wang is weak, attaches importance to personal friendship and ignores justice, and is not worthy." ”

Wang Zhongsi turned his head to look, and it happened that Xue Bai also turned his head to look at him and added.

"I really don't think you deserve it."

"Haha, how do you deserve it?"

"Today, Hu'er recognizes his mother, even if he can't go to Hedong for the time being, but as long as he is dismissed from the post of General Wang, he will be smooth sailing from now on, and I can't change it as a small person. But if there is a change, it is actually only a thought of General Wang. ”

"In a flash?"

"Not bad." Xue Bai suddenly drank all the wine in the cup, this time he was really drunk, raised his voice, and said: "The general has a thought of life, a thought of death, and the life of the world may be very different in one thought." ”

His face was flushed, looking completely different from usual, and he actually patted Wang Zhonghe's shoulder quite arrogantly.

"Whether you are worthy of this word or not is also ...... between this thought"

I've seen everyone's feedback on the plot, don't worry. This plot was originally the last stage of Li Linfu's deal with the prince, and it belonged to the decisive battle between the two forces. So there is a lot of foreshadowing in these chapters, and the positions of the characters should be sorted out first, everyone doesn't see the plot conflict, and they are all as the characters understand their ideas, so they will naturally be annoyed, and it will be good later. After this paragraph, it is the end of the plot of the right side to Fu Donggong, and the timeline just begins the imperial examination~~ I have arranged it~~ I have written it so far today, and I have also written 10,000 words, asking for a monthly ticket~~

(End of chapter)