Three months later, Wu Chengsi wrote a letter to Wu Mei. Not long after, Wu Mei issued an order to marry Princess Taiping to Wu Chengsi as his equal wife. For a time, there was a lot of discussion in the court.
Since then, the word "romantic" has been added to Wu Chengsi's reputation.
However, it didn't take long for the government and the public to stop caring about this incident.
On the fifth day of April, the Queen Mother issued a decree. Emperor Li Hong neglected state affairs and indulged in drinking and sex all day long. He was demoted to the king of Jiangling and Li Xian was made emperor.
From then on, all the ministers felt that the court was about to change.
Wu Mei was very patient. She first spent one year raising the status of Buddhism above Taoism, and then spent another year revising books on a large scale.
Books such as "The Biography of Filial Sons", "The Biography of Women", "Ancient and Modern Nei Fan", etc. were all revised by her, which greatly improved the status of women.
In the third year, she began to explore the throne step by step.
In May, Wu Mei changed Yuanguang's residence, Luoyang into the capital of the gods, and Ziwei city into Taichu palace.
The following year, she changed her reign title to Chui Gong and offered to return the throne to Li Xian. Li Xian dared not take over, but she only said that she was young and illiterate and the Queen Mother needed to make decisions on government affairs, so Wu Mei continued to serve as emperor.
In February of the same year, Wu Mei ordered people to make four bronze boxes, named Yan'en, Call for Admonition, Vengeance of Wrongs, and Tong Xuan, and place them outside the palace.
If you want to write a poem and seek an official career, you can put it in the first box.
Those who talk about the gains and losses of the government can throw it into the second box.
Those who have grievances to complain can vote in the third box.
Those who say there is a catastrophe in the sky can throw in the fourth box.
This move of hers opened the door for public opinion and was widely praised by the people. Many courtiers also secretly praised her.
In May, Wu Sansi ordered someone to chisel a white stone for a text, and wrote "The Holy Mother is here, Yongchang Emperor's legacy", and announced that it was found in Luoshui River.
After Wu Mei was overjoyed, she honored herself as the Holy Mother God Emperor and granted Wu Sansi the title of Prince of Liang.
From this moment on, Luoyang suddenly had two emperors.
In September, under Wu Sansi's secret operation, local gentry, court ministers, clan relatives, leaders of various barbarians, monks, and Taoist priests simultaneously requested Wu Mei to change the country's name to Zhou and give the emperor the surname Wu.
Even Li Xian asked himself to be given the surname Wu.
Wu Mei did not agree immediately. Wu Sansi was very confused and came to Taichu Palace to ask Wu Mei.
Wu Mei sat on the dragon chair, and Wu Sansi stood at the foot of the steps and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, you are in the court today, why don't you agree to the ministers' invitation?"
Wu Mei said lightly: "Do you think those ministers are sincere? Moreover, Pei Yan, Li Jingxuan, Liu Qixian and several other veterans did not speak. Didn't you notice?"
Wu Sansi said bitterly: "Those old guys are really stubborn. I don't think you need to be too polite to them. Put them all in prison to set an example!"
Wu Mei said in a cold tone: "What do you know? Get out!"
Wu Sansi was used to being scolded by her, so she threw her hands away and left in anger.
Wu Mei frowned and thought for a while, then suddenly said to Huan Xiu beside her: "Taiping will give birth in another month, right?"
Huan Xiu said respectfully: "Yes, His Royal Highness King Zhou wrote in early June that there are still about four months left. Now it is early September, and there is exactly one month left."
Wu Mei established the original secret guard as the Inner Guard House and put it in the open, and Huan Xiu also became the third-rank commander of the Inner Guards.
Wu Mei nodded and said: "You go and make arrangements. I have to go to Chang'an and I must arrive before Taiping gives birth to the child."
Huan Xiu was slightly startled and said: "Your Majesty, if you go to Chang'an now, will you...will you..."
Wu Mei said: "Is it going to be anything?"
Huan Xiu lowered his head and said cautiously: "His Royal Highness the King of Zhou is too powerful in Chang'an. Even if I bring all the internal guards there, I still can't guarantee that you will be protected."
Wu Mei glanced sideways at her and said coldly: "If Chengsi really wanted to be disadvantageous to me, he would have rebelled long ago. Do you think the Six Guards of Luoyang and your inner guards alone are his opponent?"
Huan Xiu was speechless.
Although Li Ji and Su Dingfang died, Xue Rengui, Pei Xingjian, Wang Fangyi and other generals from all over the world followed the King of Zhou. If the King of Zhou really wanted to rebel, he could easily overthrow the Queen.
There was something that always seemed strange to her.
In recent years, Her Majesty the Queen not only stopped allowing them to infiltrate the army and weaken the military power of the King of Zhou, but also left Xue Rengui, Pei Xingjian and others alone, seeming to have restored their trust in him.
Judging from the results, King Zhou also deserves this trust. King Zhou never interfered with anything Wu Mei did in Luoyang in the past few years, including naming herself the Holy Mother God Emperor.
Could it be that their aunt and nephew had reached some secret agreement?
Two days later, Wu Mei quietly left Luoyang under the protection of internal guards.
Before her Luanjia arrived in Chang'an, someone had already arrived in Chang'an before her.
Zhang Jianzhi led the horse and walked along the streets of Chang'an. He nodded as he walked and said: "Fortunately, His Royal Highness the King of Zhou stayed in Chang'an City, otherwise this western capital would not be able to maintain such prosperity."
Di Renjie next to him said "Yes", his face was solemn, and he seemed to be full of thoughts.
Zhang Jianzhi glanced at him and said, "Brother Di, are you worried that His Highness will not agree?"
Di Renjie sighed and said, "I really can't guess what His Highness is thinking. In May..." He stopped talking.
Zhang Jianzhi knew what he was going to say.
In May of this year, Wu Sansi made a fake inscription, and the Queen Mother took the opportunity to confer the title of Holy Mother God Emperor.
Many ministers couldn't bear it. In order to protect Li Tang's kingdom, they took extraordinary risks and secretly made a covenant. A total of eighteen ministers of fourth rank and above signed a blood letter.
Liu Qixian went to Wu Chengsi with a blood letter, hoping that he would lead troops to serve the king. These eighteen people would act as internal agents and jointly overthrow the Queen Mother.
Among the eighteen names on the blood book were Di Renjie and Zhang Jianzhi.
This is very dangerous. Wu Chengsi is Wu Mei's nephew. He might not only refuse, but also give this blood letter to the Queen Mother.
Later, Wu Chengsi actually refused. After getting the blood letter, he immediately burned it and refused to agree to deal with the Queen Mother, which greatly disappointed the eighteen people.
Zhang Jianzhi raised his head and looked at the sky for a while, and said: "After all, His Royal Highness the King of Zhou and the Queen Mother are aunts and nephews. It is indeed not easy for him to destroy their relatives out of justice."
Both of them fell silent for a moment.
Not long after, they arrived at Prince Zhou's Mansion. The door of the mansion was exactly the same as the last time they saw it, and had not been renovated.
Both of them were somewhat pleased. From this detail, it can be seen that King Zhou still maintained his original intention and did not indulge in luxury.
The two of them were about to step forward to report when they suddenly saw a carriage coming from behind and stopping outside the gate of Prince Zhou's Mansion.
Two maids got off the carriage first, followed by two young children. One of them was about five or six years old, and the other was younger.
The younger child glanced at Di Renjie and the two curiously, then suddenly ran over and asked crisply: "Who are you? Why haven't I seen you before?"
Just as Zhang Jianzhi was about to speak, the four-year-old boy also came over. He cupped his hands towards the two of them, raised his head and said, "The two distant visitors are here to see my father."
Di Renjie thought to himself: "This child should be the son of His Royal Highness King Zhou." Feeling slightly curious, he asked: "How do you know?"
The little boy pointed to the sign on his waist and said seriously: "I know this little fish. Only officials can wear it. Most of the officials who come to our house are looking for my father."
When the younger child saw the little fish, he immediately stretched out his hand and said, "What a strange fish, let me see it!" Although he was young, he was somewhat bossy.
The older child scolded: "Hongguang, this is someone else's thing. You can't reach out and ask for it like this. It's too rude!"
The young child flattened his mouth and said, "I know." He turned around and ran to the carriage and climbed into it.
The sound of the child crying soon came from the car, followed by a woman's voice: "Don't cry, your brother Zongxiu is right, you can't be so rude to others in the future..."
As the woman spoke, the carriage gradually moved away, and the words behind her could no longer be heard.
The small fish they mentioned was a fish charm, and it was indeed worn by officials of the Tang Dynasty.
Di Renjie silently looked at the older child and nodded secretly: "What a smart boy." Then he asked: "How did you know that we are distant guests?"
The kid chuckled and said, "The color of your little fish is the same as that of a visitor from Luoyang last time, so I took a guess. Did I guess it right?"
It turns out that Wu Mei issued an order to change the colors of all official uniforms and fish charms.
However, not long after the order was issued, only Luoyang officials changed it, while Chang'an officials still used the old colors.
Therefore, the colors of Di Renjie and Zhang Jianzhi's fish charms are different from the colors of the fish charms of all officials in Chang'an.
Seeing how smart he was, Zhang Jianzhi, who had always disliked children, smiled and said, "You are right, we are all from Luoyang."
The child smiled happily. At this time, a maid next to him came forward and said to the child: "Master, let's go in quickly. It's windy outside. Don't let us get sick."
The boy responded, held hands with the maid, and went in. After walking a few steps, he would look back, seeming to be very interested in the officials from Luoyang.
When he turned back for the last time, he saw Di and Zhang reporting to the guard. He faintly heard someone say: "Please inform His Royal Highness the King of Zhou that Di Renjie, the Minister of Punishment, and Zhang Jianzhi, the Minister of War, are asking for an audience."
When Wu Chengsi learned that Di Renjie and Zhang Jianzhi were visiting, he was happy at first, then frowned.
Xue Yujin asked curiously: "Brother Wu, don't they all have a good relationship with you? Why do you look unhappy?"
Li Zhiying paused and said slowly: "They must be here to persuade my husband."
The three of them were sitting on the couch, Wu Chengsi and Li Zhiying were playing chess, and Xue Yujin was watching.
Xue Yujin asked again: "What are you trying to persuade?"
Li Zhiying did not answer and said: "Husband, please go over quickly, I'll wait for you."
Xue Yujin smiled and said: "Brother Wu, I see you are about to lose this game, why don't you let me help you, maybe you still have a chance to turn defeat into victory!"
She was quite aware of her own chess skills, and she was just joking when she said this, but Wu Chengsi nodded and said, "Okay, help me play."
After that, he left the house.
Xue Yujin was startled, looked at his back and said, "Hey, what happened to Brother Wu suddenly?"
She turned to Li Zhiying and asked: "Zhiying, is it related to those two people?"
Li Zhiying's eyes were covered with a shadow and she said: "They are here to create problems for my husband."
Wu Chengsi came to the study, looked at Di and Zhang for a while, walked behind the case and sat down, raised his hands and said:
"Everyone, take a seat. I already know your purpose of coming. My answer is still the same as what I told Mr. Liu last time. I'm afraid I will disappoint you."
Di Renjie took a step forward and said solemnly: "Your Highness, those who have usurped the country in ancient times have never had a good end. Why don't you advise His Majesty the God Emperor? This is good for everyone!"
Wu Chengsi was unmoved: "Di Shangshu, you should know the Queen Mother's temper. If I could have persuaded her, I would have done so long ago. If I had continued to insist, I would have fought with her, and the country would have been in civil strife.
And who does it benefit?”
Di Renjie sighed. He actually knew that he couldn't persuade Wu Chengsi, but he just gave it a last try.
Zhang Jianshang stepped forward and said: "Your Highness, you and His Majesty the God-Emperor are aunt and nephew. We can understand your unwillingness to be her enemy, but there is one thing we hope you can agree to."
When Wu Chengsi saw them giving up, he felt relieved and said, "What?"
Zhang Jianzhi said: "If His Majesty the God-Emperor is to ascend the throne, His Majesty will naturally take the Zen throne. We will then petition His Majesty the God-Emperor to step down and become the Crown Prince. Please join us in the petition!"
Wu Chengsi frowned, thought for a while, and said, "I can't promise you this either."
The expressions of Di Renjie and Zhang Jianzhi changed. Zhang Jianzhi took a deep breath and said, "Your Highness, don't you know..."
Wu Chengsi waved his hand and said: "I am not interested in the position of prince."
Zhang Jianzhi frowned and said, "Then why don't you agree?"
Wu Chengsi secretly thought that if he directly said that Taiping and his son should be crown princes, they would definitely feel conflicted and think that he had selfish motives.
After thinking for a while, he said: "Because I know that my aunt will never agree. She has written to me to discuss this matter. Because I do not want to be the prince, she is ready to make King Liang the prince."
The faces of Zhang Jianzhi and Di Renjie changed drastically at the same time. Di Renjie said urgently: "Your Highness, we must not let a person like Prince Liang become the prince!"
Wu Chengsi sighed and said: "Since my aunt has decided to be the emperor, she will naturally change the dynasty. It is absolutely impossible to overthrow the dynasty she established by letting Li Xian become the prince again."
Di Renjie's face turned pale and he said: "Your Highness, when the late Emperor Long Yu passed away, you were also a minister who cared about life. Do you really want to watch the Tang Dynasty fall?"
Wu Chengsi said in a deep voice: "I don't want to do this, but I have already said that the Queen Mother is my aunt, and I am today thanks to her. And if I stand up to oppose it, it will only plunge the country into civil strife. This will
It’s not what I want to see either.”
Di Renjie sighed and closed his eyes.
Because Zhang Jianzhi had his life saved by Wu Chengsi, he was not as persistent as him. He thought for a while and said:
"Your Highness, if His Majesty the God Emperor ascends the throne, we can still accept it, but a person like Wu Sansi can never be a prince. If the world falls into his hands, the people will definitely suffer!"
Wu Chengsi was silent for a while and said: "Okay, actually I don't want Wu Sansi to be the prince. Let's do this. Let's support Wu You and become the prince together. What do you two think?"
Di Renjie shook his head repeatedly, and Zhang Jianzhi smiled bitterly and said: "Your Highness, if you really want to choose someone from the Wu family to be the prince, you are the best choice."
Wu Chengsi shook his head and said: "I have already said that I am not interested in the position of prince."
Zhang Jianzhi and Di Renjie looked at each other, and Wu Chengsi said: "Let's stop Wu Sansi from becoming the prince first, and we can talk about the future later."
Both Di and Zhang thought this was acceptable and agreed.
Wu Chengsi smiled and said: "It's rare for you to come here, so don't rush back to Luoyang. Taiping's delivery period is only a few days away. There will be a banquet at the palace then, and you must not miss it."
The two of them didn't achieve their goal, and they didn't intend to leave immediately, so they both agreed.
One afternoon two days later, Wu Chengsi learned that Princess Taiping was going to give birth and hurried to the princess's residence.
Entering the bedroom, he found Princess Taiping lying on her side on the couch, her face looking as usual, and there was no sign of giving birth.
"Taiping, are you...are you okay?"
Princess Taiping snorted and said, "If I hadn't said I wanted to give birth, wouldn't you have planned to come over tonight?"
Wu Chengsi shook his head and said, "You are almost a mother, why are you still acting like a child?"
Princess Taiping pouted and said: "You are still talking about me, let me ask you, which husband knows that his wife is about to give birth to a child, but ignores it for several days?"
Wu Chengsi cried out: "How could I be indifferent? Didn't you come the day before yesterday? And when you didn't come, I sent someone over every day to check on you."
Princess Taiping said angrily: "You also know that we sent someone, why don't you come here yourself?"
Wu Chengsi had a headache and said, "I can't live here every day without going back to my home over there, right?"
Princess Taiping hummed: "What can't be done? I think this is good!"
Wu Chengsi said seriously: "Taiping, I was just about to tell you this. How long do you plan to live in the Princess Mansion? Wouldn't it be better to move to the Prince's Mansion as soon as possible?"
Princess Taiping pouted and said, "Do you have a place for me to live over there?"
"Why not? I've already asked someone to clean up a yard for you!"
Princess Taiping flatly said: "I sent someone to look at that courtyard, and it's not good at all! Second cousin, I want to ask craftsmen to build a courtyard in the palace. Will you agree?"
Although the two have been married for a long time, their names are still the same as before and they feel that there is no need to change.
Wu Chengsi sighed and said, "Okay, I promise you that!"
"Why are you sighing? Are you saying yes but blaming me in your heart?"
Wu Chengsi said angrily: "Can't I just complain a few words in my heart?"
"no!"
Wu Chengsi smiled and said: "Okay, I'm willing to do it, it's okay?"
Princess Taiping smiled sweetly and said: "That's pretty much it!"
At this moment, Long Yang quickly entered the room, raised his hand to Wu Chengsi, and said: "Your Highness, the patrol guard just came to report that the God Emperor has come to Chang'an and is heading towards the Princess's Mansion."
Wu Chengsi was slightly startled and nodded: "I understand."
Princess Taiping said happily: "Second cousin, my mother must have known that I was about to have a child, so she came here to see her grandson!"
Wu Chengsi nodded and said nothing.
The two of them were waiting in the room. Princess Taiping was happy, while Wu Chengsi was a little nervous.