Chapter 202 Penetrates the hearts of Zhuge Liang, New Year's Eve!
Li Qian was stagnant again. He realized that since he started talking to Zhuge Liang, he had been tricked twice by him.
The first time, he used questioning methods to find out his identity. The second time, he found out something as important as Wang Mang.
He is indeed an old fox.
Li Qian's vigilance gradually increased, but his face was still a bit arrogant: "Sir, this is a miscalculation."
"I can't give orders to Wang Zongbo. How should I choose the examiner for this examination? With the current situation, I will definitely lose to Cai Jing this time."
Zhuge Liang sat upright, frowned and thought for a moment, then shook his head: "In Liang's humble opinion, Your Majesty will not lose, but will win back somewhere else."
He dipped his fingers into the tea and slowly wrote a word on the table...
Li Qian looked over curiously. When he saw the words written by Zhuge Liang, his eyes suddenly shrank and he subconsciously sat up straight.
"Mr. Wolong is a great talent, and he truly deserves his reputation." Li Qian suppressed the fear in his heart and gave Zhuge Liang a meaningful look.
Just based on the little news circulating outside, you can actually guess this level and figure out your own plan!
He is worthy of being compared to Zhuge Kongming, "Jiang Ziya who flourished the Zhou Dynasty for 800 years, and Zhang Zifang who flourished the Han Dynasty for 100 years"!
Zhuge Liang smiled brightly, wiped the water stains on the table with his sleeves, and said frankly: "Your Majesty, Liang just thinks that Your Majesty will not lose so easily."
"Cai Sikou has the opposite opinion to His Majesty on this matter and has no chance of winning."
Li Qian looked at him with admiration, nodded with a smile, and asked tentatively: "Sir, if you want to take the National Examination, you should study your articles with peace of mind. Otherwise, if you can't pass the National Examination, I won't be able to select you in the Palace Examination." On the list.”
Zhuge Liang seemed to understand the meaning of Li Qian's words and nodded his thanks: "Thank you, Your Majesty. The common people will definitely live up to Your Majesty's expectations."
When Li Qian saw that he agreed, he felt happy, but he didn't show it on his face.
He stood up, nodded with a smile and said: "I originally wanted to invite your husband to spend the New Year in a safer place, but now that I saw your husband's residence, it is peaceful and comfortable, so I gave up the idea just now."
"If you, sir, encounter any trouble, are making things difficult for you, or want to move there, you can always ask your younger brother to look for me."
Zhuge Liang's expression changed, and he cupped his hands with emotion: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Based on his experience, those in power have always liked to impose their own good ideas on others, regardless of others' wishes.
But His Majesty the Emperor doesn't seem to have this habit, and he actually considers others' perspectives.
Combining everything he had seen before, Zhuge Liang subconsciously felt that he had made the right choice this time...
"Okay, we have a lot to do during the Chinese New Year, so I won't disturb you any more."
Li Qian turned his head with a smile and looked at the old eunuch and Lu Bu: "Let's go."
Zhuge Liang sent them all the way to the door and watched the carriage go away and disappear into the night. Then he sighed quietly and turned around to enter the house.
Zhuge Jun was still looking at the back of Li Qian's carriage stupidly: "Second brother, is that really His Majesty the Emperor of our Daqian?"
"Of course." Zhuge Liang glanced at him: "Who else dares to impersonate him?"
Zhuge Jun took a deep breath, and with a dry mouth, he took Zhuge Liang's arm and pinched it hard: "Brother, I'm not dreaming, am I?"
"I can still ask His Majesty the Emperor to treat me to dinner in my lifetime..."
Zhuge Jun's evil hand was not light. Zhuge Liang took a breath of pain and slapped his hand away: "Why don't you pinch yourself? Go away!"
Zhuge Jun didn't give up. He pulled Zhuge Liang and asked with wide eyes: "Second brother, did your Majesty just want us to live in the palace?"
"You're overthinking it. At most, it's just the kind of house you went to last time." Zhuge Liang turned around and walked back angrily.
"Huh? That's not bad!" Zhuge Jun hurriedly followed up and said, "Second brother, you don't know how good the food was last time I went there, and how beautiful the maids in that mansion were..."
He walked quickly to the room in front: "Second brother, please hurry up and pack up, lest the curfew comes later and it's too late!"
Zhuge Liang was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly grabbed him: "Why are you in such a hurry?"
"Of course we'll move there!" Zhuge Jun said matter-of-factly: "With such a big house, why do we need to live in such a small and broken place?"
"It's right next to the cemetery. You don't think it's unlucky, but I do too!"
Naturally, he couldn't hide this knowledge from his brother. Zhuge Liang smiled coldly: "Have you fallen in love with someone else's maid?"
"I……"
Zhuge Jun stuttered and said: "We are in love...the man is unmarried and the woman is unmarried...I like her..."
"Pooh!"
Zhuge Liang looked at him with disdain: "Do you like others? You are greedy for their bodies!"
He lectured his younger brother: "Although that kind of place is magnificent, but living there, you will definitely not be as happy and free as you are now?"
Zhuge Jun was not convinced after being scolded, and couldn't help but said: "You have never lived there, what do you know?"
"I..." Zhuge Liang was angry and couldn't help but said: "Of course I lived there when I was away!"
Zhuge Jun's pace gradually slowed down, and his voice became a little low: "Anyway, you just ran out to enjoy yourself, and you didn't take me with you..."
Zhuge Liang was speechless by what he said. He stared at him for a long time before sighing and saying, "Let's finish this year first. If you ever think about living like this again in the future, maybe you won't be able to live like this anymore."
Zhuge Jun was stunned and suddenly raised his head: "What do you mean? Second brother?"
Zhuge Liang turned around and walked back into the room, his back looking a little lonely: "After taking the examination for my brother, I will work for the emperor's family from now on."
A gust of cold wind blew, fluttering the corners of his clothes.
Zhuge Jun was stunned for a moment before he came back to his senses. He suddenly felt very ignorant again.
The second brother is thinking about how to do something big, but he only thinks about a big house and beautiful maids, which is really not the case.
"Second brother, don't be like this. At worst, I won't bother you anymore. At worst, we will go back to the village."
Zhuge Jun scratched his head in embarrassment: "I don't want delicious food, nor do I want a beautiful maid."
Zhuge Liang continued to walk forward, with a hint of determination in his voice: "It's too late, either you will succeed and retreat, or you will die in the middle."
"Now that we've come out, how can we get away so easily?"
Seeing this, Zhuge Jun felt even more guilty and couldn't help but loudly consoled him: "Second brother, let's think about the good news. What if you can't even pass the Jinshi exam?"
Just as Zhuge Liang was about to enter the house, he tripped over the threshold and fell to the ground with a thud.
"Second...Second brother..."
Zhuge Jun was startled and felt guilty. He did not dare to go up to help Zhuge Liang, but kept backing up: "Second brother, we have to kill chickens tomorrow. The chickens at home are gone. I will buy one right away."
Just come back..."
"Come here first, I have something to tell you." Zhuge Liang held his arms and slowly got up from the ground.
"Forget it, second brother..." Zhuge Jun had already ran out of the courtyard: "You must be exhausted after running outside for so many days."
He shouted from afar: "Just let me handle such small things, so I won't bother my second brother..."
~~
Twenty-seven killed the rooster, twenty-eight made dough, twenty-nine steamed the buns, and thirty stayed up all night.
In fact, on the afternoon of the 30th of the twelfth lunar month, a lively and festive atmosphere has already begun to brew. When walking on the street, you can often see children wearing beautiful new clothes chasing each other excitedly, and there are also people who can’t wait until it gets dark.
Firecrackers were set off with crackling sounds, causing all the cats and dogs raised by people nearby to jump.
But the officials who loved to hang out and have dinner together a few days ago were uncharacteristically uncharacteristic of themselves today, and they all stayed at home.
These people will attend the court meeting early tomorrow morning, so naturally they have to prepare well at home.
If he goes too far today and is embarrassed at the court meeting tomorrow, dozing off and whispering to each other, and is caught by those censors who regulate rituals, then this official will have done his best.
Most officials in Beijing have to attend the imperial meeting, and those who do not participate cannot run away. They must go to their own yamen to wait, and then when the imperial meeting is held, they will offer incense and offerings in the direction of the imperial city to express their gratitude.
The emperor's respect for the great court meeting.
The same is true for all local yamen. In addition to sending county planners to attend the court meeting, on the day of the court meeting, they must also place incense eucalyptus in the yamen toward the capital as an offering. Of course, there is no one to supervise it locally, so everyone
Some local officials can have a good New Year and don't have to worry about it.
The local area is loose, but the capital is tight. As the place where the great dynasty is held, the capital is the tightest of tights.
Long before the officials sealed it, the middle-ranking officials in the palace were already busy preparing for the great court meeting. They, along with the Rites and Household Departments, have been busy. Even during the sealing period, they did not relax.
And tomorrow morning is when the imperial meeting will be held, and the palace is even more busy.
The eunuchs carried various precious eucalyptus, fragrant eucalyptus, musical instruments, braised books, etc. and placed them in Chengtianmen Square. They arranged the officials' grade plaques in order. There were also officials from the Ministry of Rites, the Department of Jiaofang and other officials holding various document lists.
, checking every procedure...
Even the old eunuch couldn't stand still and went to check various unfinished matters over and over again, for fear that something would go wrong in the court tomorrow.
This was Li Qian's first major court meeting since he ascended the throne, and the old eunuch paid more attention to it than Li Qian did.
There is a saying that "the emperor is not in a hurry and the eunuch is in a hurry", which is very appropriate here.
Although others are nervous, Li Qian himself does not have such emotions.
Today was New Year's Eve, so Li Qian didn't want to mess with this thing. Anyway, the palace held at least one court meeting every year, and the officials had already had experience, so just let them follow the procedure step by step.
If he goes there and gives random instructions, he will actually cause trouble for others.
Tonight Li Qian plans to spend this New Year's Eve with his concubines...
It gets dark very quickly in winter, and the red sunset glow just comes out to take a breath before being swallowed up by the pitch-black night.
In the Hall of Eternal Life, the bright glazed lamps lit up one after another, magnificently, and the laughter and laughter in the hall got closer and closer to the door.
Li Qian, wearing a red-yellow cotton robe, led a group of concubines out of the palace, and several eunuchs waiting outside the palace hurriedly followed him with lanterns.
"It's dark, let's set off firecrackers."
Li Gan smiled and said: "After we finish, let's go back and eat dumplings."
The fifty concubines were dressed especially festively today, and all of them followed Li Qian. Although everyone didn't understand why His Majesty the Emperor insisted on eating this kind of "flat food" during the Chinese New Year, it was understandable since he liked it.
The eunuchs carried firecrackers and fireworks to the front of the palace. Li Qian walked down the long steps, took the torch from the eunuchs, and lit a firework placed in front of the palace.
The orange-red fire signal quickly devoured the fuse. After the external fuse burned out, a black shadow shot out a red-yellow flame and rose rapidly, accompanied by a clear whistle, soaring into the sky!
When it reached its highest point, it suddenly stopped and exploded into dozens of flames, turning into a group of beautiful flowers in the night sky.
At the same time, groups of beautiful fireworks gradually rose in the distance in the capital city, exploding in the sky, which was extremely beautiful.
The sky above the entire capital gradually became lively. In addition to the rumble of fireworks exploding above, there was also the crackle of firecrackers exploding below.
The concubines cheered in the background, as if Li Qian had accomplished something extraordinary.
Li Qian did not continue, but turned to look at the concubines with a smile: "Which concubine wants to set off this second firework?"
The concubines were all women. When they heard this, most of them subconsciously took a step back. It was not that they were afraid of this thing, but they just wanted to show their soft and pitiful side to His Majesty the Emperor.
Only a few people, instead of being afraid, stepped forward with excitement on their faces.
"Your Majesty, come here."
Chen Leyi was at the front, and Li Qian handed the torch to her with a smile.
But Chen Leyi did not go to the other side to set off fireworks. Instead, she ran quickly with her long legs to the firecrackers hanging on the long pole. Her beautiful face was shining with excitement under the reflection of the fireworks in the distance.
Chen Leyi pointed at the firecracker, turned his head and said softly: "Your Majesty, I want to set this off."
"Okay, then let it go."
Li Qian smiled and nodded.
This is my little rich woman, my sponsor.
After the money in the internal funds was used up, Li Qian relied on the loom invented by Chen Leyi to weave cloth in the palace and made a lot of money to support future expenses.
Li Qianneng was able to roam freely in the capital, largely because of Chen Leyi's influence.
Under the watchful eyes of Li Qian and the concubines, Chen Leyi carefully touched the lead and then ran quickly back.
The firecrackers fell to the ground and exploded with a crackling sound. The bright yellow flames that exploded dispelled the bad luck of the whole year and brought new hope.
Li Qian watched Chen Leyi running back with a very happy smile. Suddenly, his heart moved and he reached out and took her into his arms.
Chen Leyi was startled, and two rosy clouds flew up on her pretty face, but she did not struggle, but blushed and put her backhand around Li Qian's waist.
When the concubines who were watching saw this, they cried out in regret. If they had known that the first one to go up would get the warm embrace of His Majesty the Emperor, they would have rushed forward even if they broke their heads!
Li Qian took the torch from Chen Leyi's hand with a smile, turned around and asked with a smile: "Is there anything else you want to put out?"
"Let me come, Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty, I can't set off firecrackers, but can you set off fireworks..."
The concubines rushed up one after another, even the eldest grandson Wugou was among them.
Li Qian smiled and handed the torch in his hand to Changsun Wugou, and said: "There are them over there. If you want to put whatever you want, just go and get it."
The eunuchs also carried a lot of torches, which were not valuable items.
Although the concubines were disappointed that they could not get the one in Li Qian's hand, now was not the time to choose. They took the torches and ran to the fireworks stand to light them, and the fireworks screamed and flew high into the sky.
For a time, the top of the palace city was like a blooming garden, extremely beautiful.
Amidst such fireworks, Li Qian led a group of concubines back to the Palace of Eternal Life and had a meal of dumplings.
Nowadays, Daqian has not formed the tradition of eating dumplings during the New Year, so the concubines feel a little weird about it.
But for Li Qian, what he eats is not only dumplings, but also his memories of another world...
After having enough wine and food, the atmosphere in the palace gradually became weird.
The concubines all know that tonight is New Year's Eve, which is of great significance. Everyone is curious about who the Emperor will live with.
The concubines were making speculations in their minds, and everyone's eyes were looking at the most popular candidates, such as Wu Meiniang and Lu Pheasant, who had been accompanying His Majesty the Emperor. In addition, the especially favored eldest grandson Wugou, Xi Shi, Zhao Feiyan...
Changsun Wugu's fair and pretty face was smiling, and he was whispering to Xi Shi.
But Xi Shi held her hand, looking worried, and would glance in Li Qian's direction from time to time.
Ever since Li Qian took his eldest grandson Wugu to stay one night at Xi Shi's place last time, the relationship between the two has unexpectedly improved. Now, in addition to the teacher-student relationship, they are also close friends who talk about everything.
However, at this moment, Changsun Wugou did not respond to Xi Shi's worries, but comforted her with a steady smile.
On the other side, Lu Pheasant and Wu Meiniang were chatting with the concubines around them with smiles on their pretty faces. Their eyes accidentally collided, and they could see the competition and hostility in each other's eyes.
Li Qian was holding a bowl of strong tea and sipping it in small sips. He had just eaten a meal of oily mutton dumplings and needed to relieve his tiredness after the meal.
Zhang Yan held the tea cup and carefully came to Li Qian and said warmly: "Your Majesty, in the autumn I picked some chrysanthemums and dried them to make chrysanthemum tea. The tea is fragrant. Please taste it."
Li Gan took it with a smile, took a sip, and then nodded with a smile: "It's really good, you can send some over."
When Zhang Yan saw that Li Qian didn't express anything, she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, but she didn't let it slip on her face and left with a smile.
Li Qian naturally understood the thoughts of these concubines, but he also had his own plans tonight.
After taking two more sips, Li Qian put down the tea cup and stood up. The concubines' chatter suddenly stopped, as if a silence spell had been cast suddenly in the Palace of Eternal Life.
Li Qian said with a smile: "Tonight, New Year's Eve, is a day to reunite with your family. You dear concubines don't have to be alone. Just treat the company...the palace as your own home. I am your family."
The concubines all looked at Li Qian, feeling indescribably moved in their hearts.
According to the senior maids in the palace, when the late emperor was in power, he only spent New Year's Eve with a few of his favorite concubines, but he never cared about others.
Such a comparison shows that His Majesty the Emperor is too considerate.
Li Gan smiled and said: "Since it is New Year's Eve, we have to get together. You can all stay in the Palace of Eternal Life tonight."