On that day, Xue's house was crowded with guests, and even the backyard was full of female relatives who came to watch the ceremony. Laughter and laughter spread from time to time to Xue Bai and Li Cong, and to the side room where Li Linfu was having a secret conversation. Occasionally, a maidservant came over by mistake and was taken away.
The Diao brothers who were guarding the door drove away.
This unsafe conversation environment oppressed Li Cong and Li Linfu, making it difficult for them to remain calm and speeding up the conversation unconsciously.
"Don't think it's easy to fool me. You haven't convinced Wang Zhongsi yet."
Li Linfu wanted to yell and scold, but had to suppress his voice. Although his voice was suppressed, his momentum was not suppressed.
"Shu Zi used Wang Zhongsi to bluff his true identity, and at the same time he used his true identity to bluff Wang Zhongsi. Can no one see this little trick?!"
"Then why don't you, Prime Minister, go home?" Xue Bai responded.
"Prince Qing, take your leave."
Li Linfu saluted Li Cong, turned around and left.
He has been in charge of the world for more than ten years, and he has lowered his status to seek affairs with powerless princes and low-ranking officials. However, he can't see any real benefits, so there is nothing to talk about. Otherwise, it seems that he can be manipulated by Xue Bai's tricks.
.
"Grandma, wait a minute."
Li Tengkong quickly persuaded him, and at the same time glared at Xue Bai and said, "Can't you speak properly?"
With her here, both sides have reached a higher level.
Li Linfu stopped because he was persuaded by his daughter, not because he was interested in Xue Bai's false words; Xue Bai could explain patiently for Li Tengkong's sake.
"Wang Zhongsi has promised me that he will come to the banquet, and there is absolutely no deception in this matter."
"You know the truth, but how do you plan to convince him?"
Xue Bai did not answer directly, but said: "When the imperial court planned to persecute Wang Zhongsi, I never thought that one day the Tang Dynasty would still need to rely on him. I am the only one willing to do my little bit for him. Today I
Therefore, I am qualified to speak to you as Prime Minister and King Qing is speaking here because I have this foresight."
"It's ridiculous for a child to brag about himself."
"Since the right minister is here, he believes that I have this ability. Why not believe it to the end?"
Li Linfu sneered: "You just want to convince the truth with a few lies?"
"It's not me who wants to convince the right prime minister. It's the right prime minister who needs my help right now."
Even Li Tengkong felt that Xue Bai was talking crazy. He was about to comfort Li Linfu when he saw Xue Bai hand over a list.
"Li Heng will also come. For Wang Zhongsi, there is not much time left for the right minister to make a decision."
Li Linfu knew all this. He was just putting on airs and wanted to take advantage of Xue Bai. When he couldn't control it, he simply turned to Li Cong.
"What King Qing didn't know was that after the three commoners case, the old minister proposed to the sage to appoint the emperor's eldest son as his heir, but unfortunately the sage did not agree."
"Thank you, Prime Minister, for your kindness." Li Cong said, "It's a pity that my face is injured and I am not liked by the saint."
Li Linfu couldn't help but frown when he heard this answer.
Xue Bai understood what he wanted to ask and said: "Right minister, please rest assured. The past is over and King Qing has never taken it to heart."
Only then did Li Cong realize that when Li Linfu made suggestions for Concubine Wu Hui to get rid of the crown prince Li Ying, he was afraid of retaliation. What he just said was actually because he had concerns about him.
"Yes, I have never cared about the past, so don't worry about it."
"King Qing doesn't care." Li Linfu asked: "How many of the emperor's grandsons care?"
This sentence points directly to the deepest grudge between each other. The four sons of Li Ying adopted by Li Cong may not let Li Linfu's family go in the future.
Li Cong hesitated for a moment, thinking about how to answer.
Li Tengkong was a little worried, and his eyes couldn't help but fall on Xue Bai's face. She saw that Xue Bai's eyes were calm, but she could feel that he had a determination in his heart that he was in control of everything. Maybe he had something to hide from others.
"The emperor and grandson don't care." Xue Bai said.
Li Linfu smiled faintly, thinking that what he said was not true.
"Qi'er is young. When I took him back, he was still in his infancy. He had never heard of the old story." Li Cong said: "The sage always forbade this matter."
These words were extremely sincere and even showed his partiality.
It's too early to talk about this now. After all, even if everyone forms an alliance today, it is very likely that they will fall out before Li Cong becomes the crown prince. What Li Linfu wants is nothing more than an attitude. He coughed and vaguely stated that he had nothing to do with the three commoners case. On the contrary,
He wanted to rehabilitate the deposed prince, so he offended Li Heng.
Xue Bai and Li Cong then followed this idea and said that Li Heng was the mastermind behind the three commoners case. Xue Bai even presented one or two pieces of evidence, such as King Ying Li Xuan reporting to the saint Li Ying for asking for two thousand pieces of armor.
.
Although there was a lot of meaning in this conversation, it was actually only a few words. They reached an initial consensus and quickly broke up.
If someone reports him, it will be another major case like the Jinglongguan Secret Society.
But at the end, Li Linfu took out a document from his sleeve and said calmly: "Zhang Bian has promoted a group of officials recently, you can take a look."
It is rare for a dignified prime minister to specially bring documents to a censor for review.
But Li Linfu still kept his composure, and the real purpose of the conversation was not revealed inadvertently until this moment.
…
Li Tengkong was about to return to the backyard, but he looked at Xue Bai, who was wearing Jifu, and said, "I think you have other ideas."
"Um?"
"You still have plans to discuss what we just discussed."
Xue Bai took two steps forward and whispered: "Don't worry, I guarantee that even if your grandpa supports Prince Qing, no one will ever pursue your family for old things."
There must be some flaws in his words. He can neither influence King Qing nor the heirs of King Qing. It is more like talking big words.
But Li Tengkong stared at his eyes for a while, didn't ask any more questions, lowered his head and left.
Xue Bai watched her walking towards the lively wedding and stood silently for a while.
After that, he picked up the document given by Li Linfu and looked at it.
Some officials who were demoted in the past few years have been transferred back.
At this time, someone from the mansion came to preach: "Lang Jun, Zhang's consort is here."
~~
"Captain Prince Consort, Bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, Minister of the Ministry of War, Taichang Qing, Tong Zhongshu's subordinate Zhang Gong has arrived!"
Zhang Bian walked into Xue's house, heard his official title, and thought of the scene when he met the saint that day.
At that time, the sage asked him, "Juro is old, who can I choose to replace him?" He actually did not answer, but pretended to be surprised. After that, the sage said again, "No one can love me more than me."
My son-in-law is more suitable."
In other words, the sage has promised him the positions of Shangshu Zuopushe and Zhongshu Ling. This is very different from Tong Zhongshu's affairs. One can decide the general affairs of the three provinces, and the other can only participate.
Zhang Bian probably understood that the sage was testing him since he promised Zaizhi but did not give it immediately.
Now that the final moment of the test had come, the most critical thing was that he had to have a detailed discussion with Wang Zhongsi to determine their mutual support and come up with a strategy to pacify Nanzhao.
And at today's wedding banquet, he was not the only one who came with this idea, Li Linfu was also there.
Zhang Bian did not sit down in the main hall, but stood in the front yard, looked around, and saw a small stage set up in the yard from a distance, and someone was singing "The Romance of the West Chamber" on the stage.
Many people watching the show were surrounding an old man. The old man didn't know what he said, which made everyone else laugh. Gao Shi was also there, so Zhang Bian walked towards Gao Shi.
As I got closer, I heard the old man reciting poetry.
"Today is a good banquet, and the joy is hard to express. The music of the zither is so exciting that the new sounds are so wonderful..."
Zhang Bian knew this poem, but he didn't know who wrote it in the Han Dynasty. It seemed to only talk about the beauty of banquets, but it actually contained quite a lot of philosophy, advising people to dare to speak their minds directly and say what they want, instead of trying to save face and suffer the consequences.
"Okay, this poem is consistent with Huang Gong." Gao Shi raised his glass and praised: "Huang Gong is a wonderful man."
Zhang Bian happened to come close and looked at the old man again. He was startled and recognized that he was Huang Hanchuo, a well-known court musician in Chang'an City.
Huang Hanchuo is a disciple of Liyuan. He entered the palace during the Kaiyuan Dynasty and has served the saint for more than thirty years. Now he is living idle. However, he was very favored by the saint in his early years. Even to the point where the saint needs him to accompany him every day.
The state of displeasure.
The reason for this can be seen from his two nicknames. One is "Chuo Ban". Huang Hanchuo is very good at dancing and music, especially clappers. He has an extremely accurate ear. The saint asked him to compose music scores, and he drew them on paper.
The two ears are folded up, indicating that his ears are enough; the second is the "funny hero". He likes to act in military dramas, and his speech is also humorous, and he often makes jokes with profound meanings.
Zhang Bian's father Zhang said that it could almost be said that Huang Hanchuo was dismissed from the position of prime minister with just one word.
Twenty-five years ago, the saint granted the title of Zen to the East of Mount Tai. Zhang Yue served as the envoy of the title of Zen and presided over the matter. Only his close associates were arranged to climb Mount Tai with the saint. These people naturally received extremely generous rewards, while the other officials and soldiers only received additional rewards.
After receiving the scattered honors, there was not even a reward, and everyone complained. The son-in-law Zheng Yi, whom Zhang said, was originally only a ninth-grade man, but was moved to the fifth grade because of this incident. When Dongfeng came back, the saint gave a banquet, and noticed that Zheng Yi was wearing a red official uniform.
When he went to the banquet, he asked what was going on. Zheng Yi was also smart and knew that no matter what he answered, he knelt on the ground and waited for Zhang to explain. At this time, Huang Hanchuo said something joking.
——"This is the power of Mount Tai!"
Maybe the real reason why Zhang said he gave up the prime ministership was not Huang Hanchuo. However, Huang Hanchuo's sentence was too subtle and a double entendre. It seemed that Zheng Yi was promoted because he accompanied the saint to Fengchan Taishan, but in fact, it was said that Zhang said that he used Fengchan Taishan for personal gain, and even
This is where the use of "Taishan" to refer to father-in-law comes from.
In other words, when you see Huang Hanchuo, you will think of Zhang Shuo losing power, which is a very bad omen.
Even though Zhang Bian had an excellent demeanor, his face was already a little stiff at this time.
"Zhang's son-in-law?" Huang Hanchuo turned around and said with a smile: "The sage's beloved son-in-law is here, I would like to propose a toast."
Seeing his magnanimous expression, Zhang Bian also smiled, but it was not so natural after all.
"Huang Gong has been closed for a long time, but he is here today? Are you acquainted with Xue Lang?"
"I haven't been with you for a few years, but I have heard of Mr. Xue's talent. It just so happens that I come with Mr. Dong to join in the fun and have a wedding drink."
Huang Hanchuo was talking about Dong Tinglan, Gao Shi's good friend and the musician recommended to the palace by Xue Bai.
Zhang Bian wanted to discuss Wang Zhongsi's thoughts with Gao Shi. Seeing that Gao Shi couldn't get away, he exchanged a few words and walked away. He couldn't explain, but in short he felt a little uneasy standing with Huang Hanchuo, for fear of being ruined by the other party.
own future.
…
When Xue Bai came over, he saw Zhang Bian's back. He didn't go over immediately, but said a few words to Huang Hanchuo.
"Huang Gong, is the wine okay?"
"The groom is here, and your wedding wine is quite strong. If I drink it again, I'm afraid I won't be able to wait until the auspicious time to witness the ceremony."
Xue Bai responded with a smile, looked over and saw a small furry ball tied around Huang Hanchuo's waist, and couldn't help but wonder: "Mr. Huang, what is this?"
"The rabbit tail that the little old man hung made Xue Lang laugh." Huang Hanchuo said with a smile: "The people who came to Xue Lang's wedding banquet were all ministers, and most of them were wearing red robes and hanging fish bags. The little old man was just a humble musician.
Although the saint gave him a scarlet robe, he did not give him a fish bag, so he had to give me this rabbit tail instead to avoid being unable to get in."
This sentence is actually somewhat sarcastic. Although I don’t know whether it is a mockery of the world’s exaggeration or a mockery of Xue Bai’s clinging to the powerful, Xue Bai didn’t mind and said with a smile: “It turns out that the rabbit’s tail replaces the fish. Huang Gong reminded me that I was too impetuous. This
In other words, this is the best gift this junior has received today."
"Xue Lang, just don't blame the little old man for talking nonsense..."
Xue Bai said goodbye to Huang Hanchuo and looked around at the guests. The whole court was really purple.
He shook his head mockingly and walked towards Zhang Bian.
"Consort Zhang."
"Congratulations, Xue Lang, for a happy marriage." Zhang Bian drank a glass of wine and said with a smile: "At this time, I am the only one in the hall to congratulate you most heartily... You are very smart for not marrying Princess Hezheng."
"The prince-in-law is drunk?"
"Somewhat," Zhang Bian said, "The moment Tong Zhongshu's affairs were settled, I was a little drunk."
Xue Bai said: "The Prince Consort is as funny as Mr. Huang."
"Why did you invite him here?"
"Mr. Huang was not invited by me," Xue Bai said.
Zhang Bian was stunned, and was about to ask who else could invite Huang Hanchuo, when suddenly the sound of horse hooves was heard in the distance.
He then stopped caring about Huang Hanchuo's affairs and said, "I need to talk to Wang Zhongsi. You can arrange it for me."
"Before talking about how to pacify Nanzhao, can we talk about Hedong first?"
"This matter..."
Zhang Bian hesitated a little, and at the same time stopped talking seriously to Xue Bai. He walked toward the gate and said slowly: "I have to think about this."
"The prince-in-law wants to discuss with someone?" Xue Bai asked.
"I have no foundation in the court, who else can I discuss with?" Zhang Bian replied casually.
Xue Bai said: "Yes, the prince-in-law has good friendship with anyone."
Zhang Bian smiled bitterly and shook his head. Just as he was about to speak, the sound of horse hooves got closer.
The only one who could drive his horse in such a busy street was Wang Zhongsi.
Before the singer could speak, the reins had already been handed to him.
"Wipe their sweat and don't rush to feed them."
After settling his beloved horse in this way, the tired Wang Zhongsi walked straight into the courtyard. When he saw Xue Bai, he strode forward with a smile, patted his shoulder and said: "If it weren't for your marriage, I would have to wait a while.
Return to Chang'an."
He is not very good at talking. If this sentence were said the other way around, it would actually sound much better.
Xue Bai said: "Is General Wang ready to go to Nanzhao?"
"How can we talk about military affairs at this time? Eat and drink enough first."
Wang Zhongsi was minding his own business and invited his generals to sit down. In the process, he glanced at Zhang Bian and said hello, as if he had not yet realized that it was Zhang Bian who strongly supported him in pacifying Nanzhao.
Several people walked into the hall and sat down. Seeing Li Linfu there, Wang Zhongsi was a little surprised but said nothing and sat down silently.
Zhang Bian also sat down, and everyone was silent, waiting for the auspicious moment to see the newlyweds pay their respects, and even more so, waiting for the opportunity to talk, at least not giving the opponent a chance to talk privately with Wang Zhongsi.
Gradually, the auspicious time was approaching, and almost all the guests had arrived. Xue Bai was about to make preparations when he heard a commotion outside, but Li Heng also came.
Although everyone here has already received the news, ordinary guests can't help but talk about it.
"Is the prince really here?"
"Zhang Liangdi has arrived too."
"Although Xue Lang's official position is not high, he is looked upon by the whole court."
In the midst of the discussion, Huang Minchuo joked and said, "Xue Lang's wedding was more lively than the morning court."
"Hush, only Huang Gong said such things and the saint would not blame him."
~~
Li Heng walked into Xue's house and looked at the ministers attending the banquet. He felt as if a fish fell into the sea and a dragon was born in the sky.
He had a modest smile on his face. Anyone who met him and saluted him would wave his hand and say, "Don't pay attention to me. Xue Lang is getting married today. I'm just a guest here to watch the ceremony."
After entering the hall like this, he looked up and stood there blankly.
"Your Highness?"
Zhang Ting was also stunned, wondering why Li Heng didn't leave. She followed his gaze and saw Wang Zhongsi turning around.
"Brother...when did you return to Chang'an?"
"You shouldn't be called that." Wang Zhongsi seemed a little cold and stood up to salute.
Li Heng also had a sense of propriety and did not dare to be friendly with Wang Zhongsi in public. He coughed a few times and sat down, looking a little pitiful.
Zhang Ting sat down with him, a look of curiosity appeared on his face, and whispered: "I'm curious about what kind of woman Xue Lang married, but he didn't even like someone like Li Xiaoxian."
What seemed like an unintentional remark actually mocked Li Linfu.
Li Linfu was not angry at first, but Zhang Ting glanced at him deliberately with a provocative look in his eyes, which made him cough.
"Ting Niang, be careful what you say." Li Heng reminded Zhang Ting softly.
…
Xue Bai was too lazy to watch these people's intrigues. After welcoming the last guest, he walked to Qinglu in the northwest corner to make preparations before paying homage.
It was almost dusk, and the setting sun shone brightly on the eaves. When he walked through the ceremony gate, walked out of the hustle and bustle, and suddenly became quiet, he realized that he was getting married.
All he had done before was welcome guests, which made him feel that the wedding was just for others to see.
However, when they arrived in front of Qinglu, they saw that it was also very lively. A group of young ladies were talking around Yan Yan. In addition to the sisters of the Yan family, many of them were also known to Xue Bai. Among them, the loudest one was Shi Chaoying.
, Ren Mulan, Li Twelve Niang, Zhengyi said something angrily.
Xue Bai was a little surprised. When he got closer, he saw that Li Yuetu was there, looking a little flustered, and his eyes were red.
This scene was a little ridiculous, as if Li Yuetu was unwilling to accept the marriage and wanted to steal the bride, but was taught a lesson by them... When Xue Bai came forward, he realized that he had indeed misunderstood.
"I saw that Anqing Zong is not good-looking." Ren Mulan was the most enthusiastic and shouted: "The princess doesn't like him, how can he marry her?"
"An Dalang is a pretty good person..."
"If Mrs. Shi thinks it's good for her, why don't she get married?"
"I like handsome people, so I chased Yan Twelve Lang to Chang'an. Is he handsome?"
"You like a handsome one, but you want the princess to marry an ugly one. What's the point?"
"But I didn't ask the princess to marry her. The saint has already decided, what can I do?"
"Stop talking..."
Xue Bai probably understood it, but he had no time to pay attention at this time.
He took two more steps forward, and they finally noticed him and quickly stepped aside to prepare to watch the ceremony.
The ceremony people had already been preparing and got busy immediately.
"The groom's official is here."
"Are all the guests here? There are too many. Go out through the small door and come back through the main door."
"Is the basin ready? Fill it with water."
"..."
In the midst of all the busyness, Xue Bai glanced at the crowd again and noticed that Li Tengkong was no longer there.
He probably knew where she had gone. She must have heard the news that Li Yuetu was going to marry An Qingzong and went to inform Li Linfu. This happened suddenly, and the specific circumstances were unknown.
Just as he was thinking about it, Xue Bai was led to Qinglu.
"The groom is waiting here."
Xue Bai turned around and saw Yan Yan in Qinglu, holding a fan, with one eye exposed, looking around curiously. Looking at his eyes, she glared back at him unwilling to be outdone.
She had just listened to people's discussion, and it was interesting to hear it. When Xue Bai came, all these red tapes would start again.
Weddings in the Tang Dynasty were already quite troublesome. After the ceremony began, both parents and guests, including the guests, had to go out through the small door and come back through the main door, which meant walking in the bride's footsteps.
Now that the princes and nobles have arrived, regardless of whether they are princes, prime ministers, consorts, or generals, they are all led around and walked around before standing in front of Qinglu to watch the ceremony.
As Huang Banchuo said, the court gatherings during the Tianbao period were not even so grand.
Xue Bai picked up a piece of red silk and held Yan Yan in his arms.
"Hey, they say I'm very impressive."
"The bride is silent."
Yan Yan had time to chat with Xue Bai in a low voice, but was stopped by a drink.
She quickly became honest and acted virtuously.
The two of them first worshiped the pigs and zhi, the stove, and then worshiped the gods and earth, their ancestors, and then the couple worshiped Yan Yan. A pair of eyes emerged from the top of the round fan, looking at Xue Bai, both familiar and curious.
Xue Bai saw in her eyes that she might be saying "brother, please advise me", and she thought it was a joke when they said goodbye.
Afterwards, there was the ceremony of quenching the fan, and Xue Bai had to write a poem about quenching the fan.
Everyone in the world said that his poetic talent was unparalleled, but he was not worthy of his reputation. He would have just not written in the past, but he could not avoid this situation.
Fortunately, Shi Chaoying suddenly came out and said everywhere, "When you compose poetry, just compose poetry. What does rhyme mean?" This created a trend of writing poems out of rhyme, so Xue Bai joined in the fun and followed the words in his memory. Some words and phrases were put together to form a song of "Quie Fan Ceremony".
"Flowers are treasures, clouds are clothes, autumn water is eyes and jade is skin."
"Why bother covering your beautiful face with a jade fan? Your eyes only move and you already miss me."
Yan Yan was probably dissatisfied with the poem, so she glared at Xue Bai, but did not embarrass him any more. She slowly took off her fan and muttered silently, originally scolding him for his glib tongue.
She didn't realize she was very beautiful, so how could she let him praise her like this in a crooked poem?
However, Xue Bai seemed to be stunned as he watched the fan slowly fall down, showing that shy and angry face.
~~
"This guy."
Li Linfu saw Xue Bai staring at the young lady of the Yan family, which made him even more unhappy, so he cursed in his heart, scolding Xue Bai for being so stupid sometimes.
He didn't like this kind of occasion. He felt a little tired. He couldn't help coughing a few times and was about to leave. He didn't want to watch Xue Bai get married anymore. There was nothing to see.
The only thing I wanted to say to Wang Zhongsi was to tell him that in order to pacify Nanzhao, he had to cooperate with him, the prime minister who had ruled the world for more than ten years, in order to reduce casualties.
"Right Prime Minister."
Then he turned around and saw Zhang Ting standing there, wishing him a blessing.
"Zhang Liangdi is polite."
"Your Prime Minister went out today and didn't take the Jin Wu Guard with him?"
Li Linfu knew that this woman had a sharp tongue and was too lazy to argue with her, so he said: "Is there anyone in Xue Bai's house who can assassinate me?"
"That's not true. Can I have a chat with your right minister?"
"No need."
Li Linfu waved his hand and looked around, only to see Li Heng standing next to Wang Zhongsi.
He found it funny and thought that the couple's tricks were too cheap.
Zhang Ting insisted on talking to him, so he took two steps forward and said, "The right prime minister secretly instigated Hu Er to use force to prevent His Highness from ascending the throne. Aren't you afraid that the whole family will suffer disaster?"
Li Linfu was stunned and stared at Zhang Ting.
"Hu'er has betrayed the right prime minister and told the whole story." Zhang Ting said with a smile, "The right prime minister doesn't know yet, right? The saint has promised to marry the princess to the Anqing clan."
This time, Li Linfu was quite surprised, because only the prince's daughter was the princess, while the prince's daughter was the county princess. Once Li Heng married An Lushan, all his previous arrangements would be in vain.
But why did the saint agree?
You are really old, have you let down your guard against Li Heng?
"How can I trust you with the truth?"
"Then you believe Xue Bai? Even Hu'er can see that the right prime minister has lost power, and abandoning the right prime minister is like wearing out shoes..."
Li Linfu turned around and saw Li Tengkong coming this way, as if he had something to say to him in a hurry.
~~
Xue Bai and Yan Yan were still looking at each other when they suddenly heard a violent cough. They turned their heads and saw that Li Linfu's face was pale from coughing. Although he did not faint, he was already on the verge of collapse. He was only able to survive by being supported by others.
.
Before he could ask Li Linfu why, someone in the crowd was already whispering.
"The right minister still wants Xue Lang as his son-in-law."
"A wedding made the right prime minister so angry..."