The trees in winter are already bleak, with only a few sparse branches left. It is very easy to prune them. Even if the young eunuchs are not very agile, they can finish the work without spending too much time.
, but saw that the tree that originally had three forked side branches had completely turned into a smooth main pole, pointing straight into the sky, giving people a vague sense of sharpness like a sword piercing the sky, and it was difficult to compare with the surrounding environment.
It is harmonious and appears to be particularly eye-catching and abrupt.
"Does Seventh Brother know anything about gardening?" After all the young eunuchs finished their work and dispersed, Li Hong, who remained silent all the time, glanced sideways at Li Xian, who had a dull face, and suddenly asked with a smile.
"My brother is stupid, please give me some advice from the prince brother." Li Xian didn't understand gardening, but he knew Li Hong's intention of letting him observe "gardening". Of course, if you understand, you still have to pretend to be stupid, so this
He shook his head in confusion and replied in a sincere tone.
"I can't talk about giving you advice. I am a layman in this matter, but there is one thing I know. It is said that a tree cannot be made into something if it is not cultivated, just like a jade cannot be made into a tool if it is not carved. Do you think this is true, seventh brother?" Li
Hong looked at the tree in the garden with a half-smile, and said something calmly.
"What the prince taught me is that I should keep it in mind and not dare or forget it." Upon hearing this, Li Xian couldn't help but feel a twitch in his heart, but he didn't dare to bring it to his face, so he could only bow.
The body agreed.
"Seventh brother doesn't need to be like this. It's just a joke between my brothers. That's all. Let's not talk about it. It's almost noon today. Seventh brother will have a meal here with his brother and talk some gossip." Li Hong obviously said.
Very satisfied with Li Xian's respectful attitude, he smiled, waved his hand, said something casually, then walked back to the main seat in the pavilion and sat down.
"My brother is about to ask the prince for advice, so it would be disrespectful to refuse." Li Xian made a face, responded with a smile, walked a few steps behind Li Hong, and sat down with a smile on his face.
"Ha, the seventh brother is still so naughty." Seeing Li Xian acting like this, Li Hong couldn't help but shake his head and laugh, and then clapped his hands, while the eunuchs and maidens waiting beside him were busy serving all kinds of wine and food.
When it came up, the table was filled with food in front of the two brothers. As soon as the singing and dancing started, the two brothers started chatting.
Li Hong has always been weak and is not good at drinking. Although Li Xian drinks well, he is not particularly interested in the wine of this era. The atmosphere when drinking this wine is not very lively, it is just a romantic chat. Look.
They seemed to be chatting happily, but in fact, there was an invisible barrier between them, and there was no longer the harmonious relationship between the two brothers that they had in the past.
His face was smiling, but his heart was hurting. Facing Li Hong's words of redemption, Li Xian could only pretend to be stupid again and again, but deep inside he felt an unspeakable sadness - outside
In people's eyes, Li Hongxiang is known for his benevolence and filial piety, and his personality is a bit soft. However, Li Xian knows very well that these are just appearances. In fact, Li Hong is not only knowledgeable and talented, but his virtuousness and ability are not inferior to Li Xian's. What's even more rare is that
He is extremely opinionated, round on the outside but strong on the inside. If you really count, he can be said to be the most suitable heir to the throne among the four brothers. The only shortcoming is that he is slightly in poor health. For him to inherit the throne, Li Xianshi has no shortcomings.
In order to be convinced, if possible, Li Xian actually wanted to help this eldest brother who had always been friendly to him. Unfortunately, in the face of the cruel reality, this was just a luxury wish.
Can Li Hong be able to ascend to the throne and become emperor? The answer is absolutely impossible, not because he is incompetent. The reason is precisely because he is too capable and blocked Wu Meiniang's way - Li Hong became the prince when he was three years old, and he was in charge of the country when he was eight years old.
, in his more than ten years as a prince, he has been in charge of the country for nearly ten times. During this period, he has made many achievements. He is deeply supported by the ministers and also won the favor of Emperor Gaozong. He is regarded as the best candidate to succeed him. If nothing else happens,
, A hundred years after Emperor Gaozong, Li Hong's succession to the throne was basically a certainty. No matter how much Li Xian jumped around, he could never change this trend, but Wu Meiniang could. Wu Meiniang, who wanted to take charge of the government, would never tolerate a strong prince.
Yes, considering Li Hong's personality, he could never defeat the ruthless Empress Wu, and his death was inevitable.
Turning the tide? It's just a joke. Li Xian is very self-aware about this. Even though he has already known the direction of history, he never thinks that he can be great enough to block the tide, because in the final analysis, everything still depends on strength.
Speaking, it is obvious that the accumulation of strength requires time, and time is what Li Xian lacks most. He dare not and is unwilling to gamble his fate on Li Hong, otherwise, it is very likely that
They will both be destroyed. Therefore, facing Li Hong's high expectations, all Li Xian can do is pretend to be stupid. Even if it hurts deep in his heart, there is still nothing he can do.
The two brothers are both smart people, and even if they don't say it out loud, they can understand each other. As the saying goes, there are only a few words that don't make sense. Although the two brothers are still very harmonious on the outside, they can understand each other's thoughts.
But as the cups and cups came and went, they became farther and farther apart. Although they were not at the point where they had nothing to say, their joy was gone. It only lasted about half an hour. Li Xian, who had no intention of staying too long, came to find him.
He said goodbye, and Li Hong had no intention of leaving Li Xian to talk in detail, so the conversation between brothers ended hastily.
"Your Highness."
Outside Chunhua Gate, Gao Miao, who had just eaten dry food, was laughing and joking with the guards of the Zhou Palace. Suddenly, from the corner of his eyes, he saw Li Xianzheng coming out of the palace gate. He didn't care about any more nonsense and hurriedly ran forward.
, called softly, and although he didn't ask too many questions, his face was full of doubts, probably because in the past, when Li Xian entered the East Palace, he always had to linger for a long time before returning home with pleasure, but today he left early.
It is no wonder that Gao Miao was extremely doubtful.
"Yes." Although he and the prince had not really broken up with each other when they entered the East Palace this time, they had actually parted ways. Therefore, although Li Xian's face was as plain as usual, his heart was full of sadness. At this time, when he saw Gao Miao Ying
He came forward and was really too lazy to waste words. He just glanced at Gao Miao blankly and said noncommittally. Without any pause, he strode towards the carriage. When Gao Miao saw this, he naturally
Not daring to ask any more questions, he hurriedly turned around and followed Li Xian.
"Leave the city and go to Qingfeng Temple in the east of the city."
Li Xian was in a bad mood and really didn't want to go back home. When he was thinking about where to go, he suddenly remembered Li Chunfeng whom he mentioned when chatting with Gao Miao a few days ago.
Entered the carriage.
Qingfeng Temple is located three miles east of Chang'an City. It is said to be a Taoist temple, but there are no pilgrims. Therefore, the temple is the residence of Li Chunfeng, the current Taishi Ling. Li Chunfeng was a strange man in the Tang Dynasty. His father Li Bo served as a local official in the Sui Dynasty.
"Because of his low rank and lack of ambition, he abandoned his official position and became a Taoist priest." Li Bo was quite literary and called himself "Huang Guanzi". Li Chunfeng studied with his father since he was a child, and he was especially fond of astronomy, geography, Taoism, and the study of yin and yang.
At the age of nine, he went to Jingyun Temple in Nantuo Mountain, Henan Province to worship Taoist Master Yuan as his teacher. He then traveled around the world and returned to his hometown at the age of seventeen. He was recommended by Li Shimin's friend Liu Wenjing and became Li Shimin's counselor. Later, he became a counselor of Yuan Tiangang.
Under the sect, he studied martial arts, formulated calendars, and wrote "Tuibei Diagram", and made many achievements in his life. He was good at martial arts and swordsmanship. He participated in the "Xuanwu Sect Incident" and killed several powerful people with his own hands. He served as an official for forty years.
, in the three dynasties, Lei Guan moved to Taishi Ling. He was a low-key person. Although he served as high officials in the court many times, he never interacted with the ministers in private. He was quite famous for being lonely, especially because the mansion he lived in was a Taoist temple and he often wrote
Taoist robes are often criticized. However, the three emperors all had good looks, which was indeed an anomaly in the officialdom of the early Tang Dynasty.
"Your Highness, please wait a moment. I will call the door right now."
The road was slippery and difficult to travel in the snow. Li Xian and his party set out from the East Palace and walked for more than an hour before arriving at "Qingfeng Temple". Gao Miao cautiously waited on Li Xian to get off the carriage and suggested cautiously.
"Well, I'd better go in person." Li Xian had been bumpy along the way, and his small body was already a little tired, but he didn't want to lose his etiquette, so he waved his hand, rejected Gao Miao's proposal, and waved a signal.
The guards were waiting on the spot, but he walked toward Qingfengguan, whose door was closed, with his legs that were already numb. Upon seeing this, Gao Miao hurriedly followed behind Li Xian.
"Infinite Heavenly Lord, is there anything wrong with the donor?"
When he got to the front of the view, Gao Miao hurriedly walked a few steps, grabbed the front, reached out to grab the door knocker, and knocked hard several times. After a while, the door creaked open with a crack, and a man about thirteen or four years old appeared.
The 20-year-old Taoist boy stepped out from the crack in the door. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Li Xian's master and servant, and then at the royal carriage not far away. However, he did not panic at all. He just nodded and spoke calmly.
asked.
"Little King Li Xian, I came here to see Li Taishi, and I also asked the young master to report on his behalf." Li Xian saw that this childish spirit was extraordinary, and he did not dare to look down on this person, so he introduced himself with a smile.
"It turns out it's His Royal Highness the King of Zhou. Poor Taoist Yujizi is rude, so please forgive me." The little Taoist boy bowed his head again and said with a smile: "My master has said that a distinguished guest will arrive today. I will tell the little Taoist boy if the distinguished guest arrives.
, just go in by yourself, no need to report."
No way, we came here on a temporary basis, is it possible that Li Chunfeng can even calculate this? When he heard what Yu Jizi said, Li Xian couldn't help being stunned, and looked at the little Taoist boy suspiciously for a while.
After being stunned, he nodded and said: "In that case, Xiao Wang is not polite. Please ask the Taoist priest to lead the way."
"Your Highness, please." Yujizi didn't say any more nonsense, just smiled and waved his hand, indicating that Li Xian would follow him inside.
Qingfeng Temple is not big, only three entrances into the courtyard. After walking along the way, it didn't take long to reach the backyard. Just after turning around a screen wall, I saw an old man and a young man sitting silently in a small stone pavilion.
——The old man sat with his back to Li Xian, and his face could not be seen clearly for a while, but the young man was facing the courtyard door. Li Xian took this person into his eyes at the first sight, but just such a look made Li Xian