"Your Highness, His Royal Highness the King of Zhou is waiting outside the palace gate."
In the study room of the Xiande Hall in the East Palace, Li Hongzheng, Yan Liben, Liu Daoxiang and other court officials were discussing matters in low voices. Wang Dequan, the deputy director of the Xiande Hall, hurried in, came to Li Hong's side, and reported in a low voice.
"Oh?" Li Hong was stunned for a moment when he heard this, then he rolled his eyes slightly and laughed suddenly. He waved his hands to Yan, Liu and other close ministers and said: "My dear friends, please sit here for a while, and I will leave alone."
After meeting with my seventh brother, we can discuss it later."
"I respectfully obey His Highness's orders."
Since Li Hong said this, the ministers and workers would not object. They bowed and agreed, and watched Li Hong lead a group of young eunuchs out of the study.
"My brother, please see your brother, the prince."
Li Xian was accompanied by Wang Dequan and walked into the main hall of Xiande Hall. He saw Li Honggao sitting in the big seat on the front porch. It was like a monarch and his ministers playing against each other, and he couldn't help but feel a little nagging in his heart.
But at this moment, Li Xian was not allowed to say anything else. He could only take a few steps, rush forward, and respectfully salute and greet him.
"Excuse me. Seventh brother is so eager to find a brother, but is there anything important?"
Li Hong accepted Li Xian's courtesy calmly, then raised his hand softly and asked with a smile.
Is there something wrong? Come on, isn't this asking questions knowingly? What does this guy want to do by putting on such a posture? Li Xian has been to the East Palace many times, and he has never encountered Li Hong showing off like this. I feel a little uncomfortable, but
Well, it didn’t reflect on his face. He just muttered a few words in his heart, but the answer in his mouth was still very fluent: “In reply to the prince’s brother, I have already been to the British Duke’s Palace, and I was lucky enough to live up to the humiliation.
mission."
"Oh? Really? Does Mr. Ying have any explanation?" Li Hong had already received the tip-off about Li Xian's visit to the British government. Although he didn't know exactly what Li Xian had talked with Li Ji, he could
The result had been expected a long time ago, but Li Hong didn't want to tell the truth, but asked with a smile.
Pretend, you keep pretending, don't you just think that being gentle won't work, and you want to use force to pressure people, just wait and see! Li Xian is very smart, and he has already seen through it in just a few words.
Li Hong's intentions are of course not taken seriously. No matter what Li Hong does, Li Xian will never get on his boat. This is not a matter of feelings, but a matter of wealth and life. Without it,
choose!
"Replying to the prince's brother, I conveyed my brother's congratulations. The old man only said that he was very grateful to his father for his love, but he was in poor health and could not endure the long journey. He also said that the old injury had recurred and he had to stay in bed to recuperate, so he could only say goodbye.
As for the final offering, I don’t have much to say about the rest." Li Xian had his own opinion in mind, so he was not angry because of Li Hong’s airs. He calmly described the incident briefly without taking anything personal.
opinions.
"I see, thank you for your hard work, seventh brother. Well, since Da Sikong is inconvenienced, my father must not be able to force it. I wonder if seventh brother has any advice on this matter?" Li Hong listened quietly to Li Xian's description and saw Li Xian.
Xian didn't comment on the matter, and could not help but frown slightly. He glanced at Li Xian meaningfully and asked in a low tone.
Any advice? What can I say? As early as on the way to the East Palace, Li Xian had already deduced the overall situation several times, and was not optimistic about Li Hong's actions in clearly showing that the chariots and horses could compete with Empress Wu - in Li Xian's case
It seems that Empress Wu's skills were not something that Li Hong could predict. How could Li Hong hide this from Empress Wu's eyes and ears by acting in such a big way? It was inevitable that he would be hit head-on. Besides, regardless of whether Gaozong was
You can basically squeeze the ball of mud in Empress Wu's hand however you want. Unless Empress Wu wants to rebel openly, otherwise, Gaozong's cowardly temperament will not refute Empress Wu's request under normal circumstances. Furthermore, from then on,
From the emperor's point of view, it was a taboo for Li Hong, the prince, to contact important ministers on such a large scale. Even if Gaozong was not a competent emperor, he would not tolerate such behavior. Both of them were
Combined, Li Xian can definitely say that Li Hong will definitely lose. How can Li Xian step into such a inevitable defeat?
"My brother, I have no objections, so that the prince brother can know that my martial arts training is at a critical juncture. I am afraid that I have no time to take care of other things. I would like to ask the prince brother Haihan to take care of it." Since Li Xian has decided not to participate in it.
He didn't want to get on Li Hong's boat, so he simply shied away.
"Huh?" Li Hong obviously didn't expect that Li Xian would answer like this, so he couldn't help but froze. He looked at Li Xian suspiciously and saw that his face was extremely calm and showed no flaws at all. His heart sank and he opened his mouth.
He wanted to speak, but he forced himself to hold back. He looked around, waved his hand and said, "You all, please step back."
"promise."
Now that the prince had given the order, Wang Dequan and other eunuchs and maids waiting in the palace did not dare to neglect, and each bowed and accepted the order. Only the two young brothers were left facing each other alone in the empty hall.
"Seventh brother, I know that you are a smart man. You should know that one chopstick is easy to break, but ten chopsticks are difficult to break. The ancients said: Brothers work together, and their sharpness can break gold. There is a lot to do in this matter. I urgently hope that the seventh brother can help me.
A brother's help can make things harmonious. He is not a stingy person, and the seventh brother should know it." After the two brothers faced each other in silence for a long time, Li Hong took the lead to break the dead silence and spoke sincerely, showing his true temperament in his moving expression.
.
This is the truth, but unfortunately things are not as easy as Li Hong said. It is almost impossible to defeat a figure like Empress Wu at once. The only way is to start from the details bit by bit, and accumulate small victories into big ones.
In Li Xian's opinion, if Li Hong really wants to deal with Empress Wu, he must not blindly focus on Empress Wu, but must first cut off her wings, and then slowly
According to the plan, if not, there will be no place for defeat. Of course, it does not mean that we cannot take action on Empress Wu at all, but we can only do it occasionally. From last year to now, in less than a year, first of all, the imperial edict
The prison case, followed by the posthumous title case, went on and on. Not to mention trying to scare the snake, it almost hurt Empress Wu. Under such circumstances, how could Empress Wu not fight back? With Empress Wu's temperament, no
It's enough to take action. Once he takes action, the mountains will collapse and the earth will shatter. Li Hong obviously cannot withstand the anger of Empress Wu. Li Xian naturally has no reason to be a martyr. As the saying goes, a true man should do something and not do something.
, when one is unable to support himself, it is of course the most important thing to protect oneself wisely.
"My brother, the prince, is serious. I am a dull and stupid person. It is really difficult for me to hold a big position. I have not yet completed my current skills, and it is useless. I am really unworthy of the love of my brother." No matter how affectionate Li Hong said, there was nothing he could do.
Li Xian had already made up his mind, so he would not be swayed by it and declined without hesitation.
"Seventh brother, you..."
Seeing that Li Xian refused to accept either soft or hard words, even though Li Hong had a good temper, he couldn't help but get angry. He suddenly stood up, pointed at Li Xian and wanted to scold him, but when the words came to his mouth, he felt that it was inappropriate and had to
He forcefully took it back, speechless, and an angry look on his face.
"Brother Prince, have you ever used tofu?"
Seeing that Li Hong was in a hurry, Li Xian couldn't help but feel a little apologetic. After all, Li Hong had always taken good care of Li Xian, and the relationship between brothers was still there. Besides, Li Xian didn't want Li Hong to fail too quickly.
After pondering for a while, someone suddenly asked a strange question.
"Huh? How do you say this?"
Li Hong was furious when he suddenly heard that Li Xian had asked such a strange question. He couldn't help being stunned and asked suspiciously.
"The tofu used by Brother Prince must have been cooked. I have never seen freshly baked tofu. The hot soy milk only needs a few drops of brine to turn it into tofu immediately. Freshly baked tofu is the most tender. , looking at the water, smelling fragrant, but it's a pity that I can't taste it. Otherwise, I'm afraid I will burn my mouth. When I was young, I didn't know this, and I suffered a big sin because of my greed. Looking back, my heart palpitates endlessly." Li Xian said jokingly to himself. Although he said a lot, the truth is actually the same - you can't eat hot tofu in a hurry!
"Oh? Is this happening? The seventh brother is really careless. That's all. Since the seventh brother is in trouble, he doesn't want to force each other as brothers. I'm sorry." Li Hong is not an ignorant person, and he can feel it. What was Li Xian's intention in saying this, but he didn't want to act on his words. After all, in his opinion, since Li Ji is willing to cooperate, things are very promising. One more Li Xian is not more, and one less Li Xian is It's quite a lot. There is really no need to push Li Xian too hard. It is better to stay a step and maybe have the opportunity to win Li Xian into his camp in the future. It is out of this consideration that Li Hong's expression softened. After agreeing with a smile, he issued an order to expel the guests.
"Brother, please retire." It would be the best outcome if he could not completely break up with the prince. Li Xian had no reason to stay any longer. As soon as Li Hong finished speaking, Li Xian bowed respectfully and turned around to exit. After entering the main hall, he walked all the way out of the East Palace, took a carriage and rushed to his house.
"I will see you, Your Highness."
In the study room of the Xiande Hall, a group of senior officials were discussing in low voices when they suddenly saw Li Hong walking in with a gloomy look on his face. They all hurriedly got up to see him.
"No, please sit down."
Unable to take Li Xian under his command, Li Hong was indeed not in a good mood, and there was a hint of weariness in his tone.
"Your Highness, His Highness King Zhou is here..."
When the ministers saw that Li Hong looked a little strange, they did not dare to move. After looking at each other, Yan Liben stood up and asked.
"Well, Li Da Sikong has agreed to resign. As for the seventh brother, it's okay not to mention it. We'll continue to discuss the business later." Li Hong didn't want to mention Li Xian's affairs anymore, so he said vaguely, He went straight to the topic. Seeing this, the ministers did not dare to ask for details at will. They could only have doubts in their hearts, and then started to discuss the previously half-discussed issue.