In the bedroom of Yide Palace, the little princess Li Lingyue was wearing a pink skirt and a pair of bare chubby white arms. She was excitedly crawling around on the large hut bed, doing somersaults from time to time and sucking in her mouth.
She yelled in a daze, her fair little face flushed with excitement, as cute as a freshly ripe apple.
"Little Ni'er, be good, come to mother."
Empress Wu, who was sitting next to Hu's bed, looked lovingly at the hilarious little thing. She raised her hand slightly, and like magic, a red dried date appeared. She held it in the palm of her hand, shook it a little, and said with a smile.
Coaxing.
"Mother, mother, want, want..."
The one-and-a-half-year-old little Taiping has just grown a few big teeth and is now in the teething stage. His favorite thing is to eat red dates. When he saw Empress Wu taking out big red dates, her big black eyes immediately widened.
He stared at the big red date without blinking for a while, then suddenly let out a cheer, and then rolled and crawled towards Empress Wu, shouting vaguely, "Don't look small, the speed of getting up is
But it was surprisingly fast, and his eager look made Empress Wu burst into laughter.
"Your Majesty, Prime Minister Xu has arrived at Liangyi Hall. Please give me your instructions."
Just as Empress Wu and her daughter were laughing and joking, Yan Desheng, the eunuch in charge of Yide Hall, hurried in from outside the room. Seeing Empress Wu teasing Xiao Taiping, his steps couldn't help but slow down, and he hesitated for a moment.
, he still braved the situation and went over to report it.
"Oh, I see."
Upon hearing that Xu Jinzong had arrived, Empress Wu didn't have any special reaction. Without looking back, she said something and took Xiao Taiping, who had crawled to her side, into her arms and hugged her affectionately.
He stuffed the red dates into Xiao Taiping's hands.
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu Mom, um..."
As soon as Xiao Taiping got the red dates, he was so proud that he stuffed it into his mouth. While biting it, he babbled and babbled. His satisfied look was really cute to the extreme, even in Empress Wu's heart
I had something to do, but I couldn't help but stay for a while. Then I quietly walked out of the bedroom while Xiao Taiping wasn't paying attention, and led a group of eunuchs and maids to the Liangyi Palace. However, before Empress Wu could go,
After leaving the back hall of Yide Palace, the sound of Xiao Taiping's crying came from behind. Empress Wu could not help but pause in her footsteps, but in the end she did not look back and led the others straight away.
, only the sad cry of Xiao Taiping echoed in the hall...
Xu Jingzong did not arrive at Liangyi Hall alone. In fact, there were two young officials in light purple robes in the hall at this time. One of them had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and was tall and long-armed. Although he was wearing a fifth-grade civil official uniform, he was not alone.
He is dressed in robes, but he is very energetic and has the air of a military commander. This man is none other than Zhou Simao, one of the two leaders of the North Gate Scholars. As for the other handsome man, he is Liu Yizhi, who is as famous as Zhou Simao. Both of them are
He was born in Hongwen Guan, and his literary reputation was famous for a while. He was also valued by Empress Wu, and he was promoted to the rank of fifth-rank official by taking advantage of the opportunity of being granted the title of Zen Taishan. He can be regarded as the new nobleman of the Tang Dynasty today.
It seems that the three people in the palace are all members of Empress Wu's family. Logically speaking, they should have a harmonious relationship with each other, but in fact this is not the case. If nothing else, you can tell just by looking at their positions.
Something strange - Old God Xu Jingzong stood on the ground in the frontmost position on the left hand side of Qianqi, as if he was doing his job. Of course, with his status as Xu Jingzong's attendant, it was natural for him to stand in this position.
But Liu, Zhou Zhou obviously didn't buy Xu Jingzong's account. He didn't stand behind Xu Jingzong, but ran to the right. Although he didn't stand side by side with Xu Jingzong, his intention to fight against each other was clear. Not only that,
Liu Zhou and others were still gathering together and whispering in low voices. They clearly regarded Xu Jingzong as nothing. As for Xu Jingzong, he seemed not to care at all about Liu Zhou's disrespectful behavior and did not even look at him.
Liu Zhou glanced at him, but the hint of haze that flashed deep in his eyes from time to time revealed Xu Jingzong's true intention.
"The Queen is here!"
A high-pitched voice suddenly rang out, and the three people in the palace no longer wanted to play those petty tricks. They hurriedly adjusted their official robes and stood bowed, waiting for the arrival of Empress Wu.
"I respectfully welcome the Queen."
As soon as there was a sound of footsteps, Empress Wu, surrounded by a group of eunuchs and maidens, turned out of the back hall, walked straight to the front hall, and sat on the dragon bed without any scruples - according to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, only the emperor could
Sit down, anyone else would be beheaded if they tried to sit down. Even if Empress Wu was a queen, she was not qualified to sit on the dragon bed. However, Empress Wu actually sat down like this, and she was extremely relaxed. She immediately ordered Xu Jingzong and others to sit down.
Their eyes were filled with sternness, but they didn't dare to say anything else. They could only bow and say hello.
"Excuse me, Ximei (Liu Yizhi's word), how have you done what I asked you to do?" Sitting on the dragon bed, Empress Wu no longer had a trace of the tenderness she had in Yide Palace, but only a kind of tenderness.
The majesty is heart-stopping. Even though the three people in the palace are all extraordinary people, they can't help but feel their hearts trembling wildly under this coercion. But before everyone can recover, the calm voice of Empress Wu has been heard above their heads.
There was a solemn questioning voice.
"Replying to the empress, Wei Chen discussed the matter with various colleagues all night after receiving the empress's decree. After repeated deductions for three days, Wei Chen and others generally agreed that His Royal Highness King Lu's river engineering excerpts are indeed impressive. If so,
After this trip, maybe we can really solve the problem of water transportation." Liu Yizhi was in a state of shock when he suddenly heard Empress Wu call his name, he couldn't help but tremble slightly, hurriedly grabbed it out, and bowed to answer.
"Well, what's the calculation?" Empress Wu was not in a hurry to express her position, but frowned slightly, and after pondering for a moment, she asked with a little more caution.
"My Majesty, I know that the result of my deduction is 60%. However, the number required may be more than tens of millions. According to my estimate, it will take fifteen million to achieve this goal." After asking and answering these questions, Liu
Yizhi had completely calmed down. When Empress Wu asked, he calmly cupped his hands and replied with a firm tone.
"Fifteen million? It's not too much. What do you think of this matter?" Empress Wu raised her brows, as if she didn't care at all about the five million coins that Duo Jiang came out with, and just murmured.
After saying that, he immediately asked all the North Gate scholars about their decision.
"This..." Liu Yizhi obviously had reservations about the decision made by the Northern Gate scholars. When Empress Wu asked about it, his face changed slightly and he hesitated.
"I report to the Empress. After public discussion, I have concluded that this strategy is feasible, but it cannot be carried out by His Highness King Lu. I suggest the Queen to leave this matter to me, with the ability of the ministers and the support of the Queen.
, there is no reason why it will not happen!" While Liu Yizhi was still hesitating, Zhou Simao stood up boldly and reported the report loudly.
"Oh? Really?" Empress Wu raised her eyebrows and said noncommittally. She looked sideways at Xu Jingzong, who was standing beside him, and asked very politely: "Xu Xiang, are you always right?"
What can be learned from this?"
Xu Jingzong bowed slightly, his long eyebrows trembled, and he said calmly: "Replying to your Majesty, I once heard a joke and found it quite interesting. I didn't dare to keep it secret. I will present it to you as a tribute."
The Empress smiled - there was a rumor in the market that tiger teeth could cure impotence, as they were very expensive, and one tooth was worth thousands of gold and hard to find. When someone heard about it, he was overjoyed and said that he was about to make a fortune, so he went up the mountain alone, hoping to find the tiger to pull out the teeth.
He advised him, "Although the tiger's teeth are good, they must have a life." He didn't believe it, thinking that others were jealous of his wealth, so he decided to go up the mountain. On the way, he met a tiger. It shouted: "Leave the teeth!" and it rushed up.
At that time, the tiger was hungry. When he saw someone coming, he was overjoyed. He bit it and ate it. Others sighed: He is really a master who wants money but not his life!"
"Pfft!"
Xu Jingzong spoke slowly, and his expression was very dull. It really didn't look like he was telling a joke. However, who was Empress Wu? Just hearing it, she knew that Xu Jingzong was roundaboutly scolding Zhou Simao because he wanted money.
The desperate master couldn't help but laugh.
"you……"
Zhou Simao has been known as a child prodigy since he was a child, and he is not an energy-saving lamp. How could he not hear that Xu Jingzong was cursing someone?
Going down, I was suffocated and felt extremely uncomfortable.
"Xu Xiang is as funny as before, he is getting stronger as he is, and he is a blessing to the country. I have not been so happy for a long time." Empress Wu praised Xu Jingzong with a smile, and then waved her hand to the embarrassed Liu Zhouren.
He said: "I know what you mean. We will discuss this matter later. Please step aside."
"Yes, I will leave."
Liu, who came full of confidence on Tuesday, was beaten so hard by Xu Jingzong that he couldn't help but feel dizzy. Seeing Empress Wu retreating, even though he was dissatisfied, he could only say goodbye cautiously.
"Xu Xiang, young people are ignorant, lack experience, and some arrogance is normal. I hope Xiang Xu can help the younger generations." Empress Wu was very thoughtful, and she knew that Xu Jingzong was trying to teach Liu, Zhou and others an excuse.
, which was a polite persuasion.
"Don't worry, Madam, I don't dare to interfere with official business due to personal concerns." Xu Jingzong has always been a master who holds grudges. He can't stand the rampage of those Beimen bachelors and has long been determined to teach them some lessons, even if Empress Wu
Even if he came forward to make peace, he would not change his mind, but his answers would appear to be extremely sincere.
"I can trust Prime Minister Xu's words." Out of the needs of her subordinates, Empress Wu did not want Xu Jingzong to be on good terms with the Beimen scholars. The reason for her words of persuasion was actually just a thought, and she would not be involved in this matter.
He wasted no time and only mentioned one sentence before turning the conversation back to the main topic: "In Mr. Xu's opinion, how should I deal with this incident of river works?"
"His Royal Highness King Lu is so virtuous, I admire you very much." Xu Jingzong did not answer Empress Wu's question directly, but stroked the white beard on his chest and replied with emotion.
"oh?"
Empress Wu frowned first, then raised her eyebrows. After letting out a light sigh, her eyes gradually became sharper...