met free Chapter 790 Is she your wife or your chess piece?
Chapter 790 Is she your wife or your chess piece?
The leaves of the sycamore trees in Chang'an were rustling in the frosty wind.
Li Jingxuan subconsciously clenched the joint memorial in his sleeve, his knuckles turning white from the force.
The cold wind blew past the copper bells on the eaves, making them whimper softly.
The hall was filled with a mixture of camphor and medicinal aromas. Li Zhi was reclining on the golden couch with a coiled dragon pattern, his dark brocade robe hanging loosely on his shoulders, and the mutton-fat jade bracelet on his wrist jingled with his movements.
Li Jingxuan glanced at the Qianwu Zhengyao spread out on the desk. Next to the notes with wet ink, half a cup of medicinal soup had already gone cold, and dark brown medicinal stains were condensed on the edge of the celadon bowl.
This made his throat bitter.
"Your Majesty, I, an old minister, would like to express my gratitude in advance."
Li Jingxuan bowed deeply.
Li Zhi raised his hand to indicate that there was no need to be so polite.
"What are you talking about, Li Aiqing? General Pei is the backbone of the Tang Dynasty. How can we destroy him?"
Li Zhi pointed to the pile of memorials on his desk and said, "If you have nothing else to do, please leave. I still have government affairs to attend to."
The pile of memorials included urgent military reports on wars, requests for assistance for local famines, and secret reports on the intrigues among court ministers. Each one was like a mountain.
"Your Majesty, I have something else to ask."
Li Jingxuan took half a step forward.
He took a deep breath and pulled out the joint memorial from his sleeve. The cinnabar fingerprints of more than 300 officials looked like clotted blood under the candlelight.
"This is a joint memorial signed by all the civil and military officials of the imperial court."
His voice trembled slightly, due to nervousness and the expectations of all the officials in the court.
The moment Li Zhi took the memorial, his black fox fur robe slipped off his shoulders. He glanced at the opening line, "I earnestly implore Your Majesty to expand the harem to strengthen the foundation of the country," and then slammed the memorial down on the table, making the bronze paperweight clang. "Lord Li, I've told you this countless times. My brother has already issued an order that even the emperor must practice monogamy!"
"Do you want me to disobey my brother's order?"
His voice was filled with anger, yet mixed with a subtle hint of helplessness.
Li Jingxuan's voice grew firmer. "Your Majesty, times have changed! Although the late emperor left instructions, he also left behind the motto 'Laws must change at any time.'"
"The entire Tang Dynasty is now engaged in a westward expedition, and Your Majesty remains childless. The foundation of the nation is precarious. If anything were to change, the country would be plunged into irreparable ruin!"
When he looked up, his eyes were full of worry.
The hall fell into dead silence, with only the ticking of the night watchman's clock.
"Lord Li, how is the work of the military envoys dispatched to the Western Regions going?"
Li Zhi suddenly spoke, his voice so calm that it was heart-wrenching.
This sentence was like a heavy hammer, hitting Li Jingxuan's eardrums painfully. He looked up suddenly, and was met with the dark tide surging in His Majesty's eyes.
That was the light that only a dormant animal would produce when it locked onto its prey.
"Your Majesty! The Ministry of Personnel has some documents that require military envoys to be sent to the capital to assist in verification." Li Jingxuan's nails almost dug into his palms.
"This old minister has sent a message by express horse, within ten days..."
His words stopped abruptly, and the moment his eyes met Li Zhi's, he suddenly understood the Majesty's deep meaning.
In the past few years in the Western Regions, Wu Meiniang has stabilized the situation with her thundering methods and has long been feared by all parties in the court.
And His Majesty's mention of her at this moment is clearly hinting that there is another way to resolve this dispute in the harem.
"That's enough." Li Zhi interrupted him, rubbing his temple. The hem of his dragon robe swept across the memorials scattered on the ground. "I know everything. You can leave first."
When leaving the Liangyi Hall, the cold wind blew on his face, and Li Jingxuan was shocked to realize that his back was already wet.
He suddenly remembered that twenty years ago, he denounced Wu Meiniang for causing chaos in the palace in front of all the civil and military officials in the Qianyuan Hall, and was praised by the late emperor as a "servant minister".
I also remembered Pei Xingjian's bold words when he was drinking in his study before going to war: "A real man would rather die wrapped in his horse's hide than die from a frame-up."
Now, in order to save his best friend, he has to seek help from the woman he once hated the most. It is really sad.
After returning to the mansion, Li Jingxuan sat in the study.
The wolf hair brush on the desk was dipped in thick ink, but he couldn't put pen to paper.
As the candlelight flickered, he seemed to see the faces of all the officials at tomorrow morning's court session when they heard the news that Wu Meiniang would return to the capital.
Finally, he picked up his pen and wrote: "The Ministry of Personnel has urgent information. I implore the military envoy to return to Chang'an as soon as possible to discuss important matters."
Before the ink had dried, the sound of a night watchman's clapper suddenly came from outside the window - it was the third watch.
Li Jingxuan looked at the twisted handwriting on the letter and laughed at himself.
The Imperial Censor who was once famous for his death-defying advice is now forced to do something against his will in the quagmire of power.
At this moment in the Western Regions, Wu Meiniang was examining a map in a military tent. The candlelight cast her shadow on the cowhide map.
These days, Wu Meiniang has been putting a lot of effort into the Western Expedition.
After the death of Emperor Qianwu, Wu Meiniang's suppressed ambition seemed to be stirring again.
Now, she is in charge of the five regions of the Western Regions.
He is already second only to one person and above ten thousand people.
She got all the power she deserved.
When the late emperor was alive, she could guard the Western Regions for him.
But now, she seemed a little dissatisfied.
Is this the end of our life on earth?
She was very familiar with the person sitting at the highest point in the Tai Chi Hall.
That person used to follow her closely.
The imperial court gave the largest annual subsidies to the five regions in the Western Regions, and Wu Meiniang was well aware of many of Li Zhi's actions.
However, the two of them did not say a word, but their minds were connected.
She was waiting, waiting for an opportunity to return to Chang'an.
What she wanted was to be high and mighty, and that was not something that a mere envoy to the capital could satisfy her.
But what she has to do now is to ensure the logistical supply of the army on the Western Expedition.
It has to be said that Wu Meiniang did a great job in the logistics of the Western Expedition army. No one else could do better than her.
Coordinate all parties and keep everything in order.
With the help of Di Renjie, he was even more powerful.
This is her own brilliant political achievement.
Everyone was waiting for Wu Tianyan to capture Constantinople. Once it was captured, the army's westward advance would be unstoppable.
The whole world belongs to the Tang Dynasty.
.........
Inside the Prince Wu's Mansion.
Li Ke looked at the secret reports that had been delivered recently. Over the years, prying into other people's secrets had become Li Ke's hobby.
It is also the job of the shadow guard.
Li Ke drank tea and looked at the secret report in his hand.
It said that among the medicinal herbs purchased by the Imperial Medical Service, some were mixed together for contraceptive purposes.
The Imperial Medical Bureau serves the royal family. Now that Your Majesty has no children, what does the Imperial Medical Bureau need these contraceptive drugs for?
Li Ke thought a lot at once.
He didn't understand why his brother did this?
No matter who you are or what you do, there must be a reason, but...
He saw the supplies allocated by the court to the Western Regions and suddenly understood.
He spat the tea leaves in his mouth onto the ground and narrowed his eyes.
Zhinu, Zhinu, what on earth do you want to do? I feel like I can’t see through you.
Is she your wife or your pawn?