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Chapter 22 August 15th

After breakfast, Li Wen was about to go back. He didn't go back all night because he was afraid that his brothers and sisters at home would be waiting for him to go back. Yesterday was August 14th, and today is the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th. It is a day for families to reunite and celebrate the festival. They cannot go back to their hometown to reunite with their parents and relatives at home, so they can only celebrate the festival with their younger siblings here in the capital.

Zhao Xiangyi rode a horse and sent the young man back to the gate of the small courtyard where he lived. The two got off the horse and stood face to face. Li Wen raised his head, looked at the man in front of him, and asked, "Are you going to the palace to attend the palace banquet tonight?

" "Yes, I want to go." "Zhao Xiangyi nodded and said.

"Oh. "Li Wen knew that Xiang Yi's identity must be attending the palace banquet tonight. Although he knew it, he still felt a little disappointed. There would be a night market outside the palace tonight, and he wanted to invite the man to go shopping with him. The night market, I don't think the other party will be free.

Forget it, let's wait until the next opportunity.

"Thank you for sending me back. Do you want to go in and have a cup of tea?" Li Wen asked out of politeness.

"I won't go in. I have something else to do." "There are a lot of things to do later, so Zhao Xiangyi stopped going to the young man's place to drink tea. Once he went in, he had to sit for a while before leaving. Zhao Xiangyi saw the young man's disappointment, a smile flashed in his eyes, and said, "I'm going to I will come out of the palace earlier. You wait for me, and I will come to you. "

Hearing the man's words, Li Wen's disappointment swept away. A smile suddenly appeared on his face. He hummed and said without any reservation, "I'll wait for you. You can go about your business later." It doesn't matter at all. "

Hearing the young man's words, Zhao Xiangyi couldn't help but laugh.

At this time, neither of them wanted to be separated from the other, but Zhao Xiangyi was still busy with his own affairs and could not be with his young man. As General Zhao's Mansion As a young master, Zhao Xiangyi has been going to the palace to attend various palace banquets since he was a child. But now that he is older, he also has to bear some responsibilities from home, so there are some things that he cannot escape.

Zhao Xiangyi is not sure about him . When will I be able to leave the palace tonight? I can only say to the young man, "I will try to come out as early as possible.

The two agreed on a place to meet.

"Okay, then if you have something to do, go ahead and do it." Anyway, they are all here in the capital, and it is not easy to meet each other. After thinking about it, Li Wen figured it out, why bother about such a moment, anyway They still have many days to be together.

"Then I'm leaving."

''Hmm0"

Zhao Xiangyi got on his horse, glanced at the boy, turned the horse's head and left. Li Wen stood there, looking at the man riding away, and sighed in his heart , after all, he still didn't want to let this person leave.

"Mu——"

The door was opened from behind him. As soon as Li Tong opened the door, he saw their young master standing at the door of the house, shouting, "Young master, how will you stand when you come back?" At the door, don't knock on the door to come in? Are you back? The young master has asked you no less than ten times since last night. "

If the eldest young master doesn't come back, the younger young master will be angry, Li Tong thought in his heart.

Seeing the man's clothes disappear around the corner, Li Wen looked away, turned to Li Tong, and walked into the house. As he walked, he said, "I understand, am I back now?

"Yes, yes, Master, just come back. " "It's because his young master always doesn't take him with him when he goes out," Li Tong muttered in his heart.

"Brother."

The people in the house heard the voices outside, and Li Haopeng ran out of the house and saw his brother coming back. He ran out of it, threw himself into his brother's arms, and shouted, "Brother, where have you been? Why did you come back?

"Boy, you are so old and you still walk recklessly all day long. What should you do if you fall? " "Li Wen caught the little kid who rushed towards him. He probably wasn't used to this place when he first arrived in the capital. He lost a little weight some time ago, but he recently got it back and seems to have gained a little weight.

This kid has gained weight every year. As he grows older, he becomes stronger and stronger, and he will be like an atomic bomb when he rushes over. In a few years, he may not be able to catch this kid.

Also, he can't walk very well, and even when he opens his legs, he has to run. What should I do if I fall?

Li Wen rubbed the kid's head, and Li Haopeng raised his head and called out "Brother" with a hint of begging for mercy

. After he let him go, he didn't want to blame the boy. He remembered that if he really got together with Zhao Xiangyi in the future, he would definitely not find a woman to get married

and have children. Fortunately, his mother gave him the child. A younger brother, so even if he doesn't marry a woman and have children, he still has younger brothers here. When the time comes, he can just let his younger brothers get married and have children, and the incense of their Li family will not be cut off with him,

but he just wants to . Being with a man would probably cause some trouble for his parents. Fortunately, he is only sixteen now, so he can still delay it for another three to five years on the grounds of his young age, and then these things will be over. Besides,

thinking about it is a headache, so Li Wen stopped thinking about it

. "Li Haopeng took his brother's hand with a smile on his face. He was not afraid of his brother at all.

Li Jinwan came out of the house and saw that her brother had just come back from outside. She snorted and said, "I went out to spend the night wandering. You still know how to come back. "

..." Li Liuyuan has not been back for the whole night. Everyone is asking for blame, or something? Who is the elder brother? No matter how big or small.

But remembering that he did go out for a night of wandering last night, Li Wen couldn't refute this. He knew Li Siya's temper, so he cleverly changed the subject and asked, "How is the business at the shop today?

"It's not that yet. " "The business of their shop is so good every day, but the business in the past few days has been even better.

When it comes to the business of the shop, Li Jinwan immediately forgets about her brother staying out at night and follows her brother After entering the room, the brother and sister sat down face to face. Li Jinwan kept talking about the business in the shop these days.

August 15th was the Mid-Autumn Festival, and Zhuangmeng Pavilion had launched a set of gifts a few days ago. The box contains a complete set of supplies, from rouge, gouache to perfume. The packaging is very exquisite and beautiful from the inside out. Naturally, it costs a lot of money to buy a set, but this gift box has been selling very well since it was launched. .

The most indispensable thing in the capital is the rich. Their high-end gift boxes are the favorites of some ladies and ladies. These women are most willing to spend money on themselves, whether they buy them for themselves or not. Whether you use it or buy it as a gift, it is a very valuable thing, so basically the gift boxes that Zhuangmeng Pavilion sells every day are sold out as soon as Zhuangmeng Pavilion opens, and the people at the back of the queue can't get it. Here we are.

Li Jinwan is obsessed with money now, and her daily calculations are rattling. At this point, she sighed a little and said, "It's a pity that I can only spend so much every day. If only I could spend more." How wonderful it would be!

Hearing what this girl said, Li Wen couldn't help but smile and said, "Just be content."

"How can you be content! Brother, think about it, these are all money." Li Jinwan glanced at She looked at her brother in surprise. He was a fool not to make money when he had money, right? But thinking of what her brother had said before, Li Jinwan also understood in her heart that they were all very visible now, and if they went too far, it would definitely lead to joint confrontation and resistance from everyone, which would be bad.

This is the capital, not Qingping Town, so they'd better keep a low profile.

Li Jinwan remembered something, reported the names of the two shops, and said to her brother, "Brother, they are counterfeiting our Zhuangmeng Pavilion perfume. I asked someone to buy a few bottles secretly and come back to see, there is no Our Zhuangmeng Pavilion is good, and I found that the smell is a bit similar to several of our perfumes. I suspect they bought our perfume and diluted it before selling it. "

This is indeed a troublesome thing, Dachengguo still said . There are no such things as branding and patent laws, so if others want to imitate their products, or even buy their products, dilute them and sell them, they really have nothing to do.

Li Wen thought for a while and then said, "If others want to imitate our Zhuangmeng Pavilion products, we can't stop them from doing so. Business is done by everyone together, and they must be able to do it better than us. Then It's their ability. So we still have to make our own products well, and you have to do the things you are responsible for and don't have any problems."

"This is why I ask you to launch two new products every month. As long as we continue to have new products coming out, even if others want to imitate our products, they will be products that came out after us. Many people bought our products in the past. If others come out later, they will definitely be used as a counterfeit. Comparison. Their products are not as good as ours. Over time, others will stop buying from them and come to us to buy our products. "

In fact, this is also a customer's loyalty to the brand. The main thing is their products. Only if they are good will they be recognized by customers, and customers will be willing to buy their products in the long term.

There are so many shops selling rouge and gouache in the capital, but few of them are really good at it. Their shop has only been open for a few days, and now their products are selling so hotly. It's only because others feel fresh about their products. Of course, their products are indeed good, and their marketing is strategic, not blind. sales, so we have the current results. But if they want to come from behind, they must do better than others all the time.

"Well, brother, I understand everything you said." Li Jinwan understood what her brother said and understood what was the key

. She nodded and said, "Brother, don't worry, I will definitely work hard to do our best." products."

Li Haopeng sat aside and listened to his brother and fourth sister discussing business, and he listened and learned at the same time.

They talked for a while and it was noon.

After lunch, Li Wen sat in the room for a while and felt very sleepy. He barely slept at all last night and woke up early, so he felt very sleepy. He said , "I went back to the house and lay down for a while. If you have nothing to do, you can go and sleep for a while. There is a night market outside tonight. Let's have dinner early in the afternoon. I will take you out to play outside later."

"Brother, it's really cool. Are you going to take us out to the night market at night?" Li Haopeng's eyes suddenly lit up when he heard his brother said he would take them out to the night market at night.

Li Jinwan heard her brother say that she would go out to the night market at night, and her interest immediately arose.

"Uh-huh, of course it's true. Is there anything left to cook? I'm going back to the house to sleep. If you have nothing to do, don't call me. You all should go back to the house and take a nap, so you can have the energy to play at night." Li Wenbiao He yawned and went back to the room where he slept.

As soon as he returned to the house, he lay down on the bed, his head hit the pillow, and he fell asleep in a short while.

Chapter 23: Visiting the night market,

the sun sets in the west, and the sun sets in the evening.

Li Wen didn't wake up until this moment, and he was still a little confused while sitting on the bed. Li Tong entered the room to help their young master get dressed, and said, "Young master, the young master has been waiting for you all afternoon. They are waiting for you to take him out shopping."

"It will be sooner or later, The night market outside hasn't started yet, so he wants to go shopping. Isn't it a little too early?" Li Wen couldn't help but laugh. It wasn't even dark yet, but the night market was going to be after dark. Just started, why are you going shopping so early?

When he went out of the house, he saw a boy sitting in the corridor outside reading a book, waiting for him.

"Brother, you're awake." As soon as Li Haopeng saw his brother, he showed a happy smile and threw the book in his hand away. Reading is fake, but waiting for his brother here is real.

Li Wen lightly hummed and asked, "Are you reading?"

Li Haopeng replied guiltily, "Yes."

Seeing the book thrown aside by the boy, Li Wen walked over, picked it up, took a look, and flipped through it. After a while, he casually asked a sentence and asked, "Tell me, what does this sentence in this book mean."

"Uh... it means, it means..." Li Haopeng frowned for a long time. , no one could answer.

What is it? He had clearly seen it just now, so why couldn't he remember it?

"You brat, you're so inattentive in studying, go back and take a good look at the book." Li Wen took the book and knocked the boy on the head. He didn't explain to the boy what the sentence meant, and asked him to go back and understand it on his own. "Next time I test you again, if you can't answer the question, don't blame me for not loving you."

Then you'll be able to eat the fried shredded pork with bamboo!

"Yes, brother, I know I was wrong. I will definitely read the book carefully when I go back. Brother, I know you love me the most." Li Haopeng's attitude in admitting his mistake was very positive and correct. He snatched the book from his brother's hand with one hand. He said goodbye to his brother, and without giving his brother a chance to test him, he took his brother's hand and said, "Brother, when can we go out for a walk?"

"Wait until dark." "Li Wen said nothing, clasped his hands behind his back, and walked forward.

"Isn't it getting dark soon? Li Haopeng muttered something. When he saw his brother walking away, he shouted, "Brother, wait for me. Why are you walking so fast?" "The busy man chased after him.

Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th, the day when the family reunites.

There is a sumptuous dinner on the table, and they sit down to have dinner together. This is the first time they have spent in the capital. Mid-Autumn Festival.

Although they can't go home to celebrate the festival with their parents and relatives at home, they can't ignore this kind of festival day. They still have to sit down and have a simple meal together.

Li Wen . He gave the two chicken drumsticks on a plate of chicken to his younger siblings and said, "Eat it." My brother is taking you outside, and I can't wrong you as a person celebrating the festival. From now on during the New Year and holidays, we can all sit together and have a meal together. We don't have many brothers and sisters in our family, so we all need to learn to care for each other.

"Well, Xiaopeng knows, thank you, brother. " "Li Haopeng missed his father and mother a little bit in his heart. He thought that his brother must have missed his father and mother more than he did after being alone outside for so many years. Therefore, this boy missed his father and mother in his heart and would not cry for help. After returning, the child knew that he came to the capital to study.

After all, the child left his parents' side and became more sensible when he went out.

"Brother, you can eat these chicken legs. There are other things on the table. I will eat the others." good. "Li Jinwan's eyes felt a little hot when she saw the extra big chicken drumsticks in the bowl. She wanted to give the drumsticks to her brother. She would just eat other dishes.

Her brother had been very kind to her since she was a child and gave her all the good things. She left one portion.

Li Wen blocked the bowl with his hand and refused to take it. He said, "You guys have finished eating. There are so many dishes on the table. We don't need to pick up a chicken leg. If it falls on the floor, you and I will eat it." No more. We have everything we want to eat now. If one chicken is not enough, we can ask Aunt Wu to kill one more next time.

"It's enough to kill one. We can't finish two. " "Li Jinwan heard her brother's words and

said with a smile on her face.

"Eat quickly, the food will be cold in a while. When you finish eating, I will take you out to play. "Li Wen knew that this girl had suffered so much since she was a child and was used to being thrifty. It was impossible for her to be lavish all of a sudden. It's not that this is not a bad thing. He just felt that she should be willing to spend money when it should be spent. They are so Working hard to make money is just to make money and spend it.

"Yes, brother, fourth sister, let's eat quickly. When we are full, let's go out and play." "As soon as Li Haopeng heard that his brother said that he would go out to play after finishing the meal, he grabbed the chicken leg and took a big bite. He handed the chicken leg to his brother's mouth and insisted on asking his brother to take a bite. "Brother, why don't you take a bite? , just took one bite, it was delicious. "

This kid has been thinking about his brother since he was a child. Why did his mother-in-law teach him

so well? Li Wen knew that this kid was stubborn and had no choice but to drool on the chicken legs. He took a bite from the other side and said, "Eat yours quickly and don't make a fuss.

"Yeah, brother, I'll be quick, and you'll be quick to eat too. " "Li Haopeng happily gnawed on the chicken legs and picked up the rice in the bowl. Seeing that the kid was eating so fast, Li Wen was worried that the kid was choking, so he said hurriedly, "Eat slowly, I won't let you eat too fast. Eat so quickly. "

Seeing the appearance of her third brother and sixth brother, Li Jinwan pursed her lips and smiled, with a smile in her eyes.

After they had dinner, the sun outside set, and it was not completely dark yet . Come down.

As soon as they finished eating, Li Haopeng pestered his brother to go shopping, "Brother, brother, let's go out. "His brother is busy on weekdays, and he also has to go to the academy to study. Finally, today his brother is at home and agreed to take them out to play. Li Haopeng couldn't wait to take his brother outside.

"Okay, okay, go, go, go . . "Li Wen was so disturbed that his brain was dizzy.

It was still a little early now, but Li Wen thought that they should go out early while the time is still available, go out early, and come back early. It is not safe to be outside too late. The security under the emperor's feet It may not be that good.

There will be lanterns in the city tonight, and it will be very lively outside.

Since everyone in the family is going out to play, they don't need to celebrate the moon at home

. Before going out, Li Wen asked Yingchun to get a few slings of copper coins and give each person two slings. The money was not much, but it was enough to buy snacks for everyone outside. You can buy whatever you want, but be careful not to get separated from everyone. Everyone is walking together.

If you get separated, don't be afraid if you are alone. You all know the way and follow it back. Remember it all?

"Brother, I remember. " "

"Young Master, we all remember it. "

"Okay, let's go. "

Generally, it is not a special period. There is no curfew in the city at night.

There is a temple in the west of the city. There is a temple fair there tonight. It is still a long way from where they live. It is not too far. They are walking Go over. Li Wen walked in front, accompanied by his younger brother and sister, followed by everyone.

When they reached the temple, the sky slowly turned dark.

There is a row of red lanterns hanging in front of the temple. There is a street in front of the temple. There are many small stalls on both sides of the street selling various snacks and gadgets.

When they arrived, there were already a lot of people here.

Seeing someone selling candied haws, Li Haopeng shouted to buy candied haws. Li Wen had no choice but to say, "Then you go and buy it. If you want to buy it, you have to buy one for everyone. You can't be the only one." One person eats it while everyone watches. "

"Okay, brother, just wait for me." Li Haopeng had some change in his pocket, so he ran to find someone to buy candied haws. He bought several bunches and divided them among each other.

"Thank you, young master."

"Then we're welcome."

The young master invited them to eat candied haws, and everyone accepted it with a smile.

Li Wen no longer had any interest in snacks like rock candy and cute reed, so he just held his in his hand without eating it. He is not really interested in shopping, but if his younger brothers and sisters want to go shopping, he, the older brother, can only accompany them to go shopping.

Compared to his lack of interest, Li Jinwan and several female relatives at home were very interested in shopping. They would go and take a look at everything they saw along the way. They got together and talked non-stop. A few men fell behind.

Sure enough, women all over the world like to go shopping. Li Wen shook his head in his heart and couldn't help but laugh.

"Brother, look at that rabbit lantern, it's so beautiful." Li Jinwan shouted.

There is a stall selling lanterns on the street. The little girl likes these cute little animals and can't take her eyes away when she sees them. When he heard the little girl say that the lanterns were beautiful, Li Wen knew that she wanted them, so he had to say, "Then go over and have a look."

A group of people stood in front of the stall for a while, and when they left, several people's hands were full of Li Jinwan was carrying a small lantern. Li Jinwan got her favorite little rabbit, and the two little girls who followed picked up a little fox.

Li Haopeng was holding a little tiger, and the child was holding his own lantern. Happy.

"Brother, this is beautiful, take it. "Li Jinwan didn't forget to pick one for her brother.

"..." Li Wen was forced to stuff a small lotus lantern by his sister. Since it was his sister's wish, he

had no choice but to take it.

Ah Chen followed. They didn't want it at noon, they didn't like this kind of thing.

They passed by the temple. The incense in this temple in the west of the city was very prosperous. On weekdays, many people went to this temple to offer incense. At this time, there were many people attending the temple fair. A few people went in to burn incense. Li Jinwan wanted to go in to burn incense, but Li Wen didn't want to go inside, so he said, "Then if you want to go in, you can go in. I'll wait here for you to come out." "

"good. "Li Jinwan handed her lantern to her brother and said, "Brother, you hold it for me, I'll go and go

." xls 〇

"Well, you go ahead, I'll hold it for you. Remember not to wander around, and come out after burning incense. "Li Wen was not too relieved and asked Ah Chen to go with him.

Li Jinwan took Yingchun and Magpie Wu to burn incense.

Several female relatives of the family went to the temple to burn incense. Those who did not go in were waiting in front of the temple for people to come out. The people who went in came out soon after. After everyone gathered together, they continued walking down the street, walking from the street to the end of the street.

When they saw the little brother opening his mouth and yawning, Li Wen knew this kid. The person is sleepy.

Li Wen put his arm around the child's shoulders, rubbed the child's chin, and said, "Are you sleepy? I don't ask you to take a nap at noon or stop sleeping. "This kid must have known that he was going out to play at night, so he was so excited that he couldn't sleep.

"Brother. "Li Haopeng held his brother with one hand. The child was still a little timid in a strange place, fearing that he would get lost. Li Wen held the child's hand with his backhand and asked, "Is there any place you want to visit? If not, we won't go shopping.

"Brother, I don't have anywhere else I want to go. " I think Xiaobao is sleepy, so let's go back. "Tonight is the first time since she has grown up that she has gone out to visit the night market at night. Li Jinwan is already very satisfied.

Seeing that her little brother is sleepy, she knows that they should go back and not continue to go shopping outside.

"That's good. , let's go back. If you want to go out for a walk, wait until you have time another day. "Li Wen put his hand on his younger brother's shoulder and held him in his arms, fearing that he wouldn't even know if he fell behind in a daze.

He was such a biological brother, and nothing would be better if he lost him, so he He wanted to keep an eye on his little brother. He couldn't explain it to his parents if he lost it.

Halfway through, the kid was so sleepy that his eyes closed. As an elder brother, he had to squat down and carry his little brother on his back. On the back.

"Master, let me carry the little master.

"No, I can do it. " "

After carrying the person all the way, Li Wen was so tired that he almost collapsed on the ground when he carried the person home and put him on the bed.

After being put on the bed, the child opened his eyes and took a look, then closed his eyes and continued to sleep.

"You brat, sleeping like a little piglet. "Li Wen asked someone to bring hot water over. He gently wiped the sleeping child's face, hands and feet, and took off the outer layer of clothes to make him sleep more comfortably.

He covered him with a quilt. He just went out.

"Brother, do you want to go out so late? "Hearing the door opening outside, Li Jinwan walked out of the house. Seeing that her brother was preparing to go out so late, she asked.

"Well, yes, I want to go out. I made an appointment with a friend and went out for a while and came back. "Li Wen was caught by his sister just as he was about to go out. When he saw the way his sister looked at him, he felt a little guilty, for fear that his sister would see something.

"Oh, really? Brother, you go early and come back early. "Li Jinwan frowned when she saw that her brother was going out so late. But when she heard her brother say that he had an appointment, she couldn't stop him from going out.

"Yeah, I understand. If you're sleepy, go to bed early and don't have to wait for me to come back?" Li Wen confessed and led the people out. Seeing her brother going out, Li Jinwan, who was standing behind, muttered in her heart and turned to herself. After leaving

the door, Li Wen reached out and touched his heart and said, "Let's go. "

"Drive_"

Ah Chen, who was sitting in front and driving the carriage, pulled the horse's rope, and the horse started running, and the four axles of the carriage rotated.

Chapter 24 Palace Feast

Before it got dark, carriages arrived one after another in front of the palace gate.

A Mid-Autumn Festival banquet will be held in the palace tonight. Ministers of the fourth rank and above can bring their wives and family members into the palace to attend the banquet. When the carriage arrives in front of the palace gate, everyone must get off the carriage and be inspected by the guards in front of the palace gate before they can enter the palace on foot.

The ladies of the royal family, all dressed up in costumes, stand proudly beside their husbands. They bring their children and daughters to accompany their husbands to the banquets in the palace. These ladies are all honored by this. These wives know very well that no matter how favored the concubines in the backyard are by their husbands, they will never be qualified to appear in this place, and the children they give birth to will always be just concubines and concubines, and they are all unworthy. Countertop stuff.

Before nightfall, these ministers brought their wives and children to the palace. Several princes appeared one after another, receiving greetings from everyone and the admiring looks of some women.

The wives of these ministers brought their unmarried daughters into the palace, hoping that one of the nobles in the palace would like their daughter and bring her into the palace. Even if it was to be a concubine, it would be better than marrying into an ordinary family.

"Have you often interacted with Li Liuyuan recently?" Zhao Xiangyi walked beside the prince, and Yang Shaomu asked his companion if he had often interacted with Li Liuyuan recently.

Zhao Xiangyi had no expression on his face and said lightly, "We met twice."

"How is he working as an errand in the Hanlin Academy?" Yang Shaomu asked.

"It's okay." Zhao Xiangyi said.

The two people walked on the corridor, followed by the palace attendants.

After several princes arrived, Prince Yang Shaomu showed up with people, and Zhao Xiangyi followed the prince.

Before the emperor and the empress appeared, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had the highest status here. Everyone had to salute when they saw the prince, even Yang Shaoyong, the eldest prince, was no exception when he saw the prince.

"I have met His Highness the Crown Prince." The eldest prince Yang Shaoyong said to the Crown Prince.

"Brother Emperor." Although Yang Shaomu is the prince, because he ranks second among the brothers, there is Yang Shaoyong above him, so when he sees his brother, Yang Shaomu has to politely call him "Brother". Call the emperor brother. Otherwise, others would label him as "disrespecting his elder brother", and it would be very annoying for the imperial censor to use the topic to his advantage.

"My brother has met His Highness the Crown Prince." Several princes saluted the Crown Prince one after another.

"Three Emperors, Four Emperors, and Sixth Emperors, you all don't have to be polite." Yang Shaomu raised his hand to tell the brothers not to be polite.

No matter how noisy the brothers are in private on weekdays, now they have to show off in front of these ministers, and everyone looks like brothers and sisters.

"We have met the eldest prince, the third prince, the fourth prince and the sixth prince." Zhao Xiangyi saluted several princes.

The eldest prince looked at Zhao Xiangyi condescendingly, his eyes were not very friendly. Yang Shaoyong is an impulsive, cruel and open-minded person. Small people. He always thought that it was Zhao Xiangyi who chose the prince, and that the Zhao family would side with the prince. If Zhao Xiangyi had been his companion, then the Zhao family would be supporting him now.

Seeing that the eldest prince was silent, the third prince Yang Shaokang was silent as well, looking like he was watching a good show.

Yang Shaojian glanced at the eldest prince and the third prince, smiled and said to Zhao Xiangyi, "You don't have to be polite, General Zhao. Please get up."

"Yes." Zhao Xiangyi withdrew his hand and stood behind the prince.

Yang Shaomu still had a smile on his face, but when he looked at Yang Shaoyong, his eyes were full of displeasure. The so-called beating of a dog depends on the owner. This slap on his companion's face is the face of his master. .

The eyes of the two brothers met. Yang Shaoyong felt very unhappy since he saw that the prince arrived after them and put on such a big show. He said, "The prince is so close from the East Palace to here. Prince, come here." It's actually later than all of us. "

Are the emperor and the queen still behind? Why don't you dare to say that they arrived later than everyone else?

Of course, Yang Shaomu would not say these words. If he wanted to say these words, it would be treacherous. The smile on Yang Shaomu's face did not change, and he said, "This is not the case anymore. Gu Gang has something to do, so he arrived a little late. Please forgive me, brother and brothers."

In fact, he It's not considered late. After all, his father and mother have not arrived yet, so his arrival now is not considered late.

It's just that he was the last one among the brothers to arrive. The eldest prince insisted on this fact and insisted on saying that he was late.

"No, no, the prince is late because he has something to do. I can understand it, and I believe the eldest brother is the same." The fourth prince, Yang Shaojian, looked like a good old man. He was the peacemaker among the brothers, and The prince's relationship has always been good.

After hearing what Yang Shaojian said, the eldest prince almost didn't want to sneer at him. Who understands it as well as you!

The third prince, Yang Shaokang, smiled and nodded. In fact, he was scolding Yang Shaoyong for being stupid in his heart. Having Yang Shaoyong in front of him also saved him some effort. Of course, he would not help the eldest prince.

In such a short period of time, there was another move between several princes.

"Everyone, please stop standing. Please sit down." Yang Shaomu smiled, waved his hand, and asked everyone to sit down. He did not care about the eldest prince.

"Yes, thank you, His Highness the Crown Prince."

"Thank you, second brother."

Prince Yang Shaomu has been kind-hearted and gentle since he was a child. The veterans in the court have always been very supportive of the prince. As long as the prince does not do anything wrong, the court will These veterans will support the prince. Yang Shaomu himself understood this, so even if he had acted low-key in the past and allowed these brothers to overpower him, as long as he was alive, these brothers would have no chance of sitting on the position of prince.

The two vacant seats in the upper seat are for the emperor and the empress. The prince's seat is below the emperor. The seats below the prince are arranged in the order of several princes.

Zhao Xiangyi's seat was arranged in the row behind the prince, and he sat in his seat.

"The Emperor is here - the Queen is here -" a high-pitched voice shouted.

Emperor Zhaozong arrived with the queen and concubines in the harem.

Emperor Zhaozong had a smile on his face, and he didn't know who had made the emperor happy just now. Several noble concubines followed the queen, and Concubine Dong, who was most favored by the emperor, followed on the other side of the emperor.

Everyone knelt down one after another and shouted in unison, "Long live the emperor, long live the emperor -" "The

queen is a thousand years old, a thousand years old -"

"I have met my father, and I have met my mother."

"I have met my father, I've seen the queen."

"All my dears, please get down." Emperor Zhaozong walked to the center and sat on the dragon chair. The queen followed the emperor and the concubines in the palace could only sit below. The emperor waved his hand and asked the princes and ministers to sit down.

The moon rises slowly from the east and hangs in the sky, big and round.

Tonight is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and it is indispensable to worship the moon in the palace. The emperor took the queen to worship the moon, holding cigarettes in hand, worshiping the moon in the sky, praying to the moon god to bless the people of Dacheng, and praying for good weather and a good harvest.

After the moon worship ceremony was over, tonight's palace feast officially began.

The splendid palace, the palace lanterns were lit as bright as day, fine wine and delicacies were served by the palace servants, silk and bamboo orchestras played in unison, and beauties were dancing. Tonight, the emperor is having fun with his ministers and invites them to drink together.

"Okay, okay." Emperor Zhaozong clapped his hands, waved his hand and said, "There is a reward."

The ministers below also echoed, and they all clapped their hands and applauded.

On such a special day, the Queen Mother, who was eating fast and chanting Buddha in Cining Palace, could not appear in front of everyone.

"Get out!"

There was the sound of smashing things in Cining Palace, and an old and hoarse voice came from inside. The palace maid was like a frightened bird, and she hurriedly confessed, "The Queen Mother, please forgive me, the Queen Mother, please spare your life..." The palace maid rolled around. He crawled and ran outside.

The Queen Mother, dressed in gorgeous clothes and wearing a gold and silver hairpin, was sitting in a dark room. A bunch of moonlight came in from the window and hit the center of the room.

The old man sitting in the darkness had a cold look in his eyes, as if he were a poisonous snake in the night, sitting here waiting for his prey.

"Master, why do you need to be as knowledgeable as a little maid? You are not worth it if you are so angry that your health is ruined." The young lady who was waiting beside the Queen Mother comforted the angry master. The old palace maid naturally knew that her master was really angry. reason.

The Queen Mother sat there silently, making people wonder what she was thinking.

In these years, no one in the palace dared to mention the Queen Mother in front of the emperor, as if the Queen Mother had been forgotten in the harem.

Zhao Xiangyi sat behind the prince. He had followed his mother into the palace since he was a child and had participated in various banquets in the palace. He had never seen anything. He was not interested in the singing and dancing performances in front of him. He picked up the wine glass on the table and took a sip of the wine before putting the glass down.

After tasting better wine, the drinks in the palace tasted boring.

Sitting here watching the show, he might as well go out of the palace to accompany his boy to the night market. He didn't know if his boy was waiting for him at the agreed place. Zhao Xiangyi felt a little too late, and all he could think about was his boy. .

"My son, I would like to propose a toast to my father. I wish you happiness, longevity, and a happy family." The eldest prince stood up

and toasted the emperor.

"Okay." Emperor Zhaozong smiled and nodded.

"My son, I would also like to toast my father. I wish him good health and all his wishes come true." The prince then stood up, holding the wine glass in both hands, and toasted to the emperor. The princes at the back stood up one after another to toast the emperor. Emperor Zhaozong looked at these sons with a smile in his eyes. Each of them was their hope for success.

Afterwards, the ministers also stood up to toast the emperor. Emperor Zhaozong became a little drunk after drinking a few glasses of wine. Seeing that the emperor was a bit drunk, the queen approached the emperor's ear and asked, "Your Majesty, your health is important. You should drink less of this wine. You will have a headache and feel uncomfortable when you drink too much. Your Majesty, why don't you, my concubine?" I'll go back with you and rest later."

"Empress, you still care about me." Emperor Zhaozong and the empress were a young couple, and the empress had been by his side for decades. The emperor was not unintentional, so he naturally heard about the empress. The concern for him in the words.

"This is what I should do as a concubine." The queen lowered her head and said.

"I'm tired. The queen and I go to the back. Here you can drink slowly and enjoy the performance." Emperor Zhaozong stood up. The queen reached out to help the emperor, and Emperor Zhaozong reached out and grabbed the queen's hand.

Concubine Dong Guifei below saw the emperor grabbing the queen's hand, and her face turned green with anger.

"My son, I will respectfully see off the Emperor and the Queen."

Everyone stood up and respectfully saw off the Emperor and the Queen.

As soon as the emperor and queen left, Concubine Dong Guifei also followed them with an angry look on her face.

After knowing that the emperor had gone to the queen's place tonight, Concubine Dong angrily smashed a precious vase in the palace and slapped the serving maid twice on the face. The maids and eunuchs in the room knelt on the floor.

"Your Highness, if I have anything else to do, I'll leave first." After the emperor and the queen left, Zhao Xiangyi couldn't sit still and asked the prince to leave in advance.

"Well, if you have anything to do, please leave first."

Yang Shaomu knew that Zhao Xiangyi did not like these banquets in the palace, so he did not force Zhao Xiangyi to stay in the palace. However, as a prince, after his father and mother left, he, the prince, had to stay and host the banquet, so he couldn't leave for a while, so he had to let Zhao Xiangyi leave first.

"I excuse myself." Zhao Xiangyi saluted the prince, raised his head and saw his mother sitting opposite. He nodded to her, turned around and left.

Mrs. Zhao, who was sitting next to the female family members, saw her son leaving. Mrs. Zhao waved, and the maid who was waiting beside her stood beside her. Mrs. Zhao gave an order, and the maid responded "Yes", and then she Withdrew.

Coming out of the palace, outside the palace were his guards waiting for him holding a horse. Zhao Xiangyi pulled his horse, turned over and said, "Let's go."

"Yes." The guards behind him responded and followed them. Behind the master.

Several people rode away.

"Slightly -"

At night, two young eunuchs dragged the body of a palace maid who was killed with a stick. The young eunuchs tied a big stone at the feet of the body, and threw the body and the stone together into the deep well in the cold palace.

The body made a thud when thrown into the water, causing a few drops of water to splash.

"If you want to blame, just blame your own misfortune. It's none of our business. Every wrong has its owner, and every debt has its own owner. If you want to find someone to blame, don't come to us. We are just following orders, and we can't help ourselves..." A young eunuch There are words in his mouth.

"Let's go quickly, we have to go back to our aunt to recover." Another eunuch pulled the little eunuch, and the two little eunuchs left quickly.

"Oh."

The two eunuchs ran away as if there were ghosts chasing them.

It is just a common thing for one or two palace maids and eunuchs to die in this deep palace. No one will hold anything accountable for the absence of such a person in the palace. Even the palace maids and eunuchs who noticed that there was one missing person did not dare to say anything. What, everyone who works in this palace must be careful, otherwise they themselves will be the next to disappear.

At night, the corpse in the deep well sank to the bottom, and another human life sadly disappeared into this cannibal palace...

Chapter

25: Moon on Willow Tops. On a moonlit night, the moon hanging in the sky is big and round.

The Jinwei River is the outer moat of the capital city. The water from the river flows into the city, forming a moat. A pontoon bridge was built at the entrance, which was heavily guarded. Nowadays, the Jinwei River is a bustling place, surrounded by restaurants, shops and shops. Many vendors do business here, and various boats are parked along the river.

Among them, flower boats are a major feature on the Jinwei River. There are various flower boats of different sizes on the river. On the boats are beautifully dressed girls and young men wearing silks and satins with precious jade hanging on their waists. Groups went on flower boats to drink together.

There were string and bamboo music and bursts of laughter coming from the boat.

The young man standing on the arch bridge was still holding the small lantern that his little sister had given him, with a small light burning inside. He stood on the bridge for a while, and Li Wen sat on the bridge base, looking up at the bright moon in the sky, "The moon is so round tonight."

He thought of his relatives far away in his hometown, and of those who were in Nanyang. Teacher, I don't know how good they are. Do you think of him here at night? They will definitely miss him, he thought to himself.

In the early autumn night, the wind blew a bit cold.

"I don't know when he will come." The banquet in the palace didn't know when it would end. Li Wen was thinking about that man. He thought about him and Zhao Xiangyi. This was his first time in love. He fell in love with a person, and when he thought of this person, he no longer felt cold, but felt warm inside.

Maybe this is what falling in love feels like? When he thought of the word "love", he felt a sense of shame in his heart, but it was also a little sweet. He originally thought it was just his unrequited love, but later he found out that the man actually also liked him, so the two of them got together naturally. Maybe they were drunk in the middle, which was why the two of them slept together.

The two people turned from friends to lovers. Li Wen did not reject this change in the relationship, but felt that they should be like this.

Later, he calmed down and thought about the question of when he fell in love with Zhao Xiangyi. Maybe he gradually developed a liking for that person without even noticing it, and that's what happened next.

When the two of them got together, the man who was always untouchable gave him a real touch. Probably only after people are truly together can they understand each other better, thus making the fantasy become reality. In fact, the other person is just an ordinary person like him, so he doesn't think that man has anything. There is no sense of distance, but I really like being with him.

When Zhao Xiangyi arrived, he saw the young man sitting on the bridge waiting for him.

Standing down from his horse, Zhao Xiangyi handed the horse to the guards behind him, told people to wait for him here, and then he went up to the bridge. The young man sitting there with his head lowered didn't know what he was thinking. Even Zhao Xiangyi stood beside him, and the young man didn't even notice him.

"Have you been waiting for me for a long time?" Zhao Xiangyi asked aloud.

"Ah!" Li Wen turned his head subconsciously. He even forgot that he was sitting on a bridge. He moved so hard that he almost fell off the boat. Fortunately, Zhao Xiangyi reached out and caught him in time. Both of them were startled. Zhao Xiangyi pulled the person down from above and asked, "Why are you sitting on top? What if you fall? I was scared just now." Are you okay?"

"Haha, don't worry, I can swim. If I fall, I will swim to the shore." Li Wen was still in the mood to joke. Seeing the self-blaming look on the man's face, he said, "You didn't scare me. " Yes, I was so absorbed in thinking that I forgot that I was sitting on a bridge. I

'd better not sit in a dangerous place in the future. I'll be worried about you. It won't be good if you fall." He was still a little frightened. The young man's almost falling action had frightened him.

"Oh, I know, I won't do it again." Li Wen saw the man's worried look and knew that he had scared him, so he had to say obediently. He asked, "Is the banquet in the palace over?"

"Not yet. After the emperor and queen left, I told the prince and came out of the palace to find you." Zhao Xiangyi reached out and held the young man's hand. The boy's hand was a little cold. It was obvious that the boy had been waiting for him here for a while, which made him feel a little guilty, "I'm sorry for making you wait for me for so long."

He wanted to kiss the boy's hand, But there were still people standing on both sides. They were standing on the bridge, and it wouldn't be good if anyone saw them, so he restrained himself and did not make any intimate moves with the boy.

"It's okay, it doesn't take long to wait. It's fine for me to enjoy the scenery here alone. The scenery here is pretty good." Li Wen chuckled.

It was said that this was their first date.

The other party came a little late because he had something to do, and he actually didn't mind waiting here for the other party. After all, they are both men. If the two of them want to be together, they can't always lose their temper over trivial things. In that

case, the two of them won't get along for too long and they will let go.

"Brother Zhao, let's go. I rented a small boat and the boatman is still waiting for us below." There are many big boats on the Jinwei River, but most of them are flower boats. Two people can't go on a date. Going to see a girl on a flower boat to drink wine would be a big deal, so Li Wen had no choice but to rent a small boat. After a while, they would take a boat trip on the river and drink wine on it, which was a little fun.

Li Wen grabbed Zhao Xiangyi's hand with his backhand and pulled him down.

There was a small boat waiting for them by the river, with a boatman holding the pole on the bow. The two people boarded the boat and took no one else with them.

"Master, let's go." Li Wen shouted. The boatman rowed the pole and the boat slowly slid in the water.

There was a small table in the boat, and a small pot of wine was placed on the table. Li Wen had prepared it in advance. He picked up the wine pot, poured a glass of wine for the two of them, and asked, "Tonight's banquet in the palace." "Fengfeng, have you been drinking in the palace?"

The reason why Li Wen asked this was because he was worried that Zhao Xiangyi drank too much in the palace, although he knew that this man had a good drinking capacity, and he should not be drunk after a few glasses of wine. his. But he thought that Zhao Xiangyi drank too much in the palace, so they would just have a small glass and stop drinking.

Although the two of them often go out to drink, they don't always get drunk. Only a few times, when Xie Yunfei and his group are around, he will get drunk. If he was just with Zhao Xiangyi,

this man would not deliberately get him drunk, and he would not allow him to drink too much, so the two of them still had a certain level of drunkenness.

Wine, a small cup of wine is a small pleasure in life, but drinking too much is poison.

"I took a small sip, but I didn't drink a lot." Zhao Xiangyi didn't drink much wine in the palace. Seeing that the young man was curious, he thought for a while and said, "The banquet in the palace is just ordinary, there is nothing good or bad about it. It's better to be with you." Let's have a drink here."

Li Wen felt very happy when he heard the man's words and smiled on his face.

The two of them were sitting across a small table. Zhao Xiangyi looked at the smiling boy and felt a little unspeakable in his heart. The boy's hand was placed on the table. He reached out to hold the boy's hand, rubbing the back of the boy's hand back and forth with his thumb.

The man's hands had a lot of rough calluses, but Li Wen's hands had never done any rough work since he was a child. They had fine skin and tender flesh, and were white and tender. They were naturally particularly soft to the touch. But the man touched his hand with his calloused hand, which made him feel itchy, so Li Wen smiled and tried to pull his hand away.

Seeing that the man was holding his hand and refusing to let go, Li Wen glared at the man and said, "Let me go, I'm ticklish.

Zhao Xiangyi had no choice but to let go of the boy's hand, and Li Wen quickly pulled his hand back.

Tonight, there are many boats and flower girls on the Jinwei River. The lights on the flower boats are all lit up, illuminating half of the river as bright as day. Their boat did not get close to the flower boat over there. The boatman was rowing not far away and did not notice their side.

The two of them were drinking and chatting. Li Wen was mostly talking, while the man opposite was listening and would reply to him from time to time. Although the relationship between the two people has changed, the way they get along seems to have not changed much.

The biggest change is probably that the way they look at each other is a little different.

Zhao Xiangyi restrained himself from getting close to his boy, even though he wanted to hold the boy sitting opposite him talking to himself and smiling happily in his arms. He also knew rationally that they were outside. The young man opposite him was the number one scholar who was personally conferred by the emperor, and he was the first Liu Yuan Lang in their dacheng. If outsiders knew that Li Liuyuan was having an affair with a man, the reputation of the young man would be bad. .

The man's first thought was the boy's reputation, not himself.

"You have to go to the Hanlin Academy as an errand tomorrow morning, let's go back." Zhao Xiangyi was worried that it was too late, and the young man had to get up tomorrow morning to go to the Hanlin Academy as an errand. He would be too tired to get up early, and he felt reluctant to let go.

"Okay, then let's go back." Li Wen nodded. He knew that Zhao Xiangyi got up very early every day to practice martial arts, so it was good for them to go back early. It was actually not too early now.

The moon is rising higher and higher, and it is a bit late.

The sound of silk and bamboo orchestras on the flower boat did not stop, and the guests on the boat were still drinking, but this had nothing to do with them. Zhao Xiangyi asked the boatman to turn around and go back. Li Wen was actually a person who liked the excitement. He saw the illuminated flower boat over there and said, "Next time, why don't we go on that boat to have a look?"

"You want to go? Zhao Xiangyi raised his eyebrows and asked.

Li Wen still wanted to say that he was joking, but he heard the man say, "Okay, if you want to go, I will take you there next time.

" "Have you been there?" "After Li Wenwen asked, he felt that it was a bit inappropriate to ask the other party. It was like he was asking his man whether he had ever been to the flower boat to find a girl, or even did something else. But When he thought about that possibility, he actually didn't like it a bit.

Zhao Xiangyi looked at the young man in front of him, as if he knew what the young man was thinking. He looked at the young man and said seriously, "I have been there, but. Not what you think. Before you, I had no one else, and after you, there will be no one else. "

"Um. "For some reason, when Li Wen heard the man's words, his heart suddenly felt like it was exploding. His whole body became excited and a smile appeared on his face.

Chapter 26 The love

boat docked. Zhao Xiangyi got off the boat first and stretched out his hand to the young man, motioning him to come up. Li Wen put his hand on the man's hand, held the man's hand and jumped onto the shore. He turned back and thanked the boatman.

The boatman replied, "You two gentlemen, go slowly." He pushed the boat and left.

"Master." Li Tong waited for their young master on the shore until he almost fell asleep. Seeing their young master and Mr. Zhao coming back together, he immediately woke up, went to greet their young master, and shouted "Mr. Zhao

" Well, let's go back. "Li Wen said.

"I'll take you back. "Zhao Xiangyi said to the young man, "It's cold at night, so I'll ride in the carriage with you."

"Oh, okay. "Li Wen glanced at the man and his heart skipped a beat. He was afraid that the people next to him would see something. He pretended to be calm and got on the carriage. Zhao Xiangyi stretched out his hand to help the young man and followed him up. His The man followed behind on horseback.

"Drive_"

The carriage started running.

The two people sat in the carriage. There was not much space inside the carriage. Li Wen could touch the man's long legs with the corner of his eyes. Zhao Xiangyi glanced at the serious man sitting next to him and deliberately touched the other man's thigh with his thigh. With a smile in his eyes, Zhao Xiangyi said, "Don't move. "

Li Wen noticed the flash of smile in the man's eyes. He was not afraid of this man at all. In the past, he felt that this man was unattainable. But now after being with him, he no longer felt that this man was unapproachable to you. On the contrary, he was I wanted to get closer to him.

The two of them sat together. Zhao Xiangyi looked at the naughty smile on the young man's face and couldn't help but reach out to touch the young man's face. The young man's skin was so smooth that he couldn't bear to let go. Looking at the man, his heartbeat was beating for a moment. The two people looked at each other. Zhao Xiangyi lowered his head, his lips fell on the young man's lips, his hands clasped the young man's waist, brought the man into his arms, and kissed his young man wantonly.

The two people's lips and teeth met. This was a very beautiful experience for Li Wen. He liked kissing this man. 3 Zhao Xiangyi put his hand on the young man's lower back and caressed it. He wanted to embed this young man into his body, and He melted into one.

After the kiss, the two still hugged each other, and the temperature in the car continued to rise.

Li Wen sat in the man's arms, and his hot breath hit the back of his ears, giving him goosebumps. The sound of each other's breathing was infinitely amplified in the small space, because of this kiss, both of their bodies reacted,

"We're here, get out of the car. "Zhao Xiangyi's voice was a little hoarse and restrained. From the moment he saw the boy throughout the night, he wanted to hold the boy in his arms and kiss him. Unfortunately, the hug was too short.

In the past, Zhao Xiangyi always thought that he was a A cold-hearted person, he has never had such passionate love and affection for someone, and such a strong desire to own someone. But he knows that this is not the time, and they still have to maintain their behavior in front of others. He had to restrain his feelings for the boy.

As soon as the man's voice fell, the carriage stopped.

Li Wen suddenly woke up. Thinking of his infatuation with this man, his face suddenly turned red. He hurriedly stopped. The man came out of his arms. At this time, Li Tong's voice sounded outside, "Master, we are home.

"Yes, I understand." Li Wen responded.

The journey back seemed to be very fast. He came back so quickly. He also hoped that the journey could be longer so that the two of them could get along for a longer time. Unfortunately, things went against his will.

The carriage stopped in front of the small courtyard. Zhao Xiangyi tidied the young man's clothes, and the two of them got out of the carriage.

The boy's lips were a little red and swollen, but fortunately it was dark and no one around him would notice him. Li Wen bit his lips, his face was still hot, and he knew that his face must be red. Zhao Xiangyi looked at the young man in front of him and said in a low voice, "I will send you here. I'm going back."

"Well, okay, you go back and be careful on the way." Li Wen was actually a little reluctant to let Zhao Xiangyi go. But he couldn't let this man stay at his place overnight, so he had no choice but to let him go back.

"Okay."

Zhao Xiangyi got on the horse, looked back at the boy, and then rode away. Li Wen stood behind and watched the man disappear on horseback around the corner. He felt a little depressed and said to Li Tong and Ah Chen, "Let's go in."

"Yes, Master." Li Tong followed their home. The young master entered the door behind him, and A Wu, who was waiting by the door, closed the door.

When they returned, the rest of the family was asleep.

Li Wen was not in the mood to go to Li Haopeng's room to see if the child was sleeping well or kicking the quilt, so he went back to his room.

Li Tong came over to fetch water and wash his young master's face. There was a light in the room. At this moment, Li Tong saw that the corners of his young master's mouth were a little red. He felt a little strange and asked, "Master, why are the corners of your mouth a little red?" "Did a mosquito bite you?"

"Sigh..." Just as Li Wen took a sip of water, it spurted out. The water stuck in his throat, and he couldn't help coughing. Cough..."

"Master, why are you so careless when drinking water, and you even hurt yourself?" Li Tong quickly put down the silk in his hand and went over to carry it to his young master. Li Wen pushed Li Tong's hand away and said, "I'm fine."

After wiping his face and hands, Li Wen let Li Tong go out.

Standing at the door, Li Tong was still thinking that their young master was a little strange tonight. He scratched his head, but he didn't quite understand what was wrong with his young master. Then he stopped thinking about it, poured the water in the basin, and went back to the house. Went to bed.

Only when he learned about the relationship between his young master and Mr. Zhao later, and then recalled what happened today, did this slow-minded young man understand what was going on.

Returning to the house where he lived, Li Tong opened the door and went in.

There was a couch by the window. The person lying on the couch heard the door open. Xiaoyue rolled up the quilt and sat up, asking, "You and the young master have gone out and come back."

"Well, the young master and I have come back. "Xiaoyue, you haven't slept yet?" Li Tong yawned. He lives in the same house as Xiaoyue, but Xiaoyue refuses to sleep on the same bed with him, so he made a couch by the window. To sleep, he has given up calling Xiaoyue to go to bed and sleep with him now.

But it's getting cold today, and it will be very cold when he sleeps by the window.

Xiaoyue responded vaguely and said, "Just come back and go to bed early."

"Oh, you go to bed early too." Li Tong didn't know why, so he climbed into bed and covered himself with a quilt and fell asleep.

Xiaoyue raised her head and glanced at the person sleeping on the bed, then lay down and wrapped herself in the quilt, with a little guarded look on her face. Listening carefully to the sounds over there, she didn't relax until she heard the even breathing of the person on the bed, knowing that the person was asleep.

Since following the young master, she no longer has to live on the streets and do deception and deception with others on the street. The life now was so good that she felt like it was a dream, but at the same time she was afraid in her heart. If the young master knew that she had lied to him, would he drive her away. The young master is always being served by Li Tong. She is currently serving the young master by his side, but in fact she wants to be served by the eldest master's side.

Thinking of this, the little girl sighed slightly.

The palace banquet in the palace was over, and the ministers who went to the palace to attend the banquet took their wives and children home in carriages. Carriages picked up people in front of the palace gate and went back to the various mansions.

The moon hangs in the sky, the temple fair on West Street has ended, there are no pedestrians on the street, the vendors have packed up their things and gone back, and the streets are deserted. The lights on the flower boats on the Jinwei River were still on, and the string and bamboo orchestral music on the boats had stopped. The drunk young men and young men were sent home by their servants, and some stayed in the girls' beds.

The watchmen were working in the street at night. One person was playing the gong, the other was banging the clapper, and they were working together, "Tuk-tuk...bang-bang..."

"It's dry and dry, be careful of the candle..."

"Close the doors and windows..." ...Watch out for thieves..."

"Boom--boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! "

After a night's watch, the sleepy watchman packed up his things and went back to sleep.

After the fifth watch, it was not long before dawn. The emperor got up under the service of the palace servants, and all the ministers were sitting at this time. He hurried out in a small sedan chair and went to the Meridian Gate to wait to enter the palace and go to the morning court.

"Oh..."

Not long after, there was the sound of a rooster crowing outside.

Li Wen woke up when he heard the crow of roosters. He raised his hand and put it on his forehead. He had had a dream all night last night and when he woke up now, he didn't want to get up at all. "Knock knock--" There was a knock on the door outside. At this time every day, Li Tong would call him softly outside the door on time, "Master, it's time to get up^"

"Well, come in." Li Wen responded, Get up from bed.

After washing up and getting dressed, Li Wen went out of the house. He felt a chill when he woke up in the morning. It was getting colder and colder today. In the morning, he sent their child to the academy to study. On the way, he bought two steamed buns for the child to eat. He also took a few steamed buns to eat and headed to the Hanlin Academy.

After returning for a long time, most of the people in the Imperial Academy were yawning all morning.

Fortunately, the job here at the Hanlin Academy is a sinecure, and the work you do is not too important, so no one will care if you are lazy occasionally. After squinting for a while in the morning, Li Wen finally felt his mind clearing up. Recently, he had nothing to do,

so he started to draw little figures in the Hanlin Academy.

It was a comic that he had studied for several years when he was in middle school in his previous life. Later, when he was in his third year of high school, he was busy with the college entrance examination and put it aside. At that time, he also wanted to be a cartoonist or something when he grew up, but later he lost interest for some reason. When he was a child, he was only interested in many things, but once the enthusiasm passed, he lost interest. So I didn't have much insistence on anything.

So now that I think about it, he started to pick it up again. At first, the painting was a bit awkward, but later he gradually regained some feeling.

The story was simply conceived, using the background of the Three Kingdoms, but he incorporated the character of Emperor Chengwu, the founding emperor of their country, so the protagonist of this story is Emperor Chengwu, who is surrounded by some Ministers, these civil servants and military generals are all heroes who assisted the emperor in conquering the country. Of course, beauties are also indispensable.

Before starting, he briefly outlines the characters and story.

When he started writing this story, Li Wen didn't think too much. He just used it to pass the time. Anyway, he was idle. What they were doing now was compiling history. Those history books were so boring that he couldn't even read them for a long time. He found it boring, and ordinary people were even less interested in reading such classics and literature books, so he thought of a comic that was more popular with everyone, that is, a little book that everyone in future generations would have.

So while working at the Hanlin Academy, Li Wen started his other side business here, drawing little figures.

Chapter 27 asked

, "This matter will be postponed for further discussion. Retreat from the court."

"Retreat from the court -"

"I will send you to the emperor respectfully."

After leaving the court, the emperor returned to the imperial study. Several important ministers and The princes followed him to the imperial study room. This morning, when the matter of the foreign envoy's arrival in the near future was brought up in court, the civil servants and generals held different opinions, and the quarrel lasted all morning, which made the emperor's head hurt.

The emperor had been quarreling for a long time in the morning, but naturally no countermeasures came out. The emperor had long been used to this.

Returning to the imperial study at this moment, Emperor Zhaozong asked, "What do you think about this matter?"

No one in the imperial study spoke for a while, and everyone bowed their heads and remained silent.

Emperor Zhaozong glanced at everyone, with a look of displeasure on his face, snorted and said, "Why are you asking me now, all of you are silent? Didn't everyone talk a lot in the morning meeting?"

According to previous years. The purpose of his visit was nothing more than one, to come to their Dacheng to enjoy the autumn breeze, to cry out for poverty with him, the emperor of Dacheng, to ask for money and grain from him, the emperor, and every year he would bring carts and carts of grain back. There is drought in many places in Dacheng this year. Now that their own people in Dacheng have no enough food to eat, how can they get so much food to give to others?

Therefore, Emperor Zhaozong felt very unhappy when he mentioned that foreign envoys were coming.

But he is the emperor, and he also wants to save face, and his actions should not make him appear to be too stingy as the emperor. Envoys from neighboring countries came all the way to ask the emperor to borrow some silver and grain. He, the emperor, couldn't say he didn't have any, right? So this doesn't work either. You can't refuse it right away. You have to find an excuse.

The emperor couldn't find a good excuse, so it was up to the ministers to figure out how to deal with it.

"Prince, how about you tell me this?" Emperor Zhaozong opened his mouth and called the prince's name.

"Yes, Father." Yang Shaomu took a step forward, cupped his hands and said, "Father, I think that if there are guests coming from afar, we Dacheng will naturally welcome them and arrange and receive them according to etiquette. As for why they came, we still have to wait until they arrive to figure out how to deal with it based on the purpose of their arrival. "

According to the spies, the Hu people outside the pass are ready to move, and the neighboring countries are not too safe. points, so this time the foreign envoy is coming to Dacheng, I am afraid that the purpose will not be too simple.

There have been several conflicts there this year, but they were all minor fights, with casualties on both sides. Since the border gate was closed, barbarians outside the border cannot come in so easily. However, once the Hu people wanted to attack Dacheng, the city gate could only stop them for a while, but it may not be able to stop the Hu people's attack forever.

The prince Yang Shaomu knew the current situation of Dacheng, which might be worse than what he knew, so he knew that it would be best for them not to start a war with the barbarians this time. At this time, they were going to have a conflict with the barbarians or neighboring countries. Even if they won the battle, they would definitely suffer heavy losses. By then, an unknown number of people would have their families broken up and their families separated. This was the last thing he wanted. Seen.

"Well, what the prince said makes sense." After hearing what the prince said, Emperor Zhaozong felt that what he said made sense, so he nodded with satisfaction and asked other ministers and princes for their opinions, "What do you think about this?" Disagreement? ''

"I think His Highness the Crown Prince is right.

"Yes, I agree with what His Highness the Crown Prince said. " "

With the prince's words first, most of the rest of the people agreed with the prince's words, and their words were all centered around the prince's words.

"Let the prince handle the task of receiving the foreign envoys this time. Prince, do you have any opinion on this? Emperor Zhaozong left the matter to the prince to handle. The emperor wanted to see how the prince would respond to the matter.

"My son, I will accept the decree, and I will definitely live up to my father's trust." "Yang Shaomu saluted.

"Then it's decided at this time. The matter of receiving foreign envoys will be left to the prince. If you have no objections, please retreat. Prince, you stay. " Emperor Zhaozong waved his hand and told the others to go back, leaving only the prince to stay. Apparently he still had something to say to the prince.

"Yes, I will leave. "Seeing that the emperor left the matter to the prince to handle, none of the ministers in the study objected.

"My son, please retire. "When the eldest prince Yang Shaoyong saw that his father had left the reception of foreign envoys to Yang Shaomu, he felt a little unhappy in his heart, but he did not dare to show it on his face.

The third prince Yang Shaokang and the fourth prince Yang Shaojian followed him out. After leaving the imperial study room, Yang Shaojian bowed to the third prince and left. As

soon as they left the imperial study room, the princes went their separate ways . , the ministers all left the palace.

When the others left, there were only Emperor Zhaozong, Prince Yang Shaomu, and the servants in the imperial study.

Emperor Zhaozong looked at his son standing in front of him. The prince is the prince appointed by their ministers. Among so many sons, the emperor is still satisfied with this prince.

"Give the prince a seat. "The emperor said.

Two palace servants lifted a chair and put it behind the prince. Yang Shaomu said, "My son, thank you, father," and then sat down.

"As the prince, you are the crown prince of Dacheng. Everything this prince says and does represents great success, and everyone sees it. "The reason why Emperor Zhaozong chose the prince as the representative to receive the foreign envoys this time was not out of whim, but because the emperor wanted to test the prince's ability and whether he was competent and able to handle this job well.

The emperor's words were intended to make the prince not want to Forgetting his own identity, he also wanted to give the prince a few words about what he should pay attention to when receiving foreign envoys this time,

"Yes, I understand. " Yang Shaomu understood the meaning of his father's words, stood up and saluted.

"Okay, that's all I have to say, just keep it in mind. Prince, if nothing happens to you, please go back first. "Emperor Zhaozong waved his hand and felt a little tired.

It is an indisputable fact that the emperor's spirit has been getting worse over the years . The emperor only hopes that the country built by his ancestors will not be defeated by their descendants

." The sons and ministers resigned. "The prince saluted and prepared to turn around and leave.

"Hey, wait, there is one more thing. Emperor Zhaozong suddenly thought of someone and asked, "Has Li Liuyuan returned to the capital?" '' Emperor Zhaozong had asked where Li Liuyuan was before, but Li Liuyuan had returned to his hometown to visit relatives at that time, so the emperor had almost forgotten the little number one scholar he had personally appointed for so long.

The number one scholar is only one in every three years, but the entire Dacheng is just like this six yuan, and it is still a sixteen-year-old six yuan.

It is no wonder that the emperor still remembers such a person.

"Going back to my father, I heard that Li Liuyuan is already working as an errand in the Hanlin Academy." Yang Shaomu said calmly. His words did not show any familiarity with Li Liuyuan, and it seemed as if he had just heard them from someone else.

"Well, okay, you can go back." Emperor Zhaozong waved his hand, indicating that he knew such a thing.

"Yes, I will retire." Yang Shaomu was not in a hurry to ask his father for Li Liuyuan. He knew that when his father mentioned Li Liuyuan at this moment, he probably did not forget that he was on duty in the Hanlin Academy. Li Liuyuan. This remark also had the meaning of spying, so it was best for him to establish a clear relationship with Li Liuyuan at this time, so as not to arouse the suspicion of his father.

Everyone who is an emperor is inevitably suspicious, and Emperor Zhaozong is no exception.

After leaving the Imperial Study Room, His Royal Highness went to his mother.

"Queen, the Crown Prince is here." The maid serving at the Queen's side saw His Royal Highness coming, and went to report to her master with a face full of joy.

"Please come in quickly." Queen Zhao touched her hair. The maids next to her arranged her master's clothes. The queen sat there waiting for the prince to come in. The prince went in and saw his mother sitting there. He bowed respectfully and said, "I have met the queen." "

Please get up quickly, please get up." Queen Zhao had a son at her knees, the prince, so the queen naturally treated this son very seriously. All kinds of love. The queen was very happy to see her son come to the Changxi Palace where she lived. She smiled and said,

"The prince comes to sit with the queen and offers tea to the prince."

"Yes." The palace maid replied.

Yang Shaomu sat down in the vacant seat. As soon as he sat down, the tea was brought to him by a palace servant. He picked it up and took a sip.

Queen Zhao asked the rest of the palace people to go out, leaving only two close maids to serve her. She might have outside eyes and ears in this palace, so she should pay more attention to things in this palace, otherwise she wouldn't be able to sit in the position of queen for so many years.

As a mother, she couldn't help her son, but she couldn't hold him back either.

"Prince, you haven't been to your mother's house for some days. Are you busy with official duties recently?" Empress Zhao also heard a little bit about what happened at the court this morning. She also knew a little about the conversation in the imperial study. Naturally, I also know that the emperor has left the matter of receiving foreign envoys to the prince.

However, the harem was not allowed to participate in politics, so Empress Zhao was smart enough not to directly ask about the prince's affairs in court. Instead, she used a slightly concerned tone, which showed that she, as a mother, was more concerned about her son's health.

"Well, there are a lot of things. I haven't come to see my mother in the past few days. Please forgive me." Yang Shaomu said.

"The Queen Mother knows that you are busy with official duties, so I don't blame you. Just go about your business. The Queen Mother is here in the Changxi Palace. Whenever you have free time, come and see the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother is here and you can see it. Come." Queen Zhao looked at her son tenderly and said.

The mother and son said a few more words.

It was almost noon now, which happened to be lunch time. Queen Zhao kept the prince down for lunch, and the mother and son had a meal together. After having lunch with his mother, Yang Shaomu left his mother's place.

As soon as he returned to the East Palace, there was already someone waiting for him, so as soon as he came back, Yang Shaomu led the people into the study, and he stayed there for a long time without coming out.

Chapter 28 The prince asked

Li Liuyuan, who had been working in the Hanlin Academy for a day, not knowing that the emperor asked about him today.

On this day, he spent a long time reading in the library of the Hanlin Academy, and compiled history books in the afternoon. His immediate boss and the director didn't pay much attention to him. After he finished the work at hand, he just drew pictures on the table. Because he has outlined the main characters in the book one by one before, and the main and sub-lines of the story have been sorted out. The plot and characters are already clear, so it is not too strenuous to draw the pictures later.

It doesn't matter if the pictures in the comics are rough at all. You don't need to be too detailed. Leave a blank space next to each picture to fill in the dialogue. Fill in the dialogue so that people can understand it. So after he finished his daily work, he would secretly draw little figures in the afternoon if he still had some time.

His hand was a bit raw at the beginning, but as he became more familiar with it later, his hand speed became faster.

So in more than ten days, he finished drawing the first part of the story.

Li Wen planned to draw the first part first, find a woodcarver to carve it out on a wooden board, print it out, and sell it in academies in the capital. The purpose of creating a work is to be appreciated by more people, otherwise it would be meaningless.

He usually goes to the bookstore himself. He knows that there are some story novels and unofficial histories for sale in the bookstore, but there are no comic book versions of villain books like his yet, so he himself is not sure about this. Is there anyone in the Little Man Bookstore who will buy it?

If anyone watches it, he can continue to draw the second and third parts like this.

If no one sees it, then let's talk about it if no one sees it. It's such a happy decision. But he had a feeling that this set of books might not be popular?

By the time the sun goes down, all the people in charge of the yamen have gone down to the yamen. The Hanlin Academy has also let the yamen go home.

"Mr. Lin, see

you tomorrow." "Haha, Li Liuyuan, see you tomorrow."

Li Wen and the old Hanlins After saying hello, he went outside.

When everyone thought that Li Liuyuan would soon be transferred to work elsewhere like other Jinshi, Li Liuyuan stayed here in the Hanlin Academy, clocking in on time every day, and getting off work on time. He could not see the impatience of young people at all, but instead Those who stayed in the Hanlin Academy were calmer and more relaxed than the gray-haired old Hanlins like them.

It happened that he had drawn the first draft of the first comic today, and Li Wen wanted to take it back to sort it out, and asked someone to find a wood carver to come over and talk about carving.

It would be easier to do this in Qingping Town. You can directly go to Boss Huang and borrow a woodcarving master. But this is the capital, and he is not too familiar with this place. It is still a bit difficult to find a trustworthy wood carving master, otherwise it will be easily pirated, so he needs to find a trustworthy wood carving master.

So it was best to ask others about this matter. At this moment, he thought of someone, and he could ask that person when they meet.

"Young Master." As soon as Li Tong, who was waiting outside, saw their young master coming out, he rushed forward to greet him. Seeing that his young master had something in his hand, Li Tong said hurriedly, "Master, let me get it for you."

"Then take it and don't lose it." Li Wen gave the manuscript to the boy and warned him. Don't lose it. This is the first draft that he drew with more than ten days of hard work and sweat. If he loses it, he doesn't know if he is in the mood to draw it again.

"Yes, sir, don't worry, I won't lose the things in my hands even if I lose myself." Li Tong took it, held it in his arms, and said with a smile on his face.

"You're the only one with a poor mouth." Li Wen smiled and said.

The master and servant went outside.

A familiar-looking carriage stopped at the intersection. Li Wen recognized the guard standing next to the carriage. He was the one who usually followed Zhao Xiangyi, so he knew who was sitting in the carriage without even thinking.

The other party saluted him, made a gesture to invite him to get in, and said, "Li Liuyuan, please."

"It's me, come up." The curtain of the carriage opened, and the man sitting in the carriage stretched out a hand and said to him.

Since the last time the two of them rode in a carriage together, General Zhao, who used to like riding horses, now likes riding in a carriage. However, given their current status, riding in the carriage should be more low-key. People outside could not see who was sitting in the carriage.

Seeing the man in the carriage, Li Wen smiled and took the man's hand without any hesitation.

"Let's go."

Zhao Xiangyi ordered, and the people outside drove the carriage and started running.

At this time, there were not many pedestrians on the street, the road was clear, and carriages could pass smoothly. There were only two of them in the carriage

. Li Wen looked at the man's hand, jumped, and asked, "Are you going to let go of my hand?"

"No." Zhao Xiangyi held the boy's hand. Without letting go of his hand, he said.

"..." OK, if you like it, just hold it. Li Wen rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but smile. Why didn't he know that this man was so willful? Where have the flowers of the past gone?

The two people looked at each other with smiles in each other's eyes. Li Wen leaned over, kissed the man on the corner of the mouth, and asked, "Is this okay?"

"Not enough." Zhao Xiangyi lowered his head and kissed the boy. The two people's lips were connected, and Li Wen raised his head to respond to the man's kiss. After the kiss ended, Li Wen's breath was slightly messy, and Zhao Xiangyi's face remained as usual. He reached out and touched the young man's red face, feeling that the young man looked very good-looking.

Li Wen simply found a comfortable position in the man's arms and let the man hold him without getting up

. "Your Highness wants to see you." Zhao Xiangyi mentioned what happened during today's morning court and also mentioned that the emperor asked the prince to receive him on his behalf. The matter of foreign envoys coming to Korea. Li Wen asked, "Does the prince want to see me because the envoy is coming?"

"Well, maybe so. The emperor asked about you in the imperial study today." Zhao Xiangyi said.

"Oh, since the prince wants to see me, go and see me." Li Wen yawned, and the old emperor finally remembered him. Congratulations, it seems that the old emperor has not forgotten him, the six-year-old who stayed in the Hanlin Academy. Yuan.

Thinking of the fact that the foreign envoy is coming, maybe his opportunity has come.

Playing with the man's long hair, Li Wen raised his head and looked at Zhao Xiangyi, wondering why this man was so good-looking and couldn't get enough of it.

His man works under the prince, so he still has to give the prince this face.

Originally, Li Wen had no intention of participating in the battle between several princes for the heir, but now that he and Zhao Xiangyi are together, the Zhao family is on the prince's side, so he has nothing to hesitate now, so he can only support him wholeheartedly. The prince's. Before arriving in the capital, his teacher had warned him not to get involved in the fight among several princes for succession. If Dean Fu knew that he was involved, he might be able to chase him for ten streets.

Thinking of this, Li Wen actually had a headache.

But he couldn't break up with Zhao Xiangyi for this reason. Since he chose this man in the first place, he was ready to face everything that might happen in the future with this man. Now, not for the sake of the prince, but for the sake of the Zhao family, Li Wen knew that he could not stand aside and stay out of the matter.

There must be someone sitting on that chair, either the prince or one of the other princes. Rather than other princes sitting on the dragon throne, they might as well support the prince sitting on that position. At least it would be better for them if the prince sits on that position. The prince today is still the prince, but once the prince ascends the throne and becomes emperor in the future, he will be the emperor. The prince and prince have another level of identity, but we will talk about this later.

Now that the prince wanted to see him, he had to go and see him, so he had no choice but to go and see him.

Reaching out to lift the car curtain, Li Wenwen, the book boy, brought the manuscript over, handed it to the man next to him, and taught him how to read the pictures and the dialogue. Zhao Xiangyi followed the boy's instructions and looked through the paper in his hand. He found the little man drawn on the paper quite interesting. He asked, "Did you draw this yourself?"

"Just having nothing to do. Drawing for fun." When he was away from work, Li Wen asked a little embarrassedly, "Do you think I'm not doing my job properly?"

"No, it's good." Zhao Xiangyi's eyes flashed. He said with a hint of smile.

"Can you understand these pictures?" Li Wen briefly told Zhao Xiangyi about a story and characters in this book, but he did not mention that one of the emperor prototypes in his book was the late emperor. It's up to people who read the book to understand.

"You can see it clearly." Zhao Xiangyi flipped through it casually without taking a closer look.

"As long as you can understand it." Li Wen talked about his idea of ​​finding a wood carving master to carve these, print them into books, and sell them in bookstores in the capital. He asked, "You said I would carve them out?" If you sell this in a bookstore, will anyone buy it?"

"Yes." Zhao Xiangyi heard that the young man wanted to find a woodcarver to carve it out, print it and sell it in the bookstore. He thought about it and said, "This is a problem. Just leave it to me and I'll find someone to handle it for you."

"Oh, okay. This is still a first draft. I'll take it back and deal with it. I'll give it to you in two days." Li Wen didn't even think about it. He agreed, otherwise it would be quite troublesome for him to do this himself. He said, "If someone wants to buy this, I will continue to draw the next one."

"Okay." Zhao Xiangyi's mouth curled up and he said, "You can I'm going to draw the next one."

"Haha..." Li Wen couldn't help laughing and asked, "Are you so confident in me?"

"Yes." The man nodded and kissed him. juvenile.

While they were talking, the carriage stopped in front of the restaurant, and two people got out of the carriage. When

the waiter who was waiting at the door saw the guests arriving, he hurriedly stepped forward to welcome them and enthusiastically invited them inside. "Please come in, two gentlemen."

They followed the waiter who greeted the guests and went inside.

Chapter 29 Tips

In the private room upstairs, His Royal Highness, dressed in regular clothes, was sitting alone drinking tea with a calm expression. He seemed to be waiting for someone, but he did not look at all anxious.

"Master Zhao, Master Li, please come in."

The guard standing outside the door opened the door and invited them in.

When he heard the door open, Yang Shaomu knew that the person he was waiting for had arrived. Soon he heard footsteps coming in and saw two people walking in one after the other.

"Wei Chen has met His Highness." Li Wen saluted when he saw His Highness the Crown Prince sitting in the room.

"Li Liuyuan, please get up. Didn't you tell me last time that you would call me Mr. Huang outside?" Yang Shaomu raised his hand and asked people to stand up. With a slight smile on his face, he said, "You all can sit down. You don't have to stand." ."

Li Wen thanked him and sat down with Zhao Xiangyi, and someone poured tea for them.

Yang Shaomu waved his hand, and the servant who was waiting on the side withdrew.

"I haven't seen you for some time. Are you still used to being in the Hanlin Academy?" Yang Shaomu asked with concern how Li Liuyuan was doing in the Hanlin Academy. He had indeed not seen Li Liuyuan in person for some time.

I still remember that when I first met the boy in Nanyang, he was still just a half-grown boy with a childish look on his eyebrows. Now the childlike look on his eyebrows has disappeared. When Yang Shaomu thought about it carefully, he realized that the young man was only six out of ten years old. He was selected as the number one scholar by the Holy Emperor in the imperial examination before reaching the age of weak crown. He was two years younger than the first scholar Fu Da, who was the number one scholar at that time. He became a mature scholar. They won the youngest number one scholar in their history and the first six yuan.

Li Wen nodded and said, "Thank you Mr. Huang for your concern. I am doing well in the Hanlin Academy."

Yang Shaomu naturally knew that Li Liuyuan was very comfortable in the Hanlin Academy and had good relations with the old Hanlin Academy members. The old Hanlins in the Hanlin Academy all have weird tempers. There are not many people who can have such a good relationship with the old Hanlins in such a short period of time. Li Liuyuan is the only one in front of him.

Thinking of some of the news he heard from his subordinates, Yang Shaomu's eyes flashed with a smile and he said to the young man, "All the old Hanlins in the Hanlin Academy are very knowledgeable. You follow the old Hanlin in the Hanlin Academy." It will be of great benefit to you to study with them. Both Master Fu and Master Zhan came from the Hanlin Academy, and I believe you will be like them in the future."

He was not worried that Li Liuyuan would be buried in the Hanlin Academy. Well, today my father asked about Li Liuyuan, and he thought he wanted to use Li Liuyuan.

Yang Shaomu knew that his father wanted to train Li Liuyuan to be his subordinate. Who wouldn't covet such a Liuyuan talent in the entire Dacheng, even the prince himself was no exception. Seeing that the young man was neither impatient nor irritable, he was calmer and calmer than people of his age, and did not have the impatience of young people. He believed that this Li Liuyuan would definitely not be a thing in the pond in the future.

"All the old Hanlin officials in the Hanlin Academy are very knowledgeable and are role models for us to learn from. Li Wen feels inferior to them, let alone the great scholar and teacher Zhan. How can they be compared to me?" Li Wen upholds the good virtue of humility, and indeed he is still far behind compared to his predecessors.

He was able to pass all the way and win the first prize, of course because of his hard work, and the other thing is luck, both of which are indispensable. His teachers and seniors are all great scholars in Chinese studies. At best, he can only be considered to know how to take exams, and he got a fairly good score in the exam. There is still a lot to learn in the future.

Hearing Li Liuyuan's words, Yang Shaomu couldn't help but smile and said, "Li Liuyuan is humble."

"Knock, knock—"

There was a knock on the door, and someone brought the food and wine in before exiting.

Yang Shaomu picked up the wine glass, took a sip of wine, looked at the young man and said half-jokingly, "I also heard that Li Liuyuan makes good wine. I wonder when I will have the luck to taste the good wine made by Li Liuyuan." Wine."

"Ahem, okay, I'll send Mr. Huang two jars of wine some other time." He's not such a stingy person. But how did the prince know that he could make wine? Li Wen glanced at the man next to him and said to the prince with a smile.

"Haha, I remember what you said, don't forget it." Yang Shaomu said.

Zhao Xiangyi watched the prince talking to Li Liuyuan. He always sat quietly and drank his tea, rarely interrupting the conversation between the two.

The sun set in the west, and the sky outside gradually became dark.

Yang Shaomu had something to do later, so he stood up and prepared to leave. Before leaving, he said something, "The emperor asked about you today. Someone should be sent to summon you in the near future. You must be prepared."

Li Wen understood what the prince meant, raised his hands to the prince and said, "Li Wen understands, thank you Mr. Huang for your advice." Zhao Xiangyi had already told him about this on the way here, so Li Wen already knew about it. When the son heard what the prince said, he was not surprised at all.

"You're welcome Li Liuyuan." Yang Shaomu waved his hand and told Zhao Xiangyi, "I'll

go back as soon as I have something else to do. Ayi, take my place and have a drink with Li Liuyuan here, and send Li Liuyuan off for me later. Go back.

"Yes, I obey. "Zhao Xiangyi nodded, sent the prince out, and then turned back.

Yang Shaomu took his men and left quietly.

The dishes on the table were all still here, and they didn't move much just now.

When the prince left, After that, Li Wen sat down and grabbed the chopsticks to pick up the vegetables. Not to mention, he was really hungry now. He was drooling over the food on the table and was too embarrassed to use his chopsticks.

"You don't know, I bring a few sesame seed cakes to the Hanlin Academy every day, otherwise the lunch provided by the Hanlin Academy would not be enough to fill my stomach. "I'm a poor boy at this age," I mean. At Li Wen's age, he couldn't even get enough to eat eight meals a day. He even took out sesame seed cakes to the Hanlin Academy to eat every day. He started to feel hungry before he could go to the office.

"Eat slowly . "Zhao Xiangyi poured a cup of tea for the young man. Seeing that the young man was eating in such a hurry, he was afraid that he would choke. After eating half full in a hurry, Li Wen slowed down his eating speed and saw that Zhao Xiangyi was eating gracefully. , looking back at himself, he suddenly felt a little embarrassed, gave Zhao Xiangyi a piece of meat, and said,

"Brother Zhao, you eat. "

A smile flashed across Zhao Xiangyi's face, and he saw the boy's embarrassment and said, "When I was your age, I often didn't have enough to eat. At that time, I was following my father at the border. We couldn't see any meat in the military camp for a month, so when I was very hungry, I took a few soldiers and ran to the nearby area to hunt. "

This was the first time that Li Wen heard this man mention his affairs at the border. His eyes widened slightly. He liked hearing the man talk about these things in his military career. After waiting for a while, the man didn't speak. The two The man stared at him and asked, "Why didn't you say anything?

"I don't know what to say. " "Zhao Xiangyi has never mentioned these things to anyone else before, and this is the first time he has mentioned it to anyone. Seeing the young man looking at him, he was a little embarrassed, and for a moment he didn't know what he was going to say.

"So, what did you just say? Are you comforting me? "Li Wen understood the purpose of this man's words and asked.

Zhao Xiangyi nodded honestly.

"Haha..." Li Wen's eyes were bent, and he couldn't help laughing out loud. He thought why this man was so

cute.

I heard the man mention that he couldn't eat meat at the border for a month. If they, the generals, couldn't eat meat, then the soldiers down below would probably have no meat to eat? He felt a little sorry for this man and asked, "When you were at the border, did you often have no meat to eat, and the soldiers often didn't have enough to eat?"

He remembered the last time Xie Yunfei said that the imperial court owed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and soldiers at the border. Regarding the food and salary for the year, given the current situation of the court, I am afraid that there is no way to return this money to the soldiers at the border. As for the camp on the outskirts of Beijing, the Ministry of Household Affairs has been in arrears with their monthly salary for several months. It is true that the court has no money, but it is also true that civil servants bully military generals. Otherwise, the monthly salary of so many departments is not owed, but the money owed to the military generals is obvious. It is clear that they bully these big bosses.

Since

ancient times, civil servants He always disagreed with the military generals, and the civil servants looked down on the military generals. Little did they know that the world was conquered by the military generals. If it weren't for the border soldiers guarding the border, the enemy would have invaded long ago. How could they be free to scheming here all day long. These people just have nothing to do, so they scheming all day long. If we throw them all to the border to experience it for a year and a half and then come back, let's see if each of them still has the heart to play intrigues here.

But the root cause of this matter is that the imperial court has no money, so the Ministry of Revenue has been unable to pay the soldiers at the border for several years. Another serious problem is that officials are corrupt. After layers of exploitation, there is not much money left at the local level.

Dacheng looks like a behemoth now, but in fact it is already riddled with holes. If this continues, Dacheng's future will be in jeopardy.

Zhao Xiangyi nodded, but did not deny it. He thought of his father and hundreds of thousands of soldiers living a difficult life at the border, which made him feel a little uncomfortable. He also understood why the emperor wanted him to stay in the capital. In fact, he was worried that the Zhao family would gain military power and become more and more powerful. Keeping him in the capital was to contain his father's side.

But Zhao Xiangyi would not tell his boy these things.

"Let me think about it. I'll come up with a way for you to get the imperial court to pay the food and salary owed to hundreds of thousands of soldiers at the border for more than three years." Li Wen's stomach was full now, and he put down his hand. With his chopsticks, he picked up the tea at hand and took a sip.

There were a lot of dishes on the table, and it seemed that the two of them couldn't finish them all.

It doesn't matter. If you can't finish eating for a while, you can pack it back and give it to others, so it won't be wasted.

Chapter 30 Responsibility

"No, you don't have to worry about this matter." Zhao Xiangyi frowned when he heard the young man's words, not wanting him to be involved in these things. This matter is complicated to say, not that simple.

"Do you have any better ideas?" Li Wen raised his eyebrows and asked this man.

Zhao Xiangyi frowned. He couldn't think of a better way to handle this matter for the time being.

Isn't this enough? !

Looking at Zhao Xiangyi's appearance, Li Wen knew that they had no better way to deal with this matter. Otherwise, they would not have allowed the court to delay the payment year after year, and even after three years, they would not be able to pay wages.

"You don't have a better way, right? Including General Zhao at the border, they all have no way, right?" Li Wen felt that Zhao Xiangyi's idea was very problematic. After thinking about it for a moment, he discovered what was Zhao Xiangyi's problem. , he said with a serious face, "Brother Zhao, I think you'd better understand one thing. The hundreds of thousands of soldiers at the border are not yours alone, and it is not the responsibility of your Zhao family.

The issue of food and salary cannot be paid. The person who should bear this responsibility most is the emperor first, and then the Minister of Hubu. The Minister of Hubu manages the country's finances. Now that the soldiers' food and salary cannot be paid, the Minister of Hubu has to bear a large part of the responsibility for

hundreds of thousands of people at the border . The soldiers guard the gate of Dacheng and protect the safety of the country. Only when there is a country can there be a home. Therefore, it is ensured that these soldiers can have a full stomach so that they have the strength to fight the enemy. So from this point of view, it is important to provide sufficient materials for the soldiers. We fulfill the responsibilities of every citizen. "

There was silence in the box for a quarter of an hour, and the two people didn't speak for a while.

Zhao Xiangyi frowned and looked at the young man. He couldn't find a reason to refute what the young man said, because he knew what the young man said made sense.

Li Wen took the man's hand, looked into his eyes, and softened his tone and said, "I know that your Zhao family has been generals for generations, leading soldiers to guard the country at the border, whether they are generals or soldiers. It's not easy. But some problems are not yours, so don't take everything on yourself."

The most important thing in his words is to tell this man that the biggest problem in this country is. He is the king, the king is the king, and the minister is the minister, so this priority must be clearly distinguished.

In fact, it is no wonder that kings of all dynasties have been wary of the generals who helped them conquer the country. These people hold heavy troops. Can the emperor sleep peacefully at night? Therefore, the way of getting along with kings and ministers is a knowledge worth learning and researching.

However, since ancient times, military generals have not read many books, and they do not know a few Chinese characters. They can lead troops in battles, act straightforwardly, and are not as good at strategy. The emperor, not to mention the civil servants in the court who have many twists and turns in their stomachs, so often the generals do not die on the battlefield, but die in the intrigues and tricks of the court.

They are far away. I won't talk about it for now, now I want to talk about recent things first.

"So, Brother Zhao, let me work with you to figure this out." Li Wen now wanted to convince this man and recognize him as one of them, so that what he has to do in the future can Someone help.

Of course there are ways, but it all depends on people. There is nothing that cannot be done, only those who are unwilling to do it.

It is not an easy task to get such a large sum of money. And if they want to get such a large sum of money, they must not use it in their own name or in the name of the Zhao family. Otherwise, the emperor said, "Do you want to rebel by making money?" It was enough to have all of them imprisoned, interrogated and executed.

Therefore, they must rely on the emperor's help in this matter, not to arouse the emperor's vigilance and wariness, but also to find a way to get the emperor's full support, so he needs to go back and think about this matter.

It happened that the emperor remembered him, and as long as he seized this opportunity, he would be able to take advantage of the situation. He knows the importance of power. Only with power can he do what he wants to do. For example, he is looking directly at a low-ranking official from the sixth grade. He can only revise books and draw pictures of villains in the Hanlin Academy every day. In fact, he has Sometimes I feel that spending time in the Imperial Academy every day is a waste of time, but everything has a process and must be experienced, so some things cannot be rushed.

He needs to wait patiently and wait for an opportunity.

Seeing the man's frown, Li Wen smiled. He raised his hand to touch the man's frown and said, "I don't like the way you frown. What's so bothering you? Tell me I, haven't you heard the saying, three cobblers are better than one Zhuge Liang? "

What, three cobblers are better than one?" Zhao Xiangyi didn't understand what the young man said.

Look at him! Li Wen slapped his forehead and said, "I mean, it's better for three fools to figure it out together than for you, a smart person, to figure it out on your own."

"You are not allowed to say that you are a fool, and I am not smart either." Zhao Xiangyi said.

"..." Li asked, really wanting to beat this man to death! Someone give him a stick!

Forget it, even if someone gave him a stick, he wouldn't be willing to really beat this man to death, so he could just endure it.

Seeing the flash of smile in Zhao Xiangyi's eyes, Li Wen knew that this man did it on purpose. He laughed angrily, "You know, I can't stand by and watch this matter, not only because of you, but also because of the border officials." Hundreds of thousands of officers and soldiers, and because we are the people of Dacheng, every man has the responsibility when the country is in trouble."

"You believe me, I will definitely be able to come up with a good solution while ensuring my own safety. The method is to have the Ministry of Revenue gradually pay out the food and salary owed to the hundreds of thousands of officers and soldiers at the border gates within two years, no, at most one year. "

He knows what this man is worried about, he must be worried. the issue of his personal safety.

This is related to the problem of whether the soldiers can have enough to eat. We must find a way to solve it as soon as possible. One more day of delay will make the soldiers at the border one more day hungry. If your stomach is not full, why bother talking about defending your homeland? People live first and foremost to have a full meal, and then they can think about other things.

Seeing the seriousness and confidence in the young man's eyes, Zhao Xiangyi couldn't help but hum, nodded reluctantly, held the young man's hand in his palm, and said, "You still have me, I will protect you."

"Okay." , General Zhao, my safety will be left to you to protect me from now on," Li Wen said with his eyes curled up

.

Zhao Xiangyi nodded, he would definitely not let anything happen to his boy.

When it comes to profitable business, he actually has one right now.

"Brother Zhao." Li Wen's eyes suddenly lit up when he looked at Zhao Xiangyi. He didn't have money, but that didn't mean that this man didn't. In fact, it is not that he has no money, he just bought a shop in the capital and invested all his money in the shop, so he is a little short of money recently. The funds will be returned after the year.

However, making money does not wait for anyone, so you must seize the opportunity.

Um? Seeing the young man looking at him with bright eyes, Zhao Xiangyi knew that the young man had something to tell him. He said, "If you have anything to do, just say it."

"Brother Zhao, let's not talk about distant matters for now. , I have a small profitable business here right now. I wonder if you are interested, Brother Zhao?" Li Wen smiled obediently. No matter how you say it, the man in his family is a dignified young master in the general's mansion, right? There are always so many shops in Beijing, right?

He still has a little money, and he wants to buy another shop in a place like the capital where there is so much gold, but he really doesn't have enough money to buy it at the moment.

"Say." Zhao Xiangyi thought of the shop the young man opened in the capital. It was said that the business was very good. Last time in Nanyang, the young man took him to see Master Fu's Zhuangzi. The things on the Zhuangzi must have been made by the young man, and the things he saw in Lijia Village were inseparable from the young man. relationship.

It seems that he doesn't know his boy very well. In the past, he thought that the boy could only read, but in fact it was not the case.

"It's like this. Isn't the weather getting colder day by day? Autumn and winter are the best seasons to take tonics. You know winter What is the most nourishing thing to eat? "As for what is the most nourishing thing to eat in winter, of course it is all kinds of mutton hot pot and beef hot pot, etc. These hot pots use various bones, meat and medicinal materials to stew the soup. The smell is so fragrant and strong that no one passing by the door can resist the smell.

The soup cooked in this way is nutritious and nourishing. It is best to drink in winter. Drinking a bowl will warm your whole body.

The two people came out of the restaurant and got on the carriage waiting outside.

On the way back, Li Wen leaned into Zhao Xiangyi's arms and talked to the man about his desire to open a hot pot restaurant in the capital. If they had General Zhao's Mansion as their backer, I believe that no one would dare to trouble them even if their business in the capital was doing well.

"What do you think? I will provide the recipe, and you will provide the shop and the people. I can also invest some silver here, but it may not be too much. The bulk will come from you, so the share in the store will be, you seven and I Three, you take 70%, I'll take 30%." At this point, Li Wen felt a little embarrassed.

There are a lot of profitable businesses here, and all of them are very profitable. But firstly, he is short of money and can't spend so much money to invest; secondly, he is alone, has no skills, and is not that much. He had to spend a lot of time and energy managing so many things, so his mind was full of ideas and he had nowhere to go.

But now isn't there someone you can trust? Make money together.

Li Wen was sure of his feelings for Zhao Xiangyi and absolutely believed that this man was devoted to him. At least for now, there would be no changes in their relationship, so this did not prevent them from doing some small business together.

"Fifty-five." After hearing what the young man said, Zhao Xiangyi was sure that the business he was talking about was profitable. "I have the shop here, the manpower, and the money. You can do it if you have the recipe." "

No. , you paid for the majority, you will be at a loss if I take 50% of it." Li Wen wanted to

sit up , and wanted to explain this matter clearly to this man, otherwise he would be taking advantage of him. ? Zhao Xiangyi put his hand on the young man's waist, suppressing him to prevent him from getting up, and said categorically, "Only five or five, or I won't do it." "..." Li Wen, "Okay, you have the final say. "

Listen to me." Zhao Xiangyi smiled and placed a kiss on the young man's forehead. The two people looked at each other. Li Wen's eyes were crooked. He reached out and hooked the man's neck. Just as he was about to kiss the man, the carriage stopped and he heard Li Tong shouting outside, "Master, we are here." "

Zhao Xiangyi lowered his head and kissed the young man's lips, and said, "You're home, go down."

"..." Li Liuyuan looked dissatisfied.