No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 835 A Young Princess Arrives at the Palace

The sun is shining brightly.

Shangyang Palace, Ganlu Hall.

The king and his minister reunited again.

This is the second time Master Di has entered the palace in recent days.

Three days ago, he was also standing in this position, asking questions with the saint.

However, at that time, Master Di interpreted the sage's dream and took the opportunity to persuade him, but the sage remained silent for a long time.

Being summoned again today, Master Di had a bad feeling.

Plus, I heard some bad news last night.

Last night the sage seemed to have summoned the King of Wei and the King of Liang to the palace, but I don’t know what they discussed.

In addition, he found that there was an extra screen behind the bead curtain, and the saint was sitting behind the screen.

And there was a slender maid serving him.

Because of the pearl curtain, Master Di couldn't see the appearance of this female official clearly. He could only vaguely see that she was wearing the popular plum blossom makeup in the palace, with a hint of crimson between her eyebrows.

In the past, when the emperor and his ministers conversed with each other, they were always alone, and sages seldom had anyone around them.

When the lady in colorful clothes named Rong Zhen was still around, she could often be seen staying by the side of the saint. The saint was well-known for his preference for this lady Rong Zhen.

But the female official standing beside the saint and serving him was obviously a newcomer, and definitely not Ms. Rong Zhen.

Because he's taller.

Even Master Di saw that while the woman was serving the saint, she seemed to look back at him behind her eyelids, which seemed to show that she did not know the rules.

But soon, Master Di withdrew his gaze.

Seeing that the saint had no intention of sending the woman away, he knelt down as usual.

He performed the ceremony of entering the temple.

"Please stand up and sit down, old man."

"I don't dare."

"Don't be polite, Elder. I called you here this time to ask about the Donglin Buddha."

"Donglin Buddha?"

"That's right. There was a rumor last night that the collapse of the four Buddha statues and Tianshu was caused by the Donglin Buddha. It was a chain reaction and was closely related to the rebels in the Tiannan Jianghu."

The news that the King of Wei and the King of Liang came to the palace to pay a visit last night flashed through Master Di's mind. He knew without thinking what the two kings were busy shirking.

He spoke sincerely, clasped his fists and said:
"Your Majesty, please understand! The person who committed this crime is of course a traitor, but there are also incompetent people in the court who hold high positions, misjudged the situation, and appointed mediocre people, which led to this case."

"But the Donglin Buddha is in Xunyang City, and it was built under the supervision of the Xunyang Palace."

"Your Majesty is very busy and may not know this. As far as I know, this is just a nominal presidency. Prince Xunyang has been recuperating in the palace for a long time. He only manages the general direction of the Donglin Buddha and supervises the execution of the officials below. Prince Xunyang does not manage specific affairs."

The empress raised her voice from behind the pearl curtain: "Oh? Then who will be in charge of the specific matters? Or, who should bear the responsibility this time?"

After a moment of silence, the chubby old man closed his eyes and listed four names:

"The governor Ouyang Lianghan, the female historian Rong Zhen, the deputy supervisor Song Lin, and the commander Yi Qianqiu. According to what I have learned, the situation in Xunyang is mainly led by these four people. But I don't know if there is any new news from the saint, and I don't know what the situation was on the day when the Donglin Buddha collapsed, and whether the leadership changed."

At this point, he paused, as if remembering something, and said casually:
"But I heard that on the day of the Donglin Buddha incident, Ouyang Lianghan was on leave at home to celebrate his aunt's birthday and did not attend the celebration ceremony. It seems that he stayed in the city with the prince that day. The Xunyang Grottoes were hosted by three other people...

"From this perspective, he is certainly responsible for dereliction of duty, but the main responsibility should not be his. The saint needs to send someone to investigate."

After saying this, Master Di lowered his head and waited silently.

After waiting for a long time, the old woman in dragon robe behind the bead curtain did not speak.

Until a laugh was heard in the hall.

Master Di's heart sank slightly.

From behind the beaded curtain above, the old lady in dragon robes spoke a little coldly:
"Oh, what a coincidence. I just received a memorial the day before yesterday. It was presented by Jiangzhou Governor Ouyang Lianghan. He said that a fierce battle took place in Xunyang Grottoes, with heavy casualties, and the rebels from Tiannan were barely repelled.

"But only one tenth of Xunyang's troops survived, with only the female historian Rong Zhen, the commander Yi Qianqiu and a dozen people surviving. Some rebels even attacked the Xunyang Prince's mansion and burned it, which frightened the Xunyang Prince.

"Ouyang Lianghan wrote a letter to confess his guilt, saying that he was incapable of stopping the rebels from destroying Buddhism, which went against my and the officials in the Council of State Affairs' expectations. He requested to resign from the post of Governor of Jiangzhou and Scholar of Xiuwen Academy, and asked me to make a decision on his fate."

Mr. Di frowned slightly and remained silent for a long time.

He was beyond his expectations that Ouyang Rong would write a memorial in which he stepped forward and took the blame.

But...it makes sense.

Mr. Di changed the subject and said with concern:

"Excuse me, Your Majesty, is Prince Xunyang injured? The prince is a precious person, and his life safety is the top priority."

The old lady in dragon robes remained unwavering in her determination and said coldly:

"Let's talk about business first. Elder, tell me whether Ouyang Lianghan should be convicted. Haha, after the Tianshu and Buddha collapse incidents, there was total silence. All the people involved were trying to make excuses and avoid responsibility. I was still worried about not being able to catch him, and I hadn't even found him yet, but he stood up on his own."

She smiled again:
"I don't know whether I should laugh at his courage or scold him for being stupid. What do you think, Elder Guo? How should we deal with him? Should we fulfill his wish? Otherwise, wouldn't it be unfair to him?"

Mr. Di immediately said:

"Your Majesty has always been impartial. You should send someone to investigate first before making a decision, to avoid any unspeakable hidden issues and wrongly blaming good officials."

"Okay, then let's check on Liangchen. Let Liangchen check on Liangchen. The elder of the state can select someone to go."

Master Di suddenly bowed deeply:

"Your Majesty, this is inappropriate. I should avoid suspicion. Ouyang Lianghan was recommended by me, so other good ministers should be responsible for the investigation. In addition, if Ouyang Lianghan really made a mistake, I am also responsible."

"The elder is very responsible. He has always been impartial and has taken the initiative to avoid suspicion. He is truly a pillar of my country."

The emperor's tone and the atmosphere were enough to make even a dumb person sense that something was amiss.

But the old man did not retreat, he even took a step forward and reiterated his attitude, pleading with emotion:
"Your Majesty, no matter what, this matter concerns Prince Xunyang. I beg Your Majesty to take Prince Xunyang back to the capital to recuperate. After all, he is your flesh and blood, and you must not let him get away with anything."

Behind the pearl curtain, the old woman in dragon robe did not move at all.

The strange female official with a slender figure was gently massaging her legs with her head slightly lowered.

There was silence inside and outside the hall.

Master Di knelt down on the spot and kowtowed heavily:

"Emperor Taizong Wen braved wind and rain, and personally braved arrows and stones, before he pacified the world and passed it on to his descendants. The late emperor entrusted his two sons to your majesty, but now your majesty wants to hand over the world to someone else?
"Your Majesty, I have seen that people all over the world still miss the kindness of Emperor Taizong. If you want to establish an heir, it must be a descendant of Emperor Taizong. Your Majesty and Emperor Gaozong's flesh and blood must be chosen."

The old woman fell silent.

The atmosphere in the hall was solemn.

The fat old man pleaded so earnestly that he cried uncontrollably.

It was quiet for a while.

The old lady in dragon robe chuckled, raised her hand to interrupt the female official in front of her from beating her legs, and signaled her to lift the bead curtain.

The plum blossom-shaped female official lowered her head, stood up timidly, and lifted the pearl curtain.

Revealing the scene behind the curtain.

When Master Di noticed this, he was stunned.

He raised his head and glanced quickly, his eyes not lingering on the old lady in dragon robes and the strange female official, and immediately bowed his head with gray hair:
"Your Majesty, think twice."

"Think twice about what? Oh, do you mean to bring Li Xian back?"

"Yes! This is a matter of great importance as it concerns the heir to the throne..."

Master Di stopped talking suddenly in the middle of his speech.

Because he saw out of the corner of his eye that the old woman in dragon robe was waving her hand behind the screen.

Two people walked out from behind the screen.

Is anyone else here?

Master Di was startled, because he was kneeling on the ground and kowtowing, so he didn't see the faces of the people behind the screen at first. He only saw the long boots on the feet of the two people out of the corner of his eye.

The old lady in dragon robe said casually: "Old Master, don't you want to see who he is?"

Master Di raised his head and looked in the direction of the empress's finger with a surprised look on his face.

I saw a middle-aged man and a young man walking out of the screen one after another and standing in the hall with their hands hanging down.

Although they had not seen each other for several years, although they had changed a lot, and although the climate and soil of the south made people rich and fat, Mr. Di still recognized the father and son who looked very similar at first sight. They also looked very similar to the late Emperor Gaozong.

They were none other than Prince of Xunyang Li Xian and Crown Prince Li Dalang, who had been in exile for more than twenty years.

The chubby old man's gaze fell on Li Xian's temples, where some white hair appeared, and his eyes couldn't help but feel a little sad.

Empress Wei Zhao glanced at Master Di, whose eyes were gradually filled with tears and who was stammering, and pointed at Li Xian in a light tone:

"Here, I will return the crown prince in your heart to you."

Seeing and hearing this, even Master Di, who had been in the court for many years and was good at adapting to changing circumstances, was shocked.

He looked around in disbelief, as if he thought he was dreaming.

After three breaths, the fat old man kowtowed and knelt again.

This time, he kowtowed heavily, his tone full of admiration and emotion:
"Your Majesty is wise! Wise! Wise!"

Wei Zhao narrowed his eyes, as if he was smiling but not smiling, or as if he was enjoying it silently.

No one knows what this saint is thinking.

Including Master Di, who had served her for many years or had fought with her for many years, he could not guess what was behind her screen a few moments ago.

The Holy Heart is unpredictable. He uses both grace and severity. Rain, dew, and thunder are all grace.

Li Xian and Li Dalang also looked at each other, turned around, and kowtowed to the old woman in dragon robe.

Those words that Master Di just said in the temple were deliberately meant for them to hear by this saint.

The emperor's mindset is awe-inspiring.

Which subordinate can withstand such unpredictable leadership style with constant surprises and shocks?

Compared to Li Xian and Li Dalang who were in turmoil, Li Guoer, who was standing beside the old lady in dragon robe and serving her, seemed calm and did not look back.

It seemed that she had guessed the Empress Dowager's intention of controlling people's hearts as soon as Master Di entered the palace.

Li Guoer lowered her eyes slightly and stood obediently in front of Empress Wei Zhao.

When Master Li Xian and Master Di's old ministers were recognizing each other, the old lady in dragon robe sitting at the top, holding a night pearl in one hand, squinted her eyes and looked at it.

Some are hard to put down.

The night pearl emits a faint, hazy moonlight, like the moon in the sky.

The more Wei Zhao looked at it, the more he liked it.

Strength and power are sometimes synonymous.

Great strength is as fascinating as great power.

Wei Zhao lazily lay on the dragon couch, twirling the Mythical Tripod Sword with two fingers. Suddenly, she looked at Li Guoer, who looked like her when she was young, and asked kindly:

"Girl, you said you dreamed about its name this morning, what is it called?"

The plum blossom-shaped little princess lowered her eyebrows softly:

"I dare not read it."

"Why don't you dare."

"That word is homophonic with the name of the Holy Grandmother, and it goes beyond etiquette."

"I allow you to read it."

"I am not sure if this name is its real name. But I feel that no matter it is right or wrong, it is only worthy of a woman like Saint Grandmother, just like this Ding Sword, which can only be owned by someone like Saint Grandmother."

"It's okay. I don't blame you whether you are right or wrong. Oh, what is your name?"

The little princess with plum blossom makeup, who had always been humble and gentle in front of the old woman in dragon robe, was so bold that she took up the old woman's hand and wrote a word on the palm of her hand with her index finger.

【曌】

Wei Zhao raised his eyebrows with interest: "Ming on top and Kong on the bottom, that's interesting, I've never seen it before, is it also pronounced Zhao?"

"Ah."

Li Guoer smiled sweetly:
"Like the Holy Grandmother, the sun and the moon are in the sky, shining brightly on all people."

"Zhao... Zhao... Are the sun and the moon in the sky..."

Wei Zhao's eyes were completely attracted by the night pearl. All his attention was on it, and he didn't even pay attention to Li Guo'er who stretched out his slender hand.

Her eyes were clear and her voice was crisp:

"Grandmother, I read in a book that Emperor Wen was born after Emperor Wen, and was often inspired by Emperor Taizong Wen, and would chant whenever he was touched. Even the mysterious book said that these two emperors were both powerful people of Emperor Wen, and it was they who ended the chaos of the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Emperor Wen was born at the right time, and China also ushered in the long-awaited unification of three hundred years..."

Li Guoer took a step closer, took the night-shining pearl from the old woman in dragon robe, held it in one hand, and slowly raised his palm.

Wei Zhao's sight also rose with the rise of the night pearl, and he looked up slightly.

Li Guoer boldly placed the night pearl flat in front of the largest gem on Emperor Wei Zhao's phoenix crown, aligning it with the gem, as if hinting at something.

"This Ding sword that seems to call [Zhao] has no reaction in our hands. After discussing with my father, I feel that the person with the great spirit is the Imperial Grandmother. Only someone with achievements and status like the Imperial Grandmother can be comparable to this sword and this true name.

"It was born in response to the times, for the Empress like my Royal Grandmother. This time, it corresponds to the prosperous era of China that my Holy Week created and will go down in history!"

The plum blossom-shaped little princess holds a tripod sword in her hand, with an innocent face.

She tilted her head and said crisply:

"It is on the throne. Only the Royal Grandmother is the most worthy of it. If you can't find a suitable sword owner, why don't you wear it on the crown like this, together with it, the sun and the moon are in the sky, shining brightly for all the people!"

At the same time, the night pearl near the crown of the old woman in dragon robe suddenly trembled slightly, and dazzling moonlight flowed through the pearl.

It is an alternative kind of “touch and chant”!
He is a man of great energy.

The old woman's originally cloudy eyes suddenly lit up.

"Okay! I'll let you do it, little girl. I'll wear it."

Inside the hall, looking at this pair of grandparents and granddaughter who were getting along harmoniously, and the night-shining pearl between them that was performing miracles.

Li Xian and Li Dalang couldn't help but look at each other.

Mr. Di glanced sideways.

"Uh-huh!"

Li Guoer returned the night pearl to the Empress Dowager.

I looked around the majestic, noble and solemn imperial palace.

Her smile was as bright as a flower.

……

Holy Week, the third year of Tianyou, Jiachen, summer.

The empress dowager woke up and sent the Grand Sima Pei Xuantan to welcome the emperor and Prince Xunyang into the palace at night.

The emperor followed the king and the queen mother hid in the king's tent. The emperor knelt before her and summoned Di Zi to talk about the affairs of Xunyang.

Di Zidun pleaded so earnestly that he could not stop crying.

The Queen Mother ordered the king to come out, pointed behind the tent, and said to Di Zi: "I will return your prince to you!"

Di Zi came down the steps to pay his respects, bowed his head in admiration, and said immediately, "The Crown Prince has returned to the palace, but no one knows about it. People are talking about it, so how can we believe it?"

The Queen Mother agreed, and so she hosted the King at Longmen and welcomed him back with all due ceremony, which delighted the people both at home and abroad.

There were countless people in the court and the country who applauded and celebrated.

————"New Qianshu·Chronicles of Female Emperors"

(End of this chapter)