Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 112 The Prime Minister's Lover

April is a season of changeable weather. It was sunny in the morning, but suddenly it started to drizzle in the afternoon.

The rain was not heavy, but the sky was dark, just like Princess Xincheng's mood at the moment.

She walked forward in the rain, passed through the Yuehua Gate, and entered the Princess Courtyard.

When she arrived in front of a round door, a figure suddenly jumped out from behind the door and bumped into her.

The person flew away after being hit, and Princess Xincheng didn't feel any pain. She looked up and found that it was Princess Changshan's maid Cai'er.

Cai'er was originally pale, but when she saw that it was Princess Xincheng, she exclaimed in surprise, "Your Highness the Princess!"

"You little girl, you are always clumsy. It's a good thing that Sister Changshan can tolerate you." Princess Xincheng sighed.

Cai Er asked curiously, "Princess, why don't you hold the umbrella?"

Princess Xincheng said, "It's just a little rain, it's nothing serious. Is your sister awake?"

Cai'er smiled and said, "I just woke up. You came at the perfect time. My princess has been thinking about you a lot lately, worried that you'd forgotten her."

Princess Xincheng sighed, "You've already learned to lie at such a young age. Sister Changshan hates me the most when I enter the palace. It's you who's looking forward to my coming to bring you food."

Cai'er said seriously, "My princess doesn't say it, but she's always thinking about you in her heart. You're the only one who comes to see her."

Princess Xincheng was stunned for a moment, her expression darkening as she said softly, "I know. Okay, go and do your thing. You don't have to lead the way for me."

He walked quickly through the round gate and arrived at Princess Changshan's bedroom as if he was familiar with the place.

Originally, she came to complain to Princess Changshan, but when she saw Princess Changshan's haggard appearance, she was suddenly shocked.

"You said you, even though you've become like this, you didn't send anyone to tell me. Are you going to die before sending someone to inform me?"

She choked with a sob, threw herself on the bed, and sobbed.

Princess Changshan reached out and gently stroked her hair, saying softly, "You're going to die anyway. There's nothing wrong with leaving peacefully. Why should I make you sad?"

Princess Xincheng cried, "Sister Gaoyang died a few years ago, and now you are leaving me too. What fun is there in living?"

Princess Changshan smiled and said, "Don't be silly. Don't you have a husband who loves you? I feel relieved that he will take care of you."

After hearing this, Princess Xincheng cried even louder.

Princess Changshan asked in surprise, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Princess Xincheng cried, "Brother has arrested him. Sister, why is my life so miserable?"

Princess Changshan patted her back gently and said softly, "Don't be afraid. Tell me slowly what happened."

Princess Xincheng stopped crying and sobbed, "I'm not sure either. It might be related to the fiefdom. My husband has been acting strange since he went to Hebei in February. He's been having nightmares all the time."

"A few days ago, he suddenly left Chang'an, and then news came that he had embezzled public funds and was arrested by the Dali Temple."

Princess Changshan was stunned for a moment and asked in confusion, "He shouldn't be a greedy person, so why would he embezzle public funds?"

Princess Xincheng shook her head and said, "Maybe it was Zhang Sunyang who got involved. It was Zhang Sunyang who embezzled the money. He must have done it to help Zhang Sunyang."

Princess Changshan said, "He should be just an accomplice. The crime won't be too serious. Don't worry too much."

Princess Xincheng wept and said, "As soon as he returned to Chang'an, my brother called him into the palace. I went to ask for an audience, but he refused to see me. I'm afraid he won't let him off easily."

Princess Changshan gently stroked her hair, a hint of determination flashed in her eyes, as if she had made some decision.

Princess Xincheng cried for a long time, and when it was getting dark, she said goodbye and left.

Cai'er came in with a bowl of medicine and said with a smile, "Princess, it's time to take your medicine."

Princess Changshan took the medicine bowl, but poured all the medicine into the ground.

Cai'er was shocked and asked, "Princess, why did you pour out the medicine?"

Princess Changshan said, "Cai'er, you don't have to make medicine for me anymore."

……

The bed was shaking, and bursts of panting sounds came from under the red quilt.

After a long while, a woman with long hair poked her head out from under the quilt.

She is old and deep crow's feet can be seen at the corners of her eyes, but her skin is still fair and her breasts are still full.

The long-haired woman sat up and began to put on her clothes.

At this time, a man's head popped out from under the quilt. He was in his forties, with an elegant face and a smile on his face. It was the prime minister of the current dynasty, Li Yifu.

Li Yifu looked at the woman and sighed, "Is it so urgent?"

The woman turned her head and gave him a sidelong glance.

"If I lose my position as a palace lady, I'm afraid Lord Li will throw me out into the street right away."

Li Yifu laughed and said, "Don't make me sound so heartless."

Jiang Shang Gong stared at him and said, "Then let me ask you, how sincere are you to me?"

Li Yifu stretched out his hand and said, "At least five points. You are much more considerate than our yellow-faced woman."

Jiang Shang Gong smiled slightly and said, "I don't believe you at all. If you believe me even a little bit, I will be very grateful."

Li Yifu shook his head and said, "Women always like to think the worst."

Concubine Jiang glanced at him and said with a smirk, "Does the woman you're talking about also include Her Majesty the Queen?"

Li Yifu was slightly stunned and said, "At this time, in this place, why are you mentioning that person?"

Concubine Jiang laughed and said, "You seem so scared, but that's true. If you weren't afraid of Her Majesty the Queen, you wouldn't be interested in an old maid like me."

Li Yifu smiled bitterly and said, "I'm not afraid of her, it's just...ah, it's useless to tell you about these troubles in the court."

Jiang Shang Gong snorted coldly, "Don't look down on me. I've been in the palace for over twenty years. I've seen everything." Li Yifu smiled and said, "Don't be angry. I know very well that it's harder for you to become the head of the Shang Gong Bureau among the more than ten thousand palace maids in the harem than it is for me to become the prime minister."

Jiang Shang Gong laughed sweetly and said, "Oh, how can I compare with you, my lord?"

Li Yifu smiled and said, "How could that be? Just tell me about the Queen's feelings. You know better than me."

Jiang Shanggong smiled sweetly, put on her clothes, walked to the dressing table, and put on her makeup in front of the bronze mirror.

She looked at Li Yifu who was getting dressed in the mirror and said, "If you want me to help you, you should at least tell me why you suddenly changed your attitude."

Li Yifu asked, "What's your attitude?"

Concubine Jiang laughed and said, "After you replaced Xu Jingzong and became the leader of the pro-military officials, you kept your distance from the Queen. Did you think the Queen didn't know?"

Li Yifu said, "What are you talking about? It was Her Majesty the Queen who told us not to look for her anymore."

Concubine Jiang said calmly, "It's no use even if you lied to me. Her Majesty the Queen's heart is as clear as a mirror."

Li Yifu raised his hands, made a gesture of surrender, and said with a smile: "You are indeed amazing. Well, since I asked you for help, I didn't mean to hide anything from you."

While putting on her earrings, Lady Jiang smiled and said, "I'm listening."

Li Yifu pondered for a moment and said, "Do you know about the recent situation in the court?"

Jiang Shang Gong laughed and said, "How can I know what happened in the previous dynasty when I am in the harem?"

Li Yifu said slowly, "Liu Rengui has recently been rectifying the administration of officials and has investigated Changsun Yang and Changsun Quan. The entire court, both civil and military, has their eyes firmly on this matter."

Concubine Jiang was surprised, "Why did I hear that Di Renjie was investigating this case?"

Li Yifu sneered, "Di Renjie is just a knife in the hands of Liu Rengui and Qingliu. Liu Rengui deliberately hides behind the scenes and lets Di Renjie lead the charge. This old fox is very cunning."

Jiang Shang Gong nodded and said, "As expected of someone who has been at the Central Government for over a decade."

Li Yifu continued, "Di Renjie is at the forefront, while the Qingliu support him from behind, working together to deal with the aristocratic factions. Do you see any problems?"

Jiang Shang Gong was stunned and asked, "What?"

Li Yifu lamented, "We, the officials who supported Empress Wu, have been marginalized."

After Li Yifu became prime minister, he wanted to lead the pro-military faction to change its appearance and become the pro-emperor faction.

However, the emperor valued more upright officials such as Liu Rengui and Shangguan Yi.

Li Yifu, Xu Jingzong and other pro-Wu officials were all keen on official careers, otherwise they would not have supported Empress Wu to ascend to the throne despite the bad reputation.

Seeing that they were not valued by the emperor, they decided to find another way out.

Li Yifu saw clearly that the emperor was cold to the queen for a while, but the queen finally managed to stabilize her position by giving birth to another prince.

Under the current circumstances, if he wants to make further progress in his career, he can only get closer to the queen.

This approach is different from the previous direct obedience to the Queen's orders.

Since the queen no longer interfered in state affairs, he could only try to figure out the queen's thoughts and do things to satisfy her.

In this way, even if he did not come into contact with the queen, the queen would naturally help him in the harem.

Jiang Shang Gong glanced at Li Yifu and smiled, "You're worrying too much. You're the Prime Minister His Majesty just appointed you."

Li Yifu sighed, "If you don't plan for the future, you'll have immediate worries. If you don't plan now, it will be too late to plan in the future."

Jiang Shang Gong glanced at him and said with a smile, "Since my husband has spoken frankly, I will do my best to help you. I only hope that when you reach a high position in the future, you will not forget me."

Li Yifu said sternly, "Of course."

After a while, Lady Jiang put on her clothes and left the house in a carriage.

This is a small courtyard in Changxingfang. The house belongs to Li Yifu, and she has only been here four or five times.

There was the smell of other women's rouge in the room, but Jiang Shanggong didn't care.

Li Yifu wanted to use her and knew Empress Wu's thoughts. She approached Li Yifu for other purposes.

There are tens of thousands of palace maids in the harem, and it is not easy to always gain the favor of the queen.

Palace Lady Jiang knew that she was getting old, and in a few years, the Queen might get tired of her and replace her with a young female official.

Therefore, she needs to have advantages that others do not have in order to stay in the harem.

She understood Empress Wu's thoughts very well.

This queen was different from Empress Changsun. She was energetic and had great interest in court affairs.

However, because the saint disliked her, she had to restrain her temper and forcibly suppress her desires.

As long as Concubine Jiang casually reveals some important events in the court to her, she will definitely win the favor of the Queen.

This is a risky move. If she is found out about the previous dynasty, she will surely die.

This was not Empress Wu's order, and Empress Wu would never protect her.

However, in order to maintain her position as a palace lady, she had to take a risk.

Just like Mr. Li, who took the risk of associating with her in order to keep his position as prime minister.

Before daybreak, Concubine Jiang arrived outside the town gate in a carriage.

If it were in the past, she would have simply asked the neighborhood official to open the gate and leave.

However, recently, among the Jinwu Guards patrolling Chang'an City at night, there has been a black-faced killer mixed in.

Although she was out of the palace on official business, she did not want to see the General of the Jinwu Guard, so she could only wait patiently in front of the gate.

(End of this chapter)