Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 160 Empress Wu's Maternal Clan
Wu Meiniang did not have many relatives on her father's side, but her mother's side was the former Sui royal family, which was extremely large and had branches and connections with many wealthy families.

For example, the mother of King Li Zhen of Yue, Concubine Yan De.

When Wu Meiniang entered the palace as a talented person, Concubine Yan De hardly spoke to her.

Now, King Li Zhen of Yue is very grateful to her for overthrowing Changsun Wuji.

That morning, Concubine Yan De entered the palace at the request of her son to pay her respects to Empress Wu.

Before entering the palace, Concubine Yan De did her homework and knew that Wu Meiniang was her aunt's cousin, so after entering the palace, she tried to establish a relationship with her.

Wu Meiniang was also very satisfied with Li Zhen.

If it weren't for the matter of King Wu Li Ke, she might not be able to do anything to Changsun Wuji. After all, the other party had the order of the previous emperor, so he was very enthusiastic.

As the two were chatting happily, Concubine Yan De suddenly said, "By the way, before I entered the palace, Concubine Wei came to see me and asked me to pay my respects to Her Majesty the Queen."

Wu Meiniang's eyes flickered, and she smiled and said, "It's rare that she still remembers me. Has she returned to Chang'an as well?"

Concubine Yan De smiled and said, "Isn't it? This year, the Saint defeated the Western Turks. Although we women can't help, we should return to Chang'an and celebrate for the Saint."

Wu Meiniang smiled and said, "I heard that the young King of Wu has also returned to Chang'an and is hosting a banquet in his mansion today. Is that true?"

Concubine Yan De smiled slightly and said, "Yes, that child is pitiful. He finally waited for this day. Oh, and he also wants to change his name to Li Ji. What do you think, Your Highness?"

Wu Meiniang's heart moved.

Concubine Yan De seemed to be testing the attitude of the palace.

Because after Li Zhi sent Xiao Ji away, he did not issue any order to keep his identity secret.

Therefore, Li Zhen was not sure whether the emperor was willing to make public Xiaoji's experience of hiding in the palace.

In fact, in Li Zhen's view, it doesn't matter if this experience is made public, as it can better reflect the emperor's benevolence.

However, since Li Zhi's thoughts were still unclear, Concubine Yan De was asked to test it out.

Wu Meiniang smiled and said, "At breakfast this morning, Princess Gao An came to see Your Majesty and said she wanted to go to the Prince of Wu's mansion to see the young Prince of Wu. Your Majesty has agreed and asked Princess Xincheng to accompany her."

Concubine Yan De's eyes lit up and she asked, "Does His Majesty have any instructions?"

Wu Meiniang said, "I have no other instructions."

Concubine Yan De nodded.

Since the emperor did not ask Princess Gao An to keep it secret, it means he does not care about exposing Xiao Ji's identity.

"That's good. The child has often told us recently that the name Xiaoji has brought him good fortune and helped him clear his father's name. He is very grateful to Your Majesty and also very grateful for your care."

Wu Meiniang said, "Perhaps it is the spirit of King Wu in heaven who is blessing the child."

After Concubine Yan De said goodbye and left, Wu Meiniang came to the inner room, picked up Li Xian, and teased his little face with her fingers.

Wu Meiniang had a special feeling for this child.

The birth of Li Xian consolidated her position as queen and also helped her to defeat her biggest enemy, Zhangsun Wuji, without any danger.

So she loved this son especially.

At this time, Zhang Duohai walked in from outside and whispered, "Your Highness, I am back."

Wu Meiniang nodded, put Li Xian back into the stroller, went to the outer hall, and sat down on the couch.

"Tell me, what's the situation?"

Zhang Duohai said, "The rumor hasn't spread widely. The Jinwu Guards have also posted notices prohibiting the spread of rumors among the public. In a few days, it should be quelled."

Wu Meiniang nodded and snorted, "How dare that old scoundrel Changsun Wuji use rumors from the Zhenguan era to attack me? How despicable!"

Zhang Dahai laughed and said, "He's already a toothless tiger. Wouldn't it be easy for you to crush him to death now?"

Wu Meiniang tilted her head slightly and stared at him coldly.

Zhang Da Hai immediately slapped himself twice and said with a smile: "Look at my mouth, I said the wrong thing again."

Wu Mei Niang said, "Although I hate him, since he has fallen to this point, he is no longer a threat to me. There is no need to make Your Majesty angry because of him."

Zhang Duohai smiled and said, "That's true. If he hadn't caused such a scene, His Majesty's trust in you wouldn't have been evident."

Wu Meiniang smiled slightly, walked to the table and picked up the jade pen.

Zhang Dahai hurried over to help her grind the ink.

After a while, Wu Meiniang wrote a congratulatory card and handed it to Zhang Duohai.

"Take it to the Wu Palace and give it to the young Wu King as a gift. After all, he did me a favor."

……

King Wu Li Ke originally had a mansion in Chang'an City, located in Xingdaofang, with an excellent geographical location, facing Zhuque Gate across the street.

After Li Ke was falsely accused, the Wu Palace was confiscated and left to decay until today, when it was finally renovated. Two days ago, Yue Wang Li Zhen and Ji Wang Li Shen both sent servants from their palaces to the Wu Palace to help tidy up the front yard.

However, the backyard has not been cleaned yet.

Xiaoji was standing in the back garden of Prince Wu's mansion at this moment, directing the officials to clean up a piece of wasteland.

Xiaoji no longer wore the light gray eunuch uniform, but changed into a luxurious blue robe and a fox fur jacket on the outside, looking very noble.

However, he had been in the palace for many years after all, and he habitually bent his waist slightly and spoke softly, so the servants were not afraid of him.

A cabinet member complained with a bitter face.

"Your Highness, it's so cold, why are you leaving us here to weed? We're freezing!"

Xiaoji said, "Hold on a little longer. When you're done, I'll give each of you a hundred coins."

Fang Ge rolled his eyes and said with a smile, "Today is a good day for you to inherit the title and hold a banquet. Why don't you take advantage of this auspicious occasion and reward each of us with 500 coins so that we can work harder!"

"How dare you! You bunch of naughty slaves, how dare you bargain with your master? Do you want to go back to the Ministry of Justice and be beaten?" A delicate voice came from a distance.

Xiaoji turned around and saw two women walking towards him through the Moon Gate, one big and one small. They were Princess Xincheng and Princess Gaoan.

Princess Xincheng came closer and Xiaoji hurriedly saluted her.

"Meet Her Royal Highness the Princess."

Princess Xincheng smiled and said, "You are already the heir to the throne, and you are also my cousin. You don't have to be so polite to us."

He turned around and glanced at the rooms and pavilions, then said, "You are too young, and there is no capable person in the mansion. Tomorrow, I will send you a housekeeper to help you manage the affairs of the mansion and discipline these stubborn servants."

Xiaoji said, "Thank you, Auntie. However, my Eighth Uncle has assigned two stewards to me, and they are busy arranging the banquet in the front hall."

Princess Xincheng nodded, glanced sideways at the grass, and said, "Why did you ask them to tidy up the grass?"

Xiaoji whispered, "I want to build a football field as soon as possible so that I can play football with the princess, no, with my cousin."

After hearing this, Princess Gao An covered her mouth and giggled.

Princess Xincheng smiled and said, "You two can go talk. I'll keep an eye on this for you."

Xiaoji agreed and took Princess Gao'an through several doors to a small pond.

"Princess, why don't you speak?" Xiaoji asked, tilting his head.

Princess Gao An muttered, "I don't know what to call you. Should I call you Xiaoji, or Brother Xiaoji, or Brother Li Ren?"

Xiaoji smiled and said, "Just call me Brother Xiaoji."

Princess Gao An also smiled, glanced at him sideways, and said, "Oh, I never thought you were actually my brother. No wonder I felt so close to you when I first saw you."

Xiaoji smiled slightly and said, "I never thought that one day I would be able to stand in front of you as your brother."

Princess Gao An glanced around and muttered, "I really envy you. You actually have a mansion of your own, bigger than Aunt Xu's Penglai Palace."

Xiaoji smiled and said, "You can come and play often in the future. When I build the ball court, I will play ball with you."

Princess Gao An suddenly took a few steps closer and whispered to him, "Brother Xiaoji, can I ask you for a favor?"

Xiaoji said solemnly: "You said, as long as brother can do it, I will definitely help you."

Princess Gao An whispered, "Can you help me check on my mother? I, I want to know how she is doing now."

Xiaoji was slightly surprised and asked, "Why do you suddenly want to know about her?"

Princess Gao An whispered, "After you said those words to me that day, I often couldn't sleep at night and kept thinking about my mother..."

Xiaoji scratched his head and said with a wry smile, "Oh, it's all my fault. I really shouldn't have said those nonsense to you back then!"

Princess Gao An said anxiously, "No, I am very grateful that you told me that."

Xiaoji sighed, "Little sister, I was feeling depressed at the time, and what I said was actually quite pessimistic, not necessarily the truth. You'd better not take it too seriously."

Princess Gao An was stunned for a moment and said, "But I really want to know about my mother's situation now."

Xiaoji sighed, "Forget it. Since I caused this trouble, I can only take care of it to the end. However, after I help you find out the situation, you must not think about her anymore."

Princess Gao An nodded her head and said, "As long as my mother is doing well, I won't worry!"

Xiaoji said, "I'll find a chance to find out about her situation for you. Also, you must not tell anyone about this."

Princess Gao An covered her mouth and said, "I know, but I won't even tell my sister!"

Xiaoji took Princess Gao'an for a walk in the back garden and played hide-and-seek in a sweet-scented osmanthus forest.

At the end of the Shen period, the King of Yue sent someone to call him to the front hall to entertain the guests.

Princess Gao'an parted with him and left the Prince of Wu's Mansion with Princess Xincheng and returned to the imperial palace.

(End of this chapter)