Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 189 The Concubines Were Shocked

Compared with the tense situation in the court, there was a cheerful atmosphere in the harem at this moment.

Subiranya has been entering the palace frequently recently. She is experienced and good at speaking. Most importantly, she is so beautiful but she did not seduce the emperor.

This is the most critical point.

A woman who knows her limits is always liked by others.

So not only did all the concubines have a good impression of her, but even Wu Meiniang was quite interested in her.

The first day of every month is the day for the harem's regular meeting. Although it is not as lively as the regular meeting on a regular day, everyone rarely gets together on weekdays, so it is rare to be able to talk together in the harem.

What's more, today Subilaya was invited by Empress Wu to attend the gathering of concubines of the Tang Dynasty.

The women gathered together and listened to her discuss Tubo, Turks and Tiele, as well as the vastness of the prairie, the magic of the Tianshan Mountains and the grandeur of the Kunlun Mountains.

Women in the deep palace rarely leave Chang'an, let alone such a remote and wonderful place.

Wu Meiniang knew that Li Zhi was most concerned about Tubo, so she was also more interested in Tubo.

"Mrs. Subi, what do Tibetans usually do?" she asked.
Subiranya thought for a moment and said, "Some of them farm, some herd, they enjoy singing and dancing, they eat naked barley, and they drink goat's milk. Oh, and the Tibetans also love to play polo, even the women do it."

Concubine Zheng was surprised and asked, "Do the women there also ride horses?"

Subiranya smiled and said, "I meant the noble women, but most ordinary women can ride horses too."

Wu Meiniang interjected, "They are actually more like Goguryeo, combining farming and herding, so naturally there are more people who know how to ride."

Subi Lanya smiled and said, "I don't know about Goguryeo, but you are right. Many countries in Western Qiang combine farming and grazing, including Tubo and Subi."

When she mentioned her homeland, her voice dropped a little, but soon returned to normal. She smiled and said, "I heard that there are women playing polo in the Tang Dynasty. My dear friends, have you ever come across them?"

Concubine Zheng laughed and said, "I'm not afraid of you laughing at me. We've only ever played donkey ball, but Her Majesty the Queen can ride a horse."

Subilanya's eyes lit up and she smiled, "The people of the Tang Dynasty are really smart. Tibetan women often get injured or make a fool of themselves when playing polo. Donkey polo is more suitable for women."

Noble women in the Tang Dynasty actually practiced horse riding at home, but most of them gave up after getting married. Of course, riding a donkey was still fine.

"Madam Lan Ya, what do the women in your Subi country usually do?" Concubine Zheng asked curiously.

Lan Ya wasn't really interested in discussing the Subi Kingdom, but seeing how curious everyone was, she said, "Women are usually busy with government affairs. Actually, they don't have as much leisure as the women of the Tang Dynasty."

Liu Chong'er was surprised and said, "Women are busy with government affairs, so what are men doing?"

"They are responsible for hunting and farming, or patrolling the area and guarding the border." Lan Ya said it naturally, but the other girls all found it very new.

Xu Jin laughed and said, "Can a man in your country only marry one wife?"

"Of course, but a woman can marry several men."

Wu Meiniang was now interested and said with a smile, "Doesn't your queen have many men?"

"Yes, my mother has more than a hundred maids, and the first one is called Jin Ju." Lan Ya said softly.

This number is outrageous. Not to mention the current emperor, he has more women than the previous emperor.

The girls looked at each other, all feeling as if their souls had been shocked.

After a while, the girls talked about interesting things about the Subi Kingdom. Wu Meiniang asked Concubine Zheng and others to take Lan Ya to the bathhouse in Ziyun Pavilion to take a bath.

The girls then took their leave.

Wu Meiniang went to the side hall and began to prepare medicinal food for Li Zhi.

In the afternoon, Zhang Duohai came into the palace and whispered to Wu Meiniang, "Your Highness, the court meeting is over."

Wu Meiniang hummed, and then asked casually, "What important matter did they discuss?"

Zhang Duohai said, "There are two things. The first is that Liu Rengui reported that serious land annexation was occurring in Hebei."

Wu Meiniang snorted and said, "Is it because of His Majesty's tax exemption policy?"

Zhang Duohai said, "Isn't it? It's those great aristocratic families who are taking the lead again, especially the Fanyang Lu family. His Majesty is very angry about this."

"Did His Majesty reprimand Lu Chengqing?"

"That's not true."

Wu Meiniang was silent for a moment, then said, "I'm not surprised that the Fanyang Lu family would do such a thing. But this Liu Rengui is different from other ministers."

"What do you mean?"

Wu Meiniang said, "Lu Chengqing is a minister that His Majesty is currently using, but he doesn't care about him at all. This shows that he has a very stubborn personality."

Zhang Duohai said, "Now that you mention it, it seems that he has indeed offended quite a few people."

Wu Meiniang stirred the medicinal food in the porcelain pot with a long spoon and asked, "One more thing?"

Zhang Duohai said, "Another incident is related to Li Jingxuan. He proposed to revise the clan history in the court and was attacked by the ministers!"

Wu Meiniang tilted her head slightly and said, "This must be Li Yifu's idea. He thinks about his own affairs every day and doesn't know how to share the worries of His Majesty. No wonder His Majesty dislikes him more and more."

Zhang Duohai whispered, "Your Highness, Li Yifu and Li Jingxuan can help you with things after all. Now their situation is worrying. I'm afraid that Li Jingxuan's position as prime minister is also in jeopardy. Do you want to help them?"

Wu Meiniang frowned and remained silent. Originally, she didn't want to get too involved with these foreign ministers, but they both helped her a lot with the dethronement edict.

She was a person who clearly distinguished between gratitude and grudges. Since the two had helped her, she would never forget it.

Moreover, similar things may happen in the future, so the previous dynasty can keep some strength to be prepared for any eventuality.

The question is, how can we help these two people without causing Li Zhi to worry?

While she was lost in thought, the medicinal food was ready, steaming hot. Wu Meiniang lifted the lid with tongs, poured a small bowl for herself to taste, and then put it on the small stove to keep it warm.

"Ask Concubine Jiang to come and serve you." She suddenly ordered.

……

Li Yifu leaned on the bed, looking at Jiang Shanggong who was dressing, and sighed: "I thought you would never come to see me again."

Concubine Jiang smiled and said, "I wasn't planning on coming to see you again."

Li Yifu said, "I don't blame you. I've been dismissed from my position as prime minister, and the situation in the court is not good. Stay away from me to avoid getting into trouble."

Concubine Jiang glanced at him sideways and said, "I didn't come to see you because Chunyu was too conspicuous. I was afraid I'd be discovered and ruin your reputation. Why are you overthinking it?"

Li Yifu laughed dryly and said, "My reputation in this area has long been ruined. It can't get any worse."

Jiang Shang Gong said softly, "Also, Her Majesty the Queen already knows about our affairs, so I don't dare to come to you casually."

Li Yifu was slightly surprised: "Then why did you come to see me today?"

Concubine Jiang whispered, "His Highness asked me to come."

Li Yifu sat up suddenly and asked anxiously, "What did Her Majesty the Queen say?"

Concubine Jiang looked at him sideways and said, "She didn't say anything. Instead, she asked me to bring the medicinal food to see His Majesty, and then she spoke to His Majesty for a few words."

Li Yifu was stunned for a moment and said, "That's all?"

Concubine Jiang said sternly, "You don't understand. Her Majesty the Queen has rules for everything she does. It's impossible to have chaos with different people doing different things. In the past, Yuping was the one who prepared the medicinal food."

Li Yifu touched his chin and said, "I understand. She deliberately asked you to listen to her conversation with His Majesty and then told you to tell me."

Concubine Jiang nodded.

Li Yifu stared at her and asked, "What did the Queen say to His Majesty?"

Jiang Shang Gong said: "We only talked about today's regular harem meeting. The Queen invited Subi Lanya into the palace and told the concubines some interesting stories about Subi."

Li Yifu hurriedly asked, "Anything else?"

"Nothing."

"Is that all?" Li Yifu was stunned.

Jiang Shanggong said, "You are a smart person. You should know what Her Majesty the Queen wants to tell you, right?"

After a long silence, Li Yifu smiled and said, "Subilanya, Tubo."

Jiang Shang Gong said no more and smiled, "Then I'll leave first."

Li Yifu sat in the room and pondered for a while, and soon figured out the queen's intention.

The emperor's recent focus has been on Tubo.

Subilaya was the queen of Subi. The emperor might use her to secretly contact the nobles of Subi and make them the internal supporters of the Tang Dynasty.

In other words, the State of Subi is now the emperor's top priority.

If he wanted to gain the emperor's favor and trust again, he had to cater to the emperor's wishes and make some contributions.

Thinking of this, he left the courtyard in a carriage and went to the palace at night. He sent people to call several trusted clerks over and met them outside the case warehouse.

"Mr. Li, why did you call us here so late at night?" The clerks were all confused.

Li Yifu said in a deep voice: "No need to ask more questions, all of you help me do one thing."

"What's the matter?" several people asked.

Li Yifu glanced back at the warehouse and said, "I want you to thoroughly check all the old files in the warehouse and find everything related to the Subi Kingdom!"

Every edict of the Secretariat would be backed up and stored in the warehouse for future reference.

There are nearly ten years of imperial edicts stored in the warehouse.

There are more old edicts preserved in Hongwenguan and Chongwenguan.

After hearing this, everyone looked shocked.

"Mr. Li, there are so many old files. It must be difficult to find such a small matter."

Li Yifu said calmly, "Everyone has worked hard these past few days. Come here every night to look for it. I will accompany you. As long as you find what I want, I will take care of your future upgrades."

They looked at each other and said in unison, "We are willing to serve Lord Li!"

(End of this chapter)