Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

The next morning.

The arrival of the Yuanzheng Festival made the Duke of Lai's Mansion extremely lively early in the morning.

"Be careful with the old door god portraits. Don't blaspheme the gods."

The old housekeeper Du Ping'an ordered his servants with a solemn face to tear down the old door god portraits on the vermilion gate and replace them with portraits of the two ghost gods Shentu and Yulei.

"Bring the ladder over here and hang the mahogany board over the door."

Du Ping'an handed the two pieces of peach wood carved with the images of Shentu and Yulei to a young servant and asked him to hang them at a specific location on the door.

He directed from below: "Don't rush to come down, you're hanging crookedly, move a little to the left."

"You are so young, you can't even do any work well."

The officials and aristocratic families of the Tang Dynasty still used the two ghosts Shentu and Yulei as door gods.

Some common people put up portraits of the two military generals Yuchi Gong and Qin Qiong to use as door gods to ward off evil spirits.

At this time, Du He and Du Gou, wearing dark crimson official robes, walked out of the mansion side by side.

"Meet the eldest master and the second master."

Du Ping'an bowed respectfully and then asked with concern, "Master, Second Master, have you had breakfast?"

Du Gou waved his hand and said, "Marquis Ping'an, the court is holding a grand court meeting today, and His Majesty is holding a banquet in the Taiji Hall."

"The Second Master and I will stay in the palace quite late, so I'll trouble you to take care of the mansion."

Du Ping'an quickly bowed and said, "Master, this is what I should do."

On the first day of the first lunar month, Li Shimin would hold a grand court meeting and grand display in the Taiji Hall.

The main purpose of the grand court meeting was for Li Shimin and his court officials to receive envoys from various vassal states and accept their tribute for the new year.

To put it bluntly, it means accepting the peace fee paid by the vassal state in the new year.

Giving it to tributary states would ensure they would have peace and tranquility in the new year.

If the country is attacked, the Tang Dynasty will help them.

The current Silla is a living example. It is being beaten up by Goguryeo and Baekje, and the Tang Dynasty is helping it.

After the grand court meeting, a grand display was held.

The grand display is to showcase the treasures of the Tang Dynasty, and to display precious ceremonial vessels such as precious jade chariots, yellow flags, and music from the palace and counties from past dynasties to highlight the heritage of the Tang Dynasty.

Let the barbarians of these vassal states admire the profound historical heritage of the Han people and the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty.

This is a blatant display of wealth.

In addition, Li Shimin also had to listen to reports of auspicious signs occurring in various states and counties.

Auspicious signs have always been major events since ancient times.

The appearance of auspicious signs indicates that in the new year, the Tang Dynasty will have a bumper harvest, thriving livestock, and peace and prosperity.

In any case, the governors of various states would try their best to fabricate some auspicious signs in order to please Li Shimin even if nothing happened in their jurisdiction.

When Du He and Du Gou arrived at the Taiji Hall, many civil and military officials had already arrived, and a lot of changes had taken place inside.

The large desk and cushions used for court sessions were removed and replaced with small desks and cushions, hundreds of which were densely packed together.

Moreover, on both sides of the hall, various precious and historical objects are displayed.

Looking at the many rare treasures, Du He felt as if he had gone to a large exhibition hall.

“It’s really grand.”

Du He murmured in a low voice.

Some officials nearby greeted Du He and Du Gou.

"Greetings to Duke Lai and Prince Consort Du!"

Du He and Du Gou also put on a smiling face and greeted the officials.

During major festivals, unless there is a deep hatred, people will generally greet each other when they meet.

The Minister of Works Du Chuke walked towards them. He glanced at the brothers Du He and Du Gou, and a trace of hatred appeared on his face.

Ever since Du Jingtong represented the family to go to Princess Chengyang's mansion to find Du He and suffered a great defeat.

Now the relationship between the family and the three Du He brothers has completely broken off.

As the official leader of the Jingzhao Du family, Du Chuke would naturally not be nice to the Du He brothers.

"Old dog, let's see how long you can be so arrogant!"

Du He glanced at Du Chuke coldly and cursed in a low voice.

Being looked at with contempt by Du Chuke, Du Gou's face also looked unhappy.

In the fourth year of Zhenguan, when his late father Du Ruhui passed away, Li Shimin, in order to express his gratitude for his father's achievements, showed favor to Du Chuke and his two brothers.

A man like Du Chuke, an ungrateful person, after being appointed as Jieshizhong by His Majesty, climbed to the high position of Minister of Works with the support of his family.

And he didn't care about the three brothers.

After adjusting his mood, Du Gou whispered to Du He, "Second brother, I have to go and get busy first."

Du He nodded: "Brother, you do your thing, I'll just take a stroll and take a look."

As the Shangshu Zuocheng, my eldest brother is one of the main persons in charge of this grand court meeting and the grand display, and he has a lot of things to be responsible for.

Du He, the Imperial Court Minister, was originally required to read out the auspicious signs reported by various states and counties at the court meeting. However, Li Shimin felt that he was too young and his reading lacked emotion.

So this part of the work was given to the attendant Liu Li.

Therefore, Du He is just here to make up the numbers and has not been assigned any specific responsibilities.

Just as Du He was strolling with his hands behind his back, an elegant middle-aged official came over and greeted him with a smile on his face.

"Lu Chengqing, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, pays his respects to Prince Consort Du."

Hearing this familiar name, Du He paused.

Isn’t Lu Chengqing the future father-in-law of the third brother?

Du He turned around quickly and saw an elegant middle-aged man in his forties standing in front of him.

"Minister Lu, you are too polite. Our two families will soon become relatives. If you don't mind, you can call me Xiao Du."

Hearing Du He's words, Lu Chengqing nodded slightly, then clasped his fists and said.

"Then I will take advantage of my age and call you my nephew Du."

Before agreeing to his daughter's marriage to Du Aitong, he specifically sought out relatives working in Chang'an to inquire about the deeds of the three Du He brothers.

When he learned that the three Du He brothers had a falling out with the Jingzhao Du family, he initially wanted to reject the marriage.

But as he learned more and more, he learned that Du He was the prince's most popular man and had made many great contributions, so he became hesitant and wait-and-see.

It was not until the recent assessment by the Ministry of Personnel, when Du Gou was promoted to Shangshu Zuo Cheng and Du He was promoted to Huangmen Shilang, that he instantly changed his mind.

This marriage must be agreed to!

Even the emperor can’t stop it!

Du He and Du Gou were able to climb to their current high positions without the help of their families, which shows how capable they are.

Moreover, Du Aitong, the prospective son-in-law, is also a capable young talent, so it would be a good thing for my daughter to marry him.

Just as the two were talking, the Minister of Revenue Tang Jian came over.

He smiled and nodded at Du He, then said to Lu Chengqing: "Minister Lu, the envoys from the vassal states are coming with tribute, and the people in the Ministry of Rites are too busy to handle it. Please come with me to help."

"it is good!"

Lu Chengqing bowed to Tang Jian and said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner.

Judging from the tone and expression of the two people when they greeted each other, they didn't seem to be in a superior-subordinate relationship.

It seems that the reputation and influence of the Five Surnames and Seven Families are greater than imagined.

Lu Chengqing turned to look at Du He and said, "Nephew Du, I will bring my family to visit Duke Lai's mansion at noon tomorrow, and we can chat over a drink then."

Du He smiled and said, "Then let's prepare some wine and food in advance and wait for Uncle Lu to arrive."

After half an hour.

Li Shimin, wearing a crown with twelve strings of white beads, and Li Chengqian, dressed in formal clothes, walked into the Taiji Hall. Behind them followed important ministers including Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling.

Seeing Li Shimin and the prince arrive, the court officials who were still wandering in the Taiji Hall quickly returned to their seats.