Chapter 4561 New Year’s Eve
Although Taiji Palace was attacked by rebels twice in a row and was severely damaged, before winter, a large number of skilled craftsmen were assembled to repair it under the joint efforts of the General Supervisor, the Shaofu Supervisor and the Ministry of Works. Although it was not as grand and exquisite as before, However, many collapsed buildings have been rebuilt and restored to 70% to 80% of their peak value.
On New Year's Eve, the entire Tai Chi Palace was hung with red lanterns, candles were lit in each palace, and the entire palace was filled with light and beauty.
Li Chengqian sat in the Imperial Study Room, drank tea and took a breath. If there was anyone who was busiest on New Year's Eve in the world, it was probably no one as good as the Emperor. Various rituals of worshiping ancestors, worshiping heaven, and worshiping gods came one after another, and each of them needed to be presided over by the emperor himself. Li Chengqian also suffered from leg disease, and his body bones were not very strong. After a busy day, he almost lost half his life. ……
After finally sitting in the imperial study for a sip of tea and a break, he also had to prepare for the evening watch. Just as he was wondering if he could be lazy, he saw Li Junxian striding in. When he got close, he leaned down and whispered that Li Demao was going to Li Ji today. Please report the New Year's gift carefully to your family.
Li Chengqian put down his tea cup and said with a solemn expression: "Do you know what else this person said besides coming to the door to give gifts?"
Li Junxian said: "He also begged the British public relations officer to place his children in the left and right Jinwu Guards, but the British public officials refused on the spot, and Li Demao walked away. After that, the British public officials sent him the original number of New Year's gifts He returned the favor and went around the city of Chang'an, which made everyone known. The Prince of Xiangyi County was furious and cursed the British Duke in the hall for a long time. "
Li Chengqian asked curiously: "You can find out so clearly?"
Is the energy of "Hundred Knights" already so great? Even the British Duke's Palace and the Xiangyi County Prince's Palace are well aware of what just happened...
Li Junxian shook his head and said: "It's not because of the ability of the humble minister, but because these two mansions have never banned publicity about this matter, and everyone in the two mansions is talking about it."
Li Chengqian fell into deep thought.
On New Year's Eve, it is extremely unusual for someone to send gifts and ask for help. What's more, the identities of both parties are sensitive. It stands to reason that no matter whether it succeeds or not, both parties should try their best to hide it from the outside world, so why not hide it at all?
Thinking about it more carefully, Li Demao chose to go to give gifts today. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't hide it, and it was bound to be spread all over the place...
What are these two families doing?
If you really have a selfless heart and a wide world, no matter what others think?
Or did Li Ji deliberately publicize this matter to express his attitude of firmly standing in his own camp as the emperor?
Li Chengqian was not a quick-witted person, and his political talent was only ordinary. He couldn't figure out the reason for a while. He wanted to find Fang Jun to give him some advice, but these days there was a bit of a quarrel between him and Fang Jun over the issue of controlling Jin Wu's guard Quan and Princess Changle. It would be a bit embarrassing to suddenly send someone to look for him. Because it is inconvenient for others to enter the palace on New Year's Eve.
We can only give up for now.
"Pay attention to the follow-up news of this matter, and step aside for now."
"Here."
As soon as Li Junxian left, Queen Su walked in accompanied by the palace maids and asked with a smile: "On New Year's Eve, when the whole family is happy, does your Majesty still have government affairs to deal with?"
Li Chengqian did not elaborate, but waved his hand: "It's just some secular matters, the queen doesn't need to pay attention to them."
Queen Su sat next to Li Chengqian and asked: "I have to stay up late tonight. I have already prepared a midnight meal. After midnight, I will have dinner with the prince, concubines and princesses. Does your majesty have anything else?" Order?”
Li Chengqian looked a little tired and said: "You can take charge of these things, I won't ask about it."
As he said that, he remembered something again: "How has Changle been in a good mood these past two days?"
Since that day when the queen was asked to go to Shujing Hall, Princess Changle has never come to Wude Hall to say hello. She is obviously angry. Li Chengqian couldn't do anything about his biological sister who was soft on the outside but strong on the inside. Although he often reflected that he shouldn't have given the order to abort the fetus in Changle's belly, which also caused Fang Jun's dissatisfaction, but as an emperor, he couldn't bow his head first, right?
Queen Su glanced at Li Chengqian, hesitated, and said: "It looks fine, but how can there be no resentment for that kind of thing? Let me tell you, while you are keeping watch tonight, your Majesty might as well lead the guards to patrol the palace. When I was at Shujing Palace, I just went in to express my condolences and untie the knot. As long as my brother and sister talked about the conflict, it wouldn't be a big deal. Changle has always been a generous person. "
Li Chengqian clicked his tongue, picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tea, pondering unsteadily, obviously unable to lose face.
The Queen then said: "In the final analysis, Your Majesty is also wrong in this matter. Changle married Changsun Chong when he was just a teenager. He has suffered many grievances. The most important thing is that he has never been able to give birth to a son and a half. Now, although she is pregnant with Lin this year, The child is naturally regarded as a treasure. His Majesty ordered the child to be aborted. How could Changle not be angry? "
Li Chengqian said angrily: "Am I not going to let her have children? She can have children with anyone, but it cannot be Fang Jun! Where do you put the dignity of the court and the face of the clan?"
"Yes, yes, everything your Majesty said is right, but now that the matter has come to this, your Majesty can't still think about aborting the fetus, right?"
"I was so angry that I was so impulsive that I no longer had such intention."
"That's right. After all, they are still brothers and sisters. King Jin made such a big mistake, and His Majesty just banned him. Compared with it, Changle's behavior is nothing at all."
The queen knew Li Chengqian's character and might be harsher towards his brothers, but she only loved and protected the sisters. Even if she made mistakes, she would not bear to punish them harshly. Otherwise, when Chai Zhewei was rebellious, she would not be able to let Princess Baling plead for mercy and forget about it. The result gave Chai Zhewei the opportunity to rebel again...
Li Chengqian didn't say anything. He knew that with Chang Le's temper, even if he died, he would not bow his head in front of him and admit his mistakes. But brothers and sisters can't stay away from each other until death, right? In the end, it was his brother who had to bow his head first.
After thinking for a while, he said: "If the queen has nothing to do, why not accompany me for a walk in the palace?"
The queen suppressed her laughter, nodded and said, "Then I will accompany your majesty for a walk."
……
Tonight, New Year's Eve, although the palace is not allowed to display red or colorful decorations because Emperor Taizong's period of filial piety has not passed, the lights are brightly lit everywhere. It is the time to strictly guard against candles. The emperor and the empress patrolled the palace, warning all palaces to pay attention to candles, and then Then I also took the opportunity to visit various places and express my condolences to some elderly maids and concubines.
Chamberlains, maids, and guards gathered around, and dozens of people came out from Wude Hall, followed Daji Hall, Lizheng Hall, and Wanchun Hall to Liangyi Hall, and went south through Liangyi Gate to inspect Taiji Hall. One week, extending from the right Mingmen goes west, passes by Shirenyuan and Zhongshu Province, then goes north and enters from Suzhangmen, bypasses Baifu Hall and Anren Hall, and then you see a row of corridors in front of you, and behind the corridor is Changle Shujing Hall where the princess lives.
After walking around half a circle around the Tai Chi Palace for a full six or seven miles, Li Chengqian, who had bad legs and feet, panted slightly and felt a little short of breath.
The queen held Li Chengqian's arm and asked with concern: "Does your Majesty need a rest?"
Li Chengqian felt that his dignity as a man was being questioned, so he waved his hand and said: "No, let's go to Changle to rest and have a cup of tea by the way."
The free chamberlain should go to Shujing Palace first to pass the news. When Li Chengqian arrived outside the palace with the support of the queen, Princess Changle and Princess Jinyang stood at the door, bowing and saluting: "My sister has met your majesty and the queen."
The anger in Li Chengqian's heart had long dissipated, and he hurriedly said: "Brothers and sisters, why should we be so polite? Sizi is here too."
The two sisters were lying flat on each other. Princess Jinyang stepped forward and supported Li Chengqian's other arm. Together with the queen, she helped him walk in. She said with a smile: "I felt bored in the palace, so I came over to chat with my sister."
Li Chengqian clicked his tongue, feeling that it was not good for Jinyang and Changle to be too close, because it would greatly increase the chance of contact with Fang Jun...
In fact, he also understands that young men like Fang Jun, who have reached high positions at a young age and have made great achievements, are the most able to attract the favor of women. It is no wonder that Changle and Jinyang both secretly expressed their love for him, but Changle is fine, Quan He should be compensated for marrying eldest Sun Chong back then, but if Jinyang also followed suit, that would definitely not work!
But tonight is New Year's Eve, a time for family reunion, so he didn't say much, just smiled and entered Shujing Hall with the help of two people...
The hall is as warm as spring. There are several tables placed on the floor by the window. The tables are filled with all kinds of fruits, pears, dates, snacks and delicacies. Although the decoration is simple, it still has a somewhat festive atmosphere.
When everyone was seated, Princess Jinyang took over the task of making tea and served the emperor and queen to drink tea.
Li Chengqian took a sip of tea, pondered for a moment, and then asked sadly: "I did something wrong for you the past few days. Sister, please don't bear any grudge against me. Brother, I promise you that this will never happen again in the future." ”
It is extremely rare in ancient times for an emperor to personally apologize and admit his mistake.
Princess Changle smiled brightly and said softly: "My brother is the king of a country, and his thoughts involve many things. My sister not only cannot share my brother's worries, but also makes him embarrassed. This is my sister's fault. How dare I bear grudges against my brother? No matter when, My sister's love for her brother has not diminished even a little bit."
Li Chengqian was touched and said with emotion: "My sister is so considerate, I feel ashamed for my brother... When I was a child, during the Chinese New Year, we stayed up with my father and mother, laughing and celebrating. To this day, not only my father and mother, but also We are separated by yin and yang, and even brothers and sisters are scattered, not to mention those who have gone out. The married sister and the third child are now far away in Silla. They are separated by thousands of mountains and rivers and cannot be seen even if they want to. The pheasant slave made a big mistake and was imprisoned... It is because my brother is not talented enough and cannot maintain the brotherhood. , the righteousness of brotherhood, which led to the current situation. Every time I think about it, I feel ashamed of my father.”
Speaking of this, Li Chengqian choked up and shed tears.
Perhaps my father was right at the beginning. He lacked the imperial spirit to kill decisively. Instead, he paid more attention to brotherhood and family ties, and it was inevitable to act before and after.
However, we can't let him give up his position as Crown Prince willingly, right?
If that were the case, he, his wife, and sons might have been persecuted to death today...
What happened can't be undone, and to this day, I can't say anything. (End of chapter)