Love Affairs in Chang'an - Chapter 334

Chapter 334 The Temple Is Tall and Distant

Originally, according to Qin Mubai’s schedule, he would stay in Xiangyang for at most six or seven days before turning around to visit Yangzhou. Unexpectedly, their goal was still too big, so it was already extremely difficult not to leak the news.

Xiangzhou was originally a place where Qin Mubai had made his fortune. He was said to be half a local emperor and not a country. Now that the “old master” had returned to his homeland, all the officials and merchants of the wealthy gentry would try their best to curry favor with Feng Cheng as long as they could have a slight relationship with him.

Today, the governor invited him to the banquet. Tomorrow, the commandant would pay him a visit. He would either invite the leaders of the three Chambers of Commerce who had close business relations with Wu Meiniang, or even the local officials and squire would have their heads sharpened to find connections to invite Qin Mubai and Princess Gaoyang to come.

Reaching out and not hitting the smiling person, he couldn’t pacify the other person’s good intentions. For more than half a month in a row, he visited 1.5 households on average every day before finally dispersing some of the entertainment.

Even delicious delicacies made people feel sick. Qin Mubai finally understood the truth that “people are afraid of being famous and pigs are afraid of being strong”. Don’t underestimate the people in the mountains, emperors, and distant Xiangyang. Their noses aren’t any slower than those of those wealthy families in Chang’an. Qin Mubai’s heroic deeds in Lanzhou had already spread throughout the world, and now he was going to marry Princess Gaoyang again. It was difficult for such a young man to be underdeveloped. As the saying goes, someone in the court was easy to be an official. Qin Mubai could be said to have made his fortune in Xiangyang. Xiangyang people naturally treated him as half of their own villagers. This was “taking care of relatives”. It was also very natural for them to squeeze up and curry favor with each other.

Ever since he became an official, Qin Mubai, who did not bully or humiliate others, did not put on any airs. He was very happy to talk to nobles and princes, and he was also able to get along with ninth-grade officials. Therefore, his popularity was extremely good. This time, Xiangyang returned to his original place. He truly felt the feeling of “returning home in luxury”.

However, this trip was delayed. With such a calculation, it would probably be on the way to celebrate the New Year. Therefore, after Qin Mubai and his mother discussed it, they decided to simply celebrate the New Year in Xiangyang. Qin Mubai sent an urgent letter to Chang’an and gave it to his eldest brother Qin Tong and second brother Qin Bin. He asked them if they were willing to come to Xiangyang together during their annual vacation to find a new way to celebrate the New Year. A few days later, he received a reply from his eldest brother, Qin Bin. The letter said that he and Qin Bin had just received a transfer order. The two brothers entered Baiji together and were appointed deputy envoys and senior officials. During the Spring Festival, the two of them had to stay behind to guard the imperial palace, so they could not come to Xiangyang. Please forgive Yun Yun, mother, third brother and princess.

Qin Mubai and the others were happy to receive this letter. I didn’t expect that this matter could be settled so quickly. It seemed that the Emperor had a plan in mind. Previously, when he asked Qin Mubai, he had the intention of “asking a guest to kill a chicken” and insisted that Qin Mubai take the initiative to ask for this favor from the old man.

This old man was a monkey spirit! Even if he gave them benefits, they couldn’t be given in vain! Qin Mubai laughed heartily.

Actually, Qin Mubai also knew that he had made great contributions in Lanzhou, and the Imperial Court had rewarded him from top to bottom, but had not given him any substantial recognition. First, he was going to marry the princess. This princess was the greatest reward. Secondly, Qin Mubai was too young. He was already a rank four official. If he was promoted, he would be even older than his father’s official. This was no good. Thus, Li Shimin changed the way he gave the reward to his two elder brothers.

As a result, the four men of the Qin Clan, all of whom held high positions and positions, had become a new force in the Imperial Court!

Princess Gaoyang was naturally happy. Although she never cared about it and didn’t care about family background, it was a custom right now. It was like the 21st century. Which girl didn’t want to marry a husband with better conditions? In the past, even though Qin Shubao was a rank two Upper Pillar Kingdom, the Qin Clan had indeed declined. Marrying Duke Gaoyang was a bit like condescending to marry him.

Not now. The Qin Family is really prosperous! Not to mention that Qin Shubao was in charge of half of the west side of the Great Tang in Lanzhou, but his importance was greater than Li Yu’s. One could say that of the three sons of the Qin Family, which one was also a leading star in the military. Especially Qin Mubai. His contribution made his two brothers jump through the dragon gate overnight, becoming a high-ranking officer of the Hundred Cavalry, a close guard of the Emperor’s trusted aides, and a future great celebrity in front of the emperor!

The perfect marriage that Princess Gao Yang yearned for was nothing more than this. This was probably what Li Shimin thought-it should belong to Princess Gao Yang’s perfect marriage. From the looks of it, Princess Gao Yang’s marriage to Qin Mubai was countless times better than her marriage to Fang Yiai.

Right now, Qin Shubao’s weight wasn’t much lower than Fang Xuanling’s. However, Qin Mubai was stronger than a thousand Fang Yiai. This was the biggest difference between the two. From this, one could see the Emperor’s painstaking efforts. He was trying to regain face for himself. The Qin Clan had developed, so Princess Gaoyang’s remarriage was not so eye-catching.

The only person who would feel extremely shabby was Fang Xuanling. Princess Gaoyang cried, made a fuss, and hanged herself to ruin the Brown Emperor’s marriage. If Princess Gaoyang’s marriage was inferior to Fang Yiai’s in the future, Fang Xuanling would feel better in his heart. But that’s the case … It seems that Princess Gaoyang really has to climb high to “jump”! Right now, Fang Xuanling might be even more painful and depressed than being directly beaten in the face.

He didn’t know what method the Emperor would use to console Fang Xuanling, who had followed him for many years. Qin Mubai also thought of a lot about him. After all, Fang Xuanling and Eldest Sun Wuji were the Emperor’s most powerful and trusted aides. But now, both of them had enemies with Qin Mubai, big or small. As his marriage with Princess Gaoyang approached, this feud and conflict became even more prominent. Now that the competition for the first wife’s title was getting fiercer and fiercer, Fang Xuanling was actually a honest and upright person. He had been entrusted by Empress Chang Sun with the task of helping the Crown Prince Cheng Qian.

An important reason why Li Shimin had not abolished Li Chengqian was that a group of court officials, led by Fang Xuanling, were sticking to the traditional ideology of the Imperial Clan and opposed abolishing Li Chengqian. Therefore, Fang Xuanling was a firm member of the Crown Prince Party. Behind King Wei was a large group of young officials, as well as the Emperor’s subjective affection. As for Changsun Wuji, because of Empress Changsun’s last sentence, “Consorts are not important”, he had been keeping a low profile in recent years. In the years when the Changsun Emperor had passed away, he had not even gone out to specialize in the Code of Laws. However, he had recently returned to the Imperial Court and assumed a real post.

However, no one had ever dared to ignore the influence and strength of his brother-in-law. He was like a truly ferocious hungry wolf, not showing any signs of dew or mountains, never expressing his stance on the abolition of his position, neither approaching the Crown Prince nor the Wei King, but secretly approaching the young first-in-law Prince Li Zhi.

Just like in history, when the Crown Prince and the King of Wei were both defeated, Eldest Sun Wuji supported Li Zhi, resulting in the appearance of the Tang Gaozong in history.

Qin Mubai was far away in Xiangyang, but his heart was still in Chang’an. Being far away from Jianghu, he had a feeling that the spectators could see clearly. For more than ten days, he had been thinking about this question every day at the banquet. If Li Zhi were to become the emperor with the help of the Eldest Sun Wuji, what would happen to him, Qin Mubai?

Changsun Wuji’s greed for power was acknowledged by history, and it was also the consensus of the court. The reason he abandoned Li Chengqian and Li Tai, the two nephews that were the same to him, was that these two brats were too difficult to control for his eldest grandson, Wuji.

Yes, to the officials, a monarch that was difficult to control was obviously fatal.

Li Chengqian was absurd and unruly. Now that Li Shimin was alive, he still had some misgivings. Once Li Shimin died, who else would he buy? Eldest Sun Wuji? Stop joking! He usually pretended that he didn’t know his uncle except for a week to celebrate the New Year.

Not to mention Li Tai. Everyone in Chang’an knew that Li Tai only loved young and talented people and liked those “weak groups” who obediently hid under his wings to make him happy. This proved that Li Tai was very powerful. He never fawned on his uncle, and the two of them had always been out of place. If he finally ascended to the throne, where would Eldest Sun Wuji go?

In comparison, Eldest Sun Wuji could only choose Li Zhi, who was young, weak, and weak in character. It was better to add flowers to the brocade than to send charcoal in the snow. Right now, Li Zhi was just a little prince raised in the palace, without any influence or prestige. If his eldest grandson, Wuji, supported his ascension to the throne by himself, then he would be the only official! An indisputable official!

Changsun Wuji’s abacus could not be said to be silent. Once he succeeded, he would definitely be inferior to one person and above ten thousand people. It was even more nourishing than following Li Shimin now!

Of course, Qin Mubai didn’t want his wishful thinking to be completed. Didn’t he say that the conflict between him and the eldest Sun Wuji’s son was secondary? Most importantly, his choice of Li Zhi was clearly to choose a “Lord of Conservation”. Being able to continue and maintain the prestige of chastity, his eldest grandson Wuji was enough to go down in history.

However, what Qin Mubai wanted was a “Lord of Development”!

From the 21st century, he was not satisfied with the current situation of the Great Tang!

The Great Tang could be even better, so why would they regard the glorious era of chastity as their final destination? Think of it as the credit for sleeping on your back?

This was the biggest difference between the two of them! It could also be said that political opinions were completely divergent, and it could even be said that they were opposed to each other!

If Li Zhi succeeded in ascending to the throne with the help of Eldest Sun Wuji, what use would he, Qin Mubai, have? Since there was no need to expand the territory, any general would be able to defend the territory.

Needless to say, even after the incident in Lanzhou, Qin Mubai was now regarded as the biggest potential enemy in Eldest Sun Wuji’s heart. At that time, the Emperor stood in line to support this weak-crowned brat in doing such a few big things … It was not easy. Li Jing, who had achieved unparalleled merits, was old, and now a young Li Jing appeared. This was enough to make his eldest grandson, Wuji, uneasy.

In terms of seniority, only Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji were left in the imperial court. However, Changsun Wuji had an additional layer of status as a Guo Qi, so Changsun Wuji was not afraid of Fang Xuanling at all. As for Wei Zheng? He was already old, so old that he was almost blind, not to mention that he was not valued by Eldest Sun Wuji. Fang Xuanling, who had always been in poor health and was also older, might not be able to endure longer than his eldest grandson, Wuji.

Now, Qin Mubai, who was only in his twenties, appeared. One could imagine how Eldest Sun Wuji felt.

Far away in Xiangyang, Qin Mubai seemed to have smelled the smoke of the beacon lit by Eldest Sun Wuji. Although the two of them didn’t even talk much, their fights had already quietly begun.

Qin Mubai wanted to deal with another person who could be big or small before they officially clashed with Eldest Sun Wuji. That is–Hanwang Li Yuanchang.

In the middle of the night, Qin Mubai secretly went to a hidden manor outside Xiangyang City and saw Su Lianqing and the Tantai sisters.

Half a month later, seeing the three women again, Qin Mubai couldn’t help but feel her eyes shine. Su Lianqing really had a trick up her sleeve. In a short period of half a month, she had taught these two twin beauties, whose killing intent was overflowing with cold and icy complexion, to be graceful and elegant. Sometimes they were small and jade, sometimes they were talented and unrestrained. They could not only reject people from a thousand miles away, but also charm others.

“Good! This is the best!” Qin Mubai smiled happily and said, “If you want to refuse, then you can let that fellow take the bait!”

Su Lianqing, who was disguised as the mother of the two of them, was slightly old, but she was also half-old and charming. She smiled and said, “Great General Qin, it’s rare for you to use such a crooked path like us when your sword moves in a biased manner.” Tell me, what exactly does that brat have in his hand that makes you so painstakingly deal with him? “As far as I know, even if he is your highness, he is not your match in terms of strength.”

“You don’t have to ask so much.” Qin Mubai said, “Actually, I don’t know what he has. In short, it’s a top-secret and important item. As long as you two sisters can successfully hide by his side, I don’t care what method you use, you must bring it to me. Even if you can’t, destroy it. If it succeeds, I will guarantee that the three of you will be prosperous, rich, and prosperous for the rest of your lives.”

“Alright!” The three women answered straightforwardly, “To receive such a gift, let alone take something, even if we were to kill him, there would definitely be nothing else to say!”

“No, don’t kill him.” The corner of Qin Mubai’s mouth hooked slightly and he smiled coldly, “What am I going to do if you kill him?”

The three women were stunned at the same time. They wanted to laugh, but they couldn’t. They rarely saw Qin Mubai show such an “evil” expression. From the looks of it, that fellow really offended Qin Mubai. It was because they had all experienced Qin Mubai’s power before, but they had never heard of anyone he really hated or plotted against. However, with his ability and scheming, if he really wanted to cause trouble, that person would definitely be extremely miserable.

“If you’re ready, then leave Xiangyang and go to Chang’an. I have a letter from Wu Meiniang. Take it and you can find Wu Yuanqing or Wu Yuanshuang and enter the Qin Immortal Pavilion to make a living.” Qin Mubai said, “With the recommendation letter from Wu Meiniang, the big boss, the Qin Immortal Pavilion will definitely praise the three of you. It won’t take long for you to become famous throughout Chang’an. At that time, that fellow will definitely come to disturb you. Next, there’s no need for me to teach you anything.”

“Great move, General Qin.” Su Lianqing smiled and said, “I thought you wanted us to find a way to get close to that fellow, but I never thought that it would be such a roundabout method. Wonderful, truly wonderful. This is truly perfect. If that fellow deserves to die, then I will take the initiative to get close to him.”

“Yes, I will.” Qin Mubai smiled and said, “If he doesn’t come up, he won’t be Chang’an’s biggest drunkard.”

“Alright, we’ll leave tomorrow.”

“Let’s go tonight. I’ve already arranged the boat at the Eight Ghosts Crossing. Go, now!”

“… You’ve arranged everything carefully. Alright, I’ll take my leave!”

After an incense stick of time, Qin Mubai walked out of the courtyard and lit a small lantern, hanging on the wooden door. After a while, an inconspicuous carriage slowly drove over.

A faint smile appeared on Qin Mubai’s face. He walked forward and personally opened the curtain of the carriage. Inside, a jade-like pink hand stretched out, and he led him off the horse leisurely.

“Mubai, you’re getting worse and worse.” Wu Meimiang’s face was pink and her cheeks were peach-like. She smiled charmingly and said, “Even I was ruined.”

“What do you mean?” Qin Mubai pretended to be dumb and smiled as he gently embraced her in his arms. The driver tactfully drove the car into the manor to settle down.

Wu Meiniang placed her hands on her chest and gasped, “Come in, it’s so cold!”

“Why are you in such a hurry to enter the bridal chamber?” Qin Mubai laughed wickedly.

“Shut up, you lackey. Who wants to follow you into the bridal chamber?” Wu Meiniang’s face instantly turned red as she pushed her hands on Qin Mubai’s chest. She broke free and trotted towards the candlelight room.

“Still saying no?” Qin Mubai grinned and swallowed a mouthful of saliva. “It’s been more than half a month since I managed to get Gaoyang drunk and get rid of those pumping maids before I sneaked you out of the city. If I don’t have some raw rice to cook tonight, I’ll be sorry to the Qin Clan’s ancestors! … No wonder men are greedy. This feeling of cheating is exciting! ”

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