Chapter 33 Lifelong Happiness
Recently, the news that Princess Li Yao stayed overnight at the Prime Minister's residence has been widely circulated in Chang'an City.
"Hey, have you heard? Princess Li Yao and Li Tingxiang are both nameless and unranked, yet they stayed out all night at the Prime Minister's residence."
"What's the big deal? It's 2117 now. Don't be so feudal-minded. Be open-minded.
They just spent a night together, so unless someone doesn't want to take responsibility, it won't be a big deal."
This news spread all the way to the palace and reached Wu Huai's ears. He immediately summoned Li Liuxiu to the palace to meet the emperor.
The two sat facing each other, and Wu Huai spoke first: "Li Tingxiang, can you explain?"
Li Liuxiu remained calm, slowly took out a letter, handed it to Wu Huai, and said, "Your Majesty, we are in love with each other."
Wu Huai read the letter quickly, and seeing that it was indeed his sister's handwriting, he felt relieved and said, "Although the two of us are in love, this is against etiquette. Moreover, it is really unfair to the powerful people today if the imperial sister does not come home at night.
If the powerful and influential people use this as an excuse to cause trouble, will Li Tingxiang be able to protect himself?"
Li Liuxiu naturally understood that there were many powerful men and women who admired Princess Li Yao. He smiled and said, "I am capable of protecting myself and have enough energy to protect Xin'er."
Xin'er is naturally Princess Li Yao, Wu Xin.
Wu Huai narrowed his eyes and laughed heartily, "Hahahaha, you are indeed worthy of being the Prime Minister I personally selected. Well, since you two are in love, I can't stand in the way. I wish you two a long and happy marriage and plan your wedding as soon as possible."
Li Liuxiu stood up and bowed, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your help."
Li Liuxiu entered and left the palace. The fact that she was able to come out unscathed showed the emperor's attitude. Immediately, there was wailing in the homes of the powerful and wealthy, all regretting why they did not act earlier. Now, even expressing their feelings has become a luxury.
Li Liuxiu returned to the mansion, and Madam Li went to the Baihua Theater again. There were not many servants in the mansion, so Li Liuxiu ordered them not to see any guests for the time being and turned into the backyard.
There was an airtight room in the yard. Li Liuxiu unlocked the door and walked in.
Princess Li Yao's eyes were dim at this time, but she loosened the chains on her legs. She looked up at the person who came, her eyes full of fear.
He tried his best to shrink to the foot of the bed, looking at the person who came with trembling eyes.
Li Liuxiu sat at the table and said, "Xin'er, your letter is well written. How about I take you out for some fun?"
Princess Li Yao's voice was hoarse and her waist was sore. If she hadn't tortured herself to death in the past few days, she wouldn't have been so weak that she couldn't even get out of bed today.
She said hoarsely: "Where to go?"
Li Liuxiu looked at her leisurely and said, "Of course, I'm going to see His Majesty."
In order to prevent Wu Huai from getting suspicious, she had to bring the person to Wu Huai safely, even if it was just for one look.
Princess Li Yao's feelings for Li Liuxiu disappeared completely after that day. When she heard that she was going to meet her royal sister, she forced herself to cheer up and did not want to miss this opportunity to escape from the clutches of the devil.
Seeing her putting on her clothes with trembling hands, Li Liuxiu felt sorry for her and walked forward to help her put on her clothes.
Princess Li Yao was like a frightened rabbit, trembling all over at the slightest movement.
Li Liuxiu smiled and said, "Xin'er is indeed stunningly beautiful." Then he opened the lock on her hand and
Princess Li Yao got out of bed tremblingly, her legs and feet weak and she couldn't stand steadily. She was about to fall to the ground when Li Liuxiu pulled her into his arms.
Princess Li Yao was startled, and quickly struggled to break free, saying, "Don't touch me!"
Li Liuxiu smiled gently and said, "Okay, I'll do as you say today."
Princess Li Yao was shocked by her change of attitude. Thinking back to that day in bed, she begged for mercy but the man turned a deaf ear to her.
After taking two reluctant steps, Princess Li Yao regained the feeling in her legs and tried to open the door to go out.
Li Liuxiu stood in front of her. Princess Li Yao thought that she was about to escape from the clutches of the devil and must not irritate her.
Then he said, "Didn't you say you wanted to see the Imperial Sister? Why are you blocking the door?"
Li Liuxiu raised his chin slightly and said, "Of course we have to go to see His Majesty, but you have to follow the rules. I don't want to see the cooked duck fly away."
Princess Li Yao called him "madman" in her heart, but asked, "What rules?"
Li Liuxiu said softly, "There's only one rule: drink that cup of tea."
Princess Li Yao recalled the tea she drank that day and felt a chill in her heart. She wondered what was in that cup of tea.
After all, just send out a distress signal. It's just a cup of tea, it can't do anything to you.
She stepped forward and drank the tea in one gulp. Seeing nothing wrong with it, she said, "Is this okay?"
Li Liuxiu smiled and said, "Of course."
The two got into the car hand in hand, and to outsiders, they looked very affectionate.
The court was in chaos at this time. The officials were divided into two factions. One faction believed that Princess Li Yao's action was a loss of royal dignity. The other faction believed that the times were open and there was nothing wrong with this action.
Wu Huai sat on the dragon throne, pinching his brow with one hand. The audience was arguing fiercely, comparable to bargaining in the vegetable market.
I really have nothing to do!
Wu Huai shouted, "Shut up!"
The ministers had never seen the current emperor angry, so they all fell silent.
Wu Huai glanced around and said, "Members of the royal family are also human beings. Everyone has emotions and desires. This is a royal family affair. Please don't meddle in it!"
Everyone listened to the emperor's majestic tone and dared not speak.
Wu Huai added, "If you have the leisure to worry about these things, why not focus on the people's livelihood and think about how the people can be as idle as you and not have to rack their brains to get enough food and clothing?"
It was full of sarcasm, and the court officials had to swallow their anger. No one wanted to offend the emperor at this critical juncture.
After this incident, no one in the court talked about Princess Li Yao anymore, and the real person was meeting the emperor in the Purple Palace at this time.
Princess Li Yao clung to Li Liuxiu like a little bird. Wu Huai was naturally happy to see his sister happy. After a few pleasantries, he tactfully said goodbye to the two of them on the grounds that he had important matters to attend to.
When she returned to the Prime Minister's Mansion, Princess Li Yao gradually regained consciousness and understood why she was asked to drink that cup of tea.
The tea was mixed with some aphrodisiac fragrance, which could make people's thoughts wander just by smelling it, making it impossible to concentrate, let alone eat it.
Princess Li Yao was in a trance the whole time. She just subconsciously supported the people around her and tried hard not to faint. She wanted to send a distress signal, but the incense was too strong. It was already the limit for Princess Li Yao to stay awake. She had no energy left to ask for help.
This time the escape failed. Li Liuxiu looked at the person twice and no longer tied her up with chains. He simply locked her in the yard and locked the gate to prevent her from escaping.
Li Liuxiu obviously understood that her behavior was a morbid love, but after struggling in her heart, she still believed that Xin'er belonged to her alone, and she would be at a loss even if outsiders took a look at her.
As expected, several ministers once again submitted a memorial, arguing that the royal children were not faithful to their husbands and had affairs with other people before getting married. This behavior damaged the royal reputation and blasphemed the dignity of the emperor. They wanted to put Wu Huai in a dilemma.
Everyone knows that the current emperor dotes on his own sister. If Wu Huai had to choose between his sister's happiness and his position as the emperor, he might have been confused before and didn't know how to balance family and country. But now, Wu Huai has already made up his mind.
This group of people have so much free time that they are trying to sow discord among the royal family members in order to force the current emperor to abdicate. In the final analysis, it is nothing more than Wu Huai's series of people-friendly policies that have hindered the interests of this group of people.
Wu Huai believed that she had no regrets sitting on the throne. Three years ago, she was entrusted with the task and reorganized the Tang Dynasty, which was plagued by internal and external troubles, into the peaceful and prosperous era it is today. This was an immeasurable meritorious deed. This action alone could be recorded in history and passed down to future generations.
However, human hearts are unpredictable. There are always some people who disregard the overall situation, are narrow-minded, and force the current emperor, who has made infinite merits, to abdicate just for their own interests.
This is a loophole in the system created by the previous emperor. When the new emperor ascends the throne, he has only one chance to reorganize the cabinet. After that, the cabinet cannot be changed unless impeached by public opinion. Even the emperor cannot change the cabinet members.
This move is nothing more than restricting the emperor from favoring villains and distancing himself from virtuous ministers, but it cannot restrict the treacherous ministers from acting recklessly.
When Wu Huai ascended the throne, the world was in turmoil and the Western Regions were in danger. There was no time to reorganize the cabinet. At that time, the country had to rely on the ministers and the emperor to work together to save the country, so Wu Huai did not change the candidates of the previous cabinet.
Thinking about it now, I am really grateful. I am grateful for the choice I made back then, which gave me the opportunity to be in love with Hu Yueqin now.
In this way, Wu Huai could "listen" to the opinions of the treacherous ministers and abdicate calmly.
But before that, she has to pave the way for the next emperor.
Nowadays, in the eyes of the people, the person with the highest reputation is none other than Li Liuxiu, who was born in a commoner family. If a general election were to be held, even if Li Liuxiu could not sit firmly in that position, he would still have a chance to compete for it.
In this way, Wu Huai began to prepare for Li Liuxiu's ascension to the throne.
Recently, there was an earthquake in Qin, and Wu Huai sent Li Liuxiu to provide disaster relief. There was a severe drought in Luoyang, and Wu Huai sent Li Liuxiu to pray for blessings. There was a snowstorm in Yan, and Wu Huai sent Li Liuxiu to deal with it.
For almost a whole year, Li Liuxiu traveled all over the country with Princess Li Yao, accumulating a lot of reputation.
The treacherous ministers in the court, anyone with a discerning eye could see what Wu Huai was planning.
However, Wu Huai has a tough attitude. Since he cannot kick you out of the court, he will reduce your official positions again and again until you have no energy left to interfere in the next election.
Li Liuxiu was also very hardworking. No matter what Wu Huai assigned her to do, she would always do it meticulously and finish it promptly without cutting corners or being lazy.
There are many powerful people among the treacherous ministers. Even if the emperor strips them of their official positions, they can still interfere in the general election.
Zhao Gan is one of these people and a dark horse in the next general election.
In a trance, another year has passed.
In February 3118 AD, Wu Huai announced his abdication, ignoring the pleas of his loyal ministers and resolutely giving way to a wiser person.
At the end of February, the Tang Dynasty held a general election. Li Liuxiu won with a slight advantage in votes and sat on the throne.
At the beginning of March, the new emperor took office and made three major changes, which made the treacherous ministers tremble with fear.
Li Liuxiu sat upright, holding the list given to her by Wu Huai, and reorganized the cabinet.
From then on, the court was clear and the world was peaceful.
Li Liuxiu became the first emperor of commoner origin since the founding of the Tang Dynasty. However, his way of doing things was 70% similar to Wu Huai's. Outsiders all sighed that he was worthy of being the person favored by the previous emperor.
The author has something to say:
The end is coming soon~
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
