Chapter 288: Phoenix's Ecstasy
Prince Rui and Prince Gong started fighting.
The imperial court had just undergone a huge change, from eight princes competing for the throne to a three-way balance of power. In less than a month, two of the powers began to fight.
Prince Gong and Prince Rui frequently attacked each other's followers and destroyed each other's industries, which made others watch the fun.
The cause of the incident was that Prince Rui told the Dali Temple Minister that the assassin who assassinated their family last time was sent by Prince Gong.
This caused the officials of Prince Gong's faction to suffer strong retaliation from the Dali Temple.
With this reason, even the three provinces dare not interfere.
Party struggles have their own rules. Even when Li Xuanjing arrested people, he always had sufficient reasons. He sent killers and used assassinations to resolve party struggles, which was a big taboo in the court.
Prince Gong could not remain indifferent to this.
He couldn't do nothing, otherwise the matter would be confirmed.
He also couldn't take revenge on Li Xuanjing or Prince Chun, because that would really turn into a factional struggle, and he wouldn't be able to clear himself even if he jumped into the Yellow River.
Therefore, he could only direct his spearhead at King Rui, creating a situation where he was wronged by King Rui and was forced to fight back in anger.
Inside Prince Gong’s Mansion.
Prince Gong had a gloomy look on his face. He was really frustrated. He was used to controlling everything behind the scenes. He wanted to wait until Prince Rui and Prince Chun had almost finished fighting, and then step out from behind the scenes to win the final victory.
He never expected that he would be forced to this point by King Rui, whom he despised the most, and had to expose his power in advance.
This also directly led to his subsequent plans being completely disrupted.
Beside him, a middle-aged scholar asked, "Your Highness, do you want to continue?"
Prince Gong waved his hand and said, "No need. In a fight with Prince Rui, we inflicted eight hundred casualties on the enemy and suffered a thousand casualties on our own. In the end, Prince Chun won. We have already done what we should do. If we continue, the losses will only increase..."
Suspicion appeared on his face, and he murmured, "Li Rui seems to be a little strange recently. Has he recruited some expert?"
Prince Rui's Palace.
Prince Rui showed a look of realization on his face, and murmured, "So that's how it is..."
Li Xuanjing did not respond to his letter, but waited for him to come in person. The news that he reported Prince Gong must have been deliberately leaked by Li Xuanjing...
In this way, Li Xuanjing had a reason to attack Prince Gong, and Prince Gong had no choice but to cause trouble for him in order to clear his suspicion...
Although Li Xuanjing had schemed against him, Prince Rui did not hate him at all.
Before he went to school, he thought Li Xuanjing was just a dog of his father and looked down on him in his heart.
But as I read more and more books, I admired Li Xuanjing more and more.
Putting aside his stance, he can be regarded as a top strategist as he was able to help Prince Chun go from nothing to where he is today.
If he were in the Warring States Period, he would definitely be a top-notch strategist.
Prince Rui thought he had learned a lot from the book, but he still unknowingly stepped into Li Xuanjing's trap and was led by him step by step...
When Li Xuanjing became the top scorer in the imperial examination, Prince Rui was less than ten years old. By the time he came of age, Li Xuanjing had become a prominent figure. Prince Rui did not know much about Li Xuanjing.
He suddenly became extremely curious about Li Xuanjing, and said to the feminine man beside him: "Go and get all the information about Li Xuanjing for me..."
The palace had very complete information about these important opponents. He had also read Li Xuanjing's information before, but he had not read it in detail.
Soon, the feminine man came in with a thick stack of files.
Prince Rui opened the file, and as he turned the pages, his expression changed from confusion to enlightenment, from silence to murmur, from frowning to clapping his hands in amazement...
When he looked through Li Xuanjing's file again, he saw some things that he had previously overlooked.
I had only glanced over the content before, but now I was reading it carefully word by word, and I had new insights.
Prince Rui had a vague feeling that Prince You's attempt to purge the court was probably a trap set by Li Xuanjing.
Taking advantage of this incident, he not only defeated Prince Chun's two biggest opponents, but also almost slaughtered all of his former enemies.
When he was imprisoned, he decisively betrayed his accomplices and escaped on his own.
Twenty years later, he finally got the chance to kill all his enemies.
It is true to say that he is treacherous, and it is also true to say that he endures revenge. It is difficult to define Li Xuanjing with a simple word, but he can definitely be called a hero of his generation.
After closing the last file, Prince Rui breathed a long sigh of relief.
After reading this file, I feel really refreshed.
Of course, this kind of pleasure came from him putting himself in Li Xuanjing's shoes.
If he puts himself in their shoes, he still feels a little aggrieved, because Li Xuanjing's happiness is built on their aggrievedness.
Putting down the file, Prince Rui was silent for a while, slowly organizing his thoughts. He learned something from Li Xuanjing.
While sorting out his thoughts, he thought of something that he had overlooked.
When he invited the Seven Devils of Tianshan, he did it very secretly and not many people knew about it. Why did Prince Gong know about it...
His face darkened and he whispered, "Damn it, there is a traitor around me..."
…
Honglu Temple.
Li Nuo has been very busy with official duties these past two days and has little free time to practice martial arts during the day.
Towards the end of the year, envoys from various countries, as well as envoys from some border ethnic groups, arrived in Chang'an to pay tribute.
The Honglu Temple had to arrange food, clothing, housing and transportation for these people, so it was relatively busy at the end of every year.
However, being busy with these things is better than organizing a funeral for someone.
This year, the Honglu Temple is busier than in previous years, because they have to entertain not only the vassal states and ethnic minorities of Daxia, but also several powerful countries and delegations from other small countries.
The countries on the continent hold an envoys conference every four years.
The conference is hosted in turn by the five dynasties, and this time it is held in Daxia.
The main purpose of the Diplomatic Conference is to enhance dialogue and exchanges among countries on the continent, deepen mutual trust in security, expand trade and economic cooperation, eliminate major differences and further build consensus.
The most fundamental purpose is to reduce strategic misjudgments and avoid war.
Today is no longer the Warring States Period. All countries are focusing on recuperation and are unwilling to provoke or be provoked into a war, which gave rise to the Conference of Envoys.
Normally, there were only a small number of envoys from various countries in Chang'an.
But during the Conference of Ambassadors, each country will send a powerful delegation. No matter which country it is, this is the largest and most important diplomatic activity.
By the time we finished arranging an envoy from a border ethnic group, it was already half an hour since we left the office.
Butler Wu was not waiting outside today.
Li Nuo no longer needs his protection now.
A warrior of the fourth realm could not break his defense. Even if he encountered a warrior of the fifth realm, he could deal with it for a while and wait for reinforcements to arrive.
Even a master of the fifth realm did not dare to act rashly in Chang'an City.
This is the main street, and the guards patrol it day and night.
When he walked out of the Honglu Temple, Li Nuo saw Fenghuang standing there.
He asked puzzledly, "What are you doing here?"
Fenghuang said, "I just happened to pass by here. The official here said that you haven't left the government yet. I don't have anything else to do, so I'll wait for you to go home together."
Since they happened to meet her, Li Nuo and Fenghuang walked back together.
The two of them were walking and talking. Fenghuang was asking him about music when she suddenly stepped on empty air and stumbled and lost her balance. If Li Nuo had not stopped her in time, she would have fallen hard.
Li Nuo asked, "What's wrong?"
Fenghuang tried to move her ankle, a look of pain appeared between her brows, and she said, "I think I sprained my ankle..."
She could sprain her ankle even when walking normally. Li Nuo was speechless about her.
It is hard to imagine that a weak woman like her can get along so well with Jiaren Yiren and An Ning.
Li Nuo asked: "Can you still walk?"
Fenghuang tried to take two steps, but lost her balance and fell into Li Nuo's arms.
Li Nuo squatted down helplessly and said, "Come up."
A moment later, Li Nuo walked down the street carrying Fenghuang on his back, attracting countless people's attention along the way.
"This gentleman really knows how to care for others."
"Oh, I'm willing to carry such a beauty on my back."
"It was the top scholar and Miss Phoenix from Yuyin Pavilion. They were so intimate in the street without even being seen from behind. And they said they had nothing to do with each other. No one would believe that!"
"It's not fair. He was able to capture all three beauties in Chang'an..."
…
Although these people waited until Li Nuo walked far away before they dared to discuss, his five senses had improved after his cultivation broke through the fourth level, so he could hear very clearly.
Having heard so many rumors, Li Nuo has become immune to them.
Maybe he was already a veteran, or maybe he was so familiar with Fenghuang after spending so much time with her that he couldn't be more familiar with her. Walking down the street with her on his back, feeling the soft pressure from behind, Li Nuo had no other thoughts.
Carrying the phoenix on my back is as natural as carrying my wife or An Ning on my back.
She is not only the glue between Jia Ren, An Ning and Yi Ren, but also one of the few people that Li Nuo can confide in...
Subconsciously, Li Nuo may have regarded her as one of his closest people.
Back at the Li residence, Niangzi and An Ning didn't care at all about Li Nuo carrying Fenghuang on her back, and they all came forward to show concern for her injuries.
It's actually just a minor sprained ankle and it will heal after a few days of rest.
An Ning looked at the bruise on her ankle and said, "I'll go to the palace and ask a female doctor to come over. Let them use their medical Qi to treat you. You'll be well soon..."
Phoenix waved his hand and said, "It's just a minor injury, no need to bother."
She went to the palace to invite a female doctor, and she had to go through the Shanggong Bureau, which was indeed a bit troublesome. An Ning suddenly looked at Li Nuo and said, "Doesn't your husband know the art of massage? Let him massage you, it should be good for your recovery..."
Li Nuo glanced at An Ning.
She used to be very wary of Fenghuang, why doesn't she care about him at all now?
Li Nuo looked at his wife again. The beauty had a normal expression and didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with it.
Even Yiren poked his arm and said, "Can you do it or not..."
I don’t know what kind of magic potion Fenghuang gave the three of them, but Li Nuo felt that compared to men, she knew how to attract women better.
Li Nuo shrugged and said, "As long as Fenghuang is willing, I don't care..."
Fenghuang lowered her head and said a little embarrassedly: "Then I'm sorry to trouble you, sir..."
(End of this chapter)
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