Hua Meng and Mang Zhong, under the instruction of Li Hong, began to secretly replace the wine in the hands of the two palace maids who were responsible for pouring wine next to the Minister of Menxia Province and the Minister of Zhongshu Province with the strong Lanling wine.
Li Hong ignored Wu Mei's slapping at him, and took the water cup and began to toast Li Zhi pitifully and reluctantly. The filial piety and reluctance on his face were as clear as if they were carved on his forehead with a knife.
Seeing Li Zhi who was almost drunk, Li Hong grinned like Cao Cao, pushed aside Princess Chengyang who was sitting next to Li Zhi, took out the appointment letter he had prepared from his arms, and placed it in front of Li Zhi.
"Father, you haven't decided how to appoint this son yet, right? Look, this son has thought it all out for you. You can just stamp it with your seal now." Li Hong deliberately ignored Wu Mei's threatening look and said to Li Zhi, who was almost drunk.
"Well, father really hasn't thought about how to appoint you. We can't let Pei Xingjian obey you, little bastard. If the Tang Dynasty loses the four towns of Anxi, your position as the crown prince will be in danger." Li Zhi took the appointment letter in the hand of Li Hong, who looked like a Japanese translator, and took a look at it. He immediately sobered up a lot.
But in the end, Li Zhi still took the appointment letter from Yang Wu, handed it to Li Hong calmly, and said: "Don't think that I will agree to your unreasonable request just because I drink more wine. Your mother has already calculated all your little tricks. Give it to me. Anxi will be as you wish, but you must remember this. Don't be impulsive. If there is anything, you must discuss it with Pei Xingjian. If I receive a letter of your private order, I will immediately dismiss you as the Grand Protector of Anxi."
"Yes, don't worry, I will definitely cooperate well with Pei Xingjian. Then... I don't plan to hand over Yunzhong to you... Ouch." Wu Mei suddenly pounced over from Li Zhi's side, pressed her whole body on Li Zhi, grabbed Li Hong's ear and pulled it hard.
The officials of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Central Affairs were forced to drink a lot of strong liquor at Li Hong's instigation. All this was because Li Zhi and Wu Mei had already taken precautions and did not let his trick succeed.
A poem by Li Hong was memorized even by the palace maids amid the occasional howlings of officials in the Linde Hall. By the time the banquet was over, it was almost three o'clock in the morning. One can imagine how enthusiastically both officials and common people in the Tang Dynasty enjoyed drinking.
...
...
Taiping was carried back to the palace by Banmei early in the morning, and even the little fat boy Li Dan was given a name because Li Hong always teased him: Dandan.
Wu Mei was so angry that she asked Xun Lan to send him back. As for the culprit Li Hong, he was naturally given a good beating in front of Li Xian and others.
The ceremonial officer handed Li Hong the detailed list of gifts sent to His Highness by various officials. Li Hong curled his lips after reading it. These guys were really stingy. Except for the ministers close to him, such as Xu Jingzong, who gave him substantial new money or rare treasures, the rest were all given to He Yan!
This is naked revenge against me for reducing their salary by a few months.
Li Zhi kept Lanling, Xincheng and Chengyang in the palace and did not let them go back.
At this time, the three women held Li Hong's hands, asked about his well-being, and said everything they should say several times, but they were still happy to do so. Li Hong looked at the three of them and thought to himself, "Thank goodness I was born in the Tang Dynasty. If I were born in my previous life, these women would definitely be the queens of nightclubs."
Just when Li Hong couldn't stand yawning any longer, several eunuchs came in carrying a lot of things.
"What is this?" Li Hong's eyes suddenly lit up. Gold, silver and jewelry had a natural attraction to him. Although he was now extremely rich, his sleepiness would immediately disappear when he saw good things.
"Come, Hong'er, try this. Your aunt got it specially for you. It will definitely keep you warm when you get there." Lanling took out a large, shiny black fur coat and put it on Li Hong without saying a word.
Suddenly, Li Hong appeared in front of the girls like a little bear, with the black fur hat just fitting his ponytail.
"It's OK. It fits me well and isn't too big. I can wear it for two to three years without any problem." Lan Ling looked at the dazed mannequin and said with satisfaction.
Chengyang and Xincheng also received fur coats from their maids, one white and one black, and even a tiger skin cloak-like fur coat, which was also put on Li Hong.
Suddenly, Li Hong seemed to be submerged in a fur coat, with only his sleepy eyes exposed, moving around.
"Here, these are the cotton trousers and cotton jacket that your aunt Chengyang and I sewed for you using new cotton. I don't know how you, little thing, came up with this idea. It's much warmer and more windproof than making it into a long robe. When you get over there, the weather will be so cold that it can freeze you to death. Remember to bring these with you." Xincheng patted the several fur hats on the little bear's head and said with satisfaction.
Naturally, several pairs of shoes were prepared. Several women took them out one by one for Wu Mei and Li Hong to look at, as if they were presenting treasures. Li Hong, who was surrounded by fur coats, was already sweating profusely, but the three women obviously had not finished admiring them. Just as he was about to take them off, he was stopped.
Li Hong refused to put on the suede leather shoes immediately. It was not very cold in Chang'an at the moment. If he was really exhausted, he would probably catch a cold when he returned to the East Palace.
The three aunts had naturally thought very carefully about food, clothing, housing and transportation when going out. They prepared a lot of cakes, pancakes and various snacks for Li Hong. Li Hong estimated that the things given by the three aunts would not be enough for three carriages.
Just as he was stunned and numb, he heard footsteps outside. His bear-like head tried to poke out from under several fur coats, but the effect was not very obvious.
The fur hat felt heavy on his head. He stretched out his hand with great effort to push the hat up. Then he saw that there were men and women standing outside the Penglai Palace. There were probably no less than a hundred servants.
"What are you doing?" Li Hong reminded the four women in front of him in a hoarse voice that the protagonist was still wrapped in the bear skin!
Wu Mei smiled sweetly, turned around to look at Li Hong who was so bloated that he could hardly walk, and waved her hand to signal Ban Mei to quickly take off his two fur coats and his hat.
"These are the servants your aunts prepared for you on the way..." Wu Mei explained.
"Mother, I am going to the battlefield, not returning to my own fiefdom as a prince. Why are you giving me so many men? Are they going to be incorporated into the Crown Prince's Six Commands?" Li Hong interrupted Wu Mei and said unhappily.
"What do you mean by being included in your Prince's Sixth Army?" Lan Ling turned his head unhappily and said, "These are the maids and eunuchs we sent to you to take care of you on the way. They are also included in the Sixth Army."
"Aren't there too few people? Although Hong'er is the prince, he can't be too shabby when he goes on an expedition. After all, he is the prince of our Tang Dynasty. If he is too simple, he will be laughed at by people in the Western Regions. I still have some people in my mansion. I will pick a few more tomorrow." Chengyang frowned as he looked at the more than one hundred people in front of Penglai Palace. Isn't it really a little shabby for such a small number of people to travel with the prince?
"Yeah, you're right to remind me. It just so happens that I have some in my house. Let's gather some together. Hong'er has been very kind to us over the years. We can't be too casual." Xincheng looked at the people in the square at the entrance with a serious expression.
Li Hong's mind was filled with black lines. He was going to the Western Regions to fight, not on a royal trip like his father, who needed ceremonial guards.
Moreover, he was very suspicious whether these three Chang'an rich ladies did it on purpose? Did they think that there were too many people in the mansion and pushed them all to themselves in order to save their daily expenses?
Wu Mei deliberately laughed at Li Hong's face, looking at his dead face with a half-smile, and said jokingly: "What's wrong, Hong'er? Your three aunts love you so much, why do you look unhappy? Don't worry, if there are not many idle people, your mother will pick some for you from the palace tomorrow, and I guarantee that you, the crown prince, will be no worse than your father when traveling."
"Mother, is that what I meant?" Li Hong said with a roll of his eyes.
Wu Mei should be very clear about herself. She always believed that the simpler the better when going out. If she took so many servants to the Western Regions, it would be better not to go. She would probably be laughed to death before she even left Chang'an.
Someone will definitely say: The prince is going to the Western Regions just for fun.
Are you planning to send so many maids and eunuchs to ask for peace?
"That's not what I meant. Who are you showing that sour face to?" Lan Ling looked at Li Hong who rolled his eyes at his mother, and immediately pointed the magic of Zen at Li Hong's forehead.
"Aunt Lanling, I... I am going to the Western Regions, not to travel. I am going to fight..."
"Oh, oh, oh, what's wrong with going to the expedition? When your royal grandfather went to the Western Regions, the Khan personally weeded and built roads for your royal grandfather. Your little show is far inferior to your royal grandfather's, so why can't you bring them along? What's wrong with these people? Are they a hindrance? Do you think they are too many? Don't you have enough palace maids and eunuchs in the East Palace? You only take four palace maids, Xiazhi, Xiaoxue, Banmei and Xunlan. Is that enough? Who doesn't need palace maids to serve him in eating, drinking, defecating, urinating and sleeping? I thought there were not enough people." Princess Xincheng was the youngest, only 32 years old. Among the three, she talked about Li Hong as if he were her own son. She could criticize him however she wanted. Wu Mei just stood by. Anyway, she thought it was a good thing to have someone help her deal with Li Hong.
"Alright, alright, do what you want. I'm going back to the East Palace. I have important things to deal with tomorrow." Little Bear was powerless to argue with them at this moment. Under their One Finger Zen magic, he had no room to resist. Staying here would only give them more opportunities to scold him.
"You little bastard, you're rebelling against me. You're even impatient. This is all for your own good. I'm afraid you'll get hurt on the road. Think about it, would I, your Aunt Lanling, harm you? I run around here and there every day, how could I not know better than you what to bring when you go out?" Lanling said as she poked the back of someone's head as he was walking out and scolded him.
Wu Mei was already bent over with laughter when she saw Li Hong, who was extremely depressed but helpless. But when she heard the clear voice of poetry in the night sky, tears began to sparkle in her eyes again.
"A loving mother sews the clothes for her son. She sews them tightly before he leaves, fearing that he will come back late. Who says that the love of a son can repay the kindness of his parents?"
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