Wu Mei muttered the poem that Li Hong had just spoken, her brows furrowed. This little guy had never written a poem in these years except for the two poems he wrote in his early years. When did he write this one? It didn't look like he wrote it while talking to her.
"Did you write this poem?" Wu Mei asked.
"Yes, it was just that I was thinking of the Lanling wine, and suddenly I was inspired." Someone said shamelessly. Although he was a man who had been through nine reincarnations and ten lives, he still had some nerve.
"When did you start drinking?" Wu Mei's forehead began to show black lines. The thing she was most worried about had happened.
Wu Mei demonstrated the unique thinking logic of women to the fullest. She did not ask about the origin of the poem, but instead keenly noticed whether Li Hong had been drinking.
I originally thought that it would take this naughty boy a few years to learn to drink, but I didn't expect that he had already learned to drink, and even composed such profound poems that will definitely be passed down through the ages.
"Do you know that the censors in the court, headed by Wang Yifang, are impeaching you for violating etiquette norms every day? You are such a troublesome thing. If Wang Yifang and other censors get to know about this, you can just wait for your father to depose you from your position as crown prince!" Wu Mei raised her jade hand slightly and grabbed the crown prince's ear again.
"Oh, mother, please let me go. This is just a small matter. Besides, Wang Yifang is now fighting with Li Yifu and Li Yifu's lackey Xue Yuanchao. How could he have time to care about me?" Li Hong begged for mercy.
"I tell you, you are not allowed to drink before you are fourteen! By the way, you mentioned Li Yifu just now, why did you always want to bring him into the Eastern Palace?" Wu Mei let go and asked seriously.
...
...
Li Zhi's health was deteriorating. Now, at a young age, he could not sleep at night because of the fatigue of state affairs, and he often felt dizzy and had blurred vision. This also made Wu Mei handle more and more political affairs.
As for Li Hong's interest in Li Yifu, after Xu Jingzong was lured to the Eastern Palace by him, Li Yifu had always been his candidate for wooing. In this regard, Wu Mei was much more perceptive than Li Zhi, and had already noticed Li Hong's thoughts.
Li Hong took the tea brought by the maid, put it beside Wu Mei's hand and sighed, "Didn't you say that I should order someone to compile or compile a collection of scriptures? I thought of asking Li Yifu and Xu Jingzong to help me. Besides, Li Yifu was recommended for official career because of his outstanding literary talent, so I would naturally want to summon him to the East Palace."
Wu Mei picked up the teacup and stared at the harmless face motionlessly. After a long while, she sighed and said, "Editing a book shouldn't cause him to resign from the position of Zhongshu Ling, right? Or is there anything else you haven't told mother?"
"Huh? Li Yifu is looking for you? He doesn't want to go?" Li Hong asked.
"He didn't say whether he would go or not. A lot of government affairs in the Secretariat are handled by him. If Du Zhenglun is the only one left, I'm afraid he won't be able to handle it." Wu Mei put down her teacup and said.
Li Hong nodded thoughtfully. It seemed that Li Yifu now understood his situation, understood that he no longer belonged to himself, and knew his fate. He had been inevitably involved in the undercurrents of the royal family.
In fact, the Queen Mother can at least make decisions about 60% of Li Yifu's affairs, while the Emperor can only make decisions about 30%. The remaining 10% is not decided by Li Yifu, but by Li Hong himself.
"Li Yifu cannot be distracted by the book I am going to write, and he has been with me for six or seven years. With him and Xu Jingzong here, I am confident that I can compile an unparalleled book. With the addition of Shangguan Yi, Guo Yu and others, I guarantee that this book will never disappoint my mother." Li Hong vowed.
This time he was determined to win. He had done some work with his father, and now the only thing left was his mother. Only by cutting off Li Yifu, the arm that his mother regarded as his right-hand man, could the royal family regain its due peace, the court would be temporarily stable, and the ambition that was about to erupt in his mother's heart, like a volcano, would gradually subside.
Wu Mei rubbed her forehead anxiously, thought for a long time, and sighed, "My mother needs to think about this matter."
As expected, the answer they got was exactly the same as his father's, but at least it showed that they were shaken.
"As for Yiyang and Gao'an, let's do as you wish, but don't leave the palace for too long, and be careful about the impact, so that the censor won't focus too much on the East Palace."
"Yes, mother, I thank you very much."
"Go ahead, tell Yi Yang, Gao An, and their mother about this. I'm afraid that even if I don't tell you, you will go to see that person, right?"
"Mother is wise. I went to see Concubine Xiao Shu just to find some bargaining chips for Aunt Lanling to go to Lanling."
"You really thought you could hide your little tricks from our mother. You asked Yi Yang or Gao An to accompany Lan Ling. You were targeting Concubine Xiao Shufei. The Xiao family of the royal family has received your kindness over the years. It's time to repay you." Wu Mei said at the end, her tone revealing a deep sense of powerlessness.
The mother and son had a tacit understanding, and with just a few simple words, they had basically reached a preliminary agreement on the matter of Li Yifu. Now all that was left was for Wu Mei to make a final decision in her heart.
This son is too smart, so smart that now she has to remind herself all the time that he is not just a ten-year-old child, but an adult with the mind of an adult.
He had given Xiao a crystal pendant, thus saving Xiao from the same fate as Queen Wang. Now, the favor of the crystal pendant should be repaid. What kind of cunning man must be able to plan something for several years? !
She knew in her heart that Li Hong's main purpose in winning over Li Yifu to the Eastern Palace was to stop her from interfering more and more in the affairs of the court.
Wu Mei finally felt the pressure from Li Hong, and also keenly felt the rumors about her in the court because she had participated too much in government affairs in the past two years. But these were not as difficult as the problems her son had caused her.
If she gave up Li Yifu, it would mean that she could only be the head of the harem from now on, and as Honger got older, coupled with his intelligence and talent.
He was also extremely cold-blooded, but deeply hidden murderous, just like when he visited Concubine Xiao Shufei, the eunuch guards disobeyed his orders, so he decisively ordered his men to kill them after a disagreement.
This kind of bravery, domineering and resoluteness is not surprising in an adult superior, but appearing in a child who was just over three years old at the time was enough to show that this child was definitely not an ordinary person.
All of the above were enough to allow Li Hong, as the crown prince, to influence court affairs when Li Zhi was ill, and even to act as regent!
All this made Wu Mei feel powerless and rushed to compete. She had just experienced the feeling of being the only one who can make the world go round at will. She didn't want to just enjoy the harem quietly. The devilish ambition in her heart had often come to her mind over the past year.
Li Hong left, but Wu Mei still didn't respond. She sat in the study in silence for a long time, until it was dark and bright lights came on in other rooms. Only then did Wu Mei gradually wake up from her dream.
"It's time to make a break with the demon that I have just planted in my heart." Wu Mei gently stood up, opened her red lips, and murmured to the hazy night outside the window.
She also knew what kind of book Li Hong was going to compile. Over the years of Xia Zhi, the other three palace maids around Li Hong had been intentionally trained by Li Hong. Including the four eunuchs, they were all capable of standing on their own.
These four palace maids were all taught by Li Hong a method of recognizing words called pinyin. Strange syllables were pronounced using strange symbols, and then they were randomly combined to naturally produce the correct pronunciation of each word, including the tone of each word, which could all be simulated using pinyin.
This book provides many different interpretations for each word, even including its components, etc. It covers not only the meaning of the word itself, but also some general introductions to things.
Wu Mei was lost in melancholy, but Li Hong was sitting with Concubine Xiao Shufei, Yi Yang and Gao An and they had just finished dinner.
Concubine Xiao Shufei has been living in the deep palace for these years. His Majesty would come to visit her occasionally, but each visit would only last for a cup of tea, and most of the time the two would just talk about old times.
Li Zhi never mentioned restoring her palace position as Concubine Shu, and Concubine Xiao Shu never asked Li Zhi for anything, as if their current relationship was just right, just like the distance between them now.
Li Hong wiped his mouth carelessly, without any manners that a prince should have. Yi Yang and Gao An glared at him in dissatisfaction. Over the years, they gradually stopped being afraid of Li Hong. Although they were still bullied by the prince, it was just some harmless pranks.
"Can you not behave like a prince? You act like a commoner in Chang'an." Yi Yang was the first to criticize.
"That's right, you are the prince of the Tang Dynasty. If you keep doing this, we will never go out with you again." Gao An echoed.
Concubine Xiao Shu put down the cup and watched all this with a smile. Since Prince Dai became the crown prince, he would come to visit her almost once a month. Sometimes, watching the crown prince and the other three bickering would make Concubine Xiao Shu feel dazed, and she wished in her heart that the crown prince was her own biological son.
"Where is Sujie? Hong'er is here, but he doesn't even know to come and accompany Hong'er." Concubine Xiao Shufei tried to smooth things over for the three of them and changed the subject.
The palace maids methodically took away the leftovers on the table and brought everyone a cup of fresh tea.
"Sujie, she has been sent to an unknown place by Li Hong a long time ago." Gao An didn't bother to pay attention to Li Hong making faces at her, she turned her head to her mother and replied.
Yi Yang and Gao An are one year apart in age. Now Yi Yang is fifteen and Gao An is fourteen. Both of them have grown up into women of the royal family and gradually have the outline of beauties.
As long as they were not in front of Li Hong, the two of them always behaved like the elegant and noble royal princesses. Only in front of Li Hong, they were like graceful, cheerful young girls who were about to bloom.
"Mother, my royal brother should still be in the Hongwenguan now, hehe." A sly smile appeared on Li Hong's lips.
"Are you setting a trap for him again?" Yi Yang reacted very quickly. She was no longer the silly princess who was always one-track-headed. This was all due to the fact that she had been deceived too many times by Li Hong.
Another thing is the sly smile on Li Hong's lips. Whenever this sly smile appears on his lips, it is like a black line appearing on his mother Wu Mei's forehead. The reason is that Li Hong has done something bad again.
"Guo Yu kept him. It is said that he has not memorized the formula yet, so naturally he was kept until he memorized it." Li Hong easily distanced himself from the matter.
"It's all because of that crappy mnemonics you invented. It's really a headache. If I hadn't started memorizing it early this morning, I would have been left behind in Hongwenguan by Guo Yu." Gao An complained unhappily.
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