Red and White
On the Flower Festival, all the ladies and gentlemen of the Li family, noble men and women of Chang'an, civil and military officials, and everyone with a name in the north all gathered for a banquet in Furong Garden.
Everyone gathered together and the scene was grand.
It can force the mistress of the Yan family to death, and it can make the mistress of the Yan family angry to death.
I have to make a fuss, I must make a fuss.
That day, I discarded my fishtail robe and put on a red lotus dress, which was covered with a riot of colour. The only thing on my body was the white cloth used to bandage the wounds on my hands, which was eye-catchingly white.
Concubine Tong's body is getting worse day by day.
I am deaf, my father is dead and my mother is gone. No matter if he is a scholar, a warrior, a musician or an actor, as long as he has good character and a good heart, the royal concubine will tolerate him and accept him as her son-in-law.
The Concubine Dowager is the Concubine Dowager, and the Empress Dowager is the Empress Dowager.
I have the title of a king, I have a fiefdom with thousands of households, I have houses and private property, I have pairs of soldiers in my palace, and I have countless slaves. Even if I am disabled and disfigured, I still have the endless favor of Xingqing Palace.
Why marry someone? Why marry someone who is happy?
Yang Yanji, who came from a poor family, had no one to rely on and no foundation, and it was difficult for him to move freely in and out of Chang'an Tai Chi.
I don't like musicians, and Empress Dowager Feng likes them even less.
In Hibiscus Garden, people were admiring the flowers and chatting and laughing. The Empress Dowager summoned someone, but she didn't call anyone forward. She just glanced at Yang Leren.
The Empress Dowager asked me if the crabapple blossoms in Hibiscus Garden were doing well.
Of course I said yes.
"Today it is the crabapple blossoms, in a few days it will be the Luoyang blossoms, and later there will be the crape myrtle blossoms... the hibiscus blossoms. There are hundreds of flowers in a season, and it is impossible to see them all. The Hibiscus Garden is full of famous flowers. My son, take a look again and again, don't be dazzled by the flowers..." The Queen Mother patted my hands and said in my ear.
Empress Dowager Feng didn't get to the point, so I deliberately lingered, directly disobeying her will. "No matter whether they are famous or unfinished, they are just plants for people to pick. Although famous flowers are beautiful, they still need to be pampered. I am impatient and can't wait for the flowers to bloom. Even if they are unfinished, I still like them."
The Marquis of Luoyang disobeyed the Xingqing Palace, and the people around him were scolded and punished, and Yang Leren of the Taichang Temple suffered.
"You bitch, you are so bold!" The Empress Dowager summoned Yang Yanji to her side and scolded her harshly.
A sentence of conviction.
"Of all my children, Luoyang is the most filial. Chang'an has countless other sons, but my son never even glanced at them, let alone spoke a single word about them. If he dared to disobey today, it must be you, the musician, who instigated and plotted behind the scenes." The Queen Mother was furious. "Countless memorials have been filed by officials and courtiers, all accusing the Marquis of Luoyang of misconduct and improper conduct. It's all your fault, this treacherous villain."
Yang Leren bowed in panic.
He exclaimed, "I dare not, I dare not. The Marquis of Luoyang teaches me every day that I should always respect the Empress Dowager of Xingqing Palace and the Concubine Dowager of Jishan Palace. The Marquis always says that if I show any disrespect, she will kill me. I know that my status is lowly and I deserve death, but the Marquis of Luoyang respects and loves the Empress Dowager, and I have no second thoughts."
Yang Yanji did not beg for mercy, but only said that he respected and loved Xingqing Palace and Jishan Palace. The Empress Dowager was still unhappy, but her face showed more emotion.
All the civil and military officials, court officials and censors, all attacked me.
She just resented my background, hated that I once controlled the government and acted tyrannically, hated that I was favored by the Empress Dowager of Xingqing Palace, and hated that I was the only female marquis in Chang'an City.
Everyone knows that the current saint hates me the most. They scold me, step on me, use me as a raft, and use me as a token of allegiance to please His Majesty the Emperor in the Golden Palace.
First, they said that I came from a bad background, and second, they wanted me to behave improperly.
They stayed overnight in Pingkangfang, lingered there day and night, and kept concubines and maids.
Which family doesn’t have Silla maids and Bodhisattvas?
The Marquis of Luoyang's Mansion is nothing more than a favor to a musician, but all the officials have reported to me, attacking me everywhere and wishing to kill me.
I bowed and explained, "I am neither a gentleman nor a saint. I aspire to be both, but I'm often smeared and obstructed by villains. How could outsiders possibly know my character? Only the Queen Mother knows it well. I have no talent, and I have no ability. I only know to be loyal to the Queen Mother and filial to the Queen Mother. Many in the court are dissatisfied with the title the Queen Mother bestowed upon me, but I'm afraid it's not dissatisfaction with me, but dissatisfaction with the Queen Mother. Those memorials are nothing but accusations and criticisms by mediocre and useless people. Three people can make a tiger, and they are trying to frame me."
"If every household of theirs is clean, I will have nothing to say."
I raised my eyes and scanned the Li family officials.
I knelt on my knees, just to see who dared to stand.
Sure enough, all the officials bowed down and dared not say anything more.
"My brother has countless beauties in his harem, and he has sent messengers to search for them far and wide. My brother is a saint, and I am far inferior to him. Yanji is uncouth in appearance, and has little talent and learning. He is even less capable than the noble concubines and virtuous concubines in the palace who can sway the master's heart. I will not disobey my mother for a pleasure. My mother does not like Yang Langjun. Whether you drive him away or kill him today, I will not hesitate."
Empress Dowager Feng disliked the Imperial Concubine and the Shufei the most. When I said this, the Empress Dowager was inevitably deeply moved.
"Yanji is the only lovable person around me, no one else. Since I love Yanji so much, how can I let him be nameless and without status, and be a pet and a mistress? I am willing to fight for Yanji today." I said.
In order to protect Concubine Feng and secure a position as the first wife for her, the sage dared to deceive his superiors and his subordinates and not confer the title on Empress Yang, leaving the master of the six palaces with a title but no status.
Why can't I ask for an official position for Yang Leren?
Yang Yanji has no merit or salary, no family background or foundation. If he wants to get an official position, I have to pretend to marry him first.
Today I asked the Queen Mother to grant me a marriage with great fanfare, but in a few days I will be making unreasonable demands and breaking off the engagement.
I took a break from my busy schedule and caught a glimpse of Princess Anyang with her head down, and saw Princess Huayang trying to suppress her laughter.
No one in the Li family dared to act as willfully as I did. If it were the Queen Mother's own daughter and son, Leyang, the King of Yue, they would have been reprimanded early in the morning.
"Since you truly like him, then it's up to you. However, he has no official position and is of low status. How can he be a good match for you?"
The Queen Mother seemed to be asking me, but in fact she was favoring me and giving advice to the people around me.
"Whether the flowers in Hibiscus Garden are expensive or cheap, famous or wild, it all depends on the Empress Dowager's recommendation and promotion." Concubine Dong helped.
The whole world belongs to Empress Dowager Feng. If the Empress Dowager says it is a famous flower, then it is a famous flower. If the Empress Dowager says it is a mixed flower, then it is a mixed flower.
It's just the momentary likes and dislikes of those in power, just a word.
Seeing that I was determined to do what I wanted, Empress Dowager Feng said casually, "Since he comes from the Taichang Temple, I will allow him to be the Minister of Taichang."
Yang Yanji thanked me in my ear, and I followed suit.
Only the Empress Dowager and the Concubine Dowager were standing in Hibiscus Garden. I raised my eyes and saw someone quietly and gracefully approaching me.
He is a saint.
The saint fell into the water and his body had not yet recovered. That day, he left the Taiji Palace and went to Furong Garden in Chang'an to enjoy the red flowers. Furong Garden was crowded with people, but no one knew when the saint would arrive.
Is he trying to seize power from the Queen Mother in Furong Garden?
When a sage is in power, officials dare not speak and flowers dare not bloom.
Hundreds of flowers are vying for beauty, red and green, but he alone is pure and delicate, with his pure color surpassing all the colors of the flowers. He is so cold that he exudes chill, and his green face makes all the flowers in Hibiscus Garden about to wither.
He doesn't look like a king who has power over the world, but more like a dead tree branch that has taken off its flowery clothes.
Your Majesty, looked at me with hatred as usual, but soon his eyes shifted and he laughed out loud in surprise.
That day, in Hibiscus Garden, on my left and right.
I witnessed with my own eyes an unprecedented fateful relationship. When the emperor of the time saw Yang Yanji, his eyes moved several times, as if he had seen his destined man.
Ever since the saint saw Yang Langjun, he never took his eyes away.
The flowers were so beautiful that they were dazzling. Li Yang was flirting with me, and I was standing between them, which was really an eyesore.
"The Marquis of Luoyang is very beloved, and he is indeed extraordinary." The saint said with a smile.
"How can you be worthy of such a person, Minister Taichang? Wouldn't it be unfair to Yang Lang if your mother gave him such a small official position? In my opinion, with his character and appearance, he should be given a high position and generous salary." The saint still smiled.
My lord, his whole body looked a little sickly, and in his eyes, there was a layer of autumn in the spring. The lord looked at Yang Yanji with affection, wishing he could hide him in his heart and swallow him into his stomach.
"Then according to what the emperor said, where should he be allowed to go?" asked the empress dowager.
"I will allow him to participate in politics," the sage replied.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace." Yang Yanji thanked you and accepted the reward.
The Vice-Minister of State Affairs has the same power as the Prime Minister.
Yang Yanji, a musician in the Taichang Temple, ascended to the throne of the saint in one step.
He became the emperor's favorite male.
After the Flower Festival, Yang Yanji had the Taiji Palace and Yongle Hall as his backer, and from then on, he never set foot in the Luoyang Marquis Mansion in Xingningfang again.
It was also from that year's Flower Festival that the sage disappeared and the tyrant ruler appeared.
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