The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 703 Two pairs of brothers and sisters with different feelings
The baby in Li Xiuning's womb has been more than seven months, and her belly is high and protruding. This is the third child she is pregnant with. The eldest daughter Yang Lu is three years old this year. The title is Princess Wu'an. The second child was conceived when she accompanied the army on an expedition to Goguryeo. Miscarriage due to the exhaustion of the journey made Li Xiuning sad for a long time, but she became pregnant again last year. This time she took care of herself carefully, even when practicing Tai Chi.But today, when she heard that her eldest brother had come to Luoyang, she was excited and excited, and returned to her previous heroism. She ran out of Fengyi Hall in a hurry, and went straight to Wensi Hall to the east of Qianyang Hall.The Wensi Hall is the place where the concubines received their relatives, and the Wencheng Hall directly in front of it was the place where the empress received the imperial court wives, and various activities related to the female relatives of the officials of the Sui Dynasty were held there.

In the main hall of Wensi Hall, Li Jiancheng is drinking tea leisurely, as if a mountain collapsed in front of him, but if you are careful, you will find that he looks up from time to time, which shows that his heart is not so calm.

At this time, he heard the ringing sound, and saw a dozen maids walking in surrounded by the radiant younger sister, and hurriedly got up to greet her, just as she said "Three Sisters", her eyes were red.

Li Xiuning's eyes were also flushed with excitement, and she called "Big Brother" with tears in her phoenix eyes, and then rushed forward with her big belly.

Li Jiancheng was so frightened that he was sweating, and he was so angry that he wanted to curse, but his words turned into "Be careful, be careful."

Seeing that the face of the usually stable elder brother changed with fright, Li Xiuning stopped walking with a 'puchi' smile.

Li Xiuning has been married to Yang Tong for almost five years, and her vigorous and vigorous personality has also restrained a lot. Although she is still straightforward in her bones, she always has the grace and luxury of a concubine in front of outsiders. It represents Yang Tong and represents the majesty of the royal family, so you have to pay attention to some etiquette. After years of influence, your temperament is much calmer.So after the initial excitement, it quickly recovered.

Seeing that she was finally quiet, Li Jiancheng let out a long breath and said with feigned anger, "You are already a mother, but you are still so frizzy. When will you grow up?"

"Isn't this big brother here?" Li Xiuning said with a smile, and sat down on her seat.

Li Jiancheng, who had nothing to do with her, shook his head, and when he looked carefully, he found that his most cherished sister was wearing a short skirt of fine linen, and the long skirt was also made of fine linen. There was no gorgeous jewelry on her head. A purple bamboo and phoenix hairpin passed through her, and her attire was no different from that of ordinary women, but her demeanor was calm and majestic, which made people feel admirable.

As a person who advocates frugality, Li Jiancheng naturally doesn't care whether his sister's clothes are luxurious or not. He only feels sincerely relieved in his heart. Using simple and plain bamboo hairpins to decorate the rare and luxurious temperament is the most magnificent and noble of their Li family. The princess smiled casually and asked, "Renjin is rich in the world, why does Sanmei dress like this?"

On Li Xiuning's beautiful face, there was a mischievous smile: "My clothes are first woven into cloth by the queen, concubine Xian, and concubine Shu, and then cut and sewn by the emperor's grandmother and queen mother. I would like to carve with my own hands..."

"Your body is priceless, no wonder I think it is luxurious." Li Jiancheng laughed dumbfounded.

"The main reason is that silk and satin are not breathable, I don't like it very much." Li Xiuning saw the court lady serving good tea and ordered her to step back, and then asked: "Brother is the prince of the Tang Dynasty, why did you become an envoy?"

"Father intends to make a truce with the Sui Dynasty, but there are some details that need to be discussed with Renjin. You also know that most of the important officials of the Tang Dynasty who can meet Renjin are former ministers of the Sui Dynasty, and they are related to the Yang family, and Renjin hates these things People, of course, won't meet...the matter can't be discussed, this is secondary." Li Jiancheng smiled pretendingly and said: "The main reason is to meet my sister and niece, so I went out of business. By the way, I heard from Renpu that the little deer is eccentric and very cute, where is he? Why don't you bring me to see my uncle?"

"That little girl played with her sister all morning and was taking a nap." Speaking of her daughter, Li Xiuning's smile softened, adding a bit of maternal brilliance, "I'll have someone wake her up."

"No, no." Li Jiancheng shook his head again and again, and said with great experience: "Children have bed qi, and if they don't get enough sleep, they will make a lot of noise. It's very harmful to the body. It's not too late to see her when she wakes up."

Hearing this, Li Xiuning looked at her elder brother with deep respect and gratitude. The elder brother's children's experience is because of bringing them brothers and sisters a lot.

The younger brother Li Xuanba who died early was weak and sick, and his parents were not at home for many years. Li Jiancheng, the elder brother, was both father and mother, taking care of him day and night, but Li Xuanba died in the arms of the elder brother in the end. For Li Jiancheng's intractable pain, he kept blaming and blaming himself. Later, in order to prevent this kind of tragedy from happening to other younger siblings, he also painstakingly learned superb medical skills.Because of Li Jiancheng's wholehearted devotion, those siblings who grew up in their hometown respect and love him.

After a moment of silence, Li Xiuning asked, "Is the eldest brother coming alone?"

"Besides me, there is Chen Xiangguo, the deputy envoy. By the way, there is also the laying machine. He is also here," Li Jiancheng said with a smile: "We entered Ziwei City together, and he should also go to see his sister."

"No wonder Concubine Xian is also coming here." Li Xiuning suddenly realized, "They must be in the Great Hall of Fame to the east."

"I don't know about that... By the way..." Li Jiancheng looked at his younger sister with a strange look, and asked meaningfully: "Sister, you two, um, did you fight?"

Li Xiuning's pretty face blushed slightly, but she didn't have the coy attitude of other women, instead she straightened her slender and fair neck, and said as a matter of course: "When you enter the Yang family, you are a family. She is so gentle, how can we fight, brother, you are too underestimated." people."

Li Jiancheng said embarrassingly: "You pretend I didn't ask, I'm just curious, after all, you two..."

Li Xiuning showed her masculinity: "Then you still say it."

"Don't talk, don't talk. I don't bother to care about you."

"..." Li Xiuning's pretty face was so red that it was about to bleed. Speaking of it, she and her eldest grandson Wugou seemed to be conceived on the same night and on the same bed. After a long while, she asked again: "Father How is the emperor's health recently?"

"Father is getting older, and his energy is indeed not as good as in previous years. However, Father has avoided socializing as much as possible these years, and paid attention to the way of keeping in good health. In the long run, it is also a sign of longevity. Third sister can rest assured, brothers and sisters are fine together!"

Li Xiuning asked: "I heard that my father wants to marry Tubo, and the princess is Linhai's younger sister?"

Li Jiancheng pretended to be indifferent and said: "After the death of the lawyer, Miss Linhai has lived as a widow until now. She is still so young and has no children. If she's gone, I'm afraid I won't even be able to enjoy the incense. Langri Zanpu is an outstanding person of a generation, and she promised to make Linhai her queen, which did not humiliate her."

In ancient times, patriarchal thoughts were extremely serious, and they believed that if there was not enough incense after death, they would become lonely ghosts and be difficult to reincarnate forever.Princess Linhai has no children and she guards her princess mansion alone. Once she dies and cares about her relatives for 100 years, she will not be able to enjoy the incense.

Although Li Xiuning also believed in this set of superstitions, it did not mean that she approved of this marriage. She said worriedly: "Even if you want to marry someone, you don't need to marry Tubo. There are all kinds of people who are not satisfied with the environment. When Generals Xue and Yuchi led the "Silk Road Allied Forces" to conquer Tuyuhun last year, they suffered heavy losses, and [-] to [-]% of the soldiers did not die on the battlefield, but were killed by bad weather. It's said that many soldiers were fine the first day, but they fell asleep and couldn't wake up the next day. Even the strong soldiers of foreign races are like this. Sister Linhai, a weak woman married there, wouldn't she be sent to her death? "

"Is this really the case?" Li Jiancheng said emotionally. He also knew that the coalition soldiers suffered a lot in the battle at the end of last year, but he didn't expect the weather to be the cause.

Li Xiuning said: "Anyway, Shu is not far from Tubo. If you really don't believe me, you can send someone to inquire."

"I will take this matter to heart and talk to my father later." Li Jiancheng nodded cautiously, looked at Li Xiuning and said, "Let's not talk about Linhai for now, let's talk about your problem."

"What's wrong with me?"

"You know it yourself."

"What's wrong with me?" Li Xiuning was a little puzzled.

"Third sister, I know you are very filial, and I also know that it is very difficult for you to be caught in the middle of the Sui and Tang Dynasties..." Li Jiancheng emphasized his tone and said solemnly: "But I told you before that once you marry the Yang family, you are the Yang family." Now, everything is about yourself and your husband's family, even if you can't help Renjin, don't get involved in the disputes between the Sui and Tang Dynasties, this is a matter between men, and has nothing to do with you..."

Before Li Jiancheng could finish speaking, Li Xiuning interrupted the elder brother, and said with a dazed expression: "I understand what the elder brother means, and I also know that the elder brother is for my own good, and I have never participated in the disputes between the Sui and Tang Dynasties. I don't know where to take care of Datang, that is also his wish, it really has nothing to do with me..."

"Letter..." Li Jiancheng said a single word, thinking in vain that this is not the place to expose his sister to 'steal' Dugu's letters. If someone overhears these words, his sister will be miserable.

"What do you believe?" Li Xiuning asked doubtfully.

"You really pissed me off..." Li Jiancheng was so angry with his sister's innocent appearance that he wanted to hit the wall. After a while, he held back his anger and said sadly: "In short, as long as you keep yourself safe, take care of your husband and teach your children, that's enough... You don't care about the messy things in the room, let alone intervene, understand?"

"Brother, I've always been like this." Li Xiuning looked at the elder brother who was about to go crazy in front of him with a smile, and the incomparably big eyes were full of innocence.

"Third sister, I know you too well. You have been like this since you were a child. Once a lie is exposed, you will pretend to be innocent and pitiful. If you get sympathy from others, I am reluctant to punish you..." Li Jiancheng wanted to make it clear that the place was inappropriate and wanted to curse , but she has a big belly, and it's not good to move her tires.

"Brother, do you have some misunderstanding?"

"What have you done yourself, don't you know?"

"I didn't really do anything."

"There are ghosts only if you believe in you." Li Jiancheng sighed, since my sister doesn't want to mention it, let's forget it.

"Mother Concubine..." A baby's voice suddenly sounded out, interrupting what Li Xiuning was about to say.

Li Jiancheng looked towards the prestige, and saw a little girl in a pink palace dress running towards her like a butterfly. The little girl had a delicate face like a porcelain doll, with a little baby fat on it. Li Jiancheng asked the little girl gently. Girl: "Are you a deer?"

The little girl raised her head when she heard the words, looked at Li Jiancheng with her big black eyes, and said, "I am Xiaolu, what do you call my uncle?"

Li Jiancheng approached cautiously and said with a smile, "I am your uncle."

Yang Lu said in a childish voice, "Hi, Uncle!"

Li Jiancheng's heart melted, and he smiled and said, "Call again."

"Uncle!" Yang Lu called again.

"It's so good, uncle has a gift for Xiaolu..."

"thanks……"

Li Jiancheng was so happy that he forgot about his sister who never changed after repeated admonition.

. . . . . . . . .

At the same time, the Changsun brothers and sisters were also talking in the main hall of the Great Hall of Fame. Unlike the Li brothers and sisters, it was always very quiet here, and they asked and answered politely, but there was a sense of estrangement.

It's not intentional, it's just character.The eldest grandson Wugou is dignified, rational and courteous. When she speaks, her tone is soft, as if she is speaking in a whisper. People who are not familiar with her will have an indescribable tranquility when talking to her, but there is also an invisible distance.Of course, she was very happy about her brother's arrival, but with such a personality, she would not be as excited as Li Xiuning.

The eldest grandson Wuji is shrewd and capable. He currently holds the position of chief historian of the Eastern Palace of the Tang Dynasty. He is Li Jiancheng's most capable assistant. He is very talented but not a talkative person.

"It seems that elder brother is doing well under Brother Li's command." The grievances and grievances between the eldest grandson Wugou and the Li family have passed away, and the Li family is just a passer-by in her life, but looking back, I finally feel a little bit emotional... Others don't care about it, but Li Jiancheng, who has always been a father and brother, is admirable, and it is not an exaggeration to call him "Brother Li".

As for Yang Tong, the man who suddenly appeared in her life, she accepted it with an attitude of resignation from the beginning, but his own kindness, and after these years of living together less and more, made her not deep feelings, Precipitation and sublimation to the point of despair.Her mentality is completely in line with what a certain female writer said, to conquer a woman, start with her body.

"Your Highness is different from his father. He is genuinely kind and generous. He treats people with sincerity and has a great bearing. As a brother, under his command, he is like a fish in water." Changsun Wuji said with a satisfied smile.

"I know that." The eldest grandson Wugou was silent for a while, staring at his elder brother and said, "But the Great Sui dominates the world, and the general trend is already very clear. No matter what, Li Tang will never have a chance to dominate the world... Although Big Brother Li He is wise, but he is not the Lord of Li Tang after all, as long as he is still the crown prince, even if Bai Qi, Li Mu, Zhang Liang, and Han Xin come back to life and help him with all their strength, he will not be able to influence Li Tang's court, let alone decide Li Tang's fate Let’s talk about it. He can’t save Li Tang. My brother is so talented and he’s in his prime, so he can’t, he can’t just die like this, right?”

Changsun Wuji snorted angrily, and said sharply, "Is this what you mean, or is it what Emperor Shengwu meant?"

"Our brother and sister lost their father when they were teenagers, and our mother was kicked out of the house by our half-brother, and lived a life of being dependent on others; after our mother died of illness, our brother and sister depended on each other. Now seeing that my brother is going to be buried for a dying dynasty, my younger sister really can't bear it..." In the beautiful eyes of the eldest grandson Wugou, tears could not stop rolling: "Brother has always been ambitious, so is he willing to go away with his unfulfilled ambition?"

"The aggressive method is useless to me." Changsun Wuji laughed, and then said: "Just like my little sister thinks, I really want to become a master, and I want to return to the family as a master. Let the clansmen who looked down on us in the past know that my eldest grandson Wuji is the most outstanding son of the Changsun family, let them realize that my eldest grandson Anye and eldest grandson Hengye are not even qualified to carry shoes in front of me."

"Wouldn't it be better for you to become a master in Tai Sui?"

"In today's Great Sui Dynasty, there are a lot of talented people. All civil and military officials are young, powerful and honest ministers. How can I be a brother?" Monopoly, but at least my claims will be taken seriously.”

"The Holy Majesty employs people, eclectic, and respects the legalists, and the way of punishment is just what the elder brother is good at. Isn't the Great Sui Dynasty, which ruled the country by law, the place where the elder brother made great efforts? Sooner or later he will be able to stand out in the Great Sui and become a man Master." Changsun Wugou persuaded.

"My ambition does not conflict with loyalty. This is called doing something and not doing something." Changsun Wuji said with a smile: "Little sister has always worshiped a heroic and loyal father. You will never You want me to be a traitor to the country?"

"..." Changsun Wugou was completely defeated.

"Okay, even if we are brothers and sisters, but we have different aspirations and different political views, so I don't need to persuade you." Changsun Wuji smiled. He said so much, but he actually hid the most important point. It was difficult for the Sui Dynasty to realize his wish.

His greatest wish is to manage the Changsun family as the number one family under the royal family, and Yang Tong, who hates the family's powerful family, obviously will not agree. No one in the world is invincible in the way of knowing people and employing them. If his eldest grandson Wuji does it secretly Order something, and the other party will kill him immediately.

In addition, Yang Tong is only a young man in his early twenties, so it is impossible to die earlier than his eldest grandson Wuji. Although Li Tang is risky, Li Jiancheng is soft-hearted and easily influenced by emotions, so if he is loyal to Li Tang, his Wish still has a chance.

"Perhaps it's too early to say these things now, and elder brother won't be able to accept it for a while. But my younger sister hopes that elder brother can face up to the clear general trend of the world and make the right choice at the critical moment." Changsun Wugou sighed.

"Okay, I'll consider it for the Brotherhood. My little sister is pregnant, so you don't have to worry about me." Changsun Wuji agreed quickly this time, and changed the subject: "Where's my niece?"

"Still taking a nap." The eldest grandson Wugou is so smart, how could he not hear his elder brother being perfunctory?But as he said before, people have their own ambitions, and they can't be forced.

. . . . . . . . . . .

that night.

Yang Tong stayed in Li Xiuning's bedroom, put his hand on her big belly, and pressed it lightly, the baby in her belly seemed to respond, and started to move, excitedly saying: "Ning'er, this kid is really smart."

Li Xiuning chuckled, and said softly: "I think this little guy is a boy, he can move more powerfully than a deer, and I like meat dishes very much recently.

Yang Tong laughed: "What does this have to do with meat and vegetables?"

"Of course it has something to do with it. When I was pregnant with Xiaolu, I liked vegetables and disliked meat. I felt sick when I saw meat. Sister Wugou and Sister Tsinghua were the same. Concubine Wu is different." He has a good relationship with Shui Tianji, and he seems more casual when talking about her.

"What's the difference?"

"When he was pregnant with Rong'er, he had a lot of fish and meat every day, and he was happy with everything."

"It does make sense." Yang Tong actually wanted to say that Shui Tianji herself is a heterogeneous person who loves flesh and blood, but he understands the thinking of people in this era that 'everything is enough to have a child', and it didn't dampen Li Xiuning's confidence.

"Husband, elder brother came to see me today." In the dark night, Li Xiuning said quietly.

"Of course I know, I let someone notify you."

Li Xiuning twisted his arm, and said coquettishly, "Can you speak in my tone."

Yang Tong smiled and said, "It's so capable."

Li Xiuning sighed, "Brother told me a little bit about my mother's family. Although what he said was vague, I knew that being in that position, he hadn't been easy at all these years, and he lived like walking on thin ice every day. This made me suddenly I think daughters are more worry-free than boys..."

Speaking of this, she gently pressed her husband's hand: "I want to have a son, but I also want this child to be a daughter, which is very contradictory. If it is a daughter, I will dress her and Xiaolu beautifully, I will teach their sisters how to read and write, and then ask Tsinghua sister to teach piano, chess, calligraphy and painting."

"I thought you were going to teach them military tactics and battlefield skills." Yang Tong said with a smile.

"I don't teach any of them, I don't teach them at all." Li Xiuning stated her attitude decisively, and then said softly: "Because in this world, not every man can be like my husband, who loves and loves someone all day long A domineering woman with a knife and stick."

"Our daughter must be both strong and soft." An unspeakable emotion surged in Yang Yu's heart.

"Husband, are you doing your best to Datang because of me?" Li Xiuning suddenly asked seriously.

"No. I am an emperor, how can I cooperate with the enemy?" Yang Tong denied it.

"There must be. If not, the eldest brother can't scold me."

"What did he say?" Yang Tong was a little embarrassed.

"He didn't say anything, he just cleaned me up, saying that I can't interfere in the disputes between the Sui and Tang Dynasties, but in fact, I didn't do anything."

"I know that."

"But elder brother can't scold me for no reason. He is so angry, which shows that the matter is quite serious. Only you, the emperor, can order the generals to make any changes that are not good for Sui." Li Xiuning leaned her face on her husband's shoulder, tears Lianlian said: "I know my husband loves me, but I don't want my husband to do stupid things like 'Fenghuo opera princes' for me."

"..." Yang Tong. . .

"If my husband loses, my father will definitely not tolerate you, and you will definitely die. I don't want my husband to fail." Li Xiuning saw that Dou Jiande and Xiao Xian lived well and became high-ranking officials. save, and vice versa.

"..." Yang Tong felt like laughing and laughing. This pile of letters not only silenced Li Yuan and the nobles of Guanlong, but also won the affection of the beauties by accident.

It was obvious that he was a bad guy, but in the end, Li Xiuning was a good guy and gave away a lot of cards.

He looked down, but found that Li Xiuning was already asleep, so he carefully laid her flat, kissed her wet face, and soon fell asleep.

(End of this chapter)