Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 383 Picture of a Lady

On the first day of July, the morning light shines on Xixiuling.

Because Concubine Yang wanted to go to the Palace of Eternal Life on the Chinese Valentine's Day to fulfill her wish, Gao Lishi personally climbed the mountain to make arrangements.

The melons and fruits must be the freshest, and for the rest, dragons and musk deer are burned in the incense burner, the calyces of the silver vase are placed, and the five animals are placed in the gold basin. As soon as he was ready and inspecting the back compartment, he overheard some women talking.

"Guess what? At dawn, I saw someone hugging each other on Lianli Peak opposite, and the man among them was the handsome Xue Datici next to the saint."

"What do you call a hug? I don't know until Yao Ling hugs me..."

Gao Lishi looked over and saw the two little girls hiding behind the pillars in the corridor, hugging each other.

He did not interrupt, but turned around and with a powerful wave of his hand, drove away the eunuchs and maids behind him.

Looking again, the little girl who spoke earlier was blushing and said, "They are not just holding her like this."

"What else?"

For a person like him, the manager of the other industry did not dare to neglect him, and did not know how to evade it. He led him to the flower hall to wait for him, and asked someone to call Li Tengkong out.

~~

Li Tengkong was sleeping, curled up in the thin blanket. Although his eyes were closed, a faint smile could be seen on his face, and it seemed that even his dreams were sweet.

"They kissed for much longer than we did. All night long."

"That is to say, Juro was so scared that he hid."

"Well, I can't breathe."

Threatening the two little girls again, he ordered: "Don't mention this matter to others, otherwise you will know the consequences!"

"Well, Xue Lang's hand reached into the Taoist robe like this...ah!"

While they were kissing each other, Gao Lishi walked over with catlike steps. He was good at this silent pace, and they didn't notice until he was very close, and he could already hear the slight "chirp" sound when their lips and teeth met.

"General Gao, spare your life, we realize our mistake."

"Although I can't see his appearance clearly, Xue Lang just drove to Jiangsheng Temple not long ago. I secretly took a look at him for a long time. His posture and demeanor were burned into my mind. Moreover, he was wearing the same robe and the same hair ornaments that day. .”

Today, it was Yuan Siyi's turn to accompany the saint. Gao Lishi went down to Xixiuling. After much thought, he decided to visit Mrs. Guo Guo's villa.

"I've seen Aweng." Li Tengkong called him by his old name.

As she spoke, the little girl saw Gao Lishi and jumped up like a frightened wild cat. She blushed and stammered: "General, general...jun."

After scaring him for a while, Gao Lishi asked: "Did you really see that it was Xue Lang? How can you see Lianlifeng's face clearly from here?"

"I don't recognize that woman."

She unconsciously put her fingers on her lips and sucked them in. Her dazed consciousness was still complaining that Xue Bai had kissed her until her mouth was sore.

But when they arrived at the flower hall, they saw Gao Lishi sitting there alone, not looking like he was asking questions.

"She was really wearing a Taoist robe, the same attire as us, with a lotus crown on her head and cloud-climbing shoes on her feet. She was so entangled with Xue Lang that one of her shoes even fell off a cliff."

Not hearing the word "Taizhen", Gao Lishi breathed a sigh of relief and asked: "Are you tall or short, fat or thin?"

Gao Lishi put his hands on his hands and stepped forward, scolding with a cold face: "Taizhenzi trusts you and entrusts you with the important task of guarding the Palace of Eternal Life. How dare you talk to each other here? Do you have any discipline in your eyes?"

"You just said that Xue Bai put her hand into the Taoist robe, but that was nonsense? What kind of clothes is she wearing?"

There was only one way to climb Lianli Peak, and it had to go through Mrs. Guo's house. Gao Lishi knew that the person must be Xue Bai, so he pretended to be casual and asked: "Who is that woman?"

"Seventeenth Mother, Seventeenth Mother."

When asked, Xue Bai and Yang Yuyao were not there.

"Uh-huh."

Although his tone was casual, he felt slightly nervous. The reason why he was so concerned about this matter was because he was worried that someone in the palace would dress up as a Taoist priest and have a tryst with Xue Bai. After all, he actually guessed something about what happened in the Palace of Eternal Life on Chinese Valentine's Day that year from some clues.

This coquettish tone surprised Mian'er, and she thought she had run into Li Jilan's room. After confirming once again that she was really his own little lady, he said, "Seventeenth Mother, wake up, General Gao is here to see you."

"Well."

"So, is Li Qiniang here?" A warm smile appeared on Gao Lishi's face.

Mian'er took it for granted that the palace eunuch came for Li Linfu's case. Li Tengkong also felt the same way, but he also had a strange premonition that he might have come for her and Xue Bai's matter. Too likely.

"Women's crown?"

"Is there anything else?"

"Yes, I must not dare to mention..."

"Find me?"

The urging sounds of Mian'er and Jiaonu disturbed her sweet dream. She buried her head in the pillow and muttered: "Stop shouting, it's really annoying."

Gao Lishi pondered, thinking about which slender female crown would have an affair with Xue Bai, and a candidate came to mind. Then, he quickly felt confused, counted his fingers, and said to himself: "It's two generations behind."

"Neither tall nor short, with a slender figure."

for a long time.

With a slender figure, she must not be Yang Taizhen and Yang Guifei. Gao Lishi realized that his worries just now were too outrageous, he shook his head mockingly, and when he asked again, he was already staying out of the matter.

"You're not looking for Xue Bai, but you're looking for me?"

When the word "military" came out, they were already kneeling on the ground.

She was the daughter of the right prime minister and a distant relative of the clan, so she was able to call Gao Lishi by the same title as the princes and princesses.

Gao Lishi had a kind attitude towards others that was completely different from his status. He asked in a very cordial tone: "Can I talk to the Li family's young lady alone?"

Mian'er and Jiaonu had no choice but to retreat reluctantly, which made Li Tengkong's premonition even stronger.

Gao Lishi got straight to the point and said: "It is said that Xue Lang and the young lady are in love, but I always think that you two are just friends. It seems that I guessed wrong?"

Li Tengkong's heart trembled, but his face remained calm and he asked, "Why did Aweng say this?"

"Last night, Lianlifeng." Gao Lishi reminded directly.

Li Tengkong was surprised that he could still be seen on the top of the mountain. He regretted that he should not have been greedy for the intimate time with Xue Bai, and accidentally stayed until dawn.

Fortunately, she has been pretending not to like Xue Bai for many years. She has long used the Taoist shell to hide the girl's thoughts and has become accustomed to it. Despite the panic at this time, he was still able to remain calm.

She thought that her relationship with Xue Bai would become an obstacle to his success, and it must be kept secret. Especially the General Gao in front of him was the one that Xue Bai had to take great pains to deceive, and no flaws should be revealed.

"Forgive me for being stupid, Aweng, can you speak clearly?"

Gao Lishi has been watching faces for many years, and it is extremely difficult to hide from him. He observed Li Tengkong's expression and asked, "Didn't you and Xue Lang...behave intimately on Lianli Peak last night?"

"what?"

Li Tengkong was a little confused at first, but he seemed to understand for a moment, turned around, and looked deep into the courtyard.

"Ji Lanzi? How can this be done?"

Gao Lishi did not confirm the answer, but asked again: "So, there is no relationship between you and Xue Lang."

"I……"

"It's just you and me today. I'm still an eunuch. You might as well tell me the truth. I hope I can help you find someone to entrust. It's not a waste of my years of friendship with your grandpa. Let me ask you, do you want to enter Xue's house? ?”

Li Tengkong lowered his head and whispered with some sincerity: "I admire him, but... falling flowers are intentional, and flowing water is ruthless."

"You mean Xue Lang has no interest in you? Why?"

"I don't know."

This was in line with Gao Lishi's original judgment. He continued to ask a few questions, and a young eunuch hurried over to report: "Master, I found it."

Li Tengkong took a peek and saw that the shoe he had left behind at the cliff of Lianli Peak had been found.

"My dear lady, can you ask Ji Lanzi to come over and try this?"

"Yes."

Li Tengkong walked outside the door, called Mian'er, and said, "Go and invite Ji Lanzi."

She didn't dare to remind her, she just stayed there with a somewhat embarrassed attitude. After waiting for a long time, Li Jilan hurried over, and she gave her a look.

Before there was any time for further communication, Gao Lishi said: "Ji Lanzi, let me ask you something."

Li Tengkong interjected in a somewhat distant tone and said, "It's about the matter between you and Xue Bai."

It was obvious that Li Jilan's face suddenly turned red.

It's like winter is passing and spring is coming, the spring breeze is blowing, and the peach blossoms on the peach branches are blooming. Li Jilan's eyes flashed with admiration, and she was filled with shame. She lowered her head and responded in a voice as soft as a mosquito's groan: "Yes."

"Where were you last night?"

Li Tengkong didn't expect Gao Lishi to ask like this this time, and was a little worried. Fortunately, Li Jilan seemed to know what she was thinking, pinching her fingers and not answering.

"Please Ji Lanzi tell the truth." Although Gao Lishi looked kind, his tone had undeniable authority.

"I... am with Xue Lang." Li Jilan replied.

"where?"

"Mountain."

Gao Lishi then handed the shoe to Li Jilan and said with a smile, "Then it will return to its original owner."

"Thank you, General Gao."

"Ji Lanzi, don't you give it a try?"

Li Jilan blushed, but she went behind the screen and changed into her dusty climbing shoes. She lifted her robe and indicated that the shoe was as big as the one she was wearing.

Gao Lishi nodded and reminded: "You are too careless. I learned this now. If it reaches other people's ears, I don't know how to talk about it."

This was a small matter. The reason why Gao Lishi asked about it was out of doubt in his heart, not because he cared about who Xue Bai had an affair with.

Now that his doubts were dispelled, he stopped meddling.

After Mrs. Guo Guo left her villa, a confidant eunuch hurried over and whispered: "Master, the saint played Pai Gow today with the imperial concubine, Mrs. Guo Guo, and Xue Lang. Xue Lang said something..."

Gao Lishi was frightened and thought to himself, "How dare he do this?"

~~

"I heard that Li Linfu read several volumes of documents before his death and placed them in Xiaoyao Hall, but I don't know who took them away." Xue Bai suddenly said this while playing his cards.

Li Longji was observing Yang Yuhuan's face and didn't care too much when he heard this.

He recently had a quarrel with Yang Yuhuan. The cause was that the Flower and Bird Envoy offered a gift to a stunningly beautiful woman. After having fun with her, he gave her a piece of music he had composed himself and filled in the lyrics. The content was to praise a pair of gods. couple's love. However, word of this incident got out, which made the concubines nearby a little unhappy. Yang Yuhuan was the most jealous, saying, "The saint is only a couple with her, so what are we?"

There is a way to explain this matter, which is just to add a few more gods to the lyrics of the song, but in this way, it destroys the original perfect rhythm of the song, which Li Longji absolutely cannot tolerate.

Troubles like this occupied too much of his mind and time. He failed to immediately realize the deeper meaning of the trivial matter Xue Bai mentioned.

"You don't want to keep to yourself, why are you meddling in other people's business?"

"I think that since Li Linfu is the prime minister and is involved in a major treason case, the documents he reviewed before his death must be very important."

Li Longji thought about it and said, "Who took it away?"

"I don't know." Xue Bai said: "I just learned about this incident by chance, so I will report it to the saint."

He searched for a long time, but unfortunately he was from Zhongshushe, so it was difficult for him to find out what happened in the inner court. After thinking about it, it is better to take the initiative as soon as possible rather than delaying it for a long time and finally being passive.

Anyway, those documents cannot prove that there is a problem with his identity, so it is better to expose the matter directly to Li Longji and use the power of the emperor to find out who is behind it. In the worst case scenario, the opponent hiding in the dark can be brought out into the light. Xue Bai was most suspicious of Gao Lishi, so today he suddenly launched an attack while Gao Lishi was not in the palace.

However, what surprised him was that a slightly frightened voice sounded in the hall.

"Back to the saint, if it is an official document in Xiaoyao Hall, I happen to know about it."

Hearing this, Xue Bai turned around and saw that the person speaking was Yuan Siyi.

Yuan Siyi did not look at him and continued to explain: "After Li Linfu died, the documents he left in the Huaqing Palace should be collected and organized by the Shang Palace Bureau. Those related to state affairs should be handed over to Zhongshu's disciples. The rest may still be in the Shang Palace. Bureau."

His tone was a little uncertain, as if he had just happened to hear about this little incident. Such an attitude makes Xue Bai seem to be making a fuss out of a molehill.

Xue Baizheng touched a domino and thought about how to play next.

Because of the phrase "General Yuan" left by An Lushan's meticulous work Liu Luogu at that time, Xue Bai had always been wary of Yuan Siyi, which made him gradually stand on the opposite side of him.

Why did Yuan Siyi participate in this matter? Because he noticed that Li Linfu transferred those documents immediately after meeting Gao Lishi?

"Can I see what military and state secrets Li Linfu disposed of before he died?" Xue Bai played a card and said in a joking tone.

"Yes." Li Longji said, "If it is really a military and state secret, it should be handed over to Zhongshu's disciples early. Yuan Siyi, you can give those documents to him later and take them back to Zhongshu Province for safekeeping."

"According to the order."

"Tell me back, what is the content?" Li Longji couldn't help but become curious.

~~

The Shanggong Bureau is in charge of guiding the affairs of the middle palace. All the cashier documents of the six bureaus are printed and signed. If they are recruited from outside, they will request orders for them and pay the ultimatum to the internal officials and supervisors. They have considerable power in the palace. There are two people in Shang Palace, who are female officials of the fifth rank. One is in Chang'an, and the other is accompanying him in Huaqing Palace.

The scrolls that Xue Bai had been looking for were piled among a pile of documents in the Shanggong Bureau. He stood in the court and watched Yuan Siyi take them from the female officer's hands and hold them out.

In short, Xue Bai easily got what Li Xiu couldn't find after searching hard.

"Xue Sheren, please take a look."

Yuan Siyi looked at Xue Bai as if on purpose and did not look away.

Xue Bai unfolded the scroll under his gaze, deliberately showing some surprise, and murmured: "Is this... about the case of three common people?"

The copy he was holding was a list of people who were exiled at that time, including the dowry slaves of the Crown Princess Xue and the wet nurses of several of her children.

When I unfolded another picture, I saw a painting of a lady holding a baby in her arms.

"This painting should be of Concubine Xue and one of her children." Yuan Siyi took a look and asked deliberately: "Which emperor's grandson does Xue Lang look like?"

"I have never met many of the emperor's grandsons." Xue Bai responded and praised: "The painting skills are really good."

"Yes, the painting style is neat and elegant, plump and rich, the use of lines is simple and flowing, the colors are bright but not messy, bright but not monotonous."

Xue Bai looked at the inscription.

Yuan Siyi was good at observing faces and said with a smile: "This is a painting by Zhang Xuan. He once served as a court painter and was best at painting ladies and babies. I believe that if he were asked to identify it, he would definitely be able to identify the painting. What this royal grandson will look like when he grows up."

"Then General Yuan can take Duke Zhang to Prince Qing's Mansion to have a look some other day."

"Don't dare, never dare."

Xue Bai actually dared to continue reading and unfolded the next scroll. It was a map of Tanshan in Fuping County. It marked a place in the mountain, but he didn't know the purpose or the specific location.

Yuan Siyi didn't know what the map was, so she took this opportunity to test Xue Bai's expression, but Xue Bai just glanced at the remaining documents and rolled them up again.

"It's beyond my expectation. I didn't expect that these were the things Ge Nu specially read before he died."

"Yes, what does Xue Sheren think he is?"

"Perhaps it was to conspire with Li Xianzhong. He is dead and his thoughts are unknown."

Yuan Siyi was amused by this sentence and asked: "Does Xue Sheren think these documents are suitable for placement in Zhongshu Province?"

"It is indeed more appropriate to place it in the Shang Palace Bureau. Supervisor Yuan has considered it carefully."

"No, no, I have never seen them before, but now I am worried about how to report them to the saint."

"It's the lower official's fault." Xue Bai quickly confessed.

He believed that Yuan Siyi could naturally fool Li Longji, and since he had achieved his goal, he left immediately.

When leaving Huaqing Palace, Xue Bai met Gao Lishi. He said hello and was glared at.

The two then went to the deer trough outside the palace to talk.

"Who were you with last night?" Gao Lishi asked in a bad tone.

Xue Bai touched his nose and said with a wry smile: "General Gao, please don't inquire about this matter. I'm being ridiculous."

"I'm asking? If I hadn't wiped your ass for you, you..."

Gao Lishi raised his hand and pointed at Xue Bai, scolded him sternly, his expression became more solemn, and asked: "Why did you provoke Yuan Siyi? You think you didn't die quickly enough."

"It's not that I provoked him, but I did it as a last resort."

"what for?"

Xue Bai didn't answer. With these few words, he had achieved his goal. It doesn't reveal anything clearly, but leaves Gao Lishi with room for speculation. There is no need to say too much about this matter.

~~

Under the setting sun, there is a leisurely scene in the deer trough.

Yo Yo Lu Ming, the Ping of the Wild Food.

Xue Bai was not at all relaxed in his heart, thinking that Wang Zhongsi was dead, An Lushan was about to plot for the east of the river, and the aloof emperor was still getting more and more confused, and if there was a big chaos, it would happen. What kind of power does he have to face all this?

Outside the villa gate, Li Xiu was pacing and waiting for Xue Bai. He quickly came to greet him and whispered: "Gao Lishi is here."

"You've lost your composure." Xue Bai yawned and said, "Go in and talk."

Lishan is a place with undulating mountains. It is very likely that someone on the mountain will see you from a distance when you talk. It really makes people feel insecure.

Li Xiu said: "If it weren't for my grandpa's case, Gao Lishi would have come here just for the documents. As expected, he took them away. What will happen if your identity is exposed by him?"

"What will happen?" Xue Bai said: "It's not us who should worry, but Li Heng."

This sentence calmed Li Xiu, and he gained great confidence and asked, "Have you reached an agreement with Gao Lishi?"

"This is none of your business. Get ready to go to Longyou."

"Okay." Li Xiu thought for a while and asked, "One more thing. When I go to Longyou, can I reveal some secrets to some trustworthy generals? Just a few."

Once the desire for power is ignited, it cannot be extinguished.

Xue Bai thought for a while and said, "Don't worry, you should pay attention to Chang'an's movements and mention it later."

"Here."

Compared with Li Linfu's suppression, Xue Bai's attitude really gave Li Xiu great confidence. Even if things did not go smoothly and were even fictional from beginning to end, Xue Bai was willing to shoulder more pressure.

After dismissing Li Xiu, Xue Bai first went to find Yang Yuyao who had returned before him.

Today's dominoes, Yang Yuyao won back a whole box of gold and silver jewelry. She was counting them when she saw Xue Bai and waved with a charming look in her eyes.

"If you are sleepy, you can rest on my lap."

"I have something personal to ask Yao Niang."

"Private matter?" Yang Yuyao smiled, waved away the surrounding maids, and still pulled Xue Bai to lie down on the couch, saying, "Tell me, which private matter is it?"

"There is a painter in the palace named Zhang Xuan. Does Yao Niang know where this person is?"

"Zhang Xuan? The name sounds familiar."

Yang Yuyao thought for a while and asked Xue Bai to open it. She walked to a row of mahogany boxes with her shoes on and hesitated which one to open.

She was wearing thin clothes in the boudoir, and her snow-white and slender legs were exposed. They were very beautiful. Xue Bai leaned there and admired them, letting her slowly search for things.

The search lasted for a long time, and she even broke into a slight sweat. She finally took two scrolls and lay down on the couch.

"Hey, let me show you."

Xue Bai unfolded a scroll of paintings, showing surprise and then smiling, as if he saw something familiar.

Because the picture in front of him was "The Lady of Guo Guo's Spring Outing".

Looking at the original work carefully, Xue Bai sighed: "The painting skills are really amazing, every detail is revealed."

But then he looked back at Yang Yuyao, whose jade body was lying on the couch, and he said: "But, it doesn't look like it."

"You know which one is me, so you say it doesn't look like it."

"I am one of these two people, but I don't look like either of them."

Xue Bai is referring to the two women riding side by side in the painting. They are both wearing bright clothes and wearing their hair in a pony bun.

Yang Yuyao asked with a smile: "Since they don't look alike, why do you think they are these two people?"

"There are eight horses in the painting, four of them have red tassels hanging under their chins. The so-called horse hanging 'kicks the chest' is noble. Among the four horses, the leader has a tiger pattern embroidered on his saddle. He has a prominent position, but he is a man; the last one holds the horse in his arms. A girl's wife, who is dressed calmly, behaves cautiously, and has a humble look, should be the nanny; then she can only be the middle two."

"You are quite eloquent." Yang Yuyao pressed her finger on her chin, deliberately praised Xue Bai, and said with a smile: "But have you forgotten my nickname?"

"Fox?"

"If you are a male fox, why do you have to wear bright clothes and a ponytail?"

"Is this the leader?" Xue Bai was surprised, looked at it again, and said, "It still doesn't look like him."

"How come it's not like that?"

"The real person is much more beautiful."

Yang Yuyao was overjoyed and her eyes were bent with joy. Lying on Xue Bai's back, he pointed at the characters in the painting and asked one by one: "Do you know who this is?"

"Who?"

"My two sisters. As for the girl, she is my elder sister's daughter. Her name is Cui Caiping. She has become a eldest daughter and is married to Princess Guangping."

The two of them looked at another painting, but it was "Pounding and Training", which showed a group of palace ladies making cloth.

Yang Yuyao said: "There is also someone you know here, guess who it is?"

"How can I recognize this freehand painting style?"

"Can you tell among the people ironing on the left?"

Seeing that Xue Baizhen couldn't guess, Yang Yuyao pointed to a little girl in the painting who was hiding under the cloth and looking up with her head tilted, and said with a smile: "Guess who this is?"

"I really can't guess."

"Stupid, Xie Aman, she went to show Yuhuan the cloth. And this little girl with her back to us, slightly taller, was Xu Hezi when he was a child."

"Zhang Xuan can draw these paintings, does she have strong observation skills?"

"That's natural."

Xue Bai pondered: "Then... can the person he painted many years ago recognize him after so many years?"

"With this painter's ability, it should be possible."

"Can I see him?"

Although Xue Bai was not very good at reading paintings, he knew that if the painting of Concubine Xue holding the child was made by Zhang Xuan, then Zhang Xuan would become an extremely important witness for him to usurp the throne.

Although Yang Yuyao had hired Zhang Xuan to paint, she was not familiar with him. After thinking about it, she said: "The last time I heard about him, he painted for Yuhuan two years ago. I will ask Yuhuan in the next few days. .”

(End of this chapter)