Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 388 Making Friends

Fire in July.

This idiom means that the weather has turned cold in July, and every evening, big stars can often be seen setting from the west. So much so that at night in late July, Yang Guozhong already needed plump maids to serve as flesh screens around him to keep him warm.

In the eyes of some people, Xue Bai's reputation is not much better than that of Yang Guozhong.

"He went to Yuzhen Temple today and found out that the two female crowns named Li had a temper and moved back to Yuzhen Temple, so he went to coax them. After coming out, he went to Du's house again. The villain saw him quietly taking the Che and the Du sisters left the city and hung out in a small courtyard by the Qujiang River, and did not return home until late afternoon."

"You spend the whole day leaning against the red and the green, but you don't do anything serious?"

"That's right, I've never seen anyone more romantic than him."

It was Yuan Siyi who sent people to keep an eye on Xue Bai, but after hearing these romantic stories for several days, he was a little annoyed and murmured: "In the past, he seemed to be obsessed with power, but how come he hasn't made any progress lately?" .”

"In my humble opinion, he should be more motivated. Isn't it better to set off fireworks to please the saint than to do those thankless things? Besides, isn't it just to live a life surrounded by beauties like this?"

Yuan Siyi suddenly scolded: "Am I so obsessed with my career just to live such a life?!"

This time it was Yuan Siyi who stepped forward in person and slapped Fu Chulin.

"I know, I know." The young man agreed cheerfully, turned around quickly, and awkwardly saluted: "I've seen Superintendent Yuan, I'm here to take Superintendent Yuan in."

Fu Chulin looked quite uneasy, her eyes evaded, and she bowed her back and replied: "The first batch of people I sent have never come back. I thought it would take time to explore old things, but in the past few days, I really couldn't wait. After staying there, I sent a second group of people there, and when I came back today, I said they were all gone."

After that, he took two deep breaths to calm down, thought about the whole thing, and murmured: "No matter what, our people are dead."

The next day, he personally went to the workshop where fireworks were made for the Thousand Autumn Festival.

"This is not a talisman that can enter the fireworks shop."

Under this situation, Yuan Siyi originally thought that the workshop would be a mess.

Du Wulang took out the document from his sleeve, wrote Yuan Siyi's name on the paper, and wrote a very objective description such as "white face without beard, cold expression, a mole as big as a grain of rice on his right cheek, and slightly cross-eyed". The seal was sealed with a sigh of relief, and then he stood up and said, "Let's go, you can go in."

The Qixi Festival decided to set off fireworks on the Qianqiu Festival. In less than a month, Xue Bai hurriedly mobilized manpower from the weapons supervisor and production supervisor, set up a workshop, and purchased raw materials from various places... All preparations were in place. Only a few days left. But to please the saint, the craftsmen worked day and night.

He had to be careful with Xue Bai's fireworks.

"The Lu Shishi and our people that Chen Xuanli mentioned are gone. Lu Shishi's house was burned down, and the wheat was not harvested."

The fireworks workshop is built outside Chunming Gate, across the city wall from Xingqing Palace. The guard seemed to be even tighter than that of Xingqing Palace. There were Jinwu guards holding halberds standing outside the door. The guard was an official recommended by Xue Bai to the Arms Supervision. His expression was serious. After looking at Yuan Siyi's command talisman, he actually shook his head. .

"The villain knows his crime."

"Ah, this is the palace eunuch. I'll approve the documents and take him in."

Finally, Fu Chulin came.

As for where this dangerous premonition came from, Yuan Siyi had a guess, but before there was any evidence, he himself thought it was ridiculous.

At this moment, a young man with a round face ran out and calmed down the chaos.

Yuan Siyi had never encountered such a situation before and said: "See clearly, you can even enter and leave the Forbidden Garden with this talisman."

"The people sent to Tanshan are back?" Yuan Siyi asked, "How is it?"

There is no precedent for setting an emperor's birthday as a festival since ancient times. However, Li Longji liked the meaning of "Long Live the Thousand Autumns" and jokingly called it "self-destruction". So in the seventeenth year of Kaiyuan, hundreds of officials proposed that the fifth day of August be the Qianqiu Festival. , on this day, the whole world rejoices, all states feast, and take three days off.

But the reason why Yuan Siyi got angry was not because he was offended, but because he felt that his subordinates were slacking off and not fulfilling their duties.

"Do you know who I am?"

"What's missing?"

"Even if it's a talisman to go to the Heavenly Palace, you can't enter this fireworks house."

"Even if the Jade Emperor is here, he has to rely on the talismans of the Fireworks Shop to enter and exit."

Hearing this, Yuan Siyi was still calm, but the attendants behind him got angry and cursed.

Fu Chulin was very ashamed and replied with a guilty conscience: "The painting is also gone."

Yuan Siyi couldn't help but have a look of worry in his eyes, and he began to believe that his original guess was right. If Xue Bai was really the son of the deposed prince, and deliberately approached the saint to seek the position of fireworks envoy, could it be for the purpose of assassination?

"Where's the painting?"

"Someone doesn't want us to investigate this matter, but he forgets that killing people alone can't hide the truth. Killing people will expose him to me."

Accompanying this confession was a sharp slap in the face.

However, when he took a look in person, he found that everything was so orderly.

"Snapped!"

Yuan Siyi saw that he looked familiar and asked, "Who are you?"

"Are you Du Wulang? Take me in."

"Du Qi, I am appointed as the director of the Fireworks Workshop. General Yuan can just call me 'Wu Lang'."

"Yes."

"Even if Chief Du wants to bring someone, he must follow the rules."

He was not checking Xue Bai out of selfish grudges, but out of an attitude of dedication and karma to ensure that everything would be safe for the saint. The saint appointed Xue Bai as the fireworks envoy and set off grand fireworks on the Qianqiu Long Live Festival. In his opinion, this matter There is some kind of danger involved.

"Yes, the supervisor will wait a moment."

~~

The Qianqiu Festival falls on the fifth day of August and is the birthday of the saint.

Yuan Siyi was not surprised that Xue Bai appointed a confidant in this matter. He patiently watched Du Wulang do this, and realized that this ordinary young man who was particularly easy to ignore was actually Xue Bai's capable man. helper.

"You also know how to make fireworks?"

"I understand a little, I understand a little." Du Wulang looked a little frightened every time he was asked, but his words were very confidential, "The eunuch also knew about bamboo paper. When bamboo paper was invented, I peed into the pulp pond, which was also a display of my ability. To make things work, production sometimes requires a little bit of whimsy, and I am a person with a little bit of whimsy.”

"These fireworks are related to fire, are they dangerous?"

"Ah, of course there is danger. What we have to do is to eliminate this danger. Superintendent, please see, we have placed large water tanks every few steps, just for fear of fire. Originally, the supervisor said that the fireworks display should be placed in the imperial palace The city, where can I go? What if it burns down? By the way, there is another coincidence. The house of Li Qiwu, the governor of Li Gong, caught fire more than a year ago, and it also burned the house of Mrs. Guo Guo next door. Ruthless, you should be more careful..."

That's not what Yuan Siyi wanted to ask. He came to investigate a major assassination case, but Du Wulang pretended to be stupid with him and deliberately answered questions he didn't want to ask.

If anyone else dared to play such a clever trick in front of him, he could slap the other person to jail, but he didn't want to alert the enemy at this moment. Beating Du Wulang, the idiot, alerted the poisonous snake Xue Bai.

"The saint is very concerned about the progress of the fireworks. He asked me to understand the progress and take me to see everywhere." Yuan Siyi pointed to the yard where the craftsmen were working, and Du Wulang just wanted to lead him elsewhere.

"Huh? It's smelly and dirty over there." Du Wulang originally wanted to refuse, but Yuan Siyi was too majestic, so he said, "Okay, Supervisor Yuan, please."

The courtyard is filled with a pungent smell. The strange thing is that the craftsmen don't talk much and each performs his or her duties. Each person just lowers his head and does what he is doing, and often only has one action, making paper pulp, making paper shells, grinding powder, and mixing. There is a partition between the positions of the rope, the rope, etc., and only the prepared objects can be passed under the partition.

Yuan Siyi didn't understand why at first, but when he looked carefully, he suddenly understood the reason.

But he deliberately pretended not to understand and asked: "Why is it arranged like this? It doesn't look like a bustling workshop, but more like a cold palace in Ye Ting."

Du Wulang was still pretending to be stupid, and he replied: "Fireworks are a craft that should not be passed on to others. In this way, there is no fear that the production method will be spread. And it can be made faster, much faster .”

"Yeah."

Yuan Siyi knew that Du Wulang only told half of what he said, and another reason was that in this way, Xue Bai could make fireworks into a powerful assassin without anyone noticing.

He became more and more sure of his guess before coming.

In the evening, we ended our trip to the fireworks workshop and returned to the Interior Ministry. Yuan Siyi once again summoned Fu Chulin and said, "We have ignored Du Wulang all this time."

"Du Wulang?" Fu Chulin initially thought she was talking about Li Linfu's son-in-law Du Wei, but she was stunned for a moment before she realized what was happening.

"Either this son has no city, or the city is extremely deep." Yuan Siyi was obviously more inclined to the latter judgment, saying: "Xue Bai used his sensuality as a cover-up, and the person who secretly worked for him was probably the Du family, Cha, Cha Du What the family did during this period of time.”

"Here..."

The Minister of Internal Affairs was very energetic, and in just one day, Fu Chulin found out everything about the recent major events in the Du family.

When reporting back, he also gave it a try to express his surprise at hearing the important news.

"Master, do you know what kind of official title Du Wulang was granted during the period when the saint was stationed in Lishan Mountain?"

Of course Yuan Siyi would not pay attention to a character like Du Wulang when he was in Huaqing Palace. He kept a cold face and waited for the next chapter.

Fu Chulin said: "Last year in the Mid-Autumn Festival, Du Wulang left his post without permission when he was the captain of Jincheng County. He was later impeached by the censor and could not make up for it. But in the middle of the year, that is, after the saint left Chang'an, he was appointed as the captain of Jincheng County. The Prince’s Office of Jianning County has joined the army!”

Yuan Siyi immediately focused his eyes and started thinking.

The princes and princes of the Tang Dynasty all set up officials to assist, teach the palace master or manage the government affairs of the prince's palace. The prince's palace allowed one person each to join the army, including chief historian, minister, rafter, subordinate, chief bookkeeper, record office, and meritorious officer. Six people went to join the army, two people made signatures, nine people were married, and sixty-nine people were in the tent.

In view of the saint's precautions against the princes and grandchildren, the palaces of the princes have long since ceased to have long history, and all other staff such as marriages and accounts have been cancelled. Most of the people who joined the army only had official positions in name only, with only high qualifications.

However, King Jianning was different. He was Li Tan, the third son of Prince Li Heng. He was very outstanding among the young people in the clan and was always loved by saints. Such a person suddenly recommended Du Wulang, who was close to Xue Bai, to join the army for the palace. Why?

"Has King Jianning also noticed Xue Bai's identity? Is he using this to find out whether Xue Bai is real or not?" Yuan Siyi knew that Li Tan had some tricks, and thought to himself: "What role does Du Wulang play in it?"

~~

"Huh? Me? I don't know either."

On this day, Yang Xuan met Du Wulang and asked him how he suddenly became a prince and joined the army. Du Wulang looked confused and said, "I really don't know."

"That must be Dong Gong trying to win over you."

Yang Xuan had been listening to it for a long time, and he actually analyzed the situation in the DPRK.

He followed Yang Guozhong to Lishan, and followed Jia Chang in cockfighting every day. After returning to Chang'an, he visited Du Wulang many times, but Du Wulang was very busy every time. Today, it was Yang Xuan who blocked the way outside the fireworks workshop before we could meet him.

"Win me over? That might be so."

Yang Xuan put his arm around Du Wulang's neck and said, "Then you won't become the friend of that prince, right? I tell you, my grandfather and Dong Palace will not deal with each other. If you change sides, I will not recognize you." This brother."

"It's the Prince of Jianning County."

"I know that Prince Jianning, the prince's eldest son, is of course from the East Palace."

"Not the eldest son. The eldest son of the Crown Prince is Li Chu, Prince of Guangping, and Prince Li Tan of Jianning is the Crown Prince's third son." "I don't care about Li Hu or Li Tan. I can't even write their names." Yang Xuan said, "Anyway, I'm with them all. They don’t deal with it.”

Du Wulang had no choice but to say: "If you really can't tell the difference, just remember that King Jianning is 'Little Li Sanlang'. The sage calls him a hero and a fruit, so he is called like this."

Yang Xuan was very unhappy when he heard him praise Li Tan, and said angrily: "Between me and this little Sanlang, you can only be friends with one person, you choose!"

"what?"

Du Wulang had a headache, thinking that only Xue Bai was his best friend. What could the two of them have to argue with?

Just when he didn't know how to answer, a motorcade came slowly from the east. Du Wulang said quickly: "I still have errands to do, let's talk about it later."

With that said, he rushed to the carriages, took out the list from his sleeve, and said, "Here we go, let me do the math. There are a total of eighteen boxes, right? Move them over there."

While he was still busy, Yang Xuan chased after him, grabbed Du Wulang's lapel, and said: "You decide first, whose side you are on. There is no reason for a man to be a mere wallflower."

"Okay, okay, I'm on your side. I don't want to be appointed to the palace to join the army."

"Why are you so reluctant?"

Then a guard came to pull Yang Xuan away and refused to let him enter the fireworks workshop. Yang Xuan refused, and insisted on asking Du Wulang clearly.

While pulling and pulling, the team transporting raw materials was affected. A box fell to the ground, and the saltpeter inside rolled out.

"what?"

Du Wulang turned around and saw a few arrow cluster-like things falling under the saltpeter, and he couldn't help but be confused.

"what is that?"

"The villain deserves to die. Please forgive me, sir."

The next moment, several laborers squatted down to pick it up, blocking Du Wulang's sight with their bodies. They packed the saltpeter and hurriedly packed the box and continued to carry it.

This scene fell in the eyes of one of Yang Xuan's followers. His eyes flickered and he lowered his head.

~~

"You read that right?"

When Yuan Siyi got the news, it was already the second day of August, and there were only three days left before the Qianqiu Festival.

In addition to fireworks, there are many things to prepare for the Qianqiu Festival. The Ministry of Internal Affairs is also very busy, but he still does not forget to ask about the current situation of Xue Bai and Du Wulang every day, but a Yang family attendant who was bribed by Fu Tuolin informed It was a trivial matter for him.

"Are you sure it's an arrow cluster?"

"The villains are far apart, but it should be true."

"Why do fireworks need arrow clusters?"

Yuan Siyi has become more and more certain that Xue Bai has evil intentions and plans to assassinate the saint.

And time is running out. What he has to do now is not to find evidence, but to stop this assassination and expose Xue Bai's conspiracy to let the saint know.

How to do it?

While he was thinking about it, a spy who was watching Xue Bai reported back a piece of news.

"Xue Bai played Cuju with King Jianning today."

~~

There are many Cuju venues in Chang'an City, and the Cuju venue in Princess Xianyi's Mansion in Pingkangfang is one of the better ones.

The Cuju competition on the court is getting intense, and the stands are also very lively.

The stands here are very luxurious, separated by bamboo curtains, covered with soft couches, lit by stoves, and maids serving fine wine and food from time to time.

Li Tengkong and Li Jilan sat side by side, staring at Xue Bai's figure.

Recently, there have been some worries between the two. Li Jilan looked at Li Tengkong several times, observing her every move and smile, not knowing what she wanted to see.

"Why did he get together with King Jianning to play Cuju today?" Li Tengkong looked a little embarrassed and started a topic.

"It's said that Du Wulang was the one who pulled the string. Hey, you see Du Wulang is also on the scene. It's pretty obvious."

Li Jilan originally wanted to say "pretty clumsy", but changed the wording out of politeness.

Li Tengkong thought that it was indeed the case. When she was in Lishan, she heard from Xue Bai that Du Wulang's wife had given birth to a daughter. Not long after that, Du Wulang was asked to join the army of Jianning Prince's Palace. She was quite worried about this. , I am afraid that Du Wulang now has a weakness and will be coerced into doing something detrimental to Xue Bai.

At this time, on the Cuju field, Xue Bai and Li Tan each led a team to compete against each other. Du Wulang was very lagging behind and failed to catch the kick from the opponent many times.

Another person holding back was Yang Xuan. Contrary to Du Wulang, Yang Xuan's skills are very superb and he can bounce the ball in a variety of ways. He likes to yell and always ask others to bounce the ball to him. As a result, it often causes others to fall to the ground when they touch the ball.

The most remarkable thing is Yang Yuyao. As soon as she stepped on the court, she showed a completely different side from her usual. She was as sassy as a man.

As for Xue Bai, although his skills are mediocre, he has good physical strength and is calm and composed... In Li Tengkong's eyes, he is still the most unsightly presence on the court.

Unfortunately, although Xue Bai played very well, he still lost to Li Tan and the Wuling heroes who were already good at Cuju.

After it was over, Xue Bai and Li Tan were seen talking alone for a few words from a distance. The two walked to the other side of the stadium and had a more private conversation.

Li Tengkong didn't know what they talked about, and she became increasingly uneasy because she now knew the deepest secret hidden by Xue Bai and understood how much risk it would bring. At this time, the emperor's grandson Li Tan suddenly began to deal with Xue Bai frequently and closely, which inevitably made her guess whether someone had discovered a flaw in Xue Bai.

"Vacation?"

When Li Tengkong came to his senses, he realized that Li Jilan had been calling her for a while.

"Ok?"

"Are you worried lately?" Li Jilan hesitated and whispered: "I have always wanted to ask you, why did you ask me to cover up that night when you and Xue Lang went out? Are you afraid that Lady Yan will be unhappy?"

"No." Li Tengkong whispered, "I told you last night that I really have nothing to do with him, and I don't want to have anything to do with him."

"But why?" Li Jilan said: "He saved your family, and Lady Yan agreed. It's time to finally get married."

"There is no reason...I, I practice Taoism."

Li Tengkong wanted to help Xue Bai realize his ambition, but he didn't know how to explain it to Li Jilan. The two of them had discussed this issue in private for many times without any results, so they returned to Yuzhen Temple together. This action seemed like Li Tengkong was staying with Li Jilan all the time in order to prove his innocence with Xue Bai.

As for how long this will last? She was thinking that maybe she would wait until Xue Bai got the power he wanted. She is not in a hurry, and is content with the feeling of knowing that the two of them are in love now, and does not seek to stay together forever.

This would inevitably make Li Jilan a little anxious.

"You talk about cultivating Taoism again, but I have suffered a lot of injustice for you."

"Don't worry, General Gao won't tell anyone."

"I am……"

Li Jilan was embarrassed to say anything, but the next moment, he saw someone walking this way, so he had to shut up quickly. She looked back and saw that it was Li Yuetu. She quickly stood up and went over to wave.

"The princess is late, Cuju has ended."

After the words were spoken, Li Jilan realized that there was another person walking behind Li Yuetu. He was a handsome man who seemed familiar.

"I'm here to see you and Teng Kongzi. It doesn't matter if I don't watch Cuju." Li Yuetu stepped forward happily. Then he thought of something and turned around: "This is my eldest brother, King Guangping. You must have met him before, right?"

Li Jilan couldn't remember where he had seen him before, so Wanfu said, "I have seen King Guangping."

~~

Li Chu has been quite worried recently.

He had already heard about what happened in Lishan. His grandfather, Prince Li Heng, was accused by Ji Wen of colluding with Wang Zhongsi to conspire against him. Although it was later proven to be a false frame-up, the saint's attitude towards the East Palace still changed subtly. .

Although there is no evidence, Li Chu knows that Xue Bai must be involved behind this matter, and Xue Bai can always have a great impact on the East Palace.

His third brother Li Tan also believed in this and had been trying to contact Xue Bai and achieved results. He arranged for Du Wulang to join the army for the palace. Therefore, Xue Bai's attitude towards Donggong finally softened and he agreed to come to Cuju today.

Li Chu didn't know how Li Tan did it, but for Dong Gong, this was an unexpected surprise and a clever move. Li Chu had never thought that the seemingly useless Du Wulang was actually a very key figure in Chang'an City.

For example, at the current Qianqiu Festival, which affects people's hearts, the fireworks are directly prepared by Du Wulang.

Li Chu wanted to know the reason for Xue Bai's change of attitude. Did he hope to join forces with Dong Gong to deal with Yang Guozhong or An Lushan? Are you in trouble and need Dong Palace's help? Or is it just a matter of friendship with Li Tan?

So he came today.

Cai and Li Yuetu walked onto the stand and met a beauty in Taoist robes. Li Chu looked around and recognized Li Jilan, whom he had met at the royal banquet in Zhongnan Mountain.

When he saw Li Jilan wishing him a blessing with eyes full of admiration, he couldn't help but recall that she looked at him the same way when they first met. Unexpectedly, after all these years of being busy with Sheji affairs, she would still be as infatuated as ever.

Compared to Princess Cui Caiping's fierce jealousy, Li Chu preferred this kind of gentle and shy woman, so he politely returned the favor.

When Li Yuetu and Li Jilan ran away holding hands, Li Chu turned back to the eunuch Cheng Yuanzhen behind him and said, "If I want to take her as my concubine and give her a rank, can I?"

Cheng Yuanzhen was stunned, took a step forward, and reminded in a low voice: "No, no marriage is allowed with the same surname."

Li Chu raised his lips with a hint of sarcasm, thinking that a saint could steal Yang Taizhen into the palace, so what else could he do?

"She is a monk, how can she have a common surname?"

Of course, he just thought about it and mentioned it casually. After all, he is not a saint yet.

Maybe there will be a chance in the future.

After standing for a while, Li Tan and Xue Bai came over talking, looking quite close.

"Brother."

Li Tan spoke in a bright tone, smiled and stepped forward, saying: "You are late, Wu Jiu and I have already performed Ju, and we plan to go to the fireworks workshop with him. Let's go together to talk about how this thing can be used in the army." "

Xue Bai also seemed more approachable than usual, and asked with a smile: "King Guangping, I haven't seen you for a long time. Do you want to go out of the city to have a look?"

"It's what I asked for." Li Chu also smiled freely and said, "I always hear people say how beautiful the fireworks blooming in Lishan Mountain are. I am very curious. Is there any reason to miss it?"

Several young people all looked outstanding, and standing together in high spirits could even make people feel the vitality of the Tang Dynasty.

Over there, Li Yuetu looked back and saw this scene, and couldn't help but be extremely happy that they could get along so well.

Only Li Tengkong stood there and watched, and could feel the temperament in Xue Bai that was incompatible with the emperors and grandchildren, the temperament of a traitor...

(End of this chapter)