Xue Shao walked in, and Princess Taiping immediately greeted him when she saw him, and said urgently with an angry and worried face: "Xue Lang, why is your complexion so bad?" ”

"It's a little tired, but it's okay." Xue Shao smiled and comforted her, and stepped forward to salute Wu Zetian.

"No need to be polite." Wu Zetian smiled relaxedly, "It's rare for a family to arrive, let's have lunch with me in the harem today!" ”

Xue Shao and Princess Taiping naturally agreed, and soon the group set off and went to the Penglai Hall in the inner court. Wu Zetian set up a family banquet here to entertain Xue Shao and his wife.

Soon after Xue Shao sat down, he was muttering in his heart, now that the new emperor Li Dan is living in the harem to recuperate (in fact, he is under house arrest), will he appear at today's family banquet?

Almost as soon as he settled on this idea, the deacon and eunuch outside the hall said loudly: "His Majesty the Emperor has arrived!" ”

Xue Shao and Princess Taiping hurriedly got up to greet each other, and Wu Zetian naturally sat still.

"Greetings to Your Majesty!"

The couple bowed together, and Li Dan was a little surprised, "Huh? The royal sister and the colt are also here? - All of them are exempt! ”

"Thank you!"

Xue Shao had met Li Dan a few times, but he had hardly talked to him in person. Compared with the clumsy and wooden Li Xian, Li Dan looks very delicate and elegant, with a strong scholarly atmosphere in his speech and demeanor, and he is quite humble and kind in dealing with others.

In short, the young man in the dragon robe in front of him did not feel like an emperor at all, but more like a young man who was indisputable and full of literary and artistic atmosphere.

"The emperor visits the queen mother." Li Dan stepped forward and saluted Wu Zetian.

"I'm exempt." Wu Zetian said with a smile, "Today's family banquet, as soon as you come from Jane, please take a seat!" ”

Xue Shao was slightly stunned in his heart, now I feel that Li Dan doesn't look like an emperor anymore!

And when they were all seated, the feast began.

Li Dan did not bring the queen and her children. Although he was only twenty-three or fourteen years old, he was already the father of several children. Among them are two sons, the eldest son Li Chengqi is already five years old, and the second son Li Chengyi has just turned one year old.

Xue Shao muttered secretly in his heart, the historical Tang Ming Emperor Li Longji is his third son, and he has not been born yet! Also, the historical Princess Taiping died at the hands of Li Longji. But now, it's definitely not going to happen again!!

"Xue Shao, what are you thinking about so intrigued?" Wu Zetian suddenly asked.

Xue Shao immediately returned to reality from his fantasy, smiled slightly and bowed his hand: "The minister is distracted." ”

"Huh!" Wu Zetian laughed kindly, "I said that it was a family banquet, so I don't have to be so formal." ”

"Empress Dowager Xie!"

Wu Zetian nodded with a smile, "Dan'er, Taiping, you can be regarded as a pity today." I couldn't see Xue Shao's feat with my own eyes in the court! ”

"Oh?" Li Dan became interested when he heard this, and hurriedly said: "What feat does the horse have, why don't the queen mother tell us to listen to our brothers and sisters?" ”

Princess Taiping grinned, "I've heard it!" ”

"Uh......" Li Dan was slightly stunned and said with a smile: "Okay, then I don't dare to bother my mother to talk about it." Taiping, what do you say to me? ”

Xue Shao immediately laughed when he heard this, and said in his heart that it is not difficult to see from such details of life that Li Dan is really a good boy, and he will definitely not be as rough and noisy as Li Xian, let alone take the initiative to cause trouble for Wu Zetian - no wonder Wu Zetian chose him to succeed him to the throne, such an emperor is really easy to control!

"Okay, I'll tell the royal brother to listen!" Princess Taiping smiled and said, "But, I can't say it in vain! ”

Li Dan smiled very generously: "Say, what do you want?" ”

"Well, let me think about it......" Princess Taiping rolled her eyes with a strange smile on her face, and suddenly clapped her hands and smiled, "I want to-Hibiscus Garden!" ”

"Nonsense!" Wu Zetian immediately reprimanded: "If you tell a story, you want a hibiscus garden, and there is no lion like you when he opens his mouth!" ”

Xue Shao also felt Wan'er, and hurriedly persuaded: "Taiping, you are indeed not kind. ”

"It's none of your business!" Princess Taiping glared at Xue Shao fiercely, and immediately grabbed Li Dan's sleeve with a smile, "Don't give it!" Do you want to give it or not? ”

Li Dan smiled, "Give, give!" ”

"You don't have any jokes!" Princess Taiping was overjoyed, and stretched out her little finger like a child, "Come, hook your finger!" ”

Xue Shao and Wu Zetian were both amused, "You don't joke, do you still need to hook your fingers?" ”

"I just want it!"

In front of Xue Shao and her mother and brother, Princess Taiping didn't look like a mother at all, she was still as lively and willful as a girl.

"Okay, hook your fingers, hook your fingers!" Li Dan smiled and stretched out his hand to hook her.

"Hey, hey!!" Princess Taiping laughed for a while with her treacherous plan, and simply asked the palace people to put her and Li Dan's tables together, and the wine and food were also placed in one place, and then explained to him in a colorful way.

Xue Shao listened for a moment and couldn't help but laugh. The heart said that Taiping can really play treasures, she almost "modified" all my lines, and she was completely narrating in her own language - when did I scold Pei Yan above the court for being "an old puppet who is authoritarian and misleading the country"?

But Li Dan listened very seriously and happily, he was really speechless!

"Come, Xue Shao, this palace will give you a drink." Wu Zetian is calling.

"Empress Dowager Xie." Xue Shaoman drank a cup.

Wu Zetian glanced at Princess Taiping and Li Dan, and said with a smile: "This pair of brothers and sisters have been a pair of living treasures since childhood. As long as the two of them are together, they will always have endless conversations and fun. ”

Xue Shao smiled and nodded, seeing that the relationship between the brother and sister is indeed very good, and they can't pretend to be it.

Wu Zetian said again: "When the first emperor was alive, he gave the hibiscus to the crown prince, who is now the king of Luling. Taiping is concerned, King Luling has just left Chang'an, and he came to the emperor to ask for Furong Garden. Aren't you afraid that the Luling King and his wife will find out and be unhappy? ”

"Mother, where did you go?"

Princess Taiping, who was talking happily to Li Dan, suddenly shouted: "I asked for Furong Garden, but not to satisfy my selfish desires!" ”

"Oh?" Wu Zetian blinked curiously, "Then why are you like this?" ”

Princess Taiping stood up and said, "There is one thing, I don't want to deceive the queen mother and the imperial brother. But before I say it, I want to ...... First of all, I beg you to forgive me for my innocence. ”

"What?" Wu Zetian frowned.

"The queen mother forgives me for my innocence first, and I will say!" Princess Taiping raised her eyebrows.

Wu Zetian frowned again, "Ask Your Majesty!" ”

"Oh!" Princess Taiping hurriedly bowed her hand to Li Dan, "Is Your Majesty willing to forgive the imperial sister for her innocence?" ”

Li Dan smiled awkwardly, "Forgive you for your innocence, just say it!" ”

"Okay, then I'll just say it......" Princess Taiping's eyes rolled slightly, looked at Wu Zetian, then at Li Dan, and then at Xue Shao, and finally said: "On the way I came, I met King Luling." ”

"Oh?" Wu Zetian and Li Dan let out a low exclamation together.

Xue Shao was slightly shocked in her heart, she definitely didn't "meet", but took the initiative to meet him!

"After all, it's a sibling, so I'll visit him." Princess Taiping said as lightly as possible, "At that time, I asked King Luling, what else can't you let go of in Chang'an?" …… He replied to me that the hibiscus garden given to him by the first emperor had been left untended, and it must have been overgrown with weeds and the houses were old and in disrepair. He felt a little ashamed of the first emperor, so he hoped that I would return to Chang'an and take time to take care of it. ”

Wu Zetian frowned slightly and did not answer. Xue Shao also heard Princess Taiping's voice for the first time - she was interceding for Li Xian!

Why?

Princess Taiping's words revealed that Li Xian was demoted from the throne, but what she was thinking about was not his dragon chair and the country, but a royal garden and the gifts of the first emperor. This shows that Li Xian no longer has political ambitions and no longer expects to make a comeback. In other words, Li Xian is wagging his tail and begging for mercy, hoping that his mother and younger brother will not cut the grass and eradicate the roots, leaving him a way to live for the rest of his life.

After Princess Taiping's words were finished, the dining room suddenly became very quiet.

Obviously, everyone present understood the true intention of Princess Taiping's words.

"Now that the emperor has opened Chrysostom, the Hibiscus Garden is naturally yours." Wu Zetian said lightly: "You just have to take care of it!" ”

"Thank you!" Princess Taiping bowed her hand with great joy, and came back to worship Li Dan, "Brother Emperor Xie!" ”

"Rude!" Wu Zetian reprimanded, "Either call him the imperial brother, or call him His Majesty!" ”

"Oh!" Princess Taiping smiled and said, "Sister, thank you Imperial Brother Xià!" ”

Wu Zetian was a little angry, and the wave of his sleeve meant nothing more than that, forget it, forget it!

Xue Shao breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, he really didn't expect that Princess Taiping's political consciousness and political wisdom had grown to such a point - stronger than me!

I didn't have that idea, I wanted to send a degraded emperor. In other words, my identity as a military commander with troops is too sensitive to do such a thing. Princess Taiping went quietly as a private person, but it was quite appropriate.

Although Li Xian was in power, we never tried to curry favor with him, and now that he is in trouble and losing power, we don't need to do so. Moreover, there is no need for us to worry about the blows and retribution of Li Xian's comeback, because his downfall is completely none of our business.

But Princess Taiping's current behavior is a good reflection of her benevolence and the importance she attaches to family affection. It may not matter whether Li Xian will be grateful or not. The important thing is that now Wu Zetian and Li Dan will see it in their eyes - aren't they also the relatives of Princess Taiping? Is it Xue Shao's relative?

In other words, Princess Taiping is actually conveying such a message to Wu Zetian and Li Dan: Our husband and wife value family affection over interests, and we will always be on your side.

Small victories rely on wisdom, and big victories rely on virtue.

Princess Taiping's act of interceding with Li Xian to avoid death is exactly in line with Xue Shao's code of conduct!

Thinking about this, Xue Shao cast an appreciative look at Princess Taiping, and Princess Taiping smiled quietly, and her pride was overflowing.

Xue Shao was happy, thinking that the two of us are really getting more and more tacit!