The Bad Guys: Playing the Fake Li Xingyun at the Beginning

"Okay, it's up to you."

In the evening, everyone gathered in the harem hall.

Zhang Zifan stayed beside Lu Linxuan with a silly smile on his face, as if he still hadn't recovered from his shock. God knows he had just gotten off duty when he heard the news that his wife was pregnant, and he was stunned at the time.

Lu Linxuan is pregnant, and their Zhang family has an heir!

Chi Meng pouted and stared at Lu Linxuan's belly with her big purple eyes blinking, as if there were little stars hidden in her pupils.

She looked left and right and found that Lu Linxuan's belly was flat, and it didn't look like there was a baby inside. "Sister Lu, are you really pregnant?"

"How can such a small belly hide a baby? Don't lie to me." Although Chi Meng is a saint girl from Miaojiang and is proficient in witchcraft, she is still a virgin. Her mother is not around, so there is no one to teach her these common sense.

"Haha."

Everyone present was amused by this and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Su Ming smiled and touched her little head. "The baby in her belly is still very small. It will grow up in a few months, and you will be able to see it then."

Chi Meng suddenly realized, "Little brother, I understand. It's just like raising fish, starting from the fry and growing them up little by little."

The laughter of the crowd also infected the empress. She stood nearby, her beautiful eyes calm, but Su Ming seemed to see envy on her face.

As if she noticed his gaze, the empress glanced at him and her expression became cold again.

"Brother Zhang, please put aside the things in your hands for the next few months and concentrate on taking care of your junior sister. I am worried about the people in the palace." Looking at Zhang Zifan who was still grinning, Su Ming warned.

"Yes, Brother Li is right. I will send a message to my mother tomorrow and ask her to send someone to Luoyang. Since Lin Xuan is pregnant, it is more reliable to use someone from our own family."

Zhang Zifan nodded, obviously considering this point, and agreed immediately. Then he turned to look at Su Ming with a little apology in his eyes, "Brother Li, I'm sorry, I have to let go of the matter of the Imperial Guards."

Although he was reluctant to leave the army, he still knew what was more important than his own children.

"What are you talking about? Of course, Lin Xuan is more important. I will take care of the Imperial Guards' affairs. Don't worry."

Hearing this, Zhang Zifan put aside his worries and gave him a grateful look. Su Ming also chuckled. Everything was self-evident.

After spending a long time with them, some tacit understanding is naturally developed.

……

Xuanwu Mountain, Tianshi Mansion.

Ever since Zhang Zifan's wedding, the Tianshi Mansion has become deserted. Apart from the believers who come up the mountain on weekdays, there are very few outside visitors.

On this day, a fast horse came to Xuanwu Mountain and brought news that shocked the Tianshi Mansion: the wife of the current Tianshi was pregnant.

On the main seat in the hall, Xu Huan, the chief priest of thirteen provinces, sat at the head. She was wearing an apricot-yellow Taoist robe, with soft black hair hanging behind her head. She had a slender waist and an exquisite figure that rose and fell like peaks and valleys. Her swan-like snow-white neck glanced down the hall. Her mature and cold temperament made people dare not look directly at her.

"Everyone, my Tianshi Mansion has great potential for inheritance. In a few days, I plan to bring all the disciples in the mansion to Luoyang to pray for Your Majesty and promote the hopes of my Tianshi Mansion. If you have any opinions, please feel free to speak up." The clear voice was as gentle as flowing water, but it contained an indescribable strength.

At that time, Li Siyuan led his men to attack the Tianshi Mansion, causing the contemporary Tianshi Zhang Xuanling to fall off a cliff and her life or death was unknown. Her son Zhang Zifan was also abducted. The huge Tianshi Mansion suffered heavy damage and the situation was critical.

It was Xu Huan who stood up and overwhelmed everyone with his superb skills, maintaining the Tianshi Mansion open. The position of Tianshi remained vacant, but was not taken away by the side branches of the Zhang family.

The hardships and bitterness involved cannot be told to outsiders.

When she heard the news of Lu Linxuan's pregnancy, Xu Huan was naturally happy, but what followed was consideration of the current situation in the world.

A year ago, she let Zhang Zifan go down the mountain and follow Li Xingyun to Luoyang, and also sent dozens of elites to help. This was her investment in Li Xingyun.

Now that Lu Linxuan is pregnant, the relationship between them should change.

This moment, that moment.

A year ago, Xu Huan was the chief priest of thirteen provinces and held the real power of the Tianshi Mansion, while Su Ming was just a wandering prince of the Li Tang Dynasty. Although he had the support of Yuan Tiangang, the princes of the world might not take him seriously.

Not to mention the battle of Bianliang, which was known to the whole world, and everyone knew Li Xingyun's temper.

One year later, the prince has ascended the throne and restored the Tang Dynasty. He has become the Son of Heaven and holds power. At this time, the cooperative relationship between the two parties has changed unknowingly.

This matter is not subject to human will, but is considered based on the current situation.

In the end, Xu Huan made up his mind.

Chapter 120: Tianshi Mansion Joins the Game

In the main hall, there were several elders from the Tianshi Mansion who were wearing Taoist robes. They were all the leaders of the various branches in the mansion. On weekdays, they were located in different places and commanded the people in the mansion.

Back then, Xu Huan was able to continue to lead the Tianshi Mansion because he had subdued them.

As soon as he finished speaking, someone objected, "Master, why don't you let the Heavenly Master take his wife back to the mountains to recuperate? Luoyang is definitely not a good place and they can't stay there for long. I hope you will think twice."

On Xu Huan’s left, an old Taoist priest with white hair and beard was stroking his beard, looking calm and composed.

The person who just spoke was him.

Xu Huan glanced at him inconspicuously, and a hint of solemnity emerged in his cold eyes. This old Taoist priest was the most senior person in the Taoist Temple today. Even if Zhang Xuanling were still alive, he would still call him Uncle Master.

If this man had not been wholeheartedly pursuing the path to the golden elixir and not cared about worldly things, Xu Huan might not have been able to defeat him at that time.

"Uncle Master, since Master Xu has made a decision, why don't we listen to her ideas? It won't be too late to make a decision later." Just when she was in trouble, a middle-aged Taoist priest sitting on her right came to her rescue.

"Everyone present here is my husband's elders, his junior brothers and apprentices, and they are all the backbone of our Tianshi Mansion. Without your support over the years, how could our Tianshi Mansion be what it is today?"

"However, several years ago, the traitor Zhu Wen led a large army to besiege Xuanwu Mountain, causing heavy losses to the Tianshi Mansion. Li Siyuan took advantage of the situation and almost caused our inheritance to be destroyed."

"As the saying goes, if you don't plan for the future, you will have immediate worries. The world is in turmoil, and no one knows what will happen in the future. Who can guarantee that there won't be another Zhu Wen in this world?"

"Helping Li Xingyun is also to establish a relationship with the court in advance. There are many things in the world, and the Tianshi Mansion can no longer be aloof. In the past, we could refuse because the Tianshi disappeared and there was no one to make the decision."

"Now that Fan'er has succeeded the Heavenly Master, it's time for my Heavenly Master Mansion to be reborn. The Buddhist sect in the north is pressing forward step by step. This is related to the dispute over the orthodoxy. You must not lose the big picture for the small."

Just a few words revealed Xu Huan's true inner thoughts. A woman who could be in charge of the Tianshi Mansion was no ordinary woman. Her vision and tolerance surpassed many men in this world.

Suddenly, everyone present fell into deep thought. Although Xu Huan's words were exaggerated, they were not false.

The roots of Tianshi Temple are in the south, but the political center of the world is in the north. In the past, Emperor Wuzong of Tang destroyed Buddhism, which was short-lived, and the spread of Taoism to the north became a thing of the past.

After that, Buddhism was restored and flourished throughout the Central Plains, especially in the north, which had experienced too much war, separation of loved ones and the people were living in misery. Buddhism became a solace in the hearts of the people.

People always have to have a dream. If this life has been torn to pieces by this world, then just pray for the next life.

Against this background, the spread of Buddhism became increasingly rapid, and in less than a hundred years, many Buddhist temples were established in the north.

The struggle for the orthodox doctrine is a fight between you and me.

In history, there were four anti-Buddhist campaigns, namely "Three Wars and One Zong". Several decades later, the emperor of the Central Plains once again launched an anti-Buddhist campaign. Even the rulers of the time were aware of the threat posed by Buddhism.

How could the Tianshi Mansion, as the leading Taoist temple in the world, not notice it!

"Well, those people in the Buddhist sect have been eating the people's blood and sweat, and have not been productive, making the Central Plains a mess. It's time for the Heavenly Master's Mansion to return to the Central Plains and spread the glory of the Heavenly Master throughout the world."

“Master, I have agreed to your entering the court. You are the one who will mobilize all the elites of the Tianshi Mansion. Don’t let me down! And don’t let the incident of Louguan Dao happen again!” The old Taoist opened his half-closed eyes, looking majestic without being angry, showing the demeanor of a great Taoist.

There were originally large Taoist sects in the north, and there were more of them than in the south. In the early Tang Dynasty, Louguan Taoism almost became the state religion of Li Tang. Later, when Wu Zetian became the hen that crowed at dawn, Taoism began to decline.

The Louguan Dao invested in the Li Tang Dynasty too early, which led to its great prosperity. However, it also caused the Louguan Dao to be too closely tied to the Li Tang Dynasty. When the Tang Dynasty collapsed, the Louguan Dao also suffered and its tradition was no longer preserved.

"You guys go north to Luoyang. I'm old and my legs are not handy. I can't stand the bumpy road. I'd rather stay in Xuanwu Mountain and train elite disciples for the Tianshi Mansion. You stay in the old nest."

The turn of events in the old Taoist's words surprised everyone. They didn't expect that when Master Xu mentioned the dispute over the Taoist orthodoxy, he would be so resolute that he would even re-enter the world.

With these few words, Xu Huan's worries were put to rest. With her uncle endorsing her, it was almost a foregone conclusion that the Tianshi Mansion would move north!

……

Luoyang.

After the beginning of the year, more and more scholars poured into the city, making this ancient city full of vitality again. In this era, those who could take the imperial examinations and study were all from wealthy families.

Scholars flocked to Luoyang, and literary gatherings of all sizes were held one after another. The brothels in the south of the city were crowded with people, making millions of gold every day.

However, these things have little to do with Su Ming. He is busy with the talent show and is extremely busy.

He underestimated his own influence and also belittled the political acumen of the military governors in various places. Not only the princes in the south, but also the military governors in the north submitted petitions in the hope of sending their daughters into the harem.

What should I do if my daughter is not pretty enough?

Buy from outside!

After buying her, he asked someone to teach her etiquette and regarded her as an adopted daughter. Of course, it would be better to have one's own biological daughter take part in such matters.

However, not every Jiedushi has excellent genes, so they can only do this.

Su Ming was not surprised when one or two people moved.

However, when the trend of sending girls to beauty pageants spread among the military governors, he began to have a headache.

What is the reason?

There were too many Jiedushi these days. Anyone who had soldiers under his command could be a Jiedushi, and civil officials sometimes also had the title of Jiedushi.

Su Ming counted carefully and found that there were more than a hundred military governors of various sizes in the imperial court alone, some strong and some weak. The powerful ones must not be offended and must be appeased.

However, those Jiedushi with weaker military forces cannot be offended. After all, these people combined form a huge force.

However, what Su Ming Wanwan did not expect was that even the Khitans in the north would join in the fun.

The Khitans acted first and reported later, and directly submitted the letter of credence. The wedding procession calculated that they were almost reaching Yanmen Pass. If they refused at this time, wouldn't it be slapping the Khitans in the face?

Even though Su Ming really wanted to take advantage of the Khitan's power, they really annoyed him by doing so.

Fortunately, he also learned that the Khitan princess who was to be married this time was Yelu Zhiwu, who was Aogu who appeared later.

However, for Su Ming, beauty or ugliness is not important to him. Even if Yelu Abaoji gave him the most beautiful woman in the world, he would have to accept it with a pinch of his nose.

The truth is, we really can’t afford to offend the Khitans!

These miscellaneous matters took up a lot of his time. He had to carefully consider and write replies to the military governors every day, for fear of offending them.

Chapter 121 Entering Luoyang

Jixian Hall.

There were various books on the desk. Su Ming was sitting among the books, half lying down, with a book covering his face, staring at the hall with lifeless eyes.

When will this day end?

Since he wrote the letter to the military governors, his hellish life began.

At first, the Jiedushi were quite relaxed in asking about the concubines, but then they became more excited, asking the court for money and food, sending a memorial every ten days to pay respects, and even hinting that they wanted to find beautiful women for themselves...

Even some trivial matters in the area under his jurisdiction had to be mentioned in the memorial, which really gave him a headache.

This was not without its advantages, but the price he paid was that he had to appoint all the military governors in the court in a very short period of time.

However, the only drawback was that some military governors did not take him seriously at all. Since he ascended the throne, they neither sent anyone to watch the ceremony nor participated in the selection of talents. They simply regarded themselves as local tyrants.