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

All he has to do is join in, stir up trouble secretly, and ruin what he is supposed to do.

As the saying goes, "You are not capable of accomplishing anything, but you are more likely to fail." It is impossible to accomplish something, but it is even more difficult to make it unaccomplished.

To take a step back, even if the imperial examination presided over by the emperor was a complete success, he had already picked the sweetest fruits and recruited those talented people under his command. In any case, he would not lose out.

Li Cunzhi frowned slightly, "Brother, are we too weak to be bullied?"

Seeing his doubts, Li Siyuan sighed inwardly and explained to him, "Don't you realize that the emperor now is no longer the emperor he was a year ago?"

"Now, he has supported the Secretariat in the court, and has won over the King of Qi and the King of Xue. The Minister of Rites Yan Suchen has also joined him. His power has taken shape."

"Taking advantage of the opportunity to expand the authority of the Secretariat, he seized the power of the three departments and took over the power of review while I was away from the court."

"I have suffered losses in several conflicts. If this continues, I am afraid that my influence in the court will be wiped out by him. If it really comes to this, why do you think I came to Luoyang in the first place?"

These few words left Li Cunzhi silent.

When he was in Hedong before, he vaguely knew that Li Siyuan had suffered a loss at the hands of the little emperor in the court. After coming to Luoyang, he had been dealing with the affairs of the Tongwenguan and had no time to take care of other things.

But he didn't expect that Li Siyuan had suffered so much, and he admitted it himself!

Suddenly, he stared at Li Siyuan with wide eyes and whispered a few words, "Brother, are you scared?"

boom!

This sentence exploded in Li Siyuan's heart like a bolt from the blue. His expression froze and he did not answer the question.

Because he didn't know the answer either. At this moment, he even doubted himself and began to ask himself, am I afraid?

A breeze blew up in the middle of the empty training ground, ruffling the corners of the two men's clothes. They stared at each other, and no one spoke.

Li Siyuan, I don’t know the answer.

Li Cunzhi, regret it.

The moment he said it, he regretted it. As the leader of the Zhimen Sect of Tongwenguan, he has always been keenly aware of current affairs, and such a question should not be asked by a subordinate.

It is even more inappropriate for a sworn brother to ask this question.

Tongwenguan, there are already two traitors!

But it was precisely because of his keen perception of the current situation that he had this doubt and was also alert. In his view, Li Siyuan's move was undoubtedly a shift from offense to defense, and he was being led by the nose, which was unlike his usual style.

But this question is too redundant and too sensitive.

"hehe."

Li Siyuan stared at Li Cunzhi and laughed, "Seventh Brother, that's a good question."

"I can tell you the answer right now. Yes, I am afraid."

"But, I'm not afraid of the young man sitting on the throne. The emperor is indeed very experienced, which is beyond my expectation. But in this world, without sufficient strength, everything is in vain."

"I'm going to tell you something from the bottom of my heart. The person who scares me is actually the bad commander Yuan Tiangang. Who in this world is not afraid of him? The reason why Li Cunxu and Zhu Wen were able to stir up the world's situation is that he was behind the scenes."

"This old monster who lives in history books, once he really shows his power, I don't know how many people in the huge Jin State will be loyal to me. Now, I can only lurk in the dark and cannot show my head."

"The first bird to stick its head out gets shot. The higher you jump, the faster you die. It's only been a short time since Li Cunxu died, and his body has just been buried. Maybe his ghost is still in heaven watching us, waiting for us to suffer the same fate as him!"

"On the contrary, as long as we are superficially submissive to the court and abide by the rules, Yuan Tiangang may not pay attention to me."

These words were truly from his heart. He had said them to Li Cunli before, and now he was saying them to Li Cunzhi as well.

At this moment, just as at that moment.

But, there's one thing missing.

That is, suspicion.

Li Cunli was active in the court and was targeted and divided by the emperor, so Li Siyuan was suspicious of him, while Li Cunzhi always guarded Hedong for him and worked hard without complaint.

Among the thirteen leaders of Tongwenguan, some were his and some were not. Those who were disloyal to him were all killed by him openly or secretly, which allowed him to have the last laugh.

Now the old men who are still loyal to him are hiding behind the scenes. Outsiders have no way of contacting them, and he can't think of any reason that would make them betray him.

"Brother, I understand." Li Cunzhi said this, and then he knelt down without paying attention to the dust on the ground. "Brother, don't worry, we brothers will definitely have the last laugh if we work together. You have come this far from being a nobody in the Shatuo tribe. This time, you will definitely be able to get through this difficult time."

Li Siyuan stretched out his hands to help him up, and said earnestly, "Seventh Brother, stand up and talk. From now on, just keep these words in your heart. I'm not that fragile, don't worry."

Chapter 128: Beauty's Favor

The next day, the court meeting was held as usual.

After half a month, Prince of Jin Li Siyuan reappeared in the court. Many officials attended today's court meeting with the mentality of watching the show.

However, the results disappointed them.

Li Siyuan did not confront Prince Qi, Prince Xue and others in the court. Instead, he took the initiative to submit a memorial, hoping that the court would reopen the imperial examinations and select scholars as soon as possible.

This move made countless people in the court drop their jaws in shock.

King Jin, what happened?

Over the past half month, officials from Prince Jin's faction have suffered a lot of losses, and his subordinates are eager to get back at them.

As a result, my pants were taken off and you show me this?

We are ready to fight to the death, why did the king surrender first?

A court turmoil was thus resolved.

However, this silent storm caused a great shock to the government and the public.

The royalists were overjoyed, as if they had won a great victory. The Jin Wang party was in grief, like eggplants hit by frost, and remained completely silent.

Qianqiu Palace.

Su Ming was reviewing memorials as usual. In the past few days, the military governors received fewer memorials because their teams to send the beauties into the palace had already set out.

At the same time, these military governors also took this opportunity to find out the general temperament of the young emperor, who did not like flattery and was pragmatic and sympathetic to the people.

In his memorials to the military governors, he repeatedly suggested that they cherish the people's strength, not impose corvee labor indiscriminately, crack down on bandits in the country, and protect the country and the people.

To Su Ming, these words were nothing more than a waste of ink and paper and meant nothing.

He didn't know whether the Jiedushi would listen or not, but what if there were really loyal ministers to the Tang Dynasty among them?

Although the Tang Dynasty has collapsed, Su Ming's bloodline is the true Li Tang bloodline, representing orthodoxy and legitimacy.

If there were really loyal ministers who followed his advice, it would have reduced the losses to the people, allowing them to have more time to recuperate and enjoy the hard-earned peace.

And he could only suggest these. If he asked the Jiedushi to reduce taxes and cut down on the military, people would definitely think he was a fool.

This is an era of crazy internal competition. If you fall behind, you will die. If you don’t engage in militarism and expand your military forces, isn’t that courting death?

Suddenly, the empress said, "Li Siyuan was a little abnormal at the court meeting today."

Su Ming paused for a moment, then continued, "Well, it is indeed abnormal."

Then, there was no further news.

and then?

When the empress saw that he stopped talking, she put down what she was doing, opened her eyes wide and looked at him straight, as if to say, if you don’t give me an explanation, I will keep staring at you.

Facing such a direct gaze, Su Ming remained calm and unmoved like a mountain. He did not put down the red pen until he finished reviewing the memorials on the table.

"Aren't your eyes sore? Do you want me to rub them for you?"

This made the empress laugh. After waiting for a long time, this is what she heard?

The empress gritted her teeth, her eyes filled with murderous intent, and said with a fake smile, "Okay, hurry up, my neck is sore." Then she continued to look at him provocatively.

As a result, it was Su Ming who was stunned and at a loss.

Something's wrong, guys.

Men are the creatures that cannot stand provocation.

I can't bear it!

Then, without saying a word, he walked behind the empress, stretched out his hand, and pressed her neck.

Looking down from his perspective, what caught his eye was a snow-white, delicate neck, smooth and tender without a single blemish. The empress's skin was cold, and the touch of her warm fingers gave him a feeling that it could be broken with a snap of his fingers.

A faint fragrance filled Su Ming's mouth and nose. It was not the floral scent he was familiar with, nor was it the smell of incense. It was a fragrance similar to that of a virgin. He had smelled a similar fragrance on Chi Meng before.

This fragrance is very light, exuding the scent of hormones, which makes the desire in one's heart rise little by little.

Smelling her virgin fragrance, he kept kneading the empress's neck and shoulders with his hands. It felt very good. "How is it? Is the strength appropriate?"

The warm touch came from the back of her neck, making her skin feel numb.

At this moment, the empress was stunned, her heartbeat began to accelerate involuntarily, and two blushes suddenly appeared on her pretty face, spreading from her cheeks to the corners of her eyes, eyebrows and ears.

"Why did he do that?"

Ever since she came to Luoyang years ago, she and Su Ming have always observed etiquette on weekdays. Even though she has long been in love with him, she has never done anything that crosses the line.

Nowadays, the more powerful a family is, the more they pay attention to etiquette, let alone in the deep palace.

She never thought that he would do such a thing for just a normal joke.

The empress pinched her fingers nervously and her neck shook unconsciously.

"Don't move, it will be fine in a moment." A gentle voice came from her ear, and the hot and humid breath sprayed on her ear, making her even more shy.

During the whole process, the empress seemed to be under a spell and could not move an inch.

Soon, Su Ming withdrew his fingers and came to her. "I used my inner strength to help you clear your meridians. You haven't had a good rest in the past half month, so your Qi and blood are a little weak."

At this time, the empress stood up suddenly, her eyes filled with evil, as if she was about to spit fire, "Are you very proud? Do you think I can bully you at will?"

"No, I never thought so. On the contrary, I have always respected you."

Hearing his quibbling, the empress sneered, "I do respect you. You even started to put your hands on me."

"Don't try to be brave in front of me. It's not the right time to rule the world. What should I do if you are exhausted? Listen to me, have a good rest these days and get enough energy. The upcoming imperial examinations will not be easy." Su Ming had a gentle smile on his face, his eyes full of worry.

Hearing this, the empress's anger subsided a little, but she was still unforgiving, "Then why don't you just say it directly? Why do you have to use your hands and feet?"

When she finished speaking, she heard Su Ming sigh softly, the smile on his face faded, and the worry in his eyes turned into pity, "There are some things I can't say now."

"In this world, there are people who can be my friends, there are people who can be my brothers, and there are people who can be my allies and supporters, but the road to becoming an emperor is lonely and in the end, there will only be one person left."

"But I don't want that to happen. I hope that the person who can accompany me to the end is you."

This sentence undoubtedly indirectly expressed his feelings and broke the thin membrane between the two people.