After another day and night of rest, Xue Huaiyi's stick injury gradually improved, and his broken skin began to scab. Although he still couldn't move, at least the severe pain had completely disappeared. It was only when he accidentally pulled it, an unbearable pain came, which made him scream.

A brazier was lit in the ward, which was as warm as spring. Xue Huaiyi lay on the soft couch, covered with a thin quilt. He half-squinted his eyes and listened attentively to Gao Yanfu's relaying to him the emperor's oral order.

"The Unblocked Dharma Assembly will be held as usual. The Master said that you can attend or continue to recuperate on your bed, it is up to you to decide."

Gao Yanfu sat opposite him. He could understand Wu Zetian's good intentions better than ordinary people, so he had a gentle attitude and spoke softly, trying to make the point clear.

"The emperor means that the Wuzha Dharma Assembly will be held according to the plan agreed in October last year, but the court can only pay up to 10,000 jin of money. If Duke Liang wants to make the Dharma Assembly grander, he will need to bear the remaining expenses."

"The Wuzhan Dharma Assembly costs at least 30,000 guan, but she is only willing to get 10,000 guan. Do I have to pay the rest?" Xue Huaiyi said viciously.

"I'm afraid that's the case." Gao Yanfu was still very calm, his face was chaotic.

"Oh well!"

Xue Huaiyi said angrily: "I only have one requirement, and the unblocked Dharma Assembly is entirely dominated by me, just like last year."

"This... should be OK, but Duke Liang's body--" Gao Yanfu looked at him tentatively.

"My injury is not serious. Please tell Your Majesty that I can preside over the Dharma Assembly."

Speaking of this, Xue Huaiyi lowered his voice and asked, "If I show my sincerity enough, will the Lord of the Mansion think that Your Majesty will change his mind?"

Gao Yanfu smiled faintly, "If Duke Liang showed his sincerity, I think the emperor would definitely see it."

.........

Gao Yanfu said goodbye and left. Xue Huaiyi was still half-squinting. He seemed to be savoring a glass of fine wine that had been stored for many years. The emperor actually agreed to continue the ceremony and agreed to let him preside over it. This was undoubtedly a hint, which made Xue Huaiyi see another glimmer of hope.

After ten years of the Holy Family, Xue Huaiyi had become accustomed to glory and wealth. He once hated her and did not take her in his heart. But when he wanted to lose this kind of love, he suddenly realized how precious it was. Can he get it again?

But what if he can't get it again? Xue Huaiyi's teeth were clenched, and his face was a little deformed. If he can't get it, he would rather smash it to pieces, no one would have imagined it!

At this time, the maid said outside the door: "Master, they are here."

"Let them in!"

After a moment, five or six old monks walked into the ward. The head was Master Faming, the head of the Dayun Courtyard of Baima Temple. Everyone saluted Xue Huaiyi together.

Xue Huaiyi said to them: "The Master has already expressed his intention to not cancel the unblocked Dharma Assembly on the 14th day of the first lunar month. The Dharma Assembly will be held as usual, and it will be even more grand and grand."

Several old monks looked at each other and all looked happy. They thought the Dharma Assembly was about to be cancelled, but they did not expect it to continue. To their surprise, Faming asked again: "Is it still held in the imperial city like last year?"

Xue Huaiyi shook his head, "Last year, too many idle people entered the imperial city, disrupting the official office. Several prime ministers opposed the holding of the Dharma Assembly this year in the Imperial City. The original plan was on the south bank of Luoshui next to Tianjin Bridge. The plan should not have changed. I am physically injured, so you can prepare the Dharma Assembly!"

All the old monks knew that time was tight and they bowed and said, but Xue Huaiyi said, "Fa Ming stays, I have some things to explain."

.........

After intercepting Hanoi Lao Ni, Li Zhen temporarily stopped the inner guard's actions. He has been staying at Shangguan Wan'er's Mingxiu Villa for the past few days to train polo, constantly working on the players' skills and cooperation, and waiting patiently for the opportunity.

At the same time, with the arrival of two important days in January, Luoyang City has become particularly lively. One is the Shangyuan Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and the other is the imperial examination that will be held in late January.

If the New Year Day is the day for the whole family to reunite and worship ancestors, then the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the day for the whole nation to rejoice. On the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth, Luoyang City will become a world of lights and a sea of ​​lights.

There are three days left before the Shangyuan Lantern Festival, and the Nanshi City began to decorate lanterns. This year, unlike in the past, the imperial court encouraged the people to set up lanterns in order to reduce expenses. Almost every merchant has placed lanterns of all sizes in front of them. Because Li Quan went to Lingzhou to see the manor, her Yashi Liquor Shop seemed a little deserted.

That morning, Li Zhen and Jiuzhi returned to Luoyang from Mingxiu Villa outside the city. They came directly to the wine shop. They saw that every household was busy setting up lanterns, but the front door of the Yashi Ice Wine Shop was empty, and there was no decoration like other wine shops.

"Old Li, it seems that Sister Quan's wine shop has not set up a lamp, and there are other wine shops."

"It's probably because the eldest sister is not here, and the guys don't know what to do. Fortunately, I came over and took a look. Ah Cai—" Li Zhen poked his head in front of the wine shop door and shouted.

After a moment, the manager Acai rushed out quickly and said excitedly: "It's so good, I finally hope for the young master."

"What do you hope I will do? Haven't you prepared lanterns?"

"Hey! We're just upset about this."

A Cai said with annoyed expression: "When the boss left, he asked us not to worry about the Shangyuan Lantern Festival, but every household was preparing, but our wine shop had no lamps, which seemed too ugly. I didn't dare to make a decision, so I just waited for the young master to come back and decide!"

"Is it still time to prepare now?" Li Zhen asked.

A Cai's eyes showed a sly smile, "Dissatisfied with the young master, saying, I have contacted several lamp makers, and I will wait for the young master to decide that they have a ready-made lamp stand that can be tied in one day. The key is how big the lamp should be tied?"

Li Zhen thought for a moment, then went out to look at other people's lamps. He pointed to a huge lantern in the distance and said, "It's the same size as that, but we need to build a wine jar or wine gourd, with the words Jinshi Hong or Yashiju on it."

A Cai smiled bitterly and said, "It costs at least fifty cents of money to build such a large lamp, so I'm afraid the owner will be unhappy."

"It's okay, just say I decided that not only did I have to tie a headlight, but also a few thousand small lamps, which are ten cents a day. It has to be written on it. It is a Yashi Ice Shop, which is given to the children for free."

A Cai nodded repeatedly, "Then I will go now and try to do it within two days!"

"Go! Tell me if you need money."

"There is money in the store, so there is no need for the young master to bother." A Cai ran away.

Jiuzhi next to him curled his lips and said, "I bet with you that if you do things like you, this person can make at least ten cents of money."

Li Zhen patted the back of his head and cursed with a smile: "You think everyone is like you, and you have to get benefits when doing something. You kid don't want to do things alone in the future."

Jiu Zhi was regretful and wanted to slap himself two mouths. Why do he have more mouths? He quickly explained: "Old Li, well! I'm just a joke. Of course I know that with Sister Quan's shrewdness, she can hand over the store to Acai with confidence, which means that he is trustworthy. We grew up together, so of course I am trustworthy."

Li Zhen rolled his eyes and was too lazy to pay attention to him. At this time, Jiu Zhi's eyes lit up and stared blankly behind Li Zhen. Li Zhen turned around strangely and saw a girl with round face and big eyes running over. It was Zhao Qiuniang's little apprentice A Ling.

A Ling didn't dare to look at Jiuzhi, and blushed and said to Li Zhen: "My master said there is something important to ask Brother Li to go over."

Li Zhen smiled and nodded, "I understand, let's go."

A Ling glanced at Jiuzhi and turned around to leave. Jiuzhi was anxious and hurriedly chased after him, "A Ling, I want to say something to you."

"Brother Jiu, go and talk to my mother!"

A Ling left a word and ran away in a panic. Jiuzhi looked at her back and ran away, lowered her head with a frustrated face. Li Zhen stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder, "Do you want me to talk to her parents?"

Jiuzhi sighed and said, "Yesterday Zhang Li and I went to A Ling's house. His parents were so polite that it was heartbreaking. Her mother was very tough and her father was a little better. He asked my father to talk to them, but my father was far away in Dunhuang, so where would he come?"

"how so!"

"It's an excuse! Of course it's because I've been to brothels several times, but how many of the tens of thousands of guards have never been to brothels? It's because I don't have money at all."

"Don't you have a house? And your family has several shops in Dunhuang, where are you poor?"

Jiuzhi said sadly: "Dunhuang's property belongs to my younger brother, I won't compete with him. I bought the house for my parents. The name on the house deed is my father. I actually have nothing. I have to work hard on my own and earn some money. Let Aling's parents look at me with admiration. I don't believe that I can't marry her!"

"Aren't you making things difficult for me?"

Li Zhen smiled, "For the sake of growing up together, I will help you once and make you make a fortune."

Jiu Zhi waved his hand quickly, "Old Li, I'm just saying, don't commit crimes and lose your official position."

"Don't worry! Ignorance is made with ill-gotten wealth."

Li Zhen patted his shoulder and smiled and said, "Let's go! Go to the martial arts hall to see, what's the important thing about Sister Qiu Niang looking for me?"

The two of them turned over the horse, turned their heads and headed towards the martial arts hall...

To Li Zhen's expectation, he actually met Aunt Gongsun in Zhao Qiuniang's martial arts hall. Although Li Zhen had already dealt with Aunt Gongsun twice, it was the first time he had met Aunt Gongsun.

When Di Yan was about to go to Pengze, she told him that her master Gongsun's parents died in the wars of Xu Jingye. She had always had hatred towards Xu Jingye, Luo Binwang and others, and all of them had some prejudice against him.

Because of Pei Min, Li Zhen also had a bad impression of Aunt Gongsun. However, in view of Zhao Qiuniang and Di Yan, Li Zhen was quite polite to Aunt Gongsun. He gave a junior tribute to Aunt Gongsun and smiled and said, "I wonder if there is anything that Aunt needs to serve me?"

Li Zhen's politeness made Aunt Gongsun feel a little more comfortable. She asked Li Zhen for help today, so she tried not to take some unnecessary hatreds to heart. She picked up the teacup and drank a sip of tea, but gave Zhao Qiuniang next to her a wink.

Zhao Qiuniang smiled and said, "When my master made the Xuema Pills, he lacked a relatively precious medicinal material, and this medicinal material was in the hands of Lao Ni, Hanoi..."

Li Zhen immediately understood and asked slightly strangely: "I heard from A Yan that the aunt specially prepared beauty pills for the emperor. What medicinal materials are needed? Isn't there in the palace?"

Aunt Gongsun put down the teacup and sighed, "I need the White Mermaid Paste from Japan to the emperor. This fish paste is extremely rare, and there is only a small jar in the palace. I asked Chen Nanmiao a few days ago, and he said that the emperor gave the White Mermaid Paste to Xue Huaiyi.

I was very surprised, what did Xue Huaiyi want to do for this thing? Later I heard that Hanoi Lao Ni planned to use it to make medicine. Today I learned that you seized a batch of Hanoi Lao Ni's items, which contained this white mermaid paste. Can Commander Li--"

Li Zhen quickly glanced at Chen Qiuniang. How could she tell Aunt Gongsun about the old nie in Hanoi?

Chen Qiuniang understood what Li Zhen meant, and she hurriedly said, "The commander misunderstood. It was Shangguan Sheren who told my master the old nun in Hanoi, and then the master found me."

Li Zhen's heart moved, why did Shangguan Wan'er tell Aunt Gongsun about the old nie in Hanoi? Does she want Aunt Gongsun to participate in this matter?

Thinking of this in my heart, Li Zhen smiled without saying a word: "It's just a can of mermaid paste, I can give it to the aunt."

Aunt Gongsun didn't expect Li Zhen to be so happy. She was immediately overjoyed and stood up to salute and said, "Then I would like to thank Commander Li for his kindness. In the past, I had some misunderstandings with Commander Li, so I apologize to Commander Li."

Li Zhen also stood up quickly and bowed and said, "Auntie is Elder Li Zhen, don't be polite!"

Aunt Gongsun left happily. Li Zhen waited for Zhao Qiuniang to send her master back, and then asked her: "Why did Sheren Shangguan tell you about the old nie in Hanoi?"

Zhao Qiuniang forced a smile, "You are making me embarrassed!"

"If it's inconvenient for my elder sister, there's no need to say it. Let's ask Shangguan Sheren when I have the chance!"

"It's not that I don't want to tell you, but I'm afraid you will get angry if I say it."

"Tell me! Even if I get angry, I won't be angry with you."

Zhao Qiuniang hesitated for a moment and said slowly: "Shangguan Wan'er wants my master to take over the matter of Xue Huaiyi!"

Li Zhen's face suddenly became gloomy. They worked hard for so long, and it was almost the last moment. Shangguan Wan'er actually planned to let Aunt Gongsun take over. Who did Li Zhen behave as a person? Are you paving the road?

"Why did she do this?" Li Zhen asked, restraining the anger in his heart.

"I don't know the specific reason, and the master didn't tell me."

"Then I'll ask her!"

Li Zhen turned around and walked outside. Zhao Qiuniang hurriedly followed forward and said, "Master, calm down first. Shangguan Sheren will not ignore your feelings. I believe she will give you an explanation."

"statement?"

Li Zhen sneered, turned around and looked at Zhao Qiuniang's eyes and said, "Don't you think she should discuss with me first and then hand over this matter to your master? Since she doesn't trust me so much, I don't want to do this inner guard commander anymore. Go and tell her that I will go back to Dunhuang now."

Li Zhen pulled his feet and left, Zhao Qiuniang hurriedly grabbed him, "Okay! I'll join you in the palace."

Li Zhen shook his head, "This matter involves your master. If you are stuck in the middle, you will be embarrassed. I will go to see her and ask her to give me an explanation."

After saying that, Li Zhen walked away quickly. Zhao Qiuniang looked at his back and walked away. Her eyes were extremely anxious. She didn't understand how Shangguan Sheren made this decision. This really hurts Li Zhen too much.

.........
Chapter completed!