Chapter 699 Zen Position
"My sister is back."

When Wu Meiniang returned to her bedroom, her maid Ling'er hurried out to greet her.

Compared with Wu Meiniang's charming and lovely appearance, Ling'er's appearance can only be regarded as a beautiful girl from a small family.

"Ling'er, light the lamp."

Wu Meiniang is now a concubine and lives in a side hall of the Heyu Palace.

The area of ​​the side hall is also very large, at least several times larger than the house she lived in when she was a talented woman.

The house is big and there is not enough light inside. Even during the day, it is still a bit dark.

But Wu Meiniang didn't like darkness. Every time she came back, she would either sit by the window or let Ling'er hold the lamp.

After hearing the order, the palace maid Ling'er quickly lit two oil lamps and placed them next to Wu Meiniang.

Wu Meiniang was not in a good mood today. She lay on the bed in a depressed mood and frowned:
"Don't order this, order the palace lantern with crispy oil instead."

In ancient times, lamp oil was also divided into different grades.

On weekdays, women in the palace used ordinary meat oil lamps, or mixed oil lamps.

There is one disadvantage of this oil lamp, which is that after it is lit, it smells a bit stinky.

There is also a vegetable oil lamp, which has a lighter smell, but also has a smell of oil smoke.

When the emperor summoned these women to sleep with him, the women who were contaminated by the smell of oil lamps had to take a bath to avoid the messy smell on their bodies from bothering the emperor.

Favored women would have imperially prepared butter oil, which, when lit, not only did not stink, but also had a light fragrance.

Wu Meiniang was also a favored woman in the palace, so naturally she had some crispy oil with her.

However, this kind of crispy oil is very precious, and each woman only has a small amount of it.

Therefore, Ling'er seldom orders crispy oil.

Ling'er lit the palace lantern again and placed it beside the bed, and saw that her "sister" had fallen asleep on the bed.

The reason why Wu Meiniang was so tired was because Xu Hui often "took leave".

The threesome that was often agreed upon suddenly became a twosome.

In order not to make the emperor angry, Wu Meiniang had no choice but to serve him wholeheartedly.

As a result, Wu Meiniang's workload doubled, and she was naturally prone to sleepiness during the day.

Perhaps because of the fragrant oil lamp, Wu Meiniang slept particularly soundly.

In her dream, Wu Meiniang dreamed that she married the young emperor, accompanied the emperor to build the empire, and when her man became the emperor, she also sat on the throne as the mother of the country.

Unfortunately, dreams are just dreams.

After waking up from the dream, Wu Meiniang was still the Concubine Wu who could only live in a side hall. She was a long way from being the queen who ruled the country.

"Ling'er, what time is it?"

"My lady, it is already the evening hour."

"Is it already the twilight hour?"

Wu Meiniang quickly got up from the bed and asked the palace maid Ling'er to dress her up.

When the emperor left this morning, he said that he would come to Heyu Palace to sleep tonight.

Youth is the source of confidence.

After a good sleep, Wu Meiniang felt full of energy. She put on some makeup and began to look forward to His Majesty's arrival.

The emperor didn't let her wait too long.

Halfway through the You hour, Su Mingzhe arrived at the main hall of Heyu Palace in a sedan chair. Concubine Yan and Xu Hui were standing at the door to greet him.

When Wu Meiniang got the news, she ran over in a hurry and almost messed up her hairpin.

"Mei Niang, are you so anxious to see me?"

Su Mingzhe laughed and hugged the beautiful woman.

There are three thousand beauties in the palace, many of whom are prettier than Wu Meiniang, and many of them have good figures.

But the only one who could give Su Mingzhe great spiritual satisfaction every time was Wu Meiniang.

However, Su Mingzhe only valued Wu Meiniang in his heart, and he didn't treat her much differently to other women on a daily basis, except that he doted on her more.

The reason why Su Mingzhe treated Wu Meiniang in this way was because this woman had a rebellious mind and she had to be trained slowly like training a hawk or a dog.

Otherwise, if this woman becomes ambitious, it will bring trouble.

"Your Majesty, I had a dream this afternoon that Your Majesty no longer wanted me."

Wu Meiniang was a scheming woman, and she resolved the awkwardness with just a few sweet words.

"How could I not want Mei Niang?"

Su Mingzhe looked at the sweet, soft and delicious girl in his arms, and he wished he could immediately carry her in and eat her alive.

However, seeing Concubine Yan and Xu Hui nearby, Su Mingzhe could only laugh, and took the three women into the main hall and began to serve the meal.

Concubine Yan and Xu Hui had small appetites and were full after just a few bites.

Wu Meiniang had a heavy workload and was in the period of growth, so her appetite was naturally large. She could eat a bowl of staple food by herself, plus about a pound of barbecue.

Concubine Yan served Su Mingzhe and wiped the oil stains off his face, mouth and hands.

Xu Hui was also helping Wu Meiniang wipe the oil stains from the corners of her mouth.

After dinner.

Xu Hui was about to find an excuse to leave again, but Wu Meiniang quickly stopped her and pleaded in a low voice:

"Good sister, please stay tonight..."

"..."

Xu Hui looked at 'Sister Wu' with a pleading look in her eyes, her brows slightly furrowed, feeling a little conflicted.

She was already upset when she was in a threesome, let alone a foursome.

Just as she was struggling over whether to say goodbye and leave, Concubine Yan suddenly spoke:

"Your Majesty, it's still early, how about playing leaf games for a while?"

The leaf game existed in the Han Dynasty. In the middle and late Tang Dynasty, the leaf game evolved into Mahjong.

Su Mingzhe had not expected that the news that he had been playing cards with the Wang sisters, Fa Deng and several other beauties during the day would spread in the harem so quickly.

However, he thought that Concubine Yan probably didn't know the rules of playing leaf games with him.

Of course, it doesn’t matter if she doesn’t know, I can teach her myself.

Before that, Su Mingzhe asked the maid in charge to light up the kang in the Heyu Palace.

It's already the end of October. Wait a minute, everyone will start to undress, as they will catch a cold without a kang.

As emperor.

Although Su Mingzhe was obsessed with beauty, he was not really indifferent to state affairs.

Almost every day, Su Mingzhe travels around during his "rest time".

Therefore, Su Mingzhe would be able to know about any problems that occurred in the various prefectures of the Tang Dynasty first and deal with them in a timely manner.

This is how the prosperous Tang Dynasty came about.

It’s a pity that Su Mingzhe has done so much for the Tang Dynasty, but he can’t tell others.

In everyone's eyes, Su Mingzhe is now a tyrant who is obsessed with beauty.

Xu Hui was also extremely disappointed with Su Mingzhe. After advising him several times, she saw that Su Mingzhe did not take her advice seriously, so she simply refused to sleep with him.

Su Mingzhe naturally developed a lot of interest in such a beautiful woman with unique personality.

That night, Su Mingzhe did her a lot of favors.

It was the next day in a blink of an eye.

Su Mingzhe was lying in bed, with the gentle Xu Hui in his left hand and the elegant and quiet Concubine Yan in his right hand.

As for Wu Meiniang, because she had served the emperor for several nights in a row, she went back to the bedroom to rest early last night.

Seeing that the man didn't get up early, Xu Hui remembered the doubts in her heart and couldn't help asking:
"Your Majesty, Mei Niang said yesterday that you wanted to abdicate the throne to the Crown Prince. There must be a deeper purpose. Is that true?"

Su Mingzhe didn't want to say anything, but he looked at Xu Hui and Concubine Yan, both of whom had expectant eyes. After thinking for a moment, he said:

"My two beloved concubines, after you have heard this, please do not spread it to others."

"I will keep my mouth shut."

Xu Hui and Concubine Yan quickly made the assurance.

Both women are well-bred, talented and virtuous ladies from noble families, and they both want to know whether their men have really become tyrants.

Seeing that the two women agreed, Su Mingzhe also knew the nature of these two women, so he began to preach to them:

"Have you ever heard of mountain people keeping bees?"

The history of beekeeping among mountain people can be traced back to before the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

As the two women were famous talents in the harem, they naturally knew about beekeeping.

"Don't underestimate bees because they are small insects. In fact, their colony structure is similar to that of humans, with queen bees, worker bees, soldier bees, etc."

"And the bee colony has a habit, that is, there is only one king in a colony."

"If there are two kings in a tribe, it is time to separate."

"Guess, when this bee colony splits up, will it be the new king who leaves, or the old king?"

"Old Wang, let's go!"

Xu Hui read widely and had read a wide range of books.

"Yes, it is indeed Lao Wang who is leaving!"

Su Mingzhe nodded slightly, exclaimed with admiration:

"Even insects as small as bees know that if they want to divide the family, they need to let the old king go and let the new king stay in the old nest. Am I, the Emperor Zhenguan of the Tang Dynasty, worse than a bee?"

"In today's world, the powerful and influential families are rampant. Although the court has opened the imperial examination system, the path to becoming an official is still controlled by the powerful and the influential families. I am now trying to pave a new path for future emperors."

Although Su Mingzhe did not mention the specific plan, but when Su Mingzhe said this, Xu Hui and Concubine Yan at least knew that their men's recent behavior was just to confuse the court officials outside and those aristocratic families.

Amid everyone's anxious waiting, the day of the abdication ceremony finally arrived.

Su Mingzhe took Li Chengqian to the Taimiao to offer sacrifices first, then read the abdication edict at the Circular Mound, and finally the father and son returned to the Taiji Palace to formally hold the ceremony.

When the ceremony was over, there was a grand banquet inside and outside the palace.

Abdication is a happy event.

When a new emperor ascends the throne, he will host a banquet for his ministers.

Su Mingzhe and Li Chengqian sat on the dragon throne together, looking at the ministers who were smiling happily below, then turned around and said to his son:

"Qian'er, from today on, I will hand over the Tang Dynasty to you!"

Su Mingzhe has done everything he should and could do.

If this is the case and Li Chengqian still can't do it well, then it's not Su Mingzhe's fault.

Li Chengqian has already learned from Su Mingzhe the truth about the Eastern Expedition to Goryeo next year. He is touched and reluctant at the same time:
"Father, how about letting me go to the Eastern Expedition?"

"You can't go. This time I'm taking away veteran soldiers. Those from the aristocratic families are cunning as hell. If you take them with you, I'm afraid you'll waste an opportunity."

As Su Mingzhe spoke, he felt that his tone might have hit Li Chengqian, so he could only speak more tactfully:
"Besides, it is also very important for you to stay in Chang'an City. The expansion of the Imperial College is imminent. After I leave next year, you must quickly start the construction of Guanlong..."

"My son understands."

Su Mingzhe and Li Chengqian had already discussed the matter of expanding the school.

Li Chengqian has already been operating this system among the descendants of the six leaders of the Eastern Palace for nearly half a year, and the results have been very good.

By the spring of next year, this educational achievement will be spread to the Guanlong region.

The two discussed for more than an hour.

At the hour of You, Li Chengqian said goodbye and returned to the East Palace.

Tomorrow, Su Mingzhe will take his concubines and underage princesses and princes to live in Huaqing Palace.

Tonight is also Su Mingzhe's last night living in Taiji Palace.

(End of this chapter)