Chapter 148 Yang Yuyao's Temptation, Phoenix Comes from the East

"Lushan finally has a mother again."

An Lushan was so excited that he jumped three feet high.

"Please ask the Saint and Mother to allow Lushan to dance."

After saying this, An Lushan stood up and performed a dance.

Normal Hu Xuan dance requires the playing of drums and music, changing into special costumes, and dancing to the melody.

But An Lushan did not do so. He showed his more simple side. He did not ask for drums and music. He stood up and started dancing in front of Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan.

The fat body turned left and right as fast as the wind.

An Lushan had his own set of rules, the swinging of his arms and the moving of his feet were all in perfect rhythm.

"Yuhuan, look, General An can actually perform such an exquisite dance."

Yang Yuyao pulled Yang Yuhuan and said.

Don't judge a book by its cover. Who would have thought that such a fat guy could dance the Hu Xuan so well?

Yang Yuhuan was also amazed. She was a dancer herself and could tell that An Lushan's Hu Xuan dance must have been the result of long-term practice.

"Qilang, look at how interesting Lushan is. You should communicate more and teach him some military tactics! From now on, you will be my right-hand man."

Li Longji stroked his beard, smiled, and said to Li Xuan.

In his mind, although An Lushan was brave and good at fighting, he could not be compared with famous generals like Li Xuan.

Li Xuan once formulated a strategy to destroy the Turkic Khanate, curb the Uighurs, block the Tubo, and manage the Western Regions.

In comparison, the war in the Northeast was just a minor skirmish.

After the fall of Goguryeo, there were only many tribes in the Northeast, but they were all small tribes. The only truly powerful ones were the Xi and Khitan, who were defeated by the Tang Dynasty many times and have now surrendered to the Tang Dynasty.

It was enough for An Lushan to help the Tang Dynasty complete its control over the Northeast. After listening to the praises of An Lushan by the interviewer, Li Linfu, Pei Kuan and others, he was very confident in handing over the Northeast to An Lushan.

"The minister obeys the order!"

Li Xuan nodded in agreement.

Given An Lushan's behavior, it is indeed hard to believe that he rebelled without substantial evidence.

When An Lushan finished his dance, he was greeted with applause, and Li Xuan also applauded in an official manner.

"The mother thought the child's dance was pleasing to the eye..."

After dancing, An Lushan asked Yang Yuhuan expectantly.

"General An dances very well!"

Yang Yuhuan had not yet gotten used to being addressed by An Lushan, and the look in An Lushan's eyes made her unable to bear to refuse.

"Mother wants to see that when she enters Chang'an, Lu'er will dance at every banquet."

An Lushan seemed even happier.

Then he bowed to Li Longji again and said, "Your Majesty, please allow me to pay my respects to my mother first when I enter the palace in the future!"

"why is that?"

Li Longji was curious and asked An Lushan the reason.

Generally, when officials entered the court, they had to see the sage first, as the emperor was supreme.

"I am a Hu people. Hu people put their mothers first and their fathers behind. I think this is a filial way to behave."

An Lushan looked at Li Longji with sincere eyes.

"Haha...Hu'er should be filial!"

Li Longji was overjoyed after hearing this, and gently stroked An Lushan's back, as if he really treated him as his godson.

"When will the saint give my mother a legitimate identity?"

In order to please Yang Yuhuan, An Lushan began to ask Li Longji to confer a title on Yang Yuhuan.

Although everyone in the court and the public knew that Yang Yuhuan had become the "master of the harem", she ultimately had no official status.

Naturally, Yang Yuhuan could not ask about this matter, and the Yang sisters could not mention it either.

Gao Lishi would not say anything more at this time.

Even more so, the ministers would not "go against ethics" and report to Li Longji to make his former "daughter-in-law" a concubine.

It all depends on Li Longji himself.

An Lushan also had plans in mind. He was worried that Yang Yuhuan would continue to serve the emperor as a "wife".

This would greatly reduce the chances of him becoming his godmother.

"Lushan, you don't understand the complexity of this!"

Li Longji didn't let An Lushan say more.

He believed that An Lushan was an "uncivilized and simple man" and that such matters were not something An Lushan could discuss.

Yang Yuhuan was also slightly disappointed.

Now that it has come to this, there is still no official status, which has attracted a lot of criticism.

"The Prince of Shou has completed his mourning for the Prince of Ning. The Saint may first select a virtuous and kind child of the noble family to appoint a Princess for the Prince of Shou."

Li Xuan did not mention the matter of enthroning Yang Yuhuan, but instead asked Li Longji to select a concubine for Prince Shou.

This is crucial in paving the way for Yang Yuhuan's canonization.

Some things are known to everyone and do not need to be explained. However, as the "victim", Prince Shou does not have a princess yet, so a princess must be chosen for him.

"Yuhuan, take Lushan here for a tour. Qilang and I have some important matters to discuss!"

Li Longji's face was solemn. He glanced at Li Xuan and was ready to talk to Li Xuan about the matter of enthroning Yuhuan.

An Lushan was an uncivilized Hu man, and he felt that Li Xuan could help him in this matter.

The difference between the two people was immediately apparent from what they said.

In this way, Li Xuan and Li Longji went to the second floor of Chenxiang Pavilion together.

An Lushan was secretly annoyed. It was obvious that Li Longji valued Li Xuan more, so he did not discuss such matters with him but with Li Xuan.

It looks like he has more to do.

He must not offend Li Xuan.

The light in Yang Yuyao's eyes became brighter. She was very smart and could see that Li Xuan was more trusted by Li Longji.

The more I look at it, the more wonderful my whole body feels!
Yang Yuhuan couldn't help but look forward to it. She had endured the worldly gaze for a long time, and this time maybe it would really be possible.

"If I make Yuhuan my queen, what will the government and the public say?"

After sitting down, Li Longji suddenly asked Li Xuan this question.

"Saints cannot do that."

Li Xuan immediately persuaded.

Because he knew that Li Longji would not make Yang Yuhuan his queen.

Ever since Queen Wang was deposed, Li Longji believed that the title of "Queen" was unlucky, especially after he experienced the incidents of Wu Zetian and Empress Wei.

He believed that the title of queen enabled them to rule the country.

Therefore, even though Wu Huifei was extremely favored during the Kaiyuan period and held power in the harem, she never became the queen.

Li Xuan felt that Li Longji's words were a test for him.

"Why not? Isn't Yuhuan worthy of being the mother of the country?"

Li Longji became more excited and continued to ask Li Xuan.

"I am concerned about the saint's reputation. Even if you are not the queen, you can still be a model for the world."

Li Xuan bowed to Li Longji with great fear and trepidation.

"Why do Qilang think Yuhuan should be canonized? I think Yuhuan should be more than just the third concubine!"

Li Longji smiled slightly.

"Forgive me for being blunt! Before Kaiyuan, she was still called the Imperial Concubine!"

Li Xuan spoke slowly to Li Longji.

In the early Tang Dynasty, there were four concubines in the harem, namely, the Imperial Concubine, the Virtuous Concubine, the Virtuous Concubine, and the Shu Concubine.

After Li Longji ascended the throne, he changed the four concubines into three concubines according to the meaning of Faxiang: Hua Fei, Hui Fei, and Lifei.

The previous nine concubines and imperial concubines were all abolished.

The Imperial Concubine is the concubine with the highest status.

With Yang Yuhuan as the most precious, he stood out from the crowd. Li Longji could also win the favor of the beauty.

"Shichiro is really my heart!"

Li Longji praised it highly.

Since this year, he has been considering canonizing Yang Yuhuan.

He couldn't possibly confer the title of empress on her, but he felt that Yang Yuhuan was a gift from God, and it would be inappropriate to confer the titles of Huifei, Huafei, or Lifei on her.

He already had the idea of ​​making her a noble concubine.

"I'm just afraid that the ministers will have disputes and the people will have discussions."

Li Longji added that although such a long time had passed, he was still afraid of the subsequent impact.

"I predict that a phoenix will fly from the east tomorrow. This must be a sign of good fortune. Tomorrow I will go to court and ask the saint to confer a title on my wife. For such a happy event, the people of Jingzhao should be exempted from taxes for one month, and the court and the people will only praise you!"

Li Xuan said to Li Longji with a hint of meaning.

Since ancient times, the powerful and wealthy have known that the so-called dragons, phoenixes, unicorns and black tortoises are all fabricated.

But the emperor liked to hear such deeds and would ask the historians to record them clearly as a symbol of peace and prosperity.

The ministers could not deny it either.

If we give the people of Jingzhao some appropriate preferential treatment, even if there is talk about it, it will just be a joke.

As for other places, they are just gossip at most.

As a time traveler, Li Xuan knew that everything would go smoothly if Yang Yuhuan was named a noble concubine this year.

Yang Yuhuan went in and out of the banquet, and the ministers knew that it was irreversible and had already acquiesced.

"If Qilang is not a general, he should have the talent of a prime minister!"

Li Longji agreed with Li Xuan's words and praised Li Xuan.

"It is my duty to share the worries of the Saint!"

Li Xuan bowed to Li Longji.

When they left Chenxiang Pavilion again, Li Longji grabbed Li Xuan's hand with a smile on his face. Li Longji was not in the mood to play, he wanted to plan for Yuhuan to be canonized as a concubine, the sooner the better.

Li Xuan was very tactful and left Xingqing Palace on the grounds that he had just returned to Chang'an and had not talked to his father yet.

An Lushan had to leave, claiming that he would visit him every day in the future!

Li Xuan arrived at the gate of Xingqing Palace, and the guards waiting there led the Ferghana horse. But Yang Yuyao suddenly appeared and called Li Xuan affectionately, "Qi Lang, let's go together."

"It's my honor to be with the Third Lady!"

Li Xuan couldn't refuse since it was on the way.

However, just a short distance away, Yang Yuyao's residence is in Xuanyangfang, which is just south of Pingkangfang.

But Li Xuan was riding a horse, while Yang Yuyao was not wearing riding clothes and came by carriage.

"Qilang, why did the saint want to confer a title on my sister?"

Before Li Xuan got on the horse, Yang Yuyao couldn't wait to ask Li Xuan.

When she saw Li Longji coming out of Chenxiang Pavilion, she was so happy and said to Yang Yuhuan, "It's time to give Yuhuan a status." She guessed that Li Xuan must know the title Li Longji gave to Yang Yuhuan.

If she were the queen, their Yang family would become rich.

"I don't know either!"

Li Xuan pretended to be confused.

Of course he would not tell Yang Yuyao. During the Kaiyuan period, Duke of Chu Jiang Jiao and Li Longji talked about everything and were very favored by him.

But Jiang Jiao was self-righteous and showed off in public with the secret conversation between him and Li Longji, making it known to everyone and making Li Longji very embarrassed.

So the Jiang family's noble reputation was ruined overnight.

"Please come ride with me, Qilang!"

Yang Yuyao was helpless, knowing that she couldn't get anything out of him, so she invited Li Xuan to her car.

"This is not very convenient! I like riding horses and I dare not disturb the Third Lady."

This time, Li Xuan politely rejected Yang Yuyao.

If he sat in Yang Yuyao's car, she might take him to her mansion.

Even if nothing happened, he couldn't get too involved with Yang Yuyao. Otherwise, how would Yang Yuhuan and Li Longji look at him?

Moreover, Li Xuan does not need to rely on Yang Yuyao's power, so there is no need for him to accommodate her.

"I have prepared some good wine, waiting for Qilang and I to drink together at the mansion."

Yang Yuyao tidied her hair, took a few steps forward, and looked at Li Xuan with seductive eyes.

She thought that with her charm, she could get Li Xuan into the car with just a flick of her hand.

"My father has ordered that I can no longer go to the Third Lady's residence. I will definitely visit her when I am free some other day."

Li Xuan doesn't fall for Yang Yuyao's trick.

Although Yang Yuyao was a rare beauty with unique charm, he did not dare to provoke such a woman.

"Don't be shy, Qilang! I have something important to discuss with you."

Yang Yuyao suddenly grabbed Li Xuan's arm and changed her excuse.

Li Xuan was speechless. Why did he start to fight?

As the historical records show, Lady Guo was bold, unrestrained and romantic.

"Father has given me an order, and I have no choice but to obey. Goodbye, Third Lady!"

Li Xuan gently pulled Yang Yuyao away, bowed to her, and mounted the horse.

He ignored the temptation and rode away, followed by his guards.

This made Yang Yuyao bite her red lips. She didn't expect Li Xuan to be so difficult to deal with.

This aroused her desire even more. When she thought of Li Xuan's heroic deeds and talents, her whole body tensed up and she couldn't control herself.

She didn't think there was anything wrong with what she did. Her husband had died of illness a long time ago, and there were too many romantic affairs among the nobles in Chang'an.

Even Li Linfu had an affair with the wife of Pei Guangting, a famous prime minister of the Kaiyuan period.

Pei Guangting's wife, Wu, was the daughter of Wu Sansi. As Wu Sansi had done Gao Lishi a favor, Gao Lishi treated Wu very well. It can be said that Wu made an indelible contribution to Li Linfu's becoming prime minister.

For the literati in the Tang Dynasty, visiting prostitutes was a romantic affair and was considered as a minor affair.

For a powerful woman, even if an extramarital affair is discovered, the worst that can happen is a divorce, or they may even live in peace and separate from each other.

What’s more, she is a widow like Yang Yuyao.

"I must catch you!" Yang Yuyao looked at Li Xuan's back, relaxed her mind and body, and swore secretly in her heart.

"Madam, there is a man named Yang Zhao. He said he came from Shu and wants to meet you!"

At this time, a servant came to the carriage and reported to Yang Yuyao.

"I thought Yang Zhao would die in Shu like a frog in a well, but I didn't expect he would have the guts to come to Chang'an!"

Thinking of Yang Zhao, Yang Yuyao sneered.

Not long after her husband died, she had an affair with Yang Zhao in Shu. Unable to bear the loneliness, she had an affair with him.

Yang Zhao was tall and had fair and handsome looks, and she really liked him for a while.

Now after seeing Li Xuan, she felt bored towards Yang Zhao.

Compared with Li Xuan, Yang Zhao is a waste!
However, Yang Yuyao still went back to see Yang Zhao. Apart from personal feelings, they were still distant cousins. Now that the Yang family was about to become rich, she could introduce them to the saint and seek a position for him.

……

Song Guogong Mansion.

When Li Xuan returned home, all his family members were present to formally welcome him back.

Even her sisters who were living in Chang'an came back to join the banquet.

Although he was not the prime minister, Li Xuan was already a high-ranking official.

With his identities as a "great talent" and "great poet", Li Xuan's chances of becoming a prime minister through military merit were infinitely increased.

It was rumored in Chang'an that Li Xuan might become prime minister before he was thirty years old, or at most thirty-five.

During the family dinner, Li Xuan drank and chatted happily with his relatives, looking very relaxed and happy.

For example, Li Yuying likes to listen to the story of Brother Seven leading troops and galloping across thousands of miles to rescue the elderly, the weak, women and children.

She is no longer confused now, and can understand why her playmates admire Li Xuan.

Although the world is big, where can we find a hero like Brother Qi who is both civil and military?
She is still so young, about the same age as many unmarried men and women in Chang'an.

How can it not be worshipped?

Li Yuying also hoped that her future husband would be like Brother Qi. But her eyes darkened, this was doomed to be impossible!

That night, Li Xuan chatted with Li Shizhi until midnight.

The next day's morning court session, after the daily court affairs were completed.

Li Xuan submitted a memorial to Li Longji, designating a concubine for Prince Shou.

Li Longji agrees!
"Your Majesty, yesterday outside Chang'an City, there was a report that a phoenix flew eastwards. It was bathed in flames, five feet tall, and extremely beautiful. It finally landed on a poplar tree beside the Wei River. The people nearby saw it flap its wings and heard it cry fifteen times."

Then Li Xuan continued to play a very mysterious story.

The ministers were shocked. After all, Li Xuan was a talented man. How could he say such nonsense?

The Phoenix is ​​coming. How could they not know about such a big event?
Although since the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, auspicious signs have appeared every few years.

These auspicious signs included auspicious beasts, celestial omens, the appearance of gods and immortals, as well as the descent of Laozi to the earth in the first year of Tianbao and the "magic talisman incident".

But it seems that the phoenix has never appeared since the Han Dynasty.

"A phoenix auspicious sign has arrived, but it's a pity that I have no chance to witness it!"

Li Longji felt quite regretful. He suddenly said, "The historians recorded this auspicious sign. What do you think this auspicious sign represents?"

"Your Majesty, this is a sign of your divine wisdom and martial arts, which means peace and prosperity for the country and the people!"

"Your Majesty, the arrival of the phoenix is ​​heaven's recognition of the saint!"

"Your Majesty, since ancient times, wise rulers have emerged and auspicious signs have arrived..."

"For the phoenix to appear, there must be a monarch like Yao and Shun..."

The flattering ministers didn't care whether the phoenix was real or not, and they came forward one after another to congratulate.

The sage has ordered the historians to record this auspicious sign in the history books, so even if it is false, it can be regarded as true.

No minister could refute that the phoenix did not appear!
"General Li, I always feel that Fenghuang's actions are hinting at something. What do you think?"

None of the ministers hit the nail on the head, so Li Longji asked Li Xuan, the "instigator" with a smile.

"The phoenix is ​​auspicious and will only appear in prosperous times. But I think that the phoenix flying from the east represents the mother of the country; it landed on the poplar tree, referring to the woman surnamed Yang, who has such virtues. It flapped its wings four times and cried fifteen times, which should mean that April 15th is the auspicious day to canonize the woman surnamed Yang as the mother of the country."

Li Xuan justified his argument.

But the ministers all knew what Li Xuan meant.

April 15th, there are still five days left.

Li Qillang is really good at this.

Li Linfu, who had always been scheming and playing power games, suddenly became displeased. This kid was even more scheming than him.

If this matter reached Yang Yuhuan's ears, then if Li Xuan got into trouble in the future, Yang Yuhuan would definitely plead for Li Xuan. Even if he had a way, it would be difficult for him to kill Li Xuan in one go.

The meticulous Li Linfu could clearly feel that Li Longji treated Yang Yuhuan differently.

That kind of favor did not exist even for Wu Yuner who was facing her at the beginning.

He felt that Li Longji seemed to want Yang Yuhuan to accompany him until old age.

"General Li's words make sense. Left Prime Minister, Right Prime Minister, what do you think?"

When Li Longji began to question the prime minister, it was a sign of finalizing something.

"Your Majesty, I think so too!"

Wei Jian responded immediately.

"Your Majesty, I think so too!"

Li Linfu didn't dare to refuse.

I just don’t know how to canonize it.

If she is crowned as queen, it will definitely provoke a reaction.

"I second the proposal!"

Li Longji had not yet decided what title to give, and the ministers had nothing to say.

(End of this chapter)