Chapter 298 Lantern Festival, Cuiwei Pavilion Watching Lanterns
"Madam Yuyao, this is embarrassing me..."

Yang Zhao looked embarrassed.

Li Xuan is so powerful. If he betrays Li Xuan, he will definitely be killed by Li Xuan.

He was close to Li Xuan and was often beaten by Li Xuan. He knew that Li Xuan never showed his emotions, and when he played tricks on people, he was even more cruel than Li Linfu.

Although Yang Zhao is favored, he is still far behind Li Xuan!
"I don't care. If you see you getting close to Li Xuan again, don't enter this door."

Yang Yuyao insisted.

She couldn't stand Li Xuan's repeated disrespect for her.

How can she build her mansion if this continues?
The one million yuan provided by the court every month was not enough to cover her expenses.

"It's up to you!"

Yang Zhao had no choice but to agree.

He is still some distance away from his ambitions, and even if he wants to achieve his life goals, he has to accommodate Yang Yuyao.

He is very troubled because the court is now divided into two factions.

He first betrayed Li Linfu, making Li Linfu hate him to the core.

Now that he is being threatened by Yang Yuyao, what should he do?

After Yang Yuyao snorted, she prepared to leave Guoguo Manor and head to the inner palace of Huaqing Palace.

The actual area of ​​Guoguozhuang is larger than the Tianshui Palace.

The Lantern Festival needs many lantern towers for decoration.

But compared with the newly built mansions in Chang'an, the current Guoguozhuang is not worth mentioning.

After Yang Yuyao entered the palace to meet Yang Yuhuan, she wanted Yang Yuhuan to persuade Li Longji to prepare money for her.

But Yang Yuhuan only said, "Li Ying has his own arrangements."

He did not agree to Yang Yuyao's request for money and told her not to ask Li Longji for it.

This made Yang Yuyao extremely depressed. How could her own sister speak for Li Xuan in such a crucial matter?

But the power of the Yang family came from Yang Yuhuan, and Yang Yuyao couldn't say anything.

She could only wait until the Lantern Festival, when the sage was not satisfied and watched Li Xuan make a fool of himself.

Li Longji always had very high requirements for this kind of ceremony.

When Li Linfu learned about this, he immediately drafted a bill to allocate 10,000 strings of cash to Lady Guo to build a lantern wheel and a lantern tower.

"Are you still the prime minister? You don't need to worry about such trivial matters..."

After Li Xuan reprimanded Li Linfu, he and Pei Kuan rejected Li Linfu's document.

Although he was scolded, this was exactly what Li Linfu wanted, and he told Lady Guoguo about it.

This made Lady Guoguo feel good about Li Linfu, and her anger towards Li Xuan reached its peak.

Li Xuan certainly knew what Li Linfu was thinking, so he wanted to please Yang Yuhuan and use her to suppress the Yang family.

In Li Xuan's understanding, Yang Yuhuan only cherishes wealth and glory, does not interfere in state affairs, and has a certain level of cognition.

But Li Xuan thinks it is easier to fool people about things beyond her knowledge!

What Li Xuan didn't know was that he was the white moonlight in Yang Yuhuan's heart.

The status of a biological sister may not be as important as Li Xuan's.

In the blink of an eye, it is the New Year's Day.

It's time for vacation again.

And this holiday is a special day.

If the sage suddenly feels like watching lanterns and holding ceremonies during the Lantern Festival, the treasury will be opened for him. Millions of coins will be spent, and nothing will matter as long as it can please the sage.

It should be noted that even if Li Xuan relocated hundreds of thousands of people to Qinghai and Jiuqu, built houses for them, distributed cattle and sheep, and allowed them to temporarily settle down and live a happy life, this money would be far from enough.

But Li Xuan didn't do that.

As the Lantern Festival approached, the civil and military officials did not notice any changes in Huaqing Palace.

They were discussing whether Li Xuan would be punished by the saint for this?

Li Longji was in Huaqing Palace and found that the Lantern Festival was approaching. When he sobered up, he did not see any changes in Huaqing Palace.

So when he was in the lower hall of the Secretariat, he asked Li Xuan about his situation.

Li Xuan just assured Li Longji and guaranteed that it would be a wonderful ceremony.

Out of trust in Li Xuan, Li Longji did not ask any more questions but remained skeptical.

During this time, Gao Lishi came again.

This time he did not come on his own initiative, but brought a message from Yang Yuhuan.

If this is not possible, Yang Yuhuan will persuade Li Longji to return to Chang'an.

Whether it is Qujiang, Taiye Lake, or Daming Palace in Chang'an, they all have complete lantern wheels and lantern towers, as well as various exquisite lamps.

Standing on the third floor of Hua'e Xianghui Tower, you can overlook the lights of thousands of homes in Chang'an and the streets as bright as day.

There are 365 days in a year, but the curfew is temporarily lifted during the Lantern Festival.

The night of the Lantern Festival can be said to be even more lively than the Mid-Autumn Festival and the Lantern Festival.

But Chang'an lost the emperor, the civil and military officials, the princes and princesses. During the Lantern Festival, the lantern towers and lantern wheels built with huge investments would be covered with dust.

Without the emperor, the city of Chang'an is destined not to bloom on the Lantern Festival.

Li Xuan felt strange when he learned that Yang Yuhuan had such thoughts.

The main reason was that conflicts gradually arose between him and Yang.

However, Li Xuan asked Gao Lishi to tell Yang Yuhuan that he would give her a surprise on the night of the Lantern Festival.

"My husband, was this lamp painted by my wife herself? My wife asked where you put it?"

Shuang'er came to Li Xuan holding an unlit lantern.

A cluster of plum blossoms was drawn on the paper of the lampshade with a light brush.

On the other side, there are beautiful small characters, which are exactly the "Ode to the Plum Blossom" plagiarized by Li Xuan.

There were a few branches of plum in the corner, and Ling Han opened it alone.

I know it is not snow, because there is a secret fragrance.

"Hang it in front of the door, I'll do it!"

Li Xuan smiled.

The lights made and painted by Pei Lingxi, Jiang Yueyao, Changli, Shuang'er and others were relatively simple.

On Yuanzheng Day, he would not be busy with other things and would take advantage of the daytime to accompany his family.

"Okay, sir!"

Shuang'er smiled lightly, and at this moment she also had a hint of femininity, because she and Changli had both become Li Xuan's women.

The two of them were as close as sisters and lived together. They blossomed together and spent an absurd night with Li Xuan.

Li Xuan had a strong physique, and even though two men were serving him, he kept begging for mercy.

This is good, Li Xuan has more time to accompany Pei Lingxi and Jiang Yueyao.

Even if Pei Lingxi was pregnant, Li Xuan would stay overnight at her place every two days so that she would not be left alone in the empty room.

Li Xuan knew the common sense after pregnancy. She couldn't have sex with Pei Lingxi at this time. She just held her in her arms while sleeping, giving her comfort and warmth.

Until noon, Li Xuan hung all the lamps in the Tianshui Palace.

There are twenty-three lamps in total. Although not many and some are not very exquisite, they are the result of the hard work of Pei Lingxi and her friends over this period of time.

Each lamp is inscribed with Li Xuan's poems, making it unique.

"Tonight you will attend the Lantern Festival with me..."

During lunch, Li Xuan said to Pei Lingxi, Jiang Yueyao and others.

"My lady, you can go. I won't go..."

Jiang Yueyao said slowly.

They are all concubines and are not suitable to appear in public.

"It's not a formal ceremony. The people of Chang'an can enjoy themselves this evening, not to mention my wives."

"Yueyao, Shuang'er, Changli, just take good care of Lingxi..."

Li Xuan hesitated for a moment and then said, "One day, I will take you to see the lanterns of the Lantern Festival in Chang'an."

His gentle words always moved Pei Lingxi and others.

How lucky are they to be able to see Li Xuan's image as a general and prime minister?

Under normal circumstances, as prime minister, it would be difficult for Li Xuan to accompany his family during the holidays.

Li Xuan can make such a promise and he will definitely fulfill it in the future.

Finally, they were willing to attend the Lantern Festival ceremony together.

Following Li Xuan, they could pass through without being searched.

There was no need for them to climb up to Cuiyun Pavilion; they would be able to see more clearly from a suitable place halfway up the mountain.

In the afternoon, General Jinwuwei entered Li Xuan's mansion.

Following Li Xuan's instructions, he set up the performance facilities on an open space on the hillside below Cuiyun Pavilion two days ago.

The craftsmen are in place!
They have been practicing for two months and have mastered the skills.

In addition, Li Xuan also rehearsed some dragon lantern dances, dragon and unicorn dances, etc.

They are all played by soldiers of the imperial guards.

Compared with the huge amount of money spent on lantern wheels and lantern towers, the cost of dancing a dragon, all in all, only costs a few dozen strings of cash.

At dusk, Li Xuan brought Pei Lingxi, Jiang Yueyao and others to Huaqing Palace.

"Lingxi, follow the instructions of the palace maids and stop when you reach the Green Pavilion. That is the best place to watch the scenery."

After entering Huaqing Palace, Li Xuan instructed Pei Lingxi, Jiang Yueyao and others to take their positions first.

The emperor must be admired in the highest place.

Therefore, Cuiyun Pavilion at the top of Mount Li is a good place. Under normal circumstances, you can enjoy the lights of the entire Mount Li.

"Okay, husband!"

Pei Lingxi knew that her husband must go to see the saint.

On the road were many families of princes and ministers, as well as princes, princesses, and so on.

They passed by many buildings but did not see anything special about Huaqing Palace compared to previous ones.

The sage issued an edict to watch the lights and fire dances on Lantern Festival night.

Is it going to end so hastily?

"Qilang, there is no lantern tower or lantern wheel in Huaqing Palace. I allow you so much money, but it is not as good as Chang'an?"

Li Longji met with civil and military officials at Yichun Pavilion next to Huaqing Palace.

Yang Yuhuan and Li Longji together.

It was dark, but the lights I saw were the same as usual.

Having seen the magnificent lights of Chang'an during the Lantern Festival many times, Li Longji was beginning to lose his patience.

He thought Li Xuan would create some moving lights to give him a surprise.

There were no lighting fixtures yet, and Li Longji thought he was being fooled by Li Xuan.

"Saint, calm down! When you go to Cuiyun Pavilion, there will be lanterns for the Lantern Festival."

Li Xuan invited Li Longji to Cuiyun Pavilion.

This left Li Longji puzzled. Did Li Xuan hide the lamps and suddenly light them?
"It is quite common for Prime Minister Li to use his imperial guards to dress up as dragon and lion dancers. In such a grand festival, this is not acceptable."

Li Linfu finally seized the opportunity and wanted to vent his anger by mocking Li Xuan.

All the ministers living at the foot of the mountain knew that Li Xuan asked the imperial guards to practice performing dragon and lion dances with lanterns and other performances.

So much so that many ministers thought that Li Xuan wanted to use this to appease the emperor.

The ministers of Li Xuan's faction knew that Li Xuan was doing this for the sake of frugality.

After all, Chang'an has been decorated like a city that never sleeps, and doing this in Huaqing Palace would be too extravagant and wasteful.

The starting point was correct, but the ministers with meticulous minds all knew that the sage was no longer in the early Kaiyuan period.

Yang Shenjin, Yang Yan and others persuaded Li Xuan to spend hundreds of thousands of strings of cash as a token of his appreciation.

But Li Xuan really didn't do it at all.

"Whether it is good or bad, it will be judged by the saints. Can't the Right Prime Minister even wait for an hour?"

Li Xuan confronted Li Linfu bluntly.

Li Linfu was so angry that he gritted his teeth. He really had no idea what Li Xuan was doing.

He hated Li Xuan for not giving him face in public recently.

Is he still the Chief Minister?

"Sanlang, let's climb the mountain to Cuiyun Pavilion now. Qilang is smart and wonderful, and his preparations must be wonderful."

Seeing that Li Longji was no longer interested, Yang Yuhuan immediately hugged Li Longji's arm after observing his expression.

After hearing what Yang Yuhuan said, Li Longji immediately became interested.

Thinking that Qilang can always comfort him, he shouldn't be perfunctory this time.

(End of this chapter)