When Wu Chongxun and Princess Anle's carriage arrived, Li Chengqi and Li Longji also saw it. They turned their horses around and looked at the group of people in surprise. The black ox carriage didn't have official banners, so they couldn't confirm the other party's identity. However, they were clearly coming for this place, so there was no need to doubt it.
Chang Ninghou smiled at Li Chengqi, "Your Highness, it seems that they are also coming for this land. I said that we should act early. Haha, this location is excellent. If we wait any longer, it will be taken away by others."
Li Longji smiled, "Chang Ninghou is right. Looking at the entire Longqing Pond, besides the large residence that is being built, this is the best spot."
As they spoke, there was a sudden sound of horse hooves. Li Longfan excitedly spurred his horse back. When he got close, he suddenly reined in his horse and loudly said, "I've already chosen. I want the place behind that slope. Third Brother, Fourth Brother, is it okay if I squeeze in between you guys? Eh? Someone else is also interested in this place? "
At this time, the group of people had already arrived in front of them. When the carriages stopped, Du Wentian leaned over and reported in a low voice, "Royal Prince, Princess, it seems that someone is also interested in this place and is ahead of us."
"What are you afraid of? Even if he wants it, he has to give it to me! "
Princess Anle glared at Wu Chongxun and said angrily, "Still not going?"
Wu Chongxun quickly lifted the curtain and stood on the shaft of the carriage. In front of Princess An Le, Wu Chongxun was a filial son, but in front of outsiders, he was an out-and-out domineering second generation ancestor. Wu Chongxun curled his lips and said arrogantly, "Wherever my wife has her eyes on, no matter who he is, he will let …"
At this point, Wu Chongxun suddenly froze. He saw Li Chengqi. Li Chengqi, Li Longji, and the others also saw him. Li Chengqi was slightly startled and said in surprise, "It's Royal Prince Gaoyang." Li Longji smiled and didn't say anything, but the light in his eyes slightly shrank.
Chang Ninghou, Huang Jianyu, spurred his horse to the side and glanced at them with interest. Choosing the location to open the mansion was a small matter, but now that two families had their eyes on the same place, and these two families were from the Wu and Li families, this matter was not so simple. The deciding factor of who this piece of land belonged to would be the power of the Wu and Li families. In the end, it would also be the face of the Wu and Li families.
Li Chengqi galloped forward to welcome Wu Chongxun. He cupped his fists and said with a bright smile, "Prince Gaoyang, we meet again!"
Wu Chongxun hesitantly cupped his fists and said: "So it is Prince Shouchun. Why are you here?"
When Li Chengqi's father, Li Dan, ascended to the throne, Li Chengqi was made the crown prince. Later, Li Dan was pulled down from the throne by his mother, Wu Zetian, and became the crown prince. Li Chengqi was also demoted from the crown prince to the imperial grandson. Now that his father's crown prince status was taken away by his imperial grandmother, he was demoted from the imperial grandson to the Prince of Shouchun.
Li Chengqi said with a smile: "Us brothers still don't have a mansion. This time, when we came to Chang 'an, imperial grandmother specially told us to choose a place to open a mansion in Chang' an. As a matter of fact, we strolled here and just picked a place. We are sending people to the Ministry of Works to ask them to send people to mark out the location. Why did Prince Gaoyang come here?"
Li Chengqi didn't want to have a conflict with Wu Chongxun, so he first stated: they had already taken a fancy to this piece of land and hoped that Wu Chongxun would back down.
Wu Chongxun laughed and said: "What a coincidence, what a coincidence. My wife and I also took a fancy to the beautiful scenery of Longqing Pool. Today, we came here to choose a place to build a mansion."
Princess Anle naturally chose this place. Yesterday, she had taken a fancy to this place. After learning that the mansion being built next to it belonged to Yang Fan, she was even more determined to choose this place.
Wu Chongxun's words were a little vague not because he was afraid of the Prince of Xiang's five sons. When had the Wu clan ever put the Li clan in their eyes? Wu Chongxun's words were vague because Li Chengqi and his brothers were Li Guo 'er's cousins. Wu Chongxun believed that Li Guo' er would definitely give way to his cousins, so there was no need for him to be the bad guy and make Anle unhappy.
Princess Anle was just about to bend over and leave the carriage when she heard that the person talking to her husband was actually her eldest cousin. She sat back down. She had originally thought that it would be most appropriate for her husband to come forward and negotiate. Who would have thought that this scoundrel would actually show signs of backing down? Princess Anle couldn't take it anymore and kicked Wu Chongxun's butt.
How could Wu Chongxun have expected that Princess Anle would suddenly kick him? With a cry, he fell off the carriage. Li Chengqi, Li Longji, Chang Ninghou, and the others were all stunned. The driver was also startled, but he reacted the fastest and immediately jumped off the carriage to help Wu Chongxun up.
Wu Chongxun crawled up from the ground and forced a smile. Rubbing his scraped knee, he tried to cover it up. "I couldn't stand steadily for a moment. I've made a fool of myself."
Li Chengye, Li Longji, and the others were lagging behind and really hadn't seen what had happened. They only saw Wu Chongxun inexplicably jump off the carriage and fall flat on his face. The brothers couldn't help but want to laugh, but they were afraid that laughing would embarrass Wu Chongxun, so they hurriedly restrained themselves.
Li Chengqi, Li Longji, and the Marquis of Chang Ninghou were standing in front of the carriage. They clearly saw that a graceful leg had broken through the curtain and forcefully kicked Wu Chongxun off his horse. However, they were able to keep their composure and did not reveal any strange expressions on their faces. The curtain of the sedan was lifted and Li Guo 'er walked out with a sullen face.
Because they saw Wu Chongxun rolling on the ground, Li Chengqi and the others had already dismounted their horses. As soon as they saw Li Guo 'er coming out from the sedan chair, Li Chengqi greeted her with a smile, "An Le, you are here too."
"Ah! What's Eldest Cousin doing here? Third Brother is here too! "
An Le looked at them in surprise, as if she hadn't known they were here until now. She first greeted Li Chengqi and Li Longji warmly, then saw Li Longfan and the others standing behind them. She hurriedly greeted them one by one with great etiquette.
If she hadn't walked out of the sedan with a sullen face, and now she was pretending to be amiable and surprised, it was very realistic and natural. It really wasn't easy for others to see that she was deliberately putting on an act.
But if she was deliberately putting on an act and didn't want Li Chengqi and the others to see that she was unhappy, then she shouldn't have walked out of the carriage with a sullen face. Since she already had a sullen face, and now she was pretending to be affectionate, it proved that she wasn't trying to hide her unhappiness, but was downright contemptuous and teasing.
Li Chengqi's expression was slightly unnatural. He forced a laugh and said, "Seventh Sister, long time no see."
Li Guo 'er stepped down leisurely, smiling like a flower. She said, "Yesterday I heard that you brothers had arrived in Chang' an. Guo 'er is a woman, so I didn't go to the Ten Miles Pavilion to join in the fun. I originally wanted to first choose the location of the mansion today, then go to visit you. I didn't expect to meet you here. What a coincidence. "
Li Longji smiled and said, "It is indeed a coincidence. This is a great fate. Seventh Sister, we just chose a place here. It's this area. Why don't Seventh Sister choose a location next to us to build your mansion? Our two families will be neighbors, and we can often visit each other in the future. "
Li Longji looked at Li Guo 'er's pretentious act and felt extremely disgusted in his heart. His words had drawn a clear line between him and Li Guo 'er. "Our two families", the five Li brothers were one family, but who was Li Guo 'er a family with? A married girl was like spilled water. Li Longji's words implied that he already didn't recognize Li Guo 'er as a daughter of the Li family. But Li Longji's words were very polite, and he couldn't find any fault with them on the surface. Furthermore, he even "invited" Wu Chongxun and Li Guo 'er to be his neighbors. He was emphasizing, "We've already chosen this place."
Li Guo 'er was an extremely cunning and astute woman. Although she didn't have great wisdom, she was still clever. Her ability to argue was not worse than anyone else. She had already heard Li Longji's implied meaning. She secretly sneered in her heart, but pretended to be surprised and said, "San Lang also chose Longqing Lane? That's very good. We can indeed be neighbors. "
Li Guo'er giggled as she clung onto Wu Chongxun's arm. She said sweetly, "Langjun, it's such a coincidence that San Lang and the others have also taken a liking to this place. Why don't we just give this place to them? Let's move over there and build a house next to theirs, okay?"
"No!"
Wu Chongxun roared. He wasn't suddenly enlightened and suddenly understood Li Guo 'er's intentions. It was because when Li Guo' er intimately held his arm, her slender fingers in his sleeves had already pinched a tender piece of flesh in the crook of his arm. If he said anything wrong, she would pinch him black and blue. No matter how stupid Wu Chongxun was, he should have understood what she meant. How could he not immediately express his opinion?
Li Guo 'er stamped her feet and said coquettishly, "Langjun, why are you so stingy? We're all relatives. Why do you have to be so serious? Outsiders will laugh at you."
Wu Chongxun said, "This isn't me being stingy. If it was just one mansion, then it's fine. But Chengdi and his brothers have five people. If they build such a big mansion, who knows where our mansion will be squeezed to. "
Although Li Longji was smart and alert, he was still young. His temperament and temper were far from being cultivated to the point of perfection. When he heard Wu Chongxun's dignified words, he was angry and couldn't help but say, "This is no problem. Let my big brother build a mansion here. Prince Gaoyang and Seventh Sister can build a mansion next to my big brother. As for me, I can get close to Prince Gaoyang."
Wu Chongxun laughed and said, "I've heard that the five brothers in the Prince of Xiang's mansion have deep feelings for each other. If I, Wu Chongxun, interfered, wouldn't I be the bad guy? This kind of thing, I absolutely don't dare to agree."
At this moment, the Minister Counsellor of the Ministry of Works, Xiao Zhichen, led a few officials and hurried to the side of Longqing Pool. He bowed and said, "This one is the Minister Counsellor of the Ministry of Works, Xiao Zhichen. Which prince wants to build a mansion here?"
The youngest son of the Prince of Xiang, Li Longfan, couldn't help but loudly say, "Me! I, the Prince of Baling, Li Longfan, want to build a mansion here. Also my big brother, the Prince of Shouchun, second brother, the Prince of Hengyang, third brother, the Prince of Linzi, and fourth brother, the Prince of Pengcheng! "
Xiao Zhichen was dizzy from the series of princes. Before he could react, Wu Chongxun spoke. Wu Chongxun had a smile on his face, but his eyes had an unquestionable cold light. He stared at Li Longfan and said word by word, "I'm sorry, but this place is mine!"
Wu Chongxun glanced at Xiao Zhichen and said indifferently, "Counsellor Xiao, immediately mark the land and take out the sketch as soon as possible."
Xiao Zhichen asked in a daze, "May I know who it is …"
Wu Chongxun put his hands behind his back and proudly said, "Wu Chongxun!"
He didn't even bother to say his own title. After saying this, he swaggered off.
Wu Chongxun, three words were enough!
Five princes could also be compared to the word "Wu". He didn't believe that the people of the Ministry of Works would dare to give that piece of land to the Li family!
"Eldest Cousin Brother, Second Cousin Brother, Third Cousin Brother, Chongxun has always been this stubborn. Who knows what's wrong with him today? Please don't take it to heart. Guo Er will go persuade him again! "
Li Guo Er said with an apologetic expression, but her eyes flashed with pride and mockery. She nodded at the ashen-faced Li Chengqi and turned to chase after Wu Chongxun.
Xiao Zhichen was filled with regret. If he had known this would happen, he would have sent a lowly official to listen to orders. Why did he have to rush over to flatter the prince the moment he heard he was summoned? No matter who this land was given to, he would still offend the other party.
Everyone said that the princes of the Li family were like a phoenix that had lost its wings and were not even comparable to a chicken. But a starving camel was still bigger than a horse. Even if the Li family lost their power, he was only a sixth-ranked minister of the Ministry of Works. In front of the princes of the Li family who had lost their power, he couldn't even be considered a small house sparrow. Why did he have to do this?
Li Chengyi was so angry that his face was red as if he had been smeared with chicken blood. He clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles cracked. He roared in anger, "Wu Chongxun, you bastard, you're too savage!"
Li Chengyi was about to chase after Wu Chongxun, but he was grabbed by Li Chengqi. Li Chengyi turned his head and said angrily, "Big brother!"
Li Chengqi shook his head. The muscles on his ashen-faced face twitched a few times. He said in a low voice, "Don't cause trouble. Let's go!"
As the eldest brother, Li Chengqi still had some prestige among the brothers. Although Li Longfan and Li Longye were so angry that their lungs were about to explode, they still had to listen to their eldest brother's orders. Chang Ninghou sighed inwardly. A desolate feeling suddenly welled up in his heart. His Huang family's title of nobility had been bestowed by the Li family. Seeing the Li family being bullied like this, how could he not feel a little sad for the loss of his own kind?
Li Longji was sixteen years old and was at the prime of his youth. How could he tolerate this kind of humiliation? But he was very clear that no matter what, now was not the time for them to start a conflict with the Wu family. Their identities were too sensitive. Yang Fan could chase after Wu Yizong like a stray dog, but they couldn't fight with the Wu family for a piece of land. It was all because they were surnamed Li.
Full of humiliation, he followed behind his eldest brother Li Chengqi and second brother Li Chengyi. After walking for a long distance, he suddenly stopped and called out loudly, "Eldest brother, second brother!"
Li Chengqi was afraid that his impulsive second brother would get into a conflict with Wu Chongxun, so he held his hand tightly and didn't let go. He and his second brother were walking hand in hand when they suddenly heard Li Longji's call. Li Chengqi stopped and turned his head to ask, "Sanlang, what's wrong?"
At this time, they had already walked past the Yang family's mansion that was still under construction. Li Longji pointed at the empty space next to the mansion and said to Li Chengqi, "Big brother, how about we build our mansion here?"
Li Chengyi shouted angrily, "Third brother, what's wrong with you? Haven't you been humiliated enough?"
Li Longji smiled and said, "Second brother, what's wrong with building it here?"
He slowly turned his head and gazed at Wu Chongxun and Li Guo 'er, who were in the distance gesticulating at Xiao Yuanlang. He said word by word, "I want to see it stand up and see it fall!"
Chang Ninghou suddenly looked at him. Li Longji, who still had a childish look on his face, was standing there steadily. His spirit was threatening, like an unsheathed sword!
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