Ang Lee had just returned to the Memorial Hall. He hadn't even warmed his seat before he was about to leave the city to hunt. This made Kunxiong, Fei Yu, and the others who were eating breakfast slightly surprised.
"Nothing's wrong. You're going alone?"
Ang Lee gently waved his hand, "I'm accompanying a gentleman that I just met. We're going hunting in the Fan Chuan area."
"Nothing's wrong. That's too dangerous. How can you trust someone that you just met so much? You should bring more brothers with you."
"Yeah, Big Brother. We've been staying in the Memorial Hall all day. We're going crazy."
Li Kunxiong took the bow and quiver and handed them to Ang Lee.
Ang Lee smiled. He carried the bow and quiver on his back and waved his hand, "It's okay. You don't have to worry. I'll go first. If you're bored, you can go after you're full. There's no need to rush." After he said that, he walked out in large strides.
Li Feishou chased after him. His eyes were filled with suspicion, "Nothing's wrong. Are you really going hunting with a gentleman?"
Ang Lee didn't know where he had exposed himself. However, since Li Feishou was the only one outside, he didn't hide it anymore. He told Li Feishou that Sir Zhao was Lil 'Miss.
Li Feishou grinned, "I know what to do. Don't worry. Go."
Ang Lee mounted his horse and galloped down the street in high spirits. He headed towards Ming De Gate to meet up with Sir Zhao.
###
Liu Luogu waited anxiously outside the gate of Li Linfu's residence. There were more than ten attendants behind him. Each of them held a large pile of gifts in their hands.
These gifts were carefully selected by Liu Luogu. He wanted to give them to Li Linfu to gain his favor.
Liu Luogu believed that as long as he was polite and gave the gifts, Li Linfu would be very happy. Then, his plan could be carried out smoothly.
Click click click.
The right side door of the Prime Minister's residence slowly opened. Liu Luogu looked at the door nervously. His heart was in his throat.
"Mr. Liu, the Prime Minister wants you to go in."
When Liu Luogu heard this, he was overjoyed. He hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Let's go. Hurry."
"Wait." The steward of the Prime Minister's residence frowned in dissatisfaction. He looked at Liu Luogu in confusion. "Mister Liu, the Prime Minister allowed you to go in alone. Who are these people? Can they enter and leave the Prime Minister's residence as they please?"
Liu Luogu was shocked. It was his first time in Chang 'an, so he didn't know the rules of the Prime Minister's Mansion. However, he could feel the dissatisfaction from the housekeeper's tone.
"This is just a small token of my appreciation. I hope you'll accept it."
Liu Luogu hurriedly took out a piece of gold from his bosom and stuffed it into the hands of the steward of the Prime Minister's manor. The corners of his mouth curled up in a smile as if he had seen his own father.
The steward of the Prime Minister's residence stroked the gold in his hand, the corners of his mouth revealing a warm smile: "This is Mister Liu's first time meeting the Prime Minister, it's normal that you don't know the rules of the Prime Minister's residence. Just leave these gifts here, after checking them, I will pass the list to the Prime Minister. This way, the Prime Minister will know how much you care for him."
When Liu Luogu heard this, he suddenly understood and hurriedly nodded. Under the lead of a servant of the Prime Minister's residence, he walked into the Prime Minister's residence.
In the main hall of the Prime Minister's residence, Li Linfu picked up a cup of tea, lifted the lid with his right hand, and gently fiddled with the tea leaves floating on the water.
As the most powerful Prime Minister of the Tang Empire, Li Linfu was so complacent in the eyes of the world.
However, these were the views of outsiders. As for Li Linfu himself, he never dared to think so. Li Longji seemed to be extremely tired of political affairs and left a large number of government affairs to him, but in fact, he secretly controlled everything in the Tang Empire. Nothing could be hidden from the current emperor.
Li Linfu knew that the reason why he could be put in an important position by Li Longji was that he was obedient enough. Like a dog, he always did things according to the wishes of his master, Li Longji. However, Zhang Jiuling, Yan Tingzhi, and the others always disagreed with Li Longji on some issues related to the Tang Empire, which made Li Longji very angry.
In other words, what Li Longji needed was a completely obedient dog servant, not a minister who disagreed with him everywhere. Loyalty to the Tang Empire was a good thing, but loyalty to Li Longji was even more important.
A few years ago, the former Crown Prince Li Ying, Prince of E Li Yao, and Prince of Light Li Ju were executed by Li Longji, which caused a great shock to Li Linfu.
At that time, everyone knew that the three crown princes were wrongly accused. Li Longji also knew very well that at first, he did not want to kill them. However, Prime Minister Zhang Jiuling and the others tried to defend themselves, which greatly angered Li Longji, causing Li Longji to make up his mind to kill his three sons and demote Zhang Jiuling.
At that time, Li Linfu thought that Zhang Jiuling was demoted because he disobeyed Li Longji, so he did his best to comply with Li Longji's wishes and supported the appointment of Prince of Shou Li Mao as the Crown Prince.
At that time, Li Longji doted on Wu Huifei, so their son, Li Mao, was naturally also very doted on. Supporting Li Mao should have been in line with Li Longji's wishes, but the truth was not so. Li Longji issued an edict to appoint his third son, Li Mao, as the Crown Prince, who would later be known as Tang Suzong, Li Heng. This truly shocked everyone.
The will of the heavens was hard to fathom. Li Longji's move had greatly intimidated Li Linfu. He had thought that he could grasp Li Longji's thoughts, but in the end, he had been mercilessly played by Li Longji.
After many days of bitter contemplation, Li Linfu gradually understood that Li Longji was not old. He was still the Saburo who had founded the Tang dynasty. He was sufficiently opinionated and wise that he would not allow anyone to threaten his throne, even if that person was his son.
As the Prime Minister, Zhang Jiuling had vigorously defended the Crown Prince, allowing Li Longji to see the close relationship between the Prime Minister and the Crown Prince. This was a threat to his throne. Thus, how could Li Longji allow the next Crown Prince to become entangled with the Prime Minister?
Only when the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister fought each other would Li Longji be able to easily control the situation and ensure the stability of his throne.
In these last few years, Li Linfu would occasionally oppose the Crown Prince, carefully speculating on Li Longji's intentions. His life was more tiring than that of a dog's, and only he understood this hardship. Outsiders would always see his glory and status.
"Alang, Sir Liu has come."
The servant interrupted Li Linfu's thoughts.
Li Linfu blew on the tea in his hand, took a sip, and put the teacup on the table beside him. He looked up at Liu Luogu standing outside the main hall and nodded slightly.
The servant understood and left the main hall.
"Sir Liu, Prime Minister, please."
Liu Luogu was shocked. He hurriedly entered the main hall and bowed to Li Linfu. "Humble servant Liu Luogu greets Prime Minister."
"Sir Liu need not be so polite. Please sit down and serve tea."
Li Linfu's smile was sweeter than honey.
Liu Luogu looked up and saw Li Linfu's amiable attitude. His heart suddenly felt warm. He felt that his plan was one step closer to success.
The servant of the Prime Minister's residence put a cup of warm water on the table, but Liu Luogu did not dare to sit down. What was his status? How could he sit and talk with the Prime Minister?
Seeing that Liu Luogu didn't dare to sit down, Li Linfu didn't force him. Letting people sit down was his way of treating guests, but if the other party didn't want to sit, he wouldn't force him. After all, with his status, there was nothing wrong with letting guests of low status stand.
Li Linfu picked up the tea on the table beside him again, gently fiddled with the tea leaves floating on the water, and looked at Liu Luogu with a smile.
Liu Luogu was a little nervous. After calming himself down, he cupped his hands and said, "Prime Minister, I came here on the orders of Governor An to deliver some of Ying Province's local specialties so that Prime Minister can have a taste. This is a token of Governor An's sincerity. I hope Prime Minister can accept it."
"Commander An has spared no effort to guard the border of the Tang dynasty. It's rare that you still think of me."
Li Linfu did not refuse and smiled even sweeter.
Liu Luogu was overjoyed when he heard this. He took a step forward and said, "Prime Minister, you have racked your brains for the government and shared His Majesty's worries and difficulties. You are our role model. My Commander in Chief often warned us that if it weren't for Prime Minister's foresight for the Tang dynasty and proposed to His Majesty to put a foreign general in an important position, he could only be a lowly barbarian now and would never have had the chance to guard the border of the Tang dynasty. Commander in Chief is very grateful to Prime Minister and specially told me that I must visit Prime Minister when I arrive in the capital."
Li Linfu still had his signature smile on the corner of his mouth. He had long been used to these flattering words. There was no ripple in his heart, and his mind would not be confused by these flattering words.
"Commander An can serve the Tang dynasty because His Majesty has a good eye for people and is willing to give him this opportunity. Commander An should be grateful to His Majesty and be loyal to the Tang dynasty forever. Mr. Liu, don't you think so?"
As Li Linfu said this, he put the teacup in his hand back on the table beside him and squinted at Liu Luogu with a smile.
As an official for many years, Li Linfu had been honed to the point of perfection. He knew what he could not say and what he should say. At this moment, he had to correct Liu Luogu's point of view. Otherwise, if the news that the border generals were loyal to Prime Minister in private spread out, Li Longji would not spare him. God knew if there were any trusted subordinates of Li Longji in his mansion.
Hearing this, Liu Luogu was stunned for a moment and nodded repeatedly. "Prime Minister, you are right. As a general of the Tang dynasty, Commander An is naturally loyal to His Majesty. Oh, by the way, a few months ago, my Commander in Chief caught a huge white eagle in the north of Yingzhou. He said that such a huge white eagle was a divine bird and only His Majesty could have it. He asked me to put this divine bird in a cage and offer it to His Majesty as a tribute, but …"
"But what?"
Li Linfu's smile was still kind, and the wrinkles on his cheeks were clearly visible.
Liu Luogu knelt on the ground and said with tears in his eyes, "I am incompetent. The divine bird has been eaten by someone. Prime Minister, please help me."
"The divine bird has been eaten by someone? Who is so bold?"
Li Linfu's curiosity was aroused, and he looked at Liu Luogu expectantly.
Seeing that the opportunity had come, Liu Luogu hurriedly reported Ang Lee's situation to Li Linfu and looked at Li Linfu expectantly.
"Young people are so arrogant. What about young people?"
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Li Linfu's mouth. He looked up at Liu Luogu and said, "I know about this. Is there anything else, Mr. Liu?"
"No, nothing. I'll take my leave."
Liu Luogu knew that Li Linfu had asked him to leave, so he quickly took his leave.
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