The news of Li Yuan's dismissal from his position as Duke of Tang quickly spread throughout the capital. As he only retained the hereditary title of Duke of Tang and all other positions were taken away, Li Yuan had now become an idle Duke without any power. The Duke's name was left behind to cover his shame so that he would not fall too miserably. These days, the entrance of the Duke of Tang's Mansion had suddenly become deserted. Li Yuan couldn't help but sigh at the coldness of the world when he was eating with his family. However, Li Yuan sighed. He also knew the cruelty of political struggles. In the struggles of the imperial court, one could be crushed into pieces if one was not careful. The higher one's position was, the more fearful one was. Every step he took was as careful as treading on thin ice.
Because of Li Yuan's dismissal, all the children in the family tactfully quieted down. Even the most mischievous Li Yuanji obediently sat in the study room every day and listened to Li Yuan's lecture on the Analects of Confucius. Li Jiancheng hid in his and Madam Chang's small courtyard. Other than eating, he spent the rest of his time in seclusion. Li Shimin obediently went to the Imperial College to read his Sage Book every day. Li Yuanba locked himself in the courtyard to practice his drum, urn, and gold hammer. As for Li Bing, He was no different from before. He did not go to the directorate to study. He rode his Fire Treading Jade Kylin on the streets every day. He spent his days drinking and drinking with a group of rich playboys in the capital. He rode horses and recited poems. Occasionally, he would tease the good-looking young ladies on the streets. It seemed that he did not take Li Yuan's dismissal to heart at all. He looked heartless. However, what everyone did not know was that he would often quietly ride to his manor outside the capital when no one was paying attention to him. He would ride horses and compete with the cavalry team that he had secretly established. Then, he would supervise their training. He would also teach Su Dingfang and Qin Yong about the art of war and give them pointers on martial arts. Only at this time would his depressed heart feel better.
In Jin Wang Fu, Jin Wang Yang Guang happily greeted the guests who came to visit. Not only did he not care about all the visiting guests, he also took out a box of tea leaves from his collection to brew. After sending away all the guests, he smiled and went to Lu Diqing's room.
"Wangye, I don't know what kind of happy event you've encountered today. Look at your smile, your mouth is almost reaching your ears!”Lu Diqing smiled and poured a cup of tea for Yang Guang, placed it on the dressing table next to him, and then sat down beside Yang Guang. However, her little hand mischievously held onto Yang Guang's thigh.
Yang Guang looked at the beauty beside him with excitement and couldn't help but hug her in his arms. He kissed her on the face and then let go of her, saying with a smile,"Of course it's a joyous occasion. Beloved Concubine, you don't know that Li Yuan has finally been taken down by me. Li Yuan has always been against me and refused to express his stance between Yang Yong and me. He said that it was all because of Father's will. How can I not know his personality? This cousin has always been cautious, afraid that he would be implicated by something. Hmph, since he can't be used by me, I will make sure you don't have an easy time. Coincidentally, Father is planning to pacify Xiliang. The third son of Li Yuan's family was engaged to Xiao Kui's daughter. I heard that he was still living in Li Yuan's residence. I calculated that Li Yuan would definitely say a few words for Xiao Kui and refuse to send troops to my father. I said a few words to my father. As I expected, Li Yuan really advised my father to stop sending troops. In my father's anger, Li Yuan was completely dismissed and left with a useless title. Now he has fallen into the fate of staying in the capital. My biggest enemy was eliminated just like that. Beloved consort, how could I not be happy?”
" Congratulations, Your Highness. You've taken another step forward from that position. Your Highness, when you become the Emperor, don't forget about your concubine." Lu Diqing said coquettishly in Yang Guang's arms. The two pairs of bumps on his chest kept rubbing against Yang Guang's chest.
Yang Guang only felt a soft mass on his chest sliding non-stop. He was seduced by Lu Diqing's teasing and his evil fire rose. He immediately reached into her arms and felt the smoothness of his hand. He pinched the cherry and said,"You're my baby, this king's meritorious minister. How could this king forget you? Do you want this king to let you see how much this king loves you? You little vixen, you've seduced me to death.”
Not long after, the drapes on the bed were untied, and then various clothes were thrown out one after another. After a while, a groan came from the big bed that was shaking for a long time…
Li Yuan never dreamed that his resignation was directly related to Prince Jin, who had been trying to win him over…
The weather was very hot, but Li Bing's mood was not very hot. A few days ago, there was news of the fall of Xi Liang and Xiao Kui's death. Although Xiao Shiyun said that she had nothing to do with the past, when she heard the news of Xiao Kui's death, she couldn't help but faint. When she finally woke up, she became listless and locked herself in her room all day. She couldn't eat or sleep well. Li Bing was very worried about his fiancée's health, although her usual solicitous attitude towards him was neither cold nor hot. She was both distant and distant, but she was still his wife in name. If he didn't care, who would? Moreover, his fiancée was so beautiful. Therefore, these days, he didn't go to Xiao Shiyun's room to chat with her. He picked out some jokes from the future and told her to ease the depression in her heart.
Today, Li Bing had just come out of Xiao Shiyun's room. After Li Bing's care these days, although Xiao Shiyun still looked listless, she was much better. After chatting with her for a while, Li Bing felt a little tired. She remembered that she hadn't visited Gao Yuqin for a long time. It just so happened that her mood wasn't very good today, so she might as well go and find Gao Yuqin. Thinking of this, Li Bing quickly left the residence and walked to the next door.
The servants of the Gao Mansion were already very familiar with the young master next door. They didn't feel anything wrong when they saw him go straight to Gao Yuqin's courtyard. They just greeted him and went to do their own things.
Li Bing was also very familiar with the environment of the Gao Manor. He could walk to Gao Yuqin's room with his eyes closed. As usual, he walked to Gao Yuqin's courtyard with ease. What was different was that there were many servants coming and going in the courtyard. They were all in a panic. Li Bing went over to ask and found out that Gao Yuqin was sick, and it was an infectious disease. Li Bing wanted to go in and take a look, but he was blocked at the door. He could only sigh and leave the Gao Manor helplessly.
He wandered aimlessly on the street. Unlike usual, there were many people carrying bags on their backs. After asking around, he found out that they were refugees from the border who had come to the capital to seek refuge with relatives. There were also a large number of refugees who were blocked outside Chang 'an City. Li Bing somehow left the city.
Outside the city gate, there was another scene. A team of fully armed soldiers holding long spears blocked the gate of Chang 'an City for inspection. There was a long line in front of the gate of Chang' an City, winding to the end of the line of sight. It was full of refugees who had survived the border. However, Chang 'an was an important place in the capital, the capital of the Great Sui Dynasty. The face of the Great Sui Dynasty naturally did not allow these refugees to enter casually to prevent foreign envoys from seeing it and tarnishing the reputation of the Celestial Dynasty.
Some of them were lucky enough to pass through the heavily guarded gate of Chang 'an and enter the paradise in the eyes of the civilians. However, most of them were driven away like rags and ignored. The refugees who were refused entry were unwilling to leave and stayed at the foot of the city wall. Therefore, besides the long line of refugees outside Chang' an City, there was also a large group of refugees outside the city wall.
The refugees had been bullied by the Turks. They were penniless and had no food. They could only dig wild vegetables and chew on tree bark. In just a few days, the tree bark outside Chang 'an City had been eaten clean by the refugees. They were tired and hungry. The threat of hunger and the threat of disease were torturing these poor people who had escaped from the iron hooves of the Turks.
The refugees continued to die, and new refugees were added. The corpses of the dead refugees were casually abandoned in the forest that had been stripped of their skins. There was not even a straw mat to wrap the corpses. There were so many corpses in the forest that they rotted under the sun, emitting a pungent smell. The governor was afraid that a plague would occur over time, so he organized the Golden Guards to dig a big pit overnight and throw the corpses into it to bury them.
This was the first time Li Bing, who came from a modern society, had witnessed such a scene of devastation. Although he had seen the devastation after the earthquake on the Internet in his previous life, he had never experienced it himself. Today, he was stunned by this scene for the first time. Desolation, despair, and death. This was the expression that filled the eyes of the refugees. Li Bing did not find anything called hope in these refugees.
He felt helpless. What could he do? Tell the soldiers guarding the city to send everyone into the city? He still led his five hundred cavalry to the steppe to flatten the Turks. At this moment, he felt powerless. He was only one person, and there was nothing he could do. He could only silently watch as the refugees died. He could only turn around, and at that moment, he hated his eight-year-old body.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]