Taiping Inn

Shangguan Wan didn't expect that this little girl was so brave despite her young age. She was born in a scholarly family and dared to say such words. In some old-fashioned families with strict etiquette and laws, she would be punished by family rules just for this sentence. No wonder Lu Beiqu was so angry.

Shangguan Wan had a headache and had to say, "The child's joke doesn't count. Mr. Lu, please don't get angry. So, Mr. Lu should give Mr. Qingping a face and postpone the matter for a while. When Mr. Qingping has time, he will talk to Mr. Lu in person about this matter. After all, a girl from one family is sought after by hundreds of families. I think Mr. Lu should not have made an engagement yet?"

Although Lu Beiqu was angry, he was just angry after years of cultivating his qi. Even anger was just to express his attitude. Hearing Shangguan Wan say this, Lu Beiqu went down the steps and said, "There is indeed no engagement, but someone came to propose marriage, which is considered a good match. But since Master Shangguan said so, it has to be so."

Lu Youzhen whispered, "I want to visit Master Shangguan."

Lu Beiqu was angry again.

Shangguan Wan smiled and said, "Mr. Lu, don't be angry. Mr. Lu came to Beijing this time for official business. It would be inconvenient to bring a lot of money with him. Why not let Miss Lu visit me for a few days?"

Lu Beiqu suppressed his anger and pondered, "I'm afraid it's inconvenient."

"It's not inconvenient." Shangguan Wan said, "There are mostly women in the Taoist sect. In addition to me, there are Miss Qin, Miss Lu, and Madam Lan. Please rest assured, Mr. Lu."

Lu Beiqu thought about it and found that as Shangguan Wan said, there were indeed few men except Li Xuandu and Ning Yi, so he nodded and said, "Then I'll trouble Master Shangguan."

Shangguan Wan said softly, "Mr. Lu is polite."

Lu Beiqu glanced at his daughter and said nothing.

Shangguan Wan was right. He did have official business when he came to Beijing this time. There is an unwritten rule in the Confucian sect, that is, the four major academies should show up as little as possible. Even when Yuxu was fighting swords, the mountain masters of the four major academies did not show up. But this time, the masters of the academies have entered the capital one after another, indicating that the situation is already very critical. In other words, the Yuxu sword fight was still within the scope of the rules, with each of them fighting back and forth, but this time it was a life-and-death fight, with no effort spared.

Shangguan Wan also knew this very well. The masters of the four academies, Qi Foyan of Jinling Academy and Lu Beiqu of Bailu Academy, have already appeared one after another, and the other two masters should not be far away. In addition, each academy has three high priests. Although the academy is not as good as the academy, in addition to the master, there is also a dean. The dean's status is not as good as the master and the high priest, but there are also people with profound realms. For example, the Confucian master who participated in the battle of the Nether Valley is a person with the cultivation of the infinite realm of heaven and man.

After Lu Beiqu turned and left, Shangguan Wan took Lu Youzhen and Zhang Baizhou to the Qizhou Guild Hall.

Zhang Baizhou couldn't help asking, "Sister Shangguan, why are you here?"

"It's just a coincidence." Shangguan Wan smiled. This is the truth. Shangguan Wan has been very busy during this period. Not long ago, she met with Yang Tianfeng and others in person, and used some means to ensure that these people dare not turn against her, and then ordered Wei Qingyu to be in charge of this side. As long as she gave an order, Yang Tianfeng and others would target several Qingliu officials.

These Qingliu officials all have one characteristic. They are called Qingliu, but they have a very deep relationship with Confucianism. They have a good status in the major associations and book clubs under the name of Confucianism. On weekdays, they have deep grudges with the people in the Houdang, which is almost impossible to resolve.

These people are used to manipulating right and wrong, and they are caught in party disputes and are unwilling to suffer any losses. If they are attacked by the people in the Houdang, they will never consider the overall situation and swallow their anger. They must stir up a huge storm and get it back fiercely.

That was enough. Shangguan Wan didn't want their lives, he just wanted to scare them and make them feel like they had survived a disaster. The fear and anger would force the upper echelons of the Confucian sect to take action.

Zhang Baizhou asked again, "Where is Mr. Qingping?"

Shangguan Wan said, "Senior Brother is very busy."

...

Emperor Tianbao was a little uneasy. He didn't have any pajamas. He got up and put on his clothes, but didn't light the lamp. He looked at the moonlight on the ground like white frost.

It is true that Emperor Tianbao had no real power. Before the seventh year of Tianbao, he did not have any real power. He was just a puppet emperor who was manipulated by the empress dowager. However, after the seventh year of Tianbao, everything was different. The Confucian sect came. With the support of the Confucian sect, the emperor had real power. At least his residence was no longer leaking from all sides due to infiltration by others, but like an iron bucket, water could not be poured in.

This is all the merit of the Confucian sect.

In any case, in front of the Queen Mother, he had to abide by the filial piety of mother and son and be careful in everything, but on the Confucian side, the Confucian people abided by the way of monarch and minister and respected him in everything. Even if they were both empty, the Confucian eating style was better.

In addition, the little emperor also had his own information channels, and many things could not be hidden from him, such as the Queen Mother's decision to invite Mr. Qingping to the palace for a banquet on the third day of the twelfth lunar month.

This was also the reason for his uneasy mood.

Mr. Bai Lu did not hide many things from him, so he knew very well what the two sides were planning. The current situation can only be described as "the dagger is revealed when the picture is exhausted".

A single hair can move the whole body, not to mention that there are more than one hair involved now.

At this time, the Queen also got up with a rustling sound.

Emperor Tianbao glanced at the Queen with the corner of his eye, his first wife, and also his legal wife.

In fact, when the two just got married, their relationship was still very good. As the saying goes, newlyweds are not as close as honey, but they are very close to each other. But after Shi Hengbo appeared, the couple became a little estranged. Although they could not be said to have fallen out, they were no longer as close as before, and only remained polite and respectful to each other.

The queen did not seem to be unusual on the surface, and she seemed to have no complaints. She just fulfilled her duties and made no mistakes. However, Emperor Tianbao did not believe that someone would have no complaints at all, but it was just a matter of scheming.

The queen whispered: "Your Majesty?"

Emperor Tianbao said softly: "I can't sleep, you go to sleep first."

The queen responded, but did not go to sleep again, just sat quietly

Emperor Tianbao did not force it. He half talked to himself and half asked, "What do you think will happen tomorrow?"

Because there was no light, the queen was completely hidden in the darkness. Only a very vague outline could be seen. She replied softly, "Maybe... Your Majesty is not far from ruling the country."

Emperor Tianbao smiled, and he felt a little bit of favor for the queen in his heart, as if he had returned to the time of his wedding. His tone became softer, "I hope so."

...

In the night, candles as thick as a baby's arm were lit in the main hall of Yuqing Garden, illuminating a wide hall as bright as day.

The hall was full of heroes and masters, and everyone had a good momentum. If any Jianghu person broke into this place, he would be scared to death.

Most of the big figures in Jianghu have arrived.

The leader of Cihang Sect, Bai Xiushang, the leader of Xuannv Sect, Xiao Shiyu, the great master of Zhengyi Sect, Zhang Luanshan, the leader of Miaozhen Sect, Wanshou Zhenren, the deputy leader of Qingwei Sect, Li Feiyan, the leader of Faxiang Sect, Zuo Yuhan, the great elder of Taiping Sect, Shen Yuanzhou, etc., all of them are people who hold the power of a sect. Murong Hua, Ning Yi, Shi Wuyue and others are also here.

Zhang Haishi, Taiwei Zhenren of Donghua Sect, and Sanxuan Zhenren of Shenxiao Sect came late. The three of them came together and seemed to have a good chat.

Li Xuandu asked Zhang Haishi to make a decision. Zhang Haishi used a trick and wrote a letter to each of the three Zhenren. In the letter to Taiwei Zhenren, he said that Wanshou Zhenren and Sanxuan Zhenren had agreed to go to Dijing, only Taiwei Zhenren was missing. In the letter to Wanshou Zhenren, he said that Taiwei Zhenren and Sanxuan Zhenren had agreed to go to Dijing, only Wanshou Zhenren was missing. Finally, Sanxuan Zhenren did the same.

The three immortals had no doubts, so they all came. However, before leaving, the immortal Wanshou decided to pass the position of the leader to Ji Shuye, which made Li Xuandu a little misunderstanding and dissatisfied, but Li Xuandu did not do anything radical, just expressed his dissatisfaction slightly by congratulating him.

After the three entered the hall, they greeted each other and sat down.

Although Bai Xiushang was the owner of Yuqing Garden, she did not sit in the main seat, but sat in the first seat on the left, and Zhang Haishi sat in the first seat on the right opposite her. Moreover, the layout of the hall today was a bit special, with only one main seat in the middle, eliminating the coffee table and another main seat.

So it was obvious who this main seat was for.

After a moment, Li Xuandu walked into the main hall with a brisk pace.

Everyone in the hall, young and old, stood up to greet him.

Li Xuandu stopped, clasped his hands together, bowed, and said, "You are all seniors, Xuandu is unworthy of this position."

Li Feiyan smiled and said, "Please take the seat in Zifu."

Li Xuandu did not refuse and walked towards the main seat that was reserved for a single person. After he sat down, the others sat down one after another.

In the past, the old Heavenly Master, the Great Sword Immortal, and the Earth Master had this kind of treatment. Now Li Xuandu also has it, which means that after going through so many things, most people in the Taoist sect have recognized Li Xuandu's status.

Li Xuandu went straight to the point and said, "You seniors and elders look up to Xuandu and come to the Imperial Capital. I am very grateful. Before you came here, you must have heard about it. Xuandu invited you seniors and elders to come here from afar this time. There is indeed a big thing planned."

Everyone waited for the next words.

Li Xuandu continued, "I think the various sects of our Taoism have always been of the same origin and are all disciples of the Supreme Taoist Ancestor. But after the Taoism was torn apart, internal strife was frequent. First there was the struggle between good and evil, and then there was the struggle between four and six. When it comes to the struggle between four and six, we have to mention the Imperial Capital Incident in the second year of Tianbao. Everyone present has participated in the Imperial Capital Incident to a greater or lesser extent."

At this point, Li Xuandu paused slightly, then looked around and said, "Of course, I am included. If it weren't for my second senior brother, I'm afraid I would have died in the Imperial Capital in the second year of Tianbao."

The whole hall was silent.