The old prime minister's family gave the highest etiquette to the arrival of Li Xiang and his son. Li Shimin often went to the ministers' homes for dinner, but he had never been to the Duke of Song's mansion.
After Li Shimin ascended the throne, the relationship between the monarch and his ministers was still very harmonious, especially with his old brothers who had fought together in the past. Li Shimin would often go out of the palace in disguise to have dinner at their homes, and even the people of Chang'an knew this.
But such a thing has never happened in the Mansion of Duke of Song. The relationship between Li Shimin and Xiao Yu is just superficial, and there is nothing to talk about between the two sides. Li Shimin travels incognito just to relax, so how can he relax when he is with Xiao Yu?
Therefore, many people in the court knew about the discord between the emperor and Xiao Yu. This time, the two princes of the East Palace came together, which was a great honor for them.
Xiao Yu wanted to give outsiders the impression that although we had a bad relationship with the previous emperor, we had a good relationship with the crown prince and the crown prince's grandson.
Li Chengqian and Li Xiang were naturally well aware of Xiao Yu's idea, otherwise they would not have made such a big fuss. According to Li Xiang, this old man was very smart and the strength behind him was not weak. The last time they fought, Li Xiang inquired from the side and found that the Lanling Xiao family was definitely capable.
If they were to form an alliance with other large families, it would inevitably cause dissatisfaction among Li Shimin. The Lanling Xiao family was at a middle level. In addition, Li Xiang had also met Xiao Shougui, who was the third generation of the Lanling Xiao family. He did things in a law-abiding manner and was very suitable for cooperation.
In the upper class society, no matter what you do, it represents your future prospects. Li Xiang is very clear about this. When he observes others, others are actually observing him. The old prime minister was able to condescend to personally invite the father and son, which means he had been observing them secretly for a long time.
The situation is now becoming clear. On the surface, Li Shimin still holds power, but if Li Shimin changes the crown prince now, I am afraid chaos will occur.
In this situation, the old prime minister led the Lanling Xiao family to move over, but naturally they could not compare with the Cheng Yaojin family. After all, they moved over earlier, but compared with other noble families, they were still ahead.
In fact, the old prime minister has always been optimistic about Li Xiang. When the emperor was looking for a wife for Li Xiang, the old prime minister wanted to marry his descendant to him, but the emperor at that time was unwilling, and finally Cheng Yaojin intercepted him.
There was a lively scene on the street. The two sides greeted each other at the door, and then walked in happily, which was considered to give the old prime minister enough face.
Xiao Shougui's father was still working outside. According to the rules of the Tang Dynasty, no one could enter the capital privately without an imperial edict, so only he and his mother came back. Princess Xiangcheng was a precious lady and naturally could not greet people at the door, so after entering the gate, Li Xiang and Li Chengqian paid their respects to the eldest princess of the Tang Dynasty.
Li Xiang and Li Chengqian were now considered the princess's relatives, and they gave the princess enough face in the old prime minister's house.
When Princess Xiangcheng married into Xiao Yu's family, they actually didn't think much of her. In their eyes, the royal Li family was just a nouveau riche, far inferior to their aristocratic families.
Although the Lanling Xiao family is not among the Five Surnames and Seven Noble Clans, it is also a large family with a long history. In addition, the Lanling Xiao family has a great reputation due to its marriage with the royal family of the previous dynasty. Therefore, after Princess Xiangcheng came, she was unable to do anything.
Later, with the loss of Xiao Yu's position as prime minister, the Lanling Xiao family began to attach importance to their relationship with the royal family.
Now Li Xiang and his son are at the peak of their power. No one in the entire Tang Empire can surpass them. Even if Li Shimin has made a decision, if you ask them for help, there may be room for change.
The father and son both paid their respects to Princess Xiangcheng obediently. Everyone in the Xiao family saw it clearly, and they had to be more respectful to the eldest daughter-in-law in the future.
Just now in the East Palace, Xiao Shougui had already kowtowed to Li Chengqian, after all, he was his uncle. But after arriving at the old prime minister's house, Princess Xiangcheng asked Xiao Shougui to kowtow again. The meaning was very clear. After Princess Xiangcheng left the capital, the child would be entrusted to Li Chengqian.
Princess Xiangcheng has no biological brothers from the same father and mother, and her relationship with other princes in the capital is similar. However, after this incident, Princess Xiangcheng should have been tied to Li Chengqian.
Li Chengqian naturally understood this very well, and he would often mention his maternal uncle in his conversations. The meaning was very clear, which was to let Xiao Shougui ask for instructions more often in the future.
The old prime minister naturally nodded with joy, which meant that Li Chengqian recognized this nephew. You know, there are many princesses in the world and they give birth to even more sons. This means that Li Chengqian has many nephews, but there are not many who can be recognized by Li Chengqian.
Now Xiao Shougui kowtowed to Li Chengqian twice in one day. Do I need to say more about what this means?
The old prime minister also wanted to develop a close family relationship, so he asked all the children in the family to come out and pay their respects to the Crown Prince.
At this time, Li Xiang felt a little embarrassed. When the old prime minister's eldest daughter and eldest granddaughter came out, Li Xiang took a closer look. These two had discussed marriage with Li Xiang in the beginning.
In other words, if Li Xiang wants to marry into the Lanling Xiao family, then his wife must choose one of these two.
Of course, you can also directly choose two, one wife and one concubine.
Such things were very common in ancient times. There were many cases where two sisters married the same man in order to win over their husbands. No matter which sister gave birth to a son, it would bring honor to the family.
The two little girls looked to be of blooming age and knew about Li Xiang's heroic deeds, so when Li Xiang looked up, the two girls also took a second look at him.
The old prime minister naturally saw this scene as well. He could only say that it was fate. If Li Xiang were the emperor now, sending the two girls to be imperial concubines would also be considered a rise of the Lanling Xiao family.
But now Li Xiang is only the crown prince, and in addition to his wife, he can only have one concubine.
If the Lanling Xiao family competes for this concubine, it would be a bit too cheap. Even if Li Xiang has a higher development, the Lanling Xiao family cannot afford to lose face. This matter can only be passed like this.
Just when the banquet was about to begin, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came from outside. Li Xiang could tell that this should be an urgent report from the Ministry of War. Could something have happened?
