Qingming Festival,
Light rain.
During the continuous rain, she is like a passionate woman in soft water, pausing, looking, looking, looking forward and looking back;
It is also like a thin layer of rain covering the sky. Yarn,
moistens a group of people and makes a city tired.
In the Jade Heart Palace of the Queen Mother, the green of the pond is already clear.
Different from the extravagant preferences of other nobles, the Queen Mother of Chu has always been a simple person. Every winter, there are always one or two courtyards for greenhouses in the mansions of many great nobles of Chu, making it feel like spring all year round. , but the Queen Mother of Chu did not like this.
In her words,
This person,
As he gets older,
he misses this spring and summer more and more. Autumn and winter have changed;
When I was young I was ignorant, when I became an adult I felt nothing, and when I got older I was flawless. It was not until I got older that I suddenly looked back and was shocked that I had missed so much.
This spring, summer, autumn and winter, every time the wheel swings, it is like an extra layer is carved on the bluestone pillar. One glance is missing, one glance is short, and the greenhouse is warm. It's comfortable, but it's like picking up sesame seeds and throwing away the watermelon. It makes you lose your sense of the four seasons and turns you into a stupid person imprisoned in a deep palace. Why bother?
The Queen Mother sat under the eaves, holding a soup drink in her hand. From time to time she picked up a spoon, took a few bites, and then looked at the mist in the yard.
Outside the Yuxin Palace, the Fifth Prince, Xiong Tingshan, was dressed in a red python robe. He looked inside from time to time, but did not dare to go in. Behind him, there was also a man wearing gorgeous makeup. woman.
There were a kind of eunuchs and maids around. No one dared to talk or look at them. They all lowered their heads. It was broad daylight, but they seemed to have covered themselves in the drizzle.
The position of prince is certainly respected, but just being a newly promoted prince does not make these eunuchs and maids so cautious.
In fact, for all the years that His Highness the Fifth Prince has been guarding Wutong County, stories about His Highness have been circulating in Yingdu.
Some people say that he has a blood-based alliance with the Shanyue people, eats human flesh and drinks human blood, and likes the sixteenth girl’s sharp heart to cut into the wine;
Some people say that he is close to him The Shanyue women of the Shanyue tribe must find a Chu boy to be happy to them every night. When they are here, they have to do their job and make wine to pray for eternal youth.
In short, these rumors are so disgusting and frightening.
No one deliberately spreads this,
but in Dachu,
The Chu people’s contempt for the Shanyue people has long been engraved in their bones. .
Just as the Yan people looked at barbarians and the Jin people looked at savages, in fact, what they looked at were not humans at all, but animals.
For this reason, His Highness the Fifth Prince, who is a brother-in-law to the Shanyue people and also married to the wife of a Shanyue person, naturally has an image that is as scary as possible among the people.
At this time, a young eunuch in front of the emperor trotted to catch up.Come and salute Xiong Tingshan:
"I see you, Your Majesty. Your Majesty, Your Majesty ordered you to go in and see the Queen Mother first. Your Majesty has something to do in the South Study Room."
"This..."
If Xiong Tingshan hadn't been in the palace at this moment, he would have really wanted to yell at his fourth brother.
But there was no other way,
Xiong Tingshan could only tidy up his clothes one last time, then turned around and helped his wife tidy them up himself.
Unlike her husband, who is "trembling with fear", his wife appears to be down-to-earth and generous. This woman named Wu Tingting in summer was born in the Wujiang Tribe of Shanyue. The tribe has a population of 70,000 to 80,000 and is considered Wutong County. A relatively strong Shanyue tribe.
"When you meet the Queen Mother later, you have to behave yourself." Xiong Tingshan reminded carefully.
"Mr. Sir, you have been saying this since last night."
"Haha."
Xiong Tingshan nodded and pointed to the person next to him. The eunuch motioned for him to pass the message.
The eunuch trotted in immediately.
After a while,
there was a shout from inside:
"The Queen Mother has a decree. Prince Xuan Ding comes in."
Xiong Tingshan breathed a sigh of relief and led his wife into the inner courtyard of Yuxin Palace.
On the steps of the inner courtyard, the Queen Mother could not wait to stand up and looked at Xiong Tingshan who was walking towards here.
"Your Majesty Xiong Tingshan, I have seen the Queen Mother, the Queen Mother is blessed!"
Wu Tingting also knelt down and said, "The Queen Mother is blessed."
"Come in, everyone. Speak, but don’t let the rain get your clothes wet.”
The Queen Mother did not say much and went straight into the palace. Xiong Tingshan stood up and everyone entered the palace;
The Queen Mother took the first seat. , Xiong Tingshan and Wu Tingting sit on the lower right side.
A maid served tea and snacks.
Wu Tingting had been waiting outside with her husband for a long time. She entered the palace early and didn't even eat a few bites of lunch. She was really hungry now, so she didn't hesitate to reach out and pick up the plate. Started eating the snacks that were served.
This kind of behavior is somewhat disrespectful.
After all,
The food served and placed on some occasions is not for eating. It is used for decoration.
Seeing this, the Queen Mother smiled and said: "Seeing how delicious the food of the Wuzi family is, the Ai family is also a little greedy."
Soon,
The Queen Mother reached out and picked up a piece of snack and took a small bite.
After sitting down, Xiong Tingshan's eyes turned red and he said;
"The Queen Mother, I miss you."
The Queen Mother picked up the handkerchief. He wiped the corner of his mouth and said with a smile:
"What do you want to do to your family? Do you want to be beaten?"
"I really want to be beaten by you."
p>“You are a bitch, just like you were when you were a kid.”
“That’s right.”
When she was a child, Xiong Tingshan’s mother-in-law had a humble status. She didn’t even bother to discipline her children, and sometimes she didn’t even dare to speak louder.
At that time, the Queen Mother was a noble concubine, and her status was respected in the harem. She often whipped Xiong Tingshan.
This is not a form of abuse,
but sometimes when Xiong Tingshan and his fourth brother went to the Queen Mother's Palace to eat together, and saw Xiong Tingshan sitting there submissively, the Queen Mother would The eunuch was ordered to whip him with a cane. As a prince, how could he be so cowardly sitting in this posture?
Another example is that when I heard a servant’s arrangement in other places, I felt wronged and hid crying beside the rockery. I was seen by the Queen Mother who was passing by. After asking about the reason, the Queen Mother asked the surrounding eunuchs to Throw Xiong Tingshan into the cold winter pond next to him.
"Cry, cry, cry, you know how to cry. You are the prince, you have the blood of Fire Phoenix, and you can actually let the servants bully you to your head. Don't you like to cry? Just do it. Cry as much as you want in this pool!"
The next day, the fifth prince beat up the maids and eunuchs who had spoken ill of himself and his mother and concubine, and threw them into the pool.
As a result, word spread about this matter, and a foreign minister copied it, saying that His Highness the Fifth Highness was not behaving like a prince when he abused his subordinates.
The Emperor of Chu did not like his son very much, so he punished him heavily. At the same time, his mother and concubine had their expenses reduced for half a year because they were unable to educate their son.
Then,
The Fifth Highness was called over by the Queen Mother, tied to a big tree in Yuxin Palace and whipped more than a dozen times.
"Idiot, you can end up in this situation just by taking care of a few servants, and your mother and concubine are also implicated. Isn't your mind full of mud!"
For a long time,
The fifth prince has actually been a transparent person in the palace.
There were rumors in the palace that the then imperial concubine, who was now the queen mother, was the most displeased with the fifth prince, who came from a humble background, and often used lessons and corporal punishment on him.
But only the fifth prince himself knew how difficult it was for an elder at that time to be willing to teach him a lesson, teach him, or even... be willing to beat him.
Later, after being crowned, Emperor Chu directly sent his son, whom he was disgusted with, to Wutong County. At that time, the Shanyue people in Wutong County often rebelled and would often attack the county. He threw the fifth prince over, just to let him fend for himself.
The so-called tiger poison cannot eat its children is not true in the royal family, because unless some special circumstances are excluded, the emperor generally has many sons.
Everything follows the law that things are rare and valuable. If there are too many sons, they will be worthless.
After going to Wutong County, the fifth prince would send someone to send Wutong County local specialties carefully prepared by him to Yingdu every year. Each time there would be two copies, one for his mother-in-law and one for his wife. It was given to the Queen Mother.
Later, when his mother-in-law passed away, the fifth prince asked for orders to return to Yingdu for mourning, but the Emperor of Chu refused because of the situation in Wutong County.But the love was stolen on the pretext of evil, and the fifth prince was deprived of the human dignity of returning to the capital to attend funerals and observe filial piety.
In the end, the Queen Mother at that time asked the fourth prince to handle the funeral arrangements for the fifth prince’s mother and concubine on the grounds that human relations cannot be abolished.
At the beginning of last month,
The fifth prince Xiong Tingshan personally presented to Wutong County to ask the regent to be crowned emperor and succeed him to the throne.
This move marked the recognition and support of Wutong County and the forces represented by Wutong County for the legitimacy of the Regent.
Among the Chu State’s court and public, some people think that the Fifth Prince saw that the Regent was now in a favorable situation and therefore did not want to succumb;
Some people believed that it was the Fifth Prince who, after all, He is a descendant of the royal family. He did not want the Chu State to continue to suffer from internal strife, so he chose the Gongxinti State.
Actually, it was both, and there was another one. Xiong Tingshan did not tell others that he had to pay back what he owed the Queen Mother.
“I can’t fight anymore, I can’t fight anymore.”
The Queen Mother smiled and waved her hand, and continued:
“Your brothers have grown up. You are married and have children. The Ai family just wants to fight. Firstly, I can’t fight. Secondly, my servants don’t dare to attack you.”
“Queen Mother, Fifth Son. But I’m thinking about your whip.”
“You bitch, bitch, look at what you said in front of your wife, and your daughter-in-law thought she was sorry for it. "My family was so harsh on you when you were young."
When Wu Tingting heard this, she put down the food in her hands and said:
"The Queen Mother, how dare I think like this? He is at home, But he kept talking about the Queen Mother's kindness to him, and even told the children that they had a grandmother in Yingdu."
The Queen Mother turned her attention to Wu Tingting, who was born in Shanyue. The women of the tribe seemed so out of place in the palace where the rules were overwhelming. There was a hint of wildness and untamedness in them.
It is said that if the fifth prince had not met this woman when he first arrived in Wutong County, he might have died long ago.
"But your name is Tingting?"
"Yes, my name."
The eunuchs and maids beside them all lowered their heads and did not dare to reveal their names. No other expression at all.
Xiong Tingshan licked his lips. His wife was like this, she didn't like to follow rules.
"It's a good-natured air."
"Yes, my mother said that about me too."
The Queen Mother pointed. Pointing at her, he said:
"When His Majesty chooses your girls to enter the palace, you have to help select them carefully. They have to choose people like you. My grandsons all have delicate bodies." Weak, Ai family, but I want to have a strong grandson."
Taking a girl from the Wujiang tribe into the palace was originally one of the agreements reached between the regent and the fifth prince.
Wu Tingting reached out and patted her chest, and said boldly: "Don't worry, Queen Mother, if you put it on me, I will definitely give it to you."Your Majesty the Regent, please choose someone with a big and stocky crotch. ”
“Yes, yes, that’s how you choose, that’s how you choose.” "
The Chu aristocrats tend to have a softer aesthetic in women, preferably those with petite figures, slender waists and graceful waists.
"Where are the children in your family? , why didn't you bring it into the palace to show it to the Ai family? "The Queen Mother asked.
Wu Tingting replied: "Queen Mother, they were all clamoring to come into the palace to see the grandma their father mentioned, but my family said they didn't understand the rules and disturbed me. Queen Mother, you didn't bring me into the palace. ”
Xiong Tingshan held his forehead,
As long as you are the only mother who doesn’t understand the rules, if you add a few little ones like skinny monkeys, then the Yuxin Palace will really be completely useless. It's time to behave.
The Queen Mother glared at Xiong Tingshan and said: "This man is old and elderly. He is most afraid of being deserted. Bring him to the palace next time and make it lively. "
Xiong Tingshan smiled and said: "This is natural. The fifth son also wants to let them come to the Queen Mother and let the Queen Mother help teach them. ”
“Don’t, don’t, don’t.” "
The Queen Mother hurriedly waved her hand,
then covered her chest with the other hand and said:
"The Ai family has taught such a good girl. I don’t dare to mislead anyone anymore. "
Xiong Liqing, the princess of Da Chu, took the initiative to throw herself into the arms of the plain uncle of Yan State at the wedding of the Qu family, and even rushed out of the garden to enter Yan with him.
This move, This caused an uproar in the Chu State.
The Chu people felt that this was a great shame for themselves!
Of course, the biggest sufferer was the Qu family. Although the royal family immediately married another princess to another son of the Qu family, and the Qu family immediately swore to continue to support the regent, and everyone announced a political signal to continue cooperation, but everyone understood that Qu This time, Shi really lost her face.
When Wu Tingting heard this, she said directly:
"Queen Mother, this is wrong. ”
“Wrong? "The Queen Mother was a little puzzled.
"I think the princess did the right thing. Just imagine a man who dared to risk great dangers and ran to the enemy's country and brought himself to a wedding surrounded by heavy soldiers. Let’s go;
Such deep feelings and such thoughtfulness,
How many women in this world can’t help but be moved by it? ”
The Queen Mother was speechless for a moment, because she found that she did not seem to be able to communicate very well with this woman from the Shanyue ethnic group.
Wu Tingting looked at her husband sitting next to her , continued:
"At the beginning, my father also wanted to betroth me to the young chief of the neighboring tribe. It was he who brought two of his men to break into my tribe and asked my father to marry me. betrothed to him. "
Xiong Tingshan continued to hold his forehead.
Seeing the Queen Mother's eyes falling on him again,
Xiong Tingshan could only say:
"This, Young and frivolous, young and frivolous. ”
Can’tIs it just young and frivolous? But being young is really good.
Wu Tingting continued: "At that time, he was tied up by my father, but he still yelled my name and told me not to marry anyone else. At that time, the entire tribe , was shocked by him.
In the end, I had to cry and beg my father to spare him and let him go."
The Queen Mother nodded. Asked: "What happened next?"
"Later I packed my bags, escaped from the tribe, and went to the county to find him. During his troubles, I stayed with my tribe and He was famous among the surrounding tribes. Who else could I marry besides him?
So, after marrying him, I tried my best to give birth to him and give birth to him in order to get revenge on him!”< /p>
"Hehehe."
The Queen Mother was really amused.
"Okay, it turns out the root cause lies with her fifth brother."
The regent came from outside.
All the surrounding maids and eunuchs knelt down:
"See your Majesty the Regent."
"My minister, see your Majesty."
"My son, please give my best wishes to your mother. May your mother be well."
The Queen Mother glanced at her son and said: "Lao Wu's family, accompany Ai's family for a walk in the garden. Here, leave They were talking among themselves."
"Yes, Queen Mother."
Soon, only the regent and the fifth prince were left in the hall, and even the maids and eunuchs were very conscious. Go outside and wait.
The Regent looked at the Fifth Highness,
and said:
"So, Li Qing learned from her fifth brother, right?"
Xiong Tingshan was submissive in front of the Queen Mother. He was not as restrained as before in front of his fourth brother. Hearing this, he just smiled and said:
"You can't rely on me for this. I heard that, Fourth brother, you were with him back then. Didn't he just watch when we were competing by the river?"
"Oh."
The regent sighed and
said:
"Who knows."
"Fourth brother really didn't notice anything?"
< p>The regent shook his head, nodded again, and said:"I don't think he looks like Su Mingzhe, but I thought he should be a real talent in Qian Kingdom, but I didn't expect that he It's actually Zheng Fan.
If I had known it was Zheng Fan,
I would have..."
"What should I do, fourth brother?"
< p>"I directly regret my marriage to Mr. Qu. If he likes Liqing and Liqing likes him, then let them get married in Dachu.""If sister Liqing hears These words, tsk tsk..."
"I have reassured the Qu family that nothing big will happen. If you lead Wutong County to surrender, the great Chu will be in my favor.
p>
As a king, centralization of power must be the first priority. Mr. Qu dare not take this risk, and he will not take it. ”
"You don't have to worry about the Qu family. Once Qu Tiannan disappeared, the Qu family's status has actually been reduced to one level. Fourth brother, what we have to do now is to consolidate the royal imperial army. We can't continue to be suppressed by the Yan people like before. "I also understand, but we have to do it step by step. Managing a big country is like cooking a small dish. There is no rush. As for the Forbidden Army, I am determined to let you take the responsibility and start training first." , I will think of a way to deal with the rest.
I’m a brother.”
“My younger brother will not disappoint me.”
“Oh. , By the way, Nian Yao has come back. I met him in the South Study Room before, and he is waiting outside now.
Come and invite General Nian in. ”
< p>"Yes, Your Majesty."Soon,
Nian Yao walked in,
"I would like to say hello to Your Majesty, and to the Fifth Master."
According to the rules, people within the family are called slaves, and people outside the family call themselves ministers.
Although Nian Yao was an unparalleled general outside, in front of the regent, he had to call himself a slave because he was born as a domestic slave.
Of course, calling yourself a slave is not a simple term of contempt. In fact, many people want a "slave" status but cannot get it.
The Regent pointed at Nian Yao who was kneeling on the ground and said to His Highness the Fifth Prince:
"Fifth brother, do you know what kind of news this thing delivered to me last month? In the news, Here, this slave actually dares to suggest that I let Qu's Qingluan Army move to Zhennanguan;
What else can I say, Qu will definitely do his best to ensure that Zhennanguan is not lost."
Xiong Tingshan touched his head and burst into laughter:
“Hahaha, you slave is too courageous to bury people like this. What’s the matter? Can you let Mr. Qu go to Zhennanguan to reunite with his family there? "I don't dare," Nian Yao said aggrievedly.
"Oh, there is also something that you, the young general, don't dare to do. What are your intentions in this statement? Do you know that if I really do this, then I don't want Qu to suffer such a big humiliation? We must do the opposite!"
"The slave deserves to die, the slave deserves to die!"
"Hey, hey, don't kowtow in a hurry, Nian Yao, let me ask you, and How does the Yan man Nanhou feel about playing chess?"
Nian Yao immediately cried and said: "But I was scared to death."
" Humph."
The Prince Regent snorted coldly.
Xiong Tingshan smoothed things over and said: "Okay, okay, I can still make a crying face, which is pretty easy."
The Regent closed his eyes and sighed: < /p>
"Li Qing ran away with the man surnamed Zheng. Although I made Da Chu very passive, in the end it was impossible to shake the fundamentals. If I, Da Chu, could not go north out of Zhennan Pass, I would have to keep going. They were suppressed by the Jingnan Army in Jin Dynasty.
Although the Qianren people were having fun, it was nothing more than thunder and rain, and the Yan people were in a hurry.It's done, now it actually depends on Yan Ren himself, how long he can hold on. ”
“Don’t worry, fourth brother, since ancient times, there has been no constant strength. Eight hundred years ago, the Great Xia was rising like the sun in the east. Didn’t it mean that it would perish if it was said to be dead? I think the Yan Kingdom is now like this. If the momentum is strong, Xuhuo will have to occupy four or five points. It depends on how long his firewood can be added. "
"But after all, I was so unhappy that I even invited Zheng Fan to drink. "
"Hahaha, does this count as my uncle inviting my sister-in-law to a meeting drink in advance? "
The regent glared at Xiong Tingshan, but Xiong Tingshan didn't take it seriously and continued to laugh.
Nian Yao, who was kneeling on the ground, also laughed in agreement with "hehehe",< /p>
The regent saw this and kicked him directly.
Nian Yao did not dare to bear the force, let alone mobilize the energy and blood in his body to bear the kick, so he was kicked to the ground. He turned the gourd in a circle, and then immediately knelt back to the original position.
"Xiao Xiaoxiao, weren't you, General Nian, rated as one of the four most famous young generals of the current generation, along with Zheng Fan? Okay. Now, Zheng Fan has come to Da Chu and abducted the princess of Da Chu. When will you, General Nian, go to Yan State to abduct a princess for me? "
When Nian Yao heard this, he immediately showed a bitter face and said very aggrieved:
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, slave, slave can't do it. "
Hearing this, the regent kicked him again.
General Nian made a circle of gourds on the spot again.
After kneeling down and returning, he continued Said:
“Your Majesty, slave, I really can’t do it. "
"Good-for-nothing. "The regent scolded.
Nian Yao was very aggrieved,
said:
"Your Majesty, I have to abduct you if you want, but who can It is said that Emperor Yan is a son and has no daughters. ”
————
The next chapter will be before 2 a.m.