Age of Lazurite, Tower of Glass

Chapter 44: Love is fleeting at twenty years old

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The Daguan Temple in Peiping is located at the corner of the West Mountain. Among the high mountains and ridges, there are several yellow walls and black tiles. It is not built on a large scale, but it is located right in the valley of Xishan Mountain. The environment is beautiful, elegant and quiet. Although it is winter, there is a faint sound of gurgling water. Under the winter sunshine, it makes people feel a sense of escapism.

Ma Sanbao and Hai Shou were waiting in front of the Guanyin Hall. The surroundings were quiet, and they could vaguely hear the voice of Lianhua talking to Master Zikong in the hall. Ma Sanbao put his hands behind his hands and looked at the sky, smiling as if he didn't care. In fact, not a single movement within a few miles could escape his ears. Hai Shou pressed his right hand on the whip at his waist, feeling a little nervous. Seeing Ma Sanbao's calm and calm look, he finally relaxed slowly, took a breath, and put his hands behind his back.

After a long time, the wooden door opened with a creak, and Lianhua walked out with her head half lowered.

Ma Sanbao and Hai Shou stepped forward to greet her, but saw tears on Lianhua's face. They couldn't help but asked in unison: "Is the princess okay?" Lianhua shook her head: "It's okay, go back." With that said, he walked out of the temple.

At the foot of the mountain, Zhi Enzheng and a group of royal soldiers were waiting anxiously. When they saw the three people coming down, they immediately came up to them: "It's over! I was worried." He looked carefully at Lianhua's face and asked with concern: "Is the princess okay?" Lianhua still shook her head: "I'm fine."

Zhien turned his head and scolded Hai Shou: "Hai Shou! You must have made the princess unhappy. Tell me! What bad thing did you do?" Hai Shou muttered: "I, I..."

Of course Lianhua knew that the two of them were deliberately trying to make her happy, so she smiled and said: "It's okay, I just feel a little sad when talking about Master Zichao. Let's go back to the palace."

A group of carriages and horses entered the city from Xishan Mountain. It took about half an hour to arrive at the gate of Prince Yan's Mansion. From far away, I heard a noise at the door of the mansion, and a person in blunt Chinese said loudly: "Just ask Mr. Wang and the prince." Then it was probably the guard at the door, a little impatient: "How many times have I asked you, who is Mr. Wang? "

Lian Hua's heart moved. Zhi En had already opened the curtain and said to Hai Shou: "Hurry over there! That's Uncle Jin from the palace!" Hai Shou responded and quickly galloped over. Ma Sanbao followed closely.

When Lianhua's car arrived at the door of the house, she saw two unfamiliar faces standing in front of the house. Although they were wearing Hanfu, their big faces, high cheekbones and thin lips made them look like typical Koreans. Hai Shou was talking quickly to the two of them, while Ma Sanbao looked on.

Seeing Lianhua get out of the car, Haishou hurriedly came up to him and said, "It's the Jin guards and Tian guards in the palace. They said they were sent by the king to see King Yan."

Lianhua nodded, walked to the two guards, and asked Wen Yan: "It's been a long journey for you two! Did your father ask you to come?"

The two of them quickly bowed and said, "I've met the princess!" They both knew Zhien from the palace and greeted her with a smile. Zhien smiled so hard that his eyes curled up, obviously very happy to see his acquaintance in the palace.

The older one was Guard Jin, who said to Lianhua: "Princess! Your Highness has caught the murderer of the two adults Zhao Fang and Li San of the Royal Palace last time. We specially asked us to report to Prince Yan and give him an explanation." Lianhua Hearing this, he was a little surprised and looked at Ma Sanbao.

Before Ma Sanbao could say anything, Wang Jinghong hurriedly walked closer, but he heard a noise at the door of the mansion, and he was looking for "Master Wang" again, so he asked Zhu Di to rush out. Seeing Lianhua asking about Ma Sanbao, he quickly said: "The prince is in the Guanyuxuan in the side hall. He has asked the young one to come and greet the princess. As soon as he comes back, he will go to the hall and invite the two North Korean guards to come in too." Saying that, he led the way and the group arrived at the side hall.

Everyone entered Guanyuxuan and saw Zhu Di, Xu Ying, and Xu Xiu sitting and talking. The three of them were all dressed in casual clothes. Zhu Di was wearing a large old purple tang robe, Xu Ying was wearing a honey-colored cotton jacket and a cotton skirt of the same color, and Xu Xiu was wearing an onion-yellow cotton jacket and cotton skirt. There were still many jewelry hanging on them, and her jewels exuded wealth and splendor. Lotus smelled the strong fragrance of Xu Xiu's body from a distance, and couldn't help but think of two lines from Tang poetry: "The country is beautiful in the morning, and the wine is drunk, and the sky is fragrant and the clothes are dyed at night." Princess Dai really looks like a peony flower.

After the two parties saluted and exchanged greetings, Lianhua sat down under Xu Xiu and glanced at Zhu Di uneasily. But Zhu Di was still smiling casually and said to the two North Korean guards: "The King of North Korea asked you to come to see me? What's the matter?"

The golden guard took two steps forward, bowed and said respectfully: "Last time, Zhao Fang and Li San of the royal palace were killed by Japanese pirates in the country. Everyone in the country was shocked and indignant. The king ordered an all-out pursuit. With the help of Prince Hongfu, in September On the 26th, we finally found the Japanese pirates' lair in Seoul and killed all seventeen Japanese pirates." With a wave of his hand, Guard Tian held up a huge lacquer box. Guard Jin pointed at it and said, "This is the Japanese pirates. The head of Amutong."

Guard Tian opened the lacquer box and found a human head with small eyes, pig lips and long hair and beard, exactly the image of a Japanese pirate. His eyes were particularly wide open, and the traces of blood under his neck were heavily covered with white lime.

Xu Xiu screamed and grabbed Xu Ying's hand; Zhi En, who was standing behind Lian Hua, didn't scream and fainted to the ground. Wang Jinghong beside him quickly helped him up and treated her.

Lianhua also turned pale and looked at Zhu Di calmly.

Zhu Di still smiled slightly and said to Guard Jin: "Go back and pay homage to the King of North Korea on my behalf. Thank you very much for his kindness." While waving, Ma Sanbao stepped forward and took the lacquer box.

Guard Jin still bowed and replied respectfully: "This is what I, North Korea, owe the prince. You don't have to be polite." He raised his eyes and looked at King Yan and Lian Hua, and said hesitantly: "The king also has a merciless request. I don't know. Say it right or wrong.”

Lianhua said quickly: "Since you know it's an unkind invitation, don't say it. You two have traveled a long way and have a rest early." While winking at the two guards, Jin and Tian, he signaled them to leave. He stood up and prepared to send the two of them out.

Zhu Di waved his hand and said, "It's okay to just say it." He glanced at Lianhua to reassure her. Lianhua had no choice but to sit down again and looked at the golden guard anxiously.

Guard Jin cleared his throat and said slowly: "The king has found out that Wang Shi, the former crown prince of the King of Goryeo, escaped from Mongolia and may have entered the Central Plains of the Celestial Empire. The king would like to ask the prince to pay more attention, otherwise he is afraid that it will be detrimental to North Korea." After reading Eye Lotus said again: "And the princess."

Even though Zhu Di was used to wind and waves, he couldn't help but frown when he heard this. Looking at the lotus, both of them were worried for a moment.

In fact, the King of Joseon, Lee Sung-gye, knew that the crown prince of Goryeo, Wang Seok, had entered the Ming Dynasty. He was worried that Lotus would fall second, and he was really worried about his own throne.

As mentioned before, Li Chenggui's king of Korea was made by himself. After deposing Wang Yao, the last king of the Goryeo Dynasty, he then wiped out the roots and killed all the Wang family members. Then the above table was written to the Ming Dynasty: "I remember that Yao, the descendant of the Wang family of the small country, was in a coma and immoral, and he died from the bottom up, and there were no heirs in the family. The subjects of a country respect the ministers and supervise the affairs of the state." This means the Wang family of the Goryeo Dynasty royal family. There was no one left, and everyone recommended me to take charge of state affairs temporarily. Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang clearly knew that Li Chenggui came to power, but he did not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. He only gave the country the name "North Korea" and refused to formally canonize Li Chenggui. Li Chenggui specially sent the gold seal of the former King of Korea to the capital and asked Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang to give him another seal of Korea, but Zhu Yuanzhang refused. To put it mildly, in fact it is still not certain whether Li Chenggui can stand firm: after all, the Goryeo Dynasty has a history of more than 400 years, and Li Chenggui has only established North Korea for a few years. It is entirely possible that the Goryeo Dynasty will turn over one day. How could Zhu Yuanzhang be so shrewd as to do such an uncertain thing

Li Chenggui was well aware of Ming Dynasty's worries, and he also knew that Joseon was still short-lived and had an unstable foundation, so he had been severely punishing the descendants of the Goryeo royal family and the ministers loyal to Goryeo in the court. In the past seven years, he had almost killed them all. But now, Wang Shi, the crown prince of Goryeo, is still alive and has even gone to the Ming Dynasty. If Wang Shi sees the emperor, it will be like a slap in the face. How can he be the king of Korea? Of course, Lotus' identity as a princess will also be affected.

It’s just that King Yan’s power is in the Peiping area, and personal relations with North Korea are taboo. What can be done

Zhu Di hesitated in his heart and before he could answer, Xu Ying beside him couldn't help but said: "Your Majesty, this can't be done!"

Zhu Di didn't say much to Xu Ying after returning home. Xu Ying knew for the first time today that Zhao Fang and Li San were killed by Japanese pirates in North Korea. She was already shocked when she heard this: Zhu Di sent royal soldiers to North Korea. , If you have private dealings with the King of Korea, it will be a big trouble if the royal censor in the court finds out that "private relations with the vassal country are plotting evil intentions". Xu Ying knew that Zhu Di had been much discussed in the DPRK for his military exploits and power in recent years, so he had to be cautious and low-key in everything. It was too late to hide in a place like North Korea, so how could he commit such a blatant foul and give someone a thumbs up

Lianhua looked pale and stood up in a hurry and said: "My family does not understand the rules and is talking nonsense. Please forgive me, the prince and princess. I will take them down now to disturb the prince and princess."

But Zhu Di shouted: "Wait a minute", looked at the golden guard and said: "Go back and tell your king, I will do my best."

Xu Ying was furious: "Your Majesty!"

There was no blood on Lian Hua's pale jade face, and she hurriedly led the two guards, Jin and Tian, to leave. Jin Wei didn't dare to say anything anymore, kowtowed to Zhu Di, Xu Ying and Xu Xiu, and followed Lian Hua out, followed closely by Zhi En and Hai Shou. Zhu Di looked at Ma Sanbao and Wang Jinghong, who also hurriedly retreated and chased out.

Xu Ying suppressed the anger in her heart and said warmly: "Brother! Personal relations with vassal states are no small matter. How many people in the court are watching eldest brother, please be careful!" The two have been married for more than 20 years, and Xu Ying has always called Zhu Di this way. , calling me so tenderly at this moment is really a painstaking effort.

Xu Xiu also said worriedly: "Yes! Fourth brother, my sister is doing this for your own good. It would be a big trouble for the censor to take a copy of this matter."

All Zhu Di could think of was how Lotus had just left in a hurry: her face was pale as if she was about to cry and her expression was stubborn. She was also so stubborn when chasing the pagoda in the desert. . He was determined to cherish her and protect her, but how could he let her suffer such injustice, in Peiping, in his own home? These days, I always deliberately avoid meeting each other in the palace. Although I have nothing to do today, I want to accompany her to Daguan Temple, but I am worried about whether to shirk something or not... My thoughts are confused for a while, and I don't really listen to Xu Ying and Xu Xiu's words. Seeing both of them looking at him, he calmed down and said a little anxiously: "I know it myself, so don't worry about it."

Xu Ying slowly advised: "Brother, this is not your business alone. The safety of the palace depends on your hands alone. Everyone, old and young, is counting on you."

Zhu Di finally couldn't bear it anymore and stood up immediately: "Then don't save her and let her fend for herself? Do you know how much she helped my army in this victory in the Northern Expedition? If it weren't for her, we would be here My daughter is still wandering around in the desert! She might have died in the desert a long time ago! Okay, now that she's back, don't care about her? Xu Ying, when did you become so ungrateful and selfish?" There was a crash, and a piece of nanmu Gaoji It was actually shot into two pieces, and the vase on the table shattered on the ground.

The words were very serious. This was the first time in more than 20 years that Xu Ying saw Zhu Di making such a big fuss, and she was stunned for a moment. Xu Xiu was also shocked and stared at the two of them blankly. Zhu Di knew it was too serious when he said it, but he didn't understand why he couldn't hold himself back. He looked at Xu Ying, stamped his feet, and strode out of the hall.

Outside Guan Yu Pavilion, the cold winter wind made the branches of peonies tremble in clusters. The love between husband and wife for more than 20 years was like these flowers and trees, swaying in the wind.

Who is at fault? Everyone just did what they had to do. Everything in the world is never as simple as black and white, good and evil, right and wrong.