***
It was the New Year holiday, and officials at all levels had a long vacation of nearly a month. Qin Mu also decided to have a good rest for a few days, thinking about nothing and letting his nerves relax.
In Chang'an city, the atmosphere of the New Year is becoming more and more intense. Various performances are being performed on the streets, and the Qinqiang opera is sonorous and powerful, reaching the sky.
In the Imperial Garden, the gardens and pavilions are peaceful and tranquil; the plum blossoms by the Taiye Pond are in bloom, competing with the snow for whiteness and sending their fragrance in the wind.
Qin Mu lay sideways in the Yicuiwei Palace beside the pool. There was floor heating under the floor tiles in the palace. Qin Mu was only wearing a black wide-sleeved robe, but he still felt warm.
A wisp of smoke was wafting from the Panzhi lotus incense burner next to it.
Under the black lacquered window of Kuixuan, Dong Xiaowan, wearing a golden hairpin with a phoenix tail on her head and white silk socks on her feet, sat cross-legged in front of the zither, gently stroking the piano with her jade fingers. The sound of the zither was clear and warm, reaching deep into people's hearts.
Li Xiangjun stood beside the zither platform, her skirt dragging six pieces of Xiangjiang River water, her hair brushed with a piece of Wushan cloud, a jade flute at her lips, a wisp of flute sound intertwined and responded with the sound of the zither, talking to each other, but never overlapping;
The zither and the flute, the dynamic and the static, the gentle and the low, interweave, just like two lovers, admiring each other, thinking about each other, but one is in the south of the Yangtze River, the other is in the north of the Great Wall. A thousand mountains and rivers, a thousand sounds of mist and rain, separated by the dust of the years, the souls are connected, but they can only look at each other from afar. How deep is the love, the lingering.
Qin Mu lay sideways, listening carefully, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart, no wonder the two of them could be famous for thousands of years, it was definitely not just because of their stunning looks.
There are many beautiful women, but not many who are both beautiful and talented.
The song played by the two has a romantic and warm feeling, but also contains a strong sense of resentment and longing, which makes people feel a lot: the lovely and sad years just passed by without a trace, the sky has no trace, and the birds have already flown by. The moon in the water of thousands of rivers and the sky without clouds for thousands of miles give the world a clear and lonely feeling. At that moment when the heart is sad and the eyes are bright, there may be a moment of enlightenment.
After the song ended, Dong Xiaowan saw Qin Mu's eyes were closed and his breathing was slow, so she thought he was asleep.
Dong Xiaowan put on her moon-white satin beaded shoes and took a blanket to cover him gently, moving very gently for fear of waking him up.
Looking at Qin Mu's pair of stretched sword-like eyebrows, Dong Xiaowan felt inexplicably distressed.
She and Li Xiangjun and others were all talented, but Qin Mu, as an emperor, worked hard all year round and had no time to relax and enjoy the art.
His life was accompanied by countless military and political events, and was buried in the mountains of memorials. At the age of twenty or so, the young men of Wuling were at the age of riding white horses in clear streams and leisurely strolling on waterside pavilions and singing stages, but he could only worry about state affairs all day long... ...
Dong Xiaowan couldn't help but sigh softly. She reached out and gently stroked the edge of the blanket to make it warmer and closer.
"Sister..." Li Xiangjun called softly, wanting to say something but stopping herself. Perhaps she had guessed what Dong Xiaowan was feeling.
The two walked to the window. Facing the slanting plum blossoms and the clear water outside the window, Li Xiangjun looked back at Qin Mu and said softly, "I heard that my sister was a little unhappy when she first met His Majesty..."
"Sister, why are you suddenly saying this?" When Dong Xiaowan first met Qin Mu, his cold and domineering attitude made her feel like she was encountering a robber. But as time went by, everything changed unconsciously.
"I just feel a little emotional. When I first met him, I felt that he was a nerd..." Li Xiangjun suddenly realized that it was a bit inappropriate to say this, so she changed her words and said, "I guess your biggest wish now is to give birth to a boy or a girl for His Majesty."
"Sister Xiangjun, aren't you?"
The petite Li Xiangjun leaned against Dong Xiaowan and said quietly, "Sister, I asked the imperial physician to feel my pulse. He said that I am in good health. His Majesty is very strong and healthy, but... why can't we get pregnant?"
Speaking of this, Dong Xiaowan couldn't help but sigh: "This is probably fate."
No matter how favored a woman in the palace is now, if she does not have a son or daughter, she will eventually end up with a miserable old age.
Bian Yujing, who entered the palace later, gave birth to a princess, but there was no movement in their bellies, which became their biggest worry.
"Sister, I've been wondering if we are too fragile."
Li Xiangjun's vagina was narrow like a chicken intestine, and her flower heart was shallow, so she always ejaculated quickly under the strong and vigorous Qin Mu, and could not bear the ravages. Dong Xiaowan was not much better, she was quiet and elegant by nature, lacked exercise, and had the most delicate and sensitive body among all the women, so she was easily sent to the clouds, and died.
The two of them often received favors together and knew each other's situation very well. After thinking about it, perhaps this was the only thing they had in common.
"ah!"
Dong Xiaowan and Li Xiangjun suddenly felt their slender waists being held, and they couldn't help but scream at the same time. They turned around and saw that it was Qin Mu leaning behind them. "Your Majesty, why did you get up?"
Qin Mu hugged the two warm bodies, looked at the reflection of the plum blossoms on the clear water, and asked casually, "What are you talking about?"
The two stunning beauties blushed, "No... nothing to talk about. Your Majesty, didn't you fall asleep? Did I wake you up?"
Dong Xiaowan lowered her delicate head, her jade fingers gently twisting the blue Ruyi silk ribbon around her waist. Qin Mu pressed against her delicate body from behind. The moving curves and the soft feeling made him breathe a sigh of relief.
A faint white mist filled the air over the Taiye Lake outside the window, the fragrance of plum blossoms wafted gently in the wind, and occasionally a few graceful figures of palace maids passed by among the quiet garden pavilions. Everything was so peaceful.
"Don't worry, there will be a child, there will definitely be a child."
"Your Majesty..."
Qin Mu gently kissed Dong Xiaowan's jade-like neck and earlobes from behind, making her body so limp that she could only support herself on the window with her arms.
There is not a breath of wind in the warm room, the smoke from the stove curls up lightly, like a dream; the carved red lacquer baby playing on the antique shelf, the fragrance of calligraphy and painting lingers. The sandalwood screen depicting mandarin ducks playing in the water, a season of leisure.
Qin Mu embraced two beautiful women, enjoying a moment of warmth in front of the window on this winter day.
Li Xiangjun, who was eager to have a child, squatted down and blew the jade flute again with her small cherry mouth. Dong Xiaowan led his hands to her chest...
Qin Mu was a little surprised by the initiative of the two women. Their methods of serving men were not comparable to those of ordinary women, and soon Qin Mu could not stop. After a while, Li Xiangjun stood up and lifted up Dong Xiaowan's palace skirt. Dong Xiaowan bent down and lay on the windowsill. There was a touch of snow under the palace skirt... ..
Outside the window, the plum blossoms cast slanting shadows, and their subtle fragrance floats in the air... ... ... .
In Pingkangfang, on Cui Shihong's vacant land, several large-scale reinforced concrete buildings have been built to the fifth floor and are more than four meters high.
As the end of the year approaches, hundreds of craftsmen are still busy at the construction site, attracting a large number of Chang'an citizens to watch every day. Baskets of mixed concrete are lifted up by high cranes, and the sound of horns can be heard one after another.
A shop selling stoves next to the construction site is doing a booming business. This stove is different from the old ones. It looks like a bucket made of sheet iron on the outside, with red mud inside. It is specially used for burning honeycomb coal.
Huangling County is about 300 miles away from Chang'an. There are a large number of coal mines in the area. They were mined in the Tang, Song and Ming dynasties, but the mining intensity was not large. In addition, the original coal blocks were not easy to ignite, so people were unwilling to use them. This was also the reason that restricted coal mining in Huangling County.
Since the emperor issued an edict prohibiting deforestation, the coal mines in Huangling County have also increased their mining efforts. During the winter when farmers are not busy, many people go to the mines to dig and transport coal, and earn a good income from it.
Now a large amount of coal is transported from Huangling County every day and then processed into honeycomb briquettes. Because honeycomb briquettes are easy to ignite, flame-resistant, and more economical than burning firewood, the people are happy to accept them.
In addition to Huangling County, Mian County in Hanzhong, Zichang County in northern Shaanxi, Long County in Dongpi of Longshan Mountain, Tianshui and other places have also begun to vigorously mine coal.
This not only rapidly increased coal production, but also provided many employment opportunities for young and strong people during the slack season, and gave county governments an additional way to make money.
An industry is quietly rising, all because of a decision made by the emperor.
It is said that officials in Xijing are planning to build asphalt roads to major coal mining areas. The imperial court is also planning to build an asphalt road from Chengdu to Chang'an to connect the Chengdu Plain with the Guanzhong Plain.
If this trunk road is really started, it will definitely bring more job opportunities to the people along the way.
The Chengdu Plain was the granary of the Qin State during the Warring States Period. Connecting the Chengdu Plain with the Guanzhong Plain was of great strategic significance.
It will not only change Sichuan's independent structure, but also play an immeasurable role in stabilizing the northwestern border by connecting the granaries of the four states with the Guanzhong arsenal.
*******(To be continued...)
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