The Shangyuan Festival is a day of universal celebration, and the people of Tongzhou also stay up all night, enjoying the first carnival festival in the new year.
Compared with the Shangyuan Festival in Jinling, the most different thing here is that there are all kinds of ice lanterns to appreciate. The ice lanterns are carefully crafted by skilled craftsmen, with built-in lights, crystal clear like crystal palaces, wandering among them, with a unique style.
However, in a remote and quiet independent courtyard in Tongzhou Station, it is completely different from the joyous and festive atmosphere of the entire Tongzhou City. Dim dim light.
This courtyard is not small. The buildings in the north are not as exquisite as those in the south, but they are generally much larger. There seem to be a lot of people living in this courtyard, and there are faint lights from many windows. There seem to be two people standing under the lamp at the entrance of the courtyard. There are two soldiers standing there like guns, motionless, if you don't pay attention, you can't even notice their existence.
But the atmosphere in the courtyard was really depressing. Occasionally someone walked by in the courtyard, quietly, like a ray of ghost floating under the pale and dim light. Everyone moved lightly, as if a little louder would break the rare calm in this courtyard.
In the northernmost corner of the west wing, there is a small room from the next door. The walls are very thin, and the door is made of some thin wooden boards. Such door boards have many gaps that are invisible to the naked eye. Make the whole room as cold as ice.
This is a barn, at least in winter, it is uninhabitable. However, it is winter now, and there is really a person living in the woodshed. There is a small stove pit on the ground in the room, the fire is not strong, a small bundle of firewood is piled up in the corner, there is no charcoal, if you don't use it sparingly, the firewood can be burned without waiting for dawn.
A girl curled up tightly next to the stove, greedily absorbing the faint warmth from the stove, the cold breath is everywhere, and from time to time, there will be a whirlwind that will bring the cold winter breath in through the cracks in the door and the wall , her body was freezing cold.
The hands and feet near the stove were warmer, but it also made her hands and feet with frostbite itchy. She had to stamp her feet and rub her hands from time to time to temporarily dispel the deep itching. There was a dull pain, and her delicate eyebrows twitched because of this, which made people feel pitiful.
This woman is exactly Xue Shuiwu. During this grand festival celebrated by the whole world, she curled up alone in this small firewood hut, snuggling up to a small stove to keep out the cold. Until now, regarding her bizarre encounter, she still seemed to be having a ridiculous dream, completely unable to understand what happened.
Once, she had a young lady to rely on, parents to rely on, an unmarried husband-in-law to look forward to, and the responsibility of raising a young lady to make her strong, but all of these are gone now, she is like a piece of duckweed drifting with the tide, blown by a gust of wind Even if a piece of water flows through, she can only let it be manipulated without any resistance.
Ever since she was a child, she has always been a little servant girl who was dependent on others, not to mention that Zhang Jiangling was such an unattainable big shot, so she resigned to her fate, and she obeyed the arrangement of fate, and was sent to the capital by Qi Shuai.
She remembered that that day, she took a bath, put on fresh clothes, and sat quietly by the couch, like a weak little flower, waiting to be picked up by a strong man, and kept in her boudoir ever since, but suddenly there was a sudden rush of her outside. Enter a panicked old housekeeper.
I don't know what made the old butler's face pale like a sheet of paper. The old butler didn't explain anything to her, but he ordered her to be taken away immediately, and sent to a car surrounded by hanging curtains. The car was in a hurry, and when she got out of the car, she was already in a courtyard house that seemed to have been unoccupied for a long time.
From that moment on, she was imprisoned in the courtyard. Shui Wu could see that the people guarding her were in a constant state of panic, but they didn't understand what they were afraid of at all. After that, her treatment became worse and worse, and the attitude of her guards became worse and worse, sometimes calling her a broomstick.
She didn't know what happened. She thought that when she arrived in the capital, she would live in a quiet and isolated world, and she would only see the sky above her head forever. Now it seemed to be the same as her imagination, but And completely different.
Until one day, she saw a few mysterious people appearing in front of her eyes. Those people were obviously Qi Shuai's soldiers who sent her from Jizhen to the capital. Shui Wu still didn't know what happened. She was sent to a sealed car and left the corner of the sky where she was confined. When she got out of the car again, she was already here.
Only then did she vaguely hear that Lord Shoufu died of illness. Shui Wu could basically imagine that Zhang Shoufu probably died suddenly when she was sent to the mansion. Although she didn't understand what it had to do with her being a weak and innocent little woman, everyone regarded her as a plague.
It was getting colder and colder, and the cold wind was everywhere, and her body was almost frozen. She also eats little, and she gets very little food now. Those soldiers who used to treat her very politely and warmly now look at her with cold eyes, colder than the biting cold wind. At this time, her body is cold. , Cold in the belly, colder in the heart.
"Maybe, I'm really a broom star."
Shui Wu laughed at herself and thought: "I was a maid, but my master was dismissed from office; I married my young lady, but my uncle was arrested; after going through all kinds of hardships, I finally returned to my hometown, but my father died inexplicably. I went to Guiyang with my mother, Soon my mother was crushed to death by a rock...
After finally meeting Hong Dashan, with his help, he was sent to Qi Shuai, but was treated coldly and guarded by Mrs. Qi. When she arrived in the capital, she thought that there would be an unattainable mountain to rest her exhausted body and mind, but the mountain also collapsed with a bang. "
"Brother Xiaotian..." Shui Wu remembered the long-lost name: "Brother Xiaotian is blessed and blessed, so God let him leave me, an ominous woman..."
Shui Wu laughed at herself, but her cheeks were almost frozen, and she could hardly smile. She raised her hands that were red from the cold, and gently rubbed her frozen cheeks: "I'm obviously being raped by Qi Shuai now." Qi Shuai has fought many battles, a generation of outstanding men, there are not many strong men who died in his hands, so they should not be implicated by me."
A gust of cold wind swirled into the woodshed, Shui Wu shivered and curled up a little more. On the Lantern Festival, this cold winter night, when the people all over the world are celebrating the festival and jumping with joy, the only thing that can warm her up is the faint light of the fire in the kitchen...
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In the main room of the courtyard, a lamp is like a bean. The two sat opposite each other under the lamp, their expressions gloomy. The light was extremely low, and could only shine on the mouths of the two, one had a white face and the other had a gray beard under his chin.
The pale and beardless man whispered: "Qi Shaobao, the situation is very bad now. Many people who usually treat Mr. Taiyue with respect and flattery are now attacking Mr. Taiyue with all means!"
It turned out that the person opposite him was Qi Jiguang, Qi Shaobao was silent for a moment, and said in a low voice: "I have served as the general of Jizhen for more than ten years, but now I was suddenly transferred to Guangzhou, is it also because of this reason?"
The man on the opposite side sneered and said: "There are a lot of people who are falling into trouble now. Some people impeach you and say that even if it is midnight, as long as your letter arrives, Mr. Taiyue will open the middle door to meet you. , It is not the blessing of the imperial court, and I may be suspected of treason.
But Shaobao's merits are in the country, and the whole world knows, how can the imperial court act rashly. Therefore, someone figured out what was going on, saying that you had made great achievements in Fujian and Zhejiang, and you should be transferred to the south to show your strengths. That's why His Majesty decreed that you be transferred to the General Army of Guangzhou. "
Rao Qi Jiguang was as determined as iron, and when he heard this, his gray beard trembled slightly, "Although this crime is based on speculation, it is enough for the emperor to put him to death. Can all the efforts of the sky keep him safe? Yue Fei, Yu Qian, who did not make great contributions, and who has a good death?"
His crisis comes from the court's liquidation of Zhang Juzheng, so the biggest key is what the emperor thinks. Thinking of this, Qi Jiguang said slowly: "There is nothing to be afraid of being criticized by a hundred officials. I just don't know what your majesty thinks about Mr. Taiyue?"
The white-faced and beardless man said angrily: "What else can I think? Three people become tigers! Now every day, people are suing Mr. Taiyue for black complaints. Some people took Mr. Taiyue back to his hometown to visit his relatives, and went to him in a sedan chair carried by thirty-two. After going to bed in the back of the house, there are two verandahs next to it and told His Majesty that such a big sedan chair is no different from the emperor's chariot.
Some people also said that along the way, officials from all over the country flattered and flattered, and each meal had more than a hundred dishes of water and land delicacies. Mr. Taiyue still felt that there was nothing suitable for him, and there were beauties from all over the place. What does His Majesty say? "
Qi Jiguang's lips were pursed into a resolute arc, he was silent for a while, and then slowly said: "How do you say?"
The person with a white face and no beard said: "Your Majesty was furious and scolded: "In the first year of Wanli, I ascended the throne, and it is suitable for the Spring Festival. Even the common people have a big banquet to celebrate the new year, but you Zhang Jiangling only asked me to add a few things. Fruits do the work, and they keep saying that saving is for the people!
I went back to the palace after returning to the court, but I just summoned two maids to sing and dance for entertainment. You Zhang Jiangling asked me to issue a "crime order" to criticize the world, but yourself... hello! Hello! What a disagreement, Master Zhang who is stricter than the law and more lenient than himself! "
This man imitated the emperor's speech, and even his tone of voice was vivid. It is impossible for the emperor's angry words to be announced to the outside world. Those who can know about this matter, or even hear these words with their own ears, can only be in the palace. In this way, the identity of this white-faced and beardless person is ready to be revealed. He is from the palace.
Qi Jiguang's lips trembled, and he said: "Your Majesty is too mean to Mr. Taiyue. No one is perfect. Mr. Taiyue cares about the world, cares about the country and the people, pays off the turbidity, removes the dirt and fades away the dirt, and works for the court. People. Throughout the ages, how many people can establish meritorious deeds like him
As for the better personal life, there is nothing wrong with it. Mr. Taiyue, as His Majesty's teacher, has strict requirements on His Majesty. It's not intentionally pretentious or hypocritical. It's just that as a teacher, he always has higher requirements for students, just like parents, even if they can't do it themselves, they still hope Your own children do better than yourself. "
The white-faced and beardless man sneered coldly: "Parents? In the whole world, there is no king! A courtier puts himself at the height of the emperor's parents. When this real dragon clearly realizes what he is in control of, How can you not see it as a great shame?"