He thought for a while and then said: "Thank you, Lord Kang, for your trust. But this matter is important, Lord Kang, please think twice."
Eunuch Kang chuckled: "I still can't trust you? I have served the officials for half my life, and I am cautious in the palace. I am wary of anyone I see. But I fell in love with you at first sight and treated you with sincerity. I am still thinking about it, and I will start making arrangements after returning to Beijing this time. If I can escape unscathed, I will go to your island and live happily with you. It’s good to be bad, and it’s good to be bad!”
His eyebrows were dancing with joy, and the King of Qin solemnly said: "Fortunately, I have the great love of Official Kang."
Eunuch Kang also said: "If the king does not give up, I would like to sworn brothers with the king. From then on, we will treat each other with sincerity and share weal and woe."
King Qin never dreamed that one day he would become a "brother" with a eunuch. He only felt that it was extremely awkward. Moreover, Eunuch Kang had a bad reputation and was one of the main targets of impeachment by the censors. However, he There was no distinction between loyalty and treachery, but when Eunuch Kang proposed it, he readily agreed: "Even if it is Grand Official Kang's good intention, why should I refuse?"
Eunuch Kang was overjoyed when he saw his carelessness. The two of them immediately took action. They ordered money made from scented wax paper, laid out water and wine, pledged their blood as an alliance, and bowed eight times to become "friends of eight worshippers."
After the sworn vows, the food and drinks ordered by Eunuch Kang were served, and a large table of delicacies from the mountains and seas was served. After three drinks, he was so drunk that he opened a large three-foot-square box next to him. and bribes from other civil and military generals.
"Your Majesty, please bring this box back to me first."
"no problem."
"But if I can get away with it, I will drink wine and eat meat with you every day. Wouldn't I be as happy as a god?"
"Hahaha, I welcome you very much."
The two of them drank wine and chatted with each other. During the chat, King Qin tactfully told the story about Yue Pengju and Hua Rong. Naturally, Eunuch Kang did not hear that he wanted to say good things for Yue Pengju, but in accordance with his intention, after returning to the capital, he Report to Zhao Deji.
It was already the end of July when Zhang Jun and others returned to the palace. Returning from the great victory shocked the government and the public. On this day, Zhao Deji was in high spirits and hosted a banquet for Zhang Jun, the chief minister of the dynasty, and a group of generals who came to Beijing to report on their duties. He was accompanied by three others. The censor, Zhao Deji, personally toasted to Zhang Jun: "Thank you for your hard work, my dear, for eliminating the water bandits in Dongting and eliminating the cancer of the country."
"This is all due to His Majesty's great kindness, and I dare not take credit for it."
"Yue Peng took the greatest credit for this great victory, but it's a pity that he never returned to Beijing to receive the reward."
"Lieutenant Yue suffered from an eye disease and had to stay in the field to rest. There was nothing we could do." Zhao Deji consoled him for a while and then announced the reward.
After the banquet, Zhao Deji left Zhang Jun to face him alone.
Zhao Deji asked: "How will the cabinet punish Aiqing when she returns to Beijing this time?"
There are now three censors, but these three are all warring factions. They have repeatedly written to Zhao Deji advocating the Northern Expedition. Although Zhang Jun is also a warring faction, he is disgusted with the toughness of these three people and has long thought of replacing them. When the official asked about it, he said: "These three people might as well make other arrangements. I think Qin Hui, who has recovered from his illness, has a lot to do..."
Zhao Deji has been arranging another peace talks in the past few days, and he wants to talk to the Jin people. If there is no one like Qin Hui in the DPRK, it will be inconvenient at all. He considered introducing Qin Hui, but due to various objections, he has been unable to find one. Having found a proper reason, when Zhang Jun took the initiative to mention it, he felt secretly happy, but kept his expression calmly: "Is Qin Hui suitable for it?"
"Qin Hui was able to maintain his integrity during the Jingkang catastrophe. He also returned from the Jin Kingdom. He was familiar with the hypocrisy of captives. Moreover, he was mature and prudent. He had a good reputation among the scholar-bureaucrats and was unmatched by other barking dogs. I also heard that he has been ill recently. Recover and relax at home..."
Zhao Deji nodded, but did not express his position clearly, only waiting for Zhang Jun to make a decision.
Zhang Jun and others retreated, and the palace servants helped Zhao Deji back to the study. Only then did Eunuch Kang come in: "Young man, I wish you all the best to see the official family."
Zhao Deji was delighted: "Get up and speak."
Eunuch Kang stood up, took a step forward, and said with a low voice, "Although Taiwei Yue has never taken a concubine this time, Mrs. Yue has run away from home?"
Zhao Deji sighed: "I had good intentions. Knowing that he and his wife were loyal, I couldn't bear the inevitability of the Yue family. I also knew that Rong'er was good in every way, but he was just jealous by nature, so that's why. Who knew it would be like this! Speaking of which, I It’s also for her own good.”
When Eunuch Kang heard his righteous words, he immediately flattered him and said, "The officials are kind and wise, but Mrs. Yue doesn't understand women's ethics. Your Majesty, how did Li Qiaoniang deal with it?"
"If that's the case, then leave it to her and talk about it later."
"yes."
Eunuch Kang added: "Young man, pay close attention along the way. Yue Pengju is really doing his best, being simple and simple, and running the army rigorously. Hua Rong followed him, and he also wore coarse clothes and had a simple meal. I heard some words from the army, saying that Hua Rong was early." I couldn't stand such a simple meal. There was a period of time before that, regardless of Yue Peng's orders, I had good food and clothing every day. Moreover, I disliked the crude food at home, and I didn't want to stay at home at all. I went to Tanzhou City to eat and drink every day, and had exquisite custom-made dishes. Because of this, she and Yue Pengju had many quarrels. So this time, she used the excuse that Yue Pengju took a concubine and ran away angrily. Although Yue Pengju never made it public, he knew a little bit about it... "
"Oh? In that case, you might as well announce a reward of 1,000 taels of silver to Rong'er. This Yue Pengju is real, how can he not let his wife live a good life for a few days?"
"The officials are benevolent."
Eunuch Kang retreated and before leaving, he saw the proud smile on the corner of the official's mouth. Others didn't know it, but he was like a mirror in his heart. Since the official's illness, although he had received Wang Jixian's "good medicine", his mind and actions were all different. There have been great changes. Especially for the only woman he could not get in his life, although he tried his best to show generosity, he always hid his jealousy that was not humane to outsiders. Especially when he faced the common beauties in the palace, he "doesn't raise a finger" "When the time came, the perverted desire in my heart became even stronger. I always thought that if it were her - the more she couldn't get it, the more she would want it!
This extremely subtle and despicable privacy cannot be experienced by outsiders, but the eunuchs who serve him at all times like Eunuch Kang can always figure it out, because they themselves are a very special group, and a man has become a eunuch. The desires in their hearts become perverted, so the eunuchs are either homosexual, pervertedly love money, or pervertedly enjoy torturing other palace maids.
He vaguely guessed that the officials had the same mentality, always hoping that something would go wrong between Hua Rong and Yue Pengju, and that they would never be allowed to live in love, and it would be best to end in tragedy. Moreover, the greater Yue Pengju's military achievements. , the more simply he behaves, the more suspicious Zhao Deji becomes of him.
On several occasions, Eunuch Kang even wanted to remind Yue Pengju and his wife, for the sake of "old friends", that they must ask officials for rewards. The more they asked for, the safer they would be. But he knew Yue Pengju's temperament, and he himself had never done so. Yue Peng gave a lot of bribes, thinking that his life and death had nothing to do with his family, so there would be no such thing. The reason why Hua Rong "gradually pays attention to food and clothing" today is because he got a hint from the King of Qin.
Sure enough, when Zhao Deji heard this, he felt a little proud and said to himself: "I have seen countless women, and even women with three virtues and nine strong qualities will lose their patience over time. It is human nature to like glory and wealth. How can Rong'er be an exception? In her early years, she was naive and thought that as long as she liked someone, she could live like that for the rest of her life. However, how could she live a lifetime if she could only live for a while? One hundred taels of gold, one hundred pieces of brocade, and thirty sets of new clothes."
"yes."
Hua Rong stayed in Donglin Temple for more than a month, chanting sutras and worshiping Buddha in the morning and evening, and his tired body and mind calmed down day by day. During these days, Ruda had invited two or three elderly people one after another, saying they were here to meditate and taste tea. Hua Rong After drinking tea and discussing Taoism with them, we found that without exception, these people were all well-known local doctors. They used various euphemistic excuses to diagnose and treat Hua Rong, and they all said that she had no abnormality and was completely healthy.
After doing this several times, Hua Rong has completely understood Luda's painstaking efforts. She no longer plans to be cured, and she no longer holds any hope for childbirth. She only thinks that if she completely breaks up with Pengju, she will never have another child in the future. If you want to get married again, it doesn't matter whether you have children or not.
After she expressed this tactfully, Luda became cheerful and stopped seeking medical advice. Hua Rong breathed a sigh of relief.
It rained heavily that day and it was inconvenient to go out, so she stayed alone in the west wing, listening to the storm outside. The rain became heavier and heavier. She slowly walked to the window and opened it. The wind and rain immediately drifted in. She stretched out her hand , big raindrops splashed on the palm of my hand, making the palm of my hand hurt.
The pain and loneliness that had been hidden for a long time came to the bottom of my heart like a poisonous snake. According to the schedule, Pengju must have ended the Battle of Dongting long ago. However, for so long, he had no news and never came to find him. Could he really be immersed in Will Li Qiaoniang never come looking for me again in her beauty and gentleness? It was obvious that he had taken the initiative to leave, but deep down he felt unwilling and resentful, as if he had been severely abandoned.
She closed the window, ignored her half-wet sleeves, and returned to the bedside to sit down blankly.
There was a big bundle on the table, which was just some simple clothes that she had brought with her when she ran away. She opened it, and there were bunches of gold leaves inside, which were yellow and bright and looked very pleasing to the eye. This big bunch of gold leaves was also the one she used when she was crying on the ground. , King Qin put it in quietly. She found the gold leaves after finding the medicine bottle and went on the road. She couldn't return it to King Qin, so she took it with her all the way. But here, there is no use at all.
She took out a bunch of gold leaves and threw them one by one at the window like a dart. Each one hit the window and made a crisp sound. Soon, a row of yellow leaves fell on the ground.
She was so depressed that she jumped out of bed, ran over, and stepped on the gold leaves with her feet. The faces of Yue Pengju and King Qin appeared in front of her eyes, but she felt that these two people were extremely annoying. While trampling on them, she cursed: "Tread to death." You guys, I'll trample you to death..." It was as if the golden leaves on the ground were the heads of the two of them.
Yue Pengju was able to travel day and night at first, but later, his eye disease became more and more severe and he could not see the light at all. He had no choice but to rest during the day and travel at night.