At some point, the snow started to fall, getting heavier and heavier.
There was a thick layer of snow on the ground, and it was even a foot thick on the roof of the shop in the distance. The wind was blowing, and it was bitingly cold. Even though it was daytime, the number of pedestrians on the road gradually became less and less. It was no longer morning, and there was also the sound of the night watch. Voice.
At this time, the system learned from the Tang Dynasty now has a new meaning, reminding the people of Ping An Jing how far they are from the dangerous night.
"Everyone, it's getting colder and colder. Drink some warm wine to make sure the heat is moderate." The wine vendor shouted.
"Hey, hey, boss, let's have a bowl." A warrior shouted, wearing a long sword: "Although I can drink a liter, I have to go back early!"
"Who doesn't go back early? Even if there are more than five nobles, they only dare to ride on an ox cart when it's just dark, right?" Someone said casually.
"Yes, it is said that it was not like this a hundred years ago." Someone else agreed, and suddenly stopped talking, watching Pei Ziyun pass by.
It was quiet in front of the liquor vendor. Although the boy in front of him looked like a samurai, his clothes were clean and tidy, so he was no ordinary samurai.
"Perhaps he is a samurai from the noble family?"
During this period, the emperor supported the Taira family, and although the Minamoto family was derived from one of the surnames given to the emperor's son when he was reduced to a ministerial status, he defected to the Fujiwara family and fought against the emperor.
Both the emperor and his powerful ministers used samurai as pawns, and the samurai gradually rose through the ranks.
Pei Ziyun pondered: "The warrior just now was probably contaminated by demons and ghosts. Although he was killed for this reason, it was somewhat innocent, but it would not have happened if he did not kill him."
"As soon as I arrived in Ping An Jing, there were provocations from demons and ghosts one after another, and these kinds of things came. Could it be that they were just trying to provoke a fight between me and Ping An Jing?"
Yes, Pei Ziyun had already guessed the reason why the other party did this.
It was not a useless provocation or test. The other party probably wanted to stir up conflict and hatred between himself and the nobles of Heianjing, making him completely mired in it like a quagmire and unable to extricate himself.
In response, he smiled contemptuously: "Do you really think that this kind of thing can make me confused? If I change my mind, what can you do to me?"
Thinking like this, he sped up his feet and soon appeared in front of a mansion. With just a smile, he turned over and disappeared into the falling snow.
The two lines of footprints were quickly covered by falling snow, leaving no trace.
"It's so cold!" The driver, who was driving the bullock cart back to the Prince's Mansion at dusk, rubbed his hands and exhaled, accompanied by low-pitched complaints that appeared from time to time on the road.
The crunching snow, being rolled over by the wheels, made a tooth-piercing sound.
The oxen pulling the cart in front were not afraid of the cold. They took a neither fast nor slow pace and pulled the cart steadily.
The coachman was sincerely envious of the prince sitting in the car. How happy it would be if he could have a house that was not blown by the wind and snow for him to keep warm!
But looking at the poor people who occasionally died on the roadside, I couldn't help but feel happy.
In Heian Jingli, a person like me who can serve the ministers is not as good as someone with an official position, or even as respectable as a samurai, but he will not die quietly in this cold winter.
Being alive may be the greatest happiness.
As the ox cart drove along, the prince's palace appeared in front of him. Not only the driver who drove the cart breathed a sigh of relief, but the warriors who were wary of the surroundings also breathed a sigh of relief.
"His Royal Highness is busy with the official stage. Even though we have to work hard, we will fight to the death, but because of that woman, every night is suffering..." Some people couldn't bear to complain.
"Stop talking!" Someone patted the scabbard and then fell silent. They were not coachmen, but most of them were warriors attached to the prince. They had fields and servants at home. Going out in this weather was also a kind of torture.
But he didn't dare to complain because he respected the prince. In his heart, he complained that it was Izumi Shikibu who was restless and seducing the prince.
Although the extramarital affair between Prince Izun and Izumi Shikibu is hidden from the outside world, there are many people who know the inside story.
Although the princess and the prince have no children, their adopted son, Fujiwara Yoshiyuki, is a child of the Fujiwara family. When the adopted son takes power in the future, he will definitely favor his adoptive mother.
"I'm afraid I wouldn't say anything even if I knew it now, but every time I think about these things, I feel embarrassed."
"By then..."
Hey, these warriors are really on tenterhooks!
"Are you here?" When the oxcart stopped, the curtain was raised, and Prince Weizun took a look, but there was no joy on his face.
This look, rather than returning home, is like returning to a comfortable but depressing prison.
But no matter how caged it is, it is more comfortable than staying in an oxcart in this bitterly cold weather.
Although he had an ox cart, the prince also felt cold. When he leaned out and was blown by the cold wind, he immediately shivered.
"Have someone open the door!" The prince said in a deep voice, feeling a little dissatisfied.
After he went out, Ju Zhen closed the door of his own mansion, not considering how much he wanted to return to a warm room immediately after coming back in such a weather.
How could such a mansion, such a princess, and such a group of servants make his heart settle down and not look for warmth outside
Although the prince also knew that his thoughts were just to vent his anger and vent his long-standing dissatisfaction.
The door of the mansion is closed tightly. This is because in recent years, there has been unrest in Ping An. If the door is not closed tightly and the male master is not at home, it will be a big disaster if a ghost is causing trouble!
But when I feel unhappy, I don’t like anything I see.
When a servant heard the call and opened the door, the prince came in surrounded by people. Looking at the cleaned path, he felt a new sense of dissatisfaction.
“Even the snow on both sides of the road has been cleared away, it’s really unattractive!”
But I thought that although I went to the Danzhengtai for a while, I just returned from my lover's house last night. No matter how depressed I was, I couldn't break out after entering the palace, lest there be news that he and the princess were not getting along. The Fujiwara family was so powerful that the prince could only endure it. He said what he wanted to say and walked towards his courtyard.
"Prince, don't you go and see the princess?" A female official who greeted the return reminded: "The princess was in a bad mood last night and had a nightmare. When she woke up, she even asked you."
The prince hesitated for a moment, thinking of the embarrassment that every time he met the other party, when both parties wanted to talk but had nothing to say, he shook his head: "No, I'm a little tired and want to take a rest."
The prince had said so, so what could the female officer do? She sighed and left with a sad face.
In the prince's courtyard, the charcoal fire was burning brightly, and the house was as warm as spring.
The prince sat in front of him, holding his chin and looking out the window in a daze. Thinking of the happiness he had with Izumi Shikibu last night, he felt sad in his heart.
The prince entered the Yuan Dynasty at the age of twelve and was awarded the fourth rank by the prince. Later, he was promoted to the second rank. He accepted Fujiwara Iyin's nine daughters as concubines. However, there was no child between them. Due to pressure, they had an adopted son, Fujiwara Yoshiyuki.
Although many Japanese people don't care too much about whether the heir is their own blood, and they care more about inheritance, they don't have a child, not even a daughter. This kind of frustration has come from self-doubt, not simply It is an extravagant wish for future generations.
"Fujiwara Ryōsuke, I believe he can also raise an excellent man."
"But in all these years of getting married, I have never had a son or a daughter. Even I sometimes wonder if I did something that disgusted the gods, which led to this result."
"Hateful!" The prince sighed again, and even couldn't help but punch the ground beside him: "Am I infertile, or is the princess infertile?"
"If I am infertile, I will have no choice but to bear the punishment of angering the gods and not being able to give birth to an heir. But if the princess is infertile, why should I bear the criticism from people behind my back?"
The prince even thought about Izumi Shikibu. The other party had already given birth to a child, which meant that there was no problem with Izumi Shikibu's body. If the other party could give birth to a child for him, would it mean that there was no problem with his body
Even though you are a prince, you can't accept the fact that you are a useless person.
Just thinking about it, I don't know when the sky was getting dark. At this time, the female officer and a group of maids brought sumptuous dishes. When they arrived at the yard, the branches shook and snow fell, hitting the female officer. She With a sound, he adjusted his hair and clothes in annoyance, then raised his head with a red light in his eyes.
The maid came into the room to add fuel to the stove and serve wine. The prince was a little irritated: "Who asked you to bring the wine? Don't take matters into your own hands if I didn't tell you anything!"
The female officer responded, bowed her hands on the ground and apologized, then raised her head, staring at the prince with a pair of clear eyes. Seeing that it was her, the prince had no choice but to look away and asked: "Xiaojiao, why are you here?"
From the very beginning, during the Asuka period, Japanese female officials were in the habit of presenting their daughters to the emperor as a kind of hostage. Later, it evolved that non-noble women could not be female officials.
There are many female officials in the imperial palace. In fact, there are also those in the Prince's Palace, the Prince's Palace, and the Taizheng and Taichen families (Note 1). They are all served by ladies from noble families. Of course, they should not be too mean to the female officials.
"Your Highness, the snow is heavy. The princess ordered the cleaning, and also asked me to serve your highness." As she said this, she poured the wine. According to the rules, even the prince was not allowed to say anything about the distribution of the inner courtyard (Note 2), although she felt that It's a bit strange, but there is nothing wrong with this statement. The prince is also a little hungry, so he doesn't care about it. He picks up the wine cup and is about to drink. Someone outside the room suddenly laughs and says: "If it were me, I wouldn't drink." .”
"who?!"
This sound startled the prince. He immediately put down his wine cup, stood up and looked outside. At the same time, he tried to step back, but it was too late. The man jumped from the roof and landed in front of the door.
Even though they had only met once, the prince immediately recognized the other person's identity: "You are Yamada Shinichi!"
The person who came was none other than the young samurai I met in Izumi Shikibu!
This man is handsome. Anyone who has seen him once will never forget him easily. But how could this man suddenly appear in his prince's palace
What is the other party doing? Did he come to trouble him in order to avenge his master Tachibana Dozhen for taking his wife
The prince's expression changed drastically, and he immediately called for the warrior.
Although the imperial court was showing signs of decline at this time, as a second-grade prince, there were still many warriors in the prince's palace. Just as he was about to speak out, he saw Yamada Shinichi's hand touching the handle of the sword at his waist.
A chill hit his heart, and the prince was afraid. He took a step back and tried to calm down: "What do you mean? Do you want to cause big trouble for Ju Daozhen?"
"Hush! Let's watch a good show first." The other party gave him a teasing look, and then his eyes fell on the female officer who looked scared and trembling all over.
Note 1: The famous Murasaki Shikibu once served as the female official of Fujiwara Michinaga.
Note 2: Men are not allowed to ask too many questions about the power of management of the inner court. This is due to the marriage system of the Heian period. The details will be a long discussion, so I won’t go into details.
(End of chapter)