The palace maid, Tong Qing'e, stayed in the Dongnuan Pavilion to serve the emperor. She quickly spread the quilt and helped the emperor change into his sleeping clothes.
Han Ruzi had long been used to being at the mercy of his servants, and cooperated with him, thinking wildly in his mind. The Queen Mother, Donghai Wang, Meng E, Yang Feng and others took turns to appear, not giving him any free time, so that it took a while to find Tong Qing'e still standing beside the bed. , but he has already changed into his small clothes, and he is just waiting to lie down and sleep, and there is no need for others to serve him.
"Is there anything else?" Han Ruzi asked politely, but he thought that there must be many palace maids with "E" in their names, and Meng E and Meng Che might be pseudonyms.
Tong Qing'e blushed inexplicably, and said softly, "Serve Your Majesty and go to bed."
Han Ruzi had never seen a palace maid so shy as her, smiled and said, "You have already served."
"Well." Tong Qing'e didn't move.
"Is this the first time you have served others?" Han Ruzi was very willing to chat with people, but he was not willing to ask for it before. Those eunuchs and palace maids ran faster than each other, and no one wanted to stay by the emperor's side. This was the first This time someone refused to leave after finishing their work.
Tong Qing'e nodded and shook her head, "This is the first time for a slave... to serve Your Majesty."
"I don't have any special requirements, so that's fine. The other waiters usually sleep on the couch over there. If you think it's too small, you can go to another room to sleep. I sleep deeply at night and never call anyone." Ruzi wished that there were no outsiders in his bedroom.
Tong Qing'e's face turned redder, and her voice became lower, "I can... I can... sleep in Your Majesty's bed."
Han Ruzi turned his head and glanced at his bed. It was a very large canopy bed, which could almost be used as a small room, but it seemed a bit too much for a palace maid to make such a request. Han Ruzi thought for a while and asked. : "You're not used to couchettes?"
Tong Qing'e bowed her head and said nothing.
"Yes, that chair is very small. I have to curl up when I lie down, and it will be even smaller when you fall asleep."
Tong Qing'e was five or six years older than the thirteen-year-old emperor, half a head taller, slightly plump, and indeed took up more of the bed.
"Okay, you sleep in my bed." Han Ruzi agreed, he has never been bossy to any servants since he was a child, and even more so when he entered the palace, "But don't tell anyone, you know, the palace is strictly controlled, If you are found to be unruly, you are likely to be punished."
Han Ruzi still remembered the two eunuchs who were beaten badly just because they didn't see the emperor secretly write a letter.
Tong Qing'e nodded lightly and sat slowly beside the emperor, so close to him that she could almost hear each other's breathing.
"Then take a rest, get a good night's sleep." Han Ruzi stood up, smiled at Tong Qing'e, walked to the table, blew out the candles, went to the couch in the dark, and lay on it, where the maids had already prepared A good little pillow and thin quilt, the weather is not too cold, and the cover is just right.
"Your Majesty..." Tong Qing'e's surprised and confused voice came from the big bed.
"You sleep on my bed, and I sleep on the couch. It doesn't matter. The bed I used to sleep in was not much bigger than the couch, and I'm really not used to sleeping in a big bed. Oh, remember to wake me up early tomorrow, so we can change it so that I don't get caught. People found out." Han Ruzi rolled over and fell asleep, thinking that this is really a strange palace maid, but it is a good thing to be willing to speak and even dare to ask the emperor.
Soon, he began to think about other things. Is it "retire after success", or "why not to leave after success"? Is there such a precedent for continuing to use the title of the previous emperor? After thinking about it a lot, he always felt that the word "success" seemed a bit ominous.
Then he fell asleep. He thought that Meng E would wake him up in the middle of the night, but he slept until the early morning of the next day. The palace maid, Tong Qing’e, woke the emperor up, served him dressing, and then notified the little eunuch outside.
Han Ruzi found a strange thing, Tong Qing'e's expression seemed to be a little depressed, not only not grateful for the emperor's move to let the bed, but also seemed disappointed.
There were too many people around, and Han Ruzi couldn't ask any questions. He just felt that this palace maid was even stranger and harder to please than Meng E. If he wasn't afraid of involving her, he should have asked Yang Feng what was going on.
Yang Feng didn't show up at all today. He usually escorted the emperor to greet the empress dowager first, and sometimes he would send the emperor to Lingyun Pavilion to listen to a lecture, and then he went to work on other things. Today, he disappeared, leaving the emperor completely to Shangguan. Queen concubine.
When they went to Lingyun Pavilion after breakfast, Yang Feng still did not appear. In the imperial garden, the number of honorable and noble servants who joined the emperor suddenly increased from fifteen to sixteen to nearly fifty, lined up in several rows. Guided, bow respectfully to the emperor.
There were as many as four or five hundred servants of the emperor, and most of them could not see the emperor himself. Before, the empress dowager selected fifteen or sixteen teenagers of the same age as the emperor to enter the imperial garden. Next year, several of them had their noses pierced and their eyes pierced, much like princes from a distant country.
The strange feeling deepened in Han Ruzi's heart. He could clearly feel that these attendants were more awe-inspiring than usual. Although there were many people, they were silent when they bowed down.
Correspondingly, the number of eunuchs and bodyguards escorting the emperor also increased to more than 100, and the Yong Road in the Imperial Garden was a bit crowded.
"Where is Duke Yang?" Han Ruzi couldn't help but ask Zuo Ji next to him.
Zuo Ji didn't always smile as usual, and replied in a low voice: "Yang Gong was entrusted by the Queen Mother and went out of Beijing."
Han Ruzi was taken aback and stopped, and the long line behind him also hurriedly stopped.
"Out of Beijing? Where did you go?" Han Ruzi felt like he had been abandoned. Without Yang Feng, he was a little overwhelmed.
Zuo Ji was also taken aback and regretted that he was talking too much, but he couldn't take back his words, so he had to say: "The Queen Mother recruited envoys to go to the various vassal states in Kanto to pass the imperial decree, Yang Gong responded to the edict and set off last night with the Right Inspector Censor Shen. "
Han Ruzi was even more surprised. He turned around and glanced at the King of the East Sea, and found that he was as surprised as himself. It was obviously decided by Yang Feng to leave the capital late yesterday.
"What imperial edict?" Han Ruzi asked.
Zuo Ji became more and more embarrassed. The emperor did not know the will he issued. The decree was sent to the world, ordering the vassal states to send troops immediately to attack the rebels and Qi together..."
"I see." Han Ruzi stepped forward. He helped the Queen Mother a lot. If he could defeat King Qi, the advantages would outweigh the disadvantages, but he really hoped that Yang Feng could be by his side at this moment and give some pointers.
Today's lecture is Luo Huanzhang, and even he seems to be a little more polite, but he did not ask the emperor to ask a question, and started the lecture directly: "The war in Kanto is not over yet, the Caomin tell Your Majesty about the last feudal rebellion."
During the reign of Emperor Lie, the great ancestor of Han Ruzi and the grandfather of Emperor Wu, there was a rebellion of the princes in Da Chu, which was even bigger than this time. There were five vassal states and seventeen counties participating.
For a time, Emperor Lie was terrified, and even made plans to move the capital to the south, but the war only lasted less than four months. The battle, the feudal army fell apart. The Chu army took advantage of the situation to launch a decisive battle and won in one fell swoop.
After the war, Emperor Lie took the opportunity to cut down the vassal, and the territory of the vassal states has shrunk since then, and the current state of Qi is only half the size of the original.
Han Ruzi put his mind away, listened carefully, and asked, "The army of the lords collapsed after a single blow. Is it because the lords and kings did not practice the way of benevolence and righteousness?"
The King of the East Sea snickered, Luo Huanzhang gave him a stern look, and the King of the East Sea immediately lowered his head and concentrated on reading.
"At that time, the five princes, Wang Lixian and corporals, reduced rents, respected the old and raised the young, can be regarded as the way of benevolence and righteousness."
"Then why is there nowhere to run after the defeat?"
"For example, there is a sword, a strong man wields a sword, and one fights ten, a child wields a sword, and hurts himself. Benevolence and righteousness are the sharp tools of the world. If a man can do it, it will benefit the village. If a prince can do it, it will benefit a country. The benevolence and righteousness of the five princes is not as good as the benevolence and righteousness of the Lie Emperor, and defeat and death are inevitable. Your Majesty occupies the supreme position, benevolence and righteousness to His Majesty, just like a sword to a martyr, a good saddle to a horse, they complement each other, and the benefits are indescribable. "
Han Ruzi felt that Luo Huanzhang was also a little pedantic, and suddenly felt a sharp gaze, turned his head to look, the East Sea King had already lowered his head. Han Ruzi understood something, and then looked at the two eunuchs at the door. They didn't understand anything and were standing there in a daze.
Luo Huanzhang was the first foreign minister to take the initiative to contact the emperor. Although his words were quite secretive, Han Ruzi still understood.
He didn't know how to respond.
Luo Huanzhang did not try any further, and what he told next was all about the past of Emperor Lie's removal of the five kings.
The morning class was shorter than usual, and there was still more than half an hour before noon. Zuo Ji came in and asked the emperor to move him.
Han Ruzi came to the Qinzheng Palace again. From this day on, he would take time out every morning to sit in the Qinzheng Palace for a while and watch the ministers handle government affairs. He knew his status, and the abnormally large number of eunuchs around him always reminded him of this, so he never talked much, just watched and listened.
At least this is better than being trapped in the palace and knowing nothing. He can learn a little about the progress of the war in Kanto, the deployment of troops across the country, and the customs of the county.
But on this day, he couldn't figure out the specific whereabouts of Yang Feng and when he would be able to return.
The martial arts in the afternoon were as usual, Meng Che became more and more pedantic, talking more and doing less, occasionally striking a punch and a sword, it was enough to surprise the emperor and his servants.
For the first time, Han Ruzi felt that the emperor's life was busy, but unfortunately this busyness was just an illusion, and he gained very little from it. Until this night, there was only one thing that he needed to do by himself, and he couldn't let outsiders do it for him.
At that time, he was very tired. After washing and changing his clothes, he just wanted to go to bed quickly. As for whether it was a bed or a couch, he didn't care.
The maid serving him was still Tong Qing'e, her face was still very red, but her smile was not the same as last night, and the words she said were even more incredible, "Your Majesty is about to get married, aren't you interested in the way of husband and wife?"
Han Ruzi's first thought was to think of Luo Huanzhang's "the way of benevolence and righteousness".