Five days passed in a flash, and the emperor's carriage finally arrived at the villa north of Beijing.
The terrain where the villa is located is very high. The pavilions are built against the mountain and the waterside pavilions are set around the lake. Duan Changchuan's residence is located halfway up the mountain.
The mountain road is wide and can accommodate vehicles and horses, and the temperature is just cool enough, making it the most comfortable location in the entire villa.
The emperor's bedroom is entirely paved with jade. As you enter the door, a cool breeze hits you in the face.
The young man sat on the couch comfortably and took the memorial presented by the minister and started reading it.
In the summer, the rich land of fish and rice was in the midst of a bumper harvest, and the ministers' letters of greeting were all filled with joy. The plague in the Huainan area was already coming to an end, and the flood issue was under the jurisdiction of the newly promoted number one scholar, which was also reassuring, so he was also in a very relaxed mood.
When Duan Changchuan saw the memorial he wanted to reply, he would reply with a few words: I am very well.
If you don’t want to return it, just put it back.
Now that she was pregnant, she was easily tired, so she did not trouble herself with these trivial matters.
"Your Majesty, the imperial chef has brought over some red bean and lotus seed soup to cool you down. I've added some ice cubes to it. Would you like to try it?"
While he was reading the memorial, Changle came over with a blue and white porcelain bowl.
The fragrance of red beans seemed especially sweet in the hall where soothing incense was burning.
Duan Changchuan immediately sat up, took the bowl and spoon and took a bite.
The red beans and white fungus are cooked until they are sweet and sticky, and the lotus seeds are also sweet, fragrant and soft. After just one bite, I feel refreshed.
"Does your majesty like it?"
Changle saw that he looked relaxed and asked with a curved brow.
The young man chewed the lotus seeds and nodded: "Yes, it tastes very refreshing. Is there anything new outside these days?"
The smile in the young eunuch's eyes grew even bigger: "It's a big deal if your Majesty likes it!"
Then he changed the subject and said, "But speaking of this new thing, there is indeed one outside recently. Recently, a great storyteller appeared in Shengjing. He tells stories every day in Shengjing City. I heard that he started from the case of corrupt officials hiding corpses in Huainan and continued to the current plague in Huainan. The story is full of ups and downs, as if it were personally experienced. He has been telling stories for three consecutive days, and many people in restaurants in the capital are listening."
Hearing that someone was talking about Huainan's book, Duan Changchuan immediately became interested: "Mr. Storyteller? What did he say?"
"I also heard about it from Zhang Dehai. On the first day, he said that Your Majesty sent the general to Huainan on the pretext of contacting the governor of Huainan."
Changle said, coughed twice, and imitated the tone of a storyteller: "Speaking of our emperor who just turned 18, one day he suddenly sent a general to contact the governor of Huainan. Does this sound strange? Ladies and gentlemen, don't worry, let me explain it in detail. Let's talk about our majesty first. What is the title he used to suddenly send a general? It means that the governor of Huainan has made great contributions to pacifying the drought in Huainan, and sending the general is to show the royal reward. Then, something even more strange happened. The general packed up and set off. In the blink of an eye, several days passed, and the motorcade of the governor of Huainan arrived in our Shengjing City. As a result, he came back alone. When he arrived at the court, all the civil and military officials saw that he was alone, very surprised. Wondering, they asked him: Where is the general? Your Majesty also asked: Where is the general? The governor of Huainan was even more confused, and spread his hands and asked: Where is the general? Why are you asking me? When everyone was surprised, a report came from outside the palace, saying: The deputy general has arrived! Our Majesty frowned immediately, why is it a deputy general? But he remained calm and said: Announce! Then, a warrior in silver armor hurried into the palace. This warrior, who had not had time to change his armor, had mud on his feet and blood on his clothes. He knelt down at the dragon's feet with a plop. With tears in his eyes, he said: Your Majesty, my general is missing! In an instant, all officials were in an uproar! The general is so powerful in martial arts, why did he disappear? "
…
Changle's imitation was so lifelike that he almost copied the entire story.
Duan Changchuan listened while eating lotus seed soup with great interest.
Well, except for that thin voice which doesn't sound like a storyteller, everything else is fine. If he practices his voice more, he can go out and make money.
I couldn't help but tease: "You speak so fluently, and you said you heard it from Zhang Dehai? I heard that you just went out and listened for three days."
The young eunuch quickly pouted in grievance, "No, I didn't. I really heard it from Zhang Dehai. He went out to listen to the story for three days under the pretext of inquiring for Your Majesty. I could only listen to him repeat it and then relay it to Your Majesty."
Duan Changchuan put the bowl back on the table with a smile: "I wronged you. It's my fault... Get up quickly."
The young eunuch lowered his brows and closed his eyes: "This servant is terrified..."
"You mean, the storyteller yesterday said that I sent the Supreme Court Minister to provide disaster relief, but the plague was discovered, so I sent Elder Sun to go?"
"Yes, we just talked about Elder Sun's departure yesterday. I think today we should talk about Elder Sun's treatment of the epidemic in Huainan, but we have to wait until Zhang Dehai comes back to listen to it."
Speaking of Zhang Dehai, two days ago when Duan Changchuan was still on the way, Zhang Dehai and Nangong Jin'er came over at night and reported to him that Bai Yanyuan had agreed to join forces with the Queen.
At the same time, she returned the token he had handed over to him. It was from this that I realized that all of this was arranged by Bai Su... I was so moved at that time.
Later, Duan Changchuan asked Zhang Dehai to go outside the palace to inquire about the various forces.
Zhang Dehai has been in the palace for more than ten years and is very adept at handling things. It is most appropriate for him to be given these tasks.
This gave him the convenience of going out for fun.
Thinking of this, the young man pursed his lips and thought: "If that's the case, then let him continue to listen, and find out what kind of power is behind this storyteller. From the way the story goes, it seems that he is not an enemy."
If he is not an enemy, then he is most likely a friend.
I just don’t know who this “friend” is.
Changle heard this and quickly replied, "Yes, I will talk to him tonight."
While speaking, his collar seemed to be a little itchy, so he rubbed it.
He kept bending over, and as a result, a tiny red mark appeared under his neck.
It looks like a mosquito bite, but not that swollen and is dark red.
More like... a hickey
Duan Changchuan was shocked by this speculation and shook his head in his heart: It shouldn't be, Changle is with him every day, and except for passing messages for him, she has no contact with anyone else.
Well, maybe it was a mosquito bite.
I sighed inwardly: I have been really crazy lately...
-
The master and servant were chatting casually when Yi Man suddenly knocked on the door. He stood at the door and whispered, "Your Majesty, the princess of the Regent Palace wants to see you."
Both of them looked at each other in surprise.
The princess of the Regent’s Palace… Duan Qinxue
Speaking of this little girl, Duan Changchuan was a little cold to her at first because of the regent, but due to the intimidation of the regent, he never showed it on his face. Later, his mother arranged a meeting between the two without even notifying him, and tried to bring them together regardless of his wishes, so he began to hate this girl.
But a few days ago, I heard from Mr. Huang that he had persuaded Duan Qinxue to go to the northwest border because she was kind-hearted... This changed his opinion of her.
Never mind... Since Mr. Huang has said that this is the only good bamboo among the pile of bad bamboo shoots in the Regent's Palace, there is no harm in seeing it.
Thinking of this, Duan Changchuan put on his wide outer robe and said to the outside of the door: "Call her in."
Then, a girl in goose yellow clothes hurriedly came in while talking.
Seeing the young man sitting on the couch, he knelt down without saying a word.
She kowtowed loudly to Duan Changchuan and said, "Your Majesty... Qinxue has something to report... and also, a favor to ask of you!"
Even though Duan Changchuan had seen all kinds of scenes, he was still shocked: "Is there something you need to report to me? Changle, help the princess up and answer first."
However, the girl kneeling on the ground bit her lower lip tightly and shook her head vigorously: "Your Majesty, please let Qinxue kneel down and speak..."
There was an uncontrollable tone of crying in their voices.
Changle half-knelt on the ground, and for a moment it was not right to help him, nor was it right not to help him...
He looked at Duan Changchuan in embarrassment.
The young man waved his hands helplessly: "Forget it, just say whatever you want to say first."
Changle then retreated silently.
Later, Duan Qinxue told her everything she had seen and heard: "Qinxue heard that her father had lost his temper early this morning, so she wanted to comfort him... Then she found out that he secretly sent her brother and sister-in-law to the plague area in Huainan. Recently, he heard that a girl from the Bai family had appeared in Huainan and had made great contributions to the fight against the epidemic. He actually thought of a crooked way to send his sister-in-law to Huainan to quietly replace the girl from the Bai family..."
As she spoke, she bowed deeply to Duan Changchuan and said, "Although Qinxue grew up in the northwest and lived in a barbarian land for more than ten years without reading any books, she can still distinguish right from wrong in this world. The daughter of the Bai family saved the people from danger and her contribution will be remembered for generations to come. Qinxue will never let such a person who understands justice die in the political struggle of her father... But Qinxue is powerless, so she came to tell your majesty about this matter and ask your majesty to protect those who have made contributions."
These words caused Duan Changchuan to fall into a brief silence.
Duan Jing'an's intention to send the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess to Huainan was revealed to Bai Xiang on the day he surrendered.
Now, in the locked small drawer of his desk, there are even letters and evidence written by Bai Xiang himself.
However, what he didn't expect was that Duan Qinxue would rush into the palace as soon as she learned about this.
She reported the matter to him without even finding out the whole story.
"Do you know what impact your reporting this to me will have on your father? You intend to kill the hero who fought against the epidemic and replace him, and put the loyal ministers in danger. You deceived the princess and the people. Do you know how serious this crime is?"
He asked questions one by one.
The girl lying on the steps was startled... and tears fell down.
The first words he said were: "Father... is really confused!"
Then she knelt forward and moved to his feet: "Your Majesty, this is also what Qin Xue asked for... My father was confused for a moment and was blinded by the regime... I beg Your Majesty to spare my father. For now... I haven't made a big mistake yet... I beg Your Majesty to show mercy..."
After saying that, he kowtowed three times at his feet.
[Extrajudicial leniency…]
The girl kneeling on the ground was crying breathlessly, but Duan Changchuan had only these four words in his mind: show mercy outside the law.
He wanted to ask: The regent can show mercy outside the law, but what about the people he killed? The lives of the princes and generals are lives, but the lives of tens of thousands of people in Datong are not lives
Is being poor and humble really lowly
But he also knew that the girl in front of him was too innocent...
She didn't even know the regent's complete plan to send the prince and his wife to Huainan, let alone how many serious sins her own father had committed when he was in power at court.
In her eyes, Duan Jing'an was just a father who was temporarily blinded and did something wrong.
[Whatever...]
The boy took a deep breath and swallowed back the words that were stuck in his throat.
Then he motioned to Changle to help the man up and said, "Well, I will not discuss your father's guilt with you for now... I will give you three days to investigate. After three days, whether you have found more or not, I will wait for you in this palace. How do you think?"
The girl was a little confused at first, but soon understood the deep meaning. She bowed deeply to him again and said, "Yes... Thank you, Your Majesty. Qinxue will come on time in three days."
Afterwards, he walked out in a daze.
The author has something to say:
Long time no see orz…
It's almost finished, I've been busy lately...
Sorry QAQ