The night wind ran over the eaves, and the coolness of the night squeezed in through the window cracks, making the sweaty emperor feel a little cold.
He pushed away the silk handkerchief that was held out to him to wipe his forehead, and after calming himself down, he lifted the yellow silk quilt and got off the dragon couch. He put on his shoes and sat on the edge of the bed. He fell into a trance again, staring blankly at the swaying light on the bronze pillar on the side.
The curtains were gently opened, and Zhang Lihua put a robe on him, bent her knees and sat beside him, moved closer, and gently massaged his forehead.
"Your Majesty, you will dream about something at night because you think about it during the day. In fact, it is nothing at all."
After a long time, Chen Shubao blinked his eyes and curled his fingers on his knees into fists.
"No, I can feel that Lord Shuhua lingers outside the palace every night... I am a little... a little scared."
The only person who could hear the emperor say these words was Imperial Concubine Zhang Lihua. She could feel the emperor, who was clinging to her, trembling slightly.
"Your Majesty, do you regret this?"
Perhaps realizing that he had said something out of turn, Chen Shubao raised his hand to brush away his beloved concubine's hand, put his hands behind his back with an effort of calmness, and walked towards the lights on both sides.
"What do I regret?! I don't regret it!"
He turned sideways, looked at the outline of the woman in the thin tent, and waved his hand.
"That old fellow didn't give me any face at all. He insulted me in public and even spat in my face. If I don't punish him, won't my people think that I'm weak and easy to bully, and that I don't have the dignity of a king?!"
When he was angry, he gritted his teeth and squeezed out the next words.
"... And his student Lu Liangsheng, he is so self-righteous, who does he think he is?! He just relied on a little bit of cleverness and dared to criticize my mistakes in front of the civil and military officials. Didn't he know that he only has honors and is not an official... I teased him and he walked away in anger. Relying on his magic, he even smashed my palace. No matter whether it is the palace or the Southern Chen, I am the most important. Just bear with my criticism! How unreasonable—"
"How can this be possible!"
When he repeated the sentence, Zhang Lihua, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, frowned slightly: "But your majesty, why did you only pick on Mr. Lu... Lu Liangsheng that day? If you had just laughed it off, perhaps things would not be like this."
Over there, the emperor was stunned for a moment and turned his face away. Some cloth covering the body should not be torn off in front of the woman he loved.
Immediately, he waved his hand.
"My beloved, this kind of thing... you don't understand, but you don't have to worry about it. He succeeded because Master Fa was not in the palace that day. After a while, Master Fa will come out of confinement and I will let him live in the palace. I don't believe that Wang Shuhua is really haunted by a ghost. If Lu Liangsheng really dares to come, I will deal with him as well!"
There was only a sense of heroism in his words.
Soon, I fell asleep again with this comfort in my heart. The sky above the huge city gradually turned pale, and the golden morning sun quickly pushed aside the edge of darkness, immersing the streets and alleys in light.
The bustling streets gradually became noisy with voices. Young men carrying shoulder poles began their day's work. They saw a steamer opened on the street, bought one or two sweet soft cakes, and sat down on the street curb. In the teahouse behind, the waiter yawned and took down the door panel. When he saw the old customers coming in, he greeted them with a smile and a loud voice.
There are always people with nothing to do in the city, and they like to sit in teahouses and listen to storytelling about some bizarre stories about the mountains and rivers. The small teahouses are full of people.
Listening to the eloquent storyteller sitting at a long table covered with blue cloth, he chatted with acquaintances about his recent experiences.
An old scholar in his forties blew away the tea foam, took a sip, and sighed with satisfaction.
"It's a pity that Lord Shuhua can't drink this steaming hot tea." "Alas, yes, Lord Shuhua died for a tyrant, it's not worth it."
The waiter carrying the teapot heard the conversation between the two and leaned over and said "hush".
"Don't talk nonsense."
The two were stunned for a moment, then thanked the waiter. At this time, someone at the next table put down his teacup and couldn't help but interrupt.
"My two brothers, this is not right. Lord Shuhua is worth it. Who has the chance to spit in the face of His Majesty?"
As soon as this man finished speaking, the tea drinkers around him all looked over here. Most people knew about the reputation of Uncle Hua. There were also many people at the execution ground that day, and they all started talking at once.
"I was there when the sebum was taken out. The old man shouted, 'How can a Confucian scholar like me fear death?' Even now, I still feel my blood boiling. This is what a great Confucian scholar who cares about his country and his people is like!!"
"Yes, it's a pity for the old man. The emperor was really willing to kill him!" "... I don't know where he is buried. At least let us go and pay tribute to him. Sigh."
"Oh, yes, I heard that Lord Shuhua had another student, the one who smashed the Jinluan Palace. I wonder where he is now?"
"He must have fled to the Northern Zhou, otherwise he would have been caught by His Majesty long ago." "That's not necessarily true. That scholar knows magic. He can come and go as he pleases in the palace. He must have great magical powers."
This remark drew a chorus of agreement from all the tea drinkers around.
Otherwise, why would the wanted notice still be posted
At this time, someone also said, "I have a bold guess. Everyone, do you think that Shu Huagong's students would defect to the Northern Zhou Dynasty? Maybe after hearing that their teacher had died, they begged the Northern Zhou Dynasty to send troops to attack our Chen Dynasty?"
hiss-
The sound of inhaling and groaning could be heard one after another. No one could respond. After a long while, someone spoke in a resentful tone.
"With His Majesty in this state... I'm afraid... he will have to..."
The aroma of tea wafted in the air, and the person who was talking glanced at the street outside the teahouse. A few patrol officers walked by, and they immediately stopped talking, picked up their teacups and pushed them to the tea drinkers around them.
"Tea, tea."
The execution of the great Confucian scholar Wang Shuhua caused an uproar in the capital and even in most of the scholar circles of the Southern Chen Dynasty. Some impatient scholars called their friends and ran to the local county government to sit in silence. Some people burst into tears when they heard the news. The classics that were once annotated by Wang Shuhua were once regarded as classics.
According to legend, Lord Shu Hua rushed to the Golden Palace and scolded the Emperor in order to seek justice for his student. There was also news leaked from the capital that the old man could not stand the current emperor's attitude towards the He Liangzhou incident. In addition, the humiliation and arrest of his favorite student were mixed together, which led to the story of going to the Golden Palace.
After the old man's death, more topics shifted to the old man's student Lu Liangsheng. Some people said that he had been beheaded on the spot by the arresting army, but it was more likely that he had left the Chen Dynasty and lived in the Northern Zhou Dynasty.
Surrendering to the Northern Zhou Dynasty was actually nothing. What really frightened them was the other party's magical powers that allowed them to call the wind and rain.
Nearly two months have passed, and the topic has become less talked about. The scholar who was mentioned walked through Heliangzhou, leading the unicorn beast, which had transformed into an old donkey again.
Wherever I passed, the brown and yellow land finally had a fertile texture. Although the population had become sparse, farmers could still be seen busy working in the cultivated fields. The rolling mountains were sparsely green, but it was better than before when they looked like a row of graves.
"It was not in vain..."
As Lu Liangsheng walked through this land, he smiled and nodded to everyone he met. When he stopped by a newly rebuilt village to rest, he could sometimes hear stories about white-robed fairies bringing rain, which became the most told story in this land.
The people of this land know that their current life is hard-earned. Almost every household has a spirit tablet in the main hall with the words "White-robed Immortal" engraved on it.
It was already the afternoon of the next day when we left Heliangzhou and arrived at Wangjiazhuang.
Know… Know, know, know…
The annoying neighing of cicadas continued to be heard in the woods. The old donkey stuck out his tongue and swung it around his mouth, with a lot of hot steam rising from it.
Sun Yingxian looked at a familiar forest in front of her and recalled a beating she had never experienced. She shuddered and quickly turned and ran away. On the bookshelf she passed, Hong Lian was humming a little tune. Sometimes she would put on a painted skin and land not far away, performing a newly-composed opera for everyone.
Creaky and wobbly bookshelf compartments.
Inside the open door, the Toad Taoist priest was wearing an open short coat and standing with his short legs crossed. He used a palm-sized leaf as a cattail leaf fan and kept waving it. The wind he brought was mixed with hot air. His mouth was slightly open and he was shouting in the heat.
"Liangsheng, give me a glass of ice water, the kind with cheese, and two cherries!"
"Please bear with it for a while, Master. We will have to cross the river soon."
Walking in front, a scholar wearing a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat looked at the long river opposite and said something with a smile. He walked to the desolate ferry, and a small boat slowly came.
The evening light fell on his handsome profile. Lu Liangsheng looked at the invisible figure on the boat and bowed.
"Boatman, can you take us across the river?"
"Haha, my boat is famous for being fast on this river!"
The boatman's hearty laughter echoed in the sunset.
"My two guests, please get on board."
The boat was shaking and was soon pushed away from the ferry. Lu Liangsheng took off his bamboo hat, stood at the bow and looked to the east, as if he saw the outline of a huge city.
"My dear teacher... Liangsheng is back."
The breeze is warm and gentle, caressing your hair gently.