Changes in the sky
Volume 2: The Edge of Heaven
Chapter 174 The Root of Misfortune
Most people in this world think that I am mature beyond my years, and I am bold and steady in my work. Of course, the actual situation needs to be discounted, and the discount varies at different times. I can only comfort myself that I am just a young man who has just undergone the ceremony of coming of age. Except that I can no longer shave my hair and beard as I please, (Note 1) nothing else has changed. I am still easily impulsive. The consequences of this impulse did not show up at the time, so I let it go. If I were really reborn, I would definitely keep silent and pretend that I didn't see it. Because when you really look into this matter, it doesn't seem to have any special connection with me and the people on the scene, but this does not prevent someone on the scene from telling someone else he is familiar with, and then this person came up with a conspiracy. It's just that this matter happened a long time ago, and I gradually forgot about it afterwards.
Looking back, I still remember how indignant and passionate I was back then. I thought that everyone in the room was someone I loved and respected, so I didn't think much about it and just let my temper run wild.
"Tell the truth, and beg God to listen." I skillfully started with a report and told the whole story. I even said, "Zhi has no grudge against the kingdom. This is for your Majesty and the world. Even though he is talented, he has caused such a disaster and caused countless people to suffer because of his own selfish desires. He should not be tolerated."
"I don't know who replaced this thief, because I didn't dare to speak in front of the Xianbei envoy. But I think this person should be in front of Your Majesty." I looked around, and I even suspected my father, but I saw that my father was also looking at the teacher and Brother Meng De.
"If this person really has such talent, it is rare. It would be a pity to kill him." I was greatly surprised that the teacher said so.
"The man you identified that day was actually a assassin hired by the kingdom. He was later discovered when we verified his identity." Brother Meng De said this, and it sounded reasonable.
My father pulled my collar, as if to signal something.
But I didn't care, maybe I was too young.
"Oh, who verified it? Can I go and ask?" I was actually skeptical at first, but I still aggressively pointed out this key person.
His Majesty was a little impatient, and after understanding what was going on, he said, "My son Zirui, go and investigate this yourself. Stay calm and don't let your wounds get to the point of being tense. Alas, you didn't have the imperial order to go to war, and you still have to get involved in this matter. Just let your regent handle it."
I knelt on the ground and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for forgiving me for leading the troops without permission. However, if I can execute the thief and behead him, I will accept this disrespect. I am lazy and Yinling also longs for peace and quiet. I wish to live in seclusion in the mountains with my wife and not be disturbed anymore. But I only ask that you punish this thief now..."
His Majesty suddenly shouted, "Rebellious son, come up with me!"
He quickly bowed his head, said nothing, and walked forward to the desk of His Majesty.
I felt the sound of wind in my ears, and I didn't dare to dodge. I felt a dull pain on my back, as if it was scratching my wound, and I cried out in pain. I leaned over the table and panted, and my back felt a burning pain, and I broke out in a cold sweat.
His Majesty seemed to regret it, and the bamboo slips fell beside me. After a pause, he suddenly shouted, "Rebellious son, sinful minister, do you think that the salary of the Han Dynasty is like that of a merchant, and that you can bargain with me?"
I quickly admitted my mistake, picked up the bamboo scroll and put it on the table, then knelt down and waited for my punishment.
His Majesty seemed to have calmed down, and said, "Go away, check it yourself," and left.
After bidding farewell to His Majesty, the three elders came to see me. My father was indeed a little unhappy while checking the wound on my back: "Zi Rui is so abrupt! It is so easy to find out about this matter... If you go out and tell us, we can go down and investigate. What's the difficulty? Why bother His Majesty here, and what nonsense reasons are there? How can His Majesty not be angry?" Teacher Meng De only asked me about the condition of my back.
I sat up on the spot with grit and looked at the faces of the three elders one by one.
"Brother Meng De, this person cannot be kept. If a talented person does not have virtue to match it, it will only lead to disaster." I believe my guess is correct. This must have been done by Brother Meng De.
"Let's go downstairs and discuss this matter." Brother Meng De seemed unwilling to argue in the court, but as soon as he heard this, I believed my guess was correct, and I thought he must be planning to obey me.
"That is definitely not the kingdom. I believe in Yinling. I may make mistakes, but Yinling will help me correct them, and she hasn't made a mistake yet." I insisted and added, smiling "confidently".
At this point, all errors have been corrected without any omissions.
I didn't want to listen to Brother Meng De's advice, and just planned to check it myself. But I didn't leave. When I was about to leave, I was stopped by an imperial decree from the eunuch, and the queen summoned me to the palace.
I could only say goodbye to the other three elders and go to meet my stepmother. I was still thinking in my heart, I hope she didn't hear the rumors, otherwise the meeting would be awkward.
Of course, remembering the instructions of my big-mouthed second sister-in-law, I addressed the queen respectfully: "Your Majesty, I, the son of Han Yuehou Zhi, come to see you."
First there was the sound of a group of people retreating. After a moment of silence, a gentle and concerned voice was suddenly heard: "Your Majesty... did he hit you?" He secretly sighed that the eunuchs didn't choose those with good mouths. The queen knew about it just after the incident.
"I am a foolish son who disobeyed Your Majesty's will. I deserve to be beaten." Because there is no guarantee that my words will be passed on to Your Majesty, it is better for me to admit my mistake obediently.
"Don't pretend to be a good boy. I'm listening from behind. You were so generous and enthusiastic in front, but here you pretend to be a filial son and a good grandson." I didn't expect that the queen would also join the scouts who eavesdropped and gathered intelligence. Before she fell into a coma, she had to be persuaded to do so.
But before I started to speak, the queen suddenly reached forward and lifted my collar. After a long hesitation, I could only hear a sigh. The tone was not pity, but more like disappointment. I wonder if she thought the emperor didn't hit me hard enough. After a while of silence, my stepmother continued to speak. Those words really made me extremely nervous.
"Zi Rui has been in the court for so long. Have you ever heard from anyone that your sister Ru has a twin brother?" The queen's voice trembled a little.
I really wished I could pass out, but it didn't happen. I learned that sometimes being in good health is not a good thing.
"Your son... I don't know." The Queen of the Han Dynasty actually started talking about this kind of thing. I'm afraid she has already determined that I am her child. It will never be a good thing if this matter is exposed. I immediately thought of all the possibilities, most of which are very bad, and the rest are extremely bad.
"Silly child, no wonder you spoke without thinking in front of the court. Why are you here? You really should hide in the mountains with my two good daughters-in-law." My stepmother smiled, and suddenly her tone changed, as if she wanted to give me some advice: "How dangerous it is here, don't you know it all the time, and have you never thought about it?"
Before I could answer, she suddenly shook her sleeves and snorted with disdain and sophistication.
"Hehe... Why do you think the previous emperors had no children? The previous emperor died at the age of 36, but he didn't leave any sons or daughters? The emperor has so many concubines, and he became a father at the age of thirteen, but why is there only two surviving princes in all these years?"
I admit that I got goosebumps all over my body and felt a chill running down my spine. Although I had heard this before, I didn't expect that it would make me shudder when it came out of the mouth of this middle-aged woman who still had a beautiful face.
"At that time, your mother was just a beauty, and soon she became pregnant with a dragon seed." My heart was pounding. From her address, I could feel that the woman in front of me really treated me as her long-lost biological son. She just couldn't get my confirmation. If I suddenly cried and called me mother, something big might happen today.
"**There are right and wrong everywhere, traps at every step, and danger will come if you take a wrong step. Queen Song is a good person, but the men of their Song family are not good people. They bribed many eunuchs and palace maids in the palace, and they all watched me and other people who entered the palace. If there was a fetus, they would find ways to use drugs to abort the fetus. Fortunately, my family had a good relationship with the imperial physician. Zhan Shi was a member of the Shen Xie clan, a loyal and righteous man, who helped to preserve the Han bloodline in my belly. When I gave birth to Ru'er, I even felt relieved. I knew that my daughter and I were safe. I thought it would be good if I had a daughter. After giving birth to Ru'er, I was very weak and could only lie down to rest. After a few days, I suddenly felt unwell. The imperial physician told me that I had another baby in my belly. Because the Song family had spies by my side, they used drugs to stabilize the fetus. That night, I put Ru'er in the room crying, and I bit a ball of yellow silk and gave birth to a baby boy... The child cried. There was an extra boy in the forbidden palace. It was inevitable that the Song family would find out after a long time. So the imperial physician and the secretary discussed and sent him away. I watched my child crying as he was sent away, but I was powerless. I was still thinking that my son would be able to save his life. But I didn't expect that the matter would still fail. The imperial physician died in prison, and the secretary also died in the palace without any signs. Even Lord Shen, who helped out, was sent to the north to die. "
I noticed that she didn't use the Ru clan when she went to the Shen Xie clan, and I felt even more uneasy.
"Later, I heard that my poor child was too weak to be saved and died." The mother covered her face with her sleeves and sobbed for a while. Suddenly, she brushed her sleeves and said seriously, "So I knew that if I couldn't be the leader of the gang here, I would be bullied and even my son would not be able to be saved."
I could even feel the coldness in her eyes.
"So, I became the queen. My son, remember not to let others ride on your head, but you yourself will be the one to reach the top." My stepmother lowered her voice and told me in a gentle voice. But it was not much different from the thunder in peace.
All I could do was to steady myself and try to remain calm, then look at her and bow to thank her.
I don't know what I'm thanking her for. Maybe I'm thanking her for her honesty, for speaking to me, a child with whom she has no blood relationship, with such a heartfelt message.
The only thing I can be thankful for is that she didn't break. I can't imagine what I would do if she forced me to admit that I was her biological son.
She just said that if her son could grow up like a normal person, he would be the same age as me. Her son left crying, but came back crying again.
I didn't understand, but I didn't dare to ask. She explained that she had seen me cry before, and she always remembered that day when she was scolded by her father and cried beside him. She thought of her own child, and asked me how old I was. She found out that I was exactly the same age as her child. She knew earlier that I had been an orphan since I was young. I stayed by her side for two days, so she thought of adopting me as her adopted son.
When we were leaving, she suddenly asked me what was wrong with the back of my neck. I also felt a little itchy and painful. Thinking back, I thought it was scratched by an arrow or some other sharp blade. Later, I finally remembered that it was not the case. I remember that the armor I wore was heavy, which made me want to loosen the collar. It should be because I wore it for a long time and it was rubbed through the clothes.
The weather was getting warmer and the snow disappeared in the sunny places. I walked out of the gloomy house with a big step, and felt relaxed. Looking at the glaring sun, it was just right to close my eyes, stretch my body, and take a long breath.
When I slowly got used to the light outside, I saw Yinling smiling at me from the corridor opposite.
I didn't want to mention the kingdom, I just wanted to go over and hug her. It's not good for her to be here, it's fine for me to be here. I asked her casually, what do you think the back of my neck looks like.
She had a red mark and some broken skin, with some red spots around it. My armour had squeezed her and it was torn.
Yinling said with pity, "Go back and apply some medicine quickly, and wear loose clothes for the next ten days."
Yinling: When I was a kid, I had a mole-like scar on the back of my neck. Now it’s gone.
Suddenly I felt a little uneasy and thought I needed to go to my father's place quickly.
However, holding Yinling's hand, she thought it would be better to go back first so that she could do the real work. Yiren blushed, but she had to hurry up if she really wanted to do it. But she was worried that her thing was not normal again. It was fine with Pei'er taking care of her for the past few months, but this time there was no movement for more than a month. I'm afraid it was because she was away from home and didn't do anything.
I didn't dare ask what it was and could only figure it out myself, but it took me several miles to finally figure it out.
After I came back, I stayed at my father's place instead of going back to Pingle Pavilion. One reason was to comfort my mother, the other was to accompany my mother, and the third was to avoid my mother from worrying about me and constantly visiting me. I had to tire out my Situ and Song and others to come and see me. This time I finally had to go back to my own place. I held my silver bell and basked in the sunshine of mid-spring, feeling the cold wind, looking at the clumps of new green sprouting in the sun, and the unmelted white snow in the shade. Winter came and spring went, crossing mountains and valleys, and it was unpredictable. The only thing that remained unchanged was our laughter. It seemed that all the unhappiness had disappeared.
Everyone was delighted to see us return. The happiest person was **. In the past few days, apart from eating non-stop, he kept talking about the urgency of the situation, how fierce the fighting was, how the Qiang people attacked me, and how I stood firm and drove away the enemies. He was waiting for me to come back to prove everything he said, especially the correctness of how he bravely killed the enemy. Others were concerned about other things.
I remember that I slapped him on the head, and I felt a little emotional in my heart: "Boy, you are really good at fighting."
I didn't say anything, but he really enjoyed the slap.
I didn't want to talk about it. Every time I came back from the war, I even tried hard to forget everything on the battlefield. So I quickly changed the subject. This time, the reason was that I heard a baby crying.
Compared to Yiyue, the two newly adopted friends were very well-behaved and did not show any displeasure about the return of their current adoptive father. The crying this time was because one woke up and was hungry, so she cried. The other one was awakened by the cry and started crying too. Then the slightly older one was awakened and wanted to cry too, but was quickly coaxed into silence by her mother. Ling'er knew the situation of the two baby girls and became very close to them when she was in Chencang. However, during the feeding process, I could only hide far away and continue to talk with others. Now Pingleguan has three children, a prisoner's mother who brought her daughter who had just been weaned, and two babies picked up from the battlefield. The three children have a tacit understanding with each other, either being quiet together or making noises together. Song and Xu Situ were a little overwhelmed, but ** slept very soundly.
Seeing the woman in mourning, he remembered what Yinling had told him about the woman, so he said: Wait until the two children are weaned, and I will give you some money so you and your daughter can return home. Find someone to marry, and don't humble yourself, because a daughter needs a father.
It is said that recently, ** had a great time among the maids, and he often told jokes. That day, everyone had a meal together in the hall, as a celebration of victory. I wanted to add to the fun, and I also wanted to hear his jokes, so I asked him to tell one. He did not refuse, and said that he learned this from the fourth general: "The fourth general is not a Han Chinese." I thought this was nonsense.
"But the Fourth General is very studious. When he has nothing to do, he would look for Han people from all over the army to learn different dialects, and then he could learn them quite well. All the officers and soldiers liked him very much. Everyone could get along with him. It was like seeing a family member. He also liked to make people laugh. Once he had breakfast with us. In Xianbei language, there are only a few words to express quantity, which is far inferior to our words for a piece of cake, a cow, a piece of cloth, etc. There are words for everything. They use "kua" for stones and wood... hehe... mud and horse manure are all "tuo"... hahaha... mud is all "pao"... wow hahahaha... so he said: "Today we are eating a piece... a piece of cake... wuhaha..." This guy is not good at telling jokes. He can't even hold back, so how can he make others laugh? So I took over the conversation: "A lump of meat and a bubble of porridge. Right? Come, Qiu Luan, serve me some soup."
I was very calm, but the people below were not. Xu Situ couldn't hold it back and sprayed soup all over the table. Song seemed to have heard it before, but he still couldn't hold it back and laughed until he was panting. The soldiers and maids covered their faces and kept looking up and down.
"Master Situ, are you okay?" To be honest, I was a little surprised that Master Xu was a little embarrassed and kept waving his hands to apologize. I told him not to mind, after all, we just won a victory and the world is now stable, so we should be happy, and then the old man laughed heartily again.
In the afternoon, Zilong came. He came to see the child. Because the child still needs to be fed by the baby, he will take the baby away when he finds a mother. I will raise the baby myself. He is alone now and there is no woman to take care of him. It is not good to take care of the baby.
Soon after, Ma Chao came with four children, one girl and two boys. They greeted me and wanted to find a wet nurse to take the children away. Ma Chao and Zilong were like brothers, each politely explaining their reasons to each other for the custody of the children. The two boys were silent. But the last one, a girl in a brocade robe with big eyes, elegant and beautiful, jumped off the horse very swiftly, but her tone was a bit rude and unreasonable: "You white-faced general, you are shameless. You snatched a baby girl before you got married. Are you raising a daughter or a wife?"
Ma Chao immediately shouted, "Yunlu, how can you say such evil words!"
The girl didn't care and continued to be so arrogant.
Brother Zilong was speechless for a moment, his teeth clenched, his handsome face flushed, his fists clenched in front of his chest, and finally loosened and opened. Suddenly he raised his hands and saluted: "Sister Rongbing, Yun once married, but unfortunately he was unlucky. His wife passed away early, leaving Yun with no son or daughter. Yun was in the battlefield, running between the piles of corpses, and rescued this girl before they were trampled by horses. Although Yun and this girl are not blood relatives, Yun and this baby have a protective relationship. Between life and death, with swords and sabers, Yun was determined to save this baby at the cost of his own life. After this battle, if I cannot find her biological parents, I will adopt her as my daughter to prevent her from being helpless. For this reason, I hope you will cherish me."
This time it was the girl's turn. She was speechless, and her big watery eyes turned red, tears welled up, and she started crying in front of us. Suddenly she turned around and ran away. The other two horses jumped off in panic, called the second sister, and turned around to chase after her.
Ma Chao acted like an adult. He himself had not fully grown up yet, but sighed like a man in his forties, and said, "My sister has been spoiled since she was a child. No one at home dares to mess with her, and the older she gets, the more outrageous she becomes." He bowed to Zilong and us, apologized, took the reins of a few horses, and led the horses out.
Zilong stood there in deep thought, and suddenly stamped his foot: "Yun's words are too harsh, as if he thinks too lowly of Sister Ma."
Suddenly he turned around, said goodbye to us, got on his horse and left.
Actually, I also wanted to go and take a look, but when I saw Brother Zilong going there, I always felt that it would be inappropriate for me to follow him.
Just now the courtyard was bustling with activity, but suddenly, all the people and horses disappeared. Several babies also fell asleep together, and suddenly there was no movement in the courtyard.
I turned around and looked at Yinling, who was still staring stupidly at the people leaving the garden gate.
I picked her up, ignoring her surprise at being picked up all of a sudden, and went back to the house to do my business. I'm not bragging, but my overall view and decision-making are quite in line with human ethics and filial piety.
Overall, we have been working hard, but I don't know what went wrong. The children between us are still wandering somewhere and don't want to come out. But I think it's not my fault, nor is it Yinling's own problem. It's been almost a month and a half since the last time, and she still hasn't come.
Of course, this may also be the case.
When the time jumped to the evening, I was very tired, but Yinling was energetic, and her face became more rosy. There was indeed a huge difference between men and women here.
It's a pity that someone won't let me rest.
Brother Meng De sent someone over. It seemed that he felt that I had not come to him and was afraid that I might have some "ideas", so he took the initiative to attack.
This person is special.
I asked everyone to leave, including Yinling, who was a little hesitant when she saw the visitor, and I asked her to leave too.
"Please sit down!" I gestured with my hand, and found the wine on the table. I smelled it was red wine, and smiled and poured a glass of wine and handed it to him: "This is a good thing."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome!" I poured myself a cup and took a sip: "What's your last name now? Is it still Xia?"
"No, I changed it, but it's almost the same. My last name is Xiahou now."
"It just so happens that we are Brother Meng De's relatives. Come on, long time no see, let me toast you first." I raised the cup and gestured, then drank it all together with him.
"Thank you. It is indeed a good wine, sweet and mellow."
"How are you doing? You seem to be highly valued, as Brother Meng De actually sent you to be his guest." I filled two more cups.
"I recommended myself."
"I must kill the kingdom!"
"I know."
"Then you still want to come?"
"Because I want to ask you some questions and visit an old friend."
"Forget it. Every time you see me, you either hit me with a sword or a knife. I have your masterpieces on my palms, front and back. What weapons are you bringing this time?"
"Haha, if this gets out, it will greatly damage the reputation of Ping An Fengyun Hou. And I wasn't the one who stabbed the first sword!"
"I falsely accused you, so what?"
"Have you never grown up?" Even a scoundrel who is falsely accused has moments of helplessness.
"I'm grown up now, and you're still willing to chat with me here? Stop talking nonsense and ask me questions. I'm very tired, so I'll send you away after I finish asking. If you want to come and drink again, please come early tomorrow."
The scoundrel shook his head, drank it all, and shouted: "Pour the wine!"
After taking another sip, the guy began to ask slowly, "Do you want more innocent people to die?"
"No." I was silent for a while and figured everything out.
There is no need for many smart people, and it just so happens that someone has always considered himself to be a smart person.
"Do you believe that someone will keep looking for someone to take over the kingdom, and as long as he wants, he will have all kinds of excuses to prevent you from ever touching the kingdom?"
Before he finished asking, I became angry: "I don't want to do it anymore, bye!"
"Well, you may be young, but you have a lot of ideas. Well, I'll finish what the master told me to do." The scoundrel leaned on the table and took another sip. "Since you are so straightforward, I will ask you a few more questions."
I drank it all in one gulp, put the cup on the table, and shouted, "Pour more wine and ask again!"
The rogue leader, picking up the wine jug and filling it for me, muttered, "You are so good that you don't learn from me!"
"Do you have anything good to teach me?"
This scoundrel was self-aware and thought for a moment: "Really not."
He took a sip, then suddenly leaned close to my ear and whispered, "Do you know that as long as you reach out, you may be able to get the throne?"
"Those are false and pure rumors."
"No, it's not fake if there are people who are willing to do it. All we need to do is promote it, and let the world know about it and believe it."
"I don't want it."
"You really haven't grown up yet. If you really want to be like this, you can chop me in half. Wouldn't that make you happy?"
"If I really want to chop you in half, I'll chop you into minced meat any day. If you're not allowed to stay in Yuzhang, you'll turn into a pile of meat porridge."
"You are so shameless."
“I learned it from others!”
"You never learn your lesson!" The scoundrel also shook his head and took another sip of wine: "Pour it up!"
After a pause, the fellow suddenly became a little furious: "Since you never learn good things, then can't you learn to be ruthless? Thick-skinned? Do you know how good your chance is? You can have the whole world in your hands. You will never use someone like me, and I dare not work under you! As for you, you will die in the wild sooner or later!"
"Then I won't take it either!" We also knew how serious it was, so we kept suppressing our voices, and at most we would yell "Pour it down!" to vent our anger.
"Do you understand? As long as someone does this, others will follow suit. As long as they fabricate a story that the dragon seed in the palace was stolen a long time ago, and that there are ambitious people with strange backgrounds, they can covet the country. This will give those who usurp the throne a good excuse. What I have to do is to pass down the Han Dynasty's orthodoxy from generation to generation."
"Now the princes are separatist, the lord is weak, and the power is lost. The country will surely be plotted by others. If it is you, the people may still have hope. If it is someone else, I really can't imagine it." This guy actually had a compassionate tone: "Who hasn't been studying the set of benevolence, righteousness and morality since childhood? I also want to, but things in this world cannot be solved completely by the justice of heaven and earth." He paused again: "It requires tactics and strategies."
"Thank you for your consideration and planning, but I cannot follow your wisdom. Now I have conquered the world with this method, and there will be people who will conquer it in the future. As long as there is greed and ambition, this will never end. Our dynasty has a complete system of laws and regulations. Since ancient times, there has never been a country that has been unified for such a long time. I have never known anyone who is better. Why do you rely on power and schemes to change it?"
“I never thought that the powerful princes were just childish kids who only wanted peace and security and had no ambitions.” The villain laughed.
“Since you know that the people are important and the king is unimportant, why would a wise man choose the unimportant and discard the important?” I also laughed.
"Then I'll take my leave." The man laughed loudly, mumbled something, drank it all in one gulp, and stood up.
"No thanks." I didn't drink the whole drink, nor did I stand up. I just said quietly, "You should be careful. That kingdom is a ruthless man. His schemes are vicious and his schemes are treacherous. It's inevitable that he will harm you in the future."
The thief took two steps out, then suddenly turned around and sat down again, shouting, "Pour some wine!"
"Oh, how can you be like this? Go, I won't even say goodbye, but you still refuse to leave." In fact, I was very proud of myself, after all, I touched upon one of his hidden concerns.
"You, Xie Zhi, a descendant of a party member, why are you so narrow-minded and intolerant? You should know that after the party imprisonment, talented and wise men in the world withered, causing the government affairs of the country to be neglected and the discipline of the upper and lower levels to be corrupted. My master is not bound by rules, and he recruits talented and good men. As long as they have a skill, they can be close to the scholars, regardless of their character and reputation. In the world, this is the best of the best."
"Those who value virtue but lack talent can still be gentlemen and will not fail to educate; those who value talent but neglect virtue will be very good when doing good and extremely evil when doing evil. If they are in control, they can help you ascend to heaven, but if they are taken advantage of, they can push you into the underworld. Now Brother Meng De is a man of great talent and extraordinary bearing, so he is not a threat. Do you believe it? When Brother Meng De succeeds someone who is weak and powerless, those who have greed in their hearts will start a rebellion to seize his position. Do you know what happened in the Wu Kingdom today?"
Mr. Xiahou finally left, with a solemn look on his face. Seeing this, I was very satisfied, even a little complacent.
Yinling asked me: Isn't that the man who attacked me in Yuzhang? I shook my head and said arrogantly: You are the one who sleeps with me, no need to ask any more questions.
After Yiren's patient education and coquettishness, I deeply realized that I have not yet gained control of the family.
The next morning, Yiren concluded that I must have drunk too much.
The next morning, my act of pretending to be stupid and obedient was still very effective.
After playing dumb, I still have to act like an adult. That morning, Brother Zhongdao came to visit me, and Yinling, Yudong and I chatted with him for a while. I always thought that Brother Zhongdao was just a learned nerd, like the one in my family who is still in Guangxin, but based on what we talked about this morning, it seems that this guy is really worthy of being a doctoral priest.
The topic of the conversation was not about the great plan of the world, young people just like to talk about this. But we need to exclude **, he likes to talk about women. In fact, I also like it, but I can only keep it in my heart at this time. Brother Zhongdao and Song are more speculative. These two people are well-informed and have a good memory. They have many allusions from books, and I am not as good as them. Yinling sat next to me and helped me explain an allusion from time to time, but she didn't say much in public.
Since the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Qing Dynasty in Luoyang, after the founding of the dynasty for three generations, the powerful have become more and more powerful. Most of them are the descendants of founding heroes or officials for generations, and they all enjoy the benefits of low taxes and exemption from labor service. However, when natural disasters occur, the poor can hardly make a living. They can only sell land and borrow money to get by, and the taxes and labor service are not reduced. In a few years, they will be confiscated along with their families, resulting in the powerful's land being connected to the fields, the mountains being connected, and the lakes being vast. The poor may have no place to live, or they can only become slaves to avoid taxes and labor service. Although there is an "Abolition of Slavery" order, it is just a piece of paper. The slaves of the powerful do not have to bear taxes and labor service, and their burden is lighter than that of self-cultivating farmers, so more people are willing to sell themselves as slaves.
Song also mentioned that when he was visiting the south to seek medical treatment, he passed by a mountain swamp with only a few farmers. When he asked, he found that they were all servants of the local rich families. They only needed to manage the land of more than ten miles for their masters and hand over a certain amount of the local output. They did not have to worry about being corvée soldiers. Their clothes and houses were relatively tidy. However, in some mountain villages, although the land was owned by farmers, there were no men to farm. The fields were full of old women and children. The houses were dilapidated and the clothes were barely enough to cover the body.
Brother Zhongdao also mentioned that the powerful must collude with the government to be able to annex without any worries. Therefore, during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, powerful people from all directions rose up to fight against the bandits, not for the Han Dynasty, but for their own benefit. Most of the people who led the troops were six hundred stone (the official rank of the governor), which can be used as a clear proof of the collusion between the powerful and the officials. Song clapped his hands and said: As for Jingzhou, since it has not been involved in war, the officials and powerful people do not need to be entangled. When the Duke of Chu was the governor of the state, he only needed to recruit powerful officials to the war. If they followed, they would be weakened, and if they did not, they could be treated as helping the rebels. Therefore, the powerful and wealthy families all paid more grain money to redeem themselves, and the incompetent officials resigned to avoid disaster. This is the best of the best.
We all laughed.
But I ended it the earliest, somewhat sadly: "This time the feudal fiefdoms have been reduced, and the great ones have emerged. After a few decades, the people know the princes but not the emperor. Then the world is divided, when will it be unified?"
Brother Zhongdao also said with a sigh, "For a hundred years, powerful people have emerged, but now it has become a situation where many princes coexist. If the weather is good, it will be fine, but if there is a flood disaster, the whole country will be in chaos! Who will be in charge of this flood control? The princes have their own interests in mind and will definitely harm their neighbors. The old grudges will inevitably lead to war. The people will suffer, what can we do?"
I seemed to wake up suddenly. I stood up and turned to go out, but when I heard Yin Ling cough lightly as if to remind me, I turned around and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Brother Zhongdao, for your advice."
He led Hei out, and without putting on the saddle, he directly mounted the horse and ran away. At this time, I think the elders should be in the side hall of the Shanglin Palace. As for whether they are discussing matters, handling court affairs, or waiting for orders, I don't know. After this big battle, except for giving me a holiday, other things should be fulfilled.
As expected, they even looked at me with some surprise, and my father laughed and said, "I thought you were still sleeping in." But I was not in the mood to joke.
After listening to my report, my father was not surprised. It seemed that he had thought about it a long time ago. The teacher was quietly beside, with a relaxed look on his face, but he did not care about our discussion. He seemed to be in a trance. It seems that the teacher has been like this since he became the regent. He has a sense of being hidden in the court. But Brother Meng De said frankly: "Youyue is separated from the south of Nanling Mountains and has its own water system. My father-in-law is in Hetao. The Yellow River has a hundred harms but only one benefit (such a folk proverb began to exist after Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty managed the northern part of the country). It can be said to be perfect. The Duke of Chu repaired Yunmengze for two years, and Zirui has also seen it. It is for the purpose of flood discharge in the future. As for my foolish brother's Wei, the terrain is slightly higher than that of several surrounding countries, so there is no need to worry about other countries. It is good that Zirui can consider this matter. It's a pity that he didn't see the wonderful thing that day."
I was stunned at the time. It turned out that everything had been arranged long ago. Looking back, I didn't want to get entangled in it, so I didn't participate in the discussion between my father and the teacher. As a result, we are the only ones who are in the dark and don't understand it.
I even began to suspect that my ex's death was planned.
I didn't say anything. After a while, I stood up to say goodbye. They didn't seem to want me to stay, so they just let me leave quietly, patting my black neck.
Yinling was waiting for me. She seemed to have known that I would come back like this and didn't even ask about the answer I heard over there.
Because she came out directly.
"Ling'er knew that already?"
"I guessed it by looking at the picture. I was planning to explain it to you later when something happened, but it seems unnecessary now."
My head.
I went to bed early that night, maybe because I was really tired.
The weather was very good the next day. The wind carried the fragrance of flowers and grass, and the air was filled with the chirping of birds. People who had been depressed by this troubled spring for a long time would never want to stay in the house again. I didn't want to care about those things, so I took the initiative to look for old friends. This time, it was Yinling who felt tired and didn't want to go with me. I wanted to stay with her, but she didn't want to. She had to go and see, even if it was to visit old friends among the ministers. I can't remember how close I was to those officials. My friendship was only higher than that of the Taichang lineage under the Situ Gong.
It is impolite not to reciprocate, so first I have to go visit Brother Zhongdao to avoid being "improper" to him.
Naturally, he should be with his teacher, so I could still see Cai Yan and the musician Ren, but I didn't see her.
It’s hard to explain how I felt at that time. I just clapped my hands and smiled at everyone: everyone is here, that’s great.
Uncle Cai really didn't treat me as a outsider. As soon as we met, he called me over to look at the music score, which was Li'er's new work. He even asked me how I felt about it, like playing the lute to a cow.
Frankly speaking, I think this is very inappropriate. I think that with my "accomplishments" in music theory, I am completely unable to give any reasonable and constructive opinions. At most, I can look at Uncle Cai's intoxicated facial expression, pretend to understand, frown and appreciate, read slowly, pretend to be in deep thought for about half a minute, nod my head and say "good", at most add a sentence, "very good".
In fact, that's what I did.
Sure enough, Uncle Cai completely agreed with my opinion. He thought that Li'er's previous works were somewhat stagnant and dragging, but this time they were brisk and lively without lacking steadiness.
Sister Ren modestly said that in fact someone helped her complete it.
Based on Sister Ren’s facial expression, I boldly said: I know who this person is.
Sister Ren was very surprised and asked me how I knew.
"Sister, have you forgotten that I lent this gentleman a flute on the road?" I said with a smile. Of course, I knew this not only because of that incident.
Sister Ren suddenly realized something and her face immediately turned red.
The other people at the scene were completely ignorant and confused, and they really wanted to ask me something. In fact, I know a lot of details. However, as Hei's master, friend and comrade-in-arms, it is really inconvenient for me to reveal what Hei did that night. For example, I cannot describe the details of this man like this: his mount is a mare.
Similarly, according to the ancient saying that it is impolite not to reciprocate, I will also go to Brother Meng De's place.
I followed the gangster's ways, sitting there and asking for drinks directly.
Brother Meng De looked at me with an indescribable smile and poured it for me personally.
"Zi Rui, why are you here?"
"You sent someone to look for me, so you won't let me come back to visit you?"
"Of course you can."
"Isn't my sister here?" I still need to be on guard against Sister Qi, otherwise if I am so arrogant towards her husband, I will definitely be suppressed unconditionally.
"Which sister?" The man still smiled and asked slowly.
Note 1: It is omitted in the VIP version, but will be included in the public version. VIP users who are interested can wait for two chapters to read the public version. After all, you are spending money, and the note does not have much nutritional value, but is very long.
Note 1: After thinking about it, I couldn't help but make a note. Although there was a concept in ancient times that "hair and bones are inherited from parents and cannot be abandoned", there is a time frame, that is, men after the age of twenty and women after the age of fifteen. Some people insist that hair and beards cannot be cut from the beginning. I still remember that a gentleman once left a message in the comment area saying that after seeing Zi Rui shaving, he never read it again and I didn't understand anything. I was sorry at the time, I didn't write well. But I don't think I was wrong. In fact, even after adulthood, trimming hair and beards is not so strictly taboo, even in aristocratic families. After all, there are such craftsmen in ancient books, and of course their main job is trimming, not cutting hair. As for why I replied like this, it is because there are actually quite a few chapters about Zi Rui shaving. I think that the reason why this reader decided not to read on after reading this is probably not because of what he thinks is an omission, but because I wrote poorly, which is why I replied to him like that. In fact, the reader only needs to consider the simplest thing. In ancient paintings, whether the children have longevity peach hair, Ah Fu hair, or two pigtails, their heads are often bald. Can normal children grow that kind of hair distribution without shaving? Why do some ancient emperors have no beard on the jaw, or even no beard in middle age? Does the emperor also need to purify himself? Of course, this is just a joke. Hair and beards still need to be trimmed from time to time. I think about it and decide not to make a note for this paragraph. I am afraid that someone will ask about it in the future. It is too long. Therefore, I will not post this in the VIP version. You can check it out in the free version. In fact, not only this, but also someone mentioned that I used a lot of "I" in my speech, and the ancients did not use "I". They should use "I" and "Yu". Of course, I still don't understand anything. I am very embarrassed about this. I will explain it now. Two sentences: "Those who know me say that I am worried, and those who do not know me say what I want." ("Shu Li" in "The Book of Songs", Chunqiu) and "People are the knife and the fork, I am the fish." ("Records of the Grand Historian", Western Han Dynasty) are both very famous. I will not explain it in detail. What I wrote has "I" and "I". It all depends on which word is more fluent. Some people also use Cao Cao's "Short Song" as an example. Of course, I still don't understand anything... In fact, Cao Cao also has "Song of the Grassland". One of his sons, Cao Zhi, wrote "We are born from the same roots, why are we so anxious to hurt each other?" In fact, another son of his, Cao Pi, wrote the first seven-character poem in the history of Chinese literature. Sorry, I suddenly feel like I have to speak out. I will explain it a little bit and bother you.