Changes in the sky
Volume 2: The Edge of Heaven
Chapter 183 Huaili
Unlike me who was thinking about the name of Ah Yi in advance, Yinling was obviously more interested in this second brother whom she had never met. It should be the third brother. I remember she mentioned that she had an older sister who was lost some time ago, named Jinling. It would be unreasonable for me, her brother-in-law, to be called anything other than Tongling.
Fortunately, Yinling's interest was entirely on my brother-in-law. Otherwise, based on her understanding of me, she would have known what I was thinking when she saw me looking so silly and happy, and she would have given me a good beating when she got back. At this time, she not only kept her eyes on her eldest nephew, but also kept asking about her own brother. Sima Lang had invited him to dinner to thank him for taking care of Yi. During the conversation, I found that he had extraordinary knowledge and had dabbled in all kinds of things. We had a great time talking to each other. After learning his father's name, I was surprised that my brother-in-law was actually the son of Mr. Shuijing, and I became even closer to him. My brother-in-law was also bullied by the local children when he went there just now. Fortunately, he learned some martial arts from his mother's clan, and he didn't know how to do it when he went there, so he could protect himself. After several times, he didn't suffer any loss. The local bullies gradually kept their distance from my brother-in-law. My brother-in-law would take the initiative to protect those new people from the same clan who came from other places if they were bullied. He was quite chivalrous. Over time, naturally, the children of the Sima clan who came from other places to study naturally gathered closely around Sima Biao.
Hearing this, I couldn't help but shout "good". But Lord Sima Fang shook his head and laughed, saying that he also liked to bully the new students from the Sima family when he was in school, but when he was an official in another place, his own children became the outsiders and were bullied.
Sima Lang also had a third brother named Fu, who was only nine years old that year, and was said to have three more guards. Sima Lang said one was called Kui, one was called Xun, and the other was called the sixth, and it was even said that his wife was pregnant again. The three guards were said to be accompanying their mother in the backyard, and did not come out at noon that day. But I did see Sima Fu, who was summoned by Lord Sima to come and see me. This child is very knowledgeable and well-mannered, unlike his peers outside who are at the age of naughty and mischievous. He has no mistakes in etiquette in public, and is serious. If it weren't for his clear and crisp voice, he would have sounded like a low-level clerk waiting for orders. Yinling sneaked up to bite my ear during the meal, and was more obedient than when I was a child.
That day, everyone was talking about something. Yinling and I also decided with my nephew Boda to go to Wen County together after returning to Luoyang. I really wanted to meet my uncle whom I had never met, and Yinling also wanted to meet my brother whom I had never met. In fact, after meeting the old man, the eldest and the third son of this family, I also wanted to meet the old one, Sima Yi, who was ten years old this year.
As we talked, we talked about ourselves. We lived in Pingleguan in Shanglin Garden. Why did Lord Sima choose a garden of a hundred operas to live in? After asking, I learned that Pingleguan was the place where a hundred operas were performed in Shanglin Garden. The word Pingle originally meant the music of the common people, which was not the ritual music or elegant music. I finally understood the strange structure of the house and why there was a wild tree that grew up in the yard at some unknown time. I had always thought that this was the original layout of Pingleguan, and I thought that the designer had a deep understanding of the charm of the wild gatherings in the mountain village.
The sun was setting and it was almost dusk, so we said goodbye. We had to go back to Shanglin to pack our bags. Yinling was pregnant, so we had to go back to Luoyang slowly. Lord Sima Fang was not willing to keep us, and ordered a team of guards to escort us back to Shanglin Garden. I said that I brought the guards, but I just gave them money to have fun. There was no need to trouble Jingzhao Yin to mobilize troops.
Lord Sima Fang didn't know what to say. I understood that he had probably never seen an official like me before.
Moreover, he is an official who has climbed to a very high position at a young age.
Finally, he ordered his eldest son Sima Lang to see us off. So inevitably, at the place we had agreed to meet in the morning, he met my group of young men and women who were still not satisfied.
But I guess Sima Lang was also surprised that my servants and maids seemed to be more respectful to him than to us; and he was even more surprised that a man named Ge was not very respectful to anyone.
In fact, I also felt that my subordinates had no professional attitude. At least they should have pretended to be very respectful to us in front of outsiders. And they shouldn't have started discussing that young civil servant was very handsome and much better than ** right after saying goodbye to Sima Lang. So I also felt sympathetic to **'s indignation along the way.
Relatively speaking, I can accept Ge Liang's way of dealing with people while pretending to be a foreigner.
Returning the same way, Yinling opened the curtains and looked around before going out. She was a little disappointed because today was not the right day and there was no book fair.
I asked where this place was. Yinling said, "This is Anmen. Near this gate there was a Huaishi where books were copied and sold. It fell into decline after the Xinmang reign. It is said that it was under the auspices of my wife's brother, Sima, the prefect of Jingzhao, that the book market was reopened. The market was changed from being held every half month to being held every five days. However, it seems that today is not an open day."
In order to distract my dear Yinling from her disappointment, I decided to observe it carefully for a while and then said with emotion, "So this is the locust tree?"
Yin Ling complained with some helplessness and amusement, "Is it true that you can't recognize anything that's not edible
"In fact, I can't recognize some of the vegetables in the field." Seeing that Yin Ling's eyes seemed to want to teach me a lesson, I quickly changed the subject: "I know that the west is the former Weiyang Palace, and the east is the former Changle Palace. When the late emperor came to worship the tomb, he often stayed in the Weiyang Palace."
"How did you know?" When I heard this interested question, I knew my diversionary tactic was successful.
"I heard from Brother Zhongdao."
"Isn't it time for dinner?" Yinling asked with some evil interest.
"No, I don't even have time to eat, how can I have time to care about him?" I asked with a smile. Yinling poked my head a few times with her fingers as if dissatisfied, but her smile was still bright.
"Is Huai City named after the locust trees, or are locust trees planted because of Huai City?" Ge Liang asked seriously.
"I've heard that this place is named after the many locust trees." Yinling thought she could answer, so I whispered in her ear, "I think my wife's answer is not mine."
"Then why is there Anmen in front of this place, and the Armory in the back (located in the middle of Changle and Weiyang Palaces, north of the Sophora japonica market, author's note), Changle on the left, Weiyang on the right? It is a book market, but it is named after these few Sophora japonica trees? What was the mind of the person who named it?"
"This?" Yinling couldn't think of anything. In fact, only she could think of such a stupid question. Yinling naturally pulled my sleeves behind her back. This was a call for help. I naturally leaned out of the car, looked around, and answered casually: "Anmen has an inscription on it, Changle Weiyang has houses inside, the armory has a building outside, and the book market has something inside. However, Huai is determined without words, and it summarizes the area of the market; therefore, it is named, and there is no dispute." I admired Yinling's admiring expression when she looked at me, and I did so from then on.
Ge Liang pretended to understand, but didn't even give a token of thanks after receiving instruction. He looked up at the sky and closed his eyes again, seeming very satisfied.
Back in the car, Yinling praised Feng for his quick thinking, but still asked a silly question: "Why does my husband 'think I am wrong'?"
"I am the wise. Does a wife not know her husband's name?"
All viewers should remember that you should not try to be clever with your wife who is pregnant and emotionally unstable. If you do so, "I think it is not my idea".
I remember that when we were very young, she always gave in to me; later, after being with Zishe, a child who made the elders sigh, for a long time, I was scolded a few times, and most of the time I was coaxed immediately; and after we got married, although she liked to act like a spoiled child, she also often indulged me; but after I got pregnant recently, my situation gradually turned into bad, very bad, and even extremely bad.
In a word, anything that makes Yinling unhappy, even if she may pretend to be unhappy, needs to be cleaned up no matter what it is or who it is.
After being cleaned up, I was asked how I felt. I thought it was a good cleanup.
Yinling was very happy then.
When I walked out of the city and headed southwest, I saw some scattered palaces on a high slope covered with weeds on the north side of the road. There was some mist in the morning, so I didn't notice them. But now they are particularly clear under the setting sun. I asked Yin Ling very sincerely and honestly, and she said it was Jianzhang Palace. There used to be a bridge connecting to Weiyang Palace, but it was destroyed by fire during the Xinmang Dynasty. Now these are all restored by General Feng Yi when he restored Guanzhong, and later Emperor Guangwu ordered several restorations. Even so, many of them are still there, just with the previous names. In the past, the entire high slope was full of palaces, and this high slope was built by ramming when it was built. The same is true for Changle Weiyang Palace and even Shanglin Garden, but Shanglin Garden has been relatively less damaged, so it still has its previous appearance. When talking about Shanglin Garden, we have to mention another celebrity: General Ma Fubo (Ma Yuan), the ancestor of Brother Shoucheng, who stationed troops in Shanglin at the beginning and asked for permission to cultivate land in Shanglin Garden and gather the people. A few years after the request was approved, Shanglin Garden looked like a capital city. Later, General Wu Han, the Grand Marshal, was appointed by Emperor Guangwu to be in charge of affairs in Chang'an, and gradually people from all over the country gathered near Chang'an. (Except for the two people who answered the questions, this story is a simple summary of official history)
I couldn't help but admire Yinling's extensive knowledge and strong memory, but Yinling asked me to stop, this is what Sister Pei said. So, Yinling concluded: The current emperor does not want to go to the Weiyang Palace in Chang'an, and calls the Nangong Palace the Weiyang Palace and the Deyang Palace the Weiyang Palace - the main palace that I led the cavalry to trample. The opposition of the ministers at the beginning directly led to the current emperor opening the Hongdu Gate and recruiting talented people from all over the world to serve under the Hongdu Gate to resist the ministers from outside the court.
I have heard of Hongdumen before and asked Brother Zhongdao about it. During the Xiping period, the emperor recruited talented people from all over the world to study at Hongdumen. For a time, people who were good at calligraphy and painting, music and dance, gathered here. His teacher, Lord Boqi, once wrote a letter to advise that such talents should not be listed in the court with people who were good at classics and history. However, the emperor rejected it. In the first year of Guanghe, Hongdumen School was established. After that, it was out of control. However, there were not many people who really became officials. The most famous one happened to be someone I knew named Shi Yiguan, who was soon imprisoned for his crimes. I was not surprised by this. This person could easily find any handle he wanted to catch. If the emperor had not pitied his talent, I guess I would not have seen this brother in Chencang. After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, it was basically abandoned. After the Luoyang Rebellion, which was the opportunity for me to "climb up", it disappeared.
It was quite pleasant chatting with Yinling along the way. Yinling was in a good mood afterwards, so I chatted with her a lot more. I didn't realize that we were about to enter Shanglinyuan. It was getting dark by then.
The guard respectfully handed me a letter that my father had left for me. The letter was very brief, and basically meant that I was leaving first, and you should hurry up and take your daughter-in-law with you. The details were that my daughter-in-law should walk slower, and that I should pay attention to her diet and daily life, etc. After the next generation was born, I was basically forgotten by my father, who would not hesitate to throw anything to me except for official business, and he did not mind his own son's idea of being lazy.
However, the official business this time was simple, just waiting for Brother Zhongdao to come down the mountain and giving the doctor a holiday. Also, because of the chaos this time, in order to make the plan for Your Majesty complete, all sacrifices were postponed. So the emperor would not stay in the tombs of the previous emperors in the three prefectures.
I said goodbye to my wife, told them to go back slowly, and then I went to take care of some work.
As a result, Yinling accused him of a crime: abandoning his wife and children.
Although I am not very familiar with the place where the Doctor lives, I know someone who knows him. As it happens, I know this person, and it is always easier to get things done when you know someone well.
As usual, they criticized each other and then said goodbye happily.
By the way, I learned that General Li Zan has three daughters. Two older daughters came this time. They are said to be twin sisters. They have been around Huangfu Ruomei recently. They are also about thirteen or fourteen years old. In recent days, Sister Zhou Yu has been trying hard to get rid of these two girls. For example, when I was talking to her husband, she was being pestered by two girls dressed the same way to teach her how to shoot arrows. One of them was called Chanchan and the other was called Yuanyuan.
Although Zishi and I are not from Jingzhou, we grew up in Jingzhou and are very familiar with the word "Chan Yuan", so we chatted for a while. Even if we cannot remember all the poems and essays of the Sanlu official (Qu Yuan), we must know a lot of them since we grew up in Jingchu. However, whether it is "My heart is full of sorrow, and I don't know where to go" ("Nine Chapters? Ai Ying"). Or "Nüwa's Chan Yuan, she cursed me again and again." ("Li Sao"), it doesn't seem to be a good sign. But since there is still one more to come, we all think that the words should be "Nüwa's Chan Yuan". (Here Nüwa means elder sister. For a specific explanation, please refer to the reflection area at the bottom. That one does not count as a word. Author's note)
Although I didn't go up to say hello, I still took it to heart. I have two friends there, one who needs to settle down, and the other who is also getting married.
One is Zhang Songpi, the other is She Wenxiong. I feel uncomfortable calling him She Wenxiong, but I feel good calling him Zhang Songpi. The so-called character means that if a man has a son, he will become a husband after the ceremony of coming of age, and if he is given a character, he will have a son. This is what I wrote on the bamboo slips. According to their ages, they should find wives for them, and marrying into the family of Li Yuanli would be a great thing. It may be too early to find a wife for Wenxiong, but if we don’t find a tough one to suppress Songpi, we will have a hard time in the future. (Note: She Yuan is the son-in-law of Huangfu Song in the official history. I would like to reiterate that this book has no direct and necessary relationship with history.)
It is unrealistic for a sister from such a wealthy family to be able to intimidate Songpi, the dead lecher, but Pei Wenxiong is a good match, after all, he is my nephew. I heard that my father lived close to his house, so I thought of going to his house to check it out.
The Doctor and the Priest had not returned yet, the Lord of the Ministry of Rites was nowhere to be found, and Yan was hard to find either, which made me feel quite boring. Before the maid had packed up her luggage, the Lord of the Ministry of Rites took Sister Yan out, left a letter to the Doctor and the Priest, and went to see the Lord of the Right Fufeng. According to the time, he ran away as soon as the emperor left.
I have seen Cai Taichang's handwriting in the Imperial College. I think he must have some friendship with those people and they could definitely get along well.
I had no choice but to leave a letter to explain the situation and also give Taichang a leave.
In fact, I hesitated for a while. After all, my father only gave leave to the Doctor and the Priest, and I was so self-righteous that I took the initiative to give leave to another Nine Ministers. Would it be an act of usurpation
But I thought that since I was a regent and the adopted son of the emperor and empress, it was not a serious crime for me to be blamed. I just did my best to be kind and handled it accordingly. Anyway, I have done a lot of things that deserved the death penalty, and I am not afraid of boiling water.
Yes, sometimes it is not good to be too relaxed and lose vigilance. Because of this, I really got myself into trouble.
Before I had the chance to go back, Ziyu and Zishi found me together.
I was smiling cheerfully at first, but when I saw the two of them looking at me seriously, I realized something was wrong.
Pingleguan got into trouble and that bitch committed suicide
Everyone was busy cooking or cleaning up, busy and noisy. Only Qiu Luan went to look after the children as usual, but she didn't expect that the criminal woman put a dagger to her throat.
The woman blocked Qiu Luan's mouth first, then tied her up before she started talking. She didn't want to harm Qiu Luan, but she was illiterate and knew Qiu Luan was smart, so she wanted Qiu Luan to remember everything and repeat it to us. She repeated it three times, asked Qiu Luan if she could remember it clearly, saw Qiu Luan's head, hugged the children, apologized to Qiu Luan again and again, and finally bowed down in front of Qiu Luan and finally hanged herself.
Qiu Luan struggled desperately and finally rolled to the door, banging on it hard, alerting everyone and finally she was rescued.
But when he put her down, the prisoner had already died.
I was very annoyed, so I called Qiu Luan into the room and asked Yin Ling if she wanted to leave. Yin Ling shook her head, so I let Qiu Luan start.
Qiu Luan was relatively calm, but tears kept flowing from her eyes and her voice was choked with sobs. She did not repeat the words the woman had left for her, but she made her own mistake first.
This woman was originally from Zuo Fengyi, and married to Chencang. Her husband was a decent merchant (a merchant with a fixed shop, there is a word: a merchant who sits and walks). Not long after she got married, she became pregnant, and everything was originally considered happy. Qiu Luan seemed to need to recall here, and then mentioned a wealthy family in Chencang that I was somewhat familiar with, and then thought about it, seemed to be sure of this family, and then continued. This wealthy family must have taken a fancy to his old house and wanted to buy it several times, but because it was an old house passed down from his ancestors, he did not sell it. As a result, one day, the government officials came to his house and took away his husband and wife. They sold private salt, and they really searched their house. A lot of coarse salt. She, she and her husband had never seen this salt before, and it should be that someone secretly put it in from the backyard when they saw the shop in front to frame them. But the Chencang magistrate did not listen to their explanation at all, and her husband cried out that he was wronged and could not bear the punishment, so he died in court. Fortunately, she was pregnant, and according to the Han law, she could not be tortured. After her husband died, she felt like the sky had fallen. Suddenly she thought of the child in her belly, so she pretended to be crazy in court. The Chencang magistrate did not seem to intend to embarrass her, so he just put her in jail. As time went by, the Chencang magistrate forgot about this woman, and did not mention the case again until she gave birth to her daughter. However, the people did not forget. The neighbors often visited her and brought her some delicious food to help her replenish her body and not let the child suffer. They also told her that the ancestral house had been occupied by a wealthy family. After a few months, You Fufeng came and executed the Chencang magistrate, but did not release her. He just treated her better and did not require her to do anything, but he supported her and asked her about all the causes and consequences. Then came the war.
She gave birth to a daughter, and could not continue the family line for her husband's family. She had no face to see her husband and parents-in-law in the underworld, and she had no desire to live. She only wanted her daughter to have a good home in the future, so she decided to continue to endure. She didn't know what kind of person General Zhao was, she only knew that I was a good person. She didn't dare to ask for anything, she just hoped that I could raise her daughter. In the past, people said that Ping'an Fengyun Hou had adopted a baby girl who was framed. Now she didn't ask me to adopt her, but only asked me to raise her daughter and marry her off, and her wish would be satisfied. She knew that I was going to send her to General Zhao, so she felt that her future was uncertain. She had no idea what would happen in the future. Although I praised Zilong a lot, she always felt uncertain. At the same time, she was sure that I would treat her daughter well and arrange for her daughter, and the result was this entrustment of death.
Qiu Luan started crying as she spoke. Her daughter kept asking me about my condition and she kept saying good things about me. However, she didn't expect that the more she praised me, the more determined she became to entrust her daughter to her parents for her own death.
Although he was depressed, he still tried to comfort Qiu Luan and asked her what else the woman wanted to say.
When Qiuluan calmed down a little, the child could be weaned off milk and fed with thick rice soup.
After a pause, the woman's last words before she hanged herself were: Dad, our daughter's name is Xinyi.
Qiu Luan couldn't help crying again.
The children seemed to be awakened by Qiu Luan. I don't know who started crying first, and then all three of them started crying. As if they felt that the person closest to them had left, they cried louder and louder.
Yinling stood up quietly and went to feed the child herself.
I held her, stood up, went out, called Song and **, and told them to hurry to the camps of my E'he and Shaoge tribes, explain the situation to them, and ask them for a few ewes.
Yinling suddenly realized: I almost forgot about them.
I am the same, actually. But at times like this, I can always think far ahead and quickly. Of course, there are also things I can't figure out.
This mother died because of this. Didn't she want to see her daughter grow up? Maybe she trusted me too much. Maybe she knew me from Qiu Luan, especially after knowing Yi Yue's story, and thought of using this method to let me adopt her child.
Yinling didn't ask me at all. After what happened to Yi Yue and spending so many years together, I think she also understood that I had another daughter, but the mother of this daughter was not her.
But she will support me.
Seeing Yinling hugging and coaxing the children lovingly, crying from time to time, I felt sad and just went over to hug her. But Yiren still wanted to comfort me and didn't let me take over.
"It's okay. It's good to give Miao'er or Yan'er an extra sister to keep them company." Yiren said, "Don't hug them. You don't know how strong your arms are. Don't hurt the children. Come on, Qiuluan, help me hug Xueqing."
I don't know what to say, and I feel a little sad. If I can't make the people of the world live and work in peace and contentment, how can I be called a noble? A noble is a person who celebrates, and the happiness of the world depends on him.
Since he cannot make the people of the world live in peace, the so-called regent minister should at least give others something to rely on.
The sheep were delivered quickly, along with several Qiang people, including two women. I have heard many times that sheep's milk can also raise children, and even horse's milk can do the job. On that day, when things were urgent, Yi Xin had even sucked from the horse's belly. The Qiang people obviously knew better, but they did not hold the child directly under the sheep's body, but it was indeed inconvenient. Besides, sheep have a strange smell that is not very pleasant.
A woman took out a leather bag from somewhere, squeezed milk into it, and then opened her hand to reveal a **-like thing, and stuffed it into Yi Xin's mouth. Several Han girls present, including Yin Ling, were a little shy, and some even turned their backs. But Yi Xin was quiet immediately after eating.
Another Qiang woman also took out a similar bag from somewhere, did the same thing, and carried Xue Qing over.
"Anything else? Give some to Xinyi, too."
Someone, in fact, Xinyi has run out of milk. I'm fine, the sheep are enough.
He turned around and told the Qiang man who had nothing to do for the time being to go back and inform the rest of the tribe, pack up together, and get up early the day after tomorrow to prepare to go to Luoyang. Finally, he asked them if they needed anything.
They are all under the care of General Li and lack nothing.
My head, that's good.
That night, I rarely disturbed Yinling and slept in the room with the three children.
Although I was very tired, I didn't sleep much. Qiu Luan and a few maids can do it. They can milk, feed, and wash diapers. I may not be as idle as today in the future, so I will do more.
Yinling was worried about me, so she got up at night to check on me. She didn't persuade me to go back and rest, but just let me sleep for a while when I had the chance. She also told me not to hold the baby too much, because my arms were like stone foundations, and I must not hurt the baby.
I can only ask Qiu Luan and the others to take turns to rest every hour and not get too tired.
That night I just wanted to stay beside these three guys and watch them either rest quietly or cry together.
The next morning, I was not sleepy at all, but I calmed down because the children fell asleep peacefully. I waited for Yinling to wake up and had breakfast with her. I discussed the plan of going to Yuan's hometown today. Yinling agreed and thought it was the right thing to do. I went to find Yuan and asked him where his home was. He was very close, in Huaili, and it took less than an hour to ride there. He had gone back twice to visit his parents when he had nothing to do.
Actually, I didn't know Huaili was so close. I found it very interesting when I found out. I thought I could visit Lord Youfufeng. He should be back to the government office by now. He might bump into Taichang and Yan. I heard that the She family is also a prominent family in my Xie family. I dressed neatly today and even brought a bow and arrow. If I want to be elegant and perform a She ceremony, I can handle it. The She family's She ceremony should be the most authentic. After all, all etiquette is the She family's etiquette. Just like my family is the most formal in thanking other families.
I will accompany you home to visit your father and mother. I have chosen a name for you. This is an overstepping of authority, so you should inform them. Yuan naturally agreed immediately and was very happy. Since there were no women who needed to dress up, he got up immediately. However, I never dared to express my feelings about this in front of Yinling, otherwise I would be ordered to reflect on myself.
On the way, I naturally mentioned that we were going back to Luoyang, and then I had to go back to Yue State, how would you arrange it? Since Zhao Gong asked him to stay and wait for me to leave together, he should be asked to go to my place. I nodded.
It seems that his father is in a tight spot in the north, and he may not be willing to send reinforcements to the front line to face the Xianbei cavalry, so he would rather let him and his brother be officials thousands of miles apart.
I suddenly discovered a problem that I hadn't noticed before.
"Wenxiong, my father mentioned that your brother is my cousin, but you are my same generation. Is it my father who remembered it wrong, or you who made a mistake?"
The child was embarrassed. He actually replied: "Actually, both are correct."
What's wrong with that? Did I hear it wrongly? Or was it because I stayed up all night and my head was fuzzy, so what I heard was actually sleep talking
"What do you mean?"
"My brother and I... actually don't have the same mother..." The child smiled innocently, "We only know that our family is the Xie family in the north. If we count back, we can only go back to Xieyi in Chenjun. Since private school taught us to memorize "Songgao" (Da Ya, written by Yin Jifu, and another "Zhengmin" was also written by him. It is a rare poem in the Book of Songs that records the author, author's note) and "Shu Miao" (Ya), which are called the first records of our family's surname. These two chapters are stories from a thousand years ago (King Xuan of Zhou, who reigned from 827 to 781 BC, granted Shenbo the title of Lord of Xie and ordered Zhao Bohu to camp beside the Xie River. Most of the people here originally had the surname Ren, but later most of them took Xie as their surname, author's note). After that, the family tree was intermittent, and to this day it is unclear how the generations are compared with the descendants of other Xie people in the north."
"In that case, you and I are of similar age, so you can just call me brother." I really don't want to take advantage of others... I decided to take back what I said... I really like to take advantage of others.
"Why?" Yuan looked like a child. He blushed when I interrupted him. "My aunt and my mother both have the last name Qi."
I finally understood: "From my mother's family?"
"Yes, in Fenghao, the Qi family is a prominent family (the main origin of this surname is the descendants who are responsible for the sacrifice of this kind of ritual). My aunt and Lady Zhao are cousins, but my biological mother is their niece."
"Is your aunt still alive?"
"She died of illness soon after giving birth to my brother. My father remarried my mother to take care of my brother, and then gave birth to me."
"What does your mother call your brother?" I admit that I sometimes have a bad taste.
"Well, it seemed like I just called her by her name, and later by her courtesy name, and never referred to myself as the mother." Yuan didn't get angry. I really should reflect on my sometimes overly strong curiosity.
"From now on... when you go to Yue, you will call me brother. But today when I come to your house, I will call your father and mother brother and cousin. How about that?"
"Well, from now on, you should call me uncle. I'm afraid that if I call you brother, it will become easy to do so. If my mother finds out, she will definitely blame me."
"It's okay. The key is that in my court, there are a group of people who are my brothers. You are about the same age as them, and I don't want you to suffer. Well, this is my last advice."
Yuan smiled and said "hmm".
"Do you have any brothers?" Suddenly I remembered something.
"Nothing else, just my brother and me." He felt a little troubled.
As expected, it took less than an hour to reach Huaili. Huaili was much larger than Chencang, but more secure than Chang'an. Along the way, I asked Yuan about Youfufeng's official residence. Before leaving, I had to pay a visit to an old friend. Before I knew it, I arrived at a large courtyard under the north wall of the city.
Before the reinforcements got close, they heard someone hurriedly reporting that the second young master had returned.
Get off the horse and push the rescuer into the door, and pay your respects to your parents first.
An old man, about fifty years old, with gray hair, but in good spirits, walked out with a smile; a woman beside him supported him, about thirty years old, still a beautiful young woman, with joy in her eyes. The two of them got up quickly and hurried to the corridor to help the man who was bowing in front of the hall.
He stood up and saluted, then turned around and introduced me to my parents, his tone a little excited and unable to control himself: "This is the famous Lord Ping An Fengyun Hou."
"I am Yue Houzhi, and I am here to meet my brothers and cousins."
The old man was very happy with my greeting, but he was still a little flustered and didn't know how to face me. He just held my arm and invited me into the hall to talk.
After all, they have seen the world, and after a few pleasantries, they were no longer restrained or nervous. So I could also express my apologies directly to the two of them: "Due to the incident in Chencang, I was unable to mobilize the troops and brought your son to the battlefield. It was such a dangerous battle when he first entered the battlefield. I cannot shirk my responsibility. I hope my brothers and cousins will forgive me."
My cousin was still laughing foolishly, but my cousin said, "Lord Yuehou, this is serious. You don't know how much Yuan'er boasted to his friends when he came back these few times. He said that he and two hundred people were able to maneuver among hundreds of thousands of enemy troops, and were invincible, and took the enemy chief's head..."
"Mother, you don't want it anymore." Yuan was obviously embarrassed.
"What are you afraid of? You really fought very well and are a good general. Oh..." I stood up and bowed, "I need to ask my brothers and cousins to forgive me for my presumptuous behavior. During the celebration banquet that day, I gave Yuan'er the courtesy name Wenxiong on impulse. I am really ashamed."
"Marquis Yue is too serious. He has been the regent of the Han Dynasty since he was young, and he is also the most powerful general in the Han Dynasty. In fact, it is an unparalleled honor for me to have Marquis Yue choose a name for me. It happens that my eldest son Jian's courtesy name is Wen Gu, which is very good." These words made me blush.
Maybe I was overthinking. That day, I only saw a couple of parents looking at their children happily, without the etiquette that I hate. So I decided to get straight to the point: "Tomorrow we will go to Luoyang. Since Zhan Yuan has shown the potential to be a general, I would like to promote him to be an official in Yue State. When I go to the court to assist in the administration, I will bring him to Luoyang. What do my cousins think?"
The scene suddenly became awkward, but soon the old man spoke up: "Yuan'er has grown up, and he should be able to do something. If he follows the regent and hone his skills, he should be able to do something in the future, right?"
My cousin, whom I had never met before, was silent and even looked like she was about to cry. I quickly said, "Yue Country welcomes you at any time, brother and cousin. When you come, you can live directly in my palace, so that you can be filial to your parents at any time."
Actually, when I think about it, my bedroom may not be better than his yard.
"Or, I can let him stay in Luoyang and find a job as an official, so that it will be more convenient for him to come back."
This time it was my cousin who spoke instead: "The situation is getting worse for Yue Hou, and Yuan Er is getting older. It's time for him to go out and make some progress. If you keep staying around, you will only delay him."
"Yes, and... in a few years, Lord Yue Hou will return to Luoyang to govern, and Yuan'er will be back by then. And Gu'er is close to home and can come back from time to time." My cousin seemed to be persuading my cousin who had already declared the righteousness.
The following part is mostly about encouraging the aid on what to do in the future and talking about what to do when you are away from home. It is indeed very familiar.
However, these words were not spoken by my parents or me, but by Yinling. Being lectured and scolded by my wife like a child was sweet, but it was not a particularly glorious thing.
Let's quickly get to the last and most important topic, "I want to ask for your son to marry the granddaughter of Lord Li Yuanli. What do you think?"
My two cousins and cousin were obviously somewhat flattered, but Yuan was only surprised. It was clear that Yuan did not need to express his opinion, and the matter was "all arranged by Yue Hou for my son."
Yuan said he was still young and had never thought about such things. The three of us elders agreed that you didn't need to think about it. But I was already thinking about which of the twin sisters to marry. But the separation of the twin sisters was a bit sad, but I couldn't think of anyone else in my dynasty who was suitable. ** was the first one I cleared out of my mind, otherwise I would be sorry to Master Yuanli. Suddenly I thought of Wu Yue, and I felt relieved. I thought I could ask Brother Mengde or even Sister Qi for help.
Soon, guests arrived. Most of them were old friends and relatives. When they came in, they would say, "I heard that my son Yuan is back" or "I just heard that my brother Yuan is back" or "People on the street saw Yuan coming back." It seems that this city is not very big and the neighbors are familiar with each other.
I took the initiative to avoid going to the side room, and then seeing that more and more people were coming, I said to a maid next to me that if the master and the mistress asked, I would go to Youfufeng Mansion and come back later.
I walked out along the eaves of the wall, and was met with a few surprised looks at the door. Not many, I went out directly, mounted my horse, and rushed to Youfufeng Mansion that was pointed out to me on the road.
Looking at the longbow on the horse, I thought to myself, I should have known not to bring you with me, you just take up space.
There is a peach tree in the backyard of Youfufeng that is taller than the wall. This year, the late spring weather was a little strange. It should have been a day when the peach blossoms were in full bloom, but what I saw was the scene of flowers blooming and falling. Looking at the flowers gradually falling from the tree, I remembered that May when I was in the Weiming Mountain in Yue, holding Yinling and looking at the peach blossoms all over the mountain. I even wrote a poem that is said to be widely recited.
Suddenly, he got inspired, drew his bow and arrow, looked at the tall peach tree, aimed at a branch that seemed a little dry, and shot an arrow, thinking of removing the dry branch.
I regretted that I missed the target... It seemed that I only fanned off a few petals...
This was really embarrassing. He hoped to go to his house, sneak into the backyard and pick up the arrow.
For this reason, I quickly put on my quiver and longbow, so that when I went out for a walk, no one would notice that I had an extra arrow in my hand.
When he was still dozens of steps away from the yard, the side door of the backyard suddenly opened and a head popped out.
Immediately, a little girl jumped out and shouted in a clear and pleasant voice: "Brother Zirui's father, Uncle Zhong, Brother Zirui is here" Immediately, the beautiful girl ran over holding up her skirt.
I was also cheered up by being called "Brother Zirui". I remembered that my father adopted Yan'er as his adopted daughter, so of course I was her elder brother.
I quickly dismounted, opened my arms and rushed forward, picked her up and threw her over my shoulders. Two adults dressed in plain clothes also came out, both looking at me and smiling.
The two elders saluted me when they saw me approaching. I was so panicked that I quickly leaned over and put the frightened Yan on the ground, then returned the salute. I quickly said that I had not sent a visiting card, but had come to their house first, and I was sorry for bothering them, and how could I dare to accept the courtesy of the elders.
Yan became active again when he got to the ground, and even praised me for my godly archery skills.
I suddenly felt that Yan actually deserved to be punished. I had never seen such a slap in the face. Just as she was about to say something, she suddenly opened her hand to show me a complete peach blossom. It was shot by me and placed in my hand. She also exclaimed: Brother Zirui has such big hands!
My mood relaxed immediately. Although I felt a little embarrassed, I realized that I was aiming at the tree branch. I felt that I was one step closer to being shameless.
Yan is much taller than Kongming, and he is three or four years older. If I send Kongming to Luoyang and match him with Yan, can I find him a wife who can handle him? But it is not advisable yet, after all, Yan is still a little young. But Yan is not far from fifteen, so we need to speed up this matter. But Kongming got married at the age of ten, isn't it a little early
As I thought about it, I started to laugh and put the flower on Yan's head. The girl was indeed very pretty, much prettier than the yellow-haired girl who pestered Kong Ming. Although I sometimes reflected on myself that I shouldn't judge people by appearance, and that yellow-haired girl seemed to be quite talented, I felt that it would be much better for Kong Ming to marry Yan than that yellow-haired girl.
I always act faster than I think, so I suddenly started mentioning Kong Ming for no apparent reason.
"During the Yellow Turban Rebellion, many gentry in the Central Plains were slaughtered by the rebels, and many good family sons were stranded in Jingzhou. After I became the Marquis of Ping'an Fengyun, I adopted a young son from the Zhuge family, a prominent family in Zhucheng, and named him Zhuge Liang."
In fact, this notable family in Zhucheng was taught to me by Ge Liang a few days ago.
Although I just wanted to let them know Kong Ming as soon as possible, I also knew that my words were too abrupt. However, I never got nervous about this matter. The more urgent it was, the faster I thought about it: "Although his son is young, he is extremely talented. I am planning to send him to the Imperial College, hoping that he can get guidance from his uncle Taichang. When the wise general returns to the country after going south, I would also like to ask the two adults to help find his lost family in the north."
"Oh, then... How old is Zhuge Liang this year?"
"Nine."
"He is still very young. In recent years, only Ning'er, who is very talented, entered the Imperial College at the age of thirteen. In the past, most students entered at the age of fifteen."
"It's okay. After I go back, I will send this boy to my father's house in Luoyang. If my uncle has time, let my father send him to the Taichang Palace to ask for his guidance. If my uncle thinks this boy is teachable, let him go to the Imperial Academy to learn together. My uncle has many disciples. Brother Zhongdao knows my uncle's knowledge. The stone classics established by the Imperial Academy have become the norm for the time being. If Kong Ming can receive guidance from my uncle, he will surely achieve great success in the future. (This is mentioned in the chapters "Imperial Academy" and other chapters before this book of "Xiping Stone Classics")"
"Kong Ming?" Lord Zhong had been listening with a smile, but suddenly frowned.
"Yes, this boy's name is Kongming, and his name is sewn on his clothes." I suddenly realized something: "Yes, it is exactly the same name as Mr. Hu (Hu Zhao). Come, where is Mr. Hu going? That time we talked, we got along very well."
"My junior brother has left. I don't know where he is now. He didn't tell me. That teacher seems to be trying to recruit Kong Ming for Duke Wei. Lord Meng De himself came here recently to ask about Kong Ming's whereabouts and what he likes. He also wants me to help him. But my junior brother is indifferent to fame and fortune. It seems there is no hope."
"Well, Kong Ming is of this temper, but it's a pity that I didn't see him this time. Come, what's Shi Yiguan's temper like now?"
"Well, it's okay." Lord Yuan Chang is still too protective of this friend. From what my uncle said, it is obvious that he doesn't have a good impression of Shi Yi Guan. Just for this reason, I am willing to call him uncle more often.
"But as for your surname Zhuge, I do know that the county magistrate of Mount Tai used to be named Zhuge. More than a decade ago, I went there to copy the sacrificial inscriptions left by the former emperors for proofreading, and he helped me a lot. Well... This man is called Zhuge Gui. (Zhuge Liang's father in the official history) After all these years, he should have been promoted, right? If we can find him, maybe we can find the family of your child."
I suddenly regretted mentioning this matter, and immediately cursed myself. I secretly made up my mind that since there was a clue in this matter, I would definitely help Kong Ming find his lost family.
It was the Wuchen year of the second year of Chuping, Hu Kongming was 29 years old and Zhuge Kongming was 9 years old.