When Zhao Kuangyin returned to his palace, he saw that the front door was full of carriages and horses. The yard for keeping horses and carriages was full, so the guests could only park their carriages and horses on the street and ask servants to watch over them.
There was a tall wooden pillar in front of the gate, with white paper tied to it, which was blowing in the air and making crackling sounds. White funeral cloth was hung under the eaves of the mansion and at the door. Even passers-by would know that someone had died in the Zhao Mansion.
Zhao Dushi. Many people in General Zhao's yard greeted him, waiting to enter the mourning hall to pay tribute to the deceased. Zhao Kuangyin, surrounded by servants, had a sullen face, but he also clasped his fists in return without saying much.
In the mourning hall, an old man called out several people's names, and several people walked in and paid respects to the tablet and coffin. Next to the tablet, the children and close relatives of the Zhao family led the servants of the mansion to kneel in two rows, kowtowing to thank the guests who came to mourn.
Zhao Kuangyin asked a servant: My mother is in the mourning hall
The servant replied: The old lady was too sad and went to the backyard.
Zhao Kuangyin did not enter the mourning hall, but walked straight inside from the side of the house. As expected, he saw Zhao's mother, Du, sitting on a chair, sighing and groaning, with a look of pain on her face, and she was about to cry but had no tears. The servants beside her kept stroking her back and admonishing her: "Old lady, please be patient, your health is important."
My son is back. Zhao Kuangyin walked into the room and knelt down to pay his respects.
Mrs. Du sat up straight, reached for the crutch beside her, and asked: "What is the government going to do?"
Zhao Kuangyin looked at the servants beside him and waved his hand: "All of you go down first." Several servants hurriedly knelt and said: "Yes." At this time, Zhao Kuangyin said: "The government will not deal with it. I got some money, which is the government's gift for funeral expenses."
Mrs. Du was furious when she heard this and asked: How much money can buy the lives of your father and Sanlang
Zhao Kuangyin hurriedly said: "Please calm down, mother." Du said coldly: "The two people in the hall are still dead, but you are talking lightly. How can you allow that person to bully our Zhao family? Who is Guo Shao?"
Zhao Kuangyin lowered his hands and thought for a while, then said softly: He saved the queen's life last year.
Mrs. Du said: Queen, the world of the Fu family is not yet in the hands of the Fu family. Sanlang, I am sending off the young. Sanlang is the most filial.
It was the child who was unfilial. Zhao Kuangyin knelt down and kowtowed again, asking his mother to mourn, bury his father and third brother first, let them rest in peace, and put other things aside for the time being. The emperor did not want to see the child fighting with Guo Shao, and the child did not dare to disregard the emperor's general principles for personal revenge.
After hearing this, Mrs. Du cried for a while, but did not insist on asking for more. She just said that Erlang must take good care of the funeral.
When Zhao Kuangyin thought of the two coffins placed in the mourning hall in the outer courtyard, he felt angry and sad, and his eyes were sore with anger.
But he still didn't plan to continue to dwell on this matter, because it was useless. On the road to lofty ambitions, there will always be many thorns that hinder people's progress, not only temptations, but also anger and hatred. But those enemies who lead people astray may only be enemies of a certain stage in the long run, and it is not worth risking everything to fight against them.
In contrast, Zhao Kuangyin was more concerned about realizing his own ambitions. The reasoning behind this was very simple: if he ignored the overall situation and fought to the death with his opponent, regardless of the outcome, both sides would suffer, Guo Shao would have to pay the price, and Zhao Kuangyin himself would not end up well; but if he focused on the long term, and waited until one day the great cause was accomplished, then the opponent could be easily destroyed without having to pay the price of revenge. Which choice was wiser
Those who can endure the intolerable will have the last laugh.
When Guo Shao returned to his house, he saw Li Chuyun and his team standing at the gate of the opposite courtyard, so he went to meet his brothers first.
He was carrying a bag that weighed about 10 pounds, which contained some gold and silver items, which were awarded to him by the imperial palace. I don't know why they gave him money, maybe to encourage them to be broad-minded and consider the overall situation. Anyway, it was definitely not to reward him for killing Zhao San.
The previous owner of this courtyard was a civil servant in Kaifeng Prefecture, who preferred quietness. Guo Shao sent Zuo You to negotiate with the owner of the house, who was honest and sold it immediately at a fair price. Now it has become the residence of Guo's personal soldiers, with more than 50 people on duty day and night; some other servants also live here, and the entire courtyard is home to more than a hundred people. This place is like a barracks for garrisoning troops, but Guo Shao's behavior seems to be excusable; most of the personal soldiers did not wear armor on duty, but took weapons.
When Yang Biao saw Guo Shao coming in, he asked first: "Brother, what's wrong?"
All the generals looked over, waiting for the result. They were all very concerned about the group of generals around Guo Shao who were promoted from the bottom. They really couldn't let Guo Shao fall, otherwise everyone would have to disband and fight back to their original form.
Guo Shao said kindly: "You don't have to worry for the time being. The emperor asked Zhao Dushi and me to swear together that we would no longer care about the previous grudges and put national affairs first. Zhao Kuangyin swore first, and I think he should be willing to listen to the emperor's advice."
Li Chuyun nodded and said: "My Lord, you are right. Zhao Kuangyin should not be a person who does not consider the consequences in such matters. If he does this, he will probably not be well received by the government. After all, the current emperor is a wise ruler who can control people."
Guo Shao said: That's true. The emperor is now determined to conquer the north and recover Hebei. If one of me and Zhao Kuangyin is inconsistent and says one thing and does another, which affects the national strategy, I'm afraid it will make the emperor very angry and disappointed. Guo Shao stopped talking here. He thought that Zhao Kuangyin wanted to be the emperor, so how could he give up that path when he encountered a little problem? Zhao Kuangyin finally gained the emperor's trust and reliance, so there was no need to rush and waste his previous efforts.
Luo Yanhuan said: However, now the feud between the lord and the Zhao family has become even greater, and it will be more difficult to resolve than the one with Li Chongjin.
That's right. Guo Shao didn't hesitate and nodded in agreement.
At first, Li Chongjin's dispute was just a dispute of pride. Later, Guo Shao cleaned up his people in the Imperial Guards Department, which was also a normal thing to do. The other people in the Imperial Guards Department also took advantage of the situation and became accomplices; everyone was fighting for power. But Zhao Kuangyin now has two bodies at home. This hatred may not be resolved at all. If Guo and Zhao can't resolve it in this life, maybe their descendants will have to decide who is higher. Just like Zhu Wen and Li Keyong in the past, the two fought for a lifetime, and after they died, their sons finally decided the winner. Li Keyong's son destroyed Zhu Wen's family and his dynasty.
Having come to this point, there is no way out. There is a new powerful enemy.
Guo Shaodao: It's all right now. Everyone, please go away. It would not look good to gather in my house.
Everyone then said goodbye.
When Guo Shao returned home, Yu Lian saw him and said: "Mrs. Gao sent someone this morning to say that the marriage proposal to Prince Wei's Mansion went smoothly. Next, we need to prepare the betrothal gifts and send them to Daming Mansion in Hebei Province, and then discuss the date of the wedding." Mrs. Gao left a message, asking you to find time to go to the Gao family to discuss this matter.
Zhao Kuangyin's family was holding a funeral, but Guo Shao was talking about the betrothal gift. But it didn't matter, Zhao Kuangyin was not Guo Shao's relative, his family's funeral had nothing to do with Guo Shao, and he couldn't stop others from planning a wedding.
The betrothal gift would cost a lot of money, and Guo Shao's family was not well-off, so he was a little short of money. He handed the bag of heavy metal weighing more than ten kilograms to Yu Lian, and the money awarded by the emperor was just enough to prepare the betrothal gift.
After he finished talking to Yulian, he met Jingniang again in front of the Feiqiao Gate Tower in the back garden. Jingniang followed him into the back garden, and then whispered: I went to the East Market this morning, and unexpectedly ran into the eunuch Cao Tai, so I told him what I said.
Guo Shao said again, "I know there has been no news about the queen recently. Didn't I say last time that I would help you rebuild the Yuzhen Temple?"
Jingniang said: No, except that I took the initiative to find Cao Tai this morning, no one in the palace had any contact with me.
After hearing this, Guo Shao said no more.
He now really needs the support of Empress Fu, not only practical help, but also psychological support. Perhaps it is because Fu's family played a crucial role in Guo Shao's current situation that he gradually developed a certain psychological dependence on Fu's family.
In the past, Guo Shao relied on Fu to advance to the top, and in the future, he will need her just as much, and even more.
For a moment, Guo Shao had an illusion that he had come here from thousands of years ago and had done a lot of things. In fact, to sum up all the things, it was just a process of getting closer to that woman.
From the beginning, the distance of a thousand years, which was so far that it was impossible, suddenly shortened to one era; then there was a huge difference in status, which kept shrinking until now. Guo Shao felt that he was getting closer and closer. After marrying Fu Ermei, they were already close to the level of relatives.
The betrothal gifts must be prepared soon, and there is no time to delay. Guo Shao immediately put the matter on the agenda, and turned back to Jingniang and said, "Send someone to the East Market to inform the owner of a weaving shop called Shenlichen, and ask them to send someone who can make decisions to Guo's house. There is a big business to take care of them."
Jingniang said: I will ask Bai Xiangu to go later.
Guo Shao nodded and said: Bai Xiangu went to discuss the matter, and the other party might send someone to ask about the situation first; if it is a woman, let Yu Lian receive her first. When they send the person in charge to handle the matter, they will ask me to meet him, so as to save the trouble of meeting him several times.
He thought: I should buy some silk and other things, not just money. Silk and cloth seem to take up space. When the time comes, I can get some other gifts, and then I can make many boxes to hold the betrothal gifts, which is very dignified; otherwise, if I just give gold, silver and money, it will be very ugly. As for the betrothal gifts for marriage with the rich and powerful, how much of various things are needed, Guo Shao still needs to consult with someone.
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