In the northern garden of the imperial city, Fu was sitting under a yellow umbrella, watching the scenery in the distance; the eunuchs and palace maids around her were also looking into the distance. On the green grass, a group of horses were galloping. The soldiers of the east and west squads surrounded the emperor from front and back, having fun in the bright sunshine.
The gentleness under the umbrella and the competition between the war horses on the grass formed a completely different style. The beautiful and vivid scene was like a meticulous painting. The queen's round and delicate face was the most beautiful, with bright eyes and white teeth, which made all the women around her look dull.
Fu had a good appearance and figure, but that was not the most important thing. She became wonderful because of the temperament and charm in her every smile, frown and gesture.
She will be 25 this summer, but none of the teenage girls next to her are as pretty as her. The maid standing behind Fu is a teenage girl with a melon-shaped face and pure beauty, but she has no charm next to Fu. She looks thin and frail, as if she has no charm, and only a young and delicate skin is left.
Chai Rong was just shouting that he wanted to train the horses himself, so Fu asked the eunuch to persuade him. When she was telling the eunuch, her voice was so gentle and graceful that it seemed like she was born with a kind of charm. Even the simplest words sounded very meaningful when spoken from her mouth.
After a while, the eunuch came back and reported: The emperor said that the queen should just sit still and watch how he tames the wild horse.
After hearing this, Fu sighed lightly, straightened her neck lazily, and stretched her upper body as if she was stretching, with a slight complaint in her tone: He didn't listen to my advice, and I still had to compliment him on his strength and say that he is still as heroic as he was in the past.
Everyone listened attentively to her words that sounded like complaints but were full of concern. Even the women liked to listen to her talk. In a simple sentence, the two ordinary sentences that were similar to haiku were as poetic as prose. She didn't need literary talent, just her slow-paced voice could make the words full of affection. The tone of her voice rose slightly at the end, which suddenly made it more lively and cheerful. Maybe Fu was not a dull person to begin with, but she became more stable because of her rough experiences.
Last night, Fu went to please Chai Rong and had a nourishing soup. As a result, she said two words, and Chai Rong almost lost control. Seeing that he was hesitant, Fu recommended Concubine Du to the emperor, and only then did she get away. Concubine Du was also very beautiful, and she was the daughter of a general who died for the emperor in the Battle of Gaoping. She was very much loved by the emperor. Her brother is now also a guard in the inner palace, and is deeply trusted by the emperor. This morning, Concubine Du was very grateful to the queen.
Fu really didn't want to sleep with the emperor. Two years ago, she had looked for many opportunities to have the emperor's favor, but now she avoided him every time. Fortunately, Chai Rong never asked for it.
Of course, if the emperor wanted to force her, Fu Shi would not want to resist, fearing that she would anger him. Fu Shi was not a hypocritical person. The emperor was her husband. Compared with more serious consequences, she knew how to choose; even though she was very disappointed with Chai Rong after Chenzhou fell ill, it did not prevent her from enduring such a person. Besides, her innocence was of no use to her now. If she did not give it to the emperor, she would have to keep it in the coffin. Even if Fu Shi was bold and unbridled, she did not think that she should do something as a queen.
She couldn't ignore the official or annoy him because she needed to retain his favor.
Apart from some of his own thoughts, Chai Rong seemed to have been secretly dissatisfied with Taizu Guo Wei's arrangements, but he never said it out loud. The emperor seldom approached women after returning to Tokyo. He did not visit his concubines once a month, and his health seemed to be getting worse and worse.
But today he came to Beiyuan to ride a horse, and he actually wanted to tame a wild horse. It seemed that he was not satisfied with the status quo.
At this time, the eunuch Cao Tai came over from the north palace gate, walked under the umbrella, took out a letter from his bosom, and said: "Your Majesty, the letter from Prince Wei has been delivered to the palace gate. The people over there sent someone to ask me to collect it, and I brought it to you now."
Fu said: Open it.
Cao Tai carefully opened the lacquer seal in front of her, cut open the envelope, and took out a few folded papers from it. Then he carefully pinched the envelope and looked inside to make sure there was nothing else.
When Fu unfolded it, a smile immediately appeared on the corner of her mouth, because it was a letter from Fu Ermei, and she knew it just by looking at the handwriting.
Fu Shi always had a smile on her face, but her smile was different every moment. It was hard to see such a relaxed and clean smile now. The second sister was about the same age as her and they grew up together. Before Fu Shi got married, she had the best relationship with the second sister, so she was very happy to see the letter from her sister.
There was nothing profound or heavy in the words, they were very playful and many of them were very funny. Fu took out a white silk handkerchief from her sleeve pocket and gently pressed it to her lips, laughing from time to time.
Seeing this, the people around smiled and relaxed. It was rare to see the Queen so happy.
Fu thought to herself: Compared to six years ago when I left the Fu family and got married, I have become a completely different person from the eldest daughter of the Fu family at that time; but the second sister seems to be no different from then, and she still behaves the same way.
The second sister's letter was full of trivial matters, and she didn't mention the marriage and the major events of the Fu family. The letter spent a lot of space to write about what happened with Guo Shao in the first month of this year, saying how she pretended to be a maid to tease Shao Ge'er, Guo Shao was younger than her, and how stupid Shao Ge'er was, and was fooled and stunned. She also said that if he was the king of Southern Tang, he would exchange the sixteen states of Huainan for her, and there would be no need to fight a war.
When Fu saw this, she immediately concluded that Guo Shao had already seen through her. Fu had told Guo Shao that the second sister looked like her. Even if she hadn't said it, Guo Shao had seen her before, and he couldn't have guessed what the second sister looked like after seeing her.
The second sister spoke without restraint in front of her elder sister, and described the events of the first month of the year in great detail and with great interest. Fu Shi could see that the second sister's heart had been easily captured by Shao Ge'er.
This is not the fault of the younger sister. Although she is well-dressed and well-fed, it is actually quite boring to stay in the Prince Wei's mansion all day long. However, the second sister is a very spiritual and lively woman, and she has not experienced any storms and has a very pure mind. Such a second sister, when she met Guo Shao, whose parents had agreed to the marriage, she had no pressure at all. It would be strange if she was not won over by a little trickery.
Guo Shao really got it easily, he just got there first. Now that the second sister is in Daming Prefecture, I'm afraid she's thinking about the things in the first month of the year all day long. She has never experienced such things, so it's easy for her to fall into it.
Fu thought that if she had married Li Shouzhen's son Li Chongxun six years ago and Li Chongxun had half the sincerity and means of Guo Shao, she would not be much better than her second sister. Unfortunately, Li Chongxun was too bad. Fu hated the way he was submissive in front of his father. The other sons of the Fu family also respected Fu Yanqing and did not see him like that.
She was not worried about her second sister. She knew exactly what kind of person Shao Ge'er was. She was confident that she had his heart in her hands, although she herself seemed to be trapped. Anyway, with her backing up her second sister, how could her elder sister treat her badly
Fu was reading her sister's letter with great interest, deep in thought, when she was startled by a noise in the distance. When she looked up, she saw a big man leading a very tall horse towards her.
It looked like the horse was not docile at first glance. It jumped around and didn't listen to the commands of the person leading it. It was full of wildness.
Fu asked: Which horse does the official want to tame
A fat eunuch stepped forward and said: The wild horses presented by the Tanguts are very rare. These horses are very wild, but once they are tamed and recognize their masters, they will definitely be the best horses among thousands.
Fu said: The emperor is in poor health, and you are just sitting there and watching. Go and persuade him. It's just a horse.
The fat eunuch said: "Everyone is trying to persuade him, but it's no use. Your Majesty, you don't understand. A king who conquers the world on horseback cannot be persuaded by anyone when he sees a good horse."
At this moment, they saw Chai Rong had already climbed onto the horse's back. It was too late to stop him. The horse immediately began to run wildly, kicking and shaking non-stop, trying to throw the man off its back. Chai Rong cursed loudly on the horse's back, as if he was flying.
The soldiers around were all anxious and shouted: "Hurry up and save the official!"
I saw a knight galloping up, and the knight, regardless of his life, jumped over the back of the galloping horse and hugged the horse's neck. He let out a loud shout, but the horse did not stop him and instead knocked the man away.
A moment later, Chai Rong was also thrown off the horse's back, and everyone around was shocked. Fu Shi couldn't even keep her balance and stood up from the chair, her face suddenly pale.
Everyone rushed to rescue Chai Rong. The generals beside him were very anxious and shouted: "Kill that wild horse quickly!"
Chai Rong could still shout, it seemed that he had not fallen too badly, he was helped to stand up by the soldiers, and hurriedly said, "Don't hurt it." Chai Rong looked at the fierce horse and sighed, saying: "I can no longer tame it, but it is still a rare good horse."
After hearing this, Fu showed an unpredictable expression on her face. The emperor seemed to be too indulgent to those talented people. Perhaps it was a feeling of mutual respect.
At this moment, Chai Rong called out: Qiao Kang, what happened to you
The general who was knocked away by the horse climbed up with difficulty and forced a smile: That horse is indeed very wild.
Seeing this, Chai Rong laughed out loud, his expression a little distorted, probably enduring the pain. When the general named Qiao Kang came over to pay his respects, Chai Rong patted his back and praised him: You were really loyal and brave just now.
Qiao Kang hurriedly said: I am on duty for Your Majesty, and I have made a decision with the generals and soldiers to die for Your Majesty at any time.
Chai Rong nodded, praised a few more times, took off the cloak he was wearing on his military uniform, and put it directly on Qiao Kang: I don’t have anything to reward you at the moment, so just serve with me.
Qiao Kang was grateful and hurried to express his gratitude.