In Tokyo Ouchi, the afternoon sun was very bright and the sky was clear. But amid the overwhelming heat and light, the colorful rays of light were dazzling, and it seemed as if a faint cloud was shrouding everything.
The queen had just woken up from a nap, and she still looked lazy and tired, without any energy at all.
Her physique was that she was afraid of both cold and heat. Today's weather was too hot, making her very uncomfortable. She sat on a bamboo couch covered with a breathable straw mat, listless and not knowing what to do. Two palace maids were fanning her gently with fans, and they saw that her forehead was covered with sweat. Her face, which was originally smooth, became greasy after being soaked with a layer of wet sweat; the palace maids fanned her, but they did not sweat as much as she did.
Mu Shang Gong wrung out a towel in a copper basin, came forward and gently wiped the queen's face, while whispering to the maid: "Fan gently, it's not good to fan too quickly."
Fu completely ignored them and stared blankly like a puppet, still being tormented by a group of women.
She looked at the scenery outside, but there was a green veil covering it, and all the scenery was stained with a layer of green, making it difficult to see clearly. The veil was covered on the carved wood to keep out mosquitoes; in addition, incense was burned in the bronze tripod in this side hall, which also had the effect of repelling insects.
At this moment, the eunuch Cao Tai came out with a whisk in his hand, bent over, and looked up at Mu Shang Gong. He tilted his head back and made a gesture. He immediately sent Mu Shang Gong and other women away, then walked forward, leaned over the side of the queen and whispered something.
Gradually, the corners of Fu's mouth twitched to the sides, and the smile in her eyes became more and more intense.
Oh, I knew he would give me a surprise. Fu said happily, his voice getting lower and lower. I made such a big promise to him, and he finally knew how to cherish the opportunity.
After saying that, Fu seemed to remember something, her face slightly reddened, and for a moment she showed a hint of shyness, but she was full of smiles in her shyness. Several emotions intertwined together, and there was an indescribable charm and demeanor, which was very tempting.
Cao Tai was also stunned. Fu's beauty was not only liked by men, but also so beautiful that even women liked her.
Cao Tai quickly echoed: "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty! Shao Ge'er has a way. Now Han Lingkun is firmly in Hebei. Han Lingkun is Zhao Kuangyin's brother."
Fu raised her sleeves to cover her mouth and nose, her graceful and elegant movements like a light dance. Then she burst into laughter, bending over with laughter, and was indeed a little unscrupulous in her pride.
Fu had laughed enough and said, "It's not over yet, and it's not that easy. But what does it matter? It's better to relax and have some fun now." She sat up straight, stretched her neck, her eyes were bright and she was in high spirits. She immediately called out, "Mrs. Mu, I want to take a shower and change clothes. I'm very greasy, so what's the use of just dipping the towel in it?"
Your Majesty, please wait a moment. Mu Shanggong came to the door and I will arrange for someone to prepare.
When the queen is in a good mood, she will do whatever she wants. It’s only the afternoon and she wants to take a bath. It doesn’t matter. There is nothing wrong with her even if she wakes up in the middle of the night and suddenly wants to take a bath.
Her tone was even a little willful: I still want to drink
Mu Shang Gong said: Okay, even if Your Majesty wants to hold a banquet right away, that’s fine.
Forget it then. Fu smiled and said, the officials and soldiers are still at the front line, it is not right for us to sing and dance in the back.
Cao Tai said: Seeing that you, the Queen, are happy, everyone will be happy too.
He was not wrong. Those who were close to the queen all liked to see her confident and complacent. Only when the queen appeared strong and confident of victory would everyone feel safe.
Thousands of miles away, there is Xiongzhou, Hebei.
Guo Shao suddenly woke up and sat up with sweat on his forehead. He opened his eyes and was immediately blinded by the bright light. It took him a long time to realize the time and place. He had only taken a nap, but he had slept so deeply.
His heart was still throbbing rapidly. The images left in his mind still hadn't faded away: the piles of heads, the bloody headless corpses filling the streets, the cries and the despair.
Guo Shao opened his hands, his Adam's apple moved, and in a trance he saw blood all over his hands that he couldn't rub off.
What did I do? Why not? I did nothing wrong. I did nothing wrong. He murmured with his eyes wide open. He told himself again and again in his heart: The situation was urgent at that time. The prisoners could only be released if they were not killed. Should we let the Liao cavalry go? They are enemies.
If we let them go, more people will die under the iron cavalry.
So I didn't do anything wrong
They are brutal and have killed countless innocent people. They deserve their punishment. Have you forgotten what happened to Mrs. Chen's family? Since the enemy did it, why can't I fight violence with violence and punish injustice with killing
Guo Shao sat there for a while.
Looking back, I didn't feel much at the time. It was just a matter of a moment. Before I could feel what I had done, it was over when I woke up. But afterwards, those scenes would come to my mind again and again, tormenting my soul.
No matter how he convinced himself, he couldn't eliminate the aftereffects.
At this time, Guo Shao took a waist ornament from the pillow, and stroked it for a while. When he closed his eyes, he could see her beautiful smile like spring breeze. He let out a long sigh and whispered: Goddess who was reborn into the world, where are you? Please dispel the nightmare haze and fog in my heart, please guide me in the critical moment, and don't let me do something I will regret.
Gradually, his mind became clearer and he finally stopped his strange words and deeds.
He got up and sat down on the stool listlessly. It was sunny outside, and he held the thing in his hand in the sun and looked carefully at the stitches on it, which were of different lengths, some deep and some shallow.
Fu Ermei seems to be able to sew. Even girls from aristocratic families have to learn needlework. Has her sister, the queen, never learned it
Until the evening.
Guo Shao suddenly saw Jingniang. She and her followers had come all the way to Hebei, and finally found out where the left wing of the Hujie Army was stationed.
She brought the Queen's instructions, which were not written but spoken. Two things. The first was to remind Guo Shao that the Emperor might be ill. Guo Shao already knew this. The second was to tell Guo Shao not to act rashly, not to show off his edge under the Emperor's nose, and to endure if he could, and bide his time to get through it.
After hearing this, Guo Shao thought: Is it not too much of a show of strength for me to slander Zhao Kuangyin
After finishing the business, Jingniang could only rest in the central army camp that night. Guo Shao saw her slim waist and plump hips, and he hadn't seen a woman for a long time, so he tried to touch her, but was rejected by Jingniang, so he had to give up in disappointment.
Jingniang said: I have one more thing to do. I need to go to Daming Prefecture to bring back a group of people for the Queen. I won’t stay any longer. See you in Tokyo.
Guo Shao hurriedly asked: What kind of person
Jingniang said: They are a group of actors, and their name is Beiguo Caimian. The Queen said that we only need to report to Prince Wei, and no more words are needed, so I don't know what kind of people they are. I have a handwritten letter from the Queen, and I will go to Daming Mansion now.
After hearing this, Guo Shao did not ask any more questions. He immediately asked someone to grind some ink so that he could write a letter and asked Jingniang to take it to Fu Ermei on the way.
The woman he loved the most had never changed, and that was Jinzhan. But he still missed Fu Ermei very much, not only because she was his first wife, but also because she was so beautiful. He himself didn't understand and didn't like to get tangled up, anyway, he instinctively felt close to her.
The next day, Jingniang was about to leave. Guo Shao accompanied her for a while, feeling a little reluctant to let her go.
Jingniang is more open-minded and free-spirited than Guo Shao. Guo Shao did some things that made him feel uncomfortable, but Jingniang did not. She lived a straightforward life.
So she just went ahead and didn't like to dawdle at all.
She had no pressure in doing things: it was obvious that the Queen and Guo Shao were in the same group, and serving the Queen meant serving Guo Shao.
Daming Prefecture.
When Fu Yanqing heard about Beiguo Caimian, his face changed drastically. Jingniang took out the half piece of broken jade and a handwritten letter given by the Queen.
Fu Yanqing immediately dismissed his attendants and told them to leave without a trace. He then took out the other half from his pocket and pieced it together. After the piece was put together, there was still a gap. Fu Yanqing took Fu's letter carefully with a serious expression.
After a long time, he said: Madam, please stay in the palace for two days. I will see you again in two days.
Two days later, Fu Yanqing met him again. He clapped his hands and saw dozens of people file in, all women. At first glance, there were maybe fifty people, maybe sixty.
Their faces were painted with various colorful patterns. They looked different yet all seemed the same, because they were all about the same height, weight, and body shape, and their faces were indistinguishable.
They moved in unison, knelt down together and said: We were born for the Fu clan, and we will die for the Fu clan.
Jingniang felt very strange when she saw this.
A woman with a colorful face came forward and said: "King Wei, do you want to watch a play?"
I want to see it. Fu Yanqing said with a smile.
A group of people suddenly changed teams, took out wooden swords, fans and other props, and circled around Fu Yanqing and Jingniang. To be honest, Jingniang thought this so-called play was very ugly, the movements were stiff and stiff, and it didn't look like dancing at all. But they danced very seriously, with small and fast steps getting faster and faster, and pretending to pose.
Sister, what role do you want to play? A voice asked.
Another voice said: Let’s perform Li Sao.
"I am a descendant of Emperor Gaoyang. My father is called Boyong." A woman's voice started to read it directly. There was no melody, let alone the sound of stringed instruments.
Monotonous, pale and crude.
Jingniang was almost dizzy by them. She stood there in a daze, watching the show in front of her. For a moment, she felt that what she saw was simply the most ridiculous scene in the world.