The Shu army camp at Qingni Ridge. The Zhou army had just launched another attack during the day. This time the troops were more concentrated, and both armies suffered heavy casualties. Unlike the last time, this time there was a close combat.
Ouch, ouch! In the firelight, the wounded soldiers were crying out in pain.
A minor official chewed bitter herbs in a simple shack, spit them out and applied them on the waist of a wounded soldier. He spat a few times and turned around and said, "Water." A soldier covered in mud quickly brought a bowl to him to rinse his mouth.
The wounded soldier lying on the bed was covered in mud and blood except for his thighs. The blood on his pants had already coagulated, like a piece of hard cloth that had been starched. The civil servant said: Cover him with a thicker cover at night. In my experience, it is very easy to catch a cold after being injured.
Just as he was about to leave, he was suddenly grabbed by a wounded soldier. The wounded soldier said in a Sichuan accent: Am I going to die
The civil servant took a look at the wound and said: Don't get it dirty, you won't die unless it becomes festered.
The wounded soldier pleaded: I can't read. If I die, please help me write a suicide note for my mother.
Damn it, you want to die so badly, the civil servant cursed, I still have to see other injured people, you can talk to me when you want to die.
In the dark and dirty shack, the wounded soldiers cried out in pain.
In the harem of Shu. In front of the jasper window, the window is really a flower window carved from jade, and in winter it is inlaid with colored glaze to block the wind; colored glaze is not glass, and its transparency is very limited, but it makes the light of the rising moon look hazy and gentle. The halo like mist is transparent through the light green of jasper, and the light in the room is colorful.
The lady standing in front of the window had a smooth forehead, long eyebrows, big eyes, a smooth and slightly less plump face, and a slightly pointed chin. Her face was not good in that era, and people thought that a plump oval face was a sign of good fortune; but she had fair skin, bright eyes, white teeth, black and light hair, and a bright white skin. With such a good appearance, she would be considered a wonderful beauty even if her face was not good, so she was born as a singing girl and was favored by Meng Chang among thousands of beauties.
There were sparkles in her eyes, but she was alone here without a smile, and instead looked a little lonely. She was holding a very thin and sharp knife inlaid with gems, cutting wine bone trough, a kind of sheep head marinated with wine, which was her unique cooking skill. The cut mutton was as thin as paper and crystal clear; so it took extra care to achieve it, and her eyes were very focused.
Lady Huarui is not good at smiling, and her lips look a bit stubborn, so she doesn't smile just now. She rarely smiles at other times. When people mention singing girls, they always think of them as selling smiles; but there are actually various ways to please men, not necessarily with a smile. Lady Huarui uses her cold and pitiful charm, and men can't help but actively want to please her.
But now she doesn't have to try hard to please men because she is already a royal concubine.
Lady Huarui carefully and gently cut a crystal-clear thin slice and placed it on a golden plate beside her. Only the Emperor Meng Chang of Shu could enjoy her painstaking cooking skills, and even she herself was unwilling to enjoy it, as it was really laborious.
Treat him well tonight. A man is like a child. When he is willing to work hard, he should be encouraged.
But Meng Chang is the kind of person who does everything on a whim. He wants to work hard now, but if the situation gets better after a while, he will forget about it and continue to study the art of sex among women. But no matter what, as long as he is motivated, he can't be discouraged. Maybe he will figure it out someday. Lady Huarui can only rely on him and hope that he will be a good emperor.
No matter what, it was only Meng Chang who gave her status and a place to live, and allowed her to live like a human being. Everything she had now was given by Meng Chang, and she cherished it very much. When she was a singing girl, although she was extremely beautiful and could easily attract the attention of dignitaries, and once or twice she could satisfy her vanity in the midst of luxury, but she soon realized that they were just playing around.
Even her reputation was brought up by Meng Chang. If the emperor had not praised her so much and bestowed upon her the title of Lady Huarui, she would have been just a pretty singing girl.
Madam Huarui picked up a thin piece of cake with a very delicate gesture and placed it on the golden plate. Every move was very elegant. She couldn't help but think of the movements and tone that the brothel owner repeatedly taught her when she was twelve or thirteen years old: this way, go slower, and remember that every part of you is to make men like you. The brothel owner's voice was still ringing in her ears. It had been many years, but it seemed like those things happened just yesterday.
Madam Huarui screamed in pain. When she came to her senses, she saw blood oozing from her fingers. She hurriedly pinched her fingers with her right hand.
Your Majesty, you are injured. The palace maid standing beside you panicked, came up to take a look, and then hurriedly went to get medicine and gauze for bandaging.
Madam Huarui murmured angrily: I told you not to be distracted.
Seeing that there were already a lot of slices on the golden plate and her hand was injured, she reached out and spread the slices of meat more evenly. That was it.
Soon, Lady Huarui personally carried the golden plate to the magnificent palace outside and placed the wine bone trough on the table. Meng Chang drank the wine and said, "Stop it, come and drink with me."
Madam Huarui advised softly: Your Majesty, drink less. Doesn't it mean that you have to attend the court early this morning
Haha, I heard Madam Meng Chang laugh, and the flesh on his double chin was shaking. Meng Chang's face was okay, with a full forehead and regular features. He didn't look particularly fat, and his skin was very fair. But he was very fat, all soft fat, the result of being pampered in the palace all day long since he was a child.
I like this wine bone trough the most, Meng Chang said, picking up a piece. Just as he put it to his mouth, he suddenly saw the blood-stained gauze on Madam Huarui's fingers, frowned and said: How did you get hurt
Madam Huarui said softly: I accidentally scratched my skin, it's just a superficial injury and it's nothing serious.
Come, let me see. Meng Chang put down his chopsticks, took her hand, and asked, "Does it hurt?" Madam Huarui shook her head hastily, revealing a hint of a smile. Meng Chang said, "Be careful."
The two continued to drink and eat. Lady Huarui noticed that Meng Chang no longer ate the wine bone trough, and even did not touch the piece he had picked up before. She knew that Meng Chang hated blood the most, and it was probably because the sight of blood affected his mood. Lady Huarui felt a little upset. It took a lot of effort to make the mutton head meat so thin, but she didn't care. She was used to it. Just like they practiced their talents since childhood, they just wanted to go on stage to please the officials and nobles.
Madam Huarui glanced sideways and said, "Come here, serve rice to His Majesty. Prepare hot water. His Majesty will rest after bathing and changing clothes."
Meng Chang listened and said with a smile: "Yes, let's eat. I said that we will start to work hard to govern tomorrow."
The next morning, it was still dark, but the winter morning court was almost here. Madam Huarui had already dressed up and walked to the main hall. She walked lightly in the spacious hall for a while, looking up at the tall throne inlaid with gold.
She pursed her lips, held her hands slightly in front of her belly, and slowly walked towards the Zanzheng Pavilion next to the main hall. There was such a room on both sides, sometimes the civil servants and clerks who took notes would sit in it to write; but most of the time it was just used to store the emperor's ceremonial objects.
Madam Huarui came in and said to the eunuchs and palace maids who followed her in: "Close the door and don't make any noise for a while. I want to sit here and listen to your majesty handle state affairs."
The eunuch hurriedly closed the wooden door, swept a waist-shaped stool clean with a whisk, wiped it clean with his sleeve, and carefully moved it to the paper-mounted carved window. Madam Huarui then slowly walked over, put down her graceful and slender waist, and sat quietly on the stool.
After waiting for a long time, the outside gradually became lively. First, the drums were beaten, the eunuchs sang lyrics, and then the music was played. Many people entered the hall one after another. Then Meng Chang walked slowly towards the throne with his head held high, followed by the eunuchs and palace maids who bent over and followed him. Long live the emperor! Many people shouted together and fell to the ground.
Wearing a crown and a royal robe, Meng Chang slowly walked to the imperial couch and sat down. Then he raised his wide sleeves, slowly stroked it from left to right, and said: My dear ministers, please stand up.
Hundreds of people got up from the ground one after another.
Your Majesty, good news! An official stepped out impatiently and held up something with both hands. Meng Chang, who was sitting on the dragon throne, was immediately delighted and said, "Speak in front of all the ministers!"
People looked sideways and saw that it was Wang Zhaoyuan, the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, who called himself Mr. Wolong.
Wang Zhaoyuan was calm and composed. He bowed elegantly to his superior, then looked down at the ministers and said, "Li Jin, the governor of Shannan West Road, has come with a fast horse to report a great victory. The Shu army has defeated the Zhou army at Qingni Ridge and has kept the Zhou army out of the country. Those colleagues who have been in a state of panic and making alarmist remarks recently can now rest assured."
Prime Minister Li Hao stepped out and said: As far as I know, this battle was led by the Xingzhou Defense Commissioner Hou Mao, and had nothing to do with the Shannan Road Jiedushi; and it was just a test attack by the Zhou army, and the Zhou army suffered very few casualties, so how can it be said to be a great victory? The 20,000 Zhou troops are still in the north of Qingni Ridge, so how can we rush to say that we have kept the Zhou army out of the country
Hou Mao Wang Zhaoyuan looked back and asked, "Have you heard of this person?"
Everyone shook their heads.
Wang Zhaoyuan said: What benefit did Prime Minister Li get from that man? If he specially asked for credit for him in the hall, it would be Hou Mao. Xingzhou is under the jurisdiction of Shannan West Road, and the credit for the victory is not counted on the main general.
Meng Chang, sitting on the dragon throne, said nothing and listened to the two of them arguing.
Li Hao said: I don't want to compete with you for credit.
Wang Zhaoyuan suddenly snorted: Prime Minister Li is addicted to writing surrender letters
Li Hao said angrily: Wang Zhaoyuan, what do you mean
Wang Zhaoyuan's words really touched Li Hao's sore spot, because when Former Shu was destroyed, it was indeed Li Hao who wrote the surrender letter. Moreover, Li Hao's family was extremely wealthy and had many wives and concubines. Wang Zhaoyuan's previous accusation that he accepted bribes and was greedy for money was also a very interesting criticism; so Wang Zhaoyuan's reasoning was aggressive and he had the upper hand.
Li Hao had no power to defend himself until now, and could only avoid the topic when being scolded. But Wang Zhaoyuan's words were so direct, it was really too much, and Li Hao was already furious.