Guo Shao was busy expanding the military these days, and was full of energy all day. But it was a different scene in the Qin Guogong Mansion, which was just an ordinary house with a plaque hanging on it; it was a very boring place with few visitors.
Madam Huarui lowered her head and thought to herself as she held the chopsticks in her hand: Guo Shao seemed to have forgotten me.
At this moment, she heard a few "Pooh, Pooh, Pooh" sounds, and Madam Huarui was startled and looked around. Seeing Meng Chang's angry face, he threw the chopsticks in his hand on the table and immediately cursed: "What the hell, there is sand in the rice!"
Master, calm down, it's all my fault for not picking them clean. Eunuch Wei Zhong bowed hastily and said.
Madam Huarui said quietly: "When the rice is harvested, if there are no stone stalls around, it can only be dried on the earthen dam. Usually there is sand mixed in it, which makes it difficult to pick. Ah Lang will just make do with it."
Meng Chang said angrily: "I won't eat it. There's no wine. It's ok. The food is bland and tasteless. Why is it so?"
Wei Zhongdao: Salt is very expensive, two hundred coins per pound.
Am I not the Duke of Qin? Where did my salary go? I can’t even afford salt, Meng Chang asked with a frown.
Wei Zhong glanced back, stepped forward and whispered: "Two hundred coins is just the market price. There are officials from the Xuanhuiyuan guarding here. If you want to go out to buy things or ask them to buy for you, the price will be at least ten times higher. And the promised salary has not yet arrived. We don't have much money, it's getting less every day, so I can only save a little for my master."
After hearing this, Lady Huarui reached out and took off a necklace from her neck and handed it to Wei Zhong: Find a way to exchange it for some money.
Wei Zhong shook his head hastily: "There are still some. Madam, you can't do that. I don't know how much will be left after exchanging this for money. It's better to keep it."
Lady Huarui stuffed the money into Wei Zhong’s hand and said: It’s useless for me to hold it, I’ll exchange it for as many as I can.
Meng Chang stood up, walked back and forth in front of the table with his hands behind his back, and soon he was out of breath. He held onto the tabletop and said: The Zhou court is so proud of itself, what is the difference between the Duke of Qin and a prisoner
Ah Lang, please be patient, don't let anyone hear you. Madam Huarui pointed outside the door and said softly, "You were once the ruler of Shu, the ruler of millions of people in Shu, so the court will naturally be wary. Wait for a while, and when they think Ah Lang is not a threat, and when Shu is stable, the court will naturally not need to waste manpower to guard it, and you can live a good life slowly."
She thought for a while and said: I heard that many civil and military officials of Shu Kingdom were re-employed by the court, and all of them had received favors from Alang; and you are the Duke of Qin bestowed by the royal family. How can you not find someone to help you with your salary in the future? Alang, please be patient. It will not be difficult to live a rich life with fine clothes and delicious food in the future, which will be much easier than those who are born poor.
She pulled Meng Chang to sit down: Eat more and get well. Maybe after a period of a simple life with few desires and simple meals, Ah Lang's body, which was ruined by those sorcerers, can be healed.
Don't worry, these hard days will soon be over. Meng Chang suddenly looked a little excited, you are right, I still have a lot of ministers.
Lady Huarui observed his mood and felt something was wrong. After thinking for a while, she suddenly asked: Where is Li De
I asked him to go do something, Meng Chang snorted.
Madam Huarui asked hurriedly: What does Alang want to do
Meng Chang whispered mysteriously: Gao Yanchou and Hou Mao have regained control of the Shu Imperial Army. I sent someone to contact him to plan a big event.
Madam Huarui's face turned pale immediately, and her chopsticks fell from her hand, landing on the rice bowl with a clang, and then jumped to the ground. She grabbed Meng Chang's sleeve, tears flashing in her eyes, and she was already crying, "Alang, why can't you live a good life? Why do you do such a thing?"
What kind of life is it to live well? Meng Chang stared at Lady Huarui, living in fear and fear, worse than pigs and dogs. Who knows if poisoned wine will be delivered one day
Madam Huarui cried for a while, then took out her handkerchief to dry her tears, lowered her head and looked at Meng Chang, no longer speaking, the atmosphere became cold. The only sound around was the clinking of bowls collected by Wei Zhong and the only remaining maid.
In fact, even if she is down and out now, she thinks it is not bad, because she still has servants to serve her. Some small wealthy people and small landlords in the village who have a little property in the local area do not have servants to serve them. So even if she has changed from a pampered imperial concubine to what she is now, Lady Huarui can still tolerate it; but she is uneasy in her heart, and she has never been at peace. In the past, the Great Shu Kingdom had a large territory and many troops, and the worry was very vague; and now the threat is gradually magnified, Lady Huarui finally woke up, she felt that Meng Chang was not reliable at all
I don't know why, but he is unreliable from time to time. Maybe it's because he has been indulging in alcohol, sex and magic for a long time, or maybe it's because the foundation left by the Shu Emperor Gaozu is so big that it can withstand the turmoil.
At this time, a clerk walked to the hall door. The delicate eunuch Wei Zhong saw this and went out to greet him. The two of them whispered for a while outside the door. Wei Zhong turned back and said: Wang Zhenfu, the governor of Xuanhuiyuan, is in the outer room and said he has something important to see the lady.
Lady Huarui immediately remembered that Meng Chang had sent someone to contact the Shu army generals. She was in Tokyo and others were obviously very wary. If she did such a trick, she would probably be exposed quickly. But she immediately felt that something was wrong: Zhou officials should see Alang if they had something to do. Why would they see a woman like me
Wei Zhongdao: The man didn’t say what it was about, he just said he wanted to discuss an important matter with the lady and asked you to be sure to see him.
After hearing this, Meng Chang said: I will go with my wife.
So the three of them walked to the cave entrance, but were stopped by a clerk: "Governor Wang only sees Madam Huarui, you guys wait first."
Madam Huarui said: It is not polite for me to meet anyone. Since you don't want to meet Duke Qin, then forget it.
The clerk said: "Then it's up to you. The Xuanhuiyuan is in charge of the affairs of the old ministers. There is still some way to deal with some of the problems now."
"What's the matter?" Madam Huarui asked with a frown.
The clerk said: I don’t know, I heard it was a big deal.
Lady Huarui hesitated for a moment, and finally went to see Wang Zhenfu, wanting to confirm whether Meng Chang had been exposed. Compared to knowing the worst outcome, it was more painful to be worried about it.
Madam Huarui came out of the cave and was led to the door of a wing room not far away. Inside, she saw a rich official in his forties or fifties sitting steadily beside the table waiting. The official was tall and fat, with a big face and small eyes, and looked very greasy. The hair on both sides of his black hat was already gray.
I have met Governor Wang. Madam Huarui bowed at the door.
Wang Zhenfu's eyes lit up immediately as he stared at Lady Huarui. Lady Huarui was now dressed very simply, in an old light blue skirt. The silk material was in line with her status as a duke's wife, but because of her situation, she didn't dare to dress too brightly, and the old clothes had faded. However, her beautiful face with bright eyes and white teeth and her fair and smooth skin could not be concealed. Her bulging breasts and graceful figure were also rare in the world. When Meng Chang was the emperor, he liked women with big breasts and good shapes. Lady Huarui's favor was in line with his aesthetic taste.
Come in, let's sit down and talk. Wang Zhenfu excitedly picked up the teapot and poured her a cup of tea.
Madam Huarui stood still and asked softly: "I don't know why the governor summoned a woman like me.
Wang Zhenfu leaned forward, as if he wanted to stand up, but he finally calmed himself down, took out a letter and threw it on the table: "Come in first. Do you want everyone to know about this by talking like this? Madam should know what this letter says."
I don't know. Madam Huarui frowned and glanced at the table.
Wang Zhenfu said coldly: Meng Chang is secretly communicating with Gao Yanchou and intends to rebel. Don't pretend. How can you not know about such a big thing
Madam Huarui was tense, believing that the letter was real, otherwise Wang Zhenfu would not have used the secret letter to blackmail her at this time. She felt her mind sinking, and she had a panic that something bad was about to happen.
Wang Zhenfu said: Madam, do you know what will happen to you if you hand in this letter
Lady Huarui was also thinking about her fate. The court probably didn't want to keep Meng Chang alive, and kept him alive just to show its benevolence. Now that they had solid evidence, they could get rid of Meng Chang openly. What about her? Would she be buried with him, or would she kill Meng Chang and be taken away as a concubine
Will Guo Shao snatch her away? Lady Huarui has no idea at all. Guo Shao doesn't seem to think highly of her. He has ignored her for such a long time as if he has forgotten that he is a young man who has reached a high position in the government. He is younger than her, with a promising future and wealth. He doesn't seem to be lustful. There are so many concubines and palace maids in Chengdu, but he didn't touch any of them. Even when the daughter of herself and Wang Zhaoyuan offered her beauty, he was not moved. Thinking about it this way, Guo Shao might not be willing to snatch her away. If he wanted to do that, he might have done it long ago.
So Madam Huarui said nothing, but her face turned very pale.
Wang Zhenfu breathed a sigh of relief and said kindly: If you just listen to me, we will quietly burn this letter, not report it, and destroy the evidence as if nothing happened.
How can I listen to you, Governor Wang? Mrs. Huarui was depressed and looked ashen.
Wang Zhenfu said: You come in first.
Madam Huarui didn't know what to do, so she followed the instructions and stepped into the door, but she was cautious of this strange bureaucrat. This was her first time meeting this man, so of course she didn't trust him, and the light in Magistrate Wang's eyes was obviously full of lust and ill intentions, and Madam Huarui's heart was in her throat.
Fortunately, Wang Zhenfu did not do anything drastic to scare Madam Huarui. He just said calmly: I don’t believe you still don’t understand what I mean, as long as you, Wang Zhenfu’s gaze shifted from Madam Huarui’s beautiful face to her plump chest that could not be concealed.
Madam Huarui's scalp suddenly felt tingling and she felt an uncomfortable chill all over her body.