Jiangning Palace. Li Yu's face was a sickly red: Ant Ant said as he stretched out his hands to scratch his back and arms.
Zhou Ehuang was so anxious that she didn't know what to do. Where did the ants come from in winter? Is her husband sick? I'll go call the censor.
Li Yu did not seem to be listening to what Zhou Ehuang said, and kept muttering: There are just a lot of ants. The Jiangyin Defense Envoy is an ant. Who told him to mobilize troops without authorization? Who gave him the power to do so? And the Zhennan Jiedushi Zhu Lingyun, how many times have I urged for reinforcements? Where are his troops? The troops in Hongdu, Nanchang, and Hukou, are they not from the court, but his Zhu Lingyun's private troops? I can't even mobilize them.
Seeing his appearance, his husband, Zhou Ehuang, felt extremely distressed and racked her brains to think of ways to comfort him. She knew that it was useless to seek out the imperial physician, as Li Yu was obviously suffering from a mental illness.
Li Yu did not wait for Zhou Ehuang to speak, and shook his head and lamented: There is also the navy of Jingkou, which will go to the capital to defend the king. He paced a few steps impatiently. Liu Cheng was still very loyal.
Li Yu finally said he was tired, and Zhou Ehuang finally had a chance to speak. She was already proficient in music, and she was full of sympathy and tenderness. Her voice alone seemed to soften people's hearts. "My husband, don't be so anxious. Things will work out when we get there. Maybe one day when we look back, we will realize that power and wealth are nothing more than this, and it is not worth forcing."
Ehuang was born in a wealthy family and did not understand the sufferings of the world. Li Yu seemed a little calmer, with a cold look on his sad face. Do you think it is really that easy to survive
Zhou Ehuang asked softly: Wasn't my husband born in an imperial family
Li Yu frowned and said: That's why I can't stand humiliation
Zhou Ehuang was stunned for a moment. She seemed to see a wounded beast struggling, which was a little scary but revealed a power that could put pressure on people. Li Yu was a king after all, and he still had the aura of a real man.
Perhaps it is difficult for him to accept the inevitable failure immediately, and he needs to be given time. When his anger gradually subsides, he will understand that the landscape poetry is what he has, and the tenderness of staying together is much more interesting than fighting for power and profit.
Zhou Ehuang changed her previous repression because she finally understood what she wanted. Maybe some things have been cracked and tainted by the troubled times, but as long as you relax, you can still accept it. It's like an expensive and beautiful dress. Although it was stained at a noisy and tacky banquet, it is still a valuable piece of clothing.
She turned her head and saw sunlight shining into the palace through the carved windows, as if dispelling the musty smell of the place. Even the dancing dust in the light seemed lively and not offensive.
At this moment, Li Yu's voice ended this tranquility. The Southern Tang Kingdom was not too weak, but was destroyed by internal strife and the Zhou Kingdom did not give me a chance to clean up the mess. The army was approaching, and the original accumulated problems were stimulated.
Zhou Ehuang said: That’s why the people will not blame you. The accumulated problems are too numerous to be handled by one person alone.
But I will still be considered a king who lost his country. Li Yu shook his head painfully.
Zhou Ehuang held Li Yu's hand tightly, wanting to suffer the pressure with him.
At this time, an eunuch walked out of the door, bowed and stood there with no intention of leaving, as if there was something. Li Yu walked out immediately, and the eunuch took out something and held it with both hands, then bent over and whispered something. The eunuch spoke too softly and stood outside the door, so Zhou Ehuang could not hear what he was saying, only mumbling.
Zhou Ehuang waited for him to leave the door before following him to the door, gently reaching out her jade hand to gently hold the door frame. She saw that Li Yu was already sitting next to the desk, holding a pen and writing. When he held the pen, his posture was very elegant, and Zhou Ehuang seemed to smell the fragrance of ink. He frowned, with a gloomy look on his face, and was worrying about national affairs.
Li Yu was so focused that he didn't notice the ink dripping onto the tabletop when he dipped it in the ink. Zhou Ehuang noticed it immediately. As a woman, she could see the details best. She walked forward gracefully, and the swaying of her waist every few steps was also quite graceful.
She took out a clean white handkerchief from her sleeve pocket, wiped it on the table next to the inkstone, and couldn't help but put the handkerchief in front of her nose to smell it. The scent of ink, with an ancient flavor, was completely different from the superficial smell of rouge and pollen. The ink on the handkerchief was not dry yet, and when she put it in front of her nose to smell it, a little bit of it got on the tip of her nose. She felt a slight itch on the tip of her nose, so she reached out and wiped it, and suddenly a black ink mark appeared on her nose, which was particularly abrupt on her jade-white skin.
At this moment, Li Yu raised his head and looked at her with a hint of surprise in his eyes, but his brows were still not relaxed.
I you Li Yu suddenly hesitated.
Zhou Ehuang quickly collected her thoughts and asked softly: "My husband, do you have anything to say to me?"
Ehuang, what do you think of me treating you? Li Yu lowered his head.
Zhou Ehuang felt that the words were a bit strange, so she calmed down and replied: My husband has bestowed all his love on me.
Li Yu nodded: If you want to save me, are you willing to do something for me? Something that is difficult to do.
What was going on? Zhou Ehuang's expression became serious, because Li Yu looked very heavy.
Li Yu suddenly shed tears and shook his head vigorously, saying: If the country is destroyed, I will not only be humiliated in my lifetime, but also be ridiculed for ten thousand years after my death. What should I do? What should I do? The main force of the Zhou Dynasty will soon be at the gates of the city, and the sails covering the sky on the Yangtze River are pressing forward step by step. There is also the Wu Yue Kingdom who is holding a grudge and taking advantage of the situation to rob. They are pressing day by day, and the situation is getting worse and worse. I am almost suffocating.
Li Yu looked painful, and Zhou Ehuang's heart softened, and she hurriedly said: "My husband, think more broad-mindedly. What can a woman like me do for you? Only I can do it."
Li Yu suddenly said this: "Kill the blacksmith Guo."
Zhou Ehuang was stunned and stood there for a long time without coming back to her senses. But her intuition seemed to realize something, and her heart immediately fell from the place of sudden enlightenment into an icy cave.
Even the sunlight outside the window seemed to turn pale in an instant.
Li Yu said solemnly: After the death of the first emperor of Zhou, the Central Plains should have been in turmoil, and a mutiny actually occurred; but the existence of Guo Shao stabilized the situation, and Zhou was able to fight in the south and the north in a short period of time. This Guo Shao was a clever existence. Not only did he establish prestige in the army, he was also the brother-in-law of the Queen Mother of Zhou. He was the link that maintained the various forces in Tokyo.
Once this man dies, the Zhou Kingdom will inevitably fall into internal strife. Each faction will be eager to find its own opportunities and positions first, and will certainly not be interested in a major war in Jiangnan. Killing Guo Shao is our only way.
Zhou Ehuang said with a pale face: Your Majesty must have been forced into a trance, so he has such wild thoughts.
Li Yu said: No, I have been thinking about this for a long time. It seems absurd at first glance, but it is indeed a solution.
Emperor Zhou Ehuang kept shaking her head: The ministers would never allow such a thing.
Li Yu said coldly: "Why do you care about them? Those people only care about their own glory and wealth. They wish that the Zhou people would come in as soon as possible so that they can sell my head for a good price. Don't let the court officials know about this. When the time comes, I will send an envoy to the Zhou army camp to negotiate peace, and send some singing girls to Guo Shao. You can go to see him in the crowd. When the Huainan Campaign was launched, my father also sent concubines to Guo Rong. This is not something that cannot be done."
I want to ask you for help because it may be difficult for ordinary singing girls to get close to Guo Shao, only Ehuang can.
When Emperor Zhou E heard this, she thought about what Li Yu had said about considering this matter for a long time, and she also remembered that Zhou Ermei had been brought to the palace not long ago. In this time of chaos and war, the palace was even more dangerous. Why did Li Yu suddenly take the initiative to bring Zhou Ermei in at this time? Could it be that she was a hostage with both soft and hard tactics, and it was premeditated
She had previously imagined that after the fall of her country, she and Li Yu would express their feelings through poems about mountains and rivers. She suddenly laughed.
What are you laughing at? What's so funny? Li Yu frowned and asked.
Zhou Ehuang shook her head and smiled bitterly: I laugh at myself, it's so ridiculous. Suddenly I feel as ridiculous as a three-year-old child.
Li Yu held Zhou Ehuang's slender hand, took a deep breath and said: I beg you, please help me
Zhou Ehuang said: Your Majesty is also ridiculous, we are the laughing stock. I have never killed a chicken in my life, I have never touched water, and you want me to assassinate a strong warrior.
Li Yu said: You don't have to be strong to kill someone, you have a chance.
Zhou Ehuang said: I can't bring myself to kill him, no matter what kind of person he is.
This is indeed a problem. I have thought about it. Li Yu hesitated for a moment and looked at Zhou Ehuang again. Are you willing to kill him
Zhou Ehuang said nothing.
Li Yu said: "Ehuang was originally the queen. Guo Shao led his troops to invade. Not only would he take away everything from me, he would also take away everything from Ehuang. Think about it, if you were captured, what would your situation be like? Would you be willing to fall from the queen to a concubine and plaything of a warrior? The world and future generations would definitely laugh at Ehuang for a thousand years."
Zhou Ehuang finally spoke: I really hate him.
Li Yu heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this: "Like Diao Chan getting rid of Dong Zhuo, Ehuang did this for the country. If it is done, you will still be the queen of Southern Tang, and even more so the benefactor of Southern Tang. You can rest assured, my second sister and everyone in the Zhou family will be taken care of by me."
Alas, Zhou Ehuang sighed softly.
Li Yu said: I will bring a secret letter to Guo Shao, suggesting that Ehuang is among the singing girls, so as not to be ignored by him. Inferring, Ehuang will definitely be able to see him, and she will have the opportunity.
Zhou Ehuang said coldly: Just now, Your Majesty said that he could not tolerate humiliation, but you sent your queen to the enemy camp. Don’t you think it is a humiliation
Li Yu said: After the country was destroyed, we had to endure such humiliation and even more. He pondered for a moment and said, Now Ehuang, come with me to see someone.