Outside the ancient Lingzhou city gate, all kinds of people dressed in strange clothes gathered, and leaders and envoys from various tribes came to watch. It might be because of the noise last night. At this moment, Guo Shao felt as if he had returned to the wild times, like a group of primitive people going to the market here.
The tribal leaders were all bowing to their chests, but they were actually there to watch. It seemed that joining in the fun and watching was not something that Han'er was the only one who liked.
This chaotic scene seems to have no order, but in fact the living environment in the northwest is harsh and each ethnic group has its own rules for survival.
Wei Renpu brought people to greet him outside the city, and he was accompanied by the Tangut noble Mo Zang.
Wei Renpu's face was particularly unhappy. If Li Yueji had not been officially canonized, it would be fine. But with her current status, if something like this happened, it would be a disgrace to the Great Zhou. It was impossible to keep it secret if something like this happened suddenly and so many people knew about it.
Things are quite tricky, and a small matter is likely to change the basic national policy on the border. The politics of this era is not as rational and mature as modern ones.
Mo Zang's face was even darker from the sun and wind, and he looked at Li Yueji and Lu Ge in Guo Shao's team. Li Yueji was sitting on a horse and no one did anything to her, while Lu Ge was tied up.
Mo Zang suddenly knelt down beside the road.
Guo Shao had already heard from Lu Duosun that this Ge was the biological son of Mo Zang. Even a tiger would not eat its own cubs, let alone a human being. Even the Tangut barbarians still cared about their own sons.
Your Majesty, Mo Zang fell to his knees on the ground.
Guo Shao interrupted him immediately and pretended to be dissatisfied in public: The daughter of King Xiping is really spoiled. She wanted to escape back to Xiazhou just because she couldn't adapt to the etiquette and customs. The man we tied up was her slave, who just obeyed her orders.
Mei Zang stood there in a daze and looked up at Guo Shao.
Guo Shao looked at him, hoping that this Dangxiang noble would grow up and understand what he meant. The identity of the brother was not a noble, but a guard escorting the bride; this matter could not be defined as elopement for love, but as Li Yueji's own willful mischief. As for everyone wanting to gossip, there was nothing he could do, but the official could not admit it.
Mei Zang swallowed her saliva, as if she had swallowed the words just now, and changed her words: The Tanguts do not understand the etiquette of the Central Plains, and the princess is too young and ignorant, I hope Your Majesty will forgive me. There are some misunderstandings here. The princess left Lingzhou without permission because she thought Your Majesty did not value her; the princess is the biological daughter of King Xiping, so she is inevitably spoiled and cannot stand being ignored and wronged.
Guo Shao did not comment, but focused the cause and effect of the matter on Li Yueji alone instead of two people, and said: Li Xianfei is already my concubine, I will deal with it. Then he rode away.
Wei Renpu also mounted his horse and followed. Guo Shao turned around and said in a deep voice: Let's leave more room first so that we will have more choices.
Wei Renpu clasped his fists and said: Your Majesty is wise, and I have no choice but to obey.
Li Yueji blamed the emperor for not going to pick her up in person to marry her. After a night of tossing and turning, she finally got what she wanted. This time, Guo Shao really did take her directly into the palace, but he almost forced her in.
The palace was actually a larger, shabby courtyard, and the houses were still low and old. There were no good houses in Lingzhou. There was a corridor in the courtyard, and there were not many people after entering. There were four people in the group. Guo Shao walked in front, followed by Li Yueji, and the general Lu Chengyong and the eunuch Wang Zhong walked in the end.
Guo Shao didn't say a word in the long corridor, and neither did the others. The silent journey seemed like traveling through the corridor of time. Li Yueji could only look at Guo Shao's back.
The sunlight streaming in from the eaves made Guo Shao realize that the western frontier was large and vast, but this place made him feel enclosed because it was too far away from the most civilized and developed central areas, as if he was in a backward mountain area.
Somehow, Guo Shao's thoughts turned to one thing: those women who were trafficked into the mountains.
If we exclude some factors of national interests and personal emotions, the essence of Li Yueji's experience is actually very simple: she is a victim who was sold from her hometown to a strange place, but the price was higher.
She was used as a tool for marriage and lost her freedom.
Guo Shao's elder sister in his previous life had a great influence on him. He saw various shortcomings in women, but he had sympathy for them in his heart.
Of course, Guo Shao was very dissatisfied with what Li Yueji did. The emotion was very subtle and simple. Most men would be extremely unhappy; and they would think that it was extremely intolerable for a woman to not clarify the relationship with her ex-boyfriend. However, he remembered the horses that fell into a pit and broke their legs on the road. The situation last night was so urgent. Li Yueji should not have done anything substantial, so he could probably be tolerant; after all, Guo Shao was not choosing a girlfriend, but arranging a marriage.
Guo Shao had the highest requirements for Fu Jinzhan. He didn't have many requirements for other women.
Although Li Yueji was born into a Tangut family and had seen the world, Guo Shao believed that she still lacked experience, and at least did not understand men.
He looked back at Li Yueji. Her face and body were covered in dirt, but she was indeed a natural beauty. She was beautiful without any external decoration, and in the eyes of men, she was different from ordinary women.
Guo Shao finally broke the silence: Concubine Li, don't try to escape again.
Lee Wol-hee:
Guo Shao said: You are Li Yiyin's biological daughter. Your marriage is the best way to ensure peace between the two clans. I will not let you go for any reason.
He sighed slightly and said: People are always afraid of the unknown.
Li Yueji frowned as she listened, not knowing what Guo Shao meant by this.
Guo Shao glanced at her and said: Concubine Li cannot choose her own destiny, she can only accept it. However, I have no grudge against you, so I can make your life a little better.
No matter what Li Yueji thinks, Guo Shao feels that people still need to compromise. They can't do whatever they want, especially in this backward era.
Wang Zhong said carefully: There is no other person in the world as kind as the emperor.
Guo Shao lowered his head, bent over and stepped into the study. The houses here were low and the doors were very low. When he turned around, he saw Li Yueji with a dazed look on her face. Without thinking much, he put his palm on the door to prevent her from hitting her head.
As expected, Li Yueji almost bumped into him. She was stunned for a moment, then bent down and stepped under Guo Shao's arm. The two of them were very close, and her face turned red.
Li Yueji recovered from her shock and calmed down. She walked into the house and looked around curiously. The walls were covered with maps and notes with names in Chinese characters. She could speak Chinese, but she didn't know many characters and couldn't understand them. The table was also filled with messy books and files, which looked a bit messy.
She couldn't help but look at the strange and incomprehensible young man in front of her with curiosity.
Unexpectedly, Guo Shao was staring at her chest intentionally or unintentionally. Li Yueji frowned and crossed her arms across her chest without making a sound. The light in his eyes was in stark contrast to his previous calm words and deeds.
Li Yueji couldn't help but ask: Your Majesty, don't punish me
Guo Shaodao: Everything about the marriage has been arranged. You are Consort Li Xian, how can I punish you
Li Yueji felt a little relieved after hearing this. Although she didn't know this man, she felt that he was very tolerant. She asked casually: "Where is Brother Lu?"
Guo Shao's expression suddenly changed, and his face was not so good. He looked very angry, and a sense of hostility enveloped his face. The gentleness and kindness just now disappeared very quickly. People say that women's faces change like the weather, and men are no different.
Guo Shao's eyes swept over Li Yueji's body, with wild desire in his eyes, and he said coldly: In the Central Plains, when a royal family member makes a mistake, the people around him or her are usually blamed for not doing their duty to admonish the master.
Li Yueji's heart sank after hearing this.
Brother Ling was a person she was very close to, and he was not much different from her own brother. Moreover, if she had not agreed last night, how could she have implicated him
Guo Shao's voice suppressed a certain torrent, and he added: However, if the person who made the mistake behaves well, there is room for maneuver.
Li Yueji frowned and said: What is considered a good performance
Guo Shao didn't say anything, but looked at every part of Li Yueji's body very carefully.
Sometimes the language habits and meanings are different, but the eyes are the same. Li Yueji immediately understood that she was being looked at and felt goosebumps all over her body.
Li Yueji's face turned red and white, and she didn't know what to say to this tall, strong and strange Han emperor.
Li Yueji wants to say: I hate it most when someone forces me or threatens me
She has been very attractive since she was a child, but no one dared to do anything bad to her in Xiazhou. Most people just admired and respected her. Being loved by others was a very comfortable thing. Li Yueji was also glad that she was good-looking, but when she arrived in Lingzhou, a place where she was unfamiliar with everyone, she finally felt the burden and danger brought by her beauty.
That kind of danger is like tempting prey
In an instant, she felt that because of her beauty, she became weaker and weaker. She turned into a little white rabbit.
Li Yueji originally thought that Guo Shaoren was quite gentle and generous, but her feelings suddenly changed.
Guo Shaodao: Take a shower, rest and think about it first.
His tone was unkind, still full of anger, but much less tender. After saying that, he walked to the door, lowered his head and stepped out, saying to the eunuch outside: "Arrange a place for Concubine Li to live, and find a few servants to serve her."
The eunuch said in a shrill voice: Yes.
Li Yueji sat down on a chair, staring blankly, her mind in a mess.
The scene of the wolf jumping on me last night would pop up in my mind from time to time, and the psychological shadow was very large. The fear that was cold to the bone was very deep.
She thought of the question from before. Who shot the arrow that pierced the wolf's head? Was it Guo Shao or Lingge
She was already confused at that time, unable to see or hear anything, and had no way of knowing who shot the arrow at that moment.