Watching the setting sun slowly sinking from between the eaves, another day is about to pass.
Guo Shao, standing at the foot of the oppressive Jinxiang Palace, lifted the hem of his yellow satin robe and stepped onto the yellow-covered imperial sedan chair. A large group of people immediately bowed and greeted him respectfully. After getting all these things, Guo Shao had already gotten used to them and no longer felt much.
"Go!" the eunuch shouted loudly, with a sense of ceremony. From the noble families to the eunuchs and servants, they all wanted the emperor with great power to bring them favors. Guo Shao was also willing to give, because giving to others could also bring self-satisfaction.
Guo Shaogan sat in the car, and inadvertently thought, how great it would be if he could share all this with his sister who had a humble status in his previous life, and let her who had suffered humiliation, helplessness and hardship see and feel it!
Suddenly, Guo Shao felt very upset. Sometimes he felt that he had the power of the emperor and could do anything, but sometimes he felt that he was still so insignificant that such a simple wish could not be fulfilled.
Perhaps, only by being nice to Jinzhan and kind to more people can he make up for his regrets a little.
Sitting in the car, driving along the straight long street, he suddenly recalled what he had done over the years. He had launched countless wars and countless people died, but he asked himself that he had never treated the world with hostility in his heart; pity and sympathy are human nature, but death and elimination are the law of nature, and people can only follow the law of nature. But no matter what he did, he thought of the expectation of improvement in his heart... Just like Jinzhan's eyes that were as curved as the moon when she smiled, melting Guo Shao's anger and hatred.
The imperial chariot stopped outside the Zide Hall, and Guo Shao walked to the main hall entrance. He saw a group of concubines coming out to greet him, and they all half-knelt and saluted, "Long live your majesty."
Guo Shao made a gesture to help them up and said, "Everyone stand up."
Fu Jinzhan, who was standing in front, stood up first. She turned her head slightly to face Guo Shao, her eyes humbly tilted downwards, her neck and shoulders straight, her elegant and noble temperament, but without any sense of arrogance. Guo Shao took a look and thought that Fu Jinzhan's beauty was not only in her appearance and figure, but even her small movements were quite charming.
Guo Shao reached out and took the talisman and golden cup and sat on the imperial throne on the north side. The group of concubines around him were all his wives and concubines.
At first, Guo Shao was also confused by this situation. But now, he has been enlightened. Everything has its background. This kind of thing is unreasonable in modern society because men and women are equal; but it is the norm in the royal family at that time. The status of women at that time is dependent, and the monarchy system and the reproduction of royal offspring are the needs of the country... Just like in the primitive period, there was no husband and wife at all, and the matriarchal society where no one knew who the father of the children was, it is difficult for people today to accept it; and in the more distant future, people may even think that the relationship between husband and wife is against human nature.
Jinzhan's voice slowly said, "What did Concubine Zhang say about Cao Bin just now?"
Zhang leaned forward slightly, and spoke in a very gentle tone, "Cao Bin said that the current emperor was appointed by heaven and is deeply loved by the people. His kindness to our family is greater than that of the previous dynasty. He advised me to be loyal to the emperor and empress. I thought he was too long-winded..."
"Oh?" Jinzhan said with a faint smile.
Zhang smiled and said, "The Queen treats me so well, why does she need him to come to see me and tell me all this?"
Jinzhan covered her mouth and laughed, and the women around her also laughed along. Guo Shao sat there without interrupting, but he was confused.
I understand.
Jinzhan turned around and asked Guo Shao about the memorial that Cao Bin had recently sent, and Guo Shao casually said a few words in public.
As he spoke, he inadvertently saw Zhou Jiamin in the crowd, and the two of them seemed to be greeting each other... Guo Shao recalled the night when Zhou Jiamin served him in bed. He originally thought that she was unwilling and was just forced to do so, but later found that it was not the case. There were still some problems in their verbal communication, but Guo Shao could guess some of her thoughts from her words. Zhou Jiamin once said: I am not afraid of the emperor, I am just worried that you will hurt me, but I didn't expect that I was worrying too much.
Everyone stayed in the hall for a while, then left tactfully. Only Lu Lan stayed behind to check the pulse of the Second Prince.
Guo Shao followed her and waited for her to come out of the room before asking about her condition. Lu Lan looked more relaxed and said, "The second prince was naughty and caught a cold while playing in the water in such a cold weather. He will be fine after ten days of recuperation."
Guo Shao also breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this.
At this time, Lu Lan looked sad, and suddenly whispered: "I used to think that His Majesty was pitying me, so he didn't touch me for a long time. Now I understand that His Majesty thinks I am not young and beautiful enough..."
"Why do you say that?" Guo Shaoyu asked in surprise.
Lu Lan lowered her head and bit her lip as she said, "Your Majesty is very kind to Zhou Zhaoyi's sister. He even flirted with her in front of so many people!"
Guo Shao was stunned for a moment, thinking that these girls were really thoughtful, and even one or two glances could not escape him. He thought no one noticed that he looked at Zhou Jiamin a few more times. But he couldn't help laughing a few times.
Now it was Lu Lan's turn to look at him in confusion.
Guo Shao smiled and shook his head, then looked at Lu Lan again. She was indeed not as delicate and beautiful as Zhou Jiamin, but her petite and graceful figure had a different kind of beauty. Her watery eyes and skin had an aura that contained the spirit of mountains and rivers.
Lu Lan asked softly, "Your Majesty, what's so funny?"
Guo Shao didn't know how to explain, so he said, "I will leave the palace in two days, you can go with me... I am going to see the queen now."
When they arrived at Jinzhan's bedroom, it was still dark. Guo Shao sat with her and casually said, "Yang Shiliang said earlier that he would tell Cao Tai, and Jinzhan should know about it. I want to stay in the old house for a few days and talk to the two of them. During this period, please ask Jinzhan to come to the front hall to help me handle government affairs."
Fu Jinzhan said softly, "If there is a military or national event, I will send someone to report to Your Majesty first, and then make a decision."
When Guo Shao heard her say this, he realized that he shouldn't have mentioned Cao Tai just now. Jinzhan was so smart, how could he not think about it? Guo Shao hurriedly said: "You can decide everything. The country originally belongs to Jinzhan. I am willing to give you whatever you want."
"Your Majesty..." Jinzhan looked at Guo Shao with a wandering gaze.
Guo Shao said: "I speak from the heart, Jinzhan understands."
… Two days later, in the early morning, it was still dark, because the days were short in winter. However, the officials on duty on the Imperial Street had already lit a string of lights, and the shops selling soup, cakes and pastries on the street were also open. The Donghua Gate of the Imperial City was also opened at this time, and a team of imperial cavalrymen surrounded the carriage and left the city.
Guo Shao took Yu Lian, Princess Jinsuo, and Lu Lan to the old house.
The mansion had always been guarded by someone. When Guo Shao walked into it a few years later, he felt a sense of familiarity. Somehow, he felt that he had just left here not long ago, instead of
Several years.
Guo Shao and Yu Lian walked into the house by the lake with no name. As before, he opened the back door of the hall, and suddenly the lake in the morning glow came into view in the fresh breeze, and there was peace all around. The dreamy orange light seemed to open the door to memories, and Guo Shao had the illusion of going back in time.
Yulian took out two wooden stools, and the two of them sat outside the back door, looking at the lake.
"It has been a long time since Your Majesty and I sat together like this." Yu Lian murmured.
After a while, she turned around and said, "At first, there were only the two of us here, but later more and more people came..." She continued, "I never dared to hope to monopolize Your Majesty, I just hope that someone like me can stay by Your Majesty's side. This is exactly what I want now. Your Majesty has been very good to me for so many years..."
Guo Shao reached out and held her hand. The calluses on her delicate back and palm seemed to have disappeared. He couldn't make everyone get what they wanted, but he tried to be tolerant and gentle to those around him.
He also chatted with Yu Lian casually, and said, "I never expected it. When I was still sitting here, all I really wanted was to own this house and a military position. What made me dissatisfied?"
In addition to greed and desire, all kinds of desires, including the desire to get close to Fu Jinzhan, there is also a very important mentality: safety.
"At that time in the Great Zhou Dynasty, fate was in the hands of others, and one could not be safe and sound just by obeying the law." Guo Shao recalled that when his life and the family he cared about were in danger, what else could he not do
He pondered, "If there were a set of reasonable ideas and rules for governing the world, so that evildoers would be punished, those who fulfill their duties would be protected, and talented people would compete fairly, with more work and more pay, instead of wantonly bullying the weak, would there still be so much hostility, hatred, and instability in the world?"
Guo Shao gradually fell into deep thought.
… Obviously, it is inappropriate to ignore the foundation of the times and forcibly promote democracy and the rule of law. Crudely distributing the land and property of the rich to the poor will lead to chaos. As early as the Wang Mang period, Wang Mang used practical actions to deduce the process of failure.
Guo Shao was here, and suddenly felt that countless rulers throughout the dynasties must have sat in a place in the heart of the Central Plains and thought like him. The clan and loyalty and filial piety culture cannot be ignored, and promoting the imperial examination system may be the answer to their thinking. However, the content of the imperial examination may need to be slightly reformed.
The world order should be a huge system. There is no panacea. It can only be gradually improved through countless repairs and improvements.
Whenever Guo Shao was calm, he would think about what specific methods he could filter out from the experience and lessons of the past thousand years to adapt to reality. The imperial examination, the land tax, the development of industry and commerce, and the collection of business taxes all seemed to be areas where he could put some thought into. However, each of them was not simple, and even if he had good intentions, the rules of heaven might still punish the insignificant people.
But he was willing to try his best in these careers, which were of no benefit to his personal interests and desires, because in the distant past, there was a person who made him truly feel the kindness and sincerity of the world, and she wanted more than just a return, but also wanted him to become a useful person to the world.
If that person knew what Guo Shao did, he would be very happy.