Suzhou Prefecture
In the twelfth lunar month, snow is falling all over the world. Between the lakes and mountains, there are clusters of snow on the embankments, winter plum blossom branches, and cold fragrance floating in the distance.
Jia Heng, Chen Xiao, Princess Xianning, and Li Chanyue looked along the river embankment, and the cold wind blew the down of the fox fur cloak worn by the girl flying gently.
Princess Xianning said softly: "Sir, when will the world be peaceful and I can accompany you to express my love for the mountains and rivers?"
Jia Heng said: "When everything is settled in the future, then we will go for a walk."
Chen Xiao glanced at the two of them. When the world was at peace, even if the man showed some compassion and spared his life, he would not be allowed to move around.
Li Chanyue said with a surprised voice: "Sir, look at the plum blossoms on that tree, how beautiful they are in bloom."
At this moment, among the rocks on the lakeside, red plum blossoms were in full bloom, covered with thin snowflakes, and a red plum tree looked extremely beautiful in the cold wind.
Princess Xianning smiled and said: "Chanyue is rare and strange. What's so good about these plum blossoms? There are none in our courtyard."
Li Chanyue said delicately: "Cousin, the red plum blossoms in the mountains are naturally different from the red plum blossoms in the courtyard. The former has hidden spiritual essence and luxuriant branches and leaves, while the latter has many buildings."
Chen Xiao glanced at Jia Heng and said quietly: "The dignified and delicate domesticated ones are not as enchanting and beautiful as the wild ones, right, Lord Wei?"
Princess Xianning, Li Chanyue: "..."
Jia Heng looked a little unnatural and said, "You ask me, how do I know?"
Chen Xiaoqian glanced at Jia Heng and pursed her pink lips. She had nothing to say. The fragrance of red plums raised by others was more attractive.
Princess Xianning turned to look at the two people who were whispering, and said softly: "This painting can be a picture scroll when it is included in the scene."
"The scenery in winter is not as good as the scenery in spring. Just come out and get some air," Jia Heng said.
As he said that, he turned his eyes and looked around, and saw the graceful beauty between the curtains of the carriage, staring at her, her eyes full of water.
Queen Song's eyes met with the young man's, and she suddenly felt panic and looked away slightly.
Jia Heng didn't look at Empress Song too much. He followed Li Chanyue to the red plum tree and looked at the red plum swaying in the wind among the sparse branches and leaves. Another branch of red plum.
Princess Xianning smiled and said, "How does it compare to the red plum blossoms behind Huifang Garden in Mr. Ning Guo's Mansion?"
Jia Heng said: "Each of us has his own merits."
While everyone was talking, they walked to Jichan Temple, waited in the attic to enjoy the snow scenery, and then went to Hanshan Temple to drop a stick of incense.
It wasn't until the afternoon that they escorted Queen Song's motorcade back to the mansion.
But Jia Heng and Chen Xiao did not go home. In the evening, Jia Heng and Chen Xiao went to a restaurant on the southwest side of Suzhou Mansion. The building was three stories high. The wine rack swayed gently in the cold wind, and snow powder fell from time to time.
At this moment, in a private room on the second floor, charcoal braziers were placed in all directions, and the interior was warm and cozy.
Gu Ruoqing was dressed in a blue dress, sitting by the window, looking at the snow-covered Gusu City. At that time, dusk had fallen, and among the rows of houses, thousands of lights were brightly orange and warm.
The beauty's sparse eyebrows seemed to be filled with endless melancholy.
Only at this moment, the feeling of loneliness of wandering in the rivers and lakes will sweep over my heart.
Just when the beauty's mind was wandering, a short while later, footsteps were heard outside, and Jia Heng and Chen Xiao entered the box. At this moment, Gu Ruoqing stared at the two people and said softly: "Junior sister, you are here."
Chen Xiao nodded and said, "Senior sister."
Then he sat down across from the tea table.
Jia Heng also sat down, looked at Gu Ruoqing, who had a heroic look on his face, and said, "Miss Gu, long time no see."
Gu Ruoqing took a look at the young man, and said in a voice as cold as melting ice and snow, "Mr. Wei, it's been a long time indeed."
Jia Heng picked up the teapot, poured a cup of tea for Chen Xiao beside him, and said, "Miss Gu told Zhuo Jing earlier that with the whereabouts of Chen Yuan, I haven't asked Miss Gu where Chen Yuan is now?"
Chen Xiao: "..."
Clumsy Jing? Well, that's not wrong, but it's a little weird to call her that in front of your senior sister.
Gu Ruoqing glanced at Chen Xiao with her bright eyes under her eyebrows, then looked at Jia Heng again and said, "He should have gone to Liaodong."
Jia Heng frowned and asked: "Going to Liaodong to find the Jurchens? Is he still colluding with the Jurchens?"
During his lifetime, King Zhao was also a minister who supported the sky after Longzhi's defeat. He helped the Han Dynasty curb the rise of the Jurchens. Ordinarily, he should not have anything to do with the Jurchens.
As he said that, he glanced at Chen Xiao beside him.
Xiaoxiao had not told him this before.
Gu Ruoqing said softly: "There are still many Han generals in Liaodong, such as Li Yuanfu, the commander of the Tieling Guards, who was a subordinate of King Zhao at the time and surrendered to the Jurchens. Han officials among the Jurchen high-level officials have a close personal relationship with King Zhao, and there are letters contacts."
Just as information flows faster between the same class in different countries than between different classes in different countries, similarly, the Han officials in the Jurchen country also had correspondence with King Zhao.
Jia Heng said thoughtfully: "If you want to borrow troops from the Jurchens, you are making the wrong decision. The Jurchens are no longer able to look south."
Gu Ruoqing said: "Not necessarily. Since the water war, the North Korean navy has been hit hard repeatedly and is no longer able to go south. However, the elite Jurchens in the land outside the pass have not been lost. Once integrated, they will still have the power to invade south."
Hearing this, Jia Heng picked up the tea cup in his hand. Under his sword-shaped brows, his clear eyes were as deep as the stars and said, "This battle will not be fought in a year and a half."
Gu Ruoqing said: "Not necessarily. If the weather is right, we may not be able to send troops suddenly."
Hearing this, Jia Heng put down the tea cup, stared at the girl closely, and asked, "Any news about Miss Gu?"
"Me neither." Gu Ruoqing said softly, with an incomprehensible look on her beautiful face, and asked: "Nan Ling is at your place, is everything okay?"
Jia Heng said softly: "She is currently in Jinling, with her sisters at home. I usually have no shortage of people to serve me, but now she is with Xiaoxiao."
Gu Ruoqing nodded and said, "Nan Ling has a miserable life experience and a kind heart. You can treat him well."
Jia Heng was speechless for a moment.
Chen Xiao asked: "Senior sister, what is Chen Yuan doing recently?"
Gu Ruoqing shook his head and whispered, "I don't know either."
Jia Heng looked at the beauty with sharp eyes under his sharp eyebrows and asked, "Then what do you know?"
Gu Ruoqing: "..."
It feels like a common man with low emotional intelligence and a real head.
Chen Xiao pulled Jia Heng's arm, and his face looked a little unnatural.
Jia Heng looked at the girl with a sullen look on her face and said softly: "If nothing happens, Xiaoxiao and I will go back first."
Gu Ruoqing said in a low voice: "I'm sorry I won't send you far."
Chen Xiao said: "Senior sister hasn't said yet whether those men in black will assassinate the clan?"
Gu Ruoqing's jade face was as cold as frost and her eyes were sharp. She glanced at the young man and said, "I don't know this."
Jia Heng said softly: "If Miss Gu knows some clues, please tell the truth. This matter is of great importance."
Gu Ruoqing raised his eyebrows and asked, "Is Mr. Wei Guo trying to interrogate a prisoner?"
Jia Heng said in a deep voice: "This matter involves the safety of the Tian family, what do you think, Miss Gu? Even if I have you arrested and thrown into prison, it is reasonable."
"They are really the hawks and dogs of the imperial court, the minions of the emperor." Gu Ruoqing said coldly.
Chen Xiao glared at Jia Heng and said, "Sister, he is just joking for you, don't take it seriously."
Gu Ruoqing was silent for a moment and said, "I will have a chat with Duke Wei alone."
Chen Xiao pursed her pink lips, looked at Jia Heng aside, and said, "I'll wait for you outside."
Jia Heng looked at Chen Xiao, nodded and said, "Go."
After Chen Xiao left the wing, Gu Ruoqing stared at the young man for a moment and said, "I have already told my junior sister about the previous assassination, but you still almost allowed the assassination to succeed."
And there is no gratitude at all.
Jia Heng said: "We were prepared beforehand, but when the Jurchens came across the sea, the guard force dispersed, and then they were delayed. Fortunately, there was no danger."
Gu Ruoqing picked up the tea cup, took a sip, and said, "That means even if I tell you, you can't prevent it."
Jia Heng said: "You can't say that. I have to thank Miss Gu for what happened before."
When Gu Ruoqing heard the young man thanking him, the tea in the tea cup in his palm rippled gently, he glanced at Jia Heng coldly, and whispered: "Wei Guo Gong is spared, so as not to be imprisoned and tortured again." interrogation.”
Jia Heng smiled and said, "Miss Gu seems to be very prejudiced against me?"
Gu Ruoqing glanced at the young man across from him, snorted coldly, and said: "Duke Wei's eyebrows are like hidden sharp edges, and his eyes are like eagles and wolves. He shows the sign of ungratefulness."
Jia Heng's eyes flashed and he asked, "Miss Gu can also read faces? Has Miss Gu ever read faces to me?"
Gu Ruoqing knitted her beautiful eyebrows, stared at the young man calmly with her bright eyes, and said, "How do I look?"
Jia Heng said in a clear voice: "Miss Gu has high eyebrows, long eyes, and a sharp roof. It can be seen that she has a rebellious temperament and her eyes are high above her head. She is afraid that she will spend her life wandering in the world, and her beauty will be unlucky, and it will be difficult to find a satisfactory marriage."
Zhang Ailing actually has some of this kind of appearance, and the classic picture of her wearing a cheongsam is almost the same.
Gu Ruoqing: "..."
When Gu Ruoqing heard the words, there was a hint of shame and annoyance in his clear eyes, his eyes were a little darker, and he scolded: "Nonsense."
She had done a fortune-telling for herself, and it was also...
Jia Heng chuckled lightly and said, "Miss Gu knows whether she is talking nonsense or not."
Jia Heng did not continue this topic and said: "Girl, can you tell me now who Chen Yuan wants to assassinate?"
Gu Ruoqing also changed his mind for some unknown reason. He opened his pink lips slightly and whispered: "The Supreme Emperor."
When Jia Heng heard this, he couldn't help being shocked. He twisted his eyebrows and said in a clear voice: "The Supreme Emperor has already run out of oil and lamps. Why is this happening?"
He thought he was assassinating the current emperor, but he didn't expect it to be an assassination of the emperor. Although the two days passed, the emperor actually had control of most of the power in the court, and the emperor had retreated to the background.
Gu Ruoqing looked at the young man and said softly: "I don't know the reason."
Jia Heng's mind was spinning, and he vaguely guessed the whole story. Then he looked at Gu Ruoqing, cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Miss Gu, for telling me."
This is a key piece of information. If the Supreme Emperor is assassinated, Chen Yuan and others may spread rumors to harm the Emperor, uncover the events of the past twenty years, and question the legitimacy of the Emperor's succession.
Gu Ruoqing looked deeply at the young man and said in a quiet voice: "This place is thousands of miles away from Shenjing. You can't catch up. They have infiltrated more people into the palace in the past six months. Even if you catch up, you don't know how they will start. "
Jia Heng frowned, his eyes flashed coldly, and said: "Since they are so bold, why don't they directly assassinate the current Holy Emperor?"
As he said it, he already understood the reason in his heart.
Firstly, the emperor's protective power far exceeded that of the emperor. Secondly, after the assassination of Emperor Chongping, the political conspiracy could not be realized because the former Zhao Wang's party could not successfully take over the power.
Not to mention anything else, in an instant, he could install the King of Chu or the King of Wei on the throne, escort the Queen of Song to Beijing, and be escorted by the Beijing camp.
In other words, if you want to attack the emperor, you must first separate him from the emperor.
"I am not the person involved, and I don't know the reason behind it." Gu Ruoqing said in a low voice: "However, if you want to stop it now, you can't get over it."
Master was planning this matter behind the scenes, so he couldn't resist it at all.
Jia Heng frowned and whispered: "Do your best and obey fate."
The Supreme Emperor was over seventy years old, so even if he died, it would be a happy occasion. The problem is that it would be fine if he died normally, but since he was poisoned and assassinated, it is inevitable that no one will use this rumor to cause trouble.
At that time, he might really have to resign from his job as the Commander-in-Chief in Imperial Guards and avoid the limelight.
However, the Supreme Emperor was under the protection of the Jinyi Mansion's five thousand households and the internal guards. He only controlled the Jinyi Mansion's authority to collect external intelligence, and had never been involved in the important task of protecting the royal family members.
In addition, he has been leading troops in wars all year round, and he has no skills at all.
But those civil servants didn't care about this at all. They were worried that they had nothing to criticize, so they put the blame on his head.
This is a plan to alienate the emperor. From the previous assassination of the empress to the current "invitation of the emperor to die", it itself is to create a major assassination incident, aiming at his position as the imperial governor and cutting off the emperor's wings.
When the military ceases next year, the next step is to cause trouble and remove military power?
After the war ended, it was still a troubled time.
In other words, after the foreign war subsided, internal worries arose, and careerists from all walks of life began to prepare for action.
Gu Ruoqing raised his eyes to look at the young man with a gloomy face and ever-changing eyes. He also admired him in his heart, but his voice was slightly cold and he said, "It seems that you have figured it out?"
Jia Heng said: "Thank you very much, Miss Gu, for letting me know the details."
Gu Ruoqing sneered and said sarcastically: "I thought Duke Wei wanted to take me to prison and torture me in detail."
Jia Heng looked at the beautiful woman who refused to admit defeat and said, "I'm just joking with the girl. You don't have to worry about it."
Gu Ruoqing gently picked up the tea cup and took a sip. He didn't say much else, but he was already serving tea to the guests.
Jia Heng didn't stay long, got up and left.
Gu Ruoqing looked at the man's back, feeling suddenly agitated in his heart.
A beauty with a bad life, it is difficult to find a satisfactory marriage?
She just didn't believe it!
On the other side, Jia Heng and Gu Ruoqing finished talking and followed Chen Xiao back to the mansion together under the bright winter night.
Chen Xiao sat down in the side room, with a thoughtful look on her face as beautiful as snow, and said, "What did senior sister just say to you?"
Jia Heng held the girl's slender crotch and whispered, "Didn't you eavesdrop?"
Chen Xiao frowned and said angrily, "What am I doing eavesdropping on?"
Jia Heng narrated what happened and said: "Now we are using carrier pigeons and fast horses to express the news to Shenjing. Can we prevent them from being unable to move in advance?"
Chen Xiao shook his head, his jade face was as solemn as frost, and whispered: "With such a long distance, I'm afraid it's too late. This should be an incident planned at the same time as the assassination of the queen. The queen and the emperor in the palace died suddenly, both in attack and criticism. For you, it’s also a heavy blow to that person.”
I'm afraid that this matter also has the tacit approval of the master, otherwise Chen Yuan would not be able to reach out to the palace. After King Yong came to the throne, the palace had already purged the old people in the palace, except for some extremely hidden people. In addition, because the Supreme Emperor was nostalgic, he was prevented from being purged.
Jia Heng frowned, looked at the girl with a thoughtful look in her eyes, and asked, "Xiaoxiao, do you know something?"
Chen Xiao shook his head and said: "Chen Yuan was extremely resentful towards the person in the palace and his relatives. He had previously assassinated the King of Chu, then the Queen, and now the Emperor. It can be said that this is a serial plan, and they will do it again in the future. There’s action.”
At the beginning, Chen Yuan had wanted her to use the men in the palace to assassinate that man.
Jia Heng took Chen Xiao's bare hand, frowned and said, "Then why don't you just ignore it now?"
This Chen Yuan is really making trouble non-stop.
Chen Xiaoyou said in a loud voice: "The flying pigeon sent a warning, and the other was to remind the urgent delivery. There is no other way. You can't just ignore this place. Now fly to Shenjing. No matter what, the person in the palace It’s not your fault.”
Jia Heng was silent for a moment and said helplessly: "Then let's do this for now."
The emperor knew this matter well, and it was not his fault, because even when King Chu was assassinated, the emperor did not let him investigate the secrets of Longzhi's dynasty.
Later, he kept fighting and almost traveled north and south, and he had no time or energy to investigate Chen Yuan.
Of course, the civil servants in the DPRK obviously don't see it that way, and this is an opportunity to criticize him.
…
…
The next day, in the early morning, the golden and red sun rose in the east. The soft morning light shone on the house in the front yard, and the eaves tiles seemed to be covered with a layer of light.
Jia Heng, Princess Xianning, and Li Chanyue came to the back house to pay their respects to Queen Song.
Queen Song had just finished breakfast and was holding Song Yan's hand to talk. She looked at the three of them and said with a chuckle: "Where are you going to play today?"
Princess Xianning smiled and said: "Mother, it's been too cold these past two days, so just stay in the house. Is your mother's injury much better?"
Queen Song smiled sweetly and said: "It's almost healed. The doctor said that after using the medicine today, I won't take it tomorrow."
As she said that, the beauty glanced at the young man in python suit standing not far away, and asked softly: "Ziyu, is the war in the south over? In such a cold weather, it's time to start fighting."
Jia Heng said: "The temperature in Taiwan is not that low. Currently, the King of Beijing and the Guangdong Navy are still chasing the pirates."
The military intelligence reports have not stopped in the past two days.
Empress Song thought for a while and said softly: "Zi Yu, the Chinese New Year is coming soon. I think many generals and commanders are homesick for their families. When the time is right, they can stop fighting."
"What the empress said is that the Jiangnan Navy retreated to Jinling from Hangzhou and Zhoushan yesterday to reunite with their families," Jia Heng said.
In the past few days, military reports from Zhoushan have been delivered, and the Jiangnan Navy is returning to Chongming Shawei Port in Jinling to prepare for the New Year.
At this moment, a nun stumbled into the hall, walked a few steps quickly, and reported: "Mother, the people who came to announce the funeral from Hangzhou said that the old lady Song went to Hexi."
After all, Old Mrs. Song did not survive this winter. On the second night when he was safe and sound in Hangzhou Fucheng, the cold wave came and the weather turned three points colder. Old Mrs. Song passed away suddenly. When the Song family woke up the next day, they found that Old Mrs. Song had passed away. .
(End of chapter)
