In the palace, Emperor Tang was lying on the dragon couch. He flipped through the book in his hand casually, but it was obvious that his attention was not on the book.
In front of the bed, Doctor Chen stood aside, carefully reporting something to Emperor Tang.
"Your Majesty, Mr. Wang is indeed ill. I would like to check his pulse..."
Doctor Chen did not dare to look up at Emperor Tang. He just felt that Emperor Tang was nodding gently, but he did not know whether he was responding to the content in the book or to his answer.
Doctor Chen continued to report as if he was walking on thin ice: "Well... the Queen went to Mr. Wang's place as soon as she entered the palace. She was indeed in a hurry..."
Emperor Tang calmly turned over a page of the book, seemingly not interested in what Imperial Physician Chen said.
"When Wei Chen was prescribing the medicine, Master Shangshu was always by Wei Chen's side, and then he personally escorted Wei Chen into the carriage. After just a cup of tea, the Queen came out of the palace and returned to the phoenix sedan chair..."
After saying this, Doctor Chen stopped talking.
Emperor Tang closed the book, and the little eunuch beside him quickly stepped forward, took the book, and put it aside carefully.
"I'm tired, please kneel down."
"Yes, Wei Chen is resigning."
Doctor Chen retreated as if he had been granted amnesty.
Emperor Tang was still lying on the dragon couch. Suddenly, blood surged up in his chest, followed by a sweetness in his throat——
'Cough - cough -'
Emperor Tang took out his handkerchief and wiped the corners of his mouth. A streak of bright red blood dyed the white handkerchief red.
"Master! I will go and call Doctor Chen back now..."
Emperor Tang waved his hand, and the little eunuch stopped saying anything, with anxiety in his eyes.
"Prepare the sedan."
"Master, where are you going?"
"Small pavilion."
"But...but you just announced that General Chang is here."
Emperor Tang was stunned and seemed to have forgotten this incident. Then, he said softly: "Let him also come to the small pavilion to see me."
"Yes, Master."
Although the eunuch didn't dare to say anything, he felt strange in his heart. The small pavilion can be said to be a forbidden area in the entire palace. No one can go there except the Emperor Tang, not even the queen and other concubines. How come General Chang was suddenly summoned there today.
...
The dark little pavilion is located to the west of Tai Chi Palace. It is a very inconspicuous small building. From the outside, the small pavilion always looks so dark. Even in the sunny day, there is always a sense of sadness and sadness here. It infects everyone who comes close to it, which is extremely depressing.
Emperor Tang stood in the small pavilion with his hands behind his hands. The eunuchs, well aware of their master's habits, had retreated silently, leaving the man standing alone in the darkness.
With the faint light, Emperor Tang looked at the spiritual tablet in front of the table, and a beautiful figure appeared in the darkness.
It has been fifteen years, this woman has been gone for fifteen years, but everything seems to be just like yesterday...
The four words "lonely person" are absolutely correct! These four words suddenly appeared in Tang Emperor's mind, and then familiar and unfamiliar faces appeared in front of his eyes...
Emperor Tang first smiled coldly, and then showed a helpless expression.
I sent my brothers to prison one by one, the crippled ones, the dead ones, the crazy ones... Even my own daughter was killed in that rebellion...
Could it be that this is all because of me?
Recalling the tragic death of his eldest daughter, Emperor Tang's expression changed once again. He, who had always been lonely and ruthless, actually showed a trace of tenderness and a trace of... guilt?
Xiaolan must hate me deeply, right? Although she always pretended to respect and love herself, just like when she first ascended the throne, how could she not feel it? It's ridiculous, she always thought she couldn't see through the poor cover-up, but as her husband, how could he not notice this?
Thinking that his wife, who had been so close in the past, and he had reached this point today, Emperor Tang felt a trace of sadness in his heart. The complex emotions in his heart were intertwined, and the taste was hard to describe - the more complex his mood became, the more Emperor Tang missed the woman in front of him...
But even if I did something wrong, what does it have to do with this woman? Why should she spread her anger and hatred towards this innocent woman? If this woman were still alive, I'm afraid she wouldn't be so lonely... Haha, she was always so positive and cheerful. Even when she was at her most desperate, she had that kind of natural confidence and even a hint of blind optimism. You can always give yourself hope...especially those eyes, which are really inspiring...
well! After all, it was my fault first - perhaps it was out of this guilt that I turned a blind eye to what she did at that time, which led to the tragedy later...
Shouldn't I have been so heartless in the first place? But on one side is the life of the soldiers, on the other side is the life of his daughter... When I made a choice... was I too ruthless? Now that I think about it, I have been unable to have an heir for a long time, which can be regarded as retribution... Emperors have been the most ruthless since ancient times. How can this dragon chair be so easy to sit on?
Emperor Tang smiled at himself, full of ridicule and helplessness - he was laughing at the brothers who were fighting to the death for this dragon chair, he was laughing at all the helpless choices he had made in the past, he was laughing at the people who seemed to be different from him but were actually different from him. But the wife is a stranger...
'Ding-deng-deng——'
There was the sound of riding boots hitting the wooden stairs of the pavilion outside the door. Emperor Tang quickly returned to reality from melancholy, and the trace of sadness and guilt that had just risen in his heart disappeared in an instant.
"I bow before your Majesty! Long live my emperor..."
"Get up!" Emperor Tang interrupted Chang Zhishan before he could finish his greetings. He raised his hand and motioned for Chang Zhishan to stand up and said: "I called you to the small pavilion to talk and reminisce about the past. There is no need to go through these red tapes."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Chang Zhishan stood up. As the first general of the New Tang Dynasty, he was always upright and magnanimous, even when facing the Emperor of Tang Dynasty, but this time he was a little strange and became a little cautious.
While Emperor Tang was not paying attention, Chang Zhishan's remaining light drifted toward the spiritual place in the darkness, and then he quickly turned his gaze away quietly. In fact, when he learned that Emperor Tang had summoned him here, he even couldn't believe it. It was the little eunuch who came to deliver the message to him again who confirmed it.
Small attic - how many past events are hidden in this small house, and how many grudges and hatreds have passed away with that woman... Why did the Holy One choose to summon him there? Or...the Holy One has always known that he has feelings for that woman...
Chang Zhishan looked down at the old wooden boards on the ground, his eyes not daring to wander at all - even though he also longed to take another look in his heart.
Just when Chang Zhishan was extremely uncomfortable, Emperor Tang suddenly spoke about the past——
"Zhongxian, do you still remember when you blocked an arrow for me?"
"The Holy One has shown me kindness and kindness like a mountain, and I should repay him with death!"
Emperor Tang didn't seem to care about Chang Zhishan's sincere words, but sighed lightly and said, "After you were seriously injured, it was Xiaoying who took care of you, right?"
"yes……"
"It's been so many years, and now when I think about it, it still feels like yesterday..."
Chang Zhishan did not respond to Emperor Tang, but just looked at Emperor Tang quietly. Following the Tang Emperor for more than twenty years, the two of them went through countless dangers together. Privately, he and the Tang Emperor were both kings and friends. Today, when the Tang Emperor summoned him here, he naturally wanted to express his true feelings, and as a person, he My lord, all he needs to do now is listen. Even at this moment, he still has a lot to say - strange to say, as a soldier who is used to seeing life and death, he shouldn't be so emotional, but now he is in a This scene here also made him feel inexplicably melancholy.
Emperor Tang paced and said quietly——
"Since I came to the throne, I have worked hard to govern and strengthen myself. Over the past decades, I have streamlined institutions, introduced new things, and promoted advantages and eliminated disadvantages. I suppressed the 'Rebellion of the Six Kings' before and the 'light corvee and low tax' later. I promoted Imperial Learning, focused on farming, and did not suppress business. , until all industries prosper, the people become richer, and the national power becomes stronger, the Tang Dynasty will be rejuvenated..."
Emperor Tang counted his achievements in detail, one by one... At this moment, he seemed to be much younger in an instant. Emperor Tang continued -
"If I can live for thirty years... no! Twenty years... no! Even ten years! I will definitely make the Tang Dynasty rich and powerful, regain its lost territory, and regain its ancestral glory!"
Although these words are not impassioned, they are full of plain heroic ambition. They are not as ferocious as wild beasts, but like the clouds and mists above the mountains, calm and majestic, enough to swallow up mountains and rivers.
"It's a pity that the sky doesn't open its eyes. As the emperor, I can't control my fate. I just wish I couldn't borrow more years from heaven."
Emperor Tang's arrogance instantly turned into unwillingness, and a deep sense of tragedy filled the dark little building. It was noon at this time, but the sunlight could not penetrate the gloom in the small building.
"I also have to prepare for what happens after my death."
Chang Zhishan's heart trembled violently, and then he tried his best to stabilize his body.
This topic was tacitly understood by officials both at home and abroad, and now Emperor Tang bluntly told himself that it would not matter if he was already as old as Mr. Wang and bedridden all year round, even if he retired from the army like Duke Ding. , It’s okay to have lived a comfortable and idle life for several years, but now that I am in my prime and holding military power, Emperor Tang suddenly said this, which really made me feel at a loss what to do, which can be said to be frightening.
Before Chang Zhishan could think of a response, Emperor Tang spoke again -
"My son, I leave it to you!"
"Your Majesty! I am a minister—"
Chang Zhishan's body trembled slightly, and then a huge wave suddenly rose in his chest. This sentence almost made his liver and brain shake to pieces. Thousands of words seemed pale and feeble at this moment!
Chang Zhishan knelt on his knees and knocked his forehead heavily on the floor, making a 'bang bang' sound.
Looking at Chang Zhishan with tears in his eyes, Emperor Tang bent down and helped him up. Looking at this loyal minister, this comrade who lived and died together, and this one of the few people who could be called friends, Emperor Tang nodded slightly.
Chang Zhishan knelt on the ground for a long time and refused to get up. He seemed to be pressed down by something heavy, and he seemed to be waiting for Emperor Tang to say something...
But Emperor Tang no longer paid attention to Chang Zhishan at his feet. Instead, he reached out and patted his arm gently, and then walked slowly and leisurely outside the house. Emperor Tang's steps were slightly staggering, like a dead tree swaying in the strong wind...
[Really bloody. 】
