【wedge】
Outside Luoyang City.
The candlelight was swaying in the Immortal Palace of Shangyang Palace, and the palace maidens walking back and forth looked solemn. They could only hear the rustling of the silk clothes around them as they walked, but not a single human voice.
There was only an old female voice, echoing emptyly in the silent hall,
"The sun, has it come out?"
"Go back to the Holy Spirit, not yet. It's winter now and the sun comes up late."
The person who answered her was also a woman, her voice was not loud, but she was very calm.
"Wan'er, I've told you many times that I have abdicated, and you still call me Holy Emperor in private. This is inconsistent with etiquette."
"Wan'er knows etiquette and knows her own heart even more. In my heart, you are the best emperor in the Tang Dynasty."
"Oh, silly boy, please don't say anything like this again.
I have already let go of those old things, why haven’t you let go yet? "
"Yes, Your Majesty, one day I will learn to be as generous as you."
"When I die, remember to bury me in Qianling Mausoleum with the late Emperor."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Also, don't write a word on my tombstone."
"Without writing? Wouldn't the monument be empty?"
"Yes, let it be empty. Knowing that I have sinned against myself, it is only the Spring and Autumn Period."
"...Yes, Your Majesty."
"Wan'er, do you know that many emperors and empresses of the Han Dynasty were not buried together, but Empress Lu Fei of Gao was finally buried together with the great ancestor Liu Bang."
"Why is Your Majesty so interested in discussing etiquette with me today?"
“That’s probably what happens when people get old, they always think back to things from their youth.
It’s funny to say that since I was in my thirties, I have been accused of being a hen, and I have often been scolded as the second empress Lu. Later, when I really became emperor, they didn't dare to say it to my face, and they probably continued to scold me behind their backs.
Unexpectedly, in the matter of joint burial, I would follow in the footsteps of Empress Lu.
Tell me, why was Empress Lu buried with Emperor Gaozu? "
"Perhaps, Queen Lu is willing to do this in her heart.
After all, she is a famous and strange woman just like you. "
"Strange women, haha. When you reach my age, you will know that many times, strange women are forced out by fate."
By the way, where is Taiping? Where is my peace? "
"Princess Zhenguo is on her way here. Please close your eyes for a while and rest your mind for a while. The princess will be here when it gets dark."
"Oh. Remember to wake me up when the sun comes up..."
In the winter of the first year of Shenlong, in the eleventh month of Renyin, the Great Sage Queen Wu Zetian died in Luoyang at the age of eighty-three;
When he died, only Shangguan Wan'er, a native of Neishe, was with him.
***
Wu Zetian felt that she had not been so relaxed for a long time.
She heard the palace maids constantly calling "Queen Mother", which was also mixed with Shangguan Wan'er's obsessive "Holy Majesty". She heard her daughter Princess Taiping's heart-wrenching cry, and she also heard Shanshan. Zhongzong Li Xian, the belated son, sighed with relief.
However, these sounds no longer stopped her, and her soul soared upwards into the void of nothingness.
Her whole body was wrapped in a layer of warm mist. This warmth contained a familiar familiarity, which reminded her of the gurgling stream in late spring in her hometown of Bingzhou.
A mysterious androgynous voice came from above the head, "Wu Zetian, this is the end of your life."
"Yes I know."
"What else do you wish for?"
"I have no regrets.
But I want to know, has the world ever found peace in the future? "
"The world is under heaven? Are you asking about Li Tang's world or your Wu Zhou's world?"
"It's all the same. I understand now that the world will always be the same."
"Eight years after your death, Princess Taiping was sentenced to death.
In the fiftieth year after your death, vassal towns rose up, Li Tang fell apart, and it has been in decline ever since. "
"My peace...my world's common people...has only lasted fifty years?"
"Yes, it's only been fifty years. It's a pity that the good foundation you spent half your life building has been destroyed in one day."
"It's really a pity that they just sit back and watch the feudal clan remain weak and devour Qianqiu's foundation. That's it, that's it.
This time, you won’t blame me as a woman, right? "
"I don't blame you. This time, they blamed a noble concubine named Yang Yuhuan."
"...Is it the woman's fault again?"
"It's always the woman's fault."
Wu Zetian suddenly laughed,
"I want to take back the answer I just gave.
Now, I have regrets again. "
***
When she woke up again, Wu Zetian found herself in a speeding carriage. The violent bumps gave her a splitting headache and her internal organs seemed to be out of place.
Just as she was about to lower her head and vomit, she suddenly froze——
She was wearing a half-new jacket and skirt that were not made in the Tang Dynasty, but looked like the Qin and Han Dynasty costumes in the paintings.
When she saw her hands, Wu Zetian was even more surprised.
The texture of these hands is rough, and it can be seen that they have been doing farm work for many years. They are definitely not what literati call them greasy catkins, but they are full and full of vitality. They definitely do not belong to the aging Empress Dowager of the Tang Dynasty.
She felt her vest getting cold and touched her face with slightly trembling hands.
The thick calluses of her palms scratched across her skin, bringing a solid sense of security. She pressed her face hard, but found no wrinkles. The tentacles only had strong elasticity, proving that this was the face of a young woman.
Wu Zetian believed in Buddhism and asked Fa Ming and other eminent monks of the Tang Dynasty to write the Great Cloud Sutra for her, calling her the reincarnation of Maitreya Buddha. Therefore, she was no stranger to the idea of reincarnation.
She secretly guessed that then, she might have been reincarnated as well.
Could it be that this was God's compensation for the regret in her heart?
Let her become a peasant woman from an ordinary family in the Qin and Han Dynasties and live a plain, happy and contented life? ?
***
With this thought in mind, she turned away and secretly looked at the other companion in the car.
He was an old man with a cramped manner. His clothes were more luxurious than hers, but his face could not hide the weathered weather brought by time.
Meeting her gaze, the old man said nervously, "Eshuo, we are probably almost there."
Before Wu Zetian could answer, the tall young man in charge of the horse said without looking back,
"It's very close. We will reach Guangwu City in five miles."
The old man twitched the corners of his mouth and smiled.
"I've been to Guangwu City before.
Our Han army and the Chu army have been facing each other here for ten months.
Last time, Xiang Yu took me under the Guangwu city wall, set up a big pot, and threatened to cook me to death. Our Ji'er was still on top of the city saying that he wanted to share a bowl of meat soup. "
"Mr. Liu, please stop talking, it's really scary.
I wonder if Xiang Yu will do anything else this time? "
The young man driving the car spoke up.
"It's okay, Brother Shen.
I heard that Ji'er's army was now strong and united, and Xiang Yu could not attack for a long time, so he proposed to use the chasm as a boundary to divide the world into two.
He is now anxious to send us hostages back to show his sincerity in negotiating peace. "
The old man was talking nonchalantly, then he glanced at Wu Zetian who was stunned and asked,
"Eshen, you are going to see your husband soon. Are you happy?"
Even though Wu Zetian was decisive in killing and had seen all the famous scenes in the world, she was still swallowed up by the huge shock.
She received a good education since she was a child and was involved in literature and history. Later, she was on the front line of handling government affairs year after year. From the few words of the conversation just now, she has roughly guessed her identity and situation——
She, the wise and powerful Wu Zetian, the "female chicken Si Chen" Wu Zetian, the Wu Zetian who was scolded as the second empress Lu, actually became Lu Pheasant herself in this life.
Right now, she was sitting in the same carriage with her husband, Liu Ji's father, Liu Taigong, running from the Chu camp to the Han army camp, ending their two-year life as a hostage.
As for the "Brother Shen" who was driving the carriage, if nothing else happened, he was the secret lover of Lu Pheasant, an old fellow from his hometown, Shen Shiqi, as has been confirmed in the history books.
***
"Happy... joyful."
Under the ardent gaze of Taigong Liu, Wu Zetian was in a trance for a moment.
In fact, she was more than happy, she almost wanted to look up to the sky and laugh, and also wanted to thank God and Buddha:
The conversation she had with Shangguan Wan'er before her death was still in her ears. She really wanted to be a strange woman again rather than lead an ordinary life.
This time, she firmly believed that she could do better, not only to make up for the regret in her heart, but also for Shangguan Wan'er, Princess Taiping, the noble concubine Yang who she had never met, and thousands of women in the world.
***
The car drove from the Chu army's rear camp to the foot of Guangwu City and stopped at the front line of the confrontation between the two armies.
Wu Zetian looked out of the car window and saw Liu Ji standing in front of the army.
Over fifty years old, he has not yet changed his name to Liu Bang, but he has developed an imperial aura, indifferent and calm. He is no longer the vague-faced middle-aged official in Surabaya Pavilion who loves to drink everywhere.
However, she could see that despite his forced composure, Liu Ji was still a little uncontrollably excited.
Does this excitement stem from the return of hostages such as his father, brother, wife, etc., or does it stem from the equal status of peace talks with the overlord of Western Chu?
I'm afraid only Liu Ji himself knows this.
Next to Liu Ji, there were two childish figures, one tall and one short, stretching their necks and looking anxiously in the direction of the carriage.
Wu Zetian knew that the tall boy was Liu Fei, the illegitimate son of Liu Ji and his neighbor Cao's wife, and that the short boy was Liu Ying, his second son by Lu Fei.
"Lu Pheasant and Liu Ji should have a daughter named Princess Lu Yuan. She must be still in the rear city and it is inconvenient to go out to the front to greet her." Wu Zetian thought to herself.
It is said that when Liu Ji was defeated in Pengcheng, he was eager to escape by car and kicked the two unlucky children Liu Ying and Lu Yuan out of the car three times. Thanks to the loyal Xia Houying who risked his life to protect them, they fell into the hands of the Chu army. inside.
"Even if they are really caught by Xiang Yu, what will happen?" Wu Zetian curled her lips and cursed in her heart.
"It's nothing more than giving Liu Ji two more bowls of meat soup outside Guangwu City.
In the end, historians will only say that the king of Han had heroic spirit and no benevolence as a woman, which is what those who achieve great things should be like. "
"By the way," she reminded herself in time, "you are Lu Pheasant in your thirties at the moment, not the powerful Emperor Wu."
Now Lu Pheasant is just the queen of the King of Han, a transparent person.
