Shangjing is located in Bohai Prefecture, a land of bitter cold. Chen Taizu raised troops in Chendi and opened a government office in Chendi. This is why the country's name is Chen.
After pacifying the Central Plains, Chen Taizu did not withdraw his troops. Instead, he went north to capture the Bohai Kingdom, conquered the Nüzhi in the west, and conquered Goryeo in the east. After five years, he finally conquered this bitter cold land in the far north.
Bohai Country is located in the far north, with frozen soil up to ten feet deep. Many people who followed Taizu did not understand why they had to waste military supplies and conquer this barren land.
Chen Taizu did not explain much, but just established the capital here. Chen Di, who raised troops, already had an old government office, so he did not abolish it.
After Taizong ascended the throne, the capital was Jinling, which was called Lower Capital because of the need to build a canal. The old Yamen of Chendi was called Zhongjing, and Longquan was called Upper Capital.
After Taizong's death, the prince ascended the throne and moved the capital from Jinling to Longquan in order to quell the Three Kings' Rebellion.
Fortunately, these three capitals are not large in scale, and the imperial palaces are not built with large-scale construction. Especially the imperial city of Shangjing is only five miles away. Built around the palace are the Dali Temple, Taixue, and the Sixth Ministry of the Imperial Court.
Outside the imperial city, built around the imperial city are the residences of ministers, the most eye-catching of which are the residences of the three surnames of Bai Menglin.
The Baifu is the most beautiful building. It is located in the east of the imperial city and consists of several gardens. The scenery is majestic and the flowers and trees are beautiful.
Meng Mansion is composed of dozens of separate mansions and covers the largest area.
The Lin Mansion is the shabbiest in comparison, but it is also the most eye-catching among the three.
The residence of Prime Minister Lin Xingquan was full of people from morning to night, and many people wanted to see him but could not get it.
With such great power, Lin Mansion should have replaced this small courtyard with two entrances long ago. There are even rumors that the emperor personally advised him that if Lin Mansion is so shabby, people in the world will think that I treat celebrities lightly.
But Lin Ruoquan insisted not to change, saying that his life depended on this house, and if he changed it, he would die.
Regardless of whether the rumors are true or not, Lin's Mansion is indeed a small courtyard with two entrances. Because there is no room, all those who come to see him have to stand outside and wait. The queue often stretches to the street, which becomes a unique sight in Shangjing.
On this day, a group of carriages came from the south. After entering the city, they drove around the city and entered the Bai Mansion.
For the servants of the White Mansion, this is a very common thing, because the Sixth Young Master likes to inscribe strange stones the most. Sometimes he spends more than half a year collecting strange stones everywhere. Every once in a while, there will be several trucks full of them. The carriage carrying strange stones or monuments returns home.
But this time it was slightly different. All the servants and even the maids in the back house were banned. Only the two old housekeepers and the maids in the madam's room were allowed to walk in the house.
Then the whole Bai Mansion suddenly became quiet. The two housekeepers Bai An and Bai Fu stood respectfully in front of the car, and several maids were preparing clothes and hot water and fragrant soup in the room for bathing.
Bai Jingtao stood in front of the car and opened the door curtain of the carriage with his own hands. The first thing that caught Zhou Rushuang's eyes was a rockery in the center of the courtyard. On the rockery, there was spring water rushing down, with water splashing and gurgling sounds.
It had just passed the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and the Baifu Garden was filled with spring scenery. The tall trees are filled with various flowers, most of which are already in bloom, including many rare varieties.
Looking into the distance, the small bridges, flowing water, pavilions and pavilions make people feel like they are in a fairyland on earth.
"We're here." Bai Jingtao said briefly, then helped Zhou Rushuang get out of the carriage and led her to Changyuan where Bai Dongjiang lived.
Needless to say, there are pavilions, terraces, and corridors along the way. When entering Chang Garden, Bai Dongjiang's residence is not as fancy as several other gardens. There is not even a piano platform, and there is nothing else except the flowers and trees in front of him.
A path leads directly to the study, where Bai Dongjiang sits and waits quietly.
He had already received the news that Bai Jingtao would return home today, and he would also bring back a very important person - Tantai Wushuang, the daughter of King Lu.
Fourteen years ago, King Tantai Zongyou of Lu launched an army to rebel, and King Zhao and Han raised troops to respond at the same time. The world was shaken, and half of the country was swept away in a short period of time.
However, the crown prince who had just ascended the throne was a master of great talent and strategy. Relying on the women's straights of Bohai Palace and the Korean cavalry, they crushed him from north to south. King Lu was defeated like a mountain. In the end, the three kings of Lu, Zhao and Han were killed by the nine tribes.
Unexpectedly, fourteen years later, the daughter of King Lu could still be found.
Bai Dongjiang's loyalty to King Lu was actually not that strong. As a bachelor of the Wenyuan Pavilion, he was one of the elders of the court and could be regarded as a highly respected minister.
Now that he has a relationship with King Lu's widow, if this matter is found out, no one in the family of more than 300 will be spared, and they will all be beheaded.
The main reason why he had to endure to see this Tantai Wushuang was Bai Jingtao.
Bai Jingtao was his sixth son. Before Bai Shenfu died, Bai Jingtao's favorite was Bai Jingtao. He often took him around to play. At the same time, he also told Bai Jingtao about the Bai family's participation in King Lu's rebellion, so that Bai Jingtao became more and more concerned about this matter. The more enthusiastic.
Another reason is that when Bai Shenfu was about to die, he specifically told Bai Dongjiang that King Lu's legacy must be implemented, otherwise he would be burned, and he would not be able to seek peace.
For these two reasons, Bai Dongjiang sat here waiting for King Lu's daughter to come.
"Princess, please wait a moment." Bai Jingtao's deliberately lowered voice came from outside the door. Bai Dongjiang frowned. King Lu has been dead for fourteen years, so why should he be called Princess?
Hearing the footsteps approaching, he stood up and walked to the door and opened it.
Slightly different from Bai Dongjiang's imagination, King Lu's daughter did not look overbearing or full of resentment, but she looked a little sad.
Zhou Rushuang bowed down and said, "I have met Mr. Bai."
Bai Dongjiang hadn't heard anyone call him sir in front of him for many years, so he was a little surprised by this title.
"How dare you, how dare you, I'm really rude for not being able to greet you from afar." Bai Dongjiang hurriedly stretched out his hand to hold Zhou Rushuang's arm.
Ever since he knew that he would go to the Bai Mansion in Beijing and meet Bai Jingtao's father, Bai Dongjiang, Zhou Rushuang had thought about it all. Now that he met the person, he naturally said all the things he had thought about for a long time.
"Mr. Bai, whether it's the princess or the prince, it's all in the past."
"Don't mention the name Tantai Wushuang again. I just want to live my life quietly. That's enough."
Bai Jingtao said hurriedly from the side: "Princess, why did you change your mind? You said it well on the way."
"Tao'er!" Bai Dongjiang stopped Bai Jingtao from talking.
"I'd better call you Miss Wushuang. No matter what, this name was left to you by His Highness Prince Lu."
"Miss Wushuang, I am Bai Dongjiang, a bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion. Maybe you will feel strange, why do you want to take risks to find your traces when your family is already extremely wealthy?"
"Today, I will give you a brief explanation."
