Generally, emperors are very confident and think that the people around them who they trust are all their own, and God knows what they do. As long as I don't tell you, you won't know. I don't know. When you work by the emperor's side, you are like accompanying the emperor like a tiger. The words are absolutely true, because the emperor is also a human being and can be moody. After all, the Sacred Heart is unpredictable. If you don't find a backer or a gang to form a faction, the emperor will kill you in anger and won't even ask for help. No one has any personal feelings!
As soon as the princes and princesses returned to the camp, their confidants immediately gave them a comprehensive report on what had just happened, like pouring beans through a bamboo tube. Even when Chen Ruchang was on his way back to the palace, Queen Zhou Shuangshuang knew about it. The ins and outs of this incident are just that everyone who knew the truth didn’t take it to heart, as if it had never happened!
But it’s normal to think about it. He is a country man, not from a noble family. He has no background, no background, no backstage, and no good looks. He just met the emperor’s temporary needs by chance. The emperor It was because I couldn't save my face that I brought her back. I didn't even give her a title. She was just a show girl. Besides, what does a show girl do? In fact, the status of a show girl in the palace is not as good as that of an ordinary palace maid doing menial work. At best, she is a temporary worker, and she may be kicked out of the palace at any time!
Among all the people, the only one who felt some gratitude to Mei Yunniang was the Taoist priest Lin Zhenren. If it hadn't been for Mei Yunniang, what happened this time would have caused his head to move. Therefore, after returning to the palace, the eunuch Feng Baobao At Chen Ruchang's signal, he was about to send Mei Yunniang to the palace embroidery room, but was stopped by Lin Zhenren. Lin Zhenren asked Chen Ruchang to put Mei Yunniang in his alchemy room because his alchemy room was lacking. A hot girl, Chen Ruchang is surrounded by so many beauties now that he can catch any of them with his eyes closed than Mei Yunniang. He even faintly regrets the relationship he had with Mei Yunniang. As long as he can ensure that he cannot see this mountain girl, He didn't care whether Mei Yunniang went there, so he agreed to Lin Zhenren's request without thinking.
Mei Yunniang followed Master Lin into the alchemy room and almost never came out again. The reason was that although she and the people in the palace lived in the same era, they were like people from two different worlds. She has a dull temperament and doesn't like to talk, and she doesn't have much in her heart. The rules in the palace are so strict that she can't say the wrong thing, and her head may be gone that day. Besides, she really can't find anyone willing to talk to her here, let alone the palace queen. Big, if you go out, you may never come back. Moreover, there are many restricted areas in the palace, which she cannot go to casually!
Lin Zhenren's lay name is Lin Lingsu. He is about sixty years old. He has thick eyebrows, big eyes, and three strands of gray beard. He is very thin but very tall. When he stands, he looks like a bamboo pole. His alchemy room was in an inconspicuous corner of the palace. There were carved beams and painted buildings in front of it. The majestic royal palace of Wei E. When he came to his place, it was just an ordinary three-room blue brick room with two small side rooms on both sides. There was also an unknown one in front. Big small courtyard.
It was here that Lin Zhenren took a close disciple Yu Liancheng to refine the elixir of immortality for Emperor Chen Ruchang. After Mei Yunniang came over, Lin Zhenren's disciple Yu Liancheng packed up a side room for Mei Yunniang to live temporarily.
Autumn turned to winter, and the cold wind was biting. In a flash, Mei Yunniang had lived in the alchemy room for nearly five months. During these five months, Mei Yunniang's belly gradually grew bigger. In the first few months, Mei Yunniang My mother was always nauseous and retching. Master Lin also thought it was because she was not accustomed to the local environment when she first arrived. She had never thought about that. Now that she saw Mei Yun's belly getting bigger and bigger, she woke up and was completely panicked. You must know that this is in the palace, and it is not a joke. If someone who is interested might not see it, it will be really unbearable to walk around. Fortunately, Mei Yun Niang rarely goes out. After thinking hard, I feel that this matter will eventually happen. Still not satisfied, he went to find eunuch Feng Baobao, who had a good relationship with him, to discuss countermeasures.
Feng Baobao was shocked when he heard it. The two discussed it for more than a month, but they still couldn't come up with any perfect plan. Seeing Mei Yunniang's belly getting bigger and bigger, there was no other way, so Lin Zhenren had no choice but to bite the bullet and report to the emperor Chen Ruchang. He was shocked, but after thinking about it, it was still his own fault. In the end, he could only vent his anger on Zuo Prime Minister Zhao Gang, who had persuaded him to bring Mei Yunniang back to the palace.
On this day, Zuo Prime Minister Zhao Gang had just returned to the Prime Minister's Mansion from court. Before he could cross the threshold, eunuch Feng Baobao followed him and said, "Your Excellency, Your Majesty, I have invited you."
Zhao Gang was stunned when he heard this. He said to himself, "I have just gone to court and the emperor came to announce me before I even entered the house. I must have encountered something urgent." He immediately turned around and got into the sedan chair without saying a word, and hurried away towards the palace!
When he arrived at the palace, Zhao Gang was guided by Feng Baobao to Chen Ruchang's study room. As soon as he entered the door, he saw Chen Ruchang sitting on the dragon chair with a serious face. Lin Zhenren stood beside the chair with a sad face. Zhao Gang saw this posture and guessed that this veteran There must have been some trouble, and the emperor felt troubled, so he called him over to discuss it.
Immediately he raised his hands and bowed to Chen Ruchang, "Long live my emperor, Zhao Gang, the humble minister...!"
"Okay." Chen Ruchang waved his hand, "Don't go through all the red tape when you and your ministers meet in private." He pointed to the chair placed under his head, "Sit down." Then he turned to Zhenren Lin who was standing behind him and said, "Just tell the matter. Talk to the Prime Minister."
After listening to Master Lin's narration, Zhao Gang was immediately dumbfounded and didn't know what to do for a moment! He never dreamed that the emperor came to him for this matter!
Seeing Zhao Gang's silence, Chen Ruchang suddenly felt angry. When you persuaded me to bring this woman back, you did one thing after another, but now I can't let you idle.
"Prime Minister, do you think you have any good ideas for this matter? Let's discuss it with Lian!"
Zhao Gang held up his hand and said, "Your Majesty, how about you give this woman a title? Isn't this justifiable?"
Chen Ruchang stared at Zhao Gang for a long time, then shook his head, "It's too late, I'm afraid it will be even more unclear when I ban her now!"
"Then what should we do? The Holy One is wise, but the humble minister is stupid. Please express His Holy Will clearly!" Zhao Gang suddenly felt inexplicable panic!
Chen Ruchang smiled and said, "I thought of a way, I just want to trouble Aiqing to put some thought into it!"
Zhao Gang hurriedly stood up from his chair and knelt down in front of Chen Ruchang, "My emperor has really humiliated his subordinates, but if you have your orders, no one dares to disobey!"
"Haha, Aiqing, you are worrying too much." Chen Ruchang stretched out his hand to help Zhao Gang, who was kneeling in front of him. "It sounds like this is just a private matter, but please, Aiqing, please don't let the news leak out."
A few days later, on a dark and stormy night, a small door next to the palace kitchen where food was usually delivered to the palace kitchen was quietly opened. Xu Meng, the commander of the palace front office, and Wang Gan, the deputy commander of the palace, guarded the small door in person. After a while, Lin Zhenren, wearing night clothes, led a short man wearing a black robe and a veil on his face out of the small door and boarded a carriage that had been waiting on the roadside outside the palace. , after the two people got on the carriage, the carriage started quickly and quickly disappeared into the night.
About a few months later, one day the morning court was over. All the officials who had attended the morning court had almost left. Zhao Gang, the prime minister of the left, was still lingering and did not want to leave. Chen Ruchang, who had retreated to the imperial study room, ordered the eunuch Feng Baobao next to him. , "Go to the Xuanzheng Hall and call Zhao Gang."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Feng Baobao bowed, turned around and left the imperial study. Soon Zhao Gang followed Feng Baobao and came to Chen Ruchang.
"Has that girl given birth?" Chen Ruchang asked immediately before Zhao Gang could salute.
Zhao Gang was startled, glanced at Feng Baobao standing next to him, and quickly replied: "Back to the Holy One, the Holy One added a dragon son last night!"
Chen Ruchang frowned, with no sign of happiness on his face. He paced slowly back and forth in the imperial study room. Zhao Gang and Feng Baobao stood beside him, too scared to even express their anger.
After waiting for a long time, Zhao Gang asked cautiously, "Did the Holy One give Long Zi a name?"
Chen Ruchang stopped and waved his hand gently, "You can give me the name. Let this child take his mother's surname!"
Zhao Gang was startled when he heard this, "Your Majesty, this is the Dragon Son, I don't dare to...!"
"Okay, Prime Minister, please come back. I'm tired. Eunuch Feng, please send the Prime Minister off." Chen Ruchang sat back on the throne, closed his eyes, and stopped talking.
"Your Majesty, Prime Minister, please invite me." Feng Baobao walked to the door of the royal study and made a sign to see off the guests.
Zhao Gang sighed slightly, bowed to Chen Ruchang who was sitting on the dragon chair with his eyes closed, and followed Feng Baobao out of the imperial study.
Time flies by like a white horse, and the world is like a white dog in the sky. Eighteen more spring and autumn years passed in the blink of an eye. In the thirty-sixth year of Xuanhe, the national power of Chen State had plummeted in these years. Chen Ruchang was received at the border just after his sixtieth birthday. Urgent news, Weicheng, an important border town, has been captured by a hundred thousand troops led by Wu general Xue Biao. Weicheng defender, border patrol envoy, Zhongwu General Yin Yong died in the battle, and deputy general Tian Ming led the remnants of about 30,000 people to retreat to Jiangling.
The fall of Weicheng was the 22nd city occupied by the alliance of Wu and Zhou in the past eighteen years, which completely reduced Chen State, which originally had more than 60 cities, from a medium-sized second-rate country to a third-rate small country. After the crown prince Xu Da ascended the throne, with the assistance of the new prime minister Wang You, he worked hard to reorganize the army and implement reforms. The national power jumped from a middle-class second-rate country that was comparable to Chen Guo's national power to an upper-class quasi-first-class country. In addition, it occupied The world-famous Chen State has more than a dozen cities, large and small, and its strength has reached a new level. Even the Qin State, the most powerful country on the continent with nearly a thousand cities, also looks at it with admiration.
