The moon marks passed over the trees of the Forbidden Gate Palace, and my charming eyes only looked at the nest of the egret. The jade hairpin is pulled out at an angle by the shadow of the lamp, and the red flame is flicked away to save the moths.
It's late at night, and candlelight shines through the paper windows.
Sitting in front of the desk, the frail old emperor finished reviewing the last volume of memorials, breathed out weakly, and stood up tremblingly.
The red-robed eunuch on the side reminded him softly: "Your Majesty, it's late at night, it's time to rest."
The old emperor hummed, turned to look at the pile of memorials, and asked, "How many have I reviewed today?"
The eunuch said respectfully, "Your Majesty, one hundred and twenty stones."
"So many." The old emperor muttered to himself. He walked out of the palace and sat on the stone steps. He saw the moonlight in the courtyard was like water, and when he touched it subconsciously, he felt the coolness.
The world is together for one month, and the old man who is looking up at the moon at this moment has been in danger since he came to the throne at the age of more than 20, to put down the rebellion in the age of forty, and to bring the Dafeng Dynasty into an unprecedented prosperous age in the age of ears. He has already paid for it. A life's work. Today, he is like a crumbling eaves, protecting the country from wind and rain for the last time.
A historian once said: "Every matter in the world, no matter how big or small, is decided by the superior. The superior can measure the book with a weighing stone, and submit it day and night. If the submission fails, there will be no rest."
Therefore, it was actually a normal thing for the emperor to review the 120-pound memorial. He owes nothing to these thousands of miles of vast wilderness, fertile land, and tens of millions of hard-working people. The only thing he owed was her, a woman from the palace whose hair had turned white and who once said with a smile: "It's better not to see her than to see her."
At some point, the eunuch followed quietly and said cautiously: "Your Majesty, staying up late will cause serious harm to your health. You should turn off the lights and rest."
The old emperor suddenly stood up, looked at the moonlight in the distance, and said in a deep voice: "Don't worry, find someone to lead the way. I'll go see her."
The palace maid led the way, the palace lantern in her hand exuding a soft orange light. Under the instruction of the red-robed eunuch, countless black shadows quietly followed and protected her on the high eaves of the palace.
No one knows how many secrets this majestic Dafeng Palace hides. After a hundred years of ups and downs, the rise and fall of dynasties, only the people sitting on the dragon throne are changing.
The old emperor Dafeng lived in the same era as the previous emperor of the Dajing Dynasty, and now he is like a crumbling building.
Walking into the ruined palace, everything is desolate. The paintings on the caisson have faded, the red paint on the pillars is peeling off, the lattice windows are covered with dust, and there is only a bronze Buddha in the spacious hall.
The old emperor whispered softly: "I haven't dared to see you these years. It turns out that so many years have passed."
The eunuch in red robe faced the Buddha, kowtowed three times and bowed nine times, and then quietly left.
In the dark hall, the wind howled, the old emperor lit the candlestick, and the bright fire dispelled the darkness, making the bronze Buddha in front of him shine. The old emperor sat down on the spot, looked up, as if rubbing his ears with his beloved woman, and said softly: "Our son is back."
Drowsiness welled up in his heart. He rubbed his eyes hard and murmured: "You, you, you have been angry with me all your life, and you still refused to see me even at the last moment. You said that beauties are afraid of bronze mirrors, no? I wish to meet you, but I never understood that you hate me. When there was a mutiny, I took you to escape the chaos. The two infant babies who were supposed to be the prince and princess became a burden because of the chaos. You and I both know that if we don’t abandon them, Children, we can only die together. You said you were willing even then, so I said nothing more. But I didn’t want to in my heart. In the face of great mountains and rivers, the love of children is nothing, so I would rather let you down than let down the country. That day You secretly sent the child away at night. You said you hated me all your life, but you didn't forgive me until the last moment before you died. In thirty years of peace and prosperity, you and I have met less than once. Everyone praises me as a wise king, but I know it well. , I must not be a good husband."
The old emperor stood up tremblingly and touched the Buddha statue gently, "You hate me, why don't I hate myself? It's just that I have no regrets. For thirty years, I have been searching for the whereabouts of the child you gave birth to every day. That boy was lucky enough to be raised by a country woman. In the second year after your death, she was called into the palace as a maid. Unfortunately, she died of illness not long after. All the officials thought he was the child of a maid. So I made him the prince, and the whole court was in an uproar, saying that I fell in love with her, so the sword was deeply in love. The last thing I did before I died was to help him stabilize his position and remove all obstacles. Our My son, with the destiny of Emperor Ziwei, is bound to become a wise king for eternity and add a strong mark to the history of Dafeng."
"It's just a pity that our daughter got married early. When I found her, she had her own family, so she naturally didn't recognize me as her father. But think about it, no father would abandon his daughter and still be with her. When the baby was so young, I never got involved in her life, so how could I be qualified to be a father? Our daughter was just like you. She was in poor health and died shortly after giving birth to a baby girl. At that time, I was busy patrolling Lie Tianxia, the news was not conveyed smoothly, and they did not find out about the matter until two months later. Obviously everything was too late. The daughter's funeral was buried according to local customs, and her man, after taking care of the funeral, wanted to hold the baby girl and throw her into the river. He committed suicide, and after being stopped, he flew away that night. Our daughter's child was also taken away by him and was never seen again. Since then, I have sent people to search for him many times. Year after year, I have not received any news. "
The old emperor suddenly laughed at himself, "It's a trick of fate. Just when I was desperate, the young emperor of the Dajing Dynasty suddenly wrote a letter and sent an envoy to deliver it to me. Guess what? It turns out that the beauty The most famous person in the world is our daughter's child. At first I thought it was absurd, but then I started to doubt it for some reason. After traveling thousands of miles to visit the Dajing Dynasty in person, I saw her, a pair of extremely charming peach blossoms. My eyes looked so much like yours when you were young, and I completely believed it at that moment. It’s just that she, like her mother, doesn’t want to come back to me. I don’t even have the right to ask for anything from her mother, and naturally I don’t have the right to force her. I just I hope that our daughter’s children can live a good life, not seek wealth and wealth, but can be safe and happy.”
"I abandoned the child quietly, and you died quietly. Even now, I don't know where your grave is. You are determined not to be buried with me, but with so many words, if I can't sit in front of you, I How can I tell you? When you were alive, you knelt down and worshiped this Buddha day and night to bless your children. Today, I also pray for the children. I feel guilty. The only guilt I have in this life is for you and my children. There is nothing better than this in the world. Is being an emperor more boring? If it happened again, I would rather you and I never met."
The old emperor knelt on the pouch, clasped his hands, closed his eyes tightly, and kowtowed down with tears in his eyes unknowingly.
His lips trembled and he burst into tears, "I was wrong, I was really wrong."
She couldn't hear.
The Zhou family was favored by their ancestors, so the head of the family became one of the old emperor's close ministers. At Yinshi, the night was dark, and carriages were already driving towards the capital one after another. Most of them were those who were far away, so as not to be late for the morning. As the Zhou Family Mansion was a treasured land at the feet of the emperor, there was no need to rush.
The head of the Zhou family changed into his official uniform under the service of his wife, and was about to go to court as usual. Suddenly, a maid hurried over and said in panic: "Master, the lady is missing!"
Head Zhou frowned slightly, "When did you find out?"
The maid lowered her head and almost cried, "I just went to the lady's room to add charcoal to the fire, but there was no one on the bed."
When the mistress Zhang heard this, she was so shocked that she couldn't stand and fell down.
So Yinshi, who was supposed to rush to court, was in a commotion in the house because of the disappearance of the eldest lady of the Zhou family. The head of the Zhou family looked gloomy, and the mistress Zhang searched the entire house and burst into tears. .
Although I am very worried about my daughter, missing the court for no reason is a sign of disrespect for His Majesty. Although he cares about the relationship between monarch and minister, His Majesty the Emperor will not say anything as long as the whole story is clarified, but now the court is seriously divided into factions, and everyone has their own agenda. , if this matter is taken advantage of by someone with intentions and gets worse, it will be a huge disaster. So no matter how much you worry about your daughter, you must go to court on time.
The head of the Zhou family stepped onto the carriage with heavy steps. As soon as he opened the curtain, the hot air hit his face.
The carriage was covered with thick wool felt, the charcoal stove was emitting heat, and the exquisite and small candlesticks in the corners were all burning with candles, and the fire was bright.
At three or four o'clock in the morning, it was freezing cold and pitch black outside, but inside the carriage it was as warm as spring and the fire was bright. The head of the Zhou family stared blankly at the girl in the carriage, and the girl also blinked her big black eyes and looked at him.
After a long time, she smiled sweetly and said delicately: "Dad."
The head of the Zhou family suddenly felt uncontrollable rage, but in an instant he turned into a treasure that was lost and found. He said helplessly: "Daughter, what are you doing here? Your mother thought you were missing and was looking for you like crazy. The whole family is anxious now. Like an ant on a hot pot, many people have gone out to look for you. You're good. How many people have you made worried about you by sitting here? What? You got up early because you wanted to be with your father. Let’s go to court together?”
The girl curled her lips and said, "I feel sorry for dad. I think dad has to get up so early every day, so I remembered to heat up the heater in the car earlier. It's okay if dad doesn't appreciate it, but he was angry with his daughter just now."
After jumping out of the car, the girl said dissatisfiedly: "Okay, Dad, aren't you in a hurry to go to court? Let's go quickly."
The head of the Zhou family did not tell the coachman to move forward, but opened a corner of the curtain and asked cautiously: "Xiao Ruirui, are you angry?"
"I didn't!"
The girl said angrily, with the three characters "unhappy" written all over her face.
The head of the Zhou family apologized in a low voice: "Dad was wrong. Can you forgive me?"
The girl snorted coldly, obviously not accepting it.
The head of the Zhou family cautiously asked, "Dad, are you going to buy you new clothes?"
The girl hesitated, turned around and looked at him, and said dubiously: "Seriously?"
"I'll go back to the morning meeting soon." The head of the Zhou family said without hesitation.
"That"
The girl narrowed her eyes and smiled: "Forgive me, dad."
The head of the Zhou family nodded happily, lowered the curtain, and a voice came from the carriage, "My daughter is so beautiful, she is exactly like her mother."
Ten years ago, the two dynasties jointly evaluated beauties, and Zhang from the Zhou family of Dafeng was undoubtedly selected into the top five. This made many people in the Dajing Dynasty know this Dafeng beauty for the first time.
In the Dafeng Dynasty, she was called the second lady, ranking only behind the deceased empress in terms of appearance.
There was a daughter in the Zhou family who had just grown up and was raised in a boudoir, unknown to anyone.
His surname is Zhou and his given name is Ze Rui.
