In the deep courtyard, the moss on the ancient trees, coupled with the light of the half-moon, and the chirping of the cicadas among the branches and leaves, make people feel peaceful and distant, clearing the heart and nourishing the lungs.
Although the Yu family's mansion has not been renovated for several years, its original elegant and square layout has not been destroyed. In the back garden, there is a small pond, which is connected to Luoshui River. In summer and autumn, you can hear the sound of gurgling clear spring.
In the center of the pond, there is an elegant small pavilion. If viewed from a distance, the people in the pavilion seem to be floating on the water.
"Brother Yu, you are not as good as before." Zhou Xuan and Yu Gui sat across from each other, wearing green terry clothes [Note 1], coupled with his long beard, he really looked like an immortal. Bones, free and easy. [Note 1: 襥衣, a single-layered long garment, "Shuowen" records: 襥衣 is not heavy. "Da Dai Li Ji": "茌, Shan Ye". It is also considered to be a common uniform worn by literati and officials. 】
Yu Gui smiled bitterly and said nothing, just helping the other party to refill the tea.
"Brother Yu, I remember the last time we parted ways in the Central Plains, it has been several years without realizing it. Today we are able to gather together to make tea, which is one of the joys of life." Zhou Xuan held up the tea and smiled.
"Brother Zhou came to Beijing this time, I'm afraid he's not here to catch up with me." Yu Gui skillfully lifted the teapot on the stove and poured the boiling tea into the cup.
"Brother Yu guessed it right, it's really not the case." Zhou Xuan smiled mysteriously: "Secretly tell Brother Yu that in fact, I came to the capital this time on the order of the emperor."
"Master..." Outside the pavilion, a child's exclamation interrupted the conversation between the two.
Xiahou Xuanben was practicing swordplay and playing outside the pavilion. He saw Cao Xi rushing into the pavilion like a gust of wind, and hurriedly followed him in. As soon as Cao Xi entered the pavilion, he plopped down and knelt on the ground, which frightened Yu Gui and Zhou Xuan.
"Master, please, please help His Highness Qi Gong, help Xi'er..." Cao Xi almost cried and begged Gui.
"Xi'er, what's going on?" Yu Gui hurriedly stood up and helped the child up.
"The people in the East Palace said... Your Majesty seems to be issuing an edict... to kill Empress Zhen. Brother Yuan Zhong has been kneeling in the palace to beg Your Majesty... Please Master, this happened all because of Xi'er. Please, please, Help Xi'er..." Cao Xi was so nervous that he was a little incoherent.
Xia Houxuan was shocked. He had heard all kinds of rumors about Empress Zhen falling out of favor. Some said it was because of the slanders of other concubines in the palace. Some people said it was because Empress Zhen had complaints and was unable to teach her son well. What's worse, Even the nonsense that His Highness Duke Qi is not His Majesty's biological son has been spread. Rumors are just rumors after all, but I didn’t expect His Majesty to really not care about the relationship between husband and wife, so determined!
"Master, help Brother Xi." Xia Houxuan looked at Yu Gui with trust in his eyes: "You must have a way, right Master."
Yu Gui turned around, shook his head, sighed, and closed his eyes: "Xi'er, you have to understand that it's not your fault. The fault lies in the turbulent undercurrent in the palace, the villain's ulterior motives, and , the emperor’s jealousy..."
"My child, it is hard to disobey your orders, and your heart is unpredictable. I am also... helpless..."
He did not lie to his children. Now, in Luoyang city, his family has long been despised and even forgotten by people. What can he control about Yu Gui?
"Brother Yu, people's hearts can be changed, right?" Zhou Xuan gently placed the teacup in his hand on the table and stood up slowly.
It's already the next day's time. Cao Rui, who had been kneeling outside the hall for two hours, was still facing the blazing sunshine. Thin beads of sweat flowed from his forehead, down his cheeks, and dripped on the stone steps.
He was extremely panicked, not knowing how to get his father to take back his life and save his mother. The buzzing in his ears continued, and his vision went dark. Cao Rui lost consciousness and passed out at the foot of the stone steps.
"This is Chonghua Hall." The waiter led the two people to the front of the hall: "Your Majesty is inside."
Stepping through the door of the palace again, the young man no longer felt as restrained as before. The emperor was seen holding his forehead with his hand, a look of worry filling his brows.
"Get back on your feet." Cao Pi forced out a smile, and it could be heard from his tone that he was extremely upset.
"I heard that Mr. Zhou Xuanzhou came to Beijing to see His Majesty today, and my nephew is also here to join in the fun. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me." Xia Houxuan explained his intention, and Cao Pi nodded.
"Are you Zhou Qing?" Although the emperor had heard of his name for a long time, he had never met Zhou Xuan. He raised his eyes and thought that this person was indeed extraordinary. The emperor narrowed his eyes slightly,
He seemed to be thinking about something: "I have heard about your name for a long time and heard that your dream interpretation skills are unparalleled in the world. I am here today. I wonder if you can try to interpret it for me?"
"Your Majesty is so flattering that I cannot bear it. Since I have a dream to interpret, all I have to do is tell my subordinate about the dream."
An imperceptible sneer flashed across Cao Pi's face: "I dreamed not long ago that a pair of blue tiles fell from the roof of the palace and turned into two mandarin ducks and flew away. I wonder if you can interpret this dream?"
Zhou Xuan thought for a moment, then replied with his long beard in his hands: "If the palace tiles fall, there will be people in the harem killing each other."
When the emperor heard this, his face suddenly changed, and he shouted in a low voice: "I lied to you! I have never had this dream, I just made up the dream at will to test you!"
Xiahou Xuan was shocked and thought to himself that it was not good. I didn't expect the emperor's mind to be so terrifying. I'm afraid Mr. Zhou will not be able to escape disaster today!
But Zhou Xuan didn't have the slightest panic. He slowly raised his head, looked directly at the king, and said word for word: "The dreamer's mind touches your ears. Your majesty just made up the dream, which was already moved by your consciousness, so it has nothing to do with the real dream." Strangely, I can predict good or bad luck just by telling you the dream."
Cao Pi turned from anger to shock, thinking that instead of being frightened, this man was calm and confident, and he was probably not in vain.
At this moment, Huang Menling came into the palace and played: "Your Majesty, there was a fight between palace people this morning and accidentally injured someone's life. The perpetrator has been arrested. Your Majesty, please punish me."
The emperor was shocked and sighed that Zhou Xuan actually had the ability to predict things! Xia Houxuan was surprised and thought, could it be that Mr. Zhou secretly bribed Huang Menling? Cao Pi came back to his senses and said to Huangmen Ling: "Take the perpetrator to Pingwangguan [Note 2] and deal with it." "Records of Emperor Ming Dynasty": "In the tenth month of winter, Pingwangguan was changed to the Guild-listening Guan. The emperor often said: 'The prisoner is the life of the world.' Whenever the prison is over, I am always lucky enough to watch and listen to it." From this, we can see that Pingwangguan It is the place where the case is settled. 】
Huangmenling heard the edict and left.
"Sir, your skills are indeed extraordinary. I was rude just now. Don't blame me, sir." At this moment, Cao Pi truly believed Zhou Xuan in front of him. He pondered for a while: "I did have a dream yesterday. I dreamed, There is a ray of green energy rising from the ground to the sky. I don’t know what the sign is. Please tell me, sir, to reveal the mystery.”
Zhou Xuan understood that the time had come. He coughed lightly and said, "Chang Hong turned into blue, his blood turned into sapphire, and his green energy reached the sky, indicating that... in the palace today, there must be a noble woman who has been wronged."
The noble woman is wronged! Cao Pi was shocked, the queen... Cao Pi couldn't help but frown. The emperor closed his eyes and pondered for a while, and finally called someone, whispered a few words, and the person rushed out after receiving the oral instructions.
Xia Houxuan understood that His Majesty should have taken back his life, but he just hoped it was not too late...
"Your Highness...you are awake..."
As soon as Cao Rui opened his eyes, he realized that something was wrong in the atmosphere. The hall was very quiet, so quiet that people were a little scared.
"Queen Mother... How is Queen Mother?" Cao Rui stood up from the couch: "Why don't you say anything? Talk..."
Everyone bowed their heads and fell silent. After a long while, one of the maids had the courage to reply: "Her Royal Highness the Queen has been ordered to commit suicide..." The more frustrated he became, the more he complained. The emperor was furious, and in June of the second year, he sent an envoy to kill him and bury him in Ye."]
There seems to be a trace of sadness in the splendid palace city.
"Sir, thank you for your willingness to do your best for Brother Xi." Xia Houxuan said, looking at Zhou Xuan's back.
"Even though the emperor's mind can be changed, there are some things that cannot be changed by humans..." Zhou Xuan smiled bitterly.
"Sir, I dare to ask, can dreams really predict the future? Can you really interpret dreams?"
"Although dreams can be predicted, they cannot be changed." Zhou Xuan walked slowly towards the door of the palace. He looked up at the golden palace illuminated by the light: "Dreams... are illusions. Even if you can interpret them, what can you do? Woolen cloth……"
The young man seemed to understand.
Zhou Xuan's figure gradually disappeared outside the palace city and was never seen again.
In the lonely hall, Cao Rui waved his sleeves to wipe away his tears.
"Father, you are right. Perhaps only by reaching the highest position can we protect those around us, as well as ourselves."
"One day..."
On the top of the double-eaves veranda in the main hall of the palace, there is the lonely figure of the emperor.
Cao Pi raised his head and looked at the sky, his thoughts a little misty. Inadvertently, he recited the song "The Song of Yan": "The autumn wind is bleak and the weather is cool... the grass and trees are shaking and the dew turns to frost..." [Note 4: "The Song of Yan" is a seven-character poem written by Cao Pi, Emperor Wen of Wei Dynasty. 】
He recalled the promise he made to her in the ruins of war during the Jian'an period: I promise you that if it becomes emperor of me, it will make you its queen...
"...The bright moon shines brightly on my bed, and the stars are flowing west into the night. The Morning Cow and the Weaver Girl look at each other from a distance, how can you live alone in the river beam..."
It's late at night, and inside the deep palace gate, it's still as cold as ever...
[Note 5: Regarding Zhou Xuan's dream interpretation in the article, "Three Kingdoms·Wei Shujuan 29·Fang Ji Zhuan": "Emperor Wen asked Xuan: 'Two tiles of my dream palace house fell to the ground and turned into two mandarin ducks. What is this?' Xuan Dui said: "There must be a violent death in the harem." The emperor said: "I deceived your ears!" The people in the palace killed each other. After a while, the emperor asked again: "I dreamed last night that green energy came from the earth and belonged to heaven." Xuan replied: "There should be a noble woman in the world who died unjustly." At that time, the emperor had sent an envoy to give Empress Zhen a seal. He made a declaration but regretted it, and sent people to chase the envoy but failed.…”
Historically, Zhou Xuan and Yu Gui have no intersection. Interpreting Cao Pi's dream was not to save people. In the novel, it was slightly changed for plot needs.
