Shen Yan sighed: "How many days can I hide this? In short, we can't talk about it today."
He went back to the tent and saw that Lu Shen had fallen asleep and the book he was holding fell on the carpet. He picked it up and saw that it was a medical book with some beautiful eyebrow writing written on it - this prescription is not available and quack medicine has misled people.
Chapter 85
The army was defeated like a mountain and people's hearts were shattered. The people in the city could not stop fleeing. The King of Hejian lingered on the sick bed, barely able to breathe. The Prince of Hejian was frightened and hurriedly sent envoys to Hulao Pass to negotiate, saying that he was willing to give up Luoyang, and only asked for a human coffin to be returned to the Chu land.
Lu Shen ignored it, killed the envoys, and said with a smile: "Give up Luoyang? What is the use of this prince? What's the use of giving up something that belongs to me? It's a shame that the king of Hejian, a great leader, has a son with a shallow and narrow temperament and a lot of lies. .”
Lu Shen besieged Luoyang until April of that year. Because the grain road was cut off, the grain of the Luoyang government was quickly eaten up, and even cannibalism occurred. The soldiers guarding the city even mixed Guanyin soil with bran to satisfy their hunger. Even Fengzhao Lang Huangyanzhong starved to death in the alley. Luoyang City is almost a human hell.
On the third day of April, the emperor died and the prince of Hejian, accompanied by hundreds of civil and military officials, went out of the city in white clothes to present the white jade seal of the Han Dynasty to the imperial family and surrendered to Lu Shen.
Lu Shen took the jade seal on his horse, drew his sword immediately, and chopped off the head of the prince of Hejian with one sword: "The prince of Hejian and his son usurped the throne. Lu Shen killed the two culprits to eliminate the chaos in the Central Plains and comfort the heroic spirit of the late emperor. "
The Yongzhou cavalry accompanying them suddenly shouted like a tsunami: "Long live my lord, long live my lord, long live my lord...",
Then Lu Shen rode straight into the city, where he held a banquet for all the ministers at the Qinzheng Hall in Luoyang and drank until dawn. At this point, except for the lands in Shuzhong and Baiyue, most of the country was owned by Lu Shen. Although he had not yet proclaimed himself emperor, he was already the master of the world.
Lu Shen was already a little tipsy when he came out of Qinzheng Hall. He pushed the door into the pavilion and saw that there was already a red sandalwood lacquer box on the desk in the propaganda room. He stretched out his hand to open it and saw that it was a piece of Hetian mutton-fat white jade carved into a golden chi. Holding the tiger button seal in his hand, it was extremely gentle and compact. He asked the attendants on the left and right: "Is this the jade seal of the Queen of the Han Dynasty?"
Xiaohuangmen replied: "Long live your Majesty, this seal is a gift from the Queen of the Middle Palace, passed down through generations. Since the death of Queen Xiaomu, this seal has been without an owner for forty years."
Lu Shen sighed, put the jade in his sleeves, put his elbows on the desk, and fell asleep drunk. In a trance, it seemed that a woman in green clothes came leisurely, holding a green jade Kui dragon pattern candlestick in her hand, with a faint look on her face. He looked like he was standing far away and asked, "Why are you sleeping here?" He tilted his head slightly, looked around, and asked, "Where's A Zhao? Isn't she here?"
Lu Shen sat up and looked at the woman in a daze. After a long time, his face turned cold, and his tone seemed to be interrogating: "What are you doing here?" Aren't you unworthy, don't you hate me deeply? How can you come if you hate it?
The woman was not angry either. She gave a soft ooh and lowered her eyebrows slightly: "Oh, I'll leave then." After that, the woman turned around and left. She moved lightly, but after only three or five steps, she had arrived. At the entrance of the palace, clothes were fluttering, and he turned around and asked, "Am I really leaving?"
Lu Shen was helpless and reached out to stop her. He only grabbed the long azure tassel tied around the woman's waist, but he stood there for a long time, unable to say a word.
The woman paused and turned around. The gentleness between her eyebrows and eyes was almost the same as that on the scroll. She pursed her lips and smiled slightly: "Didn't you tell me to leave?"
Lu Shen did not answer, but asked: "Have you read the letter I wrote to you?"
After hearing this, the smile on the woman's face gradually faded, and she nodded slightly: "I saw it, but it's not like what you wrote, or maybe you tricked me into coming to Luoyang, and you came up with some novel way to humiliate me. "As he spoke, he shook his head: "I'd better leave. I can't trust what you say, especially when you treat me. How can you keep your promise?"
Lu Shenchang put his arms around the woman and held the woman in his arms. He leaned his cheek against her hair and sighed: "I thought you would never come to Luoyang or see me again." As he said that, he said, He took out the jade seal belonging to the Queen of the Han Dynasty from his sleeve, held it in the woman's hand, and whispered in her ear: "I heard that it was very difficult for you to give birth to Azhao, and you even cried a lot?"
The woman's tone was filled with sobs, and she hummed softly, and then heard Lu Shen say: "I didn't dare to see you at that time, just for fear that you would say something unpleasant again. In that case, even the last trace of affection would be lost." It’s all gone, and I don’t know what to do with myself?”
The woman sighed and retorted quietly: "What I said is not as bad as what you said?"
Lu Shen paused and just followed her words: "Yes, my words are unpleasant."
At this time, lightning flashed and thundered outside the palace, and soon it became pitch black and heavy rain began. Lu Shen suddenly felt a stinging pain on his wrist, and heard the woman smile and say: "No, the wax from this copper candlestick dripped on your wrist." Now, it’s my fault again.”
Lu Shen smiled helplessly and reached out to caress the woman's distant eyebrows. Unexpectedly, she shook her head with a smile and took a step back. The look on her face was very distant, and her tone turned cold: "Okay, I have to go back to Jiangzhou. "After saying that, he turned around, held an umbrella, and walked into the rain, and soon disappeared under His Majesty Dan.
Lu Shen wanted to call her, but he couldn't make a sound, and his feet seemed to be frozen, unable to move at all.
I don't know how long it took, but Lu Shen woke up with a start. The candlestick on the table had fallen over, and the wax on his wrists had dried. The hall was empty, with no one around. The curtains were fluttering in the wind, and there was a damp and hot air. .
Lu Shen stood up, stood by the window with his hands behind his hands, looking at the endless rain curtain outside the hall, and suddenly felt like he was looking around in confusion.
Not long after, Shen Yan brought the sobering soup and said: "Your Majesty, please drink some sobering soup. In the past, the old lady loved to drink, so she said that drinking too much would be harmful to the body, so she wrote down a prescription and mixed it according to the old lady's pulse. Understand wine soup.”
Lu Shen hummed, took it, took a sip, and asked, "Is there any osmanthus?"
Shen Yan replied: "Yes, there are licorice, kudzu flowers, and mung beans. The old lady likes to drink sweet-scented osmanthus brew, so she added a penny of sweet-scented osmanthus stamens to the prescription."
Lu Shen drank the bowl of hangover soup and said calmly: "She has always liked growing flowers and grass."
When Shen Yan heard this, he felt worried and became more and more uneasy. In the past, kings and princes would never allow others to mention their wives. If they didn't mention it themselves, others wouldn't be allowed to mention even a few words. They even didn't bother to read the family letters from Yongzhou. Now, after just saying something about the prescription, he took the initiative to mention his wife. Then The tone was calm and gentle, as if the two of them had not broken up.
Although Hu Xinggong was quite tight-lipped, at this time, Shen Yan had already vaguely understood the purpose of Fei Ge sending a letter to Jiangzhou in late March.
Thinking of this, Shen Yan understood that this matter could no longer be concealed, and immediately knelt down: "Your Majesty, Hu Xinggong, General Hu arrived in Luoyang three days ago, but Junhou was still ill at that time. , I dare not call him to meet the king."
Lu Shen's expression did not change. He stood there like a green pine and asked word by word: "What do you mean you don't dare?"
Shen Yan didn't dare to look at Lu Shen and knelt on the ground: "Hu Xinggong was escorting his wife back to Jiangzhou. There was a heavy rain and the boat capsized in the middle of the river. There were more than 800 people on the boat, and only 180 people survived. Hu Xinggong I have been fishing by the river for many days, but there is no trace of my wife." At this point, Shen Yan paused.
Lu Shen had a sullen face and said angrily: "You idiot Hu Xinggong, I have already given orders many times to keep strict custody of Ms. Cui. She is very good at water, so she must have escaped again. As for the others, I ordered him to be sent to Luoyang. , can’t even see a person? Tell her to get out of here immediately, and then order the governor of Jiangzhou to post a notice and search her house to house before she goes far..."
Shen Yan spoke louder and continued: "Your Majesty, early this morning, Jiangzhou Governor Ru Su reported that the lady's body has been salvaged and brought ashore. The surviving maids have identified it, but it is undoubtedly the lady. I'm afraid I couldn’t identify it accurately, so I ordered someone to send a portrait.”
Lu Shen sneered twice and refused to believe it at all. He raised his foot and kicked Shen Yan in the chest: "Slave dog, you are so brave. Who taught you to say this to me? I didn't know you were so reckless now. According to the extent, whoever comes, Xuan Tiejiawei will come to the front of the palace, and everyone will be guarded, and I will interrogate them personally."
Shen Yan was kicked three steps away, knocking over the museum shelf, and the antiques fell to the ground. He clutched his chest and forced himself to get up, kneeling in front of Lu Shen: "Your Majesty, please calm down. I, the servants, will realize their sins." He deserves to die, but before I left, my wife left a message for you."
Lu Shen snorted coldly: "It can be seen that you slaves have always deceived you, and you can't even make up your words. If the ship sinks and drowns, how can there be any words left?"
Shen Yan only paused and said, "Your Majesty, the Marquis Hu Xinggong is outside. Call him in and ask."
Lu Shen waved his hand, and someone immediately escorted Hu Xinggong into the palace. He knelt on the gold bricks and almost collapsed to the ground. Because of fear, he spoke incoherently and confusedly: "The weather was so good that day." It was very sunny. Because we were about to enter Jiangzhou City, my wife was in a good mood. She even ordered people to bring wine into the cabin and had a few drinks. She also specially ordered the humble minister to lower the sails and ask the ship to move slower. She said that she had been there for many years. I’ve never seen the scenery along the coast of Jiangzhou.”
"Who would have known that that day, just after lunch, the sky suddenly turned dark, and then it started to rain heavily. The river seemed to be swirling. As soon as I ordered to abandon the ship, the whole ship turned upside down. Everyone screamed and was pressed to the bottom of the river. There were a hundred and eighty people standing outside the cabin deck, and almost everyone in the cabin was spared."
When Hu Xinggong said this, he couldn't help crying: "Only dozens of people in a boat have survived, only dozens of people have survived..."
Lu Shenduan was sitting on the stage. When he heard this, he felt that his eyes were dark and the smell of blood was in his mouth. He gritted his teeth and endured it, and asked: "Is the governor of Jiangzhou Lu vegetarian here?"
The governor of Jiangzhou entered the palace as a vegetarian, holding a tray. In a hurry, even his official robe was covered with mud, and he knelt in the palace: "Your Majesty, I summoned 8,000 people to work and salvage for seven days, and then towed the ship to On the case. The hull of the ship was quite strong, and it was not broken up by the waves. It only capsized in a hurry. The people in the ship were drowned alive before they could get out of the cabin. I counted the bodies one by one according to General Hu's list, and they all matched. , not a single mistake or omission.”
"In the madam's cabin, there were three other maids, and their bodies were also there. There were scratches made by the madam with a phoenix hairpin on the window sill. It is believed that the madam was struggling to open the window to save herself."
Lu Shen was stunned there, with a silent expression. Xiao Huangmen brought the tray up. It was a piece of residual wood with scratches all over the body. On the edge of the residual wood, there was a faint word "Zhao" carved on it.
Before she died, the thing she cared about most and worried about most was her daughter who had just turned three months old. Therefore, there was no hope of survival, so she carved her name on the window sill.
Lu Shen was sitting there, and for some reason, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. He was covered in cold sweat and could hardly breathe. As soon as he opened his mouth, he vomited out a large mouthful of blood, which splashed on the remaining wood.
Everyone on the left and right were shocked and stepped forward: "Your Majesty?"
Lu Shen stood up, waved his hand, and swallowed the blood in his throat: "Prepare your horses and go to Jiangzhou."
Chapter 86
When Lu Shen left the palace, dozens of military horses had been prepared at the palace corridor. He got on his horse and told the palace clerk who was following him: "I am going to Jiangzhou for a few days. All government affairs in Luoyang will be temporarily handled by Degong. If there is any unresolved matter, just send a 400-mile rush to Jiangzhou." After that, he led the three thousand imperial guards and left Juechen.
The chief minister in front of the palace hurriedly rushed to the Taiwei Mansion outside the palace in the rain. At this time, he was soaked. He stood in the corridor and asked: "Sir, are you awake?"
The child on duty at the door yawned: "Sir, he was drunk last night. When he fell asleep, he told me not to disturb him if there was nothing important."
Si Zhilang was so anxious that he said, "It's not an important matter, it's a big deal."
Mr. De was already very old, so he left the banquet early yesterday to rest. He drank a few more glasses of wine to celebrate his victory. He was still sleeping well at dawn that day. Suddenly, he heard the noise outside the door. He turned around, still with his eyes closed, and asked : "Who is outside the door?"
Si Zhilang hurriedly raised his hands and said: "Si Zhilang in front of the palace, Shen Zhui, has something important to report to you sir. Just before dawn, the king and his three thousand imperial guards went to Jiangzhou. At this time, they might have to leave Luoyang City." ”
Degong grunted, sat up immediately, called the servant to serve him, and murmured: "What can happen to Jiangzhou? There are only 10,000 remnants of Yang Mansion in Sichuan, but 60,000 soldiers are stationed in Jiangzhou." The soldiers in the camp are brave. What's the emergency? Why are you so anxious?"
The commander-in-chief, Shen Zhui, hurriedly reported: "Nothing happened in Jiangzhou. It was the king's wife's return boat that capsized in Jiangzhou. The lord was furious, and all the ministers in front of the palace were implicated."
Lu Shen galloped his horse until they were thirty miles outside the countryside, and then asked De Gong to take a shortcut to stop him.
Mr. De, who had not been riding for a long time, asked someone to ride the horse for such a short distance. He was so frightened that his heart almost jumped out of his chest. He stopped in front of Lu Shen's horse and said: "The world has been settled, and the city of Luoyang is in ruins and waiting to be revitalized. How to deal with the old ministers of the Han Dynasty, how to deal with the clan, how to divide the nobles of Yongzhou into titles, which of the small princes in the south should be suppressed and which should be appeased, everything has to be decided by the monarch, not to mention that the world cannot be without peace for a day. My lord, the Emperor of Han has passed away, so my lord should ascend the throne as soon as possible. How can I go to Jiangzhou at this time? What happened to my wife is a natural disaster. I ordered people to take the coffin back to Luoyang and build the mausoleum. Why should my lord insist on going to Jiangzhou? "
Lu Shen reined in his horse and stopped. He didn't know whether he was angry or angry. His eyes turned blood red, and rainwater flowed down his cheeks. His eyes were cold and unruly: "Sir, these things you said can be postponed for a while. I am alone." But my wife can't wait for a moment." He stretched out his whip to push the Duke away, and then rode away.
Duke De shook his head, sighed, and asked: "Lord, these matters can be discussed temporarily. How should we deal with the surrendered troops in the city?"
Lu Shen didn't look back, and the voice floated to Degong's ears from the wind and rain: "The Yongzhou Iron Cavalry is here, it's a little quiet. If there is anyone who doesn't agree, just trap and kill them. No need to ask any questions."
Lu Shen rode hard all the way, day and night, and when he arrived at the Jiangzhou government office, five horses were exhausted. White sails have been hung all over the gate of the government office, and a golden nanmu coffin is placed in the courtyard. However, the weather is hot, and it already exudes the smell of corpses and antiseptic lime.
Lu Shen immediately asked someone to push the lid open and asked Jiangzhou Governor Lu Su to stop him: "Your Majesty, the drowning person has been soaked in the water for many days, and his body has become swollen. In addition, the weather is hot, and his body and appearance are no longer what they used to be." , it might be an eyesore."
Lu Shen ignored him and asked someone to open the coffin. He saw that the body in the coffin had rotted, but it was dressed in green clothes as in a dream, with the gold orchid with beads in it that he had given her as a gift. The grasshopper jade hairpin is tied with a two-finger-wide brocade silk on the wrist. It is a piece of Shujiang brocade with a red lion and phoenix pattern. The brocade silk is just a finger cut from an ordinary satin, but there is Lu Shen's own handwriting on the brocade silk that day. The eight words of the heart - "Juanjuan" are the love and affection of the heart.
Lu Shen could hardly stand, holding on to the coffin. It took him a long time to speak, but his voice sounded like he was floating: "Hu Xinggong!"
Hu Xinggong was following at the back. Seeing this, he immediately stepped forward and knelt at Lu Shen's feet: "Your Majesty, the guilty minister is here."
Lu Shen asked: "She read the letter at that time, did she say anything?"
Hu Xinggong thought for a while and said: "That day, the guilty minister received the military order from the king and presented the letter to the lady. When the lady saw the letter, she immediately opened it and looked at it. She tied the brocade silk around her wrist and put the letter on it. Nothing was said on the table. The guilty minister asked his wife, "Do you want to change the route?" The lady said, "There is no need to change the route. I will leave the country for a few years and wait until I meet the family members in Jiangzhou before saying anything else. Oh, when the guilty minister left, the wife asked: , there is no need to say anything to the Lord, she will tell her herself when we meet."
Lu Shen sighed: "Is it really tied on the wrist?"
Hu Xinggong nodded: "Yes, the guilty minister saw with his own eyes that the lady tied the brocade silk around her wrist."
Lu Shen's hands couldn't stop trembling, and his face turned pale. His eyes were still blood red, with red and white colors, which looked very scary to others, but he still didn't want to believe it in his heart: "No... no, She must have left quietly, she just refused to see me and go to Luoyang. She is so good at water, how could something happen? She must still be alive... she must still be alive..."
Next to him, the governor of Jiangzhou, Ru Su, seemed unable to understand his expression, and replied: "It will not help if the ship is turned upside down in Jiangzhou, no matter how good the water quality is. There were many soldiers from the water camp who liked to get into the water in the cabin, and they all drowned in the cabin. In. Your Majesty is the Lord of ten thousand chariots. Please think of the common people, the country and the ancestral temple, and take care of yourself. Do not be overly sad."
When Lu Shen heard this, he was in great sorrow for a moment, as if he was in a nightmare. The sound of wind and rain in the court and the shouts of his subjects could not be heard, and he only felt that the world was lonely.
In a trance, there seemed to be a woman in green clothes standing at the door. Her face was blurry and she could not see clearly. Rourou said to Lu Shen, "This time, I am really leaving. Please take good care of A Zhao."
Lu Shen just shook his head: "No, I won't agree."
Then suddenly I heard a group of children on the street singing a folk song that came from somewhere - the sycamore tree was half dead after the frost cleared, and the white-headed mandarin duck flew away without its companion. The grass on the original grass shows the first light. The old roost and the new ridge are still there...the old roost and the new ridge are still there. The clear voice reaches the ninth heaven, pulling Lu Shen's thoughts back.
Even though he knew in his heart that Lin Rong was probably gone, Lu Shen was not willing to give up. He came to his senses and ordered: "Prepare the boat and go to the capsized place in the middle of the river."
As soon as he said this, all the ministers were shocked. As they walked along, they saw the river rising sharply. It was extremely dangerous to go to the middle of the river at this time.
The governor of Jiangzhou, Ru Su, immediately objected: "Your Majesty, it has been raining heavily in Jiangzhou for days and the water level has risen. It is also the Peach Blossom Flood this year. I have ordered that no one can go out to the river to fish. Even the dams may burst. My lord, You must not go out of the river at this time."
Lu Shen ignored him and still ordered: "Prepare the ship."
The military orders were overwhelming, and the governor of Jiangzhou was helpless. He sighed and went out to prepare the ship. After a while, he came in and reported: "Your Majesty, the ship is ready."
A group of people took a boat to the middle of the river. It was windy and rainy, and the attendant could hardly stand upright with his umbrella. Not long after, the governor of Jiangzhou, Ru Su, pointed to the vast ocean in front and said: "My lord, this is where the lady's ship sank. Next to it was a newly built embankment, which was excavated when I was salvaging the sunken ship. The main body of the ship was salvaged, and some stumps were left in the river. Because the water level has risen, the river is turbid, and it is now difficult to see clearly. "
Lu Shen looked at the vast river surface, almost speechless, as if smoke flew away, and in a blink of an eye, heaven and man were separated forever.
I don't know how long he stood on the deck. The subordinates who followed him were all soaked like drowned rats. Jiangzhou Governor Ru Su looked at the growing water level and couldn't stop sighing. Finally he couldn't help but said: "Jun Come on, please come back. The water level is rising too fast, and the levee has been in disrepair for many years, and there is a possibility of bursting. Your Majesty, we cannot stay here for long."
Lu Shen turned a deaf ear and just stood there for a long time, then asked: "Is there any arrangement for the danger of the dam bursting?"
The governor of Jiangzhou Ru Su replied: "Your Majesty, I have sent people to evacuate the people in the low-lying areas three days ago." He looked at the water level and saw that it had risen alarmingly. He tried hard to persuade him: "Sixth Master, go back. Well, people cannot be resurrected. No matter how much you look at it, can you change the outcome?"
Lu Shen was only thirty-six years old. He was an old minister of Yongzhou. He had been in and out of the palace since he was a child, and his friendship was extraordinary. At this time, he called Lu Shen "Sixth Master" to persuade him with the old friendship: "Sixth Master, go back. !”
Lu Shen stared blankly at the river, then suddenly smiled bitterly, his tone was full of desolation. As soon as he spoke, blood spurted out from his mouth, and he held his chest: "Yes, people can't be resurrected after death. No matter how much you look at it, what can it change? ?”
