The little palace ladies heard the noise and came into the palace. They saw His Majesty standing under the bed in his clothes, and the queen who had come back from the dead was sitting in the tent. They yelled: "Get out of here quickly."
His Majesty has a bad temper. The maid serving in this palace has always been very careful. He has always been the only one to reprimand and scold others. There is no time when he is pointed at the nose and scolded.
He raised his head slightly and saw that His Majesty didn't look very angry. Everyone had a bewildered expression on their faces and asked timidly: "Your Majesty, Madam, do you have any orders?"
Lu Shen waved his hand angrily and ordered everyone to leave. He stood there for a while. Seeing that she didn't look like she could calm down tonight, he walked outside. When it was midnight, he saw that Lin Rong inside had fallen asleep, so he gently moved his hands. He put his feet in, lifted the curtain, got into bed, and fell asleep next to him.
Chapter 119
The next morning, Lin Rong woke up to the crisp sound of birdsong. She sat for a long time and could barely make out the sounds of a magpie, a lark, and a thrush.
Soon there were footsteps, and Kingfisher came from outside the palace and opened the curtain: "Master, are you awake? Look at your face. You slept better last night, and it's not as blue as the past few days."
Lin Rong hummed and stood up to wash up and asked her, "Where's Ah Zhao?"
Kingfisher tidied the bed and smiled: "The princess listened to the master yesterday and went to bed early today. She got up early and has already written a big calligraphy article."
Ah Zhao is at the age where she loves to play, and everyone dotes on her. In addition, she is too young to read and write. She is just taught to play occasionally and has no serious enlightenment. She is not forced to write three or five words on weekdays. It’s amazing, I actually took the initiative to write an article today.
Lin Rong groaned and said: "She is quite happy today." He walked towards the makeup cabinet, and did not ask the palace maid to wait on him to sit there. On the temples.
Just as he was putting down the jade comb in his hand, he heard a song coming from outside. It seemed to be Ah Zhao's childlike words accompanied by Lu Shen's singing: "The swallows are flying, and their feathers are missing. When my son returns, I send him far away." Yu Ye…”
Lin Rong turned his head and looked, and saw that the palace people were gradually raising the curtains, and saw two figures, one large and one small, sitting on the steps at the entrance of the palace, looking at the birds under the eaves, chanting the Book of Songs and Chu Ci. .
Perhaps Azhao didn't understand the meaning of the poem, so he just said it catchy. After only two or three times, he memorized it completely, nestled in Lu Shen's arms, and asked: "Swallows will fly south in autumn, when will they come back?" "
Lu Shen replied: "Fly back in spring."
Azhao asked again: "Why is it spring? Not summer, not winter? When it snows, aren't there birds?"
After speaking, without waiting for Lu Shen to reply, she turned her head and saw Lin Rong sitting there in front of the makeup mirror. Ah Zhao hurriedly stood up from Lu Shen's arms and threw himself into Lin Rong's arms. He raised his face and said, "Mother, I fell asleep as soon as you left yesterday. I fell asleep very early." He touched his feet again. Lin Rong saw the flower in front of his forehead and asked curiously: "What is this? What a beautiful flower?"
Lin Rong smiled without saying a word, opened the makeup box, took a pen and put a small plum blossom on her forehead, and hugged her in front of the mirror.
Ah Zhao looked at himself in the mirror with a smile, and then at Lin Rong. His eyes rolled around, as if he just realized something: "Mom, we look alike, with the same eyes and the same nose..."
After saying that, he jumped down from Lin Rong's arms and looked at Lu Shen who was standing by the door. The father and daughter didn't know what they said, and A Zhao kept giggling.
After a while, Ah Zhao ran over again, carrying a stool, putting his feet up, and inserted a blue hairpin inlaid with ruby gold into Lin Rong's hair. He lay on her shoulder and smiled: "It looks good!"
The steps are made of various colored gems piled up in the shape of butterfly flowers. They are stacked layer by layer and lifelike. With a slight movement, the pearls and emeralds sway, which is extremely gorgeous.
Lu Shen stood behind Lin Rong at some point, silently looking at the beautiful face in the mirror. He stretched out his hand to steady her steps and said, "It's not as good as the orchid grasshopper hairpin from before."
The stone orchid hairpin has been buried and sealed in the coffin...
Lin Rong frowned and was about to speak when he saw Kingfisher coming from outside and reported, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the Queen Mother and King Anfeng have arrived and are inviting you to serve tea outside."
Lin Rong hummed, stood up and walked out of the hall. He took two steps and then stopped. He looked back at Lu Shen and saw him nodding slightly before continuing out.
The Queen Mother was sitting at the top, and King Anfeng was standing aside. When he saw Lin Rong coming, he was no longer as cold as before. Instead, he waved his hand to call her to come closer. Instead of asking her to salute, he patted her hand and looked at her. He said: "The queen is so plainly dressed and looks much more haggard. If such a big thing happens, you should take care of yourself."
Lin Rong just didn't know and smiled: "Your Majesty is still ill. I stayed on duty for your Majesty last night. I think it's because I didn't sleep well."
The Queen Mother sighed, took a sip of tea, and said: "You don't have to hide the emperor's affairs from me. What can you do if you hide it any more? It's just a matter of these few days. It's better to get a charter in advance to avoid getting it. When pressure comes from outside, I don’t have any idea at all.”
Lin Rong shook his head: "I don't quite understand what the Queen Mother said. What does it mean to hide it, what does it mean to have happened in the past few days, and what does it mean to be forced from the outside. I am waiting in front of His Majesty's bed and haven't heard anything about foreign affairs for a long time."
With such a temper, the Queen Mother's patience was really limited, especially towards Lin Rong. She sneered when she heard this: "Don't play riddles with me here. What happened in Jiangzhou? Did the imperial doctor come to the Xuanzheng Hall to treat the emperor? This More than a dozen carts of ice bricks are transported to the palace every day, and the eldest princess has transferred the camp from the outskirts of Beijing to the city. No one else knows about this, but the Ai family knows it clearly. Seeing that you are Shen'er's For the sake of the Queen of the Central Palace, I am just discussing with you. Even if you don’t admit it, let’s go in immediately and see how the emperor’s illness is.”
Lin Rong seemed to be frightened. He sat there silently and sighed for a long time. He looked extremely tired and finally relaxed: "What does the Queen Mother want to discuss? I don't understand this at all, but still It’s just following His Majesty’s previous instructions when he was in Jiangzhou.”
Seeing Lin Rong's appearance, the Queen Mother nodded with satisfaction: "When the emperor left, you were confused, but this posthumous matter must not be delayed. Now that the Ai family is here, you are here, and King Anfeng is also here, choose someone Come on, it’s better to decide on the throne as early as possible. Once you decide on the prince, the emperor’s lineage will be considered successful.”
Lin Rong seemed to understand what the Queen Mother meant, and nodded hesitantly: "King Anfeng is a close sect, which is very suitable. There are only three sons. I don't know which one to choose?" Then he said to King Anfeng: "I heard that the prince's youngest son is only five years old. I wonder if I can part with him?"
Lu Huan was standing aside. Hearing this, he knelt down and kowtowed: "I dare not take the Queen's words seriously. Such a major matter should be discussed by the ministers and their relatives. There is absolutely no reason for me to comment. Besides, Your Majesty is so blessed and ill. It will heal naturally." As he said this, he started to cry, feeling very sad.
The Queen Mother felt a little bit, and she wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with her handkerchief: "Poor my Shen'er..."
Lin Rong, on the other hand, was sitting there. Although her expression was sad, she was a little abrupt. After the two of them cried for a while, she waved her hands and said, "I am a woman. I don't understand these important affairs of the court. Your Majesty has given orders, and everything is up to the chief minister." The princess makes the decision, it won’t be too late to discuss it when the eldest princess enters the palace tomorrow.”
The Queen Mother and Lu Huang came here not to really discuss with Lin Rong, but just to find out the truth. After saying this, Lin Rong really had no excuse to prevent the Queen Mother from seeing Lu Shen. He ordered the palace maid to serve her into the side hall. When she saw the many rotting corpses, she cried a lot, and then asked people to wait for her to turn around.
Finally, he handed Lin Rong a note and said: "King Anfeng will not accept your words. This is his way of being a minister. But when it comes to candidates, his third son is the most suitable one. Take a look!"
Lin Rong pretended to agree and personally escorted the Queen Mother out of the palace. Then she took the fold and walked slowly to the inner room.
Seeing Ah Zhao sitting quietly on the couch and arranging chess records, she didn't know how to play chess and no one taught her. She just played it out for fun. Lu Shen sat cross-legged and played with a sapphire in his hand. Ornament, his face is already very ugly.
Lin Rong stood next to Ah Zhao and saw a red pimple on her little hand. He opened the box and applied some ointment on her. Ah Zhao was in a trance while playing with the chess piece, without even turning his head.
Lin Rong nodded her forehead and smiled: "I'm actually interested in this."
After saying that, he took a step forward and handed over the coupon, with a sense of gloating: "I wonder which one of the three princes Anfeng should choose?"
Lu Shen didn't answer, but put the sapphire unicorn on the small table. He raised his head slightly and saw Lin Rong handing over the fold. There was still a little green ointment on the back of his hand that had not melted.
He didn't take the fold either, he just held the hand and rubbed it unconsciously with his fingertips.
Ah Zhao was still here, and Lin Rong didn't seem to have made any noise, so he just pinched him with a stern face. Unexpectedly, Lu Shen took a breath of air, causing Ah Zhao to put his little head over and ask: "Dad, what's wrong with you? "
Lu Shen didn't answer, just looked at Lin Rong and said quietly: "You are kind-hearted and soft-hearted to others, but you are only hard-hearted to me."
Ah Zhao tilted his head and couldn't understand at all. He was even more confused and scratched his head: "Dad?"
After all, he didn't want Ah Zhao to witness the quarrel between the two of them, so Lin Rong just pulled back his hand lightly, ignoring his sour words and pretending not to hear them.
For a while, I took Ah Zhao to have lunch. In the afternoon, someone from the palace came to report that the eldest princess was ill and would not come to the palace today. When the lights were on, Shen Yan also came and went. The Queen Mother summoned the important ministers of the six ministries and three provinces, and announced that Marquis Wu'an was coming to the capital to discuss politics with King Anfeng all night long.
Lin Rong was playing chess with Azhao on the side. After Lu Shen listened, he was silent for a long time and then ordered: "I know, step back."
When going to bed, Lin Rong coaxed Ah Zhao to sleep. She was used to sleeping alone these days, so she didn't bother Lin Rong. Instead, Lin Rong hugged her: "Sleep with mother today, okay?"
The little girl looked at Lu Shen, shook her head, and whispered: "I sleep alone." Seeing Lin Rong's disapproval, she leaned into Lin Rong's ear again, whispered something unknown, and held her hands: "Please Please marry me."
Lin Rong laughed, touched her head, and had no choice but to agree. After Ah Zhao fell asleep, Lin Rong got up to take a shower, lifted the curtain and went to bed.
Lu Shen stood aside, wearing only a plain white silk lining except for his outer clothes, looking like he was waiting to go to bed.
Lin Rong glanced at him and said, "Go back to your own bed and sleep!"
Lu Shen said humbly: "This was originally my bed."
Lin Rong immediately sat up and said, "Okay, I'll go elsewhere."
Lu Shen had no choice but to stand up: "You go to sleep, I'll go elsewhere."
Having said that, how could Lu Shen be such a person? In the middle of the night, Lin Rong fell asleep in a daze when he saw someone beside him and someone hugged him from behind. There was only one person in the palace who dared to go to the Queen's bed in the middle of the night. Without even thinking, he knew it was Lu Shen. She She frowned and was about to swat his hand away when she heard him whisper in her ear: "I want to kill someone."
Lin Rong's eyebrows jumped when he heard this, and his hand stopped, slowly lowered it, and asked: "Who?"
Lu Shen put his hands on Lin Rong's waist, lowered his chin on her shoulder, and said in a cool voice: "It goes without saying that there are a lot of aristocratic families in the south of the Yangtze River. They look loyal but hide their betrayal. Lu Huang and Wu'an Hou Cao GUI in the capital, if I If you are really dead, you and Azhao, mother and daughter, will be manipulated like today. You will be orphaned and widowed, and you will be slaughtered by others. Are these rats worthy of getting their hands on the country I conquered? "
Lin Rong was still held by him, and after a moment of silence, he asked, "How long will it take?"
Lu Shen replied: "Don't worry, wait and see who will jump out, but it will be done in a month at most. In July, the Huns' envoys will come. Whether the talks are good or not, this winter , sooner or later there will be a battle."
Lin Rong asked him to say these few words, and his sleepiness suddenly disappeared, and he was silent for a long time: "You want to conquer it yourself?"
Lu Shen hummed, and his sharp-jointed hands slowly moved up: "There is no one else more suitable."
Lin Rong's heart seemed to be hanging again, and she heard Lu Shen say in his ear: "I know that you are interested in mountains and rivers. When you were in Jiangzhou, you wanted to travel to all the counties in the south of the Yangtze River and compile a pharmacopoeia. When these things are dealt with, Man, you can just go, there is nothing wrong with you coming back in the winter when I am on my way to the expedition."
Lin Rong hummed softly and asked him to hold her in her arms. Her body felt weak. She didn't know what to say. Finally, she said: "Don't send people to follow me, don't use tricks to trick me into coming back, let alone Write to me, and no one is allowed to send you a message."
Lu Shen responded: "I want you to live a happier life, and nothing else matters."
Lin Rong leaned softly in his arms and did not answer. Suddenly, it started raining heavily outside. The rain hit the large green bamboo outside the hall, and the rustling ground became more and more quiet.
After an unknown amount of time, she sighed softly and said, "You'd better tell the truth, otherwise..."
Lu Shen leaned over and looked at that charming little face: "What else?"
The woman's eyes were full of excitement, and she stretched out a jade finger like a shaved onion, and gently scratched the man's thick eyebrows: "Otherwise...otherwise I will never pay attention to you."
Lu Shen laughed out loud and lightly tapped Na Dan's lips: "Okay, never pay attention to me again."
He hugged the woman quietly, listening to the heavy drizzle outside the palace, and actually felt that he was more happy at this moment than lingering on the bed. He half-sat there until dawn before closing his eyes and sleeping for a while.
Chapter 120
When Lin Rong left Luoyang for Jiangnan, it was the end of July, the hottest time of the year.
On that day, the Empress Dowager and King Anfeng Lu Huang came to the Xuanzheng Palace to investigate the truth. For ten days, they summoned many important ministers and generals, some of whom refused to enter the capital because they had not received the emperor's orders. Most of those who came to Beijing were really afraid of Lu Shen's reputation and would not dare to act rashly unless they saw Lu Shen's body with their own eyes. Except for a few who dared to risk the disapproval of the world, there were only a few who responded.
After waiting like this for half a month, the Queen Mother became impatient and said: "These people are just my retainers of the Lu family. When the new emperor ascends the throne and delivers the imperial edict, he will be able to decide the important things in the world in the capital city. But originally, they could not comment on such a big event. According to the principle, just invite a few princes from the clan to come and decide the important matter."
Even though she said this, Prince Anfeng Lu Huang was completely calm. Although he was not as powerful as Lu Shenzhen, he had also been floating in the war officialdom for nearly twenty years. He instinctively felt that something was wrong, but what exactly was wrong? , but couldn’t tell. He secretly visited several ministers and nobles, and came to the Xuanzheng Hall at starry night to ask for an audience with Lin Rong.
Lin Rong had just put him to sleep at that time. Ah Zhao was putting on hairpins on his hair in front of the dressing mirror. He was already ready to take a rest. He was very surprised when he heard someone say something: "Is there only King Anfeng?"
Kingfisher replied: "Yes, King Anfeng is the only one here, and it seems he has something important to do." He put on his clothes and put on his make-up again, announced Lu Huan's entry in the side hall, and asked questions through the curtain.
In fact, those words were not important, but he was just telling his wife that she had given birth to a daughter last night. Mother and daughter were safe. Because the fetus was born prematurely, the fortune teller said that the child's luck was shallow, so he wanted to ask the queen to give him a name. Destroy this child's fate.
Lin Rong sat there, really confused, and barely managed a few perfunctory words before waving his hand to order him to leave.
When she returned to the hall, Lu Shen had already taken a bath. He had loosely covered his outer robe and was holding a scroll. When he saw her coming, he put the book down and said, "Go to sleep!"
Lin Rong hummed and lay on the bed for a long time, but couldn't sleep. He turned over and pushed Lu Shen's shoulder: "You said King Anfeng, did you know something? At least you guessed something? Otherwise Why did you come into the palace at this time and only talk about such trivial things when you meet me?"
Lin Rong's elbows were half-supported, and the green hair of his half-arm was hanging softly on Lu Shen's shoulders. A mist of rouge fragrance suddenly hit him.
Lu Shen gave a perfunctory hum to avoid being distracted, and stretched out an index finger to gently hold a strand of black hair: "Maybe..."
Lin Rong seemed in disbelief: "What did you say?"
She frowned slightly and looked very serious. Lu Shen chuckled and pulled Lin Rong into his arms: "Don't worry!"
A few days later, Lu Shen had not summoned the ministers for a full month. Before that, he went south to Jiangzhou. Although he was not in Luoyang, he also received memorials for review and summoned ministers from Jiangnan. At this time, although he was called sick, not only could he not see anyone, he could not even say a word.
These people, in small groups, gave memorials day by day, asking His Majesty to take matters into their own hands, or asking important ministers to inquire about Your Majesty's case.
Lin Rong ignored him at first, and was really frightened by the snowflakes of memorials flying on the case, and he was quite undecided. Lu Shen sat aside with the scroll in hand, seeming to be ignoring it and leaving it all to Lin Rong's disposal.
Lin Rong had no choice but to keep those rumors in mind, but unfortunately she couldn't suppress them. She didn't have that kind of prestige. However, within three or five days, the upright minister knelt down outside the Xuanzheng Hall and asked to see His Majesty. He was quite impressed. It meant that Lu Shen would be killed in front of the palace.
