After trying this for another three or four days, Lin Rong had no choice but to throw the book in front of Lu Shen and asked, "How long can you keep pretending? I'm afraid the person you want to test will wake up already?"
Lu Shen only said: "Wait a moment." But after all, he summoned Duke De into the palace at night, and I don't know what they talked about. The next day, all the ministers kneeling in front of the Xuanzheng Palace dispersed, and there was no one left. People are entangled. But the folds were still delivered to the desk of Xuanzheng Hall day by day. He said that His Majesty was ill, and there were folds for burning incense and praying for the dojo.
Lin Rongzheng was puzzled. Three days later, the Queen Mother ordered someone to report: "The Queen Mother has been very unwell these past few days. She suffered from headache and paralysis. She became confused last night and kept calling His Majesty's name. The servants don't know what to do. That’s good, please give me some instructions from the Queen.”
Lin Rong turned to look at Lu Shen and saw that he was holding Azhao's hand and teaching her the postures of writing and brushing, as if he didn't hear him.
The Queen Mother was quite mean and stingy. Although Lin Rong didn't like her very much and was impatient to see her, she finally called the imperial doctor over and asked about her condition. She found that she was indeed ill and in a daze. She was not pretending to be ill, but she was really sick. Could not bear.
When Lin Rong arrived, although the sun was shining outside, it was extremely dark inside the palace. The Queen Mother was asking Gong E to help her up and half lean on the bed, sipping the soothing soup in small sips, but after taking two sips, she frowned and pushed it away. He said impatiently: "It's too bitter, take it down!"
The nanny next to her served some candied dates and advised: "The Queen Mother should take care of herself. Your Majesty is ill, the princess is young, and the Queen has just returned to the palace. Thousands of things are arranged here, and they all depend on your control." . Your illness is urgent. If you put your hands away, wouldn't everything in this palace be in chaos?"
The Queen Mother sighed, tilted her head and rubbed her temples: "It's all in chaos. Everything in the palace and outside is happening. Every day, all the papers are sent to the Xuanzheng Hall. I heard those people say, all the papers are in it." It’s Cui’s Zhu Pi.”
The nanny didn't know the reason, so she just followed the words and advised: "Your Majesty has been ill for many days, so it is reasonable to ask the queen to write for you."
The Queen Mother did not speak, and waved impatiently. Suddenly she caught a glimpse of Lin Rong, who was standing quietly at the curtain. The impatience on her face dissipated a little, and she felt sick and frail, with a surprised look on her face: "It turns out that Thought you wouldn’t come?”
The palace servants set up chairs and served tea, and all withdrew with a look. Lin Rong sat in front of the bed, took a slow sip of tea, and asked: "Why did the Queen Mother suddenly become ill? You still have to follow the imperial doctor's orders, and the medicine is also Want to eat."
The Queen Mother sat up and looked at Lin Rong for a long time. Suddenly she leaned back against the Jindun. It was not like leaning on her back, but like she was lying limply on it without any energy. She sneered at the air and picked out something in her hand. A piece of pastry, waving at Lin Rong: "Here, lotus root cake, Shen'er's favorite food when she was a child, would you like to try it?"
Lin Rong sat still, but she didn't pick it up, so her hand was hanging in the air blankly. She had to bend forward to pick it up, without eating, she held it in her hand and said: "The Queen Mother's illness, it looks like It's not serious. You asked me to come. If you have something to say, please just say it."
The Queen Mother turned her head and looked at Lin Rong leisurely: "You have better luck than me."
Lin Rong frowned unconsciously after hearing this, but she was no longer the same as before, she just listened silently and did not refute.
The Queen Mother continued: "When I was your age, my husband died and my son died. There were only a few members of the Yu family left. They were taken into the Yongzhou Mansion. They stayed there for three years and gave birth to Shen'er. This made things easier." .You are much stronger than me..."
Lin Rong wanted to interrupt her, but he heard her coughing repeatedly. She covered her handkerchief for a long time, and lay there panting for a long time before she could speak: "I'm sick and want to go out of the palace." I wonder if it’s okay to recuperate?”
Where Lin Rong was sitting, he was quite puzzled: "The Queen Mother has a minor illness, but her appearance has changed drastically?"
The Queen Mother opened her mouth and started coughing again. Lin Rong stood up and said, "When it comes to recovering from illness, it is more convenient to stay in the palace. In such an emergency, I dare not make the decision on such a major matter without authorization. If the Queen Mother really wants to leave the palace, If you go, you have to invite your great-aunt to discuss it."
After that, she stood up, waved her hand, and walked slowly towards the Xuanzheng Hall without riding in the sedan chair.
When she arrived at the Xuanzheng Hall, it was quiet. She sat silently on the bed. Lu Shen's clothes were still hanging on the bedside rack. She held her chin and thought about it carefully. If you thought it was strange before, you will be convinced after meeting the Queen Mother today.
Lu Shen's rhetoric was barely enough to deceive him who had just returned to the palace. But now she has been approving the discount for more than a month. For Lu Shen, the founding emperor and the soon-to-be emperor, even if there is news that he is seriously ill, who would dare to make a mistake? No wonder the former harem has become calmer and quieter these days, and my aunt doesn't come into the palace often. I'm afraid the Queen Mother had already guessed it, so she became 'sick'.
She slowly lay down on the bed and covered the curtain. She could no longer feel angry. She called Kingfisher over and didn't ask where Lu Shen and A Zhao had gone. She just said: "I'm tired. I want to sleep for a while." .”
Lu Shen came back at nightfall, with moisture on his clothes. He opened the curtain and asked softly: "I heard from the palace maid that you fell asleep at noon. Why are you so sleepy?" He then touched her forehead and asked, "Are you feeling uncomfortable? ?Call the imperial doctor to come and take a look?"
Lin Rong held his hand and told him not to move. He hummed and said: "The weather is getting hotter and hotter. I always feel a little sleepy these days." Then he asked him: "The Queen Mother is sick. She told me that she wants to She left the palace to recuperate, do you think we should ask her to go out?"
Lu Shen asked her to hold her hand softly, with a hint of cold fragrance. She didn't come back to her senses for a moment, and unconsciously said: "It's up to you to make the decision on such a small matter!"
Lin Rong snorted coldly, with a bit of temper after all: "I don't dare to make the decision on such a trivial matter. There are still rules of respect and inferiority."
Lu Shen groaned and said, "Then let her go to the palace to escape the summer heat. Since she is recuperating, she should take good care of her. She won't have to come back in two or three years."
Seeing Lin Rong put away his hand and sat up, with his head hanging on her temples, he said: "Just now, I took A Zhao out to ride a horse. She is not a quiet person. She talks a lot and likes to be lively. , I don’t know who to follow.”
Lin Rong disliked the heat and pushed him away gently. The man slowly swung back like a swing and was next to Lin Rong's shoulder. She said angrily: "You went out to ride a horse. Are you not afraid of leaking the news now?"
Lu Shen just pretended that he couldn't hear the dissatisfaction and teasing in this tone, remained silent, and said, "It's time to close the net."
Lin Rong slowly let out a sigh and asked, "Is it time to close the net? Tell me, wait ten or eight years."
Lu Shen knew that he was wrong and did not dare to speak. Lin Rong reached out to pinch him bitterly, then sighed again and whispered: "It's harder to ask you to change than to reach the sky. If you think you have a trump card, you will go even further. I don't know how many soft words I have said. But he has always been tough..."
Just as he was talking, he suddenly smelled something unknown on his clothes, and he felt nauseated. He didn't bother to reason with him, so he pushed him away and asked with a frown, "What's the smell? Stay away from me."
Lu Shen had no choice but to stand up and ask, "What's wrong?" He smelled himself again and said, "I was sweating a little while riding a horse."
He hurriedly called the palace maid to come in and served Lin Rong with tea and rinsed her mouth. She didn't dare to get too close. He stood far away and waited for her to feel better before going out of the palace: "I'm going to wash up."
Lu Shen took a bath, and when he came out, he put down the bed curtain again, opened it by himself, put his arm around Lin Rong's waist, and asked, "Should I send an imperial doctor to come and take a look? You haven't been very affectionate these days." I feel sleepy after eating, and I feel nauseous today, maybe I have some symptoms?"
Lin Rong fell asleep in a daze, slapped Lu Shen's hand away, and muttered: "What are you pretending to do? You don't know?"
Lu Shen stretched out his hand to caress his flat belly: "Then we still need to call the imperial doctor to check the pulse. How do I count?"
Lin Rong responded lazily: "Let's talk tomorrow."
Lu Shen said to close the net that night, and the next day he stopped pretending to be sick. Before dawn, he went to court to see what was going on. In front of all the civil and military officials, several people were attacked one after another. The King of Anfeng, Lu Huang, was quite alert. When he noticed something was wrong, he immediately became honest. After seeing Lin Rong that night, he claimed to be ill in the mansion and stayed behind closed doors and did not see anyone.
On this day, as soon as Lu Shen went to court, he immediately handed over a confession and invited himself out of Luoyang. Unfortunately, Lu Shen was not a magnanimous person, so he ordered someone to push him out of the palace and beat him with a stick for eighty years. He also ordered someone to interrogate and imprison him, and then he had his title reduced.
After dealing with it in this way, it was already noon by the time of the next court. When we returned to the Xuanzheng Hall, the hall was quiet. Shen Yan rushed over from the palace gate and reported: "Master, the Queen has just left the palace and wants to take a boat to go south. The empress holds the Queen's seal in her hand and brings the Queen's bodyguard with her. I dare not stop her, so I came here to ask for your Majesty's instructions. Did I order Shui Yong downstream to set up a blockade to intercept, or did I send someone to do it?"
Lu Shen waved his hand and walked into the hall. He saw that the inside had been cleaned up, and there was no sign that Lin Rong had lived here for several months. He sat silently on the edge of the bed for a long time before faintly smelling something on the woman. A faint fragrance came, and he waved his hand: "No need to intercept, no need to send anyone."
Shen Yan was taken aback and asked, "But Your Majesty, the safety of the empress..."
Lu Shen said: "With the Queen's Guards, there won't be any problems. When we get to Jiangzhou, I will order Cui's people to be careful."
Shen Yan nodded hesitantly and asked, "Should we ask the people in the guard to come back with a letter every day to report the queen's current situation?"
Lu Shen suddenly remembered Lin Rong's words, not allowed to send anyone to follow her, not allowed to see her, not to mention writing letters, and not allowed to write letters back, he shook his head: "No need, just wait!"
Chapter 121
No need to wait!
Lu Shen felt that he was very patient and helpless. As soon as he said these words, he never wrote a letter to inquire or asked anyone to pass a few words back. After being away for several months, it was like a kite with broken strings, and the wind and waves were gone. news.
At this time, A-Zhao had already started studying. Lu Shen was worried that the group of Hanlin scholars would make his daughter dumbfounded, so he started the teaching himself, teaching her how to read and calligraphy step by step every day. At first, Azhao was lucky that Lin Rong had given her special instructions before leaving. She was not as worried about gains and losses as Lu Shen was. The three or four-year-old girl was full of novelty about everything in the world, and there were many things Lin Rong left for her. Unseen books, only as time goes by, I have to ask Lu Shen from time to time: "Where is my mother? When will she come back?"
Lu Shen held Azhao's hand, corrected her pen-holding posture and replied, "I don't know!"
Ah Zhao didn't have anything to do, but when he heard Lu Shen's words, he stopped writing in his hand. He turned around and looked at Lu Shen for a long time, pouting with dissatisfaction: "Is she still angry that's why she won't come back?"
Lu Shen glanced at her lightly and said sternly: "You must concentrate on writing!"
Ah Zhao looked at Lu Shen, then at the word, and muttered in a low voice: "Why don't you know anything? Didn't mother write you a letter?"
Naturally, there was no letter. Only on the 15th day of August, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, Jiangzhou Jiedushi sent a letter saying that he would go to the Xuanping Marquis Mansion to pay tribute to several pots of precious green cloud chrysanthemums for use. No news.
Lu Shen called his daughter a few words and became sullen as he spoke. He put down his pen lazily without saying anything. He stood up and left the palace, silently walking towards Qingning Palace, the residence of the queens of all dynasties. Halfway there, Snowflakes were floating in the dark sky, but only a few dozen steps away, the brows on the shoulders were already white.
Lu Shen stood in the corridor and dusted his sleeves. The king in the palace ordered the little girl to light up the fire and warm the house. When he saw him coming, he was startled: "Your Majesty, why did you come here with such heavy snow?"
They welcomed him in. The charcoal fire in the room had not yet risen. It was deserted, like a snow cave, and there were not many arrangements. It didn't look like a living palace. Kingfisher brought tea up and said: "Your Majesty!"
Lu Shen waved his hand with a stern face and ordered everyone in the palace to leave the palace. He sat in front of the desk for a long time, looking at the Venus, Xuelang, and Ji inkstone on the desk, and suddenly asked: "When is it?"
Shen Yan no longer often walked around the palace at this time. He was only summoned by Lu Shen early this morning, so he stayed with him. He was only summoned into the palace, but he didn't give any specific instructions. Who has he been with Lu Shen for many years? He knew that he must have something important to give him today, so he was not in a hurry and just waited patiently outside.
If someone else heard Lu Shen asking questions at this time, he would have thought he was asking what time it was? However, Shen Yan had probably already guessed it, so he turned around and went in, bowing and saying: "Master, today is the 21st of the twelfth lunar month, and in two days it will be the Little New Year."
Lu Shen hummed, tapped the red sandalwood table, and ordered: "Pry ink."
Shen Yan said yes, rolled up his sleeves, stepped forward, polished it according to his old habit, and then left.
Not long after, Lu Shen came out of the palace and ordered: "Send the painting on the case to the old man Tao Peng's house. Tell him that I have gained something by chance and order him to write a long postscript and inscribe it here."
Shen Yan said yes, turned around and entered the hall. He saw a picture of "Wealth and Honor in a Pot" on the desk. He didn't understand the meaning of the picture. After letting it dry for a while, he rolled up the picture and knocked open the pottery. The gate of Master Pengtao's mansion.
Tao Pengtao was the old man who protected Lin Rong in Jiangzhou. Lu Shen promoted him two levels and recruited him to Luoyang as an official. Mr. Tao has grown old and only lives in Luoyang with his wife and his eldest son as eunuchs. The rest of the family still stays at the ancestral home in Qiantang.
There are many powerful people in Luoyang, and it is not easy to live there. Tao Peng's house is already far away from the imperial city. He has had little sleep recently, and the weather is cold, so he sits in front of the copper stove and reads. His eldest son Tao Shu is waiting on him. On the side, add charcoal and clothes.
The father and son sat for a while, and suddenly they heard an old man from outside hurried over: "Master, it's not good, it's not good, Commander Lu is here."
Lu Chenyan was the emperor's eagle claw, feared by all the officials. When Tao Shu heard his name, he stood up in fright: "Let me tell you, how could His Majesty be so willing to expose the crime of sheltering and concealing the queen like this?"
Mr. Tao frowned and looked at the unstable eldest son, shook his head slightly, sighed, and asked: "Did he come alone, or did he come with the imperial guards to arrest him?"
The old man hurriedly quarreled: "You deserve to die, old slave. I didn't know clearly. Commander Lu came alone. He was sitting in the hall drinking tea. He didn't look like he was here to ask for guilt."
Mr. Tao stood up and asked his son to change into clothes suitable for meeting guests. Then he walked out and went to the open hall to meet the guests.
Shen Yan was sitting there when he saw Mr. Tao coming in. Although he was not very respectful, he didn't look like he was here to arrest anyone. He stood up and slightly cupped his hands: "Mr. Tao, I'm really disturbing you by coming here at Weiye."
Mr. Tao smiled and exchanged greetings: "Commander Lu came to the humble abode, and it was really splendid." The two exchanged a few more words, and then got down to business. He ordered someone to bring the painting and said: "Your Majesty once said , Mr. Tao's cursive calligraphy is considered to be the best in this dynasty. Today, His Majesty sat in Qingning Hall for a while, and after a while, he drew this picture. Please write a postscript on it. "
After that, he didn't say anything else, he cupped his hands and left.
Even though Mr. Tao had experienced decades of ups and downs, he didn't understand the meaning of this, so he had to order someone to turn around.
His eldest son, Hou, was outside, following behind his father. He helped his father change his clothes, and then slowly unfolded the painting. The painting had not yet been colored and the ink was not completely dry. There was a hanging hanging on the upper left side of the painting. A simple copper pot, with several peonies with large calyxes inserted in the pot, branches, leaves and vines hanging down layer by layer. Under the copper pot are two tortoiseshell cats, with mottled fur and cute innocence.
When Tao Shu saw this, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Ancient ministers often compared themselves to civet cats. Over time, if the emperor gave a picture of a civet cat, it meant that this person was regarded as a good minister and good official. He wiped his sweat. : "Fortunately, very fortunately, Your Majesty no longer cares about the past. There is no prime minister in the court, and there is no Shuo rat in the wild. Could it be because my father was on an errand last month and was praised by Your Majesty."
The eldest son's talent was really limited. Mr. Tao had no choice but to tap the ground with his crutch: "Look carefully again!"
Tao Shu heard his father's dissatisfaction and had to lower his head to take a closer look at the painting. Only then did he find a lush day lily in the lower left corner of the painting. The tail of a kitten was slightly exposed in the day lily. He turned back to look at the day lily. The two cats under the peony copper pot cling to each other, showing signs of affection.
Only then did he suddenly realize, and said: "It's not about the monarch and ministers, but the queen? But...but what does this have to do with us? The queen is at home in the palace. Do you want to ask mother to hand over the sign to the palace tomorrow to have a look?"
Mr. Tao hummed, and then said: "I heard that it has been five months since the Queen left the palace..."
Tao Shu still didn't understand and was a little surprised: "How can the queen leave the palace for several months? How is this unbecoming?"
Mr. Tao snorted, knocked on his knees, and sighed: "Go and call the doctor. As soon as the weather gets cold, the paralysis in his legs returns, and he becomes so stiff that he can't move at all."
Tao Shu was dazed and knelt down seriously: "The queen once wrote a recipe and mixed it with medicinal wine. The son took it and rubbed it for his father."
Seeing that his son was not enlightened, Mrs. Tao picked up the jade ruyi on the small table and knocked his head: "The medicinal wine has been left for a long time, what's the use of it? Get out quickly, get out quickly."
Tao Shufu was so moved that he suddenly understood: "Yes, my son will go out and write a letter right now." He stood up and walked to the door, then turned around and asked: "It's just that the Queen is not there. Where should I send this letter?"
Mr. Tao closed his eyes and said: "I wrote to Marquis Xuanping of Jiangzhou, saying that I have suffered from paralysis, and the prescriptions from the past are missing. I wonder if the Marquis's house can keep some."
Tao Shu listened to his father's words, nodded, went out immediately, wrote a letter, and quickly sent it to the Xuanping Hou Mansion in Jiangzhou.
When Lin Rong received the letter, it was already the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth lunar month. Sixth sister Cui Qi had already given birth and was leading the maids and servants to make red date and lotus seed porridge with great interest and distribute it to the poor in Jiangzhou City. After everything was done, Xiaoyin brought the porridge in and said, "Try it too. They all said it tastes good?"
Lin Rong took a bite and frowned: "It's too sweet."
Cui Qi was not annoyed and said: "It would be better if it was sweeter. People outside can't eat sweets very often throughout the year. Eat more sweet porridge in winter, and the poor people can resist the cold. It's extremely cold today, so we still opened it." The warehouse, please send more porridge and rice, otherwise, I don’t know how many people will freeze to death."
Lin Rong nodded, knowing that Cui Qi had suffered in the past, so he understood these truths, and said, "Sister Six is right."
Cui Qi smiled and saw an open letter on the desk beside him. He saw that the signature on it was Master Tao's son, and asked: "What, are you going back to Luoyang? It will be New Year's Eve in a few days. After the New Year, etc. Wouldn’t it be nice if the weather were warmer?”
Lin Rong said: "We've almost done everything, we just need to sort it out. Azhao was born the day before New Year's Eve. If we go back late, we won't be able to make it in time for her birthday."
