July arrived in a blink of an eye. On the second day of July, there was a sudden thunderstorm that lasted all night. The strong wind made the windows bang. In this season, there are supposed to be autumn thunders, but strong winds and thunders do not rain, which is still very rare in autumn. Many people were so shocked that they couldn't sleep. Considering the previous solar eclipse, it can only be said that this year is really not like an ordinary year.
They say July is a hot month, but the temperature did not drop very quickly. Chen Chong did not sleep deeply that night. He was still thinking about why there was no news about Kong Ming's success. After all, according to his previous plan, he should have won by this time. That's right. Is it because the journey is too long and the good news is still on the way? The last time I received a letter from Kong Ming was a month ago, saying that they had marched to Xiangping and were about to have a final decisive battle with the Liao army. Chen Chong believed in Kong Ming's talent, but this abnormal sign still made him a little worried. He didn't know where the problem was. But he also knew that being anxious would not help. Since he couldn't see anything, he could only wait quietly for the outcome.
Early the next morning, Wei Xi came over to give Chen Chong a routine report on the government affairs. After he finished speaking, he asked Chen Chong: "Prime Minister, it is July 7th soon. Things are not heavy this year. I would like to ask if the peace and harmony can be restored." It is a tradition during the lunar calendar that both the government and the public take a three-day break."
It's July 7th. After hearing this, Chen Chong fell into deep thought for a while. The seventh day of July is called Qixi Festival, also known as Langjing. Although it is famous for the meeting of Cowherd and Weaver Girl on this day, its actual connotation is more than that. Because July is the beginning of autumn, it is the most suitable time of the year, so people often expose their clothes and books to the sun at this time, which has given rise to some allusions. For example, Bian Rang's great-grandfather Bian Shao took a nap in the sun with his bare belly on this day. Others teased him for his big belly, so he replied, "My belly is full of the Five Classics. Showing my belly is showing books. This shows the custom of posting books." prosperity. It's just that since the Chuping period, when the people were in chaos and the people were in dire straits, this folk custom has faded a lot. Chen Chong recalled the past of sharing books with his wife Cai, and a feeling of nostalgia arose spontaneously.
After being called out by Wei Xi a few more times, Chen Chong realized that he was in a daze. After sorting out his thoughts, he said harmoniously to Wei Xi: "I have worked hard for you in the past few years. Since there is nothing important this year, I will give you a try." Let’s do what we want, but the messenger from Liaodong can’t stop and ask again. I estimate that Kong Ming’s military report will arrive in the next few days.”
Wei Xi only agreed and bowed to Chen Chong before turning around and leaving. When Chen Chong was the only one left in the room, he stood up, opened the wardrobe on the side, and fumbled for a long time. Finally, he took out a sachet at the bottom, which contained the black hair cut by his wife, as well as a gift from Wannian that year. Chen Chong felt the cold touch of the sachet on his hand as he felt the silk silk given to him. The past many years ago came to mind, making him sit for a long time. It was not until Chen Xiu called him to eat that he slowly walked out.
During the meal, Chen Chong and Chen Xiu said, "It's July 7th soon. Please get ready. After two days of rest in the house, we will take out all the books to dry them." Chen Xiu was quite impatient at first. But Chen Chong said: "I don't have a long time to live, so these books are already yours, how can you not cherish them?" Chen Xiu then turned from anger to joy and quickly agreed. Dong Bai looked at the father and son from the side, feeling somewhat relieved but also a little sad. She knew that Chen Chong had one less thing to worry about.
The news of the Chinese Valentine's Day holiday spread quickly throughout the government, and the officials in the government were very happy, and their words were also somewhat excited. And Chen Chong remembered something again. He called Zhao Qiu over and asked him: "You are over thirty and you are not married yet. What's going on? Is it possible that you have such high standards that you don't have anyone who likes you?" Really? If someone else’s family is too high and they don’t like you, then you can tell me that I will be a matchmaker for you on July 7th.”
Maybe it touched Zhao Qiu's mind. Zhao Qiu's words were a little nervous. He replied awkwardly, without the teacher's matchmaking, he would definitely get married this year. When saying these words, Chen Chong rarely felt some vitality in them. What's going on? Chen Chong guessed jokingly that the student might have been emotionally hurt somewhere unknown to him.
Just like that, the fifth day of July finally arrived after everyone's expectation. When the meeting adjourned in the afternoon, within two minutes, most of the officials had gone home, and there were only a hundred or so people left in the huge mansion, most of whom were unspeakable guards. And I heard that the curfew outside the city was relaxed at this time, and the orphans in the private school wanted to go out to play. Chen Chong also agreed, and specially gave them two pennies of five baht, hoping that they could have fun in their youth. As soon as they left, the originally noisy Prime Minister's Mansion became quiet, and only the chirping of cicadas and birds could be heard.
In this quietness, Chen Chong asked Chen Xiu and Chen Pei to sort out the classics at home, while he and his wife Dong Bai sat by the lake, feeling the breeze that continued to flow between the sky and the earth after the sunset. Chen Chong suddenly said to Dong Bai: "I haven't seen Yide for a long time. Is he really still unwilling to come to see me?" It turned out that he had been thinking about this brother in his heart, but he still didn't want to put down his dignity and reconcile with him. Dong Bai was angry and laughed at the same time, and teased his husband: "If you don't want to see him, why would he come to see you?"
"Black is black, white is white, he and I both know it." Chen Chong did not dwell on this topic anymore, but asked Dong Bai to play a piece of music. After losing his sight, music has become one of his few things. Much fun too. Dong Bai knew Chen Chong's preferences. In his old age, he only loved Chu songs, and Qu Yuan's "Nine Songs" even more. So he took out his adoptive father Cai Yong's Paulownia Qin, rolled up his sleeves and played and sang beside Chen Chong. This time she sang "Nine Songs" by Qu Yuan. "Da Siming", its words said:
"The heavenly gate is wide open, and I ride on the mysterious clouds. Let the wind blow to the forerunner, and let the drizzle sprinkle the dust. You are flying back, flying down, and the mulberry trees are flying across the sky to follow my daughter.
There are always people coming to Kyushu, how can they live forever? Flying high and safe, taking advantage of the clear air to control Yin and Yang. I will speed up with you to lead the emperor to the nine pits. The spiritual clothes are on the quilt, and the jade pendant is on Lu Li. One yin and one yang, no one knows what I am doing. The hemp and Yaohua trees will be cut off, and they will be separated from the remaining ones. The old man is very distant, but if you don't get close, you will become more distant. Riding on a dragon and rolling around, galloping soaring into the sky. The osmanthus branches are standing there, and the Qiang is more thoughtful and sad. What can I do if I am worried about others? I hope that I will have no losses now. There is a right way to secure one's life, but what can be done about separation and reunification? "
The general idea of this poem is that mortals are worried about the uncertainty of their life span, so they pray to Da Siming, praying for a longer life. However, while praying, he thought that mortals' fate cannot be controlled by themselves, so what is the use of longevity? I felt sad for a while and decided to cherish the present moment more. The sound of Dong Bai's qin was passed down by Cai Yong himself. When he plays it now, it feels like the clouds are flowing, the moon is falling and the black crows are crying. The world is desolate and changing, and even the time is dimmed. But with his clear and watery singing, the taste has changed again. It seems that there is always a little sadness in the mountains and rivers, there seems to be bitter wine in the throat, and there seems to be a woman crying.
After playing the song, the sky was already dark, and the moon gradually hung on the branches, sending ice-like white light with the autumn wind, turning it into a dazzling landscape on the lake. Although Chen Chong couldn't see such a scenery, he could hear the gentle rise and fall of the lake water against the gravel. This reminded him of the scenery of the North Sea, and the sound of the tide of the North Sea gradually sounded in his ears.
At this time, someone suddenly knocked on the door, and the knocking was loud and urgent, followed by a series of panicked and irregular footsteps. Chen Chongzheng felt strange, and Dong Bai beside him couldn't help but exclaimed, what happened? At this time, he heard a familiar and weak voice, saying to him urgently: "Prime Minister, leave quickly, there is a coup in the palace!"
Chen Chong's head buzzed, and he recognized that this person was Zheng Chong, whom he had single-handedly promoted, but his voice was soft, as if it would be blown away by the wind at any time. Chen Chong stood up, reached out and groped forward, and quickly held a pair of hands. However, these hands were wet and covered with sticky and cold liquid. Chen Chong knew that this was blood that had gone cold. Chen Chong asked: "Wen He, what happened?"
"Just now, Wei Xi used the emperor's order to summon the officials of the Prime Minister's Palace to the palace for a banquet after the sleep break. As a result, not long after entering the palace and sitting down, Wei Xi came out with the edicts from the emperor and the queen mother, saying that the prime minister A party conspired to rebel, and then ordered the palace guards to massacre us! Many people died! Pang Shiyuan led us to rush through the door, and they all died...Only I escaped! But I was hit by two swords, and I guess You won’t live long... Prime Minister, go quickly, go to Xuanwu City! As long as you mobilize the Shanglin Army now, you still have a chance to turn defeat into victory..."
As the words gradually became short of breath, Chen Chong felt that the hands he held were gradually becoming weak. Finally, with a "pop", Zheng Chong fell to the ground and died of excessive bleeding.
The atmosphere in the mansion became completely cold. Although Chen Chong could not see clearly, he knew that everyone was looking at him, waiting for his orders. He took his hand back and kept thinking about the truth behind the scenes: Liu Jia wanted to kill him, and Wei Xi and others wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to seize power. That was completely understandable, but the question was, what reasons did they plan to use to convince the world? Woolen cloth? rebellion? He had never given any instructions related to rebellion. In the past two years, only Shi Yuan persuaded him to depose the emperor again, and at that time, no one except the two...
Wait, Zhao Qiu's face flashed in Chen Chong's mind, and he immediately asked: "Zhongcheng, is Zhongcheng here?"
The only answer he received was silence and the uneasy restlessness of the crowd. Chen Chong suddenly thought of the Double Ninth Incident that year. There was intelligence that there was an secret agent of King Pingyang around him, but in the end it died without any problem. Now everything is right.
He put his hand on a willow tree and didn't move for a long time, but he already knew in his heart that there was probably no way to survive this time. He asked Kong Ming to go on an expedition to Liaodong and took away most of his direct descendants, giving these people the last chance to make a coup. Zheng Chong asked him to go to Xuanwu City, but Taichang Street must have been sealed off now! If Wei Xi and the others had acted quickly, I'm afraid even the surrounding city gates would have been sealed!
After a long while, Chen Xiu couldn't help it anymore and said directly to Chen Chong: "Sir, let's leave quickly. Even if we don't go to Xuanwu City, we still have to leave the city. The world was conquered by your Lord. If we leave the city, we're afraid we won't be able to kill him." Have you killed these villains?"
"Nonsense!" Chen Chong waved his hand to stop him and said, "Don't say we can't get out of the city now. Even if we get out of the city, the world has just been at peace. Is there really a civil war?"
"Then what are you going to do, sir? Are you waiting to die here?"
Chen Chong straightened his body at this time and said to everyone who looked at him with a dull but firm look: "I, Chen Chong, have been worthy of the country and the country for the past sixty-eight years, and worthy of the people of the world. How can I wait here to die?" ?!" He then squeezed the hand of his wife beside him and said decisively: "I want to meet the emperor in person and prove my innocence!"
