After Yu Wenhu left, the emperor said kindly to Yang Zan.
"How is the old general doing?"
The emperor's sister, Princess Shunyang, was Yang Zan's wife, so the relationship between the two was extraordinary. The Yang family present found a way to let Yang Zan accompany the emperor and Yuwen Shenju into the house to visit Yang Zhong.
When Yang Zhong was on the sick bed, he saw the emperor struggling to get up and approach him. He was really unable to move when the oil was exhausted and the lamp was dry. Seeing this, the emperor hurriedly leaned over to help him.
"There is no need to salute. The old general needs to rest and cannot be moved easily."
Yang Zhong was struggling and breathless. After he slowly calmed down, he was speechless, crying, and could only look at the current supreme emperor helplessly.
At this time, a woman in plain cloth walked into the room and knelt down at the emperor's feet. The emperor was sitting on the chair that Yu Wenhu had just done. He was startled but still said calmly.
"Who are you? If you have something to say, please get up and say it."
The woman refused to get up and still knelt down and said.
"This servant is Yang Jian's wife. I wish to pay my respects to Your Majesty."
The emperor felt uneasy and quickly answered.
"Then you are our in-laws, please get up quickly, please get up quickly."
The emperor leaned forward and wanted to help Mrs. Dugu up, but he felt something was wrong and was a little at a loss. When Mrs. Dugu saw this, she stood up and lowered her hands to the side.
"I haven't thanked you and your wife for marrying such a virtuous daughter to Quanzi."
The emperor said as he looked at Madam Dugu and asked doubtfully.
"I didn't seem to see you there when we walked in just now."
"This servant didn't know that His Majesty was coming. We were serving the old lady in another room."
"It's rare that you really know how to be filial."
The emperor turned to Yang Zhong on the sick bed and said.
"Old general, you are lucky to have such a good daughter-in-law."
"Your Majesty."
Mrs. Dugu's lips were filled with tears and tears came out.
"This slave would like to ask what crime my husband Yang Jian has committed?"
"What crime is Yang Jian guilty of?"
Emperor Yuwen Yong said.
"We are here today firstly to visit the veteran general who has worked hard and meritoriously, and secondly to relieve your family's troubles. The inspection officials we sent to Suizhou the day before yesterday have returned to the capital. They reported to us that Yang Jian is serving as the local governor and is working hard to eliminate violence and bring peace to the people. Yang Jian is not only He is innocent and has contributed to the governance of Suizhou City. After the old general fell ill, we have approved him to take leave to go home to pay attention to his father's illness, and he will be able to return soon."
"well."
The huge boulder that was pressing down on the hearts of the Yang family finally fell. Yang Zan and Mrs. Dugu knelt down again to thank the emperor. Yang Zhong, who was already like a dead tree, heard this and a tear overflowed from the corner of his eye.
The next day, Yu Wenhu selected four maids of about the same age, height, and good looks in his mansion. They were named Huimei, Huilan, Huizhu, and Huiju according to the year of their birth. They were sent to Yanshou Hall by Hou Longen. Become a maid to the emperor's side.
The names of the four new palace maids are easy to remember. After several days, the emperor still didn't quite get the names. After the afternoon court, the emperor and Yuwen Xiaobo were playing chess in the study. One of the four palace maids was brewing next to him. Tea and water were served while the chess game progressed to the intense point in the middle of the game. The emperor took a small step in the lower left corner of the chess board.
The palace maid who was refilling the water next to her suddenly let out a breath of air.
"Your Majesty should not act like this."
Her behavior immediately caught the attention of Yuwen Xiaobo. He raised his head and asked the palace maid.
"Can you play chess?"
The palace maid's face suddenly turned pale and she covered it up in panic.
"Slave can't."
"Won't?"
Yuwen Xiaobo slapped a white piece between his fingers on the chessboard and looked directly at the palace maid with a sinister look.
"Why would you lie if you obviously know how to do it?"
The emperor felt that Yuwen Xiaobo was too abrupt, so he came to the rescue for the maid.
"It's true, Aiqing. How can a servant say she can play chess?"
"Not only does she know how to play chess, but her skills are far superior to yours and mine."
"This slave deserves to die."
The palace maid screamed and knelt on the ground, banging her head like garlic.
Yuwen Xiaobo felt that his words were too harsh, so he gently comforted the palace maid.
"Actually, it's not a bad thing to be able to play chess. You just have to say no."
The palace maid cried and finally told the whole story.
The palace maid named Huizhu was born into a rich family. She studied and learned chess with the boy in the mansion since she was a child. Later, her father and Shan Yutong conspired to kidnap Pei Bofeng's son Pei Ding and it was revealed that their home was confiscated and the family fell into ruin.
Shan Yutong had always wanted to build a private manor, but he had very little money to spend, so he approached Huizhu's father to discuss it.
"Three generations of the Pei family have been officials, rich and unkind and have exploited the people for a long time. We want to kidnap Pei Ding and demand a ransom from his father. This counts as venting anger on the people. How about we do it?"
"How much money will I get?"
"I made a rough estimate to build the manor at least 200,000 gold. I will ask him for 1 million gold. As long as you help me deduct the 200,000 gold, the rest will be yours."
The two hit it off. The next morning, Shan Yutong and his men ambush Pei Ding on his way to work. When he saw Pei Ding coming on horseback, Shan Yutong saw that the time was right, jumped up and knocked down Pei Ding Huizhu's father. He rushed forward with his men and horses. Kidnapped and taken away.
The news reached Pei Bofeng's ears in half an hour. Pei Bofeng was a hussar general of the Northern Zhou Dynasty and the minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs. He had an iron square branch weighing 280 kilograms and had been an official in the court for more than 30 years. He had a lot of property and fertile land.
When Pei Bofeng heard the news that his beloved son had been kidnapped, he ignored his family's advice and went to Shan Yutong's Mutual Protection City alone to ask for help.
"Single thief, do you know this is my realm?"
"Brother Pei, we are tight on money these days. You have been an official for so many years and I know that you have a lot of money. Without further ado, I will lend you 1 million gold flowers today and let your son go. Otherwise, I will capture you too."
"Single thief, it's inappropriate for you to be an official. You want to be the chief executive of the eighteen provinces of Kyushu. We will capture you for the imperial court today."
Pei Bofeng rushed forward and hit his head with an iron square spear, only to hear Shan Yutong shout.
"not good."
Shan Yutong stretched out his arm to block the hammer from his left hand, which was hitting Pei Bofeng's chest. Unexpectedly, the two of them were not in the same weight class. Pei Bofeng deflected the sledgehammer and hit his head. It was Pei Bofeng's opponent, Shan Yutong, who was beaten several times. He was so dizzy that he broke the horse's leg, so he pulled the reins and ran away.
Pei Bofeng rescued his son and sued the two to the court. Shan Yutong was exonerated by Yu Wenhu. Huizhu's father was accused of conspiring to harm good people and his family property was confiscated. He was also beheaded in the market. The family members were used as slaves and fell into Yuwen Hu's house. slave girl.
This time, the Grand Chief sent the four of them to the palace to serve the emperor but left her alone with a task.
"You should pay more attention to His Majesty's daily life and walks, especially to see which civil and military officials come to visit His Majesty."
After Huizhu finished speaking, the emperor and Yuwen Xiaobo did not find it strange. They had long expected that Yuwen Hu would use this trick, but instead comforted the shocked Huizhu.
"It's okay, just don't take it to your heart and explain it clearly."
The emperor said slightly puzzled.
"Uncle Xiao, how did you know that Huizhu can play chess?"
Yuwen Xiaobo pointed at Huizhu and said.
"Let her speak for herself."
Huizhu, who had been slightly calm just now, suddenly turned pale with fright. Seeing that she was frightened, Yuwen Xiaobo had no choice but to say it himself.
"The move that Your Majesty made just now seemed so fierce that it was about to break our white stone. In fact, it was missed and was equivalent to a useless move. As soon as Your Majesty made the move, she let out a breath of air. This fully demonstrated that she knew how to do it. Let’s play chess.”
"Have we made a useless move?"
The emperor was puzzled and turned to look at Huizhu and asked.
"Is Uncle Xiao right? Come and show it to us to see who wins."
Huizhu hesitated for a moment and moved the white stone that Yuwen Xiaobo had just patted on the chessboard to the right of the emperor's black stone. The emperor thought for a moment and shot a black stone to counterattack. Huizhu picked up a white stone from the chess jar. Elegantly photographed on the chessboard, the two sides were fighting back and forth.
When it was time for Huizhu to play again, she held the chess piece high in her hands and refused to let it fall.
"Why don't you make the move when it's your turn?"
"What else are you going to do?"
Yuwen Xiaobo said with a smile.
"Your Majesty, this chess piece is already dead."
Huizhu once again felt that disaster was coming and fell to his knees.
"What are you afraid of? Get up quickly."
The emperor smiled.
"Your chess skills are really great. We have to accept you as our teacher. In the future, you can teach us a few moves when we have free time. Also, you can still do what the CEO asked you to do. I am afraid that the CEO will do this." We are tired of seeing so many people for what we do, but don’t talk about today’s matter to outsiders, let alone your sisters.”
Yang Jian, who was far away in Suizhou, was allowed to leave his post and return to his hometown to take care of his seriously ill father Li Shun, but he felt something was wrong.
"Brother, if you leave like this, you will lose your real power. You will inevitably encounter villains outside who will interfere with your life."
The Grand Chief Yu Wenhu had originally sent another official to replace Yang Jian, but Yang Jian listened to Li Shun's words and reported to the court.
"We have some unfinished business during our term that we need a familiar official to take over. I boldly recommend Fan Wei to take over the post of governor on our behalf."
After taking care of some trivial matters during his term of office, Yang Jian returned to his residence and invited Li Shun to confess his inner feelings.
"Although Fan Wei has been following us, today is different from the past. After we leave, you must keep an eye on Fan Wei. If we need you to go with us tomorrow, then you should find one of our confidants to keep an eye on him."
"Do not worry."
Before leaving again, Yang Jian, accompanied by the new governor Fan Wei, went to Dahong Mountain before leaving. Just as Fan Wei once predicted to Yu Wenxian, the endless farmland as far as the eye could see was already a wave of golden rice, which was intoxicating.
The canals and dams built by Fan Wei have withstood the test of floods during this year's plum rainy season. Yang Jian can finally return home with great satisfaction.
The team returning to the capital passed by Xiangzhou Pang Huang and hosted a banquet for Yang Jian alone that night. The two old friends who had gone through a lot of ups and downs finally had an opportunity to share their hearts.
Yang Jian picked up the wine glass, took a sip of wine, stretched his limbs and then said.
"Well, it's better to be without an official. Once I explained the matter to Fan Wei, we felt relieved."
"We don't think so. This may be just a temporary thought of my dear friend."
Pang Huang filled Yang Jian's wine glass and continued.
"Brother's heart is no longer in the position of governor. He has long been looking forward to flying away."
"No, no, no, I don't dare to say that."
Yang Jian immediately denied it.
"You don't know that we have been disillusioned with fame and fortune since we suffered a series of misfortunes in the capital."
"Come on, we've known each other since we were classmates at Taixue University. How can your little Jiujiu hide this from me?"
Pang Huang said disapprovingly.
"When I was studying in Taixue, I only thought that you had good kung fu. In fact, at that time, even the martial brothers of Xianbei were in awe of you. This time you served in Suizhou, we have truly experienced your wisdom and talent. My dear brother, As you have a promising future, don’t forget your former classmates and friends.”
"What you said is really embarrassing for us."
Yang Jian drank the newly filled glass of wine and said.
"Do you know how we came to Suizhou?"
"He was appointed by the Holy Spirit."
"No, our going to Suizhou was a decision that His Majesty was not allowed to make because of our repeated begging."
Then Yang Jian revealed and talked about the several times he was jealous of Yu Wenhu and almost died while drinking.
"Can't you see at all that the three imperial missions to Suizhou this time were clearly aimed at Yang Jian? It was only because of the final development of the matter that the Grand Chief wanted us to escape. Such a situation The Grand Chief may hate me even more when he comes. Think about it, do we still dare to hope for a smooth career in the future? To be honest, I am returning to the capital this time just to get out of officialdom completely by taking care of my father. That’s all, we still don’t know whether we can escape Yu Wenhu’s care in the end.”
After a while of silence, Pang Huang patted Yang Jian on the shoulder and said.
"A person's life is growing up. You are only in your early 30s. I believe that within a few years you will witness a completely new style of the court. Who among us doesn't know that the mother was born and raised by the father? I don't want to see the corruption behind the court. People are here. You have to bow your head under the eaves. There are some things you dare to say, but you can't say them. Maybe you can escape the disaster and things will turn out differently."
The next day, Yang Jian and Pang Huang said goodbye in Xiangzhou. The scorching sun in early autumn was still as hot as fire. When Yang Jian returned to Beijing, his team had to get up early and rush on the road.
Find a place to have a casual meal at noon, rest for a few hours, wait until the sun turns west, then drive for a while until it gets dark before checking into the hotel.
By chance, the team returning to Beijing ended up in a remote place with no village or shop, so they made their own meals and pitched tents to rest. The group of people were all veterans who had experienced many battles and were accustomed to the current situation.
The next day, a baggage truck broke down on the way and the repairs delayed the departure time. When the mist came, the team happened to reach a deserted village next to a creek.
Yang Jian looked at the sky and knew it was a little early to start the journey, but he couldn't bear to part with the good water in front of him, so he said.
"Let's rest here today. Everyone can go to the stream and take a bath. Just get up early tomorrow."
Everyone then got busy. Some took out the tools from the car and selected a spot on the ground to build a tent. Some built a base and collected firewood to prepare for dinner. The driver unloaded the horse from the car and took it to the stream to drink water and eat grass.
Yang Jian handed his mount to a guard and said to Li Shun.
"Come on, let's take a stroll along the stream like the fisherman in the Peach Blossom Spring."
There was a road beside the stream. The trees on both sides of the road had been cut down. Not long after they walked along the stream, the gurgling stream suddenly made a sharp turn and went along the road and disappeared into the mountains on the side.
So they abandoned the road and walked along the stream. The stream was covered with weeds and shrubs. They could not identify who had laid a layer of solid stone slabs at what time. It was like the stone path they had walked when they first entered the Prajna Temple when they were young. .
Yang Jian and Li Shun walked along both the stream and the unclearly visible stone path.
"Guess whether what awaits us when we return home this time is good or bad."
"We can't tell fortunes if you can't guess."
Li Shun added casually.
"You have gone through all the ups and downs over the years and survived the disaster. What else can happen when you return home?"
Yang Jian said.
"That's not necessarily true. You could accidentally stagger your feet while walking on a flat road."
"You learn from mistakes. You should stay at home this time and minimize socializing. Yu Wenhu has a lot of things to deal with. He might forget about you in a second."
"hope so."
The two people walked forward, and the vegetation became more and more dense, like blocking the sky and the sun. Yang Jian stood here and hesitated.
"Let's go back."
When the two were about to turn around, Li Shun suddenly pointed forward.
"Look quickly."
