King Wen walked slowly towards the Zhao Palace. The civil and military ministers all came forward and kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty." King Wen looked at these civil and military ministers in confusion and said, "You are all exempt from the courtesy." He walked up to the station again. In front of the queen, the queen saluted and said: "Your Majesty." King Wen immediately asked: "Queen, how is white peony root?" The queen looked up at King Wen's tearful eyes, choked with sobs for a long time, and said: "Sister , it... died of illness." King Wen had no expression on his face when he heard the bad news, and he didn't know how to face it. The more this happened, the stronger King Wen became and he couldn't let the ministers around him see it. At this time, King Wen was very calm and staggered when he was going up the stone steps. Seeing this, Shang Fu rushed forward to help him. King Wen pushed Shang Fu away: "It's okay, I can walk by myself." He walked up the high stone steps resolutely.
Entering the late Queen Bai Shao's palace, what she saw was Bai Shao's cold body lying on the bed. At this time, King Wen's eyes were blurred and tears welled up in his eyes. He slowly walked up and stood in front of Bai Shao's bed. His voice trembled slightly as he spoke, "White peony! The little ant is back. Come back safely." Oh, why did you leave like this? Bai Shao! I know you have always been guilty of me. I admit that since the day we met, I have been in love with you. You and I admire each other. This Maybe it's our fate." As he spoke, tears began to flow. White peony root is indeed its true love. For the sake of white peony root, it can give up the pursuit of the road and become an official in Zhao State, giving it a stable life. Or for the sake of its stability in the harem, even if it is to be a king, it must work hard to show it. Maybe it is too affectionate. King Wen continued: "On the day you married the late king, I really hated it. It was myself I hated, not you! You are not wrong, it was my own incompetence! Bai Shao! You can still hear it now "?" The queen stood behind King Wen, and Shang Fu, who was standing next to him, said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me." King Wen wiped away the tears on both sides and said, "Okay." The queen ordered the wet nurse to bring the child over, and King Wen took the child. Hold the child in your arms. The child was very quiet in King Wen's arms, neither crying nor making trouble. King Wen looked up to the sky and said, "The late king finally has a queen. He has a queen." The queen stood behind her and said, "Your Majesty, this child doesn't have a name yet." King Wen said, "Let's call him Zhao Qian."
From then on, the yin and yang of King Wen and Bai Shao were separated. She also had no intention of going to court and stayed away from court for three days to express her condolences. She posthumously named the late Queen Bai Shao as Queen Rende Xiaowen and was buried in the royal mausoleum together with the late King Yong.
At this time, Qin and Yan had withdrawn their troops, Zhongshan also retreated without a fight, and the crisis in Zhao had been resolved. All civil and military officials gathered in the court hall, and there was a lot of discussion about this. The eunuch stood up and faced the ministers standing in the court hall, and said: "Today, the king is not feeling well. Please disperse." A courtier stood Debuted: "Isn't it just because of a woman that the king can ignore the government?" Shang Fu stood up to defend King Wen and said: "Everyone, the king is not the bug you think. I will not allow you to belittle the king. His virtue." The minister said with some worry: "Look, these memorials are piled up like a mountain. Important matters of the country cannot be delayed for a moment." Shang Fu said: "Don't worry, the king will get back on his feet." These ministers all He looked at Shang Fu and said, "Okay, Shang Fu, we all believe in you." Then they all dispersed. The eunuch stepped forward and said, "Shang Fu, please stay." Shang Fu stopped, turned around and said, "I wonder what the eunuch ordered?" The eunuch stood in front of Shang Fu and said, "The king has summoned you."
Shang Fu entered the library where King Wen lived. King Wen was sitting in front of several desks, surrounded by bookshelves, and the bookshelves were filled with letters. Shang Fu came in and kowtowed: "Your Majesty." King Wen walked up and said, "Shang Fu, you are here, come on, come on, sit down quickly." Shang Fu looked at King Wen standing in front of him. King Wen was obviously old now. A lot of hair, a head full of silver hair. King Wen's head turned gray after a night of sorrow. Shang Fu said with heartache: "Sir." After hearing this, King Wen smiled and said, "You finally call me sir." Shang Fu looked at King Wen and said, "Sir, you are old Now." King Wen said jokingly: "How can insects never grow old? Wouldn't they become monsters if they don't grow old?" Then he said: "Birth, old age, sickness and death are all natural. We can't force them. Come and sit down. Let's go." Shang Fu walked up and sat in front of several cases, and King Wen walked up and sat opposite Shang Fu. King Wen said: "Now Qin and Chu are fighting against each other, and the people of the two countries are suffering from the war." Shang Fu said: "Your Majesty, let me go as envoy to Qi and Chu." King Wen looked at Shang Fu He said: "Shang Fu! You are eloquent and eloquent. I am not as good as you. I feel more at ease if you go to Qi and Chu." Shang Fu stood up and stepped forward, kowtowed and said: "Sir, Shang Fu is going La." King Wen said, "Go ahead." Shang Fu stood up and left.
In fact, these ministers did not disperse, they all gathered in Zhao Palace. Seeing Shang Fu coming out, they all gathered around Shang Fu and asked, "The king has summoned you." Shang Fu stood among them and said, "Yes." A minister said, "What did the king say to you?" Shang Fu raised his hands and said: "Qi and Chu are fighting against each other. The king couldn't bear to see the people of the two countries suffering from the war, so he sent Shang Fu as an envoy to Qi and Chu to promote a truce between the two countries." The minister sighed. He said: "The king is benevolent and righteous!" Then the minister said again: "I want to meet the king." These ministers walked out one after another and said: "We all want to meet the king." After saying that, they went to the palace. Shang Fu wanted to stop it, but seeing this momentum, he couldn't stop it, so he just let it go.
These ministers broke into King Wen's library and knelt down: "Your Majesty." King Wen stood up and returned the salute to these ministers, saying: "You all get up." These ministers slowly stood up and stood around the desk. A minister stepped forward and asked: "Your Majesty, what kind of insect is Shang Fu?" Although Shang Fu has never been able to meet the requirements of Xiao Yi in terms of moral cultivation, his ability is obvious to all. King Wen said: "Shang Fu is good at eloquence and recognizes insects, but I am not as good as him. If you ask what Shang Fu looks like? Let's say it is a tool, like Hulian, because it has its own ability and practicality. Shang Fu, it is. They are merchants in the Wei state. I know that you scholar-bureaucrats look down on merchants like Shang Fu and have some opinions about them. But if a gentleman does not have weapons, he does not fight. If a gentleman does not fight, he does not have weapons." King Wen asked them what they wanted to ask. All the questions were asked, and their thoughts were revealed in one sentence, which made the ministers marvel. He knelt down and looked at King Wen and said: "Your Majesty, we still hope that you will return to the court. Qin and Yan have withdrawn their troops, and the crisis in our Zhao country has been resolved. I would like to ask your Majesty to decide what to do next." King Wen looked at They said after a long time: "The death of Queen Bai Shao. Bai Shao can be said to be the most important insect in my life. This cannot be said clearly in one or two sentences." After saying this, they paused for a long time and said : "If you stay away from court for three days, organize your thoughts within these three days, so that you can govern a country without chaos. I said that it must be three days after you leave court for three days. If your words and deeds are not consistent, it will be three days." Didn't you break your promise?" These ministers understood King Wen's thoughts and kowtowed together: "Your Majesty, you must take care." King Wen just nodded lightly, and these ministers withdrew together.
Shang Fu drove into the territory of Chu State. There were constant wars ahead. Qi State and Chu State were at war. The troops of the two countries were facing each other. No one could attack the other. The stalemate continued like this. There were many refugees along the way, all of them were sallow and skinny. They left their homes to escape the war and became homeless. The fields are barren and the yellow sand is long. Shang Fu sat in the car and looked at these people. A group of villagers carried backpacks and bamboo baskets, supporting the elderly and the young along the way; there were also people holding flutes, pipas, and drums performing arts along the way; some played with snakes and dogs, and performed acrobatics; some even fought and fought on the way, refusing to give in to each other; a few There are insects sitting on the ground, throwing copper coins to tell fortunes; there are also women holding rice bowls to feed their children. They were deprived of food and clothing, and countless people died of starvation along the way.
There were rioters running ahead. Shang Fu saw the rioters ahead and ordered his servants to immediately abandon the carriage and roll it down into the grass of a small mountain col. These rebels were indistinguishable from bandits. They rushed in and faced each other with swords drawn. In a bloody storm, some refugees died under their butcher's knives. They robbed the few remaining financial resources and left. These rebels are deserters who returned from the battlefield. After all these deserters have left. Shang Fu and his servant crawled out from the grass, climbed up and stood on a hill, looking at the corpses everywhere. A little baby sat among the corpses and cried loudly. There were also women crying and men crying, and sons crying for their parents. , this kind of tragic crying is endless. Shang Fu stood on the hill and said: "Let's go to Shouchun, the capital of Chu State." Their carriage was snatched away by deserters, and they had to go on foot until they came to a market town.
There are many refugees on one corner of the street. They are all homeless and living on the streets. Shang Fu stood on this street and looked at a shop directly opposite. There are many refugees surrounding the door of the shop. Even if they are driven away, they cannot be driven away. Even if they are driven away, they will come back to beg. Shang Fu walked up and asked: "Shopkeeper, where did you get so many refugees here?" The shopkeeper said very embarrassedly: "Sir, you don't know something. There is a war between Chu and Qi. What's wrong with this?" Isn't it instigated by the Qin State? The Qin State has made trouble for us, the Chu State, and our people. As long as the Qin envoys come to the Chu State, nothing good will happen." After finishing speaking, the shopkeeper sighed deeply, The market that should have been bustling has become much deserted, many shops have closed, the market is depressed, and various industries are not prosperous or even closed down. At this time, there were also unscrupulous businesses hoarding goods and raising prices. Prices skyrocketed, making people's lives unsustainable. That's why there were so many refugees on the streets, and of course there were wars. Shang Fu looked at the servants behind him and said, "Let's go in and have a rest first." Then, the two masters and servants walked in and sat in front of several tables. The shopkeeper came up to him and asked, "Sir, what do you need to eat?" Shang Fu looked at him and said, "How many meat buns and rice porridge can you get from Qin?" The shopkeeper said in shock, "Sir, you want so much." Have you finished eating?" Shang Fu said, "The store has done the work, but you won't be short of money." The store owner didn't say anything more, and just left to take care of things. Shang Fu sat in front of several cases and said: "Go and ask them all to come in." The servant walked out and said: "You all come in." These refugees greeted each other from front to back: "The great benevolent insect has a kind heart, let's all go in. "As soon as these refugees swarmed in, there were hundreds of bugs at once. The servant came forward and said, "Shop, there are a lot of insects here, so be prepared." The shop owner was very happy because a rich man came here. As long as he made money, he would be happy no matter what. , said happily: "Wait a moment, I'll be here soon." The hall in the shop was full of insects, and the usually deserted hotel became much more lively. Looking at the crowd of guests. Shang Fu looked at a young man and asked: "Where are you a refugee?" The young man replied: "We are all residents along the lower reaches of the Yellow River, and they are residents north of the Huai River. Qi and Chu are constantly fighting. In order to escape The war is raging, so we have to flee here." Shang Fu looked at these refugees, feeling very uncomfortable and didn't know what to say. Then the meat buns were served. Shang Fu looked at them and said, "You all can eat."
