At night, in Chang'an City, which was still as bustling as before, several wet figures emerged from the still cold and biting Qujiang waterway. Amidst the sound of clocks chiming the time and the sound of drums on the street, Wuhou and the guards who were waiting for patrols with lanterns walked away one after another, and then they quietly rolled ashore with dripping water.
Then, under the cover of the deep and dense barrier trees and flower bushes, it disappeared quietly under the wall bordering Qujiang Palace and Furong Garden. When they reappeared, they had passed through many courtyards and gardens beside Qujiang Pool and appeared outside a high wall with dim lights.
Immediately afterwards, these people with hooded faces were seen clinging to the hard wall like geckos; the next moment, as if they had received a void relay, they were crawling up quickly with their hands and feet. There were about two people in this area. It is surrounded by a wall more than ten feet high; and it climbs over the wall like flowing clouds and flowing water.
However, after a moment, a short and fierce noise suddenly sounded inside, as well as the muffled sound of heavy impact and the sound of metal breaking and brittle. Then everything fell silent again; only the dim moonlight and the shadow of the trees were left. Between the whirling sounds, there was the sound of the wind and the rustling of the trees.
A moment later, a large mass of sludge was suddenly pushed out of a ditch outlet outside the wall. Only the last survivor, covered in filth, came in like a worm. He is the notorious former leader of a gang of thieves in Hejian, nicknamed "Flying Cat" Tao Ziwen.
As a giant thief who has been roaming the river for decades; he is actually an orphan without a father or mother. He has followed a country sideshow gang since he was a child; he can rely on his body to dislocate into various strange postures, selling He earns rewards miserably and also works part-time as a pickpocket.
Until he stole from an old lurking bandit and was caught red-handed; at the same time, he killed all the vaudeville gang, leaving only him alive. As a price, Tao Ziwen was trained by this old thief and used his unusually flexible bones to sneak into narrow places and steal.
But it wasn't until he was nearly an adult that he saw a chance for the old thief to relax for a moment. He teamed up with other enslaved and driven young men and women to drown the drunken old thief alive in his sleep with a wet cloth soaked in water. He also took over the responsibility. The old thief's foundation became the leader of this group of thieves.
Although Tao Ziwen and his gang of thieves have always been known in Jianghu legends as only seeking wealth rather than life; but this is just a means to deceive victims and reduce their will to resist. In fact, he showed no mercy when it was time to silence him; he even raped women and children before killing them and abandoning their bodies.
It's just because he was so clever at disguising himself afterward and passing on all kinds of atrocities to other real and fake colleagues; while he was squandering alcohol and wine every time he succeeded, he occasionally leaked some residue from his hands and sprinkled some small favors. Among the poor, a reputation as a knight-errant was created.
Therefore, he has been living at ease for several years. Even though the victims are many officials and rich people, he has always been outside the law. It wasn't until one of his companions was impatient with this kind of life and dissatisfied with him taking most of the benefits, that he went to the government for a reward for his surrender. Only then was he arrested and sentenced to execution.
But what happened next was completely unexpected. Tao Ziwen saw with his own eyes that his substitute was sent to the execution platform of Qiu Jue and beheaded with a knife; the cause and effect of the first half of his life was completely cut off. Next, he was forced to become a member of a secret society in Hedong and continued to develop his stealing skills.
However, the targets and objects he needs to steal have changed from wealthy merchants in the market to serving local officials, wealthy families, and even individual relatives and noble families. As a result, he received extraordinary enjoyment and rewards from the secret society to which he belonged.
Until the sudden change in the celestial phenomena a few years ago, not only caused disasters and chaos in the world, but also brought about unusual invisible changes in him. Due to the bone-shrinking skills that he had established in adulthood, he was able to go a step further, allowing his body to snake like a snake and climb the cliff.
He can even easily twist and deform, extend his limbs and torso, and walk in and out of small gaps; thus, he has successfully completed several strange and major cases. This time, he was ordered to sneak into Chang'an City in pieces, but in order to explore and steal items from a private house.
However, they did not know that they had broken into this time. What a purgatory on earth. The moment they entered the back garden, the lush green trees suddenly became active, knocking them to the ground unexpectedly, or knocking them to the ground. It circled around the ankles and calves, and hung upside down in the air.
But what is even more frightening is that the stone sculptures scattered among these activated trees also quietly come to life under the dim moonlight that penetrates the clouds; like real beasts, they can't dodge those who can't escape. His accomplices threw themselves to the ground and started biting him viciously.
They didn't even have time to utter short exclamations and screams before they were crushed by these activated animal-shaped stone sculptures with great weight, breaking their limbs and body bones; their heads were bitten or smashed. But the struggle and counterattack of these fierce thieves were like child's play.
The sharp daggers and daggers slashed at the opponent's body, shattering and cracking inch by inch; the thrown darts and hidden weapons also bounced away with sparks; and the humanoid stone sculpture that finally appeared even wielded a long-handled hammer and a four-sided iron mace. Smash the thieves who can't dodge into pulp, or kill them with guns.
In the end, only Tao Ziwen managed to escape from the back garden by relying on his recently awakened talent; before the rattling living stone sculptures completely surrounded him, he used the art of shrinking his bones and squeezed into the ditch. With an unimaginable foot-wide exit, he barely escaped.
But the price was the rough and convex inner wall, which was forcibly scraped and scratched all over. In addition, in order to reduce the body circumference as much as possible, the joints are staggered. Therefore, he could only wait slowly in the mud while the loose joints returned to their original positions under the inertia of self-healing.
Then Tao Ziwen saw a pair of glowing eyes suddenly appear on the edge of the ditch; he couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief. The next moment, a strong wind hit his face, and he could only reach out to shield himself when the pain caused all his roots to break. The bloody section made him scream in agony; but when he opened his mouth, a large amount of bloody foam gushed out.
But at some point, even the throat was torn and a large piece was torn off, leaving only a hole where blood was constantly spurting out... A moment later, a team patrolled to the edge of the ditch, looking for the smell of blood and saw a body half-submerged in mud and red water.
"Are there people who don't know how to live or die?" Then, the patrolling sergeants mumbled a little bit, and picked it up and put it on a cart; then they slowly cleaned up the rest of the scene. Then it dragged away as if nothing had happened.
At the same time, in the dark side of Tingliu Xiaozhu. Former female officer Jin Yu was sleeping and was awakened by some noise. I couldn't help but instinctively search under the pillow, but I couldn't find the hard and sharp iron hairpin; I couldn't help but feel shocked. Then I slowly remembered that I was not in the palace.
This is the house of her best friend where she will stay for a long time in the future. But when Jin Yu got up, put on her clothes and held a lamp, and walked to the balcony railing, she only saw a large bush of trees rustling in the night wind in the direction of the back garden; and a cat squatting on the eaves not far away, slowly licking its paws. Tabby cat.
There was also a little smile and tenderness in her eyes; she reached out and picked up a dried flower branch by the railing, trying to tease and greet the little thing, but it made it fly away without looking back. And go. However, such a delay made her unable to fall asleep anymore.
But she couldn't help but think of the Empress Dowager Yao and Shun who was as thin as a bone on the bed during her last dying moments; but her specific appearance was completely blurred and difficult to distinguish. The only thing that made her unforgettable was that the Holy Emperor led all the princes and grandsons to cry in front of her.
The name Jin Yu was given to her by the Empress Dowager Yao and Shun. It is said that it came from an old friend of hers. In fact, she was an abandoned baby. Because Liang Gong left behind a good government, she was picked up by a special nursing hall and sent to the palace when she was older, as a candidate for the lowest palace maid;
Even so, for these abandoned babies and orphans, it is a much better fate than being abandoned by unknown biological parents in the wild or on the streets, dying of cold and hunger or being buried in the belly of an animal. This has greatly reduced the number of infant drownings in the world, especially the evil custom of killing female infants.
Therefore, since she became a little sensible, she followed the old palace servants who were like her adoptive mother, going in and out of the palace; learning the skills of various chores, thinking that she would be assigned to various palaces in the future; but only a few people , Only in this way can one stand out from the group of superficial and stupid palace maids.
Become a candidate for the final level of female history. As for the vast majority of other people, they can only be like the old palace servants who discipline her throughout their lives; after many years of experience, they become an official palace servant who leads the new girls, and are content with the little food and clothing security provided by the palace. And never marry.
But as a female historian, the future would be more open; even the smallest female historian would have the opportunity to leave the palace and get married. And they also have more opportunities to come into contact with the guards serving in the palace, the bachelors serving in the palace, the officials in the battle squad, and the noble disciples.
And on top of the many female officials who were in charge of general affairs, there were female officials with serious grades and salaries. They initially had the qualifications to follow the concubines, enter and leave the palace, and visit the gardens, as well as meet the princes, kings, Daily opportunities for relatives outside the clan; to expand higher horizons and experiences.
This is why Queen Mother Yao and Shun gave these poor and helpless people more potential opportunities and kindness to change their destiny. Because, compared with those families who send their daughters to the palace to seek wealth and wealth with various motives and purposes, it is obvious that these orphan girls with simple and innocent roots are more trustworthy.
Therefore, during the several dynasties when Empress Dowager Yao and Shun were in power, these orphaned girls in the palace, known as "Splendid Daughters", guided and trained hundreds of female officials, concubines, and wives; This also extended the influence of the Empress Dowager to the princes and vassals around the world.
And Jinyu was one of the few outliers among the last batch of "Splendid Daughters" before the death of Empress Dowager Yao and Shun. Because compared to most girls of the same age who are still ignorant, she has had a natural urgency and lack of security since she was a child, and she also has a natural good appearance;
Therefore, even at a very young age, she appeared in front of the Empress Dowager Yao and Shun by chance, and left a superficial impression of their relationship. However, it was this superficial impression that gave her the opportunity to watch the last journey of the dying Empress Dowager Yao and Shun in her capacity as an escort.
It was also because of this short qualification that she stood out among the candidates for the female historians; step by step, she came from the Shangyi Bureau, Shangbao Bureau, and Shanggong Bureau; she became one of the female historians under the palace, but she also From this, we faced more complicated intrigues and personnel intrusions.
However, in this position, it is difficult to be self-reliant just by being clean and upright. Because she lacks the backing of the foreign court and the support of her natal family, she can only choose to retreat in the face of the surging malice and ask herself to become the A low-grade female officer under Shanggong Bureau;
Specially responsible for the daily life, food and clothing of those newly selected beautiful ladies and maidens. I also faced a lot of overt and covert fights, and the baptism of open and covert attacks; just like that, it was the time for the routine release from the palace. Then, add yourself to the external list without hesitation.
Because she had already found a place for herself when she was serving in the middle palace. She was one of the few boudoir friends she could be close to in her life; she was also a strong woman who could argue for her in front of many noble ladies regardless of her background; she was more willing to provide a place to stay.
Of course, even the most ordinary palace people, after deciding to release them from the palace, in addition to their existing family members and relatives, there are also many places that are willing to accept them. For example, those princes and vassal families like to accept these old people in the palace as clan members, retainers, and spouses of vassal officials.
Although, as a senior female official, she obviously has more and better choices in the palace; it is not without overtures from the clan and close ministers. Even the middle palace gave her a hint that she could actually follow the story of "The Queen Mother of Yao and Shun" and find an adoptive father with a good family background for her to choose to marry.
But after the experience of being close to the palace, and seeing too many joys, sorrows, and hatreds among the rookies in Tingye, she has given up on unrealistic longings and unnecessary extravagant hopes. In other words, since the death of the Empress Dowager Yao and Shun, the future of these "Splendid Daughters" has actually come to an end.
There is no longer a strong and far-sighted backer and power that can support orphans like them in the palace; instead, they have to bear the burden of those female officials and married women in foreign dynasties who have been suppressed by the "Queens of Yao and Shun" in disguise, as well as their noble daughters. We are facing violent backlash and reckoning.
Since the death of the "Empress Dowager Yao and Shun", everything she had worked hard to maintain for many years has gradually disintegrated uncontrollably; including the influence gathered in the inner court and the operating inertia established, Being constantly overturned and overcorrected by all parties.
In fact, the struggle in the deep palace is more cruel than that in the outer dynasty. The failure of the political struggle in the outer dynasty is the result; unless it is a heinous crime of treason, the most that can be done is to be dismissed and exiled. As long as the family bloodline can be continued, there will be a rise in the future. Opportunities, but there is no retreat from the struggle in the palace.
Once you feel that you are in a fight, you can only retreat if you don't advance. There is no reason to sit on the wall or waver. Or go one step further and become famous. Either he would become a corpse that died of a sudden illness overnight; or he would be imprisoned in a cold, windy and rainy courtyard; he would be driven mad bit by bit by chronic torture.
In fact, the same group of female officials she met had been washed away by the undercurrent of palace confinement, and now there are still very few left. And Jinyu was able to take the Queen Mother of Yao and Shun to the present palace and retire safely out of the palace; it was all thanks to the thoughtfulness of her best friend.
After she was released from the palace unexpectedly, she received temptations from several parties, both overtly and covertly. Among them were the descendants of Xu Yi's concubine, and the elderly court officials who were widowed and remarried. A royal wife; but then all the noise disappeared.
Because in full view of everyone, the person who sent someone with a green-and-white-copper carriage to pick her up outside the Yintai Gate was actually the hostess of Qingqi Garden. Then the next day, an internal edict came from the middle palace, granting her extraordinary luggage and clothing, as well as titles.
The female official who was responsible for conveying the decree congratulated her again and again with a smile on her face, hinting that she should not forget her origins, let alone the thoughtfulness and support of the Central Palace for her. Only then did Jin Yu realize how lucky her close friend was.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but hold on to the railing and sighed slightly again; then, Jin Yu couldn't help but turn around when she heard footsteps on the stairs; she saw Shun Qing in a white pocket and black skirt, holding the cat that escaped not long ago; walking slowly He walked to her side and said softly: "Madam, are you disturbed?"
"Actually, these are some arrangements made by the husband at home, mainly to guard against prying eyes and intrusions by people with ulterior motives. This is not the first time we have encountered this situation. Someone will handle it during the day, so there is no need to worry about it; Madam As long as you stay there for a long time and get used to it, there won’t be any hindrance.”
At the same time, Jiang Tian, who was invited to the banquet in a somewhat rude way, was also surrounded by more than a dozen tall and round-waisted soap-robed military officials; he walked through the straight vertical street to the north of the city and walked into a tall archway. within. However, looking at the sign on the archway made him a little surprised.
Because this is the front gate of Xingyuan in Youzhou. In addition to the palaces and forbidden gardens in the two capitals, the Heavenly Family of the Tang Dynasty also had special gardens and palaces in the other sixteen palaces. Among them, Daming City in Taiyuan Prefecture in the Land of Longxing has the highest standard, followed by Tianbao Palace in Jinguan City in Chengdu Prefecture...
Xingyuan, located in Youzhou, ranked eleventh. It was formerly Linshuo Palace, the Jicheng palace established by Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty when he conquered Goguryeo. Later, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty conquered Goguryeo again, and he built the Minzhong Temple (today's Beijing Fa) on the original site. Source Temple) to commemorate the fallen soldiers. Later generations used this to expand it again into Youzhou Xingyuan.
Although Shuoyouzhou Garden is the lowest level among many palace villas, it is still a place for receiving the Emperor's visit. Even though the Tang Dynasty had only visited it a few times in more than 200 years, and basically followed Qin Shihuang's example and offered sacrifices to the East China Sea Jieshi, it could not be used by just anyone.
