Su Ran's trip has been full of twists and turns. He has just eliminated the powerful man in black, and here comes an old woman with an immortal spirit.
The old woman moved slowly, walked to Su Ran, and slowly knelt down. She spread the big cotton-padded jacket she held in her other hand on the path Su Ran was walking forward, and said softly, "Young man! These years have passed. , the people coming and going on Lingyu Street made the old woman's hair turn white. These people are all kinds of people, some are seeking official positions, some are seeking wealth, but you are the first to be able to get here because of this. .”
Seeing that the old woman had no ill intentions, Su Ran said warmly, "Old man, why did you block my way?"
The old woman let out a long sigh, "Don't blame the old woman for being verbose. This matter has to start with the Qin-Han War more than forty years ago!"
Su Ran knelt on the old woman's quilt, and the blood instantly stained the quilt. Su Ran took a nap and looked at the old woman quietly, ready to listen to what he had to say.
The old woman touched Su Ran's head affectionately and started talking to herself, "More than forty years ago, my husband responded to the king's order and went south to fight against the rebellion with Zu Ti, the governor, and never came back. According to our "Han Law" stipulates that those who died fighting for the country should receive pensions. I went to the government to ask for it, but the emperor's uncle Liu Gan, who was in charge of the pension distribution at that time, said that he had no money for the time being and told me to go back and wait."
Speaking of this, the old woman was a little excited, "I thought at that time, the country had just calmed down from the war, and it was a time when everything was waiting to be done. Building houses, building roads, and building bridges all required money, so I simply didn't pursue it anymore. Wanted. More than ten years later, my son joined the army and died in the rising sea in the south. I came to ask for help again. This time, the old woman didn’t even see Uncle Liu Huang, who was already Taiwei Sizhi. This year Year after year, year after year, the emperor's official position is getting bigger and bigger, and the soil in my coffin is getting higher and higher. Young man, if you can see that emperor's uncle, please ask me for this old woman, when will I get this money? Can you give it to me? Now that life is getting better, I don’t expect this five hundred baht to make me rich. However, when the old woman goes down there, she has to give an explanation to the two men, right? The money they exchanged for their lives, You can’t just disappear for no reason, can you?”
After saying this, the old woman gently lifted Su Ran up and gently wiped the wounds on his body. Su Ran fell into silence, not knowing what to say.
The old woman's voice was neither loud nor quiet, but people around her could hear her clearly.
Su Ran, who stood there silently, couldn't help but recall the hardships that the people of western Liaoning had endured in the past six years. They ate grass, gnawed trees, and were bullied. It was really unspeakable. He was filled with emotions for a while, and was stripped naked by Le Er. Staggering back to Yangle City, Su Ran didn't cry; Jin Zhao forcibly robbed the treasury of money, but Su Ran didn't cry yet; Su Ran, who was originally a pair of hands that used brushstrokes and splashes of ink, had been weaving shoes and selling mats in Liaoxi County for several years. Ran still didn't cry.
However, the breeze at this moment seemed to be filled with sentimentality, urging Su Ran to shed manly tears uncontrollably.
Su Ran sobbed a few times and regained his composure. He straightened his back, knelt down again, and solemnly said to the old woman, "The rivers, mountains, sun and stars serve as a guide. Today I am asking for your compensation at your request. I will keep my promise. The mission must be accomplished without leaving any regrets.”
The old woman nodded slightly, hunched her body, and made a way for Su Ran.
Su Ran swallowed, endured the pain in his leg, and continued to move forward. His voice became even louder, "I respect the people of western Liaoning and come here to file a complaint..."
When Su Ran knelt on the cotton-padded jacket spread by the old woman on the ground, he felt warm in his heart. When he looked up, he burst into tears. He saw that the gray brick avenue leading to the east gate of Weiyang Palace in front of him had been destroyed by various people. Cotton goods of various colors and materials are spread everywhere, and some quilts and cotton-padded clothes are still being covered by people in an endless stream.
When Su Ran saw this scene, tears welled up in his eyes. He couldn't help shouting to the sky, "Fathers from Chang'an, please help our people in Liaoxi! Elders from Chang'an, please help our people in western Liaoning!"
...
The one who knows is the beginning of action, and the one who practices knowledge is the beginning.
Su Ran's trip to Lingyu Street has developed to this point, and it should have had a satisfactory ending. Su Ran and the Nangong guards worked together to prove their determination to fight against rebellion, expose Liu Qian's disguise, and win the victory over the capital. The strong support from the people has been a fruitful and worthwhile trip.
The road ahead is in sight, the outlines of the imperial guards of Weiyang Palace are clearly visible, and the dawn of victory seems to be right in front of them.
Just as the people cheered for Su Ran in unison, the temperature of the surrounding air suddenly dropped sharply.
Opposite Su Ran, a well-proportioned middle-aged man in brocade and silk robes stepped onto the 'colorful' path paved by the common people. He paused step by step and slowly faced Su Ran.
The visitor was unkind. Nangong Guard Cheng called on the people to disperse while organizing the Nangong Guards to form a shield array again to prepare to resist the incoming attack.
The middle-aged man coming in the opposite direction was surrounded by mist, making it difficult to see the true appearance of Yunshan and distinguish between joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. However, judging from his posture and pace, he had the intention of intercepting him. The middle-aged man chuckled slightly and said to Su Ran, "The sunset is low, the cicadas are scattered, and they are making quiet noises. You can hear them clearly. Is it possible that the human heart regards the sound of insects as the first thing to hear? Mr. Su, when you are doing things, you must not blind your eyes with a leaf. ! Go back, the cause and effect here is by no means visible to you, go back now, I promise to spare your life."
"In ancient times, virtuous ministers did not care about the people. They supported their relatives so that they would not be ignored by heaven and earth. Today, the emperor Liu disturbs the world and is not worried about the people. He is actually a great rat in the prosperous age. He is a member of our generation, but Anyone with the slightest ambition will be proud to kill this thief!"
Su Ran stood upright, looking straight at the man, with a look of sullenness and determination on his face.
Seeing his linen robe flying and his silver seal trembling, everyone retorted sternly, "In the past six years, we, the people of western Liaoning, have worked hard and still have no guarantee of three meals a day. We have worked hard and still wear thin shirts in winter. You are thousands of miles away and don't have to work hard, but you are enjoying wealth and honor." "If you don't worry about life in the morning and don't worry about death in the evening, how can you know the hardships and hardships of the people? It's really a waste of words to tell you this! Get out of the way quickly, don't help the tyrants to do harm."
"Then..., everyone is their own master, no matter life or death?"
The middle-aged man murmured in a low voice, thought about it, and walked slowly towards Su Ran.
With one step, the water vapor surrounding his body suddenly atomized into ice;
In two steps, the ice crystals piled up, arranged layer by layer, and attached to form armor;
Three steps later, the man punched an empty fist in one hand and suddenly evolved an ice spear.
In this bright spring scenery, this scene was so surprising that everyone shuddered and retreated.
"kill!"
Nangong Weishicheng did not want to sit still and wait for death. He hummed, took the lead, and used a cone-shaped formation to kill the martial artist in front of him who was at least broken into the realm.
A short halberd versus an ice spear, the battle between heavenly soldiers is yet to come.
...
Weiyang Palace, front hall!
The 'boring' agenda is finally over.
After all the side dishes are served, the main course is finally served.
After Sinong Shaoqing finished talking about the farming in Bozhou, all the officials were in high spirits. Those who had been drowsy due to the earlier action also began to look around, waiting for the battle between the emperor and the emperor's uncle.
"My dear friends, do you have anything else to report?"
Liu Yan sat firmly on the high platform with a solemn expression. He looked left and then right. Seeing that the incense had been used up and no one responded, he nodded slightly to the waiter who was bowing to the right. The waiter understood the idea, covered his face with his sleeves, and He cleared his throat and said in a sharp voice: "Today's meeting at court is over. All ministers, respectfully retreat."
They are all foxes of thousands of years. The officials below did not stay much. They left the table and said "Your Majesty for ten thousand years" in unison, then turned and walked out. The moment the last official walked out, in the eyes of Liu Yan and all the officials, There was a hint of disappointment invariably.
Suddenly, the official who was the first to walk out of the hall began to salute at the steps. With a cry of "Queen Mother Qian'an", an old woman with a deep robe, a phoenix and green feathers, white beads and gold tweezers, and a bright head and pale face appeared. People slowly climbed up the steps, and all the officials bent down to salute.
This woman was Liu Yan's biological mother, the current empress dowager Guo Ke. When Liu Yan and Liu Gan saw this, their eyes suddenly shone.
The chamberlain who had just been summoned by Liu Gan and sneaked away also left and returned.
It turned out that just now Liu Gan not only sent his confidants to deliver the news outside the city, but also invited the Empress Dowager to support him.
Empress Dowager Guo Ke, born in 275 AD, was given the nickname Piaoyu, which means "the phoenix is flying, its feathers are fluttering". Guo Ke was the eldest daughter of the Guo family, a wealthy family from Guanghan County, Mingzhou. She was as beautiful as a flower in life. In 294 AD, Emperor Shenwu Liu Chen, who was over forty and still had no descendants, ordered her to enter the palace, and she was registered as Shun Chang. Guo Ke was also very ambitious. When he entered the palace, he gave birth to a son for Emperor Shenwu, Liu Yan. On the day of his birth, the star of the Taichang Temple ceremony read Liu Yan's fate and said that he would be "treacherous but not dirty, and wise but not lazy". "God bless her", Liu Chen was overjoyed, and appointed Guo as Zhaoyi, only one rank lower than the queen.
The following year, the Northern Qin invaded the country and started fighting on the border. Liu Chen decided to personally conquer the Qin Dynasty. Before leaving the capital, Liu Chen did three major things. The first was to depose the queen and make Guo the queen. He wanted to give Liu Yan A legitimate and proper title of mother and daughter to avoid repeating the rebellion of the kings that she caused when she ascended the throne unnaturally in the future. Therefore, Guo became the master of the harem after only two years in the palace. It is true that mother is more valuable than son.
Guo Keyin's appearance is considered to be of middle-to-higher level, but he has not yet reached the point of becoming the most powerful person in the country. However, he is born with great intelligence, delicate mind, and knows how to repay kindness. He is tolerant to others and strict in his daily life. He also takes into account the generosity, loyalty and bravery of the people in Bashu and Shu. , His courageous character won Liu Chen's favor. Although the battles in the harem were fierce, he was always able to move forward steadily, and finally his son Liu Yan ascended the throne.
Guo Ke never asked about temple affairs. Whether Liu Yan wanted to abolish the family or clean up the officialdom, Guo Ke always supported him silently and strictly restrained his relatives. Therefore, no one from the Guo family served as an official in the court. This not only saved Liu Yan from the hidden danger of his relatives interfering in politics, but also won a good reputation for the Laiyi Guo family led by Guo Ke.
Although Guo Ke is not involved in government affairs, whenever Liu Gan asks for something, Guo Ke will always respond.
Just because, in the last days of Emperor Shenwu Liu Chen, Guo Ke was old and declining, and gradually fell out of favor. In addition, some people with ulterior motives instigated him, so the old and dim Emperor Shenwu deliberately passed the throne to the second prince. At that time, the situation was very critical. If his brother-in-law Liu Qian, who was then the official to the rank of Taiwei Sizhi, had not joined forces with Lu Zheng to persuade the other three important ministers of the court, and they jointly said all the good things in front of Liu Chen's bed, there would be no Guo family. One clan has enlisted twenty-seven clans in the world to jointly submit a letter asking for help. There will be no quick elimination of the chaos among the princes fighting for the throne, and there will be no such aloof son as his!
If people complain about me, they can forget it after a good meal. If they are kind to me, they can never forget it.
Based on this, Guo Ke was grateful to Liu Qian. In the subconscious mind of the current empress dowager, as long as Liu Qian did not treason, he would be greedy. He helped our mother and son survive in the Jedi, control thousands of miles of land, and enjoy These splendors and splendors are all deserved.
After the ceremony, all the officials bowed and lowered their sleeves. The public gathered together, the officials gathered together, and the officials dispersed and stood on both sides of the corridor.
They each had their own thoughts and neither left nor stayed.
Seeing this scene, Guo Ke waved his sleeves and said softly, "You guys, I love the hard work you have to do at court. Go back and rest early. I will chat with Yin Hao (characterized by Liu Yan) about home affairs."
As soon as these words came out, all the officials retreated. The emperor had nothing to do with his family affairs, and he didn't know he was getting into trouble. Since Guo Ke said that mother and son wanted to talk about family affairs, there was nothing else to worry about.
After all the officials performed the rituals, they finally left in anger, with no one left.
The spacious front hall suddenly became spacious.
"Mom is here! Ouch, look at what my son did. He hasn't paid his respects to his mother for nearly half a month. What a sin!" Liu Yan took off his crown, stood up quickly, ignored Liu Gan, walked quickly to Guo Ke's side, and helped Guo Ke. His left arm slowly walked towards the middle step.
As Liu Yan walked away, he showed a sincere smile to Liu Gan. However, this seemingly harmless smile made Liu Gan's heart tingle. He felt vaguely: This time, he seemed to be on the verge of death. This is how he treated his precious nephew.
"You are a child who is born with sharp teeth. You can always use your clever mouth to open roads in the mountains and build bridges in the water. It is not just you who taught you this. Let me know and I must reward him well. "
When Liu Yan heard this, he laughed loudly and said playfully, "Then the queen mother must treat herself well!"
...
Guo Ke's fair and flawless skin showed a faint pink color. After hearing this, she pursed her lips and smiled softly, showing her girlish shyness. She looked at Liu Yan softly, her doting heart was beyond words. For his precious son, he has been growing up since childhood. When she grew up, she had never been beaten or punished. When she grew up, she allowed Liu Yan to do whatever he wanted. He silently supported Liu Yan in marrying a wife, setting national policies, appointing officials, and fighting against the family. In the eyes and ears of the empress dowager, his son was Perfect, she would never allow anyone or anything to be disadvantageous to her precious son.
During the great chaos in the capital more than ten years ago, Guo Ke happened to go to Luoyang, the attached capital, to pay homage to the Buddha. The emperor's uncle Liu Qian was not in the capital either. When Guo Ke returned to Chang'an, he was furious when he heard about the incident. He immediately summoned his clansmen and met with Lu Zheng and Liu Qian jointly donated huge sums of money to help Liu Yan quickly establish the twelve inner guards of the emperor, and they fully supported Liu Yan's move to eliminate the family.
In addition, Guo Ke is still a person who holds grudges. The empress Li Fengjiao caused chaos in the capital city with the "Sky Demon Case". For more than ten years, Guo Ke has always been grudges about it. Therefore, the Changle Palace where the empress dowager lives is different from the palace where the empress lives. There has been no contact with Changqiu Palace for more than ten years. Li Fengjiao and Guo Ke have not seen each other for ten years.
Some days ago, Feng Qizi from the harem just casually said something in his courtyard: "Your Majesty has lazy blood, spleen deficiency and kidney failure. He will return immediately after entering the body. He needs to eat more mutton and leek porridge." He was demoted five levels to normal. Every time She was beaten with ten sticks a day for thirty consecutive days, and within three months, she was only allowed to eat mutton and leek porridge.
It can be seen how much she dotes on her precious son.
...
Closer to home, Guo Ke felt distressed as she watched Liu Yan become thinner and thinner after working on state affairs in recent days. She wanted to persuade Liu Yan to take more rest, but she understood that Liu Yan's grand ambition and hegemony in his heart destined him to be a king who would be busy until death.
Thinking of this, Guo Ke chuckled slightly, pretending not to understand, "Why do you reward yourself, mother?"
"Haha, a son follows his mother and a daughter follows her father. Naturally, it is the mother who is naturally beautiful and has such a eloquent mouth as your son!"
Liu Yan supported Guo Ke and found a place for him to sit at will. Liu Yan was also very filial to Guo Ke. Since he came to the throne, no matter big or small, he must inform him in advance of Guo Ke's instructions, regardless of Liu Yan. No matter how unhappy Yan was, he did as he was told. Liu Gan had embezzled military resources and indulged his subordinates several times, but as long as Guo Ke came forward, Liu Yan was able to minimize the serious matter. Otherwise, according to Liu Yan's character of hating evil and resenting powerful officials, The little affection Liu Gan had to protect and turn the tide back then may have been used up long ago.
After Liu Yan and Guo Ke sat down, Liu Qian straightened his clothes and stepped forward to salute, "Your Majesty, Liu Qian, see the Queen Mother."
The emperor favors a wise king, and it is better to care about favors. Liu Gan believes that with Guo Ke here, the Su County Guard outside the palace cannot break the law. At most, he will be scolded by Liu Yan.
However, once this matter was settled, Liu Gan planned to strictly restrain his relatives and enjoy his old age in peace. Firstly, he has become famous in recent years and has been greedy enough. Although half of the money provided by his subordinates who are serving abroad has been dispersed to favors, it is still a lot of money, enough to squander it wantonly; secondly, favors Although strong, the love between mother and son is deeper. The little love from Conglong will be spent sooner or later, so it is better to get together and break up. Thirdly, in recent years, the temple has been gradually cleared up. Liu Qian judged that in another ten years, the world will be full of love. Power will inevitably return to the Han Dynasty. It is impossible for a gray person like himself to remain in the temple for a long time. In addition, he is too old and unable to do what he wants. It is better to take advantage of this little bit of affection, work for a few more years, and then retire with dignity. Court.
As he thought about it, Liu Qian had mixed feelings in his heart. One was happy that the empire had been reborn, and the other was sad for himself. They were both bitter and sweet at the same time.
"Brother-in-law, please get up quickly. My family doesn't need to care about these etiquettes."
Guo Ke sat in Lu Zheng's court meeting position, and no one moved after the sound fell. Liu Yan and Liu Qian stood side by side opposite Guo, one laughing and joking, the other bowing his head and saying nothing.
"Spring has arrived. The sun is shining brightly, the jade flowers are blooming, and the eyes are full of spring. The sun is shining brightly today, so I thought of going out for a walk. The plan for the year is spring. I know that you are busy with official duties and have no time to spare, so I came here to take a look. , you guys, don’t work too hard for work, you should balance work and rest, right?" Guo Ke was gentle in the misty rain, and the atmosphere gradually eased, and the uncle, nephew, mother and son, wife and brother began to carefully and skillfully find topics to talk about.
"Yan'er, mother plans to plant a Davidia tree in the harem. As you know, the Davidia tree is a famous specialty tree in your mother's hometown. Hey, now that you are getting older, the people and scenery of your hometown often come to mind. There seems to be some truth in the saying that people are not as good as before, and their appearance is not as good as before."
Guo Ke started to introduce the topic intentionally or unintentionally.
"Mingzhou has rivers, fertile fields, mountains, forests, bamboos, trees, vegetables, fruits, and the famous Davidia tree. It is truly a treasure land of heaven. By the way, isn't my huge Chang'an city also within Mingzhou! Haha, harem Everything is entirely up to my mother, so I won’t have to interfere too much. I’ll just run around the temple.”
Liu Yanchunfeng was gentle and neither refuted nor agreed, but Guo Ke and Liu Qian heard the second meaning of these words very clearly.
Liu Yan's implicit meaning was: I don't care about the affairs of the harem, and my mother shouldn't ask too much about the affairs of the court.
"My son is reasonable. The next day, my mother sent someone to bring one back. Hey, no matter how things change in the world, relatives will always be relatives. The blood connection becomes stronger the older you get. Yesterday, my uncle sent someone to come to you. Your Majesty. In recent years, canals and roads have been built to finance the military, and the state treasury must be running low. The red walls of the Emperor's Palace are mottled, the mud is falling off, and the bricks and tiles have lost their color. This year, I plan to spend my own money to build Changle, Jianzhang, Weiyang, and Tong. Guangsi Palace should be renovated. The last time it was renovated was when you ascended the throne."
Guo Ke stood up and straightened Liu Yan's clothes, then turned back to Liu Qian and said, "It's a waste of money for my uncle!"
"Your Majesty, one family does not speak the same language as the other two families. You are a little foreign when you say this!"
Liu Gan chuckled, but felt a pang in his heart. This time he renovated the palace, and he was afraid that all the coffins he had accumulated for many years would have to be dug out and used. It seemed that the Queen Mother was a little dissatisfied with him for asking for help this time, and wanted to give him some punishment.
"What do you think, Yan'er." Guo Ke turned around and looked at Liu Yan with Liu Gan.
"Okay!" Liu Yan pretended to be embarrassed, pretended to think over and over again, and finally agreed.
Accepting this matter is tantamount to rejecting the person outside the East Palace who is at the moment of life and death!
Liu Gan's heartstrings trembled and then relaxed again. This time he lost money and avoided disaster, and he escaped another disaster.
"Mom, the sky is clear today. I see hundreds of officials gathered around the East Palace. It seems like there is a lot of excitement to be seen. Why don't we go for a walk together?" Liu Yanming turned his eyes and said softly to Guo Ke.
Seeing that things were going so smoothly, Guo Ke readily agreed, "Haha, okay! Okay! Mom will walk around with you and join in the fun!"
Liu Yan supported Guo Ke and said to Liu Gan along the way, "Uncle Emperor, please!"
Liu Qianwei Nuonuo, "..., Nuo!"
Since the Queen Mother had confessed her love, Your Majesty had made a promise, and she had paid the price, I believe that even if the Queen Mother saw the scene outside the city, she would not regret it. Liu Gan hesitated and then left with the two of them.
