February 12, Awakening of Insects.
Perhaps in order to respond to the scene of Jingzhe, faint thunder came from the distance at dawn, and soon it started to rain lightly. The surrounding air was moist and cold, which made people feel heavy.
"Sir, please cover the man with the blanket. It's raining again." A servant in black robe covered the man on the sedan carriage with a blanket.
The man on the sedan chair was wearing a dark blue robe, his face was pale, with almost no blood, and he looked sick and weak, but he looked like the moon in winter, and the snow on the top of the iceberg was not stained by a trace of fireworks.
Although he was frail, the man sat upright, frowned and looked at the people queuing up from the Duke's Mansion in front of him, and asked softly: "Are they all here?"
The guard beside him, Fang Hou, heard this and said hurriedly: "Back to Your Highness, the sixty-seven female members of the Fu family are all here."
Duke Fu Zhonghua of the State of Lu participated in Zhao Wang Situ Li's rebellion. All the men in the family who were over fourteen years old were executed, and those under fourteen years old were exiled to the West Sea.
As for women?
Those who were not classified as lowly were all accepted as official prostitutes.
Prince Situ Ce took charge of the case.
Situ Ce raised his eyes and saw that all the children and family members in the family looked ashen and lifeless. Seeing this, he frowned deeper, closed his eyes and waved his hand.
Seeing this, Fang Hou stepped forward and ordered: "Take them all away!"
When the female members of the Fu family heard this, they cried restrainedly. They knew that what awaited them was a purgatory that was more painful than death.
The officers looked fierce and escorted them into the car.
Situ Ce sighed secretly, not wanting to see such a scene, and said in a deep voice: "Go back to the palace."
"Start driving..."
"ah--"
Before the chamberlain finished speaking, there was a commotion among the crowd. When Situ Ce looked up, he saw two forbidden soldiers capturing a girl.
"Go and have a look." Situ Ce looked ahead and frowned.
Hearing this, Fang Hou hurriedly stepped forward to check. After a while, he came over and said, "The girl wanted to commit suicide with a knife, but she was stopped."
Hearing this, Situ Ce was a little surprised. He raised his eyes again and looked at the girl in the scarlet dress. He saw that her eyes were fixed on the knife in the hand of the imperial guard and she was still trying to struggle.
His eyelids were slightly closed, with some confusion in his eyes, "Bring him here and let me take a look."
Fang Hou waved, and the girl was escorted over and forced to kneel in front of Situ Ce.
"Raise your head." Situ Ce said calmly.
Hearing this, the girl raised her head slightly, not daring to look at him, but Situ Ce also took a general look at her face. She looked about sixteen or seventeen years old. Although her face was still childish, she was still pretty and pretty, giving her a feeling of "hibiscus emerging from clear water".
How could such a weak woman dare to commit suicide with a knife just now?
"what is it call?"
"Fu Qingchu."
"Who are you Fu Zhonghua?"
"grandfather."
"Why did you seek death just now?"
"A scholar can be killed but not humiliated."
Situ Ce was deeply surprised when these words came out of the mouth of a little girl and couldn't help but laugh, "But you are a woman."
Fu Qingchu took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "Mulan Lihua was also a woman in the past, but she could also fulfill her husband's ambitions."
In the past, Hua Mulan joined the army for her father, and Fan Lihua opened up territory for the Tang Dynasty.
Hearing this, the smile on Situ Ce's face grew stronger. He lowered his eyes and looked at Fu Qingchu, but his eyes slowly turned cold, "Mulan serves the country as a father, and Lihua serves as the king and husband. Both of them are loyal and filial. They are both loyal and righteous." , You are the daughter of a rebellious minister, how can you compare to Mulan and Lihua?"
Although Situ Ce was in a weak state, he had been in a high position all year round, with one person below ten thousand people. He usually showed no anger and self-power, but now that he was angry, he felt even more oppressive. Everyone held their breath and suppressed their voices, as if everything around them was dead.
Fu Qingchu couldn't stop trembling because of fear and didn't know how to answer.
Seeing this, Situ Ce sneered: "Arrogant and ignorant!"
Fu Qingchu hurriedly bowed his head, took a deep breath, and said in a trembling tone: "My parents have suffered so much. In the early Qing Dynasty, I wished I could have been born as a boy to defend the country and guard the borders. It is better to be reduced to a lowly person for others to play with and humiliate!"
Hearing this, Situ Ce was quite surprised. A fleeting smile flashed at the corner of his mouth, "Take her down and keep an eye on her." After saying this, he no longer looked at her.
The chamberlain hurriedly shouted: "Get up and go back to the palace!"
Fu Qingchu bowed his head again and waited until Situ Ce's guard of honor had gone away before he dared to put down the words he was holding. He suddenly collapsed to the ground like a deflated skin.
The Imperial Army lifted her off the ground and put her into a prison van. Her mother, Mrs. Chen, hugged her and cried like rain.
Fu Qingchu leaned on the prison car with a dead expression on his face, watching Situ Ce's honor guard go away, tears flowing down unconsciously, despair like a tide, coming to her in waves, and she gradually couldn't breathe.
She opened her mouth and breathed rapidly, like a fish thrown on the shore. When she saw Situ Ce's honor guard disappearing around the corner, she felt great grief in her heart, wailed miserably, and fainted immediately.
…
When Fu Qingchu woke up, she only felt the back of her tongue was bitter and her mouth was full of residual medicinal taste. She couldn't help but lie beside the bed and retched.
People outside the house heard the noise and hurriedly opened the door and came in, "Is the girl awake?"
Fu Qingchu raised his eyes and saw a girl in light green clothes coming in. She looked about fifteen or sixteen years old, about the same age as her.
The girl in green helped Fu Qingchu up and asked, "Is there anything else that makes you feel uncomfortable?"
She shook her head, holding back the discomfort in her stomach, and asked hoarsely, "Where is this?"
"Musheng Villa." The girl in green said.
Hearing this, Fu Qingchu frowned slightly. He had never heard of such a place in Beijing.
"How long have I been asleep?"
"The girl had a fever all day and night, and she almost couldn't even take the medicine." The girl in green sighed and said thankfully, "Thanks to the blessing of the immortal, you are finally awake."
"I guess you took care of me?" Fu Qingchu held her hand and said sincerely grateful, "I accept that you took care of me."
"Girl, you're welcome. Just call me Luman. If you have any questions, please give me orders."
Fu Qingchu nodded, "Do you know where my family is divided?"
"When you were sent in, you were the only one. Why don't you ask Mr. Li?" Lu Man shook his head.
Hearing this, Fu Qingchu's brows furrowed even deeper. The Fu family has now become prisoners, and they are all a group of women who have no power to restrain a chicken. Do they still need to be so afraid? Thinking of this, she felt even more anxious. She grabbed Lu Man's hand and said, "Can you take me to see Mr. Li?"
Lu Man was frightened by her anxious expression. He wanted to take his hand out but couldn't. He quickly comforted him and said, "There's no rush now. I'll give you a message after my maid washes you."
Hearing this, Fu Qingchu's expression relaxed slightly, he let go of Lu Man's hand and said sorry.
Lu Man rubbed her hands and said with a smile that it was okay, "I'll help you wash up." After saying that, she reached out to help Fu Qingchu get up.
Lu Man's hands were very skillful. In a short while, she gave Fu Qingchu a simple cross bun and put on beaded flower jewelry, making him look like the third young lady of the Fu family.
"The girl is so beautiful, more beautiful than other girls." She praised sincerely.
Although he was supposed to be happy, Fu Qingchu sounded extremely bitter. He had never thought of comparing his beauty with a prostitute.
She smiled faintly and said nothing.
After washing up, there was a knock on the door, and then I heard a man outside the door say: "Miss Luman, Mr. Li asked me to ask questions. Is the girl awake in the early Qing Dynasty? The medicine has been prepared and will be delivered. ?"
"When you wake up, the medicine will be brought in. Could you please tell Mr. Li that the girl has something to ask for advice and ask him to spare some time." Qing Ge said to the outside world.
After hearing this, the people outside the door said they understood and left.
…
Not long after the boy left, he brought the medicine and said that Mr. Li had time now. If it was convenient for the girl, she could go there after drinking the medicine.
Hearing this, Fu Qingchu hurriedly drank the medicine and followed the boy.
Along the way, Fu Qingchu quietly looked at the layout of this private garden. The houses in the front and back courtyards, the veranda, the pavilion, the wind pavilion and the moon pavilion, all high up and down, all belong to each other. After walking through about seven or eight corridors, Fu Qingchu walked into a courtyard. Unexpectedly, there was another world in the courtyard.
There is a shed of Xiangfei bamboo at the entrance, and behind the bamboo is a lake. At this time, the sun is setting, and the lake is sparkling and dazzling.
"This place is too elegant." Fu Qingchu thought to himself.
The boy led them into the corridor and reached a waterside pavilion. Seeing them coming, a fat middle-aged man hurriedly bowed to the man sitting fishing in front of him and said something. Then he came out and smiled at Fu Qingchu. He said: "Girl, please come in."
Fu Qingchu glanced at the man, nodded slightly and thanked him, then lifted up the hem of his skirt and walked in. However, the further she walked in, the faster her heart beat. Her intuition told her that this Mr. Li was by no means an ordinary person.
"coming?"
Hearing the footsteps behind him, the fishing man asked calmly.
But just this sound made Fu Qingchu's legs weak with fear. Although she hasn't seen this person yet, she clearly remembers the coldness in his tone.
She hurriedly knelt down and said, "I have met His Highness the Crown Prince, and I would like to send you my regards."
Hearing this, Situ Ce laughed and said, "Get up."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
She stood up and stood with her hands down, not even daring to breathe too fast.
"What books have you read?" Situ Ce asked casually.
""Female Rules" and "Female Commandments"..."
"Lie!" Situ Ce said coldly.
Fu Qingchu was so frightened that his legs went weak and he knelt down. His tone was trembling, "Qingchu wouldn't dare!"
"I ask again, what books have you read?" This time the tone was colder than before.
Fu Qingchu took a deep breath and considered: "I have roughly read the Four Books and Five Classics, and I am currently reading the Book of Han."
Hearing this, Situ Ce was silent for a while and then asked harmoniously: "What do you think of the disaster caused by witchcraft?"
"What's wrong with the prince!" Fu Qingchu said without thinking.
Prince Liu Ju, the son of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty Liu Che and Queen Wei Zifu, was framed by Jiang Chong using witchcraft because of his rift with the treacherous minister Jiang Chong. He falsely ordered Jiang Chong to be killed in order to seize the throne, but was later suppressed and defeated by Emperor Wu. He died of suicide and was known as the "scourge of witchcraft" in history.
Framed by villains and committing suicide in despair, Liu Zhi is indeed innocent.
"Is that all?" Situ Ce asked coldly, "Fu Qingchu, the fate of your family's young female family members depends on your thoughts. You can come back to me after you think about it."
Hearing this, Fu Qingchu was shocked. She never thought that such a thing that everyone knew would be related to the fate of her family. She suddenly felt cold all over her body and was sweating like a waterfall.
