The midday sun shines on the city of Chang'an, and the old fortune teller leads his granddaughter on a busy street.
Among the pedestrians coming and going, you can often see old men dressed in fine clothes and exuding the aura of a superior, or chariots carrying the banner of a top family.
And it can be clearly noticed that soldiers patrol the streets much more frequently than in the past. You can almost run into a group of heavily armed soldiers just by turning around the street.
The old fortune teller was stroking his mustache and walking unsteadily, while the little granddaughter was concentrating on nibbling the candied haws in her hand.
"It's different now that the new emperor has ascended the throne. The atmosphere in Chang'an City has taken on a new look, but I just don't know if this emperor's town can control Jiuzhou anymore." The old fortune teller muttered with his teeth almost falling out of his mouth. .
His granddaughter, who was holding his hand, ignored him and stared directly at the candied haws with resentful eyes.
"The vendor who sells this candied haws is so evil! I don't know how long the candy has been there, but I still take it out to use! My teeth are about to be stuck!" said the granddaughter while holding up the half-eaten candied haws in her hand. , while raising his head and opening his mouth.
I saw two rows of white teeth covered with light red sugar strands.
It can be seen that this candy is extremely sticky to the teeth, and it is difficult for my granddaughter to even open her mouth wide.
The old man took the candied haws and stuffed it into his mouth without any care. He didn't have many teeth left, so he could only suck the sugar on the candied haws, feeling the slightest hint of sweetness.
"You...you are not allowed to finish eating, I still want to eat!" The granddaughter jumped up with all her strength, trying to snatch the candied haws from the old man's hand.
The old man turned around and hid, still holding the candied haws in his mouth, with a look of pride and satisfaction on his face.
The grandfather and grandson were arguing and arguing on the street, bumping into this person from time to time, and bumping into that person, which made everyone look sideways and extremely dissatisfied.
"Official duties are being carried out above, and idlers are strictly prohibited from messing around here!" An official called out to my grandson with a serious look on his face.
The old man nodded and bowed to the official, and then returned the candied haws to his granddaughter.
Seeing that the grandfather and grandson were very knowledgeable, the officials no longer paid attention to them.
The old man stood on the street and watched from a distance. He saw that the God of Wealth Hall, which used to be magnificent and full of people, was now surrounded by a large group of officials, and many government servants were moving items out of it.
And the majestic golden plaque that was originally hung at the door and was the symbol of the God of Wealth Hall has long since disappeared.
Every piece of valuable exquisite decoration, even the wall tiles and floors made of gold and crystal, triggered a rush by the government officials.
"My lord, why did this wonderful God of Wealth Hall become like this?" the old man asked curiously.
The officer said angrily, "It's none of your business. If you keep wandering around here, be careful and I'll put you in jail. You'll be in trouble then!"
As he spoke, the official looked fiercely at the old man's granddaughter.
However, the granddaughter was not frightened by his appearance. Instead, she made a face at him.
The official was immediately furious and rolled up his sleeves to get angry. The old man immediately came forward with a smile on his face.
"Master, my granddaughter is ignorant, please calm down, calm down!"
The old man smiled apologetically and reached out to hold the officer's hand.
The officer instinctively wanted to break free from the old man's skinny hand, but for some reason, he struggled and failed to break free from the old man's skinny hand.
"You're so cunning..." Before the officer could finish his words, he felt a small hard mass being pushed from the old man's hand into his palm.
The old man squeezed the officer's hand and then took two steps back.
The official was stunned for a moment, carefully put his hands into his arms, and took another furtive glance.
The shining gold instantly lit up his eyes.
"Ahem!" Guan Cha coughed twice, glanced at the old man who was looking at him eagerly, and then turned his attention to the little girl who was still eating candied haws with a sad look on her face.
"Since it's a little girl who is ignorant, then I have a lot of experience and I don't have the same experience as her."
The old man smiled apologetically, nodded and said, "Thank you sir, thank you sir."
The little girl on the side rolled her eyes at the two men, with disdain written on her face.
"Well, sir, can you tell the little old man now what exactly happened at the God of Wealth Hall in front of you?" the old man asked with a smile.
The official blinked and then pointed at the old man with his finger, just like the girls in Feng Lai Tower ogling the guests.
The old man chuckled, walked up to the official again, and "shaked hands" with him.
Another piece of gold fell into his arms, and the smile on the officer's face became even brighter.
"Well..." The official looked around carefully and then approached the old man.
"Actually, we also came here after listening to the instructions from the people above. They said that this God of Wealth Hall gathers people to gamble, and some people smoke cigarettes inside, which ruins the atmosphere of Chang'an, so this God of Wealth Hall will be sealed today. "
The old man nodded thoughtfully.
"To be honest, we are all used to this kind of thing. Behind this is nothing more than the collapse of the backstage of the God of Wealth Hall. The unattended Jinshan naturally cannot escape the bandits who have been coveting the Jinshan for a long time." The official yawned and said, "What a pity. Ah, people like us who don’t have a backstage can only stand outside and watch others profit from it. These days, everything you do in Chang’an has to be done behind the scenes!”
The old man nodded and said, "That's true. In the past, I always hoped that my son would be more successful than me, hoping that my son would be more promising than me and be able to do great things. But it's no longer the case now. I always hope that my father will succeed, and I hope that I can have a good father. Even if If you don’t get a good pregnancy and don’t have a good father, you have to work hard to find a good godfather.”
The old man and the official looked at each other in silence, sighing for a while, like a pair of close friends in the mountains and rivers.
At the same time, Qinxin Palace.
Li Qinxi sat at the table, holding her forehead with one hand, her dark eyebrows frowning, and her face full of sadness.
The maid walked over cautiously and saluted, "Your Majesty!"
Li Qinxi sighed and said, "Did Concubine Liu Guifei send someone here again?"
"Yes, she sent someone to invite the queen to watch the new emperor's coronation ceremony."
Cough cough cough
Li Qinxi coughed while covering her chest, and her already pale face became even paler.
Zhang Wenling came in with a bowl of mung bean paste and said, "Tell them that the empress is not feeling well and will not go."
"Yes!" The maid bowed and left.
Zhang Wenling came to Li Qinxi with mung bean paste and said, "Mother, I have made you a bowl of mung bean paste. You can try it!"
Li Qinxi raised her head tiredly, and Zhang Wenling couldn't bear to look at the heartbreaking melancholy on her beautiful face.
Seeing that Li Qinxi didn't move for a long time, Zhang Wenling carefully scooped up a spoonful of mung bean paste and handed it to Li Qinxi's mouth.
"Mother, drink some! Drink some mung bean paste in this summer to clear away heat and detoxify, nourish your skin and reduce internal heat." Zhang Wenling said softly.
Li Qinxi pursed her bloodless lips, finally opened her mouth, and drank slowly.
Zhang Wenling showed a hint of joy on his face, and then started feeding Li Qinxi.
After a while, the bowl of mung bean paste had bottomed out.
Looking at Li Qinxi at this time, there was also some blood on his face, and his lips were not as white as before.
"Slave, please go and serve another bowl for the queen." Zhang Wenling stood up with the empty bowl in hand.
Li Qinxi shook her head, "No, one bowl is enough. Sit down and talk with me to relieve your boredom."
Zhang Wenling nodded and put the bowl in his hand aside.
"This palace has become lively since King Xiaoyao brought the fourth prince into the palace a few days ago. It's just like every time the late emperor came back from outside." Li Qinxi said slowly, "What do you mean? , how long can this excitement last?”
Zhang Wenling shook his head and said, "No one can say for sure, it may be three to five days, or it may be one or two years. But this has nothing to do with the Queen's Qinxin Palace. It is still very clean here."
"The place will be clean only when everyone leaves. It's good if you leave. No one will disturb this place after you leave..."
Zhang Wenling didn't know how to answer Li Qinxi's words for a moment, so he could only listen quietly.
"I heard that King Xiaoyao has issued a series of imperial edicts in the name of the new emperor?" Li Qinxi asked.
Zhang Wenling replied, "Yes, empress. King Xiaoyao announced yesterday..."
Zhang Wenling suddenly paused, as if he had thought of something, and did not continue to speak for a long time.
"Tell me, I already know everything about the two brothers, so there is nothing taboo about them." Li Qinxi said calmly.
Zhang Wenling sighed softly, "King Xiaoyao said that the eldest prince was leading the entire Red Dragon Army to ambush the second prince at Luofengpo. In the chaos, both the eldest prince and the second prince died.
Therefore, the fourth prince Jiang Xianfeng could only be appointed as the new emperor, and King Xiaoyao would take on the post of Grand Marshal of the Nine Provinces Soldiers and Horses, taking charge of the Nine Provinces' troops and horses, and assisting the new emperor in handling court affairs together with the Prime Minister Wang Daofan.
In addition, the entire establishment of the Red Dragon Army was abolished, and the deputy general of the Red Dragon Army An Zicheng and all the officers and soldiers of the Red Dragon Army were wanted. "
"Winning is a king and losing is a bandit, there is nothing we can do." Li Qinxi sighed and shook his head, "They all chose the path themselves. Until today, they can't blame anyone."
"Yes, but I heard that the eldest prince..." Zhang Wenling had a slight hesitation on his face, as if he was thinking about whether to continue speaking.
Li Qinxi raised her head and looked at him doubtfully, "What do you want to say?"
Zhang Wenling swallowed and said, "I think...I heard that the eldest prince just jumped off a cliff, maybe..."
Li Qinxi was stunned and lost his mind in a trance.
"Jumped off the cliff? Then he must have been forced into desperation... No! I can't go find him! If he is seen by someone who is interested, then if he really survives, with my identity, I will definitely not be able to save him, maybe It will also bring danger to him!"
Li Qinxi breathed a long sigh of relief, calmed down, and turned to look at Zhang Wenling.
Zhang Wenling was stared at by these beautiful eyes that were glowing again, and she couldn't help but look away immediately.
"Don't go looking for him. Perhaps, this time is also an opportunity for him to escape from the dark prison of Chang'an." Li Qinxi said word by word.
Zhang Wenling bowed and said yes.
Imperial mausoleum.
Yan Mo stood with his hands behind his hands. Standing on the top of the mountain, he could overlook the entire city of Chang'an.
Pointing at Chang'an City with one finger, Yan Mo asked Yan Fang behind him, "What does Chang'an City look like to you?"
Yan Fang looked around and saw that the magnificent city located on the great plain looked like a giant beast.
However, if you look closely, you can see that Chang'an City is tightly wrapped by a thick wall, as if floods and natural disasters cannot shake this ancient city with a long life.
"Like...like a cage!" Yan Fang said with twinkling eyes.
