"How are you, Queen Mother?" Lu Qin and the middle-aged nanny followed the two girls who were talking and laughing from a distance.
"The Queen Mother's body is fine. Thank you, Lord Lu, for your concern." The middle-aged nanny was still very polite to Lu Qin.
Not only she, but also the Empress Dowager took great care of the Lu family. When the late emperor was still alive, Lu Qin was his loyal minister and his right-hand man in the court. The old emperor held banquets in the harem several times and invited Lu Qin to accompany him, and he was very familiar with the current queen mother.
The Queen Mother is also aware of Lu Qin's current difficult situation. She once said bad things about the Lu family in front of her son. She is the only force in the palace that still maintains a close relationship with the Lu family.
"I ordered people to stay in Changbai Mountain for three years, and finally collected a few hundred-year-old wild ginseng, and they are rushing to deliver it. If nothing goes wrong, they can be delivered to the Queen Mother before the Mid-Autumn Festival."
"Master Lu's thoughts will definitely be conveyed to the Queen Mother."
"Auntie Laoye!"
While Lu Qin was speaking, he took out a few gold leaves from his sleeves and handed them to the woman beside him calmly.
...
"By the way, sister, has Liu Zhuangyuan accompanied you to the capital?"
The girl in skirt took the bait from Lu Qingyan's hand, threw out a handful, and teased the koi that jumped out with a smile.
"I think it's time for Your Majesty to find you a consort!"
Lu Qingyan smiled softly and cleverly changed the topic.
"I don't want it. The emperor's brother and mother-in-law looked for at least ten for me, but I didn't like any of them."
"You are a princess, so of course ordinary people can't get in your eyes."
"That's not right. The most important thing in a relationship is to be happy with each other. It's very difficult to find someone like this when you are born in an emperor's family. People around you are either flatterers or idiots who only cause trouble. It's very boring!"
"There's nothing you can do about it. Even if a young man, Toshiyan, really likes you, he doesn't dare to reveal his feelings because of your status."
"Sometimes when I think about it, I really don't want to be the princess of Laoshizi. There are too many rules and I don't feel free."
"You're saying something stupid again, aren't you?"
"Sister, look at the princesses in the past dynasties. How many of them were happy? They were either sent to marry foreigners, or they were betrothed to the descendants of heroes and generals, and became bargaining chips under power."
"You are different. The Queen Mother and the Holy Emperor dote on you so much, how can they bear to do so?"
When the girl heard the words, she showed a slightly bitter smile. She held up her chin with her hands, and her eyebrows were filled with sadness. More and more fish gathered at her feet, with their mouths wide open, waiting to be fed, but she turned a blind eye.
"Sister, I don't know. It's true that my mother dotes on me. My brother, the emperor, doesn't dote on me at all. He spends all day with the old eunuch..."
Speaking of this, the girl in the floral dress suddenly fell silent, obviously realizing that something was wrong.
Lu Qingyan smiled slightly: "The emperor is busy with everything and has the world in mind. How can he put so much energy on personal affairs? How about I help you choose a husband later?"
The girl immediately smiled: "It would be great if Sister Lu helps me check it. The person you fall in love with will definitely be right in all aspects!"
"I wonder what the princess likes"
"Well... first of all, this man's appearance must be outstanding. He can't be too rough, nor too feminine. It's best to have sharp edges and corners that make people like him more and more. His temperament must also be unique and outstanding, but this Human beings are often too aloof and arrogant. He must be polite and courteous in dealing with others, and he must be good at both civil and military skills. Not only must he be talented in literature, but he must also be good at martial arts. In this way, we don’t have to bring so many guards when we go out on weekdays, and we must not be too obsessed with fame and wealth. Passionate, otherwise he may get burned. The last one is a good temper. With my status, it is inevitable that I will be willful and arrogant, so he must be broad-minded and forgiving."
The girl who talked so much incessantly glanced at Lu Qingyan with a wry smile on her face, and murmured in a low voice: "I...I also know that there is no such person in the world, but at least he must meet most of my requirements. Bar."
The girl hesitated for a while, and when she saw Lu Qingyan was silent, she couldn't help but pick up her arm and start acting coquettishly:
"Oh my dear sister, don't laugh at me!"
Lu Qingyan smiled and grabbed those white and tender hands.
"Okay, okay, if you can't find it, I'll draw one for you."
"Thank you, Sister Lu." The girl was overjoyed and buried her head into Lu Qingyan's arms.
Lu Qingyan, who touched this clingy little head with a smile on her face, could not hide the mixed emotions in her eyes.
When the princess was describing the perfect consort in her heart, that person's figure involuntarily appeared in Lu Qingyan's mind...
I don’t know where the love started, but it goes deep!
When Uncle Fang appeared, Pei Liang was about to take Yaoniang out of the library.
"I've met senior!"
Pei Liang was not surprised and saluted with clasped fists.
"The master asked me to inform you not to come out for the time being. A princess from the court is visiting, and I don't want her to see the secrets of the underground palace."
Pei Liang nodded and said he understood.
"Which princess?"
When Yaoniang heard that she was a princess, she showed great interest.
Uncle Fang smiled and said: "She is the daughter of the late emperor and the only sister of the current emperor. She is titled Princess Chen. She has just reached the age of hair and is quite popular."
"But he was sent by the imperial court to find out the truth?" Pei Liang frowned.
Uncle Fang had long regarded Pei Liang as a core member of the Lu family who could confide in him about anything. He immediately shook his head and said: "Princess Chen belongs to the lineage of the Queen Mother and has always been on good terms with the Lu family. The Queen Mother once asked my young lady to work in the palace. The two of us have grown up together and are already like sisters. I came here this time because I heard that the young lady has arrived in the capital and insisted on coming with the master."
After speaking, Uncle Fang laughed and greeted the two of them back to the building.
"It's still early now and I have nothing to do. I will tell you about the grudges and grudges between the Lu family and the imperial court over the years. What do you think? Do you want to hear it?"
Pei Liang and Yaoniang looked at each other and nodded with a smile.
The three of them immediately sat on the floor, and Uncle Fang's old face began to show a look of reminiscence, and he started from the beginning:
"In the third year of Jianlong's reign, I went to Beijing to take part in the imperial examination as a Shandong Juren. In the second year, I won the second place in the palace examination and was conferred a Hanlin bachelor's degree by Emperor Dezong himself. Later, he went through the ups and downs of the officialdom and became bigger and bigger. During the Zhaozong Dynasty, , has been ranked as the third prince, and was awarded the title of Prince Young Master. At that time, the prince was still the eldest son of Zhaozong. He was smart, studious, dignified and kind since he was a child. Under the careful guidance of the master, he had the demeanor of a wise king. Unfortunately, he suddenly gave birth midway. A serious illness, he died within a month. The prince's untimely death was a big blow to the master. Later, under the instigation of a group of sycophants, Emperor Zhaozong appointed his third son, King Zhou Ju of Han, as the prince, who is today the prince. Emperor Zhaozong. Zhou Ju did many illegal things when he was in the fiefdom, and the people were very resentful. He was once impeached by the emperor. Later, when Zhaozong wanted to establish another prince, the emperor also strongly recommended the most suitable fourth prince as the prince. All these were recorded by Zhou Ju in In my heart, this grudge is settled."
The old housekeeper said so much in one breath, and when he saw that the two of them looked like they were thinking about everything, he added: "The so-called emperor and courtiers, sitting in the position of prime minister, there are only a handful of dynasties who can escape unscathed. When the new emperor ascends the throne, he must cultivate his own power, and those old ministers must either resign and give way, or they must obey and be willing to be the emperor's dogs."
Yaoniang didn't understand these struggles surrounding power at all, but she also knew the pros and cons, and she didn't dare to speak carelessly.
"The emperor is determined to put the Lu family to death?" Pei Liang asked.
"The Lu family is too powerful and has become a thorn in the side of the royal family. There is absolutely no way out." Fang Bo shook his head and smiled bitterly.
"My original ambition was to be a good and honest official who could do things for the people. But towards the end, I realized that in the eyes of the emperor, there was no difference between a good official and a sycophantic official. They were all just dogs who looked after his home and courtyard. In order to prevent these dogs from getting out of control, they must be tied up with iron chains. Apart from the fact that Emperor Zhaozong chose the wrong prince in the end, he was also a very wise man. He was very skilled in the use of emperors. When he was in power, he gave it to the Lu family To match the unparalleled power, I must put on the heaviest shackles and hand over my control to the emperor honestly."
"But the case of the three talented people who threw themselves into the lake back then?"
"Haha, that's right, I didn't expect you to have heard of it too!"
Uncle Fang stroked his beard and said with a smile: "These three bloody rotten scholars didn't realize that they were being used until their death. They only thought that speaking out for the people of the world meant sacrificing their lives for justice and dying well."
"What is the case of the Three Scholars Casting themselves into the Lake?"
Yaoniang secretly pulled Pei Liang's arm and asked in a low voice.
"They were three simple-minded scholars who were beguiled by others and went to the Criminal Department of the capital. They sued Prime Minister Lu Qin for corruption and perverting the law, and they plundered people's wealth and wealth. They listed eight crimes and wrote them in blood. Finally, they appeared in the Emperor's Dragon Case by accident. After seeing the above, the emperor was furious and threw the three people into prison for slandering important officials of the imperial court. The Queen of Qiu asked for execution. Later, it was not until the imperial censor jointly came forward to plead for mercy that they were released. The three scholars were released from prison. On the same day, he drowned himself in the city."
"It was a critical period when there was a famine in the northwest, and the imperial troops were defeated by foreigners at Guyuguan Pass. As soon as this case came out, the public resented it, and it directly put the master into ruin. It was a situation that was harmful to the country and the people. Some people at the time said that this was It was a good show designed by my political opponents, but they still took it lightly..."
"The old emperor is indeed very clever!" Pei Liang nodded.
"Zhaozong would rather be criticized by the people than drag me into trouble. The more he protects me, the greater the people's resentment towards me, and the harder it will be for people to detect that it is the emperor's evil hand."
"Master Lu must have noticed it a long time ago, so he kept silent when the crime happened."
"The imperial power is greater than the sky, and no one can compete with it. This is just the emperor and the ministers exchanging bargaining chips with each other, and they can only understand each other tacitly. If you don't give him an excuse to investigate in the future, how can I rest assured that I will give you glory and wealth."
Uncle Fang's words made Yaoniang tremble with fear. It turned out that the relationship between these high-ranking and powerful people was actually so complicated and insidious.
