Qingzhou, Northern Territory, early morning.
A towering and steep mountain, with a large number of buildings standing in the shadow of the mountain.
The architectural layout is very strange. There are tombstones and tombs made of precious stones, and there are also luxurious houses with purple wood carvings. It cannot be said that they are a group of tombs or a village.
It can be seen that the designer put a lot of thought into making the overall style as unified as possible. It's just that no matter which angle you look at it, there's a sinister and sinister smell.
Qingguo, Suxian County, Huizhou, Xishan Royal Tomb, also known as Living Tomb.
In front of the main tomb is a mansion, which is the largest house in the entire area.
With the early morning sun, an old man walked out of the side room. Although his hair is gray and he is old, his feet are steady and strong, and he looks like a skilled person at first glance.
The old man walked to the master bedroom and knocked twice. "My lord, are you awake?"
After knocking several times but getting no response, the old man suddenly became excited. He carefully opened the door and saw a person piled on the couch.
The reason why it is said to be piled up is because the person on the couch is too fat, and all the fat is spread out, like a big pile of compost.
The fat man was naturally the owner of the living tomb, and lived the life of Prince Hui, whose reputation spread throughout Qingzhou. The old man is Sun Sihai, his loyal servant who never leaves.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty?" Sun Sihai walked closer and became more and more excited. "Did you die? You must have died... There was still snoring in the first half of the night, but it became quiet in the second half of the night... My Lord, the wait is finally here, eighteen years..."
Before Sun Sihai could get excited, there was a sudden muffled thunder on the couch.
"Snoring——"
Prince Hui snored on the couch, but the sound was really loud.
Sun Sihai was startled, and then he realized what he was doing. He stamped his feet angrily, his face unable to conceal his disappointment and annoyance.
"My lord, if you're not dead, you're not dead. How can you pretend to die and make people happy in vain!"
Prince Hui stood up unsteadily, sitting there like a mountain of meat. However, his appearance is becoming more and more festive, and his facial features are all squeezed together, which is in line with the image of a wise king in the minds of the people.
"I have suffered from insomnia, so I slept more deeply." King Hui sighed deeply.
"Yesterday, I heard the news that Mr. Yuan was critically ill. I was really happy for him. But then I thought about myself, and I felt so useless. I was so upset with joy and sorrow that I had insomnia. I used to be able to fall asleep at midnight. , but I survived until the end of the day last night."
"My lord, you should really learn from Mr. Yuan." Sun Sihai sighed. "They hunt ghosts at night and arrest people during the day. They don't rest day or night. If you work so hard, of course you will die early. But as for you, all you have to do is eat and sleep. How can you shorten your life like this?"
"Don't just blame me. Don't you have no responsibility?" King Hui also lost his temper.
"You are such a great master. You stay by my side every day, so that no one dares to assassinate you. But look at Mr. Yuan, even though Mr. Qi is around him, there are many assassinations. As long as he comes for one or two A killer, I must have died a long time ago."
"Your Majesty, the conscience of the world, I can't be blamed for this." Sun Sihai shouted that he was wronged.
"Mr. Yuan was assassinated because an important minister of the Qi State resigned from office, which caused turmoil in the court and finally made the Emperor of Qi want to kill... But as for you, although there are courtiers here, after you register and make a promise, you will They all rushed back to do their work, and everyone did their best to do their errands. The people love and rely on Your Majesty, and no one would come to assassinate him."
"Your Majesty came to the door in person to plead. I can't mess with the country. Besides, if the court is in turmoil, the people will also suffer." King Hui's voice was weak. "My king's structure is not comparable to that of Old Yuan. He is not afraid of the powerful, but he also doesn't care about the overall situation. He reprimanded Emperor Qi every time he came to visit..."
"Yes, otherwise you are the prince and old Yuan Tou is just a rotten scholar." Sun Sihai said, "It's just that the old rotten scholar died earlier than you."
"The days are long." Prince Hui licked his belly, "With my magnanimity, even if I become a Yin Shen late, my achievements will definitely be better than his."
"Well, I believe this. But if you can do it sooner, you'd better do it sooner." Sun Sihai said, "Don't forget, Mr. Yuan is critically ill now, and he was assassinated in the past. Since the new emperor ascended the throne, he has been When the ancestors are arching."
"That's because the new emperor ascended the throne to strengthen the imperial power and use him to clear out political enemies and old ministers." King Hui was very unconvinced. "In a thousand words, I am better than that old man!"
"I died earlier than you." Sun Sihai said.
"This king has accumulated a lot of experience, which is beyond comparison with that old and rotten scholar."
"I died earlier than you."
"This king..."
"I died earlier than you."
"Get out."
…
Qi State, capital.
"Mr. Yuan, nothing will happen to you. No matter what, you must persist...this slave's life depends entirely on you..."
In a huge mansion, a middle-aged eunuch walked around anxiously like an ant on a hot pot, waiting for news of the doctor's diagnosis.
"Hey, don't go along with this, it's going to make me dizzy."
There is a chair beside the middle-aged eunuch, and an old man without a beard is lying on it. He was shaking a fan, looking down on life.
"Birth, old age, illness and death are human nature. Mr. Yuan has lived for such a long time, and it's time to go. Even if His Majesty really wants you to be buried with him, it's just a matter of getting rid of your stinky skin."
"Eunuch Qi, please don't stand and talk without your back hurting." The middle-aged eunuch was annoyed. "You have worked in the palace before, so you should know how difficult it is to be in this position now. You have enjoyed enough blessings, but my good life has not yet begun."
"Vulgar, too vulgar." Old Man Wuwu shook his head. "I tell you, now is a good time. You listen to me and serve in this courtyard. If Mr. Yuan really dies, His Majesty will let you be buried with him, that will be a great blessing."
"That's right, what good life does the eunuch have..."
"You have to look at it more broadly. You only live for a few decades, and it lasts forever after you die..."
There are a group of old men behind Mr. Wu Wu, who are standing or sitting, obviously waiting for news.
The middle-aged eunuch blushed and had a thick neck, feeling that he could not communicate with this group of people at all. It's just that I don't have the courage to curse people, because there is a number one, and they are all big shots in Qi State, and no one can offend them. With a final stamp of his feet, he simply left the yard to get some fresh air.
"Father, what's going on in this yard? I've been on guard duty for three days now, and I can't understand it more and more."
There were royal guards standing guard outside, and the leading captain was just promoted from the border army and was a close confidant of the middle-aged eunuch. Seeing the middle-aged eunuch coming out, he quickly stepped forward to ask.
"I have heard of Mr. Yuan, he is considered a famous figure in our Qi country. But he left the country many years ago, and I haven't heard of him having anything to do with the court. Why is it so lively these days?"
"You have nothing to do with the imperial court? There's a big connection!" The eunuch felt aggrieved in the courtyard and couldn't help but want to complain.
"Do you know the identities of those old men in the courtyard? The one without a beard is the former head of the Qi Gong Palace. The one snoring in the back is the former Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. And the one fighting crickets, the old Junhou... These people are all Yuan Xiangru’s godsons.”
"Ah?" The captain of the imperial army shrank his neck when he heard this. "Really? No way. Why haven't I heard of it?"
"It's not a publicity matter, so of course it won't be spread widely. However, the older people in the capital still know something about it." The middle-aged eunuch sighed and fell into a memory.
"Speaking of it, it was almost seventeen or eighteen years ago. At that time, our country in Qi was quite normal. Mr. Yuan was just an ordinary man from the countryside. No one in the capital even dared to associate with him..."
The middle-aged eunuch recounted the past events, and the captain felt dizzy when he heard it.
"My father-in-law, I may not have read enough, so I didn't understand many things. According to what you said, so many people regard Mr. Yuan as their godfather. He goes out every day to punish evil and promote good, and deal with those who commit crimes and violate laws. But they were originally important ministers of the imperial court, so even if they do these things, they don’t need to resign, right?”
"You are right, this involves a rumor." The middle-aged eunuch said mysteriously, "They all believe that Mr. Yuan is valued by the immortals and can become a god after death. The purpose of recognizing his godfather while alive is to provide him with peace after death. Make plans.”
The captain grinned. "Do you believe this?"
"Not everyone believes it, but there are always people who believe it." The middle-aged eunuch said, "Didn't you see, they are all elderly. As soon as this person gets older, he naturally thinks more."
The captain nodded, he could understand this. But then I thought about it and another question came to my mind.
"Your Majesty is so worried about Mr. Yuan's safety. Does it have anything to do with what you said?"
"That's another thing." The middle-aged eunuch said in a low voice, "When the late Emperor was here, His Majesty was still the crown prince, and he competed with King Su for the heir apparent. At that time, many of the old ministers favored King Su... Let's put it this way, Mr. Yuan's Many of those rumors were spread by His Majesty at that time."
"What do you mean?" The captain looked confused.
"You can live a long life." The middle-aged eunuch was annoyed. "Forget it, why are I telling you this? I just hope that Mr. Yuan can turn the bad luck into good and live at least a few more years, otherwise my life will be sad."
Eunuch Qi in the courtyard looked outside and glared very dissatisfied.
"What a crow's mouth. If I really have to live for a few more years, I'm afraid I won't be able to hold on. Besides, Lao Yuan is like that, how can he survive. Let me see, tomorrow at most."
Eunuch Qi's beautiful expectations are not delusional, because Su Qing also holds the same view.
Of course, only for the lifespan part.
But before that, Su Qing had another thing to consider.
"I came here to canonize the Yin God, but I met these two people."
A few streets away from Yuan's house, there is an ordinary wine shop. Two people, one old and one young, were drinking in the corner.
The old one is Dou Qianli, and the young one is Xu Jinlin.
…
King Hui respects Confucianism and virtue. When he heard that there was a famous scholar in a neighboring country, Duke Yuan, he admired him but could not see him. Suddenly I heard that he was critically ill and would die soon. The king cried and said, it is so sad that we have not known each other for a long time, but we have to live and die.
"Qingzhou Chronicle"
