Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

"Ask me to welcome Yang Sijian's niece into the palace?" Wang Wenzuo was stunned. In all honesty, this is actually a good job. Although it will offend Queen Pei and his daughter, it can take the opportunity to sell well to Yang Sijian and the future queen. Considering that Yang Sijian's niece represents the future, there should be a lot of good left after the good and bad are offset.But at this juncture, Wang Wenzuo had too many things to consider, and it seemed that this was not his job.

"Sanlang, you don't want to go? Anyway, this is indeed not the general's business!" Li Hong didn't take it seriously: "Xu Shaojian, Xu Shaojian!"

"The slave is here!" Xu Xuwen, who was standing outside the door, responded quickly.

"Go to Yang Sijian's place and invite his niece into the palace. Just say it's my wish! You have to do it before the funeral, do you understand?"

"My slave understands!" Xu Xuwen bowed before silently retreating, as if he had never appeared before.Li Hong yawned: "I'm a little tired, Sanlang, please step back!"

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Pei House.

When Pei Judao returned home, it was completely dark. When he got out of the sedan and his feet touched the ground, he swayed and almost fell. His wife on the side quickly reached out to support him: "Master, are you okay?"

"It's okay, I'm just a little tired!" Pei Judao showed a wry smile and sighed: "You really can't accept old age!"

Without Pei Judao's instructions, the old wife had people bring hot towels and wooden buckets filled with hot water. He half-supported and half-carried Pei Judao to the flower hall on the side, and then the servants who had been prepared helped him change clothes. Take off your shoes and socks, then wipe your face, soak your feet and massage them.Under the attentive service, Pei Judao gradually recovered from his fatigue and asked casually: "Is there anything going on at home today?"

"Everything is fine at home!" A look of uneasiness appeared on the wife's face: "It's just that there are some bad rumors outside!"

"It is inevitable at times like this!" Pei Judao sighed: "The country is in troubled times, and we ministers can only worry more about the emperor!"

"That's what happened!" Mrs. Pei lowered her voice: "I heard that at noon today, the palace sent someone to Yang Sijian and Yang Shaoqing's house to take Yang Shaoqing's niece into the palace in a small sedan!"

"Oh?"

It is difficult to describe in words the several emotions of the word "oh" coming out of Pei Judao's mouth: shock, disappointment, sigh, and anger. However, years of cultivation and government kept him silent and just turned his head to the sky. , closed his eyes.

"Sir!" Without getting a clear response from her husband, Mrs. Pei continued: "Sir, you did your best for the saint. You went out before dawn when you were still young and came back after dark. You just missed your life. I risked my life; but the saint is good at it, but he hooked up with a woman from the Yang family, and even took him to the palace so unclearly. I really don’t know where I put you, sir? They say that saints are benevolent, filial, and love others, but I really I don’t see how benevolent, filial and loving people are!”

"That's enough!" Pei Judao interrupted Mrs. Pei's complaint. He did not open his eyes. After a moment, he whispered: "He is the emperor. How can you, a woman, talk nonsense?"

"So what about the emperor?" Mrs. Pei said: "It doesn't matter if he has more women in the three palaces and six courtyards, but my daughter is the empress of the main palace. At least the main wife can have children. The position has been determined and then more concubines will be established. The broadcast will not have any heirs." Late! How could a queen be anxious to find other women to enter the palace when she has no children? He doesn’t have you in his heart at all!"

"He is the emperor and I am a minister. There is no need for me to have a place in his heart!"

"What about Wang Wenzuo? If the emperor marries Wang Wenzuo's daughter, I don't believe he will do the same!"

The madam's angry words finally made Pei Judao open his eyes. His eyes were like lightning. Perhaps unintentionally, perhaps intentionally, Madam Pei finally hit the painful spot deep in Pei Judao's heart - even though he had given everything, even himself. The daughter of Wang Wenzuo, but in the heart of the emperor, she was still inferior to Wang Wenzuo.

Pei Judao's sudden change of color made Mrs. Pei lower her head subconsciously and say na na, like a naughty boy who accidentally set the house on fire. At this time, the housekeeper's voice came from outside: "Master, Madam!"

"What's the matter?" Pei Judao raised his voice.

"Someone is coming from the palace!"

"In the palace?" Pei Judao frowned and put on his soft boots: "Come in and talk!"

The housekeeper came in and whispered a few words in Pei Judao's ear. Pei Judao's expression suddenly changed: "Please come to my study and ask him to wait a moment!" Pei Judao's study is located in a secluded area on the northwest side of the entire Pei Judao mansion. In the courtyard, if Pei Judao is not going to the political hall, he will stay there most of the time. When he returns to the study, a guest from the palace is waiting for him. He is a shrewd little man with a thin face full of wrinkles. , with a smooth chin and no beard, but it was Tian Wenju, the palace servant. Pei Judao did not dare to neglect, and took two steps forward to salute: "Tian Weng has been waiting for a long time!"

"No need to be polite, Mr. Pei!" Tian Wenju looked behind Pei Judao nervously and lowered his voice: "Weng Pei, the queen asked me to send you a secret letter. You can bring it back with a reply. You read the letter first. I'm outside. Waiting for you!" After saying that, he took out a copper box from his sleeve and handed it to Pei Judao before going out.

"A letter from my daughter?" Pei Judao took the copper box and was secretly surprised. This copper box is a treasure handed down from the Pei family ancestors. It is specially used to convey secret messages. When using it, put the letter into the copper box. After closing, it will not be used unless it is used. A special secret key, otherwise it cannot be opened. If brute force is used, even if it is opened, the letter inside will be destroyed.When Pei Judao's daughter entered the palace, she was specially brought into the palace to prepare for critical moments.

Pei Judao carefully turned the mechanism according to the predetermined secret key. The copper box popped open and a small roll of silk paper fell out from it. Pei Judao picked up the silk paper and saw that it was densely written in small regular script. After Pei Judao confirmed that the Queen's handwriting was correct, his expression changed drastically after just reading a few lines.

"What, Your Majesty wants to depose the queen and make the daughter of the Yang family the queen, and also remove me from my official position as a servant?"

Pei Judao staggered to the brocade couch, and his whole body went limp, as if all the bones in his body had been ripped away.It turns out that Queen Pei has a skill that she learned when she was young, and that is the art of lip reading, that is, as long as you watch someone speak, even if you can't hear it, you can "hear" the words through the opening and closing of the other person's lips.

That night when Wang Wenzuo entered the palace, Queen Pei rushed out of the palace angrily, pretending to scold the palace maids and eunuchs, but did not go far. She turned around and hid outside the window to peek inside the room. Li Hong and Wang Wenzuo were talking. Although both of them deliberately lowered their voices, they did not. I thought that the queen could "see" the discussion about the abolition of the queen.When the queen learned about this, she was shocked and angry. She deliberately waited outside the palace. When Wang Wenzuo came out, she tried to test her and asked what the monarch and his ministers had said in the palace. However, Wang Wenzuo refused, saying that "revealing forbidden Chinese language" was a serious crime. From this, she became more and more determined that Wang Wenzuo and the emperor had conspired to abolish her position.Later, she learned that the Yang family's daughter had entered the palace, which strengthened her suspicion. In desperation, she wrote a letter and asked her subordinates to send it out of the palace overnight, notify Pei Judao, and work together to deal with it.

Pei Judao lay down for a while before he felt better. He got up with difficulty, picked up the silk paper, and read the rest.His face turned red and white, and he was excited and frightened. After a while, he stood up, walked to the window, and whispered to himself: "Regicide, this is a serious crime of confiscating a family and exterminating a clan!"

"But what else can I do if I don't do this? I, Pei Judao, am devoted to the Holy Emperor and do my best to manage the affairs of the state. But how does the Emperor treat me? I am simply treated as a fool, no, even worse than a fool. My son has no fault. , but they want to abolish her position as queen, and they also want to abolish my position as servant. The next step is probably to be exiled to the southwest, and someone will be sent to kill her on the way. This is pressing step by step, and does not give me a way to survive!"

Different from the mass prime minister system that was on the right track since the middle and late Tang Dynasty, the power of the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty at this time was much greater, but what followed was that the prime minister would become more miserable, waiting for those who would step down. It is often not that he leaves Chang'an to become the governor of a large state, but that he is exiled to a remote area. This kind of exile is often synonymous with the death penalty. Often, the deposed prime minister has just left Chang'an not far away, and is followed by a death edict. So, it's no wonder Pei Judao is so desperate.

Pei Judao read the letter three more times before bringing it to the candlelight and lighting it. As the silk paper withered and turned black in the light of the fire, it finally turned into a few small black flakes and scattered in the wind.The daughter's thinking was still too ill-considered. After the death of the Supreme Empress, the emperor had to observe mourning for at least three years. During these three years, it would be difficult to abolish the empress.If he takes a desperate risk, even if he succeeds, as long as Wang Wenzuo is still in the capital and he holds the military power, he will definitely not spare the regicide.

"Tian Gong!" When Pei Judao faced Tian Wenju again, he had completely returned to his usual self: "Go back and tell the queen, hold off for the time being, and you must act safely. After the death of the Supreme Empress, the emperor must observe filial piety for three years. She does not have to worry. !”

"I have remembered what the servant said!" Tian Wenju cupped his hands: "It's getting late, I have to go back to the palace first!"

"Tian Gong, walk slowly!"

Luoyang, Gao Wu’s mother’s house.

Di Renjie left the street and turned into an alley. At the end of the alley, he saw the Luo River, which passed through the majestic Zhongdu and brought treasures and goods from all directions.Beside this river, he could see Sogdian merchants in hoods and furs, southerners in long clothes and high crowns, Shuzhong people with their heads wrapped in white cloth, and Goguryeo people in plain clothes.As the roads extend, the terrain becomes higher and higher, and the buildings become more crowded and complex. Most of the city's hardware craftsmen live here.The final destination of his trip was to live on the top of the hill, which was a huge courtyard consisting of four independent courtyards, occupying almost one-third of the city.The gate of the courtyard is made of solid oak, reinforced with steel and bronze, just like the products of the courtyard. A pair of peach charms are hung on both sides of the courtyard door.Di Renjie handed the mule to his slave and said to the guard at the door: "Tell your master that Bingzhou Di Huaiying is here!"

The guard's sharp eyes saw clearly the official boots on Di Renjie's feet. A moment later, Gao Wen came out and was busy bowing. "Hurry and help Di Xianggong's mule to the backyard!" He said to the guard, while Di Renjie led the way: "My fifth wife went out this morning. I will immediately send someone to ask her to come back. Please wait a moment." !”

"It doesn't matter, I came here without telling you. I just want to see how you are doing with the carriage I handed over last time?" Di Renjie said with a smile. He now very much suspected that there was a dreamer beside Wang Wenzuo, otherwise he would not be able to survive for three days. Various mechanical drawings were handed down from both ends, such as a machine that can automatically harvest wheat without bending and just push forward, a water pump that can pull out water from the ground by shaking it, a machine that can easily lift dozens of stones. Heavy coal or other heavy objects are lifted by a crane that is seven to eight feet high.Of course, the most amazing and complicated thing is the four-wheeled carriage. Horse-drawn carriages are actually very common and not uncommon, but four-wheeled carriages are rare because they vibrate violently when riding and are extremely troublesome to turn. .According to the drawings, this new type of carriage can not only carry more weight than a two-wheeled carriage, but also run like flying and move freely, and passengers will not feel violent vibrations.

"It sounds just like the real thing!" Di Renjie thought to himself. He had long heard that the general was ingenious and good at making offensive weapons. For example, he was the first to build the new trebuchet in the army, and it was used in offensive attacks. He played a great role in the war between Goguryeo and Baekje, and the new water steamers also amazed him.But compared with the drawings of the four-wheeled carriage, the structure of the waterwheel is much simpler.Di Renjie could roughly imagine the structure of the ship and the principle of its operation through the drawings of the waterwheel; but this four-wheeled carriage was different. He saw many components and structures that he had never seen before, and he did not understand these at all. What are the things I haven’t seen used for?

"Carriage?" Gawain showed a wry smile: "I'm afraid I have to ask Mr. Di to wait a little longer!"

"What should I say? Trouble occurred along the way?" Di Renjie said with a smile: "It doesn't matter, this is different from the canoe ship. I just let you try to build it. Even if it doesn't work, I won't blame you!"

"We did encounter a lot of trouble!" Gawain sighed: "Ms. Di, the prices for what we make are very high, and I admit it myself," he said while filling two pairs of silver cups with wine. "But I can assure you that there is no one in Luoyang whose craftsmanship can compare with ours. If you don't believe it, you can go to every craft shop in Luoyang and compare it yourself. Even the craftsmen in Chang'an You can count them all! Let’s put it this way, if we can’t build this carriage, you can’t build it anywhere else!”

"Really?" Di Renjie picked up the wine glass and laughed. He was already very familiar with this young man. He found that under his humble and polite appearance, Gao Wen was an extremely proud young man, especially in his craft field. In this way, he firmly believes that there is nothing that cannot be made in his shop. Of course, this pride is not without reason. Di Renjie saw with his own eyes more than once that under Gawain's hands, steel, bronze, gold, and silver seemed to have vitality. It can be transformed into the shape he wants at will, which is simply an art.

Sorry for the late update today!