My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 86 Wangsun, please go

Before leaving, Dou Ying had a lot of thoughts and his expression was indescribably complicated.

To put it in the words of the literati, it is: I am speechless, I almost want to say something but stop, then I bow and say goodbye.

After watching his cousin Dou Ying leave, Liu Rong, who sat back on the rocking chair, was also silent for a long time.

But in the end, Liu Rong still raised the corners of his mouth slightly, looked in the direction where his cousin Dou Ying left, and showed a bright smile.

"Cousin, you will figure it out."

"Even if my cousin can't figure it out himself, there will always be someone - there will always be a smart person who will 'help' my cousin figure it out..."

Thinking like this, Liu Rong smiled and closed his eyes, lying quietly on the rocking chair, enjoying this rare leisure time.

——The eldest son of the emperor has become a careerist!

In the next few years, it may be difficult for Liu Rong to have such an opportunity again.

An opportunity to empty your mind, lie down quietly, and spend your free time without being disturbed by others...

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Dou Ying didn't know how he came out of the palace.

I don't even know how I walked back from the palace gate to Shang Guanli.

All Dou Ying knew was that when he realized where he was, he looked up and saw the word 'Zhang Wu' above the low-key and simple gate of the Hou Mansion.

——Zhang Wuhou, Dou Guangguo.

The younger brother of Empress Dowager Dou, who was a compatriot of the same mother, and one of the only two Dinghai magic needles of the Dou family's relatives.

Different from "predecessors" such as Zhou Luhou Lu Ze, Zhenhou Bo Zhao, and even Zhu Lu's relatives, Zhangwuhou Dou Guangguo was a rare elder since the Han Dynasty who was highly praised and even respected by both the court and the public.

Even the current emperor Qi, and even the late emperor, would communicate with Zhang Wuhou before making any major decisions regarding the ancestral temple and the country.

So much so that both inside and outside the court, there was a tacit agreement in private: Although he has not been formally appointed, Zhangwuhou Dou Guangguo can be regarded as the second prime minister of the Han Dynasty, after Guanhou Shentujia!
But Dou Ying knew: This was just the late emperor comforting this uncle who wanted to be the prime minister of the Han Dynasty, but failed in the end.

But at the moment, Dou Ying could no longer feel sorry for his cousin's tragic experience.

After gathering his thoughts and straightening his clothes, he walked into the gate of Zhangwuhou Mansion.

After waiting in the side hall for a long time, an immortal figure finally stepped in from outside the hall and caught Dou Ying's eyes.

"Nephew Dou Ying, I have met my uncle."

After bowing politely, the old man waved his hand calmly and took his seat.

The old man had white hair, bright eyes, and a strangely rosy complexion.

If you look carefully, it is not difficult to find that the area around the old man's brows and eyes has been vaguely covered by a layer of dark green.

If Liu Rong had seen his great-uncle's face, he would have quickly made a judgment: heavy metal poisoning.

Even in Dou Ying's view, Dou Guangguo's seemingly healthy but actually extremely weird complexion revealed abnormalities in every aspect.

"Uncle, are you making alchemy again?"

When asked this question, Dou Ying's tone was quite calm;
The eyes that looked deep into Dou Guangguo were immediately filled with worry.

But when the old man heard the words, he just waved his hands nonchalantly, and then let out a long sigh as if he was feeling sad.

"Brother's illness is getting worse and worse."

"If we don't try a panacea, I'm afraid..."

With just these words, Dou Ying immediately stopped talking and did not make any further comments on Dou Guangguo's cultivation of immortality and alchemy.

Nanpi Marquis Dou Changjun was the eldest brother of Zhangwu Marquis Dou Guangguo and the current Empress Dowager Dou.

Like his younger brother Dou Guangguo, he was separated from the Queen Mother Dou when he was young. It was not until the late emperor ascended the throne that the three brothers and sisters were reunited in Chang'an.

In the past few years, the Dou family's relatives have been praised by both the government and the public, and they are rarely even said to be "like the Lu family". The most crucial figures are Dou Changjun and Dou Guangguo, the two sea-fixing needles.

Nowadays, Nanpi Hou Dou Changjun is old and has been seriously ill and has been bedridden for many years. On many occasions when he needs to appear in person, the prince of the Hou family often does it on his behalf.

Dou Ying was determined to persuade his uncle Dou Guangguo to cultivate immortality and refine elixirs, and even tried the medicine himself;
But after Dou Guangguo revealed his intention of "I am making elixir to save my brother," Dou Ying, as a junior, was unable to say a word.

Both sides are speechless.

Not long after, white smoke floated from the incense burner in the living room. In just a few dozen breaths, the living room was filled with smoke, making it look like a fairyland.

And in the main seat of this 'immortal palace', Dou Guangguo, the Marquis of Zhangwu, sat on his knees with his eyes lowered, as if an immortal had descended into the world...

"That incident back then still hurt my uncle's heart too much..."

Anxia shook his head, and Dou Ying's scattered thoughts were gradually covered by the scroll of memory.

About ten years ago, the late emperor followed the footsteps of the first emperor Yingzheng due to Huanglong's change of Yuan Dynasty.

——This is not to say that the late emperor was as powerful as the ancestral dragon Ying Zheng, who controlled the whole country and unified the world;
But like Ying Zheng, he followed the path of a magician.

When he came to his senses, the mistake had been made, the emperor changed his clothes, and in the first year of the change, the alchemist Xinyuan Ping was not named the national master of the Han family.

Although he knew that he was in the wrong, the late emperor had to pretend that nothing happened in order to preserve the emperor's last dignity.

But the then Prime Minister: Beiping Hou Zhang Cang jumped out.

First, he pointed at the late emperor's nose and cursed, and then insisted that the late emperor "rectify his mistakes when he knew they were wrong" and withdraw all the edicts issued due to Huanglong's change of Yuan Dynasty, so that everything could be restored to its original appearance.

How is this possible?

How could a majestic emperor change his orders overnight, or even withdraw an edict that had already been issued?

Therefore, the late emperor finally had no choice but to reluctantly give up his post and drove Zhang Cang, the Marquis of Beiping, back to his hometown.

After calming down, the late emperor naturally began to appoint a new prime minister.

I just searched all over the country and outside, and found that the founding heroes of the country were dead and old. Even if there were some that were still alive, they were no longer worthy of reuse.

The second generation was eating, drinking and having fun, fighting cocks and lackeys, and not many of them could watch.

After searching for several months, the late Emperor finally found three candidates who met the requirements.

The first one is the current Prime Minister: Shen Tujia, the Marquis of Gu'an;
The second place is the second prince of Quzhou: Li Ji.

The third one is Dou Guangguo, Marquis of Zhangwu, who is currently in the 'Wonderland', as if he is meditating on the great road...

"I'm afraid I will become the Lu family again..."

"I'm afraid, I will become the Lu family again..."

Dou Ying was looking back on the past when he suddenly heard Dou Guangguo's dreamy words, "I might become the Lu family again", and he immediately raised his head in shock.

But seeing the first master, Dou Xianjun seemed to have finished his meditation, he finally opened his eyes, smiled miserably and let out a long sigh.

"For my Han family relatives, this is a sentence that can never be forgotten;"

"——I'm afraid I will become the Lu family again."

···
"At that time, I forgot this sentence and tried to get involved in the position of prime minister, so I became discouraged."

"Now, the Queen Mother seems to have forgotten this sentence..."

As he said this, Dou Guangguo slowly turned his head. It was a casual glance, but Dou Ying felt that his soul had been completely looked at by this clan uncle.

"Wang Sun, have you also forgotten this sentence?"

"Have you forgotten your identity as a foreign relative and want to be like a courtier with a foreign surname and get something that a foreign relative should not get..."

Hearing this, Dou Ying couldn't help but froze on the spot and didn't speak again for a long time.

I don't know how long it took, but Dou Ying finally managed to pull himself together and told his clan uncle Dou Guangguo exactly what happened in the Phoenix Palace - Liu Rong's words.

The meaning is obvious: uncle teaches me!
After hearing Dou Ying's description, Dou Guangguo's detached and refined spirit, like a fairy spirit wandering outside, was immediately replaced by a sudden determination.

——Back then, the late emperor found three candidates to succeed Zhang Cang, Marquis of Beiping.

Candidate No. 1: Shen Tujia, the Marquis of Guan, occupies the position of Yushi Dafu and Yaxiang. He is familiar with government affairs, but his qualifications are mediocre, and he only has the title of Guan Neihou;
No. 2 candidate: Quzhouhou Liji, who is himself a founding father, has qualified qualifications and abilities, but was the first to be eliminated because of the moral stain of "trading friends for glory."

From the moment Zhang Cang was dismissed as prime minister and expelled from Chang'an, until the moment when the dust finally settled, everyone inside and outside the court agreed that Zhang Cang's successor would be Zhang Wuhou Dou Guangguo.

Even now, Dou Guangguo has no interest in government affairs, and many people inside and outside the government still regret: If Zhang Wuhou was the prime minister back then, the Han family would not be in such a state of chaos now...

"Young Master Rong, Xi Yangmou?"

The slightly suspicious question made Dou Ying nod immediately.

"The eldest son of the emperor is upright and upright. Every word and action he takes is upright and upright."

"As for conspiracy and conspiracy, it is not that I don't know it, but I disdain it..."

Hearing this, Dou Guangguo just nodded slowly and thought for a long time before taking a deep breath.

"It is tacitly understood by everyone that the eldest son of the emperor wants to be the heir."

"——But the eldest son of the emperor dares to admit it personally. This responsibility alone is really impressive." "To put it bluntly, the eldest son of the emperor was forced into this position by the Queen Mother, so he had to cut off his retreat like this."

These simple and direct words finally allowed Dou Ying to gradually adjust from his previous strange mood of confusion and hesitation.

After thinking carefully for a moment, Fang nodded deeply.

"The eldest son of the emperor is upright and has already shown his intention to become the heir apparent."

"Today, I directly pointed out the 'way out' for my nephew in the future."

"It's just that this way out is really scary..."

After saying this, Dou Ying took a deep breath, stood up slowly, and bowed to Dou Guangguo solemnly.

"Although my nephew wants to do things that are against the Queen Mother's wishes, he is still a member of the Dou clan."

"The consequences of my nephew's decision will not only be borne by the nephew, but also closely related to the entire Dou family."

"——If the nephew chooses the right one, the Dou family will be involved with Yourong Yan. If the nephew chooses the wrong one, the Dou family will also be implicated by the nephew."

"So I came here today to ask my lord to give me some advice: How good or bad is the 'way out' that the eldest son of the emperor pointed out to his nephew?"

After saying these words, Dou Ying maintained the posture of bowing with his hands raised and froze for twenty or thirty breaths;

In the upper position, Dou Guangguo also lowered his eyes and thought for twenty or thirty breaths.

In the end, he only let out a long sigh...

"This is the conspiracy of the eldest son of the emperor."

"What is conspiracy?"

"——Even if you see through the other party's intentions, you still have to do it, or even do it willingly."

"Just like today, the 'way out' pointed out to Wang Sun by the Emperor's eldest son - it is clear that the Emperor's eldest son wants to use Wang Sun's help to achieve his goal of becoming the heir, but Wang Sun still has to do this."

···
"Because everything the emperor's eldest son said is true."

"Only by doing this can the prince and grandson dispel His Majesty's doubts. Although he still cannot get rid of his identity as a 'relative of the Dou family', it can also let His Majesty know that Dou Ying, the prince and grandson of Dou, are not people who obey the Queen Mother unconditionally."

"Of course there is danger."

"Supporting the troops to show self-respect and coercing the emperor to appoint a crown prince - this alone is enough to make my Dou family extinct heirs."

"But sometimes, being guilty is not necessarily a bad thing..."

After talking for such a long time, or maybe it was a side effect of the 'elixir', Dou Guangguo's mouth was dry and his back was sore.

Naturally, he reached out his hand and was supported by his clan nephew Dou Ying to stand up. He drank a bowl of bitter tea soup and exhaled a breath of turbid air with some difficulty.

Dou Ying helped him out of the living room and walked on the stone road of the Marquis Mansion. He gently hit his lower back and continued: "Back then, when the Marquis of Beiping was deposed as prime minister, the late emperor even drafted an edict asking him to worship him. I am the prime minister."

"Although in the end, it was Gu Anhou who came from behind, but I missed the position of prime minister, but it was not entirely because of what people say - it was simply because I was rejected by the late emperor for fear of returning to the Lu family."

···
"For a monarch, the abilities and virtues of his ministers are of course very important."

"But for key positions, especially Jiuqing, Sangong, and even higher positions, what the monarch values ​​most is actually neither ability nor virtue."

"——It's about whether this person is worthy of trust."

At this point, Dou Xianjun smiled bitterly and shook his head, stopped walking, and looked sideways at his nephew Dou Ying, who was supporting him.

"The most direct way to make a monarch trust his ministers and feel at ease with a minister is to let the monarch have control over this minister."

"With a handle and a knife that can kill his subjects at any time, the monarch controls the life and death of his subjects."

"Only in this way can the monarch be assured of appointing an outsider who is not related to him by blood to an important position such as the prime minister or the prince whose evil thoughts are enough to bring disaster to half of the country."

"This is exactly why I say: The emperor's eldest son's conspiracy, the prince and grandson, cannot avoid it."

"——Wang Sun, you need to give your Majesty a reason that is enough to make Wang Sun, and even my whole family, the Dou family, be punished."

"Only in this way can the prince and grandson gain the trust of His Majesty, get rid of the label of 'nephew of the Queen Mother', and spread their wings in the court..."

After saying this, Dou Guangguo gently broke away from Dou Ying's hand that was supporting him and walked forward with a smile.

But when Dou Ying lowered his head and fell into deep thought, no one noticed that Zhang Wuhou Dou Guangguo's face was filled with endless desolation and pain.

"Sad, deplorable..."

Everyone thinks that after Zhang Cang was dismissed as prime minister, the reason why Dou Guangguo, the Marquis of Zhangwu, missed the chance to become prime minister was because of the clichéd saying, "I'm afraid of becoming the Lu family again".

But as the late emperor's most trusted and trustworthy think tank, Dou Guangguo knew very well: the late emperor was not afraid of the Han family and another "Lu family"!
To be precise, the late emperor was not afraid that in his own dynasty, a family like the Lu family would appear that would bring trouble to the imperial court.

Dou Guangguo remembered very clearly: At that time, the late emperor had a very firm attitude towards worshiping him as prime minister.

Even the words of "I may become the Lu family again" when he came to the court to remonstrate were rejected by the late emperor with strong words.

Until one day, Deng Tong, a close servant of the late emperor, mentioned something inadvertently.

——Marquis Zhang Wu is highly virtuous and highly respected, and is respected both inside and outside the court. He should be worshiped as the Prime Minister, and he should be the one everyone expects.

It was this common compliment that caused Dou Guangguo to completely lose the trust of the late emperor. From then on, he never set foot in Sima Gate or appeared in Weiyang Palace again...

"There is no handle..."

"My biggest sin is that I have no excuse..."

"My biggest fault is actually being 'popular'..."

For a moment, the smile on Dou Guangguo's face became more sarcastic, and there was more bitterness in the depths of his eyes.

Failure to get involved in the position of prime minister, and even directly losing the trust of the late emperor, has been Dou Guangguo's worry for many years.

It’s just that no one knows: this mental illness has almost nothing to do with the phrase ‘I’m afraid of becoming Lu again’...

"Nephew, there is still something I don't understand."

After walking about ten steps, I put my hands behind my back and looked up to the sky with a sigh.

It wasn't until the tears on his face had been dried by the wind that Dou Guangguo heard the sound of Dou Ying's rapid footsteps coming from behind him.

Seeing that Dou Ying still had hesitation on his face, he quickly stepped forward and helped his uncle Dou Guangguo up again.

Looking at Dou Guangguo, there was an inexplicable feeling of shame in his eyes.

"My nephew has figured it out."

"Just doing this seems to be good for my nephew, but for me, Mr. Dou, it does a lot of harm and no good at all?"

"——In the past, my cousin always put the Dou family first."

"How come, in order to satisfy my nephew, I actually agreed to do something that is beneficial to myself and harmful to my Dou family?"

Hearing this, Dou Guangguo shook his head and smiled. His eyes that were bright just now were a little confused now.

Feeling that his body was abnormal, Dou Guangguo sighed and lowered his head, took out a cloth bag from his arms, and picked up an 'elixir' that was glowing with silver.

He took the water bowl from the servant, drank the elixir mixed with water, and frowned for a while.

For a long time, he looked at Dou Ying with a gloomy face and smiled miserably.

"There are seven kings in the Qi family, and there is still Chengyang who is loyal to Your Majesty."

"Three kings of Huainan, Hengshan is also loyal to the ancestral temple and Sheji."

"——This is the fire they each left for their own family."

"I, Mrs. Dou, also need to keep a fire."

···
"The Queen Mother is old and dim, and what she has done is even more horrifying."

"If we continue to make mistakes like this, when the Queen Mother dies, the fate of my family, the Dou family, may not be much better than that of the Lu family back then."

"At that time, there was a prince and grandson of Dou Ying and Dou who was beside the prince. Even if he could not save my Dou family's ancestral hall, he could still preserve the bloodline of my Dou family..."

In just a few words, Dou Guangguo's body shook as if his soul had been sucked out.

Using his last strength, he stretched out his hand and let the servant support half of his body. Dou Guangguo finally forced an almost twisted smile to his nephew Dou Ying.

"Wang Sun, let's go..."

"On the Queen Mother's side, I will... mediate..."

　I will post these two chapters first, Chapters 3 and 4 in the evening, and Chapters 5 and 6 before noon tomorrow.

　　I'm really sorry. I added an update a while ago and received thousands of subscriptions. I couldn't save the manuscript. I followed the path of working slowly and carefully. Yesterday, I coded out these two chapters, plus the beginning of the third chapter. I got up late again today... …

　　Two chapters will be coded in the afternoon, and they will be posted as soon as they are finished. Two more chapters will be added overnight, and they will be posted before noon tomorrow.

　　Please support me from all the food and clothing parents.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)