A Collection of Old Sayings by Fourth Sister You

Chapter 79 Forbidden Court (79)
Give me back my people, now!immediately! (1)
Years ago passed quickly, and New Year's Eve was approaching in a blink of an eye, and the most lively day of the year was New Year's Eve.Da Yue is a country with brave swords and swords, but on festivals, there are also child-like naughtiness and recklessness.Jian'an is like an elegant Confucian scholar, who only posts couplets to welcome the door god at the age of [-]. Scholars and ordinary people sit around the stove to watch the new year until dawn, but the big axe is not.Sweeping away the solemn and solemn atmosphere in the ban, all the squads pretended to be heavenly soldiers, wearing masks, embroidered clothes, and holding golden guns and dragon flags.The commander in front of the hall is tall and tall, wearing a gold-plated bronze armor to pretend to be the general of the town hall, and the envoy of the teaching workshop is lacking in looks, ugly and fat, pretending to be a judge.There are also more than a thousand people pretending to be Zhong Kui, the land god, and the kitchen god.In the ban, dance the Nuo dance, sweep away the ghosts everywhere, and then go out of Nanxun Gate, turn around Longchi Bay and return to the ban. This activity has a special name called "buying ghosts".

Zi Hua stood under the eaves and listened to the loud drum music outside, just listening to it felt very novel.Turning around to ask Qin Rang, "Is this the way the Forbidden Court celebrates Chinese New Year every year?"

Qin Rangdao said, "All shifts are on duty during the day to parade the streets, and at night there are singing and dancing parties, and the officials have to hold a banquet in the Daqing Hall. Although the war is going on, Bianliang City is not affected, and the market outside is also lively, selling peach charms Peach boards, Tianxing posts, and the stalls in the market go all the way."

She clasped her hands together and said with a smile: "We also have some old customs in Jian'an during Chinese New Year, such as smearing wine lees on the stove door to make people drunk. Lighting lamps under the bed at night is called a waste of light..." As she spoke, her face gradually darkened, thinking of The Yue army attacked the city and plundered land all the way, and the Sui people must have a very sad New Year's Eve this year.

Seeing her dejected attitude, Qin Rang interrupted with a busy smile, "The poor in the city are all looking forward to the New Year."

"Why?" She wondered, "Isn't it a sad year?"

Qin Rang said: "Have the saints ever heard of 'beating night beards'? Those poor people beat gongs and drums and begged from house to house. After giving the money, he chanted words to drive away evil spirits for you. If you don't give them, there is also a set of libretto to attract evil spirits. Most people draw Auspicious, I am willing to spend money and eliminate disasters."

Yun Hua said helplessly: "This kind of money comes easily, but it is no different from blackmail. Does the government care?"

Qin Rang shook his head with his sleeves up, "It's not that you are too poor to live, and no one wants to do this job. When you enter the door, you are greeted with a smile on your face, but when you go out, you are scolded as a short-lived man. Those who celebrate the New Year are also cursed to death."

She heard a long sigh, and the heat was intertwined in front of her eyes. This season, it was really bitterly cold.

Looking up at the sky, the sky was covered with overcast clouds, and the snow had stopped for two hours, but there was no sunshine.She is now staying in the Palace of Rouyi, and if she does not step out of the Funing Gate, she will not know the situation in the prison, so she asked Qin Rang, "There has been no news of the imperial concubine for a long time, how is she doing now?"

Qin Rang said in a low voice: "The officials ordered her to be imprisoned in Yisheng Pavilion, and she was not allowed to move around until she was summoned. Although there is no evidence to prove that Cui Zhuzi was ordered by the imperial concubine, this kind of thing is clearly a lice on the bald man's head , the officials are not stupid, and the king of Wurong also knows how powerful he is. In the past, the people of Wurong wanted to use the concubine to ascend the throne, but now the concubine is holding Wurong's elbow. I am afraid that the people of Wurong will give up on her. Destiny, there is really nothing good about it. When it is useful, love it, but when it is useless, everyone sweeps the snow in front of the door, and even parents can't take care of her."

She is noncommittal, and her own situation is not optimistic, so she has no extra enthusiasm to sympathize with others.Speaking of Cui Zhuzi, she was still very sad.In the end, he wholeheartedly wanted to bring her back into hiding. If he hadn't killed the wet nurse, why would she hate him so much?So the culprit is still Wu Rong, the most damned is Wu Rong Jingdi, and of course Concubine Liang Gui.

After standing outside for a long time, the cold came up on my back.She turned around and went back to the palace, and said as she walked: "I can't leave the palace, and I'm not allowed to offer sacrifices in the forbidden area. You send me a small yellow gate to go out. In front of my nanny's tomb, there are King Ning, Mr. Cui, and Ah Rong. Give them some ghost money, let them have a good New Year."

It's really embarrassing to say, four died in half a year, and they were sent away one after another. They were all the closest people... I dare not think about it, but when I think about it, I feel that the sun and the moon are dark.

Qin Rang responded yes, paused and asked again: "Will Cui Zhuzi's tomb also be burned?"

She nodded, "I'm dead in debt, don't worry about it. It's a pity that I'm in Bianliang. Before I left, I asked the stewards in the house to burn my father's chariots and horses during the holidays. Now that the war is going on, I'm afraid that people will run away early."

Qin Rang said no, "You are the Queen of the Yue Kingdom, and when the Yue army invades the city, they will definitely bypass your mansion, and everyone in the mansion will be safe and sound."

She smiled, "That's great, you can do it!"

Qin Rang led the order to go out. She sat down on the couch and just picked up the book when she heard the voice of recording the scene and scolded Qin Rang angrily, "Like a ghost with hairy feet, rushing to reincarnate?"

She hurriedly went to the gate of the palace to check, Qin Rang shrank his neck and backed away, thinking that he bumped into the official's house when he was going out, and Lujing scolded him to save the siege.

She waved her hand at Qin Rang and sent him to do some work by himself. She greeted him with a smiling face and said, "It's so lively outside, have the officials gone to watch the ceremony?"

He said: "Buzzing, my head hurts from the noise, I might as well go back to the hall." He took out a set of Kongming locks from his sleeve and handed them to her, "The market outside Donghua Gate is in full bloom, you Listen, I can vaguely hear human voices."

She covered her big sleeves and flicked through the lock by herself, stopped to listen carefully, there was indeed a lot of voices.Having lived in the Forbidden Court for a long time, Huangmen and his wife have to walk lightly, the palace is always quiet, it is rare to hear noise, so I feel yearning for it.

"It's a pity I can't go out." She smiled, "I heard that the first month is more lively, the officials will take me to the tower to watch the lanterns?"

He said yes, "When I'm free, I'll take you to Washe to watch dramas and movies." Yan Ba ​​stretched his waist, walked over to her, and said, "Has the doctor checked the pulse today? Is there any good news?"

She smiled shyly: "How can it be so fast, even if there is, it will not be diagnosed until next month."

He was a little disappointed, and pretended to lean on her lap.She looked down at him, ignored him, and just played with herself.The pointed fingers are gathered under the wide sleeves, and the top is dyed with Koudan, which is as sweet as cherries.

He closed his eyes and smelled the faint fragrance in her sleeve.For the past half month, the weather has been calm, it seems like this, there will be no regrets in this life.The previous dynasty had finished handling political affairs and returned to the Rouyi Hall. In the hall, there was his lovely wife leaning on the door looking forward to him. Even if he didn't speak, he was content to cuddle with each other.

The hall was warm, and he was drowsy. He heard her ask in a low voice, "Is there a big banquet tonight?"

He vaguely replied: "There will also be rewards to comfort all the ministers for their hard work in the past year." He said while pulling her sleeve, "You have to eat alone tonight, the previous banquet was held late, don't wait for me, Don't watch the year, go to bed early. After five consecutive days of rest, I will have time to accompany you."

She hummed, and said absent-mindedly: "This lock is interesting, just for me to pass the time. You don't have to worry about me, just do your own work." But the movements of her hands gradually slowed down, and Chi asked, "Can the army enter Jian'an?"

He said no, "but we have crossed the Qianhe River, and we are only one step away from Jian'an."

A layer of mist rose in her eyes, she paused for a while before she lowered her head and said, "Did you encounter no resistance all the way so fast?"

He turned over and sat up, "The Sui Kingdom emphasizes civility over martial arts, even the sergeants' swords are already rusted, there was resistance when they just crossed the border, and then declined, and finally exhausted, now there are only a few veterans struggling to support them. Look. It won't be long, and we will be able to invade Jian'an City in the spring." He looked at her face, afraid that she would be unhappy, and said, "Are you annoying me?"

She glanced at him and said nothing.He got up and put Kong Mingsuo on the desk, turned around and asked, "Will you go to Jian'an when the city is broken?"

He said yes, "If you don't want to burn down the imperial city, you must have a new ruler. I want to build a double capital, with Bianliang on the east and Jian'an on the south. After all, Sui Palace has a history of a hundred years, and it would be a pity to burn it all down. Besides, the common people need to be appeased, and the old ministers need to be dealt with, so many things must be handled by me personally."

She sighed softly, "Can you take me with you? My mother and Gao Fei, I have to see you in person before I can feel at ease."

Knowing what she was thinking, he nodded and said good-bye, "A long journey will be unavoidable at that time, you must be prepared."

She forced a smile, remembering the journey of singing and singing when she first came to get married, but now she has to return with blood and swords and halberds, she feels a desolate feeling that the country is broken.

He didn't stay in Rouyi Hall for long, the Battle of Yue was a great victory, and it was the New Year's Eve, so today was extraordinarily busy.He had his affairs to do, so she entertained herself in Rouyi Palace, instead of going to Baoci Palace to join in the fun with the Empress Dowager and all the maidens, she lazily dressed and stretched herself on the couch to read a book.It's been like this recently. Although it's boring, there is hope every day.

The sky gradually darkened, and the sound of firecrackers resounded throughout the city.She ate some dinner indiscriminately, ordered Shang Gong to close the door of the palace, and was about to take off her clothes and go to bed, when someone opened the curtain and came in, she took a closer look, it was the two Shang Gong from Baoci Palace.

She was taken aback, "Why didn't you communicate when you came in?"

Zheng Shanggong laughed a little strangely, Nafu said: "Today is the year of resignation, the guards in the palace have been relaxed, and no one was seen when I came. The Queen Mother invited Mrs. Li, the official family had a big banquet before, and there was no time to take care of the lady, and the lady was alone. Lonely, but still enter the back garden to be with all the concubines, and everyone is very lively."

She was very disgusted and felt that they were not kind. She took a step back and frowned and said, "The officials ordered me not to leave Rouyi Hall. I am afraid I will disappoint the Queen Mother. Please apologize to the Queen Mother on my behalf. Then go to Baoci Palace to greet the New Year." He forced himself to be calm and called Qin Rang, but no one came in after shouting for a long time.

The two Shang Palaces looked at each other and said with a smile: "Don't shout, my lady, Qin Gongfu is in danger now, I'm afraid I can't take care of him. Please come with us, my lady, so as not to drag around and look ugly." That's what he said As soon as the voice fell, he got started, and one of them grabbed his arm and dragged it out.

Yun Hua struggled up, and said loudly: "You are against the law, this is the Palace of Rouyi!"

The two palace officials had gloomy faces, and they tied her with the tape with both hands, rolled up a sweat towel and stuffed it into her mouth.When they got outside the door, a servant went up to him, picked her up and ran quickly.She couldn't call for help, but felt the cold wind howling into the hem of her clothes, as if she had been stripped naked and exposed in the ice and snow.

She thought she would be sent out of the imperial city, but no, she was taken into a long and narrow alley with gray bricks on both sides, as if she could not walk to the end.She barely looked around, and occasionally a door opened on the bare wall, without eaves or windows.She understood that this was Yongxiang, the place where people from the criminal palace were detained.

If this alley is the eighteenth floor of hell, then she has come to the seventeenth and a half floors.It's too deep, too deep, even though it's in the imperial city, it's separated from Rouyi Hall by thousands of mountains and rivers.As she walked further and further away, the two lanterns at the entrance of the alley could no longer be seen clearly, and the earth-shattering sound from mid-air was also at the other end of the world, which had nothing to do with her.

"Miss wronged tonight." She was thrown into a room, and Zheng Shanggong held up a lantern to light it up, took off the sweat towel from her mouth, looked down at her, and said coldly, "Miss Li committed a crime at night. It is a big taboo. The Empress Dowager has an order to ask the lady to stay here for a few days to make room for other ladies in the palace to sleep with them, so that the emperor's heirs will be prosperous."

Trembling with anger, she gritted her teeth and said, "If you do this, can the officials agree?"

Lu Shanggong couldn't help laughing, "Whether the official will agree or not is something to be said. If the raw rice is made into cooked rice, everything will be fine. It's unfair for the lady to have a special room for one person to eat and everyone to starve. The family hosted a banquet for all the ministers today, and met with a great victory in the war. I was so happy that I drank two more glasses. When I returned to Rouyi Hall, I was afraid that I couldn't even recognize people. Once this is done, it will be fine to recognize people's faults So the queen mother asked the lady to give up the virtuous, and give some opportunities to others, one is for the sake of the emperor's heir, and the other is to gain a good reputation for the lady, the best of both worlds."

They said so much, just to make her give up, and they did. She was a well-behaved person, and she was riddled with holes in an instant.She struggled to get up and wanted to go out, but they pushed her lightly and fell back to the ground.

She tremblingly said: "You let me go, I want to see the official."

Zheng Shanggong shook his head, "I advise my wife to save some effort, this is the deepest part of the alley, and no one can hear you if your throat is broken. You should accept your fate. The number of wronged souls is innumerable. Taizong’s Wei Meiren and Gaozong’s Concubine Dugu once lived here, which one is not the favorite of the harem? The lady should be thankful that the queen mother still remembers the old love and did not kill them all. If it is really a glass of poisoned wine, The officials can't save you either. The lady didn't agree to return to the Golden Palace that day, so she should have expected this day. Let's wait for two days, if the officials still care about the lady, they will naturally let you go out at that time."

Her heart was very chaotic, but her mind was clear. The Queen Mother didn't kill her, but she was not sure about the official's attitude.After tonight, the officials will look for her tomorrow. If it doesn't end well, at worst, let her go out; if it can be covered up, will the poisonous wine and Bai Ling be far behind?

After they finished talking, she wanted to leave, she struggled to stop them, and said in a mournful voice: "You two gentlemen, stay here, I have a few words to say to you."

Those two people really stood still, Fushen said: "My lady, please tell me."

"I have a deep relationship with the officials, and you should know. Tomorrow... maybe tonight, the officials will definitely look for me all over the world. Bianliang City is so big, and I was on duty for two days last time. They can find my whereabouts. This time will be no exception." She knew that she couldn't force it now, and only by talking with them nicely could she survive.He just tied his hands, couldn't get up, and prostrated himself on the ground, ignoring his awkward posture, and hurriedly said, "I don't want to go around in circles with you, I just want to ask you two to be more accommodating. Even though the Empress Dowager is powerful, the world is still an official. The world of the family. The queen mother will always grow old one day. At that time, don't you two find a new backer? As long as I live, a comeback is just around the corner. If you are kind to me now, I will treat you as the same in the future. Confidant. If you let me go, I will ask the official to promise you a lot of money, or let you go out of the palace to reunite with your family, how about it?"

Shang Gong is not allowed to leave the Forbidden Court for the rest of his life, if he can go back, it is naturally a good thing that he can only wish for.However, it is a temptation for those who have a family, and for those who are homeless and jobless, it is nothing more than a wind.

Lu Shanggong turned his head to look at Zheng Shanggong, but Zheng Shanggong refused without even thinking about it, "Promises are exciting, but we must be blessed to accept them. We are ordered by the Queen Mother, and we dare not have half-hearted intentions. The lady is still quiet." Stay, whether to go or stay, depends on what the queen mother wants."

They left, slamming the door behind them, leaving her in darkness.There is no window in the room, and the opposite is a narrow road, only a little indistinguishable dark blue permeates through the crisscross lattices.She has had an unspeakable fear of this kind of confined space since she was a child, and keeping her here is simply forcing her to die.The hands were tied tightly, and she couldn't break free. She stumbled and stood up, anxious and frightened, bumping her head against the door in confusion, causing severe pain in her forehead, but she couldn't stop.Slowly, a creeping feeling crawled across her cheeks, and she smelled a fishy and sweet smell, she guessed it was probably bleeding.

She can't take care of it anymore, she feels like a knife is twisted in her heart, if the officials mistakenly treat someone else as her, what should they do in the future?She has always known that she is small-minded, and although she is in the harem, she is unwilling to share him with others.He belonged to her alone, and she never thought that he would be exposed to both rain and dew.If that happened, then the relationship between them would probably be a dead end.

She screamed hoarse until she couldn't make a sound, and no one came to help her.In the end, he sat down exhausted and slumped, completely sinking into despair.I thought I had experienced all the hardships, but I was wrong.She lives just to make God happy, and when she thinks about it, she will play tricks on her. No matter how strong she is, she feels that she will not be able to hold on any longer.

Her back was leaning against the door, and she was shivering in such a cold place.In fact, she has not suffered too much. Xihe is a nominally cold palace, and she is never short of material.Now, locked in this gloomy dark room, the only person who loves her is drunk, maybe he won't find out until tomorrow morning.When it is discovered, the big mistake may have been made.

(End of this chapter)