Queen Sun

Chapter 36
"Dividing powers." Ruoshui repeated it softly on his lips, raised his head and asked seriously, "Second brother, are you going to divide powers?"

Li Shimin seemed very surprised that his wife would have such a question: "Decentralization of power? Ruoshui, you just said it the wrong way."

Ruoshui was puzzled for a moment: "If power is centralized, shouldn't the system of prefectures and counties continue to be implemented?"

"No." Li Shimin took a few steps outside and said with his hands behind his back, "Qin broke the Zhou system for fear of repeating the situation where the princes were divided and separated, but they still died in the second generation. For example, I will naturally not allow my dynasty to return to the Zhou system, but it is urgent to change the feudal system."

"What is the second brother going to do?"

Li Shimin's eyes flickered coldly, and he said slowly: "I want to restore the feudal law of the three generations, and honor the heroes of the world."

"Second brother did this because he wanted to continue the first year of Zhenguan's 'Shi Ding Hero Shi Fengchai'?" Ruo Shui speculated.

"That's right, during the reign of Wude, my father and the emperor sealed up the imperial family privately, and finally rebelled in Lujiang, fighting for merit with supernatural powers. As soon as I ascended the throne, I will not be rewarded by meritorious service, but by merit. Now it has been six years. The heroes who were born and died with me are still as loyal as a rock. I have thought for a long time in my heart, if I want to make my descendants last forever, and the country will be safe forever, I must use my relatives and virtuous as a screen, and the descendants of the heroes will also support my descendants, and protect my Tang Dynasty from generation to generation .”

Looking at those deep and proud eyes, Ruoshui's body trembled slightly, they were a pair of eyes that truly belonged to the emperor, and he almost didn't see the pampering and tenderness towards him before, his eyes stayed in this vast world, Graceful atmosphere.However, Ruoshui couldn't help sighing that although Li Shimin was one of the wisest kings in history, after the Xuanwumen Incident, he wanted to put the important task of consolidating his country on the heroes who lived and died with him. Wrong, but if you add the four words hereditary, it is obviously too much to go too far.

Seeing his wife's silence for a long time, Li Shimin frowned and said, "Could it be that you don't agree with Ruoshui? Or are you worried that Wuji is the head of the distribution?"

Ruoshui hesitated for a moment, but still sighed: "Second brother, even if you are the master of the world, you are not the god of the world after all. You will never be able to predict the future, let alone control the future."

Seeing a trace of struggle in her husband's eyes, she continued: "People's hearts are the most fickle. Today we can trust Fang Xuanling and Li Jing, but no one can guarantee whether their descendants can still be trusted. It is completely unbelievable that the offspring of the eldest grandson family will never be unfaithful. Second brother, your hands are big enough to control the world, so as to give our son a prosperous dynasty, this is enough."

Li Shimin stared at Ruoshui's clear and indifferent eyes, and unconsciously said in a daze: "Ruoshui, the future belongs to them, not mine."

"The future belongs to others, but now it belongs to you." Ruoshui said gently.The emperor is also a human being. The so-called Mingjun knows how to endure and control better than anyone else in the world. He holds the life and death of thousands of people and the wealth of the world in his hands, but his words and deeds will be remembered by future generations. , let others comment, so Li Shimin tried his best to do his best, he was afraid of all things beyond his control, especially this long time.

"It's mine now." Li Shimin murmured and repeated, his eyes flickered and he said, "You are right, I was too impatient, so don't blame Wei Zheng and the others for admonishing the imperial edict until their necks are thick. gone."

Ruoshui smiled and said: "Once the edict is issued, it cannot be recovered. As long as the second brother doesn't mention it anymore, they will understand."

Li Shimin's expression finally relaxed, he sat beside his wife, and said with a little worry: "I just talked for a long time, you are not tired, are you?"

Ruoshui took her husband's hand and put it in her belly, shook her head slightly, and said with a trace of mystery: "Second brother, before you came, she moved inside."

"Really?" Li Shimin lowered his voice and pressed his face excitedly, "Let me listen, is there any movement?"

A few days later, Ruoshui suddenly said to the maid beside him, "Danyun, go and call brother."

Danyun was a little surprised, nodded and was about to retreat, but before she could walk out the door, she heard Ruoshui calling herself again: "Forget it, I don't want to go. If I can think of it, my brother will definitely think of it."

If a tree is beautiful in the forest, the wind will destroy it, Changsun Wuji will never forget it.

In the evening, the west side of Chang'an was reflected by the setting sun like a burning fireball, but the passers-by on the street didn't care about the beautiful scenery of the sky, and hurriedly wiped off their sweat and walked home.

But at this moment, a man in a white gown looked particularly abrupt. He had a handsome complexion, and he walked his way unhurriedly. He got down and pulled the door knocker.

It was Changsun Wuji himself who came to answer the door, and seeing that he hadn't closed the door, he asked anxiously, "Suiliang, how did you meet Sheng yesterday?"

Chu Suiliang's face was calm, he only glanced at his friend slightly mockingly, and teased: "Why can't you even wait for me to ask for a glass of water first?"

Changsun Wuji sighed in his heart, the most conceited thing in his life is the word calm, but when it comes to Suiliang and Ruoshui, he always loses his sense of normalcy, so he has no choice but to say: "The tea is too bland, I happen to have a pot of good wine here , are you interested?"

"Wuji is really generous."

"What kind of generosity are you and I talking about?" Wuji couldn't help laughing out loud.

After the two found a quiet place to sit down, a few exquisite cold dishes and a jug of wine were soon placed on the table.

"It's actually a jug made of cold jade." Chu Suiliang looked at it in surprise and said, "Wuji, when did you show off like this?"

"Only when entertaining you." Changsun Wuji said angrily, "This is a gift from His Majesty, you can't take it if you are a king or a marquis. If you don't accept this, that one will turn his face." The other party filled a glass.

Chu Suiliang took a sip and praised: "Sure enough, the taste is clear and mellow, which is just right for this time."

Changsun Wuji asked with a smile: "I've drunk this wine too, can you tell me about what happened yesterday."

Chu Suiliang hid his smile, looked at Bi Zhu outside the window, and said calmly: "Your Majesty is a wise king."

"You need to tell me this!" Wuji said anxiously, "Your Majesty, do you see any clues?"

"If we weren't acquaintances, King Qi and I would only have some similarities in eyebrows, how could we see anything?" Chu Suiliang shook his head and said, deliberately hiding the momentary stupefaction of the emperor when he first saw him, and then he did it himself. Poured a glass of wine.

Changsun Wuji looked at the other party suspiciously for a while, then picked up some vegetables and chewed them slowly in his mouth. After a moment of silence, he still couldn't help asking: "Suiliang, what's going on with Ruoshui? Do you recognize me?"

Chu Suiliang didn't expect him to be so direct, he was stunned for a moment, and smiled wryly: "Then I don't even know."

"You!" Changsun Wuji seemed unable to accept the answer, "Forget it, I won't ask you either. If I hadn't met Fang Xuanling that day, so many things wouldn't have happened now. But I still haven't figured it out yet. , So long ago, why did Ruoshui mention your name to Lao Fang, as if he knew that you would definitely come to Chang'an, and even be an official in the court."

After finishing speaking, he looked up at Chu Suiliang who was playing with the wine glass with his head down, and said to himself: "There is one more thing I can't figure out, that is, she doesn't seem to know that you, Chu Suiliang, are the elder brother Ah Liang that she has always been thinking about." , but it doesn’t make sense at all.”

"Wuji, are you free?"

"What?" Changsun Wuji didn't react for a while.

"Otherwise, why are you so busy just staring at Guanyin's servant girl and me?" Chu Suiliang jokingly said, "If Uncle Changsun is still alive, you must be said to be useless."

After hearing this, Changsun Wuji also said with a smile: "If my father is still alive, why do I need to worry so much?" After speaking, he laughed at himself, "Forget it, you are right, I have been thinking too much recently. , as long as Ruoshui is happy, I will be relieved."

Chu Suiliang's hand holding the wine glass tightened suddenly, but he still said with a smile on his face, "Yes, as long as the Guanyin servant girl is doing well."

"Actually," Changsun Wuji took a sip of his wine, hesitated for a while, and said, "Suiliang, you can try to treat the current Ruoshui as your younger sister, maybe you will feel more at ease."

For a while, there was silence in the quiet house. After a long time, Changsun Wuji clearly saw the desperation overflowing from Chu Suiliang's eyes, and responded to himself in a shy voice: "Wuji, we were so young at that time, so small that I never thought that those days would be better than the years after that, but now that I think about it, maybe it is because of that flawless preciousness that I can't forget it. After all, it is the only beauty. Ruoshui also thinks so Yes."

"Suiliang, I shouldn't have said that." Changsun Wuji couldn't bear it.

Chu Suiliang was silent, but the smile on his face carried a hint of desolation.

"By the way, in a few days, you will probably receive the formal edict." Changsun Wuji forced a smile, "I haven't congratulated you yet, with Fang Xuanling's recommendation, His Majesty should You can directly put it in the seat of the admonisher, and now the officials of the third rank and above in the court, let me give you an overview first, so as not to be caught off guard."

"Okay." Chu Suiliang nodded in response, but the figure of the king from yesterday appeared in his mind. He looked down at you from a height, so domineering, but it seemed to make you feel that he was born to stand on the highest position. Looking down at the common people everywhere, would such a man be suitable for Guanyin's maidservant?
Unaware of his friend's distraction, Changsun Wuji continued talking until he accidentally turned his head, and couldn't help calling softly: "It's so late, Sui Liang, why don't you stay with me tonight."

Chu Suiliang shook his head and refused, "Your sister-in-law is still waiting for me at home, but I'm afraid that your family's car will be borrowed from me."

Changsun Wuji didn't keep him either, and after ordering his servants to prepare the car, he sent him to the door. The moment he opened the door, Chu Suiliang heard Wuji say to himself: "I still have to take care of that cook Zhang." Thank you."

Chu Suiliang's hand holding the door seemed to be fixed for a moment, and then, as if he didn't hear it, he stepped out of the threshold, turned around and said goodbye with a smile: "Wuji, I'm really bothering you today, so I'll take my leave."

Changsun Wuji nodded slightly, watched the chariots and horses go away, stood in the dark for a while, and then turned back.

(End of this chapter)