Queen Sun

Chapter 52
Time flies like water, which is not bad at all.After the great joy, there was the great funeral. Li Shimin, who got drunk at the eldest son's wedding banquet in the middle of the month, learned a few days later that the Taishang Huang, who spent his entire life alone in the Tai'an Palace, was about to come to the end of his life.

For his father, Li Shimin's feelings have always been complicated. He admired him when he was young, admired him when he was young, and after he ruled the world, the differences, doubts, and dishonesty between father and son gradually made the family relationship weak and meaningless.But even though he is now the supreme being in the world, there is still a corner of hope in his heart, hoping to be recognized by his father, hoping that his father will look at him with proud eyes again, just like the time after Jinyang raised his troops.

Before the sick bed, Li Shimin knelt down heavily, looked at his father who was getting thinner and older, and felt sore in his heart: "Father, my son is late."

Li Yuan opened his dull eyes, turned his head slightly to one side, and called out, "It's Erlang."

When Li Shimin heard it, he almost burst into tears. For many years, father and son had not called him so intimately: "Yes, father, Erlang is here."

Perhaps because of his son being in front of the bed, Li Yuan's spirit seemed to improve a lot. He stretched out his thin hand and put it on the back of Li Shimin's: "Erlang, do you remember? Serious illness, long-term medical treatment, I went to Dahai Temple to pray for my father, and made a stone Buddha and sent it to the temple to offer, and then you really recovered."

"Yes, son remembers."

"At that time, your mother said, I'm afraid Erlang is a difficult child to raise." Li Yuan Xu said, "Now it seems that compared with Dalang and Shiro, you are not easy to raise, but you are indeed more promising."

Li Shimin couldn't help but choked up and said: "I know that my father has been sad about the Xuanwu Gate until now, that day..."

Li Yuan blocked Li Shimin's words, and shook his head: "It's been so many years, now that I think about it, you didn't do anything wrong. That day, if you didn't strike first, Dalang and the others would also strike at you in the future. At least , this Great Tang Dynasty is in your hands, I, Li Yuan, will live up to the ancestors of our Li family."

Li Shimin looked at the old Li Yuan with mixed sorrow and joy, this was the first time he heard such words from his father.

"Later, I always thought, if I hadn't been hesitant, if our family property hadn't been in such a huge world, maybe you wouldn't have caused this disaster of brotherly killing each other." Li Yuan's voice became more and more serious. getting weaker.

Li Shimin just nodded silently, speechless.

"Now, I'm going to see your mother soon. After all these years, she's probably the one I'm most sorry for." Li Yuan fixed his eyes on one spot, and whispered, "When she was alive, I couldn't give her my all. Treat her like an idiot, and when she dies, I won't control the three of you, and Xiuning is long gone."

"Mother is generous and magnanimous, so she will definitely not blame daddy." Li Shimin persuaded.

Li Yuan smiled bleakly: "Your mother has a prominent family, she was extremely intelligent since she was a child, and she has insight into the world. I am far behind her. Among you five brothers and sisters, except for Xuanba who died young, only you and Xiuning are the most similar to your mother. Until Today, you are clearer than me about the important affairs of the country, so I don’t need to mention them too much, it’s just a matter of the crown prince, you can’t be indecisive like me, and you will make a big mistake in the end.”

Li Shimin's eyes were red, and he said yes repeatedly.

Li Yuan let out a heavy breath, the light in his eyes was slowly dissipating, and when he was dying, he murmured: "Erlang, man, don't wait until you lose it to know how to cherish it, by then it will be too late. "

Li Shimin looked at Li Yuan who had closed his eyes, wept unceasingly, and kowtowed deeply three times in front of the couch.In the end, his father still didn't completely forgive himself, and in the end, he still died in depression.

In the middle of the night, in the Lizheng Palace, Ruoshui gently persuaded Li Shimin, "Second brother, birth, old age, sickness and death are human nature, not to mention that the father is over seventy years old, and he is actually dying. Don't be too sad."

Li Shimin still sat on the soft couch depressed: "Ruoshui, I don't know why, since my father left, my mind kept appearing when I was young, what he taught me, and the quarrel between us brothers and sisters." The scene of making a mess, was it all destroyed by me?"

Ruoshui sighed slightly, who said that the Son of Heaven must be selfless, as long as he is a human being, how can he be free from joy, anger, sorrow and joy?Who can be truly heartless?I just need to ask myself: "Does Second Brother have any regrets in his heart?"

Li Shimin frowned, thought for a long time, finally let go, and said with firm eyes: "Yes, even if I go back to the past, I will still make that choice. What's more, I will grieve and understand what happened. Hurt, but never regret."

"Second brother, in fact, you already have the answer in your heart, don't you?"

Li Shimin suddenly raised his head and stared at his wife: "Ruoshui, have you ever regretted it?"

"Me?" Ruo Shui asked subconsciously, "What can I regret?"

"Father once told me that Madam Changsun wanted you to marry Yuanji at first." Li Shimin stared closely at Ruoshui's expression, "If you were given the right to choose, would you still marry me?"

Ruoshui smiled lightly: "Second brother, in my eyes at that time, you and Yuan Ji were no different, they were just strangers, and whoever you marry, isn't it all the same?"

There was no joy or anger on Li Shimin's face, and he said slowly: "Nowadays, you are the only one who can talk to me like this."

Ruoshui's heart tightened. In the past few months, Yuan Ji, a name that should be avoided in every possible way, appeared too frequently. What went wrong?Every time she sees Li Shimin asking something that makes her feel uneasy with this seemingly calm tone and eyes, an ominous premonition will surge in her heart. Is it because she doesn't trust her or is she not trusted?
"But you still married me." Li Shimin seemed to be talking to himself, "So, all that is impossible."

Ruoshui then ignored her husband's strange words and deeds, blew out the candle, and lay down on the couch to sleep. Her body seemed to be getting better recently, and she didn't want to arouse her elder grandson's old illness because of her overthinking.

In October, Li Shimin led a hundred officials to send his father to Xianling to be buried with his mother. After Li Yuan died, he was posthumously named Emperor Taiwu and temple named Gaozu. He was the first emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

Every day in the palace began to be similar. Since the death of the Supreme Emperor, the emperor's mood has become a little moody. The palace people have become more and more cautious in doing things, lest they offend the angry emperor. If the queen is not present at this moment, Those who err will surely be punished with the rod.

The harem is already walking on thin ice, but the previous dynasty, which was always harmonious with the monarch and his subjects, has also undergone subtle changes. The reason for this is Fang Xuanling's insistence on asking Li Shimin to resign as a servant.

Fang Xuanling has served the emperor for many years, he is cautious and prudent, and has won the trust of Li Shimin.However, ever since he was ordered to investigate Gao Zengsheng's accusation of treason against Li Jing, he had doubts in his heart.Although today's son is a sage and sage king, he will never believe in the slander of villains, but after all, Manying is easy to be hurt, and he has been in a high position for many years. If someone hates him, it is very likely that he will be killed, so he should be wise and protect himself.

How could Li Shimin agree to Fang Xuanling's resignation? One of them issued an edict and the other made a statement. Li Shimin was annoyed when they came and went. They simply locked Fang Xuanling in the mansion and made him think about it.The unhappiness of the previous dynasty spread to the harem and became anger.Ruoshui knew that Li Shimin would not be able to persuade him at this moment, so he only took some interesting stories about his children to calm the emperor's restless heart slowly.

At the end of the year, the concubines and concubines in the quiet harem gradually had some expectations, seeing the queen was still secondary, and the New Year's Day family banquet in the New Year was a rare opportunity for them to meet His Majesty.Besides, for concubines who have given birth to children and are not low in status, the emperor may come to their palace to see the young prince and princess during the first month.

"Your Majesty is dining elsewhere, does Miss really not care at all?" Mingxia asked Ruoshui who was watching "Shishuoxinyu" raptly.

Ruoshui slightly raised his eyes from the book, but it wasn't Mingxia who called: "Guangyue, make me another pot of tea."

Seeing this, Danyun wanted to pull Mingxia away: "You really don't need a brain when you talk."

Ming Xia said aggrievedly: "Miss didn't care about Your Majesty back then, of course it didn't matter. But now, we can understand Miss's thoughts, if Your Majesty wronged Miss, what should we do?"

Ruoshui naturally heard it clearly, so he simply put down the book and said to the three people in the room: "If it's really what Mingxia said, do I need His Majesty to evacuate the harem to be at ease?"

Mingxia was speechless, and only heard Ruoshui continue to say: "Don't say it's just a meal, even if His Majesty summons someone to sleep in, am I going to make that person late? If I don't even have that tolerance, I will How to be the empress of the Tang Dynasty, and how to be the mother of the world?"

"But, Miss..." Mingxia was about to speak when Ruoshui waved her hand gently.

"I understand what you are worried about. But His Majesty is not a man who can be obtained by taking the initiative, so don't worry." Ruoshui said calmly.After so many years, if there is no such trust, there is no need for the relationship between them to go on like this.Trust, sometimes really is more important than love.

At this time in the Anle Palace, after dinner, Li Shimin sat and chatted with Wei Gui.Since Ruoshui's illness, Li Shimin has not set foot in other concubines in the harem for a long time. Occasionally, he feels a little guilty about Wei Gui. This virtuous and beautiful woman has always been trusted by Ruoshui, and she is not like other concubines. The concubine was so jealous and made troubles, and she also silently endured the many gossip and gossip she caused after marrying him. Thinking of this, his heart suddenly moved slightly.

"Gui'er." Li Shimin's voice changed slightly, "Now, do you still think of your deceased husband?"

Wei Gui turned pale with shock, and hurriedly replied: "Why did Your Majesty say such a thing today? It made the courtiers and concubines very frightened."

Li Shimin frowned: "You don't have to worry so much, I just asked casually."

Wei Gui lowered his head and was silent for a while before he spoke softly: "The concubine and her late husband Li Min were only married because of their parents' orders, and the concubine bought a few concubines for him after that. The relationship is not deep, so Probably only when I see my daughter will I think of her father."

"Parents' orders..." Li Shimin repeated in a murmur, staring at the teacup in his hand thoughtfully, and then said with a normal face, "Okay, it's getting late, you should rest well, my dear." I'm leaving."

Wei Gui smiled and said, "Yes, my concubine will send you off to Your Majesty respectfully."

Li Shimin nodded, and walked out. "Go back to the Lizheng Palace." He got on the chariot and instructed Zheng Ji.

No one noticed that Wei Gui watched the emperor gradually go away, almost expressionless, some things might have been lost when she thought she got them.

"Miss, there is something, I have found out a little bit." Dan Yun came up with a pot of melons and fruits, "Not long ago, you asked me to find out what happened to Concubine Shu and Concubine Xian when His Majesty was seriously ill last year. Listen to Xian A maid named Ru'er next to the concubine said that at the end of the seventh year of Zhenguan, Concubine Xian got a painting from Princess Gaoyang next to Wude Hall, and she took that painting to look for it later. Concubine Shu, the two of you have been talking in secret for a long time, when Concubine Shu came out, Concubine Shu's face was pale and pale, very strange."

painting?Wude Hall?A matter of life and death?Ruoshui lowered her eyebrows and closed her eyes, the answer seemed to be in front of her eyes. That day, Li Shimin thought she had lied, and her heart suddenly turned cold. Then the doubts and speculations that he seemed to have in the past few times must be for the same reason. thing--

... King Qi ... Li Yuanji ...

(End of this chapter)