Queen Sun

Chapter 60 The Eastern Capital (1)
"Du He! Why are you here?" Ming Yao cried out in surprise.

Du He also did not hide the joy on his face at all, walked to their table, chuckled: "Madam Gao, Miss Gao, I never expected to meet again so soon after parting with Daming Temple, it is really Du He's luck. "

Ruoshui looked at Ming Yao's pretended unintentional expression with great interest, and thought to himself, this Du He was supposed to be the son-in-law of Princess Chengyang, the second daughter of Emperor Taizong of Tang, but because history abducted him in the second year of Zhenguan. So much so that the life of the second son of the Du family seems to have changed a lot, otherwise he should already be Chengqian's close minister at this moment.However, it is a blessing in disguise, and he knows it is not a blessing. Perhaps it is precisely because he did not become the royal consort that he may have escaped the fate of being killed in the prince's rebellion in the 17th year of Zhenguan.Thinking of this, she couldn't help but move in her heart. Of course, this is something she would never allow to happen. Even if everything is so difficult, she will try to change the bad luck of these children. In her opinion, perhaps, this is the most important thing. of……

At this time, Du He didn't know the real identity of the mother and daughter sitting opposite him. Of course, he had thought about it. Naturally, according to their behavior and speech, they would not be born in ordinary families, but that kind of peaceful demeanor also They will never be associated with royal relatives.

"Madame Gao, excuse me, I wonder why the two of you didn't go back to Chang'an directly?" Du He couldn't understand, especially that lady, who has been away from home for several years, isn't she in a hurry to get together with her husband-in-law?
Ruoshui smiled slightly: "Master Du can just call my aunt, there is no need to be so polite. We also have relatives in Luoyang, so we come here first to reassure them."

Du He's complexion was slightly different. He really couldn't say the word aunt. Although they were called mother and daughter, judging from their faces, it might be more convincing to say that they were sisters. He said slightly uncomfortably. "Auntie, how long will you stay in Luoyang?" After speaking, he glanced at Mingyao for a while.

Seeing that Mingyao was silent, Ruoshui knew what she was hesitating in her heart, so she said: "My little girl has a marriage contract with her cousin since she was a child, and she is going to get married when she returns to Chang'an, so she won't stay in Luoyang for too long. .”

Sure enough, Du He's face suddenly changed, and he was stunned for a long time before he came back to his senses and forced a smile: "I'm so rude, I didn't know that Miss Gao already had..." But the last few words didn't say anything. not come out.

Ming Yao's heart trembled heavily, her drooping eyebrows seemed to be about to be raised, but they were still lowered after all, until Du He's farewell sound was heard next to her ear, then she slowly raised her head and stared blankly at him far away. Go back.

"Some things, once you figure it out, you still have to fight for it and change it yourself." Ruo Shuiyun said with a hint of cruelty, "Mother can help you for a while, but she can't help you forever."

Mingyao looked at her mother's calm face as before, and her mood gradually became clear: "Mother, to me, maybe I don't like him, but he is indeed the first person to make my daughter's heart flutter."

Ruoshui couldn't help smiling, she has similar facial features to her, but Mingyao is more like the Guanyin servant girl in the past, with a free and firm heart, a princess who can make herself proud.

To a certain extent, Emperor Sui Yang was indeed ruined by his selfish desire for luxury. It goes without saying that Xianren Palace is just to the west of Xianren Palace, which starts from Mang Mountain in the north and faces Yique in the south. Luoyang Xiyuan, with a radius of more than two hundred miles, is a symbol of the accumulation and destruction of a dynasty's wealth.During the reign of Wude, Xiyuan was renamed as Fanghuayuan. Although it is still a royal garden, it has lost its grandeur and luxury like a fairyland.

Li Shimin has been good at riding and shooting since he was a child. In every battle on the battlefield, he must ride a horse and enter the enemy's battle.After ascending the throne, this experience was naturally gone, so his interest naturally turned to the excitement of hunting.

After the rain stopped, the emperor, who was so angry in the Xianren Palace and was admonished by Wei Zheng, finally had a chance to vent his wantonness. I don't care, but the huge hunting place has aroused Li Shimin's great interest.

When the emperor hunted, he was naturally accompanied by his courtiers and guards. Li Shimin also specially selected more than a hundred hunters who were good at riding as hunting companions, which they called "Hundred Riders".

Looking at the figures of a group of people galloping away, Changsun Wuji turned his face and saw Wei Zheng's expression of dissent in a strange way: "Master Wei, do you still disagree with His Majesty's hunting?"

Wei Zheng replied seriously: "Your Majesty likes hunting, as a subject, I have to worry about it."

"Oh?" Changsun Wuji said with a smile, "Master Wei, this Fanghua Garden is located on the outskirts of the Luoyang Imperial City. It has a large area and does not disturb the people. Why should we worry about it?"

Wei Zheng frowned: "Although your majesty is skilled in riding and shooting, after all, the mountains and forests are vast and sparsely populated. What should we do if something unexpected happens? Your majesty has really not spared himself too much recently."

Changsun Wuji's eyes couldn't help showing surprise. Unexpectedly, Wei Zheng's understanding of His Majesty is very subtle. Maybe it's just a minister like him who advises and advises, and will have more history books than himself or Fang Xuan in the future. Thinking of this, there is also a little sincerity in his words: "Master Wei, the emperor is also a mortal after all, how can he be perfect every moment? Sometimes, some innocuous indulgences It may be a necessary adjustment."

Wei Zheng also stared at Changsun Wuji in surprise for a while, and after a while, he shook his head and said, "As a subject, the first thing to be loyal to is the imperial power of the Tang Dynasty, and the second is to the monarch rather than an ordinary person. My lord Changsun, you After all, it’s different from me. From the very beginning, I knew that the one I wanted to be loyal to was not the second son of the Li family, nor the later King Qin, but the current His Majesty who rules the world, that’s all.”

Changsun Wuji suddenly laughed loudly, stretched out his hand and patted the other person's shoulder, and said, "Lord Wei, Wuji has always been self-reliant, and you are the second person I admire in my heart after Your Majesty. "

Startled slightly, the corner of Wei Zheng's mouth also raised an almost imperceptible arc: "Master Changsun is too famous."

The sky was high and the clouds were light, Li Shimin galloped in the mountains and forests to his heart's content, the guards behind him were all left far away, only Tang Jian, the official minister, could barely keep up with the emperor's beloved horse, but he was already out of breath.Suddenly, seeing His Majesty reining in the reins, Tang Jian heaved a sigh of relief, took two small steps, and just wanted to make a sound, but he was stunned by the situation ahead and stayed where he was.

A group of ferocious and frightening wild boars suddenly ran out from the lush forest ahead, and rushed straight towards the emperor's mount.Li Shimin's body was tense, with a cold expression on his face, he drew his strong bow, and the four long arrows disappeared like shooting stars, directly hitting the swaying body of the beast, which made Tang Jian dumbfounded.

In an instant, another wild boar that had not been hit by an arrow ran straight in front of Li Shimin's horse. Tang Jian was shocked to see that His Majesty had no more arrows in his hand, so he hurriedly got off his horse and wanted to fight the beast.But before he got close, he saw that the king was not timid at all, but his eyes were burning brightly. He pulled up the sharp sword at his waist and swung it down. The ferocious wild boar just now fell into a pool of blood, with his neck There is a deep hole in the bone that makes people shudder.

Li Shimin withdrew his bloody sword and shouted loudly to the guards following him: "Take all these animals back and give them to the people in the imperial dining room to take good care of them." Then he turned around and saw Tang Jian's still pale face, he couldn't help but sigh. Dai teased, "Tang Qing, when you were the head of Tiance Prefecture, didn't you see how I was killed on the battlefield? Today, I'm just a few beasts, why should I be afraid?"

Tang Jian knelt on the ground immediately when he heard the words, and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, in the past Han Gaozu used horses to win the world, but he did not use horses to rule it. Since your majesty ruled the world with martial arts, do you still have to use hunting to show off your ambitions?"

Li Shimin stared at Tang Jian coldly, suddenly felt that he had lost all interest just now, clamped the horse's belly with his legs, turned around, left a group of courtiers, and galloped away.

After a long time, one rider and one rider stopped by a winding river. Li Shimin jumped off his horse and stood in front of the clear river, with nothing but his own reflection.He suddenly wanted to look up to the sky and laugh. In the world, everyone is his subject, and all the land is conquered by him, but in the end, what can he own?Walking step by step from the bloodshed and victory, the people around him moved away one by one, even Ruoshui... also... Li Shimin closed his eyes tightly, and that scene reappeared in front of him again and again.That night, my wife just lay on the couch quietly and without breath, my heart seemed to have no feeling, no pain or pain, my whole body was so cold that it seemed that I had lost temperature, and I dared not reach out to touch it. Or a touch.He just looked at Ruoshui like this without moving, really wanted to keep watching like this forever, hoping that tomorrow would never come.But when the first ray of sunlight came in from the window, Ruoshui's body began to slowly blur, and when he stretched out his hand, there was already nothingness left, and in the end, like a mist that dissipated at the sight of light, nothing could be seen. None left.But no one would believe what happened at that moment, and he didn't care anymore, he just knew that since then, he has been truly alone, and in this life, there will be no more 23 years of entanglements to accompany him , There will no longer be people who stay together forever.

When they returned to the palace where they were staying, all the accompanying ministers knelt at the door of the outer hall, and it was so dark that Li Shimin's eyes hardly stopped, and he only said lightly: "Tang Jian's words today show his loyalty and sincerity. Reward a thousand satins, drive to Luoyang Palace tomorrow, and stop hunting."

Facing the emperor's back, the ministers knelt down and called His Majesty His Majesty His Majesty, and the words of the crowd echoed across the palaces and pavilions, and the sound was endless.

The same prosperity and excitement, but compared with Chang'an's east and west markets, the commercial market in Luoyang has more charm. Walking among the strange crowd, Mingyao looked around strangely. She felt that it was too conspicuous to hide her face in the bustling market, and I am afraid they still have to wear that annoying hat now, thinking of this, her mood became even more cheerful: "Mother, look over there. "She held Ruoshui's hand and shouted in surprise.

Following the direction Mingyao pointed, Ruoshui frowned. At the door of the tea house in front, a child whose face could not be seen was being stepped on by several people, moaning in pain, but the passers-by around seemed to be used to it. , far away to avoid.Grabbing her daughter who was about to rush forward, she took a few steps back, and asked a woman in a small shop by the side of the road, "Excuse me, the shop owner, why didn't anyone come to take care of the child who was beaten so badly? "

The woman looked around cautiously, and then said in a low voice: "You are not from Luoyang, are you? Let me advise you, you can't control this matter, and you can't control it."

Ming Yao said excitedly: "In this peaceful and prosperous age, how can it be said that they can't be controlled? Do they still talk about the king's law?"

"Wang Fa?" The woman seemed to have a disdainful smile, "The emperor is far away today, even the governor of Luozhou will not care about this matter, let alone us ordinary people?"

Ruoshui smiled lightly: "We just feel that the child is so pitiful, if it's not some deep hatred, why beat him to death?"

The woman shook her head: "Is it some kind of deep hatred, but what the child and brothers are holding in their hands is something that makes officials worry."

"Two brothers?" Ming Yaoqi asked, "What about the other one?"

"The elder brother of this child has already been beaten to the point of being unable to stand up. I don't know if he is still alive. Today is the younger one's turn. If things go on like this, he will be beaten to death sooner or later." The woman sighed. He said, "Those officials were not in a hurry, anyway, they couldn't escape the city of Luoyang, but the emperor has arrived in Luoyang recently, if they get involved in the matter, don't involve a large number of people. "

"What's the big deal?" Ruoshui's voice was not loud, but a trace of anger flashed in his eyes.

The other party's voice was softer: "Last year, Luoyang City was hit by a flood. Some officials in charge of the warehouse not only refused to release food for disaster relief, but sold it at a high price. Many people starved to death because of this. In the end, he was beaten to death with the theory about the distribution of grain. Later, that elder brother found evidence of this corrupt official’s injustice, and filed a complaint with the government. As a result, not only did he not respond, but Since then, people have been forcing them to hand over all the documents, and they were not allowed to leave Luoyang at the beginning, if the emperor hadn't traveled west at this time, the two brothers would not have been in such a miserable situation."

"Auntie, you know very well." Ruoshui smiled slightly, and the threatening voices of those thugs came from his ears.

"The two brothers borrowed money from others to open a small tea house to make a living. I lived next to them. Seeing that they had no father or mother, I would always take care of them on weekdays, but now, I dare not even look at them. Let's take a look."

(End of this chapter)