Roufu Diji

Chapter 11 Wanyan Zongjun Hu Shachunqian
1. Bad news

At the end of June of the fifth year of Jin Tianhui, Zong Jun, who was in the Hesu Hall, suddenly received a handwritten letter from his mother, He Shilie, on which there were only a few numbers: "Brother Ru, return quickly."

He has seven elder brothers, but he understands that the "brother" his mother refers to can only be one person—his second elder brother, Wanyan Zongwang who has the same mother as him and his ninth younger brother.

Raising the whip with his right hand, swinging it down from time to time, the purple electric monkey under his body is flying like lightning, and the long black hair is flying straight behind him for thousands of miles, regardless of the wind and rain.

After passing through the gate of Huining Mansion, the capital, it didn't take a while to rush to the main gate of the imperial palace.Zong Juan got off his horse and walked straight into the palace gate. The guards guarding the gate stepped forward to stop him, but he didn't stop there. He just raised his hand and showed a gold medal with a cold expression. .

Zong Juan eagerly walked towards the familiar palace.Before entering the door, he caught a glimpse of a figure from a distance, and he recognized it immediately, and called out, "Mother!"

A middle-aged woman turned her head and looked out the door.Years and sorrow crawled over her skin, leaving fine marks on her skin, her face without makeup was haggard and dull, and the once beautiful eyes only flashed a look of expression when she heard Zong Juan's call.

Seeing him, she smiled, "Zong Juan."

Zong Juan came over to hug his mother, and then looked at her carefully.The sky blue left lapel jacket and brocade skirt she wore were simple and plain, made of extremely ordinary fabrics, and she wore "Yu Xiaoyao" on her head. She was dressed in a soap gauze bun like a towel, and the jade tins were scattered on it in fine pieces. The color is flat.

"Mother," Zong Juan frowned, "Didn't the lord say that he would still treat you as a queen?"

He Shilie nodded: "Yes. He was very polite to me, and everything was still in accordance with the rules when your father was alive. I wanted to dress plainly. Besides, your second brother..."

Speaking of this matter, she was about to cry, but only sighed.

Zong Juan waved away the palace attendants, and then asked his mother, "How did the second brother die? Wasn't he always in good health?"

Heshi Lie smiled faintly, feeling very desolate: "It is said that on the way back to the court, the teacher went down to the river to take a bath in cold water due to the hot weather, and then fell ill with fever. After hearing the news, the master quickly sent a medical officer to make a diagnosis and treatment, but the condition of his illness was very serious. It got heavier and heavier, and he died on the way before returning to Beijing."

"Medical officer sent by the master?" Zong Juan pondered, and said, "Second brother has always been physically strong, and he often bathes in cold water in summer, and has never been ill because of it. Why did he fall ill this time, and the more he was treated, the worse it became?"

He Shilie looked around, and then turned to look at him quietly: "I also feel strange. But it may not be... Doing this is too obvious."

Zong Juan asked again: "Who is the medical officer? Which powerful minister or general in the court do you often associate with?"

He Shilie shook his head: "I don't know. No one told me this."

Zong Juan thought for a moment, and then asked: "After the death of the second brother, who will take over the affairs of the Yanjing Privy Council?" Without waiting for his mother to answer, he continued, "Is it the Prime Minister of the country? Now the two Privy Councils of Yanjing in Yunzhong will be merged." In his hands..."

Zongwang is the most promising prince of the Taizu. He has been by his father's side since he was a child, and fought with his father in the north and south. No one can beat it.After the death of Taizu Wanyan Min, their fourth uncle Wanyan Sheng came to the throne after his death, and he also knew how to use Zongwang again. This time, he was the first hero to defeat Song Zongwang by sending his master to the Southern Expedition.In the third year of Tianhui, Wan Yansheng, the gold master, moved the Privy Council originally set up in Guangning to Yanjing, where it was managed by Zong Wang, the coach of the East Route Army, and Zong Han immediately set up another Privy Council in the cloud. Standing side by side and restraining each other, they were called the Eastern and Western courts by the Jin people, which also intensified the open and secret struggle between Zongwang and Zonghan.

After Zong Wang's death, Wanyan Sheng did let Zong Han take over the Yanjing Privy Council.He Shilie remained silent, and Zong Juan continued: "There is Zong Bi, how did he react? Without the second brother, he will not have to follow the second brother in the future, and he will become an out-and-out coach... "

Zong Bi's real name is Wu Shu, he is the fourth son of Taizu, Zong Jun's half brother, he also likes to read Han books, he is quite talented.

"Don't talk about that." Heshi Lie suddenly raised his head with a determined expression, "I didn't ask you to come back to let you track down the cause of your second brother's death."

Zong Juan was taken aback: "Mother just wanted me to attend the funeral?"

He Shilie sighed softly, and asked, "How is Meng'an Mouk of Hesu Hall?"

Zong Juan nodded, and said casually: "Brother Hanpu, some leaders of the Agu Wine Wanyan Department refused to accept the imperial court's control, and I got rid of them."

"It's resolved..." Heshi Lie smiled, "Then it's fine, I told the Lord Lang, let him transfer you back to Beijing, and you can take up a civil position in Beijing from now on."

Surprised, Zong Juan asked in astonishment: "Why? I've been fighting outside these years, and I'm used to it. If I go back to Beijing, the Lord will at most give me a vacant job. Wouldn't I just have nothing to do all day long?"

"Wouldn't that be great?" Heshi Lie said thoughtfully, "Don't follow your second brother's example and win the Central Plains you want, but lose your own life... My only capable son is Zong Looking at one person, the other two sons will not be able to become great weapons, and it will be fine to take a vain job in the capital and just goof around all day long, they won't threaten anyone, and no one will take them seriously."

Mother's cool words like the autumn wind blew past, and the bottom of my heart was instantly clear. Zong Juan was silent for a long time before saying: "Okay, I'll be back."

He Shilie stared at him quietly: "Do you really understand what I mean?"

Zong Juan nodded: "Yes, I understand."

He Shilie thought about it and asked again: "Have you been reading Han books?"

Zong Jun said yes, and He Shilie nodded approvingly: "It's different now than when your father was alive. Battles are not only fought on horseback. It's good to read more books by the Han people."

After finishing speaking, he raised his hand and stroked Zong Juan's long hair: "Are you still unwilling to shave your head? Because of this, you were often beaten by your father when you were a child, but you still persist until now... What do you look like with long hair like this all day long! "

The hair style of Jurchen men is usually to shave off the front half of the hair, leaving only the back hair to be braided into one or two braids.But Zong Juan didn't shave his hair according to the same pattern, and insisted on keeping his long hair, which he usually wore casually, occasionally tied with a crown.At this moment, when my mother asked, I smiled and said: "Now everyone is used to seeing it, and no one will ask."

"Have you been running non-stop for a long time? Your hair is messed up." He Shilie turned around and walked into the inner room to get a comb from the dressing table, sat down, and said softly to Zong Jun, "Come on, the queen mother will give you a comb." Comb."

Zong Juan walked over and knelt down in front of his mother.Heshi Lie gently supported his head, combing his hair gently and meticulously.The comb slowly slipped down from his hair, and where the comb teeth passed, the black hair separated into balanced gaps, and instantly merged again, becoming neat and straight under the mother's hands.

Suddenly Zong Juan's head felt cold, as if water droplets were dripping from it.

"Mother..." Without looking up, Zong Juan whispered sadly.

"He's only in his early thirties..." Heshi Lie's voice was a little choked up.

"Mother," Zong Juan showed no signs of mourning, but said calmly, "Since there is an antecedent, one day, I will give them a consequence."

2. Promos
After coming out of the palace in the afternoon, Zong Juan immediately rode his horse to Zongwang's mansion, seeing that the front door was neglected before, and there was a faint sound of mourning from inside.Two house slaves wearing heavy filial piety stood opposite each other silently, listening to the sound of the horse's hooves, they raised their heads lazily, and found that it was Zong Jun who smiled, and immediately raised their voice to announce, and then rushed to meet the leading horse.

Zong Jun dismounted and went straight to the mourning hall.Zongwang's wife Tang Kuoshi and eldest son Shousu nodded to greet Zongwang's wife, then walked into the hall, threw the shawl, and knelt down on one knee in front of Zongwang's spirit.Staring silently at Zongwang's tablet for a moment, he slowly held up a silver-sheathed dagger inlaid with gold with both hands, and raised it to his eyebrows. With a flash of coldness, he drew the blade out of its sheath, and then wiped it lightly on his forehead. The incision seeps down.

Looking up and screaming, two lines of tears and blood merged together, and Zong Jun wept bitterly.

This is the custom used by the Jurchen nobles to express their deepest condolences to the dead, and weep face to face.Among the brothers, Zong Juan and Zong Wang were the closest, so this mourning was definitely not pretentious, the voice was deep and sad, and the audience became more mournful, and they also let out a cry of grief.

After a long time, Tang Kuo and Shou Su came forward to comfort him, and then Zong Jun wiped away his tears and stood up, wiped off the blood on his forehead, and asked, "Can I see Second Brother again?"

Tang Kuo shook his head sadly: "Zongwang's body was cremated in the camp on the day he passed away. It is said that he was afraid that it would be inconvenient to preserve due to the hot weather, and what was sent back was only the ashes."

This is not in line with the rules.According to the Jurchen custom, after the death of the clansmen, they must be buried in their hometown. If a soldier dies on the way to the expedition, the coffin should be transported back and then the decision of burial or cremation should be made instead of cremation on the spot.So Zong Juan frowned and asked, "Who gave the order?"

Shou Su's eyes burst into flames of anger, and he answered first: "Zong Pan!"

This name aroused Zong Juan's doubts again.Zong Pan is the eldest son of Wanyan Cheng, Wanyan Cheng loves him very much, and let him follow his uncle Wanyan Gao to attack the Liao Kingdom since he was a child, and he also cares about cultivating it in normal times.The succession system of the Kingdom of Jin is from elder brother to younger brother. After Wanyan Cheng ascended the throne, the fifth younger brother was enshrined according to the system. Feeling unwilling.

"After the battle was over, Lord Lang sent Zong Pan to my father's camp. He obviously wanted him to take advantage of it for nothing, and to credit him for helping him win. And not long after he left, my father fell ill. He asked The lord sent a medical officer to come and put my father to death..." Shou Su continued to speak, full of indignation.A teenage boy with all his emotions and anger written on his face.

Zong Jun asked him: "Did Zong Pan ask the lord to send a medical officer? Who told you?"

Shou Su said, "It's Uncle Zongqian."

Zonggan's real name is Woben, he is the eldest son of Taizu, the half-brother of Zong Wang and Zong Jun.He also followed his father to make a lot of military exploits in the war against the Liao Dynasty, but his martial arts were slightly inferior to Zongwang. Wan Yansheng asked Zongwang to be the commander in chief, but Feng Zongqian had a great reputation for the country, and he had a strong relationship with Banban. Wanyan Gaotong assists the government.

Tang Kuo also interjected: "Zong Wang often went to war, but Zong Gan never forgot to take care of us. After Zong Wang died, he often came to the mansion to help us with funerals, and occasionally talked to us about court affairs. "

At this moment, someone called out from outside the door: "Zong Jun!"

When everyone heard the reputation, Tang Kuo immediately smiled and said, "Just as I was talking, he came."

The man standing outside the door was tall and beautifully bearded, with a peaceful demeanor. He was exactly what they said was the eldest son of Taizu's concubine, Zonggan.

Zong Jun greeted him with a smile.After the two hugged and greeted each other, Zong Gan asked, "What were you talking about just now?"

Shou Su immediately said: "Uncle came just in time, tell Eighth Uncle how Zong Pan hurt my father."

Zong Gan shook his head and said, "When did I say that Zong Pan harmed Zong Wang? The matter is not clear, so don't talk nonsense."

Zong Juan asked him along the topic: "I heard that the medical officer who treated the second brother was sent by Zong Pan at the request of the Lord?"

"It's said to be so." Zong Gan smiled, "I was not in the camp at the time, so I can't confirm it. Besides, even if Zong Pan really asked for it, it doesn't mean anything. It's normal for the commander to hire a medical officer for him when he's sick."

"Where is the medical officer now?" Zong Juan asked again.

Zong Gan sighed: "Missing. Zong Wang returned to Beijing immediately after his death. I also looked for him, but I can't find him again. I don't know if he is dead or alive."

Zong Juan stopped talking for a while, and just lowered his head in thought.Zong Gan suddenly smiled and asked him: "You are coming back this time to prepare to return to Beijing, and you are not going to supervise the army?"

Zong Juan said: "I have this plan, but I haven't told the Lord yet."

A look of astonishment flashed across Zong Gan's brows, and then he turned his head and looked out of the door, acting hastily and unnaturally.

Feeling suspicious, he suddenly remembered how he would have guessed that he was about to resign, so Zong Juan asked him: "What's the matter? Brother, have you heard about this?"

Zong Gan was silent for a long time, and finally he seemed to make up his mind, and said to Zong Jun in a low voice: "I just came out of the palace. At that time, Zong Han was discussing with the Lord Lang. An envoy..."

Zong Han let his son know that the Jiedu envoy of Hesu Pavilion, before Zong Jun offered to return to his post, it was tantamount to explicitly requesting his dismissal.Zong Juan sneered, but didn't say anything about it. Zong Gan looked at his face, and lowered his voice to ask: "I heard that the Prime Minister of the State and Zong Wang have repeatedly argued in public in the army?"

Zong Juan didn't answer, but showed his face and said: "It's been a long time since I've had a drink with my elder brother, and today I reunited, I'm sure I'm drunk and happy. After a while, elder brother and Shou Suu will follow me back home, how about we drink all night?"

Both Zong Qian and Shou Su readily agreed.The three sat down and continued chatting.Zongwang believed in Buddhism, and cigarettes were curling up in the mourning hall. There were a dozen monks knocking on the wooden fish and chanting scriptures incessantly. Except for Tang Kuo, there were several maids and concubines in linen and filial piety kneeling on both sides of the mourning hall, crying from time to time.Suddenly the woman who was kneeling first on the left seemed unable to hold on, she leaned her body and fainted to the ground.

The woman next to her was taken aback and hurriedly helped her up. There was a moment of commotion in the mourning hall.

Zong Juan looked sideways, but saw that he recognized the two women. The woman who fainted was Maode Emperor Ji who Zongwang had taken in at the Liu Family Temple, and the one who helped her was Maode's servant Li Xian'er.

"What are you pretending to be dead! Do you think I will pity you after you faint a few times, and won't let you serve Zongwang?" Tang Kuo glared at the woman angrily, said sternly, and then ordered the servant: "Take some water and wash her away." Wake up, let her continue kneeling!"

Seeing Zong Juan looking back, Tang Kuo explained: "This is the concubine Zong Wang brought from the Southern Dynasty, the abolished Supreme Emperor's daughter, what is the name of Emperor Maode, the eighth brother should have seen it? Married again I don't know what Zongwang likes in her after being married and having a child! Besides, she is really a broom star. Zongwang lost his life within a few days after touching her. But since Zongwang accepted her, I also recognize her as our family If Zongwang likes her so much, let her be buried in the ground with her. On the day of the funeral, she will be burned together with Zongwang's favorite famous horse."

Zong Juan smiled lightly and said nothing.Instructed by Tang Kuo, the house slave poured half a bucket of water on Maode's face. Maode woke up under the stimulation of cold water, opened his eyes wide in panic, sat up shyly, his eyes fluttered with the blue smoke, bit his lip sadly, and completely helpless.

"Kneel well! If you play this trick of pretending to be dead again, I will send you to see Zongwang earlier." Tang Kuoshi scolded.

Maode knelt down as he said, his body trembling slightly.Li Xian'er was also so frightened that she bowed her head and didn't dare to say anything, but a Jurchen concubine sympathized with Maode and explained to her softly: "She has a bad appetite and can't eat anything. She hasn't eaten anything since yesterday and is kneeling again. It took a long time, so I fainted, it was not intentional."

Tang Kuo sneered: "When you are used to golden branches and jade leaves, you can't eat our whole grains and miscellaneous foods, right? If you want to go on a hunger strike yourself, it looks like I am abusing you. Come here, give her a bread, and let her eat it in front of me. The noodles are finished."

The maid brought a cold and hard bread, Tang Kuo took it, threw it on the ground in front of Maode, and ordered her: "Pick it up and eat!"

Maode's eyelashes drooped slightly, and two teardrops fell to the ground one after another.Seeing that she didn't move, Li Xian'er was worried that Tang Kuo would be angry, so she hurriedly took a few steps, reached out to pick up the bread, then walked back on her knees, and handed the bread to Maode.Maode took it hesitantly, and then, under the urging of Li Xian'er, began to bite the bread bit by bit with tears in his eyes.

"Women in the Southern Dynasties are cheap!" As soon as Tang Kuo opened his mouth, Maode's whole body trembled, like a frightened bird, and the cake fell from his hands. Hearing her scolding, he did not dare to show his anger and resentment. Picking up the bread on the ground again, the moment of bowing his head was infinitely sad.

Although she and Rou Fu are sisters, not only are they not similar in appearance, but their temperament is even more different.If Rou Fu was so humiliated by Tang Kuo, he would definitely rise up and resist.Recalling the way Rou Fu desperately pulled out her hairpin and stabbed the horse and her fiery gaze, Zong Jun couldn't help smiling, suddenly felt as if he hadn't seen her for a long time, wondering if she could survive thousands of miles of hardships, Where are you now.

3. Jade box
Two days later, the gold lord Wan Yancheng gave a banquet and ordered the Taizu's sons in Beijing and his eldest son Zong Pan to attend, saying that he would clean up the dust for Zong Jun who had just returned to Beijing.

Zong Juan entered the Qianyuan Hall and found that except for the upper throne, the rest of the seats were surrounded by a ring. "Ring drinking" is an old custom of the Jurchens. They often sit around drinking after gathering to hunt, to show that they do not distinguish between superior and inferior.Since the Liao Dynasty was destroyed and the Song Dynasty was conquered, the etiquette in the palace gradually became more customized following the example of the Liao and Song Dynasties, and the method of drinking in circles is almost no longer used when giving banquets. Today's arrangement is an exception.

Seeing that the brothers had almost arrived, Zong Juan greeted them one by one, and then sat down at a random place.

After waiting for a while, Wanyan Cheng walked in from outside the hall, sat down with a woman one after another, and accepted everyone's salute.

After returning to his seat after the ceremony, Zong Juan raised his head, his gaze casually glanced at the monarch on the throne and the woman accompanying him, suddenly he was a little surprised.

Apart from the inevitable shadow of aging that deepened like dust on his body, Wanyan Cheng was still the same as Zong Juan remembered, and the only thing that caught his attention was that strange woman.

In fact, all the men at the banquet were blind for a moment, and some kind of crystal light invaded their eyes.Purple clothes and white feathers, necklaces and jade rings, and a circle of light purple gemstones fell from her forehead. The ordinary clothes of the Kingdom of Jin were worn by the woman brilliantly.She sat silently beside the Lord, elegant and beautiful, like morning dew. Compared with the increasingly rough Lord, she was like a Danzhi flower blooming on the black wood.

Sensing the unconcealable astonishment in everyone's eyes, Wanyan Sheng was very pleased, put his arms around her tightly, and introduced with a smile: "This is my concubine Xinna, the granddaughter of King Wu of the Southern Dynasty, the daughter of King Jinkang, Zhao Ji personally Zhao Yuxiang, the concubine of Shuhuizong, who was decreed to be enshrined in Jin Dynasty."

Yu He struggled lightly, sat upright, and turned his eyes with anger and resentment, which immediately evoked Wanyan Cheng's hearty laugh.Everyone congratulated and congratulated, Wanyan Cheng became more and more overjoyed, Yu Xiang also smiled, that smile was as vague as a cloud of smoke, cold and charming.

"Jade box," Wanyan Cheng said to her, "I gave a banquet today to clean up the eighth prince Zong Jun. All princes and princes are sitting here, can you recognize Zong Jun from it?"

The Tong Shi standing beside him translated the Lord's words to her. After listening to her, she smiled and said: "The concubine has never seen the Eighth Prince, and I don't know the age, appearance and temperament of the Eighth Prince. If the Lord doesn't give a little reminder, it is intentional." Embarrassing my concubine."

Wanyan Cheng smiled and said: "Zong Juan is proficient in Chinese and Sinology, his usual dress is not the same as that of the Jurchens, and he is even more handsome and handsome. You just need to find the most eye-catching one."

After hearing this, Yu He nodded, then turned around and raised his eyes, carefully looking at each man in the room one by one.When her gaze fell on Zong Juan, she froze for a moment, but it was only enough for Zong Juan to notice it. She quickly moved her eyes, scanned everyone calmly, and then slowly turned sideways to look down at Wanyan Cheng: "My lord, please forgive my concubines for their stupidity. It's hard for my concubines to tell who is the eighth prince."

Wan Yancheng was surprised and said: "You really can't see it? You can just look at the one that is most pleasing to the eye and guess!"

Yu Box smiled and said: "If you look at it from the perspective of the concubine, the most pleasing person is naturally the Lord Lang. The appearance of the rest of the concubines is actually the same to the concubine, there is no difference, so it is really impossible to distinguish the eighth prince from them."

She spoke Chinese, Zong Juan understood it before Wan Yan Sheng who had to listen to the interpreter, and smiled faintly at that moment.Her compliment was actually not clever, but for Wanyan Sheng, this scheming was enough.He was just a little curious about her frank attitude of acknowledgment and her purpose. She was also a prisoner of the Song Dynasty, Rou Fu was stubborn and unyielding, and Maode was submissive, but this jade box seemed to have naturally accepted the fate of committing herself to the enemy chieftain, without the slightest expression on her face. The look of sorrow and mourning can even be said to be actively catering, tactfully inviting pets.

Sure enough, after hearing her words, Yan Cheng laughed loudly, hugged her waist and whispered something in her ear, but she also understood, blushed, stretched out the fan in his hand, half angry and half ashamed With a slap on his body, Wanyan Sheng laughed even louder.

After a while, Wanyan Cheng stopped laughing and pointed out Zong Jun to Yu Hen. Zong Jun stood up and bowed his hands to Yu Hen to salute. As for the situation in the Hosu Pavilion, Zongwang is not mentioned, and then he raises his glass to drink with everyone.

In the banquet, there were staggered toasts and cups, and in an instant, both the host and the guest had already drunk more than a dozen cups.At this time, Wan Yancheng suddenly announced: "I have another gift for this round of drinking." Immediately after clapping, a servant immediately led more than 30 women in, all around fifteen or sixteen years old, with braided hair accessories Yu, wearing a brocade skirt and spring water suit, is dressed as a girl from the Kingdom of Jin, but all of them have clear eyebrows and a slender figure, obviously from the Southern Dynasty.

"They are all the emperor Ji Zongji of the Southern Dynasty, the daughters of the emperor and the prince, and unmarried virgins. Zong Wang and Zong Han specially donated them to enrich my harem, but I have seen that the ministers have made a lot of contributions to the country over the years. Victory in the Southern Expedition should also be rewarded, so I will distribute them to you, and each Ai Qing will get four, one emperor concubine, and three Zong concubines." Wanyan Sheng said, and then gestured to the servant who brought Song Nu into the room. The servants ordered the emperors and concubines to line up in the middle of the hall, and the banquet gradually became heated, and everyone looked at the women in the hall wantonly, laughing and whispering one after another.

Zong Juan glanced lightly and saw the softness in it.She still had a stubborn face, pursed her lips and stood up, glaring at everyone who stared at her.

The servant unfolded a volume of imperial edicts, and read out the identities and names of the emperors and concubines who rewarded each clan in turn.Zong Juan drank slowly and waited calmly.

"Come on, eighth prince Zong Juan..." Hearing his name, Zong Juan temporarily put down his wine glass and looked at the waiter with his breath, waiting for him to announce who was his daughter.

"Ningfu Emperor Ji Zhao Chuanzhu..."

Zong Juan couldn't help but laugh, how could it be her?Only then did he remember to look for Ning Fu among the women, and he didn't listen to the names of the other Zongji that the servant hadn't finished reading.

Sure enough, Ning Fu was also in the hall.Among these sisters, she was not outstanding in appearance, and was extremely thin. Her frail appearance did not attract much attention. She stood quietly in a relatively hidden corner like a thin shadow.

After rewarding Taizu's sons, they didn't hear Rou Fu's name.No one will ignore her beauty. Although she is young and not tall enough, she is still like a bud protruding from a reed among all the women.Zong Juan suddenly had an ominous premonition, and turned his eyes to the eldest prince Zong Pan.

As expected, the concubine Zong Pan received was indeed Rou Fu.Before that, Zong Pan had been staring at Rou Fu, as if he knew the result already, as soon as the servant read her name, he immediately stood up impatiently, went straight to Rou Fu, pulled her out, and said with a smile: "Go and drink with me."

Rou Fu frowned and shook off his hand fiercely, and took a few steps back. Zong Pan approached with a smile and wanted to pull again, but he heard someone coldly shouting: "Wait a minute."

Zong Pan turned his head to look in astonishment, and saw that the person speaking was Zong Jun who was slowly standing up.

Zong Juan walked up to Zong Pan steadily, stood with his hands behind his back, and said to him: "Zong Pan, can you choose another person?"

Zong Pan glanced at him and said displeasedly, "Why?"

Zong Juan said indifferently, "Because she is my woman."

The audience was in an uproar.Zong Pan was taken aback for a moment, and then became angry: "Nonsense! They are all virgins that the marshal took care to protect, how could they become your women?"

Zong Jun smiled and replied: "I met this woman by chance when I was stationed with the army at the Liu Family Temple. Because there were many palace family members who entered the village at that time, I didn't recognize everyone, and I didn't know that she was the Empress Dowager. I drank too much that night. Seeing that she looks good, I took her to the same tent. Later, Ye Li gave her a sachet, and the Prime Minister of the State and the second brother asked her for questioning, and I found out her identity. It was too late to regret, and I dared not tell the matter. The two marshals had no choice but to press the button and not mention it. They were going to plead guilty to the lord after returning to Beijing, and asked the lord to give her to me officially. A woman should not be too much."

Zong Pan stared blankly: "You mean she already..."

"Yes." Zong Juan admitted, "I really dare not lie to the eldest prince and let you take back the woman who served me without knowing it, so please forgive me and give her to me."

Rou Fu couldn't understand the Jurchen words the two said, and seeing that they seemed to be arguing, she frowned and stared suspiciously.Zong Pan turned around and saw that she saw Zong Jun's expression without any embarrassment, so he became suspicious, and said to Zong Jun with a sneer: "Whatever you say is what you say? Why don't you say that you have met all the concubines here, please be gentlemen. Give it to you."

"It seems that Zong Pan would not have believed it if she hadn't heard her confession." Zong Jun didn't panic, and turned to Gao Qingyi, who was serving the banquet, and said, "Mr. Have you ever offended her in Sijunzhai?"

Gao Qingyi got up to ask Yu Wanyancheng for instructions, Wanyancheng nodded, then Gao Qingyi went to follow Zong Jun's intention and asked Roufu Zongjun in Chinese if he had offended her.

Rou Fu's face turned red in an instant, obviously remembering Ye Zongjun's torn clothes in Huoqi.Ashamed and annoyed, she saw Zong Juan looking at her with a slightly teasing smile from the side, and a burst of anger surged up uncontrollably. She bit her lip and stood silently for a while, then she suddenly pointed at Zong Juan and said: "Yes, this man was rude to me in Liu Family Temple, kill him quickly!"

Zong Jun's smile deepened.She knew the consequences of the golden man coveting the emperor's concubine, and expected that this confession would lead to Zong Jun's death like what Yatori did last time, but she didn't know that her answer was exactly what he wanted.

Gao Qingyi translated her words to everyone, Zong Pan was stunned, and blurted out, "Hustle? How rude?"

Zong Juan looked around at the others with a smile: "Say, how rude can you be?"

Everyone laughed loudly, guided by Zong Jun, they all thought of one place, and all looked at Rou Fu playfully and ambiguously.

Seeing that Zong Jun was not in a hurry to defend himself after saying this, Rou Fu smiled happily. Everyone didn't seem to think that he had committed a felony, except Zong Pan and Wanyan Cheng who were laughing with him. She couldn't figure it out. Blinking, more and more confused.

"Even if she is your woman, so what, the emperor gave her to me today, and I want her!" Zong Pan suddenly said angrily, snatching her and trying to catch Roufu.Zong Juan frowned in front of her, and Zong Pan became even more furious, and immediately threw his fist at her.The eldest prince Zong Gan and the fourth prince Zong Bi, who were sitting nearby, saw that the situation was not going well, so they hurriedly stepped forward to hold him and persuade him with kind words.

"Zong Pan," Wanyan Cheng who had been watching coldly at this moment finally spoke, without anger and prestige, "You are so anxious for a mere woman, how decent! Do you want to serve Zong Jun's woman before, is it very honorable? Don't mess around anymore, I'll give you another one!"

After hearing the words, Zong Pan didn't dare to argue anymore, but in the end he couldn't get over it. He walked back to his seat and sat down, lifted the jug and poured one breath into the bowl in front of him. .

"Eighth Prince," the jade box next to Wanyan Cheng said suddenly, smiling leisurely, waving the fan in his hand in an orderly manner: "After all, you are the one who can't help the First Prince, and you should treat him kindly." Compensation is."

Zong Juan nodded and said, "Thank you Madam for reminding me, I think so too." Then he turned his head and smiled at Zong Pan and said, "Zong Pan, today I can only choose this girl, Ningfu Emperor Ji and the rest of the Zong Ji that I deserve How about giving it all to you?"

Zong Pan asked coldly: "Which one is Ningfu Diji?"

The servant hurriedly pulled Ning Fu out to show him, and Zong Pan was furious when he saw it: "Bah! You took a big beauty away, but you gave me this little girl who was as thin as a tuberculosis ghost, you are very calculating." !"

Everyone looked at Ning Fu, and although they didn't say anything, they must have felt that she was far inferior to Rou Fu, and those who wanted to persuade Zong Pan to accept her were silent.

Ning Fu instantly became the focus of everyone's attention, but he didn't panic. He raised his head and slowly looked at Zong Pan and Zong Jun. His gaze was still as peaceful as water, as clear as a child, without any emotions. Then she stood with her eyes down, her weak posture Very lovely and pitiful.

After a while of silence, Wan Yancheng laughed loudly: "Zong Juan is really generous. In exchange for the beauties he likes, he is willing to give away the other three beauties for nothing, but don't regret it in the future. Zong Pan doesn't like Ningfu Diji, Ning Fu and Rou Fu should go back with Zong Jun. I will choose another concubine Zong Pan from the harem, and Zong Pan can return with seven beauties, so why not do it?"

Everyone also echoed and persuaded Zongpan one after another.Zong Pan saw that the three concubines Zong Jun bestowed on Zong Jun were pretty good-looking, so he felt relieved a little, and ordered Zong Ji to come over for a drink, and the atmosphere became lively again.

The servant forced Rou Fu and Ning Fu to follow Zong Jun back to his seat, and asked them to sit on Zong Jun's side.Zong Juan talked to their sisters, Ning Fu occasionally responded, but Rou Fu was completely indifferent, Zong Juan didn't force it, he smiled with great interest and watched the other brothers embrace each other, and toasted and drank with them until the banquet was over .

When Xi finally left, Wan Yancheng suddenly called Zong Jun to stop, and said calmly: "I heard from your mother that you intend to resign from the post of Jiedu Envoy of Zhihesu Hall?"

Such was the reason and purpose of this feast.Zong Juan stopped calmly, and answered the question he had been waiting for for a long time: "Yes. Zong Juan has been leading the army for many years, and he has always regretted that he could not be filial by his mother's side. The second elder brother died, and the mother was very sad. Yu Lidu should return to Beijing to serve his mother wholeheartedly, so please resign from the post of Jidu envoy of Zhihe Suguan, and I hope that Lord Lang will allow you."

Wan Yancheng nodded and said: "Serving your mother is indeed what you should. You have been working hard outside for several years, and you should go back to Beijing to rest. I will find you a high-paying civil post, so you don't have to go to the Huosu Hall."

Zong Jun thank you.I thought about it before leaving, and finally asked: "Master Lang, have you found a candidate to succeed Zhihesu Guan Jidu envoy?"

Wanyan Sheng said: "I will ask the Privy Council to recommend suitable candidates, and then let a few Bo Ji intensely discuss and decide."

Zong Juan nodded and bowed again, then led Rou Fu and Ning Fu out of the hall.

As soon as he left the main entrance of the main hall, he saw a maid from his mother's palace greet him, bowed to him, and said: "Your Majesty, invite the Eighth Prince to come over."

Zong Jun then ordered the attendants he brought with him to lead the two concubines to wait here, and then he went to see his mother in Qingyuan Palace where the Heshilie family lived.

As soon as he saw He Shilie, before he had time to salute, he was slapped by his mother with a raised hand.

"What time is it?" Heshi Lie's actions were expressing her anger, but her eyes were filled with sadness, "You are still robbing Zong Pan for a woman!"

Zong Juan knelt down in front of his mother on one knee: "Zong Juan knows his mistake, so don't make an example."

"Hey, is there a next time?" He Shilie sighed softly, "You are so impulsive, and you don't know how serious it is. I'm afraid you will die in the future even more confused than your second brother."

Zong Juan shook his head resolutely: "I can swear to my mother that there will be no next time. I am very aware of my current situation and know what to do. Please rest assured, mother. What happened today is the only exception. It will happen again."

Heshi Lie smiled lightly: "Zongwang once said similar things to me back then."

Zong Juan remained silent, and then changed his words: "Mother, I have already asked the Lord Lang to resign, and he has already agreed."

Heshi Lieshi didn't have too many expressions, and only said one word: "Okay."

"The person who will replace me should be Zong Han's son," Zong Juan said, "Zong Qian heard that Zong Han asked the Lord Lang for the position for his son."

He Shilie remained silent for a long time, and finally sighed after a while: "Think about everything, things may not always be as simple as they seem."

Zong Jun smiled and asked: "If mother thinks of something, why don't you tell Zong Jun?" He knew that his mother was an extremely wise and intelligent woman, who was good at riding and shooting, and had strategies. Fighting and making suggestions, that's why he was able to stand out among the concubines after the collapse of the Taizu's original concubine, Tang Kuo, and was established as his successor.Her knowledge is not inferior to that of a man, but her increasing age and experience have made her more reserved and introverted. She has the ability to see through the world, but she is used to keeping silent. Even in front of her dearest son, she will not reveal her political opinions at will. opinion.

"Can mother think about your whole life for you? You have to learn to think for yourself." He Shilie replied indifferently, and suddenly changed the subject slightly, "The woman you fought with Zong Pan..."

Zong Juan was slightly startled: "Didn't Mother want me to give her to Zong Pan?"

"Of course not." Heshi Lie said with a smile, "There is no reason to return the woman we robbed!"

The word "we" made Zong Juan completely relieved, his heart warmed up, and he smiled accordingly.

He Shilie continued: "I want to ask, is she beautiful?"

Zong Juan said, "That's natural."

Heshi Lieshi nodded: "You have to treat her kindly, she was still a princess... when will you bring her here and let me see."

"That's no problem, just have to wait for a while." Zong Juan said with a smile, "She's not like a typical Southern Dynasty woman, she's as fierce as a wild horse, I have to spend some time to tame her first."

"Then what about the other one? The Empress that Zongpan doesn't want." He Shilie asked again.

Zong Juan thought about it, and replied: "She is very thin and very quiet, unlike her older sister who has happiness and anger written all over her face... who is happy with the situation..."

He Shilie smiled knowingly: "You must not like her, right? It sounds a bit like Yingzhen..."

Upon hearing Yingzhen's name, Zong Juan's smile disappeared immediately: "Why mention her?"

"It's been two years since she died, why don't you mention it?" He Shilie said, "Alas, she didn't do anything wrong at all. You don't like her, maybe it's out of anger, right?"

Zong Juan lowered his head and remained silent.Yingzhen was his wife, the number one beauty in the Shuiwendu Department of Abasi back then.Marriage with fingertips is popular among Jurchens. Zong Jun originally had a fiancée Pei Manshi who made an engagement so early, but he didn't want her to get sick and died in the first year of Tianhui.Afterwards, with extraordinary enthusiasm, Wanyan Sheng hired a Wendu woman who was far away in Aba Sishui for him, without even asking for his opinion before.Wan Yancheng said, that woman has the reputation of being the most beautiful woman in Wendu, and many princes and grandchildren in Beijing can't ask for it.However, Zong Juan didn't take it very seriously. He had always been very clear that for a clan son, marrying a wife was actually from her family, and beauty was only the least important condition.

Men from the Wanyan family seldom marry the daughters of common clans. There are nine surnames among nobles who usually intermarry: Tudan, Nalan, Tang Kuo, Pucha, Peiman, Heshilie, Pusan, Wulindaji Ukraine theory.The emperor must marry the daughter among them, and the princess must marry the man among them, and each other strengthens their power and status through marriage.At that time, the Taizu passed away, and Zong Jun was very young. The Heshi Lie family wanted to choose a more powerful family among the nine surnames, and let Zong Jun marry with it, so as to gain their support, but Wanyan Sheng suddenly intervened. She had no choice but to give up this plan, and watched Zong Juan reluctantly marry Yingzhen, a woman from the Wendu family with other than nine surnames.

Yingzhen is actually a good girl, not only beautiful, but also gentle and virtuous, but Zong Jun just doesn't like her, and has always been very indifferent to her. Later, Zong Wang simply asked Wanyan Sheng to work in the Huosu Hall, and let Ying Zhen Throw it in the capital's mansion.Two years ago, Yingzhen finally became depressed and died of illness.

"Perhaps you should consider marrying another woman." He Shilie stared at the silent Zong Jun and said again.

Zong Juan forced a smile: "The last thing I need is a woman."

He Shilie shook his head: "That's different." But he didn't say any more, just lightly caressed the hair on his right side, and said softly, "If you don't like the quiet princess, you can send it to your mother." Come here, don't touch her. Although Zong Pan has won seven beauties, they are all just Zong Ji. Without Di Ji, he will definitely hold a grudge. He will celebrate his birthday next month, and then Mother will prepare another generous gift. Send the gift to Zong Pan with that Di Ji, don't let him keep hating you."

Zong Juan nodded and said: "Zong Jun listened to his mother's order and will send Ning Fu Di Ji here in a while."

He Shilie smiled again and said: "Okay, you go back, and after a while, I will show you the Empress you robbed into the palace."

4. Undress
As the night was getting darker, Zong Juan pushed the door open and entered the room. He was wearing a long robe and his chest was bare, revealing a large area of ​​his upper body. When he saw the woman who was locked in the room startled, he smiled and said, "I'm sorry, I'm not Nori, I'm disappointed that I can't die for a while."

Rou Fu turned around in panic, trying to find a chance to get rid of the danger in front of her. In the end, she pinned her hope on the vase on the table, grabbed it and held it up high. Chao Zongjun said: "Get out!"

Zong Juan turned around and closed the door unhurriedly, then walked towards her.Rou Fu couldn't help but retreat, and retreated to the wall and had no choice but to throw the vase at him fiercely.Zong Juan just waved his hand lightly, then firmly received it in his hand, and put it back on the table without looking at it: "The vase is not for beating people. Of course, it's okay if you have to use it like this, but your method is wrong , especially for someone as agile as me. You should at least hide the vase behind you or within easy reach, then greet me with a smile on your face, and then quietly grab it and put it on my head when I don't have the slightest defense against you Damn it, I'll find it interesting."

After saying this, he had already approached her, supported her on the wall with one hand and pinched her earlobe with the other, and asked, "Do you know what you should do?"

Although there was no way out, Rou Fu still subconsciously tried to shrink back to avoid, frowned and said: "I don't know, and I don't want to know."

Zong Juan sighed: "Oh, it seems that I have to reluctantly teach you."

As soon as he stretched out his arms, he hugged her horizontally and walked towards the inner room calmly.She cursed and struggled, and he only made a little more effort to hold her immobile.

Throwing her on the bed, he immediately came over to hold down her flailing hands with one hand, and loosen her belt with the other: "You should know that resistance is useless. You are no longer an empress, and I will be your master from now on." , what you have to do is to think carefully about how to please me."

After hearing this, Rou Fu suddenly stopped resisting, and for a moment, he tried his best to squeeze out a smile that was not much better than crying to Zong Jun: "Don't do this, let's discuss it... I can serve you, for example, help you wash your clothes... ..."

"Okay." Zong Juan replied casually, at this time she had already unbuttoned her first blouse.

"I really know how to do laundry, and I do all the laundry myself along the way."

"En." Zong Juan didn't stop.

"Also," she began to struggle again, "You speak Chinese well, so you probably like sinology, right? I can grind ink for you when you write, and burn incense for you when you read."

"very good."

"I can also study with you. If you don't understand something, I will explain it to you carefully. If there is a mistake in the pronunciation of the Chinese you speak, I will correct it for you."

"Okay."

"You should have a lot of women, right? You don't need me, right? You don't have to... to wait...to sleep, right?"

"Correct."

"Then," she yelled out, "why are you still undressing me?!"

Zong Jun laughed heartily: "I know there are many things you can do, but what to do is up to me. Once I decide to ask you to do something, you can't refuse, just like now."

She tried hard to push away his undressing hand, her voice was crying: "When I saw you asked Ye Li to pay me the medicine, I thought you were a little different from him..."

Zong Juan looked down at her halfway, and said indifferently: "I just supervise him to keep his promise. For a Jurchen man, breaking his promise is a very serious matter."

At this time, he had already untied all her belts, and smiled at her again: "It's a pity, it seems that I am no different from him."

She was furious, punching and kicking him desperately, and couldn't stop scolding: "Shameless gold thief, barbaric Yidi, Qiang slave who deserves to be cut to pieces..."

It is conceivable that she was trying her best to search for all the most vicious words in her mind to scold him, but her education restricted her from exerting herself, and the scolding words she spit out still sounded very elegant.And her resistance had very little effect, even though she had exhausted all her strength, she still couldn't escape the result that her whole body was about to be exposed before his eyes.

When she finally realized that being attacked by him was also a part of Jingkang's national calamity, her inevitable fate, she gradually calmed down, raised her head, her empty eyes looked up, two tears fell from the corners of her eyes, her lips trembled, She called sadly: "Ninth Brother..."

Zong Juan was stunned for a moment.From the shape of her lips, he could clearly tell that when she was dying in Liujia Temple, she recited silently every day, and the "spell" that kept her alive was these two words: Brother Nine.

This discovery suddenly aroused Zong Juan's anger, he hugged her in a strong posture without mercy, reached out and grabbed her collar at the back of her neck, and tore off her last clothes that covered her body.

When I woke up the next day, I saw her red and swollen eyes were still staring straight up, wondering what she was thinking.He brushed the skin of her face with his fingers, and it felt extremely cold, and when he looked again, a large area was wet on the pillow, which should be caused by her tears.He didn't pay much attention to it, pulled the quilt over her, put on his clothes and got up, thinking while getting dressed, he has seen this situation many times, her reaction is not surprising.

However, when he was about to move away, he suddenly felt the wind behind him. Before he could look back, he instinctively grabbed a woman's wrist, but the force was too strong. She slipped off, and then heard a muffled sound of "dong", the woman fell down in front of the wall, the gushing blood bloomed bright red flowers on the wall, and the blood flowed down the wall slowly, making the trace gradually become a fan shape, like A poppy.

The women on the earth are soft blessings hurt by him.It took a while for Zong Juan to come back to his senses. He sniffed Tan Roufu's breath and saw that although she was unconscious but still alive, he hurriedly carried her back to the bed, quickly bandaged the wound on her head, and went out to order the servants to come in. take care of.

Fortunately, being pulled by him, her strength to hit the wall weakened. Although her head was bleeding, her skull should not be injured.She woke up soon after, realized that she was still alive, and closed her eyes wearily, ignoring anyone.

Zong Juan ordered his servants to guard her tightly, so she had no chance of committing suicide, but she refused to eat or take medicine since then, and within two days she was in a trance and was dying.

Zong Juan found the best medical officer to diagnose and treat her. The medical officer looked at her and waved his head: "This girl's injury will not be fatal. The key is that she has no thoughts of life and refuses to eat or take medicine. I can't help it. Good for her, unless she wants to live herself."

After sitting in contemplation for a while, Zong Jun suddenly got up and rode his horse towards the palace.When he found his mother, he asked, "Where is Ningfu?"

After a while, he walked into the palace where Ning Fu lived.At that time Ning Fu was embroidering, with a demure expression.Seeing him coming in, she pressed the needle and thread in her hand and asked softly, "Is she dying soon?"

5. Fennel
Ning Fu's arrival did not change Rou Fu, she only opened her eyes slightly to look at her younger sister under Ning Fu's call, then turned her head inward sadly, closed her eyes again, and did not respond any more.

Ning Fu didn't talk to her anymore, he sat silently in front of Rou Fu's bed, looked down at the ground, and didn't move for a long time.After a while, she walked slowly to Zong Juan outside the door, and sighed: "I'm not a person who can comfort people."

Among the maids on both sides is Rui Ge, whose mother is Han, so she also understands Chinese.She was also about fourteen or fifteen years old, and she was outspoken. After hearing Ning Fu's words, Zong Juan hurriedly interjected and said, "Little Madam hasn't eaten for two days. Diji should persuade her to eat something first."

Ning Fu thought for a while and asked, "Is there mutton, Zhifu slices, fennel and ginger slices in the mansion?"

Rui Ge responded: "Di Ji wait a moment, I'll go to the kitchen to have a look." He immediately ran to the kitchen.

Ning Fu smiled at Zong Jun, and explained: "Miss Twenty was weak in spleen and stomach when she was young, she was not easy to digest, and she was also picky eaters, so her father often ordered someone to make a fragrant soup, and then coaxed her to drink it herself. With her father coaxing her, she would also drink it every day. I will drink it obediently every time... This soup can warm and nourish the spleen and stomach, dispel cold and relieve pain, the ingredients are simple, and I can also make it. I will try it today and see if I can persuade her to drink it."

Zong Juan nodded in agreement.After a while, Brother Rui came back and told Ning Fu: "Mutton, Zhifu slices, and ginger slices are all available, but the only thing missing is fennel. Diji, please wait a little longer, I'll go out and buy right away."

Before she finished speaking, she rushed out like a pony.Ning Fu leaned lightly on the porch pillar, looked at her back, and smiled slightly.

In less than an incense stick, Brother Rui ran back holding a bouquet of fennel wrapped in yellow paper, and presented it to Ning Fu with both hands.Ning Fu took it and thanked him with a smile: "Thank you for your hard work."

Brother Rui wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, and said with a smile: "Di Ji, you're welcome. What does Di Ji want to make for the little lady? I'll take you to the kitchen."

Ning Fu nodded and followed her.While walking, she opened the yellow paper to look at the fennel in it. Suddenly, she froze, opened the yellow paper with her hands and looked down, and stood motionless on the road.Brother Rui looked back and saw Ning Fu's expression seemed to be very surprised, and asked in puzzlement, "What's wrong with Di Ji?"

Zong Juan, who watched Ning Fu off, also felt strange, and was about to go over to look, but saw that Ning Fu had quickly folded the yellow paper and put it in his sleeve, and said, "It's nothing. Let's go quickly."

Quickly following Brother Rui, she walked in a hurry this time, as if she wanted to stay away from Zong Jun's sight as soon as possible.

After the incense soup was cooked, Ning Fu personally sent it to Rou Fu's room, and said to Zong Jun: "Twenty Sister doesn't like to eat with many people around, please avoid the Eighth Prince and the maid for now, and allow me to persuade her in private."

Zong Jun agreed, and left with Brother Rui and other maids.Ning Fu sent them out, and then gently closed the door.

Zong Juan didn't go far, and called Brother Rui to come over and ask, "Is there something written on the yellow paper you used to wrap the fennel?"

Rui Ge nodded: "Yes, there are some Chinese characters on it."

Zong Juan grabbed her by the collar and dragged her to his eyes, and asked coldly, "What did you write?"

Brother Rui was dumbfounded in shock, and hurriedly waved his hands: "I don't know, I don't know... I picked up that paper on the road, because the fennel has water on it, so I used it to wrap... I really don't know what it says, Eighth Prince I also know that although I can speak Chinese, I am not literate!"

Zong Juan saw that she didn't look like she was lying, so he let her go, waved his hand and ordered the maids to disperse, and then he walked back slowly, standing silently by the window outside Roufu's bedroom, lightly tapping on the torn window paper, and peeking at the situation inside.

But seeing Ning Fu holding a porcelain bowl and spoon, and urging Rou Fu to drink, Rou Fu still ignored him, still sleeping with his eyes closed.Ning Fu put down the bowl, looked at the closed door, held his breath and listened to the movement around him, saw nothing unusual, then took out the yellow paper from his sleeve, unfolded it carefully, handed it to Rou Fu, and said with a smile: " Sister, look, what is this."

Rou Fu still didn't respond, so Ning Fu leaned over and asked her: "It's related to Brother Nine, sister don't want to watch it?"

Only then did Rou Fu move slightly, looked sideways at Ning Fu, and then shifted his gaze to the yellow paper hesitantly.

She stood still for a long time, then stretched out trembling hands to grab the yellow paper, struggling to sit up.Ning Fu quickly helped her to sit up, and she leaned half on Ning Fu's body, eagerly and repeatedly identifying the words on the paper.

Finally, a sob came out of her throat, and tears fell, but the corners of her lips seemed to be smiling.

Ning Fu helped her wipe away the tears, and persuaded with a smile: "This is such a good thing, sister should be happy, don't cry, don't cry."

Roufu nodded, and tried to smile, but a series of tears still couldn't stop falling.Finally, she pressed the yellow paper to her chest, put her head lightly on her knees, and began to cry loudly.

Ning Fu didn't persuade her anymore, and sat on the head of Rou Fu's bed, with one arm around Rou Fu's waist and the other around her shoulders, hugging her like this to accompany her to cry.After a while, he stroked her hair again and comforted her, "This paper was brought in wrapped in fennel. It's a good sign. Fennel, fennel, I hope my sister will return home..."

Rou Fu turned sideways, hugged Ning Fu tightly, and wept on her shoulder.Ning Fu embraced her, patted her on the back, and persuaded softly: "The most important thing is to live, because someone is waiting for you."

Hearing these familiar words, Rou Fu's body shook slightly, she sat up straight, and looked at Ning Fu half-questioningly.

Ning Fu smiled slightly, and whispered in her ear: "Sister, on the day you and Ji, I was also..."

Rou Fu meditated for a moment in a daze, a layer of blush gradually appeared on her cheeks.

Ning Fu didn't say any more, he held up the bowl containing the fragrant soup as if nothing had happened, and said to Rou Fu: "My sister has worked so hard to make this soup, it's almost cold now, why don't you try it?"

Rou Fu also showed a smile.Ning Fu personally fed her little by little with a spoon, and Rou Fu also drank it quietly, while holding the roll of yellow paper firmly in his hand.

At dusk, Ning Fu came out to bid farewell to Zong Jun: "Twenty sister drank the fragrant soup and ate a little something. She is asleep now, so she should be fine. It's getting late, and the beads are inconvenient to stay for a long time. Please Eighth Prince, please send me back to the palace."

Zong Juan approached her, stroked her face with the fingers of his right hand, and responded casually: "Since it's getting late and it's inconvenient to come and go, why not stay here overnight and come back tomorrow."

As he spoke, he stroked her face and neck. When his fingers touched her collarbone, Ning Fu took a step back, avoiding his touch, and whispered, "Since the eighth prince is going to send me To the eldest prince, it would be extremely inappropriate for me to stay in the palace."

Zong Juan was greatly surprised, withdrew his hand and frowned: "How do you know this? My mother told you."

Ning Fu didn't answer, just shook his head slightly.

Zong Juan stared at her for a long while, then smiled again, lifted her chin with two fingers, and made her look at him: "Do you know why I robbed your sister and didn't want you?"

Ning Fu said softly: "Beads are skinny and ordinary-looking, but my sister has an alluring appearance..."

Zong Juan shook his head, stared into her eyes and smiled, "That's because, Chuanzhu, you are very smart, but also too understanding, it's not good."

Zong Jun prepared a sedan chair to see Ning Fu off, and then went back to Rou Fu's room to see her.

Rou Fu fell into a deep sleep, with an An Tian smile on his lips.Zong Juan stood in front of her bed for a while, but he didn't see that she was conscious, so he slowly lifted a corner of her quilt.

As expected, the roll of yellow paper was still held in Rou Fu's arms.

Zong Juan carefully pulled out the yellow paper without disturbing her.

After unfolding it, the vague answer in my heart was finally confirmed—it was the letter of amnesty issued by Zhao Gou, the emperor, after he was located in Yingtian Mansion in May.

6. Black Butterfly
In the next few days, Zong Jun asked Rou Fu to recuperate, and did not visit her when she was awake, but ordered Rui to take care of Rou Fu all the time, and to report any abnormalities at any time.

Zongwang's funeral is about to take place.According to the custom of Jurchen, the deceased's relatives, trilogy, servants and servants should prepare prisons, wine and food to be burned before the funeral as a sacrifice, which is called "cooking rice".Zong Juan was no exception, he asked his servants to slaughter livestock in the mansion for several days, and bought more wine and food for Zongwang's funeral.In the early morning of the day when the funeral was held, Zong Jun ordered people to list the animals, wine and food in the courtyard one by one, and prepared to send them to Zongwang's cemetery.

There were so many sacrificial offerings that almost all the house slaves were busy, running back and forth between the kitchen wine cellar and the front yard, and there was quite a lot of movement.Thinking that it attracted Rou Fu's attention, she asked Brother Rui why, when Zong Juan was about to leave, she rushed over and said the first words to him in the past few days: "Your second brother is dead, my fifth sister What will happen next?"

"You want to know?" Zong Juan asked.Seeing Rou Fu nodding, he called Brother Rui, pointed to Rou Fuming with loose hair and haggard face, and said: "Change into plain clothes for the little lady, and comb her hair well."

Let the slaves deliver the sacrifices first, and Zong Juan stays and waits by himself.After a while, Rui Ge came back with Rou Fu, who was wearing a Jurchen dress with a small sleeve on the left lapel.The dress was completely plain white, made of satin silk, without any pattern, only slightly embroidered with ripples at the corners, which was also white.The maid draped Roufu's hair behind her shoulders, and then picked out a few braids, which were covered with white plain scarves and decorated with white feathers.When she appeared in front of Zong Juan, he looked him up and down, smiled with satisfaction, and looked behind him: "Get in the car."

He took her out of the city by car, and it took him a long time to arrive.Rou Fu got out of the car and looked up, and found that it was a cemetery. Not far away, there was a high and wide mound with a crypt dug under it, which seemed to be used for placing the coffin. Kneeling or standing in front of them, all with mournful faces, dozens of women knelt in two rows and wept loudly.

Rou Fu searched carefully, but did not find Maode among them, so he asked Zong Jun with a worried look, "Where is my fifth sister?"

Zong Juan looked up over Rou Fu's head and looked to the left: "There."

Rou Fu followed his gaze, and there were many house slaves at the place he pointed, holding high paper houses, servants, chariots and other ritual objects, with white flags fluttering, and those paper people had dull faces, but they all had There is a weird smile.

A little creepy, Rou Fu became more and more uneasy, and asked again: "Where is Fifth Sister?"

Zong Juan stood motionless and smiled, "Let's see."

Rou Fu looked over again.I saw colorful ritual objects and pale-faced paper figurines, the poles held by the house slaves trembling in the wind, behind a firewood pile, and above it were filled with white flags, like conscious demons, dancing with the wind from time to time, no matter how tired they were fall.The suddenly intensified sunlight hits the face through the gaps that the white flag of the instrument occasionally misses, forcing Roufu to cover his forehead with his hands, and blinking, during which time the wind brought a strange smell of paper money, and a long and agitated horse neighing Voice.

Opening his eyes again, the wind danced in a hurry, and the layers of white flags were pushed away, revealing the scene on the top of the firewood pile.A pure white carved saddle horse was bound with dense iron chains and tied to the woodpile with its knees bent. Next to it stood a dead tree trunk, on which a woman in white was also tied with iron chains.

Rou Fu's complexion turned pale instantly, and he cried out, "Fifth Sister!"

Suddenly, another woman's scream came from under the pyre, almost at the same time as Roufu's voice: "Let me go! Don't burn me!"

That was someone both Rou Fu and Zong Jun knew, Maode's maid Li Xian'er.Two house slaves held her by force and dragged her to the woodpile.She struggled with all her hands and feet, and cried out hoarsely, begging for mercy.The house slave managed to put her on the pyre, but he couldn't tie her madly resisting to the tree trunk no matter what.She broke free of the iron chain several times, and finally a house slave got angry and pulled out a dagger and stabbed at her fiercely.With a muffled sigh, Li Xian'er covered her stabbed abdomen with both hands and fell on the firewood pile. Another slave picked up a thick stick and hit her hard on the head. At the feet of Emperor Maode, the two came down one after another.

Witnessing this bloody incident happening in front of his eyes, Rou Fu clutched his mouth and took a few steps back in pain.The bound Maode Diji could not move under the black iron chains. During this period, she kept her head and eyes closed, and she didn't raise her eyes when she heard Li Xian'er crying.She seemed to be exhausted, lazy to care about life and death, her lifeless face was indifferent, showing no joy or sorrow, only her knee-length hair hung down, brushing her pale and pure face, fluttering sadly in the wind, like a Only the hand of the soul.

"What are they going to do with Fifth Sister?" Rou Fu suddenly understood, and asked Zong Jun anxiously, grabbing his wrist with one hand in desperation.

It was not cold, but her hands were cold.Zong Juan glanced at her and said, "Be burned and buried together with Zong Wang's favorite famous horse."

Although she had already guessed, Rou Fu was still startled: "Are you going to burn her alive?"

Zong Jun acquiesced.Feeling Rou Fu's hand gradually loosen, "It's so cruel to be burned and buried, are you Jin people still human?" He heard her say.

Zong Jun didn't answer.Rou Fu stood there for a while, as if she had made a decision, she said to him: "If you are willing to save Fifth Sister, I..."

"I told you I'm not Yeli," Zong Juan stopped her, "I won't make any deals with you."

He looked up and stopped looking at her, Ren Roufu cried in disappointment, he just ignored her.At this time, the sound of the wheels of the carriage was suddenly heard, and a chariot train was gradually approaching. The guard of honor guards saw that it was coming from the palace, and everyone stood up to welcome it.Among them, the main phoenix chariot stopped in front of the tomb, and the maid opened the curtain to help out a plain-clothed beauty from inside.

Yuan Dai smoked, looked at her beautifully, and Zong Jun recognized her as Wanyan Chengxin's concubine Zhao's jade box.

The palace attendant who came with her said to Zongwang's wife, Tang Kuo, "Mrs. Zhao was ordered by Lord Lang to attend the funeral for the second prince."

Tang Kuo hurriedly went up to salute with all the people, and the jade box returned the salute with a smile, and then set off to offer incense in front of the spirit.

When Rou Fu saw the jade box, he seemed to see a glimmer of life. He wiped away his tears and ran towards her, took her by the sleeve and said earnestly: "Sister Yuxiang, save the fifth sister, they are going to burn her alive and bury her!"

The jade box turned to look at her, without saying a word, calmly pulled out the corner of the sleeve from Roufu's hand, continued to walk to the coffin in a leisurely manner, lit a stick of incense, bowed three times solemnly, and held the incense After inserting it, she turned around and said to Rou Fu who was looking at her expectantly: "The second prince loved Empress Maode the most during his lifetime. Now that the second prince has passed away, Empress Maode should follow her underground. Burning and burial is a Jurchen custom. Madame Kuo’s request has already been approved by the Lord Lang, this matter has been settled and will not change again.”

Roufu was stunned, and looked at her in disbelief: "Sister Yuxiang?"

Yu He gave her a cold look, and said, "Go back to the Eighth Prince, this is the Second Prince's funeral, don't run around and yell."

Rou Fu was silent for a while, then frowned and raised his head, and said to the jade box: "You have committed yourself to being a golden man, so you really think of yourself as a golden man? After only a few days as the imperial concubine of the Jin Kingdom, you have learned the trick of being servile and coquettish." comprehensive."

The jade box was neither angry nor angry, and looked up at Zong Juan who was rushing over: "Eighth Prince, take good care of your woman."

Zong Juan nodded: "Yes, ma'am." He immediately grabbed Rou Fu's waist and forcibly led her away from the soul.

Rou Fu was forced to go away with him, but still looked back with hatred, staring at the jade box and gnashing his teeth: "It's a pity that Uncle Xiaoqian, who was loyal all his life, gave birth to such an unworthy girl like you!"

After the worship of the jade box was completed, Tang Kuo ordered the funeral objects to be set on fire.Several house slaves immediately lit the torches and walked towards the woodpile.

"Don't!" Seeing this, Rou Fu cried out immediately, and was about to run over there, but Zong Juan held her tightly by the waist, not allowing her to approach.

Several clusters of flames ignited from the bottom of the firewood one by one, and the firewood was filled with oil, so the flames rose rapidly and gradually formed a circle of fire, constantly eroding toward the center.The white horse neighed sadly, while Maode in the fireworks still looked down silently, his anger seemed to have dissipated before the flames came.

A horse came running from a distance suddenly, and the man on it got off the horse and rushed away from the crowd towards the woodpile, crying out incessantly: "Fu Jin! Fu Jin..."

Hearing the sound, Rou Fu opened his eyes blinded by crying, looked at the man, and called out in surprise, "Fifth brother-in-law!"

That man was Maode's son-in-law Cai Kuang.He was originally handsome, but now he was haggard and emaciated, as if he had rushed from a far away place. He was dressed in a dark and torn blue singlet, his face was covered with dust, and his messy hair was covered with broken leaves and grass.

Several house slaves had stopped him halfway, and he couldn't break free, so he fell to the ground slumped, his eyes were red, as if he was about to cry blood: "Fu Jin..."

The bound Maode slowly raised his eyes, and smiled mischievously in the air heated by the flames: "My son-in-law..."

The smoke got thicker and thicker, Maode began to cough, but he seemed to regain his energy. He coughed and said loudly to Cai Wei: "My son-in-law, Fu Jin is going first, take care of yourself and take good care of Daddy for me..."

Cai Kuang nodded his head hard, he was already sobbing, his arms were held up, and he couldn't take a step closer to Maode.

The raging fire continued to roll up, and the tongue of fire gradually licked the white horse and Maode.In desperation, Rou Fu bit Zong Juan's arm, and when he loosened his hand slightly, she broke free from his control, and staggered forward a few steps.

At this moment, someone raised a voice behind her and called her: "Miss Twenty."

This voice calmed Rou Fu a little, and she looked back with tears in her eyes: "Beads..."

Ning Fu came with the jade box. Just now, Rou Fu turned to the jade box for help and didn't notice that she was also in the train.

"It's useless," Ning Fu approached her and said, "You can't save her, and none of us can save her."

Rou Fu knew that she was right. In front of the golden man, they were as weak as ants, and they could not save themselves, let alone others.She knelt down weakly on the ground, and saw that the whole pyre had turned into a huge fireball, and the flames had engulfed Maode completely, as if it would continue to burn endlessly. She covered her face with her hands, and cried: "Xiangyun, Jin Er, Xianlang, and now Sister Fujin again... I watched them disappear one by one in front of me, but I couldn't save them..."

Ning Fu also knelt down in front of her, hugged her with tears, and whispered in her ear: "Although we can't save them, we can at least take care of ourselves. If there is still hope, we must live a good life." Pause , she said in a lower voice: "Love, the person who loves you; harm, the person who harms you."

The two plain-clothed women knelt on the ground, hugged each other and wept.The wind passed by in gusts, flying out with sparks of ashes, flying all over the sky, and soon a few pieces of ashes flew over and landed on their white sleeves, like black butterflies looking for branches to rest.

7. Jockey Club
Afterwards, Zong Juan went to and from the residences of the brothers in central Beijing, feasting and drinking with them, or going out to hunt in the city, getting along well with each of them, but not too close to any one of them.Zong Pan has always been worried about the fight for Roufu, and when he meets Zong Jun, he always shows anger and deliberately provokes, but Zong Jun always laughs it off and never confronts him again.On Zong Pan's birthday, Zong Jun sent Ning Fu and the generous gift he had prepared with his mother to Zong Pan's residence, but Zong Pan accepted it without hesitation.

Three days later, Zong Pan held a "famous horse meeting" in the mansion, saying that he had recently bought several peerless famous horses from Xixia horse dealers, and invited Zong Jun and other brothers to go there.After everyone arrived, Zong Pan led them to the racecourse in the mansion, pointed to a dozen horses of different colors lined up in the field, and said: "These horses are all famous horses in legends, each of them has a history, please Everyone appreciate it carefully."

Everyone came closer to take a closer look.Zong Gan was interested in a tall horse that was completely white, without any variegation, and looked extremely majestic. After observing and stroking him, he was amazed, and asked Zong Pan: "What is the name of this horse? How much did you pay for it?"

Zong Pan said: "It's called Bai Yi. Because it is white all over, and it is extremely loyal to its master. It has never had two masters in its life, so it got this name. To buy it, I spent a thousand taels of gold."

Zong Qian said with a smile: "As long as it is a great horse, it is worth buying bones with thousands of dollars. This deal is well done."

The fur of Zong Bi's favorite horse was white with gold in it, shining brightly.With Zong Pan's permission, he rode on and galloped around the arena.The speed of the horse was extremely fast, and it circled around in just a short moment, like a flash of golden light, its shape was extremely gorgeous.Everyone applauded, and Zong Pan proudly introduced: "The name of this horse is Yuhui. The Han people said that King Mu of Zhou had eight steeds, and he often rode them around the world. This is one of them. Change to."

Someone pointed to the colorful horses such as Chiji, Robouli, Yulun, Shanzi, Quhuang, and Hualiu to ask about the price. Zong Pan replied: "Those were all traded for women from the Southern Dynasty. The cheapest ones cost ten A woman is exchanged for a horse, and the most expensive one is worth fifty women."

Everyone laughed and praised: "It's worth it!"

After getting off his horse, Zong Bi turned his head, and saw Zong Jun standing alone beside a black horse, watching silently for a long time, but the horse was very ordinary, with its head down, and looked very lazy. It is the green color of the ear.Feeling surprised, Zong Bi asked, "Eighth Brother, what's so good about this horse being listless?"

Zong Jun smiled and said, "Fourth brother, if I guessed correctly, this should be the green ear that Bole favored."

Zong Pan applauded and walked up to Zong Juan: "Zong Juan really has good eyesight, these are the green ears." After speaking, he tapped his ears with his fingers, and the horse raised its head and stood upright. Pentium like flying.

The onlookers were amazed repeatedly, and Zong Bi also praised: "The value of this horse is still higher than that of Yu Hui. I'm afraid it will take a hundred women to get it?"

Zong Pan waved his hand: "No. I only traded for one woman."

Everyone didn't believe it, saying that the other worst horses were worth ten women, but Lu Er was only worth one.Zong Pan chuckled, and ordered a house slave: "Bring her up."

After a while, the slave brought the girl to him.When she stood still in the arena, everyone who attended the last family banquet of the gold master was taken aback. Everyone remembered her pale, thin, and fragile appearance. She was first given to Zong Jun, and then transferred to Zong Jun by Zong Jun. Pan's Ningfu Emperor Ji Zhao Chuanzhu.

"Although she is not a beauty, she is an imperial concubine of the Southern Dynasty, so she got a famous horse in exchange. How, is this deal not bad?" Zong Pan said with a smile, squinting at Zong Jun intentionally or unintentionally.

The rest of the people knew that Zong Pan's move was intended to embarrass Zong Jun, and it was difficult to express their position, so they didn't speak.After a long while, Zong Jun smiled and broke the silence: "Not bad, why didn't I think of this idea? Otherwise, I would choose another gift for Zong Pan, and then use Di Ji to change the name of the horse."

Zong Pan sneered: "It's not too late now. Tomorrow the horse merchants of the Xia Kingdom will come to pick up Ning Fu. If you want a famous horse, you might as well send your family's Rou Fu to him in exchange."

Zong Juan smiled and nodded: "Well, good suggestion. I will consider it when I go back."

Seeing that the atmosphere was not good, everyone walked away with excuses and continued to watch the horses.Zong Pan also waved his hands to let his servants take Ning Fu down, but after Ning Fu got up, he went straight to Zong Jun, and said with a blessing: "Eighth Prince, I want to ask for something with the beads."

Zong Juan saw that there were welt marks on her neck and hands. She must have been tortured by Zong Pan in the past three days, but he didn't look at it too much, and said to her indifferently: "I can't save you."

Ning Fu nodded slightly, lowered his eyes and said: "Chuanzhu understands. What Chuanzhu is asking for is not this." Then he took out a stack of letter paper from his sleeve, and handed it to Zong Jun with both hands, "After Chuanzhu leaves, twenty sisters will definitely miss you. Please don't tell her that I went to Xia, the eighth prince, but tell her that I married a general who stayed in the Central Plains. Chuanzhu wrote more than a dozen letters first, and asked the eighth prince to give her one every year. They are all for safety, and I hope the Eighth Prince will be successful."

Zong Juan took it over and saw that it was indeed a family letter written to Roufu to report his safety, with only a few words on each page, and it was nothing more than saying how well he was doing recently, so he accepted it and smiled at her: "Okay, I promise you .You really think about her and put so much thought into it."

Ning Fu smiled lightly: "For her, it's worth it."

Under Zong Pan's signal, the house slave kept urging Ning Fu to leave.Ning Fu got up and took two steps, but then looked back at Zong Jun: "Please treat her kindly, otherwise..."

Zong Juan looked at her with great interest: "Otherwise what would you do?"

Ning Fu thought for a while, and laughed as if mocking himself: "What can I do? It's just a floating weed, what can I do?"

8. Good day
After witnessing Mao De being burned alive, Rou Fu has been in poor health and spirit, and it is even more sad to learn that Ning Fu "married far away", hiding in the room every day and crying secretly.Zong Juan didn't look for her often, and only occasionally asked her maid Rui Ge how she was doing.

Later, things seem to have changed.

"The little madam is getting better gradually, but she suddenly became very quiet."

"Little Madam chatted with me today, because she didn't know much about Jurchen, so she started to learn from me."

"Little madam asked me about the eighth prince's official position and previous experience."

"The little lady said that she hadn't seen the eighth prince for a few days, and asked me if you left Beijing..."

One night, when Zong Juan heard the last sentence from Rui Ge, he put down the book in his hand with a smile, then wiped the saber he took off the wall, and told her, "Please come here, little madam."

She still had a stubborn posture, and her strong hostility even made the candlelight in the room flicker uncomfortably.Probably thanks to Rui Ge's careful dressing up, she is very beautifully dressed, what is different from other concubines is the makeup on her face, they are full of beauty, charming and beautiful, and her face is up to the sky, the only one covered A layer of alert frost.

After looking at him, she was quickly attracted by the saber in his hand.He wiped it slowly, and the cold light rippled from the blade into her eyes one after another, making her eyes shine.

He laughed silently in his heart, but asked calmly, "Do you know why I asked you to come?"

She subconsciously glanced at the bed in the inner room, and said hesitantly, "I know."

It's rare for her to be so forbearing, and to be there at the first call, but it's a pity that she doesn't know that her frank eyes will reveal all her thoughts.

"Well," he returned the sheath of the knife, then handed it to her, "put the knife in the closet by the wall."

"Wardrobe?" She asked in surprise, "Isn't it hanging on the wall?"

He nodded: "Wardrobe, that's right."

She took it obediently, put the saber in the closet as she said, and then turned to face him from a distance, her expression unavoidably a little nervous.

"Okay," he said lightly, "you can go back."

Now she was even more puzzled: "Go back?"

"Yes, you can go back to your room and rest." Zong Juan picked up the book he had put down just now, "I've finished what I asked you to do."

She was relieved, and her hesitant steps showed her unwillingness to plan to run aground.His eyes fell on the book, but there was always an eye watching her in his heart, which could easily see through her contradictory state of mind, which made him feel happy.On a whim, he teased her again: "Still leaving? Do you want to stay?"

She blushed and immediately walked out.When I walked to the door, I turned back and asked curiously, "What book are you reading?"

He held it up to show her the cover: ""Zhenguan Political Leaders", a book written by you Han people."

He called her over again late at night the next day, and this time he told her clearly that he wanted her to sleep with her. A look of shame and resentment flashed across her eyes, but she didn't refuse, and silently agreed.He smiled and ordered the maid to bring in a basin of clean water.This request made her feel weird, she looked at him and asked, "Didn't you wash it?"

All he said was, "It will come in handy in the middle of the night."

She obviously couldn't figure it out, but she couldn't ask any more questions, so she kept silent, and finally got off the bed and lay down beside him after his repeated urging, she still just slept with her clothes on, with her back turned to him.

He also didn't touch her for the time being, snoring deliberately for a while, but in fact he was as awake as she was.It's not that she didn't doubt it, she took out a piece of feather and brushed it on his nose twice, but she didn't know that his ability to endure a little pain was far beyond her imagination.

After waiting for a while, seeing that he was still sleeping, she got up lightly, tiptoed to the closet, and hurriedly opened the closet door...

With a "bang", something exploded from the cabinet.In fact, the sound was not too loud, but in the dead of night, the sound was still distinct and deafening.And accompanied by thick smoke, the pungent smell of gunpowder hits the face.

Zong Juan got up immediately, laughed loudly and lit the candle.

Rou Fu was stunned for a moment, then slowly turned around, the gloomy and angry expression on his face was not inferior to the traces of smoke.

The mechanism is actually very simple, it is just a small cracker, but it is specially made by his order, and it emits more smoke than usual.

"Don't you know that you can't search for the owner's belongings without permission?" Zong Jun asked with a smile.

Her eyes were red, and she rushed over and slapped him fiercely: "I want to..."

"You're going to kill me!" Zong Juan said with a smile while parrying, and quickly grabbed her hands and held them tightly.

She also stopped, stared at him seriously and said, "I'm not threatening you, I will really kill you."

"I know." Zong Juan also restrained his smile, and pulled her to sit beside him, "Okay, let's discuss this carefully."

Zong Jun threw a facekerchief into the prepared clean water to wash it, and then took it out to wipe the smoke and dust off Rou Fu's face, but she avoided it angrily, struggling like a fish out of water.

Zong Juan threw the veil into the water: "You can wash it yourself later." Then he said to her, "I know your biggest wish is probably to kill me. But have you ever thought that if I die, Even if you are not burned alive and buried in the future, you will be accepted as a concubine by my brothers, such as that reckless Zong Pan, and they may not have the same patience as me for you."

"At worst, I will kill myself, as long as you die." Roufu said, "I will not give anyone another chance to bully me."

Zong Jun frowned: "My death is very important to you? I'm not even a powerful official of the great gold. If you kill me, will you be able to destroy the gold and restore the country? Will you be able to wash away the shame of you and your clan compatriots?"

She shook her head: "I can't. But you are not a simple bad person. If you are allowed to live, I don't know what shame you will inflict on me or my compatriots."

Zong Juan was slightly taken aback when he heard this, and then laughed loudly: "It makes sense, I don't know about that either."

"But," he said again, "can you kill me? You can't beat me with today's mentality. Why use your little brains on things that have no chance of winning? If you have time, you might as well think about it." Thinking about the Great Song Dynasty that you are proud of, its territory and subjects are far superior to the Great Jin Dynasty, why did it die in the hands of "barbarians" like us, or how you should survive in the future, this is much more practical and meaningful way of doing."

Rou Fu lowered his eyes and thought, and then said: "I will think about these things later. But I will not change my determination to kill you. I can't kill you now. I will wait until the day when my ninth brother leads the Northern Expedition. I will naturally find a way to kill you." .”

Very weird situation.Such a beautiful day, but calmly discussing the issue of killing himself with the beautiful concubine Ji.Zong Jun unconsciously smiled again, looked at Rou Fu and said, "You haven't washed your face yet? Does the black rouge look good?"

She realized this problem again, hesitated for a while, and finally wrung out the handkerchief by herself to wash off the stains on her face.Zong Juan carried her to bed after she finished washing. She sensed Zong Juan's desire and immediately began to resist. Zong Juan smiled and said, "You still want to resist now?"

She opened her bright eyes and said firmly: "You are my enemy, not my husband. I will always resist you. You may be able to force me to sleep with you, but there are always some things that you cannot force. "

"Oh, for example?" Zong Jun asked.

She pointed to her heart.

9. The Book of Tea
The next day Zong Juan didn't go out, he read a book in the study after getting up in the morning, and asked Rou Fu to burn incense and serve him.Although Rou Fu was quite displeased, he did not refuse. After lighting a burner of incense for him, he slowly looked at the books on his bookshelf, but saw that most of them were Han books, such as "Historical Records", "Zi Zhi Tong Jian", and the rest. The official histories of previous dynasties and various military books, but what he is reading now is "Zhenguan Zhengyao".

"Have you read all these books?" Rou Fu asked him.

Zong Jun nodded and said: "When I was seven years old, my mother sent someone to Bianjing to invite two Han Confucian gentlemen to teach me Chinese."

Rou Fu smiled slightly, and the glance at him was full of superiority.Zong Juan clearly saw it, but ignored it, and continued to bury his head in his book.

After a while, a maid came in serving tea.Rou Fu lifted the lid of the cup and took a look, Dang even frowned: "What's in it?"

Zong Juan glanced at the sound, and said lightly, "It's crispy cheese."

"Are you making tea like this?" Roufu shook his head disdainfully, slowly stirred it with a thin silver spoon, carefully looked at the brown color of the water marks in the cup, and then picked up the teacup and took a sip to know the type of tea: "This is the tea. White tea, the best of Beiyuan tribute tea."

"That's right." Zong Juan said with a smile, "It's still from your Bianjing Palace."

Rou Fu's eyes darkened: "It's a pity, what a good thing, it fell into the hands of you barbarians and was so ruined. Alas, making tea like this is simply wasteful."

"Oh?" Zong Juan asked with interest as he read the book, "Then how did you enjoy this tea?"

"If you want to explain this tea scripture in detail, you can't finish it in a short while, not to mention the subtleties in it are definitely beyond the comprehension of the barbarians, so just choose the important ones, I'm afraid you may not understand it either." Roufu dialed lightly The tea leaves in the cup are counted one by one. "In the past, the tribute tea banned in Bianjing mainly included Pingyuantai Xingyan leaves, Gaofeng Qingfengsui leaves, Dalan leaves, Shanshan leaves, Luohan Shangshui mulberry leaves, gravel nests, Shijiuke leaves, Qiongye leaves, Xiupilin leaves, Huyan leaves, Wuyouyanya leaves, Laokeyuan leaves, etc. have different fragrances and are good at their beauty, but they are not as good as Beiyuan white tea.

"This white tea is different from ordinary tea. Its leaves are the most shiny and slender. It grows from the cliff forest by accident. If it is moved and cultivated, it will definitely not survive. There are only one or two tea trees within a thousand miles. The annual production The tea leaves are only enough to make two or three tea cakes, and it is especially difficult to pick and steam them. If you are not careful, if the heat of the soup is lost, the aroma will be lost and the taste will be lost. The tea should be picked at the time of the Waking of Insects every year. At dawn, the sun can’t be picked as soon as the sun rises. When picking tribute tea, you should break the buds with your hands, but don’t knead them with your fingers. Otherwise, the tea will be stained with sweat and freshness. Tea workers should bring fresh water with them , when the new buds are picked, throw them into the water immediately to keep them fresh. The new buds that are picked just after sprouting are shaped like sparrow grains, small and tender, and are the best. The picking method of this white tea is even more special, it belongs to the "Tou Gang" tribute tea, and the freshness is the most important. After picking, it must be transported to the palace by fast horses. The tea is spoiled. This tea uses water buds. First, the fine buds in the shape of eagle claws are picked, steamed with good water, and then washed. Then pick out the middle core and add water while grinding , even if a skilled worker works hard for a day, he can only grind out a small cake.

"The heat of the steamed tea must not be sloppy. Steaming too raw will result in slippery buds, which will make the tea color clear and strong in taste; overcooked buds will rot, making the tea red and not gluey. Pressing for a long time will cause the fragrance to dry up and the taste to be weak. If the pressure is not enough, it will make the color dark and astringent. The container for washing buds must be absolutely clean, and it needs to be roasted carefully after steaming. If the washing is not good, the taste will be a little sandy when drinking, which will inevitably spoil the scenery; If the fire is too ripe, the texture of the tea will be dry and red, and the color and aroma will be lost. Before making tea, you must calculate the time and effort to determine how much to pick. It must be produced within a day, otherwise the color and taste will be harmful if the tea is left overnight.

"The water for making tea is clear, light, sweet and clean. The ancients said that the water from Linghui Mountain in the south of the Yangtze River is the top grade, but it is too far away, even if it is sent thousands of miles away, it cannot maintain the original fresh water quality. It is usually preferable. Clean and sweet mountain springs, and secondly, clear well water can be barely used. River water has a fishy smell and is dirty and muddy. The father ordered people to build canals to bring in forbidden mountain springs and Genyue’s self-generated springs from outside Bianjing. Mountain springs are also different. Those with delicious taste are called sweet springs, and those with fragrant fragrance are called fragrant springs. The sweet springs imported from outside the city are sweet springs, and our Gen The natural spring in Yueshan is the fragrant spring. The tea from the two springs has its own advantages, and it is difficult to distinguish between good and bad.

"I see that most of your two cups of crispy cheese tea were fried on a flameless dead fire, right? The water for making tea must be fried on a live fire. Do you know what a live fire is? It's a charcoal fire with a flame. But it doesn't Be sure to use charcoal fire. In the past, I often went to Genyue to pick up dead pine branches or pine nuts. The effect of using it to make tea is not inferior to that of live fire, and it also has a faint fragrance.

"People in the Tang Dynasty added more ginger and salt to fry tea. Su Zizhan, a scholar of the Guo Dynasty, thought that adding a little ginger was acceptable, but salt was unnecessary. However, the tea we drink in the palace does not add many impurities. The special tea and water are pure. Some people recommend tea with the powdered flowers of plum blossom and jasmine. Although it can increase the fragrance of flowers, it also damages the original taste of tea. Good tea has a real fragrance, which is not comparable to the vulgar fragrance of dragon musk. It is fragrant and refreshing when put into a cup. Tea is of middle or low grade, adding fragrant flowers may cover up its rough taste, but if it is mixed with high-grade tea, it will be superfluous.”

"So," Roufu pushed the teacup in front of him far away, looked at Zongjun with contempt and said, "For the best tea like white tea, we didn't even dare to add fragrant flowers in it in the past, for fear of damaging it. But now, you actually fry it with greasy and strong cheese, and drink it so crazily, it really makes people feel sorry for this tea."

Zong Jun smiled and asked, "Who taught you these tea scriptures?"

Rou Fu raised his chin slightly, and said: "My father and my third elder brother Kai. They are both masters of tea tasting and tea fighting. When it comes to tea ceremony, I am afraid that few people in the whole world can surpass them. In fact, it is not only tea ceremony, but everyone who is pure How can they not be good at playing with elegance?"

"No wonder," Zong Juan seemed to suddenly realize, "They are unable to keep their ancestral foundation. They used to spend all their time on making tea and other things, so how could they have the energy to govern the country?"

Rou Fu was stunned for a moment, his lips twitched slightly to retort, the words came to his mouth as if he felt inappropriate, and he couldn't say anything for a while.

"Okay, I won't 'drink' like this anymore." Zong Juan looked at Rou Fu with a smile, "I will let you make the tea I drink. I used to think that your father is mediocre and useless, but now it seems that I was wrong , at least he has trained a good daughter who can add flavor to my sencha."

In a rage, Rou Fu reached out and snatched the "Zhenguan Political Leaders" in his hand: "You look down on us Han people, why do you want to learn Chinese and read Chinese books?"

Zong Juan didn't argue with her, he leaned back in the chair with a leisurely smile, and said, "Don't you think that the books I like to read are different from those that your father or your elder brother Kai like to read?"

After hearing the words, Rou Fu was silent for a while, and stared at the "Zhen Guan Zheng Yao" in his hand for a long time, thoughtfully.

This incident strangely aroused Roufu's interest in reading, and the study became the place she often visited.She was willing to accompany Zong Juan when he was reading, and she was not in a hurry to put the books he handed to her back on the shelf after he finished reading. The answer she couldn't think of repeatedly.

When Zong Juan went out, she always stayed in the study. When Zong Juan suddenly came back one day and found her concentrating on reading a book in the study, she was a little flustered, as if the secret she was keeping had been discovered by him, and she got up quickly. Hide the book in your hand behind your back.

The cover of the book flashed between her actions, she deliberately concealed it but couldn't hide from his calm eyes, he smiled: "Have you finished reading "Zhen Guan Zheng Yao?"

She hesitated, but finally nodded in admission.

"Understood?"

"I don't quite understand it now," she replied frankly, "but I think I will understand it later."

"Why did you choose "Zi Zhi Tong Jian" to read?"

Hearing this, she slowly moved out the book behind her, stroked the words on the cover with her fingers, and said, "Because this book looks the oldest, you must have read it the most. There must be a reason why you love to read it so much. "

Zong Juan sat down with a smile: "Then what did you see?"

She pondered for a moment, and finally said it: "I think it can tell me why my country was robbed by you... Or, there is a way to rejuvenate."

"If you want to read these books, you can read them casually." Zong Juan waved his finger and pointed to the books on the shelf, "But even if you understand it and think about it, what if you have found a way to rejuvenate your country? You are just A weak woman, my concubine, it is impossible for you to have the opportunity to make contributions to Song Dynasty like a man."

"No." She looked up at him, "As long as I live, I have a chance."

"Waiting for your ninth brother?" He asked teasingly.

She nodded solemnly: "Yes, my ninth brother."

"I'm sorry, I really can't bear to let you down." Zong Jun raised his eyebrows and smiled, "Your ninth brother's army retreated steadily under the attack of our Marshal Lou Shi. Luan Bianjing wanted to reassure people, but he didn’t listen, and planned to turn to the southeast with the advice of Huang Qianshan and Wang Boyan.”

She was stunned, but immediately raised her eyes and looked at him resolutely: "Maybe he is short of troops now, so he has to avoid it temporarily. This is just a temporary measure for him. After the situation stabilizes, he will definitely return to Bianjing and dispatch troops." I will send my troops to the north."

"Really?" Zong Juan shook his head slightly, "I'm afraid he may not act as you wish in the future."

She stared at him angrily for a long time, and finally came to a conclusion: "You are jealous of him."

"Oh?" He pretended to be curious, "What's the reason?"

"My ninth brother is young and promising. He became the emperor of the Song Dynasty when he was only 20 years old." The corners of her lips twitched slightly with disdain on her face. I have nothing to do all day long, only know how to enjoy myself, and I have made no achievements in the country or the community. Don't you feel ashamed to compare him to him!"

If she spoke so bluntly to other Jin Kingdom nobles, nine lives would be in danger.Zong Juan chuckled, but he was not sullen or angry. She always regarded him as a mediocre person who was with her day and night, which at least showed that his keeping a low profile was quite effective.

"Well, that's right, I have nothing to do all day long, very free." He looked at her, "I think you seem to be very free too, or can we find something to do together?"

She didn't understand for a moment, she stared blankly at his ambiguous smile, and it took a while to react, and immediately ran out of the study with anger, still holding the volume of "Zi Zhi Tong Jian" just now in her hand.

10. Mountain scenery
In autumn and July, Wanyan Sheng decided to take the prince of the central clan out of the city to hunt in the city, and Zong Jun would also be ordered to accompany him. After the servants in the mansion heard the news, they immediately prepared the necessary items such as pommel horse, knife, bow, tent, eagle and so on several days in advance.

Seeing that they were very busy, Rou Fu asked: "It takes so much trouble, do you want to go for a long time?"

Zong Jun said: "I just went to the paddock outside the city, only for three or four days. Now when hunting in the paddock, it is actually just setting up the paddock with the army, and then letting the prepared foxes, hares, wild boars, deer and deer and other animals indulge in it. Everyone Let’s shoot arrows, or catch them with eagles, and pretend to be hunting.” After saying that, he sighed, “When I was young, I used to go hunting in Changbai Mountain with my father, and often it would take more than a month to go out. There are rare birds and animals all over the mountains and plains. There are sables, black storks, golden eagles, sika deer, and red-crowned cranes that are beautiful in appearance; mergansers, musk deer, otters, lynxes, red deer, and green sheep are delicious and sweet; , humming hawks, goshawks, sparrow hawks and hazel pheasants...Of course, there are many ferocious beasts, and you must be careful when stepping into the dense forest. There are often black bears, brown bears, jackals, and leopards. The most dangerous is the tiger. It often lies quietly in the bushes, and when it finds a lonely pedestrian, it will follow him and sneak up close for a while, and when it is not prepared, it will pounce over, bite the person's neck, make him unavoidable, and then tear Chewing and eating into the stomach."

Rou Fu had been listening carefully, and seemed interested when he talked about rare birds and animals, but when he heard about the tiger cannibalism, he couldn't help showing a look of horror.Zong Juan smiled when he saw this, and said again: "But this kind of tiger, I have hunted and killed five tigers with my father since I was young. The tiger on Changbai Mountain is very beautiful. The back and side of the body are light yellow, and the belly is pure white. , the horizontal stripes all over the body are black and shiny, and every Jurchen would be proud of owning such a tiger skin. The tapestry in my bedroom and study is the tiger skin that I hunted and peeled off myself. Hunting in Changbai Mountain is the most In real hunting, for a man, the greatest happiness is to win something that stakes his life. Today’s field hunting outside the city is just a playful pastime.”

"Then why don't you go hunting in Changbai Mountain now?" Rou Fu asked.

"The capital is quite a distance from there, and it takes a lot of time to go back and forth. What's more, the current emperor... seems to be busier than before?" Zong Juan suddenly smiled brightly, "Of course it is inconvenient to leave the capital easily and spend so much time on hunting. of."

"A place with so many rare birds and animals, the scenery must be beautiful?" Rou Fu asked again.

"Yes," Zong Juan was slightly moved when he mentioned the scenery of Changbai Mountain in his memory, "I haven't been there for a long time, I don't know if the mountains and lakes there are still the same as before..."

The sky there is pure blue and clear, and the clouds floating in the sky are fluffy and white. Looking at the foot of the mountain, the clouds are low and leisurely drifting, feeling very close to you, as if you can tear off a handful of cloud threads by running and jumping.Walking to the mountainside, you feel as if you are in the clouds, and you stretch out your hand, and the wisps of white smoke slowly pass over your palm, which is peaceful and cool.Even in summer, there are ten days and nine fogs, and there is a sea of ​​clouds rolling over the dense forest.The highest Baiyun Peak stands in the sea of ​​clouds, majestic and majestic.At the other end, Yuxue Peak is made of jade-white pumice, which is white in all seasons, and the snow stones are difficult to distinguish. There are several ice caves at the foot of the mountain, and smoke is common in the caves. It is said that there are immortals making alchemy there.

Tianchi is moored among the peaks, the water in the pool is extremely clear and cool, when the sky is clear, the color is blue like gemstones, there is no living thing in it, the only thing that is alive is the white clouds floating in the clear water.The sky and water are connected, the clouds and mountains are in harmony, and the scenery purified by blue and white is quiet and beautiful, but it is far and deep.

The water in Tianchi meanders down, falls from the cliffs, and flows down like a waterfall, just like a silver train flying, rushing to the bottom of the deep valley, arousing layers of water mist and splashing down like fireworks. As the sun shines, a colorful rainbow of light and shadow emerges from the water mist, standing among the purple and apricot rock walls.

The forests in the mountains are lush, lush and boundless.Among them, the beautiful pine tree has a slender and straight waist, a smooth and delicate trunk, and is pink in color. The needles are short and dense, green and unparalleled, and they grow sparsely in the red pine and spruce forests, like a beauty you meet by chance.The alpine tundra is green and grassy, ​​and flowers of different colors bloom according to the four seasons, light yellow, orange red, and light purple, each of which is good at its beauty.In late autumn, a kind of grass called "bilberry" will bear cherry-shaped fruits, which are all over the hillside, bright red like brocade.Beside the valley where the snow and ice are accumulated all year round, you can see some small yellow flowers with elegant tones. It blooms in the severe cold, and under the flowers and leaves is white snow...

As Zong Juan thought about it, he slowly described the scene in the mountain to Rou Fu.Rou Fu was fascinated by this, and there was a sense of longing in his gaze, and finally asked him: "Is there any cowhide azalea near the capital?"

Zong Juan said: "Of course not, this flower only grows in Changbai Mountain."

Roufu sighed lightly, feeling a little disappointed.

"You..." Zong Juan sized her up and suddenly asked, "Can you ride a horse?"

"Horse riding?" Rou Fu was slightly stunned, then raised his head, "Yes!"

Zong Juan got up immediately, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her out.He went straight to the stables in the mansion, picked out a little white horse for her, and ordered Rui Ge to change into short clothes for her, then led her to the riding range, pointed to the little white horse and said to her: "Ride and see."

The horse is white all over, with a small and delicate head, light bones, thin skin and fine hair, and looks very sensitive.Rou Fu seemed to like it very much, and walked towards it with surprise and joy, stretched out his hand to gently stroke its mane, the horse was not afraid of strangers, and seemed to be very docile.

"Ride on." Zong Juan urged her.

She looked back at Zong Jun, lowered her eyes hesitantly, but opened her eyes again in a moment, and resolutely pulled the rein, stepped on the stirrup on the left side of the horse with her left foot, and vigorously lifted the horse.She seemed to be a little flustered during the action, the horse moved a few steps to the left as soon as she pulled it. Before she could sit still, she grabbed the protrusion in front of the saddle in a panic, and was relieved when the horse stopped. Grasping the reins firmly, Chao Zongjun raised his head.

Zong Juan smiled, got on his own horse, rode to her side, and lightly knocked her horse's belly with his foot, and the white horse immediately moved forward.At first the horse walked slowly, Rou Fu smiled happily, and gradually loosened the rein in his hand, the horse also accelerated and began to trot.Running faster and faster, Rou Fu's expression and behavior began to become tense. While pulling the rein tightly, he leaned forward, and his body was crumbling with the horse's running.Zong Juan took a closer look and found that the two sides of the rein she was holding were unbalanced, one was long and the other was short. What was more serious was that her feet did not step on the stirrups, and the stirrups on both sides were hanging empty, shaking uncontrollably.

It was immediately clear that she didn't know how to ride a horse.Zong Juan couldn't help laughing, and immediately raised his voice to guide: "Take in the rein, and the two sides should be the same length. Clamp the horse's belly with your legs and step on the stirrup."

She did as she heard, and tried to step on the stirrups. It took several tries before she could reach them. Unexpectedly, the stirrups were made of copper, and the inner side was quite smooth. Protruded out again, unable to step on it at all.

It was only then that Zong Juan noticed that her feet, who were wearing embroidered shoes of the Southern Dynasty style, were extremely small.

She finally gave up, no longer tried to step on the stirrups, but pulled the rein violently, the horse was running happily, and immediately lifted its front legs high after being strangled by her, and it was likely to throw Roufu off its back .Surprised, Rou Fu let go of the rein, and turned to hold on to the horse's mane tightly, with his legs clamping the horse's belly, and leaned over the horse that continued to run wildly with a pale face.And the stirrup still swayed empty.

Zong Jun immediately galloped his horse to the wall, picked up a horse pole more than ten feet long, and then rushed towards Roufu's horse. When he got close, he suddenly leaned forward, and the Zidian monkey under him also With a leap, Zong Juan raised his right hand, and the harness pole drew a big arc in the air. With a shake of the long and flexible pole, the noose on it shook out in a circle, and flew straight out, right and left. On the neck of a galloping white horse.The white horse neighed, and was about to raise its hooves and lift its front legs. At this time, Zong Jun moved his body and leaned back. His body was caught in the rear saddle bridge, and he retracted his hands tightly on the harness pole. He abruptly pulled the horse's head around, and then the The front body of the horse seemed to be frozen suddenly, and the hind legs made a half circle in a hurry, and then gradually stopped.Zong Juan shook his arm again, and the whole noose was wrapped around the end of the rod. He rode his horse over, stretched out his hand, and hugged Rou Fu to his horse.

Running back to the sidelines, he hugged her down and said seriously, "Don't force yourself to do something you don't know how to do. Losing your life is no fun."

Rou Fu lowered his head in a low voice, his face flushed.

Zong Juan also lowered his eyes, his eyes fixed on her three-inch slender feet.After a while, he picked her up and walked towards his room.

11. Bare feet
"Ah, let me go!" Roufu struggled to land, seeing the direction he was going, he couldn't help showing a look of fear in his eyes.

Zong Juan ignored her, and put her on the bed after entering the room, then grabbed her still moving feet, and took off her shoes with two strokes.The next move was different from what she had guessed, and his attention was still on her feet.Holding her ankle tightly, he began to untie the knot of white silk binding her calf.

She couldn't be more frightened.Ever since the time she ran into Brother Jiu when she was a child, her bare feet had never been exposed to the eyes of anyone other than herself and her personal maid.Daily foot washing and foot binding are the biggest secret in the boudoir, and it can only be done when the door of the pavilion is closed in the middle of the night.It was not her intention to bind her feet, but as she got older, she would also be faintly proud of the size of her feet under the envious eyes of other women.Although she was caught in a difficult situation on the way to the north, she insisted on finding a way to wash and wrap her feet to maintain her feet. Of course, she had to make sure that no one would see them in the middle of the night.

Jiaojiao golden lotus, like a crescent moon, thin and invisible, soft as if boneless.But this kind of beauty can only be seen with silk embroidered shoes and decorations, and the truth in it is a taboo that slender beauties must never show to others.The role of the white silk attached to the foot seems to be more important than the small clothes, although the husband can't look directly at the silk.

The man in front of him had never seen his bare feet before, so wanting to unbind his feet this time was clearly a greater humiliation than undressing.

In shame and anger, Rou Fu kicked and kicked Zong Jun fiercely, and kept pushing and resisting with both hands: "Stop, this kind of barbaric behavior is not done by a gentleman!"

Zong Jun smiled: "I am a barbarian, not a gentleman." Then he suppressed her resistance with one hand, and continued with the previous work with the other hand.

The foot-bound white silk, which was more than two feet long, was loosened layer by layer under his hands. When she felt that the last strand of cloth was definitely separated from her skin, and her left foot touched the cool air and was naked in the long-awaited sunlight, two teardrops Afterwards, she closed her eyes amidst shame and resentment.

The deformed ugliness under the satin surface of brocade shoes is the secret source that must be strictly guarded.

There was no blood or vitality on the pale skin, it was moist and fragile, like the discolored skin that had peeled off the rotten flesh after a burn.Only one upturned big toe on the foot still retains its original appearance, while the other four toes have been bent inward without exception, and have been deformed, and the nails have fallen off. Less than half of Tianzu.

Zong Juan turned her ankle repeatedly and looked at it for a long time, then continued to pull her right foot, and untied Bai Ling in the same way.At this moment, Roufu had no intention of resisting any more, and only covered his face with his sleeves, sobbing softly, during which he faintly heard Zong Jun ordering the maids, as if ordering them to bring in something, she didn't understand that word, let alone didn't care, barefoot Lying on the bed, very sad.

Zong Juan pulled the quilt over her body, covered her feet, and then lay down beside her with a smile on his face, looking very leisurely.

After about a stick of incense, the maid brought a pot of hot soup inside, and the rising white steam was mixed with the smell of ginger, cinnamon sticks, and some indistinguishable herbs.Afterwards, there was a middle-aged servant woman who immediately knelt down and saluted Zong Jun when she saw Zong Jun.

Zong Jun sat up, hugged Rou Fu beside him, and ordered the servant: "Wash the feet of the young lady."

The maid agreed, and immediately took the basin and placed it beside the bed, and then gently pulled Roufu's feet.Rou Fu smelled the medicine, and frowned while shrinking his feet and asked: "What is this?"

"A decoction that relaxes tendons, activates collaterals, activates blood and removes blood stasis." Zong Juan replied lightly, and as soon as he stretched out his arms, he hugged her tightly, making her upper body unable to move, and then ordered the maid and maid to hold her feet.

The maid looked at Rou Fu's feet, and immediately showed surprise, she raised her head and asked Zong Jun: "How does the Eighth Prince want to treat the little madam?"

Zong Juan said: "Give her daily cleaning and massage with decoction, and gradually stretch her toes back to try to restore her original shape."

The servant girl understood, she took Rou Fu's right foot, cleaned it carefully, and then began to massage.The Jurchens have always been wary, like sports and hunting, and often have injuries. Therefore, there are always physicians and servants who are good at massage in the noble family, and Zong Jun summoned one of them today.

Foot massage is already quite painful, not to mention that Roufu's small feet are different from Tianzu, the bones have been deformed, and Zong Jun wanted to restore the original shape, so the servants put more pressure on them. Kick cried out: "I don't want it! I don't want it! Don't move my feet, you nasty savages!"

The maid stopped and looked at Zong Jun hesitantly.Zong Juan raised his head slightly, and said, "Don't pay attention to her, continue."

So he firmly held Rou Fu's feet, and the maid continued to massage her.It took a full hour before the feet were washed and treated.Zong Jun ordered Rui Ge to find a pair of smaller women's socks and a pair of Jurchen children's boots for Rou Fu, and put them on but they were still loose, and let her walk on the ground. Laughed, and then said to Rui Ge: "You help her go back. From now on, when there is sunshine, take her to the courtyard every day except for shoes and socks to bask in the sun. I usually lead her to walk more. After a few days, wait for her to get used to it before taking her for a ride." Running and jumping on the shooting range. The foot wrap is definitely not wrapped around anymore."

Rou Fu was not willing to listen to him, and immediately found a new white silk when he returned to the room, and wrapped it up quietly in the same way after the maids fell asleep at night.When Brother Rui found out when he got up the next day, she took her hand and said, "I treat you well on weekdays, right? I don't want you to do more for me, but just pretend you didn't see it. From now on, I will treat you well in front of the Eighth Prince. I know how to wear boots, but I still have my feet bound when I go back to the room, so leave me alone."

Ruige showed embarrassment: "But... if the eighth prince knows..."

Rou Fu smiled and said, "He can see everything in my room? Where did he have so many eyes!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Brother Rui staring out blankly. Rou Fu looked back and saw Zong Jun standing by the door with his hands behind his back, meeting her eyes, and then smiled lightly.

He knew that she would continue pestering her privately, so he came to check on her early.

Rou Fu was not afraid of the unexpected, walked quickly to him, looked up at him, and said in a demonstrative way: "I want to bind my feet, once you untie them, I will bind them once!"

Zong Juan asked her unhurriedly: "Why do you bind your feet?"

Rou Fu said: "In Song Dynasty, the daughters of good families have their feet bound. Only servants and poor people have natural feet."

"Who made this rule?" Zong Jun asked.

Roufu thought for a while, and said, "I don't know. But in the palace, this is Daddy's request."

Zong Jun smiled and said: "In the final analysis, it is actually very simple. These are the rules that the Han men imposed on you women. They are designed to restrict your walking and weaken your physique. You men in the Southern Dynasties have long been playing with elegance, poetry, and songs. , romanticism, and endless conflicts of spirits have worn away their masculinity, becoming weaker and weaker, and turning you women into delicate, pitiful, weak, and struggling is what they think they can regain. It’s a wonderful recipe for strengthening the stem. But have you ever thought about how a masculine father and a weak mother will give birth to strong offspring? How can a man raised by a woman with small feet like you resist the attack of our Jurchen iron cavalry? ?”

I didn't know how to refute this statement for a while, but Rou Fu still stared at him, and said angrily: "A woman with bound feet has the beauty of a willow waist and slender steps, just like Wei Jin calligraphy and painting, Tang and Song poetry, the beauty of which is beyond the comprehension of barbarians like you. You It’s fine if you don’t know how to appreciate it, why force people to restore their natural feet like your barbarian girls?”

"Where, I understand the beauty of small feet very well." Zong Jun said, "The small feet with embroidered shoes are soft and slender. They can be seen and tasted by men like us during the day, and touched and enjoyed at night. For you Han women, is it lingering?" Having a pair of slender feet is the key to winning the favor of a husband and wife, so all the families of some status will try their best to keep their daughters' feet small, especially for women in the palace. Having slender feet is a way to compete for favor. But such a Come on, what is the difference between this girl with small feet and a pure plaything? Besides, are small feet beautiful? I don’t think so. Take off the wrapping cloth and look at your feet, do you think they are beautiful too? We Jurchen girls are all Tianzu, my mother fought with my father when she was young, if she had little feet like yours, she would have died under the hooves of horses thousands of times."

Speaking of this, Zong Juan took a deep look at Rou Fu again: "Besides, according to your temperament, I think you definitely didn't want to bind your feet in the first place, right?"

Rou Fu took a step back slightly, and said in a low voice: "Who says I don't want to... Daddy and brother Jiu want me to bind my feet... what they said must be right..."

"Hehe, so they forced you to pester me." Zong Juan caressed her little face and sighed, "Why do you resist so fiercely against what I forced you to do, but why do you resist what your father and brother forced you to do?" Is it as good as it gets?”

Rou Fu was silent for a moment, then raised his eyes and said stubbornly: "Anyway, I don't want you to worry about it, I will continue to bind my feet!"

Zong Juan smiled very leisurely: "If you are not afraid of other serious consequences, you can try."

12. Tiger hunting
A few days later, the lord Wan Yancheng took Zong Pan, Zong Jun, Zong Gan, Zong Bi and other princes out of the city to hunt in the fields. He was also accompanied by the Prime Minister Zong Han, the Marshal Right Supervisor Wanyan Xiyin, and the Marshal Zuo Supervisor. Tart lazy and other powerful officials.In addition, Wanyan Sheng brought a child along with him. At first Zong Jun thought it was his grandson, but after a closer look, he found that it was actually Wanyan Quan, the grandson of Taizu.

Taizu had sixteen sons in total, among which Tang Kuo, the original concubine, had three sons: Zong Jun, Wu Lie and Zong Jie.Zong Jun is the eldest son, and Wanyan Quan is the descendant of Zong Jun's official wife, the Pucha family, and is the grandson of Taizu.

In the Kingdom of Jin, the distinction between concubine and concubine is very strict, and the status of the concubine and the concubine are vastly different.In an ordinary family, the legitimate son is usually the one who inherits the family property. If the concubine is not exceptionally outstanding and won the favor of his father, he will be in a very bleak situation.For the clan, the most important manifestation of the distinction between concubine and concubine is the right to inherit the throne.The Jin Kingdom’s brother and brother system stipulates that the emperor should give priority to appointing his younger brother to be a proficient brother. Usually, the emperor’s brother is the same mother and brother. If there is no younger brother or unconditionally suitable brother to be established, the former emperor’s brother should be selected. The direct son or grandson is the crown prince.

Zong Jun has passed away in Tianhui for two years. Although Zong Jun and his ninth younger brother Erlu are also descendants of the Taizu Empress in name, the Heshi Lie family is after all the successor, and their status is inferior to that of the Tang Kuo family. As soon as Zong Wang died, he immediately fell into a helpless situation, so their brothers had no advantage in the succession to the throne, and could not compare with the eldest son and grandson.Today's Wan Ban Bo Ji Lie Wan Yan Gao is Wan Yan Sheng's same mother and brother, but he is over fifty years old and his body has always been weak. If he died before Wan Yan Sheng, according to the presumption of brother and brother, then the most likely I hope that the successor is not Zong Pan, nor Zong Jun's brothers, but Zong Jun's nine-year-old son Wanyan Quan.

Since Wanyan Sheng came to the throne, he has been intending to cultivate his son Zong Pan, so there is a lot of discussion between the government and the opposition. They all think that he may abandon the ancestral system and ignore it, and he will try to establish Zong Pan as the heir apparent in the future.But recently he seems to have suddenly paid special attention to Taizu's descendants, and today he is smiling and taking Wanyan Quan out with him, looking like a scene of grandparents and grandchildren in harmony.

Wanyan Quan seldom had the opportunity to go out of the city, so he was in high spirits. He stuck his head out of the car to enjoy the scenery along the way, his bright black eyes turned left and right curiously. The thin braid dangled leisurely with the car, looking very cute.Seeing this, Zong Han rode his horse to the side of the chariot with a smile, and asked, "Will the little prince know how to hunt at such a young age?"

"Yes!" Wanyan Quan replied crisply immediately, immediately took out a small bow and arrow, and drew it full with empty hands as if aiming at Zong Han.

"Don't be so rude to the Prime Minister." Wanyan Cheng scolded him with a smile, then turned to Zong Han and explained: "Yesterday, Dan'er entered the palace to greet me, and when I heard that I was going out of the city to hunt, I insisted on following."

Zong Han said with a smile: "The little prince is already so heroic at such a young age, he will surely do something great when he grows up."

Wanyan Sheng waved his hand and said, "Where, it would be his luck if he grows up to be as good as the Prime Minister of the State. The Prime Minister of the State is brave and resolute, and his martial arts are world-class. You might as well give him more guidance. Let him follow the State Councilor for today's field hunting." How about learning the way of riding, archery and hunting from Xiang's side?"

"That's naturally good," Zong Han said, "I just don't know what the little prince wants."

Wanyan Quan looked at him when he heard the words, and asked, "Are you a hero? Can you beat tigers?"

Before Zong Han could answer, Wanyan Cheng had already burst into laughter: "The Prime Minister of the State is the number one hero of Dajin today, and he killed countless tigers when he was young."

Wan Yanqin smiled: "Okay, I'll go hunting with him!"

Zong Han smiled and stretched out his hand, hugging him to his horse.After Wan Yanqian sat down firmly, he looked sideways at him and asked, "Is it possible for us to catch a tiger today?"

Zong Han shook his head: "The tigers outside the city have been hunted and killed. I will take you to Changbai Mountain to hunt them later."

Wan Yanquan nodded and said, "Then I'll shoot a few more fawns this time."

When everyone arrived at the paddock, the army that had arrived first had already prepared, put the prey in it, and stood side by side outside the paddock, prohibiting outsiders from entering.After everyone pitched up their tents and unloaded their luggage, they all rode their horses into the thicket of the paddock. Zong Juan himself was not very interested in field hunting, but he had been paying attention to observing other people's situations. However, seeing that Wanyan Sheng didn't move around very often, he just sat in front of his big tent and drank wine. Smiling at the crowd hunting, Zong Han with Wan Yanqin, has been teaching him riding and shooting skills with all his heart, while the others are all looking for prey with their own hands.

At noon, everyone returned to the camp to sit around and drink, and grilled and ate the prey they had just killed.After the banquet, Wanyan Cheng looked around for a week, and suddenly asked in surprise: "Why is Qin'er missing?"

Everyone looked left and right, but there was no sign of Wanyan Quan, so they got up and shouted to search, but there was no answer.

Zong Juan thought about it carefully, and remembered that a sika deer flashed past behind when he was drinking around just now, and Wan Yanquan saw it, so he immediately got up and picked up his small bow to chase after it. At that time, everyone was drinking wine together and hardly noticed this matter.

Zong Juan immediately carried his bow and spear, got on his horse, and ran in the direction Wanyan Quan was running.

Soon I ran to a dense forest, the road was narrow and it was very difficult to walk.Zong Juan had no choice but to get off his horse and explore all the way inward.The luxuriant trees block most of the sunlight, with only a few mottled bright spots scattered occasionally. The air is gloomy, mixed with the smell of vegetation and decay, the ground is wet, and there are shrubs blocking the way from time to time, and the surroundings are silent, and it is difficult to find people. .

I was about to give up and turned back, but when I turned the side, I accidentally found a small footprint on the wet and soft ground extending to the right path.

Immediately followed the footprints, turned three or four turns, and finally saw Wan Yanquan standing under a big tree, looking into the distance with a disappointed face, the bow was hanging softly in his hand, obviously the deer he was chasing had disappeared no trace.

After a moment of relief, he was about to call him, when he suddenly felt that the wind blowing in front of him had a strange smell, besides the original smell of grass and trees and corruption, there was also a trace of fishy wind from animals.

The rage of beasts.

Feeling cold at the moment, he raised his eyes and looked around, and found a yellow and black thing moving rapidly in the bushes in front of him. It should be aiming at Wanyanquan under the tree.

Forward or backward, he has two choices.He hesitated for a moment, and he only gave himself a moment to make a decision, or to place a bet.

A gamble about life.At the critical moment of life and death, he suddenly found the opportunity for his future that was like a flash of light.

So without further hesitation, he jumped on the back of the horse, rode the horse vigorously, and let it gallop towards Wanyan Quan.

The horse was as fast as lightning, and in a blink of an eye it had already rushed to Wanyan Quan, but the beast was also roaring and rushing at the same time.It has light yellow flamboyant fur, white belly, black and shiny horizontal stripes on the body, and horizontal stripes between the foreheads, which are slightly connected, like a Chinese character for "King".

The target of the tiger's prey was Wan Yanquan, but when the rushing horse blocked it, the tiger's claws fell hard on the horse's buttocks, tearing off a large piece of flesh, and the horse let out a painful cry and fell to the ground. also fell to the ground.The tiger stopped and rushed towards Wanyan Quan again, Zong Jun didn't even have time to stand up, he just stretched out his left arm to embrace Wanyan Quan, quickly hugged him and rolled him, causing the tiger to jump empty.

Then Zong Juan pushed Wanyan Quan aside violently, gripped the spear tightly with both hands, stared at the fierce opponent in front of him, and prepared for the next crucial blow.At this moment, the tiger also realized that Zong Juan was the one who should be dealt with first, and immediately opened his bloody mouth, let out a low and long roar, and rushed towards him with bared teeth and claws.

Zong Juan held the middle of the spear tightly, and stabbed at the left eye of the tiger with all his strength when it was pounced on.The tiger was coming in a menacing manner, and it was caught off guard and could not stop. As expected, the spear stabbed into its left eye smoothly, and the spear snapped off.

The tiger pounced madly in shock, Zong Jun tried his best to roll to the left to avoid it, but after all he was a step too late, the tiger's right palm fell and slapped him on his left shoulder, the wound was bloody and bloody, and the pain felt like a burning heart.

Fortunately, after the tiger lost its left eye, it was panicked for a moment, roaring mournfully and biting wildly. Its target was not only locked on Zong Juan, but inadvertently jumped on Zong Jun's horse that had just stood up again, and immediately suppressed a burst of madness. Zong Juan bought some time.He immediately stood up, wrapped his left arm around Wan Yanqin and ordered him to hug his waist tightly, pulled off the prey rope with his right hand and threw it on the tree above his head. The two strands hang down, jerk, jump up, and finally stand on the tree branch before the tiger attacks again.

After taking a long breath, Zong Juan took off the bow on his back, drew out an arrow with a green arrow, and pointed the bow at the tiger that was leaping towards the tree.

Poison is usually not used to kill prey, but one or two poisoned arrows should be prepared every time you go hunting to prevent wild beasts from attacking.A ferocious beast like a tiger has thick and tough skin, which is not easy to pierce. It is very dangerous when one person encounters it. At a critical moment, a poisonous arrow can be shot at its eyes, causing it to be poisoned and die.This is what his father taught him, and he has always followed it. No matter where he hunts, he will always bring a poisoned arrow.

Now, what he aimed at was the surviving right eye of the tiger under the tree.

An arrow shot out, hit it immediately, and the throat was sealed with blood.The tiger roared wildly several times, ran blindly for a few feet, and finally gradually became weak, and fell to the ground, dying of breath.

Zong Juan was completely at ease now, put down his bow, closed his eyes, and leaned back on the tree trunk.And the wound on the shoulder became more and more painful, and one could feel how the blood flowed down the back, soaking half of the clothes.

The stunned Wanyan Quan came back to his senses at this moment, pulled his arm and called: "Uncle Ba..."

Zong Juan held his pale lips and said with a smile, "It's all right."

Wan Yanquan was silent for a while.After a while, he suddenly opened a pair of black and clear eyes and asked him: "Uncle Ba, is someone trying to kill me?"

13. Coupon book
Zong Juan looked at him sideways, he couldn't help being a little surprised, but his smile didn't change, and he asked, "Why do you think so?"

"The prime minister said that all the tigers here have been hunted down. There are so many soldiers guarding the paddock outside. If the tigers come in from outside, they should know." Wan Yanquan said, "Also, when I was chasing the deer , It seems that I saw someone running ahead, and the deer followed him, I called him, asked him to stop and help me catch the deer, he must have heard it, but he ignored it, and disappeared when he ran here."

"Uncle Ba," he asked again, "Is this tiger put in on purpose? Do you know who wants to kill me?"

Zong Juan was silent for a while.The person who can benefit from the death of this little child who has no real power must be someone who has a chance to fight for the succession to the throne, so the mastermind of this attempted murder should be a member of the clan, or someone close to them Role.If Wanyan Quan died in the jaws of a tiger today, it would be the third accidental death in the clan this year.The second elder brother Zongwang was the first to suffer bad luck. The official statement of his death was that he contracted a cold disease and the old injury relapsed.A few days after Zongwang's death, Zongjie, the third son of Taizu Empress Tang Kuo, also "died from a sudden illness".Another son of Empress Tang Kuo, Wu Lie, died early. So far, the three sons born to the original concubine of Taizu have all passed away.

The wind in the forest blows intermittently, bringing the feeling of autumn, bringing a cool temperature to the skin, but without the chill from the bottom of the heart.If Wanyan Quan died, the next accidental death might be himself, the prince born after the great ancestor. At that time, what cause of death would they give him?
The life of the second elder brother came to an abrupt end when he was most proud of his journey, and he bequeathed power and succession to the throne to his competing officials and the rest of the clan.There were many people who sent blood and tears to his face, but their ensuing banquet was more sincere than the blood and tears before the funeral.His death, seen from Wanyan Sheng to Zonghan Zongbi Zongpan's faint smile, seemed to be expected by everyone, so the specific cause of death became a problem that everyone was willing to ignore.

The death of the three direct princes and the second elder brother made Zong Jun suddenly realize that the distance between himself and the throne was shortened in an instant, and he also completely understood the deep meaning of his mother's telling him to hide his strength and bide his time. Now the child in front of him has also become his relationship with the one hidden in the dark. The last barrier between cold arrows.

In terms of emotion, reason and long-term strategy, we should try our best to protect this little grandson. As for who wants to kill him, it is not difficult to guess who has the most motive, but he would rather watch and think more, he remembers what his mother said "Things are not always as simple as they seem".

He smiled faintly at Wan Yanquan, stroked his bare forehead: "Is someone trying to kill you? I don't know. If so, what would you do?"

Wan Yanquan replied: "Find him and kill him."

When he said this, his eyes were still looking at him intently and innocently, clear and clear, but his tone was calm, as if the "he" he said did not refer to a person, but a very ordinary little deer and bunny.

As expected of a child of the Wanyan family, he has the courage and determination of a king at such a young age, and his special status and situation obviously aroused his precocious wisdom.

"Then how did you find it?" Zong Juan asked him.

Wan Yanquan lowered his eyes to think about it, and said, "I don't know now. Eighth Uncle taught me."

Zong Juan asked again: "Are you willing to listen to me?"

Wan Yanquan nodded: "The eighth uncle gave up his life to save me, he is the best person to me."

"Okay." Zong Juan smiled, "Now you don't have to deliberately find out who wants to kill you. Since he wants you to die, you should do the opposite, live well, and fight for what he doesn't want you to get. At that time, he can't bear it, and he will definitely stand up against you, and then, you can try to kill him."

Wan Yanquan blinked his eyes and thought for a while, then said: "But, he can't kill me this time, and he will definitely continue to think of harming me."

"So, now you need to find someone who can protect you." Zong Juan said.

Wan Yanquan smiled at him when he heard the words: "Uncle Ba, can't you protect me? The Lord said that he hasn't given me a gift for my birthday this year, so he asked me what I want, and I will ask him to make Uncle Ba when I go back." Your Majesty!"

"No, Eighth Uncle can only protect you in secret." Zong Jun smiled and shook his head, "What you need is a great hero, a bodyguard who will scare others when they hear his name."

"A great hero..." Wanyan Quan's eyes lit up, "Eighth Uncle means the Prime Minister? The Lord said he is the No. [-] hero of the Dajin."

Zong Juan nodded: "Yes, after your second uncle passed away, the Prime Minister will naturally become the 'No. [-] Hero of the Great Gold'."

Wan Yanquan then asked: "Then what should I do so that he can protect me?"

Zong Juan pondered for a while, and then told him: "After we go back in a while, the lord may ask about the crime of the Prime Minister, saying that he didn't take good care of you and put you in danger, or the lord didn't say it directly, but the Prime Minister You will also take the initiative to plead guilty. At this time, you have to stand up and say in front of everyone that you strayed into the dense forest because of your own fun, and it has nothing to do with the state minister. Moreover, the state minister has warned you not to leave him without authorization in order to protect you Be safe, teach you to ride, shoot and hunt at any time, so the Prime Minister is not only innocent, but should also be rewarded. Since the Lord has promised to give you a birthday gift, please ask him to give the Prime Minister a certificate of forgiveness, exempting him from all future crimes except rebellion .”

Hearing this, Wanyan Quan interjected and asked: "As long as you don't rebel, it doesn't matter if you kill or set fire casually? Then the certificate of immunity is very important, right? The Lord will listen to me and give such an important thing to the Prime Minister?"

Zong Jun smiled: "Yes, he will, but you must ask in front of all the ministers, and don't tell him in private."

Wan Yanquan nodded, and asked again: "And then?"

"Then..." Zong Juan looked up at the blue sky that was shattered by the branches of the tree, and his tone was calm and gentle, "Then you don't have to worry anymore, the Prime Minister will help you kill all those who want to hurt you, and will use all your strength to kill you." Help you get what you want in the future."

"Okay, Uncle Eighth, I will do as you say." Wan Yanquan agreed with a serious expression on his face.

The sound of horseshoes gradually approaching, Zong Juan turned his eyes to look at the way he came, and caught a glimpse of a group of familiar cavalry figures from the winding path in the bushes, so he smiled slightly at Wanyan Quan: "Someone is looking for us. Remember, don't Tell anyone what I told you today."

After returning home, things went as Zong Jun had expected. Wanyan Cheng became furious when he learned that Wanyan Quan was attacked by a tiger. While sending people to investigate Zonghu's entry into the paddock, he ordered the imperial physician to bandage Zong Jun's wound. He blamed the "people around him" for not taking good care of Wanyan without naming names. Zong Han heard it from the side, his face bluish and uncertain, and finally couldn't help but knelt down on one knee, saying: "The little prince was shocked today, it's because I can't take care of you Zhou, due to negligence for a while. The minister is willing to be punished, and I ask your Majesty to come down."

Hearing this, Wanyan Cheng looked at him, sat down slowly, and was about to speak, but at this moment Wanyan Quan ran in front of him, first knelt down and kowtowed smartly, and then raised his voice to say what Zong Jun taught him , the voice was loud enough for every minister present to hear clearly.

"Give the Prime Minister a certificate of immunity?" Wanyan Sheng was greatly surprised, and fell silent for a moment.

Zong Han heard that Yan Quan not only pleaded for him, but also asked the landlord to give him a certificate of forgiveness, he was overjoyed at the moment, looked at Wan Yan Quan gratefully and approvingly, but saw Wan Yan Sheng hesitated, knowing that this matter was of great importance, he did not see it If he would be willing, he made another resignation: "The little prince kindly accepts it, but the merits are meager, the intellect is limited, and he has not made much achievements in Dajin, so he really dare not accept the certificate of immunity. Your Majesty, please keep this certificate. , in the future, reward those who are far superior to humble ministers."

Wanyan Quan immediately opened his eyes wide and asked Wanyan Sheng: "Didn't the Lord say that Guo Xiang is the number one hero of Dajin? Is there anyone else who can surpass him?"

If Wanyan Sheng was taken into the army by him, he didn't know how to respond in front of the officials, so he just smiled awkwardly.

It was inconvenient for the rest of the people to intervene, and they were all silent.After a while, Marshal Wanyan Xiyin, the right supervisor of the army, suddenly spoke, and said with a smile: "The Prime Minister of the country has made great achievements in the world, and there is indeed no one in Dajin who deserves the certificate of immunity more than him."

As soon as this remark came out, Zong Han's confidantes and close friends all agreed, and Gao Qingyi even began to list Zong Han's illustrious military exploits in defeating the Liao Dynasty and destroying the Song Dynasty.

Finally, Wanyan Cheng chuckled, and said: "What you said is true. The Prime Minister of the country has made great contributions to the world, and he has made great contributions to the country. He deserves a special award. I will issue a decree tomorrow to give the Prime Minister an iron certificate of immunity. Except for rebellion, Don't ask the rest."

Zong Han didn't refuse any more at this time, he knelt down on his knees and solemnly thanked him loudly, with joy overflowing in his words and laughter.Wan Yanquan turned to look at Zong Juan, who had been watching coldly, and asked implicitly, "Am I doing well?"

But Zong Junruo inadvertently tilted his head to avoid it, his expression was as calm as usual, and he only hid his smile in his heart.

Zong Han is the great-grandson of Jingzu, the son of Sagai, the Prime Minister of the former country. Although he is the most powerful minister now, he is not like Taizu or Wanyancheng, who has the hope of inheriting the throne, so whether Wanyanquan exists or not Originally, it had little influence on him, but now, taking the opportunity to let Wanyanquan show kindness to him, let him repay his kindness and vigorously preserve Wanyanquan, and maybe even help him fight for the crown prince.What's more, as far as Zong Han's own interests are concerned, it is far better to assist and control a young monarch than to be restrained by an adult emperor. Supporting Wanyan Quan will definitely become a major event that he will actively do in the future.

"This time, Qin'er was able to escape thanks to Zong Juan's life-saving protection. Zong Jun should naturally be rewarded." Wanyan Sheng suddenly noticed Zong Juan, looked at him gently and asked, "Tell me, what do you want?"

Zong Jun smiled slightly, and replied: "I like to appreciate Han Chinese calligraphy and painting recently, so Your Majesty should give me some treasures from the Bianjing Great Internal Secret Palace."

Wan Yancheng laughed heartily when he heard the words: "Zong Juan likes Sinology, but he has become more and more elegant. Good! After returning to Beijing, I will send a lot of Han Chinese calligraphy and paintings to your house immediately. Take care of your wounds, and take your time." Look."

Zong Juan was carried back to the residence by his followers.Excessive blood loss made him unconscious for several times, his skin seemed to have suddenly faded, his face was covered with a horrific paleness between his fingers, and his vitality was exhausted with the blood, his unprecedented weakness made him powerlessly close his eyes, after entering the mansion When the slaves saw him injured, they screamed in surprise one after another, and it was heard in his ears, which made him unbearable.

It was a little peaceful to enter the room.Lying on the side quietly for a while, suddenly there was a clear and pleasant voice: "Why are you injured?"

He slowly opened his eyes, and the hazy scene in front of him gradually became clear. He caught a glimpse of himself in the beautiful soft eyes standing in front of the bed, and smiled faintly: "I brought back another tiger skin."

"I thought tigers were only found in Changbai Mountain," she said.

"Well, I used to think so too." Zong Jun smiled, "But the facts are often unexpected."

Because the left shoulder was injured, he was lying on his side facing the right side, and Rou Fu was standing in front of him. He looked down and found that she was wearing a pair of loose Jurchen children's boots today.This discovery pleased him, so he stretched out his hand, trying to pull her over and sit down.

She dodges.And his movement touched the wound, and it seemed that blood was flowing out again, he withdrew his hand, and blinked in pain.

She approached quietly and stared at his wound for a long time, seeing fresh blood oozing from the gaps in the bandaged white cloth, she lightly touched it with her right index finger, and a little bright red appeared on her finger.

When he opened his eyes again, he happened to see her smiling.She tasted his pain through his blood and his slightly frowned brows, so she broke into a smile, but this smile was not clear, like the thin sunlight piercing through the frozen air on a snow mountain, or like the mist The bonfire lit in the deep forest is distant and vague.

And between her brows, there was an expression that he had never felt before, which was similar to sadness.When did the little girl who was always angry and sad in front of him have such delicate emotions?But he couldn't think anymore, the severe pain of the wound eased, but his head became heavier and heavier. Before he lost consciousness, he only remembered that she had stained his blood with her finger, and smiled in a trance.

14. floating shadow
When I vaguely woke up, I had a splitting headache, and my body was getting hotter and hotter. The blood seemed to have the temperature of boiling water, rushing blindly through the limbs and bones. Thin sweat seeped into the hair and skin, and the pain on the shoulder also woke up. .I managed to open my eyes, only to see that the room was dark, but the courtyard was silent, and the surroundings were quiet, it should be midnight.

He lay there in a daze, his eyes dimmed, his thoughts drifted, and he couldn't tell when and where he was.

The door suddenly opened slowly and silently, and a beautiful and slim shadow parted the moonlight, falling like a cloud in the room.

After standing still for a while, she finally stepped in slowly, approaching quietly.What he saw was not clear, only felt that she was wearing a light-colored dress, the white feathers on her head were shining with moonlight, trembling slightly in the stirred air, but her face was blurred.

What a familiar scene.Is it her again, Abasi's beautiful woman?

Swallowing a condensed sigh, he quickly closed his eyes as usual, and fell into a deep sleep.She stopped by his bed, silent.With his eyes closed, he could still feel how her gaze lingered on his face.She quietly sat down beside him, and her cold fingers began to touch his forehead hesitantly.The extraordinary heat seemed to startle her, she quickly withdrew her hand, paused, and then stroked his forehead with the palm of her hand.

As usual, that hand was cool and slender, with a soft touch.In fact, he doesn't hate this feeling, so he might as well stop here for a moment.But these words, he has never, and will never be able to say to her.

From the day he had to accept her as his wife, he decided to take alienation as his basic attitude towards her.On the wedding night, after seeing his appearance quickly, she lowered her eyes and smiled shyly, but he only gave her an indifferent glance at his alluring face, then turned and left, allowing her to shed tears all night in astonishment and grievance.

Since then, he seldom slept with her, and there were quite a lot of beautiful maidservants in the mansion, so he was never short of servants.And she didn't dare to say much about it, in front of him, she always looked gentle and virtuous.He didn't love her, and occasionally he would call her for something, and she would raise her head in panic, like a frightened deer.This made him even more unhappy, feeling that she was as humble and cowardly as her family.

One day, he caught a cold and had a fever, but he refused her attentive care.So in the middle of the night when he was half asleep and half awake, she came in quietly, stroked his forehead, and cooled him down with a cloth soaked in ice water.He was actually awake, but he never opened his eyes to look at her.

From then on, it gradually became a habit, she often came in to see him in the middle of the night when he was sleeping alone, sat silently beside him, timidly touched his face and his hands, the movements were extremely gentle, lest he would wake him up.But she never knew that his deep sleep had always been a disguise, he could feel her every touch, and hear her every sullen and low sigh.

He cannot explain his actions and feelings.In the middle of the night, under her Yiyi's gaze and light touch, he would feel very peaceful, and even began to look forward to it. If she didn't come, he would be slightly disappointed.However, once he met her in the daylight, the ray of tenderness that floated in the night seemed to disappear instantly, and she became a humble and cowardly common woman again. Others forced her into his wife with ulterior motives. Looking at her weak appearance that he dare not even look at, he will feel that it is only natural to maintain a cold-faced and iron-hearted state towards her.

Later, he invited himself to work in the Huosu Pavilion, and his main purpose was to avoid her.During the period, she also visited him at the Hosu Hall, but he was still very indifferent to her after a long absence.She returned to Beijing disappointed, and has been ill ever since.After he heard the news, he waited for a long time before getting up and returning to the capital. When he arrived at the mansion, she had already passed away. She was dressed in her wedding attire, lying down as if she was sleeping, and she was unparalleled in beauty.

This time, he reached out and stroked her skin, her forehead, her lips, her neck, and her eyebrows. After the anger dissipated, they showed a strange beauty that he had never felt before.She frowned lightly, but there was a faint smile on her lips.He stared blankly, his heart was empty.

"Alas..." Now, he heard the sigh again, long and soft, filled with endless sadness.

Then, something cold and sharp touched his neck lightly.what is that?Her nails, her knife, or her grudges, her hatred?

The edge of this object was sharp, and under her force, it had already scratched his skin. After the instant coolness disappeared, there was a slight itchy tingling on the wound.

He was powerless and didn't want to resist. In fact, the dull pain of stagnation in his throat was worse than the pain of his skin.As usual, he never opened his eyes to look at her, but finally spoke, in the middle of the night, for the first time without precedent, he was also surprised.

Sighing silently, he said, "Yingzhen, I'm sorry."

The woman's movements stopped there.At that moment, time froze and the night didn't flow any longer. Where she stood silently was the space where his voice lightly passed by.

After a long time, he felt that forceful sharpness leaving him together with her. When she got up and spun, her hair brushed against his face.

There were two or three drops of water slowly seeping down the neck, like tears from the wound.

When he opened his eyes the next day, he saw his mother staring at him worriedly.The imperial physicians and maids around were busy treating his wounds and cooling down the temperature. The mottled people in the room were all happy to see him wake up, but he only smiled comfortingly at his mother.

He Shilie gently wiped Zong Jun's forehead and face, and asked gently, "Is it better?"

Limbs are still weak, tinnitus and dizziness, but this is not important, he nodded naturally, said: "Don't worry, I will be fine."

The white scarf in He Shilie's hand suddenly stopped behind his ear, "How did it hurt?" she asked.

"Yuhu." He answered simply, and at the moment he was unable to explain more in detail.

"Let's talk about it later." She shook her head, stroking his neck horizontally with her fingers, "I mean here, how did you hurt?"

Zong Juan himself touched the shallow scar on his neck, the wound had solidified, and where his hand touched was a protruding thin line and dried blood.The figure in blue shirt and white feathers from last night gradually emerged from the bottom of his heart, and he was also a little confused for a moment. If the injury was not exact, he would have thought it was just an old phantom.

Yingzhen?The bright light awakened clear thinking. He never believed that there would be a soul that could fall into a dream, not to mention that she had a knife in her hand that could actually cut through his skin.

In the blink of an eye, he had vaguely guessed who she was, so he half-closed his eyes lazily, and replied casually: "I was scratched by the edge of a sharp leaf in the dense forest."

The mother didn't make a sound, and didn't want him to talk too much, just continued to take care of him, and didn't return to the palace until after dusk.The maidservants and concubines rushed to visit him, but his eyes moved away from the beauties, but he never saw Roufu.

"Where's the little lady?" He asked the maid beside him.

The maid said: "I heard that the little lady is not feeling well today, she has been resting in her room behind closed doors."

I understood it, and didn't ask further.At night, he told the maid: "From now on, unless I call, no one in the mansion will be allowed to enter my bedroom...except my little madam."

Although he was no longer in danger of his life, he was still seriously ill for the next two days. He lay on the sickbed all day long and recuperated, keeping his maids and concubines out of the house, but his ears were clean, and the only soft blessing who had the right to approach him never appeared.

When I woke up at dawn on the third day, I felt different from the past.Nothing to do with the scene.The morning light at dawn merged with the dark night in the room. The light had a light blue hue, and the air coming in through the window was moist with dew.These are all the same as usual, the difference is that there is a girl standing in front of the window in the dim light.She was leaning against the window, looking at the traces of the pale moon that had not completely disappeared on the willow branches, and there was a clear trace of melancholy between her stretched brows.

Looking down her arm, seeing that the thing held by the bare hand under the sleeve was not a blade, but a silk scarf that she was unconsciously entangled with, Zong Juan pulled the corner of his lips, and wanted to call her, but finally chose Silent, continued to lie down, and closed his eyes when he felt that she was about to turn to look at him.

She just turned around to look at him, didn't move, didn't come closer, just stared at him quietly, just as he expected.

So long, until someone opened the door and came in to break the silence here.

"Little madam, so you are here! I disappeared as soon as I woke up, so let me find you." The lowered female voice was still clear in his ears, and Zong Juan could tell that it was Brother Rui, Roufu's maid.

"I'm going back." Rou Fu was taken aback like a snack, and there was some apprehension in his hasty answer.

Rui Ge smiled softly: "It's okay, I just know you're here. The eighth prince said you can come in at any time, but I can't stay for long."

"I'll go with you." Rou Fu seemed to want to go out immediately.

"Don't, don't!" Rui Ge grabbed her, "You wait here until the eighth prince wakes up, don't be like Mrs. Yingzhen..."

Speaking of this, I felt apprehensive, and stopped immediately, but it aroused Rou Fu's curiosity: "How is Mrs. Yingzhen?"

Brother Rui kept silent for a while, Rou Fu urged her repeatedly: "Say it, don't be afraid, he was hurt so badly, he fell asleep, and won't wake up now."

After a while, Brother Rui began to whisper to her: "Mrs. Yingzhen used to come in to see the Eighth Prince when he was asleep, but she never dared to wait until he woke up. She always watched for a while and then quietly left."

"She..." Roufu asked, "I must like him very much, right?"

"Oh, not only do I like him, but he is her destiny." The lightness just now was gone, and Brother Rui's tone became very serious.

Rou Fu didn't answer for a while, and then asked again: "Is her death related to him?"

Brother Rui hesitated for a while, probably looked at Zong Jun repeatedly, convinced that he was sleeping, and then told Rou Fu softly: "Mrs. Many people guessed that he went to Su Guan to avoid her. Mrs. Yingzhen waited for a long time without seeing him come back, and finally decided to go to Su Guan to see him at the urging of the empress. I was serving her maid at that time , but she didn't let me go with her, saying she was afraid that the eighth prince would be annoyed seeing her bring too many people, so she only brought one of her dowry girls and the necessary guards."

"What happened later? So what if you see the eighth prince?" Rou Fu asked.

"I don't know either." Ruige said, "Anyway, Mrs. Yingzhen will be back soon. I asked her privately if the eighth prince is okay, and she smiled slightly and said, 'Yes, he is fine. the blue sky, stepping on the love of the women in Hosu Hall.'”

"This sentence..." Rou Fu seemed to be pondering carefully: "Say it again."

Brother Rui sighed again, slowed down his speech, repeated the words, and then said: "At that time, I didn't understand what the words meant, and I didn't have time to ask, Mrs. Yingzhen fell ill, and when the eighth prince finally When she came back, she had already..."

With the maid's memories, that light floating shadow floated in my heart again, and what gradually became clear was that Ying Zhen was looking at the sad and smiling face, approaching never before, and suddenly realized that she had never been far away.Finally, he quietly admitted to himself that the wife he refused to look at in the past had left a mark on his heart with her life.

Different sentiments caused the same silence, and then it was Brother Rui who spoke first: "Actually, the eighth prince is already very kind to the little lady. If Mrs. Yingzhen could get two points of favor from you, I don't know how happy I would be, but Why don't you want to settle down and live a good life with the eighth prince?"

"Will you live a good life with the robber who robbed you?" Rou Fu asked back.

Brother Rui thought about it and said, "I don't know either. But we Jurchens have the custom of snatching relatives. My grandma was snatched by my grandpa. Didn't she spend a lifetime with him lovingly?"

Rou Fu was startled, and said, "That's different."

"What's the difference!" Rui Ge smiled and motioned her to look at Zong Jun, "Besides, that robber is so handsome, brave and smart. Don't you like him at all?"

"No, how could I like him!" Rou Fu categorically denied, and after a while, he said softly, "The person I like is completely different from him. He is gentle and polite, with a calm demeanor. He never forces me to do what I don't want to do." I saw him last spring, under the cherry blossom trees in Huayang Palace. He was wearing a narrow-sleeved brocade robe and scarlet boots, and he was riding a white horse. The clothes between his brows were full of brilliance... Shuttlecock, he immediately caught it with a wave of his hand, and when he saw me, he smiled..."

In the last paragraph, her voice gradually became thinner, as if she was speaking to herself.

Brother Rui was very confused when he heard it, so he asked, "Little madam, what are you talking about?"

"He, one day he will come to rescue me on a steed." Rou Fu raised her voice and threw out these words like a prophecy, and then she walked away as if she was running away.

Zong Juan's injury is getting better day by day, and he gradually regains his energy. He still calls Roufu to talk or read with him as usual. She couldn't bear it and rushed over to get angry at him, but when he achieved his goal, he just smiled, and it was just a matter of choice to continue teasing her or ignoring her.

His wound needs to be changed every two or three days. Before changing the dressing, he needs to scrape off the rotting flesh with thin bamboo slices. This is obviously very painful. But there will always be a strange look on his face.One day when she saw the maid scratching his wound, she frowned again, subconsciously took a step back, and turned her head to the side. On a whim, Zong Juan raised his hand and shouted to stop, ordering the maid to hand her the bamboo slices, and let her do it. shave.

Rou Fu couldn't help shaking her head and refused to accept the bamboo, Zong Juan teased her: "Don't you dare?"

Inspired by this, she took it directly, and walked behind him to examine the wound carefully for a long time before making up her mind to scrape it with a bamboo blade.

Her movements are very light, much less forceful than the maid just now, and she shaves slowly, she doesn't know whether she is extra careful or hesitant.

"Then who is the person who caught your shuttlecock?" Zong Juan asked suddenly, looking back at her leisurely.

Her hand trembled as he expected, and the disrupted rhythm of the bamboo slices revealed the throbbing in her heart, but she quickly reacted, raised her jaw provocatively, and sneered with the pleasure of revenge : "He was the first person to kiss me. A perfect person who is different from you savage."

She waved the bamboo blade in her hand and scratched his wound severely, the new skin was damaged and dripped with blood again.Then she threw down the bamboo slices abruptly, and rushed out amidst the astonished gazes of a room of maids.

Zong Juan looked through the window and saw her running in a hurry, her long hair and elegant skirt flew together with the feeling of autumn, yellow leaves fell from the trees in the garden, and she felt helpless after drawing an irregular trajectory in the air. Silent in the places she passed by, and she left resolutely without thinking about looking back.

(End of this chapter)