Roufu Diji

Chapter 13
1. Blood Rain

Soon news of Qin Gezi's death came from the palace.

When she was serving Yan Sheng up close, she accidentally spilled half a bowl of hot soup on him, causing the ensuing catastrophe.

Wanyan Cheng was furious, grabbed her by the neck, and asked her if she did it on purpose, if she was still plotting with the jade box, and wanted to wait for an opportunity to kill the master.

Qin Gezi's face was pale with fright, and she shook her head desperately to deny it in horror, but Wan Yancheng didn't believe it, and repeatedly asked her why Yu Hen looked at her with an ambiguous smile before she died, and nodded suggestively at her.Qin Gezi was out of his wits, and didn't know how to explain, except shaking his head, he could only cough with tears, and occasionally squeezed out a sentence, "I don't know, the lord, please forgive me."

Wanyan Sheng threw her to the ground and ordered someone to drag her out and stick her to death.

This incident did not surprise Zong Juan. He saw Yu Xiang smiling strangely at Qin Gezi that day, so he knew that this maid was doomed.Wanyan Cheng was moody at first, and he became even more suspicious when he was sidelined by his favorite concubine's treason. Under the shadow of a cup bow and a snake, he would rather kill him by mistake than allow the palace servants to bring him the slightest potential threat, not to mention the life of a maid in the Southern Dynasty. It was insignificant in his eyes.

The jade box was betrayed to death by Qin Gezi, but he killed her invisible with a light smile, and gave the rebellious maid the most severe punishment, but this incident also caused a bigger killing that followed.

Wan Yansheng ordered that all palace servants who had served the jade box be put to death, and strict investigation was conducted on the women of the Southern Dynasty who came into contact with the jade box. He, Qu Yun'er, and Qin Gezi were found to be related and executed together.

Yuxiang's father, King Zhao Xiaoqian of Jinkang County, Wanyan Sheng also wanted to order someone to kill him, but he didn't want to admonish the doctor Han Fang to come forward and persuade Wanyan Sheng to withdraw his order.

Han Fang knew Zhao Xiaoqian, he had a little contact with him when he was in Yanjing, and he always admired his character, knowledge and integrity, so he is willing to intercede for him at this moment, admonishing Wanyan Sheng: "Although Zhao Xiaoqian is the father of Concubine Zhao, but I have never liked this daughter. When I moved to Hanzhou, I cut off my robes with Concubine Zhao in front of people. Since then, I have lost the relationship between father and daughter. I have had no contact with Concubine Zhao for two years. He did not enjoy the glory of Concubine Zhao at the beginning. Lord Lang should not implicate Concubine Zhao's crimes on him."

The important minister Wanyan Xiyin also felt that Xiaoqian could not be killed, and said: "Zhao Xiaoqian is quite prestigious in the Song clan and is highly respected by others. He led the Song captives to work in Hanzhou, and there has been no difference so far. The Southern Dynasty palace family members have killed many people. At least, if Zhao Xiaoqian is punished again at this time, it may arouse strong dissatisfaction among the Song people in the Song and Jin Dynasties. On the one hand, it will be unfavorable to control and control the Song prisoners in the Dajin, and on the other hand, the Dajin will make Liu Yu the emperor to rule the Han people in the Central Plains. Introducing more civil servants and generals from the Song Dynasty to govern the country should not cause side effects, and killing the Song imperial family will make the Song officials have other ideas."

Wanyan Sheng then asked Zong Han's opinion: "From the point of view of the country, should this Zhao Xiaoqian be killed?"

Zong Han chuckled, and said: "In the past few years, Zhao Xiaoqian has never left Zhao Ji's side. It is because of Zhao Ji's meticulous care and service that Zhao Ji can live until now. If he dies, I am afraid that Zhao Ji will not live for long. It is better for Zhao Ji to be alive. Anyway, there is a deterrent to the Southern Dynasty. In the future, Zhao Gou will obediently offer up the land of silver if not a single soldier is abolished. Now the fourth prince's thousands of troops may not be able to change as much as he alone."

Wanyan Sheng knew that what he meant was that Zong Bi did not have much advantage in fighting Song Dynasty now, and Zhao Ji and others were the capital that could benefit from the peace talks in the future. In the current situation, it is better not to kill Zhao Xiaoqian, and he would also Hesitant, silent.

Seeing this, Wanyan Xiyin said again: "This Zhao Xiaoqian is not difficult to deal with, Lord Lang ordered him to be moved to Wuguo City together with Zhao Ji and Zhao Huan to be imprisoned, and he should be strictly guarded, even if he has any other intentions, it is absolutely impossible What a storm."

Han Fang sighed after hearing the words: "The Lord doesn't even need to give an order for this, I'm sure, as long as he knows that Lord Hunde is going to Wuguo City, he will ask to accompany him even if he dies."

Zong Jun had been watching silently. Hearing Han Fang's words, he suddenly thought that the reason why the jade box wanted so strongly to prevent Wanyan Sheng from moving the Second Emperor of Song to Wuguo City was because of his inherent loyalty and patriotism. Her father would ask to accompany her, and thus she would lose her freedom completely and spend the rest of her life in a bitter cold place, so she decided to take the risk and desperately practice witchcraft at this time, trying to control the lord and leave the second emperor and her father behind.

Thinking of the day when Song Zong's family moved to Hanzhou, when Yu He fell into the smoke and wept after his father tore his robe, Zong Juan felt a little bit emotional. He didn't like such a scheming woman like Yu He, but her true love for her father But it would also make him somewhat moved.She is so smart, and when she went to see her off that day, Xiaoqian cut off her robes and justice should be the result she expected. Perhaps, she simply hoped that her father would sever her father-daughter relationship in public, so as not to implicate him in the future if something happened to her?

The sad and beautiful face of the jade box when it was dying reappeared in my heart, reflecting the pure red blood, the smile on her lips was so beautiful and strange, there was a faint brilliance on her body, just like the blooming flowers beside the black wood on the day I first met Danzhi... Zong Juan suddenly felt uneasy, took a deep breath secretly, and put away the image of her in his mind.

Under the advice of several important ministers, Wanyan Sheng finally let Xiaoqian go, but the women in the laundry yard are still doomed, and they have been strictly investigated one by one. If there is evidence that they are related to the three concubines, they will be detained in the palace Zhongzhang kills.Seeing the imminent catastrophe, the dozens of women involved made up their minds to strangle several golden soldiers guarding them with ropes in the middle of the night before a large number of imperial troops arrived, and fled with horses and vehicles.Thinking about it, he also knew that he would not be able to escape from the Kingdom of Jin, so he went straight to Hanzhou, wanting to meet his relatives in Hanzhou before being captured and executed.

After Wanyan Sheng heard the news, he immediately decided to send troops to capture and kill them, and he appointed Zong Jun to complete this task.

Capturing a few women from the Southern Dynasty is not a big deal, originally it was not necessary for the princes of the clan to do it, but Zong Juan knew that it was his abnormal behavior last time that aroused Wanyan Cheng's suspicion, so he specifically asked him to kill these women, and he immediately agreed, not yet. There is a little hesitation.

He asked his mother to send a few palace servants into his mansion to protect Roufu, and if Wanyan Sheng wanted to take the opportunity to kill Roufu, he asked his mother to do her best to keep her safe, and then returned to the mansion to tidy up, put on his military uniform and set off on his horse.

Seeing him coming and going in a hurry, wearing armor and leading soldiers, Rou Fu looked dignified, couldn't help running over to hold his horse, and asked, "Where are you going? What are you doing?"

Zong Juan smiled at her, and said gently: "Something went wrong in the old department at the Huo Su Hall, and I need to take care of it. It's just a trivial matter. I'll be back in a few days."

Rou Fu frowned and stared at him suspiciously, and didn't let go for a while, Zong Jun continued to smile, gently took her hand and pulled her away, took back the rein, whipped the horse, and drove away.

He caught the escaped women one after another along the way, and arrested the last few at the edge of Hanzhou City, and then detained them all in the Hanzhou Prefecture. The generals under his command ordered them to line up in the courtyard, and then asked Zong Jun for instructions on how to deal with them.Zong Jun glanced at the archer behind him, the archer understood, and immediately bent his knees and pointed the bow at the girls.With a wave of Zong Jun's hand, clusters of arrows flew straight over, and those women fell to the ground amidst screams like wheat seedlings passing by in a gust of wind.

After one round of shooting, most of the women in the courtyard were dead, only a few were still standing, crying unceasingly.At this time, the second batch of archers was ready, waiting for Zong Jun's order.

Seeing Jin Bing flashing his bow and arrow again, the living women screamed again, one of them was different, fragile and soft, very immature, but quite pleasant, Zong Juan felt a little familiar .

Looking towards the source of the sound, I saw a little girl about [-] or [-] years old covering her face and weeping. She was wearing shabby clothes, thin and weak. The eyes under the long eyelashes covered with fine teardrops shone with horror.

Suddenly, Zong Juan's eyes widened.

2. Jiner
The sallow and thin state does not conceal the beauty and natural appearance, this little girl is so cute, she is somewhat similar to Rou Fu, with a glance in her eyes.

Zong Juan signaled his followers to lead her over.The entourage led the order to pull her, and she immediately shrank back and screamed in fright, and refused to leave. When she was dragged in front of Zong Juan, she kowtowed at Zong Jun's feet and cried in shock: "Don't kill me!" Me, don't kill me... I didn't want to escape, those sisters dragged me away... I haven't been in the laundry for a few days, I really don't know anything, I haven't done anything..."

Zong Juan stood with his hands behind his back, and his head was not lowered. He just lowered his eyes and watched indifferently as the hair from her temples brushed against the toe of his boots again and again as she kowtowed.After her incoherent explanation came to an end, she asked her: "Are you also the Emperor Ji of the Southern Dynasty?"

She nodded, and answered softly: "I'm Xianfu Emperor Ji..." She suddenly remembered that it was inappropriate to say this, and hurriedly changed her words and added: "My servant's name is Zhao Jin'er, and she is the daughter of Duke Hunde."

Xianfu?Kim?Zong Juan was very surprised. He remembered that Rou Fu's same mother and younger sister had died in the fire house of Liu Family Temple... Before ordering to shoot arrows again, Zong Jun took Xian Fu's hand and took her away from this place. A bloody world.

When asked about her previous experience, she was embarrassed and hesitant, and with the encouragement of Zong Juan's gentle eyes, she hesitated to give a general idea.

In the fifth year of Tianhui, she was escorted to the Liu Family Temple along with the rest of the palace family members of the Southern Dynasty. After that, she was favored by Ze Li, the second younger brother of the Prime Minister Zong Han.Zeli knew that his status was inferior to that of the clan's important ministers, and he would definitely not be able to ask for the emperor's concubine from the Lord Lang, so he devised a plan, insisting that Xianfu who had cold rash had acne, isolated her in a thatched hut, and then secretly robbed her in the middle of the night. When she came out, she handed it over to her confidants and sent her to her home in the capital first, then found a little maid who was similar in stature to Xianfu, locked her into the thatched hut, and set it on fire to create the illusion that Xianfu was dead, so as not to arouse suspicion from outsiders.

After Zeli returned to Beijing, Xianfu became his concubine. Zeli locked her in the backyard of his house when he went out on weekdays, and his family's wife was not tolerant. In the past two years, because of scruples about Zeli, he did not dare to act too much, but now seeing that Zeli is getting tired of Xianfu and rarely talks to her anymore, he unscrupulously tortured her even harder.Half a month ago, when Zeli left Beijing on business, his wife found an excuse to beat Xianfu severely, and then let the servants send her to the laundry yard.It didn't take long to encounter the jade box incident. The woman implicated in the laundry yard ran away and also dragged her in. In fact, she really didn't know the inside story of the matter, but anyone who was related to Concubine Zhao would have a relationship with Zhao Concubine. If he was going to be punished, he panicked and fled to Hanzhou with all the girls. If Zong Juan hadn't seen that her appearance was similar to Roufu, he would have died under the arrows.

"The Eighth Prince...will you kill me?" Finally, she tentatively peeked at Zong Juan and asked timidly.

Zong Juan smiled at her and said, "If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't have brought you out just now."

"But..." She was still worried, "Ruo Lang wants to kill me..."

Zong Juan shook his head slightly, and looked at her steadily: "Since I have made a decision, I have my own way to take it."

Feeling relieved, Xianfu reached out to wipe the sweat off his forehead, and smiled with a pear-shaped hole, the smile was pure and clear, but the sleeves slipped to half an elbow, Zong Juan saw a few bruises on her exposed wrists, Looking down her face, she found a blood-scabby welt on her neck under her right ear.

Realizing that Zong Juan was looking at her scars, Xianfu suddenly became embarrassed, took the lead with his sleeves to cover as much as possible, and then stood there silently with his head bowed deeply.

Zong Jun wanted to lead the troops back to the capital, but he received an order from Wan Yancheng, saying that after this change, the Song clan in Hanzhou might also have the heart to cause chaos, so Zong Jun must stay in Hanzhou for a few more days and closely monitor the place Song people, if there is any change, they will be punished.

Zong Jun received the order and temporarily stationed in Hanzhou, and Xianfu also stayed with him, serving beside him every day, taking the initiative to bring tea and water, make the bed and fold the quilt, lest there be any neglect.

Those scars were not only left on her body, but also branded in her heart.A slight cough from Zong Juan was enough to frighten her. She raised her head hastily, as if she wanted to look at him, but she didn't dare to look directly into his eyes. She frowned slightly, and her eyes drifted away, looking pitiful. look like.When she felt his gaze, she hurried over and knelt down, and asked him in a trembling voice what was his order, and if he said it was okay, she obediently retreated and stood in the corner with her head bowed in a daze.

Once he called her "Jin'er", she showed a look of incomparable astonishment, and asked uncertainly, "Is the eighth prince calling your servant?"

"Yes." Zong Juan said, "I remember this is your name. Did I remember it wrong?"

"No, that's right." She replied hastily, "It's because the slaves are not used to it... The previous master never called the slaves by their names."

Zong Juan was a little curious: "If I don't call you by your name, what's your name?"

She blushed, and answered with great difficulty, "They called me cheap... cheap..."

"Needless to say." Zong Juan interrupted her clearly, "I will always call you Jin'er from now on, and when you hear my call, you must promptly agree."

"Yes!" She replied joyfully, looked at him gratefully, then quickly concealed her joy, and returned to the normal state of lowering her eyebrows and pleasing to the eye.

Zong Juan felt uninterested in this small change.He actually liked to see her smile, it was her expression closest to her elder sister Yuan Yuan, and when she was waiting respectfully as a maidservant, the only similarity between her and Yuan Yuan was in her eyebrows and eyes.

That night, Xianfu helped Zong Jun change his clothes, tidied and stacked his changed clothes, his movements were gentle, and his smiling face looked extraordinarily fresh under the floating light of the candle.When Zong Juan sat down on the edge of the bed, she gently lowered the tent for him, then slowly retreated to the door, but did not say goodbye, just waited for his order.

After looking at her indifferently for a while, Zong Juan stretched out his hand to her.She didn't seem to be surprised, walked back lightly, knelt down beside him, put her slender wrists on his knees, and quietly rested her head in between.

Zong Juan stroked her smooth, silky black hair, she closed her eyes peacefully, her expression was calm and gentle, like a cat that had finally found a warm blanket that was frozen.

3. Cold flame
In the following two days, Zong Jun frequently visited the residence of the Song imperial family.Those men from the Zhao clan were inevitably sad when they learned of the change in the palace family members, but they were helpless. Under the heavy guard of Zong Jun, they had to endure their grief and continue to weed, and nothing happened for a while.

One evening, Zong Jun returned to the mansion after making a tour, and when he entered the hall, he heard the sound of a horse's hooves outside the door. The horse neighed and stopped immediately, and the man on the horse jumped to the ground and rushed towards the mansion.

The guard slammed his knife to stop, and the man shouted angrily: "Get out of the way!"

An all-too-familiar voice.Zong Juan raised his eyes and immediately smiled: "Yuan Yuan."

Rou Fu pushed aside the guard's hand and rushed straight in. His clothes were thinly stained with dust, and he ran in a hurry. The hood on his head fell due to the wind, revealing slightly messy hair, and there were a few broken leaves on his temples , I think he rushed here overnight without stopping, his complexion is dull and unpretentious, he is quite haggard and tired.

However, her eyes were still burning, her chest heaved slightly, and she pursed her lips tightly, as if suppressing the anger in her heart.

"Why are you here?" Zong Juan took her hand, trying to pull her to sit beside him.

She coldly withdrew her hand without moving half a step, staring at him and asked, "Where are the sisters in the laundry?"

Zong Jun didn't answer for a while.Rou Fu took out a stack of papers from her bosom, with tears in her eyes, she asked again: "Where are the beads?"

It was the letter that Ning Fu wrote for Rou Fu in advance before he was sold to Western Xia. Zong Jun gave Rou Fu a letter every year according to Ning Fu's instructions, and the rest of them were hidden in the hidden place of the study.

"I found these letters in your study. In these letters, the beads are talking about the future in the present tone. Why did she write the letter to tell me that she is safe for many years in advance? Where did she go? Now in Where?" Rou Fu held up the stack of letter paper, tears streaming down his face.

Zong Juan took a breath, and decided to tell her the truth: "Zong Pan exchanged her with Xia Guo people, she should be in Xia Guo now."

"Change horses?" The letter in her hand was scattered all over the floor, and she asked tearfully, "Why did you give her to Zong Pan? Why didn't you save her? Why did you lie to me?"

Zong Juan turned his head to avoid her aggressive glaring, and couldn't find a reasonable explanation to calm her grief for the time being.

At this time, another woman came running panting after Rou Fu, and when she saw Zong Jun, she knelt down and saluted, she probably wanted to explain something but didn't know where to start, her tone was very hesitant: "Eight Prince, little lady... lady……"

That is Rui Ge, Roufu's maid.Zong Juan glanced at her and asked, "Who told the little lady that I'm here?"

Brother Rui looked at Roufu, lowered his head and said softly: "Little madam found those letters when she was looking for the book she wanted to read, and immediately ran out crying, saying that she was going to find the eighth prince. The elder sister said that she slipped her mouth..."

"They thought I knew about the fact that you came to Hanzhou to hunt down the woman in the laundry yard, and they believed that I was crying because of it," Rou Fu said by himself, "They said that you have to be in love with the emperor's order, and advise me to think about it, don't So I'm at odds with you."

Zong Juan chuckled, turned around to look at the sky outside the door, and said, "So you came here in a hurry?"

Rou Fu regained his composure, wiped away the tears on his face, walked up to him, and continued to ask the original question: "Where are the sisters in the laundry yard? Where are they now?"

Zong Juan raised his head slightly, and the bloody glow from the sky reflected in his eyes: "That's right, the emperor's order is hard to break."

These few numbers gave Roufu the answer she expected, but she was still startled suddenly, with half-down eyes and two steps back slowly, silent for a long time.When she looked at him again, she shook her head, her eyes were cold and sharp: "No, no one will force you to harm my people, and you will do it."

Zong Juan looked at her with raised eyebrows, feeling a little surprised in his heart, not knowing how she came to this conclusion.

"As soon as I went out, I met Qu Yun'er dressed as a beggar and guarding the roadside of the house," she said, "She waited for me in hiding there, and when she saw me, she asked how the jade box was doing, and when I told her the truth, she immediately lost her voice Weeping bitterly. Then, she said to me that there was one thing she couldn’t figure out: her brain talisman was completely made according to her cousin’s prescription back then, why did the master take it and it didn’t work? His severe diarrhea did not cause such vigilance, and brought such a catastrophe to the jade box. Although the human brain is raw, golden people have always been used to drinking blood, eating raw meat is fine, and eating a little raw brain will definitely not cause diarrhea Not good for days...”

"Zong Juan," she called him rarely, but her eyes were full of deep doubts, "Did you give her a human brain? What did you do in it?"

Zong Juan sneered: "The girl said these things just to drive a wedge between you and me. Why do you take it so seriously and come here to ask the teacher for nothing?"

"What's good for her to separate you and me? At that time, she was so sad that she didn't even want to die, would she still think about framing others?" Roufu wiped the tears that overflowed again, and her voice was a little whimpering, "She said these were just Want to remind me to beware of you, let me understand that you may not be better than other golden people. After finishing speaking, she hit a wall and died."

After a brief pause, she suppressed her grief and asked Zong Juan in a cold tone: "Now, you still want to hide it from me? What did you give them back then?"

Zong Juan pondered for a moment, then suddenly nodded, and said with a half-smile, "Okay, let me tell you. What I gave them back then...was a pig's brain."

Rou Fu was stunned, and a wry smile appeared on his gradually pale face: "Isn't that the end? You also added laxatives to it."

Zong Juan didn't say a word to admit it, but the smile on his lips deepened faintly.

"What did you do without telling me?" Rou Fu asked again, "I think it was your order that the Lord should pursue this matter and call Qin Gezi to ask?"

Zong Juan still didn't say a word.Rou Fu grabbed his arms, and his cold fingertips pierced his skin through the clothes: "You first cheated Yu Hen's trust, and then framed her like this. The one who killed her was you."

Zong Juan stretched out his arm and pressed her hand, and said: "I am a golden man, I can't follow Concubine Zhao to commit treason. If it were you, would you allow a daughter of a foreign race to hide behind your father and brother to plot evil? "

"How could you be the same as me?" Rou Fu sneered, "What is treason to you? What you love is not the current country, and the one you are loyal to is not the current king. One day reading "Zi Zhi Tong Jian" " and "Zhen Guan Zheng Yao" people will not be willing to live in seclusion in the palace for a lifetime, you must have already planned to steal the country, and whether the jade box is a potential opponent in your eyes, once you have the opportunity, remove it first, so as not to let her in the future. Blocking your future? Oh, yes, you will be afraid of her too!"

Zong Jun smiled: "I don't tell you some things, just to prevent you from looking for trouble. You think so much, what good is it for others and yourself? In many cases, it's better to be a little confused. Come on, go in and change your body Clothes, I'll let you meet someone you want to see later."

He reached out to pull her, but she dodged resentfully, and said angrily: "Don't touch me again, I will never be with you again!"

"Sister!" A cheery shout sounded suddenly, and Xian Fu who heard the sound ran out from the inner room, ran to Rou Fu happily, and called repeatedly: "Sister Yuan Yuan..."

Roufu was greatly surprised, stared at her in disbelief for a long time, then hugged her crying and laughing: "Jin'er, sister finally saw you again...how did you survive? How are you doing? Why are you so thin...Ah! You have injuries!"

Xianfu didn't know how to answer for a while, he just smiled and said repeatedly: "It's all right, it's all over... I'm fine now, the eighth prince treats me very well..."

"Him?" Rou Fu frowned and asked, "He found you?"

"Yes." Xian Fu looked at Zong Juan, his cheeks flushed, "He saved me... I can be with my sister in the future... um, together..."

Seeing her coy expression and ambiguous words, Rou Fu was a little bit puzzled, and turned to look at Zong Jun inquiringly.Zong Juan didn't explain either, but turned around and told Brother Rui: "I've seen the little madam."

Brother Rui was stunned, but quickly understood, and went forward to greet Xianfu.But Rou Fu stood still for a long time before recovering, and asked him softly as if afraid of mishearing: "Little madam?"

Zong Juan nodded, and said calmly, "I accepted her."

A cluster of fireworks-like light exploded in her eyes, and then quietly annihilated and dissipated without a trace in an instant.She lowered her head, and when she looked up again, her clear eyes were already burned by tears: "She... just turned 14 years old."

4. Crimson
"So what?" Zong Juan said, not avoiding soft eyes full of tears: "I'm not even the first one to accept her, and I told you earlier that you will not be my only woman."

Extremely angry, Rou Fu waved his hand towards his face.A high-pitched "pa" sounded suddenly, and the heartbroken voice was quietly hidden under it. Rou Fu retracted the hand that slapped him, and looked up at him stubbornly.A strange red color was left on Zong Juan's cheeks, like burn marks.

There was surprise in his eyes, mixed with a hint of sullenness, but quickly eased, and he still stood firm in the proper posture, just silent.

On the contrary, Xian Fu rushed over, grabbed Rou Fu's hand, stood between her and Zong Juan, and said in shock: "Sister, what are you doing? Don't be rude to the Eighth Prince."

Roufu turned to look at Xianfu, wiped his tears with his sleeves, tried his best to calm himself down, and said softly to his sister, "Jin'er, with my sister here, I won't let him hurt you any more."

"Elder sister is worrying too much." Xian Fu suddenly smiled slightly, "The Eighth Prince is a rare good man in the Kingdom of Jin. He didn't hurt me, and he won't hurt me. It's good luck for my sister to enter his house so early. Now Jin'er It is also a blessing to have met him. In the future, our sisters can always be by his side, like Ehuang and Nvying..."

"Ehuang? Nvying?" Rou Fu couldn't help staring, speechless for a moment.

Xianfu nodded, Xu felt that he had spoken too directly, his face blushed unavoidably, and he lowered his voice: "This way we can be together and never be separated again..."

Roufu held Xianfu's hands angrily, and said earnestly, "You can't stay with him. This is Hanzhou, where your father and brothers are. I'll send you to Brother Kai, okay? Stay with him and With daddy, although you have to grow and support yourself, your life will be a bit more difficult, but it's better than being a slave to a golden man..."

Xian Fu frowned slightly, and asked in amazement: "Sister, you don't want me to stay with the Eighth Prince?"

"You..." Rou Fu rolled his eyes at Zong Jun, "Do you want to stay with him? Do you think he is a good person? You have only known him for a few days? Do you know what he has done?" Sighing, caressing Xianfu shoulder, and said, "Listen to what my sister said, go to Brother Kai, now only Brother can believe it..."

But Xianfu broke free slightly, lost his smile, hung his head with tears in his eyes, and said, "Sister, why bother to tell me this? Although Jin'er is young, she can still understand her thoughts. If my sister doesn't like Jin'er to stay By the side of the eighth prince, you might as well just say that Jin'er will go back to the laundry yard, no matter what, it will not hinder my sister's eyes."

The anger faded away, his complexion gradually turned pale, and his heart became cold.Roufu's hand drooped down, and he smiled bitterly: "Can you really understand my thoughts? I don't ask you to understand. You should know how I have treated you these years. If you can still remember the word 'good' , I am satisfied. Now that you say these words, it makes people very chilling. "

Xian Fu Xuanran said: "If Jin'er said something wrong, please forgive me. But if my sister is really good to me, why won't you listen to my own opinion? My sister must have lived a good life in the eighth prince's mansion these few years. The Eighth Prince dotes on him in every possible way, so much so that he can indulge his temperament, beat and scold the Eighth Prince, this is something Yu Jin'er dare not think about. Can my sister imagine the way the big lady in the mansion insults and bullies Jin'er? My sister doesn't even taste the flogging How about you? Although Jin'er served the Eighth Prince for only a few days, he not only didn't beat and scold me, but he took good care of me everywhere, not to mention that Jin'er's life was saved by him. In my heart, he is of course a good person. It’s okay if my sister doesn’t know how to cherish her blessings, why can’t even Jin’er live under his wings?”

Rou Fu shook his head and said: "Now you won't listen to what I say, but as long as I'm here, I won't give him a chance to hurt you. Come with me, and I'll take you to Brother Kai."

"I'm not going." Xianfu resolutely backed away from her, a sharp light flashed in his tearful eyes, "Is staying with the eighth prince hurt by him? It's safe to go to brother Kai? Then why is my sister herself?" Don’t go, but desperately want to drive me away!”

After hearing this, Zong Juan couldn't help laughing out loud.Rou Fu turned to look at him, her cheeks were as pale as the plain clothes on her body.She stood there blankly, her chest rising and falling rapidly, as if it was difficult to catch her breath for a while, forcing her to stroke it with her hands in the end.

"Help the young lady into the room to rest." Zong Juan ordered Rui Ge.

Brother Rui's eyes were slightly red, he agreed, and came to help him, but Rou Fu pushed him away.Immediately, she ran out in a hurry, her eyes lost sight and her expression confused.

Zong Juan was secretly startled, and chased to the door, but saw that she had already got on the horse he was riding on earlier, pulled out his dagger and cut off the rope that tied the horse, swung his whip again, and rode the horse out of the courtyard.

Seeing her galloping on horseback in such a state, Zong Juan felt uneasy, and immediately got on his own horse and chased her all the way.

She rode the horse aimlessly, didn't know where she was going, her eyes were dazzled by tears, she didn't know the direction at all, she just kept whipping the horse uncontrollably, trying to escape the sky here with an accelerated gallop.

Zong Juan gradually approached her, and finally reached the position of keeping pace with her, and stretched out his arm again, trying to embrace her.

Rou Fu bit his lips and opened his eyes, his eyes were red as weeping blood, he raised his right hand, turned sideways and swung a whip at him with all his strength.

Zong Juan subconsciously leaned back to avoid it, then retracted his hand, and the horse under him also moved half a step away.But Rou Fu used too much force, and with a whip, his body lost his balance, and he fell straight to the left and fell off the horse.

The horse was frightened, and ran away with its four hooves flying like the wind, while Rou Fu fell on the sand, let out a small cry, pressed his hands on his abdomen, and his body lying on his side slowly curled up in pain.

Zong Jun was also shocked, and immediately dismounted and hugged her.She closed her eyes and bit her lip hard to prevent the painful moan from spilling out of her throat.

"Yuan Yuan!" Zong Juan hugged her tightly in his arms, feeling the slight trembling of her fragile body.

He wanted to hug her onto the horse, and passed his hands under her body, but he didn't want to find a strange touch on her skirt.

Humid and warm.

His heartbeat suddenly lost its usual rhythm, and he was stunned before trying to see the color printed on his hand by the warm touch.

red.

5. Drug dumping

"Don't the eighth prince know? My lady is nearly two months pregnant, but now...the fetal gas has dissipated." After a long time of careful treatment, the invited medical officer finally announced the result to Zong Jun.

Zong Juan was silent for a while, then waved his hand to let the man go away, and turned to look at Rou Fu.She was lying on the bed with only a layer of single clothes at the moment, her clothes were plain white, the last trace of blood had faded from her lips, her blue hair was powerlessly falling from her pillow, her expression was as cold as frost, under the brocade quilt she was as fragile as a piece of flesh that was about to melt away spring snow.

He approached, stood beside her, and asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"

She raised her eyes slowly, and when she saw his eyes, a cold light shot out. "I don't want this child at all." She stared at him and said, gnashing her teeth, "I would rather die than have a child of gold thief blood!"

"Why are you so stubborn." Zong Juan sat down beside her, smiled compassionately, and wanted to caress her face, "Now tears are more beneficial to you than unnecessary anger."

She got up in surprise, and tried her best to shrink back to prevent Zong Juan from approaching, and said angrily, "Stay away from me! I didn't want this child in the first place, I don't want your child! I've been thinking about it ever since the day I knew I had him." How to prevent his birth...I hate him...it's fine now, it's gone, it's gone, how nice..." She suddenly lost her mind, but immediately opened her eyes and sneered, "I tell you, I fell off the horse on purpose. down..."

"You..." Zong Juan immediately grabbed her arm and asked in surprise, "Did you do it on purpose?"

"Yes, I did it on purpose!" she struggled with what little strength she had left, "I don't want this child you forced on me, so I fell on purpose...I killed him...I never I thought about giving birth to him..."

Zong Juan frowned and stared at her, his fingers dug deep into the skin under her arm, she didn't seem to notice the pain here, she continued to laugh, and continued to repeat what she said just now, but the smile on her face gradually distorted, and the sadness in her eyes was heavy She was overwhelmed, and two tears fell uncontrollably.

It turned out that her pride and resentment had given birth to a lie.With a deep sigh in his heart, Zong Juan let go, Rou Fu fell down on the corner of the bed, buried his head deeply in the quilt, and suppressed the grief that was pouring out of his heart, but his shoulders still trembled uncontrollably .

Zong Jun left her behind and strode out. The hasty push of the door made Xian Fu who was waiting outside pale with fright. He took a few steps back and then called in panic, "Eighth Prince..."

Zong Juan never looked at her directly, and walked away without squinting, only throwing a sentence to Rui Ge who was coming towards him with the soup: "It's good to serve my little lady."

Brother Rui agreed, and carefully brought the medicine inside.Xianfu followed her quietly, and when Brother Rui turned around to signal the attendant to close the door, he asked anxiously with tears in his eyes, "How is Sister Yuan Yuan? Can I go in and see her?"

Brother Rui looked back at Rou Fu who was still weeping, sighed, and said to Xian Fu: "Little Madam, if you still miss your sister, don't say anything to her now."

Then he stepped back slightly and ordered the door to be gently closed.Xianfu stood in a daze for a long time before leaving sadly wiping away his tears.

The medicine Roufu never drank, and even the porridge made by Ruige was hard to swallow, and there was still no drop of water in the middle of the night, and the blood in the body was still flowing.Brother Rui would see shocking marks every time he lifted the quilt, and finally couldn't bear it anymore, and knocked on Zong Jun's door crying to tell him about it.

Zong Juan immediately got up to look, but saw several bowls of soup and porridge placed in front of her bed, both hot and cold, but they had not been touched.The maid kept changing the extra thin mattress under her, pulling it out piece by piece, her life seemed to be attached to the pieces of bright red color, and was about to be lost, she lay sleepy, did not cry anymore, Eyes half-open, but empty.

"Drink the medicine." He ordered beside her, with a flat tone, not blunt, but also not begging.

She turned her head inward, ignoring his words.

"Only in this way can we save her." Zong Juan stood in front of Rou Fu's bed, looked down at her, "I thought you would understand."

"Save her?" Rou Fu couldn't help sneering, "Accepting her is saving her? She's even younger than me... I don't see any difference between you and the golden man who tortured her before."

"Then how do you want me to treat her?" Zong Jun asked back, "Bring her to the mansion and still treat her as an emperor concubine? Or treat her as an aunt, a younger sister, and find a good family to marry in the future?" Rou Fu didn't speak yet. , Zong Jun said again, "Accepting her is the best way. She is the criminal woman appointed by the Lord Lang to kill. If I want to let her go, I need a reason that can be explained to others. Apart from her beauty , I have no more excuses for letting her live, and this is the only excuse my people can accept..."

"No, it's just your own excuse." Roufu interrupted him resolutely, and said, "You see that she is my sister, she has a similar appearance to mine and a different temperament from mine, which makes you feel very interesting, You want to collect her and play with her, just like you did to me. I and Jin'er are to you what calligraphy, painting and antiques are to my father. Is it to save her, to coax me or to lie to yourself? You should not bother to find any excuses for your lust, do you still need to lie to me? From the time you sent out the beads and harmed the jade box, you You should have guessed how I would hate you, and you shouldn't care about it. It's just that now, I've seen you through even more."

Zong Juan pulled the corner of his lips and said: "Yes, I didn't bother to explain to you. What about murder? What about lust? You have no right to ask me not to kill your clansmen or accept other concubines. You often ask others Make too high demands, but people have no intention of fulfilling them, so you are doomed to be disappointed. What you hope to grasp is always beyond the scope of your ability, so try your best to fight for it, it is better to live in peace, when will you understand? "

Rou Fu shook his head, and only replied to him: "There are always some things that I can grasp." After saying that, he closed his eyes and closed his lips, as if he was determined not to pay any attention to the world of mortals including him.

She is clearly referring to her own life and death: But if you want to die, there is nothing you can do.

Dying, but still maintaining such a cold and rigid attitude, Zong Juan couldn't help feeling angry when he saw it, he pulled her into his arms, and picked up the medicine bowl with the other hand and forced it to her mouth: "You are wrong again, if you hadn't I agree, death is not something you can decide."

Rou Fu struggled, but in the end he was no match for him.He squeezed her chin tightly to force her to open her mouth, and poured the medicine into it, but she spit it out quickly, shaking her head to avoid it, while hitting him vigorously with both hands.

The bowl of Chinese medicine swayed from side to side, and almost swung out, Zong Juan simply raised his head and took a drink in his mouth. When he dropped the bowl, he hugged Rou Fu tightly and lowered his head to find her lips, trying to put the medicinal soup into her mouth.Unexpectedly, as soon as he touched her lips, her body that was trembling with anger immediately trembled, and there was a rush of breath under her chest, and a mouthful of clear water spewed out, which wet his chest and skirt.

"Dirty!" He heard her say bitterly, and he saw the hatred in her eyes again, which was so cold that there was no possibility of forgiveness.

6. Drink poison
The woman in the room fell silent, lying wearily, and he saw an emotion other than love and hate on her face, an emotion that no woman had ever shown to him, extreme disgust.He was at a loss for a moment, felt the dampness on his chest, and a coolness settled in his heart from it.Finally he left, the moonlight in the courtyard was like frost, as if icy cold.

Rou Fu has not been able to eat, and Rui Ge and others force-feed her. Even if they are forced into her mouth, she will immediately vomit all of them, and she will become weaker and weaker. She is half asleep and half awake. No desire to survive.

Zong Jun had no choice but to order Rui to take good care of her, and he would not step into her room again.Her sip of clear water finally put out the unquenchable smile on his face towards her, and his mood was as gloomy as the cloudy sky that followed, and he unexpectedly frowned.

In the evening of this day, Shi Gu, an old palace official who had served his mother He Shilie's family for decades, rushed over and brought him news: Wan Yancheng learned about Zong Jun's private release of the Xianfu Emperor Ji , flew into a rage.

Zong Juan was not alarmed, and said: "I will explain to the Lord Lang when I return to Beijing."

Shi Gu shook his head and said: "The Lord's anger this time is extraordinary. The Eighth Prince will not know that last time the Eighth Prince tried his best to protect Roufu Diji, which made the Lord feel resentful. The purpose of entrusting this task to the Eighth Prince is to test I don't want the eighth prince to save another emperor of the Southern Dynasty. My mother ordered me to bring a sentence to the eighth prince. I will say it now without changing a word. If there is any offense, I ask the eighth prince to forgive me: "What can you do?" Repeatedly Fulang made up his mind and retreated completely?'"

Zong Juan said: "Since I have decided to keep her, I will bear the consequences."

Shi Gu sighed: "The empress also said a word: 'It is unwise to harm the overall situation for the sake of female sex. Besides, not any woman is worth saving one's life.'"

Zong Juan was concentrating on it, and suddenly smiled: "Mother ordered your old man to come here day and night, didn't she just want you to pass a few words?"

Shi Gu also smiled, turned his head towards the door and ordered: "Come in."

A maid entered respectfully holding a tray with a jug of wine on it.

Shigu took the wine with his own hands, put it on the table next to Zong Juan, and then bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty said, if there are no soft blessings, the virtuous blessings can be kept; if there are no virtuous blessings, the soft blessings can be kept. But If the eighth prince wants to have both beauties, it is a senseless risk. The empress is quite disappointed in the fact that the eighth prince confronted the Lord for Roufu Emperor in public, and now she doesn't want to see the eighth prince make the same mistake again. If the eighth prince doesn't want to recruit Disaster, only one of the two empresses can stay, and whoever drinks this wine is up to the Eighth Prince to decide."

Zong Juan lifted the lid of the jug and looked inside, but saw that the wine liquid was clear without any impurities, and its smell spread faintly into the air, giving it a strange fragrance.Pushing the flagon away slightly to avoid the sensual fragrance, Zong Jun asked: "Must it be like this?"

Shi Gu nodded and said: "What did your mother teach the Eighth Prince to do, which one did you miss?"

Then he saluted and said goodbye, saying that it was inconvenient to stay for a long time, and he had to return to the palace immediately to return to his order.Zong Jun sent her out, went back to the room and gazed at the wine for a while, then took the wine prepared in the mansion, poured a glass from each of the two jugs, and then ordered people to find Xianfu.

Since Roufu's miscarriage, he has been ignoring Xianfu, at this moment Xianfu was summoned by him and ran quickly, with bright joy in the corners of his eyes and brows.

After Zong Juan waited for her to salute, He Yan said to her: "My mother asked me a problem, and I don't know how to solve it. It seems that I need you to help me."

Xian Fu was surprised and said: "Me? This servant is stupid, how can this servant answer a problem that the eighth prince can't solve?"

Zong Juan waved his hand: "It's not difficult for you, it's just a choice."

Xianfu breathed a sigh of relief, smiled and asked, "What do you choose?"

Zong Jun turned to look at the wine on the table: "My mother didn't want me to enjoy the blessings of being equal, and said that only one of your sisters can stay, and sent a pot of poisonous wine for me to drink for you or your sister. I am very embarrassed, I don't know who to let It's better to drink, so I call you here, it's up to you to decide." Immediately pointing to the two full wine glasses, he said, "The one on the left is poisonous wine, and the one on the right is non-poisonous. You choose a glass and drink it, and the rest The cup is your sister's."

His tone was so calm, it seemed that what Xianfu chose was just a dress and a pearl flower.And Xianfu had already been struck by lightning, and begged with a pale face: "The eighth prince, please let me and my sister go! Jin'er dare not expect to be the concubine of the eighth prince, even if she is a slave or handmaid, she has no complaints. We are weak women, It is impossible to do anything that would endanger the Eighth Prince, so why not keep one? Why must the Eighth Prince be removed?"

Zong Jun smiled and said: "I also want to keep you all, but this is my mother's order, presumably also the Lord's intention. If I let you all live, I will openly disobey the mother's order and the king's order, and will be disobedient and disloyal. "

With tears in his eyes, Xianfu tugged at the hem of his robe, and continued to beg in tears. Zong Jun ignored her, slapped the table, and said in a mercilessly high tone, "Choose!"

Xianfu was so frightened that he didn't dare to say anything more. He looked at the wine glass on the left through Yingying's tears, and then slowly moved it to the right. He hesitated several times and still hesitated to make a decision.Zong Juan was impatient, and urged her repeatedly. She was terrified when she heard it, and then stretched out her slightly trembling hand to take the cup on the left, and slowly brought it to her face. Before she could drink it immediately, she lowered her head sourly, and a tear fell into the cup.

At this time, the door was pushed open suddenly, Brother Rui rushed in and said: "Eighth Prince, the little lady woke up and said that she wants to see the little lady."

Xianfu was startled, the glass in his hand slipped down, and with a "bang", the wine poured into the glass and shattered.

Zong Juan took another wine glass, still raised the jug and said to Rui Ge: "You go back first and tell her that the little lady will be there soon."

Xianfu looked mournful again, and continued to kneel before his feet, wiping away tears frequently.Rui Ge looked at it puzzled, but didn't move for a while.Zong Juan put down the jug, raised his eyes and asked indifferently: "Aren't you leaving?" She was startled, bowed her head and backed away.

Zong Jun smiled at Xian Fu again, and said: "This glass is still poisonous wine. I think you chose the one on the left just now, so you should drink this glass?"

Xianfu raised his head in horror and shook his head in panic.

"Then choose again." Zong Juan ordered, "Hurry up, I don't have the patience to wait."

After a sad silence for a while, Xianfu made the final decision.This time, her hand went to the right.

Zong Jun sat upright with a blank expression on his face, watching Xianfu drink up the wine on his right without moving.

After drinking it all, Xianfu put the wine glass on the ground, his hands were still trembling, making a series of slight crisp sounds from the bottom of the glass on the ground.Two more teardrops came out of her eyes, slid across her face, lingered under her jaw, as round as morning dew.

The pear blossoms are as soft as rain.He watched indifferently, but remembered the scene of Rou Fu crying, which was quite different from this, even her tears seemed to have arrogance.

Xianfu lay helplessly on the icy ground, crying more and more sadly, his eyes full of guilt, he kept calling: "Sister, sister..."

"You don't have to feel sorry for her." Zong Juan said to her, smiling gently, "Actually, you saved her."

Xianfu raised his head and waited for him to explain in confusion, but Zong Jun didn't say anything until she felt a strange reaction in her body.

She pressed her chest tightly, and the sudden pain made her brows and eyes close together. She picked up the wine glass just now in a daze: "This wine..."

"I remembered wrongly. The one on the left is non-toxic, and the one on the right is poisonous wine." Zong Jun took the left wine and drank it down. Chao Xianfu lit the bottom of the glass, still smiling: "Sorry."

7. Curse
Xianfu's face was ashen, his hands were trembling, the wine glass fell, and rolled all the way to Zong Jun's feet, where he was kicked away carelessly.

Covering his face with his hands, Xianfu wept again, this time it was different, the weeping sound was mournful and solitary, like a wisp of light smoke and a thread of gossamer, floating feebly in the shadow of the candle, as if it would be broken after blowing one breath.

Zong Juan continued to pour the non-toxic wine alone, drinking it slowly, waiting for her soul to dissipate like smoke.

He felt no pity for her.What he had given her to choose was not her life or Juff's life, but his chance to take another risk to save her, so that the ending came from her own choice.

Suddenly, the light and shadow on the window flickered, as if someone was approaching, and Rui Ge's voice came faintly from the corridor: "Little Madam, don't worry, slow down..."

Hearing the sound, Xianfu opened his eyes, as if he regained some energy in an instant, he came to the door a little bit, pressed his chest tightly with one hand to endure the pain, and held the door frame with the other to stand up, hurriedly raised his eyes and looked out.

It was indeed Roufu who came here, with long hair disheveled, wearing white plain clothes, not even a coat, only a cloak, and rushed here with the support of Rui Ge and another maid, his limbs were weak, and the road He couldn't walk steadily, but he still wanted to run, and almost fell down a few times.

Seeing Xianfu, she tried her best to shake off the maid and snatch her, reaching out to hug her: "Jin'er..."

There was a faint smile on Xianfu's face, and he also stretched out his hand towards her. Unexpectedly, the blood that could no longer be restrained was blurted out before the call of "sister", and the bright red light flashed, splashing Roufu's face bust.

At the same time, she fell on Roufu, and Roufu couldn't bear it, and the two fell to the ground together.In a daze, Rou Fu caressed his right cheek with his hand, looked down at the warm liquid on his hand, suddenly hugged Xian Fu tightly, raised his head and closed his eyes, his lips trembled but silently, it took a long time before a cry of grief sounded from the bottom of his heart.

Xianfu tried to smile at Roufu, but was deformed by the severe pain, blood began to flow out from the seven orifices continuously, she held her sister's arm tightly with her left hand, nestled in her arms, closed her eyes and repeatedly called "Sister ".Rou Fu hugged her, looked up at Zong Jun, with tears all over his face, and cried in harmony, "Let her go, save her!"

Zong Juan said indifferently: "There is no cure for this poison."

"Sister, I don't want anymore..." Xianfu called softly in her arms, with blood red tears in his eyes: "I, I..."

Rou Fu lowered his head, put his face on her forehead, and said softly, "Stop talking, I understand."

Xianfu opened his eyes again, but frowned and said: "Sister, I can't see you." He let go of her arm and brought it to her face, as if he wanted to recognize her final appearance by touch like a blind person .

Rou Fu put his sister's hand on his face, and said softly to her with tears in his eyes, "Sister is here."

Touching the skin on her face, Xian Fu smiled hastily, his whole body twitched, he vomited the last mouthful of blood, and his hands dropped limply.

Roufu called "Jin'er", but she didn't agree, she didn't show more mourning, but was very calm, calmly wiped every blood on Xianfu's face with her hands, and closed her eyes , and then gently put her on the ground.When he looked at Zong Juan again, there was no anger in her eyes as he expected, but indifference and coldness, which made him suddenly think of the jade box before he died.

He would rather she cursed him furiously, and even rushed to punch and kick him, that was a situation he could easily deal with, but with her expression now, he was a little surprised, displeased, and even vaguely uneasy.

"I used to wonder why Sister Yuxiang acted so unscrupulously." She said, still calmly, with a cold voice: "Now I finally understand, how to deal with a golden man who has lost his conscience, how ruthless and decisive it is There’s nothing wrong with it.”

She looked down at the traces of blood on her hand again, and suddenly turned her head to look at Zong Jun, with a faint smile on the corner of her lips: "Conspiracy and power tactics must be what you like and are good at?"

After saying that, she stood up straight, suppressed her smile, and faced Zong Jun with her blood-colored palm, the cold light in her eyes froze the air.

"I curse you, Wanyan Zongjun." She said, "You, and your family, will be doomed under the shadow of your ambition and conspiracy. You will be killed by your own conspiracy, and you will be divided into five horses and decapitated." And your jackal-like clansmen will also bite and kill each other, and continue from generation to generation, and before they are wiped out by alien races, the land of the Jin Kingdom has already been sprinkled with Yan's blood!"

Her curse fell straight into his heart like a cold sharp blade, Zong Juan frowned, the coldness made him displeased, he lowered his face and was about to give an order to punish her, but he saw that Brother Rui had already knelt down and begged: "Little Madame is ill and confused, that's why she talks nonsense, the eighth prince, please don't argue with her."

Zong Juan didn't speak for the time being, and then looked at Rou Fu, and saw that she was standing with the door on her hands, she was getting weak, her body was shaking slightly, and she looked like she was about to fall down at any time, but she still insisted on looking directly at him.He felt her hatred in her eyes, the unfailing hatred that resisted the erosion of time, reminded him of all kinds of prey that he had hunted and killed, after being injured, before his life was finally robbed by him, they would look at him like this.

He was relieved.If those prey could speak, they would surely curse like her. He never had to mind it, and it is the same now, he despises that empty emotion.If the prey has claws and teeth, it may be worth a little caution.Prey only.

"Take her back." He told Brother Rui, and then ordered the soldiers outside the gate to come in and let them drag Xianfu's body out.

Rou Fu didn't want to move for a moment, but he didn't see any aggressive actions. He silently watched Xian Fu being dragged away from his sight, then turned his head and whispered to Rui Ge, "Let's go."

After walking two steps, she fell limply, Brother Rui hurriedly bent over to help her, she smiled faintly and said, "I want to eat something."

Rui Ge was very pleasantly surprised and asked: "Little Madam, are you willing to eat?"

Rou Fu nodded, closed his eyes wearily, and then tried his best to move forward: "Let's go."

After returning to the room, she ate as usual and drank every bowl of medicine given to her, and then lay down quietly without crying, neither happy nor sad.

Brother Rui reported these things as good news frequently, but Zong Jun didn't find it gratifying.If he really accepts the status quo so calmly as on the surface, then he is not the stubborn Emperor Ji of the Zhao family he is familiar with. She no longer begs for death, and wants to survive only for future struggles. The only thing he wants to know now is what she will do next. what.

She quickly gave him the answers he wanted.

Late the next night, he was awakened by the neighing of horses from a distant stable.The sound was actually not long, and the distance from the stable to his bedroom was enough to weaken the sound to the point that it would not disturb his sleep. However, he still woke up from it, as if he had been waiting for the sound of horse neighing to end his not so deep sleep in the middle of the night. .

He stood up with his clothes on, and stood in front of the gate closest to the stable before Rou Fu came on horseback. When she approached, he raised his head and smiled, then raised his hand, signaling that the servants who followed him would come in front of her. The door was closed slowly, and the lantern outside the door reflected two clusters of light in her eyes and then wiped out, also slowly.

She was pulled off her horse and sent back to her room.But this was only her first attempt at a premeditated escape.The hope that was extinguished by him will be rekindled, she can walk when she can't ride a horse, get out from the dilapidated part of the wall if she can't walk through the main entrance, and change into Rui Ge's maid uniform when her own clothes are too conspicuous. Almost every night, she Do everything possible to try to escape his territory.

He brought her back over and over again, humiliating her in his own way over and over again, trying to make her realize that all her attempts were futile, but she never regretted and never gave up her efforts to escape.One day she escaped from the side door when the dawn was about to break, and ran alone in the cold world. With the white flame, she drifted to the distant sky without thinking back, as if there was a shore she wanted to lean on outside the cloudy water.

Of course, he would not be ignorant, rode his horse and followed her, watching with cold eyes, like the indulgence of a certain prey during hunting, until he was surprised when he found a little bright red blood on the road she passed, and galloped towards her.The moment she caught her, she glanced back, the golden red light brushed her face, and her smile that had not yet disappeared seemed to have the light of dawn, which instantly burned his eyes, and he was angry because of this brightness, Without saying a word, he got on her horse and galloped back, threw her on the ground, looked at the blood oozing from her skirt, and asked, "You really want to die?"

She shook her head: "No, I can't die. Even if I die, I won't die in front of your eyes."

"Leaving me is no different from choosing to die." Zong Juan said coldly, "Do you think you can be relieved by going out here? A woman from the Southern Dynasty who fled, even if she is not detained back to the laundry yard, will be beaten thousands of times by countless men." Looting."

"I'd rather face those thousands of robberies," Rou Fu raised his eyes to look at him, "as long as I can leave you."

Zong Juan sighed: "Your sister is right, you are a person who does not cherish blessings. I pamper you too much and give you too much freedom that should not be given."

"You gave me freedom?" Rou Fu looked up at the sky, and slightly closed his eyes against the sunlight, "You tied a string to my body, let me fly in the sky, and allowed me to fly with the wind and fly higher, The farther you are, the happier you are, and you always hold the spool that can pull me back at any time. I am the kite in your hand, and this is the freedom you gave me."

Suddenly she began to smile coldly: "But didn't you expect that? Zhiyuan also disconnects sometimes."

8. Micro dew
"What do you think is the freedom you want? Where can you find the freedom you want?" Zong Jun asked back: "When you return to the Southern Dynasty, you will be locked back to the palace again. How much is a bird, a fish, a flower?"

Rou Fu closed his eyes and ignored him, but his lower jaw still raised slightly, forming a proud arc with his slender and straight neck.

"Is there a big difference between being the eldest princess in the Southern Dynasty and being the young lady in the Kingdom of Jin? Who do you think can give you what you want, your ninth brother?" Zong Juan continued, his words full of sarcasm, "Why should I The Zhao Gou I heard is far from the same as the Ninth Brother you mentioned? In the past few years, he, the emperor, has been in a state of embarrassment. He was beaten into the sea by our Jin army and hid in Tibet. Forced to flee in the middle of the night, fighting with the army and the people disheveledly, he did not hesitate to kill his own soldiers; in October last year, he returned to Lin'an from Jiankang and stayed on the bank of the Qiantang River. Want to run away; at the end of the year, he went out to sea by boat to avoid the pursuit of Zong Bi's army. He dared not land for several months. Even this year's New Year's Day was spent on the boat. Every time I hear you mention him, I always suspect that he is not the same person as I know. You Brother Ninth is so wise and powerful, how could he be chased like a stray dog!"

He deliberately emphasized the words "a dog that loses its family".Rou Fu's eyelids trembled slightly, and he bit his lower lip tightly, but he still didn't say a word, and made no response with a cold face.Zong Juan knew that she only regarded his words as an attack on Zhao Gou as before, so he lowered his head, leaned over to stare at her, and waited for her to open her eyes: "Have I mentioned something to you? He is enthroned Not long after, he sent envoys to Jin Tong to inquire, and the next year he sent Yu Wenxuzhong to Fengbiao to go to Beijing, where he degraded his title as a minister and demanded a peace negotiation."

"Peace negotiation!" Rou Fu opened his eyes in shock and said angrily, "You are talking nonsense!"

Zong Juan let go of his joking tone, and said solemnly: "I didn't lie to you, he did ask Da Jin for peace. Of course, the Lord didn't agree, and ordered the Song envoy to stay and continue to attack Song. Your ninth brother saw that the peace negotiation failed , and had no choice but to fight against Da Jin with a few remnants of the army."

Rou Fu looked at Zong Jun in a daze, and murmured: "He...really..."

"He's really not the Ninth Brother you recognize." Zong Juan smiled again, reached out to smooth out the hair on her temples, and then stroked her face, "Even if you go back, you won't be able to find him before, and now He can't give you what you expected. Instead of being disappointed at that time, why don't you stay and live a peaceful and happy life with me."

Rou Fu was silent for a long time, and after a while, he gently took Zong Jun's hand that was caressing her with both hands, brought it to his lips, and printed his lips on the back of his hand.

Her lips were warm, giving him a soft touch, and she also lowered her eyebrows, a rare attitude.Zong Juan was quite happy, and said with a smile: "How nice..."

Unexpectedly, before he finished speaking, he felt a sharp pain on the back of his hand, Rou Fu grabbed his hand and bit down hard on the back of his hand, biting the flesh on the back of his hand in an instant, and blood gushed out.

With a roar, Zong Juan pulled away violently, and then slapped Rou Fu with his backhand. She fell to the ground in response, but immediately sat up, swept his bloody hand, and slowly wiped away the blood stained on her lips. , looked sideways at him, and sneered again.

Immediately, some servants gathered to bandage Zong Jun's wound, Zong Jun pushed it away vigorously, ordered the man to take the whip with a sullen face, and held it with the hand bitten by Rou Fu, and whipped the whip without any mercy. Swing at her.

She slumped on the spot, not wanting to dodge, and let his horsewhip tear her clothes, leaving bloody marks on her back and legs.She clenched her teeth, locked the moan caused by pain in her throat, clasped her fingers tightly on the cold stone slab, her nails were pale and colorless, as if she was forced out of the pain to penetrate the hard surface, except for the momentary instinct when the whip fell. Trembling, she remained motionless.

Her indifferent way of confrontation made him furious, and he tried to force her to scream or beg for mercy with more force, but she didn't do what he wanted, she just kept silent, just endured, and didn't make any retaliation, whether it was words or actions, It strangely gave him a sense of humiliation and frustration that he had never had before.

His whip fell down repeatedly in such a way that he couldn't stop, watching the stubborn woman gradually dying under his feet, until Rui Ge's begging gave him a reason to stop.

Brother Rui rushed over, knelt down and hugged his leg, crying, "Stop beating! Stop beating! The Eighth Prince has so much blood on his hands, let this servant bandage you!"

So he slumped and stopped, and Brother Rui immediately grabbed the whip and pulled him to sit down, then silently bandaged his wound, and from time to time peeked at Roufu who was beside him covered in bloodstains while crying.

After taking a nap for a while, Rou Fu gradually evened his breathing, sat up straight again, straightened the ragged clothes under the whip as usual, calmly wiped away the possible stains on his face, and stood up again, under Zong Juan's gaze. Xia once again assumed her princess's cold and arrogant expression.

Afterwards, he locked her in a small cell for punishing servants, and only gave her two meals a day, which were just enough to survive, and medicine to treat whiplash, and did not allow Rui Ge and others to wait on her.The lock of the cell blocked her hope of escaping, and she neither argued nor made trouble, and was surprisingly silent.Once Zong Juan passed by the prison cell and looked at her through the small window on the wall. He saw her lying sideways on the haystack in the corner, her eyes sunken, her skin and lips were strangely white, and her clothes were still stained with glaring spots. bloodstains.She followed the light coming in from the window and looked over, met Zong Juan's eyes, but turned a blind eye. She looked at the clouds in the sky lightly, her eyes still shining.

She was so weak that it seemed that only her eyes were alive.At that moment, Zong Juan's heartbeat slowed down, as if he heard someone sigh in his heart.He was stunned before moving away.

Brother Rui came to him the next day and knelt down in front of him with tears in his eyes. He froze and asked, "Is she dead?"

Rui Ge raised his head and asked softly: "Is this the result that the eighth prince expected?"

Zong Juan looked sideways and said coldly: "What do you want to say?"

Rui Ge said: "Little Madam is still alive, but if this continues, death will happen sooner or later."

Zong Juan asked lightly, "So what?"

Rui Ge kowtowed, and said: "When I was young, I often watched my father tame horses. He would release the strong horses that could not be tamed back to the forest without harming their lives. Now I hope that the eighth prince will have my father for the little lady." Mercy for the fierce horse."

Zong Juan shook his head resolutely: "There has never been a horse that our Wanyan men could not tame. Even if there was, we would rather stab it to death than allow it to return to the forest."

Brother Rui cried out, pulled the hem of Zong Jun's robe and said, "Could it be that the little madam is only a horse in the eyes of the Eighth Prince? Will the Eighth Prince risk his life to fight for a horse? Could it be that the Eighth Prince Would the prince really rather see the little lady die than give her a way out?"

Zong Juan pondered and remained silent.Brother Rui begged again, and then he lowered his eyes and said, "I won't let her go. I let her go, and she can't go back to the Southern Dynasty. From Dajin to Jiangnan, there are many obstacles along the way. If there is no gold medal for clearing the customs, who will defend the city?" Will your soldiers let go for a woman?"

Ruige lowered his head in disappointment, frowned and thought hard for a moment, then suddenly rekindled hope, staring at Zong Juan expectantly: "Then, can the Eighth Prince..."

"No!" Zong Juan cut her off, pinching her chin and said word by word: "I carry the key to the cell and the gold medal for customs clearance with me, and I don't leave them for a moment. I will not give them to others, and no one will be able to steal them from under my nose to save her."

This night's sleep became a waiting for an appointment.Waiting for the woman who begged during the day to quietly open the door, waiting for her to approach him on tiptoe, and reach out to the pillow where the key and gold medal are hidden.

He had never been so awake before, he could even feel her trembling hands touching the air, and the slight air current rippled against his skin.

He was actually able to pretend not to notice, and when her hand was about to shrink back due to timidity, he turned inward while muttering "dreams", providing enough convenience for her to steal.

She took out the things under the pillow with clumsy gestures, turned her head and ran out in panic, trying to escape as soon as possible, regardless of the sound of closing the door, which would wake up all the sleeping beasts.

But he was still lying there, motionless, and continued to wait.

All my senses are suddenly more sensitive than ever, in this cool night.He vaguely heard the sound of the key poking into the keyhole of the cell, and he seemed to see Rou Fu's eyes flashing when he took the gold medal.Then, when she came out, her white skirt slid across the grass-colored mottled stone steps, and he knew that the skirt would be soaked by the slight dew from the leaf tips, just like the unspeakable moisture in his heart.

She got on the horse, but at first she didn't dare to ride the horse and galloped, she just walked slowly.The horseshoe made a gentle and crisp sound on the stone road, as if God's will hinted that he still had time to think, which made him inexplicably irritable.

Tick, tick, let go or not... her?

Finally, she spurred the horse and galloped away from his territory.At the beginning, he endured the contradictions, but after a while, he still couldn't hold back, he regretted it, jumped up, and rode his horse to chase after the escaped slave he had deliberately let go.

First, he went straight to the south gate where she was expected to go, but there was no one there. According to the gatekeepers, no woman had passed through before.After a little thought, he turned to the residence of the Song clan.

Before he got close, he saw a man standing on the hill next to Song Ying, looking towards the west gate of the city.Hearing the sound of his horse's hooves, the man turned his head, his thin clothes fluttered rustlingly, and his face was bleak in the cool breeze of dawn.

"Zhao Kai!" Zong Juan shook his whip and asked sharply, "Where's Yuan Yuan?"

With a vague smile, Zhao Kai looked down at him with a condescending attitude, and said, "She's gone, you can't chase her back."

With a gloomy face, Zong Jun led his horse to the gate of Song Ying, woke up the sleeping guards of the Kingdom of Jin with two whips, and shouted: "Drag the people from the hill and beat them!"

After saying that, he rushed to the west city gate without stopping, and when he asked, he got the answer that a woman in white came out of the city with a gold medal for clearing the customs.I rushed out of the city to look again, only to see the wilderness around me, with no one in sight, and many forked roads. I wanted to chase him, but I didn't know where to start.

He chose a random direction and searched for a while, but failed, so he led his horse back to Song Ying in despair.

At that time, Zhao Kai was covered in blood, was dying from the beating, and fell to the ground, but when he saw him, he was able to support himself, and still smiled calmly: "She really left."

Zong Juan raised his hand to stop the golden soldier who was about to hit Zhao Kai, Shi Shiran sat down in the chair in front of him, and asked him again: "Since she came to look for you, she must take you away. Why don't you go with her? "

Zhao Kai shook his head and said: "Brother Duoning has my child, I can't abandon her. What's more..." He looked up at the sky with sad eyes, "The country Yuan Yuan wants to return to now may not be the country of the past , Is the house I'm looking for really the one I remember?"

Zong Juan looked at him and said coldly: "Are you afraid that Zhao Gou won't tolerate you?"

Zhao Kai didn't answer directly, but said calmly: "For me, the country is broken, the family is dead, and everything can't be brought back. The sky and the earth are big in the Southern Dynasty, and there is no place for me."

"The you now are far smarter than when you were a prince." Zong Juan laughed and asked, "Before Yuan Yuan left, what else did you say?"

"Before I leave..." Zhao Kai mused, with a gentle look in his eyes, but also a hidden smile, "Eighth Prince doesn't need to know about our brother and sister's private conversation."

Zong Juan frowned and wanted to ask, but Zhao Kai suddenly coughed loudly and spit out a mouthful of blood before Zong Juan noticed that his face was pale and haggard, as if he was terminally ill.

Out of the last trace of mercy, he didn't force him any more, and before he got up to leave, he ordered his soldiers to hand over Zhao Kai to Brother Duoning who came crying after hearing the news.

Leaving this place, I don't know where to go.Only Zhao Kai said in his heart: "She really left."

But I felt a sharp knife penetrated into my chest, splitting my heart somewhere.I only raised my eyes to look at the floating clouds, and thought sadly, if I could fly into the clouds, I would see her figure again.

When she returned to the mansion, she went to check the cell where she lived, and saw that except for the clothes on her body, she took almost nothing with her. Even the jade pendant given to her by his mother had been taken off and placed on the pillow.He picked it up and held it in the palm of his hand, feeling the last residual warmth she left on it.

9. Palace Lantern
There are images in Zong Juan's mind, about Roufu, the past of the years.For example, the courtyard with fallen leaves like gold, or the sky and the earth with clouds and water, she passed by with a stubborn look, and her plain white skirt fluttered like cold flames.But in the palace of the Southern Song Dynasty, he only used a few words of understatement to describe the love here: "I got her once. I untied her little feet. Later, I took her younger sister, Jin'er. Jin'er In a moment of carelessness, she accidentally drank poisonous alcohol and died. She vented her anger on me and tried every means to escape back to the Southern Dynasty. And I, in the end, let her succeed."

It was so simple that Zhao Gou was a little astonished. After Zong Juan finished speaking, he waited for a while, but he didn't see any further words before he asked, "That's it?"

"That's it." Zong Juan smiled, "Could it be that Your Majesty still wants to know the details, such as how I can please the princess?"

Zhao Gou immediately tilted his head and resumed his indifferent tone: "No need."

Zong Juan said: "Then stop here. If things come to fruition in the future, I hope Your Majesty will not forget Zong Jun's request." He turned to look at Hanmei Yuexia again, and said with a smile, "In the face of such beautiful scenery on such a beautiful day, it seems a bit awkward to talk about just now." It's a sight to behold. Zong Jun has longed for the scenery of the Southern Dynasties, if you hear His Majesty's mention, you will be really lucky."

Zhao Gou should also be polite: "If I know what your Excellency wants to know, I will have nothing to say."

Zong Juan sat down, tapped the cup in front of him with his fingers, and said: "When Princess Fuguo lived in my mansion, she often laughed at us golden people for making tea with milk, saying that it was a waste of money. Now, can your majesty order tea with me so that I can experience the beauty of tea art in the Southern Dynasties?" wonderful?"

"What's so difficult about this?" Zhao Gou smiled lightly, and immediately agreed, ordering the palace servants to bring tea sets, and personally make soup and tea for Zong Jun.

Zong Juan saw that when he stirred the tea paste, his hands were light and heavy, his fingers twisted around his wrists, up and down thoroughly, and his gestures were skillful, he couldn't help being amazed and praised his tea art.Zhao Gou responded with modest words, and the two smiled at each other from time to time, as if they were like-minded tea friends.

Afterwards, we sipped tea and chatted. In the end, the topic we talked about was really the customs of the two places. When mentioning the treasures of gold and stones, Zong Juan seemed to inadvertently ask: "Did Princess Fuguo accept that jade pendant just now?"

"Of course." Zhao Gou calmly replied, "Otherwise I won't be able to invite her."

Zong Juan asked again: "Then, is this jade pendant in her hands now?"

Zhao Gou nodded, and asked with a smile: "Chen Wang misses this thing so much, could it be that it is so precious? But sister She can't put it down. I want to borrow it to see her but she won't give it to you. I'm afraid I won't be willing to return it to you. Why don't I give it to you?" Ten boxes of jewels in exchange?"

Zong Jun showed slight hesitation, but in the end he waved his hand and said with a smile: "It's just a plaything. The eldest princess found it by herself when she was in the Kingdom of Jin, so she paid a lot of attention to it. In fact, it's not worth much. If she wants it, let it go." If she keeps it, how dare Zong Juan exchange His Majesty's jewels with this!"

Zhao Gou remained silent and poured another cup of tea for Zong Jun with a smile.

After chatting for about an hour, Zong Jun said goodbye, and Zhao Gou got up to see him off.Zong Juan had already walked outside, Zhao Gou suddenly asked him to stop, Zong Juan turned around and waited for him to speak, but he hesitated, walked slowly to Zong Juan, thought for a long time before asking in a low voice: "My mother... How are you doing now?"

"Very good." Zong Juan replied, "Mrs. Wei has been taken care of by Gai Tianwang these years, Your Majesty should know."

Zhao Gou was silent.Zong Juan paused, and suddenly a strange smile escaped from his eyes: "Congratulations, you have added two younger brothers these years."

After finishing speaking, pay attention to Zhao Gou's expression, but he just kept watching Zong Jun silently, as if what he heard was news that had nothing to do with him.After a while, he was able to move the corners of his lips upwards, and thanked him politely: "Thank you."

This time Zong Juan was really admiring secretly, almost overwhelmed by his calmness.

Zong Jun left again, Zhao Gou did not want to stay, and ordered two palace servants to guide him with palace lanterns.Before Zong Juan left, Zhao Gou smiled and said: "The wind is strong at night, Your Excellency Chen Wang, be careful all the way."

Zong Juan chuckled, just now he saw the scenery of the West Lake painted in light ink on the outside of the white gauze lampshade of the palace lantern, so he led the way and took it from the palace man's hand, raised it up to show Zhao Gou, and said in a more emphatic tone: "Zong Juan himself is not worth pity, I'm afraid There was a slight mistake, and it fell below half of the country. Therefore, I will be careful."

Zhao Gou followed him with his eyes until he disappeared, and then slowly brought back the hand that had been behind him just now.Spreading out his right hand, there was a jade pendant given to Rou Fu by Zong Juan in his palm, and there were two traces of blood stasis on his palm—after Zong Juan said "Congratulations" to him, his right hand behind him quietly reached into his left hand. In the sleeve, he took out the jade pendant and squeezed it hard, almost wanting to crush it into powder.The traces of bruises proved that there was a heart-wrenching pain in his hand, but he didn't notice it at the time.

He returned to the pavilion, sat and stared at the jade pendant for a long time, and then carefully put it away.He summoned the escort of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and ordered the escort to arrest and execute the two palace servants who led the way for Zong Jun for their contempt and dereliction of duty.

10. Machiavellian
It snowed heavily on the day Zong Juan returned to Shangjing.In order to achieve speed, Zong Jun did not take a car, but came galloping on a thousand-mile steed. It was already late at night when he entered the city, and snowflakes like goose feathers were still flying in the sky endlessly. Every step the horse took would leave a hoofprint about half a foot deep.

As soon as he approached the city gate, he saw a man riding a horse standing quietly under the city tower. He was tall and fat, with a sullen face and his hands on the saber, showing anger. It can be seen that he had waited for a long time, and a thick layer of snow had accumulated on his hat and shoulders. When he saw Zong Juan, he raised his voice and said, "You're back!"

Zong Juan led his horse over, and bowed his hands to him: "Zong Pan, I haven't seen you for a long time, how is everything going?"

Zong Pan said displeased: "Why didn't you discuss with me first when you went on a mission this time? You became even more dishonest once you left Zonggan, and took the opportunity to instigate the emperor to dismiss several of our people. Today I got news again that he Draw up a list of promoted officials, naturally most of them are his people, and that kid actually agrees, write down the imperial decree and read it at the court tomorrow."

Zong Jun smiled and said: "This time I went on a mission on a whim. I suddenly wanted to see the scenery of the Southern Dynasty. I made the decision the day before I left, so I didn't discuss it with you. Did the emperor do this because you recently made him unhappy?"

Zong Pan couldn't help muttering and cursing in a low voice, and while leading Zong Jun into the city, he said angrily: "That kid is going too far! Last time he said it's not good for me to bring a saber into the palace, so I won't bring it , It’s enough to give him face, but he’s going to make an inch of it. A few days ago, I just scolded Zonggan a few times in front of him, and he almost turned against me. Damn, you’re not allowed to bring knives, and people are not allowed to scold. , just let me be his grandson!"

Zong Juan shook his head and said, "He's always willing to coax you. If you tell him well with a smile on your face, he will listen to what you say."

"Not necessarily!" Zong Pan resolutely objected, "This kid has been emperor for several years. He is not very capable, but the emperor has learned a lot about his temper. He is stubborn. If you disagree with what he decides, he will win over others and change his ways. against you."

Zong Juan thought for a while, then nodded: "This kid seems to be getting more and more determined... Maybe it's time to be tough on him."

The two rode horses side by side and chatted all the way, during which Zong Pan complained to Zong Jun about Wan Yan Quan's behavior, Zong Jun mused, and occasionally responded with a few words.When he reached the intersection of the main road, Zong Pan pointed in the direction of the palace: "You enter the palace quickly and submit his imperial decree. It will be too late tomorrow. He won't listen to my words now. I want to enter the palace tonight and he won't let the guards of the palace city give it to me." Open the door. In a fit of anger, I ran to the city gate to wait for you, because I heard that you came back today, and I waited for most of the night, so you must teach him a lesson and vent your anger on me."

Zong Juan smiled: "Okay."

So Zong Pan said goodbye to him, walked to another road, and rode his horse back to his residence.Zong Juan watched him go away with a smile, thinking that although this person holds a lot of power, he hasn't made any progress over the years, and is still like a big firecracker that is about to go off, rough and simple.

The relationship between him and Zong Pan was due to Roufu, and it was also broken because of "Roufu".

In the winter of the year Rou Fu returned to the south, Zong Jun's retainers saw a Song girl who looked exactly like Rou Fu in the slums of Shangjing. Overjoyed, they immediately took her back and presented it to Zong Jun as a treasure.

The woman's name was Li Jingshan, who was originally a nun at Qianming Temple in Bianjing. During the Jingkang Incident, she was plundered into the army by Jin people and brought to Shangjing.Zong Juan kept her by his side, intentionally training her, and made offerings with rich clothes and fine food, but in the end he didn't accept her as his concubine, but gave her to Zong Pan.Zong Pan was delighted when he saw it, so he accepted it, and his attitude towards Zong Jun eased.Later, it became Zong Jun's habit to collect women who looked a little like Rou Fu. From Beijing to Tokyo, he found more than ten women over the years.In the first year of Tianjuan, Zong Jun was ordered to enter the court. Wanyan Quan's original intention was to let him join forces with his half-brother Zong Qian to restrain the arrogant and domineering Zong Pan. As soon as Jun was granted the title of king, he took the initiative to visit Zong Pan, and brought ten soft-looking women with him.Those women danced in front of Zong Pan, seeing Zong Pan fascinated, and Zong Jun flattered him wholeheartedly, so Zong Pan smiled with them, drank and feasted all night long.

Zong Pan then becomes a pawn in the contest between Zong Jun and Zong Gan.

Zong Juan has been waiting for many years to be able to fight Zong Gan against this day.

Back then, in order to make Wanyan Quan the crown prince smoothly, Zong Jun taught him to win over Zong Han, the most powerful prime minister.Sure enough, after Wan Yan Quan persuaded Wan Yan Sheng to give Zong Han a certificate of immunity, Zong Han has since then fully supported Wan Yan Quan.In the eighth year of Tianhui, Wan Yan Gao passed away, and Wan Yan Sheng intended to appoint his son Zong Pan as the new Crown Prince. Zong Han secretly opposed it.Two years later, Zong Han entered the palace together with Wanyan Xiyin and Zong Qian, and repeatedly urged Wanyan Sheng to establish Wanyan Quan.Although Wanyan Sheng was reluctant, but seeing that the three of them were all important ministers, they were forced by the brotherhood and the ancestral system, and their righteousness could not be taken away, so he had no choice but to reluctantly agree, announcing that Wanyan Quan, the grandson of the Taizu, was the most knowledgeable, But at the same time, the prince Zongpan was also granted the title of Kulubo Jilie, and Zonggan, Zuo Bojilie, and Marshal Zong Han were both assistant ministers.

In the 13th year of Tianhui, Wanyan Sheng died of illness, and Wan Yanquan, the emperor, was sitting in front of the coffin.Thanks to the new emperor, Zong Han's power is in full swing, and the government is completely controlled by him.The sixteen or seventeen-year-old little emperor was unwilling to be a puppet, and quietly asked Zong Jun, who had been promoted to stay in Tokyo, for help by letter.Under Zong Juan's instruction, Wan Yanquan exchanged positions, appointed Zonghan as the Taibao and the governor of the three provinces, made him the king of Jin, and transferred him back to the court from the Central Plains. Taifu, together with Zong Han, leads the three provinces.In this way, Zong Han was added to the ranks on the surface, but his military power had been cut off invisibly, and Zong Pan and Zong Gan also shared some of his political power.Zong Han's confidantes, headed by Gao Qingyi who stayed behind in Xijing, were also transferred to the court to restrain Wan Yanquan.

Because Zong Han prevented Wan Yansheng from making Zong Pan the crown prince, Zong Pan hated Zong Han deeply and wanted to pull him down.In the 15th year of Tianhui, Zong Jun secretly offered a plan to Zong Han who joined forces with Zong Pan to deal a heavy blow to Zong Han.Inform Wan Yanquan and ask him to investigate Gao Qingyi's finances.This is a very good way to convict. There are few high-ranking ministers who are completely clean, and Gao Qingyi is no exception. If you want to investigate, you can always find mistakes.Soon after, Wan Yanquan imprisoned Gao Qingyi for corruption and ordered the execution of the chieftain.

Zong Han was furious, but only then did he realize that he had no military power in his hands, and was coerced by Zong Pan and Zong Gan, so he was powerless to return to heaven.In desperation, he had no choice but to meet Wanyan Quan and plead: "If Your Majesty spares Gao Qingyi and pardons his death crime, I am willing to dismiss the official and serve the people."

Wanyan Quan only smiled, and said kindly: "The Taibao, please go back, and stay at the mansion to wait for the good news."

The "good news" that Zong Han waited for was the news that Wan Yanquan ordered Gao Qingyi to be executed ahead of schedule, and his other two confidantes, Shanxi Road Transit Envoy Liu Si, and Suzhou Defense Envoy Li Xinglin were executed and dismissed respectively.

Before Gao Qingyi's execution, Zong Han went to the execution ground to cry goodbye.Gao Qingyi knelt down towards Zonghan and said, "My father-in-law had listened to me earlier. How could it be today? After my death, the father-in-law must take good care of himself."

Zong Han also sobbed, watching helplessly as his confidant who had been with him for many years was shown to the public.

Gao Qingyi's parting words were Zong Han's last scourge.

At that time, Zong Jun returned to Beijing to report on his duties and met Wan Yan Quan.Wanyan Quan was overjoyed, and had a secret conversation with him, but he had doubts about Gao Qingyi's words: "According to my eighth uncle, what does he mean by these words?"

Zong Juan didn't lift his eyelids, turned the cup a few times and said, "Obviously, Gao Qingyi once persuaded Zong Han to rebel. Zong Han still had scruples at that time, so he didn't agree."

As soon as he heard the word "rebellion", Wanyan Quan's face turned cold, and his stern eyes flashed past.

Zong Juan pretended not to see him, and waited until he asked again: "Uncle Ba, what should I do with Zong Han now?"

"Zong Han holds great power and harbors dissent. People all over the country say..." Zong Jun watched Yan Quan with a slight smile, and uttered the last two words: "Killable."

Wanyan Quan immediately ordered Zong Han to be secretly arrested and imprisoned, but he was not punished for a while considering the reaction of the officials.

One night, Zong Juan stepped into the prison, walked up to the imprisoned Zong Han, smiled vaguely, and looked at him with his hands behind his back: "The Taibao will meet my second brother under Jiuquan in the future, please say hello to him for me .”

The disheveled Zong Han stared at him for a while with bloodshot, cloudy eyes, and suddenly realized: "Zong Juan, it's you! You thought I was the one who killed your second brother, so you pretended that Wanyan Quan was so cruel." I!"

Zong Juan raised his eyebrows and said nothing.

Zong Han waved his head again and again: "It's not me...Although I had fights with your second brother at that time, I don't bother to do harm in private..."

"It's true that you didn't do it, but you knew that someone wanted to harm him, but you didn't save him." Zong Juan possessed himself to Zong Han who was astonished, "Say, who is that person?"

Zong Han stared at him blankly for a moment, then suddenly laughed loudly: "I know who it is, but I won't tell you. I want to keep this person in the dark all the time, and kill you when you are unprepared !"

"Do you really think I don't know?" Zong Juan sneered, "The medical officer back then was Zong Qian."

Zong Han's eyes widened: "You, how do you know?"

Zong Juan said: "After so many years, I have now figured out what I didn't understand before, especially when the person who hurt my second brother finally couldn't help it and stretched out his claws towards the power."

Zong Han said angrily: "Then what are you doing here? Are you showing off your might?"

Zong Juan sneered: "I just want you to die clearly." After saying that, he walked towards the prison door with a smile on his face.With the obstacle of Zong Han removed, he can concentrate on competing with Zong Gan from now on.

"Get out, you villain who hides behind others and plays tricks!" Zong Han pointed at his back and scolded, "Do you think you are avenging your second brother? No! You are just using the name of revenge to cover up your ulterior ambition ! If your second brother lived to this day and was in my position, he would still be tricked by you! But don’t be too complacent, the insidious and cunning jackal will play with fire and set himself on fire one day, and be torn to pieces by other wild beasts!"

From then on, Zong Han scolded him endlessly, refused to eat, and only frequently asked for wine to drink. Soon after, he went on a hunger strike and drank to death.

11. Lone Owl
Walking to the main gate of the palace, Zong Jun reined in his horse and stood up, sweeping the guards outside the gate: "Open the gate."

He just came back from abroad, he didn't wear court uniform, and the guards were new soldiers who didn't recognize him. Seeing his attitude, he couldn't help being furious: "Where are the untouchables so arrogant? You know that the palace is your vegetable garden, and you can enter it if you want." What's more, it's getting late and the gate of the palace has already been closed, and if it wasn't for the order of the Holy King, the Heavenly King and Lao Tzu wouldn't be able to open it even when he came."

Zong Juan said coldly: "I have something important to meet with you, please open the door immediately and inform me."

The guard shouted: "Miansheng? Is there a fish charm?"

Zong Jun replied: "The incident happened suddenly, Yuyu is still in the mansion, so she didn't have time to wear it."

After Wanyan Quan ascended the throne, imitating the system of the Southern Dynasties, he ordered the prince's officials to wear fish as a letter to enter and leave the imperial city. According to the official level, they were made of gold, silver, and copper into carp shapes, called fish charms, and engraved with the official's name, official position, etc. The basic information is tied around the waist in a bag, which is a symbol of official status and status. Among them, the prince wears a jade belt and a jade fish.

"Yuyu?" The guard looked up and down the dusty Zong Juan, apparently not believing that he was the prince, and sneered: "You have Yuyu, and I also have the Peiyu double fish bag!"

The Peiyu double fish bag is the crown prince's letter.Hearing the words, Zong Juan drew the horse closer to him, lowered his eyes and said, "Is that so..."

Before he finished speaking, he raised the knife and dropped it, blood flashed, and the guard's head fell to the ground before he could shout.

The surrounding guards immediately erupted, and surrounded Zong Jun with swords and spears.The imperial guard on the city tower heard the commotion and rushed out from the inside, shouting angrily: "Bold thief, how dare you break into the ban at night..." Before the word "Gong" was uttered, he saw Qing Zongjun's face, he was immediately discouraged, and said in a low voice: "It turned out to be Lord Chen..."

Zong Juan smiled, drew the knife back to its sheath, and then glanced at the guards surrounding him. The guards understood and waved them back immediately. Then Zong Juan slowly said: "I have something to do, please open the door for me, sir. And inform the Holy Majesty to ask him to go to the Book Pavilion."

The imperial guard agreed and did so immediately.After the door opened, Zong Juan rode his horse in without dismounting. The imperial guard stared at his saber again and again, hesitating to speak, but finally said nothing.

When Zong Juan's figure disappeared, a soldier whispered, "Wasn't Lord Chen going into the palace without dismounting his horse and wearing a sword, is it against the sacred order?"

The imperial guard sighed, and said: "He is now a celebrity in front of the emperor, and even the Holy Majesty gives him three points... This posture is very similar to the prime minister of the country when he was in glory."

Zong Juan sat down in the book pavilion first, and waited for a while before Wanyan Quan hurried over.As if awakened from a dream, he was disheveled, he didn't even fasten the black rhinoceros belt on his light yellow robe, he walked in a hurry, he was slightly out of breath, and his face was flushed.

Zong Juan got up and wanted to kneel down to pay respects, but Wanyan Quan hurriedly put his hands together: "Eighth Uncle, excuse me."

Zong Juan didn't insist either, and took advantage of the situation to flatten his body, and sat down after being signaled by Wanyan Quan, and the two began to greet each other.After absent-mindedly asking a few words about the situation and customs of the Southern Dynasty, Wanyan Quan finally asked him: "The eighth uncle hastily entered the palace tonight, why?"

"I heard that His Majesty wants to promote a group of officials, and the imperial decree has been drawn up. Appointing important ministers is related to the country, the country, and the ministers. Since they eat the king's salary, they dare not ignore it. Can your majesty give me the imperial edict?" Zong Jun said softly , smiling politely and looking forward to seeing Yan Quan, that attitude made Wanyan Quan very embarrassed.

After hesitating for a long time, Wanyan Quan reached out to take a volume of imperial edict from the case and handed it to Zong Jun.

After unfolding it, it turns out that the officials listed in the imperial edict are all trusted followers of Zong Gan and Zong Bi.The 20-year-old young emperor has also learned to balance the power of officials and factions, and wants to use Zonggan Zongbi to contain Zongpan, Talan and Zongjun himself.Zong Juan didn't change his face, and said to Wanyan Quan: "Your Majesty seems to be careless, these candidates may not all be suitable."

"Oh?" Wanyan Quan bowed slightly to him, "Eighth Uncle thinks, what's wrong?"

Zong Juan pointed to the names on the imperial edict one by one, and still said with a pleasant face: "Ulun is definitely Zong Han's old party, and he escaped from being implicated by joining Zong Gan in time, but how can such unrighteous people be reused? A Lisu was appointed to Hanzhou During the guard period, his daughter actually had an affair with Zhao Kai, a prisoner of the Song Dynasty. There is no way to teach her daughter, so how can she control the soldiers under her command? Zonggan’s son Wanyan Liang is only 17 years old and has no military achievements. ? If your majesty insists on going his own way, the officials will criticize you, saying that your majesty is favoritism..."

Wanyan Quan didn't refute, just bowed her head and listened carefully.After Zong Juan had approved almost everyone on the list, and briefly introduced a few candidates he thought were suitable, Wanyan Quan still remained silent. Zong Juan put down the edict and didn't say anything more. There was an awkward silence.

Also because of this silence, the voices outside became distinct, and both of them suddenly heard a woman crying faintly from the harem.

Wanyan Quan's expression changed a little, and he called the maids outside the pavilion to come in and ordered: "Go and see what happened."

The palace lady took the order and went away, and came back in a while to report: "The queen said that Mrs. Tu Dan went to bed without her permission, which violated the palace rules, and she is being punished."

Wan Yanqian suddenly felt embarrassed.Tu Shan cried more and more miserably, Wanyan Quan secretly glanced at Zong Jun's expression, looking very disturbed.

His queen, Pei Manshi, was extravagant and extravagant, with a strong temper and a tough way to control the harem. She didn't even pay attention to Wanyan Quan, and Wanyan Quan seemed to be quite afraid of her, so that the emperor became a court official because of his fear of guilt. Big joke.

If you can't even control the harem, how can you control the world?Zong Juan smiled from the bottom of his heart, but he didn't show it on his face. Seeing Wanyan Quan fidgeting, he suggested: "Your Majesty, go and have a look. I will wait here."

Wanyan Quan immediately stood up and said: "Ba Shu wait a moment, I will come as soon as I go."

His intervention didn't seem to have any effect, and when he returned, the harem cries continued.

With a trace of anger, but still helpless, Wanyan Quan went back to the book pavilion and sat down, frowning.

Zong Jun showed a smile and didn't mention the matter of the harem. He directly handed a newly drafted imperial edict to Wanyan Quan, and said casually: "Your Majesty has a lot of things to do every day, so there is no need to do such trivial things as revising the imperial edict. I would like to share your worries for His Majesty, and the imperial edict has been revised, please have a look at it.”

Wanyan Quan accepted it in surprise, but saw that the official titles in the imperial edict were still those official titles, but most of the officials' names had been changed. As a result, almost all the promoted people became followers of Zong Jun and Zong Pan.

He threw the imperial edict onto the table and said coldly, "When did I ask Eighth Uncle to revise the imperial edict?"

Zong Juan pretended to be surprised: "Does Your Majesty disagree with my minister's opinion? Then why didn't you say it just now? Seeing that Your Majesty was silent, I said that His Majesty acquiesced, so I boldly changed the imperial edict."

Wanyan Quan looked at the imperial case and Zong Juan's side, but he didn't see the original edict, so he asked Zong Juan: "Where is the original edict?"

Zong Juan replied as if nothing had happened: "The minister just wanted to read it again, but the light in the pavilion was dim, so I took a closer look by candlelight. I didn't want the edict to be lit by the candle, and the minister was unable to rescue it, and it was already burned."

Wan Yanquan was silent again.Under Zong Jun's speechless gaze, he finally unfolded Zong Jun's newly drafted edict, read it carefully, and then added a seal on it.

Zong Juan smiled again, leaned forward and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

Wan Yanquan looked at him and sighed: "Uncle Ba is my savior, and he has always thought of me in everything he has done for many years. This time, he must be right."

Zong Juan smiled and said, "I've been working hard, it's good that Your Majesty understands."

"Uncle Ba, there is one thing I still don't understand..." Wan Yanquan thought about it, and asked him cautiously, "Didn't you say that Zong Pan was violent before, and you had little contact with him and you were closer to Zong Gan? Why? Has your attitude towards them changed completely?"

"Your Majesty," Zong Juan stood up straight and bowed towards Wanyan Quan, "A roaring tiger is actually not scary, what is scary is a jackal that approaches you silently and bites you when you are not defending yourself."

Wan Yanquan looked at him for a long time, then suddenly smiled slightly: "Thank you Bashu, I think I understand."

Zong Juan left with a smile, and Wan Yanquan personally sent him outside the book pavilion. When Zong Jun said goodbye again, he looked down at Zong Jun's saber, and asked hesitantly, "Can the eighth uncle enter the palace without a saber next time?"

There was still the blood of the guard killed by Zong Jun on the saber, which made Wanyan's eyes cast a layer of obvious panic.Zong Juan smiled, nodded and said: "Because I just returned from a mission, I didn't go back to the mansion to remove the knife, so I brought the knife inside in a hurry. Please forgive me, Your Majesty, and I will never do it again next time."

Wanyan Quan seemed to breathe a sigh of relief: "That's good."

Zong Juan bid farewell to him, got on his horse and left the palace under his watchful eyes, thinking that this child is quite strange, sometimes very smart, sometimes very cowardly, fearful of both internal affairs and knives, his youthful courage is gone.

However, he didn't know that as soon as he turned around, Wanyan's timid expression faded instantly, and he stared at him with a cold face, like a lone owl in the forest, those deep eyes glowing with hatred in the dark night.

12. Shadow
It's the third watch to drive the horse back to the house.Turning around the last street corner, I saw the main entrance of the palace was half open, the orange halo of several lanterns scattered on the white snow, a woman stood quietly amidst the sound of dripping and leaking, the back of the tunic blouse trailed the floor for more than a foot, and the light green skirt Like snow lotus blooming.

Seeing him, she smiled slightly and stood still, waiting for him to approach.

He dismounted in front of the door and asked, "Are you waiting for me?"

She smiled and lowered her head: "I heard the sound of horseshoes."

But feeling warm in his heart, he led the horse with one hand and wrapped her waist as thin as a willow with the other, and his voice became extremely gentle: "Let's go in and string beads."

In the 14th year of Tianhui, the Empress Dowager He Shilie died. This virtuous and wise woman died in Qingyuan Palace after a lifetime of trials and hardships.Before she died, she once said to Zong Jun who was guarding the sickbed: "The imperial concubines of the Southern Dynasty mostly held resentment, and they were all ominous people. The three related to you, Xian Fu died, Ning Fu and Rou Fu left. , This is very good. If you are dead, you don’t have to think about it; if you are gone, don’t look for it again. No matter whether you are soft or happy, if you don’t meet again in this life, it will be a blessing for you.”

At that time, thinking that there was little hope of seeing them again, Zong Juan just smiled and said, "Mother is worrying too much, I probably won't have the chance to see them again."

But he didn't expect that after seeing Rou Fu, he accepted Ning Fu.

Ning Fu was picked up by him by accident.

Zong Jun returned from Tokyo in the first year of Tianjuan. Although he had a close relationship with Zong Pan, he never clashed with Zong Gan in public. Although the two fought fiercely in private, they both managed to save face. When they met, they still hugged and exchanged greetings. The state is very affectionate.After Zong Jun returned to Beijing, he did not forget to go to the Zonggan Mansion to greet his elder brother while visiting Zong Pan. When he went there that day, he met Ning Fu.

Entering Zonggan's mansion, he saw Zonggan sitting in the hall holding a horsewhip with an angry expression on his face. His son Wan Yanliang was kneeling in front of him, his robe was torn in several places, obviously he was beaten by Zonggan.

"My son doesn't live up to his expectations. He spends his time outside. That's fine. I don't want to talk about him. I don't want him to become an idiot. Recently, he bought a broom star from Yanjing who hit Kefu." Zong Qian pointed at his son Xiang Zongjun Explanation: "I heard people say that the woman killed four husbands when she was in Xia Kingdom, and each of them died badly. This year, she was sold to Yanjing, and the person who took her died of a sudden illness within a few days. Since then, no one If you dare to buy her again, who knows that this bastard doesn't believe in evil, so he bought her back and hid it quietly at home, I just found out about it today, so I taught him a lesson and made my eighth brother laugh."

Wan Yanliang is a playboy, he usually likes to be arty, and under Wanyan Quan's suggestion, he wears Han clothes, learns Chinese characters, composes Chinese poems, and learns Chinese etiquette.Zong Juan didn't find it strange, but said with a smile: "A Liang is young and full of vigor, such things are inevitable. After a year or two, he will naturally become sensible. Brother, don't need to get angry."

Wan Yanliang was dissatisfied when he heard the words, and muttered and retorted: "I'm not lustful. She was not beautiful. I bought her only because she was the emperor of the Southern Dynasty, and asked her to teach me how to play with elegance."

Empress of the Southern Dynasties?Zong Juan was taken aback for a moment, and then remembered that Zong Qian had just mentioned that this woman was resold from Xixia, so he asked Zong Gan, "Can I meet this woman?"

Zong Gan agreed, and ordered his servants to bring the daughter out.

Still pale and thin.He recognized Ningfu Diji who had been away for 11 years at a glance.

She raised her eyes to look at him, her eyes were still soft and peaceful, she looked clear, weak and harmless, although there were faint traces of vicissitudes between her brows, it gave her the charm of a young woman.

She also recognized him and smiled calmly at him.Like a gentle breeze and light rain, he had a strange feeling in his heart, prompting him to say to Wan Yanliang: "Can you transfer her to me?"

He bought her back for a hundred gold.It is also difficult for me to explain this behavior. The feeling is similar to accidentally seeing something discarded many years ago, and suddenly I feel that this thing is not completely worthless, and it is good to pick it up again.

"How did you survive all these years?" Zong Juan asked her later, "You are so weak, I thought you wouldn't last long."

"Live like a weed." Ning Fu replied with a smile, her tone calm as if what she was talking about was just the fate of others.

Zong Juan asked again: "Do you still have hope in your heart and want to find your mother?"

Ning Fu shook his head: "I don't think I can see my mother again. Ever since my father smashed the altar of my mother's begging for a son, I have no hope in my heart. Hope is just used to trick twenty sisters into living stuff. I'm still alive because I've passed the time of wanting to die, and I won't want to die any more."

She became his new concubine Ji.He was not without doubts about the strange causes of death of her five previous husbands. At first, he would not sleep deeply when he slept with her. Although he closed his eyes, he was still observing her every move.But she seemed to really want to have a stable life, to live peacefully under his protection, to lower her eyebrows during the day, and to have fun at night, without the slightest change.After several months, Zong Juan finally felt relieved, and decided that accepting her was the right choice. When he was in an impetuous mood, looking at her gentle expression, he would feel at peace in his heart.

After returning that night, Zong Juan took a bath under Ning Fu's personal service.When the water temperature was slightly cool, she used a wooden ladle to repeatedly heat the water in the bucket.The water gradually became warmer again, and the steam mixed with the fragrance of spices curled up, Zong Juan was a little drowsy, but the feeling was strangely comfortable.Ning Fu reached out his hand into the water to test the temperature, he gently grabbed it, brought it to his lips and kissed it.Her fingers trembled slightly, but she returned to normal immediately, slipped out of his hand calmly, and continued to add water.

After lingering late at night, he stretched out his arms and asked her to lie in his arms with his arms as a pillow.She also obediently leaned sideways close to him and slept half curled up.He slowly stroked her body and whispered: "Beads, I can touch your bones."

She smiled faintly in his arms: "My lord is laughing again, beaded and skinny."

He said, "No. I mean the bones of the heart...that's the only similarity between you and your sister."

She added softly: "It's also the reason why the prince keeps me by my side."

His body stiffened for a moment, and then he sighed: "Chuanzhu, you are very good, but don't remind me that you are very smart."

He let her go and fell into a deep sleep.She didn't close her eyes, she sometimes looked out of the window, and sometimes turned to look at the man beside her.

After a while, someone's figure landed on the window screen, the person knocked on the window lattice, and then flashed past.

"My lord." Ning Fu softly called Zong Jun, seeing that he didn't respond, he put the back of his hand lightly on his eyelids, but he didn't feel the slightest movement. After confirming that he was indeed asleep, he put on his clothes and dressed carefully. Dressed in a tunic and a skirt, he walked out slowly.

Turning to the back garden where there is no one in the middle of the night, under the shadowy big tree, a mysterious figure finally appears.It was a man in the costume of the Kingdom of Jin, with shaved hair and shaved head, but Ning Fu took a letter written in Chinese characters from him.

After Ning Fu read through the rather long letter under the faint moonlight, the man handed her another wooden box.

Ning Fu opened it, and inside was a shiny jade pendant.Hollowed out and decorated with Yinxian patterns, the images of Haidongqing and Guyan are lifelike.

After pondering for a long time, Ning Fu finally nodded, and the man felt relieved, and immediately jumped onto the wall and disappeared without a trace.

After putting away the jade pendant and the letter, Ning Fu's frail figure floated like a ghost across the courtyard where the cold branches swayed gently in the night wind.Outside the small gate of the hidden back garden, there was a carriage waiting for her.

She got into the carriage quietly, the carriage started, gradually accelerated, and drove towards the palace.

13. Yangui
Zhao Gou accepted the imperial edict of the Kingdom of Jin and the conditions for peace negotiation, and issued an edict in the ninth year of Shaoxing (the second year of Jin Tianjuan) at Renwu Shuo, the first month of the spring, announcing: "Da Jin has sent envoys to make peace and return the old land." He also emphasized that "in response to the lawsuit To change the text, to preserve the general principles of the two countries, and not to slander."Afterwards, the world was amnesty, and Wang Lun, the hero, was appointed as the important task, and he was born as a Jinshi. In addition to being a scholar of the Duanming Palace and a member of the Privy Council, he was appointed as a member of the Fengzi Palace, and the Empress Dowager was invited. Wanyan Zongbi handed over the land boundaries and took back the three capitals of East, West, and South, as well as Henan and Shaanxi.

Since it was expected to welcome back the Empress Dowager, Zhao Gou also ordered a large-scale construction project in Da Nei to rebuild the old Chengqing Courtyard into the Empress Dowager's palace.

And in the first month of this year, the gold lord Wanyan Quan also appointed Zuo Prime Minister Chen Wang Zongjuan as the Taibao to lead the affairs of the three provinces, and he was granted the title of King Yan by Jin.So far, the faction of Zong Jun, Zong Pan, and Ta Lan has been in power.

In the third month of Dinghai, Zhao Gou named Yingfu's adopted son Chu Chongguogong.The people in the palace said that it was because of the consideration of the baby that they were extra kind.Zhao Gou doesn't like Qu, who is lively and slightly frivolous, but she is a baby who has served Zhao Go wholeheartedly for many years, gentle and docile, beyond reproach.These years Zhao Gou didn't often stay with his concubines, if he did, most likely he would go to the Yingfu Pavilion.Yingfu has the lowest status among the concubines, but she is the most favored by Zhao Gou.

Before Jin enfeoffed Qu, Zhao Gou had told Yingfu first, Yingfu was terrified, and knelt down and begged Zhao Gou to take back his life: "The concubine has no way to teach his son, and Qu is too naughty, not as stable as Yuan. Now if Jin feuds the country Duke and Yuan are side by side, my mother and son will not be ridiculed by the world! Please let the officials order Mr. to teach Yuan well, and it will not be too late to seal after a few years."

Zhao Gou ignored it, but said: "You don't have to worry too much, it's not much worse than Yuan." The next day, he formally issued an edict to Jin to seal him.

After receiving the conferment, Zhao Quan came in to pay her respects in the uniform of the Duke of the State, and Concubine Pan Xian, who had always been indifferent to others, suddenly became interested. She stood side by side with the Duke of Jianguo, Zhao Yuan, and smiled at Zhang Jieyu: "These two brothers are equally dignified, and they are also tall. There is no difference in general, and now even the officials are the same, people don't know which one is better, and it's hard to be partial!"

Zhang Jieyu also led Tuanfan to laugh, and replied: "What's so partial about this? They're both official princes, and I've always been in the same pain."

Yingfu also smiled and nodded repeatedly: "Sister Zhang is right."

After a few days, the apricot blossoms in the Forbidden City were in full bloom. Zhao Gou called all the family members of the palace to enjoy the flowers in the Fangchun Hall. Rou Fu had left the palace and returned to the princess's house. If there was no important event, he would not return to the palace. All the babies arrived early, but Zhang Jieyu was the only one who arrived late.Finally came, and repeatedly confessed, explaining: "Just passing by the palace where Princess Fuguo used to live, I accidentally caught a glimpse of a palace maid swinging under the cherry tree in the courtyard. I wanted to go in and scold, but when I looked closely I found that the appearance of this girl was somewhat similar to that of the eldest princess, and the swing was also beautiful, reflecting the rain of flowers, like a painting. I was stunned for a long time, but I didn't have the heart to go inside to scare her. She forgot the time and asked the officials to punish her."

As soon as Yingfu heard this, he turned to Zhao Gou, but he didn't say anything for a long time, just staring at the flowers and trees in front of him, not knowing what he was thinking, so Yingfu hurriedly laughed and said: "Sister Zhang is serious. Officials have always been generous, never So wait for a small matter to punish us."

Only then did Zhao Gou open his mouth, give Zhang Jieyu a seat, continue to drink with the concubines and enjoy the flowers, and did not ask any further questions about Zhang Jieyu's words.

The next day, the court lady was playing on the swings in Roufu Palace again. After playing for a long time, she occasionally turned her eyes, only to meet a gaze staring at her from a corner.She instantly recognized the noble color of the dress, and she jumped off the swing immediately in fright, and knelt down to pay her respects.

Zhao Gou looked down at her coldly and asked, "Who are you?"

Her petite body trembled slightly, she lowered her head and replied in a low voice: "My servant's surname is Han, her name is Qiuxi, she is a maid who has just entered the palace..."

In March Yisi, Zhao Gou named Han Qiuxi "Hongxia Pei".

This is a rare incident in the Song Palace, and it caused quite a disturbance in the palace, because Zhao Gou had not conferred any concubine for more than ten years. The status of "Hongxiapei" is very humble, and it is not among the official five-rank wives of the Song Dynasty. It is far from being compared with several concubines who have accompanied Zhao Gou for many years, but at least one message is revealed: this woman used to serve the emperor.

There are many secret rumors about the emperor's "luck" to Han Qiuxi.Some people say that the officials have been seeking medical advice secretly for many years, and it must have achieved initial results. Some people say that he accepted Qiuxi out of the need of a Taiping emperor to enrich the harem, and the way Qiuxi served him was fundamentally It is no different from other concubines.

"Sister Zhang, in your opinion, is the official family... showing any signs of recovery?" Concubine Pan Xian also asked Zhang Jieyu privately.

"How do I know?" Zhang Jieyu actually smiled brightly when faced with such an ambiguous topic, "Well, sister should ask sister Wu!"

But Yingfu people never said a word about it, they just treated Zhao Gou Xinna's Qiu Xi very well, cared about her health and care, even if Zhao Gou often ordered Qiu Xi to sleep in her bed, she was not jealous.

Rou Fu didn't want to take the initiative to enter the palace to pay her respects, and Zhao Gou didn't call her often, but Zhao Yuan would go to the princess's house to meet his aunt every three to five days. Zhao Gou would occasionally ask him about Rou Fu's recent situation, but Rou Fu didn't. He would ask him about Zhao Gou's affairs, Zhao Yuan sometimes mentioned it himself, and Rou Fu only asked about state affairs.

One day, Zhao Yuan saw a copy of "Zhenguan Political Leaders" in the princess house, his eyes lit up, and he asked Rou Fu: "Auntie also reads this book?"

Rou Fu nodded, and asked He Yan, "Are you watching too?"

"Yes." Zhao Yuan replied.He is 14 years old, but he is young and mature, and his mind is far more mature than children of the same age. "I read it last year, and the emperor ordered me to read it several times in the past few days, saying that the barbarian gold master has memorized this book by heart." , and I have quite a lot of experience, how can I, the prince of the Song Dynasty, not study it carefully."

"Has a lot of experience?" Rou Fu wondered, "How does your father know what the gold master has?"

Zhao Yuan said: "A few days ago, my father was watching me study in Zishan Hall. Suddenly, an envoy sent by Wang Lun from Tokyo rushed to present a secret letter. The envoy also whispered the details to my father, as if he was very worried. But the emperor's expression did not change after hearing this, and he ordered the messenger to leave after a few casual instructions. Afterwards, the emperor walked up to me, opened the secret letter for me to read, and said with a smile: "The barbarian gold master can actually You have learned "Zhenguan Zhengyao" so well, Yuan, you have to work hard." I looked at it, and saw on the letterhead that there was a dialogue between the gold lord Wan Yanquan and the Hanlin scholar Han Fang."

Rou Fu immediately asked: "What are they talking about?"

"It seems to be talking about how to use people to govern the country. I don't quite understand it, but since my father asked me to read it, I will naturally write it down." Zhao Yuan thought for a while, and said the conversation roughly, "June is not over yet, The Lord of Gold said to his courtiers: "I often read "Zhenguan Zhengyao" and saw the words of its monarchs and ministers. I feel very wonderful. It can be used as a reference for governing the country." Xuanling and Du Ruhui were devoted to loyalty and sincerity, and they were the perfect combination to help achieve the rule of Zhenguan. Although this book is simple, it is enough to be a law." The gold master asked him: "Taizong is certainly a generation of virtuous emperors, but what about Tang Minghuang?" Han Fang Answer: "Since Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, only Emperor Ming and Emperor Xianzong could be regarded as Ming emperors. However, Emperor Ming had a beginning but never an end. In the early days, because it was difficult to obtain the position, it was only right to appoint good ministers like Yao Chong and Song Jing. It was a prosperous Kaiyuan era. It is a pity that in the last years, trusting Li Linfu and other treacherous people led to Tianbao's chaos. If you can manage the government and employ people carefully, and start well and end well, then the wind of Zhenguan will not be hard to follow.' After hearing this, the gold master repeatedly praised him, and asked: 'What week What about King Cheng?" Han Fang said, "King Cheng of Zhou was also a virtuous king in ancient times." The Lord of Jin said, "Although King Cheng is a virtuous man, he still needs to be assisted by the Duke of Zhou. Later generations suspect that Duke Zhou killed his siblings. In my opinion, If it is for the great plan of the society, it is not wrong.'”

Rou Fu listened silently at first, and when he heard the last sentence, his eyelids trembled slightly, and after a while, he sighed: "That child, he must be more than [-] years old this year..." Looking at Zhao Yuan again, he asked, "It's over." Is Yan Quan still in power?"

"Father said that he is still a puppet now." Zhao Yuan replied, "In the early years, Wanyan Zonghan monopolized the power. After his death, Zongpan and Zongqian factions fought for power. After one faction, almost all major affairs in the court and China are controlled by them."

"Then..." Rou Fu asked hesitantly, "Zong Pan, Ta Lan, and... Zong Jun, who is the most powerful among the three?"

"Naturally Zong Pan. As we all know, he is the eldest son of Jin Taizong. He has always ignored the gold master and is the most arrogant and domineering. But I once heard my father and my husband mention that among the three, Zong Jun is the most treacherous." , and often use clever words to win over Zong Pan and be lazy, and their big plans are mostly inspired by Zong Jun..." When Zhao Yuan said this, he suddenly saw Rou Fu's face turned pale, and immediately put the topic aside, and asked her with concern, "Auntie, what's wrong with you? Is there something wrong?"

Rou Fu calmed down and shook his head slightly to show that it was okay.He bowed his head and thought for a while, then smiled again, looked at Zhao Yuan gently, and said, "Yuan, thank you for bringing such good news."

The next time Zhao Yuan brought the news that Wang Lun went to the Kingdom of Jin from Tokyo to discuss matters.

Jin You’s deputy marshal and Shen Wang Zongbi have always opposed the peace negotiation with Song Dynasty. After the Song and Jin peace talks were reached, they wanted to persuade the gold master to tear up the peace agreement. With the Southern Dynasties, there is bound to be a conspiracy with the other country. Now that the envoy of the Song Dynasty has arrived in Bianjing, he cannot make a settlement with him." An old official of Wang Lun's former Yunzhong is now under Zongbi's tent. After hearing the news, he quietly came to see the king. Lun told this.Wang Lun immediately sent someone back to the court to report, begging Zhao Gou to make preparations early, suggesting to increase troops in the Central Plains, and sending Zhang Jun, Han Shizhong, Yue Fei and Wu Jie to guard Henan and Shaanxi respectively.But Zhao Gou was neither surprised nor panicked, and he ignored Wang Lun's suggestion. He only ordered Wang Lun to continue going north, and then negotiate with Jin on various matters.

Wang Lun went there in mid-June, and in July, Rou Fu asked Zhao Yuan from time to time, "Did you hear from Wang Lun?"

Zhao Yuan always shook his head, and later he was also surprised: "In the past, don't tell the envoy to discuss matters, even if he finds out some news about some Jin people, he will quickly send someone to report, but this time is an exception. No audio at all."

Due to the abnormal situation of the mission, the court once again fainted.The main peace faction is worried about the change of the peace agreement, and the main war faction has renewed ambitions to clean up the old mountains and rivers. The rustling autumn wind outside Lin'an City can easily remind people of Jin Ge's voice, but this year's Mid-Autumn Festival in the city is strangely lively.

At night, the streets and alleys of Lin'an are brightly lit, and merchants selling goods for the occasion, such as woolen yarn, candied fruit, and incense shops, all lay out their goods in a dazzling array, boasting more and competing for their best, which makes tourists dizzy.During the ban, a moon appreciation feast was set up in Yigui Pavilion, called "Yangui Paidang", where the princes, grandchildren, nobles and palace family members gathered to drink wine, enjoy the moon, watch singing and dancing, and enjoy the joy all night long, straight to the world.

The most beautiful scene of the Mid-Autumn Festival in the south of the Yangtze River is on the Qiantang River.Scholars and ladies like to light a small sheepskin water lamp called "a little red" and let it drift away with the waves on the river, so as to pray to the god of the river, wishing peace in the world, peace and happiness for themselves and their families, and fulfilling their long-cherished wishes .There are many people lighting the lamps, and there are hundreds of thousands of small water lamps on the river. Looking far away, the lights are densely flickering on the water, spreading along the waterway, as bright as the Milky Way.

The palace family members also learned this custom, and put "a little red" in the Imperial Pond in the Forbidden City, praying and making wishes on the cluster of shimmering lights that represent hope.Seeing that Zhang Jieyu, Pan Xianfei, Wu Cairen and others had all been released, but Rou Fushang was still sitting still, Zhao Yuan personally picked out a small water lantern and sent it over: "Auntie, please light one too."

Rou Fu hesitated for a moment, but because he couldn't bear to accept his wishes, he still took it after all, got up and walked slowly towards the edge of the pool.

When I got to the poolside, I realized that I should find a kindling first, and I was about to turn around and call a maid to come over with a lantern, when someone whispered in my ear, "I'll come."

Turning to the side, I saw Zhao Gou's deep eyes.He held a small palace lantern in his left hand, and a slender wax stick in his right hand. He drew the wax stick into the lamp to get the kindling, then lowered his head and leisurely lit the lamp in Rou Fu's hand.

"Your long-cherished wish has come true, let's make another wish." He looked at her softly and said.

She didn't know what he was referring to, so she asked with a frown.

He smiled slightly: "He's dead."

"You killed him?" She blurted out without asking who "he" was, and the hand holding the lamp shook slightly, as if in response to the rhythm of the flames.

He stared at the "A Little Red", a ball of flames smudged from her palm, as red as a glow.He only felt that he loved this light very much, because its moving light and shadow were gently flowing on her flawless face at this moment.

"The one who killed him was Wanyan Xiyin's son, General Daleda of Zhaowu." He deepened his smile, "This happened last month. Mr. Jin Lang conspired against Shi, and Wanyan Quan noticed and captured him. He was sent to Dali Prison. Because of this, Zong Pan, Zong Jun and others were involved, so Wanyan Quan announced that the two of them would enter the meeting separately in the name of discussing matters, and the ambush captured them. He put a lot of thought into it, and when he was summoned, he specially asked the servants to be respectful and respectful as usual, and the number of greetings was not bad at all, so that Zong Jun did not doubt that he was there. After entering the palace, first ask him to sit in the side hall and wait, and secretly cast the poisonous fragrance , causing weakness in the limbs due to poisoning, and then ordered to enter the main hall to visit the king. Da Leda had hidden behind the pillars of the main hall before... Do you know Da Leda? He is a famous warrior in the Kingdom of Jin, and his strength can defeat a hundred... Wait for Zong Jun Entering, Daleda attacked from behind, Zong Jun didn't have a sword on his body, and he was powerless to resist, so he was killed on the spot in front of Wan Yanquan."

Rou Fu didn't seem to hear this passage, and when Zhao Gou finished speaking, he looked straight at him and stared at him: "You killed him."

"The one who killed him was the gold master Wanyan Quan." Zhao Gou turned his head to avoid her stare, and said, "Zong Jun is also considered smart, and knows how to help Wanyan Quan's future, but unfortunately in the end, his skills are not enough, and he gets carried away with complacency. , underestimated Wanyan Quan, and exposed his ambition too quickly in front of him. In his eyes, Wanyan Quan is probably always a young child who can be controlled by him. It is said that Zong Pan is domineering, and Zong Jun has not been much in the past. Rang, acted arrogantly, and even drafted an imperial edict, using both soft and hard methods against Wanyan Quan, forcing him to seal the release. As for the eradication of dissidents, he did a lot of things like forming cliques and seeking power. After his death, Wanyan Quan One of the crimes against him was "struggle to abandon the old, and want to isolate the court". In recent years, Wanyan Quan has become increasingly jealous of Zong Jun, and Zong Qian and Xi Yin's faction have tried their best to win his support and have been planning a counterattack. Regarding the peace talks, Zong Bi also deeply hated Zong Jun and Zong Pan, and secretly informed Wan Yan Quan, saying that he wanted to collude with the Song Dynasty to plot rebellion..."

Hearing this, Rou Fu couldn't help but sneer: "This is not a false accusation. Last time he came to Ann, didn't you have a good talk?"

"He has this intention, but I don't believe him." Zhao Gou threw away the palace lantern in his hand with a flick of his sleeve, and said calmly, "Yi Di can't be trusted."

Seeing that Rou Fu remained silent, he continued to talk about Zong Jun's affairs: "Wanyan Quan has long paid attention to the forces that support Zong Jun's political opponents. In the first month of this year, he appointed Zong Jun as the Taibao and took charge of the three provinces. Yan Xiyin is Minister Zuo Prime Minister and servant. In the past six months, he often discussed with Zong Qian, Xi Yin and others secretly about the eradication of Zong Jun and Zong Pan. Now that the matter has been accomplished, he will not be relentless. For Zong Jun They were convicted of treason, and after killing Zong Jun, they immediately ordered the house to be ransacked, several of his youngest sons were arrested, and the rest of the family and young daughters were sent to the palace as slaves, except..."

Except for Emperor Ningfu's concubine Zhao Chuanzhu, she was named his wife by Wanyan Quan because of her meritorious service in reporting the treason.Zhao Gou paused, did not tell Rou Fu about this matter, and then couldn't help smiling again: "It is said that Zong Jun once hunted a tiger to save Yan Quan before, but he didn't expect that the one he rescued was also a young tiger. .”

After Rou Fu listened, he quietly raised his eyes to look at him, and quietly asked: "Brother Nine, where is that jade pendant?"

Zhao Gou was startled for a moment, but he didn't answer her with a cold face.

"If you're like this, kill him..." Roufu repeated, this time his tone was so flat that he didn't seem to have any emotion, and couldn't hear sadness or joy.

"Yes, I killed him." Zhao Gou suddenly turned sideways to face her, looking into her eyes calmly, "Isn't this what you have been looking forward to?"

Rou Fu was stunned, and then smiled lightly at him: "Yes, you killed him, that's great." He bent down and bent his knees to put the small water lamp on the ground, but it was not stable for a while, and the lamp fell on its side. Even when the candle was extinguished, she ignored it, stood up straight and dressed up, bowed to Zhao Gou again with a very solemn gesture, and said, "Thank you, the official."

Zhao Gou felt that her behavior was strange, and he did not respond according to the usual etiquette. He only said when she picked up the small water lamp again: "I will light it for you again."

And she shook her head, turned around without a word, walked along the pool to a place tens of steps away from him, then placed the flameless lamp on the water, flicked the water in the pool to let it float away, then stood up straight and looked at him indifferently. It disappeared in the "A Little Red" galaxy.

Leaning on the Guigui Pavilion, the scent of osmanthus flowers floats around, and the silk and bamboo orchestras still sing in harmony.The surface of the water is covered with thousands of lights, all of which are silent in her eyes.She is lonely and independent on the edge of the prosperous and prosperous half of the wall, the sky is full and the moon is perfect, but she is left alone.

(End of this chapter)