Tibet

There is a large house in Anrenfang covering an area of ​​about fifteen acres. This is the house of General Youwei and the former Longyou Jiedushi Wang Sili.

Wang Sili is a typical example of how joy can lead to sorrow. Originally, the emperor Li Ye had decided to let him take over the seat vacated by Dugu Lie and serve as the Minister of the Ministry of War, as well as perform the martial arts ceremony and wine, and Tong Zhongshu's sect.

Right Prime Minister Wei Jiansu had already talked with him.

Wang Sili was overjoyed. On the eve of the canonization, he got extremely drunk. As a result, he suffered a stroke and was paralyzed, losing feeling in his legs. The political hall received the news the next day, and on the one hand, it sent someone to visit him, and on the other hand, it reported to the emperor in time.

Li Ye withheld the signed imperial edict of appointment and immediately sent an imperial doctor to diagnose and treat him. The imperial doctor confirmed that Wang Sili was paralyzed and could not walk.

Li Ye annulled the imperial edict appointing Wang Sili. This was the first imperial edict that had been signed but then annulled since he ascended the throne.

Wang Sili was devastated and in a very low mood after the stroke. Guo Ziyi and others came to comfort him, but their repeated persuasion was of no use.

Perhaps because of his bad mood, misfortunes never come singly. Soon, Wang Sili suffered another stroke. His mouth and nose were crooked, and he could no longer speak properly.

Everyone predicted that Wang Sili might not survive this winter.

Light snow began to fall in the sky, and Wang Sili sat lonely on the steps of the inner courtyard, looking at the falling snowflakes in the courtyard. He sat on a soft couch, covered with a thick blanket.

Behind him stood a Kunlun slave with dark and shiny skin, tall and strong body, named Sang Qian.

The Kunlun slaves of the Tang Dynasty came from two sources. One was black people from Tianzhu who were sold to Chang'an by merchants from Giantuoluo. The other was prisoners of war captured during the war between Dashi and Egypt. A small number of real African blacks were also transferred. Sold to Chang'an.

Although both types of Kunlun slaves are very dark, the Tianzhu Kunlun slaves go to work on the farm, while the Dashi Kunlun slaves, because of their tall stature and strong physique, often stay in the master's house as slaves.

Although the imperial court has issued an order to abolish slavery, to be precise, it is an order to abolish slavery of ordinary people. However, the order to abolish slavery is also divided into two steps. The first step before was mainly to restore the ordinary people, that is, prostitutes, musicians, prisoners of war and other untouchable people. For civilian registration, as well as the release of official slaves and slaves under the age of twenty, slaves over the age of twenty are required to be gradually cleared within three years.

The first to bear the brunt are the slaves of official families. Emperor Li Ye issued a decree at the beginning of the year, requiring that all slaves in official houses must be released to civilian status before the end of June this year. They can continue to use them, but they must be changed to employment, wages must be paid, and personal freedom cannot be restricted. .

It is now mid-November, more than five months past the deadline, and Wang Sili has clearly violated the rules.

Sang Qian, who is behind Wang Sili, is a Kunlun slave who was sold to Chang'an during the Egyptian war. He was sold to Chang'an at the age of seventeen and bought by Wang Sili's family. It has been thirteen years. It can be said that he is loyal to Wang Sili. Wang Sili After he became paralyzed, he was responsible for carrying Wang Sili on his back.

At this time, Wang Sili pointed to a small pine tree in the courtyard. Sang Qian understood what the owner meant. There was snow on the small pine tree. It was an ornamental pine tree and could not be weighed down by snow.

Sang Gan hurriedly walked down the yard and stood on a big rock to clear the snow from the trees. Unexpectedly, the big rock was already covered with a thin layer of ice. Sang Gan's foot slipped and he lost his balance. He pressed heavily on the small pine tree and heard a "click" sound. ! ’ With a sound, the small pine tree was broken into two pieces, and the mulberry trunk also fell in the courtyard.

Sang Qian was so frightened that he quickly got up and knelt down to apologize.

When Wang Sili saw that his beloved pine tree had been broken into two pieces, he was furious. He picked up the bell on the couch and shook it, 'Clang! Bang! ’ The clear ringing of the bell rang through the yard.

A dozen soldiers rushed in from outside immediately. Wang Sili pointed at Sang Qian who was kneeling on the ground and made a killing gesture.

The soldiers were all stunned. Sang Gan was kind and everyone liked him, not to mention that he just crushed a pine tree. What a big deal. More importantly, the lord was very dependent on Sang Gan. What if the lord regretted it again one day?

However, the lord's order cannot be disobeyed. The leader of the soldiers reacted quickly and immediately ordered: "Drag him down and beat him to death with sticks!"

He winked at several of his men, who understood and stepped forward to pull Sang Gan. However, Sang Gan, who was kneeling on the ground, did not know the tacit understanding of the soldiers. He thought he was going to be beaten to death, so he quickly climbed two steps. He hugged Wang Sili's legs and cried loudly, begging him to spare his life for the sake of his thirteen years of service.

But Wang Sili's heart was as solid as stone. With a wave of his hand, the soldiers dragged Sang Qian down. At this moment, Sang Qian was desperate. He had served his master hard and without complaint for thirteen years! In the end, his life was worse than a pine tree.

Sang Qian suddenly stopped crying. He stared directly at Wang Sili and was forcefully dragged down by the soldiers.

But the soldiers did not execute him immediately, but beat him with a hundred sticks until he was dying and threw him into the cell. If the lord changed his mind, they would revive him. If the lord really had the intention to kill, then he would be killed. It is not too late to execute Sang Qian.

Kunlun Nusangqian was thrown into prison like this, waiting for the final death.

In the afternoon, Li Ye suddenly received news from his wife, Dugu Xinyue, who sent someone from Huaqing Palace, asking him to come to Huaqing Palace quickly.

Li Ye was startled, something must have happened, otherwise his wife would not be so anxious to let him go to Huaqing Palace.

He immediately asked people to prepare horses, and under the strict protection of three hundred guards, he rode to Huaqing Palace.

At dusk, Li Ye rushed to the inner palace of Huaqing Palace. Dugu Xinyue was already waiting for him. Seeing her husband arriving, she hurriedly came up to him and said, "It's my mother-in-law's business!"

Li Ye was shocked, "What happened to her?"

Dugu Xinyue pulled Li Ye aside and whispered: "My mother-in-law and my father-in-law had a fight. My mother-in-law was so angry that she cried and wanted to hang herself. She was rescued by the palace maids and sent to Huaqing Palace."

Li Ye was even more surprised, "Why?"

Dugu Xinyue asked the maids on the left and right to go away, and whispered: "Husband, do you still remember that there was a maid named Xiaohong back then?"

Li Ye nodded. Of course he remembered that Xiaohong was serving him back then. He wanted to go to Zhanye with him and be his concubine, but he didn't agree. Later, Xiaohong went to serve Aunt Mu and was later transferred to cleaning. She was in her father's study, but she seduced her father and had an affair in the study. As a result, the matter became so big that her mother gave her two hundred dollars and sent her away.

"This was many years ago!"

Dugu Xinyue nodded, "I also forgot about her, but this Xiaohong came again, and brought a seven or eight-year-old boy with him, who insisted that he was the father-in-law's child."

Li Ye frowned, "How is this possible? Just drive her away."

"Here's the problem. My mother-in-law asked the female guard to drive her away, but the female guard came back and said that my father-in-law would not allow her to be driven away."

"Then what?"

"Of course my mother-in-law went to my father-in-law to settle the score in anger. Unexpectedly, my father-in-law actually said that the child was probably his."

"What?"

Li Ye was very shocked, "Why does my father say this?"

Dugu Xinyue sighed and said, "I heard from my mother-in-law that my father-in-law finally confessed that he secretly gave Xiaohong three thousand dollars back then. Later, Xiaohong came to see him again, and he still gave the money in private."

Li Ye was also a bit confused. In the Tang Dynasty, paternity tests were not available like in later generations. As long as there was a little bit of karma, the timing was right, and the children looked somewhat similar, most men would accept them as their sons, and the children would grow up. Later, various family conflicts arose because of this. After all, it was something that could not be explained.

Li Ye also understood his father's mood. Since the death of his eldest brother Li Huai, although he didn't say it, he always missed him in his heart, which made him a little depressed.

Now, a son who might be his suddenly appeared, which revived a trace of father-son affection in his heart.

"How is mother now?"

"She is okay. After we persuaded her, she has calmed down. She asked me not to tell you."

Li Ye smiled bitterly, how could he not let himself know about such a thing?

He thought for a moment and said to his wife: "I won't go in. You tell your mother that I know about this and reassure her that I will definitely find out. If it is really my father's child, I will stay. If it is not his father's child, I will stay." The father can’t even want his child!”

Dugu Xinyue thought of something again and said to Li Ye: "My mother also told me that after Xiaohong was driven away, she investigated Xiaohong's background and found that she was full of lies. She said that she was the daughter of a good family in Chang'an and an orphan. But In fact, she was not. She had a father and a mother. Later, she discovered that her parents were also fake, just to cover up her spying on her father-in-law. She was actually a Silla maid who escaped from a wealthy family. She was already sixteen years old. She lied to Butler Liu that she was only fourteen years old, and Butler Liu kindly took her in. "

Li Ye also remembered, "She seems to be used by Li Fuguo to spy on his father!"

"I heard from my mother-in-law that it wasn't true at first. Later, Li Fuguo bribed her with three hundred dollars, and she started to spy on my father-in-law."

Xiaohong is actually a Silla maid! Li Ye really didn't expect this.