female concubine

Chapter 230

In the early spring of 11, Wei Yan and Ji, the second daughters of Princess Wu, were granted the title of head of Yongkang County.

The wind kite was floating in the sky above the back garden, and the one pulling the thread was a seven or eight-year-old girl with two small buns, and the young man bowed and accompanied her by her side.

The wind in early spring is still cold, and the mulberry leaves in the mulberry fields have only sprouted a little bit of new buds.

"This year's climate is much colder than last year." The emperor took a fur coat from the servant and walked behind Xiao Youqing to put it on, "Si Tianjian said that this year may be colder than usual throughout the year. .”

"uncle."

The envoys retained after the Shang Yuan also returned to the country, and the emperor put aside the trivial matters to accompany them out for an outing. He looked back at his niece who was calling him, and said in a daze, "In the blink of an eye, Zhen Er has grown into a big girl."

"The big girl is not worrying, it will be Double Ten soon, and she will not marry the husband-in-law chosen by my concubine for her."

"Daughter doesn't like them, why do they have to make do with it?"

"You child."

The emperor smiled and said: "If you don't marry, you don't marry. Our Wei family's daughter should be like this."

"On weekdays, she is just spoiled, and the officials still pamper her."

"Second sister, Youqing thinks that the government is not conniving, children have their own ideas when they grow up, there are too many unsatisfactory things in life, the orders of parents and the words of matchmakers alone will crush many people, man It’s okay, but a woman will die from one mistake, and there is no room for repayment if she makes a mistake.”

Princess Wu Guochang knew the truth of this from her own experience, "I am not in a hurry to marry her off, but I just hope that someone will take care of her in the future."

"Taking care of something, you are the only one who is most reliable in this world."

In the blink of an eye, the little girls were all grown up, and a wind kite with a swallow gradually floated up.

The boy walked away from his sister, looking up at the two kites fluttering in the wind, "Auntie is discussing sister's marriage again."

"Since I was young, my mother has been repeating it in my ear for several years."

"Sister has been reluctant, but is there someone you like?"

Wei Zhen, the chief of Yichun County, held Feng Yuan's lead and turned his head to one side, then shook his head and smiled, "I don't have anyone I like, I just don't want to live a life as exhausting as my mother's."

The young man's eyes were full of disappointment and at the same time he envied her in his heart, "It would be great if I could be as free and easy as sister."

"Everyone's life is different. Dalang is the eldest son of the official family, and he will carry the world on his back in the future. Dalang has a simple temperament, and he will definitely be a benevolent and good official in the future."

The young man glanced back at the elders in the curtain, and then stared at Wei Zhen, "I don't want to be an official, but I don't want to disappoint my father and mother. I envy my sister who can have her own choice."

"When you look at others with envious eyes, there are also people who look at you with such eyes in places you can't see. Uncle is strict with you, but this strictness is the father's expectation for his son. It should be Whatever kind of person you can be, sister believes in you."

The boy raised his folded sleeves, "Zong Ren remembered."

After Wei Zhen left, Princess Fuqing handed over the wind kite to the servant, and tiptoed behind her brother, "Does my brother like sister Zhen'er?"

The boy opened his eyes wide when he stared, then turned around and said, "Don't talk nonsense, do you know what liking is at a young age?"

Princess Fuqing pouted, "Isn't it just like father and mother, sister Xi'er will be jealous and angry if my brother is like this."

The young man turned his head and glanced at Zhao Xi who was having fun with a few girls in the distance, "You, you are becoming more and more unruly, it's just that I was spoiled by you on weekdays, so I dare to say anything. "

"Slightly~" Princess Fuqing made a face at her elder brother, and then said: "Daddy said that no matter whether it is a woman or a man, you can't be half-hearted. People are alive, and rules are dead. Why should the living be guarded to die?" What about the rules set by the person who made the rules? If the rules make you unhappy, do you still stick to them? Dad said, the person who sets the rules doesn’t care whether you are happy or not. How can one person’s thoughts represent the world’s people? Thoughts."

"Rules..." The young man looked at the running water in the lotus pond in the back garden, "Only when people know how to be in awe can they be measured. Maybe in the beginning, the rules were only used to restrain some immoral people or things."

"What is virtue?" Princess Fuqing stared at her brother.

"I don't know either," the young man lowered his head, then reached out and patted his sister's head lightly, "Perhaps what everyone praises is virtue."

"Then what is Tao?"

"It's a common way in the world to value propriety and righteousness, to value pomp, to lose one's life for fame, to forget oneself for profit..." The young man gradually lowered his voice, "However, what is fame worth when people are dead?"

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A fast horse galloped along the official road on Hebei West Road, entered the Xinfengqiu Gate, and ran all the way to the South Palace. The servant who received the military report clasped his hands and walked quickly on the corridor between the palaces.

"Officials."

The emperor turned his head away from the laughter, and immediately got up from the mat on the grass, "Sisters have fun, I will go back as soon as I go."

"The official family is busy with government affairs, and the concubine and others understand that state affairs are the most important thing."

The emperor walked to the willow tree that had just sprouted by the lake, and when he saw the servants in the dust, he guessed what was going on, "Tell me."

"Yelufang, the envoy of the Northern Liao Dynasty, took a boat from the north of the Grand Canal to Youzhou. He was encountered by water bandits on the East Hebei Road. The ship sank. The Hebei Road transfer envoy sent soldiers to salvage it, but no trace of Yelufang was found."

The emperor pretended to be shocked and said, "What?"

The servant was so frightened that he fell to his knees on the grass by the lake, "Forgive me, the official!"

The emperor lowered his brows and said with his hands behind his back: "Don't say anything beforehand, just go down."

"Yes."

Afterwards, the emperor called Xue Jin, turned his head and looked at Xue Jin, and said with a smile: "The last time it was Xixia, this time it was Beiliao. It seems that I can't leave it alone."

"Yelufang is the leader of the Northern Liao Dynasty, Da Yue. He has been in charge of the military and government of the Northern Liao Dynasty for many years. All the kings under the Northern Liao Court obey Yelufang's orders. Now he is missing in the court..."

"Zi Gu's worries are not unreasonable, this is exactly the situation that the emperor of the Northern Liao Dynasty wanted to see. If the uncle who holds great power disappears in another country, the kings will only vent their anger on other countries, so he will naturally become the real emperor. "

"Then isn't he afraid of war?"

"Wars will only make people suffer. How can a person who only has his own eyes think of this."

"Beside Liao Emperor, there are hidden assassins hidden by the Emperor of the Northern Liao Dynasty. After such a mediocre person gains power, the country will surely decline quickly. But...why did the officials ask the envoys to tell the Emperor of the Northern Liao Dynasty that Yelufang is not dead?"

The emperor smiled and said: "Because I don't like wars without results. A lean camel is bigger than a horse. Yelufang is not the only one supporting the Northern Liao Dynasty, and Yelufang is not the only one who covets power. Mediocre No matter how stupid you are, you will know how to be afraid."

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In late January of the 11th year of Qianyuan, Yelufang was attacked by water bandits on his return home by boat, and disappeared after the ship sank, causing all countries to question Song Ting one after another.

In the tent of the Northern Liao emperor, Yeluming, the emperor of the Northern Liao Dynasty, swiped a knife and cut off the fattest part of a whole sheep.

The dark guard knelt down in front of the table, swallowed his saliva and clasped his fists, saying: "I have followed His Majesty's order, and my subordinates saw Yelu Fang fall into the river from the sinking ship with several knives, and there is no possibility of him surviving."

Yeluming inserted a dagger into the large piece of flesh, and immediately got up and walked to the guard, "Did you see it with your own eyes?"

"Yes, in this operation, although the generalissimo is old, he is still as brave as before, and there are assassins from Song State ambushing under the boat, so only one of his subordinates came back."

"You have done a great service for me," Yeluming squatted down, and stuffed the mutton and the dagger into the hands of the hidden guard, "You are rewarded."

The hidden guard, who was lucky enough to escape death, burst into tears of gratitude, "It is my honor to be able to serve His Majesty."

Yeluming got up, turned his back and said: "It's just a piece of meat, when I have settled those clans, I will promote you to be a general."

"Being able to serve by His Majesty's side is enough for my subordinates."

"Why, you don't want to or don't believe it?"

"No," the dark guard took a bite of the mutton, "My subordinate congratulates His Majesty on regaining power."

Yeluming raised the corner of his mouth, "Back off."

"Yes..." Not long after he swallowed the meat he was chewing, the whole piece of meat fell from his hands. The dark guard fell to the ground and raised his hand while staring at his bleeding eyes, "Wang..."

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The next day, the news spread back to the Northern Liao Dynasty. Yelufang's confidantes and officials from the northern tents gathered to invite the emperor, and they all pointed their finger at the Song court and demanded to send troops.

Before the Northern Liao sent envoys to the Song court to question, the Song court sent envoys to the Northern Liao to appease them first.

The servant entered the safest emperor's tent, and instead of bowing his knees to curry favor like a confessor, he flicked his sleeves, "If it weren't for Your Majesty, the villain might have been killed by those people."

The Emperor of Beiliao sat on the big chair, resting his elbows on his knees, stroking his beard and squinting his eyes: "The Song envoy came here uninvited, did he come to express his apology?"

"Sorry?" The envoy Song pretended to be surprised, and immediately approached the Emperor of Beiliao, and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty must be a nobleman who forgets too much, right?"

The Emperor of Beiliao closed his eagle-like eyes, "What do you mean?"

"It seems that Your Majesty wants to disassociate himself from Guochao and blame Da Song for this crime?" Before Yeluming could reply, the envoy Song turned around and said, "I don't know if Your Majesty has never heard an old saying from the Central Plains." , to teach the gentleman how to govern."

"Falsehood cannot last long, emptiness cannot last long, rotten wood cannot be carved, and love cannot last long."

"I don't understand what you're talking about." The Emperor of Beiliao's brow sank deeper and deeper.

"It's normal for the kings of the tribes under your majesty's tent to not understand, but your majesty is the emperor of the Northern Liao Dynasty. Since Emperor Taizong of the Northern Liao Dynasty, there has been a system for emperors to learn Sinology?" Song envoy turned around, "How could your majesty I don't understand."

The Emperor of Beiliao threw a dagger on the wooden pillars supporting the tent, and it flew past Song Envoy's face, "I can kill you at any time to appease the public's anger."

The Song envoy spread his hands, "The villain has already put life and death aside when he was ordered by our lord to go out as an envoy. Your Majesty wants to kill him, please do it."

"You are quite calm."

The envoy Song said with a smile: "This is not the first time for the villain to go on an envoy, nor is it the first time to talk with His Majesty."

"After talking for a long time, what exactly do you want to say?"

"It's not what the villain wants to say, but I want the villain to tell your Majesty that Yelufang was attacked by bandits on the way back to the country by boat. I am deeply saddened." Song Envoy took a step closer, "If your majesty is disobedient, I will Return the Grand Marshal of the World's Soldiers and Horses to Beiliao."

The hand that supported the chin of the Beiliao Emperor suddenly slipped and almost fell over, "What?"

"My lord knows that the actual ruler of Beiliao is not you, Your Majesty, but your uncle, Yelufang, the prince of Beiliao who has responded to everyone. If Your Majesty is obedient, this person will not set foot in Liao soil from now on. If Your Majesty is disobedient ..." Song envoy looked at the surprised face of the Emperor of Beiliao and smiled and said: "The villain guesses that His Majesty must be thinking about whether the villain's words are credible. I am afraid that the emperor has actually killed Yelufang and used this to deceive His Majesty." Song Envoy approached and took out a gold ring inlaid with precious stones from his sleeve.

The emperor of Beiliao widened his eyes, and immediately stood up on the tiger leather chair and walked forward slowly, wanting to snatch the familiar golden ring from the envoy Song, the envoy Song raised his hand and clenched his fist and said, "My lord is Lord of the world, whoever my lord wants to die must die, and whoever he wants to live, naturally no one can take his life."

The envoy of Song leaned closer to the ear of the Emperor of the Northern Liao Dynasty, "Do you think so, Your Majesty?"

The Emperor of Beiliao turned his head to look at him, and immediately laughed loudly, "As expected of the Son of Heaven."