Taichang seven years. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

The green shade will be over, the light is getting late, the lonely leaves are drifting, and the flowers are falling all over Xizhou City.

The sound of the horn outside Miyagi sounded, low, rich, and mournful. For three days, this is Xiqiu's memorial ceremony for the fallen soldiers.

Today is the last day, and it will end at a quarter of noon.

Every time I hear such a wail, my heart wells up with infinite desolation, and I wonder how many innocent lives have ended in this endless slaughter.

Large and small countries are fighting each other, and the big fish compete for the small fish, and the small fish compete for the dried shrimp. The shrimp didn't even have to eat the soil, so they could only be sent to the door obediently or wait for the fate of being devoured, and then the big fish would fight again.

Conquest, year after year. Since the reign of my father, the pattern of the world has changed, and Xiqiu, as a great power, has also begun to fight and expand.

When will the world be peaceful? But if we retreat without a fight, it will mean the voluntary demise of a country.

Every year around the Mid-Autumn Festival, the weather is always a little abnormal. Now it has been dozens of days without sunshine, but there is no rain, and the weather is always gloomy, adding to the sadness.

Under the window facing the wind, I flipped through a few volumes of the books written by the scholars of this world, but I couldn't read a single word of them.

The low sound of the trumpet did not stop, and my heart could not be calmed. For a moment, I even had the illusion that I was surrounded and haunted by hordes of ghosts, all of whom came to ask for my life. But the war in this world was not of my making, nor did it start because of me, so why did you come to seek me?

As if in a nightmare, I threw those heavy bamboo slips to the ground, and a group of maids surrounded me and fell to my knees.

I said it's okay, let's go and go about our own business.

As soon as the words were finished, the sound of the trumpet stopped, and it was a quarter past noon. From afar, I heard from outside the city to inside the palace, the shrill, one voice shouted: "Finish the ceremony." ”

After the ceremony. I can finally come out and breathe, although the weather is still so virtuous.

I only took my personal maid Zang'er to walk casually in the garden. The garden is full of the fragrance of osmanthus flowers, sweet and fragrant.

I was about to approach a laurel tree and smell it, but one of my feet was blocked by something soft. I exclaimed, and leaned down to see a fluffy snow-white mass among the dense grass, very lovely, a little white rabbit! I was tempted to catch it, but before I could reach out, the rabbit had already run out, and it ran so fast that it disappeared in a moment.

I was looking left and right among the flowers, and Zang'er followed behind me, constantly telling me to be careful of falling. I ignored her completely, and when I saw that there was no one around, I carried my skirt in both hands, walked through the hall, ran and jumped, and unconsciously came to the Xihe Palace.

This is the place where the king summons his courtiers to discuss matters, and I have only been here once, many years ago, during the reign of my father.

Xihe hall dwells in the north of the palace, is rectangular, tall and majestic, the four corners of the eaves of the corridor are slightly upturned, and the patterns such as Fuxi, the dragon and the turtle are engraved around the eaves. The dark brown rubble reflects the bright vermilion lacquer, and the ground in the hall is paved with blue-gray stone bricks engraved with the fine lines of the dragon and the clouds, which is extremely delicate and vivid, smooth as a mirror. Although it is not as magnificent as gilded white jade, it is majestic enough and solemn.

The monarchs of the past dynasties of Xiqiu have always been frugal and extravagant, and even in this important place of the former dynasty, they will never be extravagant and wasteful. In the entire palace, only the Tiande Palace, where hundreds of civil and military officials made a pilgrimage to meet the monarch, and the Yunfu Palace, where Mrs. Dai lived, were called gorgeous.

The majestic man in the main hall of the Xihe Hall is none other than my uncle King Taichang, who is the king of the Xiqiu Kingdom, and loves my uncle King Taichang very much, Situ Geji, in order to show that he is close to my father, I respect him as my uncle and king, and respect my uncle and mother as my uncle and aunt. He is not confused when he is over the age, and there is a heroic spirit that is different from ordinary people between his eyebrows, and he is wearing a wide robe of gold and silver brocade with black and white dragons, which looks quite similar to my father from the side.

Kneeling and talking in the hall was an old minister with gray temples, the voice was a little familiar, I couldn't see his face, I saw his body trembling slightly, he must have been kneeling for a long time, and his legs were already numb. Looking at his outfit from behind, he looks like a high-ranking official.

I was thinking about it, but suddenly I heard the old minister say: "Your Majesty, yesterday the envoy of Youguo sent a war letter, inviting me to fight in the suburbs of Yanzhou in seven days. Now the strength of Youguo is indeed not to be underestimated, and Youwang is ambitious and has the momentum to unify the world. In just a few years, 17 large and small countries have been annexed, occupying most of the Central Plains, and some small countries have no choice but to take the initiative to show weakness to them because they are unable to cope with the war. Although I am far away in the northwest, I have lost two cities. ”

Uncle Wang locked his eyebrows and closed his eyes, and only after a while did he say, "Come here, give a seat to the protector." ”

Is it my grandfather Shangguan Robin? I have broken thoughts in my heart, although I haven't seen them for many years, but I still remember them.

"Thank you. ”

I saw that the old minister stood up tremblingly, and with great difficulty moved to the chair on the side and sat down, and then I saw his appearance clearly, and it was indeed my grandfather! I have never seen my grandfather since the death of my father and mother, but today I see that he is old and frail, and my heart cannot help but be sour.

As soon as my grandfather sat down, he opened his mouth again, wanting to say something. Before he could say anything, he saw a cold smile on the corner of his uncle's mouth, and said, "Hmph, the widow is still afraid that he will not succeed?" After speaking, he also glanced at his grandfather, who saw that he was already stunned, so he didn't dare to speak. Who knows, my uncle Wang said again: "If the Lord Protector has anything to say, just say it directly." ”

"No. My grandfather paused, and then said, "Your Majesty, the people are now suffering from war, many people are displaced, they have not enough to eat, countless people have died of starvation on the roadside in the vicinity of Xicheng, and it is very difficult to even recruit soldiers. Xiqiu's military strength is also much worse than before, the original 150,000 elite soldiers, now there are only more than 70,000 people left, and the Xiaocai battalion is only more than 20,000 people. The other side has 80,000 cavalry alone, plus other elite troops, to say the least, there are more than 200,000. Youguo now has 32 large and small cities, and the strength of all parties is already incomparable to other countries. At this time, if it is hard, I am afraid that I will not be able to bear it. Yanzhou is a military dangerous place, and if Yanzhou is captured again, it will endanger the western state where we are located. ”

After saying that, my grandfather got up from his chair again, walked to the middle and knelt on his knees, and said, "The old minister implores the king to think about the suffering of the people in the world, and to put my long-term plan as the priority, and not to fight." ”

"Shouldn't you fight? Do you want a widow to grovel to him and bow down to him? I, Xiqiu, am also a dignified big country anyway, and won't calling him a vassal, will the whole world laugh at him?

I hid on the side of the door, frightened, no wonder my uncle had been frowning lately, and I decided to listen in silence.

I only heard my grandfather say: "The king is angry! If you don't fight, you don't necessarily have to be a vassal to the country, if you easily rebel, the old minister will have no shame to face the previous kings of Xiqiu after his death." The old minister has a plan, but he doesn't know if it's right or not, so he asks the king to listen to it and make a decision. ”

Say. Uncle Wang got up from the dragon's collapse and put his hands behind his back.

"For the sake of the present, aim for peace and not surrender. As long as Xiqiu can find a chance to breathe, he will definitely be able to compete with Youguo again one day. I've heard that the Phantom King is tyrannical and feminine, and his eyes are extremely critical. Most of the capitals in my west are warm and moist, the water and soil support people, compared with neighboring countries, the women's posture is mostly the upper class, if you can pick out a stunning woman to send to the secluded country and marriage, and in exchange for a truce between the two countries, it is in exchange for a respite. If you have the opportunity to become the favorite concubine of King Youwang in the future, you can also contribute to Xiqiu. ”

After my grandfather said that, he stopped making a sound, and only knelt down and waited for his uncle to make a decision.

When his uncle Wang heard this, he was silent, but just paced around in front of the dragon case with a frown. After a long time, he said, "Do I want to show weakness to the enemy?"

"This ......," my grandfather said with a sad face, "If you can't bear it, you will make a big plan, and it is just an expedient measure at this time." ”

Uncle Wang sighed deeply: "But how easy is it to pick out a woman who satisfies the king of you within seven days? That king of you has a good temperament, and I have also heard of the pickiness of beauty, which is by no means an ordinary beauty can impress." Wouldn't it be bad if you can't pick a good woman by then, and then let King You have an excuse to counterattack Xiqiu?"

"Then I can only try, time is pressing, and I ask the king to issue an order immediately, ordering the civil and military officials and even the people of the whole country to send the women over thirteen in their respective families to Xizhou within three days, and screen them one by one. ”

Uncle Wang suddenly stopped, sat down on the dragon collapse again, seemed to think for a long time, and said, "This matter will be discussed with the ministers again tomorrow morning, and then a decision will be made." Protector get up quickly, you are old, you must not be able to withstand this long kneeling, it is better to go back and rest early. ”

Grandpa answered, got up, and staggered out of the Xihe Palace. I was afraid that I would be found hiding outside the temple and eavesdropping, so I wanted to slip away, but I panicked for a moment and twisted my foot. I couldn't help but let out a "sigh" in pain, and I happened to be bumped into by my grandfather.

"Who is so bold as to eavesdrop here?"

His stern voice made me lose the warmth and joy of seeing him at all. At this time, Uncle Wang had also heard the sound and walked out, and when he saw that Uncle Wang suddenly had an unspeakable grievance, he knelt down in a proper manner, and said, "Niece Huxi greets Uncle Wang." ”

"Xi'er, why are you?" Uncle Wang's expression was very surprised when he saw that it was me who was eavesdropping outside the door, but then he became gentle again, "Get up." ”

"Xi'er, are you?" Grandpa heard the name and looked at me carefully, perhaps when he saw the cinnabar mole in the center of my eyebrows that he had been born with, he realized that it was his own granddaughter who he had just reprimanded.

"It's my grandson Huxi. I haven't seen my grandfather for many years, but my grandfather is okay?

"Good, all right. The old minister's eyes were dizzy, and he couldn't recognize the princess just now, and asked the princess to forgive her sins!" he said, and he bowed to me.

I saw that he was a little emotional, and immediately helped him up, saying: "Grandfather doesn't need to be polite, it's a bad fox seal, I haven't visited my grandfather all these years, I was only 7 years old when my grandfather last saw me, and seven years have passed in a blink of an eye, I have turned 14 years old, and my grandfather will inevitably not recognize me." ”

"The old minister is really ashamed! I can't recognize the old minister after I haven't seen the princess for many years, but the old minister is so clumsy, I didn't expect the princess to grow so big!" said the grandfather and was about to cry.

Seeing that I was so sad about my encounter with my grandfather, my uncle Wang couldn't blame me anymore, and said in a doting tone: "Xi'er, you don't stay in the house well, why did you come to this Xihe Palace, and you also eavesdropped on the conversation between me and your grandfather, it is really getting more and more unruly, and the widow will punish those maids and teachers who follow you." ”

Although I know that my uncle is deliberately teasing me, I also know that the heart of the emperor is unpredictable, and the courtesy of the monarch and the minister must not be negligent, so I still have to blame myself. I immediately knelt down: "Please also ask my uncle to forgive the people around Xi'er, and if you want to punish Xi'er, you will punish Xi'er alone." It's Xi'er who is not good herself, Xi'er is playful for a while, originally just to catch a white rabbit, but unknowingly ran here. Xi'er has been seeing her uncle Wang frowning lately, and just now she overheard that the country was in trouble, and she was also worried in her heart, so she dared to eavesdrop on what happened. Disturb the king, and ask your uncle to punish him!"

When my uncle saw that I was serious, he immediately laughed and said, "Okay, get up quickly, my uncle is just teasing you, it seems that my Xi'er has really grown up." You are the princess of Xiqiu, and it is also extremely valuable to be able to care about the safety of the country. It's just that it's good for my daughter's family to read some books on weekdays, and my uncle has always wanted you to be knowledgeable, so you can't be too careful about the affairs of the previous dynasty. It's just that your uncle and mother spoil you too much. ”

"No. Xi'er knew that she was wrong and would never dare to do it again. I got up, and smiled and coquettishly said to my uncle Wang: "But how can my uncle blame my uncle and mother later? Xi'er dares to do this, not because Uncle Wang spoils Xi'er too much on weekdays and can't raise his godfather's fault, Xi'er thinks that if he wants to be punished, his uncle will also be punished." ”

"This is Xihe Palace, Xi'er is rude!" my grandfather hurriedly interrupted me out of worry.

But his uncle Wang laughed, waved his hand at him, and said, "Don't care, don't care, Xi'er is reasonable, reasonable." I haven't seen you for a few days, Xi'er's mouth is getting more and more clever, and even my uncle can't argue with you. ”

I laughed, but when I saw my grandfather's expression a little surprised, I guessed that he must have been surprised that my uncle King would joke with me like this, or that he had never seen him laugh like this.

I knew that it was not appropriate for me to stay long, so I said goodbye to my grandfather and turned to leave the Xihe Temple. Although I still have some reluctance to treat my grandfather in my heart, after all, I haven't seen him for seven years. I looked back at my grandfather as I walked, but when I looked back, I found that my uncle had been looking at me all the time, but his gaze seemed to be different from usual, and I always felt that he was thinking about something when he looked at me. Exactly what, I don't know.

My heart suddenly pounded violently, with an inexplicable fear, and my steps became faster and faster. I don't know how long I walked, and I bumped into Zang'er who was looking for me everywhere.

Zang'er and I collided with each other on the ground, and before I could react, Zang'er had already stretched out his hand to help me, and then knelt in front of me, crying and saying: "The slave should die, the slave and the maid should die, the slave and the maid can't find the princess everywhere, and they are in a hurry, and they don't want to collide with the princess head-on, and ask the princess for forgiveness!"

"That's it, you get up, I have no fault with you, and I was careless. ”

"No. Zang'er choked up and got up.

When I saw that she was crying so much, that I could not bear to reproach her, and that she seemed to be in a hurry, I asked her again, "Why are you in such a hurry to find me?"

"Princess Hui, it's Mrs. Dai. Just now, the palace lady Qiuxi in Mrs. Dai's palace came to spread the word, saying that Mrs. Dai wanted the princess to go to Yunfu Palace immediately. ”

Zang'er was trembling, and she didn't dare to raise her eyes to look at me, I guess it must not be a good thing.

"But what did you hear about such a hurry?"

I asked her in a hurry, and Zang Er looked around and saw that there was no one else, so he put it in my ear and said the reason.

I was shocked, no wonder Mrs. Dai was in such a hurry to see me. made up her mind and said, "Go and go, take it seriously, but she should take good care of her son." ”