Yang Guifei summoned Gu Qing for no purpose, she was just a rather lonely woman, Li Longji couldn't accompany her all the time, she was lonely most of the time, so she needed someone to accompany her.

Summoned Gu Qing into the palace to chat because Yang Guifei regarded him as her younger brother, they were all fellow villagers, and they were all drifting backgrounds, Gu Qing was also very competitive, and his performance in Chang'an was very eye-catching, and his recent limelight in poetry and literature made Yang Guifei very proud.

Gu Qing chatted with Yang Guifei and Princess Wanchun for a long time, and said goodbye without waiting for Yang Guifei to give a banquet, and under Yang Guifei's reluctant gaze, Gu Qing walked out of the Agarwood Pavilion.

The eunuch led Gu Qing out of the palace, and the two walked along the path by the dragon pond in Xingqing Palace, and the eunuch's attitude towards Gu Qing was quite intimate. The eunuchs in the palace are the most discerning people, which courtiers are valued and which concubines are neglected, the eunuchs can see clearly at a glance, cling to the favored, stepping on the disgraced, the eunuchs do more realistically than anyone else in this regard.

Along the way, the eunuch took the initiative to talk to Gu Qing, and some of them chatted for a long time, like a taxi driver who was as lonely as snow in his previous life, no matter whether you were happy or not, he had to pull you to chat all the way, and every time he got off the car, he always felt that he should not pay for the car, but the driver should give himself a chat fee.

Gu Qing was full of worries, casually perfunctory all kinds of embarrassing chats about the eunuchs, but he was thinking about Zuo Wei's corruption case in his mind.

Walking through the dragon pond and about to walk to the Calyx Tower, Gu Qing suddenly heard a whispering sound not far away, Gu Qing's expression moved, and he couldn't help but stop, and motioned to the chattering eunuch to silence.

The position where Gu Qing was standing was on the path between the Calyx Tower and the Dragon Pond, there was a low bush next to the path, and the sound came from the other end of the bush, Gu Qing had been to Xingqing Palace several times, and he knew that the sound should come from the guards guarding the Calyx Tower.

"It's winter when you speak, why haven't the winter clothes on it come down, who will guard the palace if you freeze to death?" A voice said dissatisfiedly.

"Die, you, even if the winter coat is sent down, do you think you can resist the cold? My brother is the head of Zuo Wei Cangcao, and he told me yesterday that this year's winter clothes are thinner than summer clothes, and the fabric is the worst on the market. ”

"Phew! These dog officers should die, they sit in the house all day long and light a charcoal fire comfortably, but they don't know how uncomfortable our brothers who stand on duty in the cold wind every day. ”

Another voice sighed: "This is not the most uncomfortable, the most uncomfortable thing is that my brother said that Zuo Wei has created a new batch of weapons this year, which I don't know who has made hands and feet, the weapons are particularly brittle, and they will break when they are knocked down, let's still pray to God and Buddha not to meet assassins in the palace, otherwise the guy in our hands is not as good as a burning stick." ”

"Didn't you check it up?"

"Check, of course. The officials of the ordnance supervisor are staring at it, but there are still officials above the officials, and when they say hello, they can only go through the motions to check the texture of the weapons, anyway, it is rare to pull out the weapons in the palace to fight, and the weapons are nothing more than a look for our guards, what are they afraid of. ”

"These dog officials lack great virtue, the pig iron in the weapon must have been famous, our palace guards are like this, it is hard to imagine how bitter the soldiers who are guarding the border are in the border gate, the top is rotten like this, even if we are desperate, but for whom are we desperate?"

"Shut up! Looking for death, you dare to say this, don't forget that we are guarding the Calyx Tower today, if Your Majesty hears it, you will not be able to cut off a hundred heads. ”

The voice gradually faded, but Gu Qing was still standing in place, his expression uncertain.

The collapse of the prosperous era is after all the outbreak of long-term accumulated contradictions, and it is not just a rebellion that overthrows it, in the few words of dialogue just now, Gu Qing not only heard the twilight of the Tang Dynasty soldiers, but also heard their grievances.

Gu Qing stood in place and pondered for a long time, and after coming back to his senses, he smiled apologetically at the eunuch and motioned for him to continue to lead the way.

When he left Xingqing Palace and returned home, he saw a familiar woman at the door before he entered the door, dressed as a man, Gu Qing quickly recognized her, she was the female entourage of Li Shiniang's side.

Seeing Gu Qing coming back, the female entourage clasped her fists at him and saluted, and then said, "Miss Li, please ask Shaolangjun to go to the mansion for a while." ”

Gu Qing didn't even enter the door, so he followed the female entourage and got into the carriage.

Li Twelve Niang also lives in Changle Fang, and it is only an hour walk from Gu Qing's house, and the carriage soon arrived in front of Li Twelve Niang's mansion, and Gu Qing got off the carriage and walked inside.

Like the Zhang family, Li Shiniang's mansion has long regarded Gu Qing as a young master, and he is not guarded anywhere in the mansion, and he enters and exits as if he were his own home.

Li Twelve Niang sat in the front hall, carrying a small wine jar in her hand, her cheeks were slightly red, and she had obviously drunk a lot. There was also Li Guangbi sitting next to him, both of them had faces that were a little stiff, and Gu Qing smiled and stepped forward to greet the two.

Li Twelve Niang glanced at him, her expression a little indifferent.

Li Guangbi grinned at him, showing a mouthful of white teeth, but the smile was reluctant.

Gu Qing walked into the front hall, Li Twelve Niang lit up the wine jar at him, and said, "Can you drink it?" ”

Gu Qing smiled: "Uncle Li is his own family, and there are no guests in the house, so it seems that there is no need to drink, right?" ”

Li Twelve Niang frowned: "It's not as good as a woman, where did you get so much nonsense from drinking!" ”

Saying that, Li Twelve Niang threw the wine jar in her hand towards him, and the wine jar crossed a parabola in the air, Gu Qing was shocked, and hurriedly transported 120,000 points of spirit to catch the wine jar dangerously and dangerously.

Seeing Li Twelve Niang staring at him, Gu Qing smiled bitterly, so he had to take a sip of the wine jar, but Li Twelve Niang was still staring at him, Gu Qing sighed, and simply drank all the wine in the wine jar in one go.

After placing the wine jar on the table, Li Shi Niang was still staring at his face, and Gu Qing noticed that her eyes were very unfamiliar, with a little indifference.

Gu Qing's heart sank, and then smiled bitterly, he knew why Li Shiniang had such eyes. There are some things that cannot be justified, and in the eyes of smart people, any justification is pale, they only look at the results, and forcibly make excuses for themselves, which can only make themselves more undignified.

Li Twelve Niang stared at him for a long time, and then said: "It's late today, you will sleep in the house, and go out of the city with me early tomorrow morning." ”

"Left Guard's Errand ......"

As soon as Gu Qing spoke, she interrupted: "Is the errand serious?" The job of the corpse vegetarian meal, even if you don't go, there is no matter. ”

Gu Qing sighed: "Yes, according to Aunt Li's order." ”

…………

That night, Gu Qing slept on Li Shi Niang's house, and the next morning, Li Shi Niang woke him up and gave him a new set of clothes for him to wear, the plain white clothes fit very well, obviously Li Shi Niang made it according to his size.

Then Gu Qing was taken into the carriage by Li Twelve Niang, and the two sat in the carriage, and more than ten female disciples on both sides of the carriage followed on horseback.

Gu Qing didn't ask where he went from beginning to end, he took a nap when he got into the carriage, Li Twelve Niang didn't seem to have the nature of chatting, her arms were wrapped around her chest and her eyes were half closed, and the two sat in silence for two hours, and the carriage finally stopped.

Li Twelve Niang woke up Gu Qing, only said "get off", and then walked down first.

Gu Qing got out of the carriage, looked around with sleepy eyes, and said in amazement, "Where is this?" ”

Li Twelve Niang's eyes suddenly turned red, and she said in a cold tone: "The village near Lishan, your parents are buried here." ”

Gu Qing was stunned for a moment, and then fell silent.

Li Twelve Niang looked at the front fixedly, and her voice was already a little choked: "In the first war, the bodies of your parents were transported back to Chang'an by the Zhang family, and Chang'an was full of old friends, but no one knew where your parents' ancestral home was, and they never said it, so the Zhang family had to decide to bury them near Lishan." ”

"Lishan from ancient times to the present is a treasure of feng shui that gathers wind and hides qi, the tombs of the emperors of the past dynasties are mostly round in this place, the Zhang family is grateful to your parents, carefully buried them together on an inconspicuous mountainside near Lishan, without exceeding the system, try their best to repair your parents' tombs to be more luxurious, they have always wanted to repay your parents' kindness, but the heroes have passed away, the old people resigned, they want to repay the favor can not be reported."

Gu Qing sighed and said, "Please Aunt Li take her little nephew up the mountain to worship her parents." ”

Li Twelve Niang nodded and beckoned, and the female disciple behind her handed over a bamboo basket, which contained incense, candles, paper money, spiritualist flags and other things, obviously prepared.

Ordering the female disciples to stay at the foot of the mountain, Li Twelve Niang and Gu Qing meandered up along the rugged mountain road.

The road up the mountain was very bumpy, and it took half an hour to walk in front of a cemetery where they were buried.

The cemetery is really as Li Shiniang said, it is very luxurious, and the Zhang family has really done their best. Around a huge tomb, there are all kinds of colorful spiritualist flags and incense candles, but the cemetery is very clean, obviously it is often cleaned, and there is not even a single weed in the radius.

Gu Qing was a little surprised, in such a remote mountain, there should be no tomb guards, but the tomb of his parents was so clean, it was very weird.

There is only one tomb bag, much larger than the usual size, and there is only one tombstone in front of the tomb, which is made of top-grade marble, and the tombstone with gold characters on a black background is wiped clean, as if it has been washed, clearly reflecting the figures of Gu Qing and Li Twelve Niang.

Two lines of words are engraved on the tombstone, "Therefore, the tomb of the heroic Gu Qiu, Gu Cui's jade lady, was worshiped by people who were not rewarded." ”

Gu Qing was quite surprised by the "unreported person" who signed the payment, the format of this tombstone is somewhat unique, and the tombstones of the ancestors of ordinary people are not erected like this.

Li Twelve Niang pointed to the spirit flags planted around the cemetery, and said: "These are all set up by the people who received the favor of your parents back then, and the cemetery is also cleaned by them, and every few days there are always a few people who have received favors to pay tribute to your parents, so the area around the cemetery will be so clean." ”

Li Twelve Niang seemed to see his doubts, and said lightly: "Gu Qing, do you know how many powerful literati and peddlers in Chang'an City came to see him off on foot when your parents' coffins were transported up this mountain?" Some of them were poor, had no cars or horses, and walked here from Chang'an City with their families a day in advance, and there were as many as 1,000 mourners when they went up the mountain, so that Lantian County ordered the county government officials to be sent out to maintain order at the foot of the mountain, so as not to cause a stampede......

"Do you know how many tears were shed by more than 1,000 people on the road from the foot of the mountain to this cemetery when your parents' coffins went up the mountain? Your parents' tombstone was originally engraved with 'The Zhang family has been benefactored for generations to worship the children of the family', and later, under the kneeling and begging of hundreds of people, the Zhang family had to temporarily transfer craftsmen to change the words on the tombstone to 'worship and stand on behalf of the people who have not been rewarded', do you know why? Because the people who have received the favor of your parents are not only the Zhang family, they are dissatisfied with the fact that the tombstone of the Gu family and his wife is only the Zhang family, and they feel that if they do not leave a trace, it means that they are ungrateful, so many benefactors kneel and beg the Zhang family to change the tombstone. ”

Li Twelve Niang sighed faintly, looked up at the sky and white clouds, and said softly: "Do you know how many people your parents have shown favors to in their lives?" From punishing the evil and protecting the loyal and good, to building bridges and paving roads to help the poor, their lives are as poor as washing, but they have some money in their hands to help the poor, they are jealous and hateful, but whenever they see injustice, they will draw their swords to help. ”

Smiling mockingly, Li Twelve Niang said, "Gu Qing, do you think your parents are stupid?" How do you define people like them? They never show mercy when they kill, but they never miss a single person, they drink in a profligate manner, they are very hearty, they must drink until they are unconscious, they never ask each other about their origins when they make friends, even if the other party is just a beggar, they will pat him on the shoulder and say that he will drink first, and after drinking, he will go to the street with him to beg for money. ”

"No matter whether they have a free or restrained temperament, sitting at a table and drinking for less than half an hour can make people fall in love and lead their husbands and wives to their confidants, and when they have to sacrifice their lives for the sake of human morality, they will never hesitate to hesitate, and go away like Jing Ke who assassinates Qin, and die generously."

"Gu Qing, these are your parents, your parents, you should be proud of them. Even if the rest of my Li Twelve Niang's life is only in the memories of the years when I came and went with them, I am also a happy life, the world flies and dogs, even if it is the respect of the emperor, how many people live as chic and calm as your parents? ”

"Since Zhenguan, there are many people who are called 'chivalrous' in the world, and the only 'hero' recognized by my Li Shiniang in my life is only your parents. They are truly worthy of the word 'chivalry', they will not be cowardly because of power, they will not be distinguished by identity, they only have the word 'morality' in their hearts, they don't recognize people, they only recognize reason, they are admirable, and they are so stupid and cute......"

Li Twelve Niang said, tears finally poured down, but with a longing smile on her face, the appearance of tears in her smile was distressing, but no one hurt.

Trying to calm her emotions, Li Shiniang turned her head to look at Gu Qing, and suddenly said, "Gu Qing, you are not as good as them." ”

Gu Qing smiled, and did not argue, reached out and took the bamboo basket, lit the paper money, hung up the spirit flag, and knelt in front of the tombstone to burn one by one.

Li Twelve Niang also knelt down, looked at the words on the tombstone stupidly, stretched out her hand and stroked Gu Qiu's name, as if caressing her lover's old cheeks, her eyes gradually became empty, and what flashed in her mind was still the memories of the year.

The two were silent for a long time, and Gu Qing suddenly said, "Aunt Li, you are wrong. ”

Li Twelve Niang came back to her senses: "Which sentence was wrong?" ”

"You say I'm inferior to them, and that's wrong."

"How so?" Li Twelve Niang's expression was a little cold.

Gu Qing had already burned the paper money, but he still knelt in front of the tombstone and smiled calmly: "I am stronger than them, time will tell." ”

"What are you better than them? Don't you feel ashamed of your parents' faces when you are cowardly retreating from a corruption case? Li Twelve Niang sneered.

Gu Qing sighed: "The temple is especially high, and the rivers and lakes are especially far away. Aunt Li, court affairs and rivers and lakes affairs are not the same thing. The court does not pay attention to the distinction between good and evil, does not pay attention to happiness and enmity, and the court only plans and then acts, and then strikes. Aunt Li, you are from the rivers and lakes and don't understand the affairs of temples. ”

Li Twelve Niang was stunned for a moment, but still sneered: "Is sophistry useful?" I only saw that you flinched, you let me down, your parents chose to pull out their swords to help when they saw injustice, and you chose to bypass the injustice. ”

Gu Qing's expression gradually turned cold: "My parents only saw one unevenness, but what I saw was the whole road." They chose to shovel off one unevenness and then remove another, and I chose to resurface the whole road so that the road was free of unevenness. ”

Li Twelve Niang suddenly looked at Gu Qing in a daze, and at this moment she suddenly noticed that Gu Qing had become very unfamiliar, and she felt an aura from him that she had never felt before.

Gu Qing took out a handkerchief, gently wiped the tombstone, and said softly: "Aunt Li, I only treat you as the only relative in this world, and there are some things that I have never said to anyone, but I am willing to say it to you." ”

"Heroic acts, but one side and one corner, there are so many injustices in the world, can they all be bulldozed? How many things can he do in his life to maintain human justice? In the eyes of the people of the rivers and lakes, there are only rivers and lakes, and the rivers and lakes have done everything that is forbidden, and the so-called justice maintained is also very limited. ”

"The court is an official, but what you see is the whole world, the temple issued an order, which can change the color of the Qiankun, and can attract disasters or seek blessings for the people of Li, and the superior person writes down a few words, which is stronger than the heroic man running around to eliminate evil for a lifetime, whether the people live well or not lies in the righteousness of the decree, in the purity of the rule of the officials, and in the return of the people, not in how many wicked people the heroes have killed. Aunt Li, do you understand this truth? ”

"Zuowei corruption case, I can choose to resist, or I can choose to retreat, no matter which choice, I am sure to retreat with my whole body, but I have just entered the court, everything is unknown, it is not appropriate to take the risk of being strong to make enemies, after weighing, after all, it will do more harm than good......"

Gu Qing said and suddenly smiled at Li Twelve Niang, her voice suddenly softened, and she said softly: "But Aunt Li is my only relative, I, Gu Qing, am lonely and helpless in Chang'an, Aunt Li regards me as a nephew, how can I bear to let my only relative down?" ”

After facing the tombstone and bowing respectfully three times, Gu Qing stood up and said with a smile: "That being the case, Aunt Li and look at the little nephew who has shoveled this injustice!" ”

Looking at the tombstone, Gu Qing said in a low voice: "The people of the Gu family, after all, are stronger than the generation, Aunt Li will wait and see." Let's go down the mountain! ”

…………

It was already evening when she returned to Chang'an City, and since Gu Qing said those words in front of the tombstone, Li Twelve Niang had been silent, and when she returned to the city, she looked at Gu Qing from time to time in the carriage, as if she was thinking about Gu Qing's words, and seemed to be thinking about Gu Qing.

Li Shiniang had to admit that although she was the son of an old man, she really didn't know Gu Qing too well. On weekdays, Gu Qing's performance is just a gentle and elegant young man, occasionally doing something impulsive and reckless, but when he was just on the mountain, Gu Qing was like a domineering overlord who looked down on the world coldly.

Li Twelve Niang didn't know why she had this illusion, but the disappointment in her heart for Gu Qing unconsciously faded a lot.

Because she didn't understand, she would misunderstand that this young man had a world in his chest, and she had never seen it, so her disappointment in him might be wrong, and she shouldn't judge him too early.

When he arrived at Gu Qing's door, Gu Qing said goodbye to Li Shi Niang, and was just about to lift the curtain and get out of the car, when Li Shi Niang suddenly stopped him.

"Gu Qing, I thought about it all the way just now, and found that I may have misunderstood you, you don't have to change your original intention for me in the Zuo Wei corruption case, the court is dangerous, I shouldn't force you to force your head, and then make a decision after weighing the pros and cons of everything, okay?"

Gu Qing smiled: "Aunt Li, don't worry, I said that no matter what choice I make, I am sure that I will get out of the way." To tell the truth, this corruption case has also become a thorn in my heart, and if I don't pull it out, I will give birth to a demonic obstacle and will not be happy for the rest of my life. ”

Li Twelve Niang sighed: "I am more and more aware that I am wrong, and I shouldn't force you...... How can I help? ”

Gu Qing said with a smile: "Temple affairs and rivers and lakes affairs are not the same thing, Aunt Li may not be able to help much." ”

Li Twelve Niang was silent for a moment, and suddenly said: "You are careful, but I still want to correct you, the temple and the rivers and lakes are all the world's affairs, they are actually the same thing, your parents died in battle to protect the court's loyalty, the people of the rivers and lakes can actually change the affairs of the court, maybe one day, the people of the rivers and lakes can change the court again." ”

Gu Qing was stunned for a moment, and then bowed to her: "It's me who is narrow-minded, I apologize to Aunt Li, and Gu Qing is taught." ”

…………

After getting out of the carriage, Gu Qing did not go home, but turned around and went to Li Guangbi's mansion.

Li Guangbi sat under the eaves and drank wine, quite surprised by Gu Qing's arrival.

Gu Qing didn't talk nonsense with him, sat beside him when he entered the door, motioned for Li Guangbi to retreat left and right, and then said straight to the point: "Uncle Li has been a general in the left guard for so many years, does he have any trustworthy henchmen under his command?" ”

Li Guangbi blinked, didn't react for a while, and said after a while: "Yes, there are many, who doesn't have a group of henchmen and cronies among the generals who lead the troops?" ”

Gu Qing said in an aggravated tone: "To be truly trustworthy, to be able to trust each other's lives, there is no need for fox friends and dog friends, Uncle Li drinks every day, don't treat wine and meat friends as confidants." ”

Li Guangbi glared: "Nonsense! Who is a friend of wine and meat, and who is a real confidant, am I a fool? ”

"Scientific studies have shown that regular alcohol consumption can lower human IQ...... Forget it, you don't understand. Uncle Li do me a favor, temporarily change the list of left guard soldiers on duty in Xingqing Palace, and change a group of your henchmen and cronies to be on duty before and after the Calyx Building......"

Li Guangbi's expression was solemn, and most of the wine was sober, and he said in a deep voice: "What are you going to do?" Don't mess around at a young age, is it a joke to be on duty in the palace? It's going to lose its head. ”

Gu Qing smiled: "No kidding, I suddenly changed my mind and wanted to pull out a thorn in my heart, otherwise I wouldn't be able to sleep well." ”