Fangzhou is located in the south of the mountain, its place has both the closure of mountains and ravines, and there is no lack of rivers and valleys of the wide and deep, although the realm is partial to the two capitals, but it is not a barbarian township outside the country.

Fangzhou is the residence of the wanderers, and this tradition also has a long history. Even if we don't make a more ancient discussion, the relatives of the emperor who have lived in Fangzhou since the national dynasty alone do not know how many. In recent times, the most outstanding person in this township is naturally the king of Luling, the brother of today's saint.

In modern times, Fangzhou has the ancient city of Fangling by the water, and it is often the residence of the wanderers. When King Luling first arrived in Fangzhou, he also lived in the ancient city of Fangling. However, in the middle of the vertical arch year, the queen mother specially made the state capital to make the slaves work, and chose the flat valley to build the Luling royal city for the Luling king's exclusive residence.

Luling Wangcheng is located in the south of the county twenty miles, its city is more than 100 zhang wide, there are towers and pavilions in the city, and the river is dug to lead the canal into the city as a pool, a should pattern all imitate the two Beijing Imperial Garden.

In the middle of winter, the north of the mountain is already snowing, and the south of the mountain is also withered, and there is no lack of cold. Located in the river valley of the Luling Wangcheng is also in this depression of the world, looking at it from afar, isolated in the flat valley, the four mountains are the walls, and there is little color.

There was no farming and weaving to make a living in the royal city, and everything was relied on for the need. There are more than 100 soldiers stationed in the four corners of the watchtower, including the state soldiers who belong to the Jingzhou Metropolitan Governor's Office, and the forbidden army soldiers from the two yas of the Shendu. There is only one road outside the royal city that leads directly to the county town outside the river valley, and beyond that, the surrounding area is full of wilderness, occasionally infested with foxtails and wolves, but it is difficult to climb over the high walls to enter the city.

In the afternoon, the sun gradually set in the west, and a bell rang in the royal city, and the servants and envoys scattered all over the royal city marched out one after another, gathering in front of the pavilion in the center of the royal city.

Half an hour passed, and a middle-aged man wrapped in a vegetarian body and a green cloth head rushed out for the masses. His face was pale and clear, his beard was gray and mottled, although he was more than six feet tall, but he hung his head with his chest and was slightly rickety, and he was the nominal owner of this royal city, Li Xian, the king of Luling.

The king of Luling entered the hall surrounded by a group of attendants in the palace, and the doors of the pavilion were wide open, and the damp and cold wet wind poured in from the portal, making the curtains and prayers set up in the hall shake more than once.

Behind King Luling, in addition to the attendants of the royal palace, another man and a woman tended to follow.

The woman was dressed in a jingchai cloth skirt, her appearance was also thin and pale, and the surging cold wind even blew the green tendons around her neck, and her body trembled, which was Princess Wei of Luling. The princess's frozen blue hand was only pulling a young man, and the young man's face was also pale and uncertain, shrinking his shoulders and clasping his hands, and he couldn't help but stomp his feet to keep warm while walking, it was Li Chongrun, the concubine of the king of Luling.

After a family of three ascended the hall, the attendants scattered all over the hall, and the king of Luling faced the north, worshiped on the cold ground in the hall, and shouted loudly: "The sin minister and philosopher have failed the family and country, the heavens and men are disgusted, and the clan is ugly and evil, fortunately, the saint is merciful, and the ministers are given houses and food, and they have to live in the world. ”

The king of Luling bowed again, and his wife and children bowed with him. There was no warm mat on the cold ground, and after the young man got up, his hands were already frozen and numb, and he leaned against Princess Luling and whispered: "Mother, I'......m cold."

Hearing her son's faint trill, Princess Luling's body also trembled, her eyes turned red in an instant, and she only held her son's hand tightly in the palm of her hand to warm it.

There are waiters hurriedly entered the hall, holding up grain and rice and other things one by one into the case hall to set up, every time there is a meal on the table, the king of Luling will make a knock, and exclaimed: "The saint is virtuous, the brothers share the taste, and the ministers thank for the food!" ”

Soon the meal was decided, and the king of Luling couldn't afford to worship it. Although the princess bowed behind, her eyes were fixed on the beam in the corner of the hall. Suddenly a bird flew out of the beam and pecked at the meal placed on the tribute table. Seeing this scene, the nervous expressions of the husband and wife in the hall were relaxed.

After the ceremony, half an hour has passed. The crowd gathered outside slowly dispersed, and the king of Luling, his wife and children also retreated to the inner city surrounded by attendants.

"Quickly take the stove, don't freeze my son!"

As soon as she returned to the inner city, Princess Luling stomped her feet and shouted, and hugged her son tightly in her arms.

Seeing that the mother and son were snuggling together to keep warm, the king of Luling couldn't help but have a sour nose, covered his face and sighed, handed the stove into the arms of his wife and children, and rushed to the inner house.

Although the climate of Shannan is free from wind and snow, the cold and wet also make the Luling King family, who are northerners, suffer a lot. After entering the house, King Luling held the princess's frostbite-infused hands close to his cheeks, and tears were already in his eyes: "Hard lady, share the hard years with me......"

"Where the king is, where the concubine is, the taste is sweet or bitter, there is no need to discuss it in detail......"

Seeing that the king's tears were hazy, the princess forced out a gentle smile to comfort her, but her eyes touched her son, but her eyes became dim again: "Husband and wife are suffering, and staying together is not lonely. But what is the sin of these children? They are all noble breeds of heavenly families, and they were born to enjoy all the wealth, but now, they can ...... Even the poor people and the people of Qianshou are not as good, do they really want to die of old age in this wild countryside in this life? ”

Hearing this, a trace of coldness burst out of King Luling's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by helplessness in his eyes, and he sighed with the princess: "The eastern capital is reborn, and the saint is holding the artifact again, and he is worried about me." But this is still second, the saint is rarely benevolent and cowardly, and he does not dare to harm me. Only the sinister species of the sages of the Shu people are the greatest troubles...... Although this is a secluded and miserable place, but it can still be taken care of without losing the old feelings, but the evil seed is newly gaining power, so he sent people into the state to scare me, if I am not careful, I am afraid that disaster will not be far away......"

There has never been a good end to abolishing the monarch, and Li Xian is naturally not exempt from vulgarity.

In the first few years, it was indeed not possible to live in peace, especially when the new abolition was made, Xu Jingye made a mess in Yangzhou, and the family tossed and turned between Junzhou and Fangzhou, which can be described as having no fixed place and panicking.

But after surviving the initial period of time, as the situation in the court stabilized, especially after the construction of the Luling Wangcheng, the family's living situation gradually stabilized.

After all, the happiness and misfortune of life are contrasted. Although he was the lord of the world before, he was imprisoned in the blink of an eye, and the changes in his circumstances can be described as a judgment of cloud and mud. But not long after settling in Luling Wangcheng, he learned that his second brother Li Xian had died in Bazhou, and Li Xian's mood gradually eased.

Although his mother took him from the supreme position, there was still a remnant of kindness after all. Compared with his second brother Li Xian, he is lucky after all, after all, he can only hope for a turnaround if he is alive.

In the following years, although the general environment of seclusion remained unchanged, the family lived a fairly stable life. Several Fangzhou assassins have taken care of their family, even during the period of the Wu Zhou Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty, the Shendu court struggled constantly, but it had no impact on the King of Luling who was far away in Fangzhou. In particular, Wu Sansi, who was an important figure in the martial family, actually sent his mansion Zuo Pei Xun into the state to take care of their family nearby, which made Li Xian see a glimmer of a turn in fate.

Therefore, in the past few years, although the life of King Luling's family is not as noble as that of the real Zongwang, they are also well-fed and carefree. But this kind of life ushered in another reversal after the Shendu Revolution.

When the news of the coup d'état reached Fangzhou, the entire Fangzhou landscape was also in chaos. Pei Xun came to visit Li Xian and discussed with him about returning to the Shendu, and even a number of state and county officials jointly invited him.

But Li Xian only felt that the human power was still not strong enough, and he shrank in the city and did not come out, and wanted to wait until the human power was gathered to become stronger before making a statement.

But it's a pity that he didn't wait for the moment when the momentum became stronger. Soon, the imperial court sent Wang Fangqing as the Xuanfu envoy of Shannan Province, summoned Jingzhou and other states to train and capture the guards, and the people gathered around the royal city were attacked and dispersed, and Pei Xun and other staff officers were all ambushed.

After that, the care of the Luling royal city is gone, and an army is stationed outside the city for half a year.

Although Wang Fangqing was transferred after a period of time, the garrison outside the royal city was also taken back by the Jingzhou Metropolitan Governor's Office. But this turmoil has brought a great shadow to Li Xian's heart, and even hides a kind of despair after the disillusionment of hope.

Previously, he may have hoped that his mother's aging and desire for power would weaken, or that he would be recalled to Liangjing. But now, even this fantasy hope has been countered. The Tang Sheji ushered in a new owner, and the old ministers of the Tang family were loyal and entrusted.

What's more, his second brother Li Xian's sons are adults, and they are also the first to get the moon near the water, and they have seized great power in the coup, which makes him even more worried.

Although he was born from a mother, the relationship between him and his second brother was not friendly. They are close in age to each other, and they have been competing since they were children, and with the hints and encouragement of his mother, the competition with his second brother gradually surpassed the scale, and finally won. But the fruit of this victory has not been tasted for long, and the sweetness turns into bitterness.

Originally, the brothers were down, but now they are separated by life and death, and it no longer matters what the old things are. But although his second brother is dead, he has a son and a strong man, although he was drooping back then, but he may not lose his perception of the human story, will he easily let him go?

Whenever he thought of this, Li Xian felt restless in his sleep, and he only held himself respectfully in his secluded residence, so as not to let people catch him.

"Alas, only now the situation is not up to me, and I can only see walking. I just hope that I will stay on this night, and I will be lucky enough to meet tomorrow morning......"

Li Xian sighed again, and said in a gloomy tone: "Let's go to the house to eat, the children should be in a hurry." ”

After the husband and wife and the eldest son returned to the inner hall, there were many people in the inner hall hurriedly greeted them, in addition to a few concubines who were close to the servants, there were also several young girls who came in front of the court to greet the salute, and the dress was also based on the princess as the standard, not seeing gold and jade, but simple.

There was only a young girl, dressed in a little color, and when she saw her parents entering, she threw herself into Aya's arms and said coquettishly: "Aya, can Grandma go quickly, I am so hungry that my stomach screams!" ”

Li Xian hugged his delicate and lovely daughter, the gloom on his face faded slightly, and showed a little loving smile, caressing the top of the girl's hair in his arms and said softly: "It actually made my little girl hungry, Aya is really wrong, hurry up and pass the meal!" ”

As they spoke, the family sat down, and then the waiter passed the food encapsulated in the food box one by one. Although the family is in a bad situation now, they have not lost the rules in the courtyard because of this.

In this inner hall, only the king and his wife who can sit down to eat and have a few concubines, and the rest of the concubines, including the concubines, can only be listed outside the table, and they dare to eat when the master finishes eating.

After the meal was cured and tossed with some etiquette, it was already completely hot by now, and it was nothing more than steamed sorghum, with preserved fish and fish, cold without a trace of heat, it looked like people had no appetite.

Not to mention the other people in the seat, the brightly dressed little woman saw these meals, her pretty face was completely colorless, and she directly threw the spoon and pushed the case, and cried out with a wow: "It's these grains and rice sauce again, how can people eat!" I don't eat...... I want to eat deer breast yokan......"

In the seat, the husband and wife of the king of Luling and the older daughters have already picked up the rice bowl, hearing the noisy voice of the little woman, they all showed helplessness for a while, the princess of Luling hugged the little girl and comforted softly, and the king of Luling also entered the front to comfort a few times, but the little lady cried louder and louder.

"Who's in the kitchen today? Treat my lady like this! ”

Seeing that the comfort was ineffective, the king of Luling slapped the case and said angrily. Then a concubine stepped forward and whispered, "It's a concubine...... But、But the concubine is not to reduce the use of food, only these are sent from outside the house......"

"The still dares to quibble! Because you are stupid, tired of my little girl's waste! ”

King Luling roared angrily, pulled out his horsewhip and pushed the concubine down and beat her, and looked back at the little lady who couldn't stop crying and said with a smile: "Don't cry, Aya's punishment for this slut is angry with you!" Endure today's meal, tomorrow Aya will definitely make people treat the meal! ”

The concubine fell to the ground begging for mercy, struggling to avoid the whip drawn, her posture and movements were not lacking in funny, and when Li Bao'er saw this scene, she forgot to cry for a while, and there were tears hanging on her cheeks, and she couldn't help but clap her hands and cheer for Aya. After crying, after all, he was young and couldn't bear to be hungry, but he still ate without grievances.

Seeing that the little girl was at ease, the king of Luling and his wife were at ease, and they looked at each other, and they had a feeling of being a poor couple and a poor couple.

When the master's family has eaten, the surrounding concubines and concubines go in front to clean up the leftovers and eat in the hall.

After eating, King Luling held a hand-copied copy of the "Medicine Master Sutra" and read it. Since he was born, he took the monk Xuanzang Master as his teacher, and got the name of the Buddha Light King, firmly believed in Buddhism, especially after suffering misfortune, he felt that the protection of God and Buddha could survive so far, so the Buddha was more sincere.

The princess sat next to the king of Luling, and held the king of Luling in her arms from the knee down, and pinched it carefully. Soon after being degraded, King Luling's legs suffered from wind cold and dampness, and he was sore and unbearable at the turn of autumn and winter, and even couldn't sleep at night. In the bitter cold land of Fangzhou, there is naturally no doctor of acupuncture and massage, and the princess is also self-conscious, so she will massage for the king of Luling in her spare time, hoping to relieve the pain of beriberi a little.

Several children sat around, and Li Bao'er had been wronged by the diet, and looked unhappy. In order to explain her, the princess told about the prosperity of the two capitals, and the wealth and wealth enjoyed back then, and all the children were fascinated by it, and their hearts were fascinated.

"My mother said this, I heard it all by heart, but I didn't see it in person, I thought it was just a lie! In the old days, it was said that my family would return to Xijing and enjoy the glory......"

"Ancestor! Don't talk about that again! ”

When King Luling heard that the little girl was open-mouthed, he was so frightened that he put aside the Buddhist scriptures and covered her mouth.

At this moment, a knock sounded outside the hall: "Fu Nu has come to greet the king and princess!" ”

The waiter lifted the curtain, and a young man in a cloth robe of fifteen or sixteen years old approached the court, then knocked on the ground and walked in on his knees. The second daughter of the princess next to her screamed, rushed down the hall and kicked the young man to the ground, it turned out that the young man's robe was dirty, and he dragged out two stains on the carpet in the living room before he kneaded in.

"You slave, you are so blind! The lichen was newly installed by you the day before yesterday. Get out, who is greedy for you to say hello! ”

The young man was kicked to the ground, but he didn't dare to be angry, but he bowed his head again and again to ask the county lord for forgiveness. The young man is none other than Li Chongfu, the eldest son of the prince of Luling, but in all aspects, he is incompatible with the family in the hall.

King Luling was a little irritated by the children's troubles, and waved his hand to the eldest son and said: "You go, I heard that your mother is sick on the bed, serve carefully, I will see you one day." ”

Hearing his father say this, the young man Li Chongfu looked even more sad, and then kowtowed and cried: "The slave came today for his mother...... My mother has been lying for a long time, with sores and carbuncles all over her body, and she has pain day and night, so she begs the princess to give the slave a little charcoal and make a fire to warm the house, otherwise my mother may not be able to survive this winter! ”

After Li Xian heard this, he also sat up from the couch and frowned: "Your mother is already so serious? As he spoke, his gaze turned to the Princess.

The princess's face was gloomy at this time, and she pointed at Li Chongfu, who was constantly begging, and said angrily: "What does the cheap slave mean by saying this? Is it suing me for being a housekeeper? Organisms are artificial, each has its own strengths and weaknesses, and you have run out of luck, and you have to blame me? ”

"Slaves don't dare, slaves don't dare...... It's just that I saw my mother crying on the couch, she was flesh and blood, and she couldn't bear it...... The king, Aya, beg Aye, She'er will make a few catties of charcoal, so that the child can ......"

Li Chongfu became even more sad after hearing this, but he cried and cried again and again.

"This, this ......"

King Luling was a little unbearable after all, but the princess on the side sneered: "The materials sent by the state government were still expected to be in the past years, but now they are becoming more and more thrifty and sluggish. The latest replenishment was a month ago, and there were 100 catties of charcoal left, and the expenditure of several houses was insufficient, and Ah Lang had to stay up all night to study. This slave is so sad, could it be that the trouble of human affection lies only with me? In this wild township, it is not easy for Derui to gather and raise, and the court is full of grievances, can there be a good house? ”

When King Luling heard this, he was furious, and said angrily: "Drag this slave away for me!" Under the cane, punish thirty first, and then ask him if he has any resentment to breed and harm my luck! ”

After a while, there was already a sound of sticks and whipping sticks and the sound of young men crying and begging outside the hall, and some of the attendants couldn't bear it, and said in front of him: "The king, even if the slave is not a weapon, after all, it is the king's blood and bones......

"I have a good boy in my hall, why don't you regret such disgusting things! You old slave, are you also resentful? ”

When the king of Luling heard this, he coldly reprimanded and asked, and when the waiter heard this, he hurriedly asked for mercy, and did not dare to speak more.

At this time, someone outside the hall hurriedly came to the hall and said with a nervous expression: "Your lord, Pei Lingxian, who joined the army in Junzhou, is leading a hundred and ten horsemen to the royal city!" ”

Hearing this, Li Xian's body suddenly trembled, his face became pale, he looked back at the princess and said in a trembling voice: "Since Pei Mou entered the matter, he has treated me very badly. If you come uninvited this time, I'm afraid it's a big murderer......"