Spring is bright, and everything is back to life. At this time, Zhu Gaoxu remembered a stable life in Yunnan, where he had a lot of time to do what he wanted to do every day. The biggest difference is probably also the state of mind; The threats and pressures that are being received now are obviously not so great.

Imperial power has a relationship with morality, and the rules of the world are strict hierarchy of superiority and inferiority; What's more, now that Zhu Gaoxu is still in control of the army, it is by no means so easy for anyone to threaten the imperial power. When he was in Yunnan, he deeply realized this.

He mainly deployed some overseas affairs, and also had several correspondence with the Shen family.

And this afternoon, Zhu Gaoxu decided to go back to the harem early to discuss with the queen about expanding the harem concubines.

When I met Guo Wei in Kunning Palace, she was wearing a yellow regular dress, a phoenix crown on her head, and a crystal clear jade bracelet on her wrist. Zhu Gaoxu felt a little strange.

When Guo Wei does not summon concubines or concubines, she usually does not like to wear the clothes of the queen's courtesy. Although the costume is of high standard, the point is not to make the woman more beautiful. Guo Wei likes to wear light-colored flowing skirts or Luo skirts, which look young and make her look less like a woman who has given birth to children; But sometimes she will learn from Yao Ji, and she seems to want to be more charming.

It was still early, and the couple sat in the main hall of Kunning Palace, drank a cup of tea, and talked about canonizing concubines for a while.

At this time, Guo Wei said: "The concubine hasn't been to the Imperial Garden for a long time, the weather is very good today, why don't you accompany the concubine?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu slapped his thighs with both hands, and the person stood up, nodded happily and agreed. He said in his heart, no wonder Guo Wei was dressed like this today, and she was ready to go out a long time ago.

"Holy ......," Guo Wei's voice said.

When Zhu Gaoxu turned his head to look, he saw a look on her pretty little face that wanted to speak and stopped, so he asked, "What's the matter?" ”

Guo Wei finally said: "The concubine is going to send my sister Mrs. Guo to Zhongdu according to the will of the saint." My sister wants to see the saint, how about the saint see her in the imperial garden in a while? ”

Zhu Gaoxu was silent for a moment, then nodded, "Okay." ”

Meeting Guo Yan once is nothing more than taking some time, and Zhu Gaoxu doesn't have to refuse. As long as he can compromise on things, he will generally rely on Queen Guo Wei. After all, Zhu Gaoxu is with other women openly and at the same time; Maybe the world at this time took it for granted, but he still felt it very much.

Zhu He used to have an elder who earned a lot of money and found a small one outside. The elder's wife confided her heart in public many times, to relatives and friends, saying that when the man could not walk, she would lift the man off the ladder and fall to his death, so that he would not die well.

But here, Zhu Gaoxu and Guo Wei still maintain a good relationship. He inevitably felt that Guo Wei was virtuous, so he was willing to repay and was very able to compromise with her.

However, when she met Mrs. Guo in the Imperial Garden, Guo Wei didn't need to tell Zhu Gaoxu in advance. Zhu Gaoxu vaguely felt that after Mu Zhen had Zhanqi, Guo Wei seemed to be more cautious.

The group gathered around the car of Zhu Gaoxu and his wife and came to the imperial garden in the northwest corner of the palace. When Zhu Gaoxu walked down the imperial chariot, he really saw Mrs. Guo.

Mrs. Guo knelt on the ground and bowed to her. Zhu Gaoxu stepped forward and made a gesture of support, telling her to be flat.

Queen Guo Wei said: "The concubine will go to the forest first, and when Mrs. Guo finishes her work, the concubine will come to accompany the saint." ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded. Guo Wei gave the eunuch Huang Gou a look, and paced towards the forest with his entourage, leaving only two palace people to follow far behind.

This imperial garden was built at the same time as the imperial palace, and it was built in the Hongwu period, and the various trees planted in it were already very high. The trees are paved with bricks and stones, and there are palace people who clean up weeds and leaves. So at first glance it looks a little monotonous, but it's cleaner than the average woods. The large canopy of the trees makes the brick floor very shady, and the sunlight can only cast a dappled light from between the leaves.

Birds hide among the treetops and chirp, but it still seems peaceful. From time to time, palace people pass by on the road, and people dare not make noise.

Guo Wei had already walked towards a pool and rockery in front of him, and the strange stones and lava stones piled up on the rockery were transported from nowhere, and they couldn't be seen in Zhili anyway. Only then did Zhu Gaoxu remember that his first meeting with Guo Wei was next to the rockery.

He turned his head and glanced at Guo Yan in front of him.

It is estimated that because of Gao Chi's death, Guo Yan understands the customs, so the color of her clothes is very plain. a light blue shirt, a plain white dress, and no jewelry on his body; However, the material of the dress is very good, soft and light silk material, with an astringent luster. Zhu Gaoxu has seen many women, so he can see that Guo Yan's face looks plain, but she carefully applies light makeup. Because of her widowhood, it was obviously not appropriate to apply grease and powder.

"Let's talk as we go." Zhu Gaoxu walked forward slowly, acting quite kindly.

The two walked silently for a while at a short distance, and Guo Yan seemed to be brewing a rhetoric.

Now when almost everyone faces Zhu Gaoxu, it should be very energy-intensive and thoughtful; People prepare in advance, and they are very careful when they talk. Zhu Gaoxu is used to this, and with the power of life and death over almost everyone, and making everyone feel that he is like a tiger, what can he do?

Sure enough, Guo Yan finally spoke: "There is one thing, I don't know if the saint knows. Before the saint's wedding, the candidate for the princess of Han at that time should have been a concubine. ”

Zhu Gaoxu suddenly turned her head to look at her, her face was a little red, a little nervous, and she showed a sad and pitiful expression.

Guo Yan sighed lightly, and said quietly: "Later, because the concubine was not a concubine, the person who married the saint was the sister of the concubine. It's all fate, alas. ”

"Oh......" Zhu Gaoxu made a voice, and he really didn't know how to respond.

What's the use of saying all this now?

With Zhu Gaoxu's identity at that time, who the wife marries is completely up to the father and queen mother, the so-called parents' orders matchmaker. Before he got married, he didn't know what kind of person he was marrying, and it seemed to him that whoever he chose was the same; He did see Wei'er in this imperial garden beforehand, but he didn't know who the little lady was at the time.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't say what was in his heart, and used his parents' orders to prevaricate Guo Yan's grievances. After all, she didn't say these words to Zhu Gaoxu to explain; It's just to win sympathy, right?

This attitude of showing weakness did not disgust Zhu Gaoxu. It's better than complaining when she comes up, such as questioning Zhu Gaoxu and killing her man and son.

"Holy." Guo Yan called from behind the side.

Zhu Gaoxu stood still and turned around, and saw that she was boldly raising her head to look at herself, because she was shorter than Zhu Gaoxu. After Guo Yan found that Zhu Gaoxu seemed indifferent, she couldn't see what kind of mood she was.

Guo Yan took a faint breath and said, "Therefore, the concubine does not resent the saint, but is just lost. Do you understand the concubine's heart, do you believe it? ”

Zhu Gaoxu was silent for a while, nodded and said, "I believe it." You also have to believe that the abolished prince is my eldest brother after all, and the fact that the middle capital is lost is definitely not my intention. ”

Guo Yan shook her head slightly, nodded again, and said in a pleading tone: "Of course I believe it...... A weak woman like a concubine is powerless against everything, and she is unhappy and may be a little envious, but what she wants most is to live well. ”

Zhu Gaoxu pondered for a while. He didn't care much about Guo Yan before, who had lost all his strength, and now he was temporarily thinking about it.

Sending Guo Yan to Zhongdu is actually not his intention, but the will of the queen and the Guo family. However, before that, Zhu Gaoxu did ask the celebrant to arrange for someone to watch her, so as not to have any accidents; So it contributed to the wishes of the Guo family?

Zhu Gaoxu knew his responsibility, and he didn't want to pass the buck to Wei'er's head, so he gave up his defense.

At this time, he spoke: "Mrs. Guo can not only live well when she goes to Zhongdu, but also get the praise of the world (guarding the tomb)." I will issue an order to let the people who stay in the Central Capital allow the Marquis of Wuding and the Empress to send someone to meet you in the Central Capital, so as not to make things difficult for you. ”

"Holy ......" Guo Yan's face turned pale.

Zhu Gaoxu said kindly: "Marquis Wuding is a noble in the court, and Wei'er is a righteous queen. You are a member of the Guo family, no matter where you live, you will not be treated badly, don't worry too much. ”

Guo Yan bit her lip and suddenly said, "You are so ruthless!" ”

Zhu Gaoxu didn't say anything, he seemed to acquiesce to Guo Yan's evaluation.

In his opinion, there are always injustices and victims in this world. Those who have failed, those who have been marginalized, will inevitably lose their lives, or they will be deprived of their livelihoods and dignity. The world that is completely fair and reasonable is probably only the utopia that idealists write about in books.

Even if he is an emperor and claims to be blessed by the world, but the Ming Dynasty, including hermits and women and children, may already have a population of hundreds of millions, does he really have the ability and can benefit everyone?

Zhu Gaoxu turned his head and said to the palace man behind: "Please come to the queen." ”

Gong said: "The slave obeys the order." ”

When Guo Wei and the others came to greet him, Zhu Gaoxu accompanied Guo Wei to continue to walk in the imperial garden. When he walked to the side of the rockery, Zhu Gaoxu stopped and looked at the rockery thoughtfully.

When he turned his head to look at Guo Wei, the two of them glanced at each other, as if they both remembered something.

Zhu Gaoxu asked: "Where did the queen's inappropriate clothes go?" ”

Guo Wei said a little embarrassed: "Naturally, I have to pay it back...... The Holy One remembered the little things for so long. ”

Zhu Gaoxu smiled: "I'm afraid I can't forget it." ”

Guo Wei sighed lightly: "Looking back suddenly, eight years have passed, but it seems that not many days have passed. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "The fairest thing in the world is probably only this one, which makes people feel short for decades." ”

Guo Wei hurriedly said: "The saint will be able to live forever." ”

Zhu Gaoxu smiled and was noncommittal.