At the beginning of July, Zhu Gaoxu's huge team arrived in Fengyang, the central capital. Everyone will stay in the city for two nights, and after Zhu Gaoxu leads the civil and military officials to the imperial tomb tomorrow to pay respects, the day after tomorrow the brigade will set off to continue northward.

There is an imperial city in the city, because Fengyang is the hometown of the Zhu family and the place where the ancestral tomb is located. However, there was basically no emperor to live, and Zhu Gaoxu came to worship his ancestors, of course, he lived in his own imperial city.

The imperial city of Zhongdu is well repaired, the timber and jade materials, the scale may not be comparable to the imperial city of the Beijing division, but the palace buildings are readily available, the city tower with glazed tiles and heavy eaves roof, and the three major halls are available. After Zhu Gaoxu entered the imperial city by car, he felt that it was neat and luxurious, and it should have taken a lot of manpower and material resources to build it.

But Zhu Gaoxu soon discovered that the atmosphere here was completely different from that of the Imperial City of Beijing. The most important thing is not the perception of the building, but the lack of popularity.

"Hooray, hooray......" came the voice of a man outside the carriage. Zhu Gaoxu lifted the curtain and looked at the kneeling crowd next to the brick road. Most of them are old people, some of them are gray-haired eunuchs, and some are concubines and palace maids who have become old women.

After all the people who lived here came to greet them, the palace in front of them was even more deserted, and there was hardly a single figure to be seen.

The sun is shining, the palace is layered, but Zhu Gaoxu has a strange faint coolness inexplicably, only to feel that this place is like an elegant and cold ghost town. It reminded him of the hollowed-out towns of the past. No matter how well the Imperial City of Zhongdu is built, without people, everything is in vain.

The itinerary is to worship the imperial mausoleum tomorrow and depart early the day after tomorrow, which is exactly what Zhu Gaoxu wants. As soon as he entered the Imperial City, he felt that this place was dull and boring, and there was really nothing to stay.

The emperor's guard of honor continued to go north, and Zhu Gaoxu sat in the carriage all day, only waiting for the palace where he stayed to rest for a while......

At this time, Zhang Sheng, the commander of the Jinyi Guard, and Cao Fu, the eunuch who accompanied him, had already arrived inside, and they brought people to not only deploy guard posts, but also prepare things for the living and eating of the emperor's concubines.

Every time Zhu Gaoxu travels, almost all of the close eunuchs he brings with him are Cao Fu. The emperor may not have thought much about it, but Cao Fu knew in his heart that the emperor must be very satisfied with his work.

Cao Fu first sent someone to carefully inspect the meat, vegetables, melons and fruits sent in. When the imperial concubines had dinner, he had to arrange for someone to taste the food, and he was very meticulous in his stewardship.

After he personally arranged the manpower, he took two little eunuchs to walk around and patrol. After walking two laps, I suddenly heard someone in front of me who seemed to be talking. Cao Fu walked over and saw a woman beckoning to him and calling, "Father-in-law Cao." ”

Cao Fu approached the woman, and the captain of the Jinyi Guard, who was standing there, clasped his fists and said, "Gonggong Cao knows this person?" ”

The woman who was stopped by Jinyiwei was wearing a Han skirt, but Cao Fu quickly remembered that this woman was Chen Xianzhen, a native of Annan. Cao Fu said: "I know, you don't have to worry about it for the time being, let's talk to her." ”

The captain of the Jinyi guard responded with a fist, and then ignored Chen Xianzhen.

Cao Fu greeted: "Aunt Chen lives here?" ”

Chen Xianzhen's brows furrowed slightly: "Where else can I go?" ”

Cao Fu looked around, pointed to an empty house in front of him, and said, "Let's sit and talk for a while." "There are a lot of empty houses around here, and there are not many people in the entire Imperial City of Zhongdu.

The two walked into the door together, and Chen Xianzhen spoke: "When Gonggong Cao gave me to the Ming Emperor, do you plan to lock me in this cage and die alone?" ”

When Cao Fu heard this, his face changed and said, "Our family is kind, I wanted you to enjoy wealth." It's good that you have ill intentions and almost affected a lot of people. ”

He said it a few years ago. The thing is probably that Chen Xianzhen was sent to Beijing from the Governor's Mansion of Annan; But because Ruan Jingyi, who surrendered, was framed by Chen Xianzhen and became angry, Ruan Jingyi explained the matter of Chen Xianzhen and Li Li, the rebel leader of Annan, and others, saying that they had dealings with each other.

Therefore, Chen Xianzhen was suspected of approaching the emperor to plot against him. Because the matter implicated Zhang Fu (Chen Xianzhen presented by Zhang Fu), the emperor did not investigate deeply, and even convicted him, and directly asked someone to send Chen Xianzhen to Fengyang.

Chen Xianzhen shook his head and said: "I'm going to be locked up here for the rest of my life, if Gonggong Cao really thinks that it's all my own doing, how can you still be willing to talk to me today?" ”

Cao Fu was unexpectedly asked, stunned and speechless. He had no choice but to shake his head and say, "You woman, your mouth is full of lies. If you really had ill intentions back then, didn't you dare to do it yourself? ”

He thought that Chen Xianzhen was going to defend the original incident again, but Chen Xianzhen's answer surprised him: "How many women have Gonggong Cao seen who don't lie?" ”

Cao Fu glanced at her and said, "The emperor is the holy monarch of the Ming Dynasty, and the hearts of billions of people in the world are related. Regardless of whether there is evidence or not, as long as it is not good for the emperor, you can't get half a step close to the emperor. ”

"Really?" Chen Xianzhen looked at Cao Fudao, "You don't have the slightest selfishness?" At the beginning, Empress Dowager Chen stirred up discord and offended my father-in-law Cao, but didn't Gonggong Cao speak ill of me from it? ”

Cao Fu immediately clenched his fists and said: "The slave is loyal to the emperor, how can she have any selfishness?" ”

The two of them were talking unpleasantly, but Chen Xianzhen suddenly stopped arguing with Cao Fu, breathed a sigh of relief, and sighed: "I don't hate the emperor now, Li Li and Ruan Jian and others are dead, what else can I do as a woman?" ”

Cao Fu ignored her weakness, and still said with a fierce expression: "You have a hidden evil in your heart, if it weren't for the emperor's kindness, such a person would have been executed by Ling Chi and exterminated the Nine Clans!" You still don't know what to do, dare to resent the emperor? ”

Chen Xianzhen was still not annoyed, and sighed again: "This place is really like a tomb, it's crazy, and I don't know how I survived a few years." ”

Cao Fu scolded a few words, but he also felt bored, so he said: "Since the emperor doesn't kill you." If you ask our family, our family can help you think of a way to let you go back to Annan, and we will settle the matter. ”

"Back to Annan?" Chen Xianzhen looked at Cao Fu with strange eyes.

Cao Fu also looked confused: "Aren't you used to living in Fengyang?" ”

Chen Xianzhen frowned and said, "Empress Dowager Chen hates me to death, she is now in charge of the power of Annan. My house was also raided by her, how can I live when I go back? ”

Cao Fu recalled for a while and said: "Your house was not copied by Empress Dowager Chen, it was a local Haoqiang in Annan; When they saw that your house was gone, they took advantage of the fire to rob and make a fortune. Empress Dowager Chen said this in her own handwriting, but she still dares to bully the king? ”

"Ugh." Chen Xianzhen sat on a stool, his head hanging dejectedly, as if thinking about something.

Seeing this, Cao Fu said a good word: "The Imperial City of Zhongdu is raised by the royal family, and there is no shortage of food and clothing, which is better than those who are hungry." ”

He saw that Chen Xianzhen was still sitting there depressed, so he said again, "Our family has other things, so we have to leave." If you don't want to go back to China, you can stay here and don't come near here, there are brocade guards guarding you. ”

Cao Fu walked to the door, and suddenly heard Chen Xianzhen's voice and asked, "I offended Father-in-law Cao, don't you hold a grudge?" ”

Cao Fu turned his head to look at her, only to feel that this woman was also quite miserable, so he said, "Although our family is a eunuch, we are not as stingy as a woman." Why bother with you? ”

He said and walked straight out, and said in his heart: There is no difference between the Imperial City and the Cold Palace, once people are sent here, they will spend their lives here. Except for a very small number of people who have been rescued by big people in Beijing, such as Ma Enhui. Therefore, for those who live here, grievances are no longer important.

Besides, the incident they mentioned just now, looking back after a few years, it is just a small matter. Mainly because Chen Xianzhen was disobedient, at that time Chen Xianzhen and the Empress Dowager Annan had a dirty relationship, Cao Fu knew that the emperor valued the Empress Dowager Chen, so he favored the Empress Dowager, so he quarreled with this Chen Xianzhen once, and the quarrel was very stiff.

So after Cao Fu left, he quickly forgot about Chen Xianzhen.

After the unitary time, the emperor and the imperial concubine and the virtuous concubine had dinner in the palace, and Cao Fu was fully focused on this matter. He didn't go into the dining room either, but only guarded himself in the cubicle, watching a row of old eunuchs and palace ladies try the food and check if they swallowed it. After waiting for a while, Cao Fu waved his sleeves and asked the palace maids to send the dishes inside.

The conditions here are still not as good as those of the Jingshi Palace, and I didn't find anyone who can play the piano for a while, and the cooks who cook are also very ordinary. After the dishes were delivered, Cao Fu left the palace and went to the corridor next to him to eat by himself.

After nightfall, the surrounding lampstands are lit one after another. However, Cao Fu guessed that Ping Su probably wouldn't light so many lights. He walked to the gate of the palace and asked a palace maid: "Is the emperor sleeping?" ”

The palace maid was holding a basin, but still hurriedly bent her knees and said, "Grandpa Cao, the saint is still writing." ”

Cao Fu nodded and said, "Go ahead." ”

At that moment, there was a chord sound from somewhere in the west. The sound is a bit far away, but it's quiet at night, so the strings are clearly audible.

Cao Fu was trying to find someone to ask, who was so bold and still playing tunes here to disturb the holy driving when it was dark. Unexpectedly, the emperor walked out and asked this sentence first, "Who is playing the pipa?" ”

"The slave and maid shall go at once, and bring out the man." Cao Fu bent down and said.

At this time, the person who played the pipa actually sang, "Xunyang Jiangtou sends off guests at night, and the maple leaves and flowers are in autumn." The master dismounts the guest in the boat, and raises the wine to drink without orchestra. If you are drunk, you will say goodbye, and you will be immersed in the moon in the vast river when you are drunk. Suddenly heard the sound of pipa on the water, and the host forgot to return to the guest. Who is the bomber? The sound of the pipa stopped and the desire to speak was late......"

Cao Fu's face had become quite ugly when he heard the voice. Because he heard the voice, it was Chen Xianzhen singing. He should have known a long time ago that Chen Xianzhen had never listened to him before, he liked to make assertions, and he was very bold.

During the day, when Cao Fu said, "As long as there is a person who is not at the slightest disadvantage to the emperor, you can't get close to the emperor by half a step", Chen Xianzhen asked, yes? At that time, Cao Fu felt a little strange, but he didn't care. It wasn't until now that Cao Fu suddenly realized that this Chen Xianzhen had already thought of a way.