Chengdu Imperial Palace of Shu Han

Because Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition won and regained Chang'an, Liu Chan, the emperor of Shu Han, was overjoyed, announced a big banquet for the ministers, and invited Prime Minister Zhuge Liang's family to the banquet. After the banquet, Empress Dowager Wu insisted on leaving the prime minister's family to chat, so everyone came to Changle Palace again.

Liu Chan said goodbye to the ministers, and as soon as he stepped into the Changle Palace, he saw Huang Yueying kneeling outside with Zhuge Guo and Zhuge Zhan. Because it was a banquet, the banquet was attended by important ministers of the court, Huang Yueying, as the lady of the decree, came from now on, in addition, she also brought Zhuge Guo and Zhuge Zhan, so that the Yang family stayed at home, and the Yang family did not care about this.

"Get up, don't be formal, it's all your own family, today is to catch up on the old days!" Seeing that everyone was kneeling on the ground with their heads bowed, Liu Chan hurriedly came up and said. He looked at Zhuge Guo with his spare eyes, he hadn't seen him for a few years, Zhuge Guo was getting more and more moving, but his body was a little weak, and a cold wind blew, and she couldn't help but shiver. Liu Chan suddenly felt pity, and couldn't help but want to reach out to protect Zhuge Guo, but as soon as his hand was halfway out, he felt that it was inappropriate, so he awkwardly hung down and pretended to be dusting.

At this time, a soft voice in the curtain said, "It's the emperor who is coming!" ”

"Son to the queen mother, please be safe!" Liu Chan knelt down on one knee, followed closely, and knelt behind him.

"Hurry up, just now the emperor also said that his family should not be formal, and this time he restrained himself again. Don't kneel, come inside and talk, it's cool outside! Empress Dowager Wu laughed softly.

Liu Chan also smiled, then stood up, and just took two steps, a small figure ran out of the warm pavilion and threw himself into his arms, "Father, the child misses you!" ”

It turned out to be Princess Jincheng, who was just five years old this year and was Liu Chan's eldest daughter. Her face was like a pink peach, and she also dotted a red dot on her eyebrows, making her more delicate and lovely.

Liu Chan nodded to Huang Yueying and the others, and led his daughter into the warm pavilion.

Jincheng turned his head and waved his arm at Zhuge Zhan, "Brother Zhan, let's go, what are you doing in a daze?" It's cold outside! ”

Zhuge Zhan hid behind Zhuge Guo and Huang Yueying, looking at his mother intently, and when he heard Jincheng call him, he ran over with a smile, "It's so cold, the wind is strong!" ”

Jincheng pulled out his hand from Liu Chan's palm, covered Zhuge Zhan's cold hand without scruples, rubbed it gently, and the peach petal-like mouth was still close to blowing, she asked seriously: "Is it still cold?" ”

"It's not cold!" Zhuge Zhan shook his head shyly, the children's faces were red, like freshly ripe apples, bearing in the brightness of spring, which made people feel comfortable.

The two little hands clasped tightly together, like a vine growing and lingering, inch by inch branches, and like a lock forged for thousands of years, locking each other's souls and hearts.

Liu Chan froze at this moment, and the two children with their fingers interlocked and smiling shy let him see the familiar images in the hurried past. The same two little guesses, the same intimacy, it's just that the years have no trace, life is like a dream, all the warmth and dependence do not exist, he is now high up, trapped in the deep courtyard of the palace, and she is still a free bird, and the two hearts are getting farther and farther apart.

He subconsciously glanced at Zhuge Guo, but he didn't see the same feeling in her eyes, Zhuge Guo still looked innocent, staring at Zhuge Zhan with a smile.

"Come on in, it's cold!" Empress Dowager Wu summoned again and again.

Liu Chan came back to his senses, entered the warm pavilion, and only then entered the inner room, it was the heating that came to his face, which was really like a spring breeze. The Queen Mother sat cross-legged on the soft collapse and looked at the crowd of people who came in with a smile. Although she is not Liu Chan's biological mother, she takes great care of Liu Chan and regards her as her own.

"Everyone drink a cup of hot wine to ward off the cold!" Empress Dowager Wu said enthusiastically, and instructed the palace maid to pour wine for the emperor and others, and then give Huang Yueying's family a seat.

Liu Chan thanked him, took a sip of hot wine, and only took a sip of wine, a stream of heat traveled in the viscera, and after a while, his whole body was warm, and his fat body began to slump, leaning on the soft collapse. His cheeks flushed slightly, but he still couldn't help but look at Zhuge Guo.

Empress Dowager Wu smiled and beckoned to Jincheng and Zhuge Zhan, "Come, two little guys, sit here with the imperial grandmother!" She took one in one hand and held it affectionately in her arms.

"Both of these kids are smart and smart, I love it!" She smiled at Huang Yueying and said, "Mrs. Prime Minister, I have an uninvited invitation, I hope Mrs. will see if it is appropriate or not!" ”

Huang Yueying hurriedly stood up and bowed: "Queen Mother, but it's okay to talk about it!" ”

Empress Dowager Wu brushed Zhuge Zhan's head with a smile, "I want to give these two children a good Qin-Jin Alliance, and when they become adults, they will choose a good day to become a big gift, how about it?" ”

The words were amazing, and Huang Yueying was also very surprised, it turned out that the Queen Mother's invitation was prepared today.

Without waiting for Zhuge Liang to answer, Liu Chan laughed to himself, "It's a good thing, what this family has done is a bit messed up, my father is my father's generation, but my daughter is married to my father's son, what should I call it in the future?" ”

The words made everyone in the room burst into laughter, and the Empress Dowager Wu followed with a smile, and said: "It doesn't matter, in the past, Qin Mugong married the sister of Duke Wen of Jin, and he married his daughter to Duke Wen, so it was chaotic, but it made Qin Jin's good talk, and the beauty of adults is focused on love and righteousness, and there is no need to be overly concerned about pedantic and ugly opinions!" ”

Liu Chan smiled and said solemnly: "Yes, what is rare is love and righteousness, Mrs. Prime Minister, you just agreed, my daughter is worthy of your son, right?" ”

Huang Yueying bowed, "How dare the concubine have such a delusion, the Queen Mother and His Majesty are hired as princesses, which is a great blessing for the courtiers!" ”

"Did the prime minister's wife agree?"

Huang Yueying thought about it for a while, and said in a frustrated manner: "The concubine agrees to this matter, and she has to go to Chang'an to tell her husband, and he agrees." The concubine is here first, thank you for the grace of the Queen Mother, Your Majesty! ”

"Good!" Empress Dowager Wu and Liu Chan said hello at the same time, the two looked at each other and smiled with satisfaction, Empress Dowager Wu shook Jincheng's hand and put it in Zhuge Zhan's hand, "The prime minister understands the righteousness and must agree, this matter is decided." From now on, you must love each other, and when you grow up, I will personally complete the marriage for you, and you must learn from the prime minister and be a virtuous couple! ”

"Being a couple?" Jincheng didn't understand what was going on, she tilted her head and thought for a while, her fingers scratched in Zhuge Zhan's palm, "Brother Zhan, what do you mean?" ”

Although Zhuge Zhan is young, he is precocious and intelligent, although he is still a little ignorant, but compared to Jincheng, he has a lot of governors, and he is not embarrassed to answer, he smiled innocently, and saw Zhuge Guo make a shy face to him at a glance, and he muttered: "Bad sister!" ”

Empress Dowager Wu chuckled, "Okay, I've finished one of my wishes!" She looked at her obliquely and sighed, "Now that my brother is married, I have rushed ahead of my sister!" ”

Zhuge Guo was still grimacing at her younger brother, and when she heard the Queen Mother mention her, she smiled suddenly.

"Mrs. Prime Minister, how long do you want to keep the fruit girl?" Empress Dowager Wu's gentle voice was heard in Zhuge Liang's ears, it was like a thunder in June, and an explosion rolled overhead, he pondered for a while, and wanted to answer, but Empress Dowager Wu rushed ahead of him and said:

"I have a good family here, and I want to discuss a thing or two with you!"

As soon as the words fell, Liu Chan's face turned pale, the wine cup at the end of his hand was tilted unconsciously, and the hot wine fell on the red dripping under his feet, and he didn't even realize it.

Huang Yueying was surprised and helpless, the queen mother is on the rise as a matchmaker today, and she is going to arrange her two children one after another for lifelong events, she is in good spirit, and said: "The queen mother, the daughter of the concubine has always been frail and sick, coupled with her stubborn temperament, the concubine and her husband have delayed her marriage until now, and the concubine still wants to keep her for a year or two, because the husband often goes out on expeditions, and does not take good care of the family, there are concubines and daughters at home, but they can comfort the family, and there are really concubines and concubines who are reluctant to let her leave!" ”

Empress Dowager Wu said with a little disgust: "You can't delay your children for life as a mother, I will be the master today, and I will definitely set a good kiss for the fruit girl!" You see that you have a good ....... in the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty."

"No way!" Liu Chan patted the desk and shouted, his cheeks were red with excitement, and the wine cup in his hand slammed down, almost cracking.

"What does the Emperor think is wrong?" Empress Dowager Wu was taken aback and blurted out.

Probably realizing his gaffe, Liu Chan became a little frightened, he swallowed his saliva, "My son thinks that my sister should be cautious about her life's major events, and she must always choose a character who is both high-grade and martial!" Besides, Sister Guo is still young, so she can choose slowly, and she doesn't have to rush to ....... for a while."

Empress Dowager Wu looked at the emperor meaningfully, she seemed to understand the emperor's mind a little, and slowly replied with a kind smile, "What the emperor said is also reasonable, if you think it is inappropriate, you can still discuss, anyway, you have to listen to the prime minister's meaning!" ”

Liu Chan asked Huang Yueying with a blank look: "Mrs. Prime Minister, what do you say?" ”

Huang Yueying silently saw that the emperor's eyes were begging for mercy, she pondered for a while, and said: "The concubine also thinks that this matter is urgent, the husband once said that the fruit is his heart, and he must carefully observe and slowly choose a suitable husband." However, now that the Northern Expedition is imminent, and the husband is out on the expedition, he really has no time to choose a son-in-law, even if he is married, he can't get married in a hurry, so wouldn't it be like child's play to marry a major event. Therefore, the concubine felt that it was better to wait for the husband's Northern Expedition to become the overall situation, and then make a plan, and hope that the Queen Mother, Your Majesty will be clear! ”

His words were really leaky, and he maintained the face of the queen mother and relieved the emperor's worries. In the end, his mood became heavy a little bit, how much he didn't want to do that, but the choice of life is nothing more than an either/or abandonment, some people are destined to be sorry, who made her the daughter of Zhuge Liang, who made her father fatalistic and sad because of the extraordinary.

"Well, I also think so, what the Prime Minister's wife said is very, very true!" Liu Chan clapped his hands again and again, he thought that waiting for Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition, I was afraid that he would not be able to achieve the overall situation for a year and a half, if he didn't come back, there was room for maneuver in everything.....

Empress Dowager Wu originally saw that Zhuge Liang had made a great contribution and wanted to win him over for the emperor, so she acted as a matchmaker for Zhuge Guo on a whim. Now that she sees that it is related to military and political leaders, she can't force anything more, and said with a smile, "That's it, then let's have this discussion first, everyone knows it." In a year or two at most, I will always marry the fruit girl, and at that time, none of you can stop me! ”

The crowd laughed and agreed, and went on drinking.

I saw Liu Chan drinking, grabbing the wine cup violently, and drinking the residue away, what he entered was not warm warm wine, but cold bitter medicine, which made him bitter to the heart. He closed his eyes fiercely and covered his sleeves so that no one could see his expression, only the sound of fluttering as a feather, and he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.