Section XIX

The old emperor was stunned, and there seemed to be a flash of crystal in his cloudy old eyes, and he sighed for a while and said, "Yes, I'm sorry for your mother. But I'm an emperor, and I'm sorry for too many women. ”

Esther hung her head, speechless and choked. Yes, he is an emperor, and according to the imperial system, he needs at least seventy-two concubines in three palaces and six courts. If he was only good to his mother, there might be more women disappointed. Wouldn't that be the same pain for others? Is there a way to change this? Esther was also at a loss. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but glance at Wu Ming, who was standing below, thoughtfully.

Looks like we'll have to keep an eye on this guy in the future. Even if he has no achievements in the future, he is a governor of one party, so it seems that there are no fewer women in the family. Now he accompanies me every day, but he doesn't have enough time, and he wants to have seventy-two concubines in three palaces, six courtyards, even if there is a difference, it is too terrible.

She was thinking nonsense there, and the old emperor suddenly said: "Little Da'er, you are going to get married, can you stop blaming your father?" ”

After such a sensation from the old emperor, Esther's resentment had already been thrown out of the clouds, she trembled her lips and said, "Father, I don't blame you, I don't blame you." ”

Wu Ming was overjoyed. Listening to the old emperor's meaning, he already acquiesced to Esther marrying him. He thought that the Persian emperor would not have a good time, but he knew that he was unexpected. Just when he was a little overjoyed, the old emperor suddenly said: "Governor Wu, I have already heard about you and the little girl. But the little girl had already promised to the son of Wu Gong. Wu Gong has done a lot of lawlessness, and I am not ignorant of it. So if you want to marry a little girl, I don't resist, you just need to promise me one condition, and I will marry you the most beautiful pearl of Gehan. ”

Wu Ming's heart was shocked, and he looked at the old emperor and said, "I don't know what Your Majesty wants your courtiers to do?" ”

The old emperor also looked at him, and said word by word: "Take Yundu as a dowry, then I will agree to the marriage of the two of you." ”

Wu Mingmeng's eyes widened, he took a deep breath, calmed the shock in his heart, and categorically vetoed: "This matter is absolutely impossible." ”

The old emperor coughed again, glanced at the stunned Esther, and said slowly: "Wu Du, don't be busy making decisions, it's better to think about it more." ”

Wu Ming knelt down, kowtowed respectfully and said, "Your Majesty, I love the princess deeply and can give everything for her." But although I am the governor of China and the West, Yundu is not my own Yundu, this condition, please forgive the foreign ministers It is really difficult to agree. ”

The old emperor snorted and was very dissatisfied: "Yundu is naturally not your Yundu, but Yundu is not in the hands of your Eastern Han Dynasty, you don't give me face for such a favor?" ”

Yundu is a temple holy place, but it is not in the territory of Persia. Every year, a large number of believers trek through mountains and rivers to make pilgrimages from the sea, from the west, and even across the snow-capped mountains of Daya, and believers who die on the pilgrimage road abound. In this way, the believers traveled thousands of miles to Yundu, the Gobi belt of the snow-capped mountains where birds do not, and used the white bones to run it, completing the actual control. Successive Persian emperors have made it their mission to occupy this place. However, Yundu is too far away from Persia proper, and there is a Daya Snow Mountain in the middle separated from Nanban. The ideal is plump, and the distance is too far. This sentence is indeed appropriate to describe the successive Persian emperors. Therefore, seeing the holy land hanging alone, I can only look at the mountains and sigh. After the Daya Snow Mountain was opened, Persia occupied the south of the Tianqing River, and theoretically speaking, it was only separated from the holy land of Yundu. But the problems followed, this place belongs to the Eastern Han Dynasty, Persia and the Southern Barbarians are at war, if they are forcibly occupied, it will inevitably cause a backlash in the Eastern Han Dynasty, even if Persia is arrogant, they will not dare to do stupid things with one enemy and two enemies. So it dragged on to Persia to form an alliance with the Eastern Han Dynasty. As soon as the covenant was completed, even if Persia coveted Yundu, it could not be treacherous and act rashly.

But if Wu Ming opened his mouth, the effect would be very different. As long as the de facto occupiers of China and the West agreed, the Persian army could be stationed in Yundu in an open and honest manner. In the face of this kind of ending that has become a fact, even if it does not agree, it can only pinch its nose and admit it.

Wu Ming still shook his head, stared at him and said, "It's not a matter of the minister's face. Although Yundu is not in the hands of my Eastern Han Dynasty, he is my territory in China and the West, at least nominally, what does Your Majesty think? ”

The old emperor's face fell, and there was a faint anger in his tone: "In this case, what else do we have to talk about, Governor Wu had better think about it." Kane, Kane. ”

The old eunuch outside hurriedly ran in, and said as he ran: "The slave is here." ”

The old emperor shook his sleeves: "I'm tired, help me down." ”

Esther reacted, and also knelt down and said, "Father, I and Governor Wu are in love, and I hope that my father will be perfected." ”

The old emperor glanced at her coldly, and then at Wu Ming, who was also kneeling on the ground, and his tone was colder than his face: "Governor Wu, you keep saying that you love the little girl, are you reluctant to give this dowry?" Little Da'er, don't blame your father, I have fulfilled you, who will fulfill me? If you ask for it, go and ask Governor Wu. ”

Esther couldn't help sobbing and said, "Father, the son has never begged you in his life, and he will beg you once in this life, can you promise the son?" ”

The old emperor was noncommittal, and with the support of the old eunuch, he turned down from behind the screen. When the two of them walked away, Wu Ming got up, walked up to Esther and whispered, "Little Ai ......"

Esther raised her head, it was already pear blossoms with rain, she glanced at Wu Ming, and lowered her head again, Wu Ming looked at her pitiful appearance, and her heart was even more pity: "I'm sorry......"

Esther said in a low voice: "Brother Amin, I don't blame you, you didn't promise your father, that's right." After a pause, she continued: "You're right, Yundu is not your Yundu, but your Yundu of the Eastern Han Dynasty. If you promise your father, you will surely incur countless infamy in the country; If you promise your father, you will be stinking for 10,000 years; If you promise your father, even I will look down on you. I don't want my husband to be a bastard who only cares for his own selfish desires. I don't want to marry myself and be pointed out by thousands of people and scolded by thousands of people. ”

She looked up and said with tears in her eyes, "That's not the life I wanted. ”

Because she was masked, she could only see her eyes. Her eyes were as bright as cold stars, straight as pearls, and even more like two shining blue agate. Her voice is still sweet and charming, but it is loud. Wu Ming's heart shook violently, and he couldn't help but murmur, "Thank you, Xiao Ai." ”

If you calculate carefully, he and Esther have not been together for a long time, and they don't know how to do their art, and they don't have three years of precipitation like Zhu Yuqing. Most of the time, Esther is hip-hop, a typical optimist. Listening to her words today gave her a deeper understanding of this eccentric Persian girl. But because of this, Wu Ming was even more painful, and he stretched out his hand to pull her: "Let's go, I'll think of a way to ...... again"

The marriage between the two has actually entered a dead end. Unless Wu Ming agrees to the conditions, there is really nothing else to think of. What he said about finding a way was only words of comfort. Esther shook her head and said, "No, I'll kneel here, I won't get up unless my father agrees to the conditions......"

Seeing her weak and helpless appearance, Wu Ming's heart hurt again: "Fool, it's useless for you to do this......"

Esther looked up at Wu Ming, but her eyes were rarely firm: "No, what my father said just now made me understand that he still loves his mother, and he still has feelings for our children." I believe that as long as I am sincere, I will definitely be able to impress him and make him change his mind. ”

"Fool, the old emperor is so pretentious, he just wants you to side with him to coerce himself into agreeing to the conditions."

Wu Ming wanted to say this, but when he saw Esther's face full of hope, he opened his mouth and finally held back. For this girl who lacks fatherly love, that little bit of warmth is so precious. She is not stupid, the true purpose of the old emperor, I am afraid she knows better than herself, but she is still so persistent, just to keep the last glimmer of hope in her heart, if she finds out, it will be too cruel. Esther lowered her head and said softly, "It's not early, Brother Amin, you go and pick up Sister Zhu." Otherwise, she is a weak woman, how can she come down from the mountain. ”

Wu Ming looked back, it was already dark, and it was already twilight outside the government hall. If he really doesn't go, Deadwood will definitely send a monk to escort Zhu Yuqing home. I wish Yuqing a weak and slender body, and Wu Mingna can rest assured. He looked at Esther, who was kneeling on the ground, and then at the sky, and for a moment he was not embarrassed. Just hesitating to herself, Esther said softly in a soft voice: "Brother Amin, go ahead, I'll be alone and quiet, I'll take care of myself, you can't help much." ”

Wu Ming gritted his teeth: "Okay, I'll come over to accompany you after I finish picking up Xiaoqing." With that, he glanced at Esther again, and then ran out.

He has now reached the ninth rank, and his light body kung fu is even better, and when he left the palace, he started to run with his feet, and he arrived at his destination in less than half an hour. As soon as I arrived at the gate of the hospital, I saw Zhu Yu waiting early in the morning. Wu Ming thanked several monks, and ran towards Gehan with his wife on his back. His behavior was very abnormal, and Zhu Yuqing couldn't help but wonder: "Ah Ming, what's wrong?" Is something wrong? ”

The wind is blowing, the sky and the earth are so dark that you can't see the five fingers, and the Gehan City under the mountain is dotted, and the flashing lights are also a little blurred, and through this faint light, you can see the rolling black clouds pressing down from the sky. Wu Ming sighed and told his wife about the afternoon. This is beyond the power of manpower, even if he is as smart as Zhu Yuqing, he is helpless. The husband and wife chatted while walking, and even thought about how to run away with Asther, but Wu Ming just mentioned it, and Zhu Yuqing vetoed it. Now that Gehan is in the territory, with their hundreds of people, it is still two to say whether they can run away or not, even if they are lucky, the team does not even have supplies, how to cross the Lille Sand Sea and get rid of the pursuit?

When he returned to the inn, Wu Ming was still worried. In order to comfort him, Zhu Yuqing said with a smile: "Ah Ming, I am in good health now, aren't you happy." ”

As soon as he heard her say this, Wu Ming was really in a better mood, and reluctantly smiled: "Congratulations, Xiaoqing." ”

Probably after a long illness, Zhu Yuqing's face was full of light, and she said mysteriously: "Not only that, but Master Deadwood also gave me a big gift." ”

Also gave a gift? Wu Ming couldn't help but be stunned, opened his mouth and was about to ask, when he heard a "snap", and a lightning bolt shot straight into the sky like an off-string arrow, outlining a hideous curve in the night sky. After a while, thunder came from afar. The flashes of light flying sideways were like golden dragons shuttling through the night sky, knocking the dark sky into scattered and uneven pieces. Immediately afterwards, with a "poof", a raindrop the size of a bean was smashing under the eaves. As if given some order, more and more raindrops followed, and within a short time it was already pouring down.

Wu Ming exclaimed: "Oops, Xiao Ai is still in the palace, such a heavy rain, is she okay?" Before he finished speaking, Lin Wu had already rushed in in a hurry. As soon as he came in, he immediately kowtowed and said, "Governor, the third prince asked to see you, saying that he had something important to look for you." ”

It's so late, what is this kid looking for me? Just as he was turning his mind, the fat body of the third prince had rushed in, such a heavy rain, but this kid didn't have an umbrella, and he had become a soup chicken. But he didn't seem to be aware of it at all, as soon as he rushed into the house, he wiped the water on his face, and immediately shouted: "It's a big deal, Governor Wu, my father is critically ill, the second brother and Wu Gong have launched a rebellion, and now they have led troops to attack the imperial city, and the eldest brother is leading the forbidden army to resist to the death." Let me bring you a message, I hope you can help him. ”

"What?"

Wu Ming was taken aback, the two princes fought to death and cared about his, and he didn't have the leisure to care, but Esther was still in the palace of inquiry. This heavy soldier is overwhelmed, and the other party has heavyweights like Wu Gong, and she is red-eyed, even if she is a seventh-stage master, she may not be able to guarantee that she will be safe and sound. He hurriedly said to Lin Wu: "Quick, immediately order Brother Qi and follow me into the palace." ”