Since then, the queen has still been polite and respectful to today. On weekdays, she is diligent in dealing with the affairs of the six palaces, and she is both entrenched and powerful, so that the palace is forbidden and solemn, and there is no chaos, but Zhang Guifei always deliberately provokes and asks to move into the more luxurious Ninghua Palace, and the concubine's residence is called the "palace" has been encroached, and she often crosses the queen, and she gives orders to the six bureaus of the two provinces, so that the supply of food and drink in Ninghua Palace exceeds that of the Middle Palace. However, the queen is so well-treated, she is not tolerant, and no matter how rude Concubine Zhang is, she is not angry.

It wasn't until December of this year that I saw the queen's mournful look on her brows, but it wasn't because of Zhang's business.

In the evening of that day, the princess went to the Rouyi Hall as usual to make a night decision, and I went with the attendants into the palace, and saw the queen sitting alone reading a paper on the case, and when she turned her head to look at us, her eyes were shining, and tears flashed.

The princess was taken aback, forgot to salute, and hurried over to ask with concern, "What's the matter?" ”

The queen wiped away her tears, then smiled lightly, pulled the princess to sit down beside her, and half-hugged her silently, before she said after a long time: "The husband of a good friend died last month...... Her husband died unjustly, she is still young, and her children are not as old as you......"

"Unjustly killed?" The princess was surprised and said, "That son of a woman will tell her father about her grievances, and ask her father to show him the snow." ”

The queen smiled sympathetically, only hugged the princess tightly, and did not answer.

Xu realized that there was a dilemma in this, and the princess's eyelashes drooped, and she was also a little gloomy. Snuggling up to the queen, turning her eyes and pointing to the documents on the case, she asked again: "Is this her letter to the widow?" The handwriting is so beautiful. ”

It wasn't really like a letter, the size of the paper and the font were larger than the normal size. I was far away, and I couldn't see what was written, but I felt that the word was oblique and straight, with hooks and loops, and it was written in cursive, which was quite imposing.

The queen did not answer whether she answered or not, but asked the princess, "Can you recognize whose words it is?" ”

The princess took a closer look and said, "This character is written like a newly-haired flower branch, and it is very beautiful, but it is different from the famous Fa Ti that my father showed me...... It's hard to guess. ”

"This person doesn't boast of Hanmo, but the world is vying for his fragments, and there are fewer hidden in the secret mansion, no wonder you can't recognize it." The queen and Yan said to the princess, looked at me again, and said, "Huaiji, you have done something in the Book Art Bureau, so come and have a look." ”

I approached as ordered, looked down, and saw that it was written on it a "Water Tune Song Head":

"Chic Taihu Lake shore, light Dongting Mountain. In the hidden place of the fish and dragon, the smoke is deep and misty. Fang Niantao Zhu Zhang Han, suddenly there was a flat boat with a sharp oar, skimming the waves and carrying the perch. The sunset is stormy, and the way back goes around Ting Bay. Husband's ambition, when the prosperity is prosperous, shame and idleness. What is haggard in the prime of life, Huafa changed his face. I plan to use the cold pool to fish, and the gulls and birds guess each other, and refuse to be green. The thorn pierced through the reeds, speechless to see the waves. ”

This font is the first I have seen, and the meaning of the word darkness is also consistent with the situation of the person I guessed. Looking around, he saw that there were only two or three palace people close to the queen around, so he said: "This word is like a flower on the forest, and the moon is flowing with water, which should come from Su Zimei's drunken pen." ”

The queen said yes and told me: "He wrote this last month and died of illness in Suzhou shortly after. ”

"Su Zimei? Is he dead? The princess was surprised.

The queen bowed her head and said abruptly, "It's really sad to think about it, there is no one in this world who is angry and angry, and Han Shu is a wine......

There is an allusion in this sentence. Su Shunqin has a poetic name, and his father-in-law Du Yan has a political voice, and the world's famous ministers like to travel with him, and as the Jin people call Leguang Weiju, they describe the two Weng sons-in-law as "Bingqing Yurun", so that Weng and son-in-law are beautiful. It is said that Shun Qin lived in Du Yan's house when he was young, and he had to drink alone every night without eating or drinking. Du Yan didn't believe it, so he asked people to see it, and the man came back and said that Shun Qin was reading the "Book of Han" on one wall and drinking on the other, and when he saw the highlights, he praised it, commented on one or two sentences to himself, and then drank a full cup for it. Du Yan smiled when he heard this: "With such a drink, there is not enough bucket." Later, Hanshu Zuo Drink became a good story of Su Shunqin that was widely spread all over the world.

Su Shunqin's early death puzzled the princess, and said to the queen: "I heard my father say that those officials who were released were living a very leisurely life, traveling everywhere, and then writing poems, and "The Story of Yueyang Tower" and "The Story of the Drunkard Pavilion" and "The Story of the Canglang Pavilion", which made everyone in the world compete to recite it, and the price of the paper was raised...... Didn't Su Zimei go to Suzhou to build a Canglang Pavilion? How did you die so early? Aren't you happy to spend your days enjoying with fish and birds? ”

The queen asked her: "Huirou, do you know why he built the garden under the name of 'Canglang'?" ”

The princess thought for a moment, and finally shook her head: "Does it have anything to do with the words in which text?" ”

At this moment, I heard that someone came in from outside the hall, and while walking, he replied: "The water of the waves is clear, you can wet me; The water of the waves is turbid, and it can wet my feet. ”

When we looked back, we saw that it was the present day, so we all stood and bowed.

He chanted the phrase "Canglang", presumably because he heard our previous conversation. I couldn't help but be a little worried, and I turned my eyes slightly to the queen, and saw that she was slightly hesitant, but she still didn't take down the words on the case.

Jinshang walked straight to the side of the desk and sat down, picked up Su Shunqin's last words and read them carefully, and did not show anger after reading them, but sighed: "Shunqin returned to the hidden water town, hoping to be as open-minded as the fisherman of the drum tree, comfortable with the spring stone, and the song of Hao, and be content in the wilderness." But this word also says, 'Husband's ambition, when the prosperity is prosperous, shame and idleness', it can be seen that it can't be let go after all. ”

The queen stood on the side of Jinshang, kept a little distance, her eyes fell quietly on the ground in front of her feet, and responded: "He used the Canglang Pavilion to express to the people of the world that he knew how to advance and retreat and was content with the wilderness, and he had a good idea, and he laughed at Min for eternity, but in the end, he still preferred to die to reveal his heart: An Neng is white with Haohao, and covered with the dust of the world." ”

There was silence for a while, and then as if to explain to the queen, he said: "Although he was reduced to the people back then, and said that he would never be restored, but later, he ...... I added an article to this year's pardon for sinners: The prison master who steals a little less is allowed to be punished by the Ministry of Punishment. How can the speaker oppose it for Zhaoxue, saying that the suburbs are pardoned, there is no such thing first, this is a coercion to protect Su Shunqin, and the emperor cannot break the law with a few words...... Two months ago, I issued an order to restore Shunqin as the governor of Huzhou, and I wanted to let him be an official outside first, and then transfer him back to Beijing slowly, so as not to say too much about Taiwan's admonition. ”

When the princess heard this, she couldn't help but mutter: "What's so bad about being an official in those places with beautiful mountains and rivers, do you have to go back to Beijing to quarrel with the old men to be happy?" ”

I tugged at her sleeve, suggesting that it was not appropriate to speak at this point, and she pouted at me to show her displeasure, but said no more.

The queen bowed to the present and responded gently: "Shun Qin may not have the intention not to go to the post, or the destiny is like this, there is nothing to do." Your Majesty Shengming, Shun Qinquan has knowledge, and he will also be lenient and benevolent, and he will know that he is crying. ”

Jinshang was speechless, carefully read Na Yan's "Water Tune Song Head", and then asked the queen: "Is this what Mrs. Du presented to you?" But there are still letters? ”

The queen replied, "She sent it to my brother, and my brother-in-law brought it to me, and there was no letter to me." The trustee also asked her if she had any letters to forward, and she said: 'It is enough to show your heart by this word.' My husband succumbs to life, but he can still stretch out to death. ’”

Listening to this, his eyes wandered on Su Shunqin's handwriting, and after thinking for a long time, he made a decision: "In the future, Shunqin's eldest son is old enough, and I will fill him with an official position." In addition to the usual pension, I gave Mrs. Du some money. ”

The queen bowed her head and said: "My brother once sent someone to send her money, she thanked her, saying that the last word was not to beg for mercy and wealth, but I hope that the official family will be willing to take care of Fan Xianggong, Fu Yanguo, Han Zhigui and Ouyang Yongshu and other foreign ministers, and bury Zimei in the future, if they can still give them an epitaph, she will have nothing to ask for in this life." ”

Today, he didn't say anything, silently rolled up his last words, and got up and left.

This is the first time I have seen the queen talk about her courtiers in front of me today, and I can't help but feel a little worried about her. The emperor, who has always been disgusted with the politics of the harem, has always expressed his sympathy for the new ministers, and I don't know how he will feel when he sees it, not to mention that those ministers were all degraded and expelled from Beijing by his own order.

But the results were beyond my expectations.

In the following year, the Yuan was changed to "Huang You", and now in the first month of spring, he was crowned as the waiter of the Ministry of Rites in Qingzhou, and then added Fu Bi and Han Qi of Zhiding Prefecture as a scholar of the Senior Administration Palace, and then on the grounds of "Tui'en ruling old minister", he added the title to the old ruler including the minister of the new policy of Qingli, and moved to Hangzhou Fan Zhongyan as the waiter of the Ministry of Rites, and Du Yan, who had been given to the Shi, was the prince and Taibao. For a while, there was an uproar, and the Taiwan admonitions were made one after another, but they didn't pay attention to it now, only saying that this was the court's favor for the old ministers, and it was especially necessary to change the officials, so don't treat it as a common practice.

The voices of opposition from the officials continued to spread to the forbidden middle through the court's inner attendants, and finally even the ladies who had never discussed political affairs were whispering: "Does the official family want to let those new ministers come back?" ”

This information must have made it difficult for Concubine Zhang and Granny Jia to sit still, and the people in Ninghua Hall were busy again. Now the relationship between Shang and the middle palace is like the more and more beautiful sky outside the window, gradually breaking the ice and warming up, in addition to the courtesy meeting, the number of visits between the two has gradually increased.

One day, I passed by the small hall of the inner east gate, and recalled what Mr. Zhang said, He Tan was here to answer the question of "breaking the head and admonishing the head", and suddenly thought that the queen did not cover up Su Shunqin's last words in front of the present day, maybe she had the heart of breaking the head and admonishing her. Fortunately, she got the same perfect result as He Tan, and the advice she gave was tactful and effective, so that Jinshang not only "Jianazhi", but also had a better attitude towards her than before.

Thinking wildly, a strange thought came to my heart: the attitude towards the new minister is very similar to the situation towards the middle palace.

Uncle Li Yonghe is sick, Qingli eight years at the end of the year of the disease aggravated, today has visited his house in person, and then added to the official and knighted, but the uncle's illness has not been cured, sometimes good and sometimes bad. In the spring of the first year of Emperor You, Miao Shuyi heard that Uncle Guo was not very good, so she prepared some tonic medicines and ordered me to send them.

On that day, Uncle Guo's complexion was very bad, and he often coughed so much that he couldn't breathe. Seeing that the situation was not good, I hurriedly went back to the palace and invited the imperial doctor to see my uncle. During the pulse treatment, I stood by my side for fear that something would be wrong, so I didn't dare to leave without permission. When Uncle Guo's condition gradually stabilized and his complexion improved, I realized that the hour was not early, and it was past the time when the forbidden door was closed.

In desperation, I had no choice but to accept the advice of my uncle's wife, Yang, to take a rest in Li's house and wait until tomorrow morning to return.

She kindly prepared the room for me, but I was in no mood to sleep. This is the first time I've spent the night outside since I entered the palace, and I'm full of trepidation, I just want to go back early. The palace gate opened on the fourth watch, and I got up just after the third watch, and hurried to the palace after washing.

There are five doors in the Xuande Building of the main gate of the Great Interior, the doors are all gold nails and vermilion lacquer, the walls are all bricks and stones, and the shape of the dragon and phoenix flying clouds is engraved. Every day four watches, all the gates open the gate to release the hundred officials into the early court, the officials of the capital come by horse, so there is a song under the capital that says "when the four watches, the horse moves, the court is to".

Hundreds of officials entering the palace must be in the order of official rank. Because it was not yet dawn during the fourth watch, the officials below the ruler all used a white paper stick candle lamp, put it in front of the horse with a long handle, and wrote the name of their official position on the lantern paper. Before entering the city, the officials will gather outside the palace gate in order, and thousands of lights in front of the horse's head flicker like a galaxy, this scene is called "Fire City".

There is also a "waiting courtyard" outside the imperial city for the early arrival of the prince's horses and important ministers of the court to rest. This day is the New Year's Day, there is a big court meeting in the palace, and the officials in Beijing will enter the palace, but now, apparently I came too early, the palace gate has not been opened, and I have not seen the grand occasion of the fire city, and the courtyard is also deserted, only to see a little light in front of the palace gate, and an official riding a white horse is waiting silently under the carved painting building of the Xuande Building.

I approached him a little and saw that he was wearing a black ink-colored cool shirt to protect him from the wind and dust, wearing a red robe and a scarlet robe, a white Luo square heart curved collar, a silver sword and a silver ring, and a white silk silk and soap leather shoes.

He originally turned his face sideways towards the palace gate, as if he felt me approaching, he turned his head slowly, and the rhino horn hairpin led the three beams under the crown showed a handsome face.

He is not very young, about thirty years old, but his posture is different, Le Ma stands in the background of the curved ruler Duolou and the Zhulan color threshold, letting the quiet night breeze blow his cool shirt and wide sleeves, and a touch of gloomy color between his eyebrows.

When I was in the palace, it was common for the ministers to be the rulers, and there were not many officials below the third rank, so I didn't know who he was, but since the four eyes were facing each other, I didn't dare to forget the etiquette, so I immediately bowed to him.

He smiled faintly, bowed back at once, and looked at me again with a gentle gaze.

Since then, the hatchback has been silent. I was still guessing his identity, but I saw the white paper candle in front of his horse's head flickering and began to turn to my side, I looked at it and was dumbfounded.

On it is written his official title and name - Waiter of the Ministry of Rites, Zhiyingzhou: Wang Gongchen.

If this name had been said five years ago, most listeners would have asked, "Is that the 19-year-old champion?" ”

But today, five years later, the interpretation of the name has changed, and the first reaction of people — like me — is: "Is it the villain who framed Su Zimei?" ”

Before the Jinsoyuan incident, Wang Gongchen, as a model of a scholar from a poor family who studied poetry and books hard and became noble, was often mentioned with admiration and envy. He lost his father at a young age and was raised by his widowed mother, with several younger siblings under him, and his family was very poor. Fortunately, he was sensitive and studious, and in the eighth year of Tiansheng, he was promoted to Jinshi, and he was the first, when he was only nineteen years old, and he was the youngest champion in the history of the dynasty. Today, he was appointed as the champion, but he resigned in the palace and did not accept it, saying that he had done the title of the palace exam not long ago, and the exam was not an on-the-spot performance, so he did not dare to steal the title of champion. After listening to it, he praised him for his integrity, insisted on taking him as the champion, and for many years after that, he was spoiled.

And his career was originally smooth sailing, and it was the model that almost all scholars dreamed of: at the age of nineteen and first, at the age of twenty-eight he became an intellectual, and at the age of thirty he became a bachelor of Hanlin, which was regarded by scholars as the "two systems" official position that could best demonstrate the identity and honor of a scribe, and he was eliminated when he first arrived. At the age of thirty-one, he became the director of the Imperial History Observatory - Yushi Zhongcheng, if there was no Su Shunqin case, he should continue to rise to the top. It's a pity that although he later removed Su Shunqin and a large number of pavilion handsomemen at that time, and caused Du Yan to resign as prime minister, he was also ignored by the public opinion, and probably now he also has some other views on him, so he was released for some reason, and then he was sent out of Zhengzhou, and then migrated to Yingerzhou. In the past few years, he has never been allowed to return to Beijing, and although he came to attend the court meeting today, his official rank has not changed, and he should only return to Beijing to report on his work.

It is said that after he degraded Su Shunqin and other pavilion celebrities, he once said with joy: "I have exhausted the net in one fell swoop." "In the past, I didn't see his name, because what he did was too dishonorable, in my imagination, his appearance should be like Xia Zhu, with wine and anger in his eyes, and even like Wang Zhen, roe head rat eyes, and obscene expression. And now, it's really hard to associate the elegant and gentle scholar in front of him with the smug phrase "all in one fell swoop".

But this name still lost the little admiration that spontaneously arose when I saw his demeanor, and I silently retreated, far away, and stood on both sides of the palace gate with him, and continued to wait.

Since then, there have been courtiers riding horses, and before they are arranged in order, they usually get together in twos and threes to greet and laugh a few words, but they do not talk to Wang Gongchen, and even express their greetings to him in the past. I watched for a long time, only to see someone go over and smile and say a few words to him, and I deliberately recognized it, and found that it was Wang Zhen.

There are more and more candle lanterns gathered in front of the palace gate, such as fireflies flying and the stars and rivers. The four drums sounded, the hundred officials were arranged, and several prime ministers were in power. In front of the main gate, the fire city extinguishes the candles, the forbidden door is opened, and the hundred officials enter the palace in order of the official rank.

I waited from the sidelines, and I had to wait until all the officials entered the city before I could get there. When there is nothing to do, his eyes are still always on Wang Gongchen.

At last it was his turn to start, and he led his horse forward, but behind him there was a fourth-rank official riding a high-headed horse with a red color, and he hurried over to compete with him. The two horses collided, and Wang Gongchen's mount stumbled, almost knocking him to the ground. As soon as he pulled the reins, it was easy to hold the horse steady, but the Chao Wat on his waist slipped out and fell under the horse.

I think the four-rank official should have done it on purpose, because he only looked back slightly, and said to Wang Gongchen with a smile: "I'm sorry. Immediately, Shi Shiran left.

Wang Gongchen stopped and stood silently. The people around him were all looking at him, some of them looking sideways, some of them passing by him, and some of them simply stopped and waited for a long time to see how he dismounted and picked up the wat. No one helped him resolve the awkward actions and words.

And he just lowered his eyes silently, as if frozen on a horse, and did not move for a long time.

I know it's a difficult thing for him to get off the horse and pick up the wat at the moment. Sympathetic to his situation, he walked over, picked up the wat from under his horse, and presented it to him with both hands.

He looked at me in surprise, slightly moved, and took it with both hands, and said with a smile: "Thank you, noble man." ”

I smiled in response: "With a gesture, the waiter doesn't have to mind." ”

He leaned over slightly and said, "Dare to ask the noble person's name?" ”

I said, "The villain has a cheap name, and he doesn't dare to insult the waiter." ”

Then I stepped back and asked him to move forward. He said goodbye to me without asking any more questions, and under the watchful eye of everyone, he quickly regained his previous demeanor and rode calmly into the city. No matter how the people behind him whispered, he didn't look back once.