Two months later, the capital.

Two days before the triumphant return of the army into the capital, Emperor Cheng Kang, who had been ill in bed for a long time, died, and the atmosphere of sadness in the city had not yet dissipated, and after the news of the death of the King of Han came, the atmosphere of sadness once again shrouded the sky over the capital.

King Qi, who had only been the new emperor for only two days, low-key summoned the commander, deputy marshal and general of the Qinghai Wei War, and Ruan Miaoling was also among them as the deputy supervisor.

Everyone thought that the new emperor would investigate the cause of the death of the Han king, but unexpectedly, the new emperor only followed the routine and asked the generals who had performed well in the battle, and then ordered the Hanlin Academy to draw up a decree to reward the meritorious deeds, and did not mention the Han king once.

Guo Rui and Li Chongshan followed Li Baozhen and others into the palace together, but they have not seen the new emperor until now.

On the side of the palace wall, a group of palace people climbed up the treetops with a wooden ladder, tore off the paper skin that wrapped the branches, and the branches gradually revealed speckled green. The paper bark fell to the low osmanthus tree, and the two yellow doors with tender faces each held a pair of scissors, and cut off the dark green old leaves with a click, so that the light yellow shoots could be moistened by the spring breeze and spring rain......

Seeing these things that symbolize new life, Guo Rui suddenly had a sense that things are not human.

In the eyes of outsiders, he and Li Chongshan have gone through three dynasties, ranking as the second assistant and first assistant of the cabinet, and the eunuch journey is thriving, like a tender sprout that is about to sprout in front of them.

But only they know that their fate is like an old leaf still lingering on the branches, and the cold and merciless scissors will eventually fall on their heads.

"Have you ever thought about what happened after returning home?" Because of the thoughts in his heart, when Guo Rui asked this sentence, he felt indescribably sad, as if he couldn't do it tomorrow.

"I'm not like Lord Guo, sad and sad all day long," Li Chongshan turned his head, the look on his face was something Guo Rui had never seen before, firm and inevitable, "In his position, seek his government, let him do his job, and fulfill his responsibilities." That's what we should be thinking about right now! ”

Guo Rui asked: "Then what is Lord Li thinking about at the moment?" ”

"On the day the emperor officially ascended the throne, it was also the day of the change, and I was thinking about what era name should be used for the new dynasty. Maybe we should consult the Hanlin Academy, he was the champion last year, and he was deeply loved by the queen mother, and the draft era name will definitely be able to pass a few when sent to the emperor. ”

The Queen Mother...... Guo Rui twisted his beard and groaned.

After King Qi ascended the throne, he should have respected his adoptive mother Empress Li as the queen mother, but Queen Li left a will for King Qi before leaving the palace, if he ascended the throne, he must be crowned Cui Guifei as the queen mother, so Cui Guifei, who is the biological mother of the king of Han, can be promoted to the queen mother.

Guo Rui said: "I heard from the palace people that when Xu Xiushu was in Qinghai Wei, he was stabbed in the center by a Tatar in order to save the King of Han, and he didn't wake up until yesterday. The Queen Mother summoned him today, and eighty percent of them are related to the King of Han, and I am afraid that I will not be able to see anyone for a while. ”

Li Chongshan flicked the fine dust on his clothes, "I will ask for someone in the name of the emperor, and the queen mother will not refuse." He looked back at the door that was still closed, the new emperor's thoughts were really incomprehensible, if he asked about the situation of the battle, it should be over at this time. I will be annoyed that Lord Guo will show my whereabouts in front of the emperor for a while. ”

All parts of the palace have been changed, only the palace of the Empress Dowager Cui maintains the old appearance, a few round belly water tanks are placed in the courtyard, the lotus leaves inside have long been gone, and only a tank of water is left to reflect a corner of the palace.

Si Fan led the four personal maids of the Han King to kneel in the courtyard, while Xu Yuan knelt in front of them, holding the long sword that the Han King had carried before he set out on the expedition.

"A few cronies, plus fifty eunuchs, can't keep a Han king, do you all eat white rice!" Empress Dowager Cui sat under the eaves, her expression numb, and her eyes kept roaming the sky.

Her heart had already stopped moving when she heard that King Han had died in battle, and now what appeared in front of everyone's eyes was nothing more than a walking corpse who wanted to find out the truth.

Xu Yuan's head slammed on the ground and made a dull sound, "The minister is not doing things well, and he has failed to protect the prince in the turmoil, if the queen mother wants the minister to take a life to a life, the minister will never complain!" ”

"How much is your life worth?" Empress Dowager Cui said with a smile, every smile on her face revealed disdain, "Sifan, you come forward, this palace has something to ask you." ”

Hearing this, Si Fan hurriedly knelt forward, stopping at Xu Yuan's side, "The slave must know everything and say everything, if there is half a word that does not match the facts, he will be willing to go to hell after death, be cooked in hot oil, and be pierced by the knife mountain......"

Empress Dowager Cui asked: "The King of Han stayed well in the back camp, why did he insist on going out to ambush the enemy?" There are commanders, deputy commanders, and staff generals in the front battalion to worry about these, where is his turn to worry about? ”

Si Fan wiped his tears and said: "The prince does these things for the Queen Mother, for the sake of Sheji!" Originally, the prince heard that the political affairs of the court were temporarily supervised by the king of Qi, and he could immediately leave to return to Beijing, but when he thought that this trip did not make any credit, how to fight against the king of Qi after returning to Beijing? And how to find a clean land for the Queen Mother? Therefore, when the prince learned that a small Tatar army had secretly infiltrated the mountains, he insisted on leading his troops to ambush ......"

"When you say that, you think that this palace is unreasonable and puts the responsibility for King Han's death on Xu Yuan?" Empress Dowager Cui frowned suddenly, and looked at Si Fan fixedly.

"The slave has no such intention, but I just hope that the queen mother can understand the hard work of the prince during his lifetime, and the four maidservants can testify to this."

"Step aside!" Empress Dowager Cui had the spirit to look at the sword that Xu Yuan had been holding in her hand, she recognized this sword, and when King Han left, she saw him wearing it on his waist with her own eyes, and showed off the role of this sword to her.

"Why did this sword end up in your hands?"

"The queen mother, the minister once told the prince not to ambush, but the prince did not want to listen to the minister's proposal, so he used this sword as an order in a hurry...... Ministers, ministers are also a last resort. ”

"As a last resort, yes, everyone has to do it." Empress Dowager Cui has words, and now she has no choice but to be the queen mother?

When Empress Li left the palace, she was so chic and resolute, as if she threw off a heavy shackle.

Pity yourself for now that you understand......

"Xu Yuan, this palace asks you, the King of Han is gone, what are your plans in the future?" She tried her best to concentrate her mind and see Xu Yuan's every expression clearly.

Xu Yuan put the long sword on the ground, kowtowed heavily, and said: "The ministers will ask themselves to leave the Hanlin Academy, and the king of Han has not written an inscription, and future generations will remember the prince's good performance in the battle of Qinghai Wei!" ”

Empress Dowager Cui nodded slowly, Xu Yuan left the Hanlin Academy, which meant that he would not be able to enter the cabinet in the future, so King Qi would have one less right-hand man. This country, her Lin'er can't get it, and the king of Qi doesn't want to govern it well.

She looked at Sifan.

Si Fan immediately said: "The slave went to guard the tomb for the prince." ”

The four maidservants were not as firm as the two of them, and pleaded with pale faces to beg the Empress Dowager Cui, after all, they are all women in their prime, and they still have a long life to go in the future.