In the past few days, in addition to dealing with the Weishui embankment, Liu Bang also met with some princes and kings stationed in Chang'an. As early as a month or a half ago, some distant princes and kings had already walked on the way to Beijing, and they happened to have arrived in Chang'an in the last few days. The princes and dynasties saw the Son of Heaven, and according to the Han system, they should only meet four times. When he first arrived in the capital, he entered the palace to meet each other, called "Xiao Jian", and the so-called "Xiao Jian" was to meet each other in the palace without formal courtesy, and to drink and feast in the forbidden place of the palace; on the first day of the first month of October, he held a leather cushion and put on the jade, and congratulated the emperor, which was called "Fa Jian"; after three days, the emperor set up a banquet for the princes and kings, and gave them money and property; after two days, the princes and kings entered the palace again to "see Xiaojian", and then said goodbye and returned to the country; they stayed in Chang'an for a total of 20 days.

King Liang of Chu and some princes went to the palace for a 'small meeting' of the emperor, Liu Bang deliberately set up a banquet with them in the past two days to feast and drink all night, the monarchs and ministers disregarded the etiquette, everyone sat on their knees, sat and lay disorderly, several cases of delicacies and fruits, mellow and fragrant wine. Men and women (princes, kings and waitresses) sit at the same table, sit and toast, shoes and clogs are mixed together, cups and plates are messy, there are hairpins in front of the fall, and some female waiters are unraveling, and they smell the sparkles.

On the night after that, everyone was drunk, still puzzled and lively, and there were all kinds of noises, one wave after another. The princes and kings around Meiji were drunk and hazy, some had fallen asleep in the gentle country, and some were still drinking with them. The emperor Liu Bang, who was sitting on the couch, could no longer support it, supporting his head with one hand, and holding the wine jug crookedly with the other, the mellow wine in the jug flowed straight out, and the fragrance of wine surrounded the hall.

The hall gradually quieted down, and several palace eunuchs hurriedly came over and helped the emperor up and let him go to the inner hall to rest. Liu Bang was drunk, and he felt a headache when he came together, and it was estimated that he was violent, and he almost stumbled with a 'ouch' and was fortunately supported by the eunuch. They helped him down the hall and was walking to the inner hall, Liu Bang, who was drunk and drooping his eyes, saw a liehou who was about to love the maid off the placket of his clothes, and it was estimated that the liehou was also drunk and decent, and he couldn't tell whether it was in his own home or in the palace.

The palace maids and eunuchs around Liu Bang looked at the prince, and they all turned their heads and didn't dare to look any further, and they were all ashamed.

Liu Bang pinched his forehead, cleared his throat, looked left and right, and then looked at the liehou who was about to do a good thing, coughed deliberately, and signaled the liehou to stop. Who knew that the liehou didn't take it seriously at all, and didn't stop at all. Liu Bang glanced at it, and also shy himself covered his forehead with his hand and passed by the liehou, and said in a low voice, "Hey, pay attention to the image, this is the palace, you want to play and go home to play, shame!" After speaking, he hurriedly left the liehou and walked outside the palace, and the palace people and eunuchs who followed Liu Bang all desperately held back their smiles and left with Liu Bang.

Some people who seemed to be sleeping saw that the emperor was gone, looked at the prince, and everyone laughed in unison, "Ping Da Worm is here!" (The surname of the marquis's wife is Ping, and the big insect refers to the tiger, and it is estimated that this hou is also a character who is afraid of his wife at home)

As soon as he heard the 'flat big worm', the liege suddenly sobered up, quickly shook off the maid, packed up his clothes, brushed his hair, and was cleaning up when he suddenly heard a burst of laughter, and when he looked at it again, it turned out that this was the palace, and everyone was sitting sideways and lying upright beside their own cases and laughing drunkenly at what he had just done.

He was embarrassed to tell the maid to go quickly, and the maid was also so ashamed that she folded her clothes and walked out without putting on her shoes. When the liege saw that the emperor was no longer on it, he wondered when he would leave.

The liehou pointed to the people in the palace, and said angrily, "It's hard to be a brother, how can you not persuade a certain person to commit this trip, this is drunk, and he is not such a person in ordinary times, don't think too much." "Liehou desperately pulled the image round for himself.

A drunken and hazy person in the hall answered, "It's already the third watch in the middle of the night, if it weren't for the fact that we were really drunk and wanted to sleep, we would be more beasts than you." After saying that, there was another burst of laughter in the hall, and the person who said this laughed even more.

The embarrassed liehou was at a loss and really felt ashamed.

Another person said, "Didn't the emperor let you pay attention to your image?" Why, didn't you hear that? ”

As soon as these words came out, the liehou's eyes lit up with a big mouth, and after thinking about it carefully, he did hear this vaguely just now, and thought that drinking too much was an illusion and ignored it, but he unexpectedly hit the emperor's eyes, it was really embarrassing, and the liehou was ashamed to 'sigh' and muttered in a low voice, "Shame, it's thrown to the palace." It is true that this is not the case in normal times, and I hope Your Majesty will not think crookedly. He beat his head with his hands in remorse, hoping that the emperor was seeing an illusion just now, and everyone pointed at him and laughed.

"Laughing or laughing?" The liehou hurriedly scolded them, and then whispered, "Clothed beasts." "I dare not let them hear.

At this time, it was close to the fifth watch, and everyone had a good time, so they went back to the official residence in Chang'an to rest with the support of the servants and servants.

The next day, Liu Bang, who slept until almost noon, did not forget to greet the princes of a distant land who was drunk last night, and the eunuchs said that they had all returned to the Chang'an Mansion at the fifth watch, and they were probably sleeping at this time. The eunuch hurriedly bowed and said, "Regarding the matter of the early dynasty, Her Royal Highness the Queen has already instructed the messenger to say that His Majesty is slightly ill and will not be in court." ”

Liu Bang let out a relieved 'oh', got up and washed his face and combed his hair. He also asked the eunuch if the queen had come here to visit him, and the eunuch said that the queen knew that His Majesty had a banquet with the princes and kings last night, and that she had come to visit her early in the morning, saying that she had asked the attendants to take care of her, and that she did not need to wake up the court, and directly ordered the messenger to avoid today's court meeting. Liu Bang said 'um' and got up to go out.

Choshin Palace.

Lu Hou was reading "Lü's Spring and Autumn" as usual, but he sighed as he read it, rolled up the volume and put it aside, his eyes looked at a place intently, not knowing what he was thinking.

Dai Qing came in from outside the door, and as soon as Dai Qing entered the door, he saw the queen looking at a place stupidly, her eyes motionless, as if she was in an evil spirit, gloomy.

"Mother, mother." Dai Qing approached Lu Hou's side and called her softly.

Empress Lu suddenly came back to her senses and looked at Dai Qing in surprise, "What's wrong?" ”

"Why did the mother lose her mind? Is there anything that can't be solved? Dai Qing asked.

Empress Lu sighed again, and said to Dai Qing a little helplessly, "Some princes and kings have been stationed in Chang'an one after another, and they have been summoned by the emperor last night. In October, time is running out, and if Liu Ruyi is unanimously approved by the ministers at the banquet, then the prince will be finished. Speaking of this, Empress Lu looked helpless again.

Dai Qingzai carefully analyzed these things, walked over and gently stroked Lu's back, and said, "Niangniang, we are not afraid, Mrs. Qi only found the Taifu for the acting king yesterday, I am afraid that it is too late to want him to be in the limelight in October, the slave knows that the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty are still very jealous of the majesty of Niangniang, and when the time comes, as long as Niangniang is hidden in the pavilion behind the emperor's dragon couch, the ministers will be able to see the queen when they worship the emperor, and they will see you when they see you, and they will also look at the look of the eyes." ”

Empress Lu listened to this reason, nodded, and finally let go of her hanging heart, remembering that Mrs. Qi had already found a concubine for the acting king, and asked Dai Qing again, "Who is the acting king's concubine looking for?" ”

"Lu Jia." Dai Qing also learned about it through the news that Xiuyue passed for her.

Empress Lu squinted her eyes deeply, gritted her teeth and thought about it, and then said with a disdainful smile, "She's not stupid, she found such a learned master for Ruyi, and the palace thought that she knew that she was hooking up with the emperor all day long." ”

Dai Qing looked at the queen's contemptuous attitude and felt a little guilty. Recently, I listened to the maids discuss that the emperor often goes to visit the Linhua Palace, and every time he comes out, he smiles, and privately asks some of the maids whether the emperor goes to the Yuzao Palace, some of the maids say that they have been in the Linhua Palace recently, and some say that the emperor sometimes goes back to the Yuzao Palace, Dai Qing got up and personally followed the whereabouts of the emperor for a few days, and he often went to the Linhua Palace for the night, no matter how late he went.

Dai Qing didn't know why the emperor suddenly went to the Linhua Palace, which he hadn't been going to for a long time, originally thought that he wouldn't go there again after arguing with Mrs. Guan, but why did he change his mind recently? Dai Qing felt that there was something strange in this, and wanted to make Empress Lu happy that the emperor was not specialized in Yuzao Palace, but when he thought about whether there would be anything wrong with saying this, he swallowed, "Niangniang...... The emperor ......"

The queen smiled and took her hand, "What's wrong with the emperor?" ”

"This ......" Dai Qing's whole body twisted, and he didn't know how to mention it to Empress Lu, "Your Majesty, he ......"

"Something to hide from me?" Empress Lu let go of her hand and asked sternly.

Dai Qing immediately knelt on the ground and saluted, "Niangniang, the emperor has not been with Mrs. Qi at all these days, he ......"

"Not with Madame Qi......" the queen muttered alone, "and where did he go?" ”

"I've been with Mrs. Guan for the past few days." Dai Qing's voice became quieter and quieter.

After hearing this, Empress Lu was stunned for a long time, and Dai Qing saw that the queen was stunned again, so she hurriedly stood up from the ground and called 'Niangniang' over and over again.

Empress Lu raised her hand, shook her head, moved to the door of the main hall, looked at the sky and sighed, "Alas, this palace doesn't want to take care of him anymore, I don't want to care about him anymore, as long as he is still the emperor, I can't control him." Now all I care about is Ying'er, as long as Ying'er can be the emperor of the Han family, this palace doesn't care about anything, everything is imaginary, what true feelings, what promises, what glory, what mountains and sea oaths, this palace doesn't believe in anything, not a word. Love is what it is, I don't care anymore. Empress Lu was full of grievances against the clear Qingtian, and wanted to use the blue sky to drive away the dissatisfaction with the emperor in the past few years and the helplessness of the entire harem.

Empress Lu's eyes deepened, immersed in the time in Peixian, and said in a gloomy tone, "In the past few years since I returned to Guanzhong, I feel tired. I often think of the time when I was in Peixian, although I was poor, I was also happy and harmonious, there was no fighting, there was no big trouble, men ploughed and women weaved, and children were around the knees, I think it was the simplest happiness. Now that I am a queen, I should feel the happiest, but I can't be happy. Empress Lu was a little excited in her heart, almost unsteady, she raised her hand and pinched her forehead, calling Dai Qing's name, "Dai Qing, I'm so tired, I don't want to fight." ”

Dai Qing hurriedly came over to help Empress Lu, looking at Empress Lu like this, she was also anxious, but when she thought of everything about the prince, and it had come to this point, how could she give up easily?

"If Niangniang doesn't fight, then the position of the crown prince may not be guaranteed, and it is possible that after the emperor returns to heaven, he will be humiliated by Qi Yi, does Niangniang want to do that?" Dai Qing persuaded the queen while supporting the queen.

Hearing this, she seemed to have a fighting spirit, her bright eyes flashed with a brilliance that she hadn't seen for a long time, and she stopped in the atrium of the main hall.

"Harem, forever so bloody and bloody, always so dark and unguardable, always so ruthless. Looks like I have to fight. Empress Lu glanced at Dai Qing deeply, took her hand, and said vicissitudes, "Qing'er, do you know how the emperor married me back then?" ”

Dai Qing probably knew something, but it was not comprehensive, and he wanted to hear about the queen's past to see if it was happy enough, so he shook his head and said he didn't know.

Lu Hou slowly recalled the past of Wei Shi, and remembered that when she and Liu Bang first got married, a burst of joy and happiness appeared on her face, as if she would be happy at this time, and she would blush and be happy when she talked like a little girl to be married.

"When the emperor was young, he was a famous scoundrel in Pei County, but he had ambitions and ambitions, although he was a scoundrel, he was full of imperial spirit. I remember that it was my father's birthday banquet at that time, and everyone else rushed to congratulate the money and sat in the first row, the highest was nothing more than a few dozen dollars, but he shouted out to congratulate the money, which made his father look at him with appreciation. Although he didn't take out a penny, his father was very happy, and rewarded him with a lot of money, so that he often came to my house as a guest, and after the guests left, my father left the emperor alone, saying that he wanted to marry me to him, of course he was happy, not only did he eat for nothing but also got a daughter-in-law. ”

Speaking of this, Empress Lu raised her face and smiled happily, and then said: "From now on, I will marry him, and before me he already had a foreign wife and a son, which is now the king of Qi. A few days after I got married, he took me to the highest mountain nearby, and promised me that 'we will meet the elderly' by the hand of the son. I was so happy at that moment, I felt that I had a happiness that no woman in the world had, and I was really happy at that time. Now, he has long forgotten his oath, not to mention Mrs. Qi, and Mrs. Guan, Zhao Meiren, and Mrs. Bo, power can really make people change, and I understand that if I want to test a person's loyalty, it is to see if he can resist the temptation of power and glory. ”

Dai Qing listened quietly, and couldn't help but feel some faint yearning for the past of Empress Lu, and a little more graceful, it turned out that Her Royal Highness the Queen had the most romantic happiness, and it turned out that Her Royal Highness the Queen's temperament had changed a lot, and the emperor was not dedicated enough. Dai Qing thought a lot about the 'Zidu' in her future life who was sincere to her, and thought about it.

When Empress Lu said this, she couldn't help but be emotional, and some wet things stayed from the corners of her eyes, which were tears of sadness.

"Time has passed, and I am no longer young, and all prosperity has gone. Love or hate, in the end it is just going to go with the wind into the loess, and with the wave flowing eastward, alas, don't mention it. Lu Hou shook her head helplessly thinking about the past, she had lost something, and there was no possibility of recovering it.

"Mother's ......"

Empress Lu waved his hand and sighed, "Last night he was drunk and dazed, and the banquet was the closest to Changxin Palace, but he refused to come to the palace but went to Changqiu Palace alone, and he couldn't send out a pair of warm gloves that had been knitted." ”

Dai Qing felt sorry for Empress Lu's injury at this time, and didn't know how to appease Empress Lu, so he was there, and he stopped talking.

Lu Hou turned around and walked slowly towards the inner room, muttering in his mouth, "Swear, don't think about it, but don't think about it, it's already gone."

Dai Qing was left alone to wander in the empty hall and think.