Heartburn - Chapter 97

The next morning, just after the **** crowed, I dressed neatly, just waiting for Jiang Zhuo to send the palace attendant to lead me up. I waited and waited, but she personally knocked on the door of my room.

This suit is not the one I’m used to wearing in the house. What is rare is that the size is right, and even the texture on the body is not bad-if it is not for the smell of fresh rosin on the clothes, the cuffs are dark. The hidden ornament embroidered with my name was not seen everywhere. I almost thought it was Jiang Zhuo who sent someone to the Lingwang Mansion to get it.

She was dressed in a Ming Huangdi suit with black piping, and a crown of twelve flamboyances covered most of her face. Even though she stared at me for a long time, I couldn’t understand her expression at all and couldn’t guess. Her mind.

Or maybe, I just don’t want to guess or understand.

“Let’s go.” Without waiting for me to get closer, she turned around and walked first to the Chaolu Hall, as if she just happened to pass by my door, calling me lightly, instead of coming to pick me up. My mood, which had been a little relaxed because of participating in the dynasty meeting, returned to depression.

Following Jiang Zhuo’s footsteps, Shi Shiran stepped into the hall of the main hall of the meeting, and obviously felt the attention of the officials standing upright when they saw me. They were shocked, and they knew it, but they were all suppressed. , It’s just that there was a trace of unusual depression in the originally quiet atmosphere.

I just didn’t know, I sat in the seat that had been vacant for a long time, supported my chin, and looked at the crowd nonchalantly-as far as my eyes were, most of them moved their eyes or bowed their heads. No one wanted to look at me, and I don’t know why. More fright, or more contempt.

Withdrawing his gaze boringly, Jiang Zhuo said indifferently: “Ling Wang’s body is no longer in serious trouble, so he will participate in the court meeting together in the future. Can the officials have any objections?”

It’s ridiculous, even if these people have a hundred courage, they dare not say “no”.

——Even if I oppose it in my heart, resist it again.

This is imperial power.

The supreme, so I was abandoned…Imperial power.

It sounds fine, her voice is half a point lower than Kuang Xihan, and her temperament is more solemn, but she sits far above the throne, not to mention the trembling officials underneath, even the palace a little closer to her. It is difficult for the attendant to find this subtle difference, and who would dare to doubt the true identity of this “Your Majesty”?

Only after a rough sweep, there were a few familiar faces, and there were also many unseen faces that hadn’t been seen before, but they didn’t see Kuang Xiqing’s most powerful confidants, no wonder no one recognized them.

…But how could she be here?

The head of the military attache is naturally the general of the Mu family, but the head of the civil servants is no longer Lu Xiuzhu’s mother. The Chinese caller Lu Heng is standing by my nominal mother-in-law, the emperor Fu Yunchong.

I can’t help wondering: Although her reputation is high, her official position is only from the third rank. She is responsible for the emperor’s lectures and banquets on weekdays. It shouldn’t be necessary to participate in the court…or rather, she is not qualified to participate.

So, what does she mean when she appears at the meeting at the moment?

Thinking of this, I turned my head to look at Jiang Zhuo, who was aloft. I don’t know if it was my illusion, as if she happened to be looking at me. The eyes behind the twelve bead strings were not real, just light and thin. The lips lifted slightly, seeming to be somewhat soothing.

With a sigh, I controlled myself to retract my gaze, and reluctantly focused my attention on the official who was out of the queue, and only listened to her loudly saying, “My Majesty, the Ministry of Ritual has something to play.”

“Quiz.” Jiang Zhuo raised his hand, and said steadily-I always felt that she inadvertently showed a boring randomness, as if she was impatient with this step-by-step performance.

“The day of the triennial general election is approaching, please enroll your servants, enrich the harem, open branches and leaves for the royal family, and extend my great career.” The official of the Ministry of Rites said with a long body.

I was stunned for a moment, but in the next moment I felt that the person on the high seat reacted more than me. Although he didn’t say a word, the breath on his body had cooled down sharply, and he couldn’t help but feel cold on his face.

The official of the Ministry of Rites continued, seemingly unaware, “Your Majesty has only one emperor’s eldest daughter at his knees, and only a few servants in the harem. It is a matter of Guozuo, and the general election cannot be delayed. Six years ago, your Majesty used the filial piety period as an excuse. It was rejected, and it was cancelled three years ago because the treasury was insufficient. This year, the weather has been good and the treasury is full. At this time, the general election is more suitable. I hope your majesty will learn from it.”

“Oh, whether my harem is full or not is my private business, and the secretary is too generous!” The suffocating silence lasted for a moment, Jiang Zhuo changed Kuang Xiqing’s usual indifferent and peaceful attitude, and sneered mockingly.

“Your Majesty’s forgiveness, it’s just-the heavens are selfless. Every move of your Majesty is related to the people of the Li people, and you must not be willful.” The official persuaded with all his heart.

——As the supreme one in the world, I can’t even take charge of how many servants I have to accept. It is not a kind of sadness.

Is it such an involuntary position, is it really worth breaking your head to fight and grab it?

I wanted to ask her personally, but in full view, I still held back.

“Presumptuous.” She still refused to compromise, and even her low voice was filled with uncontrollable anger, “Are you teaching me what to do? Then you are the emperor, how about you? ?”

“Weichen is in panic.” The official of the Ministry of Rites unhurriedly lifted his clothes and knelt down, bowed his body and kowtowed deeply, meaning that he could not kneel down to speak out.

“Where is the official book of the Ministry of Etiquette?” Seeing this stubborn official’s posture of “not hitting the south wall and not looking back”, Jiang Zhuo rubbed his eyebrows helplessly and called the highest official of the Ministry of Etiquette to come out, probably to teach her to persuade and restrain her. Fan’s own subordinates–unexpectedly, after the Book of Rites came out, he knelt beside the man without saying a word, and showed his intention to protect him with his actions. Jiang Zhuo choked suddenly, and he froze fiercely. Pat the armrest.

“Official staff!” I looked worriedly, but saw Jiang Zhuo’s gaze swept across my face, and then stared at the chilling crowd, and shouted sharply.

“Your Majesty, calm down,” a middle-aged woman in a scarlet official uniform walked slowly to the kneeling two. When I thought she would make some constructive suggestions, I saw her also neatly. Kneeling down, he lowered his head and didn’t dare to look directly at Tianyan, and said, “Weichen… seconded.”

“Ministry of Household! Ministry of War! Ministry of Industry…” When Jiang Zhuo mentioned a department, several people knelt down one by one. At the end, they actually knelt for a whole piece, “…Guanglu Temple, Hongyou Temple, Zongzheng Temple!”

——There is a way that the law does not blame the public. Does it seem that the idea of ​​accepting servants is actually what everyone hopes to return?

If no one is instructed, I don’t believe it, but I don’t know who is driving all of this secretly, and who will be the winner who benefits from it?

So far, the only people who have not expressed their views are a military commander headed by the Mu family, Lu Heng in the middle of the book, and Fu Yunchong, who is a sectarian and immortal.

The Mu family has a detached position in Dawu, and is only responsible for guarding the gates and quelling chaos, and has never mixed up with these temple disputes; Zhongshu Ling is the foundation of the imperial husband’s relatives, and naturally will not support it, lest it shake the imperial husband’s position; Fu Yunchong, who should have been impartial, took a step forward unexpectedly, kneeling in front of all the officials, faintly taking the lead: “Your Majesty think twice.”

If the first six nine temples were only to teach Jiang Zhuo to be unhappy and disgusted, then Fu Yunchong’s defection was a flame thrown into the haystack, which completely ignited Jiang Zhuo’s anger. Even after a certain distance, I could understand it. I could feel the cold suffocation on the person’s body–if the eyes could kill people, the people who were kneeling would have long been riddled with corpses.

The scene fell into embarrassment, the two sides stood in a stalemate, no one spoke, and no one retreated.

The kneeling party relied on the number of people, but was not afraid that it would anger those in power-you know, the king was angry, corpses a million, blood drifted, and the world was so unreliable. Why did they rely on such a presumptuous?

I vaguely saw the green veins on the back of Jiang Zhuo’s hand holding the handrails exposed. Obviously, he had endured to the extreme, and taught people to sweat for the kneeling officials-Kuang Xiqing would not be a killer, it does not mean that Jiang Zhuo would not.

“Ling Wang, I want to hear your opinion.” Suddenly hearing her click my name, I felt a little bit in my heart, and stood up involuntarily, raised my head to meet her eyes.

My heart was pounding, and it passed quickly, as if it was about to pop out of my chest. Except for this throbbing heartbeat, I could no longer hear any other sounds in my ears, and no other colors could be seen in my eyes. , Only the amber halo that faintly circulated in the dark ink pool, seemed to sigh and sigh, and seemed to just stare at me purely.

How many times have I been immersed in this focused gaze, as if I had the entire world, as if I was the other’s entire world… The dangling twelve bead finally isolated the confrontation between me and her, and also removed me from Pulled away from the inextricable fascination, she was poured cold water on her head and warned mercilessly about the objective and cruel reality-she no longer belongs to me.

Besides, it was her choice.

All I can do is to accept all this, stay away from her, and even… banish myself.

“My king… seconded.” I heard my calm voice sound, and as my voice fell, the person’s face changed suddenly, and he was unbelievably painful, even if it was separated from me. I could feel her dimmed eyes in an instant—a sudden pain in my heart, accompanied by a hint of revenge pleasure, after that pleasure, but ushered in a deeper pain, between a drink and a peck, the speed doubled The pain also doubled, and the repeated torture almost made me breathless. I don’t know if her injured eyes hurt more, or if she agreed with this decision against her will, it hurts more.

For a long time, she snorted, regardless of the official who had knelt on the ground, got up and shook her sleeves, and left on her own: “Nothing, we will discuss this matter later.”

But he didn’t look at me again.