Pihanjin - Chapter 88
The leader of the three clans led a mighty delegation to Shangjing to pay tribute to the emperor of the new dynasty. Along with the three clans, there was also the messenger of Changsha.
The emperor held a grand reception ceremony for the embassies of the three clans and Changsha, and gave them rewards. Among them, Yuan Handing’s award is particularly eye-catching.
He was enfeoffed as the Great General of the South, a first-class duke, who enjoyed a fief, and was replaced by hereditary rank. Not only that, but a few days later, on the eve of the members of the embassy leaving Shangjing after their pilgrimage, an **** went to the post house again, and Xuan Yuan Han Ding entered the palace.
On the eve of his departure, the emperor had to be so generous. Yuan Handing went out of the post house and entered the palace with the **** under the countless envious gazes around him. He walked among the many palaces and buildings shrouded in darkness, passed through a quiet courtyard, followed the guidance of the palace lanterns, and finally came to a building at the end of the courtyard.
The **** stopped and said respectfully, “General please come in and wait.”
Yuan Handing looked forward and saw a plaque hanging in the center above the gate of the hall with the words “Qingxin Pavilion” written on it.
He nodded and walked in.
In the hall, the lights are bright, the painted building is painted with red curtains, and a few paintings and calligraphy are hung on the south wall. The surroundings are exquisite and elegant, not the imperial study he thought before. It seems that this place is very consistent with the inscription on the plaque outside the door, more like a private pavilion where friends gather.
Yuan Handing held his breath, stood in the center of the hall, and waited quietly for a long time, but he never saw the arrival of the emperor, and doubts gradually arose in his heart.
He returned to the door, glanced outside, and found that the **** who brought him here just now was also gone, and he had already left. The night was dark, and there was no one around except for him.
Yuan Handing hesitated for a while, and was in a dilemma for a while. He was about to call out someone, when he heard the sound of rustling footsteps on the corridor that he had just walked through.
He looked up and saw that there was a shadowy figure, as if a woman was walking towards this side with a palace maid accompanying her. The palace maid held a palace lantern in her hand, which gradually approached, illuminating the figure.
Yuan Handing finally recognized it, the palace maid was Dan Zhu, and the woman who was walking here was Mu Fulan.
This was the first time the two met after she left Changsha that day.
He was very surprised. He didn’t expect to wait for the emperor, but she came here. After thinking about it, he suddenly realized.
The **** never said that it was the emperor summoned since he opened his mouth at the inn and said the first sentence. He just took it for granted.
It turned out that it was not the emperor who saw him, but the palace she called herself into.
Although a little surprised, he was still overjoyed to meet her before leaving Shangjing.
He immediately stepped out of the threshold, greeted the woman who was walking here, knelt on the corridor, and kowtowed.
When Mu Fulan saw him, a look of surprise flashed across her eyes, and she was stunned for a while, but soon, a smile appeared on her face, and she stepped forward to call him up.
She entered the temple. Yuan Handing entered with her, stopped at the entrance of the hall, and said respectfully: “This time, when I enter the capital, not only is the emperor’s majesty a long grace and an exceptional reward, but during the daytime, I can also see the prince’s face. The Queen’s greetings and expectations to the ministers.”
Mu Fulan smiled and said: “A disciple and a teacher should respect his father in the first place. The Crown Prince used to teach you the martial arts of riding and archery. It is his duty to respect you. Brother, you must be polite in front of me. “
Yuan Handing relaxed slowly, and a smile appeared on his face.
“This time in Beijing, the minister has benefited a lot. Before leaving, it is an honor for the minister to be summoned by the queen and express her gratitude to the queen in person. The queen can rest assured that when the minister returns, he will redouble his allegiance and live up to the grace of God. The Queen specially summoned the ministers here, and if there is anything else, please do not hesitate to instruct them, and the ministers will go through fire and water, and they will do whatever they want!”
Mu Fulan smiled and said, “I don’t have anything else to do. Although Xi’er conveyed my greetings to you during the day, she thought that you would be leaving tomorrow, and I happened to be fine at night, so I looked for my brother. Say goodbye. It is inconvenient for me to go out of the palace, so I invite my brother here. I wish my brother a smooth journey and return home as soon as possible.”
Yuan Handing thought that she had privately summoned herself here, because she had something to hide, or she wanted to help herself, but it turned out that she just wanted to say goodbye to herself and thank him again.
Mu Fulan came up, helped him up, and chatted with him about Changsha.
Yuan Handing knew that her current status was very different from when she was the regent in Changsha before.
Mu Fulan didn’t leave him either, but sent him out of the temple, saying, “I have prepared some things for Mu’s mother and Aru, I’d like to ask you to bring it back, and ask Mu’s mother to take care of Aru. I’m free, go back. Look at them.”
Yuan Handing agreed one by one. Mu Fulan stopped on the steps outside the palace door, and when his figure gradually disappeared at the end of the palace road, the smile on his face disappeared.
She turned her face and cast her gaze to the dark night sky where Yuanchen Palace was located.
It was late, but the lights in the imperial study were still as bright as day. Xie Changgeng sat behind the case, bowing his head and reading the memorial. There was silence in the hall, and the palace servants in the corner held their breath, so quiet that even the sound of the pen brushing over the paper in the emperor’s hand seemed to be heard.
The **** Cao Jin entered and hinted at the palace servants with his eyes. When there were only himself and the emperor left in the palace, he walked to the side, bowed, and said in a low voice: “Your Majesty, the slaves have been arranged, and the queen has passed.”
“The matter is secret tonight, and no unrelated people will know half of it.” Cao Jin added carefully.
Xie Changgeng’s eyes still fell on the open book in front of him, and he didn’t speak.
His face was indifferent, as if he had never heard of it. After reading a book, he closed it, raised his hand to pick up the other book on the desk, and when his fingertips touched the book, his hand suddenly froze, and his face gradually turned pale. , After a while, as if he couldn’t bear it any longer, he coughed violently.
The Imperial Physician once said that His Majesty the Emperor injured his lungs that day. Although the trauma has now recovered, the inner part still needs to be slowly recuperated. If the qi and blood are not smooth in daily life, it will cause internal cough, which should not be ignored.
Cao Jin came up and rubbed the emperor’s back. Seeing that he was coughing uncontrollably, his face showed pain, he suddenly lowered his head, and when he slowly straightened up, there was a cluster of bright red blood on the zigzag in front of him. ,shocking.
The **** was stunned, reacted, and opened his mouth to call for the imperial doctor, but was stopped.
The emperor closed the book, closed his eyes, and said, “It’s just like that when the imperial doctor comes. I know my injury myself. You can go and bring the medicine to me.”
Cao Jin red eyes. Knowing the emperor’s temper, he had no choice but to step back.
He retreated to the door of the imperial study room, turned around, and was shocked when he opened the door to step over the threshold.
Outside the door, stood a beautiful woman with a faint anger on her face.
“Empress!” The **** reacted, and hurriedly stepped aside to greet her.
Mu Fulan lifted her skirt, stepped into the imperial study, and said, “Get out!”
The **** turned back quickly. Through the layers of curtains, I could see that the emperor was still looking down at another memorial, as if nothing had happened. He didn’t pay attention to the movement at the door, hesitated, and said carefully: “The queen came here suddenly…”
“Get out!” Mu Fulan said coldly, then stepped forward.
The queen is soft and virtuous, and the royal court is tolerant. It is like this, which has never been seen before.
The **** did not dare to speak again, bowed his head and walked out, closing the door.
Mu Fulan went straight in, came to the imperial front, stared at the man opposite her, lowered her voice, and said word by word, “Xie Changgeng, what are your intentions when you come out tonight?”
She waited for a while, and saw that the man was still sitting upright, with lowered eyebrows and eyes, the hand holding the pen was still writing, and her words seemed to have never reached her ears. , the hacker snatched the book he was approving.
His wrist trembled slightly. The tip of the pen slashed across the page, dragging a long ink mark across the page.
“Your Majesty the Emperor, do you dare to ask if you want to test the loyal traitor, or do you want to catch the traitor as a pair?”
She threw the note that she didn’t know which minister it was, and said with a sneer.
Xie Changgeng slowly put the red pen in his hand on the mountain of pen, raised his eyes, looked at her, his lips moved, as if he wanted to speak, but he couldn’t.
In Mu Fulan’s mind, the scenes that happened tonight flashed: Cao Jin came to send a message, asking her to drive to Qingxin Pavilion, saying that the emperor called her there. She didn’t know why, but went anyway.
She never imagined that the person she saw there was actually Yuan Handing.
What angered her even more was that Yuan Handing was obviously in the dark, thinking that the person who privately summoned him to the palace was himself.
It has been a long time since she was as angry as tonight, so on the way here, her hands were clenched tightly, shaking uncontrollably.
Seeing him like this, she didn’t want to listen to him anymore, she added: “Your Majesty, I always thought you were a wise person, but now I have to doubt that such absurd and stupid actions are humiliating me and Yuan. Brother, you are also humiliating yourself, His Majesty the Emperor.”