To the west of the West Lake, there are Tianning Wanshou Yongzuo Temple and Huayan Pavilion.
Xie Daoqing and Quan Jiu kowtowed solemnly and piously and exited the treasure pavilion. Immediately, a palace attendant came forward lightly and embraced them into a Zen room.
"The Queen Mother, please wait a moment, and I will prepare the ceremony for you."
"Remember, keep it simple and don't disturb the purity of Buddhism." Xie Daoqing explained again.
There was a deep look of worry on her brows, and after saying that, she couldn't help but sigh again.
These days, she worships both Buddha and Laojun, all she wants is to preserve the Song Dynasty.
After everyone in the palace exited, Xie Daoqing clapped Quan Jiu's hand and said, "Did you know that the Buddha statues in this temple were given by Emperor Gaozong? I hope I can protect half of the Song Dynasty."
Quan Jiu responded solemnly: "I also hope that the official dragon will be in good health."
"I don't know if Jia Sidao has met the rebels. It's disturbing..."
While talking, the instrument driver was already ready.
They boarded the phoenix chariot and returned to the palace.
This trip was very low-key. Although we brought many guards and chamberlains with us, we did not pass through the streets of Hangzhou, so we did not bring any guards of honor to clear the way.
When passing by the West Lake, Quanjiu suddenly heard something calling in the distance.
She listened for a while, then opened the curtain slightly and asked Cao Xi who was walking aside, "What sound can you hear?"
"Back to the saint, there are some scholars who are talking loudly on the pavilion by the West Lake. They are far away and cannot be bumped into."
"Send someone over and listen carefully to what they say."
Cao Xi was stunned for a moment, not understanding what was so pleasant about that, but he still sent a young eunuch over as he was told.
The young eunuch took off his hat and hurried to the lake.
It was indeed a long way, and he was almost to the West Lake, so he took off his belt and hid behind the bushes pretending to relieve himself while standing.
In fact, the scholars did not pay attention to this, and the discussion continued.
"I can also recite Qin Yuan Chun!"
"Okay, it's Brother Lin's turn to recite the lyrics."
"Gentlemen, gentlemen, the poem I am about to recite also has a preface. It talks about the poet's visit to the Fengle Tower in Lin'an to view the West Lake after observing the world's scenery when he was young."
"If you want to say it, say it quickly."
"Okay, here's the preface: I went to Fengle Tower one day to view the West Lake. I sighed for a long time because I recited a friend's line, "The southeast is charming, the female overtakes the male." I was drunk and wrote a big book on the east wall to write down the depression in my chest."
The pavilion was quiet for a moment.
"Ha, what a saying, 'Southeast charming, a woman takes over a man', I was so scolded!"
"That was the fourth year of the late Emperor Jiaxi's reign. If the state affairs were like this at that time, how could anyone have the dignity to call themselves a man..."
The little eunuch hiding in the bushes was trying to remember these words, but he couldn't help but feel strange in his heart.
He originally thought that he would no longer be a man after entering the palace, but he never thought that these noble scholars did not like to be men either.
If you continue to listen, the scholar begins to recite the lyrics.
"..."
"I lifted up Zhongmou, called back Xuande, and killed Jingsheng's dolphin and dog with a smile. When I returned, I sighed at the West Lake. Is this a dream?"
The young eunuch had a very good memory, so he was sent by Cao Xi to eavesdrop. However, he could understand ordinary conversations, but these words were difficult to understand, and he forgot every sentence after hearing it.
Only the first sentence of the second half was understood and remembered by him.
"You guys are so pretentious that you don't even know about the Civil War..."
After listening for a while longer, when the scholar finished reciting a poem, there was a burst of cheers in the pavilion.
"good!"
"Okay! Scold me and the court thoroughly."
"Brother Lin, who composed this poem? A master who can write such poems must be an official in the north now."
"I think so. Perhaps this person was involved in the battle to regain the Central Plains."
"Presumably after the great victory, it was he who sang harmony with the Emperor and wrote the Emperor's shocking lyrics?"
"Gentlemen, gentlemen, please listen to me. This is not a new word just now. I have said this word for thirty years."
"So what if it's been thirty years? From my perspective, his poetry style must have been written by a young man. He must be no more than sixty years old now."
"If he were still alive, he would have just turned fifty this year. His surname was Chen, a famous celebrity, and his courtesy name was Gangfu. He had many tragic words from Kang. It was a pity that he died young and was only twenty-six years old when he died..."
There was a sudden sigh of relief in the pavilion.
Then the scholar said again: "Gentlemen, how about I recite a poem called "Qinyuanchun"? This poem was also written more than thirty years ago. Coincidentally, the situation it describes is exactly the same as today!"
"Okay, please, Brother Lin."
"Who made China sink for hundreds of years, and the green felt has not been returned?"
"I am saddened by the waning moon and the morning star, the heroes of Beizhou;"
"The west wind sets the sun, and the east emperor's country rises."
"Liu Biao sat down for a chat, entered deeply and lightly, and the opportunity was lost in a blink of an eye..."
The young eunuch seemed to understand this poem but not quite.
But every time the scholar recited a line, someone in the pavilion would put their palms in their hands and shout, "Well done!" It was obvious that the words were meant to curse the imperial court.
Sure enough, after reading a poem, all the scholars became even more excited.
"It's really the same! It's like this when the barbarians attack, and it's like this when Master Wang comes."
"Peace cannot be settled, and war cannot be won. We settle in the south of the Yangtze River, singing and dancing to promote peace, and treacherous sycophants wielding power. The temples are full of Liu Jingsheng's dolphins and dogs!"
"What's the point of always scolding Zhao and Song Dynasty? Can we achieve a peaceful and prosperous age and a unified and powerful country?"
"In this way, Northern Ci is more majestic."
"..."
The young eunuch was finally convinced that these were all a group of rebels.
In broad daylight, with the beautiful scenery of the West Lake, rebels gathered together to curse the court.
He couldn't help but glance back to see if he had been discovered. Then he deliberately shook his head, pretended that he had finished urinating, turned around and left.
There was already a chorus of chanting coming from the pavilion.
"The scenery of the North, thousands of miles of ice, thousands of miles of snow..."
~~
That evening, Quanjiu sat behind the bead curtain and listened to the young eunuch talking for a long time, his eyes always calm.
At the end, Cao Xi whispered: "The saint has a sharp eye and can tell at a glance that those people are rebels..."
"My eyes are as bright as a torch? You said that my eyes are as sharp as a torch?"
Quanjiu suddenly asked back, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, as if he was mocking something.
She has always been dignified and rarely looks like this.
"This slave knows his guilt."
Cao Xi actually didn't know what he said wrongly, so he slapped himself with his backhand.
"Sage, are you going to send someone to capture all those rebels?"
"They're right. Isn't that what the Song Dynasty is like today? You can't live in peace, and you can't win in war. To be honest, it's lucky to be able to compare with Liu Jingsheng's dolphin..."
Cao Xi lowered his head and did not dare to answer.
After all, Quan Jiu still maintained his dignity and said: "The battle ahead is imminent, Lin'an will not be in chaos, they are just useless scholars, let them say whatever they want."
"yes."
"Come on, I'm going to visit the official's house."
In fact, Quanjiu vaguely heard someone singing lyrics when passing by the West Lake, so he sent someone there just to hear what Lin'an said about Li Xia.
As a result, those scholars respected Li Xia more than she expected, which made her even more uneasy.
She got on the phoenix chariot, passed through the palace gate, and then slowly walked into the palace.
As if to see the comparison with her own eyes, she approached Zhao Yu.
Hearing the noise, Zhao Fu was awakened and immediately began to foam at the mouth and start shaking.
Quan Jiu just stood there and watched, thinking to himself: "Just like this, you still want to dislike Liu Jingsheng's dolphin, and you still want Sun Zhongmou? Why should God give it to you..."
At this moment, there were hurried footsteps behind him, and a chamberlain ran over without regard for propriety.
Quan Jiu was unhappy and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Something important has happened. The Queen Mother invites the officials to come to the front hall to perform duets. Saint, please forgive me. I need to move the officials' house immediately... please come over."
"What happened?"
"The saint forgives me, but this servant doesn't know..."
~~
"What happened?"
Zeng Yuanzi hurried to the Xuande Hall and asked Chen Yizhong impatiently.
Chen Yizhong was obviously trying to control his emotions. He looked calm, but he could see the blood vessels on his forehead beating.
"What happened?" Zeng Yuanzi asked again.
"It shouldn't be like this." Chen Yizhong said, "For the sake of the country, we and Jia Sidao can temporarily repair each other. How can these people do this..."
"In the end what happened?"
"Three generations of people have been grateful to the king for a long time, and they have commanded the border defense for decades. They should have retired with the country, but how can he be like this..."
"You mean, Zhao Huai surrendered?"
Chen Yizhong shook his head and said: "Zhao Huai did not surrender. Although Zhao Huai was trapped in the north of the Yangtze River and was captured, he still did not lose his integrity. I did not expect... to set up envoys along the river, knowing that Zhao Shu of Jiankang Prefecture has the Yangtze River in the north and the Yangtze River in the west.
The army was a screen, and the imperial court had great expectations, but they surrendered without waiting for the rebels to cross the Yangtze River."
Zeng Yuanzhong was stunned.
Chen Yizhong added: "Also, knowing that Zhenjiang Prefecture was afraid of the flood, three generations of important ministers also surrendered without fighting."
"What did you say? But... Jia Sidao still plans to fight the rebels... If they want to surrender, at least wait... In this case, what's the point of guarding the Yangtze River?"
"I wanted to say that at least there should be a decent war, even just once, so that they can behave like men and dare to fight the enemy. But you see, they have already been completely defeated before the war started..."
When Chen Yizhong said this, he smiled bitterly and shook his head.
He recalled a sentence he heard in Taixue. It was that sentence that inspired him to desperately want to restore the country's power these years.
So, he murmured to himself: "Jiangnan is so charming that women overtake men."