"Because of the hibiscus, I became a matchmaker, and I was afraid of wearing clothes and my feet were wet." [Chapter 9 of Songs of Chu]
The third day of October in the first year of Jian'an.
Chang'an, Shanglinyuan.
Fuli Palace was first built in the sixth year of Emperor Xiaowu's reign in Yuanding. In that year, he conquered South Vietnam and transplanted a large number of exotic grasses and trees from Lingnan. Among them, lychees were the most popular, so it was called Fuli Palace. However, this kind of southern fruit is not suitable for the northern climate.
, even if they grew up, they would be oranges in the south and oranges in the north. Later, as the world changed and customs changed, Shanglin Garden was abandoned several times and wars broke out. The garden was deserted, overgrown with weeds, and many flowers and trees were cut down by farmers for firewood.
Nowadays, only a few hundred-year-old trees remain, which are majestic and tall. People regard them as spiritual, so they have been saved from disaster.
Among them, there are several tall ginkgo trees, growing in twos and threes. They are as thick and tall as palace pillars, with hanging suspense extending like umbrella canopies. It is autumn at this time, and the yellow leaves of the ginkgo trees are flying, and the ground is golden. Under the sunshine, the ground
It seems to be covered with gold. Once the autumn wind passes, countless yellow butterflies fly in the sky, which is really beautiful.
On this day, the emperor, who had successfully weathered the drought and gradually relaxed his affairs, suddenly became interested in taking a rest. Thinking that only red maples and yellow leaves could be seen in autumn, the harem members could not go out several times a year.
Palace, so he took Empress Dong and Fu, two nobles from the Song Dynasty to the Li Palace to enjoy the autumn leaves. After getting ready to drive, the emperor was also thinking about his sister, the ten thousand-year-old princess Liu Jiang, and the emperor who lived in the palace in Shanglin Garden.
Sister-in-law, the noble Tang family in Huaiyuan, sent the princes and princes on the left and right to drive to convey the news.
At that time, Zhongji, the minister of Huangmen, criticized him, saying that the prince-in-law, Du Wei, was the only one driving the auxiliary car, so he was not suitable as a candidate to convey the mission. It was also inappropriate to drive for the eldest princess. Zhongji was born in the Zhong family of Henan, and he and Zuo Fengyi Zhongfu,
Chen Xiangzhong and Shao were cousins. The Zhong children seemed to be born with a stubborn and unwilling temperament. As soon as these words came out, Fazheng, Sheyuan and others, who were also Huangmen ministers and were closer to the emperor, were all the same.
He looked like he was watching a good show.
Sure enough, the emperor glanced at Zhong Ji intentionally or unintentionally and said: "The eldest princess recently said that the charioteer in her palace is not good at what he does. At this time, he sent the prince-in-law Du Wei over, who happened to drive a chariot over."
Zhong Ji opened his mouth and hesitated for a while before continuing.
The lotus flowers in the pond have withered and shriveled, leaving only the black branches and vines rotting on the water. The autumn wind blows from time to time, and the whole yard is filled with desolation. A long walking bridge winds over the water, leading to the pond.
There is a water pavilion in the center. The gauze curtains inside the water pavilion flutter with the wind, and there are many shadows of people inside.
The young man in court uniform stood alone at the end of the bridge, bowing slightly and waiting quietly.
His handsome side face was reflected in the calm water of the pool. Sometimes a fish would pass by, but it would soon disappear into the pool. The waves caused by the tail flick disturbed the reflected face.
The sound of footsteps came from far and near, followed by several girls' laughter. The maid in Luo Shan came and stood behind the young man, laughing and whispering. But the young man was not moved at all, and still stood upright.
By the water, there was a smile on the corner of the mouth. The smile was gentle and indifferent, like a piece of warm jade in the sun, which made people feel close to her involuntarily.
"Is this the captain of Zhou Dynasty? I have been ordered by the eldest princess to ask the captain to go to the waterside pavilion to talk about it."
Zhou Yu turned around and faced the two beautiful maids. His eyes were clear and there was no blasphemy in his eyes. He then walked to the center of the waterside pavilion. Behind the curtain, a shadowy woman sat upright.
The woman's voice was clear and graceful: "Is this Zhou Yu from Lujiang?"
Zhou Yu politely replied: "It is your Majesty who has ordered the eldest princess to go to Shanglin Garden to appreciate the yellow leaves."
"There's no rush." The eldest princess was probably the only one who dared to obey the orders. She suddenly asked, "What do you think of the scenery of my waterside pavilion?"
Zhou Yu was stunned for a moment, and looked at the surrounding environment with great interest. The water surface was open, and the wind blew from time to time. Nearby were broken lotus leaves, and on the bank were thin willow trees. He suddenly let out a long sigh and said
: "It is rare to find such a layout in Chang'an. It vaguely has the quiet artistic conception of a house in the south of the Yangtze River. It's just that such quietness is too clear, and it seems deserted."
The eldest princess thought for a moment: "Desolate? Are you saying that I am aloof?"
"I don't dare." Zhou Yu still smiled politely: "It's just that the eldest princess is in her prime years. She should see more of the beautiful scenery in the world, enjoy things, and feel the fun from them, instead of being confined to a small waterside pavilion."
The eldest princess remained silent for an even longer time: "But it's boring to see too much of the world's scenery."
"It depends on what it is." Zhou Yu raised his head calmly, and looked at the people behind the scenes through the gauze curtain. There was a grace and confidence in his calm eyes that no one else had.
With his outstanding appearance and good conversation, Zhou Yu is enough to win the hearts of any man or woman: "The customs in the village are as interesting as the common people, the mountains, rivers, birds and beasts are as interesting as the creation of heaven and earth, and even the temples are also interesting."
"Many ministers in the dynasty are unable to help the emperor, and they are unable to benefit the people below. They are all dead and living in plain food. They only compete for fame and self-interest every day. What fun can there be in the temple?"
"The eldest princess is biased. For example, I am a descendant of the Zhou family in Lujiang. Since childhood, I have taken the restoration of the country as my responsibility. If you serve as prime minister in the court, you will assist the wise king and govern the people. If you serve as a general outside, you will guard the battlefield and seal the wolf's home.
Xu, defend our territory." Zhou Yu said confidently and high-spirited: "Being a prime minister has the pleasure of being a prime minister, and being a general also has the career of being a general, even if you are a prefect of a county or a county magistrate. As long as you care about the world and worry about the common people,
When you do something, you will have fun everywhere.”
These words were what he and Sun Ce had talked about when they were in Shu County. But he didn't expect that the young man was so high-spirited and his inspiring words back then would deeply stimulate the people sitting behind the veil.
Suddenly there was some slight movement in the gauze curtain. Zhou Yu seemed to smell a faint fragrance in the air. Faintly, he saw the woman in long clothes and wide sleeves standing up behind the curtain: "If you really have such an ambition, you won't be able to do it."
Your Majesty's efforts to cultivate you are in vain." Immediately afterwards, the eldest princess said again: "You should know in your heart that you will not send a servant, a servant, or an internal visitor to the Xiaohuangmen.
What’s the deep meaning in it?”
"I understand." Zhou Yu's heart moved and he replied calmly.
"Understood?" The eldest princess chuckled and said sarcastically: "It can be seen that what you just said was just intentional. The fun of a person like you is also vulgar."
In fact, when Zhou Yu was in Liangzhou, he had vaguely noticed the clues from Jia Xu's polite attitude. The emperor wanted to choose a brother-in-law from a young man, and he repeatedly hinted that the eldest princess could participate in political affairs to a certain extent, ensuring that
Her husband-in-law will not be idle in his official career after getting married. Under such circumstances, being able to marry into the royal family is really a great and harmless thing.
Zhou Yu is a confident person. He thinks that with his talents, there is no woman in the world who is not worthy of him, including the eldest princess, so he does not subconsciously think that this is a high-profile person. In addition, Zhou Yu is also a self-respecting person.
, he would rather rely on his own hands to build his own achievements step by step, rather than rely on his kinship with the emperor to reach the sky in one step.
So he also has his own views on this marriage matter.