"This body has long belonged to the king and will not be abused by others." [The candle shadow shakes red]
Due to the emperor's long-term stay, the palace of Ganling Kingdom has been tidied up and looked brand new. Although nothing has been added or built, the residence is at least more spacious and comfortable than the tent. The emperor is bringing Zhuge Liang, Shi Sunmeng and other secretaries
Lang was browsing the collection of books of the Ganling royal family in a certain palace. For some of the unique and rare books that he had never seen before, the emperor would have people mark them and prepare to take them back to Chang'an. Collecting the world's collection of books is what the emperor has been doing since he took office.
, not only gave it to Cui Lie, the servant, to compile it into a collection, but also practiced it personally, searching everywhere he went. Even if there were some books that the emperor didn't like to read, he would keep them.
Since the emperor was obsessed with collecting books, he was extremely serious when he took his secretaries to explore the sea of books and had no time to pay attention to the outside world.
Mu Shun followed closely, and when the emperor picked up a book and straightened up, he took the initiative to pass the brewed tea to the emperor.
The emperor took it with one hand, flicked the wrist of the other hand, and turned half of the withered yellow bamboo slip. The long bamboo slip was spread out on his arm, revealing densely packed small characters. He took a shallow sip of tea, and suddenly caught a glimpse of it from the corner of his eye.
Mu Shun wrinkled his nose disgracefully, and the emperor asked, holding the tea bowl: "What are you doing?"
"Your Majesty, I don't like the smell of letters." Mu Shun replied honestly, with an innocent look on his face.
The emperor obviously didn't believe it and asked again: "How come you can stay in Shiqu Pavilion?"
The tacit understanding between the two that they had cultivated over the years immediately helped Mu Shun. He could sometimes figure out what the emperor wanted to ask and what he should answer before speaking, so he responded quickly and said with a smile: "Every day in Shiqu Pavilion, His Majesty and
The secretaries and officials studied the scriptures and aired them frequently, so the taste of the books was naturally different. It is different from here, where the royal family has collected books for hundreds of years, but the Wei Dynasty has stopped compiling them, and they are full of dust when they are turned over."
"I think you just want to hide away." The emperor smiled and finished the scolding. Then he thought for a moment and nodded: "The dust in these slips is indeed too heavy. Please bring some long pieces of silk first."
Mu Shun gave a "only" sound, knowing that the emperor had tacitly agreed that he would not have to wait by his side for a while, so he walked out happily and personally selected a few pieces of silk cloth in the warehouse that were very finely woven and silky to the touch.
The emperor got the silk cloth, stretched out his hand to touch it, and quickly knew that it was what he wanted. He nodded with rare approval at Mu Shun's thoughtfulness. He started to cover his mouth and nose with the silk cloth, and tied it behind his head.
Slipknot then told the others to follow suit. Although it was unsightly, there was no need to worry about inhaling excessive dust.
Mu Shun saw the emperor's satisfied look and retreated consciously. As soon as he retreated to the corridor, his waist straightened up, and a group of people holding towels and serving tea came up to serve him: "Go, go!" Mu Shun
Disgusted, he shooed the group of people away like flies, and reprimanded in a low voice: "You don't even know who you are before you dare to get close to them!"
These people are all the old slaves left over from the Ganling royal family. Because all the direct descendants of the royal family died in the disaster, their livelihoods were cut off. Some were scattered everywhere, and some died of poverty. The palaces were sparse, and only some who still had old feelings for the royal family were left.
I will continue to live here, waiting for the day when the imperial court will remember this place and choose another branch to inherit the clan. According to the development of the situation, servants like them who are not engaged in production will die in a few years, but the emperor
The arrival changed everything.
Seeing the opportunity to rise to prominence, they were like old trees coming to life, and they wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to curry favor with Mushun. Maybe they would use it well and be taken to Chang'an, where they would also have a portion of Lumi to eat.
However, Mu Shun did not look down on these older servants at all. Not only did they only assign menial tasks, but they even stopped them from approaching the emperor. He immediately drove these people away and walked directly to a side room.
Behind Mu Shun, a young eunuch followed quietly.
"Have you settled the noble man?" Mu Shun asked him quietly as he closed the door.
"I have been in the side hall for the past few days, and my maids have been serving you." The young eunuch stood there and bowed his head respectfully, as if a light flashed through his slender eyes: "Mr. Zhen has brought several maids with him.
Xu is taking personal care of her, and it’s okay for me to come here, so I’ll keep her here.”
The young eunuch's name is Jun, and he has a smart appearance. His ancestors were all slaves of the Ganling royal family. He once committed crimes and was castrated, and became a rare young eunuch of the Ganling royal family. Among all the sluggish people,
Among the old eunuchs, Mu Shun felt that severity was the gold hidden in the gravel, because he was not constrained by his status as an eunuch to fend for himself, but had the courage to walk out of the abandoned palace and wander around among the people. Fortunately for him, he had an extraordinary appearance
With his courage and talent, he actually made many connections in northern Hebei. Last year, he happened to return to the palace to pack his bags and planned to cross the Yellow River to travel to the Central Plains. Unexpectedly, he met the emperor who was stationed there, so he stayed.
But this was not what made Mu Shun look at him with admiration. The first time he felt that this person was extraordinary was when Yan Yan met him for the first time, so he secretly gave him a white jade belt hook. According to Yan Yan, this dragon head
The belt hook was an accessory of King Ganling. It was later left in the palace and was picked up by him by chance. Mu Shun naturally did not believe this nonsense, but now that Ganling was in ruins, it would not be a big deal for him to take the belt hook off.
Difficult matter. It’s not that the old slaves of the royal family have never sent things to Mu Shun, but most of them are relics found in the corners of the palace. The valuable things have long been looted or sold by the Yellow Turban Army, so how can they be returned?
There will be something valuable given to him.
But Yan Yan was different. The day after delivering the belt hook, he took out another golden cicada. In the following days, he took out a jade ring and a golden horseshoe, which really enriched Mu Shun's pocket a lot.
She was vaguely surprised by the other party's financial resources and knew that he had a lot of background, so she accepted him privately, but said that it was because he was a lobbyist for the Zhen family. Mu Shun, who was familiar with the stories of the court, knew that the Zhen family was not alone behind this incident. Zhen Ji entered the palace,
Perhaps it was the common will of all the powerful people in Hebei. In order to give them a sense of security and belonging, the emperor would inevitably adopt marriage alliances and marriages to win over people's hearts.
In this matter, as Yan Yan said, the emperor was young and vigorous, and would never be bad at women. If Mu Shun didn't mention Zhen's daughter today, could it be possible that others wouldn't mention it to the emperor? Mu Shun at that time
He was deeply convinced of the need and felt the need to befriend a noble person, so he gave and received money and arranged the matter for him in just a few words.
"It's not difficult to bring a few maids in, just send more people to look after them. When you enter Weiyang Palace in the future, these people will have to be replaced." Mu Shun said disapprovingly, and suddenly reminded: "Yes,
The daughter of the Zhen family has not yet decided on her name. I have asked the emperor for instructions and said that she will be called 'Zhen Ji' for the time being. The specific name will be determined after she returns to the palace."
"Ji" is the general name for concubines, and it is an unjustified title. The emperor asked a noble lady to be called "Ji". It can be imagined that he did not have much enthusiasm for this woman at first. The stern look in his eyes inevitably revealed it.
There was a hint of disappointment, but he was not discouraged, because no one who had seen Zhen Ji was not impressed by her appearance. Yan Yan was very confident about this, and he readily accepted Mu Shun's reminder and quickly changed his words.
: "Wei Wei, my slave, please pass on the name 'Zhen Ji' to others so that others will avoid slips of the tongue."
"That's what it is." Mu Shun nodded with satisfaction. For a moment, he also thought, would the emperor's cold attitude not be what he expected? But whether Zhen Ji was favored or not had nothing to do with Mu Shun.
He just asked casually: "By the way, what has she been doing these past few days since coming here?"
Yan Yan frowned slightly and said, "I just do some embroidery work, and I don't move around at will."
"Really?" Mu Shun was about to go out when he heard this and stopped immediately.
Yan Yan was stunned for a moment and said subconsciously: "Of course it is true."
"Okay, okay." Mu Shun was a little happy and couldn't help but look at Yan Yan, as if he was envious that he had found a treasure: "It might be a great blessing for her to like embroidery."
Yan Yan didn't know why, but he guessed from Mu Shun's words that it was not a bad thing: "May I ask Duke Mu, what do you mean by this?"
"You don't understand." Mu Shun was so proud that he couldn't help but feel less scrupulous. He had been following the emperor and had almost no time to care about Zhen Ji's movements when she entered the palace. He even went over to take a look in person. At this time, if he really pressed the serious button
As it is said, Princess Zhen's talent, virtue and appearance are unparalleled in the world, so even the nobleman in the palace who is famous for being 'virtuous' has to be slightly inferior in appearance.
The palace occupies a vast area. The side halls are paved with bluestones and lined with green pines. The buildings in front of you are mostly double buildings and halls, which are very solemn and gorgeous. The most beautiful scenery in this side hall is the apricot blossoms. When it is warmer, there are dozens of apricot blossoms.
It is in full bloom, and when viewed from a distance along the roof ridge and gable wall, it looks like steaming clouds.
The emperor strolled on the stone path, looking at the pink stamens on the branches of the apricot trees, while listening to Mu Shunzhuangruo's unintentional suggestion that the emperor find a place to stay, drink tea and enjoy the flowers. The emperor readily agreed.
There was a place that he had never been to before, so he asked Mu Shun to find a place. Mu Shun then naturally thought that this place was close to where Zhen Ji lived. After Mu Shun reminded him, the emperor then remembered that Zhen Ji had been here for a few days.
Ji, he has been in a very bad mood recently because of Liu Yu's defeat in Youzhou, and has never had time to get close to Fangze. Whether it is a coincidence or accidental, he should go and have a look.
Hearing that the emperor had arrived, Zhen Ji came out of the side hall with a group of people to greet him. The emperor saw a delicate woman in a light green skirt bowing down, and took the initiative to reach out to catch her arm. His eyes naturally
It fell on Zhen Ji’s face. It’s not like the emperor had never seen so-called stunning women in the world, whether it was Empress Dong, Feng Fangnu and Zou who were beside Fu Shou, or those who were listening to the sound of the piano in Shiqu Pavilion.
The glimpses I find are all rare beauties.
But compared to them, Zhen Ji's appearance is even more extraordinary, with a slightly pointed oval face, slender and soft eyebrows, a pair of almond eyes that look like autumn water, and are as clear as glass.
You can't help but look at her face. She looks dignified and gentle, but her expression is a little timid. Once you take a look at it, you can't help but want to take a second look. The more you look at it, the more lasting the charm becomes. Looking carefully, her whole person seems to exude
There was a faint brilliance, as if there was another jade garment on top of the robe.
"It's really priceless." The emperor remembered the Prime Minister's words and felt that they were true.
Zhen Ji could not easily notice the surprise in her eyes. She only knew that the current emperor was young, but she did not expect that the emperor who restored the Han family would actually look like a young man. He was sixteen or seventeen years old, right between an adult and a young man.
Meanwhile, the emperor looked at her with gentle eyes and a smile, as if he had deliberately restrained his sharpness, just like a boy next door. She shook her head lightly, trying to get rid of this unrealistic thought, as if she saw that the emperor's attitude was kind and kind.
, the timidity in Zhen Ji's eyes was a little smaller for a moment: "What are the words of the fortune teller? It has always been the fortune teller who traveled to the homes of the rich and powerful, using empty words to deal with the favor and making profits. He never came in and out of the poor house, talking about the humble and long-term things.
.”
"You don't believe in physiognomy?" The emperor held the other person's arm firmly and looked curiously at the man who had benefited from 'physographies', but he didn't believe in physiognomy.
"Ghosts and gods are unpredictable, I don't dare not believe it." Zhen Ji shook her head frankly, seeming to hesitate: "It's just that I don't say anything about my strange power, so Your Majesty should..."
"I understand." The emperor patted her white and flawless hand and said, "You are admonishing me." After saying that, he suddenly felt that this was very familiar, but there was another thought that felt different.
The emperor and Zhen Ji walked into the side hall together. When they saw a shoe model placed on the couch, they picked it up casually and found that the workmanship was quite exquisite. When they lowered their eyes, they saw that it was similar to the silk shoes the other party was wearing.
They were very similar. An inexplicable look flashed across the emperor's eyes. He picked up the shoe that was no bigger than his hand and asked softly: "Child's shoes?"
"It was sewn for my brother's son." Zhen Ji explained: "My widowed sister-in-law doesn't know how to sew, so I tried to make it at home, but when I had time, it was delayed..."
The emperor suddenly understood where the inexplicable feeling of familiarity came from. Although the other party was ten times more beautiful than Fu Shou, her quiet and gentle temperament, upright and generous character, and her knitting and embroidery skills all impressed her.
They are so similar to each other, and even smarter than Fu Shou.
"How old are you this year?" The emperor asked Zhen Ji to sit across from her. The two of them kept a non-ambiguous distance. Even though the other person's appearance was heart-warming even from a distance, the emperor's tone still maintained some restraint.
and calm.
Zhen Ji didn't know that the emperor's attitude suddenly became harsh. She couldn't help lowering her eyelids and replied carefully: "I am fifteen this year."
"What do you do at home on weekdays?" Hearing the other party's age, the emperor suddenly felt a little regretful, but this regret was quickly forgotten and he continued to ask.
"I used to read and practice calligraphy, and do some female work in my spare time." The other party's question was really ordinary, but Zhen Ji still heard some interrogation in it. Perhaps this was the first time she was exposed to the unpredictability of the monarch, and the tone of her words was...
Some are not very calm.
After some cross-examination, Zhen Ji’s eyes were clear, her tone was sincere, and her expression showed no evasion. The emperor knew that the other party should be telling the truth. Perhaps everything she did was just a coincidence, rather than someone behind the scenes to deliberately cater to him.
preferences.
The emperor then reluctantly felt relieved. Although accepting Zhenji was based on his personal thoughts and the need to win over the hearts of the scholars in Hebei, it did not mean that he would tolerate someone with ulterior motives entering his side.