Mrs. Liu made a movement while gently winding the ball of thread, and subconsciously raised her head to glance at Liu Mingzhi: "A bracelet for...for my daughter-in-law?"
“Yes, a bracelet for my daughter-in-law. It doesn’t matter whether it’s expensive or not, what’s important is the meaning of taking it out of your hand.”
Mrs. Liu suddenly put the ball of thread in her hand into the basket beside her, walked over to Young Master Liu and stretched out her hand to twist Young Master Liu's ears.
“You brat, aren’t you satisfied with having Yun Er and the others at home? You actually go out to flirt with women?
Are you going to be so angry as a mother?
Tell me, which girl is it that has such great charm and can seduce you? This married man with a group of charming ladies in his family is so fascinated.
He actually came to me to ask for a bracelet."
“Mom! Leave it alone!”
“Hey! How dare you kiss your mother...”
Mrs. Liu was holding Liu Mingzhi's ears with her palms and was about to exert force when she suddenly noticed Liu Mingzhi's somewhat gloomy eyes under the candlelight. She subconsciously let go of Liu Mingzhi's ears with her green-white fingers.
"Zhi'er, are you...are you okay?"
"It's okay! What can happen to the child? Mother, just tell me whether you agree or not?"
Mrs. Liu noticed something unusual in Liu Mingzhi's somewhat vague words. She lowered her head slightly and stared at Liu Mingzhi silently for a moment. Mrs. Liu nodded imperceptibly.
“Promise, isn’t it okay for me to promise you for my mother’s sake?
It’s just that it’s already late today. Tomorrow, I will go to the jewelry store to buy a high-quality jade bracelet, and then you can hand it over to my daughter-in-law, whom I haven’t met yet.”
“Thank you, mother, thank you for your help.
You should make tiger-head shoes for the child Chengrui first. The child still has some mundane matters that need to be dealt with, so I won’t stay with you any longer.
Mom, don’t stay up too late and go to bed early.
The child has resigned."
Mrs. Liu saw Liu Mingzhi getting up and walking towards the door and hurriedly chased after her: "Child!"
Liu Mingzhi paused, turned around and looked at Mrs. Liu who was catching up with a smile.
“Mom, is there anything else?”
"I...for my mother...for my mother...it's okay, it's okay. I just want to tell you that you should rest early after taking care of the little things."
“Hey! The kid knows, let’s go first.”
After Liu Mingzhi’s figure disappeared, Mrs. Liu hurriedly closed the door and ran towards the place where Liu Zhian was drinking.
The child went on a trip away from home a few years ago, and I don’t know what happened during the period, but it turned out to be like this.
“Husband, how are you when you are back? Is what I said right? Isn’t there peace in the capital?
If you insist on going out even if you are not allowed to go out, have you spent a whole day running around in vain?”
Liu Mingzhi looked at Qi Yun who came up to him with a sweet smile, raised a bitter smile at the corner of his mouth, nodded silently and walked towards the wardrobe behind the screen.
“Yes, the capital is indeed peaceful.
Yun'er... I'm a husband... I have something I want to tell you."
“Okay, I am all ears, what do you want to say?”
Liu Mingzhi took out a light white Confucian shirt from the closet and walked towards the stool beside him, sitting down silently.
"Two years ago, our family moved from the palace to our home for about two months. When my husband was setting up a fortune-telling stall outside the restaurant of Bizhu, Lingyi and his sisters, he met a woman named Tao...
…”
The moon is high in the sky, and the red candles in Qi Yun's boudoir are dim and swaying with a faint light, echoing Liu Mingzhi's soft and slow voice.
Qi Yun was sitting on the stool in front of the dressing table, her hands naturally resting on her slender legs. Her expression was sometimes nervous, sometimes excited, sometimes resentful, and sometimes sentimental as she looked at her husband in front of her, her expression changing like a magic trick.
Liu Mingzhi gently held Qi Yun's hand and told Qi Yun without reservation the past events between him and Tao Ying, their grudges and resentments, and the love between their children.
Liu Mingzhi had long had the idea of confessing to Qi Yun about the affairs between him and the three girls, Chen Jie, He Shu and Tao Ying.
Originally planned to find a suitable opportunity to tell everything to Qi Yun after returning from Laizhou, but never thought that Tao Ying, a stupid woman, would not give her this chance at all.
It was quiet and peaceful outside the room, with only the occasional breeze passing through causing some movement.
A brand new candle on the dressing table burned out more than half as time passed, and Liu Mingzhi's voice stopped.
Qi Yun silently watched her husband holding her hands helplessly and painfully, and gently held Liu Mingzhi's hands in his arms and rubbed them.
“Silly husband, my condolences are with you. If Sister Tao Ying is still alive, she will definitely not want to see you like this.
I thought that the reason why she chose such an outcome must have occurred to her from time to time, but had already occurred to her.
But because of her husband, she fell into a situation of struggling to make a choice.
It’s a pity that Sister Tao Ying didn’t figure it out in the end and chose a path that made others sad.
Doesn’t your husband just want to bury her in the imperial mausoleum? I have no objection. In fact, you don’t need to discuss such trivial matters with me. As long as it’s your decision, husband, I will support you unconditionally.”
“Hey, Yun’er, just don’t be jealous.”
“How can I be jealous? Let’s not talk about the dead person, let’s talk about a woman like Sister Tao Ying who dares to love, hate, and is very affectionate. I can’t be jealous even if I want to!
The funeral will be carried out according to your husband's instructions, and she will be buried as a noble concubine. I will not have the slightest objection.
During Sister Tao Ying's mourning period, if your husband needs my help to handle anything, just ask me."
“Hey, my husband knows.”
Three days later, Liu Mingzhi personally put the jade bracelet sent by Mrs. Liu on Tao Ying's wrist, and ordered someone to prepare an ice coffin made of ice and send it to Li's house, and temporarily moved Tao Ying's body inside.
Although the weather is still cold now, with the return of spring and the recovery of all things on the earth, Liu Mingzhi can only do this for the sake of safety.
During the construction of the imperial mausoleum and the accompanying mausoleum, Dalong continued to flourish in the direction of prosperity.
The population of both the capital and various prefectures continues to increase.
The court meetings in the palace were also carried out regularly according to the previous rules, but the Manchu civil and military officials in the court all acted cautiously and tremblingly, as if there was some kind of haze hanging over their heads.
The reason why there is such a situation is because Liu Mingzhi seems to be a different person today. This king of a country who used to spend three days fishing and two days drying nets suddenly became diligent.
Every major court meeting always comes as scheduled.
Made civil and military officials other than the Minister of Hubu and the Minister of Works feel uneasy.
It’s not that they were uneasy because Liu Mingzhi had become diligent, but that something was going to happen when something went wrong.
They really couldn't figure out what kind of medicine Liu Mingzhi was selling in his gourd, and they were afraid that they might accidentally fall into His Majesty's hands over something trivial.
February 18, the fourth year of Tailong's reign.
Tao Ying’s body, which had been lying in an ice coffin for thirty-six days, was personally buried by Liu Mingzhi in the tomb of his imperial mausoleum.
About Tao Ying, Liu Mingzhi did not inform anyone in the court except his family.
Although the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Minister of Industry had vaguely guessed something, Liu Mingzhi never took the initiative to mention the matter, so they had no choice but to remain silent and pretend that nothing happened.
After the completion of the mausoleum, the two of them discussed and ordered the withdrawal of all the officers and soldiers who were supervising the imperial mausoleum. The craftsmen who built the imperial mausoleum vacated the entire large-scale imperial mausoleum.
As for whether anyone will go to the imperial mausoleum to cause trouble after the officers and soldiers withdraw, the two of them are not worried.
In the prosperous times when the country is stable, the people live and work in peace and contentment, and the world is peaceful and peaceful, no one has the courage to make trouble in the imperial mausoleum of the founding emperor who will soon be buried in peace.
“Master, it’s time to seal the coffin.”
"You guys go out first, I'll stay for a while."
Liu Song and Huan'er looked at each other and bowed respectfully.
"yes."
After the two left, Liu Mingzhi stared blankly at Tao Ying, whose beautiful face had changed a lot. He silently took out a handkerchief from his arms and slowly opened it. He picked up a few dense cherry blossom branches and pointed them towards Tao Ying's face.
Put the head aside.
“Silly Tao Ying, you gave me three relics, and I gave you three gifts in return.
Hairpins, bracelets, and cherry blossom branches are not valuable items, they are mainly for the husband’s consideration!
This cherry blossom branch is about to bloom, and you will see it soon.
Sleep well! In a few decades, we and I will be reunited. It’s only a few decades, and it’s gone in the blink of an eye.
When you and I meet again, your butt will be swollen by my husband.
This is my husband’s punishment for making you haunt me.”
Liu Mingzhi gently touched Tao Ying's cheek at last, his lips trembled and he closed his eyes. His arms shook slightly, and a muffled sound echoed in the cold tomb.
"Good sister, sleep well. My husband has left first. From now on, he will come to see you every year during the holidays."
Liu Mingzhi turned around and opened his eyes, not daring to look back at the coffin behind him for the last time, and walked towards the outside of the mausoleum with a slightly stooped figure.
About halfway through the incense stick, there was a loud roar, and the heavy dragon-breaking stone sealed the tomb door. Liu Mingzhi murmured with a lonely expression, and walked towards the main road outside the imperial mausoleum without looking back.
“The yin and yang of life and death have their respective ends, so why not return to the underworld after death. The world of yang and underworld are all similar, just like wandering in a foreign land.”