It has been sunny for several days and the weather is getting hotter and hotter. Spring is coming to an end and some people have already put on summer clothes early.
Queen Mother Guo prepared spring and summer vegetables, fruits, and went out of the palace to Guo Li's mansion to offer sacrifices to the ancestors of the Guo family.
Guo Li specially built a courtyard in his mansion as an ancestral temple, where the ancestors of the Guo family of all dynasties are enshrined, and the spiritual tablets of Queen Mother Guo's parents are also inside.
The Queen Mother Guo had other expectations when she came to the Guo family several times before leaving the palace. After so long, she still remembers the nervousness, worry, fear, and eager expectation at that time. Such a mood will probably stay with her for the rest of her life.
Can't forget it either.
But it won't happen this time. The previous places have been checked by Tingwei, so she can't repeat her old tricks again.
When the car passed by the villa, Queen Mother Guo couldn't help but gently lift the corner of the car curtain, turned sideways and looked outside for a while. The villa was still there, and from the outside, there was almost nothing unusual. But inside the house
The tunnel may have been filled in.
Queen Mother Guo felt sour, and a little sadness suddenly came over her. She sighed secretly and sat in the middle of the curtain again.
Queen Mother Guo did not come to offer sacrifices every season. In the past, she often came to offer sacrifices for other reasons. This time was no exception, but it was not for a tryst with Qin Zhongming.
Although Queen Mother Guo has changed the people around her and no longer has the informants of various families around her, some things are still difficult to say in the palace.
After going to the temple to offer sacrifices, Queen Mother Guo went to rest in the wing of the Guo family's front hall and courtyard. After a while, her uncle Guo Li and her cousin Zhen De came. As usual, there was still a curtain between relatives.
After the ceremony, his uncle Guo Li took the lead and said: "We are all members of the Guo family. When your highness encounters major issues, you can discuss them with us first."
Queen Mother Guo heard her uncle's complaint. She probably wanted to say this for a long time because she had not found an opportunity in the past few days.
Zhen De also said: "One year after His Highness left Luoyang, many people suspected the Guo family's conspiracy. Fortunately, Sima Yi and others believed that we would not do that kind of thing. The most dangerous time was when Wang Yanyun used His Highness's banner.
Raising troops, we are like the hostages of the Sima family in Luoyang..."
Guo Li turned his head and signaled to stop his son's complaint. There was a brief silence in the room. It was obvious that Guo Li wanted to hear what Queen Mother Guo had to say.
Queen Mother Guo finally said: "At that time, my uncle and others had a close relationship with the Sima family, and they seemed to have plans to marry. How should I convince you?"
The uncle asked: "Compared to Cao Shuang, Sima Yi is pretty good to us. Why is Your Highness so dissatisfied with the Sima family?"
Empress Dowager Guo said sternly: "Even if you don't know how Sima Yi and Cao Shuang manage to assist the government and control the royal family, you should have heard about it. What's the difference between them? Sima Yi plans to get rid of Cao Shuang. What does he want to do? Is there any way out?
"
The uncle sighed: "The situation is like this, and there is nothing the world can do to save it."
Empress Dowager Guo said calmly: "Qin Zhongming has the heart to help the country. I knew he had the talent to assist the government."
The uncle thought for a while and said: "That time Qin Zhongming blocked the Shu Han army in Qinchuan and escaped death. In several memorials, he did appear to be loyal and commendable, but His Highness cannot believe all such articles!"
After all, they had never lived together for a long time, so his uncle didn’t seem to know Empress Dowager Guo very well. From what his uncle said, he thought that Empress Dowager Guo was easily trusting of others? Perhaps in his uncle’s eyes, Empress Dowager Guo entered the palace in her teens and lived a miserable life.
Living in isolation from the world and not understanding anything?
Empress Dowager Guo corrected her mistake and said: "Qin Zhongming's clan brother Qin Lang is the adopted son of Taizu, and his heart is devoted to the Cao family. I have summoned Qin Zhongming before, and I feel that this man is a person loyal to the Wei Dynasty."
Across the curtain, I saw my uncle hesitate to speak, and the father and son looked at each other. They seemed to want to persuade her, but they couldn't say anything. After all, the world still has the surname Cao, and it was not convenient for them to persuade Queen Mother Guo in private not to worry about Cao anymore.
Home.
Empress Dowager Guo saw their movements and expressions in her eyes, and said again: "The Guo family is now as prosperous and wealthy, isn't it all thanks to the Cao family's favor?"
The uncle sighed: "Emperor Ming was indeed kind to the Guo family, but if we are not careful, the Guo family's status will not be preserved."
What the uncle said makes sense, and in his heart, he should feel that the Ming Emperor has collapsed, and what he got in the past cannot be taken back. The most important thing is the future.
Queen Mother Guo did not argue with him. She just wanted to find a more credible motive for her bizarre experience.
Zhen De advised Guo Lidao: "Now that the matter has come to this, we should focus on one place, so as not to be caught off guard like before."
The uncle nodded and said: "It is useless to talk about the past. Now that His Highness has supported the Yangzhou Army, our situation is not bad. Qin Zhongming is from the Wang family and is very young. We are willing to obey His Highness' wishes."
The Guo family can be powerful and wealthy, with several people being granted titles, but they have no useful knowledge or military exploits, and they even rebelled against the Wei Dynasty before. The reason why everyone is where they are today is actually because of the Empress Dowager Guo. If they lose the support of the Empress Dowager Guo, they may be in trouble.
Not a good thing.
When Queen Mother Guo heard this, she breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Uncle, my cousin should have listened to me long ago."
Uncle Guo Li and cousin Zhen De then paid their respects and said, "I obey your orders." Guo Li continued, "Your Highness will rest here while I prepare for the banquet."
Empress Dowager Guo stood up from the banquet and said, "Don't bother uncle, I'm going back to the palace. We can see each other often at court, and let's talk about anything else in Tai Chi Hall."
The two of them tried to persuade him to stay in vain, so they bowed and said, "I will respectfully see you off, Your Highness."
…
At this time, the theater called "Luolu" no longer accepted guests. As soon as Chao Yun returned here, he found that there was still a government official guarding the door. The official stopped her and asked her where she was.
Chaoyun had no choice but to lie and say that he was the apprentice of Mrs. Bai of the Wang family. It turned out that a friend was working as a dancer here and he came here to find someone to visit his friend. The assistant asked again, are you a trickster in Cao Zhaobo's house? Chaoyun
After denying it, the official immediately lost interest in her.
As soon as the assistant left, Chen Shi, who was sending her back to Luoyang, looked frightened and whispered: "Come back to Hedong with me, Luoyang is too dangerous."
Chaoyun didn't answer, and looked up sadly at the plaque of "Luolu" and the pavilion inside.
In fact, after the Sima family was destroyed, even if the government did not find out about this place, it would not be able to continue operating. The previous business was not good, and it was all supported by the Sima family, which had other uses.
Chao Yun glanced at Chen Shi, shook his head and said, "Don't you understand, brother? I can only live in Luoyang."
At this time, Chen Shi's face suddenly looked a little disappointed. Of course Chaoyun knew what he wanted, she just pretended not to understand.
Chen Shi is not her biological brother, but they met in the Sima family's manor in Hanoi County when they were first adopted by the Sima family. At that time, the Sima family successively lost their parents' children in the adoption war.
Chaoyun and Chen Shi are orphans, ranging in age from 10 to more than 10 years old.
Some of them became spies, and some became villagers and peasants. Chao Yun was a spy trained as a dancing girl. Chen Shi became a villager and helped manage the estates and peasants in Hanoi County. Fortunately, he
He didn't join the Sima family's private soldiers later, otherwise he would probably be dead by now.
When Chaoyun sensed something was wrong, he hurriedly left Luolu and fled to Hanoi County to find Chen Shi.
A few days later, under Chaoyun's persuasion, Chen Shi also left Hanoi County, and the two of them fled to Hedong County together... Chen Shi had been a banker for so many years, and bought a small piece of land in Hedong County, which was just right.
Farm there to avoid disaster.
Chaoyun was really frightened at that time, thinking that he had no other choice but to hide. Maybe he could only find a place to stay by committing himself to Chen Shi. Chen Shi at least still had a piece of land and a house in Hedong County.
But Chaoyun didn't live in Hedong for long, and she couldn't stand the life there and wanted to go back to Luoyang. Chen Shi had no choice but to send her back.
Thinking about the past, Chaoyun often had access to high-ranking officials and dignitaries. People with prominent backgrounds coveted her beauty and sometimes even tried to please her.
She didn't wake up until the Sima family collapsed, and it turned out that she didn't even have a place to stay.
Those who are just joking around are all fake. People must have an identity and livelihood to survive.
But she didn't know where to go for a while. The owner of this place was Cai Hong, but when Cai Hong heard that he was defeated in the Battle of Yique Pass, he immediately went to Taifu's Mansion, and he should have run away with Sima Shi! Chaoyun realized
The danger was also due to the discovery that Cai Hong suddenly disappeared and ran away.
Cai Hong was not from the Cai family, a wealthy family in Chen Liuguo. He was originally just a banker of the Sima family in Hanoi County. However, because his father had been with the Sima family, he was more trusted and reused. Before that, he was responsible for commanding Chaoyun and other agents. Once
The middle-aged man who brought Chao Yun to see Master Sima was Cai Hong.
At this time, Chen Shi's voice said: "There is nothing to miss in Luoyang. Let's go back to Hedong, have a few fat boys, and live a stable life."
Chaoyun looked shocked: "I have always regarded you as my younger brother, but you actually want to have a child with me?"
Chen Shi looked embarrassed and muttered: "We are not siblings born to the same parents. Where can I go now? It's good that I haven't been arrested by the government!"
Chaoyun didn't think clearly for a moment, but when he saw Luo Lu, who had lived there before, he obviously couldn't stay any longer, so he returned to the carriage first. Chen Shi walked to the front of the carriage, turned around and asked, "Where are we going now?"
?”
Chaoyun said: "Let's go first."
The carriage drove slowly towards the street, wandering aimlessly on the street, just like Chaoyun's state of mind at this time. In such a huge Luoyang, she didn't know where to go for a moment.
Chaoyun does know Mrs. Bai of the Wang family, and even studied dancing with Mrs. Bai for a while. But Mrs. Bai and Qin Liang are relatives. According to Cai Hong's previous statement, Qin Liang has long suspected that Chaoyun is a spy. Now go find Bai
Madam, aren't you throwing yourself into a trap?
Moreover, at Chaoyun's age, anyone who works as a dancer in the Wang family will definitely be disliked. Such a wealthy family only needs young and beautiful singers and dancers, and even their own family's dancers will be sent away when they get old.
"Find a guest house first." Chaoyun sighed and said to Chen Shi in front of him.
Chen Shi complained: "It's better to spend all this money to buy a few more acres of land."
Chao Yun was in a bad mood. Hearing this, he almost wanted to say, I spent my own money! But after all, Chen Shi had known her for so many years, so she didn't say hurtful words.