Hanhou

Hearing the eunuch's message, Queen Wang's expression didn't change at all, and she stood in front of the palace gate with her two daughters, motionless for a long time.

Changle Palace, known as Xingle Palace in the Qin Dynasty, was the capital of Chang'an in the early Han Dynasty, where the great ancestor Liu Bang and the empress Lv Zhi once lived.After Emperor Hui, the emperor moved to Weiyang Palace, which became the residence of the Empress Dowager.

Looking directly at the closed palace door, Wang Zhi straightened his back.

Before entering the palace, Aunt's divination revealed that both she and Amei would be very precious.

For this reason, she left her husband, left behind her own daughter, entered the Crown Prince's mansion, and became the beauty of Prince Liu Qi.He also praised his sister's beauty to the prince, and paved the way for her to enter the prince's mansion.Everything she did was for her favor, not to be forgotten by Liu Qi, and to compete with Li Ji and Cheng Ji!

From the Prince's Mansion to Weiyang Palace, year after year, from Tao Lifanghua to Nianyubuhuo, from a little beauty in the Prince's Mansion to the queen in the Jiaofang Palace, Wang Zhi occasionally recalled it as if he had a big dream.

She buried her own sister, Tao Xu and Wei Snake in the same hall, and plotted against Li Ji, causing the former prince to be deposed as the king of Linjiang, and put her own son on the throne of the prince.

From being crushed by Li Ji to sitting on the throne of queen, Wang Zhi became more and more aware of what he wanted.

Like Empress Dowager Bo and Empress Dou, she will walk from Jiaofang Hall to Changle Palace. She will be in charge of the Han court and become the empress dowager who can decide the government with one word!

For this purpose, she can bow her head to Guantao and prostrate herself in front of Empress Dowager Dou.

As she said to Yang Xin, how much you endure today, you can gain tomorrow.If you can't learn to endure, you will drag down your parents and children like Li Ji, drive yourself to a dead end, and lose everything in the end!

Li Ji is too stupid, so stupid that she feels pitiful.

Empress Bo has been abolished, and the three eldest sons of the emperor are all born to her. Even if King Linjiang dies early, as long as the former prince is not abolished, no one can surpass her, let alone his own son. The position of prince.

She is stupid and headstrong.

So stupid that he regards the emperor as his beloved, so self-willed that he forgets that his beloved is the king of a country, holding the power of life and death.

Standing in front of the palace gate, Wang Zhi had never been so awake like this moment, nor was he so frightened like this moment.

She is not worried about the emperor, because the emperor likes her son.

She was worried about Queen Mother Dou, and even feared Queen Mother Dou.

This woman who once wanted to make King Liang the heir to the throne has wisdom and power far beyond hers.She can hold Guantao in the palm of her hand, but she dare not play tricks in front of Empress Dowager Dou.Because she knew that if she angered the owner of Changle Palace, what would happen to her.

Not long ago, the Son of Heaven summoned a doctor of Confucian classics and Taoist Huang Sheng to discuss the change of Tang and Wu. Empress Dowager Dou heard about it and called Dr. Yuan Gu to play it face to face.Yuangu exalted Confucianism and belittled Taoism, which made Empress Dowager Dou furious, and she was thrown into a wild boar pen on the same day.

Under the Queen Mother's rage, no one dared to intercede.The emperor couldn't let him go, so he had to give him a knife so that Yuangu could stab the wild boar to death and save his life.

This incident shocked Wang Zhi greatly.

that power!

Guantao longs for power, and so does she.

It's just that Guantao has been going smoothly all his life, and he often makes mistakes that shouldn't be made.Not so with her.She clearly knows what she should and shouldn't do, and she understands that Guantao can make mistakes, but she must be cautious and not give anyone any excuses.

Guantao is the eldest princess, with Empress Dowager Dou as her backer.Her name is Empress, but in this Chang'an Palace, she has very little power.

Thinking of the Bianjun livestock farm that Adi mentioned to her, Wang Zhi narrowed his eyes slightly.

Adi needs money, and needs to make friends with courtiers to strengthen his strength, and she needs it too.

It's just that things must be done smartly, otherwise, those who help them today will be stabbed in the back tomorrow, leaving them dead without a place to bury them!

Through the gate of the palace, one can vaguely hear the voices of Empress Dowager Dou and Guan Tao, but the content is not very clear.

Wang Zhi stood quietly, his gaze as calm as water, never arrogant or impetuous.

Princess Yangxin's mentality was unstable, looking at the palace door that had never been opened, her anxiety and fear kept rising, even with the queen standing beside her, she couldn't help trembling faintly.

Finally, the gate of the palace was opened from the inside, an eunuch saluted the three of them, and the Queen Mother summoned them.

Queen Wang lowered her head slightly, put on a humble posture, and walked into the palace gate.The two princesses followed closely behind her, their faces pale, and their previous pride was gone.

boom!

The hall door closed, the sound was not loud, but because the hall was too quiet, it hit the hearts of the three like thunder.

The scent of beeswax and herbs permeates the hall, but it doesn't make people feel stuffy, but it feels refreshed for an instant.The palace servants stood by the wall, like stone sculptures made of clay, with their heads and necks drooping at exactly the same height, almost integrated with the palace and pavilion.

One step, two steps, three steps... At the tenth step, Wang Zhi touched the ground with his knees, kneeling in front of the Queen Mother Dou like the most humble palace man.The two princesses were shocked. No matter how unwilling they were, they could only follow their mother's every move and kneel behind her.

There is no sound in the hall, only the drop of a needle can be heard.

Cold sweat began to break out between Wang Zhi's brows, and dripped onto the floor, leaving a small group of dark marks.

Yang Xin knelt on the ground, accompanied by fear, but also infinite anger and unwillingness.She wanted to stand up, to rush forward, to tear the arrogance and sarcasm on Guan Tao's face, tear Chen Jiao away who was leaning against the low couch, and trample her into the mud, making her unable to turn over again!

But she knew she couldn't.

At least not now...

Empress Dowager Dou finally spoke, with a carelessness of overlooking the ants: "I summoned Yang Xin, why did the queen come?"

"Back to the queen mother, my concubine came to plead guilty."

"What sin?"

"The concubine failed to teach my daughter well, please punish the queen mother."

"Hmm." Empress Dowager Dou closed her eyes, without any ups and downs in her voice, "How do you think I should punish you? How about going to Yongxiang to pound rice?"

Queen Wang's expression changed suddenly.

Yongxiang used to be the residence of the concubines, and since Mrs. Qi, it has become a place where sinners in the palace are imprisoned.Empress Dowager Dou's words are almost the same as wanting to abolish her post.

She had imagined many possibilities, but she never thought that Empress Dowager Dou would have the intention to abolish her!

At this moment, Wang Zhi couldn't help feeling flustered and didn't know how to deal with it.

"Queen, please be kind!" Princess Yangxin climbed up on her knees and cried, "I did everything, and it has nothing to do with my mother! My mother doesn't know anything, please forgive me!"

The second princess also cried and fell on her body, looking very pitiful.

"What have you done, let's talk about it." Queen Mother Dou said indifferently.The gray pupils turned around, which was enough to make one's heart tremble.

While crying, Yang Xin and the second princess told the whole story of "ordering people to find herbs and take advantage of Guantao's entry into the palace" in detail, not daring to hide anything.

"Queen Mother, it's our fault. Grandmother doesn't know about it. Please don't punish Grandmother!"

The two cried so pitifully that Liu Xing was a little moved.Chen Jiao was sitting on the side of the low couch, holding the jade slip in her hand, she seemed to be fascinated by it, but there was a hint of sarcasm on her lips.

Ever since Princess Guantao avoided Queen Dowager Dou's questioning, she became cold-hearted.

The eldest mother cherished her and did not want her to marry the prince, so she broke the matter up and told the grandmother.But in Grandma's heart, rights are still far more important than her own daughter.Chen Jiao wanted to laugh, to laugh wantonly, to laugh out her depression and anger, even if she was considered crazy.

When Yang Xin and the two were weeping, an eunuch suddenly reported that the prince was asking to see him outside the palace.

"Prince? Shouldn't he be studying?" Empress Dowager Dou raised the corners of her mouth.

Queen Wang's face turned pale, and she immediately guessed that Liu Che hadn't gone to Jiaofang Hall.Otherwise, the third princess would definitely relay her words and not let the prince go this way!

"Let him in."

Seemingly forgetting about the mother and daughter on the ground, Empress Dowager Dou leaned on the couch, half-closed her eyes, waiting for Liu Che to enter the palace.

Outside the palace gate, Han Yan's brows were tightened, and a burnt look appeared on her face: "Archer, you shouldn't have come to Changle Palace."

"I know." Liu Che looked at the palace door and said in a deep voice, "But I have to come."

Han Yan opened her mouth, wanted to persuade but couldn't find anything to say, so she could only stomp her feet fiercely, her facial features wrinkled into a ball.

Soon, the eunuch Xuan Liuche entered the palace.Han Yan was stopped outside, not daring to mess around in Changle Palace, so she could only wait anxiously aside, praying that Liu Che would not mess around.

"Your Highness, please."

The eunuch moved aside, Liu Che stepped into the hall, seeing the king and queen lying on the ground, a sharp look flashed in his eyes.

"I've seen the Queen Mother!" A few steps closer, Liu Che saluted the Queen Mother Dou.

"Waiting." Empress Dowager Dou turned sideways, "Why did the prince come here?"

"Going back to the Queen Mother, I heard that my sister has done something wrong. My mother pleaded guilty to the Queen Mother, and Che should also plead guilty to the Queen Mother."

"First the empress, then the prince, you mother and son, sister and brother are very friendly." Empress Dowager Dou laughed.

Empress Wang's face turned paler, sisters Yangxin trembled all over, only Liu Che did not change his expression, and continued: "Queen Mother, I have heard Liang Wangshu's "Zhuangzi" thoroughly, it is easy to love filial piety, it is difficult to forget relatives; It’s hard to forget me. It’s not long before I have fully admired the way of saints and humanity, but it’s hard to see Liang Wangshu’s back, but I keep these words in my heart and never dare to forget.”

"A Wu really likes Zhuangzi." Liu prostituted.

The corners of Empress Dowager Dou's mouth lifted slightly, as if she felt that Liu whoring was hopeless.But since Liu Che came forward, it's not good to give the prince a little face, so he could only sigh: "The prince is intelligent and filial, which is rare."

"Thank you Queen Mother!" Liu Che saluted respectfully.

"Get up." Empress Dowager Dou leaned on the couch, Chen Jiao put down the jade slips, took honey water from the palace servants, and sent it to Empress Dowager Dou.

"May I use some?"

"Alright." Empress Dowager Dou had a smiling face, and the stagnant atmosphere was relieved.

Queen Wang and her two daughters sat down with Princess Guantao, while Liu Che was called to the Empress Dowager Dou.

The old hand caressed Liu Che's forehead and slid down the bridge of the nose and cheeks. Empress Dowager Dou said with a smile: "I can't see with both eyes, prostitute, do you think the crown prince is like the late emperor?"

"Indeed!" Liu Xun laughed.

With such praise, no matter how calm Liu Che is, his cheeks will inevitably turn red.

Accompanied by Queen Mother Dou's words, all the previous tension melted away.

Sister Yangxin looked at Queen Mother Dou in disbelief, and even wanted to pinch herself.Before, you asked your mother to go to Yongxiang to pound rice, but now you say that your younger brother is like the late emperor?

Chen Jiao leaned against Empress Dowager Dou, and she returned to her previous arrogant and indulgent appearance, not to mention the queen, she didn't even give face to the crown prince.Liu Che tried to talk to her several times, but was ignored.

Guantao looked impatiently, but Empress Dowager Dou stroked Chen Jiao's hair and said with a smile: "Jiaojiao is old, the crown prince should call Jiaojiao sister. When Jiaojiao gets married in the future, if her husband's family dares to disrespect, the crown prince will treat her as Jiaojiao." Get angry!"

As soon as these words came out, the expressions of Guantao and Queen Wang changed at the same time.

Chen Jiao flung herself into Empress Dowager Dou's arms coquettishly, causing the latter to laugh out comfortably.Liu Che glanced at Queen Wang, then turned his gaze back quickly, and called Chen Jiao "Sister".

After Queen Wang and Guan Tao left, the door of the palace was closed again, Empress Dowager Dou said to Chen Jiao: "What can you see?"

"Jiao dare not say."

"It's okay, tell me."

"The queen and the prince only apologized to the eldest mother, and the two princesses only confessed to the eldest mother. Neither of them apologized to the eldest mother."

"You can tell that your mother didn't see her at all, and even helped Wang Zhi to speak, she still has the face to call Li Ji stupid!" Queen Dowager Dou sneered.

However, no matter how disappointed she was with Liu Xing, she was her eldest daughter after all, and Queen Mother Dou would not allow her to be used by others, and she became a target to provoke Wang Zhi.

"Go and send a message to Cheng Ji, I don't want to deal with her yet, I will take all her thoughts away."

"promise!"

The queen and the prince entered the Changle Palace one after another, and then came out together with Princess Tao Chang, talking and laughing with each other, and there seemed to be no suspicion at all.The news quickly spread throughout the palace.

In the proclamation room, Emperor Jing waved away the eunuchs, picked up a pen and wrote Dou's, Wang's and Chen's on the bamboo slips, and fell into deep thought for a long time.

In the harem, as soon as the eunuchs of Changle Palace left, there was a crackling sound from Cheng Ji's residence.

The palace people did not dare to breathe until the closed palace door was opened and an eunuch who was nearly fifty years old came out. The palace personnel lowered their heads and walked into the inner room, carefully picking up the broken jade and pottery fragments on the ground.

At the same time, a few horses escorted two carts from Chidao to Chang'an.On the cart were cattle from Zhao Jia's livestock farm, each fat and strong, with copper rings pierced in their nostrils.There is also a wooden box, which contains the bronze bull statue in Zhao Yu's house.

In the Taifuguan Temple, facing the bamboo slips sent by the eunuch, the Taipu frowned. Hearing that Tian Fu, the doctor of the Taizhong, came to see him, he thought about it for a few times, and ordered someone to stop him.

Spring plowing is approaching, and the imperial court is promoting ox plowing again, so things can't be repeated again and again, and it won't do him any good to keep procrastinating.

Even if he has the face of Dai Guoxiang, he can't ignore the will of the emperor.

It is true that Tian Fu is the queen's younger brother and the prince's uncle, but to be disrespectful, the Queen Mother Dou is still in power in the palace, and the prince has only been in power for one year.Being able to delay the matter until now is already giving the other party enough face.

Tian Fu was blocked outside the official temple, and he didn't express anything in front of him, but when he turned around, his face was full of gloom.

The family boy sent to Yunzhong County has not heard back, and he always feels that something is not good.

Wei Shang has been in charge of the frontier since the time of Emperor Wen, and his reputation has shaken the court. Even the Huns are afraid of it.It's really not that easy to do things under his rule.

Sitting in the carriage, Tian Fu felt very unwilling.

He yearns for wealth and power, but runs into walls everywhere.It's hard to see an opportunity to make a fortune, but you can't grab it at all!

"Unlucky!" With a mutter, Tian Fu ordered his family to turn around and visit Wei Qihou's mansion.

The queen is not the queen mother's opponent at all, and the Dou family is still the most powerful relative.He needs to continue to lie down and be small, wait for the opportunity, and one day he will replace him!

Yunzhong County

The caravan plundering and trafficking case was settled, and the execution ground was full of people killed.

Accomplices and accomplices were flogged and sent to have their faces tattooed the next day.Regardless of the injury, as long as you can still move, you must start doing hard labor.A little resistance, whips and clubs will be added to the body immediately.

Even the prisoners serving the sentence together hated this kind of criminal who plundered and trafficked people.When the jailer brought people to the county to build the project, he found that in just one night, no less than five criminals died in prison. They were not seriously injured, but were beaten to death.

"Who did it?"

Facing the questioning of the wardens, several fellow prisoners stood up together, not fearing that the sentence would be aggravated.

The jailer glanced at several people, but in the end he didn't mention any punishment, and only asked them to remove the corpse.As for the causes of death of several villains, they all belonged to "serious injuries", and the conclusion was made on the same day.

The villains should be punished as they should be, and the rescued children and girls also need to be resettled.

The fast horse galloped to the counties in the county, and then the county sent people to the townships to search for missing persons, and by the way, made a count of the population of the whole county.

One after another, children and girls were reunited with their families.Even if the family members are dead, people from the clan will come to find them, pick up the children and girls, and place them in the ri where the family lives together.

In fact, unaccompanied and homeless children were resettled from the county to the racecourse, where they learned to herd and raise horses in exchange for a bite of food.When he grows up, he can also learn riding and archery from the soldiers who raise horses.When they grow up, they either join the army, work as domestic servants, or continue to raise horses, it all depends on personal preference.

Some children are too young for the racecourse to accept.If we really send these little guys there, let alone let them herd horses and take care of the foals, I am afraid that some people will be allocated to take care of them.

Zhao Jia learned of the situation and took the initiative to find Wei Yue, willing to share the county's worries.

"These kids can't herd horses, they can always herd sheep."

With Wei Yue's help, things went smoothly. A total of eight three-headed people were all wrapped in leather jackets, carried into the cart brought by the health servants, and sent to Zhao's livestock farm that day.

Mrs. Sun led the woman to boil enough hot water, peeled off the diced beans, pressed them into the water and scrubbed them.After washing, wrap them in tanned sheepskin, scoop a bowl of hot mutton soup for each person, and distribute a piece of soft dough cake.

"After eating and sleeping, when I get up tomorrow, I will go to clean the sheep pen with Ah Ao and Ah Qing."

The three-headed men were biting hard at the bread, and when they drank the soup, they almost buried their heads in the bowl.Wei Qing followed Mrs. Sun, helping to share the cakes and scoop out the soup. Seeing these bean curds, it was like seeing her former self.

When it was time to go to bed, the eight three-headed people were divided into two rooms, but after Mrs. Sun left, they gathered together holding the sheepskin.When they were imprisoned by the wicked, they stayed together all the time, even if they escaped danger now, they still felt anxious.Because of the lack of security, I really don't want to separate.

Wei Qing heard the noise and quickly sat up.

Gongsun Ao was still sleeping soundly, and he smacked his lips when turning over, as if he had some good dream.

Several boys leaned together, and when they saw Wei Qing approaching, they all cringed a little.

"Why don't you sleep?" Wei Qing asked.

"Can't sleep." said a handsome boy with a scar under his eyes.

"Talk if you can't sleep." Seeing the nervousness of several people, Wei Qing got up and fetched flint and lit the hearth.Then he wrapped his leather jacket tightly and sat down next to a boy.

"say what?"

The boys looked at each other with blank faces.

"Aside from shepherding sheep, what else do you want to do? I want to learn horseback riding and archery. When I grow up, I will go to the grasslands to kill the Huns!" Wei Qing said.

"My Aunt and my mother died at the hands of the Huns." A child said.

"All my people were killed."

"And I……"

At the beginning of Wei Qing, the children opened up the chat box, and soon discovered that they had many things in common.Although they are young, they also know hatred. The objects of hatred include the Xiongnu and the villains who harmed the border counties.

"Ah Qing, I will go with you, when I grow up, I will go with you to kill the Huns!"

"Me too!"

"I, I!" A smaller Douding raised his fist.

Gongsun Ao was awakened by the sound, got up, rubbed his eyes, and yawned: "Ah Qing, what are you doing?"

There was no fur on the pillow, and Gongsun Ao was dishonest when he slept, his hair was spiky, and there were suspicious marks around his mouth.This appearance is completely different from that in the daytime, Wei Qing is used to it, so he doesn't care.It was the first time for the children to see him, and they couldn't help pointing at him and laughing.

Gongsun Ao was baffled by the laughter. Seeing that there was nothing wrong, he simply scratched his head, lay back and continued to sleep.

Aunt Sun stood outside the door, waving at another woman.The woman understood, walked lightly, and returned to the wooden house where she was resting.

"Wolf cubs are fierce even when they are young. As long as they grow up safely, even tigers can fight." Mrs. Sun returned to the house, closed the wooden door, and smiled at the woman in the same room.

The children were placed in the livestock farm, and several other girls who had nowhere to live were taken home by Wei Qingmo. Among them was the girl who used a hatchet to cut off the fingers of the wicked to avenge her brother.

She has no relatives anymore, as long as Wei Qing'er agrees to pick up the girl with the broken arm, she will volunteer to be Wei's family child.

"Servant's name is Xia." The girl has a handsome face, is tall, and has an unexpectedly pleasant voice.

Sitting by the hearth, Wei Qingmo scooped up the hot soup in the earthenware pot with a wooden spoon, and said, "I have no brothers, and I am separated from my clan. Even with Zhao Langjun's help, the days ahead will not be easy."

"I understand." Xia raised his head, his eyes were dark, hiding a ruthless intention, "The girl takes Xia and sister in, Xia's life is the girl's, anyone who dares to harm the girl will step on Xia's body!"

Wei Qingmo didn't speak, put down the wooden spoon, held the wooden bowl with both hands, and looked into the girl's eyes.After a long time, he drank the hot soup in the bowl and said with a smile, "From today onwards, your name is Wei Xia."

"promise!"

Wei Xia respectfully complied, and fell on the ground.