Chongzhen Sunset Song

?one

Chongzhen three years, the first month.

It has been more than three years since Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Youjian took over the mess left by his brother when he was in danger and took over the mess.In the past three years, the Qing Dynasty eunuchs, the town uprising, and the anti-golden army, Chongzhen was busy with political affairs every day, and never had a moment of leisure.For this industrious and wise king, the folks all praised him as "a sage", and the Chongzhen Emperor, who is called a sage, has just passed his 20th birthday.

At this time three years ago, Xizhao was still wandering in the market in the south of the city, and when he saw a rich man who was easy to get his hands on, he would go over to grab a handful, and sometimes he would spend the whole afternoon squatting outside the teahouse, listening to the storyteller The story of the sage and the thief of Wei.The word sage, floating in the fragrance of tea, is lightly immersed in the ambiguous warm sun in the afternoon, as far away as a bodhisattva in the western sky.Xizhao never thought that three years later, he would be standing in the Forbidden City, in the Qianqing Palace, in the South Study Room, and the sage, who should have been out of reach, was less than three steps away in front of him. The crown, the dragon robe, and every strand of golden thread shone with a fine shimmer, and even the rhythm of his breathing was as real as his own heartbeat.

If this is a dream, don't wake up too early.Sunset prayed secretly.

According to what Mr. Liang taught, as long as it was his turn to be on duty, except for going to court and sleeping, Xizhao would follow Chongzhen all day long, staying close to each other.If you go to the other hall or the concubine's residence, Xizhao will walk in front to greet you, and for the rest, you just follow orders.But after following Chongzhen for a few days, Xizhao discovered that the emperor would hardly leave the Qianqing Palace. Since he came back from the next dynasty, he had been buried in piles of memorials. Except for sometimes when ministers came here to discuss political affairs, the emperor hardly spoke. He didn't give any instructions, just reviewed the memorials one after another until late at night.

"Has the emperor always been like this?"

Not on duty tonight, Xi Zhao spent time in Mrs. Liang's room.The stove was crackling, and the room was dimly lit. Eunuch Liang leaned against the lamp and read a book. On the cover of the book were written in large characters "Puji Fang—38 volumes" in neat regular script.

"Well. Probably so."

"Hey... being an emperor is really hard." Xi Zhao sighed.

Eunuch Liang smiled, but did not answer.Xizhao was in a daze for a while, then asked again.

"Then... what did the emperor mean when he said last time that he didn't like the palace?"

"That's the literal meaning." Eunuch Liang read a page, raised his eyes slightly, and turned the pages along with the book, landing on a new page.

"Don't like the imperial palace?" Xi Zhao lay on the table, wondering, "Why did the emperor say that?"

"The emperor's mind, it's better not to guess randomly."

"Huh? How do you say this?"

Eunuch Liang lowered the book, frowned, and looked up at the sunset.

"The emperor said this probably on a whim, so don't take it too seriously."

"But the emperor said, let me keep him company..."

Snapped!

Before Xi Zhao finished speaking, she was hit on the head.Xizhao was startled, and turned her head away, only to see Eunuch Liang holding a book in his hand, with a helpless expression on his face.

"Silly boy, what are you talking about! The emperor just said that, and you still take it seriously. If you don't wake you up again, your head will move sooner or later."

Xi Zhao covered her head and stared blankly at Eunuch Liang.

Seeing Xizhao's appearance, Eunuch Liang shook his head and sighed.

"Hey, remember, when you get along with the emperor in the future, you must always put yourself at the lowest level. If the emperor says that you have done a good job in this matter, think about it, it is because the emperor is in a good mood, and he just praised you casually. Say, how did you do this, you have to think about it, if you didn't satisfy the emperor, you should be scolded."

Eunuch Liang put down the book in his hand, closed his eyes, and rubbed the back of his neck.

"The emperor said that being with him is something that people like us can't bear. If you don't distinguish between the monarch and his ministers, you will ignore it in the future. You must be clear in your heart and do your duty. The one who speaks is Your Majesty, it’s not uncommon for you to turn your back on someone who speaks well today. If you get caught up in a few good words and climb up the pole, then you will be the one who falls hard. Do you understand, silly kid."

What Eunuch Liang said made Xi Zhao's face turn red.In fact, the reason is not difficult to understand, but precisely because the speaker was the emperor, who existed like a god and Buddha not long ago, Xi Zhao's thoughts could not be restrained and went straight to the sky, floating and falling on the clouds, The vast expanse of whiteness, limp and unable to tell the direction.Now Eunuch Liang's words can be regarded as breaking away the illusion in front of his eyes. Even though he felt ashamed, Xi Zhao could only nod his head, and said softly, "Thank you for your teaching, Eunuch."

Eunuch Liang hummed, picked up the Puji Fang again, and continued to look at it.

two

March.The peach blossoms are like brocade and willows are like silk, which is the season when the garden is full.

In the Wenhua Palace, the new shoots of pines and cypresses break free from the long winter dust, revealing a little bit of greenery from the dark gray-green, and the golden glazed tiles are also washed by the spring rain. At a glance, they are as bright as gilt.

A mighty group of people marched from Huangji Gate to the front of Wenhua Hall.At the head are six eunuchs in red, wearing black crowns and intricate blue and green embroidery on their clothes. There are three people on the left and right, each holding a brightly colored flag; behind the flag bearers are twenty tall and strong men. The big Han generals, dressed in gold-haired long body armor, red tasseled phoenix-winged helmets, and golden hammers, also walked in two rows; They walk in a team; at the end of the team are four royal horses with golden saddles and gold pedals and yellow silk bridles, who are led by people and follow behind the team in small steps.Just between the two rows of Han generals, a mahogany jade chariot with a golden top was slowly moving in it. The brocade curtain was embroidered with a five-clawed cloud dragon pattern, and four bright yellow ribbons hung from the four corners of the pavilion, covering the front of the jade chariot. The fine bead curtain swayed slightly with the rhythm of the march, making a tinkling sound.Sitting behind the bead curtain was a young man with a thin face, sword eyebrows and starry eyes. This man was naturally Emperor Chongzhen.

Xi Zhao, also in Tsing Yi, came to the Wenhua Palace with the guard of honor.The emperor's visit to the Wenhua Palace this time is to perform the annual sutra feast as usual.Xizhao asked Eunuch Liang about the so-called sutra banquet, which was a special ceremony set up by successive emperors for the study of classics and history. The academicians of the Imperial Academy gave lectures, and the emperor and other officials listened to and were taught.The Sutra Banquet is held every spring and autumn.This year, probably due to the invasion of the Jin army, the spring lecture was postponed by one month compared to previous years. This time, it was the first spring lecture.

In the Wenhua Palace, after Chongzhen sat facing south, all the officials entered from both sides.The praise officer chanted loudly, two lecturers in red and two exhibitors in blue came out, and the sutra banquet officially began.Everyone, including Chongzhen, sat upright, listening respectfully to the professor who was speaking, and the atmosphere was solemn.The ups and downs of the lecturer's voice echoed in the hall, and the words of the sentence were also melted in the warm spring breeze, converging into a nostalgic fragrance of books and drifting over the nose, making the sunset standing outside the hall, the thoughts also drift away Come, it seems that I have returned to the days that seemed like a previous life many years ago.

That year, Xizhao was under 12 years old, but she had already read "The Doctrine of the Mean", "University" and "Book of Songs".His father was born in the Hanlin Academy and was an official in the Ministry of Rites. He liked reading the most in his life.In his spare time, he would often ask the teacher how the young Xizhao was reading, whether he was diligent, and whether he had made progress.If Mr. Da has been playful lately and has made little progress, his father will sullenly teach Xizhao a lesson; if Mr. Da has been diligent in his studies recently, his father's smile will extend to the brows, and he will praise him while using warm words. Big hands patted Xizhao's head.At this time, the father's eyes will be like the warm spring in front of him, making Xizhao's heart warm, spreading from his chest to every inch of his fingertips and soles of his feet.

Therefore, even though she didn't like reading, Xizhao still worked hard to do what her father liked until she was 12 years old, when her life was completely turned upside down.In these years alone, Xizhao often thinks about the usefulness of those sages’ theories and the words of the ancestors, but he never thinks of the answer——the father, who is full of knowledge and knowledge, is not for the illiterate Wei Zhongxian to play in the end. With a flick of a finger, he easily took his life.I don't know how my father felt about his life before he died.Ten years of cold window, once in the middle of the court, ten years of officialdom, once lost, in the end, what is the purpose of this running around, it is better to live a simple, clean and ordinary life.Whenever she sits on the side of the downtown street and weighs the wallet that is still warm, Xizhao always thinks to herself, if the father is in the sky, and sees his son denying his doctrine with such a life, he will definitely beat his chest and feel heartbroken. .

Another gust of wind brought the sunset back to the front of the Wenhua Palace.A faint smile flickered at the corner of his mouth, either he was laughing at himself, or he was nostalgic, what exactly this smile was, Xi Zhao himself couldn't tell.

three

In Qianqing Palace, in the South Study Room, the night outside the window is hazy.

"Boom!—Boom! Boom!"

In the distance, came the voice of the watchman.Chongzhen was still lying on the desk, reading the memorial, without feeling sleepy at all.

"Your Majesty, it's getting late, it's time to go to bed."

Over the past few months, Xizhao has gotten used to standing beside Chongzhen, accompanying him to revise the memorials until late at night, and gently reminding the emperor to go to bed early at an appropriate time.

Chongzhen raised his head and looked out the window.

"How many days is it?"

"Back to the emperor, it's already the third watch."

"Oh." Chongzhen put down the memorial in his hand, leaned back in the chair, closed his eyes, and gently moved his slightly stiff neck.

"There seem to be a lot of memorials today." Xi Zhao said softly.

"Today's lecture on Jingyan took up a lot of time." Chongzhen glanced at the remaining memorial and said.

"The emperor has to study classics and history during the day, and correct memorials at night. It's really hard. Let's rest early tonight."

"En." Chongzhen responded, but still leaned on the chair, closed his eyes and meditated.

The hall was quiet.The little eunuch standing outside the study was dozing off with his head ticking.Xi Zhao felt that her feet were a little sore and moved slightly, but she didn't expect the sound of clothes rubbing against each other to be unexpectedly clear in this silent study.

"Your name is Zhang Dexiu?" After a moment of silence, Chongzhen asked.

"Yes." Xi Zhao hurriedly leaned back and replied.

"How old are you this year, have you ever read a book?"

"Back to the emperor, the villain is nineteen years old and has read a little."

"Oh?" Chongzhen opened his eyes, looking at Xizhao with interest, "What books have you read?"

"Back to the emperor, I have read The Book of Songs, The Doctrine of the Mean, and The Great Learning." Xi Zhao replied with her head down.

"Oh..." Chongzhen seemed slightly surprised, "Could it be that you came from a scholarly family?"

"Your Majesty is wise." Xi Zhao lowered his head and smiled, "The villain was originally a son of an eunuch. His family was in decline in his early years, and because of various coincidences, he entered the palace and became an eunuch." Xi Zhao blurted out without thinking much, and then He found that this was the first time since he entered the palace that he hadn't lied about his life experience.

"I see. No wonder I feel more elegant and courteous than ordinary eunuchs." Chongzhen nodded and said, "Did you write the line that was sung in the west of the hall last time?"

"It's not, it was written by a close friend. This word is originally a song, and the villain is not talented, so I just remember this line of the lyrics." Xi Zhao smiled slightly, "If the emperor is interested, the villain will go to the other day I will learn the whole song."

"Okay." Chongzhen nodded again, stretched his arms, stretched his waist, then picked up the memorial on the table and continued to review it.