Emperor Que Shaohua

In mid-August of the 22nd year of Tianyi, King Yun led the Yu and Zhou army to exchange hostages with the Yijin general Samuchi outside Suining city.Samuchi's camp was lost, and he was confronted with enemies. He had no choice but to lead the remnants back and retreat northward with Hu Kesai. Unexpectedly, he was ambushed again [-] miles away. The morale of Yu and Zhou was like a rainbow.

In this battle, the barbarians and the gold were defeated, seven out of ten of the [-] elite soldiers, and thousands of soldiers surrendered and prayed for their lives.Xia Wenshan died in the rebellion, and Hu Kesai was captured alive by Xu Dingzhen. The number of remnants of the defeated generals who fled back with Samuchi was less than [-].

The Suining army suffered more than [-] casualties. King Yun was slightly injured before the battle. Fortunately, he was fine after being treated. However, Luo Junping, king of An, had his right arm cut off by Samuchi. city.

Yi and Jin's national strength was only [-], and their strength was greatly damaged after this battle.Wanyan Zhuo's son had a new funeral, and was plotted by his younger brother to seize power.

The autumn is crisp, and the frontier battle report is still on the way to Gyeonggi, and the emperor's honor guard is ushered in front of Huangjue Temple in Luocheng.The Panlong flag fluttered like a cloud, and the imperial guards guarded the left and right. The emperor in ordinary clothes stepped down from the imperial chariot, surrounded by the canopy of Huangluo, and entered the gate of the temple.

After the fire in Hanzhang Palace, Emperor Tianyi seemed to have put down a big stone in his heart, and at the same time added new troubles.

News of King Jing’s serious illness came from Jiangnan one after another, and Langhuan issued a reward on the rivers and lakes, anxiously looking for medicinal materials, all pointing to the same fact, the cold poison on Luo Yanhua’s body is really irresolvable .

His long-standing opponent will eventually fall in front of him, which makes him feel a faint joy of victory, but he can't help feeling guilty.The way of heaven, damages more than makes up for what is not enough, the situation has developed to the current field, it is indeed a bit too much.The destruction of the antidote meant that his control over Langhuan was greatly weakened. Even if he continued to give medicines to alleviate the cold poison in the middle of each month, it would only be a delay for King Yu Jing, and his way of life would be cut off after all.

Even though he had already made up his mind that he would never let King Jing get rid of the cold poison, but not giving and not having it were two completely different things.The change came suddenly, and the news of the fire in Miyagi couldn't even be concealed. Thinking that Luo Yanhuak did his best to serve the king, but ended up like this, how could he not harbor resentment?If he gave up forbearance and retaliated regardless, with his status as the eldest son of the emperor and the suzerain of Langhuan, it is hard to guarantee that there will be a situation where the fish dies and the net is broken.

Emperor Tianyi was quite remorseful in his heart, he knew that Concubine Han Gui would do this, so why should he be a villain in vain on February [-]th, and make it difficult for King Jing again and again; Concubine Han Guifei may not be impatient to do it, even at the expense of killing each other in order to die together.

Over the past few days, the palace has severely pursued responsibility for the fire, but there was something involved, and once it was verified, the heads rolled to the ground.Zhang Chengjue, the steward of the sixth grade, committed suicide. All the 32 maids serving in Yunxiu Palace were killed with sticks. The imperial doctor who was ordered to give the imperial concubine the pulse and prescribe the prescription was executed. , the rest of the palace attendants were killed... the deputy commander, Yuan Xusheng, was also demoted to a third-class bodyguard.The relatives of the Han family were also implicated. Although the palace declared that the imperial concubine was suffering from hysteria and accidentally knocked over the lamps and candles in a trance, causing water leakage, the status of Hanzhang Palace is too important to be punished severely. Marquis Anyuan The position was taken away, demoted to common people, and all family property was filled with officials.There is no miscarriage because of the prince's mother's family after all.Most of these actions were done for Lang Huan to see.

Emperor Tianyi fasted and bathed again, went to Hanzhang Hall to worship the ancestors, and then invited Huangjue Temple to come forward and invite all major temples in the capital to perform rituals for the 49th July [-]th to resolve the hostility in the palace and pray for the Luo clan.In his mind, the most important and most important thing is to eliminate disasters for himself.He had been suffering from nightmares and palpitations before, and he could not sleep well for [-] out of [-] days. After half a year, the medical stone treatment had little effect, and it turned into a chronic disease; Difficult to sleep, even taking a nap during the day, I often see the bleak figure of Empress Langhuan, as well as many innocent souls who died ten years ago.After all, the emperor is not young anymore. He has become less energetic recently, and he is not as comfortable in handling political affairs as before. He has a headache when he sees the memorials piled up high.

Emperor Tianyi knew that this was a heart disease, but sometimes he couldn't help being suspicious, worried that it was Jiang Biyao's evil spirit, and he didn't care about face, so he secretly asked Master Chen to be the queen and a group of courtiers and palace people who died in the old case of Langhuan , and subordinates, but I hope they will go to death soon, and don't come to pester me again.

Huangjue Temple is surrounded by sandalwood every day, and Sanskrit singing continues, which is truly a grand event for temples in the capital.Today is the last day of the ceremony, so I am here in person.Emperor Tianyi was in a pretty good mood. In the past few days, his nightmares had eased a bit, and it was rare that he didn't wake up in the middle of the night last night. It can be seen that inviting eminent monks to ward off disasters and pray for blessings is still effective.

Master Liaochen led several Zen masters to greet him at the gate of the temple, and accompanied the saint to the main hall of Huangjue.

In the hall, flags hang high, treasures and tassels hang, and Buddha statues more than ten feet high are shining with golden light and solemn treasures.Emperor Tianyi burned three sticks of incense, prayed sincerely for a moment, and then sat on the futon to watch eighteen eminent monks in scarlet cassocks and five hundred monks sing the Ksitigarbha Sutra and the Lotus Sutra of Miaofa.

The Buddha's voice was peaceful and compassionate, as if it had the power to soothe the heart and make people forget the troubles of the world. It took more than an hour to end.Even the emperor, who was deeply involved in power entanglements, felt the detached tranquility and put aside his worries for the time being.

At this point, the ceremony on the 49th was declared complete, and Master Liaochen invited the Holy One to drink tea in the meditation room.Emperor Tianyi saw that his beard and eyebrows were white, but his spirit was hale and hearty, and his eyes were kind and clear. He sighed unconsciously: "Last year, Master was held hostage by a traitor. I was worried that you were old and whether you could recover smoothly. Now It seems that the master has been enlightened for a long time, and with the blessing of the Buddha, he will not be infected by disease, but I am too worried."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your concern." Liaochen smiled slightly, and put his palms together and said, "At that time, the old monk was restrained by his younger brother, unable to move his body, unable to speak, and all the monks in the temple were like fish on an anvil, but in this desperate situation, he didn't realize it In the midst of extreme grief and suffering, I broke through the confusion in my mind and gained some insight. Now that I think about it, it might not be because of the enlightenment of the Buddha, a blessing in disguise."

As he spoke, he sighed slightly: "It should be that the old monk, although he has practiced purely for decades, still has a sliver of obsession, so he has not been able to comprehend Bodhi for a long time, so he is destined to encounter this catastrophe."

Emperor Tianyi heard that, if he realized something, would he be haunted by nightmares because of the doom caused by his obsession for many years?His thoughts turned, but he smiled and said: "This is strange. The master made a vow to rebuild the Huangjue Temple in the early years, and traveled around to raise funds for twenty years. Now the golden body of the Buddha has been reshaped, and the inside and outside of the temple have also been renovated. Why is the wish unfulfilled, worthy of the master's persistence?"

"Your Majesty Meng asked, and I am ashamed to say that it was just a bit of dusty thoughts of the old monk." Liao Chen said slowly, "In the past, when I traveled to Huizhou for alms from all directions, I once placed orders in Puyuan Temple in the city for half a year, and met with Shen Yunqing, a famous ink maker at that time. There was a relationship between Zen lectures. Layman Shen was more than seventy years old at the time, and he talked casually for a day. He occasionally expressed emotion and said to the old monk that he had made countless inks in his life, and many of them were fine works. It should be a piece of Baomo made at the age of 50."

Emperor Tianyi had a fondness for ancient ink in his early years. Hearing this, he couldn't help becoming interested. He nodded and said: "The Shen family in Huizhou has made ink for generations, and Shen Yunqing is even more skilled. I have also heard about it, but I don't know the precious ink in his mouth. What's the point?"

Liaochen said: "The old monk asked Shen Layman about it at that time, and heard him say that when making ink, he just got a good material, and devoted all his life skills, only this ingot is the finished product, so the quality is excellent. The quality of the ink is as firm as jade. , Fragrant like orchids, writing scrolls with it, the handwriting can not be eaten by insects and ants, and it has been immortal for hundreds of years. It is a blessing in my life to keep it in the temple.”

Emperor Tianyi felt that Liuguang Baomo's name was familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere.He knew that Hui ink was made of pine smoke. It should be that the Shen family had found high-quality pine wood, so he didn't take it seriously at the moment, and said with a casual smile: "No wonder the master misses it. It is among the collectors, and they are unwilling to take it out even if they say anything.”

Liao Chen shook his head: "Layman Shen is sincere to the Buddha and has no regrets, but Baomo was no longer in the Shen family at that time, and this matter can only be regrettable. He told the old monk that there was a disaster in the family not long ago, and the eldest son was imprisoned. Due to the disaster, several top-quality ink ingots that have been treasured for generations had to be sent to the government to ask for forgiveness, and Liuguang Baomo was among them."

A faint expression of regret appeared on his face: "Times have changed, and Layman Shen has passed away long ago. According to the year narrated at that time, it has been 13 years now. The old monk has not completely let go of this matter, which shows that the road to practice is still far away. Unable to transcend things, the five aggregates are all empty.”

Emperor Tianyi groaned for a while, a flash of memory flashed across his mind. Thirteen years ago, when I was driving in Nanxun, I was fascinated by the scenery and exquisite writing in the south of the Yangtze River.When passing through Huizhou, the local magistrate presented a batch of ink ingots from the ink-making family. According to the quality, they were divided into 13 ingots of the top grade and [-] ingots of the best grade. Some of the list seemed to come from the Shen family.Those ancient inks of different shapes and with the author's seal made him admire, and after returning to Luan, he was promoted to the official position of Huizhou prefect.Could it be...

"Wu Yong," he turned his head and asked, "During the southern tour, you went to Huizhou with me. Do you have any impression of the Baomo that the master said?"

Wu Yong stood by the side and kept silent. At this moment, he hurriedly stepped forward to answer: "Your Majesty, the Huizhou Mansion did present a lot of famous ink ingots at that time, but I can't remember the specific ones."

At this point, he seemed to suddenly think of something, slapped his forehead, and his face showed excitement: "The palace prepared the Mid-Autumn Festival rewards a month ago, and counted the internal treasury as usual. I am thinking that your majesty loves ancient ink. Check it out." It seems that there is indeed an orphan ingot with this name, and it is recorded in the archives that the Huizhou government paid tribute more than ten years ago."

He thought about it again, and affirmed: "It's called Liuguang Baomo, a tribute from Tianyi Nine Years, it should be unmistakable!"

After saying a word, the emperor and Liaochen who were sipping tea were both moved. Could it be a coincidence that this happened?

Wu Yong was always good at joking around, so he immediately laughed and said, "Master misses the famous ink in order to make the scriptures famous forever, but in the end, ink is in His Majesty's palace. It's really a good story, which shows that His Majesty has a deep connection with Buddha, and his blessings are as good as heaven!"

Emperor Tianyi thought that Master Liaochen was highly respected and profound in Buddhism, and he vowed that the scriptures copied by hand would be treasured by Huangjue Temple in the future; his own fulfillment from them would indeed be an immediate success, and it would also leave a good story for future generations.

With this in mind, don't say it's just a top-quality ink ingot that has been idle for many years, even if it is an object that is ten times or a hundred times more valuable, what's the point?He immediately laughed and said: "It seems that it is not an obsession, but this ink is destined to be destined to be with the master, and it is also my fate with Huangjue Temple!"

He also ordered: "Wu Yong, after returning to the palace, you will go to the inner library to take out the glazed ink, and then add thirty ingots of high-quality Hui ink, two duan inkstones, fifty tubes of lake brushes, and high-quality inner-made rice paper. And send it to the temple as a gift to the master, don't delay!"

Liaochen got up and put his palms together to express his gratitude. Although he didn't say much, his expression was profound and solemn, which showed his deep feeling.

The emperor felt that the trip was worthwhile, and he was very happy. He continued to talk about Buddhism for a while, and he didn't get up until the vegetarian meal in the afternoon.He didn't notice that when he left the temple, Wu Yong followed behind, letting out a long sigh of relief.

Also in Luocheng, Gyeonggi Province, the Mingyue Tower still has gurgling water and quiet vegetation.However, some frequent guests found that the strings of lutes and zithers in the garden seem to be less, and sometimes there are a few sparse sounds, which further reflect the silence around them.

Bai Ruohan was sitting in the flower hall, and there was an opened small brocade box on the table in front of her.

Zhao Mian stood by, a little at a loss.This brocade box was sent to him by Yang Yue who had just returned to the city from the south of the Yangtze River. He said that it was King Jing's intention, and the contents inside were no longer needed, so I asked Editor Zhao to hand it over to Miss Bai, and return it to the original owner in the future. .The brocade box was not sealed, so Zhao Mian opened it and looked, and there was an orchid-shaped jade pendant in it, the milky white jade color faintly revealing crimson, the tentacles were warm, it was a rare piece of warm jade.

He didn't know what this jade pendant meant, but after Bai Ruohan saw it, she was silent for half an hour, just sitting quietly.

"Miss Bai..." He hesitated to persuade, but he didn't know where to start to comfort him, but he felt that the words he said had no foundation, "My lord, he will surely turn danger into good fortune, so don't worry too much..."

"Stop talking!" Bai Ruohan interrupted suddenly. She was clearly trying to control herself, but her voice was still trembling uncontrollably, "Master Zhao, I want to stay alone for a while. I won't see you off today."

After several years of acquaintance, in Zhao Mian's impression, it was the first time that Bai Ruohan, who was calm and self-possessed, was so close to losing his composure.He didn't make a sound anymore, and silently exited the flower hall.The beautiful and graceful figure remained motionless, without looking up at him.

The door was gently closed, and Bai Ruohan sat quietly for a moment before stretching out her slender fingers to hold the pendant in front of her.There is a moist and delicate touch from the palm, and there is a touch of warmth, as if it still carries the body temperature of that person.She remembered very clearly that this orchid-shaped jade pendant was specially found by her to help the Suzerain unblock the blood and protect the heart. The two ancient seal characters of "Sun Soul" and "Moon Soul" were engraved on the front and back respectively, King Jing once held it in his hand and looked at it carefully.Although he was a little helpless when he learned the origin later, he still wore it all the time, and never left his body no matter where he went.

But now, the Luoyan Chinese have not yet returned to Luocheng, but they ordered someone to return it to him early.

Bai Ruohan tightly grasped the jade pendant in her palm, unconsciously, even her knuckles turned white with force, but she couldn't grasp the long-awaited hand.The person she has been watching and waiting for will be irretrievably gone.

She suddenly fell on the table, Xianxiu's shoulders twitched, and she burst into tears.

King Jing and his party boarded a ship in Hangzhou, crossed the Yangtze River through the canal, and entered the Huai River. The small passenger ship hung up its sails, and the blue waves were still long, and the green mountains were like Daisy. The warm and humid Jiangnan was left behind, getting farther and farther away.

Luo Yanhua remembers returning to Beijing as soon as possible, and everyone is also worried that if the journey is slow and they cannot arrive before mid-September, the Suzerain will be ill on the way, so they sail day and night along the way, never stopping unless necessary.

However, when it comes to returning home like an arrow, no one can match Luo Pingyuan.When there is no hope, he is extremely anxious and afraid of losing it, but when a glimmer of hope looms in front of him, it adds [-] points of suffering. He wishes he could fly back to Los Angeles with his wings.But as the passenger ship headed north day by day, I couldn't help but feel another kind of fear. If time stops here, and I and my brother will stay in this cabin forever, and we can't sail to the end, will we not have to worry about gain and loss, and can't sleep at night?

Occasionally, he would read the same emotion from Qin Su's eyes, and the two exchanged a look, each remaining silent.Naturally, the matter cannot be brought up to King Jing. If you go in the wrong direction and your hopes come to naught, it is better not to say anything from the beginning.

As for Xi Minghua, she is quite calm, and has regular pulse checks every day, and her requirements for patients are unprecedentedly strict.Even the brothers and sisters of Zheng Tong have seen the prestige of "Master Xi Gu" in the mouth of the little attendants back then: no wind blowing is allowed, needles and medicines are used on time, when must rest, three meals and diets, all have a set of detailed regulations, even if they are as calm as Luo Yanhua, He also had a headache from being controlled, and there was nothing to do on board anyway, so he simply gave up resisting and accepted it.

Fortunately, this way, it saved him from getting along with Luo Pingyuan a little unnaturally, one concentrated on cooperating with the treatment, and the other was busy taking care of him, so he didn't have much time to talk alone.

Luo Pingyuan felt that there were a few times when Brother Huang hesitated to speak, he probably had something to say to him, but every time at this time, he felt flustered and wanted to escape like sitting on pins and needles.He didn't want to hear Luo Yanhua talk about life and death, or explain behind his death, just like arranging Langhuan's affairs, thinking about the future for himself.So he always tried his best to change the direction, bring out some relaxed topics, or talk about how to redress grievances after returning to Beijing.

Yes, avenging Langhuan is King Jing's greatest wish now. The mission that he vowed to complete cannot be missed. Only this matter can be faced by Luo Pingyuan calmly, participate in the discussion, and help .

While he was expecting and waiting, he counted the days and calculated the itinerary. Luo Yanhua was already calm and not in good spirits. Seeing that the emperor's younger brother was still trying to escape, he sighed and gave up talking on the boat. plan.

Only one night, when it was time to rest, King Jing was leaning against the head of the bed. Luo Pingyuan saw that his eyes were closed, as if he was about to fall asleep, so he lightly filled the teapot with hot water and packed away the empty medicine bowls.

"Pingyuan." When he was about to exit the cabin, he heard Luo Yanhua calling softly from behind.

"Brother Huang, what's the matter?" Luo Pingyuan hurriedly turned around.

King Jing was obviously a little sleepy, and he said after a while: "I heard that your Prince Ning's Mansion has been built, and everything will be complicated after you return to Beijing. I'll ask Director Yang to help you. Do you think it's okay?"

"Prince Ning's Mansion?" Luo Pingyuan was taken aback for a moment. To be honest, he had already completely forgotten that he still had a mansion.A while ago, there seemed to be news from the capital, but he was going crazy with distress at that time, and he didn't care about it at all. Unexpectedly, Brother Huang noticed it.

Could it be that King Jing doesn't want him to live in the mansion anymore?He felt a sudden pain in his heart, bit his lips and said in a low voice: "Brother Huang, let's talk slowly when we get back. I... I'm not in a hurry, and I don't want to move away."

Seeing his face turning pale all of a sudden, Luo Yanhua was also slightly stunned. After thinking about it, he realized that he couldn't help but feel a little helpless: "Ping Yuan, I don't mean to ask you to leave, but I just think that His Majesty will make an order soon. .”

He paused, "I want to let Director Yang follow you from now on."

Luo Pingyuan relaxed a little bit, he could actually understand that Emperor Tianyi was already dissatisfied with the position he had shown, and now that the mansion was completed, he would definitely not allow him to stay in the Jing Palace for a long time.He came to his senses and asked again in confusion: "Director Yang? Follow me?"

King Jing nodded and explained softly: "You know Yang Yue's talent and character. He is not from Langhuan. If he continues to stay by my side, he may miss his future. If Ping Yuan can take care of one or two, it is the best thing to do." Couldn't be more suitable."

Luo Pingyuan was in a flustered mood and didn't answer immediately.Apart from Qin Su, Yang Yue was the subordinate who had followed King Jing the longest, taking care of the affairs of the mansion.Luo Yanhua really had no idea of ​​life, and in the last days, he would entrust the future for everyone around him.Moreover, he should have thought about it a long time ago, so he can be so calm and calm now.

He felt as if a knife had been gouged out in his heart, and the pain was almost numb. After a while, he slowly said: "Brother Emperor, if Director Yang is willing to follow others, he will not stay until today. Don't think too much, I will definitely found a way."

Without waiting for King Jing to say anything, he turned around and walked out of the cabin quickly.

The night was getting darker, and the water on the river was rippling, patting the undulating hull of the ship.In the dark blue and clear night sky, twinkling stars emerged one by one, surrounded by a crescent moon.Luo Pingyuan stood alone by the side of the boat. Perhaps in the past few months, at the most exhausted and desperate moment, he once resented God with resentment, but at this moment, when the boat went along the river to the distant destination, all he could think of was endless prayers. , that hope is like the stars above the head, it seems unreachable, but it clearly exudes a dim light that flickers on and off.

Going back and forth, day and night alternated, and the boats and vehicles were tiring several times. When the moon was getting full and the time entered mid-September, they finally saw the majestic city wall of the Imperial Capital Luocheng from a distance.