Emperor Que Shaohua

On the third day of May, the 45th birthday of Emperor Yu Zhou.This is a whole life, in order to show the great virtue of the emperor, the Ministry of Rites said a few months ago, please follow the rules.Emperor Tianyi agreed to play, but drawing on the lessons of previous dynasties, he decreed that officials from all over the country should not send congratulatory gifts to Beijing, so as not to be excessively extravagant and exhaust the people's livelihood.But even so, the palace in the court, especially the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, were still very busy, and the small vassal states also sent envoys to congratulate.

On the day of the birthday, Emperor Tianyi received congratulations from all the officials in Zichen Hall in the morning.The Ministry of Rites issued a letter, and courtiers from three provinces and six departments wrote letters. For a time, there was a surge of diction, four parallels and six parallels, all of which were praises of merit.

The Yu and Zhou dynasties were founded more than a hundred years ago. At the beginning, they recuperated, the political situation was stable, and the people lived in peace. After decades, it gradually became a peaceful and prosperous age.However, Jinxiu Heshan attracted the covetousness of the four barbarians, so foreign troubles continued.After Emperor Tianyi succeeded to the throne, at first he worked hard to rule the country, and built a lot of achievements. However, after he reached middle age, he became more and more suspicious of success, so he gradually slacked off and focused more on checks and balances. In terms of strategy, I only want peace and stability, and a good name for future generations.Therefore, in the current 21st year of Tianyi, although it can still be said to be a stable situation, it has gradually declined, and it is far from a peaceful world.

When the Ministry of Rites read out the congratulatory form, Emperor Tianyi was very excited at first, but after hearing it, he suddenly realized that although the article was written in a colorful and stable manner, the content was actually not much different from what was said on the 40th birthday five years ago. The key point is still His early achievements, when it comes to recent years, are all empty words and have no real facts.Thinking that although the ministers wrote brilliantly and quoted scriptures, they could not create something out of nothing, he couldn't help but lose interest, and waved his hand to signal that it would be over.

Several princes also had birthday presents.The prince gave a two-foot-high suet white jade Guanyin statue, the jade is white and delicate, Guanyin sits cross-legged on the lotus pedestal, holding a willow branch and a clean bottle with one hand, smiling with lowered eyebrows, and his face is three points beautiful in the solemnity of the treasure. .This jade material and carving work are rare, and all the officials praised the prince for his dedication and filial piety.

King An ordered someone to hold an emerald fruit plate, which contained a variety of fruits, such as white peaches, purple grapes, vermilion lychees, and golden mandarins, with crystal drops. I don't know what the season is now. Found fresh fruit.King An smiled and asked the palace servants to present them to Emperor Tianyi. The emperor stretched out his hand and found that each fruit was carved out of various kinds of jade.

Luo Junping said: "My son also happened to get a few pieces of jade, the colors and sizes are different, but they are suitable to put together, so I thought how about taking the natural color and serving it as a fruit plate at the father's birthday banquet, just to add some luster. " Emperor Tianyi saw that he didn't ask for credit, but the fruit plate obviously put a lot of thought into it, and his dissatisfaction with the third prince disappeared immediately, and he really said a few words of encouragement.

The young King Ning also had a gift. Master Han Shan once gave him a piece of black iron that he had acquired in the early years. Luo Pingyuan found a blacksmith to guide him, blend the black iron into fine iron, and cast a sword with his own hands. Now it is housed in a red sandalwood box. Send it to Emperor Tianyi.

King Yun and King Jing were not present, but they each had birthday presents.What King Yun presented was a very large tiger skin with a yellow background and a black seal, which he had personally hunted. When the temple was opened, it was nearly seven feet long. This tiger must be a huge one.Everyone was amazed to see that the tiger skin was intact and undamaged.

King Yun couldn't go back to Beijing to congratulate him at the border, and King Jing didn't go to court when he was in Los Angeles, but was just going to go to the palace at night for a birthday banquet.What he gave was a black peony named Moyu, which had a clear fragrance before entering the palace.The green leaves in the blue pot are full of clusters, the flower branches are majestic, the sea bowl-sized flowers are in full bloom, and each petal is carved like black jade, which is endlessly delicate and clear, and it seems to be the precious light of other birthday gifts for a while. All pressed down.Someone in the hall praised in a low voice: "It's really a masterpiece."

Wang An thought to himself: the broken green peony may be more beautiful and more suitable for appreciation, but I am afraid it is not as dignified as this black jade, which looks like the emperor of flowers, and I don't know where it came from.I also know that King Jing's life is poor, and he should have no spare money to buy this famous product, most of which he planted by himself.

Emperor Tianyi issued a decree to reward the ministers, and several princes also had their own rewards, all of which were gold, pearls and silk. King Ning was also rewarded with a pure Jun sword in the palace.This sword is a famous weapon from ancient times, it cuts gold and cuts jade, once it is pulled out from the scabbard, it emits a cold light, it is really three feet of water in a vast box.Only King Jing was not rewarded, Emperor Tianyi just ordered people to move the black peony to Changle Palace where the banquet was held that night and set it up.The younger officials didn't realize it when they heard it, but those who had been in court for a long time were already secretly surprised: with Emperor Tianyi's consistent attitude, he ignored everything related to King Jing. He would pay attention to it, but today he mentioned it in public and sent it to Changle Palace. It is really rare. I don't know if it was unintentional, or it showed that he wanted to change his attitude towards King Jing.

At this time, according to the arrangement of the Ministry of Rites, it was time for the Bian Fan envoys to enter the hall to celebrate his birthday.For the small countries like Dali, Tubo, and Koryo, apart from showing courtesy, the main purpose is to come to find out the real situation of the Yu and Zhou courts, and get some rewards when they go back.The officials of the Honglu Temple of the Ministry of Rites introduced the envoys into the hall according to the order in which each country arrived in Los Angeles, kowtowed and saluted.

Northern Liao and Yu Zhou were fighting against each other, so naturally they would not send envoys, the last one to enter the palace was the envoys from Yi and Jin, who arrived just the day before yesterday.

All the civil and military officials in the hall saw the envoy in his 30s, with eagle nose and eyes, luxurious clothes, and the sable tail on his hat hanging down to his shoulders. When he came to the imperial steps, he only bowed and saluted instead of kneeling down to pay homage. , with an extremely arrogant expression, said in blunt Chinese: "I would like to follow the order of the regent of our country, and congratulate the birthday of Lord Yuzhou."

He can't bow down, and he is called the lord of the country. Obviously, he has the intention of juxtaposing Yijin with Yuzhou, and even above them. The guards of the inner palace have already shouted: "See my emperor, why don't you worship?"

Yijin came to envoy and said proudly: "I, Yijin, respect brave people. I have always bowed down only when I have seen the ability and am convinced. The regent of our country is brave and good at fighting, so he is willing to worship." Zhou Tianzi can't do this.Saying that, he took out an exquisite wooden box from his bosom and opened it in public.The box was lined with brocade, and there was a pearl the size of a longan, which was shining brilliantly: "The regent of our country accidentally got a pearl of water a few days ago, and I specially gave it as a birthday gift to express my closeness; Prince Guoshan proposes to marry Princess Danyang of your country, thinking that the two countries will have a good relationship, so I wonder what the country will do?"

Most of Tianyi's ministers have heard about Yijin's situation. Yijin's previous lord died young, and the young lord on the throne is just seven years old. All political and military affairs are in charge of his uncle, the regent Wanyanzhuo. , this man is resourceful and good at fighting, and after joining forces with the Northern Liao Dynasty, he can be said to be the great enemy of Yu Zhou; and the Prince Shan in the mouth of the Jin envoy is his younger brother. I only saw slight insults and no sincerity, so I was furious when I heard the words.

In Emperor Tianyi's heart, the anger was even worse. Pishui beads are rare, and the entrusted by the Yijin envoy should be the one that was robbed by Beiliao from the southeast tribute. Yijin used it as a birthday gift. There is a lot of irony in it, clearly saying that Yu Zhou is unable to keep his own treasures, and has to rely on barbarians to return them; Luo Xuening is the jewel in his palm, so lightly asking for a marriage is tantamount to double insult.

But he thought that if he detained or beheaded the Jin envoy now, it would be tantamount to giving Yi Jin a reason to immediately send troops to the border and invade with Beiliao. .

A servant went up to pick up the wooden box, seeing that the golden emissary was just holding it flat in his palm, and had no intention of delivering it, so he stretched out his hand to take it.However, when his fingers touched the wooden box, he felt that there was a suction force in the opponent's palm, he couldn't pick it up no matter what, and when he tried to withdraw his hand, his own fingers stuck to the box.His face paled immediately, he didn't take it, he didn't take it away.

King Ning could see clearly from the sidelines that he was armed with superior martial arts. He knew that what Yi Jin did was arrogant and insulting, but more importantly, he wanted to test whether Yu Zhou was weak and easy to bully. If he couldn't fight back immediately, Yi Jin Jin is very likely to openly tear his face on the border and send troops to help Beiliao.Therefore, for the current plan, the only way to deter the envoys of barbarians and gold, so that they not only lose, but also lose nothing to say, is the best policy.If the guards rushed up to take it down, it would be inferior.

He walked out more and more, patted the servant, motioned him to step down, and said with a smile: "Is this bead really as the envoy said? There was a slight tremor in the body, and the fingers were freed immediately, and they retreated as if they were pardoned, and they were very grateful to King Ning in their hearts.

Luo Pingyuan stretched out his right hand, making exactly the same gesture as the servant just now, to get the wooden box.When Jin Envoy met the young man in brocade clothes, he casually let go of his internal energy, knowing that he must be the fifth prince who was rumored to be proficient in martial arts, he didn't dare to be careless, and the arrogance on his face subsided accordingly.When he saw King Ning coming to pick it up, if it was still the same as he did to the servant just now, it would definitely not work, so he turned his right hand around and held the wooden box in front of his chest to prevent him from touching it, and raised his left hand to block Luo Pingyuan oncoming trend.

King Ning thought of the need for a quick battle, and moreover, if they fought in the hall, if they won by moves, Yi Jin still had room for sophistry, so he also raised his right palm against the opponent, and both sides used their internal strength.

This kind of competition, strength advances and retreats and tends to avoid, only the opponent knows it, and others can't see the clue at all.The huge Zichen Palace fell into silence, and a needle could be heard.

Everyone saw that King Ning looked calm, with a smile on his lips, his right palms pressed against each other, and his left hand was still moving forward steadily to take the wooden box.The envoy's face was green and cruel, but the right hand holding the wooden box trembled a little. It was obvious that King Ning had the upper hand.

The envoy Jin pressed his palm force several times, trying to force King Ning to withdraw, but it was of no avail. He only felt that his internal force was in contact with the opponent, and disappeared without a trace like a mud cow, gradually panicking in his heart.Seeing that Luo Pingyuan's fingers could barely touch the wooden box, he knew that he was invincible. He had received a strict order before he came, but now he was injured and tried to shatter the box with his right palm. Not all wins.

He stretched out his right palm, while his left palm loosened slightly, suddenly a wave of internal energy from the opponent penetrated through his palm, along the meridian of the arm and directly invaded the dantian of the chest and abdomen, it was gurgling and unstoppable.

Everyone saw the two palms separated suddenly, King Ning didn't have the strength to push forward, but the golden envoy retreated seven or eight steps in a row, and then stood still staggeringly, his face flushed like drunk.King Ning only took half a step back, Sheng Zhu's wooden box was already in his hand.

The prince moved closer, and helped him with a smile: "Five Emperors, be careful."

Luo Pingyuan took half a step back, in order to dissolve the dark energy in the opponent's palm, so that the wooden box would not be damaged, just like the wind passing through the water, causing ripples to gradually return to calm, and the prince's support was also affected by the ripples.When the two were about to part, Luo Pingyuan felt a soft force coming from his palm, and he was slightly startled: I never heard that the second brother practiced martial arts diligently, and I didn't expect that the inner strength is so pure that it doesn't seem to be among me. Next, it's just that the fire is a little weaker, and it can't be retracted freely.He thought about it in his heart, and he didn't have time to ask, he just smiled and said: "It's nothing, thank you, Second Emperor Brother."

He glanced at the water drop in his hand, turned around and said to the golden envoy, "Your name is Tuobahong, and your cloud piercing palm ranks eleventh among Jinties. The Zichen Palace of Yuzhou is presumptuous. Pishuizhu is a treasure in the sea. There is no sea of ​​barbarian gold. There is no such thing as a pearl. You come to celebrate your birthday, but the gifts you take are from Yuzhou. What is the purpose of swearing rudely in the palace and holding on to the congratulatory gift?"

Yi Jinlaishi felt his feet fluttering at this time, knowing something was wrong, his face was ashen, and he was no longer mad.

Seeing that he didn't answer, King Ning said lightly: "It is expected that the regent of your country also has good intentions and has no different intentions. It's just that he has improperly employed people and sent you as an invisible envoy. For you. After today, there will be no title of Cloud Piercer in the martial arts world. I spare your life. Go back and tell Wanyan Zhuo. I hope he will take care of himself and stop lying. If someone in Yijin thinks that his talent and character are worthy Princess Danyang has no family, but she can come to Luocheng by herself, and it will not be too late to ask for marriage after she can win against my disciple of Yu Zhou." After speaking, he handed the pearl to the servant and stood back to his original position.

It was only a moment before and after he fought with the envoy, when the officials saw that the fifth prince had lost Tuo Bahong's kung fu in an instant, his words were not lost in grace, they all felt elated, and looked at him differently from before.

Emperor Tianyi was overjoyed, took the Pishui beads, nodded his head to show his approval, and said to King Ning: "What the emperor said is very close to my heart. It seems that this bead is destined for you, so I will give it to you." Followed also Ignoring the golden envoy, he said: "After today's work is over, you are tired, you can go back and rest. Retire."

It wasn't too late for the banquet in Changle Palace to start, around Shen time in the afternoon.King Jing saw that it was almost time in the mansion, so he changed into a prince's costume and went out to Chonghua Palace.

Sitting in the carriage box, the sound of the car outside, the noisy voices of people on the street came in through the wall of the car, with a worldly atmosphere, so close, yet seemed so far away; There are too few mansions, which really means that the mountains do not know how long the years are.

Looking at the black coat on his body, it is embroidered with dragons in silver thread, usually there are only a few days such as New Year's Eve and Mid-Autumn Festival every year, he needs to wear this coat and go to Chonghua Palace.Living in seclusion in the mansion day after day, I am used to the simple plain clothes, and I am not used to such complicated clothes.Sometimes when he entered the Chonghua Palace, he would think, what is the relationship between this gorgeous and solemn palace and the people living in it, and him, so strange, is it really the place where he grew up?

The car drove to the side of the palace wall, entered through the side door, and had to walk after passing the Meridian Gate.Qin Su didn't come, King Jing asked the two accompanying servants, Gu Yu and Qingming, to stay in the car, got out of the car alone, and was led by a palace servant to the Changle Palace.

After crossing the imperial bridge carved with dragon patterns, passing through the vermilion palace walls, passing by the side of Zichen Hall and Jing'an Hall, and then passing Qingliang Hall and Wuying Hall, the Harem is not far away.

Tonight is a family banquet, and apart from the concubines and concubines, the people who came to attend were relatives of the clan, so there were not many people or chariots around the main hall.

In the distance, King Jing saw someone standing beside the glazed wall leading to the harem, as if waiting for him to pass by.Walking closer, he saw the other person clearly. It was a familiar face. He was in his forties, tall and tall, with ordinary facial features and ordinary clothes. However, he had a condensed aura. Standing there, he made people feel a sense of awe for no reason. Yue Zhi felt as if his existence alone could suppress many incidents.

Seeing King Jing approaching, he turned slightly, cupped his hands, and said in a deep voice, "I have seen His Royal Highness King Jing."

"Commander Li, how have you been?" King Jing said, stopping in his tracks.If there is anyone in this world that Emperor Tianyi really trusts and believes that he is absolutely loyal and will not betray, it should be Li Pinglan, the leader of the imperial guards in front of him, who ranks among the best in the martial arts.In Luo Yanhua's memory, no matter what happened, Li Pinglan seemed to always appear in the Chonghua Palace, acting on the emperor's orders, watching the changes inside and outside the palace with his calm eyes, never much. Ask a question, and won't say a word.

In the past seven or eight years, if he met Li Pinglan when entering the palace, the other party would greet him, just like now, it can be said that he was one of the few people in the palace who did not turn a blind eye to him.

"It's okay." Li Pinglan said flatly with no expression on his face.King Jing smiled slightly, and was about to move when Li Pinglan said again: "If His Highness changes his mind at this moment, there is still time to leave the palace."

King Jing's footsteps did not stop, and he continued to walk towards the harem, but when he passed by him, he said softly, "Thank you."