Chunhua doesn't need to reveal herself.
She wanted to ask the princess why she was so cruel to her. The ending was sloppy, and she returned to her bedroom in a daze, and sat in the empty palace for the whole afternoon. She didn't care about the eldest prince's crying, ignored the palace people's inquiring eyes, and didn't want to know who sent those eunuchs who were peeking outside the palace gate to monitor her.
She refused Mu Wanyao, without a doubt.
She is a concubine, her husband is the supreme emperor, and her son is her concern and her only hope. She doesn't like these, but she doesn't hate them at the same time. She has gotten used to this place and she can't leave it.
After hearing her refusal, Mu Wanyao smiled indifferently. The princess' smile was so cold, but her eyes looking at her were somewhat sad. Mu Wanyao felt sad about the passing of time and the abandonment of the old maid. What's more, Mu Wanyao and Chunhua knew that from now on, this former master and servant would go their separate ways.
Chunhua's heart felt like it was pierced by needles and was filled with pain.
Liu Wenji said he looked down on her, and the princess said she had become vulgar and boring... Had she really become so bad that she had lost her lover and friends? Would she be unable to escape this cage, and would she remain lonely and die quietly in this magnificent yet cramped palace?
Any woman, as long as she has her own ideas, would not want to have a soul as strong and brave as Mu Wanyao, to pursue what she wants firmly, and not lose herself even after getting married?
Which woman is truly willing to become a yellow-faced woman, a burden, and a waste that everyone hates?
Chunhua bathed in the afterglow of the sunset for a long time. She gradually hated herself and sympathized with herself. She figured out some things, but she felt that she had never figured them out. Until late at night, the eunuch who was lingering outside her palace finally couldn't help but whispered that Eunuch Liu would come to visit the empress at night.
Chunhua was startled and straightened her appearance.
Before Liu Wenji arrived, he had just left the emperor's place. The emperor had completely forgotten that Chunhua had been wronged, and it was only after Liu Wenji reminded him that the emperor perfunctorily gave Chunhua some rewards to compensate her for being wronged.
The emperor was upset that Yan Shang wanted to resign, and he threw tantrums and made excuses, but it was useless. Yan Shang insisted on resigning, but the emperor just refused to approve it. The emperor was panicking.
He usually felt that Yan Shang was meddling in too many matters, which made him lose all his authority. But when Yan Shang was about to leave, the emperor remembered that he relied too much on Yan Shang. If Yan Shang left, he would be caught up in the overwhelming affairs of the government.
And this time, I'm afraid no one will help him sort out the chores.
Even if there were ministers willing to be this capable person, the emperor would not trust them.
After becoming the emperor, he finally understood what it meant to be alone and that the whole court was untrustworthy. He had obtained the throne by chance, but he could not sit on it steadily. The emperor suffered from insomnia every night due to the storm. He had been hiding his incompetence for many years, and now he had become truly incompetent, but he was afraid that his ministers would discover his incompetence...
Are all people who ascend the throne for the first time in the world as helpless as he is?
But for Liu Wenzhi, this day was also a day of chaos and war.
Yan Shang's disruption has mixed up the three originally distinct forces. Originally, the three forces wanted to cooperate with each other to defeat the isolated one. Now, each of them is looking for an opportunity to revive. The noble family was hurt by Beili's incident, the eunuchs lost the support of the noble family and became an isolated island again, and the poor family lost the support of Princess Danyang and Yan Shang and was at a loss.
All three parties were in dire straits.
Is this what Yan Shang wants?
After this disruption, Liu Wenji was unable to swallow up the power of the noble families or the poor families in one go. He lost the Hai family and had to find allies again. Facing the noble families headed by the Wei family and the Liu family, and the incompetent emperor who only knew how to practice Tai Chi and no one dared to help, Liu Wenji had to regroup.
No problem.
Liu Wenji thought, I still have the Zhao family to use. With the Zhao family, I will be able to slowly pry open the aristocratic families.
There is also the emperor. As long as the emperor remains the same as it is now, the eunuchs will still have power over the government and the country. It doesn't matter if they occupy good houses and good fields, or if they embezzle and pervert the law... People have to live, they can't be innocent, they can't just care about themselves. The expansion of power requires some sacrifices, and what Liu Wenji sacrificed... was just his personal morality and reputation!
It doesn’t matter!
Liu Wenji thought about the affairs of the court, and he thought that he should actively encourage Yan Shang to leave Chang'an. Only when Yan Shang left Chang'an would he have a chance to rise. If Yan Shang stayed in Chang'an, he would always try to suppress him... Liu Wenji never underestimated Yan Suchen's ability!
Yan Shang is going back to Lingnan to recuperate... What a great opportunity!
Let him go! It would be best if he stayed in Lingnan for the rest of his life and never came back to Chang'an!
When Liu Wenji came to pay his respects to Empress Xian, all he had in mind were these matters. He was bold enough to break the law, and he even coveted the emperor's women, so what was there for him to be afraid of? But when he saw Chunhua, he was slightly startled, and his expressionless face cracked a little.
Liu Wenji stood with his hands down, pretending to let the eunuchs take the treasures given by the emperor. After the eunuchs left, Liu Wenji looked at Chunhua and saw that she was wearing a light silk gauze jacket and her black hair was combed into a simple bun. The golden and green flower hairpins hanging down from the end of her hair reflected her eyebrows and eyes dyed red. Under the dim candlelight, she stood tall and graceful, with a makeup like a young girl in her twenties.
She was shy and nervous, and she swallowed because of nervousness and panic.
Liu Wenji: "…What does your Majesty mean?"
Chunhua lowered her head: "Do I look good like this?"
Liu Wenji didn't say that she was as beautiful as a peach and plum, which made his heart burn. He just stared at her and taunted: "Did Princess Danyang teach you to be like this?"
Chunhua whispered: "No, from now on, His Highness will probably not care about me anymore."
She was disappointed: "Her Highness got her beloved Yan Erlang, she is excited and high-spirited, her path is getting better and better, and her future is getting brighter and brighter. As for me, she no longer has any sympathy for me. I am a resentful woman in the deep palace, and all I nag all day long is my son, my mistress, my wives and concubines...
"She was already very impatient with me and didn't want to hear any of this.
"Just like you, father-in-law."
Chunhua looked at Liu Wenji in a daze. The curtains fluttered, and she looked past the famous man in front of the emperor who was calm and powerful, and looked at the boy who had been fascinated by her in the past. She could not find any trace of that boy, so sad.
Chunhua said sadly: "I have become someone you all don't like, right? But you have also become scary, and you left... too quickly. I don't recognize you anymore."
Liu Wenzhi was silent.
After a long while, he turned his head and said in a hoarse voice: "Why are you saying this?"
Chunhua took a step forward and said, "Your Highness said today that he could take me away, but I refused. I cannot leave the palace, but I am also horrified. Your Majesty does not love me, and the Queen hates that my Yue Er is the eldest son and is blocking the way for her son. The other concubines think I am useless and treated me well because I was a princess before, but I am afraid that will change in the future.
"When I looked back, I realized that I had lost everything. I wanted to make some changes, within a limited scope, to make some changes..."
She choked up and said, "Father-in-law, now, you are the only one I can rely on.
"I am a resentful woman in the deep palace, with nothing. If you also want to abandon me, please tell me in advance so that I can be prepared."
Liu Wenji turned around and looked down at her. The shadows of the sycamore leaves were sparse and swaying on the ground, like algae, swallowing up the two of them.
Things have changed and people have changed, and love has faded.
He hated Chunhua for being his weak spot and a handle for Mu Wan to grasp. He wanted to torture Chunhua, but when he saw this woman, he still had thousands of tender feelings in her heart, which made him hate her.
The past love and time made him hate it, but he also didn't want to give it up.
Maybe he no longer loves Chunhua.
But Chunhua is not just Chunhua.
Liu Wenji slowly smiled. He held out his hand to her with hatred, love, disgust, and joy, and said softly, "Don't worry, Madam, I will never abandon you.
“Don’t forget each other, and try your best to love Chunhua.
"I have kept it all in my heart. I will keep it in my heart for the rest of my life and will never dare to let you down. I am relying on you and I only ask that you stand in the mire with me and do not give up on me."
There was something sinister and strange in his eyes. He grabbed her wrist and brought her to him. His face was pale and cold, but his eyes were filled with a blizzard, ferocious and terrifying. Chunhua mustered up the courage to look at him, and saw him smiling gloomily against her lips: "You have given up on me once. If you dare to betray me again, I..."
Chunhua shuddered: "Will you kill me, or make me live a life worse than death?"
Liu Wenji smiled gently: "What's the meaning of that?"
He caressed her face lovingly. The beautiful girl was the emperor's woman, but she was in his arms. How happy he was.
Liu Wenji said, "Your Highness doesn't care about life and death, so what's the point of me threatening you with life and death? Your Highness, if you betray me... I will grind your son, your father-in-law, to dust! How miserable would the life of a prince in the palace who is not liked by the Queen and not cared about by His Majesty be? Your Highness, do you want to know?"
-----
After Mu Wanyao and Yan Shang talked about Chunhua and Liu Wenzhi, they didn't say anything more.
Liu Wenji had something in their hands, so he didn't dare to be too arrogant. After putting a tight ring on this man, Yan Shang dared to leave Chang'an with peace of mind.
The emperor did not allow Yan Shang to resign, so Yan Shang asked for leave and wrote to the emperor again and again to ask for leave. At the same time, Liu Wenji and the noble families all hoped that Yan Shang would leave. The loss of the leader of the poor families would give them a chance to balance their power.
The emperor probably knew what they were up to, and said angrily, "Yan Suchen is a fifth-rank official, he is my secretary, and a general in the Ministry of Personnel! How can he resign? He wants to resign at such a young age, and people all over the world will say that I can't tolerate capable officials! If you want to blame someone, blame Yan Suchen for being too famous. I can't allow him to resign!"
Liu Xianggong spoke for his disciple: "Su Chen's body really needs rest..."
Emperor: "He can't rest in Chang'an, but must go back to Lingnan? Lingnan has always been a place of exile. If he goes there, others will think that I am tired of him. How can I explain to my father in front of my ancestors? My father left me a talent who can be a prime minister, and I drove him to Lingnan? Yan Er is only 25 years old this year, he is still a young man, and he is still a prime minister. A prime minister is also a prime minister! How can a prime minister resign easily?
"I know what you are up to! You think that it will be easier for you to control me now that Yan Suchen is gone!"
All the officials knelt down immediately, crying out that they were wronged. Whoever dared to control the emperor wanted to be a traitor.
Prime Minister Liu was so angry that his face turned red. He was old and had always had a bad temper. Even the previous emperor had been polite to him and asked him to take the seat. But now he was so angry to death by the emperor's willfulness.
Liu Wenji said, "Yan Erlang has a reputation as a famous minister in the country. Whether in Guanzhong or Chang'an, his reputation is so great that Your Majesty cannot easily let him resign."
The emperor's eyes lit up, thinking that someone supported him.
However, Liu Wenji said, "Why not give Yan Erlang the post of governor of Guangzhou? A position of the fourth rank wouldn't be an insult to Yan Erlang, right? He is going back to his hometown in Lingnan, so it's a good opportunity for him to govern Guangzhou. Last year, because Doctor Wei opened up the Hexi trade, Guangzhou also opened up the sea trade.
"However, we were in a state of panic at the beginning. The governor of Guangzhou was killed by pirates a few years ago, and the central government has not yet found a replacement.
"When the court officials heard that they were going to Guangzhou, they all shook their heads in despair. However, a loyal official like Yan Erlang would not refuse this job just because it was difficult, right? That is his hometown, and he would not ignore his hometown, right? It would be perfect for him to be the governor of Guangzhou together with the Prime Minister."
The emperor was very displeased and frowned. After all, he still had to get Yan Shang out of Chang'an.
However, the ministers seemed to be thinking about something. Even Yan Shang's teacher, Liu Xianggong, stroked his beard and nodded, thinking that this was a good idea. Although he was recuperating, he could still do something while he was at it.
The nobles and the eunuchs looked at each other and decided to cooperate to get rid of Yan Shang. The emperor tried hard to refute, but the result would not be very good.
-----
Since he decided to resign, Yan Shang had not gone to the imperial city to handle daily affairs for several days. He was not used to it at first, but he endured it with his strong will and stopped himself from asking or interfering.
Mu Wanyao was extremely surprised. After no longer doing chores, Yan Shang could finally sleep through the night, and would not be woken up in the middle of the night to deal with various troublesome matters. Although he had a lot on his mind and was not used to such a leisurely life, he would eventually adapt.
The imperial edict had not come down yet and the emperor was still in a stalemate, but she was already happily arranging things in the mansion and packing the luggage they were going to take to Lingnan.
Yan Shang watched her busying about, even turning down requests for an audience with court ministers, and couldn't help but smile.
Mu Wanyao was a princess, and except for the two or three years of marriage, she had never left Chang'an for a long time. However, she had been to Lingnan before, and this time she was determined to stay in Lingnan with Yan Shang for a long time. Yan Shang was still afraid that she would be unhappy and reluctant to give up the power in her hands, but Mu Wanyao regarded this resignation as a long-term trip.
She was as happy as if she was playing house, and excitedly experienced the joy of moving.
However, the couple's leisurely life was interrupted one night.
One night in early April, not long after Yan Shang and Mu Wanyao had gone to bed, someone knocked on the door of the princess's residence. An official from the Ministry of Justice came to ask to see Yan Erlang, the co-prime minister.
Mu Wanyao was unhappy, but he could only hold the lamp and watch Yan Shang being called away again in the middle of the night. After all, he couldn't resign and he had to take care of these things. The official from the Ministry of Justice wanted to see him tonight because Hai Sanlang, who was imprisoned, wanted to die in prison and wanted to see Yan Shang.
Mu Wanyao: "Why meet him? If I meet him, wouldn't it be like someone is threatening to commit suicide? If I say I want to meet Yan Erlang, then Brother Yan Er will go to see him. Do you have any authority? Are you that easy to ask for an audience?"
Yan Shang sighed, "After all, I was the one who picked him as the top scholar, and I used him to plan the Hai family incident. Now that the entire Hai family is in prison, I feel sorry for Hai Sanlang. Let's meet once, maybe he has some grievances that he wants to question me about."
Mu Wanyao was worried about him, so he went out with him, got on the carriage and went to the Ministry of Justice.
-----
Waiting for trial late at night, Hai Sanlang took advantage of the interrogator's carelessness to hide the bowl that was delivered to him during the day. He smashed the bowl and used the sharp edge of the porcelain to commit suicide, threatening to see Yan Shang. He had no hope, but Yan Shang really came to see him.
Yan Shang took his seat, the cell door opened, and the lights were on. He looked at Hai Sanlang, who was tied up in the cell to prevent him from committing suicide. In just one month in prison, Hai Sanlang had lost more than half his weight. The young man's eyes no longer had the spirited demeanor of the day, and only numbness and fatigue remained in his red eyes.
This reminded Yan Shang of the two months he spent in prison.
Prison is a torture.
Yan Shang sighed and asked, "You want to see me, what do you want to say?"
Hai Saburo, kneeling on the straw with his hands chained, raised his head and said bitterly, "Teacher, are you happy that I was treated like this today?"
Yan Shang was silent for a moment, then said, "Why should I be happy?"
Hai Sanlang said excitedly: "The court said how powerful you are, but I have never seen it. What I have seen is that you exclude those who are different from you! You kill those who have different opinions from you. You only allow voices that agree with your ideas in the court! Although I have not entered the court yet, my father has made it clear to me... The Hai family has become like this because you don't want the Hai family to stay in Chang'an!
"My elder sister didn't murder the prince at all! Our Hai family was wrongly accused! You teamed up with the eunuch Liu Wenji, you want us dead! Teacher, when you taught me in the past, you said so righteously that you wanted me to think about how to be a qualified subject... But is this what you did? How can I trust you?"
Yan Shang said calmly: "Party struggles in the court are not beneficial to the people's livelihood. I still think so today, and I have not deceived you."
Kaisaburo: "Then you..."
Yan Shang looked at him, "Do you want to say that you are innocent? The second prince who died that year became a victim of the aristocratic family and the imperial power. Wasn't he innocent? If the Concubine Xian who was used by your elder sister had not been overturned, would she not be innocent if she died? How much did Hai Shi get from working with Liu Wenji? Those who were plundered, aren't they innocent?
"Am I not innocent? As your master, I was provoked by you in public. So many people were waiting to see me make a fool of myself. I have a good temper and don't get angry easily, but that doesn't mean I can't get angry. Hai Sanlang, am I not innocent?
"In the past few years in Beili, the ministers' private transactions have violated many laws. Behind the laws, there are many innocent souls. A human life that cannot even be seen... is it not a human life?
"If the Hai family wants to take the throne, someone must step down. If the noble families want to join forces with others, people will die in court disputes. Party disputes are the most cruel and boring. Once a crime is fabricated, countless innocent officials will be involved... And you were originally going to cooperate with Liu Wenji, and this was the path you were going to take! The high-ranking officials in the court are sucking the marrow out of people's bones. If I let you continue, I don't know how many invisible lives will be lost.
"The cheapest thing in this world is human life!"
The prison was completely silent. Yan Shang's voice was not loud, and his tone was even. But at the end, his eyes were bright and his voice was short, obviously he was a little excited. Yan Shang coughed, and Hai Sanlang stared at him blankly, forgetting what he was going to say.
After a while, Yan Shang slowed down and rubbed his forehead. "If I don't do some things, the chaos in the world can't be suppressed. Since I have the ability, why should I just leave it alone? Before my wife's grandfather died, he said, 'Who would be willing to sit in the mud and charcoal, rather than be free and easy in the ice pot and autumn moon?' No matter how much I hate a method, as long as it is beneficial to the world, I will use it.
"So, is there anything you don't understand that you want to ask me?"
Hai Sanlang was slumped, his questions were like those of a child facing a mature adult, so shallow that he was ashamed of himself. He couldn't ask, he murmured in despair: "So I will be ruined because of this? I was the top scholar! I could have entered the court, I could have a bright future, I could..."
Yan Shang interrupted: "It's still possible now."
Hai Sanlang: "I'm going to be exiled! Our Hai family is going to be finished! I..."
Yan Shang smiled and said calmly: "So what? You were born and raised by nature, and your life only lasts for decades. If you can't even stand the setbacks of just a few years, why don't you just commit suicide tonight?"
Kaisaburo: "..."
Yan Shang stood up and said nothing more to the young man. He walked out of the prison, knowing that Mu Wanyao was waiting for him outside. He talked with Hai Sanlang, and it was like venting the grievances in his heart.
Everyone has things to do and ambitions to pursue. Life is a long journey, so just walk on it!
-----
At the end of April, Yan Shang's resignation was not approved, but the appointment letter came down. The central government transferred him to be the governor of Guangzhou, and asked him to go to Lingnan to recuperate while taking care of the maritime trade and pirates. As long as the central government was willing to let him go, Yan Shang and Mu Wanyao would accept this.
Traveling with them was Concubine Zhao Lingfei.
Concubine Zhao Ling came to ask Yan Shang and his wife if she could go with them. She and her father had different ideas, and she couldn't stand the Zhao family becoming the running dogs of the eunuchs. She wanted to go with Yan Shang and his wife, but not to Lingnan, but to Jiannan.
Concubine Zhao Ling wanted to find her cousin, Yang Sanlang Yang Si.
She tried to find more possibilities in life and tried to stay away from her parents. She gave up her marriage and lover. She thought of her cousin's misfortune and wanted to travel around the country. The first step was to meet Yang Si.
Yan Shang and Mu Wanyao agreed.
When Concubine Zhao Ling and her husband met at the gate of Chang'an, not only were the princess's carriage and servants extremely numerous, but Wei Shuli was standing on the city wall, watching her go.
Princess Zhao Lingfei was riding on her horse, and she looked back at Wei Shu. He was standing on the tall building, calm and peaceful, with a beautiful appearance.
Mu Wan raised the carriage curtain to look at Concubine Zhao Ling, smiling: "If you don't want to leave, then don't leave."
Zhao Lingfei came back to her senses, suppressed the emotion in her eyes, and proudly grasped the reins in her hand, saying: "Brother Juyuan has made an appointment with me! When the situation stabilizes and he can defeat my father, he will wait for me in Chang'an. Just because we can't be together now... doesn't mean we can't be together in the future!
"Brother Juyuan and I have made an agreement!"
Mu Wanyao smiled maliciously: "What's a verbal agreement? Agreements between people are nothing but empty words. Love can change in an instant. You left for another place, and Juyuan is alone in Chang'an facing the turmoil. He is used to seeing all the beautiful women in Chang'an. How could he not be moved? That's what men are like."
Concubine Zhao Ling said loudly: "Brother Juyuan is the snow on the top of the pagoda! He is different from all the men in the world... And even if Brother Juyuan changes his heart and falls in love with another girl, what does it matter? I will still bless him!"
Mu Wan was startled.
Zhao Lingfei, the proud girl, lowered her head, and her eyes were rarely gentle. Her eyes were sparkling, and she looked back again and again at the young man on the tower who was watching her go away, and she smiled sincerely, "As long as Brother Juyuan is doing well, I won't be unwilling."
Mu Wan bit her lip in hatred and was speechless for a moment.
She thought that if Yan Shang was happy but she was not by his side, she would definitely disrupt the situation. Yan Shang could be happy, but he had to be happy with her!
Sitting in the carriage together and watching the bickering between his wife and Concubine Zhao Lingfei for a long time, Yan Shang couldn't help but smile when he saw that Mu Wanyao actually lost the game. He reached out and patted Mu Wanyao's hand, signaling her not to care.
Ran Muwan turned back to look at Yan Shang's innocent face and suddenly became angry. He was too gentle, which made her look bad.
Mu Wanyao grabbed Yan Shang's hand and said, "Are you still thinking about Zhao Wu Niang, so you are not angry when she bullies me?"
Yan Shang: “…”
He was stunned: "When were you bullied?"
Mu Wan shook: "..."
He changed the point, so innocent, cunning and hateful... Why is a person who is so gentle so good at talking?
Mu Wanyao saw him laughing, and she couldn't help but laugh along with him. She was in high spirits, thinking that the two of them would be free from Chang'an from now on, and would be free and at ease, like a couple in heaven. In high spirits, Mu Wanyao shouted for the carriage to stop and wanted to take Yan Shang out: "Let's go ride with Concubine Zhao Ling!
"Wu Niang, let's compete to see who has better horsemanship!"
Yan Shang: "You two can compete, I'll just let it go..."
Mu Wan shook his head: "No! Second Brother Yan, let's ride on the same horse. Even if I bring you along, I can still beat Zhao Wu Niang!"
-----
On the vast plain, at first there were two horses riding together, and then more horses and young people joined in.
The moonlight was clear, and sparse shadows were cast. Yan Shang and Mu Wanyao rode together, while Zhao Lingfei rode alone.
Fang Tong and other guards followed behind, and Qiu Si and other maids also followed on horseback. The sound of horse hooves and the laughter and chatter of young men and women filled the road with fragrance.
The wind blows across the sky, and everything is bright. Young men and women ride on horses, their clothes fluttering, and they go south together, singing as they ride.
The song was high-pitched and unrestrained, and it was a poem written by the emperor in the Records of Heroes in Chang'an at that time:
“The sky covers me, the earth carries me, the sky and the earth gave birth to me without intention.
Either you starve to death and ascend to heaven, or you play the piano and travel to the imperial capital.
How can I not value it and not leave it? It's just a tall and handsome man.
A real man is a real man, with thousands of spirits and aspirations as his goal.
Please look at the events of a hundred years, and then you can sail on the five lakes in a small boat!"
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