Spring of the second year of Jingming.
Gu Jiu moved from the Prince of Qin's Mansion into the Imperial Palace.
Liu Zhao personally named the newly built palace "Chang'an Palace".
Chang'an Palace was built entirely according to Gu Jiu's ideas, breaking away from the solemn, dignified and depressing style of previous palaces.
There are pavilions, towers, small bridges and flowing water, and colorful flowers...
There are comfortable and warm bedrooms, spacious and bright living rooms, a study with rows of bookshelves, and a signing room next to the study used as an office.
There are side halls for children to rest, as well as houses for palace servants to live in.
It has its own kitchenette and even a vegetable patch in the corner of the garden.
Once the gate of Chang'an Palace is closed, there will be a completely independent space inside.
Since Gu Jiu moved into Chang'an Palace, Liu Zhao has been coming here every day.
Not only did he live there at night, but he also stayed in the study in Chang'an Palace during the day to handle government affairs.
Gu Jiu thought he was occupying his seat and wanted to kick him out.
He refused to leave.
"You are comfortable here, and the chairs are comfortable to sit on."
"You can exchange the chair in Xingqing Palace for another one."
"That won't do! I like you here."
Gu Jiu rolled his eyes and ordered the palace servants to clean up a room to be used as Liu Zhao's study.
The two study rooms are next to each other, separated by a door.
In this way, Liu Zhao could not only handle government affairs in Chang'an Palace, but also summon court officials.
The emperor and empress do not interfere with each other, but are connected to each other.
The court officials turned a blind eye to Liu Zhao's willful behavior.
It's just a change of palace to work. Compared with the willful behavior in the past, this is nothing and can be tolerated.
The court officials could tolerate the emperor, but they could never tolerate the willful behavior of Chengping Earl Gu Ting.
As a son, he didn't observe filial piety when an elderly person in his family passed away.
This is a great act of treason, disrespect for the king and father, and a violation of moral principles.
Such a person should be hung on the pillar of shame and nailed to death.
Stepmother?
Stepson?
Is the relationship between mother and son not harmonious?
hehe!
No matter what their relationship is, no matter whether there is affection or not, as long as they are mother and son in name, Gu Ting has to wear mourning clothes.
This is the moral code and the secular standard, and no one is an exception.
You think you can do whatever you want just because you are the Queen's brother? You're dreaming!
The emperor's consent doesn't count.
We have to ask whether the court agrees.
The censors swarmed over and surrounded Gu Ting like flies smelling rotten eggs.
Everyone rolled up their sleeves and worked hard. Memorials impeaching Gu Ting flew into the court like snowflakes and landed on the desk of Emperor Liu Zhao.
The censors scolded Gu Ting thoroughly from head to toe in their memorials.
Looking at the sharp words of the censors, Gu Ting is no longer a human being, but a beast.
Not only were the censors excited about the impeachment, but officials from various government offices and local officials also joined in the fun, submitting a petition to the emperor requesting that Gu Ting be severely punished in order to restore order in the court.
As a first-class earl in the imperial court, he was short of military generals of the second rank and actually went against secular ethics.
If one doesn't observe mourning for his stepmother just because of an old grudge, the world will be in chaos if this precedent is set.
How did the Great Zhou rely on to govern the world?
It depends on the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues, and it depends on filial piety.
The court officials are taking the lead in behaving like beasts rather than human beings. What is the point of keeping such people around if we don't punish them severely?
Do I have to stay and set a bad example to the world?
The court officials criticized it and the public was outraged.
Someone in the newspaper was trying to lead the conversation and implicitly criticized Gu Ting without naming him.
Don't take advantage of the Queen's support and do whatever you want.
Everyone can't do anything to the emperor and empress, so how can they not deal with a reckless military general like you?
Don't underestimate the fighting ability of court officials.
This turmoil in the court was not worth mentioning to Liu Zhao and Gu Jiu, who had experienced all kinds of intrigues and storms.
But for Gu Ting, who had never experienced the bloody battles and political struggles in the court, his blood had run cold.
He roared like a trapped animal.
He wanted to fight with real weapons and end it all.
But the tricks he knew and the tactics he learned to kill the enemy on the battlefield were useless in the court.
In the past, he had only fought in battles with real swords and guns, and had never seen a pen-and-paper official kill someone. And the killing was not bloodless, but every word was heartbreaking and life-threatening.
Pei Man advised him, "Don't pay attention to the rumors outside. Those imperial censors specialize in this. If you take it seriously, you will fall into their trap. The Empress said it's just a minor incident and you don't need to worry about it."
How could Gu Ting not care?
"If I don't observe mourning for Xie, does that make me a beast? Xie indirectly killed my mother, so what?"
"They are all talking nonsense. They don't understand the real situation at all. Don't be angry."
How could he not be angry? He was about to explode with anger.
"I've never hated the capital, the court, and those censors as much as I do today. In the past, I couldn't understand why the Marquis of Lu always refused to return to the capital and was so critical of the court officials. Now I understand: the court is the execution ground, the censors are the executioners, and the court officials are the overseers. I'm a military officer who's nothing but an eyesore, and they treat me like the murderer of their father. If the Marquis of Lu returns to the capital, I'm afraid I'll be ground to dust before those censors stop."
Pei Man sighed, "You are the Queen's biological brother. In the eyes of the court officials, you are the biggest target."
Gu Ting smiled coldly, "I will never compromise."
I would rather die than wear mourning for Mrs. Xie.
No matter how the court officials impeached him, he would never back down.
In order to draw a clear line between them, Gu Ting even moved his family into the new house that Gu Jiu bought for him.
Even the "Chengping Bo" door plaque bestowed by the court was moved to the door of his new house and hung there.
As for the Gu Mansion, he would not set foot there unless necessary.
Because of this incident, the censor was like a chicken with its blood pumped up, and he kept biting him every day.
If there was no memorial impeaching Gu Ting one day, everyone would feel like something was missing and would not be used to it.
Gu Cheng came to Gu Ting's house several times to talk to him.
Gu Ting told the truth, "I have no prejudice against you, but I'm sorry I can't mourn for your mother."
Gu Cheng smiled bitterly, "I understand everything. Both father and mother have wronged you. However, there is so much criticism from the court. Aren't you worried about your future? Just pretend to be well. You don't have to observe mourning in private."
Gu Ting shook his head and refused firmly, "You don't need to persuade me, I have made up my mind."
Gu Cheng sighed, "Never mind. I won't force you. Gu Gong has a lot of complaints about me and has stayed in the northwest, refusing to return to Beijing. He wrote back saying he's in mourning in the northwest, and that all matters related to the funeral in Beijing are entirely up to me. I really can't do anything about him."
Gu Ting said: "He is in the army, and he can take expedient measures in extraordinary times."
For a moment, Gu Ting felt a little regretful. If he had known these things would happen, he would have stayed in the northwest and not come back.
Of course, he also knew that this was impossible.
As a member of the Gu family and the Queen's biological brother, he could not continue to stay in the Northwest Army under any circumstances.
Gu Yan was very distressed.
After receiving the letter of death from the capital, he completed the handover of government affairs in the shortest time possible, and then took his wife and children back to the capital by car.
No matter how hard they tried, they arrived in the capital in mid-February of the second year of Jingming.
After returning to the capital, he was busy arranging the funeral, holding a Taoist ceremony, and burying Xie in the Gu family's ancestral tomb.
After finishing everything, I was exhausted.
It happened that the censor targeted the Gu family, Gu Ting was impeached, and life became difficult for the entire Gu family.
Gu Gong refused to return to the capital to observe mourning and stayed in the army, which naturally led to criticism.
However, in the eyes of the censor, Gu Gong was just a small fry and there was no need to waste ink and paper on him.
Gu Ting is the big fish in their eyes.
"Gu Gong refuses to return to Beijing. I guess he doesn't want to see me." Gu Yan thought very clearly.
Gu Gong had a grudge against him, and this grudge had not gone away for many years.
Gu Ting asked casually, "Do you want to see him?"
Gu Cheng nodded. "Of course I want to see him. I want to know how he's been doing these past few years. He's already grown up, and he still hasn't gotten married. He can't be a bachelor forever. If he's willing to return to the capital, after he finishes his mourning, I'll ask my wife to find him a marriage partner. But if he doesn't come back, I can't do anything about it."
Gu Ting said with a cold face, "That home is not worth going back to."
At this moment, he understood Gu Gong's thoughts.
Gu Cheng's expression was tangled and painful. "No matter how bad that family is, it's still a family. As a son, how can I complain about my family?"
Gu Ting stared at Gu Cheng coldly. He just disliked him, so what.
Gu Cheng was helpless. "I finally understand. Everyone in my family has a bad temper. Only I am willing to control my temper and talk to everyone in a nice way."
That's not wrong.
The children of the Gu family all have bad tempers.
Gu Cheng held back too much to say, and he naggled on, "Gu Shan still blames me, saying that I was too harsh on Mother. She never thought about who I was doing this for. Gu Yue bullied her so much, and Mother blindly protected Gu Yue. If I hadn't taken away Mother's housekeeper power, with Gu Yue instigating things from the side, I don't know how much more trouble would have arisen. Now that she's dead, we remember her good points and forget her bad ones. When we think of her good points, she starts blaming me and my wife. Human nature is truly unbearable."
Gu Ting didn't say anything and just listened to him nagging.
Gu Yan could get drunk just by drinking tea, and he talked a lot of nonsense.
"...The years I spent as an official in the remote area were the happiest years of my life. Returning to the capital, I felt like a completely different person. I put on a smile everywhere, and was always cautious."
"I really envy you. You said you won't observe mourning, and you won't compromise at all. I don't have your confidence or your courage."
"I don't blame you for not observing mourning. Honestly, I don't blame you at all. You're a person who values ​​friendship and loyalty. If someone treats you well, you'll repay them double. But she never treated you well, so of course you don't have to observe mourning for her."
"I was actually relieved when she died. I am the real unfilial son."
"When the storm is over, I will close the door and study, and cultivate my character."
"The people guarding father were all sent by the palace. They are very good, very good."
"Why don't you say something? I'm pouring out my heart to you, and you don't even react?"
Gu Ting remained silent.
Gu Cheng was so sad and aggrieved that he simply stayed in the Marquis of Chengping's mansion and refused to leave.
After a long time, he heard Gu Ting speak.
"The capital is becoming increasingly unfamiliar to me. Born on the battlefield, I will die on the battlefield. I already know what I should do."
Gu Cheng suddenly woke up and said, "Don't do anything stupid!"
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