Chapter 23 Chapter 23 "Your Majesty, you look at me like this, I...
Chen Feng admitted that he forced Liu Chang to commit suicide and then used his blood letter to slander Xu Qing'an.
But the reason was very simple. It was just because he felt that the people he worked with were "lucky ministers". He was so angry that he wanted to use Liu Chang's hand and the old events of Xining to get rid of the lucky ministers and restore the government.
When he committed suicide, his words were passionate and fearless, making him look like a persecuted pearl in the ocean.
This matter spread quickly in the court, and soon a group of officials submitted a memorial on the matter, implicitly discussing whether it was appropriate for the empress dowager to attend court.
After all, Prime Minister Su was able to assist in the administration because of Emperor Zhuang's will, and Emperor Zhao died suddenly without leaving a will. How could the empress dowager assist the country from behind the curtain just because the emperor was young?
Fortunately, the entire court had decided early in the morning to go to the Lishan Palace and take the discussion away from Chang'an City.
Influenced by recent remarks, Shangguan Xu had not appeared in the court for several days. After arriving at Mount Li, he took the little emperor on a hike to relax.
Xu Qing'an had recently gained the favor of the little emperor because of his shadow puppetry, so he also accompanied the emperor.
The weather has been good recently, and small flowers have begun to bloom in the mountains and forests around Mount Li. When the little emperor saw some on his way up the mountain, he kept chasing them all the way up.
Shangguan Xu walked slowly with Xu Qing'an behind.
"Lord Xu is really calm in the face of adversity. The rumors outside say that, but Lord Xu doesn't avoid the limelight and even dares to climb the mountain with me." During the climb, Shangguan Xu said lightly while looking at the little emperor in front of him.
The rumor she mentioned was of course the "lucky minister" mentioned in Chen Feng's suicide note. Not only did the Chen Feng affair affect her regency, but Xu Qing'an, the lucky minister mentioned in the letter, was now in the spotlight.
But Xu Qing'an deliberately asked, "What did you say?" He smiled and said, "The Queen said it was just a rumor. You can't just assume that everything someone says is true. So, should I still be alive?"
As he spoke, his expression changed again, and he said seriously, "People outside say that I am a lucky minister, but as the person involved, I know that my success today is entirely due to my talents and the trust of the Empress Dowager. I have never done anything opportunistic, so I don't take those rumors to heart."
Shangguan Xu turned and looked at him, her brows slightly raised and a hint of surprise in her eyes. He spoke so seriously, as if it was not him who expressed his love to her on the back mountain of Jingming Temple a few days ago.
She couldn't help but sigh with a mischievous smile, "Master Xu's skin is really... fair."
He nodded and smiled back quite comfortably, as if he hadn't noticed her sarcasm. "When I was younger, I didn't get enough sun."
——
The young emperor stopped at a relatively flat area ahead. When Shangguan Xu and the others arrived, he pointed at the mountain wall and asked, "Mother, why are there so many branches here?"
During normal times, except for the Lishan Palace, the mountains and forests around Lishan are open to the people. There are several cracks between different rocks on the mountain wall beside the mountain path where Shangguan Xu is walking now. The cracks are filled with upright branches, which must have been done by the people.
The little emperor continued to ask: "What effect does this have?"
Shangguan Xu stopped and looked in the direction he pointed, his eyes filled with reminiscence as he spoke, "I've heard before that some people believe that mountains have spirits, and so they believe that placing tree branches between the cracks in the rocks can draw on the power of the mountain spirit to protect the waist and body."
The little emperor nodded, then bent down to pick up a branch: "Then I will also hold one."
"Your Majesty!" The eunuch beside him stopped him in surprise. The little emperor stopped and looked over. He smiled again and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven. You don't need to do this."
The young emperor was puzzled: "Why? The emperor is also a human being, can't he also seek good luck?"
"Your Majesty is still young..."
"What the eunuch means is that Your Majesty is still young and has no waist yet, so there is no need to perform this ceremony to pray for a healthy waist." Shangguan Xu took over the conversation.
"No waist?" The little emperor was still puzzled and put his hand on his back. "Isn't it right..."
He glanced at the eunuch and then at Shangguan Xu. Seeing that they both looked certain, he turned back to ask Xu Qing'an, "Xu Qing, do children really not have waists?"
In recent days, Xu Qing'an told him many stories about shadow puppetry, and knowing that he was a double-prize winner, the little emperor also felt that he knew a lot.
Xu Qing'an looked down.
He lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then smiled. His gaze was clear and he said in a gentle voice, "Nothing will happen, nothing will happen, little one."
In an instant, Shangguan Xu's expression fell completely, and he stared at the kind young man in front of him.
I remember that year, he said something similar to her -
"Brother Prince, why do adults always say that kids our age don't have waists?"
In the room, the crown prince of a country sat in front of the desk, shining with aura, dignified and elegant.
He pondered carefully for a moment, then smiled gently, answering, "Perhaps it's because the word 'waist' sounds the same as 'yao' (meaning premature death). A child without a waist is likely to be healthy and not premature. The elders probably say this because they hope we all grow up safely and without worries."
——
When she was young, Shangguan Xu's character was not very quiet. Compared with other ladies from scholarly families, she was not as calm as them, and her behavior was more unrestrained.
Her first meeting with him ended with his words "Would you like to read a book together for a while?", and their second meeting also began when he came to Shangguan Mansion to ask about the scriptures.
The young prince was walking along the corridor when he accidentally caught a glimpse of a girl standing under a big tree in the corner of the courtyard, who seemed to be eager to climb the tree.
"Sister Ah Xu?"
A gentle and familiar voice sounded behind him. Shangguan Xu paused and slowly turned around.
"Your Highness!"
She was surprised at the identity of the visitor and hurriedly prepared to salute, but she was holding something in her hand and her posture was not standard.
Zhou Jingzhi didn't mind. Instead, seeing that she was inconvenient, he quickly reached out to support her and told her not to be so polite.
"Sister Axu... do you want to climb a tree?" He remembered her actions just now and carefully expressed his guess.
But Shangguan Xu said frankly: "Yes."
She showed him what she was holding in her palm: "We need to send it home."
The girl's clothes were slightly dirty, but under the sunlight, her expression was extremely lively.
So bright.
Zhou Jingzhi lowered his eyes, hiding his smile, and saw that in her palm was a little bird that looked like it had just hatched.
He looked up and saw a bird's nest at the top of the tree.
However, the trees were so tall that he couldn't help but advise, "Climbing along the branches is really dangerous. Sister Ah Xu, why don't you ask someone to find a ladder?"
Shangguan Xu pursed his lips.
That day, they waited together under the tree, waiting for someone to bring a wooden ladder to take the bird back.
This delayed his time to ask the scriptures, and when Shangguan Li came over, he finally understood why she was here alone before -
She sneaked out of the room.
Shangguan Li came out to look for the prince because he saw that he had not been to the study for a long time, but he didn't expect to catch Shangguan Xu who was supposed to be studying in the room.
"Hehe." Shangguan Xu laughed awkwardly twice, then looked away guiltily. "I only came out after finishing my reading. You can't force me to sit for the full time just because I read quickly, right?"
Shangguan Li was helpless: "Reviewing the old will help you learn the new. If you only read books without reviewing them, how much of the profound meaning of the books can you learn?"
Shangguan Xu whispered, "He can review his lessons quickly."
Seeing Shangguan Li approaching, she thought he was coming to arrest her, so she quickly took a step back and complained, "It's boring to read alone in a room. I can't go to Hongwenguan like my big brother and study with so many people."
Shangguan Li was stunned. He didn't expect her to say this: "Then I'll take you to Hongwenguan?"
"No." Shangguan Xu just made up an excuse. How could he just go? "The age difference between you and me is too big. I can't keep up with you in school."
"Who do you want to join you?"
"His Royal Highness is very good."
Shangguan Xu suddenly said something shocking, and everyone present was stunned and shocked.
But she suddenly raised her head and glanced at the young man standing beside her.
Zhou Jingzhi happened to meet that glance, his face instantly turned red with embarrassment, and he lowered his eyes hurriedly.
Shangguan Li hurriedly tried to make amends, "How could you ask His Highness to study with you?"
Shangguan Xu raised her eyebrows. Of course she knew that she couldn't do that, otherwise why would she say that?
But the boy standing there, with his ears flushed, said softly: "Of course, it's great to be able to study with sister Ah Xu."
ah?
The argument stopped, and the Shangguan siblings were both surprised.
…
Later, when he came, she always studied with him. At first, she always felt that it was a shackle, but gradually she felt happy with it.
Although he was only less than two years older than her, he was much calmer than her. He didn't like to talk while reading, so she sat quietly beside him, looking up at him from time to time.
A gentleman is like jade and bamboo. What was written in the book was actually seen in reality. Unconsciously, she began to think that reading was a good thing.
From that day on, she followed his suggestion and stopped calling him "Your Highness the Crown Prince" and started calling him "Brother Crown Prince".
The prince was gentle, knowledgeable, and always had a faint orchid fragrance on his body. When he sat there quietly, she would sometimes be in a trance and think that he was a saint. In short, she liked being with him very much.
In her heart, he always knew a lot, so she would often ask him questions, no matter whether it was a difficult point in the book or the origin of some slang, he would patiently explain it to her, such as "Why do children have no waists".
——
Shangguan Xu stared at Xu Qing'an who was still talking to the little emperor.
The emperor asked a few more questions, and Xu Qing'an answered them all with a gentle and patient smile. At this time, Shangguan Xu did not see a trace of gloom in him, as if he was not the one who had carried out those conspiracies before.
You might even wonder, how could such a person do those things?
The little emperor led his men up the mountain again. Xu Qing'an stood up and looked at him with a smile on his face. In a blink of an eye, his eyes swept across Shangguan Xu's face.
He paused for a moment, then raised the corners of his lips even higher: "Your Majesty, is there something on my face when you look at me like this?"
As if remembering her words praising his fair skin, he hurriedly wiped his face with his fingers, as if he was really worried that something was stuck on his face.
Shangguan Xu smiled and came back to his senses: "No, I just realized that Master Xu knows a lot."
Xu Qing'an smiled faintly: "I think it's because when I was studying, I always couldn't control myself and loved to read some miscellaneous essays and anecdotes, so now I can say a few words."
"I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Madam."
Shangguan Xu ignored his words at first, turned around and winked at Qinghe, and saw Qinghe and all the palace servants behind her going upstairs.
The mountain wall next to it was slightly slanted, and there was an empty area with grass and trees growing on it, like a shallow cave. Shangguan Xu walked a few steps inside.
Xu Qing'an followed behind.
Everyone left, and the mountainside became quiet and peaceful.
Shangguan Xu turned around and looked at the person behind her again, but she suddenly changed the subject and asked, "How are you going to deal with the recent events in the court?"
Xu Qing'an raised his eyes and looked at her. Under the cliff, the light was not as bright as outside, and the shadows under the eyelashes were more obvious, but his eyes were still bright. He clasped his hands together and hung them in front of him, with a slight smile on his face.
——
When he was young, he loved reading. He would find and study anything from ancient books of sages to essays written by Jinshi scholars, as long as it was related to governing the country and improving oneself.
Later, when he was studying with her in Shangguan Mansion, he found that he also needed to read some books related to folk customs. Although his original purpose was to answer some of her wild questions, she also reminded him that as the crown prince, he also needed to be close to the people, think what the people thought, and know what the people wanted.
That day, he was reading the essays of the newly-minted Jinshi, but he couldn't help but secretly look up at her from time to time. Sure enough, when he looked up one of the times, he saw her looking at him.
His eyelashes trembled and he lowered his head in panic.
But she didn't actually notice he was looking at her.
She stood up and left her seat, walking towards him.
"Brother Crown Prince..."
A soft voice sounded beside his ear, and the boy raised his head as if nothing had happened.
In fact, he originally wanted her to call him "Brother Jingzhi" and call him "Sister Axu", but the prince's name could not be easily addressed by others, and he was worried that the intimate address would offend her, so he gave up for the time being.
He turned sideways and asked softly, "What's wrong? Sister Xu."
"Hmm..." The girl pursed her lips and glanced at the book on his desk. "Is the article written by the Jinshi scholar, my prince?"
He nodded with a smile. "The Spring Examination has just passed, and several excellent essays have appeared this year. I borrowed a transcribed copy to study. Some of the knowledge in the book is obscure and profound, but the essays of the Jinshi candidates usually make use of this knowledge and interpret it in the form of policy essays, which allows me to better understand it."
"Oh..." The girl nodded, not quite understanding.
In fact, he wanted to ask if she wanted to watch and study with her, but when he remembered the first time they met, he scared her away because of this sentence, so he didn't dare to ask again.
She had her own plans for coming here, and seeing that he wasn't busy at the moment, she asked, "Brother Crown Prince, why do adults always say that kids our age don't have waists?"
He was slightly stunned, then he understood her intention and smiled.
…
No death, no death, no child will die.
The words just now and the previous scenes replayed in Xu Qing'an's mind.
He blinked and lowered his eyes for a moment.
"The current situation in the court is indeed unfavorable for Your Majesty," he began to answer her, "so Your Majesty's top priority is to find a way to reverse the situation as soon as possible."
Shangguan Xu thought he was about to tell her his next plan, but when he looked at her, the corners of his lips suddenly curled up, and his peach blossom eyes smiled, with a hint of teasing and malice in his eyes.
The shadows cast by the surroundings fell behind the young man.
"Then, Your Majesty," he said, his tone still gentle, "given the current situation, it is up to me... to negotiate the terms."
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