Bright Spring

When Cao Fu heard this, his face changed and he said: "Our family is kind, and we wanted you to enjoy wealth and honor. Fortunately, you have ulterior motives and almost brought a lot of people into trouble."

He said it was a few years ago.The thing is probably that Chen Xianzhen was sent to the capital from the Annan Governor's Mansion; but because Ruan Jingyi, who surrendered, was framed by Chen Xianzhen and became angry from embarrassment. There are contacts.

Therefore, Chen Xianzhen was suspected of approaching the emperor to plot evil.And because Zhang Fu (Chen Xianzhen presented by Zhang Fu) was involved in the matter, the emperor didn't go into details, and he didn't even convict him, so he directly sent Chen Xianzhen to Fengyang.

Chen Xianzhen shook his head and said, "I'm going to be imprisoned here for the rest of my life. If Eunuch Cao really thinks that it's all my fault, why would he still want to talk to me today?"

Cao Fu was actually stopped by the question, and stood there speechless.He could only shake his head and said: "You woman, you are full of lies. If you really had ulterior motives back then, would you have done it yourself?"

He thought that Chen Xianzhen was going to explain what happened back then, but Chen Xianzhen's answer surprised him: "How many women Eunuch Cao has seen who don't lie?"

Cao Fu glanced at her and said, "The emperor is the sage of the Ming Dynasty, and the hearts of billions of people in the world are bound by it. No matter whether there is evidence or not, as long as there is even the slightest disadvantage to the emperor, you can't get close to the emperor."

"Really?" Chen Xianzhen looked at Cao Fudao, "Aren't you selfish? At the time, Empress Dowager Chen provoke|separated and caused me to offend Eunuch Cao. Eunuch Cao didn't speak ill of me?"

Cao Fu immediately clasped his fists and said, "The slaves are loyal to the emperor, how can they have any selfishness?"

The two were talking unhappily, but Chen Xianzhen suddenly stopped arguing with Cao Fu, took a breath, and sighed: "I don't hate the emperor now, Li Li, Ruan Jian and others are dead, I am a woman What else can I do?"

Cao Fu ignored her showing weakness, and still said with a fierce expression: "You harbor evil in your heart. If the emperor is not benevolent, such a person would have been executed by Ling Chi long ago, exterminating the nine clans! You still don't know what to do, dare to hate the emperor?"

Chen Xianzhen was still not annoyed, and sighed again: "This place is really like a tomb, it makes people crazy, and I don't know how I survived for so many years."

Cao Fu scolded a few words, but also felt it was boring, and said: "Since the emperor won't kill you. If you beg our family, we can help you find a way to let you go back to Annan Kingdom, and we will settle the matter."

"Go back to Annan Country?" Chen Xianzhen looked at Cao Fu with strange eyes.

Cao Fu also looked confused: "Aren't you not used to living in Fengyang?"

Chen Xianzhen frowned and said: "The Empress Dowager Chen hates me to death, she is now in charge of the power of Annan Kingdom. My house was also copied by her, how will I live when I go back?"

Cao Fu recalled for a while, and said: "Your house was not copied by the Queen Mother Chen, but by local tyrants in An Nanguo. They saw that your house was in danger, so they took advantage of the fire to make a fortune. The Queen Mother Chen wrote about this in her own handwriting. How dare she deceive the king?" ?”

"Oh." Chen Xianzhen sat down on a stool, with a dejected expression on his head, as if he was thinking about something.

When Cao Fu saw this, he said a good word: "The imperial city of Zhongdu is raised by the royal family, and there is no shortage of food and clothing no matter what. It is better than those who are hungry."

Seeing that Chen Xianzhen was still sitting there depressed, he said again, "We have other things to do at home, so I'm leaving. Since you don't want to go back to the country, just stay here and don't come near this place. Jin Yiwei will guard you."

Cao Fu walked to the door and suddenly heard Chen Xianzhen's voice asking: "I offended Eunuch Cao, don't you hold grudges?"

Cao Fu turned his head and glanced at her, only to feel that this woman is also quite miserable, so he said, "Although our family is an eunuch, we are not as stingy as a woman. Why bother with you?"

After he finished speaking, he went straight out, thinking: There is no difference between the Imperial City of Central Capital and the Leng Palace. Once people are sent here, they will spend their entire lives here.Except for a very few who were rescued by big figures in the capital, such as Ma Enhui.Therefore, for those who live here, grievances are no longer important.

Besides, the incident they mentioned just now, looking back after a few years, is just a trivial matter.The main reason was that Chen Xianzhen was disobedient. At that time, Chen Xianzhen had an affair with the Queen Mother Annan. Cao Fu knew that the emperor valued the Queen Mother Chen, so he favored the Queen Mother, so he quarreled with Chen Xianzhen once, and the quarrel was very stiff.

So after Cao Fu left, he quickly forgot what happened to Chen Xian.

After the unitary hour, the emperor, the imperial concubine, the concubine Xian, etc. had dinner in the palace, and Cao Fu devoted all his attention to this matter.He didn't go into the dining room either, he just guarded in the cubicle, watching a row of old eunuchs and court ladies trying to see if they swallowed it.After a while everything was fine, Cao Fu waved his sleeves and asked the maids to bring the dishes in.

The conditions here are still not as good as those in the Imperial Palace in the capital. For a while, I couldn't find anyone who could play the piano to add to the fun, and the cook who cooked the dishes was also very ordinary.After all the dishes were delivered, Cao Fu left the palace and went to eat by himself in the gallery next to him.

After nightfall, the surrounding lampstands were lit one after another.However, Cao Fu guessed that he would not normally light so many lamps.He walked to the gate of the palace and asked a maid who came out: "Has the emperor gone to bed?"

Holding a basin, the maid hurriedly knelt and said, "Eunuch Cao, Your Majesty is still writing."

Cao Fu nodded and said, "Go."

At this moment, there was a sound of strings from somewhere in the west.The sound is a bit far away, but it's very quiet here after nightfall, so the strings can be heard clearly.

Cao Fu was looking for someone to ask, who is so bold, playing music here in the dark to disturb Sheng Jia.Unexpectedly, the emperor came out and asked this sentence first, "Who is playing the pipa?"

"My maidservant, go immediately and drag that man out." Cao Fu bent down and said.

At this time, the man playing the pipa sang, "Seeing off the guests at night on the Xunyang River, the maple leaves and the flowers are rustling in autumn. The master dismounts and the guest is in the boat. He wants to drink without an orchestra. If you don't get drunk, you will bid farewell. The farewell time is vast The river soaked in the moon. Suddenly heard the sound of the pipa on the water, the master forgot to return to the guest and did not send out. Looking for the sound and secretly asking who was playing it? The sound of the pipa stopped and it was too late to speak..."

When Cao Fu heard the voice, his face became quite ugly.Because he recognized the voice, it was Chen Xianzhen who was singing.He should have known a long time ago that Chen Xianzhen never listened to him before, he liked to make his own opinions and was very courageous.

During the day, when Cao Fu said, "Anyone who is a little bit unfavorable to the emperor can't get close to the emperor", Chen Xianzhen asked, right?At that time, Cao Fu thought it was a bit strange, but he didn't pay attention.It wasn't until now that Cao Fu suddenly realized that Chen Xianzhen had already thought of a way.

9 Chapter Twenty

"Chen Xianzhen's voice." The eunuch Cao Fu looked embarrassed and timid. "Before You Shi, the servant had seen her once."

Zhu Gaoxu glanced at him, didn't say anything, and then walked forward following the trembling sound of the pipa and the singing of the woman in the cool air.Cao Fu immediately called out to several captains of Jinyiwei who were on duty nearby, and followed Zhu Gaoxu.

Among the gloomy houses on the top of the mountain, the lanterns emit a pale light, which becomes dimmer as you go.Only the sound of playing and singing added a bit of life to the silent night.

Zhu Gaoxu had never heard this song before, but the lyrics were from the original text of "Pipa Xing", so he was very familiar with it.

Zhu Gaoxu had almost forgotten about Chen Xianzhen, whom he hadn't seen for several years; now that he sang a poem by Bai Juyi, Zhu Gaoxu immediately understood Chen Xianzhen's mood before meeting him, and he understood Chen Xianzhen deeply, which seemed a bit magical.

Several people came outside a gallery house.Seeing that the door was open and the lights were on inside, Zhu Gaoxu confirmed that the sound came from this room.The poem played and sung by Chen Xianzhen is a long narrative poem.The libretto at this time is very slow, and the words are correct and round, so the song has not been sung yet.

Zhu Gaoxu raised his hand and gestured for his followers to stop.Cao Fu hurriedly said: "My lord..." Zhu Gaoxu interrupted him: "It's all right."

Stepping through the threshold, Zhu Gaoxu immediately saw a woman sitting on a chair with a pipa in her arms, playing and singing there. The woman was Chen Xianzhen.

Or there is a lack of cleaning here, and there is a faint smell of dust in the air, which makes people feel more deserted; it seems to be in line with the poem "there are few saddle horses in front of the door".Only Chen Xianzhen's appearance was very lively, and there were occasional words that were not pronounced correctly, but it was unique to sing from An Nan's mouth.

Of course, Chen Xianzhen also saw Zhu Gaoxu, and kept his eyes on him, not leaving for a moment.Leaning her face against the pipa, she made subtle movements following the images in the lyrics, and her eyes seemed to change with the meaning of the lyrics.This situation is a bit weird, the person she is looking at is Zhu Gaoxu, but what she is singing is an ancient poem, as if she is pouring out the emotions in the poem to Zhu Gaoxu.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't speak, because the song hasn't finished yet.After he approached, he found a stool and sat on the other side of the wooden table to listen.

After the song, Chen Xianzhen got up holding the pipa, stepped forward and made a blessing, then raised his eyes and said: "Your Majesty is finally here."

"Excuse me, sit down." Zhu Gaoxu replied.Seeing that Chen Xianzhen was wearing a Hanfu jacket and skirt, standing up made Zhu Gaoxu feel that she was indeed a bit short, but her waist was slender, but her chest was full.The hair and skin are no different from those of the Han people, the skin is very delicate, and the difference in facial features may be in the cheekbones and eyes.

Chen Xianzhen returned to the stool and took a seat.The two of them were silent for a while, separated by a lamp.

The melody had stopped, Zhu Gaoxu took the initiative to break the silence, and said: "When Bai Juyi wrote this poem, he was just dismissed from the capital. He is an ambitious person who advocates restricting the layout of feudal towns. Such political views are really beneficial to the revival of the Tang Dynasty, but This will undoubtedly offend the spokesperson of the feudal town forces in the capital."

Chen Xianzhen still stared at him and nodded slightly.

Zhu Gaoxu turned his head and said: "So many dignitaries in the Tang Dynasty, civil and military, don't know that the feudal towns endanger the country? I guess they all know that, like a mirror in their stomachs, it's just that they can't let go of their own interests. No matter how the sages teach, it doesn't matter. No matter how the world praises people of noble character, it still can't stop people from seeking profit, the situation of warlords has already been established, and a few sober people can't change anything at all."

Chen Xianzhen thought for a while, and asked: "Your Majesty's implication is that Wang Lili was pacified for his own self-interest, and many Annan people were kidnapped?"

"Otherwise?" Zhu Gaoxu asked resolutely.

Chen Xianzhen said: "He said it was for the people of Dayue and not to be enslaved by the Ming Dynasty. His intentions are very sincere. The Ming Dynasty invaded our country and wanted to annex Annan."

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Even if Annan Kingdom is annexed by Ming Dynasty, what difference does it make to the people of Annan? Before the power of the Central Plains Dynasty reached Annan Kingdom, there was no civilization at all, just like the savages in the mountains to the west of you. Annan Kingdom came from the Central Plains civilization. Evolved, no matter who rules, nothing about the common people will change."

Chen Xianzhen frowned and shook his head lightly.

"Otherwise, how could you play and sing this song "Pipa Xing" and make me understand such a complicated state of mind?" Zhu Gaoxu said again: "Now the imperial court does not want to annex Annan. A Ming army is not very suitable for the terrain and climate. The cost of the public security war in the month is too high, and the gain outweighs the loss. Second, because the local terrain and climate are unfavorable, and it is far away from the center, it is inconvenient for the central government to govern the Annan Kingdom, and it is often ruled by tyrants; there are always local tyrants, according to history Based on his experience, he believed that this was an opportunity to realize his ambitions. As long as Annan Kingdom had no king, rebellions would inevitably follow one after another.