[Three Kingdoms] Carnival

Everyone in the palace knows that Empress Fu loves to admire flowers very much. Among all the flowers, chrysanthemums are unique to her. The garden behind the Changqiu Palace is full of autumn chrysanthemums. Floating clouds cover the sun, and the garden is full of chrysanthemums, which is the most pleasing to the eye.

The white chrysanthemums are beautiful and elegant, the yellow chrysanthemums are brilliant and eye-catching, and the pink chrysanthemums are as beautiful as the clouds... However, even if the garden is colorful, it is still no match for the flower lovers.The beauties in the garden have already been well-dressed, with high buns and jade hairpins, seductive eyes and black eyebrows, slender waists and lotus steps, smiles on their red lips, and their voices are like a warbler's cry.

They were all invited by Empress Fu to attend the Chrysanthemum Appreciation Banquet.Fuhou doesn't like extravagance and noise, so he rarely holds banquets in the palace. Only this autumn chrysanthemum banquet is a must every year, so the wives who want something will definitely not let it go Chance.

"I wish the empress a happy life."

After saluting, he bowed his back and waved his hands, saying that there is no need to be restrained in today's small banquet, and after exchanging a few words with the ladies beside him, he went to the small pavilion in the garden to rest for a while.There were already people in the pavilion at this time, and seeing Fuhou approaching from a distance, he immediately got up, and as soon as Fuhou Xiubu stepped into the pavilion, there were already many people bowing down, without losing a trace of etiquette.

"Ma'am, get up, I have already said it, it's just a small banquet, there is no need to be so formal."

"Even so, etiquette cannot be discarded, I hope your empress will understand."

Fu Hou deliberately showed kindness, but Bian must abide by the etiquette of being a concubine, and after blessing deeply, he followed Fu Hou's gesture and returned to his original position to sit down.After a confrontation, the two were evenly matched, and neither of them could make any progress.

This is just the beginning.

This day Liu Bei got up late in the morning, staying in the vegetable field and tossing the newly planted crops, it was already three poles in the sun.At this time, a voice came from outside the small courtyard, he greeted him, it was the messenger of Sikong Mansion.

"Uncle Liu Huang." The envoy saluted and said, "Cao Sikong invites you to gather at Sikong Mansion now."

"Cao Sikong invited me, but Bei didn't dare to shirk." Liu Bei responded, looked at the mud on his hands again, and apologized, "Just, please wait for a while, and wait for Bei to get rid of the mud and change into clothes before going. Banquet, so as not to get dirty..."

"Uncle Liu Huang." The envoy emphasized his tone, "Cao Sikong said, 'now'."

Liu Bei's face froze, so he had to use the clear water in the wooden bucket beside the vegetable field to wash his hands. He didn't even have time to change his clothes, let alone hand over to his two younger brothers. carriage.

People are swordsmen, I am fish and meat, and there is no room for resistance.

The last time he came to Sikong Mansion was a year ago for Liu Bei, and he only went to the parliament pavilion in the front yard.Now that the servants are leading the way, I realize that this backyard is really something special.Although all the items used along the way are ordinary items, they are not inferior to those next to them after careful arrangement.After a while, when they came to the back garden, the servant stepped aside and asked Liu Bei to go forward alone.Liu Bei looked at the small path paved with bluestones in front of him, leading directly to Yating not far away.The faint aroma of wine mixed with the aroma of plums came with the wind. The cook scooped up a ladle, and suddenly felt something, and suddenly turned his head, shaking the ladle of wine to Liu Bei.

With phoenix eyes and sword eyebrows, and a black robe, the person who cooks the wine is not Cao Cao and Cao Mengde, who else could it be?

Liu Bei nodded with a smile, strode over, saluted and sat down opposite Cao Cao.When the wine ladle was poured, the wine cup in front of him was full.

The two toasted to each other through the boiling green plum wine, and they did it together as a respect.

Sending the palace lady to bring tea and food, she leaned back and raised her hand, her bright wrist and blue ring swayed lightly: "My lady is alone in the palace for the first time, and I don't know what my lady likes, so I roughly asked the palace servants to bring some. .”

It has been nearly five years since the Han Palace in Xudu, whenever there is a banquet, the female relatives of all parties have to dress up to attend.It is obviously not the first time Madam Cao has entered the palace, but for the Bian family, it is indeed the case, because she has only been a "Madam Cao" for a few months.

Even if the other female relatives were hesitant about saying this, they were forced to avoid it due to their power.But Fuhou said it in a half-concealed way. I don't know if this sentence was intentional or unintentional.

However, no matter intentionally or not, there is a difference between monarch and minister, Bian can only laugh it off, pretending it was unintentional: "Your Majesty, you are being polite, my concubine's background is low, so there is nothing I like or dislike." As he spoke, he picked up a piece of shortbread with his slender fingers, Bite the white teeth lightly, "Crispy and fragrant, the food in the empress's palace is really delicious."

Fu Hou smiled and said little, but the maid beside her interrupted at the right time: "My lady doesn't know, this chrysanthemum cake is made by the empress herself, using morning dew and unbloomed autumn chrysanthemums. It is the fragrance that is locked in the crisp."

"Xi Qiu!" Fu Hou paused, and said modestly to Mrs. Bian, "Lonely idle in the palace with nothing to do, doing it casually, the craftsmanship is crude, not comparable to that of the Sikong Mansion."

"Your Majesty, you are joking. Cao Sikong doesn't like sweets, and my concubine is very clumsy. How can she compare with those in the palace." Bian's eyes turned slightly, and she looked at Fuhou with a soft light, and she sighed inadvertently, " Those in the palace are naturally the best."

Plum wine enters the throat, leading to three points of drunkenness.

"Gu invited Xuande to come to the house today, and there is nothing else. But this year, the green plums are ripe early, and it just so happens that Gu has a new ancient method, and there is a good recipe for cooking wine. No, Gu cooked this according to the recipe. Green plum wine, Xuande is invited to taste it with Gu Yi. Come, Xuande have a taste, and see Gu's wine, how is it?"

Liu Bei picked up the wine cup in trepidation, and Ren Cao Cao scooped up another ladle of green plum wine for him, bowed his head and tasted it, and praised: "Clean but not strong, the wine from Cao Sikong's house is really the best! Such wine, except for Sikong's house , I’m afraid I can’t taste it anywhere else.”

"Haha." Cao Cao laughed loudly when he heard the words, "Xuande's words are true. I dare to say that in this world, only the Sikong Mansion can cook such wine, and even the palace can't match it."

Liu Bei frowned slightly, covered his lips with his sleeve and drank another glass of wine.

Cao Cao seemed to be aware of Liu Bei's slight displeasure, narrowed his phoenix eyes slightly, and said again: "Xuande, do you think it's wrong to say that alone?"

"Cao Sikong is superstitious." When he put down the wine cup, Liu Bei's face was as usual, "Just like talking about oranges, the north can't match the south; talking about qiu, the south can't match the north. Each side has its own things that each side can't reach. As far as this wine is concerned, the green plum wine from Cao Sikong's mansion can't be compared in the world, but if you talk about the melons, fruits and vegetables that are not ready to grow, they are fresher and sweeter than the ones from Cao Sikong's place. Wait a while When the month is ripe, prepare to send some to Cao Sikong's residence."

Cao Cao said "Oh?", and then he looked at Liu Bei carefully. He was really wearing casual clothes, and the cuffs were still stained with earth, which was very consistent with the information sent in that "he grows vegetables and cultivates land in his house every day".

"The vegetables that Xuande grows with his own hands, I really want to taste them. Xuande, it's a deal, it's a deal."

"It's a deal, Cao Sikong, don't worry."

When the wind blows, the chrysanthemum petals are flying, and the pearls and emeralds are shaking slightly.

After straightening the broken hair between her temples, Mrs. Bian looked at the chrysanthemums in the garden, and praised: "The chrysanthemums in the empress's palace are blooming really well. It can be seen that the empress really loves flowers."

"Among a hundred flowers, loneliness loves chrysanthemums."

"Chrysanthemums are pure and elegant. They don't fight for the spring, and keep themselves clean in the autumn. Seeing flowers and learning human nature, the heart of the empress is admired by the concubine."

"It's true that it's pure and elegant, and it's true that it doesn't fight for spring, but it's not all because of Gu's love for chrysanthemums." Fu Hou said, "In Yigu's view, chrysanthemums guarding autumn is not because of humility, let alone a desire to hide. In autumn, there are still people who appreciate flowers, so no matter how colorful the spring is, chrysanthemums are not in a hurry. This is her generosity and spirit.

Ma'am, can you understand Xiaogu's meaning? "

Fu Hou's phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, and the coercion of being the mother of a country came instantly.Mrs. Bian didn't seem to notice it, and said calmly and softly: "Your Majesty, I have been educated. If I follow my humble opinion, I would never have imagined this."

"Huh? Madam, what do you see?"

"My concubine is just thinking that this autumn chrysanthemum blooms in autumn, which is her pride, but it is also her luck. Although spring is warm, the wind and clouds are unpredictable. If it is cold and the flowers wither, it is better than Qiuju." , blooming beyond the wind and frost."

"The situation is unpredictable, it is always like this, how can there be a difference between autumn and spring?"

"The difference depends on whether Ju is willing or not." Bian said with a smile in her beautiful eyes, and there was deep meaning in her words.

Fu Hou also smiled back, with three points of arrogance and three points of majesty between his eyebrows and eyes: "If wind and frost are destined to be inevitable, it is better to open the petals to meet them. Although the flower stalk is soft, it cannot be broken by cold wind."

"Indeed, if the cold wind comes from other places, the pride of the chrysanthemum will block it. However, if the cold wind comes, it is not him, but your friend."

Fu Houxiu frowned slightly: "Madam, what do you mean?"

"This concubine is just talking casually, so don't worry about it, my lady." Bian's smile subsided slightly, and she returned to her original respectful look, "It's just that I was admiring the chrysanthemum today, and I remembered that I read a miscellaneous book in the past, Yan Xiaoyuan Later, he also loved chrysanthemums very much, and there were also chrysanthemums planted outside the Longevity Palace where he lived, which was a scene at that time."

"Maybe Madam remembered it wrong." Fu Hou said, "The Longevity Palace was originally the Ancestor's Ancestral Temple, but it was changed into a palace because of the reckless thieves. Empress Xiaoyuan hated the reckless behavior so much that she never set foot in the Longevity Palace. Let’s take a step, how about the garden full of chrysanthemums?”

"That's how it is. I'm so lonely that I make my mother laugh at me." After saying this, Bian sighed again, "However, Empress Xiaoyuan is really embarrassing. But it's hard to prevent the family's ambitions."

Fu Hou's expression moved slightly, but he didn't say a word.

Mrs. Bian continued: "If you think about it, the reckless thief who usurped the Han is not a family thief. The heart of the traitor in the court is obvious, but once there is a young son in the palace, the disaster of the relatives is even more inevitable." After sighing, Bian Immediately, he straightened his expression, and apologized in a warm voice, "Don't blame me, my lady, I've been a bit obsessed with reading these old things recently, and I'm so annoyed that my lady listened to such ignorant lies from my wife."

"It's okay." Fu Hou said.

The words she wanted to say had already been uttered, Bian looked at the apparently absent-minded and thoughtful man, smiled inwardly, covered his lips with his sleeve, and took a sip of tea.

I was having a drink, when suddenly a gust of wind came, and the clouds outside the sky looked like a dragon hanging.

Cao Cao suddenly became interested, raised his hand and pointed at the vision in the sky, and said: "Xuande can see the clouds in the sky? It moves with the wind, like a dragon flying in the sky, comparable to a hero in this world. Xuande has also traveled all over the world these years. In many places, there must be great opinions on the heroes of this world, how about trying to say something?"

Liu Bei's hand holding the wine cup was slightly stiff, and then he apologized and smiled: "Bei has been traveling around for a few years, and finally he was lucky enough to receive the grace of God and live in the capital. He really doesn't know about the heroes of the world."

"Xuande don't want to shirk, even if you haven't seen a hero in this world, you should have heard about it. It's just a chat with Gu, don't be nervous."

Cao Cao said it frankly, but Liu Bei dared to take his words seriously.After hesitating for a long time, he tentatively said:

"Yuan Shu in Huainan has enough soldiers and food, can he be a hero?"

"Withered bones in the grave, I will capture them sooner or later!"

"Yuan Shao of Hebei Province, four generations and three princes, many old officials; now the tiger occupies the land of Jizhou, and there are many capable men under his command, can he be a hero?"

"Yuan Shaoser is bold and cowardly, he is always scheming; he cherishes his life when he does big things, and forgets his life when he sees small gains. He is not a hero."

"There is a man named Ba Jun who is powerful in Kyushu. Can Liu Jingsheng be a hero?"

"Liu Biao has no real name and is not a hero."

"There is a man who is full of blood, and the leader of Jiangdong, Sun Bofu, is also a hero?"

"Sun Ce borrowed his father's name, he is not a hero."

"Is Liu Jiyu from Yizhou a hero?"

"Although Liu Zhang belongs to the clan, he is the dog ear of the family guard. How can he be a hero!"

"How about Zhang Lu, Han Sui, Ma Teng and others?"

"Such a mediocre villain, what a shame!"

After so many guesses in a row, Cao Cao still couldn't guess what he was thinking.Liu Bei sighed, put down his wine cup and said helplessly, "Bei really doesn't know the current world. Apart from these people, who else deserves the word 'hero'?"

"Xuande really doesn't know?" Cao Cao scooped up another ladle of wine for Liu Bei.

"I really don't know." Liu Bei shook his head.

"A heroic husband should have great ambitions, have a good plan, have the opportunity to hide the universe, and be the one who swallows the ambition of the world."

"Oh? According to Sikong, who can take it?"

Cao Cao raised his eyes suddenly, and his phoenix eyes stared straight at Liu Bei's eyes. Among them, Liu Bei, who was in Weishizhen, was startled, and felt that all the thoughts in his heart were seen through by this one look.Seeing Cao Cao put down quickly, pointing at Liu Bei, and straightening himself, he suddenly laughed loudly and said:

"Today, the heroes are the only ones, the envoy and Cao Er!"

After having lunch in the palace, the queen seems to be tired, seeing this, all the women felt that it was inconvenient to stay longer, so they kindly asked to leave.

Bian was the last to leave.There is no other reason, but because Fuhou looked tired, but when Bian said he was about to say goodbye, he still said with a smile that he and Bian hit it off, and that they should get closer and chat a little more.Under such circumstances, it was difficult for Mrs. Bian to mention the words of leaving, and she and Fuhou tried to talk to each other for a while, until the sky was overcast, and it seemed that there would be rain, then found an opportunity, got up and asked to leave .

"Since that's the case, it's not easy for Gu to force his wife to stay."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Bian stood up, bowed her body, and retreated in small steps.There are palace ladies leading the way outside the palace, leading to the carriage of Sikong Mansion outside the palace gate.

After leaving the palace gate and getting into the carriage, Mrs. Bian raised her hand to wipe away a drop of fragrant sweat from her temples.

Sure enough, in this kind of thing, I still can't compare with Sister Ding.

Concubine Dong is pregnant, on the one hand, it is related to the political situation, on the other hand, it also shakes the harem, especially when the main palace has no offspring, this pregnancy will inevitably involve some ulterior motives.What's more, Dong Chengzheng took the opportunity to check and balance Cao Cao. If he can achieve his wish in the future, once Cao Cao is eliminated, he will become "Cao Cao" again.As far as the emperor is concerned, a "treacherous official" who is not necessarily rebellious and a relative who will hold royal heirs, no matter who wins in the end, it will not be the emperor.

She had already made it very clear to Fu Hou, and knew that she had listened to her heart, but she couldn't predict how she would act.

I don't want a counterattack, but I just want to be able to stabilize the Fu family for the time being.

This time, Bian's bet was right.

After she left Changqiu Palace, she sat on the brocade couch, frowning and thinking.Seeing this, the personal maid beside her thoughtfully dismissed the other servants, and then said softly: "Your Majesty has been like this since Mrs. Cao left, but what are you thinking?"

"...Xi Qiu." Facing the close maid, Fuhou always trusted her, "What do you think of Concubine Dong?"

"Dong Concubine? Your Majesty, the slaves have overstepped. Concubine Dong has a naive temperament and is just a child."

"She is a child, but Dong Cheng is not..." Fu Hou frowned more and more, and after a while, she said decisively, "Xi Qiu, help Gu go to the case."

"Your Majesty?" Xi Qiu was puzzled, but he still obeyed and carefully helped him get up and go to the case to sit down.

I picked up my pen at the back and thought it over and over again, before I finally wrote only two or three lines.

"Find a chance and send this letter to your father."

It is her duty to get rid of the national traitor Cao Cao; but when the possible threat becomes bigger, she cannot just sit idly by.

Slightly tilting his head, the bronze mirror beside him vaguely reflected the face behind him.It is clearly a flowery age, but the thick makeup on the face can't hide the vicissitudes and exhaustion in the corners of the eyes.

Suddenly, the beauty in the mirror raised her eyebrows sharply, and her beauty covered everything in an instant.

Since she is the empress, she must never lose!

Green plum wine is hardly intoxicating, but maybe Liu Bei was not strong enough to drink, and he left after drinking for a long time.

Cao Cao didn't stop him either, but the smile on the corner of his mouth grew wider as he watched the people walking faster and faster.

"Ming Gong still wants to use him?" Suddenly, a voice sounded from Cao Cao's side.

"Liu Xuande is really a talent. Although he fell short for a while, as long as he takes time, it will not be difficult to become a hero."

"But no matter how talented you are, if you can't use it for yourself, you should get rid of it in advance to avoid future troubles."

Cao Cao turned his head, pretending to be weird, and said, "Gu remember, you didn't let Gu kill him back then."

"Jia didn't say that Duke Ming should kill him now."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"Emperor uncle, you just have to be a relative of the emperor and take care of him. As for the others..."

The man was about to say something when he lost his footing and fell down first.Cao Cao didn't hear what the man said before, so he quickly stretched out his hand to help, and Guo Jia took advantage of the situation to fall over, and the strong smell of powder immediately filled his chest.

Cao Cao knew where the man came from, the Sikong Mansion.

This is Guo Jia's private matter, so it's not easy for him to get involved, not to mention that he himself will go there a few times occasionally.However, Cao Cao frowned when he smelled the pungent aroma, and persuaded him:

"Alcoholism hurts the body, Fengxiao, you still follow the doctor's advice, don't let the alcoholism hollow out your body."

"Ha." Guo Jia laughed, pulled Cao Cao's front collar, leaned up and got closer to Cao Cao's face, "Jia wants to be hollowed out by Duke Ming."

Listening to Guo Jia's nonsense, Cao Cao was even more helpless.

What could he argue with a drunk alcoholic?

"Jia is not drunk." Guo Jia seemed to have heard Cao Cao's heartfelt words, and then emphasized again, and then fell down and buried in Cao Cao's arms.

"Okay, I'm not drunk or not." Cao Cao responded casually, calling for the servants in the distance to help him up.If Liu Bei stayed here, he would be very surprised, wondering whether the good-tempered Cao Cao in front of him was the same person as the hero who was hiding his wit behind his words.

The servants came immediately, but Cao Cao caught a glimpse of something else in it with sharp eyes, but left in a hurry.

"Who is that?" Cao Cao asked the servant who came over.

The servant replied: "Mr. Chen Qun came to visit and said that he had something important to discuss with the master, but just now he said that there was something urgent, so he left first."

"Changwen? He's not such an unsteady person." Cao Cao wasn't wary of Chen Qun, but was a little suspicious of his behavior.Chen Qun must have something important to look for him at this time, otherwise it would be impossible to find him in the backyard, but he left in a hurry all of a sudden, which is really abnormal.

After a while, he looked at Guo Jia, who had just been helped up by a servant, and suddenly became enlightened.

He and Guo Jia were used to having no masters or ministers in private, but in Chen Qun's eyes, it might be a big deal.

Thinking about Chen Qun's serious temper, Cao Cao had a headache to remove the word "maybe".

Now, it's a little troublesome.