Chasing death and chasing north

I stayed in the bedroom of the empress and three concubines for more than ten days, changing places every day, and holding a family banquet every few days, bringing women and children together, either enjoying flowers or watching songs and dances.They were naturally very happy, and even the Empress and the Zhai family, who had become a little subtle due to the dispute over the establishment of the crown prince, were as affectionate as ever when they met.

The things he discarded like scraps are regarded as treasures. For so many years, I have forgotten the feeling of being admired and being praised to the sky.

The birthday party was over, and the others had already left first. Qin shi handed Yuan Zhen over to the wet nurse to take away. Apart from the serving palace servants, there were only her and me in the hall.

Qin Shi stood aside and looked at me, and asked, "Your Majesty is in a bad mood?"

"No, come, come, let's sit down and drink together." I half-lyed on the couch and waved to her.I don't call her concubine Ai, either by name or title, the word Aifei is too hypocritical to me, but to them, it's probably more like a kind of irony.

Qin Shi sat down on the chair beside the couch, "Don't you don't drink?"

"When you are upset, you might as well get drunk to relieve your worries."

"You are messing with that gentleman."

I asked with a dark face, "Why do you say that?"

Qin smiled. "Everyone knows."

"I'm really useless." I raised the wine cup sullenly and drank it down.

"Although I know it, I won't point it out. To be honest, the courtiers and concubines all hope that this anger can continue."

Qin asked for a wine cup and poured sweet soup for children into it.

"Then why did you say it again?"

I took the sweet soup and drank it all in one gulp.After just a few glasses of wine, my mouth can no longer taste the ups and downs, but I am just obsessed with this neat movement.

"My concubine can't bear to see His Majesty forcing a smile every day."

Some people obviously don't think so in their hearts, but they can say pleasant words as if they come from the heart.I stared at her for a long time, my head was dazed, I couldn't tell the truth from the falsehood, so I just said: "It's serious, husband and wife for so many years, I'm with you, how can I be reluctant."

Qin Shi shook her head, and the pearl hairpin on her head also shook. "The concubine feels that His Majesty has been forcing himself. After His Majesty ascended the throne, although... although the concubine and His Majesty have seen less time, I can still vaguely feel that His Majesty is not happier than before."

"I don't see you much... don't you feel sad?"

"Sadness is unavoidable, but the concubine's father and elder brother, which man is not like this? I'm used to it. Before I got married, I knew that my future husband-in-law's heart might not be on me. Your Majesty treats everyone equally, so what can I complain about?" ?”

"Equal treatment?" I laughed, "Before you could pretend that you didn't know, but now you still think that they are equal?"

Qin's water-like eyes looked straight at me. "Forgive me for speaking bluntly. Compared with the worries of my concubines day and night, His Majesty fell in love with young and beautiful women and gave birth to a prince with them. The current situation is more acceptable."

"That's right." No matter how hard I struggled with that person, it was impossible to bring out a child to threaten their status.I don't touch them, maybe they are just glad that they won't get any strange disease because of it.

"Having a son is everything. As long as the courtiers know that they will not be helpless in the future, they will not worry too much about the present."

"In that case, Concubine Kong Xian will be at a disadvantage."

"It's too late to make amends now." Qin said half-jokingly, "Your Majesty is fierce, there are a lot of rumors in the palace recently." After speaking, she blushed.

I laughed, it seems that the walls of Chengtian Temple are not very thick, then I shook my head: "No."

"what?"

"No way. I can't help it... I can't help it except him."

"His Majesty……"

"However, they are not rare." I threw the wine cup at the column, as if there was that person hiding behind me, watching me coldly.

I didn't want to take the car, so I walked back to Chengtian Temple drunk. It was already late at night, and the soldiers on duty were still patrolling non-stop.

When he arrived at the gate of the hall, Zheng Bingzhi went up to inquire first, and came back to report: "The nobleman is asleep."

I pushed the door open and walked in. The faint candlelight illuminated the outline of the furnishings, the cigarettes were lingering, and there was no sound.Lifting the curtain, I saw him lying on the bed.Before approaching, he was lying on his back in a regular manner, with his hands on his chest, the mask had been removed, his face was calm, and his face was fuller. It can be imagined that he ate and slept well these days, and he was extremely happy.

I was the only one who was worried and worried about gains and losses for a long time, not only had no disciplinary effect, but let him know how comfortable life is without me.

How silly, it's been like this all along, why would you think that changing a place can make him a different person, and he cares about me like that?

Either let it go, or let it go, there is no third way.And no matter when, I, an incompetent and cowardly person, will only choose the former.It's just that it's too difficult to be honest and honest, which is why I often feel unhappy and dissatisfied.It's just human nature, I'm not a sage, why are I so strict with myself?This relationship was originally self-imposed. No matter how unhappy it was before, once I got thick-skinned, I came back.

Thinking of this, I confidently pulled his quilt.

He woke up with a start, his eyes glowing lazily like jewels - I sighed in my heart, am I the only one in this world who thinks he is getting better and better?

He frowned when he saw me, I stretched out my hand to caress between his brows, he frowned again, I smoothed it again, and so many times, he raised his arm and grabbed my wrist.

"Just tell you to stop making trouble, I want to sleep."

The wording intrigues me. "You dreamed of me?"

His slack eyes gradually cleared up, and he sat up suddenly.

"you--"

I jokingly snatched it up: "Excuse me, don't need to get up."

"Nonsense." He yawned, went back to sleep, and changed to lying on his back to face inward, giving up half of the seat to me, and only covered part of the quilt on his body.

I thought he would react, but who would have thought that this silly joke would disappear like a mud cow, without a trace, and his behavior was the same as every time I came back. Sure enough, I haven’t seen each other for more than ten days. no.

Boringly, I called the servants to take a wash, deliberately asked them to light all the candles, and made the noise louder, but I didn't see him move.

After going to bed, the servants left, leaving only a faint candlelight.I lay down next to him, pulled him into my arms, and deeply smelled the long-lost breath on his body. The body that seemed to be dead beside the concubines almost immediately moved.

I had no reason to treat myself badly, and through the drunkenness, I reached into the hem of his jacket frivolously, wandering around hungrily.The moment he touched his body, he sighed softly. This person's skin is not as soft and smooth as women's, and it is not as tender and firm as a boy's.

It didn't take long for me to find that his muscles were stiff, and his whole body exuded a breath of resistance, which hadn't happened in a long time.I forcefully turned his head over to my side, his eyes were wide open, not even a bit sleepy.

"You don't want it?"

He snorted through his nostrils. "You are Your Majesty, as long as you want it, how dare the grass people refuse to give it."

"Why do I feel uncomfortable when I hear what you say?"

"If you want to listen comfortably, you shouldn't be here. Did you go the wrong way when you were drunk?"

I hugged him from the back, wrapped my arms around his chest, and rested my chin on his shoulder, not guarding against being forced away.The next moment, he got out of bed with the quilt covered by the two of them and walked towards the reclining chair.

I held back my laughter, sat up and asked, "Then what should I cover?"

"Are you missing a quilt?"

I got out of bed, hugged his waist, and whispered in his ear: "But I want my little padded jacket."

He trembled all over, and said coldly: "I smell of alcohol, don't touch me."

I pinched his chin, looked at the sullen face in my hand, and couldn't help laughing.

I proposed to all the officials to cancel the morning court and extend the noon court time, which caused a lot of discussion. There were more opposition than support. The old people are used to getting up in the middle of the night and waiting for the palace gate to open in the cold wind. He didn't think it was bitter, but thought it was an honor that only courtiers could enjoy.Although this matter was put on hold, I did not meet with them every day as diligently as before. At first, I stopped the court every five or six days, and then three or four days, one or two days.

I could hardly stand not seeing him for a while, and often took him to the imperial study.I even tried to give him an official position so that I could meet him every day in the court, but I gave up because of too much inconvenience.

We were in the imperial study that day, and I was correcting the memorial, while he was sitting by the side and flipping through novels.Usually the inner room is the place where I spend time with him, and as long as there are no cabinet ministers asking for a meeting or dealing with important matters, he will often accompany me outside.

He has never been interested in government affairs, and when he was in the East Palace, he fulfilled his duties under the supervision of his father every day. Now there is no need to contact him, and I am not happy to see him know too much about outside affairs, so he either brings some idle books to read, or Take a pen to write and draw on white paper.

"Your Majesty, Mr. Xu begs to see you."

"Xuan."

On the other side, he had already packed up the books and stuffed them at his waist, and walked inside with a teacup in his hand.

I looked at his back in a daze, but he suddenly turned around and leaned into my ear and said, "Do you know what I found in the book?"

I casually asked what it was, and he pulled out a four-fold tissue paper from his sleeve and spread it out in front of me.

It is a picture of erotic palaces, more than a dozen small pieces, all painted in color, and the depiction is quite delicate and exquisite. Most importantly, each piece shows the sexual intercourse between men.

"There are many moves that we have never tried before."

Shy and eager to look at the picture with me, he put away the picture after hearing the notification from the servant, lifted the curtain and walked into the room.

I was hot all over, looking at the direction he was leaving in a daze, only to find that Xu Bo was already standing at the bottom of the steps after a long time, looking at me with worried eyes that I had never seen before.

I don’t remember what we talked about with Xu Bo. After he left, I hurriedly finished the work at hand and asked Zheng Bingzhi to send the memorial to the door of the province, while I went inside and had a fuss with him.

After an unknown amount of time, he fell on his back on the bed, panting heavily.

"So tired?" I put down his left leg, which had been held high for a long time, and pulled out the penis buried deep in his body. The red and swollen hole was slightly turned outwards, continuously spitting out traces of juice, looking very pitiful.

He rolled his eyes and said hoarsely, "Do you really eat the same thing as me every day?"

I leaned on his sweaty body and proudly said: "I am born brave, everyone has always known it."

"There's no battle to fight, so you take it out on me?"

I smiled slyly and said: "We warriors, charge forward, no matter where you are, you will never return."

He straightened my wet temples, and suddenly murmured: "It's not fair."

"what?"

"When a man does "that", shouldn't he have a hideous face, why are you still so good-looking?"

"I...beautiful?" No one dared to say that to me after I became an adult.

"Looks good. Among us brothers, Erlang is the prettiest." He said softly, caressing my face, with a faint smile on his tired face.

"How to do?"

"Huh? What's the matter?"

"I want to do it again, what do you say?"

"Of course not! Sun Zhao'an! You're really enough... um... you stop...God, can I beg you? I really don't want it... Ugh, bastard—"

Afterwards, I looked at my face up and down for the first time in front of the mirror for a while, and then I ordered Zheng Bingzhi to compile a list of beauty products from all over the world and submit them.

This day, when I went back to Chengtian Palace, I walked into the gate of the palace and met two groups of servants and maids. When I arrived at the gate of the main hall, the female officer on the queen's side saluted me in a panic.

Stepping into the threshold, he saw that the tables and chairs where things could be placed were piled up with silk, satin, gold, silver and jade decorations. He crossed his hands in front of his chest and showed a thoughtful expression facing these things.

"What's the matter? Your birthday?" If I remember correctly, he was born in June, and there are still many days from now.

"I don't know either. First, people from Concubine Kong Shu's palace came to ask me how I was eating and living, and what was missing, and then Concubine Qin Xian sent someone to send this pile of things, saying that she couldn't use it, so even if she couldn't use it. Shouldn't have given it to me." He pointed to a dozen or so bolts of brightly colored fine cloth and piles of dazzling jewellery, to the left.

"Before they left, Imperial Concubine Zhai also sent someone here. She said the ones on the right were extra from her own side. They even had rouge and gouache. I don't know what to do with them. Then there is the queen, the ones in the middle. They are so big. Shall I hang the pearls around my neck? By the way, the screens and vases here are also sent by Concubine Kong Shu."

I looked at the radiance in this room, and I was a little dull for a while.

"You are so generous, Your Majesty, you rewarded them with so many things, how dare you flaunt your frugality to me?" He curled his lips disapprovingly.

I looked around. "Many are old items from the palace. I won battles outside, and they were rewarded by my father in the palace."

I don’t usually treat them generously, there is a quota for annual rewards, and the property that the queen can dispose of herself is limited. Although the daily expenses of the palace are all other expenses, they reward the maids in private and give the eunuchs entrusted affairs , It’s always not a small expense, and taking out so many good things at once, how can it be as simple as “using the leftovers”.

"What did they suddenly send something to me?"

"If you show courtesy to others, you must ask for something."

"What do you want?"

"You really don't know?"

He honestly shook his head.

No matter the time, his slowness always amazes me.

"Didn't you be asked by the Qin family to throw me out to celebrate Yuan Zhen's birthday last time? So what she sent was a thank you gift."

"I see. But when did I hit you?" He looked at me from the corner of his eyes.

"Okay, if you say no, then it's not. I'm going by myself, okay?"

"Then the other ones, you hope I can persuade you to go out and find them again?" His face was a little ugly, as if he was dissatisfied with his strange presence in the eyes of the concubines.

"Well, probably only Kong has this meaning. She is straightforward and thinks things are relatively simple."

"Then, the empress and the imperial concubine think that since the other two have given it away, they can't fall behind? Don't you feel like you're losing your dignity?"

"If it was only out of this consideration, they might not send it away. They just made sure that it would be useful for you to speak in front of me, and they wanted to establish a good relationship first, and then beg you to handle things more smoothly."

"What's up?"

"Li Chu."

"Huh?" He almost jumped up. "What can I say about such an important matter?"

"Maybe it's useful, I don't know. Why don't you tell me now, which one should I stand for?"

I have asked this question to many people, and most of the answers are based on their own interests.Xu Bo said irresponsibly, first choose one at random, and the one who survives in the end will naturally be the next emperor.

He pressed twice on his temple and asked, "How many sons do you have?"

"Three."

"Why are there only three? When you were King Wei, there were three."

"What do you say?"

He was in a daze at first, then lowered his head slightly in embarrassment, and said, "It's always been the eldest son, it's always been like this."

"Although it has always been like that, I don't want to see what happened to us happen again."

"Ah? You mean who among your children and whom... that... is also the relationship between me and you?"

Seeing his confused face, I couldn't help laughing.

"Can you only think of this? Yuan Qi and Yuan You are only in their teens, and Yuan Zhen has just turned five. What can they do?"

"Oh." He frowned, full of disgust. "According to what you said, fighting openly and secretly is unavoidable as long as the emperor's family is alone."

"I think, if when they get older, whoever can show up and convince the other two, then this seat will be handed over to him."

He snorted. "Do you really think it will be so easy? Thinking back then, your talent was much higher than that of any brother, did I make way for you? Did the emperor take the initiative to pass on the big position to you?"

"Because my father has never regarded me as a son who can be equal to you, and you have the same thoughts in your mind."

"The eldest son is taller than the concubine son. This is not a prejudice unique to my family."

"That's right. Since ancient times, the elders have been established but not the virtuous. I want to try to see if this rule can be changed from my generation."

"You've always been ambitious."

He sighed softly, and I pretended that I didn't notice the sense of depression.

"I just want to clear my name. It was the first time that Qi succeeded Yu as the throne, and every generation of emperors followed the rule of father's death and son's succession. Since everything has a beginning, starting from my generation, the beginning If the future emperors can follow suit, I won’t have to bear the infamy of usurping the throne.”

He scoffed. "Aren't you fearless? You've done everything, and it doesn't matter what his name is before and after."

"Really?" I must have an evil smile on my face right now. "Since I am so open-minded in your mind, in this harem, the four concubines of Guide, Shuxian, and Concubine De are the only one missing. How about I let you take over?"

"you shut up!"

"As long as you agree, 'Zhen' will definitely try my best to push you to that position, how about it?"

He gritted his teeth. "Unless I die!"

"Are you dissatisfied? If you feel that the concubine De's status is too low, that's easy to handle. I'll find a few literati who are idling in the Hanlin Academy and write some long essays, specifically discussing the necessity and importance of setting up two queens. Urgent, as long as a few of them are promoted to officials, someone who likes to speculate on the holy will will come out and say that it is imperative to create a new queen. When the time comes, do you want to be the queen of the East Palace or the Queen of the West Palace?"

"Shut up!" He grabbed the only small round stool that was not placed with gifts from each palace, and threw it hard at me.

I laughed and dodged, bullied myself and grabbed his hand.

The heavy landing of the round stool attracted the guards and palace servants. During the tugging, the back of his hand just hit my cheek, and the sound of the weapon being unsheathed suddenly rang out.Shocked, he stopped his movements.

I waved behind me without looking. "It's okay, let's get back."

"Yes!"

Then there was the sound of swords being sheathed and the formation leaving.

I joked, "Do you think it would be better if we talk behind closed doors?"

He didn't answer.I looked down strangely, only to see that his face was pale and he was frozen in my arms.

"What’s wrong with you?"

Still silent.

"Are you uncomfortable?" I separated the distance between the two and faced him.

He looked at me, eyes full of horror, even trembling.

"Don't come here!" With a painful look on his face, he knelt down with his head in his arms.

"Come here! Doctor Xuan!"

"Yes."

I strode forward, picked him up and walked into the curtain.

He didn't respond, closed his eyes tightly, whimpered like a small animal, and only after listening carefully could he discern the words he repeated repeatedly: "Don't, don't kill them, don't..."

I see.The past is so vivid that it cannot be forgotten after all.

I gently put him on the bed, and my heart, which was just flying up and leaping, sank to the bottomless place again.

The imperial doctor didn't see anything wrong, he recovered to his original state after a while, and we all acted as if what happened that day never happened.He returned all the gifts from the empresses and concubines, and sent a message saying that no meritorious deeds would be rewarded, and the two parties would no longer communicate with each other after that.

From the standpoint of the empress and the others, they had a hard time dealing with the details, so naturally they refused to make compromises. This way, he happened to be quiet and lived a peaceful life every day.

The days passed like flowing water, and in a blink of an eye, winter went to spring.

This morning, I pestered him to change my clothes, but I was not rejected. I watched him comfortably wrapping my loincloth around me, and suddenly heard him ask questions.

"Are you fat?"

I was stunned. "Yeah?"

"It was originally surrounded here, but now it has become like this." He compared the position on his arm.

"Is it because your hands have become thicker?" I teased my mouth, but I knew in my heart that what he said was true.

In the past few years since ascension to the throne, there have been many government affairs, coupled with the tranquility of the border, and it has been a long time since I touched the pommel horse bow and arrow. Every time I see Lu Shuanghu and Ruan Changrong who are inflated like a ball, I feel that I have maintained my body. When he said this, he couldn't help but start to worry.

The more I thought about it, the more I felt that I would be disgusted if I couldn't get fat anymore. After noon, I sent an order to prepare the horses, and ordered Zheng Bingzhi to take the bows and arrows that he used to use in the past, and go to the garden on the west side of the palace city. Xue Fan also led the people keep up.

Although it is gratifying that the archery has not yet lost its accuracy, his physical strength is not as good as before, and he is out of breath after running back and forth twice.It was getting dark, and I refused to admit defeat, and shot another wild boar and three hares. Only after Xue Fan and others tried their best to persuade them, did I bring the prey back to the palace.

As soon as I returned to the palace, I saw him looking around the door, and when he saw me coming, he quickly walked into the room.When I saw this, I felt more joy than when I just successfully shot the elk.

When I walked in, he covered his mouth and nose.

"What is the taste?"

"I'm going hunting."

He couldn't react for a while, until he saw me unload the bow and arrow on his back, he suddenly nodded and asked, "How's the harvest?"

I proudly said: "add food tonight!"

However, this pride turned into an embarrassment the next morning. I was sore all over, and it was difficult to even get up, so I called a masseur in desperation.

"Your Majesty, why don't you go hunting every day from now on." He leaned on the head of the bed, watching me trying to hold back my moaning to save face, with a gloating tone.

"why?"

"You fell asleep as soon as you touched the pillow last night, Cao Min felt much more relaxed." He stretched exaggeratedly, with a satisfied expression on his face.

His explicit words obviously frightened the masseur so much that I gritted my teeth.

"I'm just not used to it for a while, and it will be fine after a while."

"Your Majesty's archery skills are superb, and you are in the prime of life, so you are getting better and better." He flattered him, but his face was full of disapproval, which made people feel extremely breathless.

"Let's wait and see—hiss... lighten!"

"Yes, yes, slaves should die!"

After that, I went hunting in the outskirts of the city almost every afternoon, and the number of followers gradually increased. This garden was newly built after the capital was established, and my father didn't like hunting, so the scale was limited, and the prey was naturally less. The big guys like pigs and elk were finished within a few days, leaving only some meaningless rabbits and pheasants, which were hard to enjoy.

When I went back and talked about it, he immediately said, "You really need to keep fit and run around Miyagi every day to ensure that you won't get sick."

"...Am I a monkey?" Just thinking about it, you can see how decent it is for the king of a country to run profusely.

He was probably thinking about the situation of a country's emperor running around the city, he couldn't help laughing, and after a while he said: "Since the Xijiao Garden is too small, why don't we just build a new paddock?"

The next day I mentioned to the courtiers about the construction of the paddock. Xu Bo was the first to object, saying that this would be a waste of money and people, and everyone followed suit.I asked the Minister of the Ministry of Households, whether the gold and silver in the treasury can afford the expenses these years, and the old man finally said that he was very rich after all the troubles. Before he could turn to "however", I interrupted and said that the decision .

Since I came to the throne, whether it is the expenses in the palace or the support of the clan, I have been considered frugal, which is rare in the past dynasties. Now I only spend such a small amount of money, and there are a lot of people talking nonsense, which is really troublesome.

After the survey by the Ministry of Industry, several alternative paddocks were reported, and I settled on Cangshan County, which is not far from Jingzhao.Ten days later, the Ministry of Industry reported that the personnel and property were in order, and that the work would start on an auspicious day.

He leaned in his arms and listened quietly to my conception of the Cangshan paddock, and asked, "Can I go with you too?"

I didn't expect him to be willing to show his face, so I couldn't help being a little surprised, but I replied immediately: "That's okay, if you want to go hunting, come with me tomorrow."

"Okay—are there many people there?"

He looked expectant and hesitant, so I kissed him lightly on the forehead and said, "You don't love many people, so I'll tell them not to follow."