Traveling through ancient times to serve as emperor's servant

On June [-]th of the seventh year of Hongchang, Zhou Zihua was given the gift of the emperor to regain his freedom and left the palace by himself, accompanied by Murong Bai, and the two returned to the birthplace of Zhou Zihua, Huishan City.

"Zixi, can you not go back to your hometown?"

"I'm fine. Anyway, there's nothing in my family that deserves my nostalgia. Why don't you follow Brother Zhou to Huishan City." Murong Bai approached Zhou Zihua with a cute face, "Brother Zhou won't drive me away!"

"I'm so glad you came, how can I drive you away." Zhou Zihua said with a smile.

"Thank you brother Zhou, where are we going now?"

Zhou Zihua was silent, looked at the flow of people outside the carriage, and said with a haggard face, "Go to Zhou Mansion."

Zhou Mansion, as the name suggests, is Zhou Zihua's home, known as the richest family in Huishan City, but all this is nothing to Zhou Zihua.

Zhou Zihua got out of the carriage, stared at the striking Zhou family, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door. The servant who opened the door saw Zhou Zihua's eyes widen, and then shouted loudly: "The young master is back!" , come quickly! The young master has returned home."

Murong Bai stared at the running servant very puzzled, shouldn't he invite someone in first?

After Zhou Zihua showed an appearance that was as expected, he smiled bitterly and looked at Murong Bai next to him, "Zixi, no matter what you hear or see later, you don't need to pay attention to it."

"Hmm... Brother Zhou, is Zixi bothering you?"

Zhou Zihua shook his head, "No, I'm very happy that Zixi is here. Presumably Fanchen and Jirui will be happy to have you, Zixi."

"Are those brother Zhou's two younger brothers?"

Zhou Zihua smiled, then let out a long breath and stepped into the Zhou Mansion, followed by Murong Bai.

The Zhou mansion is very big, and the gardens can be compared to the small gardens in the imperial palace. Murong Bai was surprised, it turned out that brother Zhou's family is so rich!

Cross the front yard and come to the Zhengguan Hall, which is the meeting hall of the Zhou Mansion. Zhou Linshun, the master of the Zhou Mansion, Mrs. Zhou, Zhou Linshun's wives, concubines, and children are sitting in the main hall.

Zhou Zihua and Murong Bai stepped into the conference hall, glanced at the people in the hall, smiled sarcasticly on their lips, then cupped their hands and said, "Zihua pays his respects to father, old lady, aunt, second mother, third mother, and fourth mother."

"Oh, Zihua, you didn't tell us when you came back, Erniang will send Zirong to pick you up." A beautifully made-up woman covered her mouth and smiled.

Behind the woman, a tall, upright looking man cupped his hands and said with a false smile, "Brother."

Zhou Zihua nodded, "Zihua appreciates Erniang's kindness."

"What you don't understand, it's all in the same family, so don't talk about it."

"Sister, look at what you said, Zihua is the emperor's enshrined servant, and we juniors can't stand up to it." A woman dressed in red said sarcastically.

"mother."

The woman glared at her son, turned her head in displeasure, and the quiet woman in blue next to her smiled and said, "Zihua has worked hard all the way, Sanniang has nothing to say, so don't blame Zihua."

"Si Niang was joking, but Zi Hua dare not go beyond that."

"Hmph, what qualifications does Lin'er, who was abandoned by the emperor, have to come back?"

"Mother—" Zhou Zihai was very dissatisfied with his mother's words. After all, the other party was also a lin'er. If outsiders knew this, they would not be able to keep being charged with bullying lin'er.

"Could I be wrong." The woman in red looked at Zhou Zihua sarcastically, "The current emperor has personally ordered the abolition of the harem, and he is only flying with the king's servant, Zihua, it's fine if you can't win the emperor's favor, you still have face When I come back... I am not afraid that outsiders will see our Zhou Mansion making jokes."

"Mother, you..."

"Enough!" Zhou Linshun glared at the woman in red, who turned her head away with a displeased snort, then Zhou Linshun sighed and looked at Zhou Zihua, and said, "You're tired just after you came back, go back to the room and rest first!"

"Inside the house, which house is the master talking about?" The woman in yellow who had been silent all this time spoke, and she stared at Zhou Zihua with a displeased face and said, "Just like Sister Ru'er said, this person who was kicked out What qualifications do those who come out have to return to this Zhou mansion?"

"Mei Hua, you..."

"Master, we are Zhou Mansion, a big family in Huishan City, not a small family."

Zhou Linshun frowned. He didn't expect that his wife would be so dissatisfied with Zhou Zihua. Anyway, Zhou Zihua was also the child of his dead wife and the young master of Zhou's mansion, so how could he be kicked out casually.

"Okay, Mei Hua, you should stop here. Zihua is still a member of my Zhou mansion. My Zhou mansion is so big, it doesn't even have a room."

Mei Hua snorted unhappily, and then said: "Mother, you have to know, which room in the house is not full this week, besides, isn't Zihua's room occupied by his younger brother? If he wants to stay Come down, let him live with his brothers."

Zhou Zihua's two younger brothers are now adults, but they are not yet married. It's not because of Li Meihua's suppression.

This Li Meihua was promoted by Zhou Linshun after the death of Zhou Zihua's mother. Could it be because she was the daughter of a rich family that she kept making things difficult for Zhou Zihua's mother, and even entered the door on an equal footing with Zhou Zihua's mother? , Li Meihua has already kicked people out, and still keeps them, bah——

Zhou Zihua listened expressionlessly, Zhou Linshun sighed, Mrs. Zhou glanced at Li Meihua, and said, "You do this..."

"Would it be too much for you to do this?" Murong Bai kept listening. He obeyed Zhou Zihua's words and didn't speak, but he couldn't stand it anymore, so he spoke up.

"It turned out that he had a helper with him."

Murong Bai looked at Yuan Ru, and said unhappily: "What kind of helper? Today, His Majesty treats the emperor with deep affection. It is entrusted by the emperor to abolish the harem and restore us to freedom. It is not because we are kicked out. Don't you think the emperor shouldn't do it for you?" Jun Shi made this decision because you were dissatisfied with Jun Shi's proposal."

Yuan Ru stared at Murong Bai with a pale face. She didn't expect that this little Lin'er could speak so well. She didn't know how to reply for a moment. Zhou Zihai who was standing behind hurried forward to apologize, "Mother said the wrong thing. , I also ask this distinguished guest to forgive me, brother, aunt also made a joke with you, I hope brother will not be offended."

"Hmph—Brother Zhou, I don't think your family is any different from mine. They are not good people. We should find another place to live. I'm afraid you'll get angry if you live here. If you hurt your body, you will definitely lose your temper."

Zhou Linshun's expression changed instantly after hearing Murong Bai's words, Mrs. Zhou also turned pale, and Wu Xiulan, who was Zhou Linshun's fourth roommate, stood up with a smile and said, "So Lin'er, I'm sorry, I made you laugh, master, look at you , What kind of joke are you playing with Zihua, let the distinguished guests see our Zhou Mansion joke."

After giving Zhou Linshun the steps, Zhou Linshun hurriedly smiled and said, "Zihua, you've worked hard all the way. Dad has already ordered someone to clean up your room. You..."

"No need, father, just like what the aunt said, there is no room for me, Zhou Zihua, in the Zhou mansion, so why bother."

Murong Bai cast a contemptuous glance at Li Meihua, then looked away, Zhou Zihua cupped his hands and said, "Father, mother asked me to take care of my younger brothers before she died, and now Fanchen and Jirui have reached the age of marriage, but as an older brother, I can't take responsibility." , So, I came here today, one is to visit my father, and the other is to pick up my younger brothers to leave."

Zhou Zihua's words frightened everyone, Murong Bai didn't expect Zhou Zihua to do this!Leaving the Zhou Mansion seemed to be a good idea, at least it was not as bad as living under the same roof as this group of smoky people.

"Zihua, dad didn't mean that."

"Father, Zihua is well aware of her misfortune. Not only did she kill her mother, but it also put the Zhou family in trouble. Zihua is willing to take responsibility."

"Master, you understand, people don't recognize you as a father, you are going to fly."

"Shut up—" Zhou Linshun waited for Yuan Ru, Yuan Ru snorted unhappily and looked away, and Lin Bi, the second roomer next to him, smiled and said, "Master, sister Ru'er speaks disrespectfully, master, don't be angry."

Lin Bi stood up and took Zhou Zihua's hand, "Zihua, this is your fault. Your father misses you day and night. Now that you are back, there is no reason not to live in Zhou's residence."

"That's right, that's right, Zihua, don't be frightened by your father's joke." Wu Xiulan also persuaded from the side.

"Thank you Erniang and Siniang, but Zihua has made up his mind. Since the Zhou family can't take good care of my younger brother, Zihua is willing to move out with the younger brothers and never have anything to do with the Zhou family."

Zhou Zihua's toughness startled Lin Bi and Wu Xiulan. Zhou Linshun didn't expect that he, the only Lin'er, would be so tough. Li Meihua sneered, "Master, you saw it, it's not that I want to chase you away." He left, but he himself wanted to sever ties with the Zhou family."

"Shut up, you didn't make this up. You only know how to intrigue all day long. Can you live in peace for a few days?"

Li Meihua didn't expect Zhou Linhai to scold her, so she cried unhappily for a while: "Zhou Linhai, I've been married to you for 20 years, and it's fine if I don't say good things, but you still scold me. Could it be that I said something wrong, he has already been eliminated Royal family, become an incomplete person, what qualifications do you have to stay in our Zhou family."

"Mother, you're going too far." The second young master of the Zhou family, Zhou Zian, said without saying a word. Li Meihua looked at Zhou Zian in astonishment, "Son, you..."

"Okay, okay, what does it look like to be arguing all day long?" Mrs. Zhou slapped the table and shouted. I'm sorry, it's only natural for you to blame your father."

"Madam, you're being polite. Zihua doesn't hold any grudges, she just doesn't want to be in the same boat."

"you……"

"Brother!" The appearance of Zhou Fanchen standing in front of the council hall with a plain suit and a hood behind his back scared everyone, and Zhou Zihua was also frightened.

Zhou Zihua didn't expect his younger brother to become like this at all, and felt dizzy with chest tightness for a while.

"Brother Zhou..."

"Brother." Zhou Fanchen stepped forward to support Zhou Zihua, "Brother, are you okay!"

Zhou Zihua let out a breath and said with a smile, "I'm fine, Fan Chen, where's Ji Rui?"

"Jerry, he..."

"What's up with him?"

"Brother..." Ji Rui happily ran into the meeting room and hugged Zhou Zihua. Zhou Zihua saw his younger brother who was already taller than him, and smiled, "Ji Rui."

"Second brother, look! I told you that something good happened when the magpie came to the door today, but the second brother still doesn't believe it."

"Yes, yes, I lost, let's go!"

Zhou Jirui smiled, Zhou Fanchen rubbed Zhou Jirui's head, and Zhou Zihua stared at his younger brother in relief. At this moment, the warmth of the conference hall surrounded these people, and some people saw what it means to be affection.

After Zhou Zihua greeted each other with his two younger brothers, he turned his head to stare at Li Meihua with a dignified expression. Li Meihua looked away with some guilt, Zhou Zian frowned, and Zhou Linshun shouted in displeasure, "What's going on?"

No one said anything, Zhou Zihua smiled sarcastically: "Father, I can see that you really took care of them."

"Zi Hua, Dad, I..."

"Father, since Fanchen and Jirui are here, I will take them away. Father, you have a rich family and many children, so it's fine if you don't need us to honor you."

"Be filial, brother Zhou, you should sue them, this group of people is too hateful, how could you bully you like this, brother Zhou, you are inconvenient, I will write a letter to Jun Shi for you, and let Jun Shi teach this group of people well." Murong Bai was very upset. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Zhou Zihua's younger brothers had been abused.

Zhou Zihua didn't say a word, but Zhou Linhai was too frightened, and hurriedly said with a smile: "Zihua, father will give you an explanation for this matter, you don't have a place to live in Huishan City now, and you still have a nice manor under your name, today father I will give it to you."

There are many manors in the Zhou Mansion, but they are the best in Huishan City. Li Meihua was very upset and wanted to refute. Zhou Zian quickly stopped him, his eyes were sharp and he clearly expressed that he was not allowed to stop him. He stared at Zhou Linshun and sent someone to general The title deed was taken out and handed over to Zhou Zihua face to face.

Zhou Zihua stared at the land deed in his hand, sneered, and then gave the land deed to Zhou Zihai, Yuan Ru was shocked, Zhou Zihai was shocked, Zhou Zihua said: "Father, I don't need it, we have hands and feet and can make money by ourselves, instead of giving I might as well give it to Zihai, his words can take care of your father's family business."

Murong Bai didn't understand why Zhou Zihua refused at all. Zhou Zihua had already pulled his younger brothers to kneel down, kowtowed three times, got up and smiled with Murong Bai, and then left without looking back.

"Big brother—" Zhou Zihai ran out and shouted, Zhou Zihua turned around and said with a smile, "Zihai, I will leave it to you from now on."

Zhou Zihai lowered his head, "Brother, I'm sorry, it's all Zihai's useless."

"It's none of your business, you should be careful yourself, Zirong and Zi'an are not so easy to deal with, remember, greed will bring its own consequences sooner or later."

"Zi Hai remembered."

Zhou Zihua nodded, "If you encounter difficulties, you can come to me."

"That's right, Zihai, Ji Rui and I will help you too."

Obviously there is such a good brother, but no one cherishes it. Zhou Zihai can only regret watching Zhou Zihua leave while his heart aches.

Leaving the Zhou Mansion, Zhou Zihua suddenly felt a lot more relaxed. He found a carriage and went to Jin'an City. This is the most prosperous county in Xuanming Kingdom besides Jinzhou, Yuzhou and the capital. Originally, Zhou Zihua didn't plan to come here. , but Murong Bai wants to come, the reason is that Murong Bai's private property is here.

Murong Bai was very happy that Zhou Zihua came to Jin'an City with him and lived in his Murong Villa. Zhou Zihua looked at the huge villa and was surprised for a moment, "Zixi, didn't you say you have no place to live?"

"Well, originally I planned to live with Brother Zhou, but Brother Zhou left the Zhou Mansion and didn't want to live in Huishan City, so I brought Brother Zhou to Jin'an City. Don't worry, Brother Zhou, this is what my mother left for me. Yes, it belongs to my own manor."

Looking at the huge manor, Zhou Zihua couldn't bear to sigh for Murong Bai's mother, "Zixi, your mother must love you very much."

"Well, my mother has been bullied when she married into the Murong family, so it would be better to give birth to me, but then my father let him enter the palace, but my mother disagreed, so my father sent someone to lock up my mother, waiting for me to enter the palace I just found out that my mother got seriously ill and died because of worrying about me."

The tears she shed made Zhou Zihua feel distressed, and stepped forward to hug Murong Bai, "Don't cry, I will be here from now on, and I will be your relative."

"Well, Brother Zhou, you will be my brother from now on, by the way, there will be Brother Fanchen and Brother Rui."

"Yes, we will be a family from now on."

Although they have both experienced grief and indignation, Zhou Zihua feels very relieved that two people who share the same disease and love each other have met and become confidants. This is another happy thing besides meeting He Yue.

"Brother Zhou, were you also framed when you entered the palace?"

Zhou Zihua shook his head, "I voluntarily."

"Volunteer?"

"When I was 20 years old, my younger brother was seriously ill, no amount of treatment would work. Later, Li Meihua, my aunt, came to tell me that she could save my younger brother, but only if he entered the palace."

"That's obviously persecution."

Persecuted?Zhou Zihua didn't know, but Zhou Zihua felt that even if his younger brother was not sick at that time, he still wanted to leave Zhou's mansion and leave that heartbroken place.

"Brother Zhou, tell me about your entry into the palace."

Zhou Zihua patted Murong Bai's head with a smile, then recalled the past, and murmured, "That was March in the fourth year of Hongchang..."

In March of the fourth year of Hongchang, Zhou Zihua accompanied the censor to the distant capital and entered the palace.

Only after entering the palace did Zhou Zihua know what it means to escape from the wolf's den and enter the tiger's den, and this place is even more a place where people cannibalize without blinking an eye.

On the day of face-to-face, Zhou Zihua met the emperor Leng Yixuan of Xuanming Kingdom with his own eyes, and Zhou Zihua fell in love with him at first sight with his noble and cold temperament and demeanor of a king.

And he also successfully got Leng Yixuan's gaze, and announced his bedtime appointment that day.

But on the day when he went to bed, Zhou Zihua did not wait for the emperor, but spent the night in Longchen Hall, and only saw Leng Yixuan the next day, but the first sentence Leng Yixuan gave him was, " what's your name."

"Zhou Zihua." He answered truthfully. Afterwards, he got his own palace and was promoted to be a second-rank servant. Although he was not very tall, it was obvious that many people in the harem treated him differently.

Afterwards, he stayed in the harem for several months and did not see Leng Yixuan. Others in the harem regarded him as a shadow until He Xiangyuan met Zhao Yu.Zhao Yu is very beautiful. That kind of beauty is not only beautiful in appearance but also in temperament. Zhao Yu is gentle with others. Something went wrong.

On that day, Zhou Zihua met Leng Yixuan who hadn't seen him for a long time again. While drinking, Zhao Yu boldly drank the wine from Leng Yixuan's hand, but unexpectedly vomited blood on the spot, which made Leng Yixuan extremely angry and Zhou Zihua. I have seen what Tianwei is.

Later, it was found out that it was poisoning, and the poison was not weak, which made Zhao Yu's spirit disappear in an instant, and he became a sick child from then on. Leng Yixuan, who knew all this, was very angry, and immediately executed several concubines and servants, scaring Zhao Yu. The harem has been peaceful for a long time.

Later, when Zhao Yu went out of the palace to take care of his body, Leng Yixuan called him to the Imperial Study Room again and had dinner with him. Leng Yixuan asked him how life in the palace was. Zhou Zihua was shocked and delighted.Zhou Zihua's answer was also considered satisfactory. Zhou Zihua had been promoted to the second-rank Shangshi in the past few months, which made the other concubines jealous, especially Shangguan Xue and the concubine Xu Hui, who were promoted to ministers, satirized him a lot.

Fortunately, he responded calmly and did not make a big mistake, but only Zhou Zihua knew that Leng Yixuan had never touched him after being given so many gifts and summoned several times. He didn't know how the other concubines were, but he could see It turned out that the emperor did not fall in love with anyone, and even if Concubine Xi later gave birth to a child, he just sent Eunuch Sun over to have a look, and did not do anything else.

Not long after the concubine Xi left the palace, a new person entered the harem. This time Zhou Zihua saw a very special person in the crowd. His eyes were extremely beautiful and his appearance was also high-quality. I won't laugh when I praise myself.

When Zhou Zihua sighed in his heart that this person was an ice beauty, Leng Yixuan had made an exception and promoted this Lin'er as a second-rank servant, which immediately stunned all the concubines in the harem.

Zhou Zihua was also among them. After inquiring, he found out that this person was He Yue, and he was extremely favored by the emperor. However, because He Yue was weak and could not sleep, he had been recuperating in the palace for several months until he heard He Yue fell into the water.

At that time Leng Yixuan was in his palace, he was very angry when he heard Eunuch Sun's message, and immediately left to visit the servant Yue Zhong in Linhua Palace, and when he met He Yue again, he was actually in the process of paying his respects.

Hua Chen made things difficult for He Yue, and wanted to help, but because his status was too low, he could only watch. Maybe Leng Yixuan happened to come to Lan Xi Palace, and He Yue escaped.

Later, when I met He Yue during a sword practice, I felt that the person called Ice Beauty seemed to have changed. Not only was she active, but she was also very special, so that after hearing how Leng Yixuan doted on her, she even let He Yue out of the palace. And told him personally that he had not seen the emperor.

At that time, Zhou Zihua felt very strange, why did He Yue tell him this, even he dared not say it, can he say something like that without sleeping?

After that, an accident made Zhou Zihua understand that Leng Yixuan treated them differently from He Yue.

Zhou Zihua saw that shirt on a hunting trip and remembered it deeply, but he never expected to see it in He Yue Palace. When he returned to the palace, he was shocked and sad at the same time.

The person he admires is not himself, but his friend...

Zhou Zihua was sad for a few days. He Yue was found out before the Tianwu Festival. He knew that he should come forward to rescue him, but he wanted to confirm what he was in Leng Yixuan's heart, so he used He Yue , was whipped by Concubine De.

In the end, when Leng Yixuan came to see him, he just said a few words of concern and then disappeared. He gave a lot of things, but there was no anger or lingering. He knew that he had lost to He Yue.

Losing to He Yue and Zhou Zihua admitting it, even if Leng Yixuan personally summoned He Yue in the Three Kingdoms, even after the endless love, Zhou Zihua just gave a wry smile.

But he never expected that Concubine De and Hua Chen would make trouble for He Yue time and time again. When he wanted to help He Yue, he received a letter from his family and learned that his younger brothers had received a letter from Shangguan Xue. Oppressed, the family is about to end, Zhou Zihua is very heartbroken, and can only follow the orders of Shangguanxue and Liu Laner, even though he is sorry for He Yue.

When He Yue went out of the palace and returned to the palace again to become the emperor's attendant, he could only stay away and never get closer.In fact, Zhou Zihua himself was afraid, afraid that He Yue would not forgive him, but he still underestimated this person, and even told himself in private that he did not blame him, and would let him out of the palace afterwards. Zhou Zihua really wanted to say, you really are Fool.

After the concubines of Hua Chen and Concubine De died, Leng Yixuan issued an imperial decree to abolish the harem and let them go out of the palace to pray for blessings in Jing'an Temple. Only a few people were able to regain their freedom.

Zhou Zihua really never thought that he would be free to leave the palace. If Leng Yixuan hadn't told him that He Yue was interceding for him, he might have to follow the other concubines to Jing'an Temple.

When bidding farewell to Leng Yixuan, Zhou Zihua plucked up the courage to ask: "Your Majesty, can the sinner ask the Emperor for an answer?"

Leng Yixuan stared at Zhou Zihua and nodded, Zhou Zihua smiled and said: "Your Majesty, the sinner really wants to know, does the Emperor remember what the sinner said?"

Leng Yixuan frowned, Zhou Zihua smiled wryly, "The sinner already knows the answer, thank you, Your Majesty, for your mercy."

When he knelt down, Zhou Zihua still couldn't hold back his tears and left his last bit of friendship in the Baiying Palace.

"Zihua, although you have entered the palace, your heart is not here. I believe that you after leaving the palace is the real you."

Zhou Zihua raised his head and saw Leng Yixuan's soft face, smiled coyly, bowed his head and said goodbye, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

The answer for many years was only known after leaving the palace. He actually only wanted to be an ordinary person, but he didn't expect to wake up after walking for more than [-] years.

Zhou Zihua evoked a smile, the smile was so beautiful that people on the street couldn't bear to look at it obsessed, so scared that Murong Bai hurried forward and lowered the hat on Zhou Zihua's head, "Brother Zhou, don't just smile at people casually, look Those people all have a look."

"Hehe, don't say that." Zhou Zihua gently patted Murong Bai's head, then looked at the candied haws that were hawking and selling by the roadside, "Zixi, you want to eat candied haws."

"Brother Zhou, do you want to eat? I'll go buy it." Murong Bai ran to the side of the candied haws to buy candied haws. Seeing Murong Bai waving and smiling at him, Zhou Zihua couldn't bear to smile again. people see.

"Zhou Zihua."

Looking back at the moment, Zhou Zihua saw the other person's face from under a gray cloak, and then shouted in shock: "Xuanyuan Che..."

Xuanyuan Che stepped forward with a smile, took off the white sand bamboo hat on Zhou Zihua's head under Murong Bai's surprised gaze, and said, "I've been looking for you for a long time."

"I don't know why His Highness King Rui is looking for the grassroots people?"

"This king saved your life, do you still remember?"

Zhou Zihua blinked in surprise, then understood, cupped his hands and said, "I thanked His Highness Rui Wang that day, but I don't know what His Highness Rui wants."

Xuanyuan Che smiled, curled his lips and pulled Zhou Zihua into his arms. In Zhou Zihua's astonishment, he said meaningfully: "I want you...Zhou Zihua..."

[End of Zhou Zihua's chapter]