Crossing the East Palace

Zuo Qian was originally a general who could be compared with Ning Shan.

It's just that besides being a general, Ningshan was born into a family of military generals for generations, so he naturally knew what to do to hold the military power, and at the same time not let himself be suspected by the emperor, so as to protect himself and his family.

But Zuo Qian was different, he came from a poor family, although he was born with the ability to lead the army and had passed the Wu Jinshi exam, but he was still inferior to Ningshan in terms of how to conduct himself and avoid being suspected.It is precisely because of this that after he was cut off by the enemy bandits, he was asked to "retire and return to his hometown" so quickly.

Zuo Qian was born in a poor family, he had no family to rely on, and he had few close friends in the officialdom. The few people were only willing to help Zuo Qian with money, but they were not willing to let Zuo Qian's son fail to take the martial arts examination. To help him obtain the qualifications for the imperial examination.

Ning Junchi's father, Ning Shan, was willing to help, but Zuo Qian refused after Ning Shan raised the matter.

Because at that time, he had heard about Jiangnan's imperial examination fraud, and the emperor ordered the prince to go to Jiangnan to thoroughly investigate the case.

——When Zuo Qian used to fight, it was quite beautiful.But at that time, he didn't have the mind to think about the future and the future. When he was forced to retire and return home, he finally slowly thought about the future and the future.

Emperor Tianyuan was in his prime, and he already had trusted ministers under his command. He wanted his son to be Emperor Tianyuan's confidant again. Obviously, it was even more difficult. Even if Emperor Tianyuan was willing, how could the people around Emperor Tianyuan be willing?And with the Ning family around, Emperor Tianyuan might not be able to see other generals.

But the prince is different.Although the Ning family is the prince's natal family, but as long as Emperor Tianyuan is alive, the Ning family is the confidant of Emperor Tianyuan, not the prince's confidant.

Zuo Qian knew that his eldest son, Zuo Wenrui, was only 26 years old, and his second and third sons were not too old. It would be difficult for them to compete for status in front of Emperor Tianyuan; ?

If you don't enter the tiger's den, how can you get a tiger's son?

The Ning family has been loyal for generations, but they still can't get rid of the result of making their wives and children hostage in Chang'an City.However, it is precisely because of this that the emperor has great trust in the Ning family.In the seventh year of Tianyuan, when the Ning family was slandered and colluded with foreign invaders, the emperor would procrastinate for the Ning family, and finally successfully exonerated the Ning family.

Zuo Qian is not stupid, with such a ready-made good example in front of him, he has no reason not to follow suit.

"In this small town these years, I and my family are tired of staying." Zuo Qian said something, then suddenly stood up, bowed down and bowed down, "Although the town is good, it's not what I like. If the minister If your son has the chance to pass the Wu Jinshi examination, then the whole family, from now on, would like to regard His Highness as our respect!"

Zuo Wenrui also knelt down with his father: "Xiaomin's ambition is on the battlefield, to drive out foreign bandits, and to keep the people of Datang from being disturbed by foreign bandits. If Your Highness allows Xiaomin to fulfill his wish, Xiaomin and Xiaomin The lives of his wife and children belong to His Highness!"

Chang'an City, Shen family.

Shen Ting didn't realize that her parents and elder brother didn't even intend to tell Concubine Xin about the prince's life experience, and her eyes turned red.

"But, but my sister is the prince's biological mother, so she should know about it." Shen Ting thought of how her sister treated her well, so she knelt down and begged, "I know that my parents and brothers are worried about my sister and me. They are also not smart enough to understand the current situation, and they will accidentally delay the future of the prince and put the Shen family in a difficult situation. However, although my sister is not smart, she is not confused! My sister has been in the palace for many years, even if she has not learned Those conspiracies and tricks, but now I know how to distinguish between good and evil, it is obviously much better than before. If we tell the truth to my sister, and then slowly persuade from the side, my sister will always understand the difficulties of the Shen family and the difficulties of the prince , and then only remember the prince in his heart, but not show it on the surface."

"Although I haven't become a mother yet, my father, mother, eldest brother, second brother, third brother, and fourth brother are all parents. You should know that parents love their children with far-reaching plans. Even if the fifth princess is not my sister's own flesh and blood, even if the fifth princess A few months after the princess was born, the princess was taken away from her elder sister. Even though the fifth princess never wanted to recognize her as a "mother concubine", the elder sister still broke her heart and worked hard for the fifth princess. It's her motherly heart."

Shen Ting wiped away her tears and said, "Even if my sister is confused, she is still a mother. A mother is a strong woman. No matter how difficult this matter is, for the sake of the prince, my sister will definitely keep this matter in her heart and never Let outsiders notice. Parents and brothers, I know that I am not as smart as my sister, but if one day I become today's sister, then at least I hope that when everyone knows the truth, I will not be deceived .Besides, what is being deceived is not an ordinary matter, but my real flesh and blood. If this is the case, even if the person who deceives me is my parents and relatives, I will still think about him because I don’t know my own flesh and blood. If you think about something wrong, you will feel bad for your parents!"

When Shen Ting said this, Master Shen, Mrs. Shen and the Shen brothers were slightly moved.

Mrs. Shen is also a mother, so she couldn't help but look at Master Shen when she heard the words.

Master Shen turned his head away.It's not that he doesn't love his eldest daughter, but that he and his wife doted on her eldest daughter when she was in her boudoir.He kept his life clean, saw his wife gave birth to four sons in succession, and got another daughter, so he dismissed his wives and concubines, leaving only two honest housemates, so as to save those people from making his daughter unhappy.But because of this, when the eldest daughter was in her boudoir, she was raised to be more innocent.

Although Master Shen loved his eldest daughter very much, he was really worried that his eldest daughter would not be able to withstand this incident. Firstly, he couldn't believe that the fifth princess whom he had cherished in his heart for 12 years was not his own flesh and blood; secondly, Regretting that I had trusted the queen at the beginning, so that the queen had the opportunity to change sons back then; three times, I was ashamed of my own son, whom I never cared about, so my love for her son flourished, which revealed my flaws.

But looking at the wives and daughters in front of him, and the sons who couldn't bear it, he knew that even if he said these words, the wives and daughters needless to say, even the sons who love Concubine Xin must insist on finding him. speak out against him.

Master Shen sighed in his heart, but his face turned serious, intending to use his majesty as the head of the family to end this matter.

"There is no need for this matter..."

"Master!" The incense burner suddenly knelt down, interrupting Master Shen's words disrespectfully for the first time.

Master Shen, Mrs. Shen and everyone looked at the incense burner in surprise.

The incense burner settled down, kowtowed first, and then got up and said: "It's the slave's fault for the slave to interrupt the master. How the master and his wife will be punished, the slave has no other words. It's just...some things, when the slave is in the palace, The empress forbids the slaves to tell the old lady carelessly, but now that the servants have left the palace and become the old lady's servants again, there are some things that should be told to the old lady."

Master Shen and Mrs. Shen looked at each other, and Mrs. Shen hurriedly said: "Censer, get up quickly. You have hurt your leg because of us serving Xin'er in the palace for many years. You don't have to kneel like this. If you have something to say, just stand up and say it." good."

The incense burner shook his head with a wry smile, and said: "Ma'am, you are polite. The empress forbids the servants to say these words, but if the servants say it, it is a violation of the orders of the empress. The servants should kneel."

"Back when the empress first entered the palace, the emperor loved her, and the empress... always protected her. Although the empress was occasionally made things difficult by the concubines, she didn't take it very seriously. Her heart was no different from when she was in the boudoir. Until after the empress gave birth, The empress dowager ordered the five princesses to go to the nunnery to practice for seven years. The empress was so sad that she couldn't care less about serving the emperor. Although the emperor still often gave things to Changxin Palace, people didn't come here very often. In addition, the concubines in the palace were talkative at that time, but they also woke up the empress. Why did the queen and her give birth at the same time? Why did the queen give birth in July, and she gave birth in August. Seven births, eight deaths, and nine adulthood, these words , Your Majesty listened a lot, gradually she understood, and people became more and more silent. The emperor still bestows things every few days, but the emperor himself is rarely willing to come."

"It wasn't until the madam entered the palace that Haosheng comforted the empress, and then the empress cheered up and took care of her body so that she could have another child. Firstly, she was not so lonely. Secondly, she was actually thinking about having a child, no matter if it was a boy. She is still a girl, and she occupies a place in the emperor's heart, so she can take the fifth princess back in the future." The incense burner said, "It's just that after falling out of favor, how difficult is it to fight for favor again? Countless beauties have come to please the emperor, even if the emperor has a concubine in his heart, and the concubine has neglected the emperor for a long time, the emperor's heart is not so easy to turn around..."

It's not that Mrs. Shen has not guessed the difficulty.However, since her daughter entered the harem, and without the "care" of the queen, if she refused to work hard, she would obviously wither quickly in the harem.

However, when the incense burner talked about Concubine Xin's difficulties, Madam Shen couldn't help turning her head and covering her face with a handkerchief.

The incense burner continued: "Your maidservant is watching, the master and madam are worried that the empress is still as innocent as when she was in the boudoir, so she refuses to tell the truth to the empress. However, since ancient times, each of the three thousand beauties in the harem wants to climb up. Empress Even though she was naive in the past, she is still naive than other people in the harem, but in fact, the empress has changed a lot. Fighting for favor, holding on to favor, after giving birth to the nine princesses, she rejected the emperor's request to be promoted, etc., empress It is obvious that she gradually has a plan, and then slowly thinks for herself, for the two princesses, and for the Shen family. And, as the second girl said, a woman is a strong mother. There will only be these two children. The servant thinks that even if the mother knows the truth and is heartbroken, she will not die; she can't wait to hug the prince immediately to repay the lack of these 12 years, but she will still do her best to restrain herself. Let yourself pretend to be on the sidelines for the sake of the prince, and even continue to treat the queen's fifth princess as her own daughter."

"Concubine Xin is no longer a girl in the boudoir. If the master and wife think about it, the servants think about it, but the concubines in the harem can't tolerate the naivety of the empress." The incense burner kowtowed again, "So, the servant girl asks the master and madam to think about it again. Is it true that you are not going to tell the empress the truth? The empress has been suffering for so many years, she should have reason to know that her first child is not the fifth princess who has always refused to get close to her, but is clearly under the name of the empress. It's hard to survive, but she still remembers her prince in her heart."

Mr. Shen, Mrs. Shen and the four brothers of the Shen family did not know that the daughter or sister whom they loved and pampered in the past had experienced so many ordeals in the harem, and their hearts ached unbearably.

"Father, mother!" Shen Ting couldn't help saying, "Don't hide it from my sister, okay? Let's talk slowly, sister, sister, even if she is not smart, she will not do stupid things at this time, especially if it is not good for the prince. Stupid thing!"

Master Shen and Mrs. Shen finally let out a long sigh and let go.

Just say it.

As the incense burner said, instead of making her daughter sad that the fifth princess does not get close to her, it is better to make her daughter suffer but know clearly that her child misses her.

The help when the ninth princess was born, and the help when Ting'er fell into the water, are they really going to deceive themselves, saying that the prince doesn't know his own life experience at all?

Just say it.

Tang Luojin didn't know anything about Chang'an, he got the support of Zuo Qian, Zuo Wenrui and his son, and he was very happy.

Zuo Wenrui was taught by Zuo Qian since he was a child, so his skills are naturally not bad.If it hadn't been for these years, the Zuo family would have been blocked by people with ulterior motives and would not be allowed to pass the Wu Jinshi examination.He himself didn't want to go to the border and start as a soldier, he was afraid that he would have already entered the army and had a place.

"Anyway, I have a wife and children, and it's time to pass the Wu Jinshi exam and serve the country!" Zuo Wenrui walked down the street with Tang Luojin, and said with a smile, "You don't know, I have three sons and two sons now." One daughter and two sons also want to join the army in the future, but the remaining one doesn't want to join the army or be an official. He just wants to study more and become a teacher in the future. I beat him several times, but the boy didn't change his mind. Zhizhi, later my wife persuaded me to leave a son for her, so I stopped beating him."

After Zuo Wenrui finished speaking, he subconsciously sighed.

Tang Luojin knew that Zuo Wenrui was sighing because he was ashamed of his wife.But all generals are like this, and he can't persuade them.

Fortunately, Zuo Wenrui just sighed for a while, then put the matter aside, and turned to look at Ning Junchi: "Speaking of which, Junchi is about the same age as my second brother, and my second brother now has a son and a son." Girl, when will Jun Chi get married? Also give birth to a child, maybe our son can marry Jinlan."

Ning Junchi glanced at him: "I don't like women."

Zuo Wenrui: "I know. But it's one thing to like it or not, but it's another thing to get married and have a child. Just look at this small town. There are many men in this small town." Born with broken sleeves, they even wanted to die and live for their other half. But even so, they did not delay the matter of marrying a wife and having children. Jun Chi likes men as much as he likes men. After marrying a wife and having children, no Take a concubine and don't find a roommate, just treat your younger siblings well."

Ning Jun didn't say anything, and didn't even look at him.

Zuo Wenrui had no choice but to lower his head and talk to Tang Luojue: "What do you think? This man must marry and have a son, so as to continue the descendants and let the ancestors have something to eat, right?"

Tang Luojue: "Do you believe in ghosts and gods? Believe in reincarnation?"

Zuo Wenrui thought that he still had to take the Wu Jinshi exam, hesitated for a while, and said, "I don't believe it all, but I don't believe it at all."

"If you believe in reincarnation and ghosts and gods, then if a person dies, he or she will fall to the [-]th hell and become a ghost because of too many evils. Why should such dead ancestors be given food? Even if they are given, it is just He was intercepted halfway by the little ghost; either he was good in life and became a god after death. The gods have their own heaven and people to worship, so how would they care about the incense and a meal of the descendants? Or they were ordinary people in life and died. He will not be able to ascend to immortality, but he will not be able to go to hell either. Instead, he will continue to be a human being in reincarnation. Now that he is reincarnated, he will naturally have new parents and family members to feed him. I would rather ask you to give him some gold and silver in the mortal world than the paper money and incense you burned for him."

After Tang Luojin finished speaking, she continued to walk forward.Just walking, he realized that Ning Junchi, who was standing on his right, was still following him, while Zuo Wenrui, who was on his left, was standing there stupidly.

Tang Luojin frowned.

Zuo Wenrui came back to his senses, trotted forward, and couldn't help asking: "Then, if you don't believe in ghosts and gods, what should you do?"

Tang Luojin was expressionless: "If you don't believe in ghosts and gods, when you die, you will turn into bones and disappear in the world. Death is death. There is no soul, no heaven, hell and reincarnation. Death is death. Those given by the living Incense, paper money, and rice are just the sustenance of a living person, so what does it have to do with a non-existent person?"

Zuo Wenrui was stunned for a while, before he said: "Is that so? Is it so? If you believe in ghosts or gods, you don't need to be sacrificed by future generations, so it doesn't matter whether you have a boy or a girl? Even if it's a generation. There are men, and those men all follow the surname of this family. In fact, their so-called sacrifices are just for their own peace of mind? And those families with only daughters, even if there is no sacrifice, in fact, the dead are either souls. If it doesn’t exist, you will either become an immortal, go to the eighteenth hell, or be reincarnated again, in fact, what does it matter whether you sacrifice or not?”

Tang Luojin rarely looked up at Zuo Wenrui, then nodded slowly, and said, "It's a pity that the world is so ignorant, and as human beings, men want to suppress women and detain them in the back house. Ridiculous, lamentable ,sad!"

This time not only Zuo Wenrui was stunned, but even Ning Junchi was also stunned.

Tang Luojin looked at Ning Junchi strangely, and seemed to ask why Ning Junchi was so stupid?

Ning Junchi smiled, touched Tang Luojin's head, and said, "Uncle just didn't expect Xiao Qi to be so gentle."

Tang Luojin, who has always been expressionless and never smiles: "..."

Zuo Wenrui stayed for a while before following, but this time he didn't speak.

After Tang Luojin lived in Zuo's house for a few days, the county magistrate got the news and rushed to kowtow outside, Tang Luojin was about to leave.

Zuo Wenrui sent the group to the boat.

Tang Luojin entered the room early in the morning, and Zuo Wenrui chatted with Ning Junchi on the deck for a while.

Zuo Wenrui said: "Jun Chi really doesn't want to marry a wife, take concubines and have children?"

Ning Junchi glanced at the crowd coming and going on the shore, and said: "Of course I don't intend to. In the past, when I first made this decision, I always felt that I might be sorry for my ancestors. But that day when I heard Xiao Qi I realized that this is not the case. To die is to die. Even if there are reincarnation and ghosts and gods, they will not receive the filial piety from their descendants. So why do these useless things? I don’t like women, and my ancestors There is no need for my offering, so I just need to slowly search for a man who can spend the rest of my life with me."

Zuo Wenrui said: "But how many years have you been looking for it? The man married at the age of fifteen or sixteen. You count from then on. He is 21 this year. He hasn't found it yet. Will he be able to find it in the future? What if you find it?" What if you were already old when he was with you? What if you have never been married, but he has already married at a young age? I think it’s all right if you don’t want to marry a wife and take a concubine to delay a woman, but if you are really lonely, It would be better to find a man with similar ambitions and talk to comfort the loneliness of these days and nights."

Ning Junchi didn't expect Zuo Wenrui to make such a suggestion to him. Thinking of the friendship between the two when they were children at the border, he shook his head and said, "Brother Zuo, you should know that the word Ning Que Wu is not indiscriminate. Of course, if it is really my life Jun Weisheng..." Ning Junchi smiled and shook his head, "I can only try my best to fight for it. If you don't want to, it can only be... God's will, I don't deserve him to give up too much. I will accept my fate."

However, even at that time, he will not let it go.

It's just these words, he doesn't want to continue talking.Fortunately, Zuo Wenrui sighed and didn't ask any more questions. The two of them talked again. Ning Junchi was worried that Tang Luojin would be alone in the cabin, so he left early.

Zuo Wenrui looked at the back of his childhood friend, thought of the prince's appearance, and couldn't help muttering in his heart—Ning Que rather than Lan?He felt that if his good friend wanted to find someone he liked, he should leave the prince for a while, so as to save himself from looking at the prince's face every day, and turning around to look at other people, all of them were extremely ugly. Want to find the right person?

However, he and Ning Junchi have been separated for too long. The Ning family is the emperor's confidant, and he followed his father to join the prince wholeheartedly. He will go to Chang'an City after passing the Wu Jinshi exam. At that time, they may not be too close friends up.

For the next itinerary, Tang Luojin was still not in a hurry, so much so that she spent August [-]th on the boat.

Fortunately, Tang Luojin didn't care about these things, and it was all right for Ning Junchi to accompany Tang Luojin.

Before September, Tang Luojin really returned to Chang'an.

The empress has been pregnant for eight and a half months. Although she hated the prince very much, she had no choice but to hold a dinner in Qingning Palace to welcome the prince back to the palace.

As for lunch, the prince was left in the Zichen Palace by Emperor Tianyuan.

Emperor Tianyuan was overjoyed to see Tang Luojin come back.

It's just that his subordinates were writing, so he beckoned and asked Tang Luojin to come over.

"Look, Xiao Qi, how about this word?"

Tang Luojin walked over and saw that Emperor Tianyuan had just written the word "Shun".

Tang Luojin's heart skipped a beat, and she caught a glimpse of a folk history book on the table—it was still an unofficial history about successors and abolitions of dynasties and dynasties.

He roughly figured out something, but there was still no expression on his face: "Father is going to use this word as a title? To whom?"

Emperor Tianyuan smiled and said: "Naturally, I will give you the title of Twelve Emperors." He put the pen aside and sighed, "Master Zhishan once said that you have a younger brother born of an empress in your destiny, but I have seen the emperor's younger brother. There are many examples of brothers fighting for the position of crown prince. Although you are more than ten years older than your twelfth emperor brother, your mother and queen are sometimes confused, and may favor the young and do stupid things. Naturally, I should Give this title to your imperial brother first, so as not to cause trouble in the future."

Shun, obedience also.

Those who follow will prosper and those who go against will perish.

Tang Luojin looked at this title, and then thought about the unofficial history on Emperor Tianyuan's desk, there was no expression on his delicate face.