The Royal Merchant of the Red Chamber

The Tong family's affairs did not come to an end until midnight.Satisfied to watch the Tong family who had been hopping around for a long time was finally defeated and dispersed.Xue Pan was relieved and only felt sore all over his body, and he was very tired.Silently followed Tu Zhen into the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and sat down on the warm kang.Naturally, there was a clever little maid serving tea fruit cakes. Xue Pan casually took scissors and cut the candle flowers, but felt that his eyes were much brighter, so he smiled and said to Tu Zhen: "Although it makes me feel that I have pulled down the Tong family. Happy, but it's a pity to mess up your imperial palace's banquet."

Tu Zhen shook his head disapprovingly, and said with a smile: "Everything has gains and losses. If the Tong family hadn't insisted on going their own way and had to make a fuss about the palace banquet, they wouldn't have offended the few emperors who take the royal face as the basis. Uncle, I'm afraid they won't agree to let me deal with the Tong family."

After all, the Tong family has been in business for a hundred years, so there are still some personal sentiments.Tu Zhen was able to cut off the Tong family's retreat today with lightning speed, and it was probably because the Tong family was too frivolous and sloppy.Besides, the timing was too special, the palace gave banquets and ordinary people were not allowed to walk around easily, so after the Tong family's defeat, they didn't have time to ask relatives and friends to intercede for him.Now that the overall situation has been settled, I am afraid that if they go to ask for a visit again, no one will answer them.

At that moment, Tu Zhen went to the front of the dragon case again, and wrote the decree of depriving the Tong family of being the Duke of Cheng and dismissing the Tong family's official status, and sent it out overnight.

The overall situation has been settled, and I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Seeing this, Xue Pan had no choice but to order the little maids to prepare hot soup and a change of clothes, so that after Tu Zhen finished his official duties, he could wash and undress comfortably so that he could rest for a while.Tomorrow, when the five drums sound, there will be another grand greeting.Tuzhen has been on the throne for four years, and he has finally taken over the power and controlled everything in his hands. If he does not have the energy to deal with the ministers and envoys by then, he will probably be criticized by others.

Tu Zhen saw Xue Pan making preparations for the maids to bathe in hot soup, but he waved his hand to stop him, saying, "No need for now, there is still work to be done."

Xue Pan couldn't help but asked: "The Tong family has been settled, what else is there?"

Tu Zhen said indifferently: "Of course it's about the mother and her niece kissing each other."

A trace of resentment flashed across Xue Pan's face, "The entire family of Tong's family was demoted to commoners, and Empress Tong was thrown into the cold palace. If we still pursue their private affairs, won't it be too much trouble?"

A softness flashed in Tu Zhen's eyes, he stretched out his hand to caress Xue Pan's snow-white neck, and said, "Pan'er, you don't understand. This is the way of dealing with affairs in the harem. If you are not sure, you have to endure any frame or insult. Once If you decide to make a move, then you will show no mercy. Otherwise, you will be harmed by the snake if you don’t die, and you will be the one who will be harmed in the end.”

"It has been more than 30 years since Empress Dowager Tong entered the palace. Her connections in the palace are not limited to those we see before our eyes. Now that we have offended Empress Dowager Tong to death, we must ensure that she is gone. Our ability to retaliate. Otherwise, if you go back to the mountain, you will be bitten by her one day. You don’t want your family, relatives and friends to be in danger because of your soft-heartedness, do you?”

Xue Pan thought about it, and felt that Tu Zhen's words were the most reasonable words.After all, it's a power struggle now, not the kind of children's fighting in my own family. If something goes wrong, I'm afraid I won't be able to cry.At that moment, he smiled at Tu Zhen and said, "It's because I want to go left. I really should cut the weeds and root out the roots, so as not to leave any future troubles."

As soon as the words were finished, Gao Wei stepped in, knelt down on one knee, and said, "Your Majesty, the abolished Empress Tong did not go to the Leng Palace."

"Oh?" Tu Zhen raised his eyebrows in a leisurely manner, and said with a light smile, "But my will is to let her go to the cold palace for several days."

"Maybe Abandoned Queen Tong thinks there is no difference between going tonight or tomorrow morning."

"There's a big difference." Tu Zhen casually rolled up his sleeves and said with a smile, "One is just for someone's name, and the other is for someone's life."

As he spoke, he got up and ordered: "The decree continues. The abolished Tong family disappeared strangely. In order to ensure Tong's safety, all the guards in the Forbidden City searched with all their strength. We must ensure that Tong's appearance in front of me is 'safe and sound'."

Gao Wei bowed his head and replied, "No!"

Just about to get up, Tu Zhen ordered again: "Remember, don't 'disturb' other masters in the palace."

Gao Wei promised again, and then got up and went out.

He led a group of imperial guards to pretend to search the palace for half an hour, and sure enough, he found traces of the abolished Empress Tong's family in Shoukang Palace.It's just that the scene at that time was too messy, Gao Wei didn't dare to concentrate on himself, so he had to rush back to report to the Holy Majesty.After hearing Gao Wei's dictation, Tu Zhen showed an expression of extreme astonishment and panic on his face. He was "at a loss" for a while and was silent for a while, and finally sighed: "This matter has a lot to do with it. He is the emperor of the imperial court, but he is a junior in front of his mother, so it is really hard to say... Fortunately, the two elders, Prince Zhongyu and Prince Zhongli, are here, so please let them deal with it!"

Tu Zhen paused, then said softly to Xue Pan who was behind him: "This matter is related to the secrets of the harem. As a former official, it is inconvenient for you to be present. Why don't you take a good rest in the warm pavilion, and I will meet you later." When I come back, I will discuss it with you in detail."

When Xue Pan heard this, he naturally knew that Tu Zhen was thinking about his own safety and reputation.So he nodded obediently, and said: "You have to be more careful. You must know that a dog jumps over a wall in a hurry, and a rabbit bites a person in a hurry! We have forced the Tong family to such a situation, and I am afraid that the Queen Mother will be in a desperate situation. If you want to fight for everything, you still don't know what to do!"

Tu Zhen hooked the corner of his mouth, leaned forward and kissed Xue Pan's smooth forehead lightly, and then smiled softly: "I will be careful."

As he spoke, he embraced Xue Pan with some reluctance, patted him lightly twice, and then stepped out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

This time, there was no news for a long time.

Xue Pan fidgeted restlessly in the warm pavilion of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and waited for more than two hours. Only when the sky was faintly white did Tu Zhen come back with a tired face.His expression was indifferent and cold, and he didn't say a word.As if nothing happened or didn't care about anything.So he calmly entered the Nuan Pavilion of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, lay on the bed and did not speak.

It's just that after getting along for a long time, Xue Pan can naturally see that he is very uncomfortable, but he doesn't know what happened in Shoukang Palace.Seeing Tu Zhen's appearance, she couldn't bear to ask, so she had to help Tu Zhen to wash and undress herself, and then helped him onto the dragon bed and fell asleep.

As soon as he lay down, Tu Zhen hugged Xue Pan tightly, imprisoned him in his arms, buried his head in Xue Pan's neck, breathed the fresh and warm breath of Xue Pan, and held Xue Pan in his hands. Touching Xue Pan's smooth and supple skin, Tu Zhen sighed inexplicably.Xue Pan patted his head with some distress, and said softly: "It's so late, let's go to bed for now! Tomorrow will be the congratulations, and it will be another toss!"

So he breathed out the wax and blew out the lamp, Xue Pan had been sleepy for a long time, and he fell into a deep sleep not long after he touched the pillow.In the drowsiness, I felt that there was suddenly nothing around me, and when I was about to open my eyes, I felt that someone had carefully tucked in the quilt for me, and I fell into a deep sleep.

When Xue Pan woke up, he had just played five drums.Looking at the white gauze dress brought over by the little palace maid, she couldn't help being shocked, and quickly asked, "What's going on here?"

The little maid replied with lowered eyebrows and narrowed her eyes: "Responding to my lord's words, the Empress Dowager passed away last night. The holy decree stated that all imperial orders should enter the court, and follow the class according to the system of nobles. Decree to the world: Anyone who has a noble family, Banquets and music are not allowed within a year, and common people are not allowed to marry for three months."

Xue Pan was dumbfounded for a moment.

It was fine last night, why did the person die in the blink of an eye?

Xue Pan thought about it, and felt that something went wrong when he went to Shoukang Palace to "catch rape" last night. No wonder Tu Zhen had such an expression, and no wonder he felt so uncomfortable when he came back.Even if there is no pure mother-child relationship between Tu Zhen and the queen mother, after all, they have been together for so many years, even if they have a dog, they have feelings, let alone humans?

Furthermore, after Tuzhen had been on the throne for four years, he finally got the opportunity to monopolize the power, but one after another major incidents happened such that the emperor had a stroke and the empress was deposed.Now that the empress dowager died like this—or died suddenly on the first day of the first month of the first month, I'm afraid those noisy civil servants don't know what ugly things they will say.

Thinking about it, Xue Pan couldn't help but rejoice that Tu Zhen called Prince Zhongyu and Prince Zhongli to go with him last night, so there is still a proof.If not, the Holy Majesty had just dealt with the Tong family and abolished the queen, and the Queen Mother Tong died suddenly, and it was after Tu Zhen went to Shoukang Palace that she died.As rumors spread, Tu Zhen might have opened a hundred mouths and couldn't speak clearly.

While thinking wildly, Tu Zhen walked in wearing a filial piety dress, looked at Xue Pan who was still foolish, sighed, and said softly: "The queen mother is dead, and it is stipulated that after 21 days of mourning in the inner palace, you will be able to return home." Invite your spirit to enter the Xianling. Nowadays, all those who have imperial orders in the court will go to the court to accompany the sacrifice. At that time, it will take more than a month to send the spirit to the underground palace. You have never been in good health. I am afraid that the cold winter and the twelfth lunar month will not be able to withstand this. Toss. Why don't you go home and raise her!"

After a pause, he said again: "The mother's empress is in a great funeral, I'm afraid the marriage of the old twelve will be delayed for a year. I have to let your family Baochai wait again."

"After a year, Baochai was only eighteen. It's a good time for him to grow up and become more stable and capable. It's worth waiting. But I'm worried about you..." Xue Pan said cautiously Looking at Tu Zhen, he said, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." Tu Zhen shook his head, sighed a little tiredly, and fell silent again.

Xue Pan pulled Tu Zhen to sit down on the heated kang, and sat down opposite Tu Zhen himself.I thought too much in my heart, but I didn't know how to ask.

Seeing this, Tu Zhen waved his hand to get all the maids and eunuchs around to retreat, and then smiled wryly at Xue Pan, "The queen mother died by touching the pillar."

Xue Pan was shocked, and quickly asked: "Why is this?"

But Tu Zhen shook his head, and then slowly described the scene of going to Shoukang Palace to "catch rape" yesterday——

When he and Prince Zhongyu and Prince Zhongli arrived at Shoukang Palace, because of the previous order, they secretly sent people at the sticky pole to guard the loyal Queen Mother, but no one disturbed the master inside.Tu Zhen led the two emperor uncles all the way directly into the inner hall, just in time to bump into two aunts and nephews who were upside down on the bed.Naked, nude, promiscuous and promiscuous scenes were seen by two obstinate and conservative princes with their own eyes, so naturally there was nothing good to say.

Prince Zhongyu, who is the emperor of the royal family, took the lead in cursing Tong's two aunts and nephews with extremely harsh and contemptuous words, accusing them of being the empress dowager and empress, but willing to degenerate, committing such scandalous things such as corrupting morals and incest Later, she even threatened to abolish her position as queen mother.

Prince Zhongli also satirized with a sneer that "the head of the Tong family" is really a good tutor, and the "noble daughter of the Tong family" is really extraordinary, and he was bitterly grateful that his wife and family members did not belong to the Tong family, otherwise he would have been cuckolded for no reason. I don't know why I am complacent.

Having been found out of adultery on the spot, the two Tong family aunts and nephews were already ashamed and indignant, and panicked.I had no choice but to beg the two princes and Tu Zhen not to spread the matter.The two elders, Prince Zhongyu and Prince Zhongyu, were angry and wanted to vent their anger on the Tong family. Empress Tong was furious for a while, but in a fit of anger, she began to accuse Tu Zhen of being cruel and exterminated.She even abused her unreasonably, saying that if Tu Zhen hadn't put her aside as if she was impotent, she wouldn't be where she is today.He also said that his family was just incest with aunts and nephews, and did not mix with the blood of the royal family, while the other concubines secretly stole people because of loneliness. If you want to talk about cuckolds, Tu Zhen has already worn many hats on his head.

Tu Zhen even had to thank her for abiding by women's morals and not stretching her claws outside to catch men.

The filthy language was indescribable, and under the rage of Tu Zhen, a heart-warming Tong Man'er vomited blood again and again, cursing more and more frantically.Even Xue Pan was involved.It is only said that he is a treacherous sycophant, so fascinated that Tuzhen lost his soul, his mother, Laozi, and his wife are all ignored, and he only coaxes Xue Pan, and sooner or later he will be a senseless and foolish king.She even said that if she had known this earlier, she would have killed all of Tu Zhen's sons and daughters, to see if he could go all out to cut off his children and grandchildren, and she would also split up with Xue Pan.

In a panic, Tu Zhen immediately drew his sword to kill the abandoned empress.The Queen Mother Tong rushed forward to stop Tu Zhen, and threatened Tu Zhen Wanwan with years of mother-child love to leave a way for Queen Tong to survive. After that, she was ashamed and died on the spot.

Seeing this, the two old princes didn't care to vent their anger, so they could only suppress their anger and hastily arrange the affairs of Queen Mother Tong.It only said that the Tong family did evil among the people in the name of the queen mother, and the queen mother committed a heart attack and left in a rage.And most of the civil and military officials and court officials stayed in the palace, which happened to be convenient for the royal family to conduct the funeral ceremony of the queen mother overnight.As for Empress Tong, she was put under house arrest overnight in the cold palace in the name of Empress Dowager, and was not allowed to appear for life.

If it weren't for the fact that the two masters, the Empress Dowager and the Empress, died one after another in one day, the two masters, Prince Zhongyu and Prince Zhongyu, would have liked to kill the abolished Empress Tong as well.It's just that such a scandal has happened, in order to ensure that the royal family's majesty will not be disturbed, I am afraid that the abolished Empress Tong will not be able to stay in the cold palace for a long time.

However, the daughter of the Tong family, the head of the country, who was carefully taught by their family, did such a scandalous, chaotic, and adulterous thing. A woman with such a noble status as the empress dowager and empress turned out to be a pair of lecherous, promiscuous, promiscuous, and children. Slut, whore, lost all the face of the royal family.I'm afraid that their family has nothing good to eat.The royal clan under rage would not think that the faults of the Tong family could be compensated by being relegated to common people.No one knows what kind of means they will use to take revenge on the Tong family.It's just that Xue Pan's joke that "all the women in Tong's family will be abandoned by their husband's family within a day" is probably coming true.

This is a later story, so I won't mention it for the time being.

What Xue Pan is most concerned about right now is Tu Zhen's emotions.His expression was indifferent, his eyes were clear, and he even had the energy to arrange the queen mother's funeral in an orderly manner.It seemed that Queen Mother Tong's death had no effect on him.But only Xue Pan knew that Tu Zhen was definitely not feeling well.Although he would not pretend to regret his methods of extermination, and would even warn him with the words "cut the grass without eradicating the roots, and the spring breeze will regenerate", but Xue Pan knew that Tu Zhen felt uncomfortable.

So Xue Pan sighed, got up and walked to Tu Zhen, stretched out his hand and hugged Tu Zhen into his arms.Patting him on the back lightly, he said softly, "I can't blame you for this matter. It's because they did something wrong first. Since they did something wrong at the beginning, they should think about what will happen after the incident. If they were not the first to provoke, we would not have fought back like this. The development of this situation is beyond your control. In the court, we can only guarantee our own safety more often than others. , we are always powerless."

Tu Zhen put his arms around Xue Pan's flexible waist, and buried himself in Xue Pan's arms, but he didn't speak.What he didn't tell Xue Pan was that last night, as soon as he closed his eyes, every detail of the Queen Mother Tong's death from touching the pillar would be played back in his mind, including her bloody eyes staring at him with wide eyes.Under the illumination of the lamps and candles, her black and white pupils exude a radiance... That is her mother in name, no matter what she thinks in her heart, no matter whether she looks down on her origin or even resents her own existence Let her think of the fact that she has no heirs again and again, so that she abuses him intentionally or unintentionally, and neglects him.But in the end, she was the one who ensured that she survived the brutal and bloody battle in the harem...

And now, this woman is dead!

Tu Zhen had to admit that when Queen Mother Tong took her last breath, a trace of guilt really flashed in her heart.But what makes Tu Zhen unbearable is that, accompanied by such a kind of guilt, there is still a feeling of calmness and self-control deep in his heart.Before that, Tu Zhen also imagined such a result, but Tu Zhen thought that he would be very sad, sad, and even shed tears.But the fact is that although Tu Zhen was a little sad, he also missed the past that seemed happy but never innocent at that moment.Then, Tu Zhen calmly analyzed the pros and cons of this matter.

Tu Zhen didn't want to admit that he was actually a ruthless person.But he had to admit that at the moment when Queen Mother Tong died, although Tu Zhen was a little sad, this kind of sadness was by no means deep in his bones.It is by no means the kind of grief described by others or in history books as "the emperor mourned so much that he helped the coffin and cried".What he considered more in his mind was how many opportunities and troubles such a matter would bring to him.How should I deal with it in order to make the most of this matter.

So he dared not tell Pan'er.He was afraid that after saying that, Pan'er would feel that his blood was cold.

Then he suddenly thought that if one day, he would die like this.Could it be that his son is also like him, who looks very hurt on the surface, but actually feels empty inside, feeling nothing at all.There are even leisurely memories to recall the past that they have experienced together, and then arrange the next action in an orderly manner.Step by step, calm and self-sufficient, as if there is no influence?

So is there anyone who will really mourn and suffer after his death, and will really cry until he tears, instead of rubbing a handkerchief with pepper water on his eyes?

So he thought of Xue Pan, so he asked: "Pan'er, if I die one day, will you cry?"

Then he heard Pan'er say firmly: "No."

In his heart, he suddenly felt as if a piece of the sky had collapsed, and a piece of the ground had sunk, becoming more and more empty and firm, and he only felt weightless when he stepped on it.The eye sockets that had been dry all night suddenly became moist, and the throat became congested, and a pungent and sour feeling spread in the chest.

Then he heard Pan'er continue in a nonchalant voice: "Anyway, when you die, I will live a very old life, and I may be very tired. Maybe I feel old and frail, and my face is full of wrinkles Ugly doesn't want to live anymore. Let's just die together, lest they all dislike me after you die and refuse to want me, it's so depressing."

Then the tears pooled in the eyes fell down.Tu Zhen tightly hugged Xue Pan's waist, buried himself in someone's chest, and shed tears freely in a weak way.He thought with satisfaction: "Maybe, as an emperor, no one will cry for me until the day I die. But it seems good to have someone who dies with me because he doesn't want to live anymore!"

After all, the world is changing, the sea is changing, and we will never be able to grasp the whole world.But from my birth to my death, there is such a person who can always be with me.Although most of the time he exists like plain boiled water, although he may be arrogant and disdain to say some sweet words when you really need comfort.But he still walks with you so awkwardly all his life.Maybe in the eyes of others, the two of you may not be suitable, maybe most people are watching your progress with cold eyes, maybe even you yourself can't guarantee whether something will happen in the next second.But at this moment, your hearts are the same.

Then the two of us made an agreement that on the day when we were too old to be disliked by others and no one wanted us, we would die together, so as not to disturb the eyes of the world.

That feeling of happiness, like air, cannot be grasped or touched, but it really exists.

So Tu Zhen closed his eyes peacefully and hooked the corners of his mouth. He thought: He must deal with the 72nd concubine of Sangong Sixth Courtyard while he was alive, and then ensure that Pan'er would willingly go down with him on the day he died.When the time comes, life and death will be the same, only the two of them.They can even refer to the arrogance of Qin Shihuang to build mountains, rivers, sun and moon in the underground palace, and the vicissitudes of life.Then, just like the love saying in the world, I would rather be single-minded than reincarnation.

Then, there is no more...

The morning sun shone on the two of them, and the shadows of the two became longer and longer, and then turned into a shadow of one person, and then turned into a thin and long shadow, and then slowly disappeared in the morning light , nothing can be seen.