The Ugly Empress

Zhao Lu and Feng Ming haven't been alone for nearly half a year. After this meeting, Zhao Lu couldn't think about anything anymore, and asked Feng Ming several times.

In the end, Feng Ming couldn't even lift his fingers, and lay on Zhao Lu's lap.

It was still raining outside, but the rain was much lighter, and the patter seemed to stop soon.

Listening to the sound of rain outside, Feng Ming suddenly smiled and said, "I still feel comfortable in this scene."

Zhao Lu felt a little touched by his words. If the other party was not Feng Wang, maybe they wouldn't have to get along in this kind of inseparable mode.

Lu Shichen received the memorabilia of Mingshui filling the city, immediately organized the construction of water conservancy, and at the same time sent people along the Mingshui to find King Feng.

Feng Ming was trapped in Mingshui for two days, and Lu Shichen's men arrived to welcome him back to the palace.

Zhao Lu came out secretly, so of course it was impossible to go back with them. Seeing that Feng Ming was fine, he rode back to the capital by himself. Ruixue in the mansion was after all his daughter's home, and she was not very old and had little experience. It made her almost cry, and when she saw the master came back, she almost wept with joy.

A few days after Zhao Lu came back, Feng Ming's Yujia was also welcomed back to the palace. Although Ruixue didn't say anything, he could tell that the two had actually reconciled secretly.

Feng Ming came back with a fever, and Zhao Lu sent Ruixue to see him, but King Feng didn’t remember what he said at the time, and even had sex with Ruixue. In short, Ruixue felt that although King Feng had a minor illness, he was refreshed , looks much more energetic.

But this time, Lu Shichen was frightened, and he cursed the tofu-like embankment.

Feng Ming also thanked him for his loyalty, and let Lu Shichen take charge of this matter, and thoroughly investigated the reason why Ming water flooded the city.

Ruixue saw it in her eyes, but she was anxious and couldn't say anything. Although King Xue dug the river channel without anyone noticing it, if you want to check it afterwards, you will find it soon. It was erased. In this way, wouldn't Xue Guo be found?

Sure enough, as Ruixue expected, Lu Shichen found out some of them within a few days, and reported it to King Feng in the early court.

This time the officials were in an uproar, someone suggested sending troops to Xue Guo, Xue Junliang's actions were really deceptive, if this is not pursued, wouldn't it be a loss of the majesty of serving the country?

However, some people felt that since Xue Junliang did this, he was definitely not afraid of being discovered, so he was prepared. If he sent troops rashly like this, he would definitely fall into the enemy's tricks, and instead lose his troops.

Feng Ming asked Lu Shichen's opinion again.

Lu Shichen said: "I also feel that it is not appropriate to act too hastily at this time. Let alone Xue Guo's army is strong and strong, only the Elder Master... the Elder Master is still in Xue Guo. Isn't it because others have taken advantage of it, and everything is not good."

When everyone was reminded of this point, they all sighed. The eldest princess was very favored when the first emperor was alive. Now she is the queen of Xue Guo. The meaning of this matter has never been clear, and the officials did not dare to express their intentions rashly.

It's just that Feng Ming didn't say anything, and people who are familiar with him know that Feng Ming must have murdered Xue Junliang. This ruthless king has always said that no one will offend me, and I will not offend others. I will definitely accompany you to the end.

Zhao Lu's official seal is gone, so let's use his own small seal for the time being. Anyway, the people of Fengguo are used to fighting for the power of the Marquis. Although this year has improved a bit, no one dares to say anything even if the Marquis uses the small seal.

Feng Ming thought that he lost it while saving himself, so he specially asked the workers to build another one, and he didn't blame Zhuluhou.

No one knew about Zhao Lu's official seal, but it had already fallen into Xue Junliang's hands.

That day Xue Junliang was noncommittal to Xue Houyang's remarks, and did not blame him, but asked Xue Houyang to go back to the mansion first to rest, and the matter of taking the concubine had to be discussed in a long-term manner.

However, this matter did give Xue Junliang a lot of doubts. He also admired Teng Shang, and even exaggeratedly said that if he could get Teng Shang, a resourceful civil servant, and Teng Yun, a brave and iron-blooded general, he would be willing to exchange a city. .

But he never expected that his own brother would actually have real feelings for a man.

Xue Junliang had actually noticed it long ago, but he still didn't believe it. Even though Teng Shang was different and handsome, he was still a man and independent, so he didn't know how to let Xue Houyang, such a disobedient person, How could Xue Houyang be so determined?

Xue Junliang couldn't figure it out, but what was certain was that, whether public or private, he couldn't let his younger brother fall in love with such a person. It would be a different matter if Teng Shang also treated him sincerely. Being used as a chess piece by others, in this way, Xue Houyang's concubine matter is considered solid.

The draft is not a matter of a day or two. It takes half a month for a show girl to drive into Beijing and line up to pass through several gates. Moreover, there are so many people, the person in charge has to be selected, and the king has to choose himself. It's enough to catch a match at first glance, and there are still primary elections and re-elections. The show girls who have put up their brands can go directly to Beijing and go home, and the show girls who have not put their brands have to go to the next round.

Moreover, a king not only needs to choose concubines for himself, but also chooses wives for princes and nobles. Not only do they look good in color, but they also need to be well-matched. This is also a physical job.

Xue Junliang was busy with political affairs all day long, and he had no intention of choosing more, so he only looked at twenty ones a day, and he never looked at more after he had seen it. The matter of choosing a concubine was long.

That day Xue Junliang had just watched twenty beautiful girls, and all of them put up signs to let them go home. He wanted to go to Yunfeng Palace to see the empress, but Jiang Yu came over without knowing the current affairs.

Jiang Yu saw King Xue's complexion was not good, so he could only bite the bullet and said: "Your Majesty, the guards are reporting that someone is shouting rebellious words at the entrance to the palace."

Xue Junliang didn't take it seriously at all, "Then pull him out and kill him."

"But... the old slave heard that what the traitor yelled was about the empress, so... so I boldly came to report to His Majesty in private. And the old slave was thinking, with so many people in the Nine Sects, how could the thief be allowed to mess around?" When we got to the gate of the palace, it was really out of harmony with emotion and reason."

Xue Junliang laughed, "Are you making progress?"

Jiang Yu said with a smile: "Your Majesty has taught you well, and the empress has also taught you."

Although Xue Junliang knew that this was Jiang Yu's flattery, let alone, it was actually very useful. Xue Junliang thought in his heart that if the queen was involved in everything, he would be in a good mood. Could it be that he really had feelings for this resourceful queen?

If the queen can keep order and break off contact with King Feng, he can really treat each other sincerely and let the queen bear children for him.

Jiang Yu looked at King Xue with a "smirk on his face", and coughed hard, "Your Majesty, the thief has been caught, do you want to see him?"

Only then did Xue Junliang come back to his senses, coughed too, to hide the embarrassment he had just imagined, and said: "Then push it up and see who it is, who can sneak into the gate of the palace."

Soon the man was brought up, and he was caught by He Zhong, He Ren and He Yi. The three of them were dressed in the clothes of the imperial guards, and they pushed and shoved the thief who was tied up by five flowers.

The thief was actually a white-faced scholar, he was tied tightly, and a ball of cloth was stuffed in his mouth, as if he was not allowed to speak, but the thief looked as usual, and he didn't look like a prisoner at all.

After the three members of the He family were subdued by Teng Yun, they were unwilling to become officials. In the end, they only asked for a position in the imperial army and were willing to protect Teng Yun closely.

Teng Yun cherished talents, so he was naturally unwilling to refuse. King Xue cherished the queen, and naturally he was unwilling to refute his intentions, so the three of the He family really took it under the queen's name.

Xue Junliang looked at the situation and said, "What are you three doing? Don't let people say that the lonely imperial army abused the weak."

The three of them laughed loudly after hearing this, but when they thought of asking for peace after laughing, they quickly knelt down and kowtowed. Their movements were big and their expressions were simple and honest.

But the thief didn't intend to kneel down, He Zhong kicked him on the knee, the thief groaned in pain, and knelt on the ground, he really looked like a white-faced scholar, with no strength to restrain a chicken.

Xue Junliang said: "Why did you gag him?"

He Ren said: "Your Majesty, you don't know that this kid knows sorcery, he can confuse people's hearts as long as he speaks, the three of us almost let him go just now!"

"Oh? There is such a thing? This is a person who does not believe in evil, let him loose,"

Xue Junliang naturally didn't believe this kind of supernatural power, so the three of them untied the bandages and took off the rags from their mouths. Then the thief rubbed his knees and stood up, still not paying homage to King Xue.

Jiang Yu shouted from the side: "Bold, don't kneel!"

The scholar sneered and said, "I'm not from Xue Guo, why should I kneel down to him?"

Xue Junliang wasn't angry either, he was still amiable, he just rubbed his fingers slowly, and said with a smile: "Then what country are you from, what do you come to Xue country for?"

The scholar's tone was not respectful, and he said: "I used to be from Teng country, but later I moved to Feng country, and Mingshui flooded the city, so I had to leave Feng country and come to Xue country."

"Oh……"

Although Xue Junliang's face remained motionless, he was startled. The man seemed to have something to say, and he waved his hand to move away from the screen.

Jiang Yu was afraid that it was a thief's trick, and wanted to assassinate King Xue when there was no one else around, so he would rather die than go down. Xue Junliang signaled that he was fine, and left the three careless He's who still didn't know why, to escort, and the rest waited. Introducing the Garden Attendant.

After everyone retreated, Xue Junliang said: "You are a smart person, Gu has already heard what you mean... But Gu has two questions, Mingshui pours the city, why did you come to Xue Country? You came to Xue Country , what exactly is it?"

The scholar said: "Although Mingshui irrigation of the city was not done by a real man, it shows that the people who filled the city had some strategy and courage. Unfortunately, I know very well that although he has brave generals by his side, he has no civil servants to contribute. If it wasn't for this, how could he miss a great opportunity? Good opportunity?"

Xue Junliang remained silent, and the scholar said again: "I came to Xue State only to display my ambitions. As I said just now, I used to be from Teng State, but the king of Teng State was fatuous and incompetent. Everyone will be disappointed, I have been to Fengguo again, but I was only appointed as a county magistrate, so I dare to say that Qu is like this, it is his king's loss."

"You dare to speak, how insolent."

"I have this strength."

"Then tell me more." Xue Junliang said, "What are you shouting at the gate of the palace?"

The scholar said with a smile: "What I am calling out is that the life of the empress is in danger!"

"Bastard!"

Xue Junliang

He slapped the armrest suddenly, stood up, and shouted: "Who gave you the courage to let you speak nonsense and curse the mother of the country?"

The scholar didn't see any fear, and said: "It's not a matter of courage, it's a fact. The queen's fate is exhausted, and the end is approaching. Don't worry about the future."

Xue Junliang was so angry that he was speechless for the first time when he said this, but at this moment Jiang Yu came over in a hurry and said, "Your Majesty, the empress is begging to see you."

Xue Junliang glanced at the scholar, then turned to Jiang Yu and said, "Tell the queen, wait for Gu in the front hall, and Gu will pass by in a while."

Jiang Yu looked distressed, and said, "Your Majesty...the Queen Mother said that he would like to meet this unworldly advisor who calls himself Jiang Ziya."

Xue Junliang heard what he said, so he expected that Teng Yun must have heard the news, so he had nothing to hide. Speaking of Teng Yun's sharp teeth, maybe he could give this arrogant thief a blow.

Teng Yun was surrounded and walked over, Xue Junliang asked Jiang Yu to sit down, but before Jiang Yu could move, the three of the He family moved the chairs, as if seeing the elder brother...

Xue Junliang waited for Teng Yun to take his seat before he said to the scholar, "Continue talking."

The scholar didn't shy away from it, he even looked directly at Teng Yun, and then said: "The next sentence has a reason, it's not empty talk."

He paused, and said: "After Mingshui flooded the city, Feng Wang will investigate and point the finger at Xue Guo. He will definitely find a reason to send troops. There is no reason for the soldiers to be wrong. The reason can be said to be framed by others, if you want to send troops, the best reason is the Queen."

Teng Yun smiled and said, "It's me?"

"Empress Xue is inseparable from Fengguo's master, and her relationship is inextricably linked. Fengguo's hasty dispatch of troops will inevitably hinder her hands and feet, but if the queen is killed, Fengguo's attitude will be completely different. Isn't this the best reason to send troops to crusade? "

Xue Junliang glanced at Teng Yun. After all, what the scholar said was that King Feng wanted to kill him. He was his own younger brother, the younger brother of a compatriot from the same mother.

But Teng Yun's expression didn't change, he just sighed in his heart, as expected, it's the same in any country, no matter if they are blood relatives or not, they can be counted casually, then Xue Junliang is considered a special existence, he has treated Xue Houyang for so many years from the bottom of his heart.

Xue Junliang said: "What's the point of what you say? It's just scaremongering? Then it will kill Zibi Jiang Ziya's name."

The scholar knew that King Xue was irritating him. If other kings heard that he had spoken rudely, they would have beaten him to death with sticks. Xue Junliang was indeed more calm.

The scholar felt that King Xue had passed his own test, so he bowed down respectfully, and said: "Caomin just said something rude, I hope the king will look at the future and forgive Caomin's recklessness...Caomin has a plan to ease the empress' fate. It’s just that the aftermath is still extremely dangerous.”

Seeing that he was respectful, Xue Junliang softened his expression, and said, "Speak."

The scholar said: "Cao Min's surname is Shen Mingyi. He was originally from Teng country. He served as an official in Teng country for two years. He knows that the political situation in Teng country cannot last long. Now King Feng wants to use the queen as a pawn to send troops. King Xue might as well use Teng country to protect the queen." safety."

Although Teng Yun was resourceful, he couldn't understand what Shen Yi meant.

Shen Yi continued: "There have been civil strife in Teng country for many years. Not long ago, because he favored his wife, Mrs. Wang, King Teng even had the heart to abolish his elders. Since ancient times, abolishing an elder will inevitably lead to chaos. As expected, the son born by Mrs. Wang is smart, but young. Cowardice does not make sense, and the eldest son Teng Xin has raised troops half a month ago."

Listening to this, Teng Yun felt chills all over his body. Eldest brother Teng Xin has always been a loyal and honest person. When the prince rebelled, he even sent troops to suppress it many times, but he didn't expect that Teng Xin would also rebel.

Teng Yun knew that maybe he was pushed into a hurry. Mrs. Wang's life is beautiful and charming. Although she is not young, she still has many ways to coax people. She was very favored in the early years. Now Teng Qianyi is married. Xue Guo, no one can compete with her anymore, Wang secretly murdered Queen Teng Guo, and vainly tried to make her own son the crown prince.

Shen Yi said: "Your Majesty may send troops to King Teng at this time to help him put down the rebellion. At that time, King Teng is grateful and fears that there will be another army in the country. At this time, His Majesty will reveal to King Teng that he can help him stabilize the country, as long as King Teng is willing." Dai Chao came to congratulate and submit to the king... the king took it back to the Teng country without any effort, how dare the king make such a mistake in a short period of time?"

Hearing that it was easy for Xue Junliang to say it, he was a little hesitant. After all, surrendering is not an easy task. Some of the people who surrender are sincere, and it is even more dangerous for a country to surrender.

Shen Yi said: "Your Majesty has not much time to think about it. Teng Kingdom also has counselors and wise men. When they get the news that King Feng wants to send troops, they will definitely be very happy to see Xue Guo and Feng Guo meet in arms. There will be no reason at that time." Don’t add fuel to the flames, and the opportunity to fuel the flames is the empress... Caomin dares to use the head of the item to guarantee that if your majesty does not act immediately, King Teng will send someone to assassinate the empress!"

Teng Yun glanced at the lake in the distance, and he didn't know what it was like. He was framed by Teng Qianyi earlier, and he felt uncomfortable. Now he heard that his father wanted to kill him. Knowing that he is Teng Yun, but is there still little grievance in Teng Yun's heart?It has become a knot, which makes him uncomfortable.

Teng Yun is a native of Teng country. Of course he knows how much his father has. For so many years, he spared no effort to be loyal, but he still ended up running out of soldiers and food. If King Teng is willing to send troops to help, they will not It will become the end of defending the lonely city and being captured in the end.

King Teng was fearful, timid, and very happy to appoint his cronies. Teng Yun really couldn't figure out what ability he could compare with Xue Junliang, but he still couldn't get over this hurdle in his heart.

Xue Junliang heard that what Shen Yi said was indeed reasonable, so he was granted an official position and asked him to be the crown prince and tutor, and stayed in the palace.

Shen Yi thanked him, before retreating, Xue Houyang came and said, "Your Majesty, there are a large number of refugees pouring in from the border of Teng Kingdom."

Xue Junliang said: "Refugees?"

Shen Yi interjected: "Teng Xin sent troops, and the people couldn't bear the disturbance, they flocked into the territory of Xue Country to seek refuge. Your Majesty can open and close the door at this time, and you can't turn away people thousands of miles away."

Xue Houyang frowned and said: "How can the closed door be opened easily? If there are thieves among the refugees, wouldn't it be a threat to the tiger?"

Xue Junliang thought it made sense, and he also thought about it in the same way. Opening the door to Teng Guo, wouldn't this invite others to beat him?

Teng Yun also frowned. It would be unbearable not to let the refugees in, but it would be unreasonable from Xue Guo's point of view to let the refugees in.

He thought for a long time, and finally couldn't help saying: "Your Majesty, if the refugees are not allowed to enter the pass, the refugees will pile up at the pass, and instead pose a threat to the guards, it is better to let the refugees into the pass, gather together to open a porridge factory, and then send troops to guard the pass. , and I’m not afraid of someone making mistakes.”

Xue Junliang knew that he was kind-hearted, and this was also an opportunity for Teng Guo to be grateful, so he nodded and said, "However, if you have to handle this matter in Houyang, the others will not be at ease."

Xue Houyang knelt down to accept the order and was about to retreat when Xue Junliang suddenly stopped him and said, "You can take Teng Chang with you."

Xue Houyang stared at King Xue with wide-eyed eyes in shock. He couldn't help but feel grateful. He knelt down and bowed again before retreating. He packed his bags and prepared to set off.