love palace

Ke Wangfu, shrouded in spring, is filled with the fragrance of birds and flowers, and a beautiful and gorgeous posture.Ever since Lord Ke received the imperial decree of 'Autumn Macaque', he ordered people to expand the house, recruit slaves and buy horses, without stopping for a moment.

Princess Ke also asked the craftsmen to build a welcome hall, which was specially used to welcome the father-in-law and Lang Zhongling who came to deliver the imperial decree.

The little princess heard that there would be a big hunting in the fall, and all the princes would attend, and she was even more excited. Not only did she start learning piano music and dancing, but she also begged the prince to give her a groom and teach her how to ride a horse.

"You are the body of a daughter, if there is a mistake, it will be fine." Prince Ke still has lingering fears about the last time the princess fell off the horse.

"Wrong, if Shuo Lan can learn how to ride a horse, maybe some prince will take her out for a walk." Princess Ke changed her attitude and chimed in from the side.

Although she didn't say it clearly, Prince Ke also knew that she was referring to the Ninth Prince Huang Ye.

"...Then learn it, remember to be careful." Prince Ke thought over and over again, finally nodded, and let Ali be the groom of the princess.

"Thank you, father, Wang Chengquan!" The princess was so happy that she practiced the piano every morning, learned embroidery, calligraphy and painting in the afternoon, and rode horses in the evening.

Ali was originally a bullying and flattering villain. Since he became the "special" groom of the princess, he has become even more arrogant and domineering in the mansion.

Wei Qing was the first victim. Every day he not only had to clean the stables, do the hard work of forking grass and delivering water, but also went to the market nearly a hundred miles away to buy liquor for Ali.

If you come back late, you will be beaten, ranging from a few slaps to a severe punch. When other people see them, they just turn their heads away, and no one dares to stop them.

Wei Qing wiped the blood off his mouth, but refused to beg for mercy, and said some nice things, even the cook said he was too brainy, his mouth was not sweet, and he didn't know how to ask for cheap.

The other stable boys were a few years older than Wei Qing, and they all rushed to curry favor with "Master Li", and deliberately left all the dirty work to Wei Qing.

It was already late at night, but Wei Qing had to squat in the yard with a heavy bucket to wash more than a dozen sets of saddles and riding boots.

The three stable boys passed by him laughing, kicked over the bucket, laughed loudly, mocked Wei Qing as a 'wild species', and then went to Ali's hut.

Wei Qing picked up the big wooden barrel and fetched water from the well again. At this moment, Ali's voice came from the hut calling Wei Qing to add more wine!

Wei Qing had no choice but to put down what he was doing, and went to bring the shochu that Wen was in the kitchen to Ali.

The hut is a brick and tile house. It was originally shared by several grooms, but later it was monopolized by Ali, and all the tables, chairs, and benches inside were replaced with new ones.

When Wei Qing entered the door, he happened to see Ali, who was very drunk, showing off a package of jewelry on the table, including emerald earrings, jade bracelets, and a crested gold hairpin. The other stable boys immediately flattered him. Getting up, rubbing his shoulders and knocking his legs, praising him all the time, Ali held on to the jewels proudly, looking like a rich man.

Wei Qing didn't know that these things were all stolen by Ali from the princess. Ali took the opportunity of helping the princess on the horse and took the jewelry away without anyone noticing.

The little princess was full of jewels and jewels, occasionally missing one or two ornaments, it was assumed that she lost it while riding a horse, and she didn't care.

And the gold, silver and jewels given to her by the prince and concubine could fill the dressing table, and she herself couldn't figure out how many treasures there were?

Wei Qing went in silently, put down the jug, cleaned up the messy dishes, and left.

However, the next day, after waking up, Ali came to Wei Qing aggressively and asked him if he saw something?

The family rules of the palace are strict, a small mistake will be punished heavily, not to mention stealing the owner's property, that is a capital offense!Ali drank too much last night and forgot that Wei Qing was there, so he started showing off his treasures.

Wei Qing is still too young to understand what stealing is?I don't even understand what Ali is referring to?He thought those jewels were gifted to Ali by the princess, so he shook his head and denied it.Ali couldn't punish Wei Qing for no reason, so he had to give up for now.

But he has already made up his mind that Wei Qing must be killed, lest the prince and princess know about it, and his life will be lost!

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Another month passed, and it was time to light the lamps. Lord Ke was buried in the book case, facing a thick pile of account books, doing the liquidation.

Concubine Ke sat in a pear flower armchair, helping with the calculations, while Butler Zhang stood aside, responsible for organizing the account books and putting them away by category.

"For the emperor's lunch, there must be twenty catties of plated meat, five catties of soup meat, two sheep, and ten chickens..." Prince Ke muttered while making calculations. Is there enough food in the palace?

Princess Ke added from time to time, "It will be September by then, so we must prepare some sweet-scented osmanthus cakes and salted rabbit meat, these must also be written down."

"Yes, yes, thank you Ma'am for your reminder." The prince asked the butler to make a list, all of which were seasonal snacks and fine wines in autumn.

"This morning, the magistrate of Luchuan County sent another cart of deer antler. With the tribute from all parties, there is no shortage of firewood, rice, oil, salt, tea and fine wine. After the hunting, there will be more." King Ke made a rough calculation. , only to show a satisfied smile.

"These are just the basics. It depends on whether the tents and manpower are enough?" Princess Ke has already asked her father, Zhao Guowei, what to prepare. Royal hunting is no joke. If the emperor blames it for a little bit, it will be a death penalty!

"Don't worry about the tents. I have ordered people to make them all night. They are all made of the best tarpaulins. They are guaranteed to be watertight and shade-proof. They are also embroidered with dragons and tigers. The Holy Majesty has seen them, and I'm sure they will like them."

"As for the manpower..." Lord Ke asked Steward Li to hand over a red book with the word "count" written on it.

The book is already very dirty, and it can be seen that it has passed through the hands of many people, including county lords, jailers, common people, anonymous people, etc.

The county lord recruits people for the palace, and anyone who is willing to contribute to the palace can sign his name on the booklet and receive five hanging coins, and he will be a member of the palace if he lives or dies.

But the common people have heard that King Ke's mansion is recruiting troops for the emperor Qiuji, so most of them don't want to go.

Once these people are recruited, they will hide in the designated hunting grounds and be responsible for finding those ferocious beasts, and lure them to the emperor, princes, and high officials for them to shoot and kill for fun.

However, if you are not careful, the arrow will fly to the servant, which is not uncommon.

Even if he was not shot to death, he had to be careful of the ambush by wild beasts. I heard that a farmer was bitten off half of his head by a big tiger in the mountain!

Others were lucky enough to take the money and go to the hunting ground to hide secretly and do nothing, but they were discovered by patrol officers and soldiers, and they were rode to death on the spot.

If Guanwei's servants let the wild animals in the hunting ground escape and go to other places, they will be caught and killed if they are found.

This kind of life-and-death job, could it be that the poor are clinking, or the death row in the prison, and no one will participate at all.

Lord Ke flipped through the roster, counting and counting, and there were more than a hundred people missing!

"There must be no fewer people guarding the siege. If it's not possible, just use the servants in the mansion to fill in the number." Princess Ke said ruthlessly.

"Even if we take the servants in the mansion to make up the number, I'm afraid it's still not enough." The prince frowned and said, no matter how you say it, we have to save some manpower for the mansion.

"If you don't have enough, you can buy people. The palace wants to send people, so you are afraid that you won't be able to buy them?" The princess sneered at this.

"That's right, Steward Zhang, take more money and go to the market to buy more slaves. Remember, you want males!" The prince handed over the matter to the steward.

Butler Zhang took the order, but he had too many affairs on his body, so he let Ali, who was in the limelight, do it, and it was considered a benefit to him.

Ali patted his chest and said, this matter is on him, but he writes all the servants who don't get along very well in his notebook, and Wei Qing is one of them.

When the butler checked the book, he found Wei Qing's name, and felt that something was wrong, because he was too young. Although there was no age limit for Guan Wei's servants, Wei Qing was only ten years old, and it was not enough to put a tiger's teeth.

"You don't have to worry about it, anyway, the number of people has been gathered for you, if there is one less, the prince will blame it, and none of us can afford it." Ali argued.

The butler was also thinking, slave No. 660, who would find out that there is a child in it?Besides, it didn't say that children can't do Guanwei.

The butler then handed back the increasingly dilapidated book to Prince Ke. The prince and princess were listening to the music and didn't check the register carefully.

Time flies, spring and summer have passed, autumn is crisp and clear, and the sky is blue and green. In this beautiful weather, King Ke's Mansion is ready to go to the south gate to kneel down to welcome the arrival of Emperor Dayan, the prince, and all civil and military officials.

At the same time, Wei Qing and more than 100 servants got into the cage-like donkey cart one by one. Each of them was stuffed with two bags of dry food, a dagger, and a jug of liquor.Contrary to Lord Ke's luxurious and grand convoy, they headed for the boundless Suzaku River Valley full of beasts...

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The wheels of the donkey cart creaked, and the Suzaku River Valley was surrounded by mountains on three sides. In autumn, it was hot during the day and cold at night. Dozens of people crowded into a wooden cage, which was naturally very stuffy.

"Look, all the brats are here to join in the fun." A bald, shirtless man grinned.

"Hey, kid, how old are you? Has your hair grown?" Someone asked with a smile.

Wei Qing was squatting in the corner of the smelly donkey cart, beside him a strong man with arms thicker than his thighs kept squeezing him.

"Ten years old this year." Wei Qing had long been used to dealing with these people, and he didn't feel afraid, and said calmly.

"Hey, as old as my son!" the bald man asked, "Did you offend Ali, so you were sent here?"

Wei Qing didn't answer, because he saw a group of cavalry coming straight in this direction.

The cavalry in military uniform and armed with spears were all majestic. They ordered the donkey cart to stop, but the donkey cart in front continued to meander forward.

"You guys guard this mountain pass, but all wild animals and livestock are not allowed to let go of this boundary!" The leading soldier pointed to a green rope on the ground and said.

"My lord, what if I meet someone who can fly?" Someone asked with a playful smile.

"Then you have to jump up and catch it!" The soldier said in an official tone, "I don't care what you do, in short, if you let go of a rabbit or duck feather, don't blame my ruthless men!"

"Yes, yes, sir, don't talk about rabbit fur, we will guard even a bird feather." The bald man said with a smile.

After the leader of the soldiers gave some more instructions, he rode away on his horse, and the dust was raised so that the eyes of the guards could not be opened.

"Okay, let's spread out, guard the one you want." The bald man waved his hand and said, no one else objected, but the man took Wei Qing by his side, saying that he wanted to take care of him.

Wei Qing sat down within the boundary line marked by the green rope, and put the dagger in his arms. He didn't want to hurt the animals. He planned to coax them back to the paddock if he encountered hares and foxes.

The bald man drank wine talking to himself, and told Wei Qing that his name was Lao Liu, and he was a porter in the palace. Because he refused to send firewood to Ali, he tricked him, rambling, Said until night fell.

Lao Liu snored early and fell asleep.It was very cold at night, Wei Qing couldn't help shivering, but he still stared intently at the lush grass, the tip of the grass was rustling, as if something had come out.

"Um?"

It was a fat hare covered in gray fur. It was chewing grass in its three-petal mouth. It looked at Wei Qing with red eyes, not afraid at all, and jumped to eat grass at his feet.

Wei Qing lightly picked up the rabbit, put it on his knees, and gently stroked its fur, but the hare suddenly jumped down and slid back into the grass.

Wei Qing listened sideways, stood up quickly, and went to wake Lao Liu up. Not long after Lao Liu woke up, two horses arrived. They were soldiers on patrol.

"These guys are like ghosts, they don't make any sound when they come here." Old Liu said with lingering fear, but he was curious how Wei Qing could hear the hooves of the horses hidden under the grass.

Moreover, he seemed to be very familiar with animals, Wei Qing himself didn't know, his hearing and vision seemed to be sharper than ordinary people.

"Your boy may be a genius." Lao Liu said with a smile, picked up the bottle again, and took several sips of baijiu.

They slept in the barren mountains for ten days, and when they were about to run out of ammunition and food, soldiers came and said that the emperor's men and horses were coming soon, so they should cheer up and guard the paddock firmly.

After another seven or eight hours, when the sun was gradually setting to the west, Wei Qing heard the sound of drums, footsteps, and horseshoes sounding like thunder from a distance. A fragrant wind blew over. Guards of honor with round fans and golden sticks gradually appeared on the horizon.

"──Long live my emperor! Long live! Long live!"

Those prisoners who wanted to use the siege to pay the death penalty all knelt down in fear and fear, kowtowed and shouted long live the emperor, obviously they didn't even see the shadow of the emperor.

"It's strange that the emperor heard it." Lao Liu knelt down, still muttering, "I heard that each post station has three thousand horses, and the number of vehicles prepared is incalculable. There are so many People come over, the emperor must be in the middle, where can we hear the cries of the untouchables like us."

Wei Qing knelt quietly, it was the first time he saw the majesty and majesty of the royal army, it would be a lie to say that he was not excited, but his eyes were not on the emperor's resplendent chariot, but on the leading generals, The aura around him was as mighty as a tiger.

When can I become a soldier myself and serve my country?But his status is low, and he doesn't even have the qualifications to learn martial arts. Wei Qing's clear eyes watched the mighty team go to the camp, and his heart was still shaken.

※※※

The blazing torches illuminated the huge golden tent in the center like a palace. In the deafening sound of "Long Live the Emperor", all courtiers and officials knelt under the dragon-carved and gold-painted throne.

"Everyone loves you in peace." Emperor Dayan Chunyu Wen sat on the bright yellow brocade cushion, lightly raised his hand to signal, with a great deal of majesty.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." The officials stood on both sides, and the fourteen princes stood in the middle according to the order of seniority, waiting for their father's instructions.

Emperor Wen understood how to register the crown prince should be made clear and frank. No matter the princes, the ministers have been waiting anxiously for a long time.

As early as ten days ago, when Chunyu Wen held the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven at Guanyin Mountain outside King Ke's mansion, General Zhao Guowei, Prime Minister Li Duo and others took turns to inquire about the Holy Will, but Chunyu Wen pretended not to know and did not reply.

In fact, which prince should be appointed as the prince, Chunyu Wen knew very well, he always believed that "the emperor is the heaven", the emperor is of course destined by heaven!

Just like when he firmly believed that he was the true son of heaven, even if he killed his brother, he still wanted to ascend to the throne of God.

When the Ninth Prince Huang Ye was born, not only was the night as bright as day, but the Ziwei star in the sky was even more brilliant, it was the star of the emperor!

But his biological mother was a subjugated princess, which made Chunyu Wen always jealous. Will Concubine Ping use her son's power to take revenge on Dayan?

Emperor Wen was worried that after a hundred years, when Huang Ye ascended the throne and Concubine Ping became the empress dowager, he would interfere in the country's political affairs and encourage Huang Ye to revive the Qinglu Kingdom?

If this is the case, it is better to pass the throne to the eldest son and let Yaozhong take over as the leader. Although he is not as intelligent and capable as Huang Ye, but with the Queen Mother behind him, he will not do anything that will damage the foundation of the ancestors.

But to say who among these fourteen princes can make Dayan rule the world and raz the ten kingdoms, only Huang Ye is suitable.

As the saying goes, you can't have both, he has to give up one of these two sons.

"Your Majesty?" Because Chunyu Wen frowned deeply and remained silent, the old eunuch standing beside him thought he was unwell and asked softly.

Chunyu Wen came back to his senses, his gaze was like a torch, he looked around at the officials and princes present, and said, "This time, I was able to travel to the Zhuque River Valley and appreciate this great hunting ground with lush vegetation and flourishing animals, all thanks to the painstaking care of Prince Ke's mansion. , should first be rewarded for meritorious deeds, Lord Ke, please come out.”

The autumn macaque team is huge, there are more than [-] people on this trip, they can reach the Zhuque River Valley smoothly, and the scenery along the way is boundless, singing and dancing are peaceful, the emperor really should reward Ke Wangfu, and all the ministers nodded in agreement.

Ke Xian tremblingly came out to thank Lord Long, and Chunyu Wen also praised his family for their knowledge of books and rites, and rewarded him with 3000 taels of silver, and a thousand feet of cloth and silk, and granted a special dinner. Let's have a banquet together.

After Ke Xian retreated with gratitude, the emperor rewarded the guard generals and post station officials, etc., and then came to the topic.

"This autumn macaque lasted for twenty days. I want to see the true abilities of the princes, so I first draw up a list of rewards and punishments. After you have a look, you will understand."

The two red-clothed eunuchs held the jade-carved box in their hands, and slowly opened a roll of brocade and brocade imperial edicts in gold, and presented it to the princes.

The younger princes could not help but look up, but the eldest prince remained unmoved, waiting for the old eunuch to announce the details...