Everyone loves Huo Qubing

There was a sound of even breathing around him, and Han said that he seemed to be extremely tired, and fell asleep quickly after touching the pillow.I helped him tuck the quilt, carefully moved the couch, and left quietly.

At the gate of the spiritual room stood a trembling eunuch.I motioned for him to open the door.

The scent of incense was not as strong as last time, and the water vapor formed in the ice room condensed into water mist, floating around the coffin jar.A long mahogany box was on the ground, the wax paint was picked away, and it fell to pieces, and a piece of brocade silk fell at the feet of the emperor.

The emperor sat on the couch with his legs crossed, his forehead resting on his right hand, and his eyebrows were tightly clustered.Seeing me coming in, I only raised my eyes, then lowered my head again.

The densely packed small square characters on the brocade caught my attention. I picked it up and couldn't help but look at it a few more times.The handwriting on the brocade silk is very familiar, with the familiar name at the beginning and the end, and I can understand the content, almost all of which are the excuses of the generals from all walks of life to intercede for General Wang Hui.

"Running around again, is your leg healed?" Seeing me looking at the brocade, the emperor finally spoke.

"Go back to Your Majesty, it doesn't hurt anymore."

The emperor returned to silence, and continued to hold his forehead without changing his posture.In the dancing candlelight, his brows were twisted into knots, and the look on his face reminded me of a person I was very familiar with—the one who wrote brocade silk.When that person is weak and helpless, there is also a deep gully between the brows.

Slightly raising the corners of my lips, I folded the brocade and put it aside, sat down next to the Son of Heaven, got into his arms, and laid a pillow on the shoulder of a sad person as usual.

He looked down at my actions suspiciously, but in the end he didn't look away.My method has always been effective in comforting my second uncle's mood, so it should also be effective in treating my younger uncle's depression.

The candles were burning "crackling", and the warmth of embracing dispelled the coldness of the ice room.The man beside him gradually relaxed his vigilance, his breathing became more even, and the fine black silk clothes still had a faint scent of styrax.

In the evening, the eunuch brought a brocade quilt, and I pushed the sleeping Han Shuo into it, and put a long buckwheat pillow in the middle.As the moonlight poured down, I turned sideways, and through the pillow, I used my gaze to describe Han Yan's face which was very similar to Han Yan's.

On the brocade silk, the second uncle said that after the siege of Mayi, 30 troops returned without success, and the military minister Shanyu escaped.I actually let out a long sigh of relief, and a little relief sprouted in my heart.

Go to sleep with enough feet, no dreams tonight, and sleep until dawn.

***

"Han Shizhong, Mr. Huo, please wash up as soon as possible." The eunuch knocked on the door, "Your Majesty said, 'Ask Han to say that Huo Qubing will go to Maoling with me.'"

The carriage bumped, surrounded by guards of honor at the front and rear, and headed to the north bank of the Weishui River.I was sitting on the side of the carriage, and Han Yue was sitting opposite me. We stared at each other, not knowing what kind of medicine was being sold in the gourd of the master who closed his eyes and meditated.

Looking down from the high ground, the underground palace of Maoling is being dug. On the ground, large and small square pits are winding like a labyrinth.The pincers with iron shackles around their necks wielding shovels obeyed the orders of the overseers.

"Your Majesty, the excavation work is coming to an end. These have already been dug out. Please take a look at them." Wei Maoling came from a small tomb that was almost completed not far from the east to the north of the underground palace, followed by ten people. A few guards were carrying a large pile of things that were still sealed with earth.

Open one by one, there are nothing more than various curios and jades, gold and silver jewelry, bows and arrows, terracotta warriors, and some saddles and bridles removed from the buried horses.After reviewing them one by one, the emperor said, "You can make arrangements for the gold and silver to be returned to the national treasury. Other items, as well as those collected from the Han family, should be buried in the imperial mausoleum together with the copy of the memorial kept by the Central Office."

Other things were sent up one after another, and the emperor ordered Han Yue to check them one by one, and he hid in the shade of a tree and continued to rest with his eyes closed.

After noon, when the group was eating, Mao Lingwei trotted over, holding a box in his hand.

"Your Majesty, this red box is the last one. It was buried deep in the underground palace and locked with a fine iron lock. I couldn't find the key. The locksmith is already on his way."

"No need, just break it open."

Captain Mao Ling took the hammer head from the supervisor, and rammed the fine iron lock one by one.

"Clang!" The lock opened in response.

"Your Majesty, do you want to bury these too?" Captain Mao Ling wiped his sweat profusely.

The Son of Heaven pursed his lips slightly, looked up at the sky, hesitated for a long time, then turned to me and said, "Don't bury it. I'll give you the child's stuff."

When inspecting the funerary objects, Han said that he remained silent. For the rest of the time, he just stared blankly at the small tomb on the right hand direction that was stained with sunlight by the newly sealed mud. , to bulldoze the nearly completed mausoleum.

I sat in the shade and looked through the items in the red box.

A beef tendon slingshot with mottled red paint, looking at the sun, the handle of the slingshot is crookedly engraved with "made by Liu Che on the seventh day of July in the first year of Renchen".There are also a few plain color kits, similar to the one that Han told me that day, two of them are full, and they weigh heavily in the hand. When shaken, it sounds like the sound of Go pieces colliding.

I took a kit and untied the thread.Crackling, a handful of golden beans poured out.

"Your Majesty, I cannot accept such an expensive gift." I reluctantly walked up to the emperor with his eyes closed.

"If you tell you to keep it, you can keep it, there is so much nonsense." The emperor put his hands behind his head, and his eyes did not open.

Holding the box in my arms, I ran to Han and said, "Here, I don't need your brother's belongings. I will keep them for you as a souvenir."

"Did you know that those who commit suicide cannot be buried in the imperial mausoleum." He didn't take over, but just looked into the distance, "An injustice will have hostility, so brother must go."

"Go? Where to go?"

"Go back to Shuofang."

***

I started dreaming again.

After the suspension period expired, Han Yan's coffin was transported to the north.Shuofang, also known as Jiuyuan, was ruled by Qin in the pre-Qin period. When the Central Plains was in turmoil, this fertile land was taken away by the Xiongnu. After Han Wang surrendered to the Huns, he lived there.

"My brother said that father and mother met each other in Shuofang. When grandfather returned to Han, mother followed father back to Dahan. Brother has always wanted to go to Shuofang, but unfortunately the siege of Mayi failed."

Han said that after leaving with the hearse, I was the only one left in the huge Chengming Hall at night.

This time, I dreamed that I was riding a fire cloud and galloping all the way to the north.When he was about to arrive in Taiyuan, a black mass of soldiers suddenly appeared in front of him, all riding on the majestic Xiongnu Gaoju.A vicious Xiongnu soldier dressed in animal skins and a felt hat galloped up to me, raised his ring-headed knife, and swung his head at me.

Autumn brought a little bit of chill, I put on a cloak, and now the Chengming Palace couldn't shut me up, so I tiptoed out.

The Weiyang Palace at night was as quiet as ever.After leaving the north gate of Chengming Hall, I walked on the north side of the majestic golden front hall.It was almost late at night, and the Xuanshi Hall at the top of the front hall was still brightly lit.

Further to the east is the heavily guarded Yongxiang. Compared with the magnificent complex of Jiaofang Hall, Yilan Hall only reveals a few roof tiles.Auntie, Chief Wei and Yang Shi should be asleep at this moment, so I walked north along the wall on the west side of Jiaofang Hall.

After passing the abandoned and closed greenhouse hall in summer and autumn, the spacious hall of the Central Department can be faintly seen in the distance.That day in Maoling, the emperor mentioned that the central government office kept Han Yan’s memorials. Thinking of the two military newspapers written by my second uncle I had read, I couldn’t help but wonder what the official documents of these officials looked like and how much they recorded. Great proposals and amazing decisions.

The moonlight shines brightly, reflecting the paths among the flowers, pavilions, terraces and pavilions very brightly, and the tranquil fragrance of sweet-scented osmanthus settles in the night.Walking to the Central Office, unfortunately the carved red lacquered door has been locked.Abandoning the plan to sneak into the Central Office, I chose to continue north.Not far to the north is Shiqu Pavilion. The pre-Qin documents restored in the early Han Dynasty and the backups archived by the Central Administration every year should be sent here for preservation.

Shiqu Pavilion is a dead end here, and I have to keep going east.The road to the east is very familiar. During the day, when there are scriptures and etiquette classes, or when there are sacrificial activities, this place is very lively. Today, I was lucky to see the silent Taimiao for the first time in the night.

Finally arrived at Tianlu Pavilion, and further north, you can leave Weiyang Palace.I habitually stretched my hand into my bosom, only to realize that the door amulet I used to enter and exit Weiyang Palace was still left with the Queen Mother of Changxin Palace.

What a waste of time.

Walking back resentfully, the cold made my upper and lower teeth chatter, and my knees ached a little.I was in a hurry and didn't pay attention just now, the eternal lamp of the Taimiao Temple is still on, it will only get colder and colder if I stay outside, so let's go hide for a night first.

***

"Qubing, wake up!"

This voice is gentle and familiar, this embrace is warm and firm, why wake up?Just let him call me for a while longer.I turned over and arched into the arms of the visitor.

"It's cold on the ground, you'll catch a cold if you sleep again." Someone lightly poked my nose.

Well, it makes sense, it's really cool, so I'll do what I can.

Strong sunlight poured down from the window lattice, and it took me a while to get used to the light, and then I ecstatically grabbed the visitor's neck.

"Second Uncle! You're back!" I buried my head in his shoulder, "I miss you so much."

"I miss you too." He hugged me back. "I heard you were injured again. Where is the injury? Is it serious?"

I shook my head: "It's not heavy. I knocked my knee on the stone steps. It's been a long time since so many days have passed."

"Really?"

"You're a puppy." I frantically waved away his hand that was about to lift the hem of my uniform.

The aroma of fragrant grasses from the northern fields wafted from my second uncle's body, just like the one I often smelled when I lived in Zhang Zhang's house in Taiyuan.When I got close, something was touching my stomach, and when I looked down, it was an upside-down spiritual tablet, and the dark brown new paint seemed to be wet.

"Hold this as a quilt when you sleep? There are marks on your face." The second uncle chuckled lightly.

When he saw the front of the spirit card, there was a flicker in his expression.I watched him reposition the spirit card to the vacancy not far from the spirit seats of Zhao Wan, Wang Zang and his wife.Lit a stick of incense and bowed three times.

"Let's go," he pulled me up from the ground with one hand, "Your Majesty is still looking for you everywhere."

I was curious: "How does the second uncle know that I am here?"

"In the early hours of the morning, the palace people came to report that you were missing." The second uncle said as he walked, "The guards reported that no one entered or exited the palace last night. The place you can go to and be familiar with in Weiyang Palace is nothing more than here, so I Come try your luck."

I walked here in a daze last night, feeling drowsy, and I can't remember what happened next, like sleepwalking.

The sound of reading aloud came from the Taixue next door.Listen to the content, today is the etiquette class, although I am looking forward to going back to school, but this kind of class can still be counted once.

From the north of the front hall to the south, the golden blue jade is showing off its brilliance in the sun.Along the way, I met several teams of Weiyang guards in black armor, and the guide dogs brought by the dog supervisor barked around me non-stop.The second uncle explained to the visitors one by one.

The Xuanshi Hall uses magnolia as the rafters, the head of the rafters is decorated with gold, the beams and columns are made of apricot wood, the jade decorations with gold patterns, the blue windows and red tiles, and the carved railings are made of jade.In front of the hall, there is a slope on the left for people to go up by car, and steps on the right for people to walk on.As I walked up the endless stone steps, I couldn't help but wonder, when Prime Minister Xiao He planned so many steps for the front hall of Weiyang Palace, the courtiers climbed up and down every day, did they all practice to be strong and strong? Walk without panting.

"Is it okay?" Perhaps because he felt that I was slowing down, the second uncle stopped.

"It's okay." I tried to follow him.

"General Wei, please stay. Your Majesty is discussing matters." When we were about to enter the hall, we were stopped by the small yellow gate, but I could still hear voices from inside the hall.

"I said, in this battle, if you don't succeed, you will be benevolent. How did he, Wang Hui, swear in front of me that nothing would go wrong?" It seemed that the emperor was in a rage again.

The courtier replied with a big message, the voice was a little familiar, but it wasn't very clear.

"Didn't the princess just send her to be married?" the emperor asked.

Send the princess and kiss?No way, Chief Wei is less than six years old, and Yang Shi is only three years old.I looked up at my second uncle. If the second uncle didn't respond to what he said, then he shouldn't be talking about my two cousins.

"Tell me, what exactly do you want?"

This time I stretched my ears, and faintly heard the place names of "Yunzhong" and "Yanmen".

After a while of silence.

"Why don't you give him the Oasis Palace as well, everything will be fine!"

I only heard a person running up the steps from behind: "General Wei, Qubing's bow and arrow have been found."

I can see Gongsun Ao carrying my yew longbow from a distance, and I can't help cheering.

"My nephew is here too," Gongsun Ao patted my head, "I haven't seen you for a few months, why have you lost so much weight, did you not eat properly while your uncles were away?"

I knew he was teasing me, so I wasn't angry, I just took the yew bow and said, "Thank you, General Gongsun, for Qubing."

"You're welcome, it's returned to its original owner, let's play with it."

The second uncle asked: "Do you know which strong man found the bow, and whose name is it?"

"It was bought by a barbarian from the Northern Army. It seems to be called Xin Zhao."

After Gongsun Ao bid farewell and left, I obediently handed the yew bow to Xiao Huangmen who was staring at us nervously.