The two maids looked at each other, and the older one raised her head tremblingly and replied: "To tell you, Madam, the former Puppet King of Chu, Ma Yin, lived here. Ma Yin died of illness a few days ago, and only his daughter is still alive. live here!"
"Oh?" Shen Liniang raised her eyebrows. She naturally knew who Ma Yin was, but she didn't expect that this great enemy who had been competing with her husband for more than ten years would spend his twilight years in this inconspicuous little courtyard in Chonghuafang. After spending time, he also left a daughter here. He became interested for a while, and smiled softly: "Oh? Then I want to go in and have a look. (_"")(,"") 1(1 )"
The two maids did not dare to stop her, so they had no choice but to follow Shen Liniang. I saw decayed grass everywhere in the courtyard, and many of the doors, windows, and walls had not been repaired. The dilapidated appearance was far inferior to that of an ordinary middle-class house. Thinking that Ma Yin was once a tycoon who was in charge of dozens of states and counties and dominated the world, but ended up like this when he was old, Shen Liniang also sighed a little more about the impermanence of the world.
¡°You prison woman, this is the King¡¯s Empress Shen, why don¡¯t you kneel down to pay your respects!¡±
While Shen Liniang was sighing, she heard the scoldings of the two servants behind her. When she looked up, she saw a beautiful woman in her twenties standing on the steps looking at her. She must be Ma Yin's daughter. . Shen Liniang was lamenting Ma Yin's life experience. She felt a little more pity for this woman. Seeing that she was very angry, she quickly smiled and said: "What a handsome little lady. Ordinarily you are also the daughter of the King of Chu." , you and I are destined to meet in this Chonghua Square, so I don¡¯t have to do this etiquette!"
Ma Xuanhua also knew something about Shen Liniang from the servant girl in charge these days. He knew that although the woman in front of him was relegated to Chonghua Square, she was very different from others and had not lost the favor of King Wu Lu Fang. This was very important. figure. I met him today, and I saw that although he was nearly forty years old, he still had a skin as smooth as gel, with slender eyebrows and long eyes. He could only see about thirty people at a time. No wonder Lu Fang loved him so much. He knew that if he didn't want to be here in Chonghua After staying in the square for a lifetime, the key lies in the beautiful woman in front of him. He went down the steps, bowed to her and said, "Ma Xuanhua paid homage to Lady Shen. Just now, the little lady was busy with some trivial matters in the house. She didn't go out to greet Shen. Your Majesty, please forgive me!"
Although Ma Xuanhua is dressed in plain clothes, as the saying goes: "A girl should be pretty and filial." She is already very colorful. Against the backdrop of her plain clothes, she looks like a white lotus, which is particularly endearing. Shen Liniang was extremely happy to see it and said with a smile: "What a lovely little lady, get up quickly. I am an unwelcome guest today. How rude!" As she spoke, she stepped forward to pull Ma Xuanhua away. He helped him up, but as soon as his fingers touched the other person's exposed skin, he found that Ma Xuanhua's skin was frighteningly cold. Shen Liniang couldn't help but asked in shock: "What's wrong with you? Why are your hands so cold!"
Ma Xuanhua lowered his head and said nothing. Shen Liniang reacted immediately and rushed a few steps into the house. She saw that the house was empty. There was nothing except a couch in the corner and a brazier beside it. Look at the coldness in the brazier. Hui, I'm afraid I haven't lit a charcoal fire for a long time. It was the twelfth lunar month of winter. Although Jianye was located south of the Yangtze River and was not as cold as Bianjing and Luoyang, the humidity in the south was heavy, so the cold and dampness would be even more unbearable. Looking at the simple furnishings in the house, I don't know how Ma Xuanhua survived the winter nights.
"What's going on? Why is there not even charcoal in the house?" Shen Liniang rushed out like a whirlwind and shouted sharply at the two servants. The two servant women did not dare to answer. They only dared to throw themselves to the ground and kowtowed repeatedly. Ma Xuanhua looked aside, sighed, turned around and whispered to Shen Liniang: "Don't blame them, Shen Liniang, this is not their business!"
Shen Liniang snorted coldly. She was not a fool. She naturally knew that Ma Yin and his daughter were not popular guests in Chonghuafang. Although they would not even give them charcoal in winter, the servants below were not either. Blind people will naturally deduct profits from it, and no one will speak for them anyway. At this time, Shen Liniang was moved by the scene and remembered that before she met Lu Fang, because her clan offended An Renyi of Runzhou, the whole clan was destroyed. She was an orphan, but she was living in the world, looking for opportunities to assassinate An Renyi for revenge. If she hadn't met Lu Fang later, I'm just afraid that he will end up like this Ma Xuanhua. Thinking of this, Shen Liniang's eyes towards Ma Xuanhua softened a bit, as if the girl in plain clothes in front of her was the wandering and helpless herself more than twenty years ago.
"Arqiong!" Shen Liniang called the female officer behind her: "Go back and bring the charcoal for the stove and other household items in my house to Miss Ma, and tell the manager that this yard is too dilapidated. Someone came over and fixed it up."
"Here!" The female official bowed her head and turned around to retreat. Shen Liniang said to the two servant girls kneeling on the ground: "I'm not here to embarrass you. If Miss Ma is short of anything, just go to my place to get it. Do you understand?"
The two servants hurriedly claimed that they were right, and Shen Liniang said coldly: "If I see you like this again in the future, I will question you two?"
When the two servant girls heard this, they were so frightened that they trembled all over and kowtowed to the ground. Ma Xuanhua watched from the side and hurriedly came over to take his hands and bow down to thank Shen Liniang. Shen Liniang smiled and helped him up and said: "You are a flower-like person. It is really difficult for you to stay here. When I see the king next time, I will talk about your affairs and promise you a good husband and family." Great!"
"It's all up to your Majesty's arrangement!" Ma Xuanhua replied with his head down, but the figure of Lu Runxing on the boat flashed through his mind.
According to the customs of the Tang Dynasty, the Shangyuan Festival is one of the most important festivals. The few days after the Shangyuan Festival are the days when relatives visit the ladies in the palace and the ladies in the palace visit their relatives. Now that King Wu Lu Fangzheng's wife Lu Shuxian is dead, Shen Liniang has been demoted to Chonghuafang, and Zhong Yuancui is the only one left in the palace. Zhong Yuancui's father, Zhong Chuan, died early. He only had two brothers, the eldest brother Zhong Yangui and the second brother Zhong Kuangshi. However, after Zhong Chuan's death, these two people did everything they could to fight for the inheritance left by their father. They had already become mortal enemy. After that, both of them joined Lu Fang's command one after another. Since Zhong Kuangshi had no military and political talents, he took a leisurely job with a generous salary in Hangzhou, the eastern capital, and lived leisurely. He only came to Jianye to visit his sister-in-law during a few festivals every year. But on one side, as long as Zhong Yangui comes, Zhong Kuangshi will definitely turn around and leave without ever meeting each other. Therefore, despite Zhong Yuancui's bad words over the years, his two brothers have never reconciled.
The same was true for the Shangyuan Festival in the 16th year of Tianyou. As if there was a tacit understanding, Zhong Kuangshi went to the palace to pay homage to Zhong Yuancui on the morning after the Shangyuan Festival. In the afternoon, Zhong Yangui took his wife and children to the palace to pay homage to She. Sister. After the routine rituals, Zhong Yuancui and Zhong Yangui's family laid out refreshments and chatted in the pavilion in the backyard. There were earth dragons in the pavilion, and thick curtains hung around it. Although it was the coldest month of winter, the pavilion was warm. It's like a spring day.
Zhong Yuancui called her two sons and one daughter to see Zhong Yangui. The eldest of them, Zhong Runfu, was fourteen years old. His face inherited the characteristics of his mother. He was very handsome and looked like a beautiful woman. They met Empress Li on both sides. . Zhong Yangui said with a smile: "Time is really running like water. I remember that I was only this tall when I went to Qianrun Mansion in Tanzhou. I didn't expect that after not seeing each other for more than a year, I would be taller than my shoulders. But how are you doing with the art of war, riding and archery? Come on?" Come on, let uncle test you!"
"Runfu has never learned the art of war, and his bows and arrows can only be used with a weak bow. Big brother should give him some other tests!"
"What?" A surprised look appeared on Zhong Yangui's face: "As far as I know, the king has very strict requirements for the crown prince. He took him with him to march and fight when he was 6 years old. The art of war, riding and shooting, guns, sticks and swords are all strictly trained and moisturized. When I was in this grade, the prince had already gone out into battle more than ten times. How could he do this to Runfu?"
A trace of sadness passed over Zhong Yuancui's face, and she whispered to her two sons and one daughter to leave first. Only Zhong Yangui and her brother and sister were left in the pavilion. She said in a low voice: "Brother, you don't know something. Your Majesty has a deep understanding of Runxing." They are extremely different, the other sons are all average, only Zhong Runqu, the eldest son of the Shen family sister, is special, but he only started to learn the art of war, riding and archery after he was twelve years old."
"Why is this happening, Your Majesty?" Zhong Yangui pretended to be surprised and asked, "Although Your Majesty, the Spring and Autumn Period is at its peak, the world is still undecided. Even if the Crown Prince is invincible, it would be better to have two capable brothers to help him, right? . If the great ancestor of the previous dynasty did not have a few capable sons and nephews, the world would not be so easy to win!" The "great ancestor of the previous dynasty" in Zhong Yangui's mouth refers to the great ancestor of the Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan. Li Jiancheng and Li Xiaogong, the king of Hejian County.
"That's it!" Zhong Yuancui sighed softly and said: "The king does not want his sons to fight, but it will ruin important things. Therefore, he only teaches the art of war to one of his sons. If the other brothers want to do evil things in the future, they will not do it. Ability, on the contrary, is a good thing that fulfills the bond of brotherhood between father and son!"
"Your Majesty has far-sightedness, which is beyond our reach, so it must be good!" Zhong Yangui said with a smile, but his eyes swept over his sister's face, and when he saw the resentment in Zhong Yuancui's eyebrows and eyes, he couldn't help but feel secretly happy. He pretended not to notice and said with a smile: "Madam, I have one more thing to do today. I hope you can help me!"
Zhong Yuancui frowned and replied: "I don't know what it is. As long as it doesn't break the law, I will help you!"
"That's natural!" Zhong Yangui said with a smile: "Mother, do you remember that at the banquet last night, the ministers persuaded us to come in and hope that the king will be enthroned?"
"Yeah!" Zhong Yuancui nodded in confusion. She was beside Lu Fang last night, so she naturally knew, but she didn't know what her brother was doing when he mentioned this.
"This is what happened: many ministers came to my home last night to ask for help" Zhong Yangui then told Zhong Yuangui that Chen Yun and others came to his home last night and asked him to go to the palace to ask Zhong Yuancui to find out Lu Fang's feelings.?Explained. Speaking of this, Zhong Yangui said with a smile: "Normally I shouldn't bother you at this time. It's just that it's only a matter of time before the king becomes emperor. Anyway, Emperor Zhaozong has been dead for more than ten years. The position of emperor is It was beaten out of the hands of Zhu Youzhen, and no one could say anything idle. It was a matter of course for everyone to persuade him to come in. I think the king would not blame him, so he took it upon himself. If you are a foolish brother, who The place is in the wrong place, so the empress can just say that the most you can do is push it back when you go back!"
Zhong Yuancui breathed a sigh of relief when she heard this. She was not an ignorant woman. She naturally knew that after Lu Fang captured Luoyang, it would be a matter of time before he ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor. He did not express his position on the spot last night, presumably because he still had some unspoken concerns in his heart. , it is normal for the ministers to ask their elder brother to come. Who said that he only has relatives in the palace for the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty?
"The king doesn't know what he is thinking about my little sister about what happened last night. He fell asleep in his room as soon as he came back last night and was not with me. Let's do this. I will find an opportunity to tell the king about it in two days. Then Then send the maid to the eldest brother's house to send a message, just watch it!"
"Very good!" Zhong Yangui pretended not to care and said with a smile: "Actually, a certain family has some personal thoughts when they come this time. Sister, think about it, if His Majesty ascends the throne and proclaims himself emperor, wouldn't you be the queen? The Zhong family can also get a lot of light!"