Half in the river wind, half in the clouds

It is said that the prince chopped off the heads of Wu Sansi and his son, and led his troops to attack the palace, intending to kill Shangguan Wan'er and Empress Wei. After being defeated by the emperor, he fled in panic. During the escape, the prince was killed by his subordinates, and the Jinglong coup ended in failure.

After the death of Wu Sansi and his son, the emperor suspended court for five days, and posthumously awarded them the title of Grand Marshal and the title of King of Liang, and gave them the posthumous title of "Xuan". After their death, they were honored and favored. However, Empress Wei and Princess Anle were still not satisfied, and forced the emperor to take the head of Crown Prince Li Chongjun for sacrifice, which caused an uproar in the court.

Princess Taiping's lineage (excluding her two sons with the surname Wu, of course), Prince Li Dan and his four sons, and the prime ministers and ministers of various departments all wrote letters to urge death, but Li Xian remained unmoved and offered his son's head. The empress's move completely angered the Li clan and their community of interests. One brother and one sister gave up their duties and left, and Li Dan claimed to be sick and stayed at home. Princess Taiping brought out the Imperial Observatory, calculated the heavenly stems and earthly branches, and finally came to the conclusion that Princess Taiping needed to go to Xiangji Temple to pray for her brother, the emperor. Other clan members and ministers followed suit, and they were rarely united in this matter.

Therefore, although the emperor set a very high standard for Wu Sansi's funeral, only Wu's descendants and some officials who relied on Princess Anle to ascend to power came to pay their respects. Thus, the Wu family, which had been immersed in the center of power for decades since the Wu Zhou period and even challenged the throne of the emperor, completely withdrew from the stage of history.

In this game, although the result was achieved by offering the crown prince's head to sacrifice to Wu Sansi, Empress Wei and her daughter also deeply realized that the influence of Li Dan and Princess Taiping was too great.

Therefore, the Queen's close associate, the Minister of War Zong Chuke, reported to the Emperor that Prince Li Dan and Princess Taiping were involved in Li Chongjun's rebellion.

Empress Wei knew that in order to prove the two people's guilt, she had to produce solid evidence. Just when she was at a loss, the evidence was delivered to her door.

After the prince rebelled, Empress Wei insisted on harming his wife and children, and ordered the death of the crown princess Yang and her three-year-old son. To avoid suspicion, no one in the court was willing to plead for the weak mother and young son. This shows that the ministers who talked about benevolence and righteousness but were willing to die at any cost were very good at judging the scale:

Although the prince was guilty, he was the heir to the throne. No matter how unjustly Wu Sansi died, he was still a subject. How could the emperor admit his mistakes to his subjects? The ministers' remonstrances were to safeguard the authority and dignity of the emperor and would never cause suspicion or disaster. But pleading for the prince's wife and children was another matter. Li Chongjun led his troops to invade the palace, and he offended the emperor and the empress.

In the face of deafening silence, only Prince Zhongshan Li Longye came to Li Xian and wept bitterly to express the prince's pure heart. Li Longye's affectionate words and the crying of his grandson finally awakened Li Xian's love for his child, leaving Li Chongjun's bloodline.

When Empress Wei found out, she was furious and beat Li Longye with twenty sticks for the crimes of disrespect and sowing discord between the emperor and the empress.

After returning, he was whipped nineteen times by Prince Li Dan for disobeying the law and was ordered to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors.

But after all this commotion, Zong Chuke was able to catch hold of the evidence, and used it to conclude that the Prince of Xiang and the Crown Prince were involved in the treason.

Perhaps he had accumulated experience from crying last time, so he ran to Li Xian and cried again: Uncle Emperor, the former Empress wanted to make my father the crown prince, but my father refused to eat for several days and asked Your Majesty to give up the throne. My father did not like being an official, let alone being an emperor, and this is known to everyone. Uncle Emperor, you are now the Son of Heaven, your parents and brothers are gone, but you only have this one brother! Can't you tolerate such a lovely brother who is not competitive and follows his brother's lead? !

Li Xian was silenced again by Li Longye and let his lovely brother go.

When Empress Wei's plan failed, she came up with another one. The Empress's faction, led by Prime Minister Wei Juyuan, kept petitioning to send the fourth son of the Prime Minister to a local post, and now the court was arguing fiercely.

Jiang Feng listened attentively. Although he knew the direction of history, he still couldn't help but worry about Li Longye and his son.

While she was lost in thought, she heard someone say, "Stop hanging out with Shuwei. If you learn her arrogance, be careful that no man will dare to marry you."

The person who spoke was a man in a peacock blue round-necked robe. Jiang Feng hurriedly stood up to salute, but Zhong Shuwei did not stand up, but just smiled and replied: "Then I have to play with my cousin more in the future."

The man also laughed and said, "Your cousin is too weak, it's good for her to be a bit domineering like you."

In public, Zhong Shuwei did not dare to go too far. Seeing Jiang Feng and Chu Yan still standing, she stood up and pointed at the two of them and introduced them: "This is Jiang Zuo's sister Jiang Feng, who came with Madam Shen. The girl is called... Chu... Chu..."

She scratched her head and asked Jiang Feng for help, "Her name is Chu Yan, and she's a relative of our family." Jiang Feng answered simply.

"Oh, yes. Chu Yan." Zhong Shuwei added again, and continued: "Afeng, this is the Duke of Ying, the eldest son of the princess."

This is the son of Princess Taiping and her first husband Xue Shao, Xue Chongjian, who lost to Shen Guxing together with Li Longye in the polo match.

"Greetings, Duke." Jiang Feng and Chu Yan bowed together.

Xue Chongjian was holding a wine pot, thinking of the tense situation between Li Longye and Shen Guxing on the court, and he smiled and said, "Are you Jiang Feng? Why didn't I see you this morning? You missed a good show! What a pity."

Without waiting for Jiang Feng to answer, Zhong Shuwei said first: "Things that you men find regrettable must be extremely boring. What's a pity to miss them?"

Xue Chongjian sighed helplessly, "Find a husband as soon as possible and take care of your mouth."

"Humph! It's still unclear who is in charge of whom!" Zhong Shu pouted and said, "Are you here to toast, Duke? If so, pour the wine and leave quickly, and don't bother us while we're talking."

Xue Chongjian seemed to be used to the other party's rudeness. He poured wine for the three girls in a good-tempered manner, and then said to Zhong Shuwei: "Mother will have a banquet tonight, you don't leave. Ask your cousin to come out and have some fun. It's not good to stay in the house all the time."

Zhong Shuwei frowned and muttered softly, "I know."

Xue Chongjian said to Jiang Feng again: "I heard from Aunt Fangcao that mother specially picked out a few jars of lamb wine for her little confidant. Is that you? Mother is rarely so interested. I have already made an agreement with Yiye that he will stay too! Without his piano playing, even the best lamb wine would be half as good."

Jiang Feng said: "Princess, you are so kind to me. How dare Jiang Feng consider himself as your confidant? Your Majesty, you are overpraising me."

Xue Chongjian looked at Jiang Feng and kept commenting in his mind: Too conventional, too calm and rational! What kind of vision do those two have? What kind of taste? Thinking about it, he shook his head and left.

This action hurt Jiang Feng's self-esteem, and she complained in her heart: Brother, are you polite?

Zhong Shuwei pulled her to sit down and said, "Ignore him."

Jiang Feng smiled and asked, "How come you are so familiar with the Duke?"

Zhong Shuwei said angrily: "My cousin married him and was tortured by his wife every day. Now that Wu's father is dead, let's see who will support her."

So that's how it is. Xue Chongjian married Wu Sansi's daughter as his wife and Zhong Shuwei's cousin as his concubine. The wife and concubine didn't get along, so he gritted his teeth when talking about Wu Sansi.

The imperial family, clansmen, and ministers of the Tang Empire were all deeply connected by marriage. Princess Taiping's husband's family was surnamed Wu, her son's wife was surnamed Wu, and Princess Anle's two previous husbands were also surnamed Wu. Li Longji's Consort Wu Huifei was the daughter of Wu Youzhi, and Li Longye's wife was surnamed Wei, and Wei's sons also married a lot of princesses and county ladies. After all, every family was related, but it didn't stop everyone from fighting like black-eyed chickens.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the son-in-law was drinking, feasting and playing games less than a month after his father-in-law's death.

Jiang Feng was still lost in thought. Zhong Shuwei reached out to push her. Following her raised chin, Jiang Feng saw Princess Shouchun, Princess Ji'an, Madam Shen, and Madam Dou chatting and laughing. He didn't know what Madam Dou, who was good at dancing, said, but he only saw Princess Ji'an smiling like a flower and shyly leaning on the princess' body.

"The county princess is too attentive to Madam Shen." Zhong Shuwei complained.

Jiang Feng felt a little sad, and didn't know what to say for a moment. By chance, a lady who was only twelve or thirteen years old came over, bowed slightly to Jiang Feng, and spoke clearly: "Hello, Miss Jiang. Mr. Shen from the outer courtyard asked me to bring you a message. He said that Madam Shen will go to Xiangji Temple after the banquet, and wants you to go with her. He also asked you to drink less wine, because we will ride there soon, and the round trip will not delay the princess's dinner."

Jiang Feng stared blankly at the empty wine cup, and responded with a red face to Zhong Shuwei's meaningful laughter. Then he no longer felt the glare of Ji'an County Lady's smile.

Around three quarters after noon, Princess Taiping, who was sitting at the top of the table, looked tired, so the female officials helped her to take a nap, and the rest of the ladies and young ladies also tactfully left.

Mrs. Shen was traveling with several familiar ladies. When they came out of the corner gate, they saw the Shen residence's carriage. Shen Guxing was waiting there with the horse.

Madam Shen and her aunt rode in the same carriage. Ruojin, Ruye and Chu Yan stayed in the princess' villa. Only Shen Guxing and Jiang Feng went with them on horseback.

Ruye pouted and was unhappy, but Madam Shen ignored her and got on the carriage. Aunt Shen sighed and followed. She had originally wanted to bring Shen Guxing and her stepdaughter together, but she realized that she was not competitive enough. Ruye could not match the power of the county lord's family, nor the affection between Jiang Feng and Shen Guxing, so she had to give up.

Shen Guxing first helped Jiang Feng onto the horse, then turned around and said to the three girls, "We'll go back after we've settled our mother and aunt down."

Xiangji Temple is adjacent to the Hao River in the south and Fanchuan in the north. It is hidden among mountains and towering trees. The road up the mountain is not wide and can only accommodate one carriage. If there is a vehicle coming from the opposite direction, you have to find a spacious place in advance to make way for each other. The tall trees block out the sun, and it feels cold even when the sun shines down occasionally. The springs on both sides hit the cliffs, making a sad sound, and the sound of bells can be heard from the cloud peaks in the deep mountains. Such a hidden place with an empty pool can indeed make people give up evil thoughts.

The temple was very popular, with many officials and their wives visiting, so the temple had set aside several courtyards for pilgrims to stay overnight. Shen Guxing had already sent someone to book two rooms, which were now ready. After all, the two ladies were old, so they went to rest after a whole morning of hard work.

Shen Guxing and Jiang Feng withdrew and did not go down the mountain, but turned all the way to the backyard of the Great Hall. They saw two towering ancient locust trees standing in the courtyard, with their trunks approaching each other, their crowns embracing each other in the air, and their roots entwined underground.

"This marriage tree is very effective. The marriage lock of A Zuo and Miss Zhang is hanging on the tree." Shen Guxing looked at the ancient tree and introduced it to Jiang Feng.

Upon closer inspection, I saw that the branches were indeed densely packed with copper locks, all in pairs.

Jiang Feng couldn't believe that Jiang Zuo, who was old-fashioned, dull and boring, actually believed this?! It turns out that love can indeed make people become... childish.

"Miss, are you willing to give me a strand of your hair?"

nod.

It's childish for once! There's nothing to lose anyway.

The two men each cut a lock of hair and placed it on a yellow silk tray that the young monk had laid out, on which there was also a pair of copper padlocks. The monk closed the two padlocks while chanting something, and then melted the hair of the two men into ash, put it into the keyholes, and then filled them with a sticky substance. The keyholes were sealed, and the pair of copper padlocks would be entangled forever and could never be opened again.

The monk handed the love lock to Shen Guxing and gestured with his hand. Shen Guxing then climbed up the ladder that had been placed there and hung the lock on the tree.

After hanging it, the monks chanted scriptures again. Jiang Shen both knelt in front of the tree, put their hands together, prayed, and kowtowed three times.

The two of them walked down the mountain. Jiang Feng picked up a ginkgo leaf, played with it and said with a smile: "It's a bit like getting married."

"Marriage is all about form. Worshipping heaven, earth and parents is nothing more than gaining external recognition. As for us, we are communicating with each other from the heart. From now on, I have decided in my heart that you are my wife."

A gust of wind blew, and the ginkgo leaves fell. The two looked at each other in the golden leaves. This was a gaze that spanned thousands of years, and a promise that could not be erased from the dust. Lin Jinran went upstream in the long river of history, starting from the heartbeat under the apricot tree in early spring in Liangzhou, and finally made a vow to stay together forever under the ancient trees all over the mountains in autumn.

Because the two men wasted time in the temple, they were still late even if they rode their horses at full speed.

When they arrived at the princess's mansion, Shen Guxing's servants Wuyou and Youran were waiting anxiously at the door. Wuyou was sweating in the autumn night, and while leading the horse, he said: "The young master is finally back. The Baling County King has sent people out to inquire several times. Come in quickly."

A young eunuch led the way, walking at a rapid pace. After walking around, passing through, and climbing up and down a long way, they finally heard the sound of laughter. After a while, they saw a pool of water. On the opposite side, there were bright lights and people dancing. After crossing the arched wooden bridge, they finally arrived.

It was not a formal banquet. Princess Taiping only had a couch to herself. There were tables and chairs under the couch, but no one was sitting on them.

Some were playing drinking games, some were listening to music, some were appreciating flowers, some were chatting, some were playing tossing pots... They were in groups of three or two, free and easy.

Shen Jiang and his partner walked out from the shadows, one handsome and the other graceful and beautiful. They were like two exiled immortals, with a romantic style that was not tainted by the mundane world, with a detached attitude that was not worldly, and with a carefully hidden but untraceable secret, stepping into the world of mortals step by step.

The arrival of the two immediately attracted the attention of most people. Ji'an's zither missed a beat, Li Longye's pitching pot failed to score, and the fruit juice stained Ruye's skirt... Shen Guxing blushed slightly, and apologized to everyone, but Jiang Feng was taken directly to the princess by a female official.