Chang'an ancient meaning

After all, the emperor announced his withdrawal from the court without making any decision. Li Longji only felt his ears buzzing with the sound of the drum retreating from the court. The courtiers chatted behind him, but he didn't say a word. I can not hear you.Princess Taiping was supported by the emperor, she seemed to be still weeping in a low voice, the emperor looked at her sister with such kindness.Li Longji's body was a little stiff, he knew that the people around his father would not let him meet his father at this time, but he was really powerless to turn around, face Yao Chong and Song Jing, and returned to the East Palace under the eyes of all the officials go.

Li Chengqi walked up to Li Longji, with an apologetic expression on his face, and said softly: "Sanlang." Li Longji woke up now, his pale face was still calm, and he smiled lightly at Li Chengqi: "I understand in my heart, yes I have let down the kindness of my elder brother." He took a deep breath, turned around and walked out of the hall quickly, and he didn't know who he was passing by, but he heard a faint sneer, he gritted his teeth and never looked back.

Li Longji was supported by Gao Lishi, and he staggered back to the East Palace bedroom. Yuan Yuan was sitting on the couch with the Crown Princess Wang Shi. Yuan Yuan's chess skills were still imprisoned in Dongdu for a few years, and he learned from Li Longji. The princess is a novice, and she has to ask her for advice.Li Longji didn't know why, when he saw the golden light shining on Yuan Yuan's head, he suddenly thought of his aunt, stepped forward and overturned the table with a loud roar, hundreds of chess pieces made of jade rolled all over the ground like a shower Knock out a pleasant sound like duckweed.

The princess was startled, and said: "What's the matter?" Yuan Yuan got up without saying a word, and knelt on the ground to pick up those chess pieces one by one into the box.Li Longji took off the jade belt casually, threw it on the ground, turned around and sat on a high chair, with a sullen face and no words.The Crown Princess didn't dare to say much, and stood beside him in embarrassment, Li Longji said angrily: "Do you want me to pour the water myself?" The Crown Princess hurriedly poured him a cup of hot cheese.

After a while, Yuan Yuan picked up all the chess pieces on the ground, and knelt down in front of Li Longji holding the wooden box. Li Longji frowned and said, "What are you doing with it?" Yuan Yuan said in a low voice, "Please smash it again." Longji said: "Why should I smash it again?" Yuan Yuan bowed his head and said: "The lord's anger has not subsided, since he is depressed and hurts his body, it is better to vent his anger with it." Li Longji sneered at the princess: "Is it the aunt who taught me?" You are still far from the ability to keep your eyes on the side of a mountain collapsed." Yuan Yuan's hand holding the box trembled slightly, but he still didn't look up, and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, you can vent your anger on your servant." Can."

When it came to this point, Li Longji was not going to get angry, he waved his hand in boredom and said: "Go down." But he handed the jade lamp to Yuan Yuan and said: "Add more." Li, with a few servants and maids to withdraw, Yuan Yuan turned around and handed the buttermilk to Li Longji.Li Longji stroked that hand sadly, and said in a low voice: "Something happened in the court——I don't doubt your meaning." Yuan Yuan pursed his lips slightly, and said, "I know."

When Princess Taiping came to the apse, although she was comforted by the emperor, she shed tears.The emperor personally placed a handkerchief in the golden basin and handed it to her, Taiping just refused to take it, the emperor had no choice but to pass up his sleeve and said: "Then use this." down.The emperor sighed and said: "Today's matter, it was Yao Chong and Song Jing who came to me. Since Sanlang also asked to deal with them, I will demote them from the capital and move Liu Youqiu to Zhongshu Province. The prime ministers they have vacated Let Xiao Zhizhong, Cui Shi, and Li Rizhi fill in the position, okay?"

Taiping remained silent, and said after a while: "I didn't say I would promote Xiao Zhizhong and Cui Shi as chancellors." The emperor shook his head and said, "Xiao Zhizhong complained for you and me back then, and I had long since intended to promote him. Although Cui Shi There are some flaws of good stuff, but his writing is better than Yao Chong, so he can still be used as a scholar of literature. But, you and King Ding..." When he said this, he seemed a little hard to say, and he paused again. He said: "Can you go to Puzhou for a while first? It is much closer to Chang'an than Luoyang. It can be reached in a day by horse, and it is convenient to send news."

Taiping tremblingly said: "It turns out that the fourth elder brother is going to be courteous before serving, and he still wants to expel me from Beijing." The emperor supported her shoulders and said, "Ah Yue, don't get me wrong. This is not reprimanding, but right now I am demoting Yao Chong and Song Jing. It is a great suppression of the East Palace. Perhaps the rumors of shaking the East Palace have spread throughout Chang'an. Zhang said that there is a saying that is right, one person has celebrations, Zhao Min relies on it, Chu Jun's peace can make the world safe, and I can't make Saburo You are too frightened. You go to Puzhou just to avoid the limelight. Your young daughters and daughters can go with you. Dalang and Huanu both hold important positions in the court, so they don’t have to move. Fourth brother I assure you that during your absence, I will discuss everything with Xiao Zhizhong and Cui Shi, and I will also send people to Puzhou to inquire about you on military and state affairs, and I will definitely invite you back within three months. Okay?"

Taiping tilted his head but said nothing, the emperor dipped his fingers into the clear water in the basin, slowly wrote the word "Taiping" on the table, and said softly: "Ah Yue, do you remember why Dad gave you this title back then? Taiping sneered and said, "Fourth brother is so annoying, so you don't have to bother me so much." The emperor said with a faint smile, "'And An Dunmian, you must obey the order. The head of Guizhou is repairing, and people enjoy the same. Jiabao Taiping.' Daddy hopes that his children can bring peace to the people of the Tang Dynasty." Taiping raised his eyebrows and said, "Have I tried to harm the people?" The emperor smiled and said, "No, of course not. It's just Ah Yue, Now the world needs a stable crown prince, can you forgive Saburo a little this time? I beg you, fourth brother." The emperor stood up and bowed to Taiping gently.

On that day, the emperor issued an edict to demote Yao Chong as governor of Shenzhou, Song Jing as governor of Chuzhou, and Liu Youqiu, a senior engineer, as Minister of the Household Department. At that time, all the prime ministers who were friendly to the prince in Zhongshu Province were almost wiped out.The imperial edicts of King Song and King Bin were also invalidated, but Princess Taiping temporarily settled in Puzhou.The emperor replied and made a statement: "The kings and sons-in-law will not be able to forbid soldiers from now on, and those who see them will change their palaces." It can be regarded as a little appeasement to the East Palace.

Yao Chong and Song Jing went out of Beijing at the same time, and the two went southeast and east. In order to avoid suspicion, they did not go together, and only broke up at Baqiao.In early spring, the cold wind cuts the face, the willows have not yet colored, and the dead branches are dancing in the misty cold smoke.The ice and snow under the bridge have not cleared, and the horses are just bored and chewing dry grass. Yao Chong and Song Jing sat on the bridge for a while, but no friends came. The two looked at each other and smiled. On the forked road, the sons and daughters share the towel. After drinking this cup, you and I can part." Yao Chong nodded and said, "Don't resent the prince." Song Jing said: "There is no need to say more."

The two had just clinked glasses when they heard the sound of hoofbeats, and a thin voice said: "My lords, you didn't wait for me to drink with you!" Gao Lishi got off his horse at the bridge, took off two small bags and hurried forward Said: "My lords, it's inconvenient for Mr. Lang to see you off today, so I ordered me to bring some medicinal materials for you. The mountains and rivers are far away, and you are walking on frost and ice. Please take good care of them." Yao Chong said: "Thank you Zhong Your Excellency." He took a brocade bag and opened it to see that there were several small packets of medicinal materials inside, all of which were signed, and when he saw that it was the four flavors of Shijunzi, Yuanzhi, Danggui, and Lonicera, he knew it in his heart, and respectfully respected each of them. He bowed to the west and said, "Thank you, Prince, for your generosity." Gao Lishi sighed: "Your Majesty said that he was ashamed of the two adults, so today he ordered his servants to kowtow to the two adults on his behalf. I have to personally make amends." He was about to kneel down as he spoke, and the two of them hurriedly supported him and said, "No way!" Yao Chong said, "Your nobleman will report to the crown prince, even though we two are rotten bones, we will take good care of them until the end. The day when Liuhe dominates the wind and Kyushu unifies."

After Yao Chong and Song Jing left, Princess Taiping also left for Puzhou.In the next few days, Li Longji was still the same as usual, and went to Wude Hall every morning to inquire about Sheng'an, but returned to the East Palace immediately after retreating from the court, and even Zhang Shuo and other old officials disappeared.That day the emperor woke up at noon and stayed silent for a while, wanting to find someone to talk to, only to realize that his sister had already left the capital. A chatterer has nothing to entertain him.The emperor smiled sadly. He looked at the pile of memorials piled up on the desk, and just picked out a post to copy it. When he wrote the words "Zhongleng rogue", he was stunned for a while, feeling that it was the best portrayal of himself at the moment.The emperor sighed again.

A servant came in and reported, "Your Majesty, please see me." The emperor was a little happy when he heard that his son was finally willing to come to see him, so he quickly put down his pen and said, "Quickly pass it on."

Li Longji walked in quickly, maybe he was in a hurry, when he knelt down and kowtowed to the emperor, his back heaved obviously a little fast.

The emperor asked: "Is it still very cold outside? Come and give me tea." The servant held a cup of hot tea to Li Longji. Li Longji thanked En for taking it, but did not drink it. Holding the celadon teacup in both hands, he just bowed his head Silent.The emperor only felt that his expression was a little strange today, and asked: "What's wrong with you?" Li Longji said in a low voice: "I just thought that I have hot tea smoked cages to keep warm at Daddy's place, but Master Song Guangping is almost in the cold." I lost my life to Yingshui, I feel ashamed in my heart, I really can't swallow my father's reward." He respectfully put the cup of tea back on the table next to the emperor.

The emperor was taken aback, and quickly asked: "What's going on?" Li Longji said: "The Jingzhao Mansion received a report yesterday. When Song Jing walked outside Xuzhou City, he was attacked by a group of thieves. The thieves pulled Mr. Song down. The car came to be pushed into Yingshui, but fortunately was rescued by a fishing boat in the river, and escaped to death, but also contracted a severe wind and cold, and is now sick in Xuzhou post, unable to move forward."

The emperor said in surprise: "Immediately let the Imperial Hospital send someone to Xuzhou to treat Song Jing, and then order the governor of Xuzhou to arrest the criminal."

Li Longji slowly raised his head and said: "When those thieves were tearing up with Mr. Song's servants, one or two of them took off their turbans. It happened that one of Mr. Song's servants recognized him, and one of them was Wang Wan, a street rogue in Chang'an. Yesterday, Jing Zhaoyin arrested Wang Wan at the Hu Ji Restaurant. He claimed that a Jin Wu named Gao Jin from Nanya Qianniuwei found him and gave him fifty pennies, saying that he was ordered by King Lijie to gather Some people disturbed Mr. Song on his way east."

The emperor's heart sank, he frowned for a moment, and said: "That Gao Jin, have you caught him?" Li Longji said: "Because the matter involved the county king, Jing Zhaoyin did not dare to arrest him without authorization, so he reported the matter to the minister. When I sent someone to look for Gao Jin, he was no longer in Nan Ya, and no one knew where he had gone." The emperor pondered for a moment, and said, "That Wang Wan said that Gao Jin ordered them to disturb Song Jing, not to murder him?" Li Longji nodded and said: "Yes." The emperor said: "Who else knows about this matter?" Li Longji said: "Jing Zhaoyin did not dare to file a case, only he, his ministers, and a few government officials in Jing Zhao's mansion know. He took out a few pieces of paper from his pocket and put them on the table, saying: "This is Wang Wan's confession."

The emperor lowered his head and took a glance, only to feel that the handwriting was tangled together, he really didn't want to read it carefully, so he gently pushed it aside, and said, "Can you believe this confession?" Li Longji said with a faint smile, "On this matter, please Your Majesty." Judgment, whether you believe it or not, is very important." The emperor said softly: "Daddy is asking what you mean." Li Longji said: "The way of the road is also, the world is public. I only hope that your majesty can deal with it fairly." The emperor was ruled by him. He said a few sentences stiffly, and was a little stunned. Thinking of the first and last sentences of this sentence, and thinking of Yao Chong and Song Jing, his heart was also a little sour.He still wanted to redeem himself, so he said in a low voice: "The rivers and lakes are full of filth, the mountains hide diseases, Jin Yu hides flaws, the monarch is filthy, and the way of heaven is also. Sanlang, you will be the emperor in the future, you need to have this kind of tolerance. Do you insist on pursuing this matter?" Li Longji only looked at the golden 狻猊 holding the red 氍毹 in the corner of the hall, and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, Yao and Song, you and I have the friendship of teachers and teachers."

The emperor sighed and said, "That's all. Come, come, King Lijie and King Song."

Xue Chongjian also served as General Youqianniuwei, and the official office was in the Nanya Palace, much closer than Li Chengqi, so when he arrived at Wude Hall, Li Chengqi had not yet arrived.The emperor asked: "Do you have someone named Gao Jin under your control?" Sweeping, he was shocked and said: "Uncle, someone must have set me up, I never knew about it!"

The emperor said warmly to Xue Chongjian: "Hua Nu, uncle knows that you can't bear your mother, and it's human to hate Song Jing for a while. But he is a minister of the country after all. It's too much for you to use this method. Now there is only the crown prince. With me, you write a letter to apologize to Song Jing, and I will comfort him a few more words, and the matter will be over."

Xue Chongjian said anxiously: "Uncle, just based on the confession of a rascal in the market, why do you think it's me? Since he confessed to be Gao Jin, let this person come and confront me!"

Li Longji sneered at the side, and said: "Gao Jin has already got the news to abscond. However, there are people alive and dead, and the minister also agrees to order Jing Zhaoyin to arrest Gao Jin and interrogate him strictly, or King Lijie was wronged , is also unknown."

Xue Chongjian heard what Li Longji meant, and said angrily: "Maybe someone is deliberately doing bitter tricks, and blaming others is unknown! If I really want to attack Yao Chong and Song Jing, they can't even get out of Chang'an! How could they use such things?" Dirty and rascal!"

Li Longji said indifferently: "Your Majesty, I am very worried about the safety of Lord Yao Yuanzhi, so please send someone to protect you."

Li Dan knew that no matter what happened, he couldn't pull out Princess Taiping. He looked at the two sons in distress, and there was a moment of silence in the hall. , pass a pair of bamboo sticks and torture beds from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, don't disturb people."

In a trance, Xue Chongjian only suspected that he heard it wrong, and said in surprise: "Uncle!"

The emperor sighed: "Huanu, Song Jing almost died this time. If Yu Shi Taijian knows, they will force me to investigate carefully. This will involve more people, for you, for your mother, for you Saburo and Yu Fengnu are not good. Your mother went to Puzhou this time for the sake of me and the crown prince. Any disturbance in the court will put her in a dilemma. Uncle has only been on the throne for half a year, and the court will be in a difficult position. A lot of things have happened, and uncle is very tired. Uncle has not fulfilled the expectations of the people, and even the few relatives around him can't protect him well. Today I am not the emperor, but your father and uncle. Let's end this in our own house thing, okay?"

When the emperor said these words, his tone was tired and soft, and he didn't call himself "zhen" like the court, it seemed to echo his last sentence.Xue Chongjian would rather confront others in court than admit to such false accusations.But he was sore by the emperor's words, and suddenly saw the emperor's hair turned gray, and his heart ached so badly that he couldn't help the tears from his eyes.He knelt down on his knees and said in a low voice: "I will let my uncle deal with it, but I have never done this."

At this time, Li Chengqi arrived outside the hall, and just met several servants who were obsessed with boards. He asked in surprise: "Does your majesty want to punish people?" Now it’s time to fight the Lijie King!” Li Chengqi was taken aback, and he didn’t care about the etiquette, so he hurried into the hall with his clothes on, seeing the situation in the hall, he was even more suspicious, and said: “Your Majesty, I heard that something happened to Lord Song?” The emperor said: “Not No serious problem, I sent an imperial doctor to treat him. Hua Nu didn't want your aunt to leave and did some reckless things, and I don't want to publicize this matter. Today's punishment is considered family law, and it has been beaten That's all, you go back and take care of him, don't let your aunt worry."

Seeing Li Chengqi's arrival, Xue Chongjian was even more aggrieved, choked up and said, "Cousin, it's really not me!"

Li Longji glanced at him and said: "Since King Lijie didn't admit it, His Majesty shouldn't punish him rashly, so let's send Jingzhao Mansion for questioning."

Xue Chongjian was forced into a desperate situation by Li Longji, and wanted to say a few more words of defense, but then remembered what the emperor said just now, feeling depressed and anxious in his heart, wishing to express his heart to others immediately.He looked at Li Chengqi, the tears in his eyes that he had held back for a long time finally slid down his cheeks.He only felt that this matter was weird and useless. It was clear that someone was framed, but he was left speechless, and he didn't want to show weakness and cry in front of Li Longji. He wiped his tears hard, turned his head and said: "Uncle, if you want to hit, hit him. There is no need to say more."

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Li Chengqi didn't have time to ask the whole story of the case in detail, he hurriedly listened to the servant outside the door, and saw Xue Chongjian kneeling on the ground, with tears on his face, the corners of his mouth were slightly pursed, his expression was full of resentment, and he looked like The look of being angry.He expected that his father had always loved Hua Nu, and if it wasn't for the fact that all the stolen goods were unquestionable, he would definitely not have punished Hua Nu. In addition, there was a quarrel between Xue Chongjian and Song Jing in the court that day, so he believed it ninety percent in advance. .Li Chengqi didn't know if he ran in a hurry when he ran into the palace just now, or because he was too frightened. His chest heaved violently, he gritted his teeth, turned around, and bowed to the emperor: "The king of Lijie has no law, and he bullies the ministers." , Your Majesty, please take responsibility."

Xue Chongjian hoped that when Li Chengqi came, he could analyze a few words for himself, at least listen to a few good words from himself to explain, but unexpectedly he turned around suddenly, he didn't even look at himself. It was all cold, and he said in a trembling voice: "Cousin, others have criticized me out of nothing, and you don't even ask me a question, and you believe it?" Li Chengqi scolded him in a low voice: "Who do you say blamed you!" Xue Chongjian was stunned again. He finally understood that Li Chengqi was naturally willing to trust his father and brothers. In this palace, the emperor's family was kind, his father was kind, his son was filial, his ministers were virtuous, his brothers and brothers were respectful, and only he was an outsider to them.

At this time, several servants had brought the torture bed and bamboo stick into the hall.Xue Chongjian knew that the emperor wanted to keep things quiet and his cousin wanted to avoid suspicion in front of the prince, and no one would protect him anymore, so he was extremely disheartened and lazy, but he was not afraid at all, and said with a sneer: "Since uncle wants to practice family law, I invite His Royal Highness Retire temporarily, or my uncle will punish me." Li Chengqi saw a look of shock and anger in Li Longji's eyes, and was trembling slightly at Xue Chongjian's madness and rudeness, and shouted: "You are bold!" Xue Chongjian whispered Said: "I used to be very courageous, Your Highness didn't just find out today."

The emperor raised his hand to stop their dispute, and said to Li Longji: "Sanlang, take this confession back and tell Jing Zhaoyin that I have already asked about this case and it has nothing to do with King Lijie. I will handle it personally, Gao Jin Before the case is brought to justice, no one is allowed to make any false statements." Li Longji knew that the emperor's words were also admonishing himself, so he sneered in his heart, so he stepped forward to accept the confession, bowed and said: "The minister leads the decree." He looked around Xue Chongjian, who knelt on the ground with a cold face, and his pale elder brother bowed their hands to Li Chengqi, and walked out of the hall with a flick of their sleeves.

As soon as Li Longji went out, Xue Chongjian breathed a sigh of relief, a glimmer of hope rekindled in his heart, and said sadly: "Uncle, I really don't know about this. Uncle can investigate secretly. He killed me and I admit it."

The emperor also felt that there was something strange about this matter, but if he really wanted to investigate, this matter would always be inseparable from Taiping and Saburo, and the turmoil he caused could not be calmed down.He sighed and said, "Huanu, you really don't understand what uncle just said?"

Xue Chongjian said bitterly. Compared with the physical pain of beating a board, he was most afraid of being misunderstood by Li Chengqi.He looked at Li Chengqi and the emperor with grievances, and saw that Li Chengqi lowered his head, with a cold expression on one side of his face, but the emperor's eyes were full of pity and exhaustion.That gaze was like a barbed knife slowly stirring in his heart, the pain was so painful that he couldn't even breathe.He hesitated for a while, finally thinking about his uncle's love for him, and secretly said in his heart: Cousin can always explain slowly afterward, if I suffer some humiliation, it can relieve uncle's embarrassment, and it can be regarded as a relief for him.He wanted to understand this verse, took a deep breath, kowtowed and said: "Huanu understands, Huanu is willing to accept the punishment."

He didn't want those servants to pull him, so he stood up, went to the execution bed and bent down.He felt that the wood was moving in from the outside, and there was still a chill in it, which made him shiver all over.He crouched down, looked sideways, and saw Li Chengqi's cuff hanging by his side trembling slightly, he didn't know whether it was sadness or joy in his heart, he closed his eyes and thought: He is still worried about me after all.But for some reason, just thinking about it, my nose felt a little sore.

The emperor waited for Xue Chongjian to lie down, still hesitating in his heart. He couldn't bear to really hurt Xue Chongjian, but he couldn't let Li Longji complain too much that he favored the Taiping family. thirty."

The few servants finally got the emperor's clear words, and three of them came up, two of them held Xue Chongjian's arms and shoulders, and one undressed him.Xue Chongjian came here in a hurry from the official office today, and he was still wearing the uniform of General Qianniuwei. In this dynasty, regardless of the laws of the family, he cannot wear official uniforms to accept responsibility.The servant first took off the jade belt around his waist. Although Xue Chongjian's official position is fourth rank, but he was enshrined as a county king, so regardless of the color of the official uniform and the jade belt around his waist, they all follow the regulations of the county king.This belt is adorned with 18 yuan Hetian jade belt boards, which are carved with unicorns in different postures, and fish belts and sachets are adorned on both sides.Xue Chongjian saw that the servant general was holding his belt respectfully, like it was a great thing, he smiled shyly in his heart, so what if he became a county king, he was going to be pressed against the board.

The servant carefully put his jade belt aside, then untied the belt around his waist, took off his purple robe and headband for him, then reached in and untied the belts of his trousers and jacket.Xue Chongjian's face was flushed with embarrassment early on, so she had to lower her head and close her eyes tightly. Because he was so ashamed that his body was tightly pressed against the execution bed, the servant took some effort to push back his cumbersome two layers of trousers to his knees. At the bend, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, and went down to press Xue Chongjian's feet firmly.

Although there were braziers and smoke cages in the hall, it was still very cold in the middle of winter. Xue Chongjian felt the cold was like thousands of tiny needles, making his buttocks and legs numb and painful.Just now, he was only thinking about whether his cousin might misunderstand him, and for a moment he couldn't care less about the pain of being blamed. Now that he was firmly suppressed by several servants on this torture instrument, his heartbeat suddenly started to beat.What's more, the cold wood stuck to his lower abdomen and legs, which was very uncomfortable. The cold combined with fear, wandering freely in the skin and blood, he couldn't help it, struggled and twisted his body, wanting to leave a little bit The cold torture bed is better.

Although Li Chengqi deliberately stood aside with a cold face, but seeing that the punishment was about to be increased, he finally couldn't help turning his head to look.The two snow-like buttocks still refused to be honest, twisting and arching from time to time.Xue Chongjian was lying on his stomach with his bare buttocks like this, and he just moved around on the torture bed, which reminded Li Chengqi of many childhood memories, his heart was sore and painful, and he turned his face away again with tears in his eyes.

The servants got the emperor's order, so they didn't wait any longer, seeing that Xue Chongjian had been pressed down, the two of them stuck to the bamboo boards and stood on both sides of him, the one on the right laid down the first board as usual.Xue Chongjian heard a crisp sound, and a pain as sharp as thousands of needles pierced his buttocks spread out. The skin that was still shivering in the cold turned into a burning torment, which forced the trembling even more up.He heard the news of the plank coming down, it didn't seem to be too loud, and there was still a glimmer of hope in his heart, the emperor and his cousin both loved him, no matter what they hinted, these torturers should understand and show mercy .Unexpectedly, the first board was played so vigorously that he straightened up and almost cried out.After the board was played, Xue Chongjian took a deep breath, and he didn't know whether the wound on his buttocks hurt too much, or his hope was smashed too thoroughly. After a while, it became a little shaken and blurred.