Emperor Que Shaohua

In the 14th year of Tianyi, Luo Yuhua, the eldest son of the emperor of the Yu Zhou Dynasty, was named King Jing.That year Luo Yanhua was 19 years old, and he had been ill for two years and had not appeared in the court hall. Except that he had to go to Chonghua Palace in the imperial city to attend the ceremony during New Year's festivals to meet Emperor Tianyi, he would hardly appear in front of anyone.At first, the residents of Luocheng, the imperial capital, still remembered his magnificence in black clothes and white horses when he traveled with the emperor, and thought that he was the eldest son of the empress, so his status should be unshakable.However, after the queen's death, the emperor became increasingly indifferent to him, and even ignored him.For a period of time, from the court to the government and the public, rumors were disturbing, capturing various details and clues.Some people said that Empress Langhuan did not die of illness, but was sentenced to death for committing a serious crime; It is Luo Yanhua, and she is confined in Prince Jing's mansion; some people say that Prince Jing lives in secluded places and is called recuperating, but it is actually under house arrest. The Holy Majesty did not issue a decree, but it is just to save a little face for the clan. Otherwise, King Jing fell ill a few times. , Why is it so late to invite an imperial doctor?It is certain that he was hated by the emperor, but he did not see other punishments, and he was not enfeoffed. Instead, he stayed in the capital and was left alone in the cold, which is very intriguing.However, these are just unconfirmed guesses. The palace is nine layers, and the emperor's heart is like the sea. Those who can see the truth in it are either dead or will never speak for various reasons.

As if to prove the rumors, two years later, Emperor Tianyi offered sacrifices to heaven in Taimiao and ancestors in Hanzhang Hall, and appointed his second son Luo Wenxiao as the crown prince, entered the East Palace, and pardoned the world.King Jing was not present at all these ceremonies and did not respond as if he did not exist.

A few years later, Prince Jing's Mansion was as cold and quiet as ever, without any change, but the two closed vermilion lacquer gates looked more and more worn out.After the crown prince joined the government, he behaved shrewdly and rigorously, and won a lot of praise in the court. Everyone seemed to have forgotten intentionally or unintentionally. Pedestrians passing by sometimes hear the sound of the piano floating inside the wall, and then they notice that there are people living inside, and then remember that the owner here is a prince who has been crowned king.

It has been more than ten days since Luo Pingyuan returned to the imperial capital, and he followed the third prince Luo Junping to the Prince Jing's Mansion on a sunny afternoon.

He had been away from Los Angeles for many years, and his mother and concubine in the palace had long since passed away. Because she was already an adult, she was not suitable to live in the palace, so the first time he came back, he had nowhere to stay.Emperor Tianyi named him Queen Ning, and instead of giving him a mansion directly, he ordered the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Rites to build a new King Ning's mansion. last about a year.The fourth prince, Luo Linpian, is currently fighting on the northern frontier, not in Luocheng. Of course, the crown prince and Luo Junping wanted him to live in their own mansion immediately, and they were very enthusiastic, but Luo Pingyuan politely thanked him, saying that he was afraid that going in and out would affect the two people. The official business of the emperor's brother who has government affairs.The crown prince and King An were also afraid that they would be too enthusiastic, which would make the emperor suspect that they had the intention of recruiting and forming a party, so after a while of brothers and friends, the young King Ning was replaced by the only son of Dingjian Hou's family, Major General Lin Lin. Chen grabbed it and took it to Dingjianhou's mansion for a temporary stay.

Lin Chen and Luo Pingyuan are about the same age, and they have been playmates since they were five or six years old, until Luo Pingyuan went to Cuiping Mountain.Lin Chen's personality is quite unrestrained and cheerful. When he saw Luo Pingyuan came back, he was overjoyed immediately. After continuing his friendship for a while, he declared that no one should rob him. While pulling Luo Pingyuan into his house, he said: "This general Although I haven't made as much progress as you in the past year, but I've become a tyrant in Los Angeles, so you can live in peace, and I'll take you to have a good time."

Lin Huai'an, Marquis of Ding Sword, is a prudent and steady person, seeing his son being so reckless, he broke into sweat.Fortunately, Emperor Tianyi and the other princes didn't intend to take offense, so they quickly tidied up an elegant and quiet courtyard and settled King Ning to live there. They were afraid of being neglected, and let their son accompany them every day.

Among the princes, Luo Pingyuan was considered very young. If Concubine Rong of the harem hadn't given birth to another sixth son five years ago, he would be the youngest son.Emperor Tianyi thought that it was not easy for the fifth prince to learn art for many years, so he wanted to let him relax, so he didn't arrange any affairs for him for the time being.So Luo Pingyuan, apart from entering the palace to greet him from time to time, let Lin Chen accompany him to visit and play around.After more than half a month, he has already been to the Prince's East Palace and Prince An's Mansion, met several royal uncles and aunts in the clan, visited the famous places in Los Angeles, and even the gangsters and dandies that Lin Chen brought to play and chat with him, all of them were very happy. I'm a little familiar, but I haven't mentioned going to visit King Jing.

It was Prince Luo Wenxiao who thought about this matter and felt it necessary to remind him, and said: "Ping Yuan, if you have time, you might as well go to Prince Jing's Mansion to see it too. Brother Da Huang doesn't care about foreign affairs, so he may not even know about your return. I won’t send you a post to invite you to go. According to Li, you should go to visit him.”

Hearing what he said, Luo Pingyuan smiled lightly, and paused for a while before saying: "Thank you, Brother Er Huang, for your reminder, it's also my fault, I almost forgot, I should have gone. I just heard that Brother Er Huang is not in good health , I don’t know if there are any rules when going to Prince Jing’s Mansion, what did Second Emperor Brother do when he went to find him?”

Luo Wenxiao was stunned for a moment. He hadn't set foot in Prince Jing's mansion for several years, and only occasionally saw Prince Jing in Chonghua Palace during Chinese New Year, and nodded to say hello.He glanced at the fifth younger brother and saw that he had a natural expression, apparently without the intention of ridicule. Before he could answer, Luo Junping laughed and said, "Second brother is busy with business, so I don't have time to go, but I, an idler, have been there a few times." What kind of rules can he have there, he always comes when he says, and goes when he says. This is just right, I haven't visited the door to say hello for a while, you come with me, that's it. "

Seeing that the two of them had the same intention, Luo Pingyuan agreed, and made an appointment with Luo Junping to go with him the next day.

Prince Jing's Mansion is located in the northwest of the capital, and the prosperity of Luocheng is more concentrated in the east. Many princes and dignitaries live in Suzaku Street on the east side of the palace city. Among them, the closest to Chonghua Palace is naturally the Prince's East Palace.Luo Junping's Prince An's Mansion is to the south.In contrast, the northwest of the city is relatively secluded. Although there are many officials living nearby, most of them are of low rank.The Hanlin Academy is located in this area, so it finally occupies a bit of dignity.

The location of Prince Jing's Mansion is farther than that of Hanlin Academy.According to the agreement, King Ning went to Prince An's Mansion for lunch, and then went out with Luo Junping.Along the way, Luo Pingyuan felt that the voices of people around him gradually subsided from the din, but everywhere was pink and willow green, so it was not deserted.He has always been used to being quiet in Cuiping Mountain, and now he feels comfortable.

Seeing that King An was only casually talking about irrelevant anecdotes in the imperial capital without mentioning King Jing, he asked, "Brother, is your health better now?"

Luo Junping was waiting for him to take the initiative to ask, so he snorted coldly: "What else can he do? You said you were sick when you left, and you still said you were sick after ten or eight years. If you say it's serious, I'll see you on holidays." Seeing that he can talk and move, I think he has a heart disease. Who does he show his face all day long? Who cares about him now. Father is really tolerant. If it were me, I would Not so patient."

Luo Pingyuan knew that Wang An had been sharp-tongued since he was a child, but this time he came back and saw that he had restrained himself. He didn't expect that when talking about King Jing, he was so blatantly cold, and remembered the few words he heard Lin Chen said these days, and asked : "Brother Big Emperor contradicted Father Emperor?"

"Your father is heaven, if he dares to have resentment against his father, he is disloyal and disfilial." Luo Junping sneered, "In my opinion, it's not because of what happened back then. Even though you were young at that time, you should remember what happened , What did you do one after another, at a young age, you have failed my heavenly dynasty Yuzhou, I am sorry father, at a young age, you still have a life like a concubine!"

Hearing this, Luo Pingyuan felt as if his heart had been stabbed hard at the deepest and weakest point.Seeing him raise his eyes, Luo Junping couldn't help but shudder when he raised his eyes, knowing that he had finally hit his mind.This younger brother of the Five Emperors was smart and lively when he was young, and loved to laugh and make trouble. However, he suffered major changes when he was ten years old, and then went to eight years. When he came back this time, he became calm and stable. She listened with a smile, but she was always aloof. In front of herself and the prince, she never mentioned the past, as if she had completely forgotten it. After spending these days together, she couldn't tell what she was thinking.The prince has already hinted that today is the day to test his reaction.

The chill in King Ning's eyes was fleeting, and he said lightly: "So that's the case." Luo Junping was very satisfied, and sure enough, the more he didn't mention it, the more he cared. Stabbing him is also very pleasant.

Luo Junping is 23 years old this year, and he was granted the title of King An only a year ago, because the crown prince spoke for him in front of the king.King Yun was two years younger, but he was crowned king first, which made him pale in comparison, so he could only comfort himself. King Yun just had a good chance and won military exploits.However, Luo Pingyuan became king as soon as he returned to Beijing, which really made him angry, and he was so angry that he complained in private: "Even a mountain villager who lives in the barren mountains and wild ridges can be crowned king by showing his face when he comes back. If you stand shoulder to shoulder with me, I'll just rest and work so hard, it's all in vain!" The words were quite disrespectful, the prince reprimanded him a few words, and then persuaded: "He is still young, and he has not made an inch of merit. No one, even if there is a throne, it is useless, how can it compare with you."

Hearing what he said was reasonable, Luo Junping calmed down a little, and then thought of Luo Pingyuan's immature child who had grown up tall and handsome, smiling and standing on the Zichen Hall answering, the brilliance contained within, like a pearl and beautiful jade, No matter how you look at it, you don't look like a villager in the mountains, and your heart is entangled again.

Seeing that he didn't complain anymore, the crown prince said slowly, "Ping Yuan came down from Qixia Peak of Cuiping Mountain. The Hanshan School has such a profound foundation. He can be called a pedantic celestial being, but the letter he asked the five emperors to forward to the father is the most important thing. Our top priority is to find out what the verses in the letter say."

Thinking of this, Luo Junping turned his head to look at King Ning beside him, and saw that he seemed to be thinking thoughtfully, and he was half a horse behind, only then did he realize that the two had been silent for a while.When Luo Pingyuan presented the letter of Daoist Hanshan in the Zichen Palace that day, there was a verse in it, which was about the fate of the Yu and Zhou Dynasties in the next few years.Emperor Tianyi's expression was unfathomable after he read the letter, and after going down for several days, he meditated in the Qingliang Palace. He didn't even return to the harem. To show people, it is really mysterious.Luo Junping always felt that even if Luo Pingyuan hadn't read the gatha, he should know more about the inside story than others.But Luo Pingyuan had a very good attitude after making side-talks a few times, and answered patiently every time, but there was nothing else except what was said in the Golden Palace.The prince had no choice but to think of another way and figure it out slowly.

Wang An felt that this was not the time to think about this matter, so he slowed down, and waited for Luo Pingyuan to catch up, and said with a smile: "It's almost here, why did the fifth brother suddenly walk slowly? Could it be that this horse is tired and disobedient? I'll give you another good one another day."

Luo Pingyuan stroked the mane of his mount and smiled, "It's not the horse's fault. Just now I heard the sound of a piano in the distance. I wanted to hear it more clearly, so I slowed down unconsciously."

His Royal Highness Wang An wondered: "Where is the sound of the piano, I don't feel it." He asked the four guards who followed him, and they all said they didn't hear it.King Ning just smiled, and walked for a while, the road became more and more secluded, and when he turned a small path, Luo Junping also heard the sound of the piano, and couldn't help being very surprised, "Could it be that the fifth brother has practiced Tianertong?" The guards were also surprised.

Luo Pingyuan shook his head with a smile, "I don't have this ability, it's just that the mountain dwelling is quiet, and sometimes when you hear birds and insects, just pay attention."

While speaking, the sound of music came to my ears, and it became more and more clear, coming from the front.King An's expression darkened, "So it's him, and he's quite good at enjoying life." He lifted the rein of the horse and ran forward.

Luo Pingyuan walked in the direction he was walking, saw a mansion not far away with tall walls and towering trees, and knew in his heart that this was Prince Jing's Mansion.

When he came close, he saw that the gate of the mansion was closed and no one was guarding it. However, the sound of the piano was lingling, wafting out from the wall, and passed into his ears, without a trace of smoke, like a cool mountain stream flowing over the stones in the forest. Clear to the bone.Sometimes the bright strings fall like rain, like pearls splashing jade, but there is an extreme tranquility in it, as if the troubles of the world and the hustle and bustle of the world can be washed away, leaving only the refreshing tranquility.

He stood by the wall and listened, for a moment he didn't want to knock on the door to disturb him.Master Mo Hanshan said that the qin can wash the heart, and occasionally he would play a song, the meaning of the song is vast and vast, and the sea and the sky are broad, which often makes him feel something, but until this moment, he really felt what washing the heart is.

He was about to listen to it for a while, but the sound of the piano slipped to an end and stopped.

Luo Junping didn't care about this, and he was not interested in listening to the piano. Seeing that Luo Pingyuan was silent and motioned to the guards not to move, he was already impatient, so he immediately asked a guard to knock on the door.

No one paid any attention to the button for a while, and then slammed on the door again.According to King An's temper, if he hadn't brought Luo Pingyuan with him, he would have already ordered someone to kick and smash him.

After waiting for a stick of incense, someone came to answer the door. It seemed that they were two servants.King An scolded: "It took so long to come, is it possible that everyone in Prince Jing's mansion is dead? If you don't have eyes, why don't you open the gate quickly? How long do you want me and the fifth brother to wait outside?"

The servants of the two mansions obviously knew Luo Junping, their faces changed immediately, and they hurriedly knelt down to salute.One opened the door, and the other rushed in to report.

There was only one person, and it took a long time to open the two vermilion lacquered doors. Luo Junping was annoyed, and rode in as soon as the doors opened, and whipped the servant who opened the doors.

Luo Pingyuan didn't expect that the third brother who always talked with a smile would act so domineeringly here, he clearly didn't care about King Jing's face at all, he became more aware of King Jing's situation in his heart, and followed him in.

Prince Jing's Mansion occupies a large area, but there are not many houses in the mansion. It is not far from the inside, facing a lush green hill, like a natural screen wall, along the path paved with blue stones and turning around the hill, there is a pool of clear water. Peach blossoms floated on the water, and at the end of it branched out a thin creek, meandering to the main house in the distance, making a bend in front of the building, and flowing to the back garden.

Before Luo Pingyuan could catch up with Luo Junping, he slowed down the horse's reins and walked along the Qingshi Road.He saw an octagonal pavilion in Linshui. There was no one in it, but a guqin was placed. Obviously someone was playing the qin here just now.He dismounted from his horse, stopped for a moment, and looked around.

The spring is as deep as the sea, and the garden is full of big and big peonies, Yao Huang Wei Zi, the national beauty and heavenly fragrance, accompanied by the gurgling water, can almost make people intoxicated.However, looking around, the huge garden was empty and silent, no steward came out to greet him, only a few figures flashed for a while, and he didn't know where he went.

Luo Pingyuan walked not far along the winding path, and saw a person beside a clump of peonies, bending over as if doing something, only a back figure could be seen, presumably it was a gardener in the garden.Then he ran into Luo Junping who was walking back. He didn't find King Jing in the house, so he had to turn back, followed by a young man of about 27 or [-] years old. He was dressed as a steward of the mansion, but his expression was capable and steady. , and did not show any panic towards the displeased Wang An.

"Yang Yue, where's your master?" Luo Junping said angrily, "Where are the people in this mansion gone? Brother Dahuang seems to be more and more indifferent to everything, the manor of the king doesn't even have any rules and decency, I can’t say I can take care of him today.”

Yang Yue stepped forward, bowed to the person who was still taking care of the flowers and trees and said, "Your Highness, King An is here."

The man straightened up slowly, put the thing in his hand on the ground, but it turned out to be a flower shovel, and turned around.Luo Pingyuan saw that he was tall and slender, wearing an ordinary Tsing Yi, with only a jade ring tied behind his hair, very casually, it was King Jing.

Luo Junping tossed back and forth for a while, and was already full of anger.Things have not gone well for him recently, and he has accumulated a lot of bad breath. With the crown prince's explanation, Anxin will make a big fuss today, and he will not dismount immediately. Every day, listening to the piano and admiring the flowers every day, do you still have my brother, father and prince in your eyes?"

King Jing raised his eyes and looked at King An, who was furious in fresh clothes.Luo Pingyuan saw that his face was the same as before. He had met once when he said goodbye to Luocheng eight years ago. Luo Yanhua was at that time, but now he has naturally lost the youthful youthfulness, but his body is thinner than in memory.

King Jing asked lightly: "Father and the crown prince, do you have anything to ask the third brother to bring?"

Luo Junping choked for a moment.He just said it in passing, using it to suppress people, so he sneered: "That's not true, the father is busy with state affairs, and the prince assists in government affairs, so how can I think of you when I have time."

There was a trace of tiredness in King Jing's expression, as if he really wanted to turn around and continue to do his own thing, but he felt uncomfortable to ignore Luo Junping, so he didn't move: "Yes, the peonies in the garden are blooming recently, I think Brother Sanhuang might come. Why didn’t you drive the cattle today, or Concubine Han is going to hold a peony banquet again? Since you’re here, feel free to do so.”

Luo Junping was at a loss for words again.A few years ago, he saw that the peonies in Prince Jing's mansion were blooming well. Once, he drove a few cows, saying it was a gift for Prince Jing, and chewed the flowers to pieces.Later, Concubine Han held flower viewing banquets for a few years, and every time he brought people to Prince Jing's mansion, he folded or moved all the peonies away, leaving only a ruined garden.He knew that Luo Yanhua was indeed sick and couldn't bear it, so every once in a while, he tried to find a way to severely humiliate him, so that he could not recover.This approach was indeed effective in the past few years, but in recent years, despite the provocations, King Jing rarely got angry, and King An gradually became bored.

It's just that those things are done, once they are said, they really can't be put on the table, especially in front of Luo Pingyuan.

He couldn't hang on.Every time I came to the door, I was stared at by those unwavering eyes, and I couldn't help but feel guilty, as if even the red dress I loved to wear had become vulgar.But realizing it only made him more irritated.Thinking of this episode, he suddenly realized that he hadn't been wearing red clothes for some reason this morning, and subconsciously changed into a purple robe. He became even more angry and whipped to the ground.

"Where are the servants of the whole mansion? It's been a long time since I entered the door, and I didn't even see anyone who came to lead the horse. It's so unruly." He knew that King Jing didn't want to hurt the people around him, so he wanted to find two servants to whip him , let it out.

King Jing shook his head slowly: "These years, the original people in the mansion have almost left, only a few new servants, there are so many things to do, and they haven't had time to learn the rules. They dare not go forward, is it Afraid of bumping into the third brother."

Seeing that his tone was calm and he didn't take himself seriously, Luo Junping sneered: "Forget it, I was fine when I came to your house, but when I came last time, the jade wrench on my hand fell off. The things bestowed by the emperor can’t just disappear like this. I wanted someone from your mansion to help you find them, since they are all very busy, let my people do it for you.” Pointing to King Jing’s residence, he ordered Said: "Go in and look for it carefully, move lightly, if you damage the eldest brother's property, I can't afford it!"

The four guards were all under King An's command, and they galloped towards the mansion on horseback after receiving the order.Luo Junping yelled again: "Go straight there, hurry up, don't waste the big emperor's time!"

The guards understood the meaning of the words, and instead of going on the road, they stepped straight through the large peonies, damaging countless flowers.When they entered the room, there was a faint sound of tables and chairs being overturned and utensils being broken.

King Jing listened quietly for a while, then asked Yang Yue, "What's going on inside?"

Yang Yue heard it clearly, and replied: "Return to Your Highness, the piano, sword, bottle furnace, case and screen, no one is spared."

Luo Junping knew that in Prince Jing's mansion, only Yang Yue was sent by Emperor Tianyi to Luo Yuhua's side, and his skills were not weak, so even though he was not happy with the words, he couldn't treat him like a servant.

While thinking about it, Yang Yue said again: "The potted flower in His Highness's study also broke."

King Jing said: "That piece of Chengbi is a birthday gift I plan to give to my father this year. Now that it has been broken, the third brother must vent his anger. If it is still not enough, I must go to Prince Jing's Mansion. There is also a vegetable field in the back garden. "

Luo Pingyuan really couldn't stand it anymore: "Brother Three Emperors, that's enough, since we've met Brother Elder Emperor, let's go back. There are masters in Prince Jing's mansion, it won't do you any good if you keep making trouble."

Luo Yanhua had only received a hasty report just now, knowing that King An had entered the mansion, but he didn't know that someone else had come.He had never had the intention to go to see Luo Junping's men, and King Ning had been standing by the side without saying a word. He thought it was a personal entourage, so he ignored it.Hearing the words at this time, he stared at King Ning and saw that he was outstanding, only eighteen or nineteen years old, with sculpted eyebrows and handsome eyes, he couldn't help being shocked, and asked, "Is it by Yuan?"

Luo Pingyuan nodded: "It's me, I'll come with Brother Sanhuang to see you."

Luo Yanhua felt a little agitated, couldn't help it for a while, and coughed a few times in a low voice.He collected himself, thinking that the house must be in a mess at this moment, he said: "Let's go sit in the pavilion over there."

"No need." Luo Pingyuan took the reins of the horse and walked towards the direction he came from.He took two steps and asked again: "Who is the luthier who played the piano just now?"

He asked abruptly, King Jing was not thinking here, and subconsciously replied: "There is no luthier in the mansion, it is me."

"It really is you." Luo Pingyuan was a little surprised, but felt that there was nothing surprising, "You continue to recuperate well, I won't come again."

"Pingyuan, I heard that my father appointed you King Ning." Luo Yanhua said softly, "I am very happy that you came to see me."

"The crown prince asked me to come, so I took this trip. However, it is indeed time to come." Luo Pingyuan said lightly, "Brother Huang, I feel relieved to see that you are not doing well."

When Luo Junping heard that he had destroyed the green peony as a birthday gift, he was somewhat lacking in confidence, so he wanted to stop.Hearing what King Ning said at this time, the anger in his heart was exhausted, he was very relieved, and said with a smile: "I almost forgot, Brother Dahuang is not in good health, and he is probably tired, so let's leave now."

Luo Yanhua's body swayed imperceptibly, his complexion was already extremely pale, but now it was even paler to the point of being transparent.He lowered his head slightly, not wanting others to see his expression at the moment, but there was an indescribable pain in his chest, he still covered his mouth with his sleeve, and coughed softly.

After a long while, he barely stopped, felt someone supporting him behind him, and smiled self-deprecatingly: "Ah Su, I'm fine, the guest is leaving now, let's go into the house."

Luo Pingyuan saw that there were more black-clothed guards beside King Jing, who appeared out of the blue, and he didn't know where he was hiding just now.He knew this secret guard who had been with Luo Yuhua many years ago, and blurted out: "Qin Su, have you been in Prince Jing's Mansion?"

Qin Su supported King Jing, with no expression on his stern face: "I haven't been here for these years, I just came back. Congratulations to King Ning."

Luo Pingyuan has seen Qin Su often since he was a child, and knows that he is naturally taciturn and speaks concisely. It is rare for him to speak so many words in one breath.The so-called congratulations should mean that he has been favored by the emperor and appreciated by the prince.He smiled: "Ah Su, I haven't seen you for many years, and you have learned to be sarcastic."

Qin Su didn't answer, he directly supported King Jing, and together with Yang Yue, turned around and left.

Luo Pingyuan didn't bother with him, seeing that King An had recalled several guards, he got on his horse and the group left the mansion.

The noisy Prince Jing's Mansion fell silent again, and the servants were all cleaning up the broken utensils all over the floor in the house.The setting sun is gradually sinking to the west, and for a while, there are only the pale golden afterglow and the sound of gurgling water, accompanied by the disaster-stricken peony flower sea in the garden and the temporarily forgotten guqin in the pavilion.