Clear and Muddy Loss of Love

Chapter 283

The burden of the country and the world

Inside the court hall of the Imperial Palace in the capital city.

Nangong Jingnv was wearing an imperial dress and sat on the top seat. A group of courtiers were kneeling in the dark, as if they were begging for something. The empress's face was rare serious, her full lips pursed into a "" "One" word, even the corners of the eyes and brows showed anger.

The Hubu Shangshu, who was over sixty years old, bowed three times, knelt on the ground and stood upright, holding the jade wat in both hands in front of his chest: "Your Majesty, the affairs of the country are related to the future generations of the Dawei Kingdom. I think the former emperor was like His Majesty." At this age, although there are no legitimate sons, there are two princes. Women are different from men, and it takes longer to get children. Your Majesty is twenty-four this year. Mother dear, as the saying goes, a country cannot be without a king for a day, and the harem cannot be without a lord for a day, now that the national mourning system has passed, and the harem master is vacant, it is time for Your Majesty to choose a new emperor husband!"

Everyone: "Master Hubu Shangshu is right, please think twice, Your Majesty!"

Minister of the Ministry of Rites: "Your Majesty, I have seconded the proposal...the imperial court has not had a happy event for many years, and it is time to arrange a happy event to make the inner court look brand new."

Nangong Jingnu: "As I said, His Highness Qionghua just passed away, I don't want to..."

Shangshu Sheng's right servant interrupted Nangong Jingnv's words, and said in a loud voice: "Your Majesty's words are wrong, as the so-called difference between superiority and inferiority, even though everyone in the world knows that His Majesty and His Royal Highness Qionghua are deeply in love with each other, but His Majesty and His Highness Qionghua There is a difference in status between them. Since the beginning of the world, there is no reason for a king to guard his subjects? Moreover, Princess Qionghua has passed away for a hundred days, and there is no reason for His Majesty to delay the marriage. Moreover, the imperial concubine's reunion is so grand. It will take a long time to choose the horoscope, and the matter of the country cannot be delayed any longer, and I hope Your Majesty will think twice!"

Everyone: "Your Majesty, please think twice..."

For several days in a row, these courtiers seemed to have discussed it, and the left and right servants of Zhongshu Sheng and the six ministers actually staged a wheel battle in the court, taking turns to admonish the appointment of a new emperor.

Nangong Jingnv has already been forced to leave several times in anger, but it seems that the discord in the court every time did not make these courtiers "receive as soon as they are good". , another person will jump out and bring up this matter.

Nangong Jingnv glanced at the crowd kneeling under the imperial steps, feeling her temples throbbing.

Nangong Jingnv had been forced to the point of no choice, and she was even more tempered by this group of stubborn courtiers. She sighed weakly: "My marriage is up to me, gentlemen, please don't be too lenient." The time is right... I will consider it."

Hubu Shangshu: "Your Majesty's words are wrong. The foundation of the country is the foundation of the world. Since we are ministers, we must do our best to protect the inheritance of the Dawei River and Mountains. Since it is a state matter and a matter for the world, how can we sit idly by and ignore it?" ?”

Nangong Jingnu: "Shangshu Hubu! You..."

Hubu Shangshu: "Your Majesty, the old minister is very loyal. If he commits the crime of usurpation, he is willing to accept the punishment, but the matter of the state reserve... must not be delayed any longer!"

Everyone: "The minister seconded the proposal, Your Majesty, think twice!"

Nangong Jingnv's hand holding on to the handrail of the faucet tightened again and again, and in the end she could only make the same decision for several days in a row—retire.

Fortunately, these courtiers did not have the guts to block the emperor's way...

On the way back to the dormitory, Nangong Jingnv's steps were extraordinarily heavy, and at this moment, there was only regret left in her heart.

It's just that I was immature back then. After learning that Agula had actually killed his father, I couldn't calm down and think about it. If I was more mature then, would I be able to make other decisions?

Thinking of this, Nangong Jingnv stopped in her tracks, looked up at the blue and cloudless sky, and finally let out a long sigh.

Maybe... no.

Under the circumstances at that time, no matter whether I could bear it or not, it was impossible to keep my husband and wife status with Agula. If I didn't kill Li Qiaoshan... keeping him would only reveal more things and kill him. The first report means the case is closed, and I simply admit it in order to stop the courtiers' mouths and let Agula live...

At that critical moment, how could I tolerate a little greed in my heart?If one is not handled well, even she will not be able to keep herself.

Besides, even though I have decided to grow old together with Qi Yan at this time, only I know what kind of pressure and price I will bear. The reason why I buried my eldest sister in the imperial mausoleum is out of guilt and heartache on the one hand, and on the other hand. On the one hand, I don't want the imperial tomb to be empty. How can a person who has a deep-rooted love for killing his father and enemy have the right to enter the imperial tomb, and how can he have the right to face his ancestors?

Nangong Jingnv has already made up her mind, even if there is a Jiuquan, she is willing to bear all the guilt, even if it is going to the mountain of knives, going to the frying pan, forever... She is also willing.

However, people still have a lot of helplessness in life, and even emperors are not exempt from this. Since I have become the emperor, I have the responsibility and obligation to pass on the country of Dawei. If the imperial power cannot be changed smoothly and excessively, the world will not know How much more blood will be shed.

Prosperity makes the people suffer, death makes the people suffer even more.

Nangong Jingnv screened all the children of the royal family of the right age in her mind. The eldest prince Nangong Ping died of a low status and did not even enjoy the glory of a vassal king. Naturally, his heirs could not be considered.

Two or four princes are still in the world, and they were stripped of their golden records and jade certificates because of the case of disgusting victory. Although they are still imprisoned in the inner court, they have lost their royal status in terms of etiquette and law, and their heirs are not good either.

The third brother...does have a son, but he doesn't seem to be a few years younger than himself, so naturally he cannot be adopted.

King Wuge Yu committed the crime of treason. Although the court did not pursue it...but the courtiers who adopted his child would not agree.

The sixth brother has no children, the whereabouts of the seventh is unknown, and it is even impossible for the eighth.

Only Fu'er and the boy adopted to the second sister's knee were left, but these two boys were of foreign surnames. If he was over fifty, he would be an option, but he was only 24 years old this year...

"Hey..." Nangong Jingnv let out a long sigh, and continued walking with tired steps.

The road of adoption seems to be unworkable. Could it be... Do I really have to give birth to a boy with another man?

The corners of Nangong Jingnv's mouth trembled, revealing a bitter smile: If I had known earlier that Agula was a woman...would I have promised my father to inherit the throne?

Along the way, I have lost so much, my hands and feet have withered away, and I have been in danger several times. I finally ascended to the throne of God and became the first female emperor in this ancient times. What is the reason for it?

……

That night, Nangong Jingnv brought another jar of wine to Qi Yan's place, Gu Ruolan was used to going to bed early, and Qi Yan was reading a book in front of Ye Mingzhu.

Nangong Jingnv entered the bedroom directly, Qi Yan got up to greet her: "See Your Majesty."

Nangong Jingnv said lightly, "Come have a drink with me."

It was already past dinner time, and there were only two plates of pastries on the table that could barely serve as a drink. Qi Yan frowned, and looked at Nangong Jingnv without any trace, trying hard to read something from her face. Information, unfortunately the latter is well hidden, pretending not to know with an indifferent expression, letting Qi Yan look at it.

Qi Yan didn't see anything, so he could only ask: "Your Majesty... why are you drinking again?"

Nangong Jingnu: "You can drink as much as you want. After finally becoming an emperor, why not enjoy a little bit of freedom?"

Qi Yan: "Of course, I can pour wine for His Majesty."

……

Qi Yan didn't make any dissuasion, Nangong Jingnv didn't call to stop, she kept pouring wine, Nangong Jingnv's alcohol capacity seemed to have recovered a bit, and soon the jar of wine was at the bottom, Nangong Jingnv showed a little a little drunk.

Qi Yan poured the last bit of wine into the glass: "Your Majesty, this is the last glass."

Nangong Jingnu let out a "huh", shook the half-full wine glass, and suddenly laughed.

Before Qi Yan could speak, he drank the wine in the glass in one gulp.

Putting down the wine glass, a sense of dizziness hit, Nangong Jingnv supported the table with one hand, closed her eyes with her forehead.

Qi Yan: "Your Majesty is drunk, I go and make a bowl of hangover soup for Your Majesty."

Nangong Jingnu: "No need, it takes effort to get things, don't bother."

Qi Yan: "The aftertaste of this drink is soft, you should have a headache tomorrow morning."

Nangong Jingnv grabbed Qi Yan's hand: "If I say no, then don't!"

Qi Yan: "...Yes."

Nangong Jingnu sighed, let go of Qi Yan's hand, and murmured: "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have lost my temper with you."

Qi Yan: "Your Majesty, what troubles have you encountered?"

Nangong Jingnv opened her mouth, this time, even though she was full of grievances and distress, she couldn't tell the person in front of her.Her health is not good, and her thoughts are narrow, if she speaks out, it may aggravate her condition, which is what I absolutely don't want to see.

Nangong Jingnu: "How about I stay with you tonight?"

Qi Yan: "Okay."

Qi Yan turned over to make the bed, and returned to Funan Palace Jingnv to go to bed.

With the aftertaste of drinking, Nangong Jingnv couldn't stand upright, Qi Yan had no choice but to hold Nangong Jingnv's waist and slowly move towards the bed.

Qi Yan looked at Nangong Jingnv, looked at her flushed cheeks and misty eyes, smelled the faint smell of alcohol, and felt heavy.

Even if Nangong Jingnv didn't say anything, even if she couldn't see any clues, she could guess that the person in her arms had encountered troubles again, and it was the kind of troubles that were difficult to digest and deal with at once.

Qi Yan only hated himself for not being able to share the worries of Nangong Jingnv like before, seeing her working hard for the world, and the only way to resolve it was a jar of wine, Qi Yan hated himself even more for his incompetence.

Nangong Jingnu: "What are you looking at?"

Qi Yan: "...Of course I am looking at Your Majesty."

Nangong Jingnv showed a bright smile against the pain in her heart, but... this smile fell into Qi Yan's eyes, making people feel more distressed.

Nangong Jingnv hugged Qi Yan with her backhand, put her forehead on Qi Yan's shoulder, hid the expression on her face, and asked as if jokingly: "If... I accidentally become the king of subjugation, What should I do?"

Qi Yan immediately thought that the court might have encountered some problems, and caressing Nangong Jingnv's three thousand hairs, said in a soft voice: "No, Your Majesty works hard to govern, works diligently and loves the people, and will definitely not be a king who subjugates the country."

Nangong Jingnu rubbed against Qi Yan's arms, and slowly closed her eyes.

……

That night, Nangong Jingnv pulled Qi Yan and begged for herself.

For several days in a row, Nangong Jingnv stayed at Qi Yan's place every night, but every morning she got up in court clothes and left alone...

It's just that after leaving, Nangong Jingnv did not go to the court hall, but returned to Ganquan Palace alone, shutting the door.

Qi Yan thought that Nangong Jingnv went to court early every day, but the real situation is: Her Majesty the Empress has stopped court for ten days.

The courtiers also knew the reason, but no one planned to back down. They came every day, and then received an imperial edict from the servant in the Houzheng Hall announcing the suspension of the court. Handed over the husband's booklet, and left in groups of three and four.

Therefore, although Nangong Jingnv escaped from the court, she did not escape the persecution of the courtiers. Since she became the throne, she has never delegated the matter of personally reviewing the memorials to the three provinces. Now this matter has become the most important thing on her heart. the shackles.

Looking at the mountain of memorials every day, Nangong Jingnv was conflicted in her heart, but she was worried that she might miss other memorials, so she patiently opened one by one, and then got hurt again and again.

On the 15th day when the empress stopped court, Zhongshu Sheng Zuo Pushe and six ministers appeared in Ganquan Palace, headed by Zuo Pushe, knelt down on the ground.

Respectfully invite the empress to come to court, state affairs are the most important.

Nangong Jingnv had no choice but to return to the court, but the courtiers did not "learn the lesson" at all, as if they had become determined after eating the weight, and continued to persuade the empress to appoint her husband as soon as possible...

This month is the longest month in Nangong Jing's life... However, it is impossible for her and Qi Yan to have children.

If she was asked to abandon Qi Yan and marry someone else, Nangong Jingnv would not die.

Finally, the pressure of having nothing to say broke out... Nangong Jingnv reprimanded the left servant of Zhongshu Sheng for shooting Lu Boyan in court, fined him three years' salary, and ordered him to contemplate for a month behind closed doors.

Seeing that Her Majesty the Empress was really angry, the courtiers stopped.

In the third year of Chengqi, golden autumn and October.

This year is a very important year for the imperial court. Since the amnesty of the world and tax reduction and exemption, this is the first year for the imperial court to restore taxation. Whether it can fill the treasury depends on this autumn.

The Ministry of Household Affairs and Dasinong's personnel were dispatched to various places early on to supervise the taxation together with the local governments. The good news finally came that the tax revenues reported to the Ministry of Household Affairs from various places were collected one after another, and the national treasury was filled a lot.

Just when Nangong Jingnv felt that there was finally a good thing that made her breathe a sigh of relief, another report fell on Nangong Jingnv's imperial case...

Chen Luonan Jiedu envoy Lu Xingwan died and reported to His Majesty. On the third day of September in the third year of Chengqi, a plague broke out in the temporary garrisoned army on the south bank of Luochuan. At first, it was just a battalion of soldiers with weak limbs, vomiting and diarrhea, and the military doctor diagnosed it after seeing it. Because of the acclimatization, but after another three days, the symptoms broke out in an all-round way.

At the time of writing, more than half of the soldiers in the army were killed or injured due to the plague, and [-]% lost their strength in the first battle. Your Majesty please decide.

……

Nangong Jingnv was shocked after reading the memorial. This Luonan Jiedu Envoy is a new local army established by Nangong Jingnv. It is said that it is Luonan Jiedu Envoy, but the main jurisdiction is only one army, which is stationed in the south of Luochuan. A total of 8 people.

It was after Jiya returned to Luobei that Nangong Jingnv sent an iron cavalry to support Jiya on the south side of Luonan. After Jiya successfully became the governor of Kitakyushu, Nangong Jingnv listened to Qi Yan's suggestion and dispatched this army It became a permanent garrison, mainly to defend against Qi Yan's sworn brother who killed Luo Chuan...

An accident happened to this army, Nangong Jingnv only felt a slight chill coming from her back, she immediately ordered someone to bring all the memorials in the past few days, and found that almost all the memorials submitted by the counties and counties adjacent to this army in the Luonan area It was a bumper harvest, and none of the state capitals mentioned an epidemic.

If...the local state government concealed it and did not report it, it is not impossible, but this year is special, the imperial court has sent people to various places early, so the memorials submitted are two copies, one is from the local government office, and the other is from the imperial court Officials sent over.

Nangong Jingnv looked through the memorial again with suspicion and astonishment, and confirmed that she had made no mistakes. All the counties and counties south of Luochuan had good harvests, and there was no news of the epidemic.

Could it be that... this epidemic is only in the military?How is this possible?Although the population of the army is relatively concentrated, the sanitation conditions are relatively good, and it is close to water sources. How can there be plagues?

Nangong Jingnv's heart was full of alarm bells. You must know that it is already October. Although the autumn tiger is still entrenched in the capital, it can be considered late autumn by the Luochuan River. After all, according to the usual practice, it will snow in November in Luobei. The counties and counties south of Luochuan are not a few days later. It is impossible for a large-scale plague to break out in such a season!

Could it be that……?