Clear and Muddy Loss of Love

Chapter 281

Empress's Ambition

In just half a month, Shangguan Wu arrived.

He was the only one who came with a few confidant guards. After inquiring, he found out that Shangguan Wu immediately came with his confidants day and night after receiving the news, but Shangguan Youhe was too young to bear the bumps, so Shangguan Wu arranged for a large escort Youhe walked slowly behind.

Shangguan Wu's face was covered with beards, his eyes were bloodshot, and his hair was messy. He looked like a furious and exhausted male lion.

After entering the main hall, Shangguan Wu stood in the middle of the court hall and looked at Nangong Jingnv for a long time before kneeling down on one knee and bowing: "Chen, Shangguan Wu, see Your Majesty."

The majesty of the emperor should not be looked directly at, let alone glared at. This behavior of Shangguan Wu has constituted a crime of usurpation, but those Confucian scholars in the court should have not seen it, and they were silent. Nangong Jingnv also felt guilty and did not criticize half sentence.

Nangong Jingnv: "The great general, Wang Mianli, came here from a long distance. It's hard work."

Shangguan Wu cupped his hands: "Your Majesty Rong Chen is also invited to see his wife."

Nangong Jingnv sighed softly: "After retreating from the imperial court...the eldest brother-in-law will come with me."

Shangguan Wu: "Yes."

After coming down to court, Nangong Jingnv took Shangguan Wu to the side hall of Ganquan Palace. Neither of them spoke on the way, and the atmosphere was terribly quiet.

When I came to the side hall where the spirit stopped, there were elegiac couplets and black veils hanging outside the door, and many palace people knelt outside the door in sackcloth and filial piety. Nangong Jingnu made a "please" gesture: "These days Fuer is here Inside, it has been half a month. Due to...the weather is hot, although ice cubes are used, but...the eldest sister's body is already... I decided to order someone to seal the coffin. I didn't want to surprise Fu'er. child."

After Shangguan Wu heard what Nangong Jingnu said, the eyes of the seven-foot-tall man were red, and he stood outside the door for a long time without taking a step.

Nangong Jingnu: "Brother-in-law..."

Shangguan Wu: "Your Majesty, can I borrow a place for you to take a bath and change clothes? I have come all the way here and my body is very dirty. I don't want to... let Your Highness see me like this."

Shangguan Wu's voice was low and hoarse, which made Nangong Jingnu's eyes turn red. If it wasn't for him... the eldest sister would not have died.

Even after a few days, the guilt and heartache have not diminished by half.

Nangong Jingnu: "Come here, take the General King to take a shower and change clothes."

Internal servant: "Observe the order."

Shangguan Wu cupped his hands at Nangong Jingnv again, and followed the servant.

About half an hour later, Shangguan Wu came back, took off his battle robe and saber, and changed into a Confucian scholar's plain robe, which didn't seem to fit well, but he was much more energetic.

Shangguan Wu went straight into the mourning hall. Shangguan Fu, who was kneeling in front of the coffin, lost a lot of weight. His palm-sized face made his eyes look extra large. Kneeling on the other side of the coffin was Qi Yuxiao, who was also dressed in hemp and filial piety. , the emperor cannot keep filial piety for the vassal king, so Qi Yuxiao replaced Nangong Jingnv.

In the past few days after school, Qi Yuxiao would show up in the mourning hall on time after eating, and always accompanied Shangguan Fu to keep filial piety for Nangong Sunu.

When Shangguan Wu saw Qi Yuxiao kneeling in the coffin, his face brightened a little.Seeing his father, Shangguan Fu struggled to get up from the futon, with big teardrops overflowing his eyes, he called out, "Father."

Qi Yuxiao: "Yuxiao met Uncle."

Nangong Jingnv held Qi Yuxiao's hand: "Brother-in-law, I'll take Yuxiao out first."

Shangguan Wu took Shangguan Fu with one hand, and stroked the golden nanmu coffin with the other: "Thank you."

……

On this day, the father and son of the Shangguan family stayed in the mourning hall for a whole night. Nangong Jingnv issued an order that no one should go in and disturb him.

At night, Nangong Jingnv came to the half of the Forbidden Palace, alone, with a jar of wine in her hand.

Gu Ruolan had already prepared the dinner, and only brought her own food back to the side hall, leaving the venue to Nangong Jingnu and Qi Yan.

Qi Yan was already waiting at the door, and seeing Nangong Jingnv taking the wine jar, she took Nangong Jingnv's hand and entered the hall.

Nangong Jingnu: "The Great General has arrived today."

Qi Yan: "It seems to be a little faster than expected."

Nangong Jingnv nodded, and said sadly, "He only brought eight people into the capital, and the rest of the army accompanied You He to the capital slowly."

Qi Yan: "That's right."

Nangong Jingnu sat down at the table and said in a low voice: "Today...I have been thinking about whether we are villains. Today's big brother-in-law...doesn't even want to come to Xingshi to inquire about crimes. He is just a middle-aged mourner. An ordinary person with a wife."

Qi Yan thought for a while and replied: "It is human nature to be sad after suffering such misfortune, but the court still has to take precautions so as not to be passive. If the general Wang can continue to maintain his normal state in consideration of the elder sister's affection, it will be considered unfortunate." Fortunately, but people’s hearts are always unpredictable, and if it is not guaranteed, his thoughts will change after he returns to the fief, so let’s deploy according to the plan.”

Nangong Jingnv nodded, she patted the mud off the wine jar and poured herself a cup, Qi Yan picked up the bamboo chopsticks and gave Nangong Jingnv a piece of tofu: "Drinking alcohol on an empty stomach is the most harmful to health, Your Majesty, eat something first." One pad, sister Ruolan is very skilled."

Nangong Jingnv ate the tofu silently, and drank it down in one gulp.

Qi Yan brought another dish for Nangong Jingnu, who still ate in silence and drank another cup.

Seeing Nangong Jingnv like this, Qi Yan felt distressed in her heart. She would rather see Nangong Jingnv cry than see her so dejected, but ah... this person in front of him has grown up, With the maturity of age and mind, coupled with the addition of the throne of God, he can no longer express his emotions as freely as before.

At this moment, Qi Yan hated her own incompetence, if she was really as exhaustive as Nangong Jingnv thought, then she should protect her from any harm.

Qi Yan brought food for Nangong Jingnv again, watched her eat, then raised her hand to take a wine glass.

Qi Yan's hand was held by Nangong Jingnv before it touched the wine jar.

Nangong Jingnu: "What are you going to do?"

Qi Yan: "Your Majesty, let me have a drink with you."

Nangong Jingnu: "No more, drinking is harmful to your health, and you are still drinking medicine so it is not easy to drink, just sit and accompany me."

Qi Yan: "The subject's body is clear to me. It's not as bad as His Majesty thinks. Besides...it was a lie to say that you can't drink alcohol. Grassland people are born to drink."

Nangong Jingnu: "No, I don't allow you to drink alcohol. At least until your health is completely recovered. At most, you are allowed to pour wine and vegetables for me."

Qi Yan looked at Nangong Jingnv, with tenderness and pity flowing in her amber eyes: "What about Your Majesty? Wouldn't I be distressed if I knew drinking would hurt my body?"

Nangong Jingnv's eyes turned red, don't overturn her head and force the tears back before turning around, she pressed a catkin on the wine jar, and murmured: "Just indulge me this time, I have nothing but drinking. I don’t know what else to do, at least... I feel at ease when I’m drunk with you. If you don’t allow me, I won’t even have a place to drink.”

Qi Yan took the wine jar and poured a glass for Nangong Jingnu, and said guiltily: "Your Majesty wants to get drunk, so I will pour wine for you. If you are drunk, sleep well, and tomorrow I will wake Your Majesty up."

Nangong Jingnu replied sincerely: "Thank you."

……

Nangong Jingnv used to like to drink the most, and she could even be said to be a bit greedy. She almost emptied the inner court wine cellar when she left the palace to establish a mansion, and would collect good wine from the people to fill the treasury from time to time. She seldom drinks alcohol, even if there is a palace banquet, it is just a taste of it, just because she doesn't want to delay the government because of drinking, even if it is a slight possibility, she still gave up one of her favorite things in the past.

With half a pot of wine in her belly, Nangong Jingnv became a little drunk, put her hand on her forehead, squinted her slightly drunken eyes, looked at Qi Yan, tears flowed down her eyes.

Although Qi Yan was distressed, she also let out a long sigh of relief. What she was most afraid of was that Nangong Jingnv kept her sadness in her heart, and it would be good to cry out.

Qi Yan picked up the stool and moved towards Nangong Jingnv, wrapping her arms around Nangong Jingnv's shoulders.

Qi Yan: "Your Majesty, you can cry if you want to. There are no outsiders here."

Nangong Jingnv leaned on Qi Yan, tugged at Qi Yan's sleeves, tears streaming down her cheeks: "You know what? Ever since I became emperor, I can't even do the simplest things I used to think."

……

Nangong Jingnu: "I can't cry, I can't complain, I can't even guard the elder sister's mourning. A few days ago, I just stayed in the mourning hall for a while, and someone from the inner court came to persuade me to leave, saying that I am humble and not respectful. , if I stay in the mourning hall for a long time, Eldest Sister's soul will not rest in peace."

……

Nangong Jingnu: "Eldest sister's death was all caused by my negligence... That day the old eighth acted very abnormally, I think he must have taken advantage of the emptiness of the inner court to assassinate me, the eldest sister saw the clue, and forced the old man to protect me. Bala is gone, if Eldest Sister is not here, I will be the one who dies! Eldest Sister saved me from disaster, lost her life, and left behind a pair of such young children, but what about me? I can’t even do a wake for her.”

……

Nangong Jingnu: "I saw my eldest brother-in-law, he was clearly furious, but he wanted to kneel down in front of me... I don't know how to make up for the mistakes I made, and the power and status of this person under ten thousand people is gone. How? I can't even express the most ordinary feelings, I want to lock you up and hide you... because of me, you can't see the light."

Qi Yan: "Your Majesty..."

Nangong Jingnu: "Don't coax me. I listen to too many insincere words and false flattery every day. Don't you be like them, okay? Who said that the emperor has no faults? It's wrong, it's wrong. ..."

Qi Yan could only hug Nangong Jingnv and listen to her confide in sorrow until the other party's voice became weaker and stopped abruptly.

Qi Yan turned her head, Nangong Jingnv was already asleep, with tears still hanging from the corners of her eyes.

Qi Yan knows: the other party must not have had a good rest these days, she has lost weight and haggard, but she still has to support the world, while she... can't help anything.

Qi Yan took a deep breath, picked up Nangong Jingnv, and walked to the bed with difficulty to put her down. It wasn't that Nangong Jingnv weighed much, but that Qi Yan had been inactive for a long time, and her physical strength declined rapidly. If you do some physical work in the house, you will be out of breath.

No, Qi Yan stood in front of the bed and gasped for a while, first went to clean up the dishes, and when she came back, she washed a clean cloth and wiped Nangong Jingnu's face, took off her shoes and socks, turned off the lights and went to bed.

Qi Yan lay sideways on the bed, looked at Nangong Jingnv by the moonlight, and murmured: "Your Majesty, do you know? How much I want to share your worries?"

……

At Shangguan Wu's request, Nangong Sunu's coffin stayed in Ganquan Palace for nearly ten days until Danyang Princess Shangguan Youhe entered the palace. Shangguan Wu carried his daughter into the mourning hall and said to Youhe, "Youhe, Here... lies your mother."

Youhe is just at the age of babbling, and she has never seen a coffin, and she doesn't know what death is. When the little girl heard that her mother was inside, she immediately laid her upper body on the coffin board excitedly, and patted her with a pair of small hands. Touching the coffin board, the childish voice called out: "Mother, mother, come out quickly."

Today is the day when Princess Qionghua was raised up and buried, Empress Nangong Jingnv, Princess Zhuohua Nangong Shunv, Shangguan Wu, and some royal relatives of the younger generation: Shangguan Fu, Shangguan Youhe, Qi Yuxiao, and the son of Lu Zhongxing , the boy who was adopted at Nangongshu's knee, and several deceased prince's sons are all there.

As soon as Shangguan Youhe said this, many people in the audience were red-eyed.

Nangong Shunv covered her face and wept, Nangong Jingnv wept silently, and the strong general Wang also had red eyes.

Qi Yuxiao and Shangguan Fu cried very sadly.

Shangguan Youhe didn't understand what happened to his elder brother and sister, he opened his big black eyes with some fear, and went straight into Shangguan Wu's arms.

Shangguan Wu patted Shangguan Youhe on the back: "It's getting late, your mother is leaving. Seeing you, your mother should have no regrets."

……

In the third year of Chengqi, on the sixth day of April, Princess Qionghua was buried in the outer room of the emperor's mausoleum. Since ancient times, this is the first time that a woman has entered the emperor's mausoleum as a courtier.

Since Nangong Jingnv is also a woman, and the Nangong royal family members are withered, and anyone with a discerning eye can see that His Highness Qionghua died for His Majesty, so the courtiers did not object to Nangong Sunv's entry into the imperial tomb.

On the second day after Nangong Sunu was buried, Shangguan Wu proposed to take troops back to Youzhou, but Nangong Jingnu called him to the imperial study.

Shangguan Wu: "See Your Majesty."

Nangong Jingnu: "Eldest brother-in-law, please sit down, there are only you and me in this study, there is no need for elder brother-in-law to be formal."

Shangguan Wu: "Yes."

……

After a moment of silence, Nangong Jingnv said leisurely: "I would also like to thank my eldest brother-in-law for understanding the righteousness and allowing her coffin to stay in the capital."

Shangguan Wu: "It is a great honor to be able to enter the imperial mausoleum. I just hope that after a hundred years, the coffin will be allowed to return to the capital and a tomb will be built fifty miles away from the imperial mausoleum."

Nangong Jingnu's expression was a little unnatural, Shangguan Wu was clearly accusing him of breaking up their husband and wife, Princess Qionghua could enter the emperor's mausoleum, but the general and king would never be able to enter, and after a hundred years the husband and wife would not be able to reunite.

Nangong Jingnu: "Eldest sister suffered a disaster, I can't absolve myself of the blame, elder brother-in-law blames me, it is reasonable to hate me."

Shangguan Wu: "I dare not."

Nangong Jingnu: "Just, brother-in-law, please think about it. If the elder sister knows, there will be a gap between the Youzhou government and the court because of her departure. I don't know how sad it will be."

Shangguan Wu was silent, Nangong Jingnv continued: "Eldest brother is like a father, elder sister is like a mother. I lost my mother since I was young and my elder sister is half my mother in my heart. When my elder sister passed away, I feel no less grief than my elder brother-in-law. It’s just that no one thought that the family members of our compatriots would go so mad.”

Shangguan Wu: "...How Your Majesty plans to deal with the murderer."

Nangong Jingnu: "What happened that night, it can already be concluded that the murderer is King Linjiang, and now he has absconded in fear of crime, and he can't even care about Concubine Li. I have already deprived Concubine Li of her title and sent her to the emperor's mausoleum to give to her father. Huang Shouling. The arrest warrants are spread all over the world, and once the murderer is caught, he will be punished according to the law."

Shangguan Wu: "When can I catch it?"

Nangong Jingnu: "The sky is big and the earth is big, it's still a bit difficult to find someone, but as long as I live, the arrest warrant will never be withdrawn. If the elder brother-in-law doesn't believe it, he can send someone to track him down."

Shangguan Wu: "What should I do if I catch him?"

Nangong Jingnu: "Naturally, I will listen to you. Even I can't keep him if the old man makes such a big mistake. If the imperial court catches him first, he will be sent to Youzhou to be dealt with by the eldest brother-in-law."

Shangguan Wu: "Really?"

Nangong Jingnu: "You are not joking."

Shangguan Wu took a deep breath and clenched his fists: "Okay."

Seeing that Shangguan Wu's face looked better, Nangong Jingnv changed the subject, please don't rush for a while, stay in the capital for another three to five days, and then bring Shangguan Fu back to Youzhou.

A look of surprise appeared on Shangguan Wu's face: "Your Majesty...what do you mean at this time?"

Nangong Jingnu: "Release your kindness. In the past, with the elder sister here, it was okay for Fu'er to stay in the capital and study in the upper study. Now that the elder sister has gone, it doesn't make sense to keep the eldest son of Youzhou mansion under the sway."

Shangguan Wu was a military officer after all, so he spoke bluntly and asked, "Aren't you afraid of letting Fu'er go?"

Nangong Jingnu asked with a smile, "What are you afraid of?"

Seeing that Shangguan Wu did not answer, Nangong Jingnv raised her chin and said confidently and firmly: "Brother-in-law, there is an old saying: water can carry a boat and it can also overturn it. Let me ask you how to overturn the boat when the weather is calm. I have lived for two generations, but my father is diligent in government and loves the people, and he chooses talents and talents. The world has changed from the devastation of the previous dynasty to a waste of time. Although I am a woman, I am fortunate to be loved and assisted by the courtiers. The world can also bear the words of having a clear conscience. The government of Youzhou, Shiqing and Shilu have left their names in history for generations, and are loved by the people. If a war breaks out in this peaceful and prosperous age, the victory or defeat will not be announced in advance. I can't keep it anymore. I have always treated Youzhou Mansion well, and my eldest sister has entered the imperial mausoleum again, so I really can't think of what the imperial court should be afraid of."

Shangguan Wu sneered: "I made a slip of the tongue for a while."

Nangong Jingnv sighed softly: "Big brother-in-law doesn't know something. It was the big sister's idea to keep Fu'er in the capital. Now that I think about it, don't you understand the painstaking efforts of the big sister? My son travels thousands of miles and the mother is worried. The big sister How can you be willing to part with Jiaoer? It was just a painful decision to protect the Youzhou Mansion. Now that the eldest sister's body is still alive, the eldest brother-in-law... don't let her painstaking efforts go to waste."

Shangguan Wu: ...

Nangong Jingnu: "Eldest brother-in-law, since I dare to open the window to you and speak frankly, I am sure to deal with all changes. However, I cannot shirk my responsibility for the elder sister's matter. I only hope that our two families will be able to repair each other through lifetimes and share weal and woe."

Shangguan Wu: "I admire your Majesty's boldness, but I will not take Fu'er away this time. I will let him stay in the capital to pay tribute to his mother for three years. After three years, His Majesty will send him back to Youzhou."

Nangong Jingnu: "That's fine. There is one more thing... I want to hear what my eldest brother-in-law thinks."

Shangguan Wu: "Please speak, Your Majesty."

Nangong Jingnu: "I want to be in-laws with my eldest brother-in-law, what does my eldest brother-in-law want?"

Shangguan Wu frowned: "Yu Xiao and Fu'er?" Shangguan Wu was a little unhappy because he knew the details of Yu Xiao's background. Although Nangong Sunu liked this child very much when she was alive, Shangguan Wu didn't think it A woman can be worthy of her own eldest son. Second, after all, Qi Yuxiao is the eldest daughter of the empress in name. How can the name of a son-in-law compare to that of a great general?

Shangguan Wu: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid Fu'er will not have this blessing. When he grows up, he will take over my position and guard Youzhou for the imperial court. He is not worthy of Your Highness the Princess."

Nangong Jingnu felt a little uncomfortable, he thought he was reluctant, she didn't intend to let Yuxiao marry far away, but she didn't show it on her face, instead she smiled: "Brother-in-law misunderstood, what I said is yes charge."

Shangguan Wu became more and more suspicious. How old is You He?And why didn't he know that Her Majesty the Empress had a son?

Nangong Jingnv patiently explained: "Father has a decree at the end of his life, and the matter of the Empress cannot be passed on to the second generation, so this country still needs to be inherited by the prince. I want to keep Youhe in the capital and raise him as a daughter and a daughter-in-law. , when there is a crown prince in the future, Youhe will be the crown princess, and their child will be the fourth generation king of the Nangong clan."