It rained heavily during the Qingming Festival.
As time went by, Chang 'an City really calmed down. Those who had passed away were not forgotten, but kept in the depths of their hearts. In the seemingly lively and joyful streets, there was an invisible force quietly accumulating, ready to burst out at any time.
The officials in the court were fiercely debating about political affairs. Some military generals were impatient and came forward to propose a new plan, which led to a new round of debate. Shangguan Yangyu, who had been promoted from prefectural magistrate of Chang 'an City to Grand Secretary of the Hall of Illustrious Persons a month ago, squinted his wretched triangular eyes and stroked his sparse goatee, fighting with the officials of the Ministry of Revenue again.
A childish boy sat on the throne, listening to the officials' debate. Obviously, there were many things he did not understand, but his expression was focused and calm. Only his bright yellow robe, which was wrinkled by his two small hands, showed his nervousness and confusion.
The newly ascended Emperor would probably still be a playful child in the eyes of the common people. Being able to have such a steady performance already made the officials in the court very satisfied. Every time they thought of this, their gazes towards the wheelchair at the side of the throne became even more respectful.
The wheelchair was very ordinary. It was a little dazzling in the solemn and magnificent hall of the palace. But because of the scholar sitting in the wheelchair, it was no longer dazzling.
The scholar wore an old cotton-padded jacket and held an old book in his hand. He did not listen to the discussion in the court, but just quietly read as usual. However, many people in the hall had been paying attention to him. Even if the scholar was tired from reading and frowned, it would cause a lot of speculation.
The little emperor was the same. He could sit on the throne, endure the boring government affairs, and at least appear focused and calm, because his teacher was beside him.
The scholar was his teacher.
The Eldest Brother of the Academy.
…
…
After the court meeting, the relevant memorials and files were not sent to the imperial study, but to a side hall in the depths of the palace. The little emperor also came at the same time.
Li Yu lived in this side hall. With the death of the Empress, there were no more disputes between the two factions. All the officials put their energy into government affairs and war preparations. The Academy had no interest or ability in dealing with state affairs. As the royal sister, she was naturally the most suitable candidate.
Now, every day, she had to read memorials and read files. Most importantly, she had to teach His Majesty how to deal with government affairs. The Empress was right before she passed away. She only had this one younger brother now.
The Academy did not restrict her movements, but for some reason, Li Yu rarely left her palace after she moved into the palace. As for the courtiers who were loyal to her, she had never seen them before.
The spring rain fell in the Imperial Palace. After the officials walked out of the main hall, some of them could not help but look into the depths of the Imperial Palace, revealing a sorrowful expression. Most of them nodded to the imperial study not far away before leaving the Imperial Palace.
After a long time, the door of the imperial study slowly opened. Ning Que washed his hands in the copper basin carried by a palace maid and thanked her. He picked up the umbrella by the door and walked into the spring rain.
…
…
At this time, the spring rain was no longer cold. It was just a lingering feeling. Moreover, the rain was so light that there was no need to hold an umbrella. Walking on the wet street was a special feeling.
Ning Que could not leave the city now, so he was used to walking around the city. He went to the Old Brush Pen Shop and found that the wall had been repaired, but the old cat was nowhere to be found. Then he returned to the house by the Yanming Lake and looked at the thin willows and dewy lotus leaves by the lake. He was silent for a long time as usual.
Eldest Brother was in the palace, Second Brother was guarding the Academy, and Third Sister had left. Master Huang Yang had not recovered after being seriously injured by the Abbey Dean. He left Chang 'an the day before yesterday and said that he wanted to go to the Xuankong Temple again. But this time, he was not going to study Buddhism, but to ask the disciples of the Buddhism Sect to solve some doubts in his heart.
Many people had died or left, but there were always people who missed or were sentimentally attached to them. However, as Ning Que had once thought, not many people remembered Sangsang except for the cat in the Old Brush Pen Shop and the lotus in the Yanming Lake.
The yellow-haired Sangsang, the black-haired Sangsang, the diligent Sangsang, the Sangsang that could be hugged in summer, and the ugly Sangsang were all easily forgotten. She was too inconspicuous. Whether she was the daughter of Yama, the successor of light, or the incarnation of Haotian, she disappeared just like that.
The maidservant brought a letter. Ning Que tore open the envelope and found that it was a return receipt from the letter office. There was a banknote that had been returned to him. He looked at the banknote and thought of many things. He closed his eyes and thought of many things again. He increasingly felt that he was really like a prisoner in Chang 'an, and it became difficult for him to breathe.
He thought for a long time and finally walked out of the courtyard. He looked at the driver in front of the black horse carriage and said, "It seems a bit wrong to ask you to be my driver."
The driver was Wang Jinglue.
After General Xu Shi died in battle, he rushed back to Chang 'an to report the news, and then stayed in the Military Ministry. For some reason, he had become Ning Que's driver now.
Wang Jinglue said indifferently, "As long as you can fulfill your promise, I will do anything."
Ning Que said, "Definitely."
Wang Jinglue asked, "Where are we going?"
Ning Que said, "The South City Gate."
…
…
The black horse carriage moved silently on the streets in the spring rain.
Not long after, it arrived at the South City Gate.
The horse carriage stopped at the city gate for a long time. The rain on the walls of the carriage gradually dried, but there was still no movement. No one knew whether the people in the carriage wanted to enter or leave the city.
The soldiers of the city gate department and the surrounding stalls all recognized the black horse carriage. This was because the horse carriage often stopped at the city gate for a long time in recent days.
Many people's eyes fell on the black horse carriage, wanting to see if it would leave the city today.
Time passed slowly.
Wang Jinglue said, "There are actually many places to visit in the city."
Ning Que did not speak in the carriage. He held the letter tightly in his hand, but it was as if he had seen the Empress jump in front of his eyes. He once again experienced that feeling.
"Let's go," he said.
Wang Jinglue lifted the reins and was ready to turn the horse carriage around. He asked, "Where to?"
Ning Que said, "Out of the city."
Wang Jinglue's hand that was holding the reins slightly stiffened. He said, "Are you sure?"
Ning Que said, "If I don't even dare to go ten miles out of the city, how can I kill people from ten thousand miles away in the future?"
…
…
Ten miles south of Chang 'an, there was a pavilion. There were large patches of weeds and many graves.
Ning Que first went to the joint grave of His Majesty and the Empress, and then to the cemetery of the Military Ministry, where many soldiers who had died in battle were buried. Then he pushed aside the weeds and came to the graves of Yan Se and Wei Guangming.
"When you left, you should have seen a lot of the future. But why do people always have to die to see it? What meaning does it have to the people who are still alive? "
After saying this, he walked to the left and came to the newly built grave.
This stone grave was very small, just as small as Sangsang.
Because there were only a few maidservant clothes, half a box of notes, and two boxes of cosmetics from Chenjinji Cosmetics Store.
Zeng Jing and his wife stood in front of the grave, supporting each other. Mrs. Zeng's eyes were very red and swollen. It seemed that she had been crying in front of the grave for a long time. The servants of the Grand Secretary's Mansion were cleaning up the incense and candles around.
Ning Que came forward and said respectfully, "Father-in-law, you should take my mother-in-law back first."
Grand Secretary Zeng Jing did not expect to see him outside the city. He was shocked at first, but then he understood the reason. He suddenly burst into tears and patted Ning Que's shoulder with relief.
The people of the Grand Secretary's Mansion had returned to the city.
Ning Que stood alone in front of Sangsang's grave.
He took out the letter from his bosom and tore the note in half. One half was burned in front of the grave along with the receipt, and the other half was carefully put back into his bosom.
Then he left.
The black horse carriage approached Chang 'an.
He sat in the carriage and listened to the spring rain knocking on the window in silence.
Suddenly, the wind came from the north.
In this late spring wind, too much yellow soil in the north became yellow mud after being drenched by the rain.
The rain was getting heavier and heavier, dripping down from the city walls to the ground like a yellow curtain falling over the city.
He thought of the mud wall in the City of Wei.
That note was sent to the City of Wei.
Sangsang had been sending notes to the City of Wei every month since she came to Chang 'an.
But this receipt said, "No such person found."
Yes, there was no one in the City of Wei.
Sangsang was also gone.
Ning Que cried bitterly.
He jumped off the horse carriage and walked into the rain.
The rain fell on his face and mixed with his tears.
The black horse carriage followed behind him.
A passerby who was hurrying to avoid the rain saw this strange scene and asked confusedly, "Why don't you take the carriage? It's not the right time to enjoy the rain. It's so dirty. "
Ning Que wiped the water off his face and pointed at the willow tree by the state highway that was still green even though it was hit by the muddy rain. He said, "But it's spring, isn't it?"
…
…
(The End of the Fourth Volume) (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian.Com to vote for me. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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