Probably because she was used to being restrained, she took off her boots and sat cross-legged on the ground. She did not enjoy the beautiful scenery of the lake at the beginning of spring. Instead, she bent forward and lowered her head. In front of her were stacks of copper coins of different denominations, different sizes, old and new, and different heights.
She looked at the copper coins in a daze, her mind wandering thousands of miles.
She thought of many things from the past, such as that dilapidated little thatched cottage, or that very small but very green vegetable garden. Or that time when she carried a heavy box of books and climbed up the mountain step by step. At that time, she only felt that moving books was like moving a mountain. Or that time when she studied to earn money, the feeling of every word being money was much better.
Although the current court in West Chu was much quieter than before, when she sat on that chair every day, she would find that the originally pure eyes were no longer there. Instead, they were replaced by a gloomy aura, like pieces of rotten wood. She only found out much later that the court had changed quite a few groups of people. There were quite a few groups of new faces, and there was an endless stream of disciples from noble families. Thus, father and son sat in the court together, and even three generations of officials who were all purple and yellow officials began to appear. She sat in the magnificent hall. There were frequent quarrels in the hall. Scholars quarreled with martial artists, scholars quarreled with scholars, and martial artists who were attached to the wings of the scholars quarreled with other martial artists. Almost everyone seemed to be doing their best for the country. Everyone's words were just and honorable, so everyone seemed to be so impassioned. There was nothing wrong with that.
She did not understand.
The Grand Preceptor, Sun Xiji, was getting older and older. In the last few court sessions, he even had to sit on that royal chair.
There were fewer and fewer people wearing the robes of military officials in the hall. One after another, they rushed to the battlefield. One after another, many people died in battle, were posthumously conferred titles, and were posthumously awarded titles.
She still did not understand why those people were willing to die so resolutely. Just like how she did not understand why the first time she sat on that chair, those white-haired old people cried so sorrowfully, gratified, and grateful.
There were many things she did not understand, but Uncle Waiting for the Imperial Decree said that it was enough for her to just sit there every day.
She felt that she could do this, and she told herself that she must do it well.
Today, she was sitting here in a carefree manner.
At this moment, a flock of orioles flew across the sky above the Imperial Palace.
For some unknown reason, an oriole instantly fell down, and it lightly fell onto the roof of a pavilion with a plop, dripping with blood.
At the same time, there was a lake in the "Jianghu" beside her. There was clearly nothing on the surface of the water, but a string of extremely thin water pillars splashed up, and then it quickly returned to normal.
In the past half a month, the eunuchs and palace maids in the palace would occasionally find one or two dead birds on the road. Some had been pierced through by arrows, some had had their wings cut off by sharp weapons, and even more had been smashed into a bloody mess.
What was even stranger was that their emperor had spent most of this half a month sitting quietly by the lake in a daze. At the beginning, there would be elite imperial guards standing guard in the distance, but soon, everyone would inexplicably feel a chill. At first, they mistakenly thought that it was because of the late spring cold. However, every time they left the palace after the night curfew, every time they left the small lake, they would feel much warmer, even though it was already night without the sun. Over time, that small lake, which was always as calm as a mirror, appeared particularly strange, especially when the entire capital began to spread rumors of countless birds falling. Songs began to spread through the streets and alleys, saying that this was the disaster of a woman ruling the country. There were also strange stories with ulterior motives that insinuated that the current emperor was actually a wild fox spirit that had walked out of the depths of the mountains. She had lived for a thousand years, but she was only wearing human skin. What caused the older generation of West Chu survivors the most grief and indignation was the rumor in the marketplace that Empress Jiang Si was actually an orphan girl that Cao Changqing had casually found on the side of the road. She was only a puppet that was raised to satisfy Cao Changqing's selfish desire to be the emperor's preceptor.
The group of three, led by the head eunuch of the Ceremony Directorate, arrived outside the waterside pavilion.
The three were surnamed Song, three generations of the Song family: Song Wenfeng, Song Qingshan, and Song Maolin.
Song Wenfeng, Grand Preceptor Sun Xiji, and the State Preceptor of the previous dynasty, Li Mi, could all be considered old men of the same generation. Currently, they were in charge of Da Chu's subordinate provinces. Song Qingshan was the current Minister of Rites. The father and son could be considered the leaders of the current Da Chu literary scene. They were very similar to the two masters of the Song family who had previously dominated the literary scene of the Li Yang Dynasty. As for Song Maolin, his reputation had spread far and wide. This was especially true when the two simple sayings, "Northern Xu and Southern Song" and "Xu Zi and Song Zhang", spread like the spring wind throughout the Great River. For a moment, Song Maolin had the impression that there was no one in the world who did not know of him. This was why last year, in the imperial court, there had been a marriage between the Song family's Yushu and the emperor. Even Grand Preceptor Sun Xiji, who had not been too enthusiastic about this matter at the beginning, had changed his stance in the end. He had personally persuaded Cao Changqing, who was in charge of the navy at Guangling River.
The head eunuch was just about to make a report when Song Wenfeng smiled and waved her hand. Her eyes indicated for her son and grandson to stay at the bottom of the steps. She walked up the steps alone and stood in the waterside pavilion that was surrounded by willow trees. Unexpectedly, she did not have the slightest intention of bowing. It was not that Song Wenfeng's eyes were blurred by old age, but rather that she understood a principle. Kneeling and doing business with others would not earn money. Song Wenfeng did not know this principle twenty years ago.
Song Wenfeng softly opened her mouth and said, "Your Majesty, there are some words that I do not know if I should say."
The beautiful young woman was indifferent.
Song Wenfeng had to admit that even if this woman's status was disregarded, her appearance alone was enough to make her eldest grandson fall head over heels for her. Even the old woman, who had lived a pure and simple life for many years, had some small thoughts of "regretting being born fifty years earlier."
The old woman frowned and slightly raised her voice. "Your Majesty, forgive me for speaking bluntly, but the current situation is no longer in Da Chu's hands. If the Jiang family wants to survive, they have to rely on external forces …"
When she turned her head and looked away from the strange copper coins, Song Wenfeng met her eyes and actually felt a little guilty.
Song Wenfeng gritted her teeth and said in a low voice, "I won't hide it from Your Majesty. There are currently many officials who do not want to be subjects. They secretly collude with Liyang's Minister of War, Wu Zhongxuan, and the Southern Expedition's Commander-in-Chief, Lu Shengxiang. They continuously leak information about Da Chu's military formations and deployment. At this time of crisis, I am willing to be a villain who will go down in history as a notorious villain for ten thousand years for the sake of Da Chu's land … "
She calmly said, "Minister Song, are you trying to say that you are slightly more loyal than those people? They are fence-sitters who have sided with the Liyang imperial court, while your Song family has the strength of character to choose the King of Yan Chi, Zhao Bing? "
Song Wenfeng's old face turned red, and she was even more shocked. How did this little girl know about such a secret?
She indifferently said, "Not only do I know that your Song family has chosen the King of Yan Chi, but I also know that Minister Zhao of the Ministry of Appointments secretly sent someone to deliver a secret letter to Lu Shengxiang. Minister Liu of the Ministry of Works and Assistant Minister Ma of the Ministry of Rites have chosen to side with Wu Zhongxuan."
Since the window had been opened, everyone spoke openly. Song Wenfeng did not care about her old face anymore. She straightened her back, stroked her beard, and smiled. "As long as Your Majesty agrees with me …"
Without waiting for Song Wenfeng to finish, Empress Jiang Si waved her hand and said, "You may leave."
Song Wenfeng did not move at all. She sneered and said, "Your Majesty, do you still think that West Chu is the same as last year's West Chu? May I ask where Kou Jianghuai is? Where is Cao Changqing?! Your Majesty, if you are willing to take a step back now, then the King of Yan Chi, Zhao Bing, will promise you that you can still be the emperor for ten years. In the future, you can abdicate the throne to him or his son. "
She lowered her head and looked at the copper coins. "You can live your lives as long as you are happy. However, if you think that Cao Changqing and Lv Dantian are not in the capital, you can do whatever you want and force me to do anything … "
Song Wenfeng smiled playfully. "I wouldn't dare. Who doesn't know that Your Majesty is an expert like a sword immortal?"
She suddenly frowned and her face turned pale.
The Ceremony Supervisor eunuch at the bottom of the steps trembled and lowered his head without saying a word.
Song Wenfeng exhaled heavily and walked to the side of the river. She looked at the river surface. "At this time, Sun Xiji is almost dead. Your Majesty's Qi is also almost gone. If not for the fact that I still remember the previous emperor, it wouldn't be difficult for me to change the surname of this palace to Song. "
The old man smiled and said, "Of course, it doesn't matter what the surname of West Chu is. It doesn't even matter what the surname of the world is in the future. Because no matter how the throne is rotated, the Song family is indispensable."
Her face returned to normal. She didn't even bother to raise her head. She just looked at the copper coins and twitched her mouth imperceptibly.
She wasn't afraid or worried.
She just felt a little wronged.
Hey.
Whether I see you or not is one thing.
But whether you come or not is another.
So.
Where are you?
— —
A cool breeze suddenly blew through the gates of West Chu's capital.
The cool breeze blew through the twelve gates.
When the figure suddenly stopped outside the gates of the imperial city, his sleeves were still fluttering lightly.
The armored guards above and below the gates were all stunned.
The extremely handsome young man folded his hands in his sleeves and had two blades at his waist.
The young man did something. He cupped his hands to his mouth and said, "Hey."
It seemed like he was telling someone, but also like he was telling the entire capital, telling the entire Da Chu.
I'm here.
I'm here.
I've come from the northwest to the southeast.
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