After dinner, Concubine Wan asked her trusted eunuch in Yong'an Palace to send a letter to Situ Zhang.
General Situ's Mansion
Situ Zhang dismissed everyone and stayed alone in the study. He looked at the letter sent by his daughter with heavy eyebrows. The content of the letter probably told Situ Zhang that her life in the palace was not easy and that Concubine Hui was pregnant with a dragon. Si, the limelight has overshadowed her, and the emperor is indifferent to her. Now that the war has begun, the emperor still has a way to get the Situ family, but this is not an option in the long run. Measures must be taken to remedy the situation. If there is any further delay, I'm afraid that the Situ family will be involved sooner or later.
After Situ Zhang read the letter, he sat on the Taishi's chair without saying a word, with a serious expression on his face. He knew the current situation best, and the Situ family might not be able to stay for long.
At that time, the eldest daughter entered the palace and gave birth to a dragon heir, but she died early. Later, the second daughter was brought into the palace, firstly to raise the dragon child left behind by her sister, and secondly to support the Situ family in the palace. He was a favorable pillar, but what he never expected was that his second daughter was pregnant with the dragon heir, but she had a miscarriage. As a result, she was unable to conceive, and the emperor's favor also plummeted.[
Long Er, born to the eldest daughter, is already one year old this year, but she has never met her grandfather once. The second daughter violated the original intention of entering the palace and only focused on competing for favor. In the end, she ended up like this. She spent a hundred days in the palace. Hong, doesn’t she understand this?
For a long time, Situ Zhang let out a long sigh. There was only the sound of sighing in the huge study room, but the depression in his heart was accumulating. He did not have many children, and his two most precious daughters entered the palace, but the end was miserable. The only One of his sons was sent to lead an army against King Yu not long ago.
If he couldn't even keep his son, Situ Zhang would probably be extinct.
"How could things come to this point?" The more Situ Zhang thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt. Two lines of tears fell down his face. In vain, he remembered that when the late emperor was still alive, he, Situ Zhang, was not a talented person. He followed the late emperor in all the wars. It took many years for the Situ family to become more famous and dominate the entire Jinxi Dynasty. But finally, when the new emperor ascended the throne, the first thing he did was to remove him from military power. Now that King Yu has rebelled and is being used again, could it be that he Situ Zhang Just a rag?
Throw it away when not in use and pick it up when in use?
Suddenly, an idea came into his mind. Maybe this is the final way out for the Situ family?
After thinking about it for a while, Situ Zhang spread out the letter paper, polished it, picked up the pen and wrote two letters, one to his son Situ Jun, and one to reply to Concubine Wan. Just when he was about to call someone, he suddenly thought, What should I do if the letter falls into the hands of others?
Suddenly, he remembered a person, Xue Chang, who was once his subordinate and loyal to him. Since the death of the late emperor, he had lived in seclusion and away from officialdom. Why not ask him to discuss countermeasures?
Xue Chang was already fifty, but full of energy, of medium height, and wore a coarse cotton-padded jacket. When he saw Situ Zhang, he immediately kowtowed three times. Situ Zhang helped him up, ordered someone to make hot tea, and then left the servants. There was only one person in the room. He and Xue Chang.
"I wonder if the old general is in trouble?" Xue Chang looked at Situ Zhang and asked with concern.
Situ Zhang picked up the teacup, brushed the tea leaves floating on the water with the lid, took a sip, put down the teacup, looked at Xue Chang and said meaningfully: "You must also know that Jun'er was sent to fight by the emperor. Come on, although you live in seclusion and ignore officialdom, you have always been by my side these years, haven't you?"
Xue Chang smiled slightly and said: "Nothing can be hidden from the general's eyes. Yes, the general was kind to me back then. Even if he ignored the officialdom, he could not ignore the old general."
"You are still so eloquent," Situ Zhang said angrily after hearing Xue Chang's words. "After dinner, Wan'er sent a letter. I'm afraid the Situ family is going to be in trouble."
After finishing speaking, Situ Zhang handed the letter from Concubine Wan to Xue Chang to read. Xue Chang couldn't help frowning after reading it and sighed: "It's common in the world. Today's virtues are lacking. Maybe it's time to change the dynasty." .
Situ Zhang had not yet told Xue Chang what he was thinking, but seeing that he could say this just after reading the letter, he couldn't help but be a little surprised, "Xue Chang, what do you think?"
Xue Chang did not shy away and said directly: "Corruption and fraud in officialdom are very common, but if there is a wise and powerful emperor sitting in charge, naturally no big disaster will happen. Between King Yu and the emperor, there has been a long-term relationship between the emperor and the emperor since the last emperor was alive. At that time, the overt and covert fighting began. King Yu had always been indifferent to fame and fortune, and did not bother to compete with the emperor. However, the emperor regarded him as a thorn in his side and a thorn in his flesh. Everyone in the officialdom knew about this matter. Now, something like this happened. It’s not surprising, after so many years, King Yu must have had enough.”
After hearing Xue Chang's opinion, Situ Zhang suddenly understood. He also knew that he didn't need to express his thoughts. Xue Chang also knew that. Sure enough, before he could speak, Xue Chang continued: "Old General, you can do whatever you want. Do it, that reputation is just superficial. In fact, King Yu's tolerance over the years is enough to prove that his ability is extraordinary. If the Jinxi Dynasty really changes its owner, I hope it will be he".
Situ Zhang nodded and said with shame: "At the beginning, you were just one of my subordinates, but after so many years, you have seen more clearly than me. Maybe, staying away is a good idea, at least you still have your life."
But Xue Chang shook his head, "What the old general said is wrong. With the reputation of the old general, he will definitely be able to do great things. It would be a pity if we just back down." [
Situ Zhang was stunned for a moment, looking at Xue Chang's ordinary face, he felt like he didn't recognize him. Although he was in the officialdom, because his daughter was sitting in the palace, with many years of merit, he felt that he had nothing to worry about. Now, After listening to Xue Chang's words, I felt that my life had really been in vain for so many years.
"Listening to your words is better than ten years of studying, Xue Chang. I never thought that when we met again, you would become my teacher."
When Xue Chang heard this, he immediately stood up and bowed to Situ Zhang. He said with some fear: "What did the old general say? Xue Chang meant that, it's just that".
"Okay, okay, look at you. You can say those shocking words, but you still act like a subordinate. I really don't know how many faces you have." Situ Zhang received Xue Chang's words. Enlightenment, the whole person suddenly became cheerful, and he also sent out the two letters he wanted to send. Instead, he sent Xue Chang to the front line and dictated it to Situ Jun. As for Concubine Wan, he just replied a brief letter and asked her to stay calm for now. Don't provoke Concubine Hui, and don't anger the emperor. Take care of yourself. If you find an opportunity, he will order someone to help her.