The dinner party at the Zhang family was naturally sumptuous and lively. Axiu tried her best to prepare a table full of delicacies. This was the most practical way for her to express her friendship. She wished that just one meal would help Zhang Yanling regain the weight she had lost.
.
When the banquet broke up, Zhang Yanling was already drunk. For such a long time, she had been eating and sleeping in the open air, and she was never at peace. When she returned home today, she had good wine, good food, and a lovely wife and concubines. It was really a world of difference.
At certain moments, Zhang Yanling felt that she was in a trance. She vaguely felt that she was still on a bloody battlefield, and what could be heard in her ears were the shouts and roars of the battle between the enemy and ourselves.
Zhang Yanling didn't know when Tan Ruqing left, and he didn't know when Axiu left. Perhaps because he was extremely relaxed and drunk, he passed out drunk at the banquet.
In the middle of the night, Zhang Yanling woke up with a scream, sat up sweating profusely, and gasped for air while sitting on his gums. Looking around with anger, he realized that he was sleeping on his gums. Thin gauze curtains were wrapped around him, and the room was full of people.
The candlelight danced slightly, the surroundings were quiet, and summer insects chirped outside the window.
"Husband, what's wrong with you? Are you having a nightmare?" Xu Wanyi, who was sleeping next to him, sat up and looked at Zhang Yanling in panic and asked.
Zhang Yanling breathed a sigh of relief and nodded slowly. He didn't want to describe the situation in his dream. He dreamed back to the battlefield in Dushi City. He dreamed that thousands of people were swallowed up by fire and burned to charcoal. He dreamed that many people's heads were on the ground.
Spurting blood and rolling. I dreamed of corpses all over the ground, broken limbs and broken arms everywhere, and bright red blood staining the earth. It was simply a hellish scene.
"I'm sorry, I must have scared you." Zhang Yanling said softly.
Xu Wanyi looked at Zhang Yanling in bewilderment, took out a cloth handkerchief from the pillow and wiped the sweat on Zhang Yanling's forehead, and said softly: "Poor Lord Marquis, what have you experienced this time? No wonder at the banquet, you
She was in a daze. Before she left, Ruqing told me that she felt something was wrong with you and wanted me to keep an eye on you. Just now I heard you shouting continuously, and I couldn't even wake you up."
Zhang Yanling said in shock: "Did I shout? What did I shout?"
Xu Wanyi said: "I only heard your shouting about beating and killing, but I didn't hear the rest clearly."
Zhang Yanling smiled bitterly and said: "It seems that I really scared you. I had a nightmare, dreaming about a war, and I felt very nervous. Hey, I'm afraid I may have fallen ill."
Xu Wanyi said softly: "Husband, forget those things. The Tatars have been defeated by you and you have gone home. Look, how quiet and peaceful this night is? We are all by your side, so you can rest assured."
"
Zhang Yanling nodded and said: "It should be that the stimulation I received on this trip was too profound, the battle was too fierce, and I couldn't adapt to it for a while. Is it already midnight? Where are Ruqing Axiu and the others? Are they gone?"
Xu Wanyi said angrily: "Ruqing left a long time ago, and you got drunk after drinking. Ruqing said goodbye to you when he left, and you didn't even know. Axiu...naturally went back to the room."
Zhang Yanling breathed a sigh of relief and said with a wry smile: "Why am I drunk? I remember I didn't drink much."
Xu Wanyi said softly: "You must be too tired. Are you thirsty? I'll make you a cup of herbal tea, drink it and have a good sleep."
Zhang Yanling looked at Xu Wanyi and saw that Xu Wanyi was wearing a thin nightgown, revealing half of her crystal-clear and well-proportioned calves. Her long black hair was spread down, her pretty face was half covered by her hair, and a pair of starry eyes looked at her worriedly.
.The whole person has an indescribable charm.
"I'm not thirsty. What I drank was Qiulubai, which is good wine. Have you been awake all this time? Are you unable to sleep because of my troubles?" Zhang Yanling said with a smile.
Xu Wanyi smiled and said: "You can be considered the cause of the trouble. Although you snored like thunder at first, and then screamed and killed in a scary way. But it's not because of this that I can't sleep, but because I want to stay awake and listen to you snoring. You Do you know? Your snoring has a sense of rhythm, and I can hear the tone of Gong Shangjiao Zhengyu."
Zhang Yanling couldn't help but laugh out loud. This was the first time she heard someone talk about snoring in such an elegant way. Xu Wanyi was just being so noisy by herself that she couldn't sleep. She was just teasing herself with naughty words. The more she talked to Xu Wan The deeper they get to know Xu Wanyi, the more her cuteness becomes apparent.
Zhang Yanling stretched out her hand, put her arms around Xu Wanyi's soft waist, and said softly: "I'm sorry, our husband and wife have been separated for almost two months, but when I came back today, I fell asleep drunk. I'm so sorry for you."
Xu Wanyi lowered his head and said, "What's wrong with that? If you're tired, just take a good rest."
Zhang Yanling said with a smile: "A little farewell is better than a newlywed, how can a husband fall asleep right away?"
Xu Wanyi's face turned red and she said angrily: "You...you...I don't...no..."
Zhang Yanling bit her ear and whispered: "You don't have anything? A spring night is worth a thousand pieces of gold, how can you waste this great time."
Xu Wanyi was about to speak when she was kissed on the lips by Zhang Yanling. After that, she never said a word except moans and sighs.
…
In the early morning of the next day, Zhang Yanling had just gotten up and finished washing, when Ma Quan hurried from the front court to the back house to report that someone from the palace had come to deliver the order.
Zhang Yanling hurriedly came to the front hall and saw Zhang Yong standing in the front hall. Zhang Yanling hurriedly stepped forward and saluted.
"Eunuch Zhang, it's polite to extend your life."
When Zhang Yong saw Zhang Yanling, a smile immediately appeared on his face and he hurriedly returned the greeting: "Hello, Mr. Hou. We are here to disturb you so early in the morning. I am really sorry. Mr. Hou just returned to Beijing yesterday and should not have disturbed Mr. Hou." I hope the Marquis will not blame you."
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "Why are Eunuch Zhang so polite? I don't know why Eunuch Zhang is here?"
Zhang Yong said with a smile: "What else can happen? The emperor learned that the Marquis returned to the capital, and yesterday afternoon he wanted the Marquis to come to the palace to see him. Everyone advised him to say, Marquis, you have just returned to the capital, and you are so busy with travels that you have not yet conquered the city. Why don't you take a half-day break and reunite with your family? The emperor didn't summon you now. No, the emperor was going to see you early in the morning, so I asked you to come to the palace to see the emperor. Mr. Marquis, I'd like to trouble you for your hard work. Let’s take a trip.”
Zhang Yanling said with a smile: "My father-in-law, you are too polite. In fact, even if the emperor does not summon you, I will go into the palace to see the emperor and the queen mother. My father-in-law will wait a moment, and I will change my clothes and enter the palace."
Zhang Yong nodded repeatedly, bowed and said with a smile: "Okay, our family will just wait here."
Zhang Yanling ordered someone to serve tea to Zhang Yong and asked him to wait in the front hall. He quickly went to the back house to explain the situation, and Xu Wanyi hurriedly ordered someone to help Zhang Yanling change clothes.
Zhang Yanling and Zhang Yong rode straight to the palace. On the way, Zhang Yanling briefly asked a few questions about the emperor's situation after returning to Beijing. Zhang Yong did not hide anything and said something that stunned Zhang Yanling.
"Master Marquis, there seems to be something wrong with the recent rumors. After the emperor returned to Beijing, he went to court once, but he had a falling out with the adults in the outer court. He left the court before the court meeting was over. Now the situation is very tense."
Zhang Yanling said in astonishment: "What's the reason for the quarrel?"
Zhang Yongdao: "What else could it be because of? Because of the emperor's secret patrol this time. Several bachelors in the cabinet and officials from the outer court asked the emperor to issue an edict to admit his mistakes and take responsibility for more than a dozen passes of the Great Wall and several fortresses in Xuanfu Town.
was destroyed, and was responsible for the deaths and injuries of more than 7,000 soldiers and civilians."
Zhang Yanling smiled bitterly and said: "This is asking the emperor to issue an edict to sin against himself. Of course the emperor will not agree, no wonder there will be a falling out."
Zhang Yongdao: "Isn't it? These people in the outer court have really gone too far. Aren't they forcing the emperor to lose his face? Are they forcing the cow to drink water? I know the emperor's temper. I thought I had defeated the Tartars.
Son, you will be praised by the civil and military officials when you come back. Not only will they deny it on the spot, but they will also ask the emperor to admit his mistake. How can the emperor be willing to be like this when he is a young man? Isn't this going to be a stalemate?"
Zhang Yanling frowned and said nothing. He knew that this matter would never end, but he didn't expect it to come so quickly.
"What did Liu Jin say? Did he persuade the emperor?" Zhang Yanling asked.
"Liu Jin? He will advise the emperor? Isn't it a joke? The Marquis doesn't know, right? On the day when Liu Eunuch returned to Beijing, the bachelor Xie Qian slapped Eunuch Liu three times in front of the emperor. Liu Jin was so angry that he died that night.
He made a fuss about hanging himself, saying that he would not harm the emperor. The emperor comforted him for a long time. The emperor must have been angry because of this incident. Liu Jin now
I hate them so much that I wish the emperor would look down on them. How can I advise them? The day before yesterday, several academicians from the cabinet went to visit the late emperor’s mausoleum. It is said that they cried so hard that they complained to the late emperor. The emperor was even more upset when he found out.
We are very angry. Now we are angry on the outside and angry on the inside. We are both angry at each other, and no one wants to give in. Hey!" Zhang Yong said with a sigh.
After hearing this, Zhang Yanling didn't know what to say.
It seems that Liu Jin's plan to whitewash the emperor's patrol did not work, and the outer court did not buy it at all. When Liu Jin came to talk to him about this matter, Zhang Yanling wanted to remind Liu Jin that others were not fools and would not believe Liu Jin's words. He said
If the emperor takes the initiative to meet the enemy, he is obviously putting his fists into other people's eyes and treating them as blind.
However, the reason why Zhang Yanling did not speak out was that maybe for the sake of the emperor, others would not expose this matter, so everyone made it a trivial matter and just made it pass. But now it seems that the outer court is obviously unwilling to do so.
fool.
As for Xie Qian's actions of beating Liu Jin in front of the emperor, and even his actions of asking the emperor to issue an edict of sin in the outer court, and even going to pay homage to the late emperor's mausoleum and cry, this is simply a disregard for Zhu Houzhao. The people in the outer court
If he's not crazy, he just doesn't care about Zhu at all.
Houzhao took it seriously. In their minds, the emperor should listen to them and be an emperor who obeyed and was controlled by them. The fact that the emperor sneaked out of Beijing to patrol the border obviously made them feel that they had lost control, so they began to exert strong pressure.
Zhu Houzhao must bow his head.
If this is the case, a storm may be inevitable.
At Chen hour, Zhang Yanling walked into the back hall of Qianqing Palace. From a distance, he saw Zhu Houzhao standing in the open space of the back hall garden, holding a bow and arrow in his hand and shooting at several targets.
Next to him, Liu Jin was waiting with an arrow pot.
Zhu Houzhao shot an arrow, and Liu Jin praised loudly from the side: "It hit the mark. Your Majesty really has the skill of archery to pierce a poplar at a hundred steps. It hit the throat just right. If this was a real person, wouldn't it be a death with one arrow?"