Although he left the capital for more than a year, he could not feel much change on the streets. The same prosperity, the same number of people, and the same poverty in Jinchangfang, but it was not until he saw Xinqing Xuguan that Guo Song realized that the changes had
, and became unrecognizable to him.
The original old Taoist temple has been demolished and turned into a quite large square. The big tree at the door is still there and is still lush. Not far away is Beifang Gate. You can also enter Jinchangfang from the north. The first thing you see is Qingxu.
Palace archway style gate.
The gate was moved from the south to the east. It is a archway-style triple gate built of thick granite, with three large characters Qingxugong engraved on three sides, which is the handwriting of their master.
After entering the gate, there is the square. To the north of the square is the three-story Golden Body Pavilion surrounded by red walls and black tiles. The physical statue of the Master should be enshrined inside.
To the west of the square is a spacious white jade bridge. Opposite the bridge is the main hall of Qingxu Palace, a Taoist temple covering an area of nearly 20 acres, tall courtyard walls, cornices and brackets. The building is grand in scale, and the Sanqing main hall has the emperor's inscription.
, as well as Laojun Pavilion, Caishen Temple, Incense Burner, Bell Tower, Drum Tower, etc., and there are hundreds of Taoist practice rooms in the back.
This reminded Guo Song of the Xuanhu Palace in Kongtong Mountain. The new Qingxu Palace is even more majestic than the Xuanhu Palace. This was his long-cherished wish when he first saw the Xuanhu Palace! It will be built one day.
A Qingxu Palace that is more magnificent than Xuanhu Palace, this long-cherished wish has finally come true in the capital.
"Junior brother, is that you?" Guo Song suddenly heard someone shouting from behind.
Guo Song turned around and saw his senior brother Gan Feng walking over quickly. Behind him were a dozen well-dressed wealthy country squires who seemed to have just come out of the Golden Body Pavilion.
Fan Ning turned over and dismounted, stepped forward to hug his senior brother, and saw that Gan Feng was wearing a purple gold Taoist crown and a white crane cloak. He was quite immortal, comparable to the original Baiyun Master.
When Gan Feng saw his junior brother looking at him, he felt a little embarrassed and said: "The donors coming now are all rich and famous people, so I have to dress better, otherwise they will look down on me."
Guo Song smiled and said: "This is the demeanor of the temple master of Qingxu Dao Palace, and Master will agree with it."
Seeing that his junior brother was supporting him, Gan Feng couldn't help but perked up and asked again: "Junior brother, what is this?"
"We have just returned from the Western Regions. We have no place to stay for the time being. We would like to stay with our senior brother for a few days. The food and accommodation will be paid for."
"There are many vacant rooms in the back, I'll ask Qingfeng to take you there."
Guo Song pointed at the northernmost point with his riding crop and said with a smile: "Isn't there a few acres of open space over the square wall? We will live there temporarily, not in the Taoist temple."
"It's not bad over there, it's all very clean grassland, but there are no tents in the Taoist Palace."
"We will take care of the tents ourselves, and we also need to ask our senior brother to help us sell the more than 100 camels."
More than 130 camels were brought from Anxi. Now that they are of no use, Guo Song planned to sell them and distribute the money to his soldiers.
"No problem, you can sell them at the mule and horse shop. The price of camels is not cheap. I'll let the eldest disciple sell them. He is better at this."
Gan Feng quickly called his disciples for help, and asked two Zhike disciples, Qingfeng and Mingyue, to take the soldiers to the backyard to drink tea and rest.
In the afternoon, King Zhao Li Si sent people to deliver twenty large tents and twenty carpets, as well as many fine daily necessities.
The soldiers began to busily set up the tent. At this time, Cao Wannian came to say goodbye to Guo Song and spent some time together on the road. Guo Song also understood his character. Cao Wannian spoke very little and often stayed silent for a whole day.
But he was an introvert. He understood everything in his heart and didn't need Tang Jun to say anything. He arranged everything for himself.
"If Mr. Cao cannot enter Imperial College, you can come to me and I will help you find a way."
"Thank you!"
Cao Wannian took out another map and handed it to Guo Song, "This is a copy of the map I drew. Please accept it, Chang Shi!"
“Thank you so much!”
Cao Wannian smiled slightly, bowed to Guo Song, and then floated away with his old servant Uncle Zhong.
Not long after Cao Wannian left, the fourth child, Yang Yu, rushed to Qingxu Palace. Guo Song was packing things in the tent. When the curtain was lifted, Yang Yu walked in.
"Lao Wu, you are finally back!"
Guo Song and Yang Yu hugged each other gently, and Yang Yu sighed and said, "Why have you become so dark and thin?"
"Of course I'm skinny after traveling thousands of miles. Do you still think I'm going on vacation?"
"I know what you did, but my aunt is not in the capital."
Yang Yu continued to explain: "Master's aunt has personally brought a group of experts out to perform tasks. They may not come back until some time later."
Guo Song was slightly startled. He actually asked his aunt to take action in person. What big thing would happen?
Yang Yu added: "The other thing I want to tell you is that the emperor is ill."
One news after another, Guo Song was completely stunned.
"What happened to the Emperor?"
"It seems that he caught the cold in winter and began to feel unwell. In the spring, he fell completely ill. It has been two or three months. The emperor appointed King Lu as the supervisor of the country and ordered him to temporarily take charge of the government. Now the government is represented by King Lu."
"Didn't the emperor make him the crown prince?"
Yang Yu shook his head, "Not yet. There is something strange in the court now. The five prime ministers in the court, Yuan Zai, Wang Jin and Yang Yan, have joined forces to squeeze out Han Huang and Liu Yan. King Lu also supports Yuan Zai. Yuan Zai has great power. It can be said that
Those who obey me will prosper, and those who go against me will perish. He also publicly stated that he wants to find out the true cause of his son's death. He refused to let go even after Yu Chaoen died. I guess his conflict is aimed at you and Liu Yan, so you must be careful.
"
Guo Song smiled and said, "It's almost enough to deal with Liu Yan. I'm just a little person. If he wants to deal with me, isn't he flattering me?"
Yang Yu was a little anxious, "Why don't you understand? Things are not as simple as you think. If he wants to touch Liu Yan, he will probably do it from you, and it is also because of our master."
Guo Song smiled faintly and said: "Actually, I know in my heart that Yuan Zai has been dissatisfied with me for a long time, but I will let him know that I, Guo Song, am not someone to be trifled with. It doesn't matter if everyone comes in plain sight, but if he dares to hurt
My relatives and friends, then I will definitely make him feel heartbroken!"
Yuan Zai returned to his mansion and had just sat down in the study when his nephew Yuan Wenqing said at the door: "Uncle, my nephew has something important to report!"
"come in!"
Yuan Zai had three sons, the eldest son Yuan Bohe, who is currently Yangzhou Bingcao, joined the army. The second son Yuan Zhongwu was killed by a horse that was arranged by Yu Chaoen. The third son was Yuan Jineng, who served as secretary and provincial school secretary.
My nephew Yuan Wenqing is currently a palace guard and an important eyes and ears of Yuan Zai.
Yuan Wenqing bowed and said: "My nephew has just received clear news that His Royal Highness has returned to Beijing."
"After he returns to Beijing, will any minister go to greet him or visit him?"
"Not yet, but I heard that he returned to Beijing together with the special envoy to the Western Regions."
"Guo Song?" Yuan Zai reacted immediately.
"That seems to be the name."
Yuan Zai nodded slowly. Of course he knew that it was normal for Guo Song and King Zhao to be together, but this matter could make a fuss.
Thinking of this, he said to his nephew: "This Guo Song is very important. You have to spend some energy to monitor him, but his martial arts is very strong, so you can't do it too obviously. If he discovers it, do you remember it?"
"My nephew remembers it!"
Yuan Wenqing left in a hurry, and Yuan Zai walked a few steps with his hands in his hands, and then ordered: "Send the order to prepare the carriage and go to the Zhuque Restaurant."
The Peony Courtyard of the Zhuque Restaurant was the long-term residence of King Lu Li Shi. Not long after Yuan Zai arrived at the Peony Courtyard, Lu Qi also received the news and rushed to the Peony Courtyard.
"I've kept Yuan Xiangguo waiting for a long time!"
Lu Qi had just been named the fifth-grade prince Zhongyun. He was very proud and high-spirited. He could be said to be the most popular person around King Lu. Countless people asked him to do things every day. No, even Yuanzai of the Prime Minister invited him to come.
Gathering in Peony Courtyard.
Yuan Zai chuckled and said, "I've just arrived, come on! Lu Zhongyun will sit down and have a cup of tea first."
Lu Qi sat down happily. Yuan Zai poured him a cup of tea himself and said with a faint smile: "Lu Zhongyun is very busy recently!"
"Where! Where! His Royal Highness Jianguo only regards me as a channel to listen to the ministers' opinions. The more I contact the ministers, the more His Royal Highness King Lu will know about the ministers' thoughts."
Lu Qi's wild words made Yuan Zai feel disgusted, but now Lu Qi still has value. In order to achieve his own goals, he can only endure his dissatisfaction.
"We mentioned Liu Yan last time. In fact, there is a key figure in the plan to overthrow Liu Yan."
Because of Liu Yan, Lu Qi advised Lu King Li Shi not to have too much contact with the officials of the East Palace to avoid unnecessary criticism. This made Lu Qi very dissatisfied with Liu Yan and believed that Liu Yan was targeting him.
But it was not easy to bring down Liu Yan. Liu Yan had been upright and upright throughout his life. He had no leverage in the hands of others, which made Lu Qi unable to do anything.
Yuan Zai suddenly mentioned a key figure, which cheered up Lu Qi. He quickly asked, "I wonder who the Prime Minister is referring to?"
Yuan Zai smiled lightly and said, "I wonder if Lu Zhongyun is familiar with Guo Song?"