Guo Song soon learned the details of this little maid. Her surname was Zhang, and her name was Zhang Minqiu. Her ancestral home was Anyang, Xiangzhou. Her family came to Jiangxia to escape the Anshi Rebellion. She herself was born in Jiangxia. Her grandfather and father were both teachers. Her parents
This spring he contracted an illness and died at the same time. One of his brothers went to the north to serve in the army for many years, and his life and death are still unknown.
She was lonely and helpless. Not only did her uncle occupy her parents' real estate, but he also sold her to the Huang family as a maid, specifically to serve the third wife. The third wife passed away in less than a year, and more than a dozen of her maids and servants were taken away.
The eldest lady sold it, and Zhang Minqiu was bought by Guo Song within two days of coming to Jiangrenfang.
She was also lucky. With her appearance and skin color, she would definitely be bought by the brothel. She happened to meet Guo Song and Xue Tao who came to buy maids. If Guo Song had come a half day later, he would not have met her.
In the oxcart, Guo Song said to her: "Aqiu, we are just passing through Jiangxia by boat. Even if we come back, it will be many years later. If you have any other wishes or who you want to say goodbye to, you'd better tell us.
, I’ll arrange the time.”
Aqiu shook her head. She only had one uncle in Jiangxia, and it was her uncle who sold her into slavery. She did not want to see this man again.
"Thank you, sir, I have no wish."
Xue Tao next to him said softly: "Then do you want to pay homage to your parents?"
Ah Qiu still shook his head, "Their graves are in their hometown of Anyang, not here."
"Okay! Come with us to visit the Yellow Crane Tower, have something to eat, and then go to the pier. We will go to Yangzhou, and then take a boat back to the capital from Yangzhou."
"Sir, Miss Guo, are you out for fun?" Aqiu asked timidly.
"That's right! We came out of Bashu and traveled all the way here."
Guo Song secretly praised this little girl for being smart, she actually saw that she and Xue Tao were not husband and wife.
Not long after, they arrived at the Yellow Crane Tower.
The Yellow Crane Tower is located on the top of Snake Mountain. It was first built during the Three Kingdoms period as a military observatory. It is now a famous scene in Jiangxia and was extremely famous in the Tang Dynasty.
Here Li Bai wrote the famous poem "An old friend bids farewell to the Yellow Crane Tower in the West, Fireworks descend to Yangzhou in March", which became well-known in later generations.
Guo Song climbed up the tower and looked into the distance. He saw the majestic Yangtze River and the distant smoke. He couldn't help but said loudly: "It's so majestic! If you go to the east of the Yangtze River, you will find all the romantic figures."
"Guo Lang became famous for poetry again?"
Xue Tao took Ah Qiu upstairs and walked over with a smile, "Continue, let the little girl worship you?"
Guo Song scratched his head in embarrassment, "I just thought of these two sentences, or it would be 'People in the past have gone on the Yellow Crane, and the Yellow Crane Tower is empty here. Once the Yellow Crane is gone, it will never return, and the white clouds will be empty for thousands of years."
"go!"
Xue Tao rolled his eyes at him, "You are so embarrassed, do you think I don't study? The following four sentences are: 'The Qingchuan is full of Hanyang trees, the grass is luxuriant, and the parrot island is. Where is the hometown at sunset? The Yanbo River makes people sad', right?"
I guess you can’t write a poem now, so just say another poem related to the Yellow Crane Tower, and I’ll let you off lightly!”
Guo Song thought for a while and said with a smile: "I went to Changsha to move to Changsha. Looking west to Chang'an, I couldn't see my home. The jade flute was playing in the Yellow Crane Tower, and the plum blossoms fell in May in Jiangcheng."
Xue Tao put his hands on his hands and smiled and said: "This is a good song. It is Li Bai's "Listening to the Flute Playing on the Yellow Crane Tower with Shi Lang Zhongqin". It is relatively unknown, and Guo Lang actually knows it, but Li Bai also has a song "Parrot Island" which is also about the Yellow Crane Tower.
Yes, can Guo Lang say two of them?"
Guo Song had forgotten a little. He patted his forehead and said after a while: "It seems like 'The smoke is blooming, orchid leaves are fragrant and the wind is warm, and peach blossoms are blooming on the shore.'
"Yes, it is worthy of commendation. The parrot has come to the Wujiang River, and the name of parrot is spread in Jiangshangzhou. When the parrot flies west to Longshan, the trees in Fangzhou are so green."
The two of them laughed together
After having lunch in a restaurant next to the Yellow Crane Tower, they went to buy some bedding and clothing, and then returned to the ship.
Back on the boat, the boss of the boat chuckled and said, "Mr. Guo bought a little maid?"
"I bought it, thank you for your advice."
The boat boss looked at Ah Qiu carefully and praised: "This little lady is so good-looking. Mr. Guo will be lucky in the future!"
Hearing the slight ambiguity in his words, Guo Song knew that these rough guys had dirty thoughts, so he didn't bother to pay attention to him and led the two of them upstairs.
Xue Tao whispered to Guo Song: "Guo Lang, I want to discuss it with you. Ah Qiu will stay with me tonight, and you can sleep next door!"
It is indeed inconvenient to have an extra little maid. Guo Song nodded, "I will take the quilt to the next door later."
Seeing that he was reasonable, Xue Tao felt happy and said, "You can stay in my room during the day. The main thing is that you go to the next door at night."
Guo Song bowed to the ground and said, "As a husband, I will obey my wife's orders!"
When Xue Tao saw a hint of a smile on Aqiu's lips, he knew she had heard her. She was shy and anxious, so she quietly pinched Guo Song's arm and said, "Let you stop talking nonsense!"
At this time, the boss of the ship shouted, "Get ready to sail!"
The ship swayed for a moment, then gradually left the shore and headed into the Yangtze River. They no longer went to the Han River, but continued eastward to Yangzhou, which was thousands of miles away.
In the blink of an eye, it was early December, and another heavy snowfall covered Chang'an City, and the inside and outside of Chang'an City once again turned into a snowy world.
The emperor's illness in October gradually became serious, causing pneumonia. He had a high fever for dozens of days and continued to vomit blood. The imperial doctors were helpless. Seeing that the condition was getting worse, the whole Chang'an and the entire court began to feel uneasy.
The news leaked from the palace in the past few days has made everyone anxious. The emperor's condition continues to deteriorate, and the end of his life is approaching, and the court has to start thinking about his funeral.
In the East Palace, Guo Ziyi, who had retired from office for many years, paid a visit to Prince Li Shi. He was urgently summoned by Prince Li Shi.
Li Shi bowed down with tears in his eyes and said: "My father is in a critical situation. My talent is shallow, my moral character is not good, and my authority is hard to obey. However, my father must ask me to shoulder the important responsibility of the Tang Dynasty. I can only try my best to protect the country."
I am just afraid that the military will be in chaos and will be difficult to control, so I implore the old prince to come out again to help Xiao Wang ascend the throne and help stabilize the Tang Dynasty."
Guo Ziyi hurriedly said in vain: "Your Highness, please rise and kill me. It is my honor to serve the Tang Dynasty. As long as Your Highness does not think I am fatuous and old, I am willing to do my best for Your Highness."
Li Shi was extremely grateful and determined. As long as Guo Ziyi came out to control the army, no one would be able to launch a mutiny. At this critical moment, he had to rely on Guo Ziyi to stabilize the overall situation.
The two sat down and Guo Ziyi asked: "How advanced is the Holy Master's condition?"
Li Shi said sadly: "The imperial doctor said, I'm afraid that the situation is a bit uneasy just for the past few days, so I beg your old master to come out again."
Guo Ziyi sighed and said: "Your Highness, please rest assured that I will do everything possible to maintain the stability of the Tang Dynasty. Your Highness, please stay with the Holy Master."
Li Shi nodded, "I'll rush over right away."
Li Shi then handed over the Emperor's Sword and Six Guards' Tiger Talisman to Guo Ziyi, and said in a deep voice: "The formal appointment will come soon, and I will leave everything to my old master!"
Guo Ziyi nodded silently. Although he was eighty-three years old, he still accepted the emperor's commission without hesitation and assumed the important task of commanding the 100,000 troops that guarded the palace.
An hour later, Prince Li Shi issued an order to supervise the country, appointing Guo Ziyi as the General of the Hussars and the Military Appearance Observer of Gyeonggi Province. At the same time, he controlled the Beiya Shence Army. The people called him the Eighty-Year General.
After this order to supervise the country was issued, many sensitive ministers realized that something big was going to happen to the court.
At two o'clock in the morning, Yan Zhenqing was woken up from his sleep. A maid said to him: "Reply to the master! It's someone from the palace. Let the master enter the palace immediately."
Yan Zhenqing was shocked and quickly put on his clothes and went to the lobby, where he saw two eunuchs waiting for him anxiously.
"But the emperor's situation is not good?" Yan Zhenqing asked urgently.
The eunuch nodded, "The imperial doctor said that the Holy Emperor may not be able to survive the night, so His Highness the Crown Prince asked us to notify all ministers of third rank and above to enter the palace."
"I understand, I will enter the palace immediately."
Yan Zhenqing tidied up a little, then got on the carriage and hurried to the palace.
At the same time, all ministers of third rank and above were notified, and they rushed to the palace from all directions
At the fourth watch, dozens of important ministers stood outside the Zichen Hall of the Daming Palace. Everyone was in a heavy mood and remained silent. Fine snowflakes were floating in the sky, and soon a thin layer of snowflakes was spread on everyone's heads and shoulders.
Layers of snowflakes.
The eunuchs and guards were also silent. The atmosphere outside the palace was very low and depressing, as if even the air had frozen, as if they were waiting for something.
At this time, a burst of crying suddenly came from the inner hall, and everyone's heart sank into the abyss. An imperial doctor walked out numbly and said sadly: "The Holy One has died!"
Yan Zhenqing fell to his knees and burst into tears. Then all the ministers and guards knelt down and burst into tears together.
The Tang Dynasty Dragon Flag outside the main hall slowly fell, and the Jingyang Bell above the Hanyuan Hall rang, with "dong dong" sound after sound, echoing over the entire Chang'an.
On the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month in the thirteenth year of the Dali calendar, Emperor Li Yu of the Tang Dynasty passed away in the Daming Palace.