Chapter 155 The identity of the mother of Prince Lanling
As soon as Gao Changgong left, many chirping girls' voices came from the surrounding area.
"I heard that she is an illegitimate daughter, and her biological father is a prostitute like Han Zigao. How can she be worthy of Prince Lanling with her status?"
"That's right, no matter how beautiful she is, she's just a beauty who waits for others! And her appearance is ruined, so she will be rejected one day."
"It's very true, such a woman is not as noble as our Xianbei aristocratic women. Prince Lanling should marry a legitimate daughter of a noble family like us!"
"Speaking of the legitimate daughter of the family, Ayue of the Zheng family, don't you really want to marry Prince Lanling? How come today, your family hasn't made a decision for you yet?"
"It's such a pity that King Lanling just sent an envoy to Nanchen and let someone get there first!"
"Zheng's Ayue, I'm afraid you may never have a chance in this life!"
At this time, Zheng Yue was ridiculed by a group of noble ladies and looked pitiful. She actually dropped two pearls and retorted crisply: "Not necessarily. I heard that Xiao Guan only made a betrothal to Miss Xiao in the south. , the emperor of the Southern Dynasty gave him Xiao's daughter, but they have not held a wedding yet, so they have not officially become husband and wife... However, this girl is so beautiful, it is natural that she should be liked by Chang Gong, I don't mind……"
Before she could finish her words, she heard a loud shout: "Get out!"
An eleven or twelve year old boy jumped out of nowhere and looked at her angrily.
Although this young man was born with a gorgeous appearance and was extremely beautiful, his aura was completely terrifying!
"You alone are worthy of sarcasm and shouting in front of my brother Qing. Let me tell you, my brother Qing deserves the best man in the world. There is no one who is not worthy of her, only others are not worthy of her!"
"Whoever dares to say one more word will have his tongue pulled out!"
"Get out of here!"
Fenghuang shouted a few times like this, and all the noble ladies who were watching no longer dared to speak, and all of them fled away, but Zheng Yue remained where she was, looking very aggrieved.
Gao Yanzong then said: "In my opinion, forget it. You have also seen the fourth brother's feelings for my fourth sister-in-law just now. He really cherishes this daughter of the Xiao family, Ayue of the Zheng family. You Just give up!"
She is so cherished that he is not even allowed to take another look at her!
Zheng Yue's tears fell down, she looked at Gao Yanzong and cried: "But I feel so heartbroken and uncomfortable. I have been waiting for him for so many years. I originally wanted him to go as ambassador to Chen Guo this time. When he came back, I asked him to go to my house to propose marriage to my parents, but... why did it happen like this? "
"Zheng Yue, stop crying and leave quickly!"
Gao Yanzong felt a little embarrassed. Speaking of which, it was Zheng Yue who insisted on pestering him to bring her with him. At this time, he actually embarrassed the fourth brother's newly married sister-in-law.
He looked at Xiao Jinyu with some shame and waved his hand.
"Sorry, sister-in-law, I'll take her away right now and come back to visit you and fourth brother another day!"
After saying that, he pulled Zheng Yue and ran away, followed closely by a group of soldiers.
Fenghuang looked at Xiao Jinyu with a little anger and distress.
"Brother Qing, will you regret it?
You are such a proud person, but you have to be pointed and judged by these ignorant women!
Xiao Jinyu shook his head and smiled.
"Fenghuang, wasn't it the same when we first arrived in Nanchen? The situation at that time was not much better than now, right?"
Thinking of the grievances he suffered when he first arrived in Chen Country, Fenghuang's nose felt sore again.
"Phoenix, let's go in first and help me disguise myself again!" She whispered in a whisper-like voice.
She knew that this low voice could not be heard by others, but Phoenix could certainly hear it.
…
The imperial palace of the Northern Qi Dynasty is entered through Zhuming Gate. A large avenue leads north, leading directly to the Zhichemen, Duanmen, Changhemen, etc. It is nearly two miles. When you reach the Zhichemen, you have to dismount, pass through the Duanmen, and enter the Changhemen. Only then did he arrive in front of the Zhaoyang Palace where the emperor and his ministers discussed matters.
At that time, Gao Zhan had just sobered up from his excessive drunkenness, straightened his clothes, and then lazily came to see King Lanling.
At this time, Shizhong and Shikai were also accompanying him.
Seeing King Lanling, Gao Zhan yawned and asked, "I heard that Changgong arrived at Yecheng just last night. It's been a long and hard work for me to be envoy to Nanchen!"
"It is the duty of a minister to serve the country without working hard."
"Tell me, what are your gains and feelings from this mission to Chen State?"
"Yes, although the population of Chen State is not large, it has a vast territory and rich resources. Now it is at a time when the economy is booming. Not long ago, due to a debate at Fahua Mountain, the emperor of the Southern Dynasty accepted the advice of good ministers and implemented the policy of exterminating Buddhism. Now The land and taxes handed over to the Buddhist temples have already filled the national treasury, and our country of Qi has suffered from insect and drought not long ago. In terms of economy, our country of Qi is not as good as it is!"
"The Southern Dynasty also valued talent training, and its emperor paid even more attention to promoting poor families. When I returned to Qi, the emperor of the Southern Dynasty had reached an agreement with the Lanling Xiao family to recruit scholars from poor families to study together with the nobles and serve the imperial court. I believe that in the near future , Chen Guoying is full of talents..."
Hearing this, Gao Zhan's face was obviously unhappy. At this time, Gao Changgong changed the subject and said, "However, the Chen people still have the legacy of the Wei and Jin Dynasties. They have a weak temperament, and because the overseas Chinese surnamed Nandu gentry have experienced many wars, , the hearts of the people are scattered, the power of the family has gradually weakened, and it is not as good as our Qi State. The accumulated troops of Chen State are only a few hundred thousand at most, which is far less powerful than our Qi State. "
After hearing the last sentence, Gao Zhan's face broke out into a satisfied smile, and he turned to ask: "What is the attitude of Chen Guo's new emperor towards our Qi State?"
"Your Majesty, after all, the Emperor of Chen State was once a hostage of the Zhou State and was humiliated by the Zhou people. He still has old grudges against the Zhou people. This time he submits his credentials. His Majesty Chen is very happy to form an alliance with our Qi State and is willing to work together. Fight against the Northern Zhou Dynasty!”
"That's good, that's good! I really don't like fighting, but if Yu Wenhu insists on bullying me, I'm not afraid to fight him!"
At this point, he seemed to have thought of something, and asked again, "You just said that after the debate at Fahua Mountain, the emperor of the Southern Dynasty implemented the policy of exterminating Buddhism and ordered the Buddhist temples to hand over land and taxes, and the national treasury was filled. But as the rumor said, That Xie Zhen of the Xie family in Chen County was able to win the argument with one person, so that the emperor of the Southern Dynasty ordered the destruction of the Buddha? "
Gao Changgong's heart skipped a beat, and after hesitating for a moment, he replied: "It's him!"
"What a sharp-tongued Xie Zhen! I also heard that he is your staff. When did you get such a staff member?"
At this question, Gao Changgong caught a glimpse of He Shikai's slightly sinister look, and replied: "During the Turkic War, I met this good friend by chance, so he took him as a staff member under his tent. Because he has a relatively withdrawn temperament and does not like to interact with many people. He came into contact with me, so I agreed to his request and did not promote his name until the day when Fahua was in trouble."
"This man has such talent and learning, how does he compare with Zu Jue, the eunuch of Zhongshu?" Gao Zhan asked again.
Gao Changgong was silent for a moment again, and finally replied: "I dare not judge who is better, but if your Majesty wants to know, why not let these two compete? With many famous scholars as judges, it can be seen in front of everyone. We can judge fairly if we know clearly!”
"Very good, very good. This Zu Jue compares himself to Fan Zeng and scolds me for not being as good as Xiang Yu. If I hadn't thought that he could make golden elixirs for me, I would have killed him long ago. Instead, I can use this Xie Zhen Give it a try, if Xie Zhen is really that talented, you can help me defeat him!"
It turned out that he just wanted to dampen Zu Jue's tax temper.
Gao Changgong smiled bitterly in his heart.
At this time, Gao Zhan said again, "Then let's find a time. Why not do it in seven days? After seven days, you can bring Xie Zhen to Zhaoyang Palace!"
"yes!"
After a moment of silence, Gao Changgong opened his lips again and asked: "The Queen Mother..." Just as he started, Gao Zhan suddenly thought of something and interrupted: "By the way, I heard that this time you sent Chen with you. A stunning beauty came back, where is that beauty now?”
really……
With Gao Zhan's greedy nature, it is impossible not to mention this matter...
Gao Changgong was a little angry in his heart, but after reading Xiao Jinyu's repeated instructions, he reluctantly calmed down and replied calmly: "Your Majesty, I did bring a girl back, but this girl is already my wife, and I want to hold a wedding ceremony in Yecheng. It’s a wedding, I hope Your Majesty…”
"Chang Gong, I just asked you to bring her for a look. Why are you nervous? I know that you promised to marry her in front of the world's scholars. She is just a girl from the south. Do you have to marry her?
You go back and prepare well. I want to hold a banquet at Bingjing Terrace to cleanse you from the dust. You have made great contributions to the state of Chen and I want to reward you, so you can bring your wife to the banquet to receive the reward!"
At this point, Gao Zhan was impatient and didn't want to talk to Gao Changgong anymore.
When Gao Changgong saw his attitude, he actually kept silent and said no more. After a moment of silence, he cupped his hands and said, "Yes, I want to see my grandmother, so I'm leaving!"
"Go, go, go!"
Looking like he didn't want to talk any more, Gao Changgong was a little disappointed. He glanced at He Shikai beside him, who was smiling with an unclear expression, and walked out of Zhaoyang Palace.
After Gao Changgong left, He Shikai couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief and said to himself: It's surprising that he didn't mention anything about what happened along the way.
"Yantong, tell me, if I ask for this woman brought back by Chang Gong, will he be willing to give it to me?"
"Your Majesty, you are the Son of Heaven. You can choose all the women in the world. They are just one girl. If you want her, as a minister, you should offer your beauty to Your Majesty. Why don't you want to?"
Gao Zhan showed a satisfied smile on his face.
"Let's take a look first to see if it's as beautiful as rumored, right?"
…
After leaving the Zhaoyang Palace, Gao Changgong went directly to the Queen Mother's bedroom. He saw his grandmother, who was over sixty years old, lying on the couch. Her hair was gray and her frail body was getting thinner. Gao Changgong felt his eyes moistened and he felt very sad. feeling.
"Prince——"
The palace maid saw him coming and was about to say something. Gao Changgong told her to be silent, strode to Queen Mother Lou's bed, and called softly: "Grandma, my grandson is back!"
The sleeping Queen Mother Lou seemed to hear his voice and slowly opened her eyes with a happy face.
"It's Chang Gong!"
"Yes! Grandma, what disease are you suffering from? How are you feeling recently?"
"When people get old, they will go home one day. There is no need to feel sad. When Zhuangzi's wife died, didn't she still sing and sing? Grandma is going to return to nature!" Empress Dowager Lou sighed, "It's time to go see her. It's time for your grandfather. I think back then, my grandmother just glanced at him from afar and decided that he was my husband in this life. Later, I got what I wanted, and this life is full of children and grandchildren, but..."
Speaking of this, he seemed a little sad and lamented, "It's just that your father, my son who is so smart and strategic, was assassinated at a young age...
Chang Gong, don’t blame your grandmother for being ruthless in not letting your mother’s surname enter the family tree. Your father later made many enemies, and a large part of the reason was because of her... He even wanted to abolish his wife and make her his queen for her sake, which angered the courtiers. Dissatisfied, so grandma...
She is also a decent person. She couldn't be a wife, so she left on her own..."
Unexpectedly, Empress Dowager Lou suddenly mentioned her mother. Gao Changgong was a little surprised, so he asked: "Grandma, my mother, who is she? Is she also a princess of the Northern Wei Dynasty?"
Queen Mother Lou smiled and shook her head.
"She is not the princess of the Northern Wei Dynasty, but the princess of Nanliang, the daughter of Emperor Jian Wen... Xiao Gang!"
Hearing the words Xiao Gang's daughter, Gao Changgong's eyes showed a look of surprise, as if a broken string was instantly connected, and many things that he couldn't understand were now explained.
"Princess Liyang?"
The princess who was given to Hou Jing by her father and grandfather because of the country's subjugation when she was not even old enough to be a hairpin, was the most beautiful woman in the Southern Liang Dynasty. Hou Jing asked Emperor Liang Wu for a girl from the Wang Xie family, so he asked for the most beautiful and young girl from the Xiao family royal family to vent his anger.
No wonder...no wonder my mother would say that...
But... why did she follow her father again?
"She was dedicated to your father by Chen Xu, the current emperor of the Southern Dynasty, who was the minister of Zhongshu at the time. Of course, there may be some things between your father and her that I don't know about..."
Hearing this, Gao Changgong was even more shocked.
Thinking that Chen Xu once wanted to make a deal with him using his mother's information, so that he could switch to Chen State and be used by the emperor of the Southern Dynasty...
But it turned out to be so!
Gao Changgong didn’t know what emotion he was feeling. At this time, Empress Dowager Lou turned her kind eyes to him again, stretched out her hand to touch his face, and said sincerely: "Good boy, you must not follow in your father's footsteps. I I know that you are loyal, brave and talented, so don’t be deceived by women in this life, and protect our country, Da Qi!”
"Yes, Grandma!"
Gao Changgong felt sad. After thinking for a long time, he finally spoke out what was in his heart.
"Grandma, my grandson is now married to a woman from the Southern Dynasties. She treats her grandson very well and he loves her very much. She also has medical skills. Tomorrow, my grandson will bring her to see grandma. How's that?"
"Are you married? Which family's girl you are married to? How can you make the decision on such a big matter as getting a wife? Why are you acting so nonsense?"
King Lanling hesitated again for a moment, then answered truthfully:
"She is also the daughter of the Lanling Xiao family, but her life experience is a bit complicated. My grandson doesn't want to say more. He just wants to be fulfilled by his grandmother. When his grandmother is healthy, his grandson wants to hold a wedding in Yecheng and invite his grandmother to officiate. A testimony! I don’t know grandma..."
Before he finished speaking, Queen Mother Lou coughed violently. Gao Changgong also patted her back nervously and asked the maid to bring a spittoon.
"My grandson knows that my grandmother has always wanted to find her a daughter from a wealthy family in the North as a wife. She wants her grandson to have a wife and family to help him in the future. However, my grandson has no ambitions. He just wants to be a guard of our Daqi territory." General, it doesn’t matter whether you have a wife or family to support you. My grandson’s greatest wish in this life is to spend this life safely with the one he loves.”
When Gao Changgong said this, Queen Mother Lou fell silent, neither refuting nor expressing agreement.
After a few pleasantries and questions about things in the Southern Dynasties, Gao Changgong was asked to go back.
As soon as King Lanling left, she called her confidants again and said: "Chang Gong, this child does not have any ambitions, but he is also afraid of being influenced or instigated by others, especially the people next to him. Find someone to help him." Let me find out, what kind of person is the woman he married? "
"The Queen Mother, the king just said that he will bring his princess to see the Queen Mother tomorrow. Wouldn't it be better to know this woman's temperament by seeing it with her own eyes?"
Empress Dowager Lou smiled and said: "Sometimes what you see with your own eyes may not be true. There are so many people in this world who can cheat. You have to listen to the voices outside. I'm just afraid. The woman he married is... The same as his mother..."
"Yes, Queen Mother!"
(End of chapter)