Chapter 12 Chapter Fifty-Eighth: Jiang Liu Doesn't Talk

Xue Hong noticed that the sound of light footsteps gradually faded away. Shen Zhenzhu's mind is clear and empty, she always closes her eyes, listening to all the subtle and trivial voices in this world, for a long night, only this heart is completely her own. After an unknown amount of time, she heard the sound of the door being pushed gently, and the sound of footsteps walking in slowly. She knew he was coming.She was still leaning there, breathing steadily, with a slight smile on her face, as if she was asleep. His hand was on her forehead, his breath was so familiar, he slowly bowed his body and whispered her name.She still didn't move, and even her eyebrows didn't flicker.He suddenly panicked, his breathing became disordered, and he put his hand on her veins. After a long time, Fang let out a sigh of relief, still holding her hand lightly, as if looking at her face for a long time, and whispered in her ear: " Shall we go back?" She was silent for a long time, and finally nodded slightly.

She was held in his arms and walked slowly outside. His heartbeat was steady and strong. His face was immersed in her hair, and he said softly: "I know you are tired. If you don't want to talk, just close your eyes and don't say anything. Take good care of her." The carriage bumped, and he hugged her tightly all the way, and she gradually lost her mind and fell asleep. It's so strange that after this sleep, there are no dreams, no stars, no moon, no sorrow and no pain.When she woke up, Li Shi was stroking her cheek with his plump little hand. The soft and tender little hand was stroking her face very comfortably.She reached out and hugged Li Shi to the bed, and asked, "What time is it?"

The maid replied with a smile: "It's still early, Your Highness is still in the morning. The concubine only slept for three or four hours, and she should sleep until the afternoon." Nanny Wang, who served Li Shi, said in a fluttering voice: "Your Highness didn't allow the little son to disturb the princess, but the son didn't see his mother for a few days and cried every day, so the old slave had no choice but to bring him here." Shen Zhenzhu shook her head and said "It's okay", she was too lazy to get out of bed for a while, so she turned away the extra people, and the maids offered a few things that Li Shi liked, Shen Zhenzhu cheered up, and accompanied Li Shi to play nine chains and jigsaw puzzles, Li Shi played to his heart's content and jumped several feet high on the couch, making the surrounding maids cover their mouths and giggle.

While having fun, with a long announcement, "Your Highness is here—" Li Chu rolled up the curtain and entered.Li Shi shouted "Daddy", jumped off the couch nimbly, and plunged into Li Chu's arms.Li Chu picked up his son, smiled and did not forget to glance at Shen Zhenzhu, seeing that there was nothing unusual about her expression, he was a little relieved.The nanny who had a keen sense early followed into the room, coaxed and persuaded Li Shi out of the inner room with a few words, and all the maids and nuns retreated in an instant. Shen Zhenzhu saw Li Chu walking towards her slowly.For a few steps, he kept smiling, but his smile was cautious, as if he was trying to figure out her heart with every step he took.He is so cautious.

She greeted him with a small smile.He was afraid that she would be angry.However, this matter is something she thinks about a thousand times and ten thousand times, and it seems that she has no reason to be annoyed by countless other people's comments. What reason could she have to be annoyed?He didn't mean to deceive her, on the contrary, he probably didn't tell her in order not to worry her.And the matter developed to be resolved by her, which he did not expect.And she, as his wife, took it for granted when he was in danger. What else can she do?She can't be angry, she can't be sad, she can't be happy.What else could she say to him?All she could do was to smile at him like this.

He obviously thought she was relieved.So he stepped forward and sat beside her, held her hand and said: "You have worked too hard this time, you need to recuperate." Shen Zhenzhu nodded with a smile, her eyes quiet.Li Chu came to hug her waist, she didn't realize it, she turned her body slightly, and slowly leaned back on the pillow with her eyes closed.Li Chu thought she was tired again, and was about to pull the brocade quilt to cover her up, when she heard her softly say, "Chang'an is so cold!" He smiled and replied: "That's natural, this year is not too cold, let me tell you, the year I was crowned, there was a snow in Chang'an, there was..."

Before finishing speaking, Shen Zhenzhu said: "I've been feeling unwell recently, probably because the weather is too cold, I heard that Luoyang has a better winter than Chang'an, I want to take Shi'er to live in Luoyang for a while, okay? " Li Chu was slightly surprised, brushed away a strand of hair from her temples, pondered for a long time, and then said: "That's fine, Luoyang's warm climate is good for your body, and I know you won't be happy living in this palace." , It’s also good to go out with Shi’er to relax. However, we have to wait for the emperor to return to Beijing before we can start.”

Shen Zhenzhu nodded and remained silent. Li Chu said again: "I will take more chances to go to Luoyang to see your mother and son." While speaking, he leaned close to Shen Zhenzhu's face, kissed her lightly, and said in a low voice: "Why don't you ask me about the result of Xue Song's matter?" ?” Shen Zhenzhu breathed out the word "um", turned her back to Li Chu, and remained silent.Li Chu thought she was about to fall asleep, so he said to himself: "Unfortunately, when Xue Song was about to reveal who the envoy was slandering me, he was suddenly assassinated and died. Our success is on the brink of failure. It's a pity, a pity."

Because the emperor is coming back soon, Li Chu gradually became more busy, even Shen Zhenzhu could hardly see each other every day, and occasionally went to see her, but he always looked tired and seldom talked to him.Li Chu didn't pay much attention, only thought that Shen Zhenzhu's spirit was not good. After Yan Ming escorted Xue Song to the Daming Palace that day, Xue Song really retracted his confession on the spot. In front of Emperor Suzong, he bluntly said in the hall that someone threatened him with his life to slander His Royal Highness Guangping. The true face of the master behind the scenes.However, just as he was about to reveal the name of the envoy, someone hid on the beam of the main hall and stabbed Xue Song to death on the spot with a poisonous silver needle.This Xue Song spent his whole life working for profit, and finally died unexpectedly. Xue Hongxian could only save him for a while, but not for the rest of his life.

Even so, Li Chu's charge of conspiring to usurp and kill the king has been discharged on the spot.Even better, although Xue Song was unable to name the person in charge at that time, when he was poisoned by the needle, his hand was pointing at a person in the hall. The person he pointed at was Dugu Jing! In fact, Dugu Jing and Concubine Zhang Shu were standing at the same place, very close to each other, no one could tell who Xue Song was pointing at.It's just that at this moment Li Mi and Li Chu took advantage of the victory to pursue and pursue each other aggressively, Concubine Zhang Shu hurriedly said in desperation, "Xue Song refers to Dugu Jing".Although it is absurd to convict with "one finger", and Dugujing yells that he has been wronged, but the matter is of great importance, Suzong immediately ordered Dugujing to be sent to Dali Prison for strict interrogation.With the ability of Feng Yi, the servant of the Ministry of punishment, Dugujing's life has been lost in Dali Prison.

In this battle, Li Chu did not return without success after all. On the fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, the emperor finally returned to Chang'an, and Suzong personally led the princes and ministers to Xianyang to greet him. It was a grand ceremony.Afterwards, the emperor came to Hanyuan Hall to appease the officials, and lived in Xingqing Palace ever since.Shen Zhenzhu was grateful for the kindness of Xuanzong and Gao Lishi in the past, and entered the Xingqing Palace many times to greet her. Xuanzong was very happy to see her. After a few days, Shen Zhenzhu started to pack and prepare to go to Luoyang Palace.She had considered taking Su Ci and her son to Luoyang for easy care, but Su Ci remained in a coma, fearing that her condition would change on the way, she had to ask the nuns and maids staying behind in Shujing Palace to take good care of their mother and son. People, otherwise I will never forgive you lightly. The day was finally packed, and I bid farewell to Suzong and Concubine Shu after noon, and only waited for the early departure the next day. The wind is strong at night, and the sky is dark very early.Li Chu went to the military camp in the western suburbs for inspection early in the morning, and before leaving, he sent someone to bring the news that he wanted to have dinner with Shen Zhenzhu in Shujing Hall.When it was time for dinner, various dishes and wines were uploaded, most of which were Shen Zhenzhu's favorite flavors. Shen Zhenzhu felt warm in her heart, seeing that tonight was different from other days, the wind was blowing wildly and the snow was as heavy as a bucket, so she ordered the attendants in the palace to close the doors and windows early, except for the maids and guards on duty, all of them rested separately. In the room, she lit several candles alone, waiting for Li Chu to come back. At a quarter of the hour, the guard came to report: His Royal Highness King Guangping will return to the mansion immediately.At this time, the dishes are first served, the heat is steaming, and the aroma is overflowing. At the second quarter of the unitary hour, the guard came to report: His Highness Wang Guangping is suddenly delayed, please wait a moment for the princess. ... ... She looked at the dishes on the table, and the corner of her mouth curled into a mocking smile. It was self-deprecating. There should be nothing wrong with her choosing to leave temporarily: leaving, let her figure out her own way, and let him let go and do his own thing thing.Maybe, after all, she is not the woman who can make him a success. She leaned against the table and somehow fell asleep.A kitten jumped into the inner room, saw that no one was watching it, it jumped here and there, sniffing at Shen Zhenzhu's feet for a while, jumping up on the table to lick the vegetables, and then flew off the table, bumping into it all at once. That tall candlestick.The candle flame rolled down to the ground, just as the brocade curtain stretched to the ground, "Huo" began to burn. Shen Zhenzhu was choked awake by the smoke, opened her eyes and saw the black smoke and fire in the room, she was anxious and afraid, when she looked back, there was another person lying on the bed, it was Li Chu!She ran up in two steps, shook Li Chu's body again and again, and called out: "Get up, it's on fire!" Unexpectedly, Li Chu was just lying on the bed, no matter how she called and shook him, he still fell asleep.Seeing that the fire was getting bigger and bigger, Shen Zhenzhu screamed desperately! "Pearl, what's the matter, what's the matter!" Shen Zhenzhu felt that her body was being shaken heavily, she was dripping with sweat, she called out "Ah", she suddenly woke up: Li Chu was embracing her, the candle was brightly lit, and the brocade curtain was as bright as before.It turned out to be a dream. Nightmares seem to always wake up at the most critical and terrifying moments; if life is like this, it should be great. She felt endless fear for no reason, couldn't help crying like rain, hugged Li Chu tightly, snuggled into his arms, choked up and said, "You scared me to death!" Li Chu patted her on the shoulder lightly and said with a smile: "The way you had a nightmare just now scared me too." Shen Zhenzhu pretended to be annoyed, stretched out her little finger, and scratched his nose lightly with the fingertip, Li Chu Smiling, "You cried and screamed, and now your face is full of tears, and you are in a mess. You really look like a dignified Princess Guangping!" Shen Zhenzhu snuggled into his arms, at this moment, she was reluctant to leave, put her head on his chest, and said: "Then tell me, what should the dignified Princess Guangping look like?" The corner of Li Chu's mouth was smiling, but he didn't answer. Shen Zhenzhu waited until he didn't see him making a sound for a while, she couldn't help shoving him and said: "Why, won't you answer?" Looking up, he saw that he was still laughing to himself, frowned and said: "That's fine, what are you laughing at?" Li Chu said: "I'm laughing: you're finally willing to pay attention to me!" He lowered his head and pressed close to her ear, "Don't go to Luoyang, okay?" Before she could answer, warm lips fell between her lips and teeth, and she stretched her arms He picked her up and put her on the bed. Between lips and teeth, she felt that his body was full of alcohol, and she finally felt resentment in her heart. She frowned and pushed him away slightly, sat up and said, "Why did you drink so much wine?" He didn't care, "Seeing the New Year Nearly, I have to reward the soldiers, you know how much I drink, what is this!" Shen Zhenzhu sighed and said: "Drinking too much is always bad." While speaking, she reached out to untie the belt around Li Chu's waist. He wears a piece of jade all the year round, which was originally a relic of his biological mother, Mrs. Wu, who has never left her body for more than 20 years.At that time, Shen Zhenzhu was blind, and she recognized Li Chu just by touching Li Chu's waist adornment in Huihe. Li Chu showed slight hesitation, then patted his waist, and said loudly: "It really disappeared, could it be that someone was robbed while drunk?" Shen Zhenzhu's heart was like being pricked by needles, she suddenly felt a sharp pain, she couldn't help closing her eyes and gritting her teeth.Li Chu saw it, and hurriedly took her hand: "Are you feeling unwell?" Shen Zhenzhu pushed him away, shook her head and said: "It's getting late, I'm going to rest, you should go and rest yourself." Li Chu felt her hands were icy cold, and felt a little anxious in his heart, he didn't dare to talk to her any more. While forcing her to lie down, he hurriedly passed the imperial doctor to visit. Shen Zhenzhu's whole body was weak, her mind was blank, she didn't want to talk or think anymore, but saw several imperial physicians rushing over, seemed to be hesitating, they took turns to check the pulse, and went out to the outer room to chat with Li Chu for a while , tossing until midnight, finally decocted the medicine and sent it to take.The medicine still worked, and soon after taking it, he felt much more relaxed, and under Li Chu's anxious eyes, he gradually fell asleep. When she woke up the next morning, Shen Zhenzhu felt that her body was healed and comfortable, but her chest was a little short of breath.After asking around, Li Chu stayed in front of her bed for most of the night, and it was not long before she went to court.After breakfast, Shen Zhenzhu sent a message of strictness, saying: "Let's go to Luoyang now!" Yan Ming was shocked when he heard the words: "His Royal Highness has told XX that the concubine is not feeling well and should not go to Luoyang in the near future." Shen Zhenzhu avoided speaking, and only asked: "Is the carriage ready?" Yan Ming said: "This, of course, has been prepared, and I have been waiting outside the palace gate since last night. However, His Highness has already explained that you cannot leave today!" Still talking, Shen Zhenzhu started to walk out of the hall, and while walking, he ordered the maids and nuns to carry the luggage and carry Li Shi. He was sweating profusely, and he chased after him and said: "If the princess insists on leaving, I can't do it." Let someone hurry up and report back to His Highness." Shen Zhenzhu said while walking: "Then you go and report back, I will go first!" Shen Zhenzhu seldom presides over such matters in person, at this moment, when she gave an order, none of the accompanying attendants dared to be disobedient, but after a while, they all packed up and obeyed orders in front of the palace.Without squinting, Shen Zhenzhu walked down the jade steps, and Li Shi was carried by the accompanying maid, and they sat on the front chariot together. Yan Ming was helpless, he was originally entrusted with the responsibility of escorting Shen Zhenzhu to Luoyang, so he had to turn around and order the nearby guards to go back to Li Chu quickly, and he followed Shen Zhenzhu's chariot closely.Thinking all the way, this matter is extremely bad - Li Chu is going up, how can the guards report this matter?After three or two hours, Li Chu's meeting was over, even if he wanted to catch up with Shen Zhenzhu and his party, it was too late.He couldn't help himself, he had no choice but to follow Shen Zhenzhu and his party out of the palace, into the carriage, and the group headed towards Luoyang with light clothes.