Chapter 21 Volume 2 Yuyang Drums

The tenth day of November in the fourteenth year of Tianbao.In Chang'an City, last night it rained all night, the damp and cold air made people feel stuffy, and she didn't sleep well all night, Shen Zhenzhu got up early in the morning to change her clothes, put on a tight outer robe, and personally held a cup of prescription The stewed bird's nest went into the study.Li Chu supported his forehead with one hand, and took a pen with the other.The pen is an excellent Xuanzhou tribute, full of ink but not dripping, but the hand holding the pen rests on the copybook, and the densely written words are pressed by the dark blue sleeves.His eyes were slightly closed, and even in the middle of a nap, he still frowned slightly, and his tiredness could not be concealed in his handsome face.The room was silent and there was no attendant to wait on him. This was Li Chu's habit. He was doing business and hated being disturbed by others.

Over the past year or so, His Majesty has gradually entrusted him with more and more important responsibilities, not only leading the governor of Liangzhou from afar - as we all know, this is just a false name - but also making him participate in the discussions of the Ministry of War, which is not even a crown prince. Why doesn't it draw people's attention?It's just that now that the Yang family is in power and the princess is always on the lookout, he still has to be careful everywhere, and it's really hard for him. With this in mind, Shen Zhenzhu quietly placed the cup of bird's nest on the table, the stoves in the room were burning hot and full of warmth, but if the charcoal could not be added in time, usually it would be extremely sluggish after being extremely prosperous.

She walked to the nearest pot of fire, picked up the tweezers, and added a piece of charcoal into it.The strong charcoal fire added new fuels, and there was a strange buzzing sound, and the choking smell of new charcoal came to the nostrils.She covered her nose to avoid it, but still inhaled a lot, feeling tight and uncomfortable in her chest, holding on to the wall with one hand, and couldn't help retching.She is most afraid of this, every time she can't vomit anything, but the sky is dark, her hands and feet are cold, and even Li Chu has been frightened countless times.The imperial doctor always said with a smile: "It's okay, it's okay, the symptoms will disappear after the 100 days of pregnancy."

As soon as his body warmed up, he was already supported into Li Chu's arms.He lightly patted her vest, seeing her retching, panting, extremely cowardly, and distressed, finally saw her panting, and hugged her to the bed in the inner room. "You..." He frowned, wanting to blame, but couldn't bear it. He held her cold hands tightly, and finally said angrily, "You know you're pregnant, so why don't you sleep a little longer this early in the morning? It's freezing cold, what are you doing here! What about Su Ci, why don't you let her serve you? You are good, you are alone, and you came to serve me. There are so many slaves, it's your turn to bring tea and water Add charcoal?"

Shen Zhenzhu has long been guilty.The child in her womb is also her true love.She has already lost one and must not repeat the same mistakes.But since she became pregnant, not only did she suffer from physical discomfort, but her emotions were also greatly affected. Li Chu was busy with official duties and had limited time to spend with her. Her parents, brother and sister-in-law all returned to Wuxing, and Murong Linzhi went to Huihe. There was no one who spoke, which inevitably added sentimentality, tears in the wind and nostalgia for looking at the moon. At this time, seeing Li Chu's harsh words, which I had never seen before, knowing that he was sincere, he was still wronged, and his eyes rolled. She shed a tear, refused to say a word, but struggled to get up, pushed away Li Chu's obstruction, put on the embroidered shoes and left.

Li Chu felt regretful, and rushed forward to stop her. Seeing that Shen Zhenzhu was still ignoring her, Fang Po smiled and picked up the bird's nest on the table and said, "Okay, okay, I accept the punishment—a fine for me." How about drinking this cup?" After speaking, without waiting for Shen Zhenzhu's answer, he squinted his eyes and drank down the cup of bird's nest viciously.The bird's nest is certainly delicious, but it's not easy to drink such a large cup in one go. After staying up all night, people have a poor appetite. Li Chu drank less than half of it, but the taste was chewy, and it was difficult to eat. Shen Zhenzhu burst out laughing , snatched the bird's nest with his hand, and said, "Forget it." Only then did he feel relieved.

Li Chu said: "Ten days off today. After I wash up, I will accompany you out of the house for a walk?" Officials have ten days off on the 10th, 20th, and 30th of each month. Shen Zhenzhu looked at his tired face, and said softly: "The ancients also said that 'the way of civil and martial arts, one piece is one relaxation', you really should rest for a while, and if you want to go out for a visit, Suci will accompany me." Li Chu shook his head, and said in a serious manner: "That's not okay, I heard people say that whoever a child has the most contact with before birth, he will most resemble whoever is born."

It was the first time for Shen Zhenzhu to hear such strange talk, she was startled, and asked: "So what?" Li Chu smiled and said: "You and Su Ci face each other day and night, if my son looks like a woman like Su Ci, it will be terrible!" Shen Zhenzhu laughed and said: "The time when the wives of civil and military ministers of the Manchu Dynasty faced their maids after pregnancy was far better than that of their husbands. According to you, the children of nobles and nobles in Chang'an City should all have picturesque features, charming and charming. Banquet, why do I look so hideous? Besides, how do you know that I must be a son in my womb? If I give birth to a daughter, as beautiful as porcelain, I will be satisfied!"

Li Chu's eyes sparkled suddenly, and he said, "I know it must be my son." Shen Zhenzhu spat: "Your Highness must be crazy about his son." As soon as the words fell, he thought of the royal family, especially His Majesty's high hopes for the fetus in his womb. The only hope is that the fetus will be delivered safely and smoothly, but at this time, she is extremely hopeful that the pregnancy in her womb will be a boy.Thinking of this, it seems that infinite pressure has been added to the shoulders. Everything in the world can be done hard, but it seems that it can only rely on God's will to have children.

Li Chu saw that her expression was a little gloomy, so he hugged her shoulder and smiled, "It's just a joke, why do you take it seriously? As long as it is our child, I like it generally." While the two were talking and laughing, they suddenly heard the heavy footsteps of high-soled official boots coming from outside the room. They were wondering, when there was a "boom", the door of the study was pushed open.Li Chu's face turned serious, he let go of the hand that was holding Shen Zhenzhu's shoulder, and shouted: "Who is it, bold!" The person who came was Feng Shengyi, who was newly appointed as the head of the Criminal Department, his dark face was flushed at this time, because he was eager to report the news, he rushed all the way, panting like a cow.

"Your Highness, a major event has happened—An Lushan has been reversed!" Li Chu and Shen Zhenzhu were relatively silent.Like all civil and military officials of the imperial court, although they had expected this day, when it really happened, the chill still penetrated into the bone marrow.Feng Shengyi didn't close the door tightly, the cold wind blew, and the window screen fluttered. The silence seemed long or short at this moment. Li Chu pounded heavily on the table case, and the over-pile of papers scattered on the ground, and said with a sneer: "Okay, okay, The old thief has finally turned his back!" An Lushan was on the first day, that is, the ninth day of the ninth day.In the early morning of that day, he swore an oath as a teacher in the southern suburbs of Jicheng, under the pretense of "obtaining a secret edict against Yang Guozhong" and raising troops to "put down the chaos", which opened the prelude to the chaos.Although he had ambushed people and horses along the way from Fanyang to Chang'an, and captured the messengers reporting to Chang'an, many centipedes in the Tang Dynasty still slipped through the net and quickly spread the news to Chang'an. Xuanzong was furious. On the afternoon of the tenth day of the lunar new year, a court meeting was called, and Guo Ziyi, the envoy of soldiers and horses in the right chamber of Shuofang, and the governor of Fengzhou, was ordered to be Shuofang's Jiedu envoy to lead Shuofang's army eastward to fight against thieves. On the 21st, Xuanzong beheaded Anqingzong, the eldest son of Anlushan, and bestowed the death of Princess Rongyi.At the same time, Li Wan, the sixth son of King Rong, and Gao Xianzhi, the great general of Jinwu, were appointed as the chief and deputy marshals, leading tens of thousands of troops out of Tongguan to march eastward, and setting up new Jiedu envoys and defensive envoys in various places to stop the rebels. Tang's indoor defense was loose, and the rebels drove straight in. On December 22, Bianzhou and Xingyang fell. On the 23rd, Luoyang fell. The guard Feng Changqing joined Li Wan and Gao Xianzhi and retreated to defend Tongguan. The rebel army took Cui Qianyou as the vanguard and attacked Tongguan several times without stopping. The two armies became confrontational. On the 25th, another part of the rebel army led by An Qingxu stepped up their attack on the counties in Hebei. The counties of Hongnong, Linru, Puyang, Jiyang and Yunzhong fell, and all 17 counties in Hebei fell to the enemy. On the twenty-eighth day, when Li Chu went back to the mansion, Zhang Deyu, the general manager, was wearing a heavy padded robe, and he was gathering servants to hang lanterns and post door gods—the one riding a giant tiger was Shen Tu, and the one with a rooster on his shoulder was Yu Lei. stern.The New Year's Eve is approaching, and usually at this time, the lanterns are hung high in the streets and cities. Relatives and friends are close to each other, officials and colleagues, congratulate each other, and give each other gifts. The big families and ordinary people seem to have lost their enthusiasm for the New Year, the streets are deserted, and there are few people with lanterns and festivities. Li Chu glanced at Zhang Deyu and went to the inner mansion without saying a word.Zhang Deyu came running in small steps, bent over, and said with a low laugh: "The princess is pregnant, and there are two great gods, Shen Tu and Yu Lei, who exorcise demons and ward off evil spirits, so she will be safe." Li Chu nodded slightly at this time. Zhang Deyu was dispatched from the prince's mansion last year, but he was not annoying, and he was able to accomplish some things, which hindered the prince's face, and became the chief of the prince's mansion after Liu Run. The inside and outside of the house have been cleaned up, Shen Zhenzhu is lying on the couch reading a book, listening to Su Ci salute "I have seen Your Highness", put down the book in a hurry, for fear that Li Chu will blame him for reading a book, he doesn't know what to do The words were prevaricated, but Li Chu's expression was peaceful, he took off his robe and waved to Su Ci, Su Ci hurriedly stepped back and came to the door. Shen Zhenzhu knew that the more peaceful Li Chu looked, the more unusual he was, and he didn't know what the situation ahead was. Li Chu sat down on the couch slowly, and said, "Uncle Rong Wang died suddenly in the army yesterday." The army he mentioned refers to the Tongguan army.The friendship between King Rong and him is very weak, and he has no intention of mourning. "How could it be?" Shen Zhenzhu had met Rong Wang Li Wan several times before, and was very surprised, "It is said that Rong Wang has a strong physique, how can he say that he will die when he dies. Is it a sudden illness?" Li Chu shook his head, "I can't tell, but... Uncle Wang is really too lustful. He is in Tongguan, and there are four or five concubines in his account..." The rest is hard to say, even Shen Zhenzhu can't bear to detail Thinking, King Rong is famous for his lust in Chang'an, but he is only in his forties, not to mention the numerous concubines in his mansion, and he has as many as fifty-eight children.Although King Rong's reputation as commander-in-chief was only in vain, but his death was too untimely. The two armies faced each other, and the commander died suddenly, which can be said to be a big blow to the morale of the army.In addition, another question arises, that is, who will succeed the coach?Suddenly, I realized in my heart, I saw a ray of pain flashing in Li Chu's eyes, could it be... I felt uneasy in my heart, and even faint pain and panic rose slowly. Li Chu stared at her intently, feeling even more reluctant to part with her, and suddenly hugged her tightly into his arms until she couldn't breathe, kissed her deeply, and said with difficulty: "I'm sorry, Pearl. Your Majesty ordered my father to be the Marshal. I must go to Tongguan instead of my father." Shen Zhenzhu trembled all over, it was indeed so.Tongguan, that is the battlefield where Wu Ge wears rhinoceros armour, vehicles meet at the wrong hub and short soldiers meet, and the sun is covered with arrows. Every day, there are countless soldiers and soldiers shrouded in horse leather. .She knew that maybe he would not come to the front line in person, and his going to Tongguan was more of a symbol, a symbol of His Majesty's attention, a symbol of Tang Shi's confidence in winning this war.However, she was still worried, how could she not be worried - afraid of a sudden cold arrow from the top of the city, afraid of a group of ambush soldiers suddenly rushing out of the lane, afraid of the cold wind and rain hurting his body, afraid of... All in all, my heart is full of unprecedented fear and anxiety. Seeing that she didn't answer for a long time, Li Chu sighed, and looked at her waist, although she was 100 days pregnant, it was still slender as before.The tone was full of guilt: "I am really disturbed to leave you at such a time. Don't worry about me. Tongguan is a natural danger. There are two generals Gao and Feng guarding it. You should be safe. Wait until July and August next year. Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi The two generals cut off the rebel army in several ways, and went north to take down Fan Yangqing's lair, and the rebel army would be defeated without a fight, and it would be easy to recover Luoyang and Hebei counties." Shen Zhenzhu came back to her senses, she just scolded herself secretly, even though she was full of reluctance and worries, how could she let him worry about herself any more, only when she was calm and composed, could he feel at ease.Gently hugging his body back, raised his head and smiled: "Don't worry, I will definitely take care of myself and the child, and wait for you to come back. In the current situation, His Majesty attaches great importance to this child, as long as he is not inferior to you and me. I don't think anyone will dare Be delusional." Li Chu said: "I will arrange it thoroughly, with strictness inside and windy clothing outside, no one can touch you. But..." He frowned and said, "You have to cherish your own body, that's what I'm most worried about " Shen Zhenzhu gritted her teeth, and replied: "I will ask Su Ci to move all the books to the warehouse later." Li Chu chuckled softly, embraced her and said, "It's not necessary, you have to have a leisurely time, don't you?" ? As long as you always remember for me, I will be relieved." Shen Zhenzhu nodded silently, and said: "You must always remember, be careful in everything, and return safely." After a pause, she asked: "When will you leave?" Li Chu said: "Afternoon." Shen Zhenzhu closed her eyes and leaned against Li Chu's arms, she smelled the faint fragrance of his clothes, she was already familiar with and attached to it, she didn't know how long it would be before she could smell his breath again.I only hate that time is so hasty, my heart is lingering, and the pain of parting is so bitter.After a long time, Youyou said to Li Chu, "Chu, I beg you to do the same thing." Li Chu closed his eyes and replied, "You say, no matter what, I will agree to you." "I beg you to bring the Wind Raw Clothes." Li Chu opened his eyes suddenly: "No way! First, he wants to protect you. Second, he is now the head of the Ministry of Criminal Justice. How can he take you away at will?" Shen Zhenzhu said softly: "If you want to take him away, you must have a way. I am enough to have strict protection. You are in the midst of war, which is the most worrying about your safety. Chu, I beg you." Seeing her misty eyes, as if begging, Li Chu finally nodded and said: "Okay. I will recruit more capable dead men to watch around Qingyi Pavilion." The conversation changed, and he said: "I have promised you this You have to promise me one thing - after I leave, you are not allowed to ask or watch the battle in Tongguan, and you can wait for me to come back with peace of mind." Shen Zhenzhu bit her lower lip, her face turned pale, and she asked, "Why?" Li Chu said: "The war in Tongguan has been tense for a year and a half. Nowadays, there are many hearsays on the roads of Chang'an City, and there are some inaccuracies in the side reports. I just don't want you to worry about it. I have asked Zhang Deyu to send an order, and no one is allowed to follow If you bring up the matter of war, you have to calm down!" Shen Zhenzhu lowered her head for a long time before she answered "yes" softly. Then Li Chu smiled, bent his head and put his ears on Shen Zhenzhu's waist, Shen Zhenzhu shrank back and said, "What are you doing?" Li Chu said, "I'm listening to see if the child is calling Daddy inside." Shen Zhenzhu wanted to laugh but tears filled her eyes. She secretly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and said with a smile, "How old is this? If you dare to call your parents, you must be a genius." As soon as the words fell, Li Chu heard Li Chu's words in a low voice: "Our son is not only a genius, he will also be the emperor in the future."