Chapter 10 Chapter 32 Gao Lishi

Letter from Gao Lishi to Chao Heng. Lord Chao Heng, I wonder if you are in good health? Gao Lishi, I am seventy-nine years old. At the moment, I am writing this letter in Langzhou. On the way back to Chang'an from Qianzhong, I fell ill here.Now I can hardly move my whole body. There was pain in the joints all over the body, and the head seemed to be hit with a heavy hammer.The heartbeat was rapid, and the panting was full of heat. Ever since I ascended the throne and the emperor abdicated as the Supreme Emperor, everything went wrong for me, and I was murdered by Li Fuguo, the favorite of the present emperor, and I was exiled to central Guizhou a year ago.Everything I did to others in the past finally fell on me. I wanted to accept my fate and die, but I was in a different place, but I missed the days in the capital all the time.

(Here, due to the change of time and space in the narrative, "Emperor", "Taishanghuang", "Xuanzong Emperor", "Xuanzong Taishanghuang" represent Tang Xuanzong respectively. "Jin Shang" represents Tang Suzong who succeeded him.) The days and nights spent with Emperor Xuanzong and Taishang——When did they flee to Shu due to the Anlu Mountain Rebellion? The fifteenth year of Tianbao was only six years ago. Looking back now, it seems to be a distant memory. The unreachable past. Thinking of the rebellion in Maweiyi that changed the destiny of our lives has become unforgettable for me today.

Master Chao Heng. I am writing this letter to you because today, you are the only one who can say such a thing. If possible, I really want to go in front of you and babble about the words of the dying old man, but I am too sick to handle it. Hey - really, really time flies, too long has passed. During this time, I spent with the Supreme Emperor. It was the first time that he could not meet the Supreme Emperor for a year and a half.Every day and night so far, do you know how I missed the Supreme Emperor and managed to survive. Looking back, I was the first person to tell the Supreme Emperor about the noble concubine.

Even the imperial concubine at the end—ah, now that I think about it, maybe my jealousy was at work.I've probably always been jealous of the imperial concubine. Now I can express my heart to you in this way only because many things have passed away. Woohoo, the Supreme Emperor is no longer alive. Only three days ago, I just learned of the death of the Supreme Emperor. A person from Chang'an told me.When I heard the news of my death, I lost all strength and fell ill here. It is also very difficult to sit alone in front of the Qingdeng case like this at this moment. Whether I will finish this letter in the end, I am not at all sure, but as long as I have strength, I will continue to write.

I met the Supreme Emperor when I was ten years old. At that time, the Taishanghuang and I were in the prime of life, full of vigor, and it was still uncertain whether he could ascend to the great throne. No matter any man or woman, it is impossible for me to have such a deep bond with the Supreme Emperor. In a certain sense, the intimacy between us is even stronger than that of the imperial concubine and the Supreme Emperor. This point, presumably you should be very clear about it. The emperor became emperor when I was twenty-nine years old. In July of the first year of Taiji (712 A.D.), Emperor Ruizong decided to abdicate as His Royal Highness the Prince and announced that he would retire as the Supreme Emperor.

In this way, the reign name was changed from Taiji to Yanhe.In August, the prince ascended the throne and became Emperor Xuanzong. I was twenty-eight years old. However, even if you have become the emperor, you can't be careless.Because Princess Taiping and Prime Minister Dou Huaizhen still hold great power. Sure enough, in the following year, the second year of Xiantian (713 AD), Princess Taiping and her cronies conspired against each other. On July 4, they conspired to kill the emperor in the palace.However, we and the emperor have been waiting for this day to come. We had received information beforehand, so we decided to plan. On the eve of the rebellion on July 3, we first dispatched more than 300 officers and soldiers to attack the palace, arrested all the masterminds involved in the rebellion, and killed them.

Although Princess Taiping escaped for a while and hid in the monastery, she was still found by us and was given to death in the end. At this time, the emperor, that is, the era of Emperor Xuanzong's New Deal really came. You should be well aware of what happened thereafter. Because four years later, Lord Chao Heng has come to Chang'an, and you have seen with your own eyes how the emperor governs the government. However, there are still a few things you don't understand. I just wanted to tell you these things tonight, so I lit a candle and wrote this letter. When Concubine Wu Hui died, it was in December of the twenty-fifth year of Kaiyuan (AD 737), and the emperor was fifty-three years old.

You also understand how the emperor loves Concubine Wu Hui.Therefore, the emperor's sorrow lasted forever, even though there were countless beauties in the harem, it was difficult to appease the emperor's sorrow. One day, the emperor said to me: "Any woman is fine, is there really a woman in this world who can fill the emptiness in my heart?" Is this true? Even if it is true, it must have been mixed with some jokes at the time. When the time comes, no matter how sad you are, you will be healed. My Majesty and I know this well.Even if it was the truth, if he knew that the matter would turn to this point, the emperor would probably not blurt out those words.

"If there is such a woman, it doesn't matter who is the concubine. Can someone bring it to me? I will reward her as much as she wants—" All the courtiers who heard the words at the scene took it seriously, and began to look for someone who could comfort the emperor. woman. Every day, I don't know how many women's topics spread to the emperor's ears, or he directly brought the woman he was looking for to meet, and even let her spend the spring night with the emperor. When things got to this point, I also started to feel uneasy. In case the woman brought by someone is favored by the emperor, and even gives birth to a prince——then, whoever finds that woman will become a great success.As for me, sooner or later I will be kicked out from the emperor's side.

For others, the opportunity to make a fortune is right in front of them. If I oppose this matter, I will offend the emperor. But if there is really a woman in the world who can comfort the emperor, then I, Gao Lishi, must find her and bring her before the emperor. So, I went all out and started looking around the country. "It doesn't matter whoever's concubine it is." Thinking about it now, this sentence is the beginning of everything in the future.If there were no such words, I would not have written such a letter to you in such a place with a weak candlelight. However, on the contrary, it is precisely because of this sentence that I will be involved in the secrets of the Tang Dynasty and live a strange life, so it is hard to say whether it is good or bad.

When reminiscing about the past, people often regret it, thinking about what if it was like this or that, and even gnashing their teeth.To be full of endless remorse for such and such at that time, or to gnash one's teeth because of it, is sincere and human.However, regarding this matter, in my career so far, I have thought even more so. If Xuanzong didn't blurt out that sentence. If that man hadn't appeared before my eyes. If Xuanzong had never fallen in love with that woman so much. If, if, if... all kinds of ifs, so far, I don't know how many times they have surfaced in my mind. However, there is no comparison between the moment when I did that and the moment when I am still alive to write this letter. After all, the lost time can never be regained. That man appeared in front of my eyes and said those cursed words after the middle of May in the twenty-sixth year of Kaiyuan. I was alone at the time, standing in the courtyard of my house and meditating. What I thought in my heart was, of course, that the emperor ordered to find a woman. In front of him, although he had seen many women, none of them caught the emperor's eyes. "Hey, there is no woman in this world comparable to Concubine Wu Hui—" I don't know how many times I have seen the figure of the emperor who often sighs like this. Because I serve the emperor closely, I can deeply understand his mood. I know that no woman can comfort the emperor at that time. If Concubine Wu Hui was still alive, the emperor might have moved on, but Concubine Wu Hui was no longer alive, and she could only live in the depths of the emperor's heart.How can such a person be replaced by a living woman. Occasionally, a woman who moved the emperor's heart would appear and spend the spring night with him.However, once the spring breeze passed, the emperor's heart left her. What's more - most of the women who came to Xuanzong were similar to Concubine Wu Hui.Sometimes, there are even women who are exactly the same as Concubine Wu Hui. However, no matter how similar they are, that person is definitely not Concubine Wu Hui. Not only the appearance, but also the voice, movement, breathing style, eyes - even if they are all similar, they are still different from Concubine Wu Hui.And because of their similar appearance, it is easier to reveal their differences. Too similar, but a bad thing. On this point, I deeply understand.However, which woman is better? I can only stand by and watch. Too much to do. It doesn't work like it doesn't look like. It was embarrassing. So far, I have never brought anyone to meet the emperor.Although I also sent people to look for them, or saw the women I found, I didn't think they could win the Emperor's favor.That being the case, of course I cannot arrange an interview. Since I couldn't go out to look for it myself, I was always uneasy in my heart, fearing that the woman brought by someone would be loved by the emperor. that night. When the moon was full, the moonlight fell on the peonies that were in full bloom at that time. It was a beautiful night. That year, unlike in the past, the peonies in the courtyard of my house bloomed very early, earlier than other courtyards in Chang'an. At that time—"Master Gao Lishi—" a voice came out of nowhere. It was a man's voice. However, the voice was very small and weak. If I hadn't heard it again, I would have thought I had heard it wrong. Oddly——while thinking this way, the same voice sounded again: "Master Gao Lishi—" This time he heard it more clearly, and it was in a very close place. "Here, here—" the voice called out to me. "Above the flower. It's too small, can't you see it—" After being told, I looked intently at the blooming peony flowers in front of me, and sure enough there was a figure there. It is a white peony. A man sits among the peony petals illuminated by the moonlight. Only the size of an adult finger. The little man, sitting on a white peony petal that looked blue in the moonlight, was looking up at me. Because it is too small, it is difficult to see it for real, but it seems that the man should be over half a hundred years old, probably close to sixty.Dressed as a Taoist priest, he looks more like a barbarian than a Tang, with a slightly raised nose. "This—" I couldn't help shouting out. "Don't panic." The man said: "How about it, Mr. Gao Lishi, have you found the woman?" After speaking, the man pursed his lips and smiled. "I haven't found it yet." I responded unconsciously. "I think so too." The man nodded with an expected expression. "What kind of fox fairy and monster are you—" I asked. "It's a person." The man replied. "How do you know I'm looking for a woman?" I said. Ah. Ah. Ah. The man laughed and replied, "Not only you, everyone is looking for it, isn't it? I know about it. The emperor wants a woman, right?" "That being said, but—" "Haven't you found it yet?" The man said firmly, "I don't know how many people brought women, but the emperor didn't pay attention, right?" It was exactly as the man said.I nodded and said: "You're right." Looking at the man, I muttered to myself again: "The woman the emperor likes doesn't exist in this world." As a result - "No such thing!" The man said. "You mean there is?" "Have!" "Why do you know?" I asked, "If you know a certain woman, how do you know that the emperor likes her?" "Because you know, you know." "what?" "It's not the same as reasoning." "—" "It's not something that can be explained like a truth. You know it when you look at it. You know it at a glance. There are women like this in the world occasionally. Moreover, I know where that woman is and what kind of woman she is." "Who is that woman now? Where?" I asked. "Shall I tell you?" the man replied. "tell me!" "don't want." "don't want?" "Ok." "In that case, why are you here, are you trying to tease me?" "no." "Why didn't you tell me?" "I tell you, you have to give me something I want too." "what?" "Can't say now." "what?" "Tomorrow, I will let that woman meet you." "tomorrow?" "Ok." "In what way?" "You will know it as soon as you meet. You will know that it is this woman the moment you meet." "really?" "I kid you not." "If you see that woman and look at her, then I'll tell you what I want. If you don't -" "If you can't see it?" "Or I can take this to Yuan Siyi." "What?!" The man named Yuan Siyi, who had entered the palace not long ago, was a thoughtful man who was good at grabbing people's hearts. If there is someone who can keep pace with me in the future, I have thought about it a long time ago, it may be this Yuan Siyi. That sentence made me immediately understand that the man in front of me is definitely not an ordinary person. The man knows very well what "looking for a woman" means, and he intends to use it to plot something. "Understood." I responded, "I'll meet that woman tomorrow." "Then I'm leaving!" After speaking, the man stood up from the petals and began to squirm. He even opened the petals, and slipped his head through the opening. The man's body got into the peony flower. "Illusion?" While I was muttering to myself, the man got into the petals from head to waist. "Your name?" When I asked, the man poked his head out from between the petals and whispered, "Yellow Crane—" In this way, the man completely disappeared among the peonies. After that, I touched the flowers with my hands, opened the petals and searched carefully, but the man was nowhere to be seen.A peony flower is just a peony flower. Once you let go of your hand, the heavy and beautiful flower still blooms silently under the moonlight. Was it just a dream, or did it really happen? If I was at the mercy of the illusion, when did I fall into the illusion and when did I wake up? No, maybe I didn’t wake up from the illusion, maybe I was still there In the dream at that time.No, no, not to mention casting spells, a person's life is like a dream.Tonight blooms and bears fruit, and the Ming Dynasty disappears like dew.A person's life is really like an illusory dream! Now my life is like the morning dew, which is about to disappear.That's why I light the candle, rub my blurry eyes, and hold the pen barrel tightly with my trembling fingertips, and tell you about the past. It dawned on me that what the man named Huang He said was true, as he said, it happened the next day. It was about noon. I was in the mansion preparing for the palace. A servant came and told me: "The person here claims to be the entourage of Li Mao, King of Shou, and wishes to see Lord Gao Lishi." "For what?" I asked. "Yang Yuhuan, a female official of Shouwang's mansion, was passing by in a carriage, and one of the yokes of the carriage suddenly broke. During the repair, can you rest at the mansion for a while?" The servant said so. "Strange—" At that time, I was suspicious, and Mr. Chao Heng must understand. Leaving aside King Shou, why did the female official pass by in a carriage alone? It is understandable for King Shou himself to be in a carriage, but why did this female official go out? In short, King Shou was in a very difficult situation at that time, and I knew it very well. Master Chao Heng should also know about King Shou and the three princes. Prior to this, the late Concubine Wu Hui was the emperor's special pamper.The emperor and concubine Hui gave birth to the prince Li Mao, who was later called Shouwang. The emperor loved Shou Wang very much, which aroused the jealousy of other princes. The first one was Prince Li Ying, born to Concubine Zhao Li. Then there is Li Ma, born of the Yang family. Li Yao, born of Huangfu Deyi's family. Li Ju, born of Liu Cairen. Although the emperor canonized them as princes, with Concubine Wu Hui accompanying him, after giving birth to Li Mao, the emperor's care for other sons has gradually transferred to Li Mao. Crown Prince Li Ying, King E Li Yao, and King Guang Li Ju were uneasy about this. Although the three are half-brothers, they know that their mother is alone in the empty boudoir, full of complaints.In addition, they are not as good as before, they can get the emperor's love, and the resentment can be imagined. When the three princes meet in the palace, they often discuss this matter, which is understandable.However, when the three of them vented their dissatisfaction, they were eavesdropped and reported to Concubine Wu Hui. Concubine Wu Hui immediately ran to the emperor, crying and complaining. "The princes gathered together and wanted to kill our mother and son." The emperor, who had always loved Concubine Wu Hui, did not doubt that he was there. He immediately summoned several prime ministers and made a resolution in person: "I want to abolish the crown prince and establish a new king Li Mao, the son of Concubine Wu Hui." He is the crown prince." Zhang Jiuling, who was the head of the prime minister at the time, expressed his objection to this. "Before the truth is found out, it is appropriate to easily change the status of the fundamental crown prince in the world just by listening to one party's argument? Or should we first thoroughly investigate the truth?" The argument is correct, and the emperor has no way to refute it. However, Xuanzong, who was displeased by this, immediately withdrew from the resolution scene. At that time, the prime ministers had different opinions, which caused a lot of controversy, and Li Linfu, the Minister of Rites who was the last one, also stood sideways.Because Li Linfu had a good relationship with Concubine Wu Hui, it is said that he once reported this matter to Concubine Wu Hui, and advised the emperor: "This matter is not a political matter. If it is a matter in the palace, there is no need to discuss it with others, and you can do whatever you want." The emperor did not adopt Li Linfu at that time. However, in November of the 24th year of Kaiyuan, the emperor first demoted Zhang Jiuling from the post of prime minister; And the three princes were all killed later. This Li Ma was also Imakami who later ascended the throne. After the three princes were killed, if they wanted to make King Lishou the crown prince, it would be tantamount to ignoring the eldest son Li Ma, and the court might set off another dispute.Now that the three princes have been killed, and the safety of Concubine Wu Hui's mother and son is safe for the time being, why not appoint Li Ma as the prince to stabilize the political situation.At that time, I played Xuanzong in this way, and it was also accepted. In other words, because of me, King Shou couldn't be crown prince, and King Shou knew this very well. Although King Shou didn't show it, he must have no good intentions towards me in his heart. As a female official of King Shou's mansion, I should also understand what my master is thinking. Even though the yoke was broken and I felt embarrassed, it seemed that I had violated my master's will by rushing to my mansion for help. This was the first thing I suspected. However, if you think about it carefully, maybe it is because of this that you came to say hello to me. The carriage broke down in front of my door, but I still ran to other mansions for help. Isn't that showing that I am not giving me face? No matter what the person concerned thinks in his heart, as far as people who plan to stay in the court for a long time are concerned, those who accompany the emperor People must not let him lose face. Let's imagine further, since the death of Concubine Wu Hui, Xuanzong's love for King Shou has become weaker and weaker. At this time, if the other party thinks it is unwise to deliberately embarrass me and come to my mansion for help, then That makes sense. "There's no need to visit or anything, please come in and rest quickly, and prepare a new carriage for use." I told the servant like this. Then, the female officer was ushered into the mansion, and seeing her surrounded by attendants, my soul was taken away. Ah—how should I describe the scene when I saw her for the first time? Was it frightened? No, that feeling has already surpassed fright. Or it can be said that the feeling is like a sharp knife piercing into one's body unexpectedly - the so-called fright should be the feeling produced at the moment before the sharp knife is about to stab the flesh. When he was unaware or conscious, his body was pierced by a sharp knife, and the only feeling at that time was pain.That kind of pain was too late for shock and terror—that's how I felt when I first saw her.Whether there is so-called pure beauty in this world, I don't know.However, what I saw and felt at the time was similar to that feeling. It's too late to even startle. When she walked in slowly, surrounded by attendants, her attire—no, her own beauty had already been deeply imprinted in my heart. Or should I say, I was attacked by beauty! Her beauty slapped me in the eye without warning.Her beauty knocked on my heart unexpectedly. My mansion seemed suddenly lit up with lights.She looks like light.Light slowly walked towards this side.I could only stare at the figure in awe. Her skin is as smooth as jade, and her fair and somewhat plump face is like cheese (cheese) that melts at the touch of a finger. The hair on the temples is greasy, and the manner is leisurely. The irreplaceable thing in the world is slowly coming towards me. Unprepared and lost, I stood in front of the rarity that is difficult for the world to touch. As soon as we met, I became her captive and lost my mind. "I'm Yang Yuhuan." The voice sounded like pearls and jade falling from the strings. "Although I took the liberty to ask, I can still get your approval. I am very grateful." She——Yang Yuhuan said to me. There is a Taoist temple not far from here, and it usually visits once a month. Today is the day, but, on the way The yoke of the car was broken, so I had to go to the house to ask for help. "Master Gao Lishi's mansion is nearby, which is really a great help." Bright and eye-catching colors flowed from her lips along with her words. Even that rich breath seemed to be vaguely colored with a certain color. "Please rest in peace!" Having said that, I finally remembered what the man Huang He said last night. "Tomorrow, I will let that woman meet you." "You will know it as soon as you meet. The moment you meet, you will know that it is this woman." Before that, I had completely forgotten what happened last night. At this moment, I suddenly realized that what the man was talking about was the woman in front of me. I was already planning to go back to the palace, but I delayed it for another day, and stayed in the mansion that night. Back in his own room, all that came to mind was the female official of Shouwang Mansion whom he had met during the day——Yang Yuhuan. Even though Yang Yuhuan has returned, her natural beauty and brilliance seem to still remain in the atmosphere of the mansion. Is there really such a thing in the world? Hey—it can’t be wrong. If I introduce this woman, the emperor will fall in love with her at a glance.If she can't do it, then there is no one in the world who can make the emperor's heart flutter. But, hey, but—how should we do this? Although this woman is a female official in the mansion of Shou Wang Li Mao, the son of the emperor and Concubine Wu Hui, in fact she is a concubine. The father fell in love with his son's concubine——I know very well how the emperor dotes on King Shou. But how could the emperor take away Yang Yuhuan from Li Hao? As far as the way of government is concerned, how can I turn my son's wife and concubine into my wife and concubine? Even if I turn off the lights and lie on the bed, what comes to my mind is still Yang Yuhuan has a bright figure, and because she is worried about the matter of King Shou and the emperor, she cannot sleep for a long time. What should I do? In the dark, my eyes are open and I can't sleep. If I didn't tell Xuanzong about Yang Yuhuan—the man Huang He, he would definitely go to someone else and tell me what he told me. The person who was told, as Huang He said, might be Yuan Siyi—I tossed and turned in bed several times, unable to sleep. Suddenly——"Can't you sleep..." A deep man's voice rang in his ear.It was the familiar yellow crane voice. In the dark, I got up from the bed. I looked around, but there was no one there. "That's all right, you just listen like this—" came the voice of Huang He speaking again. I stared in the direction of the sound. In a certain corner of the room, there is a darkness that seems to be thicker than darkness. Is that a yellow crane, or is it just darkness, I can't tell. However, it is undeniable that the Yellow Crane quietly lurked somewhere in the darkness like a monster. "How..." Huang He's voice sounded again. "See?" said the voice. "See what?" I asked back, and then there was a deep laughter like mud boiling. "If you know what you're asking, you're a woman." "woman?" "Women should have come during the day." "The one who came during the day is the female officer of King Shou—" "Yang Yuhuan." Huang He said the name for me. "If it was Yang Yuhuan, he did come to my house during the day because the yoke was broken—" "Come here." "Come here." I replied. "It's that woman..." "—" "That's what I did." "do what?" "I'll destroy the carriage she's riding in first, and let the yoke snap off around here—" "Oh it's you……" "how?" "—" "Like I said. When you see her, you know what I'm saying." "What the hell is going on?" "If you want to pretend, I'll go find someone else." Huang He said bluntly. "Slow, slow—" I couldn't help calling. "What's the matter?" In this way, I had to confess honestly. "As you said," I said. "Oh." "I never thought that there would be a beauty like her in the world." "Really." Huang He's voice was mixed with a little joy. "If it's her, the emperor will definitely appreciate her." "So didn't I say that? She's that kind of woman." "exactly." "Wouldn't it be hard for you to tell someone about this?" "Ok." "I don't want to do that either. It's because I like you that I designed that woman to come to you." "Why am I—" "You mean, why were you chosen?" "yes." "Because you're smart." "clever?" "That's right. Because you will never do things that hurt yourself just because of your emotions." "Maybe there's that part too." "That's why I picked you. I can't guess when and what he will do for a person who is emotional. Such a person cannot be trusted.Only those who act based on interests can be trusted. " "Should I be happy about that?" "Oh, you should be happy. You are a man trusted by my Yellow Crane." "But I don't know anything about you." "yes?" "What do you want?" "hehe." "Money?" "This is—" "Do you still want to be an official in the palace?" As soon as I said it, Huang He laughed happily. "Say what you want." "Request?" "I have met the woman you mentioned, and I know her origin. From now on, I can ignore you and act on my own." "If you want to do it, do it." "what?!" "Do that, and I don't give a damn." "you……" "Would you feel uneasy if you didn't ask?" "——" "If you say I want money, do you feel at ease? If you say I want to get ahead, do you understand me?" "——" "It doesn't matter, just say it. You don't have to tell the emperor that you got it from Huang He. What happened today, just say it was a girl I met by chance. " "Can you do that?" "Yes." As soon as the words were finished, Huang He felt something strange, and laughed again in a low voice. "What's wrong?" "You must mention that woman to the emperor. Because you have to say it. If you don't say it, you don't know when others will know about that woman. As for whether I will tell others, for you, in fact It doesn't matter anymore. You will report the matter of that woman to the emperor because of your uneasiness. "Indeed, what Huang He said is not wrong at all. Now that I know—now that I know that there is such a beauty, people who stand in my position must report to the emperor earlier than anyone else. This is how the court survives. "Can you tell me one thing?" I said. "What's up?" "Does she—Yang Yuhuan know about this?" "this matter?" "It's your business. The person who calls himself Huang He is meeting me right now and said such a thing." "Well." "Does Yang Yuhuan know about you?" "How would you like me to answer?" "what?" "Do you want me to know the answer? If I was actually entrusted by Yang Yuhuan to do this, would you feel at ease?" "—" "If you say that I am Yang Yuhuan's relatives, are you more at ease?" "What the hell?" "What the hell is it?" "what?" "There is one thing I will say first. Sooner or later you will need me most, and then I will appear—" "need you?" "That's right. At that time, I will appear in front of you again. You'd better remember what I said now." "What the hell do you mean—" "Until then, I will hide." "What?!" I called out, but there was no answer. "Wait!" I said in the dark.However, there was no response. "Hello." I continued to call out, but there was no response. Only thick darkness surrounds me. Even so, it took about another month before I reported Yang Yuhuan to the emperor. I mentioned the name of the concubine, the female official of King Shou, to avoid offending the emperor. However, the final decision to report Yang Sanhuan to the emperor, as Huang He said, was due to my anxiety. If someone tells about Yang Yuhuan, the emperor will see her and fall in love with her. For me, this is a big problem. So, taking advantage of the emperor's good mood, I casually said the name of Princess Shouwang Yang Yuhuan. First of all, I will bluntly state the reasons why I have been concealing the emperor. "In fact, this person has always been by the emperor's relatives, and he didn't say it until today, because he was afraid that it would cause unnecessary disturbances in the emperor's life, which would be bad." After I said this, the emperor seemed full of interest. "If what you say doesn't please you, I will willingly accept any blame, but I am deeply afraid that if I don't speak out, I will miss the opportunity to comfort the emperor, and I will regret it for life, so I decided to speak out. " "Who is it?" the emperor asked me. "It's Yang Yuhuan, the female official of Shou Wang Li Mao." "What, Shouwang's female officer?" "Although she is a female official, she is actually the concubine of King Shou. I didn't dare to say it before, because of this reason." "I see." The emperor seemed to understand my hesitation quite well. As for the matter of the Yellow Crane, I kept it secret, and only said that Yang Yuhuan came to rest at my place because the yoke of the car was damaged. "Really?" The emperor seemed interested and leaned forward. "That must be very beautiful?" Then he said: "Since you have held back for a month, but you still said her name in the end, it must be a big beauty—" "yes." "Besides, you know that she is Princess Shou, and you still tell me about her. She must be an amazing girl." The emperor really saw through my thoughts. "Okay, then let's meet." Xuanzong said: "Let me meet the Yang Yuhuan you mentioned." In this way, the emperor and Yang Yuhuan met each other in the Huaqing Palace in Lishan that summer. up. Every summer, it has become a custom for Xuanzong to go to Huaqing Palace in Lishan to escape the summer heat. At that time, I planned to summon King Shou to Huaqing Palace and ask him to bring Yang Yuhuan to pay his respects to the emperor. Fortunately, Yang Yuhuan only came to rest at my house a few days ago, and the King of Shou sent someone to thank me afterwards. Therefore, I prepared the following letterhead and sent it to the King of Shou: Humiliated and rewarded, with sincere fear.This matter has been reported to the Holy Majesty, and the Emperor orders a small gift in return. Please Your Highness come here with Yang Yuhuan, without any sense of responsibility. So mentioning the emperor is nothing more than implying the king of longevity, and doing so is also the emperor's wish. On this point, I am actually very sad. King Shou is a smart man, and he probably has a faint sense of what it means to "bring Yang Yuhuan here". For a long time, the emperor has been looking for someone to replace Concubine Wu Hui, and King Shou knows it well.At this time, he and Yang Yuhuan were called into the palace together, of course he knew what was going on. However, if this is the emperor's wish, then he has to obey. In the end, even if the emperor fell in love with Yang Yuhuan and decided to accept her as his concubine, he could not disobey it.Because disobedience to the emperor means death. Sure enough, one day in the summer, King Shou accompanied Yang Yuhuan to Huaqing Palace. At that time, the emperor fell in love with Yang Yuhuan at a glance, as everyone knows, so I won't repeat it. Yang Yuhuan's peerless beauty completely charmed the emperor, and after she returned, the emperor would always murmur her name every time he breathed out. The day after that day, the emperor summoned me to the imperial court, sighed deeply, and said to me, "Is there any way?" "What's the matter?" Of course I know exactly what the emperor is talking about, but when I say it from my mouth, I still feel a lot of fear, so I can only answer like this. "The matter of Yang Yuhuan." "yes." "It's as beautiful as you said. It's even more beautiful than what you said——" The emperor's tone was a bit distressed, but there was an uncontrollable excitement. "I stayed up all night, my mind was full of Yang Yuhuan's affairs." "Is the emperor interested?" "En." The emperor nodded deeply, and said something like this: "I want to have it as my own, but..." After finishing speaking, the emperor looked into the air: "She is the concubine of King Shou... ..." "yes." "Is there any way to possess that woman..." the emperor asked, shaking his body in distress. Really troubled. The emperor admires Yang Yuhuan so much that he thinks about her almost every day. When I wake up in the morning, I mutter her name. When I go to sleep, even if I talk in my sleep, it is her. "What should I do?" The emperor always said this every time he saw me. How can I welcome Yang Yuhuan to the emperor? Regarding this point, I also have a headache. That year, the emperor was fifty-four years old, and Yang Yuhuan was twenty-the age difference was thirty-four years old. However, the difference in age is not a big deal.The problem is that Yang Yuhuan is the concubine of Shouwang.The emperor was also deeply troubled by the fact that the father robbed the concubines of the sons and ministers and took them as his own. If you just have Yang Yuhuan, then there is no problem. The emperor can do this at any time. As long as he said this to King Shou-give me your concubine Yang Yuhuan, it will be fine. If King Shou refuses, it will be a dead end. King Shou and Yang Yuhuan either accepted both, or refused to die. The answer can only be one of the two. But—this matter cannot be carried out so blatantly. Doing so will not only hurt the emperor's reputation, but future generations will not know how to judge him. If the emperor did such a thing, it would shake the foundation of political affairs. 到底该怎么办才好呢?真要坦承当时心境，与其说我是深切感受到寿王和杨玉环的痛楚，还不如说自己想的是要如何将杨玉环送入皇上的怀抱。 事情大概发生在皇上自华清宫返回长安城十天后吧。 我正在自家宅邸床上就寝。 略见秋意的凉风时或吹入房里，我将被褥拉到胸前，闭目仰卧着。 因挂心杨玉环之事，令我在朦胧浅眠之际，旋即又醒了过来，如此的情形不停反复着。 被褥可真够沉重的，正感呼吸困难之时，却感觉自己身体正仿佛逐渐下沉到某个地底。 突然——“喂……”不知从哪里传来声响。 “喂……”细小而嘶哑的声音。某个熟悉的声音。 那声音——察觉之后，我睁开了双眼。 黄鹤的脸孔突然映入眼帘。 他的脸孔就在我的脸孔正上方，直直俯视着我。 “啊!”我不禁大叫出声。 黄鹤就在我胸部上方的半空中，毫无支撑地端坐着，并伸出他那鹤鸟一般的细颈，俯身注视着我。 看我醒来，黄鹤得意地笑着：“如何?”他心情愉快地低声说道：“碰到困扰了吧。”一副事不干己的模样。 “困扰?”我在下面说道。 “喔，难道你不觉得困扰?”黄鹤再次微笑。 "What's the meaning?" “杨玉环的事。” “——”被他猜中了。一时之间，我不知如何作答。 “我说的没错吧。”黄鹤得意地说道：“所以，我才来了。” "what?" “我说过了。迟早你会碰到需要我的时候。我也说过，到时候我会再来的——”确实，我还记得那句话。 “该如何让寿王妃子转为玄宗妃子，你是为此而困扰吧。” “没错。”我老实地点头。 “如何，要我告诉你好法子吗？” “有吗?有好法子吗?” "Have!" “什么法子呢?”'“其实，你早该察觉到了的。” “察觉什么?” “不是已经告诉过你。杨玉环那天打算去哪里——” “去哪里?” “道观。”道观，也就是道教的寺庙。 "What's the matter?" “你还不明白吗?” “什么?”对于黄鹤想说什么，我一无所知，瞧见我莫名其妙的神情，黄鹤大笑一阵之后，继续说道：“让杨玉环变成道士。” “变成道士?” “哎呀，说到这里你还不明白吗?身为皇帝智囊的高力±大人，头脑难道变迟钝了吗?”话说到此，黄鹤到底在想些什么，我也终于明白了。 一旦明白，我才发现，这的确是个好法子。 首先，让杨玉环出家变成女道士。也就是说，让杨玉环出家，让她与寿王分手。 之后，在适当的地方建造道观，将她迁移到那里。 皇上再以道士身份往返于那道观，问题就解决了。 然后，过了一年、两年，待时间流逝之后，再将杨玉环迎回宫里。 这么一来，即使任何人都深知事情真相，至少表面上杨玉环与寿王分离的理由是出家，与皇上一点关系也没有。 从杨玉环老早便出入道观的这件事来看，让她出家也不算太牵强。 这真是个绝顶巧妙的法子。 这么一来，皇上的名声就不会受损了。 可是，话又说回来，这个黄鹤也未免太厉害了。 “难道当初你找上我时，就已经设想事情会演变至此了?” “那当然了。”黄鹤嘴角浮出令人毛骨悚然的笑意，说：“改天我还会再来的……”刚听到他这般自言自语时，他却已突然自半空中消失身影了。 晁衡大人。 我就是这样与杨玉环、黄鹤相遇的。 开元二十八年十月甲子(十日)，在华清池温泉宫，皇上迎接杨玉环到来。 皇上原本就深爱神仙道，并且尊崇老子为道家之祖。 温泉宫也设有道观，命名为太真宫，我们先将杨玉环迎进此道观。 杨玉环被赐名太真，以女道士身份来到此地自不待言。而且不是出自皇上命令，是杨玉环个人的决定，这些都与黄鹤所预想的情节一样。 一切都像黄鹤所说那般进行着，结果，一如他所预料，皇上将杨玉环抢到手了。 然后，那个宛如恶魔的黄鹤，也与杨玉环一起进入宫廷了。 晁衡大人。 那些传言，想必您也有所耳闻。 可是，当时我尚未真切了解黄鹤此人是如何恐怖。 当我察觉黄鹤之恐怖时，此人却已潜伏宫廷深处了。 这个黄鹤比我当初所想象的，还要更加恐怖。 之前，我曾数度想要将这号人物驱逐出宫。 但到了后来，逐出黄鹤一事，我也束手无策。 安禄山之乱，其实也可说是黄鹤的策谋。 关于此事，容后详述，我先向您吐露一件重大事实。 现在若不将此事记载下来，或许写信中途，我可能就要告别人世了。 谁都不晓得冥府使者，何时会来带走我病痛的魂魄?如此点灯提笔写信之时，我的气脉紊乱，双眼迷蒙。甚至握笔的指尖也已失去气力，数度伏首案头。 晁衡大人。 安禄山之乱时，我们曾一起逃出长安，走避蜀地。 当时陈玄礼在马嵬驿率兵叛变之事，您大概还记得吧。 当时的情景，我始终难以忘怀。 即使现在写信给您时，脑海里也都还会浮现当时情景。 皇上那张憔悴不堪的脸庞。 您显露疲态的脸孔。 杨国忠被举刺在长矛之上的头颅。 以及，杨玉环当时依然明艳动人、不失其美的容貌。 陈玄礼提出条件，要取贵妃性命。 他说，若能杀了贵妃，他将出面平息叛变，且保护皇上逃到蜀地。 皇上显然也束手无策，正当众人在思忖除了杀死贵妃，是否还有其他法子可想时……“有个好法子!”说出这句话的人，正是黄鹤。 那可真是出入意料的法子啊!黄鹤的法子，是在贵妃身上扎针，让她看来宛如死亡一般。 关于此事，您也被牵连进去了，应该很清楚吧。 让贵妃处于假死状态，待陈玄礼确认后，再将她埋进石棺——其实贵妃并非死亡了，只要挖棺后拔针，她就可以复活过来，黄鹤如此说道。 待动乱平息之后，再寻觅时机，让贵妃苏醒过来，然后远走日本国。 到时候负责带贵妃远走日本国的人，正是晁衡大人您啊。 黄鹤于是对贵妃施用秘法。我们将贵妃埋在马嵬驿后，继续逃往蜀地。 不久，叛乱平息，我们再度返回长安。 又不久，皇上决意将贵妃挖出来。 把贵妃墓地移往华清官所在——这是挖出贵妃时所用的借口。 可是，如此这般挖掘出石棺之后，我们却发现贵妃早已在石棺中醒转过来了。 而且，埋葬在地底狭窄石棺里醒了过来的贵妃，早已不是昔日的贵妃。她已发疯多时了。 您应该还记得，棺盖内面残留着手指挠抓过的可怕血迹。 我们一同将贵妃移往华清宫所在地，并在那里商量。 接下来该怎么办?这时，黄鹤说了一句话。 “有人破坏了我的法术。”他说，似乎有人将贵妃身上的扎针放松了——此时，青龙寺不空和尚也来到这里。 不空和尚说，想和彼时已退位成太上皇的皇上单独谈话。 于是如您所知，我们全都走出屋外，留下太上皇和不空在那里。 That's it. “一切都完了——”玄宗如此喊道：“我说完了。已经完了，一切全都——”彼时，黄鹤也高声惊叫了起来：“贵妃不见了!白龙跟丹龙也不见了。三人全都失踪了!”这件事是真的。 不空与太上皇说话时，贵妃、白龙、丹龙三人从华清宫消失了。 “大家都忘掉此事。什么都没发生。任何事都没发生过。贵妃已死在马嵬驿。 后来的事全是一场梦——”太上皇那时流着泪如此说道。 然后不久，像是要追赶已消失的三人的踪迹，黄鹤也从宫里消失，不知去向。 且说——晁衡大人。 这里还有几件事必须告诉您。 那是关于当时黄鹤尸解法为何失灵的事。 另一件则是，为何当时不空和尚会来到华清宫。 先说不空的事吧。当时找不空到华清宫的人，其实是我。 所以……唉，所以……在贵妃扎针上动手脚的人到底是谁?让我告诉您吧。 在马嵬驿那时，是我背着大家微微放松贵妃后脑勺的扎针的。 就是我高力士动的手脚。 唉——我做了多么可怕的事啊!虽然这么做是万不得已，可是，引见贵妃给皇上的人是我啊。 虽然是受黄鹤怂恿，但毕竟做出了那样的事。黄鹤告诉我贵妃的事时，我也可以不予理会。但我并没这样做，如实禀报也不过是为了明哲保身。 万一贵妃由其他人引荐给皇上——那么，该人将获得飞黄腾达的机会。 深受皇帝宠爱的妃子，其亲信将出人头地，道理就是这样。倘若有某人身处那种地位，我必然会深受威胁。 因此，我当然不能置之不理，任由事情发展下去。 反正谁都可能引见杨玉环给皇上，那不如就让自己上场吧。 就此意义来说，我也是必须背负责任的其中一人。 可是，如果早知道事情会演变为那样，无论如何，我都应该将贵妃的事隐瞒到底。 不过，这也是事到如今，我才会这样说的。 当时应该这样做才好，应该那样做才好，人的一生当中，这种思量到底有过多少回?再怎么回想这些事，也无法弥补了。但也正因为无法弥补，所以人才这么想吧。 更坦白地说，即使回到当时，上天赐我重新来过的机会，我想，我大概还是会重蹈覆辙的。 在明艳动人的贵妃身边，享受宫廷无尽的荣华富贵，眺望大唐国所有的一切，那是一种无上的喜悦。 如果可以再度回味那目的盛宴：李白作诗、李龟年吟唱、贵妃起舞、晁衡先生列席，我愿意一次又一次犯下同样的错误。 会一而再犯下同样错误的，才是所谓的人吧。 因为我确实目睹到了，即使普通人脱胎换骨一百次，也无法目睹到的光景啊。 而且，想到我还能活到七十岁过后的今日，在某种意义上来说，必须承认是一种幸福。 随侍皇帝身边，实际尝过大权在握、牵动政局的味道，甚至许多人也因我下令而死。 如今，面临生命尽头之时，想到还有像您这样可以写信的对象，实在也不得不说这样的人生算是差强人意了。 有不少人连写信的时间都没有就死去了。 Closer to home. 为何我要放松贵妃后脑勺的扎针呢?要谈论这件事，自然就会提及不空和尚为何牵连进来的事。 不空和尚会牵连进来的关键，说来是因为我曾有事找他商量过。 所谓有事，当然指的是贵妃和黄鹤的事。 唉——谈论这一话题之前，我还必须先坦白另一件事。 好几次我都曾想在这封信里写下，可是，因为欠缺说出来的勇气，才一直拖延到这里。 这件事或者不该说出来，应该让它随着我一起告别人世。不过，如今陈玄礼也已作古，倘使不将它记录下来，可能永远没人知道了。 每当想到这时代的长河时，总觉得不知有多少事情，消逝在此巨流之中。或许深藏我心底的秘密，也同在此巨流中消逝了的许多东西一样，就此永远消逝其实也无所谓。不，或者应该说，反而比较好。 不过，即使如此，我还是想在这里写下来。 晁衡大人。 我所写的这些东西，或许寄不到您那里了。但就算这样，我还是想给您写下来。 此生尚有多少时日，我也不晓得。不过，我确知余命无几了。 面临生死之际，无论如何我都想写下来，用即将消失气力的手，提笔写下来。 这封信果真能送到您眼前吗?事到如今也只能听天由命了。 就算在这封信上写下什么东西，也有可能无法让任何人看到，从而消失无踪吧。 不过，现在的我，实在不用考虑这点。 我还是诚心祈祷能有气力继续提笔写完这封信。 话虽如此，一旦真要写时，却又不知该如何下笔了。 如果皇上还活着，我恐怕无法提笔，但皇上既然已不在人世，那我还有什么好顾忌的呢。 就让我说出来吧!晁衡大人——安史之乱时，我们都曾随皇上走避蜀地。 彼时，马嵬驿陈玄礼带头叛变，其实，参与者不仅陈玄礼而已。 那是——其实那是由我高力士与陈玄礼共谋出来的。 这就是我一直对您隐瞒的事。 不，不光是您，从皇上到其他所有人，我都隐瞒到底。 知道此事的，除了我，仅有陈玄礼一人了。就连不空和尚我都没说。 那么，为何我会与陈玄礼共谋叛变呢?为何我要将贵妃的扎针放松呢?我必须说明理由。 简单来说，因为我已明白黄鹤正在图谋什么?我已完全明白黄鹤为何要追随贵妃一起入宫的理由了。 黄鹤图谋的事——就是毁灭大唐王朝。 如果只为了杀死皇上一人，黄鹤老早可以如愿。这种机会多得是。 但就算皇上死了，那也只是换个皇帝而已，而非王朝的毁灭。 黄鹤一直图谋的，是大唐彻底的毁灭。 我究竟是在何时得知这件事的呢?要将它写出来，我已气力全无了。 今晚就此搁笔，明日再继续吧。 到底是怎么一回事?自此之后，我已有两天不曾动笔。 我曾几次从床上起身想要写信，却没有继续提笔的精力。 今天又这样睡过了一天，入夜之后才点起烛火，打算继续写下去。 比起白天，晚上的我似乎更有力气些。 现在总算能够不倒下去，面向书案提起笔了。 到底我写到哪里了呢?上次实在因为连笔都握不住，才上床休息。 到了我这把年纪才知道，有时就算躺在床上睡觉，也比清醒起身还要疲惫。 前些时——我似乎整晚都在做恶梦，不时发出呻吟。就像有人将我的身体紧紧压制在床铺之上。 我的手脚完全无法动弹，直到清晨——不，睡醒时，还感觉自己始终做着恶梦。 梦中，似乎皇上出现了，贵妃也好像出现了。 晁衡先生、李白、黄鹤、安禄山、陈玄礼，以及只剩头颅的杨国忠也都出现了。 杨国忠甚至只出现一颗头颅，在我睡着了的那整个晚上，一直朝我说：“身体还给我!” “身体还给我!”并以充满怨恨的眼神紧盯着我。 让我把之前的话题继续说下去吧。 那是我们离开长安、走避蜀地之前大约十天所发生的事。 正是安禄山大军随时会攻进长安，皇宫随时可能被焚烧之际。 彼时的慌乱，晁衡先生应该也知道得一清二楚吧。 那时，皇上已决意要离开长安城。 没几个人知道这件事。 贵妃和她的兄长杨国忠是两位知情者。 当中还要再加上黄鹤及其两名弟子自龙、丹龙。 可是，无论知不知情，如果我军兵败、安禄山越过山头，那么，要保命别无他策，惟有逃离长安一途，这是众所皆知的。 我从心腹那里听到消息，据说陈玄礼或许真的会讨伐杨国忠。 陈玄礼是天生战将，战场上的耀武扬威，使他一路飞黄腾达。 他与贵妃的亲人——杨国忠立场完全相反，杨国忠是因为身为贵妃兄长才能出入宫廷，大半靠着贵妃撑腰而出头。