On the occasion of rebirth Zhou Sui

Chapter 623 Go to Mang Mountain again
In late November of the fourth year of Kaiping (AD 612), it was the middle of winter.

Snow-covered Luoyang is particularly lively today.

It's not a festival, but Cui Che, the Emperor of Yan Dynasty, will return to his loyal Luoyang today.

Cui Qiji had previously stayed in the DPRK to supervise the country, but he had been paying attention to the news on the front line. When he learned that his father was marching south to Jingxiang and ended up taking over Shu, he was naturally full of joy, but not without regrets.

It's a pity that I can't follow my father to fight like he did when I was a boy.

The officials behind him were whispering to each other, discussing when they would see the Emperor's carriage.

The time came to noon, and under the gaze of everyone, a black line came into view in the distance. It was the single-horse cavalryman who had followed Cui Che in his southern expedition.

The cavalry and soldiers cleared the way, the ground shook and the mountains shook, and the chariots came slowly.

Cui Qiji quickly tidied up his appearance. When the carriage stopped, Cui Qiji quickly walked to the carriage and kowtowed:

"My son pays homage to his father and congratulates him on his great victory in the southern expedition."

The car curtain was opened and someone came out, but Cui Qiji lowered his head and could only see a pair of small feet.

"Grandpa, get up quickly. Grandfather is not here."

Cui Qiji looked up and saw Cui Youzhi's strange expression of wanting to laugh but not daring to laugh.

After giving his eldest son a fierce look, Cui Qiji stood up, took him out of the carriage, and asked:

"Where did the emperor go?"

Cui Youzhi replied:

"The imperial grandfather took his personal guards to Mang Mountain."

Cui Qiji knew that his father was going to visit his mother, so he asked again:
"Why didn't you follow?"

Cui Youzhi smiled but said nothing, which made Cui Qiji even more curious. Under his questioning, Cui Youzhi finally told the truth:
"The Imperial Grandfather said that a child must worship his father every day, so why not let the father return the child today."

Cui Qiji was depressed, but this was exactly what his father could do.

Confucius said that when you are seventy, you should follow your heart's desires and do not exceed the rules.

Cui Che is now in his early forties and in his prime, but perhaps after sitting on the throne, he feels increasingly lonely and occasionally teases his family members for fun.

Cui Qiji did not feel resentful because of this.

It is better to be teased by his father than to be jealous of him. Compared with many heroic princes, my situation is much better.

Seeing that Cui Qiji was still waiting for Cui Che at the city gate, Cui Youzhi reminded:

"Father, the Imperial Grandfather asked you not to wait any longer. After he pays homage to the Imperial Grandmother, he will naturally summon you in the palace city."

Cui Qiji nodded when he heard this:

"Okay, you can follow me into the palace to pay homage to the queen first."

Cui Qiji had always had a good relationship with his aunt Yang Awu, which was also related to the fact that Yang Awu failed to give birth to an heir and only had a daughter.

Now that Yang Lihua is gone, Cui Qiji serves Yang Awu as he serves his mother.

Cui Youzhi grew up in the palace and was raised by Yang Lihua. After Yang Lihua's death, it was Yang Awu and Cui Che's beloved concubine Xue who disciplined him.

Therefore, Cui Youzhi has always called Yang Awu the imperial grandmother.

Cui Youzhi was very happy when he heard that he was going to the palace to pay homage to the emperor's grandmother. After leaving Luoyang for more than half a year, he also missed the people and things in the palace.

Deep in Mang Mountain is the mausoleum Cui Che built for himself. Now that it's freezing cold, the work has long been stopped.

As soon as many monarchs came to the throne, they would not mind the unfavorable situation of building a mausoleum for themselves, also because doing so would take a long time to complete and there would be no need to overly squeeze the people.The maids and eunuchs who usually served Yang Lihua's mausoleum have been kicked out.

Although Cui Che thought that no one could predict that he would go to Mang Mountain first instead of entering the city to receive congratulations from the officials, it would not be a mistake to be prepared and careful.

Cui Che looked around the mausoleum. It was obvious that the servants who had been sent were diligent and kept the place spotless.

Coming to the portrait and looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar face, Cui Che said softly:

"I am back."

The Yang Lihua in the portrait was painted by a painter when she was young.

She said she didn't want Cui Che to remember the past in front of an old woman while he was mourning her.

So Cui Che enshrined this portrait in the mausoleum.

"You know, during this southern expedition, I used the banner of capturing Jingxiang, but I also captured Shuzhong."

Cui Che showed off to Yang Lihua in the portrait without hiding his pride.

Yang Lihua, on the other hand, looked calm, with the corners of her mouth raised slightly, smiling, as if she was listening to Cui Che's confession.

"During this period, Qiji was left in Luoyang by me. Did he come to visit you during the Qingming Festival?
"I'll tell you some good news. Qi Ji did a good job during his supervision of the country, and nothing happened. I can trust him to entrust the country to him in the future.

"Also, Yanqing has matured now. I specially sent [-] elite cavalry to Xuzhou, including many of my spies, but Yanqing did not contact them privately. Now he and Liu Fangzheng are leading the cavalry back to the court. When he arrives in Luoyang, I will bring his family to visit you.

"Let me tell you something. I have recently occupied Shuzhong and I must have someone to guard it.

"Guanzhong is inseparable from Yanzong. As the prince, Qiji naturally cannot enter Shu. Youzhi is too young. I think if it were you, you would not be willing to send him to Chengdu.

"I can only change the title of Yanqing to the king of Shu and let him take charge of Shu.

"Of course, I am also aware of Yang Xiu's lesson. This is just a temporary measure. I will transfer him away from Shu when I have peace in the world in the future."

Cui Che stood in front of Yang Lihua's portrait and talked to himself, tirelessly telling her about his experiences during the Southern Expedition and the current situation of his descendants.

Seeing the sun setting in the west and it was getting late, Cui Che turned around and left.

Cui Che returned directly to the palace city through the palace gate in the north, and immediately sent someone to the east palace to inform Cui Qiji.

Cui Qiji hadn't arrived yet, but Yang Awu rushed over after hearing the news.

"Since Your Majesty is going to pay homage to my eldest sister, why didn't you tell me in advance so that I would have to wait a long time?"

Yang Awu dusted off Cui Che's body and complained.

Cui Che put his arms around Yang Awu's waist. Maybe it was because he had given birth, or maybe because he had entered middle age. Yang Awu's waist was not as slender as when he was young.

The two of them rubbed each other's ears together for a while, until Yang Awu was shocked to realize that Cui Qiji and Cui Youzhi would come to greet Cui Che later, and hurriedly pushed him away:

"If Qiji and Youzhi and his son see it, Your Majesty will not let me live."

Cui Che didn't take it seriously and said:
"My children and grandchildren are not Yang Zhao."

Naturally, Yang Awu also knew that when Yang Zhao was three years old, he saw Yang Jian put his hand on Dugu Jialuo's shoulder because of back pain and turned around to avoid it.

For a moment, she recalled her parents. Although her mother was a bit mean to her eldest brother Yang Yong, she was very fond of Yang Awu.

Among the five daughters, only she and her eldest sister Yang Lihua are the most favored by their parents.

"Your Majesty, when can I go to Guanzhong? I want to pay homage at my parents' tomb."

Yang Awu asked quietly.

(End of this chapter)