Mountains and rivers pray for peace

Chapter 97
It was already the eve of the dead of night, and the hustle and bustle of Shangyuan night had gradually disappeared. Like the autumn wind sweeping away the fallen leaves, the seemingly endless prosperity and celebrations in the capital had returned to the depression of the past.

In the study room of the south courtyard of the Shaofu Jianfu in the northern corner of the city, a middle-aged man hid in front of the carved mahogany chair and was looking at the letter in his hand carefully with the oil lamp at hand.He was loosely wrapped in a dark jade purple fox fur cloak. Because the tie around his neck was not fastened, the emerald green cross-collar tunic underneath could be vaguely seen. At a glance, it was clear that he had just gotten up from the bed in a hurry.

This person is Huang Zhongting, the current Shaofu Supervisor.

After Huang Zhongting read the letter paper word by word, he raised his dark face and let out a low laugh: "God help me!"

In the dark part of the room stood an old man with white hair in a linen gray gown, if it wasn't for the light from the lantern outside leaking into the room, he might not have been seen.I saw that his body was slightly bent, and his face was full of flattery: "Is there something good for the master?"

"Yes." Huang Zhongting rubbed the corner of the letter vigorously with his fingers, with a smile on his face, but the pride in his eyes was not fake.

"Could it be that the second prince wants to reuse the master?" the white-haired old man asked tentatively.

Although today is the night of the Lantern Festival, the Huang family did not go out together as a family and party all night like ordinary people. Instead, they locked up and turned off the lights early, which made them feel unspoken lonely and deserted.

Huang Zhongting also took a rest early tonight, but who would have expected that a man in black with the seal of the second prince came quarter of an hour ago, saying that he wanted to deliver a secret letter to Huang Zhongting.

Now that the situation in the court is turbulent and treacherous, whoever can stand first in the camp will win the first opportunity.In Huang Zhongting's eyes, the prince with the best chance to sit on the dragon chair is the second prince.Although the fifth prince now has the favor of Emperor Xiaowen and is in the limelight, he has made no achievements in government.Emperor Xiaowen is not a foolish king who loves his son wholeheartedly, this position will inevitably be passed on to a prince who has made achievements.

The second prince is elder and respected, and has accumulated a lot of achievements over the years, so the opportunity is not small.In order to catch up with the second prince, Huang Zhongting showed his goodwill many times, but the second prince was always lukewarm.

Huang Zhongting is also self-aware. Although his official position is not low, after all, the supervisor of the Young Mansion only leads an errand responsible for providing food, clothing and daily life for the palace. He does not have much real power in his hands. It is reasonable for the second prince not to spend too much effort to win over him. middle.But now the second prince has taken the initiative to write a letter of divorce, and there is a hint of intimacy in his words. How can Huang Zhongting be dissatisfied?

"I don't know how my nephew offended the second prince, but he is really short-sighted. Isn't this causing trouble for the upper body now? But he has fulfilled my loyalty." Huang Zhongting sneered and moved The letter in his hand was thrown into the brazier under his feet, a red flame burst out from the brazier, and the letter was quickly reduced to a handful of ashes.

When the white-haired old man heard Huang Zhongting's tone, his heart shook uncontrollably: "The eldest young master of Duke Ning's mansion?"

The Huang family is a large one, and there must be more than a dozen of Huang Zhongting's cousins ​​and nephews in total.But not long after Huo Xian returned to the capital, he made great achievements and was awarded the title of General Pingbei. It can be said that he was so proud of the spring breeze that he could see all the flowers in Chang'an in one day.So when it comes to Huang Zhongting's cousin, most people will immediately think of this famous young general.

The white-haired old man is the old housekeeper of the Huang family and knows Huang Zhongting very well.Seeing Huang Zhongting's noncommittal look, he knew that this matter must be causing trouble for Huo Xian.The flattery on his face did not move at all, and he pretended to be calm and said: "Master, this matter concerns General Huo. Do you need to discuss it with Madam first..."

Huang Zhongting snorted nonchalantly: "Tell her what to do? Her heart has never been towards the Huang family these years! I have been obedient to her for so many years, even a piece of ice should be warmed up." But what about her! Now that the luck has finally turned to me, Huang Zhongting, what else do I care about her?"

"Yes." The white-haired old man suddenly stopped talking.

In the eyes of outsiders, Huang Zhongting and his wife Huo Shi are a well-known loving couple, but only they, the close servants of Huang's mansion, know that the two couples have been at odds for many years, but they acted outside for the sake of their reputation. Treat each other like guests.

Although Huang Zhongting was completely obedient to the Huo family on the surface, after seeing Huo's cold face for so many years, now he wanted to use Huo Xian to climb onto the second prince's ship. After weighing the pros and cons, it would be better not to look at the Huo family's face. It makes sense.

Huang Zhongting pinched out the wick of the oil lamp on the table with his hands impatiently, and waved his hands impatiently: "It's getting late, step back."

The white-haired old man nodded and exited the house, but he did not go straight back to the wing where the servants lived. Instead, he carried the lantern at the door and walked out of the yard, then turned left and entered another room.

When you open the door and go in, you will see a golden Buddha statue. The Buddha is sitting in the niche, with an expression of indifference and sadness. When people look at it, they will be forced to bow their heads by the solemn feeling. Ear.

Under the Buddhist niche, a woman wearing silk clothes was kneeling under the futon, beating the wooden fish, and chanting some incantations that she didn't know what they meant.This woman's face looked like she was only [-] years old, but she had thin white hair on her temples, and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes were somewhat cold, reflected by the ink-colored lining.

The white-haired old man put down the lantern lightly, but his expression was not as flattering as before, but there was a bit of respect emanating from his bones.He was not in a hurry to speak, he just stood behind the woman and listened to the scriptures.

After he stood for a moment, the woman kneeling on the ground slowly spoke: "Fu Lian, what's the matter?"

Fu Lian bowed his head and said in a deep voice: "Madam, I'm afraid... I'm going to trouble Master Huo. After thinking about it, this matter is ultimately related to the Huo family. I'd better come and report to Madam."

"Oh?" Huo asked with his eyes closed, his tone neither sad nor happy.

Fu Lian went on to say: "The second prince handed the master a secret letter tonight, it seems that the young master Huo offended the second prince, and the second prince wanted to plot against the young master through the master."

Huo twisted the beads in his hand and said unhurriedly: "How to calculate?"

"Master was wary of the young one, so he didn't go into details." Fu Lian confessed truthfully, and then asked: "Madam...do you want to intervene in this matter?"

"No need." Huo curled up the corners of her lips, but the coldness between her brows and eyes became more and more fierce, "I have been eating fast and chanting Buddha for so many years, and I have long lost my earthly appearance. Why should I care about these mundane things in the world anymore? You I stare at Huang Zhongting myself, and pay attention that he played with fire and set himself on fire, and it will affect my peaceful life."

Fu Lian responded in a low voice, but cold sweat broke out in his heart.

Speaking of which, it has been nearly ten years since Huo married into the Huang family.Although the girl's appearance has changed, what remains unchanged is Huo's cold attitude towards the Huang family.

For so many years, he would report to Huo Shi in accordance with the rules for all matters concerning Huang Zhongting. Whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, Huo Shi always had an attitude of not having anything to do with himself.Now Huo's is uncharacteristically, saying that Huang Zhongting played with fire and set himself on fire, so he has to be alerted.

"By the way, did Huang Zhongting pick up an errand to present Guanyin Bodhisattva to His Majesty in the past few days?" Huo's eyes like a dry well did not fluctuate, but the hand that moved the prayer beads paused.

(End of this chapter)