Concubine all over the world

Chapter 63 The Art of Balance
On the Golden Luan Hall, Li Muhan was dressed in a dragon robe, standing aloft.

His icy eyes were like cold stars, staring at Hua Man'er who led the way from outside the hall into the hall gracefully.

I saw her combing the moon bun, with a gold inlaid gemstone and five phoenixes hanging on the top of her head obliquely. She swayed gracefully with her steps. Organza, a pair of phoenix-patterned pearl embroidered shoes on the soles.The jade steps are elegant and elegant, just like Chang'e falling from the sky for nine days.

Judging by the lightness of her walking, the injury must be healed.In the past few days and nights, in order to prevent injury, she did not let Li Muhan stay in the Shuangyun Palace, and asked him to go back to Shangyang Palace.

Because the relationship between the two has eased slightly, Li Muhan readily accepted it.

Seeing her like this now, his peaceful heart couldn't help being agitated again.

Hua Man'er raised her noble head, held a stack of letters in her hand, followed by Hua Qiu, and knelt down in the hall: "Long live, long live, long live, Your Majesty!"

"Why is my concubine here?" Li Muhan asked condescendingly.

Hua Man'er raised the letter in his hand above his head: "My Majesty, back then the concubine hid tens of thousands of soldiers in Qixia Mountain. To die. Although the concubine was lucky enough to escape, but the blood of [-] soldiers stained Qixia, this account must be counted. Now, this inner ghost has been found. This is the correspondence between her and Prime Minister Shi Hongchang back then, and I submit it to Your Majesty Punish the crimes of the two, and comfort the souls of the dead!"

Qingling's voice is resounding, and the justice is awe-inspiring.

Hearing this, Li Muhan immediately ordered: "Submit it."

Shi Hongchang's face changed drastically.

Eunuch He submitted the letter, and after reading it, Li Muhan's face changed drastically, he slapped the armrest of the dragon chair vigorously and said, "Damn it! Shi Hongchang, you are so brave, kneel down for me."

Shi Hongchang hurriedly came out and knelt down: "Your Majesty, calm down, Your Majesty, calm down..."

"Hmph, calm down, Shi Hongchang, what you want to kill is not the [-] soldiers, but the [-] soldiers who were in Qixia Mountain at that time, isn't it? Come, summon the noble concubine to the palace!"

Eunuch He yelled loudly: "Let the noble concubine go to the palace—"

In less than a moment, Shi Yirou arrived in a panic.Li Muhan yelled: "Kneel down!"

Shi Yirou's legs went limp, and she immediately knelt down. When she saw her father kneeling there, she had an intuition that something was wrong.

"Take it and see, you did a good job!" Li Muhan threw the stack of letters on Shi Yirou with all his might.

Shi Yirou exclaimed, tears welled up in her eyes immediately, she looked at Li Muhan with infinite fear, and said pitifully, "I don't know why Your Majesty is angry, did my concubine do something wrong?"

"Let's talk about it after reading the letter." Li Muhan said in a low voice with an indifferent handsome face.

No wonder Shi Yirou was at a loss for what to do, he had never spoken so harshly to her before?It seems that this matter is not trivial.

Shi Yirou picked up the letter with an uneasy heart, and after reading it, the little hands pinching the paper trembled involuntarily.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty—" Shi Yirou limply collapsed on the ground, weeping.

"What else do you have to say?" Li Muhanbing's eyes were blood red, and he was heartbroken, "Shi Yirou, I treat you sincerely. I have never forgotten it for six years. I didn't expect you to come back, but you hurt me so much. You know that The hurt I received, you clearly know how hateful Li Xuqing is, you clearly know how important that war is to me, why do you still do this? Shi Yirou, you keep saying you love me, but in fact you are hurting me !"

Li Muhan's heart hurts more and more!

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I'm sorry," Shi Yirou cried until the pear blossoms rained down, "I can't help myself. I thought about it, if your Majesty loses her life because of this, I will definitely depend on each other for life and death, and will never leave."

Shi Hongchang hurriedly shouted: "Your Majesty, all this is the fault of this minister, and has nothing to do with Rou'er. It was Wei minister and Shi Yu who persecuted her. She can't harm her father and brother, she can only act according to this. Besides, she has been following By your side, I am ready to sacrifice with you, just like Li Xuqing promised her the position of imperial concubine, she is not tempted. She really loves His Majesty!"

Shi Hongchang also burst into tears, tears streaming down his face.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Shi Yirou knelt and climbed a few steps forward, crying, "I don't understand the horror of war. Daddy only asks me to deliver news. I don't know that so many people will die. .If the concubine knew that so many people would die, I wouldn't dare to do it!"

"Hmph, Shi Yirou, are you really so ignorant? You don't know that war kills people?" Hua Man'er sneered, mercilessly piercing through, "You are not a three-year-old child, and you have experienced so many things. , don't you know?"

"The concubine really doesn't know, Empress Dowager," Shi Yirou bit her tongue, "The concubine is no more heroine than the empress empress, and your Majesty knows that she is so bloody on the battlefield. The concubine is such an ant that dare not step on it to death." Why do my concubines think of so many people?"

Hua Man'er angrily scolded: "Is this a reason? No, stepping on ants does not mean not daring to harm people. It is a fact that thirty thousand soldiers died because of you, and you cannot shirk your responsibility!"

"Yes, the concubine can't evade it. Your Majesty, Your Majesty—" Shi Yirou climbed down the steps with a pale face, and kowtowed fiercely to Li Muhan, "Please complain, Your Majesty! Please complain, Your Majesty! The concubine is guilty! The concubine It is indeed an unintentional mistake! Qingming is approaching, and I am willing to set up a cemetery for [-] soldiers in Qixia Mountain, and apologize in front of the grave, and die!"

The "dong dong dong" kowtow was particularly loud, but it was not as shocking as the blood flowing from his forehead.

Shi Hongchang hurried up to intercede: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, it's all the fault of this humble official. Rou'er did it to show her filial piety, and this humble official threatened her with her life. What can she do? So, if Your Majesty wants to ask the crime, you should ask the guilty official." Right. But your Majesty clearly learned that this minister is from Dazhao, and he was Li Xuqing’s minister at that time, so naturally he had to sacrifice his life for him. Just like now that he is His Majesty’s minister, he also has to work for His Majesty. The position was different at that time, so it was natural to do so Do? This is not a crime of collaborating with the enemy? Could it be that His Majesty recruited the enemy to surrender on the battlefield, and after that, should he be held accountable for the crime of killing?"

"This..." Li Muhan pondered for a while.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I implore Your Majesty to spare Rou'er, it will kill someone!" Shi Hongchang shouted heartbreakingly.

Shi Yirou knocked his head so hard again.

To be honest, even Hua Man'er felt a little terrified when she saw it.

When Li Muhan saw a big puddle of blood flowing out from under his forehead, and Shi Yirou couldn't bear it anymore and was about to faint, he couldn't calm down any longer, immediately left his seat and rushed down, helped Shi Yirou to hold her in his arms: " Don't knock it, don't knock it, I haven't punished you yet, you knocked yourself to death first."

Shi Yirou slightly raised his lips | petals, sad and pale: "It is better to knock myself to death first, so that Your Majesty will not be in trouble. It is not wrong for the empress to ask for guilt. The concubine pleads... plead guilty, please Your Majesty. Punishment, severe punishment..."

"Rou'er..." Li Muhan's heart was twisted like a knife.

"Your Majesty, Rou'er... was born wrong, just because he fell in love with His Majesty, so he has to lose his innocence, to confront his father and brother, to be in a dilemma! Rou'er is alive, what's the point? It's better, it's better to die... Your Majesty If the concubine pleads guilty, His Majesty will use Rou'er's life to pay homage to three thousand soldiers."

Shi Yirou was completely disheartened, and Li Muhan's heart ached a lot with her resentment and self-blame.Looking back, all the crimes she suffered were because of him. If it wasn't for the relationship between her and Li Muhan, neither Li Xuqing nor Shi Hongchang would have followed her.

"Your Majesty, don't listen to this girl. It's all the fault of the humble minister. She has no choice but to take the life of the humble minister if she wants to take her life. It's just that in the army and the court in the future, those old court survivors will be killed." Everyone is going to be in danger. Guaranteed that no matter what the blame will be on them in the future, let the old man be a lesson for them!"

Shi Hongchang's words were sonorous and forceful, shaking the court.

Hua Man'er and Xia Zikai were both shocked when they heard this, and they looked at each other.

Sure enough, he is a treacherous and slippery old man, with many years of ups and downs in the officialdom.

With such an incitement, I'm afraid Li Muhan would have to think a lot about sentencing.

"Your Majesty—" Hua Man'er hurriedly said.

However, Li Muhan who had already put Shi Yirou down raised his hand to stop Hua Man'er: "You don't have to worry, I will give you an explanation!"

These few words, like icicles bursting out from between the lips and teeth, hit Hua Man'er's heart hard and cold.

Hua Man'er was slightly taken aback, an ominous premonition flashed from the bottom of her heart.

Sure enough, after Li Muhan sat on the dragon chair again, his sentence was actually like this.

"Everyone, Aiqing, you already know the ins and outs of the matter. Shi Aiqing and the imperial concubine have also pleaded guilty. However, what Shi Aiqing said was not unreasonable. At that time, each was his own master, so it is understandable for him to do so. If you investigate carefully, I am afraid that in court Many officials will also be questioned, and many generals in the army will also be questioned, and there will be turmoil all of a sudden. The world has been set at the beginning, and there should be no more turmoil, so it is bound to be punished lightly."

"The imperial concubine was forced to help Shi Hongchang due to the affection between her father and daughter. However, an unintentional mistake is also a mistake, so she was fined to stay behind closed doors and contemplate for half a month. Without my will, she was not allowed to leave the Zixiao Palace for half a step. Shi Hongchang must stand for [-] soldiers. Mausoleum, ask the mage to save me, and plead guilty with a thorn in front of the grave, and receive thirty lashes as a commandment, this case is over!"

As soon as Li Muhan's words fell, Hua Man'er immediately rebounded. She was filled with righteous indignation: "Your Majesty, how can you give such a light sentence? You said that this would put everyone in danger, and the court would be in turmoil, but Your Majesty, wouldn't you judge me like this?" Will it make the barbarian soldiers feel cold? Will they not be turbulent?"

Li Muhan pursed his thin lips tightly, feeling deeply displeased at Hua Man'er's offense, and immediately tightened his sword eyebrows.

Hua Qiu immediately handed over his hand and seconded: "Yes! The generals are not convinced! The barbarian soldiers threw their heads and blood for His Majesty, but they were not injured by the enemy, but because of the betrayal of the inner ghost. This death is too unjust. The soldiers are not afraid Lose your life, but I'm afraid it won't be worth it!"

"Crack!" Li Muhan patted hard, and suddenly stood up, "Are you saying that it's not worth working for me? You are so courageous!"

Hua Man'er sneered coldly: "Your Majesty insists on abdicating for the sake of the noble concubine, what can we do? It's not that we are bold, but we argue hard, but His Majesty finds it harsh!"

"You—" Li Muhan's face turned livid in an instant, "Hua Man'er, do you need to move the harem dispute to the front court?"

The sarcasm on the corners of Hua Man'er's lips became even stronger: "The harem dispute? Your Majesty, if you make such a judgment, if the barbarian soldiers refuse to accept it and cause turmoil in the army, will you be at ease?"

"Hua Man'er, do you intend to create a split? They may not be as narrow-minded as you, holding on to a little mistake. But you are so fanciful, do you intend to make the world fight again?" Li Muhan pointed at Hua Man'er. , furious.

Xia Zikai hurriedly stepped forward to report: "Your Majesty, calm down. I believe that the empress did not mean it, and what she stated is the truth. What she is worried about is exactly what Prime Minister Shi is worried about. The court is in turmoil!"

"Yes, King Xiang's performance is reasonable!" Li Muhan continued immediately, "Because of this, I also punished you, didn't I? They are at fault. But these punishments are enough, do we have to use their heads? If their heads are necessary, what about the others? Can't you take a step back?"

"His Majesty--"

"Shut up!" Li Muhan pointed at Hua Man'er and yelled, his face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and the flames in his icy eyes seemed to burn Hua Man'er, "If you really want to incite barbarian soldiers to rebel, That's up to you. If you weren't jealous and wanted to make things difficult for the imperial concubine, why would you ask Hua Qiu to investigate this matter? And why would you think that my punishment is too light? If you have too much time to spare, just draw some tricks Tu, teach the generals in the army, and the generals are all waiting to learn. This is the top priority. As a queen, should you take care of the overall situation? Should you put the well-being of the people in the world as the most important thing? If you want to insist on doing it, then Just please!
After saying that, Li Muhan went to the ground without turning his head.

Hua Man'er's face was livid with anger, and her lips trembled.

Li Muhan can really speak!In this way, it turned out to be Hua Maner, right?
If Hua Man'er continues to complain, it is the culprit who incited the barbarian soldiers and caused turmoil in the world.

Hey, how can Hua Man'er bear this charge.

Then Shi Hongchang helped Shi Yirou up, but he didn't care about anything else, so he hurriedly ordered people to go to the imperial physician and send Shi Yirou back to the palace.

Before leaving, Shi Hongchang sneered at Hua Man'er coldly: "It seems that the empress has just used a bamboo basket to fetch water. Don't worry, empress, this old man is still very strong, and he will definitely survive those [-] years. Whip it. Hahaha—"

"Hmph, Shi Yirou is indeed your own, she can act in crying scenes just like you!" Hua Man'er also mocked back.

"Hahaha, the crying scene is useful, it shows that His Majesty is kind-hearted. You don't understand and appreciate Your Majesty, so you are destined to lose!" Shi Hongchang smiled and walked away.

All of a sudden, all the officials dispersed one after another.Only Huaqiu and Xia Zikai were left behind.

Xia Zikai said: "Empress, I didn't continue to remonstrate. Firstly, it is because I know His Majesty's personality well and knows that it is useless. Second, it is also because Shi Hongchang's words are not without reason, so I hold back." It's not that he doesn't want to punish Shi Hongchang. This king wants to punish him more than anyone else. Qianqian wouldn't die if it wasn't for him."

"Understood," Hua Man'er sighed, "I understand. Otherwise, I will continue to fight with His Majesty. Huaqiu, you should go back and appease the barbarian soldiers. For the sake of the world's stability, be patient for now!"

"The final general refuses to accept!" Huaqiu was furious.

Xia Zikai smiled casually: "General Hua, if you are not convinced, I have a plan to convince you!"

"Oh, what's the trick? I'd like to hear more about it!" Hua Qiu asked hastily.

Xia Zikai turned to Hua Man'er and said, "I want to report to the empress, quarreling is not the way to solve the problem. I heard that some time ago, because the young prince insulted his majesty, he was beaten up by him, and the empress was not spared." Therefore, the little prince practiced hard to protect himself, right?"

"There is such a thing, it's just a child's heart!" Hua Man'er explained lightly.

"No! This king thinks that the young prince has ambition. Your majesty is self-willed and arrogant by nature. If you want to strengthen the power of the young prince, it is a balancing act to fight against him. Therefore, instead of suppressing the opponent, it is better to grow first." Xia Zi Kai analyzed.

Hua Man'er's beautiful eyes lit up, and she hurriedly asked: "What is the king of Xiang's plan, please tell me directly!"

Xia Zikai said indifferently: "Maybe it's because the father and daughter of the Shi family have not yet come to die, so this time I obeyed His Majesty and punished them according to His Majesty's words. However, you can't give in in vain! This concession has to be worthwhile!"

"I understand." Hua Man'er was originally ice-snow and smart. Hearing this, he suddenly realized, "I will go to mention it to His Majesty. If you want to appease any survivors and generals, you must comfort the old barbarians as well."

"Yes! This is a technique of balance, and the Empress really knows it all. I've been busy for so long, but I can't do it in vain." Xia Zikai took out the ivory fan, flicked it casually, and said, " It's finally over, I'm going to the drunk red mansion to meet the beauties. Hahaha—"

After finishing speaking, Xia Zikai walked away.

Hua Man'er looked at Xia Zikai's back, and praised: "What a flamboyant and intelligent Xia Zikai, he is really much better than Xia Qianqian."

"That's right, this Xia Zikai can be regarded as an unusual prince in Yidu! It can be seen from his ability to lobby the generals and open the door to welcome the two armies into the capital." Hua Qiu also praised.

"Well, this talent needs to be recruited well. Huaqiu, if you have nothing to do, you can walk around with him more. His Shenji camp is not made of paper. If he is one of us, then the little prince will be much safer. "Hua Man'er didn't want to form a faction, but this situation forced her to do so.

After Hua Man'er returned to Shuangyun Hall, she did not see Li Muhan.

So, she sent Lianxin to check to see if His Majesty was in Zixiao Palace or Shangyang Palace.

After Lianxin left, she came back not long after and said she was in Zixiao Hall.Lianxin didn't say much about the details, but seeing Lianxin's drooping long eyelashes and dodging eyes, Hua Man'er could guess a thing or two.

Presumably Li Muhan went to coax Shi Yirou again, it was distressing and comforting.And Shi Yirou's eyes were full of tears, complaining like complaining...

Thinking of this, Hua Man'er couldn't help but want to vomit.

Forget it, let's not bother people's affection.

Hua Man'er thought over Xia Zikai's words again, and decided to go out of the palace.

If His Majesty wants to agree to this proposal, he still needs to know the benefits and harms involved.

So, Hua Man'er went out of the palace in person and arrived at Xiaoyao Palace.

When Hua Zehao saw his sister, he was naturally very happy and warmly entertained her.

How could Hua Man'er be in the mood to enjoy his hospitality, so Hua Zehao immediately asked Hua Zehao to follow him to the garrison in the capital, and took a "Book of Ten Thousand Words" to sign for all the soldiers.

In the early morning of the next day, Hua Man'er still brought Huaqiu to the palace, and presented the Wanyan book.

To request for the stability of the world, it is necessary to appease the old troops of the barbarians at the same time as appeasing the survivors and surrendering generals. All generals must be promoted to three |levels.And Feng Huaqiu is the second-rank general of chariots and riders. When the young prince reaches the age of sixteen, he can enter the court and take part in political affairs!

When Li Muhan saw the ten thousand words book, the crowd was really excited. If the old barbarians were going to make a scene, there would be a large number of them. Besides, not all of the former Li Xuqing's old tribe were loyal to Li Muhan. Li Muhan weighed the pros and cons, so he agreed.

Hua Man'er saved face, Hua Qiu was also happy for the young prince and the generals, so she agreed.

Seeing that, Shi Hongchang gritted his teeth with a sullen face.

However, he knew that as a sinner, he couldn't say anything at all.

Shi Hongchang hurriedly sent people to build a cemetery for [-] soldiers in Qixia Mountain. As expected, on Qingming Festival, Li Muhan personally led all civil and military officials to Qixia Mountain to pay homage.

Empress Huaman'er and imperial concubine Shi Yirou accompanied her to pay homage.

The little prince Hua Zehao also came.

Hua Zehao, Hua Man'er and Hua Qiu all shed tears.

Li Muhan ordered Shi Hongchang to kneel in front of the tomb and personally whipped him.

Shi Yirou cried sadly.At this time, she had already finished the half-month confrontation.

Shi Hongchang's thirty lashes were enough for him. Half his life was lost, and he couldn't get up without lying in bed for two months.

Since then, the relationship between Shi Yirou and Hua Man'er has grown deeper.Shi Yirou wished he could peel Man'er's skin and cram her tendons.

After returning to the palace, Li Muhan still said the same words: "Don't make trouble anymore. If you have too much time to spare, quickly draw some mechanism diagrams and teach the generals in the army. This matter is urgent!"

Hua Man'er said coldly: "Okay! In order to draw quietly, please continue to live in Shangyang Palace, Your Majesty."

Li Muhan glanced at her, and he really went.

It's good for Hua Man'er to try to be quiet, but thinking of his hands hugging Shi Yirou, she doesn't want him to touch her.It is best not to live together, there is no possibility of passion.

Who knows that people are not as good as heaven.

One day, Hua Man'er was tired of drawing mechanism pictures, so she summoned Shi Cuiya to the palace to chat with her.

Shi Cuiya chatted with her, and she could learn about the two children Hua Zehao and Hua Rong from her.

Hua Man'er was still cautious, and didn't want Li Muhan to feel that he and Hua Zehao had a close relationship.

Shi Cuiya and Hua Man'er were eating snacks and chatting together in the room, and accidentally glanced at a kind of green fruit in the fruit plate on the star anise table under the window, and was stunned for a moment.

"Empress, what are you..." Shi Cuiya pointed to those green fruits, and asked, "How can you eat Jue Si fruit? Don't you want to spread branches and leaves for the emperor?"

"Hush! Keep your voice down." Hua Man'er quickly raised her index finger on her lips, winking.

Shi Cuiya hurriedly lowered her voice, but continued to ask: "Empress, how can you eat the fruit of the heir? You are the empress, don't you want to give birth to a prince for your majesty? If you have a prince, it must be the future heir. What do you do? Can you think so hard? This road has been ruined in vain!"

"Hua Man'er, how dare you do this?" There was a thunderous sound outside the room and he asked.

Hua Man'er and Shi Cuiya's faces turned pale in an instant.

(End of this chapter)