imperial psychologist

Chapter 34 Orchids and Thorns

The alley was very quiet, and only the footsteps and breathing of the two could be heard. Bo Ling, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped and looked up at the sky.

Bai Yi followed her gaze and raised his head.

In the line of sky between the walls, a group of wild geese are heading north on the high sky.

"Probably only wild geese will go north now." Bo Ling whispered.

Seeing that Bo Ling seemed a little depressed, Bai Yi said softly, "I think General Shen made a triumphant return this morning, and the battle in the north is probably coming to an end."

"Yeah." Bo Ling nodded.

That's right, if the war in the north hadn't faded away, the emperor would not have allowed a veteran like Shen Jichuan to return to the court.

Come to think of it, the end of the war is probably just around the corner.

"Hey," Bai Ling suddenly grabbed Bai Yi's sleeve, with some surprise on his face, "Since General Shen was here this morning, how could the officials of the previous court say that the imperial concubine committed suicide and lost her virtue? It happened for a reason, this morning, these two things are completely irrelevant..."

"Eunuch Huang said this morning that the emperor promoted General Jichuan this morning as the 'Duke of the State of Wei', and intends to rebuild the Great Zhou's "Zhou Lun Code". The civil servants probably also expected this, and prepared a note in advance, and when the emperor mentioned it, they immediately handed it over to participate in the performance of the imperial concubine's failure."

Bai Ling's eyes lit up—no wonder the period was only given for one year. It turned out that Emperor Jianxi wanted to make Qu's queen before and after the summer festival next year!
The courtiers were so covetous, no wonder Emperor Jianxi was so furious afterwards.

The two of them returned to their house with their thoughts on their minds. At this time, Bai Shijun had already got up from the bed, put on the robe he often wore, and was sitting at the desk in the living room writing.

Seeing his children returning, he also put down his pen, "Where have you been?"

Bai Yi: "We went to Chaotian Street and gave something to the homeless over there."

Bo Ling walked into the room curiously, "Father, what are you writing?"

Bai Shijun held up the letter paper in front of him with both hands, and dried the ink carefully, "Didn't you say that Bai Yi will receive my salary in the future? I wrote a letter of entrustment after deliberation, please take a look?"

Bai Yi and Bai Ling glanced at each other, both surprised and relieved.The two went forward to read it carefully, their words were concise and sincere, and their sense of proportion was clever, neither appearing to be weak nor making others feel that Bai Yi was offside.

He looked at his son and daughter inquiringly, and said softly, "It's been a long time since I've done these official articles, if it's okay, I'll make my fingerprints now."

Bo Ling smiled, "Okay, I'll get the ink pad."

After stamping his fingerprints, Bai Yi carefully put the commission behind the placket of his chest.

Bai Shijun looked at his children, and stretched out his hand for them to sit down, as if he wanted to say something.

"You all sit down...Father has something I want to ask you."

Seeing his father's attitude, Bo Ling and Bai Yi sat down with serious expressions, "Say it."

Bai Shijun tightly held the two children's hands, "Whether it's the Imperial Hospital or the Chengqian Palace, it's a place of right and wrong...you two, from now on..."

Bo Ling was originally a little nervous, but he relaxed after hearing this question.

"Whether it's a blessing or a curse, you won't know until you get through it." Bo Ling said softly, "It's always a one-year deadline."

Bai Yi nodded, "The palace is dangerous, but since the three of us are all inside, we can have someone to take care of us."

"Hey, those who can't plan for the whole world can't plan for a moment; those who can't plan for the overall situation can't plan for a corner." Bai Shijun said in a low voice, "There are still too few things that have been considered for my father these years. I haven't considered the long-term for you. I am in a catastrophe, I don’t know if I can survive it safely..."

"Father," Bai Ling sighed, "don't worry, think about this time next year, we can leave here in the springtime. At that time, let's find a place with beautiful mountains and rivers, away from these troublesome officialdoms , the family can farm and collect herbs with peace of mind, okay?"

"I don't want to go to gather herbs." Bai Yi calmly picked himself out, "I don't know how to farm, let's stop looking for beautiful mountains and rivers, and find a lively state capital to live first. I should support you with my cooking skills. good."

Bai Shijun's eyes felt a little hot.

"By the way, there is still the sum of money today." Bai Ling suddenly remembered, "We discussed it on the way, if you think the money is too hot to spend and want to send some money to pay for the deceased, we have no objection .”

Bai Shijun was dumb for a moment, but these words really touched his heart, just considering all the things that happened in the past few days, he didn't know how to talk to the children.

He nodded repeatedly, and just about to say something, Bai Yi spoke up.

"But you can't take it all away."

"Naturally, naturally. Dad won't do this again," Bai Shijun shook his head, "Look, how much is appropriate to row out?"

Bo Ling: "Empty words don't count. We have to calculate the next expenses first, and then save some emergency, so that we can know how much money we can leave for you."

Bai Yi: "Yes. From now on, every half a month, you'd better go through the family accounts with me. How every money is spent and how it is saved, you have to be clear about it."

"Hey." Bai Shijun responded again and again.

In this way, both Bo Ling and Bai Yi got up.One person took the paper again, and the other took the abacus.

Bo Ling has been in the family for many years, and he is most familiar with the current situation of the family. Where to buy furniture, which wall should be repaired... one by one, one by one.

On the other side, Bai Yi was doing calculations, estimating the price in the market, and the two were discussing the renovation of their home and yard, raising their eyes from time to time to ask Bai Shijun what he thought.

Originally, Bai Shijun felt that everything was over when he woke up, but at this moment, seeing Bai Ling and Bai Yi talking about each other, he suddenly felt that something that had weighed him down before could not breathe. was dispersed.

What a virtue and ability to have such a pair of children.

The children have not completely given up hope, how can he, a middle-aged man who has half-buried in the ground, accept his fate first?
Bai Shijun stood up, and moved his chair to sit next to Bai Yi. Although he was a stranger, he decided that from today on, he would also worry more about these household chores that he avoided in the past.

The next morning.

When it was still daylight, Bai Yi and Bai Ling were led into the palace by the steward of the Ministry of Internal Affairs at the same time. Before they went to the places where they would stay for a long time, they each had a set of cumbersome and lengthy procedures to go.

The brothers and sisters were not moving quickly, as if they had a tacit understanding.

After they had confirmed their respective materials, while waiting for approval from the palace staff in the rest room, Bai Yi looked at his sister and said suddenly, "You are really patient with your father."

Bo Ling was a little surprised, "Really."

Bai Yi picked up the teacup and took a sip, "You have told him so many reasons, but he may not really understand it completely."

Bo Ling thought for a while, and leaned back in the chair as if weary, "I have an idea of ​​my own, do you want to hear it?"

"Huh?" Bai Yi looked towards Bai Ling, "Tell me."

Bo Ling stretched out his hands and squeezed his shoulders, lowered his eyes and said softly, "If you compare us and the people around us to plants, the two most extreme types are probably orchids and thorns."

Bai Yi's eyes moved slightly, "How to say?"

Bo Ling looked over with a smile, "The thorn is extremely tenacious. In the harsh environment, it can survive with a little water and a little sunshine, but it is covered with thorns, and it is written from head to toe that strangers should not approach it; as for the orchid, it is very beautiful. , everyone likes it, but it is very delicate, if there is even a slight difference in water and climate, the flower will wither... I think my father is the one who belongs to the hexagram of orchid."

Bai Yi laughed for a while, and waved his hands nonchalantly, "He's returning the orchid. I think he's so gullible and deceitful. It's a miracle that he's still alive and still in the hospital."

Bai Ling also laughed, "Just listen to me. Although the world praises orchids, people like orchids tend to die early. Aren't all the martyrs in history like this?

"Father is lucky. He has lived to this age. Although he has brought so many disasters to himself, he has managed to turn bad luck into good luck. On the one hand, he is lucky. On the other hand, there are always people around him." Can protect him. It used to be our mother, then it was the old hospital envoy, and now it is probably our turn again.

Bai Yi still shook his head, "...It's too weak to live like this."

"You can't ask a flower to be 'strong', and a flower can't be like a thorn, covered with self-defense thorns all over its body. The way a flower fights violence is very simple. If someone hurts a flower, then he will not open."

Bo Ling looked at Bai Yi who was on the side.

Bai Yi's face became serious, he put down his teacup, and listened intently to Bai Ling's words.

"People's energy is limited. People have the freedom to judge where they want to spend their time, and they have to accept the corresponding price. I don't think it's all because of his weak temperament, but because he feels that he needs to take time off. Facing these intrigues is too troublesome. Didn’t he say, “Those who are not able to plan everything can’t find a moment, and those who can’t plan the overall situation can’t find a corner.” I think he knows what he wants better than us, so he doesn’t care about anything else. Do not care."

The smile on Bai Yi's face was somewhat self-deprecating, "...According to what you said, he lived a more transparent life than us."

"We also have our own choices," Bo Ling's gaze fell, "Although I haven't fully figured it out... But these can only be planned after we leave here..."

A palace man came in with a porcelain pot in his hand, the brother and sister kept silent, watched him come to fill the cup with water, and then watched him go out.

Only then did Bai Yi say, "Now that you and I have become his flower mud, I don't know if we can withstand the storms in the future."

Just as Bai Ling was about to answer, the inner door was already opened, and the palace servant who had led the way walked out quickly, and Bai Yi and Bai Ling stood up at the same time.

Bai Ling and Bai Yi: "So fast?"

"It's already slow." The eunuch glanced at Bai Ling and Bai Yi, and said with a smile, "How dare we neglect the candidate appointed by the Lord Long Live? You take this introduction and follow the little Li in front, he will Take you to the House of Internal Affairs to get things, waist badges, clothes, etc., according to the regulations, and someone will tell you when you arrive."

The palace people were leading the way. At this time, there was still ceremony in the previous dynasty. The eunuchs led the brothers and sisters up the stone corridor on the city wall, bypassed the palace city ahead, and headed for the inner palace.

The wind was strong at the high place, and the two walked forward slowly. On their left hand side, the entire palace was connected one after another, with pavilions one after another, with gilded tile eaves, vermilion palace walls, spit green The tender willows... They have seen countless people climb to the pinnacle of power here, and they have also seen countless losers crying in the dark corners.

Bai Ling's eyes penetrated the long wind in front of him, looking at the almost endless palace, and slowly let out a breath.

Now, let us have a fight.

(End of this chapter)