The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 511
Ten days later, Zhu Xiu and his entourage arrived in Kaifeng. They did not bother to return home and went straight to the palace city.

In Zide Hall, Zhu Xiu met Guo Wei again after half a year.

Compared with half a year ago, Guo Wei has aged too much.

He has gray hair and as many wrinkles as an old man in his sixties or seventies. His former majestic tiger eyes no longer have the sparkle. His pupils are yellow and turbid, and his eyes are obviously sluggish, showing the aura of a hero in his twilight years.

Fortunately, after more than a month of recuperation, Guo Wei's spirit has recovered well. He can already go to the ground and walk a few times in the palace every day. Send some light meals.

Even so, there are still signs of age and frailty.

Everyone understands that the official family is really old, its vitality is on the verge of drying up, and its days of prosperity are not far away.

Li Chongjin knelt down on the ground, tears bursting from his eyes, and he prostrated and cried: "The guilty minister Li Chongjin comes to see your Majesty!"

"Ahem~" Guo Wei coughed violently. Chai Rong hurriedly walked up the steps and put a Yunlong brocade cloak on him.

"You~ come closer!" Guo Wei's voice was low and hoarse, with a little anger.

Li Chongjin didn't dare to get up, he knelt and walked a few steps, climbed up the steps with his hands and feet, and prostrated himself in front of the throne.

Guo Wei leaned over and pinched his chin, shouting: "Lift your head!"

Li Chongjin was trembling all over, and he raised his head tremblingly, his face dark with tears streaming down his face.

With a "pop" sound, Guo Wei slapped Li Chongjin with all his strength.

"Father, please calm down!" Chai Rong immediately knelt down.

Zhu Xiu also quickly knelt down in the hall and shouted after him.

After the slap, Li Chongjin didn't feel much pain, but Guo Wei coughed violently and his face turned sickly red.

"You bastard, do you know you're wrong?"

Guo Wei pushed away Chai Rong's supporting hand, pointed at Li Chongjin's nose and cursed angrily.

Li Chongjin kowtowed repeatedly and cried: "The guilty minister knows his mistake. Please don't get angry and take care of the dragon body!"

Guo Wei said in a trembling voice: "If it weren't for your mother's sake, I would kill you today! How dare you fake an imperial edict to flee south, detain a town commander, falsely spread the imperial edict and support troops to cause chaos? Do you still want to separate Huaibei? , to be my enemy?"

Li Chongjin kept kowtowing, his forehead was smashed, and blood and tears covered his face.

"Zhongjin acknowledges his guilt and lets his uncle handle him without any complaints! Please calm down your uncle and take care of yourself. Zhongjin will never make you angry again~"

Guo Wei's eyes were red, and he beat his chest: "You pretended to flee south, and you didn't forget to send your wife and children out of Kaifeng before you ran!
Why, are you afraid that I will kill my children if they stay in Beijing?
Li Chongjin, Li Chongjin, I am your biological uncle. You have grown up by my side. Parent-child is better than parent-child. When did you and I become so alienated?

You don’t trust me, you don’t trust King Jin!Do you think we will hold Dong and Li Yanfu accountable once you leave?Or even kill them?
You take away your wife and children, and be prepared to fight me to the end!Li Chongjin, you chill me so much!Cough cough cough~"

Two turbid tears fell from Guo Wei's old face, like two sharp knives piercing deeply into Li Chongjin's heart.

"Uncle~Uncle, please calm down! My nephew swears to God that he has never thought of being an enemy of his uncle!" Li Chongjin cried bitterly.

Guo Wei coughed for a while, and Chai Rong stood by the throne, stroking his back.

Guo Wei gasped for a moment, leaned over and patted Li Chongjin on the head, sighing: "You bastard, why don't you think about it, I only have a nephew like you, and your mother personally entrusted you to me before she died, even if you are guilty There is no forgiveness, how could I really exterminate your heir? Then, how would I look to see your mother in the future?"

Li Chongjin threw himself on Guo Wei's lap, crying and howling like thunder, and his heart-rending look was pitiful.

Zhu Xiu smiled wryly, during this period of time, Li Chongjin might have shed all the tears in his life.

Guo Wei's gray hair was messy at the temples. He stroked Li Chongjin's forehead and murmured: "You are not meant to be an emperor. You can be a general with peace of mind. Serve the King of Jin loyally and open up territory for the Great Zhou Dynasty. You will leave a name in history in the future."

Li Chongjin wiped his tears, his eyes were red, he clasped his fists and knelt down in front of Chai Rong, kowtowed loudly and said loudly: "Your Highness, Li Chongjin! I will swear to be loyal to Your Highness for the rest of my life!"

Li Chongjin spoke every word with great force, so that his expression became slightly ferocious.

"Get up!" Chai Rong helped him up and held his hands tightly.

Guo Wei showed a gratified smile, and the last trace of worry dissipated from his brows.

Zhu Xiugang wanted to say a few words of flattery in response to the situation, but saw Guo Wei's eyes closed tightly and his body falling back.

"Guan family!" Zhu Xiu exclaimed in fright.

Chai Rong and Li Chongjin immediately changed their expressions, and supported him left and right, only to see Guo Wei's face turned blue and his whole body turned cold.

"Pass the Imperial Physician!" Chai Rong roared outside the palace.

There was chaos in Zide Hall.
The Emperor of the Zhou Dynasty fell ill again, and the Imperial Medical Office was helpless. The imperial court recruited famous doctors from Feng, Luoyang and other places to come to Beijing for diagnosis. The conclusions were similar, and His Majesty the Emperor decided to
In mid-August, an imperial edict was issued in Zhongshu, distributed to all provincial and ministerial supervisors, and then spread throughout the country.

The prince, the king of Jin, and Yin Rong of the Kaifeng Prefecture were appointed as the third division of Kaifu Yitong, the prefect of the inspection school, and concurrently the minister, and judged internal and external military affairs.

After that, King Chai Rong of the Jin Dynasty was promoted to the government and took charge of military and political power. All the imperial edicts came from the Jin Dynasty.

All the officials knew that the Great Zhou Dynasty was getting closer and closer to the new emperor's accession to the throne.
~~~
In September, just after the cold dew, a pattering autumn rain enveloped the city of Kaifeng, and the temperature dropped sharply, sending away the raging autumn tiger and ushering in the cold winter.

In the inner house of the Hou Mansion, Zhu Xiu played mahjong with several wives.

Fu Jinhuan's playing speed was as slow as ever, and he couldn't say anything about her. He turned his face as soon as he said it. Zhu Xiu was helpless and could only play the role of accompaniment by yawning all over the world.

Suddenly, Shi Lingyan covered her mouth and retched, ran out of the inner room in a panic, bent over and retched while supporting the corridor beams.

"What's the matter?" Zhu Xiu wondered. Shi Lingyan practiced martial arts since childhood, and has always been in good health. In his impression, he hardly ever got sick.

Fu Jinhuan and Zhou Xian hurriedly followed him out to take care of her. The three women murmured for a while and asked Mo Xiang to call the doctor supported by the family to come for consultation.

"Congratulations, Mr. Marquis, the second lady is happy!" The old doctor twirled his white beard and checked his pulse, then cupped his hands with a smile.

"Seriously?!" Zhu Xiu was stunned for a moment, her head was buzzing, and she couldn't help but grin.

"Don't worry, Lord Marquis, you will never be wrong! And it's been more than a month!" the old doctor said with a smile.

"Yan'er!" Zhu Xiu held Shi Lingyan's hand tightly and smiled like a fool.

Shi Lingyan's pretty face turned red, nervous and happy at the same time.

She knew her condition well and wanted to ask a doctor to confirm it in the next two days, but she didn't expect that everyone would know in advance that she was seriously ill today.

"Silly girl, how could you hide such a big thing from us? Fortunately, you are in good health and nothing serious happened."

Fu Jinhuan couldn't help but scolded softly, and was also happy for Shi Lingyan and Zhu Xiu.

She was the matron of the family. If Shi Lingyan got pregnant and something happened to her, but she didn't know anything in the end, it would be a big sin.

Shi Lingyan cooed: "Sister, I was wrong, I shouldn't have hidden it from you!"

Zhu Xiu was so happy that he shouted: "Ma Qing! Ma Qing! Ask the old doctor to go down and receive the reward! Give me a big reward! Everyone in our house will be rewarded! Haha~~"

Ma Qing also came happily and took the old doctor to collect the reward. When the news spread, the house was full of joy.

"Where's Shi Dalang? Quickly find that guy, he's going to be an uncle!"
I will write a letter to tell Lao Shi that he is going to be my grandfather!Haha~" Zhu Xiu muttered to himself like crazy and kept pacing, which shocked several ladies, thinking that he was too happy and hysterical.

Even though they were bedfellows, they couldn't understand Zhu Xiu's mood at this moment.

Shi Lingyan is pregnant, and the child is his. She is the first person in the world who is connected by blood with him.

Only Zhu Xiu can understand this profound emotion.

Even Wu Youdi and Zhu Wu couldn't give this kind of emotion.

Zhu Xiu hugged Shi Lingyan tightly and whispered softly in her ear: "Yan'er, thank you!"

Shi Lingyan's face was bewildered, he didn't understand why Zhu Xiu was so excited.

Fu Jinhuan bit his thin lips, caressed his stomach unconsciously, and secretly complained that he was useless.

As a grown-up woman, her husband’s first child was not born to her.

For a moment, Fu Jinhuan felt a little sad and couldn't help lowering his head and choking.

Zhou Xian hurriedly pulled Zhu Xiu and signaled quietly.

Zhu Xiu laughed, hugged Fu Jinhuan and said, "Why are you still crying? Yan'er, your sister Fu is jealous of you!"

"No!" Fu Jinhuan was embarrassed and angry, turning his head and quickly wiping the corners of his eyes.

Shi Lingyan said with a smile: "Sister Fu, don't worry, the Marquis will be yours in the next few months, and sooner or later you will be pregnant too!"

Fu Jinhuan was so embarrassed: "I'm just talking nonsense, I'm not ashamed!"

Zhu Xiu held the two women's waists, and did not forget to secretly pinch Zhou Xian's buttocks: "Don't worry, I have been ordered to have children, and I have been working with you these past few months. Sooner or later, all of you will become pregnant women." !”

The three women were angry for a while, and there was laughter in the back house.

A few days later, Zhu Xiu saw Zhang Dejun in his mansion.

"My maidservant wishes Lord Hou to have a big fat boy! The family will have a long line of heirs and a long and prosperous life!" Zhang Dejun knelt and kowtowed.

Zhu Xiu said with a smile: "How many times have I told you that you don't have to kneel when you come to see me? Just like Ma Qing and others, just bow."

Zhang Dejun stood up and said with a smile: "I am a eunuch. I grew up in the palace. I am very particular about the superiority of master and servant. I am used to it."

"Anyway, feel free to meet me when you see me in the future. You don't need to pay too much attention."

Zhang Dejun agreed, but looking at his appearance, he definitely couldn't change it.

"There's been no news about you recently. I'm going to ask someone to inquire in the palace. What's going on?" Zhu Xiu asked.

Zhang Dejun said: "My servant was transferred to the Xiguan Bureau last month and has fewer opportunities to go in and out of the palace. Therefore, since the Marquis has been back in Beijing for nearly two months, my servant has not been able to find the opportunity to come to see him."

"Xi Guan Bureau?" Zhu Xiu put down the tea cup, "Among the six bureaus of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Xi Guan Bureau is at the bottom and doesn't have much real power. Why did you go there?"

Zhang Dejun said with a wry smile: "My foster father died, and my servants had no one to take care of them in the palace, so they were naturally ostracized."

Zhu Xiu thought for a while and said, "Please be patient for a while. There is news that Princess Jin will soon be ordered to take charge of the harem. A good place will be arranged for you then."

"My slave, thank you Lord Marquis for taking care of me!" Zhang Dejun knelt down and kowtowed.

After getting up, Zhang Dejun said with a smile: "But I have gained a lot in Xiguan Bureau. I have found out the relationship between the Zhao brothers and old eunuch Li!"

Zhu Xiu was overjoyed and asked him to speak quickly.

Zhang Dejun said bitterly: "Master Hou knows that old eunuch Li died suddenly last month, and then the two young eunuchs who served him daily, one fell into the well and drowned, and the whereabouts of the other are unknown.

The missing one was hiding in the mourning clothes warehouse of Xiguan Bureau, and was accidentally discovered by the slave!
He knows everything about the conspiracy between Old Eunuch Li and the Zhao brothers, and I used some tricks to make him confess honestly."

Zhang Dejun told the truth from beginning to end.

Only then did Zhu Xiu understand why Old Eunuch Li wanted to kill Queen Mother Li and Zhang Gui.

It turns out that Zhao Da and Zhao Er were behind all this!

"In order to save his nephew, the old eunuch Li agreed to work for the brothers of the Zhao family, designed to murder the queen mother and foster father, and put the blame on the foster father!"

Zhang Dejun was extremely angry, "My foster father was loyal to the Queen Mother, but he was framed as the murderer of the Queen Mother! How could he rest in peace knowing that he knew nothing about it?"

The old dog slave didn't even think about it, how could the Zhao brothers let him live?Sure enough, last month, he drank tribute wine from the Imperial Palace Commander Shi Xiaojing and died suddenly that night!

Na Lingshi has been imprisoned, but even he himself can't figure out why only old eunuch Li drank and died after sending out a lot of tribute wine.

The two young eunuchs serving beside Old Eunuch Li were also targeted. One fell into the well for no reason, and the other was smart enough to react and hide in Xiguan Bureau. "

Zhu Xiu was frightened after hearing this. The struggle in the palace was worse than outside the palace.

It was clear that Shi Shi of the Palace Bureau was the scapegoat, and someone used his hand to poison Old Eunuch Li.

As for the real culprit behind the scenes, the Zhao brothers are naturally the most suspected!
Zhu Xiu stood up and paced around. He never expected that Zhao Kuangyin would spy on the emperor's treasure back then.

Unfortunately, this scene was noticed by Queen Mother Li and Zhang Gui.

This is the direct reason why Queen Mother Li and Zhang Gui were harmed!

"Zhao Da, Zhao Da, I really underestimated you!" Zhu Xiu's face was solemn, that guy was loyal and treacherous, and he had never been honest in his thoughts or hands and feet!
This makes sense. The Zhao brothers bribed old eunuch Li and used him to kill Empress Dowager Li and Zhang Gui, thus avoiding future troubles.

He also silenced the insider, which can be described as extremely bold and cruel!
Zhu Xiu said in a deep voice: "When Zhao Kuangyin spied on the emperor's talisman, Empress Dowager Li and Zhang Gui did not tell anyone, and there was no record in the inner palace files. They had even forgotten about it.

Now everyone with knowledge of the matter has been killed without any evidence, and even if they identify the Zhao brothers, there is no real evidence. "

Zhang Dejun gritted his teeth and said: "The Zhao brothers are the ones who deserve to die! I must avenge my foster father and the Queen Mother!"

Zhu Xiu looked at him deeply: "This matter cannot be rushed, it must be considered in the long run! First, you must find a way to get close to Zhao Kuangyi and gain his trust!"

"Don't worry, Lord Marquis, Zhao Kuangyi has shown his intention to recruit slaves. During this period, he has sent people to the palace many times to inquire about my whereabouts." Zhang Dejun said proudly.

Ma Qing, who was standing by silently, said: "There is another person, finding him might be useful!"

"Who?" Zhu Xiu didn't think of it for a moment.

Ma Qing said: "Old Eunuch Li's nephew!"

"Not bad!" Zhang Dejun said excitedly.

Zhu Xiu immediately said: "Old Ma, you immediately send people to the whole city to find out the news! If it's too late, I'm afraid the people will be gone!"

"The villain obeys the order!"

(End of this chapter)