spend time

The young man did not turn around, still with his back to Jiang Shaohua, and said in a faint voice: "Cousin Shaohua, I'm leaving."

"I am useless. I am not a qualified emperor. I have sat on the throne for three years, but have not achieved anything. The court is in chaos, the government is corrupt, there are natural disasters and wars in the north, and there are frequent floods in the south. The people have a hard time. The court officials are not afraid of me, and even the eunuchs in the palace listen to the Empress Dowager. I am really useless."

Jiang Shaohua's eyes were a little hot, but his voice was calm when he opened his mouth: "Cousin, you came to me in a dream, and you must have something important to tell me. Turn around and look at me."

The boy finally turned around slowly.

Jiang Shaohua had been prepared to see a face with blood coming out of all seven orifices or a miserable death. Unexpectedly, Emperor Taihe Jiang Song still looked the same as before, even the fatigue and helplessness between his eyebrows were so familiar.

It was as if he was just going on a long journey for a while and was saying goodbye to her before leaving.

Jiang Shaohua felt extremely sad. She stared at Jiang Song deeply, as if she wanted to engrave his appearance in her eyes and heart forever: "Cousin, who hurt you?"

Jiang Song's eyes flashed with confusion, and he murmured, "I don't know."

Even when he was dying, he was still a confused ghost.

It's both sad and pitiful.

Jiang Shaohua swallowed the bitterness in his throat and whispered, "When I go to the capital, I will avenge you."

Jiang Song looked at her and said slowly, "Cousin Shaohua, I'm leaving now. From now on, I'll leave the country and the court of Daliang to you."

Knowing that this was just a dream, Jiang Shaohua's heart still trembled suddenly when he looked into Jiang Song's eyes: "Cousin, I am a woman."

"What's wrong with a woman? You are strong-willed and decisive, ten times or a hundred times better than me. You have the kindness to pity the people, the means to suppress the court, and the sharpness and ruthlessness of a monarch. You have everything."

Jiang Song looked at her and said, "You are the most outstanding bloodline of my Jiang family. Daliang is in a precarious situation. Only you can turn the tide, sit firmly on the throne, stabilize the Jiang family's territory, and let the people live a stable and good life."

"This throne should be yours."

Jiang Shaohua did not dodge, staring at Jiang Song for a long time, and said: "The ministers in the court will not support me as the Princess of Nanyang."

"Then use your skills to subdue them one by one. Make them obey your orders and submit willingly. Cousin Shaohua, I know you can do it. You can definitely do it."

Jiang Song's figure suddenly faded away, like a smudged ink painting, gradually disappearing in front of her.

Only those powerful words kept echoing in her ears.

Cousin Shaohua, you can do it, you definitely can.

……

Jiang Shaohua suddenly opened his eyes and sat up from the bed.

Cui Du hadn't slept yet, and was guarding her beside the bed. Startled by her sudden action, he quickly reached out to hold her shoulders: "What's wrong with you? Did you have a nightmare?"

Jiang Shaohua sniffed, his eyes moistened: "My cousin told me in my dream."

After a pause, he whispered, "It's not a nightmare. My cousin came to say goodbye to me and entrusted the country and the people to me."

“Cui Du, this time I go to the capital, I will experience unprecedented hardships. I don’t even know if I can come back safely. You’d better stay! If anything happens to me, you will guard Nanyang County for me…” The next words were blocked.

After a while, Cui Du raised his head, his eyes bright and startling: "I know what you are going to do. So, I must go with you."

"If you succeed, I will be your husband. If you fail, I will be your traitor. In short, don't think of leaving me alone."

Jiang Shaohua's eyes were hot. She didn't want to cry anymore, so she turned her head away. After a moment, she calmed down and turned her head back: "Okay, I won't say such things again in the future. We are husband and wife, we should share happiness and difficulties together!"

Cui Du was satisfied, and kissed her on the forehead, coaxing her softly: "You have been very emotional today, and it's only the fourth watch now, you should get some more sleep. Only when you have enough mental strength can you deal with all kinds of complicated situations in the future."

Jiang Shaohua hummed: "Don't keep watching over me anymore, come to the couch and sleep with me."

Cui Du responded and lay down beside Jiang Shaohua with his clothes on. He waited until she closed her eyes and fell asleep before opening his eyes, and stayed by her side quietly until dawn.

……

It is better to go to the capital to attend the funeral as early as possible, and the sooner the better.

On the second day, Jiang Shaohua led a group of officials back to the Nanyang Palace. In just one day, they had prepared all the necessary luggage. They traveled light and rode fast.

Xue, the governor of Jingzhou, did not receive the news until three days later.

At this time, Jiang Shaohua and his party had already left Jingzhou on horseback, galloping all the way to the capital along the official road.

The sad news of the emperor's death spread rapidly, with the capital as the center. Wherever they went, everyone they saw had changed into plain white clothes, and their faces were filled with grief.

Emperor Taikang died three years ago, and the young Emperor Taihe had only been on the throne for three years. He passed away before he got married and had children.

The frequent changes of the throne were definitely not a good thing for the court. Moreover, Emperor Taihe had no children, and there was only an eight-year-old Jiang Hao in the palace, who was vaguely heard to be a fool.

Is the emperor of Daliang going to be a silly boy? With powerful foreign enemies eyeing the country, powerful officials scheming against each other, and a young emperor who cannot take part in government affairs, can Daliang still be stable?
Those who had some insight were all worried about the future of Daliang. Ordinary people who did not have such insight were also saddened by the sudden death of the emperor.

Officials from all over the country heard the bad news and rushed to Beijing to mourn. Jiang Shaohua and his party encountered two groups on the way. However, Jiang Shaohua was in no mood to get off his horse and make friends or greet them. At most, he sent Chen Changshi to say hello to them.

There were many more officials who had received the news and were on their way to the capital. Jiang Shaohua had to try his best to buy time and get to the capital as quickly as possible, traveling a hundred miles a day on horseback.

Even this is taking Chen Changshi and Cui Du into consideration, otherwise, the speed could be even faster.

The new type of military rations that had just been developed a few days ago came in handy this time. The weather was getting hotter, so it was okay to eat some cold food. When I had some free time, I would boil some hot water and make a bowl of hot batter, which would be a delicious meal for people on the road.

We hurried on our way like this, and ten days later, the familiar city gate was finally in sight.

"Princess, we have finally arrived in the capital."

Chen Changshi, whose bones were almost broken by the journey, sighed deeply. Looking at the capital city which he had been away from for decades, his mind was wandering and he couldn't control himself for a long time.

Jiang Shaohua stopped his horse outside the city gate and looked at the gate from afar.

Beijing, I, Jiang Shaohua, am here again. (End of this chapter)