Chapter 956 Zhengdan's Dream
Chapter 956 Zhengdan's Dream
The pace of time is not affected by anyone's will and has firmly entered the eleventh year of the Shengui (327).
On this day, Sima Chi woke up from a coma.
When she opened her eyes slightly, she saw that the room was deserted, with only two palace maids dozing off on the Hu bed.
"Someone come here!" Sima Chi called softly.
The palace maids were startled and stood up immediately. After seeing clearly that it was Sima Chi, they relaxed and saluted in unison, saying, "Your Majesty."
"There's quite a lot of noise outside... and people coming and going... what's going on?" Sima Chi asked.
When he said this, his breathing was already a little irregular and he looked quite exhausted.
"Your Majesty, there is a New Year's Day court meeting today." One of them said.
Sima Chi's pupils shrank when he heard this. He stretched out his left hand, tremblingly pointed at the palace maid who had just spoken, and asked, "Who are you? Why can't you speak Mandarin well?"
The palace maid lowered her head and said, "I am an old servant of Ningshuo Palace."
"Huns?"
The palace maid remained silent, obviously agreeing.
"The criminal relative..." Sima Chi took a breath and asked, "What is the criminal relative's origin?"
This sentence made the palace maid a little uneasy, and her eyes were no longer very peaceful.
"Since they are the relatives of criminals, they must be... they must have been officials." Sima Chi wanted to sneer, but found that he could not do it anymore. He could only say with difficulty: "Since you are insulted, why don't you kill Shao the thief?"
After saying this, perhaps because he felt that this sentence was too bold, he couldn't help coughing.
As I coughed, I felt some chest tightness and almost couldn't breathe.
He didn't know what was wrong with him. Ever since Shao Ze's prestige grew, his health had been getting worse and worse, and he had been suffering from various illnesses.
Sometimes I wake up from a dream, sometimes I have night sweats and my pillow is wet, and sometimes I feel chest tightness and shortness of breath.
Last year I accidentally fell and broke my elbow.
Today, it is difficult to get up.
He didn't care anymore. He had no children and his ancestral temple was about to fall into ruin. He didn't want to see the thief Shao being proud.
If you have the guts, just kill the king. He is already 44 years old and has lived enough.
"I! I! What I? I?" Hou Lao San suddenly walked in, looked at the palace servant with a stern look, waved his hand, and said, "Everyone, leave."
The palace maid bowed and left.
Sima Chi stared at the palace maid's back with regret. After a long while, he looked away and looked at Hou Lao San, saying, "You castrated yourself to serve the emperor in your middle age. Isn't that... isn't that bringing shame to our ancestors?"
Hou Lao San smiled when he heard this and said, "I have two sons and two daughters, all of whom are married and have many children and grandchildren. The King of Liang was kind and sent people to bring them to Luoyang, and gave them ten hectares of farmland and five hectares of forest and grass. With such a prosperous family business, isn't it a glory for the family?"
Sima Chi was speechless.
Hou Lao San said proudly: "One of the two palace maids just now is the daughter-in-law of Liu Han's minister Bu Tai. She was so noble in the past, but now she is at my disposal. She dare not listen to you. All the male members of Bu Tai's family were killed, but this woman has a son who was not beheaded because he was too young, and he was raised in the palace. It's useless to say anything, haha."
Sima Chi started coughing violently. After a moment, his eyes suddenly widened, his throat made a gurgling sound, and his breathing became difficult.
Hou Laosan was shocked.
This! If Sima Chi died like this, he was afraid that he would die too, so he urgently summoned the imperial physician who was waiting outside to come in for examination.
After a lot of work, they found out that Sima Chi's breathing was blocked by phlegm and he almost suffocated to death. Fortunately, he was rescued in the end.
Hou Laosan's breathing was also heavy, and he subconsciously wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Sima Chi recovered and no longer had the energy to do anything naughty. He just stared at the curtain with lifeless eyes and muttered, "Shao the thief must die! He must not die a good death!"
"Prince Langya...Prince Langya still has half of the country left for me...I will raise my arm and call for it one day...I will definitely be able to kill the thief Shao."
As he spoke, he became more and more exhausted, and slowly fell into a coma, the sound of "kill the enemy" from his mouth becoming inaudible.
When the imperial physician saw that everything was fine, he smiled awkwardly, picked up the medicine box and slipped away to the outer room.
Hou Laosan felt sweat soaking through his back and cursed inwardly that he had bad luck.
He has a bit of a rascal temperament, otherwise he wouldn't owe money and not pay it back as if nothing happened. Seeing Sima Chi sleeping peacefully, he swung his right arm and cursed in a low voice: "If you say something wrong, I'll punch you."
Of course, he only said this when no one was around. If he really punched the emperor in front of other people, even if it was just a threat, King Liang would kill him.
After walking out of the palace with his hands behind his back, he saw that it was already bright outside.
More palace servants and guards were transferred to the Taiji Hall in front.
Hou Laosan walked forward for dozens of steps and faintly heard congratulations coming from the front.
There is a grand court meeting today, and many people have come, even the King of Liang has come in person.
There were probably hundreds of officials, both big and small, military officers, and Hu chieftains. The Jin Dynasty had never been able to gather so many powerful people, not even during the Taikang period when the country was at its peak.
This world really needs to change.
******
In the square in front of the Taiji Hall, the palace servants had already cleaned up the traces left by the fire that broke out in the courtyard at night.
Inside the Taiji main hall, the throne was empty.
Shao Xun and Prince Regent Sima Duan exchanged a few polite words and then sat at the lower left of the throne.
Sima sat upright at the lower right.
Officials came in one after another to pay their respects, presenting lists of gifts and chanting blessings.
Soon, the Tongshi Sheren came to sing the name of Chenjun Taishou Hua Heng (formerly Yingchuan Taishou).
Hua Heng entered the hall, knelt and said, "I saw a stalk of auspicious wheat in the place where King Liang personally plowed the field in the county. The elders were all amazed by it, so I present it to you." As soon as these words came out, everyone, both inside and outside the palace, was greatly encouraged.
Shao Xun pondered for a moment and said, "What does Rui Mai mean?"
Hua Heng said loudly: "Your Majesty has pacified Zhongxia and recovered all the old territory. In the north, he crossed the Yinshan Mountains, in the south, he crossed the Miasma Sea, in the east, he reached Jieshi, in the west, he reached Liusha, and all the people in the world were pleased and supported him. This is a great achievement of restoring the world. Therefore, the God of Heaven has descended to bring peace to the new kingdom."
Sima Duan shuddered when he heard this.
Seeing that everyone was looking at him, his face turned even paler, and he could only say, "Get rid of the old and start anew, there is clear evidence of this."
Shao Xun smiled slightly and said, "Hua Qing has passed, please leave."
"Yes." Hua Heng stood up and, led by the man holding the spear in the hall, walked out of the Tai Chi Hall from the side.
After Hua Heng, more than ten people came in, and they all presented normal local specialties. Until He Sui, the Internal History of Donghai, he presented a pair of white rabbits.
"I sent people to repair the king's old house and saw a pair of white rabbits in the farmland. They ran away when they saw people, but suddenly stopped when they reached the water's edge. Then I caught them." He Sui said.
"What does this auspicious sign mean?" Shao Xun asked again.
"The rabbit's fur is mostly brown, and it turns white when it is 500 years old. This is a good omen. Your Majesty understands the will of Heaven and satisfies human desires, so Heaven has bestowed this auspicious sign to reward Your Majesty." He Sui said, "This is Heaven's praise."
"It's passed, it's passed." Shao Xun waved his hand and looked at Sima Duan.
Sima Duan was silent for a moment, and then said: "Is it true what you said? The Jin Dynasty's politics are declining, and the auspicious rabbit is running away. It also indicates that the metal virtue will end and the water virtue will rise."
Shao Xun shook his head and laughed, then waved his hand to let He Sui leave.
Then someone else offered auspicious gifts.
In Yingchuan County, there are twin lotuses that have been preserved to this day; in Wei County, there is a tortoise with words appearing on its back, and so on.
At last, Shao Xun stood up and said, "How can the auspicious signs of the world be attributed to animals?"
"He is a capable minister who is diligent in the king's affairs."
"He is a good general in guarding the frontier."
"When the world is united, the Chinese and the barbarians are at peace, and all living things in the world will never suffer from the pain of war."
"Without this, what good would it do even if I had a hundred stalks of auspicious wheat and a thousand pairs of white rabbits?" After saying this, he smiled and said, "The congratulations are over. I will give you a banquet in the corridor. You can enjoy yourself now."
"Yes, sir." All the ministers responded.
The voice reached the hall, and Sima Duan sighed secretly.
He knew that day was getting closer.
It had been many years since the King of Liang came to Luoyang to attend the grand court meeting on New Year's Day. Before this, he was either in Bianliang or Pingyang, each of them was independent and had their own officials to come and congratulate him.
Now he has come to Luoyang, constantly showing up, creating momentum wave after wave. When the momentum reaches its peak, that's when his true colors will be revealed.
To be honest, Sima Duan was just a little frightened, but he did not regret anything he did because he had no choice.
He just hoped that he could finish being a puppet as soon as possible so that he could be free.
******
The news from the previous dynasty was gradually passed back to the back chamber.
Hou Laosan sat quietly in the hall and even drank tea leisurely.
"Wang Taiwei said, 'Since the Yongjia period, the government has been in chaos, the four seas have been torn apart, and all lives have been devastated.'" A palace servant reported, "He also said, 'The King of Liang has used his wisdom to destroy evil, save people from disasters, restore order, and restore order. Therefore, the heavens have praised him endlessly and this auspicious sign has appeared. At this time, we should respond to the will of heaven, follow the desires of the people, and respectfully accept the will of heaven.'"
I don’t know if it was an illusion, but Hou Laosan felt that when the palace maid said this, Sima Chi’s breath suddenly weakened.
He paused, stood up and walked to Sima Chi's bed.
Sima Chi's eyes were no longer moving.
Hou Laosan observed carefully, feeling a little strange and flustered. He subconsciously stretched out his finger and placed it under Sima Chi's nose. When he found that he was still breathing, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
At this time, he didn't want to be angry with Sima Chi anymore.
Why would a dying person do this?
Strictly speaking, this world is not his responsibility alone.
Although he and Sima Yue's struggle for power pushed the world further into the abyss, there were many people who ruined the world.
Hou Laosan sat like this the whole day. Except for going to the toilet and eating, he stayed next to Sima Chi, just like his filial son.
In the afternoon, the palace maid brought corn porridge. Sima Chi got up with difficulty, ate a few mouthfuls, and then fell into a deep sleep again.
After falling asleep, he was still mumbling to himself.
Hou Laosan leaned over and listened carefully, and found that most of the talk was nonsense.
Things like "I killed Sima Yue", "Shao Xun tied himself up at the steps and kowtowed to ask for forgiveness", and "The army of King Langya captured Yuzhou".
Hou Laosan wanted to laugh when he heard this. It’s good to dream. Everything can happen in dreams.
Late at night, Sima Chi got up again, ate some porridge, and then continued to dream.
This time it is "The country must not fall into the hands of traitors and villains."
Hou Laosan got fed up and finally didn't even bother to listen anymore.
This went on for several days.
Until one day, when it became extremely difficult to help Sima Chi get up and eat, Hou Laosan knew that the time had come.
(I've been too busy at work and haven't gotten off work yet. I just finished coding, please forgive me. Also, this volume is over.)
(End of this chapter)