Chapter 171

The next day, the Empress Dowager brought Philip back to the palace.

Wei Shao got the news and immediately interrupted the discussions with the ministers, and greeted the Empress Dowager outside the Suzaku gate in person. When he saw the Empress Dowager, he was very excited. After sending her back to the Jiade Palace, he was still reluctant to leave, and was reluctant to leave. Talked to her for a long time.

Mrs. Xu thought at first that he had something to discuss with her, but at the end, she smiled and said, “Does the emperor have something to say to grandmother? But it doesn’t matter.”

Wei Shao was stunned for a moment, and then he remembered that a group of ministers were still waiting for him in the Xuan room.

Xiao Qiao was by his side, and he felt a little strange when he saw him. Seeing him like this, it seemed that he had not seen Mrs. Xu for a long time. In the evening, he returned to the bedroom, the two bathed together, and made fun of him by the way.

The speaker was inadvertent, but Wei Shao’s heart suddenly shuddered, remembering what happened last night.

Last night he tried to please Xiao Qiao in every possible way on the dragon bed, and Xiao Qiao also flattered him. The two of them lingered for most of the night, in a state of ecstasy, incomparable, and finally exhausted. Before he embraced his beloved woman and fell asleep, he suddenly felt a long sigh full of satisfaction in his heart.

At that time, he didn’t think much about it. He hugged Xiao Qiao who was already tired and fell asleep. He closed his eyes and fell asleep himself.

At this moment, being reminded by her, thinking of last night’s sound that seemed to be a subconscious sigh of satisfaction, and thinking of the extremely realistic daydream that he had experienced yesterday, Wei Shao suddenly felt uneasy in his heart.

Zhuang Zhou dreams of a butterfly, a butterfly dreams of Zhuang Zhou, is it that he is still in a dream and has not woken up at the moment?

“Manman… You hit me again! Hit me hard!”

Xiao Qiao just made fun of him casually. Seeing that he suddenly looked solemn, he chuckled softly, put his hands in water, and splashed him coldly: “What’s wrong with your majesty?”

Wei Shao was splashed with water on her face, splashing everywhere, closed her eyes, opened them, and saw that she was right across from her, in the dense fog, she tilted her head slightly and looked at him, her eyes shining brightly, and she smiled. Yingying, he stretched out his arms and hugged her, his forehead touching her warm forehead, his heart suddenly calmed down, and all the trance feeling just now disappeared.

“I’m fine…” He murmured and lowered his head to kiss her lips.

“Manman, it’s great that I, Wei Shao, have you in my life…”

…

Two months later, the queen was diagnosed with pregnancy.

Mrs. Xu was overjoyed, and all the officials were overjoyed, and they all looked up and waited for the queen to give birth to a dragon heir.

…

In the early summer of the third year of Taihe, there were more than four days on this day. Xiao Qiao was awakened by a faint pain in her lower abdomen in her sleep.

Wei Shao woke up and saw her curled up into a ball with her stomach covered. She was startled. She sat up and rolled off the dragon bed. She didn’t even wear shoes. She ran out barefoot and shouted, “The queen is going to give birth!”

A loud cry shook the entire palace.

The Queen’s birth date was approaching, and all the preparations in the palace had already been made early. The emperor roared, and the entire Guanghua Palace immediately woke up, the lights were bright, and the palace staff went to the Jiade Palace to report the news.

Mrs. Xu quickly rushed over. At this time, several midwives had entered the room, and the door was closed. The emperor was standing in front of the delivery room, with a nervous and excited expression on his face.

The last time little Joe gave birth to Philip. He was fighting in the south. When he came back, Philip was several months old. When she gave birth to her first child, he could not accompany her to welcome the child. Always regret it.

This time he was finally able to accompany her, and he felt extremely happy. Seeing that Mrs. Xu also came, she hurried up to help herself: “Grandmother, Manman is about to give birth!”

Madam Xu glanced at him, saw him smiling happily, and nodded with a smile.

Wei Shao was like this, with excitement and anticipation, together with Mrs. Xu, waiting for Xiao Qiao to give birth to their second child.

As the hours passed, he began to sit still, and the smile on his face gradually disappeared.

Wei Shao had also heard about the pain of childbirth for women.

He just didn’t expect Manman to endure such pain. He listened to the voice of the midwife speaking from time to time in the delivery room, interspersed with her suppressed intermittent moans and groans, and the whole person was tense.

Several times, if it wasn’t for Zhong Ni and Chunniang to stop him, he almost broke in.

Another scream of pain.

“Will you deliver the baby? It hurts me so badly!”

He jumped up suddenly, with cold sweat on his forehead, rushed to the door, and shouted inwardly.

The voice in the door suddenly subsided, and it is estimated that the midwife and the mother were startled.

Zhong Ni and Chunniang went up together, and whispered to persuade him to avoid it first.

Wei Shao, who was willing to listen, kept walking around the door.

“The emperor should go and rest for a while! Come back after the child is born!”

In the end, even Mrs. Xu couldn’t stand it anymore and said aloud.

Wei Shao seemed to have never heard of it.

Seeing this, Mrs. Xu smiled bitterly and shook her head.

“what-”

Finally, at dawn when it was almost dawn, he heard Xiao Qiao let out a long, painful cry from the door, the last bit of blood on his lips also faded, and his heart beat like a drum, and he rushed to the door.

“Man Man!” He raised his hand to open the door.

“Ai! Ai! Your Majesty!”

Zhong Ni and Chunniang were startled, they rushed up and grabbed him left and right.

Suddenly, there was a loud cry of a baby crying from the door.

“Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congrats to the Empress Dowager! The Queen gave birth to a dragon child, and both mother and child are safe!” Then, the midwife raised her beaming voice.

Wei Shao stopped, and after a long while, he let out a long sigh of relief, and while Zhong Er and Chunniang only cared about Huanxi to let go of his free time, they pushed the door and stepped in.

The midwife had wrapped the newly born prince in a swaddle and sent it to Xiao Qiao. Seeing that the emperor broke in suddenly, he was startled, hurriedly knelt down, and congratulated him with a smile on his face.

Wei Shao went straight to Xiao Qiao’s side, stared down at her pale face covered in sweat, didn’t say anything, just stretched out his hand and gently held one of hers.

Xiao Qiao had been hearing the movement he made outside, and he was not surprised when he saw him breaking in.

At this moment, although people feel tired and powerless, their hearts are warm. Turning his face to meet his gaze, he smiled slightly at him, and said softly, “Look, Your Majesty, our son, Philip’s brother. He looks really good.”

Wei Shao’s eyes turned to their son who had just been born in her arms.

Although he was just born, he already had a high nose bridge, long dark eyelashes, and smacking his mouth gently in his mother’s arms, looking very cute.

“Man Man, thank you for your hard work.”

In front of the midwives, he lowered his head and placed a kiss on his queen’s forehead, filled with a sense of happiness.

…

The queen celebrates the birthday of the prince, named Hun, and the whole world celebrates it. Three days after the birth, the emperor personally made a sacrifice to the Fengtian Hall in the Taimiao Temple, the court officials sacrificed to the Taisheji, and the civil and military officials also served for ten days.

In September of this year, the envoy of Wuzhu Qu Chanyu arrived in Luoyang, and the imperial court signed a treaty with the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu paid tribute to the horses, and Dayan sent back tens of thousands of prisoners from the Battle of Shanggu a few years ago.

On the day when the captives were sent back, apart from the war, the Sanggan River, which had been lonely for a hundred years, was full of calls for mothers and fathers. In his own name, Wu Zhuqu also presented a generous gift to the Empress Dowager, including a waistcoat called “Hamo” sewn from sixteen pieces of lambskin.

In the custom of the Huns, after a man and a woman are engaged, the mother of the woman’s family will receive such a waistcoat from the man’s family to express her gratitude to her daughter for raising her daughter for 16 years and then marrying.

After the messenger conveyed the gift, he was initially apprehensive, lest the Empress Dowager would not accept Hamo. It was not until half a month later that he left and he didn’t receive a return gift, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

…

In the fourth year of Taihe, after the crown prince turned one year old, one day, Mrs. Xu called the emperor to her face and told them with a smile that she had decided to go back to Youzhou and settle down in Wuji City to retire.

This year, the Empress Dowager is about to be seventy years old. Although she is very old, she eats a light diet every day. She still insists on planting flowers and weeds herself, and she is in good spirits.

The empress was very surprised, and both knelt down, blaming themselves for being unfilial, and begging her grandmother to take back her life.

Mrs. Xu said that she wanted to go back not because they did not do well, but she was glad that everything was fine with them, and she could rest assured.

Wei Shao still kowtowed and worked hard to keep her, Xiao Qiao looked at Madam Xu’s face with a kind smile, but gradually she became thoughtful.

The small border town called Wuji was the place where she and Wei Shao’s grandfather got married, and it was also the place where she sent Wei Shao’s grandfather away.

Besides her husband, there are also memories of her sons, daughters, grandchildren.

Her half-life past, or some unfulfilled wish, are closely related to it and cannot be given up.

Now that she is nearly seventy years old, Xiao Qiao may still find it difficult to fully understand her feelings when she suddenly makes such a decision, but she will respect her choice.

She kowtowed to Mrs. Xu and said that the granddaughter-in-law understood that when she sent her grandmother back to her hometown to take care of her life, she would bring a pair of children to visit her grandmother every year in the future, hoping that her grandmother would be healthy and live a long life.

Mrs. Xu smiled at the emperor: “Shao’er, grandmother always thinks that you don’t have your daughter-in-law Linghui, and she still does. She can understand me, so don’t stop me.”

Although Wei Shao was extremely reluctant, Madam Xu made up her mind and finally reluctantly agreed.

In September of this year, the sweltering summer heat passed, and when the golden autumn came, the emperor and the empress went out of Luoyang together to send Mrs. Xu back north.

The night before leaving, Xiao Qiao accompanied Mrs. Xu in the Garter Palace with Philip and Hong.

In the middle of the night, the sister and brother fell asleep. After Xiao Qiao sent Mrs. Xu to the bed, she knelt in front of her knees, reluctant to get up for a long time.

Mrs. Xu stared at her for a moment, then suddenly said: “Manman, grandma will go back tomorrow. I know you have always wanted to know, why did grandma decide to let Shao’er marry your Qiao’s daughter, and the Wei Qiao family became married. in law.”

“If it wasn’t for my grandmother’s original success, how could I have been able to marry my husband and become husband and wife? My grandmother has a big heart and Tzu Chi is in her arms, which is even more of a blessing to me.”

Mrs. Xu smiled and sighed: “You are so smart, you don’t need me to say more, you must know what I think. Shao’er used to be full of revenge and could not listen to persuasion. I always worried that he would be trapped by his inner demons and obsessed. I don’t understand, this may not be a blessing in his life. The deepest obsession in his heart all stems from the pain of his father when he was young. That’s why he learned that your Qiao family had spread the word and wanted to resolve the two families through marriage. The resentment, I heard Qiao Nushu’s reputation, and then I thought of the old things…”

She stopped.

Xiao Qiao straightened up from her lap and looked up at her.

Mrs. Xu seemed to be caught in the memory of the past, and after a long while, she sighed: “Manman, before your grandfather died, you sent me a letter, repenting what he did in the past, and begging him to be willing to fall into the curse of hell. After the death, the Wei family can let the Qiao family go. Grandmother also hates your grandfather for betrayal of faith, which made grandmother lose their children and grandmother. Just born in troubled times, what is justice? Prince and general, who has no life in his hands? Which one has not caused other wives to lose their husbands, The son lost his father? It is not fair to know that a person is born and alive. People can’t be resurrected even if they die. Even if you destroy your Qiao family, how can you reduce the pain you have caused? However, if you can borrow this The opportunity to resolve the hatred, let Shao’er get rid of the demons, resolve the obsession, and the rest of my life will not be spent in mourning, what can I not let go?”

She seemed to be touched by sentimentality, and there were faint tears in the corners of her eyes.

Xiao Qiao took her hand, and slowly pressed one side of her face to the back of her warm hand.

Mrs. Xu lowered her head and touched her hair lovingly.

“Manman, grandmother is not as good as you think. Grandmother had such selfishness in the beginning, and she made the decision to let you marry. At that time, grandmother thought, if Qiao Nv can use intelligence to remove my grandson’s ill-will and knot If I can’t, I’ll just sacrifice a daughter of the Qiao family. Just now you said that I am grateful to my grandmother, but it is my grandmother who wants to be grateful to you. Because of your arrival, my Wei family is prosperous today. I have seen my great-grandchildren alive. I will return to the north tomorrow, and my grandmother will entrust all of Shao’er to you in the future, and my grandmother is very relieved.”

A gratified smile flashed in Mrs. Xu’s single eye.

“Grandmother! Manman is reluctant to part with you!” Xiao Qiao choked up, and couldn’t help throwing herself into Mrs. Xu’s arms.

Mrs. Xu smiled and hugged her, patted her on the back to coax her, as if she was just a child.

Not far away, at the corner of the palace gate, Wei Shao, who had just come over, stood there, quietly watching her back being hugged and comforted by her grandmother, silently.

…

The next morning, the Empress left Luoyang and escorted the Empress Dowager all the way to No End City. After three days, Madam Xu urged them to leave.

Wei Shao was always puzzled by his grandmother’s decision. After leaving the Endless City, he turned back frequently, depressed and unhappy.

Xiao Qiao said that there may be an unfinished concern in grandmother’s heart. Here is closer to her concern.

Wei Shao was silent, finally nodded and said, he understood.

After leaving Wuji, the Empress passed by Yuyang first, and spent the night in the old Qianlong house in Yuyang.

Early the next morning, Xiao Qiao discovered strangely that Wei Shao, who had never worshipped ghosts and gods, went to the Queen Mother’s Hall in the east of the city on purpose. Even the few messengers in front of her statue did not fall, followed by a dazzling light.

At the end, he circled several times in front of one of the statues of the golden-armored god, staring at the **** for a long time, his expression a bit strange.

After they came out, the two of them rode together in the car. She remembered the old story of how he ripped off the mural wall many years ago, and couldn’t help teasing him: “When the wall was ripped off, but now the temple is being repaired, why did the emperor suddenly change his temper? Could it be that the immortal asked you to go in a dream? Excuse me?”

That strange dream that made Wei Shao feel terrified when he woke up in the middle of the night and had to touch the queen immediately, and felt that she would fall asleep beside him in order to feel at ease, naturally he couldn’t tell her even if he was killed.

Being teased by her, Wei Shao was embarrassed at first, and then thinking of the absurdity in the dream, he couldn’t help laughing, hugged her in his arms, bit her ear, and said that the secret must not be revealed.

…

This trip out of the palace, in addition to sending Mrs. Xu back north, another important part is to inspect the river workers. At the end of October, the emperor and empress went to Wuchaodu, where the journey was blocked due to the freezing of the Yellow River.

Wuchaodu is no longer the grand occasion of the year. Because there is a large boat in a new ferry dozens of miles upstream, it is convenient and safer to travel. But the guest house where the two stayed at the time was still standing by the ferry, the dusty guise swayed in the wind, the summer came and the cold, the sunrise and sunset, as if it had been forever since ancient times. In the vicissitudes of life, it will still be there in the future.

That evening, the sunset over the Yellow River dyed the mountains, rivers and wilderness into a golden color, and the yellow mud road outside the guest house was filled with dust.

During the day, the last traveler in the guest house also left, and no one came in for the day.

The hostess leaned against the dilapidated counter and dozed off. Suddenly, she heard the sound of a carriage coming from far and near. She knew that the carriage would not stay here, so she continued to doze again.

The screeching sound stopped at the door. The hostess opened her eyes and saw a pair of men and women who looked like a husband and wife came in at the door. The man was in his thirties, with a dignified appearance, his eyes were bright, and the woman looked much smaller than him. She was beautiful and beautiful. , both of them entered, she stood by the man, and the two of them were like beautiful people, and Rongguang actually brightened the originally dim and dilapidated store.

There are post houses dozens of miles away, but all the dignitaries and nobles who need to stay overnight will stay in the post houses. These old guest houses at the dilapidated ferry are just ordinary travelers passing by and staying overnight.

The hostess looked at it for a while, then came back to her senses, and hurriedly went to entertain. Hearing that the two of them and their companions were going to stay here tonight, they were cramped, and nodded hastily, and took the two of them to the most comfortable room. In a clean guest room, he wiped the tables and chairs again and again, and received hospitality. When he finally exited, he couldn’t help but look at the beautiful little woman again.

When Xiao Qiao saw the hostess looking at her frequently, she smiled slightly at her.

The hostess froze for a while, then suddenly slapped her thigh and said, “I remember it! Many years ago, Madam and Lang Jun lived here because the ferry was frozen!”

This little woman is so beautiful that it is unforgettable, and at first glance, she felt as if she had seen it before. Now, seeing her smiling at herself, she finally remembered it.

Seeing that she still remembered herself, Xiao Qiao nodded and smiled: “Old woman has a good memory. Many years ago, my husband and I did live in an expensive place. I passed by today and come to stay again.”

The hostess remembered that the couple had a very valuable status, and they gave a lot of rewards before they left. Unexpectedly, after many years, the couple would come here to stay here again. They were overjoyed and thanked them again and again. Joyfully, he babbled on the side: “Thanks to the generous rewards of Langjun and his wife back then. Now the ferry has been defeated, and the old body has few residents here, making it difficult to continue, so the son and daughter-in-law went to the city and settled down with the money from the reward. Starting a small business is difficult, but fortunately now the world is at peace, there is no need to fight any more, and the day is slowly settled. My son often says that he will take the old man to live there, but the old man has been guarding the ferry for most of his life, and he is reluctant to leave. , I also thought that although few people came to the door, but after half my life, I also met a few old guests. If the old body also leaves, if the security is not good, in case the guests who want to stay cannot find a place to stay, it is a good relationship. , and I kept guarding it day by day. I never thought that I would welcome a distinguished guest again today, it is really a blessing for my old man!”

Wei Shao and Xiao Qiao looked at each other and smiled.

The Yellow River parade came to an end, and they were about to go back to Luodu. They suddenly learned that Wuchaodu was in front of them. They remembered that when Xiao Qiao went back to her mother’s home Wei Shao to pick up her Pukong, on the way back, the two were in the guest house at the ferry. Looking back at the old things I met, I couldn’t help but look for it.

Before they came, they also heard from the local officials that Wuchao Ferry was now in ruins, and they didn’t expect that guest house to still exist. Unexpectedly, not only was there, but the hostess still remembered the events of the year, and I couldn’t help but have a lot of thoughts.

That night, Wei Shao and Xiao Qiao spent an extremely beautiful night in this dilapidated but clean guest house. In the middle of the night, the two of them were still reluctant to fall asleep. Wei Shao hugged Xiao Qiao, and the two sat side by side by the window, whispering, recalling the scene at that time, and even the mutual defense and suspicion of the two at that time. Extraordinarily sweet.

The moonlight was like water outside the window. Wei Shao suddenly remembered the nameless hill that the two of them had climbed together in the snow, and became interested, pulled Xiao Qiao up, dressed her one by one, and went out of the house to carry her on it. On the back of a horse, he drove the horse and followed the old way to find the past.

Under the moonlight, the horses raised their hooves and squeaked, and not far behind, a group of dark guards accompanied them silently.

Wei Shao finally found the hill that used to be, holding Xiao Qiao’s hand, and the two climbed to the top of the hill together again.

At that time, the bright moon above his head was in the sky, the mountains in the distance were rolling, the plains were lying in the fields, the Yellow River under his feet was flowing, the mountain wind was blowing his clothes, his sleeves were fluttering, and under the shadow of the moon, Wei Shao tightly embraced Xiao Qiao who was leaning against him. , his heart was surging, and he suddenly shouted in the distance: “Shang Xie! I want to grow old with Qing! Life after life, shape and shadow will follow! Even if the river dries up, my heart will not be taken away!”

Xiao Qiao was startled by him at first, then laughed, afraid that his roar would be heard by the guards in the dark, so he covered his mouth.

The moment she covered it, her hand stopped, and she looked up at the excited eyes he looked at in the moonlight, and suddenly slapped him, scolded him in a low voice, “idiot”, her arms clenched tightly. Hooked his neck and kissed his lips.

…

Man Man, if I hadn’t met you, what would I be like now? the man said.

But you have already met me! Wei Shao. woman laughs.

The shadow of the moon is silent, and the stars are like water, silently looking at the pair of lovers on the top of the hill by the river.

The author has something to say:

Finally finished typing the last word. Not afraid of the jokes of the little masters, I was moved haha, for the beautiful love of the male and female protagonists.

Thank you for your companionship along the way. Although the story is here, their happy life will continue.

Penglai looks forward to meeting the little masters in the next story. ^_^