Concubine Yang had no purpose in summoning Gu Qing. She was just a rather lonely woman. It was impossible for Li Longji to accompany her all the time. She was lonely most of the time every day, so she needed someone to accompany her.

The reason why she summoned Gu Qing to the palace for a chat was because Concubine Yang regarded him as her younger brother. They were both from the same hometown, but they both had different backgrounds. Gu Qing was also very competitive and performed very well in Chang'an. His recent popularity in poetry and prose made Yang

The concubine is very proud.

Gu Qing chatted with Concubine Yang and Princess Wanchun for a long time, then left before Concubine Yang gave her a banquet. Under Concubine Yang's reluctant eyes, Gu Qing walked out of Chenxiang Pavilion.

The eunuch led Gu Qing out of the palace, and the two of them walked along the path beside the dragon pond in Xingqing Palace. The eunuch had a very close attitude towards Gu Qing. The eunuch in the palace was the most discerning person. Which minister was valued,

The eunuchs could tell at a glance which concubines were neglected. They clung to those who were favored and stepped on those who were out of favor. The eunuchs were more realistic than anyone else in this regard.

The eunuchs took the initiative to chat with Gu Qing along the way, and some of them chatted for a long time. They were like the lonely taxi driver in his previous life. No matter whether you were happy or not, he had to force you to chat all the way. Every time you got off the car, there was always something.

I felt a slight sense of being at a disadvantage, always feeling that I shouldn't have paid for the ride, but the driver should have paid me for the chat.

Gu Qing was full of worries and casually dealt with the eunuch's various awkward chats, but his mind was thinking about Zuo Wei's corruption case.

After walking past Longchi and almost reaching the Calyx Tower, Gu Qing suddenly heard a quiet discussion not far away. Gu Qing's expression moved and he couldn't help but stop and signaled the chattering eunuch to be silent.

Gu Qing was standing on the path between Huae Tower and Longchi. There was a low bush next to the path. The sound came from the other end of the bush. Gu Qing had been to Xingqing Palace several times, and he knew

The sound should come from the guards guarding the Calyx Tower.

"It's already winter as we speak. Why haven't we taken off the winter clothes above? If we freeze to death, who among us will guard the palace?" A dissatisfied voice said.

"Give up, even if the winter clothes are issued, do you think they can withstand the cold? My brother is the supervisor under Zuoe Kurasao. He told me yesterday that this year's winter clothes are thinner than summer clothes, and the fabric is the worst on the market.

, it breaks when you rub it with your hands, can that thing resist wind?"

"Bah! These dog officials deserve to die. They sit in the house all day lighting charcoal fires and feel comfortable, but they don't know how uncomfortable it is for our brothers who stand in the cold wind and watch every day."

Another voice sighed: "This is not the most uncomfortable thing. The most uncomfortable thing is that my brother said that this year Zuowei made a batch of new weapons, and I don't know who has tampered with them. The weapons are very brittle and will break if they are knocked.

We should pray to God and worship Buddha not to encounter assassins in the palace, otherwise the guys in our hands are worse than burning fire sticks."

"Didn't the higher-ups check it?"

"Check, of course. The officials of the weapons inspection are all watching, but there are officials above the officials. They come down after a greeting and check the quality of the weapons. It is just a formality. Anyway, it is rare in the palace to draw out weapons and fight.

The weapons given to our guards are nothing more than superficial goods, what are they afraid of?"

"These dog officers lack virtue. The pig iron in their weapons must have been tampered with. We, the Imperial Guards, are all like this. I can't imagine how hard it is for the soldiers guarding the border at the Border Guards House. If the top is in such a bad state, let's forget it."

Fighting hard, but for whom?”

"Shut up! Are you looking for death? You dare to say such things. Don't forget that we are guarding the Calyx Tower today. If His Majesty hears this, even a hundred of your heads will not be enough to chop him off."

The sound gradually faded away, but Gu Qing still stood where he was, with an uncertain expression.

The collapse of the prosperous age was, after all, the eruption of long-term accumulated conflicts, and what overthrew it was definitely not just a rebellion. In the few dialogues just now, Gu Qing could not only hear the desperation of the Tang soldiers, but also their grievances.

Gu Qing stood there and pondered for a long time. After regaining consciousness, he smiled apologetically at the eunuch and motioned for him to continue leading the way.

After leaving Xingqing Palace and returning home, he saw a familiar woman at the door, dressed in a man's attire. Gu Qing quickly recognized her. She was the female attendant beside Li Twelve Niang.

Seeing Gu Qing come back, the female attendant saluted him with clasped fists, and then said: "Miss Li, please come to the house to have a talk with me."

Gu Qing followed the female attendant onto the carriage without even entering.

Li Twelve Niang also lived in Changlefang, which was only an hour's walk away from Gu Qing's house. The carriage soon arrived in front of Li Twelve Niang's house, and Gu Qing got off the carriage and walked directly inside.

Just like the Zhang family, everyone in Li Twelve Niang's house has already regarded Gu Qing as their young master. He is not guarded anywhere in the house, and his entry and exit are just like his own home.

Li Twelve Niang was sitting in the front hall, holding a small wine jar in her hand. Her cheeks were slightly red, obviously she had drunk a lot. Li Guangbi was sitting next to her, both of them looked a little stiff, and Gu Qing stepped forward with a smile.

Meet the two of them.

Li Twelve Niang glanced at him, her expression a little cold.

Li Guangbi grinned at him, showing his white teeth, but his smile was very forced.

Gu Qing walked into the front hall. Li Twelve Niang showed the wine jar to him and said, "Can you drink it?"

Gu Qing smiled and said: "Uncle Li is a member of his own family and there are no guests in the house. It seems that there is no need to drink, right?"

Li Twelve Niang frowned: "You can't even be as verbose as a woman. How can you get so much nonsense from drinking!"

As she spoke, Li Twelve Niang threw the wine jar in her hand towards him, and the wine jar drew a parabola in the air. Gu Qing was shocked and hurriedly used up his 120,000 yuan to catch the wine jar dangerously.

Seeing Li Twelve Mother staring at him, Gu Qing smiled bitterly and had no choice but to take a swig from the wine jar. Li Twelve Mother was still staring at him. Gu Qing sighed and drank all the wine in the wine jar in one go.

After placing the wine jar on the table, Li Twelve Niang still stared at his face. Gu Qing noticed that her eyes were strange and a little indifferent.

Gu Qing's heart sank, and then he smiled bitterly. He knew why Li Twelve Niang had such a look. Some things are indefensible. In the eyes of smart people, any excuse is pale. They only look at the results and force themselves to do so.

Looking for excuses and reasons will only make you more disgraceful.

Li Twelve Niang stared at him for a long time and then said: "It's late today, so you can sleep in the house and follow me out of the city early tomorrow morning."

"The left guard's errand..."

As soon as Gu Qing opened his mouth, she interrupted him: "Is the errand important? It's the job of a corpse, so it doesn't matter if I don't go."

Gu Qing sighed: "Yes, I follow Aunt Li's order."

…………

That night Gu Qing slept in Li Twelve's house. Early the next morning, Li Twelve woke him up and gave him a brand new set of clothes to put on. The plain white clothes fit him perfectly. It was obviously Li Twelve's.

Mom made it according to his size.

Then Gu Qing was taken into a carriage by Li Twelve Niang, and the two of them sat in the carriage, followed by more than ten female disciples on horseback on both sides of the carriage.

Gu Qing didn't ask where he was going from beginning to end, and took a nap to catch up on his sleep after getting on the carriage. Li Twelve Niang didn't seem to be in the mood to chat. She crossed her arms across her chest and half-closed her eyes. The two sat in silence for two hours.

, the carriage finally stopped.

Li Twelve Niang woke up Gu Qing, said "get out of the car", and walked out first.

Gu Qing got off the carriage, looked around with sleepy eyes, and asked in shock: "Where is this?"

Li Twelve's eyes suddenly turned red, and she said in a cold tone: "Your parents are buried in a village near Lishan Mountain."

Gu Qing was stunned for a moment, then fell silent.

Li Twelve Niang stared straight ahead, her voice choked with sobs: "In the First World War, your parents' bodies were transported back to Chang'an by the Zhang family. We have old friends all over Chang'an, but no one has ever known where your parents were from. They never knew.

Said, so the Zhang family had no choice but to bury them near Lishan Mountain."

"Lishan Mountain has been a geomantic treasure land that gathers wind and stored energy since ancient times. Most of the emperors of the past dynasties have their tombs in this area. The Zhang family is grateful to your parents and carefully buried them together on an inconspicuous mountainside near Lishan Mountain.

Under the circumstances, I will try my best to build your parents' tombs as luxuriously as possible. They have always wanted to repay your parents' kindness, but the hero has passed away and the old friend has passed away in the west. They want to repay the kindness but they can't."

Gu Qing sighed and said, "Please ask Aunt Li to take my nephew up the mountain to pay homage to his parents."

Li Twelve Niang nodded and waved. The female disciple behind her handed over a bamboo basket. In the bamboo basket were incense, candles, paper money, soul summoning flags and other items. She was obviously prepared for it.

After ordering the female disciples to stay at the foot of the mountain, Li Twelve Niang and Gu Qing meandered up the rugged mountain road.

The road up the mountain was very bumpy, and it took us almost half an hour to reach a cemetery where we were buried together.

The cemetery is indeed very luxurious as Li Twelve Niang said, and the Zhang family has really done their best. Around a huge tomb, there are various colorful soul-calling flags, incense candles and other objects, but the cemetery is very clean, obviously.

People clean it frequently, and not a single weed is found within a radius of two feet.

Gu Qing was a little surprised. In such a remote mountain, there should be no tomb-keepers, but his parents' tombs were cleaned so cleanly, which was very strange.

There is only one tombstone, which is much larger than the ordinary size. There is also only one tombstone in front of the grave. It is made of top-grade marble. The tombstone with gold characters on a black background has been wiped clean, as if it has been washed with water, and it clearly reflects Gu Qing and Li Shi.

The figure of the second mother.

There are two lines of words engraved on the tombstone, "Therefore, the heroic hero Gu Qiu, the tomb of Gu Cui's Jade Lady, received the favor but did not repay the favor."

Gu Qing was quite surprised by the inscription "Favours received but not repaid to others". The pattern of this tombstone was somewhat unique. The tombstones of ordinary people's ancestors were not erected this way.

Li Twelve Niang pointed to the soul-calling flags placed around the cemetery and said: "These were erected by people who were favored by your parents in the past. They also cleaned the cemetery. Every few days, there are always a few people who have been favored to come to pay their respects."

To honor your parents, that’s why the area around the cemetery is so clean.”

Li Twelve Niang seemed to see his doubts and said calmly: "Gu Qing, do you know how many dignitaries, literati and traffickers in Chang'an City came to see you off on foot when your parents' coffins were transported to this mountain? Some of them were from poor families.

Without a car or a horse, I walked here with my family from Chang'an City one day in advance. There were as many as a thousand mourners on the way up the mountain. The magistrate of Lantian County was so frightened that he sent out all the county government officials to maintain order at the foot of the mountain, so that no harm was caused.

Stampede..."

"Do you know how many tears were shed by more than a thousand people on the road from the foot of the mountain to this cemetery when your parents' coffins went up the mountain? Your parents' tombstone was originally engraved with the words 'The Zhang family has been benefactors from generation to generation to pay homage to the children of the Gu family'."

Later, after hundreds of people knelt down to beg, the Zhang family had to temporarily call in craftsmen to change the words on the tombstone to "Praise to others who have received favors without repaying them". Do you know why? Because those who received favors from your parents will never

It was not just the Zhang family, they were dissatisfied that only the Zhang family was inscribed on the tombstones of the Gu and his wife, and they felt that if they did not leave a trace, it would mean being ungrateful, so many benefactors knelt down and begged the Zhang family to change the tombstones."

Li Twelve Niang sighed quietly, looked up at the sky and white clouds, and said softly: "Do you know how many people your parents have shown kindness to in this life? It ranged from punishing rape and eradicating evil to protecting the good, to building bridges and paving roads to help the poor.

, they lived in poverty all their lives, but they used some money to help the poor. They hated evil as much as they hated it, and they would definitely draw their swords to help whenever they saw injustice."

Smiling mockingly, Li Twelve Niang said: "Gu Qing, do you think your parents are stupid? How should we define people like them? They never show mercy when killing, but they never kill anyone. They drink alcohol

Sometimes they are wild and indulgent, and they must drink until they are unconscious before they feel happy. When they make friends, they never ask about each other's origins. Even if the other person is just a beggar, they will pat him on the shoulder and say drink first, drink.

After drinking, go with him to the street to beg for money."

"No matter whether you are free-spirited or reserved, sitting at the same table drinking wine for less than half an hour can make people fall in love with each other and make the couple become lifelong friends. When they have to risk their lives for the sake of human morality, they will never hesitate.

Hesitating, he marched away singing like Jing Ke who assassinated Qin, and died generously."
To be continued...