On the boat from Fuzhou back to Beijing.
　　Early winter has arrived in Kyoto, snow is falling, and the river has frozen, but the neighboring places of Fuzhou are still in the late autumn, the river is flowing, and large passenger ships can pass through.
　　On the way back to Beijing, it is fastest to go half by water and half by land.
　　Night falls. After discussing the disaster relief, the ministers who were ordered to do so returned to the boat to wash and go to bed. Wei Que was the only one sitting in front of the lamp, still reading and reviewing the official documents on the table.
　　The light gradually dimmed, and the handwriting in front of him also dimmed. Wei Que raised his hand and pinched his eyebrows, calmed down, put down the report he was writing, stood up and stepped out of the boat room, facing the wind and leaning on the railing.
　　The middle-aged boatman who was lighting the lamp nearby saw him coming out of the house, so he came over and asked earnestly, "Minister Wei, we can get off the boat and take the official road by land in two days at most. It's so late, why don't you rest?"
　　Wei Que was no longer dressed in gorgeous clothes like when he was in Beijing, exuding an air of wealth and nobility that had never suffered. He had been working hard and running around for months, and had seen the cruelest and ugliest scenes in the famine. Although he had done his best to save the situation according to the imperial order, there were still many tragic scenes that lingered in front of his eyes.
　　He was bleak, but his expression was not decadent, which showed that his mental state was still rich. At this time, he replied cheerfully, "I can't sleep at night when I think about going back to Beijing."
　　"But you miss your beautiful wife and concubines at home and you are sick with longing for them?" The boatman teased, "I have a wife waiting for me at home, but she is too fierce and I can't subdue her. She will make a fuss all day long when I go back."
　　Wei Que saw that although he said this, his expression was very satisfied, so he knew that he was just being stubborn and actually missed his wife at home very much. He thus shortened the distance and changed the topic: "To be honest, my wife has been pregnant for several months. Counting the days, she is estimated to be in labor soon. These days, every time I close my eyes, I see my wife. Having children is a matter of life and death, and I can't rest assured."
　　The boatman said, "A great master like you must have a lot of people to take care of your wife, so nothing will go wrong. We just need to wait for Lord Wei to return to Beijing, and the family will be reunited and have a new baby. Ding. "
　　The two leaned against the side of the boat and talked and laughed for a while. Wei Que relaxed all over. Just as he was about to say goodbye and go back to sleep, he saw the middle-aged boatman in front of him looking at something and wondering, "What's the matter with this boat? Isn't this the boat that escorts the adults? Judging from the direction, it turned from the Qijiang River. The road on the other side is not very peaceful. It is probably trying to get close to the big ship and get protection."
　　He found the most feasible reason and turned to ask the servants to drive a small boat to negotiate with the other side. However, before he gave the order, several speedboats with straw huts suddenly appeared on both sides of the merchant ship at the other end. They almost entered the field of vision in the blink of an eye. There were shadows and it was hard to see how many people there were.
　　The boatman panicked, and a shadow that he couldn't explain was gathered around him. He quickly raised the torch and shouted loudly, "This is the official boat that escorted the imperial envoys back to Beijing! Who are you? !"
　　He shouted like this, and except for the guards on duty, the other officers and soldiers on the boat were also awakened and stood up to find out what was going on.
　　The speedboat on the other side was already right in front of him. At this time, the night wind broke through the thick fog on the cold autumn river. Wei Que saw the figures on the speedboat holding torches and wearing knives. They almost brushed against the right side of the official ship. They were all murderous and well prepared.
　　Caught off guard, the thieves with knives had already attacked the ship.
　　"Is it pirates? Pirates who hijack the ship!"
　　"How dare you... How dare there be thieves who dare to rob the official ship!"
　　"Run, help, help--"
　　In an instant, the ship was in chaos, with shouts and noises everywhere, and even only a few lights were lit.
　　Torches flowed in the boat, and the sound of chopping and killing came from the misty night, like a sharp guillotine pressing down. In the place where the firelight was reflected, even the air was filled with an astonishing bloody smell.
　　The boatman had already pulled Wei Que to the cabin. He was frantically preparing to escape by boat, cursing the pirates, but Wei Que suddenly shook his hand and walked away, saying, "The account books and official documents are all in the room, and they cannot be abandoned."
　　The boatman could not hold him back, and watched Lord Wei turn back. At the same time, more people rushed down from the deck and squeezed into the cabin to avoid disaster. He shouted, "Lord Wei! Those are all dead things outside the body. It is most important to save your life--"
　　But the figure still went away against the flow of people.
　　The flames shot up to the sky. Some officers and soldiers on the boat fell on the boat, and some were simply thrown into the water. This group of "pirates" had a clear purpose. They specifically searched the residence of the imperial envoy, rummaging up and down, and burned or threw all the official documents, evidence, and things similar to accounts into the sea.
　　The knife-wielding pirate leader kicked open a door and threw the servant who had just chopped him aside. The person next to him held a torch and said, "This is it."
　　"Is this where they hold meetings?"
　　The leader stepped into the boat. He had searched all the way and had destroyed a lot of evidence in the rooms of many civil officials. While searching, he said to the person next to him, "These people who came back from Fuzhou must be killed and thrown into the water, just as if they were a river disaster. These things will be destroyed when they see them. Even if there are fish that slip through the net, they will not be able to become a big deal or make a splash."
　　The firelight illuminated the room. The table, bookcase, desk, and window were all empty.
　　It was obvious that the batch of things they wanted to find the most had been packed up and taken away.
　　The pirates who followed them were unwilling to rummage through the boxes and cabinets. The leader and the person holding the torch were nailed here and did not move.
　　In the corner found by the firelight, Wei Que was holding the evidence documents that the other party had destroyed, as well as a half-written report on his work. He curled up between two pieces of furniture, in a cramped gap, suppressing his hot breath.
　　When he came back, he almost heard the hurried footsteps outside the door. He had no time to escape, so he had to hide on the spot.
　　"Fuck him, it's so unlucky." A bearded man frowned and cursed, "We must find this guy! These things are not taken, and the other side has no explanation! This group of people, especially the leader, has a direct connection with the higher-ups!" The leader
　　didn't say anything, so they could only look for him. The bearded man picked up the knife and irritably chopped the furniture that blocked his view. Just as the wooden products cracked and collapsed, a sturdy man dressed in shorts rushed into the door and shouted repeatedly: "Boss, there are boats outside!"
　　"What boat?!"
　　"I don't know, there are iron chains tied to it, and there are people standing on the bow vaguely-ah!"
　　Puff. A feather arrow pierced the messenger's back, and the sturdy man spurted blood, his eyes bulged, and he fell to the ground immediately. The
　　leader turned around and saw several large ships connected by chains coming on the foggy river. On the bow, a tall man wearing armor was drawing a bow and arrow! The
　　local guards could never do this level of armor. Among the armies of Dayin, only the Shenwu Army had such a high armor coverage rate and sophisticated weapons.
　　"Shenwu Army." The leader gritted his teeth and squeezed out a few words with gloomy eyes, "Retreat."
　　"Boss, if we retreat, we won't find anything--"
　　"Retreat!" The leader slapped him with his backhand, the sound was deafening, "These are the elite of the country! Do you want to die? Do you want the lives of your whole family? Run!"
　　Several people left the room immediately.
　　After a few more breaths, after making sure there was no movement around, under the smashed and overturned furniture, Wei Shilang pushed open the broken corner of the table and climbed out from inside, his face covered in dust. Sweat oozed from his forehead, his back was cold, and his breathing was almost not his own.
　　His legs and feet were weak, and he crept to the door in the dark, holding the document account book wrapped casually in a bag. Just as he was about to step over the corpse on the ground, he was suddenly grabbed by a hand.
　　The sturdy man with a feather arrow in his back raised his head in a pool of blood, staring at his official robe with bloodshot eyes, opened his mouth, and shouted word by word: "I caught you--"
　　...
　　Kyoto, Cining Palace.
　　"This is the new fashion in Beijing. Here, do you think it looks good?"
　　Queen Wang let go of the pen, stepped aside a few steps, and showed the beautiful Madam Wei.
　　Madam Wei and Queen Wang are sisters of the second aunt, and their surname is Zhang. This was her third visit to the Cining Palace to pay respects in recent days, but Dong Lingjiu was busy the first two times and had no time to meet her, so the female secretary of the Cining Palace received her and served her tea, paid respects on her behalf, and then went back. This was also the first time Zhang ran into Empress Dowager Dong when she was free.
　　In early winter, the palace was already warm. Dong Lingjiu glanced over and commented: "It's unique. It's also because your cousin is so beautiful. It looks good when it falls on her eyebrows."
　　Wang Wanrou said: "Mother, you are so beautiful. If you like, I will also paint it for you."
　　Dong Lingjiu was adding color to the red ibis on the painting. He turned his head and glanced at her: "It's hard for you to bother. You have to come here to entertain me and drag your cousin along. If she doesn't take good care of this baby, I will blame you."
　　Wang Wanrou said: "The child in her belly is very lively and must be very strong. It's a pity that I am not lucky. If I have a child, I really want to marry my cousin's child."
　　This is just a joke. In fact, Wang Wanrou's child is a prince and will most likely be the crown prince in the future. At least Wei Que must be the minister and have half the position of prime minister before there is such a thing as equal marriage.
　　Dong Lingjiu didn't take it seriously, but just smiled and said nothing.
　　She colored the scroll and painted a few strokes casually. Although they were having fun, their minds were inevitably concerned about state affairs thousands of miles away. At this time, Madam Wei, who was always gentle and soft-spoken, said softly: "I dare to ask the queen for a favor."
　　"You say." Dong Lingjiu put down her pen and looked at her gently.
　　Madam Wei was pregnant, and was helped up by the palace maids around her. She insisted on bowing, and then said: "I want to ask for a favor for the child in my belly, and I want the queen mother to give him a name."
　　This is not a big deal.
　　Dong Lingjiu asked: "Do you know the gender?"
　　Madam Wei said: "Several adults in the Imperial Hospital have come to check the pulse, and it should be a boy."
　　Dong Lingjiu turned her head and said something to Ruixue, and she turned away. Not long after, the little doctor Zheng, who was originally sent to the medicine room to look after the furnace, came in.
　　He was dressed in a medical officer's uniform, neatly dressed, with a picture of Chinese insects embroidered on his clothes. He behaved modestly and respectfully, and looked very different from the rumors.
　　Before meeting Zheng Yuheng, Madam Wei had only heard of him in the palace. She thought that he was so favored and could be treated differently by the Empress Dowager. If he was not a demon, he must be a troublemaker. At least he must be beyond the reach of ordinary people to have such a special treatment.
　　But hearing about him is not as good as meeting him in person.
　　Although Zheng Taiyi was handsome, he was polite and knew his limits. He was gentle and bookish.
　　Madam Wei even felt that he had the same characteristics as her husband, like a clear stream on a stone, which made people feel relaxed and happy.
　　She couldn't help but feel ashamed of her previous misunderstanding, and she found that the Empress Dowager asked her most respected imperial physician to diagnose her pulse, which showed her attention and love, and she couldn't help but feel guilty.
　　Zheng Yuheng felt her pulse according to common etiquette and agreed with the opinions of his colleagues.
　　Dong Lingjiu nodded, but didn't let him go down. Instead, he handed him the pen dipped in green, pointed to the half of the scroll in front of him, and asked him to continue.
　　She turned the coral bracelet in her hand, and moved it slowly with her fingertips for a while, thinking, "Let's just give him a single name with the word 'Tuo'. It's common to be content with the status quo, but it's rare to be pioneering and enterprising. This word is too big, so when he grows up, he can be named 'Si'an'."
　　Wei Que's name was too conservative and too gentle, so he was named Shuman. Bo, Zhong, Shu, and Ji, Shu is the ranking, and the ranking plus the word 'Man' just balances the two.
　　Madam Wei bowed her head to thank her.
　　Dong Lingjiu said here, suddenly turned around, and asked him in a low voice: "What do you want a name? Has your father ever told me?"
　　The author has something to say:
　　Hua Chong: One of the twelve chapters, it means beautiful flowers and birds.
　　Xichi: The bird on the official's official uniform. The combination of description here is fabricated.
　　Bo (Meng) Zhong Shu Ji: Common knowledge of high school culture, actually no notes are needed, but it is intended to deepen the memory of high school students (Devil's Whisper)