The Sixteen Kingdoms of the Eastern Jin Dynasty: The Competition in the Central Plains

After Xun finished speaking, he burst into tears again. Sima Shao looked at the simple furnishings in his mother's house and felt very sad. A small table is placed against the north wall. There are two bamboo chairs, one for myself and my mother. There are three houses, the mother lives in the east end, and the two maids live in the west end. Sima Shao suppressed his indescribable emotions and said to Xun:"Mother, my brother just left. Mr. Wang Dao is arranging the funeral. Father asked me to come because Mr. Wang fought for it. Come on, mother, there are people outside. Pick up your sedan chair."

Mr. Xun nodded and stood up. Sima Shao took his mother's hand and walked out of the house. The two maids followed behind and came to the front of the sedan. Seeing the sedan chair, Mrs. Xun didn't know what happened and started crying again. Sima Shao said:"Mother, please get on the sedan. I will often come here to see you in the future."

Sima Shao helped Xun get into the sedan. He waved his hand, and the four sedan bearers carried the sedan to Prince Langya's Mansion.. Sima Shao and dozens of guards followed behind on horseback. The Langya Palace was about to arrive. Sima Shao got off his horse and quickly walked to the gate to wait for his mother's sedan chair. The sedan came down, and a maid lifted the curtain. Sima Shao took his mother's hand and helped Xun get down from the sedan.

There were many people coming and going at the entrance of Prince Langya's Mansion, coming in and out. On the lintel of the palace, a long piece of white silk hangs. In the middle of the white silk, there are two black flowers. This was the first time that Mr. Xun came to Sima Ra's mansion. Looking at such a tall and majestic palace, thinking that his son had passed away at a young age, he couldn't help but burst into tears again. Sima Shao also cried with his mother, and two maids came up to hold Xunshi up, one on the left and the other on the right. At this time, Leader Wang and several ministers came out of the palace to greet Xun. Director Wang, Zhou Wei, Diao Xie, Wang Cheng, Yu Liang, etc. were all dressed in white. Seeing Xun, whom they had not seen for more than ten years, everyone felt sad and almost shed tears. Director Wang and others took a step forward, knelt down and saluted:"Your Majesty, Maohong, see Madam! See Your Highness the Crown Prince! Madam, please come in!" The entire Langya Prince's Mansion was solemn and solemn, with all kinds of people rushing in and out. Sima Pei's coffin was parked in the main hall of Prince Langya's Mansion. Seeing the white flags fluttering in the wind all over the palace, Xun burst into tears. As he cried, he went into shock. Diao Xie quickly shouted:"Go and call the imperial doctor! Madam has fainted!"

Sima Shao asked the maids and maids to help his mother to the east hall of the palace, and slowly lay down on the bed. Dr. Li came over, took her pulse and said,"Madam, she is fine, she is just too sad. She may not be able to keep up with her usual meals, and she will wake up soon."

When Xun woke up, she saw no one except Sima beside her. Shao, and Sima Pei's concubine Shan. In Shan's arms, he held his only son, Sima Anguo, all dressed in white. Far away from the bed, Director Wang and others were standing. Seeing his mother wake up, Sima Shao quickly asked:"Mom is awake, are you okay?"

"Daoji, I'm fine." Mrs. Xun said, struggling to sit up. Mrs. Shan put down Sima Anguo, quickly helped her mother-in-law sit up, and then kowtowed to Mrs. Xun while holding the child. Mrs. Shan said with tears in her eyes:"Mother, in the past few years Your daughter-in-law has not shown much respect to you, which makes you suffer. This is your grandson Anguo, he is half a year old this year"

"Come, let me hug Anguo, such a wonderful grandson."Xunshi said. Shanshi handed Sima Anguo over, and Xunshi hugged the child and kissed it again and again. Everyone present couldn't help but cry when they saw the orphans and widows in front of them, and the grandparents and grandchildren meeting each other.

"I'm going to see my enlightenment."Ms. Xun said, and was about to get out of bed. Sima Shao and M. Shan took Xun's hands, helped him down, and came to Sima Pei's coffin. They opened the white cloth covering Sima Pei's body and looked at themselves. Her eighteen-year-old son lay quietly on the cold coffin bed. Mrs. Xun could no longer suppress her grief and cried on her son until she fainted. Everyone couldn't bear to watch this sad scene and all remembered it. She turned around and sobbed uncontrollably. When Ms. Xun regained consciousness and looked at Sima Pei's face, she touched Sima Pei's handsome face with her hand. It was white, cool, and without a trace of blood.

"Son! I didn’t expect you to leave in front of your mother at such a young age. If a white-haired person gives a black-haired person a gift, how can you live as a mother? After saying that, she burst into tears again.

Seeing her mother-in-law so sad, Mrs. Shan hugged Sima Anguo and came over to comfort Mr. Xun. Ms. Shan comforted and said:"In the future, Anguo and I will visit you often. You will not be alone.""

"Mother, don't worry, although my brother is gone, I will not let you suffer again in the future. I will visit you often and bring you food and supplies."Sima Shao said.

Seeing that Mr. Xun's mood had calmed down, Director Wang came over and said,"Madam, you have also met His Royal Highness King Langya. You are also tired, so go to the east hall and take a rest!"

At this time, the two palace maids and the crown prince Yu Wenjun came, and the ministers present came forward to salute. Sima Shao said to Yu Wenjun:"Mother is tired, help her to get the news about the old man!"

Yu Wenjun and Mrs. Shan supported Mrs. Xun and came to a room in the east hall. Sima Shao asked his mother to sit down. The maid had already poured tea. Yu Wenjun picked up a cup of tea and handed it to Mrs. Xun:"Mother, please drink some water first. Bar. Over the years, you have been living the same life as ordinary people. My husband and I are very sad. Sometimes I also thought about bringing you to live in my house. Xun took a sip of water, put down her teacup and said,"Daoji and Daocheng are both very filial, and you are also a good daughter-in-law who is knowledgeable and reasonable. I know all this, and I don't blame you for being my mother." Looking at his eldest son

Sima Shao, Xun asked:"Daoji, has your brother had any illness in the past few years?" Or did you eat something you shouldn't have? Sima

Shao thought for a moment and said,"Four months ago, my younger brother was ordered by his father to assist General Zu Ti in resisting Shi Le from Jie. Later, my father was worried about the situation in Jiangnan, especially because Wang Dun showed signs of plotting to rebel. He was recalled to Jiankang by his father a month ago."

"During the three months you were in the army, did you suffer from any illness? Xun asked. Sima Shao said,"My brother didn't say he had any illness. Oh, that's right." During the march, my brother recruited some new soldiers. Five of them, because they were good at cooking, worked with their younger brother as cooks and often cooked delicious meals for him. When Xun heard this, he felt a little strange, and then asked:"Then did these five cooks come back with your brother?" Or where did it go?"

"These five cooks are very skilled in cooking. My brother likes the food they cook. They sometimes even fish for him. But then, these five people disappeared all of a sudden. They probably ran away. I don’t know what happened."Sima Shao said. Xun frowned and asked again:"Where are these five people from? Is there some conspiracy?"