Before the Youyan soldiers who were stunned by Yuchi Lianghong's agile skills could react, Yuchi Lianghong had already returned to Qiu Yizhi, holding a eunuch in his hand as if he was holding a chicken, and said to Qiu Yizhi with a smile: "My foolish brother actually found an old friend here, please look!"
Qiu Yizhi really didn't expect that he would have an "old friend" in this imperial city. He looked at the eunuch carefully for a few times and suddenly laughed out loud: "Haha, it turns out to be you! It turns out to be an old friend!"
The noble man that Qiu Yizi mentioned was none other than the eunuch Jin whom he met when he followed Gu Erniang, a martial arts master from the Tianzun Sect, and sneaked into the imperial city disguised as a boy lover.
Qiu Yizi knew the details of this eunuch Jin very well - when he was still a child, he was arranged by the Tianzun Sect to be castrated and enter the palace. After scheming and working his way up and down for more than 20 years, he finally "made it" and became a general manager in the palace, which made him an elite among the eunuchs.
So Qiu Yizhi asked loudly: "Are you Eunuch Jin?"
Eunuch Jin only knew that the army from Youyan had captured him, but he did not expect that someone among them knew his last name. He felt strange and secretly looked up at Qiu Yizi who was sitting on his horse, but could not recognize his identity for a moment, so he could only say tremblingly: "General, how do you know me? Have you ever met me?"
Qiu Yizi was about to make a few sarcastic remarks, but then he remembered that this matter was related to the dignity of the Youyan Palace and could not be mentioned in public, so he said: "My Youyan Prince has great magical powers and sees through everything. How could a little eunuch like you escape from his eyes? Not only are you the chief eunuch in the palace, but you are also a believer in the Tianzun cult. Am I wrong?"
Eunuch Jin had never expected that his identity would be revealed. He looked closely at the young general on the horse and felt that he seemed familiar. However, he did not dare to say anything nonsense. He hurriedly knelt on the ground and kowtowed to beg for mercy.
Seeing his cowardly look today, which was completely different from the arrogant manner he used to scold the palace guards, Qiu Yizi couldn't help but feel a little proud, so she said, "According to your crime, you should be put to death by slow slicing. However, I have a great deed for you. If you know what's best for you and do your job honestly, you may be able to save your life."
Upon hearing this, Eunuch Jin immediately stopped kowtowing, looked up at Qiu Yizi, the desire to survive burning in his eyes.
"I'm asking you, where is Zheng Yao now?" Qiu Yizi suddenly asked in a harsh voice.
Eunuch Jin was startled by his question and mumbled something, but no one could hear what he said.
So Qiu Yizhi bared his teeth again, turned his head and said to Yuchi Lianghong: "Humph! It's really unlucky that the man surnamed Jin doesn't know the whereabouts of the emperor. Why don't you catch another eunuch for me? I'll just kill this one."
The eunuch Jin was finally frightened by Qiu Yizi, and hurriedly bowed and said: "I know... I know where the emperor is now..."
After hearing this, Qiu Yizi put on a smile and said, "Well, this is your blessing. Why don't you lead the way for me? If you delay for a moment, I'll see whether your neck is stronger or the sword in my hand is stronger!"
So the eunuch Jin led Qiu Yizi and others tremblingly all the way to the depths of the imperial city.
Qiu Yizhi led a large number of troops, and in addition to the soldiers arranged to guard the Meridian Gate of the Imperial City, he also brought a total of 8,000 elite soldiers into the Imperial City. Seeing that he had a surplus of troops, he sent out a patrol to guard these important locations at every intersection or grand palace.
When Qiu Yizhi had nearly 5,000 men left, the eunuch surnamed Jin finally stopped in front of a palace and said to Qiu Yizhi tremblingly: "General, the emperor... the emperor is in the palace!"
Qiu Yizi took a look at the palace. He saw that it was built extremely majestically. The foundation stone alone was nearly ten feet high, and the palace on the foundation was nearly a hundred steps long and wide. The two-story roof was covered with bright glazed yellow tiles, reflecting the sunlight and making people dizzy.
Qiu Yizhi calmed down and asked, "It is said that our great ancestor has a precept that all future generations must work in the 'Shuli Palace'. I didn't expect that this 'Shuli Palace' would be built so magnificently!"
Eunuch Jin thought that the young general from Youyan was just a bumpkin, but he didn't dare to make fun of him, so he answered seriously: "Shuli Hall is where the emperor lives and meets people, but every time when officials come to pay tribute or when there is a major celebration, this 'Taixing Hall' is used. The emperor just issued an order to move all the ceremonial guards to this hall, so the emperor must be in it."
Qiu Yizi nodded, raised the flag in his hand, pointed forward, and ordered: "Go forward quickly and surround the 'Taixing Palace'!"
After Qiu Yizi gave this order, no one in the team moved. Even bandits like "Iron Head Jiao" did not dare to take a step forward, let alone the Youyan soldiers.
In desperation, Qiu Yizhi had to give orders again. However, his soldiers still stood still and dared not move.
But then the "Iron-Headed Dragon" trembled and took a few steps forward, walked up to Qiu Yizi, and said, "The old emperor is over there, I... I really don't dare..." His tongue was a little tied.
Qiu Yizhi scolded, "What are you talking about? We are doing the business of raising the flag of rebellion. Are we afraid of a fake king like Zheng Yao? You are a bandit who kills people without blinking an eye. Stop pretending to be stupid here!"
The "Iron Head Dragon" still hesitated and replied: "That's what I said, but..."
While the two were still arguing, two teams of people came up from behind - it turned out that Zheng Rong was still worried about Qiu Yizi going into the palace alone to do things, so he asked Zheng Sen and Cui Nan to hand over the tasks in their hands, and then went into the palace together to do the work.
So Qiu Yizi discussed it with the two of them again, but still couldn't make up his mind.
Just as the Youyan army was hesitating, the gate of "Taixing Palace" suddenly opened slowly, and a man wearing a bright yellow dragon robe walked out of the gate calmly. He had no soldiers behind him, but only a twelve or thirteen-year-old eunuch holding a dragon canopy for him.
Qiu Yizhi was still wondering if this person was the emperor Zheng Yao, but he saw the eunuch Jin in front of the horse's knees soften and he fell to the ground, shouting: "Long live the emperor!"
That person turned out to be the current emperor Zheng Yao!
Qiu Yizi had been thinking about how to plot against this emperor every day, and today he had the honor of seeing his true face - Emperor Zheng Yao was handsome, looking much younger than his actual age of over 30, with a meticulously trimmed goatee under his chin. However, since he became emperor, he had been busy with military affairs, which made his face look a little haggard and vicissitudes of life.
Zheng Yao ignored the prostrate Jin eunuch and pointed at Qiu Yizhi and the others, saying, "How dare you sit on your horse when you see me? Why don't you kowtow three times and bow nine times?"
Qiu Yizhi heard this, although he did not intend to kneel down and kowtow, he felt that he was sitting on the horse, which was indeed a bit disrespectful to the nominal emperor, so he rolled off the horse, and said with a sudden inspiration: "I am Qiu Yizhi under the command of King Youyan, and I come to see His Royal Highness the Second Prince!"
Zheng Yao raised his eyes and looked at Qiu Yizi in surprise, but said: "So you are Qiu Yizi, the adopted son of King Youyan! I heard that you have done a lot for King Youyan. I thought you were also a great talent among the younger generation. How come you are so ignorant of the times?"
He paused, cleared his throat, and said loudly: "I am the current emperor! Not the second son of the emperor! Do you know that saying this is a crime of disrespect?"
Zheng Yao's outwardly stern but actually cowardly behavior actually dispelled the last bit of fear in Qiu Yi's heart.
Qiu Yizi laughed up to the sky and said, "Don't forget, we are still in the reign of the late emperor. You haven't performed the coronation ceremony, nor have you worshipped the heaven and earth. How can you call yourself an emperor?" He remembered Zheng Rong's request to force Zheng Yao to death, so he said, "Even if you are the emperor, even if I have committed the crime of disrespect, can you punish me with your bare hands?"
Upon hearing this, Zheng Yao looked around - only the little eunuch holding up a canopy behind him and the eunuch Jin kneeling in front of him could be considered his own people, the rest were all under the command of King Youyan - he really had no way of doing anything with Qiu Yizi, this ignorant boy, and was speechless for a moment.
After a long while, Zheng Yao spoke again: "Who are you to speak to me? Go and tell Youyan King Zheng Rong to come and talk to me!"
Qiu Yizi then smiled and said, "My godfather has other important things to do. If you have anything to say, just tell me!"
Zheng Yao glared at Qiu Yizi with anger on his face. Under normal circumstances, anyone who was glared at by him, whether they were court ministers or commander-in-chief of the three armies, would immediately kneel down and beg for mercy. However, the so-called adopted son of King Youyan in front of him still had a nonchalant and indifferent look on his face.
Zheng Yao was getting more and more angry. He had thought that even if he was already defeated, he would at least reprimand Zheng Rong for his rebellion, or take advantage of his unpreparedness and kill him, and die with him. However, he did not expect that Zheng Rong would only send a so-called "adopted son" to talk to him, leaving him with nowhere to vent his anger.
Qiu Yizi saw Zheng Yao's indignant and helpless expression from afar, and a little sympathy rose in his heart. He said seriously: "The overall situation is now determined, and there is no room for maneuver. I wonder what your plans are for the future?"
This question was very practical, and Zheng Yao couldn't help but be moved. However, he immediately restored his dignity as an emperor and said, "I have no reason to tell you what I plan to do. Hurry up and find King Youyan. I have something to say to him!"
Qiu Yizi sighed and said, "Don't you really know why my adoptive father didn't come to the palace to see you? Apart from other things, if my adoptive father asked you to come down and pay homage, would you be willing? Although my adoptive father is magnanimous and doesn't care about these empty formalities, he is surrounded by a bunch of rough soldiers. If he pushed you to the ground in indignation, where would the Han Dynasty's royal dignity be? My adoptive father has a little bit of decency, I hope you can understand!"
Although Qiu Yizhi's words were ruthless, they were also sincere. Zheng Yao could not help but be moved. Finally, he stopped insisting on seeing Zheng Rong, but he did not give in: "I am the Son of Heaven. Destiny has its own arrangements. How can you know it?"
“Hahahaha!” Qiu Yi laughed wildly. “What Son of Heaven? Look at this whole world, apart from the little eunuch holding an umbrella for you, who else would recognize you as the Son of Heaven? Even this eunuch Jin lying on the ground is actually a follower of Tianzun Sect in secret, so I’m afraid he may not recognize you!”
"What? You are actually the spy of the Tianzun Sect in the imperial city?" Zheng Yao didn't trust Qiu Yizi's words, and pointed at the eunuch Jin and asked, "Jin, you raise your head and answer my question!"
Eunuch Jin didn't dare to look up and reply. He just curled up on the ground and trembled all over.
Seeing his expression, Zheng Yao had already acquiesced that what Qiu Yi said was true, and finally sighed and said, "Alas! What emperor? At this point, I don't even have a single confidant around me. I'm afraid this is what is meant by being alone!" After saying this, Zheng Yao couldn't help but laugh at himself. (To be continued)