Fu Zhiyu doesn't like snowy days very much. It seems that every time it snows, he will be in bad luck.
Last year, it was snowing, and he had just ascended the throne. When Xie Ke returned from a victorious battle, he was in a hurry to return to the palace when his horse startled and he fell on the snow and injured his arm. The injury has never healed, and now if he reviews memorials for a long time, his wrist will ache, like a needle prick. His foundation in the court was not yet stable, and because of his health, he received a lot of criticism from the old ministers.
In the winter of the year before last, before he took the throne, Xie Ke was seriously injured and caught in a stalemate on the front line. After receiving a secret report, he left everything in the capital and rushed to rescue him with his trusted physician. Xie Ke was rescued and everything was fine, but his mother suddenly fell ill and he didn't see her for the last time. When he returned to the palace, he only saw a coffin. He was also reported for privately marching in the army and was beaten with thirty military sticks. He lost half his life and was left with a chronic disease. During his recovery, Xie Ke never came to see him once.
Six years ago in the winter, Xie Ke refused to come to see him for three months. The next time they met was after the New Year. Xie Ke came to see the emperor in the snow with his newly married wife. Fu Zhiyu took a look from a distance. The daughter of Prime Minister Xue was indeed a rare beauty. When she stood with General Xie, everyone who saw them said that they were a perfect match made in heaven. Fu Zhiyu heard this all the way and vomited blood when he returned to the mansion. He had decided to completely cut off this relationship, but the next day, Xie Ke took the initiative to come to his mansion again.
…It seems like it’s all because of Xie Ke.
Going back further, it was when he was sixteen years old. He accidentally fell into a freezing cold lake in winter and was rescued by Xie Ke.
He still remembered the young general untied his cloak and wrapped it around his cold, almost unconscious body. He tried hard to open his eyes and saw Xie Ke's profile. At that time, he was so grateful for the life-saving grace and had been thinking about it for ten years. But now it seemed that this was the beginning of his bad luck.
If it weren't for this ill-fated relationship with Xie Ke, he wouldn't have ended up like this.
Unfortunately, when Fu Zhiyu thinks of these memories now, he no longer feels any emotion.
"Stop crying," he coughed twice and tried to prop himself up from the bed, "... pour me a glass of water."
The palace maid in front of the bed finally stopped crying. She seemed unprepared for the emperor's sudden awakening from his coma. She was stunned for a long time before she wiped her tears with her sleeve, took the teapot from the table on the side, and touched it. The water was ice-cold.
There wasn't even a cup of hot tea in the emperor's palace. Under normal circumstances, everyone in the palace would be thrown out and beheaded. But now it was different. The army had already reached the city gate, and everyone knew that Fu Zhiyu could not be the emperor. Now he was lying sickly on the bed, basically in a coma. Maybe the emperor would die before the army even broke in. Everyone in the palace who could escape had run away, and only this one palace maid was willing to stay.
"I'll go boil some water..."
"Forget it," Fu Zhiyu waved his hand, "Just drink whatever you have."
He had a severe headache and his throat felt like it was burning, but after taking a few sips of water, he at least felt a little better.
Fu Zhiyu rarely wakes up during the day. After drinking the water, he rubbed his eyes and felt a blackness in front of him. He asked the palace maid in a hoarse voice: "What time is it now?"
"It's midnight," the maid choked, "Your Majesty, I heard that the traitor will attack the city tomorrow..."
Traitor
Fu Zhiyu was stunned for a moment, and it took him a long time to react. The traitor referred to Xie Ke, the great general who was appointed by him personally.
The palace maid was still wiping her tears when she suddenly heard the emperor on the sickbed laughing softly.
"What are you... laughing at?"
"I think the title given to him at that time was wrong," Fu Zhiyu smiled and shook his head, "He should not be called the Great General Guarding the Nation, but the Great General Stealing the Nation."
The military power is his, the secret service is his, the military achievements are his, and the people's hearts are his. He used to endure and retreat again and again, but because he loved Xie Ke deeply, he did not retain any dignity of an emperor in front of him. He was caught off guard by the poison Xie Ke gave him, and he was easily hit, and fell into a coma for dozens of days. Under such conditions, Xie Ke really had no choice but to rebel.
His reasons were even very justified. The people were living in misery because of a tyrant in power, so they had no choice but to rebel.
The maid was startled, thinking that the emperor might be mad, so she mustered up her courage and said, "I will take you away. As the saying goes, if you have green mountains, you will never worry about lack of firewood. You..."
With the help of the dim light in the hall, Fu Zhiyu saw the face of the palace maid in front of him. She was a pretty girl, with her eyes red and swollen from crying, like a rabbit.
"I haven't seen you before. Which palace are you from?"
The maid knelt down hurriedly and replied in a trembling voice: "I am... a maid in the Xinzheku. There is no one in the palace, and the guards who served the emperor have also left. I came here secretly... secretly."
The enemy was at the gates of the city, and the remaining forces that had some brains all sided with Xie Ke, and the only people who were loyal to him were already dead. The whole palace had been cleared out, and the only one left by his side was a rough maid he had never seen before, which was enough to show how much of a failure he was as an emperor.
When Fu Zhiyu thought of this, his eyes dimmed and he stretched out his hand to signal the palace maid to get up.
"May I have your name?"
"Qiu, Qiu Rong."
"It's a good name," Fu Zhiyu nodded and said, "Help me change my clothes."
"You..." Qiu Rong widened her rabbit eyes, "Aren't you going to run?"
"As long as the city remains intact, I am the emperor," Fu Zhiyu said. "The emperor cannot escape."
He had been ill for several days and had lost a lot of weight. The dragon robe looked empty when he put it on. Qiu Rong clumsily helped Fu Zhiyu to tidy up his hair and clothes, and it was not until dawn that he finally made them look presentable.
Qiu Rong supported Fu Zhiyu and walked step by step to the Golden Palace, where a pure golden dragon throne was placed. Fu Zhiyu sat down and watched the sky brighten.
It was another winter. He saw snow starting to fall outside and the cold wind blew in, but Fu Zhiyu felt nothing.
Perhaps it was a last burst of energy, he managed to hold on for so long without fainting from the poison in his body. Fu Zhiyu coughed, and then said to Qiu Rong, "I knew it would be like this..."
Qiu Rong didn't hear clearly. She was a maid who didn't learn any rules. She leaned in and asked, "What did you say?"
"When my mother first learned about Xie Ke and I, she said that I would definitely die in his hands in the future," Fu Zhiyu smiled. He didn't even use the title "I" and held up his face to talk about his memories. "What my mother said was right. I didn't admit it at the time, but I knew in my heart that she was right. Xie Ke never loved me, he only used me.
But I always have fantasies. I think if I do more and treat him well enough, maybe he will like me a little bit. You see, if I like him like this, what good results can there be? This situation is probably retribution. "
Qiu Rong thought she had heard something incredible. Her eyes turned red again. She wiped them and said hesitantly, "You... you are a good person."
Fu Zhiyu didn't know how to describe his current mood. He even rolled up his dragon robe to wipe the tears of the palace maid, and said with a smile: "The royal family gave birth to a lovesick child like me, and this is what happened. By the way, if the outsiders break in, you should find a place to hide. They won't embarrass a little palace maid. You should live a good life in the future, think more about yourself, and don't learn from me."
Qiu Rong shook her head and said, "I'm not leaving."
Fu Zhiyu didn't have much strength to persuade her. It was already very difficult for him to stay awake. He didn't wait long before he heard a sound outside the hall.
It was said that they would attack the city today, but in fact there was no resistance in the royal city. Xie Ke only needed to lead his soldiers to the palace. Fu Zhiyu squinted his eyes and watched the group of people walk into the hall. The one in the lead was Xie Ke.
"I managed to survive. Are you a little disappointed?" Fu Zhiyu coughed twice and glanced at Xie Ke.
Xie Ke was not wearing armor today. He was wrapped in a white fox fur cloak, which was a bit similar to the one he wore when I first saw him.
"You... voluntarily abdicate," Xie Ke was silent for a long time, then said, "I will give you the antidote."
"Then? Be crowned the King of Heshun? Be a prisoner for the rest of your life?" Fu Zhiyu wanted to laugh, but his body wouldn't allow it. He sighed, "Xie Ke, I'm sorry for many people, but I'm not sorry for you."
Xie Ke stopped talking. He took a deep look at the person on the throne, his eyes full of complicated meanings.
However, Fu Zhiyu had experienced Xie Ke's ruthlessness countless times. Even if he was wearing a dragon robe and sitting on the dragon throne now, he would not have any choice. Whether to abdicate or not was up to Xie Ke's words. After all, the imperial seal had been in his hands for a long time.
Fu Zhiyu got the antidote on the third day after Xie Ke ascended the throne. He actually gave Fu Zhiyu the title of King Heshun, but he had no real power and was placed under house arrest in a house near the imperial palace.
The silly palace maid Qiu Rong was still following him. This girl was so stupid that she was actually happy to see Fu Zhiyu looked better after taking the antidote.
"It's good to be a prince," the girl had no rules and spoke without restraint in front of Fu Zhiyu, "Being an emperor is tiring."
Fu Zhiyu smiled and didn't answer her.
After he got the antidote, the imperial physician fed him a lot of medicine to keep him alive. His body did get better, his face gained some flesh, and he looked more handsome. One night when he was sleeping, he felt an inexplicable heat. He half-opened his eyes and saw a familiar face.
It’s Xie Ke.
Fu Zhiyu had no ability to resist, so he just endured what happened next. He looked up with his eyes wide open, but all he saw was darkness, and there was no light in the room.
During this process, he couldn't help but think hard about why he had liked Xie Ke for so long. It was probably at this time that Xie Ke gave him a little hope.
But now, there was only dead silence in his heart, and he was too lazy to even hum.
"Wait for me a little longer," Fu Zhiyu listened to Xie Ke whispering in his ear, "It's just a momentary grievance..."
Fu Zhiyu wanted to laugh after listening to this, but he couldn't laugh now because he didn't have the strength.
He had heard many different versions of this from Xie Ke, but none of them had ever come true.
Disgusting liar.
Fu Zhiyu didn't sleep all night and didn't get up until noon. Qiu Rong didn't know what happened and thought he was sick again, so she was very scared.
"It's okay," Fu Zhiyu said, "Help me go out and get some sun."
Qiu Rong did as she was told. A few days ago, she put a lounge chair in the pavilion in the small garden. The spring sun was most comfortable, and it was also nice to lie there and watch the flowers, birds, fish and insects.
She helped Fu Zhiyu to sit there, then happily went to the small kitchen to serve her master some freshly made cakes. When she came back, she shouted loudly and unceremoniously for her master to taste her cooking, but there was no response.
Qiu Rong walked around the recliner in confusion and saw that her master was dead.
Fu Zhiyu closed his eyes as if taking a nap. Some fresh red marks could be seen on his neck, and a feather arrow had pierced his chest accurately. The wound was still bleeding.
If Qiu Rong knew more, she would soon discover that there was a small mark on the tail end of the feather arrow. It was a new feather arrow ordered by the new emperor after he took office. It was very useful in assassinations and was guaranteed to kill with one arrow. Now, it was only used in front of the emperor.