Ding Chou in July of the twenty-seventh year of Shengwu was an unforgettable day for Sun Shi who spent most of his life in the Dazheng Palace. Many years later, whenever he opened "History of the Celestial Dynasty" and saw a few lines of records about that night, he would always think of that soul-stirring night.
In the dead of night, the dew is slightly cool, and the moonlight casts a mysterious veil on the sky street leading to the palace. The streets of thousands of people in Yige City are like a huge chess game, spreading between the sky and the earth.
The sound of horseshoes hit the bluestone road in Shangjiufang, and it fell like torrential rain. Out of thin air, it cast a layer of chilling aura on the Midnight Moonlight, and disappeared into the depths of the palace city one after another.
The Taiping Palace was originally a relatively remote palace in the imperial palace. Since Concubine Ding was expelled from the palace, it has become even more inaccessible, with heavy moss and dew, and the sound of grass and insects. However, compared to the heavily guarded palace gates, it is only a few palace courtyards and a large imperial garden away from the Qinghe Hall where the Emperor of Heaven lived at this time.
The dense footsteps in the Taiping Palace did not bring light to this silent palace. Ye Tianxi stood in the darkness and looked at the dark blue sky above the four-cornered courtyard.
Once upon a time, when he was young, he also stood in this courtyard and looked up, with the lonely figure of his mother under the lamp behind him.
A light cloud covered the moon, casting a darkening shadow on his face.
"Fifth brother!" King Ji urged in front of him, and he walked forward, surrounded by heavily armed Jingji Division guards. Stepping into the Dazheng Palace from here, he was only one step away from the resplendent Taiji Hall, and he seemed to have seen the end of the road.
The corner of Ye Tianxi's mouth curled up into a hidden smile, and as he raised his hand and swung it down, the rebellious knife light pierced the tranquility of the entire palace.
Under the planning of King Xi and King Ji, the Gyeonggi Guards, who have been frequently suppressed by various forces in recent days, took advantage of the secret passage in the Taiping Palace to launch a mutiny.
In the Hall of Qinghe, Sun Shi had just served the Emperor of Heaven to go to bed, and when he heard the news late at night, he was shocked on the spot.
The servant who rushed to report the news knelt on the ground and shivered into a ball, and panic broke out in the bedroom. Sun Shi recovered from the shock, sternly stopped everyone, and hurried to report to the Emperor of Heaven, but he saw that the Emperor of Heaven had already got up in Huanglong's tent, and waved away the cloud curtain.
"Sun Shi, why is it so noisy outside?"
Sun Shi stepped forward and knelt down: "Your Majesty! King Ji and King Xi led troops into the palace city and demanded to meet His Majesty!"
The Emperor of Heaven was taken aback, and Huo Di sat up straight: "What's the matter?"
Sun Shidao: "It was reported outside that the Gyeonggi Guards resisted the withdrawal of troops and wanted to ask the Holy One to take back his order. King Ji is afraid that he will be cut because of his title, and he is dissatisfied."
The Emperor of Heaven suddenly became frightened and angry, and hit the couch with his hand, "Bastard!"
At this time, there was a loud noise from outside through the night, and it seemed that countless heavy objects fell to the ground in unison, shaking the ground of the hall slightly. A waiter stumbled in and ran in and played: "Report to the emperor! King Ling dispatched the Xuanjia army to escort the palace, and the Xuanjia giant shield has blocked the rebels in front of the palace! Please show me the emperor!"
Sun Shixian breathed a sigh of relief, but saw a flash of surprise in the eyes of the Emperor of Heaven, and the expression on his face gradually changed from fright and anger to a strange solemnity. After all, Sun Shi is also a person who has followed the Emperor of Heaven for decades. He has experienced the storm for a long time, and immediately thought that the giant shield of black armor is a commonly used object for the army to fight. Thinking of this, my heart felt cold for no reason, and suddenly I heard the Emperor of Heaven say in a deep voice: "Where is the Imperial Forest Army? Order Fang Zhuo to immediately call the five Imperial Guards to stand by in front of the palace!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard someone outside the hall say: "Fang Zhuo, the commander of the Imperial Forest Army, and Qin Zhan, the deputy commander, kowtow to Sheng'an!"
After a while, the calm voice of the Emperor of Heaven came from the inner hall: "I am safe."
After the former crown prince was deposed, the Imperial Forest Army had been under King Ling's control for four months. After that, the practice of being coordinated by the Eastern Palace was abolished, and they were directly responsible to the emperor. Not long after King Ling got married, he voluntarily gave up the military power of the Shenyu Army. Immediately after King Ming's incident happened, the Shence Army was no longer under the command of any prince. At this point, the three armies of the imperial capital are completely under the control of the Emperor himself. This is like pouring a cold rain on the court that was gradually warming up due to the emptiness of the reserve at that time, making everyone clearly aware that there is still only one person who can To control the entire Celestial Dynasty, that is the master of the Dazheng Palace, the Emperor of Heaven.
After the rectification, the imperial forest army has changed its view greatly, which can almost be compared with the regular army from the battlefield. Therefore, although the two armies of Shenyu and Shence are on expeditions, there are Yulin Army in the imperial capital, Gyeonggi Guard in the middle, and Xuanjia Army outside, they are still as solid as gold. The average strength of these three parties is similar, and they are also in a basic balance, and it is impossible for any one party to compete with the other two parties alone.
Fang Zhuo pleaded guilty outside the hall: "The last general neglected his duties and failed to take precautions in time, so that the rebels alarmed the holy driver. He deserves death!"
The Emperor of Heaven had no intention of condemning the crime, and ordered: "You don't need to intervene in the Xuanjia Army's suppression of the rebellion. From now on, no one is allowed to enter the Qinghe Hall without my oral order."
"The final general will obey the order!"
In Dazheng Palace, the wind blew the lights and the lights fell into chaos everywhere. Under the light of swords, the palace people ran to avoid.
With the appearance of a giant shield like a black armor wall, the gates of the four palaces slammed shut.
In front of the Hall of Qinghe, the flames were as bright as day, densely packed black armored iron guards condescendingly stretched out their crossbows, and above the high ranks of Qiongyu were full of golden armored swords and swords, lined up, and the chilling formation was threatening.
The rebel army was in chaos, and the few who were cut off outside the palace gate were immediately suppressed, and most of them trapped in the square in front of the palace suddenly became trapped.
Swords collided, Jia Ge collided, and the shouts of killing outside the high wall reached a climax, and soon fell into calm.
The stubborn rebels in front of the hall were slowly forced to one place by the black armor and iron shield. In front of the jade wall of the dragon steps in the main hall, the imperial forest army opened a passage like a golden phoenix spreading its wings, and a man in black armor appeared at the end of the hall steps. .
The full moon was in the sky, and the golden light of the moon shrouded his tall and steep figure, as if he was the only one left alone in the whole world.
He stood at the highest place far away, only glanced at the struggling rebels, and raised his hand slightly when he turned around.
Where the hand fell, the open flame suddenly extinguished, and in the darkness, arrows rained down.
The main hall is deep in the palace, with tens of thousands of lights shining brightly, reflecting the nine dragon carved pillars flying around the clouds and mist, and the golden curtain cloud patterns are beautiful and radiant.
Layers of brocades and flying flowers, golden couplets and luxury, Ye Tianling walked calmly along this road that he had walked countless times and walked into the Qinghe Hall, which was now brightly lit at this time. When Sun Shi saw him, he could only I felt like my mind was blank and my blood almost stopped flowing.
Tens of thousands of forbidden troops guarded the Hall of Qinghe, and King Ling was not allowed to pass on the news of the Emperor of Heaven, as if he had entered the land of no one, the meaning of which is self-evident.
The glazed jade lamp reflected Ling Wang's cold face, and those deep sea-like eyes became an unforgettable impression on Sun Shi until his death.
Twenty-seven years ago, he had seen such a pair of eyes. It was a man standing on the top of the Forbidden City, proud and confident, looking down on the world.
"Sun Shi, let him in." The Heavenly Emperor's voice was as steady and majestic as usual, Sun Shi heard the sound, and moved to the side.
Ye Tianling passed the last high hurdle, the quiet hall, the dragon couch in the middle, golden tent like clouds.
"My son knocked on my father's feet." A touch of black skirt was slightly raised, causing a ripple in this stagnant silence.
The Emperor of Heaven stepped down from the wide dragon couch, "Speak."
Ye Tianling said: "The rebellion in the Gyeonggi Guards has been put down, and the Xuanjia Army has temporarily taken over the Fourteen Gates of the Imperial Capital, and Prime Minister Feng will go to guard them in person. Please rest assured, Father."
The Emperor of Heaven looked down at him for a while: "Where are your elder brother and younger brother?"
Ye Tianling said: "King Ji and King Xi set up troops to force the palace, intending to rebel. One was injured and captured, and is now imprisoned in Huangzongsi, and the other died in the rebellion."
The emperor's tone became sharper: "Okay! You really can do it!"
Ye Tianling slowly raised his head, his handsome face was expressionless: "I have found out that in March of this year, King Xi sent people to sneak into the Lianchi Palace secretly, and the concubine Ying Ding, strangled the imperial concubine Lian, and later bribed the imperial doctor to create the illusion of hanging himself. Deceiving the heavens. Presumably, the emperor will not let him live until tomorrow when he finds out about this. As for the concubine Ding, tonight I ordered someone to bring her into the palace from the Qianmin Temple. She witnessed King Xi's treason with her own eyes. If you fail, you have committed suicide.”
Halfway through his words, the face of the Emperor of Heaven changed color, and when he finished speaking, the Emperor of Heaven's expression was completely pale, he staggered back a step, stretched out his hand to support the tall table next to him to stabilize his body.
Ye Tianling knelt in the hall expressionlessly, his eyes were calm and cold.
After a while, the shock, pain, and anger on the Emperor's face were all gone, and he stared at him suddenly and smiled slowly: "Be flat, you have been crowned Prince Jiuzhang, but you have quelled rebellion and chaos for me, and you have made outstanding achievements. I can't even think of how to reward you. Why don't you say what else you want, and I'll see if I can give it to you."
Ye Tianling stood up, raised his eyes and looked at the Emperor of Heaven for a moment.
There was a faint sound of water leaking from the nine lotus lanterns in the hall. As time went by, the cloud beads turned, making the surroundings more and more quiet. He raised his thin lips lightly, and said in a low voice, "I want to report to my father, my son, that I want this Dazheng Palace."
The short number spread like a layer of cold ice, freezing the entire hall in an instant, as if even the golden lights were condensed in mid-air, and the heartbeat could be heard in the surroundings.
Sun Shi's fingertips were cold and trembling slightly, his heart felt like falling into an abyss, but he saw the Emperor of Heaven waved his sleeves and threw something not far away from him with a "ding", "Sun Shi! Give it to him!"
Sun Shi stabilized his mind, leaned over and picked up the pair of gold and copper keys, and walked behind the case. When his hand touched the warm huanghuali wood, his heart suddenly recovered a strange calm. As if going back to that night twenty-seven years ago, from light to darkness, from darkness to light, when you stepped out at a critical point, the thrill of thrilling your body and mind hit your whole body like an electric current, and then, there was a surge of excitement. There was boundless silence.
He inserted the key firmly into the lock hole, and the lock key made a slight sound when it collided. He took out a flat and long jade box with an emerald coiling dragon, and opened the golden lock on it with another key, carefully took out a scroll of imperial edicts sealed with a gold medal, and presented it to Ye Tianling.
Ye Tianling raised his hand to take it, and with a little force under his fingers, the seal shattered. He raised his hand and shook, and the gold and silk unfolded, with dragon patterns and vermilion ink, it was a long-drawn-up imperial edict:
"I've heard that life and death return things, and those who repair short ones are normal. The sage is rational, and there is no escape from the past. With few virtues, I only inherit the destiny, encourage the spirit of the law, work hard for the country, stay up late and live alone, and don't care. Dare to relax. Burning toil and becoming sick, the country is not worthless, and he can pay for the affairs of the country by saying that he will pay attention to his relatives. Heir to the great cause. Chinese and foreign bureaucrats, also wholeheartedly supporting the wings, will work together to assist the king... "
There was no emotion on Ye Tianling's face, and the imperial edict was slowly put away between his fingers, "Thank you, Father." He said coldly, "'Deep Xiao Zhen bows', I must have not disappointed Father."
The Emperor of Heaven looked at the face in front of him that looked like his own when he was young, and slowly said: "Yes, you are indeed the one who resembles me the most among my sons." When the words fell, his body was shaking, his face was as pale as death, and he suddenly shook , then fell backwards.
Sun Shi rushed forward to support him, and shouted: "Your Majesty!"
The Emperor of Heaven opened his mouth, but he couldn't say anything. He just opened his eyes and stared at the finely crafted Zhu Liang Huadong above him, and a stiff smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
The wind from nowhere penetrated into the hall, raising the curtain deeply.
No one knows what he saw, and no one knows what kind of mood he was looking at this magnificent and majestic Taisho Palace at this moment. In this palace where he spent his whole life, whether he got the real everything you want...
The imperial doctor was summoned to come, and the palace of Qinghe was in chaos.
Among the chief ministers, Feng Yan was naturally one step earlier than Wei Zongping. The imperial doctor knelt on the ground and tremblingly said: "The illness of the emperor is the lack of upper qi, the emptiness of the veins, and the stasis and heat caused by the deficiency, which has accumulated for a long time. Tonight, there is a sudden touch, which triggers wind and yang. At this time, the evil invades the five internal organs, so The skin is unkind, the tongue is unspeakable, and there are signs of insanity. The ministers are incompetent. They can only save one or two, and it is really difficult to return to normal... "
Ye Tianling stared at the Heavenly Emperor who was already exhausted, his oldness and fragility turned into indifference and coldness in his emotionless eyes.
A moment later, an edict of the abdication of the Heavenly Emperor came out from the Hall of Qinghe, stating that King Ling would be the emperor and enter the Dazheng Palace. The Emperor of Heaven was called the Supreme Emperor and moved to Fuming Palace to recuperate.
Zhongshu ordered Fengyan and Sun Shi, the minister of internal affairs, to announce the decree to the outside world. After reading the decree, Sun Shi burst into tears. Wei Zongping and other important officials were still in shock, Fang Zhuo, the commander of the Imperial Forest Army, took a step forward, raised his clothes and stroked his sword, and kowtowed to King Ling.
Feng Yan, academicians Su Yi, Yang Rang and others also kowtowed and supported the new emperor.
Wei Zongping trembled all over his body, and looked at the scene in disbelief. This meant that the tens of thousands of forbidden troops had already fallen into King Ling's control, and the always neutral Su clan also openly stated their position and supported King Ling.
Outside the hall, the imperial guards in full armor and armed with neat arms bowed down at the same time following the movements of Fang Zhuo and others. In front of the steps going down successively, the golden armor was everywhere, and the layers were getting farther and farther away, like a raging golden tide covering the whole place in an instant. In the Hall of Qinghe, nearly ten thousand soldiers shouted long live, resounding through the sky.
The imperial guards entered the Dazheng Palace and only worshiped the emperor.
Seeing this scene, Wei Zongpingping saw the general trend, and it was difficult to fight at this time, so he bowed his head and proclaimed himself a minister in desperation.
Ye Tianling stood alone at the end of the dragon steps, looking into the distance.
The moonlight is getting farther and farther away, and the dawn is about to break. The eastern sky suddenly brightens, and a star leaps up in the sky.
All the stars on the sky faded, and the shadow of the moon was pale, all dimmed under the extremely cold light. There was only one strange bright star quietly existing in the sky. The sharp light concealed it.
Star Town Ziwei, Wanyu Tianqing.
As dawn approached, the rebellion in Dazheng Palace was at the beginning of peace, and several men in black sneaked into Hanguang Palace quietly.
Even though she was awakened by the sudden change in the middle of the night, and was burning with anxiety when all the news was blocked, Empress Yin still maintained a noble and dignified appearance. The palace costumes are elegant, complicated and orderly, and the cloud temples and phoenix hairpins are in perfect order, reflecting the bright lights, which are gorgeous and stunning.
Hanguang Palace had already been sealed off by the imperial army at some point, and no one including the queen could take a step forward, let alone outsiders.
However, Empress Yin was not at all terrified when she saw a few men in black appearing in the bedroom, because these people were originally the dead soldiers supported by the Yin family with a lot of money, and this is the moment to use them.
The leader of the man in black knelt in front of Empress Yin and said in a low voice: "King Ling took the Emperor of Heaven to usurp the throne, and the Dazheng Palace has fallen into their control. His Royal Highness King Zhan's army is now in Qizhou and will rush to Tiandu immediately. Your empress should not stay here." Here, please follow me out of the palace quickly!"
Empress Yin stood up from the phoenix chair: "Where is the emperor now?"
"The emperor was seriously ill and comatose, and he didn't know the personnel affairs. Feng Yan and others took the opportunity to correct the decree and issued an imperial edict to move the emperor to Fuming Palace.
Empress Yin's lips trembled slightly, she raised her head and looked in the direction of Fuming Palace, stood there for a long time, but finally turned around without saying a word.
Several men in black quickly exchanged clothes with the imperial guard who fell into a coma at the side gate of Hanguang Palace, and escorted Empress Yin Luan to the Taihua Gate. I encountered patrols along the way, and I saw that they were all imperial guards. Although they didn't know where to go, no one stopped them hastily.
Empress Yin has been in charge of the harem for many years, and has placed many cronies in the palace. At this time, someone from the Taihua Sect has already responded, and there is nothing wrong with it.
Unexpectedly, before reaching the Taihua Gate, suddenly the sound of kicking boots in front shook the ground, and two teams of guards quickly blocked the way, blocking Empress Yin Luan. Empress Yin had an ominous premonition in her heart, raised her jade hand, raised the bead curtain and shouted: "Who is so bold as to block the way of this palace!"
But in front of the imperial guards, the same gilt-treasure-topped car with crimson-colored curtains stopped, the beaded curtains were slightly opened, and the maid beside her reached out to help the woman inside and stepped out.
Peony palace attire, graceful cloud belt, gently moving lotus steps, a person as soft and quiet as warm water. Concubine Su Shu took a few steps forward slowly, and asked softly: "The night is cold and cool, may I ask where the empress is going?"
Empress Yin looked coldly: "When will it be your turn to ask about the affairs of this Palace?"
Concubine Su Shu smiled slightly: "The Taihua Gate is heavily guarded, if the empress wants to leave the palace, I'm afraid it will be inconvenient, please go back to the palace to rest."
Empress Yin was startled and angry, not expecting the usually gentle and docile Concubine Su Shu to have the ability to control the harem, she stood up abruptly from her luanyu: "I might as well if you have this kind of means, you can't argue with anything, it turns out that the usual gentle Qing Gao is all pretended!"
Concubine Su Shu unhurriedly raised her head to look at Empress Yin. Under the shadow of the palace lantern, her beautiful face was vaguely picturesque, quiet and elegant, without a trace of ripples.
As early as many years ago, when Empress Xiaozhen was in charge of the harem, the Emperor of Heaven had countless concubines and concubines, and her favor was impermanent. Only two women were always honored and favored under the suppression of Empress Xiaozhen. One was the later Empress Yin, and the other , is Concubine Su Shu.
How can a woman remain undefeated in this palace without three-pointed scheming? The deep palace of the royal family is originally a battlefield for women under the domination of power and position. The blood in the dark and the knife in the depths remove the innocence and weakness one by one. How many people know about the unbearable flowers and people die, and how many people feel sorry for them
Concubine Su Shu was not annoyed by Empress Yin's angry reprimand, but said indifferently: "I don't need to fight for myself, but my Che'er cannot sacrifice in vain."
Empress Yin said: "If it is for King Che, the Yin and Su families are also known as relatives by marriage. How can you be worthy of the emperor by helping others to conspire to seize the throne?"
Concubine Su Shu raised her soft eyes slightly, and a sneer appeared on the corner of her lips: "If it wasn't for that marriage, how could Che'er be bent on seeking war? If it wasn't for the Yin family, how could Che'er have died in the battlefield? Why is your empress doing it for the emperor? The emperor has already made up his mind , I personally wrote the decree to pass on the throne to King Ling, and I saw it with my own eyes, so why do you plan to rebel and seize the throne?"
It was rare for her to speak sharply, and after a few words, Empress Yin was left speechless when asked, and after a while she said angrily: "Ling Wang was born to that charming son Rouran, how could the emperor pass on the throne to him? Don't deceive me!"
Concubine Su Shu carefully looked at Empress Yin's noble face, she had always been like this for so many years, dazzling and arrogant, never condescending at any time. It was also like this that she became the woman that the Emperor of Heaven needed.
Back then, in order to suppress his relative Feng's family and balance the power, the Emperor of Heaven made the daughter of the Wei family the crown princess, and on the other hand favored the concubine Yin at that time, allowing her to face the queen tit for tat in the harem.
Thirty years in Hedong, thirty years in Hexi, the Yin family at this time, isn't it the same as the Feng family back then
Concubine Su Shu was filled with emotions when she thought of coming here, and she said to Empress Yin: "Why should I deceive you? In fact, you and I both understand that in the past few decades, we have also fallen in love with a man who doesn't love us, but I only wish to come Death also follows his will, and you want too much from him." After she finished speaking, she didn't want to stay any longer, and ordered the guards: "Send your mother back to the palace." She turned and walked towards Luan Yu .
Hearing the truth from others is often scarier than knowing it yourself. The cold bead curtain trembled uncontrollably in Empress Yin's hand, the sound of jade shattered, and the piercing pain ached.
At this time, she was inexplicably reminded of a night many years ago, when that heroic man pulled up her hair. The beaded curtain and jade house were like an osmanthus palace, the peonies were fragrant and intoxicating, the people were more delicate than flowers, and the love was as deep as the ocean.
Now that people are old and have been fighting all their lives, what exactly do they want? She stood in the depths of this bustling palace, and the moon and stars were few and far between.