The fighting in the Daming Palace ceased, and the black smoke did not disappear. Not far away, the soldiers carried water back and forth to put out the fire and wash the palace. The blood solidified in the blood, dyed the water light red, and seeped into the grass along the white jade steps.
Shan Chao stopped in his tracks, smiled and said, "Master Yin."
The man dressed in deep black at the front turned around and bowed with a smile: "Prince Ping."
The two walked towards the palace gate side by side, and the soldier carrying the water bowed and rushed past, only to hear Shan Chao leisurely say: "You can't mention the title of Sect Master again, and after tomorrow morning, I'm afraid that the head of a certain item will be killed." It may not be guaranteed... Head Yin's bet this time is really wrong."
The smile at the corner of Yin Kaiyang's mouth deepened, and he said, "It's okay. What kind of gambler is he if he surrenders when he sees that the limelight is wrong? Naturally, he has to add more chips."
The two looked at each other for a moment, as if they had reached an unspoken deal, Yin Kaiyang took the lead in making a polite "please" gesture.
"The secret door has been operating in the Eastern Capital for many years, and the situation in Luoyang quickly calmed down. Sincerity is the first contribution of the head of Yin." Shan Chao chatted as he walked, "If it weren't for the help of the head of Yin, the Southern Army might still be stationed outside the city of Dongdu. , this credit must be remembered.”
Yin Kaiyang waved his hands modestly: "It's easy to say, easy to say."
"Recalling that when I was in Jianjianzhuang, I had a lot of misunderstandings with Shenguimen, and then I had many frictions in Mount Tai..."
"The old story of rotten millet, why mention it? It's all a misunderstanding."
Yin Kaiyang is indeed a talent, and Shan Chaosuan discovered it. It's no wonder that Wei Wang Li Tai stood behind the secret door back then, but the current emperor can still thrive in the capital after he ascended the throne.
"But," Shan Chao changed the subject and said, "Shan has something to do, but he has to ask Master Yin to consider it carefully."
Yin Kaiyang solemnly said, "Please tell me."
"Commander Xie raised and taught me for many years, and he treated me with such kindness as a mountain. I have to repay my feelings..."
Shan Chao paused for a while, and the meaning in the words was obvious. Yin Kaiyang was stunned for a moment, and then he laughed uncontrollably: "Do you think I will plot against Xie Yun?"
Of course it wasn't just plotting, but Shan Chao didn't mention anything, just stared at him and smiled: "I've always been very curious about something, Head Yin."
"yes."
"Xie Yun has fought against the secret door many times, and even today he is in the same position as you. You really don't want to kill him?"
Shan Kaiyang's footsteps slowed down, as if he was caught in some kind of memory, but that was only an instant. Shan Chao saw him pinching his chin in self-deprecating manner, and said slowly: "To be honest, everyone has their youthful and frivolous moments, and this kind of excuse is really not enough to explain to outsiders..."
Shan Chao: "?"
"For a while," Yin Kaiyang finally told the truth, "I always suspected that Xie Yun was my biological son."
Shan Chao almost staggered.
"Until it was confirmed that he was Yin Tianqing, I knew it was impossible. I was quite tempted to use the green dragon seal to complete the legend of Xuanwu, but I didn't do it for various reasons. It was the last time I beat that man at the Taishan Martial Arts Conference. idea, but then the blue female dragon appeared... what happened to you?"
Shan Chao's complexion was extremely exciting, he seemed embarrassed, wanted to laugh and held back, so that his facial muscles were a little distorted: "No... no..."
Yin Kaiyang was baffled, and seemed to think that although this kind of thing was wrong, it was not worth it. After a long while, he seemed to think of something: "It is true that the Chang'an city gate was breached, and Xie Yun should be credited with the first credit. If it wasn't for that arrow..."
Shan Chao restrained his smile, nodded and said, "Yes."
"Did you see that arrow?"
"nature."
Shan Chao felt that there was something in Yin Kaiyang's words, as if he wanted to tell him something. But after staring at each other for a while, I saw him look away, shaking his head with half regret and half regret: "I saw it too..."
Immediately, he ignored Shan Chao, and only said a meaningful sentence: "Don't worry, the dust will settle tonight." Immediately, he floated out of the palace gate.
The inside and outside of Mingde Gate had been turned into ruins. The collapsed giant gate was strictly guarded by Li Jingye, and soldiers were constantly patrolling back and forth with spears. Yin Kaiyang stood in the mess, searched for a long time, and finally caught a glimpse of what he was looking for through the cracks in the gravel.
It was an arrow with a goose feather and iron spine, which smashed the iron winch under the gaze of tens of thousands of people, and then nailed into the crumbling city gate, becoming the last straw that broke the camel's back.
Yin Kaiyang forcefully pulled the sharp arrow out from the gap, and as he expected, there was a broken blue-golden scale nailed to the arrowhead, shining brightly under the sun, like a treasure.
It was a dragon scale.
·
Uncharacteristically, Shan Chao did not order his 300,000 King Qin troops to retreat outside the city and set up camp outside the city, but stationed in Chang'an City on the spot. In addition, he personally led 2,000 elite cavalry to guard the Daming Palace in the name of "protection".
No one knows what Shan Chao is thinking, but at this moment, his strong posture is indeed displayed in front of everyone.
"Xie Yun." Under the oil lamp, Shan Chao put down his pen and smiled.
Xie Yun's footsteps paused in the corridor, and the door opened. Shan Chao smiled and asked, "Why don't you come in?"
Xie Yun held a palace lantern and stood quietly under the moonlight, with a light medicinal fragrance on his chest. Shan Chao led him into the house with his own hands, closed the door, and asked, "Have you eaten your dinner yet? I thought you had already rested...how did you know you came to me?"
The last sentence seemed to be flattered and ridiculed, and Xie Yun came back to his senses, sighed and said: "I'm sure I will be decapitated tomorrow, come tonight to see the villain for the last time."
Shan Chao let him sit on the side of the bed, and without disturbing others, went to pour hot tea in person, and searched through the boxes and cabinets to find a few plates of dried fruit snacks that were useless during the day, and put them on the small table and brought them in front of him: "No, just go These are all, I will give you something to eat when you live a good life in the future."
"..." Xie Yun raised his eyebrows and said, "Aren't you afraid that you will be given poisoned wine tomorrow morning?"
That is of course impossible. Shan Chao didn't even look at the military book, and sat next to Xie Yun, seeing that he didn't have any intention of dodging, so he boldly put his two long legs on the side of the bed, and put his arms around Xie Yun's shoulders, sighing. Said: "I'm afraid - but since I didn't kill the queen with a single sword, it is inevitable to be stirred into this muddy water. If it is really given to death, what is the use of fear?"
He ate a pine nut, and picked another one to feed Xie Yun. It was a scene of old men and old ladies in the north sitting on the kang and chatting at night. Xie Yun stared at the pine nuts for a while, and had no choice but to eat them.
"How is your injury? Show me."
Xie Yun pushed his hand away: "Where is the injury? You read it wrong. It's you..."
"I've seen it all! Here!" Shan Chao pressed his chest forcibly, and there was indeed a layer of bandage under the skirt of his shirt. When he opened it, he could see the smell of medicine, but he couldn't see anything through the bandage, and he was afraid of tearing it off. The wound was opened, and he couldn't help hesitating. Xie Yun rolled up his clothes, and wrote casually: "The Queen of Heaven wanted to kill me urgently, but she couldn't do it... It's okay, I know she can't do it."
Shan Chao's expression was rather ugly, Xie Yun put a finger on his chest and pushed him back slightly: "It's just a flesh wound, don't worry about it. If the stab is really serious, the city gate can still be opened." bow?"
"Your arrow is really..." Shan Chao was still waiting to boast a few words, and then forcibly stopped the conversation: "Next time, don't be so brave. Tomorrow, someone will find the secret medicine in the palace to wipe it off. I heard that the Queen of Heaven The warehouse is full of good medicinal materials, so there is no need to use them in vain."
"Then if the two of us die together tomorrow, do you still care about this little flesh injury?"
"how come?"
"Your Majesty wants to pave the way for the king of Zhou, so can you keep you, a cheap son with a heavy army, and me, a rebel who doesn't know who to stand in?"
Shan Chao picked up a few pine nuts and stuffed them into Xie Yun's mouth: "Eat yours, you won't be able to plug your mouth with anything else, so be careful with other things."
"..."
Shan Chao said again: "When that day really comes, I will have to take you out of the palace and flee to the end of the world together. If I can live one more day..."
Xie Yun was so choked up that he laughed, and wanted to taunt him, but under the oil lamp, he could only see Shan Chao's rigid outline, his muscles were faintly visible under his single clothes, and there was still the lingering iron and blood aura of armor all over his body. Suddenly it softened, and there was a trace of melancholy that I didn't know what it was like.
"You..." Xie Yun paused for a moment, and couldn't help asking: "The path I chose for you, are you willing to go on?"
It's no longer a question of whether you want to or not, but that you have to bite the bullet and leave. Xie Yun was not the type to ask such nonsense, but Shan Chao could hear the real problem behind this sentence from his uncharacteristic behavior tonight.
—I lured you onto this road of no return, don't you hate me
Shan Chao looked at Xie Yun, his eyes seemed to be full of ridicule, but behind it were hidden deeper and stronger emotions. After a while he smiled and said: "I often think about the past recently, and I think of what you said to me in Mobei that the country is vast and the world is vast, but there is no more than an inch for a person to retreat. In the end, not only I am waiting to die, but also Will drag everyone who stands behind me to hell... Every time I think about it carefully, I always feel that there is something wrong with this statement."
Xie Yun asked back: "What's wrong?"
"At that time, there was only you behind me, and as long as you killed me, you would naturally be able to return to the capital to enjoy the honor. Therefore, I am waiting to die, and the only possibility of you going to hell is not being dragged by me, but Volunteer to accompany me... ”
Shan Chaotiao turned his sitting position, put Xie Yun's hand holding the hot tea cup in his palm, and said, "—just like you brought me back to the capital after thousands of miles."
Xie Yun turned his head unnaturally in his gaze: "It happened so many years ago, don't keep mentioning it."
"I didn't mention it all the time." Shan Chao said, "I just feel that if I hadn't taken this road, I would have died in Mobei many years ago, or I would have died under the bowl of poisonous soup in Ci'en Temple; a person who should have died People who have been there twice, now they depend on you to get their lives back, so what right do they have to be hypocritical?"
The corner of Xie Yun's mouth twitched slightly. He wanted to say something but didn't know where to start. After a while, he couldn't laugh or cry: "That's not what I said... that's all. What are you going to do now? If Your Majesty really wants to get rid of you, you will also close your eyes and die No?"
Shan Chao ate a raisin leisurely, only to find that it was very sweet, his eyes lit up immediately, and he held several raisins in his hands and fed them to Xie Yun: "No."
"The news came from the palace that His Majesty's high fever will not subside tonight, but he still insisted on summoning King Zhou..." Shan Chao said with a smile: "I must be discussing my affairs right now."
The emperor did summon Zhou Wang Li Xian tonight.
The thick medicine smell in the Zichen Palace made people breathless, and the weather at the end of June, but the doors and windows were all closed, and the sick bed was covered with a thick quilt, exuding an indescribable breath. The emperor's face was sallow and bleeding, and his wrinkled hands tremblingly put down the imperial brush, and said, "I must kill you."
Li Xian knelt beside the bed, tremblingly said: "Royal Father!..."
"Tomorrow, you will be crowned prince, the queen will be imprisoned, and the remaining party will be interrogated. Shan Chao will still be named king with a different surname. Not to mention that today's imperial decree has been issued in front of the prime ministers, and you cannot go back overnight; just say that the remaining party of the Wu family The roots are intertwined, and the turmoil in Chang'an City has not subsided, so we can't kill him at this time."
The emperor was really dying, he dragged on and off for a long time before he managed to finish his sentence, Li Xian immediately offered the medicine bowl, but he pushed it away with a wry smile.
"You are weak by nature and cannot control the overall situation in this dangerous time, so I will help you for the last time. Before I die, I have almost cleaned up the remnants of the Wu clan, and I will issue a secret decree to order the queen to be buried and poisoned." Shan Chao, remove all obstacles for your enthronement..."
Li Xian cried: "My son is useless, my son is not filial!"
The emperor shook his head weakly: "After you ascend the throne, you need to win over your own forces immediately. I have decided to hire Wei Xuanzhen's daughter as the crown princess. You can reuse your relatives to frighten the family and gather military power..." He was about to say something more, But suddenly spurted a few mouthfuls of blood!
"—Royal Father!"
"Don't... don't call people, I can still..."
The emperor finally took the medicine bowl, but didn't drink it. He leaned on the soft pillow and panted for a long time, his face was filled with a layer of ashes that was about to die, and he waved his hand weakly: "Get back."
Li Xian struggled to straighten his limp legs with a few strokes.
The panicked look was seen by the emperor, and he couldn't help but sighed: "Forget it, I will start writing the secret edict tonight, just in case... just step back."
Li Xian finally hesitated and staggered back out.
As soon as the heavy palace door was closed, the empty room returned to dead silence again. The candlelight flickered several times, and the emperor was in a daze. He was about to lift the imperial pen when he suddenly caught a glimpse of someone standing not far away.
"Who's there?"
The emperor closed his eyes heavily and then opened them again. After doing this a few times, he saw the man raise his head and smile sinisterly at him from the dim place.
She was wearing a shroud, her mouth was bleeding, her eyes were shining sharply, and her face was somewhat familiar. The emperor gasped in fear, and struggled back with his hands and feet, but to no avail.
- That's Mrs. Wei Helan's family!
Li Gui stepped forward step by step, leaving black and bloody footprints on the gold bricks with every step. The emperor looked at her rotten and resentful face, wanted to scream but couldn't, he felt his heart was in severe pain, his body twitched uncontrollably, stiffened, and lost the last bit of strength.
"no, do not want… "
"I didn't harm you, don't come here..."
"No… "
That was the last sound he made.
The imperial pen fell with a thud, leaving a circle of ink on the blank imperial decree. The emperor collapsed on the dragon couch, his chest gasping for air, his face turning purple, and after half a stick of incense, he finally lost all his breath.
Yin Kaiyang stood still, put away the illusion of mirror, flower, water and moon, and his eyes fell on the secret edict before he could write a single word.
He finally bowed to the cold dragon body of the emperor, as if saluting or saying goodbye, then turned around and left the most magnificent bedroom in the world.