It was a rare sunny day.
It hasn't snowed for several days, the sky is pure blue, like a layer of glaze has been applied, and the bright sun brings a rare warmth to the icy capital.
The streets after the festival are full of passers-by in a hurry.
When the terrified soldiers, wearing armor and riding fast horses, rushed into the city from outside the city gate shouting "Retreat", the pedestrians all over the street looked at them. What the hell happened.
They could only watch the horses leave, all the way into the imperial city.
Now is the time.
After going to court in the morning, Emperor Xiao Che of Qing'an had obviously noticed something was wrong: it was for no reason, and Xue Kuang was strong and healthy, but suddenly he said he was ill, so he had to move.
So after the court, he left Gu Juefei to discuss matters in the palace.
Almost three or five sentences were spoken, and panicked voices from outside already came in: "It's not good, it's not good! Your Majesty—"
The moment he heard this voice for the first time, Xiao Che felt his heart skip a beat!
He was wearing a bright yellow robe, but at this time he looked strangely pale and feeble. When he got up, he even knocked over the tea cup and a stack of memorials on the table, but he couldn't care less!
"Say!"
"Your Majesty..."
The eunuch who passed the decree and reported the letter was pale, his lips were shaking constantly, and he was holding a page full of words in his hands, and he knelt down with a "pop".
"Report to the emperor, Xue Kuang - it's the other way around!"
That pitiful voice was like a mourning concubine.
When Xiao Che heard it for the first time, he only felt a "buzz" in his head, as if he had been hit by something. He even had a feeling of being caught off guard and couldn't believe it at all!
"How can, how can it be so fast..."
Should not be.
Should not be!
Xue Kuang took a lot of time to return from the border, and returned to the court in an open and fair manner. Even if he wanted to rebel, he should wait for a while, otherwise what would he be doing here? !
People stood on the royal steps, Xiao Che almost fell from the top without standing, and he didn't even have time to see the expression of Gu Juefei, who was standing with his hands down below, he just hurriedly asked: "Where are the others, where did they come from? Are there relatives at home?!”
"Xue Kuang raised his troops from Baoding. Now the general's mansion is empty, and all his relatives have been moved to Baoding a few days ago! This is an order posted by the rebels and the party outside the city gate today..."
When he said the word "Xuwen", the eunuch's voice trembled more and more, as if he was afraid that he would accidentally offend something.
Gu Juefei, who was standing below, glanced at the eunuch indifferently, then at the page of paper he was holding in his hand, and raised his eyebrows imperceptibly.
Xiao Che was furious.
The blue veins on his forehead jumped up, gritted his teeth, and said gloomily: "Bring it up!"
The eunuch tremblingly presented the letter to him.
After handing the thing to Xiao Che, he knelt down on the ground as if he had no strength, and then deeply knocked his head onto the cold ground of the Golden Palace.
He didn't dare to breathe, and he didn't dare to look up.
In the silent hall, only Xiao Che's breathing became heavier and heavier for a while. His eyes swept across the page of paper in his hand quickly. Ferocious!
"Impossible! Impossible!"
"Crazy ministers and thieves, it's just slanderous words to confuse the public, nonsense! Come on! Quickly pass the civil and military officials into the court! If there is a mistake—"
"Kill without mercy!"
He slammed the thin page of the letter on the imperial case, and the brush and ink on it jumped, and Xiao Che was almost on the verge of losing control.
Gu Juefei looked at it so coldly.
He stood aside with his arms folded, neither going up to care, nor asking about the specific situation for the time being.
The big things can never be hidden, not to mention that the wall of the city today is already covered with a wall of inscriptions, and those who pass by can read it clearly.
No matter how fast officers and soldiers clean up, they can’t match the speed at which rumors spread.
Almost at the same time when the civil and military officials rushed to the Golden Palace after receiving the news, the news of Xue Kuang's rebellion and raising troops in Baoding had already exploded in the market!
Isn't this nice
Why did it suddenly reverse
The moment everyone heard the news, they almost couldn't believe their ears, thinking that the person who spread the news was out of his mind: Just kidding, that's Xue Kuang! General Xue Kuang! How many contributions have you made for Daxia? To say that he will rebel, it is better to say that the sun will come out from the west!
But less than an hour later, the sudden appearance of the Imperial Guard in the streets and alleys of the capital and the sudden martial law gate made everyone realize—
not kidding!
Xue Kuang is the opposite, really the opposite!
It's just that at this time, no one cares about why he is going against it, and what kind of purpose he wants to achieve.
A big chaos is in front of us, and everyone packs up and wants to escape.
However, the closed city gates trapped everyone's hopes, and the terrified people surrounded the city gates guarded by heavy troops, shouting loudly and angrily...
The entire prosperous city seemed to be shrouded in a huge and thick shadow at this moment!
The panicked movement on the street was so loud that it was even mixed with the cries of women and children, which spread into the Taishi Mansion from a distance.
At this time, Lu Jinxi was still playing chess with the old lady teacher Gu Chengqian.
As in every game before, the old lady asked Lu Jin to cherish the three sons as usual, and let her play black. But things haven't changed much from what they used to be.
Lu Jinxi knew that he was going to lose again when he was in the middle game.
The next question is just how to make yourself lose less, or lose more beautifully.
"These days, your chess skills seem to have improved a bit." Sitting across from her, Gu Chengqian pinched a white stone and pressed it on the chessboard, his hoarse voice became more and more debilitated in old age." The move around the southeast corner of me was good before, have you read the chess manual?"
"I haven't seen much yet."
The old lady brought the chess manual, and she has only turned over the two books on the surface. How can it be so fast to study it
Lu Jinxi smiled slightly and said, "My daughter-in-law played chess with the eldest son a while ago, and he gave me two pointers, so you think my chess skills have improved. I don’t know why, it’s just hard learning.”
"… "
The old lady reached out to the chess box to grab the chess piece, and suddenly paused, the expression on her face changed a little, but her eyes involuntarily fell on the chessboard, staring at the stopped fighting in the southeast corner.
So I vaguely remembered-
It was Gu Juefei's.
At that time he was still young, but he was obsessed with playing chess. When I come back every day, I will definitely see him waiting in the study, laying out the chessboard, waiting for me.
He won the first game against him, and this was the hand he used.
He established a chance to win at the most critical corner, and then expanded that slight advantage like a snowball. The layout was meticulous and rigorous, and he kept hitting his opponent to the end.
He was eleven years old at the time.
Gu Chengqian has never seen such a smart person, his ability to calculate and the overall situation are impeccable, and his usual modest temperament will show another kind of killing and ferocity when it comes to the chessboard.
When he was young, he didn't know how to hide his emotions.
When he finally found out that he had won three and a half eyes from his father, he was very happy, just like when he played "The Rest of Guangling" for the first time, he was overjoyed that he had defeated his father, who had been regarded as a god since he was a child. mad.
But Gu Chengqian saw a brilliant phantom from him.
Such a person is destined to be extraordinary.
In the days that followed, Gu Juefei was obsessed with the feeling of victory, and kept looking for him to play games. At first, he only won occasionally, and then he won a big victory.
But at this time, he already had a very subtle perception of human emotions.
Gradually, he stopped playing chess with his father, and turned to talking about poetry, talking about other important things in the world, and no longer showing excessive joy in any new achievements he had achieved.
He is growing rapidly.
With a speed that mortals can't reach, and a speed that makes him, the minister of the father, unmatched.
So he didn't know when it started, and he felt that he gradually became ignorant of this son. All disputes and ruptures started with Xue Kuang...
"Master Taishi?"
A slightly concerned and worried voice sounded from the opposite side.
Gu Chengqian came back to his senses, sighed and smiled, and said, "When I get old, I always start to think about the past."
Lu Jinxi didn't dare to accept this.
Aging is the proof of the ruthlessness of the years, and it is something that everyone will face and face, but it is always too cruel to mention these in front of the elderly.
She listened to the voices outside, and only changed the subject quietly: "It's so noisy outside, I don't know what happened."
Having said that, I really think about this stubble.
Lu Jinxi dropped a piece on the chessboard, then turned around and shouted to the wind chimes standing at the door, "Go and ask and see what's going on."
"Yes."
The wind chimes are also strange, and they will go out the door in response to the sound.
It's just that before she could get out of the eaves, a figure with a terrified face appeared in the front corridor. It was Wan Baochang who just came back from the outside.
There was a secret cold sweat on his forehead, because of excessive shock and fear, his wrinkled face had an abnormal flushing, and his eyes were even more flickering.
As soon as the person walked past the wind chimes, he entered the house.
"My lord, my lord, something big has happened—"
But the voice was only halfway down, the throat was inexplicably blocked, and suddenly there was no sound.
He was holding the letter he had just received from outside, and his elderly hands were shaking. At this time, he felt that he really didn't want to tell Gu Chengqian the news.
Wan Bao has been by Gu Chengqian's side for too long, and he is clear about the contradiction between him and Gu Juefei.
For the eldest son, this may be good news that can make his grievances washed away; but for the old lady, it is undoubtedly a blow to his past firm judgments.
even…
The involvement may be wider, wider, and even more unbearable for the old lady and master!
Wan Baochang regretted it immediately. Standing in this room, he suddenly wanted to quit and start over. He just pretended that nothing happened, and hid all the bad things that happened, so that the old lady wouldn't know.
But it's too late.
Gu Chengqian raised his head and looked over, the moment he saw his expression, he was already shocked.
If there is, don't say it explicitly.
What's more, as early as the day Xue Kuang came back, he already had vague expectations
Holding the warm white jade chess piece in his hand, it suddenly became extremely cold.
The change in the atmosphere was so violent that one shuddered.
As early as the moment Wan Baochang's voice sounded, Lu Jinxi had an ominous premonition in her heart, and she could also see Wan Baochang's struggle and hesitation.
He didn't speak at the moment, just pushed the chess box and stood up.
Wan Bao often looked at her.
But she only frowned, and took the roll of paper full of words that he was holding in her hand, unfolded it and took a look—
"Fight against the party!"
The four big characters pierced into the eyes in an instant!
Lu Jinxi only felt that the tip of her finger was hurting when she was holding the letter, as if she was not holding a page at all, but a sharp blade!
Looking back, it is full of spicy and thrilling!
There are three reasons for retribution:
First, the Son of Heaven is incompetent and incompetent;
Second, the traitor is in power, slandering the loyal;
Third, the throne is not right, it is conspiracy to kill the father and kill the emperor, and the person who inherits the throne is indeed the seventh prince of the previous emperor - Xiao Tingzhi!