"What do you mean?" Duan Ling said in a trembling voice, "Don't scare me... Wu Du, please."
"This is His Majesty's plan." Wu Dufu whispered in Duan Ling's ear, "Didn't you send someone to send a letter back to Jiangzhou seven days ago? The letter was detained by me."
"What? Wait..." Duan Ling hurriedly turned around and pressed Wu Du's arm, anxiously said, "Don't hide it from me, make it clear."
"Your Majesty has long suspected that Mu Kuangda had colluded with the frontier generals." Wu Du replied, "If you move him, Han Bin and Bian Lingbai, who usurped military power and murdered the late emperor at the bottom of the General's Ridge, would definitely be implicated. Bian Lingbai It has been removed by us, and now there is still Han Bin, if he has correspondence with Mu Kuangda, for the sake of self-protection, once Mu Kuangda's house is raided, this person will definitely rebel."
"So?" Duan Ling hurriedly asked again, "Why do you say Fourth Uncle died?"
"It's suspended animation," Wu Du explained, "I gave him the medicine. As long as he suspended animation and the news of His Majesty's death came out, Han Bin would lead his troops back to the capital for the funeral, and Yao Fu would also go there. , Han Bin must be removed first."
Duan Ling asked anxiously, "What medicine did you prescribe? Can you solve it?"
"Silence and annihilation," Wu Du replied, "It's the kind of poison you've taken before, and Wuluohoumu knows the solution."
"Who will solve it for him?" Duan Ling hurriedly asked again, "What if no one can solve it?"
"No." Wu Du said, "Zheng Yan will understand."
"Why didn't you say it earlier?!" Duan Ling's temper instantly rose, and he wanted to push Wu Du away, but Wu Du hugged him tightly.
"Let go of me!" Duan Ling's thoughts were in chaos.
"I won't let go! Listen to me!" Wu Du stared at Duan Ling.
Duan Ling's anger gradually calmed down. He was so anxious that he shouted, "But how can he do this?! This is a gamble with his own life! How can you listen to him?!"
"Your Majesty is ready!" Wu Du said, "How can I persuade him? So he won't tell you."
Duan Ling was the only one who could stop Li Yanqiu, and now he understood it all.
"No, I have to go back to Jiangzhou immediately." Duan Ling felt unable to sit still for a moment after knowing the situation.
"Let's go then." Wu Du said helplessly, "Everything is packed."
"What?" Duan Ling couldn't believe it, Wu Du actually didn't stop him.
Wu Du's plum stain wiped his hands, looked at Duan Ling with a helpless expression, and said, "Your Majesty has told me that you won't have to stop you at that time, it's useless to stop you, you will naturally go back. But after returning to Jiangzhou, everything has to follow my arrangement, don't act rashly."
Duan Ling almost fainted, Li Yanqiu knew himself too well.
"Let's go." Duan Ling said, "Let's go now."
On that day, the prefect's mansion was in chaos. Duan Ling called the officials to talk about the matter, and went back to Beijing with Wu Du for the funeral. Everyone is used to the prefect's departure, not to mention that this time a major event happened in Jiangzhou, so they have been busy.
When Fei Hongde sent Duan Ling out of the city, he listened to the general idea. Duan Ling was still hesitating whether to take Fei Hongde back, but he had to hurry along the way, so he asked Fei Hongde to come over slowly after confirming that there was nothing wrong with Hebei. .
"You will be responsible for escorting Mr. Fei Hongde at that time." Duan Ling said to Lord Changliu.
The position of Lord Changliu was the most troublesome thing for Duan Ling - he could not guarantee that Lord Changliu would not betray him again and turned to Mu Kuangda, nor did he know how to deal with Lord Changliu. Wu Du originally wanted to poison Changliu Jun again and restrain him.
But Fei Hongde was very confident and let Duan Ling not have to worry about this issue at all.
"Lord Changliu has already betrayed Prime Minister Mu once." Fei Hongde said to Duan Ling privately, "Mu Kuangda is suspicious by nature, even if Lord Changliu goes back, Mu Kuangda will never accept him again. Leave this to me. That is, on the way back, I will selectively tell him the truth."
Duan Ling is afraid that there will be another long-term employment, but it doesn't make any sense for Changliu-Jun to kill Fei Hongde. After all, all he wants is to survive - his own life, and Muqing's life.
After thinking about it again and again, Duan Ling still believed Fei Hongde and handed over the matter to him.
"Sir, please take care." Duan Ling whispered.
That evening, when Duan Ling left the city, he looked back at Yecheng from a distance. This ancient city with a history of nearly a thousand years is caged in the sunset. In the midsummer evening, the breeze is not strong, and the sky is red as if it was stained with blood.
"Let's go." Wu Du said, "What are you thinking about?"
"I suddenly have a feeling that maybe within this year, I won't come back again." Duan Ling knew that once he returned to Jiangzhou this time, he would face more problems. He might not return to the north again within three years. .
According to the Jiangzhou messenger, today is the first seven of the emperor. Seven days ago, when the news of Li Yanqiu's death came out, there had been chaos in the palace once. Li Yanqiu died suddenly and silently without leaving any will. Cai Yan suddenly felt at a loss.
Xie You immediately blocked the entire palace and summoned the ministers to discuss it overnight. Cai Yan was crying so hard that he almost fainted, and even Mu Kuangda was caught off guard.
That night, there were only three ministers by Cai Yan's side: Xie You, the general of the town, Mu Kuangda, the prime minister, and Su clan, the minister of households. In addition, there are only two assassins left: Zheng Yan, Wuluohoumu, and Feng Duo, the chief counselor of the East Palace.
Xie You first summoned the imperial doctor to diagnose in front of everyone, confirming that Li Yanqiu was dead, and the Su clan immediately began to arrange and draft the edict. Mu Kuangda began to think about how to deal with the big and small matters that were about to happen tomorrow. The first thing to decide was whether to keep the mourning secret or to announce it to the world.
Mu Kuangda seemed to be a lot older this night, his whole person looked tired and his eyes were full of tears.
The three people present were, in a sense, elders who watched Li Yanqiu grow up. Among them, Xie You was the youngest, but he was also the elder brother who had known Li Jianhong since he was a child. At this time, he was the only one who had it The power of life and death in Jiangzhou city.
"Your Majesty is attacked by the heat of the heat, and has been ill for a long time, and is exhausted." As for the reason for the sudden death of the emperor, the imperial physician's answer was only a few words.
When he heard this sentence, Cai Yan burst into tears again. For a time, everyone in the palace cried, cried, and shouted, each with his own grief. Zheng Yan leaned beside the pillar and wept, Mu Jinzhi sobbed, Mu Kuang was forbearing, and the old Soviet clan burst into tears. Only Xie You didn't say a word, silently watching this scene of all beings.
Fortunately, at this time, Da Chen still has a prince. Cai Yan never imagined that his own day would come so quickly. After confirming that there was no abnormal cause of Li Yanqiu's death, everyone moved to the imperial study and began to draft the edict, preparing to deal with a series of matters that will come tomorrow.
Mu Kuangda's voice was heavy and haggard, and he said, "Among all of you, only Mu has mourned for the two late emperors. If there is no doubt about it this time, it's up to me."
When the fathers of Li Jianhong and Li Yanqiu died, they were accompanied by Mu Kuangda. That year, Zhao Kui held a heavy army and guarded Xichuan. On the day the old emperor died, it was Mu Kuangda and Zhao Kui who were dealing with each other. Everyone nodded when they heard the words, and Mu Kuangda invited Huang Jin from the emperor's case to start writing the edict.
The prince was still in the dark. Mu Kuangda wrote an imperial edict as an old official of the three dynasties. Xie You, Mu Kuangda and the Su clan as the auxiliary, the paper is full of sonorous grief, and the reading makes people cry.
After writing the edict, Mu Kuangda handed it over to the other two for inspection. Cai Yan looked at it and couldn't help feeling sad for a while, sobbing so hard that he passed out. Xie You hurried in and took the prince back.
That night, Mu Kuangda, Xie You, and the Su clan discussed the handover until late at night. After the end, Mu Kuangda counted Li Yanqiu's belongings in the imperial study. Until midnight, he walked through the corridor and returned to Li Yanqiu's bedroom again. forward.
Mu Jinzhi has changed into plain clothes, and asked the palace servants to distribute plain belts. When preparing for the fifth watch, he ordered the death knell to ring and notify the whole city.
"Has anyone been here?" Mu Kuangda asked in a low voice.
"The front and back feet have all come." Mu Jinzhi said.
"Where's Zheng Yan?" Mu Kuangda asked again.
"I don't know where I went." Mu Jinzhi replied in a low voice, "Old Su came first, not long after, with Xie You. I saw that Zheng Yan rushed out of the palace once after returning from the imperial study. It must be Let someone report the funeral to Huaiyin."
"Is Feng Duo here?" Mu Kuangda asked.
"Feng Duo is here too." Mu Jinzhi replied, "I was murmuring with Wuluohou Mu, I don't know what to discuss."
"Really?" Mu Kuangda asked again.
"The corpse is cold." Mu Jinzhi said impatiently, "Look for yourself."
"What did he eat last night?" Mu Kuangda asked.
"I haven't eaten for two days and two nights." Mu Jinzhi replied, "I drank some sour plum soup. I said that he was dying, but you don't believe it. "
Mu Kuangda pushed open the door and went in. He never expected that Li Yanqiu would die like this before he could deal with him.
The three emperors of the Li family died one by one in just four years.
But the speed of changing the dynasty is not the fastest. It can only be said that the Li family has been passed down to this day, and the gas is almost exhausted.
Mu Kuangda came to Li Yanqiu's bedside and saw that Li Yanqiu's face had turned gray. Mu Kuangda put his hand on the back of Li Yanqiu's hand, only to feel that the back of his hand was cold and completely dead.
Mu Jinzhi also came in.
"Has the prince ever been here?" Mu Kuangda asked.
"I haven't been here." Mu Jinzhi replied, "Ready?"
Mu Kuangda sighed, got up and backed away, and retreated outside the hall. The palace ladies opened the door of the palace one after another, and the sky was bright. The deacon in the palace held the yellow cloth and handed it to Mu Jinzhi. One of the Mu Jin shook the yellow cloth and withdrew it overwhelmingly.
The hour has come, the sun has risen, and the glazed tiles on the palace are splendidly illuminated, and thrown in along the main hall, the golden light shines on the dead and the undead, and everything is covered with a layer of golden light.
The yellow cloth that covered the sky couldn't stop rolling, and finally wrapped it around Li Yanqiu's body.
"The first emperor—" Mu Jinzhi's voice was filled with incomparable sorrow, from this moment on, she was the queen mother.
The voice came out, echoing under the blue sky in the early morning, and then, the death knell in the palace rang.
"when-"
The entire Jiangzhou was suddenly alarmed, and the death knell was low and hoarse. Three years after the news of Li Jianhong's death, it rang again, and every door opened its doors.
"when-"
The four gates of the palace are open, and the letters and newspapers are divided into north, south, west and east. They go out of the city in various ways and go to every corner of this splendid country to announce to the world that Emperor Chen of the South has collapsed.