The day before the wedding, Qin Mubai was recuperating at home and preparing for the wedding ceremony tomorrow. In the afternoon, the envoy sent by Li Shimin was called into the palace, but it was not because of the wedding. The battle report came from Lanzhou.
A few days ago, Tubo suddenly invaded the border and sent out suspicious troops in Dafeichuan. Another strange army crossed the Qilian Mountains and plunged into the hinterland of the Tang River like a sharp knife, besieging Liangzhou and cutting off official roads. Qin Shubao, the governor of Lanzhou, ordered Xue Rengui to lead a brigade of cavalry to the rescue. Together with the troops of Xue Wanjun, the governor of Liangzhou, they fought seven bloody battles with the Tibetan cavalry outside Liangzhou City, winning four and losing three, and achieved a tragic victory. The Grand Governor Qin Shubao withstood the pressure and remained as solid as a rock in Lanzhou. As expected, Tubo thought that Lanzhou was empty and sent out a division to surprise Lanzhou. However, Qin Shubao personally led his army to block it in front of the city, and was severely defeated.
Afterwards, Qin Shubao used his troops to cover up the attack and won a complete victory. He rushed to Liangzhou in one go, broke the balance of the battle there, and almost wiped out all the Tibetan cavalry. At this point, all the offensives launched by the Tubo people were defeated. Qin Shubao was in charge of Lanzhou, and the eight winds could not move, and Lanzhou was victorious!
Li Shimin specially called Qin Mubai into the palace and asked Chu Suiliang to read the news to Qin Mubai, so as to untie the knot in his mind over the past few days and allow him to attend his wedding calmly and without any worries.
Qin Mubai was indeed relieved.
For the past few days, he was in Changan and Lanzhou, always thinking about the situation there and his father's safety. Now this great victory can be regarded as easing the situation over there and also easing my mood.
However, Qin Mubai still had some thoughts.
He said to Li Shimin: "Your Majesty, judging from the battle situation, we, the Tang Dynasty, won. However, the Tibetan people's aspirations were obviously not in Lanzhou. Otherwise, they would not have sent only such a few troops to capture Lanzhou. Although they had used the method of diverting the tiger away from the mountain The plan is still a bit cunning. I suspect that they are plotting a rebellion for Gaochang and other countries in the Western Regions. The war in Liangzhou has blocked the Western Regions. Our Tang Dynasty's whip is not as good as the Western Regions, Gaochang will rebel! "
"What you said is true." Li Shimin was not overly happy because of this victory. He nodded with a stern expression and said, "If Tubo didn't show some gesture of breaking with the Tang Dynasty, Gaochang would not dare to fight back. The Battle of Lanzhou Although Tubo fought fiercely in Liangzhou, they did not send many troops. They were competing with us with a gambling mentality. If they can use this little plan to win Lanzhou, it will be the best; if they cannot. It also broke the layout of the Tang Dynasty in terms of geographical structure, allowing Gaochang to break away from our control and rebel. It can be expected that the Liangzhou War is just an outpost, and a bigger battle is still to come, and Gaochang's rebellion will not last long. Far. However, it will take at least ten and a half months before there is any news. You are getting married tomorrow. Let’s put this important matter aside for now. I will let you go after the banquet is over and the ceremony is over. Go to Lanzhou.”
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"Haha, silly boy." Li Shimin stood up with a smile and walked to Qin Mubai, patted him on the shoulder and said, "How can I thank you? Not to mention that you are already my son-in-law and half son. Going to Lanzhou is also to solve the country's problems. I should thank you for sharing your worries. What's annoying is that the Tubo people came to disturb you and chose the day of your wedding. I'll mark it down for them."
Qin Mubai smiled: "Your Majesty, this is Wei Chen's own matter. Wei Chen will go to them to settle the matter."
"Haha, that's fine." Li Shimin said with a smile, "Anyway, you have entered the palace. I am very happy with the good news today. Come, have a drink with me before going back. At the wedding ceremony tomorrow, drinking may not be the same as today. Have fun as you like.”
"Wei Chen is happy to accompany you."
The monarch and his ministers then arrived at the Penglai Hall. Li Shimin also asked Li Zhi to accompany him, and the three of them drank and dined together. Li Shimin was in a good mood today. He drank several glasses of Qinxian wine and soon became half drunk. Li Zhi, a young man, looks frail, but he is a natural drinker, and his alcohol capacity is actually very good. He was just drinking Qinxian Hotel as if it were coke, his face was red, but he was not drunk.
Qin Mubai was almost drunk, while Li Shimin laughed drunkenly, praising Li Zhi for finally having something special, which was drinking.
As the night grew darker, Li Shimin, who was already drunk, was helped by the eunuch to rest, and he asked Li Zhi to arrange carriages and horses to take Qin Mubai home. Li Zhi called the eunuch in charge of the carriage and honor guard, arranged the carriage, helped Qin Mubai in and drove him to Xuanwu Gate.
Qin Mubai drank a lot, and the wine had enough stamina. Not long after he got in the car, he felt a little dizzy and fell asleep drunk.
The carriage walked slowly in the backyard of the palace, and the sound of the wheels was extremely clear. Just as they were passing through the gate of Yeting, two eunuchs in charge came up to stop them and asked, "Whose carriage and horses are there?"
The eunuch driving the car replied, saying that he was ordered by the King of Jin to send Qin's consort out of the palace and back to his home.
The two eunuchs in charge glanced at each other, and one of them said, "Is Qin's consort drunk?"
"How does Eunuch Zhao know? The prince-in-law did drink a little too much and is currently sleeping."
"You are the only one who talks a lot." The eunuch named Zhao came forward, glanced sideways at the car, and called in a low voice: "General Qin? General Qin?"
"It seems that he is indeed drunk."
"I'm telling you, you are so ignorant." Another eunuch in charge said arrogantly, "The prince-in-law is very drunk, and he is getting married tomorrow, so you just send him back like this. What if he overslept and missed the important event? Is good?"
"Well, the villain is just doing things under the orders of King Jin..."
"Look at you, you are destined to be a servant for the rest of your life. If you only do one thing after you have given it to me, when will you be promoted? Isn't it possible to do 10% of the work and achieve 12% of the achievements? Listen to me and make Qin's Prince Consort Send him to Yeting to rest, and I will arrange for him to drink the sobering soup, and then take a fragrant bath. After he wakes up and is full of energy, he will go back to his house to rest for a night, and he will definitely be full of energy to attend the wedding tomorrow. Things have been done beautifully, and Qin's consort is so happy that he won't give you a big reward? You should learn from this, you idiot!"
"Uh... Father-in-law, Ye Ting is not a place where you can just enter casually. Isn't that bad? We have been ordered to... "
"Who is the Prince Consort of Qin? In the past, when he was the envoy of Baiqi, there was nowhere in the palace that he could not go to. Now he is a relative of the emperor. It is like taking a walk in his own garden. What are you doing? What's wrong? Stop talking nonsense! Come on! You're a useless loser!"
"yes… "
Qin Mubai in the car was already drunk and completely asleep. I don’t know what happened to Qinxian Yujiu today, but he was particularly high-spirited. In the past, drinking three to five glasses of wine would usually be fine. But today, I was extremely drunk. At first, Qin Mubai just thought that maybe he was tired for the past few days and his drinking capacity had dropped a bit. But as soon as he got on the carriage, he fell asleep in darkness and didn't know anything.
The two eunuchs in charge led the car and entered Yeting in a grand manner. Strangely enough, I didn't meet any eunuchs or maids along the way. They all seemed to have gone back to their respective houses to rest early.
Ye Ting is home to most of the eunuchs and maids in the palace, and there are also some concubines who are not welcome to live here, as if they are in the cold palace.
The carriage arrived in front of a house, and the eunuch in charge stepped forward and opened the door. The eunuch in charge was so frightened that his eyes widened and he asked in surprise: "Eunuch Zhao, how do you lead people here?"
Eunuch Zhao suddenly showed his fierce look. He took out a dagger from his sleeve and plunged it into the chest of the eunuch in charge like cold electricity. Before the other eunuch following the car could scream, a dark figure hiding in the dark grabbed his neck from behind, swung it in a circle, made a clicking sound, and suddenly swallowed.
"Nice job." A cold and pitiful voice came from the corner, accompanied by a low chuckle.
"His Royal Highness, King of Han, I'm so lucky to have fulfilled my destiny and brought you here."
King of Han, Li Yuanchang!
"It's not easy! After waiting for more than half a month, I finally came across a great opportunity today. It seems that this thief is unlucky. Today happens to be the day before the wedding. Hehe! - Brother Fang, you are really good at it. ! I’ll ask you to take care of the corpse and make sure it’s perfect. Eunuch Zhao, you should know what to do next.” Li Yuanchang raised the corner of his mouth and smiled in an evil and obscene way.
"Don't worry, Your Highness, I will leave the power to this villain... I will definitely call this guy, and he will never be able to turn around again!"
"Wonderful. Once things are done, you can wait to be the deputy director of the Neiyuan Supervisor!" Li Yuanchang chuckled.
"Thank you, Your Highness!"
Eunuch Zhao hurriedly got on the carriage, and he and the other eunuch in charge worked hard to lift Qin Mubai out of the carriage and into the guest room in this courtyard. Li Yuanchang watched the process with his hands cut behind his back, and couldn't help shaking his head with satisfaction and smiling: "Qin Mubai, Qin Mubai, I have said before that I will pay you back ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times. Once today is over, you will definitely The disgrace affects the whole family. Even if you are the emperor's son-in-law and confidant, it will not help; even if your father is the governor of Shangzhu Kingdom and Lanzhou, it will be useless. "
"Your Highness, this plan of yours is really based on the way the person is treated, and it is extremely wonderful." Fang Yiai gritted his teeth and said in relief, "Back then, he colluded with Princess Gaoyang's little prostitute. He drugged me and lured me into the trap, causing me to be kicked out of my home and exiled to the desert. Today, it is his turn! Your Highness is right, ordinary petty fights will not work with this guy. We must kill him completely! Only by killing him with the emperor’s hand can we avoid future troubles!”
"Humph! At this moment, the medicinal wine he drank must be full of medicinal properties. In less than half an hour, under the provocation of those two vixens, he will be full of animal nature... Haha! Qin Mubai, Qin Mu Bai, it’s not good for you to harm anyone, but you want to harm the late emperor’s woman! - You are dead!”
…
Late at night, the Prince Consort's mansion was still brightly lit. From the mistress Liu to the little servant, they all stayed awake, lighting the lamp and waiting for Qin Mubai to come back. There is a big wedding tomorrow, and the house needs to make more preparations. It will be tiring tonight. Qin Mubai was summoned to the palace by the emperor just now. He didn't know what the big deal was, and the whole family was a little uneasy.
In the middle of the night, Qin Mubai still didn't come back, and his family became more and more worried. But it was difficult to go to the palace to find someone, so he had to worry.
At this moment, Yao'er, who had not finished his work in Qinxian Pavilion, came back early, and Su Lianqing came with him, eager to find Qin Mubai. Hearing that Qin Mubai had gone to the palace and still hadn't come back, Su Lianqing almost fainted and shouted in her heart: It's broken! !
Fortunately, she could keep her composure and didn't show it in public. She just called Yao'er aside and said to her: "Miss Yao'er, General Qin may be in trouble. You should keep quiet and try your best to enter the palace. You must do it." Meet Her Royal Highness Princess Gaoyang!"
"Ah! Third brother... what happened?" Yao'er was shocked.
"Don't be arrogant! Listen to me and do everything you can to get into the palace to see Princess Gaoyang and tell her that the consort is in trouble! And tell Princess Gaoyang the following..." Su Lianqing whispered to Yao'er and hurriedly said many important things. Things.
"Ah!" Yao'er had just finished listening, and his face turned pale with fright, "This... Third brother won't seriously suffer such a catastrophe, right? Then it will really be all over!"
"Without further delay, I don't care what method you use, you must enter the palace as soon as possible to inform Her Highness Princess Gaoyang! I'll go on my own, there are more important things to do! Don't make the slightest mistake, otherwise, this time General Qin can As long as we are really dead, the Qin family and all of us will die without a burial place!"
"Okay, okay!" Yao'er promised repeatedly with a white face, her body was shaking a little, and she bit her lip and said, "But how can I get into the palace in the middle of the night? This is really annoying! "
"Don't panic!" Su Lianqing bit her lips and rolled her eyes. After thinking for a long time, she clapped her hands and said, "Yes!!"
Late at night, a carriage drove slowly to the brightly lit Xuanwu Gate of Daming Palace and was shouted at. The general at the head of the city yelled and asked, "Who is so bold in his chariot and horse that he breaks into the Daming Palace in the middle of the night?"
Yao'er got down from the carriage, saluted and said: "General, please. I am Qin Xue'er, the adopted daughter of Qin Shubao, Duke of Yi State, and the adopted sister of Qin's consort who will be getting married tomorrow. Because the old Qin family has a custom, the daughter-in-law Before entering the house, the female family member must dress up and wear the heirloom jewelry given by her mother-in-law on the eve of the wedding. This is a complete etiquette. Therefore, the little girl came to the palace to comb the hair and accessories of the princess on the orders of her mother and brother. "
"Is there such a thing?" the military academy guarding the city said suspiciously, "Why haven't we heard about it? No one is allowed to enter the palace in the middle of the night! Unless you have His Majesty's handwriting!"
"Brother General, you who are stationed at the important place of Xuanwu Gate in Daming Palace must be from Baiqi, right? You must know my three brothers!" Yao'er shouted eagerly: "My Qin Xue'er, also known as Yao'er, in Qin The Immortal Pavilion is quite famous, so it’s not like Xiao Xiao’s generation dares to break into the palace to cause trouble, right? Moreover, this is indeed what my mother and brother told me, otherwise the general can confront him! Don’t worry, how about Yao’er, a blind girl, entering the palace alone and being escorted by the general to meet the princess?”
The military academy guarding the city discussed in whispers that a weak female prostitute should be escorted into the palace to confront Princess Gaoyang. We will see what Her Highness the Princess says. We will not be too late to disagree; otherwise, we will all be Baiqi's. People, it is not good to offend anyone, not General Qin Mubai. In addition, Qin Tong and Qin Bin are now officials in Baiqi. Today, this little girl moved out the three elder brothers of the Qin family. If she didn't give this face, she would definitely not be able to bear the consequences if the news came to their ears. If she dared to deceive, she would know it when she met Her Highness Princess Gaoyang and confronted her. Then she would be dealt with. It would not be too late to kill her with a knife for her crime of trespassing into the forbidden palace, and we are not at all wrong.
After discussing it, the military academies opened the door and let Yao'er alone into the palace. They sent a whole team of hundred cavalry military academies to escort her to the Xianju Palace to ask for an audience with Princess Gaoyang.
Princess Gaoyang will get married tomorrow, so many preparations have not yet rested. Hearing that Yao'er had come to ask for an audience, he was immediately extremely surprised. He invited her in without any explanation, drank the military schools away, and went into the boudoir to discuss secretly.
…
In the early morning, Qin Mubai woke up leisurely with a splitting headache!
This sleep felt like a lifetime ago. In his daze, he couldn't tell who he was, where he was sleeping, and whether it was his past life or this life.
There was an inexplicable sound of lazy and charming squealing in his ears. Qin Mubai shook his painful and confused head, opened his hazy eyes and looked to the side. Suddenly, cold sweat broke out all over his body!
Surprisingly, two naked strange women were sleeping next to them!
And he himself was naked!
This surprise made him suddenly come back to his senses. He raised his eyes and looked around, and suddenly screamed in despair: It's over!
The decoration in front of me was very familiar to me. It was clearly in the tent of a concubine in the imperial harem!
Moreover, the room smelled of alcohol and was littered with cups and plates. Overturned tables, chairs, and cups were all over the floor. There were also four eunuch corpses placed in the room. They died in extremely tragic circumstances. He could still vaguely identify him, and among them were the two chariot eunuchs who sent him out of the palace yesterday.
There was a sudden bang in Qin Mubai's mind, and there was only one thought left - what have I done? !
The two beautiful women around him also woke up and looked at Qin Mubai in panic. Their eyes met for a moment, and the two women screamed hysterically at the same time - "Ah, help!!!"
Qin Mubai was immediately furious. He covered the mouths of the two people with one hand on his left and right, and shouted angrily in a low voice: "Don't scream, or I will kill you! - Tell me, who are you?"
The two girls kicked around in panic, their eyes filled with fear, and their mouths whining and unable to speak.
Qin Mubai gritted his teeth and said, "If I am right, you will blink your eyes. Are you the concubines of the harem?"
The two women blinked in panic, extremely frightened.
Qin Mubai suddenly felt weak all over, and his eyes became a little straight: Now, it's really over...!
It was heaven yesterday, but today it is hell!
At this moment, several eunuchs broke in through the door, and screams suddenly broke out.
In the Yeting, there was a chaos of war and chaos...