The snow in Qingzhou lasted for three consecutive days. Jiang Li was in an unfamiliar house, and there were people who followed her wherever she went. Even when she went to the clean room, there was a maid who knew martial arts next to her watching.
She couldn't escape, but it was a small courtyard guarded by layers of soldiers. She became the most important bargaining chip, and she couldn't tolerate any slips. Jiang Li has never seen Yin Zhiqing since last time. Jiang Li counted the days, and didn't know what was going on outside, or that the people of Ye Family and Situ Jiuyue were okay now, let alone where Ji Heng was and whether he had encountered anything. She can only sit hopelessly. These days, she has even changed from the calm and calmness of the past. She does not hesitate to go on a hunger strike to protest, or quarrel, or threaten, but it has no effect. Apart from these silent guards, she can't see anyone.
It's the same night.
In the middle of the night, only the sound of wind and snow can be heard outside. Jiang Li was sitting at the table. She couldn't sleep, just thinking about how to escape. The oil lamp dimmed the room and also reflected the shadow on the ground. It is the winter day when the leaves are withered, and only the bare tree trunks are outside. Therefore, the swaying figure is particularly eye-catching.
The figure fell on the ground, lingering, as if it were just Jiang Li's illusion. Jiang Li stared at the shadow on the ground for a long time before saying: "Since Young Master Yin is here, why not enter?"
The figure outside moved slightly, and then, there was a sigh, and with a squeak, the door was pushed open, and someone walked in from outside.
It is Yin Zhili.
Jiang Li hadn't seen Yin Zhili for a while, and his face was extremely haggard under the lights, as if he had changed himself. His eyes were no longer as clear and gentle as they were when he first saw him, instead, he was filled with countless complex and unwilling looks. He stood in front of Jiang Li and said, "Miss Jiang."
The handsome and gentle boy in the past has disappeared, and the Yin Zhili in front of him is extremely strange. Jiang Li stared at him and said, "Please sit down, Master Yin."
Yin Zhili sat down.
Jiang Li said: "Would you like a cup of tea?" She picked up the teapot on the table, poured a cup for Yin Zhili, and handed it to Yin Zhili. Yin Zhili looked at the tea cup in front of him, did not reach out to pick it up, and didn't mean to drink it.
Jiang Li smiled and said with some regret: "Not fooled."
All the tea here is mixed with medicine, which makes the body unable to exert too much energy, nor can it do other things. Perhaps the person who kept her knew that she was very cunning, and was afraid that she would escape with a trick, and came up with such a way. Yin Zhili seemed to have known it a long time ago, and he didn't even connect.
Sure enough, he looked at Jiang Li and whispered: "I'm sorry."
Yin Zhili's face showed a little guilt. This made him seem to finally have a little bit of Jiang Li's acquaintance. Jiang Li sighed and said, "I just ask you, where is the girl who came out with me that day? And those from the Ye family, Mr. Xue, how did you deal with it? Haitang's little finger..."
"Don't worry," Yin Zhili replied, "They are all right. Now that you are here, those people are useless to keep, they are all sent back. As for Haitang's fingers... I'm sorry..."
"Your father did it." Jiang Li stared into his eyes.
Yin Zhili was silent, which was acquiescence. Jiang Li had already guessed this. Yin Zhili's nature is not bad, such cruel methods can only be made by Yin Zhan. I'm afraid that all this is for Yin Zhan to pave the way for Yin Zhili. No matter what the result of Yin Zhan and Ji Heng's fight, Yin Zhili can use his whole body to retreat.
"Where is your father now?" Jiang Li asked.
"I don't know." Yin Zhan replied, "he didn't tell me."
Yin Zhili locked himself here, the more he felt guilty, the more Jiang Li knew that he couldn't let him go. In other words, Yin Zhili couldn't let go of herself at all. This was Yin Zhan's arrangement, and Yin Zhan's arrangement just couldn't be changed. Yin Zhili himself is also a chess piece of Yin Zhan, and this chess game is controlled by him.
"Where is this place?" Jiang Li asked.
"There is still a hundred miles away from Qingzhou."
"When are you going to lock me up?" Jiang Li asked.
Yin Zhili looked up, Jiang Li's eyes were very calm, there was no trace of resentment or blame against him, the more he was like this, the more he didn't know how to deal with it, so he had to avoid Jiang Li's gaze.
Everything was arranged by Yin Zhan, and he was Yin Zhan's son and had to obey. The blood of the queen mother was still bleeding on him, and even if he didn't want to, he had already boarded the ship and couldn't look back. The people who stayed behind Yin Zhan told him that if Yin Zhan could come back alive, everything would be done after Yin Zhan came back. If Yin Zhan couldn't come back alive, he would take Jiang Li and set off from Qingzhou with Changhe as the boundary. One hundred thousand in the Yin Jiabing cloud, Qingzhou still hides one hundred thousand. If not only Yin Zhan can't come back, but Ji Heng is still alive, use Jiang Li as a bait to lure Ji Heng to kill Ji Heng.
These things, Yin Zhili has no right to refuse. Because when he learned, Yin Zhan had disappeared. The lives of everyone in the Yin family are tied to Yin Zhili. If Yin Zhili doesn’t do this, the people of the Yin family, Yin Zhiqing, Mrs. Yin, all the subordinates of the Yin family, the uncles and uncles he knows, and the master of martial arts. , And the soldiers who accompanied Yin Zhan on the battlefield, all will be wiped out. With so many lives tied to him, Yin Zhili couldn't refute it, and he couldn't help it.
After a long time, Yin Zhili looked at Jiang Li, and he asked softly, "Ms. Jiang... I really like Lord Su?"
When Jiang Li felt cold, it was these words, and she could see Yin Zhili's heartfelt voice. She paused and said, "Yes."
Hearing Jiang Li's answer, Yin Zhili felt a pain in his heart. A dark and obscure emotion rose from his heart and was held back by him. He said, "How does Su Guo Gong treat Miss Jiang?"
"If you want to use me as a bait to lure and threaten Ji Heng, you'd better give up this thought." Jiang Li said coldly: "Yin Zhili, don't let me look down on you."
Yin Zhili smiled bitterly when he heard the words, he said: "Miss Jiang looks down on me, it's all right, even I look down on myself, so how can I care about others?"
His expression turned out to be sullen, there was a kind of rascal. If others see it, they will be shocked. It is really hard to imagine how this glorious man would look like this now.
"However, I also hope that there is no need for this day to kill the person you love with your own hands. You will inevitably hate me for a lifetime. I don't want you to hold grudges against me." He said.
Jiang Li was silent. If there was really no need for this day, Ji Heng had already died before then. This would not make Jiang Li happy, it would only make her more worried.
"What do you want, Young Master Yin?" Jiang Li asked, "You tied me up and threatened Ji Heng, but the soldiers and horses outside seem not easy. Do you want to rise up and rebel like a king, and aim for the throne? "
Yin Zhili became excited suddenly, and he slammed the tea cups on the table, splashing hot tea on the ground, white gas appeared, and fragments splashed everywhere. The soldiers outside heard the sound and rushed into the house to take a look. Yin Zhili told them to get out, and then they went out.
Yin Zhili sneered and said: "Who is rare for this throne!"
"Your father is rare." Jiang Li replied.
It seemed that Yin Zhili didn't want to rebel anymore, but Yin Zhan's attitude was so determined. This made Jiang Li even more puzzled, but looking at Yin Zhili's appearance, he didn't intend to say anything. Jiang Li said: "I remember when I was playing chess with Master Yin before, you said that war will make the people suffer. You know that once your Yin family soldiers rise up, no hundreds of people will be displaced, and countless people will lose their wives. This is also you. What do you want to see?"
Yin Zhili groaned in pain. Jiang Li couldn't bear his appearance. He seemed to be roasted on a fire. He was unpleasant on both sides, but he couldn't go to the other side of his original intention. He could see it at a glance. The road to destiny ending.
He said: "I don't want to... I don't want to... But I can't help it."
"You have a way." Jiang Lirou said, "You are the son of Junwang Xia. It's still too late to stop it. Don't let things go to the point where they don't turn around and try to figure out a solution. It's still too late, isn't it?"
She tried to move Yin Zhili. Yin Zhili was stunned for a moment, but suddenly stood up, his eyes became determined, and the gaze that looked at Jiang Li did not return to the warmth of the past, with a trace of breaking indifference and confession, he said: " Needless to say, Miss Jiang, you are not me. I don’t understand that I have no other way to go. Since I was born in the Yin family, I am destined to have today. This is my destiny, and I don’t intend to resist it anymore, so you, Accept your fate too." After saying this, he no longer looked at Jiang Li, turned around and walked away.
The door was closed again, and the room returned to silence, only the remnants of the tea cup on the ground showed what had happened just now. Jiang Li looked outside the door and sighed deeply.
Yin Zhili couldn't walk this way either, but fortunately, both Ye's family and Jiuyue were all fine. Yin Zhili is still not going to attack them. For Yin Zhan, he thinks that he is the only one who can threaten Ji Heng, and other people are also a burden, so you don't have to worry about it. But... What about Ji Heng
In Yin Zhili's words, I haven't seen Yin Zhan until now, and I don't know what's going on outside. Jiang Li could only pray silently in her heart, hoping that Ji Heng would be safe.
…
Qingzhou and Yanjing are too far apart. Qingzhou is still in the wind and snow, and the streets of Yanjing City are almost empty at night.
In the wind and snow, the palace still stands firmly there, as if it will never waver. It's just not as magnificent as in the past, and it looks like an ordinary house. It even looked like a spooky and magnificent underground palace, and the people who walked in directly taught that there was no return.
In the Ci Ning Palace, the lights flickered and the earth dragon burned very vigorously, so it was not as cold as it was outside. The scriptures are randomly placed on the desk, and no one has transcribed them for a long time. Only the incense in the incense burner burned in this quiet night, like a legendary slap-sized beast with red eyes, murderously hidden under gentleness.
The Queen Mother leaned on the soft couch, sleeping in her sleep. Recently, she always likes to be in a daze. Sitting in the temple, she wants to copy a few scriptures calmly, but she can't calm down, so she doesn't copy it. There was nothing to do when she was not copying the scriptures. In the past, when Princess Liu was there, she could still hear her doing demon troubles. After she left, the harem became more deserted, but some rabbits and foxes became sad. The concubines of Emperor Hong Xiao didn't like to come to her. She, the empress dowager, had already taken care of the affairs of the world. In the harem, too, the concubines are busy uniting and striving for favor, but there is no free time to deal with her an old woman.
The queen mother missed the time before. It seems that when I was young in the harem, when I was jealous with Concubine Liu Shu and Concubine Xia, it also became lovely. Of course, what I remember most is the time related to Yin Zhan. She dreamed of the scene when she first met Yin Zhan more than once. Yin Zhan was riding a horse. The young man was tall and handsome with a hearty smile on his face. After rescuing her from the gangster, she bandaged him. Yin Zhan sat on the rock and looked at her with a smile. She blushed when she was seen, but she still mustered the courage to ask Yin Zhan's name. She was addicted to this dream and didn't want to wake up. Every time she opened her eyes, she was in a trance that everything was just a big dream. She was still a young lady of the Lin family, and she still had the opportunity to change.
But not after all. Today, she dreamed of Yin Zhan again, but this time Yin Zhan was not the Yin Zhan when she first met. She was at the Hongshan Temple. One hundred archers besieged and killed Ji Minghan that day, but Ji Minghan was missing. She returned to the house and found that Yin Zhan was also injured. She knew that Yin Zhan had killed many people, and Ji Junhan was his good brother. Yin Zhan was silent, and she asked, "Are you resenting me?"
"No." Yin Zhan replied, "I have never complained about you. I just hate that I didn't meet you sooner."
The next moment, Yin Zhan's figure was suddenly swallowed by the raging fire, his expression was painful, and he called his name: "Rou Jia..."
The queen mother suddenly opened her eyes and woke up from her dream sweating profusely. Mei Xiang stepped forward and said with concern: "The empress dowager, are you okay?"
"It's okay." The queen mother wiped the sweat on her forehead with her veil, and said: "It turned out to be a nightmare."
As soon as she finished saying this, she heard the voice of a man coming from outside, "What nightmare did the queen have to make her look like this?"
The queen mother raised her eyes and looked forward. Emperor Hong Xiao appeared at the entrance of the main hall. Behind him, the eunuch palace man knelt on the ground. It was about that when he came in, people were not informed, and the queen mother did not hear a sound. Emperor Hong Xiao walked in with a smile, and the queen mother straightened up and said with a smile: "How does the emperor remember this today?"
Her heart was beating very fast, I wonder if her dream was so scared that she hadn't eased her mind, and she always felt that the dream was very unknown. Even the smile is reluctant. Emperor Hong Xiao rarely came to Cining Palace on weekdays, and when he spoke with her, he was mostly in the imperial garden.
"It's windy and snowy outside today. I specially came to see the mother queen." Hong Xiaodi waved to Su Gonggong, and Su Gonggong told the surrounding palace people to retreat.
The queen mother vaguely noticed something was wrong, but she couldn't tell what was wrong. Asking Mei Xiang to serve Emperor Hong Xiao tea, he walked to the tea table and asked Emperor Hong Xiao to sit down.
Emperor Hong Xiao looked at the incense on the empress dowager's incense case and asked with a smile, "Who is the empress praying for?"
The queen mother replied: "Naturally, it is for the common people of the world. There are not a few people who freeze to death in the snow disasters in various places. After hearing this, the mourning family is very sad and can't do anything. They can only copy the scriptures and pray for them in the palace."
"The mother has the world in her heart." Emperor Hong Xiao exclaimed.
The queen mother raised her eyes to look at the emperor. I don't know when she started. The prince who once made her look an eyesore has grown into this appearance. She still remembered that soon after the prince died, in order to stabilize her position, she had to pretend to be a kind mother and a filial piety with the prince. She still remembered that Emperor Hong Xiao was cowardly and cowardly when he was a teenager, and he obeyed her words. But she underestimated the prince. Every prince has the blood of the first emperor on his body, and plundering and pretending are their instincts since birth. From the matter of becoming a king, it can be seen that Emperor Hong Xiao is the same, even before he awakened, when he was a boy, he knew to use himself to get what he wanted.
Think about it, the deep palace is like a jungle, how can a beast that grows up in the jungle not eat people? The queen mother again thought of Yin Zhili, the young man she saw at the palace banquet. After more than 20 years, she saw her son for the first time. Yin Zhili's gentleness, such as jade, was her favorite and proud, but now, she is worried about her son's chance of winning when facing the terrible emperor.
She can't let Yin Zhili fail, and can't let that happen, so she has to clear all obstacles for Yin Zhili. Including the emperor in front of him. She definitely couldn't do it alone, there was still Yin Zhan at all. No matter what difficulties she encounters, only this man will not abandon her, and will always stand behind her to solve all the problems for her.
"Actually, when I came today, there is one more thing I want to tell the queen." Emperor Hong Xiao picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, and said unhurriedly: "The King Xia is dead."
The queen mother had also smiled and went to get the teacup, she shook her movements when she heard the words, and some tea poured out, and Mei Xiang quickly took the veil to wipe the stains on the table. Then the Queen Mother held the tea cup tightly, as if trying to hold it accurately, her smile was a little stiff, and said: "What nonsense your Majesty is talking about, well, how could King Xia die?"
"It's true." Emperor Hong Xiao answered naturally, "On the Qingzhou Red Tower, General Ji of the Guogong Mansion killed Jun King Xia, and King Xia also killed General Ji. It's a pity."
It's a pity to say "light and fluttering". I can't hear any tone. It makes people unable to guess the emperor's thoughts, and people don't know what he means. Standing behind the Queen Mother, Mei Xiang's complexion changed slightly, and she couldn't help but look behind Emperor Hong Xiao. There, two imperial guards with knives stood as firm as a rock. As if knowing all her thoughts.
"How could it be?" The queen mother laughed. She didn't go to see Emperor Hong Xiao, but looked at the armor on her hand, as if to carefully see the gems on the armor, she said: " How could General Ji kill the King Xia, and how could King Xia kill General Ji? The Ai Family is getting older, so your Majesty don’t make jokes about these things, and the Ai Family will not take it seriously." It seems like a child lying. , The adults forgave him forgively.
"I don't have the heart to make this kind of joke with others." Emperor Hong Xiao smiled, "It's fine if the queen doesn't believe it. Soon, the bodies of Old General Ji and King Xia will also be sent back to Beijing for burial. "
The face of the queen mother finally changed. She raised her head to look at Emperor Hong Xiao, the emperor who had grown up under her nose, finally showed a vicious look like a beast. With just one glance, the queen mother knew that it was impossible for him to know nothing, he knew it all.
But she still had to struggle, as if she could get through it, the queen mother laughed, and she said, "I don't understand. The emperor is so relaxed, is he not going to ask sin?"
"Ask? The mother did not know something. This can be traced back to a long time ago. Speaking of it, I have only recently learned about it." The emperor smiled, "Many years ago, Su Guo Gong’s father, General Jin Wu, disappeared. She was framed and killed by King Xia. The hatred of killing his father is not shared. It is understandable that Ji Heng killed King Xia, but the old general loves his grandson and helped Ji Heng complete this matter. The mother’s queen, it is justified to kill and pay for life. I can't say anything, does the queen hope that I will favor someone?"
The Queen Mother looked at Emperor Hong Xiao and stayed silent for a long time.
Emperor Hong Xiao laughed again, and he said: "I almost forgot. When I was ambushing and besieging General Jinwu, the mother and queen were also there, so I would naturally favor the King of Xia."
At this time, the Queen Mother had calmed down instead. She looked at Emperor Hong Xiao, smiled, and said, "Your Majesty, for so many years, the Lamentation Family has treated you very well. If you want to put the Lamentation Family to death, you don't have to use this method. Is there any evidence for you to slander Aier's family like this?"
"Evidence?" Emperor Hong Xiao smiled, and he said every word: "Yin Zhili is the evidence."
Mei Xiang's hand tightened her skirt tightly, and the Queen Mother's complexion changed drastically. This was her biggest weakness. If Hong Xiaodi threatened her with this, she would have no chance of winning!
"The queen forgot so quickly. Not long ago, before King Xia Jun left Yanjing to go to Qingzhou, didn't he still come to look for the queen?"
He knew it a long time ago! The queen mother's heart couldn't help but tremble, she looked at Emperor Hong Xiao like a monster. She had thought many times that the truth would be discovered one day, but it was not like this. She doesn't have any chips in her hand, and Yin Zhan is not by her side. She is like a piece of fish that can be slaughtered at will.
It is not that she is weak and omnipotent, but that neither she nor Yin Zhan underestimated the emperor.
"The mother queen pinned me in the palace, the King Xia pinned Su Guo Gong in Qingzhou, and Yin Zhili led the Yin family to raise troops south of Changhe. I have to admire the patience of King Xia. For so many years, I have been dormant for so many years to set up a bureau." Hong Xiao The emperor smiled and said, "I'm really exhausted for Yin Zhili."
The queen mother said: "Does the emperor want to kill Laijia?"
"How come?" Emperor Hong Xiao smiled: "Isn't Yin Zhili still alive?"
"The emperor wants to use the mourning family to threaten Yin Zhili?" The queen mother sneered.
"No." Emperor Hong Xiao said gently: "The queen knows that I don't like to do such a thing. Just as the king won't take risks for Liu Taifei, Yin Zhili may not get lucky for the mother's queen."
What he said was extremely mean. The queen mother stared at Emperor Hong Xiao for a long time and suddenly laughed. She shook her head while laughing, almost bursting into tears. She said: "The third child, it turns out that the Aijia has always underestimated you. The Aijia has always underestimated you. Let’s just say, Xia Liulan’s son, how could he be such a virtue? Turns out it wasn’t that you were bad, but that the Aijia took a blind eye!"
Xia Liulan is the name of Concubine Xia. When Emperor Hong Xiao heard this name, he looked at him, put a smile away, and said, "The death of my mother and concubine back then has something to do with you!"
Concubine Xia Gui died shortly after giving birth to Emperor Hong Xiao, and everyone else said that she died of illness. Emperor Hong Xiao had searched for so many years, and found the old man in the palace, but said that Concubine Xia was in good health before that, without a trace of illness.
"Hmph, in a place like the palace, there are countless people who want Xia Liulan to die, but it wasn't the Aijia who did it!" The Queen Mother said with disdain.
Emperor Hong Xiao's face was blue and white, and he didn't seem to believe this answer. Sure enough, the queen mother's next sentence immediately made him furious. She said: "But after Xia Liulan gave birth to you, Laijia was really unwilling. In the palace, I want a person's life, sometimes not. You need to do it. Just say one thing, your Majesty intends to make you a prince, and there are countless people who will do it for the Ai family."
"You!" Emperor Hong Xiao was extremely angry. A word made by the Queen Mother made her a bright target in the palace. Poor Concubine Xia had just had a child at that time, and her heart was all on her own child, where would he pay attention to other things.
"The Aijia just hates. Those people didn't kill you together, leaving a curse." The queen mother's eyes were full of resentment, "If I had known today, the Aijia would have taken you out of it at that time. Get rid of the world!"
"It's a pity that you don't have this chance." Emperor Hong Xiao calmed down again. He said, "Although my mother concubine was not killed by you, she died because of you. I will write down this debt for you first. As I said, if you owe debts to pay, kill and pay, God will punish the sins you and Yin Zhan did. Now that Yin Zhan is dead, it will be Yin Zhili's turn next. When Yin Zhili is also dead, I will I personally sent you on the road. No, I changed my mind, I will not let you die, I will let you live, imprison you in the palace, worse than the concubine in the cold palace, let you look at the person next to you I die, and live forever. This is the best punishment for you. I want to tell the world about the scandals you and Yin Zhan have committed, and let Yin Zhili be like a rat crossing the street, even if he rebels and follows his people I will be ashamed of him, and he will not be able to get rid of this stigma when he dies, and he will be stabbed in the backbone even when he dies!"
"No—" The Queen Mother screamed. She was about to grab the face of Emperor Hong Xiao. The guard beside Emperor Hong drew his sword and out of the sheath, protecting Emperor Hong Xiao and pushing her. The queen mother fell to the ground and made a statement. The updos are all loose.
"No..." she murmured.
Emperor Hong Xiao glanced at her coldly, turned around and walked out, and said, "Come here, lock her up! No one is allowed to see the queen mother without my permission, and," he smiled coldly, "watch well. , Don't let her die."
The queen mother fell to the ground, Mei Xiang came to help her, but she stretched out her hand in vain, looked at Mei Xiang, and said: "He is lying to me, Yin Zhan is not dead, right?"
Tears flowed down her eyes.
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The little emperor is actually quite handsome, do you like the little emperor, raise your hand~