Xiao Jingyan's voice was not loud when he said these words, but the whole tone contained a strong and sonorous meaning. Emperor Liang's half-drooping eyebrows suddenly trembled, and he slowly raised his eyes, squinting his slightly cloudy eyes. Some sharp light flashed, and it landed on King Jing's face.
"You... What objection do you have?" Emperor Daliang's prolonged tone could not be heard of joy or anger, but he did not have much goodwill. King Yu, who was sitting on his left, immediately adjusted his sitting posture respectfully, and the corners of his lips lifted upwards, but this smug look was immediately controlled by him consciously.
King Jing didn't even look at King Yu, he just nodded again and replied, "My son thinks that no matter what the case was back then, it was the pain of the royal family after all, and the loss of the court should be a misfortune rather than a blessing, so why is it now? Speaking of such relish, without the slightest gloomy heart? Xia Shouzun has always been known for his strong and stern actions, which is really admirable. It is the way of rejuvenating the country, what is the way of subjugating the country, from a distance, there are sages and sages of all dynasties who have written books and made statements, and when I look up close, there is a father, emperor, and sage, but Xia Shouzun just asked me if I was right, how dare I answer?"
King Jing, who has never been known for his eloquence, made such a high-level answer, which surprised his opponents a little. King Yu straightened his waist, and was about to think of something to refute, but Xia Jiang had already laughed and said, "Your Majesty is discussing matters before, and it is common to have different political opinions. If Your Highness does not agree with my proposal, even if it is no, then why not? Such a speech is infuriating? Could it be that I stabbed His Highness just now and made you unhappy? The old minister, let me give you a salute first."
"Yeah, Jingyan, you..." King Yu was busy trying to help, and as soon as he said a few words, he received a quick glance from Xia Jiang, and immediately stopped. He is a smart person, and in a flash, he understood that Xia Jiang didn't want the two to sing together to appear too cooperative, so as not to cause Emperor Liang's suspicion. It's actually true, it's just a bit more tempered, but Xia Shouzun is also more attentive, you know that Jingyan's temperament is just like this, so he won't have any intentions, right?"
"Whether His Royal Highness King Jing has other intentions, the old minister did not hear it, but what you said just now, 'no matter what the circumstances of the case were', the old minister did not understand. This case was decided by His Majesty personally, and it is not pleasant for every trace, could it be Your Highness To this day, has it not been clearly identified?"
In fact, King Jing only needed to explain a few words such as "I didn't mean it", "I didn't have any objection to the case back then", etc., and the matter was pulled apart. It's impossible to chase after him to the death, but King Jing is King Jing after all. Thirteen years of perseverance and stubbornness can't be smoothed out in just over half a year. It can even be said that it is Some of the truths that have been discovered recently have made the fire of anger in his heart even more intense, so at this moment, although he knows that Emperor Liang, who apparently likes to listen or not, is actually waiting to examine his reaction, he should let him ignore it. Xiao Jingyan couldn't really say some smooth and flattering words from his true heart.
"I really don't know how things happened back then. I only know that when I sent Donghai to leave the capital, King Qi was still a virtuous king admired by the world, Shuai Lin was still a loyal and virtuous man, and the Chiyan Army was still Kuang protects the heroic masters in the northern border of Daliang, but when I came back, I was told that they had become traitors, traitors, sinners. How can I prove it clearly?"
"So that's the case," Xia Jiang nodded his head calmly, "So in His Highness's heart, as long as you have the virtuous name of the wise king, the military merits of the shocking master, and the heroic division of soldiers like clouds, can you rebel?"
After Xia Jiang's malicious question, Meng Zhi tried his best to wink at King Jing, implying that he should calm down. However, it is difficult for the boiling blood to cool down instantly. When the deepest and most painful wound in his life was crushed under his feet, the thirty-two-year-old Xiao Jingyan couldn't bear it: "The so-called rebellion has no real evidence, I All I have seen is Xia Shouzun's report on your case."
"No, you only saw Xia Shouzun's case report?" King Yu interjected mildly, "Jingyan, didn't you even see the edict issued by the royal father?"
Hearing this, Emperor Liang, who was leaning on the pillow, finally put down his hand on the side of his forehead, sat up straight, stared into King Jing's eyes and said slowly: "Jingyan, regarding my handling of the Chiyan case... Are you dissatisfied?"
Although this sentence sounds ordinary, it is actually very heavy when you take it seriously. King Jing immediately changed from sitting on the side to kneeling, and bowed down to the ground, but when he raised his head, he still didn't mean to give in.
"My son doesn't have any dissatisfaction with his father, he just thinks that King Qi has always..."
"It's the commoner Xiao Jingyu!" Emperor Liang suddenly burst into anger and said loudly, "What is there to be a Lin Shuai, that's Lin Xie, a defiant minister! Have you learned how to be a prelude to a king?!"
King Jing bit his lower lip fiercely, his teeth imprinted deeply, Fang stabilized the twitching muscles on his face. Meng Zhi immediately knelt down and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, the New Year is approaching, please suspend the wrath of the emperor, so as to bring peace to the people's livelihood..."
"Jingyan, don't say a few words," King Yu also urged softly, "In front of me and the foreign ministers, how can you contradict your father like this?"
In fact, since the beginning of the debate, King Jing has only said two sentences to Emperor Liang, neither of which is intended to contradict, but once the charge of King Yu is detained, it seems that everything Jingyan said was intended to target Liang. God's, it's really a powerful soft knife.
Meng Zhi's forehead has begun to sweat a little, but he is not a person who is agile and changeable. He can think of a way to resolve the current situation at the moment, but he is just anxious in his heart.
"Your Majesty..." Gao Zhan, who had been kneeling at the corner of the hall, quietly crawled over and whispered in Emperor Liang's ear, "The servant dared to remind His Majesty that it's time for you to take a foot bath every day, Zhi Luo. There is a letter from the palace, Concubine Jing is ready..."
Emperor Liang's chest was obviously heaving, and he looked at these people with different expressions of His Highness... Meng Zhi, who was bewildered, King Yu, who tried to be obedient and peaceful, Xia Jiang, who was expressionless, and kneeling there, did not continue to defend, but King Jing, who did not plead guilty.
The old emperor, who was over his ear, suddenly felt discouraged, closed his eyes and waved his hands weakly, and said, "Go back, let's all go back..."
King Yu was a little disappointed. He wanted to say more, but was stopped by Xia Jiang's eyes, so he had to endure and bowed out with everyone.
Arriving outside the hall, King Jing had a sullen face, did not glance at the two companions, and walked away quickly. When King Yu and the Prince were fighting, they had been playing Tai Chi Kungfu, which seemed to be harmonious on the surface, for many years. He was very uncomfortable with the new opponent's cold and unforgiving style. He stared blankly at his back, stomped his foot for a long time, and turned back: "Xia Shouzun, look at him like this..."
"It's not bloody. Your Highness, don't be impatient, the old minister has also resigned." Xia Jiang replied briefly, and handed over. King Yu understood in his heart why he was so cautious, looked left and right, and said no more, returned the ceremony and parted with him separately.
The three of them had just left for a moment, when the emperor's chariots had been carried to the front of Wuying Hall. Gao Zhan carefully helped Emperor Liang out, boarded the car and swayed towards Zhiluo Palace. In recent months, Emperor Liang's foot has been attacked by wind disease, which is often painful and unbearable. The medicine prescribed by the imperial doctor has not been very effective. On the contrary, the medicated foot steaming therapy prepared by Concubine Jing for him can quite relieve the symptoms, so every day before the scheduled time Go, Gao Zhan's reminder was not fake, but the timing was just a little bit coincidental.
Of course, Concubine Jing still didn't know about the turmoil in Wuying Palace, but even if she knew, it was hard to say that her calm and peaceful attitude would change because of it. After being picked up and entering the palace, apart from what she should say about etiquette, she didn't say a word. She was busy serving Emperor Liang, half lying down on the soft chair, removing his shoes and socks, and steaming his feet for a massage. Usually at this time, Emperor Liang would talk to her to relieve the boredom, but today he was in a strange mood. As soon as he sat down, he closed his eyes, as if he was asleep, only the three wrinkles between his brows. , expressing his unhappiness. Concubine Jing didn't ask the reason. Seeing that he closed his eyes, she took the incense soft towel, folded it warmly, gently covered his eyes, and replaced it every half an hour.
About half an hour later, when the steaming treatment was completed, Concubine Jing took white socks made of soft cotton from old cloth and put them on Emperor Liang, and placed his legs flat on the bench that the palace maid had moved over, with his ankles slightly folded. High, and then began to beat the legs. While busy, Emperor Liang suddenly stretched out his hand to remove the fragrance from his eyes, leaned over and grabbed Concubine Jing's wrist, pulled her to him, and called out, "Concubine Jing!"
"Yes," Concubine Jing was dragged by him smoothly, "What is your majesty's order?"
"Tell me, what did you think of Chi Yan's case back then?"
After being asked this abruptly, Concubine Jing's eyes that were as peaceful as water rarely had a ripple in her eyes, and she asked hesitantly, "Why did Your Majesty ask about this..."
"Just answer me. What do you think, I want to hear the truth."
Concubine Jing slowly put away the hand that was beating her leg, took a step back and knelt down, bowing her head and said: "Your Majesty sees the question, the concubine does not dare not answer. But no matter how the concubine answers, it will inevitably make the majesty sad, so I apologize first. , Your Majesty, please forgive me."
Emperor Liang was slightly touched, sat up, and asked, "What do you say?"
"The concubine was born in the Lin Mansion, and had a close relationship with the old concubine Chen. Your Majesty knew it long ago. If the concubine criticized her badly, wouldn't Your Majesty feel that Concubine Chen was born without a close friend and died without memory? But the case of Chi Yan is up to you, Your Majesty. Personally dispose of it, with your sage, in order to stabilize the court. If the concubine cares about the affair with Concubine Chen and excuses the people in the red flames, Your Majesty will inevitably think that the concubine does not understand the painstaking efforts of your overall stability... The concubine is just a little concubine in the deep palace. No matter what you think about the Chiyan case, it is not worth mentioning. But if your majesty is sad because of the answer of the concubine, then it is the sin of the concubine. Therefore, the courtier and concubine are bold, please forgive me first." After saying that, Concubine Jing fell to the ground and bowed again, tears welling up in her eyes.
As for Concubine Chen Lin Leyao, Emperor Liang himself has often secretly reminisced over the years, so Concubine Jing mentioned his old relationship with her, which was the softest part of Emperor Liang's heart. Not only did he not get angry, but he felt sympathetic In agreement, he stretched out his hand to motion for Concubine Jing to come forward, and sighed: "Forget it, you are as gentle as Concubine Chen, and I will not embarrass you anymore. You are by my side, don't I understand you yet? Concubine is different, things outside the palace shouldn’t involve you, it’s just…”
Seeing Emperor Liang's tears and sadness, Concubine Jing hurriedly took a handkerchief to clean his face, and said softly, "My concubine understands that His Majesty had the intention to open up to Concubine Chen back then, but you also know that although she has a gentle and kind-hearted nature, she is after all. The blood of the general, in the face of such a situation, is naturally reluctant to live alone. Based on what the concubine knows about her, it is not so much that she committed suicide because she was afraid of sin, but rather that she feels sorry for you, Your Majesty, and feels that there is no love in life. "
Concubine Jing's remarks made Emperor Liang feel very comfortable, and he couldn't help but nodded. To say that Emperor Liang was not cruel to Concubine Chen at that time, she was deceased during her lifetime, buried briefly after her death, with a thin coffin, a solitary tomb, no stele, and no sacrificial offerings, except that there was indeed no explicit decree for her to commit suicide In addition, the cool things that can be done are almost done, but now that she is old and mourns, she always chooses her lenient things to think about, so as to gain psychological comfort.
"After so many years have passed, you are the only person in the palace who dares to chat with Concubine Chen." Emperor Liang stroked the back of Concubine Jing's hand and said with emotion, "You entered the palace less than a year after Jing Yu was born. Now, you naturally know how good I am to their mother and son... At the temple festival the day before yesterday, I saw Yan Que, and he rarely appears in front of me all year round, I almost forgot about him, but when I saw him the day before yesterday, I found out that there are some It's something I can never forget..."
"My concubine is wondering why Your Majesty is so emotional today. It turns out that it was because I saw Marquis Yan..."
"That's not true. The reason why I remembered these things is because Xia Jiang entered the palace today and told me that he had caught a Chi Yan rebel who had slipped through the net..."
Concubine Jing was taken aback, she almost exhausted all her strength to control the hand she was holding from shaking, but her face couldn't help changing, she hurriedly lowered her head, stabilized her mind, and said for a long time: "Ten It's been so many years... I don't know who the criminal is?"
"You don't know, it was Xiaoshu back then... uh... a lieutenant in the Chiyu camp back then, what was Wei Zheng's name?"
Only then did Concubine Jing settle down and let out a sigh of relief, saying, "How could it be? Didn't the case report say that the entire Chiyu Battalion was wiped out by fire, shouldn't there be no survivors?"
"I thought so too, so I specifically asked Xia Jiang. He said that Wei Zheng had a great life. Originally, as the head of Chiba's lieutenant, he really should have been in Beigu, Meiling, but he happened to be ordered to the main office of Chiyan in Nangu that day. He was on business, so he had a chance to escape. If he was still in North Valley, he probably wouldn't even have a skeleton now."
Speaking of Wei Zheng, Emperor Liang lost the warmth he had when he mentioned Concubine Chen, and his tone was cold. Concubine Jing only felt chills all over her body, and she only held on to the deep control she had cultivated for many years, without showing any inappropriate expressions.
Why did Chatan's Akabane Camp be attacked by a more savage and ruthless killer than the main business, and the fire was so thoroughly wiped out, in fact, Jing Fei understood in her heart.
The chief general of Chiyu Camp, Lin Shu, the hero of the sky, is the only son of Marshal Chiyan Lin Xie and Princess Jinyang, and has been the heart of the Empress Dowager since childhood. When the Chiyan case first broke out, the old lady who had gone through three dynasties but never intervened in the affairs of the state went to the Wuying Hall with her feet stomped, and with tears on her face, asked Emperor Liang to delete Lin Shu's name from the list of principal offenders. For the empress dowager, who was heartbroken at the time, it was impossible for her to save Chi Yanjun, but at the very least, she hoped to at least save the life of her seventeen-year-old great-grandson. However, what she didn't know was that Emperor Liang, who had made up his mind to remove the Chiyan Army, would never leave the young general who went to the battlefield at the age of thirteen, who was scheming and had an invincible reputation for himself. hidden danger. Therefore, even though he was forced to agree to the Empress Dowager and did not list Lin Shu as the main culprit, he still secretly ordered Xie Yu to ensure that Lin Shu had no chance of escaping his life. , In the end, the jade and stones were burned to report back to the empress dowager.
On the day she heard the news of her husband's deceased son's death, the eldest princess Jinyang, who had been quietly waiting for the news, broke into the palace city with her sword and slaughtered herself in front of Chaoyang Palace, with blood splashing on the jade steps.
However, the serious illness of the Empress Dowager and the blood of Princess Jinyang did not prevent Emperor Liang from re-establishing his iron fist of supreme authority. Three days later, Xiao Jingyu was given death. Concubine Chen committed suicide on the same day.
The once vibrant and talented Qi Wangfu disappeared, leaving only the reverberation of the Manchu dynasty from now on.
The concubine Jing in the deep palace has carved the ruthlessness of the royal family into the bone marrow since then. Among those who died, there were Lin Xie who saved her life and treated her like a sister, Princess Jinyang who was inseparable with each other and admired each other, and Concubine Chen who stayed with each other in the palace and loved her more than her sisters, but she had to hide it. Live the tears shed for them, hide the resentment and anger in your heart, put away all your wisdom and emotions, and stay in a corner of the deep palace like an invisible person, waiting for the unknown ending.