Mei Changsu's tone was very low, and it reached Yan Que's ears moderately. His eyes were firmly locked on his face, not letting go of every change in his expression.
But what was a little surprising was that Yan Que's face was calm, as if the sudden words did not give him the slightest throbbing, the kind of calm and magnanimity that almost made Mei Changsu think that all his speculations and judgments were in vain. is completely wrong.
But this feeling was only for a brief moment, and he quickly confirmed that he was not wrong, because Yan Que raised his head and glanced at him.
Those eyes that have been hidden and lowered for a long time are not as calm as his expression, and in the pupils that are not cloudy even though they are old, there are extremely strong and complex emotions. There is shock, there is despair, there is resentment, there is sadness, but nothing but fear.
It can be said that Que should be afraid. Because what he planned, no matter from which point of view, it was absurd, enough to annihilate the nine clans, and such a heinous crime was obviously already in the hands of the elegant scholar in front of him.
However, he had no fear, he just stared at Mei Changsu with no expression on his face, only those eyes, tired, sad, and at the same time mixed with a deep and unquenchable resentment.
That kind of eyes made him look like a traveler who was trudging on the mountain road and was about to reach the top after suffering untold hardships. He suddenly found that there was an insurmountable gap in front of him, and he said to him coldly: "Look back. Well, you can't make it through."
Mei Changsu stood in front now, informing him of his failure. At this time, he had no time to think about the bloody consequences of failure, and there was only one thought in his mind for the time being.
Can't kill him. Not even this time, I'm afraid I won't be able to kill that man again in the future.
At this time, Yan Yujin and Xiao Jingrui had already slowed down and ran over, looking at the two of them strangely.
"Yujin, do you have any quiet place? I have something to discuss with Lingzun, and I don't want to be disturbed by anyone." Mei Changsu turned his head and asked calmly.
"Yes... There is a building in the back..." Yan Yujin was very smart, just by looking at the expressions of the two, he could faintly sense something was wrong, "Brother Su, please come with me..."
Mei Changsu nodded and turned to Yan Que: "Master Hou, please."
Yan Que smiled miserably, raised his head, took a deep breath, and said in a low voice, "Sir, please."
The group walked silently, and even Xiao Jingrui didn't say a word knowingly. When they arrived at the painting building, Mei Changsu and Yan Que went in and motioned the two young people to stay outside the building with their eyes. In the innermost part of the painting building is a clean studio with simple furniture. Apart from the bookshelves beside the walls, there is only one table, one table, two chairs, and a long couch by the window.
"Master Hou," Mei Changsu said straight to the point when they both sat down on the chairs, "Have you buried all the gunpowder under the altar?"
Yan Que's cheek muscles tightened, but he didn't speak.
"Of course Lord Hou can deny it, but it's not difficult to check. As long as I notify Meng Zhi, he will look over the entire altar from the inside out." , "I think, you are asking the immortals to visit the Dao, just to communicate with the mage in charge of the ritual without attracting attention? Of course these mage are all your comrades, or in other words, you pushed all your accomplices. Become a mage. Is that so?"
Yan Que glanced at him and said coldly, "Guo Hui Yiyao, Mr. Su is so smart, is he really not afraid of losing his life?"
"The number of lifespans is determined by heaven, so why worry too much about yourself." Mei Changsu looked back at him indifferently, "It's the Marquis...do you really think you can succeed?"
"At least until you appeared, everything went very smoothly. In the name of the drill, my mages have buried all the gunpowder without knowing it, and the fuse is in the sacrificial furnace. As long as the emperor burns incense and worships the sky that day, When the tin foil is lit and thrown into the altar, the whole altar will detonate."
"As expected," Mei Changsu sighed, "When the emperor was burning incense, although the princes and ministers were all kneeling nine feet below the stage, they could be spared, but the queen had to accompany you on the altar... Although you After many years of estrangement, you still care about a little brother-sister relationship, so you try to make her unable to participate in the ceremony, right?"
"That's right," Yan Que said frankly, "although she is full of sins, she is my sister after all, and I don't want her to be shattered... Did Mr. Su find me because of her strange illness?"
"Not exactly. Apart from the strangeness of the Queen's disease, a word Yujin said once made me suspicious."
"Yujin?"
"That night, he sent me a few baskets of Lingnan citrus, saying that they were shipped by the official ship, and they were very popular. Because you made a reservation, the Yanfu was only able to get it." Mei Changsu glanced over, his eyes sharp as knives. , "A person like you who asks the immortals to visit Taoism, doesn't ask about family affairs, and doesn't even spend the New Year's Eve with his family, will he deliberately order a few baskets of oranges in order to prepare fresh fruits for the New Year? You are just using this as an excuse, the former Just determine the date of the official ship's arrival in Hong Kong, so that your gunpowder can enter Beijing at the same time with the gunpowder of the household department. Once someone notices something strange, you can take advantage of the trend and index the line to the private gun workshop. As long as the time matches, it is naturally difficult. being discovered."
"It's a pity that you still see through." Yan Que sneered, "Mr. Su is so talented, no wonder everyone wants to grab you."
Mei Changsu ignored his sarcasm, still quietly asked: "The Marquis is willing to risk extermination of the family and assassinate the emperor, what exactly do you want to do?"
Yan Que stared at him for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing: "I don't want to do anything else, I just want him to die. Assassinating the emperor is my ultimate goal. Because he really deserves to die, what is going against the sky, I don't care what kind of rebellion, as long as I can kill him, I will do anything."
Mei Changsu looked forward, and said in a low voice, "For the sake of Concubine Chen?"
Yan Que's body trembled, Huo Ran stopped laughing and turned to look at him: "You... actually know Concubine Chen?"
"It's not too long ago, so I know what's strange. Back then, the eldest son of the emperor, King Qi, was convicted and sentenced to death, and his biological mother, Concubine Chen, committed suicide in the palace. Although no one mentions them now, after all, it's only been 12 years... "
"Twelve years..." Yan Que's smile was extremely sad, and his tearful eyes were burning like fire, "It's been long enough, now who else but me remembers her..."
Mei Changsu was silent for a moment, then said lightly, "Since Lord Hou has such deep affection for her, why did he watch her enter the palace in the first place?"
"Why?" Yan Que gritted his teeth, "Just because that person is the emperor. He was the emperor we fought to protect each other and helped him ascend to the throne. When we were young, we studied together, practiced martial arts together, and worked together to calm the crisis of Daliang. At that time, everyone was still friends, but once he became an emperor, there were only two characters in the world. The three of us... how many times have we made vows together that we will share weal and woe together, and we must support each other in life and death. He finally Not a single one has been fulfilled. In the second year of his accession to the throne, he took away Le Yao. Although he knew that we had promised each other, he did not hesitate to do so. Brother Lin advised me to bear with it, but it seemed that I could only bear it. When Le Yao was born, when Le Yao was named Concubine Chen, I even thought that I could let go completely, as long as he was nice to her... But what happened? Jing Yu died, Le Yao died, even Brother Lin... He could also be heartless. It's removed, if I hadn't been disheartened and fled far away from the world, he wouldn't have cared about adding another life to me... Such a cold emperor, do you think he shouldn't die?"
"So you've been planning for so many years, and you just want to kill him," Mei Changsu stared at Yan Que's somewhat old eyes, "But what happens after you kill him? Infighting between the two sides will inevitably lead to instability in the government and borders. Who will suffer in the end, and who will benefit? It is possible that King Qi is still a rebel, the Lin family is still a traitor, and Concubine Chen is still alone, with no license, no position, no mausoleum!
Mei Changsu came here to help his illness, firstly because the time was indeed too urgent, and secondly, it was also to protect Yanhou. At this time, he scolded him harshly, his heart gradually moved with true anger, his voice became more and more passionate, and there was a shallow flush on his face. , "Marquis Yan, do you think you are taking revenge? No, the real revenge is not like you, you are just venting your personal anger, and in order to breathe out, you will take more people in. Xuanjing Division Are they supposed to be vegetarians? How could they not try their best to investigate the emperor’s assassination? Since I can find you in advance, they can find you after the fact! You may feel that it’s okay to die without fun, but Yujin How innocent is to be implicated by you? Even if he is not born by your beloved, he is still your own son, and he has not been loved and loved by you since he was a child. How can you endure this kind of heart? You keep saying that the emperor has a cold heart, how can you be more affectionate than him?"
His words were as stern as to pierce the skin, Yan Que's lips trembled violently, he covered his eyes with his hands, and murmured, "I know I'm sorry Yujin... He unfortunately became my son in this life... Maybe it's his. Die..."
Mei Changsu sneered: "You have no hope of success now, if you still feel a little guilty towards Yujin, why don't you turn around as soon as possible?"
"Go back?" Yan Que smiled miserably, "The arrow has been wound, how do you go back?"
"The sacrificial ceremony has not yet started, and the emperor's fire paper has not been thrown into the sacrificial furnace, why can't you turn around?" Mei Changsu's eyes were calm and his face was solemn, "How did you bury the gunpowder, just take it out, and then transport it to the private sector. Near the gunsmith, I will send someone to take over."
Yan Que looked up at him, his eyes extremely surprised, "What do you mean by that? Why are you in this mess?"
"Because I'm working for King Yu, the queen will inevitably get involved if you commit the crime of treason. It's the best choice to turn big things into small ones." Mei Changsu said lightly, "If I didn't do it for you. , why bother to come here to talk to you in the quiet room, and go directly to the Xuanjing Division to report it?"
"You..." Yan Que's eyes flashed, and he looked at the weak scholar suspiciously for a while, and he didn't know what to think, his expression gradually changed from excitement to gloomy, "Of course you want to let me go, but I'm going to say something ugly before. Even if you open up this time, even if you hold the handle of me in your hand, I will definitely not serve your Lord."
Mei Changsu smiled and said, "I didn't plan on letting you serve King Yu. The Lord Hou just needs to continue begging immortals to visit Dao in peace. Please wait and see how things change in the imperial court."
Yan Que looked at him with uneasy eyes, shook his head and said, "There is no unreasonable kindness in the world, you let me go without expecting anything in return, what is your intention?"
Mei Changsu's eyes were faint, and a bleak smile appeared on his face: "Master Hou does not forget Concubine Chen because of his affection, and he does not forget Lin Shuai, because of righteousness. There are too few people in this world who still have affection in their hearts. , can save one is one... I just hope that Lord Hou remembers my good words and persuades me today, and don't act rashly anymore."
Yan Que stared at him for a long time, took a long breath, and said with a loud laugh: "Okay! Since Mr. Su has such audacity at such a young age, I will no longer speculate. I will find a way to remove the gunpowder under the altar. , But the day of the festival is approaching, and the defense is getting stricter, if I unfortunately make a mistake and reveal my deeds, I hope that Mr. will save his life for the sake of interacting with Xiaoer."
Mei Changsu raised his eyebrows lightly and said with a smile: "Yan Houye and Commander Meng are not without old friends, this year is a good time, I'm afraid he doesn't have the heart to seriously arrest people, so the Houye just needs to be careful and be a no-brainer. hinder."
"Then it's good news for Mr. Cheng." Yan Que bowed his hands in salute, smiled slightly, and completely recovered his composure. After such a thrilling life-and-death-related conversation, the plan he had been planning for many years was suddenly terminated, but he was able to adjust his mood so quickly, and he was stable as usual in a short period of time. Inadvertently praised.
The words have come to this point, any more words will be redundant. The two got up together in tacit understanding and walked out of the painting building. As soon as the door opened, Yan Yujin rushed over and shouted, "Father, Brother Su, you guys..." When he asked here, he suddenly felt that he didn't know how to ask, and stopped halfway.
"I've already agreed with Lord Ling Zun that after the New Year's Eve this year, your father and son will observe the New Year together." Mei Changsu said with a smile, "As for Fei Liu, I have to trouble you to find another time to take him to play."
Yan Yujin looked at this, then looked at that. He knew that the content of the secret conversation in the painting house would not be so ridiculous, but he was a smart person with great wisdom under the laughter. The suspicious group, with a bright smile, nodded and replied, "Okay!"
Mei Changsu also smiled and looked around, "Where's Jing Rui?"
"His father and mother of Zhuo's family will be here tonight and must go to greet him, so I told him to go back."
"Zhuo Dingfeng is here..." Mei Changsu frowned, "Do they come every year?"
"Once every two years. Sometimes it will come for several years in a row. Because Uncle Xie is in an important position and can't leave the capital without permission, the Zhuo family has to come more diligently."
"Oh." Mei Changsu nodded slightly, feeling that Yan Que's eyes were exploring him, but he ignored it and looked at the sky in the distance.
In the evening, the dusk and clouds come together, and the afterglow is exhausted. This long day is finally coming to an end. I wonder if there will be another unexpected wave tomorrow
"Yujin, go and call Mr. Su's sedan chair into the second door. It's windy at night, so it's better to take a few steps less." Yan Que calmly instructed his son, and after he was ordered to turn around, Fang turned his eyes back again On Mei Changsu's body, he asked in a deep voice, "I just thought about it again, sir, this time, I'm afraid it's not what King Yu meant?"
"King Yu doesn't know at all." Mei Changsu replied frankly, "Actually, before I came to see the Marquis, I wasn't very sure."
Yan Que closed his eyes tightly and sighed: "King Yu, He De He Neng, has a person like Mr. I'm afraid that the future world will already be his..."
Mei Changsu glanced at him, "The Hou Ye and the Empress are brothers and sisters after all, so what's wrong with the King Yu who has won the country?"
"What's wrong?" Yan Que's white temples flickered in the dim light of the night, and his sharp cheeks seemed to be covered with a layer of frost, "It's all generally mean and vicious, the general cold stone heart, this is what There is no difference at all. Now that I have lost my beauty and lost my confidant, I have survived until now, but I am unable to repay their name and justice. Now that this life has been ruined, do I still care about who wins the world?"
Mei Changsu's eyes flickered slightly, and he asked, "Since Lord Hou knows that I am from Prince Yu, isn't there any harm in saying these words?"
"King Yu knew these thoughts of mine for a long time, but seeing that I am not involved in the political affairs, the queen ordered him to ignore me, so the situation is now irrelevant." Yan Que sneered, "With the talent of Mr. It's easy to destroy me, if you want to control me and control me for King Yu, don't think about it."
"Master Hou is too worried, Su Mou is just asking casually." Mei Changsu looked calm and calm, "As long as Master Hou does not change in the future, Su Mou will never threaten and disturb this matter again. As for reputation. On the Wang side, there is no extravagant hope of being able to get help from the Marquis."
Yan Que stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes were deep, and he didn't know whether Mei Changsu's assurance was believed or not. But until Yan Yujin called Su Zhe's warm sedan chair, he didn't say a word, he just stood with his head up on the cold dew and frost steps, silent.
It was only at the moment when the sedan chair swayed lightly that Mei Changsu heard a long sigh from the former hero.
The sigh was faint and distant, as if the memory of the memory had been sighed to the other side of time.