Real Empress from a Noble Family

Chapter 617: Ren Ziyong

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He was enlightened at the age of three and could write at the age of seven. At the age of ten, he answered the question in front of the prince's throne. The prince laughed and said: "If the Ye family has such a son, how can he let Tao Linggong do it in his future years?"

Tao Linggong refers to Tao Yinsong.

During Zhongrui's reign, no official's reputation and status could rival his.

Even Xue Chang, who was known as an important minister in the Five Dynasties and whose official career spanned Rui and Qin.

Expectations from such a character, even if the prince deliberately showed his kindness to his wife, it shows Ye Wuji's talent.

But no one was surprised.

After all, his father is Ye Cui.

The most outstanding descendant of the Ye family and the chief counselor of the East Palace.

Despite the pressure from Ruide Zong who favored Concubine Gu to the point of obeying her words in his later years, he still ensured that the crown prince's status was as solid as a mountain.

It's a pity that Ye Cui is good in everything, but he is born with many diseases.

So much so that when his wife was pregnant, he decided that both men and women would be named "Wuji".

Both men and women are "disease-free".

Ye Wuji was as healthy as the rest of the Ye family, just as his father Ye Cui had wished. He did not inherit his father's frail body at all.

But his fate was not very good: his mother died of a hemorrhagic collapse within a few hours after he was born; his father lost his beloved wife after having a son, which was a great shock, and he has been in bed for many years since then.

Even with the encouragement of his beloved son's talent and intelligence, Ye Cui did not last long - he suddenly died of illness in the year when his beloved son was expected by the prince to be as young as Tao Yinsong.

The prince's first cousin and the two empresses' nephews, this status made his funeral affairs very grand.

But at the beautiful funeral, Ye Wuji, who was wearing a heavy filial piety and mechanically returned the tributes to the many mourners behind the filial curtain, felt a deep chill in his heart.

He repeatedly thought about his father's words when he dismissed everyone before he died: "I am about to die, the Gu family is still alive, and the East Palace is in danger!"

"The Gu family is just a mere daughter-in-law, and her family is not deeply rooted. My aunt in the palace is still the head of the palace, how can I be afraid of her as a noble concubine?"

"So what about the palace? What about the prince? The one who has the final say is His Majesty! And His Majesty is old, and his former shrewdness and ambition have long been wiped out by time. Now he only wants to enjoy and prolong his life! The Gu family is doing what they want, and in the year of the prince You are strong and should not go in and out of the palace from time to time. If I hadn't used my secret methods over the years, the love between father and son would have been suppressed by the words on the pillow! You see, after my death, the Gu family will definitely take advantage of it, even if I stay. Many means, but the guarantee will last for three to five years at most!

"Then does father have a plan to teach the prince?"

"The prince wants to avoid this disaster. Firstly, if His Majesty dies soon and Gu is unable to take action, it will naturally be solved. Secondly, the old emperor is fatuous and the prince is young. Looking at history, we can tell what the outcome will be!" Ye Cui sighed when he said this, "But the prince can't! Although he is a young man, he has never touched military power! If there is an uprising, the winning rate is only half. With his character, he will not agree!"

Even though ten-year-old Ye Wuji was smart, he felt confused in the face of such a big event. In panic, he could only instinctively shout: "Father? Father?!"

"Don't worry!" Ye Cui smiled gently. After thinking about it, he actually had new strength. He was able to reach out and touch the top of his son's hair. He sighed, "It's very difficult for the East Palace to hide away. Even our Ye family can't avoid it." Implicated!"

"But I'm just a child like you. No matter how difficult it is, I have to keep you—you go and open the secret compartment over there!"

"This is… ?"

"This is the certificate for contacting people from 'Tianya'!"

"'Tianya'? What is that?"

"They are the secret hands of the King of Xihe." Ye Cui explained gently, "Now almost all of them have turned to the business of taking people's money to eliminate disasters... But the foundation is there, after all, it is not easy to deal with! Otherwise, the royal family would have been killed long ago. After the Xihe King lineage has been eradicated, can we still keep them alive until now?"

He sighed, "Not many people in the royal family know this secret now. His Majesty was seriously ill more than ten years ago. He thought he was going to die soon. He was worried that the prince was still young, so he made an exception and told me this secret: He was not seriously injured in 'Tianya'." Unless the Qiu family commits suicide themselves, don't touch them, otherwise it may cause turmoil in the country and even endanger the foundation of Darui... I made an oath in front of Your Majesty at that time that I would assist the prince in eradicating the 'Tianya' and return peace to Darui. Qiankun!”

"So in addition to watching over the Gu family these years, the most expensive thing has been dealing with them. Who knows, things are unpredictable. With my body like this, let alone by the time I can take care of them, I won't even be able to see the crown prince ascend the throne... "

Ye Cui said so many words, even if he regained his consciousness, he gradually became weak. Ye Wuji's heart ached as much as a knife, and he choked with sobs: "Father, can you take a break? Will the child come back to listen to your teachings later?"

"Silly boy, what will you do if I take a break? Listen to what I have to say—"

"Fortunately, I originally planned to deal with the 'Tianya' after the prince ascends the throne even if everything goes well. This will not only eliminate the hidden danger of King Xihe's lineage, but also make the prince famous and help him secure the throne in a shorter time! So! Although we have gathered many clues about Tianya so far, it has never happened, let alone leaked!"

"After I die, you can try to continue assisting the prince on my behalf, but don't put too much hope in it! Since you are young, the prince's character is accustomed to playing it safe. Even if he knows that you are smart, he will not trust you out of the ordinary. Secondly, over the years, I have been the most trusted person in the East Palace, and I have been an eyesore to many people, both in the Ye family and outside! They will not let you take over my position, especially the Gu family! This opportunity!”

"So just do your best - some time ago I sold all my unattractive property and replaced it with easy-to-store banknotes. I put them all under my pillow. You can take them away in a moment!"

"Next, you'd better find an excuse to stay away from Beijing. If anything changes, use this order to contact 'Tianya' to request asylum! This organization has deep roots and has spread all over the country! Their existence requires talents, but how many serious talents are willing? Are you going to risk your life and property if you don't follow the bright path? So as long as you show your talent, they won't want you! Anyway, they won't be able to see the light, so they won't suffer at all if they take you in!"

"Remember, act within your ability in everything—I know you have always been on good terms with the crown prince's youngest son, Prince Anyang, but!"

Ye Cui, who obviously had only one breath left, used his last strength to hold Duzi's hand tightly, stared at him, and said in an almost pleading tone, "But you must not be brave! Save if you can, save." Otherwise, don’t interfere! You must survive! As a father, you must not let anything happen!”

Ye Wuji felt his father's rapidly passing vitality, and nodded vigorously with tears in his eyes. Ye Cui breathed a sigh of relief, and slowly slid down on his son's shoulder...

"Father!!!"

The pale and thin young man woke up in the middle of the night and looked around hastily: It was a night with a full moon, and the frost-like moonlight reflected the shadows of the dancing trees on the tent. There was something strange about the deserted shadows.

There was a faint aroma of fruit in the room. During the day, Princess Lian had the fruit delivered to her before she finished eating it, so she left it on the table outside the tent.

"Five years!" After looking around for a long time, Ye Wuji exhaled and realized with regret that he had dreamed about his father's death again.

No wonder - after Ye Cui's death, everything happened as he expected: Concubine Gu became more and more favored. Without Ye Cui's planning and help, the second queen of the Ye family lived empty in the main palace, but there was nothing she could do about this concubine and she could only watch. Watching her bewilder her husband so much that he is so obedient.

After that, it was logical to slander the East Palace and change Concubine Gu's biological son to be the crown prince.

The East Palace executed him on the charge of regicide - this was five months ago.

Ye Wuji always remembered his father's instructions before his death, and he could have escaped.

But when things came to a head, he couldn't let go of his childhood friendship with the crown prince's youngest son and his cousin Prince Anyang, so he quietly sneaked into the capital and rescued Anyang at the last moment by using Li Daitao's plan to kill him.

The price was to stay and sever the queen for the Prince of Anyang County, and he almost died. Although the masters from "Tianya" arrived in time and quietly rescued him from the Xihe Palace, he recuperated here in the name of a distant relative who came to seek refuge with a steward, but he was also killed. People in "Tianya" scolded him like crazy!

He still remembers the cold and ruthless words of the Zuo Guardian: "This is the last time! Don't think that you have good talents and your life experience meets the requirements. If we accept you, we will tolerate you without limit! If a similar situation happens again , not only will you die, but we will not let go of Anyang you rescued! Remember, our existence is to protect the Qiu family, not to cause trouble for the Qiu family!"

These words sounded like an ultimatum, but Ye Wuji felt relieved in his heart, knowing that his father's estimate was correct - "Tianya" needed people like him very much.

Otherwise, why would you arrange for him to live in the Xihe Palace to protect him? !

To know the relationship between "Tianya" and Xihe Palace, no matter in "Tianya" or in Xihe Palace, only a few people at the top can know!

For example, the current Princess Lian, who is the mistress of the palace, obviously does not know his details at all - because she just gave birth to the eldest son Qiu Zhongyan, the princess is currently in a period of overflowing motherhood. After listening to the story made up by the steward that "Ye Wuji was abused by his stepmother and had to rush to his uncle", he felt deep sympathy for him. He treated him as if he were his nephew and never forgot to give him a share of any delicious food. Come over and say, "Look at how thin this kid is. He needs to be replenished quickly! Otherwise, if his body bones are damaged, what will he do in the future?"

If she wants to know about "Tianya" and that she is actually the rumored son of Ye Cui, how can she have the mood to call her to care about her every now and then

But precisely because of this, the people of the Gu family almost turned the capital and the entire Gyeonggi region upside down. They never expected that a servant relative in the Xihe Palace who was lucky enough to fall in love with the princess would actually be the target they were looking for!

"Tianya" even risked his relationship with the Xihe Prince's Mansion to show him. This was obviously to cultivate him vigorously-in all likelihood, the future position of Zuo Dharma Protector was going to be given to him.

Ye Wuji didn't find it strange at all: "After all, I'm only fifteen years old!"

His life experience means that it is impossible for him to betray "Tianya", because without "Tianya" he has nowhere to turn, so there is no problem with loyalty.

In terms of ability, his father Ye Cui's methods have long been obvious to all. If Ye Cui dies a few years later, it's hard to say whether the Gu family can overthrow the East Palace! As Ye Cui's only son, Ye Wuji has rarely been seen in public in order to serve the decoction, but the outside world has often heard rumors that he has completely inherited Ye Cui's talent and vision!

Under such circumstances, how could "Tianya" not regard him as a key training target

Young and talented people, such people are in hot demand wherever they are placed - not to mention "Tianya" who are of a special nature and cannot use normal recruitment methods at all!

This shows Ye Cui's vision - even though he died, the escape route he left for his son before his death showed his vision.

Although "Tianya" was once the enemy that Ye Cui had to deal with, it was the best place for Ye Wuji to go when both the East Palace and the Ye family fell.

Not only would it not bury Ye Wuji's talents, it would also try its best to cultivate him.

Protector Zuo's warning was just because he was worried that Ye Wuji would be so arrogant that he would forget about the Qiu family as his true master, and even use "Tianya" to mix up the revenge of Prince Anyang, so he just warned Ye Wuji!

Ye Wuji knew this very well.

He had no intention of continuing to challenge Protector Zuo's bottom line and anger the Qiu family.

After all, he had violated his father's dying warning and rescued Prince Anyang, which was regarded as the end of his childhood friendship.

Not to mention bringing "Tianya", who didn't belong to him at all, but had saved him and helped him save Anyang, to help Anyang. Even he himself didn't intend to help Anyang.

Whether he or Ye Cui did what was said and done, they tried their best.

The prince refused to listen during his lifetime and could only say that everything was fate.

Neither Ye Wuji nor his son owed anything to Dong Palace.

But I owe something to "Tianya", and it's time to start paying it back.

Therefore, he spent a very leisurely time while recuperating in Xihe Palace.

He was so leisurely that he was in the mood to make Princess Lian smile from ear to ear. This princess, who had only given birth to a son after many years of marriage, was so happy that she even had the idea of adopting him as her adopted son. Of course, this idea was blocked by the steward who was wiping his hands in cold sweat. Ye Wuji himself also felt lingering fear: Princess Xihe pities a subordinate, and with the news of a city-wide manhunt, it can only show that Princess Xihe is magnanimous and not guilty at all!

If you want to recognize an adopted son, how can you do it without serving a drink? After the wine was served, many people came due to the status of the Xihe Palace. Even though Ye Wuji rarely showed up when he was at Ye's house, he left the capital to guard the tomb after Ye Cui's death. Now he has put on some disguises, but pointed out that Maybe someone would be able to recognize him with sharp eyes? ?

So after persuading Princess Lian's idea, Ye Wuji was sent to work in Zhuangzi, Gyeonggi Province, by the "uncle in charge" a few days later.

When he left Prince Xihe's Mansion, he was in a very melancholy mood: "I will probably never see Princess Lian again!"

He lost his mother when he was an infant, his father when he was ten years old, and when he was fifteen years old, his family was changed and he joined the "end of the world". The most heartwarming years of his life, except for the dependence on his father in his early years, were when he was the son of a servant and served as Princess Lian's knee.

Unfortunately, such warmth is short-lived after all.

After returning to "Tianya", he indeed received the all-out teachings from Protector Zuo.

Although Protector Zuo's attitude towards him gradually improved as he showed his talent and diligence, he still did not take the initiative to contact Prince Anyang.

However, with "Tianya"'s eyes and ears all over the world, the whereabouts and actions of this cousin can still be heard from time to time.

Anyang successfully found most of the deposed prince's old troops scattered around, but his revenge plan did not go well.

Concubine Gu has been favored for many years and has developed a strong influence in the harem of the previous dynasty.

They couldn't get close to the capital at all.

Even if they are scattered outside, the space for activities is getting smaller and smaller.

Ye Wuji sadly predicted that Anyang's efforts would be in vain: "Earlier, when the old emperor was still alive, there might have been a day when he could touch his fatherly heart and clear away the grievances of the deposed prince... Now? What now? The daughter of the 'Gancheng of the Country' has been assigned to the new king. Even if the evidence is presented, under the iron heel of the Zhenbei Army, how can we say it is true? "

Unless Anyang can get the support of the Zhenxi Army that can rival the Zhenbei Army - the Zhenxi Army is in the hands of the Ruan family at this time. The Ruan family is a loyal party and will be loyal to whoever becomes the emperor.

As for how he became emperor, they don't care.

And the new king has ascended the throne!

All I can say is that it’s fate.

Thinking of their early friendship, with the consent of Protector Zuo, he tactfully wrote a letter to Anyang, reminding him that the Gu family had achieved great success, and that worrying about revenge would probably be a waste of time, so he should have done something else earlier. Be well prepared.

Anyang did not reply.

Ye Wuji didn't urge him - he knew that only Anyang and Qiyang, who was imprisoned in the capital, had escaped from the entire East Palace. No one could easily let go of such a blow.

Even if you know there is no hope.

A few years later, when he heard that Anyang had married, he breathed a sigh of relief: "It seems he must have thought about it."

Even if you still don't think about it, people who have wives and children are less likely to continue to be entangled in hopeless blood feuds.

Ye Wuji thought so.

So a few years later, in the middle of the night, he was woken up by the elderly Protector Zuo who rushed into the room and asked him to lead all the elites of the "Tianya" general altar and rush to the capital immediately to meet Qiu Jinglan, the crown prince of Xihe. At this time, everyone was stunned: "What happened?!"

"The prince died in the battle, and the news has not yet reached the capital, but the prince's life is already in people's eyes - the concubine has decided to sacrifice herself to cover up the prince's departure! I should have done this, but I am old, I'm afraid He couldn't survive the day and night galloping, but he missed important things!" Protector Zuo almost dragged him from the couch to the door, "You are all dead, but you still have to bring back the crown prince - the direct descendant of the Qiu family is still alive, so what can you say? You have to keep it, understand?”

… He never thought of meeting Princess Lian, no, this time she should be called Princess Lian again under such circumstances.

The once graceful young lady in her prime has turned gray-haired under the triple blow of losing her husband in middle age, losing her son in her later years, and her only grandchild has an uncertain future.

But she still recognized Ye Wuji at a glance: "Are you the nephew of Manager Li back then?! Didn't you say you contracted the cold later?!"

"Your Majesty, where is the Crown Prince?" Ye Wuji looked at her with sadness in his heart and mixed feelings, but he had no time to say anything, so he asked directly, "Guardian Zuo told me that when my subordinates arrive at the palace, they must take the Crown Prince away immediately, lest things change. !”

... After taking Qiu Jinglan away this time, he also thought that this was the last time he would see the woman who had briefly filled the role of mother in his life.

But what he didn't expect was that after finally bringing Qiu Jinglan back to the main altar, what greeted him was not Guardian Zuo's praise, but Guardian Zuo's cold and disappointed eyes, and the word "take it" squeezed between his teeth. —After that, there was ten days and ten nights of torture!

At first, Ye Wuji was simply confused!

Then he began to suspect that Protector Zuo was trying to seize "Tianya" and deliberately deceived the prince from the Qiu family and blackmailed him. As a person who had a good impression of Mrs. Lian, he was naturally a stumbling block for him!

But after he discovered that the executioner always controlled his body so as not to injure his life or even his bones, he suddenly thought of a possibility...

There is a speculation that he would rather protect the left and rebel against the master...

After the Gu family married the Jiang family of the Zhenbei Army, their status gradually became more stable.

If you want to reverse the case of Dezong's deposed crown prince, unless Anyang can win over the Zhenxi Army!

Anyang has no friendship with the Ruan family, and in his current situation, it is impossible for him to come up with conditions that would make the Ruan family interested.

However, the Qiu family, the owner of "Tianya", can be said to have a deep connection with the Ruan family because Qiu Zhongyan became a disciple of the head of the Ruan family when he was young and later married a daughter of the Ruan family!

"Could it be that... King Xihe died in battle... and all the male heirs of the Ruan family except General Ruan died in battle... because of that?!"

The fear in his heart was like a stormy sea, and he wanted to ask but didn't dare to ask - until the tenth day, Protector Zuo came to see him in person and asked: "Do you understand?"

Ye Wuji looked at this person who did not allow him to call him teacher, but actually acted as his teacher, and said with difficulty: "Thank you Protector Zuo for your love!"

This is not a polite word!

If he hadn't saved Anyang with the help of "Tianya" and then asked "Tianya" to send a message, leaving clues, giving Anyang a way to guess the relationship between Xihe Palace and "Tianya". How could Anyang think of using the relationship between the Qiu family and the Ruan family to plot to suppress the Western Army? !

Not to mention Anyang's failure in revenge, even the Qiu family and the Ruan family were dragged into the water! ! !

As the trump card of the Qiu family, even though Ye Wuji has established his position in "Tianya" over the years, it can be said that he is the default left guardian. He made such a big mistake and brought such serious consequences to his master. Peeling is easy!

Protector Zuo used the excuse of his old age and asked him to take people to the capital to rescue the crown prince Qiu Jinglan; he also executed him in public for ten days and ten nights after his return - the former was to make him plead guilty and meritorious, and the latter was to silence everyone under the guise of severe punishment.

The bottom line is to preserve him.

Without Protector Zuo's painstaking efforts, he would have died.

And he must die miserably!

"You don't need to remember my love for my protection, you just need to remember how much you owe the Qiu family. From now on, spend the rest of your life to pay it back!" Guardian Zuo looked at him with a complicated expression, "Let's deal with the aftermath first. !”

Against the advice of Protector Zuo, he personally presided over the pursuit of Anyang.

The pursuit was extremely smooth. After all, although "Tianya" did not deliberately pay attention to the development of Prince Anyang, he was an expert in assassination for many years, and he had followers all over the country as his eyes and ears.

Ye Wuji specifically told his men: "Anyang, I want to do it myself!"

His subordinates understood his feelings.

Although Ye Wuji did not intend to betray the Qiu family, the tragic death of King Xihe could not have been revealed by an "unintentional mistake"!

The most terrible thing was the exposure of "Tianya" - even though Prince Anyang didn't know much about "Tianya", he only vaguely knew that the Qiu family had such a trump card. But this has brought huge hidden dangers to the entire "Tianya" and the Qiu family!

Anyang was finally escorted to Ye Wuji, but he was extremely calm and even asked: "I deserve death, but I hope you will consider your innocence and take care of my children in the future. I handed him over to The hidden child in the Tao family, Jiang Tao is now married, it is not easy for the Gu family to notice... "

Before he could finish his words, Ye Wuji slashed his throat with his sword!

Ye Wuji didn't know what he was feeling at all? !

Just because he risked his life to save his cousin, Anyang naturally believed that no matter what he did to Ye Wuji, Ye Wuji should have no regrets about him and even take care of his children? !

"Find out the Tao family secret agent and kill the remnant as well!" Anyang mentioned his heir, which was just to make Ye Wuji give such an order.

Afterwards, he took Anyang's head back to the main altar to resume his life, but was asked by Protector Zuo: "Send him back to the capital alone and let the concubine have a look!"

Protector Zuo looked at him and said, "The concubine is about to die. Go and tell her that this person did everything. Let the concubine take some time to vent her anger before she leaves!"

Ye Wuji took the order and went out, choked with sobs and couldn't speak: Wasn't he the culprit

But he finally followed the words of Protector Zuo and answered Mrs. Lian, who had only one breath left: "... This person also has an heir who is wandering outside. My subordinates are already sending people to search for it. By then, they will definitely eradicate the root cause and avenge the prince!"

"Don't mention those things!" However, the dying Concubine Lian seemed very indifferent to revenge. She was more concerned about her living descendants, "Please take good care of Jing'er, and if possible, also take care of Xia Yi'er... Yan'er is no longer alive. Now, I only have these two grandchildren. As long as they live well, revenge or not... it doesn’t matter!”

Ye Wuji instantly recalled the scene when he was ten years old and listened to his father's last words at his bedside - Concubine Lian and Ye Cui had never met, but how similar were their last words and wishes? !

No matter revenge or fairness, they all just want their own blood to survive!

He suppressed the bloody smell in his throat and raised his hand and swore: "I am willing to follow the crown prince for the rest of my life and will never betray you! I will die without regrets!"

Looking at Concubine Lian who breathed a sigh of relief, he requested, "From now on, my subordinates will only live for the Crown Prince, or the Crown Prince's bloodline. If you don't want to use the word 'Ye Wuji' anymore, please give me a name for it." !”

Concubine Lian refused at first, but later when she saw that he insisted on his request, she said: "The last name represents blood, how can we change it lightly? If you really want me to give you a name, how about 'Zi Yong'?"

He finally changed his surname. Regarding the surname "Ren", he had various rhetoric to outsiders, such as freedom and indulgence.

But the real meaning is actually only one - his willfulness in not listening to his late father's last words when he was young led to the tragedy of revenge. Throughout his life, he must remember this willfulness and this debt.

Throughout his life, he never changed his surname back to Ye, and he never acknowledged his Ye bloodline.

He made up one lie after another to cover up the grudges and grudges of the past. The more he made up, the more he pretended. It seemed that even he believed it. In the end, Qiu Jinglan personally advised him: "The matter is over, sir. I have avenged myself, so why should I care about the past?"

But he still smiled like this and told people who didn't know him: "My surname is Ren, my name is Ziyong, and I am the guest minister of Dingxi!"

In his life, he did not listen to his father's last words and sit back and watch the tragedy of Dezong deposing the crown prince; nor did he listen to Concubine Lian's last words, but he only raised Qiu Jinglan well, secretly took care of Qiu Yilan, and ignored the blood feud in the Xihe Palace.

The two most affectionate elders in his life had not fulfilled their last wish before they died, so he had no courage to be "Ye Wuji" or "Ye Wubing" anymore, and no longer had the courage to be "Zi Yong".

All he could do was Ren Ziyong.