In the cold garden of King Yong’s Mansion, I was sitting in the pavilion wearing a brocade robe. The spring flowers in the garden had withered, and the trees were lush and delicate. I woke up early this morning to enjoy the morning sun. Xiao Shunzi was worried that I would catch the cold, but insisted that I put on a brocade. Robe, I looked at the rising sun and the morning glow in the sky, but there was only one thought in my heart, only one person.
When Xiao Shunzi saw that I was silent, and the guards around him had already been sent away, he approached me and said lightly, "Is your son still worried about what His Highness Prince Yong said?"
I sighed lightly and said, "Little Shunzi, tell me, is Princess Changle really interested in me? Why do I never feel it."
Xiao Shunzi chuckled: "Young Master, you have never been close to a young woman. You are either reading or enjoying the scenery every day. Between you and your wife, it is your wife who takes the initiative to take the initiative to you. Her Royal Highness is dignified and chaste, and has never expressed her feelings. No wonder I don’t know, the prince. I think the princess is sure of your intentions. Otherwise, you won’t be playing with the prince’s poems every day. I think the princess already knows some facts about Nanchu, but no one else knows it. Shen, the son has already lost his life. If you say that the princess has no affection for you, I will not believe it, but the princess probably has the same thoughts as you, so you never want to express it. The son, you are not very fond of the princess. Isn't it different, these little Shunzi are also watching every bit in their hearts. It's just that both of you are constrained by your status as monarchs and ministers, so you don't want to show affection to each other."
I glanced at Xiao Shunzi lightly and said, "Are you blaming me for being tired of fame and not accepting the princess' affection?"
Xiao Shunzi was silent, obviously acquiescing, and I sighed: "I Jiang Zhe is a person who cherishes his reputation, but there are some things that must not be done. I answered Qin Qing's questioning without a single lie. The princesses have different names, but I didn't reject this marriage for this reason. If I really have my own heart, then nothing can stop me, but you should know that the princess never said a word to marry me. It means that even if the princess is interested in me, she is absolutely reluctant to violate the etiquette. In this case, how can I propose marriage according to King Yong's wishes, which will ruin the reputation of the princess. Ruthless, I don't want to leave a stigma on the princess's history. Besides, the princess and I have only met a few times, so how can I know if the princess really loves me as a person."
Xiao Shunzi said in a low voice, "Young master is right, it was the servant who misunderstood."
I said indifferently: "These are my personal feelings. If it is from a business point of view, I am a minister of Southern Chu, why should I ask to marry the princess, I am afraid that Emperor Yong agreed in person, and sent someone to die in a blink of an eye. Although the emperor is up to the princess to choose, he probably only wants the princess to marry the handsome man of Dayong. Moreover, if I do such a thing at this time, I am afraid that it will implicate King Yong. How can I be a person who harms the public privately? Besides, You still don't know my body, if there is any misfortune, how can you make the princess feel bad?"
Xiao Shunzi didn't say anything, and said after a while, "The slave just hopes that the son will not be lonely for life."
I smiled slightly and said, "I'll put everything down when I protect King Yong's ascension to the throne and avenge the revenge of killing his wife. If I get better then, I'll marry a virtuous woman. You can say whether it's okay or not."
Xiao Shunzi smiled and said, "Of course it's good, the servant is waiting for you to marry the mistress and then add a little master."
I breathed a sigh of relief, fell on the chair and said, "King Yong should have figured it out in the past few days, so he won't come to force me. By the way, how is the situation outside?"
Xiao Shunzi said strangely, "Does the son want to hear good news or bad news?"
I smiled bitterly: "Let's hear the bad news first."
Xiao Shunzi said: "The bad news is that a big event has happened in the capital. Now everyone is watching the fun, but they don't pay attention to the prince's actions."
I frowned slightly and said, "What's the big deal that distracted the attention of both the court and the opposition?"
Xiao Shunzi said, "This matter was originally a matter of the rivers and lakes. Does your son know about the Central Alliance?"
I said, "Remember, the co-leader Sha Qingyuan, and his daughter Sha Zhijing is a disciple of Fengyi Sect and is the largest gang in Chang'an."
Xiao Shunzi said, "Speaking of which, the young master had a relationship with them. A few days ago, Sha Zhijing went to Xianyang to visit her grandmother, but she was killed. It is said that she died miserably. The female disciple of Fengyi Sect was killed. No matter how bad the martial arts are, he has also practiced a martial art called "Meteorite Jade Fighting Technique". This is a martial arts created by the master Fengyi himself. It is all created according to the flexible characteristics of women's bodies. To the extreme, this is what those female disciples use when they encounter a strong enemy and have no way to escape. Even if they can't kill the enemy, they can also die together. No matter how bad it is, they can commit suicide. Because I didn't dare to act rashly, I was afraid to hurt the princess, so I didn't use this martial art. In short, when Sha Zhijing died, Guanzhonglian and Fengyimen tried their best to hunt down the murderer, and the murderer caused a series of tragedies, and the Xianyang area died again in the past ten days. There are many women in the boudoir, and the murderer has already revealed his traces."
I said, "Since this is the case, with the power of Fengyimen and Guan Zhonglian, this person should be caught and executed soon."
Xiao Shunzi shook his head and said, "Because the main force of Fengyi Sect has not yet arrived, this person is raging in the Xianyang area. Now that Fengyi Sect has arrived, this person has already fled."
I frowned and said, "How could this matter attract the attention of the court officials?"
Xiao Shunzi said with a wry smile: "The dead women all have signs of being harvested, so people in the rivers and lakes suspect that people from the Demon Sect will re-enter the Central Plains. When the Demon Sect Sect Master Jing Wuji went to the desert, the Demon Sect disciples also followed. If they go, those who do not leave will remain anonymous. One of the "Lianxiang Sect" in the Demon Sect is the best at picking up and replenishing. If the Demon Sect reappears, it means that Jing Wuji may re-enter the Central Plains. Now he is already the national teacher of the Northern Han Dynasty. , his comeback may symbolize that the Northern Han is about to attack, if so, how can the Chinese military not care about this matter, so now no one still remembers the affairs of the Jinxiu League."
I waved the fan subconsciously and asked, "What's your opinion?"
Xiao Shunzi said: "I don't think it's strange for the disciples of the Demon Sect to stay in the Central Plains. I would be surprised if they didn't, and the whereabouts of the people from the Demon Sect are hidden. Although there have been reports of their whereabouts from time to time over the years, they are all chasing the wind. , so I think Fengyimen may use the topic to draw attention to everyone."
I smiled coldly and said, "The power of the Demon Sect has already attached itself to the Northern Han Dynasty. If Jing Wuji wants to win or lose with Fan Huiyao, it is meaningless to rely on his martial skills. I'm afraid that the world will be unified. The key to this. As soon as something happens to the prince, the Demon Sect will appear, so I'm really in a hurry. Since that's the case, I'll join in the fun, Xiao Shunzi, you know what Liang Jin, the minister of households, is potentially doing now."
Xiao Shunzi said: "He is now committing crimes and meritorious services, but according to His Royal Highness Prince Yong's information, the crown prince is arranging to take over his forces, and Liang Jinqian has been placed under house arrest."
I smiled slightly and said, "Has Huo Jicheng's affairs been settled?"
Xiao Shunzi smiled and said: "This is the good news I want to tell the son, Huo Jicheng has disappeared, but a fake corpse is left behind, which he wants to hide. Now Fengyimen and the prince are hunting him everywhere, but unfortunately, he is nowhere to be seen. The secret camp has sent Huo Jicheng's token."
I stood up and said, "Then you do one thing, kill Liang Jinqian. You don't need to do anything, just kill it with poison. In this way, what do you think everyone will think?"
Xiao Shunzi said with a strange expression: "Of course, the prince killed people and silenced him. This plan of the prince is really vicious."
I smiled and said, "This is exactly my plan. I still have things for you. Huo Jicheng will not die. Although he is dead, he will live in the hearts of others. This is also how I repay him for giving me a million dollars. Gold and silver, you can't insult his reputation."
Xiao Shunzi held back a smile and said, "Young master, don't worry, I will make Huo Jicheng a nightmare for the crown prince."
I instructed: "Be careful, if your identity is revealed, I will be in trouble."
Xiao Shunzi said sternly, "Don't worry, if you can't beat it, run away. I will never let them catch you."
I was still a little worried, but I felt relieved when I thought that I would arrange for Jing Chi and the others to respond. Just as he was about to say a few more words, even Xiao Shunzi laughed at me and recognized it for being wordy, but he heard footsteps in the distance. Just by the sound, he knew that King Yong was here. He should have come to apologize. He is one step up. I waved Xiao Shunzi to step back, and I waited for King Yong to come. However, there was an unspeakable sadness on King Yong's face. I moved in my heart and asked, "Why is Your Highness so sad?" Li Zhi said bitterly, "Today, the imperial sister insisted on leaving the palace and went to Wuchen Nunnery for a clean repair. Concubine Changsun couldn't help but agree, but she was not allowed to shave or become a monk." I was shocked, unable to utter a word, looking at King Yong's eager eyes, I said lightly, "Your Highness, marriage cannot be forced, princess is single-minded. Ask the Buddha, maybe that's where she can be safe and happy."
Li Zhi sighed slightly and said, "Don't say it, as long as the imperial sister doesn't shave, there will always be room for change in the future. What should we do next? The marriage of Qin Qing and Princess Jingjiang is so disappointing to me."
I smiled and said: "Your Highness, don't worry, but at this moment, please give your Highness more favors to the Qin family, otherwise it would be bad for them to invest in the Prince's side. I don't think General Qin would be so unwise, and the Qin family is still There are a few little boys."
Li Zhi's eyes lit up, but he didn't speak. I knew that he knew how to do these things better than I did. At this time, I saw Jing Chi's sneaky figure, he must have slipped out last night, who asked Han Yuan to restrain him, I thought I couldn't see him, but I thought about it and said, "General Jing, still But come to see your Highness."
Jing Chi stopped, walked over, and greeted His Highness in a proper manner. I smiled and said, "Your Highness wants you to write a poem, what do you think?"
Jing Chi opened his mouth wide, not knowing what to do. King Yong smiled and said: "I heard that you learned to write poetry, this king is very interested, so let's make a topic, by the way, what are you going to do just now?"
Jing Chi embarrassedly said: "The last general went out to gamble last night, and now I come back and want to go to sleep."
Li Zhi glared at him and said, "Well, let's talk about sleeping."
Jing Chi thought about it for a long time, and then said: "Buddha slept well."
Li Zhi laughed and said, "This is interesting, it seems that you have gone to see the reclining Buddha in Dahua Temple."
Jing Chi hurriedly said, "Yes, last night, General Mo and General Changsun went to Dahua Temple. Because it was too late, they didn't come back."
I smiled and said: "Okay, no need to explain, let's write poetry, if you write poetry, I will spare you, or I will let you copy the military book for a day."
Jing Chi hurriedly said: "Yes, it's time to sleep. I want to sleep like him." After reading this, he couldn't think of the last sentence.
Li Zhi smiled and said, "Although this second sentence is a bit like limericks, it's barely okay. What is the last sentence, Jing Chi, if you can't make it out, Mr. Jiang will lose."
Jing Chi's mind immediately fainted, thinking that if Mr. Jiang lost, I'm afraid I don't want to make up for sleep today, but after thinking about it, I can't think of it, I just remember sweating profusely. Li Zhi smiled slightly and said, "Forget it if you can't think of it. You, a general, can pacify the world, but I'm afraid you won't be able to write poetry."
At this time, Jing Chi had an idea, and remembered that every time Jiang Zhe taught himself a book, he often mentioned Jing Huchen's words about sweeping away the wolf's smoke. Then he said: "No one sweeps the wolf smoke."
Li Zhi and I were both stunned. Actually, I never thought about winning King Yong, but Jing Chi actually wrote a poem.
Li Zhinian said: "Buddha slept well, once he slept in Pepsi, I wanted to imitate him, but no one swept away the wolf smoke. Okay, this last sentence is a bit of a stone and becomes gold, and it shows the character of a hero. This king is convinced that he loses." He took off the jade pendant and handed it to me: "Li Zhi is convinced that Suiyun can make Jing Chi learn to write poetry for more than half a month."
I took the jade pendant, smiled bitterly, and said, "Jing Chi, this jade pendant was lost to me by His Royal Highness, so I will borrow flowers to offer Buddha to you. If you can't write poetry, I will lose."
Jing Chi respectfully took the jade pendant and said, "Thank you, sir, for the reward."
I smiled and shook my head, what did this make me say? I didn't expect this rude general, it really surprised me. I originally wanted to deliberately lose to King Yong, and gave this self-defense jade to King Yong. It seems that this time it is Not anymore.
In Yongning Square, the Minister of the Ministry of Housing Liang Jin looked at Gu Deng, and his heart was full of misery. He is an old fox who has been ups and downs in the Huanhai Sea for many years. The inspector was basically smuggling under the order of the prince, and he was excluded in advance. Although he was not dismissed after the incident, but seeing that the prince was only busy receiving his own power, he knew what his future was like. He was really unwilling. He really wanted to sue the prince with the account book that he had recorded privately, but when he thought of the deep friendship between the prince and his son, he was already disheartened. What was even more terrifying was that he couldn't think of why the prince would want to give up himself when he thought about it. Inadvertently thought that his wife and brother had not been seen for a long time, he moved in his heart and checked the account book he had privately recorded. The secret notes he had made were all gone. At this time, he was like a bucket of cold water poured on the cold winter and twelfth lunar month. He was in a cold cave, thinking that after his own death, his wife and children would not be spared, he really wanted to escape immediately, but in the world, could it be the king's land, where could he escape to? Before he could figure out a way, the assassin from Fengyi Sect had already appeared beside him. This was a plain-clothed woman, beautiful in appearance, but with a murderous aura all over her body. Looking at the woman holding his beloved young son, he gave in. , handed over all the powers in his hands according to her order. Now he is useless and has been placed under house arrest by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. He must have a few days. Copying and beheading is to cut jobs for the people, and then die on the road. He can really die. In this life, he has already enjoyed the glory, wealth, money and beauty, but when his death is a small matter, what should his family do? But for more than half a month, his hair has been white as frost, and his originally well-maintained appearance has become old and haggard.
He was thinking hard when suddenly the door of the study was gently pushed open, and a man in black walked in. Liang Jinqian saw it at a glance, but he didn't seem surprised, and said coldly: "Are you here to take my life, the old man has already After waiting for a long time, in fact, the girl has been in the back house, wouldn't it be more convenient for her to kill me?"
The man in black closed the door and said, "If you die, your family will be implicated, don't you want to resist?"
Liang Jin subconsciously moved, the voice was soft and pleasant, not like an ordinary person, he raised his head and looked at the man's face, the man's face was covered in black scarves, only revealing a pair of piercing eyes.
He said slowly: "I don't know why, but now I'm trapped in a trap, unable to struggle."
The man gently took off his veil, revealing a face as delicate as ice and snow, and he smiled slightly: "Death is lighter than a feather, but also heavier than Mount Tai, if you die under the king's law, not only will your family be implicated, but it will only make the traitor suffer. People will benefit, if you are willing to commit suicide, I can guarantee that your family can live the rest of their lives in peace, and that those who are successful in your descendants will also gain fame."
Liang Jinqian's eyes lit up and he committed suicide. If he committed suicide by himself, maybe those people would not embarrass his family, but how could this be guaranteed? He really couldn't believe the reputation of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. It took him a long time to say: "You belong to His Royal Highness the Prince. If I kill myself, I can really let the Prince let go of my family." His tone was full of doubts.
The man smiled lightly and said, "The Crown Prince's promise cannot be guaranteed, but do you believe the promise of His Royal Highness Prince Yong?"
Liang Jinqian said in shock, "You are from His Royal Highness King Yong."
The man said indifferently: "His Royal Highness King Yong knows that you have done a lot for the prince, but now the prince is ready to abandon you, and your family and children will be buried with you. If you are willing to commit suicide, your family, His Royal Highness Yong, will Arrange for them to settle in Youzhou, His Highness will never deceive you."
Liang Jin pondered and said, "I can trust the sincerity of His Royal Highness King Yong. If I had followed His Highness earlier, I would not have had the results I have today." After speaking, he took out a booklet with new ink marks and said, "Old man I once recorded an account book in which His Royal Highness embezzled money from the Ministry of Household, but it has been taken away. This is what I wrote down from memory in the past few days, and I hope it will be useful to His Highness Prince Yong."
The man took the booklet and said sternly: "His Royal Highness will thank you for your intentions, this is Hedinghong, you will never have pain, I know you want to say goodbye to your family, but I can't take risks, so I wronged you, you If you have any last words, you can write them down.”
Liang Jinqian smiled slightly, picked up the pen and wrote a text message, but he didn't seal it, so he handed it to the man, and then smiled: "I committed a capital crime to the minister, and the emperor often bestows the red top of the crane, His Highness King Yong sure enough It's scheming, please tell His Highness, I believe his promise." After he finished speaking, he drank it, and in an instant, Qiqiao bleeded to death.
The man opened it and looked at it, and there were two straight lines written on it:
"Don't be greedy for money and lose your reputation, don't love power and lose your life.
Liang Jinqian's excellent writing
In the twenty-fourth year of Wuwei, Jiaxu, the second day of the sixth month
(End of the second "Xiaoqiang Rebellion")
The third installment