Above the court, there was a raging riot because of the second prince's feudal affairs.
The smell of gunpowder became more and more abundant, and even some courtiers quarreled. The orthodox defenders of the prince's line naturally violated the ancestral rules by grabbing the second prince, and they would not let them go if they did not go to Beijing when they were old. The people of the second prince's line have always been very silent, until the people of the prince's line became more and more aggressive, and then they refuted.
Generally speaking, the second prince just got married, and the rules are very important, but you can't let His Majesty throw the newly married son out of the capital. What will outsiders say about His Majesty? The father is kind and the son is filial. Of course, these are fallacies, but there are actually quite a few people who agree.
In fact, the so-called argument was just a quarrel for Emperor Xi to see. If Emperor Xi did not express his position for a day, these courtiers would not stop for a day.
On this day, Emperor Xi finally gave an answer.
The general meaning is that the wedding of the third prince and the fourth prince is just around the corner. And the title of the second prince and the fiefdom are under discussion, and they will come out soon.
Emperor Xi's words were considered to be the conclusion of the matter.
The prince's lineage is naturally proud and overjoyed. On the other hand, the second prince's lineage is downcast and disappointed.
In fact, it is conceivable that Emperor Xi is now in his prime, so how could he have reached a conclusion so early? Emperor Xi was not very satisfied with the crown prince, but it was not so simple and easy to replace a prince after all. It is irrational for the second prince and his family to want to overthrow the prince's stable position.
It was naturally not Xu Xiangrong who encouraged the courtiers to argue for the second prince.
According to his thoughts and ideas, he has been silent all the time. The more arrogant and domineering the prince's lineage is, the more the Emperor Xi's heart will be inclined towards the second prince's side. This bias is not visible in the short term, but it can be beneficial in the long run.
Isn't that the strategy that Xu Guifei has followed for a long time
But there is another second prince's father-in-law, Cheng Guogong, who likes to jump out and point fingers!
But the key is that you can't let him go. That's the definition of in-laws. You enjoy the cheap, and at the same time, the sequelae have to be solved by yourself.
Since Xu Xiangrong had dealt with Duke Cheng twice, he didn't pay much attention to him. He just watched and said nothing about Duke Cheng's jumping out to point fingers.
Every faction will have a leader. Duke Cheng doesn't like Xu Guifei's younger brother. He is useless, not even a serious errand. How can he lead the courtiers who are attached to the second prince to embark on the road of prosperity? Therefore, since Duke Cheng became the second prince's father-in-law, he has been in charge of the second prince outside.
This time, the prince's line attacked the second prince with the fact that he was in charge of the vassal. At first, it was Xu Xiangrong's strategy, which was as immobile as a mountain. Unexpectedly, in the end, the dissent was very loud, and it was the faction of Cheng Guogong who picked it up. Since Duke Cheng was willing to jump in front, Xu Xiangrong just let it go. Now Duke Cheng finally stopped jumping.
After that, Xu Xiangrong entered the palace, and no one knew what the siblings said. It was just that Concubine Xu called the second prince over and scolded Duke Cheng in a famous way, saying that he would be free to mind his own business in the future.
The second prince naturally understands the meaning of it. To be honest, after this incident, he is also a little disappointed with his father-in-law. The overall situation is not enough. No wonder he was suppressed by Duke Zhen Guo for decades and could not turn over.
The two of them subconsciously forgot their role in deliberately condoning it. To put it bluntly, not only did some courtiers want to find out what Emperor Xi was thinking, but also the mother and son, but it was a pity that they were disappointed by the result.
And Xu Xiangrong, because he had let Cheng Guogong's actions go unnoticed before, would naturally have to come out and end it afterwards. These are all things that must be experienced, because many times you are not only playing games with others, but also with your own people, because no one wants to be submissive to others. .
Meanwhile, another thing happened.
Xu Xiangrong was located in a courtyard on the outskirts of Beijing, and was actually copied by the soldiers in the name of catching the bandits. The person who raided his other courtyard was from the Jingda Camp. It is said that a battalion under the Jingda Camp was conducting routine patrols near the suburbs of Beijing and found a suspicious person. The suspicious person behaved strangely. The soldiers of the battalion fled.
As a result, the talents of Jingda Camp have been traced to this other courtyard.
Naturally, these are all nonsense, but the people in the Beijing Camp really copied things out, and there were actually a lot of controlled ordnance found here. Armaments such as hard bows and crossbows have been strictly controlled by the government in all dynasties, and private storage is not allowed. Of course, some children of wealthy families like riding and archery, and it is not impossible to keep one or two good bows at home. But if the number is large, it is worth considering.
Especially here is a delicate place. You, a merchant's other courtyard, dare to hide hard bows and crossbows wantonly. Why do you want to hide so many bows and arrows at the feet of the emperor? Saying you intend to rebel is light!
Who dares to say that Jingdaying's move is wrong? The Jingda Camp was originally designed to protect the safety of the capital. No one dared to gossip when playing a side ball. The rest of the matter was naturally handed over to the Ministry of War and Jing Zhaoyin, and had nothing to do with the Jingda Camp.
Xu Xiangrong knew that this was the government of Zhenguo who was retaliating and protesting against him. Before, Shen Yiyao was rescued by someone from the Beijing Camp, but this time, the Beijing Camp came to copy it. I just need to tell him clearly, I know that it has something to do with you, let's settle the account first.
Shen Yiyao's entourage guards suffered heavy casualties, and Xu Xiangrong suffered heavy losses this time. Twenty or thirty middle-aged men were also copied out along with the controlled ordnance. Xu Xiangrong should be glad that he has always been cautious, and many things that are not easy to see are hidden separately, otherwise the loss this time will be too great to estimate.
The other courtyard was hung under the name of a merchant, and this merchant was naturally Xu Xiangrong's person. The entire furniture of the merchant was imprisoned, and it was estimated that the beheading would be light in the end.
The loss of money, goods, and people made Concubine Xu and the second prince feel distressed. They just thought they were caught by the prince's family and took the opportunity to take revenge, and did not think about Duke Zhenguo, who had been kept out of the matter. Xu Xiangrong knew the inside, but he couldn't say anything.
Xu Xiangrong was in a bad mood for a few days because of this dumb eating.
However, Duke Zhen Guo's revenge with such high fanfare also made Xu Xiangrong feel relieved. If the Shen family remained silent, he would still worry about whether there would be any follow-up moves. Such a high-profile revenge would mean that the matter would be written off from then on, and Duke Zhenguo would remain out of the way.
I don't know if this is a blessing or a curse.
Over there, I have not finished wiping the ass for Duke Cheng, and here there is another leak that needs to be cleaned up. Xu Xiangrong has only slept for two or three hours at night for several consecutive days.
At this moment, Yan Ting had an accident.
***
The government of Zhenguo's action will always be so quick and unimaginable.
Quick, hard, and accurate.
Yan Ting had a quarrel with Xu Xiangrong in the private house that day, and he never went to the private house again. In the past, Xu Xiangrong would ask him to go out for different reasons, but there was no movement.
On this day, Liu Xi asked Yan Ting to go to Tangquan Village in the suburbs of Beijing to have fun. Yan Ting has been in a moody mood in recent days. Shen Yiyao returned to Weiyuan Hou's mansion and said nothing about his attack. Although Yan Ting didn't meet her, he didn't want to stay in the mansion. Went to the suburbs of Beijing.
It was early spring and it was still cold.
Yan Ting was wearing a dark green carved silk crane cloak, riding a horse on the trail in the suburbs of Beijing. Followed by several of his entourage, Wang Meng, Wang Qin, Liu Ju three.
It was a little dark early, and when Yan Ting and others left the city gate, it was just dark, and it was already dark like ink. There is no moon in the sky, and even the stars are hidden behind the clouds. Fortunately, Yan Ting and the others didn't miss the overnight road, and they didn't feel anything at all.
Suddenly, the ground trembled, as if someone was riding towards this place. Seeing this momentum, there are not a lot of people, at least twenty or thirty cavalry.
Yan Ting was wondering, how could a large group of people come to this wilderness at this time, when he heard a sound of 'No, Lord Hou, run quickly'.
He looked back, the night in the distance was like ink, and he couldn't see who was coming, and Liu Ju seemed to have been shot by an arrow not far behind him. Along with Liu Ju's voice, there was also the sound of arrows breaking through the air.
Yan Ting shouted "Hurry up" and rushed forward. Although the three followers behind him had already been shot, they stumbled and followed him not far behind.
The attackers were like ants with bones, always hanging in the back.
It was getting late, and the surrounding darkness was unclear. Yan Ting was in a panic, and he could no longer see the direction. He only knew how to run forward and keep running forward. If not, today might be the death of several of them.
Wang Qin was seriously injured and finally fell behind. When his brother Wang saw this, he hurriedly turned around to save him. It's a pity that there are so many people on the other side, and before he can get close, Wang Qin was shot into a sieve. Wang Meng's eyes were splitting, knowing that he couldn't escape this time, and he wasn't going to escape. He was going to fight against this group of despicable sneak attackers.
Liu Ju was the first to be injured, and the most severely injured. At this time, he was already exhausted.
Seeing this, he shouted: "Master Hou, run away, the three subordinates will break up for you-"
Yan Ting stopped when he heard Wang Meng's roar, and was about to turn around the horse and go to fight together, but Liu Ju slashed the horse's butt with a knife, and the horse flew out with a neigh.
The wind was strong, and it penetrated into people's eyes, ears, mouth and nose.
Yan Ting was heartbroken. He knew that there were too many opponents. Now that he turned around, he would only lose his life. He lowered his body and desperately urged the horse to run faster.
The sound of hooves was still following behind him, and there were several screams in the distance.
Yan Ting was extremely sad and angry in his heart.
He didn't even see what the other party looked like, he actually broke down three followers who had been with him for more than ten years!
An arrow pierced the air, and Yan Ting's whole body stood up. With his many years of experience in martial arts, this arrow is unusual. If it hits it, it will definitely kill him. He desperately lowered his body to the level of the horse, hoping to escape this.
Almost unprepared, the horse on/under collapsed suddenly, Yan Ting was thrown out, more than ten meters away, and hit a tree.
A gust of breeze came, and the moon in the sky did not know when to reveal it.
The moonlight is like water, and it quietly sprinkles on this barren ridge.
Yan Ting felt that he had a dream, but the violent vibration of the ground told him that it was not a dream. He shook his dizzy head, without even wiping the blood from his mouth, got up and ran into the woods.
Chest pain, arm pain, leg pain, headache, pain everywhere. Yan Ting vomited blood and stumbled all the way.
Who is it? Who the hell was so vicious to him
For some reason, the mighty and domineering old face of Duke Zhen Guo appeared in front of him.
Not far behind, a group of people all got off their horses.
"Second Master, that fellow went up the mountain."
Clusters of torches were lit, illuminating the surroundings like daylight.
This group of people are all black and masked, but the leader is not, with a beard on his face, sword eyebrows and tiger eyes, it is Shen Ding.
"Chase."
Following Shen Ding's order, the group of more than 20 men in black started chasing up the mountain in a state of siege.
At the same time, private residences in the capital.
The housekeeper hurriedly went to the study, and after entering, he didn't even have time to pay tribute, so he said, "I have something to report."
Xu Xiangrong was discussing matters with his confidants, and when he saw the butler's expression in a hurry, he waved to let the others back down.
"What's the matter, tell me."
The housekeeper said in a hurry: "Yan Ye has an accident. Today, Liu Ye invited Yan Ye to go to Tangquan Village in the suburbs of Beijing to have fun. When they went outside the city, Yan Ye and his three followers were blocked by unknown people on the way. Not bad, like someone from the Shen family."
With a snap, Xu Xiangrong waved down the tea cup at hand.
His face was gloomy, his eyes dark and inexplicable: "How are people now?"
The butler paused and said, "You told your subordinates to send dead men to follow Master Yan secretly. Two of them followed, and one of them just came back to report. I heard from this person that the situation is very bad, Master Yan's The three entourages were all killed, and Master Yan was seriously injured and fled in the direction of Jiming Mountain."
Xu Xiangrong stood up abruptly, "Order the troops and head to Jiming Mountain."
Not long after, a group of people walked towards the city gate while taking advantage of the darkness.
At this time, the city gate was closed, and the man at the head took a waist badge from the black lacquered flat-headed carriage that was guarded by a dozen horsemen in the center, and showed it to the soldiers guarding the city gate.
The huge and magnificent city gate slowly opened, and a group of people filed through.
***
Yan Ting felt that he couldn't take it any longer.
Thought has even stopped, only the survival instinct is still manipulating his body to run forward.
If there is a light at this time, you can see how embarrassed Yan Ting is at this time. His black hair was scattered and his face was covered with blood.
Every time he took a breath, he felt the burning pain in his lungs as if on fire, and his eyes were gradually infected with blood, even making him unable to see the road in front of him.
He stumbled and ran desperately forward, rolling and crawling, but he no longer had a way to go.
Yan Ting looked at the deep stream in front of him, smiled, and simply stopped running, turned and sat on the ground.
Soon, the footsteps behind him gradually became denser, and the light of the torches lit up the entire night sky.
Yan Ting fluttered the long hair in front of his forehead and stared at the people who were chasing him all the way.
The group separated from the middle, and one person came out.
The person who came put his hands behind his back, walking like a tiger, his face was not red or he was out of breath, he seemed to be walking on the ground between the mountains and forests. The body is strong and tall, with a beard on his face, it is Shen Ding.
Yan Ting's eyeballs shrank sharply, staring at him with a split canthus.
"It's really you!"
His voice was hoarse and low, not as clear as usual.
Shen Ding nodded: "It's me!"
Yan Ting gave a stern smile: "The world knows that the second master of your Shen family, Shen Ding, who is bright and upright, would actually block his own brother-in-law in the dark at night?"
Shen Ding grinned, his snow-white teeth dazzling under the light of the torches.
"Don't give me a high hat! Yan Ting, I wanted to kill you for a long time. If it wasn't for Ayao's face, how long do you think you could live? The opportunity has been given to you countless times, but you don't cherish it yourself! "
"Opportunities? You gave me countless opportunities? What opportunities did you give me?" Yan Ting laughed and coughed, his tone was full of sarcasm: "Your Shen family members are always so high above and seem to act upright. , but has never been condescending. The world said that Yan Ting had bad luck, and I was able to marry the pearl of the Shen family. In the future, it will definitely skyrocket all the way to the sky. Everyone is envious of me, but in fact? I'm talking about this The son-in-law of the dazzling and decent Shen family is not as good as a dog of your Shen family!"
Yan Ting didn't give Shen Ding a chance to speak at all, and continued: "If you want to talk to me, give me a smile. If you don't want to talk about it, you will look cold. Since I married Shen Yiyao, Yan Ting has seen how much you Shen family. Face, you Shen Ding don't know?"
These words were held in Yan Ting's heart for too long, so long that he thought he would never spit them out. I didn't expect that it would be completely exposed under such an occasion and situation.
His expression was wanton and a little bit hideous: "I am honest and careful, and I have been sticking my hot face to your cold butt for a few years, but the old man in your family gave me a good face. I have worked hard at the border for several years. , I finally got some results. Just because I made you displeased with your government, I ruined all my hard work, brought me back from the border, and continued to be the caged bird of your Shen family. , stuck with me and made it difficult for me, the son-in-law of the Shen family, to make the people in your family feel very refreshed... I regret it very much, I regret how I was blind and married Shen Yiyao... "
Under the orange fire, the expression on Shen Ding's face was very complicated, and these complicated expressions turned into contempt in the end. Total contempt, like looking at a pile of feces.
He took a deep breath and said, "It is said that you Yan Ting are narrow-minded, ambitious, low-minded, mean-spirited and distorted. You are right! You dare to say that when you approached A Yao from the very beginning, your mind was pure?" He With a contemptuous smile, he continued: "Don't think of others as fools, do you think no one else knows about the careful thoughts of you and your ill father? Our whole family does not agree with Ayao marrying you, but Ayao Yao silly, she is stubborn to marry you, a man with a beastly heart, and she even threatened to go on a hunger strike, if it wasn't for you who thought you could marry my sister?"
"You act disobediently, so you are not allowed to be viewed with suspicion by others? You have been unstable since the beginning, so why do you ask others to accept you without any grudges? Facts have proved that you are indeed a distorted personality. People, while pretending to be nice to Ayao, while condoning your robbery family to bully my simple-minded sister. How dare you say that you are working hard in Border Care? You have always held people who want to get something for nothing, and you will never understand that others are doing it for you. You've worked so hard! You've worked so hard? You shouldn't forget what you've done. You know what you've done. Did you know that you almost killed your family with the surname Yan? Who? Do you know what you have made up for? It doesn't matter if you die, don't implicate my poor sister and my two poor nephews!"
Yan Ting's pupils shrank to the size of a grain of rice in an instant, and those memories buried deep in the sky suddenly jumped out.
'Generalized number'
Where did the Shen family find out? Could it be that what he once did has been discovered
"You don't want to repent yourself, and when you returned to Beijing, you joined with Concubine Xu Gui. How many noble families are there in this capital, you are smart when you are the whole world, and everyone else is a fool? The battle for the throne. It has always been an accidental disaster. Do you think the Xiao family has not done anything to your Yan family? Yan Ting, I don't think you are a dull person. Why don't you understand such a simple truth? It doesn't matter, just relying on your wolf heart and dog lungs to poison my weak sister, you are destined to die today without a burial place! When you die, everyone is safe!"
The air seemed to stagnate for a moment, and all Yan Ting's expressions froze.
For a long time, he burst into laughter, laughing so hard that he couldn't stop laughing.
Blood flowed down his mouth, and it seemed that something suspected of blood and tears spewed out of his eyes.
His voice was low, almost inaudible, almost a whisper.
"You're right, I should have died a long time ago! This filthy world is so fucking tiring! You don't have to do it, I'll do it myself... "
Before the words fell, Yan Ting stumbled up and plunged into the bottomless deep stream behind him.
The moon hangs overhead, illuminating the earth forever.
Shen Ding took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
A man in black behind him came to the front of the cliff, looked down for a while, turned around and came to Shen Ding again.
"Second Master, this-"
"I don't know what the hell is going on down there, but if you fall, you should be unable to survive. Camp on the spot, and after dawn tomorrow, send people down to search for people. You want to see people in life, and you want to see corpses in death!"