After breakfast, Yan Chi and his party braved the cold and left Luozhou City.
If they don't go with the big troops, Yan Chi and his party can pretend to be rich and nobles and go south to find relatives at the end of the year, and Yan Chi finally got into the carriage.
Because there were more Xunniang couples, three more large carriages were added. Bai Ying and Fuling also entered the second carriage, Bai Feng drove, and Qin Wan and Yan Chi were alone in the first carriage. Although the snow had stopped, the road was not easy to walk on, and Yan Chi was not in a hurry anymore, and let the carriage be safe.
The carriage was covered with thick cushions, and Qin Wan was leaning against Yan Chi's arms, closing his eyes lazily and recuperating, "Lin Xie must have known the whereabouts of General Zhou and the others, so he must be chasing General Zhou right now, saying Maybe we have to inform the Liangzhou garrison in advance to stop them."
"Zhou You was good at long-distance raids in the past. Let's go separately. He will march at full speed and will not be much slower than Lin Xie. As for the Liangzhou garrison, it is not so easy to dispatch. You don't have to worry..."
While talking, Yan Chi lightly squeezed Qin Wan's leg. He came out of the army and practiced martial arts since childhood, so his skills of loosening muscles and bones are naturally not bad. After a lot of tossing around last night, today Qin Wan's legs are weak when he walks. So along the way, he had to knead and massage for Qin Wan, and Qin Wan let him be lazy.
"I thought we were going to Shuoxi as soon as possible, but I didn't expect you to go to Jianzhou."
Speaking of Jianzhou, Qin Wan naturally thought of Yao Xinlan. This time last year was when she went north, but within a year, she was going south again.
These few days they have been busy on their way, they really haven't had a deep chat, now that Yan Chi suddenly slowed down, naturally they can talk more.
Yan Chi said, "Of course Shuoxi is going, but now that I'm in the name of treason, just one visit to Shuoxi is not enough."
Qin Wan opened his eyes and sat up, his eyes became serious, "What do you plan?"
Although Yan Chi was on the way, the news kept coming. Many changes in the capital were under his control. The emperor's order to convict Yan Chi had been announced to the world. Everyone will be regarded as a treasonable criminal.
Yan Chi took Qin Wan's hand and said, "Although I didn't want it, but at this point, since he said I rebelled, then I really rebelled. If I want to rebel, I must first support myself, Shuoxi Although the one hundred thousand soldiers are elite, after all the troubles before, the loss is not small, not to mention the barrenness of Shuoxi, although I have provided supplies for Shuoxi's army for half a year, but if we want to confront Lin'an for a long time, only one Shuoxi will surely lose undoubtedly."
Yan Chi spoke slowly, and when he finished speaking, Qin Wan felt relieved.
Although she has not read military books, she has her own wisdom. She knows that Yan Chi's going south to Jianzhou must be to win Jianzhou and other places.
The states and counties in the south are all rich and rich, and Jianzhou is in the southwest, so it is very close to Shuoxi. If Jianzhou can be won, Shuoxi will have no worries, but how many people in this world dare to openly oppose the imperial court
"You can rest assured that Jianzhou is going to make arrangements these days. We just need to go slowly, and the Chinese New Year will soon be here. This year, we can spend in Jianzhou. There is no rush in Shuoxi. I have made all the arrangements. gone."
Leaving Lin'an and being branded as a rebel by the emperor, these things are too unfamiliar to Qin Wan. At this point, she naturally trusts Yan Chi wholeheartedly.
"That's good. You have always been decisive. I will follow you. It's just in the capital..."
Qin Wan frowned slightly, a little worried about Zhongyong Houfu.
The corners of Yan Chi's lips curved slightly, "Don't worry, my aunt will protect the Anyang Houfu. Your eighth sister has passed away, so it doesn't count as being involved in the conspiracy of the queen and the prince, and you are not the real son of the Houye couple. , as long as it is found out that they have nothing to do with this matter, they will not be involved, at most the glory and wealth of the Hou Mansion will be gone, but they bet on the wrong treasure at the beginning, and it is impossible to want to be rich and honor."
At the beginning, Qin Shu married Qin Chaoyu into the palace because he wanted Qin Chaoyu to become the next generation queen, but he certainly would not have thought that the emperor was hiding such a secret, and now the prince and queen are actually a real breakfast of treason. The Hou Mansion couldn't be kinder at all.
Qin Wan sighed, "I'm afraid my uncle would not have thought of this. With my grandmother and the empress dowager here, the Hou Mansion will not be destroyed. It's just that the empress dowager's health was not good when we left, and it's even more difficult now."
Yan Chi held Qin Wan's hand tightly, "Don't worry, the imperial doctor in the palace will definitely do his best."
Qin Wan's heart sank, but now that they were hundreds of miles away from the capital, she could only worry secretly.
Thinking about it, Qin Wan suddenly grabbed Yan Chi's hand and said, "Can you keep that secret hidden?"
Yan Chi frowned when he heard the words, "I don't know, Dazhou is already torn apart, if that secret is exposed, Dazhou doesn't know what kind of waves will be caused, if my surname is not Yan, maybe I don't care about it .”
After a pause, Yan Chi said again, "However, not everyone in the Yan family will be like me."
…
It's nearly the end of the new year, but there is no atmosphere of Chinese New Year in Lin'an City.
The imperial order issued by the emperor five days ago was like a thunderbolt, which instantly made all the people in Lin'an City panic.
The crown prince and the empress conspired against each other, and Prince Rui also conspired against each other. One had an army of 100,000 from the Beifu army, and the other was a major general of the Shuoxi army. It seemed that the flames of war were about to ignite. It is everyone's consensus that Zhou will be chaotic.
In the Shoukang Palace, the Empress Dowager was ill for several days, and finally waited for the emperor's visit.
All the servants in the inner hall were sent away, leaving only the empress dowager and the emperor's mother and son.
The empress dowager closed her eyes tightly, panting heavily in her throat, and her complexion was as pale as paper. Looking at the empress dowager, the emperor almost felt that the empress dowager would die in the next moment. , the emperor still couldn't bear it.
"Today I am busy with court affairs, and I have never visited my mother. I hope that my mother will forgive me."
The Queen Mother didn't even open her eyes when she heard the words, she coughed lightly, and only said slowly, "Let's deal with the Zhongyong Houfu lightly."
The emperor frowned slightly, "Mother, it's a fact that the crown prince and the queen conspired against each other, let alone Qin Wan—"
"Their daughter has been burned alive. The empress and the crown prince's rebellion has nothing to do with their daughter, so naturally they cannot be involved. As for Qin Wan... she is not from the Hou family, and she saved my life. You want me to marry you?" Do you want to die with peace?"
The queen mother spoke very slowly word by word, and it took a lot of effort to say so much.
The emperor listened silently, but did not answer. The queen mother coughed twice, and said again, "I don't have many days left. This is my last wish. From now on, you can do whatever you want."
The emperor's frowning brows relaxed, and he nodded after a while, "Okay, since the queen mother has asked, then I will do it."
The Empress Dowager seemed to be relieved, and her breathing finally eased up. The emperor looked at the Empress Dowager, and saw that the Empress Dowager's face was gradually calm and indifferent, and she didn't say anything else to him. After waiting for a while, the Emperor turned and left the inner hall. , As soon as he went out, he saw Yan Sui holding a medicine bowl. It was time for the Queen Mother to drink the medicine. Yan Sui had been waiting for a long time with the medicine bowl in his hand. Seeing the emperor coming out, Yan Sui saluted tremblingly.
"Meet my father—"
The emperor looked Yan Sui up and down, "Take good care of the emperor's grandmother these days."
Yan Sui didn't dare to raise his head, he shrugged his shoulders and responded obediently.
The emperor frowned a few times, stepped out and left Shoukang Palace.
Yan Sui's fingertips trembled slightly, and when the sound of footsteps disappeared completely, he straightened up stiffly and looked back. The emperor disappeared, but his frightening gaze just now seemed to be still hanging above his head. He didn't think very clearly about his age, but he kept panting heavily, wanting to exhale the fear in his heart little by little, and when he calmed down, he just entered the inner hall with his short legs.
Arriving at the Empress Dowager's window, Yan Sui called softly, "Imperial Grandmother, I've taken some medicine..."
The queen mother opened her red eyes, and looked at Yan Sui with both sigh and pity, "My good boy, the emperor's grandmother will protect you as long as she can."
Yan Sui looked at the Empress Dowager half-understanding, and the Empress Dowager stood up and drank the medicine.
She leaned against the bed and looked at the unmelted snow outside the window, her face was blank with more grief than heartbreak, only when she saw Yan Sui again showed a trace of pity and tenderness, Yan Sui suddenly became frightened when she saw such a queen mother , couldn't help but tugged on the Queen Mother's sleeve.
The Empress Dowager smiled gently, "Don't be afraid, the emperor's grandmother has to hold on, the emperor's grandmother has to hold on..."
…
In Anyanghou's mansion, Yue Qiong and Princess Taichang frowned and sat facing each other, "Mother, the Beifu army's rebellion is a certainty, but what about Shuoxi?"
Princess Taichang sighed, "Even if the emperor wants to put down the chaos, he will send you to the north. Then you can do whatever you want. As for Shuoxi, when Yue Jia comes back, first go to plead guilty, and then stay at home for a few minutes after pleading guilty." Today, we can’t afford to go through this muddy water.”
Yue Qiong couldn't help sighing, "Yue Qing was originally in the Ministry of War, but after this incident, I want him to be transferred to the Ministry of Officials."
The Taichang Princess smiled bitterly, "Since ancient times, what will happen to a military general, the official department should be the official department. The Queen Mother's health is not good. I'm afraid that if she leaves, even our family will be in trouble. You should think about the way out early. So as not to be overwhelmed.”
Yue Qiong quickly responded, and just as she was speaking, Yue Ning strode in from outside, "Grandmother, father! The emperor issued an edict!"
Princess Taichang frowned immediately, "What did you say?"
Yue Ning walked up to the two of them and said, "The emperor deprived the title of the Zhongyong Hou Mansion, turned the Hou Ye into a commoner, and also deprived the positions of the son of the Hou Mansion and the Fourth Young Master. Both of them left in the dark. Way, now unless the two of them take the martial arts again, it will be ruined."
Princess Taichang listened in a daze, but Yue Qiong quickly said, "It's good to save your life, and you can plan other things."
Yue Ning said, "The Hou's Mansion has been sealed off. Fortunately, the Qin family still has a small property. Father, can we help?"
Princess Taichang came back to her senses, "It must be the Queen Mother who spoke, hey, let your fourth brother bring someone to help, in the entire capital, I'm afraid only our family dares to associate with them."
Yue Ning nodded quickly when she heard the words, turned around and went out to look for Yue Qing, Yue Qiong sighed, "It's a good ending."
Twenty years ago, Prince Gong conspired against him, and the concubine Fu's family and the generals under Prince Gong were all affiliated with the nine clans. Now the Zhongyonghou Mansion just lost the title. The Taichang Princess nodded, "This is the last mercy of the emperor. , I really don’t know how the situation will develop in the future, this year will not be over, and now you are back in the capital, you have to be cautious, the military power of the Jinzhou garrison, it is really impossible to give it to others.”
Princess Taichang was worried, always feeling as if a catastrophe was coming, Yue Qiong had always respected her mother, and couldn't see the current situation clearly, so naturally she listened to Princess Taichang.
After a pause, Yue Qiong said, "I don't know where Yan Chi and the others have gone, I'm sorry for Wan girl..."
Qin Wan is Yue Qiong's adoptive daughter. Although she was the adoptive father of Princess Taichang at the beginning, Yue Qiong appreciates Qin Wan and naturally has a genuine heart of caring.
Princess Taichang sighed, "The two of them hit it off, and Yan Chi is trustworthy, so it can't be said that it's not good. It doesn't hurt anything to suffer a little bit, and it will be fine later. We don't want to show up now, wait for a while , I will send someone to contact her."
Yue Qiong nodded, "Fortunately, Ning'er settled on Yanze. Although Yanze has eye problems, it would be great to take Ning'er to live a peaceful and happy life in the future."
Princess Taichang loved Yan Ze very much, but she didn't immediately respond when she heard this today, she said silently, "The emperor's imperial order said that Yan Chi helped the queen and the prince escape, but I think It doesn’t look like…”
Yue Qiong shook her head, "It's just an imperial order, I want to impose a crime..."
The remaining four words, Yue Qiong, have never been uttered. Now that there is a lot of turmoil in Beijing, he has to be cautious even in his own home.
Princess Taichang frowned, "Ning'er's marriage is up to Ning'er herself."
Yue Qiong frowned and said, "Ning'er naturally has an agreement with Yan Ze. I heard Jing Shu say that Ning'er is very interested in Yan Ze when I came back..."
Princess Taichang shook her head and didn't say much. She originally thought that if Yue Jia returned to the capital, she would be able to retreat without being affected, but now, she felt a faint sense of crisis.
At the same time, outside the city of Yingzhou, Yan Che was standing on a low hill looking at the city of Yingzhou in the distance.
In order to deceive others, they did not enter the city of Yingzhou when they went north this time.
Although the snow in the capital had stopped, the journey to the north was always full of wind and snow. Yan Che was wearing a black cloak. In just a few days, he had experienced a lot of vicissitudes. Yan Che was looking serious, Suddenly footsteps sounded behind him, Yan Che turned to look, and saw Qin Chaoyu wearing a water-red satin cloak and walking up with an oil-paper umbrella. One side, suddenly the wind and snow stopped.
"His Highness has been out for a long time, and the queen mother is worried, so let me pick His Highness back."
The wind outside cut people like a knife, Yan Che could withstand it, but Qin Chaoyu's cheeks were flushed from the cold, and the hand holding the umbrella was extremely cold.
Seeing this, Yan Che couldn't bear it to the end, took the umbrella from her hand, and held Qin Chaoyu's hand in his palm, but said in a cool voice, "I am no longer the Prince of Great Zhou, you don't need to call me Your Highness."
Qin Chaoyu snuggled up beside Yan Che and said with a smile, "In the eyes of my concubine, His Highness the Crown Prince is His Highness the Crown Prince forever."
Yan Che looked at Qin Chaoyu, "Father has deposed me as the crown prince, and now, I'm just a traitor who plotted against me."
Qin Chaoyu blinked and looked at Yan Che, "Does Your Highness know why the empress chose this path?"
Yan Che frowned, "The empress has never said it clearly, so I naturally don't know, why, did the empress tell you?"
Qin Chaoyu shook his head with a smile, "Of course not. If the queen mother doesn't tell His Highness, how can she tell the concubine?" Qin Chaoyu stopped looking at Yan Che, and only turned his eyes to look at the city of Yingzhou, "It's just that the concubine believes in the queen. Your Majesty, I also believe Your Highness, the empress empress is so broad and righteous, she has her own reasons for being so, since we are rebels in the eyes of the emperor, since we have long disrespected the way of the emperor and his ministers, what is the meaning of the emperor's deposed decree?"
Yan Che looked at Qin Chaoyu with complicated eyes, "You are originally a noble daughter of the Hou family, but after marrying me for only half a year, you ended up in such a miserable state, do you regret it?"
"Is it miserable?" Qin Chaoyu looked away and looked at Yan Che again, pursed his lips, Qin Chaoyu said as if he had made up his mind, "I don't think it's miserable at all, the honor in the palace is unparalleled, but Your Highness will not stick to me Warm your hands with an umbrella, the queen mother and His Royal Highness are here, there are 100,000 Beifu troops waiting for us in Cangzhou, Your Highness still has a grand plan to accomplish, and the concubine is the one who accompanied His Highness to make achievements. How many women can be like me? The eldest daughter of Zhongyonghou Mansion is dead, but one day I will go back to Lin'an, right?"
Qin Chaoyu's voice was soft yet resounding, her eyes were filled with tenderness but also with pride and tenacity, Yan Che was speechless for a while, as if he knew Qin Chaoyu for the first time, he couldn't help but said, "Of course, you will Go back, we will go back together!"