Why did the king let me see this person? I don't know her. Zhou Xian stared at the young woman tied to the pillar in front of him. She had been tortured to the point of being disheveled and her hair was disheveled.
The indescribable mixed stench in the cold and dark room made Zhou Xian feel creepy. She didn't like the atmosphere here. Everyone's face was cold and depressed, without a trace of smile, as if all the despair and darkness in the world were concentrated in this corner.
The enclosed space was very quiet, and Li Yu's voice sounded hollow: She was just a little palace maid, and Ehuang certainly didn't know her.
Zhou Xian felt that Li Yu seemed to have become a walking corpse driven by power, struggling and resisting by any means necessary in desperation, becoming very unfamiliar.
Why was she tied here? "Why did the king bring me here?" Zhou Xian asked in a trembling voice.
Li Yu said: Someone reported that she had an affair with a guard. According to the law, she should be sentenced to death. He took a dagger from the eunuch. The dagger had no sheath and was placed on a white handkerchief. Ehuang, you are here to send her off. She deserved to die.
Zhou Xian stared at Li Yu and shook his head vigorously, too shocked to utter a complete sentence. No, no
Li Yu grabbed Zhou Xian's hand, picked up the dagger wrapped in a white handkerchief and stuffed it into her hand, then held her hand and said: She deserved to die.
This sentence was like a spell. Zhou Xian's heart was already a mess. She couldn't resist Li Yu's will. She didn't need to worry about the reason such as the imperial edict. She instinctively thought that she couldn't resist him. Zhou Xian didn't think so in her heart. Just because she was accused of having an affair with the guards, and no one told her what they did, she couldn't agree whether the palace maid deserved to die. She was even tortured by a kind of shame because she had also lost her morals. And she was very afraid, afraid of this kind of killing.
In that brief moment, her heart was so complicated.
Suddenly, Li Yu grabbed her hand and stabbed it into the heart of the person on the pillar. Before Zhou Xian could react, let alone struggle, she heard a scream, and then her face felt hot, and blood sprayed all over her face and chest.
In an instant, the blood color on Zhou Xian's face disappeared, and her clear eyes became blurred. She saw a cloud of white mist rising from the ground, and all the strength in her body was drained away at once, and she fell to the ground.
Li Yu hurriedly supported her. She could not see anything, but her mind was clear and she heard Li Yu sigh.
Zhou Xian felt like she was dead, and returned to her previous state of having no interest in anything. But she was not crazy after all, and when others talked to her, she could still answer with a blank expression, and she was still very polite and decent.
Sometimes she was daydreaming, and the question of why people live and what is the meaning of life seems difficult.
Two days later, a young woman came to the palace. She was not like other women who were shy and soft-spoken, but behaved very freely.
This is Liu Liuyao, the daughter of Liu Renzhan, a great general of the Southern Tang Dynasty, Li Yu said.
Liu Liuyao performed the ceremony by clasping his fists and bowing: Greetings, Her Majesty.
Li Yu reminded: You can't do this in the future, be careful about your words and actions, and don't let others see it.
After hearing this, Liu Liuyao clasped her fists at her waist, bent her knees and said: "I have seen the Queen." Zhou Xian looked at her and nodded slightly in response.
Li Yu said seriously: "When the time comes, the envoy will ask Guo the blacksmith to perform the sword dance. Guo the blacksmith and his minions will certainly be on guard against this matter, so our greatest hope cannot be placed on this matter. Liu Liuyao disguised as Ehuang's personal maid, and I will leave it to you to do it; and Ehuang, as an insider, only needs to find an opportunity for Liu Liuyao to
Zhou Xian felt it was absurd to hear these words. It was ridiculous to talk about an absurd thing in such a serious and detailed manner, but it was hard to laugh. Li Yu had gone completely crazy. He looked normal, but in fact, he had been driven crazy by the pressure that he had nowhere to escape. It might also be that the physical injury affected his mind. It was really hard to understand what eunuchs did when they went crazy. In the Tang Dynasty, there were eunuchs who dared to massacre court ministers directly in the government hall and openly massacred in the temple. Even a rebellious hero would not do such a thing.
Zhou Xian was completely helpless. She didn't think she could make Li Yu wake up. At this critical moment of life and death, he believed that he had grabbed a life-saving straw just like a drowning person clinging to the rescuer's neck and would never let go. It was useless to persuade him to let go, and even if he died, his hands could not be pried apart.
Liu Liuyao, what do you want? Li Yu said, as long as you want it, I will try my best to give it to you. Just like Prince Dan is generous with his rewards.
Zhou Xian's heart tightened again when she heard this, because she had heard about the bloody story of Prince Dan sending Jing Ke off. Before leaving, Jing Ke and his companions went to a banquet and praised a palace maid's beautiful hands, so Prince Dan cut off the maid's hand and gave it to Jing Ke. In Zhou Xian's eyes, the world had completely changed.
Fortunately, Liu Liuyao said: "I don't want any reward, I just want revenge for the loss of my country and the murder of my father."
When Zhou Xian heard this, he probably guessed what happened to Liu Liuyao. Liu Renzhan was defeated and captured in Shouzhou that year, and there was no news since then. From what he said, he must have been killed.
A few days later, Zhou Xian was hurriedly sent to join the peace talks. She just obeyed silently and never thought of resisting.
Since he was doomed and already in despair, there was no need to resist in vain. No matter whether he succeeded or not, Guo Shao would not let him go. It was not easy for him to climb up from a humble background as a blacksmith. He valued everything he had gained with great difficulty and would never tolerate anyone threatening him in this way.
The civil and military officials of the Zhou court would kill him, and the loyal follower of the Queen Mother Guo the Blacksmith would be furious.
Zhou Xian gently lifted the car curtain and looked blankly at the world outside. Everything was so sad and boring.
What queen? She is just a joke, just a chess piece. What country is just a stage for actors to jump up and down. There has been no Southern Tang Kingdom from ancient times to the present, and people still have to live.
Starting from Jiangning Prefecture, it only takes an hour to reach the Zhou army camp. A few days ago, the Zhou army set out from Caishi and approached the capital of Southern Tang. The distance was only 120 miles, and they had already reached the capital, but they had not yet come to attack the city.
There was a loud question and answer outside, and Zhou Xian guessed from the conversation that they had arrived at the Zhou army camp.
A sonorous voice shouted loudly: Only the chief envoy is allowed to enter, and the rest are not allowed to move without permission. Then there was no sound. The other carriages were filled with real singing girls, and they were probably so frightened that no one dared to say a word. The Zhou army's imperial guards had always had strict military discipline, as Zhou Xian had seen, and no one in the central army made a noise.
Soon, another voice said: Men and women separate, the singing girls' cars follow me.
The carriage started again, a gurgling sound vibrated the eardrums, Zhou Xian gently closed her eyes, she truly felt that she was falling into an abyss, and could even faintly feel the wind blowing on her face; at this moment, she was no longer in control, the ending could not be changed, she didn't know when it would end, and then she could hear a bang, and die with sin.
Two lines of tears quietly slid down her cheeks. A sour and painful feeling suddenly came up, and her emotions seemed to be released and collapsed along with the tears. A voice in her heart shouted: I have known for a long time that everyone will die. I am not afraid of death, but I have never thought of dying in such loneliness and ugliness.
Life is really like a dream. In just a few days, she went from being a queen to a criminal awaiting trial. Everything was so hazy and empty.
Someone touched Zhou Xian's arm. Zhou Xian opened his eyes and saw Liu Liuyao, who was dressed as a maid, handing him a handkerchief. Liu Liuyao asked: Is the queen afraid or sad
Zhou Xian took the towel and shook his head dejectedly.
Liu Liuyao whispered: I heard that His Majesty has been doting on the Empress for many years. You should be happy that you can die for him.
Zhou Xian had no way to explain to this woman and remained silent. Liu Liuyao's words only pulled her back to reality from her self-absorption. Since Guo Shao received the envoy, he should have seen the secret letter that came with it, and he should have known that he was coming.
He will definitely meet me. Meeting him in this way is really unbearable.
At this time, the carriage quickly arrived at a place, and the women were invited to get off one after another. Zhou Xian got off and looked around. He was still in the central army camp. In the distance, he could see a fence made of wooden stakes and a large tent in front of him. Outside were all Zhou army soldiers.
A general whispered to the young man next to him: Marshal Guo is coming soon, do you want to search these people first
The young man said: "These are all women. If we search them, it would be considered disrespectful and we would be asking for trouble. There are women among the people cooking outside. We can ask two of them to come and search them for us." But it was too late. Marshal Guo was about to arrive.
The general asked: What should we do
The young man said: All the first team of the personal guards brigade should enter the account, separate Marshal Guo and these women of unknown origin, and keep a close eye on them.
The general clasped his fists and said: I understand your command.
When Zhou Xian heard this, he thought to himself: Others are not stupid and it would be so easy to assassinate them. But it would be difficult for two women to deal with the most powerful general of the Zhou army among thousands of soldiers.
The singing girls were then driven into the big tent next to them by the soldiers, and Zhou Xian and Liu Liuyao also mixed in. Several soldiers stood at the door, and the remaining twenty or so men in armor stood in a row in front of the singing girls, staring at the women's movements solemnly. However, many soldiers nearby still did not look at the people they were facing, but secretly looked at Zhou Xian and the others, pretending to be doing their job, and they were probably judging who was the prettiest in their hearts.
At this moment, the young man at the door said anxiously: Marshal Guo is here, stand still for me!
Zhou Xian couldn't help but look at the door of the tent.
... ... ..