Li Weilong stood under the plaque in the center of the main entrance with his sleeves down and his eyes down. Behind him is the gate of Xihe Mansion, which is heavily locked, and in front of him is the stone pillar of the town residence that was bestowed by the emperor.
"Butler Li, you've turned the world upside down! Are you Xihefu going to raise the government to resist the decree?!!"
"Gong Zhao, what are you talking about? Didn't I explain it to you? Xi and Jun are in a bad state and can't come out to receive the imperial edict. When his condition is better, I will report to him immediately. Ming Shengyi. You must not be angry, it is not good for your body if you are angry."
Zhao Gong was so angry that he pointed at Butler Li's nose and scolded: "Li Wei! You have to be tolerant when you lie! Tonight, the incident of Xi and Jun's private intrusion into the operating table has been smashed into the sky! He is under the eyes of Elder Zhou. The traitor with the surname Gu was kidnapped, and now you say that he is not feeling well, who do you think of as an idiot?!"
Li Wei touched his nose: "Cough, this is a long story, and there may be misunderstandings..."
"How could there be any misunderstanding! One night, Shennongtai went into the mansion, Princess Mengze went into the mansion, and Jiang Fuli went into the mansion—what's the matter, these people can be seen by Xi and Jun, but the only one sent by the king is the king. The people who came are blocking the door - what's the reason?!"
Li Weiyi clapped his hands: "Hey, what you said is so right! Did you find it too? All the cultivators of Yaozong went in, and all of them were for the Lord's night consultation, and the Lord was very sick! "
"you!"
They were arguing fiercely when suddenly the door of the mansion opened with a "squeak" sound.
Mo Xi stood behind the gate, in the middle of the moonlight, raised a pair of tired but still sharp phoenix eyes, and looked coldly at him.
Li Wei really had dragged it to the point where he couldn't drag it any longer. Seeing Mo Xi came out, he couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief.
Mo Xi stepped over the threshold, and his voice was low and deep: "Thank you for your hard work. Go down."
"Yes."
Li Wei stepped back, Mo Xi came out, his gaze followed the steps of the mansion, looking down at Duke Zhao from top to bottom. Although Duke Zhao was the closest servant to the emperor and was trusted by the emperor, his status was still there, not to mention that Mo Xi naturally had an extremely cold temperament. When he didn't speak or laugh , this kind of temperament can make almost everyone feel the pressure.
Zhao Gong's sharp edge suddenly subsided.
He bowed his head and saluted: "Xi Hejun."
Mo Xi didn't say a word, raised his head slightly, and looked at the starry night in front of him, with some inexplicable emotions flashing in his eyes.
Zhao Gong continued: "Your Majesty, please—"
"How is your noble body?"
Zhao Gong was stunned for a moment. He thought about Mo Xi's various reactions, he accepted it calmly, became angry, didn't obey... But he was still choked by Mo Xi's endless words.
"Mengze said that he relapsed a few days ago, and how is he now."
"... I worry about Xi and Jun, you have God's blessing on your own, and it's almost better."
"Okay. That's good." Mo Xi stepped on the ground with his iron military boots. He walked down the steps and said lightly, "I'll follow you into the palace."
Deep in the royal city.
Suzaku Hall.
This sleeping hall is the warmest place in the entire palace city. The palace is not big, but it is made of rocks from the volcanic volcano in the extreme south. The hall is smoked with fragrant spices all year round, and thick woven blankets are spread everywhere. Every time a cold illness strikes, Your Majesty will choose to rest here to warm and nourish the body.
Mo Xi followed Duke Zhao to the outside of the Vermillion Bird Hall. Duke Zhao went in to report, and then withdrew with a whisk in his arms, bowed to Mo Xi and said, "Xihe-Jun, your Majesty has a request."
Mo Xi stepped into the door of the hall—he never liked to come to this hall, because the carpet of the Vermillion Bird Hall was so thick that as soon as he entered the door, the soles of his feet would sink deep into the soft cushions, as if one fell into the hall. A beast in the mud, and like a moth that has fallen into a spider web, an involuntary feeling will climb up along the spine. No matter how good the fragrance is, it cannot be dispelled.
Duke Zhao closed the door of the hall, and the Suzaku Hall surrounded by pearls was filled with a heavy fragrance, as if the air was thick and could not be stirred.
At this season, the weather is already a bit hot, but there is still a pot of charcoal fire in the center of the Suzaku Hall, and the raging flames are burning vigorously. The king is sitting sideways on a small sandalwood couch, wrapped in a heavy fox fur, with his eyes down, turning the bodhi dzi bracelet in his palm. His complexion was very poor, very white, and even the light of the fire on his face could not give him any spirit.
Hearing the movement, Junshang's hand that turned the beads paused for a while, and then a sigh was thinner than paper: "Xihejun, here we come."
Mo Xi didn't speak.
In fact, from the moment he saw the truth, he had monstrous anger, and wanted to immediately enter the palace to question Your Majesty about many things—but Gu Mang never escaped the danger, and he couldn't get out until Jiang Fili rushed to After Hui began to stabilize the situation for Gu Mang, he was finally able to come to the palace and face this man who actually knew everything.
And when he really stood in front of Junshang, his anger deepened, but he was no longer as tense as before. He could barely suppress the eruption of his anger, staring at the king wrapped in the fox fur.
Junshang said: "It's not a big deal to find you tonight. It's just that Zhou He has just reported an anecdote about Gu, and Gu thinks it should be rewarded with Jun Xi He. Are you interested in listening to it?"
"… "
After waiting for a while, when Mo Xi didn't see an answer, the emperor took it up: "Zhou He told Gu that today he is practicing the black devil trial assigned to him by Gu. It was going well, and they broke in from outside. A man came. The man ignored his dissuasion, and did not take Gu’s orders in his eyes. He insisted on taking the trial body away. He even violated the admonition and summoned Shenwu, so that the monks of the Jujutai were splattered with blood on the spot. ."
"Does Xihe-Jun think that the man who cut the hu is a big treacherous person?" Jun Shang turned another dzi bead and said with a sneer, "Gu also felt the same way at the time. Until Zhou He told Gu to save people The hero of—"
He slowly raised his eyes, and on his weak face, his eyes were extremely cold.
"It's you."
The two words seemed to have been chopped from the teeth. Jun Shang sat up straight, his deep eyebrows cast a heavy shadow on his eye sockets. The two rulers and ministers looked at each other across the burning charcoal basin, the heat and smoke rushed up, and the faces in each other's eyes were blurred and distorted.
The king said: "Xihe-jun, you are so disappointing."
"Gu ask you, what did Gu said to you when Gu Mang was handed over to you?"
"… "
"Gu, I warned you at the time that Gu Mang's serious crime should have been sentenced to death. The reason why he is still alive is only because the Liaoguo mantra on his body is worth studying. One day he is destined to be used for trials. I hope you don't forget who you are at that time, and you're in the wrong place."
These words are indeed the ones that Your Majesty once ordered with him. At that time, he only felt suffocated in his ears, but now when he hears it again, he finds it ironic, absurd, and terrifying.
Mo Xi looked down at Junshang's face, trying to find even the slightest trace of guilt, sadness, or hesitation from that face. But no.
It was a very delicate mask, and every inch of emotion seemed to be drawn a hundred times after being measured, and even the eyes did not waver at all.
The hardest thing to see is the king's heart... How can this sentence be wrong
Mo Xi slowly closed his eyes, chills and anger, disappointment and grief flowed all over his body along his blood. But Jun Shang's words still pierced into his eardrums like a scorpion's poisonous claws: "Xi He Jun, now it seems that you have lost your head and completely forgot about Gu's advice. You don't remember that you were the first commander of Chonghua, and you don't remember who stabbed you in the chest, you don't remember who rescued you and gave you a second life, and you don't remember who it was. Who killed tens of thousands of our people - you don't even remember who was a traitor. Do you?"
In the charcoal basin, a prickly ash wood husk burst, and a cluster of bright sparks rushed up and danced in the air.
Mo Xi opened his eyes.
He endured his anger to the point of leaving, endured his trembling hands from anger, and suppressed the anger that was churning like lava.
Your Majesty was startled suddenly.
His dark eyes stared at Mo Xi's face, and only then did he realize that Mo Xi's state was very poor, and when he felt it again, even the spiritual current in his body was extremely unstable.
Could it be that!
Jun Shang suddenly felt extremely uneasy, his fingers unconsciously squeezed the dzi bracelet, and the last bit of blood on his face faded. One king and one minister seem to have grasped everything clearly in this kind of eye contact.
"If Your Majesty has finished speaking, then I also have an anecdote here. I wonder if Your Majesty dares to listen."
"… "
After a long while, you leaned back into the depths of the couch. He had almost guessed what Mo Xi was trying to say - that was the only thing that could make him suddenly change his attitude so resolutely.
The last layer of paper between them was trembling and about to be pierced.
Mo Xi stared into Junshang's eyes, and tore apart the layer of paper word by word: "... Many years ago, I knew a person. That person once made great achievements for Bang Guo, and he fought for many years, but only lost. It happened once. Later, for the sake of 70,000 tombstones, and for the fair world that his lord had promised him, he went deep into the enemy's camp, endured humiliation and suffering for five full years. During these five years, there was not a single day when he did not hate his contamination. Blood, there is not a day without hope that his lord can let him see the promise of the past..."
Every time he said a word, his face became even more ugly. These words were like sharp knives stabbing his flawless mask, and all his false visions would be shattered to pieces.
Every word that Mo Xi said was covered in thick blood, and pressed against your eyes.
"That person finally returned to the country, but he lost his memory. But no one knew that he was wronged except for the emperor he once entrusted his life to. He was reviled by thousands of people, tortured and imprisoned, and everyone hated him. He blamed him for accusing him of bullying him and wished he could die - and his lord... the one who once promised him... one day, he would redress his injustice and put on a blue and gold sash for him - but said that the only person who would allow him to live The meaning is to use him as a black devil trial!"
The anger that burst out scorched Mo Xi's eyes. No matter how tolerant he was, when he said this, Mo Xi's voice was trembling, and the fire seemed to be quenched into his dark eyes.
"... Your Majesty. This story is familiar to you."
Junshang's complexion was whiter than paper. In this stiff atmosphere, he put the beads back on his wrist. His hands were trembling a little. He put it on once, but didn't put it on. The second time he wrapped the beads. .
"Mo Xi." Jun Shang raised his eyes, "How dare you... How dare you break into the Censor's desk and steal the jade slips containing Shi..."
"So..." Mo Xi closed his eyes, his voice trembling violently with anger, "Those jade slips were indeed destroyed by you!"
He opened his eyes abruptly, the pain and coldness in his eyes at this moment was something that Jun Shang had never seen before.
Simply startling.
- Your Majesty and Mo Xi are about the same age, and it can be considered that they have grown up all the way. He knows very well what kind of person this young imperial general is.
His father Wang once said: "The Mo clan is loyal, strong, brave, stubborn, and tenacious... admit a dead truth. This kind of person will never covet your throne, and will not easily do anything outrageous. , but once one day, he thinks that what you are doing is contrary to what he thinks is the 'Tao', he will stand opposite you regardless of life and death, honor and disgrace, and become the sharpest nail in your eyes. The most painful thorn."
He could not remember the words of his father all the time, and he had been taking every step of the way when it came to matters related to Mo Xi.
But Mo Xi still stood in the opposite position to him.
Mo Xi said: "Your Majesty, he has done so much for you, and you have to hide this truth?!"
The Suzaku Hall was terrifyingly silent for a while. The entangled dragons carved on the flying beams on the roof seemed to have come to life.
After a while, the king spoke up.
There is nothing to hide from, and nothing to hide.
Junshang raised his eyes and said in a low voice, "...otherwise."