The secret passage began to cave in, and rubble thundered up the entrance.
Wen Huaibi reached out to dig at the stones, and the dark guard behind him tugged at him: “Your Majesty, no!”
“Yes, Your Majesty, as soon as we come out of the underground palace, the underground palace will collapse. It’s an act of God that won’t let you get into danger!”
Just now they went around and around in the underground palace, chose a corridor to go down, and inexplicably came out of another exit of the underground palace. The opening
they came out was not in the Great Margin Hall, but in another hall next to the Great Margin Hall. As soon as they came out, Wen Huaibi turned to go in again to continue looking for someone. Before they went in, the opening of the secret passage collapsed directly. Several dark guards kept pulling Wen Huaibi to prevent him from going in.
“Providence?” Wen Huai-pi shook off the dark guard who was pulling him, and knelt on the ground to dig out the stones at the entrance bit by bit. His voice was filled with anger. “Get out of here!”
As they were digging, the Empress Dowager was surrounded by a group of people and walked into the palace. “Your Majesty, what are you doing?”
Her eyes fell on Wen Huaibi’s bloody hand, and her tone was concerned: “Why is Your Majesty kneeling on the ground?”? But where did it hurt? Why don’t someone help Your Majesty up! As if
Wen Huaibi had not heard the queen mother’s voice, she ordered the dark guard behind her, “What are you waiting for?”? Come and dig with me! The
head of the dark guard did not want him to go down and take risks, so he hesitated and refused to move, and the men behind him did not move.
Wen Huaibi laughed, her eyes as red as the blood on her hands. “All right, good job. I’ll dig it myself!” When
the Empress Dowager saw him like this, she raised her lips slightly, squinted her eyes, and said, “Your Majesty has always been very calm, but today he is so angry that he has lost his temper.”
She crouched down and looked at the collapsed entrance in front of her. “By the way, your Majesty doesn’t know, does he?”? What you want is in this underground palace. Your Majesty is really cheating the sad family. But it doesn’t matter. Concubine Jiang is under the ground here, and she can guard those things for Your Majesty for a long time to come.
Wen Huai-pi turned around and pulled her by the collar. “Li, Mi, Hsieh!” She said.
The queen mother’s men immediately stepped forward to pull him away, but the queen mother waved her hand and motioned her men not to come over.
She smiled kindly. “Don’t be angry, Your Majesty. The only thing that can threaten my Li family is gone. Your Majesty must sit on the Dragon Chair and see how Jiangshan changed his surname to Li little by little.”
Wen Huaibi’s fingers clicked, and he looked at her angrily for a moment, then pushed her back directly, then turned around and continued to dig up the stones at the entrance. The head of the dark guard behind him finally could not bear to watch, beckoning his men to help him dig together. “Your Majesty, the underground palace has collapsed. Concubine Jiang must be dead. You..” murmured a younger man in the
dark guard while digging a stone.
“Shut up!” Wen Huaibi hissed, his chest heaving. “If anyone says one more word of death, I’ll pull out your tongues.”
The little dark guard immediately shut up and began to dig stones with all his strength with the people next to him.
After a while, the entrance, which was blocked by stones, was actually dug into a small hole one person wide.
Wen Huaibi reached out to remove a stone, lit a fire and took a picture of it, then turned over and went in.
The Empress Dowager suddenly said, “If you dare to go down, the Ai family will have this temple burned down, and the whole Guhong Temple will be burned down!”
She told the servant to light a torch and threatened, “So, will Your Majesty go down?”? When that time comes, the whole of Kuhong Temple will be torched, and even if you beg the King of Hell for the things that Luoqiu has hidden, you won’t be able to get them back!
Wen Huai-pi stepped into the cave with one foot and said coldly, “I advise you to burn more paper money for yourself before I come up.”
The queen mother clenched her torch and said, “You!”
Wen Huaibi sneered, “I?”? I’m afraid my mother won’t have anything to spend when she goes down. Then
he jumped straight into the hole without looking back. Seeing this,
the queen mother was so angry that she threw the torch into the cave, and then took a few pieces of fire from the servant’s hand and threw them on the curtain of the palace.
The fire fell on the cloth and soon burned more and more vigorously. The young monk who
led the way was so frightened that he threw himself on the Buddha to protect the Buddha: “Put out the fire!”
The queen mother saw the young monk’s appearance, took an apple directly from the altar and stuffed it into his mouth, then pushed him into the raging fire next to him and threw a fire fold on him.
The young monk was swallowed up by the flames, and he writhed and groaned in his throat.
The Empress Dowager burst out laughing and told her servants, “Burn it, burn the whole Kuhong Temple for the Ai family. The Ai family would like to see how he can find an overpass, be the phoenix bathed in fire, and climb out alive!”
With these words, she went to the collapsed secret passage, picked up a few big stones and threw them down. The hole that
had just been dug was blocked again, and after the secret passage, it was in darkness again, and even the whole underground palace was engulfed by darkness, and even the central lamp was extinguished.
Wen Huaibi has been walking in the underground palace for a long time, and his eyes have gradually adapted to the darkness.
He called Jiang Yu’s name all the way, praying in his heart that she could respond to him, but the underground palace was still quiet, and his expectations were disappointed every time. There were many corpses lying on the
road. Because of the collapse of the underground palace, some of the corpses were smashed with big stones and could not see their faces clearly. He could only lift the stones one by one and turn them over. He was relieved to see that they were not Jiang Yu.
In this way, he walked all the way to the center of the underground palace. He was already beginning to lose some strength, but he still walked forward, continuing to call her name in his mouth: “Jiang Yu?”
He rubbed his fingers against the wall and whispered, “Why don’t you give me face and answer me?”
As he spoke, he suddenly saw a wall half a man’s height built by stones in front of him. Looking over the stone wall,
he caught a glimpse of a small pool of blood on the ground not far away, which snaked down the front aisle into deeper and deeper darkness.
He gave the stone wall a sudden kick.
The stone wall swayed, the stones creaked, and then “clang, clang, clang” fell apart and all rolled to the ground in front of it.
He ran across the stones, and as he ran, he heard a slight sound, as if something had rubbed against the ground.
He paused, holding his breath to listen carefully to the movement, but could not hear anything.
He raised his voice and shouted, “Jiang Yu?”
There was no response, only the echo of his own voice in the huge underground palace.
He was also very tired, but the movement made him suddenly full of strength. He quickened his pace and continued to walk along the blood. Before he had gone far, he saw a man curled up on the ground.
The man smelled of blood all over his body, and there was a large pool of blood on the ground under his body, which was Jiang Yu!
He quickly crouched down to help her up. His voice was hoarse and harsh. “Jiang Yu.”
Jiang Yu’s face was covered with dirt, and only when he heard his voice did he manage to lift his eyelids. His voice was very soft: “I heard you call me just now.”
He encircled her in his arms, and as soon as he touched her, his hands were covered with wet and sticky blood, and when he looked closely again, he saw that her whole body was almost stabbed into a sieve, with wounds on her shoulders, lower abdomen, and back!
His eyes immediately turned red, and he reached out and tore off his own clothes and tied them up for her. His throat choked, and for most of the day he would only repeat, “I’m sorry.”
But her bleeding could not be stopped, and no matter how she was bandaged, it was pouring out.
He reached out again and tried to stop the bleeding wound on her shoulder. With the other hand, he rubbed the dirt on her face. “I’m late. I’ll take you out. Now take you out.”
With these words, he stood up carefully and grabbed her arms to carry her on his back. Suddenly, she tugged at his hand and pulled out a bloody bundle from her bosom and stuffed it into
his arms. “Look, I found it.”. I, uh.. I’ve been keeping it, and
I haven’t lost it.
His heart seemed to be suddenly grabbed and he hissed, “Are you a fool?”? You are usually very
smart. Why don’t you know to run away at this time? Did I tell you to look for these things
?
Jiang Yu was carried on his back, and she reached out to rub his face and found that her hands were wet
.
Was it because he was crying, or because she had blood on her hands?
She didn’t know, but she didn’t ask. She just said, “I found this thing for you. It’s a
great hero. Why are you still angry with me?”
His Adam’s apple began to roll, and his voice was muffled. “All right, I won’t be so fierce. Tell me, what
reward do you want?”
Jiang Yu coughed and some blood gushed from his throat.
She swallowed the blood with difficulty. “You still owe me so much money. Pay me what you owe
first.” With one hand
he protected her, while with the other he dug up the stone in front of him. “Well, I’ll pay you back when I get home
.” “I don’t have a home,”
she said in a small voice. “Later,”
he said.
She coughed again and said incoherently, “Actually, when I heard your voice just now, I thought it was a hallucination.”
She curled her lips and said, “I want to ask you why you are here now, and I want to ask you why you are here.”
Her voice was quieter and quieter, and there was a note of reproach in her voice: “You don’t want to die, do you?”
Wen Huai-pi again kicked the stone wall in front of him. “Silly.”
She groaned, “You’re scolding me again. Do you really think I’m stupid?”
Wen Huaibi’s Adam’s apple moved up and down, his face was already wet unconsciously, and his mouth was salty and astringent.
In fact, he is the one who is stupid.
He had liked her for a long time, perhaps when he was in Yuren Peak, perhaps when he was in the paddock, perhaps when he held her hand and taught her archery.
Maybe earlier, maybe when he was angry with her because of Li Chengyun, maybe when she went to Penglai pond with a bamboo basket to steal fish, or maybe earlier and earlier. He
is afraid to admit it, he is awkward and weak, and he is stupid.
He answered her question in a dumb voice, “No.”
Jiang Yu’s arm around his neck was a little loose. She whispered, “Yes, Wang Guanhai’s token was transferred to the private soldiers of the Li family. I..” Cough..
Wen Huai-pi patted her soothingly. “Don’t say anything yet. You can talk to me slowly when you get back.”
Jiang Yu nodded, then suddenly remembered something. “Go to the middle of the underground palace,” he said. “Cough.”
She took two breaths and then went on to say, “Luoqiu used to come to deliver water and food to Pei Xin. As a palace maid, how could she..” Ahem. How can you leave the palace at will? “Pei Xin lives in the darkroom in the middle of the underground palace,”
she said. “There must be a room in the corridors in the middle of the underground palace, and then the secret passage leads to the Daye Palace.”
Wen Huaibi answered, carrying her on his back to the center of the underground palace, then opened the doors one by one with his bloody hands, and finally found a mechanism on the wall of a room.
He opened the mechanism and saw the wall trembling. “I’ve found the way,” he said to Jiang Yu. “Let’s go home.”
Jiang Yu was very tired. He closed his eyes and leaned on his back. “I’m so sleepy.”
Wen Huai-pi’s heart missed a beat. “Go back to sleep.” With a “hum,”
she managed to raise her eyelids and look at the wall. She saw that the wall had opened to reveal a dark tunnel, but because of the collapse of the underground palace, the tunnel had been almost blocked by stones.
Wen Huaibi reached out to dig the stones in the tunnel, bit by bit to move out the stones at the entrance of the tunnel, and then stepped in, digging the stones while walking in. “Wen Huaibi,” said
Jiang Yu suddenly.
Wen Huai-pi answered, “Eh?”
Jiang Yu’s hand around his neck gradually lost its strength, and his voice became quieter and quieter: “Actually, I have a little..”
In fact, I like you a little.
She moved her lips and could not say the rest of the words anyway.
Her eyes were blurred, her eyelids closed uncontrollably, and finally she closed her eyes with consciousness. Worried,
Wen Huai-pi talked to her as she dug the stones in front of her. At first she would subconsciously say “um,” but later there was no sound at all.
She seemed to be asleep on his back, pale, and the blood was still dripping from the wound behind her.
Wen Huaibi was still talking to her as if he didn’t know he was tired, and even if she didn’t respond, he was talking to her. How he jumped down to look for her, how he dug all the way to her.
His hands were still digging the stones in front of him, and the flesh on his hands was all broken, and in some places the scars were so deep that he could even see the outline of the bones under them. He moved forward slowly step by step, and after about a mile or two, the
stones in front of him became thinner.
He called her name excitedly for a long time before she managed to open her eyes again.
She responded slowly, looking at the slightly sparse rocks in the distance: “Wen Huai Bi.” “I’m here,” said
Wen Huaibi.
“I seem to see the light..” She stretched out her hand to point to the front, but she had no strength, and the arm she had just
raised fell down feebly.
Then she didn’t speak again.
Wen Huaibi still chattered and talked to her, and dug forward about half a mile, the
stones in front finally became less, it seems that it is out of the scope of Guhong Temple, so the collapse
of the underground palace did not affect the rest of the road.
He carried her on his back and walked along the secret passage for a long time, and finally he saw a low
stone door.
The stone gate was followed by a low cave, which was very desolate, and there were many
withered trees and vines in front of the stone gate.
Wen Huaibi walked out of the cave, and the scenery of the Imperial Garden of Daye Palace fell into his eyes.
He looked up at the sky and saw the slanting setting sun hanging in the sky, staining the sky with
blood.
He walked in the tunnel for at least a day! He lowered his eyes and gently patted Jiang Yu behind him with the bloody back of his hand. “We’re going home
.” As he
was walking, a guard suddenly passed in front of him.
The bodyguard frowned at Wen Huaibi. “Who are you?”? How could you be carrying a corpse in my
palace?!
Wen Huaibi immediately looked up at him, his eyes were cold, and there was a murderous intention hidden in them.
When the bodyguard saw him look up, he was so frightened that he knelt on the ground with a splash? Bi …
陛 … Bi … Your Majesty, do you need a subordinate to go down and ask the Imperial Physician?
Wen Huaibi gathered her eyes and said, “Go.”
The bodyguard hurried to the hospital, sweating behind him.
Wen Huai-pi looked at his back and patted Jiang Yu soothingly. “Don’t
listen to his nonsense. You’re alive and well.”
He carried her on his back and walked toward the Hall of Zejun. All the servants along the way knelt down
and kowtowed when they saw him, but he ignored them. He kept coaxing Jiang Yu in a low voice, telling her not to be afraid
. When
he arrived at the Hall of Zejun, the Imperial Physician was already waiting outside.
Seeing him come back, the Imperial Physician hurried up to meet him and looked at his broken hands in amazement:
“Your Majesty, your hands..”
Wen Huaibi placed Jiang Yu on the bed in the main hall. “Look at her first.” The Imperial Physician took out gauze and wound medicine from the medicine chest to bandage Wen Huaibi: “Your Majesty, your
dragon body is very important!”
Wen Huai-pi pulled her lips and repeated, “Look at her first.”
The Imperial Physician looked at Jiang Yu in a twinkling of an eye, and in an instant he was scared out of his wits: “Your Majesty, the empress
doesn’t look like a living person!”
Wen Huaibi’s hands were covered with blood. He picked up the veil and wiped her face. “She’s just asleep.”
The doctor swallowed saliva, or took a handkerchief and ran to take Jiang Yu’s pulse.
Her hands are very cold.
The Imperial Physician was startled and went to explore her breath again. Then he knelt down
directly in front of Wen Huaibi and said, “Your Majesty, the Empress is gone.” I’m out of gas.
Wen Huai-pi began to wipe her hands, as if she hadn’t heard the doctor’s words: “When will she be cured
?”
The Imperial Physician knelt down and kept kowtowing: “Your Majesty, I really can’t bring the dead back to life!”
Wen Huai-pi suddenly looked at him with red eyes. “I told you to cure her.”
The Imperial Physician could not get up on his knees. “Your Majesty, the Empress is dead.”
Wen Huai-pi suddenly stood up and picked up his collar. “If you can’t,” she said angrily, “call
someone else. Call all the people from your hospital!” The doctor did not dare to look up at his eyes, and immediately ran back to the hospital to call out all the
doctors and women in the hospital, and a group of people walked gingerly and mighty to the Hall of Zejun
. Seeing this,
a maid of honor pulled the guards of the Hall of Zejun and said, “Elder brother, what
‘s going on?”
The bodyguard looked inside and said, “Your Majesty has just returned with Concubine Jiang on his back, covered with
blood. The Imperial Physician says that Concubine Jiang is gone. Your Majesty doesn’t believe it. He’s calling all the Imperial Physicians to come over
now.”
The maid stared in amazement. “Is Your Majesty really back?”
The bodyguard frowned, “Can I still cheat you?”? Which palace are you from? The maid
‘s face suddenly turned pale, and instead of answering the guards’ questions, she ran to the
Changde Hall and knelt down in front of the Empress Dowager with a “splash.”.
The Empress Dowager frowned and dropped a sunspot on the chessboard. “Why are you so flustered?” “Empress,” said the maid in
alarm, “Your Majesty has come back!” The chess pieces in the queen mother
‘s hand fell to the ground with a click. “What?” She asked.
The maid repeated, “Your Majesty is back!”
The queen mother turned the chessboard over and said, “What are you talking about?”
The maid knelt and kowtowed, not daring to speak.
The queen mother’s chest rose and fell. She was silent for a long time before she said, “You go down.” If the
maid of honor was granted amnesty, she packed up the chessboard and chess pieces for the queen mother, and then she went out with a gift.
She looked up at the sky and saw that the sky, which had just been full of the afterglow of the sunset, was overcast, and the dark clouds had swallowed up everything in the sky.
There was a cold wind with moisture blowing through, blowing the leaves on the trees down one by one. Then the wind blew for several days, and the green leaves on the trees had fallen a lot, and the rest of the leaves still hanging on the branches began to turn yellow.
Summer is finally over.
These days the palace is very quiet, whether it is the former court or the harem is a lifeless, Wen Huaibi has not gone to court, he locked himself in the main hall of Zejun Hall, guarding beside Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu has no breath and pulse, but the body is not rotten, really as if is sleeping a very long sleep.
Wen Huaibi personally washed and dressed her every day, put the best medicine on the sutured wound on her body, and begged her to open her eyes to see him.
He knew that Jiang Yu liked to eat rabbit meat, so he ordered the cook to prepare spicy rabbit cubes. He endured the nausea and picked up a piece of rabbit cubes and put it to her mouth: “Jiang Yu, take a bite.”
Jiang Yu lay quietly and did not respond.
He scooped up another spoonful of porridge. “If you don’t want to eat rabbit meat, why don’t you eat something light?” Wen Huaibi changed the dish again and carefully put it on her lips. “Didn’t you pretend to be ill and ask me to feed you every day at Guhong Temple?”? Now that I’ve taken the initiative to feed you, why don’t you do me a favor and take a bite?
Still no response.
He put the bowls and chopsticks back on the table, then picked her up and held her in his arms. “Then you can say a word to me. I’ll beg you, okay?”
He kissed her on the forehead, and his beard, which he had not shaved for a few days, was stuck in her face. “Don’t I still owe you money?”? Get up now, and I will give you double, and I will promise you everything. The
air was still quiet, and there was no echo, only the wind blowing slowly, lifting the curtain in front of the bed.
Cheng Chi came in from the outside, clenched his teeth and hesitated for a long time before he went up and knelt on the ground with a “splash.”.
He bent over and kowtowed. “Your Majesty, many ministers have been waiting for you outside the palace for a long time.”
Wen Huai Bi closed her eyes and stroked Jiang Yu’s hair. “Where is the man I told you to look for?” She answered.
Cheng Ji trembled and said, Your Majesty, have you forgotten? Elder Wu’er has passed away in the fire, and only Little Master He Hui is left in the whole Kuhong Temple. He swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said boldly, “Your Majesty, you haven’t been to court for many days. Da
Ye can’t live without you!”! Jiang Guifei has been unable to revive, but also ask your majesty to let Jiang Guifei.
Be buried in peace.
Wen Huai-pi finally lifted her eyelids to look at him and pulled her lips: “To be buried in peace?”
He smashes a pillow straight down: “Get out of here!”
Cheng Ji did not dare to persuade again, sighed and retreated.
Wen Huaibi closed his eyes again, hugged Jiang Yu’s hand tightly, and did not speak for a long time. It was
a long time before he reached out and rubbed his hand against the scar on his forehead. “
They’re all liars,” he said. “They say you’re dead.” A warm liquid gushed from
his eyes and crashed into her hair.
At first he only wept, but then he choked up, and the cry was suppressed.
He fell on her neck, sobbing and pleading, begging her to wake up and look at him
, begging her to say a word to him, until finally his voice was too hoarse to make a sound
, but the man he held in his arms still did not respond. In the
afternoon of the same day, Wen Huaibi caught a cold and fell ill directly. He was so dazed that he couldn’t get up
. A few days
ago he had not come to court, holding Jiang Yu did not let go, now fell ill, the Ministry of Rites while he
was asleep directly arranged for the burial of Jiang Yu. The day of burial was set for the next morning, that is, the fourth
day Wen Huaibi took her back to the palace, and did not even give her time to stop. On the day of
the burial, the sky was overcast.
Wen Huaibi dragged her sick body up to know the news of her burial, but unexpectedly did not
say anything. Everyone
thought he would follow the funeral procession to send the coffin to the imperial mausoleum to see Cangshan,
but when the funeral procession set out, he did not even look at it, quietly had
breakfast, and then dealt with the documents for a while.
At noon, he went to the Hall of Harmony alone.
He dug out a jar of wine from the big tree outside Jiang Yu’s former house. The wine was buried by Jiang Yu at the beginning of
spring.
At that time, he had just lived in her body, and all day long he ate boiled vegetables in the small
place of Minghe Hall. At that time, Lu Cairen and another talented person in the Minghe Palace often
found fault with Jiang Yu, and they had a good time. Now the Minghe Palace is empty, one is locked up
in the Yongan Palace, one is dead in the Shangfang Department, and one..
Wen Huaibi shook his head, lowered his eyes, drank a mouthful of wine, and pushed open the door of Jiang Yu’s room. There was dust on the
door and dust all over the house. A little tipsy,
he went to the bedside, then leaned over the bed and smelled
the dusty quilt. “Jiang Yu?” His voice was loud, and when Ming and the maids in the palace heard it, they were startled
to see him. “Your Majesty?”
Wen Huaibi looked at her bleary eyed and said, “Where is Jiang Yu?”? Bring her to me. “Your Majesty,”
said the maid with trepidation, “Concubine Jiang is being buried today. Won’t you go and see her
?”
Wen Huai-pi frowned. “Burial?”
He smashed the wine jar on the floor and said, “Full of nonsense!”
The maid was so frightened that she knelt on the ground and said, “Your Majesty, the empress..” With a wave of her hand,
Wen Huai-pi said, “Stand down.”
He stretched out his hand to pull the dusty quilt and fell on the bed. “I told you to step down
. Don’t disturb me and Concubine Jiang when they go to bed..” The maid
quickly retired and was about to close the door when she heard Wen Huaibi say, “Wait
a minute.”
She looked back blankly.
Wen Huai-pi’s Adam’s apple rolled up and down and suddenly asked in a low voice, “I can’t find her. Can
you take me to her?”
“Your Majesty, the Empress has..” The palace maid just wanted to say that Jiang Yu was dead, but as soon as she raised her eyes
to Wen Huaibi’s eyes, the rest of the words suddenly became unspeakable. She was silent for a moment, then said, “Your Majesty comes with the maidservant.”
Wen Huaibi squinted at her, as if doubting her words, but finally
got up and went with her.
He was still a little drunk, not fast, followed the maid all the way to Imperial Garden, then
got into a path from a Bush in Imperial Garden, and finally opened the tall
Bush at the end of the path to Penglai Pool.
He frowned. “Who told you this way?”
The maid replied, “Go back to Your Majesty. The empress will take the maidservant with her.”
Wen Huaibi stopped talking and turned to the lake to look at the fish in the water.
Sometimes the autumn wind blows ripples all over the lake.
In midsummer, he asked Cheng Ji to put the fish fry in the lake, which had grown up and were swimming
in groups.
He looked at it for a while, then suddenly picked up a stone and threw it into the water. The fish were so startled that they fled in all directions.
“All of you,” he sniffed, “are lucky.”
The maid of honor suddenly came up from the back corridor, holding a box in her hand. “Your
Majesty.”
Wen Huaibi turned to look at her and his eyes fell on the box. “After she became an imperial concubine,”
said the maid, “she came back to the Ming Hall with this
box in her hand.”
Wen Huaibi took the box from her hand, and as soon as she opened it, she saw a white handkerchief lying in the upper space of the box. The cloth was precious, but there was a chicken embroidered on it.
The maid lowered her eyes and said, “The empress said that this box was for your birthday. She was afraid that you would find it in the Changle Hall, so she came to the Minghe Hall to hide something. Later, the empress was afraid that a new couple would live in the Minghe Hall, so she asked her maidservant to carry a shovel and accompany her to the Penglai Pool to dig a hole.”
Wen Huaibi held the handkerchief tightly, his lips moving, but he did not speak.
It turned out that when he asked about her in Guiyantai that day, Cheng Ji said that she had gone to Penglai Pool a few days ago to hide the box. “Later,”
she said, “the guards from Penglai Pool came and told the empress that this was a birthday ceremony, so she told her that you didn’t like birthdays. The empress muttered that you were actually very kind to her, and that the Mandarin duck veil in the box would be given to you another day at a suitable time.”
Wen Huaibi’s eyes were hot. He lowered his eyes to look at the “chicken” embroidered on the veil. His vision was already blurred.
He stretched out his hand and lovingly rubbed the embroidery. “It’s so ugly,” he whispered. As he
spoke, he opened the second layer of the box and found a thousand taels of silver in it.
Seeing this, the maid explained, “That evening the empress called her maidservant to the Penglai Pool with a shovel on her back. She stuffed some silver notes into the second compartment, saying that the veil was too shabby. She said she would save half a year’s salary here first, and then buy a decent gift for you later.”
She paused for a moment, then remembered something: “The maidservants heard from the maids of the Changle Palace that the empress liked to push Pai Gow with them, and loved to win money from them. They said that the empress had won two hundred of her one thousand taels of silver from them.”
Wen Huaibi’s eyes turned red, and he sobered up from his drunkenness. He stuffed the box into the maid’s hand
and said, “I have something else to do. Give this box to Cheng Ji and ask him for a reward.”
Say, he went directly to the horse farm, led a horse from the horse farm, all the way
to see Cangshan.
See Cangshan is the imperial mausoleum, not far from Chenyang, in the area of White Deer Pass. Most of the imperial clan tombs
are scattered in Jiancang Mountain, and Jiang Yu’s tomb is on the hillside, facing the river, with trees
outside. When
Wen Huaibi arrived at Jiang Yu’s tomb, the servants were carrying the coffin into the tomb.
Several servants lifted the coffin with ease, and one of them muttered, “Why is it so
light?”
Wen Huai-pi reined in his horse and said to them, “Wait a minute.”
The servants turned around in amazement. “Your Majesty?”? How did you come to see Cangshan?
Wen Huaibi strode past, as if he had not heard them speak, and went directly to the
coffin. I don’t know when it began to rain in the
sky, and the drizzling rain fell on the coffin and hit
the ground.
Wen Huaibi stood in front of the coffin, shaking his hands to lift the coffin and the coffin a little bit, but the expression
on his face suddenly changed-the coffin was empty! “Where is the man?”
He asked in a cold voice. When
the servants saw that there was no one in the coffin, they were startled. They knelt down together and said, “Your Majesty,
the maidservants are escorting you all the way. It’s impossible that the people in the coffin are gone!”
Burial pays attention to the coffin does not fall to the ground, is required to carry all the way, they actually put down
the coffin halfway to rest once, but this is the crime of decapitation, so now no one dares to say
.
The servants saw that Wen Huaibi’s expression was not good, and they were so frightened that even the cold sweat came out from behind.
One man ventured to say, “Oh..” Your Majesty, the imperial concubine has done a lot
for your Majesty before her death. Perhaps it was God’s pity that made the imperial concubine become an immortal!
The man thought for a moment and then added, “The imperial concubine may be the reincarnation of a deity. The
maidservant heard that her body had not decomposed for a long time after she died. Ordinary people don’t do that
.”
Wen Huaibi’s eyes grew colder and colder. He hooked his lips and waved to the man who spoke.
The man hurried up and said, “Your Majesty, what do you call a maidservant?” Ah
Before the words were out of his mouth, Wen Huai-pi kicked him straight into the tomb: “Why don’t you become
an immortal?”
He gnashed his teeth and looked at the rest of the mourners. “Why don’t you go and look for me?” Then
he got on the horse again and prepared to go back the same way to look for someone. The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and it was rather like a rainstorm. Seeing this, the servants immediately went
up with umbrellas and said, “Your Majesty, the rain is too heavy. You haven’t recovered from the cold. Why don’t you rest first and the maidservants
go to look for it?”
Wen Huaibi took a cold look at the servant and rushed into the rain curtain as soon as he caught the horse’s stomach. There was no one
on the mountain, so he went down to the foot of the mountain and finally saw some people. He rode
slowly looking for people in the rain curtain.
He looked for a long time, suddenly saw a woman’s back in the distance, the back of the image
of Jiang Yu.
He rushed over, turned over and dismounted to grab her, but because the cold had not healed and he had not eaten
all day, he could not help stumbling and falling into the muddy water on the ground. With a muffled snort,
he climbed up again, reached out and brushed the mud spots on his clothes. He carefully
grabbed the man in front of him and said, “Ginger..”
The man turned around with a strange face, not Jiang Yu.
It’s just a woman whose back is similar to hers. The
woman’s elder brother also turned around and said with a fierce look, “Do you want to die?”
Wen Huai-pi jerked back and shook her head. “It’s not her, it’s not her..”
The woman tugged at her brother’s clothes and said, “Brother, this is a madman. Leave him alone.” Then
they turned and walked away.
Wen Huaibi watched them walk away, coughed a few times, then got on the horse and continued to look for people in the heavy rain.
He found the night, but found nothing, and finally went back to see Cangshan out of his mind.
The servants came to give him an umbrella. “Your Majesty, where have you been?”? Why are you covered in mud?
Wen huaibi repelled them and sat alone on the edge of the empty coffin.
He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the coffin. “Are you angry that I came late that day and didn’t want to see me?”
He raised his hand to feel the lines on the coffin. “If you get angry, you can beat me or scold me. Don’t run away by yourself. Come back.”
No one answered him, the rain stopped, and there was no sound at all. So
he closed his eyes and leaned against the edge of the coffin, gradually blurring his consciousness, and then fell asleep.
He had a dream
, in which Jiang Yu stood alone in the street and murmured, “I have to go home.”
He was right behind her, but he couldn’t get close to her anyway, as if there was a natural barrier between him and her. He followed her to the door of the Jiang Mansion and watched her knock on the door, but no one came out to meet
her. The guard at the door looked disgusted and said, “Miss?”? Where did the second young lady come from? Your lordship
doesn’t want to see you. Get out of here! Pale,
she stepped back, wiped her eyes, and shook her head. “This is not my
home..”
She turned away and met him face to face.
He tried to reach out and touch her, but he couldn’t.
She couldn’t see him either, frowning through his body and continuing to walk aimlessly down the street
. There were hawkers
on the street, and the aroma of the food wafted out from the stalls beside her. She seemed hungry
and went to a steamed bun shop to ask for a steamed bun, but when
she reached for her purse, she found that there was no money in it. The owner of the
steamed stuffed bun shop looked at her in disgust and said, “What kind of steamed stuffed bun do you buy if you have no money?”? Go away and don’t
bother me with my business. Embarrassed,
she pinched the corner of her coat and walked on, muttering, “Liar, didn’t
you say you would take me home..”
It began to rain, and she walked for a long time in the rain, and finally came to the gate of the Daye Palace. Her
eyes lit up and she said to the guards, “I’m Concubine Jiang. Can you let me in
?” The guard frowned and drove her away. “There is no such person as Concubine Jiang in the Daye Palace.
Go back where you came from!” The light in
her eyes suddenly darkened, and she could only leave from the gate of the Daye Palace and find an eave
to shelter from the rain. Cold and hungry,
she huddled shivering in a corner, her face and lips pale
.
He approached her, and this time he was able to touch her, so he quickly took off his cloak and put it on her
.
She seemed to be able to see him, too, and her red eyes choked at him: “Why did you come so late?”?
I have waited for you for a long time.
He reached out to hold her, but suddenly a gust of wind blew, and her body gradually became transparent
, a little bit like an illusion floating up. Unable to catch her,
he hissed, “Jiang Yu!”
He woke up with a start and sat up with an empty coffin beside him. “Your Majesty, did you dream of the Empress
just now?”
The servant asked with trepidation.
Wen Huaibi reached out to touch the coffin and said, “It wasn’t a dream.”
The servant was at a loss. “Huh?” Holding the coffin, Wen Huai-pi stood up, rolled over and mounted his horse. “She’s not dead. I’ll find her
.”
He nipped the horse’s stomach and glanced at the coffin again. His eyes suddenly became dark
. “Just watch. I will kill
all the bastards who have bullied you.”
The horse was kicked in the stomach and began to run crazily, carrying him to the Daye Palace.
The next day, Wen Huaibi got up early and went to court. His face was still a little haggard, but he was full of momentum, and
his half-restrained eyes were full of cruelty.
The officials were shocked to see him go to court, but they quickly reacted and bowed down to
worship him.
Wen Huai-pi called to get up, and then his eyes slowly fell on Chao Chien: “Chao Shang-shu
.”
Chao Chien stepped forward, his voice a little weak, and said, “I’m here.”
Wen Huai-pi’s tone was a little casual: “Yushicheng put up a letter yesterday to impeach you. Do you
know what happened?” The things found in the Dayuan Underground Palace
that day had been handed over to the right prime minister and the Yushifu. Now, if you want to
move the Li family, you always have to operate under the door of the Li family.
Zhao Jian tightened his hand and said, “Your Majesty, please make it clear.”
Wen Huaibi turned his fingers and did not look at him. “I heard that the whole temple was burned to ashes when Guhong Temple was flooded a few
days ago. Does Zhao Shangshu know how many people died when Guhong Temple was flooded?”
Zhao Jian took a deep breath and said, “I don’t know.”
Wen Huai-pi asked, “I don’t know?”? Then I will tell you. He tapped his fingers on the back of his chair, then suddenly
stood up and walked slowly to Zhao Jian’s side. “137 people died, and the
youngest of them was no more than six years old.”
He leaned close to Zhao Jian and said meaningfully, “If I remember correctly, Zhao Shangshu’s son has
just passed his sixth birthday.”
Chao Chien-tou buried his head even lower: “I am also extremely distressed by the incident at the Kuhong Temple!”
Wen Huai-pi gave an ambiguous “hum” and asked another question: “Does Chao Shang-shu know
why the Ku-hung Temple was reduced to ashes overnight?”
Zhao Jian swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said, “I heard that a young monk lit incense at night and accidentally had an accident and
burned down the whole temple.”
Wen Huai-pi raised her eyebrows and said, Hear that? Chao Shang-shu was at Kuhong Temple that day. Why didn’t
he see it with his own eyes, but heard about it?
Zhao Jian knelt down directly with a “splash” and said, “I really don’t know!”
Wen Huai-pi’s face suddenly changed and she kicked him so hard that he lay on his back. “I don’t know.”
His eyes narrowed dangerously, and his voice was cold: “Zhao Jian, you set fire to and killed 137 people
from Guhong Temple. All the witnesses came to you. Yesterday, you knelt at the gate
of Yushi Cheng for a whole day. Don’t you know?” He beckoned to two of the guards and said in a deep voice, “Bring them up.”
The bodyguard answered and walked into the hall with a young monk with half of his face burned.
The young monk followed the bodyguard submissively, very cramped, impressively Hehui! When
Cheng Ji saw how timid he was, he said in a low voice, “Little master, just tell me what happened in
the temple that day. As long as what you said is true, Your Majesty will make decisions
for you.”
He Hui gathered his eyes and whispered, “There was a fire in the temple that night. I was sweeping near
the Great Margin Hall. Suddenly I heard a noise in the hall next to me. I walked over and saw my brother
being thrown into the fire. They burned the whole temple and said they couldn’t let..”
He suddenly knelt down, raised his head submissively, and said haltingly, “I said I couldn’t let Your Majesty out alive
. I was afraid, so I hid in the most hidden corner of the temple. They came to see
if everything was burned. I escaped when they weren’t paying attention.” And burned
half of his face.
Wen Huaibi turned around and said, “Are you serious?”? Can’t I get out alive?
He Hui kowtowed and said, “With the Buddha on the throne, the little monk doesn’t dare to lie.”
Wen Huaibi was noncommittal. “Look up and see if the person who set the fire is in this hall.”
He Hui looked up and his eyes swept around the hall. When he saw Zhao Jian, he suddenly
shivered and hung his head. Seeing this,
Zhao Jian hurriedly said, “It’s impossible!”! Your Majesty, I have never seen this man!
Wen Huaibi looked at him coldly and did not speak. “Your Majesty,” said Zhao Jian, “when I left Guhong Temple, there was still no water in it. And I
heard Lord Chen say that there were no survivors in Guhong Temple. It must be this young monk who is deceiving you. Such
an act of deceiving you should be beheaded on the spot.”
Wen Huaibi’s eyes fell on Lord Chen. “Lord Chen, is that true?” Lord
Chen did not look at Zhao Jian. “Your Majesty, I never said that.”
Zhao Jian glared and pointed at him: “You..” Before
he had finished speaking, Hehui suddenly took out a jade pendant from his pocket and said, “Your excellency, it was the young monk who received you when you first
came to Guhong Temple. That day you said you wanted to worship your friend Pei Xin.
Later, when a guard came to arrest you, your servant swaggered and accused the guard of not having eyes.”
He Hui presented the jade pendant to Cheng Ji: “It was accidentally torn
off by the adults when they were pushing and shoving with the guards. The young monk picked it up and hasn’t returned it yet.”
The jade pendant was white and purple, and it was given by Wen Huai Bi!
Wen Huaibi took the jade pendant from Cheng Ji’s hand and said, “I gave it to Lord Zhao
, didn’t I?”
His Adam’s apple rolled, and his tone dropped a little. “Concubine Jiang also had a piece of jade like this,
which was also a gift from me. I seem to have heard Concubine Jiang mention that when she was in the Jiang Mansion, your
father-in-law and mother-in-law wanted to smash the jade I gave her.” When
the courtiers heard this, they all went to look at the jade in his hand, and their faces were not very good.
Someone said, “It’s really the jade that Your Majesty gave to Lord Zhao.” The right prime minister also said, “How can a young monk have this piece of jade?”? If it hadn’t been picked up between Lord Chao and
the guards, how could it have happened to know that the owner of the jade was Lord Chao?
Wen Huaibi grasped the jade and leaned close to Zhao Jian. “Lord Zhao said so well
that no one survived,” he said with a sneer. “Have you forgotten that I walked back to Daye
Palace through the secret passage of the underground palace of Guhong Temple?”
Zhao Jian repeatedly shook his head. “Your Majesty!”
Wen Huai-bi closed her eyes, and her anger was already suppressed in her tone. “If I saw Lord
Chao set the fire with my own eyes, wouldn’t I be lying, too?” “Even if Your Majesty gave me ten thousand heads, I wouldn’t dare,” said
Zhao Jian! I went to
Guhong Temple that day because I was worried about Your Majesty’s safety.
Wen Huai-pi seemed angry, and her voice suddenly rose for a moment: “Are you worried about my safety?”
He suddenly reached out and pulled out the guard’s sword. “Are you
afraid I’m dead, or are you afraid I’m alive?”
Zhao Jian was so frightened that he rolled and crawled back. “It’s not a minister, it’s not a minister, it’s all too..” Before
he had finished speaking, the Empress Dowager was suddenly crowded into the Hall of Political Affairs. Interrupting him, she said, “It’s a lively day
today. Why is Your Majesty so angry?”
Wen Huaibi rubbed the hilt of his sword and said, “Why did the Queen Mother come to the Hall of Political Affairs?” “I’ve heard that Your Majesty is coming to court in spite of his illness,” said
the Empress Dowager. “I’m worried about Your Majesty’s health.”
Wen Huaibi suddenly chuckled and raised her eyes to look at her. “Mother came just in time. Lord Zhao set fire to Guhong Temple and wanted to kill me, but he didn’t seem to be the mastermind. He was about to tell me who was behind it.”
He twisted his face and asked Zhao Jian with a smile, “Really, Lord Zhao?”
Zhao Jian looked at the queen mother with trepidation, and there was hope in his eyes.
The Empress Dowager shifted her gaze and rubbed her forehead. “The Ai family has just heard about it,” she said. “They have all the human and material evidence.”
Chao Chien looked at her in amazement and tugged at the corner of her coat. “Empress?”
The Empress Dowager frowned and pulled out her clothes. “Lord Zhao, Your Majesty just said that the youngest monk in Guhong Temple is only six years old. He is still a child. How can you be so cruel?” When
she saw that Chao Chien was about to speak, she said, “Your son is only six years old. Isn’t it painful for Lord Chao to be a father?” The meaning of
this threat can no longer be obvious, if Zhao Jian continues to give her up, then Zhao Jian’s six-year-old child will also end up with the six-year-old monk in Guhong Temple.
Chao Chien tightened his fingers and said, “You–!”
Wen Huaibi smiled in silence and walked over to the Empress Dowager with a sword in hand. “Zhao Jian killed more than a hundred people in Guhong Temple. He deceived the emperor and tried to rebel against him. His crime is unforgivable.”
He handed the sword to the queen mother and said, “Now that my mother has come, why don’t you kill this evil beast for me?”
The queen mother looked at him in disbelief, but did not take the sword, and her hand trembled slightly in her sleeve.
Wen huai-pi moved the sword closer to her hand and said in a soothing tone, “Lord Zhao just said that he should be beheaded on the spot for deceiving the emperor. His crime is more than deceiving the emperor.”
The queen mother clenched her hands into fists, stared at the sword, and her lips moved. The smile on
Wen Huaibi’s face gradually disappeared, and he lost his patience and lifted the sword directly, poking the sword into Zhao Jian’s chest!
Chao Chien didn’t even have time to escape. His eyes were still wide open, his face was full of fear, and he swallowed his breath. A mouthful of blood spurted out of his mouth, and then he “thundered” down on the main hall.
Blood gushed from his heart and dripped all over the floor, splashing the faces of Wen Huaibi and the queen mother in front of him.
From ancient times to the present, there are few examples of emperors killing people in the court. Many ministers were so frightened that they lost their ability to react, and some of them were so timid that they even fainted. But no one dared to say “no” to disobey the emperor.
Wen Huaibi threw his sword on the ground and rubbed the blood off his face. “Mother wouldn’t dare,” he said with a smile. “Then I’ll kill this beast for her. Didn’t you frighten her?” For the first time,
the Empress Dowager felt a chill in her back. Her chest heaved, and it took her a long time to say, “Nothing.”
Wen Huaibi chuckled and walked slowly to the front of the Dragon Chair. Then he sat down slowly. “I remember that Zhao Jian was a student of Li Xiang, and it was Li Xiang who recommended him all the way. Li Xiang..” His eyes fell on the courtier below, and he raised his lips again. “Is Li Xiang not
here today?” “Lee is not feeling well. He has been ill for a few days,”
a minister said submissively.
Wen Huaibi said carelessly, “Li Xiang is old and in poor health, and his
eyes can’t recognize people clearly. Then I’ll give him a hospital outside the city to take good care of his illness, and Liu Shangshu will take his place temporarily
.”
He wiped the blood from his hands and said, “Cheng Chi, draft a decree.”
Cheng Ji answered.
Wen Huai-pi suddenly remembered something and lifted her eyes to look at the livid Empress Dowager. Then she
said with a smile, “I’ve made this arrangement. Is the Empress Mother okay with it?”
The Empress Dowager took a deep breath and smiled: “What opinion can Ai family have?”
Wen Huai-pi turned her finger and said, “It’s all right if the queen mother has no opinion.”
Cheng Chi waited for a moment, but when he saw that no one in the hall was speaking again, he said in a loud voice, “If you have something to do
, play early. If you have nothing to do, leave the court.”
The courtiers looked at each other, and no one dared to say anything more, so it was not long before they left
.
Cheng Chi was in charge of sending Hehui out. On the way, Hehui raised his eyes and asked him, “Grandfather, the money for
rebuilding Guhong Temple..”
Cheng Chi said with a smile, “The little master is willing to stand up and help Your Majesty today, so there’s no need to worry about money.”
He Hui paused and suddenly said, “They killed my master.”
His implication was that he was unwilling to lie to help Wen Huaibi commit perjury, and that today’s move was all for revenge.
Cheng Chi understood what he meant and said with a smile, “Different routes lead to the same goal.”
He took Hehui to the gate of the palace and said, “I’ll take the little master here. Your Majesty will give the money to the little master in a few days.”
Say, he turned back to the Ze Jun Dian, to let Liu Shangshu temporary on behalf of the left of the post.
Liu Shangshu and the right phase is WenHuaiBi single-handedly promoted, now Li Xiang was seized power, under Zhao Jian died in the palace, the rest of the Li family and greatly reduced, many beadle heard the wind, originally swaying clinging to the Li family, now also dare not and Li family have too much intersection. Those things in
the autumn on the Yushifu, Yushicheng and one after another on the fold impeachment, soon the Li family colluded with the Ministry of war pulled out, the relationship between Li Chengyun and the Ministry of war is inextricably linked, under the general is the assistant minister of the Ministry of war, so Li Chengyun was also grounded in the general’s office, waiting to get the evidence convicted, take back half of the amulet. The big and small matters
in the court were gradually settled, and the time came to Mid-Autumn.
On this day, Wen Huaibi rarely drank some wine after dealing with official documents. “Your Majesty,” said
Cheng Chi, “drinking hurts your health.”
Wen Huai-pi didn’t look at him. “It’s been so long,” she whispered. “Why can’t I find her?” “Maybe we’ll find it tomorrow,” said
Cheng Chi.
Wen Huai-pi poured another small glass of wine. “Is she angry with me and hiding?”
Cheng Chi thought for a moment and said with relief, “It’s always a good thing to hide. At least the empress is still alive, isn’t she?”
Wen Huaibi was noncommittal, drank another glass of wine, and then felt that it was not enough, directly carrying the flagon began to pour wine into his mouth, pouring one pot after another.
Cheng Chi stood beside him with his head hanging down. Unable to bear to watch, he wanted to go up and fetch the flagon. “Your Majesty, it hurts so much!”
Wen Huai-pi’s eyes were full of drunkenness. He frowned at Cheng Chi and suddenly lifted the table. “Go away!”
The table fell to the ground with a bang, and the flagon and the cup of wine were smashed all over the floor.
Wen Huai-pi was stunned for a moment, then staggered down to pick up a piece of porcelain. “I’m not scolding you. Don’t be angry.”
His hand fell on the tile, and his fingertips were cut by the tile.
Cheng Ji worried to death, he just went up to persuade, not yet lifted his feet, suddenly saw Wen Huaibi himself raised his hand to rub the blood on his fingers, and then raised his hand to give himself a slap! He stopped dead in his tracks and gaped at Wen Huaibi. Your Majesty?
Wen Huai-pi frowned and said in a confused tone, “Huh?”
He looked up at Cheng Ji, then lowered his head to reach out to pick up the porcelain, and when his
fingers were about to touch the porcelain, his arm rose again and slapped himself
hard.
“Pa!”
“Pa!”
“Pa!”
After several slaps, Cheng Chi looked dumbfounded. In a daze,
Wen Huai-pi lifted her eyelids and looked at Cheng Chi. “Are you beating me?” “Your Majesty,” said
Cheng Ji, “the maidservant is several paces away from you. The maidservant is too
bold to beat you.”
Wen Huaibi raised his hand in front of him, moved his hand, and then frowned to pick up the porcelain
.
Suddenly, an angry voice came into his head.
“I can’t wake you up today, can I?”? You have to kill yourself, don’t you? What’s wrong
with you?
