Jiaocheng was destroyed on October 18.
Without pen and ink, I cut my fingertips and wrote a letter in blood to Yi’er. Before the
blood was dry, the soldiers of Nanpu came in first. The leader tied me up and rode all the way
to Qi Cheng.
It’s like offering a decent and valuable trophy.
After seven years of absence, Qi Cheng has grown from a young man with white teeth and green eyebrows to a generation
of emperors.
He asked me, “Remember me?” I can’t
forget, and I don’t want to forget. Even if things have changed, even if everything is over, even if now
I am a defeated enemy, standing in front of him.
He and Qi ran’s appearance is still so similar, Qi ran died when he is now the
age.
I nodded. “Yes.” Follow
ed, did not catch up, did not remember, Qi Cheng came forward, caught off guard to a sudden kick in my popliteal fossa. I have not slept
for many days, and I am as weak as a folding chopstick. Unable to bear the force, I fell to my knees as he wished, and the pain made me unable to straighten up.
In the evening, have you thought about it? One day it fell into my hands. From a commanding position, he pulled my hair out of my bun and pulled it down roughly, forcing me to look up at him. “Tell me, how about the past accounts?” I was so
sore that I kept sweating in front of my forehead, and my thin lips, which had been dry and cracked, were white as wrinkled paper.
I laboriously responded to him, “Qi Ran, his life..” His fate is on my head. “You don’t deserve to mention him,” said Qi Cheng
, as his hand fell on my cheek.
Yeah, I don’t deserve it. I laughed at myself and curled my lips. “Kill me, kill me to avenge him.”
“You want to die?” He leaned close to me, and without waiting for an answer, he shook his head and said, “But I won’t allow it.”
“What are you going to do?” I looked up at him.
“Sister, it’s been seven years. I’ve been waiting seven years for today.” Qi Cheng put one hand around the back of my neck and pressed me into his arms. “Guess what I’m going to do?”
He was trembling for no reason.
His chest was broad but suffocating, and I smelled the blood on his hands, the hatred in his heart, and the ferocity of his whole body.
I don’t know what his intentions are.
After all, I am not a man with clean hands, and he is not the Qi Cheng I know.
It turned out that Qi Cheng had hated me for seven years, but I thought five years was enough.
After all, his elder brother, Prince Qi Ran of Beizhu, died in Nanpu for only five years. By my hand, to be
exact. Speaking
of Nanpu and Beizhu, it is also a century-old feud.
The two countries are separated by a river, which is called Bishui. There are thousands of mountains along the river, winding into a gully of thousands of miles, between the two countries. With Bishui as the boundary, the south side is called Nanpu State, and the north side is Beizhu State.
I am Princess Linwan of Nanpu, and my mother was the daughter of Beizhu. When
the two countries became hostile in the past, my mother was ordered to take me, who was eight years old, back to Beizhu to persuade them to make peace, only to be detained. So I stayed in the palace of Beizhu for six years. In
those six years, I played with Qi Ran and Qi Cheng, two princes of the same age in Beizhu, and went to school together.
I wrote beautiful Beizhu characters and made a table of delicious Beizhu cakes. As a craftsman, I was also famous in the court. In order to ask for a pot of plum wine brewed by me, Qi Cheng was willing to write for me for three days, and Qi Ran could also be lured from the study to the swing by the fragrance of my wine.
In this way, the good time of riding bamboo horses and making green plums around the bed lasted for a long time.
It wasn’t until seven years ago, when I was fourteen, that the two countries decided to have a truce. At that time, Nanpu had the upper hand, so my father asked Beizhu to return my mother and daughter, and by the way, he wanted a prince who had passed the age of childhood as a hostage. Qi Cheng, the
second prince, is a legitimate son and a crown prince. There is no reason to be a proton. So the big prince Qi ran back to Nanpu with me in a carriage. The day
I left, Chi Cheng tugged at my clothes and begged, “Don’t go, sister.”
Qi Cheng is two years younger than me. He is twelve years old. He is the age when love pesters people. Quickly, I pulled out the corner of my coat and turned to comfort him, saying, “I’ve buried twelve jars of plum wine under the acacia tree in the front hall. After drinking it, I’ll come to Nanpu to ask for it.”
“The elder sister likes the elder brother, so she went with the elder brother and didn’t want Cheng’er anymore, did she?” His pouch was red melon seeds, but he didn’t know what to think. I shook my
head helplessly and pretended to be profound. “My sister likes this country,” I said. Later, I learned that I was not as good as a twelve-year-old boy. Qi Cheng could see
that I liked Qi Ran, but I didn’t want to admit it.
By the time I’m willing to admit it, it’s time to lose it.
Five years ago, I killed Qi Ran with my own hands. When we
killed him, we were locked in the same room. I threw the dagger on the table and moved my lips like
a dead fish, but I couldn’t say a word. My heart is so painful that it
seems to be cracked into thousands of pieces, each of which is being corroded, bitten and pierced
.
If I am sensible, at that time I should know that this kind of pain is like, I like
Qi Ran, like if I can, I would rather die.
Qi ran wiped my face and showed me my tears in his palm.
“Don’t cry tonight, you can’t cry.” For the first time, Qi Ran ordered me to do something. “Dry your face
and take back your tears.”
But I couldn’t. I stared at a pair of empty eyes and let the tears hit
my skirt. When I think that Qi Ran is going to die, he is going to die, I am more painful than I have died a
thousand times.
Qi ran knew he had to die, so he took the initiative to put the knife into my hand.
“Dive in.” He looked at me firmly.
When I didn’t move, he took my hand and stabbed him in the heart. I used the greatest strength of my life to fight against him. It
‘s no use, late, it’s no use. If you live well, it’s better for me than anything
else. After the
powerless entanglement, Qi ran hit his chest against the tip of the knife.
The gurgling blood ran around through my fingers, and when it came to tears, they mixed up and went hand in
hand to find an exit.
There is no exit, such a difference between life and death will not have an exit, besides, I am the man with
the knife.
Qi ran collapsed into my arms and fell under my knife.
I didn’t know what to say, and I didn’t know what to say. I begged numbly, “Brother
Ran, brother Ran, don’t die. Please, please don’t leave me..”
It’s no use. I actually know it’s no use asking for help. If it’s useful to ask for help, I don’t have to kill at all
.
Qi ran tried his best to wipe away my tears: “Don’t cry
late, don’t cry late, don’t cry late, take it back quickly, be obedient late, take back the tears..” Walking out of the room with his bloody palm print on his
cheek, my father poked
me in tears with his words: “Late son, are you in love?”
“Waner had never killed anyone before, but the first time he killed someone, Waner felt very sad.” I said
it truthfully.
“It doesn’t matter. You did a good job.” His father smiled and said, “There are only two Beizhu people in this palace, your mother and Qi Ran. Your mother must be loyal to your father.”. The only person who can pass on the things in the palace to Beizhu and let Beizhu know that I have deployed troops in the north is Prince Qi Ran of Beizhu. You killed him to get rid of the danger for your father. Waner, don’t you think so?
I don’t know, but I know that when my father gave me the dagger, he told me that if Qi Ran was still alive when the door was opened again, it would only be another Beizhu man who died.
The other is my mother.
I also know that if I do not kill Qi ran, Qi ran will die, and I, my mother, here with the blood of Beizhu, have to be buried with him. After
Qi ran died, I had no contact with Qi Cheng.
Within two years, my father had gone, leaving my 10-year-old brother Linyi to ascend the throne. His son was young, and the courtiers seized power. As his elder sister, I went to the battlefield to garrison Jiaocheng.
I kept it for two years, but I didn’t keep it.
I didn’t defend the city, and I didn’t defend myself.
“I remember correctly that my sister is only 21 years old, and she doesn’t have a son-in-law?” Qi Cheng still calls me by the old name.
At this time, he was scooping up a spoonful of soup medicine and thrusting it into my mouth. I couldn’t drink it myself, so he tied my hands tightly in the bedroom hall with carved beams and painted pillars, which was only available
in the prison. Look at the rust stain on the other end. I think this thing has been
installed for a while. I don’t know if it’s just waiting for me.
“While the flames of war are still burning, there is no talk of marriage.” I said coldly.
“Is there anyone in your heart?”
I shouldn’t.
“I ask you, is there anyone in your heart?” Qi Cheng threw the bowl of medicine, pinched my face, and
repeated it.
How about that? So what if I don’t?
“Yes, yes or no.” Chi Cheng burst out laughing. “Anyway, from now on, my sister
will be mine.”
I screwed up my eyebrows unbelievably. “What did you say?”
I knew Qi Cheng hated me. I killed his elder brother and led Jiaocheng to put up a desperate fight for a long time. He killed
me and cut me to pieces, but I didn’t understand the meaning of his words.
“I say that from now on, my sister will never go anywhere except by my side.” He
leaned close to my ear and said, word for word, “I can’t die.”
He wants me to be his concubine, to serve him, to serve him, to be in the palm of his hand
.
For this reason, Qi Cheng did not hesitate to use my life for three years without war. He knows, I also know, Yi son is young, unable to govern, now Nanpu government and the public are like a
mess, Beizhu at this time to take advantage of the situation, is the most able to take Nanpu in one fell swoop.
But Qi Cheng said that as long as I was obedient and willing to stay in his harem, he would
swear not to attack Nanpu within three years.
I laughed and said, “Do you have rich clothes and jade food?”
“My sister has everything she wants.” Then he flicked the iron rope. It was a beautiful
ringing sound. “Except this, I can’t.”
“What about the silks and satins, the gold and jade?”
“Everything you need.”
“What will you do to avenge your brother, who has spoken so highly of me?”
As soon as he heard this, his face changed. He grabbed me by the throat, and there was a raging
fire burning between his eyes. “Late at night, why don’t you know what’s good for you?”? I intend to spare you. Why do you bring up this old
story and force me to kill you?
“I owe Qi Ran. I should pay him back.”
“This is not the time.” Qi Cheng shook his head. “If you want to pay him back, one day I’ll let you
pay him back.”. But now you have to live, and living makes you suffer more.
I agreed.
If you can live and stop fighting, why not. Qi Cheng accepted me as a concubine with the title of Wan. Wan, Shun also, he wants me to wear this
title of clever Wan Shun for a lifetime.
That night, Qi Cheng took the initiative to loosen the iron rope, and I knew what he was going to do.
Sure enough, between the beds, he unscrupulously vented his hatred. He bit my
neck, pinched my back, and scratched my limbs with blood stains everywhere.
“My sister is really perfect.” Bullying on my back, Qi Cheng seemed very satisfied
. “Didn’t he get your body?” Tired,
I buried my face in the pillow and ignored him.
He pinched my leg, where there was good meat, he pinched it, wishing that there was no place where I
could see.
I was biting the bedding.
Qi Cheng met with a rebuff, tied my hands again, and stuffed me tightly in his arms. I haven’t slept
all night. I’m in pain. I’m nauseous.
But more disgusting things are yet to come.
Qi Cheng occupied me and then occupied me, and he wanted to tell the world.
For the first few days, he bullied me every night. One night, before he untied my shackles, he took
a piece of bright yellow paper and said, “Concubine Wan, come, I’ll read this to you.” As always,
I turned my back on him.
He read it to himself, and as soon as he opened his mouth, I immediately stopped and turned my head to stare at him.
Qi Cheng continued proudly, taking a sip of water in the middle of his reading. “How’s it going?”? Was she happy to receive a message from her brother?
“Why did you tell Yi’er?”
“Not only your brother, but also the whole of Peichu and the whole of Nanpu.” Smiling wantonly, Qi Cheng said, “The princess of Nanpu is in the evening, and now she is my Concubine Wan of Beizhu. She is on my couch, asking for my favor.”. Shouldn’t this kind of thing be celebrated by the whole country and known to all?
Do you know, sister, how long I’ve been waiting for this day?
Then Qi Cheng began to talk about how long it was, saying that he saw my mother holding me for the first time in the palace, that we were childhood sweethearts, and that we had to leave when we were fourteen years old. I
don’t want to hear it. I’m so sick of hearing another word that I want to cut out my heart.
“You killed me.” I couldn’t stand it. I started yelling at him, “You did this to me because you hated me for killing your brother.”? In that case, kill me, kill me to avenge him!
“Big brother, big brother, big sister, you only have big brother in your eyes, no matter when, you only have him.” Qi Cheng turned my head and forced me to look him in the face. “But Big Brother is dead. From now on, you can only look at me for the rest of your life.” “Did you hear that, sister?”
He repeated threateningly. “You can only have me in your eyes from now on. Otherwise, if I don’t want to, I won’t hesitate to gouge out your beautiful eyes.” “If that’s the case, you won’t be able to get out of here.”
Qi Cheng wants to have a child, although in my eyes, he himself is still a child.
He said, “Sister, the throne of Beizhu will be given to our children in the future.”. When Nanpu is captured, the whole world will be given to him.
I stared at him. “Qi Cheng, you said there would be no war in three years.”
“Of course I won’t go back on my promise to my sister, but the future is long, and there will always be a day when Beizhu will unify the whole country.” On the city wall, he put his arms around me from behind, leaning against the railings. “What’s more, sister, you said you liked this land.”
With that, Qi Cheng buried his head in my right shoulder and silently bit my neck to the root of my ear.
Yes, I said, on the day I left Beizhu, the moment he pulled my sleeve. When I
said this, I didn’t think about the future, and I didn’t think about today.
“This country is so good, so good that my sister insists on leaving me..” Qi Cheng suddenly lost his temper and spoke hard, leaving two ferocious teeth marks on my earlobes.
Without waiting for an answer, he snorted, “Then I’ll take it down and give it to you.”
“Madman.” I scold.
We won’t have children. The night he found out that
I was drinking the soup, Qi Cheng smashed the soup in my hand, and then killed the hospital with rivers of blood.
I stood behind him with my lantern and watched him coldly as he ordered his guards to kill and cut.
He is not like a king, but like a fugitive bandit, with dirt everywhere, trampled by him and destroyed by him. He is not afraid of ghosts, nor of wild ghosts, because he is less human than these dead spirits. When the
knife hit the old court judge, who was nearly seventy years old, I finally said, “Qi Cheng, they are all from Beizhu. They are your own people.”. You don’t have to avoid the soup. With a chilling smile,
Qi Cheng turned his head and stared at me. Under the red light of my lantern, he really looked more like a ghost demanding his life: “I didn’t hesitate to give you a piece of land for your love. Now it’s just killing a few people. What is it?”? Besides, this isn’t the first time I’ve killed for you.
My heart missed a beat. What he meant was that he had done it before and had taken people’s lives for me? I spent six years
with Qi Cheng when I was young, but he was so young at that time that I had never heard of any human life in the palace. Does
he mean..?
I was reminded of a thing of the utmost horror, so terrible that it was more chilling than corpses in this place. Sister, if you’re afraid that these ghosts will come looking for you, don’t do such a stupid thing again. Bypass soup
hurts the body the most. Sister knows that. I never want you to be hurt in any way.
Play to do seven points, point to stop, Qi Cheng a wave of his hand, called a halt to the meaningless killing
of the imperial guards.
Just a bowl of soup, but I don’t know how to get a bowl
of soup, he wants so many people to bury this bowl of soup.
In addition to not letting me avoid my son, Qi Cheng wanted to tell me that if I disobeyed, if he was willing
, this time it was the hospital, next time it could be the palace, the two sides of the wall, or
even the whole Nanpu.
And I have no choice but to be obedient. With a sneer,
I said, “You are so vicious.”
“Isn’t my sister vicious?” He gently wiped away the blood I had spat on his face and
smiled. “Isn’t it wicked of my sister to leave me alone?”
If I knew that if I left Beizhu and Qi Cheng, I would plant such seeds of
hatred for him, I certainly would not have done so.
I’ll take him with me and kill him.
Little wolf, you shouldn’t grow up.
I stayed by Qi Cheng’s side hopelessly day by day. For three years, I exchanged three years for Yi’er. Three years later, when the vow expired, I had already thought about where to go at that time.
Such a day came to an abrupt end with the appearance of Xiao Wu. After a
long time, Qi Cheng no longer tied me with an iron rope, but also allowed me to walk in the palace, and even took me to the palace banquet.
It was the first time I saw Qi Xi. Seeing me in a trance, Qi Cheng leaned close to my ear and broke my cold sweat: “My sister is afraid.”. Seeing such a face like my eldest brother’s, my sister remembered the blood debt she owed.
I hate Qi Cheng more and more, this bad embryo, always want to cut my heart, want to take out and put it in the scorching sun to dry its remaining beating.
Yes, he is right, this child is too much like Qi Ran, even though he is only seventeen years old this year.
This is Xiaowu. He and his eldest brother were born of the same mother. Naturally, they are very similar. It’s a pity Concubine De left early, and her eldest brother has gone, leaving behind such a child that I must take care of him. Chi Cheng took hold of my sweaty hand and said, “Don’t be afraid, Sister. It’s not Big Brother coming back to beg for your life.”
I would rather be Qi ran back to me, not to mention life, he wants anything I give, he is to dry my heart, I also go deep.
Looking at Qi Cheng’s proud and fierce smile, I immediately understood that Xiaowu was deliberately found by him, in order to show me this face, which was almost identical to Qi Ran’s, to remind me of the guilt that could not be washed clean and the demons that could not be strangled.
Xiaowu came forward and saluted me, and his every frown and smile looked like Qi Ran, as well as the appearance of bowing. He said that he had long heard that Empress Wan was dignified and luxurious, and that she favored the crown of the six palaces. Today, as soon as he saw it, it was as it should be, the fragrance was not added, and the lead was not restrained.
Qi Cheng cut my heart, and I have to cut it back.
So I snatched Xiaowu’s words: “Your elder brother is also used to the words in the Ode to the God of Luo.
He used to say to me, ‘I am happy with her beauty, but my heart is not happy.'”
The latter sentence reads, “There is no good matchmaker to make a match,” which means that without a good matchmaker, this kind
of marriage is possible. And now I am Qi Cheng’s Concubine Wan, where do I need a matchmaker. The elder brother in my mouth
can’t be his elder brother on the throne.
As I wished, Qi Cheng’s face was blue and white for a while. After finishing the banquet
early, he pushed me into the Zhaohua Palace, which was the palace he gave me.
It was incomparably grand, exquisite, and special-three palaces and six courtyards, but
it was filled with ropes to bind people.
“In the evening, you are pushing me, you are provoking me.” He broke my heart. “Why
do you always mention Big Brother in order to let me kill you?”? Or is it to tell me that no matter what
happens, no matter who you are with now, you only have him in your eyes and heart?
I won’t answer.
“You don’t deserve it. You killed my brother with your own hands. You don’t deserve to think about him.” Qi Cheng shackled
my hands. “Do you remember what I said last time?”
He turned my face and opened my drooping eyelids. “I say, if you have anyone
else in your eyes, I will gouge out your eyes.”
I stared straight at him: “Then you dig, you dig.”. Qi Cheng, you might as well gouge out my eyes, so I can’t see anything, I can’t see Qi Xi’s face exactly like his, and I can’t see your disgusting face. From now on, I have only one heart, and there will always be only one person in my heart. You can’t control it, and you can’t control it, unless you dig out my heart with it.
“Bitch.” Qi Cheng finally couldn’t stand it and slapped me in the face, making a dazzling white light in front of my eyes. After
that day, the Zhaohua Hall was rarely clean.
Qi Cheng doesn’t come, and he doesn’t care about me. Every day, I can even go out to get some air under the supervision of the palace people. Chen Lan, the eunuch in charge of
the Zhaohua Palace, was the one who served me when I was young in Beizhu. Perhaps in order to give me some intimacy, Qi Cheng specially transferred Chen Lan back to the palace from the imperial mausoleum, together with several nuns who had contact with me in the old days, they were arranged to take care of my daily life in the Zhaohua Palace.
Of course they have a job, watching me. Whenever
I leave the Zhaohua Palace, even if half a foot crosses the threshold, Chen Lan and his party must follow and stare at it step by step, and inform Qi Cheng of my every move.
After all, Qi Cheng personally under the Yu Ling, if I have something, the last time is the bloodbath too hospital, this time is to sit in the Zhaohua Hall up and down all the nine clans.
Mingming, last time, I had nothing. “Over the years, the princess has changed.” Following me, Chen Lan continued to call me what she had done many years
ago: In the past, the wine brewed by the princess was the most fragrant, but the princess was used to deceiving people.
The plum wine was sweet and refreshing in the mouth, just like sweet water, but she didn’t know that she would get drunk after two mouthfuls. On one
occasion, the old slave made the wrong time to take the big prince out of school.
At the mention of the big prince, the two of us looked at each other and lost our voices.
After a long time, I said, “Grandfather Chen, when did you go to the imperial mausoleum?”
“Ah, after the big prince left Beizhu, the old slave had been waiting on the late emperor.” Chen Lan
sighed, “Until five years ago, the big prince..” The body of the eldest prince was brought back, and the old slave
went to the emperor’s tomb to hold a wake for the eldest prince.
“So before my brother died, you were in this palace, beside the late emperor?” “I want to ask you something, father-in-law,” I asked
.
“Go ahead, Princess.”
I’m afraid, really, I’m afraid to ask, and I’m afraid to answer. No matter what the answer is,
I won’t have a good time. But I have to know, no matter how sharp it is, no matter how bad it is.
Qi Cheng said that he had killed people for me, his father said that there were only two Beizhu people in the palace, Qi Ran said that
it was better for you to live well than anything else, and Xiao Wu said that Wan Fei’s lead was not imperial.
I took a deep breath, spit out half of it, and held half of it: “Five years ago, the
news from the Nanpu Palace leaked out. Did the big prince really do this?”
Chen Lan is dead. When
I saw him, he was crawling on the ground, writhing in pain, with his knees pressed against his chest.
He wanted to scream, but he could only give a hoarse sob in vain.
Qi Cheng turned to me and said, “This old slave talks too much. He shouldn’t be around you.” Next to
him was a pot of boiling water, which was smoking and declaring its heat. The missing half pot was probably poured into Chen Lan’s throat early in the morning.
Although that day, when faced with my question, Chen Lan only said, “Princess, you should believe whatever they let the princess see.”
Qi Cheng’s evil deeds, on the contrary, are more like confirming some unbearable speculation.
Poor father-in-law Chen was burned in a mess. Qi Cheng threw him out of the palace naked and died in a few days. For today’s Chen Lan, early death is also early relief. In the
face of my self-seclusion, Chi Cheng said sarcastically, “My elder sister is so fierce that she killed the imperial physician in the courtyard, and even the old slaves around my eldest brother were not spared.”
“You killed them, not me.” I turned to look at him. I didn’t even bother to hate him in my eyes. “Qi Cheng, I’m not sick. I can tell who is the executioner, who is the one with the knife, and who put the knife in the hand of the one with the knife.”. I am clear about everything.
I want to tell him that I not only know who killed the hospital and Chen Lan, but also know who killed Qi Ran.
And killing Chen Lan is just the beginning.
Qi Cheng is too lazy to pretend. The second thing
he did was to tear down the Ruiyang Hall in the palace, where the princes lived in the old days. For
five years, Qi ran’s bedroom still retained its original appearance. But I did not expect that the occasional stop outside the door when I passed by was enough for Qi Cheng to destroy it completely.
Not only that, Qi Cheng tried to erase all traces of Qi Ran in the inner courtyard of the palace, not even a thought. When
he threw the last piece of Shanxuan Jade Jue, which was close to Qi Ran’s body when he was young, on the ground, the kneeling Xiaowu suddenly climbed over regardless of everything, carefully gathering the jade scraps, trying to hold the powder into the palm of his hand.
Qi Cheng stepped on his hand and looked down on him, saying, “Xiaowu, your elder brother Qi Ran thought he was clever. He ruined the friendship between Beizhu and Nanpu. The war lasted for five years. The people of the two countries suffered. I and the late emperor lost their troops.”. Now that I and Nanpu have been able to get back together, even for the sake of Concubine Wan, I will show this princess some sincerity.
When Xiao Wu tried to pull his hand out, he pushed harder: “Xiao Wu, are you trying to stop me?”
Chi Hsi raised his head and said, “Not only is he the elder brother of my younger brother, but the elder brother is also the elder brother of my elder brother.”
Qi Cheng’s feet crushed fiercely, forcing Xiaowu to clench his teeth in pain. “Just a piece of jade.” The play was as silly and tasteless as ever. I loosened my clenched
fist and turned my back. I’m dead. Is it sincerity to destroy a pile of things behind me? I can’t see
this sincerity.
I gave Xiaowu the medicine and found that his hands were so like Qi Ran.
He endured the pain and raised his voice to say that he had seen me, many years ago, also in this palace,
when I liked to chase Qi Ran, Qi Cheng liked to chase me. If you are so
different, the person will not exist.
I asked him, “How old were you when Qi ran died?”
“Twelve.” He answered.
“Then you should call me sister.” Without lifting my head, I focused on his swollen bone
knot. “Sister asked you, who killed your brother?”
“Sister.” He replied, “My sister has the answer in her heart.”
I stared at his pupils, as clear as a dark abyss. “Shall I avenge
him?”
“My sister knows it all in her heart.” After
that day, I was also like a piece of jade, losing its luster, waiting for the broken jade to sink. There is no doubt that
Qi Cheng found this, he pinched my hand more and more poisonous, forcing me
to shout, forcing me to beg. I bit my lip, and when he finally loosened it, I licked the oozing beads of blood and waited silently for his
next attack. After
a long time, Qi Cheng found that it was useless to use force, so he began to use soft force. Send all kinds
of Nanpu specialties to my Zhaohua Palace and tell me the news of Yi’er. He even sent Xiaowu
over frequently and told him to accompany me.
“What are you thinking?” I asked Qi Cheng.
“I want my sister to be happy, and I want her to live well.” He grabbed my hand and said, “Otherwise, if anything happens to my sister
, I will bury the whole of Nanpu with
her at all costs.”
Oh, so he’s afraid I’ll die.
Really funny, and tried every means to torture me, and afraid to torture me to death. Qi Cheng
this person is really poisonous, this is not to live, also do not give the meaning of death.
With Qi Cheng’s instruction, Xiao Wuchang often went to the palace to accompany me.
He was very clever. He did not mention the matter of Qi Ran, nor the matter of the state. He told me about the
storytelling in the teahouse, showed me the new Fu he had got, and brought me the Panlong yellow croaker in Rongfuzhai.
Once Xiaowu told me the story of the hidden fish intestine sword when he was stabbing Wang Liao. I threw
a teacup casually, picked up the sharpest piece, and made a gesture in front of Xiaowu’s eyes. If
you want to kill a man, there are plenty of ways. There is no shortage of swords in this world. Xiaowu, you know
what I lack. “But there are always weapons that are cleaner.” “Sister, the food is getting cold,” said Xiao Wu with a meaningful
smile.
I cut open the belly of the fish, and there was only a fragrant scallion and ginger seasoning bag inside. What
I lack is an opportunity.
In the coldest time of winter, Qi Cheng cut off the quiet days of today.
He said that Xiaowu was eighteen years old this year, and it was time to serve his country. Coinciding with the invasion of the north cool
clan, it is better to let the small five with thirty thousand troops to put down the chaos, make a contribution.
The cool family is famous for being good at fighting, let alone thirty thousand, even if it is one hundred and thirty thousand troops, I
‘m afraid to return without success is small, small five life is big.
I finally understand, Qi Cheng which is what let Xiaowu for me to relieve boredom, for me to find a comfort,
he is clearly in the placement of a constraint for me. He wanted to use Xiaowu’s safety to coerce me and let
me lie in the palm of his hand with no way to go for him to play with.
I couldn’t figure out what Qi Cheng wanted, so I took the initiative to find him for the first time. He had prepared two cups of tea on his
desk, one of which had sunk to the bottom and was about to get cold.
“My sister came later than I thought.” He took a sip.
“Qi Cheng, you hate me so much that Xiao Wu won’t let me go.” I tell an obvious
fact, which is also a well-known nonsense.
Qi Cheng did not answer me. “Go and get a cup of hot tea for Concubine Wan,” he said casually.
“Why?” I asked, “Just because the knife I took pierced Qi Ran’s heart?”
I do not believe more and more, we all know, Qi ran’s death, I can not get rid of the relationship, but he Qi Cheng may not be clean. He put the bill on my head and I admit it, but it’s not enough, far from enough, not enough for him to hate me so much, and not enough for him to make my life worse than death.
“The knife in my sister’s hand, which I can see, pierced my eldest brother’s heart and killed him.” He came around behind me, put his arms around my waist, and grabbed my hand. “But the knife in my sister’s hand, which she couldn’t see, pierced my heart and killed someone else.”
“Who are the others?”
Qi Cheng gave a sneer and asked, “Sister didn’t come here today to ask that, did she?”? If the guess is not wrong, the elder sister is nothing more than to let me take back the order, not to let the small five led the troops to war. But sister, why should I promise you?
“What do you want?” This is not the first time I have asked him this question, although each time I did not have the conditions to trade with him. “Qi Cheng, look at me, look at me now, you know, I have nothing, nothing to give you.”
“You have, sister.” He is like a jackal teasing the animal in his mouth, “Do you give?”
Qi Cheng wants me to please him.
He wants me to ingratiate myself and serve him until he is satisfied.
It was another disgusting night, and when he fell asleep, I was so sick that I wanted to tear my skin.
The next morning, I asked Qi Cheng when he would withdraw his order. But
he replied with a smile, “I’m not very satisfied with my sister’s skill.” Whether
I give it or not, it turns out that he wants Xiaowu on the battlefield. As always,
he was afraid of my death. Looking at me in disbelief, Qi Cheng pinched my chin and threatened, “It’s all right, sister. You can save him.”. Although Xiaowu and his eldest brother were born of the same mother, after all, he was also my younger brother, and I couldn’t bear to let him die. Sister Haosheng stays by my side, and I promise Xiaowu will come back alive. But if my sister doesn’t live in peace, I’m afraid Xiaowu won’t live in peace either. In the month
of peaches, Xiaowu came back.
There was no doubt that he had suffered a defeat, but fortunately he was all right. When
Xiao Wu came to the palace to see me, Wu Qing’s hand took out a jade jue from his bosom and shook it in front of my eyes. “Look, sister, does it look like the jade jue of my eldest brother?”. Sister, I was particularly brave on the battlefield. We originally attacked a city of the Liang clan, which is also rich in mountain jade..
No, not at all. But I still gathered it tightly in my hand, so that my nails were strangled with blood stains.
Xiaowu told me a lot of things about him on the battlefield. He only said the nice things. He never mentioned the swords
, the narrow escape from death, and the corpses wrapped in horse leather.
“You fought bravely, and Qi Cheng should reward you.” I said, for so long, I still refused to
call Qi Cheng the emperor.
“My brother has rewarded me.” Xiaowu nodded his head slightly, but carefully raised his eyes
to look at my expression. “Brother Huang said, I’m eighteen this year, and I should be a prince. Then I’ll go to Sucheng, the fief
, and leave the capital.”
Fiefdom, Su city also deserve to call fiefdom?
Su city is close to the wall water, because of the past perennial war, no fields,
no money, the most important thing is that because the terrain is easy to monitor, small five soldiers can not be
here.
Oh, in addition to the fief, Qi Cheng also sealed the king for Xiao Wu and rewarded him with a word of dedication.
“Xiaowu, what did you offer him?” I laughed and said, “If Chi Cheng wants something,
he’s going to grab it himself. He doesn’t need someone else to give it to him.”
Xiaowu and I sat opposite each other for a long time, and we all knew that it was a farewell.
It turned out that this was what Qi Cheng wanted. He first placed this flesh and blood close relative
who looked like Qi Ran beside me, so that I could be familiar with his company and care about his safety.
Then he sent Xiaowu to the battlefield, which made me worry about gains and losses, and made me nervous. Just when
I thought I had finally got it back, he sent Xiaowu out of the capital, which would always be
a check and balance for me. It’s
hard for him, step by step. Before
it got dark, I asked Xiao Wu, “Do you know why Chi Cheng hates me so much?”
Xiaowu, oh no, it should be King Xian now. He thought about it and then told me, “Sister, you know, my brother’s mother has been dead for many years.”
Things should start from eight years ago, when Qi ran was sent to Nanpu as a proton, it was not so much a helpless move as a deliberate plan of a group of people.
At that time, although Qi Cheng was the crown prince of his mother, the empress family was deeply afraid of the old emperor of Beizhu, and Qi Cheng’s position as crown prince was not stable.
And Qi ran is precisely the most advantageous contender for the throne. Although the birth mother of Qi Ran and Xiao Wu, De Fei, died early, the lintel of De Fei’s mother’s family was not low, and the foundation of the imperial examination was not deep, so it would not bring disaster to the court in the future.
It was at this time that I appeared in Beizhu.
I fell in love with Qi Ran, which made the old emperor pass the throne to Qi Ran. The old emperor thought, I am not only the princess of Nanpu, but also the daughter of Beizhu. If Qi Ran can marry me in the future, the two countries will be friends of Qin and Jin, and it will be a good thing for the country.
The queen naturally could not watch all this happen, so she United the family forces and advised Qi Ran to go to Beizhu to be a proton, thus driving out the whirlpool of fighting for the throne. The old emperor saw everything in his eyes.
Now even the only prince who can check and balance Qi Cheng has been sent thousands of miles away, the old emperor
thought, really let Qi Cheng continue to be the crown prince, inherit the throne, it is not impossible. However,
Beizhu is the world of the Qi family, and there must be no one who rules from behind a screen.
So Qi ran and I in the long way back to Nanpu, a cup of poisonous wine was also sent to the front of Queen Beizhu
. For the sake of her son, the empress drank the
poison sent by her husband, half bitter and half sweet.
Eventually, Qi Cheng got the throne and lost his mother. The
funny thing is that he wants to put all the blame on me.
In Qi Cheng’s eyes, I not only owe him for his deep love for me, but also because of my
love for Qi Ran, he almost lost his crown prince position, and finally claimed his mother’s life
.
He hated me, hated Qi Ran, and even hated Xiao Wu.
So he wants Qi Ran to die. He wants me to beg for death. He wants Xiaowu to look at me and beg for death. If
he succeeds, he will pay the price for his success. The last question
I asked Xiao Wu was, “Who killed your big brother?”
But Xiaowu answered my other question: “Sister, you should avenge your eldest brother.”
I watched him go out of the palace gate behind Xiaowu, and Qi Cheng watched me behind me.
“Don’t worry, Sister. Xiaowu won’t die.” Qi Cheng wandered slowly in front of me.
“Whatever.” I say.
He was reluctant to give up Xiaowu’s death. If Xiaowu was alive, he could exchange Xiaowu’s life for more.
Qi Cheng originally thought that as soon as Xiaowu left, I wanted to spend my life without ghosts.
But I didn’t, and not only didn’t, I did a lot of things I didn’t do before. For example
, I began to practice Beizhu’s writing, began to make Beizhu’s cakes, and began to brew plum
wine.
Qi Cheng did not dare to drink, and when he saw me drinking in front of him, he still did not dare to drink. “What’s the point of keeping me with you like this?”
I sneered? You hate
me for leaving you, but you just hate me for leaving you at the age of twelve fourteen years ago.
But now, you dare not drink the wine brewed in the evening, dare not loosen the rope tied to her, dare not let
Qi ran used objects appear in front of her. What you want is not me at all. It’s just that you didn’t want me fourteen
years ago.
“That’s enough.” Qi Cheng was not irritated by me. “If my sister wants to drink, I’ll drink
with her.” Then
he sent someone to bring twelve jars of wine, which I had buried
under the acacia tree before I left. The
vintage wine is fourteen years old, and I don’t want to open it. Now it’s
not a waste to drink with your sister, but to enjoy it. He poured out a cup. I paused and gulped it down.
Fourteen years ago, the craftsmanship was not too bad. After three rounds of
drinking, Qi Cheng looked at me in a daze and said, “Late in the evening, you’re right. In fact, what you said
is particularly right.”
“What?” My cold eyes, he drank me more than twice, now half drunk and half awake, but
I am indifferent.
“I don’t want to be like this either. If I could, I would like to stay by my side. It was 14 years
ago in the evening.” He rubbed my face, “Sister, if that year, if that
year was not like this, if your heart belongs not to Big Brother, but to Cheng..”
I turned my face sideways.
“In that way, the father won’t think of setting up another crown prince, and the mother won’t
die..” He grabbed my skirt and cried plaintively, just like Cheng’er who used to say
, “Sister, don’t give up on me.”.
Poor?
Poor thing.
But isn’t Qi Ran pitiful.
“You only know that your mother doesn’t deserve to die. What about Qi Ran? Does Qi Ran deserve to die?” I pulled
out the corner of my coat, pinched his chin and said, “Do you know what Qi ran
said to me on the way to Nanpu?”? He said that the trip was dangerous, and he was afraid that he would never come back. Fortunately, he
was the one who was the proton, not you. As your eldest brother, he will surely protect your safety. “What? What are you talking about?” Qi Cheng asked again with a blurred look.
I don’t know if he heard it or what he was doing with it
.
“There are no ifs.”
With that, I shook off his muddy body and fled away from the
disgusting Zhaohua Hall.
What I hate more is that Qi Cheng let me see thoroughly that everyone is pitiful, but everyone is not
innocent.
When Qi Cheng woke up, the fact that Concubine Wan was not at her side turned the palace upside down.
He wished he could send out all the imperial guards and slaughter the Zhaohua Palace from top to bottom.
Even without a wick of incense, his father-in-law found me leisurely
on the swing.
“Come and help me push the swing, like you did when you were twelve.” When Qi Cheng ran out of sweat
and landed in front of me, I told him as if nothing had happened.
“Not just twelve.” “You stayed in Beizhu for six years, and I pushed the swing for
you for six years.”
Yes, Qi ran was steady and did not like to play with me, but Qi Cheng answered every request, which added a lot of fun to me in my childhood
. “When I was six years old, you were just as high as the swing, and you didn’t have much strength to push it. I couldn’t get my feet
off the ground.” I teased.
“But after six years, I’ll have the strength.” Chi Cheng walked up behind me. “But you’re gone
.”
He pulled the swing high, then let go of his hand and added, “With Big Brother
.”
“Tell me, Qi Cheng.” The wind brought my voice to his ears. “Tell
me, who killed Qi Ran?”? Besides my hands, whose hands are stained with blood?
Qi Cheng picked up the swing and pulled it up again. “Sister, I forgive you for killing your eldest brother.
You must also learn to forgive yourself and others.”
I don’t forgive. After
that day, Qi Cheng and I seemed to have returned to the time when Xiao Wu had not yet appeared. I was the Concubine Wan who was imprisoned by
him, and he was the monarch of Beizhu who hated me deeply but was reluctant to kill me.
But maybe it’s plum wine, maybe it’s a swing, and there seems to be a subtle and unpredictable
change between us.
He will not bind me or pinch me anymore.
In addition to the joy of persecution, we had more companionship with the moon drinking and more remembrance of the general Jiao
Yan Yan. We began to keep our mouths shut to Qi Ran and kept a secret about the
diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Qi Cheng often told me something about Xiaowu, and reported the good news and not the bad news. He even said that Xiaowu had grown taller, as if I would be happy to hear it. Of course
I know what he’s doing this for-because one day is creeping up.
At the beginning, I stayed with him for Qi Ran’s promise not to invade Nanpu for three years. If the three-year period was about to end, Qi Cheng didn’t know what to use to keep me.
He was afraid that I would die, that I would give up my life and leave him. So he asked me to stay, with the past to keep me, with the rich clothes and jade food to keep me, after the end of his skills, he also tried to use Xiaowu to keep me. “Qi Cheng,”
I said to him, “call Xiaowu back. I want to see him. I just want to see him.”
Qi Cheng’s eyes flashed a trace of confusion, there are many fears, he is not sure whether I miss Xiaowu or want to meet him for the last time in my life.
But Qi Cheng had no choice. He could only promise me, and by the way, he used that rotten move to coerce me: “Well, I can see whoever I want.”. I know my sister has a blind date with Xiao Wu. After all, only my sister can save Xiao Wu’s life.
10
is about to start.
I knew that the drama I had been planning for a long time under the disguise of ingratiation was finally about to begin. I have waited too long for
this day.
After two years of absence, Xiaowu did not run away. What is growing taller? It’s just Qi Cheng’s lies to coax me. I
don’t know why, but I suddenly think of Yi’er, whom I haven’t met for a long time. I don’t know where he is now. I’m afraid there is no chance to see him again in this life.
Today, Xiaowu is more calm and more like King Xian. He visits Qi Cheng appropriately and salutes and kneels down to me appropriately. At the
family banquet, Xiao Wu and I sat opposite each other, and I offered Qi Cheng a cup of wine: “King Xian has grown up, and from now on he will be a pillar of talent in Beizhu.”
“I dare not.” Xiaowu also got up to salute.
I asked Qi Cheng, “But there is one thing I don’t understand. What is offering to the king?”? Did he offer the throne, or did he offer the kingdom?
“Wan Fei.” Qi Cheng looked at me with a smile, even though there was an uneasy dodge hidden in his smile. “You’re drunk.”
I also bent my lips and looked at him, refusing to put down the new wine in my hand.
Qi Cheng continued, “Concubine Wan, you said you wanted to see Xiao Wu.”. Now that Little Five is tired and has come back from the mountains and rivers, isn’t that what Concubine Wan is saying? It’s not the first time
he won’t answer me. I’ve been used to it
since I was taken to Beizhu.
No matter what I ask, no one will give me an answer, especially the real answer.
I kept asking. I asked them who killed Qi Ran. For so long, I have repeated over and over again, I have asked the bystanders who have stayed out of the way, and I have asked the pretentious players who have been stingy with the truth, showing me only the tip of what they want me to see. When
Qi Cheng washed the hospital in blood, he told me that he had killed people for me, but not for me, but for himself, for himself, flesh and blood relatives can also be maimed. Besides, this is only a part of the truth that is difficult to see the whole picture.
Okay, if you don’t say it, don’t say it. Qi Cheng doesn’t want me to say this to Xiaowu, so I’ll say something else to him.
Let me ask you one last time.
“Little Five.” I called to him, “I don’t understand one thing either, and I want to ask you.”
“Concubine Wan, please speak.” His whole body was full of the same anxiety.
I was so confused, I thought about it for eight years. I know that Qi ran did not leak the news of Nanpu, nor did my mother and concubine. Who planted a man in the palace of Nanpu and framed Qi Ran to kill him. Also, why did the envoy sent by Nanpu to Beizhu die on his way home, which made my father die? Xiaowu, you tell me today. Tell me, who killed your eldest brother?
“Wan Fei!” Qi Cheng could not sit still any longer. He stood up, and the wine vessel he was holding in his hand broke into pieces, cutting the skin and flesh of his hand.
I stepped back and continued with a wry smile, “Xiaowu, you should tell me that you owe me and your eldest brother.” Xiaowu clenched his teeth and said nothing.
Okay, okay, if you don’t say it, then say something else.
“Well, if you don’t say it, Xiaowu, you still won’t say it.” I nodded, “That sister
wants to talk about you, Xiaowu, you are stingy.”. The poison
you hid in the fish belly spice was only enough for two people. Look, Xiaowu, there are three
people at this banquet.
Qi Cheng stared at the fragments in his hands and slowly enlarged his pupils.
Poison? He couldn’t believe I had something like that in my hand.
He couldn’t believe I said it. He knew that I would say it
because the poison would work today. The first cup of the
banquet, I drank, Xiaowu drank, Qi Cheng also drank. The weight of
two people, those two people, who are they?
Qi Cheng rushed in front of me and grabbed me by the throat. “What have you done?”
“Linwan, Linwan, what are you doing?”
“Qi Cheng.” My breath is getting tighter and tighter, but the smile on my face is getting stronger and stronger. “I’m
not a fool. Don’t hide it from me. I know everything.”
I didn’t lie to him. I really know everything.
From the first time I saw Xiaowu.
Qi ran’s death made me think about it for five years.
I will not excuse myself, but I also understand that I am by no means the only one responsible for his death. After the death of
Qi Ran, when his coffin was sent back to Beizhu, there were people I placed in the same group. They went to Beizhu, found my mother’s family, and used the power of my mother’s family to investigate the matter secretly.
All kinds of clues point to Qi Cheng, who directed and acted in a play in order to borrow Nanpu’s hand and kill the elder brother who once wanted to seize the throne with himself. Not only that, he also sent someone to assassinate the envoy, but also made my father angry, and started the war. And I was kept in the dark. When I
knew the truth, I had the intention to kill, which was hidden for seven years. The
turning point came from the appearance of Xiaowu. Seeing the face that looked like Qi Ran, I couldn’t help thinking that Qi Cheng deliberately planned to kill Qi Ran, but why did he keep his brother to raise a tiger and keep it so close to him.
So later I asked Chen Lan, “After the big prince left, where were the five princes, Qi Xi, kept?”
He said, “Right next to the present emperor.”
I said, “What’s the relationship between you two?”
Chen Lan pointed to the empty chessboard on the table.
“The old slave is also a guess.” He added a sentence. After
Chen Lan died, I thought about it for a long time, but I didn’t understand what he meant. Did he say that Qi Cheng used Qi Xi as a chess piece, or as an abandoned son?
Until one time, Qi Cheng and I scattered the chess pieces in the brocade box in a dispute. I suddenly looked at the chessboard. I understood that Chen Lan meant no children.
Qi Cheng is now childless, if he has been childless, once he dies, the throne is most likely to be left to the younger brother, even if the two are not a mother.
So I took advantage of Chen Lan’s death to spread the news outside the palace, and the people I stayed in Beizhu also followed this clue to re-investigate. This is indeed the
case. After
Qi ran left as a proton, Xiao Wu, though young, understood the situation. As Qi ran’s brother, he in order to protect himself, but also because of covet the throne, offer advice to Qi Cheng, and personally placed people in the Nanpu palace, the assassination of the envoy is also his idea, so finally got his wish to kill his eldest brother.
It’s a pity that Xiaowu is still too young. He didn’t think that he was Qi Cheng’s chess. He used him to remove Qi Ran’s big trouble, and now he used him to keep my life.
Qi Cheng is really pitiful. He imprisons me and tortures me, but he never does anything to me. He hated his eldest brother’s face, hated Qi ran’s indelible mark in my heart, but in the end he had to let Xiao Wu appear beside me and become my lingering memory.
I have been acting with these two brothers for so long, and I pretended to trust Xiaowu and worry about his safety.
I did all this just for today. It’s not that
I didn’t give Xiaowu a chance. I asked him too many times who killed his eldest brother. He does not say, he not only does not say, he also wants me to hate Qi Cheng, then borrows my hand to kill Qi Cheng.
What an offering king, who has offered his stratagem, who has offered his kingdom, who has now offered himself on this table of wine.
Qi Cheng finally released his hand and threw me on the edge of the table with only half a breath left. Poor
him. I can’t even kill him.
“Late in the evening, you think you know, but what do you really know?” He turned his back absently. “You only know how to hate me.”
“Shouldn’t I hate you?” I rubbed my neck and looked at the frightened Xiaowu on the other side. “And you, Xiaowu, you are the wolf cub.”. You were only twelve years old that year. When you were twelve years old, you offered advice to Qi Cheng to kill your own brother in exchange for the future throne and safety. Look at Hsiao-wu. It wasn’t just Chi-ran you killed. You killed yourself. How many others?
Xiaowu’s last hope was extinguished. He collapsed in his chair. He believed that I had drugged his wine.
“You actually know..” “Are you doing all this to poison me and my brother?” He murmured hopelessly.
“Not only, not only.” I shook my head. “I’ve been trapped here for three years, and I’ve waited for three years. Is your life worth waiting for three years?”? Qi Cheng, you promised me that Beizhu would not attack Nanpu in three years, but now it’s time for us to get it back.
Qi Cheng finally understood everything: “You let Xiao Wu come to Kyoto so that Su Cheng would be vacant, so that Nanpu could take the opportunity to invade.”
“Not only that,” she says, “I also placed a member of my mother’s family with Xiao Wu.” I laughed and said, “I’m afraid that before dawn tomorrow, the city of Su will have to change hands.”. Don’t worry, Qi Cheng, don’t worry, this is the beginning. There was a pain in
my heart, and I knew that the poison had begun to act.
Another person and I are in pain together, but it is not Xiaowu, but Qi Cheng.
I won’t kill Xiaowu, at least not now, because he is still useful. The emperor
of Beizhu and I died together at the family banquet of three people. Naturally, Xiaowu could not get rid of it, and it was impossible for him to succeed to the throne. In order to survive, Xiaowu has no choice but to rebel. By that time, Beizhu was internal turmoil, and it was a good time for Nanpu to attack and win in one fell swoop.
This is the last thing I can do for Yier.
And with that, it’s all over. With one hand on his chest, Qi Cheng squatted down beside me and said, “In the evening, you are so cruel.”. Twelve
years ago, you said you wanted rivers and mountains, and I kept the army for a thousand days to give you rivers and mountains. But you lied to
me. What you want is not only Jiangshan, but also Big Brother. In order to avenge your eldest brother, you are
willing to die with me. Sister, do you know that if we die together, you’ll never get rid of
me again.
He slowly could not support himself and fell beside me, holding my clothes, just like when he was twelve
years old. The
young man’s plea seemed to be still ringing in my ears. He said, “Sister, don’t give up
on me.”
If I had known what happened later, maybe I really wouldn’t have given him up. When I
closed my eyes, I heard that before people die, the past will come back. I seem to see everything
turn back to that time. At that time, I held his hand and did not pull out the corner of his
clothes.
“All right.” This time, I said the answer I owed him twelve years ago.
But he can’t hear. It
‘s already late.
