The years I was in the human world

That day, Chu Zhaoli did not get a definite answer from Lu Zhouxue. The latter avoided his gaze and said "sorry" irrelevantly. Chu Zhaoli's eyes dimmed in an instant. He was disappointed and frustrated, but still pretended to be cheerful and said: "Mianmian, it's okay."

He has never been a greedy person. He is already content as long as he can steal a little joy from the misery of his fate.

If Lu Zhouxue knew the ending of the story, he would choose to confess everything to Chu Zhaoli that day, and then tell him that they would meet again many years later, and perhaps they would not be so caught off guard when the disaster struck.

The two consecutive wars completely exhausted all the people's savings. Before the autumn harvest, an uprising suddenly broke out in the north, closest to the city wall. There was no way to know whether it was instigated by the Wuxiang people. In short, this rebel army was insignificant at first.

The emperor was too lazy to send generals to fight against the rebels, and only ordered the local governors to suppress them by force to prevent the rebels from entering the city to plunder. However, the Wuxiang people looted more than a dozen cities north of Pingyang County, and the people were already living in misery.

The imperial court was only concerned with seeking marriage alliances, and although Xie Yang and his men won the battle later, they also suffered heavy casualties. It is no exaggeration to say that the people in the thirteen border cities were living in misery. However, in just half a month, the size of the rebel army had grown to over ten thousand.

The rebels marched southward, and the county governors either abandoned the city or joined the rebels. When passing through Guangping County, the Prince of Guangping realized that this was a good opportunity to seize power and usurp the throne, so he secretly sent his staff to lobby the leader of the rebels.

The leader was born a peasant on the border. He had been an honest and upright person all his life and put all his courage into this uprising. How could he resist the deception of these old foxes? In just a few words, he was persuaded to recognize Prince Guangping as his elder brother.

From then on, the uprising launched by the people for their livelihood became a means for traitors to seek power and usurp the throne. Prince Guangping, under the banner of receiving an imperial edict from heaven and choosing another wise man, led the rebels straight into the city of Luoyang.

Xie Yang and Xie Xian were already dead, and there was no one else available in the court. They reluctantly sent a general from the Du family to meet the enemy, but before he could reach the front of the battle, the rebels shot an arrow through his head.

The rebel general stood on his horse, pointing his sword at the capital, and declared that he would destroy the Weiyang Palace and make the current emperor kneel at his feet to pour him wine.

The capital was under siege, and it was only a matter of time before the city gates were breached. The aristocratic families were terrified, and the court was in chaos. Someone proposed moving south in the chaos, and for the first time in history, he got the unanimous consent of the aristocratic families and the emperor.

"The capital hasn't been conquered yet, but the royal family has already abandoned the city and fled. This will bring infamy for eternity..." The old former Prince's Grand Tutor walked tremblingly into the court, looking at the court officials who all planned to flee south with grief.

"Grand Master, what you said is wrong. As long as the green mountains remain, there will be no fear of running out of firewood. Only as long as you are alive will you have the opportunity to make a comeback." Chu Zhaoyun said without blushing.

"Your Majesty, is this your plan as well?" The Grand Tutor barely straightened his old body and looked at the Emperor. He had taught two crown princes, one was Chu Zhaoli and the other was the current Emperor. He was considered a veteran of two dynasties and could not bear to see the country fall into decline.

The emperor avoided the Grand Tutor's gaze, pretending not to hear his words, and issued an order to prepare for the migration to the south.

"Ridiculous, ridiculous! The country hasn't been conquered yet, but the king has fled first." The Grand Tutor got the answer from the emperor's evasive attitude and beat his chest and stamped his feet.

"Your Majesty, what the Grand Tutor said is absolutely right. The capital has not been lost yet, and we cannot be without a ruler for even a day." Prime Minister Du, who agreed to the southward migration, suddenly stepped out and echoed the impassioned speech, "Otherwise, if the news gets out, everyone from the emperor and the princes to the court officials and the people will become a joke."

Prime Minister Du cared about family status, power and position, and naturally also about reputation. When the rebels entered the capital, they fled without any resistance. Not only the king but also the ministers of this dynasty would be infamous in history books.

Du Xiang would not stay and allow the rebels to slaughter him. He had to escape, but he also did not want to bear the eternal infamy after crossing the south.

"What do you want to do, my dear minister?" The emperor looked at Prime Minister Du with a gloomy face. Of course he knew what the other party said, but did he have any other choice except running?

The rebel leader had said that he wanted the emperor to kneel down and pour him wine after he conquered the capital! Was this more respectable than abandoning the city?

"Your Majesty, please pass the throne to the crown prince!" Prime Minister Du knelt down and asked for permission. His idea was simple. He wanted to leave an "emperor" here to deal with the rebels. It didn't matter whether the emperor was real or fake. As long as he was there, no matter whether he was dead or alive after the city was broken, they would not be considered to have surrendered without a fight.

Because the king is still here. Even if the real emperor is gone, the literati only care about the superficial reputation.

……

"Mianmian, the rebels are besieging the city, the court is doomed, and my father and the others are unable to take care of themselves. We have to find a way to escape." Chu Zhaoli didn't bring anything with him. He only packed a light bag with some gold and silver stuffed in it.

"Where are you going, Xiao Li'er?" Lu Zhouxue said. He vaguely remembered Xiao Fengzhuo mentioned that when the rebels invaded Luoyang, the royal family escaped from the capital through a secret passage in the palace. He didn't say which palace the secret passage was in.

But Lu Zhouxue was considering another problem. Now that Chu Zhaoli wanted to take him and flee alone, didn't he leave through the secret passage with the clan members back then?

"I have ordered the 5,000 elite soldiers to split up into smaller groups and march south in batches. We are scheduled to meet in Jianning." Chu Zhaoli explained why he did not travel with the emperor and the others. "We are going to the southwest. I have managed to build up a little power in the past few years. Even if my father manages to gain a foothold in Jiangnan, he will definitely not be able to control you and me."

Chu Zhaoli's eyes sparkled brightly when he said this. He had been planning for this day for ten years, and he had been looking forward to leaving the cage-like forbidden garden day and night: "Mianmian, I heard that there is a forest in the southwest with fragrant breezes blowing across the fields, and three rivers pouring out of the mountains like the Milky Way in the sky. Let's go and see it together!"

The Forbidden Garden was in chaos and no one noticed the two people who sneaked out of the palace. But just as they were about to walk out of the last red gate of the palace, the thing Chu Zhaoli was most worried about happened.

"Where are you going, Your Highness? Why don't you have any servants with you?" Yan Xiao, wearing armor and holding a sword, led a team of imperial guards who surrounded the two of them from behind.

Chu Zhaoli's heart sank when he saw this, and he subconsciously stopped Lu Zhouxue behind him, and said calmly: "I'm going out of the palace to buy some things, and I'll be back soon. I wonder what can I do for you, Commander Yan?"

"I am ordered by His Majesty to invite Your Highness to Chengming Palace. Whether Your Highness wants to go out of the palace to make purchases or intends to escape during the chaos, please follow me first." Yan Xiao bowed casually, then turned sideways and made a gesture of invitation in the direction of the exit.

They knew he would escape, but they still refused to let him go? Chu Zhaoli's expression gradually turned cold. He raised his eyes to meet Yan Xiao's calm gaze and asked softly, "Does Commander Yan have to kill us all?"

"Your Highness, I am only following orders. Please don't make things difficult for me." Yan Xiao noticed Chu Zhaoli's intention to resist, and the ceremonial sword at his waist was unsheathed three inches, silently indicating a threat.

"It seems that we can't reach an agreement?" Along with Lu Zhouxue's cold voice, his sword energy as swift as the wind brushed past Yan Xiao's ear. The sharp edge of the Beifeng Sword brushed past the hair of this battle-hardened commander of the imperial guards.

This veteran who had held a high position for half his life and was invincible in the world, suffered a great loss for the first time at the hands of an unknown eunuch in the deep palace. A strand of his hair was cut off and a blood mark was left on his cheek.

"If you don't let me, next time, my sword will cut your throat!" Lu Zhouxue raised his sword, picked up the strand of hair, and placed it horizontally in front of Yan Xiao.

Chu Zhaoli stood quietly behind him, his eyes cold. What Lu Zhouxue said was exactly his will.

"What a sharp sword. It's a pity that you have to be just a eunuch." Yan Xiao said with regret sincerely. Then he moved as swiftly as a dragon or snake. In the blink of an eye, he rushed in front of Lu Zhouxue and fought with him.

The rest of the imperial guards surrounded the weak Chu Zhaoli.

"Your Highness's attendants are very skilled, but my subordinates are no ordinary ones either. It would be better for them to go back with me so that both you and I can have less trouble. Isn't that good?" Yan Xiao tried to persuade Chu Zhaoli while fighting with Lu Zhouxue.

"My lord, you are fighting with me, and you still have the energy to persuade His Highness?" Lu Zhouxue used his sword to break the ceremonial sword that Yan Xiao blocked in front of him, and the tip of the sword pointed at a distance from his throat. "In this case, will you let the two of us go?"

"Your Excellency's swordsmanship is superb. I, Yan, am inferior to you. But I, Yan, have also said that my subordinates are no ordinary people either." Yan Xiao sheathed his sword and accepted defeat with all his heart. However, his eyes passed Lu Zhouxue and fell on Chu Zhaoli, who was defeated by the imperial guards and had his weapons taken off. "Your Highness, I am sorry."

"Let him go!" Lu Zhouxue's face changed. He turned his wrist and was about to take action, but the imperial guards' knives were pressed against Chu Zhaoli's throat.

"What do you mean, Commander Yan?" Chu Zhaoli glanced indifferently at the knives at his throat, and then looked at Yan Xiao coldly, "You and I have never had any grudges against each other, why are you forcing me so hard?"

"Your Highness, I am just following orders." Yan Xiao still insisted on his initial statement, "Your Majesty summoned me, why are you so reluctant?"

"Since you know that I want to escape, why bother asking so many questions? Is there any good thing that can come from your father summoning me at this time?" Chu Zhaoli sneered.

"His Majesty has always been kind to his descendants. Your Highness should never speculate like this." Yan Xiao sighed, but he stopped talking nonsense and ordered his men to half-force Chu Zhaoli back to the palace.

"Where are you taking him?" Lu Zhouxue was anxious and was about to chase after him, but Yan Xiao raised his hand to stop him. The latter said: "Your Majesty has summoned them. They are father and son, and they will not embarrass each other."

"How the emperor treats your Highness, and how he treats his other sons, is witnessed by everyone in the palace. Don't you feel guilty for saying this, sir?" Lu Zhouxue sneered, but he thrust his sword into the palace wall, grazing Yan Xiao's neck. He said coldly, "Sir Yan is loyal to that tyrant, but I think it's just foolish loyalty!"

Yan Xiao frowned at the treasonous words, and the adjutant beside him could not help but scolded: "How dare you disrespect His Majesty!"

"Even if I'm disrespectful, what can you do to me?" Lu Zhouxue turned around and retorted. The immortal who used to be dignified, now acted like a gangster and played rogue with the imperial guards because Chu Zhaoli was taken away. "The rebels have already fought outside the imperial city, and you're not calling me a tyrant?"