Pihanjin

The team that was driving north left Gyeonggi, and a few days later, this evening, they traveled to the vicinity of Kuncheng.

Cucheng is an important city connecting Hexi and Shangjing. Crossing the city of Kuang, going a hundred miles further, and exiting Xiguan, means leaving the Middle Earth and truly embarking on the road outside the customs to Hexi.

An accompanying official reported that the commander of Kuncheng knew that the imperial car was passing through this place and had prepared a place to stay early. At this moment, he led the officials and the people of the city, and they were kneeling by the road ahead, and respectfully invited His Majesty to enter the city for the night.

Xie Changgeng sat on the horseback. He turned his head and looked at the direction of the city. He looked at it for a long time, as if in a trance, without any reaction.

The people accompanying him followed his line of sight, and they all looked over.

It was a sunny evening in early autumn, and the sky was full of crimson clouds. The city in front that is ready to welcome the imperial car is already within sight. From here, the shadow of the city is like a long dragon crawling on the horizon.

Everyone followed the emperor and turned their faces to look out, waiting with bated breath.

After a long time, the emperor slowly turned his face back and said, "There are so many people, don't disturb the people, tell them all to go back. Just camp on the spot at night."

It was not too long before sunset. From here to Xiguan, there is still a hundred miles away. Before dark, it must be impossible to reach. If we continue to move forward, the emperor can only sleep in the wild with the soldiers tonight.

But when he opened his mouth like this, how dare everyone refute it, and they agreed in unison.

The team continued to move forward, and after dark, they camped in a flat field beside the road.

Under the dark blue night sky, the military tents are continuous, and the campfires are lit. When the night is getting darker, the bonfires are extinguished one by one, and the sergeant who is walking during the day has already fallen asleep at this moment.

In the middle of the camp, in the tent, the lights were still on. Xie Changgeng said to the generals in front of him: "After passing the customs tomorrow morning, I will lead a group of people and go on the road first. You will lead the army behind, and you will arrive as soon as possible."

The army was dispatched, and there were many constraints. It was almost the limit to travel a hundred miles a day. In addition, it had been in the pass a few days ago, and the cities along the way were dense. Every time it passed, it would be like today. Welcome to drive, it is inevitable to delay the trip. The emperor used to win the world at once, and he personally met the enemy in every battle. Now he has Hexi in his heart, and since he left Xiguan, it is natural to want to get there early on the road.

After the generals took their consulates, they bowed and left. The **** Cao Jin, who had been waiting outside, entered the room and held the medicine that had been decocted above.

The emperor drank. The **** bowed and said, "It's getting late, and Your Majesty can rest in peace. The imperial doctor often said that His Majesty should rest more so that his body can recover as soon as possible."

"The words of the imperial physician, I think it is also the meaning of the queen." He glanced at the book he just picked up in the emperor's hand, and said in a low voice.

The emperor's hand paused and slowly put down the scroll.

The eunuch's face was filled with joy, and he immediately called someone in, and delivered water and towels.

The lights in the imperial tent went out, and Xie Changgeng lay on his back on the couch. He closed his eyes, only the darkness of the remaining night in front of him, but in his mind, the shadow of the city he passed by in the evening still floated.

The shadow of the city, in the light of the setting sun, looked like an old dream, but he knew in his heart that this was not an old dream, it was a real existence.

There was once a woman who fell into the abyss of fate because of this city on the west exit.

She is at the bottom of the abyss, and salvation lies in her husband's thought.

However, that man, after all, has lost her.

He didn't dare, and he couldn't bear to imagine how, during the day after day of waiting, how she cooled the fire of hope in her heart inch by inch, until it was completely extinguished and turned into ashes.

At the moment when she decided to end her life, what was in her heart.

He knew that she hated him. But no matter how much she hated him, she deserved it. Not only her, but also himself, deeply hated.

Such a beautiful woman, he once asked for nothing, that man, how could he have the heart to treat her like this.

Xie Changgeng's heart clenched tightly together. He felt that his internal organs also seemed to be throbbing faintly.

At this time, outside the tent, there was the sound of rustling footsteps.

"Your Majesty! The Queen is here!" Cao Jin's voice entered his ears.

Xie Changgeng suddenly opened his eyes.

It was still dark in the night. At first he thought he had heard it wrong, but soon the voice repeated itself.

Xie Changgeng sat up and didn't even have time to turn on the lamp. He went down a few steps and ripped open the tent door.

He saw a slender figure of a woman in a cloak standing in front of the tent. She stood quietly under the moonlight, like a star and a moon, and came here. Seeing him appear, she raised her hand and took off her hood, revealing a face as bright as the bright moon.

She is here. It's really her.

She stepped, walked towards him, walked in front of him, nodded to him, and said softly, "Come in, I have something to ask you."

Xie Changgeng was stunned and completely lost his response. He only had a heart that almost jumped out of his chest. He finally came to his senses. He took a hasty step back, made way for her, then turned around and came to the case to stand for her. Burn the lamp.

His hands were a little stiff, and he didn't follow instructions. After several tries, he finally lit the fire.

The lights dispelled the dark night, and the tent became brighter.

Xie Changgeng closed his eyes and took a long breath.

He opened his eyes, turned around, and asked her, who was standing at the door of the tent, "What's the matter?"

His voice was low, regaining his usual calm.

"If you're tired, rest first," he looked at her face with a faint tired look, "I'll call someone to serve you..."

Mu Fulan walked towards him and stopped in front of him.

"Your Majesty, why did you want Li Xi'er to be the crown prince?" She asked him looking into his eyes.

Xie Changgeng seemed to be taken aback for a moment, then glanced at her quickly, and said vaguely, "Didn't I tell you before? Why are you asking this again?"

"Xie Changgeng, you are lying. You told me that you were injured, but I have seen all the records of your injuries in the past few years, and I can't find any similarity. I also asked Liang Tuan, and he said that you had I went to Huguo Temple and spent a night there, and your behavior at that time was very strange to him, and he is still impressed."

"I want to ask you, do you already know that thing from the past?" she asked word by word.

The surrounding air seemed to freeze suddenly.

Xie Changgeng remained motionless and did not say a word, his face gradually changed color.

After a long time, he turned his face, avoided her gaze, and said in a low voice, "Don't think about it..."

Mu Fulan looked at him, the corners of her eyes slowly turned red, and after a while, she spoke again, her voice trembling.

She said: "Xie Changgeng, I can see that you are also having a hard time. I thought that now that you know, why don't we open up and speak clearly. This life is still very long, I don't want you and me to torture each other like this, Until old age and death. I really don't know, why don't you admit it?"

"I came here after chasing you from Shangjing, not to hear you lie to me. However, if you really don't want to mention it, or it's just me thinking too much, then that's fine. You treated me as nothing. Say, I'll go back right now."

After she finished speaking, she turned to leave.

Xie Changgeng stared at the back of her who turned away, and when she raised her hand to lift the curtain, he stepped up to catch up and grabbed her wrist from the back.

"It's my fault."

An extremely suppressed hoarse voice sounded from behind her.

Mu Fulan stopped, turned her head, and met the dark eyes of the man.

"You're right, I remembered everything."

"I dare not admit it in front of you, I am afraid that if I admit it, I will completely lose the qualification to stand in front of you. Don't get me wrong, I am not asking for your forgiveness. Whenever I think about how I have treated you, I will I never thought that I could get your forgiveness. Not to mention hating me, you would kill me, and I have no complaints. I know even more that if you could, you would never want to see me again. And now , The reason why I am still in front of you is not to atone for my sins or to seek my own peace of mind. I will never forgive myself in my whole life."

"I want to do more for you and try my best to make up for you. Don't refuse, this is the only thing I think..."

Mu Fulan looked at him without speaking.

He let go of the five fingers gripping her wrist.

"I know... as long as you know about it, you will only hate me even more and hate me..."

An extremely ugly and bitter smile appeared on his face, and his voice stopped abruptly.

Mu Fulan stared at him for a moment, then shook her head.

"Xie Changgeng, are you atonement?"

she says.

"I'm grateful you're finally willing to tell me what's on your mind. In return for being honest with you, I might as well tell you what I think. That's why I'm chasing you here."

"In the world, there are difficulties that people can't do. Expecting too much from people and demanding too much will become the source of their own suffering. This truth is only understood after I have died once. I came here once, what's the use of hating you? From the beginning, I never thought of taking revenge on you, let alone asking you to make amends. I am no longer the me I used to be, and in this life, you are not the same as before. The Xie Changgeng of the old man. Even if you are, I want to tell you, you don't need to continue to be guilty, and you don't need to torture yourself like this."

"Xie Changgeng, if you let yourself go, it's like letting go of me, so that I can feel at ease. Do you understand this truth?"

Xie Changgeng seemed stunned.

Without blinking his eyes, he stared at her, his whole being like petrification.

Mu Fulan smiled.

"That's what I want to say to you. I'm out in a hurry, so I shouldn't stay for a long time. I'll go back to Beijing now. Take care and come back soon."

She nodded at him, put on her cape and hat, covered her head and face, turned around and opened the tent door, and bowed her head away.

The **** was waiting from a distance outside the imperial tent. When he saw Mu Fulan coming out, he hurried to meet her. Seeing that she was going to return to Beijing overnight, he was surprised. Accompanying her out of the barracks, she knelt down to see her off, and watched her board the carriage. With the support of a line of guards, she quietly turned around and headed towards Shangjing as she did when she came.

The **** watched the queen's group disappear into the moonlit night, puzzled, stood for a moment, shook his head, turned and was about to go in, when he suddenly saw a man rushing out from the camp gate, and the soldiers who were vigilant nearby knelt down one after another. .

The **** recognized that the man was actually the emperor. He knelt down again, and before he raised his head, it was as if a gust of night wind had swept past him.

Mu Fulan was sitting in the carriage, her eyes closed, her mind was in a trance, she suddenly felt that the carriage gradually slowed down and finally stopped.

She opened her eyes and was about to ask the question when the carriage door opened.

With the light from the palace lantern hanging on the roof of the car, she saw a man come up.

Xie Changgeng actually chased after him.

He entered the carriage, stared at her, and slowly, half-squatting and half-kneeling, stopped short in front of her skirt.

She was a little surprised. Pushing the window open a gap, he glanced out quickly. Seeing that all the people who were traveling with him have avoided it, they are kneeling by the road far away.

This kind of Xie Changgeng, which she had never seen before, made her feel extremely awkward.

Her heart beat a little faster, she closed the window, quietly moved to the side of the seat, and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, what are you doing..."

"Laner." Mu Fulan suddenly heard him call out his name in a low voice.

"I know I don't have the right to call you like that anymore, so I don't have the right to say it to you again, I hope you can give me another chance and tell me to love you well and protect you in this life. But I still said it. …”

"You came to see me just now, but I haven't told you my whole truth. I dare not admit to you that I remember the past, because I still have a little bit of luck. Even though I know that I have treated you like this in the past At this point, I still don't want you to leave me completely. I'm afraid you know, from now on, in your eyes, I am a complete sinner, and I have no chance. "

Mu Fulan was startled.

His emotions seemed to be overwhelmed all of a sudden, he paused, took a breath, and said, "When you came, you shouldn't have paid attention. There is a city not far from here. That place is the city of Kun..."

Mu Fulan looked at him in front of her feet, the blood in her body suddenly scalded, as if there were countless needles, finely piercing her skin.

"Laner, you once said to me that your beloved will be the only one in his eyes for the rest of his life. If he is in trouble and needs you, you are willing to give your life for him. If you are in trouble, he will do his best. Do your best and treat you equally. I didn't know it before, but now I understand."

"I came here to tell you that if time goes back, if you are still captured by my enemies, they want me to exchange this city with you. If you forgive me, I still won't agree, but I will definitely do it myself immediately. I will do my best to save you. I will never let you wait in vain day after day like before, even if in the end, I can't save you, and if I die with you, I will not regret it. I am dead, in this world, there are others to clean up."

"Laner, I also want to tell you, if the worst possible, because of my incompetence, you die in the end, and I am still alive, I will take good care of our son, and never let you have the past Such resentment."

In the carriage, the lights were dim, and the corners of his eyes were red.

"Laner, you are the princess of the king of Changsha. I used to be a thief by others. When I was young, I was proud of being a hero, and I was trapped in the shoal. Now I know that in terms of mind and bearing, I, Xie Changgeng, are carrying your shoes for you. It's also unworthy. It was my greatest blessing in Xie Changgeng's life to be able to marry you in the past."

Mu Fulan stared at the man who was kneeling in front of her knees. Suddenly, tears flowed down her face.

He raised his hand, trying to wipe the tears rolling down her cheeks for her, but she turned her head and avoided it.

Xie Changgeng slowly withdrew his hand, stared at her side face that seemed to be reluctant to turn back towards him, and said in a low voice, "Laner, don't reject me immediately, think again. It's just that you really don't. Will you give me another chance, and wait for me to come back and tell me again, okay?"