emperor

The emperor put down the silver cup, not surprised by the warm water in it.

"This glass is water?"

"This pot is all."

The queen replied softly, her face was cold, she turned her face slightly, and did not turn her gaze away. The emperor saw the hibiscus flowers on her soft hair, the slender eyebrows with black and slightly dyed, and the corners of her eyes swept rouge, That point of red is like a flower blown across the lake.

The emperor pulled the corner of his lips and looked away.

Layers of veils are lifted, and the clothes are fluttering. The dancers holding soft swords slowly enter the hall and climb up the high platform.

The old Sima stood up and raised his wine glass, and led the officials to pay respects to His Majesty. All the officials responded, and the emperor responded one by one.

The old Sima turned to face the prince, where the generals and officials who were about to go to the expedition were sitting, all of them had young faces, majestic and heroic, and their eyes were bright, like a burning fire, full of vigor, burning the eyes of the veterans. fever.

The crown prince led a group of officials to get up, and had a drink with all the old ministers, fine wine and fine wine, feasted and sang songs, toasted at this very moment, today, here and now, to congratulate the emperor, congratulate Dawei, and congratulate His Highness.

May my holy body be safe in the court of the emperor, and my blessings and longevity will last forever. May my great Wei world be peaceful and the country will be prosperous. May the army of the Western Expedition return with a complete victory and protect our territory.

The sound of prayers echoed the far-reaching and majestic hall.

A bird was frightened, flapping its wings and leaping into the sky. In the night, the iron armor of the Habayashi Army shone dimly in the moonlight.

The emperor sat at the highest place of the hall, he could see everything at the banquet, everything that had not happened yet, and everything that was going to happen.

The emperor has prepared for a long time for today, but this is a farewell banquet, a place of joy, he does not want to see blood, and he does not intend to let those funny clowns enter the hall, the darkness will swallow the darkness, and the hatred will be eliminated in death.

The prince and the princess raised their glasses and went forward to toast.

The emperor didn't move, he glanced at the pale princess.

The queen cast an inquiring look at the princess: "What's wrong with Yunniang? She looks so bad."

The Crown Princess smiled stiffly: "It's cold at night, and I blew more wind when I sobered up." The Queen comforted: "Since I'm uncomfortable, I'll go to the side hall to rest for a while, don't force yourself."

The princess nodded.

Outside the banquet, in a corner invisible to everyone, a silent arrest was carried out from the beginning to the end, and no one was disturbed.

The Habayashi guard in black and black armor stepped into the hall. He didn't have a sword, but when he walked through one place, it brought a dead silence until the whole hall was silent.

No one will stop the Emperor's Habayashi Guard, this armor means absolute loyalty.

He walked in front of the emperor, and the armor made a muffled sound as he moved.

There was no expression on the emperor's face, he was neither proud nor indifferent, he stood up slowly.

"Your Highness!" The princess suddenly pushed the prince away.

The dagger appeared too abruptly, like a silver light, stabbing the emperor by a Habayashi guard who had experienced many battles, and stabbing into the emperor's chest.

"His Majesty!"

The queen's indifferent expression suddenly cracked, and she was covered with panic, but she didn't have time, and the outstretched hand only caught a paralyzed body.

Everything happens in an instant.

The violent Habayashi guards assassinated the emperor, and the dagger was stabbed in the emperor's chest. The officials changed their colors in an uproar and shouted for protection.

The generals swarmed up and took down the unarmed assassin, but Habayashi Wei seemed to have exhausted his strength, stood where he was and caught him, biting the pill between his teeth and killing himself.

"Prince Physician!" The empress was stunned, then hugged the emperor and knelt down, shouting, "Call the Physician! Call the Physician!"

Blood poured out from the emperor's chest, he opened his eyes, and there was still a bit of stunned in his eyes, but soon he was unable to think anymore.

Blood spilled from his lips, he clutched the queen's hand,

Before he even had time to take another look at the people around him, the expression in those eyes froze forever.

The imperial doctor who was hurriedly summoned stepped into the hall when he heard a wail. He was so frightened that he sat down on the ground, rolling and crawling with his hands and feet. When he got closer, he saw the emperor lying in the arms of the queen. Seeing the blood stains on the dragon robe, seeing the ministers shaking like chaff.

The queen covered the emperor's eyes.

The imperial physician fell to his knees.

The emperor closed his eyes forever.

Before that, you didn't know that life was so fragile.

The emperor's body was moved to the palace and bedroom. His ministers and his son recovered from the panic and couldn't even cry. They couldn't believe it. How could Habayashi be an assassin?

But everything happened right in front of our eyes, the emperor's blood was still warm on the throne, and the lively feast just now was left in a mess.

The palace is under martial law, and we are waiting for death.

When the queen stepped out of the bedroom, her back trembled violently.

"Your Majesty." Ruyi Lang chased after her.

Tears welled up in the queen's eyes. She supported the colonnade, trembling all over, with an expression of extreme pain.

She remembered the night before, a court lady she killed with a cane, that maid handed over a letter before she died, she said something, she could not have ignored it, ignored it.

But when she got the letter, she opened it with trembling hands.

That letter was like a knife. She cut open her heart and asked her to face the bloody truth straight. She couldn't wait, couldn't bear it, and chased her to the palace to ask clearly.

There was no light in the bedroom, and the emperor seemed to have rested. He saw the queen standing outside the veil, holding a lamp, and seemed to understand why she came.

"You know." The emperor's voice was affirmative.

The queen's shadow was reflected in the candlelight: "Is this what His Majesty wants to tell me?"

"Yes."

After the sound, there was a long silence, the emperor seemed to hear the breath that he was trying to endure, and the queen asked, "Why did Ruan Qing die?"

The emperor closed his eyes slightly: "I can save him. I still have three thousand iron armor under my command. If I rescue him, although the city is broken, Ruan Qing can live, but I choose to defend the city. I didn't save him. He died for me."

"Where's his... dead body?"

"I was trampled to pieces by a war horse."

The general who swore to die for the Great Wei Emperor stayed in the Mobei Grassland forever.

The queen did not speak.

The emperor slowly closed his eyes. He thought of the grassland more than once, the head hanging on the Khan's military flag, and the corpses outside the tent more than once.

He couldn't help himself to think about what he would do if he went back in time.

In the dim tent, that thought tormented him like a nightmare. He asked himself over and over again, what was he thinking when Ruan Qing shouted for the country, for the family, and died for the emperor of Wei? .

Did he have this idea when he gave the order to stand still?

The emperor's heart was cold, and he laughed at himself.

There will be no change, no matter how many times you repeat it, it will be the same.

"You know I'm going to hate you."

The sound pierced the emperor's ear like a nail, and he said slowly, "I know, but I think you might forgive me or understand me."

"Your Majesty is wrong."

The emperor gave a bleak smile, and sighed, "I understand."

"If one day I have to leave, do you have anything to say to Ruan Qing?"

The queen's shadow seemed to be pricked by a needle, shaking violently, and the emperor heard the sound of the candlestick falling.

"Huiyue, do you hate me?"

He waited for a long time, but did not hear the queen's answer, and the emperor's heart gradually became cold.

In his life, he has not fully obtained what he expected, but he is the emperor, he has lived longer than all the dead, and he has obtained more than them, he is content.

"Miss!"

The queen breathed quickly, as if a hot iron was stuck in her throat, her teeth were chattering, and she straightened her back: "Ruyi Lang, follow me to the front hall."

The ministers knelt in the front hall.

Empress Zhonggong came out with the support of Ruyi Lang. She took off the jewels on her head, and she was still wearing a blood-stained dress.

check.

Sealed off the palace, to check clearly.

The identity of the slain Habayashi guard and those arrested tonight, from the guests to the servants, must be investigated.

Xie Yi stumbled while walking through the porch, and the minister beside him supported him, seeing his face was as white as paper, and his mind was wandering, he couldn't help shouting in a low voice: "Teacher Xie, come back to your senses!"

Xie Yi was startled: "Thank you."

The assassin is dead.

Who is behind it?

When the cocoons were peeled off layer by layer, and the Habayashi guards were followed to the end, everything seemed to have been arranged long ago. Those who were caught were just victims. Their deaths made the Habayashi guards who could not easily go to the palace appear in front of everyone, and were able to get close to the emperor. Within ten steps.

a chance.

The emperor thought that the Habayashi guard was just an ordinary reply, but he didn't expect that the iron guard he trusted so much would be an assassin. This chess piece was hidden too deeply and was eventually exposed.

The princess shrunk behind the people with a pale face, one less person followed her, there was no corpse, and she disappeared out of thin air. What did she think of, and she was too frightened to utter a word.

The prince's face was pale and solemn, and he reported everything he had found.

After listening to the queen, she suddenly laughed, the laughter was short, but the tone was extremely sad.

The emperor knew that his time was short, and he himself was the bait in this assassination. He could not guess the process, but he had already foreseen his own death.

This assassination exposed a big net and uprooted the hidden dangers that had been lurking for many years. He did the last thing he could do as an emperor. As he said, what he left to the prince was a stable foundation.

The queen suddenly understood, she stood up with a dazed expression: "Close the case."

She looked at the ministers: "I don't want His Majesty to wait too long."

The Qionghua banquet broke up in a hurry.

In June of the same year, the new emperor ascended the throne.

everything is over.

——end

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