When you wake up, you are given marriage to your nemesis

On the same night, Shengde Palace——

The huge sleeping hall was empty, not a single maid and eunuch on duty at night.

The doors and windows of the dormitory were closed, and only a few small lamps were lit. The dim light cast weird shadows on the tables and chairs, and there was a suffocating smell of corruption in the air.

In front of the bed in the inner room, Empress Cao sat on a round stool, leaning her head against the bed frame and dozed off.

The sweat on her forehead glued her hair into strands, and her clothes stuck to her body greasyly, but even so, she did not open the window.The imperial doctor explained that His Majesty has no wind these days, and it is windy at night. She is worried that the night wind will aggravate His Majesty's condition.

"Uh..." A soft hum came from the bed.

"Your Majesty!" Empress Cao woke up immediately, took a step forward and took Luo Jinhe's hand, staring at the person on the bed without blinking, for fear of missing even the slightest expression of Luo Jinhe.

After several eyelashes trembled slightly, Luo Jinhe slowly opened his eyes.During the days when he was seriously ill, he was already so thin that he was out of shape, most of the time his eyes were a little cloudy, but tonight he showed a rare clarity.

"What time is it?" Luo Jinhe asked.

His voice was rough and hoarse, with a little breath, as if he would lose his voice in the next moment.If it were someone who had served him half a year ago, he probably wouldn't be able to tell that this voice and the warm and clear voice back then were the same owner.

"Yin time has just passed, should your majesty sleep a little longer or have something to eat first?" Empress Cao asked softly, fearing that a louder voice would shock the people in front of her.

"Yinshi, it's time to go to court..." Luo Jinhe closed his eyes and murmured, but there is still no court to go to...

When Empress Cao heard Luo Jinhe's emotion, she knew that he must be feeling uncomfortable, so she hurriedly said something else to interrupt his thoughts.

"Is your majesty thirsty after sleeping for so long? I'll pour you a glass of water. The porridge in the kitchen is always hot, so I'll ask someone to bring some over."

After saying that, she was about to get up, Luo Jinhe took her hand and said, "I don't have much appetite, so I don't need porridge, drink some water."

Empress Cao responded and went to the table, and returned with water in a short while.She put the porcelain cup aside, helped Luo Jinhe sit up, then sat down on the edge of the bed next to Luo Jinhe, and picked up the porcelain cup to feed him.

During this time, Luo Jinhe could barely take care of herself, she had always taken care of Luo Jinhe in this way, today Luo Jinhe took the teacup from her for the first time, and looked much better than before.

There was no servant in the hall, but the water in the cup was still warm. Luo Jinhe lowered his head and took a sip, lowered his hands and clasped the teacup and smiled faintly at Empress Cao: "The empress has worked hard these days."

"It's not hard work. Taking care of His Majesty is the blessing of a concubine. How can we talk about the word 'hard work'."

Luo Jin and Empress Cao saw the state tonight, so they didn't know what it meant.Even so, she still hoped for a miracle from the bottom of her heart, hoping that Luo Jinhe would really get better.

She quickly wiped her eyes, not wanting to be noticed by Luo Jinhe, so as not to add to the sadness.

Luo Jinhe let go of one hand to hold Empress Cao, and gently stroked the still warm tears on the back of her hand with his thumb.

"My life, in retrospect, was really a failure. Yu Gong was not a good emperor, he couldn't let the people live in peace and prosperity, but made them suffer from wars and chaos repeatedly; Yu Shi was not a good husband, he was sorry for Jiarou, and he was also sorry for you... ..."

"No, that's not the case. Your Majesty has already done a good job. It's my concubine's blessing."

Empress Cao lowered her eyes, trying to suppress her emotions, just like she often did, and said in a calm voice as much as possible: "Outsiders all know that His Majesty hates the background of concubines, and is always on guard against concubines. It is a tool to win over the Chen family. But the concubine knows that this is not the case. Your Majesty does not want to involve the concubine in the dispute, does not want to put the concubine in danger, and does not want the concubine to be in a dilemma. There is no one in the world better than your majesty. Kinder people."

Luo Jinhe stared blankly at Empress Cao: "Xinruo..."

The strength that Empress Cao had supported for a long time completely collapsed in this "Xin Ruo".

This is her boudoir name. Since she married Luo Jinhe, Luo Jinhe has never called her this way. He used to call her "Aifei" and later called her "Queen". The two of them lived a life that was regarded as a model emperor and empress by the officials, and only at this moment did they finally look like a real couple.

"Your Majesty!" She lay on Luo Jinhe's body and sobbed.

She had been waiting for this moment for a long time. When she was in the palace, she and Luo Jinhe had too many eyeliners and outsiders around them, and at the same time, they also had too many worries and worries, just like Luo Jinhe couldn't discuss many things with her. Similarly, she also had a lot of thoughts that she couldn't confess to Luo Jinhe.Now the two can finally open their hearts and express their hearts, but it is already the time of parting.

Probably Empress Cao has always been gentle and restrained, this sudden outburst of emotions left Luo Jinhe a little at a loss.

He raised his hand in a daze, and it took a while to slowly land on Empress Cao's shoulder. He stroked her hair and sighed softly: "I thought I had protected you all these years, but I kept everything from you." But you, in the end I still hurt you."

Empress Cao shook her head. Years of self-cultivation made her collapse for a moment before recovering.She wiped her tears, raised her body and forced a smile on Luo Jinhe: "The concubine is willing. Your majesty probably doesn't know, but the concubine has been pleased with your majesty for many years."

I am afraid that this topic has been talked about countless times by young couples from ordinary families. It is a pity that Empress Cao and Luo Jinhe were not born in ordinary families. Empress Cao had the opportunity to mention these words to Luo Jinhe today. She is already a mother. Recalling the past, there was a shyness of a girl on her face.

"The concubine was only ten years old when she met His Majesty for the first time. At that time, my elder brother had just been sent to the household department as an errand. The concubine had never been in the palace before, so she pestered my elder brother and begged him to bring the concubine into the palace."

Luo Jinhe recalled while listening to Empress Cao's words. He couldn't remember that he had met her at that time. The first time he met Empress Cao in his memory was when he married his concubine.

"I didn't expect you to be so naughty when you were young." Luo Jinhe said with a smile. Although he didn't remember it, he could imagine that scene. The little girl with a double bun was bouncing and blocking his brother's way, coquettishly begging him to be satisfied. own wishes.

Unexpectedly, that cute little girl would grow up to be as dignified and dignified as she is now.

Empress Cao shyly smiled, and continued: "My brother can't be bothered by me, so he asked me to pretend to be a servant. He originally wanted me to help grind ink and pour tea by his side, but he taught me to find a chance to slip away from the household department. out."

Trapped in memories, Empress Cao forgot to call herself a "concubine", as if she had returned to that carefree time.

"At that time, the imperial palace seemed really big to me. I was afraid of causing trouble for my elder brother. I walked around the servants and eunuchs all the way and got lost. I didn't know how to get to the imperial garden. I happened to see Mrs. Jiang giving you Talk about history with His Royal Highness King Han and King Duan."

At that time, neither the second prince nor the third prince had been crowned king, and Empress Cao didn't recognize Jiang Taifu, so she could only guess who was present by relying on Luo Jin and the prince's clothes on her body.

Hearing what she said, Luo Jinhe remembered that there was a period of time when the Qingrong Hall where they studied was going to be renovated, and the late emperor originally said that they would change it to another place, but Jiang Taifu suddenly came and said that he would imitate the sages and give lectures under the tree. The late emperor thought it was interesting, so he taught them the lesson for more than a month in the imperial garden.

"... There are a lot of guards over there. I dare not get too close. I hid far away behind the rockery to eavesdrop. I only heard Jiang Taifu talking about the dying people in the last years of the previous dynasty. He suddenly changed the subject and asked you, "If you were born in troubled times, how would you deal with yourself?"

His Royal Highness the King of Han answered first, 'You should follow the example of Emperor □□ and compete in the world'.

Then His Royal Highness Duan Wang replied, "The Emperor □□ was not born as a commoner. Although he declined in his generation, his ancestors were also quite prestigious nobles.If you really have nothing, maybe you should seize a village and a town first, and then turn to a larger force for protection, and strengthen your own strength during the period, and then slowly map it out. "

The third prince and the second prince actually mean the same thing, but compared to the second prince, the third prince thinks more carefully.

"Back then, I didn't feel very interested when I heard this, and was about to leave, when Taifu Jiang asked you again.

You thought for a while and said that there are many ambitious people like the second and third brothers in this world, so the war will end one day.But the end of the war is just the beginning. After a long war, the people will have no food and clothing. During this period, you are willing to find a hidden mountain forest to take in the people, study ways to increase food production, improve cotton and silk technology, and wait until the war subsides It will be popularized so that the people can recover from the suffering of the war as soon as possible. "

Empress Cao covered her mouth and laughed when she said this: "At that time, I was thinking that the prince might be a fool. Even if I thought so in my heart, I couldn't say that. These things are not what an emperor should do. Such an answer is not for him. Have the two brothers competed?"

Luo Jinhe also laughed, and a rosy glow appeared on his ashen face.

"That's not true. Father learned about it and gave me a hard reprimand. He punished me for copying Tai|Zu Benji a hundred times, and asked me to learn from □□."

Empress Cao held Luo Jinhe's hand, looked at Luo Jinhe, smiled and shed tears again.

"I thought it was just a little anecdote, but after I went back, I couldn't stop thinking, how is that little fool now? How can he be so upright that he can beat his two younger brothers. He is really a kind-hearted person , will definitely be a very good emperor in the future, but please don't have any accidents.

I didn't dare to bother my father, so I asked my elder brother for news about you every day, and this inquiry lasted for six years.I know that you asked Yuyuanzhou to build Chidao bridges, and with the official roads, many poor mountain villages became rich; I also know that you supervised the corruption case in Suzhou and uncovered many corrupt officials; To make Manli subdue King Manli without a single soldier, let him give up his plan to join the Sixteen Hus to attack our dynasty, and let Manli surrender to our dynasty...

You have changed, you are no longer the little fool who said whatever you thought, but you are still the good prince who cares about the people and has done many good things.I heard this one after another in my boudoir, and my admiration increased day by day. No matter what others say, you are the hero in my heart.do you know?I was really happy when I learned that I could marry you, even if you might never pay attention to me because of my family status. "

Luo Jinhe touched Empress Cao's cheek pitifully, and sighed: "Why are you doing this, I don't deserve your kindness."

"Whether love is worth it or not." Empress Cao held Luo Jinhe's hand, looked at Luo Jinhe with tears in her eyes, and said, "Besides, you have never treated me badly, but there is too much distance between you and me. Over the years, every time I see you and think of you, I feel happy in my heart."

"Xinruo...cough cough cough..."

A cough interrupted what Luo Jinhe was about to say, and Empress Cao stood up nervously: "Your Majesty, I'll call the imperial physician to come over again."

"It looks like that." Luo Jinhe waved his hand, and tucked the blood-stained quilt inside, so that Empress Cao could not see it. "Where's Cheng Xiao? I haven't seen him for several days."

"He's brought by the nanny. He's just woken up right now. Wait a minute. I'll have someone bring him here."

Empress Cao walked quickly to the entrance of the hall, opened the door a small crack, and whispered to the guards outside.The guard left in a hurry, and after a while brought a woman over, who was still holding a child in her arms.

Empress Cao took the child with her hand, closed the palace door again, carried the child back to the inner room, and was about to go to the bed, but was stopped by Luo Jinhe.

"Let's just stay there, don't let my sickness get over Cheng Xiao."

"The doctor said it's okay..."

Empress Cao still wanted to step forward, but Luo Jinhe said again: "Cheng Xiao is still young after all, and children are delicate, so it's better to be careful."

Empress Cao hesitated when she heard the words, but she didn't insist anymore.Her husband is already dying, at least she and her husband's child, she still wants him to live healthy and healthy.

In Empress Cao's arms, Luo Chengxiao looked around curiously with his dark eyes. Empress Cao led him to look at the bed: "Call me Daddy."

Xiao Chengxiao stared blankly for a while, then suddenly waved his small arms and smiled: "Father!"

"He can call him 'Daddy'?!" Luo Jinhe was surprised and delighted. This was the first time he heard a child call him "Daddy". He covered his lips and coughed twice, looked at Empress Cao excitedly and asked, " When did he learn to speak?"

"Just a few days ago." Empress Cao smiled, "I was going to tell you at the time, but who knew that the accident would happen so quickly..."

After talking about it, her expression darkened again.

"Okay, okay..." Luo Jinhe was immersed in the joy of hearing the child calling him for the first time.

"The child is still young and can only be called 'Father'. When he grows up, he will know that he is called 'Father Emperor'."

Empress Cao was holding the child, her heart was sore. She once thought about teasing the children with Luo Jinhe, listening to the children call them "father", "mother", "father emperor" and "mother queen", but she never thought that it would be On such occasions and such circumstances.

Luo Jinhe coughed again and closed his eyes.

Empress Cao put Luo Chengxiao on a chair beside her, approached the bed lightly, and sat down beside the bed: "Is Your Majesty tired?"

Luo Jinhe didn't answer.

Empress Cao sat there for a while before slowly supporting Luo Jinhe to lie down. Just as she was about to get up and sit back on the bed, Luo Jinhe suddenly opened her eyes again.

"After I die, you don't need to guard the mausoleum for me. I have told Leping and Nankang that they will treat you mother and child kindly. If you want to be with them, they will take care of you; if you don't want to, this day is as high as you want Go. You are such a temperamental Lan Xinhui, you shouldn't be trapped in the palace wall all your life as a bird in a cage, go live that unfettered life."

"Your Majesty..." Empress Cao shook Luo Jinhe's hand tremblingly.

If there is no you in this world, where is it not a cage?

She took a deep breath, and when she spoke again, she said, "Don't worry, I will take care of myself and Cheng Xiao, and I will... have a good life."

Although she kept many things from Luo Jinhe in the past, she never lied in front of Luo Jinhe.

This was the first lie she told Luo Jinhe, and also the last lie...

***

Outside the hall, Cui Yongfu was pacing back and forth.He has been walking like this all night.Suddenly a person came from a distance, dressed in armor and carrying a pair of halberds. Cui Yongfu immediately went up to meet him.

"General Qu, how is the situation at the foot of the mountain? Are Princess Leping and the others here?"

Qu Hao walked to the steps in front of the hall, and sat down on the steps: "As usual, King Pingxiang is strictly guarding and waiting for us to surrender. As for Her Royal Highness...there is no sign yet."

Cui Yongfu asked anxiously: "Why don't you come? Did you not hear from us?"

"Probably not." Qu Hao rubbed his face, he hadn't closed his eyes for nearly three days, he was quite tired.

"We sent four waves of more than [-] people to deliver the letter. They are all masters. Even if Grand Master Chen set up many obstacles on the road, there should always be a few people who can escape. Guchuan is more than [-] people away from the capital. Here, even if Her Royal Highness rushed to the rescue after receiving the news, it would take half a month, and it would take some time for the letter to reach her, and we still don’t know how they fought against King Zhengxi. It's..."

The more Cui Yongfu listened, the more anxious he was, and he interrupted Cui Hao and screamed, "My General Qu! We can't wait that long!"

As if realizing that he was too loud, he hurriedly lowered his voice and approached Qu Hao's ear and said, "Physician Dou said that His Majesty has only been here for two days. If it is delayed until His Majesty, what will we do?"

Even if the emperor is in a coma most of the time, that is their backbone.Once the emperor is gone, and Princess Leping, who was to meet them, has not arrived, who will take charge of the overall situation?

"Rather than worrying about Your Majesty, it's better to worry about yourself." Qu Hao said, "We only have enough food for two days, if we wait like this, everyone will be finished."

Cui Yongfu was startled: "Then what should we do?"

"Right now, there is only one way to break through." Qu Hao replied.

"But, but His Majesty's body can't bear running around..."

As soon as Cui Yongfu finished speaking, he heard a "squeak" and the door behind him opened.

Empress Cao stepped over the threshold with red and swollen eyes, closed the palace door with her hands behind her back, and barely supported herself with her back against the palace door.

"Your Majesty...it's the day..."

For a while there was only the wind, Cui Yongfu and Qu Hao were both shocked by the news, although they had withdrawn from the capital to the Shengde Palace for more than ten days, it was at this moment that there was a real sense of change. Feel.

"What did you just say? Your Majesty, Your Majesty..." In a hurry, Cui Yongfu ignored the dignity of master and servant, and stepped forward to Empress Cao and asked.

Empress Cao lowered her head, tears slid down her face and fell drop by drop from the tip of her chin.The pain of losing her beloved was gnawing at her heart, and she didn't have the energy to repeat what she had just said.

She didn't answer, but her performance said it all.

Qu Hao was the first to react: "Since this is the case, I will order to prepare to break out now. Empress and Eunuch Cui also go to pack up and get ready."

"This……"

Cui Yongfu was still hesitating, but Empress Cao wiped away her tears and said to Qu Hao in a deep voice, "I'm sorry, General Qu."

Qu Hao clasped his fists in salute, turned and left.

"Mother..." Qu Hao disappeared, and Cui Yongfu turned his gaze back to Empress Cao. At this time, Empress Cao standing in front of him made him feel very strange.

In his impression, Empress Cao has always been gentle and virtuous, but this Empress Cao in front of him has firm eyes and a calm face, she is still the usual weak woman in the palace!

"I'll go and notify my father and brother, and the rest of you will trouble Eunuch Cui to notify you."

"Yes." Cui Yongfu responded with a bow.He stayed in the palace for many years, meeting the empresses, concubines, and court ministers, it was common for him to salute, but there were only a few people who made him really feel the pressure of majesty, one was the late emperor, and the other was just The late emperor Luo Jinhe, although Luo Jinhe was approachable most of the time, when he was serious, he also had an unconcealable imperial air, and the third was Princess Leping.

Now Empress Cao has become the fourth person who makes him feel this way, and even Empress Dowager Chen is nothing more than an object to be deceived by him.

He didn't know why such a big change happened to Empress Cao overnight, but it might be a good thing for them - at least they don't have to worry about not having a backbone during this period of time.

Evacuating His Majesty from the capital that day was a secret operation, except for Qu Hao and his imperial guards, there were not many people who evacuated to the palace with Empress Cao.

Ever since they withdrew to the palace, everyone was worried and feared every day, and they never had a peaceful night's sleep. As soon as they heard that the main hall was assembled, they all came within less than a stick of incense.

Cao Min was still angry at his daughter's insistence on going her own way, even though he was in the hall, he didn't give her a good face.

Empress Cao only took a glance, then looked away, and continued to order the two guards to move the ice cubes from the cold storage in the palace as if nothing had happened.

It was hot at this time, and the corpse would rot quickly if left alone. There was no coffin prepared in advance in the palace, so Empress Cao had to find two boxes, one big and one small, and put ice cubes in the compartment to make a coffin. A simple ice coffin, and then personally put Luo Jinhe into the box.

All that's left is time to wait.

When the Shengde Palace was built, the crisis situation was considered, and the fortifications were relatively complete. Coupled with the advantages of the terrain, Qu Hao and other talents barely held it for these days.These fortifications can resist the enemy's attack, but it is not very helpful to counterattack and break through.

One day passed, and the forbidden army launched several attempts to break out of the encirclement, all of which failed.

At night, Empress Cao sent someone to find Qu Hao, and called Qu Hao and Cui Yongfu aside.

"Continuing like this is not an option. If we can't break out tomorrow, all of us will die here."

Qu Hao and Cui Yongfu didn't know what Empress Cao said, they seemed to have an idea after hearing what she said.

"Your Majesty, do you have a good strategy?" Qu Hao took off his helmet and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"I don't know the art of war, so I want to ask General Qu, if it is feasible to use the main force of the forbidden army to contain the enemy in the front, and send another small team to wait for the opportunity to escort His Majesty away?" Empress Cao asked.

Qu Hao also thought about this plan earlier.

The target of tens of thousands of people acting together is too obvious and easy to be discovered, and fleeing in all directions will face the situation that no one is the opponent of King Pingxiang.If a small escort of VIPs is removed separately, the main force will attract attention elsewhere, and there is a chance to slip away under the cover of night.

It's just that King Pingxiang has been fighting for many years and is very scheming, so they may not be unexpected to get King Pingxiang.

For King Pingxiang in this campaign, exterminating them was just a task he had to complete incidentally, and the real goal was the Jade Seal of the Kingdom that was taken out of the palace by Empress Cao at that time.Even if the imperial army is holding back the front, once King Pingxiang realizes that Yuxi is not in the hands of these people, he would rather let the imperial army go, and he will order other roads to strengthen their guard.

Qu Hao's hesitation gave Empress Cao a clue. She took out a small golden bundle from her sleeve pocket and handed it to Cui Yongfu: "Here are Yuxi and His Majesty's official succession edict. Eunuch Cui has kept it. See you soon." When Princess Leping hands it over to her, we will live up to His Majesty's trust."

When Cui Yongfu heard this, how dare he accept it, he quickly knelt down and said: "Your Majesty trusts the empress and entrusts these things to the empress for safekeeping. The empress will keep them by herself. If there is any dangerous thing, let our family handle it."

Empress Cao shook her head: "There are not many trustworthy people around Your Majesty, and this jade seal is only on the three of us. Only General Qu, King Pingxiang will not be fooled if I don't see Bengong and you. There must be one person between Cui Gonggong and Bengong." Follow General Qu together.

Eunuch Cui is a veteran of the two dynasties, he knows more about the rules and ways of this palace than this palace, in the future Princess Leping will be enthroned, and Eunuch Cui will be needed to assist, while this palace..."

Having said that, Empress Cao paused for a moment, turned her head to look at the center of the hall, Cui Yongfu followed her gaze, and saw Luo Chengxiao reaching out to grab the hairpin on the nurse's head, having fun in the nurse's arms.

Cui Yongfu had been a servant in the palace for so long, and he understood what Empress Cao hadn't said at a glance.

"It's not too late, let's do it like this." Qu Hao put back his helmet. Just as Empress Cao said, she and Cui Yongfu have to sacrifice one. Their time is running out.