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

King Pingxiang walked slowly through Dongshi.

The weather has started to turn cold these few days. There was just a light rain this morning. The ground is dry now, the cool breeze is blowing, and the temperature is just right. It is also the time when the market opens in the afternoon. The East City should be quite lively.However, along the way he walked, the doors of the courtyard were locked tightly, and the shops on both sides of the street were also closed.

The army led by Princess Leping attacked the city the day before yesterday, and the people in the capital stayed behind closed doors, lest they be affected by the disaster of war.

This place is not far from Qianwu Gate, and the sound of fighting outside the city can be vaguely heard.For ordinary people, hearing this sound is just frightening in their ears, but for a veteran who has fought half his life like King Pingxiang, even if he has not visited the city tower at this time, he can judge the development of the war from these seemingly chaotic sounds. which step.

Before a stick of incense, the creaking sound of the giant crossbow was gone, and the sound of the clash of weapons and the shouts of soldiers fighting on both sides were much more real than before. It was obvious that the enemy had just built the city wall not long ago. , was fighting hand-to-hand with the defenders on the city wall.During this period, there were bursts of muffled bangs. It was the sound of hitting a wooden door against a city gate. It lasted almost half an hour.

These noises passed by King Pingxiang's ears, entered his mind and flew away without a sound.Distinguishing these is purely an unconscious move he has developed in his years of battlefield career. He didn't put his mind on it, and his feet still maintained the previous pace rhythm, and he didn't stop for it.

Pass through Dongshi, walk into Xiangdong Street, turn in from the first square gate, and there is a T-shaped fork in the middle of the alley. From the intersection, you can see the courtyard gate on the right at a glance.A door plate is hung on the left side of the gate, with the word "Chen" written on it, and the detailed address name of the place is engraved in a line of small characters below.

This is the place where King Pingxiang lived in the capital when he was young.His father, Zuo Yanghou, let him leave his family's fief when he was eight years old, and come to the capital to study and practice martial arts with those officials' children, in order to allow him to make friends with the royal family in the capital and lay the foundation for him to become an official in the court in the future.

He lived up to the high expectations of his father and his clan. In the days that followed, he first sat on the position of general, then married his sister and became king.The Chen family originally belonged to a middle-class family among the rich and famous families in the Yu Dynasty. With the joint efforts of him and his younger brothers and sisters, he finally reached the top and became the object of everyone's fawning.

All of this is like a big dream. After decades of dreaming, he woke up and returned to the same place, back to the place where he first entered the capital.It's just that at that time he was still a child with infinite possibilities in the future, but now he has gray beard and hair, and is getting old...

A dilapidated chain and a large lock hung on the door, and it had not been opened for many years.Since he became a general, the imperial court rewarded him with a house and opened a mansion. Later, he was named King Pingxiang, and the fief expanded more than five times from his father's original foundation.He went to the fief, and from then on he only went to Beijing for regular reports and when the emperor summoned him, and lived in the old general's mansion.

The Chen family did not lack this little money after it became prosperous. This house has not been sold, but no one has come to live in it.At first, there were servants to clean it, and then several old slaves who lived here died of old age one after another. This old house that witnessed the Chen family's transition from plain to brilliant was thus forgotten in time.

King Pingxiang drew out his saber, the rusty chain couldn't stop the sharp blade, and after a few tooth-piercing protests, it broke in two.

He pushed the door open and walked in. Weeds were overgrown in the courtyard, and half of the dilapidated main room collapsed. There were a few broken earthen jars standing in the corner, and a litter of wild cats occupied the place. Behind her, a few kittens showed their curious little heads through the cracks in the crock pot.

"My lord, why are you here!" An old eunuch came running out of breath, "I can't keep it anymore! The Queen Mother is looking for you. There is a secret road under Mingjing Lake leading to Guangfu Temple outside the city. The Emperor only told the Empress Dowager before, no one else knew about it, the Empress Dowager please return to the palace as soon as possible, and leave while you can!"

"Understood, let's go now." King Pingxiang's voice was calm. He withdrew from the courtyard and closed the gate. The scene of decay inside the gate gradually disappeared from sight as the gate closed. It seems that at this moment, the courtyard is illuminated again.

He tidied up his sleeves, as if he was not going to flee to an unknown life or death, but just happened to come out of his house to visit those old friends scattered in the years.

In the Royal Garden, by the Mirror Lake.The Empress Dowager Chen and the Grand Master are directing the guards and some confidant officials to evacuate.

"Hurry up, hurry up!" Empress Dowager Chen, who has always been prudent, turned around in a hurry, not even noticing that her bun was loose and half drooping, "How long has it been since you sent someone looking for Big Brother? Where did he go at this critical moment? What happened?" Haven't found it yet?"

"Send a few more people to look for them, hurry up!" Grand Master Chen urged the servants standing beside them.

The few people responded and were about to take action when they suddenly saw King Pingxiang walking towards them, and said happily, "Here we are!"

"Brother, I can't keep it anymore. If the fight continues, everyone will have to pay here." When the Queen Mother saw King Pingxiang, she hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed his arm and said, "There are more than 2 people left here. They sent most of the money outside the city and hid it secretly. Keeping the green hills there is not afraid of no firewood, and before they come into the palace, let's go quickly!"

Under the escort of the guards, the three jumped into the water one after another and left through the secret passage.

The waterway is only a few meters short, and after that is a cold and damp tunnel.The road in the cave is narrow, and a lot of water droplets condense on the stone walls on both sides.The air circulates here very slowly, and the thick water vapor envelops the smell of sweat from everyone, which is extremely unpleasant.

People like King Pingxiang who often go to the battlefield are a bit more adaptable. Like the Queen Mother Chen and Grand Master Chen, they have been pampered since they were young. They have never been so embarrassed in their life. A weaker servant girl even fainted.

"Where are you going next?" King Pingxiang sat beside the Empress Dowager Chen, quietly waiting for his physical strength to recover.

"Go to Luyang." Queen Mother Chen replied panting.

Luyang is the fiefdom of Lord Chen, and Mrs. Chen is their cousin. In the past, the couple received many rewards from the Queen Mother Chen, and now it is a good place to go for refuge.What's more, Luyang is facing the sea, if it doesn't work, you can go to sea to escape.

King Pingxiang nodded: "You should be careful all the way here. When you go to Luyang, it is someone else's territory. Remember that the present is not what it used to be. Be patient in everything and don't conflict with them."

"What do you mean?" Empress Dowager Chen panicked when she heard the meaning behind King Pingxiang's words, "Brother, don't you come with us?"

King Pingxiang reached out and touched his bosom. There were two letters there. He had read these two letters a hundred times these days, and he could memorize every word on them.

The first one was a letter of appeal for help written to him by his youngest son Chen Xiuhe. In the letter, it said that Shiliu Hu, under the leadership of Tie Tiemoer, had marched southward. Taimo and other five cities were massacred, and Tie Tie Mo'er's army was about to approach Huakang, so he begged him to hurry back to support him.

The letter was written half a month ago. At that time, he had already heard the news that Princess Leping had assembled an army to go north. To send troops to the north at this time was to give up the capital for nothing.

He is unwilling and reluctant.Knowing that this victory is not considered big, but still unwilling to admit defeat.

Three days ago, Cong Huakang sent a second letter from his wife.Although his wife was stupid in nature and not as smart and sophisticated as others, she usually caused him a lot of embarrassment, but at this critical juncture she showed the courage of a royal mistress.

She said in the letter that Tie Tie Mo'er's army had surrounded the city, she wondered if this letter could still be delivered to him, please rest assured that she would hang herself on the day the city was broken, so as not to embarrass the palace.It's just that she couldn't do anything to the children, and hid several daughters in the cellar of an old minister's house. If she was lucky enough to let him see this letter, she hoped that her husband could save their daughters.

Chen Qiuming, who withdrew his troops from Yuanzhou and returned to the capital, also saw this letter. He was probably very disappointed with his father. He didn't even say hello that night, and took 2000 people out of the city quietly to Huakang.

What are 2000 people compared to Tie Tie Moer's hundreds of thousands of cavalry?His second son is clearly accusing him silently: keep your tens of thousands of soldiers in the capital to create "great achievements" for you, even if I die, I will die with my mother and siblings.

The letter paper was soaked in the lake water, it was thoroughly wet, and the words on it were pasted into a ball, making it impossible to distinguish.

King Pingxiang tried to smooth the paper with trembling hands, but his big hands used to holding knives, guns, whips and sticks were not very good at doing these delicate tasks, and the paper was not soaked as usual. With a little force, the letter paper was torn from the middle Come.The jagged edges of the teeth are like a gaping mouth, mocking his ridiculous life.

"Brother!" Seeing that her brother's expression was wrong, the Empress Dowager Chen said anxiously: "Some of us are rich and went to Luyang to recuperate, and we may come back in the future. Even if you are tired, we can find an island, just relying on what we have Money, hire some people to build a big house, and you can spend the rest of your life on the island in peace. Don’t be too hard on yourself!”

"In the past, Emperor Gaozu granted me the title of King Pingxiang and sent me to guard Huakang. He hoped that I could serve as the backing of the Northern Army and add a second barrier to Dayu."

King Pingxiang didn't seem to hear Queen Mother Chen's words. He looked at the letter paper and murmured: "He gave me the highest honor, but I failed to fulfill the promise of the past. His grandson died. As a subject, I have already been disloyal. My wife and children are in danger, and they ask me for help repeatedly. I disregard their safety for my own self-interest. responsibility."

After finishing speaking, he stood up, put the invisible letter back in his lapel and pressed it against his chest.

"Luyang is a good place, so I won't go there. I have been accused of usurping power and treason, and I can't get rid of it. At least I have to go back to Huakang, so that the whole family can die together..."

"Come back! Come back!" Empress Dowager Chen chased after her brother and shouted, but King Pingxiang didn't look back.

"Sister, stop chasing!" Chen Taishi came from behind to hold the Empress Dowager Chen: "Let him go, the enemy is chasing him, if you don't run, it will be too late!"