Linzhi

In the evening, Li Kuan was a little surprised by the information reported by the guards.

"She didn't go to see the emperor or the queen?"

"Yes, Wangfei went to see Concubine Shu, but she didn't look very good when she left. I heard that she had a few quarrels with Concubine Shu. On the way back, I ran into Sushuang, a court lady next to the queen, and exchanged greetings. Because of the distance, I can't hear you clearly, but they parted ways in the blink of an eye, and there are other court ladies beside the two, so they probably didn't have time to say something important."

Li Kuan waved his hand: "Understood, you go down first and continue to look at her. As long as she doesn't get in touch with anyone related to His Majesty, don't worry about her."

The guard retreated in response, and was immediately stopped by Li Kuan.

"Go ask Mr. He to come over."

……

Li Suian really wanted to see Empress Pei, she knew that Empress Pei was a transparent person, and Empress Pei would definitely be able to find the answer to the things she didn't want to understand.

Up to now, what my grandmother said before she died has become a mantra, lingering in her ears all the time.Although Li Suian had a weak relationship with her father, he was her biological father after all. While restraining herself with filial piety, she couldn't help linking her father's behavior with her grandmother's words.

But she also knew very well that her father had a deep and deep city. If she really had the thought to hide his strength and bide his time for decades, he must have made countless preparations in secret, and he would not be his opponent at all.And her own mother... Li Suian didn't want to speculate on her maliciously, but she knew that even if Mrs. Li knew about her own mother, she would probably stand by her father.

Ji Wang is far away in Chang'an, and An Wang is far away in Lingzhou. In other words, Li Suian has nothing and is alone and helpless. What does she have to deal with her father?

After much deliberation, only Queen Pei.

Even if His Majesty is deceived, that wise and calm woman must have a solution.

On the way into the palace, Li Sui was so happy that he changed his route, changed his footsteps, and temporarily changed his destination to Concubine Li Shu's residence.

The two half-sisters had nothing to say since they were young, and it was easy for them to quarrel. Li Suian could find an introduction casually, and rushed out of Concubine Li Shu angrily, and happened to meet the court lady Sushuang halfway.In order to prevent the partition wall from having ears, she did not rush to contact Su Shuang, but just exchanged a few words with him, and when the two passed by, she quickly stuffed a small piece of silk into the other's palm. She believed that with Su Shuang's carefulness and calmness, He must be able to detect something wrong and send Sibo to Empress Pei.

After she came back, Li Suian began to wait for the news anxiously. On the one hand, she was worried that her father would find out the clues, and on the other hand, she was also worried that she would not attract Empress Pei's attention. But at this time, her mother still asked her to talk to her. Let her back.

Fei Hong had been waiting at the door, and was relieved when she saw Li Suian's figure.

"Ma'am, just now I went to the back kitchen to stare at the soup I was going to give you tonight. I happened to run into Sun Silang, who came to deliver food on weekdays. He sent me a basket of chicken eggs, saying that I asked him to buy them in the morning, but I didn't Let him buy chicken eggs, you see?"

She is an old person next to Princess Yiyang. After the princess passed away, she followed Li Suian. Now if there is anyone around Li Suian who she can trust and use, it is her own personal maid, Rong'er, and Feihong.

Li Suian's heart skipped a beat: "Where's the basket of eggs? Show me."

Fei Hong hurriedly brought the basket, the basket was full of chicken eggs, plump, with a slight fishy smell, nothing special about it.

Li Suian first asked them to take out the eggs, looked at the bottom of the basket and the blue cloth covering it, and took the trouble to shake the eggs one by one.

Suddenly, she gasped and knocked the egg in her hand on the table.

Feihong and Rong'er looked at each other in blank dismay.

The chicken egg was empty, and a piece of silk was stuffed inside, with a few small characters written: Tomorrow noon, Yang's rouge shop on Hupenzi Street.

Li Suian carefully read it several times before burning the silk.

Fei Hong said worriedly: "Lady, I don't know who wrote the words on it, you don't really want to go, do you?"

Li Suian was silent for a moment, and said: "You are the most trusted person of my grandmother. You didn't hear what my grandmother said to me before she died, but you should already know some inside information. This message may be sent by Queen Pei. Anyway, we Must go."

Feihong's face turned pale: "Lady, that's, but... your father!"

For the last few words, she almost pressed her throat and breathed out.

Even though no one was eavesdropping outside at the moment, Rong'er still consciously walked to the door to watch out for them.

Li Suian smiled wryly: "Feihong, don't forget, my grandmother is Princess Yiyang, and I also have royal blood! My grandmother has kept this secret all her life, but now, I can no longer pretend to be ignorant." We have walked all the way, and you have seen that some people don’t even have a cart, so they walk on their legs and follow us, from Chang’an to Shangzhou, and then from Shangzhou to here, As for us, although we are fleeing for our lives, we still have carriages and food to eat, I live here, except that the house is smaller and the food is simpler, it is the same as in the capital."

Fei Hong fell silent.

"When I was young, I grew up with my grandmother. She took me to banquets and had fun, and watched and played all the best things in the world. She told me that the proud daughter of heaven is born with glory and wealth, and is above the world. Every day When I went back to my father's place every time, he always had to teach me, saying that I was not frugal enough, and that I was annoyed by the great truths about the people's hearts and minds. I also knew that he didn't like me because I was close to my grandmother, so he refused to go home even more and be with him. It's getting farther and farther away, but now I realize that the truths he said... Even if he can't do it himself, I have already remembered it in my heart, so I heard that He Rong single-handedly sent an envoy to the Western Turks to resolve the war, so I treated him Changed, admired his courage, even fell in love with him..."

Before he knew it, Li Suian's eyes became moist.

Feihong and Rong'er listened quietly as these secrets buried deep in their hearts poured out, and no one interrupted.

Feihong felt a little distressed. She never thought that the willful and cute little girl who could do whatever she wanted would grow up to this point unknowingly.

It's just that the price of growth is too high.

"Rong'er will go out with me tomorrow, and when people ask about it, they say that I'm bored and panicked. I went for a walk on the street, and Fei Hong stayed here. If there is any trouble, report it to me immediately." Li Suian calmed down and said calmly.

Feihong solemnly replied, "Don't worry, my lady."

Early the next morning, Li Suian took Rong'er out. She didn't go straight to the rouge shop, but strolled around, looked east and west, bought a lot of things, and then stopped at the restaurant. As if to relax, it was not until noon that I came to the Yang's rouge shop where the letter was written.

The current situation is turbulent, and many shops on the street are closed, but some profitable ones are still open. A notice is pasted next to Yang's Rouge Shop, stating that the owner will leave next month, and this shop will temporarily close. , until the boss came back, but when Li Suian and the others entered, there were still a lot of rouge and gouache in the shop, and the shop assistants also came to greet them enthusiastically.

"What do you two want to see? The store may be closed and it's clearing out the stock. Everything can be sold at a low price!"

Li Suian hesitated for a moment, and said a few other words on the silk.

"The wind and rain are like darkness, and the rooster crows endlessly."

The clerk was taken aback for a moment, looked up and said quickly in a low voice, "My lady, please come with the villain."

Li Suian asked Rong'er to stay outside, and followed her into the back hall, and saw that Sushuang was already standing there, and there was another person sitting beside him, wearing a chest-length skirt, who looked familiar.

The other party took off Mili from the top of his head, revealing his true face.

"Empress!" Li Suian was astonished, she did not expect that Empress Pei would come over in person.

The clerk, Sushuang and the others quit quietly at some point. Empress Pei signaled her to sit down, and said with a smile, "This shop is opened by a merchant named Yang Jun. He is a good friend of King An. If you have something to say, feel free to say it." .”

The word An Wang caught his ears, and suddenly he blew a pool of spring water, and couldn't tell what it was like.

Li Suian said: "My ancestors had blood from the previous dynasty."

Empress Pei nodded, not surprised: "I have also heard about this matter. Li Xiang's grandmother, that is, your great-grandmother, was a princess from the previous dynasty."

Li Suian smiled wryly: "Before my grandmother died, she called me over and told me that as early as my grandfather, she had secretly plotted to do something wrong. Grandma learned of this by accident. At that time, she already had my father. If the Li family is reported, except for herself, no one in the Li family will be spared. The grandmother was soft-hearted for a moment, so she concealed the matter. After growing up, she also set foot on the road of no return just like my grandfather, and my grandmother was disheartened, so she could only pretend to be deaf and dumb, draw a line with the Li family, and bring me up by her side to comfort her."

Because of He Rong's previous reminder, Empress Pei always paid more attention to Li Kuan, but when Li Suian revealed the old secret, Rao was as calm as Empress Pei, and still couldn't help showing a shocked expression.

"I didn't tell anyone about this matter, and I kept it in my heart until Yujia left the capital. I heard that it was my father who strongly suggested that His Majesty would choose to go south for a while."

Empress Pei settled down, and said: "Actually, other courtiers also suggested the same, but Zhang Xiang and the others tended to go to Sichuan, and Li Xiang insisted on going south to Jiankang, saying that it was close to King Xing and King Wei. It’s also convenient to come and meet up.”

Li Suian said in a low voice: "But right now, King Xing and King Wei are rushing to Jiankang, and King Ji and King An are also staying away from this place. In Xiangzhou, there are only tens of thousands of local government soldiers, but there are tens of thousands of imperial troops. My father trusts all of them." master."

If you travel from Xiangzhou to Jiankang...

Empress Pei was slightly shocked.

She and Li Suian looked at each other, and they both saw surprise and uncertainty in each other's eyes.

After a long time, Empress Pei said: "An'an, what are your plans now?"

Li Suian smiled wryly: "I don't know, loyalty and filial piety are a dilemma, and I don't know whether everything I'm doing is right or wrong?"

Empress Pei: "You go back first, don't show any clues, I will try to beat and persuade His Majesty."

Li Suian worried: "What if your majesty won't listen? Our Li family has been loyal to the outside world for decades, let alone your majesty. Before I heard my grandmother's words with my own ears, I couldn't believe that my father was actually ...it was..."

He was a thief.

Empress Pei: "Don't worry, no matter whether Your Majesty listens to me or not, I will not leak the news, but you yourself, be careful in everything, don't take risks easily, and I will send someone to contact you later. You pack your luggage first, and you can also change it on weekdays." Put on soft shoes, just in case."

Li Suian clenched his fists, his heart was filled with turmoil, he gritted his teeth and did not speak.

Empress Pei said: "You have also seen that now I have a big belly, I am inconvenient to move, and the imperial army is in your father's hands. If that happens, I will take Qilang with me. His biological mother is dead, and he will be handed over to me before he dies. But our group of women and children are single and weak, and we need someone to protect us, An An, can you help me?"

Empress Pei couldn't bear to let such a girl fall into her father's hands, so she could only tell a lie.

Looking at the eager and helpless Empress Pei, Li Suian finally had no choice but to nod.

……

The moon is dark and the wind is high, outside Wutang Town.

The sound of the wind passed through patches of Gobi that had been scorched hot in the daytime, leaving howls that resembled ghost cries outside the caves, large and small, which made people shudder.

But those who hide behind the Gobi and watch the light are all veterans, especially the Turkic soldiers who followed Princess Zhending. They have long been accustomed to fighting in this environment, and their black clothes seem to blend with the night. One, did not arouse the vigilance of the forward sentry tower.

"General, when are we going to act?" The lieutenant couldn't help asking.

It's not that he couldn't survive the ambush here for nearly three hours, but he was afraid that the longer the time, the more unfavorable it would be to them if the other party made a move.

Winning by surprise is the way to go to war.

"Wait a little longer." Lin Miao's expression was still calm, he focused on the front, his eyes flickered in the dark. "Don't you think it's a little strange?"

"Huh?" The lieutenant general was puzzled.

"Xiao Chong is not a fledgling boy. Even if he failed to attack the city last time, he would not be in a slump. There has been no movement so far. You must know that the opportunity is fleeting. He is undoubtedly delaying the opportunity. The only explanation is that he The envoy sent by their imperial court was stumbling, and they couldn't use it, or the two sides had different opinions." Lin Miao sighed while analyzing, "It's a pity, if Xiao Chong is on our side, he will definitely be useful. , how can I be a thief?"

The corner of the lieutenant general's mouth twitched: "After listening to your tone, the general seems to feel sorry for Xiao Zhong?"

"What do you know, this is called heroes and heroes!"

The lieutenant general thought maybe not, as for your voracious eating, wanting to swallow the rice bowl, you are still a hero. I heard that Xiao Chong is a famous Confucian general.

While he was talking, he saw commotion coming from the direction of Wutang Town.

A large number of horseshoes were sounding from far to near, galloping from the barracks. Lin Miao and others were nervous for a while, but soon realized that the other party was not coming towards them. .

After the cavalry came the infantry, and some grain and grass carriages. Although the opponent marched very fast, it took half an hour before they completely disappeared from Lin Miao's sight.

"Look at this battle, there must be more than [-] people, what are they going to do?" the lieutenant asked doubtfully.

"What else can we do? It must be the same as us, wanting to go around and attack Ganzhou from behind!" Lin Miao chuckled, "But they never thought that we have already used these few days to ambush first, that's great , With such an attack, their defense must be weak tonight, and they will watch my gestures later, and act when they are ugly!"

The lieutenant also became excited, hummed, and refocused to observe the situation ahead.

……

Compared to their eagerness to try, Xiao Chong at this moment is very irritable. He looks at the person in front of him, and almost wants to pick up the teacup on the table and throw the other person's head and face.

"Your Highness chose to march at midnight, but why?" Xu Shilang hurried over.

Xiao Chong didn't inform him beforehand, he is very upset now.

"I have ordered them to rush to the rear of Ganzhou to make a surprise attack as much as possible. When the time comes, He Rong and the others don't know what to do. They think that the rear is lost, and they must divide their troops to rescue them. I will attack from the front, and the two sides will attack naturally. Ganzhou."

Although Xu Shilang had already been beaten into a pig's head in Xiao Zhong's fantasy scene, he still answered the other party's questions patiently.

Xu Shilang said unhappily: "So, we have to stay here for a few more days? Isn't this a waste of time for the other party to recuperate?"

If you hadn't come here to obstruct me in every possible way and suspected bad things, I would have sent people out long ago, why did it drag on until now?

Xiao Zhong endured and endured, but he couldn't pull out a smile.

"Xu Shilang, please make it clear that you are the supervising army, not the commander in chief. You have your own rules and regulations when you do things yourself. The general is outside, and the king's order is not acceptable. You don't need others to point fingers!"

Even if the other party goes back to His Majesty to tell lies and slander, he can't control that much anymore.

"You!" Xu Shilang stood up abruptly, and laughed back in anger, saying with a strange yin and yang, "Your Highness is so brave!"

After saying that, he was about to walk away.

At this moment, there was a crackling sound outside, followed by screams and shouts of soldiers, one after another.

Xiao Chong's expression changed, and he ran a few steps to the outside of the tent, pushed Xu Shilang casually, opened the curtain of the tent, and saw the direction where the barracks originally piled up grain and grass was full of flames, smoke curled up, and with the help of the wind, the more The burning became more and more intense. At first, there was only a small handful, but it spread quickly.

The soldiers yelled and voluntarily went to put out the fire with buckets, but there was no water source in the camp, so they had to get it from the river outside. At the moment of this chaos, a group of cavalry flew in from the outside, with their knives in their hands. , Howling everywhere!

Xiao Chong, who originally thought it was autumn dry and dry things accidentally slipped into the water, shouted in an instant: "Enemy attack! Be on guard!"