There is a fake demigod in the East Palace

"On the day my father passed away, I saw you in his bedroom." Rong Zheng said softly.

"I did go to his bedroom at that time." Ye Zhaoling withdrew his gaze from Rong Zheng's figure, and looked in the direction of Yaoqing Palace.In retrospect, it was probably the first time he publicly disobeyed the Queen's wishes: "The Queen's intention to poison the late emperor was thwarted by me. I rushed to stop it, but it was still a step too late. The late emperor had already been killed when I arrived."

When mentioning the cause of his father's death, Rong Zheng finally had some turmoil on his face: "How did my father die?"

"He was poisoned by the empress herself," Ye Zhaoling said.

Killing one's own flesh and blood for the sake of power and status is appalling anywhere.But if it happened in the royal family, it would be nothing unusual.

At the beginning of the plan, the empress did entrust Zhong Yu with the task of poisoning Emperor Mingde. At first, Zhong Yu had no objection, but then suddenly objected for some reason.

At that time, the queen's battle for the throne had reached the most critical stage, and the arrow had to be launched.So she concealed this matter from Zhong Yu and handled it privately.Not only did she arrange for Zhou Deben, the doctor at the time, to poison Emperor Mingde for a long time, but she also poisoned her own son herself.

In Ye Zhaoling's remarks, there is a detail that does not match the investigation results of the Eastern Palace. Rong Zheng said: "There are celebrity certificates and the work log at that time to prove that my father called you into the palace to discuss matters that night."

In Emperor Mingde's schedule that night, an hour was reserved for Zhong Yu, and it was during this hour that he died.If the situation is true, Zhong Yu should have been there when the first emperor was assassinated, instead of rushing there afterward.

I don't know if it's been too long, or he really lied.Under Rong Zheng's gaze, Ye Zhaoling was silent for a while, and then said: "The original plan was like this, but the late emperor changed his mind temporarily and canceled the meeting that night. Coincidentally at the same time, the empress gave me a new task During the mission, I realized that this might be a diversion, so I turned back halfway." After speaking, he looked in Rong Zheng's direction: "Of course, this is just my one-sided story, and you can choose not to believe it."

Judging from Ye Zhaoling's attitude, these words don't seem to be fake, but it's been too long, and there is no evidence to support it.Taking a step back, even if the facts of the day were consistent with what he stated, he still couldn't completely disregard the murder of the former emperor.

Everything Zhong Yu did was for the benefit of the empress. He was the one who helped the empress win the throne, and it was also he who helped the empress step by step to a position where she could compete with the late emperor or even replace her.

Rong Zheng was supposed to grow up surrounded by thousands of favors, his life went smoothly, he knew no sorrows, no heights.When you are old, marry a lovely queen and be a Taiping emperor.Maybe he will be spoiled like most of the royal family's children, pampered, self-willed, and lawless. Even if he pokes a big hole in the sky, there will be his father, queen, and queen blocking it for him.

It's a pity that Rong Zheng was involved in the power struggle when he was five years old. It would not be unfair to say that all the circumstances in his first half of his life were thanks to Zhong Yu.

"I am not without responsibility for the death of the first emperor, you are right to hate me." Ye Zhaoling said.

"What made you change your mind temporarily." Knowing the whole story of that year, Rong Zheng had mixed feelings in his heart, whether he believed it or not, hated it or not, he was temporarily unable to delve into it.

From Ye Zhaoling's narration, it can be seen that at the beginning, he was not opposed to murdering the late emperor, but then he suddenly changed his mind.

Ye Zhaoling seemed to be trapped in his own memories, and did not answer. After a long time, he said helplessly, "Probably because you called me teacher when you were young."

Ye Zhaoling's words also touched Rong Zheng's memory. Before he was five years old, Zhong Yu was his only teacher. When he stumbled and shot the first arrow on the riding range, he wrote the first arrow crookedly with a brush. A word, the first note plucked on the strings, are all taught by Zhong Yu.

"You may not believe it." Rong Zheng rarely said something naive: "I used to really think that you would stay by my side like my parents."

Ye Zhaoling shook his head imperceptibly, laughed at himself, and said, "I don't deserve it."

Everything that Ye Zhaoling confessed tonight made Rong Zheng feel deeply powerless. He didn't know whether this feeling of powerlessness came from his powerless self when he was young, or because of the person in front of him.

"Let's talk about spirit." Rong Zheng didn't forget the purpose of coming here tonight, he didn't let himself indulge in this kind of mood for too long, and quickly pulled it out: "You don't hesitate to get married Entering the East Palace, is it to find the soul?"

"Yes." Ye Zhaoling answered without hesitation this time.

The empress had already told Rong Zheng that Zhong Yu's reason for looking for the soul was nothing more than to fulfill his greater ambition, but he wanted to hear Ye Zhaoling's own answer.

So Rong Zheng asked: "What is the soul? Why did you go to such lengths to find this thing?"

"This is my private matter." After a short period of cooperation, Ye Zhaoling began to be reticent again, letting Rong Zheng know too much about Shensoul would only make the situation more complicated.

Apparently Rong Zheng was very interested in this "private matter", and asked, "Did you find it?"

Ye Zhaoling was silent for a moment, then said, "No."

In order to prevent Rong Zheng from asking any questions he was unwilling to answer, Ye Zhaoling asked first: "I am also curious about one thing, how do you know about 'Brahma Fire', 'Spirit', and my identity?"

Rong Zheng replied, "The empress told me."

Hearing what Rong Zheng said, Ye Zhaoling felt that the matter was even more strange. No one else knew about the spirit, and it was even more impossible for the empress to know about it.In fact, Ye Zhaoling has been wondering for so many years, the queen is not a member of the Rong clan, how did she know how to sign the blood contract.

And Rong Rong, why was she able to connect Ye Zhaoling and Zhong Yu when she had little contact with herself.

"I didn't expect that she would even tell you this." Ye Zhaoling expressed her own thoughts: "But it is impossible to know this matter with the power of an empress. She must have an expert by her side."

However, Rong Zheng's attention was not on this "expert man". He remembered Fu Yiwen's guess that day, and asked again: "Since you are not on the same journey as the Queen, have you been forced to work for her all these years?"

Rong Zheng didn't know if he was making excuses for Zhong Yu by asking this question.

Ye Zhaoling didn't understand Zheng's feelings: "It can be said to be true, but it's not entirely true."

"Why?" Rong Zheng asked.

"Why?" This question asked the part of Ye Zhaoling's heart that he didn't want to touch the most. The expression on his face froze instantly. After repeating the sentence softly, he said, "This is a good question."

"Why?" Ye Zhaoling whispered softly.

Whether it is Ye Zhaoling or Zhong Yu, his heart is covered with layers of hard armor, whether he loves or hates, he never reveals it to anyone easily.

Since Rong Zheng had already started, he could justify himself by following Rong Zheng's words.But when facing the closest people, perhaps due to human instinct, this layer of armor will become vulnerable, and those pains and grievances that have never been spoken out of the mouth have become unbearable at this moment.

Ye Zhaoling stood up slowly, his eyes turned bewitching, he came to the painting screen and stood facing Rong Zheng, and decided to show him the rotten sores and pus that had accumulated on his heart for many years.

Rong Zheng sensed the movement behind him, and turned around to look at that figure.

"You know my identity, and you must have a general idea of ​​how I set foot on this road." Ye Zhaoling said to Rong Zheng slowly: "The court came to take me into the palace that year. In order to protect me, Master, They resisted desperately with all their strength. In the end, their homes were destroyed, their masters were slaughtered, and none of the 160 or nine members of Lingjingxu was spared. The well on Hongluo Mountain that had been dry for hundreds of years was filled with blood. Even the bones are too broken to fit together..."

Rong Zheng was stunned, he didn't expect Ye Zhaoling to be brought back to the palace like this.

"I have been the eagle dog's minion of the royal family for so long. On the one hand, it is because I can't help it. But the more important reason is that watching you cook beans and burn Oysters to kill each other is the only thing that makes me happy in the past 500 years. "

"Just watch it if there's something exciting to watch. As for who is good and who is evil, who doesn't deserve to die and who doesn't deserve to live, what does it matter to me?"

Ye Zhaoling said these words in the most understated tone, but these words were like blunt knives, cutting into Rong Zheng's heart without a hitch.

Ling Chi's pain was probably nothing more than that.

Rong Zheng wanted to say something, but the smell of rust in his throat made him speechless.

Finally, he said three words with difficulty: "I'm sorry."

Ye Zhaoling sneered and shook his head.In the past 500 years, no one has ever said sorry to him, as if he was born to bear these sufferings.

But the apology brought by Sheng Rongzheng didn't make any sense.

"200 years have passed, and now most of the people you have hurt have nothing to do with what happened back then, let the innocent people go." Rong Zheng finally regained his composure, he didn't want to persuade Ye Zhaoling to be magnanimous, what his ancestors did was a heinous crime , no one is qualified to forgive Ye Zhaoling.

"The most important thing is to let yourself go." But he didn't want to see him as a prison, trapped in endless hatred, and tortured himself repeatedly.

"So what, as long as you are still sitting and enjoying this country, no one is innocent." After finishing speaking, Ye Zhaoling waved his sleeves and walked to the window: "Just a little bit of thought, I can make you feel innocent." Why not do it?" The imperial city was still brightly lit, and the bright lights fell in Ye Zhaoling's eyes, turning into a trace of cruelty emanating from his bones: "They didn't die because of me. , but died of their own greed and desire, weakness and fear. If there is no me, they will also go on this road. Why don't you just let me be this..."

"Ye Zhaoling, don't be stubborn!"

Rong Zheng couldn't bear it anymore, and shouted at Ye Zhaoling, he didn't want to hear him use such words to confess himself.

In Rong Zheng's heart, Ye Zhaoling was not as cruel as he described.

"Your Highness, is this the first day you know me?" Ye Zhaoling finally had some expression on his face, and even smiled: "I am not Ye Zhaoling, I am Zhong Yu."

Zhong Yu has always been such a person.

Rong Zheng was stunned when he heard the words, and instantly came to his senses. Ye Zhaoling's words were tantamount to cutting off the last link between them with his own hands.

There is no more Ye Zhaoling in this world.

The person in front of him is Zhong Yu.

This conversation ended with Rong Zheng's departure.Long after Rong Zheng left, Ye Zhaoling still sat in his original position.

It wasn't until the sun rose from the east that he moved his body like he was about to wake up from a dream.

As Zhong Yu's identity surfaced, neither he nor Rong Zheng had the possibility of turning back.No matter what the next step is, it's in everyone's interest to draw the line early.

There was the sound of the secret service changing shifts outside the door, and it seemed that Rong Zheng had upgraded his defense level after he left.Looking at the figures patrolling back and forth outside the window, Ye Zhaoling remembered some old things.

He had lied to Rong Zheng just now. Emperor Mingde didn't change his mind and cancel the meeting that night, but he couldn't stand his son's soft-heartedness, and promised to end work early at night and tell him bedtime stories.

Children don't like crowds and go to bed early. For the rare parent-child time, Emperor Mingde canceled the meeting with Zhong Yu and arranged for the personal attendants to get off work early, leaving only the special security guards outside the palace.

The empress just took a fancy to this opportunity and chose to do it that night.He has kept this matter from the little prince for so many years, so there is no need to let him know at this time.

In fact, in recent years, Ye Zhaoling has seldom been obsessed with hatred. He has long been tired of watching the scenes of vicious dogs fighting for food, bloodshed and sacrifice in the court, and he has seen enough. Hatred cannot support him to continue walking.

He began to want to break free from this quagmire, trying to live like a normal person.

And the first time he had this idea was in an early morning more than 20 years ago.

During that time, he stayed up for more than a dozen days and nights, and finally sent Zhongliang, a member of the court who opposed the queen mother, to prison.On the way into the palace to report to the Queen Mother, he met Emperor Mingde who was coming back from the next court.

When Emperor Mingde saw Zhong Yu's hasty pace, he pulled him in front of him and said, "Zhong Yu, every day I see you so exhausted, I feel exhausted for you. Humans only have such a lifetime. You That doesn’t count as being in this world.”

That Zhong Yu was planning all kinds of ghostly tricks to mess with the situation in his mind, and when he heard Emperor Mingde say these nonsensical words, he said perfunctorily: "The world is just like this, it doesn't make any difference whether you have been here or not."

"It's a big mistake." Emperor Mingde was wearing a court uniform at the time, ignoring the attendant's blinking eyes, he put Zhong Yu's shoulders in a nonchalant way, and said with a smile: "You can put aside those external things, Try to live for yourself, the world may be different."