turmoil

According to Zhang Jingche's original thinking, Emperor Taiping always lived in seclusion and rarely showed his face for ten days and a half months, so he would not see his relatives easily.The queen only needs to try to block the news in the palace, and then release the rumor that "the emperor is critically ill", which is enough to make King Ping mess up.

It's just that he didn't expect Zhaoyang Palace to be so decisive, and some tricks were used to make Emperor Taiping really fall ill, and the illness was not serious.

"Nowadays, the holy majesty needs the help of the eunuchs to change his clothes in daily life, and he will break out in cold sweat after standing for a while. In the previous big court meeting, he almost fell when he retreated from the court. Fortunately, the eunuchs helped him up," Han Xun said, "look at the situation, It's only a matter of time before he passes on to the East Palace."

Zhang Jingche nodded, and casually flipped through a page of the secret report.

Han Xun hesitated to speak several times, hesitated for a long time, but still kept his mouth shut.These gestures failed to escape Zhang Jingche's eyes, and he couldn't help laughing: "What do you want to say?"

Han Xun hesitated for a moment: "Your Majesty is wise and wise. Even if you were kept in the dark at first, after so long, you should come to terms with it... Chief, your risky military move this time certainly achieved your goal, but in the heart of the Holy Majesty, I'm afraid You have already accounted for King Ping's imprisonment."

His and Yang Fan's rhetoric was surprisingly similar, but Zhang Jingche didn't take it seriously: "So what? I'm willing to set up a trap, and I need Prince Ping to have this ambition and be willing to jump into the trap—it's my father's fault whether to raise him or not Who can blame him for raising his son into an ambitious man who seeks to commit treason and crime?"

These words were so bold that they were almost presumptuous, Han Xun didn't dare to speak up, and kept his mouth shut cautiously.

After Zhang Jingche returned to Beijing, he should return to the palace according to reason, but he knew that the old emperor didn't want to see him, so he excused his injuries and only entrusted Yang Fan with an errand - anyway, Emperor Taiping would never do anything to Marquis Dingbian.

Although he stayed at home, he couldn't stand the upheaval outside, and waves of movement spread to his ears: Emperor Taiping accused King Ping of "conspiring against and causing chaos", and he was banned from the clan's mansion, and he would never be allowed to take half a step.Concubine De in the palace knelt outside the old emperor's bedroom for a day and a night, her head was smashed, but she didn't get Emperor Taiping's heart softened. Instead, she was reprimanded by the queen's servants and dragged back to the palace for house arrest.

Concubine De and the Empress have fought for most of their lives. Seeing the loss of honor and favor, the son being imprisoned, the natal family outside the palace being imprisoned, the beheading of the men, the beheading of the beheadings, the slavery of the female relatives, and the sale of her own family, she has also become a prisoner who depends on others. I can't stand it any longer.That night, watching the dead of night, she tore open the sheets, tied them into ropes and strung them over the beams, and sent herself away in a dignified manner.

In the past, the radiant concubine, the concubine who was favored by the Sixth Palace and was able to share the beauty with the empress, was just wrapped in white silk, carried to the mass burial mound and buried hastily.

Upon hearing the news of Concubine De's death, the old emperor lay on the sickbed in silence for a long time, tossing and turning in his hands, only clutching a Diewu Babao hairpin.The eunuch who served on the side boldly glanced at it, vaguely familiar, and thought for a long time before remembering that it was awarded by the old emperor when Concubine De first entered the palace. It is said that the hairpin pearl was a tribute from Liaodong. A Dongzhu the size of a fingertip.

In Great Yin, only the empress is eligible to wear Dongzhu, which shows the great favor of Concubine De.

"...When she first entered the palace, she was always worried about the decline of her grace. I comforted her. As long as this beautiful pearl remains shining, I will not change my mind towards her," the old emperor murmured vaguely, "Who would have thought that... Jun'er would die like this?"

The eunuch was sweating coldly on his back, and accompanied Emperor Taiping with a few words of emotion, so to speak, and finally put Emperor Taiping to sleep.

The bloody storm outside the palace is still going on, but in half a month, the capital has already passed the sieve, and anyone who has something to do with King Ping, regardless of rank, will be sent to prison for questioning.For a moment, the princes in the court felt a little worried, and they were all busy to distance themselves from King Ping, fearing that the elusive power of heaven would fall on them one day.

Emperor Taiping's knees were weak, and the only sons who lived to adulthood were the prince and the king. So far, everyone could see that there was no other candidate to inherit the throne except the East Palace, which was born by the empress.

Zhang Jingche had no intention of interfering with the cleaning of the court. Under the guise of recovering from his injuries, he stayed at home and hid at home.Fortunately, there is a turmoil right now, and no one can pay attention to this small courtyard in a quiet corner, but this evening, there are still uninvited guests visiting, and this person does not regard himself as an outsider at all, and the courtyard is full of yelling Knowing: "Is there any good tea? Get it quickly, I'm dying of thirst!"

Zhang Jingche leaned on the soft couch, and squinted his eyes with a smile that was not a smile: "Master Hou is a first-rank military marquis, why haven't you seen any good tea? Why do you like to come here to ask for tea?"

Yang Fan was not polite, sat cross-legged across from him, grabbed the teapot and filled himself with water, wiped his mouth at the end, showing a happy expression: "This is the joy! How do you say that sentence? A wife is worse than a concubine, and a concubine is worse than a thief." , the same tea tastes even better when you drink it in someone else's house!"

Zhang Jingche snorted coldly, and muttered in a low voice: "That's this year's Mingqian Dragon Well... stupid cow chewing peonies!"

Yang Fan didn't take it seriously, he just lingered in his courtyard with An Xin, turned his head and saw a thick pile of books on the desk, and couldn't help but flip through them.He thought it was not the words of a sage, but the theory of a famous master, but who knew it was a stack of novel scripts, and he was embarrassed: "You...do you like to read this?"

Zhang Jingche covered the "Dou E's Injustice" in his hand, and said lightly: "The world is ruthless, it is not as good as in the play. Although it is fake, good will be rewarded with good, and evil will be rewarded with evil. At least you can be a self-deceiving person." of perfection."

Yang Fan heard that there was something in his words, looked at the man's face, and asked cautiously: "Prince Ping has already been imprisoned, why do I seem to be not satisfied with what you mean?"

Zhang Jingche sneered: "Thousands of refugees in the south of the Yangtze River died because of him, how many people were displaced and homeless... Hou Ye thinks that a confinement can be worth it?"

Yang Fan was speechless.

Everyone knows that Prince Ping's crimes are not to be punished, but no one can punish him-the emperor must care about the relationship between father and son, and the East Palace must consider brotherhood. Do superficial articles.

If it is not, it is heartless, it is righteous, it is ignoring the teachings of the saints of brotherhood.

Yang Fan was silent for a moment, with a rare solemn expression: "Everything is too late... Now that you have a clear mind, it's not so easy to control, Ming Huang, you'd better accept it as soon as you see it."

It was rare for him to match his words. Zhang Jingche couldn't help being stunned for a moment. Although he didn't think so, he understood Dingbian Hou's silent concern and worry. After a long thought, he nodded.

Zhang Jingche originally thought that Yang Fan was bored and came to him to pass the time. Later, he found out that Dingbian Hou had pushed countless things that day, and squeezed half an hour out of his busy schedule to come here to remind him.Although Zhang Jingche was unwilling to let Prince Ping go, he couldn't help accepting the love of Marquis Bian.

What Zhang Jingche didn't expect was that Dingbian Hou was not the only uninvited guest that day. After nightfall, someone suddenly knocked on the courtyard door.The person who came was an eunuch from the palace, and he delivered an oral order from Zhaoyang Palace, announcing that Zhang Jingche would enter the palace to meet him.

Zhang Jingche frowned in surprise.

Miyagi has its own rules, and there are timings for when to release the key and when to open it.Ordinarily at this time, the palace gate has been locked, and it cannot be easily opened without special circumstances.But since Emperor Taiping fell ill, the Forbidden Palace fell into the control of the Empress, and opening the door was only a matter of words.All the princes in the court are clear-sighted, and it is a foregone conclusion that the East Palace will be superior. At this time of bloody storm, no one will make the mother of a country feel unhappy for such trivial matters.

But for some reason, Zhang Jingche's eyelids twitched. He had a different intuition, but he couldn't tell what was wrong. Facing the eunuch who was hurriedly urging him, he could only politely say: "The eunuch wait a moment, let me change my clothes."

He turned into the room, and a figure slipped through the window without a sound, it was You Yunwei who was waiting under the eaves.Zhang Jingche winked at him, and said in a deep voice, "Go to Dingbian Hou's Mansion."

You Yunwei understood, and jumped out of the window, pointing his toes, and blended into the night without any trace.

Zhang Jingche didn't want to delay, so he hurried out after changing his clothes.The carriage drove him across the long street, and in the distance there were many palaces hidden under the night. There were no stars and no moon in this night. The beast crouched in the shadowy depths of the prosperous imperial capital.

At this time, the middle of May has passed, and the fragrance in the world is gone, and the summer heat in the capital is about to rise.Zhang Jingche walked under the palace wall, but felt cold to the bone.The journey was endless, and finally arrived outside the Hall of Qinzheng. There was already a row of people waiting in the open space, and they looked carefully under the dim palace lanterns. Jin Yiwei.

Zhang Jingche felt ominous, but he had come here, and he couldn't turn his head back. He could only walk forward as if nothing had happened, and saluted the person in the middle, "I've seen Commander Lu!"

Lu Xiang didn't exchange greetings with him. He pointed his finger and reprimanded sharply: "Come here, take it down for me!"

Jin Yiwei rushed forward and pressed Zhang Jingche to the cold gold brick floor.Zhang Jingche had been prepared for a long time, and he was not in a panic, but raised his head vigorously: "Dare to ask the commander, what crime did he commit when he entered the palace with a humble position?"

Hearing the sound of footsteps approaching slowly, Lu Xiang put his hands behind his back and stared at him condescendingly: "There are some things, you were wrong from the beginning, don't you know?"

Zhang Jingche met his eyes, and a tacit coldness flowed through his heart. At that moment, he suddenly realized that this was a deliberate dead end.

The commotion outside the hall was not deliberately concealed. The old emperor on the dragon couch coughed dryly for a long time, and finally breathed a sigh of relief with difficulty.The person who was serving her was not a trusted eunuch, but Emperor Taiping's first wife, the current empress. She personally poured a cup of hot tea, and brought it to the emperor in a courteous manner: "Your Majesty, drink some ginseng soup to moisturize yourself."

Emperor Taiping didn't take the ginseng soup, and looked at her with a half-smile: "Zi Tong, you really don't know how to be flexible... This Jingche has worked hard for you without any credit. If I let you announce him into the palace, you will announce it." Don't you miss your old friendship at all?"

The queen replied obediently: "Under the whole world, is it the land of the king, the shore of the land, or the ministers of the king...whether it's ministers or concubines, or Zhang Jingche, they are all your majesty's ministers. Your father has an order, even if you go through fire and water, Also willing to do anything."

Emperor Taiping sneered in disdain: "It's nice to say... If I tell you to kill your parents and children, will you agree?"

The queen's face suddenly changed, she lifted her skirt, and knelt down on the ground: "Your Majesty, forgive me... This concubine is nearly half a hundred years old, and I only have one son, Zhao'er! If he has done something wrong, this concubine is willing to accept the punishment, and I beg your majesty to accept the punishment." For the sake of this child's troubles and illnesses since he was a child, let me forgive you a little bit!"

Emperor Taiping rolled his cloudy eyeballs, and a string of emerald Buddha beads rolled in his wrinkled hands.The rosary beads made a monotonous sound, and the old emperor lowered his eyelids, like a merciful Buddha statue: "This string of beads was found by Zhaoer from Hu merchants in the Western Regions, consecrated in front of the Buddha, and presented to me as a gift for the Longevity Festival. "

The queen lay on the ground, her gorgeous skirt trembling, flapping its wings like a dying phoenix.At this moment, even though the huge palace city was under control, the mother of a country still did not dare to look at the old emperor, and always felt that all her thoughts were being seen under the gaze of those cloudy old eyes.

Emperor Taiping was silent for a moment, and said tiredly: "Forget it, Zhao'er is my son after all...you go and call him."

The Queen's back was covered with cold sweat, but she dared not refuse.

Not long after, the crown prince Liu Yanzhao came here.When he saw Zhang Jingche who was being escorted kneeling on the brick floor, he paused for a moment, and asked in surprise, "What did this person do wrong? Why did you take him?"

Lu Xiang saluted with his saber in hand, and replied respectfully: "Your Highness, I am following His Majesty's will. If Your Highness has any questions, you can ask His Majesty directly."

Liu Yanzhao gritted his teeth, stomped his feet, and walked quickly into the hall.

Incense was lit in the Palace of Qinzheng. It was ambergris from a giant whale under the sea. A piece the size of a thumb was already worth thousands of gold, but it could not dispel the decaying atmosphere that filled the palace.Liu Yanzhao came to the bed, pulled up his clothes and knelt down, and kowtowed: "Father! I don't know what Zhang Tongzhi did wrong, and please forgive him because of his contribution to going to the south of the Yangtze River and calming the East China Sea. Suffer!"

Emperor Taiping stood up tremblingly, and stretched out his hand to his young son. Liu Yanzhao grabbed it, and was shocked by the coldness of the palm.Emperor Taiping held him tightly, his eyes hardened with poison: "You, you plead for him?"

Liu Yanzhao bit the bullet: "Yes! Father, Zhang Tongzhi has made great contributions to the country, please..."

Before he finished speaking, he felt that the old emperor was holding his hand more forcefully, his fingers were pinched painfully, and his voice was cut off immediately, only to hear the old emperor say coldly: "You... you and him, really Is it as simple as the monarch and his ministers?"

Liu Yanzhao couldn't help being taken aback.

After the oolong that night, Liu Yanzhao certainly knew that the rumors in the market were not true. Although the man surnamed Zhang had a "misfortune face", he was by no means the kind of male favorite and sycophant. unruly.

But if the crown prince categorically denies it, he feels a little guilty for no reason, because Zhang Jingche may not have such thoughts, but Liu Yanzhao himself has lost his mind and got into his bones in the long time of thinking about it.

Liu Yanzhao knew it was wrong, and thought about resisting it, but he didn't feel it when he was in front of him every day, and he didn't feel it until he couldn't see him anymore, just like a picture of thousands of miles of rivers and mountains written on rice paper, even though it is magnificent, even though it is majestic and majestic, but because of If you lack a little color, you will lose your soul for no reason.

Liu Yanzhao was silent for too long, enough for Emperor Taiping to notice something, and the old emperor's expression turned cold.After a while, he grabbed the soup bowl on the desk and smashed it hard on the ground.

Immediately afterwards, a long and loud voice came from outside the hall: "Execution!"

Jin Yiwei received the order, stuffed a hemp core into Zhang Jingche's mouth, raised the iron-covered imperial staff, and struck down mercilessly.The wind whistled, and the sound pierced into the flesh. After three sticks, Zhang Jingche's clothes were soaked in cold sweat. The pain was extreme, but his skin and flesh were numb instead. Only blood gushed out of his mouth and nose, and he let out a vague sob.

Liu Yanzhao in the hall was taken aback, and kowtowed desperately: "Father! It's all my son's fault, it has nothing to do with Zhang Tongzhi... Please forgive me, Father!"

Emperor Taiping smiled sadly: "You are the crown prince, my only son, how could you be wrong? The only ones who are wrong are those around you..."

He raised his hand with difficulty, pressed Liu Yanzhao's forehead with his old palm, and moved down the golden crown inch by inch: "Son, look at what you are doing, you actually bend down and kowtow for a lowly peasant? Remember, you are me!" Prince of Yin, future emperor, you must not bow your head, let alone have weaknesses!"

"If that's your weakness... As a father, I will break him for you!"