Harue Kagetsu

Its daybreak.

The night that just passed was just an ordinary night for those Jiankang people who had just woken up and started a new day.

They had no idea what a thrilling accident had happened last night in the imperial palace in the depths of the fortified Tai City.

For Gao Qiao, it was a heart-wrenching night of sleepless nights.

The Xianbei woman, Murong Zhe, who was sent to the Queen's Palace as a maid, has disappeared.

In the face of questioning, Queen Xu's attitude was angry, a kind of incomparable anger of being wronged.

She hugged the prince in her arms tightly, raised her eyes that were red and swollen from crying, and said in a cold tone that the Xianbei girl was indeed offered by Murong, but it was because she was proficient in health preservation, and she Her body has always been weak, and the imperial doctor's conditioning was ineffective. With the purpose of trying, she was left as a maid at the beginning. But a few days ago, she found that it was of little use, and she had been sent out of the palace.

As for where she is now, she doesn't know.

"I'm the Queen of Dayu. If someone enters or leaves the palace, do you still have to report to the minister?"

Finally, she retorted.

The Xianbei girl was gone, and it was impossible to start with the queen.

Fortunately, Murong didn't escape from him—or rather, he didn't escape himself.

According to Chen Tuan's report, he and Li Xie, the commander of the Jiankang Suwei Army, led people to arrest Murongti and surrounded the inn where he lived. When he broke in, he had no intention of escaping.

Standing in the house, holding hands, as if waiting for their arrival.

The jailer respectfully led the way, and finally, with the key, a cell door was opened.

Gao Qiao walked through the damp, dark, and foul-smelling narrow passage, stepped into the prison door, and stared at the Xianbei man in front of him.

Murong Wei has been reduced to a prisoner, but on his body, he does not see the appearance of what he should look like after being imprisoned.

He was covered in scars, blood on the corners of his lips, his clothes were shattered and stained with blood, his hands were heavily shackled, his legs crossed his knees, and he sat on a mess of straw with his eyes closed.

His expression was unusually calm.

It seems that he is not in a cage and has just suffered a severe torture, but is in a cloud platform with a wonderful state.

On a face that is indistinguishable between androgyny, there is a kind of detached nobleness.

Hearing the footsteps of Gao Qiao coming in, he seemed to have never heard it, but he still sat upright, motionless, as if he had entered into a state of concentration.

Gao Qiao stared at him for a moment, suppressed his anger, and said, "Murong, I have given you a chance. If you don't tell the people behind the scenes, what's the use of keeping you!"

Murong Di opened his eyes slowly, stared at Gao Qiao for a moment, and smiled slightly: "Gong Gao, since I first came to Jiankang, you had the intention to kill me. It falls into your hands today, and you will kill if you want. I tell you what you want to hear and frame the innocent. Although Murong is cheap, I can't do it. My sister, who came here with me, was lonely and lonely, so I gave her to the queen As a slave, in order to seek a shelter, this is the whole truth. As for the rest of the charges, they are all imaginary by Gao Gong, and I don’t know a little bit.”

After he finished speaking, he closed his eyes again.

Gao Qiao nodded: "Okay, okay! You Xianbei child, you are treacherous and sinister! I only regret that I shouldn't have hesitated for a while, but I saved your life and even killed your majesty! You are not afraid of death, I am here. It's all up to you!"

He took a drink. Chen Tuan immediately entered from behind the prison door, walked behind Murong Ti, and drew his knife.

The blade rested on Murong Ti's neck.

A cold light reflected on the side of his neck.

The skin is like jade, and the blade is white. The two complement each other, and they are strangely beautiful.

"Murong, I'll give you one last chance. Who is the one who instructed you to murder Your Majesty?"

Murong didn't even move his eyelids as if he hadn't heard it.

In Gao Qiao's eyes, there was a murderous intent.

"Cut off his head."

His voice was cold.

Just as the blade was about to fall, there was a sound of footsteps outside the prison door, and a voice came: "Stop!"

Gao Qiao turned his head slowly, saw Xu Mi stepping inside, and said coldly, "I'm interrogating repeat offenders, what is Xu Situ doing? Why are you here?"

Xu Mi changed the way he used to laugh haha.

"Gao Xiang, you first interrogated the empress of the dynasty, and then privately tortured Murong Ti to extort a confession without going through the court. What is your purpose?"

The two looked at each other for a moment.

In the narrow cell, the air suddenly became extremely dignified.

"I know that you have always wanted to get rid of my Xu family and then hurry up. What do you want to hear from Murong? His Majesty was harmed by my Xu family, so as to have the prince enthroned as soon as possible. In this way, you can start Jiuqing and Baiguan, ask me to blame the Xu family, even depose the queen and the crown prince, choose someone you like to be in the upper position, and listen to your manipulation, so that your high family will stay in the upper position forever and gain power in the court?"

Gao Qiao was furious: "Xu Mi! Your Majesty had already given up the five-stone powder, but after the arrival of this Xianbei child, he began to eat again, and he lived in the Queen's Palace for a long time. It happened that a woman from the Murong family had entered the palace. There are many coincidences. , how do you, Mrs. Xu, justify it?"

Xu Mi stared at Gao Qiao for a moment, then suddenly said, "Gao Xiang, no matter how many coincidences there are, and even if you don't believe it in every possible way, and you want to put the charge on Xu Mi's head, do you have any evidence?"

A sneer slowly appeared on his lips.

"If you can produce evidence, I will confess my guilt. If you want to kill or cut, you must obey the laws of the country."

"If you can't come up with evidence, these speculations are just fabricated by you. You can't shake my Xu family!"

He glanced at him and was still sitting on the ground, like Murong Di who was out of the way, squinting.

"As for this person, he is a suspected felon, and the matter is of great importance. Even though you are the minister of the court, you cannot use the criminal law for private purposes. It must be handed over to the court officer, who will be interrogated by the law officer. Otherwise, where is my Da Yu law?"

"If all officials, like you, the high minister, replace the public law with lynching, how can they be safe in the world?"

He turned his head and called out.

Tingwei, one of the nine ministers, heard the sound and entered, but did not dare to face the two people facing him, with a worried expression on his face, he cautiously said: "Gao Xianggong, since this Xianbei man is a repeat offender, can the lower official follow the law and take him to the yamen first. Department? Don’t worry, the subordinate officials will enforce the law impartially, interrogate them carefully, and never dare to slack off!”

Gao Qiao's face was ashen, he stood stiffly for a while, and finally let out a breath.

"You take the people away first. You must be put in a serious prison, strictly guarded, and there must be no mistakes!"

Tingwei, who was sandwiched between the two powerful officials of the dynasty, heard that Gao Qiao finally let go, secretly exhaled a breath, and hurriedly called someone inside to take Murongti away.

Murong opened his eyes only then, got up slowly, stared at Gao Qiao, held the chain in both hands, stepped out of the prison door and was escorted away.

Xu Mi turned to Gao Qiao, his face returned to his usual appearance, and said with a smile: "Gao Xianggong, I really don't know why you always have prejudice against me. Xu Mi is fine without me in the court, but it must be without Gao Xianggong. Xiang, I know this point very well. It is rare that His Majesty has the heart to rejuvenate, and I do not want to encounter such a change again. The current situation is difficult, the domestic need to bring peace to the people, and the external chaos. In the future, you and I will work together to give you two Isn't it a good thing to be able to serve the court together?"

Gao Qiao walked away.

Xu Mi watched the back of Gao Qiao leave, and a sneer appeared on the corner of her lips.

…

From the day after the news of the emperor's serious stroke and serious illness, it was as if a hornet's nest had exploded among the officials.

Xu Mi quickly became the center of attention of all officials.

Originally, although the prince was established, Emperor Xingping had not been in good health for the past two years, but he was only middle-aged and not terminally ill. The harem also had three thousand beauties, and Gao Qiao was in power.

The direction of the court in the future may not be seen at a glance.

After all, in ancient times and recently, the prince could not be the emperor in the end, and there were many more.

Xu is not necessarily the final winner.

I never imagined that such an unexpected thing would happen overnight.

In addition to the shock of Baiguan, in private, those who have been in contact with each other on weekdays all began to discuss something.

Once the prince ascends the throne, the pattern of the court will undoubtedly undergo major changes in the future.

Even if Gao Qiao would still be accused of being the young emperor's assistant, but with the Queen Mother and Xu Mi next to him, Gao's right to speak to the court is inevitable and will be greatly suppressed.

From now on, the Xu family will rise and the Gao family will take a back seat. This is an obvious trend.

So it was bright and dark, and after a few days, many people couldn't hold it in any longer, and began to send autumn blessings to the Xu family in order to seek refuge.

Xu's family is full of guests, and the exchanges are endless.

The meeting has been suspended. When Gao Qiao entered the palace, before seeing Emperor Xingping's sick bed, apart from a few imperial physicians and servants, there was only his wife Xiao Yongjia.

Since the emperor's fall that night, Xiao Yongjia moved into the palace and accompanies him before the sickbed day and night.

When the imperial physician and the palace servants saw him coming, they all bowed to him.

Gao Qiao called the imperial physician aside and asked about the emperor's condition. Know nothing.

Although it was also expected, the mood was still uncontrollable and extremely heavy.

He glanced at the emperor, who seemed to be sleeping, but his eyes were half-sleeping. He immediately turned his attention to his wife. Seeing her haggard face and red eyes, he couldn't help feeling sad. Go and rest first. Don't burn yourself out."

Xiao Yongjia's gaze turned from Emperor Xingping's face to Gao Qiao, stood up slowly, and said in a hoarse voice, "Come with me."

Gao Qiao sent her into the palace where she lived when she was a young girl, and she still kept it today, led her to sit down in front of the bed, bent down, and used her uninjured hand to remove her shoes, and said softly. : "You're tired, go to sleep first."

Xiao Yongjia said: "Murong still not recruit?"

Gao Qiao looked up and met her puffy eyes, feeling guilty.

"A Ling, blame me for being incompetent..."

"Next, do you have any plans?"

Gao Qiao was silent and stood up slowly.

"Xu's deliberate plan used such a despicable method to harm my brother. Could it be that you just watched the conspiracy of the queen and Xu Mi succeed?"

Xiao Yongjia suddenly stood up, covered his face, tears of sadness gurgled down from between his fingers.

Gao Qiao hurriedly put his wife in his arms, sat back with a chair, and whispered, "Don't cry first. It's not that I haven't thought about it. It's just under consideration."

Xiao Yongjia slowly put down his hands, looked up, and looked at him with tears in his eyes.

Gao Qiao wiped away the tears on her face with his hands that could only move, and said in a low voice, "Murong refuses to admit it, I can't do anything about Xu Mi for a while. But if I hold on to this matter, they won't even think about it. Bypass me and ascend to the throne easily. I have observed the prince for a long time, although he is young, his heart is quite cruel.

Gao Qiao's staff and the noble ministers who were attached to the Gao family were all impassioned and urged Gao Qiao to take this opportunity to make a big splash, use all means, and even initiate a change in the Thunder Palace to prevent the Xu family from usurping power and elevate Xiao Min, the king of Dongyang, to the throne.

The King of Dongyang was the closest direct descendant of the royal family to Emperor Xingping except the crown prince. Although he was young, he had always been known for his goodwill. He was also the husband of Gao Qiao's niece, Gao Yongrong.

Once successful, the status of the Gao family, as always, will last forever.

But Gao Qiao had other concerns.

"A-Ling, I have long felt that I am not strong enough to do things in court. It was really too deep in the past, like rowing a boat in the water, the boat wants to stop, but the water doesn't stop, and I can't help myself, and this is how it has survived to this day. Overflow, the moon is full of losses, the glory of Gao's family has been flourishing for a while. If the King of Dongyang is raised to the throne again, everything will definitely rely on my Gao's family. From now on, I am afraid that my Gao's family will not be a blessing. Instead, it's a disaster."

"As long as the famous noble family has a family that lasts for a hundred years, and their descendants can enjoy long-term blessings, which one will be in a high position for decades? It is a wise move to retreat bravely. In the future, I will still do my best. All I can do is to seek security for the Southern Dynasty and to govern for the people, but it is not what I want to use the power of the family to raise the King of Dongyang to the throne.”

"I also know that this imperial court is like a muddy pool. If you get involved too much, you are afraid that you will not be able to retreat in the future. If the King of Dongyang is not your thing, who else is there besides the prince?"

Xiao Yongjia's voice fell, and suddenly he thought of a person.

"Xin'an Wang Xiao Daocheng?"

Gao Qiao nodded slowly.

"I do intend to raise him to the throne. He is a royal family, he is young and strong, and he can be considered a capable person. If he can succeed the throne, I will stay there in the future. It's just that he is not a direct blood relative of your royal family, and he does not have much prestige. There was a prince before, There will be King Dongyang later. If I skip these two and directly lift him to the throne, after all, it is related to the national sports, and I am afraid that I will not be able to convince the public. Besides, when I tested him yesterday, he didn’t seem to have any intention of taking the position, and instead I would lift the King of Dongyang. ."

He frowned.

"Even if things are done, Xu Mi will not let it go by borrowing his identity as the prince. His Jingzhou troops are by no means general, and I am afraid that there will be another turmoil. The stake is very important, so I am still considering it..."

Xiao Yongjia stared at her husband's thin face.

"I understand. It's really difficult for you to pull one hair and move the whole body. But if there is His Majesty's will, it should be easier to implement it, right?"

Gao Qiao was stunned, looked at her puzzled, and hesitated: "A-Ling, what do you mean? Your Majesty can't move his hands and can't speak, so how can he decree?"

"Although Adi can't move his hands or speak, he can listen and his eyes can blink. He must hate the Empress and Mrs. Xu in his heart now. I'll go and tell him the benefits and harms. When the ministers came, I asked, if he blinked, he would depose the prince and replace the prince of Xin'an, with a justifiable name, no one can say a word! What do you think?"

Gao Qiao was stunned at first, but then ecstatically hugged his wife.

"A-Ling, you are so smart! I didn't even think of this! That's great! With His Majesty's signal, I'm not afraid of Xu Bi's status as a prince!"

Xiao Yongjia was stunned for a moment when her husband was suddenly hugged so tightly in his arms, and then she softly pressed her face against his chest, eyes closed, and she remained motionless.

Gao Qiao suddenly seemed to think of something, and let go of her again with a solemn expression.

"The matter has come to this point, it is the most important thing to first change the king of Xin'an as the crown prince. You have to bear with it first, you don't have to expose Xu Mi's conspiracy to murder your majesty in public, lest his Jingzhou soldiers and horses hear the wind. The situation is stable, and then slowly plot. Understand?"

Xiao Yongjia opened his eyes and nodded slowly.

Gao Qiao stared at her pale face with infinite love and pity in her heart. She couldn't help but lowered her head and gently kissed her forehead.

"You haven't slept well for days and nights. Get some sleep first."

He said softly.

…

Late at night, in the prison cell of the Tingwei Department, Murong was sitting on the ground, looking at the man across from him who came to visit the prison.

His long hair is messy, his shawl is down, the blood scab on his clothes has turned black and purple, and mosquitoes and flies that smell blood are flying around him.

A person who should have been in a state of embarrassment at the moment seems to be so calm, even indifferent.

It seems that all of this is just a trap on the outside, and it has no effect on his heart at all.

Xu Mi glanced at him and said, "It looks pretty good. It seems that Gao Qiao has not forced you to confess in the past few days."

Murong raised his eyes: "Thanks to Xu Situ for saving his life that day. When Situ succeeds, I hope you don't forget the promise you made to me back then."

Xu Mi stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Murong, I don't understand. Your sister has escaped, why didn't you escape?"

"Situ and I have an unfinished appointment. Why do you want to run away?" Murong smiled lightly.

"Originally, I, Xu Bi, was a person who would do what he said. When the prince ascended the throne, I borrowed some troops from you and asked you to kill the north to take revenge. I didn't kill you, but let you live to this day, I'm showing mercy to your men."

"You still have the face, dare to ask me to borrow troops and horses?"

His expression suddenly became gloomy, and he stared at Murong Ti on the ground.

Murong didn't change his expression, but still smiled: "I don't know what Xu Situ means? Forgive my stupidity, please clarify."

"Murong! Stop pretending in front of me!"

Xu Mi suddenly gave a low drink.

"Clan brother Xu Yue, after Qu Shui came to life, he would not see anyone alive, nor would he die without a corpse. Did you kill him?"

He sneered.

"Your treacherousness and forbearance are rare in my life. Originally, I admired you quite a bit. Thinking of letting you return to the north in the future, maybe you and I can work together to do something big. It's a pity, you don't know what's good or bad. You don't understand gratitude, how dare you kill my clan brother?"

"Although you are treacherous, but with that little trick, trying to hide from the sky and the sea in front of me is still a little tender. Not to mention that you killed my clan brother, even if you moved a dog of my Xu family, I can't tolerate you!"

"The reason why I rescued you from Gao Qiao's knife that day was to repay your favor. Today, I am here to talk to you clearly. Lest you think that you are the smartest person in the world, and you can play with me, Xu Miyi. On the palm of your hand!"

"Remember, I have already paid your life back. Now that you are dead, and you are in the underground Huangquan, don't blame me for Xu Mi's disbelief, turning my face and not recognizing anyone."

He glanced at Murong Ti in disgust and turned to go.

Murong Ting stared at his back, his expression still light.

"Xu Situ, the reason why you rushed there when Gao Qiao killed me was because you were afraid that I would confess you?"

"Don't worry. If you keep your promise, I, Murong, will smash the promise between you and me in the stomach. Even if I die, no one will know. It is because of you that my sister has the opportunity to be able to Poisoning today's Dayu Emperor has brought him down to where he is today."

Xu Mi stopped and snorted: "Murong, you dare to threaten me when you are about to die. It's ridiculous!"

Murong stared at Xu Mi.

"Xu Situ, you only know that my sister is attractive, and all the men who have been close to her are willing to surrender and listen to her instructions. But you don't know that she can also imitate people's handwriting, and her skills are superb, so she is imitated. People, I'm afraid it's hard to tell the truth from the fake."

"When she was in the palace, she learned the emperor's handwriting early, and planned to write an edict to Gao Qiao. She also stole the jade seal and stamped it on it."

"The edict says, Xu colluded with Murong, offered a daughter to hide in the Queen's Palace, and took the opportunity to flirt. If one day, the emperor's dragon's body is unpredictable, it must be killed by those people together. The main culprit, except for Murong. , Xu Bi and Empress Xu, also participated together. Gao Qiao was ordered to hold the secret edict, be on the side of the Qing emperor, and uphold the laws of the country."

"When my sister fled, she carried this secret edict with her. If something happens to me, or if you break your promise in the future, she will bring this edict and sacrifice herself to see Gao Qiao."

Murong looked at Xu Mi's face that was gradually blushing, and smiled slightly.

"Xu Situ, you said, if Gao Qiao got such an edict, not to mention the clear jade seal on the top, it was a fake seal, he would turn a blind eye and easily call the crown prince, and let your Xu family cover the sky from now on?"

"What's more, my sister is a witness. You don't have to think about how to catch her. She is so talented that you can't find her unless you show up yourself."

He slowly adjusted his sleeves, and the chains on the handcuffs rattled.

"My members of the Murong family, whether male or female, live in the world now, and their only purpose is to restore the country. If you keep your previous promises well. In the future, you will be your emperor of the Southern Dynasty, and I will restore my country of Yan. One South One Bei, the two have nothing to do with each other. Otherwise, although Murong Tzu is despised and worthless to die, but if he can pull you down from the Xu family, it is worth dying."

Xu Mi was furious, her eyes bulging, she pulled out the sword from her waist, and hurried back to Murong Ti, about to stab it.

Murong put a sneer on the corner of her lips, raised her chest, and closed her eyes.

The tip of the sword pierced into Murong Ti's neck, and Xu Mi's hand holding the sword froze in midair.

After a long while, he suddenly retracted his sword and laughed: "Just kidding! Just kidding! Murongti, you really are your character, I didn't misunderstand you at the beginning. In the future, you and I must have more opportunities for cooperation. Don't worry, What happened before is written off. I will remember the previous promise. You can rest assured that in a few days, when I get through this, I will act on my promise and never regret it!"

Murong opened his eyes and smiled: "Thank you Xu Situ. I'm here waiting for good news."

Xu Mi nodded, and was about to appease him a few more words. Outside the prison door, an attendant hurried in and said in his ear: "Situ, Gao Qiao just urgently summoned all officials to the East Pavilion to face the Holy Spirit. Your Majesty has a will to announce."

Xu Mi's face changed greatly, and she blurted out, "What? Can Your Majesty speak?"

The entourage shook his head: "There is no such news from the queen."

Only then did Xu Mi breathe a sigh of relief, calm down, and look at Murong Ti, who had a dignified expression, and snorted: "Go and see. What kind of fame can Gao Qiao make!"