How did you, a prisoner on death row, become an important weapon of the country? Yecheng Gao Weiming

"Have you agreed to...see our family?"

Outside Ciqing Palace, Wei Zhongxian stood for a long time. Finally, Zhang Yan's personal female officer Lu Lingxuan appeared and hurriedly asked.

There was a bit of anxiety in his expression, as if he was afraid that Zhang Yan would not want to see him again.

Lu Lingxuan looked at Wei Zhongxian with complicated expressions in her eyes.

This girl, who was also in her early twenties, couldn't understand.

Why did the once life-and-death enemies seem to have become sympathizers now?

Wei Zhongxian came unexpectedly and asked to see Baozhu for the last time.

This was something that was unthinkable before.

Lu Lingxuan originally wanted to refuse.

But since the incident in Huangling Town, Zhu Youjian deliberately concealed all the inside information.

Not only the people didn't know what was going on there, but even the people in the palace didn't know.

I just heard that they used weapons and fought for a whole day and a lot of people died.

But what's the inside story...

Lu Lingxuan was concerned about this, so she reluctantly agreed to Wei Zhongxian and went in to ask Baozhu if he would like to see him.

"Master Factory! Your Majesty has agreed. I will be waiting for you in the main hall of Ciqing Palace. Please come with me."

Lu Lingxuan said coldly, turned around and was about to lead Wei Zhongxian in.

Wei Zhongxian grinned and followed suit.

"Ling Lu, don't call me Mr. Factory Lord."

"Our family has resigned from the official position to the emperor, and I am afraid that we will return to our hometown today to retire."

Ok?

Wei Zhongxian actually resigned?

Can Zhu Youjian let you leave alive?

Lu Lingxuan did not turn around, but nodded slightly and continued to lead the old eunuch into the main hall.

Ciqing Palace is located on the right side of Huangji Hall and near Donghua Gate. It was formerly called Qingning Palace and was the prince's bedroom.

But after Zhang Yan moved in, the name was changed.

Naturally, this place is not as grand as the Queen's palace, Kunning Palace.

Especially if it has been abandoned for many years and is suddenly occupied by people, it will inevitably smell a bit unpleasant.

It was obviously a hot weather, but Wei Zhongxian shivered inexplicably as soon as he stepped into Ciqing Palace.

There were no palace maids or eunuchs walking around inside, but there were a few elderly nuns cleaning the floor, giving the whole place a chilling atmosphere.

When he entered the main hall, he saw a woman kneeling on a futon with her back to him, chanting sutras and chanting Buddha's name.

This woman is dressed in black gauze, with a thin back, and her long neck is covered with hair tied up, and there are faint silver threads in the hair. Who else could it be if she wasn't Zhang Yan?

After Wei Zhongxian stepped into the hall, he stood up, cleared his throat, and knelt down for the first time.

"My little minister Wei Zhongxian, please pay homage to the Queen!"

This was the first time he knelt down to worship the queen after becoming nine thousand years old.

It was also the first time Zhang Yan accepted kowtow from the powerful minister Wei Zhongxian in the seven years since she entered the palace.

Wei Zhongxian was filled with emotion and even choked up in his voice.

Because worshiping her is as warm and inexplicable as worshiping Zhu Youxiao, the former emperor of Tianqi.

Zhang Yan, however, remained silent and didn't even stop beating the wooden fish. She was still mumbling something, as if she didn't even notice Wei Zhongxian's arrival.

The sound of wooden fish in the main hall lingered around, although it was extremely boring, it was strangely peaceful.

Wei Zhongxian listened to the sound of the wooden fish, sighed, and stood up with difficulty holding his hands on the ground.

He is also getting older and is about to reach his sixtieth birthday, but he doesn't know if he will survive that birthday.

After standing up, seeing that Zhang Yan still didn't turn around, she shook her head and smiled without forcing it. Shen Jin spoke again after a moment.

"Your Majesty, our family has just come from Yangxin Palace and submitted their resignation to the Emperor. The Emperor has agreed to let our family resign and return home."

"Our family specially wants to say goodbye to you. After today, I'm afraid I won't have the chance to see you again. I wonder if your Majesty has anything else to say to our family?"

Zhang Yan still turned a deaf ear and still knocked on the wooden fish quietly, as if everything in the world had nothing to do with her.

Lu Lingxuan on the side saw this and had to cough lightly.

"Ahem, Mr. Factory Master, my wife was frightened some time ago and her throat is not very clear. She is speechless at the moment. Please forgive me."

Wei Zhongxian nodded slightly, obviously not surprised at all.

How could he not know what happened some time ago.

The little emperor took advantage of the day of the state funeral to find a few assassins to sneak into the palace to assassinate Zhang Yan.

If he hadn't sent Shen Lian, Pei Lun, and Wei Ting into the palace to find Li Xin's whereabouts.

I'm afraid, Zhang Yan is already dead.

Just thinking of his adopted daughter Wei Ting, Wei Zhongxian couldn't help but feel pain in his heart.

He sighed again.

"Your Majesty, I am here. In addition to asking your Majesty what other wishes you have, I also want to tell you what happened in Huangling Town a few days ago."

hum!

Zhang Yan, who kept beating the wooden fish, finally couldn't let go of the wooden mallet anymore.

She froze for a moment and seemed unable to move.

Even when Lu Lingxuan heard what Wei Zhongxian was going to say about what happened in Huangling Town, her heart was in her throat and she was beating nervously.

Wei Zhongxian continued to speak, and his words shocked the two women in the hall.

"Mother, I'm afraid that person is... gone."

"Before the war, he was sealed into the late emperor's coffin by the emperor and brought to Deling together."

"After the war, the imperial army led by Lu Xiangsheng occupied the entire Tianshou Mountain."

"The emperor issued a decree to bury the coffin in Deling Mausoleum. It will never be opened until tomorrow..."

As Wei Zhongxian spoke, sobbing could be heard in the hall.

That's when Lu Lingxuan could no longer bear the sadness in her heart and turned around to cry.

Although Zhang Yan didn't cry out, Wei Zhongxian could guess from how much her body was shaking that tears were streaming down her face.

"Hey...My Majesty, my condolences! That man is dead. I remember that he was my teacher, so I came here to ask about it."

"What else do you have to explain?"

"I'll help you if you can before I leave the capital. I'll try my best to handle his funeral affairs."

This is the main purpose of Wei Zhongxian coming to see Zhang Yan.

When he thought about it, since his brother was dead, he should help his brother.

Before leaving, I asked Zhang Yan if she had any unfulfilled wishes. If she did it, she would have a clear conscience.

Unfortunately, Zhang Yan still refused to look back at him. After shaking for a moment, the sound of wooden fish sounded again in the hall.

Wei Zhongxian stared at this poor girl in confusion, and realized that her heart must have completely died.

Now that he has become a walking corpse, he may die in this hall at some time, and his body and soul will be destroyed together.

"Okay, since I have nothing to explain, I can't stay long, so I will leave now!"

After saying that, Wei Zhongxian slowly turned around and was about to leave.

But before leaving, she couldn't bear the thought that the former Empress of Ming Dynasty would run out of energy and die in the palace at a young age.

He stood up and spoke softly again.

"My lady..."

"I remember, I remember, there are generally two situations for empresses and concubines who committed suicide in the Ming Dynasty."

"One is fear of sin, the other is resentment, but no matter what kind, after death, the body will be thrown into a mass grave and will not be buried in the imperial mausoleum."

"So...my queen, if you want to see that person again, please take care of yourself..."

Wei Zhongxian said it very clearly.

The Ming Dynasty dealt very strictly with concubines who committed suicide out of fear of crime or who hung up their wives because of their grudges.

In order to prevent them from disturbing the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty, they were never allowed to be buried in the imperial mausoleum after death.

Even if you are a former queen.

So I want to be buried in Deling after death, whether it is to accompany Emperor Tianqi or to accompany my brother Li Xin.

Live!

Empress, live well.

After saying that, Wei Zhongxian didn't stop anymore.

Just when he stepped out of the hall, a gentle sigh came from behind him.

"Thank you, factory minister."

Wei Zhongxian smiled in relief.

"What are you thanking for? Madam, it's our family... I'm sorry for you!"

……

Three hours later, it will be dark.

Zhu Youjian, who was still stationed in the Yangxin Hall, continued to inquire about Wei Zhongxian's news.

"What? Already left? You also packed up forty carts of gold, silver and jewelry, and brought more than a thousand sword-wielding soldiers with you?"

Hearing that Wei Zhongxian was leaving the capital overnight, Zhu Youjian breathed a sigh of relief and slumped down on the soft couch.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"Wei Zhongxian is leaving Kyoto with all his savings and nearly ten million taels of silver. Your Majesty, do we really, really let him go?"

Cao Huachun asked anxiously, waiting for the emperor to order the execution.

As long as he is given an order, he dares to risk his life to fight Wei Wei.

"What did you say, nearly ten million taels?"

When Zhu Youjian heard that such a huge wealth was about to leave the capital, he almost vomited a mouthful of old blood and fainted on the spot.