Golden Stage

The high fever lasted from evening to midnight, and it wasn't until the end of midnight that Fu Shen fully woke up.

In the dead of night, everything is silent.The room was dark, the beds, curtains, and curtains were not quite the same as the ones he was familiar with. There was only one lamp on the table, illuminating the whole area like a misty veil.He caught a slight sound of breathing, turned his head and found a low couch outside the bed, Yan Xiaohan curled up with his back facing him, sleeping with his clothes on.

The events of yesterday flooded into my mind like a stream of water, but I could no longer set off a huge wave. The undercurrent surged under the surface of the water, and it sank into the unfathomable bottom of the sea.

The human heart is as clear as a mirror, but they turn the shallow water into a deep pool.

Fu Shen lay uncomfortable all over, and wanted to turn over to relax his stiff and sore back.Unexpectedly, Yan Xiaohan woke up as soon as he moved. He turned over and sat up, and reached out to help him. Because he was not fully awake yet, he opened his mouth unexpectedly softly: "What's wrong? Do you want water or relieve your hand?"

He supported Fu Shen with both hands, so he naturally leaned over to touch his forehead, and tested the temperature: "It seems that the fever has subsided."

Fu Shen never expected that he would be treated so well. At first, he almost didn't realize it. When he realized something was wrong, he immediately hid back: "It's okay... don't want anything, you... help me to sit up for a while."

The drowsiness gradually faded away, Yan Xiaohan's eyes finally became clear, and the atmosphere suddenly became awkward.He asked Fu Shen to sit leaning against the head of the bed, then took three steps back and sat back on the low couch, creating a distance that was not familiar with etiquette.

The two of them seemed to wake up from their insanity at the same time, and at the same time they remembered this ridiculous marriage between them.

No matter how strong its political meaning is, no matter whether it is an outright conspiracy or not, even if it is a "mandarin couple hugging each other", its essence remains unchanged, it is still a marriage.

Jing Ninghou, who had a numb face just now, had a tendency to have headaches again. He is actually a person who can handle things very well, but now he just wants to lose his memory and start over, pretending that nothing happened.

"Go on and sleep, don't worry about me."

Yan Xiaohan messed up his hair, picked up a coat beside the bed and threw it to him: "It's cold at night, put it on. I'll ask someone to bring the porridge."

A man like Fu Shen, who came from a wealthy family, became famous at a young age, grew up from praise and admiration, and after seeing too much, it is easy to be extremely slow to "others treat him well".However, maybe it was influenced by the marriage gift from the Heavenly Killer, or maybe it's because people's hearts are extra sensitive during a serious illness. In this series of actions, the first thing he felt was Yan Xiaohan's calm and considerate, and he said embarrassingly in his heart: "Still ...very virtuous."

Once you think about it, all your thoughts will be involuntarily wrong.

Just looking at his face, Yan Xiaohan was three points better than him. He changed out of Fei Longwei's dark robe and wore a light-colored, homely old clothes with wide sleeves. When he got up to turn on the lamp, his black hair seemed to flow He slid from his shoulders to his chest, lowered his eyes wearily, as if he was still sleepy, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly when he was not smiling. The gentle and soft silhouette illuminated by the light can make people forget his identity for a short time , completely immersed in the smudged light and shadow.

Fu Shen squinted his eyes, unaware that he looked so much like a hooligan with malicious intentions.

When Yan Xiaohan turned to go out, he closed the door behind him, and walked down the corridor laughing.Fu Shen may have lost his temper, and he never restrained himself when staring at people. He probably didn't realize how aggressive his gaze was. Yan Xiaohan felt that his clothes were about to be melted by his staring, and finally couldn't help it anymore. , had no choice but to flee.

Seeing him coming out of the room with a smile on his face, the guards at night thought that Fu Shen had died, otherwise how could his master be so happy as if he had lost his mind.

After the hot porridge was served, the two stunned people returned to normal.Fu Shen and Yan Xiaohan sat facing each other with bowls in their hands, the heat scorched his pale lips and cheeks a little, and forcibly straightened his spine.They can finally calmly examine the bumpy road ahead full of thorns and wonder where to start.

Yan Xiaohan spit out the tea he rinsed his mouth with, put the tea bowl back on the table, and said, "Master Hou."

Fu Shen was still drinking porridge slowly: "Huh?"

Yan Xiaohan: "I have a few questions, and I hope Lord Hou will answer them for me."

"I'm talking about Master Yan," Fu Shen put down the spoon, and casually curled the corner of his lips, "We are already two grasshoppers in the same line, so don't call 'Hou Ye Hou Ye', it's so strange."

There was a tacit ridicule implied, and Yan Xiaohan had to admit that although Fu Shen was stubborn in some aspects, most of the time he was quite honest and shrewd. Dealing with this kind of smart person doesn't require much twists and turns. around.

"Since you said so, then fine," Yan Xiaohan compromised, "Jingyuan, I heard what the emperor said yesterday, and it seems that I am deeply dissatisfied with you. Did you do something recently to annoy the emperor?"

"Cough, cough...don't call me so close." Fu Shen choked and said helplessly, "Can't you just call me by my name?"

Yan Xiaohan smiled sweetly: "They are all about to get married, so let's get used to it in advance."

Fu Shen made him lose his appetite, put the porridge bowl aside casually, and sighed: "The child has no mother, it's a long story, were you born when the emperor came to the throne?"

Yan Xiaohan's pupils shrank slightly: "Just born, what?"

"The origin of this matter was before that," Fu Shen said. "The late emperor had nine sons. The fifth prince who was most favored by the late emperor and most likely to ascend to the throne was His Royal Highness the fifth prince. The British king and the third prince are now Prince Su is the same mother and brother."

"You may not know that my second uncle used to be the companion of His Royal Highness King Su. The two of them... well, they have a very close relationship, so they are very close to the King of England. To put it bluntly, he really treats him like a younger brother .”

Yan Xiaohan felt that his hesitation was a bit strange, but he didn't pursue it.Fu Shen continued: "The late emperor suddenly fell ill while he was in the palace. At that time, only the eldest prince and His Majesty were accompanying him. The late emperor's edict was read out by Grand Tutor Yang Gong. To everyone's surprise, the edict passed on the throne to His Majesty."

"At the beginning of the emperor's reign, many people questioned the authenticity of the edict, because Yang Gong and the current empress belong to the same clan. Some people also contacted King Su and King Ying in private, intending to rebel against the court. His Majesty seemed to have noticed it, so when he ascended the throne In the second year of the year, the King of England was sent to the fief."

"In the second year of Yuantai, the Aram tribe of the Eastern Tatars invaded the Great Zhou Dynasty, and Ningzhou, the fiefdom of the King of England, was the first to bear the brunt. Back then, the frontier army was weak, and the barbarians drove straight in. The King of England led the troops of the royal palace to resist the cavalry of the Eastern Tatars. After fighting hard for several days, they disappeared. Su Wang and my second uncle sent people to search for it, but found nothing. In that case, the possibility of him surviving is very small. As time passed, this matter was gradually forgotten, and no one mentions it now."

"However, my second uncle has never given up looking for the King of England. After he passed away, this matter fell on me." Fu Shen smiled, "Who would have thought that there is no unparalleled road, and the descendants of the King of England, I actually found it."

Yan Xiaohan was stunned.

"When the King of England died in battle, a concubine in the manor was pregnant. She was taken away by the Eastern Tatars. The last bit of blood of King Ying wanted to take the child and flee back to Dazhou, but unfortunately, he was snatched by the nomads of the Wuzhu tribe halfway, so he had to hide his identity, falsely claiming that he was a Han woman who was bought slightly, and committed himself to Hatu, the leader of the Wuzhu tribe.

"Fortunately, not long after she escaped, the Almu tribe was exterminated. Since then, no one in the world knows her original identity. This strange woman killed the former leader of the Wuzhu tribe, and now she is one of the best in the East Tartar. Great nobleman, I say that, you should already know who she is."

"The...wife of the former leader Chagan and the current leader Erqi of Eastern Tatars," Yan Xiaohan murmured, "...Hashketun, it's her?"

Fu Shendao: "The King of England taboos 'Hun', and 'Hashi' means 'Jade' in Eastern Tatar language."

Yan Xiaohan: "What about the descendants of the King of England?"

Fu Shen: "I didn't want to intervene in the battle of Xiqiuguan. It was Hashketun who first sent his cronies to Beiyan to find me, and asked me to bring the blood of King Ying back to Dazhou. I will send a letter to King Su. In the month of the month, he went to Beiyan in person, met with the envoy, and confirmed that Hashi Kedun was indeed born in the Yingwang Palace."

Yan Xiaohan: "So you agreed?"

As if the most critical link has been buckled, the cause and effect are automatically connected into a line in an instant, and all the past suddenly have a clear context.

"You agreed to Ke Dun, and the reward she gave you was... the begging of Wuzhubu. In order to stay in Dazhou in a legitimate way, she stuffed the descendants of the Queen of England into the Eastern Tartar Mission accompanying the little prince to Beijing, right? ?" Yan Xiaohan stared at Fu Shen's legs, "But the Eastern Tartar Mission was ambushed in Qingsha Pass, and there was no survivor..."

Fu Shen said softly: "Guess, does the Emperor know about this?"

Feilongwei is the emperor's eyes and ears, the emperor's eagle dog, and Yan Xiaohan don't even know about it, how could the emperor know about it?

But if the emperor didn't know, why would he want to get rid of Fu Shen and hurry up?

"The emperor may trust you a lot," Fu Shen's eyes flashed a mockery, "but maybe he didn't give you all the trust, Lord Yan."

That was the real purpose of his storytelling tonight.

Yan Xiaohan originally wanted to find out about Fu Shen's background, but he didn't expect that Fu Shen's backhand would be to sow discord.

Neither of them knew the real purpose of the other, Yan Xiaohan suspected that Fu Shen had another back hand, Fu Shen was wary of Yan Xiaohan standing on the emperor's side.The two spoke frankly, but they kept probing one after another secretly.No one dares to fully entrust their trust, even if they are already standing on the same precarious ship.

Yan Xiaohan complimented casually, not very sincerely: "Your Majesty is very resourceful."

"It's not as thoughtful as Master Yan," Fu Shen replied.He said lightly, "I can tell you one more thing."

"I left Yanzhou and went back to the capital, not because of a leg injury, but also because the mission's itinerary was rearranged by my people, which was slightly different from what the Eastern Tatars knew. One of the 'entrances' was Qingsha Pass. There is indeed a 22-year-old envoy of Han descent in the Tatar mission.”

Yan Xiaohan: "Master Hou is implying that the Northern Yan army has the Emperor's eyeliner?"

Fu Shen: "The Eastern Tatars didn't know that we had changed our route, and the northern Yan army who arranged the itinerary didn't know that the Eastern Tatars got a different route. This double-sided plan was finalized privately by King Su and I just to be on the safe side. , To put it bluntly, only the two of us know that the Eastern Tatars and the Northern Yan Army are taking two different routes."

The original purpose of making this series of arrangements was actually to prevent the Eastern Tatars from plotting, but they didn't expect to stumble on a route that only "our own people" knew.

An arrow in Qingsha Pass pierced through the peace that had been whitewashed for many years, and also pierced through the truth hidden behind it.

Fu Shen smiled: "Do you know who in the Northern Yan Army are able to participate in the matter of the King of England?"

He has seniority, status, and the right to speak, at least above the general level.

"The emperor bestowed me with the marriage, and he only cared about Beiyan's military power, and then he picked you out of the general, right?" Fu Shen said boldly, "My lord, although I've been tired of this poor position for a long time, But I still have to advise you, don't look at the emperor trusting you now, it won't be so when you take this position."

"Most of the Northern Yan army are my cronies, and a small part are the emperor's eyeliner. This eyeliner is not with you. If all my cronies trust you, you will be the next Fu Shen. If my cronies don't If you are willing to rely on you, you will be completely excluded. And the emperor will never let you become an accomplice with that eyeliner—"

"He's not just guarding against me, he's guarding against everyone."