Golden Stage

Yan Xiaohan's heart skipped a beat suddenly, he didn't even care about being rude, he stared at Emperor Yuantai in astonishment: "Your Majesty?"

What the hell!This is too ridiculous!

He and Fu Shen were still scolding at court three months ago, and the whole capital knew that they didn't like each other, why did the emperor suddenly want to make them a couple?

"The Fu family's lineage is deeply rooted in northern Xinjiang, and it has become a confidant's trouble."

This sentence was like pouring cold water on his head, instantly calming Yan Xiaohan from his shock.Needless to say, the cause and effect of the marriage automatically formed a thread in his mind: no wonder there were rumors suddenly appearing in the capital, no wonder the crown prince looked at him like that just now, all of this was already in their plan.It seems that the Emperor's fear of Fu's family has not been overnight... Then the series of incidents in which Fu Shen was assassinated and injured and returned to Beijing were also part of the plan?

No, not right.The primary purpose of the assassination was to put him to death, and it was an accident that Fu Shen was injured and survived.The uncertainty of bestowing a marriage is too strong, and it has little control over Fu Shen. This is obviously a temporary decision, but it is more like following the trend.

However, it cannot be ruled out the possibility that one plan fails and another plan is made.The most important thing is, who spread the rumor that "Fu Shen is a broken sleeve"?

"Just now the crown prince offered advice to me. It is said that Fu Shen has different hobbies, so he can take advantage of the marriage gift to completely sever the connection between the Northern Yan army and the Fu family."

Prince Sun Yunliang, what kind of hatred does he have with Fu Shen?

Yan Xiaohan recalled slowly, it seemed that the crown prince wanted to accept Fu Shen's younger sister as the crown princess, but because Fu Shen insisted on not giving in, the crown prince was politely rejected by the Fu family.

He had reported this matter to Emperor Yuantai, and Emperor Yuantai should also understand how much selfishness there is in the prince's plan.But compared to blackmailing Fu Shen, this selfishness may not be worth mentioning in his eyes.

Emperor Yuantai changed the subject: "This plan is feasible. But after Fu Shen leaves, who can replace him as the commander of Beiyan?"

"The crown prince recommends Yang Sijing." He shook his head, seemed to find it funny, but also felt a little helpless, and said lightly, "After all, he is young and his thoughts are shallow."

Yan Xiaohan almost laughed at the father and son.Yang Sijing is the son of Empress Yang's elder brother and the prince's cousin. Because of the empress's kindness, he was granted the title of general of the third rank and the ninth door guard.No matter how downcast Fu Shen was, he was also the eldest son of Duke Ying's mansion, a first-rank member of the imperial court, and the Marquis of Jingning who was fought on the battlefield.What kind of thing is Yang Sijing, a dandy who comes from the shadow of kindness, does he really think that the 20 cavalry of the Northern Yan Army are all dead?

The majestic prince of a country can actually come up with such a low-handed method to mutilate meritorious officials.How can it not be chilling to think that such a person will become an emperor in the future.

Emperor Yuantai continued: "I don't want to let the Fu family become big, but I also don't intend to destroy the Great Wall. The Northern Yan Iron Cavalry is the defense line of the northern border of the Great Zhou. The danger of Tarzhe is not over. If you change the generals rashly, I'm afraid it will shake the morale of the army. You need to move forward slowly. I have thought about it, you have lived in the capital for a long time, so it is time to move."

Mr. Yan, who was still inwardly ridiculing "what is Yang Sijing?" suddenly fell into the same situation - there is no way, in front of the youngest general of the Great Zhou Dynasty, his peers with lower ranks are not considered anything.

He knelt down again to plead guilty: "I have no talent or virtue, so I dare not be loved by your Majesty. Please think twice, Your Majesty."

Emperor Yuantai: "You don't want to?"

Yan Xiaohan: "Your Majesty, forgive me."

"Menggui," Emperor Yuantai's face turned cold, "I remember you told me that you don't like women, and I promised to find you a satisfactory marriage. They are all top grade, why don't you agree?"

A layer of cold sweat broke out on Yan Xiaohan's back, and he was about to close his eyes and make up a foolish story of "Heart belongs to him" to fool the emperor, but Emperor Yuantai raised his hand and threw a scroll of Minghuang imperial edict in front of him.

The jade shaft knocked on the blue brick floor with a "boom", half of the relief was broken, and tiny jade chips splashed into Yan Xiaohan's sleeve.

"Look." Emperor Yuantai said.

Yan Xiaohan slowly unfolded the imperial edict.

"Fengtian Chengyun Emperor's edict said: Zhenguo General Jingning Marquis Fu Shen, Ying Guogong Fu Jian, after six years of official career, meritorious deeds, shocking the enemy and barbarians, and serving the country with loyalty, I regard it as left and right, and hereby treat it as Qin En. Left General of Shenwuwei Feilongwei Qinchai Yan Xiaohan, a descendant of a family in the capital, Suwei Zhongzheng, Xuande Mingen, handsome and handsome, Yunwen Yunwu, I am very fond of him. The two are destined for each other, and today I decree to marry, It is my responsibility to choose an auspicious day to get married, and I hope that you two will be of the same heart and mind, and do your best to the country, and don't let me down, I admire this."

"I have sent someone to the Jingninghou Mansion to proclaim the decree." He stared at Yan Xiaohan coldly, "If you think it through clearly, then take this imperial decree and kneel down."

The implication is, if you don't think clearly, just kneel here until you die.

Yan Xiaohan and Fu Shen, one is a famous general, one is an eagle dog, one is upright, one is a hypocrite, one has a heart for the world, one is eager for success, one is famous, one is notorious, two people with different paths, but because of an absurd With an incomparable gift of marriage, they end up in the same place for life.

Even more absurd than this marriage decree, Yan Xiaohan's first reaction when he saw it was not anger, but a kind of cold pleasure.

He thought maliciously in his heart, what would Fu Shen's reaction be when he received the marriage decree?

Can this pillar of the imperial court, whose shoulders are full of responsibilities and morality, be conscientious and dedicated, being stepped into the mud by the monarch he is loyal to like this, can he continue to "have the world in his mind" calmly?Did he accept the imperial decree swallowing his anger, or did he go out of the capital and hoist the Beiyan army flag, and simply reversed it?

Master Yan was running wildly, while Eunuch Tian, ​​the eunuch over there, slipped in on tiptoe, approached the emperor, and whispered a few words.

Emperor Yuantai was secretly annoyed at Yan Xiaohan's ignorance, and after hearing Eunuch Tian's report, his face was so gloomy that it almost dripped, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Go, repeat what you just said to Yan Aiqing again."

Eunuch Tian cautiously walked up to Yan Xiaohan, and read according to the scriptures: "The Marquis of Jingning refused to accept the decree, and now he is kneeling outside the palace gate, begging for an interview."

Emperor Yuantai asked sadly: "Tian Tong, what's the weather outside? The Marquis Jingning's body is not healthy, don't let it freeze."

Eunuch Tian comprehended: "Return to Your Majesty, it's raining outside. It was raining heavily before, but now it's raining heavily. This... Marquis Jingning has been waiting outside for half an hour, why don't I bring him an umbrella?"

In the main hall, there was a faint earthy smell unique to rainy days, the floor tiles were cold, and his knees ached.Yan Xiaohan didn't need to imagine, he also knew that Fu Shen would only hurt hundreds of times and thousands of times more than him.

In addition to pain, there should be more painstaking effort than autumn rain.

He finally understood what the emperor meant.

From the very beginning, Emperor Yuantai didn't intend to consider Yan Xiaohan's opinion, the inquiry was nothing but hypocrisy, and Yan Xiaohan didn't have the qualifications to say "no" to him.

What Emperor Yuantai wanted him to agree to was not this ridiculous gift of marriage, but to take away the power of Beiyan Iron Cavalry bit by bit from Fu Shen's hands.

Yan Xiaohan is now the third rank, and the commander of Beiyan is the first rank. As long as he can reach that position, prosperity and wealth are just around the corner.Besides, with the support of the emperor behind him, it doesn't seem too difficult to kick out a crippled coach.

No matter how you look at it, it's a bargain.

Only Fu Shen's past is in front of him, coating this golden future with a layer of dark blood.

The passage of time suddenly became extremely slow, and after an unknown amount of time, the pendulum of the Western chiming clock in the side hall struck several times, breaking the silence of the hall.

Emperor Yuantai was already a little impatient, and was about to take another dose of strong medicine, when Yan Xiaohan suddenly said, "I have something unclear, please enlighten me, Your Majesty."

"tell me the story."

Yan Xiaohan: "The Fu family has been loyal and good for generations, and Fu Shen has guarded the sidelines for several years without any second thoughts, and... he is already a useless person. Giving a marriage at this moment will not only easily attract criticism from the courtiers, but also encourage Fu Shen Possession. The minister is dull, why does His Majesty insist on doing it at this time?"

These words seemed to loosen the meaning, and Emperor Yuantai secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "Fu Shen is indeed a loyal minister, but he is not loyal to me."

"A general is a magical weapon in the king's hands. Fu Shen is certainly sharp and unstoppable, but if a knife has too many thoughts, it will not be so reassuring. For ministers, some are loyal to the king, and some are loyal to the king. Loyal to the world. Fu Shen, like his uncle Fu Tingxin, is a loyal subject to the world."

"Fu Shen's sword will one day turn its tip to point at its master. Tell me, how can I safely pass it on to future generations? Don't forget, although Beiyan Iron Cavalry guards the border, it is only a thousand miles away from the capital. away."

Yan Xiaohan once again scolded Fu Shen in his heart, this stick probably did something thankless and offended the emperor, his Northern Yan army was as strict as an iron bucket, Fei Longwei wanted to dig some news It is simply impossible to reach the sky.If he knew what happened earlier and prepared countermeasures in advance, why would he be caught off guard by the emperor and the prince today!

"Menggui, you have been by my side for a long time, and you are my most useful humerus," Emperor Yuantai said, "You are different from Fu Shen, as long as you take this step, your future will be limitless."

"If you insist on refusing, I will give you another choice."

Yan Xiaohan raised his eyes, looking at the emperor perched on the dragon chair.

Jinkou Yuyan, cold words and sentences tinged with murderous intent, rolled down the golden steps one after another.

"Either accept the order and marry Fu Shen, or you go and get rid of Fu Shen yourself for me."

Times have changed, how much Emperor Yuantai relied on the Fu family back then, now he is so jealous of Fu Shen, even to the point where he can't get rid of his unhappiness.

Yan Xiaohan picked up the imperial decree scroll with a corner knocked off. He had been kneeling all this time, but at this moment he bent down deeply and made a big salute: "My lord... I thank Your Majesty for your kindness."

The meager light from the sky enters the hall and falls on the high-hanging "Zhongzheng Renhe" plaque.

This autumn rain was coming violently, water was everywhere outside the gate of the palace, and yellow leaves were falling.In the gloom and gloom everywhere, the red clothes that were wet by the water were particularly conspicuous.

Yan Xiaohan walked up to the straight figure without looking sideways, condescendingly, and said coldly: "Your Majesty won't see you, don't waste your time in vain, go back."

Fu Shen didn't raise his head, but only raised his lower eyelids, looking at Yan Xiaohan's legs, his attitude was even more arrogant than the standing people: "The emperor asked you to come?"

"This matter is a foregone conclusion. It is useless to talk more. Don't ask."

"You promised him."

Yan Xiaohan seemed to be enraged by him suddenly, and the smoldering anger in the palace surged into the sky, and he smashed his head and face at Fu Shen: "Yes, what else? Everything I have today, including power and status, was given by the emperor. What qualifications do you have to refuse?!" He picked up Fu Shen's collar and said, "You still have the face to ask me? Aren't you noble, don't you wholeheartedly serve the country and be loyal to His Majesty? Thunder, rain and dew are all the favor of the king, what now? He ran to the gate of the palace again and knelt down to beg His Majesty to take back the order? Shouldn’t you happily accept the order and thank you! Who are you kneeling here for?”

The rain was getting heavier and heavier, Yan Xiaohan bowed close to Fu Shen, so close that he even touched the cold side of his rain-beaten face.

The hoarse roar was suppressed in his throat, drowned in the sound of the torrential rain, so weak that he didn't dare to fall on anyone's ears, but Fu Shen could hear it clearly.

"You are the commander-in-chief of Beiyan, why do you have to suffer this kind of grievance here? Why don't you rebel?!"

Fu Shen blinked off the drops of water on his eyelashes, and suddenly smiled.

All his resentment, frustration, empathy, indifferent insight and deep suffering are all contained in this smile.

Yan Xiaohan seemed to be burned by this smile, and suddenly let go of his hand.

Fu Shen closed his eyes, his face was so pale and almost transparent under the rain, water drops rolled down the ends of his hair and the corners of his eyes, with winding traces, and the overly thin jaw and neck showed a thrilling fragility: " In fact, I know that even if I kneel here and break my leg, it's useless, but it's just hard to get over it... Do I owe you another favor? I'm really sorry."

"But Lord Yan, a gentleman stands in the world, does what he does and does not do what he does, and Beiyan's iron cavalry guards the home and defends the country. How can my fame and glory for decades become infamous through the ages because of my own selfishness?"

"Fu may not be a gentleman, but he will never be a sinner."

The wind was violent and the rain was violent, the clouds were heavy, and the sky and the earth were dark.

Fu Shen said: "Today's humiliation will be repaid in the future."

Yan Xiaohan had nothing to say, nothing to say.He used to think he knew Fu Shen well, so he underestimated his naive obsession.It wasn't until today that he realized that Fu Shen was far more than what he knew, and he couldn't ignore Fu Shen's consistent persistence.

He sighed, and his anger was completely extinguished.

Yan Xiaohan stretched out his hand, intending to help Fu Shen get up, it doesn't seem normal to be here in the rain all the time.Unexpectedly, before his hand touched him, the man suddenly leaned forward without warning. Thanks to Yan Xiaohan's sharp eyesight and quick hands, he stretched out his hand to fish it out, and Fu Shen fell headfirst into his arms.

"Fu Shen!"