Rebellious officials bow their heads

Old Master Ji woke up in the middle of the night when he received a notification from his servants, and was obviously taken aback when he heard that it was Xu Yanchuang's mansion. He hurriedly put on his robe and asked his servants to make tea, and led him to the study.

Xu Yan walked into the study, the two of them met each other before they had time to say a word, and then heard the attendant rush in the door in a panic, and said anxiously: "Master, something happened!..."

Then he saw Xu Yan's voice stop suddenly.

Old Master Ji waved his hand: "But it doesn't matter."

"Ji Shoufu was imprisoned in the palace by the national teacher. Now the palace is full of forbidden troops and Xuanxie guards, and Mu He leads the three battalions to take turns to change defenses. Not even a fly can fly in."

Old Master Ji frowned, looked at Xu Yan thoughtfully, saw that he was not surprised, and said, "This is why you came here late at night? What happened before you left the palace?"

"Your Majesty is poisoned by Foluosan, and it should be under the control of Qing Ci now. I just went to Duyun Temple to find the antidote, and found that the assassination of the late emperor had many connections with Ji's family..." Xu Yan's voice gradually The cold went down, "I don't know how the scholar Ji Dashi explained it?"

The old man Ji took a sip of tea slowly, with a calm expression, and thought about it: "Although the Ji family controls the government, usurped the imperial power, and tried their best to maintain the prosperity of the family, they never committed such a treasonous act."

"How do you explain the exchange of letters between Mrs. Ji and Qing Ci?"

"Most of the women's family members in Beijing have contacts with Duyun Temple, offering incense and worship. Qing Ci is the most knowledgeable in Taoism. Rather than talking about Taoism, dead wives are also included in this list. There is nothing special about it. If it is a letter, the content should be just About morality."

Old Master Ji deserves to be the person who established the power of the Ji family, he sorted out Xu Yan's words in a moment, and guessed it well, "You said that the deceased wife and Qing Ci wrote a letter to represent the connection between the Ji family and the late emperor's assassination, why? Do you think that the real mastermind behind the scenes is not He Jifeng, but Qingci?"

"You really don't know about the assassination of the first emperor?" Xu Yan stared at the other party's expression coldly, and slowly turned the ring with his fingers gathered under the sleeve robe.

"I only know that He Jifeng defected to the enemy, treasoned the country and murdered the late emperor, and it has been concluded." The old man Ji's solemn face remained unchanged, and he looked at him, "You don't have any evidence, and it is impossible to overthrow the case by speculation."

Xu Yan: "I found some clues, and I need you to help me find everyone who is close to Mrs. Ji, including her servants."

The old man Ji laughed, with wrinkles on his face, "You have separated from the Ji family, why do you think the old man will help you?"

"This is not a request, but a transaction." Xu Yan said lightly, "I will rescue Ji Han."

The old man Ji stared at him for a few breaths, then gradually became serious, and raised his arm towards the chair next to him, "Sit down and talk."

"No need, the top priority is to get rid of Qing Ci's control over His Majesty and the palace, and only in this way can Ji Han be rescued."

The old man Ji sighed: "I have expected that once the emperor can't suppress Foluosan, Qingci will take action. I didn't expect him to come so soon."

Xu Yan's confusion surged up again, "What happened back then? Was it Qingci who gave His Majesty Florosan?"

Mrs. Ji didn't answer for a long time, as if she was lost in contemplation of the past. After a while, she looked at Xu Yan with a tinge of relief, but answered irrelevantly: "The reason why the emperor asked you to leave the capital was to avoid today's situation. Fortunately, , You have become a person who can withstand the wind and rain."

Xu Yan frowned deeply: "What did you say?"

"Didn't you always wonder why I agreed with you and your mother to leave Ji's house in disregard of etiquette?" Mrs. Ji said, "I'm telling you now, the person who asked you to leave Ji's house is not me, but Your Majesty."

The room was as quiet as if everything had evaporated.

Xu Yan stiffly hung down his finger that was turning the ring, his words were like thunder, making his mind bewildered, and he looked at the elderly Patriarch of the Ji family in a daze.

"I still remember the way the emperor came to look for me, when he was still His Royal Highness, he asked for someone for the first time and bowed his hands to me. This was the last thing His Majesty did when he was locked up in the deep palace. Afterwards, the city was full of wind and rain, the government and the public were in turmoil, Beijing was cleaned up by Qing Ci, and even the Ji family was under its constraints."

Xu Yan's pupils trembled and enlarged, and the memories of the past in his mind washed away the dust in an instant, and scenes followed one after another.

So in other words... the kindness he has been thinking about is actually owed to Xie Linze...

But the other party never mentioned it...

He muttered: "Linze..."

……

After Xu Yan left Jifu, he used the information from Baijumen to run around. Qingci will hold the Qingjiao Ceremony in two days. There is too little time left for him to arrange. One day passed. No useful information was found over there, and even after the old lady passed away, all the personal servants she sent home disappeared without a trace.

Xu Yan didn't entirely expect that the old case of the year would be cleared up once, and he made up his mind to secretly transport gunpowder from outside the city.

The sky gradually darkened, and there was silence in the Taixuan Hall. General Qing Ci sat in front of the table, holding a wolf hair to review the memorial.Not far from him, layers of crimson curtains hung down, reflecting a pitch-black figure. Xie Linze was holding a wine cup, shaking it gently, with his arms resting on his bent legs, and the rich aroma of wine was on his clothes .

Qingci glanced at him, finished the rest of the memorial, got up, walked around the curtain, and walked in front of him, "I have used the newly prepared medicine, can I still see it? When I get to Linghetai, don't make any mistakes. .”

Xie Linze lowered his eyelids, and the lines at the end of his eyes were narrow and slightly curved, like the ripples cut by the lake. He lifted the wine glass with his slender fingers. After he took a sip, he raised his eyelashes, and the broken light of the glazed lamp was reflected in his eyes.

He seemed to be completely drunk, and couldn't tell what the other party said. He only looked at Qing Ci with red eyes.

Qingci seemed to be deeply immersed in his gaze, and stretched out her hand as if bewitched, and touched his slightly closed eyes, "It's really a pity if you never see again."

He squatted down slowly, put the fox fur on the man's body, put his fingers on his wrist and checked his pulse for a while, "You are drunk, go to rest earlier."

Xie Linze has been sitting quietly on the side of the soft couch, allowing the other party to cover him with fox fur, without any response.

Qingci left behind a glazed lamp, turned around and left the Taixuan Hall, and the Xuanxie Guard outside the door greeted him, and he said lightly: "Follow me back to Duyun Temple."

The carriage in which the national teacher was riding left the palace, the Taixuan Hall was quiet, and the night was dark outside the window. Xie Linze finished drinking the last sip of wine, put the wine cup on the table, and made a slight noise.

He stood up, pulled out the dagger that was left aside, and pushed open the door of the palace with unhurried steps, leaving a Xuanxie guard guarding outside and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, you can't—"

Xie Linze raised his hand without turning his head, and Xuanxie Wei saw a silver light draw an arc in front of his eyes. The next moment, his throat was deeply cut, and the words he hadn't finished speaking turned into the sound of gurgling blood.

Xie Linze walked down the stone steps, his eyes were full of icy coldness, and there was no trace of drunkenness.

When Mu He, who was patrolling the palace, heard the news of his subordinate's reply, he was shocked and hurriedly said: "What did you say—the emperor escaped from the Taixuan Palace? He has already killed Chaolumen?!"

"Yes, Commander Mu Ji, your third brother, has already surrounded Beizhen Prefecture! It's just... no one can stop the emperor..."

Mu He walked quickly, "Notify Sanqianying to surround Chaolumen with me!"

When he rushed over with a large group of people, the open space of the gatehouse was already full of corpses, and a strong smell of blood wafted in the air. Xie Linze was standing in the encirclement, blood was dripping from his hair to the hem of his clothes, and he was still walking on his feet. Jin Yiwei, who hadn't breathed out, wiped the blood on the long sword with his opponent's robe.

This scene was obviously extremely frightening. Not only did Mu He turn pale with astonishment, but the soldiers behind him also fell into a strange silence.

At this time, a person rushed out from the crowd, holding a knife and slashing at Xie Linze. Mu He saw clearly that the person was his third younger brother Mu Ji, and immediately roared: "Don't go there!"

However, it was too late, Xie Linze waved his sword lightly, avoided the opponent's attack, kicked Mu Ji down hard, stepped on the opponent's abdomen, with a little force, the opponent struggled in pain but couldn't get up.

"Xie Linze!" Mu He roared angrily when he saw his veins bulge, "Do you think you can escape the siege and leave the palace by killing him?!"

He gasped heavily, staring at the man, "You can't control Flora's outbursts, is it like repeating the ending of the year and becoming a walking dead again?!"

Xie Linze stood up straight and looked at him through the mess of corpses. A faint voice sounded in the night, "Who told you that I killed people because of Fu Luofa? Who told you that I was going to leave the palace? I ruined so many people." Kung fu is just to attract you."

Mu He was startled, "Me?"

"Yes, General Xianwu." Xie Linze said, "Come forward."

Mu He was stiff and did not move.

Xie Linze looked at him expressionlessly, turned his wrist while holding the sword, and the blade pierced deeply into Mu Ji's shoulder, and he immediately screamed in pain: "Brother, come and save me!"

Mu He took a deep breath, walked forward stagnantly, and stopped five or six steps away from the man, his tone full of fear and vigilance, "What exactly do you want to do?"

Xie Linze said: "You and Mu Ji are the only direct descendants of the Mu family. Speaking of Mu Wen's death, you must have investigated. Have you found any clues?"

Mu He lowered his head, "Cheng Pei, the governor of Beizhen Prefecture, is dead."

The cold night wind passed through the open space of Chaolumen, Xie Linze smiled mockingly, "Do you really think Cheng Pei killed Mu Wen?"

After a pause for a while, Mu He suppressed his turbulent emotions, and still showed a trace of hatred, "I know, this matter has something to do with Ji Yan."

"Deceive yourself, you know that the person behind the scenes who really killed Mu Wen is Qing Ci who arranged this game of chess. Your Mu family is all just his pawns, and Mu Wen is a useless chess." Xie Linze stepped on the new commander under his feet Shi, "Mu Ji is a useless chess game."

He said word by word: "Including you, Mu He, you can replace them at any time if there is a slight discrepancy in the chessboard. This is the biggest difference between you and the Ji family."

Mu He's face turned extremely ugly, but he couldn't refute.

"Today I killed Mu Ji, and it won't cause any consequences. Qingci can't hold me accountable, and no one can make me pay for his life. What about you, General Xianwu, can you suffer from the pain of losing your brother again?" Xie Linze looked at looked at him quietly.

Mu He understood, and said in disbelief: "You think I will be betrayed?"

"I just want you to see clearly the position of the Mu family, and don't make another chess piece that can be replaced at any time."

The two of them were deadlocked in the cold wind. Suddenly there was the sound of chaotic footsteps behind Xie Linze, and Mu He's expression changed greatly when he saw the person coming.

Xie Linze immediately drew out his sword, and was about to turn his head, only to hear the sound of the wind, and was hit hard on the side of the neck, before he could make a sound, his eyes darkened and he passed out.

The long sword fell to the ground with a clatter, and Mu He watched helplessly as Qing Ci knocked Xie Linze unconscious with a knife in his hand, and hugged him horizontally, with the dark black scorpion guard standing behind him.

"My lord..." Mu He took a step back.

Qingci was holding Xie Linze in his arms, turned around and walked forward, suddenly stopped, turned around, looked down at Mu He, "What did he say?"

Facing him, Mu He's throat tightened, and his whole body tensed up, "Your Majesty threatened me with Mu Ji's life, want, want..."

Qingci tilted his head slightly, his eyes were as cold as moonlight, waiting for his next answer.

Mu He said with difficulty: "I asked me to let him out of the palace, but I did not agree."

Qingci turned and left, and a group of horrific Xuanxie guards followed him away from Chaolumen. The remaining Mu He wiped the cold sweat off his brow, and stood for a while before ordering his men to clean up the corpse.

"You want to leave the palace?" Qing Ci walked around the screen.

The Taixuan Empress Hall is covered by vegetation, ink paintings hang on both sides of the corridor, and Xie Linze, whose long hair is loose, is soaked in a clear pool made of bluestones. The thick mist lingers, confusing people's eyes.

He had just woken up from a coma, and his consciousness was still a little unconscious. He didn't hear Qingci's words at all. Looking at the water surface, strands of blood in his hair slid down his snow-white back, dripping and splashing in the water and fainting.

Seeing this, Qingci's eyes darkened, and she stepped into the water step by step, allowing the wide-sleeved robe to be soaked, and the white jade hanging around her waist also fell into the water. Turning around, he whispered in his ear and asked: "Is there any place for you in this world other than the palace? Is there any place for you in this world, but you, as an emperor and named Xie, can only live forever." Stay in this palace, there is no way out."

Xie Linze's slack gaze gathered little by little, and he turned his eyes coldly to the side, "That's not necessarily the case, staying in the palace means being trapped by your side, do you think I will be willing?"

"After so many years, you can't leave, you can only learn to be willing." Qingci smiled, raised his hand and pinched the man's chin to make him face himself, "You always understand my thoughts, don't continue to be disobedient gone."

The man in this posture was almost wrapped in his arms, Xie Linze narrowed his eyes, mockingly, "What's on your mind?"

"Everyone is confused by sex, and I am no exception." Qing Ci said, turning her face away, and kissed the man's pale lips due to lack of energy and blood.