long friend

Under the palace walls, there are few happy conversations and laughter. The summer is hot, except for the singing of cicadas, it is even more empty.

The position of supervising the country on behalf of the East Palace was also when the emperor fell ill and was in his twilight years. In addition, in the past three months, not only did Xiao Qichen not make any major mistakes, but he managed the whole organization in an orderly manner. a hint.The courtiers gossiped behind their backs, and some people got confused, wishing they could point to Xiao Qichen's nose to teach him to pay attention to his identity.

A few days ago, the empress came to teach her a lesson in a strange manner, during which she spoke quite harshly, even saying "the bastard born to a lowly maidservant".But Xiao Qichen was unmoved, and politely saw off the guests.The next day, he went to Xiao Qiping's residence and told the other party about this as a joke.

"Still questioning my identity?" Xiao Qichen thought calmly, "Aren't I the prince? Is it useful to say these words now?"

Thinking of this, Xiao Qichen was almost smiling when he stepped into the East Hall.There were soft cushions on the wooden table, and Xiao Qichen sat down casually next to each other, with half of his legs propped up, and his elbows resting on his knees.He glanced at the few memorials in the middle, flipped through them quickly, but found nothing important, and always felt that something was missing.

Xiao Qichen looked at Tianhui: "Why don't your commanders come to join in the fun today?"

Tianhui wondered: "I'm afraid he has something else to do... The commander is not so free every day."

Xiao Qichen said "Yes", and looked at the newly submitted battle report.The handwriting was Su Yan's. In the past, either Zhang Li or Shen Chengjun ghostwritten such battle reports. Ever since he knew that Xiao Qichen was in charge of the country, he wrote it himself every time.

No one understood that such lingering thoughts were just enough to warm the hearts of the two of them.

After the tiger talisman was delivered, Su Yan quickly mobilized the remaining cavalry guards who stayed in Gyeonggi and [-] elite soldiers stationed in North Xuzhou, marched hurriedly for three days and two nights to the front line, and fought Turks to the death without even drinking.

The siege of Yecheng was resolved, and the battle line finally did not shrink to the Qilu area.Su Yan suffered a big loss this time, and he didn't dare to make further advances. In addition, Xiao Qichen would agree with everything he said, and there were no advisers and military advisers in the court. Basically, Su Yan's memorial was just to report what he did. Compared with It was not at the same level before, so it was naturally conducive to marching.

Xiao Qiwei had left more than half of the reserve troops in Xuzhou before, and now he is like a fish in water when he is on the battlefield. He made a mess of the situation, went down five cities in a row, and forced the battlefield back to the north of the Yellow River.

The chronic illness of the Nanliang court lies in the alienation of the monarch and his ministers. Chen Youyou is right. None of the courtiers did not have a few small calculations in their hearts, which shows how failed Xiao Yan was in power.Even though Xiao Qichen was not more popular than him, at least he would not be suspicious, which made all the old foxes heave a sigh of relief and began to seriously plan the court.

Even though it was only three months, the morale of Nanliang was obviously soared.

"So...he should be able to come back by the end of this year." Xiao Qichen thought, tapped his fingers on the battle report, and brushed over the scribbled words, the corners of his lips raised unconsciously, "The words are so ugly."

He stretched himself, preparing for a good night's sleep before dealing with the small-scale famine in the southeast.

Just as Xiao Qichen stood up and beat his calf, a gust of wind blew into him outside the door.He didn't see clearly how that person came in, and when he raised his head, he was startled: "...Liu Wenyuan?!"

The visitor's face was solemn, but not because of sadness: "Your Highness, Your Majesty urgently summons you to Hualin Garden for an audience."

His heart beat violently, Xiao Qichen stood up and straightened his clothes, and when he looked at Liu Wenyuan again, his expression turned from astonished to solemn, and he calmly said, "Let's go."

When Xiao Qichen walked out of Tai Chi East Hall, on the other side of a square, the roofs of the residences of successive emperors were surging.

The resting place of emperors in Hualin Garden is called Liquan Hall, together with Fengguang Hall and Jingyang Tower, it forms a scenic spot like heaven and earth.Surrounded by forests and gurgling water, walking among them in midsummer is like being in a paradise.

But at this moment Xiao Qichen couldn't care less about admiring the scenery, he followed behind Xu Zhengde, and walked towards Liquan Hall together with Liu Wenyuan.His heart was beating like a drum, he only felt that he had foreseen that his long-cherished wish was about to come true, and his back was a little feverish, but he was not as happy as he imagined.Xiao Qichen walked steadily step by step. He stopped in front of Liquan Hall, looked at the plaque, and noticed the unusual inscription for the first time in his life.

"Xiao Ze? The third year of Jianzhao?" Xiao Qichen read aloud, frowning, "This is..."

Liu Wenyuan explained: "It's the first emperor, His Majesty's elder brother. The middle way of reform died back then, and then his new policy also disappeared."

In this way, Xiao Qichen knew that this was his widowed and lonely uncle who died young, a strange creature who had no interest in sensuality, only liked to deal with government affairs day and night, and worked hard to govern.Some people say that he is most like Emperor Taizu Wu, but he is stubborn and violent, so the evaluation of his subjects is extremely polarized.

The former emperor didn't love piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and the calligraphy treasures left behind were very limited. Unexpectedly, Xiao Qichen saw it here.His heart sank, thinking about that bizarre death, it seemed that something was destined to come to light.

But Xiao Qichen didn't have time to think about it, Xu Zhengde urged him, so he could only look away, lowered his eyelashes, and entered the Liquan Hall.

The light in the hall is dim, and the doors and windows are half-hidden.Xiao Qichen walked around the screen, but Liu Wenyuan stopped outside, he turned to look at him in confusion, Xu Zhengde lost no time in reminding: "Your Highness, Your Majesty is waiting for you."

After he finished saying this, he opened the inner door for Xiao Qichen, and the cough of the aged emperor came up and down.Xiao Qichen felt palpitations for no reason, he smiled at Xu Zhengde who was waiting at the door: "Thank you, father-in-law."

Xu Zhengde immediately expressed with trepidation that he couldn't bear his gratitude, and motioned him to go in with a low eyebrow.

A sufficiently private space was originally a bedroom in the dormitory, and Xiao Qichen could smell the faint smell of decay in the air, which belonged to a life that was about to pass away.He could hear the sound of his heartbeat clearly, but he pretended to be calm and walked over, and finally saw his father—a skinny, wrinkled face, a very ordinary old man in his dying years.

Xiao Qichen felt that after the previous experience, he saw the imminent parting more lightly than before. Even though it was his biological father who was lingering on the sick bed at this moment, Xiao Qichen still didn't feel the slightest tremor in his heart.

He stood peacefully by the side of the couch, and said softly: "Father."

Xiao Yan coughed out a mouthful of thick phlegm, and he held the spittoon to make Xiao Yan vomit, and waited for him to speak with a gentle, respectful and thrifty look, just like Xiao Qichen's most obedient look in recent years.

At this moment, this situation makes people feel aggrieved, Xiao Yan glanced at the well-behaved Xiao Qichen, then pointed to the table, angrily said: "Go and get the pen and paper, and write an... an edict for me."

Xiao Yan still couldn't say those two words, but Xiao Qichen knew in his heart that this was a will.He said "yes", stood up and looked at the table.

The Four Treasures of the Study Room above were placed neatly, and Xiao Qichen had enough time to start studying ink. He calmed down his breathing and forced himself to suppress those crazy thoughts that were about to boil along with this slow movement.Xiao Yan didn't urge him, the father and son hadn't had a tacit understanding for more than [-] years, but at this moment they miraculously penetrated each other's thoughts.

The reincarnation of life and death, the alternation of the old and the new, is rooted in the saying "there is always something in the sky".

Xiao Qichen finally finished his ink, he put the pen holder, inkstone and the prepared imperial edict paper on a small table, brought them to the side of the couch and sat down by himself, assuming that he was ready to listen to him .

"Don't write yet," Xiao Yan said, his voice hoarse like a piece of iron scraping a copper vessel, "Qichen, I know that time is short, and now I can finally say a few words of heart-to-heart with you——To you, I am really ashamed."

Xiao Qichen's hands trembled. To him, these words were almost impossible to come by, but he didn't dare to act rashly, he only said: "Why does the emperor do this? Qichen didn't think there was anything wrong."

Hearing this in Xiao Yan's ears at this moment, he felt a little ashamed, and sighed: "I'm sorry for your mother."

Xiao Qichen looked at him suspiciously, not knowing why he would suddenly mention Zhou Ronghua at such a time.Then, as if understanding his confusion, Xiao Yan said: "Your mother... before she died, she asked me to take good care of you. For many years, I did try to love you, but in the end I didn't become a father." I can't make up for what happened. I can only leave something behind you... Don't blame me."

Listening to Xiao's speech on "responsibility" is actually a bit funny. All the memories of his father's love left in Xiao Qichen's mind are just a very fragile sigh of emotion when the two faced each other in the Tai Chi Hall that day.His training of several sons was all for the country, but in the end they were all in vain, and no one could take on important responsibilities when the country was in crisis.

And Zhou Ronghua's expectation was just to let him "take care" of Xiao Qichen?

Thinking of this, Xiao Qichen suddenly felt that his father was a little pitiful.

But he just listened quietly, but Xiao Yan didn't intend to say too much, just exhaled lightly, and said to him: "Let's put pen to paper——My old illness has relapsed, my strength is weakening, and I am in constant fear, and my worries will never end. Today I can't help myself, it's the fate of heaven. The emperor's seventh son, Qiming, was still young and not enough to take on this important task. We only hope that the sixth son of the emperor, Xiao Qichen, will be regent, and the empress Cai will teach him a lesson day and night. Before he dies, the emperor should use this to encourage himself and expel foreign enemies. I respect the funeral system in August of the third year of Jianzhao, and don't be extravagant. Follow this edict and abide by the heavy precepts forever."

He finished speaking slowly but firmly, his eyelids were drooping heavily, he calmed down for a while, and said: "The jade seal is on the table, you go and get it, I will cover it this time, maybe there will be no future."

He thought that Xiao Qichen would obey him obediently, but the other party did not move for a long time.

Xiao Yan frowned slightly, looked at him, and said sternly: "Why, Qichen, don't you want to?——Or are you complaining to me?"

"Don't dare." Xiao Qichen's smile looked a little strange because of the backlight. He put away the pen, ink, paper and inkstone one by one, and assumed a long conversation posture, "But I want to ask, what are you afraid of?"

His words accidentally hit the sore spot in the old emperor's heart, forcing him to immediately remember the wrong things he did when he was young: in the third year of Jianzhao, the weather was sultry in August, and Xiao Yan stood in the same place. Xiao Ze, who was dying of illness, smiled, and knocked over the bowl of life-saving medicine: "Brother Emperor, your merits and demerits will be judged by future generations, and from now on, I will bear the burden for you."

History seems to be repeating itself at this moment.

What is he afraid of?

The tall and handsome young man in front of him was too similar to Xiao Ze in character and handling of things. He was always haunting Xiao Yan's heart like a nightmare.If he takes the throne, Xiao Qiming will definitely not die well.But he knew in his heart that Xiao Qichen was more restrained than Xiao Ze, as long as he said it, he would definitely do it.

This is also a gamble.

Xiao Yan breathed heavily and gasped for a while, before he said: "Qiming is the son of a son-in-law, this is my... wish. But I will issue an edict to ennoble you as King of Qin and leave Chang'an to you as a fief. Qiming will rule in person. Before, you were entrusted with the affairs of the court and China, so there are still more than ten years, isn't it good?"

He seemed to have made a great compromise. If Xiao Yan hadn't said those words to Xiao Qichen, maybe he would have agreed. Real power is always more important than a false name.But Xiao Qichen was severely stung because of his so-called "son", and the rebellion that he was almost convinced by himself before was revived.

It turns out that in some people's minds, birth is really more important than everything else.

Xiao Qichen sneered: "Thank you, Father, for your consideration. Since Father has told my son a secret, how about my son also tell Father?"

As if anticipating what he would say, Xiao Yan struggled to sit up, but in vain - Xiao Qichen moved forward and pressed his shoulder.This was an unprecedented close distance between their father and son, Xiao Qichen's nose almost touched his cheek, and his hands were so strong that Xiao Yan couldn't even move a little bit.

The corners of Xiao Qichen's eyes were crooked, and he still had that pure and innocent look, but the words that came out of his mouth were harsh:

"Dirty son? Father, have you been trapped by these two words for all these years? Xiao Qiyu can't break free from this cage in his life. Do you think I will be as obedient as he is? Give me some honey and do my best? You put me It was a good idea to pass."

Never thought that Xiao Qichen would do such a thing, his handsome face in the shadows reminded Xiao Yan of the past more and more.He desperately wanted to swipe Xiao Qichen away, but the other party grabbed his shoulders, his fingers could almost dig into the flesh through the pajamas.

"Father, you don't have much time, so can't you see clearly? What does Daliang look like now? Your will is just a formality. I know that you are born of a concubine, so you don't want a concubine to ascend the throne. You are just gambling." A bet on me, whether to assist him with no distractions, or to rebel and usurp the throne. You give me the right to choose, and then leave a knife. If I disagree, someone will immediately come up with another secret edict to do justice for the sky , right? I guess it's Liu Wenyuan, but father...don't you know that he's already on the same boat as me?"

Xiao Yan's muddy pupils dilated suddenly, he opened his mouth to speak, but what he spit out was a series of dull coughs.

And Xiao Qichen continued to say: "It's not just Liu Wenyuan. Your prime minister, who thought he was a loyal minister back then, actually had secretly communicated with the Turks. If I hadn't discovered it early, the Turks would have broken through Jinling long ago—"

Seeing Xiao Yan getting more and more shocked, Xiao Qichen faintly felt a sense of revenge-like pleasure.His feelings for Xiao Yan were really weak, but at this moment, the unknown monstrous hatred drowned his reason.

There is no father and son in the Tian family, Xiao Qichen said these words silently, and leaned close to Xiao Yan's ear, his voice was as soft as usual: "Father, of course I like real power, but when I think that this false name will make you feel uneasy, I will It's very happy... Shh, what do you want to say? Sinister? Yes, I have to fight for everything by myself, and now I can get it at my fingertips, so you should fulfill me, who told me that I am also your son. "

After he finished speaking, he watched Xiao Yan's expression. Xiao Qichen had no intention of killing his father, and inexplicably read other emotions from the ups and downs of that person's expression, and asked in surprise: "So you are afraid of me?"

That kind of distorted pleasure made Xiao Qichen laugh out loud, he felt the shoulders he held in his hands trembled constantly, and there were only walking corpses left on the sickbed, and the bones would shatter when touched.

Bloodthirsty seemed to be his innate instinct, Xiao Qichen pursed his lips, suppressed the killing intent, and sat back to the side.

There was too much movement in the bedroom, and Xu Zhengde, who was guarding outside, knocked on the door: "Your Highness? Can I ask this old slave to come in?"

Hearing that Xiao Yan was inhaling desperately, a few broken syllables came out of his throat, as if to attract Xu Zhengde's attention, before he could connect a sentence, Xiao Qichen said loudly: "No need, Eunuch Xu, my father told me something important, you go Pass it on to Master Liu."

The emperor's breath stuck in his throat, Xiao Qichen didn't even look at his struggling hands and feet, he just felt that it was ugly, and completely ruined the noble image that he had enshrined in the highest position since he was a child.Xiao Qichen poured himself a cup of tea, glanced at the written will, his eyes were still devoid of emotion.

"You..." He paused for a long time every time he said a word, "Xiao Qichen...you will have retribution...!"

The Mingqian tea that he shouted was not bitter enough, but full of fragrance. After swallowing it, Xiao Qichen said with a smile by the dim candlelight: "When I first arrived at Hualin Garden today, I saw auspicious clouds surrounding the sky. It must be a sunny day tomorrow."

Then he changed the subject, swung the delicate celadon teacup in his hand, and said meaninglessly: "Since ancient times, father's death and son's inheritance are justified. The imperial edict has not yet been printed with a jade seal, but it is just a piece of waste paper. As for the retribution mentioned by the father, son You just have to wait."

When the cup of tea bottomed out, Liu Wenyuan pushed the door open and entered.He brushed off his clothes and knelt down, and respectfully saluted the emperor on the couch, but no one responded.

Xiao Qichen stood up, picked up the will, and handed it to Liu Wenyuan, with deep eyes.The other party didn't say a word, immediately tore it up neatly, put the debris on the fire, and stood behind Xiao Qichen.

"I'm so mad at my father." Xiao Qichen uttered the title "father" for the first time. He tilted his head unaccustomed to it, and wrote another "legacy" like a fly, "As long as the jade seal is stamped That is true, Master Liu, what do you think?"

Liu Wenyuan nodded and said, "That's natural."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Qichen put down his pen, solemnly held up the Jade Seal of Chuanguo on the table with both hands, and carefully stamped it on the lower left corner.The content of the will is similar, but the situation between himself and Xiao Qiming is different.

It's justifiable, but it's still a short breath after all.Xiao Qichen thought regretfully.

"Let's pass it on to Eunuch Xu," Xiao Qichen said, without any turmoil in his tone, "Father has passed away."

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※Weakness of muscle strength, fear day and night, endless worries: The twelve characters come from the edict of Emperor Jiajing in "History of Ming Dynasty".

※Eternal commitment to heavy precepts: The four characters come from "The Book of the First Emperor"

The author has something to say: The grievances and grievances of the previous generation have laid a little bit of foreshadowing, and I feel that it will be enough to stop. I just like this way of writing reincarnation and retribution... (guilty heart