Chongxi [rebirth]

From top to bottom, the Drum Tower ignited a raging fire.

However, the palace was in turmoil right now, everyone was desperately trying to escape, and there was no one to put out the fire.

Han Chan led people to search all the palaces that Li Zongping usually went to, but found nothing. His already cold face was almost rainy.

God Ce Jun who was following behind him looked up and exclaimed: "It's burning over there."

Everyone looked up as he exclaimed, and saw the raging fire in the Drum Tower.

"Is there someone up there?" In the burning flames, there seemed to be a vague figure.

Han Chan looked up for a while, then looked away, except for Yuxi, other things could not distract his attention: "Continue to search."

The god who was talking in a low voice, Cejun immediately stopped talking, and went to search elsewhere.

Han Chan stood where he was, frowning and thinking about what else he might have missed.

"Master Tai Tu is really heartless." A slightly shrill voice came from the corner, Cui Xi walked out clapping his palms, and looked at Han Chan with a smile: "Master Tai Tu doesn't care who is on the drum tower? "

Han Chan looked at him with a frown, thinking in his mind how likely it was that Yuxi was in his hands, but said on the face: "What does it have to do with me?"

Cui Xi looked at the person in front of him in amazement. He thought he was ruthless enough? It was hot. I didn't expect Han Chan to be more cruel than him.This person looks clean and dust-free on the surface, but in fact even the blood is cold.

"That's Your Majesty." Cui Xi said, "He's dead. Doesn't the Tai Tuo feel guilty at all?"

"What is Cui Changshi's position to question me?" Han Chan sneered: "How loyal are you to him?"

Cui Xi sighed: "I am not the same as Taifu. His Majesty gave me power, and I will do things for him. It has already been settled. It's just that I don't know if the debt owed by Taifu has not been paid off?"

"Then you don't have to worry about it." Han Chan didn't bother to talk to him, and went to Taigan Palace again, planning to search it himself? Search Li Zong's bedroom to see if there are secret passages and secret rooms.

"You really don't care about him at all." Cui Xi looked at the direction he was walking, shook his head, chuckled lightly, and kindly reminded him: "His favorite room is not here, but there. side." He stretched out his finger and pointed to the east.

That's where the East Palace is.

Han Chan thought for a moment, then summoned people to search the East Palace.

Cui Xi looked at his hurried back, then looked back at the crumbling Drum Tower, sighed softly, and walked out of the palace with his hands in his hands.

The East Palace has been vacant for a long time. Fortunately, there are palace people sweeping it, and it doesn't look dirty. It's just that the palace is stained with traces of time, and it has an old and decayed atmosphere.

He's been here? A long time.

Han Chan looked at the familiar bricks and tiles, and waves finally appeared in his eyes.

Before His Highness's accident, what he yearned for most was the East Palace.

He met His Highness in Weifu Nanxun in Changxian County. At that time, he saw the darkness of officialdom early, was disappointed with the court, and simply gave up the imperial examination.Later, they got acquainted with His Highness by mistake. During the short two months of getting along, they expressed their ambitions, cherished each other, and became confidantes.

It was His Highness who told him to have a glimmer of expectation for this world.

So he took part in the imperial examination again, won the first prize without accident, and entered the Imperial Academy.

He originally wanted to visit the Eastern Palace and tell His Royal Highness the good news, but in front of the Eastern Palace gate, he watched with his own eyes that the person he was thinking of carefully helped a woman who was pregnant with Liujia out of the carriage - she must be the Crown Princess.

He couldn't tell what he felt at that moment, but in the end he left in a panic.

Later, His Highness found out that he had entered the Hanlin Academy, and asked him to drink and celebrate several times, but he always found excuses and refused.

After that, His Highness went to the south to control the floods, and he never returned.

The news of the prince's death was kept well hidden until the body was transported back to Beijing and the East Palace hung a white flag, so the rest of the people did not know about it.

To him that day was like a long night where the fire suddenly went out, and he could no longer find his way.

He followed the officials of the Hanlin Academy to offer condolences in a daze, and seeing the white flags all over the courtyard, he felt heartbroken.

He originally made an appointment with him. If he ascends the throne in the future, he will be the prime minister and work together to clean up the officialdom and eliminate injustice.Drive away the west, pacify the south, and conquer the east, unite the land of the Central Plains, and create a peaceful and prosperous world together.

But all grand ambitions are forced to end in the face of death.

If this death was just an accident, that's all.But God told him to know that this was a conspiracy.

It was Li Gan who assassinated His Highness in order to seize the throne.

Han Chan's eyes gradually settled, and finally became indifferent. The past was too complicated and heavy, and recalling it would only add to his worries. He took a deep breath and ordered people to search from room to room.I walked inside at will based on my memory.

Finally, it stopped in front of the upper study door.

He paused for a long time, pushed open the dusty door, and memories flooded in.

In order to avenge His Highness, he gave up his bright future, secretly collected evidence of Li Gan's crimes, and summoned the rest of His Highness's troops. After some arrangements and a lot of effort, he finally entered the East Palace and became a small teacher. gentlemen.

Before he entered the East Palace, he had inquired about it clearly.

It's ridiculous to say that Li Qian killed his brother for the sake of the throne, but he was afraid that his son would follow in his footsteps. In order to stabilize the status of the emperor's grandson, he suppressed the rest of his children to the utmost. Although he is a noble prince and daughter, even the most humble palace servants Can be bullied at will.

He observed for a long time, and finally chose Li Zong to support him,

At that time Li Zong was only three years old, thin and fragile, he couldn't smile when looking at people, his dark eyes were full of vigilance, like a cub trying to survive, but when he saw him, he would hold him carefully Hem of clothes, call him "Old? Teacher".

Xu Shi recalled the past, Han Chan frowned, and suppressed the inexplicable emotions that surged up in his heart.

His eyes scanned the study slowly and carefully, thinking that Li Zong would? wouldn't? hide the jade seal here.Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced over the bookshelf inadvertently, and landed on a corner of the desk covered with mottled scratches, and he paused.Suddenly remembered that Li Zong had casually mentioned it to him in the past? What I miss the most is the days when I was in the study.

Li Zong said that Yuxi was hidden in his favorite room...

Han Chan has the ability to never forget. For him, those old memories seem like yesterday.He remembered that Li Zong had told him quietly when he was young that he had a treasure house in the upper study.

At that time, he was just an unfavored grandson of the emperor, without a mother, and with Li Gan's acquiescence, he was bullied and suppressed by the palace people.So he will? Like a small animal hoarding food, he hides his treasures.Don't hide it in the bedroom, because it will be found out by the cleaning palace.

He secretly hid his treasure in the upper study room. At that time, he raised his head and said to him proudly: "Those palace people dare not casually look through the things in the study room. It is safest to hide the treasure here... this I only tell my teacher the secret."

Han Chan's footsteps moved slightly, and she walked up to the innermost row of bookshelves in the study.Then he squatted down in front of the row of bookshelves against the wall, moved all the books in the bottom row, and saw a gap.

Inside was a wooden box with peeling paint.

Han Chan opened the wooden box, and sure enough, he found the Chuanguo seal carved from Hetian jade inside.Randomly placed together with other odds and ends, it hurt his eyes.

He took out the jade seal, threw the wooden box on the ground with a blank expression, and all the odds and ends of the small items in it immediately spilled out, including folding fans, jade pendants, and nine chains... none of them were precious items, they were all from the past few years. , a small thing he casually gave to Li Zong.

Now Li Zong put it together with Yuxi and returned it to him.

As if mocking his indifference.

It seems to be saying, I will pay you back everything you gave me.

An inexplicable emotion rose from his heart, Han Chan clenched the jade seal tightly, stared at the objects on the ground for a long while, moved his feet, turned and left without hesitation.

When he came out of the East Palace, Han Chan subconsciously glanced at the direction of the Drum Tower. The fire had already been extinguished, and the former tall Drum Tower was completely burnt down. It is marking the passing of a young emperor.

***

Shangjing was besieged for less than a day, and in the evening, the defenders automatically opened the city gate.

Grand Tutor Han Chan personally led a group of officials out of the city to greet him, and the left and right sides were full of cheering people, shouting "Long live King Yong'an" indiscriminately.

Li Fengqi was wearing a black armor, with a long knife on his waist, and looked at Han Chan with an unfriendly expression: "Why is it only you? Where is Li Zong?"

"Your Majesty knows that his sins are hard to get rid of, so he committed suicide in the Drum Tower to apologize." Han Chan said.

Li Fengqi remembered the fire that came from the direction of the former palace, and it turned out that the Drum Tower was actually burning.Li Zong's second brother once jumped from the Drum Tower, and now Li Zong can't escape this ending.

"You have peace of mind." Seeing Han Chan's calm expression, he couldn't help but sneered.

Han Chan didn't answer, just stepped aside and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, please."

Li Fengqi brought people into the palace, when he stepped through the palace gate, he saw the collapsed Drum Tower from a distance, and said softly: "Go and get the bones out."

……

The Xuanjia Army replaced the Shen Ce Army guarding the palace, and re-arranged the patrols. The palace people who did not have time to escape were gathered in one place and temporarily guarded them.

Zhu Lie, who led the patrol, took the opportunity to whisper in Li Fengqi's ear, "No jade seal was found."

The emperor committed suicide without leaving any will, and even the jade seal was missing.Although the opponent? King Yong'an, who held the military power, was not a major issue that could not be resolved, but the white jade was stained with flaws, which was unavoidably unpleasant.

Li Fengqi looked at Han Chan, looked at his expression, and immediately understood: "Is Yuxi with you?"

After a pause, he said, "What do you want?"

Han Chan rarely hooked his lips: "My lord already knew what I wanted."

He wants to be the prime minister of Beizhao, and fulfill His Royal Highness's unfulfilled ambition in the future.

But Li Fengqi laughed a little: "Do you think you are worthy?"

He stood up and stared at him: "Over the years, how much have you carried? How much have you lost? Blood, do you think you deserve it?"

"Those who have achieved great things, why bother with these little details?!" Han Chan's hands and fingers trembled slightly, but his voice was tinged with anger: "Which one of the rulers of the past and present has never had blood on their hands?"

Li Fengqi looked at him coldly, and sneered: "How much do you have in your hand? You know the blood of innocent people in your heart. Why bother to cover yourself up with all these pretense."

He raised his finger to the outside of the palace: "You step through that palace gate every day and see the ruins of the Drum Tower, don't you feel panicked?"

Han Chan stared at him coldly: "Your Highness is not agreeing?"

"I don't agree." Li Fengqi looked arrogant: "The stability of the throne is not determined by a jade seal, but by me."

Han Chan looked at him, said "OK" three times in a row, and left with a flick of his sleeves.

Zhu Lie frowned and said, "Why didn't the lord just kill him, keeping such a person is a disaster."

Li Fengqi's face was stern: "He is not afraid of death, so killing him directly will make him cheaper." After speaking, he raised his chin and said, "Keep an eye on him, don't let him run away. I will take care of him when I am free."

***

Han Chan returned to Taifu's residence.

Li Fengqi's temper was even colder than he imagined, no matter what methods he used, he would not admit defeat.If it weren't for that similar face, this cold temper would not be half similar to His Highness.

Probably because he finally realized that his long-cherished wish was finally going to be shattered, he looked a little depressed.

Wandering in the mansion like a lonely ghost with nowhere to go.The motivation that has been supporting him all along is to avenge His Highness and return the throne to orthodoxy.But after it was realized, he only felt at a loss.

Not sure what to do.

He finally returned to the bedroom. In this huge Grand Tutor's Mansion, all the servants had been dismissed, and the place was empty and cold. His heart was so empty that only His Highness could calm him down.

So he followed his heart and returned to the secret room.

He has been busy with revenge these days, and he hasn't been in the secret room for a long time. He personally lit a white candle and lit three sticks of incense. He was about to pay homage when he suddenly noticed a bright yellow from the corner of his eye. , extraordinarily dazzling.

Han Chan paused and looked at the bright yellow strip of cloth almost in horror.

There are white cloth belts tied on the copper shelf, each cloth belt represents a human life, and it is the proof that he avenged His Highness.

But now, at the very end of the row of cloth tapes, there is an extra bright yellow cloth tape that shouldn't have appeared at all.