bastard returns

However, only for a while, Emperor Xia put away his gloomy expression, and said calmly, "You dare to say anything."

"The lower official is just telling the truth." Ning Yuan was neither humble nor overbearing, "Is there anything wrong with what the lower official said?"

"Yes, you are indeed telling the truth. These flowers are not the only things that are worthless in this world." Xia Di shook his head, and suddenly glanced at the extension of the garden unconsciously, and Ning Yuan followed suit. Looking over, I saw a few people who looked like eunuchs holding brooms and seemed to be cleaning there, but their eyes kept sneaking on them, obviously watching them.

"It's getting late, and it's inconvenient for me to disturb Your Majesty's rest. This is..." Sikong Xuan lowered his eyes and wanted to say goodbye, but was interrupted by Emperor Xia with a wave of his hand, "No hurry." He said: "I have used it." Let's go back after tea." After finishing speaking, he personally took the two of them to an attic near the lake by the garden.

There are many shadows of trees around the attic, which is relatively hidden, and there are several guards in iron armor standing beside it.

The iron armor on those guards was rather peculiar, much finer and thicker than the common guards in the palace. The visor on the helmet almost blocked the entire face, only a pair of eyes were exposed.

Perhaps due to the presence of these guards, the few who seemed to be watching them from a distance did not follow them blatantly. After they sat down in priority, Emperor Xia clapped his hands, and immediately one of the armored guards was carrying The tea tray came in.

Seeing that the tea was served here not by palace servants but by guards, Ning Yuan was really surprised, but soon something happened that he didn't understand. After the guard with tea came in, Emperor Xia immediately ordered him to The personal eunuch, that is, the eunuch Fan who brought Sikong Xuan and Ning Yuan into the palace, quickly closed all the doors and windows of the attic, and even hung a small copper lock on the door they came in, with a mysterious expression. Xi look.

Ning Yuan didn't know what the Emperor Xia was up to, but out of caution, he immediately asked, "Your Majesty, what is the meaning of this?"

"Lord Ning, don't panic." Emperor Xia waved his hand, showing a somewhat helpless expression, "I didn't mean to imprison you two, and it wasn't my idea, Uncle Emperor, this is the end of the matter, you can put the helmet Take it down."

Following Emperor Xia's words, the guard who came near with tea smiled and took off the helmet on his head. After seeing his face clearly, Ning Yuan and Sikong Xuan were both startled.

"It's you?" "Brother Huyan!"

The guard in iron armor was actually Huyan Yuanchen, who claimed to be being hunted down by Emperor Xia for treason, and who had been silent for so long.

It's just that compared with Sikong Xuan's slightly surprised expression, Ning Yuan's expression is very strange, especially when he sees Huyan Yuanchen looking at him with a smile, Ning Yuan turns his head silently, not intending to talk to him. Look at each other.

Huyan Yuanchen rubbed his nose and smiled wryly, as if he was not surprised by Ning Yuan's appearance like this.I haven't contacted him for more than a year, so there is no news, I am afraid that anyone will be angry.

"Suddenly inviting the two of you here is really a bit abrupt, but I did it out of helplessness. I think you have just discovered that although I am the emperor of Daxia, I am really useless as the lord of this country. " Xia Di may have noticed that the scene after Huyan Yuanchen's appearance was a little strange, so he couldn't help smoothing things over, "This time I invite you to come here, except that the emperor told me that the two are his old acquaintances in Dazhou. I would like to take this opportunity to speak to the two of you, and I would also like to make a statement, although the Great Xia has mobilized troops against the Great Zhou this time, I have always opposed the start of the war."

At the same time, in the Empress Dowager's Hall.

The two maids carefully took off the pearls and emeralds from Murongying's head, took off the phoenix crown for her, and stepped aside at random. Immediately, another old lady stepped forward, holding on to a jade book and meticulously arranging her full body. Black hair on the head.

The faces of the palace maid and the old mother were meticulous and calm, but they were all very nervous in their hearts, and they were even more energetic. They were afraid that if they made a small mistake, they would lose their lives.

No wonder they are so scared, it is because the young Empress Dowager Xia in front of me, Murong Ying, is a ruthless and ruthless master, who is decisive in killing without any hesitation, and her personality is very similar to that of Emperor Gaozu back then, even the current emperor is crushed to death by him It is even easier to take a life of these servants.

After about half a stick of incense, the old lady finally combed Murongying's hair neatly, and put it back into a simple and elegant bun. Immediately, two more maids came over to wait for her to take off her court dress and change into a blue one. At this time, an elderly eunuch walked in from outside the hall with low eyebrows, bowed and said: "Qi Queen Mother, the emperor led the King Xi who came from the Zhou Dynasty to Tingshui Pavilion. What are you discussing?"

"Do you know what they said." Murong Ying stared at her own appearance in the bronze mirror without even turning her head.

"This..." The eunuch hesitated for a moment, and then said honestly: "You know, Queen Mother, since the commander of labor lost his life in Dazhou for no reason, the emperor took the opportunity to install a lot of his own people in the imperial guards, especially the emperor. Around the palace, the emperor's own confidantes are stationed, and the servants really..."

"Idiot." Murong Ying said coldly, and the eunuch was so frightened that sweat immediately soaked his face, standing there not knowing what to do.

"Forget it, what kind of disturbance can a young prince cause? Just continue to send people to watch them, don't worry about him." After a while, Murong Ying waved his hand, and the eunuch immediately went down as if he had been pardoned.

"Who made the Empress Dowager angry again?" A warm and clear voice came from outside the door again, followed by footsteps, a young man in a brocade robe suddenly walked in. From his appearance and the slightly protruding Adam's apple on his neck, it can be seen that this person is definitely not a eunuch, and his attire does not look like a royal family. It's just that after the man from the unknown province came in, the attendants bowed tacitly Withdrew and went out, only for a moment, there was no third person in the whole hall.

If Ning Yuan was here in this matter, he would be very surprised, because this person who came in suddenly, who seemed to be of low status, was none other than Sikong Xu who fled from Huajing in a panic!

"You don't want to make incense for Ai's family, what are you doing all of a sudden?" Seeing Sikong Xu coming in, Murong Ying's expression eased, she lightly walked to the side of the phoenix seat and sat down.

"I have just mixed a box of ten honey incense, so I came here to present it to the queen mother." Facing Murong Ying, Si Kongxu was not as timid as those servants, but very friendly and casual, tucked into his sleeve robe Take out a delicate porcelain box.

Murong Ying opened the porcelain box, sniffed the light pink, crystal-like balm inside, her expression seemed a little surprised, and she put a little on the back of her hand. After sniffing it carefully, she felt like she was floating all over her body. , couldn't help saying: "This fragrance..."

"Reporting to the Empress Dowager, these ten honey fragrances are made from ten kinds of delicate fresh flowers. The fragrance is subtle but not strong, nor vulgar. I think the Empress Dowager will like it." Sikong Xu said while sizing up Murong Ying's reaction. Seeing that her cheeks were gradually turning red, and her eyes became a little misty, she couldn't help but plucked up her courage, dipped some ointment with her fingers, and smeared it on her neck very arrogantly.

Seeing that Murong Ying didn't push him away, he became more courageous, his fingers gradually slid down, touching the position of the other's collarbone, and he was about to follow the trend.

But at this time a solemn voice rang in his ears again, "If you are any more arrogant, Aijia will tell you to die without a place to bury you."

Sikong Xu shook his fingers, immediately knelt on the ground without thinking, and said in a panic: "The little one is overstepping, the queen mother forgives me!"

Murong Ying straightened up again, the eyes that had been a little hazy because of the fragrance had disappeared, and her eyes were full of sternness, "What else did you add to this balm, tell me!"

"It's just some pollen of Albizia Julibrissin. Don't worry, the Empress Dowager, it's not poisonous. It can only relieve people's spirits and make them feel happy..."

"Slap!" Before Sikong Xu could say anything, a loud slap landed on his face, knocking his head to the side.

Sikong Xu seemed to be stupefied by this slap, his words stopped abruptly, besides the bright red five finger prints, there were several bloodstains from Murongying's armor hanging on his cheeks.

"Remember, I just ordered you to make incense." Murong Yingying said with a chill in his breath, "Who allowed you to make up your own mind."

"Small one...just seeing that the Empress Dowager is in a bad mood recently, and just wants to share her worries." Sikong Xu pursed the corners of his lips, and after being slapped like this, not only was there no trace of anger on his face, but a flattering look appeared on his face again, "The young one has absolutely no intention of disobeying the queen mother's order. If the queen mother does not believe in the effect of the Albizia juliensis pollen, she can call the imperial physician to ask for clarification. The young one is only doing this to let the queen mother relax and has no other intentions. "

Murong Ying's gaze paused on Sikong Xu's face, and suddenly she chuckled, and actually raised one foot, and just lightly stepped on Sikong Xu's face.

Murong Ying didn't wear shoes and socks, and stepped on the bloodstained half of Sikong Xu's face with her bright red toes, while Sikong Xu was still kneeling, neither dodging nor dodging, as if she was used to this scene, just flattering her eyes His expression deepened.

"Remember, no matter what your previous status was, now you are just a dog raised by Aijia, as long as you listen to Aijia's words and serve Aijia, you will have a good life, otherwise, you will be Aijia If you want to die on the third watch, the King of Hades will not be able to keep you until the fifth watch!"

"Of course the villain understands that the villain has served the Queen Mother with all his heart and soul for more than a year, and the Queen Mother should also understand the villain's sincerity." Sikong Xu held up the jade foot on his face, as if he was holding something Like a treasure, he stretched out the tip of his tongue and licked it lightly.

Murong Ying narrowed her eyes, and while enjoying the man's humble service, she said: "The Ai family has already informed the envoy of Da Zhou about his conditions today. Regarding the matter of Yanzhou, you'd better tell the truth. The Ai family will succeed in their great career in the future, so naturally they will not forget your contribution, and will draw up a fief for you, so that you can stand on your own as king."

"The villain has thanked the Queen Mother in advance, and the Queen Mother can rest assured that what the villain said is absolutely not half a lie." Sikong Xu's tone became more humble, "It's just that the villain has another request. One person has some old grievances with me, if the Empress Dowager agrees..."

"Except for King Xi, you can do whatever you want. As long as you don't go too far, the Ai family can pretend you didn't see it." Murongying chuckled, and suddenly her whole body was hugged by Sikong Xu, "Since the Queen Mother is so Compassionate for the little ones, the little ones can only use this body to repay the Queen Mother's kindness, and I hope the Queen Mother won't dislike her." Sikong Xu looked at Murong Ying with extremely affectionate eyes, as if the person in his arms was really real. His heart was like a lover who belonged, and then he strode towards the bed behind the curtain, and then there were waves of lingering groans from inside.

****

"Your Majesty, what does your Majesty mean to say that the Fourth Prince who was hunted down in my court not only escaped to Da Xia, but also became the favorite of the Empress Dowager Xia?" Ning Yuan looked at the two people in front of him in surprise, and couldn't believe what he heard. .

"Not only that, the sudden war between the two countries this time is more or less related to him. If there is no distribution of troops in the Great Zhou Dynasty provided by him, the Queen Mother would not be so anxious to send troops." Xia Di said with a gloomy face: "This person is very good at calculating. Most of what happened to the emperor's uncle was also his idea to the queen mother. I have nothing to do with the name of the throne, but I can't do anything about it."

Ning Yuan looked at Huyan Yuanchen again, seeing him nodding slightly to himself, he didn't know what to say for a moment.

Even though he had seen the disharmony between the Great Xia Emperor and Empress before, he didn't know how it was possible for the two mothers and sons to be at odds to such an extent.

Speaking of it, perhaps the Empress Dowager Xia was still very young, and she would still be somewhat ambitious to sit on the throne of Empress Dowager at the age of less than thirty.The Empress Dowager Xia was born in the Murong family, one of the four great nobles in Daxia. Not only is the family powerful, but she has even served in the army for several generations. Her influence in the army is unparalleled. Many years ago, the Murong family was the first family other than the Huyan family of the royal family. .

Before she got married, Empress Dowager Xia Murongying was a leader among the noble girls in Yanjing. She worshiped the Emperor Gaozu at that time. It greatly affected Murongying's thinking, so after he married the prince and became the princess, he always wanted his husband to inherit the will of Emperor Gaozu and send his troops south.

It's a pity that the crown prince is not a warlike person. On the contrary, he seems to understand that war is not for the benefit of the people. On the contrary, only by turning fighting into friendship can the common development of the two dynasties be achieved. Even though Murong Ying is sullen at her husband's thoughts Can't say anything.But this crown prince was a short-lived person. Not long after he took the throne, he fell seriously ill and died, so the throne fell to the young Emperor Xia, and Murong Ying became the queen mother of a country.

At that time, she began to secretly cooperate with Sikong Xu and Pang Song, and wanted to harm Huyan Yuanchen who was in the Great Zhou Dynasty. The reason was that Emperor Xia was young, and she was afraid that Huyan Yuanchen would hide some forces secretly to threaten him. As for their status as mother and son, secondly, she gradually discovered that Emperor Xia and her queen mother were not in the same mind, and the factor that caused all this was Huyan Yuanchen.

Huyan Yuanchen and his late husband are of the same temperament. They don't care whether Daxia can expand its territory, but wholeheartedly want to promote the reopening of the two countries' closed trade for a long time. What is terrible is that her son Xia The emperor seems to have inherited his father's idea, and because of this, he is very close to Huyan Yuanchen, so Murong Ying has always wanted to get rid of Huyan Yuanchen and then quickly.

In her eyes, now is the time when the army of Great Xia is strong and strong. Not only are the soldiers very brave, but they also have much more fighting power than the soft-bodied troops in the Southern Great Zhou. Great Xia will definitely be able to crush Great Zhou all the way, and bring all the other's fertile land into its own territory.

If this matter is accomplished, even though Murong Ying is a woman, she will definitely be famous in history and become a generation of heroes like Emperor Gaozu.

But after all, she is just a girl. Although she is the Queen Mother, it is not up to her to go to war. On the premise that her son does not agree with her idea, he simply does not do anything. Taking advantage of Emperor Xia's immature age and unable to monopolize power, he joined forces in the court, and with the help of the power of the Murong family, almost brought most of the military generals under his command, thereby taking control of the court. Although Emperor Xia quickly understood his mother's intentions Thoughts, and quickly gathered a group of civil servants, but Da Xia originally established the country with military power, and the status of those civil servants has been suppressed to death, so how can they provide help for Emperor Xia? Because of this, Ning Yuan appeared. In the scene seen in the court hall, the two factions of civil and military have distinct temperaments, and the emperor has become a puppet, and even in the palace, he has to be monitored by the Empress Dowager Xia.

As for the fact that Huyan Yuanchen was involved in treason and was arrested, it was because Huyan Yuanchen accidentally fell into Murongying's scheme, and that Empress Dowager Xia took the opportunity of inviting Huyan Yuanchen to the palace for a banquet to slander him He wanted to assassinate himself, and launched an ambush that had been arranged long ago. If Huyan Yuanchen hadn't used all his abilities to break out of the encirclement, he might have already been taken down.

Fortunately, although Emperor Xia is not very old, he has some confidantes in the palace. After discovering this matter, he immediately helped him. On the one hand, he issued a search and arrest order under the pressure of the Empress Dowager Xia, and on the other hand, he secretly hid Huyan Yuanchen. , That's why today, Huyan Yuanchen, who Ning Yuan couldn't find anywhere, appeared in this way.

"The empress dowager wants to get rid of the emperor's uncle, but she just wants to completely empty my power and prevent me, the emperor in name, from spoiling her grand plan for the southern expedition. These days, the emperor's uncle has been helping me monitor and collect the information of those people." Dongxiang, the royal family found out about the prince on the big Thursday, otherwise, I wouldn't even know that the queen mother has such a guy by her side." Emperor Xia said in a contemptuous tone.

"Sikong Xu is really embarrassing to his father, to be able to betray the country to such an extent!" Sikong Xuan gritted his teeth angrily, as if he had already blamed Sikongxu for the dead soldiers of Da Zhou.

But Ning Yuan said: "Your Majesty invited the villain and His Highness King Xi here, and you have said so much, so it is possible that there is something that needs the help of the two of us."

Emperor Xia said: "There is indeed one thing, I want to ask you two for advice." Having said this, he paused, and then continued: "In the territory of Yanzhou in your dynasty, are there any rare and attractive things?"

"No." As soon as Emperor Xia finished speaking, Sikong Xuan shook his head and said, "Although Yanzhou covers a large area, it is the most barren state and county in my Zhou Dynasty. It is difficult to grow food due to the perennial wind and sand, and it is even worse. If the young horse bandits hadn't sent troops to suppress them, I would be surprised that the Empress Dowager Xia would propose such a state as a condition for a truce."

"Is that true?" Emperor Xia frowned, "The queen mother's intention..."

Ning Yuan didn't speak, but lowered his eyes, as if he was thinking about something.

"Forget it, maybe Yanzhou really has something that attracts the queen mother, but we don't know it." Emperor Xia sighed: "It's just that when His Highness King Xi sends a letter back to the court, don't forget to convey my meaning to the Queen Mother." Your Majesty, I have always opposed the war between the two dynasties, but now I can do nothing about the Queen Mother's decision. If I can control the government in the future, I will definitely restore the diplomatic relations between the two countries. It hurt the harmony between the two countries."

"Your Majesty is so concerned about the stability of the people of the two countries. Father will definitely be sympathetic to His Majesty's good intentions." Sikong Xuan arched his hands, and only then did he understand why Emperor Xia would confess everything to himself. It turned out that it was for him to take power in the future Lay back.

"There is one more thing that my uncle brought up." Emperor Xia suddenly smiled, "Uncle asked me to arrange, saying that he would meet Lord Ning no matter what. I'm running around, so I naturally have to take care of arranging for him, I think you two still have something to tell, if it's convenient for His Highness Prince Xi, how about accompanying me to the second floor of this attic to admire some calligraphy and paintings?"

"That's exactly what I mean, please, Your Majesty." Of course, Sikong Xuan didn't intend to disturb the two of them here. As soon as Emperor Xia threw the steps out, he went down, so the two of them went forward, one behind, Courteously went upstairs from the wooden ladder on one side, only Ning Yuan and Huyan Yuanchen were left on the whole first floor, sitting on one side, silently not speaking.