surnamed Wang

At the west gate of the imperial city, Wang Yijing was in charge of leading a dozen black-clothed men composed of secret guards and Jianghu people. His skill was not the highest among them, but Liu Baoqing had arranged such an important task. Fulfill your duties with all your heart.

More than a dozen people rushed into the Palace of Compassion and Peace. Like the other palaces, there was no one there. Wang Yijing reacted very quickly, and said in a deep voice:
"It's been tricked, let's go!"

As soon as the words fell, the sound of bow and arrow was heard outside the house. The young man's expression changed, and just as he was about to speak, there was a sound of breaking through the air. The few people who rushed out the door were instantly shot like hedgehogs and fell to the ground.

The rest of the men in black hurriedly closed the gate and could not defend themselves. Wang Yijing squatted behind a pillar, pulled down his mask and sighed. Judging by the situation, the operation tonight was probably a leak.

……

On the east side, Xu Ju ordered loudly:

"The Empress Dowager has an order to seize the chief envoy, and the rest will be executed on the spot."

After finishing speaking, he took the lead in riding his horse to the enemy's position, and smashed his head and face at his brother with a big gun, sparing no effort.

In the south, the situation was even more tragic. The two hundred soldiers had no strength to fight back under the impact of the arrow rain, and most of them were lost when they met each other.

On the north side, two thousand guards of the capital appeared in front of Liu Baoqing, and there were also Ouchi guards who were supposed to be sleeping at home. Their aura alone far surpassed them.

Facing the crisis, the young scholar was calmer than the soldiers around him. With a wave of the folding fan in his hand, the team of hundreds of people immediately opened up.

The people who came to arrest them did not move for a long time. Among them came a general on horseback, Xie Xu, the commander of the imperial army. He was originally a capable general under King Wu. left the capital.

There are rumors from the outside world that the reason why he changed his family was because he had been on the empress dowager's phoenix bed a long time ago. Regardless of whether this matter is true or not, he really only listens to the empress dowager alone. Liu Zhi also trusts this handsome commander who is not like a general.

……

Xie Xu drove his horse forward, cupped his fists at Liu Baoqing and said:
"Second son, the queen mother asked me to invite you to Ningshou Palace."

"What about the rest?"

"The Empress Dowager has ordered that, except for the main criminal, everyone else will be executed on the spot."

The middle-aged man's tone was flat, as if it was not his subordinates who were about to beheaded.

When Liu Baoqing saw the soldiers and horses appearing out of nowhere from the north gate, he had already guessed that the Queen Mother was not in any of the four palaces. He looked around at the soldiers who had been led to death by him, and said:

"Can you not kill them yet, and deal with them after I see the mother?"

"Second Master Liu can't protect himself, so don't worry about others. This is the first time I've seen the empress dowager so angry."

Xie Xu's voice was cold, and he himself was holding back his anger. Although Xu Xin was to be dealt with by Xu Ju, the four hundred gate guards were his subordinates after all. planted in.

……

Liu Baoqing sighed, and was escorted to Ningshou Palace by two inner guards. As soon as he left, there was a scream from behind. The man couldn't bear to turn his head back, and quickened his pace.

On the way to Ningshou Palace, there are heavy guards at the intersections along the way, and Ningshou Palace is surrounded by groups, and it is true that not a single mosquito can be let in.

Seeing Liu Baoqing, the guard guard went forward to search carefully, and after confirming that he was not carrying a sharp weapon, he was still worried and put a chain on him. This was the first time the man had enjoyed such treatment since he was born. So I prepared myself, and entered the palace gate with a calm face.

The empress dowager who dominates a country does not look old. On the contrary, because of proper maintenance, her face looks even more supple than the maid next to her. It is no wonder that rumors about this half-old mistress inside and outside the palace have never stopped. .

Usually, Liu Zhi would go to bed early at this time, but tonight her nephew and son teamed up to deal with her, which made her sleepless. It was the first time since the first emperor wanted to abolish her for a foreign woman, she felt that she was not a human being inside and outside.

The woman sat at the table, looked at the most outstanding junior of the Liu family, and said calmly:

"Good nephew, do you want to kill aunt?"

"Go back to aunt, my nephew dare not."

"Then what is the purpose of bringing so many people into the palace tonight?"

"My nephew wants my aunt to return to your Majesty's office."

"It's a good one to return to power."

The woman finally stood up, her tone was still calm, but her hands couldn't stop shaking.

"It's all right for the ministers of the court to say so, even you can't trust Aijia? Your Majesty is young, so what's wrong with being a mother to take care of the country for him? If he really has the ability, how can he end up like this tonight?"

Liu Zhi's tone was agitated, and even the phoenix crown on her head was trembling. Seeing that the other party kept bowing her head in silence, she took a deep breath, sat down again and closed her eyes and said:
"Ai's family has only one child, Qi'er, who was born in October of pregnancy. He was a treasure since he was a child. He held it in his hand for fear of falling and contained it in his mouth for fear of melting, but he dared to send someone to force the palace. In a few years, I will wait for the mourning The family is old, should we follow the example of the folks and seal the Ai family into the tomb?"

"Back to Auntie, His Majesty is extremely filial and would never have such an idea. When he came here this time, he also asked him many times not to hurt Auntie."

Liu Baoqing's eyes were serious, and he knew his aunt's character best. If she really felt that the emperor was unfilial, she might really abolish the old and create a new one, or stop covering it up and directly imitate the empress Wanyue to rule the world.

……

Liu Zhi raised his eyes and stared at the young man. After a while, he sighed again:
"Your words are the same as what Qi'er said."

"Auntie has seen His Majesty?" The man looked slightly surprised.

"Your Majesty is still young and cannot see the blood. He has just returned to the palace to rest."

The Empress Dowager spoke calmly, took a sip of the soup on the table, then stretched out her index finger to touch her cheek, and ordered:
"Tell Xie Xu, it's a quick battle, it's just a gang of rebels, Aijia doesn't have so much time to wait for him to report the result."

"Here."

The old eunuch next to him responded and walked out quickly.

Liu Baoqing frowned. It seemed that he was unnecessary this time. His Majesty didn't need his help to speak. He would choose to be wise and protect himself. These pawns in the end all became abandoned pieces in the struggle for imperial power.

The woman drank the whole bowl of decoction, wiped her mouth and said:

"It's a pity that the Liu family has produced a good seedling."

After finishing speaking, she stood up with the help of the maid.

Tonight's farce has been settled, and she didn't have the time to watch how five hundred lives were beheaded. If she waited a little longer, there would be a fine line around the corner of her eyes when she woke up tomorrow morning.

Liu Baoqing didn't care whether the other party would kill him, he kept frowning, and said in confusion:

"No, it's not written that way in the history books."

As soon as the words were finished, an arrogant voice suddenly sounded outside the house: "Old chicken woman, it's time to return the world to the Wang family."

Liu Zhi's face changed when he heard the words, "What's the matter, what is Xie Xu doing?"

The door was knocked open with a "bang", and an object fell heavily on the ground. It was Xie Xu, the commander of the forbidden army mentioned just now.

Liu Baoqing was also shocked. After a long time, he showed joy and murmured: "It's all right."

……