Who says sleep is not spiritual practice?

Chapter 268 Mother and Daughter of Ice Phoenix Palace
It was night, Jiang Qingyu checked into a post station under the arrangement of Dong Shen.

The guest rooms in the inn were fairly clean, but due to the limited number, only a few female relatives and Jiang Qingyu lived in, and the rest, including Dong Shen, could only stay out for one night.

Yicheng is a lame old man with a loyal face, named Huang Pu. After learning that the prince of Jubei is going to spend the night here, he hurriedly took out a jar of long-preserved spirits and came to the room to drink with Jiang Qingyu. .

"Your Highness, I used to be a member of the Anxi Army, Yamen General. Six years ago, in the battle of Xiling Pass, Marshal Jia Tong led us to behead more than [-] people! We also captured the third princess of the Xirong clan!"

"The humble leg was limped in that battle."

"Later, Marshal Jia Tong brought the third princess and a group of disabled brothers to Beijing to report on their duties. His Majesty thought of our meritorious service, and arranged errands for the low-ranking people one by one enough to live a comfortable life."

In the room, a lame old man with missing front teeth kept pouring spirits down his throat, with a smile on his face, and gave a thumbs up to Jiang Qingyu who was sitting across the table:

"Compared to everything His Royal Highness Shizi did in Beidi, the battle at Xiling Pass is nothing!"

"Conquer Beidi and add another state to my Great Chu. Such an achievement, in the history of my Great Chu, only King Rejecting Bei has done it!"

"Marshal Jia Tong is far inferior!"

"This matter should be fully understood!"

Huang Pu poured himself another bowl of wine, raised his head and drank it, then wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve:
"Speaking of King Rejecting the North, Marshal Jia Tong mentioned more than once that if he can lead the army to conquer another state for Da Chu like the prince, then even if he loses half his life, it will not be in vain!"

"Your Highness, don't look at the group of ministers in the court in the capital who are always clamoring to cut down the vassal, slandering the refusal of the northern king, but no one dares to obliterate the merits of the prince! It is mentioned that the prince led an army to the north more than [-] years ago. Jing, Beidi, and even the veteran officials who made the most trouble have to express their admiration!"

"This is a real man!"

"In the army, who doesn't envy? Don't admire?"

"I am old, I don't know the rules and regulations in the officialdom, and I just hope that in my lifetime, I can see Da Chu subdue the alien races from all directions, and sit on the territory of the thirteen states. In this way, I will go to hell in the future to see the group of people who died in battle Pao Ze, you can tell them with a smile, our blood was not shed in vain!"

Jiang Qingyu drank a bowl of wine and said in a tone of promise:

"There will be that day."

Huang Pu nodded:

"I hope so."

After all, he stood up and said goodbye:

"His Royal Highness, it's getting late, so I won't bother you with humble positions."

"You also rest earlier."

"A humble piece of advice, cherish tonight."

"The capital city is no better than the northern border, and the officialdom is no better than the battlefield. After entering Beijing tomorrow, you may never be able to sleep peacefully again."

"..."

Jiang Qingyu was slightly taken aback.

next moment.

Huang Pu pulled out the saber from his waist, first poured half a sip of wine into his mouth, and then sprayed the wine on the saber.

He stroked the blade, his eyes gradually sharpened, and his hunched body gradually straightened up, as if he had returned to the time when he killed aliens on the border of the western border a few years ago:
"but……"

"The humble job guarantees that His Highness can sleep peacefully tonight."

"The humble officer and the seventeen veterans of the Anxi Army will watch over you, and no one can disturb your peace!"

As he spoke, he beat his chest with the handle of the knife, and gave a military salute to Jiang Qingyu.

Although he had never served in the Anbei Army, as a former soldier, he still showed great respect to Jiang Qingyu, who had made great achievements in opening up the territory.

After saluting, Huang Pu walked out of the room without a single step back, and gently closed the door.

"It seems that there are many people in the capital who don't welcome Young Master."

Xiaoman glanced out of the window, and a murderous intent flashed in his eyes:
"Even a postman has sensed that something is wrong, and thinks that the young master will be in danger tonight!"

Jiang Qingyu looked calm:
"I have subdued Beidi, and I have become a prince. Once I enter the capital, Jing Hong will definitely give rewards in order to show the greatness of the emperor's grace."

"At that time, not to mention cutting down the feudal clan, I'm afraid that the fiefs of the three states under the name of the Northern King will be rejected, and even one state will be indispensable!"

"So, in the eyes of those veterans, I am equivalent to the second Jiang Qiushui!"

"They must regard me as a thorn in the side, a thorn in the flesh! Verbal criticism is light, what's more, they will make dangerous moves and send people to assassinate!"

Xiaoman sneered:

"Master Assassin?"

"Young Master is the No. 30 seventh landlord who spends my life all over the building, and his cultivation base is inferior to innate. The only ones in the whole world who are qualified to assassinate you are imperial eagles and dogs!"

"But the eagle dog didn't have the emperor's order, how could it kill the young master?"

"And the emperor..."

"If he wanted to take your son's life, then Jing Xuan would not have given in easily on the Qingjiang River before!"

Although it was close to the capital, her father Du Heng didn't dare to accompany them rashly, but there were still a group of Huamanlou's elite killers, including Yin Dao, beside them. As long as they didn't encounter a large number of eagle dogs, it was enough to guarantee Jiang Qingyu's safety.

Jiang Qingyu nodded slightly:
"The guards around me are not weak. Brother Langya has already ordered that the [-] Anbei Army will stand ready to fight tonight. He himself and Senior Brother Jiang will also monitor the surrounding movement, plus Huamanlou's killer, and Xiong Xing With the three hundred Xiong family guards, there shouldn't be any mistakes."

In order not to delay tomorrow's itinerary, Xiong Hui decided to personally take a group of people to transport the goods overnight. At the same time, to show his friendliness, he left behind Xiong Xing and three hundred guards.

"Where's Dong Shen?"

Xiaoman asked curiously:
"How does the young master think of this person?"

"He brought a thousand imperial guards with him. As far as I know, this imperial guard was improvised and all of them were elite. In addition to Dong Shen himself, there are two lieutenants who belong to the Haoyue realm and share the fate of the star realm. ten people!"

"This power should not be underestimated. If this person has evil intentions, it will be a big trouble!"

Jiang Qingyu frowned:
"Dong Shen was sent by Jing Hong, so it stands to reason that he shouldn't have murderous intentions towards me. But after all, he once served under Xue Mu, and my brother has a grudge with Xue Mu..."

"So, this person must be guarded against!"

"But if there is no conclusive evidence, we can't preemptively strike. After all, it is the imperial guards, which belong directly to Jing Hong himself. Killing him or anyone else is equivalent to hitting Jing Hong in the face!"

"Our trip to Beijing is extremely dangerous. Almost no one in the court will stand on my side. It would be unwise to offend Jing Hong again at this time!"

Xiaoman pouted and nodded:
"What the young master said is true."

"It's a pity that this person's strength is at the peak of Haoyue. Even Yindao can't keep monitoring him without being discovered, so we can only take the next best thing and choose to monitor the two deputy generals of the Haoyue realm and the few life star realms." general."

"Oh, it would be great if Sister Qingluo was here."

"With her strength, let alone Dong Shen, even if Xue Mu came in person, she is nothing to be afraid of!"

Hearing the word "Qingluo", Jiang Qingyu couldn't help but think of the woman in the long blue dress and holding the famous sword Shuanghua in Jiang Qingyu's mind.

I heard that this woman left for Beijing very early, I'm afraid she went to the city to meet Jing Hong a few days ago, and now she should be reading ancient books in the royal family's scripture library, looking for a chance to be promoted to the stars.

It can be considered that she has the courage, after offending the royal family and even being wanted, she dared to go to Beijing alone, and she was not afraid of Jing Hong's rebellion, and directly ordered someone to arrest her and put her in prison.

"It's okay if she's not here."

Jiang Qingyu said in a subtle tone:

"My brother is here."

"..."

Xiaoman blinked in surprise:
"Is that one still there?"

"This place is less than a hundred miles away from the capital. After Gu Ming's death, the person in the capital was in a state of fury. My father didn't dare to get too close, for fear of being angered and losing his life."

"My lord, that senior brother of yours doesn't mean he wants to accompany us to Beijing?"

Jiang Qingyu nodded, then shook her head again:
"I don't know what brother thinks."

"However, I heard that the old sword master Yu appeared in a tavern in Jizhou not long ago, and announced that he would enter Beijing."

"If the old man really enters the capital, then the senior brother will probably follow along with him. Even if he doesn't follow, he will support him near the capital."

He didn't say that he was Yan Luo.

Xiao Man had learned from Du Heng that Jiang Qingyu and Yan Luo were both Yu Yi's disciples, so he said with a wry smile:
"No one can guess what Old Sword Master Yu is thinking."

"The Battle of Qingjiang has only passed a few days, because the pavilion master Xingyi of the Meteor Pavilion informed the high-level officials of various forces and many officials of the Chu State about the matter, so that the rivers and lakes and the court are undercurrents!"

"I was informed that the Emperor Yue who walked through the Wu Pavilion last night appeared in Qingzhou, killed many officials who did evil, and carved a line with a sword on the door plaque of the Qingjiang Palace, saying that he swore to save the people of Qingzhou! "

"Although this matter was suppressed by the steward of the palace at the first time, the plaque was stolen by a bandit, and the line was printed on paper and pasted all over Qingzhou. Nowadays, the people of Qingzhou They are all secretly praying to go to the Wu Pavilion to rescue them as soon as possible!"

"Therefore, the Jing clan urgently needs to do something to consolidate the imperial power and deter those people who are ready to move!"

"At this time, Old Sword Saint Yu is entering the capital, I'm afraid..."

Xiaoman sighed lightly.

Based on her understanding of Jing's lineage, Old Sword Master Yu had only two consequences when he entered Beijing.

Either submit to the royal family of Chu.

Or die.

Jiang Qingyu also understood this truth, and he believed that Yu Yi must understand it too.

But the other party still decided to enter Beijing after careful consideration, so it was inconvenient for me to persuade him.

"We can't intervene in the game at this level. The old sword master must have his reasons for insisting on entering Beijing. We don't need to worry too much, we just need to be ourselves."

Jiang Qingyu looked out the window, only to see that today is the night of the full moon, and the sky is full of stars, like a chessboard.

On the ground, a thousand imperial guards in bright armor rode their horses to surround the post station tightly.

The first person noticed Jiang Qingyu's gaze, cupped his fists at him and said:

"His Royal Highness, don't worry, the end will be responsible for your safety tonight!"

"General Dong has worked hard."

Jiang Qingyu raised his glass from a distance, and drank it all in one gulp:

"When we arrive in the capital, I'll invite the brothers to drink!"

After all, he closed the window, went to the couch and lay down.

Luqi and Duyou, who had not spoken all the time, stood in front of the window and the door holding Shuoyue sword and Wangquan sword, posing as if they would stay on all night.

Sitting at the table, Xiao Man took out a blue book and read it, while constantly muttering:
"Sister Lichun, I haven't seen you for more than two months. How are you?"

"As you wish, the young master has become the son of the world."

"However, after he became the crown prince, he hasn't worn the boa robe once, and even this time when he went out to Beijing, he wore ordinary clothes."

"I think the young master must be thinking about what Sister Lichun said, and wants you to put on the python robe for him for the first time."

"Sister Lichun, are you doing well in the palace? Is the little koi that you took away still alive?"

"I took good care of the koi pond in Ziyanyuan. After a winter, not only didn't they lose weight, but they all gained weight."

"Sister Lichun is pampered and pampered in the palace, so she must have gained a lot of weight, right?"

"and also……"

"Sister Lichun, you must not know that the young master is actually very rich. The most luxurious restaurant in Wangcheng, Qifengju, is his property! After becoming a prince, he also bought the mirror water in Wangcheng for me. Courts are divided!"

"So, when you return to the palace in the future, you don't have to worry about not having enough money!"

"By the way, Sister Lichun, you must have finished reading the books I gave you when we parted last time, right? I brought several more this time, and two of them are sequels to the novels I gave you last time. , I have been reluctant to watch it, thinking that I will watch it together when I meet you."

"If you have finished reading those few novels, you must have learned a lot from them, and you will definitely obey my instructions and have a good relationship with the little eunuch in the palace, right?"

"Sister Lichun, the young master is messing around again, and the guest rooms in the Ziyan Courtyard are almost overcrowded. Without you, I alone can't control those girls!"

"So, hurry up and go home with us!"

On the bed, Jiang Qingyu listened to the little girl's soft voice, and sighed inwardly:
"Sister Lichun..."

"As long as you don't agree, I won't let you marry someone else."

"Even if Jing Hong bestows a marriage, it won't work!"

……

Just as Jiang Qingyu and his party were staying overnight at the inn.

Nearly a hundred miles away, the capital city was lit up all night.

Countless officials stayed up all night, either at home or in restaurants, discussing how to deal with the prince who came from afar.

However, this group of people are big figures who even the lord of a state would have to smile and salute on the outside, but in the capital they are just some small characters who can't stand on the stage.

The truly important figures have already entered the palace and went to the prince's residence to attend the dinner.

……

Royal Palace.

Ice Phoenix Hall.

This is a cold palace, in which lived a middle-aged woman.

Said to live, in fact...

It is more appropriate to use the word "imprisonment".

Because the woman was bound hands and feet with four iron chains, and she couldn't get out of the gate of the temple.

She was dressed in a white dress, her hair was disheveled, and she looked like a dry bone.

Since the makeup on this woman's face has been spent, she looks a bit scary, but it is still not difficult to recognize that she should be a beautiful woman when she was young.

Even in this palace full of beauties, she can be called the four characters of gorgeousness.

There was no one in the cold palace except the woman, and only a dim oil lamp was lit inside.

It is said that in the middle of the night there will be shrill screams, like ghosts crying and wolves howling. In addition, the eunuchs in the palace often warn that this is a forbidden area, and those who trespass will be sunk in the lake, so the maids and eunuchs in the palace dare not rely on it. too close.

Da da da……

However, tonight, there was a sound of footsteps coming from far and near.

When the woman heard the sound, she couldn't help but look up.

I saw a woman in a red dress with delicate makeup walking slowly, holding a clay pot.

Looking carefully, she looks somewhat similar to a woman, with a cinnabar mole between her brows, and her demeanor looks dignified, completely different from the miserable state of a woman imprisoned.

In front of her, there was a little eunuch with a cute face leading the way with a lantern, and he walked without making any noise, obviously his cultivation was good.

After stepping into the limbo, the woman in the red skirt said coldly:
"Mom, I'm here to see you."

(End of this chapter)