late night song

Chapter 28
Emperor Ming meditated in his study until noon and ordered King Qin to enter the palace.

In the Xingxin Hall, the dragon on Emperor Ming's throne collapsed. Before the case was filed, the father and son were silent.

After a long while, Emperor Ming walked to the seismograph on the left side of the palace, which was entirely red gold and inlaid with [-] rubies. He gently stroked the eight dragon heads holding beads, then turned around and handed the red gold ball rubbed in his hand to Qi Xian. , asked: "Xiao Zhan, do you know what this is?"

Qi Jian took the object. The golden ball was warm. Emperor Ming must have been rubbing it in his hand.

"This is the red gold ball that the little prince Pengkang was looking for in the belly of the snake." Qi Jian looked at it carefully. The word "Qian" on the ball was clear and variable. He looked at the seismograph in front of him again and seemed to realize, "This is My Dongqi object? The golden bead in the mouth of the golden dragon of the seismometer?"

"No son is like his mother." Emperor Ming sighed.

Qi frame did not answer the call, but he also felt that the matter was by no means that simple.

"Xiao Zhen, when your mother and concubine died, did you resent Gu?" Emperor Ming did not get straight to the point, but asked about what happened that year.

Qi Jian remained silent. He clenched his fists, recalling the scene where his mother and concubine were forced to throw themselves into the well, and his heart was raging.

"I know you hate me, so why don't I hate myself?"

Emperor Ming's eyes were slightly red, and he looked out the window, trying to suppress the moisture in his eyes.

Qi Jian was shocked by such sudden frankness, but he still did not respond.

"This golden ball was taken away from the Xingxin Palace by my mother-in-law. I knew that Xinyi would come up with a good idea without betraying me. And worthy of the blood and family ties." Emperor Ming didn't seem to realize his son's indifference, his eyes were distracted, and he thought about the past as he recalled the past.

"Qi Sheng rebelled, but the Princess of the Northern Qi Dynasty is the aunt of the mother-in-law. How could she sit back and watch her relatives being implicated and remain indifferent? No matter whether the mother-in-law sent a message or not, it is understandable. But the father really believed that the mother-in-law would conspire against Qi. Does Sheng Sheng intend to rebel? If she really has this intention and stays with her father every day, why not do it herself? "

Seeing Emperor Ming take the initiative to mention old things, Qi Jie simply explained to him clearly. He gritted his teeth and asked several questions in succession, explaining Chang Xinyi's helplessness and innocence.

"Yes. After all, I forgot that your mother was so proud. If Gu hadn't hesitated for a moment, Xinyi wouldn't have..." Mentioning the death of Concubine Yi, Emperor Ming felt regretful and choked up. Speechless.

"Beiling incited the King of Northern Qi to rebel. The capital had known about it long before Queen Beiling sent a secret letter to your mother and concubine. The purpose of Gu Zi's holding back was to wipe out all the dissidents in the court and eradicate all the tricks Beiling had planted in the capital. Gu Zi thought The planning was perfect, but he didn't know that he personally pushed his beloved into this doomed situation. He ordered the Dongding Army to go north to suppress the rebellion, but Feng Linyin, that vicious woman, took advantage of the situation and sent someone to kill you on the way. The messenger sent by your mother-in-law, and then forged letters to frame your mother-in-law. She took advantage of the moment when I left the palace to accept my surrender, and forced your mother-in-law to confess. When I returned to the palace, your mother-in-law had already suffered all the humiliation, and she was in court. The evidence of the crime is clear and everyone's words are conclusive, but Gu did not immediately give her the most important trust. I will never forget the look in your mother's eyes before she left. She waited patiently for me to come back, just to confirm whether I was what she thought. He trusted her as much as he expected, but Gu was so stupid that he hesitated even for a moment. She never cared about other people's opinions and opinions. Toujing Mingzhi was not impulsive because of being wronged, but because he was extremely disappointed with Gu, and he still wanted to do so. The cruelest revenge."

Emperor Ming told the whole story of Chang Yixin's unjust death, and then slapped the faucet of the seismometer with his palm, crying uncontrollably.

"There is God's will in the dark. This golden ball is enough to prove that the people sent by my mother and concubine were buried and killed in the woods in the western suburbs. How could there be any subsequent secret conspiracy?"

Even though Emperor Ming was so sincere, Qi Jie remained unmoved. He seized the key evidence of the red gold ball and tried to open the key to the old case 11 years ago. However, Emperor Ming began to remain silent. It seemed that the truth was not correct. It doesn't matter to him.

Therefore, Qi Jian had to use Emperor Ming's feelings for his mother and concubine as an excuse, forcing him to face what he called the love between husband and wife, and the love between father and son.

"I dare to ask my father, if this golden ball had not seen the light of day again, would my father's trust in my mother and concubine be as solid as you said? If Le Jiapengkang had not come back to life today, would my father really Do you suspect that your ministers are colluding with foreign countries and have evil intentions?"

Emperor Ming still didn't answer, or maybe he said this was his answer.

"Then how can my father explain Gu Yuchu's injustice?"

Regarding Emperor Ming's attitude, Qi Jian already had an answer in his mind. The man in front of him only had the throne in his heart. Even if he felt extremely guilty, he would not regret the choice he made at that time in order to keep his throne stable.

No matter what, it doesn't matter. One day he will let the man he calls his father lose his imperial power and everything he regards as life.So, he changed the subject, regardless of the old case, and only wanted to quickly end the night banquet conspiracy and rescue Gu Yuchu.

"Back then, in order to disrupt our situation in Dongqi, the old thief from Beiling deliberately allowed Chang Leshui to send a secret letter to inform your mother and concubine about Beiqi's rebellion. Otherwise, how could Xinyi take the risk and finally jump into the trap of the gangster. Dongqi will definitely take this revenge. Retribution. It was Gu who gave King Hong the opportunity to intensify the conflict between Beiling and Xirong. Who would have expected him to be so helpless."

Emperor Ming was noncommittal about his son's temptation. He admitted that it was his original intention to design Beiling, but he did not give a clear answer as to how the night banquet would end outside of the plan.

"You go back, I'm tired of being alone."

"No matter what my father decides in the end, please send Gu Yuchu back to his residence as soon as possible. I will retire."

Qi Jie did not want to speculate too much on Emperor Ming's intentions, but he also directly expressed his determination to save Gu Yuxin.

"This golden ball fell into her hands after 11 years. I think the mother-in-law in heaven recognized this daughter-in-law."

He handed the golden ball back to Emperor Ming, deliberately saying such an irrelevant statement, threatening Emperor Ming's guilt for his mother and concubine, and forcing him to give up the idea of ​​sacrificing Gu Yuchu to solve the problem.

"You shouldn't be together."

The moment Qi Jian stepped out of the Xingxin Palace, Emperor Ming said coldly that this was the first time he had explicitly reminded his son, but Qi Jian pretended not to hear and strode out of the palace, leaving Emperor Ming alone. Thinking about things and people, thinking about old feelings in vain.

After leaving the palace, Qi Jian selected a spot to patrol Qidu as usual. Suddenly he met an old woman on the street who fell ill and suffered a fall. He ordered someone to send the old woman to the hospital for treatment. After that, he returned to the Prince of Qin's Mansion and never went anywhere else. During this period, there was no one. People come over to visit.

Emperor Ming's cronies returned to the palace to report this, but they did not know that long before King Qin left the palace, Ling Ziyu had sneaked into Jinghou, the study of King Qin's palace, without anyone noticing.

Ling Ziyu came uninvited without saying a word, and even more familiarly played with the purple jade ewer in the study, and then threw a crescent-shaped pebble.

He heard someone entering the door and expected that it was King Qin who had returned, so he turned around and asked with a smile: "How is it?"

"You are so courageous!" Qi Zhi saw that it was him, and his tone was not good.

"Heh. I'm going to take my cousin back home tomorrow. You should consider introducing me..."

But Ling Ziyu didn't care at all. He raised his eyebrows and was interrupted before he said a few words.

"Do you hate your father?" Qi Zhi asked quietly, his eyes dim.

Ling Ziyu's eyes turned cold, showing unprecedented solemnity and seriousness.

"Every day." He said every word, very clearly. "At least you still know that your aunt is still alive." This answer resonated with Qi Zhen, and he comforted her.

"Then how are you going to confess to your princess?" Ling Ziyu didn't seem to buy into King Qin's kindness. Instead, it aroused Qi Jian's biggest worry.

"It's none of your business!" King Qin was very angry and replied coldly, feeling very resistant in his heart.

Indeed, he didn't know how to make the final confession to Gu Yuchu.

The Yuchi family had good relations with the Qi family, and they intermarried for several generations. Until this dynasty, Yuchi Lin married his eldest daughter to Qi Sheng's eldest son, which was even more popular at that time.

Fifteen years ago, Emperor Ming had long wanted to reduce the military power of the four kings and merge their armies. Among the four kings, the Northern Qi army was the most powerful. The Northern Qi king was an important minister in both dynasties and had numerous military exploits, so he was most dissatisfied with the reduction of power.

In the court hall, Emperor Ming used the idea of ​​laying off the veterans at the border and reorganizing the new army to test his ministers' reaction.Yuchilin, who had always been upright, advised on the spot that the old Shan of Xirong was dying, the new master was undecided, and the new policy was unclear. If the Northern Qi army was withdrawn and reorganized at this time, it would be unstable and there would be another turmoil on the border, which would be useless to the country. So he suggested suspending it for three years. We will make a decision after the new leader of Xirong succeeds to the throne and the new policy becomes clear.

With his in-laws in front, Emperor Ming was already suspicious that the Yuchi clan was colluding with Northern Qi, but Yuchilin openly defended Northern Qi and opposed the decree to centralize royal power. This made Emperor Ming even more convinced that the two clans formed a clique for mutual benefit.

Although King Qi Sheng of the Northern Qi Dynasty was dissatisfied with the reduction of military power, he had no intention of rebellion. However, he could not withstand the various temptations of Emperor Ming and the secret instigation of Beiling, so he secretly prepared a supply of weapons and food just in case.

Emperor Ming had been interested in gathering military power for a long time, and every move of the Northern Qi army was naturally under his control. Although his preparations for Qi Sheng were kept secret, Emperor Ming had a plan in mind.

He ordered secret merchants to sell iron tools, grain and grass to Northern Qi, collected evidence to establish the fake rebellion, and at the same time replaced the generals stationed in the Hexi fortress. In the name of disaster relief, he dispatched the imperial army to ambush Heishan, and then sent elite soldiers to sneak into the northwest to capture Qi Sheng alive. From then on, the Northern Qi army did not fight. And descend.

When the rebellious parties were being purged, Concubine Xian Feng Linyin offered a plan to Emperor Ming to implicate Yuchi's family in the case and deal with them together.

Therefore, although the case of Concubine Yi and the Yuchi clan colluding with the Northern Qi to rebel was false, it was a certainty and beyond doubt. This was the biggest secret of the Qizhou Dynasty that Emperor Ming would hold in his hands until his death.

Therefore, even if Qi Jie knows the whole truth, in order to prevent people with malicious intentions from using it to cause trouble and to ensure that Dong Qi Chao's outline is stable, he cannot easily reveal everything to the world, even if one day he rules the world.

He wanted to clear the name of his mother-in-law and the Yuchi clan, but could not completely overturn the old case. This matter had been weighing on his heart and made him breathless. If one day the Yuchi sisters learned that the enemy of their family was not someone else but his father. At that time, I didn't know if I would hold a grudge against him, so I faced him with swords.

Ling Ziyu saw that Qi Jian's thoughts were wandering, he shook his head and sighed, saying that heroes are saddened by beauty, which is true.

But the world is so big, why bother being trapped in one person?

"In this situation, Bei Ling and Dong Qi will definitely have a battle, but after all, you and I have the same parent clan, so we should take care of ourselves from now on."

The purpose of Ling Ziyu's trip was achieved, and he was too lazy to talk to Qi Jian about old things, so he gave a few words of advice, patted his sleeves and was about to leave, but coincidentally he bumped into Gu Yuxin with a frown on his face.

He looked carefully and saw that she was indeed a rare beauty in the world. She was even more beautiful than Princess Qin who was standing in front of others. He thought to himself that this cold-faced and black woman was really a great blessing.

"Take care of yourself, don't let me hear you die in the warm red tent and bring shame to your aunt." Seeing that he was about to leave but refused to leave, Qi Jian cursed mercilessly.

Ling Ziyu turned around, smiling instead of angry. Only then did Qi Jie show his kindness and returned a smile, but it was fleeting.This color seemed to interest Ling Ziyu.

"How about I borrow your backyard?"

He started teasing, insisting on revealing Qi Zhi's unspoken slander towards him.

"Get out!" Ling Ziyu's meaning could not be clearer. Qi Jian was furious because of this. He immediately turned cold and issued an eviction order.

"How greedy! Hahahahahahahahahaha." After finding out a little bit about Dongqi War God's secret thoughts, Ling Ziyu was in a good mood, waved his hands and walked away.

Gu Yuxin was very curious about the origin of this person and how he dared to be so casual with Qi Jian. She looked at Ling Ziyu's back for a while before turning around and facing Qi Jian.

Qi Jian's face was still stern. She cared about her sister, and even though she was curious, she didn't ask any more questions.

"Brother frame." She said worriedly, her eyes slightly red, but King Qin did not answer him immediately.

"How is my sister? I'm very worried. It's damp and cold in the prison. My sister has been in prison for three days. She must have suffered a lot." Gu Yuxin hesitated for a while, not caring about Qi Zhen's mood at this time. , straight to the point.

She was really worried about her sister. After all, Gu Yuchu was her only relative in the world. Although she had loved Qi Jian for many years, she secretly blamed her sister for being selfish and ignoring her infatuation. But in matters of life and death, no matter what, she must It is to advance and retreat together with sister Yao.

She had even thought carefully about it during countless long nights, and was willing to sit aside and serve the same husband with her sister, as long as she could stay with Qi Jian for a long time.Therefore, from the bottom of her heart, she did not hope that anything bad would happen to Gu Yuchu.

"Don't worry, you'll be able to go home in a few days." Qi Jian touched Gu Yuxin's shoulder with one hand, thinking thoughtfully.

"Then I will prepare my sister's favorite pastries and dishes early tomorrow morning, and then make red date and ginger soup, and wait for my sister to go home and have a good rest." When Gu Yuxin heard what Qi Jian said, the big stone in her heart fell. , very happy, and immediately started thinking about tomorrow's arrangements.

"Yu Xin."

Compared with the joyful expression on Gu Yu's face, Qi Jie seemed to be worried.

"I have a question, can you answer me?" He hesitated before asking.

"Yeah." Gu Yuxin nodded obediently.

"If one day you find that I am not what you thought, and if I do something that disappoints you, will you forgive me?" Qi Zhi asked sadly, expressing the frustration in his heart, with a sad look in his eyes like late autumn.

Gu Yuxin was silent for a while, looking into Qijian's eyes inquiringly, and then slowly said: "Although I don't know what kind of disappointing thing it is, I think I should be sad, but I also believe that you must have some difficulties. Yes, so no matter what, I will stay with you."

Such an affirmative answer gave Qi Jian some comfort. He looked at Gu Yuxin tenderly and hugged her gently, hoping that Gu Yuchu would give him the same answer.

(End of this chapter)