Chapter 463: Feng Chan (5k)
As the emperor, every word, every action, every move will release various signals.
At this moment, the empress deliberately ignored the Shen family's behavior, which became particularly dazzling in the eyes of the guests in the garden.
There is no need to explain the reasons for each, everyone knows it.
The mighty contest between the Shen family and Zhao Duan during these days has long been a "secret" that needs no words. But at this moment, the empress came in person, as if to save the face of the "imperial husband".
Zhao Duan knew this very well, but he did not deliberately target it. Instead, he tried hard to reduce his presence at this dinner.
As a minister, you should know how to restrain your sharpness in the presence of the king.
Under his gaze, Prince Jing sat down and chatted with the empress with a smile, reminiscing about old times and chatting about home affairs. They just asked each other about their current situation.
However, the uncle and nephew, who have not seen each other for several years, have limited common topics to talk about, especially the coup initiated by "Xu Jianwen".
Thus, after talking for a while, the two sides dropped the topic. As for the quarrels and overt and covert fights between the Empress and Prince Jing that Zhao Duan imagined, it did not happen.
The hostile relationship between the two parties is already well known to everyone. As the saying goes, there is no need to speculate. What's more, there are many outsiders present tonight. No matter the empress or Prince Jing, they have no idea of the royal family killing each other for people to watch.
Therefore, the entire banquet was unexpectedly dull, and today's attack outside the city was tacitly not mentioned again.
When the prepared singing and dancing ended, the empress expressed that she was tired, and Prince Jing stood up and left.
She just remembered something, and finally glanced at the Shen family who had been kneeling on the ground for the first time, almost in admiration, and said lightly:
"The Shen family has been a bit noisy these days. It’s too much.”
The old lady who was lying on the ground lowered her eyebrows and said submissively:
"I know my mistake, and the Shen family will fully cooperate with the court's new policies."
So obedient? obedience?
No...you make it look like all my previous thoughts were wasted...Zhao Duan's heart is full of flaws.
Of course he knows that the big reason why the Shen family is nodding to surrender at this moment is that the Shen family has already lost in its own war.
"In that case, just retreat."
Xu Zhenguan's tone was neither happy nor sad, and he said calmly.
Immediately stood up and walked towards the room prepared for the empress in the garden, and Zhao Duan followed him like a dog.
Wait for the empress and her entourage to leave.
Waiting further away, the Shen family including "Red Girl" and "Shen Wuji" hurriedly swarmed up to help the old lady who had been kneeling on the ground for an hour or two. Jun and the middle-aged head of the family.
Fortunately, the head of the family is young and strong, and has some foundation in martial arts, so he can handle it.
But the silver-haired old lady was on the verge of exhaustion, and her legs were so painful that she could not stand up. She was rubbed distressedly by the maid for a while, and then she reluctantly stood up with the help of her family.
He was carried by Shen Wuji again, and he fled the Jingyuan like a bereaved dog under the gaze of many strange eyes.
Under the night.
The Shen family's carriage was driving along the cold street, and suddenly stopped at a corner. The old lady in the carriage opened her eyelids and heard Shen Wuji, who was driving, saying:
"Prince Jing's carriage is waiting in front."
Then, Xu Jinglong got off the carriage of Prince Jing's palace, walked straight to the old lady's carriage, cupped his hands and said:
"Thank you for your hard work." "The old lady."
The silver-haired old woman stared at Prince Pianran through the opened car curtain and said:
"What do you want me to say?"
Xu Jinglong said lightly: "Wait."
"Wait?" The old lady repeated the word.
Xu Jinglong nodded.
All human wisdom is contained in these five words-wait and hope.
……
……
View Garden.
The crowd dispersed and the lively riverside garden became quiet.
The room where the empress stayed was still the most noble room in the garden.
After Xu Zhenguan stepped into the threshold, he turned to look at Zhao who was following behind, and raised his eyebrows: "What are you doing with me?"
Zhao Duan was calm and composed:
"Your Majesty is here alone, with no one to serve you. I am thinking about your Majesty's needs, so just give me your orders."
Xu Zhenguan left it unobtrusively. Pouring one's lips, stepping on lotus feet in the spacious and bright room On the gorgeous carpet, her slender hands pinched the beautifully trimmed flower branches in a vase on the round table, and said coldly:
"You stayed in this room last night in Jingyuan? What happened to you? The assassination of the courtesan? "
? ?
Zhao Duan broke into a cold sweat, his mind was buzzing, and he wondered who had leaked the news?
Could it be Lao Hai?
Yes, it must be that guy from Lao Hai...
He took a deep breath, raised his right hand, and swore to the sky with his middle, index, and ring fingers:
"My lord, That day was pure and white, and there was absolutely no sleep on flowers or willows. Eunuch Hai knew that. ”
"Pfft..."
Xu Zhenguan was actually amused and said, "I didn't say anything about you. I see you are nervous."
At this moment, the empress stood in front of the foreign minister. Switching from majestic and dignified to a little charming and lazy, the process is extremely smooth.
And as she released the emperor's manners that she deliberately "pretended" in front of outsiders, the whole room seemed to become brighter.
Zhao Duan was stunned, and suddenly said out of nowhere: "Your Majesty, this will look better."
Xu Zhenguan pursed his lips, thinking that he had relapsed into his old habit of deliberately talking sweetly, so he didn't pay much attention to it. With a wave of his sleeves, two bottles of wine appeared on the table out of thin air: "Drink some with me?"
Drink some... Zhao Duan strode forward and picked up the A pot, he has not forgotten the fact that the empress is a drunkard in private... and her little habit of secretly hiding and drinking every time she is happy...
It’s just that since the drinking match in the Yuanzu Temple of the Imperial Palace last year , the monarch and his minister rarely drank in private again.
"Your Majesty is very happy tonight? Is it because the Shen family is weak?"
Zhao Duan was holding a silver flask with complicated and exquisite patterns and was looking for a wine cup. By the time the empress had picked up another pot, she walked to the railing at the door with ease.
The door was open, and the light in the room spread along the threshold, illuminating a small area of the doorway.
Beyond the railing, there is a river, and there is no one around. All the waiters have been deliberately driven away by Grandpa Hai and other powerful officials and moved far away.
The empress pulled off the lid with a "pop" sound, raised her slender white gooseneck, pointed the spout of the silver wine pot at the mouth of the sandalwood, and drank wantonly.
The clear wine flowed down her fair chin and along her graceful jawline, and she wiped it with her sleeve boldly. The empress looked at the river with misty eyes, and said, smelling of wine:< br>
“I am taking courage.”
Zhao Duan, who followed him out, was stunned.
Xu Zhenguan turned his head and smiled slightly: "Don't they all say that drinking makes people bold?"
Zhao Duan held the silver wine pot in both hands and took a sip solemnly. Cai Dao:
“Your Majesty is brave, If you dare to tell the men of the world to lower their eyebrows, why use wine?”
Xu Zhenguan laughed at himself: “When my ancestors were young and fighting against the world, they would drink to strengthen their courage in battles involving life and death. My ancestors did this, so why don’t I dare? Speech? ”
Zhao Duan was silent for a moment and said: "Your Majesty is worried about Feng Chan?"
"Yes."
"How sure is your Majesty?"
"Six...seven ”
“It’s not small anymore.”
"But it's not enough," Xu Zhenguan leaned on the railing, looked at the river, and murmured:
"Believe it or not, there are countless people in the world looking here at this moment, looking forward to the result of Feng Chan. If I succeed, although I dare not say that it will be peaceful, but the Eight Kings may not dare to have any wrong ideas, but if it doesn't work out."
Zhao Duan took a sip of wine: "So what if it doesn't work? Isn't your majesty still your majesty?"
Xu Zhenguan said softly:
"If it doesn't work, it will be tantamount to proving to the world that I have not been recognized by the Yu State's national destiny. At that time, the eight kings will only take the opportunity to cause chaos."
Zhao Duan suddenly realized.
Zhen Bao is a woman after all. For a woman to become emperor, the people of the world have always doubted it, and the fate of the country is also related to the people's thoughts. If it fails, the eight kings will be equivalent to gaining the "legal principles" to cause rebellion. :
Since the destiny does not belong to the empress, it is natural for several princes to inherit the throne.
This is a big gamble. If you win, the flowers will bloom. If you lose, the oil will be cooked by fire.
"Your Majesty is so lucky that you can win the battle right away. Even if you retreat 10,000 steps, you still have the important insurance of me." Zhao Duan said seriously.
"Insurance?" Xu Zhen glanced at him.
Zhao Duan recommended himself as a pillow: "Double cultivation has broken through."
"..." Xu Zhenguan rolled his beautiful eyes and joked: "This is not serious. You're interested, hehe, let's wait until you step into the world."
There was a feeling of looking down on the "childish little boy" in his tone.
Zhao Duan was not convinced, but he was too lazy to argue. He just drank with the empress. After the two bottles of wine were finished, the empress threw the silver jug into the river, turned around and stretched lazily. A lazy person:
"Okay, I'm going to sleep. In the past two days, you should step up your preparations for the Zen ceremony. When the dragon boat arrives in the next two days, you will rush to Luoshan to save you long nights and dreams."
"Your Majesty?"
Suddenly there was a voice from behind, and the empress looked back in confusion, then froze. I saw Zhao Duan saying seriously: "I will protect your majesty."
Xu Zhenguan was inexplicably touched in his heart, but he just smiled and turned towards the room:< br>
"Just protect yourself."
The double wooden doors closed.
Zhao Duan pursed his lips, raised his hand, and the silver wine bottle dropped in the water was lifted up lightly by a stream of water.
He put away the pair of small white fungus pots, turned around and walked to the room reserved for him next door.
Closing the door, Zhao Duan sat cross-legged and meditated, practicing as usual.
Along with the visualization, he came to the ancient and dilapidated Buddhist temple in the "Six Chapters Sutra" again in a trance.
Zhao Duan pushed open the temple door along the mountain road, and the "skull-cracking" attack from Pei Niannu did not appear as promised.
"Senior Pei?"
Zhao Duan looked suspiciously at the armored wedding sorceress sitting alone on the collapsed alchemy furnace in the center of the ruined temple with all the weeds.
Pei Niannu, who has a mysterious temperament and most of his face is covered by a golden mask, stares at the sky in a daze.
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When she heard the call, she looked at him and said:
"I... sensed your... call before."
Yes, I At that time, I asked you to come out to deal with the "Dharma God", but you were isolated and unable to appear... Zhao Duan was not surprised, and nodded and roughly explained.
Pei Niannu said: "That person's power... I am familiar with it... but I can't remember..."
That person? Refers to "Dharma God"? Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, surprised by the reaction of this old man who was in a strange state and seemed to be in a state of weapon spirit.
"Senior, do you know the origin of the 'Dharma God'?" Zhao Duan asked curiously.
"I can't remember...it's been too long...I can't remember..."
Pei Niannu held his head and said, no longer paying attention to him, as if he was talking in sleep.
……
...
Southeast of Jianning Mansion, there is a mountain named "Luo".
The mountains are majestic and connected to the three mountain ridges, and are known as the "roots of the leylines".
There is a royal garden at the foot of the mountain. The land within a radius of five miles is covered by the royal family and ordinary people are not allowed to approach it.
Since the news spread that the empress was about to be enthroned, the foot of Luoshan Mountain has become lively.
In order to please the merchants who were willing to give money to the imperial court, they hired a large number of civilian men and began to rest and reorganize the area around Luoshan two months in advance.
The restricted area has been expanded to a radius of ten miles.
And when the dragon boat team stationed in Jianning Mansion, joined the empress, and a large number of people arrived to stay in the garden at the foot of Luoshan Mountain, preparations for the Zen Ceremony were in full swing.
The foreign craftsmen and people crowded into several big towns near Luoshan. At the same time, many people came after hearing the news and gathered around, hoping to witness the emperor's enthronement, which was rare in a century.
On this day, a group of people quietly came to a town near Luoshan and found a desolate mountaintop in the wild.
The mountain wind howls.
On a remote mountaintop, the second prince "Xu Jianwen" draped in black robes, who had died in a coup three years ago, stood with his hands behind his hands, looking at the towering and majestic main peak of Luoshan Mountain in the distance, smiling. Said:
“This is a good place to watch the ceremony.”
Behind him, there were three people.
They are:
Qi Yuchun was dressed as a Jianghu man and carried a spear wrapped in cloth behind him.
Wearing an earthy yellow robe, with eyebrows the same color as the clothes, Ren Kun looked frivolous with his arms folded.
As well as the "National Master" who wears a robe and has more three-dimensional facial features than the Yu people. He is dressed as a Taoist and confuses real people.
"Your Highness, although this place is still far from the main peak of Luoshan Mountain, the puppet emperor is powerful, and on the day of the enshrinement of Zen, a large number of troops surrounded the area under martial law. We just came here to watch the excitement, so the risk is too great. Big." Qi Yuchun couldn't help but say.
Ren Kun, who had the opposite personality to him, rarely disagreed and nodded in agreement:
"It is indeed not very safe. Especially if the false emperor advances to the real realm of heaven and humanity, it will be even more dangerous."
Only the perverse personality, the second-resurrected Master Bewitching, said "Hey" and said with a strange smile:< br>
"Perhaps His Highness also wants to contribute to the destruction of the false emperor Feng Chan."
Qi Yuchun glanced at him coldly and said nothing.
After Zhuang Xiaocheng died, Kuangfu Society almost fell apart. That day, he and Ren Kun were shocked when they found Xu Jianwen. After confirming that His Highness Jianwen was not dead, he understood why Zhuang Taifu dared to Sacrifice yourself.
Then, Qi Yuchun became the new leader of Kuangfu Society on the surface, and ordered each branch to enter a "hibernation" state, each dormant, waiting for opportunities.
In fact, it was the resurrected Xu Jianwen who was giving the orders.
Shortly afterwards, after being killed by Zhao Duan, through the back-up plan left behind and with the help of the "Master of the Underworld Cult", the bewitched real person who was resurrected from the netherworld appeared and gathered around Xu Jianwen again. .
This time, Xu Jianwen led three core generals of Kuangfu Society to Luoshan alone.
"No," Xu Jianwen shook his head in the mountain breeze, denying the speculation of Master Zhu. He looked at the majestic Luoshan calmly and said:
"The snipe and the clam fight, and the fisherman wins. We are just here to watch the ceremony, and we don't have to show up. The eight kings will take action on their own. I can just wait here and watch the fun."
Qi Yuchun couldn't help but said:
< br>"If your highness wants to watch the fun, why bother to get involved with your body?" "Danger?"
Xu Jianwen slowly turned around. Under the black hood, there was a slightly pale, wealthy face:
"Three sisters are going to die. I will do this." Second brother, how can you not say goodbye to her? ”
......
......
Tianfeng three years, May 15th, Jiazi day.
It is appropriate to pray for blessings, fast and offer sacrifices to heaven and earth.
The day of the Zen Ceremony has finally arrived. Zhao Duan followed the empress and arrived at the royal manor near Luoshan a few days ago.
Also living in the manor were the fleet palace officials headed by Mo Chou and Sun Lianying, and a group of civil servants headed by the Minister of Rites.
And a group of Ouchi guards led by Eunuch Hai.
In addition, local officials headed by Governor Ning and Magistrate Jianning, as well as three elite troops from Jiancheng Road, Huaishuidao and Binhai Road have also been stationed in advance.
In order to successfully hold the Zen ceremony, on this day, with Luoshan as the center, no pedestrians are allowed on the roads within a radius of 20 miles, and households are closed and are not allowed to go out on the streets.
The army and officials inspected the entire Luoshan area three times to ensure that no idlers were staying.
The accompanying star officials of Qin Tianjian repeatedly divined and confirmed that this day was an auspicious day for Zen. At dawn in the early morning, Zhao Duan saw that the sky was cloudless and the sun was shining brightly. It was an excellent weather.
Zhao Duan put on a brand new official robe, and together with Eunuch Hai and others, arrived at the foot of Luoshan Mountain in advance to take charge of security patrols.
The main peak of Luoshan Mountain is so tall and marvelous. Standing at the foot of the mountain, looking up, you can see that the mountain is lush and green, and the weather is unparalleled. With the main peak as the center, starting from the mountainside, there are faint wisps of clouds and mist like silk ribbons. The ground flows and coils.
“It’s strange, the sky is cloudless, why are there clouds and mist on this mountain?” Zhao Duan stood in the crowd and asked curiously.
The old eunuch in python robe stood beside him. Hai Chunlin was also dressed up today and said calmly:
"Luoshan is hollow, and there are springs of earth veins below, and water vapor gushes out to form clouds and mist."
This is so unscientific... Zhao Duan looked at the old man in surprise and didn't believe a word in his heart.
But when I think about the existence of strange natural phenomena that are difficult to understand in some scenic spots in my previous life, I am still doubtful.
"Is it true that Prince Jing didn't come to the Zen ceremony today?"
Zhao Duan looked around and saw, except for a large group of officials from the Ministry of Rites and local officials gathered around the altar at the foot of the mountain, They are a large number of elite soldiers who have sealed off the surrounding area at the foot of the mountain.
There are flags with the word "Yu" erected every ten feet.
At this time in the early morning, the sky was already bright, but there was still a bit of coolness left, and the empress's dragon chariot had not yet arrived.
Eunuch Hai rolled up his sleeves and said calmly:
"The Shadow Guards sent news that Prince Jing and his family are all in the Prince's Palace of Jianning and cannot come out."
< br>Zhao Duan rubbed his chin:
"I'm sure I'm holding my breath. Where are the escaped warlocks from the Dharma God sect? Have you found any trace?"
Eunuch Hai shook his head:
"There is no trace, but with the 'Dharma God' Teng Nao's magic power will definitely appear today. Although the core of Fengchan is the five-color altar at the top of the mountain, the altar of gods at the foot of the mountain still has a lot to do with Fengchan.
Some people headed by King Jing. If you want to destroy Fengchan, the most likely way is to send experts to attack the foot of the mountain and destroy the altar... Today, we are going to protect the foot of the mountain. "
So... those magicians from the Dharma God Sect, And Duan Shui Shui, as well as a series of masters such as Prince Jing's private soldiers and spies, as well as the other princes, and perhaps the powerful men sent secretly, will all ambush and attack the altar today?
Zhao Duan swallowed and murmured: "Eunuch, can you withstand it?"
Eunuch Hai glanced at him lightly: "What are you afraid of?"
Zhao Duan also He laughed, showing his white teeth: "Don't be afraid of whoever comes."
Suddenly, the sound of heavy bells and drums came from a distance, echoing in the ears of everyone at the foot of the mountain, with a sense of solemnity. But life.
The strong men in the army, who had been talking to Ouchi in a relaxed manner before, all kept silent and showed serious expressions.
Amidst the music of the sacrificial ceremony played by the Ministry of Rites, a group of people left the Royal Villa in a mighty manner and headed towards Luoshan.
The Empress has arrived.
(End of this chapter)