Chapter 110

The pavilion built by the water is blown by the wind from all directions. Lush bamboo shadows are projected onto the floor tiles inside through the half-rolled wicker curtains. Spots of sunlight fall on the drooping clothes of the players playing chess, and the dark patterns of the brocade satin begin to shine.

The cicadas were chirping loudly, and from time to time a koi would leap up from the lotus-covered lake, grab a petal from a blossoming lotus, and then fall back into the water, stirring up three thousand clear waves.

Xie Zheng's scabbed long fingers picked up a black chess piece and dropped it on the chessboard. The white pieces on the opposite side were all surrounded at once.

Xie Zhong held up the white piece and looked at it for a long time, but couldn't find a place to place it. Finally, he laughed helplessly: "Master Hou's chess skills have improved again. I am ashamed of myself."

The man sitting opposite him had his hair tied up. Because the whip marks and knife wounds on his body had not healed yet, he wore a single layer of clothing inside and only a loose outer robe. His handsome face was still slightly pale from illness. He felt an itch in his throat, covered his lips and coughed twice, saying, "Practice makes perfect."

Due to the repeated knife wounds and the 108 lashes, Xie Zheng had to stay in bed for three days before he could get out of bed.

When the doctor came to treat his injury, he kept shaking his head and repeatedly said that there was not a single piece of healthy flesh left on his back. If it were a normal person, he would have died from the pain.

But Xie Zheng may have had a will tempered on the battlefield through years of fighting, so unless he was physically exhausted, he would not faint no matter how much pain he was in.

He was conscious when the doctor used tweezers to slowly pull out the rags that were stuck in the wound, but he didn't say a word the whole time. After cleaning the wound, the cold sweat from the pain soaked the mattress underneath him.

Before the doctor left, he said that with his injuries, he would have to lie down for ten days or half a month before he could get out of bed. However, he was able to get out of bed on his own after only three days of recuperation.

Xie Zhong thought he was in a hurry to go back because on the first day of his recuperation, Gongsun Yin sent someone to bring him a message - the eunuch in the palace went to Cannes with a reward and an imperial edict. Gongsun Yin used the excuse that he was inspecting the border, so the eunuch waited in Cannes.

He said, "The border patrol will take several months at most, or at least a month. Mr. Gongsun will temporarily stabilize the people from the palace. It won't be too late for the Marquis to return after he recovers from his injuries."

Xie Zheng threw the black piece in his hand back into the chessboard, his eyes half-closed, looking uninterested. He said, "I have not taken the young emperor's imperial edict seriously."

Xie Zhong thought for a moment and asked, "Is it because of the changes in the situation in Chongzhou?"

"Once Prince Changxin dies, it's only a matter of time before Chongzhou is conquered. However, He Jingyuan was suddenly seriously injured, and the court changed its commander. The morale of the Jizhou army is broken, and I'm afraid it's not much better than the rebels in Chongzhou City. I don't know if this is really the intention of the young emperor or Wei Yan."

Xie Zheng asked, "Uncle Zhong, do you think that after He Jingyuan retires, who else around Wei Yan can take over the military power of Jizhou for him?"

Xie Zhong thought about it carefully, shook his head and said, "I'm afraid there is no one. His son Wei Xuan is brave but not wise. At present, the military power of Jizhou and Chongzhou is a piece of fat meat that the Li and Wei parties must fight for. Wei Yan will not be so bold as to send Wei Xuan, who is impulsive and easily instigated, to the battlefield in Chongzhou. The emperor promoted Tang Peiyi to be the chief general. Although Tang Peiyi was promoted by He Jingyuan, he is a loyal minister. The emperor should be relieved that the military power of Jizhou is in Tang Peiyi's hands."

Xie Zheng said: "If Chongzhou is captured, the military power of Jizhou and Chongzhou will not belong to the Li Party, but will fall into the hands of the little emperor. If Wei Yan wants to prevent others from taking away this piece of fat meat that has fallen on him, he can only let the battle situation in Chongzhou continue to stalemate and slowly consume it. The Li family still has Li Huaian as the supervisor of the army in Chongzhou, who will always be able to catch the Li family's mistakes."

Xie Zhong was shocked: "What the Marquis meant is that Wei Yan might imitate what he did to you and He Jingyuan before, and deliberately make some mistakes on the battlefield, so as to convict Li Dang or Tang Peiyi and slowly take back control of the military power in Jizhou?"

Xie Zheng shook his head, "Wei Yan will not use the same trick for the third time. Besides, we can figure out Wei Yan's way out of the impasse. Those strategists raised by the Li family are not useless. They would not fail to think of this. Sui Yuanhuai is the eldest grandson of the emperor who escaped from the fire in the East Palace. Now he has formed an alliance with Li Taifu's party. Chongzhou has long been in the Li family's pocket. In order to have no worries, they may set a trap and deliberately lure Wei Yan into it."

Xie Zheng paused at this point, his eyes gradually getting colder: "If we want to sentence Wei Yan to death, we must make all officials and people angry. Uncle Zhong, what can make people all over the world angry?"

After thinking for a while, Xie Zhong said in shock: "Then it can only be that Wei Yan colluded with the rebels and killed the loyal and good people. If this matter is to become a big deal, enough people must die..."

Xie Zhong no longer dared to continue and only said, "Master Li should not be so bold as to do this..."

Xie Zheng said: "If they just want to fight to the death in the court, I will not mind handing over the two states of Ji and Chong. If they want to use the lives of thousands of soldiers under them to frame a crime that will go down in history to seize power, I would rather take the military power into my pocket."

"Anyway... I'll have to fight with them sooner or later."

Xie Zhong listened, but his face showed a hint of relief, "Your Majesty is very righteous and righteous, and you have lived up to the spirit of the Xie family. If the general knew about this, he would be proud of you."

Xie Zheng did not answer, but sat back a little, his black hair draped over his shoulders. In the shade of the green bamboo, he looked at the scenery outside the waterside pavilion and said, "If Uncle Zhong had left the capital later, he would have taken me back to Huizhou after my mother passed away."

Perhaps he would have felt better if he hadn't recognized the thief as his father during those ten years.

Xie Zhong recalled the past and said with some regrets, "After the general passed away, the madam was in great grief and her temperament changed drastically. We originally wanted to protect the Xie family in the capital after the general passed away, but the madam always blamed us for not protecting the general. Every time she saw us, she cried so much that she almost fell seriously ill. The nanny beside the madam then advised us not to stay in the capital."

Xie Zhong lowered his head and said bitterly, "For the sake of my wife's health, we returned to Huizhou. But soon after, we heard that my wife committed suicide and followed the general, and the marquis was taken back to Wei Yan's mansion to be raised. As servants, we have no right to question the master's decision, so we have stayed in the Xie family in Huizhou."

Xie Zheng's back stiffened for a moment. He asked, "Was it my mother who... drove you back to Huizhou?"

Xie Zhong said hurriedly, "Don't blame Madam. Madam was also very sad. She didn't know that I had lost an arm and a leg and didn't follow the general to the Jinzhou battlefield. That's why she blamed me for not protecting the general. I felt guilty and was afraid that if I stayed in Beijing, Madam would always be sad, so I took the initiative to leave."

Xie Zheng lowered his eyes as if thinking about something and did not speak for a long time.

In the bamboo path outside the waterside pavilion, a servant came quickly, stopped outside the waterside pavilion, bowed and held up a letter, saying: "My Lord, a letter from Mr. Gongsun."

Xie Zhong limped out of the pavilion, took the letter and took it back to hand it to Xie Zheng. After Xie Zheng opened it, a surge of hostility suddenly rose in his cold eyes.

The extreme anger made him feel like something was blocking his chest. He couldn't help but cover his lips and cough. Behind his silent voice was an endless coldness: "Prepare the car, go back to Cannes."

-

After waiting for many days, the eunuch who went to Cannes to announce the decree finally received the news that Xie Zheng had returned. He immediately went with a large group of people to announce the decree and award rewards.

Outside the City Lord's Mansion where Xie Zheng was staying temporarily, he sang loudly: "The Imperial Edict has arrived—"

The guard at the door took one look at him and went inside to report the news, but the imagined scene of a group of people in panic and surprise did not occur at all.

Gongsun Yin was famous for his good temper. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, he was willing to use some sweet words to coax him into obedience. The group of people following Xie Zheng had the same temper as their master, and none of them even bothered to act.

The eunuch who announced the decree stood outside the gate and waited for three incense sticks of time before he saw someone coming out. It was Xie Zheng. Judging from the armor on his body, he should be just a personal soldier.

The other party said to the eunuch who announced the decree without any fear: "The Marquis was slightly injured while suppressing bandits a few days ago, so it is inconvenient for him to come to the front of the mansion to greet you. Please move to the front hall."

The eunuch who announced the decree immediately looked unhappy.

The eunuch beside him had never been treated so coldly when he went out, so he pointed at the guard and shouted, "You..."

The eunuch who announced the decree stretched out a hand to stop the young eunuch. This was in Cannes, not the palace, so he was still able to distinguish the pros and cons. He just smiled at the personal soldier and said, "The body of the Marquis is worth millions of gold, so there must be no mistakes. We will go to the front hall to announce the decree. Please lead the way, young general."

The guard didn't even bother to look at the eunuch and said, "Please follow me, eunuch."

The eunuch who announced the decree entered the palace gate and went to the front hall.

The sun was scorching outside, but no one knew how the craftsmen had ingeniously designed the terrain of the front hall. As soon as he entered, he felt a chill coming over him, a sudden change of temperature, which gave the eunuch who announced the imperial edict a sudden chill in his heart.

He raised his eyes and looked up at the high seat, and saw a young man in an ink robe with double lines of gold and red, sitting half leaning on the back of the couch with an indifferent posture, his face was like cold jade, and his eyes were like cold pools.

Sitting there without his armor, he really looked like a noble young man raised in a centuries-old family.

The eunuch who announced the decree calmed down and said loudly: "Marquis Wu'an accepts the decree--"

The people sitting at the top were unmoved, and even the deputy generals standing on both sides of the steps did not even look away.

The eunuch who announced the decree felt more and more uneasy, but he dared not offend Xie Zheng at this time. He just smiled and said, "My Lord, please accept the decree. This is the reward from His Majesty. If you accept the decree, I can go back and report to you."

Xie Zheng raised his eyes halfway, and finally spoke slowly: "If you don't read the imperial edict, you can say it's not announced after you return to the capital. If you read it, and I don't accept it, do you know what it means?"

The eunuch who announced the imperial decree was frightened by Xie Zheng's outrageous words. He pointed at him and said angrily, "You are disobeying the imperial decree? Wu... Marquis Wu'an, are you planning to rebel too?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the armored soldiers who had been surrounding the door for some time suddenly rushed in and surrounded the eunuch who announced the imperial edict and his entourage.

The eunuch who announced the imperial decree looked at the situation and his legs went limp with fear. His face, which was covered with powder, turned extremely pale and he shouted sternly, "Do you really want to rebel?"

Xie Zheng drew out the sword of the deputy general at his side and walked down from the high seat step by step. His ink-black robe dragged on the steps, as if it was filled with heavy blood and hostility.

The eunuch who announced the decree was so frightened that his legs went limp and he fell to the ground.

Xie Zheng stood three steps away from him, tapped his face with the tip of his cold sword, half-closed his eyes, and said lazily and in a rare good temper:

"The Xie family has been loyal ministers of Dayin for a hundred years, and my father died tragically on the battlefield of Jinzhou seventeen years ago, earning himself a reputation as a hero. I don't want to tarnish his reputation, so for now I am willing to be a good minister and go back to tell the little emperor a few words."

"If he gets tired of sitting on the throne, I don't mind finding someone to take his place."

"Seventeen years ago, Wei Yan was able to help him sit on the throne, and now I can also pull him down."

The eunuch who announced the decree was terrified. He pointed at Xie Zheng, trembling, and shouted in extreme anger: "You... Xie! A traitor and a thief!"

"ah--"

The next moment, the screams of the eunuch who announced the decree echoed throughout the city lord's mansion.

Xie Zheng cut off one of his ears with a sword.

The eunuch who announced the decree covered his ears with one hand and screamed miserably. Blood kept flowing out from between his fingers, and in a moment a large area of ​​his sleeve was dyed red.

He looked at the bloody ear that fell to the ground and howled in pain, almost fainting.

The young eunuch who was supporting the eunuch who announced the imperial edict was shaking like chaff all over, staring at the ear on the ground with his eyes wide open, and he was unaware of the fishy smell coming from his crotch.

Xie Zheng threw the sword to the guard who followed him, stood up lazily, looked at the people in the room howling with disgust, and said with thin lips: "Go back and pass the message."

The eunuch who announced the decree was then supported by the younger eunuchs and crawled out of the door.

The guards watched the eunuchs who announced the decree leave, and said to Xie Zheng with some concern, "My Lord, aren't you afraid of His Majesty's..."

Xie Zheng also looked at the wolf-like figure of the eunuch who announced the decree, his eyes lazy and cold: "This marquis does intend to depose the emperor."

The author has something to say:

Sorry for the writer's block. I've made it to this point. I originally planned to write two chapters and post them together, but I really can't stand it anymore, so I'll post yesterday's first. I'll write today's when I wake up. I'll give everyone 100 red envelopes~