Chapter 90 Chapter 89 Please accept this poison, Master Yue Zun...
Si Kou Hong looked at him with disdain and sneered, "You were born with a talent for martial arts, and you come from a prestigious clan like Yunliang Qianchi. Naturally, you don't understand these things."
A trace of reminiscence flashed in his eyes, and a voice with some sadness sounded.
I was born in a desolate village in the northwest. When I was young, I was grazing in the mountains and saved a scholar. He taught me calligraphy and reading.
Later he told me that he wanted to take the imperial examinations and become an official in the future to serve his fellow countrymen in the northwest.
After he left, I read all the books he left behind, and gradually, I also began to think about passing the imperial examinations.
I want to be a civil official in the golden palace. I want to be enshrined in the Confucian Temple and be worshipped by future generations, and enjoy eternal worship.
Later, I passed the examinations for the titles of scholar and juren, and even ranked first in the provincial examination, thus qualifying for the metropolitan examination as I had wished.
On the day I entered Beijing, I accidentally caught a glimpse of a woman's face at the city gate.
She sat quietly in the carriage, and a refreshing breeze gently blew open the curtains of the carriage, revealing her beautiful face inside.
Speaking of this, a trace of reminiscence flashed across Sikou Hong's face, and his expression was so gentle. Unconsciously, warm tears slid down from the corners of his somewhat old eyes. The traces of time left on his face prevented the tears from sliding down, as if he was reluctant to let go.
But people can't stop the passage of time after all, and the tears finally fell to the ground silently, without even stirring up a bit of wind or sand.
Finally, the warm tears wet the dry sand, leaving a small moist mark. But this mark only lasted for a moment before disappearing.
Feeling the fierce sandstorm from the northwest, Sikou Hong recalled the gentle and refreshing wind in the capital, with tears in his eyes.
With just that one glance, I decided that she was the only woman I wanted to marry in my life.
But how could I know her identity just by that one glance? This noble lady in the capital is like a floating cloud in the sky, and we can only look up to her.
But the imperial examination was approaching, and in order to get here, my parents sold all the cattle and sheep in the family just to buy money for me to go to Beijing.
I have no choice but to fight to the death.
After the joint examination is over, the palace examination will follow.
That was the first time I met the Emperor of Daliang. The Golden Palace was magnificent, and His Majesty sat upright on the dragon throne. The Emperor was so majestic without even being angry that people dared not look directly at him.
I was kneeling on the ground and could only see the hems of the ministers' clothes. The patterns on them were so complicated. I had never seen such a luxurious scene before and I was a little panicked for a moment.
I don’t even remember what questions the emperor asked me during the palace examination, or even whether I answered them.
I only remember a haughty voice suddenly echoing from the Golden Palace. Its tone was like a spoiled child, "Your Majesty, I think his appearance is among the best among these students. Why not grant him the title of Tanhua?"
The emperor's hearty laughter was then heard from the palace. "Since my beloved concubine has said so, then I will grant you the title of Tanhua and the title of Jinshi."
Later, I numbly accepted the decree and expressed my gratitude. The students around me looked at me with envy, but I did not feel any joy at all, even though this was what I had always longed for.
When I came to my senses, I was already standing outside the palace. I looked at the tall palace walls and the wide palace roads. Even though this was a scene I had never seen before, there was still no excitement in my heart.
I remember that the sunlight that day was a bit dazzling and I couldn't open my eyes. My future colleagues passed by me from time to time. They gave me congratulations that were either sincere or insincere. I just numbly responded and thanked them one by one.
Until I walked out of the palace gate, I looked back at the magnificent palace walls and the deep red and heavy palace gate.
A smile rose in my heart. It turned out that my great learning could not match a joke from the emperor's favorite concubine.
But compared to those students who failed the exam, I was undoubtedly lucky. This was the first time I doubted the future I imagined.
Later, when the top three were parading through the streets, I met the woman again.
I believed that this was our destiny. I was a little absent-minded during the parade, but it was an extremely honorable thing after all. The runner-up next to me saw that I was a little absent-minded and rubbed me with his hand.
This time I looked forward, and it was with this glance that I saw again the person I thought I would never have the chance to see again.
The girl lowered her head, wearing a light green long skirt and holding a light pink round fan in her hand. Her face was half covered, revealing only her dark eyes. She looked like she was worried about something.
I don't know what the woman next to her said to her. She slowly raised her head and looked in my direction.
The parade was still moving forward, but I just wanted to stay here. In the last moment before leaving, I vaguely saw her take away the fan in her hand and gave me a gentle smile.
That smile is better than the blue sky of the northwest grassland, better than the endless green grassland, and better than the pure and flawless snow-capped mountains.
That was the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen in my life.
I froze in my tracks, and it was the runner-up next to me who reminded me. Seeing my distracted look, he jokingly said, "I've noticed it a long time ago, Brother Sikou. That's the daughter of the governor of the capital."
Then he said hesitantly, "It's just that Lord Chang's recent case was not handled well."
He pointed to the sky and shook his head.
I knew he was reminding me that that gentleman had not been in the emperor's favor recently and might even have displeased His Majesty.
But at that time, I didn't care about these things. I only had that woman in my heart.
Later, with my unremitting persistence, she was also moved by me.
We set the wedding date, and as the day draws closer, I look forward to it more and more.
But one day, a servant from the Chang Mansion suddenly came to deliver a message. I can’t quite remember what he said exactly, but I only remember that the meaning was that the engagement between Miss Chang and me was to be cancelled.
Of course I didn't believe this, so I went to the door of Chang's house overnight.
Whenever I came to this mansion in the past, the doorman would eagerly open the door for me.
But today, no matter how I knocked on the door or shouted, there was no sound in the entire mansion.
Before I knew it, I saw several bloodstains on the door. I lowered my head and found that my hands were covered in blood.
Immediately afterwards, several flashes of lightning suddenly flashed across the sky, accompanied by sharp thunder, and heavy rain fell instantly. The bloodstains on the door also disappeared.
No matter how I screamed, there was no response from the door.
I was walking alone in the heavy rain, my clothes were all wet. It should have been a little cold, but I didn't feel it at all.
Later, I learned that His Majesty had taken a fancy to her and threatened the lives of her entire family, young and old, so she had no choice but to enter the palace.
I don't know how she is doing in the palace, and I dare not find out any news about her for fear of implicating her.
It was three years later that I heard news of her again. She died in the cold palace.
It turned out that she had not had a good life these years. Not long after entering the palace, she offended the most favored beauty, was disliked by the emperor, and was sent to the cold palace.
I felt so much guilt and regret in my heart, and I often wondered if this would have happened if I had noticed her situation earlier.
For me, Beijing has changed from a place I long for to a place I want to escape from.
I took the opportunity to resign from my official position and returned to the northwest, where I built a small academy. Later, the small academy gradually turned into a city.
The northwest region gradually became prosperous, and I received more praise from the public and the court. People called me the Confucian Master.
But I don’t feel anything about these things. After all, she will never come back.
I always thought that the days would pass peacefully like this, and I would gradually grow old as time went by.
But a few years later, news suddenly came from the court that the northwest land had been granted to Prince Ping by His Majesty.
I am dismissive of this, even a little disgusted.
Even though I know in my heart that if he were a favored prince, he would never use the word "Ping" as his title, nor would he use the desolate land in the northwest as his fiefdom.
But when I saw His Royal Highness Prince Ping, I was stunned for a moment. He looked very much like my ex-fiancée.
He pulled out a jade hairpin from his sleeve and said, "The nanny left behind by my mother said that she often stared at this hairpin in a daze when she was alive."
I saw that hairpin and it looked very familiar to me. It was a bit worn out and the quality of the jade was not top-notch.
I gave her this hairpin, and it turned out that she had kept it with her all the time. That night, I stared at the hairpin all night without sleeping, just like how she looked at the hairpin when she was alive.
The next day, when I looked at King Ping again, there was more longing in his eyes, as if he was looking at his mother through him.
I only remember patting his head, looking at the somewhat frail child, and asking, "Do you want the throne? Do you want to avenge your mother?"
After saying that, I couldn't help but shake my head. What does such a young child know?
But his eyes were very determined. He looked at me and said, "I think I want to avenge my mother."
After saying this, Si Kou Hong's aged face was filled with tears, which he casually wiped away with his hand. He then turned to look at Gu Shiyan, his eyes filled with murderous intent, and said in a deep voice, "Everything was originally ready, but who knew you would suddenly appear out of nowhere, and even side with Mu Congmo."
"I noticed you as early as three years ago. I have let my guard down all these years." After saying this, he looked up at Chang Jiao, who was standing beside him with a head full of white hair, and then looked at the three formation seals that were condensing above Gu Shiyan, and said, "But it's not too late now."
Seeing this, Chang Jiao gave Si Kou Hong a look, then took a few steps forward and came in front of Gu Shiyan. A trace of barely perceptible guilt flashed in his eyes, "Master Yue Zun, I'm sorry."
The next second, his body instantly turned into a pool of black mist, and he disappeared on the spot.
Fortunately, Gu Shiyan was prepared. He took a few steps back, but his clothes were touched by the black air. The white robe rotted under the erosion of the black air.
Gu Shiyan's internal energy also dissipated imperceptibly. He glanced at Si Kou Hong and said with certainty, "Lord Chang Jiao is Miss Chang's father and Prince Ping's grandfather. He has been using all kinds of poisons to corrode his body over the years, turning his entire body into a new poison."
Si Kou Hong nodded, a hint of regret in his tone, "As a father, I always want to avenge my daughter with my own hands, right? It's a pity that the late emperor died too early. I have to ask Lord Yue Zun to accept this poison."
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