Chapter 189 Chapter 189 is the only genuine version...
Up?
Look up on Chongjiu.
There are more than ten boxes of different sizes on the top of the treasure box.
There was a slight noise behind him. Chongjiu turned his head and saw that the open floor tiles were slowly closing.
Among the mechanisms, there is a type of post-activation mechanism, which means that after the mechanism is opened, it must be adjusted to a specific position, otherwise the mechanism will be locked.
The late-moving mechanism is also the most difficult to judge.
Chongjiu faced the treasure box, estimated the size in his mind, and decisively took one of the long wooden boxes. When he opened it, a bright yellow imperial edict jumped into his eyes.
Found it!
Even though Chongjiu was usually dull, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up at this moment.
The surface of the imperial edict was dotted with black blood stains.
He unfolded it, took a look, confirmed the contents, then stuffed it into his arms and put the wooden box back as it was.
The floor tiles were mostly closed. Chongjiu raised the night pearl and took a quick look to confirm that he had not left any clues. He flashed up the stone steps and slipped out of the dark room at the moment when the floor tiles were completely closed.
Chongjiu moved the mechanism back to its original position, cleared all traces, and returned the same way.
He put the bird flute to his lips and blew it rhythmically.
It's like the kingfishers in the forest, chirping loudly.
Xiangyang's ears moved.
The birdsong and the sound of the wind merged together. Xie Jing used a handkerchief to bandage Ji Nan Ke's ankle injury. He touched her bones and found that they were not broken, but the wound was quite deep and was bleeding.
Ji Nan Ke leaned against him softly and bonelessly.
Xie Jing sighed secretly, it was good that she stopped making trouble, but he felt unwilling in his heart. The voice that he tried hard to suppress kept saying over and over again that Ji Nan Ke didn't mind being a concubine. If he had insisted on not breaking off the engagement with Gu Zhizhuo at that time, Ji Nan Ke would definitely have compromised.
He wouldn't be in the dilemma he is in now.
The bamboo shed whistled and swayed from side to side in the wind.
Ji Nanke raised her chin slightly, her beautiful eyes filled with worry: "Your Highness, will this bamboo shed collapse?"
Xie Jing did not respond.
"Your Highness?"
Before he could speak, the steward immediately said, "Sir, you promised not to trespass."
Xie Jing didn't force it. After all, it was already agreed upon. He just said, "Please ask Uncle to find a doctor for us."
Good! The steward's mouth twitched. If he didn't send them away, he would have no good life today.
The steward quickly asked the mute servant to call the doctor, and he stood by to watch over the two of them.
Xiangyang asked the steward for some hay. When he heard that it was for feeding the horses, the corners of his mouth twitched again.
Xiangyang hunched his back and croaked in a hoarse voice, "You don't know, my horse won't run unless it's full. It's definitely going to get mad after running such a long distance. Oh. If we don't feed it, we can't go back..."
“Go get it!”
The mute servant agreed.
Xiangyang bowed repeatedly in thanks and blew a long whistle: "Come here quickly! There's food."
The steward's face changed, and the horse pulling the carriage snorted. It dragged the broken frame and ran towards here happily.
“Stop it!”
The steward shouted loudly, but it was too late.
Xie Jing's face turned pale as he shouted, "Hurry up and make it stop."
Xiangyang was so shocked that he was at a loss what to do. He shouted, "Stop, stop... Your Highness, it won't listen to me!"
"You let it..."
Before he could finish his words, the horse knocked Xiangyang down.
Bang!
Immediately afterwards, the half-carriage it was dragging knocked away the surrounding mute servants and then hit the bamboo shed.
Click.
The bamboos supporting the bamboo shed broke with a sound, and the shed fell down in one direction.
"Your Highness! Your Highness!"
Xiangyang, standing on his horse, cried out, "Your Highness is dying!"
“Help!”
Boom.
The bamboo shed collapsed completely, raising a cloud of dust.
The huge noise was so loud that even Chongjiu, who was waiting for an opportunity in the house, could hear it clearly.
The mute servants became anxious, and several of them rushed over from all directions, drawing the attention of everyone else.
The sound of a bird flute beside him signaled he could move. Chongjiu carefully opened the window, took a look, and took the opportunity to climb out. He first pressed himself against the wall, hiding his figure in the shadows, and then quickly returned to the reeds.
Blow the bird flute again.
One long and three short means, leave safely.
He glanced at the bustling village from afar and could vaguely hear Xiangyang's shouting. Chongjiu smiled faintly and moved quickly through the reeds.
The wind was blowing, and the reeds were swaying in the wind.
Dark clouds came from nowhere and blocked the sunlight. The sky was gloomy and even the wind was very strong, blowing in gusts.
This evil wind blew away the wedding character at the gate of Prince Jin's Mansion several times. The palace manager kept asking people to re-paste it, but each time it was put up, it would be blown down again soon.
This was so unusual that the people who came to watch the fun were whispering to each other.
The whole family was overjoyed, and the main gate of Prince Jin's Mansion was wide open.
However, because of the screen wall, we still couldn't see what was going on inside.
All they knew was that the bridal sedan had been inside for almost two hours and there had been no movement.
In the Great Qi Dynasty, weddings were held before noon and funerals were held after noon.
It was already the afternoon, and it was unlucky not to have the wedding ceremony at this time. One elderly man couldn't help but mutter, "This is like a ghost marriage."
"Don't talk nonsense."
This is the palace of the emperor. If you say such unlucky words on such a happy occasion, you might be dragged away and beaten to death.
The wedding character on the door was blown away by the wind again, and the servant reacted quickly and pasted a new one on.
Someone murmured unconvincedly, "There's not a single happy sticker, which means there's no happiness."
"If there is no joy, then it is just mourning."
"It's unlucky, it's unlucky."
Otherwise, they would have left long ago to wait for the wedding money.
The Jin Palace was particularly generous with its wedding money this time, all in the form of silver ingots weighing one tael each, which were scattered once when the bridal sedan entered the palace, and once before and after the ceremony. This single ingot was enough to last them months, so it was worth waiting even for a few days, not to mention a few extra hours.
As they were talking, a few servants brought out a few bamboo baskets. Seeing the silver light glittering in the baskets, their faces lit up with joy. They couldn't wait to start saying the happy words they had thought of long ago, such as "harmony between husband and wife", "birth of a baby soon", "continuous happiness", and no one said the same thing twice.
Fistfuls of silver ingots were scattered out.
"Wedding ceremony! Wedding ceremony!"
The sound of a gong finally rang out in Prince Jin's mansion, indicating that the wedding ceremony was about to begin.
Not to mention the common people who were waiting for the wedding money, even the guests sitting in the main hall waiting to watch the ceremony were a little restless.
They had been sitting there for two hours.
They heard that Xie Qiyun couldn't get up, so they could only wait patiently. They waited and waited until now.
"Grandson."
Duke Weiguo leaned over and poured tea for Xie Yingchen himself: "Today's wedding arrangement is very strange."
Xie Qiyun was doomed to die, and this was known to everyone and was no secret. The fact that Duke Cheng'en dared to marry her was clearly an admission that their daughter was marrying in to be a widow.
Even if Xie Qiyun really died suddenly, the bride could have held a rooster while worshipping the king instead of letting all the guests wait.
Xie Yingchen smiled slightly: "Let's take a look."
Seeing that he paid attention to him, the Duke of Wei was delighted and said something else: "Are you hungry? I brought a bag of dried meat with me. Would you like to fill your stomach?"
Xie Yingchen had a high status and sat in an honorable seat. The Duke of Weiguo's original position was several places lower, but he was thick-skinned and stayed with Xie Yingchen since he entered the door and refused to leave.
Prime Minister Song rolled his eyes at him. He hadn't realized before that the Duke of Wei was such a competitive and aggressive person, always wanting to be the last one to come out on top.
I can no longer rely on being the first to follow the dragon and stop striving for progress, otherwise I will be replaced by him sooner or later.
But asking him to be as shameless as Duke Weiguo would be a little difficult.
"Here I come."
Someone reminded him, and Prime Minister Song looked towards the door.
Amid the sound of gongs, two figures in wedding attire walked over one after the other.
One thin and one fat.
The thinnest one was Xie Qiyun, he was almost skin and bones, the wedding dress was too loose for him, and he was supported by Xie Sheng as he walked in front. Every step he took was very difficult, as if he was walking barefoot on the edge of a knife.
The sleeves of his wedding dress were very long, and he wore a red veil on his head, with layers of red gauze hanging down, covering his face completely.
The Duke of Wei did not dare to look any longer.
"Grandson." Duke Weiguo continued to try to find something to say to get closer. "How come the daughter of Duke Cheng'en is so strong?"
The bride had a plump figure, which almost stretched out her wedding dress, and she followed slowly behind.
The Duke of Wei continued, "You have a good memory, so you must remember her figure. Doesn't it look a bit like her?"
Xie Yingchen glanced at him sideways: "I haven't seen it, I don't remember it."
This sight made the Duke of Wei shudder. He scratched his head, not knowing what he had said wrong, and laughed dryly twice: "Duke Cheng'en is a very unkind man, marrying his own daughter to a dead man."
"Hey, why is Xie Qiyun walking so slowly?"
Xie Qiyun's steps were indeed very slow, he moved forward almost step by step, lifelessly.
Prince Jin sat in the main seat, watching anxiously.
Xie Sheng supported Xie Qiyun and whispered a reminder: "Threshold."
Xie Qiyun tried to cross the threshold, but just as he lifted his foot, he felt a gentle push from behind. He was already weak and struggling to hold on, and this time, he lost his balance, tripped over the threshold, and fell headfirst.
"Yun'er."
Prince Jin and the Princess both exclaimed in surprise.
Xie Qiyun couldn't hold anything with his hands, so he had to tie the red silk around his wrists. As he fell down, the "bride" who was pulling the other end of the red silk also staggered forward a few steps. As her body fell, the veil flew up and then fell down quickly.
The servants waiting nearby rushed over, pulling those who were trying to pull them away and blocking those who were trying to block them.
The princess was so frightened that she fell off her chair and couldn't stand up.
The Prince of Jin quickly supported the princess and shouted, "Help the prince up quickly. Let's continue the ceremony!"
Duke Wei rubbed his eyes and said blankly, "Old Song, did you see clearly... Are my eyes blurry?"
"Why is it that Lord Cheng'en is under the veil?"
"No, no." He chuckled, "It must be that the daughter of the old Sun family looks too much like him. The daughter resembles the father. Hehehe. Right, Old Song?"
Prime Minister Song also rubbed his eyes and opened his mouth slightly, as if he had swallowed a fly alive.
Look alike?
He asked, "Have you ever seen a girl with a beard like her father?"
Duke Weiguo: “…” That makes sense.
Xie Yingchen just smiled and said nothing.
The Duke of Wei's neck seemed to be rusted, and he turned very slowly: "Grandson, did you see it too?"
Even though the veil was only raised for a brief moment, and the servant blocked it quickly and in time, who wouldn't recognize Lord Cheng'en?
In the main hall, everyone had strange expressions on their faces, and the corners of their mouths were twitching.
"Your Majesty! The Sun family actually dared to break up the marriage and marry someone else. This despicable act shows that they don't take you seriously..."
Marquis Anyang was filled with righteous indignation.
He thought that the Cheng'en Mansion was a marriage scam, and was about to denounce Cheng'en's shameless behavior when he saw that the whole room was silent.
No one responded to him.
"absurd!"
Prince Li stood up angrily, banging the armchair behind him, making it bang loudly. He flicked his sleeves and left angrily.
The Prince of Jin was becoming more and more out of line. Marrying the Crown Prince a man? He was bringing disgrace to the royal family. He felt it was filthy for him to stay in such a place for even a moment longer!
Xie Yingchen also stood up and said in a gentle voice, "Uncle, don't worry. Yaoyao said you can't be impatient."
As soon as the two men left, Duke Wei was the first to follow, followed by Prime Minister Song. The others looked at each other, bowed to Prince Jin in groups of three or four, lowered their heads and hurried away.
The bustling main hall became empty as nearly half of the people left.
Xie Yingchen walked past Duke Cheng'en, sighed and shook his head.
Duke Cheng'en slumped to the ground, his face pale. He had to save face, so he had confirmed with the King of Jin that he would not show his face, nor would anyone else know. Who could have imagined that not only would he show his face, but he would do so in public!
His heart felt cold, his scalp was numb, and his head was buzzing.
He saw Xie Yingchen's five-clawed dragon-patterned boots stay at his side for a moment.
That sigh lingered in his ears, then gradually faded away, as if asking him—
Is it worth it?
Xie Jing is still chasing after Ji everywhere, and even he doesn't care about the throne! Is it worth it for me to lose all my face for him?
boom.
A surge of hot blood rushed to my head.
He ripped off the veil with a snap, and everyone around him gasped.
"Thank you, Lu!"
Duke Cheng'en cursed, "Your son is dying, and you're still trying to coax my daughter into marrying you. Bah!"
"I came here today to tell you, don't even think about it!"
Huh?
A few people who had just walked out of the door stopped and whispered to each other.
"Prince Jin is relying on the marriage certificate to force marriage?"
"Lord Cheng'en is so reluctant to marry off his daughter that he comes here to cause trouble? He's deliberately trying to embarrass the Prince Jin's Mansion?!"
"Why are you wearing wedding clothes when you're causing trouble?"
Others might not be able to do such a thing, but with the bastard look of Lord Cheng'en, he will not give face to anyone once he gets angry.
Someone laughed dryly: "Lord Cheng'en really loves his daughter."
This is more reasonable than him marrying in on his own... maybe.
The King of Jin's face turned pale, and he said coldly, "The auspicious time has arrived."
He spoke each word with a hint of coercion in his tone.
"What's an auspicious time? What's an auspicious time for your son's burial?"
Duke Cheng'en retorted harshly, quickly stripped off his wedding gown, pointed at the Prince of Jin and cursed, "You still want my daughter from the Sun family to marry your dead son? You wish!"
"Your son is going to die anyway, so just arrange a ghost marriage."
All the new and old grudges came flooding back at once, and the frustration and anger had been weighing on his chest for days.
Prince Li stopped and looked back.
When Duke Cheng'en saw this, he felt relieved.
"Sun Xianyao." Prince Jin supported the princess and addressed her by her name, his tone filled with suppressed anger. "You must worship here in this hall."
"Otherwise, I will never let you off easily."
"What are you yelling about?" Lord Cheng'en said, his hands on his hips. "Don't you see what kind of character your son has? He still has the nerve to marry my daughter. Come and see, come, come, come!"
Duke Cheng'en pushed away the servants surrounding Xie Qiyun and pulled off his veil.
"No!"
Xie Qiyun shouted weakly, and he couldn't block it at all.
Beneath the layers of gauze on the veil was a bloody, horrifying face.
The guests around all stepped back, covering their faces with their sleeves, not daring to look even once more.
The servants hurried to stop the people.
"Give it back to me. Don't, don't look." Xie Qiyun covered his face with his hands in embarrassment. The gazes from all around him were like sharp thorns piercing his body.
"Please."
He couldn't get up and could only lie there like a monkey, being laughed at by others.
"What are you blocking? How can you have the nerve to marry a wife when you are so shameless?"
The more he cursed, the smoother his words became. He hadn't "married off my daughter"! No, absolutely not. He had only come to criticize the King of Jin for being unkind and ruining his daughter's marriage... He kept telling himself this, and even believed it himself. He puffed out his chest and went to tug at Xie Qiyun's wedding dress again.
"Don't...don't look at it."
Prince Jin couldn't help it. He helped the princess back to her chair and rushed over in two steps.
"Catch him!"
Squeak—
The sleeves of the wedding dress were torn, and there was no flesh or blood left on the arms, only white bones.
"You, you..." Xie Qiyun pointed at Lord Cheng'en awkwardly, his chest heaving violently, "Even if I become a ghost... I won't let you go..."
His eyes were wide open, and his gray eyeballs almost popped out.
The last breath he held on to was gone.
The servant cautiously sniffed for breath and cried out in grief, "Prince, Prince! The Crown Prince is dead."
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