Chapter 51 Yun Fei

Ten days after the coup.

The third prince committed suicide in prison out of fear of punishment, Jian Kong is still on the run and is wanted nationwide.

The Buddhist temples that were once prosperous and spread across the states fell into decline overnight, and the divine power fell into dust. The prestige of the Great Zhou royal family reached its peak.

At this time, the Kunning Palace was covered with white cloth everywhere, looking like a funeral scene.

When His Majesty came in person, almost all the palace servants were shaking in their hands and feet, their faces were pale, they crawled on the ground with their foreheads pressed against the ground, wishing they could tear a thin seam in the ground to crawl into.

"Everyone, please leave."

After hearing this, all the palace servants kowtowed and thanked the emperor as if they had been granted amnesty, and hurriedly left.

The aunt hesitated for a moment, but finally bowed with a pale face and then left.

The huge and magnificent palace fell silent.

"What a pity..."

Emperor Zhou looked at the white banners that filled the room, with a look of regret on his face.

"All this the Queen arranged for me, but in the end, I couldn't use it."

"Oh......"

The woman in the phoenix robe did not turn around, but just stared at the Buddha statue in front of her. There were some traces of tears on her dignified and beautiful face, but more of it was unwillingness and resentment.

"You knew it a long time ago. You knew it from the beginning. You should be very proud now, right?"

She smiled bitterly,

"You must be quite proud to see all the prey jumping into your cage one after another."

"I just don't understand,"

Emperor Zhou did not answer her, but looked at the Buddha statue the woman was looking at.

"Jian Kong... or Zhou Hongyuan, a nameless illegitimate prince, how is he better than me?"

Hearing this, the queen was surprised for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"Zhou Hongjin, you don't love me, and you've never loved me, so why do you ask such a ridiculous question?"

After saying this, she seemed to realize something and said "Oh" softly.

"I am being sentimental. You are asking about the late emperor, right? Why did he prefer an illegitimate prince?"

"You are my queen, so naturally you can only have me in your eyes and heart."

Emperor Zhou glanced at her calmly, and his stern tone suddenly became tinged with resentment.

"As for the late emperor...he would rather use Prince Jing as a stepping stone to send that illegitimate child to the throne. Even if he failed in the end, he would give him the status of imperial teacher, and even dreamed of climbing over my head."

"But my Yu'er——!!!"

The queen suddenly interrupted him and even forgot to call herself "this queen". Her beautiful face was no longer dignified but became crazy.

"What did my Yu'er do wrong?! Even though I used to have a past with Jian Kong, Yu'er is your son, the crown prince of the Great Zhou!"

"Why did you kill him? Why did you kill him?!!"

The Emperor Zhou's eyes revealed astonishment.

"So, you have been thinking this way all along. How could I possibly hurt my own flesh and blood?"

Hearing this, the queen suddenly burst into laughter, as if she had heard some great joke, and even laughed to the point of tears.

"What about Zhou Huaiyan? Wasn't it you who caused his congenital deficiency?"

Her face was covered with tears, and she was laughing so hard that she could hardly breathe.

"Oh, no, Zhou Hongjin, your goal is not to make him born with deficiencies, you want to kill him, to kill him in Jiang Min's belly."

The queen seemed to want to pour out all the resentment she had accumulated over the years, as well as everything she knew about the emperor's death.

"Zhou Huaiyan was five years old. Did you do it to him when he was five years old? It's a pity that you planned so carefully, but let a cat be the scapegoat."

"Zhou Hongjin, you were angry for a long time, right?"

She burst into laughter, tears rolling down her eyes, almost wetting her hair.

"Jiang Xun... Jiang Xun is worse than me. She thought that her death could save her child's life, but who knew that the man she once loved was still trying to kill their child. Hahahaha..."

She wiped away the tears on her face and sighed——

"It's just... so sad."

"......"

At this time, Emperor Zhou's expression turned gloomy.

"This is naturally done for the stability of the Zhou Dynasty's royal family. The Jiang family is so powerful that if they had a healthy prince, it would be a matter of time before the relatives seized power!!!"

"——Then why did you marry her in the first place?"

The queen's body was almost staggering, but her eyes were filled with extreme hatred.

"Why... do you have to marry me?"

This is not a question, but just a vent of resentment. Why do you want to marry them? Of course, it is because they can help him gain power and military power.

"I thought...you would kill Jiang Yi."

The Queen's voice became hoarse, but slightly calmer than before.

"You have seen his regicide intentions, haven't you?"

"If he really led his troops into the Xuanzheng Palace that day, he would have been killed."

Since his ministers have already brought soldiers to chop off his head, if he still doesn't kill him, what is the point of being an emperor?

Although this approach was in line with Qi Shoubang's wishes, he did have other ways to divide and take back the military power in the north, but it would be a little more troublesome.

"Oh, that's easy to say,"

The queen sneered.

"Jiang Yi was trapped in the chaos back then, but he still managed to break out of the siege with just one man and one horse. Now he has thousands of cavalrymen behind him. How can you kill him?"

"Trying to get me to talk?"

The Zhou Emperor sat down slowly.

"But it's nothing to tell you now. I was not in Xuanzheng Hall when the palace coup took place."

——Instead, he hid in the dark and watched the show.

Emperor Zhou had studied Duke Wei for decades, so he naturally knew him well.

"Jiang Yi regards his only younger sister as his life. Now that he knows the truth, he will rush into Xuanzheng Hall in anger. The small Xuanzheng Hall cannot accommodate his thousands of cavalry. At that time, the three hundred assassins ambushed in the secret passage will rush towards him at the first moment."

After a pause, Emperor Zhou laughed again.

"But of course, I know how brave and invincible he is. Three hundred warriors certainly can't kill him. But even though he once swept through thousands of troops, he is still a human being. Even if he can resist, he can't escape."

"No one knows that there is a pit tens of meters deep under the Xuanzheng Hall, which is filled with oil. Once the assassins are dispatched, the hidden mechanism inside will be activated..."

Buried alive, then burned—

By that time, even gods will be unable to save us.

"Zhou Hongjin, you told me so much because today is the day I die, right?"

The queen looked at him and smiled bitterly.

"Zhou Hongjin, you are so pitiful. Only the dead will listen to you."

"If it comes to that, you will be the one who killed him, Queen."

Emperor Zhou did not respond to her words. His dark eyes were filled with the indifference that only belonged to an emperor.

"You know me, and you know Jiang Yi, but you still told him about that."

The queen seemed to have not expected him to say such shameless words, and was stunned for a moment.

At this time, Emperor Zhou seemed to have thought of something and smiled slightly.

"Fortunately, the situation of both sides being destroyed did not occur, and I did not have to deal with the subsequent troubles. However, an interesting accident did occur."

Although he had heard that the foreign slave had won over Lao Ba in archery, Emperor Zhou only thought that Duke Wei had chosen a new guard for Zhou Huaiyan to keep by his side. He could be entertained and provide close protection.

But on the night of the palace coup, the sudden appearance of a young man from a foreign race startled Emperor Zhou.

He faked an imperial decree to come to the rescue, and single-handedly blocked hundreds of thousands of iron cavalry, and was even not inferior to the Duke of Wei.

Even the Emperor Zhou couldn't help but sigh at such amazing talent. It was as if someone had specially gifted him such a sharp and unique weapon.

Although I don't know what this person's strategy is, it's not a problem. It would be better if he was a little dumber so that he would be easier to control.

Such bravery is enough to replace the Duke of Wei. Similarly, such a humble background is also the easiest to coax and manipulate.

The Queen naturally saw through his thoughts and sneered,

"But don't forget, he's Zhou Huaiyan's man. Maybe you thought you found a knife, but you didn't know it was used by someone else to kill you."

"He is not Zhou Huaiyan's man."

Emperor Zhou smiled meaningfully.

"She's just a servant, a mere plaything. How much sincerity can she have?"

The Zhou people looked down upon foreigners the most, let alone slaves.

"As a man, he has been molested by someone for such a long time. I'm afraid he must have been filled with resentment. Otherwise, why would he risk being killed and do such a horrible thing during a palace coup?"

Emperor Zhou was watching from the dark at the time. He knew Jiang Yi too well. The expression and actions at that time could not have been planned in advance.

Therefore, the foreign slave's rescue could only be done temporarily.

When people are in desperate situations, they will always try to grab anything that can pull them out.

One credit for saving the car is enough.

Of course, Emperor Zhou was suspicious by nature, so he would not simply believe it. He would make more attempts, but now that he had such a good knife, he was reluctant to let it go.

However, the Queen was disheartened at this moment. She did not want to know anything about the Duke of Wei, nor did she want to know how many other plots the Emperor had.

She just asked sadly,

"Zhou Hongjin, if it wasn't you who killed Yu'er, then who did it?"

This man had just told her so many secrets and admitted all the dirty deeds he had done, but he denied Zhou Huaiyu's death.

So the queen began to doubt herself. If she had hated the wrong person all these years, then who was she?

However, at this moment, Emperor Zhou sneered and asked her,

"If Yu'er hadn't died, and if you didn't mistakenly believe that it was me who did it, would you still be with Jian Kong and have come to this point?"

“.......”

The queen was stunned.

She hugged her arms and began to shiver. She suddenly felt colder than ever before, cold to the bone.

"Is... it him?"

The woman collapsed to the ground and vomited blood. But she seemed to feel no pain and just laughed hysterically.

“Hahahaha…hahahahahaha….”

“It’s him…Jian Kong…Zhou Hongyuan hahahahaha…Zhou Hongyuan…”

The man who loved her killed her child.

The man who married her wanted to kill her.

How sad, how sad...

The next day, the queen passed away.

Half a month later, when the funeral ceremony was over, Zhou Huaiyan stood by the window for a whole day, and when the sun set, he lit a Buddhist lamp for her with his own hands.

"Your Highness."

Hongdou sounded worried.

Zhou Huaiyan knew what she wanted to say. It was not a wise move to light the Buddha lamp at this time. He was silent for a moment and stepped back.

"Then destroy it."

"yes."

The chief palace maid immediately stepped forward and cleaned up all traces.

No one spoke, and the study fell silent for a moment. At this moment, the young man suddenly caught a glimpse of the camellia pot by the window.

The flowers that were so beautiful and charming at the time have now withered. As expected, people like him are not suitable for growing flowers.

Uncle is right. Not only is he not suitable for raising flowers, he is also not suitable for raising cats. After a long silence, Zhou Huaiyan suddenly spoke.

"Hongdou, move the flowers out too."

"yes."

After a pause, the maid asked another question.

"Your Highness, this camellia will bloom for the second time in three months. Should we keep it in the yard and take care of it, or..."

“Lost.”

The boy's tone was calm.

“No.”

Hearing this, Hongdou stopped asking questions and even stopped saying "yes". She just quietly walked out holding the flower pot.

In the month since the coup, the emperor visited Ah Fei every day, and the treasures he gave her were dazzling. Even the current head of the Yun family was summoned to the capital.

Ah Fei now had a surname and was no longer a lowly foreign slave, but the legitimate young master of the Yun family, included in the family tree.

Now, his name is Yun Fei, and he is given the title of General Guanhui, the third rank.

Such pampering is unprecedented and makes others jealous.

——Everything is developing just as Your Highness expected.

On the surface, the Duke was the hero who captured the rebellious Third Prince, but both he and the Emperor knew that they had long since fallen out on the night of the coup.

Now, only some superficial peace remains.

Hongdou took the flower pot in her hand and gave it to the eunuch Dousha.

"If your highness is tired of it, take it and throw it away, throw it far away."

"But this...will bloom in two or three months."

The young eunuch scratched his head and thought,

[I saw that His Highness liked her very much at first, and personally watered and cared for her every day. How come she changed so quickly......]

However, he was smart enough not to say anything more. He just picked up the flowerpot and walked out of Qiwu Palace.

At this time, the palace maids carrying ice basins came back one after another. Hongdou hurried over.

"Quick, quick, don't melt it, put all these in His Highness's bath."

As the sky gradually darkened, Hongdou came in with the freshly boiled medicine. The room was immediately filled with a strong smell of medicine.

The boy frowned unconsciously, but said nothing. He just took the drink and drank it in one gulp, then cleaned his teeth. But even after cleaning his teeth several times, there was still a lingering bitter taste on his lips and tongue.

But Zhou Huaiyan no longer complained to the palace maid about the bitterness of the medicine and his reluctance to drink it, nor did he ask for candied cakes like a child after drinking the medicine.

Zhou Huaiyan finally realized that one must suffer some hardships so that one can see the future clearly.

After all, the ancients were wise, born in sorrow and died in comfort. He just lived too comfortably before.

Looking at the boy's face which was as calm as death, Hongdou silently put away the can of preserved fruits.

"Your Highness, everything is ready."

"Um."

The maid of honor held the young man's hand. As it was only September now and the summer heat had not yet faded, she could feel that His Highness's hand was becoming increasingly colder.

Thinking of the ice bath she was about to take, Hongdou's face was filled with distress.

"Your Highness, how about..."

Before she could finish her words, she felt her wrist being tightly grasped.

“No need.”

Zhou Huaiyan let her go and walked to the bathroom alone. The decoration inside was no different from before, except that the warm water in the pool was replaced with ice cubes, and there was a jar of strong liquor next to it.

The boy took off his clothes and walked in.

Just as Ah Fei had worried, bringing out the offspring without using the mother insect would leave sequelae.

The reasonableness of the snake will be resolved by being reasonable.

The same is true for the sequelae. Blood or body fluids, no matter which one, are opium to Zhou Huaiyan now. And the pain he is suffering at this moment is like those drug addicts in modern times, who are addicted.

It occurs every five days, and today happened to be its turn.

Doctor Li said that he was powerless and could only use some warm and nourishing herbs to regulate the boy's body. If he wanted to get rid of the pain, the only way to treat it was the boy's blood or body fluids. But if he wanted to cure it, he had to rely on willpower to get through it, just like quitting opium, and force himself to quit.

Zhou Huaiyan would naturally choose to cure the disease completely.

The pain of bone gnawing was like a thousand ants gnawing at his body, causing every cell in his body to tremble and emit mournful sounds.

The young man's face was pale and he didn't say a word. He just trembled his arms and drank bowl after bowl of wine.

Excessive hypothermia can paralyze the nerves, but being drunk will make you unable to feel it.

This process usually lasts one to two hours.

Just when it was about to end, the voice of the chief palace maid came from outside.

"Your Highness, His Majesty suddenly became interested and said he would like to hold a family dinner. Please come."

After a pause, Hongdou continued,

"How about I go and tell him that His Highness is not feeling well?"

"...family dinner?"

Zhou Huaiyan's voice was hoarse. He stood up from the ice pool very slowly, and after a long while, he slowly walked up, casually putting on a coat.

"Since it's a family dinner, why shouldn't we go?"

Half an hour later, Zhou Huaiyan, wearing a red brocade dress, arrived at the banquet venue late. He had drunk some wine, and his originally pale complexion finally turned a little red from being tipsy, and he looked normal.

At this moment, the night is deep, and the hall is bright and brilliant, as if it is a bright and gorgeous day.

In the palace, the emperor was drinking with General Yun Fei. The second prince, the eighth prince, and the thirteenth prince were sitting on both sides according to their rank.

The boy's gaze paused slightly at the familiar figure.

Officials of the second to third ranks in the Zhou Dynasty all wore red court robes. Zhou Huaiyan chose red just to show off, but he didn't expect to bump into him.

Zhou Huaiyan retracted his gaze, walked in, knelt down, and saluted.

"Your Highness, I pay my respects to you, Father. Long live the Father."

Ah Fei was sitting next to the emperor, and Zhou Huaiyan's kneeling inevitably faced the right direction. He immediately pretended that he accidentally touched the wine glass, and hurriedly stood up and walked over to pick it up.

"Oh, it's just a cup..."

Emperor Zhou was chatting happily and had no time to pay attention to Zhou Huaiyan. He just waved his hand casually and said,

"No need to be polite. Please take a seat."

"Thank you, Father."

Zhou Huaiyan found his seat and sat down. Hongdou stood behind him.

As soon as the young man sat down, he felt that everyone in the hall was focusing their attention on him.

After all, everyone knew that the great general who was now the emperor's favorite was once a servant who was played with and fondled in his room.

On the day the coup ended, Zhou Huaiyan angrily broke into the palace where the general was recuperating, humiliated and humiliated him to the utmost, and smashed everything inside.

After all, a servant not only stole the Heaven-Breaking Halberd of the Duke of Wei, but also slapped the iron-blooded general in the face in public.

The Ninth Prince, who has always relied on the power of Duke Wei to act tyrannically, must be furious.

Banquets in the palace were just like that. They listened to operas and songs, watched court dances, ate and drank, and talked back and forth. The verbal battle was over.

——But today is a little different.

Zhou Huaiyan supported his pale face with one hand and looked at the graceful boys and girls from other races who came up to him in dance costumes.

"I am tired of watching the dances in the palace, so I want to see something new."

Since the emperor had said so, the princes could only agree with him.

Before he came, Zhou Huaiyan guessed that the emperor was testing his relationship with Ah Fei again. This was the fifth time this month. It was reasonable.

The other princes also saw what Emperor Zhou was thinking. They all lowered their heads and acted as a background, not daring to speak.

Zhou Huaiyan took a look and laughed out loud.

"This dance is new and fun to dance...but it's not that great."

"oh?"

The Emperor of Zhou seemed to be interested.

"I think it's pretty good."

If it were an ordinary person, they would have to obey and agree with the emperor even if they didn't like it. However, Zhou Huaiyan looked straight at the general in the red court robe beside the emperor.

The young man from a foreign race was wearing a gorgeous and eye-catching court robe, with deep eyebrows and eyes, and was extremely handsome.

Zhou Huaiyan sat crookedly in his seat, looking at him, as if he was drunk.

He looked lazy, but his eyes were extremely aggressive. The boy smiled lazily, and his voice was still hoarse, which had a different meaning.

"Then father, you must have never seen General Yun Fei's dancing."

"......"

Hearing this, Ah Fei's body stiffened, and his five fingers clenched the fabric until it wrinkled. He pulled the corners of his lips, but did not dare to look over.

"Your Highness...you are joking."

Emperor Zhou waited for a while before waving his hands.

"How can I use the great general I personally appointed to dance and entertain others now?"

"Oh... then Father will not be able to see it."

Zhou Huaiyan casually embraced the dancer who came over to toast him, lifted her chin and looked at her carefully.

"You have beautiful blue eyes."

"Thank you for your compliment, Your Highness."

The latter Zhou Yu was still unnatural, but his face suddenly turned red with embarrassment.

Ah Fei saw all of this with the remaining eyes of his eyes. Although his expression was indifferent, the dark murderous intent in his heart was clearly growing.

At this moment, Zhou Huaiyan suddenly held the girl in his arms and looked towards Emperor Zhou.

"Father, since you have taken my people away, shouldn't you give me one in return?"

“Hahahahaha…”

Upon hearing this, the Emperor of Zhou laughed loudly.

"It's up to you. I'll give you all of these today."

"My son has a cold body, so I'll choose a place to warm up my bed tonight."

Zhou Huaiyan turned his head and looked from the angle in the hall. It seemed as if he had buried his head in the woman's chest.

But only the boy himself knew that his addiction had struck again and he could hardly control his expression, so he could only use this action to cover it up.

Because Emperor Zhou had hurriedly sent someone to invite him, he should have stayed in the ice pool for two hours, but he came out after only one hour.

He hugged the foreign girl, and his fingers seemed to be caressing her inappropriately, but accidentally touched the wine glass on the table.

The spilled wine immediately wet the boy's bright red clothes.

Hongdou noticed the boy's strangeness and immediately scolded him.

"How did you serve His Highness? You actually let the wine stain His Highness's clothes?!!"

The foreign girl was horrified and knelt down to beg for mercy.

Zhou Huaiyan just laughed drunkenly.

"Don't, don't scold her, it's just a piece of clothing, just change it."

He reached out and pulled the girl into his arms.

"Come on, accompany me to change clothes."

With such actions and tone, anyone with a discerning eye can tell what it means.

The Zhou Emperor also waved his hand in response to the situation.

"Go ahead, go back to your own palace and change."

"Thank you...Father."

The boy staggered to the ground as he saluted, as if he was really drunk.

However, Zhou Huaiyan still overestimated his endurance. Before returning to Qiwu Palace, he was almost dying.

In order to hide him, Hongdou could only find an empty palace nearby to house him.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, please bear with it a little longer, bear with it a little longer..."

She put Zhou Huaiyan, who was sweating and shaking in pain, into a bathtub filled with cold water and tried to comfort him.

"Right away, right away."

You can't get a lot of ice here, only cold water.

"go out......"

Zhou Huaiyan managed to still retain some rationality, but even if it was the Grand Palace Maid whom he regarded as his confidant, the young man did not want others to see him in such a ferocious state.

"Your Highness..."

"Get lost."

He really didn't have the strength to say another word.

Squeak.

The door was closed, and Zhou Huaiyan was the only one left in the empty room. He finally couldn't hold on any longer and sank into the water, using another kind of painful suffocation to suppress the former.

In just a few moments, he was helped up by someone.

BLAH——!

Large amounts of cold water splashed in all directions, and in the haze, Zhou Huaiyan saw a pair of familiar, cyan eyes.

"...get out of here."

Zhou Huaiyan wanted to push the other person away, but he had no strength left and could only be held in the other person's arms.

At this moment, the boy clearly heard his own rapid and painful breathing, and also heard the man's mournful and hoarse apology.

But now, Zhou Huaiyan is no longer the kind of person who would soften his heart because of a tearful apology.

He wanted to call out to Hongdou, to the senior palace maid who was a former assassin, had great martial arts skills, and never lied to him about anything, to come in, to protect him, and to drive away all threats and dangers.

But the moment Zhou Huaiyan opened his mouth, he suddenly felt a scorching temperature on his cold lips.

Can't push it open.

The other person's hands were clasped behind his head, leaving him with no way to retreat.

But this kiss made Zhou Huaiyan feel humiliated, or he did not regard such contact as a kiss.

——It’s humiliation.

Zhou Huaiyan had lived in fear and tread on thin ice since he was born, so he hated the feeling of being controlled by others the most in his life.

But in the current situation, he didn't have the strength to struggle and could only be forced to accept the other party's decision to end this overly intimate contact.

"Why, being a general is not as comfortable as being a servant?"

Zhou Huaiyan's chest was heaving violently. He didn't know if it was because he was too angry or because he couldn't breathe due to the overly intimate contact just now.

"You are really... a jerk. You are so eager to find a man."

However, the boy's words clearly meant to humiliate the other person.

But the man actually nodded seriously, and then lifted up his purple court robe with a swift movement.

Zhou Huaiyan: “….”

The author has something to say:

I guess there's no foul this time (be careful.)