When Mu Wanyao and Yan Shang returned from outside the city, Yan Shang was seriously injured and had been leaning on her shoulder, feeling drowsy. Mu Wanyao lifted the curtain of the car and saw the scene outside -
After the rain, the muddy water on the ground was mixed with blood;
The sergeants carried the bodies in silence;
The bodies of the people who were ignored were piled outside the shops, which frightened the people who opened the shops and made them scream;
Men and women stood on the street like zombies, asking around if their loved ones were still alive...
The carriage belonging to the princess's mansion passed silently through the neighborhood, with soldiers following behind. Behind them, there was a crazy man chasing the carriage. Even if he was stopped, he would scream loudly:
"My lord! My lord! Are you coming from the west of the city? Have you seen my wife? She went out to buy vegetables yesterday morning and has not returned yet. She has not returned yet!
"There are obviously vegetables in the east of the city, but she insisted on going to the west market, saying it's cheaper there. It's all my fault that I scolded her the day before yesterday, saying she was too lazy to eat. I didn't mean it, I was just too tired from work, and I got scolded by my boss, so I turned around and scolded her...
"We have been married for three years and have only one daughter. She is crying for food at home, but her mother is gone, gone... gone!"
The man was stopped by the guards and could not get close to the carriage. He spoke incoherently, and when he got excited, he simply sat on the ground, wiping his tears and bursting into tears.
The crying was desolate and the sorrow was beyond words.
Before today, who would have thought that such a thing would happen in Chang'an City?
Mu Wan lifted the curtain of the car and kept looking back at the man. She stared at him in amazement, and suddenly a pair of hands reached out and covered her ears. Mu Wan shook her head and saw that it was Yan Shang who woke up with a pale face.
He lowered the curtain for her and whispered, "Don't look, don't listen. It will be more uncomfortable if you listen too much."
Mu Wanyao stared at him and saw that although there was sadness in his eyes, his expression was very calm.
She suddenly whispered, "Did you often see these when you were a child?"
Yan Shang: "Yeah. I've seen it a lot."
Mu Wanyao was silent, feeling guilty for her narrow-mindedness. She pretended to be a generous person, saying that she wanted to understand people's livelihood. But when she saw these things on the streets of Chang'an today, she was truly touched.
Only then did I truly understand what Yan Shang wanted to insist on and hold on to.
Mu Wanyao muttered to himself, reflecting on himself: "Is the world always like this?"
Staring at the swaying figure on the curtain, Yan Shang said softly: "The world is always like this. The superiors do whatever it takes, and the suffering ones are muddleheaded. The powerful fight for a future, and the common people fight for survival.
"They have no one to rely on, and our future is uncertain. If possible, we should not lose our compassion. As an official and a benevolent person, we should help these people."
Mu Wanyao had nothing to say and just held Yan Shang's hand tightly.
The emperor was the winner of this coup, but wasn't the hellish scene in Chang'an created by Liu Wenji using the lives of ordinary people? And wasn't Liu Wenji working for the emperor? After the incident, would the emperor kill Liu Wenji because he used human lives to deal with Yang San?
No.
The dead are of no significance to the emperor, but only to their relatives.
Mu Wanyao suddenly thought, she is a princess, Yan Shang is an official, they are so powerful, there may be a lot they can do...
Mu Wan shook her head and asked Yan Shang, "Does your back hurt?"
Yan Shang wanted to say that it didn’t hurt, but looking at his wife’s melancholy eyes, he nodded.
He sighed and frowned: "My whole back feels like it's on fire. I even suspected that I had a fever...Yaoyao, why am I always like this..."
Mu Wanyao felt sad for the suffering he had endured, and for the various tortures his body had suffered. Since he became an official, he had been burned by oil, imprisoned, had his eyes hurt, and now his back...
Mu Wan thought, after this time, Yan Shang must have a good rest. He can't hold on any longer.
With an idea in mind, Mu Wan shook her head and said, "Second Brother Yan, don't be afraid. We have a special imperial physician in our house, who will treat your injuries when we get back. Just have a good sleep and you will be fine when you wake up."
Yan Shang sighed, "I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep."
—
Naturally I can't sleep.
As soon as such a big event happened in Chang'an City, Yan Shang had to go to the Secretariat and the Ministry of Personnel after returning to the city to explain the war outside the city to several ministers; he also had to go to the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Zongzheng Temple to hand over the King of Qin to the Zongzheng Temple; he also had to go to the Ministry of Personnel to calm the hearts of those officials who were in a panic.
Besides, the Central Government must reward Yan Shang for his service in protecting the emperor, right? Naturally, compared to other things, rewarding him afterwards is the least important thing.
The most important thing now is to discuss the crimes of the Crown Prince and the King of Qin.
The emperor did not let officials investigate his two sons, but Mu Wanyao and Yan Shang were called to the palace the night after they returned to Chang'an.
There must be a conclusion between the Crown Prince and the King of Qin.
—
This time, Yan Shang entered the palace with Mu Wanyao as a royal consort.
They were summoned by the emperor in his own bedroom.
The emperor looked older than the last time Mu Wanyao saw him, and he coughed and gasped after speaking a few words. Mu Wanyao originally wanted to ask the emperor why he didn't discuss it with her in advance, leaving her alone in the Summer Resort and forcing Yan Shang to protect her... But seeing that the old emperor was struggling to even breathe, Mu Wanyao sighed and didn't want to ask those nonsense questions anymore.
Mu Wanyao sat down with Yan Shang and his wife.
Among these orthodox royal members, only the crown prince has not arrived yet.
Princess Luling sat there expressionless, as if in a daze; Princess Yuyang and her husband knelt on the ground, pleading with tears for their third brother; Prince Qin also knelt, his face full of tears, asking his father to spare him.
The most amazing one is King Jin.
He had always been suppressed by his two elder brothers, and the King of Jin didn't have any friendship with them, and they ignored him. But this time, the King of Jin suddenly found his own value -
Although he didn't protect the emperor like Mu Wanyao, at least he didn't rebel. With his two brothers in trouble, isn't he the only one who can be considered for the throne?
Prince Jin came to plead hypocritically for his two brothers. He knelt on the ground and said sincerely: "Father, the Crown Prince and my third brother must have been deceived and framed. Father, please forgive them, or let your son take the punishment on their behalf..."
Mu Wanyao sat nearby, gently stroked the hem of her skirt, glanced at Yan Shang impatiently, and curled her lips at him.
Yan Shang shook his head, indicating that if she didn't like Prince Jin, she could just pretend not to see it and there was no need to laugh at him.
Amid the repeated pleas of Prince Jin, the earnest pleas of Princess Yuyang, and the cries of Prince Qin, there was a shout from outside, and Liu Wenji came with the Crown Prince.
The Emperor's eyes, which had been closed, finally opened and looked towards His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
After all, he had been the crown prince for so many years. When the crown prince came, everyone was silent for a moment.
The prince looked down at the King of Qin and the King of Jin who were kneeling and crying below. He saw one of them begging for mercy in fear after his failure, while the other one who had nothing to do with the incident was hypocritically asking the emperor to spare his two brothers' lives... It was ridiculous.
The prince couldn't help laughing.
The emperor said coldly: "What are you laughing at?"
The whole hall was silent, and everyone looked at the prince.
The emperor gasped, his eyes were bloodshot, and he said sternly: "What are you laughing at?!"
The prince then slowly lifted his robe and knelt down before the emperor.
—
The emperor glared at the prince angrily, his hands on the stool shaking with anger.
He understood that the King of Qin was plotting a rebellion.
Because the King of Qin was forced to rebel. The Emperor wanted to deal with the Nanyang Jiang family and turn them into the Jinling Li family of today. The King of Qin could not accept this and naturally rebelled.
But why did the prince rebel?
Why did the prince cooperate with the King of Qin?
Wasn't he treating the prince badly? Wasn't he paving the way for the prince? Wasn't he doing all this just to wait for the prince to become the emperor so that he could relax?
Why did the prince rebel? !
The emperor was breathing hard: "Tell me."
There was no sound in the hall, and everyone was staring at the young man who was kneeling upright.
The prince slowly raised his eyes and looked up at his supreme father, the Emperor: "What do you want me to say? The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit."
The emperor was angry: "So, you still don't repent until now? You disappoint me so much!"
The prince smiled, his tone calm: "What are you disappointed about?"
After a pause, his eyes became sharp, and his tone became heavier and his voice became higher: "What are you disappointed about?! Did you ever love me? Father, can we stop being so ridiculous and hypocritical?"
The emperor leaned back and fell backwards. His chief eunuch Cheng An hurried over to pat his chest to prevent him from being angry to death by his rebellious son.
Cheng An was terrified: "Your Highness, please stop talking!"
Liu Wenzhi stood by, holding a whisk, watching the farce with a smile on his face.
The King of Qin lowered his head and said nothing. Princess Yuyang sobbed and looked back at the Crown Prince. The King of Jin also looked at the Crown Prince in surprise. He did not expect the Crown Prince to be so bold.
Sitting nearby, the ones who had the least to do with this farce were Yan Shang and Mu Wan Yao. When everyone was crying and begging for mercy, Mu Wan Yao and his wife were not interested. It was only until the prince acted like this that the couple became a little interested in this farce.
The prince ignored everyone and only looked at the emperor who was about to be pissed off by him: "Why should I be a good prince and follow my third brother to rebel? As long as you die, the throne will be mine. Father, is this what you think?
"Because you won't give me a way out! You want to clip my wings and make me the emperor! You don't believe I can heal the world at all. You believe in the balance between the monarch and his subjects, and in the way of mutual restraint! You cut off my path, let the Yang family leave the capital step by step, and let Yang San stay away from Chang'an... You want to destroy everyone around me, so that I can have the opportunity to be alone.
"That's the emperor you want to be! Not the one I want! I don't want to be an emperor who loses the people I trust the most and the people closest to me! I could have endured it... but if I continue to endure it, I will lose all my friends, relatives, and brothers."
The prince closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his tone became cold:
"Have you never had brothers, or a wife, or children? Have you never had any?
"What are we?"
"If you want to be alone, do it yourself; if I want to be alone, I will do it myself. I don't need your control, your arrangements, or your paving the way. You have never discussed it with me! You just ordered me, forced me, and forced me to follow the same path as you.
"But I want to tell you today, Father, you can't make the decision for me and make me sacrifice my brothers and my emotions! I am my own person, and I don't need you to make me miserable just for my own good."
Everyone ended up staring in astonishment.
Yan Shang's eyes lit up as he stared at the prince. Perhaps he had never looked down on the prince, and he and the prince had always had different ideas. But when the prince resisted all this, it still aroused his admiration.
The same is true for the evening swaying.
She found that she had never understood the prince. She used to wonder why Yang Si, such a carefree man, had such a good relationship with the prince.
Why would Yang San work for the prince?
How is the prince worth it?
Now she understands——
It turns out that the prince would also rebel.
The prince also has the same passionate and fearless spirit as a young man.
The fire was suppressed under the ice for many years, and one day, the fire finally jumped out from under the ice, unable to bear it any longer.
—
The emperor felt chest tightness and headache.
He stared blankly at the kneeling prince. He couldn't understand what the prince was talking about.
He seemed to hear Ah Nuan arguing with him. She had yelled at him at the top of her lungs, saying "You don't understand anything".
The emperor waved his sleeves in anger, saying bitterly, "Nonsense, nonsense! You are the ones who know nothing! You will regret it! I am doing this for everyone, for the whole world... This is the land of Wei, this is what must be done!"
His voice became shrill, like crying.
The prince looked up at the dazed emperor and said slowly: "As you said, maybe I will regret it later, but if I don't resist you, I will regret it now! After all, I am not you, and I can never be a prince that satisfies you!
"I did lose, I was one step behind you, but I won't apologize to you! I won't beg for mercy from you!"
Emperor: “You——”
He stood up suddenly and pointed at the prince with his trembling withered hand.
Suddenly, the emperor felt cold all over again, and looked at everyone -
His own sister, the eldest princess, sat there blankly like an outsider, looking left and right, unable to find her own position at all;
The Crown Prince, Prince of Qin, Yuyang, Prince of Jin, Danyang, and even his beloved An Nuan, all looked at him.
They all looked at him, and their eyes said--
Why aren't you dead yet?
Why don't you die yet?
Everyone hoped he would die, everyone hated him. Everyone was questioning him——
The emperor staggered, a mouthful of hot blood spurted out of his throat, and he fell backwards.
Everyone in the hall watched the emperor vomiting blood. Cheng An quickly supported the emperor and shouted for the imperial physician. Others belatedly began to care about the emperor.
The emperor was trembling and spitting out blood. He was speechless and his eyes were full of tears. People around him were shocked and almost suspected that he had a stroke.
In the chaos, Liu Wenji's eyes lit up strangely, and he stared at the prince, his face slightly moved.
The prince is his enemy.
Liu Wenji found all the prince's excuses ridiculous.
However, there was one sentence that the prince made Liu Wenji agree with.
The prince said he wanted to resist.
yes.
This unfair fate... must be resisted!
—
The emperor's vomiting blood and coma caused chaos in the palace.
An hour later, the prince was imprisoned back in the East Palace, waiting to be questioned again after the emperor woke up; Mu Wanyao and his wife went out of the palace; Liu Wenji followed Prince Jin.
Liu Wenji whispered to the Prince of Jin, "Your Highness, last night, His Majesty talked to several of the ministers and said that he wanted to select concubines to enter the palace, or to adopt several descendants of the Mu family as princes."
King Jin was confused.
Seeing this man like this, Liu Wenji was surprised for a moment, wondering if this man was really stupid, or if he had been pretending to be stupid for a long time and had become really stupid. Liu Wenji bowed his shoulders and said bluntly: "Maybe there will be a new prince in the palace."
The King of Jin finally understood.
He was silent for a long time, not knowing what he was feeling: "Eunuch, what you mean is that the emperor always looks down on me?"
He was indignant, half crying and half laughing: "Both brothers are in trouble, he would rather give birth to a new son, would rather adopt a descendant of the side branch of the Mu family, but not consider me? Does he just... look down on me?"
Has the throne never had anything to do with him?
Why...why...
Liu Wenji bowed and smiled: "Don't worry, Your Highness, I support you. I will help you and speak well of you to His Majesty."
King Jin held his hand and shook it excitedly: "Thank you, eunuch! I will never forget your kindness!"
As the carriage from Princess Danyang's mansion passed by on the official road, Liu Wenzhi quickly put away the smile on his face, and Prince Jin also put away his tearful expression of gratitude.
—
In the carriage, Mu Wanyao said to Yan Shang, "Liu Wenji and Prince Jin have gotten involved. Isn't this a little ridiculous? It doesn't matter if Prince Jin is unaware of it, but doesn't Liu Wenji know what Prince Jin did to Chunhua?
"He knows, but he doesn't care anymore."
Yan hasn't spoken yet.
Seeing him like this, Mu Wanyao said, "He has changed. He is no longer the Liu Wenji you knew. You should be careful of him in the future. Be careful that he sells you out."
Yan Shang said after a while: "I have to give it a try."
Mu Wan shook her head and sighed. She leaned lightly on Yan Shang's shoulder and stopped talking.
The prince's words today were a revelation, and they spoke for everyone. She was also thinking about the prince's words.
—
But no matter what was said in the temple today, the crime of treason cannot be forgiven.
Three days later, the crown prince, who was under house arrest in the Eastern Palace, heard about the fate of the King of Qin being exiled to Lingnan. The entire family of the King of Qin's wife was executed, and the prince was also executed. The entire Jiang family of Nanyang was executed.
The King of Qin was completely finished.
Next it was the prince's turn.
Under the dim candlelight, the figure of the eunuch sent by Liu Wenji was reflected on the doors and windows. The eunuch spoke of the King of Qin's fate with gloating, intending to scare the prince.
Let the prince wait, waiting for the people he cares about to suffer the same fate as the King of Qin.
—
After the eunuch left, the prince sat in front of his desk in silence.
There was a sharp dagger on the table.
The paperweight held down the flying pages of the book. The pages were filled with words, all of which were the prince's pleas for mercy to his own people.
Plead for mercy on behalf of the Yang family, that their crime should not be punishable by death; plead for the Crown Princess and other wives and concubines, and for his children to be spared.
He sacrificed his own life in exchange for theirs.
The prince sat quietly with his robes spread on the ground. He slowly picked up the dagger, and when he lowered his eyes, he felt a trace on the handle with his fingertips.
He saw three crooked words: Yang Sizeng.
It was a gift given to seven-year-old Yang Sigang after he learned how to make knives.
This was the first gift in his life.
Now Yang Si is still in prison, waiting for his fate to come.
The prince curled his lips and blew out the candle.
—
At midnight, the emperor was awakened from his sleep, and Cheng An panicked and whispered in his ear: "Your Majesty... the prince is gone, the prince is gone!"
The emperor woke up suddenly and could no longer sleep.
The whole hall was lit with candles, and the emperor hurried out of the hall, putting on his clothes. He didn't have to take another step before he saw the fire burning in the direction of the East Palace.
The emperor was speechless suddenly, and stared in that direction for a long time, his whole body stiff.
The eunuch's hurried footsteps came, panting: "The East Palace has sent the prince's suicide note... Your Majesty!"
The emperor said sternly: "How could he do this? How could he do this? When did I ever want him to die? When did I..."
He suddenly burst into tears: "They are all my children, they are all my sons... Even a tiger won't eat its own cubs, how could he think that I want to kill him... Lang'er! Lang'er!"
Holding a thick paper manuscript, the emperor cried bitterly. The kerosene burned, the light was as bright as day, and no one spoke.
—
The emperor read the prince's suicide note in his solitary room, crying as he read, and could no longer fall asleep.
The palace was quiet and there was no sound. When the emperor was half asleep and half awake, leaning against the manuscript on the table, a piece of white gauze was wrapped around his neck, and it was tightened from behind little by little.
The emperor's throat was pulled, and he woke up suddenly, and suddenly saw the eunuch's shadow reflected on the wall.
He opened his mouth, and the people behind him noticed that he woke up. The white silk tightened, and with both hands, they tightly pinched his throat.
The emperor's eyes widened, and he struggled hard, but he couldn't say a word. The eunuch's figure was reflected on the wall, strangling the emperor.
The emperor looked emaciated, his eyes bulged, and his vision began to blur. He lost the strength to struggle, and suddenly, he lowered his head and realized what had happened.
He stopped struggling and looked in the direction of A Nuan in the illusion.
He stared blankly for a long time. He thought he would not be able to let go of a lot, but in fact, it seemed that there was nothing he could not let go of.
It’s just, it’s just… He stretched out his hand into the void, but he couldn’t touch Ah Nuan—
Life is short, and we have to rush to see flowers, which fade with the light. When the road came to an end and he turned around, he saw the misty rainy day when he waited under the eaves of the temple for the girl who was hiding from the rain, and listened to the opera together under the stage.
The sound of iron horses was like the breaking of bells, the rain was continuous, her profile was beautiful, her skin was whiter than the brightest pearl he had ever seen. She was watching the play seriously, his heart was beating like a drum, and he just stared at her.
What was he thinking about at that time? He seemed to be thinking about proposing to her. What was the song in the play they were listening to? It seemed to be singing -
"I sigh that life is long and bitter, and I sigh that the past years are false dreams.
I sigh that the light is dimming and the love is fading, and I sigh that the beauty does not live long.
I lament that you didn't come, and I lament that you are not here."
Life, a lifetime of resentment has brought me to this day, with no one in the world to face the sunset. Ridiculous, ridiculous, nothing more than this.
—
In the bedroom of Princess Danyang's mansion, Mu Wanyao suddenly woke up from a nightmare and sat up in a daze.
She stroked her own heartbeat in the darkness, then suddenly lowered her head and pushed Yan Shang awake.
Yan Shang had been sleeping on his side because of his back pain, and his sleep was not very stable. Mu Wanyao pushed him gently, and he woke up and sat up.
The curtains were hanging to the ground, and Yan Shang was still a little sleepy: "What's wrong?"
Mu Wan shook her hand, which was covered with cold sweat, and said in a tense voice: "I had a dream. I dreamed of my second brother - he said he was coming to pick up my father. They are leaving, and I will be the only one left in the world from now on."
Yan Shang was still in a daze.
He thought that Mu Wanyao had had such a dream because she was frightened all day. He held her in his arms and was about to whisper comfort to her when he heard the bell outside.
In the dead of night, the sound of bells came from the direction of the palace, one after another. The couple listened to the bells, which seemed to strike at their hearts, and Yan Shang's expression changed.
Mu Wan shook his head and said, "My father has passed away."
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