Sheng Yuantang returned to the capital at dawn.
The soldiers at the border had just repelled the barbarians under his leadership not long ago, and the imperial edict they received was also a commendation for returning to the capital.
He did not bring any other subordinates with him, and rode his horse alone through the deserted streets. The wisps of white smoke from the breakfast vendors at the alley entrance melted into his eyes and then dispersed, and were finally blown away without a trace by the wind.
Arriving at the imperial palace, he got off the ground, stepped on the water-logged stone slabs with his long boots, threw the reins to the servant, and walked into the Golden Throne Hall with many other officials who were to attend the morning court.
Xiang Yanchao hadn't slept all night and rushed into the palace before the court session. After completing all the procedures, the new emperor on the dragon throne spoke first before he could say anything: "General Sheng, you have been away on the battlefield for many years and are back in the court today. Are you willing to stay and chat with me today?"
Sheng Yuantang was not wearing the light armor he wore when fighting in battle. He was still wearing the same white robe he wore many years ago when he stood here and took the imperial edict from Emperor Cheng. His wide sleeves hung down, and he stood tall and proud.
He lowered his eyes and smiled gently, "Since Your Majesty favors me, how can I not obey?"
Xiang Yanchao lowered his eyes, and the words he was about to say disappeared in an instant, and he no longer looked at him.
No one knew what Sheng Yuantang talked about with the new emperor, but in the end, Sheng Yuantang walked out safely with the reputation of a general of the previous dynasty. Not only that, the new emperor even fulfilled the reward he had promised when he issued the imperial edict to recall him, and specially held a palace banquet for him.
On the surface, they said that they were hosting a welcome party, but in reality, everyone knew that the time had come and they were finally preparing to deal with the remnants of the previous dynasty's factions all at once.
The bleeding on Shi Yu's wounds had been stopped and bandaged properly. He should have been resting, but he couldn't stand the blood and dust he brought out of prison. As soon as he recovered a little strength, he asked someone to bring him clean clothes and take a bath. He was still wet and was scolded by the doctor who came for half an hour with a frown on his face.
The doctor was invited by Wang Zhu. The head on his neck was closely related to his physical condition. After much difficulty, he re-applied medicine to the wound that was bleeding again. He wrote three or four prescriptions with a stroke of his pen. Each medicine was more bitter than the last. He wished that the taste of the medicine would teach Wang Zhu what it meant to cherish his life and then engrave these two words into his brain.
It’s a pity that the last one was not used.
Shi Yu couldn't smell the medicine.
The doctor didn't believe it at first, but after seeing the other party swallow half a bowl of medicine according to his earnest advice and then vomit it all out with a pale face, he didn't dare let the other party try it again.
When Xiang Yan came back from court, the doctor had already come and left: "Master."
Shi Yu picked up a feather that had fallen from a red-billed bird and poked the bird with the end of its tail: "Have you met General Sheng?"
Xiang Yanchao walked to the bed and pulled out a chair.
Shi Yu put down the feather: "I saw him, but didn't you say anything?"
Xiang Yanchao supported his chin with one hand and praised without any emotion: "Master, you are worthy of being favored by Emperor Cheng. You really know how to see through people's hearts."
Shi Yu: “Thank you.”
"If you want to thank me for what you just said, forget it. If you want to thank me for bringing you out of prison," Xiang Yanchao raised his eyes, "You know what I want to ask."
"Know."
The place where their conversation ended in prison before he passed out:
——He has so many close friends and old acquaintances around him. If there had been no rebellion, would he really remember who you are?
——He remembered.
Why do you say that? What do you remember?
Xiang Yanchao didn't know, but he wanted to know. He wanted to hear the second half of the sentence that the other party deliberately left unfinished, so that the other party would not die.
Shi Yu said: "But I can't tell you right now."
With only this weight, a gentleman would not stand under a dangerous wall. What's more, he can't be called a gentleman. At most, he is a lonely soul who survived a disaster.
Xiang Yanchao sat on the chair. He didn't know how the prime minister had raised him since he was a child. He didn't have much of the smell of gunpowder soaked in intrigues and deceptions. He showed little emotion, and it wouldn't be considered rude even if he was angry. He had the aura of a young master from an aristocratic family and said directly: "Then what do you want?"
"The new emperor wants me dead, and I want a reason why he won't kill me."
"Master, you think too highly of me. Even I am not qualified to disobey my father."
"You don't need to do anything." Shi Yu looked at him. "Isn't there a banquet in the palace tonight for General Sheng? Young Master, just take me in. I will ask the new emperor for the imperial edict myself."
Xiang Yanchao glanced at the robe he was wearing. It was too wide, and the long sleeves were folded in half from the elbows. His wrists were wrapped in gauze several times under the folds, and the ends were loosely tucked inside, binding his thin knuckles, but it did not hide his natural good bones.
He asked, "You look like this?"
It really looks too miserable.
The red-billed bird gently pecked at the gauze on his wrist. Shi Yu picked up the feather again and brushed it away: "I'm just injured, not dead."
He is not dead now, but he was very close to death not long ago.
Xiang Yanchao had not had much dealings with this former Imperial Censor in the past. After all, he was the son of a court official and a political enemy of an imperial official. Prime Minister Xiang had no time to hide him on weekdays. Although he had taught him many skills, he rarely let him appear in front of the eyes of people in the capital unless it was necessary.
He did not understand it in the past, until the day he was assassinated after returning from Yanzhou and had a close call with death, he realized that his biological father and he were bearing the murderous intent of the man most powerful in this great country.
After the founding of the Dacheng Dynasty, as soon as the first emperor died, his descendants, without exception, were greedy, scheming, and trying every means to take back the tremendous power, eager to hold the world in their hands and have the final say by their own strength.
People always say that if the king wants his subjects to die, the subjects have to die. The funny thing is that after so many years of tug-of-war between the two sides, in the end it was the minister who had to die who took the lead in rebelling against the king based on the plan passed down for generations.
I wonder if people who have been in that position in the past would be so angry that they would crawl out from under their coffins if they knew about this.
But then again, although Xiang Yanchao had never dealt with this Lord Censor before, he had heard many rumors about him from other people, such as that the Prime Minister was second only to the emperor, and he would always be second only to the two of them, and would always be suppressed by the Prime Minister in the court; that the Emperor deliberately hid him behind the Prime Minister, who was a tall tree attracting wind, and that protecting him in this way was true favoritism; and that he was able to reach this position at such a young age, and who knew how much of his ability and looks it took.
And now Xiang Yanchao sat opposite him. He thought that although she looked pretty, her ability was probably far better than those officials who talked about her in private.
It is actually hard to imagine such a person being under anyone's command. He should be high above everyone else, like in the clouds.
But he still stayed under Emperor Cheng for so many years. Either he was too loyal to the previous dynasty, or he had no ambition to seize power. If the former was easy to control, if the latter was likely to be content with the situation. In short, no matter which one, it was impossible for him to cause any trouble.
Even if the other party really wanted to, it would be too difficult for him to do so considering his body that would break with a single poke.
Otherwise, even if Xiang Yanchao had a father who was an emperor, he would not be so foolish as to bring out a criminal from the previous dynasty.
※
All the civil and military officials in the court took their seats before the first palace banquet after the new emperor ascended the throne.
There were clinking glasses in the hall and the sound of stringed instruments in the corner. The new emperor sat on a high platform, and next to him was Xiang Yanchao, who lowered his head and looked down.
After toasting and listening to music, things finally got down to business:
A young courtier stood up. He was promoted after the new emperor ascended the throne. He bent down and knelt down at the bottom of the stairs: "Your Majesty, please understand!"
The new emperor put down his wine glass and asked him why he said that.
The court official did not beat around the bush: "Now that Your Majesty has ascended the throne, the old officials of the previous dynasty are still here, and the remnants of evil have not been eliminated. The situation in the capital is turbulent, and the people are uneasy. I think Your Majesty should eliminate the remnants as soon as possible and stabilize the situation!"
The new emperor's expression remained unchanged: "What do you think, my dear ministers?"
The ministers below looked at each other, and then stood up one by one to show their agreement.
The new emperor seemed to think for a moment, then said, "Someone come."
"exist."
"Go and bring those men up."
People from the previous dynasty who had already surrendered and expressed their loyalty had already expressed their stance, and were now sitting on the steps with officials of the new dynasty. The rest were those who would rather die than surrender or those whom the new emperor himself was unwilling to let go - such as the former censor.
The first person to be brought up was the former Grand Marshal.
Tang Linchuan was completely confused.
He had appeared in prison since the node was released yesterday, and had been trying his best to get out. Unfortunately, he did not have the right props and the ability to make up stories. Not only did he not get any useful feedback, he was even suppressed.
Needless to be reminded, an official stood up and read out his crimes, saying that he was unworthy of his position, that he had been arrogant and domineering when in office, and that he harbored dissatisfaction with the new emperor. They listed seven or eight of them, then bowed to indicate that such a person must not be allowed to stay.
Tang Linchuan's face turned pale before he could finish listening. He had already forgotten his identity and purpose, and knelt on the ground, trembling and begging for mercy.
The new emperor stroked the wine glass and studied his expression for a while, then said with a sigh: "I agree. The court is here."
The guard who had always been guarding the new emperor took a step forward, his hand on the sword at his waist, and the flickering lights reflected a chilly light.
Blood dripped onto the golden hall, and the head of the person being brought up in the center fell to the ground like a broken string, with a muffled sound echoing.
Everyone was stunned. The new emperor was a former prime minister and had done a lot of things to please everyone. Everyone thought that he should be gentle and try to please others. They guessed that the other party would definitely kill a group of former court officials, but they didn't expect that he would actually order people to take action in front of so many people.
The unnerving silence lasted for several seconds, and then someone collapsed to the ground, shaking like a sieve.
The new emperor knocked the cup wall with his knuckles and said in a gentle voice, "My dear ministers, you have proposed it, and now I agree. Are you satisfied with this way of handling it?"
It was obvious that he had wanted to eradicate the dissident party for a long time, but he put all the blame on his ministers, killing the chicken to scare the monkeys in public and still seemed to be innocent.
No one responded, and there was fear in everyone's eyes.
The new emperor still had a gentle look on his face: "Next."
The dissident he wanted to kill was not just Tang Linchuan.
The guards drew their swords, people came and went, bodies fell and were carried away, and the blood on the ground kept piling up.
Such outrageous handling of the matter will probably go down in national history.
Finally, the name of the former censor was called.
It was visibly that a new group of people were being escorted.
This was arranged in advance by Xiang Yanchao. He was just pretending, and would not really use any force, nor would he restrain him. After all, given the man's physical condition, he really felt that it was unnecessary for the guards to take action, and he could just walk a few steps and disperse.
Shi Yu stood at the bottom of the stairs, listening to the unusually long reading of the charges. He did not look up until the person who spoke left, and then he looked up at the new emperor.
The new emperor glanced at his face and spoke for the first time before the guards took action: "Master, how are you?"
After so many years of fighting openly and secretly as political enemies, who would have thought that they would be like this when they meet each other after their identities have been swapped.
Shi Yu replied matter-of-factly without any emotion in her tone: "I do."
The new emperor laughed.
The guard held the sword that was still dripping with blood and stabbed it towards his chest.
There was a crisp sound of "bang".
The sword tip hit a hairpin, and the sharp end of the hairpin was held in front of someone's eyes.
There was no need to struggle. The two guards behind him had not expected this sudden change at all because of what Xiang Yanchao said, and they even forgot to grab him or stop him.
Shi Yu pushed away the sword that was approaching his face with all his strength. When the guards surrounded him, he leaped out of the crisscrossing swords and sabers. His white robe, which had been torn into countless narrow holes by the attack he had just dodged, flew across the sky like a white crane and landed on the highest step.
The new emperor suddenly stood up and stepped back, his foot almost tripping over the bench, and the next moment he felt a chill on his neck.
Shi Yu held his collar with one hand. The gauze wrapped around his collarbone had oozed a thin layer of red due to the action just now. His face was pale, but his voice was the same and calm as always: "Your Majesty, I am sorry for the offense."
The new emperor froze in disbelief, not daring to move. "What do you want?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
The eyes of the people behind him were filled with the water of Tianchi Lake on Changbai Mountain, and the moon was reflected in the bottom of the water: "Hold the emperor hostage to command the princes."
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