Chapter 183 Farewell, the mountains are high and the waters are endless, it is like the stars in the sky.
Before dawn, Gu Huaijin left the capital alone.
In the past, the emperor's important ministers were favored by the emperor and had great influence in the court and the country. But once they lost power, they ended up penniless and expelled from the capital.
Although he enjoyed prestige in the court, the officials were concerned about the regent above them and did not dare to see him off.
Gu Huaijin went to the ferry alone, boarded the boat, and left Beijing.
Nan Qiongshuang was trapped in the palace, and waves of fog blades came to her with news. He left, leaving the palace and boarding a carriage; he arrived at the ferry alone and boarded the boat alone. The boat rocked, the mountains and rivers lingered, and he disappeared into the vast mist.
Knowing he wasn't in the city anymore, she felt like everything was meaningless, empty. In this vast Luojing City, there was no place for her anymore.
The regent's house arrest was lifted, and she no longer had to be trapped in the Handan Palace every day and was able to go out and relax.
However, the shadow of the Wutong tree has changed, the power has changed hands, and even all the beauties in the palace have entered the Ganye Temple. She doesn't even have any acquaintances in the Forbidden City.
She was the only concubine of the retired emperor who remained in the Forbidden City.
There had been rumors about her and the Prince Regent for a long time, and now they were even worse. Even words like "Kunning Palace has been cleaned up and will soon welcome a new master" had reached her ears.
She was already a little nervous, and the rumors made her even more uneasy.
Li Xuanbai never said anything.
To her, everything was business as usual.
During these days, Li Xuanbai issued a manifesto, pardoned the entire nation, purged the remnants of Chang Gu's followers, organized the Imperial Academy, and recompiled the national history and daily records. He was extremely busy. At first, she saw him completely, but then, as the days passed, matters were settled one by one, the court gradually stabilized, and there were no more old ministers outside the Huangji Gate to make strong remonstrations. Only then did Li Xuanbai come to see her occasionally.
When he saw her, he didn't say anything to force her, but talked to her happily about the fun in the court, and occasionally recalled some things in Tianshan Mountain.
She couldn't guess what he meant.
The order to kill Emperor Jiaqing has not been issued yet.
Emperor Jiaqing now hated Gu Huaijin utterly. Initially, he hadn't fully come to his senses, but as time went on, he grew angrier and angrier. It was said that even while playing cards in Xiaoleyuan, he would occasionally curse him, spitting and spitting.
After hearing the news, Nan Qiongshuang was extremely relieved that Gu Huaijin had left Beijing.
Later, it was heard that Emperor Jiaqing had a headache, and the imperial doctors in the academy held a late-night consultation, but the symptoms could not be alleviated even a little bit.
The madman again begged Li Xuanbai with tears in his eyes to summon Gu Huaijin back to Beijing.
Li Xuanbai refused.
So the dignified emperor jumped up and down in the Ningshou Palace, hysterically, smashing, kicking, and hacking around.
When Nan Qiongshuang heard that this madman was in excruciating pain and felt that life was worse than death, she felt only that it was karma.
Because she was the only one in the harem, everything was peaceful and there was no order from the Rebirth Gate. She had nothing to do all day long. She just watered the flowers in the Handan Palace, rowed a boat on the Imperial Lake, or played chess with Li Xuanbai.
Later one day, she had nothing to do, so she went boating on the sea pond alone.
When the boat reached the center of the lake, the curtain was lifted and it turned out to be Li Xuanbai.
Li Xuanbai had just left the court and changed into his regular clothes, a dark blue brocade robe. He was no longer as flamboyant as before, but rather more reserved. He entered the boat, sat down in front of her, and picked up a pair of chopsticks to eat the stir-fried shrimp on her low table.
"What are you doing here?"
She touched the small wine cup listlessly: "It's because I have nothing to do that I came to the lake to relax."
Li Xuanbai lowered his eyes and said as he picked, "Why, are you bored?"
She sensed a hint of temptation and avoided the conversation silently.
Li Xuanbai took her small wine flask and poured himself a cup: "I heard about that crazy guy."
"how?"
Li Xuanbai stared out the boat awning, sniffing the wine in his small cup. "I've had a terrible headache lately, and he keeps asking me to call that Gu back. I didn't respond." He smiled and said, "Who would have thought that this suicidal guy would have the audacity to bypass me and secretly deliver a letter to Wuliang Mountain."
Nan Qiongshuang looked up at him when she heard that.
Gu Huaijin could not return to Beijing no matter what. He had offended Emperor Jiaqing and his situation was too dangerous.
Li Xuanbai: "I sent several decrees behind my back. In the end, that Gu guy didn't even get a reply and decided to play dead. That madman got even more furious and kept grumbling in Ningshou Palace."
Nan Qiongshuang curled the corners of her mouth and said in her heart, "Serves you right."
"There's something I've always wanted to ask you." She put down her chopsticks, leaned on her temples, and raised an eyebrow. "What is your relationship with the Wangsheng Sect?"
Li Xuanbai picked up the dishes, smiled, and said nothing.
She asked, "Did you buy the lives of Changda and the Emperor?"
The lake water flows slowly, and waves hit the boat.
Sunlight shone through the cracks in the boat's awning onto his face, leaving a brilliant white streak. His eyelashes were clearly visible in the light, and he stared at the shimmering water for a long moment. Then, Jie Ao frowned and smiled:
"right."
It is true.
"Then you and Wangshengmen..." She traced the lines on the wine cup with her fingers, "Old customer?"
Li Xuanbai put a peanut in his mouth and hugged his shoulders: "Yes."
No wonder. No wonder the Wangsheng Sect had such a skill that they could insert her, an unknown person, into the Qinghe Xie family and send her all the way to the Forbidden City.
Li Xuanbai: "I've known for a long time that you were from the Wangsheng Sect. Back then, after I came down from Tianshan, I asked you to come to Luojing to look for me, but you didn't. I wanted to see you, and since that madman needed to place someone on his side, I specifically asked for you."
He said casually, "Giving you the name Xie Deyin took a lot of trouble. In the end, after all the trouble to bring you into the palace, you, the heartless one, ran off with another man."
Knowing that her heart was with another man, he still kept her in the palace.
She glanced at him, a little unhappy, and looked away.
"So, when do you want to close the net?"
Li Xuanbai picked and chose from the plate of stir-fried shrimps and gave them all to her without saying a word.
After a long while, he said leisurely:
"I have a question for you."
"On the day of the palace coup, in Zichen Palace, why did you bring people to rescue me?"
Nan Qiong Shuang also picked up her chopsticks and took a bite of the cucumber scrambled eggs:
"Didn't you give orders to the Wangsheng Sect, asking me to protect you?"
Li Xuanbai put down his chopsticks and crossed his arms again with a haughty air:
"My order is for you to come, not others."
Nan Qiong Shuang picked up the light green cucumber slices, raised her eyebrows, and did not answer.
Li Xuanbai was smiling across from him, his eyebrows curved. Light and shadow crisscrossed the boat awning. He leaned back, burying himself in the shadows. His eyes were incredibly sharp:
"You knew that if you saved me, Gu wouldn't be able to complete his mission, so why did you bring that incredibly capable woman of yours to save me?"
She continued to pick at the dishes nonchalantly, and as if nothing had happened, she picked up a ball of golden scrambled eggs and put them in her mouth.
"Are you afraid that I can't escape?" Li Xuanbai smiled faintly.
She didn't answer and ate the food lazily.
"You're afraid of my death, so you'd rather ruin Mr. Gu's plan and bring the Sect Master to rescue me." He laughed so hard that his shoulders shook. "Why, you don't want me to die so much? Don't you love that Mr. Gu? Does he allow it?"
Nan Qiong Shuang leaned her elbows on the small table, fiddling with her earrings, put down her chopsticks, and looked at him with her eyelids raised:
"He is him, and I am me."
Li Xuanbai paused for a moment, as if surprised, and suddenly he held the small wine cup and laughed non-stop, sipping the wine and shaking his head helplessly.
She picked up the small wine cup and looked out of the boat. The lake was sparkling. She took a sip:
"For so many years, you've been helping me, not him. Do I need his permission to help you?"
Li Xuanbai couldn't help laughing:
"Aren't you afraid that he'll be unhappy?"
Her eyes were still fixed on the distant lake, the ripples on the water reflected on her face, and a shimmering light between her eyebrows:
"What should I do then? Should I watch you die just to make him happy?"
Li Xuanbai was sitting across from the small table, laughing with mixed feelings for almost half an incense stick, until she couldn't understand what he was laughing at. After a long while, he finally bent his knuckles and knocked on the low table:
"Want to redeem yourself?"
Nan Qiong Shuang turned back when she heard that, her eyes were frighteningly cold in the reflection of the water.
Li Xuanbai's eyes were as sharp as knives.
The boat bumped a bit on the lake.
He said slowly:
"I can offer you a large sum of money and have you release him immediately. However, you have a personality that makes you like to do everything yourself. I heard that you are the most hardworking person in the Wangsheng Sect. I think you would rather redeem yourself than be redeemed by someone else."
"Of course." She blinked slowly. "I've spent twelve years fighting for this moment, regardless of life or death."
Li Xuanbai said, "However, the current situation is unstable, and there are still old ministers causing trouble in the court. That madman cannot be touched yet. If you want to take action yourself, you must stay in my palace for at least three months."
Nan Qiongshuang lowered her eyes for a moment, and in the rippling water light, she was in a dilemma and remained silent.
After such a long time, Gu Huaijin would probably be worried about all sorts of things all day long.
He was alone, and had no appetite and couldn't sleep.
Li Xuanbai saw her hesitation and naturally understood what she meant, so he just smiled and said:
"stop."
Years of affection and care for each other.
Thank you for saving me from Zichen Palace, so let’s fulfill her wish.
He looked up from under the boat awning and saw sparkling lights on the Imperial Lake. He took a deep breath against the damp and slightly fishy wind.
"I will redeem you."
"After you redeem yourself, I will let you return to Wuliang Mountain."
*
She had imagined countless times what the scene would be like on the day she redeemed herself, but she had never imagined it would be like this.
Entrusted with a large sum of money in the name of the Regent, the Wangsheng Gate let her go with extraordinary ease. The fifth errand was still not completed and no one had investigated it.
It turned out that what she had been struggling for for twelve years could be solved in the hands of this noble family with just a box of gold and a word of advice.
It turns out that the sect rules that had trapped her for twelve years are no longer valid.
He is only focused on his work and is actually a frog in the well.
On the day of returning to Wuliang Mountain, Li Xuanbai postponed the morning meeting, changed into casual clothes, and came to see him off in person with only a few guards.
The two men rode out of the palace, passing through the busy market town, heading north until they reached the ferry.
The ferry crossing was shrouded in mist. The sky and water were one color, and the distant mountains were hidden in the depths of the clouds, revealing only a rough outline.
Li Xuanbai walked the man to the ferry, stood by the water, gripped the reins, and looked at the man in front of him with a smile.
She took off her imperial concubine's gorgeous clothes, and was left with a white gauze hat and white clothes. She wore a plain silver hairpin on her head, and her hair was loosely tied into a bun. The rest of her long hair fell like a black waterfall on her back and chest.
Standing among the mixed mountain scenery and water mist, she is like a jade bottle, with a distant blue-green sky behind her.
Just like when she was in Tianshan Mountain.
Li Xuanbai looked at her outfit and suddenly remembered.
In his seventh year at Tianshan, she broke into his Lingjue Pavilion alone and nearly fell from the cliff entrance. That day, he happened to be drinking in the pavilion, glanced up and saw her, then stepped on the blossoming trees and brought her up.
So many years have passed in a flash.
Falling flowers are like people falling from a building. Falling flowers are like people falling from a building.
Love and affection, right and wrong, friends and enemies, enemies and friends, who can tell the difference after so many years?
She came from the mountains, and now she is going back to the mountains.
He raised his head.
In the clouds and fog, the halo is hazy and unclear.
There was a smile on the corner of his lips, and his small earrings swayed brightly in the wind and fog.
He initially hated the years trapped in Tianshan and didn't want to talk about them, but now he thought about it: the sacred ponds, ancient trees, mountain mists, night breezes, the ever-changing gloom, the fallen flowers covering the mountains—it was also a place of tranquil beauty and freedom.
In those years, he caused great trouble in the mountains, and no one dared to stop him. He could oppose Song Yaojie, talk about love with her, and use the opportunity of talking about love to annoy that Gu. Life was beautiful.
Now in the Golden Palace - he is the only one in the Golden Palace.
He could no longer act as he wished.
The water was far away. She gently lifted the veil in front of her, turned around and said to him:
"No need to send it again."
In fact, if you want to send it again, you can only send it here.
Li Xuanbai looked at her, and for some reason, he felt that her white clothes were stained with the color of mountains and rivers, and she seemed to be entering the painting and disappearing with the water.
He raised his eyes and smiled for just a moment, then lowered his eyes.
Knowing that she understood him and that she was leaving, he didn't want to see her anymore.
He stroked the reins nonchalantly, tossing the ropes one by one in his palm, and said with a grin:
"I say, do you believe in fate?"
"Destiny?" Nan Qiong Shuang was about to lower the veil when she heard the words, but stopped. "Letter."
Li Xuanbai smiled and said, "I believe it too."
"When I was young, I met a fortune teller on the street. He told me that my fate was very good and that I would reach greatness in the future."
"Before I could be happy, the blind man said, 'If you are going to die, you will be alone. You will lose countless things.'"
A gust of wind blew, and his high ponytail fluttered in the wind and mist, and his collar swayed with it.
After he finished speaking, he paused for a moment, looked up at the clouds flying by in the sky, and murmured:
"Now it seems that he was right."
"Are you sure?" Nan Qiong Shuang had already lowered the white veil.
Her face could not be seen clearly through the white gauze.
He lost her in that instant, earlier than he thought - she was in a hurry to say goodbye and didn't even want to look at him.
She understands him best, is she really not going to keep him?
Behind the white veil, one could only see her lips moving. She smiled:
"You are the supreme ruler. All under heaven belongs to you. What have you lost?"
Li Xuanbai looked at the distant mountains and laughed, "Of course not, I was just kidding." He stretched out in the wind and yawned nonchalantly.
"I have everything."
The ferry had already docked. Nan Qiongshuang took two steps towards the boat, then turned back to look at him. She saw that even though he was in plain clothes, he was still adorned with gold and jade, looking extremely luxurious. The only thing that stood out was the sword at his waist, whose sheath was pure black and without any decoration.
She suddenly remembered that he had a friend with whom he exchanged scabbards.
She then asked, "How is your sworn brother?"
Li Xuanbai was stunned for a moment. Then he laughed again: "Okay, of course."
She then felt relieved, lowered the brim of her hat, and boarded the boat: "That's good."
Li Xuanbai watched her get on the boat with a smile on his face.
She stood on the deck and waved at him from a distance.
Is that it? Never see you again.
He finally couldn't bear it any longer and, ignoring the advice of the Jin Ge guards, drove his horse to the side of the boat, only half an inch away from the river.
The tourists on the boat saw that he was dressed in extraordinary clothes and that there was a large group of imposing attendants behind him. They all looked over here and whispered.
As everyone's eyes met, he only looked up at her on the ferry:
"Chu Jiaojiao!"
Nan Qiong Shuang suddenly turned around.
Li Xuanbai was riding on horseback, a young emperor, handsome and elegant, blazing with fear and hesitation:
"Hey, after you leave, are you going to come back to Beijing?"
Nan Qiongshuang was stunned. Didn’t he issue the order not to allow Gu Huaijin to return to Beijing?
She said, "If you allow me to go back, I will go back."
"Go back." He turned his horse, leaving her with only an arrogant back view, and raised his whip:
"When you come back, I'll take you horseback riding."
"Hey!" she called out hurriedly.
Li Xuanbai's whip barely lingered in his hand. He turned halfway and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.
She leaned out from the side of the boat:
"My name is Nan Qiong Shuang."
Nanqiong Frost.
He repeated it in his mind.
Finally, he sneered: "What a lousy reputation."
Before she could answer, he whipped the whip and left.
He rode a BMW and sped away.
This person.
Nan Qiong Shuang pouted.
The boat started moving. She turned her head again.
The water is vast and the clouds are vast on all sides. The ferry leaves the ferry, and circles of clear ripples spread on the surface of the river.
The sky and water that were mixed together were then separated by the ferry.
Nan Qiong Shuang looked at the distant indigo mountains, the sweet mist gently moistened her brows and eyelashes. She took a breath of the river breeze into her lungs and thought quietly.
The reason he took the risk and entered Lingjue Pavilion was simply to use him, which led to the conflict between the two.
I never expected that we would become close friends after meeting each other that day and parting again today.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
