Chapter 14 Chapter 14 The girl’s warmth.
Tingfeng Pavilion is a Buddhist temple located on the westernmost side of the entire palace. At this moment, several imperial guards are guarding in front of this courtyard.
The queen and the fifth prince are being protected inside.
"Great General!"
When the leader of the imperial guards saw Ji Bai and his men coming over, he hurried forward to greet them. The next moment, the man collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
Ji Sui, holding a bloody sword, looked like a Rakshasa returning from hell.
In an instant, flashes of swords and shadows appeared in front of Tingfeng Pavilion, and the two teams fought each other.
In less than a cup of tea, the door of the Buddhist hall was pushed open. It was pitch black outside. The queen held the little prince and looked at the door vigilantly.
Only when Ji Sui's angular face appeared in the candlelight did the queen slowly breathe a sigh of relief.
"General Ji, was it the rebels who attacked just now?"
The queen, who had been so graceful and elegant in the hall, now had her phoenix crown tilted, a few strands of hair messed around her ears, and the calmness and majesty on her face were gone.
Ji Rui did not answer, but just held up his long sword and climbed up the stairs step by step. The sword made a harsh sound as it scratched the stone bricks.
Who among those struggling to make a living in the palace is not smart and clever?
The queen quickly realized something was wrong. She slumped to the ground, looked up at Ji Sui, and her eyes slowly widened. "You...you are Qi Hanzhen's man!!"
Ji Sui took a deep breath and sat down on a sandalwood chair with cloud patterns in front of the queen.
"He...how could he?! This rebellious son! This rebellious son! If I hadn't guaranteed him, how could a bastard son of a palace maid like him be able to lead a large army into battle?!"
The queen was filled with anger and was unwilling to accept the outcome.
Ji Sui leaned back in his chair, his expression gloomy: "Maybe he will really let you go, but..."
"You will all die today."
The Emperor was gravely ill, and the eldest prince had returned unannounced, evidently for the Autumn Festival. There were two princes currently in the limelight within the palace: the Fifth Prince, the legitimate son of the Empress, and the Third Prince, the son of the Imperial Concubine.
The eldest prince has been sent to the border for many years, which can be said to be both a reliance and a precaution.
Since ancient times, the rule of choosing a crown prince has always been to choose the eldest son or the legitimate son.
The eldest prince, who had lived in the border for several years, was unable to get involved in the affairs of the court, let alone cultivate his own party to prepare for the succession to the throne.
Rebellion is his only way out.
Meng Liangyu had calculated early on that the eldest prince's return to the capital this time was determined to have ulterior motives. On the Ghost Festival, the queen would host a banquet for all officials as usual, and all court officials would be in the palace. As long as he surrounded the imperial city, he could block the reinforcements.
Therefore, Meng Liangyu concluded that the eldest prince would take action tonight.
Ji Rui's only mission in the palace tonight is to get rid of the queen and her son for him.
The queen and her legitimate son died in the rebellion, and then reinforcements arrived and executed the eldest prince.
Then the only candidate for the position of crown prince in the future would be the third prince.
"So... you're the third brother's man..."
The Queen gradually came to her senses. Her eyes were completely dull and lifeless. After a long silence, she suddenly crawled forward, her slender fingers tightly grasping Ji Sui's long robe that dragged on the ground. Her demure face was covered with tears. "This palace... This palace is willing to die, can you... can you let Rui'er go? This is all my fault. He is still a child, he doesn't understand anything... I gave birth to him, but I couldn't give him a healthy life... It's all my fault..."
The beautiful woman was crying. In Ji Sui's memory, there was another woman like this.
She also cried heart-wrenchingly to him.
"Giving birth to you is the most disgusting thing I have ever done in my life! Why do you want to survive? Why don't you just die! You deserve to die!! You deserve to die!"
"Don't call me mother! I'm not your mother! You're just the lowest servant in this house. No! You're even lower than them!"
“Mother…Mother…!”
The crying of the fifth prince pulled Ji Bai back from the depths of his memory. When he looked at the queen again, he didn't know when she picked up the sword that Ji Bai had dropped on the ground and stabbed it straight into her abdomen.
"Please... please let him go."
The queen's blood-stained hands twisted Ji Bai's robe, and her bloodshot eyes stared at him intently, as if she would not close her eyes unless she got his consent.
"……good."
After a while, Ji Sui found his own voice in the quiet Buddhist temple.
The force at the corner of the clothes disappeared. Ji Bai looked at the woman lying on the ground. Her brows were relaxed, as if she had passed away without any pain.
Ji Rui leaned on the sandalwood chair, slowly stood up and walked out.
"General! The Fifth Prince cannot be kept alive!" A soldier followed Ji Sui's steps and stopped him, saying, "The Queen's mother's family..."
"Who said that this general would keep him?"
Ji Sui just said the last sentence lightly and walked out of the Buddhist hall.
*
At the hour of Yin, Shizhu arrived with reinforcements outside the palace. The rebels, who had been fighting for a long time, were now exhausted.
In the end, the eldest prince committed suicide on the dragon throne in the Purple Palace, and the remaining soldiers surrendered. The entire process took less than an hour.
Ji Sui stood in front of the palace gate, with the palace city surrounded by fireworks behind him.
"General!"
Shi Zhu put away the sword in his hand and was about to step forward, but saw Ji Bai suddenly fall down. At the moment his knees touched the ground, Ji Bai stabbed the sword in his hand hard on the ground, barely supporting his body and kneeling on one knee.
"General!!"
Shi Zhu hurried over and helped Ji Bai up from the ground. As soon as the man stood firm, Shi Zhu felt a sharp pain in his chest. He was kicked down by Ji Bai.
Shi Zhu rubbed his chest and slowly climbed up. Looking at Ji Bai's staggering body, he wanted to reach out to support him, but before he could touch the corner of his clothes, he was punched hard in the mouth again.
This time, Shizhu couldn't get up easily. He supported himself on the ground with his elbows, half-raised his body, and looked at Ji Sui intently.
The collar of his clothes was fiercely lifted up by someone. Ji Sui glared at him fiercely and said through gritted teeth: "This is the first time, and the last time."
After saying this, Ji Sui used his sword to support himself, stood up, and walked towards the carriage prepared at the palace gate.
Today was the first time that Shizhu secretly disobeyed Ji Sui's wishes.
Yes, he had received the news a long time ago that Lin Zhen would enter the palace with other female musicians from the Music Bureau. He did not stop it, and he even secretly detained the person who was about to report the news to his master.
He really wanted Lin Zhen to die in this rebellion. At least, his master would not be shaken by her again.
Inside the carriage, Shi Zhu silently bandaged Ji Sui's wounds, not daring to speak for a long time. Only when he noticed the direction the carriage was heading did he ask, "General...are you still going to the Jiaofangsi?"
"What else? Go back to the General's Mansion and wait for death?"
"..." Shizhu tactfully shut her mouth again.
Ji Sui was seriously injured. He couldn't guarantee that the old man Meng Liangyu would not have a sudden impulse and kill him tonight. The best plan was that he must not go back to the general's mansion.
*
Lin Zhen was sent back to the Jiaofangsi by Kong Jinghe, and the child was also taken away by Kong Jinghe. She had seen that person with her father, and her father seemed to value him very much.
Even though it seemed that he was working for Ji Sui now, Lin Zhen still trusted him for no reason.
Kyoto was in turmoil due to rebellion, and Lin Zhen couldn't help but worry about Lin Yue. She wanted to send Lin Yue out of the capital as soon as possible.
Perhaps because he had just experienced a life-threatening crisis tonight, it was almost 3 a.m. and Lin Zhen was still tossing and turning on the couch.
There was a sudden noise outside the door. Lin Zhen quickly got off the bed. She opened the door barefoot, but there was no one outside.
Hongye was sleeping on a low couch near the door. She dimly saw Lin Zhen get up and asked with concern, "What's wrong, girl?"
"It's nothing, just go to sleep." Lin Zhen closed the door and sat down at the table in the room.
Hongye had stood up. With the help of the bright moonlight, she lit the candle on the table. The dim candlelight illuminated Lin Zhen's face. Hongye then realized that the girl's forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat.
How could the girl not be frightened by such a scene today? But she was a quiet person, so even if she was frightened, she would not show it.
"I had nothing to do during the day, so I dried two buckets of water in the yard. It's still warm now. Soak in it, you'll sleep better."
Lin Zhen didn't say anything, so Hongye went to prepare.
Warm water can indeed soothe one's mind. Lin Zhen leaned on the wooden barrel, and his brows gradually relaxed.
A quarter of an hour later, Hongye helped Lin Zhen up from the bucket. When she was packing Lin Yue's clothes last time, a blue shirt fell down. Before she could put it away, Hongye just put the blue shirt on Lin Zhen.
Lin Zhen straightened his clothes and was about to put out the candle when the door was pushed open from outside.
A dark figure fell to the ground. Hongye was startled and didn't dare to move forward. After a while, she whispered to Lin Zhen, "It seems... it's him."
Although it was the middle of the night, Hongye still didn't want anyone to know that Ji Sui was here.
She wanted to drag Ji Bai into the house, but she didn't have the strength. After a moment, Lin Zhen also came forward to help her, and the two of them worked together to drag Ji Bai into the room.
After that, Hongye retreated.
Ji Bai occupied the entire doorway. Lin Zhen wanted to help him up, but the moment he half-sat up and leaned against the wall, he pulled Lin Zhen into his arms.
"cold……"
When Lin Zhen was struggling to get up, he heard this word from his mouth.
A fresh fragrance wafted into his nose. It was the agarwood that Lin Zhen often used when he was in the Lin Mansion. It was light and elegant. Ji Sui unconsciously hugged the person in his arms tighter.
He seemed to be back to three years ago, the young man who escaped from the sea of fire. After living on the streets for half a month and sharing food with dogs, he finally waited for the people from the Lin Mansion on the roadside as he wished.
He robbed a group of scoundrels who often begged on the street and was chased and beaten all over the street.
He knew that the Lin Mansion's sedan chair would pass by there.
Before he completely passed out, he vaguely saw someone stepping out of the sedan chair.
She was wearing a duck egg blue long skirt and a snow-white velvet-edged feathered cloak, and was followed by a short little girl.
Unlike the girl's frightened look, she just looked at him from a distance, as if she was sizing him up and thinking about something.
Just when he thought his plan was going to fail, she walked towards him.
A warm feeling blocked his breath. The girl's cold fingertips brushed across his lips. He heard a low murmur: "...seems to be still alive."
Then, he was lifted up, and a warm cloak wrapped in agarwood fell on his shoulders. The girl's clear voice rang in his ears: "Take him back to the mansion."
His goal was achieved.
But for some reason, his first reaction at that time was not joy or pride.
But...
So warm...
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