Chapter 654 Brother and Sister Reunion (Seeking guaranteed monthly ticket at the beginning of the month)
"Your Majesty." Zhao Duan stood at the door of the study, slightly stunned.
Unlike the empress's rational and graceful aura when they met in the past, he saw a hint of sadness in Xu Zhenguan's eyes.
He took a deep breath, turned around and closed the door, then said tentatively:
"I heard that His Majesty returned this morning and went to see Master Sun."
The "see" here refers to seeing the corpse.
With all the hardships the empress has gone through now, there are not many things that can make her sad.
Sun Lianying’s death is one of them.
"Yes." Xu Zhenguan nodded slightly, and said calmly:
"I heard that he left on the day I went to war?"
Zhao Duan nodded and said:
"Grand Tutor Dong said that Master Sun couldn't have held on until then, but perhaps he held on to see the day when the civil unrest in Yu State stopped, so..."
He began to talk about the last time he saw Sun Lianying before her death, the words they exchanged, sweeping the empress's former residence, and reminiscing about the past.
Xu Zhenguan listened quietly until he finished speaking. Then she sighed softly and said for no reason:
"I wonder when Mochou will be back."
One of the two servants closest to the empress since she was a child has died, and now only Mo Zhaorong is left.
After she finished speaking, she shook her head and said self-deprecatingly:
"I almost forgot. The Liao people in the south are invading. She is supervising the army in the south. Even if she pacifies the remnants of Prince Jing's Mansion, she will have to stay there for a long time."
Zhao Duan said tactfully:
"If everything goes well, it probably won't take too long."
Xu Zhenguan didn't understand and thought he was trying to comfort him. He smiled and regained his rational and calm imperial temperament:
"Don't worry. I've seen so many people off along the way, I'm used to it. By the way, you've arrived just in time. I vaguely felt the earth shaking in the direction of Yunfu yesterday. Do you know what happened? Has the operation against DJI been launched?"
This is the real reason why she takes time to come back even when she is on the road.
It had only been four days since he had embarked on his western expedition, and Xu Zhenguan rationally did not believe that the search for the key would yield any breakthrough.
Therefore, her greater concern is whether Da Laba will invade the territory.
Only a powerful being of this level could create such movement that she could vaguely sense it even though she was thousands of miles away.
Facing the empress's bright gaze, Zhao Duan pondered for a moment and said slowly:
"It's a long story..."
Xu Zhenguan walked to the chair and sat down, motioning him to sit down as well, and said calmly:
"I have plenty of time. I want to see how long your words are."
You may have sat down too early... Zhao Duan muttered in his heart, thought about it, and chose to speak directly:
"It's like this. Actually, I just returned to Beijing and have already got the key."
The Empress's delicate hand had just picked up the blue and white porcelain cup on the table covered with bright yellow silk when her wrist trembled...
She looked over suddenly, with a hint of surprise in her beautiful eyes, and stood up suddenly:
"What did you say?"
See, I told you that you sat down too early, didn’t I? Zhao Duan had no choice but to explain patiently:
"In fact, on the day of His Majesty's Western Expedition, I, along with Zhang Tianshi and his disciples, entered Dajiang through the secret door under the Imperial Ancestral Temple..."
Then, he told the whole story, how he and his men bumped into Man Gu and killed him.
A plan was made, with Zhang Yanyi leading Da Laba away. The three of them successfully sneaked into La Garden and finally encountered Tuoba Weizhi, who told the story.
As he spoke, he took out the two "jade balls" from the Taixu scroll and presented them to the empress like treasures.
After the empress looked at the images recorded in the two jade balls one by one, even though she was mentally prepared, she was still deeply shocked.
"It turns out to be like this... Da Laba is actually a god created by the Qi people..."
"Did Emperor Taizu inherit the Liao people's 'legacy' back then? And for hundreds of years, successive emperors have sent people there?"
Xu Zhenguan was deeply shocked. This secret was not even recorded in Emperor Taizu's notes.
However, when she thought about it carefully, she had seen some difficult to understand and unclear sentences when she was reading Taizu's notes recently. Now, combined with this old event, some of the praises in the notes suddenly became clear to her.
Zhao Duan nodded:
"Xu Jianwen somehow learned of this secret and replaced the Liao people's leader with Song Zhi, which led to the Liao people's northward migration."
The empress was momentarily distracted, then paced around the room, seemingly trying to digest the news.
After a moment, she stopped, looked at him, and said approvingly:
"This information is very important. I couldn't figure out why the Liao people sent troops before. Now that I know it was Jian Wen who was behind it, it's much better than being completely confused."
She frowned again:
"However, this will make the Liaoren tribe even more difficult to deal with."
Even if Dalaba cannot be invaded easily, the damage caused by the combination of the powerful Liao people and Xu Jianwen, the guide, will be astonishing.
She bit her lip, thinking about how to respond next.
But Zhao Duan's next words once again caused the empress's brain to briefly crash.
"Actually... the Liao people have already withdrawn," Zhao Duan said tactfully.
"After escaping from Dajiang, I assisted Zhao Shixiong, borrowed Zhang Tianshi's sword, killed the foremost warrior Poyun, the traitor Qi Yuchun, and captured many generals..."
He repeated this paragraph.
"..." Xu Zhenguan's eyes widened slightly, his eyes were unfriendly, and he asked suspiciously:
"Are you trying to cheer me up?"
Zhao Duan was at a loss for words: "Your Majesty, am I such a frivolous person?"
The empress nodded seriously: "Yes!"
This guy loves to talk nonsense!
"..." His reputation was damaged, his reputation was damaged... Zhao Duan took a deep breath and tried to make himself look sincere:
"At least I never joke about important matters, right?"
That’s true... Xu Zhenguan finally nodded doubtfully, and then felt a sense of unreality.
I've only been away for four days, and the Liao people have already withdrawn... Even though I'm already familiar with Zhao Duan's ability to get things done, and I know he's quick, this time it was too quick...
Zhao Duan finally released the trump card:
"There is one more thing... During that battle, I successfully captured Xu Jianwen. He is now in the palace, awaiting your majesty's decision."
This time, the empress really lost her composure.
Xu Jianwen! He caught him?!
Xu Zhenguan breathed rapidly, took a step forward, and said urgently:
"Really? He's in the palace?"
Zhao Duan nodded and said in a deep voice:
"Your Majesty, do you want to see me now?"
After a moment of silence, the empress nodded.
…
…
Zhao Duan walked out the door, leaving Xu Zhenguan alone waiting in the study in a state of panic.
Even though she already knew that Jian Wen was still alive, she still couldn't help but feel emotional when they actually met again.
But after all, she is no longer the third princess.
When Zhao Duan led Tuoba Weizhi over, the empress had regained her cold and majestic demeanor.
"Are you Tuoba Weizhi?"
Xu Zhenguan looked down at the dark-skinned priestess with a strange look in his eyes.
Tuoba Weizhi bowed respectfully and said, "Your Majesty."
Seeing the existence that was suspected to be the reincarnation of the Prince of Qi, standing in front of him in the form of a woman, Xu Zhenguan still felt it was a little unreal even though he was used to the ups and downs of life.
She nodded and said nothing more, just said:
"Where is Jian Wen?"
Zhao Duan gave a signal, and Tuoba Weizhi threw the black cloth bag in his hand to the ground. He untied the bag, and a man with his eyes closed, like a "vegetable", rolled out.
His eyebrows and eyes are somewhat similar to those of the empress, and his brows are furrowed even when he is sleeping.
Second brother... "King Wen" Jianwen... it's really you... Xu Zhenguan's eyes were complicated.
Zhao Duan sighed softly, waved his hand, ordered Tuoba Weizhi to go out first, and then said:
"Your Majesty, shall I go out and wait?"
"No need." Xu Zhenguan took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and then said:
"You stay."
Tuoba Weizhi curled his lips and went out alone again.
After the door was closed, the "卍" symbol appeared between Zhao Duan's eyebrows again, lifting the spell's ban on his five senses.
Xu Jianwen took a deep breath, as if he had had a long nightmare, and emerged from the dark seabed!
He suddenly opened his eyes and flapped his hands subconsciously. He felt dizzy and dazed at first, not knowing where he was.
I only vaguely remember that I was caught up by Zhao Duan, and then I lost my perception of the outside world.
Suddenly, he heard a faint voice:
"Royal brother, long time no see."
The two words "Royal Brother" were pronounced with great force, and no emotion could be heard in them, only coldness and hidden hatred.
Xu Jianwen was stunned for a moment, and his blurry vision gradually became clear. He saw his third sister looking down at him from a high place... No, it should be the Queen of Yu State.
He also saw a certain Zhao who was standing next to the empress and made him jealous.
In an instant, Xu Jianwen understood everything. He fell silent. After a moment, he raised his head again, his face calm, even with a slight smile, as if he still wanted to maintain due decency:
"Third sister, it looks like I've lost this round."
There was silence in the imperial study.
The half-siblings looked at each other. At this moment, Zhao Duan, as a spectator, felt as if the air had frozen.
After several years, we met again.
How will relatives who have been fighting each other for a long time meet each other?
Xu Zhenguan had mixed feelings. After learning that Jianwen was not dead, she had imagined countless times what she would say if they met again in the future. Would she scold him for killing his brother and father?
Cold-blooded fratricide?
Or do you mock and ridicule, belittling the opponent's countless schemes, which will ultimately be in vain? Or do you suppress them with force, using a thousand kinds of punishment?
But when it really came to this moment, Xu Zhenguan found that her heart was calm. The anger and hatred in her heart were all empty, and she had no intention of bringing up those old things again.
After the hanging stone fell, she just wanted this "relative" in front of her to disappear.
"Why aren't you talking?" Xu Jianwen smiled.
"The victor is the king and the loser is the bandit. Now that I'm in your hands, don't you want to say something?"
Zhao Duan smacked his lips and said:
"If you laugh again, I'll spank you."
"..."Xu Jianwen restrained his smile.
Xu Zhenguan took a deep breath, closed his eyes, opened them again, and said in a cold tone:
"Why."
She was finally able to ask the question face to face:
"Why did you do all this in the first place?"
Why did they launch the Xuanmen coup, why did they kill each other, why did they have to let this country collapse and the people suffer.
Xu Jianwen said calmly, "Do you really want an answer?"
"Speak." The empress closed her eyes.
At this moment, Xu Jianwen's eyes finally revealed a hint of mockery, but it was unclear whether he was mocking himself or the Empress:
"Sister, are you really stupid, or do you have the answer in your heart, but insist on asking me to say it? Why? Why am I unwilling to be an idle prince and must seize power?
You should ask our dead father for the answer!"
The old emperor? Zhao Duan was surprised.
Xu Jianwen's eyes were filled with mockery, as if he realized that death was imminent and all his plans would be in vain. He displayed the demeanor of a dying hero:
"Dayu has been passed down for six hundred years. Even though the national treasury was depleted and local noble families emerged in large numbers, during the reign of our father, the royal family's authority remained solid and unshaken.
He certainly wasn't a wise ruler, but he was a master of political tactics. Let me ask you, if my father planned to pass power to the crown prince smoothly, whether I had ambition or not, how could I have the ability to launch a Xuanmen coup?"
Xu Jianwen said self-deprecatingly:
"No! I can't! I have no military merits, no official status, no team brought from my mother's womb, and I don't even have an outstanding talent for cultivation. How dare I plot? How could I plot?
But I still have a large group of followers and many supporters. When I raise my arm and call for help, everyone from Master Zhuang to Qi Yuchun are willing to make a life-or-death deal with me. Why?
Isn't it because of our beloved father's deliberate indulgence?!"
He sneered and said:
"During those years, who in the capital couldn't see that my father was deliberately letting me form my own team, deliberately letting me grow up, and deliberately letting me oppose the Crown Prince?
You can't see it? Or who can't see it? Everyone understands it!
He understood that according to the ancestral system, when the prince grew up, he should gradually take over some power, and then ascend the throne when his father grew old.
But my father may not be willing to do so. He only wants to be an emperor supported by the whole world, and he is most afraid of someone defying his authority and taking away his power!
But what is the Crown Prince doing? He pretends to be a benevolent ruler, trying to win people's hearts everywhere, even sparing a small eunuch like Ma Yan... Is Father really happy to see all this?"
Xu Jianwen shook his head and said disdainfully:
"He didn't want to. So he supported me, openly and covertly, even conveying his intention to depose the crown prince and favor me, the second in command. What could I do?
I can only do as he wishes and fight the Crown Prince, so that the Emperor won't worry about his son becoming too powerful and forcibly seizing his power!"
"But has he ever cared about my life or death?" Xu Jianwen sneered emotionally, his eyes filled with resentment.
"He used me as a tool to compete with the Crown Prince for many years. Before he passed away, he still wanted to pass the throne to the Crown Prince. Would he eliminate me so that the Crown Prince could take the throne safely?
"Well, even if he still has a little mercy in his heart and gives me a piece of land and tells me, King Wen, to get out of here, what about the Crown Prince? How can he trust me and let me go?!"
Xu Jianwen's eyes were icy. At that moment, although he slumped on the ground, looking up at the empress, he seemed to be the emperor sitting on the dragon throne, cold and resolute.
"So, Third Sister, why do you have to ask me for an answer? Can't you see through these principles?
From the moment my father pushed me to the forefront, from the moment I first rode with Master Zhuang as a teenager and hinted this truth to him, there was no turning back.
Only one of me and the prince can survive, so why should I be the one to die?!"
(End of this chapter)
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