Chapter 655: A Loud Slap (Seeking monthly tickets at the beginning of the month!)
Why should I be the one to die?!
In the imperial study, Xu Jianwen had a sneer on his lips. He sat slumped on the ground, but his eyes were like knives, piercing the empress's face.
It’s bad!
Zhao Duan's heart moved, and he looked at Zhenbao with some worry, fearing to see any trace of sympathy on the empress's face.
It must be admitted that Xu Jianwen's words were indeed moving.
If this were a drama, Zhao Duan believed that the audience would applaud and change their opinion of this prince who was plotting to usurp the throne.
Zhao Duan did not deny the truthfulness of Xu Jianwen's words.
Looking through history books, we can see that fratricide has always been a common occurrence in imperial families since ancient times. This was not always due to ambition, but was also often caused by necessity.
However, based on his understanding of Xu Jianwen, he was definitely not a gentle person.
The two pursuits in Huting and the border town made Zhao Duan realize that he was a hero who had no feelings for his subordinates and would fight to the death even in desperate situations.
Therefore, he keenly judged that Xu Jianwen's words were a performance, a performance targeting the empress's character flaws!
The purpose is to find a way to survive in desperate situations.
If the empress was really moved by his words and showed mercy... he was secretly sweating.
Xu Zhenguan spoke with a cold expression.
She had no expression, like a statue on a shrine:
"I know what you said, but I know even more that you are still trying to deceive me until this moment."
She said calmly:
"Father has indeed lifted you up, but do you really have no way out? You've been exceptionally intelligent since childhood, one of the most intelligent among the princes. Your biological mother has been teaching you the tactics and strategies for vying for power since you were young. I've seen it all, and I've remembered it in my heart. I've never forgotten it.
You are so precocious, but it is because you were chosen by your father that you have to stand against the prince.
Or did you see through your father's intentions very early on, so you deliberately showed off, made friends, and strived to be the first in everything?
You tried your best to stand out from your many brothers and sisters, and were finally chosen by your father to support you?
You know this best in your heart."
Xu Jianwen was silent.
Xu Zhenguan paused for a moment, as if recalling the snowy winter of the Xuanmen coup:
"Let's take a step back. Even if you were forced to launch a coup to protect yourself, what did you do?
In fact, if I hadn't appeared that day and broken the situation, you would have succeeded.
At that time, you could have forged an imperial edict to exile the prince to Lingnan and replace him yourself. Well, even if you killed the prince to eliminate future troubles, you also killed the rest of the brothers and sisters in the palace.
How did they threaten you?
You even didn't let go of two of the princesses... Such behavior, haha, doesn't seem to mean 'forced' at all!"
The Empress paused again, as if coming back to her senses from her memories. The slight pain she had felt from witnessing the bloody scene that day faded away, and she said teasingly:
“But even if the Xuanmen coup fails, you still have a way out.
Because you didn't die, you were really smart. You had even prepared for the possibility of your failure. At this time, you had faked your death and concealed it from everyone. You could have hidden your identity and escaped from the royal cage, but you didn't.
You hid behind Zhuang Xiaocheng and used the Kuangfu Society to cause continuous destruction, even at the cost of causing many deaths.
No, more than that, let me guess, you were secretly instigating the rebellion of Prince Jing and others, right?"
Xu Zhenguan's eyes flashed with a color called "contempt" and he said:
"You must understand that the Kuangfu Society alone can't stir up much trouble, so even though you're still alive, you're still hiding and distorting the truth to discredit me...
At one time, I thought that this smear was just a simple attack, but later I realized that you were creating momentum and giving the Eight Kings an excuse to rebel.
Only because I obtained the throne in an illegitimate way could Xu Wen, Xu Jingtang and others think of seizing the throne. Your real purpose is to drive the tiger to devour the wolf, causing the court to fight with the eight kings, while you hide in the dark.
Just wait until both sides have fought to the point of bloodshed, leaving both sides severely weakened. Or even wait until I am overthrown, and then you, the prince, will stage a magnificent return, bringing the Liaoren army down from the sky...
Oh, at that time, you had the military support of the Liao people and the righteous reputation of being a legitimate prince. It was really a good plan! "
Xu Jianwen opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but was interrupted by the empress:
“Unfortunately, you didn’t expect that the State of Yu would produce Zhao Qing.
Your great plan was shattered into pieces. After Xu Jingtang died, you could no longer hide, so you took the risk of showing up, met Xu Wen, surrendered yourself, and tried to kill Zhao Qing. However, you still miscalculated.
Xu Wen is dead, and your plan has almost failed.
At this time, you already have a way out. You can hide in the southwest border. With the protection of Laba, you can live a comfortable life in the second half of your life.
But the invasion of the people from the Western Regions gave you new hope, so even though it risked the whole world's condemnation, you still chose to send troops at this critical juncture, wanting to take advantage of the opportunity, and for this purpose you did not hesitate to point your sword at the people of the Yu State.
No... It's not that you don't care. From the beginning to the end, you have never cared about how many families will be destroyed and how many innocent people will be killed in the war that swept across the State of Yu. You have never cared.
Just like you never cared about those who were loyal to you in the Kuangfu Society, and only regarded them as tools.
Ren Kun, Qi Yuchun, Zhuang Xiaocheng... you abandoned them one by one... and yet you still have the audacity to say you were forced to do this?"
Xu Zhenguan smiled, a smile that chilled him, a smile that was filled with melancholy and sadness:
"Xu Jianwen, you once had countless ways to escape, but you never chose any of them. Now you tell me that you have no choice. Isn't that laughable?"
good!
Zhao Duan wanted to clap his hands after hearing this, and the worries in his heart also dissipated. After experiencing the Rebellion of the Eight Kings in the past two years, the empress had already undergone earth-shaking changes.
Now she is more like a qualified emperor.
…
silence.
There was silence in the study.
Xu Jianwen seemed speechless. After a while, he finally laughed. His smile was calm and very... complicated.
Xu Jianwen looked up at the Empress, trying to connect the woman before him with the third sister in his memory, a woman of exceptional talent yet overly concerned with family ties...
But failed.
He smiled and said, "It seems that the girl who used to cry behind me and the prince has grown up."
After a pause, he exhaled deeply. The "anger" and "grievance" that had been squeezed out of his eyes during the performance just now disappeared. Xu Jianwen finally lowered his head:
"I lost."
At this moment, facing the iron-blooded empress, he finally gave up the last bit of hope in his heart.
Then……
He raised his head again and asked seriously:
"Your guesses are good, but I'm still curious. How do you know I'm lying to you? Just because of these guesses? Or maybe..."
He turned his head to look at Zhao Duan and said quietly:
"Is it this pretty boy who whispered in your ear?"
Zhao Duan was unhappy and waved his fist, and Xu Jianwen fell silent.
Xu Zhenguan shook his head and said lightly:
“Because it deceives the real person.
Although the demon is called "Guhuo", his evil methods will never deceive people out of thin air. He will only pounce on people and offer slanderous words when he sees their inner desires.
So since Guhuo is following you, it means he has seen your desire for power."
After a brief pause, the empress suddenly said:
"In fact, you are the one who is most like Father among his many descendants. You are cold, selfish, and greedy for power."
Xu Jianwen did not refute, but just closed his eyes:
"I see... I understand. If you have any other questions, please ask them all at once."
So cooperative?
Zhao Duan was surprised, then understood a little:
People like Xu Jianwen will never give up until the very end, but if they realize that they have really failed miserably, they will be particularly relieved.
The empress thought for a moment and asked:
"I wonder if you will be resurrected if I kill you."
Zhao Duan looked at her in surprise and thought to himself, has Zhenbao become smarter?
He almost overlooked it himself.
Guhuo Zhenren has been resurrected several times, so if Xu Jianwen dies... wouldn't that be like letting a tiger return to the mountain?
Xu Jianwen smiled and shook his head:
"My resurrection was accomplished only once, at great cost, by the beguiling of the Dark Cult.
It's not just me. He's also the one who has devoured the wealth accumulated by generations of this lineage of cultists. He should only have one life left. But you don't have to believe me."
The Empress did not comment and asked again:
"One more question, how did you learn so many royal secrets? Who told you?"
Xu Jianwen smiled:
"You have a concubine to help you, and I also have a woman to help me."
Princess Wen?
No, that's not right... But besides her, which other woman does Xu Jianwen have?
Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, and pricked up his little ears, eager for gossip.
Then, he and the empress heard a name.
…
…
Jizhao nunnery.
As the only nunnery in the capital, this place has always been quiet. In the past, when Shenlong Temple was at its peak, there were few vehicles and people passing by this side.
Whether they are high-ranking officials or nuns in a nunnery, they are accustomed to avoiding criticism from others.
Even though the former owner of this place was Prajna Bodhisattva who was not very self-disciplined and advocated "indulgence".
After the destruction of Shenlong Temple, the surrounding area became increasingly deserted. People in the city would avoid it if they happened to pass by, for fear that the "Zhao Ya Ya Wang" hiding in the dark would misunderstand that they came to summon the souls of Shenlong Temple.
But today, there was an unusual bustle in Jizhao Temple.
Inside the tightly closed door and outside the meditation room, the nuns were chattering and making a mess, most of them running around like ants on a hot pan.
A small number of people came in and out carrying copper basins filled with hot water, scissors, blood-stained silk cloth and other items...
From time to time, a woman's screams of pain could be heard from the Zen room.
"If it doesn't work, let's find a midwife." A young nun couldn't help but say.
The nun next to her immediately interrupted:
"What are you thinking? I dare to invite them, but do they dare to come? Besides, giving birth in a nunnery, and to the eldest princess... If this gets out, do you all want to die?!"
The little nuns were so frightened that they dared not say a word.
"But..." The young nun clenched her fists and looked into the meditation room in panic. Her cries gradually became weaker and weaker, and her face was sad.
"But if people die... we can't survive, right?"
After several months of pregnancy, Princess Yunyang finally gave birth today.
But how could a group of nuns have the experience of delivering babies?
They could only hurriedly take out the medical books in the temple, read from the books, and ask a few brave people to deliver the baby.
But in the blink of an eye, more than an hour passed and the baby was still not born.
“Quack—”
Suddenly, accompanied by Princess Yunyang's high-pitched and sharp scream, the sound of a child crying suddenly came from the Zen room!
An elderly nun ran out excitedly, her face flushed:
"It's born! It's born!"
The large group of nuns all breathed a sigh of relief, and some even fell to the ground, as if they were the ones who gave birth to the child.
A moment later.
After some processing, the nuns guarding outside were allowed to enter the meditation room.
In the meditation room, which had been cleaned but still looked messy and dirty, Princess Yunyang was lying on the couch.
She was wearing a loose monk's robe, her black hair was disheveled, her face was weak and pale, the hair on her forehead was wet and stuck to her skin, and she seemed to have been drained of all her strength.
She was wrapped in blankets, and beside her was a small swaddling cloth, inside which was a wrinkled baby with its eyes closed.
The newborn baby is not yet old enough to feed, and it seems that it has used up a lot of energy struggling to break away from the mother's body, and is now sleeping soundly.
Yunyang stared blankly at the beams of the Zen room, not knowing what he was thinking.
A group of nuns held their breath and stood cautiously at the door. The scene was extremely strange.
"Bang!"
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door outside Jizhao Temple.
Broke the tranquility.
After a while, a group of imperial guards rushed in and shouted:
"Princess Yunyang is invited to enter the palace!"
The leading nun was startled, wondering if the news of the birth had spread. Could His Majesty be so foresighted?
That’s not right… Didn’t His Majesty go on a western expedition?
The nun didn't have time to think and hurriedly waved her hands and said:
"No, no, the eldest princess just gave birth and is very weak..."
The imperial guards were also stunned for a moment, looking at each other, but then with a blank expression, they drew their swords with a "swish":
"Lord Zhao has ordered that even if it rains knives from the sky, you must take him away!"
The nuns were trembling with fear.
At this time, Yun Yang walked out of the Zen room door, weakly holding onto the door frame, his eyes calm:
"I'll go with you."
…
The imperial guards finally took into consideration that Yunyang was a member of the royal family, so they took the trouble to get a sedan chair for him.
After giving birth, Yunyang was carried into the palace.
Inside the sedan chair.
Yunyang, wearing monk's robes and holding a swaddled baby in his arms, looked expressionlessly through the "window" of the sedan chair at the capital city at noon on a spring day.
After being under house arrest for over a year, she thought she would be as happy as a bird out of a cage when she was released, but unexpectedly, she felt no emotion at all.
We crossed Zhuque Street, entered the imperial city gate, and then entered the palace city gate.
When Yunyang, holding the child, was led by several female officials to the outside of the imperial study, her forehead was already covered in sweat.
I was already exhausted after giving birth, and I forced myself to walk here, so I was finally exhausted.
However, Yunyang still bit his lips tightly and pushed open the door of the study with a cold look.
“Squeak—”
The sunlight shone into the room from behind her, and she saw the empress in white sitting behind the imperial desk.
He saw his enemy Zhao Duan sitting next to the empress and reading the memorials.
Then……
Yunyang saw Xu Jianwen sitting powerlessly on the ground, cross-legged like a monk, facing the door.
Yunyang was shocked all over, as if he had seen a ghost!
Scream out loud!
Xu Jianwen opened his eyes and looked at the swaddling clothes in her arms in surprise, then smiled without any fluctuation in his eyes:
"aunt."
The next moment, the stunned Princess Yunyang suddenly rushed in, rushed in front of Xu Jianwen, and stared at the familiar face.
“Bang!”
Yunyang suddenly slapped Xu Jianwen hard in the face, and tears welled up in his eyes.
——
ps: This plot line is finally taken back...
(End of this chapter)
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