General Zhao was like a teacher, a father and a friend to him, and he was like a man who saved his life.
When General Zhao was alive, he praised Gu Ce highly, saying that he was "a general and a prime minister, with talents in both civil and military affairs unparalleled in the world."
At that time, Wang Nanzeng believed it.
Just like every word that old General Thaksin had said to him in the past.
However, General Zhao died in battle nine years ago in Yangzhou.
He was killed by Gu Ce!
It was because Gu Ce opened the city gate and surrendered to the enemy that Dajing was defeated and General Zhao died. His body was dismembered and even his head was hung on the city wall by the Yue people as a demonstration.
Wang Nan, who was standing at the door of the private room, exuded a fierce aura. He slowly and stiffly turned around and met Chu Yi with a gloomy look.
A murderous look welled up between his brows. He sneered and cast his angry eyes on Gu Yanfei's face. He said bitterly, "Yes. General Zhao trusted Gu Ce and gave him his life, but he was killed by Gu Ce."
"The only person the old general has ever misjudged in his life is Gu Ce!"
He squeezed out the last sentence slowly from between his teeth, his expression was extremely indignant, with a bit of sadness and regret.
He was breathing rapidly, veins on his neck were visible, and his eyes were burning like fire and sharp like knives.
No one had any doubt that if Gu Ce was in front of him now, he would kill him with a knife without hesitation.
Chu Yi met Wang Nan's sharp and sinister gaze without dodging or evading. He was not at all overwhelmed by the other party's momentum. His expression remained calm. He said, "What happened back then? General Wang, you are not here, so you don't have the final say."
"You don't know right from wrong!" Wang Nan scolded, "My Lord, for the sake of beauty, you don't know right from wrong and disregard justice. How can a person like you be a king?"
"My Lord, you are so disappointing!"
Wang Nan became more and more excited as he spoke, his eye sockets were filled with bloodshot and veins bulging.
It seemed as if there was a furious rhinoceros roaring in his heart. In addition to the anger, there was also a hint of deep and difficult to appease disappointment.
A person like Chu Yi who can't distinguish between public and private affairs is actually the emperor's only son and the future emperor of Dajing!
Dajing's future is in danger! Wang Nan left with a heavy sigh, feeling that he couldn't stay here for a moment.
As he stepped out of the private room, Chu You's questioning voice rang out from behind him: "Then, Ah Yi, who do you think had the final say about what happened back then?"
"Wasn't the Emperor's uncle also in Yangzhou back then?" Chu Yi asked calmly.
Wang Nan paused slightly in the corridor.
"What do you mean?" Chu You instantly restrained his expression, the smile on the corner of his lips disappeared, and his tone became cold and hard.
Chu Yi smiled without saying anything and picked up the teacup again.
There was silence in the private room. Chu You stared at Chu Yi without blinking, as if he wanted to pierce through his exterior and see into his heart. However, Chu Yi just drank his tea gracefully, without the slightest change in his expression. Even the hand holding the teacup was very steady, without the slightest tremor.
There was no clue at all from Chu Yi's expression. On the one hand, Chu You was filled with rage, and on the other hand, he became even more wary of Chu Yi.
Yuan Zhe quietly pulled Chu You's sleeve from under the table and coughed dryly, hinting to him that since his goal had been achieved, he should not fall into the trap of the eldest prince and act impulsively again.
Although General Jianwei Wang Nan did not have a title, he was a first-rank military general. He had great prestige among the generals in the court and had many friends. He was also praised by those nobles.
The biggest gain today was letting Wang Nan see that the eldest prince disregarded right and wrong for the sake of his beloved and vindicated Gu Ce.
Chu You naturally understood what Yuan Zhe's eyes meant. Although some details were beyond their expectations, the overall development was still as they wished.
Today's trip was rushed, but the harvest was great...
Chu You gritted his teeth, suppressed the restless beast in his heart, and did not move forward.
Chu You sighed and quickly organized his words in his mind: "Ayi, it's not that I, as your uncle, won't help you. Gu Ce did surrender to the enemy back then. The evidence is solid."
"Don't make mistakes because of beauty..."
His few words were equivalent to putting the hat of "beauty leads to the country's downfall" on Chu Yi's head, implying that it was Gu Yanfei who instigated Chu Yi to do so.
“Puff.”
Gu Yanfei's crisp laughter interrupted the turbulent atmosphere, making Chu You slightly stunned.
Gu Yanfei smiled as beautifully as a flower. She didn't even look at Chu You. She tilted her little face to look at Chu Yi's perfect profile.
Why did she feel that her beauty was not as good as his? His honor. Chu Yi also smiled, his eyebrows and eyes were gentle.
Chu You almost flipped the table when these two people acted as if they were alone, but he forced himself to hold back. He glanced at Baili Yin, expecting him to react.
But--
Baili Yin was completely absent-minded, his eyes were wandering, and no one knew what he was thinking. He did not even look at Gu Yanfei, but drank alone, one glass after another, and he was drinking a little too fast.
Chu You's face froze again.
Yuan Zhe was also looking at Baili Yin, his brows slightly furrowed.
"Ahem." He put his fist to his lips, cleared his throat with two dry coughs, and said to Baili Yin, "Third Prince Baili has been in the capital for some time. What do you think of the capital?"
Baili Yin, who was drinking, came to his senses at this moment and was embarrassed to find that his glass was empty. He tried to act as if nothing had happened.
He laughed, put down the empty glass, and said, "Your country has beautiful scenery and outstanding people, but your beauty cannot compare to our Great Yue."
"The beauties of our Dayue are graceful and quiet, charming and touching, elegant as chrysanthemums, fragrant as orchids, and gentle as water."
"but……"
As he spoke, Baili Yin paused, and an unusually bright and sharp light flashed across his eyes, and then disappeared, "Speaking of beauties, no one can compare to Lord Xiahou."
This sentence was just a test. While speaking, Baili Yin's heart was secretly beating wildly, but his face did not show it. He glanced at the young man in red who was only a few feet away from him, paying attention to his expression changes.
When Yuan Zhe heard the other party mention Xiahou Qing, his face also showed a bit of solemnity, and he said in a cautious tone: "I heard that Lord Xiahou always covers his face with a mask, and no one has ever seen his true face."
The Tianyuansi only grants orders to the saints of the Yue Kingdom throughout the ages. It has never been a secret that the masters have always covered their faces with masks.
Baili Yin ignored Yuan Zhe's words and focused more of his attention on Mr. Xia. Seeing that he didn't move, his heart was in his throat.
Baili Yin gritted his teeth, hardened his heart, and acted frivolously. He went to get the wine pot to pour wine, and said with a smile: "Except for the saint, no one has ever seen the appearance of Lord Xiahou, but with his posture and figure, he is definitely a beauty."
As soon as he said this, the hairs on his neck instantly stood up, as if he felt a murderous intent penetrating into his bones, and the hand holding the wine jug trembled subconsciously.
The wine poured from the spout of the jug also trembled and spilled outside the glass.
The wine flowed down from the table, splashing the floor with a "drip, drip" sound.
Baili Yin still forced himself to remain calm and filled the glass, then looked at Master Xia again.
Xiahou Qing half-closed his thick black eyelashes, his expression was calm, without any change, he was still drinking tea, his long black hair hung down on one side of his cheek like flowing water, he didn't even raise his eyelids, as if nothing was more important than the tea in his hand.
Was it just my illusion? Baili Yin couldn't help but think, and comforted himself in his heart: Yes, it must be an illusion.
Four years ago, when Xiahou Qing first took the position of the Lord of Tianyuansi, three or four young masters flirted with him with frivolous words on the spot. As a result, one of the three young masters died and two were disabled, and blood was splattered at the palace gate.
Because of this incident, several censors from the Censorate jointly impeached Xiahou Qing, but the emperor tried to protect him, and those censors were confiscated and exiled within a few days.
From then on, no one dared to speculate about Xiahou Qing's appearance or figure, and everyone was afraid of him like a tiger.
Given Xiahou Qing's personality, if anyone dared to talk about him in such a teasing and frivolous tone, he would probably kill both the person who spoke and the person who heard it.
This Mr. Xia must not be Xia Houqing! Baili Yin's loss of composure was obvious, and Chu You and Yuan Zhe naturally noticed it. They looked at each other slowly, and both felt that Baili Yin cared too much about this Mr. Xia.
Chu You felt strange and looked at Xiahou Qing with doubts in his eyes.
This Mr. Xia is indeed an outstanding man with a handsome appearance, which can be described as peerless.
But Baili Yin is the third prince of the Yue Kingdom, and he has seen countless beauties. Is it necessary for him to lose his composure because of this Young Master Xia?
Yuan Zhe was good at dancing with long sleeves, and said with a smile: "These beauties from all over the country have their own characteristics. The women in the south are graceful, while the women in the northwest are bold and generous. The noble ladies in the capital also have their own merits. The talented women from scholarly families are well-educated and well-mannered, while the noble ladies from noble families are the most unrestrained and free-spirited..."
He tried to guide Baili Yin to look at the only woman from Beijing here, so as to change the topic to Gu Yanfei. Unfortunately, Baili Yin was in a daze, as if he had lost half of his soul, and he didn't pay any attention to what Yuan Zhe said.
Baili Yin kept thinking about Master Xia and Xiahou Qing in his mind. Sometimes he thought it was him, and sometimes he thought it was not him.
This unresolved feeling was so terrible that Baili Yin really wanted to take a mask and put it on the other person's face.
Yuan Zhe: “…”
Yuan Zhe's expression froze for a moment. Baili Yin's unexpected attitude made him unable to continue with the words he had prepared.
The play in the hall below became more and more lively. The martial artist who played Liu Qingxiao first won the heart of a beautiful woman, and then killed a snake and started an uprising. The passionate lyrics made people's blood boil and they responded to the call.
As he watched a great emperor was about to rise, his former fiancée's family fell into decline, and their entire family was almost wiped out by bandits.
The comparison between the two makes the audience who put themselves in Liu Qingxiao's shoes feel refreshed.
For Liu Qingxiao, this day is of great significance.
Yuan Zhe glanced at Liu Qingxiao, who was holding a beautiful woman on the stage below, and said with an idea: "Emperor Taizu of our country once said: If there are flowers to be picked, they should be picked immediately, because each flower has its own fragrance."
"The Great Ancestor also said that not only young girls are flowers, but young men are also flowers." Yuan Zhe smiled and fanned his folding fan leisurely. "The Hundred Flowers Banquet on National Day every year was the idea of the Great Ancestor, inviting unmarried men and women from all prefectures in the capital to attend the banquet."
His words finally regained some of Baili Yin's attention.
Baili Yin was aroused and repeated the line "When flowers are ready to be plucked, they must be plucked; each flower has its own fragrance" and clapped his hands in praise, "Your country's Emperor Tianli is truly a wonderful man."
"As I recall, your country's National Day is coming up in a few days, right?"
Dajing's National Day was established by Emperor Taizu and was set on the day of Dajing's founding. It is a festival unique to Dajing. For example, in the Kingdom of Yue and previous dynasties, the emperor's birthday was a major event celebrated by the whole country.
"Indeed." Yuan Zhe raised the corners of his lips. "This is a celebration that has lasted for fifty years since Emperor Taizu of our Great Jing."
Baili Yin raised his eyebrows and said, "Oh, this custom is interesting. It is somewhat similar to the walking marriage custom of the Wa tribe in the southwest of my Great Yue. If they are compatible, they will come together, and if they are not compatible, they will leave."
"Life should be like this."
Yuan Zhe just smiled and said nothing. In his heart, he disagreed with what Baili Yin said and even had a bit of contempt, but he naturally would not show it.
"Would Third Prince Baili like to go to Tianhe Garden with me?" Chu You made the invitation at the right time, with a meaningful look in his eyes.
Baili Yin could naturally sense that Yuan Zhe and Chu You had ulterior motives in their collaboration, so he laughed out loud and raised his glass in response, "Okay, I'll definitely join in the fun."
There was a hint of anxiety in his eyes. He tried to calm his mind and looked at Gu Yanfei as if nothing had happened. He smiled uninhibitedly and asked, "Second Miss Gu, you should be going too, right?"
He stared at Gu Yanfei deeply with a gaze as if locking onto prey, confident and proud, while at the same time provoking the other man present.
Baili Yin laughed heartily, but his other free hand twitched unnaturally under the table.
Chu You and Yuan Zhe exchanged glances again, communicating silently, and decided to stop here today.
"Why should I tell you?" Gu Yanfei held up his chin and looked at Baili Yin, with a bit of arrogance and annoyance on his face, "You guys are really noisy. Do you want to listen to the show or not? If not, you can leave now!"
"It's annoying to be like this one moment and like that the next."
She frowned, as if she didn't care about anyone present. Her words were almost arrogant, but even so, her voice was still as clear and melodious as the song of an oriole.
Yuan Zhe's face darkened slightly when he heard this.
He is the next patriarch of the Yuan family. All the girls behave gently, chastely and gracefully in front of him. This is the first time he has been treated like this.
Only women and villains are hard to raise! Yuan Zhe thought to himself.
He was from a noble family, so naturally he would not bother with a woman. He looked at Chu Yi with a deep gaze, wanting to see how he would react.
Chu Yi smiled gently and ordered them to leave: "If you don't want to watch the show, please go back."
After a moment's silence, Chu You did not get angry but laughed instead. However, the smile did not reach his eyes. His pupils were dark and contained a hint of coldness.
"Third Prince Baili," Chu You raised his sword-like eyebrows and smiled at Baili Yin with regret, "Your country is sincere in forming a marriage alliance with my Dajing, but unfortunately, my nephew already has a lover, so I'm afraid he can't marry your princess."
"But the eldest princess will soon be of marriageable age, and she is a perfect match for the Third Prince Baili."
Chu Yi has already rejected the princess of Dai Yue, so, can Chu Yi still refuse to marry the princess far away?
The eldest princess is still young now, but people will grow up eventually, right? In another three or four years, she will be almost grown up.
The corners of Chu You's lips curled up slightly, with a provocative attitude and a compelling look.
However, Chu Yi remained calm and said lightly, "Emperor Taizu once said that Da Jingnu will never marry a foreign princess."
More than fifty years ago, when the dynasty was first established, the situation was unstable and a lot of work needed to be done. However, the Northern Di people were ready to make trouble and wars broke out from time to time on the border.
At that time, a civil servant suggested in the morning court that they could follow the example of the previous dynasty and send the princess to marry Beidi. He also said righteously that many men had died on the battlefield for their country and their people, and this woman should also sacrifice herself for the rise and fall of the country. One person's marriage could protect tens of millions of Jing people from war, which was a way of sacrificing the small for the sake of the big.
At that moment, Emperor Taizu pointed at the man's nose and cursed him, saying that these men who read the teachings of Confucius and Mencius and emphasized filial piety, loyalty, faith, propriety, righteousness, and shame, not only required women to stay in their boudoirs and take care of their husbands and children, but now they also required them to sacrifice for the country. What else do men need to do? ! Since women are taking care of their husbands and children, then if their husbands and children don't sacrifice for the country, are they just eating dry food? ! Taizu's words were almost a direct statement that the civil servant who proposed the marriage was a useless person who "only knew how to eat and not do anything". The civil servant was so ashamed that he almost hit his head against the pillar in the court.
This incident is also recorded in "Taizu's Diary".
Chu You naturally knew what Emperor Taizu said, but...
"There are no rules in this world that remain unchanged." Chu You said with a smile.
Emperor Taizu also hoped that the late emperor would not marry a girl from aristocratic family, but the late emperor did it anyway.
Emperor Taizu once said that being a hostage was a great shame, but Chu Yi still served as a hostage for eight years.
This court is not just the emperor's court.
“Pah!”
Chu Yi clapped his hands lightly twice.
Soon, the waiter came over and asked with a smile, "What do you want, sir?"
"Please ask these three distinguished guests to leave." Chu Yi instructed the waiter.
"..." Chu You's eyelashes jumped and his face was full of anger. He couldn't afford to lose face like this.
Anyway, the purpose of today has been achieved, there is no point in staying any longer.
Chu You stood up with his clothes straightened, his expression hard and cold. When facing Baili Yin, his tone was still polite, "Third Prince Baili, let's go."
Baili Yin stood up slowly and bowed to Chu Yi and Gu Yanfei slowly:
"See you later."
His movements and voices seemed unhurried, but his wandering eyes were glancing at another person present.
Baili Yin followed Chu You and left. When he stepped out of the room, he couldn't help but take one last look at the young man in red, his eyes filled with surprise and doubt.
After Yuan Zhe left, the door was closed, and only Chu Yi, Gu Yanfei and Xiahou Qing were left in the private room. However, there was a sword left by Wang Nan on the ground.
Gu Yanfei held his chin and stared at Xiahou Qing, without any trace of the previous impatience on his face.
The tense atmosphere in the air disappeared with the departure of several uninvited guests.
The sound of the string music below gradually slowed down, becoming relaxed and joyful, with each note rising and falling like countless birds singing in unison.
Gu Yanfei seemed to have thought of something, and smiled with his lips curved. There seemed to be brilliant stars in his eyes. He leaned over and whispered in Chu Yi's ear with a gloating look: "Bai Li Yin is dead."
He dared to tease Xia Houqing in front of her. He really didn't know how to live or die! Chu Yi nodded seriously, pretended to be close to her ear, and smiled and agreed: "Indeed."
"I don't think he will survive more than three days." He said lightly.
The two of them seemed to be whispering, but they didn't deliberately lower their voices at all. They spoke in unison, and it was obvious that they were deliberately speaking to themselves.
It was just like these two people just now worked together to drive away King Kang and his men.
"..." Xiahou Qing's face turned pale, and he squeezed the cup in his hand so tightly that it almost broke.
His enchanting phoenix eyes slanted with a coldness as sharp as a knife, fiercely scraping the faces of Gu Yanfei and Chu Yi.
Gu Yanfei looked at the surging blood-red aura around him in amazement. It was so blazing that it almost illuminated the entire private room red.
"It's so beautiful!" Gu Yanfei exclaimed sincerely, his eyes sparkling.
In Xiahou Qing's opinion, the look in her eyes at this moment was no different from the way she looked at that stupid cat on weekdays. The corners of her eyes twitched slightly, and she could no longer bear it. She spat out one word from her thin red lips: "Get lost."
Gu Yanfei was not afraid either. He chuckled and looked very happy.
A bright smile ripples on her delicate little face.
Xiahou Qing: “…”
Xiahou Qing was rarely stunned.
He can sense even the slightest bit of malice towards others.
No one had ever treated her like Gu Yanfei did. She was not afraid of him, she did not hate him, and she did not stand in awe of him... She treated him casually and without distraction.
A shadow that was almost demonic flashed across Xiahou Qing's eyes, as if he recalled something.
In his life, people always take advantage of each other.
However, he could not see any ugly emotion from Gu Yanfei. The girl in front of him was worthy of the words "bright and clear".
Completely different from him.
But it was obvious that she had been trapped in a dirty quagmire since she was born, just like him, who had been exploited and calculated since birth.
Xiahou Qing's eyes were blank for a moment...
This made his aura seem a little different from usual, but it only lasted for a brief moment. Soon, he was the invulnerable Xiahou Qing again.
Chu Yi: “…”
Chu Yi slowly turned Gu Yanfei's slender shoulders so that her face was facing him.
"I'm good-looking too." Chu Yi said seriously.
His eyes stared into hers, their eyes only three inches apart, so close that they could feel each other's breath.
"..." Xiahou Qing's lips twitched.
Gu Yanfei really stared at Chu Yi without blinking.
The young man has a handsome face, which is hard to describe.
It looks good, really good looking!
Gu Yanfei suddenly remembered that the senior sister once told her that no matter how good-looking a man is, it is useless because one should still look at his character and personality when looking for a Taoist partner.
However, she felt that what the senior sister said was not quite right. Looking good is very important.
Chu Yi was satisfied and smiled.
The atmosphere in the private room was tinged with softness and charm.
(End of this chapter)
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