coax
The next time he saw Wei Yun and Liu Che was at Chang Qing's farewell banquet. Wei Qing had been recuperating from illness for a long time and had no intention of going on another expedition, but when he heard that Chang Qing was going on his first expedition, he insisted on putting on his armor and leading the way for his nephew.
He knew his health was failing. If the Wei family had no successor, they would gradually be sidelined from power and disappear. They had finally come to this point, and he couldn't allow that to happen.
"Ho! Ho! Ho!"
The cold gleam of the iron armor contrasted with the bright sun in the blue sky. The soldiers lined up in rows, led by Wei Qing to review the troops.
Atop the dais, the Emperor gazed upon his soldiers with gratification, his eyes filled with ambition and desire for conquest. The Empress, despite her concern for her brother and nephew, also held a surge of anticipation. This battle was crucial. If Changqing could demonstrate his uncle's astounding military talent, it would mean the Wei family's prosperity would continue for at least another thirty years.
Changqing is still so young and has so much life ahead of him.
Thirty years was enough, enough for her son to grow up quickly and enough for her to survive until Emperor Liu Che passed away.
The little bit of youthful sentimentality and fantasy of love that remained from her youth had long since been worn away by the day-to-day life. Her life was filled with only her son and the Wei family. As for her husband, she couldn't help but sneer. Let him die. With his death, her dead life would be revived.
"Your Majesty, Empress, your servant Wei Qing (Huo Changqing) has completed his inspections. Following the Emperor's orders and the Tripod's command, I will drive the barbarians north to fight the enemy. I will live up to your Majesty's trust and return triumphantly!"
The emperor smiled with satisfaction. "Your reputation is enough to drive the Xiongnu back a hundred miles. With you here, I can rest easy."
"Changqing..." He looked at the young man behind Wei Qing, "The battlefield is full of blind swords. This is your first time going out, so you must listen carefully to your general and don't act recklessly. Your aunt and I will be waiting for you to return."
"I obey the order."
Huo Changqing responded as instructed. With everyone watching, the auspicious time for the march had arrived and there was no time to delay. He lifted his robe and stood up, turning around to meet Ah Jiao's gaze as she sat at the head of the army's formation below.
Her eyes were complicated and her brows were slightly furrowed. She seemed to be worried about his safety, but also seemed to be happy?
Ah Jiao looked at Chang Qing and felt two burning gazes from the high platform, one from Liu Che and the other from Wei Yun.
Seeing this, her brows furrowed even more, and she pretended to jog to catch up with Changqing, as if she was reluctant to leave her husband on the march.
An eunuch wanted to stop her, but Changqing waved his hand, turned around and ran towards her.
She threw herself into his arms, "I'll wait for you at home, be careful."
Chang Qing also looked at her with a complicated look and patted her on the back, "Don't worry, you have to take good care of yourself when I'm not around, and you must be careful too."
"Why should I be careful?" Gillian pouted. "But you, don't let yourself get hurt. Listen to your uncle in everything and don't be aggressive."
Chang Qing smiled when he heard this, but didn't say anything more. "I remember, nothing else to say?"
"say what?"
"They all have the amulet and heart mirror given by my wife. Are you going to give me something?"
He had spoken of the war so suddenly, and had left so hastily. She had been so busy with other things these days that she hadn't really thought about it.
"You didn't bring the amulet you asked for at the temple last time?"
Chang Qing was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "I brought it. How could I dare to throw away the things you gave me?"
"That's good." Gillian also patted his arm, "You..."
"I really have to go, take care."
Ah Jiao watched the army gradually go away and out of the city gate. She wanted to go back with the soldiers' families, but she saw the eunuch who used to serve the emperor and empress on the high platform coming towards her.
"Madam, the Queen invites you to the palace."
She looked towards the platform and saw the backs of the emperor and empress leaving.
After thinking for a moment, she declined, "My clothes are a little dirty, and it's not convenient for me to meet you. Could you please let me go back and change my clothes?"
"The palace has its own clothes ready, madam, don't worry."
"Before the general left, he asked me to bring something to the queen, and I..."
"Ma'am, please."
The eunuch put away his smile and adopted a commanding tone. She said nothing in the end, and followed him silently.
She was taken into a carriage with no windows on all sides. The palace servants closed the doors tightly, and then she sat in the carriage and traveled a long way.
Gradually, she became a little uneasy - she had been walking for too long. If she arrived at the palace, she would have to get off at Gan'an Gate, and then walk or take a sedan chair to the Queen's Palace.
The closed car door made her feel a little sleepy, but at the same time, the uneasiness in her heart began to beat violently.
She knocked on the car door and said, "Eunuch, how long will it take? I want to get off and change clothes."
No one responded to her. She didn't know where she was. At first, she could hear the noisy sound of wheels and voices, but now there was no sound at all. It seemed as if the bicycle was alone, heading to an unknown place...
Her heart dropped completely, this trip must be dangerous.
Where are they taking her? What does Wei Yun want to do?
Was he going to kill her while Huo Changqing was gone to eliminate the trouble? Killing her would be easy, so why bother dragging her so far away? In short, it must be bad news, and she couldn't just sit there and wait for death.
She felt her hair, a golden comb in front, jade butterflies on either side. She cursed inwardly. She hadn't worn a single golden hairpin since she was escorting Changqing off to battle today, and didn't want to be conspicuous. After groping for a long time, she managed to find a golden comb and took it off, tucking it into her sleeve.
It seemed that the car had passed a slope and suddenly dropped, then slowly stopped and the door opened from the outside.
She frowned, her gaze fixed on a long, empty corridor. The stone door ahead was carved with two intersecting snake tails, reminiscent of a god or a demon. Lamps lit the sides of the stone walls, and even though it was clearly before noon when she arrived, it was as dark as night inside.
The flickering candlelight beside her didn't warm her, but instead chilled her to the bone. The fear of the unknown, like the tongue of a giant python, gently coiled around her, enveloping her body, gradually tightening, binding her, making it airtight, so that she could only hear the sound of her heartbeat and could barely breathe.
She turned around and was about to leave, determined to leave no matter what.
Several eunuchs closed the stone chamber door and rushed over to hold her down. Someone brought a long silk scarf and put it around her neck, tightening it violently while two eunuchs, each holding one end, pulled backwards.
She struggled desperately, but the fingers against her neck were strangled and unable to move.
"If you dare to kill me, the general will definitely kill you when he returns..."
The eunuch behind him sneered, "Madam, as a pawn of Princess Pingyang, you are trying to use the general and the queen to seduce Your Majesty, and use the Wei family as a springboard. How can the general tolerate such treacherous behavior if he knew?
You plotted against the Queen and bewitched the General. I should have killed you long ago. Don't even think about getting out alive today."
That person is Li Jun, the eunuch beside the Queen. The Queen wants to kill her! She had already planned to let Zhang Qing go to the battlefield. He fought in the front, and she cleaned up the rear for him.
What should I do? What should I do?
When Wei Yun's murderous intent truly came to her, she was like meat on a chopping block, unable to fight back, or even turn over. Was she going to die here so suddenly?
"Where will you be dining today? Lord Yang has sent us some deer, which he hunted himself."
"He's not even finished fixing the mess he made, and he's already showing off."
The man chuckled a few times, "Lord Yang just returned from Chuzhou and is not very familiar with the affairs of the Ministry of Revenue. That's why..."
Faint voices could be heard, seemingly from above, yet also from outside. Gillian stared intently at the stone gate in the distance. The carriage drove straight in. The stone chamber door hadn't yet completely closed, and a faint light shone through it.
She wasn't far from the gate, so if the sound could come in, then her voice could also go out...
She seemed to have given up struggling, and secretly retracted her hand into her sleeve. She took out the golden comb. The teeth were barely sharp. She suddenly turned around and used the golden comb to severely cut the eunuch's hand. Then she ran out of the door quickly, shouting.
"Murder! Someone, come, the Queen is lynching someone!"
Before she could reach the stone gate and knock on it, several eunuchs caught up with her, grabbed her again, and once again held the two ends of the white silk.
When she was in despair, the stone door suddenly opened, and a man in black robe and red clothes with gold-embroidered black shoes walked in slowly, bringing a brief moment of light and giving her a chance to breathe.
He walked quickly, and the people behind him had already stopped and knelt down.
He pulled her into his arms, his brow furrowed, "What's going on?"
She grabbed his sleeve and coughed violently. He patted her back gently. After a while, she recovered. "Queen, the Queen hates me for witnessing her scandal with Your Majesty last time. She lured me here while the General was away and wants to kill me."
A thin white silk was still wrapped around the slender neck of the beauty in his arms. As she struggled, her hair was disheveled, her fair face was covered with red, and her eyes were full of tears as she stared at him without blinking.
Mentioning his cuckold, his face turned grim. "This venomous woman scorns the law and takes human life lightly. How can the palace allow her to be so presumptuous?"
"Cough, cough, cough..." She suddenly held her chest and started coughing violently, taking a break between coughs. She seemed to be deliberately speaking in a hurry, her brows furrowed. "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, my heart hurts so much. Could you please ask someone to come and treat me?"
"Jiang Chong, please ask the imperial physician to come and check Madam's pulse."
Jiang Chong took the order and led everyone away. Liu Che's hand was still holding her. She leaned against him, gradually becoming a little stiff. She could only say weakly, "I think my asthma has come back. The medicine was left in the sedan chair when I came here."
The implication is that she wants to go out.
Liu Che didn't seem to understand. He patted her on the back and said, "Doctor Liu is a skilled doctor. He always carries a variety of life-saving pills in his medicine box. They will be here soon."
She forced a smile and said softly, "The medicine is complicated, and Doctor Liu might not be able to prepare it in a short time. I'd better go find it in the sedan chair myself..."
"There's nothing in the sedan." A voice behind her fell softly into her ears, "I've checked."
The sharp golden saw suddenly struck at his neck, but almost at the same time, he immediately grabbed her hand and restrained it tightly, so that she could not move forward or backward. However, he twisted her hand easily, and cold sweat broke out, and veins popped out.
Their eyes met, and the tenderness in her eyes was gone, replaced by deep resentment and fear.
Although animals' underdeveloped brains couldn't predict what would happen next, their bodies' ability to sense danger had become instinctive. This instinct was unfamiliar to Cheng Jiao, who had lived a life of luxury for decades, especially when it came to the person before her.
Liu Che was the most familiar person to Empress Chen, Princess Pingkang. But now times have changed, things and people have changed, and to Madam Huo, he is a completely unpredictable existence.
The sheng and xiao are broken, the puppet strings are cut, and the show is halfway through.
The lights were bright and the walls were vast, leaving them nowhere to hide.
Liu Che still held the golden comb he had snatched from her. His tall figure was reflected on the stone wall, his jade crown tilted slightly, and his thumb slowly stroked the serrations of the comb. The blood from the serrations left a mark on his fingertips. The faint smile on his lips made her furious.
"Your Majesty, what is your intention in luring me here under the guise of the Queen?"
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