Chapter 819 The Collapse of the Han Family (Second Update)
Long Yi suffered great losses in this duel.
It wasn't just caused by the back-and-forth fighting; the pain and temptations that Long Yi endured while suppressing the out-of-control killing intent were unimaginable to ordinary people.
This is what really damages one's vitality.
Long Yi, panting, looked up at the endless sky.
Gu Jiao dismounted and came to his side, turning her head to look at him intently: "Long Yi, what are you looking at? Are you thinking about the past? You are injured, ride Black Wind King back."
The next second, Gu Jiao was picked up by Long Yi.
Gu Jiao's face instantly darkened, and she looked like a little rag doll upside down, utterly despondent.
So you were just catching your breath?
As expected, she shouldn't have worried about Long Yi.
As abnormally powerful as Dark Soul's strength is, Long Yi's will only be even more abnormal.
Long Yi brought Gu Jiao back to the Duke of Anguo's mansion.
Meanwhile, the power struggle in the palace also came to an end. Han Fu was captured alive by Wang Xu. When the Imperial Guard he led saw Han Fu captured, their morale plummeted, and they surrendered shortly afterward.
The only one left is the Han family.
After taking Han out of the palace, Anhun put her in a pre-prepared carriage, while he stayed behind to stop Gu Jiao from killing him.
Unexpectedly, instead of succeeding in stopping him, he was killed by Long Yi.
Dark Soul is the Han family's biggest trump card, even more important than the fake king. If Dark Soul hadn't served the Han family, how could the Han family have so easily overheard news from the Imperial Study? And how could they have allowed the fake king to secretly and silently observe the real king?
Even the story of Shangguan Yan being sold into slavery has a hidden element.
The Han clan can lose the fake king, but the Han clan must never lose the Dark Soul.
Of course, the Han family has absolute confidence in Dark Soul. Even though Dark Soul lost to that junior brother from the same sect last time, Dark Soul has become even stronger because of it.
"Once Dark Soul kills Xiao Liulang, he can come and join me."
Thinking this, Han took a deep breath, leaned against the carriage wall, and closed her eyes to rest.
But a moment later, her eyelids suddenly twitched.
Immediately afterwards, a sense of unease flashed through her mind, as if something bad was about to happen.
She frowned and said, "Did Xiao Liulang catch up? No way, with An Hun holding him back, he won't even know how he died!"
I think you're the one who's going to die!
Gu Chengfeng descended from the sky, landing on Han's carriage. He kicked the coachman off the carriage and ruthlessly dragged Han off the carriage.
Although he respects the elderly and cares for the young, he would rather not have this kind of vicious old hag.
Gu Chengfeng was reckless; Han was dragged off the speeding carriage and tumbled several times before coming to a stop. Her hairpins fell off, her hair bun came undone, and her face was covered in dust, making her look worse than an old beggar.
Han screamed in pain.
Gu Chengfeng slapped the hand that had touched her with disdain and walked down at her, looking down at her: "You've done so many bad things and you still want to run away? Do you think you can escape?"
Gu Chengfeng had already removed the crown prince's hood, revealing his true face.
But Lady Han recognized him by his voice. She raised her eyes and gave him a cold look: "You're the one who impersonated the Crown Prince last night? Let me go, and I can—"
"Screw you!" Gu Chengfeng considered himself a chatterbox, but he was too lazy to waste words on an old hag like Han Shi. He simply grabbed Han Shi and threw her into the prison cart that the Commandant's Mansion had prepared in advance.
Sitting in the prison cart, Han gripped the wooden planks tightly with both hands: "You'll regret this!"
Gu Chengfeng rolled his eyes and tapped her speechless spot with two fingers: "You're about to die and you're still spouting nonsense. I can't handle you!"
Lady Han was detained and taken back to the Commandant's residence, thus bringing an end to a palace coup.
Zhang Dequan was summoned back to the palace to work with the Twelve Directors to clean up the war wreckage in the Hall of Supreme Harmony and the outer court.
Such a major event alarmed both the outer court and the powerful families, who all rushed to request an audience with the king, but the king did not grant an audience to any of them.
The emperor ordered a three-day recess and instructed the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice to jointly investigate.
What are you checking?
Naturally, the investigation should focus on how many shady dealings the Han family, the Crown Prince's residence, and the Han clan had been doing behind the scenes.
"I will place the Han family and the Crown Prince's residence under house arrest! Not a single fly shall be allowed to escape!"
"What was the former commander of the Imperial Guards doing? He allowed a deputy commander to take away half of the troops! He must be severely punished by me!"
"And the Han family's military tally, take it back to me!"
...
The king issued a series of earth-shattering edicts in his study, and all government offices dared not slack off, each performing their duties without delay to carry out the tasks assigned by the king.
The moment they stepped out of the Imperial Study, everyone understood that the Han family, which had stood strong for many years, was about to fall. After fifteen years, Shengdu was once again experiencing a power upheaval, and the top ten families would be reshuffled once more.
As the saying goes, "I watched his tall building rise, I watched him entertain guests, and I watched his building collapse."
With the Han family gone, military power will inevitably be divided up.
Whether the powerful families were gloating or feeling a sense of shared loss remains to be seen.
...
Gu Jiao was very happy at the Duke's mansion.
With Anhun dead and the Han family captured, it means that the three-year civil war of mutual slaughter will not happen again.
From this moment on, the wheel of fate quietly reversed.
Next came the external wars with the states of Jin and Liang.
If it could be avoided, that would be even better.
"Young Master! His Highness the Grandson!"
Gu Jiao was tending to Long Yi's injuries when Steward Zheng hurriedly entered the courtyard. He found Gu Jiao and Xiao Heng in Long Yi's room, bowed, and said, "His Majesty has issued an imperial edict, summoning the young master and His Highness the Grandson to the palace immediately!"
Gu Jiao finished wrapping the last bandage around Long Yi's neck, told him not to move around, and then entered the palace with Xiao Heng.
In the Imperial Study, Shangguan Yan and Lord Yanshan were also present.
Just now in the Zhonghe Hall, Gu Jiao was fully on guard against the dark souls that might appear at any time, and didn't pay much attention to the little princess's biological father, Lord Yanshan.
Now that she was in the mood to look at him, Gu Jiao realized that he was an absolute beauty.
Yeonsan-gun was the posthumous son of the late emperor, born to the Empress Dowager. He was nearly half a cycle younger than the king and was over thirty years old this year. However, perhaps because he had nothing on his mind, his eyes had the innocence and clarity of a young man.
This makes him appear younger than his actual age.
He held two large walnuts in his right hand, looking quite dashing.
In addition, Gu Jiao noticed a detail: his pupils were amber, a lighter color than the average person's pupils.
"You're the first person who dares to stare at me like that." Yan Shanjun smiled and brought his face close to Gu Jiao's. "How is it? Pretty?"
"Hmm, he's not as good-looking as her." Gu Jiao pointed at Xiao Heng.
Lord Yeonsan: "..."
I was hit hard.
The king glanced at the two men indifferently and said, "Alright, I called you here for important business."
Yeonsan-gun quickly adjusted his expression, becoming serious and solemn.
It seems that this younger brother still holds the monarch in high esteem.
Shangguan Yan did not use a wheelchair today.
—Does this mean we no longer need to pretend?
"The first thing," the king said, looking at Shangguan Yan, "is Shangguan Qing?"
Shangguan Yan's expression stiffened, she blinked guiltily, and pointed to Xiao Heng beside her: "Isn't it... right here?"
The king slammed his hand on the table with a cold face: "Do you really think I don't recognize my own grandson? Shangguan Qing doesn't eat fennel!"
oh.
Fennel.
Yes, that's true. The cooks at the Duke's mansion like to add fennel to their dishes.
So the truth came out in the last couple of days.
The king glared at Shangguan Yan with exasperation: "You, as her mother, don't even know such a small thing!"
Shangguan Yan felt wronged and muttered under her breath, "I... I never cooked fennel for him. How could I afford such a precious spice?"
It must be very austere at the imperial mausoleum, okay?
Lord Yanshan looked at Xiao Heng and said, "Isn't that Qing'er? They really do look alike..."
The king looked intently at Xiao Heng: "Who exactly are you?"
Lord Yeonsan was also very curious about Xiao Heng's identity, and he made no attempt to hide his gaze as he awaited Xiao Heng's answer.
Xiao Heng calmly said, "Who I am is not important. Your Majesty only needs to understand that everything is a temporary measure. The Third Princess and the Crown Prince's eldest grandson have suffered greatly from the persecution of the Crown Prince's Mansion, the Han family, and the Nangong family, and had no choice but to resort to this measure. The real Crown Prince's eldest grandson is safe. Once everything has calmed down, the Third Princess will bring him back to Shengdu."
The king gave Xiao Heng a deep look, his hand on the armrest clenching tighter and tighter.
"Who you are doesn't matter?"
"yes."
"You don't even want wealth and status?"
"In no mood."
"You don't want power, fame, or fortune?"
"don't want."
Xiao Heng looked directly into the king's eyes without flinching, his gaze open and honest, revealing his true feelings.
The kingdom and its people, which were about to be won over, were swallowed back by the king. He was so angry that he picked up the tea on the table and took a big gulp!
Gu Jiao glared fiercely at the king.
You're still being mean to my husband.
Try being fierce.
I'll beat you up.
Today is another day I want monthly passes!
*
[Note]: "I saw his tall building rise, I saw him entertain guests, I saw his building collapse," is from the Qing Dynasty writer Kong Shangren's work "The Peach Blossom Fan".
(End of this chapter)
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