Unable to see the girl's expression, but only hearing her words, Yan Xun was stunned for a moment and slowly loosened his hand.
She still didn't understand, or maybe she didn't take it to heart at all.
Yan Xun nodded silently, "Okay, then you be careful."
Chu Qiao also nodded and said, "Don't worry, I won't accompany you to the banquet later. You'll be alone, so be careful."
She turned around and was about to walk out when Yan Xun's voice suddenly sounded in a low voice from behind her, "Ah Chu."
The woman was stunned and stopped.
"Anyone can betray me, but you can't. Anyone can leave me, but you can't."
Chu Qiao did not answer, but stood there silently, then opened the door and left.
Yan Xun slowly closed his eyes, leaned back in his chair, and murmured to himself, "If you leave, I will have nothing."
There was a light snow in the courtyard. The woman was wearing a light blue gown and a white fox fur coat that Yan Xun had personally given her. Her long hair was blown up by the breeze, and she looked back silently at the silhouette on the window, not leaving for a long time.
Different from the desolate place here, outside Yingge Courtyard at this time, the royal family is full and the scene is full of festivity. Colorful glazed jades are placed in front of Yingge Courtyard, and rows of them lead directly to Duanmu Pavilion, the home of the eighth princess Zhao Chuner. Red brocade was spread on the snow, with palace maids in colorful costumes on both sides and lanterns burning brightly.
At the beginning of the night watch, a crowd of people gathered in Duanmu Pavilion. The emperor himself was present and the guests were all happy. The noisy sounds of stringed instruments wafted from the direction of Duanmu Pavilion. On the deserted Changhua Road, a war horse stood silently by the side. The woman was wearing a short military uniform of the Cavalry Battalion and a green cloak. She turned her head from a distance and looked at the place with bright lights. Her face was indifferent and she was calm and composed.
The night was lonely, the wind was cold, and there was nothing but solitude and desolation between heaven and earth. The cold wind blew up the strands of hair on her forehead, making her face look even more pointed, thin and miserable.
This is the path I chose for myself. From the beginning, there was no way back and I could only move forward.
Life has never given me the right to regret, and I will never let useless emotions stop you from moving forward. The great revenge has not been taken, and the future is uncertain, so how can the children have private thoughts?
Yan Xun, I will not leave you. As long as you still need me, I will stay by your side, waiting for the moment when you succeed and conquer the world. Only cowards will feel sentimental, and only incompetent people will complain. I won’t. I’m not sad, never.
A huge bell rang out immediately, and fireworks all over the sky rose into the sky and bloomed amid the loud voices of the ceremonial officers. Stringed and bamboo music rang out along with the bells, and lively voices came from the Duanmu Pavilion in the distance. The whole world celebrated this solemn and joyful moment.
"Gee!" In the cold wind, the thin girl suddenly raised the whip, shouted loudly, pursed her lips, and galloped away on her horse.
It was a cold and dreary night. In the bustling hall, Yan Xun stood tall, staring at the dark sky outside the hall, speechless for a long time.
In a small boudoir in the cold and quiet Yingge Courtyard, a snow-white fox fur coat was quietly placed on the table, spotless and tidy as new.
"We have known each other for eight years. We have shared joys and sorrows. Now, everything is about to pass. Once things here are settled and we return to Yanbei, we will..."
We will...
Let’s get married, let’s be together, let’s never be separated again…
Those unspoken words and unexpressed thoughts will eventually be slowly covered by the dust of time and scattered into the dust, never to be seen again. Destiny is a fire. Many times, there is only one chance. If you miss it, you can never get it back. There was extravagant drinking, singing and dancing in Shengjin Palace, but a heart-wrenching scream came from the northwest outside the palace!
Zhao Che was so shocked that he ran out of the tent without even having time to put on his boots. In the northwest corner of the sky, there was a blazing fire and shouts of killing, and chaos came like a plague. The Green Camp soldiers, who had already left the city to build a highway, quickly surrounded the camp of the Cavalry Camp. Their swords were silver-white and their armor was cold.
Something big happened!
Zhao Che raised his eyebrows and shouted to the soldiers on both sides: "Bring weapons!"
“Wait.” A cold voice suddenly sounded, and Zhuge Yue walked out from the shadow of the big tent and said lightly, “You can’t go.”
Zhao Che looked coldly at this uninvited guy and said in a deep voice, "Why are you here?"
"Look over there, whose mansion is that?"
Zhao Che looked at it carefully, and suddenly remembered the surname he least wanted to think of.
Muhe clan!
A white bird was lying on Zhuge Yue’s arm, with a sharp beak and a pair of fiery red eyes. It was exactly the same Cangwu bird that Yan Xun had strangled to death that day. The bird stood on his arm docilely, pecking his fingers with its little beak from time to time. He played with the bird and said, "The Muhe clan was involved in a corruption case. Muhe Yunye knelt in front of the gate of Shengjin Palace for an entire afternoon, but His Majesty refused to summon him. Why? This happened suddenly. It only took half a day from the report to the elders' review to the conviction. Who would believe it if there was no prior arrangement? The eighth princess Zhao Chun'er is getting engaged tonight. Why didn't you summon to the palace for such a grand banquet? Even if you and the queen are not close, Zhao Chun'er is your biological sister. Why? The Muhe main residence was besieged. The Muhe clan is your maternal clan, and you have a large army. You should have been controlled in advance. But why are the soldiers and horses surrounding you completely disproportionate to yours and cannot fight you at all? What are they waiting for? Don't you understand?"
Zhao Che's eyes flickered with a sharp light, and he said in a deep voice: "You mean, it's my father..."
“That’s not necessarily true,” Zhuge Yue smiled softly and said, “The emperor kept you in the Cavalry Battalion, perhaps just to test you and see whether your surname is Zhao or Muhe. As for those people outside, they may not be arranged by the emperor, but they are the ones who want to see you die the most.”
Zhao Che was smart, but he lost his composure due to a moment of shock and anger. Now that he thought about it carefully, everything suddenly became clear to him and he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
"That person wants you to let your guard down. He deliberately surrounded the Cavalry Battalion with a small number of people. But as soon as you step out of the Cavalry Battalion, you will immediately become a traitor. When the time comes, the people who come to kill you will not only be those outside."
Zhao Che frowned, and after a long while he asked in a deep voice, "Why are you helping me?"
"Because you are the son of Muhenayun. After the Muhen family fell, the third prince Zhao Qi rose to prominence, and his mother's surname was Wei. As it happens, I am not from the Wei family."
Zhuge Yue looked at him with a smile and said, “Look, it’s only a short time before we have a common enemy.”
Zhao Che snorted coldly and said, "Even if the Muhe family falls, are you so sure that I will cooperate with your Zhuge family?"
Zhuge Yue looked up at the sky, stretched out his long arms, and the white bird immediately spread its wings and flew away. Without looking back, he walked out and said calmly: "If you can't even see through this little bit of interest, then there's no need for me to be here tonight."
Zhao Che lowered his head and pondered for a while. Finally, he caught up with me and said in a deep voice, "You have never cared about these things. Why did you intervene this time?"
Zhuge Yue had already walked far away, and his voice seemed a little ethereal. He could only be heard saying from a distance: “I just don’t like that guy Zhao Qi.”
The riot lasted the entire night and the people of Zhenhuang City stayed in their homes, and no one dared to go out to watch. The shouts and cries of killing continued from late at night until dawn. The flames were blinding, the black smoke was billowing, and there were cries of grief.
The rebellion of the Muhe clan was expected, even if they had not yet realized how serious the matter would be, did not realize that it was a catastrophe for the family, and did not expect that the emperor would kill them all, the Wei clan and the Zhao royal family would also force them into this desperate situation.
When the family's military force was unprepared, the Muhe family, which had been a prominent family for hundreds of years and had produced many powerful ministers, was like a pile of loose sand. The result of fighting each other was that they were eaten away bit by bit by the imperial army, without any ability to fight back.
By dawn, the war was nearing its end. Muhe Xixuan, Muhe Xili and Muhe Yunxiao were executed on the spot, and more than 2,000 family soldiers were killed or injured. Muhe Yunye was arrested and imprisoned. All members of Muhe's family, regardless of gender or age, were arrested, from Muhe Yunye's ninety-year-old mother to newborn babies. The imperial capital's prison was suddenly overcrowded.
At the same time, the gates of the imperial capital were tightly sealed, and anyone was restricted from leaving the city. The 13th prince, Zhao Song, took the Muhe family's token and a replica of the Chongwen Pavilion's letter to the 23rd and 26th armies of Dongchui, the Southeast Field Army, and the 16th Army of the Southeast Navy to convey the news that Muhe Yunye, the head of the Muhe family, was critically ill. He urgently summoned Muhe Xichi, Muhe Xisheng, Muhe Xiyu and Muhe Yunye's great-grandson Muhe Jingran to return to the capital to discuss the position of the next head of the family.
However, the commander-in-chief of the four chief armies was captured by the soldiers of the imperial capital as soon as he stepped into Zhenhuang City. Muhe's last hope was dashed and he was defeated.
However, that same night, Mu Heyunye's grandson Song Duan escaped from the heavily guarded Sky Prison, and fled out of the Zhenhuang city gate with great momentum, riding his horse eastward.
The people in Muhe's family cheered loudly, but Muhe Yunye was stunned. After a long time, he slowly closed his cloudy eyes, cried out "I'm sorry to all my ancestors", and shed two lines of tears.
Three days later, General Meng Tian's grandson Meng Zhan and his adopted daughter Meng Feng, led the Meng army eastward to attack the Huaidong Song family who followed Muhe family in plotting a rebellion.
The Song family was horrified upon hearing the news. The head of the Song family made a prompt decision and tied up Mu He Yunye's daughter Mu He Minglan and Song Duan together and sent them to the gate of the Meng family's army.
Unexpectedly, Meng Zhan refused to accept the troops. After a round of rain of arrows, the army continued to march forward. Within five days, they broke through the gate of the Song family, the most Confucian family in Huaidong.
In an instant, the two closely related families were brutally slaughtered. On March 28th, more than 4,000 heads of people from the Muhe and Song families fell before the guillotine of Jiuyoutai. Of the five generations of the Muhe family, no one was spared except Empress Muhe Nayun. Even Concubine Ting Muhe Nari and Concubine Xiang Muhe Lanxiang were given poisoned wine by the emperor and died.
On the day of the beheading at Jiuyoutai, citizens from all over Zhenhuang City rushed to watch. For a time, the streets of Zhenhuang City were deserted and the atmosphere was lively, even more lively than the Chinese New Year.
A powerful family of the past, a prosperous and glorious family with bustling traffic, was buried deep in the soil, scattered into the mud in the wild, dissipated in the turbulent years, and became another victim of the change of power in the empire. The noble head that was once adorned with gold, silver, pearls and jade finally bowed deeply, and sprayed a cavity full of blood in front of the iron-blooded guillotine of the empire.
The so-called prosperity and splendor with blessings and fortune is nothing but dust.