At this moment, a group of people had just landed at the ferry crossing in Xianyang. Several men with frosted faces were leading a few horses and said in a deep voice, "News came from home. No one knew that the young master was away. The Seventh Master told the young master to do his job with all his heart and come back within ten days. Don't worry."
The man in purple frowned slightly. He had a handsome face, red lips, and a pair of eyes like a deep pool or ancient well, deep and distant.
He got on a horse swiftly, with a slightly dusty look on his face.
"It only takes three days to get to Tangjing if we take a shortcut, but there are no big towns along the way, so it's a bit bumpy."
"Time is short, let's take the shortcut."
One of the followers turned to the purple-robed man and said, "Master, do you want to prepare a carriage? You haven't had a good sleep for many days."
"No need." The man shook his head and said in a deep voice, "Is there any news from Tang Jing?"
"After the young lady defeated Zhan Ziyu in one fell swoop, the government and the public calmed down. However, there has been some noise recently about who will assist in the administration. In my opinion, with the young lady's personality, she is likely to be deceived by others."
"She dares?!" The man snorted coldly, his expression quite gloomy, "I want to see who dares!"
Everyone followed him and mounted their horses. The horses' hooves flew like flying, and in a blink of an eye they disappeared on the Xianyang Ancient Road. After a while, they went out of the west city gate and galloped along a remote post road.
An hour later, the royal envoy entered Xianyang City and read out the imperial edict that Chu Qiao was named Grand Noble Consort Xiuli. The defender of Xianyang city knelt down and paid homage, then hurried back to his mansion to organize the wealthy families in Xianyang to prepare gifts to congratulate the new master.
After a long absence, everything has changed and everyone is no longer the same.
Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, ten years have passed. Vaguely, she is no longer the young girl with bun in the past, nor the stubborn boy in the past. Time has drawn countless boundaries between them. Family hatred, national enmity, love, war, displacement, life and death, and finally, friendship and debt also appeared one by one, just like that long silk satin, no matter how hard you pull it, you can never pull out the endless threads.
The wind blew from the far north of Yan, brushed across the vast territory of Daxia, blew into the deep autumn of Bian Tang, swept into the brocade flowers of Huai Song, rushed towards the vast blue sea in the far east, and was submerged in the snow-white waves.
"The road has not yet come to an end. There may be other variables. Are you afraid?"
"I'm not afraid."
"Remember, I'm waiting for you."
The night is cold and the moonlight is bright, spreading all over the ancient road and Hualin.
The warm fragments in that memory were eventually washed away by the endless blood, rain, swords and shadows, and the initial happy and bright expectations and glitz and glamour were left, leaving only a bit of coldness, which clearly divided the past expectations from the current situation.
"It's a pity that I don't believe in fate after all!"
The sound of horse hooves rolls day and night, and the long-lost ancient city of Tangjing is right before our eyes. The news that the beautiful general Chu Qiao was to be canonized as a concubine spread throughout the entire Bian Tang territory overnight. Shennan, western Yunnan, Yuelin, Yunmo and other places collectively opposed it. The opposition in the southern region was thunderous. Prince Jing'an, Prince Duanqing, and Grand Duke Huayang successively raised their armies.
These royal relatives who had been able to hold their ground when Prince Luo rebelled and who had been able to keep a low profile when the Zhan brothers and sisters abused their power and dictated the country, were instantly furious. Under the banner of "clearing the court and eliminating the evil woman", they led an army of 180,000 from the southern region and marched towards Kyoto in a mighty manner. All the government offices and counties opened their doors to welcome them and no one dared to stop them.
Sun Di had anticipated this event and dispatched 200,000 Eastern Army troops in advance, led by Xu Su, to block the banks of the Handan River. A hundred thousand Wolf Army troops were deployed to defend the imperial capital, and all the checkpoints on the post roads were strictly guarded. The imperial capital was like an iron barrel, with swords, spears, and crossbows shining brightly, awaiting the invading Tiger Division from the Southern Region.
Everything is ready except for the east wind. Everything is ready and we are just waiting for the enthronement ceremony in three days.
The autumn wind was chilly and cold. In order to prepare for the Fengyoutai ceremony, the entire Tangjing city had been under curfew since the day before. At this moment, the long street was empty. The autumn wind blew the fallen leaves across the tall sycamore trees covered with black veils, like a group of yellow butterflies fluttering in the night.
In Sun Di's Sikong Mansion, a man dressed as a palace eunuch knelt on the ground and said in a eunuch's unique shrill voice: "Lord Chu had a quarrel with Miss Meixiang last night, which alarmed the young Majesty and Princess Xiao. Later, I heard with my own ears that Lord Chu promised the young Majesty that he would not leave the Tang Dynasty."
Sun Di raised his eyebrows slightly and asked, "Did you hear it clearly?"
"It was clear. Miss Meixiang cried very loudly, the young emperor drew his sword, and Lord Chu burned the letter from Lord Sima of Daxia."
"What time did Meixiang leave this morning?"
"She left before dawn. The young man named Ping An saw her off. Lord Chu said that she went back to Xuefu City."
Sun Di nodded, and after a long while, he said in a deep voice: "It's better for her to leave. She will always be in the way if she stays here."
The man stood tall, his eyes cold, and took out two gold bars and placed them on the table. "Go back and do your job well. I won't treat you unfairly."
"Thank you, Lord Sun!"
After the eunuch left, Sun Di summoned a personal attendant and pondered for a while before slowly saying, "You take people out of the city immediately to find the whereabouts of Meixiang, Lord Chu's personal maid. If she returns to Xuefu City, you escort her all the way back; if she goes anywhere else, you know what to do."
The man replied in a low voice, "As you command." After that, he turned and walked out the door. After a while, a horse neighed outside the door, and the man disappeared into the long street.
Sun Di opened the window and saw a crescent moon that looked like the white eyebrows on a woman's forehead.
"I hope... everything goes well."
Two days passed in peace and tranquility. All civil and military officials in the court remained silent. Except for a few scholars from the Hanlin Academy and more than 20 censors from the Censorate who initially expressed some opposition, the rest were silent. Either he succumbed to Sun Di's power, or he was afraid of Chu Qiao who now held military power. Sun Di originally wanted to arrest those stubborn old ministers personally, but the Xiu Li army took the lead and put them in jail.
When Sun Di found out about this, he couldn't help but feel a little worried. Although these people were stubborn, they were truly loyal subjects to the Tang Dynasty after all. The Xiuli Army treats Chu Qiao like a god, and no one knows what kind of punishment these people will suffer.
He once went to the palace privately, hoping to persuade the future Regent Dowager, but was turned away. He knew that Chu Qiao might know something about what he had done before, so he did not dare to be too radical. He could only secretly ask the officials of Shangliyuan to take good care of those old ministers.
Tonight is destined to be a sleepless night, because tomorrow is the ceremony of Chu Qiao's enthronement as a concubine, and it is also the first royal secret marriage since the founding of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, the Ministry of Rites is working all night to perfect the construction of Fengyoutai. As for the other officials, they all sat at home with their own thoughts. No one knew what the future of the Tang Dynasty would be like after tomorrow, or what future this woman, who had intricate ties with the dignitaries of various countries, would lead the Tang Dynasty to. Is she a loyal subject or a thief who stole the country? Does she want to maintain the original social system, or follow the example of Yanbei and establish a completely new Datong regime? Nobody knows.
After tomorrow, will the Tang Dynasty still be named Li?
That night, countless people were thinking this.
The beautiful military camp was completely silent. The soldiers had no doubts or hesitations at all because of the various noises from the outside world. The cold moonlight shone on the huge military camp, and the open space where they usually trained was completely quiet.
The curtain of He Xiao's tent moved slightly, and a man wearing a black cloak with a hood that completely covered his head walked in.
He Xiao was drinking at the table, wearing ordinary brown clothes, with his hair loose and the front of his clothes slightly open, revealing half of his bronze skin. He had a slovenly and rough look that was rarely seen in ordinary times. When he saw the person coming, he frowned slightly but didn't say anything.
The man took off his hood, revealing a beautiful face. He smiled and said, "Drinking in the barracks late at night is against military regulations, as I remember."
When He Xiao saw her, he didn't say anything, but just lowered his head and continued drinking.
Chu Qiao walked over, sat cross-legged opposite him, tilted her head slightly and said, "Won't you buy me a drink?"
With a clang, He Xiao casually threw a wine bowl over to her without pouring it for her. Chu Qiao was not annoyed. She calmly poured a bowl of wine and drank it with her head tilted back. She felt a spicy taste at first, as if burning coals were rushing into her throat.
She frowned slightly and said, "What a strong drink."
Seeing that He Xiao still didn't speak, she said in a serious tone, "If I don't come to see you, will you never come to see me again?"
He Xiao raised his eyebrows slightly, his eyes swept across her face, and suddenly said in a low voice: "I'm really surprised, you can still laugh now?"
"What's the big deal? Isn't the current situation much better than when we were defending Beishuo?"
He Xiao looked at her steadily, then suddenly sneered, turned around and said, "Yes, it's much better. Holding power and ascending to the throne is indeed much better."
Chu Qiao leaned forward slightly, her eyes like dark stars, and said coldly: "He Xiao, do you miss me this much too?"
Although he knew the situation in his heart, the fire in his heart could not be extinguished. He Xiao looked her straight in the eye with a very cold face, filled with some anger, but also some heartache for her not fighting back.
Chu Qiao half-knelt up, leaned over the small table in front of her, and whispered something in the man's ear.
He Xiao didn't take it too seriously at first, but in a flash, his expression suddenly changed. He raised his head abruptly, looking at the audacious woman in front of him in shock.
"He Xiao," Chu Qiao looked at him with a faint smile, but her voice was more serious and calm than ever before, "Are you willing to help me?"
The young general was silent for a long time, and finally a smile gradually appeared on the corner of his mouth. He stretched out his hand, and like many times over the years, the two of them suddenly high-fived and then clenched their fists.
Under the cold night sky, a group of people and horses were galloping rapidly on the desolate post road outside Tangjing City. Suddenly, a figure riding a horse came towards the front.
The purple-clothed man in the lead immediately reined in his horse. The horse came at a high speed, and the rider was galloping at full speed. Suddenly, he saw him, jumped off the horse with a plop, and shouted, "Fourth Young Master!"
This night is not destined to be a good night for sleep. Countless plans and games are being played out in the dark night, quietly waiting for the grand ceremony tomorrow.
The night is so long.
The rooster crows at dawn, and a red sun rises in the sky, illuminating the world.
In the Imperial College Hall, the white-haired Prince of Runan read out the late emperor's last will in a trembling voice, and then knelt down on the jade steps of the hall.
Chu Qiao wore a wedding dress with a pomegranate flower pattern and nine-color brocade with sea pattern and a phoenix. She wore a red gold jade crown with eighteen phoenixes on her head and a jade belt with a gold seal and purple ribbon around her waist. Because it was a ghost marriage, the dress was mainly black, and the nine colors were embroidered with dark blue, dark purple, dark green, iron red, black gold, sandalwood gray, dark blue, cold orange, and silver. It was embroidered with ink-colored phoenixes and small golden sea of cloud patterns. The necklaces were also decorated mainly with inkstone, sapphire, moonstone, and Hetian jade. The whole person looks solemn and simple, yet also somewhat heavy and depressing, making people dare not look at him closely.
The phoenix carriage started from the Imperial College Hall, passed Zhangyu Square, Bishou Terrace, Qiangwei Main Road, Anhua Gate, Qionghua Gate, Taiqing Gate, Tai'an Gate, and Jinwu Palace, entered Qingyun Road, which was the home of the wealthy families in the inner city, and then went up Tianqi Street that circled Tangjing, all the way to Fengyou Terrace in front of the Taimiao.
The people along the way knelt on the ground, and when they saw the carriage, they all shouted "Long live the emperor" with their foreheads buried deep in the ground. Wherever the carriage passed, dust was splashed, like a gray and yellow storm.
The autumn leaves are rustling, and a black veil is covering the entire Tang capital city. The sky is high and blue, and the sun is vast and distant. Everything looks like a landscape painted in thick ink. The prosperity of the great age is like dust and soil, covered layer by layer with the bloody past.
The carriage stopped. Fengyoutai was made of 366 white jade steps and was nearly a hundred feet high. Standing on it, one could overlook the entire Tang capital city, including the majestic and solemn Jinwu Palace, which seemed to be under one's feet.