Chapter 189 The Emperor's Strangling of the Qi Family Fails
Aunt Su was mowing the grass so full of resentment that she didn't hear the footsteps at all.
Until a pair of official boots appeared before my eyes.
She was stunned for a moment before slowly looking up.
The firelight from afar shone over, and Han Chong's cold face was intertwined with light and shadow, looking eerie and terrifying.
Aunt Su was so frightened that she fell to the ground and hurriedly explained.
"Sir, I don't want to run away."
Han Chong handed the secret decree to Aunt Su, "The Emperor has issued a decree, please review it."
These words made Aunt Su burst into tears of joy, "The Emperor finally remembered me."
After saying this, she immediately took the secret order.
In order to let her see clearly, Han Chong lit a fire stick.
The content of the secret order was very simple, asking her to obey Han Chong's orders and help destroy the Qi family.
After Han Chong and Aunt Su finished reading the secret decree, they immediately burned it.
Aunt Su looked at the black ashes scattered at her feet and asked anxiously, "Sir, after the Qi family dies, what will happen to me and my daughter?"
She is now also a member of the Qi family, and she is afraid that the emperor will kill her to silence her.
Han Chong shook his head, "What you will do will be decided by the emperor."
Hearing this, Aunt Su breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as the emperor didn't ask her to be buried with the Qi family, she and her daughter would have a chance to survive.
She couldn't wait to ask, "When does the official plan to take action against the Qi family?"
"If there is a suitable time to take action, I will notify you to cooperate."
"Okay, I will cooperate!"
Han Chong blew the fire extinguisher and left.
Aunt Su looked at his back and felt indescribably happy. She even worked harder to mow the grass.
She glanced in the direction of the Qi family, and her eyes unexpectedly met Qi Yanzhou's.
He was so scared that he immediately lowered his head and cut the grass much faster.
After taking a shower, Ye Chutang walked over to Qi Yanzhou and asked, "What are you looking at?"
Qi Yanzhou smelled the fragrance emanating from Ye Chutang and leaned close to her ear.
"The emperor can't wait to take action against the Qi family. You should receive a secret decree soon."
Ye Chutang was not surprised.
She asked, "Your people will exaggerate what happened today and spread it all over the capital, right?"
"Of course, the story of the Black-bellied Snake has spread, and the news of the Emperor colluding with the Northern Barbarians will spread throughout the streets and alleys tomorrow morning."
Qi Yanzhou really wanted to know what the emperor’s expression would be when he found out that he had “collaborated with the enemy and betrayed his country.”
Ye Chutang pulled his clothes together and raised a malicious smile.
"The news can be true or false, and things that have never happened can be attributed to the emperor."
Qi Yanzhou scratched her nose lovingly.
"My wife is smart. You go and rest first. I will wash your clothes."
Aunt Xu quickly interrupted, "Madam, let me wash your clothes from now on."
Since someone was rushing to do the work, Ye Chutang was of course happy to do it.
"Okay, thank you for your help, auntie."
After saying that, she looked at Qi Yanzhou and said, "Go cut some more branches and hang the bed curtains later."
She knew that she would have to spend the night outside during her exile, so she took two bed curtains from Prince Chen's mansion.
If conditions permit, use it to repel mosquitoes.
Although she has mosquito repellent, the medicine is partially poisonous.
She is pregnant now, so she should avoid taking medicine if possible.
"Okay, wait."
Qi Yanzhou immediately entered the woods.
After a while, he came back with a bunch of straight branches as thick as two fingers.
He quickly built two frames for hanging bed curtains based on the length of the oilcloth.
Then he and Qi Hean hung the bed curtains and spread the bedding.
Madam Qi said, "Tang'er, Zhou'er, you two are newlyweds, so sleep on the same bed tonight."
Qi Yanzhou quickly refused, "Mom, the four of you will be too crowded and inconvenient. It's better for men and women to sleep separately."
"What's the point of dividing? Just listen to your mother!"
"mother……"
Mr. Qi felt that making the decision directly was somewhat disrespectful to Ye Chutang.
He immediately asked for her opinion, "Tang'er, what do you think is a better arrangement?"
Ye Chutang felt that it didn’t matter who he slept with since he was just sleeping under the quilt.
"Then listen to your mother."
When Qi Yanzhou heard this, the tips of his ears turned red.
He couldn't refuse Ye Chutang, so he could only agree.
"Atang, go and rest first."
Ye Chutang saw Qi Yanzhou's embarrassment and nodded, "Okay."
She randomly picked a bed on the floor and lay down to rest.
Because it is close to the lake, the water vapor is heavier and the temperature is lower.
So even if the bed curtains block the night wind, it won't feel very hot.
Ye Chutang didn't rest because she thought Han Chong would come to see her.
As a result, I waited until Qi Yanzhou finished his work and came in, but Han Chong still didn't show up.
Qi Yanzhou thought Ye Chutang was asleep, but when he lifted the bed curtain, he found that she had her eyes open.
"Atang, why haven't you rested yet?"
Ye Chutang smelled the fragrance of mugwort emanating from Qi Yanzhou and teased him intentionally.
"Waiting for you."
After saying that, she lifted the thin blanket and patted the area beside her.
Heat rose from Qi Yanzhou's face. He walked over stiffly and lay down beside Ye Chutang.
He lay straight with his hands folded in front of him. If you didn't know, you would have thought he was about to be buried.
Ye Chutang took Qi Yanzhou's hand and placed it on her pulse.
“Do you feel it?”
Qi Yanzhou became a doctor after suffering from illness for a long time, so he naturally knew how to take a pulse.
But the baby was still young, so he couldn't tell if it was twins, he could only tell if it was a happy pregnancy.
The pulse swirls forcefully, like beads rolling on a plate.
He felt the pulse of happiness, and the tension gradually disappeared, and he unconsciously held Ye Chutang in his arms.
Gentle words fell into Ye Chutang's ears.
"Atang, thank you for your hard work. I am happy with you."
Ye Chutang retracted his wrist, hugged Qi Yanzhou, and said, "I am also lucky to meet you."
As soon as he finished speaking, Han Chong's voice rang out.
"Madam Qi, one of my brothers has been poisoned, and I would like you to go and see him."
Ye Chutang pretended not to understand what he meant.
"The antidote has been used up. It's useless for me to go."
Han Chong's tone became tough, "Please ask Madam Qi to go and have a look!"
Ye Chutang stood up, put on his coat, and pulled aside the bed curtain to come out.
"Don't blame me if I can't save anyone."
“It’s natural.”
Ye Chutang followed Han Chong to the entrance of the lake where the Dragon Guards gathered.
"Mrs. Qi, please take a seat."
"Where are the people?"
Han Chong signaled his subordinates with his eyes to block Ye Chutang's figure.
After making sure that all prying eyes were blocked, he handed the pigeon message he had received to Ye Chutang.
"Madam Qi, this is the emperor's secret order."
Ye Chutang took the secret decree but did not open it immediately.
She asked, "Who are you?"
Han Chong naturally wouldn't tell the truth.
"We are the emperor's people. Please read the secret decree, Madam Qi."
Ye Chutang opened the secret decree and, with the help of the light from the barbecue nearby, he was able to read the words clearly.
It’s so densely packed that there aren’t enough notes.
When I wrote the later part, the explanation was very sloppy.
The emperor explained two things.
First, let her secretly poison the Qi family, but in a way that won’t cause the poison to take effect for the time being.
Second, cooperate with Han Chong's action and put the Qi family to death after leaving Beijing a hundred miles away.
After reading it, Ye Chutang did not burn the secret decree, but put it in his arms.
Han Chong reminded: "Madam Qi, the secret decree must be destroyed after reading it."
"Commander Han, exterminating the Qi family is a serious crime, and the secret decree is my bargaining chip to save my life, how can I destroy it?"
"This is the emperor's order. Does Madam Qi want to disobey it?"
Ye Chutang looked at the flickering flames with a carefree smile.
"I'm disobeying your order, what can you do to me?"
Han Chong didn't expect that Ye Chutang didn't even take the emperor seriously, and his slightly narrowed eyes flashed with ferocity.
"If Madam Qi disobeys the imperial order, I will use force against you!"
Ye Chutang clicked his tongue, "Is this how you treat your savior?"
"Compared to the imperial order, the grace of saving my life is secondary..."
Before he finished speaking, Ye Chutang suddenly threw out a handful of poison.
Han Chong, who was speaking, became the main victim.
"Mrs. Qi, you...poof..."
The poison was so strong that Han Chong spat out blood as soon as he opened his mouth and fainted on the ground.
The other dragon guards who were poisoned began to bleed from all their orifices.
The other dragon guards looked at Ye Chutang in horror, as if they were facing a great enemy.
They wanted to take action, but she was the emperor's spy, and without the imperial edict, they dared not act.
Besides, the poison in her hand is very powerful, so it would be unwise to confront her head-on.
Seeing their companions fall one by one, someone said, "Madam Qi, if you kill Commander Han, the emperor will never let you go!"
Ye Chutang chuckled, "I dare to disobey the emperor's order, do you think I am afraid of the emperor?"
After saying that, she squatted down and fed Han Chong an antidote.
The unconscious Han Chong woke up quickly, spat out the blood in his mouth, and looked at Ye Chutang with a pale face.
"Mrs. Qi..."
Before he could utter a threatening word, Ye Chutang interrupted him and asked, "Which is more important, the secret decree? Or is it more important to destroy the Qi family? Choose one of the two."
“All are important.”
Ye Chutang took out the secret decree and handed it to Han Chong, "I will leave the decision to you. If you burn the secret decree, I will tell Qi Yanzhou about the emperor's plan."
Han Chong immediately retracted his outstretched hand and stared at Ye Chutang coldly.
"I hope Madam Qi won't regret today's decision!"
Killing the Qi family is more important. It won’t be too late to snatch the secret order from Ye Chutang after the dust settles.
Ye Chutang knew what Han Chong was thinking and asked, "Commander Han, why do you want to destroy the Qi family? Is it because of the emperor's order, or because the Qi family is plotting rebellion?"
This made Han Chong alert, "What does Madam Qi mean by this?"
Ye Chutang wouldn’t know their identities, right?
"If the Qi family didn't rebel, what would Commander Han do?"
“No ifs!”
Ye Chutang looked at Han Chong who had a determined expression and raised his eyebrows.
"I'll save your life in exchange for your answer."
Han Chong frowned slightly, "Mrs. Qi thinks the Qi family is not plotting a rebellion, and wants to persuade me to let the Qi family go?"
"I just want your honest answer."
"The plan to destroy the Qi family will proceed as usual. If the Qi family can be rehabilitated before then, I will terminate the plan."
Ye Chutang continued to ask, "What if the Qi family can prove themselves, but the emperor still wants to destroy the Qi family?"
"It will be someone else who does it."
After hearing this, Ye Chutang felt that it was not difficult to persuade Han Chong to defect.
"I am very satisfied with Commander Han's answer."
She stuffed the secret decree back into her arms and took out the antidote.
"This poison may seem fierce, but it actually does not cause much harm to the body."
Han Chong immediately gave it to his men to take.
After each person took a pill, he returned the antidote to Ye Chutang.
Ye Chutang stuffed the medicine bottle into his sleeve pocket and said, "Commander Han, think about the purpose of the ancestor emperor to create the Dragon Guard. Blind loyalty is not the same as protecting the country."
After leaving this sentence, she left and returned to the camp.
Han Chong watched Ye Chutang disappear into the darkness, his eyebrows tightly knitted together.
The Dragon Guard exists to protect the country and the imperial power.
They followed the emperor's arrangements, secretly eliminated treacherous officials and suppressed rebellions.
Let the imperial power be stable, the country be secure, and the people be at peace.
This was originally the same thing.
But since when, the imperial power and the people have become opposing entities, and the Zhao family's kingdom is in danger.
Blind loyalty is not protecting the country!
Han Chong certainly understood this truth.
But he was powerless to change.
You can only do the right thing within your ability.
The Qi family secretly stored weapons and intended to rebel.
So he accepted the order to destroy the Qi family and eliminate the factors that caused instability in Beichen Kingdom.
You did the right thing!
After Han Chong convinced himself, he was very confused as to why the emperor did not send him an order by carrier pigeon.
An hour later, he received the secret order from the emperor to Zhao Mingxuan.
After figuring out the pattern of the letter, he waited hour after hour.
As a result, he did not receive any secret order until dawn.
Han Chong felt that the carrier pigeon that was carrying the message to him might have had an accident.
But he didn't dare write to the emperor to ask.
If the emperor had only issued three secret orders, his letter would have become a question, which would have been extremely disrespectful to the emperor.
He pushed forward the time when he received the first secret decree by one hour.
Then they discovered that Qi Yanzhou was catching birds in the woods at that time.
In other words, the message from the emperor to him was most likely intercepted by Qi Yanzhou.
Thinking of this, Han Chong wanted to go to the woods to check.
Wu Chenggang woke up and shouted, "Get up and get ready to go!"
The quiet lakeside suddenly became noisy.
Han Chong gave up the idea of going to the woods to check.
Given Qi Yanzhou's caution, if he intercepted the secret order, he would not leave any evidence.
Soon, the exile team continued on their way.
After resting for half a day and a night, everyone's bee venom was almost gone.
But the stung area still feels painful, but it's barely bearable.
Only Aunt Jiang, who didn't take the medicine, was sick.
She was treated by a doctor among the officials. She would not die, but her recovery would be slow.
In order to prevent the Ye family from falling behind, Wu Chenggang did not put shackles and anklets on them.
Ye Jingchuan supported Aunt Jiang as they walked, and the couple seemed to be deeply in love.
In fact, he wanted to wait for Aunt Jiang to recover so that she could continue to serve him and his old mother.
Ye Siyin would occasionally replace Ye Jingchuan and help Aunt Jiang walk.
From time to time, she looked at Qi Hean who was walking in front, and Zhao Qingshu who was walking in front.
She must take down one of these two men!
If the northern barbarians hadn’t caused trouble yesterday, Qi Hean would have been captured!
Aunt Jiang noticed that there was something wrong with her daughter's eyes and guessed her intention.
"Yin'er, choose Zhao Qingshu."
The emperor will never let the Qi family go. Choosing Qi Hean is seeking death.
The Zhao family is a royal family, so even if they are imprisoned, they will not have to worry about food and drink.
Ye Siyin knew that Zhao Qingshu would be a more suitable choice.
But she knew in her heart that Zhao Qingshu was cold and heartless and would not necessarily be responsible for her.
If she could capture Qi Hean, she would be safe as long as the Qi family survived.
So, she prefers Qi Hean.
"Mom, let me make the decision myself."
Aunt Jiang forced out a weak smile, "Okay, you've had ideas since you were a child."
Everyone had stings on their bodies and could not move forward very fast.
After walking for nearly two hours, we hadn't even covered ten miles.
We had breakfast at the small inn.
At this time.
The news that the emperor was colluding with the northern barbarians to kill the Qi family not only spread throughout the capital, but also spread to the nearby one state and five counties.
The postmaster and postmen at the post station also heard the news.
After making breakfast, the postmaster asked Wu Chenggang for news.
"Sir, is it true that the Emperor is colluding with the northern barbarians?"
Wu Chenggang slapped the table.
“Nonsense!”
Whether it is true or not, it is not their business to discuss.
The postmaster was unwilling to give up and asked, "If there was no collusion, how could the northern barbarians know the route of exile and ambush in advance?"
"The route of exile to the northwest is fixed. It's not surprising that the northern barbarians ambushed us in advance. Watch your mouth. Criticizing the emperor will result in death!"
After Wu Chenggang finished speaking, he glanced at Han Chong.
He was sure that the Northern Barbarians' spies had come out in full force and this was definitely not just an ordinary ambush.
But he was just a minor official, and the adults' affairs had nothing to do with him.
The postmaster knew Wu Chenggang and was frightened by his harsh words, so he quickly apologized and begged for mercy.
Wu Chenggang waved his hand and said, "Get out of here."
The Qi, Zhao and Ye families had breakfast outside the post station.
I bought porridge from the post station and had a simple meal with pickles and steamed buns.
Qi Yanzhou was very satisfied with the effect of the rumor.
After eating, we continued our journey.
Around noon, the exile team passed through a small town.
This is an opportunity for the exiled officials to make some money.
Wu Chenggang stopped at the town gate and asked, "Is anyone going to the town to buy something?"
It is now the third day of exile.
Although the food bought by the three families was not finished, it had become unpalatable due to the high temperature.
When they heard that they could go shopping, everyone said they wanted to go to the town.
Wu Chenggang had guessed this result long ago. After all, these three families were not short of money.
He said, "Now is meal time. I will give you half an hour to go shopping. The fee for leaving the team is one tael of silver."
Except for the penniless Aunt Su and her daughter, and the few remaining members of the Ye family, everyone paid the silver.
Ye Jingchuan paid one or two taels of silver and entered the town by himself.
The Dragon Guards accompanied them to prevent anyone from escaping.
The town is not big and you can see the end of the main street at a glance.
Because it was noon and the sun was very strong, there were few pedestrians on the street.
The things sold in the stalls and shops are basically daily necessities and are mainly practical.
There is an inn and a restaurant where you can eat.
There are also wonton shops and bun shops.
Ye Chutang did not compromise himself and went into the restaurant and ordered the best dishes.
"Waiter, how much silver?"
The shopkeeper brought a jar of the best wine and said, "This table is my treat."
"That's impossible. How can you eat without paying?"
Ye Chutang handed the shopkeeper ten taels of silver.
She knew that the prices in the town were not high, and this table of food would definitely not cost ten taels.
The shopkeeper took a step back and knelt down towards Qi Yanzhou.
"Six years ago, Master Qi saved my daughter's life when he was fighting against bandits. Let alone a meal, even if she eats here for the rest of her life, that's fine."
He didn't believe that the Qi family, whose mission was to defend the country, would rebel.
No one in the whole town believed it.
Because Qi Yanzhou successfully wiped out the bandits in the mountains, he brought peace to the surrounding villages.
Now that he had the honor of inviting the Qi family to dinner, how could he ask for money?
Qi Yanzhou helped the shopkeeper up.
"I was ordered by the court to suppress the bandits, and saving people was an official business. Now eating is a private matter, and they cannot be mixed up."
After saying this, he stuffed ten taels of silver into the shopkeeper's hand.
The shopkeeper couldn't refuse, so he had to accept the five taels of silver as expected.
"Master Qi, the Qi family will definitely redress their grievances."
As soon as these words were spoken, the people wandering outside the restaurant echoed them at the same time.
"The Qi family will definitely be vindicated!"
The loud voice made Han Chong, who was guarding outside the restaurant, a little dazed.
What Ye Chutang said last night came to my mind.
"If the Qi family didn't rebel, what would Commander Han do?"
He knew that the Qi family had been loyal for generations, and in order to reassure the royal family, he even voluntarily handed over his military power and stayed away from the court to live a life of luxury.
From the beginning to the end, it was the royal family that was suspicious and could not tolerate the Qi family.
For a moment, he began to waver in his plan to destroy the Qi family.
But soon, he made up his mind.
Before he saw the evidence of the Qi family being framed, he was a loyal dragon guard to the emperor!
Ye Chutang was unaware of Han Chong's psychological changes and happily ate a sumptuous meal.
When I left, the shopkeeper gave me some cooked food and lettuce.
Coming out of the restaurant, many people brought food and daily necessities, kneeling down and begging Qi Yanzhou to accept them.
Qi Yanzhou couldn't refuse, so he accepted some that he could use.
Ye Chutang looked at the respected Qi Yanzhou, and the corners of his mouth rose unconsciously.
"There is a good reward, and I can save money on shopping."
After saying that, she went to the bank and exchanged the silver notes for some small change and copper coins for use on the road.
When the Qi family left the town, the people all came to see them off.
"Master Qi, take care of yourself!"
Wu Chenggang had escorted countless exiled prisoners, and this was the first time he encountered such a situation, and he felt very emotional.
He couldn't help but sigh.
"The most ruthless people are the emperors who destroy the bridges after crossing them."
After he finished speaking quietly, he greeted, "We were delayed yesterday, let's continue our journey."
The rest of the journey was peaceful.
Only the rumor that the emperor wanted to kill the Qi family became more and more intense.
Ye Siyin has been looking for an opportunity to attack Qi Hean, but to no avail.
Han Chong had already arranged a plan to ambush the Qi family.
The next day at noon.
The exile team finally left the capital a hundred miles away.
Wu Chenggang pointed to the canyon ahead and said, "After passing this place, we will reach the territory of Liangzhou."
This canyon is a natural barrier protecting Liangzhou, easy to defend but difficult to attack.
When Ye Chutang heard the word "Liangzhou", he thought of Song Jingning.
When Qi Yanzhou heard the word "Liangzhou", he thought of his elder sister who was married to the magistrate of Liangzhou.
Han Chong stood at the entrance of the canyon, glancing upwards out of the corner of his eye.
The dust is finally settling!
"Let's go. We'll rest after we pass the canyon."
Although Wu Chenggang didn't know Han Chong's plan, his many years of experience outside made him keenly aware of the danger.
"That's what I thought. After we pass the canyon, there's a stream ahead. We can take a lunch break there."
After saying that, he waved his hand.
"go ahead!"
Han Chong glanced at Ye Chutang.
After receiving his signal, Ye Chutang nodded slightly.
Every member of the Zhao family walking in front of the team had a poisoned arrow tied to his wrist.
Aunt Su clenched her fist, holding a powerful pear blossom needle that could kill instantly with one blow.
Ye Chutang's mission was to poison the Qi family.
As long as Han Chong gave an order, they would immediately take action against the Qi family.
If the Qi family cannot be destroyed by all four methods, a huge rock will fall from the top of the canyon and the entire army will be wiped out!
Han Chong and other exiles walked to the middle of the canyon and shouted.
"Get started!"
Nothing happened.
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