Chapter 506: Letting the Tiger Return to the Mountain
The third day of February was cloudy.
The fine snow turned into rain, making the earth wet.
Under the astonished gaze of the people in Kyoto City, the Huo Mansion, which had been closed for a long time, finally opened its main gate again.
A tall and thin figure walked out slowly, his steps dragging and limping slightly. He looked sickly, his shoulders and back rising and falling slightly, his aura was silent, and he had a bit of the feeling of walking like a sick tiger.
Huo Gannian had to be supported by two imperial guards before he could get into the carriage. He couldn't help but frown in pain as he bent his knees. It seemed that the old injury from the flying blade had not healed yet.
This made the surrounding people and imperial guards sigh.
The regent who was so glorious and powerful back then was so high-spirited and ambitious, but he was framed and persecuted by the treacherous minister Wu Huaian and ended up in such a miserable state.
Under the sympathetic gaze of the people, the carriage slowly drove towards the palace.
Half an hour later, Huo Gannian arrived at Yong'an Palace in a carriage. From a distance, he saw Nan Lijun and the officials standing in front of the palace, looking eagerly expectant.
Nan Lijun kept adjusting his expression to one of guilt, heartache, high hopes and a bit of flattery.
On the side, Wu Huaian, dressed in prison clothes, was tied up and forced to kneel in front of the officials. A burly executioner stood beside him, with a silver guillotine on his shoulder, ready to swing it down at any time.
Huo Gannian walked out of the carriage slowly and limped forward. Before he could bow to greet her, Nan Lijun cried out in a hypocritical voice:
"No need to be polite! My dear, I have wronged you! I was confused for a moment and was deceived by a treacherous minister. I misunderstood your loyalty. I am truly ashamed!"
Huo Gannian had no expression on his face. He let Nan Lijun chatter on and on, crying and talking, putting the blame on Wu Huaian and completing her hypocritical performance.
Behind Nan Lijun, all the civil and military officials listened to this pre-written false rhetoric, and they were so embarrassed that they dug their toes into the ground.
Fortunately, Huo Gannian did not show any resistance. However, after Nan Lijun expressed his hope that he would lead the troops to the north, his eyes passed through the crowd and looked straight at the figure of Yan Shijiu in the corner of the hall.
He seemed to be speaking to Yan Shijiu, with only one sentence:
"I want Yun Chen."
As soon as these four words came out, Yan Shijiu's body stiffened obviously, and then relaxed again.
This did not come as a surprise to him.
Yun Chen will always be the bait that can control Huo Gannian.
But for Yan Shijiu, it is an impossible concession.
No one knew how Huo Gannian and Yan Shijiu fought each other across the air. All the officials secretly sighed that Huo Gannian was really a romantic man, and Nan Lijun's smile became more and more brilliant.
She was not afraid of Huo Gannian making demands, but she was afraid that he would have no desires or demands, so that he would be unrestrained.
Since he is obsessed with Yun Chen, this biggest weakness can always be exploited.
Nan Lijun wiped her tears with a handkerchief, hesitating for a long time with an embarrassed look, and finally pretended to be resolute and nodded:
"Okay. I promise you, as long as you return victorious from the Northern Expedition, I will force Yan Shijiu to divorce Yun Chen and betroth Yun Chen to you."
All the officials shook their heads after hearing this, secretly lamenting that Nan Lijun never changed his mind and acted absurdly, treating other people's marriages as a joke.
Nan Lijun, under the pretense of wiping away tears, could not help but curl the corners of his mouth behind his handkerchief, thinking in his heart:
I'll return Yun Chen to you, no problem.
But I didn't say what kind of person I want to return! Maybe it's Yun Chen who accidentally took medicine and became stupid, or someone who accidentally broke a leg and became disabled, or someone who is deaf, dumb, or blind...
Or, even if he died, how could that not count as me keeping my word?
While Nan Lijun was having these vicious thoughts in his mind, he secretly looked at Huo Gannian's expression.
The latter looked down and out, except for his pair of phoenix eyes which were as sharp and bright as before.
Afterwards, as all the officials saluted and said, "Respectfully send off the general to the Northern Expedition," Huo Gannian dusted off his robe and turned to go out.
On the side, Wu Huaian, who was being pulled towards the execution platform, noticed that when Huo Gannian turned around, there was a faint smile on the corner of his mouth.
He swept away his previous weak and dejected look, and his brows were filled with the calm and domineering aura of a king.
Wu Huaian thought he was seeing things, and when he wanted to look again, the guillotine had already fallen, causing the man's head to fall to the ground, and blood splattered for three feet.
However, Wu Huaian didn't care about all this. He still used the last bit of his will to drive his body, causing his head to roll down the execution platform amid the executioner's exclamations, and actually follow the direction of Huo Gannian.
The last glance was of Huo Gannian's back——
He took a long stride and walked away calmly. Behind him were the palaces with purple and gold eaves, and in front of him was the vast and boundless blue sky.
“Release the tiger…back to the mountains.”
Wu Huaian's head murmured these four words, as if he had seen the ending in advance, and closed his eyes contentedly.
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