The rogue hacked Zhao Jidong to death and the news of the hacking of Prince Gong was sent back to the capital as quickly as possible. The Governor of the Southwest sent troops to surround and suppress the rogues everywhere in order to make up for the crime. Adhering to the principle that it would be better to kill by mistake and not let go, he actually wanted to slaughter all the people near the rogue den, but he confronted a group of black-clothed men as soon as he started. On the contrary, he lost his troops and broke his generals, and fled in embarrassment. The people of the southwest have suffered from famine year after year, but they still have to pay high taxes, fattening the dog officials in the southwest, but in exchange for merciless killing. The clay figurines are still somewhat earthy, not to mention that the people in the southwest area are inherently sturdy.

I don't know who was instigating, the people picked up hoes and machetes, and they were about to overthrow Daqi. From the initial few hundred people, they gradually developed into an army of tens of thousands, and they captured several cities overnight and killed places. Officials and local tyrants and evil gentry took the fields as their own. The Governor of the Southwest wanted to put out the fire, but he didn't expect the fire to get bigger and bigger. After his death, the chaotic officialdom in the southwest turned into a pile of scattered sand. Some officials followed the governor's example and committed suicide. Some officials packed up and fled for their lives overnight. There is not a single person who has stood up to curb the civil unrest.

When Zhou Yunsheng received the report, the people in the southwest had already mutinied. In a short period of time, a hundred thousand troops had been assembled, and they were competing with the garrison around the southwest. Zhou Yunsheng lost his temper in the courtroom, and almost smashed the imperial table. While dispatching troops to suppress the civil unrest, he announced that he would go to the southwest to deal with the matter in person.

A gentleman does not build a dangerous wall, let alone a king of a country. If something happens to the emperor, Daqi will be completely in chaos. The courtiers knelt down to persuade one after another, but could not stop the angry emperor. Zhou Yunsheng appointed Zhao Xuan, Luo Zhen and other ministers to accompany him, and ordered a few patriarchs to stay behind to supervise the country, so he announced his withdrawal from the dynasty.

The Empress Dowager quickly ordered someone to invite him to the Cining Palace, her turbid eyes were red with tears, "Your Majesty, although Aijia is not your biological mother, ask yourself, did Aijia treat you badly from childhood to adulthood? When you collapse, it means that the Ai family has tried their best to support you to ascend to the throne. If you don’t remember anything else, you will always remember this kindness? Jin Yu of Ai’s family is suffering in the southwest now, and you have to take him back with all his head and tail. Ah. I'm begging you!"

In just one year, Emperor Sheng had completely wiped out the power that had accumulated in her hands for decades. Even if she suspected that her son was in danger, Emperor Sheng did not dare to tear her face off. If he was really annoyed, maybe his son would be buried in a foreign land.

"Don't worry, Empress, I will definitely bring him back safely." Zhou Yun Sheng nodded and agreed, but he secretly sighed that Qi Jinyu's fate was so great that even the dark guards sent by Zhao Xuan couldn't do anything about him.

When Zhao Bixuan got the news that her younger brother had died and Prince Gong was seriously injured, she immediately fainted in the Buddhist hall. Her maid desperately tried to sneak out of the Cining Palace, stopped the emperor outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and begged him to take a look at the imperial concubine.

"Forget it, for the sake of Zhao Jidong's sacrifice for the country, he released the imperial concubine's restraint. Go, take the imperial concubine back to the Fengyi Palace." Zhou Yun Sheng shook his sleeves indifferently, without showing any pity, even more There was no mention of going to Fengyi Palace to comfort the concubine.

When the maid of the palace saw this scene, most of the joy in saving her master disappeared in an instant. If it was in the past, let alone the imperial concubine fainted by stimulation, even if her eyes were slightly red, the emperor would also be confused, but now, the tone of the cloud is light and calm, as if the Zhao family was just a dead servant of no importance. rather than the direct brother of the master. The maid of the palace was still stunned, the emperor had already returned to the inner hall, and several sturdy guards stood at the door with their knives in hand, looking at her with a chilling look in their eyes.

This made her feel the difference between today and the past. In the past, the attendants of the Hall of Mental Cultivation saw the people from Fengyi Palace coming, and who didn't greet them with flattery, because they all knew that serving a good concubine was more effective than serving a good emperor. Thinking of this, the maid of the palace gasped, and realized what the edge of the abyss her master was standing on. Her power and honor in the palace were already above the imperial power. She is a palace concubine, what is it?

Naturally, it is the favor of the emperor. However, once this favor disappears, her words and deeds will become the death penalty for the Nine Clan.

The big palace maid ran back to the Cining Palace with a pale face and picked Zhao Bixuan out. Because the safety of his son was on the Emperor Sheng, heard that it was Emperor Sheng's will to release the imperial concubine, and the Queen Mother did not dare to stop him.

"Niangniang, drink some hot soup to warm up your body." When she brought a cup of tonic soup, the maid was about to persuade her master, who was crying, when she heard a message from outside that it was Mrs. Wenyuanhou who asked to see her. Mr. Fang was here naturally for his son's sake. I thought that my son would go to the southwest and he would be able to rise up when he came back, but he went straight to Huangquan. After all the struggle, he didn't do Marquis Wen Yuan's life after all. Fang's heart ached, and after crying in the mansion, she hurried in to ask her daughter for help.

"Niangniang, you have to tell the emperor that he must break the corpse of the thief who killed Jidong into ten thousand pieces, so as to comfort Jidong's spirit in the sky. Jidong died wrongly. If Prince Gong had not insisted on taking him to the southwest, he would have How could he encounter such a disaster? I said earlier that he should stay in the Hanlin Academy in peace, and not get involved with Prince Gong. Everyone can see that the emperor was afraid of Prince Gong and wanted to suppress him. Sooner or later, his career will be affected. But I never imagined that before his career started, people would go first. He is stupid, and I am even more stupid. If only I could persuade him a little bit. My son, I hurt you..." Fang shi was crying and blowing her nose, her face was so wet and sticky that she couldn't see it, she seemed to be going crazy.

Zhao Bixuan was not feeling well either. Her mother's words pierced her heart like a knife. No one knows better than her why her younger brother got close to Qi Jinyu, but even so, Qi Jinyu can't be blamed for this, it can only be blamed on God's will. Zhao Bixuan suppressed her grief and tried to comfort her mother. Seeing that it didn't work, she ordered her habitually, "Come here, go to the Hall of Mental Cultivation and call the emperor."

Not only did the several servants not move, but even the loyal maid did not respond. She didn't show it on her face, but in her heart, she felt frightened by the words and sentences of the imperial concubine. "Call the emperor", just five words, but what kind of contempt and contempt it reveals, as if the emperor is her dog, who can come and go when she is called. But he is not a dog, but a blue dragon that roams the nine heavens. He can wipe out a whole family with just one breath, not to mention a small noble concubine.

"Master, the emperor is busy with government affairs now, so let's wait until dinner time."

"No, go now! I'm going to see the emperor now." Zhao Bixuan was heartbroken to her younger brother, but she was even more worried about Qi Jinyu's safety. The deceased is gone, and the living is the greatest. What she cares most about now is whether Qi Jinyu can come back safely. Shengdi must have regulations, she must ask clearly.

The maid of the palace was helpless, so she had to take orders and leave, and turned around a moment later with a hesitant look on her face.

"Niangniang, the emperor ordered you to send the second prince over there."

"Why do you want to send Cheng'er there? He wants to see Cheng'er come to Fengyi Palace." Zhao Bixuan reflexively glanced at the side hall where the second prince lived. She never liked that Emperor Sheng was too close to the second prince. In her heart, the father of the second prince was Qi Jinyu. If he was too close to Emperor Sheng since childhood, Qi Jinyu might not be able to turn around when he ascended the throne in the future. She didn't want her son to recognize a thief as his father.

"The emperor didn't say anything, he just asked you to send the second prince quickly."

"Xu is that the emperor likes the second prince so much that he wants to keep him by his side for a while. Niangniang, you should send it." Fang Shi said in a hoarse voice after wiping away her tears. If it wasn't for another noble concubine's daughter to rely on, she would have collapsed long ago.

What do you mean 'maiden, do you still send it'? Even the people in Wenyuan Hou's mansion were dizzy! What the emperor wants, how can the master refuse it, as if the master doesn't want to let it go. The palace maid was anxious and annoyed in her heart, but she did not dare to speak plainly in front of Mr. Fang, thinking that when Mrs. Fang left, she must persuade her master.

Zhao Bixuan originally planned to send her son over in person, and by the way, she inquired about her sweetheart from Shengdi, but was stopped by a servant sent by Shengdi before she even walked out of the palace gate.

"Niangniang, you only need to send the second prince over there. I don't bother you to go there in person." Although the words sounded nice, they clearly declared: The emperor doesn't want to see you at all right now.

Zhao Bixuan reluctantly handed her son over to the palace maid and stood at the door watching the two gradually disappear. Fang Shi was able to win the favor of Marquis Wen Yuan under the suppression of Li Shi, and naturally grasped the man's mind very accurately. Just now, because she was too sad, her mind was a little chaotic. Now that she calmed down, she naturally found the clue.

"Niangniang, when such a big event happened in our family, the emperor didn't come to see you?" Seeing her daughter shaking her head stiffly, she forced her heart to ask, "No words of comfort? Did someone send you something? I didn't say what would happen. Handling Jidong's funeral?" Because Zhao Jidong died outside, no one in the Zhao family except Zhao Xuan could go to the southwest where rogues were rampant and war-torn to bury his corpse. However, Fang Shi and others have completely torn their faces with the direct line for the title, and now they dare to go to the door to ask. Fang Shi thought that he still had an emperor's son-in-law to count on, so he hurriedly entered the palace to meet him.

According to the emperor's love for his daughter in the past, there is no need for her to take the initiative to ask. Did your daughter fall out of favor? Whether or not her daughter is favored is related to the future of Marquis Wenyuan's mansion, but also to her own glory and wealth. The more she thought about it, the more afraid she became. She grabbed Zhao Bixuan's wrist and asked in a low voice, "Miss, tell me, did you do something wrong? What made the emperor hate you? Otherwise, he wouldn't have thought about how sad you are now, and he wouldn't have the heart to not see you. The emperor seems to have never cared about you at all."

Zhao Bixuan's heart trembled when she asked, and after thinking about it carefully, she realized that Emperor Sheng hadn't taken the initiative to visit her for a long time. She shook her head in denial, and pressed her chest to prevent her mother from hearing her frantic heartbeat. She didn't want to lose Emperor Sheng's favor, at least not until her sweetheart ascended the throne. She knew too well how a palace concubine who fell out of favor was living a life that was worse than death.

The maid of the palace entered the Hall of Mental Cultivation with the second prince in her arms. She thought that the emperor would give the second prince a glance, but he did not expect him to order without raising his head, "Come here, send the second prince out."

Qi Licheng is the seed of Qi Jinyu, how can Zhou Yun Sheng rest assured to keep him in the palace. The news that Qi Jinyu has become a cripple has not yet reached the Queen Mother's ears, but she will know sooner or later that it will inevitably give birth to the idea of ​​abandoning the car to protect the handsome, desperate idea, and launch a coup while she is away from Beijing to push the second prince to the throne. Although he has thousands of ways to contain her, in order to avoid unnecessary losses, he prefers to grab the other's lifeline first.

The maid in the palace handed the second prince to the man in black who suddenly appeared. Seeing that he picked up the second prince with one hand, he quickly disappeared. The contemptuous attitude was not like treating the emperor's favorite prince, but a kitten. puppy. She raised her eyes and peeked at the emperor's expression, but found that he did not show the slightest reluctance. She wanted to ask him why he sent the second prince away, but she didn't dare to say a word. Thinking that when the imperial concubine was favored, she was also favored by the emperor, and she was able to gag a few words in front of the royal family.

What is the difference between the present and the past? This is called the present is not the same as the past. The maid of the palace suppressed her fear and returned to the Fengyi Palace to find that Mrs. Fang had left, so she truthfully told the news that the second prince had been sent away. Zhao Bixuan thought that Emperor Sheng picked up his son to raise him personally, but he didn't know that it was sent to an unknown place, and ran out like a madman. He wanted to ask clearly, but was pushed back by the guards guarding Fengyi Palace with a sword and halberd.

This is where the ban is lifted, but it is continued in another place. The phoenix seal is gone, the son is gone, and the freedom is gone. Even if the younger brother died unexpectedly, Emperor Sheng did not show the slightest pity. The attendants up and down the Fengyi Palace were all aware of a terrible fact - the imperial concubine fell out of favor!

Zhao Bixuan sat paralyzed on the soft couch, her arms clasped tightly around her body, trying to drive away the cold air rushing out from the depths of her bones. Apart from the more gorgeous bedroom, what is the difference between her life now and when she stayed in the cold palace in the past?

When Zhao Bixuan was deeply immersed in the vortex of fear, and finally figured out that he planned to serve the emperor well to regain his favor, Zhou Yunsheng was already on his way to the southwest. Zhao Xuan originally thought that the emperor was afraid of him and would definitely detain him in the capital and abandon him, but he did not expect him to entrust extremely important errands over and over again, and it seemed that he trusted him a lot.

"General, do you think Emperor Sheng wants to let the dark guards pretend to be rogues and kill you here like we did with Prince Gong? According to your subordinates, you might as well take this opportunity to leave, and then secretly promote the civil unrest in the southwest. Mix our army into the peasant army, kill Emperor Sheng first, and then go straight back to the capital with a banner against the imperial court. Then wait for you to be in power..."

Before the lieutenant could finish speaking, he was slapped by Zhao Xuan and reprimanded, "Don't mention this kind of thing again in the future."

The lieutenant tried several times in succession, and determined that the general did not intend to rebel, so he did not dare to say any more. Whether the general wanted to be a courtier or an emperor, they would all follow to the death.

Zhao Xuan sent the lieutenant away and walked outside the tent to look out. They were about to enter the southwest boundary, and along the way, they kept receiving news that the peasant army was attacking the city and looting the land. Seeing that the man was more worried every day, and the robes on his body were much wider, he wished he could tie him up and pour a few bowls of tonic soup. Because that person was always with hundreds of guards, Zhao Xuan did not dare to act rashly, so he could only restrain his anxiety and longing.

Just a little aftertaste in his mind, Zhao Xuan was severely swollen and painful.

"The servant sees the prince, the emperor invites the prince to go to the imperial tent, please." Lin An hurried over in the night.

Zhao Xuan was secretly delighted in his heart, but his face did not reveal the slightest. After Lin Antong reported, he strode into the imperial tent and half-kneeled in salute. He raised his eyes slightly, and saw Emperor Yubai's feet hanging on the edge of the couch, coated with a layer of soft light due to the candlelight, it was really beautiful, and his heart suddenly felt like grass growing. Damn, if there was no civil chaos in the southwest, he should be in the palace now, holding this person's feet and carefully playing, licking and kissing, why was he running all the way, and he didn't even have a chance to get close.

"Get up." Zhou Yun Sheng likes to let Zhao Xuan kneel on his knees, but seeing his eyes always glancing at his bare feet, he knows what he has in mind, and he can't wait to step on his face. But even if you step on it, this animal probably won't feel humiliated, but will take the opportunity to lick a few bites. It's really hard to change its nature.

Thinking of this, Zhou Yun Sheng sighed while holding his forehead.

Zhao Xuan thought he was worried about the southwest, and said, "Your Majesty, Wei Chen is willing to calm down this civil unrest for you." He has several troops stationed at the junction of the southwest and northwest, and he can dispatch them in half a day. .

"I don't intend to use the army to crush this civil unrest. I have my own way." Zhou Yun Sheng slowly put a polished bronze mirror into a cylinder with a diameter of ten centimeters. Isn't the Southwest arid? Aren't the people thirsty for rain as they thirst for life? Then he made a heavy rain for them.

Zhao Xuan responded in a low voice and did not ask further.

"Help me cut this piece of wood into the shape on the drawing." Zhou Yun Sheng threw a small knife over, and tapped a piece of wood and a piece of rice paper with his chin on the table.

Zhao Xuan liked his casual attitude. He picked up a stool at his feet and sat down. He sharpened it seriously. Seeing that some sawdust fell on the emperor's instep, he pleaded guilty and brushed it away with his hands. His fingertips seemed to be unintentional. He touched the emperor's round and lovely toes. Zhou Yun Sheng glanced at him and saw that he was sitting upright, with a solemn expression on his face, as if he had not done anything light, so he couldn't help but cursed in his heart.

After this touch, there would always be sawdust running on the emperor's instep, and when a thick layer accumulated, Zhao Xuancai pretended to be frightened, picked up the delicate feet like the emperor's jade carvings, wiped and stroked, and occasionally a wisp came out of his eyes. Dusk, seems to be very hungry. After wiping it like this for three times, Zhou Yun Sheng finally couldn't hold it in any longer. He stepped on his face and cursed, "Go away and cut it off, or I'll cut you off!" As the words fell, he seemed to feel a warm damp feeling coming from the soles of his feet. , I quickly took it back, and I was both angry and funny.

This animal really has no bottom line!

"Please forgive the recklessness of the emperor, and I will sit here." Zhao Xuan bowed his head and ordered, sitting a little further away from the emperor's soft couch, the tip of his tongue turned in his mouth, quite aftertaste.

Zhou Yunsheng called Zhao Xuan to cut the wood for a night, his original intention was to toss him, but he didn't expect him to be willing to cut one piece slower than the other, and even steal it with hot eyes at the stall where he was hanging his head to assemble the parts. watch for. Over time, it also ignited the dark fire in Zhou Yun Sheng's heart, and he could not wait to drag him to the couch to do it.

"I'll be here tonight, you can go back." Zhou Yun Sheng didn't want to take advantage of him, so he threw his sleeves at him.

Zhao Xuan bowed respectfully and left, returned to his tent, and immediately removed his inner strength, thinking about the face and voice of that person.

In the chaos of the southwest, there were peasant rebels dressed in white linen everywhere. Finally, the elite soldiers of the prefecture were still very useful, and the rebels were blocked from the city gate. Zhou Yunsheng ordered Zhao Xuan to lead the way. Wherever he went, he only dispersed the chaotic army. He did not pursue it, nor killed innocent people. Finally, he arrived at the Southwest Governor's Mansion and saw Qi Jinyu who was seriously injured in bed.

Now that half a month has passed, most of Qi Jinyu's stab wounds have been closed. As long as you are careful not to be infected, you should not worry about life.

Zhou Yun Sheng followed a group of officials. For the sake of reputation, the necessary brothers and sisters had to perform. He brewed some grief, then pushed open the door and walked to the bedside, seeing Qi Jinyu's face clearly, his eyes couldn't help showing surprise.

I saw a scarlet scar from the end of Qi Jinyu's left eye down to the lower jaw, and cut his tall nose bridge and thin and graceful lips in half. Because there is no suture technique, the wounds are not neatly aligned, leaving half of his face. It's normal, half of the face is skewed, and it's ugly like a monster. Is this still the handsome and handsome Prince Gong? With his present honor, going out would probably make all the children in the city cry.

With a smile in his heart, Zhou Yun Sheng held Qi Jinyu's hand, his eyes gradually reddened, and he choked, "Brother Huang, you are suffering."

Looking back on it later, Qi Jinyu felt more and more that those rogues were not local rioters. How could the rioters seriously injure the dark guards of the Zhenbei General's Mansion? They are clearly well-trained private soldiers. Who is the person in the world who wants his own life the most, apart from Qi Yining, he can't think of a second one.

Seeing Qi Yining's feigned sympathy with the cat crying and the mouse, he vomited almost blood in his heart, but he didn't show it at all, and tried his best to cooperate with the other party's acting. His appearance is ruined, his body is crippled, and there is no hope of winning the throne. At this time, he can only show weakness and plan a way forward after saving his life. He also has a son, who is raised in the palace and will soon be canonized as a prince. Thinking of this, life is not all hopeless. Qi Yining is proud of herself now, and she is on top. When she finds out that her son is Qi Jinyu's seed, the woman has already been slept by him hundreds of times, and she doesn't know how to cry.

Qi Jinyu thought morbidly about ways to retaliate against Qi Yining, and found that there were still many important pieces in her hand, so she gradually broke free from the pain.

Zhou Yunsheng didn't expect that Zhao Xuan would make Qi Jinyu so miserable, but it was a little more interesting than killing him directly, so Long Xin was delighted, seeing Zhao Xuan walking behind Luo Zhen, hooked his fingers and called him over.

Zhao Xuan bent over and saluted, waiting for the emperor's decree, but saw him stretch out his hand, pat his cheek like a caress, and then left without a word.

"What does the emperor mean?" Luo Zhen asked with his eyes wide open.

"I don't know." Zhao Xuan covered the cheek that had been slapped by his sweetheart, only to feel that it was as hot as fire. He never knew that he had such a pure and vulnerable moment, but just now, he clearly noticed the gentle love from the emperor's seemingly unintentional actions. He didn't want to admit that it was his own delusion, and hurried back with ecstasy.

A group of subordinates peeked at him with strange eyes, and wondered in surprise: Is the general blushing? Are we blind?