On the day when King Ling'an left the city to cross south, the streets of Lidu Mansion were deserted.
The parts of the city that were destroyed by the Qi people have yet to be repaired, and the traces of the fierce battle between the remnant soldiers and the Yucheng army still remain in the ruins. But when people set foot on this land, the majestic vitality overshadowed all the depression. and dilapidated.
The king's ceremonial guard was surrounded by crowds and moved forward slowly. Wherever the car went, people knelt down and worshiped like a wave.
In fact, Xu Zhou was not in the car.
Although the big crisis has been lifted, the Black Crow Hall's minions have been withdrawn to an unknown extent, and there may still be some deserters lurking around, so you have to be careful about everything. So Song Muchuan arranged for a substitute to be placed in a conspicuous place, and several secret guards escorted King Ling'an and Di Ji to the boat secretly.
Because of this, Xu Zhou was able to be among the crowd at this moment.
The number of people taking to the streets today exceeded expectations. Although Xie Sui'an and several secret guards tried their best to protect Xu Zhou, people kept rubbing shoulders with him, and the surging crowd pushed him forward.
Real and unfamiliar faces passed by like water in front of him, and the sounds of shouts and prayers for new hope reached his ears.
"Your Majesty, the power of heaven, inspire me to be great!"
This made Xu Zhou a little overwhelmed, and he subconsciously turned to look for Xie Sui'an.
Her attention was focused on her surroundings, her sharp eyes scanning every pedestrian passing by, maintaining a high degree of vigilance. Suddenly noticing something unusual about Xu Zhou, she thought thoughtfully, and then said in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "They are not worshiping you either."
This was probably a comfort to Xu Zhou to stop being nervous, but Xu Zhou suddenly felt even more depressed.
Of course he knew that the unity at the moment was not his fault, and it had nothing to do with whether he was Xu Zhou or Xu Ye. It was just that the people chose a place to place their hopes.
And this place happened to be his return home.
But the power of the shout was still shocking, and the sound seemed to throw Xu Zhou into the air. He looked at the crowds of people, and he suddenly began to feel lucky that he was not sitting on the carriage frame high up, where he would not hear anything.
He stood in the crowd by mistake, and no one around him recognized him. He is also a subject of this dynasty, and he worships that hope with everyone in fear.
In the past, most of his imaginations about the people were castles in the air. They were just names and numbers on household registrations, which represented taxes and corvee. The book said that the people are the foundation of a country, and the foundation is strong and the country enjoys peace. He studied hard, but he only vaguely understood it. But at this moment, he had some new understanding.
"One day, when they look back on today, they won't be disappointed in me." He clenched his fists and said secretly.
Xie Sui'an heard it, but she just looked at Xu Zhou deeply and said nothing.
"Do not you trust me?"
Xie Sui'an smiled: "You don't have to prove anything to me."
"But you have to see that this is also very important." Xu Zhou looked at Xie Sui'an's eyes very seriously.
Such a look made Xie Sui'an's heart tighten suddenly, but she subconsciously ignored the meaning behind it and laughed playfully.
"I am only responsible for sending you to Jinling safely. Don't expect me to be your female officer."
"Then what do you want to do?" Xu Zhou asked seriously.
Xie Sui'an was asked.
After a while, she waved her hand and said, "I don't have time to think about this. Let's wait until the task is completed."
The departure drum beats and the ship sets sail.
The great river surges from the west to the east for thousands of years, but only the people of the world rise and fall.
——
Jinling.
On the night when news of the great victory in Lidu Prefecture arrived, Shen Zhizhong was writing a secret book for his student Xie Chaoen in his study, counting his achievements and clearing his name.
However, when the maid opened the door and entered the study the next day, she found him lying on the table, dying quietly, and all the papers on the table were gone.
This veteran minister who had assisted two generations of kings was about to welcome his new king. However, on the eve of victory, he was given a cup of poison for no apparent reason, ending his magnificent fifty years as a minister.
——
The water vapor from the southern sky hovered in Lidu Mansion, and a layer of mist formed on the doors and windows. People broke out in a thin sweat when walking around, and everywhere was sticky, making people feel inexplicably unhappy.
After sending Xiao Liu away, Mrs. Gantang felt that a long run was coming to an end. The road ahead seemed to be open, and she could breathe a sigh of relief as long as she went through it. However, the ups and downs in the past made it impossible to let go of the worries in her heart so easily. A big stone.
She stubbornly pinned all of this on helping Tang Rong recover from his injuries. Seeing his injuries getting better day by day, she could get an unfounded hope, as if everything was so simple, as long as the medicine and stone were right, and the flowers were used. With time, you will slowly get better.
She probably didn't even realize that she had been talking to Tang Rong more and more frequently recently.
She didn't have many people to talk to. Ever since she rebelled against her husband and returned to Lidu Mansion, in the eyes of everyone, she had become an indestructible person with a keen sense of the current situation.
In fact, she was very fragile. She only cared about her family and friends and was always in fear. So most of the time, she was just chattering, talking about some trivial experiences and gossiping about family affairs, as if to escape the unsettled uneasiness in her heart.
But Tang Rong listened patiently every time.
At this moment, Mrs. Gantang was holding a wooden bowl, stirring the ointment in it for external application. It needed to be stirred until it was thick before it could be applied to the gauze.
While doing mechanical work, he frowned and chatted with Tang Rong about Xie Queshan. He probably felt sorry for his younger brother, and couldn't help but complain a little more in his tone: "Master Zhongshu Ling is really willing to give up. He used to say Chao En is his most proud student, yet he insists on pushing him into the fire pit..."
After a pause, he sighed again: "If it wasn't him, it would be someone else's child. There will always be someone who is unhappy."
"Fortunately, everything was safe and the Third Young Master's identity is now known."
"Where is this? You don't know how harshly he is being scolded outside. We have to wait until the officials arrive in Jinling and work with Lord Zhongshu Ling to clear his name before everyone in the world can shut up."
"There are so many wastes waiting to be revitalized in Jinling, I'm afraid it won't happen so quickly."
"Three months? Half a year? This is enough, right? If this continues, I will be like Xiao Liu, going out to quarrel with others."
Tang Rong laughed, probably because it affected the wound on his chest, and he hissed so much that he took a breath of cold air.
"The doctor told you not to laugh," Mrs. Gantang came over familiarly, pulled away the gauze and looked at the wound. Seeing that it was starting to heal, she breathed a sigh of relief and joked, "You have to learn from my brother. If you make an ice face, you won't be able to pull the wound."
Tang Rong suddenly blushed a little and let out a muffled hum.
When Mrs. Gantang raised her head, she saw Tang Rong's blush that reached behind his ears. The more she stared at him, the more intense his blush became.
She initially treated Tang Rong as her younger brother. Somehow, it seemed like she had hit a forbidden area in her subconscious, and she took a step back.
When Tang Rong saw her expression, he suddenly thought of a familiar scene, and he thought he was clever and changed the topic: "Speaking of which, Madam came out of Jingfengju in a panic last time. What did she see there?"
As soon as she asked this question, Mrs. Gantang's face turned red.
Just as the two of them were facing each other awkwardly, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside.
The female envoy ran in panting and said: "Madam, madam, urgent report from Jinling!"
"What happened?" Mrs. Gantang felt bad.
"——Zhongshu Ling Master Shen... passed away."
Bang - Mrs. Gantang relaxed her grip in surprise, and the wooden bowl she was holding fell to the ground, and the ointment inside slowly seeped out.
——
Song Muchuan was appointed as the magistrate of Lidu Prefecture in the face of danger, preparing to reorganize the original government soldiers and Yucheng army together. Xie Queshan has the talent to lead troops and is good at this type of military affairs. However, due to his current status, it is difficult for him to show his identity to the public, so he has to give Song Muchuan advice behind his back.
When the news of Shen Zhizhong's death came, they were discussing military affairs together.
There was silence in the room for a moment. Song Muchuan felt his head was buzzing and he couldn't calm down for a while.
Why did the teacher die suddenly?
He didn't believe it and looked at the words on the letter again and again. The brief information was clear and did not leave any room for other possibilities.
What about Chao En?
Then the idea came to him. He looked at Xie Queshan in astonishment.
"Jinling's fine work has not yet been removed."
This was actually the first sentence Xie Queshan said.
Song Muchuan finally realized that there was a greater crisis brewing behind the teacher's death.
Xie Queshan looked very calm, picked up the pen immediately and wrote down a letter.
"Send this letter to Xie Xiaoliu - His Highness's whereabouts may not be safe now. Let them divide the troops into two groups. Arrange a substitute along the way to distract the enemy, and secretly take the overland route to Jinling on the other side."
Thinking of something else, Xie Queshan asked hurriedly: "——Jinling Bingzhusi, is there anyone else who can be relied on to handle it?"
"Master Xie, he should be Bingzhusi's successor."
For some reason, Xie Queshan felt a strange feeling in his heart, and the pen in his hand paused.
"Forget it, don't contact anyone in Jinling, no one can be trusted. You have to tell His Highness that he wants to enter the city and the palace by himself, and can no longer rely on anyone else."
Xie Queshan hurriedly wrote the letter and handed it to Song Muchuan.
Song Muchuan took the letter, looked into Xie Queshan's eyes, and asked word for word: "What do you think Qi Ren will do next?"
Shen Zhizhong's death was so strange. Although the murderer has not yet been brought to justice, it is definitely related to Qi Ren. Killing Zhongshu Ling in Yu Dynasty's territory was already a desperate act. It must have been the incident in Lidu Mansion that angered Wanyan Puruo, and she broke up the peace talks. Now, the Qi people must face the possibility of King Ling'an ascending the throne. Their containment failed, what will they do?
Xie Queshan had already realized what Song Muchuan meant, and a hint of gloom slowly appeared on his face.
