Ouyang Rong rushed into the study together with Xie Lingjiang, who was holding the piano case, and Li Bao'er, who was holding up his skirt.
What caught the eyes of the three of them were tables and chairs that were swaying here and there, and broken porcelain and tea leaves scattered on the floor.
The cold tea dripped down to the edges of their boots at the door.
And the two people in the study room... Li Dalang lowered his head and walked around in panic;
Li Xian slumped down on the wet floor with a pile of broken porcelain tea leaves splattered like a lost soul. He rested his left hand on the ground and looked down at an unfamiliar jade plaque in his right hand. There were engraved words on the jade plaque.
Ouyang Rong even saw bright red blood overflowing from Li Xian's palm, which seemed to have been scratched by broken porcelain pieces on the ground.
However, the noble King Xunyang's expression was blank and absent-minded, staring at the jade plaque and muttering something repeatedly in his mouth, which Ouyang Rong and others could not hear clearly.
Seeing this scene, Xie Lingjiang immediately turned back, closed the door, and isolated the inside and outside.
"What's going on?" Ouyang Rong frowned with dissatisfaction and asked, "What's the news?"
No one answered.
Li Guo'er turned to Wei Mei and asked, "Mom, where is the informant from the Prime Minister's Palace?"
"I came back after pouring tea and met Liulang. Fusu felt a little uncomfortable after reading the letter, so he took Guo Yu and the others down first. Now they are waiting in the flower hall."
Wei Mei replied worriedly, and walked over at the same time to help the embarrassed Li Xian.
Li Guo'er suddenly shouted: "Brother!"
The devastated Li Dalang suddenly trembled, looked around, and seemed to have only now seen the people around him:
"Tanlang!"
I saw the always optimistic Li Dalang handing out the crumpled letter paper with a sad look on his face:
"Look, grandma...is finished, everything is finished."
Ouyang Rong silently accepted the letter and read it with his eyes down.
Li Dalang closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said sadly to Xie Lingjiang, Li Guo'er, and Wei Mei:
"Li Zhengyan, under the banner of Kuangfu Liqian, became more and more violent in the southwest. The prefectures and counties between Hongzhou and Guizhou were swept away by the wind, and more than half of them were swept away. My grandmother was furious, and was bewitched and instigated by the kings of Wei and Liang, and launched a conspiracy.
The seal decree imprisoned the prime minister, and my grandmother gave me a cup of poisonous wine, and sent the official Miaozhen in colorful clothes to secretly follow the envoy team to Jiangzhou to supervise my father and I to commit suicide and apologize.
"The envoy team is already on the way and will arrive at Xunyang City tomorrow morning!"
As soon as these words came out, everything in the room fell silent.
There was only an oil lamp left on the table, its flame wick swinging from side to side, making those looking at it worry that it would go out in the next second.
As a result, the silhouettes of people under the lights seemed to be still but not still, and seemed to be moving but not moving.
Ouyang Rong put down the secret message, broke the silence, raised his head and asked calmly:
"Secret message from the Prime Minister's Mansion? Who sent it? That person named Guo Yu?"
Wei Mei nodded and replied: "It's that Guo Yu, a close confidant of King Xiang. Every time Luoyang reported information before, he took the risk to send it."
Li Dalang grabbed Ouyang Rong's sleeve and said sadly:
"Tan Lang, my father and I couldn't believe it at first. After all, no one had written such a big thing by his own hand. But Guo Yu took out the personal token that the imprisoned uncle risked his life to send from the deep palace. The Prime Minister's Palace also sent a
An old general with Qi refining skills rushed to escort him from Luoyang to inform us before the poisonous wine messenger arrives."
Ouyang Rong was about to speak, when a lost voice came from beside him:
"This Hetian Jade Tablet was given to me, my younger brother, and Changle by my deceased eldest brother when he was still the crown prince."
Li Xian had been helped up by Wei Mei, holding a jade plaque in one hand, and the other hand was injured and bleeding. Li Guo'er cut off a piece of fabric from the skirt and bandaged it for his father.
He stared blankly at the jade plaque and continued to talk sadly:
"Amei Changle's jade tablet was smashed to pieces by the Queen Mother when she was at odds with her eldest brother. Now there are only two of them in existence, one is in my palace, and the other..."
After pausing for a moment, Li Xian looked at the familiar jade token in his hand and laughed miserably:
"The emperor's brother was imprisoned and risked his life to send urgent news... I didn't expect that the two of us brothers would not escape death after all... The nightmare that has been lingering for many years is indeed true. I will eventually be poisoned by poisonous wine, and what is coming will still happen." Come on... woo woo woo."
As he was talking, the deposed Emperor of Daqian, King Xunyang of the Great Zhou Dynasty, who had gone through many troubles and was about to be sentenced to death by his biological mother Bai Ling, hugged his cherished wife and daughter in front of him and cried bitterly, sobbing bitterly.
When Ouyang Rong heard this, he frowned and was silent for a while. Instead of asking Li Xian what the so-called dream was about, he spoke:
"Old general?"
Li Xian cried bitterly, leaving only Li Dalang's sleepwalking explanation:
"That's right, this general's name is Meng Shouguang. He was my father's loyal confidant in the imperial army when he was the prince's right cavalry general. After my father was demoted to a commoner, he was affected and was taken over by the Wei family. He was dismissed from his post and was later taken under the protection of the Prime Minister's Palace...
"He is also the one who sent Guo Yu here tonight to help us escape."
Ouyang Rong calmed down.
He didn't speak, Li Xian, and Li Dalang were talking like lost souls again. They had lost their backbone, and the remaining three women were also without a master. Li Bao'er turned his head and looked north in the direction of Luoyang, as if he couldn't figure out the unknown woman. The grandmother in front of you is cruel.
The atmosphere in the room was quiet for a while.
Ouyang Rong raised his head and suddenly said to Li Xian and his son:
"Uncle, Dalang, the road is boundless. Come on, take me to see Guo Yu. I will ask you more carefully."
He smiled at everyone.
Seeing his calm appearance, Li Xian and others nodded like a drowning man grasping at straws:
"Okay, okay."
Everyone goes out.
However, Xie Lingjiang, who had been paying attention to his senior brother, followed closely behind him, and with sharp eyes saw Ouyang Rong's back shirt clinging to the back of his neck, as if it was wet with cold sweat.
Xie Lingjiang lowered his head, took out a fragrant handkerchief, and silently handed it to someone...
At the entrance of the flower hall, Ouyang Rong put away the wet handkerchief and walked in with everyone.
He immediately saw two dusty figures, one unfamiliar and one familiar.
One was Guo Yu, an official with a goatee whom Ouyang Rong had met several times. However, he came here tonight and was not wearing official uniform. He was wearing a black round-collared narrow-sleeved robe, which was low-key and simple.
The hot tea in his hand remained untouched, and he looked tired and worried.
There is also a tall, strong man with a Chinese character face, wearing a forehead wipe, gray clothing, a leather belt around his waist, and black boots. His arms are as long as an ape, and he seems to often bend a bow and shoot arrows.
He looks simple and honest, with a silent and serious expression.
He was sitting in a somewhat reserved posture. Before Ouyang Rong and his party came in, he looked toward the door with piercing eyes, expecting and nervous at the same time.
At this moment, Ouyang Rong, Li Xian and others walked in.
The honest man stood up with emotion, rushed over, and knelt down on one knee. His eyes were red and his voice was choked with sobs:
"Your Majesty, Seventh Prince, you...what's wrong with your hand? Are you okay?"
"I accidentally fell down and got a little injured. Shou Guang, please get up. It's been a long time. You're still so arrogant and unsteady."
Li Xian forced a smile and stretched out his hand to help his old general Meng Shouguang.
Meng Shouguang tried his best to keep his copper bell eyes wide open, but tears welled up in his eyes. A man, he burst into tears in front of others: "I won't change, I, I will always be His Majesty's guard general!"
Li Xian was also moved, raised his sleeves to cover his face, and shed tears again. The monarch and his minister, seeing each other again after a long absence, hugged each other and started crying, which made everyone look at him with emotion.
"Your Majesty." It was Guo Yu who stood up and walked over. He first looked at Ouyang Rong behind Li Xian and his son. He lowered his head and saluted.
"Mr. Guo, please forgive me." Xu helped him, and with Li Dalang's support, Li Xian turned away and began to introduce to Guo Yu and Meng Shouguang:
"This is Tanlang, my king. Without Tanlang, my family would not be able to leave Dragon City. Mr. Guo should have seen him before."
"Ouyang has a long history, and I have admired him for a long time." Guo Yuchao earnestly handed over his hand to Ouyang Rong. Meng Shouguang also clasped his fists heavily, looking at him with grateful eyes, looking up and down, as if he wanted to remember the hero in front of him.
Ouyang Rong had been watching the two of them silently since he entered the flower hall, taking in all their facial expressions and behaviors. At this moment, he smiled politely and waved the letter in his hand:
"The situation is critical, so I won't be polite to you two and let's get down to business first."
Li Xian quickly wiped away his tears, and everyone suddenly became serious and nervous.
Guo Yu was worried: "What do you want to ask me?"
Ouyang Rong said directly:
"When was His Highness the Prime Minister imprisoned?"
"On August 8, His Majesty the Prime Minister was summoned to the palace late at night, was angrily reprimanded by His Majesty, and imprisoned. His Majesty then issued a secret order, ordering Miaozhen, the palace maid, to send poisonous wine to Jiangzhou...
"This matter was originally strictly sealed. His Royal Highness the Prime Minister, who was imprisoned in the palace, risked his life to bribe the eunuchs and took the jade to inform Princess Changle. The princess took the risk to inform the Prime Minister's palace, so she sent my subordinates and General Meng to rush to Jiangzhou.
, remind the prince and the prince!"
After Ouyang Rong listened carefully, he walked around in circles, frowning and asking:
"It's all right. Why was Your Majesty so angry and issued a poisonous decree? But is there any misunderstanding?"
Guo Yu was so worried that he almost scratched his beard and said anxiously:
"The Sacred Heart is unpredictable. Who knows, but I am guessing that it must be related to several pieces of news that came to the capital on August 8. In fact, His Highness the Prime Minister had already had a bad premonition before, and he did not expect to be called in that night.
In the palace.
"A piece of news came from the southwest. Li Zhengyan and Wei Shaoqi led their troops all the way north. They have swept through the Lingnan half and entered the border of Jiangnan Road. Along the way, too many states and counties surrendered, and the imperial court lost all face.
"At the court meeting that day, I heard that your Majesty directly dismissed the Lingnan Road Inspector and a number of supervisory censors."
Guo Yu looked hesitant: "There is another piece of news from your side, the prince. I heard..."
"What did you hear?" Ouyang Rong asked.
"I heard that Wang Lengran, the governor of Jiangzhou, wrote a letter, falsely accusing the prince of having an affair with Li Zhengyan, saying that the prince had taken in Li Zhengyan's accomplice, the former Dr. Wang Junzhi of Jiangzhou, in an attempt to rebel when Cai Qin's army attacked Jiangzhou, and that they were cooperating inside and outside. There seems to be someone monitoring Jiangzhou on this matter.
Some female officials testified.”
Li Xian was dumbfounded: "So the Queen Mother believed it? She didn't even check, and she wanted to kill this king?"
Guo Yu smiled bitterly and was speechless.
Meng Shouguang next to him seemed to be thinking of the past again, his eyes were filled with sadness and he was filled with anger:
"It must be the two treacherous kings of the Wei family who are slandering and instigating a relationship between the saint and the prince! Traitors who harm the country should be punished!"
The worst expected situation with a small probability still happened.
Ouyang Rong frowned.
The attitude of the empress in the Luoyang court suddenly changed. The news came so quickly that there was no buffer preparation.
Originally, he had always believed that after so many years of immersing himself in the court, the empress had become a qualified politician. She was an expert in the art of emperorship and the matter of establishing a prince.
Therefore, in the general direction, her reactions and behavior should be traceable.
But reality, sometimes, is often more absurd and illogical than fiction.
Ouyang Rong stared at Li Xian, Li Dalang, Wei Mei, Guo Yu and others in the room with pale faces.
He suddenly thought that he might have missed a link.
Historically, it seems that no matter how wise, mighty, and scheming the emperors were, most of them would become confused when they entered their old age, as if they were thieves if they were too old to die.
The founding emperor of the Zhou Dynasty, who sits on the dragon throne at the highest point of the Luoyang court and faces south, is already an old woman over eighty years old, although there are many handsome young men in the palace.
But the matter of the Songde Center of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the Buddha statues in the four directions is not something that a normal emperor who is striving for governance can do. What's more, who knows if the empress Wei Zhao has other hidden agendas besides the deposed emperor Li Xian and his family.
It’s not a pity to throw away a spare tire...
"Master, what's the reaction from Master Shen?" Ouyang Rong suddenly asked.
Guo Yu looked stunned and shook his head:
"I don't know, His Highness the Prime Minister risked his life to spread the news immediately, and asked the Prime Minister's Palace to immediately send me and General Meng to inform him. Before we set off, Master, Master Shen and the others should not know, and we don't know what is going on in Luoyang now.
That’s it…”
Ouyang Rong fell silent immediately,
No wonder the letter from my mentor Xie Xun that I received this afternoon did not mention this urgent matter. He should have sent this letter before the night of August 8th.
Maybe the latest letters from my mentor Xie Xun, Master Shen and others are already on the way, although it is too late to read them now.
Such unexpected emergencies can easily disrupt the position of a smart and confident person, and political struggles are cruel and fast, leaving little time for people to make a decision. One careless move or misjudgment can lead to disaster.
Ouyang Rong panted slightly, knowing that this was a dangerous moment, so he tried to stay calm.
Using the existing pieces of information, his mind quickly analyzed,
But the more I thought about it, the colder my heart became.
"I and General Meng left Luoyang half a day later than these female officials and angels, but they traveled day and night and transferred with them in Yangzhou. Now we are chasing after them, so I rushed to get here before them."
Guo Yu urged anxiously:
"The ships of the prince, prince, Ouyang Changshi, and Luoyang Angel will arrive at Xunyang Ferry tomorrow morning!
"You guys think of a way quickly...otherwise, it's better to run away quickly. If it's later, it'll be too late!"
The atmosphere in the flower hall became anxious.
"Escape, where can we escape to?"
Li Xian was on the verge of collapse, but was supported by his wife and eldest son Kankan, with a dead look on his face.
Li Guo'er clutched a letter sword tightly in her sleeves, her pretty face was lost in thought, and she suddenly said: "Wang Junzhi is next door."
"Yes, yes! There are also Wang Junzhi and Li Zhengyan, they are in the southwest..."
It seems that there is still one night left for the prince to relax. Like a traveler who is lost in the desert and is about to die of thirst, but sees an oasis, he becomes excited.
He hurriedly greeted everyone and was about to escape out the door, but immediately, a soft call came from behind him:
"Elder brother..."
Xie Ling Jiang called out worriedly to the handsome young man who stood there with his head bowed and said nothing.
"Tanlang."
"Tanlang, what do you think?"
Li Xian, Li Dalang, Li Bao'er, and Wei Mei all stopped their hurried steps. The family looked at the still unmoved person in tacit understanding, waiting attentively for him to nod.
Guo Yu and Meng Shouguang, who risked their lives to report the news, also stamped their feet and turned their heads, either sizing or curiously looking at this "Tan Lang" who seemed to have a very important voice in the Xunyang Palace.
Ouyang Rong raised his head and glanced at the surrounding faces with different expressions.
he knows.
A life-or-death decision was once again placed before him.