A mouth has been opened, the sparse beard around it is trembling, a red pill rolls into the mouth, and is swallowed with water.
"Gulu."
Li Cong sighed comfortably.
Regardless of whether the elixir had any effect, he was at least emotionally satisfied, his eyes were filled with excitement, and the scars on his face were slightly flushed.
"Father." Li Qiu couldn't help being happy when he saw that he seemed to be getting better, and said, "There is something the children want to tell you."
Li Cong did not say anything, as if he was in a strange state, as if he saw that he was about to recover from his illness, become immortal, or even become an immortal. This filled him with joy and longing, and he was confused and confused.
Good emotions gave him vitality and made him look much healthier.
"Brother, do you want to talk?" Li Qiu said.
"Okay." Li Yan said, "A few days ago, I met Li Tan."
"Li Tan? Who?" Li Cong asked.
"The grandson of Qinghe County Duke Li Xun, the eldest son-in-law of my uncle, and the brother-in-law of Prince Zhong."
Li Cong's wife, Dou, was the niece of Li Longji's biological mother, Concubine Dou De, and Zhang Queyi was Li Longji's cousin. Therefore, Li Yan called Zhang Queyi his uncle.
"He? Li Heng's person." Li Cong remembered.
Li Yan said: "I have always wanted to go to the palace to see my father, but I was worried that Sanlang would not agree. It was Li Tan who told me that Sanlang would not refuse to agree if he wanted to show brotherly harmony."
Li Cong said: "It turns out that it was Li Tan who asked you to enter the palace."
"After Sanlang went to Qinlong, Li Tan came to see the child again, saying that... they wanted to get rid of Sanlang and let his father rule in person."
Unexpectedly, Li Cong did not show any excitement, but had no reaction at all.
It's too late to support his pro-government now. When he worked hard for this, the clan members and nobles showed no response and only cared about them. It's ridiculous to see that Xue Bai is about to ascend the throne, but they all unite together. It's ridiculous.
But those people were also wrong. He was not dead yet, and he would live on for a long time, which was beyond everyone's expectation.
"No."
Li Cong said: "I am the emperor and my son is the prince. Why should I support their palace coup? I only need to survive to win."
He seems to have found the secret method to victory. Excluding his previous mediocrity and cowardice, as long as he can live forever, he can defeat even Xue Bai.
Thinking of this, Li Cong felt like waves surged in his mind, making him tremble with joy.
"My child didn't want to change the palace. He only wanted to serve his father when he entered the palace." Li Yan had no idea and said: "I didn't expect that Sanlang would leave the capital. Li Tan and the others had won over many people. They were about to invite the Supreme Emperor. My child also
I don’t know what to do…”
"puff!"
Suddenly, Li Cong spurted out a mouthful of blood, spraying directly all over Li Yan's face.
Li Yan was only halfway through speaking, his mouth was still open, and when he tasted the warm, salty smell of blood, the scene in front of him instantly turned red, and he froze in fear.
In front of his eyes, the scarred face turned extremely ferocious for a moment, as if the golden elixir Li Cong had taken could not make him an immortal, but an evil spirit.
Li Qiu also had half of his face spattered with blood. He watched helplessly as Li Cong's eyes dimmed little by little, and his body slowly fell backwards.
"Father?"
The two brothers called softly and stepped forward to push Li Cong. There was no response, only the eyes like dead fish were still open.
Li Qiu was frightened. He reached out his hand and probed under his nose, but he didn't feel any breath.
"drive……"
"Died."
"How could it be?" Li Yan couldn't believe it, pushing Li Cong's body with all his strength, "It's not the first time he took pills. At most, he became irritable and had a headache. How could he die right away?"
"His, his, his body can't stand the strong medicine."
"Yes, that's right. No one knows that he took the pill, right?"
"No." Li Qiu burped, "It has nothing to do with the elixir. We all know that my father is about to die and is almost dead."
The two brothers comforted each other for a while, and decided to kill the Taoist priest who was originally enshrined in Prince Qing's Mansion, just in case.
"What now?"
"Contact Li Tan?"
"But my father doesn't agree."
"What can we do? Saburo is not in Beijing."
"In this way, let's hide it first and go to Li Tan and Du Youlin to discuss it and see who can give us more."
"good."
Li Qiu's mind was very confused. He had already given up the throne, but now he thought that if Xue Bai was dead, he would still have a chance.
He is one of the few people who can balance the forces of both sides.
However, before he could take action, he was tripped up by the first problem.
"What to do with the blood?"
"Wiped it."
"I can't wipe it off...what should I do?"
In the end, the brothers couldn't wipe the blood off their faces, so they left the temple and tiptoed.
The palace people who were guarding outside the palace lowered their heads and did not look at them. For a time, they thought they could hide it.
"King of Chu? King Zheng?"
Suddenly, a eunuch stopped them. They trembled and were at a loss.
"This is?"
"The medicinal soup was spilled." Li Qiu said: "My father is lying quietly. Don't go in and disturb me. We will clean up later."
"This slave deserves to die." The eunuch stepped forward and reminded in a low voice: "If something unexpected happens, you should go see the queen."
"right."
Li Qiu suddenly understood and said quickly: "Take us to see our mother quickly."
In today's culture, some women in the harem of the Tang Dynasty were scheming and liked to participate in political affairs. But Li Cong's first wife, Dou, was different. In her early years, she was monitored and guarded in the Ten Princes' House. She had no biological children and did not compete for power.
By the time Li Cong came to the throne, she was already a gray-haired old woman, so she rarely got involved in government affairs and her sense of presence was very low.
But things are different now. Once Li Cong died, the most powerful person in the Daming Palace was the Queen Dou who was always ignored.
"Where is the Queen Mother?"
"Please, the two great kings, change your clothes, and then follow your servants to the Immortal Palace."
"good."
The eunuch took them to change into eunuch's clothes, wash their faces, and go all the way to the Immortal Palace.
The palace was very quiet, and a palace maid whispered: "The queen is in the quiet room."
It was said to be a quiet room, but it was actually a Buddhist hall. Dou believed in Buddhism and was kneeling in front of a small Buddha statue to recite and pray for Li Cong. When she heard the movement, she turned around and saw two adopted sons dressed like this and rushing towards her. She knew immediately
What happened? Two lines of tears rolled down.
"Mother."
"Is he a saint?"
Li Yan, Li Qiu immediately cried and nodded with tears in his eyes.
Mrs. Dou was also very sad.
After a while, Li Qiu whispered: "Queen mother, Li Tan told my brother that King Zhong and his group designed to get rid of the prince. Maybe we should summon the prime minister to discuss it."
After hearing this, Li Yan was startled and said, "That's not what you just said."
"I was scared just now. Now that I think about it, why should we help them? With the support of my mother, I can replace Saburo."
"Pah, pah, pah."
Suddenly there was a sound of applause from the side, and a woman said leisurely: "You are not stupid for thinking of this."
Li Qiu looked around and recognized her, Zhang Si.
"You, why are you here?"
"I'm here to visit my cousin." Zhang Si smiled, "Can't you?"
The Dou family and the Zhang family have always had a marriage, which revolves around the kindness of Lady Dou Shu of the State of Yan in raising Li Longji. They have enjoyed prosperity and wealth for generations, and they are also related to each other.
Li Qiu turned pale and said, "Are you not afraid of Sanlang anymore?"
"He's not in Chang'an anymore, so what's there to be afraid of?" Zhang Si said, "But you, with your incompetence, still want to sit back and enjoy the benefits?"
She likes gambling and has a bad personality. She leaned into Li Qiu's ear and said: "You have no ability to hold the position. Now that we have taken it back, do you still want to take it from us?"
"I don't."
Zhang Si ignored her, turned around and patted Li Yan's face again, saying: "My husband told you to report to him if there is any news? Why are you so disobedient?"
"I just... didn't find him." Li Yan responded in a low voice.
Both brothers knew that Zhang Si's appearance here meant that they were able to enter and exit a palace gate. Then as long as the Supreme Emperor was invited to preside over the situation and announce Li Cong's death, the overall situation was settled and it was not their turn to pull any tricks.
Zhang Si smiled resolutely, helped Mrs. Dou up and said, "Cousin, let's go now."
"good."
Mrs. Dou recited another sutra in a low voice and stood up.
"Mother." Li Qiu was unwilling and asked, "Why? Why doesn't the mother help her own son, but helps outsiders?"
Dou said slowly: "Who is the outsider?"
Li Qiuxin said of course it was Li Heng.
But Dou didn't stop and followed Zhang Si to Hanliang Hall.
~~
Anxingfang.
The sound of dense footsteps kept ringing, as people sending information came and went.
"Madam, our people have entered the Taiji Palace, please come out of the Taiji Palace!"
Zhang Ting was very surprised when he heard this and asked: "So fast? Didn't you encounter any obstacles?"
"Yes, but the Taiji Palace's defense is not as strict as we imagined. As soon as the soldiers and horses arrived, the defenders at the palace gate saw that we were outnumbered and got out of the way."
"No." Zhang Ting said: "Are there only a few people guarding the Supreme Emperor? Where is Fan Lao?"
"Fan Lao is still in the forbidden garden." Wu Xun said: "He has just taken over, and the generals of the forbidden army have not yet recognized him. How many people can he mobilize?"
"It's so smooth. The Taiji Palace's defense will never be so loose." Zhang Ting frowned, feeling unhappy but worried.
"The lower officials have also noticed that the troops in the two palaces seem to be much smaller."
Zhang Ting said: "It's Xue Ni. He secretly mobilized a group of forbidden troops in order to... to get rid of Tian Shengong!"
"What?"
"Our plan to get rid of him failed." Zhang Ting was instantly shocked and said: "It is indeed a 'fake Yunmeng' plan. Hurry, he will return to Chang'an soon!"
Originally, all the plans went surprisingly smoothly. Wu Xun was in ecstasy and was shocked at this time. However, Zhang Ting had fought against Xue Bai many times and obviously understood Xue Bai better.
"what to do?"
"Enter the palace." Zhang Ting said, "Where is Li Heng? Take me to see him."
"Still at the Ten Kings' Mansion, someone is guarding it."
"Fight in!"
…
In front of the Ten Kings' Residence, Li Chu had already arrived and was confronting the guards, trying to persuade them to defect.
Li Chu is a person who is very good at winning people's hearts. Except for Xue Bai, he has rarely failed in winning people's hearts in his life.
In fact, he had already persuaded the family order who was looking after him, and the guards helped him. But the last time Xue Bai killed Buddha, although he tried to do something, he didn't play his trump card at all, but took advantage of it.
Let Zhang Ting regain his freedom.
Once the two originally hostile people joined forces, the impossible finally became possible.
Now, Li Chu is very confident to subdue the guards guarding Li Heng.
"Don't do anything. I'm here on the orders of the Supreme Emperor to take you into the palace to see the saint for the last time."
"King Yu, you once launched an army to rebel. How can we trust you?"
Li Chu said: "Now that Tubo is watching, the prince is not in Chang'an, and the saint is seriously ill, what are you doing? If you put down your weapons, I will give you a heavy reward..."
Suddenly, footsteps came in a hurry.
"Kill them."
Following this scolding, a group of people came over and raised their knives without hesitation, slashing at the surrounding guards.
"Everyone stop it."
Li Chu was so surprised that he took a few steps back, but seeing that the situation was getting out of hand, he changed his mind for a moment and ordered the people he brought with him: "Kill anyone who dares to stop me from taking grandpa away. Don't leave anyone alive."
.”
His face was ugly, and he walked towards Zhang Ting who was coming over and said, "What are you doing? Kill people now, in case you anger the courtiers..."
"Don't you think it's too smooth? Don't be paralyzed by the situation in front of you. Xue Bai may come back at any time. We don't have time for you to be hypocritical."
Zhang Ting said coldly, seeing that the fighting outside the door was over.
She raised her feet, stepped through the pool of blood, entered, and saw Li Heng who was watching from the corridor.
Li Heng looked older and older, with a full head of white hair and a stooped figure. He looked like a thief with his head peeping out.
When he saw Zhang Ting, he was stunned. For a moment, various emotions appeared in his eyes, including hatred and anger. He thought that this woman had betrayed him, and when he returned to the throne, she would regret it and make her pay.
cost.
But before she could get closer, the hatred in his eyes had flashed away and turned into endless joy and love.
"Ting Niang!"
Li Heng called out affectionately, rushed forward, and held Zhang Ting's hands.
"How could you abandon me so ruthlessly? Do you know how sad I was after you left? I don't want to make peace with you."
Zhang Ting didn't have any impatience, and her eyes turned red instantly, saying: "Don't you know? I acted for those people. I just want to regain everything you lost for you. You don't know how deep my heart was at that time."
pain."
Li Heng held her in his arms and said, "No, you are everything to me. If I want to lose you, I don't want any money from the Tang Dynasty!"
"No matter how you misunderstand me, I will do anything for you..."
Li Chu entered the house. Hearing this, he felt like vomiting. He stepped forward and said, "Master, please enter the palace."
"Yes, hurry." Zhang Ting said: "We have to decide the overall situation before Xue Ni returns to the palace."
~~
The dagger was polished so brightly that it reflected Tian Shengong's face.
His appearance had changed a lot from a few years ago. He had many more scars and more flesh, and he had a vicious aura unknowingly.
After watching for a while, he put the dagger in his sleeve and stood up.
"Let's do it tonight. When His Highness comes, I'll throw a cup as a sign."
"I know." Tian Shenyu responded.
"I'll check it again."
Tian Shengong left the big tent. Outside, his soldiers were neatly lined up in two teams, and more people were ambushed in the surrounding tents.
Everything was well prepared and there was no reason to travel.
But for some reason, Tian Shengong still felt very uneasy.
He thought about it and thought that this uneasiness came from his betrayal of Xue Bai. So he told himself in his heart that he did not owe Xue Bai. If he had not helped Xue Bai kill people back then, Xue Bai would have died at the hands of Li Linfu.
.
As for the crusade against Nanzhao, their brothers went through life and death, but in the end all the credit went to Xue Bai.
Because of these thoughts, the uneasiness in his heart subsided a lot, and he returned to the tent to sit down and wait.
"Brother." Tian Shenyu spoke again.
"Don't ask." Tian Shengong said: "If we don't kill him, he will kill us sooner or later."
"I want to ask, is Li Mi going to be killed too?"
"Of course he has to be killed."
"But isn't he very close to King Zhong? He is also the one who dispatches our military supplies and supplies."
Tian Shengong muttered: "He is closer to Li Chu, but the one we want to support is not Li Chu. He is very insidious. If we help him, we might as well help His Highness."
Tian Shenyu sighed: "It's really troublesome."
"The power field is very complicated. You won't understand it. Just listen to my arrangements."
"good."
The two brothers fell silent and waited for a long time. Finally, a soldier came to report and said: "His Royal Highness has arrived."
"How many people did you bring?"
"More than ten people."
"That's good." Tian Shengong said.
It had been two or three days since he left Chang'an. He had never found a chance to get rid of Xue Bai before because there were always hundreds of elites around him.
Today it was Xue Bai who took the initiative to tell him, "I heard from Yuan Zai that your barbecue is delicious, but I haven't tasted it yet."
"The general is a hunter, so after setting up camp, we will hunt some game and roast it for His Highness."
"Okay, maybe it's been a long time since you and I had a heart-to-heart talk."
Tian Shenfeng realized from this conversation that Xue Bai wanted to give him another chance to reflect.
It is very likely that he wants to use tonight's "confidence" to talk about his burning, killing, looting and kidnapping at the border.
He had been on tenterhooks before, but now he could finally get Xue Bai's forgiveness. Unfortunately, he no longer had this intention.
"Let's go meet His Highness."
Tian Shengong was not wearing armor. He walked out of the tent and looked into the distance, but he did not see Xue Bai.
He then continued to walk outside the camp fence, but the soldiers stopped him and said: "General, your highness has gone over there."
Tian Shengong was stunned for a moment, then turned around and saw that the soldier was pointing to the barracks where his soldiers lived.
He and Tian Shenyu looked at each other, uneasiness flashing deep in their eyes.
In this situation, should we call out all the swordsmen and axes, directly surround the camp, and kill His Highness?
In the end, Tian Shengong did not dare to make such a decision, but rushed to the camp to meet Xue Bai.
It was time for the second meal. The soldiers had just set up camp and were squatting on the ground to eat.
When Tian Shengong found Xue Bai, he was surprised to find that Xue Bai was sitting on the ground, surrounded by many soldiers, probably hundreds of people around him.
"Your Highness actually remembers the last general?!"
"When you are asking for Nanzhao, you should be under Tian Shenyu's command. I remember you were crying."
"Hehe, the general will not cry now..."
As Tian Shengong walked inside, he could hear conversations all the way.
Not all the soldiers in his army were Jiannan soldiers, and many were just recruited after arriving in Guanzhong. Xue Bai could chat a few words about Tibet, military supplies, the lives of these soldiers before joining the army, and trivial things in the village.
.
There were also complaints against him.
"This time I went to Chang'an and the food was much better. The food in Jiannan was not bad, but General Tian treated his soldiers much better."
"What kind of preferential treatment?"
"Your Highness." Tian Shengong finally arrived in front of Xue Bai.
"Here we come." Xue Bai said, "I am chatting with your soldiers. They are all good soldiers."
"They are all soldiers of the Tang Dynasty, His Highness's soldiers," Tian Shengong said.
"Well said."
"Your Highness, the general has prepared the barbecue. Your Highness, please move to the tent."
Up to this point, the atmosphere was very good. It was a scene of a military commander coming to inspect, a solemn and lively scene.
But at this moment, Xue Baiyun asked lightly.
"Go to your big tent and let the swordsmen you arranged kill me?"
The respectful smile on Tian Shengong's face froze.
He thought he was hallucinating.
After enduring too much psychological pressure, thinking about this and that every day, and suffering from betrayal, I finally went crazy and misheard.
"What did your Highness say?"
Xue Bai said: "Isn't it? You violated military law and after being exposed, you planned to collude with the rebels and kill me."
It's not an auditory hallucination.
Tian Shengong was stunned.
The last time he was at such a loss in his life was when he was six years old and ate the piece of bacon prepared at home for the Chinese New Year. He was caught lying by his mother. God knows how panicked he was at that time.
But that time he only received a severe beating, but this time it was fatal.
Because he was too panicked, the surrounding scenes were blurred, and Tian Shengong could only feel the terrifying aura on Xue Bai's body.
He took a deep breath and told himself to calm down, things hadn't come to the worst yet.
"Your Highness has misunderstood. The general will never do this..."
Halfway through his sophistry, Tian Shengong finally met Xue Bai's eyes. Those eyes were clear but sharp, and he had obviously seen everything.
There's no point in hiding it anymore, I can't hide it anymore.
The kindness and kindness of the past are no longer there, and there is only life and death between you and me.
"Kill him!"
Tian Shengong suddenly shouted and signaled Tian Shenyu and his trusted generals to take action.
After all, this is still his camp, and there are still more of his soldiers around.
However, everyone seemed to have not reacted yet, they were all in a daze, and they didn't even know who Tian Shengong wanted to kill.
"Kill the prince! I'll give you a fortune!"
Tian Shengong shouted again, pulled out his dagger, and rushed towards Xue Bai.
In his impression, Xue Bai was still the frail young man in Tianbao's fifth year, and there was no way he could dodge his swift and fierce sword.
Xue Bai did not hide, he just stood there, raised his hand, pointed at Tian Shengong, and said calmly and forcefully: "Take it!"
"Kill the prince!"
Tian Shengong was still rushing forward, but someone stretched out his leg and tripped him to the ground.
Although his martial arts skills are high, he cannot display them among so many people.
He fell to the ground with a bang. In the flying dust, he saw pairs of military boots and shouted: "What are you doing? You are my soldiers. If you kill the prince, you will be rewarded by thousands of princes!"
Xue Bai is not a prince who has been trapped in a deep palace all his life and has no prestige. From Nanzhao to Yanjing, he also fought in the north and south. The soldiers around him were not only Tian Shengong's soldiers, but also his soldiers.
As for rewards, how can a military commander reward thousands of princes? How can he reward more than a prince who is about to ascend the throne?
Before Tian Shengong could shout again, soldiers rushed towards him and held him down.
Tian Shengong struggled hard, his face turned red, and he couldn't escape, so he looked at Tian Shenyu.
"Shenyu! Take action!"
Tian Shenyu had been in a daze, and only then did she react. She grabbed a crossbow from the soldier behind her and looked at Xue Bai.
When their eyes met, he seemed to be burned. He quickly avoided Xue Bai's eyes and raised his crossbow.
At this time, Diao Bing had already rushed behind Tian Shenyu, raised his knife and was about to kill him.
"despair."
With a sound, the crossbow fell to the ground.
Tian Shenyu then knelt down and kowtowed heavily, saying: "Your Highness! The general is wrong, the general is the mastermind!"
While he was pleading guilty, Diao Bing led others to pin him to the ground and tie him tightly.
"Your Highness, we have been bewitched by Mrs. Zhang. She wants to help Li Heng ascend the throne and ruin His Highness's great cause..."
~~
At some point, Li Mi walked behind Xue Bai.
"I don't live up to His Highness's trust."
The reason why Li Mi was used was because Xue Bai was sure that Li Mi could not help Zhang Ting.
Previously, Li Mi assisted Li Heng and had personally seen Zhang Ting kill Li Tan, which indirectly led to Li Heng's defeat and his capture. The worse impact was to shake the country.
Therefore, in the past two days, it was Li Mi who appeased the soldiers in the army for Xue Bai by dispatching money and food.
"I'll leave it to you to handle this," Xue Bai said.
"Your Highness can't bear it?"
"No, I'm going back to Beijing."
Li Bi said: "Then I will lead the army back to Chang'an?"
"No need, you continue heading west." Xue Bai said, "I'll be here to do something."