Jinling City, Xia Kingdom, in the imperial palace.
The earth dragon burned very vigorously, making the palace extremely warm, making everyone inside feel sleepy and tired.
Old Emperor Xia yawned, put down the memorial he was holding, leaned on the dragon chair a little tiredly, closed his eyes and rested his mind for a while.
It is the first day of the Chinese New Year. Officials have worked hard all year, so they should take a break.
It's just that the situation in the southwest of Xia Kingdom is not good now, with signs of turmoil, so it is natural that there is no room for relaxation. The civil and military officials of the entire court, and even the old Emperor Xia, only rested for half a day on New Year's Eve before continuing to preside over the affairs of the court.
The old eunuch who was waiting on the side was overjoyed to see this and quickly signaled the palace people to quietly retreat.
The palace people retreated, and only Sixi and a few confidant eunuchs were left waiting in the hall.
At this moment, the old Emperor Xia, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes, looked at Si Xi who was waiting on the side, and said in a deep and authentic tone:
"This year, the palace is quite deserted..."
When the old eunuch Sixi heard this, something strange suddenly occurred in his heart.
On the first day of the new year, the princes, relatives, and officials all come to the palace to pay New Year greetings, and this year is no exception. All the royal family members and courtiers have just left not long ago.
If there is any difference, at this time in previous years, those princes who aspired to be crown princes were still in the palace, competing to present the rare treasures they had painstakingly collected to the old Xia Emperor, just to win his hand.
joy.
When the old eunuch Sixi heard the words, he quietly took a look at the old Emperor Xia. Seeing that his face was dark and his expression was dull, he became even more convinced that the old man was unhappy because of this incident.
Thinking of this, Sixi immediately said:
"The situation in the southwest is critical. His Majesty did not rest even for the first day of the year. Naturally, the princes and princes did not dare to disturb him. They just left on their own after presenting their carefully collected gifts!"
When the old Emperor Xia heard this, he laughed and said noncommittally:
"Haha, that's right. When have these sons of mine ever been so considerate?"
Princes, are you afraid that coming here at this time will disturb Emperor Xia's handling of government affairs? Or are you aware that the throne has been decided and feel that there is no hope, so you don't even bother to show loyalty and filial piety?
I'm afraid only they themselves know this clearly.
Si Xi quickly shut her mouth, not daring to say anything more.
Old Emperor Xia seemed to want to say something else, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he felt uncomfortable in his chest. He immediately covered his mouth and coughed violently. The coughing sound was so intense that it seemed like he was coughing out his lungs.
Si Xi was used to it, and she quickly called on the palace ladies to open the windows for ventilation, those who took medicine took medicine, and those who handed water.
The old Emperor Xia took the pills carefully prepared by the imperial doctors. After a long time, he felt his breath became smoother and finally stopped coughing.
Emperor Xia, whose breath had calmed down slightly, sat up straight.
Looking at the silk handkerchief with blood in his hand, he frowned at first, and then looked depressed.
When the old eunuch Sixi saw this, he felt panicked. He quickly stepped forward, took the silk handkerchief from Emperor Xia's hand, and held it in his palm slightly.
When he opened his hand again, the delicate silk handkerchief stained with the emperor's blood quietly turned into fly ash and fell in the palace.
This soft and gentle yet extremely powerful force is obviously not something that ordinary people can use.
This old eunuch who has never shown off his talents and is always with Emperor Xia is actually such a powerful master!
Emperor Xia waited until his breathing had completely calmed down, glanced at the old eunuch, and then said:
"Late last night, there was a brilliant light blooming in the palace. Is this the vision of your breakthrough?"
When the old eunuch Sixi heard this, he quickly bowed and said with sincerity and fear:
"Yes, I saw a fleeting light in the starry sky last night, and my heart was touched, so I naturally broke through. I haven't had time to report it to Your Majesty, so please forgive me!"
Emperor Xia looked at the old eunuch and asked:
"Suzhu, the leader of the Yin Yang Family, broke through to the realm of land gods, and returned to his prime appearance in just a few breaths. You are also in the realm of land gods now, why are you still so old and useless?"
When the old eunuch Sixi heard this, his heart skipped a beat and he became uneasy.
"Or, maybe it has something to do with the slave's physical disability..." Si Xiqiang defended herself.
Emperor Xia was silent for a long time, then nodded slightly and said:
"That's good! I heard that there are two land gods, Xu Su, the leader of the Yin Yang family, and Hui Qi, the great Buddhist mage, in the Yun Kingdom. With you here, I won't worry about the Yun Kingdom sending people to assassinate..."
In fact, there are rumors in the world that Xiao Cheng, the young emperor of the current Yun Kingdom, is also a master in the realm of land gods.
But Emperor Xia didn't quite believe this. He was more inclined to think that the young emperor of Yun State knew martial arts, but never had such advanced cultivation. Such remarks were either based on false rumors or were made by Yun State to promote the reputation of the king.
spread.
You must know that the original Emperor Xia also had considerable martial arts skills.
But since he came to the throne, dealing with the government affairs of a country has been tiring enough. He has no time and energy to focus on martial arts, and his martial arts skills in his youth have gradually been neglected.
The young emperor of Yun Kingdom is also a heroic leader who personally manages the government affairs every day. He is still young, so even if he practiced martial arts from his mother's womb, he would not have such amazing martial arts skills.
"You are an old man, you still have to do more for Daxia!" Emperor Xia looked at Sixi and said solemnly.
When Si Xi heard this, his heart suddenly relaxed and he said:
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will not hesitate to smash my slave to pieces!"
At this moment, the sound of rapid footsteps was heard outside the hall.
"Your Majesty, King Qi has sent people back to the capital to request an audience with your Majesty!"
The old eunuch was delighted when he saw this, his eyes lit up quickly and he said:
"Your Majesty, this must be because King Qi is thinking about Your Majesty and has sent someone back to congratulate you!"
Emperor Xia didn't know what he was thinking of at this time. Not only did his face not show any joy, but he looked even more unhappy. He snorted coldly:
"Humph, he has not been close to me since he became an adult. In the past years when he was leading the army, I have never seen him so attentive."
"Why do you say that? Your Majesty, Prince Qi, is interested. You should be happy."
"Is he thinking about me? Or is he thinking about something else? It's hard to say... In short, they are all a bunch of bastards!" Emperor Xia said irritably.
Because of the desertedness in the palace this year, Emperor Xia suddenly saw the figure of an old man who was aging, living alone in the palace, and was about to lose his supreme power.
"Your Majesty..." Sixi couldn't help but persuade.
Emperor Xia paused, then waved his hand and said:
"Let him in!"
"Yes!" Sixi breathed a sigh of relief and responded quickly.
After a while, the palace door opened.
A cold wind flowed into the palace, which slightly cheered up the somewhat tired Emperor Xia.
Then I saw King Qi's loyal confidants, who were well-commanded by his own soldiers, leading a dozen military masters in armor, covered in dust and tired faces, escorting a brocade box, and walked quickly into the palace, "Hey!"
With a loud sound, they all knelt down on the ground and said loudly:
"The troops in Prince Qi's palace are in command, Zhou Quan, to pay homage to His Majesty!"
"Greetings to Your Majesty!"
Before Emperor Xia could speak, Zhou Quan immediately held the brocade box in his arms, raised it high, and said:
"According to His Majesty's orders, we escort the secret method back to the capital and present it to His Majesty in person!"
When Emperor Xia heard this, he frowned and said unhappily:
"Secret method? What kind of secret method do those gods and ghosts in the world have to ask questions about? When will King Qi believe in these things?"
"There is a letter written by His Highness in the box, detailing the details." Zhou Quan quickly replied.
It was so solemn, it must be a big deal, and the old eunuch Sixi immediately ordered the palace servants to take over the brocade box without even having to ask Emperor Xia to speak.
After quietly opening it and checking it, he placed the brocade box in front of Emperor Xia.
Emperor Xia opened the letter, glanced at it, took a deep breath, his eyes widened, and couldn't help but ask:
"really?"
Zhou Quan's expression remained unchanged and he said in a deep voice:
"In order to prevent unexpected events, I have been riding fast all the way, so I can walk a little faster. The embroidered clothes envoy is summoning the Si Yamen in the southwest, and the report from the officials in Jiangzhou City will be delivered in a few days."
Emperor Xia even started to tremble all over. He couldn't wait to take out the secret method recorded in the box and read it twice, his heart suddenly palpitating.
Only in the dark, something seemed to be telling Emperor Xia that what was recorded in the thin book in front of him was absolutely true!
Emperor Xia suppressed the excitement in his heart and said repeatedly:
"Okay, okay, my good son!"
At this time, Emperor Xia had obviously forgotten what he had just said...
--------------------------
At this time, it was in a courtyard in Jinling City.
Yu Yingyao frowned as she looked at the secret report sent by her subordinates.
The secret report in her hand at this time was the secret report sent by the Embroidered Clothes Envoy about the method of regulating luck.
"When was the secret report sent?" Yu Yingyao said in a deep voice.
Upon hearing this, his subordinates quickly reported:
"My subordinates quickly sent a copy of the secret report that was just sent to the capital. After all, His Majesty may not have received it yet!"
Yu Yingyao looked at the secret method mentioned in the secret report that could extend the life of the country through national luck, and her expression was not very good.
"Is there no explanation from Feng Chu?" Yu Yingyao said in a cold voice.
"And I haven't received any news from His Highness..." The subordinate said with fear in his heart when he saw Yu Yingyao's appearance.
When Yu Yingyao heard this, she sat in her seat with a livid face.
The person dressed as a maid standing nearby quickly motioned for the person to step back, and then whispered:
"Girl, what's wrong with you?"
Yu Yingyao gritted her teeth and said:
"Li Xing, the founder of the Li Dynasty, used the method of national destiny to seize the destiny of a country and its people, and he lived for six hundred years!"
The maid was a little confused and said in disbelief:
"Six hundred years..."
The lifespan of an ordinary person is only a few hundred, and the most powerful warriors, who are called immortals, can only live for a few more decades on this basis. Six hundred years, for people, can already be called immortality!
"The old man has a deep mind and superb methods. He uses his disciples to compete with each other and firmly holds the power to ensure that no one can threaten his existence. If he hadn't been unable to hold on, he would never be like this.
I strongly support the imperial brother to become the crown prince. Now that I have obtained the secret method of the Li Dynasty, I am afraid that the old man will no longer be willing to hand over the power in his hands!"
Speaking of this, Yu Yingyao's face became even more ugly and she whispered:
"And the most important thing is that I still haven't figured out why the old man prefers the imperial brother..."
Not to mention that King Qi couldn't think clearly, Yu Yingyao also didn't understand.
Although she had made many guesses, such as the old Emperor Xia who valued King Chongqi for being decisive and responsible, or the fact that King Chongqi valued his connections in the army... and other speculations, but after thinking about it carefully, she also felt that there were some loopholes.
After all, it is not the most important thing for the king of a country to act decisively. And the connections and influence in the army are even less important in the situation where the Xia Kingdom's court firmly controls the distribution of food and supplies to the army and does not lose its authority. !
Even though Yu Yingyao had some doubts in her heart before, she didn't think too much about it when she thought that Emperor Xia's time was running out in his twilight years.
But now, Emperor Xia has obtained the method of extending the life of the Li Dynasty. Even if he does not live for 600 years like Li Xing, there is no need to worry about the longevity issue anyway.
In this case, why Emperor Xia chose Prince Qi before has become the most critical question!
Will Emperor Xia change his mind in the future? Even if he doesn't change his mind, how should the two get along in the future?
Some dark thoughts could not help but spread in Yu Yingyao's heart even though she had not spoken them out.
Why did the emperor hand over this secret technique?
This lifespan is something that is destined...
Seeing Yu Yingyao's constantly changing eyes, the maid next to her was inexplicably nervous and couldn't help but say:
"What do you mean, girl?"
Yu Yingyao came back to her senses, made up her mind to pay attention, her eyes focused, and she said in a deep voice:
"Always have some means left, just in case!"
If something unspeakable happens in the future, with his current status and status, there is no way to retreat. The emperor's temperament will not let him think about this. Therefore, he needs to always be prepared for He pays attention!
The maid next to her was a die-hard loyalist who had gathered around Yu Yingyao when she was in the palace. At this time, she heard the treacherous words hidden in her, and she said without hesitation:
"Girl, give me your orders!"
When Yu Yingyao heard the words, she pondered for a long time and then said in a deep voice:
"Two Thousand Stones, Cao's minister Jiang Meng, had secretly sought refuge with the emperor's brother. He has the power to transfer officials and should be put to good use. General Gu Wei of Ningsu and General Zhuo Jing of the Liao Dynasty, although these two rarely interacted with the emperor's brother. , but the imperial brother had been kind to them back then, so he could make some arrangements and transfer them to the capital to command troops! Zhonglang Guansu Hongxin came with his father-in-law, and he also received favors from my mother's family back then. I hope you can contact me as a good student. …”
There were important positions in the court, including the troops and horses in the capital, and Yu Yingyao had already figured out how to quietly deploy the personnel in just a moment.
It is naturally not that simple to mobilize important official positions in various parts of the court. But at this time, King Qi was only one title away from the position of crown prince. His prestige was at its peak, and many people wanted to join him.
As long as they are handled secretly, these arrangements are not just whimsical!
Yu Yingyao paused slightly while speaking, and then continued:
"There is also the Embroidered Clothes Envoy. Since the old man dares to allow my people to infiltrate the Embroidered Clothes Envoy, he must have a backup plan and must be on guard!"
After thinking in her mind for a long time, she said in a deep voice:
"I remember that Zhong Zizuo, the deputy envoy of the Southwest Transportation Department, is also a member of the emperor's brother. He made great achievements in the southwest epidemic before, so he was transferred to the embroidered clothes envoy!"
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
Today I will start with these, I will take the day off tomorrow and continue to add more...