Ever since Gou Liang revealed the secret of the correct way to eat the sea fish, the old man no longer mentioned that he wanted to occupy the whole tank of fish. He just pretended to appear in front of Gou Liang three meals a day and reminded him that he should be "filial".
The ship slowly sailed south. Time passed quickly with the receding sea.
August 22nd.
Shangjing, Imperial Palace.
The lights in the Imperial Study were already lit. The Emperor was reading the memorial from the founding general. Today was the seventh day since General Zhang's death. In the memorial, General Zhang was crying and begging the Emperor to uphold justice for the Zhang family. He frowned. His personal eunuch did not dare to disturb him. He waited until the Emperor put down the memorial before reminding him that it was time for dinner.
The Emperor did not let him serve dinner. Instead, he asked, "Is Liu Buyu still outside the hall?"
The head eunuch hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, Sir Jian Zheng is still kneeling outside the palace … He has been kneeling for a day and a night. He hasn't touched the food I sent him, and he hasn't touched a drop of water. Your Majesty … should we send someone to escort Sir Jian Zheng out of the palace?"
Jian Zheng was older than Emperor Wu. If this continued, he might die.
The Emperor's face instantly darkened.
When Zhong Yue said that there would be an earthquake in Yan, he was very unhappy.
When the earth dragon turned over, it was a great omen. It usually meant that the ruler was muddleheaded. If the disaster was serious, the Emperor would have to offer sacrifices to the heavens to atone for his sins. He would have to send a letter of self-condemnation to appease the people.
The Emperor thought that he was diligent and loved the people. He could not be called a muddleheaded ruler. How could he tolerate such an omen?
However, he did not dare to underestimate the prophecy from Tianji Mountain. He immediately ordered the Crown Prince and the deputy of the Imperial Astronomer to bring the military seal to Yan and evacuate the people of Xingtang County as soon as possible.
Who would have thought that just as the Imperial Decree was issued, Jian Zheng of the Imperial Astronomer reported that the earthquake in Yan was not as simple as Zhong Yue had predicted. He even said bluntly, "I have received a warning from the heavens. This time, the disaster in Yan will extend for thousands of miles. Starting from Xingtang, the five counties of Yan will be affected. Moreover, the earth dragon's power is very strong. It will still be shaking in the next few days. "
Looking at the history books, there had never been an earthquake of such magnitude in the 400 years since the founding of Daliang. It had not even been seen for hundreds of years.
The Imperial Astronomer's words, in the Martial Emperor's ears, were no different from saying that he was worse than the last cruel and muddle-headed dog emperor of the previous dynasty. How could he be willing to listen? It was already a blessing that he didn't drag Supervisor Liu out and behead him on the spot.
Who would have thought that Supervisor Liu would be so stubborn? After failing to persuade him several times, he knelt outside the imperial study, looking like he wouldn't give up until the emperor agreed.
The Emperor did not want to see him from the bottom of his heart, nor did he believe what he said.
His dislike for Supervisor Liu was a problem left behind by history. Just the fact that Supervisor Liu was Imperial Preceptor Zhong's disciple was enough to annoy him.
After the identity of the previous Crown Prince was revealed, the Emperor more or less sensed the hidden story of the Zhong family. He knew that he had been deceived by a vile person and pushed the loyal Zhong family to their deaths. As a result, the emperor was even more unwilling to see this proud disciple of the former state preceptor. Every time he saw him, he would remind the emperor of the fact that he had become a father and his mistake in the case of the Zhong Family. It was not a pleasant thing.
Furthermore, it wasn't that he looked down on Supervisor Liu, but that his words were not convincing at all.
The origin of Daliang's state preceptor was well known. The first state preceptor was a descendant of Tianji Mountain's Zhong family. Even if he was talented, how could his family's teachings compare to the direct descendant of Tianji Mountain? What's more, Liu Buyu was only a disciple with a different surname!
Even Zhong Yue couldn't calculate it, but Supervisor Liu was showing off his slight skill in front of an expert. He was clearly trying to make things difficult for the Emperor!
The Emperor even suspected that Supervisor Liu knew about the hidden story behind the Zhong family's extermination and did it on purpose. Later, when he saw that Supervisor Liu was really trying to persuade him with his life, he dispelled his suspicions.
Even so, the Emperor had no intention of listening to Supervisor Liu's advice.
He took a sip of tea and ordered his personal eunuch to escort the eyesore Supervisor Liu out of the palace. Just then, someone rushed into the palace and reported, "Reporting to Your Majesty, there is an urgent message from eight hundred miles away. His Highness the Crown Prince was attacked by an assassin in Xindu and was seriously injured. He requests permission to return to the capital!"
"What?!"
The Emperor was shocked, "How is the Crown Prince's injury?"
The messenger replied, "The imperial guards protected him with their lives. His Highness the Crown Prince did not suffer any vital injuries, but his leg is fractured. He needs to rest."
The Emperor sighed in relief.
Although he did not like his second son, he was still his own son. Moreover, his love for Prince An was limited and he had no intention of giving up the country. He just wanted to test his sons' temperament and was unwilling to give up power. He did not want one of them to lose their lives.
The Emperor ordered people to welcome the Crown Prince back to the capital. He also ordered the Palace Secretary to draft an order for Prince An to go to the Yan Kingdom to take charge of the disaster relief.
At the same time, in Xindu City.
Li Yan, who was pretending to be seriously injured, was still hesitant, "Chonghui, is this trip really dangerous?"
When they were passing by Xindu, Zhong Yue suddenly divined that Li Yan's trip was a bad omen. He did not want him to take the risk, so he acted out the assassination.
Although he had been trapped in the Eastern Palace for a few days, Li Yan's patience had been greatly worn down. His tone was full of annoyance. If he was still the Royal Highness who was suppressed by the Crown Prince, he would not be as impatient as he was now. It was truly torturous to fall from a high position.
He was unwilling to give up this opportunity to recover. Moreover, the disaster relief was a win-win political achievement. He was unwilling to give it up to Prince An.
Zhong Yue was not sure about this divination.
A few days ago, prying into the earthquake had taken a toll on his body. Although it was not obvious on the surface, he would not be able to use divination for a short period of time.
However, the closer they got to the Yan Kingdom, the more uneasy Zhong Yue felt.
The intuition of the Zhong Family was often a sign of life and death. He pinched his fingers and calculated that the source of this uneasiness came from Li Yan. If they went any deeper, Li Yan's life would be in danger.
This conclusion made Zhong Yue decisively stop his plan to go to the Yan Kingdom with Li Yan.
Zhong Yue did not reveal the true condition of his body to Li Yan. At this time, he still had an arrogant look on his face. He said confidently, "When have I miscalculated? Yan Lang, nothing is more important than life. Moreover, after the earthquake, the Yan Kingdom will be in chaos. When the time comes, it will be easy for you to do something to Prince An. "
Only then did Li Yan feel relieved.
Perhaps, Zhong Yue did have some real skills.
If Li Yan went to the Yan Kingdom this time, there would be a bloody disaster. It would not be a natural disaster but a man-made disaster.
Gou Liang wanted to take this opportunity to collect some interest from Li Yan. He even planned to let Quan Yingshi kill him … Unfortunately, he could only give up now. However, it did not matter. Prince An was about to leave the Capital. After this, he would have a way to make Li Yan and Zhong Yue regret their actions.
Time was getting closer to the disaster Gou Liang predicted.
Because it was four to five days away from the next Guandu, the ship had stopped at the Dong Lai Ferry for two days and did not move forward.
It was night on the 23rd.
Tonight, the moonlight was dim and the stars were shining brightly. The mysteries hidden in the sea of stars were operating. Gou Liang looked up at the starry sky. If it were not for the starry predictions, he would have been immersed in this beautiful scenery.
Zhong Quan stepped forward and covered his knees with a tiger skin blanket. He tested his hand and felt it was cold to the touch. He hurriedly whispered, "Master, let's go inside and rest."
Gou Liang shook his head. He suddenly said, "The person I've been waiting for is about to arrive."
Zhong Quan did not understand, but the urgent sound of a horn quickly broke the darkness. It was used to warn and ask for help.
An official ship was speeding towards the ferry. The sound of weapons clashing could be heard from the ship. Soon, the person in charge of the night watch on the ship came to inquire, "Master, an official ship has been robbed ahead, but for some reason, the guards here have not taken any action. I wonder if we should intervene? "
"There's no rush."
Gou Liang smiled. "In a quarter of an hour, Zhong Quan, you will personally lead people to rescue them. You must save one person's life for me."
He whispered a few words into Zhong Quan's ear. The latter nodded knowingly. "This subordinate obeys. I will not disappoint Master."
The fleeing official ship slowed down and the sound of the horn stopped. The person who blew the horn fell into the sea, either dead or injured, just like most of the people on the ship.
There were only a dozen people left on the ship who were still resisting the pirates. The people who were protected behind the human wall watched as the human wall became thinner and thinner. Their faces were pale.
"Brother, don't go!"
Wang Li's obstruction made Wang Haiyi hesitate for a moment. But soon, the light from the knife pierced his eyes. He had no choice but to raise his knife to defend himself. Li Xi picked up two knives from the ground and gave one to Wang Li for her to defend herself. She held the knife in front of her and looked at the approaching pirates vigilantly. The heavy knife made Wang Li's hands tremble and her whole body tremble.
More and more people died. The hot blood splattered on her face made her numb. Wang Li could no longer tell whether the sound in her ears was the whistling of the sea breeze or the screams of the guards being killed.
Li Xi, who was beside her, also joined the battle. He was powerless and waved his knife wildly. Soon, he was no match for the pirates and was injured.
"Are we all going to die here tonight?"
Just when Wang Li was in despair, a group of people descended from the sky.
She only saw a handsome and stalwart man landing not far in front of her. Wherever his sword pointed, the pirates died. When she was hugged by her blood-soaked brother, she realized that the pirates had retreated at some point in time.
*
"Wang Haiyi of Yongning Prefecture, thank you for saving my life!"
After the wounds were bandaged, Wang Haiyi and the others came to thank Gou Liang.
"You don't have to be so polite. It was just a coincidence. Since we met here, how can I just stand by and watch? "
Gou Liang raised his hand and invited them to take a seat.
Wang Haiyi was a little surprised. "You know me?"
Gou Liang smiled but didn't say anything.
Wang Haiyi was the Tanhua of this year's examination. He was originally enrolled in the Hanlin Academy like Gou Liang. Later, his family mediated and won him an official position in Yangzhou. It was a good job. After three or five years, he would return to the capital. As long as he didn't make any mistakes, Wang Haiyi's official career would be one step ahead. Who would have thought that he would be attacked by the pirates here and almost lose his life?
On the official ship, except for Wang Haiyi, his sister, Li Xi and his servant, no one survived. It could be seen that the pirates were rampant.
He was also very confused about why no one came to help the guards of Guandu after the horn was blown. There was no response until now. Fortunately, Gou Liang helped them. Otherwise, they would all be drowned in the sea tonight.
Wang Haiyi briefly described his experience and said, "This is my sister. Li, come and thank your benefactor! The favor of saving your life should be repaid with a gushing spring. You must remember this in your heart.
Wang Li was his sister. She was eccentric and always mischievous. This time, she disguised herself as a man and secretly followed him to the south of the Yangtze River. When Wang Haiyi found out, the official ship had already entered the sea. He had to follow her. She was the only daughter in the family. If she died, Wang Haiyi would have no face to face his parents. Therefore, his gratitude to Gou Liang was really from the bottom of his heart.
Wang Li hurried forward. After saluting, she looked up at Zhong Quan behind Gou Liang. She lowered her head with blushing cheeks. Then she said delicately, "Thank you, benefactor."
The smile in Gou Liang's eyes froze.
As for Li Xi, Wang Haiyi introduced him as such, "This is my old friend. His surname is Yu and his name is Xiu. He doesn't have a courtesy name. He is from the capital. This time, he went south to find his relatives. Because of his muteness, he can't thank you in person. Please don't mind. "
Gou Liang glanced at Li Xi. The latter stood up respectfully and bowed three times.
Gou Liang accepted his salute calmly.
After letting them do as they pleased, Zhong Quan asked in a low voice, "Master, what do you plan to do next?"
Wang Haiyi was inexperienced, so he thought that Li Xi and her servant were lucky to be alive, not because of their strength. And the guards of Guandu turned a blind eye to their cries for help precisely because of this "little mute" beside him.
He was the person Gou Liang was waiting for here. The little Marquis Li Xi, the grandson of the late Crown Prince who was usurped by Emperor Wu.
His father was the Shizi Ye who was bewitched by the Gao family and almost strangled the fake Crown Prince to death.
Originally, Emperor Wu took good care of him and rewarded him to show his benevolence. However, after the attempted murder of the Zhong family, they completely fell out. Although Emperor Wu still gave him the title of Prince Lin after he became an adult, he only left him with an identity.
Not to mention that Prince Lin was involved in politics, they were so poor that they couldn't make ends meet. They had no sense of existence among the imperial family. Prince Lin died of depression and left the world early, leaving behind only a little Shizi. Later, Emperor Wu demoted him and gave him the title of Marquis.
That person was Li Xi.
Although he was only thirteen years old, he was precocious and ambitious. He went south to take over the power left behind by his grandfather, the Crown Prince who was one step away from the throne.
Emperor Wu had always wanted to eliminate the source of trouble. Even though Li Xi became "mute" because of an illness when he was very young, he did not give up on this idea. However, Li Xi did not have a chance because he knew his place.
This time, it was exactly what he wanted. Li Xi's actions were secretive, but they did not escape his eyes. That was why there was a night of banditry.
Gou Liang touched his lips and smiled, "Let's wait and see. If he is to my liking, returning the throne to its rightful owner is also a good thing, isn't it? "
Li Xi was much smarter than Gou Liang thought. He came to see him the next morning.
Li Xi bowed deeply and said, "Thank you for saving my life last night. Please accept my bow."
Gou Liang put down his hand and said with a light smile, "I vaguely remember that the person who came in third last night said that you were mute. How did you recover after a night without medicine?"
Li Xi smiled bitterly and said, "Sir Zhong, a straightforward person does not resort to insinuations."
Gou Liang was really surprised this time, "You recognize me?"
Li Xi said, "Last night, Xi had some suspicions in his heart. Today, after seeing the ship and the Lin family's business in Yang Province, Xi dared to recognize Sir."
"Oh, why don't you tell me why?" Gou Liang looked at him with great interest.
"Does Sir not feel that my appearance is somewhat similar to yours? My grandmother is the great granddaughter of the State Preceptor. The blood of the Zhong family flows in her body. After I was born, my grandmother once said that I looked somewhat similar to Sir when you were young. It was also because of the secret assistance of the Lin family in Yang Province that Xi was able to grow up peacefully and not be troubled by yellow and white matters. "
Li Xi said, "To tell Sir the truth, Xi came to Yang Province this time not only to protect my grandfather's foundation, but also to ask for help from the Lin family."
"Who in the world does not know that the Zhong family in Shangjing has been extinct for more than ten years? Based on this point alone, how can you determine that I am Zhong Gu? " Gou Liang looked at him with a smile that was not a smile, "Presumably, when I was in the Bright King's residence, you, or perhaps your grandmother, had already guessed who I was, right?"
Li Xi hurriedly said, "Sir, please do not take offense. When Sir was in trouble, the Marquis's residence wanted to help, but their strength was lacking. Grandmother was also ill … Fortunately, Sir was blessed by the heavens."
Gou Liang said, "It is already very rare for you to have this kind of heart. However, you did not come to find me today to claim kinship with me, right? "
Li Xi blushed, "Sir, please forgive me. Xi's whereabouts were exposed this time, and I fear that I will be killed. I have come to ask for Sir's protection. "
"Only this?"
Gou Liang asked.
Li Xi paused. He was not sure if there was any deeper meaning in his words. After a few moments of hesitation, he still respectfully said, "Protecting my life has already made things difficult for Sir. Xi is endlessly grateful and does not dare to ask for anything else."
Gou Liang smiled, "For the sake of your grandmother, I will help you. At that time, I still feel guilty for the Zhong family's powerlessness when she asked for help. From now on, the Zhong family and she do not owe each other anything. Do you understand? "
Li Xi's expression changed, but he still agreed.
Near noon, the wind and clouds changed.
The wind and waves on the sea were more violent than usual. While the ship was rocking, far away in Yan Country, Xingtang County, the ground cracked and the mountains collapsed. A disaster suddenly occurred!
The Imperial Palace.
The Emperor Wu, who was reviewing memorials, suddenly swayed. His brush drew a line on the memorial, and the bright red color was shocking to the eye. He suddenly stood up. His personal eunuch was shocked and hurriedly supported him, "Your, Your Majesty …"
The Emperor Wu grabbed him, "What time is it now?"
"The hour of the afternoon." The eunuch's face was pale as he said, "It has been half an hour since the time the Imperial Astronomer predicted that the earth dragon would turn over, Your Majesty."
Zhong Yue's divination time was exactly the hour of the afternoon, but the earthquake that happened far away in Yan Country could still be felt in Shangjing. How could it have just happened? And the truth was exactly the same as the Imperial Astronomer's' alarmist '!
A layer of cold sweat appeared on the Emperor Wu's forehead as he cried out, "Quick, order someone to bring Liu Buyu into the palace! Wait, order the officials of the second rank and above to enter the palace quickly. There must be no delay! "
Eastern Palace.
Li Yan and Zhong Yue's expressions changed greatly.
"What, what is going on?!"
Li Yan shouted.
Zhong Yue's face was pale. He did not expect that the divination that he had painstakingly done would not be as good as the Imperial Astronomer's divination. He immediately took off the natal chart tied to his waist and forced himself to perform the divination. But soon, his lips were bleeding.
"Zhong Yue, you … Chong Hui?!"
Zhong Yue spat out a mouthful of blood and it landed on Li Yan's face. The latter hurriedly caught the unconscious Zhong Yue, his expression frozen in anger and fear.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
