The spring rain fell on the soft, withered grass on the roof of the bamboo building and was absorbed by it without a sound. Only then did the rain seep into the eaves along the grass path, forming sparkling water droplets that fell to the ground.
Every few steps on the bamboo building, there was a stone with a groove in the middle. A bamboo tube that was cut in half was placed in the groove, from top to bottom, forming a certain angle. The rainwater fell into the bamboo tube, forming a trickle that happily flowed to the end, turning into a waterfall that poured downstairs.
The rainwater hit different parts of the bamboo tube, forming a song with different pitches and a unique charm. In the room, an old man with white sideburns, a clear face, and thick wrinkles sat next to the clay stove. He listened to the disturbing "music" irritatedly, stuffing firewood into the stove.
The fire was burning fiercely. He closed his knees together, facing the spitting flames, letting the heat of the fire roast his knees.
The back door of the front building opened, and an oil-paper umbrella slowly came out. It floated down the stairs, across the courtyard, and slowly rose up to the back building. It walked along the bamboo corridor with the sound of running water to the door in the middle, and pushed the door open.
The rainwater falling from the eaves hit the oil-paper umbrella, making a "pu pu" sound, like boiling water being poured on the ground.
In just a moment, the umbrella was closed, and the person under the umbrella floated into the room, and the bamboo door was also closed with a "creak".
The dripping umbrella formed a bundle, and was placed by the door. The person holding the umbrella walked with light steps to the side of the old man who was lighting the fire. The old man who was sitting by the stove turned his head to look at the person, and muttered, "What an unlucky rain. My legs are so sore every time it rains. I want to chop them off to feel better."
"Is Langjun's Old Cold Leg Disease acting up again?" The person who came in asked softly, and faintly sighed. It was spring and summer, and it was the time when it rained a lot. Her husband would probably suffer again and again.
Looking at the old man's age, his wife shouldn't be young either. However, the woman's voice was as soft and beautiful as a flute. It also had a hint of magnetism and was very pleasant to the ears. She shouldn't be too old. Sure enough, she pulled a stool over and sat down next to the old man who was warming himself by the fire. The red light of the fire illuminated her face.
She … was indeed not old!
Maybe only twenty?
More or less. Her skin was fine and white, and the texture was as compact as exquisite porcelain. There was not a single wrinkle on it.
Or thirty?
That pair of naturally born peach blossom eyes, when not smiling, were slightly squinting. From time to time, they would overflow with clear light. That kind of mature woman's charm was definitely not something that a woman who had just become a woman could nurture.
Or perhaps, she should be forty years old. Under her slightly raised neck, her pink and tender skin was slightly loose. The bright and dark flames reflected in her eyes, and there were slight wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, although it was not clear if one did not look closely.
However, looking at her appearance, it was easy to overlook her age.
No matter how old she was, she was a charming woman.
She was dressed in coarse clothes that were tailored to her body. Her black hair was combed neatly, and it was tied into a bun that made her long neck look as elegant as a swan's. Even though she was wearing a cotton dress, it was still difficult to conceal her alluring figure. She used her slender white hands to gather her hair. Her elegant demeanor formed a sharp contrast with the village woman's attire.
"Langjun, I heard that … the Khitan people in the north rebelled against our Tang dynasty."
"Oh! The Khitan people are just a small tribe. Haven't they always been peaceful? How did they rebel? "
The old man with white temples was busy breaking the dry wood and stuffing it into the stove, not paying much attention to what the woman said.
The beautiful woman continued, "I heard that they even raised a banner, saying … 'Return my Luling, Prince of Xiang!'"
The old man was startled and let out a soft cry. He was momentarily absent-minded and let the fire burn his hand. He quickly retracted his hand and sucked it a few times. Shocked and angry, he said, "The Khitan people raised the banner 'Return my Luling, Prince of Xiang'? I … I, Li Xian, have no grievances with the Khitan people. Why would they harm me like this? "
Li Xian! He was the Sage Rising Emperor Li Xian, who had been demoted to the Prince of Luling and placed under house arrest in Fangzhou after thirty-six days on the throne!
Li Xian was only forty-four years old, but from his appearance, he was probably in his early sixties. These years of house arrest had truly taken a toll on his body and mind. But his empress, the current Princess Consort of Luling, Lady Wei, was still radiant and radiant. It was as if all these years of suffering had not affected her in the slightest.
In contrast to Li Xian's fear, Lady Wei's eyes were shining and she seemed very excited. "Also, that tiny Khitan tribe actually managed to win a few major battles, causing the Imperial Court to be thrown into disarray. In the end, the Turks saw that our Tang dynasty was weak and easy to bully, so they also sent an army into Hebei, raising the banner 'Replacing the Tang against the Zhou'! "
Li Xian's face was ashen, his body trembling as if he had contracted an epidemic. His teeth chattered. "How could this be? This is bad! Calamity … calamity is coming … "
Lady Wei frowned and said unhappily, "Here you go again. Don't always be so paranoid, okay?"
Li Xian stood up in a panic, and the folding stool he was sitting on fell to the ground. Seeing him stumbling away, Lady Wei couldn't help but chase after him, asking, "What are you doing?"
Li Xian was terrified beyond words, and he seemed to have lost his mind. "Empress Mother is going to send someone to take my life soon. Maybe … maybe she will even bestow me a cup of tea and let me die a miserable death. No, I want to commit suicide. I don't want to suffer such a great pain! "
Back then, Li Xian had not feared his mother to such a serious degree. However, ever since his mother had kicked him off the throne and imprisoned him here, he had lived in constant fear of death. As time passed, the image of his mother in his heart grew more and more terrifying. Now, it had already formed a kind of morbid mentality.
He feared his mother because of his fear of death, but now, his fear of his mother had surpassed that of death. Li Xian crouched down and searched for a rope in a corner. Madam Wei was furious. She pulled him back and said, "Fortune and misfortune are unpredictable. I don't think this is a great disaster. There is still no news from the capital, why are you in such a hurry …"
Before Madam Wei could finish, she was thrown aside by Li Xian. She staggered and steadied herself, then shouted angrily, "Li Xian!" The shout was so loud and fierce that Li Xian raised his head in astonishment. In the next moment, a fierce slap landed on his face. The slap woke Li Xian up from his stupor. He stared blankly at Madam Wei.
Madam Wei said word by word, "Do you think that if the Khitans and Turks used you as an excuse to invade the Tang dynasty, Empress Mother would view you as a thorn in her side and want to get rid of you as soon as possible? But in my opinion, this is a great benefit to us! Why don't you think about how old Empress Mother is now? Everyone in the world is still using your identity to make a fuss. What does this mean? This means that even though she has become the Empress, she has yet to win over the hearts of the people in the world! She has one foot in the grave, it is too late for her to win over the hearts of the people. She doesn't want the world to be in chaos after her death. She doesn't want the rebels and traitors to dig up her grave. She has to think carefully about who should the world be passed on to! "
Madam Wei walked step by step to the side of the despondent Li Xian. She grabbed his hand and said agitatedly, "Do you understand? Do you understand? Perhaps, this is the turning point for us! "
Li Xian said sluggishly, "Is … is that so? Will Empress Mother really not vent her anger on me? Won't she send someone to execute me? "
Madam Wei said, "Of course not! This news happened last winter. If Empress Mother wanted to kill you, would she have waited until now? "
"It happened last winter?" Li Xian was greatly relieved when he heard this. He mumbled to himself, "If that's the case, she probably won't vent her anger on me. Ah! Oh right, where did you get this news from? Is it reliable? "
Madam Wei said, "Of course it's from Guo Er! We're trapped in this Yellow Bamboo Ridge. We've become deaf and blind. We can forget about knowing what's going on outside. The children are also disappointing. Only Guo Er can walk around outside and gather information for us. "
Li Xian sighed, "That's right. Guo Er was born when you and I were escorted to Fangzhou. She's the princess of the Tang dynasty with golden branches and jade leaves. When she was born, she didn't even have a swaddling cloth. She could only be wrapped in your old clothes. Sigh! As her father, I've let her down. I didn't expect that you and I, husband and wife, would receive the most benefits from this daughter … "
While the husband and wife were reminiscing about the past, two shadows had already sneaked into Li Xian's residence.
Yang Fan's prediction was not wrong. If one were to look closely at the residences around Li Xian's residence, they would notice that the layout of the residence was slightly different from other places. These residences surrounded Li Xian's family in the middle. This was the fourth line of defense.
However, in any place, if the soldiers could not be rotated and only had a fixed number of people carrying out surveillance duties, it would be impossible for them to be as vigilant as they were in the beginning even after fifteen to sixteen years. Those young and strong soldiers of the past were now married and had children. Even their sons could roam the mountains and plains, set traps to catch roe deer, climb trees to catch bird eggs.
However, these neighbors who were responsible for vigilance still brought a certain amount of trouble to Yang Fan and Madam Wei. This was because some of the families had dogs. Fortunately, Gu Zhuting was very experienced. The two of them carefully circled around for a while before they finally snuck into the 'Prince of Luling's Mansion' soundlessly and sneaked up to the bamboo building.
There was light in the bamboo building. A sliver of light shone through the crack of the door. Gu Zhuting turned around and made a hand signal to Yang Fan. The two of them relaxed their footsteps and quietly walked over. The floor of the bamboo building was paved with bamboos. Even the slightest movement would produce a slight squeaking sound. Luckily, the rain had not stopped yet. The rainwater poured into the half-cut bamboo tube and made a tinkling sound, which perfectly covered the sound of their footsteps.
When Yang Fan and Madam Wei arrived at the door, they halted their footsteps, turned around and made a hand signal to each other. Gu Zhuting suddenly pushed the bamboo door open, and Yang Fan dashed in like an arrow.
The lingering fear in Li Xian's heart gradually disappeared. He was cuddling up with Madam Wei, reminiscing the past in a low voice. Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed in like a whirlwind, startling the husband and wife.
After all, Li Xian was a man, so he was relatively calm when facing such an unexpected event. However, Madam Wei was a woman. Encountering something like this, Madam Wei was even more afraid than Li Xian. She immediately let out a shrill scream and quickly hid behind Li Xian, clutching his clothes tightly.
Before Li Xian could see Yang Fan's face clearly, he saw the blade on his waist. It was a strange blade that was long and narrow like a sword. Li Xian suddenly thought of a possibility, and his reflexive phobia of Wu Zetian broke out again.
His legs trembled, and with a trembling voice, he asked, "You … you … you … are you sent by Empress Mother to kill me?"
…
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