Cheng Jiaxuan pleaded, "Your Majesty, even if it was Niangniang's fault, the Lord Baylor Ling is still innocent! He has always done his best to study the Four Books and Five Classics, which he has no interest in at all, as well as the 'Comprehensive Mirror for Aid of Governance', which he has to study several times. When he was practicing horseback riding and hunting, he had countless injuries and scrapes on his body, all for the sake of pleasing Your Majesty, hoping to obtain Your Majesty's appreciation, so that in the future he can be … like you, a qualified monarch. He has never slacked off, moreover, among all the princes, he has always been the most outstanding. He has always been well-behaved and obedient, and has never made any big mistake. Every time the princes mentioned him, none of them did not raise their thumbs up and praise him. Moreover, Your Majesty has already promised him. Because of Your Majesty's promise, he has been looking forward to it day and night, and has been waiting for many years. A monarch does not joke about his words. If Your Majesty fulfills his promise now, you will only scrupulously abide by the old agreement. There is not the slightest bit of inconsistency, and other people will not find it abrupt. I ask Your Majesty to consider the affection between father and son. If this matter is delayed, I am afraid he … I am afraid he … "
She had never dared to speak in such a loud voice. Her emotions were stirred up, and unexpectedly she was already crying. Even she herself had just realized that the friendship between her and the Xuan Shuang was indeed extremely deep. She remembered what she said before, that she would not harm him in the face of great calamity. Now that she thought about it, it was indeed not a lie. But the evil deed was caused by her and her adoptive father, which caused the Xuan Shuang's position in the Emperor's heart to plummet. Could this be considered harming him?
Dorgon also said, "Xiao Xuan, the more you speak, the more you are violating the rules! Why haven't you withdrawn yet? "
Hearing her pleading, the anger in Shunzhi's heart burned even more fiercely. He said, "He has waited for several years, what's so great about that? All of Zhen's sons have been thinking day and night, waiting for the throne for a long time. Zhen will confer the title of crown prince to each and every one of them, all right? Even if the heir apparent has already been appointed, if later on his moral character fails, I can still issue an imperial edict to depose him. Do you think that you can sit back and relax just because you have that layer of assurance? If he can cherish the affection between father and son, the next time we see him, he should be as obedient and clever as before. Then we will still recognize him as our son. If you try to play tricks again, I won't play along anymore! What are you afraid of? Are you afraid that he will take things too hard and commit suicide, or are you afraid that he will come to assassinate me? "
When he said the last sentence, he felt that he had gone a little overboard. However, as the Emperor, he would never take back his words. In the end, he snorted and said, "Persuade him to think about it carefully." Then, he didn't look at her anymore and got into a palanquin parked not far away. The sedan bearers waiting nearby immediately returned to the palace, not daring to tarry.
Cheng Jiaxuan was anxious. He rubbed his eyes, which were still red and swollen, and softly called out, "Yifu … what do you think His Majesty meant by 'pretending to be a god and playing a ghost'? Could it be that … he already knows? " She walked to Dorgon's side and weakly tugged at his sleeve. She said, "Godfather, please go and persuade His Majesty again …"
Dorgon snorted coldly and said, "Persuade what? You want me to tell His Majesty that today's matter has nothing to do with the Lord Baylor Ling, and that it was all a farce planned by this prince? Didn't you hear what His Majesty said just now? No matter who it is, they are not allowed to mention the two words' crown prince 'in front of him. What can I say? "
Cheng Jiaxuan said with tears in his eyes, "You are his Imperial Uncle. He will definitely listen to what you say. Please think of another way … "However, Dorgon was only looking at the palanquin that Shunzhi had left in the distance. He was indifferent to her tears and pleas, but a profound smile gradually appeared on his face.
— — —
Xuan Shuang walked out of the courtyard and stopped laughing. He looked back to make sure that no one was following him, and in a flash, he entered the forest not far from the Snow Song Palace. That was also the place where he first became Jiang Liechen's disciple.
When he arrived, he found the seventh tree. This time, it was very easy to find because the hole in the tree from the explosion last time hadn't been filled in yet. He walked to the side of the tree and sat down unhurriedly. He crossed his hands and pillowed them behind his head, using the bark as a cushion. He crossed his legs and gently swayed the leg resting on his knee. The tip of his foot that was resting on the ground constantly tapped on the ground, making 'tap' 'tap' 'tap' 'tap' sounds. He leisurely basked in the sun.
After a short while, the buzzing in his ears gradually subsided. He began to hum a small tune, occasionally whistling a few words. In the forest, other than this soft sound, there was only the sound of the wind shuttling through the trees.
Not long after, a cold voice came from behind him, "You still dare to come? This seat originally thought that you were already scared out of your wits and hiding in the palace crying for your parents, not daring to come out again. "
Xuan Shuang snorted softly. His hands slid down the tree trunk. When he landed, he quickly pushed himself up and lightly jumped up. He turned around and smiled, "You came?"
Jiang Liechen thought that even if he could endure the pain and come to the appointment, he should be scared to death. Seeing his brilliant smile, which was comparable to the warm sun above his head, he was surprised for a moment. He paused for a moment before saying, "You're amazing. Those people in the palace have all been fooled by you. "
Xuan Shuang smiled and said, "Yes!" Then his expression became serious and he said, "Do you really look down on me that much? As your last disciple, do you think that after I was forced to eat the heart of a person who had just died, I would be unable to recover from this setback? Although I was really scared that day, I didn't eat dinner and secretly vomited a few times. I always felt that there was a strange smell in my mouth. Also, I'm not afraid that you'll laugh at me, but I had nightmares in the middle of the night. But when I woke up the next day, I didn't feel that anything was wrong. However, this matter gave me a lot of inspiration. I might as well take advantage of the situation and play the fool to find out who the heir to the throne belongs to. It's not a joke. Many times, as a fool, I can often find out many … secrets that smart people don't know. However, although I was prepared for what Empress Ama said, it still made my heart cold. "
Jiang Liechen said indifferently, "You're worthy of being this seat's chosen disciple. As expected, you're able to carry heavy matters as if they were light. You're responsible! If you escape this time, our game will be over. That's right, what did he say? "
Xuan Shuang sneered and said, "When I exorcised the ghost, you should've been there too, right? You heard everything without missing a single word. Why do you have to pretend to ask me now? Look at Empress Ama's uncontrollable anger. What he said didn't leave any room for negotiation. He was determined. Even if I became a complete lunatic, he still wouldn't be kind enough to make me the crown prince. Moreover, after becoming a lunatic, my status will inevitably plummet. Snobbish people like to take advantage of the situation and my brothers want to get rid of me quickly. Therefore, when you have status, most of the people who surround you are not sincere. Only when you're down and out, and there's no profit to be gained, are those who are still willing to accompany you can be considered good friends. However, that's not necessarily the case. Maybe there's someone with sharp eyes who can see that you'll make a comeback in the future. It's a pity that I can't even find such a 'smart person' right now. "
Jiang Liechen was unmoved and said, "You make it sound so pitiful."
Xuan Shuang sighed and said, "That's the truth. What can I do? Then let's not talk about it. I also wanted to find out more about Empress Ama's intentions toward the crown prince. I was suffering without a good plan. The Prince Regent was generous. He found a few shamans who I don't know if they're real or fake and put on a farce in front of Empress Ama. It allowed me to thoroughly understand the situation. "Jiang Liechen coldly snorted and said," He's always been very generous. What are you going to do? "
Xuan Shuang muttered, "Strike first and gain the upper hand. By the time he announces it to the world, everything will be too late. I don't want to spend any more effort to please him. The only way is to seize the power in my hands before that happens … In fact, I know very well in my heart that the Prince Regent did this in order to prepare for who he'll side with in the future. But he won't be satisfied with that. Even if he has the imperial power, he still wants that title, so in the future he'll make his move. Prince Fu is the same. On the surface, these people are trying to curry favor with me, encouraging me to usurp the power, saying that their own families will send troops, and will do their utmost to help. Naturally they will help, but in the end, I don't know who will benefit. It's funny, I don't do anything every day, I only know how to pretend. Previously I pretended that I was very confident that I would become the crown prince. But now that things have come to this, I'm afraid I can't pretend anymore. Therefore, I pretended that I was confident that I would succeed in usurping the power. But everything has its own risk, how can it be so certain? I was just pretending to be confident, so that they would trust me enough to lend me more troops. "
Jiang Liechen said, "They are willing to use you, that shows you still have some value." Xuan Shuang laughed and said, "That's right, that's indeed the case. Therefore, if I think about it carefully, it's not a bad thing. But you are quite calm, aren't you? I thought that you would be very angry that other people were trying to use your disciple. "
Jiang Liechen disdained to reply. Xuan Shuang raised both hands and examined them in front of his eyes for half a day. Then he said, "You are right, as long as I take one wrong step, there will be no turning back in the future. Since my hands are stained with blood, I won't be able to wash it clean anyway. Why should I painstakingly suppress myself and pretend to be a good and virtuous gentleman? Actually, in terms of nature, there is no doubt that you and I are the same kind of person. "
Jiang Liechen coldly swept his gaze over him. "The current you is still too far away," he said. The few people you have killed are just a hair from nine oxen in this master's eyes. Tonight at the Zi hour, I want to go to the An Village, which is not far from the capital. If I can handle this matter quickly, I estimate that I can come back in half a night. Do you dare to come with me? "
Xuan Shuang remembered that he had just made a big fool of himself in the Palace. Even if he went back now, he would only become a laughing stock. Thereupon he readily replied, "I dare! Why wouldn't I dare? In any case, it's not the first time I've seen you kill someone. What did that unlucky An Village do to provoke you? "
Jiang Liechen's expression was calm and without ripples, as if he had already taken Xuan Shuang's agreement for granted. He said, "It's just an unknown rich family. Everyone in the village also practices martial arts, but only the village head, Old Man An, has some real skills. Recently, he wanted to make a name for himself in the jianghu. He actually dared to lead a group of wives and children to raise the banner of righteousness and arrogantly say that he wants to destroy me. I'll pay him a visit and see who's the one who destroyed who. "
Xuan Shuang coldly laughed. "Isn't that nonsense? Hey, according to me, we'll go at the Zi hour, and we'll go now. Why don't we go now and catch him unprepared? We'll settle this matter quickly and everyone will have some peace and quiet. "
Jiang Liechen said, "That won't do. No matter if it's a human or a demon, the words they say will always count. This master has even sent out a notice stating that we'll go at the Zi hour, so we can't change it midway. Having said that, it's good to give them more time to prepare. In any case, the outcome won't change. What's interesting is the process. Just look at those lowly people, panicking and holding on until the Zi hour, suffering all kinds of miserable torment. I don't know what kind of formidable mechanism they'll set up to protect their lives. This master has seen a lot of attacks and suppressions. The only thing that can be considered a bit decent is Shadowless Mountain Villa's several formations. Village Head Shen didn't die early. With his talent, it's enough for him to accomplish something. "
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