When Shou Yulou arrived at the Nanjing Heavenly Palace,
The dust on his body had not yet cleared.
He went to this magnificent and ancient building to meet its new owner.
He was on the exceptionally soft gilded bed where the Emperor once lay.
He saw a weak and pale old man.
Although he was an old man,
He was actually only in his fifties. However, his hair was extremely white, and his body was so thin that he was only a bag of bones.
Shou Yulou was silent as he sat by his bedside.
He held his hand.
He lowered his long eyelashes.
He called him softly, "Big Brother, I'm back."
His face was so thin that his veins could be seen.
He opened his eyes with great effort. When he saw him,
There was a hint of guilt.
He moved his dry lips with difficulty. "I said, don't move in. I... am sick... I can't hold on. Here, the conditions are good. "
He glanced at his face and said softly and slowly, "You... are taller. You're the same as... different from before. "
He spoke incoherently.
When Shou Yulou held the old man's weak and limp hand tightly,
The old man had fallen asleep again.
Everyone looked at the man who had retreated from the bedchamber.
They were nervous and vigilant.
Fang Xiuming asked tentatively, "Where's Xiuwen? He didn't come back with you? "
Shou Yulou lowered his eyes. "Him. He violated the discipline. "
He seemed very sad.
"You..." Fang Xiuming moved his lips.
Finally,
He said, "You're different from before."
When Shou Yulou heard this, he raised his head and looked at the furnishings in the palace and everyone's clothes.
The exquisite red Persian carpet was cushioned on the ground. It was embroidered with a custom-made picture of two dragons playing with a pearl. When one stepped on the long wool, it was as if one was sinking into the clouds.
Such a roll of Persian carpet was worth thousands of gold, but now it was just a stepping cloth in front of the palace's threshold.
Some people's boots were as white as snow and made of the most flawless sheepskin.
Some people were wrapped in expensive mink coats and wore golden crowns as thin as cicada wings.
For some people, the jewels on their clothes were pearl divers who had dived into the sea pearls, and it took more than ten lives to exchange for a single pearl from the deep sea.
They sat on precious chairs made of agarwood and drank the first-class Longjing tea that had been brought back from Hangzhou. Maids came in like clouds to serve tea. Their bodies were fragrant, and their ornaments jingled. Their manners were elegant. With one look, one could tell that they were the old palace servants who were used to the clothes of their masters in the palace.
After a long while, Shou Yulou lowered his head again and looked at the old scholar's clothes that had been washed white. He laughed involuntarily and repeated, "Yes, we are all different from before."
He walked away, and the suppressed sobs behind the screen finally grew louder. A woman rushed out and knelt on the ground, screaming "Darling Ye" at the top of her lungs.
Lin Dao-kyung jumped up from his chair and helped his "sister-in-law" up. He said to Fang Xiuming, "Second Brother, look at how nonchalant he is! From ten feet away, I could smell the stench of blood on his body! Why did Big Brother save a lunatic like him back then? We have been together for so many years, and he killed his brother without hesitation … "
As he spoke, Lin Dao-kyung, who had a delicate appearance, shed heroic tears even though he was an iron-blooded man. "My brother Ye, although he has a little manly problem, he has always been the most loyal to the Revolutionary Army and Big Brother. He has made countless contributions, and he almost died on the battlefield three years ago. Furthermore, he had grown up together with her at Longevity Jade Tower. He said that a life for a life. What is the death of a few prostitutes? He just complained about the distribution of land and the Holy Treasury raising lazy people. What is a few more acres of land? He did it! "
Long before Shou Yulou returned from Yunnan, Nanjing had received the news. They said that Shou Yulou first killed innocent gentry, smashed things everywhere, and became addicted to killing. He even raised his butcher's knife against his own brothers.
They did not believe it at first.
His old brothers all remembered what kind of person Shou Yulou was when they first came to the Revolutionary Army.
He was a docile, shy, introverted, and extremely fragile and sensitive young man. No one could bear to say anything harsh to him. Other than knowing how to play the zither, go, calligraphy, and painting, and poetry, he did not even know how to kill a chicken.
His martial arts were taught by a few dynasty military officials who later joined the Revolutionary Army.
It wasn't until Ye Xiuwen's wife arrived with the scouts of the Yunnan army that they found out from the mouths of their old brothers who had surrendered to Shou Yulou that the news was not exaggerated at all.
Including those who taught Shou Yulou, who were half teacher and half friend, they were even executed by Shou Yulou in public. Although they did not die, they were tied up in front of the army and civilians and scolded by the civilians.
Many of them could not bear such humiliation and committed suicide.
They were all sacrificed to the Great Purge.
Amongst which, Ye Xiuwen's death caused a huge uproar and spread the name of the Great Purge.
Ye Xiuwen came from an aristocratic family and knew Shou Yulou since he was young. They could be said to be close like brothers.
Not long after Shou Yulou joined the Revolutionary Army, Ye Xiuwen followed along, bringing his own three thousand private troops.
His name was Xiuwen, but he was good at martial arts. He also came from an aristocratic family of generals, so he was good at fighting wars. When the Revolutionary Army was at its toughest, they only had a few linen clothes. In the entire army, not many people had shoes. It was Ye Xiuwen who led the Ye Family's private troops to lead the way, killing a path out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
However, Ye Xiuwen was good at everything else, but he loved women, wine, and enjoyment.
He was not afraid of dying in battle, but to not touch women was harder than reaching the heavens.
During war, there were military rules and regulations. The moment things calmed down and the Revolutionary Army gained a foothold in Yunnan, he started to have thoughts about women.
Ye Xiuwen secretly bought a few concubines from who-knows-where and raised them.
Out of these few concubines, the one that Ye Xiuwen liked the most was a restless one, and she hooked up with wild men outside.
Ye Xiuwen unintentionally bumped into it, and he was so furious that he jumped up. His temper was explosive, and he accidentally killed this concubine.
Originally, that concubine was quietly buried. Who knew who in the back of the house was jealous and spread this matter out.
Ye Xiuwen was summoned to the yamen.
Following which, it was revealed that the reason why he was able to raise these few concubines was because he secretly took up land that exceeded the quota.
Even if Ye Xiuwen's subordinates begged him, saying that his general had worked hard even if he did not do anything. Was his contributions to the Revolutionary Army not worth as much as a prostitute?
Even if Ye Xiuwen's wife cried and begged this' uncle 'who had grown up with her husband.
Even if Ye Xiuwen said that this was a plot by the dynasty, that his concubine's background was unknown and her actions were weird. This was probably a plan to sow discord and break an arm of the Revolutionary Army. He knew that he had broken the rules, and he accepted the punishment. However, he was willing to die on the battlefield to atone for his crimes, and was not willing to die under the blade of his brother.
However, in the end, Ye Xiuwen, who was outstanding in martial arts, did not die in the war against the dynasty. Instead, he died on the execution platform of his own people.
Ye Xiuwen's wife, Wang Shi, was still crying on the ground.
The hall was silent for a moment.
In the north, this year's snow had started falling long ago.
In the vast expanse of snow, although the food shortage in the inland was getting more and more intense, it did not stop the Imperial Court from exchanging the gold, silver, and jewels that they had found in the chaos for grain to be transported to the frontlines.
Recently, the Imperial Court had received news of victory, and the army had returned victorious.
"Your Majesty, good news …" The eunuch who was reporting instantly stopped.
"Shhh …" The imperial concubine was holding the Emperor's head in her arms, slowly rubbing it. "Your Majesty's headache has just subsided, and it's rare for him to close his eyes for a while."
She glanced at the memorial in the eunuch's hands. "Leave it there. When he wakes up, he will deal with it. "
The Crown Prince had just been deposed two years ago, and recently, imperial concubine Jia had not only given birth to a son, but she was also extremely favored by the Emperor. The memorial. She actually had to pass it to the Emperor.
The eunuch did not dare to offend her, so he obediently released the memorial and retreated.
The imperial concubine twisted open the memorial and skimmed through it quickly.
"My dear concubine." The Emperor woke up, lying in the imperial concubine's arms with his eyes closed. "Read it."
Imperial concubine Jia replied, "Yes."
After the Emperor's headache had subsided, he also listened to the imperial concubine's beautiful, gentle, and calm voice. She clearly enunciated the words and finished reading the pile of memorials.
The matter of approval was naturally handled by the young and powerful Imperial Concubine Jia, who did not have trembling hands like him.
"A great victory … there is also good news in the south. Hmm … the concubine's uncle … is still more useful in critical moments. What do you think, concubine? "
The imperial concubine smiled and said, "Your Majesty, why are you asking me this again? I am a member of the harem, a woman. How can I talk about external matters? "
Outside the glass window of the palace, the snow was still rustling. Only the incense burner in the room was spiraling green smoke.
After waiting for a long time, she heard the Emperor in her arms let out a hum. He still did not open his eyes, but allowed himself to sink deep into the young and warm embrace. Not long after, he fell asleep again.
When the imperial concubine took another memorial, she thought that the Emperor was probably really old.
With this thought in mind, she carefully read the memorial about the upheaval in the short-haired thief's internal affairs sent by the spy in the south.
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