Hello Chang’an

Kang Zhi was willing to take the initiative to answer his questions without waiting for him to ask: "I'm going to the general."

“…” Gu Erlang felt that the sky was falling.

who is he? Why is he standing here?

 Are all the people in the capital so unwilling to leave a way for others to survive?

Seeing Gu Erlang's deeply shocked look, Kang Zhi was in a good mood.

 The Lord of Dongluo came to congratulate him personally, and the officials in the palace were also in a good mood.

Also in a good mood, there was Xi'er who was setting up his bedroom in the Manna Palace with a group of chambermaids and maids. The palace people were busy moving in and out, and everyone was preparing for the upcoming ceremony.

 Outside of the imperial city, looking at the people, we can also see that the capital is full of joy.

Even the prisons in Beijing have become more lively. Many prisoners with misdemeanors, as well as those previously imprisoned due to changes in the overall situation, are looking forward to the amnesty and reversal of their convictions after the new emperor is installed, and are waiting for the opportunity to see the light of day again.

 But this opportunity is destined not to belong to those felons on death row who are held in isolation in the dungeon of the Ministry of Punishments.

There is no daylight here, no distinction between day and night. Even in the summer, there are traces of dampness and coldness, as if the connection with the world has been cut off, and it has reached the netherworld.

In a small cell, a prisoner lay huddled in the corner. Even though centipedes and other reptiles were roaming around his body, he remained motionless. If his eyes weren't still open, he would have looked like a dead corpse. It would be hard to imagine that this was the Prince Rong who was famous all over the world a few months ago and was about to ascend the throne.

The only thing left in those eyes at this moment was the unwillingness to die in such a humiliating way and in such a dirty place.

 In another cell not far away, there is a female prisoner locked up.

 Mingluo was directly escorted here by the Xuance Army. He did not change his prison uniform and was still wearing his original skirt. The dress was made of fine materials and had intricate embroidery. It was difficult to recognize the original color. No one in Cui Jing's army tortured her, but being a prisoner and following the march was enough to torture her, who had been pampered for a long time and had a strong self-esteem.

After being thrown into this cell, many muddy past events that she didn't want to recall wrapped around her uncontrollably. In this dirty and dark cell, she saw her embarrassed reflection in the bowl of water and collapsed. again and again.

She has done so much just to not have to go back to the mud, but why is she still left in this place despite her best efforts? Is it really life? Why was she born with this fate? This is not fair!

Min Luo thought about it over and over again. At this moment, she was sitting in the corner, muttering to herself in a daze, her teeth trembling uncontrollably, and the sound she made overlapped with the sound of rats gnawing.

Her eyes were constantly changing, sometimes resentful, sometimes fearful, sometimes disgusting, sometimes filled with murderous intent.

No one here would pay attention to her emotions. Two jailers passed by outside the cell. One of them said: "In three days, Her Royal Highness's ascension ceremony will be... I accidentally heard Mr. Tan and Mr. Song say yesterday that when the time comes... Everyone in Shiliu Department has been rewarded, maybe we can also benefit from it."

“The people in the Ministry of Finance are complaining all day long, and there is no reward from the treasury, right?”

"It's not the treasury, it's the people from Huainan Road who brought it... Her Royal Highness's private treasury! Jiangdu is rich. Not only does it have workshops, but I heard that they have also made a lot of money from maritime trade in the past two years... There are also those wealthy businessmen from Huainan Road. Everyone, the tribute gifts are all brought to the capital in carloads!"

“Let me tell you, yesterday when I was on duty, I saw Minister Zhan’s face glowing red when he got into the sedan chair. I thought there was some happy event in his family...”

“When Her Royal Highness ascends the throne, we may have a good life.”

Long before Bian Jun entered the capital, the salaries of various government offices had not been distributed normally for a long time. The life of petty officials like them was even more miserable, not to mention the several turmoils that followed.

"Not only is it a good day... I also heard that the King of Dongluo came to congratulate him in person! Our Highness is both civilized and military, and we can defeat anyone from all over the world who dares not to surrender..."

The guards and Yourong Yan's voices faded away, and Mingluo's mind kept echoing the words "The Queen ascended the throne." It felt like long needles piercing her brain, causing her brain to split with pain. The strings of spiritual thought are broken and fragmented.

 She stood up suddenly, feeling even more dizzy, looked around the walls, and murmured: "This should be mine!"

“She is a monster!” Mingluo suddenly rushed towards the prison bars and shouted: “Li Suining is a monster! You have all been deceived by her!”

A jailer heard the commotion and came over. He saw the woman standing at the cell door in a daze, saying something: "No...she should have chosen me!"

“I am the one chosen by my aunt, Li Shang should choose me...Why should she choose Chang Suining?”

Mingluo retreated in confusion, his eyes filled with unwilling tears: "Obviously I am the person most like her!"

 Because she resembled her enough, her aunt brought her into the palace...in order to welcome Li Shang back, right?

The aunt is looking forward to Li Shang's return, and at the same time she also wants to continue to control Li Shang after he returns, so the aunt chooses her to stay with her...

 She had already figured everything out, but...but why didn't Li Shang choose her?

 She repeated over and over again: "I am clearly the most suitable candidate!"

If Li Shang chooses to wake up in her body, then she, Mingluo, will replace Li Suining and become the new emperor of Dasheng! The country, the imperial power, Cui Jing... everything will be hers!

Her Mingluo name will remain in the history books as an emperor!

 Instead of like now...a complete failure! Miserable and dirty!

Ming Luo can no longer distinguish between you, me and her, primary and secondary, self-existence and disappearance in the true sense. With all her strength, she still ended up in a disastrous defeat, which completely destroyed her inside. She could not accept the failure, so she would rather seek help from others, become a vessel to accommodate other people's souls, and become a body that embraces power and victory.

At this moment, she only had one confused thought left: "...I want to see her! I want to see Li Shang! I want to ask her why she didn't choose me...why on earth!"

She slapped the cell door hard, and the chains made a squeaking noise. Her voice was sharp and trembling: "I want to see Li Shang, let her come to see me! Why doesn't she come to see me, why doesn't she come to interrogate me!"

“There is also my aunt, I want to see my aunt! I want her to answer me, why did she take me out of there and then treat me like an abandoned child?”

 “Why do they treat me like this!”

 “Answer me!”

Hearing that she was talking about the former crown prince Li Shang, several jailers exchanged glances and thought that this woman was probably crazy.

Soon, those crazy words were blocked by a ball of dirty cloth, and only the muffled whining and muffled sounds were left in the dark cell, still echoing unwillingly.

 Different from the humidity and darkness in the cell, it was sunset outside.

 Throughout the year, the sunset glow in several summers is the brightest and brightest, and the entire imperial city is dyed a dazzling golden color.

In a palace to the west of the imperial city, there were signs of cleaning, but it was so quiet that it seemed like no one was living there.

 Until a chamberlain came back from outside and broke the silence while walking.

 The chamberlain came to the inner hall and saluted the figure sitting by the window. The owner of the figure asked the waiter in a slow voice: "How is it? Madam, has she agreed?"

"Return..." The chamberlain spoke. He didn't know how to properly address the abdicated emperor, so he could only lower his head and say: "Your Highness, I agree."

Mingshi nodded, stood up slowly while holding the dragon staff, and said, "In that case, early tomorrow morning, you can go out of the palace and worship the horse prime minister on my behalf."

 “Yes, I obey.”

Ming turned to look out the window and said to himself: "Xiang Ma saved my only dignity as emperor with his life, but he also made me ashamed..."

Ma Xiang died to protect her, and there was such a virtuous minister willing to die for her, which at least proved that she was not a worthless monarch, and at least she had gained the support of a loyal and loyal people.

 But even so, she had been suspicious of Ma Xiang before.

Those who are loyal to her will also make her suspicious - she originally thought that suspicion was an ability that an emperor must have, but now she realizes that this is just because she never trusts people's abilities.

 She was alone at this time, which was the ending she deserved.

Ming looked at the receding glow outside the window. Until the night swallowed up the sky and the earth, she was still alone in front of the window.

 The Imperial City in the night, illuminated by various palace lanterns, is like a gorgeous and clear glass world.

Li Suining finished handling her official duties and was currently reading letters in the palace. During the day, Cui Jing screened the letters for her and placed them according to priority.

Yao Ran was busy checking the procedures of the ceremony. When everyone around was busy, Cui Jing was like a timely brick, handling all kinds of trivial matters around Li Suining very well.

Cui Jing’s upbringing exposed him to the power of politics from an early age. After that, he joined the army and gradually became the commander-in-chief of Xuance Army. He was truly capable of both civil and military affairs and had rich experience, enough to deal with various matters.

He handled many simple military affairs for Li Suining, as well as the defensive layout of the imperial army in the city and the imperial city, and many other complicated and trivial matters within his power.

 But when it comes to confidential matters, he will take the initiative to avoid them. Unless Li Suining takes him to discuss it, he will never touch it.

Even if he believes in himself, even if Li Suining believes in him, he will not cross the bottom line that should be observed. The uniqueness of imperial power is inviolable. He will be the guardian of her power and also its practitioner.

 This is also the basic sincerity that he wants to stay with her for a long time.

Cui Jing’s sincerity goes far beyond that.

Since returning to Beijing, he only went in and out between Xuance Mansion and the Imperial City every day, leaving the military camp affairs to Chang Sui'an for the time being.

Chang Sui'an didn't think too much. He also felt that Governor Cui should take a good rest for a while. Besides, there are no urgent matters in the army now - Governor Cui's company with Ning Ning is more important than anything else!

Cui Jing is indeed a good companion, and Li Suining thinks so too.

She simply didn’t know what else Cui Jing wouldn’t do. It was just a matter of sharing the official duties for her. At noon today, when she came out of the palace, she saw him leading a group of servants to repair the roof of the side hall—

At that time, Li Suining walked over and faced the dazzling sunlight. She put her hand above her brow and looked up at the people on the roof. She suddenly remembered that when she went to Dayun Temple five years ago, she had seen him repairing the Tiannu Pagoda. eaves.

At that time, she didn’t know the purpose of the Goddess Pagoda. She just thought that the general was really hard-working and had no pretensions to his status, or that he was very pious in his belief in Buddhism.

Later I found out that the people he treated with piety were not gods or Buddhas.

There are no gods or Buddhas in the pagoda, only a white jade statue.

Now looking at Cui Jing who was repairing the roof of the side hall, Li Suining thought that Cui Ling'an seemed to have been repairing the roof for her all the time, repairing the roof related to her, repairing her Xuance Army, her old war horses, and even Repair her prosperity, and her once confused state of mind due to betrayal.

The world has been getting worse before, but fortunately Cui Ling'an has been making repairs.

Looking at the people on the roof of the palace, Li Suining felt extremely relieved. When Cui Jing looked at her, she raised her head and ordered him: "Cui Ling'an, I'm hungry, come down and eat with me!"

The sun was dazzling, and Cui Jing seemed to smile. Li Suining couldn't see it clearly, but he only heard him reply: "Okay, come on."

While Li Suining was waiting for the meal, he first arrived at Cui Jing. He had washed off his sweat and put on fresh and clean clothes. He was also accompanied by A Dian. A Dian was holding a few half-opened lotus flowers in his hands. He didn't know which pond they came from. It was folded inside and placed in a white jade bottle on the side.

Li Suining finished her lunch and went back to her official duties. She didn't have time to take a nap before the ceremony was over.

In the afternoon, Chang Kuo came over. Li Suining was too busy to leave. Cui Jing went to see Chang Kuo on her behalf. The two talked about something all afternoon. Chang Kuo left with a smile on his face.

It was evening at this time. Li Suining was sitting cross-legged on the Arhat bed reading letters. He saw the two letters that Kang Zhi had brought into the palace before, one from Shi Man and one from Kang Cong.

Kang Cong and Shi Man were guarding the important border towns. The northern border was initially decided, and there were many follow-up defenses to be rearranged. It was inconvenient for them to travel long distances to Beijing, so they sent a letter to congratulate them.

Kang Cong is extremely honest now and no longer dares to treat Li Suining as a female Rakshasa. He writes letters respectfully and cautiously.

In the letter, Shi Man detailed the affairs of Pinglu Army and the situation in Fanyang area.

In the end, Shi Man did not forget to send a message for his mother, Mrs. Shi. Mrs. Shi was strong and probably did not allow her son to change her original words. Therefore, her words were extremely plain, including but not limited to "I kowtow to express my happiness to Your Highness", "My dog ​​and the boy from the Kang family are staying here. Your Highness just needs to feel at ease." "When I have the opportunity in the future, I will go to the capital to pay my respects to His Highness in person, and take a look at how prosperous the capital is." "etc.

Li Suining raised the corners of his mouth and felt very light.

After reading the letter, Li Suining stood up, stretched and walked out of the inner hall.

Cui Jing hasn't left yet. He has to wait for Li Suining to finish his official duties before leaving every day. Sometimes the imperial city is locked, so he goes to A Dian's place to rest.

Li Suining likes to sit on the stone steps, which makes her feel inexplicably relaxed.

At this time, she sat down on the stone steps in front of the palace, blowing the summer night wind, and watched Cui Jing dance his sword under the bright moonlight.

When Cui Jing sheathed her sword, Li Suining generously stroked his palm and praised him.

 Afterwards, Xi'er brought two cups of herbal tea, and Cui Jing accompanied Li Suining to sit on the stone steps and talk.

 The rest of the palace people have retreated far away, except for Xi'er and Zhai Xi standing ten steps away. (End of chapter)