Nightwatcher

The outstretched hand of the fourth prince she wanted to proclaim was frozen in mid-air, staring blankly at the younger sister in front of her, suddenly feeling that she was so strange.

Huaiqing's words were like thunder, echoing in the ears of King Li and other members of the royal family, the degree of shock was even greater than that of her and Xu Qi'an forcing Yongxing to abdicate.

Is she crazy? !

This idea came to everyone's mind at the same time. .

King Li settled down, stared at Huaiqing with slightly cloudy eyes, and said:

"What did you say?"

Huaiqing's tone remained unchanged:

"This palace wants to ascend the throne and proclaim the emperor."

"Snapped!"

King Li slapped the desk, leaned on his crutches and stood up, pointing at Huaiqing with trembling fingers, furious:

"absurd!

"You villain, do you know what you're talking about? A mere woman who wants to ascend the throne and become emperor, who will obey you! I think you are obsessed with power and have been blinded by your reason.

"If you are enthroned, how can you convince the public? At that time, some people will definitely take the opportunity to rebel, and Dafeng will perish faster."

unacceptable!

Emperor Yongxing abdicated, and King Li could bear with it. Turmoil in the current situation will always be accompanied by power changes. Emperor Yongxing cannot keep his throne because of his inability.

As long as the successor is a royal prince with a strong root, then there will be no problem.

Huaiqing belongs to the royal family, but she is a princess, a girl, how can she be called emperor!

The prince and the county kings discussed, or sighed, or slapped their legs and scolded the madman, emotionally.

Prince Yan saw that his uncle and brothers were in high spirits of opposition, he keenly seized the opportunity, raised his hand to suppress it, and said:

"Uncles, be safe and don't be impatient."

At this time, Huaiqing's brother's identity was revealed, and the princes and county kings really quieted down.

When a woman in the family gains power, the aura is all on the man. Huaiqing is the younger sister of Prince Yan's mother. When she becomes powerful, everyone defaults to Prince Yan's right to speak.

Prince Yan persuaded earnestly:

"Huaiqing, fourth brother knows that you have always had ambitions, and you don't give in to men, and fourth brother promises that he will give you a chance and space to display your ambitions.

"As for the matter of enthroning and proclaiming emperor, don't mention it again. Even if we agree, the princes don't agree, and the people of the world don't agree."

You almost didn't say it clearly, isn't it a joke that you, a girl, want to be emperor.

Huaiqing looked at Prince Yan, then swept across the princes and county kings, and spoke calmly:

"Who says women can't be called emperors? It has existed since ancient times, and the Empress Dayang is the first of its kind."

"Yang" is the dynasty before the Great Zhou Dynasty, with a history of nearly two thousand years ago. In the middle of the Great Yang Dynasty, the princes from all walks of life rebelled, captured the capital of the Great Yang Dynasty, massacred the royal family members, and killed all the males.

At that time, a princess of Dayang was extremely talented, he did not learn piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, but only loved to dance with spears and sticks (practicing martial arts, there is no other meaning). Then stood up.

She gathered the army and put down the rebellion everywhere. After six years, she finally quelled the rebellion of the princes.

Then she ascended the throne and proclaimed herself emperor, becoming the first female emperor in the history of the Central Plains.

Li Wang sneered and said:

"If you are a second-rank martial artist, I will kneel down and beg you to ascend the throne."

Empress Dayang, second rank realm.

Huaiqing remained calm, without changing his expression, and said lightly:

"My cultivation base is superficial, only at the fourth rank, but Xu Qi'an has already been promoted to the second rank."

In the side hall, everyone was stunned.

King Li's eyes widened, his hand on crutches trembled slightly:

"Xu Qi'an...has he been promoted to the second rank?!"

Seeing that Huaiqing was silent, he hurriedly paused on his crutches and said angrily:

"answer me."

Huaiqing laughed and said:

"Otherwise, why would you have the confidence to fight the Yunzhou rebels to the death?"

King Yu was slightly moved:

"You mean, he supports your enthronement as emperor."

Huaiqing was in a daze for a moment, because he remembered the scene of the two writing letters that day——

[Three: Your Highness, one last question.]

[One: Please tell. 】

[Three: Are you really willing to establish a fourth prince? 】

[One: Why do you ask this question. 】

【Three: Because I think you want to be the emperor. 】

There was a long, long silence. 【One: If I want to ascend the throne, what will you do. 】

[Three: Yes! 】

Until now, recalling that period of communication, Huaiqing can still feel the surging lake of his heart at that time.

At that moment, she came to the window, opened the window, and let the sunshine and cold flow in together.

Facing the sun, she raised her face, closed her eyes, and sighed out three words.

"Xu Ning Banquet"

Huaiqing didn't answer Yuwang's question because it was unnecessary.

She continued:

"Wei Dang and Wang Dang are all my people. Most of the twelve guards in the capital have taken refuge under my command. The Fifth Battalion of the Forbidden Army only recognizes tiger charms, not people. And tiger charms are now in my pocket.

"With the support of Xu Ningyan, a second-rank martial artist, uncle, uncles, among the royal family, is there anyone more suitable to be called emperor than me?

"Jiang Lvzhong and Zhang Kaitai command tens of thousands of defenders at Yuyang Pass are my people. The general soldiers of Chuzhou are my people.

"Uncle thinks, is it enough?"

There was no sound, and after a moment of silence, King Li said in a deep voice:

"Women proclaim the emperor, and bad ethics mess up the government. Don't forget that there is a Yunlu Academy outside the capital."

"Coincidentally, I was about to talk about this matter." Huaiqing said lightly:

"My palace has promised to let Yunlu Academy return to the temple, and Zhao Shou will join the cabinet."

"..." King Li closed his eyes.

Taking advantage of the situation, Huaiqing asked again:

"In terms of planning, talent, and courage, among the royal family, is there anyone better than me?"

Prince Yan opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't say anything.

Huaiqing stood up, glanced at the princes and county kings forcefully, and said:

"Besides this palace, who else in the royal family can save the precarious Dafeng, and save you who are precarious.

"Relying on a weak and incompetent Yongxing?"

This was the first time she showed her edge and showed her disdain.

Only then did the members of the royal family realize that they had underestimated the Eldest Princess in the past, thinking that she was just good at studying and quite talented.

From Yuanjing to Yongxing, she has always been low-key, she does not show herself, and does not care about government affairs.

It wasn't until this moment that she revealed her true face, and when they came to their senses, their lives were already in their hands.

Seeing that no one disobeyed, Huaiqing restrained his sharpness and said:

"I called you here today because I don't want the royal family to bleed. If you support me, you can enjoy the glory and wealth. If you have a different heart, you will be killed without mercy.

"Uncle, you are an elder, you have to say something."

King Li couldn't help looking at Huaiqing, and was surprised to find that her eyes were dark and calm, but there was murderous intent in them, his heart froze, and he said in a deep voice:

"The matter has come to this, what else can I say."

Huaiqing then looked at his distraught brother, straightened his clothes gently, smoothed the folds on his chest, and said softly:

"In the future, Brother Sihuang, Yongxing, and other brothers will be wronged, and they will temporarily live in the basement of Guanxing Building.

"Fourth brother and your brothers' heirs, I will take good care of you.

"If some uncles are interested in staying in the Guanxing Tower, I welcome you."

The faces of the royal family members present changed slightly.

"Crack!"

Huaiqing clapped his hands, called the soldiers outside the hall, and ordered:

"Bring them back to the Golden Luan Hall, and then bring the royal party members to this palace."

Wang Dang didn't know about her plan to ascend the throne, so Xu Qi'an persuaded Wang Zhenwen on the grounds of Prince Liyan.

However, now that he has boarded the pirate ship, it will be difficult to think about it, so next, Huaiqing wants to have a heart-to-heart talk with the backbone of the Royal Party.

Near noon, the turmoil from the imperial palace to the imperial city was completely quelled, all the masters of the forbidden army were suppressed by Xu Qi'an, all the soldiers loyal to Emperor Yongxing among the twelve guards were persuaded to surrender, and all loyal ones were beheaded.

With Xu Qi'an in town, in the imperial city, no one dared to take the lead among the guest ministers raised by the dignitaries.

Inside the Golden Luan Hall, princes, nobles, and clans gathered again. Huaiqing, under the guard of two ranks of soldiers, stepped into the Golden Luan Hall, wearing a white skirt that dragged to the ground.

She walked to the throne in a dignified manner, overlooking the courtiers in the hall, with a cold voice:

"Since the beginning of winter, the cold disaster has been raging, and the people have no means of living. Yongxing is not good at governing the country, so that the people have resentment, and the rebels are everywhere. He knows that virtue is not worthy, and he wants to abdicate to let the virtuous, and entrust the community to the palace.

"Do you have any objections?"

Except for the Yunzhou mission, all the princes, nobles and clans in the hall bowed their heads and shouted:

"Your Highness is so virtuous that you can take on this important task."

Because he has not ascended the throne, he cannot be called His Majesty yet.

The Yunzhou mission stood alone, terrified and embarrassed.

...

On the top of the Golden Luan Hall, Xu Qi'an stood with his hands behind his back, overlooking the entire palace city.

The cold wind picked up the corners of his clothes, blowing his temple hair, and the voices of the princes in the palace echoed in his ears, Xu Qi'an thought for no reason that two years ago, he was still an insignificant little person.

Yuan Jing, Wei Yuan, Jian Zheng, Wang Zhenwen, and the officials in the hall all held high positions and were figures that he could not reach.

Two years later, these people died or fell ill, and the princes in the temple, and even the entire capital city, were already under his feet.

"The rolling Yangtze River flows eastward, and the waves wipe out the heroes. The success or failure of right and wrong is turned around. The green hills are still there, and the sunset is red for a few times

"If this poem is thrown out, it will cause an uproar, and Second Uncle will be scolded again."

After reciting in a low voice, he smiled with a complicated face:

"But I no longer have the mood to be famous for poetry."

In the imperial study room, there were only Huaiqing and Xu Qi'an.

"I'm still a bit of a scumbag. The Twelve Guards of the capital and the imperial army have already suppressed it. Everyone has given me face, so I will be safe for the time being."

Xu Qi'an stood in the hall, looking at the cold beauty behind the big case, said:

"How to stabilize the morale of the army, replace the confidants, and stabilize the hearts of the people is up to you."

He acted like he had nothing to do with himself.

Next, the capital will enter a brief period of chaos, and the major forces will need to reshuffle their cards.

Loot what can be wooed, eradicate what cannot be wooed, of course, compromise what should be compromised, and make certain concessions.

He doesn't need to worry about these things, Xu Qi'an believes that the eldest princess will handle them by herself.

Huaiqing caressed the writing brushes on the pen holder with his fingers, chose an ivory pen, and said calmly:

"How to face Lin'an in the future is also up to you.

"The little palace maid of Jingxiu Palace risked her life just now to send a message that Concubine Chen Gui wants to see you, and Lin'an is also here."

After controlling the four gates of the palace, Huaiqing relaxed the restrictions, no longer prohibiting the princes, daughters and concubines from entering and leaving the residence.

Xu Qi'an thought for a while and said:

"I have an idea to stabilize the hearts of the people. I can parade the Yunzhou mission to the streets, and then post a notice saying that I initiated the Qing emperor's side. You are a princess. Your enthronement is not justified, and you have not made any achievements. Before, the people of the world would not recognize you.

"But you can borrow my name."

"This palace has exactly the intention." Huaiqing picked up a pen and dipped in ink, randomly wrote some poems he had written before on the paper, and said:

"Chen Guifei don't need to talk to her. If you find it annoying, I will take care of her for you. As for Lin'an."

The eldest princess raised a mocking arc at the corner of her mouth:

"Xu Yinluo is best at rhetoric, just use your housekeeping skills."

Don't speak so yin and yang. Xu Qi'an said unhappily:

"Yongxing is her elder brother after all."

Huaiqing nodded:

"So keeping him alive is the best explanation to Lin'an. After crying for a few days, she will figure it out."

Xu Qi'an felt that he was at a loss, and said dissatisfiedly:

"Is this your attitude to help me?"

Huaiqing put down his pen and looked at him blankly:

"Yongxing has already abdicated, so the marriage he bestowed will not be counted. After I ascend the throne, I will help Xu Yinluo dissolve the engagement.

"You don't have to worry about appeasing Lin'an."

"My second uncle has already agreed, how can I cancel it." Xu Qi'an shook his head again and again.

"I'll do what I say." Huaiqing was unexpectedly domineering, as if he had to break off the engagement.

"Your Highness, you should worry about the matter in front of you!"

Xu Qi'an cupped his hands, left the imperial study room, did not go to the harem, but turned out of the palace, and went to the policeman's yamen.

In the imperial study room, Huaiqing bit his lip and snorted coldly.

...

Riding on the filly, "da da da" returned to the watchman's yamen, and under the leadership of Song Tingfeng, went to the dungeon.

The jailer opened the iron gate leading to the ground, and Song Tingfeng walked ahead. When passing the torture room, he wondered:

"Ning Yan, every time I see these weird instruments of torture, I feel like I've forgotten something."

Xu Qi'an was not familiar with the dungeon of beating people, and even less familiar with the instruments of torture, so he didn't care about Song Tingfeng's words.

"Go to Goulan later, but you have to disguise yourself first."

"I'll talk about it when I have time. I don't have time to go to the fence right now."

The two talked one word at a time, and soon came to the gate of the prison where the Yunzhou Mission was being held.

The guards accompanying the Yunzhou mission had been beheaded by Huaiqing's order, leaving behind the negotiating team officials, Ji Yuan, Xu Yuanshuang, and Xu Yuanhuai.

The three of them were locked together, stripped off their shiny coats, and put on prison clothes.

Xu Yuanhuai's tendons in his hands and hamstrings were broken again, and he leaned weakly against the wall in handcuffs and shackles.

Seeing Xu Qi'an open the prison door and come in, the three of them reacted differently.

Ji Yuan frowned slightly, and took a step back.

Xu Yuanhuai looked up at him, then turned his head away with an indifferent expression.

"You, what are you doing here?"

Xu Yuanshuang's feelings towards this eldest brother are much more complicated. There is hostility instilled in him since he was a child, pity formed by his mother's influence, respect for his elder brother from his younger sister, and helplessness of his own.

So much so that she herself couldn't tell what kind of feelings she had for her eldest brother.

"What did Xu Pingfeng ask you two to come to the capital? To disgust me on purpose, or to increase Ji Yuan's fault tolerance?"

Xu Qi'an looked at them coldly.

Xu Yuanshuang lowered his head and whispered:

"I think it's a bit of both."

Xu Qi'an looked at the two of them again, sneered and said:

"It seems that they are regarded as disposable ants. They are really waste, and they have no use value."

Xu Yuanhuai clenched his fist fiercely, but the tendons in his hand were broken, and he couldn't even clenched his fist tightly.

Xu Yuanshuang was wronged and ashamed, and lowered his head.

"Since you've come to the capital, don't think about leaving, this place is not suitable for you." Xu Qi'an turned to look at Song Tingfeng:

"Transfer them to the basement of the Observatory."

Song Tingfeng nodded.

"Has that kid been tortured?" Xu Qi'an looked at Ji Yuan who was leaning against the wall.

"I asked the magician of Si Tianjian about it. The content is confidential. I haven't read it." After Song Tingfeng finished speaking, he looked at Xu Yuanshuang and said, "Tsk tsk:

"Such a pretty little beauty, don't send Si Tianjian away, Ning Yan, you can take her home as a concubine."

He didn't know Xu Qi'an's life experience, and his entanglement with Yunzhou.

In the future, if I have a chance, I can take them home so that my second uncle can meet them, and by the way, watch the fight between my own sister and my cousin, which one is more powerful?

"Are you ranked ninth among the group of useless brothers?"

Ji Yuan was not angry at all, with a smile on his face:

"Ji Yuan met his cousin."

After being imprisoned in the dungeon, Ji Yuan quickly calmed down. After a brief analysis, he believed that Xu Qi'an still had some brains. Although he took the opportunity to stage a coup and put a woman on the throne, Xu Qi'an did not kill himself, which shows that he still has the mentality of being useful.

Maybe he was going to negotiate with Yunzhou.

"Snapped!"

Xu Qi'an slapped him on the face with his backhand.

Ji Yuan, a frail scholar, couldn't handle it, and fell out like a broken sandbag, with tinnitus, and didn't get up for a long time.

"Don't ask your relatives, who is your cousin." Xu Qi'an's expression was calm, as if he had just swat a fly away.

"Concubine son?" he asked again.

Ji Yuan's tinnitus was deaf, and he couldn't hear clearly. When he saw Xu Qi'an raised his hand again, his face changed wildly. It was Xu Yuanshuang who was talking to his cousins ​​and answered for him:

"Bastard."

Xu Qi'an let out an "oh", sneered and said:

"Born by a concubine, it's another worthless pawn, how much do you think the Qianlong City guy is willing to pay to redeem you?

"After thinking about it, it depends on whether you can return to Yunzhou alive."

The rough, vulgar martial artist Ji Yuan leaned on the wall, stood up with difficulty, his cheeks were swollen, and suddenly lowered his head, spitting out a bloody tooth.

Xu Yuanshuang said in a low voice:

"He is Ji Xuan's younger brother."

Xu Qi'an's eyes lit up, and he laughed:

"interesting!"

He walked towards Ji Yuan slowly, and the latter stuck to the wall in a panic. The slap just now took away all his strength and confidence.

"As expected of a brother, you, like Ji Xuan, lack self-knowledge."

He patted Ji Yuan's face, and led Song Tingfeng and a pair of younger siblings out of the cell.

Ji Yuan leaned against the wall with his fists clenched, his face full of resentment and humiliation.

In the corridor, Xu Qi'an didn't take a few steps when he heard the woman's crisp voice coming from a cell on the left:

"Hey, is it Xu Yinluo?"

Turning her head to look, she was a woman with disheveled hair and dirty prison uniform, with extremely bright facial features.

Xu Qi'an was stunned for a moment:

"Who are you."

"I am Thief, no, Azhu from God's Thief, you caught me in during the battle between heaven and man."

The woman seemed to have been greatly shocked, and she grabbed the fence with an excited face.

"Oh, it's you, what's the matter?" Xu Qi'an asked confused.

"When will you let me out? I've been imprisoned for nine months." Ah Zhu said excitedly.

Xu Qi'an looked at Song Tingfeng:

"What about this woman?"

Song Tingfeng pouted:

"A well-known habitual offender like her is either exiled, beheaded, or imprisoned to death. Before you sent her in, didn't you tell her to take good care of her, so it will be useful in the future."

Xu Qian said in peace, I forgot all about it.

Now is the time to employ people, so I will arrange a job for her. Just as Xu Qi'an walked out of the dungeon gate, Xu Yuanshuang said in a low voice:

"Ji Yuan has been in secret contact with Concubine Chen Gui these few days."

Concubine Chen Gui...Xu Qi'an nodded, then turned to Song Tingfeng and said:

"Take the Yunzhou mission out for a walk tomorrow, and give the people in the capital a surprise."

Leaving the watchman's yamen, and parting ways with Song Tingfeng who escorted Xu Yuanshuang and Xu Yuanhuai to Sitianjian.

He rode his horse all the way to the palace.

It just so happened that there was an unresolved mystery in the case of Concubine Fu, and he wanted to ask Concubine Chen personally.