incomprehensible

76 The Way Forward

Chu Yuezhi finally failed to react before the court meeting, and took the initiative to retire two days later. His eldest son Chu Changling inherited the Duke of Changguo and the garrison seal of Juyang County.

However, the military strength of the Chu family is far more than that of Juyang County. When the Taizu conquered the world, the Chu family's army was famous all over the world, and the Feng family was frightened by the news; There is no Chu family army in the world, but in fact, the influence of the Chu family has spread to all parts of the country. It is not relying on military seals but controlling with connections. This is the most solid reliance of the Chu family in the past century.

Although Chu Yuezhi didn't say it clearly, he left this part of his contacts to Chu Changyue. As Ye Xuehuan said, he divided half of it—or more than half of the military power to Chu Changyue. It can be seen that it was true. The plan was completely abandoned.

Ye Xueyuan was very surprised. He didn't know what method Ye Xuehuan used to make Chu Yuezhi compromise so quickly; but he was naturally happy to see the result, and gave many rewards in a friendly manner, and asked him to stay in Danlu for a while to participate in the After the Fengchan ceremony, he returned to his ancestral home for the elderly.

Lan Qi himself didn't expect that Chu Yuezhi could be fooled by such a flamboyant talk, and he felt a little guilty; but Ye Xuehuan deliberately made a fuss about it, so Lu Yao released all kinds of gossip , saying that Lan Qi is actually inextricably linked with the first Chu and later, no matter his thoughts or actions, he has the demeanor of first Chu and later. During the palace change, Liu Ting was mad in the East Palace and Xie Zifang was forced to death. That piece This is how the imperial bestowed gold waist badge came about; even Prince Ning has received his favor, he has helped Ye Xueshi a lot, and he will surely be destined for prosperity in the future.

The first person to show his favor was Li Shangshu, the most personable householder. Last time he was forced by Liu Ting to check Lan Qi's status, but Ye Xuehuan forced him to board the thief's boat. Now the Liu family has collapsed. Of course, he couldn't resist Ye Xuehuan, so he had to become an accomplice in spreading rumors; everyone in the court knew that he had a close relationship with Lu Yao, and they all inquired about him, but what Lu Yao told him was—"Blue Qi is the child bride who was given to Prince Rong after the first Chu."

This statement is really intriguing, but it is certain that Lan Qi is related to Chu first and later. No matter whether his relationship with Prince Rong is true or not, the identity of this male favorite must be just a cover, and his real identity must have a lot of background.

So the courtiers all understood why Chu Yuezhi retreated so simply this time, perhaps it was Lan Qi—or it was the method of Chu Yuezhi who stayed behind.Lan Qi thought it was funny, but he also had to feel the power of Empress Chu. From a powerful father-in-law like Chu Yuezhi to those soldiers in the army who are not afraid of gods and demons, as long as they hear her name, Believe what you say, and have no temper at all.

But in fact, Chu Changyue was the biggest contributor to this matter.

He also went all out, and asked Ye Xuehuan for the altar of ten-year-old Chen Xiyunlu given by Baihouhou, and got Chu Yuezhi drunk, listening to him babbling about his unfulfilled ambitions, the lateness of the hero, and the century-old foundation of the Chu family. In the end, he wanted to make wedding dresses for a group of foolish people, and gave birth to two unfilial sons. Not only did he not understand his painstaking efforts, but he also joined forces to drive him out of the court.

Chu Changyue didn't drink much at first, he hurt the enemy one thousand and self-damaged eight hundred, and after drinking, he couldn't control his mouth, so he began to retort that Chu Yuezhi only had family honor in his eyes, neglected himself and his eldest brother, and defended the border ten times with his own children. In the past year, he never asked if he could be injured; when he was emotional, he took off his shirt and counted where the scars on his body came from. Fear poured out of his head.Then he complained that Mrs. Chu was fierce, mean, full of vanity, and had no motherly demeanor. She couldn't get a compliment from her for all her military exploits. I had never felt the love of my parents when I grew up, so I cried myself while talking.

Chu Yuezhi was saddened by what he said, thinking that although he married a famous lady from a famous family, her wife was not only jealous but also foolish, and she was notorious in the imperial court, and she often had quarrels with her daughter-in-law. They all regarded him as a joke, and there was nothing to say on weekdays, but this time he finally vented it through drinking, and instead dragged Chu Changyue to complain about his pain, and finally told him to marry a virtuous and gentle wife. Wan Mo followed in his own footsteps.

Mrs. Chu was forced into the palace by Nangong Yayu as soon as she left the Bairong Garden. She took Yu Tian together and called it the new funeral of the late emperor. At least, let the new queen be familiar with the reception matters, uncharacteristically greeted her kindly, and instructed Yu Tian to chat with her all afternoon without any practical content.

Mrs. Chu didn't have the heart to deal with it, but Nangong Yayu refused to let her go, and even let her have dinner; she finally came out of the palace and rushed home in a hurry, only to find that the two were uttering the truth after drinking, wantonly Choreographed "fierce and mean" and "jealous and foolish", and cried on the spot, went out of the city overnight and returned to her mother's house before the curfew, threatening to no longer care about the Chu family's affairs.

It can only be said that it is Xiyunlu that Ye Xuehuan drank down. Both Chu Yuezhi and Chu Changyue were so drunk that they were completely unaware of this. The relationship between father and son suddenly became brighter. Until the day after tomorrow, he still smelled of alcohol and looked downcast.

When Chu Yuezhi finally woke up from the hangover for several days and realized that he had been put together, his Chang Guogong seal and Juyang County military seal had already been handed over to the imperial court, and the imperial edict calling Chu Changling back to Danlu to receive the seal had also been handed over to the imperial court. Going to Juyang, there is no way to get it back; the news about him retiring and relinquishing power to Chu Changyue has spread throughout the army at an incredible speed, and the most annoying thing is that the army does not know that he and Ye Xuehuan Turning his face, he thought it was a normal change of power after the new emperor ascended the throne, and Ye Xuehuan's power in the court was consolidated through Chief Chu, and he accepted it without any doubt.

Chu Yuezhi lost his wife and lost his army. He was so angry that he pointed at the sky and cursed: "A bunch of brainless idiots! What a fart! Yellow-mouthed kid, how dare you scare me and fool me!"

But no matter how angry he was, he couldn't bear to go to Lan Qi to settle the score, and he didn't want to admit that he was cheated by a young man who had just been crowned. He kicked him out of the house, then went to coax Mrs. Chu back home, and ordered the entire Chu family to ban alcohol for three years.

The relationship between father and son broke down again, so Chu Changyue had no choice but to go back to Baiyong Garden aggrievedly; for comfort.

Chu Changyue was extremely depressed. He had planned to break up with his family and even make a move. Although he didn't break up and didn't make a move now, he just froze without embarrassment, which seemed even more difficult.

He didn't have much time to think about family relationships, since he took over the connections of the Chu family, he naturally had to manage them; he was not a person who was good at communication, so he could only drive ducks to the shelves and bite the bullet to deal with the Chu family's family minister in the army. .Especially when the new emperor ascended the throne, many high-ranking military officers would come to meet him. A large number of them gathered in Danlu City alone; He holds the line.

Of course, it was unavoidable to be asked the truth about Chu Yuezhi's retirement, and he could only sigh half-truthfully: "There are some things, it's better not to know."

The expressions of the generals in the army were complicated, and Chu Changyue felt very tired.

At the beginning of March, the greenery at the foot of Yinlong Mountain began to slowly spread to the mountainside, and the Fengchan ceremony was held as scheduled.

The days were jointly selected by Taichang Temple and Qin Tianjian, and there were no clouds for several consecutive days, which was a new atmosphere of grass growing and warblers flying.

Ye Xueyuan led the courtiers to climb the main peak Ninghui Peak in a mighty manner. He was wearing an imperial uniform with red gold dragon patterns on a black background, with sun and moon patterns on his shoulders and stars on his back; Holding the purple jade emperor's seal in his hand, he climbed up the white jade steps, with hundreds of officials bowing down along the way, shouting long live.

He boarded the altar, burned incense and prayed, worshiped the heaven and the earth, comforted the ancestors, and comforted the people.

After the Fengchan, it is the power of the king granted by heaven, and since then he has been the supreme of heaven and earth, and is looked up to by all people.

Then came the official conferment, Li Yutian as the empress, conferring the honor on her mother's family, Yu family.Yu Heng, the former commander of the Northeast Frontier, is old, with chronic illnesses accumulated from old injuries in his early years, his legs and feet are no longer flexible, and his mind starts to get confused from time to time, so he is not suitable for long-distance travel.

Following Ye Xueyuan's wishes, Yu Tian removed the Gu worms used for disguise, and now his appearance has undergone slight changes, but Yu Han didn't notice it—or, if he did, he didn't dare to speak out.

The emperor said she was Yu Feihua, his queen, who would dare to refute?What's more, the new empress is smart and virtuous, and she is much more capable than the princess concubine. It is rumored in the court that she accompanied Ye Xueyuan before pretending to be a pig and eating a tiger; It's her real face.

Of course, this rhetoric was also made up by Lu Yao. In this regard, Ye Xuehuan really admired him, not to mention black as white, or red, orange, yellow, green, blue, blue and purple.Lu Yao called it "public relations control and commentary", and claimed that these assholes are too easy to deceive, and it is no difficulty for him.

Afterwards, the prince was granted the title and bestowed with letters and robes.Because of Ye Xuequan's disability, he was not given a fief, and stayed in Danlu to raise up; because of some well-known reasons, Ye Xuexun wanted to live in the fief of Beifu, and he was not granted a fief.Ye Xuehuan was bestowed in Linge County in the northwest, and the palace was located in Qianming City, the county's capital, less than [-] miles away from Jilei Pass, to guard the border peace.In addition, Prince Zijin was specially given robes, with a high status, he can avoid kneeling and worshiping when he sees the king, and he can avoid being summoned into the city when he returns to Danlu. It is not an exaggeration to say that he entrusted his wealth and life to him.

On the altar, Ye Xueyuan personally put on Ye Xuehuan's pro-dynasty clothes. The deep purple-gold color was brilliantly illuminated by the sunlight, and the two pairs of glass-colored eyes looked at each other with the same determination and calmness in their eyes.

"...Rong Cai." Ye Xueyuan said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "I believe in you."

Although he was exempted from kneeling, Ye Xuehuan still knelt on one knee, put his right hand over his heart, and said in a deep voice: "My brother will definitely live up to the emperor's grace."

Ye Xueyuan bent down to help him up, and the two looked at each other and smiled; Ye Xuequan and Ye Xuexun standing beside him also smiled, and the queen mother and empress who watched the ceremony from a distance looked relieved, only Ye Xue Concubine Chu, who was standing behind them, looked gloomy.

After the prince was sealed, it was the turn of the court officials. Even with the previous palace change, each had rewards and punishments.Fang Jing died, and all his family members were exiled in the southern wasteland, never to be pardoned; Yang Lianyu took over as the chief of the Jinwu Guard, and Dongchen Guard made up for the loss of the Jinwu Guard during the palace change, and temporarily withdrew its establishment.Yao Qian was promoted to the deputy leader of the Yulin Army, and hung Jin Ling to fill the vacancy in the Yulin Army.In addition, there were a series of official transfers and power adjustments, all announced by the emperor himself.

In this regard, Ye Xueyuan's execution ability and sense of responsibility far surpassed the late emperor's, and his forbearance for many years had just emerged, and the court gradually began to trust him.

Afterwards, there were ritual officials offering sacrificial dances, Baiguan Zhaiban, plus the travel itinerary, which would take five days; Lan Qi was in a different status and could not accompany him, so he and Tong Xuan brought more than ten guards and went to the palace again. Visited Songliu Peak once.

He will be going back to the northwest in a short time, and it will not be easy to meet each other, so Ye Xuehuan asked him to bid farewell to Lu Luo, and brought Su Wei, an old prisoner, down by the way.

Lu Luo looks gentle and kind, but she is by no means a soft persimmon to be deceived; but in just a few months, all the maids, big and small, in the Ling Palace respect her very much.She didn't treat Su Wei harshly, she only locked her in her original bedroom, but ordered everyone not to meet or talk to her, and opened a small opening on the door to deliver food, and she delivered the food herself every day without saying a word, Just let it go.

At first Su Wei flirted and put on airs, went on a hunger strike to demonstrate, but within a few days she couldn't take it anymore, she yelled and cursed in the room all day, then it turned into whining and begging, and finally broke down and cried, asking Lu Luo what she wanted, she couldn't stand it anymore. can cooperate.Lu Luo did whatever she wanted, but ignored her, completely following Ye Xuehuan's instructions, and let her hang out for three months.

Not being able to go out, not seeing anyone, not even speaking to anyone for three months, being isolated from the world and being isolated by others, this kind of suffering is unbearable for anyone, let alone Su Wei who has been bossing her around for many years.When Lan Qi came to open the door to grab someone, she even wept with joy, wishing she could come up and hug Lan Qi's leg, so that she wouldn't be the same as before.

Until Tong Xuan led people to arrest her, she was still eager to say anything, but she had half of her teeth knocked out before, and now her face is crooked and her mouth is shriveled, her words leak out, and she can't hear what she is shouting clearly.Tong Xuan thought it was noisy, so he simply gagged her mouth.

Lu Luo was very happy to see Lan Qi, especially as the weather got warmer, Lan Qi was not so chilled, and her face became much rosier, which made her feel even more relieved.But Lan Qi couldn't stay for a long time, he lived on the mountain for one night, and he had to go down the mountain the next day.

The news on the mountain was blocked, and the mountain was blocked by heavy snow in the twelfth lunar month. They didn't know that the city of Danlu had been turned upside down, and even the emperor had changed.There are three or four hilltops between Songliu Peak and the main peak, and the sound of sacrificial drums can be heard faintly in the clouds and mist, only then did I know that it was the new emperor who was enshrining Zen and offering sacrifices to heaven.

Naturally, Lan Qi would not tell her about the dangerous place at that time, and told her that everything was fine lightly; The mountains and rivers are poor, but they are also barren and cold. I know that the prince loves you and will not treat you badly...but you must take good care of yourself."

"I know." Lan Qi watched Tong Xuan tie Su Wei to the horse, and replied softly, "The Queen of Chu is the successor of the previous emperor, and now the new emperor ascends the throne. According to the ancestral system, the spiritual seat will return to the Yexue clan's ancestral hall, and the prince will We need to rebuild the spiritual palace in the fief and offer incense from afar. If you are willing at that time, I will ask the prince to find a good home for you..."

"I don't want to." Lu Luo replied very simply, "I swore to the prince that I will serve the empress for the rest of my life."

Lan Qi pursed his lips, and asked with some uncertainty: "You really don't want to...live an ordinary life?"

He also feels guilty towards Lu Luo, which is different from the guilt towards Ye Xuexun; after all, Ye Xuexun's heat poison is a debt owed by Qi Chengguang, but Lu Luo's fate so far has been begged from Queen Chu.Although she has escaped from the status of a sin slave, being trapped in the spiritual palace for the rest of her life may not be much better than being a slave.

If possible, he hopes that Luluo can be like an ordinary woman, have an ordinary family, live in an ordinary alley, daily food, rice, oil, salt, stove and cooking smoke, husband and wife respect each other, and neighbors are harmonious. You don't need to be rich and luxurious, just plain Warm.

This is the life she should have had—or rather, the life Lan Qi wanted her to have.

"Since Dad was convicted, it is impossible for you and me to be ordinary people anymore." Lu Luo smiled, "You are with the prince, are you living an ordinary life?"

Lan Qi was at a loss for words, he had read through the classics since he was a child, and he could write elegant sentences with a single mouth, and his words pierced his heart; but in front of Lu Luo, he seemed to be easily at a loss for words.

"I was by my mother's side since I was a child. Although I was a maidservant, she taught me to read and write, and taught me how to behave in the world. My talent is stupid, and my mother never dislikes me. Don't dare to treat me harshly. Although I feel sorry for my parents, the years when I was with my mother were the happiest times I have ever lived."

Lu Luo looked at Lan Qi with a bit of a joke, "So at that time, I also thought about it, even if the empress really wants me to be the maid of the Third Highness... I would be willing."

Lan Qi's face turned red when she saw her, and he turned his head away uncomfortably.

"I've been in the palace for too long. I don't know what the outside world is like, and I don't want to know. I want to stay in the palace, but it's not all for you, not all for your mother. Caged Birds, even if they are released, can’t survive, can they?”

Lan Qi felt a slight pain in his heart. Although he didn't think that Lu Luo would complain, there was no choice in his life that he could make by himself. It would be a lie to say that he had no regrets.

Lu Luo hesitated for a moment, but finally reached out and touched Lan Qi's head like he did when he was a child.It's just that he is taller than her now, and he has a hair crown on the top of his head, so he just stroked the back of his head lightly, shaking the tassels hanging from the back of his hair crown.

——The young boy with long hair is now a crowned adult, and he doesn't need her to take care of him, but he can protect her instead.

And all she can do is to be safe and not leave him any worries.

"If you always give me special treatment, others will see the clues and cause trouble for the prince." She smiled softly and said softly, "As long as you and the prince are well, I will be well too. Yes or no?"

Lan Qi was startled, then smiled relievedly: "Alright. If you change your mind in the future, just let me know."

Lu Luo smiled and nodded. Although she didn't think she would change her mind, this was Lan Qi's wish, and she just had to accept it.

Tong Xuan brought the blue-coloured northern horse—the mountain road was rough and difficult, and Ye Xuehuan actually gave him all his Qingdian.

"Take care... sister."

Lan Qi got on his horse, buttoned his hood, and didn't look back, but Lu Luo heard his soft voice clearly.

She secretly waved at his back, watching him drive his horse forward, followed by a group of guards, the maple red velvet satin cloak was slightly raised in the early spring wind, like a general's cloak when he went out, even if it was so slender At this time, his figure actually has a bit of sharp and straight heroic spirit.

She stood there, watching her brother go after what she wanted, and then waited for his return like an ordinary family member.

…………

The first thing Ye Xueyuan did after Feng Chan came back was to personally conquer and declare war on the Yi Kingdom.

The new emperor has just ascended the throne, and the court situation has not yet been fully stabilized, so it is not the best time to start a war, let alone a personal conquest by the emperor; what's more, he himself has no actual combat experience.There were many voices of opposition in the court, and Ye Xueyuan couldn't persuade them, so some people tried to persuade Ye Xuehuan, but all of them were rejected by him with one sentence: "Beat, you must fight, until you are completely wiped out."

From the looks of it, if he wasn't needed to guard the northwest border, he wished he could go into battle by himself.

There were very few people who knew about the situation in the East Palace that day, no one knew what Xie Zifang had done, offended the new Emperor and Prince Rong to the point that the entire Yi Kingdom would suffer a catastrophe.

It's not a child's play for Yu Jia to go to war in person, Yi country's combat power is not strong, this battle will not be too difficult, the emperor's safety is the top priority.Ye Xuehuan recommended Chu Changyue to go out with the army, which means that most of the Chu family will be escorted by him; Yang Lianyu leads the Jinwu Guard as a personal guard, and Wei Yan stays in the palace due to his unhealed injury.

The preparations for the war were in full swing, and the southwestern countries were all frightened when they heard the news, and they sent envoys to beg for mercy, but they were all blocked from the country.It is said that there is a lot of porridge inside the Yi Kingdom. The Yu family and the Yun family had a falling out.

Ye Xuehuan was not worried about the battle itself, the key was the situation of Skylark; the Yu clan had already been too busy to take care of themselves, but there was still no trace of this organization, so I really don't know how it works.

Both Yu Tian and Lan Qi judged that the core figures of the Yu Clan probably had already fled when they sent Qing Ming Die, leaving some cannon fodder to delay the time; the Skylark fell into the hands of the Yun Clan, and it could not play a role, it was completely a decoration.

In order to cover up the origins of these two people, the Skylark must be destroyed, and the Yi Kingdom must be destroyed. As for the Yu family, the centipede is dead but not stiff. , It is almost impossible to get up again.

Yu Wushuang's last wish was only one step away from being fulfilled, and the only thing left was the thing that Queen Chu wanted in the imperial mausoleum.

This progress was much faster than Ye Xuehuan expected, but he was really not at ease.He had to wait until the war in the Southwest subsided before making plans for the imperial mausoleum. He still needed a lot of preparations.

When Ye Xuehuan came back from Ninghui Peak, Lan Qi had already returned to the city first, and was instructing Gao Qian to pack his things and prepare to move to the newly renovated Prince Rong's Mansion.

Comparatively speaking, he still prefers Baiyong Garden, but after all, Ye Xuehuan has officially become the prince, so he still wants to live there for a while symbolically.

As soon as Ye Xuehuan came back, he found that the whole house was in good order, and he didn't need to give any orders at all. He was happy for a while, and hugged Lan Qi in front of a group of servants, kissed him hard, and said with a smile: "My Good kitty really knows how to run a house."

Lan Qi hummed a few times in a very reserved manner, but put his arms around his shoulders very honestly, and was carried back to the bedroom by him tiredly.

Gao Qian's face was indifferent, and everyone was numb when he did it, and he was completely used to it.

It was not until she settled down in the palace that Ye Xuehuan interrogated Su Wei calmly.She really said it all, but she knew very little.Empress Chu's purpose, follow-up plan, and employment arrangements are unknown at all. Even at the beginning, she just took Lan Qi to the Fenghui River by order and handed it over to the person who connected her. She didn't even know where he ended up going. Inadvertently sighed with emotion, "I hope that child can turn the bad luck into good luck", and then judged that Lan Qi was an abandoned child, and it was rare to die well.

This was all expected, Ye Xuehuan was not disappointed, but he was also a little relieved; although Queen Chu pushed Lan Qi into the wolf's den, knowing that he would experience danger, she didn't seem to let him go to death deliberately the meaning of.As for Ye Xueji's threats before his death, I'm afraid it was mostly venting and revenge; what's more, with Queen Chu's temperament, it is impossible to tell him the detailed plan.What is hidden in the imperial tomb can only be known after it is opened.

The army has scheduled an expedition in April. Although it is a bit hasty, it is not a cause for concern.

At the end of March, Ye Xuexun and Mo Ran returned to the northern border. Seeing that the court situation was stable, Ye Xuehuan made a trip back to the northwest.

He still didn't agree with Nangong Yayu's adoptive son's proposal, but he brought Lan Qi into the palace and called out to his mother himself; Nangong Yayu knew what he wanted and didn't force it.Yu Tian, ​​the queen, is like a fish in water. Now she doesn't ask about anything, and her mentality has become extremely peaceful. On the contrary, she can see everything.

Before leaving, Ye Xuequan practiced for him, and set up a table of wine in the newly built Prince Su's Mansion. Besides Ye Xuehuan and Lan Qi, there was also Wei Yan.

Chu Changyue had already set off to the southwest to prepare for the war, and Mo Ran returned to the north. Ye Xuehuan's childhood friend was indeed only Wei Yan in Danlu City, so there was nothing wrong with it; but since the palace change, The relationship between the two seems to have become a little delicate.

Xu Shi really heard some unspeakable secrets in the imperial study that day. Wei Yan was always a little unnaturally stiff and reserved in front of Ye Xuequan; He was more courteous, groped for him to pour wine for him, told Ye Xuehuan solemnly that it was Wei Yan who saved his life, talked and laughed at Yan Yan, very happy, but Ye Xuehuan just felt that something was wrong.

Wei Yan's injuries have basically healed, and he has returned to the Habayashi Army to be on duty. He has also received many rewards for his meritorious service in eliminating rebellion. Fan; but for some reason, he looked very gloomy, he only drank in a muffled voice, and said some scene words to Ye Xuehuan, such as a smooth journey, without sincerity.

Ye Xuehuan was baffled, and on the way back home for no reason, he thought of the mysterious person he had said at the beginning that "it doesn't matter if you don't mention it" and "you can't force it". yes……?"

Lan Qi: "..."

Both of them were silent.

——If this is the case, then the suggestion he gave Wei Yan to "give a marriage"...is a complete joke.

Ye Xuequan was accused of being an agent of the government during the Yujia's personal conquest, and he was really a miraculous existence. No one questioned his ability, and no one worried that he would take the opportunity to seize power. no disagreement.

During the acting period, he had to enter the palace every day; and Wei Yan, as the commander of the Habayashi Army, had to escort him back and forth every day. This was a predetermined matter.The object of his secret love dangles in front of him every day, but he still dares not reveal it... No wonder Wei Yan is so depressed.

The more Ye Xuehuan thought about it, the more he felt that this was the case, and couldn't help but annoyed: "Okay, I treat them as brothers, but they all only want to sleep with my brother?"

Lan Qi said: "But I think... General Wei is a bit pitiful."

Ye Xuehuan expressed the same feeling.

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The next chapter opens a map of the Northwest ~