Painting Doctor Jinhua

"His Majesty!"

He Shikai's face was pale and his whole body was trembling, but he only trembled for a moment. He then lowered his head and sobbed, looking extremely aggrieved and pitiful.

"Your Majesty has promoted me from humble beginnings, and I shall die before you!"

"I am willing!"

Gao Zhan's expression relaxed, and after a moment, he threw the memorials filling the desk in front of He Shikai and asked him to read them one by one.

"These are the memorials from Prince Zhao, Lou Dingyuan and others impeaching you. They list your seven major crimes. Take a look for yourself!"

He Shikai opened the first memorial, which was written by Zhaojun Wang Gao Rui:

"I accuse He Shikai of flattering the emperor, causing chaos in the government, and acting recklessly. He once colluded with Lu Lingxuan to accept bribes, sell official positions, seize good farmland, defile the harem, keep guests in captivity, and intend to rebel... All three clans must be exterminated to serve as a warning to others!"

Prince Zhao's words were extremely indignant and fierce. This was not the first time that he had criticized Shi Kai, but His Majesty had turned a blind eye to it in the past. Today, he actually brought it to him for questioning.

"Your Majesty, I am your dog. There are always some ministers in the court who are proud of their achievements and do not take your Majesty's words to heart. There are many voices of opposition. I will be your dog and help your Majesty bite those arrogant people to death. Only then can your Majesty's rule be stable!"

Gao Zhan was slightly moved.

"You are really asking me to abdicate and pass the throne to the crown prince just for my own good? Isn't it so that you can better control the young master, realize the distinction between monarch and subject as soon as possible, and occupy a high position?"

Gao Zhan leaned forward, looked down, and asked sternly.

He Shikai shouted, "Your Majesty, I have absolutely no such intention. Your Majesty, think about it, why did Emperor Wenxuan and Emperor Xiaozhao fail to pass the throne to the crown prince smoothly? It was because they were not well prepared. You have a younger brother, Prince Bo Ling Gao Ji. Now the Queen Mother has a dispute with Your Majesty because of the Lanling Prince incident. Who can guarantee that the Queen Mother will not unite with the Jinyang Xianbei forces to launch a coup, depose Your Majesty, and then pass the throne to Prince Bo Ling?"

Gao Zhan's expression changed, and he seemed to be persuaded. He Shikai looked at him eagerly again, his eyes filled with tears and grievances.

"Empress Dowager?" Gao Zhan sighed, his eyes suddenly becoming extremely vicious.

He Shikai seemed to have guessed what was going on, and he carefully flattered her, "Your Majesty, if you still need me, your dog, to bite people, I will do it without hesitation, even if it means death!"

Gao Zhan nodded: "Well, what you said makes a lot of sense. I should indeed pass the throne to the crown prince as soon as possible!"

He Shikai smiled happily, stood up quickly and was about to run to Gao Zhan.

Gao Zhan raised his eyes and glared at him. Then he realized that he had been impolite and quickly took a step back and knelt down!

"Take off your clothes and let me see them!"

He Shikai blushed and said shyly, "Yes, Your Majesty!" Then he took off all his clothes and knelt down.

"I want you to face me!"

He Shikai was stunned and thought: Hasn't it always been this posture before?

However, he did not think any more about it, but straightened his chest and faced Gao Zhan.

Gao Zhan's gaze fell on his chest, where there was a large dark area. His eyelids fluttered, and he suddenly said, "I will give you one last thing to do!"

"Yes! Please give your orders, Your Majesty!"

"Go to Shuozhou and help me persuade Xie Zhen to come back to Yecheng!"

He Shikai was stunned and looked at Gao Zhan in disbelief.

……

After He Shikai left the hall, Gao Zhan immediately called Liu Taozhi.

Some time ago, he had been having a dream. In the dream, his father Gao Huan, his elder brother Gao Cheng, and his second brother Gao Yang all came to him and mentioned the prophecy of "the one who dies in black" again. They also said that he trusted the villain and that the country would be destroyed!

So he thought of asking a sorcerer to tell fortunes for him. Zheng Daoqian had once told him the fortune and it was very accurate, so he called Zheng Daoqian, who had been demoted because of Lu Lingxuan, and asked him to tell fortunes for him again.

Zheng Daoqian said: "The black in the black clothes of the deceased Gao refers to a black heart. A black-hearted person will kill loyal people unjustly and cause chaos in the country. We just need to find this black-hearted person!"

And there are rumors in the streets: "He Shikai is the most evil, he persuaded the emperor to abdicate, took up a high position, held the young emperor hostage, and tried to seize the throne!"

This made Gao Zhan more suspicious. At first, he was unwilling to believe the rumor, but He Shikai actually led a group of historians to persuade him to abdicate to the crown prince. And the black spot on his heart, didn't this just show He Shikai's wolfish ambitions?

"Taozhi, keep an eye on him. If he shows any signs of escaping, arrest him and bring him to the Dali Temple to be punished accordingly!"

"Yes!"

Liu Taozhi responded with a “yes” and left the hall as quietly as a shadow.

Gao Zhan was left alone in the empty hall. He stretched out his hand to the air again and muttered to himself, "Thank you, my dear. I shouldn't have listened to He Shikai and framed you repeatedly, forcing you to stay away from me. I also put you in danger many times and even lost my life several times.

Now that I have driven this villain away, can you come back to me and assist me?

I need you so much! And I miss you so much!"

As he spoke, the "young man" in black clothes rustling like the wind under the forest seemed to appear before his eyes again. The young man tore off the mask on his face, revealing a stunning face. At first, that face had a beautiful smile, but in an instant it was filled with hatred, disgust and even contempt!

She sneered, "You want to kill my husband. Do you think I would be willing to assist a tyrant who trusts villains, kills loyal ministers, and is licentious and immoral?"

After saying that, she took a man's hand and walked away. The look in her eyes when she looked at this man was always so gentle. She had never given this kind of gentleness to him or even to any other man except Lanling King!

He also sent people to inquire about how she, after learning that King Lanling was tricked back to Yecheng, led her private soldiers into Yecheng in anger, killed several generals who obstructed her, and even killed the commander of the imperial guards, Han Changluan, and how she tried her best to revive the dying King Lanling.

"It took her a whole day and night to remove the poison from Lanling Wang's body, and she herself was so tired that she fainted and fell asleep. She also bled a lot, and it seemed that she had a miscarriage..."

I have never seen such a decisive and ruthless woman. How could she go to such lengths for Gao Changgong?

……

After He Shikai returned to his residence, he was still trembling with fear. Mu Ti Po saw that he looked strange and could not help but walk up to him and ask, "He Gong, what happened? Why are you so scared?"

He Shikai took a deep breath and said, "I originally thought that I could get a group of historians to persuade His Majesty to abdicate by citing the white rainbow piercing the sun and the comet as an excuse, so that the crown prince could ascend the throne in advance. After His Majesty's death, I would let Empress Hu rule the country from behind the curtain. Then I would be the prime minister who is second only to the emperor and above everyone else in this court!"

As he said this, he glanced at Mu Ti Po again, "Of course, given your friendship with Crown Prince Gao Wei since childhood, if he ascends the throne, he will certainly use you!"

"But His Majesty's temperament is unpredictable right now. I really don't know what he wants to do."

"What did Your Majesty say to He Gong?" asked Mu Ti Bo.

He Shikai said, "His Majesty seems to have agreed to abdicate to the Crown Prince, but today he actually asked me to go to Shuozhou to summon Xie Zhen, the Princess of Lanling, back. Moreover, he inexplicably asked me to take off my clothes so that I could only see my chest..."

Mutipo's face changed drastically with suspicion.

"What's on Hegong's chest?"

He Shikai took off his coat, revealing a dark spot like ink on his chest.

"What is this? Why is there black on your chest?"

He Shikai's face changed and he lowered his head to take a look. Sure enough, he saw a large area of ​​black. He raised his sleeve and tried to wipe it off, but it wouldn't come off no matter what he did!

"What is this? It didn't exist before, how come it appears now?"

"Did you eat something you shouldn't have recently? Were you ambushed? Was you poisoned?"

He Shikai was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat, thinking that he had just recently gone to the sorcerer Zheng Daoqian to have a fortune-teller tell him whether it was feasible to persuade the emperor to give up the throne to the prince.

Zheng Daoqian said that things were bad, but there was a chance of a turn! He then gave him a bowl of magic water to drink, saying that the bad luck would turn into good luck!

Could it be this bowl of talisman water?

"He Gong, have you heard about the rumors going around now?"

"What rumors?"

"He Shikai, the most evil of the evil, persuaded the emperor to abdicate, took a high position, held the young master hostage, and seized the throne!"

"Nonsense! Which bastard spread this?"

He Shikai cursed angrily and thought to himself: Oh no, I seem to have fallen into a trap from the very beginning. Which bastard is setting up this trap to frame me?

"No need to guess, this must be Princess Lanling's people, and she was the one who said there were white rainbows piercing the sun and comets appearing!"

"Lord He, do you really want to obey the imperial order and go to Shuozhou to serve as the peace envoy? And persuade Princess Lanling to come back?"

"How is this possible? Not to mention that the first person she will kill after she comes back is definitely me. Even if I go to persuade her, when I reach Shuozhou, will she and Lanling King still let me live?"

"So, Hegong, what are you going to do now?" Mutipo asked worriedly.

"There is no other way. We can only escape on the road to Shuozhou!"

He Shikai concentrated his mind, made a secret decision in his heart, and ordered his people to pack up their luggage, food and valuables, and prepare to leave the house. But just as he walked out of the house with a group of servants, he unexpectedly found that Liu Taozhi had been waiting outside the house for a long time!

"Where are you going with the Minister?"

"Lord Liu, didn't His Majesty order me to go to Shuozhou to summon Right Prime Minister Xie to return to Yecheng? I'm getting ready to go!"

"I think it's obvious that you want to flee with your wealth! Are you so anxious to leave without the imperial seal bestowed by His Majesty?"

He Shikai was so anxious that he was sweating profusely. He wanted to explain, but Liu Taozhi had already frowned and looked serious!

"Your Majesty has changed his mind again and ordered me to arrest you and put you in the Dali Temple Prison for trial!"

……

The news that He Shikai was arrested and imprisoned in the Dali Temple spread like wildfire. Another nursery rhyme even spread in the streets and alleys: "He Shikai, on April 30th, I will take you to the South Terrace. Kill you!"

The whole city of Ye was in jubilation and everyone applauded!

Li Mi and Cui Heng finally breathed a sigh of relief. They had also worried that Gao Zhan's favor for He Shikai would go too far. Even if he was killed by rumors, he would not be killed. But now they had finally succeeded.

At the same time, another piece of bad news came from the palace: His Majesty's madness seemed to be getting worse, and he had agreed to the advice of the historians and would pass the throne to the crown prince on April Bingzi day. He also issued an edict to Jinyang, ordering Prime Minister Duan Shao to come to Yecheng to personally present the seal and ribbon to the crown prince!

When the news reached Shuozhou, Crown Prince Gao Wei had already succeeded to the throne, and Gao Zhan was honored as the emperor emeritus. Military and national affairs were still reported to the emperor emeritus. However, Gao Zhan did not care much about state affairs. He spent his days drinking and having sex, often talking to the air, and beating and scolding palace maids at will.

Some ministers of the royal family in the court were very disappointed and placed their hopes on the young emperor Gao Wei. However, who would have thought that once Gao Wei came to power, under the instigation of Hu, he wanted to give He Shikai a lighter sentence. He said that he would grant amnesty to the whole country and all criminals could be punished to show the grace of the new emperor!

Of course, this proposal was immediately opposed by the ministers, especially Gao Rui, who absolutely disagreed with Hemian and Shikai and demanded that they be beheaded in the market. Queen Hu was displeased and afraid that Gao Rui would rebel, so she asked Gao Wei to issue an edict, trying to trick Gao Rui into the palace and then have Liu Taozhi kill him.

At this time, Li Mi and Cui Heng found Gao Rui, gave him a brocade bag, and advised him not to enter the palace.

"We know that the King of Zhao is devoted to his country and would rather die for it than let a promiscuous woman overthrow the country. However, everyone has to die, some are heavier than Mount Tai, some are lighter than a feather. Your Highness is a wise king, and it would be too unworthy if he died at the hands of a woman. Our Qi State is now weak and has internal and external troubles. If this continues, I am afraid it will be destroyed by the gradually powerful Zhou State. In order to protect the country and the people, should the King of Zhao consider choosing another wise ruler?"

Li Mi left after he finished speaking. As expected, Gao Rui did not return to the palace, but asked to be sent to the frontier. When Empress Dowager Hu heard that he had asked to be sent to the frontier, she was very happy. She immediately approved the memorial, appointed him as the governor of Jizhou, and asked him to take up the post immediately.

……

Now the country's name has been changed from Heqing to Tiantong.

Xiao Jinyu and Gao Changgong have been in Beishuo Prefecture for nearly four years without realizing it, and now it is the fourth year of Tiantong.

During these four years, Gao Changgong vigorously implemented the equal distribution of land, so that all the people in Shuozhou had farmland to cultivate, and also allowed merchants to do business here. Gradually, a city that was not prosperous to begin with actually became increasingly wealthy during these four years, and the people's lives also entered a relatively stable state.

In the process of implementing the decree, some local tyrants and nobles who were dissatisfied caused trouble. Gao Changgong sent people to suppress them, led by Ling Ye and Xie Yuxuan. These people had become people who were feared by those tyrants and nobles.

In addition, Gao Changgong also opened a school in Shuozhou so that children from poor families could go to school. In addition, Xiao Xian recommended some poor scholars from the Southern Dynasty. He used those with talent and knowledge, either as counselors or as teachers in the school.

Under his governance, Beishuo Prefecture has become strong in military and military, and the people are rich and powerful.

Occasionally, when the Northern Zhou or Turkic troops attacked, Gao Changgong personally led his troops to resist. He fought dozens of battles, large and small. It was during these battles that he captured several cities of the Zhou State and cut off the connection between the Zhou State and the Turks.

The Turkic soldiers were terrified by his growing and increasingly powerful army, and they would take detours when committing acts of burning, killing and looting, trying their best to avoid the city where he was.

However, Emperor Gao Wei in Yecheng was doing ridiculous things that made the people of the world ashamed. He spent the whole day playing with concubines, admiring beautiful bodies, playing the lute and pipa, and calling himself the Carefree Emperor. His actions were even worse than those of his father Gao Zhan. The people of Yecheng were full of complaints!

Several officials who were loyal and concerned about the country were ostracized by treacherous officials such as Mu Ti Bo and He Hong Zhen, and fled from Yecheng and came to Beishuo Prefecture.

Gao Changgong would ask Lu Yu to find out the resumes of these escaped officials, and then send them to Xiao Jinyu to discuss with her about which ones could be used and where.

The people's calls for Gao Changgong became louder and louder, and even the Luozhou governor Dugu Yongye secretly sided with them.

……

It was a sunny day, and it was the time for spring plowing. Gao Changgong brought Xiao Jinyu to the city wall and saw a large group of farmers busy farming not far away. The sounds of vendors shouting could be heard in the streets and alleys of the city, and people were coming and going, creating a peaceful scene.

Xiao Jinyu looked at all this and couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips. After four years of hard work, although it was still far from what she expected, this Beishuo Prefecture had already taken shape and was as peaceful and beautiful as a paradise!

"Chang Gong, how do you feel now?"

Gao Changgong felt very peaceful and happy after seeing this. He said, "Very good. Is this the world that Ah Yu wants to see?"

Xiao Jinyu smiled but said nothing.

Gao Changgong added: "I now understand that instead of pinning my hopes on others, it is better to work hard on my own. I may be criticized, but those good reputations are insignificant compared to a peaceful life and the peace of the people.

I am not afraid of the dangers and hardships in the future, I just want Ah Yu to accompany me! "

He looked down at her, his eyes sparkling with stars. She smiled slightly, took the initiative to kiss his lips, kissed him for a moment, and whispered in his ear: "I will also accompany Chang Gong forever, live together, sleep together, die together, no matter success or failure, I will have no regrets, at least we tried!"

When the two men walked down the city wall, Xie Yuxuan had just returned from suppressing a rebel who disobeyed government orders. When he saw them, he hurried over to report the situation.

At this moment, someone brought two letters and handed them to Gao Changgong and Xiao Jinyu.

"A letter? Could it be another letter from your uncle Xian?" Xie Yuxuan asked curiously, "What did he say in the letter? Has he decided when to marry me? It's been four years, why hasn't he made up his mind yet? If he doesn't agree, I'll be old!"

Xiao Jinyu's expression suddenly changed, looking a little unhappy.

"what's wrong?"

"Uncle Xian might be in danger. Chen Xu learned that he has been in frequent contact with us and wants to use this as an excuse to attack Lanling Xiao Clan again and convict Uncle Xian!"

Xie Yuxuan's face changed: "What? Chen Xu is such a sinister villain. I have long wanted to avenge my past. Why don't you, sister, let me help Xiao Xian and bring him back! I will bring him back safely!"

Xiao Jinyu was also very worried.

"There is one more thing!" She looked at Gao Changgong, "The Queen Mother has passed away!"