Peach Blossom.

The five words that sounded like a hum in the throat might not be audible to ordinary people, but they floated into Si Xiu's ears.

"Ah Xiu" - that was the name his grandfather and uncles affectionately called him when he was in Yongchang.

As the only grandson of the Bai family, he received much more love from the Bai family in his childhood than those of his own grandchildren.

Below the Lingtai, his best friend Xu Mu had merged into the loess; above the Lingtai, the body of his uncle Bai Yang gradually grew cold, and his most loving grandfather Bai Shuo leaned against the incense burner with his eyes closed, his blood still warm, flowing quietly along the incense burner.

There was also a mountain of corpses under the low walls surrounding the altar... This was the price he paid for giving up the throne...

Si Xiu, with disheveled hair, suddenly laughed out loud. He sat slumped, swaying from side to side with a dazed look on his face. He stroked his hair and laughed endlessly.

"Is he crazy?" Fang Xiang, who was following behind Chen Ji, asked softly. He was one of Chen Ji's close guards today.

Chen Ji just smiled faintly. He would not believe that Si Xiu was crazy.

You know, Si Xiu is the best at acting. Chen Ji was deceived by Si Xiu's honest and cowardly appearance, so he tried his best to ensure that Si Xiu became the regent prince. If it weren't for this mistake, why would he have to sacrifice his own son's life to turn the tables?

No matter what Si Xiu does today, Chen Ji will not be fooled.

Wang Jing closed his eyes and burst into tears. He knew that Si Xiu had fallen into this situation just to save his daughter's life. He wanted to stop Bai Shuo at that moment, but he couldn't stand up. He had no ability to stop anything from happening.

"How does it feel to hold the power of life and death? It feels great, right?" Chen Ji's sneering voice came, and he stood in front of Wang Jing again.

Wang Jing was at the mercy of others, and he did not even have the qualifications to express his anger. He did not understand why Chen Ji had to be killed when he had already gotten what he wanted. But he had to be careful in what he said and did, in order to avoid bringing disaster to the entire clan.

Without waiting for Wang Jing's reply, Chen Ji continued his monologue: "You must have cursed me thousands of times in your heart. You may be thinking, what did Bai Shi do wrong? Why do I want to kill them all?"

Wang Jing opened his eyes. Although he did not witness everything that happened today, he probably understood in his heart that those who rebelled below the stage were probably not ordinary people, but most likely Mrs. Bai's Thirteenth Army.

"I have long received a secret report from Chen Liang that Madam Bai began to raise troops in Jiaozhou many years ago. After Emperor Chengzong passed away, these soldiers disguised themselves as ordinary people and sneaked into Jiankang in batches."

"Today, Xu Mu deliberately used bad words to provoke me, just to make his death more tragic, to stir up "public anger" and create chaos, so that people would have a chance to rescue their master in the chaos. Who wouldn't be moved by such loyalty? You say...how can I not help him?"

"Xu Mu really thinks he's playing tricks on me like a monkey? The topography of Stone City is unique, how could there be so many civilians? How could the martial arts of ordinary people possibly rival the Chen family army?"

"What a pity! He was reduced to ashes and was unable to protect the person he wanted to protect the most. He also ruined the elite troops he had carefully trained for many years."

Chen Ji sighed in admiration, looking at the place where Xu Mu died tragically, looking very proud.

At this point, Chen Ji approached Si Xiu again and said, "So... my dear brother, you can't blame me. You can only blame your mother for being too capable. She refused to enjoy a peaceful life in the harem and insisted on commanding her own troops like a man. If I don't plan to strangle her early, how can I hold on to my throne in the future? So... it was she who implicated your grandfather and uncle..."

Si Xiu was still slumped on the ground, smiling foolishly, as if he didn't hear what Chen Ji said. He shook his head, his loose hair was becoming more and more messy, and he foolishly touched Chen Ji's boots, like a playful three-year-old child, with a pure and cute look.

"You don't have to act crazy in front of me. I won't kill you. After all, you are Rong'er's biological brother. I have to give her an explanation." Chen Ji squatted down slowly, put his rough hand lightly on Si Xiu's shoulder, and smiled gently.

At this time, Wang Jing's voice came from behind him: "In this case, the Bai family has already offered sacrifices... Shouldn't the emperor keep his promise and release the Si and Wang families?"

Chen Ji stood up, looked back at Wang Jing who was sitting steadily in the wheelchair, and smiled again: "Marquis Anfeng's eyesight is not good, is his hearing also not good? What I just said was, "As long as you choose one of the tribes to sacrifice, I will spare the lives of the other two tribes." When did I say I would let them go?"

Wang Jing frowned, he felt that Chen Ji was clearly cheating.

Sure enough, the next moment, Chen Ji leaned over to Wang Jing's ear and whispered, "I can spare their lives, but I can't guarantee that they won't die... Who lives and who dies depends on your performance..."

After saying this, Chen Ji straightened up again and couldn't help laughing.

Wang Jing's hands were tightly gripping the crossbar of the wheelchair, and his nails almost left scratches on the crossbar.

"Appoint Si Xiu as King of Jiangling. It's getting late today, so please invite King of Jiangling, Marquis of Anfeng and their families to stay with me in the palace for a while." Chen Ji walked past Chen Chong and said these words casually.

Chen Chong bowed and accepted the order.

Chen Ji, accompanied by his personal guards, walked down the platform and headed towards the dragon carriage that had been prepared in advance.

Chen Chong and others hurriedly organized people and followed the new emperor into Beijing.

Chen Liang had been waiting for a long time in the audience. Finally, when Chen Ji came down, he hurriedly chased after him and whispered, "Your Majesty, Madam Bai should have more than 13 armies in Jiaozhou..."

Chen Ji was stunned and couldn't help but stop, "What do you mean?"

Chen Liang glanced at the pile of corpses and the captured remnants under the low wall, and whispered, "I'm afraid that what we have here today is less than half."

"Didn't you say in your previous letter that Madam Bai sent people away in batches and there was almost no one left in Jiaozhou?" Chen Ji asked puzzledly.

Chen Liang said: "Jiaozhou is indeed almost empty. I and the three generals Zhao Sheng, Huo Qu, and Xun Yi also left Jiaozhou and marched separately. Along the way, I always felt that someone was following us, but I couldn't find it. I'm afraid that we are watching her and she is also watching us, and we both want to find out the details of each other.

Until yesterday, I was still watching them arrive at the vicinity of Jiankang, and some groups had already entered Stone City. But early this morning, some groups behind them suddenly disappeared on the way to Stone City. So many people... just like they evaporated from the face of the earth. It was obvious that someone tipped them off temporarily, and they knew that the military strength was too different, so they hid to preserve their strength.

"It was only last night that I met with the three generals, hid in the surrounding hills, and planned to catch the turtle in the jar. Even if we were discovered, it could only be last night at the earliest. Jiankang and Shitou City have been under our surveillance for half a month, and the old ministers of Yongchang and the relatives of the three clans of King Jiangling have also been confined by us. I was wondering, who else could have informed Madam Bai?"

Chen Ji lowered his head and thought. There were not many people in and outside Jiankang who had the courage and ability to go against him. He had already roughly thought of a few people.

It is not difficult to investigate, but all his personal soldiers have appeared, and the Bai family's military strength is still unknown. Even if the Bai family is far inferior to him, it is not a good thing for him to be in the light while the enemy is in the dark.

Chen Ji pondered and continued walking: "Have you seen Madam Bai?"

"No. I have thought of many ways, but I just can't find them." Chen Liang followed Chen Ji and said as he walked, "However, my confidants can confirm that there is a woman from the Bai family who has been embezzling the old treasury of Yongchang to recruit soldiers and expand the military force.

There is also a rumor, which I am not sure is true or not, saying that although Chengzong did not get along well with Madam Bai, he was very generous to her. After obtaining the eight vaults that the Wang family was looking for, he directly gave half to Madam Bai. If this rumor is true, it means that Madam Bai owns four vaults.

As for the other half that Chengzong got, he first trained his troops in Yongchang for four years, and then went to Beijing to support the women of the Meng family. In addition, many states and counties had poor harvests in the past two years, and disaster relief and water conservancy projects were carried out everywhere. I am afraid there will not be much left now. Once you go to Beijing to count the treasury, you will soon see that we are far less wealthy than she is."

After hearing these words, Chen Ji suddenly felt a little headache.

"Let's go back to the palace first. I'm tired." As he spoke, Chen Ji had already walked to his exclusive dragon carriage.

Just as Chen Ji was about to get on the carriage, Chen Liang asked again, "Madam Zhang is also here with the army. Does the emperor want to take her to the palace this time?"

Suddenly, Chen Ji was confused: "Who?"

"Mrs. Zhang...Mrs. Zhang..." Chen Liang was also a little confused when he saw Chen Ji's reaction. "Didn't you send her to Jiaozhou to tell me something? I have already placed her in Jiankang City and sent someone to protect her..."

Chen Liang's voice became smaller and smaller as he answered, and finally stopped. He seemed to feel that something was wrong, but he didn't know what it was.

Ever since Chen Ji escaped from Si Rong's control, he has not contacted Zhang Xiaowan again. He has been so busy these days that he had long forgotten about Zhang Xiaowan. When he suddenly remembered her at this moment, the first thing he thought of was that Zhang Xiaowan called herself his mistress in front of his confidants. He was immediately furious.

"I haven't even picked up Rong'er yet, how can it be her turn?" Chen Ji's face was gloomy. He stepped onto the dragon carriage and pulled the door curtain casually.

Chen Liang felt as if he had been rejected, but for a moment he couldn't understand why.

Chen Chong had already driven the members of the Si and Wang families who were to be brought into the palace onto the carriages, followed the dragon carriage, and ordered the soldiers to prepare to set off.

Chen Wei, Chen Xin, Chen Mi, Huo Qu, Zhao Sheng, Xun Yi and others all followed on horseback.

All the wheels started to turn, and the horses and men moved forward, but Chen Liang was the only one who stood still. He thought about how he had been serving Chen Ji since he came out of retirement, working hard day and night... and Chen Ji had just ascended the throne, and he actually gave him a cold look in front of so many guards...

Ma Da was walking at the end of the team. Seeing Chen Liang standing there for a long time, he led Chen Liang's horse over and asked, "General, why are you standing here in a trance instead of getting on your horse?"

"I just can't understand. I just mentioned Madam Zhang. How big a deal is it? Is it necessary to make the emperor angry?" Chen Liang complained and had to get on his horse and march with the army.

"Mrs. Zhang?" Mada was also stunned for a moment, and asked tentatively: "Is it Zhang Xiaowan?"

"It seems you know her? I didn't know the emperor had this concubine. Madam Zhang suddenly ran to Jiaozhou, holding the emperor's heirloom jade pendant, and gave me a message, explaining her identity. Of course I had to be respectful. All the people from Jiaozhou are here when they come to Beijing this time, so I must bring her with me! Since she is the emperor's woman, it would not be a good thing for her to live with me all the time. I just asked the emperor whether he wanted to take her into the palace. What was wrong with what I said? I just can't figure it out..." Chen Liang kept nagging and complaining.

As he listened, Mada gradually became distracted. He had always been surprised by the relationship between Chen Ji and Zhang Xiaowan. As Chen Ji's personal bodyguard since childhood and the person Chen Ji trusted most, he had no idea when Chen Ji had this mistress.

But he remembered that the last time he saw Zhang Xiaowan, Zhang Xiaowan was indeed holding Chen Ji's personal jade pendant, and she cooperated with Chen Ji to stage a good show, tricking Si Rong into entering the palace to seek an official position for him and Chen Liang... When Si Rong was experiencing the pain of ten months of pregnancy, the pain of losing her child, and the torment of contracting a serious illness, Chen Ji not only had a crush on Tao Ye in his heart, but also designed to make Wang Jing, who eloped from Beijing, return to Beijing twice, and even took in Zhang Xiaowan outside...

“Motor…motor…”

Ma Da woke up as if from a dream and suddenly realized that Chen Liang was pushing him.

Chen Liang asked in confusion: "Why don't you say anything after asking for so long? What are you thinking about?"

"What did the old general ask me?" Mada smiled embarrassedly.

Chen Liang looked helpless. "I asked how long Madam Zhang had been with the Emperor? Is she still pleasing to the Emperor?"

Mada lowered his head, a hint of sadness in his deep eyes, "I don't know."