Both worlds are like dreams

Xue Huang nodded, turned around and walked in the direction Xiao Ling'er had just gone.

When she reached the corner, according to her memory, she should turn left, walk a hundred steps and then climb the stairs to return to the entrance. But when she turned around, she found that this was a very spacious ancestral hall with many tablets, as many as hundreds. She came to the tablets out of curiosity.

She could tell at a glance that the people worshipping here were all members of the Beiyuan royal family, probably those who died in the war to destroy the country. There was a thick layer of ash in the incense burner, indicating that people often worshipped here.

There is a low stone bed and a desk next to it, and it seems that someone lives here every day.

Xue Huang glanced at an old but well-preserved booklet on the desk. On the cover was written the three words "Interesting Stories" in beautiful small seal script.

She squatted down and gently opened it. It contained some short stories. There were no fancy words, but the language was concise, vivid and the ideas were clearly expressed.

Xue Huang had been squatting there reading the short story for the whole afternoon without realizing it, but she hadn't finished yet because her legs were numb. She rubbed her legs and stood up, then simply walked to the stone bed and sat down. She picked up a book called "Taixu" next to her and flipped through it. From the handwriting, it seemed that the book was written by the same person. The former recorded what he saw and heard, while the latter was a fictional story.

Xuyao appeared from nowhere, looking at her for a long time on the steps like a ghost. But his eyes were empty, as if he remembered something.

After a long time, he walked over slowly.

Xue Huang also noticed him and pointed at the book on the desk and said, "I didn't expect that Prince Xu would also read these folk stories."

"What do you think of this story?" Xu Yao asked.

"It's very real," Xue Huang said. "Although this book 'Anecdotes' is called 'Anecdotes', the anecdotes reveal the sufferings of the world. This book 'Taixu', although it is a dream travelogue that depicts ordinary life in the market, reflects the desire for a peaceful and prosperous world."

"So what kind of person do you think the author of these two books is?"

Xue Huang thought for a moment and said, "With the people in mind."

Xu Yao's eyes were deep, and it was hard to tell whether it was nostalgia or resentment, "He really cared about the people, but it's a pity that God didn't give him this opportunity."

"Do you recognize him?" Xue Huang asked.

Xu Yao looked at the "Collection of Interesting Stories" on the desk in silence without saying a word.

Xue Huang turned to the last page. "In the 763rd year of Liuyun Calendar, written by Jing Chen. Jing Chen? Prince Beiyuan?"

No wonder he cherished these books, they turned out to be relics of his old friends. She stopped touching them immediately. If she damaged them, would this guy fight her to the death?

"He was only sixteen years old when he wrote this book. It was also in that year that Beiyuan was destroyed, and he died tragically before his ambitions were realized." Xu Yao said.

"So, do you want to avenge him or for Beiyuan?" Xue Huang asked.

Xu Yao looked deep in his eyes and did not answer her, but asked: "Do you like reading his books?"

"The writing is excellent, the style is simple, and the story is thought-provoking. It will surely be a masterpiece handed down from generation to generation thousands of years later. If he had not died young, he must have been a benevolent king." Xue Huang said.

What she said was not an exaggeration. The writing style of this Crown Prince Jingchen was excellent, and he was only sixteen years old when he wrote these two books. At that time, he had already seen all the sufferings in the world. If Beiyuan had not been destroyed, he would certainly have been an emperor who could understand the sufferings of the people.

"He could have been alive. I could have saved him by just a little bit." A trace of regret and pain appeared in Xuyao's eyes.

"How did he die?" Xue Huang asked.

"In the winter of the 763rd year of the Liuyun calendar, it was the coldest time in Beiyuan. The armies of Mo Yunchen and Shen Congfeng were at the gates of the city. In order to save the people in the city from being massacred, Crown Prince Jingchen followed Emperor Yuan to the Taiji Palace to accept the surrender with the jade seal, but they were all killed by Shen Congfeng and Mo Yunchen. Although Shangyang City was spared from the massacre, the palace was bloodbathed, and there were only a few survivors."

"Who gave the order?"

"I'm also looking for the truth." Xu Yao said coldly.

Xue Huang hesitated for a moment and asked: "Where were you at that time?"

"I... abandoned him." Xu Yao's tone was filled with sorrow. "Before he decided to surrender, he found me and said that the military strength of the two countries was too different and the fall of Beiyuan was inevitable. He told me not to waste my life and to preserve my strength for the future. He said he would wait for me in Shangyang City to witness the prosperous times together. I believed him and left him here alone."

"What happened next? Why were you controlled by Mo Yunchen?"

"I had already evacuated. When I learned of Jingchen's death, I dismissed most of my subordinates and returned to the city secretly, but I was ambushed by my own people."

"who is it?"

"Situ Yue."

Xue Huang was slightly surprised, "He is your man?"

"He was my deputy general. I left him beside Jingchen to protect him before I left. It was also for the purpose of rescuing Jingchen one day, because Jingchen would be placed under house arrest after surrendering. He was a hidden chess piece I had planted, but I didn't expect that he had already defected to Mo Yunchen. I was unable to return to Taiji Palace, and what awaited me was a dragnet."

"So in the end, Mo Yunchen captured you, but didn't kill you. Instead, he used Gu to control you for so many years." Xue Huang had sorted out her thoughts. Her and Gu Qinglan's guesses were basically correct. Xu Yao's disappearance was indeed to preserve his strength, and this was also related to Mo Yunchen and Shen Congfeng. "What does he want to do?"

"Mo Yunchen's thoughts are hard to predict. I have been just a shadow for so many years." Xu Yao said.

Although he has been controlled, he did not sit still and wait for death, but secretly developed his own power, just to take revenge one day.

"Whose idea was it to kidnap the two princes of Beiling?"

Xuyao glanced at her and said, "Why don't you guess it?"

"I think it was Shen Congfeng. He wanted to kill the second prince through you, so that the third prince he supported could ascend to the throne of the crown prince smoothly. And Mo Ruilin was weak in the court and had no power to stop him. But although you hate the Beiling royal family, you don't want Shen Congfeng to get his wish. You have your own purpose, and Mo Yunchen will not let you kill them. He also has his own plans."

So Gu Qinglan’s guess at that time was correct. Xu Yao was not trying to assassinate the emperor, so what was he trying to do?

"If I let him get what he wants so quickly, then what is my value?" Xu Yao asked with a sneer.

"Then is your appearance in the cold palace just for nostalgia?"

"I just wanted to get something. I expected someone to stop me, but I never thought it would be you."

"So taking Mo Ruilin away was just a convenience?" So he came to us on his own initiative?

"The people from Guiguzi Sect are indeed quite smart." Xu Yao said with a smile.

"You're flattered," Xue Huang raised her eyebrows. "So my guess is right. Why don't you think carefully about what Mo Ruilin said. The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"It's impossible for me to be friends with the Beiling royal family. I can be friends with Guigu or Shanhemen. But if both of them become friends with the Beiling royal family, then they can't be my friends either."

Xue Huang smiled, stood up and stretched her arms and legs, and said, "We are partners, and we just take what we need from each other."

Xuyao's eyes darkened slightly, and his tone seemed to be filled with anger, "Do you want to help them so much?"

"Maybe I'm just nosy." Xue Huang said.

"You have been living in Guigu, why did you come to Beiling?"

“It’s more fun here.”

Xu Yao lit a few incense sticks on the tablets and said nothing.

Xue Huang saw a scroll in front of the tablet of Prince Jingchen and asked, "What is that?"

Xu Yao picked it up and handed it to her. Xue Huang opened it directly. It turned out to be a portrait. It showed a boy of fifteen or sixteen years old, with beautiful eyebrows and eyes, wearing brocade clothes and jade crown. Although he was a teenager, he had an extraordinary demeanor.

Xue Huang looked at him carefully for a long while, a hint of doubt appeared between her brows. She actually felt that this very good-looking boy's eyebrows and eyes seemed to have been seen somewhere before. "Who is he?"

"Jingchen." Xuyao said meaningfully.

"Strange," Xue Huang murmured, "Why do I feel like I've seen this before?"

Xu Yao was silent for a moment before saying: "Gu Qinglan and I agreed to exchange our chips at the Shili Pavilion outside the city. Let's go." He carefully put away the portrait, turned around and walked out.

"One last question." Xue Huang said.

Xuyao stopped and said without looking back: "What's the problem?"

"Why tell me so much?"

"Don't we need some sincerity to win over the descendants of Guiguzi?"

Xue Huang smiled and said, "Is it just that simple?"

"Whoever controls Guigu controls the world. I believe the rumors have their truth."

"I'm not very smart except for fighting, so please don't praise me too much." Xue Huang said.

"Let's go." Xuyao left first.

Xue Huang followed him silently, and just when she was halfway there, she saw Mo Ruilin and Mo Zhenyu being brought over with their eyes blindfolded.

Xiao Ling'er came over and also covered her eyes with a black veil.