incomprehensible

Even in a warm place indoors, the whistling sound from the window is enough to make people feel chills.

In such weather, it was impossible to go down the mountain; Ye Xuehuan was not in a hurry, and only told Tong Xuan to be ready to leave at any time, and asked someone to make some hot soup and simple food for Chu Changyue, and listened to him explain the ins and outs.

"...My mother is really crazy."

Chu Changyue's expression was extremely tired, and his eyes were blank. He finally recovered after taking a few sips of hot soup, "Liu Ting planned to force the palace. My father received the news and planned to return to Danlu for rescue, but she, she refused! She wants to..."

What he said was endless, Ye Xuehuan knew that his mind was confused, and didn't expect him to be able to explain clearly by himself, so he asked directly: "Where did the news about Liu Ting's coercion come from, is it accurate?"

Chu Changyue calmed down a little, sorted out his thoughts, and replied: "It's the news from the Jinwu Guard. Fang Jing, the commander-in-chief of the Jinwu Guard, has been rebelled by Liu Ting and will be the main force to force the palace; It is true that there are frequent transfers, but on the surface it is a normal transfer of personnel before the New Year's Day. My father judged that the news should be true, but I don't know when it will be done."

"Jinwuwei?" Ye Xuehuan raised his brows, "Jinwuwei wants to rebel?"

The Jinwu Guard is directly under the emperor, and is only responsible for guarding him, and his status is even higher than that of the Habayashi Army. It is unbelievable that Liu Ting instigated Liu Ting's rebellion after serving in the Imperial Army.

It's not that Ye Xuehuan never thought about Liu Ting's way of forcing the palace to rebel, but he always felt that the possibility was unlikely, because Danlu didn't have an army he could use, and it was even more impossible to transfer troops from the southern border.Hearing the news now, I had to suspect that there was something else in it, and even whether Fang Jing was pretending to take refuge, Ye Xue was going to use his tricks to catch the turtle in the urn; but Liu Ting was also an old fox, and ordinary tricks couldn't fool him. If he really dared to put the final ultimate move on Fang Jing, it must be because he has something to rely on.

Fang Jing's true attitude cannot be determined for the time being, but what is even more strange is the attitude of the Chu family.In previous years, at the end of September, the Chu family had to go back to Juyang County to worship their ancestors and do charity in the whole county.He sent a letter to ask a while ago, and Chu Changyue wrote back saying that Juyang County had heavy snow this year, and many areas were severely affected, so he stayed for a while, so he didn't ask again, but he didn't expect that there was another reason for it.

He pondered for a moment, then asked again: "What's the matter with your mother?"

As soon as he mentioned it, Chu Changyue became anxious again: "My father was bedridden by the wind and cold for days, and my mother dragged her back to Danlu and ignored her, and even...even let the dark threads in the Jinwu Guard wait for an opportunity to murder the prince! "

Ye Xuehuan's face turned cold in an instant. On the surface, this matter was just a plot by the Liu family to force the palace, but the involvement was far more than that simple.He didn't want to talk too much about the Chu family in front of Chu Changyue, so he asked instead, "When did it happen?"

Chu Changyue said: "It's been almost half a month."

Ye Xuehuan understood that it was not long after Liang Wang borrowed troops from Chongyang and the crown prince openly asked for a fight, Liu Ting began plotting to force the palace.

"I see." Ye Xuehuan nodded, "You go and rest, and if the weather permits tomorrow, then consider going down the mountain."

Seeing that he was so calm, Chu Changyue said in disbelief: "Liu Ting dared to force the palace only because you were not in the city. He will do it in a few days! You, won't you go back to King Qin of the city? You won't want to..."

"What are you thinking about?" Ye Xuehuan glared at him, "I used to fast on the mountain for three days, so why would I go back early this year? If the news isn't true, that's fine. If Liu Ting is really forced into the palace, I'll go back just like this King Qin, what do you think other people will think?"

Chu Chang shrank his neck more and closed his mouth angrily.

The more Ye Xuehuan thought about it, the more annoyed she became, and she asked angrily, "Your mother forcibly stayed in Juyang County, how did you get out?"

Hearing that his tone was wrong, Chu Changyue seemed to have doubts about his own intentions, and hurriedly explained: "I discussed with my elder brother, the Chu family must not participate in this matter, and they must not make a statement. You can only go to serve the king, so I will let you go." Let the eldest brother cover and sneak out at night. Today is already the fifth day, and mother may have been exposed long ago, and I don't know what kind of punishment the eldest brother will be..."

Although Juyang County is counted as the Great Central Plains area, it is only a few hills away from the northern border, and the journey is far away. Chu Changyue came back in only five days, including the time to go up the mountain in the snow , no wonder the whole person is extremely haggard, and his eyes are all black and blue.

Ye Xuehuan turned pale, and snorted, "I forgive your mother for not being able to think of such an idea."

Chu Zhangyue hesitated for a moment, then whispered: "I...my mother is really confused this time, you..."

This Mrs. Chu is really not a fuel-efficient lamp. Ye Xuehuan has always bothered her and didn't want to talk about it, so she said softly: "How can she intervene in this kind of thing? You go rest and talk about it tomorrow."

Chu Changyue was a little embarrassed, but he had been braving the wind and snow for several days without stopping, and at this time he really had a headache that was about to split, his eyes were almost shaking, so he had to rest first.

As soon as he left, Ye Xuehuan couldn't help but let out a long sigh, rubbing his knuckles between his aching brows, his face was full of dryness.Chu Changyue came to him in a hurry, only thinking that the Liu family's treason was the top priority, but he couldn't see where the horror was at all.

"... Lan'er."

He grabbed Lan Qi's hand, squeezed his fingertips, and asked lightly: "Liu Ting conspired to force the palace. I didn't get any news from Liu's secret sources. On the contrary, it was the Jinwu Guard who leaked the news, and directly leaked the news. At the Chu family...do you think it's normal?"

Lan Qi let out a sigh of relief, "Do you think the Jinwu Guard pretended to join Liu Ting, and then leaked the news to the Chu family, deliberately probing? Is it because His Majesty wants to kill two birds with one stone?"

"Regardless of whether there is any plot by my father or not, Liu Ting's coercion of the palace is probably a certainty." Ye Xuehuan looked at him, with a sharp smile on the corner of his mouth, "Tell me, am I the King of Qin, or the King of Not Qin?"

If it is reasonable, he should go to Qin Wang.But Liu Ting hadn't acted yet, so the name of King Qin could not be established, and the other was that he didn't believe that the Jinwu Guard would really rebel, or that his father was really ignorant and unprepared.What's more, he was already on Songliu Peak, in a world of ice and snow, with difficult mountain roads and difficult news, so it can be presumed that he didn't know anything about it.But if Ye Xueji really sent the news to the Chu family on purpose, Ye Xuehuan pretended not to know it at this time, and if he failed to force the palace, the emperor could accuse him of being negligent, deliberate connivance, and disloyalty .

It's fine if it's just the Liu family, but the key point is that the Chu family also got involved.Mrs. Chu clearly wanted to use the hands of the Liu family to get rid of the emperor and the prince, and then logically put Ye Xuehuan on the throne.

Chu Yuezhi is sick in bed now, but real illness and fake illness are another matter; Mrs. Chu is a girl, not far-sighted enough, not thoughtful enough, she takes it for granted that the Chu family can reap the benefits of being a fisherman, but Chu Yuezhi is very likely to be in her care. Second-hand preparations were made behind the scenes, and Chu Changyue was deliberately let out to report the news, and Ye Xuehuan was rushed to King Qin.In this way, even if Liu's family affairs are successful and the emperor dies, he still has every reason to challenge openly and fight for the throne;

But in case this is all Ye Xueji's scheme, and the news leaked from the Jinwu Guard is simply his temptation to the Chu family, then the Chu family will definitely not be able to afford it this time.

This is too much like Ye Xueji's style of acting, so after thinking about it, Ye Xuehuan still thinks this is the most likely possibility.But these are all speculations, and he can't judge who is farther and deeper, who is playing with whom, or who is more skilled and can win in the end.

Chu Changyue was open-minded, and he only thought about King Qin's rescue, but he immediately suspected all the relevant people up and down, and even Chu Changyue couldn't escape.

Lan Qi can happily eat the pine nut candy made by his sister, but he has to fight wits with his own father and uncle, and assume the worst of everyone.

"Naturally, the king must be diligent." Lan Qi held his hand back, his voice was very soft, "But the prince must be protected first."

Qin Wang does not protect the emperor to protect the crown prince, this is already an extremely rebellious remark, Lan Qi's fingers are trembling slightly, but his eyes are firm and clear.

Ye Xuehuan suddenly felt relieved, hugged him, pressed his cheek, and whispered: "Tell me what you think."

Lan Qi said: "Liu Ting doesn't have a large army in Danlu, and he doesn't have the confidence to ascend the throne by himself. Even if he forces the palace, he can only let the prince succeed to the throne in advance. To put it bluntly, His Majesty has already been sick, so it's not surprising that something happens someday. ..."

"You dare to say such things." Ye Xuehuan smiled and patted his buttocks, "Is there a daughter-in-law like you who cursed her father-in-law to die early?"

Lan Qi curled his lips. This man never forgot to take advantage of his words at any time. He ignored it and continued: "Liu Ting has the Jinwu Guard in his hands. It is not difficult to get His Majesty's life. The difficult thing is Let the crown prince obey him after he succeeds to the throne. I don't know how he will act, but as long as we can protect the crown prince from threats, let him believe that you are his only reliance, and you will help him succeed, then everything will be fine for Liu Ting. All plans will be in vain.”

He paused, and unconsciously glanced elsewhere, "From this point of view, His Majesty's life... well, it doesn't matter."

Ye Xuehuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, pinched his cheek hard, and scolded with a smile: "You can only tell me this kind of thing, you know?"

Lan Qi hummed, rubbed his palm as if admitting his mistake, and sighed softly: "It's just the Chu family..."

Ye Xuehuan sneered disdainfully: "That aunt of mine doesn't have the intelligence and courage of my queen mother, but she wants to imitate her. It's really beyond her control. My uncle's wind and cold are probably half-truths and half-false, and I can't hold back my face." Clearly disobedient, let my aunt be a villain. I said long ago that I can't live without committing crimes, and I can't save the Chu family, and Chang Yue knows it in his heart, otherwise he wouldn't come to me in a hurry. "

"That's why you should go to Qin Wang to ensure that the Chu family can't move the prince, so that your uncle won't make a big mistake." Lan Qi said in a deep voice, "It's just that the timing is really not easy to grasp, and I might startle the snake when I go back hastily. No If we go down the mountain tomorrow and stay at the foot of the mountain, we will first investigate the situation in the city before making a decision..."

He was thinking about countermeasures, but he didn't pay attention to the deeper and deeper sigh and pity in Ye Xuehuan's eyes.

"Lan'er." Ye Xuehuan interrupted him, gently stroking the back of his neck, with a slightly hoarse voice, "Have you ever thought that if people like Emperor Father, Liu Ting, and my uncle really want to interact with each other? After all, who will lose and who will win?"

Lan Qi was stunned for a moment, not knowing what he meant by the question, and the question itself was extremely tricky and sharp, so he couldn't answer it for a while.

"Since the southern tour, I have been pressing Liu Ting and taking the lead every step of the way; but this time, I was really caught off guard." Ye Xuehuan smiled self-deprecatingly, "I lost the lead, and now I am gone." There is too much room for meddling. The only thing I can do is to save the crown prince, stop the Chu family, and let the emperor go to confront Liu Ting head-on. You said, who of these two people is not far-sighted and has no plans? Who can guarantee that he is better than The other party counts as an extra step? At this level, it is no longer artificial whether it is done or not."

He raised his hand and pointed upwards, "I want to look at the sky."

Lan Qi blinked, not quite understanding why he said this suddenly.

Ye Xuehuan said bluntly, "I'm not sure."

Since the acquaintance, he has always been planning and planning, and all the arrangements are thoughtful and meticulous. Lan Qi always admires him, but he has never heard him say "not sure".

"I can't guarantee that I can keep the prince, I can't be sure whether Fang Jing really has objections, and I can't even judge whether the father knows about it or not." Ye Xuehuan said solemnly, "I wasn't prepared, so this will really be the most dangerous thing. Once, whether it can be done or not depends on God's will."

Lan Qi also nodded solemnly to show that he understood.

Ye Xuehuan held his face and kissed him lightly, "Lan'er, are you afraid?"

"Why should I be afraid?" Lan Qi raised his eyebrows, "Thinking about the worst, there are only three outcomes. Liu Ting wins and the crown prince ascends the throne; the Chu family wins and you ascend the throne; Your Majesty wins and the Liu family and the Chu family are unlucky together. They are all in It's a gamble with our lives, but we still have room for change. If King Qin succeeds, both His Majesty and Liu Ting will suffer, and we will save the crown prince. From now on, the sky and sea will be in your hands."

Ye Xuehuan was a little surprised, and then smiled again: "My kitten is really promising."

Lan Qi's way of thinking is different from his. He is used to progressively and meticulously covering the sky, while Lan Qi will first consider all possible results, so as to avoid risks most efficiently and deduce A path to achieve the desired outcome.In the past, he made perfect arrangements and often cut off all possibilities except what he wanted; but this time he was not prepared enough, so he was inevitably a little anxious, but Lan Qi was confident.

When he first returned to Danlu, Lan Qi didn't say anything, but he was clearly extremely disturbed; but now that he has reached this point, he actually has more fighting spirit than Ye Xuehuan, trembling faintly with excitement, his words are sharp, I don't know if it's because of staying with him for a long time.

Ye Xuehuan thought with emotion, if Lan Qi had such a temperament, if he took over the class of the Taifu, he would be polished into shape for any little devil; In the Taixue Academy, instead, he wanted to bury his arrogance of not admitting defeat.

They are the same kind of people from the bottom of their hearts, and they will always live in adventure and struggle, otherwise where will the desire come from, and where will the joy come from?

"You taught me." Lan Qi hooked the back of his neck, raised his chin slightly, and said in an extremely arrogant tone, "I will also let the world see that only I am qualified to join hands with you."

Ye Xuehuan laughed loudly, pecked Lan Qi hard on the lips, hugged him horizontally and threw him on the bed.

——What kind of conspiracy and conspiracy, in the eyes of him now, is nothing to be afraid of.

…………

Chu Changyue didn't sleep well that night. Even though he was exhausted from traveling around for days, he was always thinking about the forced palace and couldn't sleep.

But other than that, he was even more annoyed by Ye Xuehuan's previous attitude.

The two of them have been close since they were young, so they don't mention all the old things about being punished during the Taixue Academy. Ye Xuehuan shouldn't have the slightest suspicion of him just based on the nine years in the Northwest.The Chu family is a family of generals, and he joined the military right after graduating from Taixue University; he could have developed steadily and steadily in Juyang County, but after the death of Empress Chu, he followed Ye Xuehuan to the Northwest without hesitation, overcoming obstacles and going through life and death , he was promoted to be a general with hanging feathers at a young age, but he also wore a large and small color, and his face looked gentle, but in fact, his body was full of scars, which were all caused by fighting with Ye Xuehuan on the battlefield .

He knew that the Chu family was at a loss this time, and it was indeed difficult to be caught in the middle, but after persuading Mrs. Chu failed, he did not hesitate for a moment. , In the end, in exchange for a non-salty "Let's talk tomorrow", that breath was held in my heart, and I couldn't swallow it no matter what.

Ye Xuehuan has always been assertive, and Chu Changyue is used to obeying and following him, and he has never felt that something is wrong over the years; but now watching him get along with Lan Qi, he suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.

——Although Lan Qi doesn't make up his mind, Ye Xuehuan will talk to him and discuss with him in everything, and treat him as someone who can share the burden.Chu Changyue had already experienced it during his southern tour, and the two of them hardly allowed others to intervene when discussing matters, and Lan Qi was indeed resourceful; but now that he was in a hurry, Ye Xuehuan sent him to rest, but closed the door Coming to discuss countermeasures with Lan Qi really had to make him feel alienated.

Probably because I was anxious and tired, my heart became a little weaker, and I actually started to quarrel.But after thinking about it, I feel that I don't know the seriousness of being so preoccupied with such an important matter, especially this awkwardness seems to be jealous of Lan Qi, and I feel that I am not mature enough, cautious, and not tolerant enough.

On the one hand, he felt that Ye Xuehuan valued sex and despised friends, and on the other hand, he felt that he was petty, so he was entangled in the conflict between sulk and self-loathing all night. The last string in Chu Changyue's mind finally came when he saw After the two of them were able to eat breakfast calmly, they completely broke down.

When Ye Xuehuan was angry, he would smile like a spring breeze, but when Chu Changyue was angry, he would keep silent.He stiffly sat across from the two of them, with an expressionless face and cold eyes; after a moment of contemplation, before he was about to speak, Lu Luo, who was waiting on the side, handed him a bowl of porridge and said in a warm voice: "General Chu has worked hard all the way. , let's have breakfast first."

Facing such a delicate and innocent maid, he couldn't bear to get angry, so he took it and ate the porridge with an aggrieved face.

The sons of nobles, the family education is extremely strict, as long as they are not at the wine table, they must implement the rule of "do not talk about food" to the end.The soft and sticky rice porridge is mixed with crisp pickled cabbage and dried bamboo shoots. Although it is not oily at all, it also has a fresh fragrance.After eating a bowl of warm porridge, Chu Changyue's mood cleared up immediately.

Ye Xuehuan had already finished eating first, took the handkerchief and cleaned his hands, and told Luluo: "From now on, except for the few days when I go up the mountain, there is no need to fast and be a vegetarian all year round in the Linggong. Look at you maidservants, All of them are pale, and when they arrive at the queen mother's coffin, don't she think that there is a famine in my center."

All the maidservants in the hall showed joy, and thanked each other with blessings.

Ye Xuehuan said again: "There is an urgent matter in Danlu City, so I will go down the mountain today. As for the old prisoner Su Wei, I will send someone to take her away and keep her in the Spirit Palace for the time being. If something goes wrong, Everyone is guilty of the same crime and will be punished severely."

The maids who were still thanking each other just knelt down and kowtowed, saying that they did not dare, shaking like sifting chaff in panic.Combining grace and power has always been his forte. First get rid of Su Wei's remaining prestige, and emphasize again that she is a repeat offender. He instigates the maidservants to supervise each other, and does not give anyone a chance to do anything secretly. Let's see who would want to help Su Wei and cover up some of the truth back then.

In the end, he lowered his face pretentiously, and said to Lu Luo: "Although you are young, you are still an old man who is served by the queen mother. I left the Ling Palace to you to take care of it, because I don't want Su Wei to be such a hypocrite who pretends to be a tiger , disturbed the peace in the spiritual palace. Keep two Xuanfeng bodyguards as supervisors, don’t tell me I don’t trust you.”

Lu Luo replied: "Lu Luo dare not, Your Highness don't worry."

She clearly said it was a supervisor, but in fact she was afraid that she would not be able to control the scene, so she left her with a reliance, and at the same time, it was also to keep an eye on Su Wei, how could she not understand; her face was trembling, but her heart was really grateful.

She didn't dare to ask what was the urgent matter in Danlu City, she hadn't recovered from the joy of recognizing her younger brother, and it was only two nights, but she was going to be separated again, she couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.

Lan Qi glanced at her, and suddenly said: "This porridge is a bit bland, I want to eat some sweeter ones."

Lu Luo forced a smile, and went to get him a small plate of pine nut candies.She said earlier that she would make some for Lan Qi to take away, but she didn't expect that he would go down the mountain so soon, and she didn't have time to make much, only the plate in front of her was left, and she couldn't help but feel even more sad.

Seeing it, Ye Xuehuan pretended to be impatient and said, "Now is not the time to produce pine nuts. If you really like them, next year it will be summer, and I will let you eat as much as you want."

Although the words were spoken to Lan Qi, they gave Lu Luo some kind of hint, which immediately made her eyes light up.

The three of them played riddles around the bush, but Chu Changyue didn't know what to do, and was so stunned that he couldn't swallow.Hearing Ye Xuehuan said that he went down the mountain urgently today, he felt a little more at ease, and then he heard that he seemed to have taken care of Su Wei, and his face collapsed again.It's not because of Su Wei herself, this old court lady relies on the old to sell the old, and she has to make Ye Xuehuan unhappy every year. It will be a matter of time to take care of her, but this year, it is inevitable that Chu Changyue will think about Lan Qi again.

He even started to slander, Mo Ran said that Ye Xuehuan was "intoxicated by lust", and it was not without basis.

He brewed for a while, put down the porridge bowl, and was about to have a good attack, Lan Qi picked up a piece of pine nut candy at the right time, and put it directly in his spoon, "General Chu's complexion is a bit bad, eat some candy .”

It can only be said that he is a child of an aristocratic family, and the etiquette has been carved into his bones; or Chu Changyue, who couldn't resist the temptation of sweets, subconsciously replied when he saw this bright candy: " Thanks."

The anger in my belly hadn't come out yet, just because of a piece of candy, I just let it out.

There was a subtle and awkward silence in the room.

Chu Changyue's face flushed red, and he ate the candy in one gulp.

——It turned out to be quite delicious.

Ye Xuehuan was about to laugh out loud, but he didn't expose him. After tidying up, he set off.Lv Luo led a few maidservants to send them off outside the main gate, not daring to show any sentimental emotion, until the figures of those riders were blurred on the mountain road amidst the wind and snow, then turned and walked back.

The two Xuanfeng guards who were left behind exchanged glances with her, and nodded secretly to each other.

Although she is weak, she can still do things for her master and her younger brother.

With the blurred vision in the snow and the steep mountain road, no matter how anxious I was, I couldn't get up quickly.Tong Xuan opened the way ahead, Ye Xuehuan and Chu Changyue walked side by side, and roughly analyzed the current situation.Chu Changyue was terrified when he heard it. He had been on the road for days without thinking about the cause and effect. Only now did he realize the complexity and danger of the coercion. Thinking that he had suspected that Ye Xuehuan also wanted to fish in troubled waters, he couldn't help feeling ashamed.

What worried him even more was the situation of the Chu family.

"After this time, no matter what the result is, my uncle will have a showdown with me." Ye Xuehuan said calmly, "Chang Yue, I can't guarantee that I won't drag you down. You have to be prepared."

Chu Changyue pursed his lips and remained silent. "Showdown" is all polite. If it is really handled badly, it will actually be a turn of events.

He should be on Ye Xuehuan's side in terms of loyalty, righteousness, reason and affection, but there is still a word "filial piety", which he can't get over no matter what.The Chu family had indeed crossed the line this time, no matter how he would be involved, he could accept it without complaint; but if he wanted to break with the Chu family for the sake of righteousness and justice, he would never be able to do it.

On this point, he actually admired Lan Qi a little bit.

"If..." He considered his words, hesitated to test, "If it is true that my mother... put the prince...?"

Ye Xuehuan smiled: "I am not the only one left in the Ye Xue family, and I am not the only choice in the Chu family."

The more Chu Chang listened to him, he frowned more and more, and asked with the last sliver of hope: "You really don't think about it at all?"

Ye Xuehuan glanced at him with a half-smile, "I also have a better choice."

Chu Changyue didn't speak anymore, and only gave Lan Qi a meaningful look.

He didn't think that Ye Xuehuan really didn't love Jiangshan and beauties, and Lan Qi would only support and obey his decision.He did have a better choice. Even without the crown prince, he could still support the fifth prince who also had the background of the Chu family, and rely on the emperor to command the princes. He didn't need to sit on the throne full of needlepoints himself.What he wants in his heart is not something that can only be obtained by sitting on the throne, so it is meaningless for him to fight for the reserve, it is just a cover for him to confuse others.

But not everyone knows him and thinks so.

Once he really made it clear that he would not fight for the reserve, Lan Qi would be the one who received the most criticism—or, in other words, everyone would deliberately target Lan Qi, and even use Lan Qi to blackmail and persecute him.

The more Chu Chang didn't believe that Ye Xuehuan would not think of this level, but it was precisely because he wanted it that the current calmness was even more terrifying. I don't know what kind of back road he had prepared for himself and Lan Qi to be like this Take your time.

He has already forced the Liu family to the desperate road of forcing the palace to seek rebellion. Will it be the Chu family's turn next?

This palace change is just the beginning, after that, there will be a lot of chaos and infighting.

Chu Changyue sighed, looking at the winding mountain road covered with snow, he wished extravagantly for a moment that this road would never have an end.