Spring Breeze Crossing Guanshan

"Mr. Yan, I have invited you into the Feng Pavilion today by order. Do you know why?"

"I... I don't know."

Yan Chunxi was already shivering from the cold, but the breath he exhaled from his lips turned into thin frost when he opened his mouth.

"It doesn't matter, since Mr. Yan doesn't know, then it's just a matter of talking with me."

Although Xia Baimei was holding a terrifying instrument of torture, her tone was calm.

He has sculpted eyebrows and phoenix eyes, and has a very beautiful appearance. Sitting there in a pitch-black robe, he looks cold and dignified like a Shura.

"At the end of the second year of Chengde, Mr. Yan, do you still remember where you are?"

"Prince Ning's Mansion in Jinling."

"That's right, Mr. Yan is a sinful slave of the Great Zhou Dynasty. He has a place to live because he is Prince Ning's male favourite. Where can he be if he is not in the palace."

Xia Baimei put the iron utensils in the brazier, and walked to Yan Chunxi: "I heard that Mr. Yan stayed in the dungeon of Prince Ning's Mansion before he was favored, is there such a thing?"

"……Have."

Yan Chunxi's voice faltered, but he still answered.

Guan Junchen, who was standing on the Guanlan Pavilion, watched this scene, and his fingers under the sleeves of his voluminous robe couldn't help shaking.

Of course, Guan Junchen was not unaware of his situation. In his name, the word "Cheng" was changed to the word "Chen", and he accepted all insulting points.

But when he thinks about such a trivial matter as even a male pet being imprisoned in his house, it has already quietly passed the ears of Emperor Zhou Ying, and even now he still feels chills all over his body.

In Wuyi Lane of the Great Zhou Dynasty, it is really not a joke to monitor the world and punish the dissidents.

It's just that now, his own safety is no longer the most important thing in his heart.

"Then why did Mr. Yan go to prison?"

Xia Baimei was much taller than Yan Chunxi, and when he lowered his eyes, those white eyebrows that entered his temples looked even more strange, as if he was staring at Yan Chunxi with his eyes.

Looking at it from such a close distance, Yan Chunxi really felt intrusive. He hesitated for a moment, obviously thinking about it before softly saying: "I have an affair with the guards in the palace."

"laugh."

Xia Baimei laughed lightly, he stretched out his finger to support Yan Chunxi's chin, and said leisurely: "Such a scandal can come out of prison alive, it seems that Prince Ning really loves you."

Yan Chunxi trembled slightly, then turned his head away, no longer looking at Xia Baimei.

"Law of the Great Zhou, private prisons can be set up in princely mansions, but if servants are thrown into prison or executed privately, a confession is required, which has been prepared for inspection by the yamen. Mr. Yan—how many times have you written your confession? "

Yan Chunxi looked at Xia Baimei blankly, "How many times have you written?"

"Mr. Yan, do you really not understand, or are you pretending to be confused?"

Xia Baimei turned around and stood by the brazier, slowly fiddling with the increasingly blazing sharp hooks inside, the sparks in the brazier immediately flew high, his voice was very soft, but it seemed extraordinarily gloomy: "You wrote After the first confession, Prince Ning went to the prison overnight and told you to make a new one, do you remember this incident?"

Yan Chunxi struggled to recall for a while, and finally managed to remember, and murmured: "Yes, I wrote it twice."

Xia Baimei nodded, and said calmly: "Since you wrote the confession twice, what did Prince Ning ask you to change?"

"It's nothing." Yan Chunxi's bare feet were already blue from the cold because he had been stepping on the cold stone bricks, and he said tremblingly: "My lord only said that my first confession was too detailed, and I was asked to omit it." For those other things, only write when and how many times you have had with the guards, and you don’t need to write about the rest of the dirty things, it must, must be out of face, so the prince asked me to change it.”

"That's all?"

Xia Baimei smiled again, and he walked in front of Yan Chunxi: "Young Master Yan, I watched you trembling all the time—but Fengge is so cold that it froze you?"

His voice has always been hoarse, but this time his tone is very soft, which is rare to reveal a bit of eunuch attitude.

While asking softly, he slowly handed the burning red hook to Yan Chunxi in his hand. When the flames flickered, a hint of sternness flashed in his eyes.

"No... I, I'm not cold." Yan Chunxi shook his head hastily, struggling to retreat, but being handcuffed on the torture rack, how could he escape? The instrument of torture was boiling hot, and the voice was filled with fear.

Guan Junchen was burning with anxiety, he turned his head and glanced at Emperor Zhou Ying who was standing in front of him, this tall man in a bright yellow dragon robe was watching the interrogation like a drama with him.

"emperor."

As soon as he opened his mouth, Emperor Zhou Ying turned his head, although the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned, but there was no smile in his eyes: "Prince Ning, don't disturb the people below, just watch carefully like this - I can protect Yan Chunxi from death But if you are disobedient, don't blame me for being cruel."

"Yes……"

He didn't dare to say any more, just looked at Yan Chunxi below like this, his heart ached as if he was going to be torn to pieces.

Back then when he went to the dungeon at night, he forced Yan Chunxi to rewrite his confession in order to hide the fact that he was so sad about the death of King Xiang that he got drunk all night on the ninth day of October. Up to now, he has never told Yan Chunxi the reason for it.

The young man who was chained to the rack didn't even know what he knew and what he didn't know.

He was so weak and at the mercy of others that he didn't even know what to say to avoid this disaster.

In this power entanglement, he is the most powerless one.

"Mr. Yan, you are a smart person, but you may not know that - in this Fengge, there have been many people who claim to be talented but are actually stupid. You have to understand the truth that you will suffer if you are stupid. Not to mention far away, just a few months ago, General Yu under King Pingnan was brought in, and was interrogated by Master Tang of Wuyi Lane."

"General Yu felt that he was a man in the battlefield and had a firm mind, so he killed him as soon as he came here. He still overestimated himself—"

Xia Baimei continued slowly: "Master Tang sent someone to boil a pot of water, and then put the general's fingers into it one by one, cook like this until the meat is tender, until the prison room is overflowing with the smell of meat, then put it in." Take it out, and then use an iron grate to grate off the meat on your fingers bit by bit. Mr. Yan, you must know that people don't feel pain when the meat is cooked, but this person who sees himself Fingers turned into bones, how can we not howl. The pain is not in the fingers, but in the heart."

"It's miserable, it's really miserable."

Xia Baimei shook his head and sighed faintly: "My heart is unbearable. Although General Yu is a tough guy, he has never lifted a second finger, so I'll do it. Mr. Yan, do you think that if it were you, you could How many are close?"

Even though Guan Junchen was aware of the cruelty of Wuyixiang's trial methods, but now in this cold prison cell, Xia Baimei slowly described the process of cooking and removing meat in a feminine tone. , still gives him the creeps.

Even if he is like this, let alone Yan Chunxi, who is tied to the torture rack and tortured may be imposed on him at any time, his lips are pale just listening to it. They cannot be called human beings, but demons have put on human skin.

"I've already told everything I know—the confession is changed, it's just that the prince doesn't want me to elaborate on his privacy, nothing else."

Yan Chunxi's voice was hoarse, he was horrified, his voice trembled when he spoke, but he still stubbornly insisted on what he said before.

"Really?" Xia Baimei raised his eyebrows, and said calmly: "Mr. Yan, you have to understand that in this Phoenix Pavilion, you not only have a better memory, but also a more flexible mind. There are many things that you think you can't do." I know, but as long as you can guess what I want... and then say it according to what I want in my heart, you can walk out of this Phoenix Pavilion neatly, which is actually not difficult, right?"

Yan Chunxi's complexion was pale. Although he was far away from the government and the public, he was not stupid. At this moment, he already understood what Xia Baimei meant.

He looked at Xia Baimei, and after a long time suddenly said: "You are not trying to judge the case, you just want to frame Prince Ning, what I say is not important to you and Wuyixiang, you have already listed the crimes for him Well, you just need a confession from me—do you?"

Xia Baimei smiled and didn't answer, just lowered his head and slowly fiddled with the crimson iron hook at the tip.

Yan Chunxi's body was trembling slightly because of fear, but at this moment, his eyes did not flinch anymore.

After a long silence, the corners of his mouth even curled up in a sarcasm, and he said coldly: "Everything I said about the confession is true, and I have nothing else to say except what I mentioned before. Commander Xia Well, I don't have what you want."

Yan Chunxi was soberly aware that the intimidation and torture against him were just the most insignificant part of the situation.

Xia Baimei in front of him, and the imperial power behind Xia Baimei, it is not he who really wants to destroy, but Guan Junchen.

He knew that he was too weak, he couldn't help Guan Junchen anything, he could only be a pawn to restrain the opponent, so even Bai Suhan warned him not to talk nonsense before he came.

But how could he talk nonsense?

Even though he is incompetent, even if he fears death and pain, he still thinks about protecting Guan Junchen beyond his capacity.

"Alas," Xia Baimei took a step forward, and a look of unbearableness flashed across Yan Chunxi's eyes, but soon he recovered calm and deep, and smiled slightly: "Mr. Yan, I really don't want to give up." So to you."

Although he spoke in a low voice, before the words fell, the iron hook in his hand pierced into Yan Chunxi's left waist mercilessly with a "puff".

Yan Chunxi's eyes were wide open, and he couldn't even make a sound for a moment.

It wasn't until Xia Baimei spun the hot iron hook around his waist fiercely, smashed the flesh, and then pulled it out suddenly, Yan Chunxi finally couldn't restrain himself anymore.

"Ah, ah...!"

He raised his neck and screamed, the side of his slender neck was bulging with blue veins due to the severe pain.

The iron hook had been roasted red, and when it was pulled out, there was not even a splash of blood, because the temperature was too high, and even the flesh made a sizzling sound, and the wound was scorched.

He was panting heavily, convulsing all over.

Xia Baimei's movements were too fast and sudden, before Guan Junchen could speak, his face turned pale.

His mind was blank. Before he knew it, he had knelt heavily on the cold ground with a "plop".

"emperor,"

He rubbed his knees forward in humiliation, his voice hoarse: "The emperor..."

"Shh."

Emperor Zhou Ying turned his head and looked at him kneeling on the ground, with a faint smile in his eyes, and said calmly: "It's just a little bit of trouble, just keep watching, don't worry."

Guan Junchen secretly clenched his fists, his nails were deeply embedded in his palms, but how could that cover up the sharp pain in his heart like being stabbed by a knife.

At this moment, Xia Baimei looked at Yan Chunxi, and said coldly: "Young Master Yan, are you awake now? Let me ask you again, what do you know, what Prince Ning told you to turn over the confession, and why did he do it?" Forgive you for not dying—there is something strange about it, are you going to say it or not?"

Yan Chunxi's eyes were red, and tears had flowed down at some point, but he still shook his head with difficulty, and said word by word: "I...I have nothing...to say."

The smile on Xia Bai's brow became colder, he grabbed Yan Chunxi's hair that was soaked in cold sweat, and forced Yan Chunxi to raise his head.

"Mr. Yan, this is not Fengge's severe punishment, but it's just a small test. Let me ask you, if I hook you, if it burns on your pretty face, guess if you go out in the future, Prince Ning will look at your damage Is your face still treating you as before? You have been in Fengge for nearly a day. If he wants to save you, he has his own way, but he didn't come, don't you think it's strange? Life is alive, and love It's nothing but falsehood, for others to suffer so hard, you should think about it -- this torture is really worth it?"

Yan Chunxi looked at the crimson iron hook in Xia Baimei's hand that was gradually approaching his face. Although his body was trembling all the time, at this moment, he calmly closed his eyes.

"You do not understand."

he spoke slowly.

"Prince Ning likes me, and I like him too... If he could, he would have come to save me a long time ago. If he didn't come, he would be in danger. How can I blame him? If I can get out, I'll be disfigured Regardless of whether I am disabled or disabled, he will still love me and cherish me as before. Prince Ning and I, my heart, my heart... even with his heart, we are a pair of people who love each other. How can it be false, in this world, there is nothing more solid than this."

The face of this slender young man was covered with cold sweat and tears, and his lips were bitten to pieces. He murmured, "What I want is always very little. I lost my parents and relatives when I was fifteen. All I think about is just him... I want him to give me a lifetime, if I really don't have a life, I will take it day and night; if I don't even have a day and night, then I will perfect myself, even if I die, I will have no regrets."

He closed his eyes, but there was a faint smile on his face at this moment, as if he had gone to a wonderful dreamland.

"Commander Xia, it's worth it, it's all worth it."

he said softly.

In Xia Baimei's eyes, a trace of complex and deep gloom flashed across.

And Guan Junchen knelt in Guanlan Pavilion and listened obsessively. At the end of hearing, he suddenly bent down and knocked his head heavily on the ground.

"emperor."

He stroked the bright yellow boots of Emperor Zhou Ying with his hand, and said in a low voice: "My younger brother is willing to be given the title of Taibao, and my younger brother is also willing to preside over the case of King Pingnan's conspiracy. My younger brother will only rely on the emperor's orders. I don’t want to die. I just ask the emperor to spare Yan Chunxi for the sake of brothers and sisters. He is the love of my younger brother in this life... I beg the emperor to take care of me, and I beg the emperor to show mercy."

He knelt on the ground and kowtowed his head again and again until blood flowed from his forehead.

He no longer has the dignity and pride of the champion of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

……

Emperor Zhou Ying casually moved his boots away: "My good brother, look at the way you wag your tail and beg for mercy. I heard that you entered the capital with the honor of the champion, and I was amused. You thought you could challenge me. .Champion champion, brave champion of the three armies, you know, you can't lose when you are a champion—but all you care about is a little boy, what can you win? Others grabbed your baby, and you begged for mercy, you How can it be worthy of the title bestowed by the late emperor?"

Guan Junchen knelt on the ground in embarrassment, and felt a dull pain in his heart when he heard Zhou Yingdi's words were full of contempt.

"Your Majesty, my younger brother is not worthy." He murmured: "My younger brother dare not disobey the emperor, I just ask the emperor to let Yan Chunxi go, and my younger brother will only follow the emperor's orders."

The heroic appearance and brilliance accompanied by the words "Champion Marquis" are getting farther and farther away from him in the end, and he can no longer be pursued.

Zhou Yingdi smiled, and pressed the secret door next to the transom, and the crisp bell rang.

Suddenly Xia Baimei's hoarse voice came from inside the cell: "Young Master Yan, take a rest and think about what I said to you earlier, I'll go out for a while."

But Yan Chunxi didn't answer.

Guan Junchen was kneeling, so he couldn't see what was going on in the cell, but after hearing Xia Baimei's words, his tight heart was slightly relieved.

Emperor Zhou Ying paced back to the back of the desk and sat on the wide tiger leather chair. He didn't say anything about his body, but Guan Junchen didn't dare to get up privately, so he turned around on his knees, and prostrated himself on the ground again facing Emperor Zhou Ying.

Not long after, Xia Baimei knocked on the door and walked in. He raised his black robe and bowed solemnly to Zhou Yingdi, and then stood beside Zhou Yingdi silently.

Emperor Zhou Ying twirled the sapphire finger on his right thumb with great interest, and said slowly: "Prince Ning, don't be so sad, I will promote you to be a first-rank Taibao—the Sangong of the current dynasty and the pillar of the country. That's enough."

"The emperor is right." Guan Junchen bowed his head and replied.

"Don't panic too much, I never thought of killing this Mr. Yan."

Emperor Zhou Ying continued: "In my opinion, this little thing is alive... far more useful than dead. Tell me, Prince Ning, is this the truth?"

"Your brother is stupid."

"Prince Ning, you really don't understand?"

A hint of sarcasm flashed in Zhou Yingdi's deep eyes: "Then I will tell you clearly that not only do I not want to kill him, but I have never even thought of trying to extract anything from him. Meier, how about You tell him to listen."

Xia Baimei lowered her head slightly when she heard the words, and said in a hoarse voice: "Yes. Prince Ning—the emperor wants to have a humble trial of Young Master Yan, and what he wants is not a confession at all. On the contrary, it is to make Young Master Yan choose to die for the sake of the prince. Think about it ...Young Master Yan is infatuated, if the prince doesn't see it, it would be a pity."

Guan Junchen took a deep breath, and with all his fingers under the sleeves of his robe, his nails were embedded in the cracks of the bricks on the ground, but he seemed to feel no pain, and murmured: "Yes, the emperor has never I thought about killing Yan Chunxi, but I never thought about interrogating him seriously, so taking Yan Chunxi to a cell where he could be watched for punishment was a game I thought about early in the morning."

"Although the emperor knows that his younger brother cares about him, he also understands better that his younger brother has to see things like his punishment, so that his younger brother will feel pain in his heart. The emperor wants his younger brother to love him, and when his younger brother feels sorry for him, naturally everything will come to an end." Listen to the emperor's arrangement. It's just that the emperor, Yan Chunxi is so innocent, the emperor and Commander Xia are as clear as a mirror in their hearts - he doesn't know anything, so he can't recruit anything, he can only suffer this punishment for nothing, even if, even if It's the heart-piercing pain of being scalded by an iron hook, and it's just a bargaining chip used by the emperor to blackmail his younger brother. He is so stupid, so pitiful... The last thing he should have done is to be with his younger brother This sinner is mixed up."

When he said this, thinking of the little boy who had been abused for no reason, his voice finally choked up violently, and he couldn't even hold back his eyes for a moment, and looked up at Emperor Zhou Ying in grief and indignation.

"That's right." Emperor Zhou Ying suddenly stretched out his sleeves and stood up abruptly: "You are the one who was wrong."

"Not only did you resist the edict, but what's more, you dared to enter the capital with honor, the champion of the previous court—what do you want to do? Tell the world that you are still the only champion in a hundred years? Guan Junchen, you are so big! courage!"

Emperor Zhou Ying had always kept his emotions secret, until at this moment the fiery anger finally appeared in his deep eyes.

The anger of the Son of Heaven is like a thunderbolt in the clear sky thousands of miles away, shocking everyone.

"You think you can control me by holding your eyebrows, how absurd you are! I am the sky of thousands of people in the Great Zhou Dynasty, and a true dragon that overlooks the four poles and the wilderness. If I will be controlled by you, how can I be worthy of it?" The word "Tianzi?"

When Emperor Zhou Ying said this, he picked up the inkstone on the desk and threw it straight at Guan Junchen, sternly shouting: "Since ancient times, it has been easy to be a capable minister and difficult to be a virtuous minister, but you, my brother—how dare you be so mad?" Paradox, with your meritorious deeds to frighten the king, do you still have a ruler and his ministers in your heart?"

The inkstone was heavy and windy, but how dare Guan Junchen dodge it.In an instant, there was a "bang" sound, blood flowed out from the forehead, and his fine clothes were stained with blood, and he could only kneel and resist without moving.

"Chendi..." As soon as he opened his mouth, he couldn't help but groaned in a low voice, and then he could only force himself to hold back: "Chendi is guilty, everything is my fault, but the emperor will punish you. "

"But I will punish you, hum, it's a good sentence but I will punish you." Emperor Zhou Ying's face sank like water, and he looked at the wound on Guan Junchen's forehead indifferently: "Prince Ning, I heard that before entering the palace, you sent someone to arrest the emperor. The death-preventing golden sword bestowed upon him has been delivered to Grand Master Yan."

Guan Junchen lowered his head and did not answer immediately.

The golden sword to avoid death is his last and only reliance.

Emperor Zhou Ying's expression gradually returned to calm, he sat back on the tiger leather chair, and slightly gathered the neckline of the fox fur because he was afraid of the cold.

"The gold medal for avoiding death is useful for one day. The golden sword for avoiding death will be used forever. Father, in his heart, really loves you the most."

There was a subtle look in Zhou Yingdi's eyes, and he read leisurely: "Probably Father, he may have vaguely expected that the day when you and I will have a brother Yan Qiang, he opened the Great Zhou Dynasty for you. The unprecedented precedent, even after his death, is still vaguely restricting my every move."

"It's just that Father is confused."

Emperor Zhou Ying sighed for a long time, looked at Guan Junchen and said: "Imperial power and imperial power are the most supreme things in the world. ——The power in my hands cannot be mixed. The golden sword to avoid death is not protecting you, Instead, it hangs high above my head, always reminding me that there are others above me! Father, he is also a Great Zhou Emperor, how could he forget... As the Son of Heaven, this is absolutely impossible The reverse scale that touches!"

"Since I succeeded to the throne, it is precisely this golden sword that has made you a thorn in my side and a thorn in my heart - I have endured it for several years, and now, I don't want to bear it anymore. Prince Ning, you are a smart person, you can Understand what to do?"

Guan Junchen and Emperor Zhou Ying looked at each other, and after a long, long time, his face turned pale, and he replied: "Your brother understands."

"The golden sword of avoiding death restricts the imperial power of future generations and disturbs the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty. This is not tolerated. Since my younger brother has been appointed as the Taibao of the court, I should make it clear to Grand Master Yan at that time that I ask to abolish the effect of the sword. I will not let the emperor Bearing the unfilial fate of disrespecting the last emperor's will."

Guan Junchen said softly: "My brother has obeyed the emperor in everything, and now there is only one wish left in this life-my brother voluntarily handed over the golden sword, and I only ask the emperor to forgive Yan Chunxi."

Emperor Zhou Ying narrowed his eyes and said lightly: "How to forgive?"

"Abolish his status as a criminal slave, let him leave Chang'an, and promise to my younger brother——I will never hurt him again."

"I'm ready."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Before Guan Junchen finished speaking, he kowtowed to the ground for a long time, blood was flowing wantonly on the green bricks.