Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 215 Palace of Eternal Life

Xixiuling.

Lishan Mountain is as beautiful as a brocade and is known as "Xiuling". It is divided into East and West Xiuling. The mountains look beautiful from a distance, but in fact they are also very tall and straight as a remnant of the Qinling Mountains.

Huaqing Palace used Lishan Mountain as a natural peripheral defense. During the expansion, it also built a road up the mountain called "Jade Chariot Road". Many palaces were built on the mountain, all belonging to the outer garden category. If the saint wanted to climb the mountain, he could go from Huaqing Palace Exit Zhaoyang Gate from the forbidden area and take Yuchaan Road.

It was night, Xue Bai and Yang Yuhuan did not dare to enter the forbidden area through Zhaoyang Gate, so they had to climb to Xixiuling.

"Just around here, find her!"

"Look for it! Let's also have a taste of Concubine Yang..."

Screams came from the woods at the foot of the mountain.

Yang Yuhuan was stepping on Xue Bai's shoulders and trying to climb up a cliff. Hearing this, he was frightened to death.

She lifted the stone up with both hands, but was so weak that she almost fell down.

"I can't do it anymore. I can't get up."

"Good enough."

Xue Bai knew that even if the imperial guards settled the emperor and turned around to put down the rebellion, they would not be able to find her right away. Since Yang Yuhuan was the most important person in the outer garden now, those rebel forces would come here to find her.

He felt the body on his shoulders swaying and hurriedly reached out to support her.

"I push you."

"Ah."

"Step on my hand and then climb again."

"No, I really can't. It's too shaking. I don't dare..."

"Go up."

After struggling with his hands, he finally pushed the imperial concubine up. Xue Bai was very tired. Before he could take a breath, he saw the light of fire behind him.

It was the traitors who were throwing torches around looking for people and setting Merlin on fire.

"I'll pull you." Yang Yuhuan put down the colored silk on his body, "Come up quickly."

"You can't hold me back, I'll tie you to a tree."

"it is good."

Xue Bai then climbed up the cliff, still taking back the silk cloth and wrapping it around her body to prevent the opera robe from being too obvious.

While doing this, he found that a lot of the flower buds on Yang Yuhuan's head had fallen off. Looking down the cliff, he quickly pushed down the fallen leaves and sand, hoping to cover up the traces.

"Gotta go."

It was difficult to walk in the mountains and forests, so Yang Yuhuan followed Xue Bai closely, pinching him several times because bugs fell on her neck, but luckily she didn't scream.

"Where is that?" Xue Bai asked, pointing to the palace with light above.

"This should be the Chaoyuan Pavilion, which is the sacrificial hall dedicated to Laojun and Laomu."

"Go over there."

Yang Yuhuan grabbed Xue Bai and asked, "Why did you go there? What if those guards are also traitors..."

There should not be many rebels tonight, but the bigger problem is that they have destroyed the trust of the nobles in the guards. In the dark night, no one knows whether the oncoming group of people are guards or rebels.

This is also the reason why Chen Xuanli refused to open the inner palace door, not because he was afraid of traitors, but because he was afraid of traitors sneaking in.

Seeing that Yang Yuhuan was really scared, Xue Bai took another look and found that there was a small area of ​​palace buildings below Chaoyuan Pavilion, and there were not many lights around.

"Where is that?"

"Huh? It should be the Bailu Hall, where the ministers stay during sacrifices."

"Go over there."

After pushing aside the thorns and climbing over a small mountain col, Xue Bai supported Yang Yuhuan and finally walked to the Jade Carriage Road. There were several unmanned pavilions in front of him.

The moonlight comes out from the clouds, and you can vaguely see the plaques on it, including the Palace Resident Zouma Tower, Jiling Platform, Bailu Hall... among them there is a small hall named "Eternal Life Hall".

Xue Bai originally thought that this was the place where Emperor Ming of Tang Dynasty and Concubine Yang Guifei vowed to each other, but looking at the surrounding environment at this time, it obviously didn't look like it. The Changsheng Hall should be just the front fasting hall, where people fast during sacrifices, and then go to Chaoyuan Pavilion and Laojun Hall on the mountain.

It's not a place for falling in love.

Yang Yuhuan was a little scared and pulled his clothes.

"Shhh."

The two then walked towards the Zhaidian.

Xue Bai is not a theater fan, but in his previous life, he often accompanied some elderly people to watch theaters. He still remembers watching a Kunqu opera "The Palace of Eternal Life". The script was extremely beautiful. The description of the sleeping posture is "a ball of ruby, lying on the side under a mandarin quilt"; the description of bathing is "peeping quietly, the graceful body is like floating waves, with dew and radiance", but this kind of description focuses on the color, Not in high style.

In terms of beauty, at this time he turned his head and glanced under the moonlight. Although he only saw her face, she was already more beautiful than in the play.

Xue Bai couldn't help but look up and look at the three words "Eternal Life Palace" on the plaque above, and protected Yang Yuhuan in.

……

There are a few candles in the temple, but they are not enough to illuminate the entire temple.

Closing the door softly, the slight firelight no longer swayed.

Yang Yuhuan looked at Xue Bai first and was surprised to see that he was covered in blood.

"Are you injured?"

"Small injury." Xue Bai waved his hand and sat down beside the pillar.

Yang Yuhuan did not dare to stay too far away from him. He also sat down by the pillar and asked in a low voice: "Are you going to be okay? What should I do?"

"fine."

"you……"

She seemed to want to say something grateful, but didn't know where to start.

After a while, Xue Bai felt her embarrassment and said, "Protect the imperial concubine, as a minister should do."

"Well, then you... I will remember your kindness. As a younger brother, you risked your life to save my sister. I will treat you like a real brother."

"Thank you, sister."

Yang Yuhuan stretched out her hand and touched him gently, as if she wanted to check his injuries, but finally thought that she didn't understand, so she had to give up.

Fortunately, gradually, the shouts of the imperial guards could be heard from the foot of the mountain, indicating that the rebellion had subsided. She then felt at ease.

"Are you okay? Let the doctor take a look at you later."

"Don't worry, sister, it's really a minor injury."

"I don't believe you."

As he spoke, Yang Yuhuan had calmed down. Recalling the thrill just now, he patted his heart and said: "It's a pity that the play is not over yet. If we sing in the future, Fa Hai will be missing." "

"There will be someone more suitable." Xue Bai said: "Even if General Gao cuts his head and sings, it will definitely be good."

"You're still joking at this time of year." Yang Yuhuan scolded and finally relaxed.

It was still late at night, and waiting was boring, but she remembered something.

"I've wanted to ask you for a long time, are there any poems in the plays you changed? That "To Compare the West Lake to the West" is so exquisite, wouldn't it be a pity that it doesn't have a prelude."

"There is."

As we talked, we naturally came up with the song "Magpie Bridge Immortal" because Xue Bai quoted the last two lines of it in the play "The Legend of the White Snake".

"The thin clouds make tricks, the flying stars spread hatred, and the silvery autumn light dims. When gold, wind, jade and dew meet, they will defeat countless people in the world."

"By the way, tonight is Chinese Valentine's Day." Yang Yuhuan suddenly thought of this.

She stood up and walked softly to the incense table in the palace. When she looked around, she saw incense boxes, fans, vase flowers, gold basins, and silver vases for blessing.

So he walked back to Xue Bai and asked in a low voice: "Can I hold some incense? The traitors won't come after me, right?"

"Sister, please."

Yang Yuhuan then lit the incense stick and bowed to the sky outside the window.

"I am a Yang Yuhuan, I burn the incense in my heart, pray to the twin stars, pray for blessings. Pray..."

She stopped mid-sentence, unable to express her wish.

Xue Bai looked at it and couldn't help thinking that this noble concubine seemed to be innocent and romantic, but in fact she might not understand her situation... She was afraid that it would not last long, and she even knew that it would not last long.

Too beautiful things are often fragile and perishable. How can a flower that blooms the brightest not be afraid of withering?

After a long time, Yang Yuhuan looked back, with tears streaming down her face.

~~

"Concubine?"

"Concubine!"

On Xixiuling, shouts suddenly rang out.

The Palace of Eternal Life was still quiet. Xue Bai and Yang Yuhuan had hid behind the incense table and remained silent.

They were worried that the rebels were pretending to be guards, so they refused to go out despite the shouts.

He hid like this for a long time, until a familiar voice came.

"Concubine, are you okay? It's the old slave. The old slave has brought someone here! Concubine, where are you?"

"Yongxin has also come to pick you up, noble concubine..."

Yang Yuhuan felt relieved, stood up, and said happily: "General Gao and Yongxin are here, let's go out."

"Wait a minute."     "What's wrong?"

"Sister, please hide in Bailu Hall and show up again. It's not appropriate to be discovered with me." Xue Bai said, "If others ask, just say that I escorted you here and you can't hold on any longer."

He was worried that Yang Yuhuan would not immediately understand the meaning of his words.

But Yang Yuhuan understood immediately.

"Okay, I'll bring someone to heal you soon."

She ran for two steps, then turned back, leaned over and asked, "By the way, what do you want? I'll ask for it for you."

"It would be great if I could be promoted."

"You."

Yang Yuhuan scolded and cautiously went to the back hall.

The fragrant wind drifted far away, the Changsheng Palace was silent, and Xue Bai sat alone in the darkness.

He could finally calm down and continue to think about why there was such a rebellion. Could it be that it was originally there but not recorded? If it is said that Liu Huaneng came to the Outer Palace because of "The Legend of White Snake", what other changes have occurred besides that?

Generally speaking, the reason can be found when you think of opera.

But Xue Bai’s past work experience reminded him not to take things for granted. As a result, everything he had done since his rebirth was recalled in his mind. Stir-fried vegetables, dominoes, poetry, boulder cannons, bamboo paper, newspapers...

"The Number One Scholar!"

The door of the palace was pushed open, and Guo Qianli strode in, shouting: "Are you okay?"

The light from the torch was very dazzling, Xue Bai looked away and found that all the furnishings in the palace were very new, and then thought that Huaqing Palace had just been expanded.

He was not involved in this matter... No, actually he was.

It was because he asked the teacher to remind Fang Guan that the budget for the expansion of Huaqing Palace in the Right Prime Minister's Office was too high. Fang Guan presided over the construction of Huaqing Palace; and because of him, it was not completed yet. Fang Guan was demoted due to the Pei Mian case. .

No, it’s not Donggong. If Donggong had the guts to rebel, it would definitely not be a small fight like this.

Thinking of this, Xue Bai was helped out of the Palace of Eternal Life by Guo Qianli himself.

Gao Lishi was leading everyone out of Bailu Hall, with Xu Hezi and Zhang Yunrong supporting Yang Yuhuan. When Xue Baiqia saw Yang Yuhuan looking towards him, he simply closed his eyes and fainted.

~~

"In addition, the construction of Huaqing Palace has been supervised by Li Linfu and Wang Xie. They have been in Chang'an for a long time, and the actual affairs are presided over by Fang Guan. After Fang Guan was released, he was replaced by Zhang Jun, the minister of household affairs."

"If I remember correctly, in the 26th year of Kaiyuan, Zhang Jun sent Raozhou to be the governor, and Fang Guan was sent back to the court after Fang Guan left the capital. Who was in charge of this matter before Zhang Jun arrived in the capital?"

"Guo Yan, a doctor from the Ministry of Industry, Wang Wean, a doctor from the Ministry of Household Affairs...as well as Li Xi, the magistrate of Zhaoying County, and Da Xifu, the county magistrate."

The list is very long, and they are the ministers whom Li Longji had planned to praise and reward not long ago.

Zhang Jun is the son of the famous prime minister Zhang Shuo and the brother of the consort Zhang Bian; Guo Yan is the son of the famous general Guo Xuji, whose sister is Li Longji's concubine, who gave birth to the eternal king Li Lin; Wang Weng is the son of Wang Xian Younger brother: Li Xi comes from the Li family in Zhao County.

In other words, the construction of Huaqing Palace involved all kinds of people, including princes, prime ministers, relatives, generals, princes, and aristocratic families. Li Longji could not see any of them planning such an assassination.

Chen Xuanli did not think that any of these princes and important ministers would have planned such a rebellion, and responded: "I think that some of the ministers who built Huaqing Palace made mistakes, which led to the monsters and thieves taking advantage of the outer palace wall and the terrain of Lishan Mountain. , I will investigate it carefully."

After saying that, he knelt down on the ground and asked for forgiveness: "The guards also made some mistakes in this matter. Please forgive me."

Li Longji personally stepped forward to help him up and sighed: "Get up and say, what's going on?"

"There is a halberd-wielding man in Zuo Yulin's army. His name is Li Xiao. I'm afraid this name is fake. I'm still checking. Tonight, it was he who led the people to kill Cao Cao to join the military and took twenty-seven auxiliary weapons from the arsenal. Armor; it was also he who killed Sige, who was in charge of patrolling Lishan Mountain, and led the demon thieves into the outer garden..."

Beiya said there were six armies, but in fact the left and right Shenwu armies were empty, and there were only four armies: the left and right Longwu armies and the left and right Yulin armies. The Habayashi Army is often responsible for the peripheral defense of the palace.

In this way, Li Longji is not too surprised to get Chen Xuanli.

"Li Xiao? Captured?"

Chen Xuanli felt ashamed and replied: "No. This person should have escaped. He was able to leave Lishan at night. He probably changed his name and had officials to cover his escape."

"How did this person join the Yulin Army?"

"He was selected from the Hedong Army. The name in the military register is true. He probably had a premeditated plan and surrendered anonymously to the army. But the accent cannot be faked. The Yulin Army said he was from Hanoi."

Li Longji had no clue for the time being and could only let Chen Xuanli continue to investigate.

"Block the news, and it is strictly forbidden to spread what happened tonight."

"According to the decree...will your Majesty return to Chang'an?"

Li Longji frowned imperceptibly at first, then laughed loudly and said: "General Chen underestimated my courage. Can a few innocuous thieves with such a disease be able to scare me out of Huaqing Palace? Not only am I I want to stay, and I want to stay for a long time.”

"Your Majesty is very powerful and has the style of Taizong."

Chen Xuanli flattered him again before resigning.

Li Longji took two steps with his hands behind his back, thinking about the various possibilities of this matter. Although he was inclined to think that there was no prince or minister as the main culprit, he thought that someone must have secretly connived at these demon thieves.

Everyone is suspect.

With a gloomy face, he faced the royal couch alone, reaching out and touching the golden dragon embroidery, as if touching a beautiful woman.

After a while, he calmed down, turned around and looked at Gao Lishi, and asked, "Is Taizhen okay?"

"Back to Your Majesty, the imperial concubine escaped all the way to Lishan Mountain and is safe and sound."

Gao Lishi answered, with a smile on his face, and added: "She was wearing Bai Suzhen's makeup, how could others recognize the imperial concubine? She could also run away, but in a short time, she had already escaped to Bailu Hall. .”

"It's okay." Li Longji said: "If Taizhen is hurt in the slightest, I will never spare these people!"

This time, even Gao Lishi was not sure who the "those people" mentioned by the saint were. He only knew that next, everyone would have to face the problem of how to regain the trust of the saint.

He even vaguely felt that the saint was even slightly alienated from the imperial concubine, which seemed impossible.

Although the imperial concubine insists on acting in "The Legend of White Snake", no one should doubt that the imperial concubine is...

~~

In the official residence of Taile Department.

"Does the No. 1 Scholar only have this wound?" the imperial doctor asked after checking the injury.

Xue Bai looked very weak and murmured: "Yes, the only major skin injury is this one."

"Zhuangyuanlang's body looks thicker than usual, and the knife did not damage any muscles or bones... He must have fainted due to excessive blood loss."

Xue Bai said: "I fought with the thief and was severely injured several times. It must have hurt my lungs. My internal organs still feel pain at this time."

"Yes, I understand, I understand. Zhuangyuanlang's injury... is still very serious. I will prescribe more medicine for you."

"Thank you, the miracle doctor."

"Farewell, No. 1 Scholar, don't worry. There's really no need to see you off. You're seriously injured, so I'll take care of you. Oh, Mrs. Guo Guo's reward is too heavy, so I... I'll accept it."

After the imperial doctor left, Yang Yuyao sat down beside Xue Bai's couch with a worried look on her face.

When the assassination occurred, she was in the stands. She was surrounded by the crowd and followed the saint into the palace immediately. She was safe and sound. But she didn't expect that Wangjing Gate would be closed soon.

For this matter, she actually made a big fuss in the inner palace at that time, but it had no effect and she didn't bother to mention it today.

Now that Xue Bai is injured, as the righteous sister, she can see it openly. Just seeing this young man who used to be so lively and energetic became so ill, she was also very sad.

"you really……"

It was him who saved Yang Yuhuan. She couldn't blame him. She didn't know what to say.

Xue Bai didn't expect Yang Yuyao to be so concerned and couldn't help but smile.

"Still laughing?"

"Third sister, don't worry. I'll tell you a secret, and you can listen to it."

Yang Yuyao then listened and went over.

Just listen to Xue Bai whisper: "It's really a small injury. To put it more seriously, it seems that the credit is great."

"Really?"

"You'll see if you try it. Third sister, do you want to see me do some activities?"

Yang Yuyao glanced at the door and whispered, "Why don't you try it? What if the wound is stretched open?"

"It doesn't matter, be gentle."

"You really are." Yang Yuyao pushed Xue Bai and said angrily: "I don't see you coming to see me often, but now you are injured, but you are in high spirits. Keep it up, it is not suitable to take a bath now, I despise the blood all over your body Mud smell.”

While they were talking, Mingzhu ran to say that Xie Aman was here again.

Yang Yuyao didn't want to leave today and asked Mingzhu to stop him while she talked about business with Xue Bai.

"You have made a great contribution this time. I guess Lieutenant Zhaoying is not enough to reward you for your contribution, right?"

"The credit must be there, and it's not small..."

Xue Bai pondered, and had been thinking about this matter, and said slowly: "But from the perspective of a saint, now is definitely not the time to reward based on merit. Until the truth is unknown, everyone is suspicious."

"What suspicion can you have?" Yang Yuyao said: "That play was not planned by you. How can a saint still doubt Yuhuan?"

"Da Xifu."

"what?"

"Da Xifu is in big trouble." Xue Bai said, "I just made a deal with him and have frequent interactions with him."

Yang Yuyao was very puzzled and asked: "Will this also have an impact?"

"The main thing is to see the saint's current mood." Xue Bai couldn't guess Li Longji, and mused: "The problem is not serious, but I am somewhat suspicious. The important thing is that we can't let him bite."

"Why did he bite you?"

After hearing Yang Yuyao's words, Xue Bai couldn't help but smile and said: "There are many people he wants to bite."

　Chapter 2: Post it in the morning, don’t wait~~

　　

　

(End of this chapter)