Jinghong Tower

Chapter 351 Mutation
Although the Earl of Yan'an was a scoundrel, he was still a military general.

These eunuchs who were short of flesh and blood were no match for him.

He was kicked away before he even touched the corner of his clothes.

Liu Shanhe gave a wink and an official walked out along the wall, trying to slip away in the chaos and call the Jinwu Guards or the Jinyi Guards over.

Yan'an Bo's ears are alert and his eyes are alert in all directions. He has never been to the battlefield in his life. All the skills that his father forced him to learn with a whip when he was a child were used here.

"You are a yellow croaker, and you still know how to slip away. What? Do you want these good-for-nothings to pester me, and then you can contact your accomplices and gather a crowd to force me to abdicate? I was right. You just want to rebel!"

Everyone is capable of throwing dirty water and putting labels on others. Whatever you just said about me, I will return it to you in its original form.

It was at this time that A Bao came in. He gritted his teeth and said to Liu Shanhe, "Liu, Prime Minister Liu, His Majesty, His Majesty asked me to invite you over. I have something to discuss with you."

Liu Shanhe secretly breathed a sigh of relief, finally he didn't have to face the rude man Yan'anbo.

When Liu Shanhe meets the Earl of Yan'an, it's like a scholar meeting a soldier and he can't explain himself clearly.

But Liu Shanhe still underestimated the unreasonableness of Earl Yan'an.

"Oh, that's perfect. Since His Majesty wants to discuss matters with Prime Minister Liu, why don't we go along too? It will be more fun with more people, right?"

Liu Shanhe: Bullshit!
Duke Dingguo said loudly: "Yes, yes, let's go together!"

Several other nobles and the old clan members also echoed: "Let's go, let's go with Prime Minister Liu."

Liu Shanhe: I don’t need you to accompany me.

But there was no way out; these people clung to him like a dog-skin plaster.

The emperor finally waited for Liu Shanhe, but he never expected that Liu Shanhe did not come alone, but was followed by more than a dozen people.

None of these dozen people are the ones the emperor wants to see.

Eunuch Xia smiled and said, "My Lords, why don't you go to the next room and have some tea first?"

Before Eunuch Xia could finish his words, Earl Yan'an interrupted him: "Drink, drink, drink! It's already this hour and you still only know how to drink. You are already quite old, why are you so ignorant?"

Eunuch Xia.
In the past, the emperor would just give these scoundrels a look and they would have quietly retreated no matter how unwilling they were.

But today these people acted as if they were not going to leave even if the king of kings came.

The emperor thought to himself that this was not good, and that he was trying to force the emperor to abdicate.

When Eunuch Xia saw that things were going badly, he turned around and ran outside, but as soon as he moved, he was knocked to the ground by a sweeping kick from Duke Dingguo.

Upon hearing the news, Yan Mi hurriedly brought people over, but he couldn't even enter the imperial study as he was stopped by two generals.

"Commander Yan, His Majesty is in a meeting inside, you'd better not go in."

Yan Mi knew what was going on as soon as he saw it. He glanced at the people he brought with him, more than twenty of them. It was not impossible for him to force his way in, but people like Duke Dingguo and Earl Yan'an must have a backup plan.

As soon as this thought flashed through his mind, Yan Mi saw Jinwu Guard Commander Su Shilong rushing towards him with a group of people.

Yan Mi was very happy, as he and Su Shilong had some friendship.

"Old Su, you've come at the right time. Duke Dingguo and Earl Yan'an are now in the imperial study, intending to force the emperor to abdicate!"

Su Shilong hummed, stretched out his arm and put it on Yan Mi's shoulder, and said with a smile: "Old Yan, come here, I want to talk to you about something."

Yan Mi was stunned. When did Su Shilong develop this habit of putting his arms around others' shoulders?
But the next moment, he felt Su Shilong's big hand tightly clamped on his shoulder blade like an iron clamp.

"you"

He turned back suddenly and found that the people he brought had been separated by the Jinwu Guards, and Su Shilong had a sharp knife in his hand.

Yan Mi suppressed his anger and asked, "Lao Su, we have worked together for several years and we have some friendship. Why did you do this today?"

Su Shilong still had that frivolous smile on his face: "Yan Mi, you are the dog raised by the King of Qi, but I am not!"

Yan Mi was horrified, his eyes wide open with anger. He still remembered the flattering look on Su Shilong's face when they were on their way south.

Yan Mi has always believed that although Su Shilong was not one of the emperor's old team members in Qingzhou, he must be a loyal dog.

Since when did the loyal dog turn into an ungrateful wolf?

The situation in the imperial study was still tense when a military officer hurried in. He wanted to whisper something in Duke Dingguo's ear, but Duke Dingguo shouted, "There are no outsiders here. Just say whatever you want to say."

The military officer looked at Duke Dingguo, then at the emperor whose face was uncertain, and said loudly: "Jinyiwei Commander Yan Mi was trying to force the emperor to abdicate, but he has been arrested!"

One could hear a pin drop in the imperial study. The emperor felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave. Even Liu Shanhe, who was usually as steady as a rock, had a flash of anxiety in his eyes.

The emperor has been lying dormant in Qingzhou for many years, and of course he has his own troops under his command. At this time, those troops are stationed outside the city of Jinling. With just one signal, they will rush into the city to protect him.

Liu Shanhe's assassins and followers were also in the farm outside the city at this time.

Just before this morning's court session, neither the emperor nor Liu Shanhe had imagined that the situation would take such a sudden turn for the worse.

But it was too late now. They were trapped in this small imperial study. Even though there were tens of thousands of troops outside the city, they could not move.

The Earl of Yan'an sneered: "Your Majesty, at this moment, do you still want to continue to indulge Liu Shanhe, a corrupt old man who perverts the law?"

Liu Shanhe's heart sank. He underestimated the Earl of Yan'an.

He thought that the Earl of Yan'an was just a rough man, but he didn't expect that he was actually an old fox.

What the Earl of Yan'an said was to give the emperor a ladder to find a step.

It depends on whether the emperor is willing to go down the ladder.

Liu Shanhe understood the emperor and knew that the emperor would definitely take the ladder.

As expected, the emperor looked distressed. He looked at Liu Shanhe and said in a sad tone, "Lord Liu, why did you do this? Are the things that are said outside true? Have you really committed corruption and abuse of power?"

Liu Shanhe narrowed his eyes. The most urgent thing was to leave the palace.

"I feel guilty about your grace, and I am willing to go to the Dali Temple to await trial."

The Earl of Yan'an said, "You want to go to the Dali Temple and let your assassins rescue you? You wish!"

Before he finished speaking, Duke Dingguo suddenly raised his hand and an arrow from his sleeve shot out!

No one expected that Duke Dingguo actually had a hidden weapon on him. Liu Shanhe had no time to dodge, and the arrow from his sleeve shot into his throat.

All this happened so fast, so fast that even the Earl of Yan'an, who had been standing next to Duke Dingguo, was unable to react.

How is this going?

Why did Duke Dingguo kill Liu Shanhe?

When they discussed it before, weren't they planning to take advantage of this opportunity to make some trouble?

Since arriving in Jinling, the nobles still enjoy their glory, but it is not as good as before.

The emperor reused the old team from Qingzhou. The nobles who were once powerful in the capital could only serve as wooden stakes in the court and no longer had a say.

The Earl of Yan'an was one of them. Ever since the scandal broke out in the Earl's mansion, he had lost all face.

He would be laughed at even for taking his bird for a walk.

After coming to Nanjing, this situation not only did not change, but it was even worse than that of the capital.

Earl Yan'an was so depressed that he wanted to bang his head against the wall.

So after the morning court today, Duke Dingguo discussed with him that he wanted to embarrass Liu Shanhe and then take the opportunity to discuss the conditions with the emperor. Earl Yan'an agreed without even thinking about it.

Yes, as long as the person on the throne was surnamed Zhou and as long as it did not affect his title, they were all the same in the eyes of Earl Yan'an. Even he himself did not believe his impassioned speeches.

The current emperor is not the descendant of Taizu, so it has nothing to do with him. Even if he is not the descendant of Taizu, he is still a member of the Zhou family.

Isn't it better now that there is a scandal?
As for Liu Shanhe, Earl Yan'an had long disliked him. If he could take the opportunity to get this old guy to step aside, it would certainly be a good thing.

Before this moment, Earl Yan'an had always thought that he was the protagonist of today's drama.

So he has been working hard.

However, Earl Yan'an never expected that Duke Dingguo would not only take action, but also kill Liu Shanhe with one move.

Although the Earl of Yan'an was a reckless person, he grew up in the imperial city after all. There was nothing he didn't understand about everything that happened.

He was used by Duke Dingguo. In this play, Duke Dingguo was the protagonist.

Liu Shanhe's body shook, but fell to the ground.

The emperor looked at all this in horror. He looked at Duke Dingguo and said, "You, you are colluding with He Ran?"

Duke Dingguo smiled coldly: "He Ran?"

The emperor understood that the person behind Duke Dingguo was not He Ran, and it was very likely that there was no one behind him.

"Jing Wenguang, do you want to rebel?"

Duke Dingguo shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, please write a letter of apology immediately to calm the people's anger."

The emperor was stunned. Duke Dingguo didn't ask him to give up the throne, but asked him to write a letter of apology?

Isn’t it Duke Dingguo who wants the throne?
The emperor became suspicious, but he also knew that he had no choice at this moment.

The most urgent task is to save lives.

Since Duke Dingguo asked him to write a confession of guilt, it means he doesn't want him to die yet.

As long as you are alive, there is hope.

"Okay, I'll write it."

Eunuch Xia came over and offered the emperor writing brush and ink. The emperor picked up the brush, thought for a moment, and then began to write.

The room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Earl Yan'an was filled with fear and trepidation. He stole a glance at Duke Dingguo and saw that Duke Dingguo looked calm, but the confidence between his brows made Earl Yan'an even more frightened.

Compared to himself, Duke Dingguo was the one who came well prepared.

Everything that happened today, Lord Quan, and those courtiers who were determined to do their best in the court, the officials who gathered outside the palace, and the royal family members who were crying and wailing.

Yes, he was really stupid. He actually thought these people came spontaneously.

Bullshit spontaneous action! These people were summoned by Duke Dingguo. Duke Dingguo is playing a big game!
The Earl of Yan'an lowered his voice and said to Duke Dingguo, "You really didn't cooperate with He Ran?"

Duke Dingguo looked at him as if he were a fool, and said in a low voice that only the two of them could hear: "Will I cooperate with He Ran?"

Earl of Yan'an was confused. What did Duke Dingguo mean? Was he cooperating with He Ran?
However, Earl of Yan'an still felt that Duke Dingguo would not cooperate with He Ran.

No reason, just intuition.

The emperor's edict of apology was finally written. Duke Dingguo took it and read it. He was quite satisfied with it.

He watched the emperor stamp the imperial seal on the edict, and then Duke Dingguo said to Eunuch Xia: "Your Majesty is tired. From today on, I will trouble Eunuch Xia to take care of Your Majesty personally."

This is what house arrest means.

The emperor opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but when he saw Liu Shanhe still lying on the ground, he ended up saying nothing.

The emperor returned to his own bedroom. Outside the bedroom, Su Shilong led the Jinwu Guards to guard it. From that day on, the emperor could only stay in the bedroom.

After the edict of repentance was issued, the people's emotions were temporarily calmed down. Duke Dingguo returned to the mansion and went straight into the study.

The wife of the Duke did not know what happened in the palace, but Jinling was not at peace today. News from outside would reach her ears from time to time. She vaguely guessed that all this was related to her husband.

Looking at the withering branches in the vase, my eyes gradually lost focus.

It was not until late at night that Duke Dingguo returned to the inner house, where he saw that his wife was still awake and waiting for him.

Just as he was about to say something, he heard the Duke's wife say, "You did all this for Princess Huishan, right? After so many years, you still haven't let it go?"

Duke Dingguo was stunned. It was not a good feeling to have someone hit the nail on the head.

He sat down silently, and said calmly: "Don't let your imagination run wild."

The Duke's wife laughed at herself and said, "If I had known that you had a relationship with her, I would never have married you."

Back then, it was not until many years after she got married that she found out that the man who had always gotten along with her indifferently had actually been in love with another woman.

Princess Huishan, the daughter of the late crown prince, a person who had long been dead.

But the Duke's wife knew that Princess Huishan was not dead.

When the late crown prince died, Princess Huishan and Princess Meishan were still infants. They were not raised in the deep palace, but were sent to Ci'en Temple, where they were raised by the nuns.

Princess Huishan met the young Duke Dingguo when she was a teenager, and they fell in love.

But it was destined that Princess Huishan would never be betrothed to a powerful family.

On the way to marrying far away, Duke Dingguo devised a plan to escape and rescue Princess Huishan, but he did not expect that his plan would be ruined by Liu Shanhe, who sent people to kidnap Princess Huishan and made her pregnant with his child.

Over the past decade, Duke Dingguo felt heartbroken every time he thought of this matter.

The Duke's wife heard him roaring in her dreams countless times.

The Duke's wife smiled sadly: "Some people must have suspected that you and He Ran were in collusion. In fact, they are all wrong. How could you like He Ran? In your heart, there is only her.

I really want to meet her. What merits and abilities does she have to make two high-ranking officials, one civil and one military, fall in love with her?"

This is also what the Duke's wife has never been able to figure out.

Although she had never seen Princess Huishan, she had heard from many people that Princess Huishan was just an average-looking woman and not a beauty.

Whether it's Liu Shanhe or Duke Dingguo, what kind of beauty have they not seen?
If it was because of power, then it would be unnecessary. Although Princess Huishan was born into a noble family, the former crown prince had died long ago, and his death was so miserable. It was a blessing that Princess Huishan and her sisters were able to live and grow up.