Fortunate Young Gentleman

The sacrifice at the end of the third year of Dingyuan was very grand. Officials and dignitaries began to gather in front of the palace gate at the hour of Mao.

An hour later, they would set out from the palace, leave the capital, walk to the West Mountain, climb to the altar on the top of the mountain, and witness the sacrificial activities.

The road from the palace to the West Mountain was patrolled by guards all the way. Today, the people in the capital were not allowed to appear on this road.

The sacrifice belonged to the royal family and those dignitaries, and the people still had to work and live their daily lives.

If the West Gate was not open, they would go through the three gates of the east, south and north. If the road in the west was not allowed, they would take a long detour.

At this time, two figures appeared outside the East Gate.

Mr. Xu and the young man did not bring any luggage. They stood outside the East Gate, looked back, and turned around and strode away.

They walked a few miles, and suddenly more than ten figures appeared on the official road in front of them.

A young man in front looked at him and asked, "Where are you going, sir?"

Mr. Xu raised his head, looked at the guards of Prince Kang's mansion, and said, "Go where you should go."

The young man smiled and said, "Shouldn't the place you should go be the palace?"

Mr. Xu said, "Xu's mission has been completed. Your Highness needs to walk the rest of the way by himself."

The young man shook his head and said, "Sir, you should talk to Your Highness yourself about this."

Mr. Xu looked at the young man and said, "Xu has something important to do. I hope Commander Zhang will help me."

"Sorry, I'm just following orders." The young man looked at him and waved, "Take them back."

More than a dozen guards of the palace slowly approached the two.

The young man behind Mr. Xu stepped forward and stood in front of him.

After a moment.

Including Commander Zhang, everyone was lying on the ground, unconscious.

The two led their horses, turned from the official road to the small road, and their figures gradually disappeared.

At this time, on the West Mountain, everything about this festival had been prepared, the offerings and musical instruments were in place, and the Right West Gate Guards were all over the West Mountain, ready to go at any time.

Back Mountain.

A team of twenty people passed through the mountain path, and one person said: "Who doesn't know that the back mountain is a cliff? Is there any need to search?"

The leading lieutenant said: "It's better to be careful. There can't be any mistakes today!"

He looked behind him and said: "Everyone open your eyes and cheer up!"

Everyone was slightly refreshed when they heard it, and looked around.

At a certain moment, someone suddenly exclaimed: "There seems to be someone in front!"

As the voice fell, everyone looked over and saw two figures appearing outside the woods in front. Judging from their clothes, they didn't look like the Right West Gate Guards.

"Stop!"

The lieutenant shouted and ran quickly over there, and everyone behind him followed.

The two men seemed to be a little panicked when they were discovered. They ran into the forest quickly. Under the pursuit of more than 20 people behind them, they ran around, rushed left and right. Although there were only two people, they made the 20 pursuers panting and didn't even touch the corners of their clothes.

More than 20 people chased for a quarter of an hour before finally chasing them to a wide area. The two men stopped running. A pursuer of the right west gate guard behind them leaned on a tree, bent down, looked at them, and panted: "Run, why don't you run..."

Before he finished speaking, his voice stopped abruptly.

Because just as he was speaking, a dense crowd of figures suddenly emerged from the forest behind the two men. At a glance, there were at least hundreds or thousands of people.

The faces of several people changed drastically in an instant. The lieutenant turned around without hesitation and shouted: "Run!"

They just overdrew their physical strength. How could they run faster than Zuo Xiaowei who had rested for a night? They were quickly restrained and pressed to the ground.

Xiao Jue walked out of the crowd, looked at the captured guards of the Right West Gate, and waved his hand, saying, "Strip them!"

...

Tang Ning got up before dawn, washed, changed into his official uniform, and came to the front of the palace.

Although he had many identities, he was wearing the armor of a general this time, and soft armor under the armor.

Even if he had three heads and six arms, he could not resist thousands of troops. In order to be on the safe side, in addition to being fully armed, Tang Ning also arranged for Lao Zheng to accompany him.

On a winter morning, although it did not snow, the cold was still biting. Some old officials in the court stood in front of the palace gate, shivering with cold, but they had to maintain their demeanor, and they could not even reach out to wipe their noses.

However, this was not the hardest time for them. The long journey they were going to take in a while would test their physical strength.

Every royal ceremony was extremely luxurious, with complicated rituals and sophisticated instruments. Every step had strict etiquette regulations.

For example, the distance from the palace to the altar can only be measured by footsteps, and no means of transportation can be used. Even the emperor is no exception. However, Emperor Chen is strong and can walk more than ten miles without any problem, but the old ministers in the court cannot bear it.

Zhang Daxueshi and several really old ministers, like King Huai, were exempted from participating in the ceremony, but some people wanted to grit their teeth and persist.

Tang Ning exchanged glances with Wu Liehou and General Ling and stood in their positions.

When the first ray of light appeared in the eastern sky, a series of bells came from the palace.

Emperor Chen and several princes, under the protection of the imperial guards, walked out of the palace, followed by a mighty ceremonial team, and then a band of more than a hundred people.

The royal guard of honor, together with the dignitaries and some followers, stretched for several miles. Tang Ning had been in Beijing for many years, and it was the first time he had seen such a large procession.

Prince Kang was no longer a prince. His position was behind Prince Duan and Prince Run, and even behind Prince Fu. He was not far in front of Tang Ning.

Tang Ning had been keeping an eye on Prince Kang from the beginning, but his expression did not fluctuate from beginning to end.

When Tang Ning first met Prince Kang, his emotions were clearly visible on his face. You could tell what he was thinking by looking at his expression, but since when, he often showed this expressionless look, and you couldn't guess what he was thinking at all.

After a person has experienced a major setback or misfortune, his temperament may change dramatically, but the change of Prince Kang is still shocking.

While Tang Ning was observing Prince Kang, Prince Kang was also observing Emperor Chen.

The one walking in front of the civil and military officials and the royal family was naturally the one with the most respected status. Only the emperor could walk in that position.

And that position would soon be his.

Thinking of this, even though he had already mastered the skill of not showing his emotions, he couldn't help but smile.

Chen Huang was walking in front, and suddenly he felt something and looked back.

But there was nothing behind him except the slowly moving team...

[ps: Xiao Langjun published the book on May 24 last year, and it has been exactly one year now...]