Chapter 179 Chapter 23 Be honest with each other

Chu Qiao had never seen Zhuge Yue sleep like this before. As soon as he boarded the boat from Cangzhou, he fell asleep and didn't open his eyes all day and night. He didn't even know that Chu Qiao came in.Yue Qi said that since the day Zhenhuang set off, he hasn't had a good night's sleep, and he hasn't even closed his eyes after turning from Xianyang to the dry road. He must be extremely tired at the moment. Zhuge Yue's health is actually not very good, she has seen him take a kind of jet-black pill in private while traveling these few days.She went to ask Yue Qi in private, but he was vague. Duoji had a little understanding of medicine, and later told Chu Qiao that Zhuge Yue must have been overworked, lack of energy, and cold.

Caused by overwork and cold... Chu Qiao sat on the chair with her chin propped up. The boat was sailing smoothly, the weather was good, there was no wind and no waves, and the windows were closed, but she could still see the green mountains and green waters going away one after another through the window paper. She remembered the time when she was forced to flee to Bian Tang by Zhao Chun'er, when she and Liang Shudai were bought by the Zhan family as slaves, when she was injured, Liang Shudai ran out to cook for her cheerfully , she was lying alone in the small cabin, watching the scenery outside through the only window. One day it rained heavily, and she heard the hissing of meteors in her sleep. She rushed out, but was taken away by the big ship. Farther and farther away, finally I can no longer see the spring bank of the south of the Yangtze River with lingering drizzle.

At that time, Zhan Ziyu and Zhan Ziming's brothers and sisters were still unknown and downcast people, Li Ce was still alive and well, and was his handsome prince in the Tang Dynasty, and Mr. Wu and Miss Yu were still striving for their ideals with all their strength. Yan Xun is still her best friend and lover who grew up together, and she is also full of confidence in the future, thinking that she can rely on her own strength, with the help of a group of like-minded friends, to do her best for this devastated world power. It's a pity that time is still the most ruthless killing weapon in the world after all.Li Ce is gone, Mr. Wu was killed, Miss Yu died in her arms, Zhan Ziyu killed all her relatives with her own ambition, and the like-minded friends she thought were not as loyal as she imagined. Two, before the power and the emperor, many people gradually left her, and even Yan Xun went further and further away from her, and finally became a stranger.

The country has fallen, the hegemony has ceased to be mentioned, and the ideal has turned into ashes with the wind, like the weeds at the end of autumn, shaking the barren and yellow leaves and laughing at the oaths of the past. Yes, who can change, even if she is today, is she the same as before? She turned her head gently, Zhuge Yue was still sleeping quietly.He is really an awkward and stubborn person. Even when he is asleep, his brows are furrowed, his pair of sharp eyes are covered by eyelids, and his distinct facial features are more and more prominent. His nose bridge is high, his lips are thin, and his outline is sharp .

I heard that people with such a face are always indifferent, but he is the only one who is so persistent, so stubborn, so stubborn that it makes people feel distressed. Zhuge Yue asked her if she had such an idea from the beginning, or did she change her mind in the end when she realized her conscience?In fact, up to now, it is difficult for her to answer this question herself. The human heart is a very complicated thing. When facing a matter, you may have dozens or hundreds of thoughts. Maybe you still plan like this at this moment. For a moment, he changed his mind. She thought, she must have changed. If it was Chu Qiao, she would definitely stay in Tang Jing. Even if she couldn't really marry Li Ce, she would stay in Tang Palace as a guest to protect Li Ce's children. adult.

However, after going through so much, she still has her own greed and something she can't let go of. The Bian and Tang dynasties are turbulent, and the undercurrents of the dynasty that have been accumulated for thousands of years are not the superficial sharpness of Daxia and Yanbei, but waves of invisible cold arrows, wrapped in layers of beautiful plans and warm breeze, inadvertently. You can kill people invisibly. Later, she learned from the front office of the old hospital in Bian Tang Tai Hospital that the death of Li Ce's father was also due to Li Ce's mother. For so many years, she has been trying to kill Emperor Tang, using poison and assassination to the utmost, and almost succeeded a few times, but the old emperor has always defended her and did not publicize the matter.He was also angry and secretly hated, threatened King Luo, took her natal family as hostages, doted on other concubines wantonly, grounded her, and even threw herself into the cold palace three times.However, in the end, he was still unable to match his own heart. In his later years, he dismissed all the concubines in the palace, leaving her alone, taking good care of her, and she seemed to be influenced by him and gave him several years of happiness and comfort. day.

However, in the end, he still died at her hands, because he took a sip by mistake while feeding her medicine, and died of the poison. Only now did he know that she had already had the will to die. Over the years, every meal she ate had been poisoned. She had taken the antidote beforehand, and used all kinds of strange toxins to ruin her body. Fragmented, just waiting for his unintentional soul to return to the west. Emperor Tang died in the end, at the hands of the woman he loved the most in his life. Even though he guarded against her all his life, he was still not as strong and patient as her in the end.But he still couldn't bear to kill her, he just left a will, forcing her to go out of the palace to worship the Buddha, so that she would not be allowed to enter the palace again in this lifetime.Outsiders only know that the emperor and the empress are deeply in love, but they don't know that the emperor just wants to protect his only son before he dies.

However, Zhan Ziyu learned of such a secret of the palace through Concubine Zhan.After Zhan Ziming failed to assassinate Li Ce, he took the queen mother out of the temple privately and secretly sent her to the palace. With the help of this woman who no one would guard against, he killed Li Ce and Li Tang Zhongxing's great friend opportunity. Queen Mother Yao committed suicide after hearing the news of Li Ce's death. Chu Qiao didn't know what kind of mood she was in at that time, was it the joy and relief of having avenged her revenge, or the confusion and helplessness of making a big mistake?This is a stubborn and extreme woman. She has been obsessed with the blood debt all her life and killed two men who loved her the most in this world. At the last moment of her life, will she laugh out loud in relief?

Maybe not, after all, while avenging her husband and son, she also killed another pair of husband and son. For a vengeance, she ruined a woman's life from youth to vicissitudes. After the death of Empress Yao, she was buried with Emperor Xizong in Meishan. They were resentful couples during their lifetime, fighting, plotting, plotting, and hating. Their grievances and grievances have been entangled for a whole life. In the end, in that cold, quiet and deep underground imperial tomb, they had to be with each other. Together, no one, no force, can separate the two. Chu Qiao didn't know what happened back then, and she didn't understand why one person's hatred could be so terrible.But sometimes she would secretly think, maybe Empress Yao should still have a little bit of maternal love for Li Ce in her heart. She still remembers that sunny afternoon, when the gentle woman frowned slightly and said to her: "He wants to worship Huanxi Buddha in the palace. Hey, I really... If you have time, you can persuade him. After all, he is the prince of Tang Dynasty, so you can't be too nonsense."

However, the death of King Luo finally destroyed this remaining love. After all, she was still swallowed by the demon in her heart and died in this man-eating royal family. After Li Ce's death, the government of Bian and Tang Dynasty was unstable, with powerful ministers in the interior rebelling, and the royal relatives outside were watching.At that time, Chu Qiao could also rely on the strength of the Gyeonggi garrison and the Xiuli army to wipe out the Central Army in one fell swoop and get rid of Zhan Ziyu's brothers and sisters. However, if that was the case, King Jing'an and the others would never raise troops, and keeping this group of vassal kings who supported themselves would be a threat to them sooner or later.When the new emperor came to the throne, he was most afraid of killing for no reason.So Chu Qiao resorted to tactics, let Zhan Ziyu take power first, and then removed him like a thunderbolt. With the support of Sun Di and other caring people, he took advantage of his meritorious service in quelling the chaos and made a gesture of ascending the throne, giving King Jing'an and others a banner to send troops. Then, through Li Ce's arrangement before his death, many rebels could be taken down in one fell swoop, and the civil strife crisis in the Tang Dynasty within 20 years could be resolved once and for all.And twenty years later, Yi'er has grown up and is capable enough to deal with the storms ahead.

However, at that time, she might not really have no idea of ​​staying behind in Bian Tang after the chaos was quelled. That night Jingjing roasted two earthen melons sent by Zhuge Yue from Qinghai for her. The smell was very fragrant, as if a cloud of air had swept her heart. Sitting on a small stool outside, Jingjing carefully peeled the skin of a melon, muttering, "It must be very cold in Qinghai, the skin is so thick." But her heart ached suddenly, and she thought again of the cold icy lake that day, Zhuge Yue's pale face, and his writing on her palm over and over again: live... live... The human heart is such a complicated thing, but no matter you have hundreds or thousands of thoughts, there is only one decision you can make in the end, no matter whether you will regret it in the future, but at the very least, she finally obeyed her heart once. There was a sudden rustling sound, the window was gently pushed open by the wind, and the window screens and curtains swayed slightly by the wind from the river, awakening Chu Qiao from her meditation.She turned her head, but saw that Zhuge Yue had woken up at some point, leaning on the head of the bed, dressed in a white gown, refreshed, his face did not have the usual coldness, but put on a somewhat peaceful one. Gentle. Seeing her looking over, he waved his hand gently, signaling her to go over. She walked over, poured him a cup of tea, and asked, "Did you sleep well?" "En." He took a sip of tea and said, "It would be better if no one sneaked into my room and sighed." Chu Qiao blushed, raised her eyes to look at him, and asked, "Are you hungry?" He nodded and said, "It was a little bit just now, this will be much better." Chu Qiao stood up and said, "You have been sleeping for a day and a night, and you haven't eaten. Of course you will be hungry. I will tell the kitchen to prepare food for you." "No need." Zhuge Yue suddenly reached out to hold her hand, pulled her to sit down by the bed, and said, "Sit with me for a while first." Chu Qiao smiled and sat down as promised. "Seeing that you've been in a daze for a long time, what were you thinking just now?" Zhuge Yue naturally held her hand, his palm was warm, and he didn't let go. Chu Qiao shook her head and said, "Some irrelevant old things." With a smile on the corner of Zhuge Yue's mouth, he looked very calm, leaning against the head of the bed and squinting at her, he said indifferently: "It's okay to be idle, just listen to your irrelevant old affairs." Chu Qiao looked at him, feeling mischievous in her heart, frowned slightly, looked directly at him and said slowly, "I have done many wrong things, neglected and owed one person again and again, now that I think about it, I feel very sorry for him." Zhuge Yue was taken aback for a moment, he didn't expect Chu Qiao to say such a thing at this time, he stared at her with burning eyes, and his expression became a bit more solemn. Chu Qiao continued: "He has always been very kind to me, but I took this kindness for granted and selfishly occupied the warmth and help he gave me. He saved me from life and death several times. No matter what kind of predicament I was in, he never left me, gave me hope in despair, and accompanied me through so many difficult days without asking, but I never thought about what I should give him in return. Ignored him again and again." Zhuge Yue looked at her, a smile gradually emerged from the corner of his mouth, he was caressing Chu Qiao's fingers with calluses on his palm. "Now that I know I regret it now, it's too late to repay in time." Chu Qiao looked at him, her eyes misty, and she murmured, "But I'm afraid he will blame me." Zhuge Yue gradually let go of her hand, moved it up slowly, his eyes were fond and touched, he touched her cheek with his palm, and said with a smile: "Who would blame you?" "Really?" Chu Qiao's eyes widened, and she asked slyly: "Do you think He Xiao won't blame me? He has been with me for so many years, and I once abandoned him. He is almost thirty. Not even a wife and concubine..." The more Chu Qiao talked, the more she wanted to laugh, and finally burst out laughing, Zhuge Yue realized that she had been fooled, pulled her into his arms, pinched her chin, and said fiercely: "Dare to play tricks?" Chu Qiao smiled and said, "Who told you to be passionate?" Zhuge Yue squinted at her, his eyes were dark, with a hint of danger that only a wolf could have, and he smiled evilly: "Whose family trained this woman to be so unruly?" "Whose house? Isn't it the Qingshan Courtyard of your young master Zhuge?" Chu Qiao said with a smile: "Did you forget that you volunteered to teach me how to write?" "Oh?" Zhuge Yue deliberately elongated his voice, and nodded, "I really forgot, it seems that I have to set up some rules for you, so that you will not be no big or small in the future." As soon as he finished speaking, Zhuge Yue suddenly leaned over and approached her, and suddenly covered her lips with a hot kiss, with a trace of suppressed hotness, rolling over her lips mercilessly, and the arms around her waist were tightened more and more. Tight, cold lips gradually warmed up, lightly tapped her lips and teeth, and a trace of irresistible force slipped into her mouth, as clear as a spring, but as hot as coal fire. He half-closed his eyes and looked at her, hidden in the depths of his eyes was an invisible light, Zhuge Yue suddenly hugged her vigorously and pressed her on the bed, Chu Qiao exclaimed "Ah", and the ending was swallowed Between the lips and teeth. "do you understand?" Chu Qiao stared at him, wiped her swollen lips fiercely, and said, "This is your family law?" "Not all." Zhuge Yue smiled faintly, with a little bit of arrogance, and said with his chin raised: "There are more intense ones, do you want to try?" Chu Qiao squinted her eyes, looked at the stinky man in front of her, and suddenly leaned forward, seductively seductively seductively her eyes, and suddenly stuck out her tongue to lick his lips.Zhuge Yue was taken aback for a moment, before he could react, the woman had already bit his chin viciously like a small animal. Zhuge Yue snorted suddenly, and reached out to touch it. Although there was no blood, there was already a row of small tooth marks. "Hmph, don't think I'm afraid of you!" Chu Qiao waved her fist in protest, and said arrogantly. Zhuge Yue moved his wrist and said, "Damn girl, you have become more and more wild these years, I really need to take care of you." Just about to make a move, Chu Qiao took a quick step, quickly jumped away from him, ran to the door in a few steps, and said with a smile, "Am I a fool? Bye bye, I won't see you off!" After all, he opened the door. At this moment, only a few "Ouch" sounds came suddenly, Jingjing and the others fell in headfirst, got up scrambling, their faces turned red and white, and punched the two of them in embarrassment call. Chu Qiao, the ever-victorious general who has commanded millions of troops, her pretty face flushed, she frowned at Jingjing and Pingan, she didn't expect that there would be Yue Qi behind, she said angrily: "Yue Qi, the two of them are messing around, you follow join in the fun!" "Hehe, er, I just passed by and called you guys for dinner, hehe..." Yue Qi stood up, made an expression of being an honest person, nodded and walked out, and said with a smile: "Go on, go on." After finishing speaking, he turned around and ran out. Before leaving, he raised his fist at Zhuge Yue and shouted: "Master! Come on!" walk away. Jingjing ran over with a playful smile, and called "Brother-in-law" sweetly. Zhuge Yue was in a good mood, and pulled out a small well-forged dagger with a few rubies inlaid on it, and readily appreciated the current affairs sister-in-law. When Ping An saw it, he immediately followed suit. Zhuge Yue had nothing around him, so he agreed that after Zhenhuang arrived, he would let him choose any good horse in the stable. The two happily shouted "Long live brother-in-law" three times, Chu Qiao's eyes were burning, and she thought to herself, who said that Zhuge Yue is old-fashioned and not familiar with officialdom, and this trick of buying people's hearts is very skillful. The meal was ready quickly, because it was outside and there were young children, so a table was set up casually, and everyone sat and ate together.Yue Qi and the others are unavoidably restrained, but Jingjing, Ping An, Mei Xiang and the others are active members. He Xiao has become very familiar with Yue Qi and the others in the past few days, but Duoji is still as cold as ever. He said ten sentences, but he couldn't answer one. After eating, the sky darkened.Yue Qi said that this place is already Cangling, and in two days, it will land in Hu County.Chu Qiao was a little dazed when she heard the words, Huxian is very close to Zhenhuang. The wind was a little strong in the evening, she was sitting at the stern of the boat, and the sun was about to set, showing half of her face between the sky and the earth, and dyed the whole river dark red. Time flies so fast. In a blink of an eye, she has spent fourteen winters and summers here. Many times when she thinks back to her past life, she doesn't know whether she is a modern person who travels through time and space, or an ancient person with modern memories. .The past is like a dream, coming and going in a hurry. She remembered that after she died, she could be reborn here, so after Li Ce died, would he go to other places to continue his life?There are also Mr. Wu and Miss Yu, Jiji and Xiaohe, after they die, will they still meet each other, will they still remember each other?And Jing Zisu, I hope she can live in the era of the rule of law and live some happy and comfortable days. She sat there thinking endlessly, and gradually her heart became more open. Looking up at the sunset, she seemed to be able to see Li Ce squinting at her, and said with a smile: "Eat more meat, you are too tall. Worse." "What are you thinking?" Zhuge Yue's voice suddenly came from behind, Chu Qiao turned her head, and saw that he was wearing a purple robe, embroidered with small letters of "Tuanfu" in dark patterns, it was very ordinary clothes, but he had a unique aura, which made him look outstanding , Qingjun tall and straight. Chu Qiao stared at him with wide eyes, Zhuge Yue frowned slowly, and said somewhat uncomfortably, "What are you looking at, you're like an idiot." After all, he sat down beside her. Snow-white waves rippling around the stern of the boat, birds flew across the sky, the sunset was blood-red, the river wind blew the clothes of the two of them, and the sleeves bulged, like a big butterfly fluttering its wings. "Xing'er, why did you change your name to Chu Qiao?" Zhuge Yue asked, Chu Qiao turned her head and said with a smile: "Because I am not Jing Yue'er, my real name is Chu Qiao, and then I died because of an incident, and then, well, how should I put it, it is Like what you said, it was a ghost that possessed Jing Yue'er, so I changed my name back after I escaped." Zhuge Yue didn't expect her to answer him like this, so he froze all of a sudden, with a very surprised expression on his face.After a while, he murmured, "Then it's the first time I saw you?" "At that time, I had just been possessed for a few days, and I was planning to escape." Zhuge Yue nodded, then lowered his head, as if he was trying his best to think about the authenticity of this matter. "Hey, you don't really believe that, do you?" This time it was Chu Qiao's turn to be in a daze, no one would believe her if she was so strange and confused.She remembered that she once told Yan Xun when she was a child. At that time, Yan Xun was still a young man with pimples. He thought she had a fever and was confused, so he took a bowl of soup and medicine and forced her to drink it. Since then, she has never I said it. "I believe." "what?" Zhuge Yue looked at her very strangely, and frowned slightly: "Why don't you believe me? I investigated you, and the servants said that since you came back from the hunting, your temperament has changed drastically. I thought you were frightened." , now it seems that your explanation makes more sense." Master Zhuge accepted this even more inscrutable reason very inscrutablely. He nodded and said: "I see, I'm surprised that even when I was seven or eight years old, I couldn't possibly have your scheming and ingenuity at that time." Means, it turns out that you are not a child of seven or eight years old at all. By the way, you will not be seven or eighty before you die, right?" Chu Qiao couldn't keep up with his jumping thinking, and said in a daze, "At that time, I was two or twenty-seven." "Twenty-seven?" Zhuge Yue frowned, and said a little unhappy, "That's very old, have you got married, but have you had a child?" "No," Chu Qiao replied honestly: "In our country, twenty-seven is not very old. In our country, we all advocate late marriage and late childbearing." "Where is your hometown? Bian Tang? Da Xia? You have so much affection for Yan Bei, you can't be from Yan Bei, are you?" Zhuge Yue's face suddenly changed when he said this, and he asked nervously : "You can't be Yan Xun's mother, right? That's not right, the time is a bit wrong, she seems to be older." Chu Qiao wanted to cry without tears: "Ours is another world. It is not the same time and space as yours. It is a parallel space that does not intersect. There is a distance in space as well as a distance in time. It cannot be reached at all. That, do you understand?" She tried her best to explain to Zhuge Yue, hoping to use a way that he could understand, and tried to make a metaphor for him, but she couldn't find the right words.But she obviously underestimated Young Master Zhuge's comprehension ability, the man frowned slightly, and asked: "That is to say, like an apple tree, we are the leaves of spring, and you are the fruits of autumn?" Chu Qiao was taken aback for a moment, but she didn't expect him to think of this level, and quickly said happily: "It's half right, but it's not entirely true, because there is not only the distance of time between us, but also space, do you understand? Space is... ..." "Oh." Zhuge Yue nodded, and said casually, "We are apple leaves in spring, and you are oranges in autumn, right?" Chu Qiao was so embarrassing, she was stunned for a long time, and finally nodded foolishly: "Yes." Then Zhuge Yue turned his head away, continued to look at Tangtang Jiangshui, and remained silent.The setting sun sprinkled on his face, golden and gorgeous. Chu Qiao couldn't help but sigh with emotion, looking at her determination, she is indeed a person who has seen great wisdom in the world, how calm, how calm, how uncurious, not at all like those old hats in ordinary time travel novels, asking Questions like "What do your people look like?" "How many eyes do your people have?" or "Do your people have manes on their bodies like wild beasts?" People in their world deserve to have two eyes and one nose, but people outside must have manes and fangs all over their bodies to show their psychological superiority.This is the real calm and calm, this is the real Mount Tai collapses in front of you without changing your face, this is the real not to be pleased with things and not to be sad with yourself, this is the real favor and humiliation, and your heart is like a bright moon... "What do your people look like?" Chu Qiao... "How many eyes do your people have?" A certain person finally came to his senses after being silent for a long time, and asked with great interest: "Aren't your people like wild beasts, with manes on their bodies? I have seen such people in southern Xinjiang, and their behavior is very strange. Strange, is it your distant relative?" Chu Qiao took a deep breath, pulled herself together, and started the enlightenment education of basic knowledge in the new world. The mouth was dry, the sun had already set, and a full moon climbed to the top of the mountain, casting bright light on the blue waves of mercury. As the river was blowing, Chu Qiao left by boat, and suddenly felt a touch of poetic emotion. She read affectionately: "There is a bright moon on the sea, and we share this moment in the end of the world." But Zhuge Yue said coldly from the side: "It's a bit out of place, this is the river, not the sea." Chu Qiao frowned and said, "Then there is a bright moon on the river." Zhuge Yue looked at her suspiciously, and asked, "You probably didn't do it, but your people did it. Did you steal it?" Chu Qiao wanted to cry again, but she was suddenly embarrassed, her cheeks were red, see, it's no good to say such things... "Star." The two were silent for a long time, when Zhuge Yue suddenly called her name, she responded impulsively, and Zhuge Yue said without thinking, "I don't care who you are." Chu Qiao didn't understand at first, but after thinking about it carefully, she immediately understood what she meant.She nodded with a smile and said, "I know, I will always be your star." Zhuge Yue's body shook slightly, he lowered his head and looked at her with burning eyes.After Chu Qiao herself finished speaking, she regretted a little. Two traces of blush crept up her cheeks, and she was about to lower her head, but Zhuge Yue stretched out two fingers, provoking her chin skillfully. Laughing, said: "Say it again." Chu Qiao dodged his gaze, and said vaguely in embarrassment: "What did you say?" "Just say what you just said." Zhuge Yue said firmly, his eyes were filled with two groups of warm fires, not particularly hot, but they were bright. "I'm yours, and you're mine." Chu Qiao plucked up her courage and said firmly: "In my life, I can sacrifice and pay for everything, but there are only two things, no matter what the circumstances, they will never be used as bargaining chips. The first is my beliefs and principles , The second is my marriage and body, if you want all of me, you have to give all of yourself to me." Zhuge Yue raised his eyebrows, looked at her with evil spirit, and asked casually, "All of it?" "Fuck you," Chu Qiao pushed his shoulder, turning her head away: "It's not serious at all." "Xing'er," Zhuge Yue suddenly opened his arms to hug her, the warm masculine breath surrounded her, his arms wrapped around her shoulders so tightly. "I'm happy." He whispered, "I'm really happy." Leaning in his arms, Chu Qiao also felt the peace of mind she had never experienced in the past few years. She turned around and hugged him, and said softly, "Let's not separate again." Zhuge Yue asked: "Follow me to Zhenhuang, aren't you afraid?" "I'm even more afraid of being separated from you. Every time we separate, many things will happen. Just like this time, I will almost never see you again." The situation in Tang Jingcheng was chaotic that day. She fought with her back at that time, as if walking on thin ice, if she was not careful, she would fall into the hands of the enemy.Zhan Ziyu's arrogance and domineering when he was in power, the chaos and bloody battle of Tai'anmen, the killers who rushed into the imperial city every night after the news of the canonization, and the last battle of hundreds of thousands of people, I didn't feel it at the time. What, but now that I think about it, I feel faintly afraid. Zhuge Yue held her in his arms, and said in a low tone: "Don't be afraid from now on." The moonlight was fine, and they sat there for a long time. After returning to the room, Zhuge Yue sat on the bed and frowned and thought for a long time. He felt that what Chu Qiao said was right, he should think about finding an appropriate time for the two of them to give each other all of themselves. Yes, this idea is really good. If you walk too much at night, you will inevitably encounter ghosts. If you sleep too much, you will inevitably have dreams. Do things cleanly and neatly. In the middle of the night, he suddenly stood up and walked around the room twice. He felt that today was the right time.