Chapter 19 Chapter Nine: Soul of Ritual

Mrs. Xiang heard from the maid that King Qing took a bath in Qinglan Pavilion.She didn't say anything, but felt a little weird.Wu Xiang was such a shrewd emperor, he could not have imagined how the government would change during the three months he left.At such a moment, he soaked himself in the fragrant soup. The shouts outside the palace wall became louder and louder, but Qinglan Pavilion seemed to be completely silent. The maids and guards all hid. At such a moment, the coldness and emptiness of the palace became more apparent.When Mrs. Xiang rushed into the Qinglan Pavilion, she bumped into a strange woman in black clothes, took a photo with each other, and suddenly found that the other person looked exactly like herself.It's just that there is a light blue crescent moon on the forehead of the woman in black.

Mrs. Xiang froze for a moment, and suddenly understood everything. This is fate. Mrs. Xiang sighed and walked towards the hot spring pool.It turned out that the hot spring was filled with a strange smell, like the smell of blood mixed with the fragrance of Angelica dahurica.Just like the cruel battlefield in Jiuyi Mountain many years ago.She bent down to look at Wu Xiang's floating corpse, the water seemed peaceful and ethereal.She thought with some sadness that since he came back, they haven't had time to speak a word to each other.However, it's okay to end like this.It turned out that he thought of it too.

Ji Sun looked at the quiet Mrs. Xiang, flustered.She felt something surge up in her chest, and when she came to her senses, she decided to leave as soon as possible.But it was too late, she had already seen the young master on the black horse appearing alone at the gate of Danfeng Hall. Qing Ren also saw her, dragging a silver long sword, exuding a cold evil spirit. "Stop!" Qing Ren couldn't help shouting sharply. Ji Sun floated up, stepped on the air currents to escape, and flew to a high place far away.Qing Ren drew his longbow and shot off her black veil with an arrow.Ji Sun looked back in horror and had to run away even faster.Seeing her face, Qing Ren was stunned for a moment.

"Let her go." Mrs. Xiang said calmly from a distance. "I can't let her go—" Qing Ren shot a second arrow, pointing at her ankle. Young Master Qingren's divine arrow chased after him.Ji Sun seemed to be unable to avoid his light footsteps like the wind, and secretly cried out.A few stars of blood rained down in the air, like falling flowers. "Let her go," Mrs. Xiang's plain voice carried a force that no one could refuse, but she added, "I beg you, Qing Ren." Qing Ren couldn't help shaking his hand when he heard these words.Ji Sun dodged the arrow, and at this moment, a strong wind suddenly blew past his head.She was supported by one hand, and then flew far away with the wind, leaving the war-torn palace below.Young Master Qingren stopped the arrow in his hand in frustration, stared at Mrs. Xiang, "Why?"

Mrs. Xiang didn't answer, she was thoughtful. The Huifeng Horse spread its light and nimble wings and flew over Yingdu.Ji Sun leaned behind Shan, having mixed feelings for a moment, and suddenly burst into tears. "Wait a minute," she said. Shan held back the wind.The place where it landed was already a deserted and silent post road outside the city of Yingdu.A small child squatted on the ground, crying with snot and tears. "Lianning?" Shan recognized the silly little prince. "My mother told me to come out," Lian Ning cried, "I can't find my way."

Ji Sun stretched out his arms and hugged Lian Ning. "Report—it's Zishi!" Mo Luo waved his sword and greeted, "Follow me into the palace—" The flames rolled away like a dragon's frenzied current, surging away.King Qing's palace quickly sank into a piece of silver helmet and iron armor. Mo Luo led his troops into the hot spring, and saw Prince Qingren, Mrs. Xiang, Mrs. Xi, and the dead King Qing, a pool of blood. Mo Luoduan shouted: "Mrs. Xiang killed the king, she should be punished for the crime!" Young Master Qingren coughed softly, and said flatly: "It's not Mrs. Xiang. But—" Qingren hesitated, and continued, "The assassin was let go by Mrs. Xiang." Under the charge of conniving the assassin, Mrs. Xiang It's not easy to get rid of it.

Mrs. Xiang stood up, looked at Qing Ren quietly, "You are wrong." Qing Ren's heart tightened.Although at this time, thousands of troops and horses obeyed his orders, Qing Kui was almost in his hands.But Mrs. Xiang's voice was still what he feared the most.He couldn't help but smile wryly, what made him unable to fight against this woman in his whole life? "Qing Ren, when you came in, the king had already died. You didn't see who killed him." Mrs. Xiang was extremely calm, "The reason why I asked you to let that woman go is—the real murderer was me. .”

Hearing these words, Young Master Qingren almost suffocated.The real murderer is her? He stared at her closely, and said in a deep voice: "Madam, you really killed the father?" Mrs. Xiang raised her head, and saw the watery night sky in the distance, with a few shallow clouds drifting past.Then, there is eternal emptiness. "I killed him." Young Master Qing Ren couldn't think.Why did she admit to being a regicide?Why?Why? He didn't believe that it was her who moved his hand at all, but he couldn't even find a basis to refute it.It turned out that he still didn't know this woman at all, the woman he grew up beside her since childhood.

What should he say now? "I should be punished." Mrs. Xiang said calmly. Moro waved.The soldiers rushed up and forced Mrs. Xiang with their swords. This is exactly what they wanted.However, even such an ending was arranged by Mrs. Xiang herself.Qing Ren was at a loss for words.Mrs. Xiang's face was as calm as the waning moon in the sky, and her eyes were unusually far away. He felt something break in his chest.Broken forever. "Take her back to Cangwu Garden and lock her up." Young Master Qing Ren said dumbly. "No, it's not you—" Mrs. Xi, who had been silent for many years, suddenly called out.She felt that the voice didn't seem to come from her own throat, but she shouted after all.She felt there was something more to say.Wu Xiang didn't finish talking, and Mrs. Xiang didn't finish talking either, so we can't just let it go.

However, no one noticed that Mrs. Xi, who was hiding behind the pillar, made a sound for the first time, and even Young Master Qing Ren never looked at his biological mother.He just stared at Mrs. Xiang, and surrounded by soldiers, he walked out of Qinglan Pavilion calmly, with his thin white skirt dragging on the bright red carpet. When the sky was twilight, Young Master Qingren came out from the back door of Cangwu Garden, with tears still remaining on his face.He remembered how decisive Mrs. Xiang was.No matter how much he begged and cried, she always insisted that the murderer who killed King Qing was herself.

In fact, son Qingren certainly knew that the real assassin had left, and even he didn't care about his father's death.The moment Mrs. Xiang walked out of Qinglan Pavilion, he suddenly felt strongly that he needed Mrs. Xiang to live so much. But Mrs. Xiang is very determined, just like her usual style of participating in politics in the Qing Kui Dynasty for twenty years.Even when Qing Ren got down hard and scolded himself, Mrs. Xiang just smiled and stroked his hair, and wished him a good monarch.That kind of loving attitude is the same as when Qing Ren was young, reading and learning by her side. "Mother, why on earth is this?" Tears welled up in Qing Ren's eyes. Mrs. Xiang did not answer. Qing Ren remembered that the assassin's face had exactly the same beauty and sadness as Mrs. Xiang, and the fragrance of Jiangnan flowed between his clothes.In his guess, that mysterious woman has a close relationship with Mrs. Xiang, just like her shadow. "Who is that person and why are you protecting her?" Mrs. Xiang smiled slightly.The appearance of the girl in the lotus dress and the crescent moon on her forehead made her feel mixed with joy and sorrow.She thought her mission could finally be completed, so she might as well go back.At this last moment, she couldn't let Qingren and Jisun form an enmity. "Qing Ren, I have always loved you as my own child, just like the one... the child I lost a long time ago. You don't have to be sad. If you really miss me in the future, please abide by the rules between me and your father. King's promise." She used such an ending to make him dare not forget for the rest of his life. Young Master Qing Ren stood in the morning breeze, breathing hard, trying to calm himself down by the cool air.He didn't notice a person in a black cloak who quietly walked into Cangwu Garden. An hour later, the bright wine of the morning sun filled the cold and desolate courtyard, and there were a few drops of dew on the fallen petals.Qing Ren hesitated for a while, and quietly pushed open the closed door. The long Bai Lian slanted across in the wind.Underneath the carved beams and painted buildings, her body is also slowly shaking like a light and elegant elf.On that beautiful face, there was a pure and peaceful radiance. The fragrance of Angelica dahurica gradually dissipates in the morning light. In the 393rd year of the Qingkui calendar, King Wuxiang, the most outstanding conqueror in the history of the dynasty, died.In view of King Wuxiang's illustrious military exploits, the temple name is "East Emperor".At that time, there was a saying in the court that King Wu Xiang was murdered to death by his ambitious wife Mrs. Xiang.However, the succeeding monarch, Qingren, publicly banned the spread of this statement a few years later.Mrs. Xiang committed suicide for her husband shortly after the death of the king. The two were buried together in the royal tomb at the foot of Kongsang Mountain, facing the vast river. The legend about Mrs. Xiang, the wife of King Wu Xiang, has been circulated in the Qingshui River Basin for many, many ages.The records in the history books are scattered, so some people say that she was an innocent victim in the war when King Wu Xiang conquered Yunhuang, and finally completed revenge at the cost of her life, and some people said that she was simply a careerist. Relying on his own flattery and artifice, he attempted to control Qing Kui's politics, but was finally defeated by the heroic Dong Jun Qingren and had to hang himself.The face of this legendary woman has become more and more vague and ethereal in the history.People were surprised when they saw the gentle and beautiful portrait of her left in the ancestral temple. After Dongjun Qing took office, Qing Kui entered the era of peace from the period of war and martial arts in the Wuxiang Dynasty.The sacred tree Fusang on Kongsang Ridge is lush under the brilliant sunshine.