In the first year of Taichu, in November Yiyou, Zishi. In the north of Chang'an City, a strange red light looms in the dark night sky. Gradually, the red light became brighter and bigger, and every time the howling north wind blew, the red light flickered and became brighter again. At this time, if someone is downwind, they may smell a scent blowing downwind—the scent of burning cypress. However, this was the moment when the entire city of Chang'an fell into a deep sleep, and no one noticed the disaster that was taking place. In the bedroom, the emperor in his fifties tossed and turned, not sleeping well, as if he was having a disturbing dream.

A faint voice came from outside the palace.Gradually, the voice became louder and louder. The emperor woke up and opened his eyes: "Come on! What happened?" A servant came in hurriedly and reported cautiously: "Return to Your Majesty, it seems that... it's drowned." The emperor frowned: "Walking water? Where?" The servant said: "I heard it's in the Beique area." "Bei Que?" The emperor sat up abruptly, and said vigilantly, "Where is Bei Que?" The servant tremblingly said: "I-I don't know yet, it looks like, like Bailiangtai."

"What?!" The emperor yelled, the voice was unusually loud, which startled the servants.The emperor threw off the brocade quilt, jumped up and rushed out of the palace barefoot.The servant rushed out holding his clothes and shoes, and shouted anxiously: "Your Majesty, it's cold outside! Your Majesty, please change your clothes first..." The emperor had already rushed out of the palace gate, galloped between the winding and connecting corridors, stepped up the high flying pavilion in one breath, and looked towards the north of the city. In the distance, a blazing fire billowed into the sky, like a giant torch standing in Beique.The top of the raging flames reflected bursts of golden light from time to time. If you look closely, you will find that it is a golden man with fluttering robes, holding a jade plate high in both hands, as if begging for the rain from the sky.

Immortal Chenglu!Where is it not Bailiang Terrace!The emperor's face was frighteningly pale. "Who?" The emperor's hands were firmly grasping the railing of Feige, his lips were trembling, "Who did it?" On a dry and cold winter night, the new wind blew violently, and the fire that soared into the sky became more and more intense, and soon the tall golden man on the top of the stage was wrapped in it. Swallow it in one gulp.The golden man shook slightly, and the crackling sound of cypress wood under the flames could be heard faintly.It seems that it won't be long before the first high platform in the north of the city will be buried in a sea of ​​flames.

I don't know if it was affected by this scene, but in this cold and windy flying pavilion, the barefooted emperor didn't feel the cold at all. On the contrary, there were many small beads of sweat densely oozing from his forehead.Suddenly, the emperor yelled furiously: "Who the hell is that bastard?! Find it out for me! I'm going to chop him into mincemeat! I'm going to cut him into pieces! I'm going to..." Before the emperor's words fell to the ground, the golden man in the flames in the distance shook slightly and fell slowly.Accompanied by a faintly audible crackling sound, the entire Bailiang Terrace collapsed, stirring up a rising flame and dark red fly ash.

"No—" the emperor yelled in despair, as if he was about to fall down like Bailiangtai.He tried his best to hold on, the hand holding the railing trembled slightly, slowly raised his head, looked up at the dark night sky, and murmured, "It's over, it's over, is it really destiny?" At dawn, the scene of the Bailiangtai fire. After struggling to fight the fire, the fire has been basically extinguished.But the tower that used to be the tallest and majestic platform in Beique no longer exists, leaving only a ruin beyond recognition.The statue of the gold-plated immortal Chenglu was lying crooked among the ruined pillars, his golden face was smudged black like ink, and the folds of his carefully cast clothes had been melted by the high temperature, but his hands were still straight. Stretching, holding the jade plate that has long been smashed and no longer exists, the posture is indescribably weird.

Standing in front of the ruins, the emperor's face was also like the embers on the fire, gradually getting darker. Suddenly, the emperor made a move that surprised all the servants present. He threw himself into the messy ground, digging hard at the scorched black wooden pillars that were tilted to and fro, and said, "No, I don't believe it! Where are they? where?" The servant was stunned by the emperor's unprecedented crazy behavior, and when he came to his senses, he stepped forward to stop the emperor, pulled him up desperately, and shouted: "Your Majesty, your majesty must not..."

The emperor jumped up and shouted: "No! Let me go! Let me find it! Let me find it..." Suddenly, the emperor seemed to think of something, and his whole body was shocked. He stopped jumping and shouting, but hurriedly said, "Let me find you!" , quickly pass Xu Ziwei..." His voice was slightly trembling, but the servant did not hear clearly, and said carefully: "Your Majesty wants to pass...who?" The emperor waved his robe sleeves and said angrily: "Xu Ziwei! The doctor ordered Xu Ziwei! Tell him to immediately close all the gates of the palace city, search inside and outside, and find out who went out last night!"

Weiyang Palace, Jiaofang Palace. Outside, the sky was already bright, but inside the hall was still dark. Neishitong reported: "Your Majesty, the Langzhong ordered Xu Ziwei to arrive." "Tell him to come in." The emperor's deep voice sounded in the darkness. There was a sound of hurried footsteps, and Xu Ziwei hurried in from outside the hall. As soon as he stepped into the hall, Xu Ziwei couldn't help being stunned by the darkness in the hall.What's going on today?Is it the negligence of the servants, or is it intentional that His Majesty does not allow the candle to light the lamp?

Maybe it has something to do with the disaster last night?he thinks. "Did you find out? Who is it?" The emperor's voice suddenly sounded in front of him. Xu Ziwei was startled, and then he noticed that the emperor was actually standing not far in front of him, but he was not looking at him. He leaned on a jade staff and looked at the wall next to him. Xu Ziwei quickly bowed and said: "Report to Your Majesty, I have found it, it is..." "Hush..." The emperor turned around and said, "Slow down, let me guess." The emperor slowly wrote two words on the ground with the jade stick in his hand, "Is it this person?"

Xu Ziwei looked at the emperor, and involuntarily took a deep breath—not because of the answer on the ground, but because of the emperor's current appearance. Overnight, the emperor seemed to have aged ten years suddenly, his hair was much grayer and a little disheveled, his face was gloomy and haggard, and some black ashes even remained on the crumpled robes. Xu Ziwei had never seen the emperor like this.The emperor pays attention to grooming, and has always been well-dressed in front of his courtiers, but now, it seems that he doesn't care about everything outside of him, and just stares at him with burning eyes. "Is it him?" The emperor tapped the ground with his jade staff and repeated in a calm voice. "Yes, yes!" Xu Ziwei said in a panic, "Your Majesty is wise, it is..." "Okay, very good." The emperor nodded, as if he knew the result would be like this. After speaking, he waved his hand, turned his head, and looked at the wall again. The emperor's two "good" words were very calm, but for some reason, Xu Ziwei always felt that there was something disturbing hidden behind the calmness. Xu Ziwei followed the emperor's gaze. At this time, his eyes had adapted to the darkness in the hall, and he saw a four-foot-high silk painting hanging on the wall. The silk painting was covered with a layer of dust-proof gauze. Through the light yellow gauze, one can vaguely see that the painting on it is a slim woman with high hair on her temples. Xu Ziwei's heart skipped a beat, he didn't dare to look any further, he hurriedly lowered his head and retreated anxiously. He should be glad to have exited the hall, because what happened next was something he would never like to see. A gust of cold wind suddenly blows in from the outside, whirling and raging in the hall, the veil covered by the silk painting is blown up, and the person in the painting is suddenly revealed clearly—it is a beautiful and beautiful person. A vulgar woman with a slender head and crescent eyebrows, her facial features are exquisite to the extreme, especially her eyes, which are deep and slightly melancholy, so beautiful that it is simply breathtaking. However, the feeling of this painting is not pleasant and comfortable, but a kind of extreme weirdness. Because this woman is painted in one color from head to toe: red! Vibrant red as thick as blood! Blood-red clothes and skirts, blood-red sideburns and hairpin rings, blood-red ears, eyes, mouth and nose... The emperor stood in front of the painting, staring at the extremely beautiful and terrifying woman, the corners of his mouth twitched involuntarily, as if both nostalgia and fear, trying to turn his eyes away from the woman, but he couldn't move his eyes away.After a long time, the emperor shook his head violently, as if he wanted to ruthlessly shake off the shadow of the woman in the painting. "No, Ah Yan, it's impossible!" He gritted his teeth, stretched out his jade stick, and lifted the fluttering tulle to cover the silk painting. "This time, no one can save him!" The emperor said angrily, with a terribly deep hatred in his eyes, "You see, it's not that I'm unkind, it's that he was unfaithful to me first."