Chapter 39 Section IX

Nearly four o'clock, the thunderstorm stopped.The morning bell rang in Chang'an City, and Du Qiuniang took a selfie in the mirror for the last time.The face in the mirror is delicate and unparalleled, it is the peerless beauty that the princes of Chang'an spend a lot of money and still rarely see. "It's time to go." Nie Yinniang put on the veiled hat for her, and got into the carriage parked in the courtyard. Cui Miao put her hands on the shaft of the car: "Yinniang—" He hesitated to speak. "Don't worry, we will follow the plan." Nie Yinniang said, "You just wait here."

"I'll go with you, please stay with Yinniang's husband, can I drive the car for him?" Cui Miao's eyes were shining brightly. "No. You have walked around the palace before, what if someone recognizes you?" Nie Yinniang's tone was unusually gentle, as if she was comforting her ignorant brother, "Even if you just doubt it, it will make us fall short. Don't take risks." But her words didn't work, Cui Miao's hands were still tightly gripped on the shaft of the car.Through the car curtain, Du Qiuniang couldn't see his expression, but she could just see the blue veins bursting on the back of his hand, and she was really puzzled—not everything was right, even if Cui Miao went, she couldn't help anyone If you are busy, it is easy to make troubles. Why did you change your mind when you were leaving?Could it be that he doesn't trust himself and Nie Yinniang?

Just as he was thinking wildly, he heard a muffled sound in his ears, and the hand that was holding the shaft of the car was loosened.Du Qiuniang raised the curtain of the car and saw that Cui Miao was lying upright in the mud, unconscious. "Yo, what is this for?" Du Qiuniang was dragged back into the car by Nie Yinniang before she finished speaking. "Don't move around, sit down!" The carriage swayed left and right, and slowly drove out of the yard. "He's fine, it's good to lie down obediently like this." Nie Yinniang said, "This guy really has a keen mind, and he actually saw my thoughts."

"Your thoughts? What thoughts?" Nie Yinniang didn't answer, but Du Qiuniang was surprised when she saw a pure hook in her hand: "Didn't you say that you can't take it with you when you enter the palace today?" Nie Yinniang looked at her with a half-smile: "We will all be searched. But no one will search you." "I?" Nie Yinniang pointed to the pipa she was holding in her arms: "This pipa is your favorite. You have played it for the emperor many times, and the sound of the piano is also deeply loved by him, right?" "Yes indeed……"

"Okay then, just hide the pure hook in the pipa case, and let you carry it to the hall together." "Why?" Du Qiuniang was shocked, "Ah! You, you don't want, want..." "It's hard to say." Nie Yinniang smiled softly, "To tell you the truth, I haven't decided yet." "My God, it's ridiculous! How can Yinniang be so rash!" Du Qiuniang was really terrified. "Reckless? No, I decide my life in an instant, and I've been doing this all my life." The carriages were lining up in the queue to enter Chang'an, rushing the first group of people into Chang'an.In summer, the sun rises early, and the first morning light has already been drawn in the east.After a night of thunderstorms, the air in the morning is rarely cool. The bright clouds above Longshouyuan indicate that today will be a brilliant sunny day.

The Jinwu guards drove their carriages one by one, unaware that in one of the unremarkable carriages, two women were discussing assassinating the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. During the interrogation, Du Qiuniang was so nervous that her whole body was sweating, and her hands holding the pipa kept shaking.Her mind was in turmoil, and she couldn't imagine what was waiting for her today.She even had the urge to jump out of the carriage when the Jinwu Guards interrogated her, and shout for help, maybe she could escape the catastrophe! In the end, she did nothing.The carriage entered the city calmly.

After the carriage moved forward for a short distance, Nie Yinniang spoke again: "When I first became an assassin, I had the idea of ​​assassinating the emperor. How could assassinating the Jiedu envoys of other feudal towns for Wei Bo be compared to doing it for Wei Bo?" Is it a pleasure to assassinate the emperor? However, this kind of thing can only be thought about. After all, I don’t even have the chance to meet the emperor, so why talk about assassination? No time was wasted at all. To this day, even Wei Shuai has to walk into the Daming Palace as a running dog, to beg for mercy from the Holy One. Hmph, unexpectedly, my chance has come."

"What are you talking about? I don't understand..." Du Qiuniang murmured helplessly. "For an assassin, assassinating the emperor is the highest goal. I, Nie Yinniang, have been an assassin all my life, and I want to give an explanation in this life." "Then do you have to assassinate the emperor? If you do this, all of us will be implicated!" "I didn't say I had to assassinate him." Nie Yinniang's tone was half-true and half-fake, making people unpredictable, "Pure Gou is a rare and precious blade, but there must be a worthy assassin. Otherwise, what is the use of me keeping the pure hook? The story of "Xin Gong Shangxian" shows that the pure hook is used to assassinate the emperor! Now I have a pure hook in my hand, and I can go to the palace to meet the emperor. Ten steps away Well, as long as I want to kill him, no one can stop me!" There was a strange light in her eyes, "Do you know how tempting it is for an assassin?"

Du Qiuniang looked at her incredulously: "But even if you kill the emperor, what can you change? All the feudal towns in the world have been surrendered. Could it be that after the emperor's death, you can rebel again?" "If ten years later, it is of course impossible to make a comeback, but if the emperor dies now, just look at it, those feudal towns that have just surrendered will definitely join forces and do the opposite. Cutting the feudal clan in fifteen years depends on the emperor's iron will. What happened. Once he is gone, I don’t know what will happen!” "Is rebellion so interesting?" Du Qiuniang asked out of breath, "I really don't understand, what's so bad about being a citizen of the Tang Dynasty, why do you have to be a traitor?"

"Of course you don't understand, but we do." Seeing that there was no result in the pleading, Du Qiuniang became tough: "Okay, you understand your point, don't involve me, okay! I agreed to sacrifice myself to enter the palace in order to repay Cui Lang and Pei Lianshi's life-saving grace. Now it's alright, even me My life is also at stake, so why not!" Nie Yinniang scolded: "Don't rush to complain! First, I said that I may not be able to assassinate, and I will make a decision after seeing the emperor's words and deeds after going to the palace; second, even if I do assassinate the emperor, I, Nie Yinniang, always do things alone. Do it alone, and never implicate others."

"How is it possible! Chungou was brought in by me, can I get rid of it! Cui Lang must also be implicated, let alone seeing Master Pei Lian. Nie Yinniang, you only want to make fun of one person, but you want to hurt so many people. How are you at ease?!" "Since you are an assassin, the first thing you need to do is to break the relationship between the six relatives." Nie Yinniang said, "There is no need to say such things." "I do not want to!" "You have no choice." Nie Yinniang's tone was as cold as iron, "Do it, and you still have a half chance of getting out; if you don't, I'll kill you right now." Du Qiuniang collapsed on the car seat. When they arrived at Tianjie in front of the imperial city, a round of sun had already risen from the east.After joining up with Tian Hongzheng's troops in front of Chengtian Gate, they were guided by the Jinwu Guards and headed for Longshouyuan along the outer side of the imperial city.The farther east they went, the brighter the rays of the morning sun became. When they finally stopped in front of Jianfu Gate, they could feel the golden light shining ahead through the curtain of the car, as if the nine heavens soared to the sky. Daming Palace has arrived. For Du Qiuniang, the subsequent journey was like a dream.She didn't remember how many palace walls she had passed, nor how many Chongdian halls she had passed by, she didn't even realize how she walked all the way and finally stood in front of Linde Hall.All she could see was the golden color that covered the sky, and even the air she breathed seemed to be shining with golden light. She thought, I'm going to faint, I can't walk, I'm about to fall. When the triple palace and two pavilions of Linde Hall stood in front, the guards blocked them and asked them to wait outside the hall.Du Qiuniang let out a long breath, feeling strange in her heart that she had come here alive. Tian Hongzheng was called into the palace. After an unknown amount of time, a waiter in yellow came to the front of the hall to summon Nie Yinniang and Du Qiuniang.Du Qiuniang followed Nie Yinniang, step by step up the high imperial steps. In front of the temple gate, a guard in golden armor blocked their way.First searched Nie Yinniang, and then came to Du Qiuniang. "Take off the veil," he ordered. Two hands stretched out from nowhere, and directly removed the veiled hat from Du Qiuniang's head. She raised her head involuntarily, holding the pipa tightly with both hands.The pure hook is hidden inside the piano case and will never slip out, but she still holds it desperately subconsciously.She felt that Nie Yinniang's gaze from the side was sharper than Chungou's blade. Will the guards search you?Will check the pipa?Du Qiuniang was so nervous that she was about to lose consciousness.She thought in a daze, maybe it would be better to search, and then she would be completely relieved. She didn't know that the guard on the opposite side was equally disturbed.Just because he clearly recalled how he once looked forward to seeing the beauty's face but couldn't, and how he couldn't help but fantasize when he was on duty for the emperor who was looking for flowers and willows in micro-clothes.He never imagined that one day the beauty would stand in front of him, so close that he could kiss Fangze with just reaching out... He shivered violently and came to his senses—unstoppable! The golden-armored guard took half a step back to make way for the passage. Nie Yinniang smiled silently. There are two women, one in a black dress and the other in a flowing skirt.When they entered Linde Hall side by side, they immediately attracted all eyes. Nie Yinniang knelt down first, and Du Qiuniang also knelt beside her. Du Qiuniang didn't see any people and things in the hall clearly, she just walked in through the clouds and fog, and then knelt down in a daze.The only thought in my mind turned out to be: Is it within the distance of one kill at ten steps that Nie Yinniang said? A voice spoke, a voice she remembered. She couldn't help but raised her head following the sound and looked over. Du Qiuniang was stunned.Who is that man wearing a crown and a dragon robe speaking?Is it the emperor?Why is it completely different from what she remembered? The voice is right, the face is right, the gestures and expressions are all right.But the person who got together was completely unfamiliar to Du Qiuniang. Is he the one who has visited her house many times, and even kissed her skin to skin? Du Qiuniang came to her senses: yes, she always knew that man was the emperor.But in fact, it was never the emperor who met her, but "Mr. Li".So, who was the person she would rather escape by feigning death? It seemed that it was the first time for her to examine her heart with such eyes. Before Du Qiuniang could finish thinking about this question, the high-ranking emperor stood up and slowly stepped down from the throne. He came to Du Qiuniang first, but stopped imperceptibly, then walked towards Nie Yinniang and stood in front of her. The emperor said: "Nie Yinniang, the first time I knew you was from Princess Jiacheng's letter." Nie Yinniang knelt straight, and replied loudly: "Princess Jiacheng is the person I admire most in my life." "What do you admire her for?" "The princess married Tian Xu with a body of a thousand pieces of gold, and she spent her whole life fulfilling her mission, and finally died in Wei Bo." Nie Yinniang's voice was filled with rare emotions and unabashed admiration, "In my concubine's heart, Princess Jiacheng is the bravest woman in the world, a great warrior." "I heard that you are also a brave woman?" "I dare not be a concubine." "Since you respect Princess Jiacheng so much, why do you refuse to accept her dying entrustment?" The emperor suddenly changed the subject. "The princess asked me to assist Tian Ji'an, but this person is sinister and cruel, and I don't want to." "Oh, then when Tian Hong is about to replace Tian Ji'an, why are you unwilling to help?" "Although the concubine can't accept the order of Princess Jiacheng, she can't bear her either." "No, these are not reasons. I think that, as the daughter of General Wei Bo, you possess unique skills, but you turned your back on Wei Bo and turned to Liu Changyi, because in your heart, both Tian Ji'an and Tian Hongzheng are biased towards the imperial court. And You are completely loyal to Wei Bo and have no regard for Tang Ting. Am I right?" Faced with such sharp accusations, Nie Yinniang remained unmoved, and even asked the emperor, "Did Princess Jiacheng tell His Majesty this?" What is even more unbelievable is that the emperor even admitted: "Exactly. Princess Jiacheng wrote in her last letter to me that Wei Bo is no longer a threat, and the only hidden worry is you—Nie Yinniang. She warned me not to be petty. After seeing this female assassin, I will kill her if I have the chance." Nie Yinniang raised her head and looked directly at the emperor. "But I asked myself, why should I get rid of you? What damage can you do to me? Nothing." Nie Yinniang said: "Your Majesty is wrong about one thing. I have never turned my back on Wei Bo. I haven't in the past, and I never will in the future. For Wei Bo, I can die at any time." "Very good. Then I will ask you, what is the difference between Wei Bo who surrendered to the Tang Dynasty and Wei Bo who was rebellious?" "Wei Shuai is the only Wei Bo who is rebellious, and the emperor is the only Wei Bo who surrenders. No matter how bad Wei Shuai is, we can see it. But the emperor is too far away." "At this moment, I am right in front of you." After a moment of silence, Nie Yinniang said, "May I ask His Majesty a question?" "Can." "How will His Majesty treat Wei Bo's people?" The emperor smiled: "Do I still need to ask? Wei Bo is the Wei Bo of the Tang Dynasty, and the people of Wei Bo are my people. How do you think I will treat my people?" "Please make it clear, Your Majesty." "I will rule by doing nothing." "Govern by doing nothing?" "Government by doing nothing is the highest state of governing the country. The prosperity of Zhenguan and Kaiyuan are the achievements of living with the people and governing by doing nothing. I have always yearned for it. However, until today, I have the conditions to govern by doing nothing. It is for To achieve this condition, Princess Jiacheng and many others have sacrificed everything including their lives. So, do you understand?" After a long time, Nie Yinniang said: "I still want to ask Your Majesty, Princess Jiacheng is yours..." "Princess Jiacheng is Emperor Dezong's younger sister, the late emperor's aunt, and my great-aunt." The emperor said solemnly, "Okay. Nie Yinniang, you can step down now." Nie Yinniang raised her head deeply.No one knows whether she is saying goodbye to the emperor in front of her, or a concubine princess who has passed away for many years. It wasn't until Nie Yinniang withdrew from the palace that Du Qiuniang woke up like a dream.She suddenly realized that in the long conversation between the emperor and Nie Yinniang just now, there was always only one step between them. Du Qiuniang's eyes darkened and she fainted in the hall.