Chapter 42 third quarter

In the late autumn and October of the fourteenth year of Yuanhe, a fierce battle broke out on the border between Datang and Tubo, which had barely maintained stability for several years. Tubo Jiedu envoy Lun Sanmo, Prime Minister Zhongshuling and others led an army of 150,000 to invade Datang and surrounded Yanzhou on the border.There is no doubt that this battle was directly caused by the death of the Tubo prisoner Lun Mangti at the beginning of the year.Lun Mangti was imprisoned in the dungeon of the Taiji Palace for a full sixteen years. During this period, although Tubo had always had wolfish ambitions to invade the territory of the Tang Dynasty, they were cautious and never dared to invade.On the Shangyuan Festival in the 14th year of Yuanhe, taking the opportunity of flattering the Buddha's bones, Tibetan spies and Persians planned a vigorous rescue operation in Chang'an City, but it fell short in the end.Lun Mang died at the hands of Li Mi, and Li Jingdu, a Persian, was also bombed to death.As a result, Tubo finally decided to turn against Datang completely. After several months of preparation, a bloody fight was launched on the border.

The governor of Yanzhou led the frontier army to defend to the death, and the fighting was extremely fierce. The urgent battle report was sent to the capital, but the Daming Palace was unusually peaceful.The emperor handed over the important task of defending against the enemy to several prime ministers and allowed them to handle it with full power, but he said that he was sick and spared the court. In the fourteen years since the emperor ascended the throne, this is a unique phenomenon. For so many years, the emperor has been dedicated to governing, and he is in the prime of life, so he seldom quits the court due to illness.However, since the Buddha bone was welcomed in the 14th year of Yuanhe, the emperor's health has been deteriorating.Since the beginning of autumn, he has repeatedly stopped the court, often not showing up for several days in a row.

On this day, he summoned Pei Xuanjing alone. It was only when Pei Xuanjing saw the emperor in the Hall of Qingsi that he realized what his uncle meant by the ominous premonition.What she saw on the imperial couch was already a terminally ill person. Although he had been mentally prepared for a long time, Pei Xuanjing still couldn't help but secretly startled.In fact, the last time they met, she had already seen that the emperor was suffering from illness, but at that time he was still unwilling and still struggling.Today it looks very calm, as if it has accepted everything that is coming, and is even indifferent.

Pei Xuanjing knelt down to salute, facing two curls of smoke, one was ambergris and the other was ice mist. "Do you have something to tell me?" The emperor's voice was clear and powerful.Although his face was quite haggard, he still sat upright.After all, he was the "third emperor" who claimed to be the "third emperor" at the age of six. Even if he was seriously ill, he would never be lazy like ordinary people, and still maintained the demeanor of a king. Chen Hongzhi put a black lacquer tray in front of Pei Xuanjing, which contained a stack of jute gold paper, a brush and a plate of ground ink.

"If you have anything to say, just write it down." When Pei Xuanjing picked up the pen, it seemed to be extremely heavy, and she couldn't put it down for a long time. After Pei Du left, she thought for a long time.As Pei Du said, she shouldn't let go of this rare opportunity.If she wanted to leave Daming Palace, she probably only had this chance in her life.God has mercy, if Cui Miao is indeed alive, maybe they will meet again one day. But she was afraid that this was another sinister trap. After much thought, Pei Xuanjing still decided to ask to see the emperor.Once, the awe of the emperor blinded Pei Xuanjing's eyes and made her believe in the emperor's words.But now she won't.Pei Xuanjing decided to have another face-to-face contest with the emperor, so as to determine his true intentions.

However, at this moment, she realized that she was still at an extreme disadvantage.Because you can't speak, you can't make temptations through the dialogue between you and me.Once the text presented to the Son of Heaven is written down, it must be serious and regular, with no room for twists and turns, and no room for it. Pei Xuanjing hesitated. "What's the matter?" The emperor's tone was quite impatient, "If you don't think about it, you should retreat first. I'm not feeling well." Pei Xuanjing gritted her teeth and picked up a pen to write.After finishing writing, she glanced at Chen Hongzhi, who immediately presented it with both hands.

"Your Majesty, please don't take the golden elixir." The emperor looked at these beautiful characters and showed a puzzled expression: "Is this what you want to tell me?" Pei Xuanjing nodded. "Nothing else?" Pei Xuanjing shook her head again. "I thought you came to beg me to let you out of the palace." The emperor stared at Pei Xuanjing and asked, "Do you want to leave the palace?" Pei Xuanjing shook her head again. "Really don't want to? Why?" Pei Xuanjing picked up the pen again and wrote quickly on the paper.

What the emperor read this time was: "The concubine has nothing to worry about in this world, so she has no intention of going out of the palace." He snorted and threw the jute paper away. "Pei Xuanjing, you are so smart." The emperor said slowly, "Wei Botian Hongzheng went to Beijing to make contributions, and I summoned Pei Aiqing to Chang'an, but he took this opportunity to intercede for you and babbled on to me for a long time. Not wanting to lose his face, he perfunctorily said, if you really want to leave the palace, you can tell me yourself. I didn't expect him to take it seriously. However, what I didn't expect was that when you came to see me, you didn't Bring up the matter of the palace." He put away his smile, "I will ask you one last time, do you want me to let you go?"

Pei Xuanjing hid her clenched fists under the sleeves, and shook her head firmly again. "Very well, then it's settled." After a while, the emperor said again: "Do you know why I say you are smart? Because I will never let you out of the palace, so you are right not to ask me. You have said those words that slandered me and rebellious, how can I still say that?" Will I let you go? Are you going to go to the people to continue spreading rumors about me? Although you can’t speak anymore, you can still write. How can I feel at ease after you leave Daming Palace? Cut it off? What do you think?"

He stared at Pei Xuanjing, as if he wanted to appreciate her desperate expression, but there was nothing on her face. "Don't be discouraged." The emperor's tone became playful again, "As long as I live, I will never allow you to step out of the Daming Palace. But... one day I will become an immortal, and I will never let you go." Take care of these mundane affairs. At that time, you still have a chance to be free." The emperor turned his eyes back to the first piece of paper written by Pei Xuanjing, and asked thoughtfully: "You want me to disobey the golden elixir, do you not want me to be promoted to immortal?"

This time, Pei Xuanjing neither shook his head nor nodded. The emperor stared at Pei Xuanjing: "You should persuade me to take more golden pills, so that I can ascend to immortality as soon as possible." Pei Xuanjing wrote a few more words on the paper, and Chen Hongzhi submitted them. The emperor read: "The golden elixir is harmful?" He didn't show the slightest surprise, but laughed, "Why don't you just write that the golden elixir is poisonous?" At this moment, Chen Hongzhi held up a small gold box, and said with a mournful face, "Everyone, it's time to take the pill..." The emperor looked at the trembling servant, and Pei Xuanjing suddenly realized that the scene was really funny.Presumably the emperor ordered Chen Hongzhi to remind himself to take the pill on time, so Chen Hongzhi offered the golden pill as soon as the time came. The emperor stood up slowly, and Chen Hongzhi quickly reached out to support him. "No need." The emperor blocked his hands, then nodded to Pei Xuanjing, "You come." Pei Xuanjing followed him to the back of the mica screen, and the Golden Chamber stayed quietly on the long case.A ray of sunlight fell on it through the screen, adding a few hazy patterns to it. "These days, I have to read it every day." The emperor lifted the lid and signaled Pei Xuanjing to come forward. At a glance, she saw the second image of "Tui Bei Tui" placed on the top, the two red letters were particularly eye-catching, and the emperor's eyes were fixed on it. "I have been praying and hoping that it will change back." The emperor's tone was a little sad, "Since it is a sign from the gods, there should be room for change. But..." He shook his head, "So many days have passed It has never changed." He looked at Pei Xuanjing beside him: "If the second elephant is always like this, I will become the king of subjugation. Right?" Pei Xuanjing knew very well that the emperor did not need his own answer.Everyone who talks to Pei Xuanjing now will fall into a similar situation.Because I was facing a "dumb", I couldn't expect her answer.But they all believed that she could understand every word she said, and even if she didn't get a response, she would keep talking, talking more and more... "To this day, I have given up hope. It is better to believe in ghosts and gods than to believe in nothing." He said to Pei Xuanjing, "The prophecy of "Tui Bei Tu" has been proven repeatedly. But you are based on the thirty The word change of Sanxiang made me a murderer who killed my father and king. Today I will repeat it to you again, your explanation is wrong." "I know you will say that you just explained the signs of the gods, but will the gods make a mistake? If the gods blame me for this, and then change the second image..." The emperor's voice finally trembled, The body also began to shake, and I had to support the edge of the long case with both hands.He could no longer hide his inner fear, and his tough image supported by authority and will was on the verge of collapse. "The second elephant must be restored to its original state! I will never be the king of subjugation!" the emperor said, closing the golden chamber with all his strength, "If there is no other way, I will go and explain it to the gods myself!" The heavy muffled sound echoed in the hall for a long time, making Pei Xuanjing a little dizzy. The emperor still supported the long case with one hand, and spread the other hand out, revealing the golden alchemy in his palm. He smiled strangely: "I have been taking this elixir for some time. Whether the golden elixir is beneficial, harmful or poisonous, I know best in my heart. But these are not important, the most important thing is to ascend to immortality as soon as possible." After saying that, he put the golden elixir into his mouth. Pei Xuanjing lowered her eyes. She knew how dangerous it was to win this battle.The end is near, but why is there no half joy of victory in her heart, nor half joy of revenge, all there is is endless sadness.