The morning light is faint, and the horizon is about to become brighter.
Accompanied by a few rooster crows, the city gate of Chang'an, which had been closed for the night, slowly opened again.
After taking out the horse and setting it up on the table, several city gate officials wrapped in thick clothes stood in front of the city gate, eagerly waiting for the sun to come out so that they could bask in the sunshine and warm themselves up. After all, it was still very cold in the early morning in winter.
cold!
"Drive...drive!"
The sun had not yet shown its head among the clouds, but on the road in front of the door, there were several swift sounds of horse hooves galloping towards the door.
"Hey, come on, get off your horse!" A clerk heard the voice, yawned and stood in the middle of the road, trying to stop the person.
However, he soon discovered that the horses rushing over did not stop at all and ran straight towards him!
"Oh! Bah, bah, bah! What a big deal is a messenger? It's so early in the morning, you're in a hurry to go to the funeral!"
Realizing that something was not going well, the clerk quickly held his head and hid away, but was still blown by the fast horse that passed by him, raising dust and blowing it in his face! He was so angry that he couldn't help but put his hands on his hips and rushed towards the few people who were running away.
The knight cursed loudly.
However, at the city gate, another clerk looked at the cavalry walking away and scratched his head, and said with some uncertainty: "Why does the one I just passed by look so much like King Qin to me?"
"Gah?"
When the little official who was still pointing and cursing in the distance heard this, he immediately acted like a duck with his mouth pinched, and his yelling and cursing suddenly stopped!
He could only squeeze out a few words from his throat: "King Qin?! Don't scare me! Isn't he in Qingzhou?"
Another clerk nodded and said with increasing certainty: "It must be him, I recognize his appearance! The one who just passed by must be King Qin!"
"Oops!" When the scolding guy heard this, he immediately slapped himself hard on the forehead and said with a sad face: "It's over now, I just... Bah! Did you hear what I just said?!"
The clerk who recognized Li Shimin looked at him seriously and said, "I heard it!"
"Heard something!"
“I heard you say you’d like to have a drink at Fujulou tonight!”
"……you are vicious!"
What happened at the gate of the city was just a trivial matter. Now Li Shimin probably didn't have the time or the mood to pay attention to such a trivial matter.
Just in the past two days, he had been busy handling various matters in Gyeongju, while collecting evidence that might point to the prince.
But the arrival of a letter from Chang'an immediately disrupted all his arrangements! He had to travel day and night to rush to Chang'an.
"Dong...dong..."
On the other side of Chang'an City, a deep bell rang, and the palace gate, which had been closed for several days, finally opened again.
Following the crowded flow of people into the palace, Xiao Han took one last look at the palace door behind him after walking through the corridor.
Li Shimin's figure never appeared there.
"Hey, maybe I can't catch up. But what if I catch up?"
Thinking about the news delivered by Changsun Wuji yesterday, Xiao Han could only smile bitterly.
Although he had already guessed this outcome in his mind and had made a lot of preparations for it, when it actually came, it still made him feel deeply frustrated.
I have been busy for so long and planned so much! In the end, not only did I fall short, but I also had to pay a lot more!
No matter who it is, they will feel like crying.
The imperial city in winter was still clean and tidy. Xiao Han followed the crowd and walked through the wide square and high stone steps.
Suddenly I had the feeling that this road I had not walked for half a month seemed a little strange as I walked on it today.
"Hey, I don't know when I will come here next after today. Damn Er Zhuhuan! Damn Qiao Gongshan! How dare you rebel twice? Do you even care about your wife, children, and children at home?!"
He felt a little cruel in his heart, but Xiao Han couldn't bring himself to attack the old, young, women and children. In the end, he could only sigh and walked into the end of the journey, Daxing Hall!
At this time, Daxing Hall was already a bustling scene.
The ministers who had just walked in were either greeting each other, or looking for their seats, and each of them was trying hard to look relaxed.
But Xiao Han could clearly see the anxiety hidden in their eyes!
Slowly following the people forward, Xiao Han did not blend into the group of fifth- and sixth-grade officials this time, but stood in his place honestly.
Maybe it was because he hadn't stood over for a long time. Around him, the colleagues who couldn't be named would turn their heads from time to time and cast strange looks at him.
"Ding……"
Soon, a clear golden bell rang in the hall.
Hearing this voice, the originally buzzing court immediately fell silent! Everyone's eyes turned to the figure who was not that tall.
The emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan! Step by step, he walked to the dragon throne.
He glanced down flatly, and then slowly sat down. Although he didn't say a word, the aura that belonged to a superior person still made people's hearts tremble.
"If you have something to do, start to act, if nothing happens, leave the court!"
Soon, the shrill voice of the eunuch in charge of ceremonies broke the silence, and the lingering sound lingered in the hall for a long time.
Silence, total silence.
Different from usual, in the huge court, even the most talkative censors, at this time, kept their eyes open and looked at their noses, their noses looked at their hearts, without saying a word!
"What, nothing happened?"
Li Yuan looked at His Highness the Dukes Gonggun, and his sharp eyes swept over the faces of Changsun Wuji, Wei Zheng and others.
"Could it be that our Tang Dynasty has now prospered with singing and dancing?"
After Li Yuan finished speaking, there were whispers in the hall, but still no one came out to start playing or answer his words.
"Then Du Yan, tell me! What happened in Qingzhou!"
Suddenly, Li Yuan's low shout broke the silence in the hall. At the same time, it was like a sledgehammer, severely shattering many people's illusions!
When Changsun Wuji heard Li Yuan call out Du Yan's name, his legs immediately softened and he almost fell to the ground!
Before he went to court, he still had some luck! But this luck came to nothing when Li Yuan named Du Yan's name!
"I, I don't know..."
Under almost everyone's gaze, Du Yan walked out of the team tremblingly and fell to the ground.
"I don't know? Haha? Where is Xiao Han?"
Li Yuan glanced at Du Yan with disgust, turned to look at the others, and at the same time called out Xiao Han's name coldly.
"Hey, it's finally here..."
When Xiao Han heard Li Yuan calling him, he felt inexplicably relieved!
Perhaps, only when you are extremely nervous can you experience such an abnormal feeling.
"It's a blessing, not a curse. It's a curse that cannot be avoided."
Reciting these words silently, Xiao Han slowly walked out of the queue, amidst the eyes of those around him who were avoiding the plague, and then walked to Du Yan's side little by little.
"minister……"
"Father!"
Two voices sounded almost at the same time at this moment!
And along with this voice, Li Shimin's weathered figure finally appeared at the door of Daxing Hall!
