Prince Ning's Mansion is divided into four areas according to function. The axis from south to north is the sacrificial area, the palace area, the garden area, and the palace area. [] The main hall of the palace is collectively called Chengyun Hall, which is also commonly known as Yin'an Hall among the people.
, Xia Xun and Saihazhi were not guests who could be received openly, so they could not be received in the Chengyun Hall. They were led to the Cunxin Hall.
This is a side hall. When you cross the high threshold, you will see a painted screen of cranes and deer in spring. Going around the painted screen and paved with terrazzo tiles, you will find the main hall of Cunxin Hall, with dragon columns and mahogany railings.
Bronze lampposts on the floor, bronze cranes blowing out sandalwood, curtains rolled up, behind the bookcase leaning against the screen, Xia Xun and Sai Hazhi were introduced into the palace, and sat in the guest seats for a while. Prince Ning and his concubine Shan Ning
Just walked in slowly.
"My ministers Xia Xun and Sai Hazhi have met His Highness..."
Xia Xun's eyes fell on Shan Ning and couldn't help but be stunned. She was still wearing a white dress, which was the most popular color among the royal family of the Ming Dynasty, but the style was different. This was a palace dress, elegant and generous.
Wearing a green-white back embroidered with silver thread patterns, only a jade hairpin was inserted into the shiny black peach heart bun. There were no other decorations, but the whole person was crystal clear like a bright moon.
Saihazhi, a rough man, did not recognize Princess Shaning at all. When he saw her walking half a step behind Prince Ning, and her dress was definitely not that of a palace maid, he immediately followed her: "I have met His Highness, I have met the Princess."
Xia Xun woke up with a start and said quickly, "I've met the princess!"
Prince Ning only said that he was intimidated by the grace of his princess, but before he thought about it, Shan Ning's eyes clearly flashed with a trace of fear and panic. As soon as she entered the hall, she found that the two people in front of her were very familiar, weren't they?
, they didn't even change their clothes. Saihazhi's look clearly showed that he didn't recognize her identity, but the change in Xia Xun's eyes and the reaction of his expression when he saw her clearly showed that he had recognized her.
!
Prince Ning waved his hands calmly and said: "Get up, don't be too polite." After saying that, he walked towards the main seat. Shan Ning followed beside him. A pair of strong and toned thighs that were far slender than ordinary girls had already begun.
Trembling suddenly, she forced herself to remain calm and walked over without even looking at Xia Xun.
Prince Ning slowly sat down behind the case, glanced at them coldly, and asked: "You...are here on the orders of the Four Emperors? What do you want to say to see me?"
Xia Xun, who had just stood up straight, hurriedly bowed and saluted again: "Your Highness, the emperor is unruly and the court is unfair. A group of ministers are dancing around, making trouble, and bewitching the emperor to change the ancestral system, change the official system, cut down the vassal king, and cause the king of Zhou to emigrate.
In Yunnan, the king of Dai was imprisoned in Bashu, the king of Qi was imprisoned in Fengyang, the king of Xiang was imprisoned in Jingchu, and the king of Yan, as the leader of the kings, followed the instructions of the emperor Ming's ancestors and raised troops to pacify Nan..."
Shan Ning was in a daze and didn't hear what Xia Xun said next. She only knew that if her jealous husband knew that she had a lover outside, then not only her sworn brother Liu Kui would definitely be dead but in another place.
, she will also be killed by the furious King Ning, who will not have any scruples just because she is the sister of the leader of the Duoyan Guard.
Her brother would not raise an army because of her life or death. The Mongolians did not send troops in anger because of a woman. Even if she was the woman of the Mongolian king, that would be an act that would be ridiculed by the heroes of the world. Even the great ancestor of the Golden Family,
Genghis Khan would not raise an army just because his women were kidnapped. The Mongolians have different views from the Han people. Genghis Khan's women can be kidnapped twice, and even come back pregnant with other people's children, they can still confidently become Genghis Khan's
Queen, but the Han people regarded this as a great shame and humiliation. If Prince Ning knew about it...
While Xia Xun was talking to Prince Ning, he occasionally glanced at her with a thoughtful look. Shan Ning became even more nervous. Her teeth bit her thin lips lightly, and the pink color on her soft-lined lips was already due to nervousness.
diluted with fear.
"The emperor is the lord of the world, and the whole country belongs to him. He wants to cut down the vassal, and I have nothing to say. The fourth brother is the leader of all the kings. Based on the ancestral precepts of Huang Kao, I raised troops to appease Nan. This is what I do.
Brother, I can’t comment either. But if I raise an army to respond, that would be funny.”
Prince Ning said calmly: "First of all, as a minister, Zhu Quan should not dictate the emperor's actions. Secondly, there are so many emperor brothers above Zhu Quan. Although the fourth brother believes that the current situation can be based on the instructions of his ancestors,
We raised an army to clear the emperor's side, but the other imperial brothers did not move. As the younger brother, I don't know whether I should follow the fourth brother. If the fourth brother is wrong, wouldn't Zhu Quan also make the mistake?"
"Your Highness, the other kings are powerless. Only King Yan and His Highness can clear the king's side. If Your Highness stands aside and watches, once King Yan is defeated, it will be his turn..."
King Ning interrupted Xia Xun's words and said: "I don't have a single soldier in my hands now. I have handed over the military power of the 80,000 garrison in the domain to the governor Chen Heng. My three bodyguards and horses have been handed over to Ji."
Liu Zhen, the commander-in-chief of the prefecture, if you say you are powerless, I am no different from the other princes now, so what can I do to help my fourth brother?"
"Your Highness..."
"Please reply to the fourth brother and the seventeenth brother...it's difficult!"
Before Xia Xun could say anything else, Prince Ning Zhu Quan had already stood up. The steward of Prince Ning's Mansion who was guarding the door immediately walked in, bowed slightly, and motioned for the two of them to follow him out.
Xia Xun had no choice but to stop talking, and took another deep look at Princess Shaning, who was standing tall and pretty in white clothes like snow, and bowed to Prince Ning...
※※※
"princess!"
Shan Ning was standing next to a flower tree in the garden, holding a flower that was about to wither in her hand. She was distracted when a guard came over quietly and bowed to her. Shan Ning turned around and saw
It was Zeng Er, her personal guard, who hurriedly stepped forward to greet her and asked urgently: "Xiao Er, have you heard everything clearly?"
The real name of Zeng Er is Yirentai, which means ninety. At that time, children from poor families in Mongolia were also given names very casually. The name ninety means longevity. I hope he lives to be ninety years old. He married Shan Ning to Prince Ning's Mansion.
, and then changed his name to a Chinese name.
Zeng Er said: "After asking around, I found out that they did not leave right away. They have now stayed at the Changning Inn in the west of the city."
Shan Ning sneered: "That man named Xia has recognized me. He really doesn't want to give up. He is staying in Daning City. He must be trying to trick me and use me to persuade His Highness!"
Zeng Er said: "Princess, if the information falls into someone else's hands, if he exposes it..."
Shan Ning gritted her silver teeth and said coldly: "No, they won't see the sun tomorrow morning!"
Zeng Er understood the idea and hurriedly leaned over and said: "I understand, I'll go make arrangements right away!"
"Wait!"
Zeng Er said: "Princess, don't worry, the younger one will only choose the cronies we brought from Duoyanwei, and will not let the palace guards interfere with them."
Shan Ning shook his head and said: "They came to Daning to meet His Highness. If they die here inexplicably, King Yan will think that His Highness did it, and they will inevitably turn against him. Go and get some sets of military uniforms and uniforms of the Daning garrison.
Your Highness cannot bear the bad name of the saber."
Zeng Er said: "I understand, I'll do it right away."
The inns outside the pass are different from those inside the pass. Here, there are very few people visiting relatives and friends who stay in the inns, and there are also very few people visiting relatives and friends. Most of the people who pass by here are traveling merchants and travelers on the grassland and desert, and there are often dozens or hundreds of people.
There are many people, carriages, horses, camels and mules, so the inns here are very large, with few rooms and wide courtyards. In order to separate different groups of merchants, so as not to mix up the carriages and horses and lose their belongings, so the guest rooms and
Most of the courtyards are separate, separated by adobe walls half a person's height.
The residence of Xia Xun and Sai Hazhi is such a courtyard. There are three houses made of straw and yellow mud, a very large courtyard, and there are long rows of horse corridors leaning against the walls on both sides of the courtyard. This courtyard just had one in the morning.
The camel team left without much cleaning. There were still camel dung and scattered straw on the ground. The room was empty. There was a big kang bed with only two dirty quilts and not even a mattress. Only the kang bed was big enough.
It's no problem to do somersaults on it.
Dinner was at the inn. Xia Xun ate a bowl of steamed buns in soup and a small half of a leg of lamb. However, Saihazhi, who ate as much as an ox, gnawed the entire leg of lamb clean, leaving Xia Xun in the end.
After eating half of the leg of lamb, I brought it back and said I wanted to use it as a midnight snack.
The weather has entered October and is already very cold. The wind is especially strong at night, making the dusty and dusty. The yard is empty and there is nothing to admire, so the few guests have gone back to their rooms to sleep early.
At the second watch, a group of officers and soldiers suddenly broke into the Changning Inn. To protect themselves from the wind and sand, their faces were covered with woolen towels. Only their eyes were exposed, and they were full of murderous intent. After asking where Xia Xun and Sai Hazhi lived, they found out
, leaving two officers and soldiers to stay with the innkeeper and the waiter, and the others went straight to Xia Xun's residence.
The guest house with its own courtyard was easy to arrest. The house was surrounded by people, and then they broke in and rushed in with steel knives.
The torches were burning, and several officers and soldiers searched the three empty houses, but there was no trace of anyone at all.
A tall warrior wearing a school lieutenant's uniform and carrying a sword under his ribs, with his face covered and his hands behind his back, stood proudly in the center of the house and asked coldly: "Did you find the wrong room?"
"No, I asked about it in advance, and just checked the account book of the guest's stay. It's true, this is the residence! There is also a quilt here."
The lieutenant, who stood with his hands behind his hands and only showed a pair of bright and deep eyes, slightly moved his eyes: "A quilt?"
He immediately walked into the bedroom next to him, and several other soldiers followed him. They raised their torches high and illuminated the kang. They saw that there were actually two quilts on the kang, and now one of them was used as a mattress.
, a quilt was made on the bed, the masked captain bent down, touched the quilt, and said in a cold voice: "The quilt is still hot, he heard the noise and hid, and he didn't go far, give me
Search!"
"No need to search, I have been waiting for you here for a long time."
Several soldiers jumped up and turned around like rabbits with arrows, holding a knife in one hand and a torch in the other, shining towards the place where the sound came from. They saw Xia Xun sitting on the beam, dangling his two calves, using his
A leg of lamb that had been chewed down to the bone was swaying towards them with a smile.
Someone yelled viciously: "Catch him and chop him into pieces!" This was Zeng Er's voice.
The masked captain said coldly: "Get out!"
Zeng Eryi was startled and lost his voice: "Princess!"
The masked captain scolded coldly: "Idiot! There is only one person resting here, haven't you come out yet? They have been waiting here for a long time. Are they afraid that you will kill them? Get out!"
Xia Xun threw away the sheep bones, clapped his hands and said with a smile: "The princess is really smart as ice and snow, I admire you so much!"
The masked captain said coldly again: "Get down!"
"coming!"
Xia Xun straightened his back with a smile and jumped down from the beam. His feet landed lightly on the ground without making any sound.
Zeng and others all looked at the masked captain. The masked captain waved his hands, and they retreated reluctantly. Then, the masked man reached out and gently took off his mask, revealing his face.
Zhang Bihua explained, but her pretty face was covered with frost. She was indeed Prince Ning's concubine Shan Ning. When she saw her on the hillside outside Liujiakou, she smiled innocently. When she saw her in Prince Ning's palace, she was graceful and elegant.
, like a fairy, but at this moment, her eyes are so sharp that she looks like a female leopard pouncing on her prey at any time.
"That companion of yours?"
"I know that a beautiful woman will visit tonight. My companion is a rough man who doesn't understand the charm, so I sent him away."
A murderous look appeared in Shan Ning's brows, and she said coldly: "With just one word from me, I can kill you to death, so you'd better not be glib to me!"
Xia Xun looked solemn and replied: "Reporting to the princess, my companion has been hiding. If I live well, nothing will happen. Otherwise, my companion will go to complain to His Highness, saying
My wife had a man outside, but my two brothers saw her, so they killed me and silenced me."
Shan Ning sneered: "Your Highness, will you believe it?"
Xia Xun said seriously: "Yes! Men, I would rather believe that this kind of thing exists than believe that it doesn't exist. In fact, the empress also knows that your highness will definitely believe it. Otherwise, why would the empress bother to work so hard and condescend to come to such a place?"
Coming from a run-down house?"
Shan Ning closed his eyes for a moment, as if suppressing his anger, then slowly opened them, stared at Xia Xun and said, "What do you want?"
"I want your Majesty's help to persuade Your Highness to send troops to help King Yan."
"Your Highness has no troops left."
"I know, but the three guards, Fuyu, Taining, and Duoyan, are arrogant and unruly. They don't have an emperor in sight, only Prince Ning. If Prince Ning says a word and promises some benefits, they will become His Highness Prince Ning's vanguard.
"
"His Highness has given you a very clear answer today. King Yan is at the end of his rope, but our Highness has not reached that point yet. Your hope of success is too small. Your Highness does not want to take this risk, so... I cannot agree to you!"
Xia Xun smiled and said: "Is the empress really that concerned about His Highness Prince Ning? I remember in Liujiakou..."
Shan Ning raised his eyebrows slightly and sneered: "So what, so I will sacrifice Prince Ning to protect myself? You are wrong! Liu Kui and I have been together since childhood. In the words of you Han people, we are childhood sweethearts.
But he is just a commoner, and I love him. I can give myself to him, but I cannot marry him. We Mongolian nobles can marry commoner women, but not commoner men, so my father and brother chose Prince Ning for me.
Prince Ning is my husband, of course I must care for him and protect him!"
"I...can't understand..."
Shan Ning sneered: "Of course you don't understand. You Han people have raised women into sheep. How can you understand the women on our grasslands? Don't think that you can do whatever you want if you catch me. I will not be controlled by an outsider."
Threatening and plotting against my husband, at worst, we will both die together..." As she spoke, her hand slowly reached towards the handle of the knife at her waist.
"You can give your body to other men, but you can't do anything to disgrace your husband? What kind of theory is this?" Xia Xun's head was in confusion, and his inherent values and logical thinking began to short-circuit. He saw Shaning's slender fingers clenching the handle of the knife.
, he was about to get angry, and he quickly comforted him: "Wait a minute, wait a minute, please don't do anything, Madam, this matter... we will discuss it in the long run, we will discuss it in the long run..."
Shan Ning stopped his hand, stared at him fiercely with a pair of almond eyes and said: "How to make a long-term plan?"
"This...I haven't thought about it yet..."
Shan Ning's hand reached for the handle of the knife again, and Xia Xun hurriedly said: "Why don't you allow me to consider a solution that has the best of both worlds? Why do we have to make trouble for both sides? If I die, my brother will definitely take care of your mother's affairs."
Tell His Highness Prince Ning."
Shan Ning said coldly: "The six ears are not conspirators. My mother told me that if it is not your common secret, only you can keep the secret. Otherwise, you should not even think that someone will keep the secret for you. I don't believe you.
I don't believe in your promise. If I must die, I will kill you first and watch you die with my own eyes!"
Xia Xun was almost breaking out in a cold sweat, and said quickly: "My dear, I can guarantee that I am the only one who knows this secret now. If you kill me, it will really no longer be a secret."
Shan Ning was startled and asked suspiciously: "Where is your companion?"
Xia Xun said: "I only gave him a letter and told him to open it only when I am dead. I can guarantee that as long as I am alive, only I will know about it!"
Shan Ning stared at him, his eyes flickering. Xia Xun coughed and said in the most sincere tone: "Madam, you can believe me, Xia is a gentleman!"
Shan Ning didn't know whether to believe his lies or not. As long as there was hope of life, people always didn't want to die. Just now, they only knew that the other two people had grasped her handle and wanted to threaten her as a puppet and force her to do it.
He was unwilling to do something, and he felt desperate for a moment, so he wanted to die together. But seeing that the situation was not good, Xia Xun quickly loosened the noose, said that the matter could be discussed easily, and vowed that only he knew the secret.
Ning couldn't help but waver.
"Empress?" Xia Xun called out softly, tentatively, for fear of irritating this unpredictable woman.
Shan Ning's eyes flashed strangely, his hand slowly left the handle of the knife, and he said expressionlessly: "Okay, from now on, I will send someone to follow you until you come up with the so-called solution to both problems!"
"Empress!" Xia Xun didn't expect to turn against the guest, but was controlled by Shan Ning. In fact, everything he expected was fine, but he misjudged the character of the woman in front of him. He wanted to catch up, but several steel knives blocked him.
found his way.
Shan Ning quickly left the courtyard, covered his mouth and nose with his face mask again, and ordered Zeng Er who followed him: "Find his partner named Sai Hazhi!"
Zeng Er asked tentatively: "Then?"
"Then kill them!"
Shan Ning said calmly: "I always feel that this person is unreliable. I can't let him hold on to me all my life!" To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation at () for your support.