"If I wanted to come, I would have come a long time ago." Yinzhen shook his head and said with a bitter smile: "That's all, there is no need to invite her. If hatred can make her feel better, let her hate it. After all, I am sorry for her in this matter."
After saying this, he took a deep breath, took the sword from Xiao Wu's hand, and strode out. The moment he stepped out of the palace door, all the guards standing outside knelt down and shouted three times: Long live the palace!
In the midst of such a call from the mountains and the sea, Yinzhen got on the royal horse waiting there and rode out of the palace, followed closely by his guards.
According to the ancestral system, the emperor personally went to war. In addition to sending officials to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, the ancestral temple, Sheji, and Tai Sui, he also had to personally offer sacrifices to the hall. Those kings, beile, beizi, dukes, etc. who did not go with the expedition gathered in front of the Meridian Gate.
Kneel down to receive the Holy Driver as he sets out for battle.
The king, Beile, Beizi, Gonghou, etc. who were on the expedition gathered at Waijinshuiqiao. When Yinzhen appeared, they all knelt down and followed him. At the same time, bells and drums were rang at the Meridian Gate, and horns were blown when they arrived at Yuhe Bridge.
The sound of conch shells stopped until the emperor entered Tangzi Street and rode down.
Then he entered the middle gate and went to the Circular Hall to worship. Yinzhen stood facing south and led his ministers to perform three kneels and nine kowtows. After the ceremony, the horns and snails chirped. Then he went to worship the gods outside the inner gate and performed the same ceremony of three kneels and nine kowtows.
.
When the sound of the horns and conchs stopped, Yinzhen officially set off, the band played royal music, and the pro-army troops held high the flag. When Yinzhen was about to embark on the journey, Yunli had people push him to the front of Yinzhen, and said softly: "Your Majesty
, does it really have to be conducted by a charioteer?"
Yinzhen coughed lightly and said: "Old Seventeen, when did you become such a mother-in-law? You have reached this point, how can you change it again? You don't have to worry about me, stay in the capital and guard for me.
Jiangshan, as long as you can do this, I will have no regrets."
Yunli nodded vigorously and choked with sobs: "Your Majesty, don't worry. I will definitely guard the capital and never let him fall into the hands of anyone with bad intentions. You must take care of yourself. In addition... the person you want to see will definitely be seen."
Yinzhen was startled, then he patted Yunli hard on the shoulder and said, "Okay, I know what's going on."
After doing this, Yinzhen remounted his horse and embarked on a mighty journey with his accompanying soldiers. On the way, he looked back at the Meridian Gate that was getting farther and farther away from time to time, hoping to see a familiar figure on the Yanchi Tower, but he
Disappointed, until he left the capital, he could not see the person he wanted to see.
Ruo'er, I know you resented me for not taking you with me on the expedition, but once we go, maybe you and I will never see each other again. Do you really have the heart not to see me one last time?
After leaving the city gate, Solice immediately stepped forward and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, I have given orders. You are in poor health and cannot ride a horse for a long time, so I ask you to move the carriage."
Yunli had told him about this matter long before the expedition, and he agreed. With his current physical condition, if he rode a horse to the Sarik River like this, he might not be able to hold on even before the battle started.
In this way, because there is no one to command the army, it will end up worse than Li Shumi's army of 100,000. Therefore, before the battle, he must try to conserve his strength.
Yinzhen raised his hand to signal the army to stop, and then helped Suoli's men to ride to the carriage. Before Suoli could take action, one hand had already opened the curtain, and Yinzhen saw that someone was still sitting inside.
A person dressed as a guard.
Because the guard lowered his head, Yinzhen couldn't see his appearance, but this was enough to surprise him. He said in amazement: "Who is this person? Why is he in my carriage?"
Suoli lowered his head and said nothing, but the guard raised his head and said: "I have seen the emperor, long live the emperor!"
Following this voice, Yinzhen finally saw the guard's face. That face... He would never forget it for the rest of his life, but... But why did she appear here? She shouldn't be in the palace, in Chengqian Palace
? Why in the carriage?
Seeing that Yinzhen was silent for a long time, Ling Ruo turned her head and smiled and said, "Is this concubine's outfit pretty?"
After Yinzhen came back to his senses, his first reaction was to stare at Suoli fiercely and lower his voice: "Did you know that Concubine Xi was here?"
Suo Li lowered his head and said: "As far as the emperor is concerned, this servant is just following the prince's instructions and doesn't know about the rest."
"Yunli, he is so brave!" Yinzhen scolded him bitterly, and then shouted to Ling Ruo: "Get down here immediately and go back to the palace!"
Ling Ruo said firmly: "Now that I'm here, I have no plans to go back. I said I would accompany the emperor on the expedition, and I will never break my promise!"
"Absurd!" Yinzhen shouted sternly: "The battlefield is not a child's play. You can die at any time there. As a female, what are you going to do? Or do you think that the courage on my shoulders is not strong enough? Yunli is the same.
,actually
However, you are fooling around with me without telling me. When I go back, I will definitely take responsibility." Seeing that Ling Ruo was unmoved, he emphasized his tone and said: "Get out of the car and go back immediately, I will pretend that nothing happened, otherwise I will
I will never spare you."
Facing Yinzhen's displeased gaze, Ling Ruo said: "Unless the emperor kills me, I will never get off the carriage."
"You... cough, cough!" As soon as he said one word, Yinzhen couldn't help but cough. Suoli said from the side: "Your Majesty, it's windy outside. If you have anything to say, you'd better get in the car and talk about it."
Yinzhen was also a little tired from standing, so he got into the carriage while coughing. Ling Ruo wanted to rub his back, but he waved it away. After the coughing subsided, he said in a cold voice: "Concubine, do you really think that
Won’t I deal with you?”
Ling Ruo knew that when Yinzhen was alone, calling her a noble concubine meant that she was truly angry, but there was no intention of backing down in her eyes, "I still said what I just said, unless I kill my concubine,
Take my concubine’s body back to the Forbidden City, otherwise I will never leave here. In this life, my concubine and the emperor cannot be born in the same year, the same month, and the same day, but they must die in the same year, the same month, and the same day!”
These words made Yinzhen very moved, but he still forced himself to say with a cold face: "I am going to fight, not to die. Are you deliberately trying to hurt me by saying this? Listen to me and go back quickly, I
I promise you that you will come back victorious. If you insist on not listening to me again, I will ask the guards to take you away forcibly."
"Yes, the emperor can let the guards take the concubine away, but the emperor cannot prevent the concubine from seeking death, unless the emperor deliberately wants to force the concubine to a dead end."
Looking at her rock-solid expression, Yinzhen didn't know what to say. For a long time, he said in frustration: "Do you have to be against me?"
Ling Ruo shook his head and said: "I don't want to go against the emperor. I am just afraid that if we say goodbye, we will never see the emperor again. Therefore, I will stay with you wherever the world ends, in the sea of fire and on the mountain of knives."
I beg you... to give me this chance!" After that, she knelt down on the carriage and refused to get up no matter what Yinzhen said.