This courtyard has some characteristics of a Taoist temple. There are two bronze crane incense burners on the left and right in front of the main hall. There are columns in front of the hall supporting the corridor, and Xiang curtains are hung around it. The curtains inside the doors and windows are all plain color.
Zhang Xiaojing helped Princess Xianyi to the steps before he dared to let her go. He bent down and crossed his hands and said, "I'm sorry for offending Her Royal Highness, but the two of us have no choice today."
Perhaps it was Princess Xianyi's arrogance as a noble, or the stubbornness of the Li family. She raised her head and said coldly: "Didn't you just say that you are not afraid of death? Why are you apologizing to me now? Are you
Do you think that by gaining my forgiveness, you can escape the sanctions of the Tang Dynasty's laws? The perpetrators of evil can only escape for a while. After leaving this princess's mansion, you two will still have nothing to hide!"
Zhang Xiaojing didn't expect that Princess Xianyi could be so sharp-tongued and sharp-tongued when she was controlled by others. He wanted to scare her and teach her a lesson, but she was a weak woman after all. Although he was not a man, he couldn't do anything to women, so he could only snort and ask.
Said: "Is there an exit to other places in this west courtyard?"
Princess Xianyi stubbornly raised her face and stared at the air in front of her, seemingly determined to fight to the end.
Li Siye calmed down from his initial impulse. From secretly using tripping to kill people, to using sticks to confront everyone in the Prince Consort's Mansion, and now kidnapping Princess Xianyi, he didn't know how he had gone through this journey. Now he is calmer,
Only then did I realize that I was sliding rapidly from the dead road into the abyss of death. There was really no life at all.
Hearing the princess's words, he subconsciously retorted: "Who is not afraid of death? We struggled and fought all the way in the Prince Consort's Mansion just to find a way out. I, Li Siye, have always believed that there is no distinction between high and low in human life. You, my lord, have a body of a thousand gold.
It’s a life, but aren’t the lives of us low-level officials just lives? Are we allowed to be killed by your bastard prince-in-law at will?”
Her Royal Highness the Princess never refused to admit defeat, and retorted with a cold snort: "How can the prince-in-law kill people casually? If you hadn't offended him, how could he be so angry?"
"Of course Yang's consort will not kill people casually." Li Siye used the cynicism of modern keyboard warriors: "He only used our two lives to frame the prince. Once he failed, he became angry and wanted to kill us."
"What did you say?" Princess Xianyi was surprised, her face turned white, and the plum blossom makeup on her forehead was reflected brightly by her skin.
On the other hand, Li Siye looked at the princess's surprised look, and it didn't look like she was pretending. This was incredible. As the biological daughter of Concubine Wu Hui, she didn't know what her mother and husband were doing behind the scenes?
Yang Hui shouted outside the gate: "Xianyi! Xianyi! I'll go in and save you right away."
"Open the door for me!"
The courtyard door made a cracking sound, and the servants shouted chants and hit the door wall with hard objects.
Li Siye didn't want to delve into why the princess was kept in the dark by the consort, so he simply told her everything. Anyway, the situation was not worse than it was now. If the couple had a rift because of this, there might be something unexpected.
Effect.
"Don't pretend you don't know. A lotus grew in the prince's east palace, and demons from Liquan County in Jingzhao Prefecture caused chaos. Your prince-in-law is extremely clever, and he put two unrelated things together and made up this story.
The birth of the Holy Lotus clarifies the prophecy of the world."
"We were two innocent police officers who were forcibly involved by the Prince Consort because they were arresting a monster. They compiled a confession and asked us to make perjury! If we didn't comply, they would threaten our lives. We were forced to have no choice, and we didn't want to make false accusations to slander the prince, so we
Take action and kill the only main witness before the eunuch Gao Lishi interrogates."
"This is why your prince-in-law wants to kill us!"
Li Siye may have been a little excited when he spoke, or the princess was frightened by the shocking news. Her body leaned softly against the pillar behind her, and her face showed surprise, fear, sadness and other emotions. Finally,
It turned into a teardrop hanging in the corner of the eye.
Zhang Xiaojing frowned and looked at the princess. It was bad enough that their life and death were hanging by a thread now. If the princess made another mistake... wouldn't the end result still be death?
Zhang Xiaojing muttered to Li Siye: "Why are you telling her this to a woman?"
However, Princess Xianyi suddenly sat up straight, suppressed the sadness on her pretty face, and asked them seriously: "Do you two want to live?"
Zhang Xiaojing and Li Siye's expressions changed, and they said in unison: "Of course I do."
The princess had already stood up, gently adjusted the silk ribbon on her shoulders, turned around, put her hair into a bun, and stepped forward to sway her jade-like skin.
"If you want to live, come with me."
…
Yang Hui stood outside the wall and kept shouting inside. The servants and soldiers found a rice pounding pestle from nowhere, and three or four people held it and smashed it against it.
The door latch was finally broken by the impact, and everyone stumbled and fell into a heap. Yang Hui lifted up his skirt and crossed the threshold, walking towards the courtyard first.
There was no one in the courtyard, the willow leaves on the branches in the corners were swaying in the wind, and the gauze curtains in the hall were not messy, as if no one had been here.
Yang Hui suppressed the annoyance in his chest and ordered everyone: "Quick, look around!"
He himself went directly through the front hall, went around from the side hall, turned around and found a small door on the courtyard wall, which allowed him to enter another side courtyard.
This courtyard is the source of the water source of the lotus pond in Prince Consort Mansion. There is only one solitary pavilion in the courtyard, surrounded by deep water pools with green waves surging, and a spring at the bottom of the water that turns upward.
At this time, the sky was already dark, and the pavilion was wide open. The gauze curtain at the corner of the pavilion was fluttering in the night wind. Among the fluttering tulle, there was a beauty standing with her back to him. Pingting, her slightly sideways figure
There is a kind of indescribable sadness and melancholy.
Yang Hui's hanging heart finally relaxed, and like a tired traveler after a long journey, he staggered forward. When he reached the steps in front of the pavilion, he knelt down with a plop, and walked forward with his knees behind the princess, crying.
He lowered his head and said mournfully: "Your Highness, Yang Hui deserves to die! He failed to protect the princess and almost let her die in the hands of thieves."
Princess Xianyi turned around sadly. She looked down at the man she loved deeply, put her arms around his head and said in a sad voice:
"Yang Lang, you and I are husband and wife. There is no reason for a husband to apologize to his wife. Today is a time of crisis. My husband's panic can be seen in my eyes and hurt in my heart. What did your husband do?
I don't know, I don't want to know. I just hope that my husband can stay away from right and wrong, because all right and wrong are the source of disaster."
Yang Hui's face was filled with shame for a moment, and he buried himself in the princess's skirt with a cry: "Princess! Yang Lang made a mistake, and it harmed the princess. I promise you, there will never be a next time!"
Princess Xianyi shed tears and shook her head: "I never worry about myself, I worry about you, Yang Lang. No matter how close you are to my father, the emperor, my concubine, and my brothers, you are still the same in their eyes."
You are an outsider. Maybe you can still rely on the favor and friendship of your father, emperor, mother and concubine today, but once they leave, who will care about you."
Yang Hui raised her head and let her reach out to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
"What the princess taught you is that Yang Hui is willing to correct himself."
But the subtext in his heart was, Princess, how did you know that your Yang Lang has no way out, and if I don't pull the prince down, I will die after he ascends the throne.
Luo Xingchang led his soldiers to find the courtyard through the small door. Just as he was waiting to cross his arms to report, he suddenly saw the scene in front of him and hurriedly and quietly slipped out with his men.
Yang Hui heard the movement behind him, raised his head from the princess's skirt, pursed his lips and said: "I will go to Jingzhao Mansion and Jinwu Guard to search the whole city for those two thieves, and I will make them die without a burial place."
!”
"Yang Lang, no!"
Yang Hui was about to turn around and stand up, but was called back by Xian Yi. The princess shook her head and said, "Don't hold Yang Lang accountable, please spare them both."
Yang Hui looked angrily and said bitterly: "These two thieves ruined my... almost ruined the princess's life. How can I spare them lightly?"
"Isn't Xianyi standing in front of you properly? The two of them are not evil in heart, and they have nothing wrong. The only fault is that they want to survive. Prince Consort, please think about it carefully. My father also often teaches us how to behave as a human being.
Don't belittle others and endanger other people's lives. You have promised before that you can let them live as long as nothing happens. How can you be untrustworthy? If you forgive them, it will be an opportunity to resolve the grudges, and they will not resent you in the future.
you."
Yang Hui pulled the princess's hand to her cheek with rare emotion and rubbed it, saying: "Since the princess wants to spare their lives, Yang Hui will let them go once. Princess, it's cold in the pavilion at night, so I'd better help you go back to the main hall of the east courtyard to rest."
Bar."
The maid from the mansion rushed over and brought two cloaks to put on the consort and the princess. Yang Hui supported the princess's hand and walked slowly forward along the stone path in the yard.
Luo Xingchang found an opportunity, caught up from behind and asked in a low voice: "Your Majesty, please send me to Jingzhao Mansion and Jinwu Guards to inform them. Taking advantage of the upcoming curfew, the whole city will be on alert to capture Li Siye and Zhang Xiaojing and bring them to justice."
The princess did not look back, but her face was cold. Yang Hui quickly waved his hand and said: "No need, princess. I don't want to offend the two of them. What happened today has never happened before. Go and seal everyone's mouths."
Yan, don’t let anyone spread this matter.”
Luo Xingchang got the order and retreated. Yang Hui recalled all the details of the incident and became increasingly unhappy with this person.
This Luo Xing often failed in his achievements and failed in many. First he escaped from the demon outside Yanxing Gate, and then persuaded him in the palace to coerce two reckless men to give false testimony. As a result, he killed the most important witness and almost injured himself.
Princess. He no longer wants to use this person, so let him sit in the army for the rest of his life.