"I beg you, Your Majesty... to let Du Zhenghai live..."
Mo Shuiling's plaintive request not only failed to arouse the emperor's sympathy, but instead aroused the jealousy and resentment in his heart.
His eyes were scarlet, his chest was heaving violently, and he said almost word for word: "I can promise you anything, except this!"...
The dappled light reflected Mo Shuiling's cold porcelain-white face, making it look increasingly pale and frosty; she groaned in pain, and there was a moment of confusion in her dark and lifeless eyes.
The emperor's eyes were dark and his voice was as cold as ice, "Tell me, what is the relationship between you and that man?..."
Mo Shuiling's lips were stained red with blood, and she moved slightly a few times, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end nothing came out.
"Don't tell me that he is just your savior." The emperor curled his lips with a teasing sneer on his face.
"..." Mo Shuiling frowned slightly, the pain between her brows showing a bit of sadness.
The emperor raised his head slightly, with a hint of playfulness and consideration in his eyes, and said quietly: "Do you still remember a few years ago, when Du Zhenghai was thrown into the sky prison and prepared to be executed? At that time, the Queen Mother kept interceding for him. My imperial sister Huanyu also had some kind of relationship with him in a roundabout way; even you, the imperial concubine who has never been interested in state affairs and has a pure heart, showed great righteousness and affection to me, just to save my life. His life...
"So many people are surrounding him, trying their best to avoid his death, and yet he is just a commoner with no foundation in the government - don't tell me, this is just a coincidence..."
In the voice, the words Mo Shuiling once said to him echoed clearly in his ears:
"Privately, I think what the Queen Mother said is very good. Firstly, Du Zhenghai's crime will not lead to death; secondly, this matter is related to the personal interests of the princess and the Queen Mother. It is not a trivial matter. Your Majesty must handle it with caution!"
"I have heard that the Holy One governs the world with benevolence and virtue, and his kindness spreads to all people. If the Holy One can pardon Du Zhenghai this time, the Queen Mother will be happy, and the princess will also be grateful for the Holy One's kindness. The subjects should praise the Holy One for his benevolent government and love for the people, and even more I will loyally serve the Holy Spirit.”…
The emperor has always been knowledgeable and has a strong memory, and he has a photographic memory. He is extremely kind and loving to Ling Fei, so he is very fond of everything she said and did.
So even though so many years have passed, the scene at that time is still fresh in my mind.
After thinking about it, he understood everything. He was still a little confused at the time, but now he is cheerful and understands everything.
"Why don't you speak? Answer me!" He stared at her coldly and unblinkingly, with a bit of oppression in his tone.
"Your Majesty..." Mo Shuiling couldn't help but groan in pain.
At that moment, she felt that her heart was broken, and even her own breathing was painful. "Does Your Majesty have to force me to tell you everything?"
"Yes, after so many years, I really don't want to be kept in the dark all the time, let alone be pointed out by them behind my back, or even become their... laughing stock..." At this time, he felt his heart beating fast. Soon, his speech became incoherent.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty, I have never done anything to disgrace Your Majesty, so Your Majesty will not become a laughing stock... I swear to God, the relationship between me and him has always been pure and pure, there is really nothing." !”
When she said this, Mo Shuiling's tone was steady and firm, without any hesitation.
"Oh?..." The emperor glanced at her in disbelief, with some doubts still in his voice.
"Now that things have come to this, does Your Majesty think it is necessary for me to keep hiding it?" Mo Shuiling's eyes were red, but she stared straight at the person in front of her, without the slightest fear or escape.
"Back then, my sister was framed by an adulterer and suffered a terrible misfortune; my father also died in a foreign country - if Mr. Du hadn't helped the strong and weak, and helped me when I was most helpless, I would have died in a foreign country long ago. Now, how can there be a chance to see the Holy One again?
"I admit that I did have a good impression of Mr. Du, and even had some feelings of admiration - but I swear to God, between me and him, I really have a relationship between love and reason, and abide by etiquette. There is no overstep!..."
She talked eloquently, with all the dignity and reserve of a strong and chaste woman, with a clear conscience; in her eyes as clear as water, there was stubbornness and unwillingness, but there was no fear or surrender to him. .
The emperor was also deeply infected and shocked by her awe and momentum. Looking at her determined eyes, he felt his throat was choked.
"Your Majesty, I am... I am dying..." Her weak body suddenly twitched in pain, and another stream of salty blood spurted out from her throat; her face was pale and her breathing was rapid, as if she was drowning. People have nothing to rely on.
The emperor's heart suddenly sank, "Ling'er, cheer up, I'll go find the imperial doctor right away!"
"No... no need. As the saying goes, when a person is about to die, his words are also kind; when a bird is about to die, his song is sad. I have only one thing to plead with the emperor now..."
"What's the matter?" The emperor said numbly.
"Please, Your Majesty, let Du Zhenghai go..."
"After all, is this the only man in your heart? Just now you said you have nothing to do with him... Haha..." The emperor suddenly laughed miserably, his laughter was deep and hoarse, with an uncontrollable tone. Forbearance, his whole body was as stiff as a stone.
At that moment, he suddenly realized that mental cheating was sometimes more intolerable than physical cheating.
"Your Majesty..." Mo Shuiling's wet and misty eyes were still wide open, just looking at him dreamily.
Her breath was getting weaker and weaker, and her throat seemed to be burned by fire. She was just breathing hard and could no longer make any sound.
Zhao Yu looked into her persistent eyes and felt that his chest was getting more and more stuffy, so suffocating that he could hardly breathe. He finally nodded with tears in his eyes, "Okay, I promise you..."
Mo Shuiling let out a long breath, and a happy smile appeared on her beautiful and childish face. Then the light in her eyes disappeared, and her pupils slowly expanded.
The emperor felt his arms suddenly sink! Everything in the world seemed to have lost its color at that moment.
He lowered his head slumpedly, pressed Mo Shuiling's soft body tightly against his chest, bit his lips hard, tried desperately to suppress the sobs he had choked, and tried to stuff them back into his throat, but he found that all this was in vain.
He couldn't help but burst into tears...
That night, the moonlight was hazy, like a layer of mist, falling all over the deserted place, making people feel an indescribable loneliness and sadness.
Emperor Zhao Yu sat depressed in the Hall of Cultivation of the Heart, staring blankly at the beautifully framed picture of a beautiful woman on the wall, sighing from time to time.
The beauty in the scroll is none other than Mo Shuiling. Her hair is loosely rolled up, her long sleeves are flowing, her eyebrows are like distant mountains, her eyes are like autumn waves, and her every smile is enchanting.
Silently looking at the beauty on the scroll, his thoughts passed through the tenderness of his mood, spreading bit by bit like a mist, lingering for a long time, and finally drifted away with a helpless sigh.
He couldn't help but think of a few years ago. Mo Shuiling had just entered the palace at that time, and he felt like he had found a treasure. He was so excited that he arranged for Feng Lin to invite the best painter in the capital to paint Mo Shuiling's true face...
Although the things are there now, the people have gone. Looking at the beautiful woman in the painting, he raised his face and couldn't stop crying.
At this time, the door outside sounded softly, and Feng Chaoying walked in softly and cautiously reported: "Your Majesty, Commander Li has something very important to report to His Majesty outside. I wonder if His Majesty has seen him or not?..."
Zhao Yu calmed his mind and said after a long while: "Let him come in."
"According to the order." Feng Chaoying bowed his head and responded respectfully, turned around and went out.
After a while, Li Zhishan came in and paid homage to the emperor respectfully.
"Just tell me what you have to say." Zhao Yu turned his back to him, standing expressionless, and there was no fluctuation in his cold voice.
Li Zhishan said: "Wei Chen has just received the news that traces of Ling Yun were found on the post road ten miles east of the capital."
The emperor's eyes lit up: "Oh?..."
Li Zhishan whispered: "It's just that Ling Yun is extremely cunning, and the passers-by who met him were no match for him. By the time the officers and soldiers arrived, he had already... escaped..."
The emperor couldn't help but be disappointed. He turned back coldly and glanced at him lightly, like a lonely ice sculpture, as cold as a bone, "Are these the important things you want to report?"
Li Zhishan's eyelids trembled and he said calmly: "Wei Chen has something else to say."
"explain."
Li Zhishan hesitated for a moment, considered the tone of his words, and said cautiously: "Wei Chen... Wei Chen dares to ask His Majesty, how will the Holy Majesty deal with Du Zhenghai?"
The emperor half-closed his eyelashes and suppressed two shadows, "Does this have anything to do with what you just said?"
Li Zhishan's gloomy eyes flashed, "Of course there is. That Ling Yun has great martial arts skills and is extremely cunning; and he is in the dark and we are in the open, so it is not easy to catch him. If you want to succeed, you have to be smart. "
The emperor raised his eyebrows slightly, looked at him with burning eyes and said, "How to outwit him?"
Li Zhishan said: "Lead the snake out of the hole."
"Go on."
Li Zhishan pondered for a moment and said with a hint of inquiry: "In order to lure a snake out of its hole, there must be a bait. So Wei Chen has an idea, can we use Du Zhenghai as a bait?"
"What do you mean-" The emperor slowly turned his face and gave him a meaningful look.
"Post notices everywhere in the capital, informing the world that Du Zhenghai will be executed at Caishikou at 3:30 noon on the third day."
Li Zhishan lowered his profile slightly, his eyes concealed a sinister luster, and said in a deep voice: "Ling Yun and Du Zhenghai are close friends. With his character, he will definitely come. When the time comes, we only need to set up an ambush around him, and he will definitely come." Let Ling Yun and his comrades die without a place to die!"...
