"Li Ruiyun, you have such vicious thoughts. You are using me as bait to trick Ling Yun and my imperial uncle into throwing themselves into a trap and coming here to die!... Li Ruiyun, even if you really kill me this time, I will I won't agree!" Faced with Li Ruiyun's threat, Emperor Zhao Yu shook his head resolutely.
"Since the emperor refuses to agree, then don't blame Mr. Li for being rude!" Li Ruiyun glanced at the person opposite him. There was no trace of light in his pupils, which was not like the eyes of a living person...
Zhao Yu shuddered unconsciously.
"Bring it here." Li Ruiyun's sinister eyes turned slightly and focused on Zhou Huaiyi, who was tightly restrained by those brutal guards.
Zhou Huaiyi was dragged and brought before the emperor.
"Your Majesty, please take a good look at the man in front of you. In order to save you, he did not hesitate to put himself in danger and traveled day and night from the border thousands of miles away to come here to deliver Ding Jinzhi's letter in an attempt to confuse the public and numb our minds. , and then look for opportunities to help you escape from danger - he fell into such a miserable situation, but it was all thanks to the emperor!"
"Now his life and death only depends on the emperor's thoughts. If the emperor can agree to Li's request just now, Li can spare his life; otherwise, if the emperor does not agree, hum -" Li Ruiyun sneered, his eyes The evil spirit inside is turbulent.
Blackmail, naked blackmail. The emperor felt the blood all over his body rushing to the top of his head, and the veins in his temples were throbbing. He lowered his head with difficulty and glanced at the embarrassed servant in front of him.
His hair was disheveled, covering almost half of his face; his body was covered with mottled whip marks, mixed with sweat and blood, and adhered to the torn clothes. The scars and bloody flesh were shocking.
After listening to Li Ruiyun's words, a spark of hope arose in Zhou Huaiyi's originally gloomy heart; but when he saw the emperor's hesitant look, his hopeful heart sank again.
He desperately twisted his broken body that was held down by his minions, roaring and begging at the top of his lungs, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, everything I do is for the Emperor! I don't want to die, I really don't want to die. ! I beg you, I beg you, please save my slave..."
"Your Majesty, have you thought about it?" Li Ruiyun took his time and clasped his hands, looking at the difficult confrontation between the monarch and the slave in front of him, as if he was enjoying a wonderful show, and then he spoke leisurely:
"Who doesn't know that your majestic king of the Song Dynasty, the former emperor Zhao Yu, has always shown his kindness to the world, sympathized with his subordinates, and loved his people like his own children - now your subordinates' lives are at stake, and they are eagerly waiting for your decision. In the matter of life and death, Mr. Li believes that the emperor will definitely come to his rescue at the critical moment and help him get out of trouble, right?"
The emperor twitched the corner of his mouth and revealed a bitter smile, "Li Ruiyun, you are putting me on the stove to roast me! You are obviously the culprit of all the troubles, but you go around and pass those heinous crimes onto me. , and you still show a compassionate attitude, is there anyone more shameless than you in this world?"
"Haha, thanks to the emperor's praise, Li is flattered!" Li Ruiyun laughed evilly, and his strange eyes immediately turned cold, "Stop talking nonsense, let me ask you again, what do you think about the matter I just raised? Do you agree or not?"
The emperor's Adam's apple rolled twice, "Since you can't have your cake and eat it too, I can only bear the pain and make a choice."
"Be patient and give up love, make a choice -" murmuring and repeating the next few words, Li Ruiyun's eyes narrowed slightly, "Please make it clear, Your Majesty."
The emperor took a deep breath, "If I agree to you, then I will ask Ling Yun and my uncle to die here..."
Li Ruiyun's mouth twitched, "So, the emperor's choice is to let this dog slave die?"
The emperor lowered his eyes dejectedly and said nothing.
A faint smile passed over Li Ruiyun's colorless lips, "Zhou Huaiyi, you heard clearly, it's not that Mr. Li wants to kill you, but that your emperor has abandoned you, so you can't blame me!"
"Your Majesty, why?..." Zhou Huaiyi stared sadly at the monarch in front of him who had made the final decision and sentenced him to death. His heart felt as if he had swallowed shards of glass, and he couldn't hold back the blood that was suppressed in his throat. Being spat out.
"Why, Zhou Huaiyi, after all, you still blame yourself for being useless! When will your role surpass that of Ling Yun or Prince Guangling, then you will be the one the Emperor chooses to keep!"
Li Ruiyun spoke slowly, but the following words suddenly became ruthless, "Come here, take him down and rectify him on the spot!"
"Your Majesty, no, no!..." Listening to his death sentence, Zhou Huaiyi couldn't help but burst into tears, howling like an injured old wolf in the wilderness, mixed with endless sadness and despair.
The guards on both sides stepped forward as instructed, roughly held him hostage and dragged him out.
Zhou Huaiyi wailed hysterically, struggled desperately, and used all his strength to fight at the last moment of his life, although such a fight could only be in vain...
After a moment, two execution guards came up carrying a tray and replied to Li Ruiyun: "To Mr. Li, Zhou Huaiyi has already stated the canonical punishment, please check!"
Li Ruiyun responded casually and asked the guard to bring the tray to the emperor for inspection.
The emperor had the courage to glance at the tray, and the blood on his face immediately disappeared, and his whole body was trembling.
Li Ruiyun glanced sideways at the emperor and snorted disdainfully, "How about it, Your Majesty, you personally killed someone who was loyal to you, don't you feel bad in your heart?"
Some emotions were swirling in the emperor's eyes, and he finally sighed, speechless.
"Let me ask you again, will you agree to the request I just made?" Li Ruiyun did not intend to let it go and continued to press forward step by step.
"..." The emperor frowned and lost his opinion for a moment.
Staring intently at the change of expression on the emperor's face, Li Ruiyun raised the corners of his lips wickedly, "It seems that the emperor has not made up his mind yet, right? In this case, Mr. Li will not be happy to help the emperor make another decision."
He said with a sudden wave of his hand, "Bring it here."
Before Zhao Yu could react, several wolf-like and tiger-like guards swarmed forward and grabbed Ding Jiying, who was beside him with a face that turned pale from fear. They carried her to the emperor like an eagle catching a chicken. .
The emperor's heart suddenly sank, and the flesh and blood in his body seemed to have been dried by the wind, and he might wither and die at any time.
Looking at the situation in front of them, if they don't agree this time, won't they even let Ding Jiying go?
Although Ding Jiying is the younger brother of Ding Mengxuan, the woman Li Ruiyun once truly loved, and the son of Ding Jinzhi, the "husband and dog friend" he once relied on most - all of this is insignificant compared to his wolfish ambitions.
"Has the Emperor made up his mind after seeing this person?" Li Ruiyun struck while the iron was hot.
The emperor's face was covered with sweat, and he hesitated and lowered his head.
What should I do, what should I do, should I agree or not? Ding Jiying was different from Zhou Huaiyi on the balance of weighing pros and cons deep in his heart.
What does it mean to provide help in times of need? It probably refers to Ding Jiying's spared no effort to save him a few days ago!
At that time, he was forced by Li Ruiyun to take the "Hundred Turns and Thousands of Calming Pills" to coerce him into writing the false edict to recall Prince Guangling in order to murder him.
Just when he was in a dilemma, thanks to Ding Jiying's reckless rescue and mediation, Ling Yun later secretly entered the palace to meet the saint and took away the secret decree...
Now facing such a loyal minister, how should he make a choice? Should we choose to keep Ding Jiying or Ling Yun and the others? …
Just now he plausibly said in front of Li Ruiyun that "you can't have your cake and eat it too", but the problem now is that they are both bear's paws!
Alas, it’s so difficult for me...
Looking at the emperor's frowning and tortured expression, Ding Jiying felt uncomfortable in his heart, as if he was blocked by a huge piece of ice, hard and cold, no matter how hard he tried to cover it, it was of no avail.
He took a deep breath, as if he felt no pain, and spoke in a low tone, "Your Majesty, you must not write that secret edict! Otherwise, Brother Ling and Prince Guangling will fall into the trap and enter the palace by mistake. Once they suffer The consequences of an ambush are really unimaginable!”…
