Yongcheng, Changxinhou Mansion.
Changxin Hou Lao Ai was discussing something with several close scribes when he suddenly heard a shout outside the door.
"Master Hou, Master Hou!"
Lao Ai and everyone looked up and saw Tuoba Hai walking in the door with big steps and breathing heavily.
"Why are you so panicked?" Lao Ai's heart sank.
Although Tuoba Hai is a brave military commander, he is not a reckless person. What can make him like this must be no small matter.
"Your Majesty." Tuoba Hai stood firm, cupped his hands and said, "The post horse in front sent back a message, which said that King Qin had advanced the date of the crown ceremony by half a month, and now he is rushing to us with his army. "
"What?" Lao Ai was shocked and asked quickly, "Is the news accurate?"
Tuoba Hai took out a volume of appeals from his arms and handed it to Lao Ai.
Lao Ai quickly opened the notice, read the content above, then looked at the official seal below, and sat down on the chair.
"Master Hou!"
"Master Hou!"
Liu Yuan and other scribes gathered around.
"How could... be like this..." Lao Ai's brows were already knitted together.
"Presumably, King Qin couldn't control his eagerness and wanted to get back the royal power as soon as possible." Master Liu Yuan's eyes flashed with a strange color that was difficult to detect.
"Rebirth of the Great Era of Fighting Waves"
"Yes, it seems that we have to take action in advance." Dong Yu, another counselor, said.
"What do you know?" Lao Ai glared and said angrily, "If we don't cooperate with our father inside and outside, how can we be sure that we will cause trouble alone?"
"If that's the case, we might as well kidnap the Queen Mother and hold a stalemate with King Qin for half a month, waiting for the old patriarch to come," Tuoba Hai said.
"This won't work either." Liu Yuan rushed to say, "In these half a month, Ying Zheng will mobilize a large army to surround us. By then, if the Queen Mother is secretly let go by some spy, then we will They all have to die here.”
Dong Yu added: "Then let's wait here for them to come and stay with them for half a month, and then implement the plan."
"This is even more unfeasible." Liu Yuan said, "If we reveal something, let alone hold the Queen Mother hostage, we ourselves will not be able to escape."
"Oops." Tuoba Hai was so anxious that he jumped up and down, "This won't work, and that won't work either. I'm really anxious."
Lao Ai said coldly: "Don't panic, listen to what Master has to say."
Everyone once again focused their attention on Liu Yuan.
Liu Yuan calmed down, cleared his throat again, and then said: "Now that things have happened, I believe that we should also follow King Qin to implement the previous plan in advance. On the one hand, he hastened to send people to inform King Yiqu to send troops immediately to attack Da Qin launches an offensive. On the other hand, we must leave Yongcheng immediately. After concentrating our forces in Yueyang, we will sneak into Xianyang in three groups, then wait for an opportunity to attack the palace, and capture all five wives and two princes of Ying Zheng. , use this as a hostage, and then deal with Ying Zheng. As long as it takes another three to five days, King Yiqu will definitely arrive."
Lao Ai didn't speak, seeming to be considering Liu Yuan's suggestion.
Several other people did not make any further comments, but waited for Lao Ai to express his position.
"Think about it, is there anything missing in Master's plan?" Lao Ai asked in a deep voice without raising her head.
Dong Yu asked doubtfully: "Since all of us have escaped, King Qin must have noticed it. If he traced it, wouldn't the matter be exposed faster? And if it led to a pursuit, or Xianyang Palace was blocked, If the harem is protected, then our chances of succeeding are slim."
What Dong Yu said made sense, and everyone, including Lao Ai, looked at Liu Yuan again.
Liu Yuan gave a bitter smile and said: "That's true. If we want King Qin to be less suspicious, then we can't all think about it.
Escape, but leave some people to deal with the King of Qin, and let the Queen Mother sing a play together. Only in this way can we create the best opportunity for Xianyang to take advantage of Ying Zheng's trip and occupy the palace in one fell swoop. "
Everyone looked at each other, and the looks in each other's eyes seemed to indicate that no one wanted to take such a risk.
Stay and buy time for everyone else?
What a joke!
Unexpectedly, Liu Yuan added: "Moreover, the people left behind cannot be people with no identity, and the Queen Mother also needs the most reasonable excuse."
"What kind of excuse does the Queen Mother need?" Lao Ai didn't care who stayed, as if she had a plan in mind.
Liu Yuan thought for a while and said: "The Marquis can tell the Queen Mother that King Qin comes to Yongcheng to bless the crown ceremony. His safety is very important. Someone needs to help guard the city gates along the way to avoid any accidents."
"That's a good reason." Lao Ai finally had a smile on her face, "How should the people left behind deal with King Qin?"
Liu Yuan said thoughtfully: "The people who are left behind naturally have the same rhetoric, but they need to be calm and calm, adapt to changes, and not panic at all."
Lao Ai looked at Liu Yuan with sharp eyes and asked with deep meaning: "Master, do you have a suitable candidate in mind?"
After Liu Yuan breathed a long sigh of relief, he cupped his hands and said, "I am not talented, but I would like to stay in Yongcheng to relieve the Marquis from his worries."
Everyone looked at Liu Yuan in surprise. While admiring him, they also felt sorry for him. More importantly, they felt secretly happy in their hearts.
Everyone else avoids him, but this guy actually asks for help?
Only Lao Ai didn't seem surprised. She laughed and said: "Master is indeed loyal to me. In this case, Master will stay in Yongcheng to deal with the King of Qin. The others will go back early to prepare. After disguising themselves tomorrow, we will divide into three groups. Liyang meets."
"Master Hou, where is the Queen Mother...?" Liu Yuan asked.
"On the Queen Mother's side, I naturally have this prince to persuade her." Lao Ai said quite firmly, "You just need to do your part."
Everyone accepted the order in unison and exited the room one after another.
Tuoba Hai seemed to have something to say, but he hesitated for a moment and finally retreated without speaking.
Lao Ai looked at Liu Yuan and said, "I will enter the palace immediately. You stay here and wait for me to come back."
Liu Yuan responded and stepped aside.
Lao Ai quickly left the Hou Mansion and went to Qinian Palace.
Looking at Lao Ai's back, Liu Yuan let out a long breath, then closed his eyes and laughed strangely.
Lao Ai came to the bedroom of Queen Mother Zhao Ji and saw Zhao Ji playing with her child.
"Come, let daddy hug you." Lao Ai opened her arms and took Fei'er.
Unexpectedly, Fei'er, who was smiling happily in Zhao Ji's arms just now, started to cry timidly when he entered Lao Ai's arms.
"Fei'er be good, Fei'er don't cry." Lao Ai waved her arms and coaxed her infant son.
"It's better for me to coax you." Zhao Ji stretched out her hand to take Fei'er, "You are the same, the cold air must have frightened Fei'er."
Lao Ai reluctantly let go of her arms, but her eyes stayed on Fei'er's face, not wanting to look away for a moment.
Strangely enough, Fei'er really stopped crying after returning to Zhao Ji's arms.
After stopping the child's cry, Zhao Ji asked, "I see you are so anxious. Is there something wrong?"
"Well, there is something." Lao Ai said.
"Tell me about it." Zhao Jiyou said, shaking Fei'er.
Lao Ai then looked away from Fei'er and said slowly: "I just received a message from the court. It said that King Qin has advanced the date of the blessing ceremony and has already set off from Xianyang."
"Oh, it would be better if he came earlier.
. "Zhao Ji said calmly, "Having performed the crowning ceremony earlier has also settled one of my worries. "
"Uh..." Lao Ai hesitated for a moment and then said, "Since King Qin is coming to Yongcheng, how can I, as a minister, ignore his safety? In order to guard against Lu Buwei, who has ulterior motives, I want to go there. We inspect the military defenses at the city gates along the way, what do you think?"
Zhao Ji thought for a moment and said, "I think Lu Buwei shouldn't dare to make mistakes, right?"
"Do you really trust that old fox?" Lao Ai said unceremoniously, "But after I received the news, he actually did not intend to crown King Qin, but wanted to use this matter to suppress our momentum. , so he deliberately postponed the date by three months. No, King Qin finally lost his patience and moved the date forward."
Lao Ai's words were clear-cut, and Zhao Ji was focused on Fei'er, so how could she think so carefully.
"Okay." Zhao Ji agreed, "For Zheng'er's safety, you came back with him after welcoming Zheng'er. Don't forget to send the message back, so that I can have time to arrange for Fei'er. .”
"Okay, then it's settled." Seeing that Zhao Ji agreed, Lao Ai felt ecstatic in her heart.
But when she saw her only youngest son, Fei'er, in the blink of an eye, Lao Ai's heart was shaken again.
This farewell may not be seen again in this life.
Because he has no reason or excuse to take Fei'er with him now, so he can only leave Fei'er with Zhao Ji.
In this case, when Ying Zheng arrives in Yongcheng, his plan will be exposed. No matter what Zhao Ji's attitude is towards him, this young son will most likely fall into Ying Zheng's hands.
But what if you don't do this? Fall out with Zhao Ji now?
joke!
Not only would this disrupt all plans, the 10,000 Imperial Guards guarding the Qinian Palace were not given in vain. If he was held back, he would not be able to escape when Ying Zheng arrived.
Thinking about the risks she was about to face, and looking at her only heir, Lao Ai's heart was turbulent like waves at one moment, and the pain was as unbearable as burning flames at the next moment.
This is not a real separation of life and death, but it is a far-off prospect of seeing each other again.
Seeing Lao Ai's changing expression, Zhao Ji asked suspiciously, "What's wrong with you?"
"No, it's nothing." Lao Ai came back to her senses, "I want to hug Fei'er again, but I don't know if he will cry again."
Zhao Ji looked at Fei'er in her arms and said softly: "Fei'er, be good and let your father hug you."
Fei'er seemed to understand, a smile bloomed on his plump face.
Only then did Lao Ai step forward and take over her flesh and blood again: "Fei'er, let daddy hug you."
Fei'er didn't cry this time. He even grabbed Lao Ai's sleeve with one hand and said something like "Yeah".
Lao Ai's heart felt sour, and she could no longer hide the sadness of farewell in her heart. She immediately turned around, not wanting Zhao Ji to see her expression.
Fei'er's other hand also grabbed Lao Ai's sleeve, and the clear water in his eyes seemed to melt Lao Ai's heart with deep meaning.
Lao Ai bit the tip of her tongue fiercely, forcing the tears that had flowed into the corners of her eyes to swallow back into her stomach. However, her arms holding Fei'er trembled slightly unconsciously.
Fei'er, on the other hand, seemed to feel his father's parting feelings, and his little brows tightened slightly.
But this time, Fei'er didn't cry.
Lao Ai didn't dare to delay any longer, she suddenly made up her mind, turned around and sent Fei'er back to Zhao Ji's arms.
"Take good care of him and wait for me to come back." There was a bit of reluctance in Lao Ai's tone.
"Yeah." Zhao Ji always felt that Lao Ai was acting weird today, but this time, she didn't ask anything, just watched silently as Lao Ai turned around and left. Her back seemed much stranger.
