After leaving the Jing Palace, Liu Ye said goodbye to Jia Xu and Li Ru thoughtfully, got on the carriage and walked back, intermittently thinking about what he did back then and what Zhang Xiu said today.
The rumors coming from Xudu, and the ones that made Zhang Xiu furious, were definitely not rumors that slandered Zhang Xiu's reputation. According to Zhang Xiu's ambition, this matter must be Cao Cao and Xun You's plan.
When Zhang Liaoxi entered Liangzhou, he had already begun to cut off previous contact with Cao Cao's hidden guards. Fortunately, the contact was with a single line. As long as he was the one to connect with him, he would be safe.
But I never expected that Cao Cao would act so ruthlessly.
Having been a hidden guard for a while, he knew clearly that the shadow guard in Li Ru's hands was very strong and had many eyes on Cao Wei. Moreover, Li Ru was a wily old fox, and there was also Jia Xu in charge. In Shang Cheng Pavilion, most likely, his story has been confirmed.
"Liu Ye, Liu Ye! You are in vain! Your Majesty is so kind to you and treats you as a confidant and entrusts you with important responsibilities, but you can do such a shameful thing. It is really unforgivable!"
Liu Ye gritted his teeth in self-hate and swayed silently as the carriage rocked.
Halfway through, Liu Ye figured it out.
Even if the king forgives him, he himself cannot forgive himself. He can only apologize by committing suicide.
He first ordered someone to park the carriage at the door of a tavern on the street, and went down to order a few glasses of wine. He didn't ask for any food, but poured glass after glass into his mouth.
The waiter in the store saw him going in and out of the car, dressed in gorgeous clothes, and guessed that he was a senior official of the State of Jingguo, so he didn't dare to say anything. The shopkeeper brought a plate of mutton slices delivered from Loop and stopped disturbing him.
Liu Ye turned the guilt in his heart into cups of strong liquor, pouring it into his mouth non-stop.
Originally, my drinking capacity was average, but after three bottles of wine, I was already so drunk that I collapsed on the wine table and couldn't get up. But my heart did not become confused because of this. On the contrary, it became clearer and clearer. The words Zhang Xiu said in the study pavilion today echoed in my mind. The more uncomfortable it was, the deeper the deep feeling of guilt entered my heart.
In fact, since he became a hidden guard, he has not conveyed any useful information to Cao Wei. He was unaware of the assassination by the Nanyang hidden guards back then.
But the fact of joining the Hidden Guard cannot be changed.
"Master! Master!" Seeing that he was drunk, the shopkeeper called softly into his ear twice. Liu Ye felt lightheaded for a while, raised his red eyes and glanced at the shopkeeper, took out the silver from his arms and still put it on the table, and stood up staggeringly.
But my feet were unsteady and I almost fell.
The shopkeeper hurriedly held on and returned the money on the silver table to Liu Ye: "Master, it is my honor for you to come to my shop. Where can I collect money? As long as you drink well, you can come back next time."
Liu Ye glanced at the shopkeeper with a drunken sideways glance, stubbornly threw the money on the table, and staggered out. Unexpectedly, it was pouring rain outside, and dull thunder exploded in the sky.
A cold air poured in from his collar. Liu Ye had already made up his mind to apologize. He could no longer feel the cold air outside and got into the carriage: "Go home!"
It was the first time that the carriage driver saw Liu Ye acting so strangely. He didn't dare to speak and drove back.
As soon as he stepped through the door, he saw a figure standing on the side of the door from the corner of his eye. Liu Ye looked up as if he was startled, and was so frightened that he suddenly woke up from alcohol.
It's Hu Che'er.
It was too dark to see Hu Che'er's face clearly, and all he could hear was his cold voice: "Prime Minister Liu, the king has been waiting inside for a long time."
Liu Ye's brain buzzed.
He hurriedly rushed into the main hall despite the rain, ran quickly outside the dripping eaves, threw himself down and knelt in front of the door, and said with deep guilt: "The guilty minister Liu Ye, pay your respects to the king!"
With a "pop" sound, the door opened from the inside.
At the same time, a thunder exploded from directly above the courtyard, and purple lightning flashed down, illuminating the courtyard and Zhang Xiu's pale, paper-like face.
Liu Ye knelt outside the eaves in the rain.
"Ouch!" The sound of the sword clanging sounded, and the flat sword surface revealed an icy cold light. One side reflected Zhang Xiu's pale face, and the other side reflected Liu Ye who was kneeling.
"Liu Ye," Zhang Xiu stepped in front of Liu Ye and braved the rain, staring at the back of Liu Ye's head as he knelt on the ground. "Since you are facing Cao Wei, I will give you a chance to make a contribution." The sword was suddenly inserted into the ground, "With that sword, kill Gu now. With Gu's sword in hand, no one will dare to block the entrance and exit. You can go to Cao Cao to claim the credit!"
"Kings!"
Liu Ye cried bitterly, pressing his forehead tightly against the cold floor stone.
Zhang Xiu was heartbroken: "Who are you, Liu Ye? Gu's confidant, the prime minister of Dajing. Don't I have enough favors for you? Tell Gu, what can Cao Cao give you that Gu Wang can't give you? Let me, a prime minister from Dajing, be their pawn?"
When Hu Cheer saw Zhang Xiu was soaked in the rain, he immediately ran over holding an umbrella.
Zhang Xiu pushed him away and shouted: "Get out of here!"
Hu Che'er: "Your Majesty, your body..."
"No need!" Zhang Xiu stared at Liu Ye, "I'm waiting for Gu's trusted advisor to pick up the sword and kill Gu, so why do I need an umbrella?"
Hu Cheer was stunned on the spot.
Liu Ye hated himself so much, how could he let Zhang Xiu hurt his body in the rain again for him? He kowtowed three times and said resolutely: "The sin of the guilty minister is unforgivable. I have no shame in living in this world. The only way to apologize is to die. Please don't hurt the king's body because of the guilty minister." After saying that, he grabbed the sharp blade with his bare hands, pulled out the sword and wiped it on his neck. At the same time, he cried in pain and said: "Please, king. Your Majesty, please plan for the great peace of the country and the country, and protect the king's body. I, I...go!"
Hu Cheer was startled and was about to draw his sword to protect Zhang Xiu.
Zhang Xiu's eyes flashed, and he rushed over, grabbing the sword edge close to Liu Ye's throat with his big hand, staring at Liu Ye with lightning eyes: "If you let me die, I have to die. As the prime minister of Dajing, you , This body has been lonely for a long time, did Gu let you die?"
Liu Ye's lips trembled and his eyes were red. Looking at Zhang Xiu's eyes, he couldn't bear the growing guilt in his heart. He let out a cry of "Wow", let go of the sword, and shook his head violently. The ground was on the stone, and his forehead was instantly bruised.
The rain was pouring down, and the rain streaks in the wind were like water whips, slapping him sideways and sideways on the three of them.
The whole body was already soaked.
After a long time, Zhang Xiu withdrew his sword, turned around suddenly, walked into the room, and ordered:
"Come in!"
After a moment, Liu Ye shuddered violently, and then he got up in realization. When he entered the room, Zhang Xiu was already sitting on a chair in the main hall. There was no lamp in the room, so he couldn't see Zhang Xiu's face clearly, so he hurriedly knelt down again. His forehead was pressed against the ground.
"Tell me the truth about how you became a hidden guard and how many things you did for Cao Cao." Zhang Xiu's cold voice came to his ears.
Liu Ye said: "When Governor Zhang attacked Liangzhou, a guest came to my residence. He was Xun You, a famous official in Cao Wei. He came to Chang'an alone and asked me to provide them with information. I refused decisively and prepared to order people to capture him. , but he...he took out the emperor's secret edict." After saying that, tears were streaming down his face.
Zhang Xiu looked up and sighed.
