Princess Wu turned her face to look at the expression on County Lord Cheng Ning's face, but saw that even though she heard the sound of swords and weapons, her expression remained unchanged and calm, so she took a particularly high look.
Then she calmed down, drew the sword out of its sheath, and raised the corners of her lips coldly: "He, the King of Wu, is a nobleman of Tianhuang, so he thinks he can take my life easily? It's a pity that he forgot that I am also the general's daughter!"
Chapter 84
Not only did Princess Wu stay up all night, but King Xin also stayed up all night at his residence.
As early as when he heard the news that King Wu was not in the capital, King Xin had a solid idea in his mind. He quietly sent someone to wait outside the Yuquan Temple and asked him to act according to the opportunity. He also heard that after Princess Wu left the city overnight, she was worried about La. King Wu was even more confident about dismounting his horse.
The people sent by King Xin were actually quite astute. When they arrived at the place, they did not take the initiative to approach. Instead, they took a few subordinate cats to peek into the bushes next to Yuquan Temple. They saw what was going on inside. The second wave of people came here in a hurry and left in a hurry.
By this time, they were sure that the prince's plan was successful!
King Wu is indeed not in Yuquan Temple, and he has indeed left the capital.
The leader planned to cast a long line to catch big fish, so he did not rush to do it, and continued to wait quietly in the bushes. After seeing Princess Wu leading a group of retinues on Pegasus, he hurriedly went deeper into the forest.
According to the ancestral system of this dynasty, the palace can support five hundred soldiers, and the Dingbei palace is no exception.
After the death of the old King Dingbei, the Dingbei Palace was demoted to the Dingguo Palace. However, the emperor was particularly gracious and allowed the Dingguo Palace to keep the five hundred soldiers, but he would not add more in the future.
As the successor chosen by the old King Dingbei, Duke Ding obviously also felt that Qingmei was high-minded but short-sighted. After the emperor married Ning's daughter as the Princess of Wu, he immediately used the name of caring for the daughter of the family. The boss, package the five hundred private soldiers and give them to his daughter as a dowry. He will be safe and his daughter will have dignity.
Those five hundred private soldiers were all left by the old Dingbei King. Now more than half of them are old and have been arranged by Princess Wu to leave the palace and be raised in honor. The remaining ones are all from the military. With his elite soldiers and generals, how could those who believed in the king dare to get too close?
These people were squatting on the mountain from a distance. They saw Princess Wu's people holding torches and illuminating the front of Yuquan Temple as if it were daylight. They also saw Princess Wu ordering the staff to kill Fu Qing. They spent the whole night Not even daring to sleep a wink, until early the next morning, the Lord of Chengning County also came.
This drama is getting more and more exciting.
About half an hour later, dust rose again on the way up the mountain, and King Wu finally arrived.
The people who believed in the king had some thoughts and moved Fuqing's body, which Princess Wu's people had thrown away last night, to a place not far from Yuquan Temple where it could be easily discovered.
After that, there was a melee between King Wu, Princess Wu, and the head of Chengning County.
Of course, those who believe in the king will not watch the fire from the other side - if the king of Wu really succeeds, wouldn't it be an advantage for him?
Immediately, he poured the kerosene he had brought with him on the arrow, ignited it, and shot it to the house in Yuquan Temple where the fireworks and firewood stoves were placed.
The weather was already dry, and there were many flammable things in that house. With a gust of east wind, a fire broke out in Yuquan Temple in an instant!
Yuquan Temple was originally located in the mountains. The terrain was high and thick. Smoke suddenly rose and flames shot into the sky. The garrison in the capital a few miles away immediately noticed something strange.
This place is inherently dangerous, easy to defend but difficult to attack. It has always been the location of the capital's garrison, and people outside the army were not allowed to be here. However, the origin of Yuquan Temple is unusual.
This place is the place where the daughter of Emperor Yingzong became a monk and practiced meditation. Emperor Yingzong was afraid that his daughter would not be safe alone, so he specifically chose this place to build the Yuquan Temple. After that, more royal families and even People from high-ranking families came here to meditate, but the court turned a blind eye to this.
King Wu came here a few days ago under the pretense of retreat, so of course he also wanted to say hello to the garrison in the capital. The main people from Chengning County came here to do the ashram for his late father, and the people from Yuquan Temple also wanted to go and explain to the garrison.
With these two notes on file, the garrison camp in the capital immediately sent people to come to the rescue as soon as they saw the flames of Yuquan Temple rising into the sky.
When King Wu saw the exquisite and gorgeous carriage parked outside Yuquan Temple, he instantly came to a completely wrong judgment - Ning still had the leisure to drive slowly, and expected that she did not prepare for the worst before going out. Seeing that there were not many followers around, I guess she didn't bring too many people with her.
In this case, killing people and silencing them should be something that can be accomplished in a short time.
But things obviously went beyond his expectations.
Why did so many people suddenly rush out from Yuquan Temple?
Why was the resistance so fierce?
When the blazing flames in Yuquan Temple came into view, King Wu felt a bang in his head and almost stayed on the spot!
"Who set the fire?!"
He looked ferocious and said sternly: "Hurry up and put out the fire!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he reacted and said fiercely: "No, kill them first! Hurry, otherwise it will be too late!"
But it was actually too late.
The capital garrison was only a few miles away, and the cavalry charge only took a moment.
Before I got here, I was still thinking about whether I could get some military merit by taking this trip. The prince and the county lord should be very generous, right?
When I arrived at the place, I took a look - Oh my god, this is not about grabbing water and putting out fires. This is obviously my bright future and first-class meritorious service!
It's just that these two groups are fighting together. Which group is the strongman, and which group is the servant of the prince and the county lord?
From the moment the garrison of the capital appeared, Princess Wu's eyes clearly lit up. Without her needing to speak, her subordinates shouted loudly: "Princess Wu and the Lord of Chengning County are here. The one wearing azure robes is a noble person." The retinue, other than that, is a strong man!"
The garrison in the capital was still muttering in their hearts: Didn't it say that King Wu was here? Why was it suddenly replaced by Princess Wu?
After taking a quick look, he saw a young woman standing next to the guard, holding a Tang sword, her sleeves tied up, her brows full of heroic spirit, and a pair of red phoenix eyes that were the signature of Duke Dingguo.
Beside her, there was a slightly younger girl, who must be the head of Chengning County.
She was doubtful in her heart, but did not hesitate in her actions. The princess was no worse than the prince, not to mention that Princess Wu was the granddaughter of the old Dingbei King. People who have joined the army in the past twenty years, I don’t know how many people are right. The old king of Dingbei admired him deeply.
Even though the people around King Wu are all masters, the enemy is no ordinary person. Now that the capital garrison joins them, they can be killed in a round-robin battle!
At this point, the King of Wu was really in a dilemma.
If he doesn't stop, his people will die.
Stop...
Although it can temporarily avoid death, it will definitely cause a bigger storm later!
A feeling of panic suddenly rose in his heart, and King Wu was instantly shrouded in fear. He licked his lips a few times, but finally managed to maintain his strength and said sternly: "Stop it!"
Urging the horse forward, he appeared in front of everyone. He took off the scarf covering his face and said in a hollow voice: "I am here, please stop..."
Everyone was stunned.
The capital garrison who came here almost thought that their eyes were broken!
What's going on? !
It's been going on for a long time, is it King Wu's people who are fighting Princess Wu and the people of Chengning County Lord? !
What happened to this world? !
The person who led the team here was a school lieutenant. When he saw this, he knew that something big was going on. He couldn't handle it, so he immediately winked at his confidant. The latter, without saying a word, slapped his horse's ass towards the garrison. went.
General Zuo Xiaowei is the Emperor's confidant, so let's leave this kind of thing to him!
The captain leading the team was going crazy in his heart, but he heard an exclamation from not far away: "Princess——"
He subconsciously looked sideways, only to see Princess Wu's body lying limply in the arms of the Lord of Chengning County. There was a knife mark on her back, and the clothes behind her were stained with blood.
At this moment, several more of Princess Wu's retinues escorted a few people over, their mouths tightly gagged: "We captured a few gangsters in the nearby mountains and forests, and they were also carrying kerosene bows and arrows. The same ones we had earlier." The fire was probably set by them!"
At this time, the captain no longer wanted to get involved in this matter. Fortunately, the other party did not want to pull him away, and said bluntly: "As of now, let's just leave everything to the emperor's decision!"
…
After General Zuo Xiaowei heard the news, he immediately rushed to the scene on flying horses. After a confession, he ordered the lost King Wu to be held alone, and his subordinates were detained separately. He went to the backyard of Yuquan Temple to meet Princess Wu and Cheng. Lord of Ning County.
Princess Wu was seriously injured and could not get up or move. Fortunately, since there were dignitaries visiting the Yuquan Temple all the year round, there was also a doctor sitting here.
The Lord of Chengning County and several of Princess Wu's maids helped her change her clothes, apply medicine for her wounds, and had people find medicinal materials from the mess in the garden, and then went to the half-burned kitchen to cook them.
General Zuo Xiaowei apologized and asked through the curtain: "Princess's forgiveness is really a matter of great importance, so we must ask..."
Princess Wu's voice sounded from inside the curtain, a little weak but clearly audible: "I know, General, just ask, I will tell you everything I know."
…
About an hour and a half later, General Zuo Xiaowei personally brought relevant people to the capital to see the emperor.
Princess Wu was injured by a knife. Originally, General Zuo Xiaowei wanted her to stay in Yuquan Temple to recuperate, but he didn't want her but insisted on going to see the king. General Zuo Xiaowei couldn't persuade her, but he still obeyed her in the end. mind.
As the emperor got older, he paid more attention to health care. The soup he drank every morning after getting up would have to be boiled with dewdrops collected from the exotic flowers and plants in the garden. After adding a little bit, he would go to the quiet room to meditate. .
The servants knew the emperor's temper and did not dare to disturb him at this time. They just knew that General Zuo Xiaowei was a confidant of the emperor and was in charge of the garrison of the capital. He had very important powers. To suddenly come to the palace to see him, something big must have happened. .
After hesitating again and again, he finally calmed down and reported back outside the quiet room cautiously.
In the quiet room, the emperor did not respond, but the attendants still maintained their bowed posture and did not dare to be rude.
After a long time passed like this, the emperor slowly exhaled a breath and ordered: "Change your clothes and let them go to Nansong Pavilion to have an audience."
The attendant respectfully accepted the order.
General Zuo Xiaowei met with the emperor in Nansong Pavilion, and then told the news he had discovered one by one.
From the very beginning when King Wu told Princess Wu to go to Yuquan Temple to do some repairs, to when King Xin took the lead in asking the kings to prepare gifts for the emperor's birthday, to when Princess Wu failed to show up and went to Yuquan Temple to look for someone, As for the role Chengning County Lord played in it, as well as the subsequent melee in Yuquan Temple and the few people captured afterwards...
The emperor listened to him quietly, his face difficult to distinguish between joy and anger, and he only said: "Call the kings to enter the palace."
Glancing at Princess Wu who was kneeling on the ground with a pale face, she added: "Invite Duke Dingguo as well."
Princess Wu's lowered eyelashes moved imperceptibly.
The emperor said "please", not "pass".
This is really good news for her.
King Wu was kneeling on one side, trembling in his heart. He couldn't help but take two steps forward on his knees with the intention of begging for mercy. However, he suddenly stopped when he met the emperor's indifferent gaze, and then he started sweating like rain.
At this time, King Xin was not aware of the incident in Yuquan Temple. He just heard the emperor's summons and expected it to happen. He suppressed his joy and entered the palace. After seeing the other brothers who were crowned kings, his face was filled with emotion. Showing the same doubts as them, the brothers entered Nansong Pavilion together and saw many people kneeling on the ground.
Taking a closer look, we can see the King of Wu and his wife, the head of Chengning County, and the emperor's confidant, General Zuo Xiaowei.
All the kings were muttering in their hearts at the same time, but they didn't dare to show it on their faces. They kowtowed to the emperor honestly, but they never heard a cry.
The emperor did not turn his attention to them, but asked Chengning County Lord: "Why did you go to Yuquan Temple?"
The look of panic on Chengning County Lord's face did not disappear, and he replied respectfully: "It's the anniversary of the death of my father a few days ago, and my granddaughter sent people to Yuquan Temple to deliver a message a few days ago, hoping to do a nine-day dojo there for her father. .”
The emperor nodded, without comment, but asked his confidants: "Did you really send people to Yuquan Temple a few days ago?"
The confidant responded: "Yes, just as the county leader said."
The emperor asked again: "Did the Duke of Qi prepare all the utensils for the Taoist temple? How many days of food and clothing did you bring with you when you went up the mountain?"
A confidant said: "The county master's filial piety towards the late Donggong is impeccable and everything is in order."
The emperor still asked again: "Does the Crown Princess know?"
A confidant said: "The county leader informed the Crown Princess early in the morning, and the Crown Princess also prepared many things. However, the Crown Princess recently had a headache and is taking medicine, so she has not gone with her."
