In the early morning, the slightly frosty weather hit people's faces.
The two teams of Imperial Guardsmen, who had stayed up all night, finally discovered that the stubborn Marquis with the surname Guo no longer knelt beside each other, but stood up silently.
At first glance, something seems wrong.
"Dutou, the hair of that Marquis, the Marquis."
"It seems like my head turned gray overnight."
Everyone looked over and couldn't help but have complicated expressions on their faces. For example, although they each perform their own duties, deep down in their hearts, they also admire this loyal minister.
Under the cold, Yuan Tao bowed three times to the Jinluan Palace, then stood up unsteadily, shuffling silently, coughing up blood, and staggered out of the palace.
The robe was lifted up by the wind, and there was blood everywhere.
The silver crown that bound her hair fell off at some point, leaving only the white frost on her head, floating in the wind.
Gu Ying, who rushed back overnight, his eyes red, broke away from the imperial guards and ran to Yuan Tao.
"master……"
"Don't talk, I want to be quiet."
The Royal Forest Army did not dare to block it and slowly made way for a passage.
That frosty silver hair disappeared step by step until it was no longer visible.
…
Changyang City, Xiaobi Lake, Waterside Academy.
Xu Mu stood under the weeping willow. When he saw Yuan Tao walking back, a feeling of aches suddenly surged in his chest.
"Master Hou."
He took a few steps over and helped Yuan Tao to sit down beside the weeping willow.
"Gu Ying said you're here, which is a good thing."
"Master Hou, your hair."
"When I entered the palace yesterday, I didn't know what to do. Suddenly something came up that I couldn't figure out, and I became so worried that my hair turned gray."
Gu Ying took another handkerchief and handed it over with red eyes.
Before Yuan Tao coughed twice, Xu Mu clearly saw that the handkerchief was already stained with blood.
"Master Hou, I heard from Gu Ying... Master Hou has been poisoned by a strange poison."
"indeed."
Yuan Tao's face was calm, "I thought about it for a while, and it should be a weird poison from the Western Regions. The poison is a little slow, and someone did not know where it was taken. By the time the poison was released, it was already a little late."
"It hurts my lungs and my heart. In addition to the arrow wounds above, I occasionally cough up blood."
Occasionally he would cough up blood, and his whole robe would turn red.
"I still have prestige in Daji. Whether it is Muyun Prefecture or the Dingbian camp in Cangzhou, there are generals I have brought out. Xiaodong, how about those 100,000 veteran households? I have spent a lot of effort. Just invite them out."
"He must be... a good guy."
Yuan Tao rarely laughed, and he coughed again without laughing twice.
Xu Mu's heart became increasingly bitter. As Chang Shiro said, loyal ministers in troubled times generally do not end well.
But Xu Mu was sure that as soon as this Hou died, the entire Daji would fall into chaos.
Outside there are Beidi tigers looking at him, and inside there are treacherous ministers and rebels. How to save the little emperor uncle who is less than 30 years old?
Can't be saved.
"I'll give you something." Yuan Tao let go of his handkerchief and took out a copper official badge from his arms.
"Viscount Daji's official badge, I bought it from the chief commander for five taels of silver."
Yuan Tao smiled and said, "I originally planned to buy a count, but then I thought about it, it may not be a good thing for you. As long as you are not a white body, you will have time to save yourself if something happens."
"The Marquis... is just a Marquis, and you can buy this title."
"Of course you can buy it. As early as twenty years ago, people started selling officials and titles. Even if I want to buy you a count, it only costs twenty taels of silver."
"Don't forget, I can eat well in Daji, except of course the court."
Xu Mu understood that for at least a long time, when the late emperor was lying on his bed, Yuan Tao in front of him was similar to a prisoner.
Until the young emperor ascended the throne.
If someone else were to sell an official position, they might not be able to get a hundred thousand taels just for the position of viscount.
"My little boss is the first one to ask me to do this kind of thing."
Yuan Tao looked up to the sky, his white hair scattered in the sunlight, looking extremely sad.
"You fought beautifully in that battle at the border. It's a pity that I can't control what happens in the court."
"At least, I underestimated the ambitions of those traitorous parties."
"Little boss, I can't help you."
Yuan Tao lowered his head, covered his mouth and coughed again. After coughing, his eyes became a little burning.
"No matter what, don't move for the time being. If you have any ideas, don't move. It's time to learn from Xiao Haitang. He has raised 40,000 to 50,000 troops and is still selling food."
"Master Hou knows..."
"I know." Yuan Tao said calmly, "But these things only produce rotten fruits when their roots are rotten."
"I don't have time to care about this. I want to pull out all the rotten roots and those borers that eat human blood. If the tree is straight, it will naturally bear good fruit."
Xu Mu admired him from the bottom of his heart. He had to say that Yuan Tao was really a genius. It's a pity that such geniuses can't turn the tide in such a situation.
Beidi's 80,000-strong army was about to be killed, but they decided to let the tiger return to the mountain, sue for peace, and pay annual tribute again.
The dynasty's unprecedented victory for hundreds of years was suddenly in vain.
Not only him, Xu Mu could even imagine how worried Yuan Tao must be.
"Master Marquis, I heard that there are many miracle doctors walking around in Muyun Prefecture."
"I've already gone to invite him, and he should be here in two or three days." Yuan Tao closed his eyes slightly, "If it's a matter of one person, I'm not afraid of death. But this is a matter of a country, and I can't die yet. "
Under the sun, Xu Mu looked at Yuan Tao's resolute face and wanted to say something, but couldn't.
"My little boss, come back. Don't do anything inappropriate during this period."
Xu Mu nodded silently.
"In addition, what I promised you is to give it to you. Not to mention the entire inner city, even the entire Daji, no one can take it away."
Yuan Tao's voice suddenly became awe-inspiring, with a hint of domineering tone.
"If the court cannot give it to you, I, Yuan Tao, will give it to you."
"Thank you, Lord Marquis."
Xu Mu stood up and bowed. If the last pillar of the dynasty in front of him fell, how many people would be heartbroken.
"Let's go. Let's meet again when we have time."
…
After walking out of Shuixie Academy and standing in the huge Changyang Market, Xu Mu couldn't help but felt confused for a moment.
Si Hu was waiting for him. When he saw him coming out, he hurriedly pulled the carriage and ran towards him.
"Brother Mu, do you want to go find Lao Zhou?"
"I won't go now." Xu Mu shook his head without any interest.
The fate of the entire Epoch was at stake, and Yuan Tao, who had turned gray overnight, could no longer bear it.
"Let's talk about it after we get back to Zhuangzi."
After half a stick of incense, the carriage left Changyang.
Xu Mu sat on the carriage, silently looking at the viscount official badge in his hand, hesitating for a while, and finally slowly put it into his sleeve.
"Brother Mu, it's going to get cold."
As soon as the Chrysanthemum Moon passes, winter is approaching. The slight chill in the sunshine chills people's hearts unconsciously.
