It was getting dark, and the team from Jinyang entered the border town.
There were long lines of torches, and the wheels rolled over the road, leaving deep ruts.
On the way, we passed several burned houses. The rammed earth walls were peeled off and charred black, and the roofs had been completely repaired. The owners were busy binding the doors and windows, and cleaning the stone planks left around the houses.
When Lin Heng's car passed by, the owner of the house quickly bowed and saluted. The slave wrapped in linen lay prone on the ground, with a wooden bowl beside his head filled with cooked millet grains.
The millet grains are not completely shelled, and there are still stones inside, so the taste is really hard to compliment. But it is a satiating meal for slaves.
Before Lin Heng took over the border town, they could not even eat millet shells, let alone cooked millet, and relied more on wild vegetables and white soil to satisfy their hunger.
As the carriage moved forward, Zhiling sat in the carriage and watched the changes in the city without saying much. He carried Zhiyuan's letter and traveled all the way, just to see Lin Heng as soon as possible and explain the domestic situation to him.
"Your Majesty is pressing harder and harder, and my eldest father has to retreat to Jinyang. Mrs. Li and the Young Master are becoming more and more rampant, and the Youhu family is so unscrupulous that they are colluding with Quan Rong Hang. It is really disgusting!"
Before the vehicle arrived at the county government office, Lin Heng had already read the contents of the letter. Listening to Zhiling's explanation again, I gained a deeper understanding of the situation in Suzhou.
"My great father, my family has been keeping a low profile for ten years. It's time to return to the capital."
The carriage stopped in front of the steps, the door opened, and the two of them stepped out of the carriage one after another and saw Tao Rong who came to greet them.
"Tao Shirong, the chief secretary of the border town, has met Mr. Lang."
The Tao family and the Zhi family formed an alliance, and the children of the two families had been intermarried for several generations. The bloodline forces were intertwined and had long been inseparable.
Tao Rong was born in a side branch and was no stranger to the Zhi family. Although I have never seen Zhiling with my own eyes, I have long heard of the reputation of the wise man of the Zhi family. Due to an accident ten years ago, the Zhi family retreated to Jinyang. The Zhi family became silent, and the husband of the family was no longer talked about.
"Master Tao's book."
Zhiling had a gentle smile, elegant manners, and extraordinary standards. It is extremely difficult to imagine that he was holding a long sword in his hand, and the sword was so decisive and ferocious that it penetrated the leader of the Dog Rong.
After greeting each other, the three of them entered the house.
Knowing that the two must have something to discuss, Tao Rong did not continue to follow, and took the initiative to ask Lin Heng to arrange the carriage team into the city.
"Excuse me, Master Tao." Lin Heng nodded.
"It's a matter of servant's duty." Tao Rong was very understanding, bowed his hand to Lin Heng, and immediately turned around and left.
The night was already dark, and the stars were twinkling all over the sky, but they were no match for the dark clouds that were getting thicker.
"The wind is cool and the rain is coming again, so we need to get there as soon as possible."
Looking at the sky, Tao Rong turned around the corner of the corridor and subconsciously quickened his pace.
Lin Heng and Zhiling walked through the corridor and came to the main room. The maids on both sides of the door bowed and saluted, took half a step forward and opened the door.
There is an incense burner in the room, and the white smoke is misty, winding like a light gauze, rising slowly.
Several copper lamps with thick arms are placed beside the wall, and two standing lamps in the shape of human figurines are placed next to the table. The lamp tube is hollow, and the smoke circulates into the lamp holder, and there is no pungent smell at all.
The floor is smooth and covered with animal skins.
The door is closed, leaving only a gap in the wooden window to isolate the night wind and moisture.
"Brother, please."
The two of them sat down at the table. Lin Heng took off his cloak and suddenly felt an itch in his throat. He couldn't help coughing. The more he wanted to control, the more intense he became. He placed one hand on his lips and supported the table with the other hand. His breathing gradually became faster and his cheeks changed color slightly.
Zhiling was shocked when he saw this, rushed forward to support him, and shouted: "Here comes someone!"
"It's okay, there's no need to call anyone." Lin Heng held Zhiling's wrist and said between coughs, "I have medicine on me, brother, please pour me a glass of water."
As soon as he finished speaking, the coughing sound started again.
Zhiling's long eyebrows were furrowed, the center of his brows almost forming the character "Sichuan".
The maid pushed the door open at this moment and was about to enter the room when Lin Heng waved him away with his own hands.
Seeing that he insisted on doing this, Zhiling was helpless. He helped him sit beside the desk, picked up the copper pot, poured a glass of water, and handed it to him.
Lin Heng pulled off the brocade pouch from his waist, took out a jade vase, poured out two pills the size of date cores, chewed them in his mouth, and then drank them with warm water.
It takes half a moment for the good medicine to take effect.
Fortunately, the warm water soothed my dry and itchy throat, my coughing finally subsided, and my breathing was no longer rapid.
"Brother, don't worry. It's just an old illness. It occasionally attacks when the weather is cold." Lin Heng sat upright, his expression restored, but his voice was slightly hoarse.
"Young master was weak when he was young, and he was never like this." Zhiling said solemnly. He just helped Lin Heng up, and he could feel the bones through his robe. This kind of thinness is extraordinary. Either he suffered a serious injury or he was seriously ill.
When Yu Zhiling asked, Lin Heng lowered his eyes, looked at the bloodless armor, and told the truth.
"When I first arrived in the capital, the people and the land were unfamiliar and I had no one to rely on. The emperor was afraid of the princes and sent people to test him several times. Every time I entered the palace, the princes and princesses were very playful."
Speaking of this, Lin Heng paused for a moment, his voice did not rise and fall, but the content of his words was thrilling.
"Private soldiers of the clan are not allowed to enter the palace. My father does not allow me to serve as a servant. I am only accompanied by a maidservant. She is as young as me and cannot stop the palace servants at all."
"It was snowing in the royal city that day, and I entered the palace with the hostages of Shu, but was stopped by three princes. They ordered me to bark like a dog, and ordered Tian Qi to roll like a dolphin, otherwise I would not be allowed to leave the palace."
Hearing this, Zhiling was furious.
"How dare you humiliate princes and princes like this!"
Lin Heng didn't have any anger at all. He picked up the cup again, moistened his throat, and continued: "Tian Qi and I naturally didn't want to, so they ordered the waiters to tie us up and throw us into the lake together."
There is a lake in the palace, which is connected to hot springs and does not freeze in cold weather.
Thanks to this hot spring, the two protons managed to survive after being thrown into the water, barely able to save their lives.
boom!
Zhiling gritted his teeth and smashed his fist on the table.
The corner of the table was smashed, and the broken pieces of wood fell to the ground and rolled down the steps.
"The country doesn't know about this matter. If we knew about it, we would definitely question him and go to Beijing to welcome the young master back!"
Lin Heng is the only legitimate son of the Marquis of Jin, so his status is naturally noble. Even if he is not liked by the Marquis of Jin and is sent to the capital as a hostage, he cannot be humiliated and trampled like this. If the incident spreads back to China, the people will definitely be furious. Even if they cannot attack the emperor, they should try to welcome him back.
"The matter has not left the palace, and few people in Kyoto know about it. Most of them are kept in the dark." Lin Heng put down his cup and raised his eyes, his emotions never fluctuated much, "A few princesses happened to pass by and saved the two of us. Their mother is at odds with the prince’s mother, so they will not miss this opportunity.”
The incident was reported to the emperor, and all the palace servants present were hanged, and the servant who did it had his limbs chopped off and bled to death.
The prince punished him with a stick, and one person was directly disabled.
The mother of the three was imprisoned and could never see Tian Yan again.
On the surface, this is an explanation given by the emperor to the two, but in fact it is a power struggle within the palace. Lin Heng and Tian Qi are just introductions, just the right chess pieces.
"The queen has no children, and all the princes in the palace are concubines. Three of them are gone at once. It can be said that everyone is very happy."
These words are full of irony and bloody facts.
"Tian Qi is strong and has been recovering for several months. I am not as good as him. The cold air accumulates in the body and becomes a famous sick man in the capital." Lin Heng laughed at himself, then changed the topic, "The emperor wants to save face after all, and the palace also wants to whitewash peace. , I am a blessing in disguise, I am no longer deliberately embarrassed, and I have been rewarded again and again, so life is no longer difficult."
These words did not make Zhiling suppress his anger.
"Wolf Armor failed in its duty!"
Langqi is a private soldier of the Zhi family. Lin Heng was in danger in Shangjing and almost lost his life. He should send someone to deliver the message anyway.
"Sent, three times." Lin Heng told the truth about that year, and his words were earth-shattering, "The messenger never came back."
Maybe he died on the way, maybe he disappeared in the Jin Kingdom, or maybe he never left Beijing at all.
It might be the emperor who took action, or it might be a noble from Beijing who knew about it. Another possibility is that he is the Marquis of Jin, his biological father, who hopes that he will never return to his country.
"The messenger disappeared without a trace, contact was cut off, and the matter was eventually covered up."
To this day, the emperor releases protons from various countries with the purpose of disrupting the feudal states.
According to the emperor's thinking, Lin Heng needs to rely on the official title awarded by Shangjing. Even if he feels resentful, he will not bring up the old matter easily.
"The apparent culprit has been punished. If I hold on to him, wouldn't I be narrow-minded and careless?" The good medicine took effect and Lin Heng regained his energy. The abnormal blush faded from his cheeks, making his eyes dark and cold.
"This is unreasonable!" Zhiling was furious, murderous intent boiling in his chest. For the first time in his life, he wanted to regicide, not only the marquis of Jin, but also the emperor who came to Beijing.
A cup of warm water was brought to him, which was a little unexpected and caught him off guard.
"Brother, the past cannot be changed. What matters is the present and the future."
Seeing that Zhiling was still not moving, Lin Heng simply held his wrist, put the cup into his hand, and clasped his fingers one by one.
"The fact that I can return to the country safely means that my life should not be cut off. I will get everything I deserve, and the Zhi family should also return to the capital."
Lin Heng let go of Zhiling's hand and took out a piece of silk from his body. It was torn from the secret letter that Xiancheng carried. It was stamped with a seal that could only be used by the first lady.
"Anyone who occupies a magpie's nest will be punished."
"Those who collude with the Dog Rong will be killed."
"A person who favors and trusts treacherous people is not worthy of being a king. He should bring order to the chaos."
Lin Heng unfolded the seal on the silk, and found several spots spattered on it, all covered with dried blood.
"My father loves Mrs. Li, but he should not distinguish between superior and inferior; he should not undermine his loyalty by favoring the Youhu family. If he doesn't like me, he can expel me. Because he doesn't want to bear the infamy, he intends to let me die in Shangjing and disappear. On the way back home, he was actually hiding his ears and stealing the bell."
Recognizing the seal on the silk and seeing the few words left on it, Zhiling thought about whose hand it was, and his anger and murderous intent surged together.
The seal of the principal wife was actually used by a concubine.
The Marquis of Jin's move was not only partial, but also humiliating the late wife, the young master Heng, and the Zhi family!
The ignorant king deserves to be expelled, and even more so, killed!
