Wishful Things

In early autumn, inside and outside Yangzhou City, the green hills have just added a little bit of autumn yellow color, and they are still a lush and dense scene.

An elegant courtyard hidden at the foot of the mountain was exceptionally quiet at this time.

In the secret passage where the sun is not visible, a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy wearing a moon-white brocade robe has an anxious expression on his face: "Sister-in-law, what are you going to do!"

She brought him here early in the morning, saying that she wanted to show him some treasures——but as soon as he came in, he was bound hands and feet by her servant Azhu!

Could it be that his unreliable sister-in-law was bought by the court and wanted to hand him over?

But if that's the case, why bother!

Although the teenager is still young, he has experienced the fact that his family has been destroyed and his relatives have died one after another in just a few months. He still has the ability to be alert and distinguish the situation.

Even if the woman in front of him secretly shot and killed his aunt Empress Wu who was hanging at the city gate a few days ago.

The young woman squatting in front of her spoke with comforting tone: "I let Ah Zhu dig this secretly two years ago. It is the most suitable place to take refuge. Even your Wu family doesn't know that there is this secret passage...you Just wait here with peace of mind, Ah Zhu and Doctor Qiu will accompany you, with enough food and water to last two months."

And two months later, King Yan's army must have broken through Yangzhou City.

Xu Mingyi stood up.

Seeing that she was about to leave, the young boy hurriedly said: "Sister-in-law, why don't you stay here together!"

"If I also stay, I'm afraid they will find here sooner or later."

The young boy's eyes tightened suddenly.

He knows...!

"You are going out to die, lure those people away for me!"

No wonder he had to be tied up!

He wanted to break free, but he couldn't break free, so anxious that he burst into tears.

Xu Mingyi looked at him with a little distaste: "A face that is not very handsome..." Crying like this without regard to his appearance and image made the situation worse.

Wu Ran's cries grew louder.

She had no choice but to say again: "You should know that I have been sick for many years and my body's foundation has been damaged, so I don't have much time to live—"

I don't know if it's easier for children to accept it? After all, she is not good at coaxing children.

Miracle doctor Qiu looked up at her in a gloomy mood.

Really not long to live.

If there are no natural or man-made disasters, it will only be forty or fifty years.

Wu Ran was still screaming, his voice hoarse.

Xu Mingyi was at a loss anyway, and knocked him out with a single palm.

Hmm, much quieter.

Sure enough, she is better at beating children than coaxing them.

"Uncle Qiu, remember to burn some paper money later. Burn more. My family has a large population and there are many places to use money."

After saying this, Xu Mingyi left the secret path without looking back.

Ah Zhu who was waiting at the entrance of the secret passage knelt down towards her.

"Take good care of Wu Ran, and hand him over to King Yan personally."

"The servant girl obeys!"

Ah Zhu's voice trembled slightly, Xu Mingyi didn't look at it, but she could tell that she was crying.

A Zhu had been by her side since she was a child, and in the past twenty years, this was the first time Xu Mingyi heard her cry.

Seeing Xu Mingyi lift her foot, Azhu knelt and approached her, then slammed her head on the green brick floor, and said: "Madam's order, Azhu dare not not listen, wait for Azhu to tell you Once the errand is done, I will find you!"

"good."

Xu Mingyi did not greet her politely, neither stopped nor looked back.

Just after noon, the sky turned cloudy.

A group of people quietly surrounded the courtyard.

Xu Mingyi who was sitting in the hall put down his tea bowl, his eyes were cold.

It came really fast enough——

This time, Zhan Yunzhu, who was ordered to track down Wu Ran's whereabouts, never gave up until he achieved his goal.

And although the secret way is secret, it cannot withstand repeated careful searches. After all, Yangzhou City is still the territory of the imperial court.

Maybe she can survive their search by luck, but it's just a possibility. If she is the only one, even if she is a bit useless, if she can live one day, she will live one more day.

It's good to be alive after all.

King Yan's army has captured Lingbi, and will reach Yangzhou in ten days——

But in this other courtyard, there is another Wu Ran.

She couldn't risk the only descendant of the Wu family.

The Wu family treated her well, and since they sent her to her daughter-in-law, she would not be able to live up to the entrustment.

What's more, for her, this is also an opportunity she has been waiting for for a long time——

She has revenge.

Blood feud.

A sound of swift and orderly footsteps approached here, led by a man in an indigo robe.

He was very young, he looked only twenty-three or twenty-four years old, his brows and eyes were light and gentle, but Xu Mingyi knew that this was just a false appearance.

Before he entered the hall, he saw a young woman sitting there with a cold but majestic appearance, her steps froze, and her eyes suddenly flickered, full of disbelief.

"Zhao Zhao... you are still alive, you are really alive!"

When he heard about it at first, he didn't dare to believe it!

There was undisguised irony and hatred in Xu Mingyi's eyes: "Zhan Yunzhu, you were the one who killed my Xu family—"

"No, Zhaozhao, that wasn't me." Zhan Yunzhu had a wry smile on his lips, "That was my father's work, and by the time I found out, it was too late... But he has already received what he deserved. Three years ago, He is dead, the capital is only two hundred miles away from Yangzhou, you should have heard about it."

Xu Mingyi felt a chill in his heart.

Pushing away everything he did, even talking about his father's death so calmly.

"Zhao Zhao, I know you won't believe me at this time, and I really owe your Xu family too much... Don't worry, I will make it up to you in the future, and I will never make you suffer again."

Zhan Yunzhu looked at her, his tone was gentle and gentle, his eyes were full of sincerity and guilt, but his words were full of persuasion: "Zhao Zhao, hand Wu Ran to me, and I will take you back to the capital."

"Wu Ran? I've never seen it before."

"Zhao Zhao, since I've found you, you can't lie to me. Wu's family is all dead, and Wu Ran is a frail young man, where else can he go other than to go to you."

Zhan Yunzhu stepped into the hall at this time, and ordered his followers to close the door from the outside.

Before that, two young women dressed as attendants had searched for the dagger hidden in Xu Mingyi's sleeve.

Zhan Yunzhu just smiled standing in front of her.

"So Zhaozhao really wanted to kill me."

But her mind is pure and simple, and she has never hidden it deep enough. Since childhood, he has been able to see through her thoughts at a glance.

It is already very keen to guess that he is coming today. Or, it was his subordinates who alerted Wu Ran's guards when they came to investigate last night.

Xu Mingyi slightly straightened the corners of his mouth: "You have to bring me by your side, and sooner or later I will find a chance to kill you."

Zhan Yunzhu pretended not to hear this sentence.

He obviously had a chance to win, so he was not in a hurry to ask any questions at this time, but bent slightly, reached out to support her shoulder, stared at her greedily, and said in a low voice, "Zhao Zhao, I haven't seen you in five years... I'm serious." I miss you so much. You know, although I have everything now, I just can’t pretend to be anyone else in my heart.”

Xu Mingyi violently broke away from his hand, raised his hand and attacked his neck while standing up.

The bracelet on the wrist hides sharp thorns, and while Yunzhu dodges, there is still a wound on his neck.

"Zhao Zhao, don't make trouble anymore. With your skills, it is impossible to kill me. Since you know that I will come today, this move is just to delay Wu Ran's escape. But he can't escape from Yangzhou City. Don't waste your efforts. You are the remnant of the Xu and Wu families, only I can save you, you should be more obedient."

He restrained Xu Mingyi's arm, his tone was slightly cold, and his patience was fading.

"yes."

Xu Mingyi suddenly smiled.

Of course she did it to delay time, if not, did she listen to his nonsense just to disgust herself——

Zhan Yunzhu wanted to say something more, but his face suddenly changed.

He searched for the wound on his neck, only to find that the blood stained on his fingers was black in color!

"Zhao Zhao, you—"

He no longer had the strength to restrain Xu Mingyi, he took a few steps back in fear, and wanted to call someone in, but was surprised that he could hardly make a sound.

He fell to the ground, keenly looked at the bracelet on Xu Mingyi's wrist who was walking towards him, and then at the censer burning unknown spices in the corner.

But it's too late.

From the moment he found the dagger from Xu Mingyi's sleeve, he realized that the woman in front of him was as innocent as ever, so he unconsciously let go of most of his guard.

"You only know that I know some boxing skills since I was a child, so I am always on guard. But you don't know, I have learned some other skills that can be used to kill people over the years, right?"

Wu Ran thought she was trying to lure Zhan Yunzhu away with her own life.

wrong.

She was going to kill him.

"My lord? Do you need your subordinates to go in?" A tentative voice came from outside the door.

Zhan Yunzhu scratched his throat with both hands, desperately trying to make a sound, while moving towards the door with difficulty.

Xu Mingyi stepped on his heart, pulled out the saber from his waist, and raised the saber with his hand.

Just as the soldiers were about to break in, the door was kicked open from the inside.

A woman with unparalleled appearance and blood-stained snow-blue dress appeared in everyone's sight, and she was holding something in her hand——

That is the head of their adults!

The soldiers were horrified and furious. Seeing the head being thrown down the stone steps unceremoniously by the woman, they immediately drew their swords and surrounded the general.

The soldiers guarding outside the courtyard also rushed in.

Xu Mingyi raised his foot and kicked down the wooden barrel beside him, and the pine oil prepared inside spread out under his feet.

With a calm expression, she took out the fire pocket and threw it on the ground, gritted her teeth to hide the poison, and with a bang, the fire spread.

She knew she couldn't escape.

She was born in the Xu family, and even if she had to die, she had to die with dignity.

There is nothing unwilling to die in your own hands.

Although she was terrified of fire and death when she was young, fortunately, this poison can cause people to die unconsciously.

The fire surged up, the snow-blue figure was slowly swallowed down, and fine raindrops suddenly fell from the cloudy sky.

At this time, a group of men in black suddenly jumped into the other courtyard, and fought with the soldiers who were still immersed in the tragic death of the leader Zhan Yunzhu.

Without Zhan Yunzhu's command, the opponent came again aggressively, and the soldiers lost their minds and quickly broke into an army and fled here.

A vulture flew low in front of a burning house, making a cry that sounded like a whine. After hovering for a while, he tried to rush into the fire.

The flames scorched its wings, and it fluttered a few times, but slammed into it again with a honking sound.

"Tianmu!"

The leading man in black frowned and shouted to stop.

But the vulture still refused to give up.

Xu Mingyi faintly heard a sharp cry.

Ten days ago, this lazy, ugly and noisy stupid bird suddenly disappeared. She thought she had found a new master with more money and would not come back...

And if the leading man in black made some investigations, he could faintly see the smear of snow in the fire, and suddenly he raised his foot and rushed into the fire.

"Master, no!"

A follower rushed in immediately.

The man moved quickly, and picked up Xu Mingyi, who was still on fire, while the attendants at the side quickly fetched water from the water tank at the side, and poured it on the two of them in time.

"……why you?!"

"Xu Mingyi, you are still alive!"

The man saw clearly the appearance of the man in his arms, and the handsome face covered with water droplets was full of shock.

Xu Mingyi tried to open his eyes, but couldn't.

"Quick, get some more cold water—"

"Bring people back to the barracks for treatment!"

The man took off his cloak, wrapped it around her burned body, and kept ordering his subordinates.

Xu Mingyi's consciousness is gradually disappearing.

She wanted to ask "Who are you".

I also want to know whether King Yan's army will continue to attack the capital after breaking down Yangzhou City, how the emperor will respond, whether he will defend the capital or retreat to the south, and how long will the two armies face off? Can King Yan win in the end?

In her heart, she hoped that King Yan would win.

But she couldn't wait any longer.

but……

It seems that there is no need to worry.

She was such a kind and honest person in the past, but today she killed a treacherous person, she can be regarded as a person who has accumulated virtue, and she would be able to ascend to heaven in all likelihood.

Let's see it in the sky...

...

Half a month later, King Yan's army barely stopped after taking Yangzhou City, and surrounded the capital at night.

Because of the tragic death of the Wu family, the morale of the Yan army was high and furious, and they captured the capital in just three days.

A young man in armor led a troop of cavalry into the palace.

The emperor did not escape.

To be exact, there was no time to escape. King Yan's army was in full swing, and because of the inhumanity of the current imperial court, there were more and more followers and defectors along the way. To be able to enter the capital so quickly and without any scruples, regardless of the advice of the ministers sent by the imperial court to negotiate peace, is the courtier and The emperor did not expect it in advance.

The young man broke into the Hall of Mental Cultivation, ignoring the chanting of the ministers and inner eunuchs, he lifted the sick emperor on the dragon couch with one hand, dragged him out, and threw him heavily in front of the imperial steps of the outer hall.

The stubborn and loyal old minister was very angry, and he cursed and lamented that the young man had lost his virtue and disregarded the royal dignity.

"Listen, I'll tell you two things. One, to make an imperial edict against myself, and expose to the world the fault of framing the Xu family and the Wu family."

Looking at the bright yellow silk and pen and ink thrown by his side, the emperor trembled all over, and laughed maniacally: "Delusion... It is impossible for me to write! It is even more impossible to plan an abdication edict...You father and son can only be rebellious officials and thieves!"

"Writing or not is up to you."

The young man sneered, and the eunuch at the side looked at the knife lying in front of him, knelt down on the ground, and tremblingly picked up his pen.

"Second, kill yourself and apologize."

The young man threw the sword in his hand in front of the emperor.

Cursing and crying kept coming and going, the man standing on the imperial steps seemed to have never heard of it, and only looked at the turbulent sky above the vermilion palace wall.

As the father said, the price of going down this road is already too heavy.

If you know that in the end you will inevitably be accused of being a traitor and traitor, and if your grandfather knows it, will you regret it?

And Xu Mingyi——

On that day, he should have gone earlier.

She's only twenty-two years old, right?

The autumn wind was rustling, a rain fell, and the yellow leaves fell into the soil with the flames of war and blood, and were buried together.

...