Author: Shangtang Doumiao

The sun is setting on the west mountain, the time of twilight.

Although the injury of the Forbidden Army coach Li Zi was not life-threatening, he was unable to forcefully continue to lead the army. Therefore, the Forbidden Army was temporarily controlled by Xiao Jin, the Marquis of Xiangcheng, and cooperated with the Luan Yiwei led by Chen An to dig three feet into the palace.

inspection.

Palace maids, internal guards, court guards, and even Luan Yiwei and the Forbidden Army themselves were constantly taken away and imprisoned together. Because of the explosion in Nanxun Palace, this was obviously a more stringent and cruel purge than originally planned.

.

Xiao Jin was not in the palace at this time, but was outside Chengtian Gate. Pei Cheng, who had bandaged his wound, was standing beside him, both of them facing the east direction of Yu Street.

Seeing a carriage approaching surrounded by a whole team of Luan Yiwei masters, Xiao Jin took a deep breath, straightened his clothes, and walked forward slowly.

Only then did he notice that this was a carriage specially made by Luan Yiwei. It was closed on three sides without curtains. The doors were also locked with dual locks and fine iron chains. Only some small holes were left at the back of the carriage for ventilation.

.

Xiao Jin frowned slightly and said in a deep voice: "Open the car door."

Secret agent Luan Yiwei did not dare to hesitate. The two men on the left and right sides of the car each took out a key, opened the dual-element lock and removed the chain, and then opened the car door.

Silent Cloud got down from the carriage. He was wearing his usual robes and did not change into the official uniform of Zuo Lingchen of Taishitai Pavilion. Although he was like a prisoner at the moment, his temples were still neatly combed and not messy at all.

The only thing that didn't match his demeanor were the shackles on his hands and feet.

Xiao Jin had a complicated expression, stepped forward and cupped his hands and said: "Master Shen, I'm offended."

Silent Cloud looked at Xiao Jin calmly and said slowly: "Marquis Xiangcheng, there is no need to be polite. Shen is a guilty person, so this is the only way to deal with it."

Xiao Jin sighed in his heart. Although there were many heroes in the court, there were not many who could make him sincerely admire him. The middle-aged man in front of him was one of them. Zuo Lingchen of Taishitai Pavilion had always been a high-ranking official. He was fifteen years old in the Kaiping Dynasty.

In 2000, the importance of this official position was even second only to that of the Dongfu Left Governor. If the person in power was that kind of cunning and cruel official, the court would have been in a bloody storm for more than ten years.

Although Xiao Jin had been guarding Hucheng before, he had never stopped exchanging letters with Kyoto, so he naturally knew what kind of role Silent Cloud played in His Majesty's side.

How could the name of Guchen come from nothing?

However……

Xiao Jin didn't know what to say, and his words seemed particularly pale and weak at this time.

Silent Cloud looked calm, turned to look at Pei Cheng on the other side, nodded and said: "Sure enough, I have succeeded. If the spirit of the Duke of Guo can see you today, I will be very happy to think about it."

Pei Cheng's lips moved and his face looked sad. Although he knew it would attract some unnecessary criticism, he still bowed respectfully and said, "I would like to thank you for taking care of the Pei family over the years."

Silent Cloud said gently: "Without your grandfather's appreciation and trust, I would be nothing more than a poor scholar."

He skipped this topic and then said to Xiao Jin: "Your Majesty's decree, take me to the prison or the harem?"

Xiao Jin whispered: "Xingqing Hall."

Silent Cloud shook his head and sighed: "Why bother."

Then he stepped forward surrounded by Xiao Jin and Luan Yiwei's spies, with a calm expression on his face. The shackles on his feet dragged the chains, and the harsh sound echoed in the wide and majestic square in front of the palace.

When he arrived outside the Xingqing Hall, there were more masters from the imperial guards in front of him, who searched him thoroughly before letting Xiao Jin take him into the inner hall.

Silent Cloud smiled faintly and didn't care.

Candles were already lit in the inner hall, and the light was very bright. Silent Cloud could even see clearly the emperor's face on the dragon throne after walking in. What was slightly different from the past was that the person standing next to him was not Liu Bao, the internal eunuch. , but to Du Zhihou Yu, who is more than ten years younger.

In addition to Emperor Ping, there were also Prince Liu Xian, the governor on the left, Mo Haoli, the governor on the right, Luo Ting, and Xiao Jin who came with them.

Sheng Shen Yun walked forward a few steps calmly, then bowed and saluted: "The guilty minister Shen Shen Yun, pays homage to Your Majesty."

No one in the hall dared to make a sound, only when he moved his hands, the iron chains clanked.

Then there was a silence that made people feel short of breath.

Silent Cloud maintained that posture until Emperor Kaiping's indifferent voice came from the front.

"Plain body."

He slowly straightened up and faced the emperor's sharp, knife-like gaze.

Emperor Kaiping naturally had a lot of things to ask this middle-aged lonely minister, but when he really saw him, he felt that those words were meaningless. Instead, they made him anxious and affected his body that was struggling to support himself. .

But if he didn't ask, how could he feel relieved?

To him, Silent Cloud was different from Wang Pingzhang and Gu Liang, and even different from Mo Haoli and Luo Ting. Before Pei Yue appeared, he gave the highest trust to Silent Cloud and handed the huge Taishitai Pavilion into his hands. , he only installed a few cronies as principals and did not interfere with his every move.

Therefore, he asked in a cold voice: "Have I ever treated you badly in the past seventeen years?"

Silent Cloud stared carefully and thought for a long time before saying: "No."

Emperor Kaiping's eyes flashed with pain, and he said quietly: "Then why did you betray me?"

Silent Cloud glanced at the important ministers on both sides, and said calmly: "Your Majesty, I think the reason is not important. Since I have taken this step, Your Majesty only needs to let people find out what I have done, and then set a date casually. Mingzheng canon punishment."

Emperor Kaiping's cold eyes gradually narrowed.

Silent Cloud seemed unaware and continued: "I had made a plan to assassinate him with explosives more than half a month ago. I secretly contacted the woman who was proficient in gunpowder and conspired with Wang Pingzhang. He was responsible for communicating with Liu They persuaded Queen Chen together with the hostage, and Chen used the internal agents placed in the Luan Yi Guards and the Forbidden Army to bury explosives inside and outside Nanxun Hall. This is the whole truth and process of the matter. Your Majesty, you can rest assured that the chiefs of the Nine Departments of Taige They were not involved."

He looked up at Emperor Kaiping and said slowly: "Of course, if Your Majesty is not at ease, you can also replace all the principals of the Taige. With this move of the ministers plotting to assassinate the Holy Emperor to start liquidation and adjustment, I believe that regardless of whether the court No one within the Chinese or Taiwan cabinet will object."

This is a slightly absurd scene.

As the mastermind of the assassination case, Silent Cloud spoke eloquently in front of the emperor. Mo Haoli and other important ministers listened silently, and no one jumped out to accuse or scold him for his disloyalty.

Emperor Kaiping didn't seem to care about this. He heard the hidden meaning in Silent Cloud's words and knew that he was implying that he had always wanted to split up and weaken the power of Taishitai Pavilion, so that it could work side by side with Luan Yiwei to check and balance each other.

When he thought of this, he couldn't help but sneer and said: "In that case, I have to be grateful to you."

Silent Cloud shook his head and said: "I don't dare. Because of me, your majesty's dragon body was damaged. Although I don't feel guilty, I also know that this is a treasonous and unethical act that I will never avoid."

The right-hand governor Luo Ting standing next to him frowned and said: "Master Shen, you should not make such frivolous remarks."

Silent Cloud calmly replied: "This is sincere and not a pretense. Please don't be angry, Mr. Right."

Emperor Kaiping looked at the middle-aged man who dealt with it calmly from beginning to end, and asked again: "I ask you, why did you betray me?"

Silent Cloud immediately knew that the emperor had a deep obsession in his heart, and then sighed: "When I first had this idea, it was because I thought that there are not many things I want in this life. After all, there are only three things. One is to stabilize the people of Daliang. Prosperity, secondly, means that the government is stable and the government is clear, and thirdly, family members are safe and can enjoy family happiness."

Emperor Kaiping couldn't help but think of his previous conversation with Concubine Wu in the palace, and his eyes gradually became a little bitter.

Silent Cloud lowered his head slightly and said: "Your Majesty, I only have one son and one daughter, and both of them are regarded as treasures. For your Majesty and the court, I can dedicate everything I have, including my life. However, I hope they can live well. Even if he lives like an ordinary person, this is the bottom line that Chen must adhere to as a father."

Emperor Kaiping's right hand gradually clenched into a fist, and he said every word: "I don't know about this matter."
Chapter completed!