sword sentient beings

Dark clouds have enveloped the capital for three days.

The so-called clouds are not a description of the atmosphere, but a real celestial phenomenon.

The sky in the capital was filled with haze, and the dark clouds were so low that it seemed as if you could reach out and touch them.

The dark clouds were not ordinary dark clouds. There were traces of thunder and lightning rolling in the dark clouds, like loaches burrowing in the mud, and dull thunder could be heard from time to time.

This is a nine-fold thundercloud. The thundercloud contains the power to destroy the heaven and the earth. The capital is completely shrouded in the thundercloud, and there are shadows everywhere. Not only is the mountain and rain about to come, it seems that the end is approaching.

This day is the tenth day of the first lunar month.

noon.

The capital city, which has not seen sunshine for several days, is also very gloomy today. Although it is noon, it is darker than the evening, and the carriages and horses walking on the road are hung with lights.

In the distance, a group of people came from the official road, with several lanterns hanging in front of them. The group behind them held torches high, and the group was straight and neat, like a fire dragon.

The team passed a post pavilion, which was originally the last post pavilion on the official road. Ten miles further ahead was the capital city.

Suddenly, a spark lit up in the pavilion, and someone said, "Is His Royal Highness Prince Shun coming from ahead?"

The large group of people stopped and separated from both sides. A man wearing a gorgeous royal robe came riding a tall horse and said: "The king is here. Who are you?"

Only three people came out of the pavilion. One of them was wearing a seven-star robe and a crane crown. He was a young Huangguan Taoist. He cupped his hands and said, "I have been ordered to welcome the prince here."

When King Shun saw that he was called a lower official without wearing an official official title, his expression changed slightly and he said: "The Taoist Master is..."

The Taoist said politely: "The lower official is Xu Zhongnan, the fourth-rank immortal official of Jiutian Dao Palace. I have been ordered by the Imperial Master to welcome His Highness."

After hearing this, King Shun immediately rolled off his saddle and dismounted. With a smile on his face, he said: "It turns out that the Immortal Official of the Dao Palace is here! Why does the Labor Master miss the little king?"

Xu Zhongnan smiled and said: "Your Majesty has come all the way, how dare you neglect me? Please come with me, Your Majesty."

King Shun agreed, but he already had an idea in his mind and said: "Where are we going? But to meet the saint? Xiao Wang's face is full of dust now, and it is not easy to meet the saint. He has to go back to his house to change his clothes, okay?"

Xu Zhongnan paused slightly and said, "Of course it's not a face-to-face saint, it's the imperial master who invited me."

Prince Shun shuddered secretly, and said with a smile on his face: "The Imperial Master is also very noble, so it would be rude for me to see him now, right? Why don't I go back to my house and change my clothes..."

Xu Zhongnan glanced at him and said: "The Imperial Master wants to ask the prince to go immediately. The prince must return to the palace, so please go back to the palace. I will report truthfully."

Prince Shun was originally a temptation, but when Xu Zhongnan said this, he stopped insisting and was not angry. The people in the Dao Palace were being polite and said with a smile: "Where are you talking? The summoning of the Imperial Master is naturally the most important thing. Please lead the way."

Xu Zhongnan said: "Okay, please come this way."

The place he gave up was actually a pavilion on the roadside.

King Shun's heart skipped a beat and he thought to himself: Why is the Imperial Master waiting for me in the pavilion? Came here just for me? Do I have such a great reputation? What is going on?

Then, he thought to himself: It must be that thing! If others don’t know, how can I not know? It seems that my information couldn't be more accurate. The little emperor is indeed dead. The Imperial Master was naturally panicked. Is he coming here to see me to prevent me or to test me?

He thought about it and felt that the probability that a vassal king outside the capital and the emperor's cousin might directly become a candidate for emperor was too small. There are two emperor's younger brothers in the capital, so it's not his turn no matter what.

It seems that you are guarding yourself?

I am a foreign vassal king and a powerful sect, and the national master comes to scare and beat me in person?

He suppressed a sneer, but was already prepared:

He knew the news earlier than anyone else, so he naturally had a plan in advance. He expected that the Imperial Master would not kill him upon meeting him, so he was sure to make the switch.

He waved his hand, indicating to others to wait where they were, took a deep breath, straightened his crown, and entered the pavilion alone with his head held high.

Unexpectedly, when I entered the pavilion and glanced around, there was no one in the pavilion.

"how……"

"Your Highness Prince Shun, go this way." Xu Zhongnan followed and pointed to the door opposite.

This pavilion has two opposite doors, but after all, this is just the simplest pavilion. You can see the inside from the outside, and you can see the outside from the inside. King Shun saw at a glance that it was just a deserted suburb outside.

"There's no one outside, where did you ask me to go?" King Shun said, suppressing the fear in his heart.

Could it be said that the Imperial Master really wanted to kill every fish and kill the net, taking advantage of the wilderness to completely wipe out his vassal king?

Although this is at the foot of the Imperial City and it is noon, the Imperial Master can create a month of dark and windy nights, a day of murder and arson!

King Shun is not afraid of reasoning, he is afraid of physics!

Xu Zhongnan said politely: "Your Highness, you will know when you go out. We are already here, where can we go? It's not a problem for you to stay in the pavilion all the time."

King Shun was secretly angry, glanced at him, and suddenly strode forward and crossed the door.

The moment he stepped through the door, the surrounding scenery changed and he had entered a magnificent hall.

This is... the Fengxian Hall of the Imperial Ancestral Temple!

As a vassal king who was born out of town, he didn't have many opportunities to enter the Imperial Ancestral Temple, but the place was so sacred that he was deeply impressed. At this moment, he saw at a glance the portraits hanging in the hall, and the tablets of the gods placed on the incense table. That includes his biological grandfather, the late Emperor.

Hehe, maybe now he is the emperor first.

At this moment, I heard someone shout: "Who are you?"

King Shun was stunned for a moment, and when he quickly looked back, he saw an old man sitting in the main hall, wearing golden armor, with white beard and hair, and a majestic look that he had never seen before.

He is more majestic than his own grandfather, whom King Shun only met once when he was a child, and it is hard to look directly at him!

"Are you... a national master?"

King Shun had never seen the national preceptor, so he just guessed this.

wrong……

This golden armor looks familiar...

No, this man's face looked more familiar.

King Shun came up with an absolutely ridiculous idea. He refused to believe it, but his body fell forward involuntarily and shouted: "Grandpa Taizu... Grandpa Taizu!"

This person is actually the same one who came out of the portrait of Taizu, but he is much more majestic than in the painting. It can only be Taizu himself!

The old man said: "You call me Taizu, are you my grandson?"

King Shun explained: "The child is your tenth generation grandson, your direct biological tenth generation grandson."

The old man was slightly startled and said: "Tenth generation grandson, I see. I said that I had met my grandson when I died, but he was different from you. So you are the eleventh emperor of the Jin Dynasty? Yes, you look handsome. Vigorous growth is the symbol of a human being."

King Shun was embarrassed at first, and then he heard a "thump" in his heart and ignited a flame:

Did you hear that?

Renjun weather!

Taizu personally sealed it!

Isn't this destiny?

However, even if there was no one around, even if he fell into a very relaxed state as soon as he entered the palace, and his thinking speed was much slower than usual, he still retained his rationality and knew that he couldn't just get off the slope and said hurriedly: "Sun My son is not blessed to be a king, he is just a vassal king. Now he is my nephew."

Taizu frowned and said, "No, why are you acting like this if you are not the emperor?" As he spoke, his eyebrows gradually rose and he shouted, "Why are you so ambitious?"

King Shun's heart skipped a beat, his bones went numb, and he instinctively said: "I don't! Great Grandfather Mingjian, how could my grandson ever have ambitions? Even if he does, it is the ambition to make contributions and the loyalty to assist Mingjun!"

Taizu shouted: "Don't be so clever! When I read people's hearts, you were not even ashes! Can't I see through you? You have clearly had a disobedient heart! You are already the vassal king of the vassal, the king and the minister My name has been determined long ago, but I am not calm and nourishing my energy. I am busy running the fiefdom, but I have great ambitions. Why do I come here?"

King Shun was shocked and angry. He didn't know where the courage came from. He didn't bow his head. Instead, he shouted: "Do you want to be sad? I said I have no ambitions. If you don't believe me, why don't you want me to cut myself open and see? Or do you think so?" I was punished by the name of "I want to be disobedient"? How do you know that I don't have enough food and clothing to run a fiefdom? Of all the royal fiefdoms, my Youzhou is still the real land of the Jin Dynasty. The others have become the country of China. Even in no man's land, how can he compare with me? Even that emperor, he can only fight with the Queen Mother like crows and chickens. How many years has he done a good thing after he has been on the throne? In this way, I will respect him as the supreme. No disrespect at all. I acted as a barrier to the north to fight against chaos and defend the border. How come I have become a treasonous person? Even Grandpa Taizu will not accept it!"

The further back he got, the more out of control he became, and for some reason all the words that were in his heart came out. These are all things he can shout happily in his dreams.

The Taizu stared at him for a long time and said, "Come here."

King Shun was a little worried, but he still walked over. Although he had just spoken out in anger, that burst of energy disappeared as quickly as it came, and disappeared again for no apparent reason. When he calmed down, he still had to respect Taizu.

Especially in this space, he seemed to instinctively want to obey Taizu's orders, and those words just now almost drained his emotions.

When he came to Taizu, he prostrated himself respectfully. Taizu raised his hand, touched King Shun's head, and gently stroked his hair.

It was the touch of human hand skin and the temperature of a human body. It was definitely a living person.

Taizu said slowly: "Wang Sun, I know that you are wronged, and I also know that you are capable and ambitious. You know that you are talented and have the appearance of a master, but you never have a chance, and you are depressed. But you have to know, As a royal family, you are already blessed by destiny, so you naturally have to bear the responsibilities of the royal family."

Shun Wang said: "I..."

I'm about to take it upon myself.

"The royal family's responsibility is to manage the government and the vassal territory only secondarily. The most important thing is to defend the emperor, or in other words, to defend the throne."

His voice softened and he spoke eloquently: "There is only one emperor, and it only belongs to one person. But the throne belongs to the Yuan family. This is also the foundation of everything in my family. The emperor is a towering tree, and the royal family is the root system. They are branches and vines that both support the emperor and are protected by the big tree. With the big tree, you can absorb water and soil and nourish yourself. Without the big tree, you are just withered roots and fallen leaves, and you can never live alone."

"You may think that you are talented, but there are many talented people in the world, and there are countless people who are stronger than you. You are arrogant because you are in a high position and have authority. And this high position of authority is precisely because you are born into the royal family. Being taller than others is a remnant of the throne, and you have enjoyed the benefits. The big tree is there, and all of this is there. If the big tree is not there, and you compete with the heroes of the world with your bare hands, what are your chances of winning? So this big tree must It should be set up high and straight, and it should be leafy and leafy so that people can see it at a glance. Of course, the branches and leaves can bring out the old and bring in the new, but if every branch and leaf does not compete to be the trunk, then these The branches and leaves are not branches and leaves, but vines that take over the body. They will slowly wrap around the big tree to death. In the end, even the trunk and branches will not be able to survive. Think about it for yourself, is this the truth? "

It seems...that's the truth.

Prince Na Shun was still dissatisfied at first and felt that there were many points to refute, but the more he listened, the more sense he made and his eyes gradually became clearer.

Little did he know that behind him, a ray of lightning penetrated his mind along with the hand stroking his hair.