Jiuxi

Chapter 601 599 [Endless Things]

At the end of the Shen time, the funeral procession that stretched for more than ten miles finally arrived at the imperial mausoleum.

The coffin will stay in the imperial mausoleum for one night and will be buried at an auspicious time early tomorrow morning.

The emperor has his own place to rest, and all civil and military officials and relatives with military honors have also made preparations. As for his entourage, servants and laborers, the Secretariat has already ordered each department to designate areas and provide food.

It is now midsummer, and it is not difficult to spend a night around the imperial mausoleum.

The emperor was traveling nearby, and there were three layers of guards: the Imperial Guards, the Sutra Weaving Bureau, and the Court Guards. The place was tightly guarded inside and out, and Qin Zheng and Shen Yulai were on duty in person to ensure that nothing could go wrong.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."

A young man walked into the hall, came before the young emperor, knelt on the ground respectfully, and paid homage meticulously.

This man was dressed in mourning clothes, with a look of silence between his brows. His former frivolity and rebelliousness had long been wiped out by nearly two years of confinement.

He was the third son of the previous emperor, Li Zongjian, who was demoted to lieutenant of Fengguo because of the assassination case in Qingfeng Street.

"No courtesy, stay on your own."

A powerful voice came from above my head, neither deliberately gentle nor deliberately cold.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Li Zongjian stood up slowly, his eyelids still lowered, his vision limited to the area one foot in front of him.

"Keep your head up."

The voice sounded again.

Li Zongjian hesitated for a moment, but finally looked up and saw that the person sitting there was his second brother, the current Emperor of Great Qi.

At this moment, Li Zongjian was feeling overwhelmed.

A few months ago, they had met in Qiushan Lane. At that time, he called the other party "Your Highness the Crown Prince", and the other party called him "Third Brother" just like many years ago.

In a person's life, a few months are just a drop in the ocean, but to Li Zongjian, it felt so long and distant.

It has been so long that the person in front of me has become so unfamiliar.

Silence spread quietly.

After a long while, Li Zongben stood up and said, "Come."

Li Zongjian said nothing more, but followed him with his head down.

The two came to the side hall. Li Zongjian's eyes narrowed slightly. What caught his sight was a round table with a feast on it.

Li Zongben sat down first, pointed to the opposite side and said, "Sit down."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the seat."

Li Zongjian had a dull expression, neither happy nor sad, as he sat opposite the emperor, quietly looking at the somewhat simple dishes in front of him.

Li Zongben added: "There is no wine today, so let's have tea instead."

This is a matter of course.

During the period of national mourning, alcohol and music should be prohibited, and the emperor should set an example.

Apart from the two of them, Yuan Yuji was the only one serving by the emperor's side in the side hall.

Li Zongjian slowly said, "I wonder what your majesty wants to teach me by summoning me here?"

"We didn't have much time to chat last time we met, and there won't be a suitable opportunity later."

Li Zongben's eyes were calm, and he said calmly: "I just happened to have some free time today, and you are not far away, so I thought we might as well meet."

Li Zongjian said respectfully: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace in allowing me to attend the funeral of the late emperor."

"No need to thank me, this is the Queen Mother's order. Since the Queen Mother wants you to see the late Emperor off, how can I go against her wishes?"

When Li Zongben said this, his eyes remained on Li Zongjian's face.

Li Zongjian suddenly sighed and continued, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. The Queen Mother's move was indeed not very thoughtful. I am in this situation because of my own fault. Even if I cannot accompany the late Emperor on his last journey, this is the punishment I deserve. I know that Your Majesty may think that I am not very honest, but please understand that I have been isolated from the outside world in Qiushan Lane and there is no way I could have instigated the Queen Mother to act."

This explanation is a bit straightforward and unlike his usual style.

Li Zongben did not comment, raised his hand and pointed at the vegetarian dishes on the table and said, "Don't be nervous, fill your stomach first."

Li Zongjian picked up the chopsticks and just as he stretched them forward, he heard Li Zongben say, "You may not know that I envied you very much during those years."

"Envy?" Li Zongjian paused and then slowly retracted his movements.

Li Zongben said calmly, "Yes, I envy you. Although you are used to pretending in front of the late emperor, although you always use your elder brother's innocence to play tricks, although your calculations are not very smart, at least the late emperor and I can see it very clearly, but because of the queen mother's preference for you, you can always get away with it. No matter how many mistakes you make, you will not be severely punished. If you hadn't gone crazy and attacked Lu Chen, I really don't know how to make the late emperor make up his mind."

From "I" at the beginning to "I" now, the change in the other party's self-proclaimed name did not relax Li Zongjian. On the contrary, his expression became more solemn.

He put the chopsticks back to their original place, and after a moment of silence, he said expressionlessly: "Your Majesty, if this can help you relieve the depression in your heart, it is my honor."

"Do you think I'm trying to show off in front of you?"

Li Zongben narrowed his eyes slightly and said quietly, "I wonder if Third Brother still remembers a woman named Yunniang?"

Li Zongjian looked confused.

"It seems that your memory has not been very good recently. Well, I will help you recall it."

Li Zongben stroked the teacup in his hand and said slowly, "In late spring last year, a wealthy businessman named Jia in Xicheng reported to the police that his wife, Yunniang, had suddenly disappeared and no one knew whether she was alive or dead. Yongjia Prefecture sent officials to search for her, but in the end they found nothing and had to hastily close the case. In fact, Yunniang had already passed away before the businessman reported to the police. She died in a mysterious house in Xicheng, and the cause of death was strangled to death."

At this point, Li Zongben looked at Li Zongjian's hands as if he didn't mean to say anything, and said, "Third brother, do you still remember how much strength you used at that time?"

A picture suddenly appeared in Li Zongjian's mind.

The woman with a soft figure, pretty face and timid temperament struggled desperately, trying to push away his hands that were strangling her throat, but he held her firmly under him.

Her pretty face became more and more hideous, and her eyes turned blood red, like a ghost.

With a plop, Li Zongjian slid off the chair and knelt on the ground, saying in panic, "Please spare my life, Your Majesty!"

Li Zongben said calmly: "Help him up and let him sit steadily."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Yuan Yuji came over immediately, and this seemingly thin eunuch just stretched out his hand and easily lifted Li Zongjian and placed him on the seat.

Li Zongben continued, "Yunniang is not the first, nor the last. I know of no less than ten innocent women who died tragically at your hands in Beijing. Third brother, if a man of your status is just greedy for beauty, there are probably countless beauties willing to throw themselves into your arms. Why do you have to do such a heartless thing?"

Li Zongjian's face was pale, his body was shaking uncontrollably, and he said with difficulty: "Your Majesty, I am a sinner... my crime is unforgivable."

"It is indeed unforgivable. But I'm afraid you won't be so panicked in your heart. For more than ten years, you have been focusing on Big Brother, and you only want to trample Big Brother into the mud, so I can observe you calmly in secret."

Li Zongben gave his judgment indifferently, and then said with emotion: "You are a person who is very good at disguising yourself. Whether in front of the late emperor or the empress dowager, you have long been accustomed to wearing many layers of masks, and you will not show your fear in front of me. Even at this moment, you pretend to be panicked, but in fact you are thinking about how to deceive me by pretending to be so, and how to take revenge on me in the future when you turn the tide against the wind."

Li Zongjian's expression did not change and he was still trembling with fear.

Li Zongben didn't take it seriously and continued, "But you are not as powerful as you think. You are greedy, stupid, eccentric, violent, short-sighted, and self-righteous and inexplicably confident. That's why you lost so thoroughly, and you will never be able to win again."

After hearing these words, Li Zongjian seemed to calm down suddenly, and said slowly: "It turns out that Your Majesty is just an ordinary person."

Li Zongben took a sip of the fragrant tea and asked leisurely, "What do you mean?"

Li Zongjian said sarcastically, "Since I am so despicable in your eyes, what is the point of your words? Does mocking such a despicable person make the Emperor of Da Qi feel happy? Or does your Majesty want to vent the depression accumulated over the past ten years on me because you have ascended the throne by chance? If so, I am willing to share your worries."

Li Zongben couldn't help laughing and said, "You are wrong. It's not that I think you are terrible, but you are terrible to begin with. Don't confuse the difference between these two things."

"Right."

Li Zongjian calmly picked up the teacup and moistened his throat. "Your Majesty is now in power and is in high spirits. Naturally, you have the qualifications to look down on the world. I, a sinner, should feel honored to be despised by Your Majesty. In Your Majesty's eyes, I am such a wicked and unsuccessful waste, while Your Majesty is a wise ruler with great ambitions and noble character who is dedicated to inheriting the will of the late emperor. The comparison between me and Your Majesty is like a grain of rice competing with the bright moon. It is simply self-humiliation."

Li Zongben looked at him thoughtfully.

The next moment, Li Zongjian suddenly changed the subject: "On the day of the late emperor's death, I knelt down and kowtowed. I had many questions that I wanted to ask him in person, but I will never have the opportunity again."

Li Zongben asked: "What do you want to ask?"

Li Zongjian met his scrutiny and said with a half-smile, "I want to ask him, if his spirit in heaven saw the truth of the past and knew that the successor he had chosen with great difficulty was actually a shameless person who used conspiracy to kill his own brother, would he still feel at ease to leave this world?"

Yuan Yuji, who was standing beside him, suddenly changed color and put his right hand on Li Zongjian's shoulder as fast as lightning.

However, Li Zongjian didn't even blink, let alone look back at him.

Li Zongben looked normal and shook his head slightly.

Only then did Yuan Yuji withdrew his right hand.

Li Zongben said calmly: "You might as well be more specific, because I don't quite understand."

Li Zongjian stared into his eyes, his tone full of sarcasm, and he said word by word: "Second brother, even if you can hide it from the world, I can guess what you did. My eldest brother clearly died in your hands!"

(End of this chapter)