Aoyama

Chapter 175: Shengyudan

In the Liu family mansion, in a corner that no one pays attention to.

More than a dozen black-clad guards were holding torches in their left hands and swords in their right hands, walking quickly in the dark and winding alley.

Roars and shouts were heard in the distance. It seemed that houses in the Liu family mansion were collapsing and lives were disappearing.

The guards in black didn't know what was happening, nor did they care what was happening.

They arrived at the gate of a house, and two black-clad guards drew their swords to stop them: "Why are you here?"

The black-clad guards holding torches kept marching. The leader held up a sign: "By order of the master, kill Prince Jing and his family. Get out of the way!"

The black-clad guards rushed into the courtyard, only to find that the small quadrangle was empty, the doors of the east and west wing rooms were open, and only the door of the north main room was closed.

A guard in black stepped forward and kicked the door, only to find that it had been blocked from the inside with a heavy object.

Prince Jing seemed to know that the Liu family would be angry and embarrassed, so he took precautions in advance.

The black-clad guard drew his sword and shouted angrily, "Chop the door down!"

With one chop of the knife, a huge crack appeared on the wooden door covered with white paper. The black-clad guard looked through the gap and saw Prince Jing, the Crown Prince, and the Princess each carrying a chair in the room.

"In vain!"

Just as the black-clad guard was about to strike with his second knife, he heard the sound of tiles breaking beside him. He suddenly turned around and looked: "Who?!"

I saw a soldier wearing a mask and holding a long sword rushing towards me from the rooftop in the distance. Along the way, tiles shattered with every step the soldier took.

The next moment, the morning sun in the distance finally broke through the layers of dark clouds, a streak of white quickly tore through the sky, and the soldier came to the roof of the east wing and jumped!
A black-clad guard hastily raised his sword to block, but the sword coming from the sky was so powerful that it first cut off the sword and then cut off the black-clad guard's head.

The remaining black-clad guards looked at each other, and the leader said in a deep voice: "Yes, officer! You stop him, I will kill Prince Jing, Prince Jing must not live!"

After saying that, he continued to chop at the wooden door, and more than a dozen black-clad guards waved their swords at the soldiers to stop him.

But the soldier ignored him and continued to charge towards the main house door. When he reached the knife wall, he turned around and blocked the knife with his armor.

The four blades cut through the cast iron armor, bringing out brilliant sparks like streaks of silk. All the blades were blocked by the armor, and none of them could hurt the body under the heavy armor.

In the blink of an eye, the soldier used his shoulder to push away the wall of swords, suddenly came behind the black-clad guard who was breaking the door, and stabbed him with a sword!

With a hissing sound, the black-clad guard's body suddenly stiffened and his neck was raised high!

The blade pierced his waist from behind and came out from the wooden door, shocking Bai Li and the prince in the room.

The armored soldier turned around and stared at the black-clad guard behind him like a wolf, his visor looking terrifying. He pulled out the blade in his hand inch by inch, then shook off the blood on the blade, shaking out a handful of blood mist.

The black-clad guards looked serious and attacked together.

Inside the house, Bai Li and the Crown Prince looked at Prince Jing at the same time: "Father, is it from the Qiansui Army?"

Prince Jing shook his head: "The Qiansui Army can't even come here. I arranged for help before, but this person is not the one I arranged."

The three of them were all a little confused. Who in the Liu family's mansion would suddenly lend a helping hand?

Bai Li suddenly said, "Chen Ji."

The prince hesitated for a moment: "Why is Chen Ji here? It can't be him."

Bai Li also hesitated. She looked out through the crack in the door and saw that the soldier was gradually being besieged by more than a dozen black-clad guards.

The soldiers guarding the door did not allow a single black-clad guard to break in.

The prince was in doubt: "Dad, should we go out and help him?"

Prince Jing thought for a moment and said, "Yunxi, pull the table away and go out with me to pick up a fallen knife and help him."

However, just as the two of them pulled up the table that blocked the door, a muffled voice under the mask came from outside the door: "Don't come out."

Bai Li exclaimed: "It's really Chen Ji!"

The prince turned to look at her: "You can hear that?"

At this time, Chen Ji was breathing heavily under his visor, and there were more than ten knife scars on his armor. If it weren't for this heavy armor, he would probably have been covered with wounds.

A black-clad guard stood in the crowd with a cold look in his eyes, and suddenly slashed with a knife!

The blade was so fast that Chen Ji had to stop and step back. The blade slashed across his face, splitting the white tassel on his helmet and the visor under the helmet.

With two clangs, the mask broke into two and fell to the ground, revealing the face underneath the mask.

The white tassel fell lightly to the ground and was blown away by the wind.

The black-clad guards surrounded Chen Ji in the courtyard in a fan shape. One of them said coldly, "You are exhausted. Now put down your knife and we will pretend that you have never been here."

Chen Ji picked up the knife and said, "We'll talk about it when we're exhausted."

The sound of pulling a table was heard behind him. Prince Jing, the Crown Prince, and Bai Li opened the door and rushed out, each holding a chair and standing beside him.

"you……"

Before Chen Ji finished his words, a tall and burly figure flew down from the roof and slapped every black-clad guard on the chest like lightning.

The world seemed to stop for a moment. After a moment, there was a crackling sound of bones breaking, and the remaining seven black-clad guards flew backwards at the same time, hit the wall, and bounced to the ground, without any breath.

"Feng Daban!" Bai Li exclaimed.

Chen Ji let out a long breath, supported himself with the knife, and Feng Daban turned around and bowed, "Your Majesty, please forgive me for being late."

Chen Ji frowned. If all this was planned by Prince Jing, how could Feng Daban come so late? If he hadn't shown up, Feng Daban would probably have to collect Prince Jing's body.

He glanced at Feng Daban, wondering if the other party did it on purpose or was really delayed by something?

Bai Li pulled Chen Ji's arm armor and turned it left and right: "Are you hurt?"

Chen Ji smiled and said, "Fortunately, Feng Daban arrived in time and was not injured."

The prince and Bai Li breathed a sigh of relief: "How did you get mixed up in the Liu family's soldiers?"

Chen Ji explained: "It was a coincidence."

Prince Jing looked at Feng Daban: "What is the situation?"

Feng Daban glanced at Chen Ji and replied softly, "The six zodiac signs from the Secret Service have all arrived. The Jiefan Guards and the Qiansui Army have already entered the Liu family mansion. The Elephant Armor Battalion was too late to rush to the rescue. The Tiger Armor Cavalry was led by Mr. Feng into an ambush by the Northern Wansui Army. Don't worry, Your Majesty. Lord Bailong has made every possible plan and can ensure that nothing will go wrong."

Prince Jing did not feel the joy of victory, but just sighed.

Feng Daban asked, "Your Majesty, would you like to rest here for a while?"

Prince Jing shook his head: "No need to rest, I will go and see the old man off for the last time. He should be waiting for me."

……

……

In front of the ancestral hall, a long bloody road stretched to the gate of the mansion, like a twisted scarlet carpet woven with blood and flesh.

Master Liu was missing an arm, and he was sitting in front of the ancestral hall, breathing heavily. Bai Long walked by, his white boots had turned red, and his clean white clothes were splattered with blood.

He came to the gate of the ancestral hall, without even glancing at Master Liu standing beside him, but just watched Lord Liu wiping the tablets from behind.

Elder Liu put his father's tablet back on the main niche, took down another tablet, and swept away the dust with his sleeve.

The fighting and wailing behind him seemed to have nothing to do with him.

Bai Long said softly: "Lord, the downfall of the Liu family is not your fault, so don't blame yourself."

While wiping the tablet, Elder Liu smiled and said, "Winners may win, but losers are bandits. There is nothing to blame yourself for. Thirty-one years ago, my Liu family's fields spanned three states. Ten years ago, we could only hide in Yuzhou and survive. Ten years ago, I knew that this day would come sooner or later, but I didn't expect it to come in such a cowardly way. That poisonous minister was unwilling to even give the Liu family a grand and respectable appearance."

Bai Long thought for a moment and said, "The Jing Dynasty has been sharpening its weapons and horses over the years, and the Liu family's assets are still of great use and cannot be wasted. Later, I may need to borrow the heads of you and the Liu family to persuade the Tiger Armor Camp and the Yuzhou troops to surrender."

Elder Liu chuckled and said, "You are trying to persuade my Liu family's troops to surrender. Aren't you afraid of laying hidden dangers?"

The dragon-patterned mask on Bai Long had no expression, and no one could tell whether he was happy, angry, sad, or happy. "That's something the Minister should consider, and it has nothing to do with a pawn like me."

Elder Liu put the tablet in his hand back into the main niche and looked around the ancestral hall: "What a pity."

At this time, Jin Zhu's voice came from outside the door: "Prince."

Elder Liu turned his head and saw Jie Fanwei making way for Prince Rong Jing to walk into the Liu Family Ancestral Hall.

He looked at Prince Jing in silence for a long time and said, "Let's play another game of chess, you and I, father-in-law and son-in-law."

"it is good."

"Master Liu, bring a set of chess," Lord Liu ordered.

Master Liu, who was missing an arm, barely propped himself up, limped through the crowd, and returned from the side room carrying a chessboard.

There was no suitable table in the ancestral hall, so he could only put the chessboard on a stool. Blood from his arm dripped onto the chessboard, and he used his other hand to wipe it, but it became dirtier the more he wiped.

Master Liu said in embarrassment: "Master, I..."

Elder Liu smiled gently and said, "It's okay. Sit down and take a rest."

Master Liu sighed and retreated to the door, sitting down against the threshold.

Prince Jing picked up a chess piece and placed it on the blood-stained chessboard, sighing, "I never thought that my last game of chess with my father-in-law would be played in such an environment."

Elder Liu laughed and cursed, dropping the chess piece: "Don't be so hypocritical. If it weren't for you, my Liu family wouldn't have ended up like this."

Prince Jing stared at the chessboard and asked without raising his head, "Father-in-law, was Yi killed by the Liu family?"

Elder Liu was stunned. "Yes. After Ayi married you, the Queen Mother asked her to alienate you from His Majesty, but she was so devoted to you that she didn't want to get involved... So you started to hate the Liu family from that time."

Prince Jing said calmly, "The Queen Mother made Yunxi lose her mother for her own selfish reasons...So later the Liu family arranged for Jing to marry me. Was it also their intention to alienate me from Your Majesty?"

Elder Liu said slowly, "No, it was Jing who wanted to marry you. She begged me for seven days and seven nights before I agreed."

Prince Jing held the chess piece in his hand and hesitated to put it down: "You didn't agree at the beginning?"

Liu Ge Lao laughed and said, "I'm afraid that my vicious sister will kill her too. Your Majesty, you are not trying to bring my Liu family to ruin just for Ayi, are you?"

Prince Jing was silent for a long time and avoided answering: "In recent years, 30% of the tax money of our dynasty went into the national treasury, and 70% went to the noble families. If we don't correct the accumulated problems, the last breath of this country will be gone. Lord, let it go, I have more important things to do."

Elder Liu smiled and said, "Do you really think I'm just sitting there waiting to die?"

Prince Jing looked up at the old man and said, "I know that you are guarding this ancestral temple because there are enough firearms buried under it. You want to die in a blaze of glory. It would be best if you could take me and the eunuch party with you."

Elder Liu raised his eyebrows: "You dare to come if you know it?"

Prince Jing said sincerely: "More than a hundred people from the Liu family who drew the lottery wanted to take a boat south from Yanling Ferry. I have given them a way out, and the elder should also give them a way out."

Elder Liu lowered his head and suddenly laughed, and the more he laughed, the more flamboyant he became: "My Lord, you finally used the art of war on me."

Elder Liu looked outside the ancestral hall and saw countless people gathered there, waiting for them to finish the chess game.

He sighed for a moment: "Your Majesty, I thought about other people who might stab the Liu family, but I didn't think about you. Do you know why?"

Prince Jing said, "I don't know."

Elder Liu smiled and said, "Because I thought you were a smart person who understood the principle of "lips and teeth are cold". You know better than me what kind of person that person is in Renshou Palace. The Liu family is gone, and you will be the next one. Look at those people outside the door, they are not coming for me, but for you!"

Prince Jing remained calm: "Your Majesty and I are as close as brothers."

Liu Ge Lao laughed out loud, as if he had heard a great joke: "Does the emperor need brothers? Forget it, what's the point of playing chess with a lousy chess player?"

After saying that, he waved away the chess pieces on the board, stood up and walked to the door.

Liu Ge Lao stood on tiptoe and pulled down the curtain on the door lintel, then pulled the curtain and turned back to step on the blood-stained chessboard. He stood on a high place and threw the white curtain over the beam of the house, tying a knot.

Then, he looked down at Prince Jing and said with a smile: "Your Highness, please stay in this world and see if what I said is right or not. I will be waiting for you on the Yellow Springs Road. It shouldn't be too long."

As soon as he finished speaking, Elder Liu put the curtain around his neck and kicked over the chessboard and stool.

Master Liu, who was standing by the threshold, supported himself on the ground with one hand, kowtowed three times to Lord Liu without saying a word, and then slapped his forehead with his palm, cracking his skull.

Prince Jing sat on a chair, looking at the chessboard and chess pieces scattered on the ground, wondering what he was thinking. It seemed like the game was over, but it also seemed like it had just begun.

At this moment, a shrill wail sounded: "Father!"

Prince Jing glanced sideways and saw Concubine Jing stumbling towards him on the bloody road outside the door.

She walked through the crowd, hugged Liu Ge Lao's thigh and tried to lift him off the beam, but she was too weak to do so.

Concubine Jing cried until her eyes were red. She fell to the ground, looked back at Prince Jing and said sadly, "My Lord, why is it so? Why is it so!"

Prince Jing whispered, "The Liu family has committed numerous sins, which are too numerous to list. Look at the women who were buried with your brother. What crime did they commit? What fault did the people in Yuzhou who had their land taken away by the Liu family commit?"

Concubine Jing burst into tears: "But what did I do wrong? They asked me to deceive you and steal the firearms, but I refused, so they killed the baby in my belly. I admire you and want to stay with you forever like a sister, but you used me to induce the Liu family to rebel. This is all your business. I just want to have children and teach my husband. What have I done wrong?"

Prince Jing remained silent.

But Jin Zhu outside the door suddenly said, "Madam Jingfei, you have beaten to death at least eighty maids in these years."

Concubine Jing glared at him: "What qualifications do you eunuchs have to say such things? Haven't you killed enough people? In this world, how can you survive without being ruthless? Concubine Yun wants to kill me every day, and I have been on guard against her for twenty years!"

The golden pig shrank his neck and said nothing more.

Concubine Jing let go of Prince Jing's collar and staggered towards the door. "My Lord, when I was fifteen, I saw you returning from the rebellion outside the city gate of Luo City. That day, you were riding on a horse wearing a set of Ming armor, with a red tassel on your head fluttering, looking very heroic. My horse was frightened by the Qiansui Army, and you jumped off the horse to help me hold the reins, saying 'Don't be afraid'. I dream about this scene day and night, as if it was just yesterday."

"After my elder sister passed away, I begged my father to marry me to the palace, even as a concubine. I thought you would treat me like your sister, but I didn't expect that after the wedding, you would not even look at me, and let the vicious Concubine Yun torture and blame me. I didn't understand at first, but later I realized that you were venting your hatred for the Liu family on me..."

"If there is an afterlife, I hope I won't meet you again."

She pulled out a wooden box from her sleeve and threw it on the ground outside the door: "My Lord, I have obtained the Shengyu Pill for you. Please take care of yourself in the future."

After saying this, Concubine Jing suddenly bumped into the beam of the ancestral hall and fell down.

The wooden box outside the door smashed to the ground and broke into two pieces. A round white pill rolled out, stained with blood.

(End of this chapter)