On the official road in the western suburbs of Kyoto, the ground is covered with blood and lying corpses, and not far away there are soldiers fighting with swords in one place, everything looks like a battlefield, and the two people standing opposite each other in the center are like sculptures, not moving at all.

Zhou Qiyou was dressed in a big red gold python robe, and the purple and gold crown on his head reflected the rising sun that had slowly risen, but his robe was dripping with blood, and the long knife in his hand was also dripping blood down the tip of the knife, I don't know if the blood was his or someone else's, he didn't care at all, just looked at Qi Mingrui standing with a sword in front of him with a solemn face.

Qi Mingrui also had traces of a sword on his silver scale armor, which was stained with a lot of blood, but his handsome face did not show the slightest hint of retreat, he was still calm and cold, and the sword in his hand pointed at Zhou Qiyou from afar. In the fierce battle of this night, Yu Linwei only a few hundred people blocked the impact of more than 1,000 soldiers and horses in the West Camp again and again, and after all, they did not let them step into Kyoto half a step, and at this time it became a lose-lose situation.

Zhou Qiyou didn't have the gentleness and elegance of the past, but he looked at Qi Mingrui with a solemn face and murderous intent, and suddenly laughed: "General Qi really surprised me, he was able to detect our plan in advance, and he was able to use such hundreds of people to stop my soldiers and horses!" ”

Qi Mingrui said coldly: "You better disarm and plead guilty, it's already dawn, and the palace is afraid that it has been surrounded by personal guards." ”

Zhou Qiyou looked up to the sky and laughed, without the slightest appearance of a humble gentleman, and arrogantly raised his long knife and pointed at Qi Mingrui: "Do you think that if you stop me, you can ruin the Zhou family's major affairs?" I'm not afraid to tell you, at this time, I'm afraid that the queen mother and the emperor have been escorted into the palace, the queen can only obey the will of heaven, hand over the jade seal and the palace, and when the early dynasty comes, it will be an edict to the world, the emperor is immoral and incompetent, and the throne will be ceded to my father, and everything will fall into place! He glanced at Qi Mingrui contemptuously, "This is the will of heaven, how can you be a martial artist to stop it!" You and Shen ...... It's just a mantis arm as a car! Speaking of the Shen family, he couldn't help but pause, a little obscure.

Qi Mingrui's face did not change, he was already calm, and said lightly: "Do my best to destroy the thieves!" ”

Zhou Qiyou's face turned hideous, although he was sure that everything would develop according to what they wanted, he also knew that the situation would get worse and worse if it dragged on like this. He gritted his teeth and shouted: "Since you are looking for death, then no wonder me, you and the Liang family have only one way to die!" Before he could finish speaking, he had already rushed forward with his knife.

Qi Mingrui didn't hesitate for a moment, he carried his sword to meet him, and in the dull sound of swords, a life-fighting battle began again.

Halfway through, the heavy west gate of Kyoto finally creaked open, but the people who went out of the city were surprised to find a group of soldiers wearing armor and swords galloping towards the outside of the city, with a heavy aura, as if something important had happened. It's just that the group of soldiers quickly disappeared into the distance of the official road, and the people only guessed a little, and then lived their lives peacefully, after all, no one knew what happened the night before.

When Qi Mingrui took the soldiers who escorted Zhou Qiyou and the rebel generals of the West Battalion into the palace and walked to the front of the Taiji Hall Square, the ground paved with white marble had been washed clean, and it was no longer possible to see the blood flowing all over the ground the night before, and it had returned to the supreme whiteness.

Shen Ruohua walked down the jade steps from the Taiji Palace, her face was slightly pale and a little haggard, and this night had taken her too much effort. Seeing her coming over, Qi Mingrui quickly stepped forward and stretched out his hand to support her, and said softly: "But I'm tired, let's go back and rest first, the things here are watched by Imperial Doctor Sun, and it will be fine." ”

Shen Ruohua looked at his torn armor in several places and the hem of his robe splashed with blood, felt a pain in his heart, and said in a low voice: "Are you injured?" ”

Qi Mingrui smiled and shook his head: "It's just a little skin injury, but you, you've been tired all night, and I'm afraid your body won't be able to hold it." ”

Shen Ruohua raised his head, looked at his slightly furrowed brows, and laughed: "It's okay." She slowly lowered her head: "The queen mother and the emperor are both ...... Amazing ......."

Although Qi Mingrui didn't know Shen Ruohua's former identity, he also knew that she always had an indescribable reverence and dependence on Empress Dowager Shao. He nodded and looked at her: "Is the queen mother okay?" ”

Shen Ruohua's face softened a lot: "I just gave birth to the little prince, and I'm still resting." Princess Fu and several princesses of the county were accompanying her. She glanced at Qi Mingrui and frowned again: "It's just that Guogong is also ......."

Qi Mingrui nodded, his face was a little gloomy, but he didn't ask more, when he knew that the British Duke was secretly following King Dongping and leading people around to chase him, the last bit of attachment in his heart was gone.

She suddenly saw Zhou Qiyou escorted by the guards behind Qi Mingrui, the man was still handsome, the messy robe and the injuries on his body did not detract from his demeanor, at this time he also looked up at Shen Ruohua and looked at it fixedly.

Qi Mingrui looked at Shen Ruohua, let go of his hand and ordered the guards to take a few steps back, and let Shen Ruohua come to him. Shen Ruohua looked at him, and he smiled and said, "If you have something to say, just ask him." ”

Shen Ruohua was a little surprised, but he didn't say anything, and stepped forward to look at Zhou Qiyou: "The prince must have known that King Dongping has been imprisoned in the edict, and all his plans have been frustrated after all." ”

Zhou Qiyou ignored her words, still looked at her fixedly, and said for a long time: "You know everything?" What happened back then? ”

Shen Ruohua didn't answer him, just looked at him, but she was very shocked in her heart, she never thought that Zhou Qiyou would guess who she was.

"I didn't promise them to do anything to you at the beginning, but my father ordered that you must not be allowed to live until you marry into the palace." Zhou Qiyou muttered, his face was dazed with pain, "By the time I knew it was too late, I had been ...... in my heart all these years."

Shen Ruohua looked at him, suddenly laughed, and interrupted him: "Shizi, I'm afraid you're in a hurry, and I can't understand a word of your words." She gathered her sideburns, which had been scattered, and turned to walk towards Qi Mingrui, leaving only a sentence that was almost inaudible: "It's just that if I were you, I would think about how to say goodbye to King Dongping, instead of using these unseemly means." ”

She didn't look back, but the back made Zhou Qiyou look at it for a long time, and there was a complexity in his eyes that he refused to admit, unwillingness, apologetic guilt, and even love and hate......

In the British Mansion, Fu fidgeted and walked around in the flower hall, and the British Duke went to the Dongping Mansion and did not return overnight, she asked people to inquire about the news, saying that the King of Dongping took him into the palace together, presumably to achieve great things. She is full of joy, as long as it is done, the British duke will definitely not be less than the duke of the first class by virtue of the dragon's merits, and the gifts and rewards will continue to be sent, and she will become a real duchess who enjoys honor by virtue of her efforts to promote this matter, and will no longer be looked down upon because she is a stepfamily.

It's just that her hopes are still slowly dashed, from night to dawn, she has made people go to inquire about the news many times, but nothing has been found, the palace gate is still closed, and there is no news coming out, until, Qi Mingrui and Shen Ruohua and his wife came back, and what they brought back was Jinyiwei.

A year later, in the military department's Shangshu Qi Mansion, Shen Ruohua walked slowly in the backyard yard with her slightly bulging abdomen, Mrs. Shen accompanied her, while carefully protecting her, while complaining: "It's raining just now, the road is slippery, let you rest in the mansion, but your stubborn son is going to come out and walk around, and you are sliding carefully." As he spoke, he was very annoyed, "Your father is too, and now he is busy with the affairs of the court all day long, and he will not return to the house until dark, and he will go to the court before dawn, so he will not even be able to see each other." ”

Shen Ruohua said with a smile: "Mother, my father is now an auxiliary minister, so he is naturally busy with official business, and Ming Rui is not also on duty in the court all day long, and he will not be in the house for a moment." ”

Mrs. Shen sighed: "I know that this is also a helpless thing, the emperor is young, and the queen mother is not in good health, and their auxiliary ministers will inevitably have to worry more." She suddenly remembered and asked, "Didn't your father-in-law say that they had been pardoned and sent back, where did they settle down?" ”

The British Duke Qi Shaoyuan was sentenced to exile because the party attached to the king of Dongping rebelled, and was sent to Wuhe, three thousand miles away, and the Fu family also went with him, and the old lady Qi was taken back to the house by Qi Mingrui and Shen Ruohua to support, but she really became a rich idler, raising flowers and teasing birds every day, and from time to time playing leaf cards with other old ladies in your mansion to listen to the play, looking forward to seeing her great-grandson as soon as possible. Some time ago, the palace issued a pardon edict, Qi Shaoyuan and Fu were pardoned and exiled, and they were going back to Kyoto, Mrs. Shen was afraid that Qi Mingrui would take Qi Shaoyuan and his wife back to the house, so Shen Ruohua was afraid that he would be embarrassed by Fu again, so he asked.

Shen Ruohua smiled: "Ming Rui has already asked people to buy a small house on the outskirts of the city and let them live there. ”

Mrs. Shen nodded reassuringly, pouted, and said: "I heard that your father-in-law is not lightly ill, he contracted a cold in Wuhe, and even his legs were frozen, if it wasn't for Mingrui to take care of him, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to come back, your mother-in-law is also useless, she looked strong in the past, and she went to Wuhe to cry all day long, and this time I went back to Kyoto to see my son, and I don't know what to do." She didn't have to inquire, since she beat Shen Junru and became an auxiliary minister, those princes and ladies came to Shen Mansion every day, and these gossips had already filled her ears.

Shen Ruohua nodded and said with a smile: "I have also heard that it has been arranged, and if there are suitable people to serve them in the past, they will definitely be able to please them." She has already sent several young and beautiful maids who were specially trained by the Fu family when she got married, but she has been raising them for a year, and it is time to come in handy. As she said, when it can be useful, now is not the time.

Mrs. Shen looked at Shen Ruohua and smiled reassuringly, she was not worried that Shen Ruohua could really suffer, but she knew that this daughter of hers had a heart, and no one could bully her, she could turn the danger into a disaster if it was so difficult along the way, and no matter what happened in the future, she would definitely be able to deal with it calmly.

In June, the phoenix trees in the house are in full bloom, swaying in the breeze, and everything is just right.