Everyone had different thoughts, and the old minister's daughter was even more pale, as if she was going to faint at any moment. But at this time, no one had time to take care of her feelings, and the dignified daughter was sentenced to the rest of her life with a word. Zhiying estimates that her married life will not be too optimistic, after all, she "almost" became the emperor's woman, and her future husband doesn't know if he can withstand this pressure.

A storm subsided, the banquet resumed its liveliness, Zhiying ate a bite of food, bored looking at the people with different expressions at each table, suddenly, she saw a familiar figure. Zhiying suspected that he was wrong, but the beauty next to him threw a wink at him, this beauty was He Ling, and the person next to her was not Li Xin, who was it?

Why are the two of them here? Zhiying couldn't figure it out, this was the palace inside, heavily guarded, and it was by no means easy to get in, and judging by their speech and demeanor, they were no different from the people around them, and they didn't look like they were impersonating anyone's identity, which was unusual.

Qiu Lu saw that Zhiying was looking in a daze, glanced over, and explained: "County Lord, that is the son of General Dingwei's family, named Li Xin, the word Xinzhi. ”

The general's son, Zhiying was so shocked that her chopsticks almost fell. She has known Li Xin for a while, but she doesn't know his identity, which is really embarrassing. originally thought that he was just an ordinary ranger, but after he thought that he was a famous family, just because he could enter this door was enough to show that his title was not low. But it is also a bit interesting for him to let go of a good famous and noble son, and he actually went to run the rivers and lakes, but his luck was too bad, he was caught for a few years and couldn't drag himself out, and he ruined his body, which was unlucky enough.

Zhiying saw that he was wearing a brocade robe today, and there was a beautiful woman by his side, his face was much better, and he didn't look haggard when he sat in the crowd, so she knew that he was doing very well these days, she thought, he had been in distress for several years, and finally came to the end, which was really not easy. looked at He Ling again, didn't know what to think, bowed his head and was silent.

Over there, He Ling had already seen Zhiying, but there were many people across the room, so it was inconvenient to speak. Zhiying is dressed in a pink dress today, and she looks more and more delicate than Huajiao, and she has high temples, and the golden hairpin is shaking, which adds three points of luxury, this kind of style, which is rare in the audience, she sits there, and looks outstanding.

"Believe it," He Ling leaned into Li Xin's ear and said, "I saw Zhiying." ”

"I also saw it, as well as Lingjun and Zhijie. ”

"Why are they here?"

"I think they have the same problem. Li Xin said with a smile.

Seeing that the two of them behaved intimately and laughed constantly, Zhiying didn't know whether to be relieved or worried, and turned her head to see Ling Jun looking at herself, with infinite affection in her eyes. He also changed his clothes today, and he was still in cyan clothes, but he was a lot more luxurious, and he looked much more noble than the son of the family. She smiled back, and thought to herself, everyone has their own life, and they don't care what they do.

Halfway through the banquet, the emperor signaled everyone to be quiet, only to see him look around, and his eyes finally locked on Ling Jun. Zhiying suddenly had a bad premonition, and only felt that there was no good banquet. Sure enough, he first praised Lingjun's appearance, and then announced in public that he was named a national teacher. As soon as these words came out, everyone immediately talked about it, some expressed support and some expressed opposition, and Zhiying sat among them, only to feel that his ears were buzzing, and he could not hear their words clearly.

How can this be? I am puzzled, they have come to the palace to catch demons, not to be officials, and they have the false title of county lord, which is purely a last resort, and now that Ling Jun also has an official position, can they still go back? No, this thing can't be like this.

Just as Zhiying was about to refuse, Ling Jun waved his hand and said: "I am grateful for Your Majesty's love below, but I am used to being an idle cloud and wild crane below, I am afraid that I will not be able to hold such a high position, and I ask Your Majesty to ask for another master." ”

"Where did the Taoist chief say, I look at the immortal wind and Dao bones of the Taoist chief, he is definitely not a mortal, not to mention that the cultivator should think of all sentient beings and help the world, so as to live up to the cultivation in this life. In the end, there is a faint sense of persecution.

Zhiying was unhappy in her heart, originally the strategy they made with the emperor was to find out the mastermind behind the scenes in the name of catching demons, help the emperor eliminate traitors, and protect the peace of the country, which is also a great achievement. Now the emperor wants to forcibly keep them and work for him, which is really shameless. None of them have any utilitarian intentions, and they are very simple in what they do, and they will not succumb to his obscenity because of a few words.

"The county lord thinks twice," Qiu Lu said in her ear, "and please also ask the county lord to remember the friendship of the same family." ”

What do you mean?

"Your Majesty is worried that the county lord and others will not cooperate, so he specially invited a road chief to a secret place as a guest, of course, the road chiefs have no worries about their lives. Qiu Lu explained.

"So, you're here to spy on me?" Zhiying gritted her teeth, eager to strangle her on the spot to vent her anger.

"The slave maid is also forced to do so, the slave maid also has a sister named Chunxing, she is still young, and the only one she can rely on is my sister, so..."

"So you have to do what you are told, even if it is to make you do something unreasonable?" Some people, once they are caught by others in the underbelly, have no possibility of breaking free, they can only obediently be an obedient tool, even if they know that the other party is unreliable, but they will still gamble all their hopes in exchange for a slim possibility.

Zhiying looked at Qiu Lu with pity, she didn't know how Chun Xing would react when she found out what her sister had done, provided she still had the life to know.

Things have developed to this point, there is no room to think about it, Zhiying hinted with his eyes that Ling Jun accepted the gift, Ling Jun understood, and immediately thanked the lord Longen. When the emperor saw that his goal had been achieved, he did not say anything more, and continued to enjoy the song and dance with great satisfaction.

Zhiying sat in the banquet full of resentment, and finally managed to restrain the anger that was about to erupt. She swore that once this matter was over, she would stay away from the palace forever, no longer care about the affairs of the court, and she would also take Concubine An and Nan Ming away, and would never let the emperor be happy! However, her fierce thoughts could not solve the practical dilemma. She looked at Ling Jun helplessly, hoping that he would have a solution.

Ling Jun saw Zhiying looking at him painfully, knowing that there must be something hidden in it, but in front of the public, it was inconvenient to ask in detail, so he could only wait for the banquet to end before making plans. He looked at Zhijie not far away, and Zhijie looked like he was out of condition. But fortunately, he didn't know the truth yet, otherwise he was afraid that there would be another turmoil.

Li Xin and He Ling also looked at each other, they also didn't know what was going on, but they were sure that it was definitely not a good thing, otherwise the atmosphere would not be so delicate. Both of them are understanding people, and they never talk much at this time, and everything must be left to be said when they are alone.

In the second half of the banquet, I didn't know the taste of the food, and I just wanted to end it quickly. She originally wanted to leave the table with an excuse of pretending to be sick, but it was useless to think about it, so she simply persevered until the end. When the moon was in the middle of the sky, the emperor finally got tired, and after he left, everyone loosened up and left in twos and threes. At this time, Zhiying is not in a hurry, anyway, the matter has come to this, and there is nothing worse. When everyone was almost gone, she walked parallel to Ling Jun and left Chonghua Palace.

On a September night, when the weather was already very cold, Ke Zhiying walked slowly in front as if she couldn't feel it, leaving a group of maids shivering behind, and she just couldn't see their pitiful appearance. She knew she was angry for no reason, but she couldn't help it. She only felt that there was a fire burning in her heart, and this fire urgently needed an outlet for catharsis, otherwise it would burn herself and others.

Ling Jun noticed the strangeness of Zhiying, and he waited for Zhiying to speak first, but Zhiying only cared about walking and had no intention of speaking at all. After a while, the maids couldn't walk anymore, so Zhiying told them to retreat, and she and Lingjun walked to the depths of the garden.

"What's going on?" Ling Jun asked bluntly.

Holding Ying was silent, and it took a long time before he spoke: "The man on the throne has captured my fellow disciple and wants to blackmail us into doing things for him." Zhiying only knew one thing, but she didn't know the other, she didn't understand why she used this method to force them to comply, obviously they had promised to help.

Ling Jun frowned, thought for a while, and figured out a clue. The superiors are accustomed to using strong means to force the weak to do things for them, but they are not weak in their profession, so the conventional means are ineffective for them, so they have to take a roundabout approach, make a polite appearance, and then slowly try to do it. Maybe something went wrong in the middle, or maybe the situation was urgent and couldn't be delayed any longer, so he would rather tear off the mask of hypocrisy and forcibly keep them.

I have to say that Ling Jun's inference is right, and this is basically the case, but there is one thing that he expected wrong, that is, the emperor himself changed his mind. Originally, he simply wanted to invite the masters of Biyou Mountain to go out of the mountain to eliminate evil spirits and restore peace to the palace, but gradually, he began to covet the ability beyond the world. He saw a team of concubines who couldn't help the forbidden army, and they were obedient in front of Zhiying, and the front and harem were also very peaceful after their arrival. He took a fancy to this jealousy and wanted to have it for a long time. The emperor is already old, no matter how high-spirited he used to be, he is also an old man in his twilight at this time. He didn't want to admit it, but he had to admit that he was really old, and with aging there was weakness. He felt more and more mentally exhausted, and he felt powerless to deal with all kinds of things, all of which frightened him, and he often wondered: Is he still the Ninety-Five Supreme? Can he still speak with all his words?

This suspicion drives him to do irrational things. If he held the profit, Li Xin and the others could understand his true thoughts, and they would only think that he was making a stupid move, but he was still complacent about his approach, thinking that he had found a good way to consolidate his rule, but as everyone knows, evil is invincible. How can this kind of evil and crooked method be as legitimate as being diligent in government and loving the people?