"Your lady Thrush is the daughter of the Fourth Emperor Uncle, it stands to reason that she is my cousin, if the Imperial Grandfather knew that your Lady was also his own granddaughter, the former Changning County Lord, maybe the Imperial Grandfather would have thought a little more in his heart and would not rashly kill you......" Zhu Yunwen pondered for a long time, and finally thought of the key to this matter.

Xiao Fan smiled bitterly and shook his head: "I have said it in front of Your Majesty, but Your Majesty doesn't believe it, and he still says that I deceive the king......"

Zhu Yunwen was stunned and said hurriedly: "I can testify!" ”

Xiao Fan glanced at him and said, "The thrush was not born by you, what's the use of you testifying?" ”

"Uncle Sihuang is still in Beijing, I ask him to testify......"

Xiao Fan had a hint of ridicule in his eyes, and sneered: "Your Fourth Emperor Uncle has long been eager to get rid of him as soon as possible, and now that I'm unlucky, do you think he will be so generous to save me from fire and water?" ”

Zhu Yunwen thought about it, and finally lowered his head dejectedly.

Xiao Fan was right, such an excellent opportunity to kill the enemy, how could the Fourth Emperor Uncle help him testify?

"But...... If Thrush can't prove her identity, and you insist on refusing to divorce her, what if the imperial grandfather wants to kill you? Zhu Yunwen's somewhat anxious gaze locked on Xiao Fan's face.

Xiao Fan shook his head silently, he felt a little sad in his heart, in an era of imperial rule, when the supreme ruler wants to kill someone, who in this world can save him? Unless Lao Zhu suddenly died overnight before giving the order to kill him, he really couldn't think of any way to save himself.

Xiao Fan sighed: "Your Majesty wants to kill me, I can't help it, this may be destined by God......"

Zhu Yunwen hurriedly said: "There must be a way, you usually have a lot of ghost ideas, and now that you are in danger, can't you even save your own life?" ”

Xiao Fan sighed and said, "If I don't take off your imperial grandfather's dragon underwear, maybe things will turn around,...... Alas, I'm so uncool. ”

Zhu Yunwen opened his mouth to say something, but found himself speechless.

Xiao Fan raised his eyes and looked at Zhu Yunwen, and said with sadness: "If I am really killed by your imperial grandfather, please collect my body......

Zhu Yunwen looked at Xiao Fan, and tears gradually welled up in his eyes. This is the first friend he has made in his life, maybe the only friend, this friend just can't let go of the two deep loves of the thrush and the imperial sister, but he has to become a victim of maintaining the reputation of the royal family, as the emperor's grandson, he can't even save his own friend, Zhu Yunwen felt a deep sense of powerlessness in his heart at this moment.

"Your Highness, there is one more thing I would like you to ......"

Zhu Yun choked up and said, "You say." ”

Xiao Fan's expression was gloomy, and he sighed: "After I die, before burying me, please confirm it a few more times to see if I am dead or not, and if I can still be rescued......"

“…… Don't worry, I'll make up for you if you don't die! Zhu Yunwen gritted his teeth.

It was already afternoon when Zhu Yunwen walked out of the gate of the prison, and the sunlight outside the prison was a little dazzling, Zhu Yunwen squinted slightly, and when he got used to the light outside the prison, his expression gradually became resolute.

"Chang Ning's identity is the key!" Zhu Yunwen turned his head and said to Cao Yi, who was following closely.

Cao Yi's eyes were calm, but his tone was a little sad: "Whether King Yan is willing to recognize her is a question, and there is a big problem......"

"What's the problem?"

"There is no shortage of ministers in the court, at the time of the Ding Chouke case, the Manchu Dynasty civil and military attacked Xiao Fanqun, His Royal Highness saw it in his eyes at the time, but do you know that today, those ministers will not repeat the old tricks?"

Zhu Yunwen sighed a little desperately: "Is it really Xiao Fan?" The emperor's grandfather wants to kill him, it is impossible for King Yan to help him, and the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty still want to harm him, do these people have to do things so desperately? What did Xiao Fan do to make these people have to get rid of him? ”

"Because Xiao Fan, the civil and military general of the Manchu Dynasty, is regarded as a annihilator, and since ancient times, he has been loyal and annihilated, if he doesn't die, how can those clear streams sleep?" The corners of Cao Yi's mouth hooked up a mocking smile.

Zhu Yunwen's face turned red with anger when he heard this, and he shouted angrily: "What is loyalty? What is J? Did they define it? These old bastards! Selfish, self-righteous sour minister! In the future, if I am the master, I will definitely put Xiao Fan in a high position, and let them all give Xiao Fan the gift of being a subordinate official, and let them know that since ancient times, loyalty and annihilation have not been determined by them, but by the emperor! They have exceeded their duty! ”

Zhu Yunwen's body gradually began to tremble, and the more he spoke, the more angry he became, and the more he spoke, the more frightened he became.

He couldn't imagine how much pain he would suffer when his close friend Xiao Fan was beheaded by the executioner on the court, and how deep remorse he would be in this life.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yunwen's always weak and elegant gentleman's appearance disappeared, and his fair-skinned and slightly childish handsome face gradually appeared with a somewhat rare gloomy and ruthless color.

"Cao Yi."

"The minister is here."

"I know your friendship with Xiao Fan, I won't talk nonsense, no matter what method you use, you must keep Xiao Fan's surname, remember...... No matter what method is used! Zhu Yunwen stared at Cao Yi and said gloomily word by word.

"The minister's life has already been sold to Xiao Fan, and he will definitely live up to His Highness's trust!"

Xiao Fan was imprisoned for the third time.

Palace.

Zhu Yuanzhang was lying on the dragon couch in the warm pavilion of Wuying Hall with an old face, covering his mouth and coughing a few times from time to time, and a trace of sickly blush climbed up his haggard face covered with age spots.

The eunuch on the side hurriedly stepped forward and gently beat his back, and a palace maid took the decoction, slowly stepped forward, knelt on the ground and respectfully handed it to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang took the delicate and clear medicine bowl, raised his head and just took a sip, when he suddenly coughed violently.

"Smack!"

The medicine bowl fell to the ground, and the dark medicine soup was spilled all over the ground, and it was steaming slightly.

The palace maids and eunuchs in the hall were so frightened that their faces were as pale as earth, and they hurriedly knelt down in the hall, trembling and saying in unison: "Your Majesty forgives your sins!" ”

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes flashed with anger, and then he was replaced by old age and exhaustion.

"That's it, just fry another bowl, I don't blame you......" Zhu Yuanzhang sighed.

The heroes who once dominated the world and looked at the universe are now unable to even hold a bowl of soup and medicine, who can understand the sad state of mind in the twilight?

"And Nie ......," Zhu Yuanzhang called softly.

A middle-aged eunuch with a delicate face and a white face hurriedly stepped forward and said respectfully: "The slave is here." ”

After the eunuch Qingtong was killed by the cane, Zhu Yuanzhang's personal attendant was replaced by this middle-aged eunuch named Nie.

"What is the situation in Jinyiwei's prison?"

And Nie's mind is more dexterous than Qingtong's, although Zhu Yuanzhang asked vaguely, but he understood the meaning as soon as he heard it, so he hurriedly bowed down and said: "Recently, in addition to Jinyi Wei Qianhu Cao Yi and other former subordinates who went to visit Xiao Fan who was locked in prison either publicly or privately, His Royal Highness the Imperial Grandson also visited once, and there was no one else. ”

Zhu Yuanzhang looked stunned for a moment, with a very complicated expression on his face, his cloudy old eyes opened blankly, and muttered: "It's a pity, it's a pity......"

And Nie looked up in amazement, but he didn't understand what Zhu Yuanzhang meant by the pity.

After muttering for a while, Zhu Yuanzhang asked again: "Xiao Fan is locked up in the edict prison, have you ever expressed remorse?" ”

And Nie lowered his head and whispered, "There is no regret yet." ”

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes widened, he was silent for a while, and suddenly looked up to the sky and laughed a few times, the laughter was violent and strong, and an inexplicable killing machine gradually spread with the laughter and hovered in the hall, and the eunuchs and palace maids who knelt down solemnly in the hall only felt a chill all over their bodies, and couldn't help but start to tremble.

Xiao Fan, I have spent a lifetime consolidating imperial power, and it is not so easy to challenge! What you have done is beyond the circle I have drawn for you.

I can't tolerate your presumptuousness anymore!

"Passing on the decree to the Criminal Department, the original Jinyi Wei is the same as the Guardian, the East Palace attendant Xiao Fan is stubborn and ineffective, defiles the royal family, deceives the monarch, and Yang Jing, the secretary of the Criminal Department, personally examines and finalizes the case, if it is true, don't repeat it, beheaded!"

And Nie was so frightened by Zhu Yuanzhang's gloomy tone that he trembled a few times, and immediately bowed to the ground and said, "Obey the order." ”

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes showed a cold light, and his face was full of murderous intent.

Seeing that Nie hurriedly withdrew from the palace to pass the decree, Zhu Yuanzhang sighed lightly, and his body gradually withered, and in an instant he seemed to be dozens of years old.

Yun Wei, the emperor's grandfather is sorry for you, but this Xiao Fan, I have to kill!

The Son of Heaven ordered the Criminal Department to interrogate Xiao Fan, and the news quickly spread throughout the Jingshi.

Zhu Yunwen of the East Palace was shocked when he learned the news, and hurriedly entered the palace to beg Zhu Yuanzhang to take back his life, Zhu Yuanzhang resolutely refused, Zhu Yunwen mourned, and knelt down under the white jade steps outside the Wuying Hall for a whole night, but Zhu Yuanzhang still did not change his mind.

The civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty were all shocked, and the civil and military ministers inquired around as if they were crazy. Of course, what they care about is not Xiao Fan's life and death, but the changes in the situation.

Xiao Fan has a special identity, he is the best friend of the emperor's grandson, and the leader of the so-called "annihilation of the party" faction in the DPRK and China, and also serves as the second person in Jinyiwei, if the Son of Heaven wants to dispose of him, is there a deeper meaning hidden in this? Does it represent the hidden disagreement between the emperor and the prince, and now it has completely exploded? Or is it a sign that the Son of Heaven intends to purge the court again?

In either case, it is closely related to the vital interests of the ministers of the court. The distribution of power, the competition for interests, and the high status, if the Son of Heaven uses Xiao Fan's case to purge the court, these are all unavoidable practical problems.

At this time, the ministers couldn't sit still, and sent their servants to the homes of their colleagues who knew each other, and invited each other to come to the house.

When everyone was inquiring, Huang Zicheng, the official of Wei Chunfang, did not move, neither connected with the ministers, nor invited his colleagues to go to the palace to discuss the government, but just went to the court as usual, managed the government, and taught the grandson.

Huang Zicheng is calmer than other ministers, he is still observing, still waiting, he feels that now is not the best time, Xiao Fan is only being tried, not convicted, it is not appropriate to launch a clear stream at this time, before the dust settles, he will not act rashly, because he has lost to Xiao Fan once in the court, and he never wants to lose a second time.

Xiao Fan was imprisoned for the fourth day.

In the early morning, the sky is just bright, the quiet Jingshi Street is sparsely populated, and a thin layer of fog shrouds the streets and alleys of Jingshi, a white expanse, just like the current situation, which is unpredictable.

In front of the gate of the Yanwang Courtyard, dozens of guards patrolled back and forth, vigilantly looking around.

In the white hazy mist, a graceful and petite figure walked by, with small steps, but it gave people an unusually heavy sense of depression.

When the figure approached, the guards looked fixedly, but saw a little girl dressed in a plain dress and dressed very elegantly towards the Yanwang Courtyard with a solemn face.

The guards didn't dare to be careless, so they hurriedly drew their waist knives, pointed at the little girl and shouted, "Stop! In the courtyard of His Royal Highness Prince Yanwang, ordinary people are not allowed to approach, and violators will be killed! ”

The little girl looked at the guards' sparkling steel knives as if they were nothing, and walked straight to the gate without stopping for a moment.

"Stop! Approaching us is ready to do it! The guard shouted.

The little girl walked forward without fear, until she was within the distance of the guard's blade, and then stopped.

"As soon as I informed King Yan, I said that the old man came to visit and asked him to see him." The little girl's face sank like water, and her voice was low.

The guard didn't dare to let down his vigilance, but still pointed his knife at her, and said suspiciously: "You? Will your little girl be the old friend of King Yan? Who the hell are you? ”

The little girl's calm face was mocking.

"I am Chang Ning, the county lord of Changning canonized by the Son of Heaven, and the daughter of King Yan!"

The inner hall of the Yanwang Annex.

Zhu Di stepped forward with a look of surprise, and his bearded face kept shaking with extreme joy.

"Chang Ning! It's really you! Have you finally confessed to your father? Zhu Di's voice couldn't hide his excitement.

Xiao Thrush looked at the happy face in front of her, once, this face was so kind, when she was young, whenever she cried, whenever she was naughty, whenever she was happy...... This face would always appear in front of her, and then he would hold her, gently prick her young face with his stiff beard, tell her stories, teach her to read, teach her to shoot arrows with a sword, and when she was five years old, she stabbed a young elk to death with the little dagger her father gave her, she turned back in horror, but saw her father's still kind and warm smile, and nodded approvingly to her.

That smiling face has always been imprinted in her little mind, and she can always see it in her midnight dreams.

People are still the same, but ...... Why doesn't it always coincide with his current smiling face?

Has he become no longer like her father, or has he become no longer like his daughter?

In the thin mist, Xiao Thrush seemed to see the painful wails of his mother, the cold faces of the aunts in Yanwangfu, and the ruthless light that remained in his eyes when he turned his head and turned his head away...... Xiao Thrush's pretty face showed a look of extreme pain, and her small hands in her sleeves were tightly clenched into fists, sharp nails cut through her palms, and red blood slowly flowed down the lines of her palms.

The pain in the palm of the hand is not as painful as the pain in the heart!

If it weren't for the sake of justice, how could I see you again in this life!

"Chang Ning, you're finally back! Father, I'm happy, haha, I'm happy! Zhu Di never thought that this daughter, who was not yet thirteen years old, would have such complicated emotions in her heart at the moment.

When Zhu Di approached the thrush and wanted to pull her little hand, the thrush took a step back like a frightened deer, and the look of vigilance in her pretty eyes suddenly appeared.

Zhu Di's hearty smile gradually froze.

"Changning ......"

"His Royal Highness King Yan, I am here for Xianggong Xiao Fan today." Xiao Thrush straightened up his small chest, and his delicate body contained a great courage and responsibility, as if he could carry the whole world, and he couldn't look up.

Hearing such an unfamiliar title and tone of the thrush, Zhu Di's heart suddenly cooled.

Father and daughter are close at hand, but they are farther away than the end of the world, what a shame!

"What do you want?" Zhu Di's tone gradually became stiff, and a touch of pain flashed quickly in his eyes.

Xiao Thrush's eyes also flashed a little pain, and he finally gritted his teeth and said coldly: "I recognize you as my father, you confirm my identity to the Son of Heaven and restore my title as the county lord." ”

Zhu Di began to sneer: "Do you want to save Xiao Fan? Will restoring your lordship save him? ”

Thrush said quietly: "This is my business, you don't have to worry about it." ”

"If I don't say yes, what will you do?"

"I'm fighting with you." The thrush's slightly thicker eyebrows were slightly raised, but his tone was as ordinary as talking about the weather.

Zhu Di's expression was shocked, and he couldn't believe it: "For the sake of an outsider, you ...... Do you dare to kill your father? ”

The thrush lowered his eyelids, and the thin corners of his mouth brought up a sneering smile: "Outsiders? Who are the outsiders? When my mother dies in front of you, and you are indifferent, you are already an outsider in my heart! I fled from the Yanwang Mansion in a hurry, for more than four years, I wandered alone, robbed food with wild dogs, fought with beggars, gnawed grass roots and tree bark, slept on graves and mounds, stole and robbed, was caught, and was beaten, except that I never died, I have suffered all the suffering that people should suffer in this life, His Royal Highness Yanwang, do you know, that year, I was only eight years old, eight years old! ”

The thrush's pretty big eyes gradually became a little wet, and the corners of his mouth gradually showed a smile: "Last winter, I wandered to Jiangpu County, it was a cold winter, I had no food and clothing, almost frozen to death on the streets of Jiangpu, just that winter, I was fortunate to meet Xiao Fan, my father-in-law, he gave me food, I clothed, in order to make me not wronged, he could even abandon the rich life of food and clothing, and I lived in a dilapidated small temple, for our livelihood, we depended on each other, supported each other, and came to this day step by step, …… It was he who gave me a second life, a new life, in addition to food and clothing, he also gave me dignity, warmth, and a husband's endless love and pity for his wife......"

The thrush blinked vigorously, tears streaming down her pretty face. The smile on her face flickered, and then she looked at Zhu Di with very serious and indifferent eyes.

"No one has ever been so good to me, so unforgettable, Xiao Fan may be just a mustard in your eyes, but in my eyes, he is not only my husband, he is also my god, I, an orphan girl who even disdains God, was given a second life by him, this life, the next life, ten lives and ten lifetimes I live for him, now I am in trouble, as his wife, I can't help but do something for him, this is the purpose of my coming to you today."

Zhu Di looked at Xiao Thrush with a shocked expression, and he was completely shocked by Thrush's words.

Chang Ning has suffered so much, Chang Ning cares about Xiao Fan so much, Chang Ning would rather work hard with his father for Xiao Fan...... Zhu Di's mind was in a mess, and he had a lot of thoughts for a while, and his emotions of sadness and joy were repeatedly entangled in his heart...... "So...... Can you fight with me for Xiao Fan? Zhu Di's cheeks twitched.

The thrush nodded without hesitation: "Yes." ”

Zhu Di seemed to cry and laugh, and said infinitely sadly: "You...... Is it really my daughter? ”

The thrush stared at him with no trace of emotion in his eyes, and said, "I used to be your daughter, but now I am just a wife who wants to save her husband but has no way out...... Your Royal Highness King Yan, would you like to recognize my identity as the county lord of Changning and ask the Son of Heaven to restore my title as the county lord? ”

Zhu Di's expression gradually became gloomy, and he gritted his teeth and said: "No one has ever dared to threaten me!" My daughter is no exception! Listen, it's impossible for me to admit your identity as the county lord, Xiao Fan...... He must die! ”

The thrush nodded, and said with a flat expression: "I knew you would say that, very good, if you don't want to, I will kill you!" ”

After speaking, a small and delicate dagger suddenly fell from the wide sleeve of the thrush, which happened to fall into her slender little hand.

At the same time as the dagger was in his hand, the thrush's petite body burst up, and his body rushed towards King Yan quickly, like a frightened flood, as fast as lightning.

In the thin mist, a bright sword light stabbed Zhu Di's chest without regret......

(To be continued)