Since the morning, it has been drizzling in Maicheng, and it is almost noon, and the rain has not abated, but has become heavier.

Lime opened the window, and the air in front of her was filled with the smell of fresh earth, and she sat in front of the window with her cheeks crossed, looking at the rockery trees that seemed to be covered with a thin veil of rain, and slowly lost her mind.

This season, the snow in the shade of the deep valley must have completely melted.

"Miss Lime, the General, please come over." Qiu Xiyang's voice came into the room with the sound of rain, and he paused and said, "Today, because of this rain, the weather is a little cooler, and the general instructed the girl to add some clothes." ”

Hearing this, Lime got up and stuck her head out of the window, and said with a smile, "I'll go over right away, there's Deputy General Lao." ”

Qiu Xiyang followed the voice and looked a little surprised, he nodded slightly at the lime, didn't stop long, turned around and broke into the rain again.

Lime came to the cabinet and picked out a piece of clothing, thinking about Qiu Chulin's purpose for calling her. After thinking about it, I felt that it could only be related to my brother's movement in Suyan.

A few days ago, news came from Su Yan one after another, saying that his brother returned to Beijing with the edict of the first emperor, and made a surprise soldier Qin Wang, capturing Fang Lu and Zhang Jian and more than 1,000 rebels.

Fang Lu flowed to the frontier, Zhang Jian paraded to show that the people died at the hands of the people, and the rest of the rebels were beheaded outside Jing'an Gate to sacrifice the spirit of the first emperor in the sky.

King Fang Muchan gave the throne to the emperor, and King Chen Fang Chong knelt in the Taihe Hall with hundreds of civil and military officials to petition, the people's wishes, and his brother obeyed the will of heaven, that is, the throne of Emperor Suyan.

Although Zhang Jian is a variable in his brother's plan, he is very easy to use.

Fang Han has been uninterested in politics for many years, and he has never openly controlled Zhang Jian's interference in politics, and Zhang Jian has already developed ambitions under this kind of intentional or unintentional cultivation.

When Fang Han was heartbroken by the death of the concubine, a golden opportunity appeared in front of Zhang Jian, who bought the imperial doctor, poisoned and put the emperor under house arrest, and forbade foreign ministers to enter the palace to face the saint until Fang Han died.

He planned to write a false edict to help Fang Lu succeed to the throne, and at the same time promoted Fang Mu as regent to dispel the doubts of the ministers.

The elder brother knew that Yan Qiyang would not let go of the opportunity to attack Su Yan, so he planned to find Fang Han who faked his death in Tianlu Villa, wrote an edict, and hid it in the coffin of the second brother.

When Shuo Chu sent troops, Su Yan had no available generals for a while, so his brother led the troops to guard the border passes, and then held the military power in his hands, cleared the external troubles, and then entered Beijing with the edict of the first emperor, and sought the throne in the name of King Qin.

The elder brother is indeed a good plan, he won the throne, and he won the hearts of the people.

Lime straightened her clothes, picked up an oil-paper umbrella, and stepped into the rain.

"Childe, you're looking for me." Lime waited in front of Qiu Chulin's study and did not enter.

"Come in." Qiu Chulin said.

Lime set the umbrella aside, then pushed the door open and entered the study.

Qiu Chulin was the only one in the study, and at this moment he was sitting at the table, with a holy decree in front of him, and when he saw Lime coming in, he handed the holy decree to Lime, "Come, look at this." ”

Lime took the decree and read it carefully, and after a while, she asked, "Childe, the emperor sent your envoy to envoy Su Yan to participate in the enthronement ceremony of the new emperor Su Yan?" ”

"What do you think about this?" Qiu Chulin nodded and asked.

"Childe, Lime is a woman, and she doesn't dare to speculate on the holy will." Lime narrowed her eyes and handed back the holy decree, Qiu Chulin has always distrusted her, what is the purpose of calling her here today?

"Although you are a woman, you are very resourceful, and it doesn't hurt to talk about it." Qiu Chulin said.

"Childe praises falsely, lime is foolish, just listen to it, don't take it to heart." Lime said, "The intention of sending envoys to participate in the enthronement ceremony of the new Emperor Su Yan is nothing more than to show goodwill to Su Yan, and to avoid another war between the two countries after the new Emperor Su Yan ascends the throne. It's just that the strange thing about this matter is that if it were normal, Shuo Chu would not be timid, so how could he be in a hurry to sue for peace, so Lime speculated that Shuo Chu was in the court, and something big had happened. ”

"What do you think happened?" Qiu Chulin asked.

"Lime didn't dare to say it." Lime hung her head and paused.

"It's just you and me in the study, but it's okay." Qiu Chulin said.

"Although Lime does not know the form of Shuochu, Lime knows that the emperor of Shuochu has been sick and sick for decades. A few days ago, the emperor ordered the prince to guard the wheat city and not return without an edict, which seemed to be intended to guard against the regent. Lime thought that the change in the court should be that the emperor was seriously ill and that the deadline was approaching. Lime said.

"You're so bold." Qiu Chulin looked at her, raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and pretended to be displeased, "You are alluding to the fact that the regent and the general have a heart of disobedience!" ”

"Lime doesn't dare." Lime bit her lip, her tone tinged with grievance.

"Don't dare?" Qiu Chulin asked with a smile, "'The emperor's limit is coming', you dare to say such a rebellious thing, what else do you dare not say?" ”

"It was Childe who gave Lime permission to say it." Lime muttered under his breath.

"What grievances? Just joking with you. Qiu Chulin said with a smile, "You have been by Fang Jinyue's side for many years, and you know him best." In your opinion, what will be Fang Jinyue's attitude towards this envoy to sue for peace with heavy gifts? ”

"Su Yan through the square road this toss, the vitality of the great injury, the new emperor ascended the throne, although it is the people's desire but the foundation is still unstable, will pay attention to internal governance, so that all the waste is prosperous, so that the people of the country can recuperate. Therefore, the new emperor Su Yan was also reluctant to go to war. Lime said, "Therefore, the envoy will bring a heavy gift to sue for peace, and he will not return in vain." ”

"Do you know who the envoy sent by the DPRK and China is?" Qiu Chulin asked.

Lime thought for a moment, shook her head again, and replied truthfully, "I don't know." ”

"The second prince Hong Xia Yike." Qiu Chulin said.

"Since you want to participate in the enthronement ceremony with full sincerity, it is natural to send a weighty envoy, and the second prince is indeed the most suitable candidate." Lime said this, but in her heart, she had a different thought, this time she sent Su Yan to definitely not be calm.

Hongxia Yike is the prince of Shuochu, the heir to the throne, and there are many weighty ministers behind him, so he grows up very fast, but in a few years he has gained a foothold in the court, although the foundation is still shallow, but it has gradually formed a threat to Yan Qiyang.

Hongxia Yike has always disagreed with Yan Qiyang's political views, representing the orthodox side to stand on the opposite side of Yan Qiyang.

And Yan Qiyang has held the power of Shuochu for more than ten years, how can he be willing to be subordinate to others and let a prince who is not controlled or even threatens himself take the throne.

Shuochu has not only one prince, although the nine princes are young, they are easy to control, so once Emperor Shuochu dies, there will be a vicious battle between the two sides.

Hongxia Yike and his brother are cousins, and Yan Qiyang is their common enemy. Therefore, Hongxia Yike called the envoy Su Yan to seek peace this time, but he actually asked his brother for help, and even borrowed troops.

Emperor Shuochu arranged for Hongxia Yike to send an envoy, but he was forced to assign Qiu Chulin to escort him due to the pressure of Yan Qiyang. On the way there, you can still get along safely, but on the way back, there will be a fight between the two sides, and you will live and die.

If Qiu Chulin is defeated, Yan Qiyang will lose a big help, but if Hongxia Yike is left on the road, Qiu Chulin will be charged with poor protection at most, and Yan Qiyang will no longer be hindered.

"The second prince will be able to rush to Maicheng with a congratulatory gift in a few days, and you and Xiyang will go with me." Qiu Chulin paused, and added, "With this huge gift, I'm afraid it's not safe on the road, so you should prepare well." ”

"Yes, Childe." Lime Road.

The danger is not the congratulatory gift, but the human heart.

A few days later, Hongxia Yike arrived in Maicheng with heavy gifts, accompanied by more than 130 people, including more than 100 people from the Imperial Forest Army who were hand-picked to escort the congratulatory gifts, and the rest were all accompanied by Hongxia Yike himself.

After resting in Maicheng for a few days, Qiu Chulin only ordered twenty of his cronies to join the mission, and then set off for Suyan.

Lime thought that the road would be safe, but she didn't expect this layer of window paper to be torn so early.

In just a few days, the group had already encountered one bandit and two assassinations, but it was the day when the lime crossed the Beiluo River that surprised Lime.

The Beiluo River is the only way to enter Suyan from Maicheng, and it is also the nearest passage between Suyan and Shuochu.

The Beiluo River is not wide, only a dozen zhang. Because it is located at the junction of the two countries, which often hinders the communication between the two countries, the two countries negotiated and jointly built a chain suspension bridge a few years ago for the use of the two countries' missions and merchants.

As more and more merchants traveled between the two countries, more and more boaters came here to make a living. Since then, in just a few years, a small number of villages have formed on both sides of the Beiluo River.

The chain suspension bridge has been built for several years, and although the two countries jointly maintain and repair it, it is not reliable to transport heavy gifts from the bridge, so they have to hire boatmen to cross the river on the east bank of Beiluo.

It was a clear morning. The Imperial Forest Army escorted the solemn ceremony by boat, and Qiu Chulin, Hongxia Yike and several entourages were also ready and set foot on the Beiluo Bridge.

The summer breeze blows through the heavy iron chains and wooden bridges of Beiluo Bridge, leaving a burst of coolness.

Qiu Chulin's mood seemed to be very good, as if nothing could affect his appreciation of the scenery of the Beiluo River, including Qiu Xiyang, who was left far behind by him and was full of anxiety.

Qiu Xiyang stared at Qiu Chulin, who was close to the middle of the bridge in front of him, and his nervous palms were sweating.

From the moment she stepped onto the Beiluo Bridge, Lime felt the deep fear and uneasiness that Qiu Chulin had hidden behind his calm exterior.

His seemingly relaxed body had already tensed, his stiff legs were mechanically taking regular and very difficult steps, and his eyes reflected not beautiful scenery but suppressed tension, and even his breathing became so cautious.

Lime had never seen him so fragile, fragile as if a breeze could break him completely through the ends of his hair.

Suddenly, a huge force attacked from the rear, Qiu Chulin almost did not resist, and was pushed off the bridge by that force in an instant.

Lime subconsciously grabbed his arm, but the drawbridge shook suddenly, tilting to one side, and instead of holding Qiu Chulin, Lime was pulled down by Qiu Chulin.

It was summer, the water was relatively turbulent, and after Lime and Qiu Chulin fell into the water, the two of them were already swept away by the current before they could be rescued.

"I ...... Can't swim. Qiu Chulin choked on a few mouthfuls of water and said with difficulty, "Follow the current, go downstream and then go ashore." ”

Lime understood that Qiu Chulin wanted to take the opportunity to leave the mission, and then she grabbed Qiu Chulin's collar, but Qiu Chulin also cooperated, and did not hold Lime to death.

Lime pulled him with one hand, paddled with the other, and gradually leaned towards the west bank of Beiluo, until the Beiluo Bridge completely disappeared from sight, and Lime took Qiu Chulin ashore.