Liu Ying listened attentively to this piece and appreciated it very much. He wanted to know what kind of experience the person who composed the lyrics had to write so hard about the melancholy in his heart.

With the soft singing, he imagined that the lyricist must be a native of the country or the country of Qi, and after the death of the country, he wandered alone in various countries, lonely and sad. He was alone on the river of Chu Province boating and playing the piano, watching the autumn water and the long sky, looking at the distant homeland, and thinking of his separated relatives and friends.

He must have felt too lonely, so he went to Chen Guofanjing, the most prosperous city in the five countries, to experience singing and dancing, and then went to Chen Guolanquan to get drunk and relieve his sorrows. Tired of playing in Chen State, he went to Shu again, where he visited famous doctors, although he tasted all kinds of herbs, but he could not cure him of the lovesickness of missing his homeland. He took a bunch of drugs indiscriminately, begged for death, and was poisoned, but he still couldn't die.

So he gradually looked away, went to Zhao to farm, and returned to the garden.

The scenes of the poet's travels to various countries are presented in front of Liu Ying's eyes, which triggers his thinking. He frowned, thinking to himself, maybe his father's grand plan to unify the seven kingdoms is not as important as the peace and contentment of the people of all countries, maybe he should rest the internal friction of the Song State's southern and northern wars in recent years, so that the old people of Qi and Wei can really take the Song State as their homeland, and then, the four kingdoms of Chu, Shu, Chen, and Zhao will slowly annex the Song State, so that the unification of the Seven Kingdoms of Kyushu will become a general trend that conforms to the hearts of the people, rather than the reckless life of the soldiers.

He thought about it, and suddenly admired the word man even more. If he hadn't listened to such a tune, he wouldn't have thought about the people in an immersive way.

He breathed a sigh of relief, came back to his senses, and continued to enjoy the singing and dancing in the temple. I saw that the woman in red was like a willow, fluttering and charming, like a fairy, and she was the most beautiful woman he had seen over the years. He didn't have time to rejoice that such a woman would belong to his harem, when he saw the red figure suddenly rushing towards him.

She held a sharp jet-black jade sword in her hand, which was the jade hairpin in her bun. Her eyes were firm and sad, and there was relief in her sadness. He looked at her in a daze, watching her knock down the guards who intercepted her with her bare hands, looking at her bewitching figure, flying green silk, flowing wide sleeves, and Yingying's waist.

There was chaos in the hall, but she still resolutely rushed towards him, but her eyes were so sad that she didn't feel the slightest murderous intent. Finally, she knocked down all the guards and pointed her sharp jade hairpin at his throat. He stretched out his arm to block, risking his arm being cut, and attacked with defense, grabbing her hand holding the jade hairpin. At this time, two guards rushed up, but King Song shouted: "Don't touch her, this king can catch her." ”

King Song pulled out the black jade hairpin from her hand, inserted it into his own bun, and then tapped her acupoint, making her unable to move.

King Song asked, "What's your name?" ”

She was not afraid, and replied calmly: "Qi Guo, Xiao Yi." ”

King Song frowned in contemplation and looked at her deeply. She vaguely felt that there was a trace of pity in King Song's eyes. King Song said: "You are the daughter of King Qi Ai, Princess Yi of Qi Kingdom?" ”

She said calmly, "Yes." ”

King Song actually laughed gently. He took off her black jade hairpin in the bun, looked at it carefully, and said: "The diamond jade of the patriotic kingdom is rumored to be the hardest jade in Kyushu, and it can be carved into a sharp small sword, and such a delicate small plum blossom is carved on the hilt, it is really not easy, it should be from the patriotic court." You risked death to assassinate in front of everyone, and you held such a priceless weapon, you should indeed be the princess of Qi Kingdom. ”

King Song looked into the palace, and the envoys of Chen Guo and the other three Chen Guomei, who were trying to escape, had already been tied up by the guards. King Song said without joy or anger: "Since the assassins are from the Qi State, they should have nothing to do with the Chen State, let them go, and send them out of the country." ”

Prime Minister Song said: "The king, the minister feels that Chen Guoren should not be released. They openly brought people to assassinate them, maybe they have been colluding with the old people of Qi for a long time, and they should be detained and interrogated severely. ”

King Song said: "The prime minister has a point. However, the two countries intersected, and did not cut off the envoys, and let the envoys of Chen State go back to Chen State. The four beauties sent by King Chen, this king did not hesitate to laugh at them. ”

Prime Minister Song dissuaded: "King, the origin of these four women is unknown, today is a princess of Qi who openly assassinated, and tomorrow there may be a princess of Weiguo who will assassinate again." The minister thought that the four women should be beheaded for public display. ”

King Song smiled: "The prime minister is too worried. The Song Kingdom has never killed children, women and children, and this king did not want to break the century-old law of the Song Kingdom when he ascended the throne. Antai, take the princess of Qi to the apse to rest, and the king will interrogate him personally after eating. A few other Chen Guomei, also take them down to rest. Then he commanded: "It is not necessary for the queen mother to know about this, so that they will not be worried." ”

The ministers and guests from all over the world looked at the new monarch of the Song Kingdom in amazement. It has never been heard of a monarch who can capture an Assassin with his bare hands, and pardon the Assassin, not only in public, but also to "rest". Everyone was stunned, and they couldn't help but respect this young Song King who spoke so calmly and kindly, but had such a big heart and such a quick hand.

Ritual music was played on the main hall again, and the palace people of the Song Kingdom also presented dance music to the guests of the four countries. The envoys of Chu and Zhao, who had originally prepared dance music, no longer mentioned the dance. King Song ate and enjoyed his pleasure, and everyone ate and enjoyed as if nothing had happened, and no one noticed that there was a shallow wound on his arm.

After the state banquet, Liu Ying walked to the apse of the Ning Guo Palace. The moonlight sprinkled on the Qi white jade steps in front of the hall, gentle as a dream. Gently pushed open the door of the hall, for fear of disturbing the fairy in red. Creation makes people, they still meet.

He said to his attendant, Antai, "Wait outside the door, and no one is allowed to come in." ”

Antai worried: "King, this assassin is very skilled...... You're ...... alone."

He patted Antai on the shoulder and said with a smile: "You are skilled, but you haven't been caught by this king." ”

Xiao Yi's hands were tied with thick ropes, and she stood calmly with her back to Liu Ying. Liu Ying stared at her back for a while, and opened her mouth first: "I'm Liu Ying." ”

Xiao Yi didn't say a word, his back to him.

Liu Ying smiled gently, and said to her back: "I have known you for a long time, and I have always known that you are not dead. I've also searched for your whereabouts, but I never thought that you would be the No. 1 Dancing Girl in Fanjing. ”

Xiao Yi was still silent. Liu Ying took out the jade hairpin that Shicai snatched from her hand from her sleeve and played with it: "Such a good diamond jade should be a gift from the prince of Weiguo to you back then, right?" In fact, ten years ago, I also begged my father to propose marriage to King Qi. Back then, my father asked my brother and I if the country of Qi was so big, whether it was an attack or a marriage. The elder brother said, attack, I said, marriage. The father asked his brother where he wanted to fight, and the elder brother said, Yudu. My father asked me who I wanted to marry, and I said, Xiao Yi. ”

She listened blankly, but curiously. This King Song turned out to be the first person to call her by her name in ten years.

Liu Ying continued: "Father said that Princess Yi of Qi State had been engaged to Prince Wei two years ago. I said that the defense of the country has been overturned, and this family affair has long been overdone. But my father said, "How can my son of the Song Kingdom pick up other people's things?" So he took his brother's advice and attacked the state of Qi. You say, if we had been married, would you still assassinate me today? ”

Xiao Yi sneered and said, "If I married into the Song Kingdom back then, and your Song Kingdom broke through my Qi Kingdom, I would have killed you before I could wait for today." ”

Liu Ying was silent for a moment, and then said, "Do you want to know why I asked my father to let me marry you back then?" ”

"I don't want to."

Liu Ying said: "I haven't met you, but I heard that the most talented princess in the Seven Kingdoms of Kyushu is Xiao Yi of Qi State." I heard that she was good at the piano at the age of five, recited at the age of seven, and could weave lifelike lotus brocade at the age of nine. Ten years ago, when I was sixteen years old, my mother asked me what kind of woman I wanted to marry, and I told me about the princess of Qi that I had heard. A few days ago, after I ascended the throne, the queen mother asked me what kind of woman she wanted to be the queen, and I asked her, do you remember the princess of Qi who disappeared? If I can find her, I will make her my successor. The queen mother laughed and joked to me, saying what if that talented princess looked miserable, and I said, "I should be a virtuous person in the future." ”

As she spoke, Liu Ying walked in front of Xiao Yi, stared at her with gentle and clear eyes, and sighed lightly: "I didn't expect you to come to me, but no matter what, I found you." ”

Xiao Yi paused word by word: "I'm here to kill you." ”

Liu Ying smiled and said to herself: "I did think about what to do if you look miserable, but today, it seems that my mother and I are too worried." Not only are you beautiful, but you are breathtakingly beautiful, not only are you talented, but you are also a sight to behold. ”

Xiao Yi was already tired of hearing such words in Fanjing, but he didn't expect King Song to be so sour. She had a cold face and looked directly at King Song calmly. Song Kingdom, let her country ruin her family, King Song, should not die well.

Liu Ying looked down at Xiao Yi's Mo Yuchai and said, "Actually, I know that after so many years, even if I find you, it is impossible for you to marry me, the monarch of the Song Kingdom who ruined your country." Today, if you assassinate in public, even if you marry me, the whole Song Kingdom will not agree to me to make you queen. Since you don't want to marry me, and I can't make you the queen, all I can do for you is to send you out of the Song Kingdom safely. ”

Xiao Yi looked at the man in confusion. He was playing with her jade hairpin at this time, and his speech and demeanor were gentle and elegant. He has long eyebrows and sideburns, and there is a little regret and relief between his eyebrows. He was the most powerful monarch of the Song State in the Kyushu Five, and he easily defeated her martial arts that she had been practicing for eight years, but he released the envoys of the Chen State, and now he wants to release her?

Liu Ying saw her confusion and said gently: "If I hadn't stopped you, those guards would have pierced dozens of holes all over your body, so I can be regarded as your savior." Are you going to kill me now? ”

Xiao Yi said: "The Song army killed 100,000 soldiers of my Qi State, and my relatives all died because of the Song State, if you don't kill me, I owe you my life, but I still want to kill you, because the Song State owes too many lives to the Qi State." I owe you, and I will pay you back after I kill you. ”

Liu Ying sighed: "Now you owe me my life, you kill me, and you want to commit suicide again." Is there any way to keep you from dying? ”

Xiao Yi turned his head and said, "If I don't die, what does it have to do with you?" ”

Liu Ying said to herself: "The only way is to make it impossible for you to kill me, so that you won't die." ”

Xiao Yi glared at Liu Ying angrily. Liu Ying suddenly smiled, her eyes were bright and full of smiles. Xiao Yi asked, "What are you laughing at?" ”

Liu Ying said: "I'm laughing, you can't kill me, and I'm sulking again." Is there any way not to make you angry? ”

Xiao Yi didn't know how to face this strange King Song at all, so he simply closed his eyes and turned his head away from him.

Liu Ying said: "You have been dancing for a long time, beating the guards for a long time, and sulking here for a long time, you must be hungry." Isn't it because you eat something and you won't be angry? ”

Xiao Yi said stubbornly: "I don't eat things from the Song Kingdom. ”

Liu Ying said: "It's not something from the Song Kingdom. There are cooks from all over the world in the dining room in the palace, do you want to eat the jujube cake of Qi State, the barbecue of Wei Guo, or the wide noodles of Chen State? The medicinal chicken soup of Shu is my favorite, and the pastries of Chu are also good. ”

Xiao Yi was silent for a while, and squeezed out a few words: "Soldiers can be killed, but they cannot be humiliated." ”

Liu Ying pondered for a moment and said; "You're saying I'm insulting you when I paint so many delicacies for you and don't bring them out for you? Antai, go to the dining room and take the jujube cake from Qi State, the roast leg of lamb from Wei State, the wide noodles from Chen State, the chicken soup from Shu State, and the crystal glutinous rice balls from Chu State. ”

Xiao Yi was made out of temper by Liu Ying, and he was indeed so hungry that he lost his strength, so he could only close his eyes and recuperate, and no longer pay attention to this difficult King Song. After a while, Antai came in with a large food box, and the aroma was fragrant. Liu Ying saw that her hands were tied, so she took chopsticks and personally took a piece of Qi Guo's jujube cake and handed it to her mouth. She smelled something she hadn't heard in ten years, and she didn't need to open her eyes to know that it was Qi Guo jujube cake. To eat or not to eat?

Liu Ying smiled and looked at Xiao Yitian's fighting expression. In the end, she swallowed her saliva, and secretly hoped that the jujube cake would be poisoned and let her die with peace of mind. She opened her eyes and took a bite of the date cake, chewing contentedly. Liu Ying's hand was still there, and since she had already taken a bite, it would be hypocritical not to take a second bite, so she had to eat the long-lost jujube cake one bite at a time. Liu Ying handed her another bowl of medicinal chicken soup from Shu Kingdom, and said, "Drink the soup, eat slowly, don't choke." ”

In the quiet and empty hall, there was only the sound of Xiao Yi's chewing. She herself heard it harshly, but King Song found it interesting. He used a knife to cut Wei Guo's roast leg of lamb into pieces, fed Xiao Yi bite by bite, and used a spoon to hold a piece of Chen Guo's wide noodles, and finally handed a delicate Chu Guo glutinous rice ball to Xiao Yi's mouth.

Xiao Yi ate satisfied, and a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. In order to practice dancing, in order to remind herself of the hatred in her heart, she has not indulged herself in eating so many delicious foods for a long time. But today, she got what she wanted, returned to her homeland, assassinated the king of Song, and died worthy of her parents and family, so she indulged this time and feasted on the delicacies of various countries.

Liu Ying seemed to see through her thoughts and said: "Your parents' family and country can't be disappointed, but neither can the food and beauties." If you kill me today, you won't be able to eat so much good food. ”

The anger in Xiao Yi's heart gradually subsided. She stared at King Song, with a lot of thoughts in her heart. I thought that the new monarch of the Song Kingdom should be as ambitious, cruel and rude as his father King Wu of Song as rumored, but I didn't expect him to be such a patient and easy-going young man with a smile, just like the noble sons who come and go in the Fanjing Dance Hall, and some are leisurely. And he also knew her existence, knew her name, knew that she was engaged to the crown prince of the country at the age of five, and knew that she was in exile......

If he can have such a good temper to an uninvited guest who assassinates him in public, will he be able to treat the troubled people of Qi Country and the exiles who defend the country?

Liu Ying felt Xiao Yi's calmness, and he said, "I won't kill you, because if I kill you, there will be assassins who will follow you forward." After his father destroyed the kingdom, five Assassins came in the first three years. You Qi country is calm, and you have only appeared in ten years. My father killed all the assassins of the country, but the more he killed, the more he killed, so much that I can't even remember. When I ascended the throne, you were the first Assassin. I don't kill you, not just because you are Xiao Yi that I heard about when I was young, not just because of your talent and beauty, but because I had an argument with my father when he ordered him to kill the first Patriotic Assassin. For this reason, my father has always felt that I am not in agreement with his political views, if it weren't for my brother's sudden illness and violent death, the current King of Song would not be me. Xiao Yi, I will let you go, and I will let anyone who has the courage to assassinate me in the future. I want the whole world to know that I, Liu Ying, am not an incompetent monarch, and I will not conquer the world by killing. If they have the guts to assassinate me, I will have the guts to let them go. ”

Maybe because Liu Ying gently called her maiden name again, or maybe because of the compassion and gentleness in his voice, Xiao Yi gradually began to listen carefully to what he said. She asked, "Why indulge the assassins?" Aren't you afraid of death? ”

Liu Ying said: "I am a person who has died once. People are afraid of many things because they don't know about them. Since I have already died once, I know what death is, and I am less afraid than ordinary people. I don't condone the Assassins, but I want to give talented and aspiring people a path to rebirth. Life is so precious, so many mountains and rivers, beautiful scenery, I can't see enough in a lifetime, why waste it? ”

Xiao Yi couldn't help but wonder: "How did you ever die?" ”

Liu Ying said: "After my father appointed my half-brother as the prince, he didn't dare to touch my mother because he was afraid of the power of my mother's family, but in order to consolidate my brother's position as the prince, my father issued a secret decree and sent someone to my fief to get rid of me. In order to hide my eyes, they gave me a chronic poison, so that I could claim that I was weak and sickly and died. My brother and I have been on good terms since childhood, and when he found out, he immediately informed me, but at that time I had already taken poison for half a year, and many doctors were invited to say that I was powerless to return to heaven, and I could live another year at most. But that year was the year I lived to the fullest. With the connivance of my mother, I ignored the political affairs of the fiefdom, and only did what I liked every day, playing the piano, painting, and practicing swords, and secretly took Antai to tour all over the Song Kingdom, and went to Dongyang, the former capital of the Wei Kingdom, where I met a few knights who could forge swords. They sharpened their knives, and their only ambition was to assassinate my father, and I told them that it was a road of no return, and that they should enjoy all the glory and wealth before they went, so I took them to dance halls, admire beautiful women, eat all the delicacies of various countries, and visit all the famous mountains and rivers. ”

Xiao Yi had never heard of a king who had such a peculiar experience, and he listened more and more attentively: "What happened later? ”

"Later, one of our ten people surnamed Meng went to Yudu, and sure enough, he went to assassinate my father."

"Is it Meng Lin?" Xiao Yi asked.

"Do you know Meng Lin?"

"I heard a friend talk about Meng Lin who defended the country."

"Your friend also knows Meng Lin?"

Xiao Yi said: "My friend is a native of Chu, and he said that Meng Lin, who defended the country, was the most heroic man he had ever seen in the world, and the appearance of Meng Lin casting a sword made him remember it deeply. His sword was forged for him by Meng Lin. ”

Liu Ying sighed: "Meng Lin also forged a sword for me, and it was in order to repay me for inviting him to eat so much food and go to so many places when he left. But he would never have thought that I would be the new monarch of the Song Kingdom until he died. ”

Xiao Yi said: "Your father killed Meng Lin. ”

"Yes."

"What about the other heroes who defend the country?"

Liu Ying said: "They heard that Meng Lin, the strongest martial artist among them, has died, and no one has mentioned the assassination of Yudu. Later, my health became worse and worse, and I could no longer wander around with them, so I quit them and went back to my fiefdom to die. ”

Xiao Yi's eyes widened, obviously wanting to hear the story. Liu Ying smiled and said, "It's late at night, let Antai take you to rest, I should go back to sleep." ”

Xiao Yi realized that she had calmly chatted with King Song, who she was about to assassinate, for so long. She asked, "Where did you take the three of them?" ”

Liu Ying said: "They should all be asleep. Antai has brought them to the Prayer Palace, and you will also go to the Prayer Palace to rest in a while. It's a cold palace, and no one will bother you. ”

Xiao Yi wanted to ask him why he didn't die later, but he couldn't ask when the words came to his lips, and he felt that he suddenly became familiar with this King of Song, so he only said sullenly: "I know that there is a cold palace." ”

Liu Ying glanced at her with a smile and said, "It seems that you are indeed the princess of Qi Kingdom." ”