The mausoleum of the former king is located in Hengyang Village, on the outskirts of Changsha Province.

Standing alone in the tomb of the king stands a huge tombstone, which inscribes the journey of his life from humble to glorious.

Zhang Kewu, the old eunuch who guarded the spirit, trembled and added a spoonful of tung oil to the Changming lamp, then reached out and pinched his eyebrows.

He was the last chief steward of the first king's side, and after Zhao Fuchun was demoted, he was promoted to take care of the first king's daily life.

After the collapse of the first king, he should have continued to serve as the assistant to the new king, but the new king's trust relied on Zhao Jichang, a second-class minion.

Who survived to the top in the palace, which one is not a human spirit?

He knew that he was old and weak, and he was once a son of heaven and a courtier, and the ending was tragic, so he took the initiative to ask for a wake, but the new king didn't even go through the process of prevarication, he was directly approved, and he didn't even have a reward.

Let's go, although it's a little ugly to leave, but it's better to be lonely here than to be punished and beheaded in a different place, isn't it?

It's just that he thought that the loneliness would be at least seven or eight years later, but he didn't expect that in the two years of the first king's great trip, the new king didn't come to worship one or two, but the first king's favorite concubine, the new king's mother, Concubine De Niangniang, came twice a month in simple clothes.

There was no guard of honor, no hugging back and forth, she often came suddenly and low-key, often sitting by the tombstone for an hour or two and then quietly gone, and every time he went to peep to see if he needed to prepare anything, only a handful of paper ashes in front of the tombstone, or a few straw knick-knacks.

She really likes the king!

This is his conclusion, before this he always thought that Concubine De Niangniang was just a woman who was good at seduction, hooked the soul of the first king, and spoiled the second son of his ghost, so that the eldest prince was sad and entered the Tao.

"Your Majesty! The old slave is in low spirits and has to rest for a while. Zhang Kewu turned to leave, and he trembled to move to the house under the stone steps, and soon the lights and candles in the room went out.

The night is quiet, and the huge tombstones are lonely under the light of the ever-bright lamp.

Mu Junwu walked out of the darkness, he stepped on the night, climbed the stairs step by step, came to the tombstone, reached out and touched the stone tablet and whispered: "Father, my son is back." ”

……

In the dormitory of the Chu Palace, the resting Ma Xisheng slept very unsteadily.

His forehead was sweaty, his hands trembled slightly, his eyes were closed, his head kept shaking from side to side without speaking, and he still murmured in his mouth: "It's not me, it's not me......

He was dreaming, and in the dream, Zhao Jichang was standing in front of him with blood all over his body, stretching out his hand and pointing at him angrily: "It's your order!" You want them to cut me with a thousand knives! ”

"It's not me, it's the mother, it's her who said that only in this way can she not be implicated!"

"If you kill me, who else will help you? How do you know what your father means without me? ”

"I ...... I ...... "In the dream, he was panicked and helpless, but what frightened him even more was that Zhao Jichang was not like a human ghost or a ghost.

Zhao Jichang floated to him, and pointed his hand to his face: "You will die, you will die with me......" As soon as the words fell, his hand had turned around and grabbed his arm, so frightened that Ma Xi sat up with a scream, and after falling off his teeth, he found himself in the dormitory, and all the horrors before were just dreams.

"King!" Several eunuchs on duty were attracted by his exclamation, and rushed to his side to support and concern:

"Are you alright?"

"Your Nightmare, Lord, aren't you?"

A eunuch picked up the tumbling quilt and carried it back to the bed, and saw that Ma Xisheng's clothes were wet and sweaty, and he hurriedly said: "Your clothes are soaked, the king, the slave went to change them for you." ”

Ma Xisheng, who was distraught, was carried back to the gum, he ignored everyone's concerns, but was out of breath, his face was pale and in a trance.

The candle flame jumped twice, he unconsciously raised his eyes to look at the two little eunuchs in front of him, I don't know if the light in the hall was a little dim, or his demons were difficult to get rid of, the two faces were not real, he rubbed his eyes and looked again, he actually saw that the two faces were Zhao Jichang!

"Ahh With a loud scream, he retreated to the corner of his gum in panic and fear, hugging his knees and trembling.

Where did the two little eunuchs who were guarding in front of them see the king like this, they were a little dazed for a while, and at this time, the eunuch who took the change of clothes ran over: "King, the clothes are here!" ”

When Ma Xisheng's eyes glanced at him, the eunuch shook off the profane brocade robe in his hand.

I don't know why, on the plain white dirty clothes, there is a pool of blood red like a blooming flower, getting bigger and bigger, more and more, more and more full!

"No!" Ma Xisheng stared at the dirty clothes with fear in his eyes, and after his face was so frightened that he distorted, he grabbed the quilt and covered his head, and shouted in the quilt: "Mother! Mother save me! Save me! ”

The king went crazy, and several little eunuchs also panicked, and it was not a matter of listening to his howl like this, so he immediately divided into two roads, all the way to find the imperial doctor, and all the way to the palace of Concubine De.

A quarter of an hour later, Concubine Yuan De, who was wearing a cloak, hurried to Ma Xisheng's dormitory, surrounded by a group of eunuchs and palace maids.

As soon as I entered, I was dazzled by the strong light, and I had to raise my hand to cover it, and it took me a while to understand that there were rows of candle stands in the hall, and the burning hundred candles illuminated the hall as if it were daytime.

"Why are there so many candles?"

"The king asked us to light it."

Concubine Yuan Defei frowned: "What about the king?" ”

"On the gums."

Concubine Yuan Defei hurriedly went inward, and when she walked to the gum, she was stunned.

On the gums, Ma Xisheng hid in the quilt and shrunk into a ball, his helplessness and horror shook out through the quilt, without the majesty of a king.

Concubine Yuan Defei was stunned for a moment, as if she was helpless, closing her eyes and waving her hand.

The eunuchs and palace maids hurriedly retreated and closed the palace door.

Concubine Yuan opened her eyes and looked at the figure on the bed for a while, then walked to the gum step by step, sat on the edge of the bed, and said softly: "Don't be afraid, the concubine is here." ”

The quilt slowly lifted a slit, revealing half of Ma Xisheng's face—he cautiously peered out through the slit, as if to make sure that the person in front of him was something he could rely on and trust.

"With the mother concubine, the king will be safe." As soon as Concubine Yuan Defei's words fell, Ma Xisheng lifted the quilt and threw herself directly into Concubine Yuan De's arms: "Mother, Zhao Jichang came to me to ask for his life!" He's coming! ”

"Nonsense!" A touch of disdain flashed in Concubine Yuan's eyes: "You are a king, he is just a wild ghost, he doesn't dare to make a mistake!" ”

"Nope! You don't know! Ma Xisheng looked up at Concubine Yuan De, frightened: "I have been dreaming of him every day these days, he is getting closer to me day by day, and the flesh and blood are blurring more and more, just now there is no complete skin...... He was holding my arm and saying I was going to die......"

"King! Dreams are just dreams, and you care too much about it. ”

"How can I not care?" Ma Xisheng lowered his head and trembled: "Without him, I'm ...... I don't even know how to deal with the affairs of the government......"

Concubine Yuan Defei's hand patted Ma Xisheng's back: "Don't be afraid, I will help you, for the sake of your and my safety, Concubine Yuan will help you deal with everything and ensure that you and I can sit back and relax." ”

When Ma Xi heard this, he seemed to have grabbed a rope hanging on the edge of the cliff, he shrank in Yuan Defei's arms, and nodded frequently: "Okay, I listen to the mother, listen to the mother." ”

Ma Xisheng fell asleep as he spoke.

At this time, the corners of Concubine Yuan De's mouth rose slightly.