Denghuangtai

Faced with Pei Qingyan's silent provocation, Yun Zheng only said one sentence, "Pei Qingyan, you'd better watch yourself."

After saying this, he turned and left. He exuded a cold and malevolent aura, and wherever he went, whether it was jailers or prisoners, everyone gave him a wide berth, not daring to touch this living devil.

Outside the prison, the celestial dog had already let the sun rise again, and the sky was bright once more.

Yun Zheng's face was cold, and his tone was stiff. "Let's set off for the palace."

After saying that, he climbed into the carriage.

The wheels rolled, swiftly passing over the bluestone bricks of Chang'an City.

Inside the car, Yun Zheng's gloomy face finally eased. His eyebrows curved into crescents, his eyes were full of smiles, and then the corners of his lips turned up, and he could no longer hide his joy.

He covered his mouth, his laughter muffled deep in his throat, his shoulders trembling slightly. After a long while, he let out a long sigh, feeling a sense of exhilaration, as if he had escaped death.

"My lord."

The carriage slowly came to a stop, and the driver's voice came from outside.

Yun Zheng rubbed his face, put on a sinister expression again, and got off the carriage with a murderous aura. He arrived at Jianzhang Palace without any obstacles.

Before he could reach the front of the hall, the eunuchs waiting under the corridor hurriedly came down the steps to greet him.

"Grand Minister of Works." The eunuch bowed.

Yun Zheng said coldly, "I have important matters to discuss with the Empress Dowager."

"Please wait a moment longer, I will go in and inform you." The eunuch said politely, then turned and entered the hall.

A moment later, the eunuch came out again. "Grand Minister of Works, the Empress Dowager is discussing state affairs with the Grand Master of Ceremonies. She asks you to wait in the side hall."

Yun Zheng nodded without saying anything more. He followed the eunuch to the side hall, where the eunuch personally served him tea before taking his leave.

About fifteen minutes later, the eunuch came again and led him into the main hall.

"How did things go?"

As soon as she entered, Empress Dowager Yun asked anxiously.

Yun Zheng knelt down, saying, "Aunt, please forgive me. Before I could even act, strange phenomena appeared in the sky..."

"Foolish!" Empress Dowager Yun was so angry that she picked up the teacup beside her and threw it at Yun Zheng. Yun Zheng did not dodge. The teacup hit his forehead and then fell to the ground with a crisp sound, shattering into countless pieces.

Yun Zheng's face was wet, with tea mixed with blood flowing down his face.

Empress Dowager Yun was still not satisfied and angrily scolded, "What are you dawdling about for?"

"My nephew thought that since she was about to die, he should give her some dignity, so he had someone prepare a last meal for her."

"Aren't you always ruthless and despise these superficial gestures? Why are you willing to go to such lengths for Pei Qingyan?" Empress Dowager Yun looked at him coldly. "Yun Zheng, I'll ask you one more time: are you still hung up on Pei Qingyan? Are you deliberately stalling for Pei Qingyan today?"

"Indeed, out of consideration for the past, I wish Pei Qingyan could depart without regrets. But I have absolutely no intention of delaying anything."

Blood slowly trickled down Yun Zheng's cheek, his peripheral vision filled with crimson. He blinked, watching the blood droplets slide down, and then said, "Besides, my aunt ordered the execution of the wicked general. A ruler's word is law. Even if I try to delay, I must ultimately carry out my aunt's decree. Delaying won't change anything."

"But things took a turn for the better," Empress Dowager Yun sneered.

Yun Zheng didn't argue; instead, he banged his head on the ground, saying, "This was indeed a misunderstanding on my part. Please punish me, Aunt."

He wasn't putting on an act at all; his forehead slammed heavily against the ground with a "thud," making his already injured forehead even worse. His forehead burned with pain and he felt dizzy.

Having raised her from a young age, Empress Dowager Yun frowned upon hearing the commotion.

After a while, Empress Dowager Yun calmed down a bit and said, "That's enough. The celestial phenomena were too sudden; you couldn't have predicted them in advance."

"Thank you for your kindness, Aunt!"

"You're just lucky."

Empress Dowager Yun scolded irritably, "Just now, the Imperial Attendant came to report that the late Emperor's mausoleum had suddenly collapsed..."

"The imperial tomb has collapsed?" Yun Zheng looked up at Empress Dowager Yun, his voice trembling with shock.

Empress Dowager Yun sighed, "Yes, with this strange omen before and the celestial phenomenon of a solar eclipse after, rumors are rampant in the capital. If news of Pei Qingyan's death were to spread at this time, it would be even more difficult to suppress the rumors and would be detrimental to the stability of the country."

"Just now, my nephew was inexperienced and panicked when he encountered a solar eclipse for the first time. Now that I think about it, celestial phenomena are nothing but nonsense. Why don't we take advantage of the darkness tonight and do it secretly..."

Yun Zheng raised his hand and made a decapitation gesture in front of his neck.

"No!" Empress Dowager Yun immediately objected. She rubbed her temples, her voice weary. "You came from the imperial prison, which conveniently avoided the crowds gathered together. After you leave the palace, you can go and see for yourself in the marketplace. It's being said that a meritorious official was to be secretly killed today, and Heaven, unable to bear it, ordered the celestial dog to swallow the sun as a warning."

"Nonsense."

"Silence! The Master did not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits," Empress Dowager Yun rebuked.

"Yes." Yun Zheng silently shut his mouth. The blood flow from his wound slowed down, and as the blood droplets rolled slowly over, they felt a little itchy. He couldn't help but raise his hand to wipe them.

Originally, there was only a thin line of blood on his face, but after this smear, half of his face was covered in blood.

Empress Dowager Yun couldn't bear to look at his disheveled state, so she waved her hand and said, "We'll discuss Pei Qingyan's matter later. You should go back and bandage your wounds first."

After bowing to express his gratitude, Yun Zheng rose and left the main hall.

The residence of the General of the Five Offices.

Ban Qing slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly. "What did you say? The people are now gathered in front of the Jade Gate, pleading for justice for Marquis Yin'an?"

The servant before him shrank back, stammering, "Yes, sir, that is indeed the case."

Ban Qing slammed his fist on the table and cursed viciously, "Heaven has no eyes!"

Seeing that Ban Qing was so angry that he was speaking without restraint, Feng Lingsu waved for the servants to leave, and then walked up to Ban Qing with a teacup, saying, "Have some tea to cool down."

Ban Qing took it and gulped it down in one go. He wiped his mouth without a care, sighed, and said, "Xi Jun, we were one step behind, and Pei Qingyan escaped a calamity."

"My lord, the outcome is still uncertain." Feng Lingsu said calmly. "Even if the people plead for her life, what then? That woman from Jianzhang Palace wants Pei Qingyan dead even more than we do. Can she escape this time, and can she escape next time?"

"But this celestial phenomenon, which only occurs once every hundred years, just happened to appear today..."

Ban Qing had reservations. As a leader of troops, he often held two extreme attitudes toward matters of ghosts, gods, and celestial phenomena.

One type, like Pei Qingyan, dares to use and is good at using talent, but is not afraid of it.

The other type, like Ban Qing, turns pale at the mention of it and believes it without a doubt.

"It's just a coincidence, it doesn't count," Feng Lingsu comforted Ban Qing, patting his back.

"Xijun, do you think the rumors from back then might be true?" Banqing suddenly recalled that five years ago, when Pei Qingyan won her first great victory and defeated the enemy army at Yanran Mountain, rumors circulated that she was the reincarnation of the Vermilion Bird Star, sent by heaven to bring peace and stability to the Great Zhao Kingdom.

Ban Qing had initially scoffed at such words, but now it seemed to make some sense. Otherwise, why would strange phenomena suddenly appear just before Pei Qingyan was on the verge of death?

Or is it the legendary "heavenly dog ​​eating the sun" that appears before a loyal minister is killed?

Thinking of this, Ban Qing felt a chill run down his spine. If Pei Qingyan was truly a reincarnation of a star, then those of them who plotted to kill her...

Ban Qing shuddered and dared not think about it further.

"My lord," Feng Lingsu said softly, "Back then, Han Xin was rumored to be the reincarnation of the White Tiger Star, yet he was still executed by Empress Lü in Changle Palace. This shows that the so-called reincarnation of stars is nothing but folk nonsense, nothing to be afraid of."