The news of the assassination of Jiang Weiren , the chief assistant

, was sent back to the imperial capital on a feather seal sealed with fire paint. It was directly presented to the emperor Zhao Yuan by the Chief of Ceremonies, who did not dare to leak any information.

Jiang Weiren bears the weight of the cabinet and the entire state affairs. If anything happens to him, it will be a disaster for the entire court.

The secret letter was sent to Beijing, and it was delayed for more than three days on the road. It said that Jiang Weiren was assassinated outside Qingyuan City. The assassin dressed as a refugee and dispersed the guards beside the chief minister. Jiang Weiren's whereabouts are unknown. , I don’t know whether I am alive or dead.

Zhao Yuan was stunned after reading the secret letter. His first reaction when he came back to his senses was to have the two queen mothers be invited immediately.

Renshou Palace was further away, so Yan Qing arrived later. When he entered, Cao Dingzhen looked defeated, while Zhao Yuan looked like he was about to cry.

The eunuch who sent the message didn't say what it was about. He only said that the news came from Huaizuo. The news from Huaizuo was naturally related to Jiang Weiren. But seeing the expressions of Cao Dingzhen and Zhao Yuan, Yan Qing's heart sank. .

"Your Majesty," Zhao Yuan looked at her at a loss and handed over a secret letter in his hand, "Sir, you have been assassinated."

Yan Qing's expression was a little dull at that moment, as if he did not understand the meaning of the words. She took the letter from Zhao Yuan and read it for the first time without saying anything. She just took the envelope and looked carefully at the paint on it. The seal had the seal of Jianghuai Governor's Yamen. After reading it, she picked up the envelope again. piece of paper, his eyes rested on the last four words "I don't know whether I am alive or dead."

Zhang Fang was aside. His Majesty and Empress Dowager Ciyi panicked after seeing the letter. He thought that Empress Dowager Shengyi had always been decisive and decisive, and thought she would be the calmest one, but now he saw that Yan Qing seemed to be the most at a loss. that one.

"Mother, I have sent an urgent delivery and asked Jianghuai Governor Yu Qinyan to immediately send troops to search. In addition, I also asked Beizhen Fusi to immediately send people to rush there day and night, not only to find Mr. Jiang, but also to find the person who dared to commit the assassination."

Cao Dingzhen said: "No matter what, we must find Mr.!"

Zhang Fang nodded, saying yes, but she was unsure in her heart.

Yan Qing stood there with his head lowered, and suddenly said in a low voice: "It's too far..."

After all, the Imperial Capital was too far away from Jianghuai. It was impossible to know the current news immediately, and it was beyond his reach to do what he wanted to do.

The second express letter was delivered at dusk. There was no good news in the letter, but it mentioned the details of Jiang Weiren's assassination. He said that he went to check the porridge shack outside Qingyuan City to provide porridge, but the assassins were disguised as refugees. During the assassination, This caused the refugees to panic and flee, and Jiang Weiren was nowhere to be found in the end. Some of the assassins were caught alive, and they revealed that they were charlatan killers bribed by corrupt officials.

Yan Qing had been silent since he read the letter. After returning to Renshou Palace, he sat under the lamp. Fuying didn't know what had happened. He was shocked by her behavior and finally tried to persuade her. She had to sleep, but she couldn't sleep. When she closed her eyes for a while in the middle of the night, she was awakened by a nightmare.

In the dream, someone told her that Jiang Weiren's body had been found and asked her to identify it. When she went to see it, she couldn't see the face of the body clearly, and she woke up from the dream so sad. After sitting up, I realized that my clothes were wet with sweat.

However, two days were extremely long for Yan Qing, and he finally received news from Huaizuo that the person had been found.

Although the man was found, he was seriously injured. The letter said shockingly, saying that he was stabbed in the waist and abdomen. After reading the letter, Yan Qing's heart was filled with anxiety again.

Jiang Weiren was unable to leave immediately due to his serious injury, so he recuperated in Qingyuan for more than ten days, and finally investigated and dealt with all the officials who had embezzled the money for embankment construction.

Also because he was injured, he was slow to return to Beijing and was delayed for another ten days.

When he finally returned to the capital, Zhao Yuan ordered the imperial physician to rush to Jiang Mansion that day. In the evening, the imperial physician returned to the palace and reported the chief assistant's injury to the two queen mothers and their majesties.

Jiang Weiren's waist and abdomen were injured, but when the imperial doctor went there, the accompanying doctor had just changed Jiang Weiren's medicine. He only checked his pulse and said that the injury was stable. It would depend on his recovery.

After a tiring journey, Jiang Weiren went to lie down on the couch after diagnosing his pulse. When he woke up, it was already late outside. He got up to eat something, then read the case files from Huaizuo at the desk again, until The servants of the government came to report that the palace had sent people to check on his condition.

Jiang Weiren thought, it seems that he still has to go to the palace tomorrow. As he stood up, he asked the servant, "Are they from the Supervisor of Ceremonies?"

The man shook his head, "Those people took the sign from the palace and just said It is the order of the two Queen Mothers and Your Majesty to come here to see how your Majesty is feeling. It’s not appropriate for me to ask him in detail.”

Jiang Weiren nodded and said, “Invite people to the main hall of the front yard.”

Since he is from the palace, it is natural for him to come to see how he is feeling. Ask him to meet in person.

When he put on his robe, adjusted his appearance, and rushed to the front hall, people from the palace had been waiting inside for a while. The first thing I saw was a guard and an internal prisoner. In front of them stood a female officer, wearing an azure-colored cloak with dark patterns, covering her figure.

The sound of his footsteps alarmed the people inside. Just as Jiang Weiren was about to speak, he saw the female officer turning around, and that small face like a lotus calyx appeared in front of him. Under the illumination of the lamp, there was something strange. Real feeling.

He was a little distracted. Yan Qing had turned his head and told the two people beside him to retreat first. After those two people and the servants of Jiang Mansion had retreated, there were only two people left in the room, and Yan Qing took off his cloak.

Under the cloak was a water-colored skirt, with a slender body, cut shoulders, and a plump waist. At first glance, it seemed as if he was going back in time. Standing in front of him was the little girl in her twenties and eighties.

We haven’t seen each other for more than a month, but looking at each other in the candlelight now seems like half a lifetime has passed.

He frowned slightly, looked at her carefully, and said in a low voice: "Why have you lost weight?"

She really lost a lot of weight, and there was a haggard look on her eyebrows. Jiang Weiren felt distressed, but Yan Qing only looked at him dreamily. , and after a while, his eyes were filled with water.

Seeing her like this, it was obvious that she was frightened. Jiang Weiren smiled a little tiredly, "I'm fine, the injury is not serious..."

It was nothing at first, but when he said this, the water in her eyes became even worse, and she burst into tears. Condensed into teardrops, about to fall but not falling, they are the most pitiful.

Holding back her tears, she stood in front of him, stretched out her hand, and touched his face, as if she was afraid that the person in front of her was just an illusion.

As if she confirmed that he was real, she let out an almost inaudible sigh of relief.

When the imperial doctor reported back today, he only gave a general outline, but did not say the specific extent of his injuries. The news from Huaizuo said that he was seriously injured. After being frightened for so many days, he finally returned to Beijing. She couldn't help it, so she came over incognito to see it with her own eyes.

"Don't listen to those people's exaggerations. It's not that serious."

That day outside Qingyuan City, he was indeed injured by an assassin. The knife made a deep gash in his waist, causing him to bleed profusely and he fell into a coma. After he got there, he was rescued by the refugees. The treatment was delayed in those two days, which made the injury worse. It was not as dangerous as the couriers back to Beijing said.

However, he knew that the news exaggerated his injury, but he did not send a letter back to explain. He had some thoughts and wanted to see if Yan Qing would be anxious after seeing it.

He was right, it was indeed not that serious, but when he said this now, it seemed to Yan Qing that he was just trying to be tough to comfort her.

"Where's your injury?" She grabbed his sleeve, "Let me take a look."

Jiang Weiren was startled, then he laughed and pointed to his wound, "Do you really want to see it?"

He was injured in the waist and abdomen. If he wanted to see it, he would have to take off his clothes. Yan Qing was thin-skinned, so he was not willing to see it anymore.

But this time he was wrong. Yan Qing replied calmly: "Yes."

There was a couch in the side room on the side of the main hall, and he sometimes rested there.

Jiang Weiren sat on the edge of the couch, stretched out his hand to untie the front placket, then turned sideways and lowered his head to untie the frenulum under his ribs. The wound on one side of his body hurt. Yan Qing saw his brows frowning slightly, so she stretched out her hand and tied it for him. The belt was untied.

She gently opened his shirt, and what came into view was the white silk tied around his waist. It had been some time since the last bandage, so now she could see the faint blood inside.

Yan Qing looked at it and felt his heart tremble. He lowered his head and looked carefully, and asked softly: "Does it still hurt?"

Jiang Weiren looked at her and almost put her head on his wound. He wanted to laugh but held back. After a pause, he said: "Fortunately...it doesn't hurt that much anymore."

This was the truth, it didn't hurt much anymore, but when Yan Qing heard this, she thought he said it deliberately not to worry her. When he raised his head, his eyes were red.

"Those people in Huaizuo are simply lawless," she whispered through gritted teeth, "This time we will definitely punish them severely and never tolerate them."

Jiang Weiren looked at her with joy in his heart and held back his smile, but the joy was gone . From the corners of her eyes and eyebrows, she said, "Ms. Xie, you are the one who makes the decision for me!"

But her eyes flickered and she glared at him, "If you insist on rushing there, how can the chief minister personally go to investigate the case."

He explained helplessly. : "You know, the situation was tense at that time and the stakes were very important."

That's what he said, but what he was thinking in his heart was that it was really worth the trip to see her so worried about him.

"Jiang Weiren, do you know," she sighed, frowned, and whispered, "it scared me to death..."

His front shirt was still loose, exposing a piece of his chest. Yan Qing's cheeks felt a little hot, and she stretched out her hand to He tied his clothes again, but no matter how careful he was, his fingertips would inadvertently touch him. By the time the clothes were straightened, there was already a blush behind her ears.

"You should take good care of yourself during these days," she said, standing up, "Get some rest early, it's time for me to go back to the palace."

She turned around to leave, but he grabbed her wrist. "No, just sit with me for a while." It's getting late now.

If it's too late, the palace door will be unlocked, so Yan Qing took out her hand, but as soon as she raised her feet, she heard his low voice behind her. the sound of.

"Qingqing, do you know? At the moment of the assassination, I really thought that I would never have the chance to see you again..."

He lowered his head and spoke in a low voice, which seemed to be fake.

Of course, these words were nonsense. At that time, he didn't know that the injuries he suffered were not life-threatening. But as soon as these words came out, Yan Qing's figure immediately stopped.

She finally turned around and walked slowly to him.

"But I don't dare to die," he murmured. "I have been waiting for so long. What if one day you are willing to look back at me? If I die outside, I will have no chance at all."

Listen. When he said this, Yan Qing felt that his heart was twisted together, as if even his internal organs were hurting.

It may be difficult to know whether you care about someone or not, but when you feel that you may lose them, the answer is the clearest.

After all, she couldn't deceive herself.

As if he was afraid that she wouldn't be uncomfortable enough, he whispered again, "If I die, you will definitely forget about me..."

Jiang Weiren sat beside the couch, Yan Qing stood in front of him, she Looking down at him, I saw the uncontrollable loss and sadness in his eyes.

He raised his head, and Yan Qing lowered her head to look at him. Suddenly, before he had time to react, she leaned down and kissed him.