Chapter 556: Waking Up from a Dream
Tap, tap...
The chaotic sound of horse hooves circled around the intersection, but never moved an inch - Sun Shaozong had been wandering here two streets away from Prince Yi Zhong's palace for some time.
Strangely enough, even though it was his first time in this area, he couldn't help feeling a little homesick.
Excited, nervous, mixed with some contempt for their lack of resistance and pity for their misfortune.
He traveled through time and space and became the eldest son of the emperor of the Zhou Dynasty. He was already halfway on the throne, but in the end he was imprisoned and his women were taken advantage of.
The situation is even more miserable now. Even his only illegitimate son was killed by his own assassins, and his belongings were sent as birthday gifts.
Alas~
Time travel is risky, so be careful when showing off!
Sun Shaozong shook his head speechlessly, made up his mind, turned his horse around, and rode towards Prince Yi Zhong's palace with a clatter of foot - no matter how long he delayed, he could not disobey the imperial edict unless he wanted to accompany Prince Yi Zhong.
But when he arrived at the next crossroads and looked at the towering mansion from afar, Sun Shaozong felt less uneasy, but his excitement increased exponentially.
After all, this is the first time that the two time travelers meet face to face in the world of Red Mansions, and it is very likely to be the only time!
To say it is a historic meeting shouldn't be considered as mutual business flattery, right?
In a trance, Sun Shaozong seemed to hear the rolling wheels of history, rolling forward.
Uh~
There are indeed wheels rolling, but what they carry is not history, but a cart of manure.
Overwhelmed by the stimulating smell , Sun Shaozong suddenly sobered up a little. He rode his horse into the street where Prince Yi Zhong's palace was located before the other party reached the center of the intersection.
"Who is it?"
“Stop it now!”
They had only rushed a few steps when two groups of people suddenly emerged from the alleys on both sides. The twelve in front were holding swords and spears, while the twelve at the back were holding four-sided short crossbows.
Judging from their attire, they must be the Tiger Guards under the command of General Qiu.
"Sun Shaozong of Shuntian Prefecture has come to give a birthday gift to Prince Yi Zhong in compliance with the emperor's order."
Sun Shaozong loudly revealed his identity, then dismounted from his horse, spread his hands and feet wide, as if allowing himself to be searched.
Hearing the name "Sun Shaozong", the two opposing teams of soldiers were obviously relieved, but they still maintained their battle formation. Only the two leading captains stepped forward to search and pick up the items.
After the two captains carefully confirmed that Sun Shaozong did not carry any weapons, they respectfully asked, "May I ask, Lord Sun, do you have any evidence with you?"
"Here, the token is here."
Sun Shaozong then took out a golden arrow from his sleeve pouch and showed it to the two captains for review. This was specially sent by Dai Quan before he left the palace.
He didn't show it on his own initiative just now, nor was he being pretentious in an attempt to play the pig and eat the tiger, but according to Dai Quan's instructions, this golden arrow must be shown as a token only when someone asked about it.
If one is unaware of the situation and takes the initiative to show the golden arrow, it will not only fail to serve as a token of trust, but will be regarded as a counterfeit by a thief and will be shot into a hedgehog.
The two captains took turns examining it, then respectfully handed it back with both hands, then whistled and led their soldiers back to the alleys on both sides.
Sun Shaozong knew that there must be more than one sentry post on this street, so he did not get back on his horse, but just pulled the reins and strode forward.
Sure enough, after that, he passed two more secret checkpoints and was checked three times like a massage before finally arriving at the gate of the mansion.
After explaining his purpose to the soldier guarding the gate, a captain came out soon and led Sun Shaozong directly into the palace.
However, rather than calling it a palace, this was more like a large military camp, with a guard post every three steps and a sentry every five steps, all of whom were soldiers in helmets and armor. As for the servants and maids who were supposed to be in the palace, there was not a single one to be seen.
Walking through the houses, he arrived at the fourth courtyard, where he saw three people standing in front of the moon gate. The one in the middle was a eunuch in brocade robes, and on his left and right were two captains of the Dragon Guard.
Seeing Sun Shaozong approaching, the captain of the Dragon Guard on the right hurriedly took a few steps forward, knelt on one knee and said, "I am Liu Yihu, your subordinate, and I am honored to meet you, Lord Qianhu."
Although the eunuch in brocade robe did not come forward, he still greeted him with a smile.
On the contrary, the captain on the left simply bowed his hands lazily, and then urged with a stern face: "Since it is the emperor's order, let's check the order first."
Needless to say, this guy must be from Nanzhen Prefecture!
This was an insurance provided by the retired emperor to Prince Yi Zhong, to prevent the eldest prince from being killed without knowing it.
Of course, given how much Emperor Guangde feared Prince Yi Zhong, everyone knew that once the retired emperor passed away, Prince Yi Zhong would definitely be buried with him. But at least while the old man was still alive, he would never be willing to see his young son die.
After an unprecedentedly meticulous search, which even included turning his socks over and over again, Sun Shaozong was finally able to enter the inner courtyard.
Although there are fewer sentries in the inner courtyard, there are still no servants or maids.
Liu Yihu was a perceptive man. He probably saw Sun Shaozong's confusion, so he explained in a low voice: "I heard that after that hot air balloon flew out last year, many people were killed in this hospital. I was transferred here after that."
Tsk~
It is estimated that the guards at that time were also among those killed.
The four of them walked and stopped along the way [to deal with the secret sentries], and finally arrived at a quiet courtyard. The leading eunuch in brocade robes summoned a group of five secret sentries, confirmed that Prince Yi Zhong was in the house, then straightened his clothes and prepared to go forward and knock on the door.
However, just as he was about to knock, the door suddenly creaked and was opened from the inside.
Then, an octogenarian with white hair and beard came out unsteadily.
"This humble servant greets His Majesty."
Liu Yihu and the other two bowed hurriedly.
Sun Shaozong was stunned for a moment when he saw his ugly hunched appearance.
This is Prince Yizhong? !
Is this the romantic and pretentious senior time traveler? !
The image I had imagined in my mind before has completely collapsed, right?!
But if you think about it carefully, this may be the result of more than two years of confinement putting too much pressure on him.
After all, not everyone can take life and death lightly.
Just as he was sighing, he saw Prince Yi Zhong coming down the stairs hunched over, and running straight towards him.
Sun Shaozong finally reacted and was about to bow to greet him, but as soon as his waist bent down, a wrinkled hand was already spread out in front of him.
"Bring it here."
The dry and hoarse voice, as if he had just yelled at the top of his lungs, really complemented the image.
but……
What does he mean by 'bring it here'?
Could it be that when Prince Yi Zhong was about to have his birthday, Emperor Guangde also sent someone to deliver gifts, so as soon as he saw me, he guessed my purpose.
Sun Shaozong was just coming up with a suitable reason in his mind, when Prince Yi Zhong hit him on the head with a stick and urged him, "Hurry up, it's just a spiritual jade, why are you wasting time with me?"
His words showed impatience on the surface, but contained satisfaction and pride inside.
However, Sun Shaozong was unable to distinguish these details at all, because he was completely stunned by this sentence!
How did Prince Yi Zhong know that he was here to give him the magical jade?
Could it be that someone in the palace leaked the secret?
wrong!
At that time, besides myself, the only person beside the emperor was Dai Quan - there was no way Dai Quan was Prince Yi Zhong's man, right? !
Besides, looking at the densely packed sentries, if Emperor Guangde hadn't given the order, who could have passed the message in before me?
Did they use carrier pigeons?
Not to mention that those hunting bows are not vegetarian. In broad daylight, if a carrier pigeon really landed near Prince Yi Zhong, it would have been discovered long ago!
It doesn't make sense!
This is totally inexplicable!
Sun Shaozong stared at Prince Yi Zhong in a daze, and all the contempt and pity he had just felt turned into surprise.
At the same time, he found it a little hard to believe. If he really had such unfathomable intelligence capabilities, how on earth had this senior time traveler in front of him been overthrown by Emperor Guangde?
It was not until Prince Yi Zhong urged him a few more times that Sun Shaozong took out the magical jade from his purse as if sleepwalking.
Prince Yizhong took it in his hand calmly, looked at it over and over for a few times, and suddenly threw it back to Sun Shaozong, shaking his head and said, "I'm afraid I'll disappoint my brother. Zhou Xi is not my son, and I will never have any offspring in this life."
Oh my god!
He even knew about Zhou Xi's death and the fact that some people speculated that Zhou Xi was his illegitimate child!
and……
What does it mean to be absolutely certain that you will never have any children or grandchildren in this lifetime?
You're being too sure, aren't you?
And there was clearly a hint of pride in his tone - could it be a good thing to have no descendants?
Before Sun Shaozong's doubts were resolved, Prince Yi Zhong said in a hoarse voice, "It's really hard for him. When I was playing with him when he was a child, I casually mentioned a few trivial things from Dream of the Red Chamber. After decades, he still remembers it so clearly."
"If I had known earlier, I shouldn't have given this jade to Zhou Xi. Even though he is not my son, his mother and I did have a relationship... Alas!"
As he spoke, he sighed heavily, then tossed his sleeves and said calmly, "Forget it, forget it. This sixty-year dream of the Red Chamber will eventually end. What does the separation and death in this world have to do with me?"
"Go back and tell my brother that I am leaving. If he still has a trace of brotherly love in his heart, he might as well come with my father to see me off - I will wait until my sixtieth birthday at the latest."
Before he finished speaking and without waiting for Sun Shaozong's response, he put his hands behind his back and walked out along the stone path, staggering but with a sense of ease.
As he walked, he sang in a hoarse voice: "Everyone knows that being an immortal is good, but they can't forget fame and fortune! Where are the generals and ministers of the past and present? Their graves are covered with grass. Everyone knows that being an immortal is good, but they can't forget gold and silver! All day long, I only regret that I can't gather much, and when I close my eyes for the rest of my life. Everyone says that being an immortal is good, but they can't forget their lovely wife..."
This is……
Are you ready to commit suicide?!
But looking at the look on his face, it doesn't look like a dying person.
If he was really desperate, why would he show such a smug and complacent expression just now?
This feels a bit like - preparing to travel back to the modern era!
Sun Shaozong watched Prince Yi Zhong's figure walking away, and the singing gradually became inaudible, but the restlessness in his heart did not ease, but became even more intense.
Although he may not be willing to travel back in time right now, if Prince Yizhong really found a way to travel back in time, he would definitely not want to miss it!
And...
How did Prince Yizhong know that he was ordered to deliver the spiritual jade?
This huge mystery must be solved somehow, otherwise how can I face Emperor Guangde when I return to report? !
Thinking of this, Sun Shaozong no longer hesitated, stepped up the stairs, and broke directly into Prince Yi Zhong’s study!
