Crown Prince's Counterattack

Chapter 61 Pregnant Prince Li Xian

The difficulty of the Shu Road is as difficult as reaching the sky.

The land of Bashu has dangerous terrain and is isolated from the world, with poor mountains and bad waters.The ancestors have been trapped here for generations, with little contact with outsiders. Most of the villagers make a living by hunting, and the folk customs are simple and outrageous.

Sima Yi opened up a small vegetable field in his manor, and watered and fertilized it every day. He lived a fairly comfortable life. Compared with Chang'an, there were many fewer people watching him here, and he also Being able to free up his hands, he secretly recruited some Badi warriors.He prepared all the money early in order to worry about this day, but he didn't expect it to come in handy.

The peaceful Bashu has become lively these few days, and the distinguished guests who came from afar have broken the tranquility here. For these nobles who came out of Chang'an City, the local people's eyes can't help showing a little bit of strangeness.

Mu Ze's face was solemn, and he couldn't hide the tiredness on his face. There were nearly hundreds of people behind him, all of them were dusty.From Chang'an to Bashu, it took more than a month to go on a fast horse, not to mention that the closer to Shu, the more complicated the terrain, and sometimes even had to abandon the horse and walk on foot.

Every time they arrived at a post station, they could only stop for a while to rest their feet, and then they had to rush on without stopping. They didn't breathe a little bit of relief until they entered the middle of Sichuan.

Sima Yi felt his left eyelid twitch violently this morning. At noon, there was a sudden knock on the door, which was rapid and regular.

Sima Yi looked at the person standing in front of him unexpectedly, holding Li Zhi's seal and imperial edict in his hand.He was faintly excited, but the suspicion in his eyes never faded away.This was the result he had been expecting for a long time, but what happened before his eyes made him a little unbelievable.

Sima Yi reached out to take it, and spread out the letter and imperial decree, his expression changed from initial solemnity to sadness.The handwriting was all written by Li Zhi himself, and the slightly hasty strokes all revealed the anxiety in Li Zhi's heart at that time.Since he was abolished, even though Li Zhi was holding on to the situation, he had already lost his chance to turn the tide. This time Li Zhi urgently called him to join Chang'an, probably because he wanted to bet on the last game, and even dared to risk a big one to start again. To praise him as a deposed prince who was accused of treason, I am afraid that the former court and harem will already be the Wu family's world, but even though the situation is so bad, Sima Yi is still ready to fight for this last fight.

"Your Highness, I have spent a lot of time on this journey, please leave as soon as possible and go to Chang'an with us."

Although Sima Yi is no longer the crown prince, and has been demoted as a commoner and exiled in Bashu, the royal blood has not been cut off, and what he lacks is only a title, so the title of His Highness is not uncommon.

"Okay, let's go right away!"

Sima Yi glanced at Minghuang's imperial decree, knowing that the later he arrives in Chang'an, the more accidents are likely to happen, so he immediately agreed, but only ordered his servants to take good care of the family members in the mansion, and set off quickly with his personal attendants.

Along the way, Sima Yi also gritted his teeth and survived, his face was covered with exhaustion after several days of rushing. The closer he got to Chang'an, Sima Yi's mood began to gradually become tense. Such a mood, not to mention the peace along the way beyond his imagination.

"Your Highness, as the night is getting darker, I'm afraid it's dangerous to go on the road, but I can't find any inn within a radius of five miles. I'm afraid you will be wronged to rest in the woods tonight."

For the reason of avoiding Wu's eyes and ears, this road is always taken in order to hurry up, and rarely appears on the flat official road.Sima Yi nodded, watching the setting sun gradually set, the forest was already somewhat dark and gloomy, surrounded by trees that couldn't see the edge, crisscrossing each other.

Seeing that Sima Yi's expression remained unchanged, Mu Ze heaved a sigh of relief, and immediately ordered people to clear the place, lit a bonfire, and the faint smell of barbecue filled the air.

The forest was silent and dark, the flames were flickering, everyone's face was flushed, and the flames were dancing in their eyes. As the night darkened, the temperature in the forest gradually dropped. Sima Yi's position was closest to the fire. He closed his eyes, breathed evenly, and looked peaceful.The night watch guards continued to add firewood to the fire, and the others sat on a nearby tree trunk and squinted, seemingly half asleep.

The sparks crackled and splashed, Mu Ze opened his eyes first, his eyes were serious, and soon the others woke up quickly, looking around with guarded eyes.Mu Ze winked, and everyone stood up one after another, surrounding Sima Yi.The noise also woke up Sima Yi who was in a light sleep. Seeing the lineup where everyone was waiting, Sima Yi quickly woke up.

"What happened?"

Sima Yi's voice was still hoarse from just waking up.

"A lot of people are approaching us"

Sima Yi's face changed, and he clenched the dagger hidden in his sleeve.

After a clear howl, a lot of black shadows sprang out from the night and attacked them. The sharp daggers shone with a faint white light under the firelight, and their black robes hid their figures very well, making it hard to guard against. , everyone's faces were solemn, there were many people on the other side and they came prepared.The faint cold arrows shot out from the forest, densely packed, making it difficult to parry, Sima Yi was protected by everyone behind him, and kept retreating.

The opponent pressed on every step of the way, they were already unable to resist, Sima Yi saw more and more casualties on his side.

"Your Highness, let's go, I wait to stop these thieves"

Mu Ze's face was still stained with blood, and the knife wound on his arm was still bleeding. He stood in front of Sima Yi, and ordered to his comrades behind him. Everyone's eyes were wet and sore, but no one spoke. Instead, they continued to protect Sima Yi and retreat, watching Mu Ze's figure gradually disappear before their eyes.Sima Yi felt a little sour, but all he could do was to make the sacrifices of Mu Ze and these guards worthwhile.

Sima Yi kept fleeing and evading in the woods under the cover of night, there were very few guards guarding him now, he held a dagger in his hand, his eyes were ruthless, and his killing intent was boundless.Slowly he slowed down, his panting subsided, and it seemed that no one was following him anymore, a look of joy flashed in Sima Yi's eyes.

It will be dawn soon, which to some extent means that he will be much safer. The group of people in black may not dare to rush to the official road with him, so Sima Yi decided to take the risk and return to Chang'an by the official road.

"Anyone else?"

Sima Yi asked the guards who were still following him.

"Your Highness, it's gone"

Their faces are full of joy and relaxation for the rest of their lives.

"Your Highness, drink some water..."

Hearing people say this, Sima Yi felt that he was a little thirsty, he found a clean place to sit down, and waited to take the water bottle from the guard.

Suddenly, Sima Yi became alert, but when he realized, there was a sharp dagger stuck in his chest, and his own dagger was still tightly held in his hand, and everyone's expressions changed drastically.

#************

Changan

British King Li Xian paced anxiously in the hall, his expression revealing faint uneasiness and agitation.

A young eunuch rushed in suddenly, handed him an urgent letter, and then backed out.

Li Xian held the letter tightly in his hand, his expression was struggling, his palms were sweating, his hands trembling slightly when he opened the envelope, he carefully opened the letter paper, he could read every word very clearly, his expression changed from the initial The ecstasy was so shocking that I felt lost, and finally I was confused again.

He sat down on the cold floor with a bang, his breathing was short, and his eyes were dull.

"Your Highness?"

A beautiful figure stood behind him unknowingly, with a worried tone in his tone.

"Wan'er, you're here"

Li Xian reacted, as if he had grasped a life-saving straw, with a surprised expression on his face.

"Second brother, second brother is dead..."

Li Xian's tone showed obvious disbelief and fear, and finally deep confusion.

Shangguan Wan'er's body froze, but she suddenly regained her composure.

"I killed my second brother!"

His tone became agitated, Shangguan Wan'er frowned, and squeezed Li Xian's hand tightly.

"Your Highness, those who achieve great things must make sacrifices, all of which are worthwhile, and you will definitely be a good emperor in the future."

Shangguan Wan'er's gentle reassurance made Li Xian calm down.

"You're right, it's all worth it"

Li Xian stared blankly at Shangguan Wan'er, murmured repeatedly, as if trying to convince himself, and finally a relieved smile appeared on his face.

"Thank you, Wan'er, it is thanks to you that this king can make up his mind. Don't worry, this king will treat you well in the future."

Li Xian held Shangguan Wan'er's hand gracefully, and embraced this beautiful woman in his arms, with a satisfied smile on his face.

Shangguan Wan'er had a submissive face, a mocking sneer appeared on the face leaning against Li Xian's arms, her eyes were full of madness.

On the other side, Wu Meiniang was furious after receiving the news.

"How did you do things? I just asked you to bring Xian'er back safely. Why did such an accident happen, trash! Trash!"

Wu Meiniang's phoenix eyes were full of tears, and her eyes were full of anger, all the people below were silent and their faces were pale.

"Mother?!"

Suddenly a young girl broke in from outside the door. She has unparalleled facial features, and her appearance faintly resembles that of Wu Meiniang. At this moment, she looked at Wu Meiniang nervously.

Seeing the girl's timid look, the murderous intent in Wu Meiniang's eyes subsided slightly, and her angry mood calmed down a little.

"Get out of here!"

Everyone was overjoyed and hurriedly escaped.

"How did you come?!"

Wu Meiniang's tone was still somewhat cold, but her expression softened.

"I heard that the queen mother was very angry, so I was very worried and came to see, what happened?"

Taiping's eyes were faintly worried, and he looked at Wu Meiniang nervously, which made Wu Meiniang's cold heart feel a little warm.

"...It's not a big deal, Taiping, come to the queen mother."

Wu Meiniang hesitated for a few moments, concealed the news of the prince's death, and beckoned Taiping to come to her side, Taiping sat down very obediently, looking at her curiously.

"You, be obedient, don't be like your royal brothers, you know how to hurt the empress's heart?"

"Okay, Taiping doesn't learn from the emperor, you will definitely honor your mother, don't be sad for your mother."

"Okay... the queen mother is so peaceful"

Wu Meiniang's eyes were moist, she touched Taiping's temples, and her tone was full of fatigue and sadness that she had never felt before.

A few days later, when the news of Sima Yi's death came to Li Zhi, Li Zhi was in tears, his hands trembled, and he vomited blood and fell into a coma for several days.

In 684 A.D., Emperor Gaozong died. Soon after Emperor Zhongzong took the throne, he was deposed by Empress Wu and replaced by his youngest son Ruizong.