Chapter 701: Farewell to He and Li Luan (Part )

The wind was howling and the rain was dark, the sky was gloomy and the earth was dark.

A sudden heavy rain lasted for seven days and seven nights, washing away the foul and gloomy city of Lin'an, leaving it with a brand new look.

April 15th, afternoon.

The violent storm gradually subsided, turning into a drizzle of misty rain.

The Tianji Pavilion, which should have been spending a cool spring night in silence, unexpectedly welcomed a bustling scene that had not been seen in many years.

At dusk, Bai Jin, the Minister of the Privy Council, personally led the Western Palace Guard Battalion to come in the rain. Under the surprised gazes of the golden sword captains, Bai Jin ordered the soldiers to surround the Tianji Pavilion, and not even a fly could get in or out.

At sunset, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards led 300 Imperial Guards and rushed to the Tianji Pavilion in a hurry. They did not station outside the pavilion like Bai Jin did, but rushed into the pavilion and put all the courtyards and rooms in the Tianji Pavilion on guard.

At nightfall, the carriage of Lord Qian, Deputy Privy Councilor, slowly arrived. He was greeted respectfully by Bai Jin and walked into the Tianji Pavilion holding an umbrella.

After an incense stick of time, the East Palace Minister Jia came in a sedan chair, and Qiu Han and Qin Wei greeted him outside the door. He did not get out of the sedan chair, and even the curtain was not opened, and he was carried directly into the Tianji Pavilion.

Another half hour later, Zhao Xie rode up on horseback, surrounded by dozens of guards. Tonight, he represented Prince Rong.

Several groups of people came one after another, all in a hurry and without saying a word. The tense and oppressive atmosphere made the Golden Sword Captain and the Tianji Pavilion apprentices who did not know the truth terrified, and they all began to speculate secretly.

Ding Chou was frightened by the ensuing situation and ran to Liu Xunyi's room, crawling and telling him what was happening outside.

However, Liu Xunyi was indifferent to the changes outside, and continued to drink leisurely by himself to relieve his sorrow.

Looking at the flustered and chattering Ding Chou, Liu Xunyi threw the wine pot in his hand into his arms and drunkenly teased: "Drink it! Aren't you afraid? When you are drunk, you are not afraid of anything."

"I've heard that alcohol makes cowards brave," Ding Chou said defensively, "but I'm not scared, I'm just... a little worried. Lord Liu, what do you think so many people are trying to do by suddenly breaking into the Tianji Pavilion?"

"It has nothing to do with you." Liu Xunyi said nonchalantly, "The Marquis and Mr. Qiu will handle it. It's not your turn to worry about it."

"I heard that the emperor has long disliked our Tianji Pavilion. Right now, the West Palace Imperial Guards and the Imperial Guards are aggressive. Will they..." At this point, Ding Chou's face became more and more frightened, and he said tremblingly, "Will they target us?"

"Deal with us?" Liu Xunyi asked, "How to deal with us?"

"At the very least, they will disband the Tianji Pavilion. At the worst... they will arrest and punish us all."

"Haha..." Ding Chou's innocence made Liu Xunyi laugh out loud, and he joked, "What crime have we committed? Why are you laying us off? And why are you punishing us?"

"This... As the old saying goes, 'If the ruler wants his subjects to die, the subjects must die.' If the emperor wants to deal with us, he doesn't need a reason at all."

"Xiao Dingzi, if you can put one tenth of your imagination into practice, you will be able to pass the next test easily."

Faced with Liu Xunyi's teasing, Ding Chou believed it and asked in surprise, "Really?"

"Really? Why don't you go stand still?"

"That's good, but there are ferocious imperial guards outside. I... don't dare to go out..."

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Before Ding Chou finished speaking, there was a sudden knock on the tightly closed door. The worried Ding Chou was frightened so much that he trembled and ran to hide behind Liu Xunyi.

"Who is it?" Liu Xunyi smiled indifferently and rubbed Ding Chou's head with his hand to comfort him.

"It's me!" Zhao Yuan's gloomy and slightly hoarse voice came from outside the door.

Hearing this, Liu Xunyi's wandering thoughts suddenly froze, and he quickly stood up and walked towards the door.

However, before he could open the door, Zhao Yuan pushed it open and walked straight to the table and sat down.

"Greetings to the Marquis!"

As soon as they saw Zhao Yuan, Liu Xunyi and Ding Chou hurriedly knelt down and saluted.

"No need to be polite, get up!" Zhao Yuan waved his hand impatiently and ordered Ding Chou, "Little Ding, you go out first. I have something to discuss with Lord Liu."

"Yes."

Ding Chou timidly agreed, no longer caring about the "ferocious" imperial guards outside, and fled from the room.

"My Lord, I heard from Xiao Dingzi..."

"Xunyi, I treat you as my own daughter, and I will never break my promise to you." Zhao Yuan ignored Liu Xunyi's doubts and said straight to the point, "I hope you can be sincere and selfless to me."

Facing Zhao Yuan's uncharacteristic behavior, Liu Xunyi was confused and said hesitantly, "My Lord, what you mean is..." "Didn't you tell me that you have an unfulfilled wish?" Zhao Yuan said bluntly, "Don't you want to meet Zhao Xin and say goodbye to her in person? Today, I promise you!"

"What?" Liu Xunyi was stunned and spoke incoherently, "My Lord, promise me? How can you promise me? Could it be..."

"That's right! I used my life to guarantee you and begged the Prime Minister to make this happen. The Prime Minister just gave up his own dignity and pleaded with the Emperor amid the sarcasm and discussions of the Western Palace and the civil and military officials, and finally made this happen." Zhao Yuan said calmly, "Now, the Emperor has agreed to let you and Zhao Xin meet again and say goodbye to each other."

"This……"

Liu Xunyi never expected that his extravagant wish, which he was sure was impossible, would miraculously come true. He pinched his cheek hard in disbelief, and after feeling the pain, he couldn't help but smile, dance with excitement, cry and laugh, and couldn't speak for a long time.

"Although the emperor has agreed to let you meet, he still has three conditions."

"Not to mention three conditions, I would agree to all of them even if they were thirty or three hundred!" Liu Xunyi nodded repeatedly without hesitation.

"First, when you meet Zhao Xin, you are only allowed to say goodbye and not have any contact." Zhao Yuan looked at the overjoyed Liu Xunyi, feeling helpless and worried. "She is not only a princess of the Song Dynasty, but also a princess of Mongolia. The emperor is very kind to allow you to meet in private, but it also contains great dangers. You should understand."

"I understand!" Liu Xunyi said hurriedly, "I never thought that the emperor would let Xin'er and I meet at this critical moment."

"Xun Yi, I don't want to hide it from you. In fact, the emperor allowed you to meet as a conciliatory strategy. He was worried that if he kept suppressing you, he would force you to do something that would cause endless troubles." Zhao Yuan said frankly, "According to the original intention of the emperor and the West Palace, you should have died long ago. But the prime minister cherishes your talent and doesn't want you to die young, and he doesn't want the future Song Dynasty to lose a pillar. That's why he risked offending the West Palace and angering the emperor, and tried his best to mediate in the court, risking his life to save your life. Otherwise, how could the emperor and the West Palace accommodate you and take the risk of letting you meet Zhao Xin? Therefore, you must understand the prime minister's difficulties, and don't let the court down!"

"Prime Minister, your kindness is great. I will remember it!"

"Xun Yi, we used our own lives to save yours. We hope you can repay our kindness and not act on impulse. You know, if something goes wrong this time, you won't be the only one to die."

"Yes!" Liu Xunyi readily agreed, "I just want to say goodbye to Xin'er in person. I will never do anything to embarrass the Prime Minister and the Marquis."

"Very good! I believe you!" Zhao Yuan stared at the righteous Liu Xunyi, and after a short silence, he got back to the point and continued, "The emperor's second condition is that since Zhao Xin has a misunderstanding of you, you should just take advantage of her and make her give up on you completely. You must not prove your innocence in front of her, so as to avoid rekindling old feelings and causing complications."

"This……"

"Xun Yi, you should understand that the emperor wants you to meet for farewell, not to reminisce about the past." Zhao Yuan emphasized, "The emperor hopes that through this meeting, Zhao Xin will willingly marry to Mongolia, rather than change her mind at the last minute."

Seeing Liu Xunyi's bitter expression, Zhao Yuan changed the subject and reminded her, "You already know that the marriage between Song and Meng is a foregone conclusion, and no one can change it. In this case, why do you let Zhao Xin miss you and add to her sadness? If you really love her, why don't you let her go and start a new life? The emperor has promised that as long as you can understand the overall situation and take the overall situation into consideration, he will personally grant you a good marriage in the future. Xunyi, this is a great honor, you must not be confused in your temper."

"I understand..." Liu Xunyi was in great pain, but had to agree reluctantly, "I... won't prove my innocence in front of Xin'er. I will just play along and make her... give up on me completely..."

"Your tolerance is not for others, but for Zhao Xin!" Zhao Yuan comforted, "If you can do this, Zhao Xin will be grateful to you for the rest of her life."

Liu Xunyi nodded vaguely and said sadly, "I wonder what the emperor's third condition is?"

"The emperor's third condition is that your meeting must be under heavy guard to prevent you..." Zhao Yuan didn't finish his words, but the meaning was self-evident.

"It's my duty." Liu Xunyi smiled weakly, "Your Majesty is worried that I will take Xin'er away. This is human nature..."

"I am very pleased that you can understand the emperor's good intentions." After saying this, Zhao Yuan hesitated and repeated his words, hesitating, "In addition to the heavy guards, you and Zhao Xin need someone to monitor you when you meet, in case of any accidents."

"Unexpected event?" Liu Xunyi could no longer bear it and became angry. "Is the emperor worried that I will hurt Xin'er? Why is he monitoring us? Why is he preparing for unexpected events? I..."

"Xun Yi, the emperor has shown great favor by allowing you to meet. You have no choice." Zhao Yuan said sternly, "If you don't agree, you will never see Zhao Xin again."

"This……"

"The people who are watching you are this Marquis, Lord Jia, Lord Qian, and the young prince." Zhao Yuan's tone slowed down and he whispered, "This Marquis knows that you want to meet Zhao Xin alone, but the emperor's order cannot be disobeyed. Just now, this Marquis has discussed with the young prince, Lord Jia, and Lord Qian. Except for Lord Qian, everyone else is willing to provide you with a relatively private environment. Lord Qian couldn't beat us, so he had to compromise in the end."

Liu Xunyi's eyes lit up, and he asked suspiciously, "What the Marquis means is..."

"You and Zhao Xin will meet in my study, which I will separate with a screen. You will say goodbye inside, and we will...watch from outside." Zhao Yuan said cautiously, "Although we can't see each other, we can still hear your voices clearly, so you must be careful with your words when talking to Zhao Xin, so as not to be caught by Lord Qian. I have done my best for you, and I hope you won't let me down."

"Thank you, Lord!" Liu Xunyi was moved and bowed to Zhao Yuanshen, "Lord, I will never forget your kindness!"

"Forget it!" Zhao Yuan slowly stood up and waved his hand, "I'm leaving now, you should get ready!"

"Prepare? Prepare for what?" Liu Xunyi was stunned, apparently not understanding what Zhao Yuan meant.

"Of course I'm preparing to meet Zhao Xin. Why? Do you want her to see you looking listless and slovenly?"

"Meet?" Liu Xunyi asked in astonishment, "When?"

"Zhao Xin is on the way and will arrive at Tianji Pavilion in half an hour." Zhao Yuan said with a smile, "The emperor will only give you one stick of incense for this meeting, so you should be on your own! Think clearly about what you should and shouldn't say, don't be confused, and... try not to leave any regrets."

After saying that, Zhao Yuan reached out and patted Liu Xunyi on the shoulder, then quickly left the room, leaving Liu Xunyi standing there alone in a trance, with a myriad of thoughts and mixed feelings, unable to extricate himself for a long time.

……

(End of this chapter)