Chapter 38: Trapped in the Cage Again
Liu Yixuan was still clamoring to see Qinzong outside the palace gate, but saw his father Liu Anguo walking towards the Grand His Highness by two young eunuchs. When Liu Yixuan saw his father leaving the court, he ran to him and asked, "Father, the child is about to go to the palace to meet the emperor, why doesn't the foolish lord want to see me?"
Liu Anguo showed helplessness and sorrow, and took away the almost choked voice in the hall, grabbed Liu Yixuan's hand and whispered: "Xuan'er, stop talking nonsense, go quickly and go home with me."
"Go home? Why do you have to go home? Did the emperor change his mind? Doesn't Ling'er have to kiss you anymore?"
"This...this is not." Liu Anguo replied faintly.
"No? Then what are you going home? I can't save Ling'er, and I won't go back even if I die! No, I want to see the emperor!" As he said that, he was about to break into the hall.
Liu Anguo hurriedly grabbed his arm and cursed, "Bastard! You can also break into this hall?" He came over and persuaded him, "The Master doesn't want to see you now. If you force yourself into the hall, you have to be punished by Jingjia, and you have to be beheaded! Besides, if you go in like this, you can't save Ling'er, and you will cause even greater trouble! Xuan'er, listen to me, let's go back to the mansion first, and to save Ling'er, you have to make a long-term plan!" As he said that, he pulled Liu Yixuan out of the Meridian Gate.
Seeing that his father was angry, Liu Yixuan knew that he was afraid that he would be unable to persuade Qinzong to change his decision. He heard his father say he wanted to make a long-term plan, so he believed his father and planned to go home and make a careful plan with his father. At this time, Butler Liu, who was going home early, also came from the Prime Minister's Mansion and asked the servants to carry two sedan chairs. Seeing that Liu Anguo pulled Liu Yixuan out of the Meridian Gate, he called the sedan chairman over and carried the father and son back to the mansion.
When she got out of the sedan chair in the mansion, Mrs. Fan and a group of family members had been waiting at the door of the mansion. Mrs. Fan had not seen her son for many days. Now that such a thing happened, she would inevitably be frightened by the father and son. When she saw that the father and son came back safely, she hurriedly took her son into her arms and asked about her well-being.
The father and son entered the study room. Liu Anguoping left, leaving only the butler Liu Fu to take care of him. Liu Fu made a pot of good tea for Liu Anguo. Liu Anguo held the tea bowl while lowering his head to ponder. This made Liu Yixuan anxious for a moment because his father advised him at the gate of the mansion and said he would return to the mansion for a long time to make plans, but he didn't expect the old man to just lower his head to drink tea there. Liu Yixuan hurried over and asked, "Father, you persuaded me from the gate of the palace. Didn't you say that you should discuss how to save Ling'er? Do you have any good ideas? Tell me quickly to the child!"
Seeing that his son was so anxious, Liu Anguo knew that his feelings for Princess Ling'er were not ordinary, but how could he, a minister, openly violate the matters set by the emperor and the Supreme Emperor? Besides, Liu Anguo was loyal to Emperor Qinzong and firmly abide by the ethics of "the king is the leader of the minister, and the father is the leader of the son". As the saying goes, the king must die if the minister dies. Even if he has no choice but to bear this grievance for the sake of the country and the country. However, his son may not have the awareness of him at this moment. Faced with Liu Yixuan's question, Liu Anguo had to put down the tea bowl, frowned, and said:
"Xuan'er, I'm sorry for you for your father. I thought I could call you back to the capital to plead with the Queen Mother and keep the princess from marrying the Jin people as my wife. Who would have thought that Zhu Fan took the priest to Jinmingyuan in the west of the city to ask for the emperor's will, which made the Queen Mother have no choice. Alas! It seems that your fate with Ling'er has ended, so let's accept your fate!" After saying that, he shook his head and sighed.
After hearing this, Liu Yixuan felt cold. He was shocked by his father's attitude. He hurriedly asked, "Accept your fate? I heard it right? This is what you want to say to me, "Long-term plan"? Ling'er and I truly love each other, why should we accept our fate? Even if the Zhao family is about to perish, Ling'er is the wife of the Liu family, why should we be buried with you? I want Ling'er to marry a Jin country unless I die!"
"Why are you so stubborn? Now King Su is in the hands of the Jin people, and King Ji is surrounded by the Jin people. The future is uncertain. The Supreme Emperor has no choice but to agree to the Jin people to exchange for two sons. Besides, you and Princess Ling'er have not married, and the princess has not officially become the wife of our Liu family. I have already spoken to the emperor in front of the civil and military officials of the court, but the emperor is helpless and refuses to take back Cheng's life. What do you want me, the old man? I see the emperor's tone. Even if we father and son have taken this life, the emperor may not be willing to change his mind. After all, it is related to the ancestors and the country. For the sake of the country and the throne, he has to sacrifice a princess!"
What Liu Anguo said is the truth. No emperor wants to become the king of a devastated country. In order to protect his throne and to protect more family members, Qinzong could only make up his mind to marry his sister out. In addition, since his sister married a prince of the Jin Kingdom, it is also a match for the people of the world and civil and military officials.
However, Liu Yixuan was the one who knew the ending of the Northern Song Dynasty. He knew that all the Qinzong did was useless. The Jin people were already ready to destroy the Song Dynasty. It was a matter of time before Wanyan You took this opportunity to force Qinzong to marry his sister. One reason was that he was indeed greedy for Ling'er's beauty and wanted to take her for himself. The other was that he wanted to take the opportunity to humiliate Qinzong and the ministers of Song State, and then psychologically gain the pleasure that conquered people should have. However, Qinzong and the ministers still had a fantasy about the future, believing that as long as the Jin soldiers could stabilize for a while, and then mobilize the troops from the Central Plains to the capital, they would be able to successfully withstand the pressure of Jin soldiers' siege as last time. As long as the Jin soldiers were exhausted, they would naturally withdraw their troops, so that they might be immune to the tragedy of the country's demise.
After hearing his father's consolation for him, Liu Yixuan was completely desperate. He knew that his father had compromised and there was no possibility of relying on his father to rescue Ling'er, so he said with tears in his eyes: "Younger understands what you mean, but have you ever thought about Ling'er? She is just seventeen years old this year, and she is so simple and kind, but you asked her to marry a strange man she didn't know at all. And the Song and Jin countries are fighting. If Ling'er marrys, she still doesn't know what the prince of the Jin Kingdom will treat her? Is it too cruel for you to do this! I don't care what the country you are talking about, I just want Ling'er to be safe and happy! No, I must go into the palace to see Ling'er, and I will take Ling'er away!"
As Liu Yixuan said that, he turned around and ran out of the study room. Liu Anguo was so anxious that he asked the housekeeper to chase after him. Liu Fu followed him out of the study room and shouted to Liu Yixuan: "Young Master, what are you going to do? Then how can you get in the palace?"
This sentence reminded Liu Yixuan that the palace was indeed not something that ordinary people could enter casually, but Liu Yixuan suddenly remembered that when Qin Zong appointed him as the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard that day, he gave him a gold medal. He could enter and exit the big house with that gold medal. As long as he did not go in the main entrance, it would not attract too many people's attention. What he wanted to see most now was Ling'er. He didn't know what Ling'er was in now. If Ling'er knew that he was going to marry a Jin man, he didn't know what he would cry. Although it would take a big risk to break into the Forbidden Palace privately, Liu Yixuan could not control so much. If even Ling'er could not protect him, he felt that he would not have the need to exist in the Northern Song Dynasty.
Liu Yixuan hurriedly turned around and walked towards his room. Liu Fu quickly signaled for promotion. Two servants who made money followed behind. Liu Yixuan quickly walked into the room and found the bright gold medal in a box in the book case. When Qin Zong gave him it, he thought he would never need him, but today he had no choice but to use the gold medal to sneak into the palace.
"Young Master, what are you doing?" The promoted next to him saw that he hurriedly flipping through things, so he interrupted.
Liu Yixuan was not in the mood to talk to him. He just tucked the gold medal into his arms and got up and left the yard. But as soon as he arrived at the front yard, he saw Liu Anguo blocking the door with a group of servants. Liu Anguo asked, "What are you going to do?!"
"I'll do what I should do, don't worry about it!"
"Bastard! You are my son, why don't you care? Didn't you hear what I said to you in the study just now? No matter what you do now, you can't save Ling'er! Your fate with the princess is over, so stay at home honestly!"
"This is impossible. I have to see Ling'er!" As he said that, he was about to go to the horse shed to lead the horse, intending to escape from the mansion.
"You dare! Come on, arrest him for me, don't let him step out of the mansion!" Liu Anguo frowned and shouted to the servants next to him. The servants got the order and rushed towards Liu Yixuan. When Liu Yixuan saw his father trying to catch him, he hurriedly ran away. More than a dozen servants chased him in the yard. Liu Yixuan kicked and beat him when he saw someone like a mad dog, causing the servants to chase him and did not dare to get too close.
When the butler Liu Fu saw that his master was determined to catch his son, he secretly ordered several servants holding ropes. When Liu Yixuan was not paying attention, he threw away the rope covers behind his back and circled Liu Yixuan with a rope. Several servants who confronted Liu Yixuan saw that the master had been trapped by the rope, so he rushed up and pressed Liu Yixuan to the ground.
"Let me go, let me go! Why are you arresting me? Liu Anguo, you are a fool, I am not your son at all. You don't have to worry about me. Whether I die or live has nothing to do with you. Just let me go to see Ling'er, please!" Liu Yixuan was tied up by his servants. He was begging Liu Anguo with tears of pain in his eyes.
But Liu Anguo didn't care what his son was talking nonsense. When he saw everyone capturing him, he hurriedly ordered: "Tie him up and lock him in the backyard! Without my permission, no one should let him out!"
Chapter completed!