In late winter, a heavy snow fell in the capital.
In the imperial study room, Gu Yanqing knelt on the cold gold bricks, and the jade tablets under his knees made his bones ache. He lowered his eyes and could see the white breath of his breath drifting away in the candlelight.
"The guilty minister Gu Yanqing formed a clique for personal gain and plotted to murder the prince. According to the law, he should be punished by Ling Chi." The eunuch's high-pitched voice echoed in the hall, "However, in memory of his many years of service to the government, the Holy Spirit gave him a glass of poisonous wine and left his body intact."
Gu Yanqing slowly raised his head.
The young emperor was sitting upright behind the dragon case, wearing a bright yellow dragon robe, and nine dragon crown beads hanging down, covering the eyes that he was so familiar with.
Three months ago, these eyes would whisper in his ear, "Yan Qing, I only want you." Three months ago, this person would hold his hand and write "Wish to be the same person" on rice paper.
"Your Majesty, the poisonous wine is too bitter." Gu Yanqing suddenly smiled and said in a very soft voice, "Can I have another drink?"
The whole hall was filled with dead silence.
The new emperor Shen Zhao did not look at him, but raised his hand to signal the servant at his side to come forward. The waiter was holding a tray, with only a white jade cup placed on the red silk. The poison in the cup was glowing with a faint blue light.
Gu Yanqing looked at the cup, and the smile at the corner of his mouth slowly disappeared. This cup was a congratulatory gift from Shen Zhao on the day he ascended the throne. The cup body is engraved with "Chang Le Wei Young", which he personally carved for three days and nights.
"So, Your Majesty has it all figured out from beginning to end." Gu Yanqing finally asked the question, "Really?"
Shen Zhao finally raised his eyes to look at him. The young emperor's face was cold and his amber eyes were calm.
"Yes."
One word, crisp and clear.
Gu Yanqing suddenly smiled. Laughter echoed in the hall, with a bit of desolation. He reached out to pick up the white jade cup, raised his head and drank it all. The poisonous wine enters the throat, and it is indeed so bitter that it makes one want to cry.
"Shen Zhao," he said in a voice that only two people could hear when he fell down, "you better be really cruel. Otherwise, I will never let you go."
The chamberlain stepped forward and breathed: "Your Majesty, the guilty minister Gu Yanqing has been executed."
Shen Zhao sat on the dragon chair with an expressionless face. Until everyone in the temple retreats, until the candles burn out, until the darkness engulfs him.
He slowly stepped off the dragon chair, squatted down, and pulled the white jade cup out of Gu Yanqing's cold hands.
Under the cup, there is a line of small words engraved——
"My lord, I am also willing."
Shen Zhao's fingertips rubbed the words, and a drop of water fell into the remaining venom in the cup.
"Here comes someone." His voice was unusually steady. "Informed by my decree, the guilty minister Gu Yanqing was executed and his body was exposed for three days to serve as a warning. His body... Was fed to the dogs."
The eunuch looked up in shock, but swallowed his words when he saw the emperor's eyes.
What kind of look is that? It's like crushing all the pain in the world and putting it back together again into an impeccable sneer.
That night, it snowed for the second time in Beijing.
No one knew that the "corpse" that was dragged out of the palace opened its eyes at three o'clock.
No one knew that the young emperor, who sat alone in the imperial study until dawn, put a white jade cup under his pillow with his own hands.
No one knows that seven years ago, when Gu Yanqing was still the fifteen-year-old prince's young master, he once said something to the thin seventh prince——
"Your Highness, if you want to survive in this palace, you have to be more ruthless than everyone else. Including you."
This story begins seven years ago.
Concept: a story
