The Iron Masked King? Isn’t he already——dead?

I still clearly remember that when I was captured by Butu and General Ba in the Yunling camp, General Tiba once mentioned that among the eight heavenly kings, only the Iron Masked King died young. And Huang Tianba and Xie Houqi took action in the school field.

Among the totems of the Eight-faced King around, only the totem of the Iron-faced King has no one under it.

This lineage has declined with the untimely death of the Iron Masked King and the distant marriage of the Queen Mother.

But now, Aunt Gui told me that she was going to find the Iron Masked King?!

I just felt incredible and thought she was confused, so I said: "Aunt Gui, are you mistaken? Hasn't the Iron Mask King passed away long ago? How are you going to find him?"

Aunt Gui only smiled bitterly and shook her head.

I suddenly noticed something and lowered my voice: "Could it be that he - he's not dead?!"

Aunt Gui looked around, took a step forward and came to me, and said softly: "No one can tell clearly whether I am dead or alive."

"What?"

"He is not dead, but can't be found."

My heart skipped a beat, and I looked at her with wide eyes. Aunt Gui sighed and said, "Back then, the Queen Mother came all the way south from Shengjing to marry into the royal family. The Iron Mask King was deeply in love with her brother and sister, so he came to see her off in person.

After delivering it, he did not return to Shengjing, but planned to travel around the Central Plains."

Looking back, there were intermarriages between Shengjing and the royal family back then, and the relationship was obviously harmonious. It is not surprising that the Iron Masked King stayed in the Central Plains to play.

I hurriedly said: "Then he is——"

Aunt Gui said: "But once he left, there was no news. After half a year, the Queen Mother realized something was wrong and sent people back to Shengjing to inquire. People there also said that the Iron Masked King had not returned to Shengjing. The Queen Mother asked

The Supreme Emperor searched all over the Central Plains. Who knows, this person seemed to have suddenly disappeared from the world. No matter how many people were sent or how hard he searched, he could not be found."

I was stunned.

"How could... be like this?"

"When it comes to encountering a bad guy, with martial arts skills like the Iron Mask King, how can an ordinary person be his opponent? But if he is still here, how come he hasn't come back after so many years."

"Then, is there no news at all? No one knows where he last appeared?"

Aunt Gui glanced at me: "No, I don't know."

"..."

"Although the Supreme Emperor had been comforting the Queen Mother before, everyone secretly said that they were afraid that the Iron Mask King would never come back. But the Queen Mother never believed it and always said that her brother was still there and would come back one day.

This time she made a big move, and her unfinished worries were all except—except for that matter, there was only this one."

The Queen Mother's unsolved worries - Huang Tianba, no matter how he is now, at least the Queen Mother knows that he is still alive and well, but the uncertainty about the life or death of the Iron Mask King really makes her unable to let go.

I also didn’t expect that the legendary Iron Mask King had such a bizarre experience. No wonder Butu used the word “seems” when talking about his untimely death at that time, because there was no way to confirm him.

Whether he is really dead, but if a person never appears again in these years, naturally he can only use "death" to end his last connection in this world.

Thinking back to the Queen Mother who lived alone in the Linshui Pagoda over the years and knelt in front of the Buddhist niche to pray, I felt sad again. She had been worried about her in this life, but her relatives who were connected by blood were all like this.

Lost.

She is so miserable.

Thinking of this, my eyes felt a little hot, but the matter of Grandma Gui was still important at the moment. I asked, "Where are you going to look for me when you go out?"

Aunt Gui glanced at me and said, "Let's walk around and have a look."

"Then, mama, please wait for me."

After I finished speaking, I turned around and walked into the house, where I moved all my things. Fortunately, the little eunuchs were careful and didn't put them randomly. The layout was almost the same as when I lived in Jingren Palace. I quickly found my body.

My own box. I have been trapped in the palace for these years, and I have received my stipend and salary. During festivals and the birth of princes and daughters, I have received generous rewards. I have also saved a lot of money, so I picked up a bag of silver and went out and stuffed it into her hand.<

/p>

Aunt Gui hurriedly wanted to refuse: "Sir, this is not possible, this -"

"Mommy!" I pinched her hard and looked at her intently. She met my firm gaze, was silent for a moment, and then no longer refused, only the corners of her eyes were red: "Thank you."

I felt that her mood was a little low, maybe because of the separation, so I held her hand tighter and said, "Mommy, don't thank me. I still want to ask Mom for something."

"Oh? What?"

"Mammy has been with the Queen Mother for so long, so there must be some items that the Queen Mother has used. I would like to ask for one to take with me."

"That's it..." Nanny Gui thought for a while, then lowered her head, rolled up her sleeves, wiped a string of sandalwood beads from her wrist, and said, "The Queen Mother has packed away all other things. The Queen Mother has always been carrying this string of beads.

, it was given to me before I went to reject the horse. I'm afraid that by that time she would have already——" At this point, grandma's voice choked up and she said softly: "If you don't dislike it, just accept this."

I hurriedly said: "Thank you, grandma, for your love."

Aunt Gui looked at me again, sighed, and said softly: "Sir, take care of yourself."

I think she looked at me with a particularly solemn look today, maybe because of the mood of separation. I wanted to say something, but I heard a eunuch urging me outside. She saluted me, then turned and left.
p>

I was in a daze, as if I felt that the little warmth in my life had left again. A gust of wind blew, with a bleak autumn feeling, blowing the red leaves of a tree coolly. I turned around and watched the red leaves dancing gracefully.

In a trance, I seemed to see the fire in Guigong decades ago.

Perhaps more than one woman was swallowed up.

And what will the fire in front of me devour?

I kept standing under the tree, and the wind chilled me. After a while, Shui Xiu and Guan'er ran in from outside. As soon as they saw me, they immediately said: "It's really here!"

I looked back at them: "What?"

Kou'er came over to me and said, "Sir, the Queen asked you to go back to the past."

Knowing that I was moving to Yihua Palace, I didn’t even mention going back to Jingren Palace.

I lowered my eyelids lightly without saying anything, then turned around and walked out. After passing the tall red walls, I walked into the familiar house of Jingren Palace. It was cool outside, but there was a warm salty smell floating inside.

Fragrant.

There was a slow-cooking dish of soup on the table, and Chang Qing sat quietly at the table.

Her face didn't look too good, maybe because she had been working too hard these days, her chin was thin and pointed, and her long black eyelashes hung down on her eyes, making her whole person look a little gloomy and melancholy.

"Wei Chen pays homage to the Queen."

I went over to salute her, and she quickly asked Kuo'er to help me up, and said softly: "Come and have this meal with me."

I paused for a moment: "Wei Chen doesn't dare."

"Okay." She glared at me slightly angrily, then asked Kuan'er and Shuixiu to come over and help me sit down. I could only apologize and sit down sideways, and she asked Kuan'er to fill the bowl first.

Give me hot soup.

The bowl is steaming, and the milky white soup is slightly rippling. You can see the crispy stewed veal shank inside, as well as the almost melted Codonopsis pilosula and Angelica sinensis. Unlike me who is often injured and sick, Chang Qing although she looks fine.

Yes, but her health is actually not very good, so her meals have been mainly nourishing for a long time. It is easier for me to eat with her.

I took a sip carefully. The soup was very rich and fragrant.

Chang Qing was also holding a bowl of soup. Just as she was about to drink it, she suddenly frowned again. It seemed that the taste of the soup did not satisfy her, although I thought the soup was very good. However, she did not say anything and only held the spoon.

While stroking the oil foam on the edge of the soup bowl, he said softly: "Have you been to Yihua Temple?"

"...Hmm."

"Is everything okay?"

"...Hmm."

After listening to my obedient, almost numb answer, she raised her head, glanced at me, and sighed softly: "Qingying!"

I also glanced at her, but seemed to have no strength to look at her again, so I lowered my head and looked at myself reflected in the soup.

Somewhat blurry, some dazed.

She looked at me for a while, then sighed and said, "Forget it."

"..."

"Now that the matter has come to this, you should think more about yourself."

After saying that, he took a spoonful of soup and prepared to drink it, but as soon as he lowered his head, he frowned again.

At this moment, Eunuch Yu’s voice came from outside——

"The Emperor has arrived!"

Everyone in the room was shocked when I heard this. I put down the soup bowl and stood up and took two steps back. Chang Qing glanced at me and said nothing, then stood up to greet me. Pei Yuanhao had already stepped in and smiled.

Said: "The Queen's place smells so good."

"I pay my respects to the Emperor."

"Get up."

Pei Yuanhao stretched out his hand to help her stand up, looked up at me again, then looked at the dishes on the table, and said with a smile: "Okay, you are eating private dishes again."

Chang Qing smiled and said: "Your Majesty said this, but I have wronged my concubine."
To be continued...