Qi Ning had already received the information earlier and knew that Linghu Xu and Zhuo Qingyang were classmates and good friends. They both came from the same school. He had previously thought about whether to use the relationship between Linghu Xu and Zhuo Qingyang to let them Xiangzhu was getting married this time, but he didn't want Linghu Xu to take the initiative to ask and said with a smile: "Are Mr. Xiang and Mr. Zhuo brothers?"
Linghu Xu asked, "Does the young Marquis know about this?" He sighed and said, "Yes, Senior Brother Zhuo and I came from the same school, and his talent is far better than mine. It's a pity that he is indifferent to fame and fortune and has never entered an official career. "
"Everyone has his own aspirations." Qi Ning said: "Mr. Zhuo only wants to spread knowledge, while Prime Minister wants to help the world. Although the paths are different, they lead to the same goal."
Linghu Xu's eyes flashed and he said with a smile: "The young Marquis' speech and behavior are really not like that of a young man."
Qi Ning sighed and said: "Master Xiang, to be honest, Mr. Zhuo... there has been no news for quite some time."
Qining did not publicize what happened at Qionglin Academy that night. Afterwards, the court got involved. Officials stated that Zhuo Qingyang was traveling far away, and Qionglin Academy has since been closed. However, Qining knew that Zhuo Qingyang was involved that night. If he suddenly disappears, even the imperial court may not know the news.
Zhuo Qingyang was seriously injured and disappeared without a trace, and all this indeed originated from the Ksitigarbha Scroll. Qining naturally knew about the Ksitigarbha Scroll and it was of great importance, so he did not tell anyone.
At this time, Linghu Xu mentioned Zhuo Qingyang, but Qi Ning dealt with it carefully. Although Linghu Xu was Zhuo Qingyang's senior brother, he was also the Prime Minister of Eastern Qi. Qi Ning had to be careful no matter when and where.
Linghu Xu frowned and asked, "No news?"
Qi Ning thought that since Linghu Xu knew about the Jinghua Book Club, he was very knowledgeable about the news. In the capital of Chu State, there would naturally be secret agents from the Eastern Qi Dynasty. They might not be unaware of the news about Zhuo Qingyang's disappearance. He nodded and said: "Mr. Zhuo He suddenly left the capital and traveled, but there is still no news.”
Linghu Xu smiled and said, "Senior brother loves to travel all over the world. He and I haven't exchanged letters for more than half a year." Then he asked, "How is Qionglin Academy doing now?"
"It has been closed." Qining said: "Mr. Travel, Qionglin Academy is leaderless, so...!"
Linghu Xu frowned and said, "That's not right." He stared at Qining and asked, "Little Marquis, tell me the truth, did something happen to my senior brother?"
Qi Ning hesitated for a moment and then said: "Why does the Prime Minister ask like this?"
"Senior brother and I correspond and understand each other very well." Linghu Xu sighed: "Qionglin Academy is more important to senior brother than his life. It would have been fine if he was young, but now he has put all his I focus all my energy on the academy, and I will never leave Qionglin Academy alone just to travel." Having said this, he stood up, went behind the screen, came out quickly, and handed Qining a letter, and Qining took it. When I saw the strange handwriting on the outside of the letter, I couldn't understand it, but I suddenly saw that it was the secret shadow calligraphy.
The secret shadow script was created by layman Yingping. The Ksitigarbha scroll was written with the secret shadow script. It was extremely difficult to identify. Qining was a little surprised when he saw the secret shadow script on it. He took out the letter from it, opened it and scanned it. At a glance, they were all written in secret shadow characters. He frowned and said, "Master Xiang, this...!"
Linghu Xu said: "This is the text used in the letters between me and my senior brother. Not many people know it, but he and I can understand it. This is the letter I received four months ago, and it is also the last time I received it from my senior brother. "A letter from me." He pondered for a moment before saying: "The tone of this letter is different from before. Senior brother is a person who is indifferent to fame and wealth. No matter what happens, he has always been stable. However, the wording of this letter is quite messy and seems to be a little distracted. Uneasy, there are many wrong words used in it, he is careful in doing things, and it is not unusual for such mistakes to occur."
Qining frowned and said, "What did you mention in this letter?"
Linghu Xu shook his head and said: "That's not true. Although my senior brother is good friends with me, he does not enter the official career and never likes to make friends with people in the officialdom. When I was an official in Qi State, I invited my senior brother to come out, but my senior brother not only refused, but also refused. He even stopped talking to me for two years. I managed to persuade him, so he continued to associate with me. When I exchanged letters with him, I never mentioned official matters, only some academic articles." He sighed and said: "In this letter, he only said that he would devote all his energy to Qionglin Academy for the rest of his life, and also said that he would write a book... But in the end, he said that if something unexpected happened to him and the book he wrote could not be completed, he would ask me Continuing it, I sent with this letter the eight volumes of his manuscript."
"Prime Minister, are you saying that your husband has a premonition that something will happen to him?" Qining asked with a frown.
Linghu Xu looked solemn and said: "My senior brother and I had a very good relationship when we were classmates. After we graduated, we have not lost contact for many years." He smiled faintly and said, "To tell you the truth, I exchanged letters with my senior brother back then. , some people in the court even slandered me for having connections with foreign countries." He waved his hands and said: "He is in Chu State, and I have always wanted to take care of him more, but knowing his nature, I can only know about him through letters, but this A letter was really weird. After I received it, I felt something was wrong and wanted to send someone to find out what it was about. However, if my senior brother found out that I sent someone to investigate secretly, given his temperament, the consequences would be disastrous, so I could only feel anxious. "
Qi Ning nodded slightly and said, "Sir, he is well-educated and arrogant. The prime minister sent someone to investigate. If he knew about it, he would naturally be unhappy."
"So the important reason for inviting the Marquis to come today is that I want to inquire about the Marquis." Linghu Xu said: "The Jinghua Book Club has spread all over the world. I am also a scholar and am very interested in it. I also know that Lord Marquis replaced Qionglin Academy in the battle, so naturally he has a very deep connection with his senior brothers." He smiled slightly and said: "Your Majesty and Your Majesty also studied under my senior brothers back then, so this connection is naturally inextricable."
Qi Ning nodded slightly, "I can understand why the prime minister is worried about your husband."
"Senior brother is definitely not traveling, he must have encountered some trouble." Linghu Xu looked solemn, "Little Marquis, did you notice anything when you were around senior brother?"
Qi Ning pondered for a moment, shook his head, and Linghu Xu sighed: "Senior brother can't express his emotions and anger, and it is extremely difficult to see through his mood." He smiled bitterly: "It's a pity that now that senior brother is gone, there are It will be difficult to continue this matter.”
"Is it difficult to continue?"
Linghu Xu pondered for a moment and then said: "Actually, this is not a big secret. Can Mr. Hou recognize the words on this letter?"
Qi Ning shook his head and said: "I don't know a word."
"It's no wonder." Linghuxu stroked his beard and said: "This is the word secret shadow. The clouds break through the moon's shadow, and the duckweed brings autumn. This word secret shadow was created by a sage named Yingping layman a hundred years ago. He knows this There are very few people with the secret shadow name. Yingping Jushi itself is a mystery, and it has been rumored that Yingping Jushi actually does not refer to one person, but to a group of people. This group of people has the same goals. Yingping Jushi is the common title of this group of people. The Secret Shadow Word was created by them and used to communicate with each other."
Qi Ning already knew the origin of the word "Secret Shadow" from Mr. Liao, the accountant of the Hou Mansion. He also knew a little bit about the rumors about layman Yingping.
"Back then we accidentally learned about the existence of Secret Shadow Words, and spent a lot of effort to obtain a piece of music score by layman Yingping." Linghu Xu stared at Qining and said slowly: "Senior brother did not enter the official career, of course because He is indifferent to fame and fortune, but there is an important reason that not many people in the world know."
"The Prime Minister is talking about...that piece of music?" Qi Ning asked.
Linghu Xu shook his head and said: "Although it has something to do with the music score, the real reason is that senior brother has always wanted to solve the mystery of layman Yingping. Master Yingping has always been a mysterious figure, and he can also be said to be unparalleled. Genius, at first, senior brother was only interested in Secret Shadow Words, but later he kept looking for clues about layman Ying Ping. I helped senior brother find the music score, and senior brother was very fascinated by that music score...!" After a pause, if there is any After thinking about it, he was silent for a moment and then continued: "Senior brother has studied the music score for many years and finally discovered that it is not a simple music score. It contains many secrets about layman Yingping...!"
Qi Ning vaguely guessed that the music score Linghu Xu was talking about was most likely the Ksitigarbha music score in his hand, and asked calmly: "Sir, have you unlocked the secret?"
Linghu Xu shook his head and said: "I have exchanged letters with him over the years, and most of them mentioned the secrets in the music score. Senior brother found out that layman Yingping should be one person, not a group of people, and in the music score, There seems to be the whereabouts of many of Lay Yingping’s works.”
Qi Ning was startled, and Linghu Xu continued: "The layman Yingping is a genius and has extraordinary attainments in chess, calligraphy and painting. Nowadays, only a few of his music scores have been handed down, but the world doesn't know about it. The layman Yingping wrote four volumes, divided into four volumes of heaven, earth, humans, and ghosts."
"Which music score mentioned this?" Qining asked in astonishment.
Linghu Xu nodded slightly: "Not only did he mention this, but he also revealed the location of these four volumes. But for a person like Master Yingping, even if there are clues revealed in the music score, it would be extremely difficult to unravel it, senior brother. I have known about the existence of the four volumes five or six years ago, but for many years, the mystery of their whereabouts has not been solved."
"What are the contents of those four volumes?" Qining asked, "Is it worth looking for?"
Linghu Xu smiled and said: "Does the young marquis know about the Hetu and Luoshu?" Without waiting for Qining's reply, he slowly said: ""Yi Xici" says: "The river makes the picture, Luo makes the book, and the sage follows it." This saint refers to the ancestor Fuxi. It is said that during the time of Fuxi, a dragon and horse appeared from the Yellow River, carrying the River Map on his back, and a divine turtle appeared from Luoshui, carrying the Luo Book on his back. Fuxi drew the Eight Diagrams based on the "map" and "book". King Wen of Zhou revealed the King Wen Bagua and the sixty-four hexagrams based on the Fuxi Bagua, and wrote the hexagrams respectively. This Hetu Luoshu is the source of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements, Bagua, Zhouyi, Liujia, Jiuxing, Fengshui, etc. That’s where it comes from.”
Qi Ning had also heard about Hetuluo Shu, but Hetuluo Shu was so profound. All he knew about it was scales and feathers. He asked, "What does the four volumes have to do with Hetuluo Shu?"
"According to what is said in the music score, the four volumes are also derived from Hetuluo Shu, but they have a different origin. Yingping layman spent his whole life studying Hetuluo Shu. Not only this, but also the people he made friends with at that time. They are all talented people with knowledge of heaven and earth. These people wrote four volumes with him. In the four volumes, they understood the cycle of heaven and earth, the past and future of humans and ghosts." Linghu Xu solemnly said: "The layman Yingping is proud of himself in the music score. The four volumes he wrote are comparable to King Wen’s Bagua!”