Water towns always have a very gentle style, even if it is already cold winter according to the season. Even the most ordinary dwellings have a freehand charm against the backdrop of the night. The moon is very round, the moonlight is very soft, and the scenery in the distance is like splashed ink. In the small yard with a weeping willow in front of the door, the lights are bright.
There was a carriage parked in the yard, and by the light of the lights, one could see a pattern of flames on the dark carriage. Now the whole world knows what this pattern represents, and only that frightening yamen can use such a pattern.
Xiao Riding School
The yard is heavily guarded.
The same goes for the whole village.
The army is stationed there, a young but full of fighting spirit. They went all the way north from the distant Yunnan Province, and were transferred to the garrison in Gyeonggi Province. All the soldiers knew that being able to work in Gyeonggi-do meant becoming an elite member of the Black Banner Army.
This gets everyone excited.
These soldiers were all selected from Yunnan Dao and Yongzhou from bitter cold families. These families have all been favored by the Black Banner Army, and their loyalty to the Black Banner Army is far higher than soldiers recruited from other places. If it weren't for the Black Banner Army, their families would have already been destroyed.
Therefore, although they all knew that the trip was far and difficult, none of them resisted.
A young man in a moon-white gown walked slowly into the small courtyard, casually tossing a bleeding head to Xiaoqi School who was guarding the door. The Xiao cavalry school seemed to have been used to such things for a long time, he used the head without changing his expression, then turned and walked away.
Before long, the head will be buried anywhere.
The young man in the white gown was walking steadily, with one hand behind his back, holding a long sword like autumn water, the blade of the sword reflected a little bit of cold light under the moonlight.
With a creak, someone pushed the door out of the house.
"What number is it?"
asked the person who had come out of the house.
The young man in the white gown shook his head: "I didn't remember."
The people who came out of the room couldn't help laughing, thinking that only such a proud swordsman would have such an attitude. If he hadn't been accompanied by this young swordsman along the way, maybe something unexpected happened. From the moment he received the lord's order, he knew that his journey would never be safe.
"Thanks."
He said.
"Your Majesty Wei is polite, this is what the prince arranged for me to do, so there is no need for you to thank me."
"Mr. Xie."
Wei Xiting asked: "I heard that you went to the northwest, why did you suddenly appear in Yongzhou to join me?"
The young man called Mr. Xie is exactly Xie Fuyao.
"That was the prince's arrangement. His thoughts... who can guess? Mr. Yan and I first went to the northwest, and we had traveled a full thousand and one hundred miles. People from the Xiaoqi School chased us from behind. Let us go immediately Rush to Yongzhou. Then I will wait in Yongzhou, when I see you returning to Beijing, when will I meet you."
"My lord has a wonderful plan."
Wei Xiting sighed in admiration.
Xie Fuyao didn't answer, he was originally a cool-tempered person.
"Where is Mr. Yan?"
Wei Xiting asked.
"Outside the village, I just killed spies. If there are no accidents, there will be some big moves tonight. There are too many people who want to kill you, so there are too many quacks with good cultivation. "
"Hard."
Wei Xiting bowed his body slightly, and thanked him with a salute.
"Looks like you're worried?"
Xie Fuyao asked a question.
Wei Xiting nodded, without the slightest concealment: "I'm afraid of death... I've reached my age, and I've finally achieved some achievement status, and I'm about to have an even greater achievement status. Wouldn't it be a pity to die like this? ?So I'm really worried, there are only Mr. Yan Qing and you, I'm afraid I'm a little thin."
"The prince is not worried, so you don't need to worry."
Xie Fuyao sat down at the door, pointed to the inside of the room: "It's late at night, and I have to go early in the morning, go to bed early. If someone can pass me into this room, even if you worry about it, it's useless."
Wei Xiting smiled.
He turned around and paused: "Do you know why the lord chose me?"
he asks.
Xie Fuyao was silent for a while and then replied: "Because if you see a line, you will run along it."
"Ha ha."
Wei Xiting laughed loudly: "Even if the lord didn't explain it clearly, even if everyone involved in this world is guessing, but I'm sure there are no more than three people who can really guess what the lord is thinking. One is Sanjin Hou Wuyi, and the other is Dugu Wenxiu, the other one is me."
Xie Fuyao turned his head to look at him: "Because Dugu also guessed it, that's why you keep encountering dangers?"
Wei Xiting's smile gradually disappeared, but there was no expression of resentment: "He is very smart, really smart."
Xie Fuyao didn't know what mood Wei Xiting was in when he said this.
He didn't want to guess either.
…
…
Chang'an City
Changchun Garden
There are many single courtyards in the garden, and the architectural styles of these small courtyards are almost the same. Fang Jie chose the three-story building closest to the lotus pond to live in, instead of living in the Qionglu, which was once the favorite residence of Emperor Tianyou of the Sui Dynasty. But the wooden building and the dome are the two closest residences in a straight line.
Therefore, Luo Weiran lives in the Qionglu.
For his woman, this is a bit embarrassing. Because it was her other man who used to live here.
"came back?"
The woman asked with a smile, putting down the clothes she was mending. After so many years, she is still as gentle as water. Although there are already many fine wrinkles on her face, when she smiles, there is also a vicissitudes of life between the corners of her brows. However, she is still beautiful, in Luo Weiran's eyes, she is always beautiful.
"came back."
Luo Weiran sat down and poured a cup of hot tea.
No matter when he comes back, the tea in the teapot is still hot. Just this kind of heart, not just any woman can do it. In particular, she was once a queen. In this small courtyard, she refused the service of all the servants and did everything by herself.
She didn't know when he would come back, but she knew that if a hard-working man came back without a sip of hot tea, it was a woman who did not do well, very badly.
"The outside of the garden is not flat."
Luo Weiran said: "Recently, at least six groups of people have tried to come in."
The woman's face changed slightly, and she wanted to ask, but she didn't.
"Don't worry, she'll be fine."
Luo Weiran knew who she was worried about, the daughter who had always refused to live with them. Before Fang Jie left, he asked her to live in Changchun Garden, but she refused. Now in the Tai Chi Palace, only her yard still has some human atmosphere.
"No matter who is doing something behind the scenes, they will not hurt her first."
Luo Weiran explained: "After all, she is the eldest princess of the Sui Dynasty, and many people need her status. No matter who wants to overthrow Fang Jie, the first thing to do after success is to push the eldest princess out and stand in front of everyone. In front of her. Before this, she will not be in any danger. Besides... Dean Zhou is also in the Tai Chi Palace."
The woman nodded.
"Would you like to sleep?"
she asked.
"I'm going to go around there."
Luo Weiran got up: "Be back soon."
He walked out of the room and walked to the bottom of the three-story wooden building by the lotus pond.
The window opened when he arrived, and Sang Sasha, who was holding the child, stood at the window and nodded slightly to him.
Luo Weiran said: "Another group of people tried to come in just now, and I killed them all. This building is surrounded by people arranged by Fang Jie, including a few seniors from Yiqiguan. No matter who those people invite, It is not easy to get close to this wooden building. Besides, this is just Fang Jieming's superficial arrangement. I don't even know what else he has prepared in the dark. You just need to rest in peace. matter, I will block it."
"Thanks."
Thank you Sang Sasha.
Luo Weiran nodded, turned around and walked back.
In the dark, several people quietly returned to their positions and watched Luo Weiran leave.
Outside Changchun Garden
Two old men in Taoist robes patrolled back and forth, and then waved. A group of Xiaoqi school came quickly from the dark place, and carried away all the corpses scattered outside the garden. Someone fetched water to wipe off the blood on the bluestone slab. By tomorrow morning, no one knew that many people had died here.
A hundred meters away from here, a person watched all this in the shadows, shook his head helplessly, then turned and left.
…
…
East of the city
Confucius Temple
There are Confucius Temples in every city, and the people enshrined in the Confucius Temple in each city may be different. It's as if land is enshrined on a certain street in every city, it seems to be just a tradition that is reluctant to lose. This Confucius Temple is already very dilapidated, and no one has cleaned it for many years.
When Dugu Wenxiu walked in, he couldn't help wrinkling, the heavy dusty smell made him a little uncomfortable.
He walked into the lobby, then walked towards the east wall.
The east wall is mottled and mottled, and most of the wall skin has fallen off.
Then, the wall cracked a crack. The crack grew bigger and bigger, and soon it became a small door that could allow one person to go in and out. Dugu Wenxiu bent down and walked in, her face becoming more and more serious. The one who came out of the door to greet him was a somewhat silly-looking dwarf, who was only taller than Dugu Wenxiu's waist, and could only giggle.
Dugu Wenxiu knows that walking into this dilapidated place and this small door is the closest to the truth. He walked in, and maybe there was no going back.
"Come inside, Mr. Dugu is the first outsider to enter this small door in the past few decades."
The dwarf has a strange voice, like a eunuch.
decades
The dwarf, who couldn't tell his age, had been a gatekeeper here for decades.
Along a very deep and dark road, Dugu Wenxiu walked to the deepest point guided by the dim butter lamp in the dwarf's hand.
suddenly see the light.
Who would have thought that there was such a secret room in a Confucius Temple that looked so dilapidated that no one would doubt that it would collapse in the next moment? Moreover, this is a secret room that is luxuriously decorated to the point of shock.
There was only one light in the secret room, but it was as bright as day.
Because the four walls of this house are actually made of pure silver. On the four corners of the house, there are night pearls inlaid. An oil lamp makes the room almost without any darkness, even the shadows are so faint.
"There are no secrets here."
When the people sitting in the room saw Dugu Wenxiu walking in, they all got up. The person in the lead walked towards Dugu Wenxiu with a smile, and opened his arms: "Welcome, Master Dugu. As Chou San said just now, you are the first outsider to walk in here in decades. But... as long as you walk in, You are no longer an outsider."
His face was full of smiles, as warm as a spring breeze.