Yongzhou.
Left Front Guard General's Mansion.
No one was allowed to approach the three-story wooden building even when the general Luo Yao was not around. This rule is so strict... Even his only son, Luo Wen, is not allowed to walk in easily. There are thirty-six silver-armored warriors guarding the outside of the wooden building, and they will not obey anyone except Luo Yao's orders.
These thirty-six people, even if Luo Yao was not around, they still devoted themselves to their duties.
When Luo Wen was walking along the small lake, he glanced at the tall building from afar and shook his head.
For some reason, he always felt that he was an outsider in this mansion.
His father never showed even the slightest concern for him, let alone said heart-warming words. From childhood to adulthood, Luo Yao always had a cold appearance in his impression. When he was young, he would act like a baby like other children, but every time Luo Yao would push him away and tell him that a man should not do this and should be self-reliant.
He once asked about his mother, but his mother just said that his father was too busy with military affairs.
For a long time, Luo Yao has never had the warmth of the word "father".
His mother told him that it was because his father doted on his son too much that his elder brother Luo Wu made a big mistake, because of that incident, the Luo family almost collapsed.
However, what does Luo Wu's mistake have to do with me
Luo Wen always wanted to ask Luo Yao, but unfortunately he didn't have the courage.
"Uncle Zhong..."
Luo Wen sat down on the stone bench by the small lake, looked at the tall building on the opposite bank and laughed at himself: "You said that in this compound, even the entire Yongzhou City, and even the entire Pingshang Road, no one but father himself Can I go in and out of that building freely? I remember when I was a child, I ran in and wanted to show off to my father the picture of hunting animals in autumn that I had copied. slapped me across the face."
Standing behind him was a thin but straight-backed old man who looked to be at least sixty or seventy years old. His hair was already grey, and his face was covered with chiseled wrinkles. It is very deep, just like the saline-alkali land in the southwestern border that has been blown by the wind for decades.
"In that building, the young master had better not go there. The young master had better not disobey what the general said."
The old man replied blankly, his tone as cold as the pure steel sword box tied behind his back.
"Uncle Zhong, can't you say something warm?"
"Worthy words are mostly lies."
Zhong Bo said: "This old slave can't speak beautiful words, but only tells the truth."
"Then tell me... for a fifth-rank cavalry general, it's worth working for my father to greet him five hundred miles away? Father doesn't know what kind of festival I had with that man named Fang Jie in Chang'an City. Your Majesty rushing to post a junior's cold ass?"
"No one else can guess what the general is doing. But over the years, the general has not done anything wrong."
"yes… "
Luo Wen sneered: "Even if he killed his own son, no one would say that he did something wrong... In such a family, I don't know when I will be killed for violating some of his regulations."
"The young master has made many mistakes since he was a child."
Zhong Bo replied coldly.
"I did it on purpose."
Luo Wen looked back at Uncle Zhong, and after a moment of silence, he said, "Ever since I knew that Eldest Brother was beaten to death by his own hands, I have been very scared... With such a father, who wouldn't be afraid? Eldest Brother did something wrong, Even if he deserves to die, does he have to do it himself? If he wants to show his loyalty to the Yang family, why not send eldest brother to the Ministry of Punishment?"
"The general saved the lives of hundreds of people in the Luo family."
Zhong Bo glanced at him, and his tone was still calm and flat: "If it weren't for that, there would be no young master."
"snort… "
Luo Wen snorted, picked up a piece of gravel and threw it into the lake: "Uncle Zhong, you have been taking care of me since I was a child. He knows that I am closest to you. But why did he not allow me to go to Chang'an for three years?" You follow me? I knelt down and begged, but he turned and left without even looking."
"You are the son of a great general, no one in Chang'an dares to do anything to you."
"Don't think I don't know!"
Luo Wen growled in a low voice: "He actually didn't care about me from the beginning to the end! Sending me to the Academy of Martial Arts was the time when the people from Yushitai united to impeach him most fiercely. He didn't take the case for defense, but sent me to Chang'an Is it really to temper me? I'm not stupid... Sending me to Chang'an Martial Arts Academy is actually the same as killing my elder brother. He just wants to keep his official title. Born in Luo's family, the biggest misfortune is that blood relatives are not as good as That duke's unicorn robe."
Zhongbo didn't speak.
Luo Wen sneered: "Why don't you defend him?"
Zhong Bo touched the cold sword box behind him and said, "I have always been by the young master's side."
Luo Wen's expression changed slightly, and then he smiled: "It turns out that you can also say heart-warming things."
"The young master is bitter, but the general is even more bitter."
Zhong Bo looked at the three-story stilt building on the other side, and after a moment of silence, he said in a sad tone: "Young master, when you really grow up, you will understand the difficulties of the general."
"unnecessary."
Luo Wen waved his hand: "I am Luo Wen, not just Luo Yao's son."
"The young master has hostility in his heart."
Zhongbo said: "It needs to be eliminated."
"How?"
Rowan asked.
Zhongbo said: "Young Master, just tell me."
"I want to kill."
Rowan said.
Zhong Bo paused and replied, "As long as it's not Fang Jie. He's an imperial envoy now, so he can't be killed."
Luo Wen got up and sneered: "Forget it...Although you have been by my side for nearly twenty years, you are my father's man after all."
At this moment, the housekeeper of the General's Mansion suddenly ran over out of breath: "Master... there are guests at the back door..."
Luo Wen's face changed suddenly, and a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes.
The small door in the backyard of the General's Mansion was never opened a few times, and only those special guests would go there. Luo Wen didn't dare to participate in Luo Yao's affairs, but it didn't mean he knew nothing about it.
"several?"
"one!"
"Let him go, just say that the general is not here!"
"yes."
"Wait!"
Luo Wen's expression kept changing, he was silent for a long time, and finally he was overcome by the curiosity in his heart: "Open the door, welcome to my study!"
…
…
Luo Yao's wife, Chu Shi, never bothered about Luo Yao's military affairs, and she didn't even care about the daily chores of the palace. She lived alone in a small courtyard all year round and rarely moved around, even when guests came to the General's Mansion, she would usually not go out. In her small courtyard, few people go in except her cronies and servants. Sometimes Luo Yao can't see her once a month.
The servants all said that Chu's temper was very weird, he couldn't hear the baby crying, and once he heard it, he would go crazy, so crazy that even Luo Yao didn't know him.
It is said that Luo Wen didn't have this problem after he was born, and he didn't know why he suddenly contracted this strange disease. Since then, she rarely went out, and that small courtyard was almost her whole world. When Luo Yao is not in the mansion, all matters up and down in the mansion are decided by the housekeeper. Ever since Luo Wen came back from the capital, there were some matters that could not be decided, and the steward went to ask him for instructions, and he was unwilling to enter Chu's house.
That small courtyard looks eerie and terrifying to outsiders.
There is a big locust tree in the small courtyard, which is rare in the south. And because it is unlucky to have a ghost character in the name, even people in the north will not grow this kind of thing in their yards. The pagoda tree in Chu's courtyard is not scary, what is scary is the doll of that tree.
The Chu family had people hang all kinds of dolls on the branches, making them very realistic. The eyes, nose, and mouth are complete, and the shape is no different from that of a baby the size of a full moon. Whenever there is a strong wind, the doll of Kazuki will swing back and forth, and it looks particularly scary at night, as if it is covered with ghosts and ghosts.
Not only that, the paintings hanging on the walls of Chu's house are also dolls, the paintings are exquisite and vivid.
The housekeeper's grandson is fifty-five years old, and he was once a member of Luo Yao's subordinates. When he pacified the Shang Kingdom, he lost his right arm and became a useless person. When attacking Yongzhou, he crossed the swamp, and he was bitten by some kind of insect on his leg. When he came out, the flesh on one foot was almost eaten away. Although he was cured later, the pain would be unbearable every cloudy day.
After Luo Yao guarded the southwest, he became the housekeeper of the General's Mansion. Over the years, the mansion has been well organized from top to bottom.
He has killed countless people in half his life, but he has never had a nightmare. He doesn't believe in ghosts and gods and is not afraid of demons, but he is only afraid of walking into Chu's gloomy courtyard. If it weren't for the fact that today's matter is really difficult to decide, he really doesn't want to walk in.
The people in this yard are very strange, not only the madam but also her four personal servant girls. These four people are her dowry maids, and they have been in Luo Mansion for decades. The youngest one is already fifty years old, and the oldest one is six years older than the Chu family. The names of the four of them are the four gentlemen of plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum. They are originally elegant and refined names, but they are all more sinister than ghosts.
Whenever the sun was high, the four of them would move up on small stools and sit in a row in the yard to bask in the sun. Everyone holds a doll in their arms, just like holding a kitten and puppy.
The movement of stroking the doll is very gentle, just like grooming a cat or dog.
Chunlan, Qiuju, Xiazhu, Dongmei, the four women did not talk when they sat together. The courtyard was so silent that even a needle could be heard falling. They seemed to be bodies without souls, sitting there mechanically stroking their bosoms. rag doll. His expression was dull and his eyes were dull.
"I need to see my wife."
Sun Zhe leaned over outside the door and spoke in a low voice, as if he was afraid of a ghost.
"Madam is asleep, please don't disturb me."
The oldest Chunlan replied with a cold tone.
"Please tell me, if it's not something really urgent, I wouldn't dare to disturb Madam's rest."
"What's up?"
Qiu Ju asked.
Sun Zhe hesitated for a while and replied: "Just tell Madam, the small door in the backyard has opened again. But the general is not at home, the young master opened the door."
As soon as this sentence was finished, the door of the room creaked and was pulled open from the inside.
Standing at the door, Mrs. Chu was wearing a casual attire, with her hair loose behind her head. She was a few years older than Luo Yao, but there were no wrinkles on her face. Her face was like Jing Moxuan's white paper, her eyebrows and eyes were all painted on, so she couldn't see any expression. She doesn't seem to be eroded by the years. People who see her for the first time will definitely feel that this woman is no more than thirty years old.
The body is still there, the appearance is still there.
The doll in my arms is always there.
"Where is the young master?"
"Meeting visitors in his study."
"Invite the guests to my place."
The Chu family said indifferently: "Then tell the young master, let him go and receive the military law of twenty lashes. No matter what the general explained, no one can break the rules. And... is there a new servant in the mansion?"
"there's a few."
"Have you seen any guests?"
"two."
"Send it to the backyard..."
Chu gave orders with a blank face, then turned and went back to the house.
"Backyard..."
Sun Zhe repeated it in a murmur, and when he thought of the methods of those wizards in the backyard, he felt chills in his heart. Over the past few years, at least a hundred servants have been sent into the backyard, and none of them have come out alive.