The coldest time has passed, the sky is getting warmer, and occasionally you can hear birds chirping. Dai Shengyan was very playful, and took Xie Jinglan and Xiahou Rin around the city. The school was set up in Confucius Temple today, in Stone Town tomorrow, and in Wuyi Lane the day after.
Xie Jinglan has never been out of the gate since he was a child. He has not been to the rare Qingming suburbs for a few times, and he has no part in setting lanterns along the river during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Now being led around by Dai Shengyan, and seeing the lakes and mountains of Jinling in just a few days, the haze in my heart was swept away, and my mood was brighter.
With Dai Shengyan protecting her, and Xia Houlin's constant giggling by his side, Xie Jinglan became much more cheerful. Dai Shengyan was very pleased when he saw it.
Having said that, Xia Houlin is really poisonous. Xie Jinglan suddenly realized the day before yesterday that he started shaking his legs when he was reading and writing. Xia Houlin was not serious like that.
As for Xiahou Lin, Dai Shengyan's move was exactly what he wanted. His butt was born to have a grudge against the bench, and he could never stay there. As soon as he sat down, he was thirsty and urinating, and then disappeared directly behind him.
Rao Shi Dai Shengyan's good temperament couldn't bear it anymore, so he said helplessly: "Xiao Rong, you have to give me some face. I have already boasted about this in Haikou. I have frequently received letters from friends these days, congratulating me on my happiness. I got a prodigy and said that I want to read your article, what do you want me to do?"
"I can't catch people's eyes with my dog-crawling words. Otherwise, if you send the young master's article, it will be said that I wrote it. After a while, you will say 'it's an hour, and it's not necessarily better', and then Write "Shang Zhongyong" for everyone to see, and I won't have to pretend to be a prodigy anymore."
Dai Shengyan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said, "Yes, yes, you've made up your mind, I'll do it."
Dai Shengyan took the two to the Chasing Moon Tower today. The Chasing Moon Tower is very high, looking up, houses and streets are dotted, surrounded by towering city walls, and farther away are the mountains of dark and mist shrouded in dark clouds. Although Xie Jinglan had never been to Mount Tai, at this moment, he also had the feeling of "climbing Mount Tai and making the world small".
However, Chaiyuelou was facing the street, in the center of the most prosperous market. There was a lot of people talking, and the merchants and pawns were rubbing shoulders. Xie Jinglan frowned and said, "This place is noisy, how can I study quietly?"
Dai Shengyan asked back: "Today we are talking about 'national style'. How can I know the national style without visiting the market?"
Xie Jinglan thought with a sullen face, didn't this old man really want to play outside by himself, and he was embarrassed to leave his apprentice alone
Not very happy to accept Dai Shengyan's theory, he just wanted Xiahou Rui to sharpen his ink pen, when he turned his head and saw that the stool was already empty.
Alas, forget it, he has no hope for Xia Houlin anymore.
As noon approached, Dai Shengyan had finished speaking. The two sat for a while, drank a pot of tea, and before Xia Houlin appeared, Dai Shengyan shook his head and said, "It seems that Xiaolin has lost interest in the old man's ghost stories."
Xie Jinglan bit the bullet and helped Xia Houlin speak: "He is playful and active by nature, don't blame him sir."
"Hahaha, it's natural. It's a pity, the story I'm going to tell for my teacher today is a hundred times more exciting than before. It's his regret that Xiaolin doesn't listen."
Xie Jinglan became interested: "Oh?"
Dai Shengyan touched his beard, but did not rush to talk about what happened to him, but asked:
"Jinglan, have you ever heard of 'Aesculus Garan'?"
The leaves shook for a long time, leaving only the bare branches around. In the shadow of the branches, the blue roof tiles are stacked one upon another, looking from a distance like the fish scales on the back of a grouper. Xia Houlin was accustomed to walking on high places. He hung on the bucket arch and swayed, and then ran and jumped between the roof tiles. Occasionally passers-by saw Xia Houlin's monkey-like figure and wanted to reprimand him, but Xia Houlin had disappeared under the roof tiles in a blink of an eye. between the horse walls.
Xia Houlin was tired from climbing, so he climbed an old locust tree, took out the cakes in his arms, and was ready to rest.
There is a yard under the locust tree, and the bare and dense branches are horizontally above the yard. There was only one small tile-roofed house in the yard, the windows and doors were closed, and it seemed that no one lived there.
Just as he was putting two mouthfuls in his mouth, Chaimen was pushed open by one person. The visitor was wearing a black thong. He stepped on the shadow of the locust tree branches on the ground and stopped in the middle of the yard. Xiahou Lin could only see his back, which was embroidered with flying fish with fangs and claws, eyes like copper bells, and fangs were fully visible.
Dongchang Fanzi? Xia Houlin was suspicious.
The man looked around and said to the air, "The father-in-law has an order to kill Xie Bingfeng. Once he sees the head, he will give him three hundred taels of gold."
The three words "Xie Bingfeng" sounded like a thunder in Xia Houlin's ear, the cake stuck in his throat, he almost coughed, he covered his mouth hard and slowly swallowed the cake.
A black robe flashed under the eaves, and Xia Houlin heard a strange voice, like a poisonous snake spitting letters, and like a knife sawing the strings of a piano, hoarse and unpleasant: "The rule of Jialan is to form a good relationship first, and then get a good result."
Galan! Xia Houlin was suddenly startled.
"Three hundred taels is not a small number. How does Father-in-law know that you will succeed?"
"We are Asura evil ghosts, butcher knives in the hands of the Buddha. The evil ghosts take their lives. Who can escape? You don't believe in gods and Buddhas, so you should believe in ghosts."
"Pay a deposit of one hundred taels first, and if you succeed, give another two hundred taels."
"Can you bargain like this when you go to the temple to pray?"
Fanzi sneered: "Do you really think you are a Buddha? It is your blessing that your father-in-law finds you to do things. You have already been targeted by Jin Yiwei, and if Dongchang is there to help, it is hard to guarantee that you can still be as free as you are today. ."
The man in black made a soothing gesture and said, "I never said that I am a Buddha. The Buddha of Garan is only the abbot. His name is the Buddha of Heart Slaying. We are all ghosts driven by him." He evoked a mocking smile, He continued, "You and I know exactly who Jin Yiwei caught. Your Dongchang's ability is probably not as good as Jin Yiwei's."
Fanzi's expression changed, and he snorted coldly, "Okay, call your Buddha out and talk to me."
The man in black shook his head and smiled and said, "The abbot is so high, how can he be contaminated with the dust of the world? My time is limited. I count three times. If the sale can't be done, I'm leaving."
Without waiting for Fanzi to speak, the man in black opened his thin lips and counted the first number: "One."
The corners of Fanzi's mouth were slightly pressed, his expression angrily.
The man in black slowly counted for a second: "Two."
Fanzi pressed the hand on the handle of the knife and moved, as if to speak.
"Three." The man in black sighed, "I'm sorry."
"Wait." Fanzi said, "Tomorrow at three o'clock at noon, come to the East City Gate, and the three hundred taels of gold will be placed in the coffin out of the city."
The man in black smiled and said, "Jalan heard your wish."
As soon as the words fell, a strong wind suddenly blew, and all the cakes in Xia Houlin's arms were blown over, and the cake crumbs blew all over his face. Xiahou Lin was shocked, stood up and climbed up, Fanzi shouted, and threw iron claws at Xia Houlin.
Xia Houlin couldn't dodge in time, and was grabbed by the iron claws on his left shoulder. In an instant, the sharp claws scratched the flesh and blood, and the blood rushed out immediately, which was painful. Fanzi pulled the rope back, Xia Houlin instantly vacated his body, and fell to the ground like a broken pocket.
He turned to look at the man in black. The man was standing firmly under the eaves, with a hood covering his head and face, only showing a pale chin, and he had no intention of shooting at all.
Fear overwhelmed his heart, as if frosty hairs were growing along his back, and there was only one word in Xia Houlin's mind: "escape"!
At that moment, he suddenly understood what it meant to be an assassin. It's not a knife and a knife, it's not chasing after the soul, but it is like a shadow with death.
Struggling to stand up, but unable to break free from the shackles of the iron claws, he pulled out the embroidered spring knife and walked towards Xia Houlin. Xia Houlin gritted his teeth, raised his right hand, and a sharp arrow shot out of his sleeve.
Suddenly, a short blade as thin as a cicada's wing and as bright as water came from behind, first cutting off the sleeve arrow, and then heading straight towards Xia Houlin's chest.
The short blade pierced the flesh of Xia Houlin's chest, and he clearly felt the cold temperature of the blade tip, and warm blood gurgled out. However, the blade did not go any further, instead retracting the hilt.
Xia Houlin obeyed like a liar, collapsed on the ground while holding the handle of the knife in his chest, biting his tongue and spat out a few mouthfuls of blood, stretched his neck and stared at him, and pretended to be dead.
"I'm making you laugh, this is a kid from Garan, I'm afraid he was stealing cakes here and happened to bump into our business." The man in black smiled apologetically, "But the rules are iron, I have already dealt with him, I don't know Your Excellency Are you satisfied?"
"Jia Lan is really a good family method. I can do it myself, but I'm still a little baby with no hair. Of course I'm satisfied, I'm very satisfied." Fanzipi smiled but looked at him. There were crumbs of pastry all over the floor, and there was indeed no thief who overheard and brought cakes, but this matter was very important, he thought about it for a moment, and said, "If this kind of thing happens, this business is fine, you don't have to do it tomorrow. waited."
The man in black nodded.
Fanzi pushed open the door and left, Xia Houlin waited for a while, and then got up from the ground after confirming that the person had really left.
The man in black pulled down his hood, revealing a handsome face.
Qiuye looked at Xia Houlin with a sad face, and said, "You unlucky child, let me tell you what to do with you?"
Xiahou said weakly, "I didn't mean to..."
Qiuye took Xiahou Lin back to the house, bandaged his wound, and instructed carefully: "You know what happened today, don't let a third party know about it. You broke a big thing, and Jialan lost three hundred taels of gold. The abbot originally wanted to repair the temple on the mountain and improve the food and accommodation for everyone. If he wants to know this, he will definitely tie you back to the mountain and get whipped."
Speaking of what happened just now, Xia Houlin struggled to sit up and said, "Brother Qiu, do you want to kill Xie Bingfeng?"
Qiuye glanced at Xia Houlin, that glance was not as gentle as usual, but implied inhuman sternness, making Xia Houlin swallow the rest of the words back in his throat.
"Xiao Rong, I thought you didn't look straight, but you still have the scale in your heart. You are as arrogant as your mother, and you have to be respectful to the rules of Jialan. Remember, don't ask about anything, and there is no prohibition on killing. ."
Xia Houlin lowered his head and replied, "...Yes."
Qiuye continued to help him wrap the bandage, changed the conversation, and said, "My Qiushui is also passed down from the family, you think about it, if you take me as your teacher, I will pass it on to you as well."
Xia Houlin: "..."
———————————————
"Aesculus garan? Isn't that the chaotic party wanted by the government? I heard that Jinyiwei caught a lot of galan assassins a few days ago."
Dai Shengyan shook his head and said with a smile: "Those are all small fish and shrimps who steal other people's names and make troubles. Galan assassins are hidden in the world of rivers and lakes, and even in palaces. How can they be so easy to catch? "
Xie Jinglan saw that Dai Shengyan was eloquent, and said knowingly, "Have you seen the Galan Assassin?"
Dai Shengyan's eyes widened, looking out the window of the towering buildings: "That was twelve years ago."
Twelve years ago, Dai Shengyan was sent to the prefect of Jiangzhou. As usual, after taking office, he had to visit the vassal king who was in Jiangzhou. The vassal king in Jiangzhou was a well-known prodigal son. At that time, the attitude of judging people was even more serious than today. Dutiful sons, virtuous grandsons, prodigies and talents gathered everywhere, and every time it was rumored that in which township, which county, which mountain valley, there was a romantic figure.
And this vassal king is famous all over the world for his ability to eat, drink and play, and it is not easy to stand out among many famous people.
He was too absurd, the palace was a forest of wine and meat, and even the spittoon was the mouthpiece of a beauty, so much so that the people called him Prince Joy, and the original title was gradually forgotten.
Dai Shengyan has been in officialdom for many years, and he is an old man who has seen great winds and waves.
It's just that what surprised him was not the luxury of King Joy, but that this man was extremely fat, like a small mountain of meat. When Dai Shengyan stepped forward to make a toast, he unknowingly kept three steps away from him. Stand firm, Dai Shengyan is about to become a joke that was crushed into meat patties just one day after taking office.
After three rounds of drinking, the King of Joy spoke first: "I heard that Mr. Dai has been living in widowhood for many years, and he must have never found a satisfactory person. Xiao Wang here is full of beautiful women, fat and thin, what do you want? What kind of thing, if you like someone, take it away directly, it is a little bit of Xiao Wang's heart."
Dai Shengyan said: "Although the deceased wife passed away early, the official misses him all the time, and the relics of the deceased wife never leave the body. Your highness's kindness has been accepted by the official, but the official has no intention to continue, I hope your highness will forgive me."
King Joy obviously didn't believe Dai Shengyan's words, so he whispered, "There is no one else here. You don't need to see outsiders. Your wife died young, I'm afraid you haven't tasted the true taste of a woman."
The King of Joy smiled mysteriously, two balls of meat piled up on his cheeks, and his originally small eyes narrowed into two slits that seemed to be drawn with the tip of a needle. Dai Shengyan's heart skipped a beat, feeling that something bad was about to happen.
The sound of music floated up, and two rows of singers filed in with iron pipa in hand. The singer was only wearing a tulle, and the iron pipa just blocked the important parts in front of her, revealing her tender breasts.
The singers danced lightly, and the flowing water of fairy music generally flowed from their crystal-like, almost transparent fingers. These singers have grown up in the palace since childhood, and are specially guided by teachers. They frown and smile, and their every move is just right and charming.
Dai Shengyan almost failed to poke his eyes.
He was tired of the intrigues in the courtroom, so he asked himself to go out, and others thought he was kicked by a donkey in his head. He prides himself on being arrogant, laughing at others who can't see through it.
Unexpectedly, a King of Joy would make him regret it, so he could not wait to go back to the house immediately, and continue to fight and scold the old immortals in Beijing day after day.
Blindfolded, he said bitterly, "Your Highness doesn't know anything, the lower official has passed the age of no confusion, his health is not as good as before, and he has long been unable to... personnel matters."
In order to keep his reputation, he had no choice but to resort to this, hoping that the King of Joy would let him go.
The King of Joy suddenly realized, showing an expression of pity and regret, and said: "How could this be, Xiao Wang didn't know that this was the case and violated the taboo of adults, adults must not blame Xiao Wang. Hurry up, you all go down, don't Dangling in front of adults!"
Dai Shengyan breathed a sigh of relief, handed over and wanted to say goodbye, the King of Joy said again, "Although I can't taste the grace of a beautiful person, there are other ways."
"... Let's forget it for a lower official. Self-cultivation is a kind of fun."
King Xile just pretended that Dai Shengyan was still holding an air, and refused to show his true temperament, clapped his hands and said, "Bring this king's fragrant wine here!"
The servant brought a jug of wine, and King Joy poured a glass for Dai Shengyan himself. As soon as the jug was taken out of the stopper, the mellow fragrance overflowed in an instant, and just smelling the fragrance of the wine and wearing the holy words was already drunk.
Can't help holding up the glass, Dai Shengyan sighed: "It's really good wine, I don't know what this wine is called?"
"The name of this wine is 'Bone Bone Fragrance'." The King of Joy smiled proudly, "Do you know how this King brewed such a mellow and delicious wine?"
"Dare to ask your Highness."
"Ordinary wines are brewed in spring, but this king's wine must be brewed in winter. In winter, it's cold and the wine can't be fermented, so this king orders people to warm the wine with their own bodies. This person is also very particular about the selection, and the age is seventeen or eighteen. Stunning beauty, she sleeps with a wine jar every day. The wine produced in this way is fragrant and mellow, adults may wish to taste it carefully to see if there is a girl's body fragrance."
Dai Shengyan was stunned when he heard this, unable to bear it any longer, and said, "Your Highness is very kind, the lower official has no blessings to bear, the lower official is unwell, I can't accompany you for a long time, farewell!"
"Hey! Okay, why are you leaving now?"
Dai Shengyan got up and walked away, Fang stood up, and in a trance, he seemed to see a blurry figure in the curtain in front of him. At a glance, he couldn't see everything clearly, only the cold eyes were deeply etched in his heart.
He was taken aback and looked again, but there was nothing there.
King Joy's noisy voice sounded again: "Sir Dai, this king still has some treasures that I haven't shown you. It's really boring to have fun alone. The former prefect, Mo Zhinian, was a saw-billed gourd who couldn't beat a fart with eight sticks. What are you doing? Are you so confused?"
And "baby"!
Dai Shengyan was frightened when he heard it, and hurried out.
King Joy chased after him out of breath. Unexpectedly, he, a big fat man who was struggling to sit, ran out quite fast with small steps. Dai Shengyan picked up his robe and ran outside, for fear of being caught up by him.
The night was dark, and the lights flickered everywhere. A line of servants chased after the two, and kept shouting: "My lord, slow down!" At the end of the queue, someone wanted to shout a few times, but was suddenly stabbed behind him, and turned around in confusion. The arc flashed before his eyes, and there was a bloodstain in his throat. The lantern in his hand fell to the ground with a clatter, the candle fell out, and a fire ignited faintly.
When the few people in front heard the sound, Fang turned around, and an afterimage quickly passed by the side of them, but for a moment, they were silent. The servant at the front was still chasing after him tirelessly, until he was out of breath and couldn't catch up. He braced his waist for a few breaths, and suddenly found that the people behind him were gone.
"Huh, where is the person?" The surroundings were silent and pitch-dark, with only a light in his hand, he leaned against the cold brick wall, and suddenly felt a little apprehensive in his heart.
After taking a few steps back, there was a sudden pain in his chest. He lowered his head and saw an inch of blood-stained sharp blade sticking out from his chest.
A few hundred paces ahead, King Joy wiped the sweat from his forehead and scolded, "You really don't know what to do!"
"Why do you have to fight so hard, Your Highness? The next official will submit a letter tomorrow to resign. Can't you return to your hometown to farm!" Dai Shengyan said angrily.
"You! You! This king has prepared a feast, but you don't appreciate it! Where do you put this king's face?"
"Where do you like to put it, don't put it on Xiaguan anyway!"
King Xile was so angry that his eyes darkened, and he patted his chest several times before he recovered: "That's it, I don't care about stupid people like you." He turned his head and said to the servant who was chasing after him, "Come here, help this king back to the mansion, oh, this king is exhausted."
The servant stood in the shadow on the other side of the wall and did not move for a while.
The King of Joy was angry and said, "Can't understand people's words? Come and help me quickly!"
The man laughed lowly, he pulled something out of his waist, and the icy light flashed over, and Dai Shengyan and King Joy subconsciously raised their hands to block it.
what is this? so bright.
Is it...
Dai Shengyan reacted abruptly, it was a knife, that man was drawing a knife!
He is not a servant of the palace, but an assassin!