Zongren Mansion.
The setting sun was dyed on the golden dragon and the seal, expanding little by little, slowly moving up the cornices and horns, and finally reaching the ridge beast on the roof, bright red as blood. Situ Jin pushed open the red lacquered door of the Zongren Mansion for Xia Houlin, revealing the dark interior.
"I'm waiting for you here, the government office is about to release the key, you hurry up." Situ said.
Xia Houlin nodded and stepped over the threshold. Situ Jin stood under the setting sun, watching him sink into the darkness step by step.
Zhu Xia sat in the cell facing the wall. She was wearing a white prison uniform and her long hair was draped over her shoulders. She looked from a distance like an abandoned female ghost. Xiahou Lin walked over, knelt outside the fence, and put the Yanling knife on the ground.
"You're here." Zhu Xia sighed faintly, as if he already knew the outcome of today.
"Yes, I'm here." Xia Houlin whispered.
"Did the factory minister send you to kill me?"
"No, I came by myself." Xia Houlin lowered his eyes and said, "I don't trust you. When Empress Dowager Li was not out of the cabinet, you were her personal maid. You have been together for many years, and your love and righteousness are very important. What the Empress Dowager knows You are also very clear about the secrets of the overlord, I'm sorry, I have to kill you."
Zhu Xia was stunned, and after a while, he giggled, "Love and righteousness... Yes, I accompany the empress, from the young lady in the boudoir to the talented person in the Ganxi 5th Institute, I watched the empress climb to the top step by step, She became the most honorable woman in the Forbidden City. But she lied to me in the end. She said that she would let the factory officials live, and she said that she would not let me be a widow. But later, when the incense at Guangling Temple was to invite the emperor to enter the urn, the factory officials would It's the turtle in the urn! She wants to kill the factory officials, but she doesn't have any life left!"
Xia Houlin looked at her quietly.
Zhu Xia stood up slowly, and walked to the fence like a puppet, looking at the empty darkness, "But is the factory minister real? What kind of relationship is it, it's all a lie. He gave me rouge, cared about me and took care of me. They all lied to me. He just wanted to find out the truth from me. They all know the truth. Only I was confused and couldn't figure out the truth. Really love me." She looked down at Xia Houlin and smiled sadly, "You say, am I right?"
Xia Houlin looked at Zhu Xia. In the dim candlelight, her eyes were full of light, sad and sad. He didn't know how to answer, Shen Jue owed her, it was a fact.
Xiahou Rin was silent for a while, and said, "I have no intention of defending the Governor, I just want you to remember that it is Xia Hou Rin who killed you. You go to King Yama and don't sue the wrong person, the Governor never ordered you to be killed. , I, Xiahou Lin, made up my own mind."
Zhu Xia laughed sarcastically, "Oh? Aren't you afraid of retribution? If you want to carry his debts, aren't you afraid that the devil will come to take you!"
"Miss Zhu Xia," Xia Houlin looked down at his palm covered with fine scars and calluses, which had been sharpened with a knife for many years, "people like us who walk at night will sooner or later go to hell. I have already done it. Prepare, I will pay for the Lord's sin, and I will bear the Lord's retribution. I can no longer control what is right or wrong. People who walk at night only ask what they like, whether they are right or wrong."
"Why do you treat him like this? Is it because of your friendship when you were young?" Zhu Xia pressed his forehead against the fence and looked at Xia Houlin, "You are as stupid as I am... Brother Xiahou, he is just taking advantage of you, he Treat you well, because you are outstanding, and you will be able to block the sword for him in the future."
"Miss Zhu Xia, you don't understand, he is someone else's hell, but my bliss." Xiahou Lin did not want to say more, picked up the goose ling knife, stood up from the ground, and pushed open the prison door, "Girl, the time has come, Time to hit the road."
Zhu Xia looked straight at Xia Houlin, suddenly understood something, and said softly: "You are like me, do you love him too?"
Xia Houlin didn't speak.
Zhu Xia laughed, "I guessed it right. Yes, who doesn't love someone like him? When I saw him for the first time, he was walking down the street with a mighty group of people, but he was the most conspicuous. , the crow blue regimental leader can't hide his brilliance, like walking down from the horizon. If I want to tell you, all the concubines in the Forbidden City who claim to be the concubine of the gods are no match for him."
She really likes him! In such a huge palace, he is the only one who treats her best. Her family only regarded her as a cash cow, and nine out of ten letters were asking for money. The masters only regarded her as a slave and a servant, the empress dowager, and for her, she was also a high-ranking master, and she could not overdo it at all. Only him, he and she, they are two lonely people in the deep palace. She thought they could warm each other, but who could have guessed that she never entered his heart.
She looked at Xia Houlin with tears in her eyes, "Look, you are a man, but you love him too."
"What does it feel like to like someone?" Xia Houlin asked her.
Zhu Xia tilted his head and said with a smile: "It's probably a feeling of joy. I always feel that I have suffered so much and suffered so many injuries in this life, all because of meeting him. Meeting him, the pain is not bitter, the injury is not painful, Happy all my life.”
This time Xia Houlin was silent for a long time. He has always been unable to tell the difference between relatives and lovers. Situ Jin said that liking is warm, and Zhu Xia said that it is joy, but isn't there such a feeling when staying with relatives? Who the hell is Shen Jueyu? He thought that he had tasted this joy too, but he was different. He felt that he not only suffered for a lifetime, he must have suffered for a lot of life before he could meet a good person like Shen Jue.
He held down his heart, and his heart was beating in the cavity. There was a shadow of a mournful youth hidden there, which was his inseparable treasure.
He suddenly understood that Shen Jueyu was a relative and a lover. He loves him, so he wants to be relatives with him, never parting in this life. At that moment, he suddenly tasted the taste of love. It was his first time in 24 years. His heart was sore and itchy.
Zhu Xia smiled bleakly, "It's a pity that I met the wrong person. There is a knife in my joy. I swallowed it, and it was my own death."
Xia Houlin calmed down and said in a low voice, "You are a good girl. I hope that in the next life, you will not see the wrong person again."
She lowered her head and wiped her tears, "Kill me, Brother Xiahou. You are right, you can't believe me. After all, Niangniang is my master. If I live, I will definitely seek justice for Niangniang. Kill me. , it's all over."
Xia Houlin said nothing, lowered his eyelashes and slowly drew the knife, the blade reflecting the candlelight, flickering uncertainly in the dark cell. Xia Houlin said: "Girl, it's a good journey."
Zhu Xia laughed miserably, "Has the goddess already gone?"
"Well, I left half an hour ago."
"Okay, if I walk faster, maybe I can catch up with the empress." Zhu Xia straightened her face, put her messy hair behind her ears, took a deep breath, and knelt straight facing Xiahou. body, lift your neck and close your eyes. The lights framed her eyebrows, and at that moment, she suddenly had a thrilling beauty.
Xia Houlin raised the knife in both hands, and their shadows were reflected on the wall. One person raised the knife and the other knelt. After that, the knife shadow flashed, the red blood splashed on the stone wall, and the woman's head rolled to the ground. The ray of light flickered in the light, like a delicate puppet.
He stared at Zhu Xia's head for a while, then withdrew his knife and left the cell. He walked out of the clan mansion covered in blood. Situ Jin stood waiting for him under the setting sun. He walked over silently, and Situ Jin lent his cloak to he.
"How are you going to tell the Governor?" Situ said sincerely, "Because of Mr. Dai, the Governor may not agree to kill her."
"But I have to kill." Xiahou Lin held the goose ling knife on his waist and looked up at the sky, the red sun was sinking in the west, the setting sun was like blood, and the sky was blood red, like a killing field that had just fought, "Do you remember? What did Xu Ruoyu say when he sued the overseer?"
Situ Jin recalled: "On the crime, when five horses divide the corpse, throw the corpse in the market, expose the corpse for a hundred days, and the dog will devour its flesh."
"The corpse is exposed, and the dog eats its flesh," Xia Houlin said. "It's my mother's death."
Situ Jin was stunned for a while. He remembered that assassin. Many years ago, he and her fought in the palace. At that time, he was seventeen years old. Although he was young, he could be regarded as a master of the Snowstorm Knife. But when he faced the monster-like assassin, he seemed like a slaughtered chicken, with little power to fight back.
Situ Jin understood that seeing his mother corpse on the street would never be forgotten in his entire life. This man named Xia Houlin had a deep scar in his heart, and he would never let his last dearest love repeat the mistakes of Garuda.
For this reason, even if he destroys himself, he will not hesitate.
Xia Houtong went to the Shen residence to ask if Shen Jue was there, and Lian Xiang said that Shen Jue had entered the palace. Also, the little emperor hadn't explained it yet, so Shen Jue had to go to comfort him. The sky was dark, the moon showed a faint shadow, and the branches of the dead tree were reflected in the sky, like cracks spreading on celadon. Every household has rested, the shops on the street are closed, and even the stray dogs have returned to their dens. Xia Houlin walked for a while on the empty street, thinking about Shen Jue.
Shen Jue was so busy all year round that his feet didn't touch the ground. Some people around him didn't have a rest. If the emperor could go to the leopard room to play, he had to sit in the supervisor of ceremonies to criticize him. Xia Houluo remembered Shen Jue's dejected appearance when he left Dai's house. Others could take a break when they were sad and sad, but Shen Jue couldn't. He had to put on a light smile and go to the palace to deal with all kinds of troubles. people.
Xia Houlin felt bad for him, but there was no way. He only had a knife and could only kill. For the rest, he couldn't help him.
Xia Houlin went to the East Factory to inquire about Jialan's news. The secretary said that he had not found any suspicious people, and Chiyan and Tang Shiqi had no new news. Someone did see someone who looked like Chi Yan in Pingliang Mansion, but that was the news before Chi Yan disappeared. Tang Shiqi was even more invisible, and a spy from Tang Sect sent a letter saying that Tang Shi Qi had never returned to Tang Sect.
"To be honest, the land in Shuobei is very desolate, with snow all over the place. If he survives a blizzard on the mountain, it would be a bodhisattva's manifestation." The secretary said embarrassedly.
Xia Houlin nodded and said he understood. He understands what the secretary means, but in fact he doesn't hold out much hope, just not reconciled. Having been tense for the past few days, he felt tired, turned around and left, and went straight home.
He did not buy servants and lived alone. In the yard with three entrances and three exits, only the main room for receiving guests and the back room for sleeping have their doors open, and the rest of the rooms are locked. The weather is cold, and there is a desolate air in the huge yard, and there is no smell of fireworks. He was too lazy to cook, so he took a cold shower on the edge of the well, put his clothes on his shoulders, and went back to the house to sleep half naked.
Just after opening the door, I lit the lanterns on the top, and the dizzy lights came on, illuminating a figure lying on the table of the Eight Immortals.
It's Shen Jue.
He fell asleep, pillowed on his arm, and dragged the Liuyun cloak behind him without removing it. When did this guy come? Didn't you go back to the palace? Xia Houlin thought he would rest in the palace, but unexpectedly ran out again. Xia Houlin sat beside him and looked down at him.
He must be very tired, and his face is slightly haggard. The usually pale face is now more like a paper ice sculpture, and there is no blood.
Xiahou Lin sighed, loosened his bun, slapped him onto the bed, untied the gold button on his collar, took off his cloak, untied his belt again, and took off his tuxedo and silk trousers. Shen Jue dazedly opened his eyes and closed them again. Xia Houlin helped him take off his soap boots, pushed him inside, covered the quilt, tucked the gap around his neck to prevent the air from leaking, then went to blow out the candle and went to bed.
The curtains of the bed were pulled down, and the inside of the canopy bed became dark, and there was no light at all, as if surrounded on all sides, a very small world was formed. In this world, there were only him and Shen Jue. Xia Houlin opened his eyes and got used to it for a while before he could vaguely see the undulating outline of Shen Jue. He was fast asleep, his head turned inward, his arms were next to Xia Houlin, and through a thin layer of silk, Xia Houlin could feel his warm and delicate skin.
This is also very good, Xia Houlin thought, he didn't cross the line or cross the line, he accompanied him, and in the blink of an eye, his life was over. Two big men, even if they are together, can't have babies, it seems a little strange to hug each other all day long. With an identity like Shen Jue's, it's easy to fall into trouble. It's better to be like this, he is by his side in the name of a servant, and also stays with him.
He closed his eyes, satisfied. The breath of the night quietly permeated, with a little bit of cool sweetness, he was also sleepy, his breathing slowly calmed down, and he was about to fall asleep. The person next to him suddenly bullied his body and approached him, his cold hand touched his waist and slowly hugged him.
Xia Houlin opened his eyes in surprise.
"Just give me a hug." Shen Jue's voice was hoarse, revealing deep exhaustion.
Xia Houlin hugged him back and patted him on the back. He watched him quietly in the dark, he thought it didn't matter, young master, you are my last relative, I will protect you no matter what.
Shen Jue's face was next to his shoulder, and he heard Shen Jue's low voice: "A-Lian, I'm so miserable."
Xia Houlin lowered his head and touched his forehead, "Young master, don't worry, it's me. We are half of each other, so it won't be so hard."