It's night, the lights of thousands of houses in Luoyan City are lit, and every family prepares for the festival of Xiayuan. The whole country of Yongguo takes black as the national color, corresponding to the water in the five virtues, and regards Xuanwu as the god of protecting the country. The Xiayuan Festival is the day when water officials relieve their misfortune, and it is also a festival to mourn the dead.
Today is the first day of October, and the lanterns are hung up in the palace. There are still fourteen days before the festival.
The royal family held a family banquet, saying it was a family banquet, and it was nothing more than four people: Queen Mother Jiang, Juicong, Prince Taki, and Geng Shu. The Empress Dowager Jiang is a distant relative of the Jiang family in Yuedi. In retrospect, she is Jiang Zhao's distant aunt. It is also because of this that Jiang Zhao was able to get acquainted with the royal family of Yong.
Juicy family members are not prosperous. Empress Dowager Jiang gave birth to two sons and a daughter. Prince Lang is also the elder brother of Juicong. After birth, he was frail and sickly, and died at the age of twenty-seven. The son should have died after his father died, but Juicang did not leave an heir in the world, so he had to be a brother and a younger brother, and Juicong succeeded him as King Yong.
When Juicang was still King Yong, he got married and married, and the queen's name was Jiang Qing. When he heard the name, Geng Shu didn't realize it yet, but when he contacted Empress Dowager Jiang, he immediately remembered it.
Just because Queen Jiang Qing is Mrs. Zhao, that is, Jiang Zhao's younger sister. It is a pity that Jiang Qing died of depression shortly after Juicang's death.
The second prince, Juicong, wanted to marry Jiang Zhao as his wife, but Jiang Zhao had already belonged in his heart, and it was not Geng Yuan who would not marry. In the end, Jiang Zhao left, Ju Cong married the daughter of the patriarch of the Feng Rong clan, and gave birth to the current prince of Yong Kingdom, the only heir to the royal family, Prince Taki.
Seven years ago, Prince Taki's mother also passed away.
Prince Taki lost his mother when he was young, and the favor of the royal family and the court was all in him. Ju Cong personally took up the responsibility of disciplining his only son. He was usually very strict, and even Prince Taki lived in the palace and was often very lonely.
Geng Shu was eating dinner, but he didn't hear anything. A few days before the case sitting next to Prince Taki, the two teenagers wore a jade pendant with radiance around their necks.
Empress Dowager Jiang saw it in her eyes and remembered a lot of things from that year, and sighed deeply.
"Your brother is here for the first time," Ju Cong ordered, "In these days, you should accompany him well, and you don't need to study."
Crown Prince Taki looked like he was about to cheer, but he held it back and replied respectfully and properly, "Yes, Father."
Geng Shu's movement of holding chopsticks stopped again, remembering that Jiang Heng did the same when he arrived in Xundong, his eyes suddenly turned red, and he couldn't stop crying.
"His Jade Jue and your Jade Jue were originally a pair." Juicong added, "With the Yin Jue, all military generals in the world must obey his orders and protect those who hold the Yang Jue."
Prince Taki said: "I finally saw it, it was God's will."
Geng Shu looked at the other empty case and was about to speak, when Juicong knew what he wanted to ask, and took the initiative to say, "Your sister-in-law has gone out in the evening to find Heng'er's whereabouts."
Prince Taki said: "Heng'er will be fine, brother, don't worry."
Juicong nodded and said to Geng Shu, "You can survive without danger, so can Heng'er. These days, don't think wildly."
The Empress Dowager Jiang sighed: "Why is Zhao'er giving up so much? Why is it so hard? If Luo Yan and two children came a year earlier, they wouldn't be able to..."
"Mother," Juicong said again, "Okay, don't talk about it, I finally calmed down, don't mention it."
Empress Dowager Jiang nodded.
Juicong didn't even ask Geng Shu's wishes, so he made his own decision and recognized him as his adopted son. Prince Taki did not reject this brother who was created out of thin air.
Geng Shu's mood was very complicated. After eating, he said solemnly, "I'm leaving."
Empress Dowager Jiang did not take offense at all, and said, "Go back and take a good rest. When Luoyan comes, everything will be fine. No one in the world can do anything to you."
Geng Shu originally wanted to leave, but after a second thought, he walked to the front of the hall, facing the position of Empress Dowager Jiang, Juicong and Crown Prince Taki, and Jue Ling who had left, knelt down and kowtowed three times.
Geng Shu whispered: "Thank you, thank you for your willingness to find Heng'er for me."
Empress Dowager Jiang's eyes turned red again. However, Geng Shu turned his head away, obviously not wanting to be seen by them, so he raised his hand and wiped it in front of his eyebrows, then turned and left in a hurry.
Ju Cong winked at his son, and Prince Taki put down the chopsticks and didn't eat, got up and went to accompany Geng Shu.
That night, Geng Shu was lying on the couch in the dormitory. This couch was more comfortable than any bed he had ever slept in before. The guards guarded outside the room and listened to his orders at any time.
"Brother." Prince Taki's uneasy voice came from outside.
Geng Shu didn't answer, he just quietly faced the wall, and Jiang Heng's shout echoed in his ears.
"Go! Go! Don't come!"
Geng Shu closed his eyes tightly, but what appeared in front of him was Jiang Heng who turned around before the avalanche approached, his lips parted, but no sound came out. On the wooden cart, unable to struggle, completely submerged.
Prince Taki came to sit by the couch, Geng Shu was in the moonlight, his shoulders kept heaving, and tears streamed from his closed eyes.
"You go," Geng Shu said, "go, you are not my brother, I don't know you... I don't know you... "
Geng Shu's voice kept trembling. Prince Taki didn't answer. He just sat on the couch in silence. Geng Shu sat up suddenly and shouted at him, "Go away! I don't know you!"
Prince Taki was startled by such a roar, stepped back a little, and looked at Geng Shu.
The moonlight shone on the jade pieces on their chests, and the two pieces of jade pieces reflected the warm brilliance. Prince Taki's overwhelmed eyes resembled Jiang Heng's.
After a while, Prince Taki removed the jade from his neck and handed it to Geng Shu.
"My uncle has a piece, and your father also has one. When the uncle died, he left it to my father, and my father gave it to me." Prince Taki said, "You put it together... two pieces of jade are combined into one, Make a wish to it, and the stars of heaven and earth will protect you and Heng'er. We will definitely find Heng'er."
Geng Shu replied, "No, take it."
Prince Taki still put Yujue on the pillow, stepped back a little, and left quickly.
Geng Shu looked at the jade pendant. After the footsteps of Prince Taki got farther away, Geng Shu took off the yin pendant and put it together with the prince's yang pendant.
The stars and jade are one, and the two yin and yang are like a Tai Chi wheel.
Geng Shu trembled and said in a low voice, "Heaven and earth bless you, Heng'er... You must... live, no matter where you are... Heng'er, brother... I'm sorry for you."
"King Kong Is Not Bad Dazhai Master"
Geng Shu cried so much that his whole body trembled, and the tears fell on Yujue, reflecting the faint light of the moonlit night.
Time passed quietly, Yongdu was high in autumn, and the Xiayuan Festival was approaching.
Prince Taki sat under the porch, unfolded a volume of books, and looked at it boredly, but his heart had already flown to the school field outside the high wall.
He wants to go out and play.
The sound of archery, the sound of horses' hooves, and the cheers of the soldiers during the training kept coming, which made him feel anxious.
Geng Shu put on the prince's martial robe, and the scars on his face, neck, and hands had almost healed, leaving a few inconspicuous scars. His eyebrows were like blades, with a natural aura that no strangers should approach.
Outside the study, when he heard footsteps, Prince Taki immediately raised his head.
Geng Shu wears a sword by his waist, his face is like a crown of jade, and his body is tall and straight.
He walked in front of Prince Taki, and Yujue was thrown over. Prince Taki was startled and quickly raised his hand to catch it. He was so frightened that he or Geng Shu threw them one by one. If he loses his head, Yu Jue will hit the stone and shatter.
"My God!" Prince Taki put on the jade, his face pale.
Geng Shu was puzzled and glanced at Prince Taki.
Prince Taki said: "Brother, be careful, if this jade breaks..."
"It won't break." Geng Shu stopped and said coldly, "Don't you know?"
Then, Geng Shu gave a demonstration, took off the jade on his neck, let go, and threw it on the stone mountain like a meteor.
Prince Taki shouted in horror, only to see that jade hit the rockery, and bounced back with a "ding" sound.
Prince Taki: "!!!"
Geng Shu caught it again, turned around and left.
Prince Taki chased after him and asked, "Where are you going?"
Geng Shu didn't answer, and walked out of the imperial garden of Yongdu Palace. When he left the corridor, the guards outside were blocking him and let Geng Shu go, but blocked the way of Prince Taki.
"His Royal Highness, you can't leave before the hour, please go back to study." The chief guard said.
Prince Taki had to say to Geng Shu: "Wait for me for a while, after reading the book, I will go out for a walk with you."
"Let him go." Geng Shu said to the chief guard.
The head guard said: "His Royal Highness, there are rules in the palace, His Royal Highness, before You Shi, cannot..."
Geng Shu hooked his fingers on the rope and showed his jade to the chief guard.
"Your Majesty said that all military military officers in the world who hold the Jade Jue must obey my orders." Geng Shu said, "Are you a military military officer?"
The head guard had no choice but to nod, and Geng Shu turned back and glanced at Prince Taki.
Prince Taki suddenly smiled and followed behind Geng Shu, like a monkey out of prison, and hurried to the school grounds.
Geng Shu hooked the eaves with one hand, jumped onto the roof of the side corridor of the martial arts field next to the school grounds, sat with his left knee folded, and lowered his right foot.
Prince Taki couldn't jump up, so he had to look up below.
"I can't go up." Prince Taki said.
"Then sit below." Geng Shu replied.
Geng Shu glanced at the soldiers who were performing martial arts on the school grounds, but he didn't have much interest. Compared with the four kingdoms in the Guannei, the martial arts of the soldiers of the Yong Kingdom were already outstanding, but in his eyes, they were still mediocre.
Prince Taki is very interested. After all, reading in the palace is really boring every day. Watching people perform martial arts at this time is like watching a cockfight.
But soon, this rare little leisure came to an abrupt end with the arrival of a person.
When Prince Taki saw that person, he was even more nervous than seeing Juicong, and immediately stood up. Geng Shu had no intention of looking down the corridor, and his eyes suddenly became sharper.
The person who came was a tall and thin assassin with short hair and vertical and horizontal scars on his face and head, as if his entire face had been destroyed in a fierce fight. The eyebrows are sparse, and there is a crack at the corner of the mouth.
It was described as extremely terrifying, like a monster.
"Your Highness," said the lanky assassin with his hands folded, standing in the shadows, "Why did you come here?"
Geng Shu felt a killing intent and pressed the sword with one hand.
"His name is Jie Gui," Prince Taki said to Geng Shu, "is my guard."
Geng Shu jumped down from the corridor, Jie Gui was more than a head taller than Geng Shu, he lowered his head slightly, looked at the two, and his eyes fell on the sword beside Geng Shu's waist.
"His Royal Highness, it's time to go back to study," Jie Gui said bluntly, "don't always run out rashly and make people easy to find."
Prince Taki's face was a little unnatural, he hid behind Geng Shu, and reluctantly said: "This... Let's go back."
Geng Shu turned around, looked at Prince Taki, and raised his eyebrows.
Prince Taki gently pulled Geng Shu's sleeve, meaning that he should not argue with him, he should go back.
Jie Gui made another move and said politely, "Princess Wu Ying is back with news from the south, please, Your Highness."
Geng Shu's blood solidified in an instant, and after a while, he only felt that his voice was very distant and unfamiliar.
"Who did you bring back?"
Jie Gui replied: "No, Your Majesty asked me to come to you, and you will know when you arrive."
On the road from the school grounds to the side hall, every step of Geng Shu's pace seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, but the end point would still come.
The light in the hall dimmed, and the first snow in the second half of the year came.
Jie Gui took Geng Shu to the front of the hall and stood outside the door. When Geng Shu passed by him, he seemed to feel a drop of warm water on the back of his hand.
But he didn't look at Jie Gui for a second, and went straight past him and came to the temple.
Jue Ling walked a few steps in the hall without changing her clothes, and when she looked up, she saw that Geng Shu had come, but she stopped talking. Juicong sat on the throne drinking tea, and said solemnly, "Sit down."
When Geng Shu and Ju Ling looked at each other, they knew that the last bit of self-deceiving hope had been completely shattered with Ju Ling's return.
There was guilt in Ju Ling's eyes, as if all this was caused by her own hands, and she sighed again.
"Ling'er, tell the truth," Juicong finally said, "Just tell him, he's not too young, he's fifteen years old."
Ju Ling nodded with a sad look, and said, "There is no one in Lingshan anymore. After the spring, there are gluttonous dogs and... vultures everywhere. Many skeletons have been found, but the complete corpses are... not a single one. ."
Geng Shu nodded numbly, it was true, but he didn't see Jiang Heng's body with his own eyes, he always had a glimmer of hope.
Ju Ling said: "But I found the remains of the car you mentioned, and it was buried...under the hillside. It's almost rotten. On the side...25 paces, there are hundreds of bones."
Geng Shu tried his best to control himself and didn't think about that picture.
Jue Ling said again: "Someone moved there, maybe it was a wild dog, or people searching for corpses on the battlefield. We asked all the nearby villages, no... No one has ever seen Heng'er who escaped."
Juicong looked at Geng Shu.
Ten months have passed, what else can be found in the battlefield ruins? The corpse has long been eaten by gluttonous dogs and vultures, and the bones have long been covered with vines.
"Got it." Geng Shu said.
Ju Ling said, "Maybe... I'm still alive. After all, I haven't seen the body with my own eyes."
Geng Shu suddenly said: "Isn't there a dead person wrapped around the cable of the wooden cart? Even bones."
Jue Ling replied, "The wooden cart disintegrated when it rushed down the hill, and the wheels were completely destroyed. Maybe after he struggled out, he went in the other direction? If he was still alive, where do you think he would go?"
Geng Shu was quiet for a long time, and said slowly, "I think he should go to Yuedi, just like Mrs. If I were him, I would definitely go to his mother. It doesn't matter, there is no need to look for him again."
Ju Ling hesitated to speak, but Ju Cong sighed and opened the book of sacrifice to heaven in her hand.
"Thank you, but you don't have to look any further." Geng Shu repeated it seriously.
Aya nodded.
Geng Shu added: "If we were still alive, we would definitely meet again. So did Xiang Zhou, and so did Mrs. Zhao; I believe they are not dead."
When Jie Gui, who was standing outside the hall, heard the word "Xiangzhou", he immediately raised his head and hesitated.