That night, Fang Xiu, the palm eunuch who was serving Emperor Linghui, was not with him at the moment. Instead, he was sitting with Emperor Linghui's favorite alchemist, Taoist Priest Qingxu.
The two of them were sitting face to face on the floor in a room. Qingxu looked younger than Fang Xiu. One has a clean, white face and no beard, while the other has a long beard.
Qingxu poured Fang Xiu a cup of tea, stretched out his hand and pushed the teacup in front of him.
Seeing Fang Xiu take the tea, he sighed, and then said: "In the future, your Majesty, I'm afraid I won't take the old Taoist elixir anymore, let alone for rituals and so on."
Even that day Emperor Linghui After meeting Wen Chu, I went crazy for a while, but now anyone with a discerning eye can see that Wen Chu is Princess Huaihe Li Zhaoxi, otherwise why would she have blocked the crown prince's arrow and entered Kunning Palace, and Linghui Why did Di want to see her the first time he woke up?
In short, everyone already knows that Wen Chu is Li Zhaoxi.
Now that Li Zhaoxi is back, Taoist priests are no longer needed by the emperor.
Fang Xiu knew what Qingxu was thinking, and was simply afraid that he would fall out of favor in the future.
Fang Xiu took a few sips of tea, then put down the tea cup and said loudly: "It's just Huaihe, no matter what, you can just stay in Qintian Prison with peace of mind. Besides, I said, even if the emperor doesn’t value you anymore, so what, we will give you every day Don’t you know what he’s feeding? How long can he live? The most urgent thing now is who will take that seat, do you know?”
In Fang Xiu’s words, it was mentioned. The word "we" calms down the empty and complicated mood. Over the years, after observing this place from Chaotian, he became a servant of Fang Xiu. Fortunately, now, Fang Xiu has no intention of killing the donkey.
But Qingxu once again lamented the ruthlessness of this eunuch. After all, he had watched the emperor grow up, and he was not merciless when he tricked people.
August has come to an end. Although it is not as hot as before, there is still a bit of heat in the air. And because Kyoto has been in drought for more than a month and there has been no rain, August this year is relatively hot. In the past, it was more muggy.
Fang Xiu thought about the day he was slapped by Emperor Linghui again, and his face became a little ugly. He looked outside the house and said with unclear meaning: "The Mid-Autumn Festival has passed, and there has been no rainfall for a month. "
Qingxu heard it. After saying this, his eyes widened a bit and he asked: "Are you trying to offend the emperor?"
Fang Xiu's expression was still the same as before, with no change at all, except for a bit of viciousness in his eyes, and he said: " No, it’s to accuse Huaihe.”
Qingxu quickly understood what Fang Xiu meant. He agreed to the matter, and then thinking of what happened to He Hong some time ago, he asked: "Master He has been locked up in the secret village for some time. Is it possible that Song Yusheng has Bian still refuses to let it go. If he keeps checking, this secret shop will never be opened."
< br>Fang Xiu laughed twice and said, "You can't bear it anymore?"
Qingxu had also been to Anzhuang. When he heard Fang Xiu's words, he was quite embarrassed and touched He touched his nose and said: "You are raising one in the palace, it doesn't matter."
This sounds quite interesting. In order to ridicule, Qingxu saw Fang Xiu's slightly unkind expression, and quickly changed the subject, saying: "It's just a casual question, we can't let Song Yusheng handle it all the time, right? I think he is just using the name of Dali Temple this time. He just wants to target the Second Prince’s party, how can he do what he wants?”
Fang Xiu also couldn't figure out what Song Yusheng meant. Although he didn't know what he wanted to do, whether he really wanted to find out about the girl's body, or who he was drawing his sword to fight against, he didn't know, but the only thing he could be sure of was, As long as he wants to find out the truth, it will definitely bring disaster to some party. If he brings disaster to any party, it is tantamount to bringing disaster to him.
Fang Xiu waved his hands in annoyance, "I don't know what he wants, but as a young man, relying on his youth to become famous, no one from a prominent family will take him seriously. After Huang Jian won the third prize, wasn't he the same as he is now? Are they exactly the same? Both of them thought they could do something big, but as a result, now There are not even any bones left of Huang Jian's husband, and the whole Wen family has no bones left. If Song Yusheng is not afraid of Huang Jian's current fate, he will come."
*
The night was like water, Wen Chu was walking on the way back to Kunning Palace, and his mood became confused because of Song Yusheng's appearance.
It was a bit sudden. She never expected to see Song Yusheng today, which was really unlucky.
Song Yusheng is really a scary person, just like that evil ghost, he can't get rid of him if he gets entangled in him. Therefore, she felt a little uneasy along the way and kept looking back, fearing that she would see him when she turned around.
It's not like there's anything wrong with her. Song Yusheng's behavior can actually make her develop some deep affection for him. Now that she's away from him, she will only feel relaxed. As for other things, no matter how much they are, those inexplicable things , and it will never happen again.
From now on, the two of them should go back to each other, he should go his own way, and she should go hers, and never see each other again in the end. She didn't dare to think about everything that had happened in the past, so it was better to just be buried deep in her memory together.
She was once trapped in the early spring when King Li broke into the palace, and now she is trapped in Yuhui Hall with herself?
It took her six full years to teach herself that she should look forward and not look back.
What has happened in the past should be in the past. Neither she nor him should look back. That is the best ending.
The road from Qianqing Palace back to Kunning Palace is not long, and you can walk there quickly. The night wind finally brings a bit of coolness, and it is no longer as hot and unbearable as during the day. The breeze makes people feel a little clearer.
There seemed to be noises coming from around the path. Wen Chu was thinking about his own things and didn't notice it. Not many people walked by, only the palace lanterns and the moon in the sky gave off a faint light, illuminating the road in front of her.
When the sound became clearer and clearer, Wen Chu gradually heard it, and she instantly regained consciousness.
She is not too worried about what will happen. After all, this is the road connecting Kunning Palace and Qianqing Palace. Anyone who dares to cause trouble here will not be so stupid. She was curious as to where the sound came from.
Wen Chu could only hear the sound of thin, rustling footsteps, broken and chaotic. She became a little wary and looked around.
I saw another intersecting palace road that seemed to have a figure shaking on the ground.
Wen Chu looked up as the shadow moved up.
There really is someone.
When she saw who it was, she was startled.
She was shocked that she knew this person. She had never seen this person before, let alone knew him.
The reason why she was surprised was that the person in front of her was really "terrible".
His whole body is white, his eyebrows, hair, and even his pupils are different from ordinary people, shockingly light. In addition, he is wearing white clothes, which makes him even more weird. The man looked young, with all the silver strands hanging down his hair. He was not as tall as Wen Chu. He was born male and female, and Wen Chu couldn't tell whether he was a boy or a girl. The boy didn't even wear shoes on his feet. Looking very embarrassed.
The night is dark, the wind is high, and the moon is high. In such a situation, if such a person appears, how can Wen Chu not be afraid if he is an invisible ghost.
Wen Chu tried his best to calm down. When he was with Father Wen, he heard Dr. Zhao say that there is such a disease in the world called vitiligo. Although it is not common, it does exist.
She thought that maybe the person in front of her was not a ghost, but perhaps the patient with vitiligo.
Kuang said, isn't there a shadow of this man on the ground?
It’s a human being, not a ghost, so there’s nothing to be afraid of.
Seeing the man approaching him, Wen Chu had already composed his mind. The man approached and knelt down directly towards Wen Chu.
"Sister, help me!"
He spoke, and you could tell he was a man.
Wen Chu's mind was finally settled again because of these words.
She said: "Wait a minute! Who are you and why do you appear here?"
This person appearing here is really suspicious and scary. What kind of territory is this? Near Kunning Palace, this person appeared here without realizing it, and then knelt down in front of him and said such words inexplicably.
She became wary again.
But she lowered her head and saw that he was shaking violently. He didn't dare to pull her clothes, as if he was afraid of getting her dirty. He just kept saying begging her. He seemed to be afraid that someone would come to catch him. , and turned his head to look behind him from time to time.
Seeing that Wen Chu was unmoved, he began to lift his clothes.
Under the clothes, there were large and small scars, bruises and bruises, and even whip wounds. These scars looked even more frightening on his snow-white skin. His words didn't seem to be lying, and all the marks on his body said that he was in danger at the moment and that he had been abused.
He kept crying, and his voice revealed his fear. He said: "Sister, please save me! I managed to escape. If I am captured, I will really Die!"
The young boy's voice was sad and unbearable, or maybe the word "escape" touched Wen Chu's heartstrings. She no longer stood dryly, she bent down and thought Pull up the kneeling person on the ground.
But he was avoided by the young man without any trace.
"Sister, I'm very dirty."
Tears were shining in his eyes, and this look was even more heartbreaking.
When Wen Chu heard this, if she was punched head-on, her nose and eyes hurt. She was stunned for a few breaths, and without any hesitation, she reached out to him and pulled him up from the ground.
Like a big sister, she patted the ashes on his knees. The young man suddenly felt frightened and wanted to hide away.
Wen Chu insisted on taking a photo. After wiping off the dust on his clothes, Wen Chu straightened up and said to him: "Okay, it's done. It's not dirty."
Not dirty.
The boy's pupils trembled.
The two of them knew very well what he meant by dirty. But she just said that the clothes were clean and he was not dirty.
He was suddenly afraid that if he appeared here today, he would harm her.
Wen Chu took him away in the end, because he was too conspicuous and dressed in white, and it was difficult not to attract attention. Wen Chu could only take him back to Kunning Palace first.
Inside Kunning Palace.
Wen Chufang stepped into the palace and heard the queen's voice coming from inside.
She said: "You're back? Go clean your hands quickly. I just cooked a bowl of red dates and longan water for you. Come and drink some."
Although Wen Chu can drink it now She went to bed, but the injury was not healed yet. The Queen tried her best to get her some nourishing soup and water every day. Today it was red date and longan water.
Wen Chu came back just in time. As soon as the soup was brought in, she came back from Qianqing Palace.
Everyone in Kunning Palace had recognized Wen Chu for a long time. When they saw her coming back, they all saluted her and said, "Bless the girl."
Wen Chu waved his hand in agreement.
Wen Chu did not let the young man enter the palace, and asked him to wait outside first. She still kept an eye on it. If this man was some evil person, wouldn't it be harmful to take him to Kunning Palace? .
After entering the back of the palace, Wen Chu washed his hands and sat next to the queen. The soup was already placed in front of him.
She picked up the spoon and took a spoonful of soup to drink. It was very sweet.
Xiaoyi knew that Wen Chu liked sweetness, so he asked someone to put more sugar. She used to like to eat sweets when she was little, but at that time, both Xiaoyi and De Fei felt that she should eat less sweets, and they kept limiting the amount of sweets she could eat, even if she ate more.
But Xiaoyi is no longer like this.
She thought, these days are so bitter, she must eat something sweet. If your child is happy to eat, just eat it.
Xiaoyi asked, "What did your father and the emperor say to you today? Did he say when he would be crowned princess again?"
Xiaoyi looked at Wen Chu with eyes that were both loving and a little heartbroken.
What happened back then would be okay if Emperor Linghui and Li Weiyan were not in the palace, but Xiaoyi was always there. However, her father and brother were both in Northern Xinjiang, and she was also placed under house arrest by King Li.
She said she wanted Wen Chu, but King Li ignored her. She heard someone say that Concubine De died and Wen Chu was imprisoned in a pig pen.
After that, she was frightened by nightmares every day and night. She never thought of sending someone to rescue her, but when King Li found out, he killed everyone around her and even warned her. , if he comes again, the general of the Qi family will be outside, and he is not afraid to attack the remaining Qi family.
Xiaoyi spent those months in pain. She clearly knew that Wen Chu was suffering, but there was nothing she could do about it.
None of them could forgive themselves, but filial piety was the worst because Concubine De abandoned Li Zhaoxi and saved her child.
When Wen Chu heard Xiaoyi's question, he raised his eyes and looked at her, and when he was about to see her, he saw her slightly painful expression.
Wen Chu knew that she was thinking about the past again.
She replied: "Queen mother, I don't have to stay in the palace, and I don't have to restore my identity. This is good."
Xiaoyi was stunned, as if she didn't expect Wen Chu to say this, she was busy Said: "My child, don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Your imperial brother will be there in the future. When he grows up, he will protect you. What happened before will never happen again."
Xiaoyi's appearance is a bit aging, but even so, he is still gentle and gentle, not at all like a child from a military commander's family.
She told Wen Chu not to be afraid, but she was afraid herself. What happened back then also trapped her, and she was afraid it would happen again.
Wen Chu smiled, held her hand, and said: "Mother, I am not afraid, not at all. Because, my mother is here, my father is here, and my brother is here. It's just that , I can’t get used to living here anymore. I’ll just stay with you. I can’t stay any longer.”
Seeing Wen Chu say this, I knew she really didn’t want to. I want the name Li Zhaoxi.
Xiao Yi hesitated to speak, but looking at Wen Chu's expression, he finally said: "It's all up to you. Whatever you think, you can do it."
Wen Chu smiled and thought about how to tell her about the young man at the door. Thinking about this, she unconsciously stirred the soup in the bowl with a spoon. The porcelain spoon made a sound when it touched the bowl, but At this moment, the announcement of the arrival of the Crown Prince was heard from the door of the palace.
Li Weiyan strode up to the two of them, saluted Xiaoyi first, and then sat next to Wen Chu.
Since Wen Chu came to Kunning Palace, he often comes here to see Wen Chu's injuries.
Li Weiyan glanced at the soup Wen Chu was drinking and joked: "Mother, you are so partial, I am also your child. At first I was too injured to get out of bed, but you didn't take care of me like this. Now I cook soup for my sister in different ways every day.”
Xiaoyi glared at him and said, "What are you arguing with your sister about? If it weren't for you, your sister wouldn't be able to withstand this arrow." At this point, she asked Li Weiyan again: "Where are those assassins? Can’t find out who it is?”
After talking about assassins, Li Weiyan sighed and frowned a little. He said: "Those people are all dead soldiers. When the matter was exposed, no one survived. Even if you want to investigate, there is nowhere to investigate."
After Li Weiyan paused for a moment, he continued: "Actually, these are not difficult to guess. I guess it is also the second emperor." This kind of thing has never happened before.”
As long as the crown prince dies, the throne will naturally fall to the second prince, and he is the most suspicious, and he is the only one who can do it. These things, including the assassination on the emperor's birthday, I think it was their work.
Hearing this, Wen Chu put down the spoon in his hand and asked: "They are so rampant now. They even dare to commit an assassination. Is there anything else they dare not do?"< br>
Li Weiyan smiled reluctantly and said: "It'll be fine as long as you get used to it. Anyway, just put more people around to follow you. I didn't let him succeed. But this time, even you are involved." ”
Wen Chu waved his hand and said, "Brother, please don't mention this matter again. But, father, doesn't he care?"
Li Weiyan wanted to say something, but was interrupted by the queen. She said: " No matter what, those people can’t catch her, and they won’t admit it even if they catch her. It’s okay, as long as nothing serious happens.”
The queen didn’t want Wen Chu to worry about it, so she came back to ask her to worry about it. What do these do. It's not just a matter of one or two days that the Second Prince and the others are so rampant. Speaking of it will only increase their troubles.
It’s just that Li Weiyan has been like this over the years. Assassins are assassins. Even though he almost killed him once, Emperor Linghui didn’t care.
My father doesn't care about these things, and my mother has been living in the painful memories of those years, but she doesn't even care about the people living around her. She had never treated him the way she treated Wen Chu.
Even when his life was almost hanging by a thread.
Seeing the Queen say this, Li Weiyan stopped mentioning the matter. He stopped talking and just changed the topic and asked: "When I came in just now, I saw a person standing at the door of the palace. , whole body turned white. Fang forgot to ask, Now I think about it, who is that person? Did my sister bring him back?”
When Li Weiyan asked, why don’t you ask someone to come in and ask? , I met him on the way back to the palace. I don’t know if he was Whoever had been abused was covered with injuries and kept calling me to save him. I couldn’t stand it, so I took him back.”
Xiaoyi asked, “Then why didn’t you let him in? ?”
Wen Chu said: “This is not the case. After the last assassination incident, I was afraid. I was afraid that he had evil intentions. I also thought about his inexplicable appearance. I felt a little weird, so I asked him to wait outside. I thought about what to do with my mother, queen, and brother. Do it.”
Wen Chu was not afraid of what he would do to her. After all, the two of them had just walked together, and he had never wanted to do something to him. Wen Chu was just afraid that it would be another assassin like him, whose target was not her, but Li Weiyan.
With Song Yusheng’s lessons learned from the past, she was a little more foresight when she saved people.
Although she was a little wary of this young man, she couldn't stand by and watch. If he really caused harm to others, then she would have a hard time with her conscience.
Hearing this, Li Weiyan praised his gentleness and said with a smile: "Xiao Xi is still thoughtful, but I didn't expect this. Mother, please wait for us inside. Xiao Xi and I will go outside to take a look. , it’s safer to let the guards keep an eye on him.”
After that, he and Wen Chu got up and went outside, and asked the guards to keep an eye on the young man to prevent him from having ulterior motives.
The young man was cowering on the ground. When he saw someone coming out, he immediately got up.
He saw that Li Weiyan was dressed luxuriously. Although he could not recognize the Gonglong suit, seeing the dragon embroidered on his clothes, he could guess his identity. He also knew that this place was Kunning Palace, so there were people living in it. The person in question must be the current empress, and the elegant man in front of him is probably the crown prince. Then the person he just called "sister" is the princess, isn't it?
He is young, not from Kyoto, and no one in his family is an official. This is all that can be guessed.
Thinking like this, when he saw them, he seemed to have seen a savior. He knelt down directly on the ground and said: "Your Highness the Crown Prince, Your Highness the Princess, please save me!"
Li Weiyan and Wen Chu looked at each other, neither of them expecting his sudden move.
This young man was so handsome. With his silver hair and light-colored pupils, it was hard to tell whether he was a boy or a girl. When he knelt down and cried, no one could see him without feeling heartbroken.
In addition, because he was still young, Wen Chu thought of the injuries on his body, and his heart felt a little sore for a moment.
First Li Weiyan asked: "You have to explain clearly what is going on. Otherwise, how can I save you if it is so unclear?"
The young man finally spoke. The origin of the matter, he wiped Wiping his tears, he said: "Then let me tell you, my name is Qi Mo. I am not from Kyoto, let alone from the palace. Where did my family live? I don't remember clearly. I just remember that maybe it was two years ago. A month ago, I went out with the boy at home. I didn’t know why I was kidnapped by human traffickers. I didn’t know anything. Because I couldn’t see the light, the traffickers kept putting a black cloth on my head. At first, I didn’t know where it was. I only heard it on the road. After a few sentences, I realized that he They kidnapped me to Kyoto."
He seemed to be talking about extremely painful things, and the expression on his face became a little distorted. He touched his face with his hands, and Wen Chu glanced at him. On his hand, he found that his nails were cracked.
Qi Mo said: "I seemed to be tied to a village. There seemed to be many people of about the same age as me, both men and women. Later, every night, many unknown people often came to sit on the village. , Most of them were wearing splendid clothes."
He choked up, as if he didn't want to continue to recall those things, but he knew that these things couldn't be hidden at all. Only when they were all dragged out could they help him. He said: "They were all scary. I didn't know what was going to happen at first, but later, my clothes were taken off, and I was like an animal. I was being held down." On the bed."
"No need to continue. You just have to tell me how you got to the palace."
He wanted to continue talking, but Wen Chu couldn't listen anymore. It's the same thing again, it's the same thing again. In fact, it is not difficult to guess the whole story, and it is nothing more than that it has something to do with the He family.
If just now she was a little wary of this person of unknown origin, but now, from his words, there were no signs of lying. The He family had actually done these things of abducting children. With this, her defensiveness finally dropped.
As for Qi Mo, he thought that what happened to Zhuangzi was already terrible, but what happened next was the real hell.
Wen Chu asked him how he got to the palace. He closed his eyes and there were layers of sweat on his forehead. He said: "I stayed in Zhuangzi for ten days. Until one day, an old eunuch with a white face and no beard opened my door. He looked at me, looked me up and down, and finally smiled. "Sound. Then, I was taken into the palace, I...I..."
He didn't know what to say, and was very helpless and wanted to say something, but the words seemed to be blocked. It stuck in his throat, and he couldn't speak out, but he wanted to speak, wanted to tell the man's evil deeds.
When he didn't know how to speak out, a eunuch's sharp cry suddenly came from not far away, "Oh no! There is an assassin!"
The eunuch's voice was already It was sharp and harsh, and this shout was shouted from the throat, and it suddenly spread throughout the night sky.
Another assassin? !
Where is this palace? The assassin came last time, and now again?
But Wen Chu and Li Weiyan had a gut feeling that this incident might be related to Qi Mo in front of them.
Wen Chu quickly pulled Qi Mo up from the ground. She said, "You go inside the palace and hide. Then I will ask the Queen to cover you. Once you hide, don't do anything no matter what." Come out."
When Qi Mo heard this, he was stunned for a moment and went directly to Kunning Palace. No matter what, it was not appropriate.
However, before he could hesitate, someone had already entered the door of Kunning Palace, and several people looked up.
It was Fang Xiu.
After Fang Xiu just returned to his residence, he wanted to see Qi Mo who was locked up, but he found that there was no one in the house.
He didn’t even know how people escaped.
But he knows that he must not be allowed to escape. He knows so many things, and it will definitely cause trouble if he escapes.
He heard the people under his command say that he seemed to have seen Qi Mo and Wen Chu heading towards Kunning Palace. He had no choice but to pretend to catch the assassin and use this opportunity to enter Kunning Palace.
Han Qi has also been called over by him and is following him. After all, there is an assassin in the palace, and there is nothing wrong with the commander of the Jin Yiwei following him.
Fang Xiu winked at Han Qi and asked him to open the door of Kunning Palace. He wanted to see what Wen Chu wanted to do after taking Qi Mo away.
And who let him go?
These confusions were lingering in his mind, and he had no time to think about it.
Because the top priority is to capture the person.
(End of this chapter)