Chapter 389: Boudoir Joy (5k)
Tianfeng’s first snow in three years came a little earlier than usual.
After the empress pinched Zhao Duan in retaliation for a while, she finally snorted coldly and left angrily.
Zhao Duan spent the night in the palace. After a good sleep, his physical injuries gradually stabilized under the influence of the palace medicine.
But the full blow of the Great Purity Master is not so easy to eliminate after all.
The next day, Zhao Duan was sent home in a sedan chair.
With a stroke of her pen, the empress not only postponed the agreement to capture Zhuang Xiaocheng until the end of the year, but also gave him a long sick leave.
The imperial court's series of "Buddha ban" operations against Shenlong Temple are also in full swing. Along with the first snow, it adds a touch of chill to this winter.
......
A few days passed in the blink of an eye, and the snow stopped and fell, and it was actually one continuous piece without a break.
Outside the capital pier, an official ship returning from the south cut through the wind and waves and slowly entered the harbor.
On the deck.
Eunuch Hai stood with his hands clasped behind his hands, looking at the towering city wall in the distance, his face seemed a little older:
"Send the order to tidy up and prepare to enter the city."
Behind him, the female detective Si Haitang said "Yes" in a depressed voice, but did not move. Instead, she asked sadly:
"When we get ashore...how do we report this?"
Eunuch Hai was silent for a moment, then reluctantly raised his lips:
"This is not your concern. I will send you back to the Yamen first. Our family Enter the palace again and apologize to Your Majesty."
"But..." Haitang's nose seemed to be blocked and she was choked.
Eunuch Hai reached out and patted her shoulder. He turned around and saw the rest of the people on the cabin deck. The atmosphere was extremely dull, even mixed with a little fear.
Ji Yue and the drunkard Lang Shiba, who were deeply frightened, stood at the door of the cabin anxiously, wanting to escape but not daring to escape.
Hou Renmeng, Shen Juan and others in the Lihuatang Jinyi all felt as if they were mourning for their heirs.
The elite members of the Forbidden Army also lowered their heads, showing no joy of victory at all.
On that day, after Zhao Duan was assassinated, Eunuch Hai and others besieged the Great Pure Master, and not surprisingly gained the upper hand. However, the Great Pure Master wanted to escape, and finally escaped at the cost of being injured. .
Everyone was eager to find Zhao Duan and had no intention of getting entangled with him. However, they searched the area near the dock but could not find Zhao.
There was only a pool of human-shaped blood on the ground.
"Master Zhao was beaten to ashes?"
This was the idea of a group of people at the time, but the idea was ultimately too absurd and was quickly rejected by them.
Not to mention the Great Purification Master, even a powerful person in the realm of gods and humans cannot directly evaporate people.
After thinking about it, the most likely possibility is "hijacking", just like how the sorceress kidnapped and took away Zhao Duan at Yansuo Lake.
Several people suspected that the ghusl monk used some kind of magic to remove the seriously injured Zhao Duan's body.
This was a relatively reasonable guess, but no matter how they searched, there was no trace of him. In the end, they had no choice but to continue heading north and report back to Beijing.
Whether Zhao Duan was beaten to death on the spot or kidnapped, the end would not be much better.
Along the way, the atmosphere on the ship was solemn and depressing. Everyone was ordered to protect Zhao Duan, but for this result, they all knew that they would be severely punished once they returned.
But under the supervision of Eunuch Hai, no one dares to run away...
"Okay, Zhao Duan is missing. The blame lies with our family, not you. When we enter the palace later, our family will apologize to His Majesty and not implicate you." Eunuch Hai said calmly.
At this time, the official ship docked.
The group landed ashore, entered the city gate smoothly, and walked silently on the main road of the capital, which was already covered in silver.
No one is in the mood to enjoy the snow scene.
Before entering the palace, he passed by Zhao Yamen. Eunuch Hai took a few steps and prepared to send Haitang and others back first.
When the group arrived at the gate of Zhaoyamen, they were still far away, so they notified the gatekeeper of their entry. When Ma Yan, who was sitting in the governor's hall, learned about it, he immediately dropped the hot tea and went out to greet them with a smile on his face.
"Haha, Hai Zongzong, you are back, why didn't you notify me in advance?"
Ma Yanwang, who had a slender face and a cold temperament, showed a rare warm smile, glanced around, and asked curiously : "Zhao Duan didn't come with you?"
As the governor, Ma Yan certainly knew that Zhao Duan had already returned to Beijing.
So what he meant was that he thought Zhao Duan would greet him first and then come together.
But when the words fall into the ears of everyone, they have a completely different meaning.
"Du Gong..." Suddenly, a cry came out from the crowd. It was several Jinyi from Lihuatang. When they saw Ma Yan, his eyes turned red. Lian Houren stabbed his head so hard, and there were tears in his eyes. .
Ma Yan was stunned for a moment: "What are you..."
At the critical moment, Haitang, the master of Narcissus Hall, bit her lip and walked forward, lowering her head. , with slightly red eyes, choked up and said:
"Governor, I...we have failed to live up to the grace of God and failed to protect Mr. Zhao...Zhao Duan...maybe he is dead!"< br>
After saying these words, the group of people in Lihuatang Jinyi fell to their knees in an all-out gesture of apology.
The Imperial Guards at the back looked a little panicked and knelt down in confusion.
He said: "Please punish the Governor!"
Ma Yan's expression froze, and then his eyes gradually became strange. He glanced at the grief-stricken Shen Juan and others, and then looked at They stared at Eunuch Hai who was silent, and Ji Yue and Lang Shiba who were trying to reduce their sense of presence...
"Don't you know yet?" Ma Yan's serious face tried to suppress his laughter. A visceral reaction to speak out.
"What do you know?" Haitang was confused.
Ma Yan said seriously:
"Zhao Duan returned to Beijing a few days ago. Although he was injured, he was treated in time and is now recuperating... He is not dead. He’s not missing either…”
Eunuch Hai was stunned.
Begonia’s little mouth opened slightly.
Under Jiyue's long black hair, her ears suddenly stood up, and Lang Shiba next to her also showed a look of astonishment.
Ga——
As for Hou Renmeng and others who were kneeling on the ground, it was as if the pause button had been pressed. They all raised their heads and looked at Ma Yan in surprise.
"Duke...you mean..."
Ma Yan couldn't laugh or cry, so he could only briefly describe the matter. He roughly said that Zhao Duan relied on His Majesty's royal gifts to suppress things. Escape from life, and the incident where the empress banned the Buddha and chopped down the three swords of Xuan Yin in front of the whole city.
"So, Zhao Duan is okay?!" Haitang's blocked nose suddenly became clear.
Ma Yan smiled and said: "It's okay. I thought he had already met you."
"Is he in the Yamen?" Haitang asked a stupid question.
Ma Yan shook his head and said: "He came here in the morning and took Xiao Wang away, saying he was going to the Tianshi Mansion."
......
...
After a winter snow, the huge bell tower in the Tianshi Mansion was also covered in white frost.
Zhao Duan took a carriage and arrived at the Tianshi Mansion carrying gifts, preparing to visit Zhang Tianshi.
After hearing the news, Gongshu Tianyuan immediately walked out and invited him to sit down in his workshop.
“I was supposed to come here a few days earlier, but the injury was still serious at the time. My family didn’t let me run out, and because the Shenlong Temple was not stable, I postponed it for a few days. Now the injury is generally stable. When I got down, I wanted to thank the Heavenly Master in person.”
In the reception hall, Zhao Duan sat on a brown wooden chair and said with a smile.
The coachman Xiao Wang who followed him placed the gift boxes on the ground one by one, and then walked out sensibly.
“Thank you, Master?”
Little Fat Dun Gongshu Tianyuan sat across from him.
After winter, this guy has a lot more meat on his body, and he looks very festive, so he asked in surprise.
As a technical geek, Gongshu Tianyuan was oblivious to what was going on outside the window. He only knew about Zhao Duan's assassination by the Great Cleansing, but did not know that the Little Heavenly Master had taken action at Yansuo Lake.
"Well, it's probably because the Heavenly Master took care of me during my last business trip." Zhao Duan explained casually.
Gongshu Tianyuan did not inquire further and said with a smile:
"Brother Zhao, sit here for a moment. I have sent someone to notify you. If the master is willing to see you, he will reply."< br>
Alas, Lao Zhang has also put on airs. It is no longer the case that Lao Zhang blocked me when I was on my way home... Zhao Duan sighed. Gongshu Tianyuan was very excited. He talked with him about his previous ice-making business, and also talked about the progress of the Shenji Camp Firearms Bureau, and finally said:
"I have basically conquered the equipment you sent me last time to pump water out of mines. I am just waiting for mass production to see the effect."
Zhao Duan couldn't help but He was greatly amazed by this guy's work efficiency. At the same time, he keenly sensed that Gongshu Tianyuan's magic power seemed to be much higher:
"Brother Gongshu is not far away from entering the world."
Gongshu Tianyuan’s fat face showed pride, and then he said deeply and deeply:
"Thanks to Brother Zhao for helping me. By the way, I have also prepared a gift and am about to give it to Brother Zhao. It is a new creation of mine."
As he said that, the pudgy young man Get up, go to the next door and bring out a blanket...or a small quilt.
“Is this also a town object?” Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment.
At first glance, it looks like a small quilt, but the pattern is actually outlined with cinnabar used to draw symbols.
Gongshu Tianyuan raised the corners of his mouth and said with a smile:
"Isn't it winter now? Brother Zhao is a man of cultivation, so he is not afraid of the cold, but his family must always be afraid of the cold. I named this thing 'Boudoir Joy'. As long as you put it on your body, it will Continuously releasing warmth..."
The joy of the boudoir... What a ridiculous name, an electric blanket from another world... Zhao Duan couldn't complain.
Gongshu Tianyuan was excited that he could show his latest invention to his "bosom friend":
"I will demonstrate it to you right now!"
There happened to be a few people outside the yard. A young priest walked by, and Gongshu Tianyuan walked out vigorously and greeted warmly:
"Junior brothers, I have something here that I would like you to help me test..."
Before he finished speaking, the young priests looked frightened and ran away as if they were running away. Then he drifted over slowly:
"Senior Brother's masterpiece, I can't bear it, so please find someone else!"
Looking at this scene, Zhao Duan felt a toothache, thinking about this fat man's How dangerous are the manufactured town objects that scare people like this...
Suddenly I recalled the last time the other party showed me those weird inventions.
Gongshu Tianyuan was displeased and was very unhappy. He could only walk back, sit down, put the "boudoir joy" on himself, wrapped it carefully, and said seriously:
"Just Let me demonstrate to Brother Zhao, you see, as long as you put it on like this, without any operation, this town object will heat up on its own, making you feel like you are in a hot spring, not afraid of the cold at all..."
Zhao Duan looked at Xiao Pangdun's gradually red face with an expressionless face, the sweat beads rolling down, and the green smoke gradually rising from his hair...
Euphemistically reminded: "Brother Gongshu, you My hair is on fire..."
Gongshu Tianyuan:? ? !
When Jin Jian appeared in the small courtyard of the workshop wearing a black priest's robe, with a petite figure, delicate facial features, and a temperament like a night elf.
What I saw was the embarrassed fifth senior brother who was struggling to put out the burning quilt in the main room with the door open.
"..." Jin Jian was startled. She carefully used both hands to wipe away the white mist that suddenly appeared on the glasses on the bridge of her nose bit by bit. Enemy:
“What are you doing?”
Zhao Duan’s eyes lit up. He hadn’t seen the girl priest for a while. When he was about to explain, he saw Gongshu Tianyuan holding his head. With burnt hair and blackened face, he seemed to be running away in embarrassment, leaving behind the sentence:
"Junior sister entertains Brother Zhao for me, I'm going to change clothes..."
Jin Jian silently covered her face, feeling that the majesty of the Tianshi Mansion had been lost.
When the troublesome person left, Zhao Duan smiled and looked at Jin Jian, who had also made great progress in cultivation, and said with a smile:
"Long time no see."
Jin Jian walked into the room, took off her glasses, and her eyes lost focus again, looking dull: "Ah? Haven't seen you for a long time?"
She doesn't count time very much.
"...No more glasses?" Zhao Duan restarted the topic awkwardly.
“It’s foggy after winter!” Jin Jian said confidently.
...Okay, this is indeed a difficult problem to solve, but can't you warlocks create a spell pattern similar to "defogging"... Zhao Duan complained silently.
Jin Jian is a person who is not good at small talk. After sitting down, he spoke seriously:
"Master said, thank him and accept it, but take the gift back."
Don't accept the gift? Are you sure these are the exact words of that guy Lao Zhang who is a free prostitute?
Zhao Duan looked unbelieving. He could only attribute it to the fact that Lao Zhang, as a heavenly master on the surface, needs to maintain his integrity... Thinking about it this way, it seems that he is ignorant. Gifts should be given privately. , this time it’s more or less unconcealed...
Oh, Secretary Zhao, how could you make such a low-level mistake?
Is it because as the status rises, the sense of crisis weakens and the mentality of walking on thin ice is lost?
Zhao Duan silently reviewed it, then his heart moved, and he suddenly asked: "The Heavenly Master will not be receiving others, right?"
When will the leader sternly refuse a gift?
Most likely when outsiders are present.
Jin Jian was shocked, thinking that he was so smart. He clearly didn't reveal a word, so how could this person guess it?
"Who is the Heavenly Master receiving?" Zhao Duan asked curiously.
Jin Jian's little head shook like a rattle: "No, no."
Her mouth is very strict!
Zhao Duan looked regretful and sighed. He looked at the pile of gift boxes on the ground and sighed:
"In that case, forget it. Originally, I was thinking, so I can't get more boxes, so I'm going to give Priest Jin Jian some hard work, but unfortunately, since the Heavenly Master won't accept it, I have no choice but to give up."
While speaking, he took out the thick bag from his sleeve. A thick roll of silver notes that smelled of ink was worth several thousand taels.
Jin Jian's astigmatism suddenly straightened up!
She opened her mouth and stretched out her hands to grasp the air, like a fish coming ashore and leaving the water. Her rosy face was visibly withered.
I know that everyone has weaknesses... Zhao Duan put away the banknotes and said casually:
"However, if the priest is willing to tell..."
< br>"Elder brother! Judge Zhong!" Jin Jian said without any psychological burden, as if pouring beans out of a bamboo tube: "Elder brother is back and is talking to the master."
Judge Zhong? That "little heavenly master" who intercepted Nagarjuna Bodhisattva at Yansuo Lake according to the intelligence?
Zhao Duan narrowed his eyes. If the Little Heavenly Master has returned, does that mean that Nagarjuna Bodhisattva has also returned to Beijing?
So, the Western Region Mission should be arriving soon.
Jin Jian happily grabbed a large roll of silver notes and counted them one by one with saliva on his face. The more he counted, the happier he became.
"Huh? Brother Zhao gave you the dividend." Outside the door, Gongshu Tianyuan, who had changed into a new robe and had his hair styled, walked in.
Jin Jian looked up blankly: "Dividend?"
Gongshu Tianyuan nodded and said: "Yes, the balance of the previous saltpeter ice making formula, this is your part of the dividend."
So... …This is my money?
Jin Jian stared blankly at the banknote in his hand, feeling that it no longer tasted good.
……
...
Deep in the Tianshi Mansion, in the courtyard where the big banyan tree grows.
There is no snow in the whole yard, and green grass is still growing on the ground. It seems that under the protection of the big banyan tree, this place has four seasons of its own.
Zhang Yanyi, who is tall and has narrow eyebrows, sits in a bamboo chair with his hands folded, looking at the "Little Heavenly Master" Zhong Pan who carries the scarlet red tide sword on his back and has a naturally ferocious appearance, and says with a smile:
“It’s been a long time since I’ve returned, and it seems you’ve gained something.”
Judge Zhong held the purple clay pot respectfully, poured tea and water for the Heavenly Master, and said politely:
"Disciple is stupid and can barely move forward. I wonder how the other junior brothers and sisters are doing?"
>Zhang Yan sighed and said melancholy:
"They haven't been back for a long time, and I don't know where they are wandering again. It will be the New Year in two months, and I don't want to come back."
< br>Senior Brother Zhong Fan said: "I think they are also holding back their energy, hoping to make a breakthrough and come back to see Master."
"You, just make up for them," Zhang Yan snorted.
Zhong Pan asked curiously:
"Master, what is so special about the Zhao Duan you want me to protect? Is it worth the risk of intervening in the secular power struggle in the court?" Want to take action? "
If you look into the Yansuo Lake assassination carefully, Tianshi Mansion has already intervened in the situation.
Just because the one intercepted was Nagarjuna, who was also an "outer world" monk, and the two were not apparently involved, no one investigated it further.
The Tianshi Mansion has been passed down for thousands of years, and its ability to remain standing depends largely on the rule of "not interfering with the secular world."
Zhang Yanyi was silent for a moment and said:
"Then Zhao Duan... I can't say it well even as a teacher. He can't see clearly and can't figure it out clearly."
Judge Zhong was shocked. There were countless people in the world, who could make even his master see through it?
"Master's actions are naturally justified. It's just..." Zhongpan hesitated and said:
"Then Zhao Duan is a member of the imperial court after all, so that's it this time. Wait until next year, when the empress has been on the throne for three years and her dragon energy is stable and she can leave the capital, I'm afraid the situation in the world will change again...
If the empress really wants to enshrine Luoshan and seek a breakthrough... it will not only be a royal dispute. Emperor Wu Qingshan, Shenlong Temple and the Western Region Ancestral Court are not sure whether they will intervene... By then, Zhao Duanruo will be involved Among them, let's..."
Zhang Yanyi moved his eyes upward and did not answer the eldest disciple's inquiry. His eyes seemed to penetrate through the many buildings and cast towards the west, saying:
"The ones from the Western Regions People have entered the city.”
……
At the west gate of the capital, the gatekeeper officer was directing his soldiers to clear the snow when he saw the convoy slowly approaching outside the city.
——
ps: Write chapters daily to relax the rhythm.
(End of this chapter)