Lanting prelude
Chapter 14 Xuanquan
Chapter 14 Xuanquan
In Yique, Luozhou, dots of lights are scattered in the night.
In a house on the same street as Erya's pawn shop, Chu Lisang and Lu Xiu were sitting under the lamp and talking.
After returning to Yique more than 20 days ago, Chu Lisang used the money Xiao Junmo gave her to bury her mother, and then leased the small courtyard.The small courtyard is not far from Erya's pawn shop. Every day, she and Lu Xiu would go there to stand for a while.Although the original home has been turned into ruins, leaving only the scorched and ruined walls, every time they go back, they still seem to be able to see the happy and harmonious scene of the old family.
Yique got a new county magistrate, and the former county magistrate was arrested. Yang Bingjun, the governor of Luozhou, and Yao Xing, the chief history, were also punished by the three clans, and he himself was wanted by the court.Chu Lisang felt a little relieved by these news.On the day she got the news, she specially lit incense in front of her mother's tablet and told her all the good news.
Of course, she also told her mother that they were wrong to blame Xiao Junmo.At that time, the person who came to copy their house was Yao Xing, and there were his portraits on the Haizhu documents in the streets and alleys, and Chu Lisang recognized him at a glance.
Although she knew that Xiao Junmo wasn't responsible for this, Chu Lisang's hatred for him didn't ease much, because she always believed that he was the one who brought their family to this state!In fact, as early as the day she left Gantangyi, Chu Lisang had already made up her mind. After returning to her hometown to bury her mother and observe mourning for a month, she would go to Chang'an to settle accounts with Xiao Junmo and at the same time try to rescue her father.
That night, Chu Lisang calculated that there were not a few days left in a month, so he asked Lu Xiu to pack his bags.
When Luxiu heard that he was going to Chang'an to settle accounts with Xiao Junmo, he smiled narrowly and said, "It's weird that we spend his gold to settle accounts with him."
Chu Lisang glared at her: "Just this little gold has captivated your heart? You don't want to think about who brought us to this point!"
"Of course I know it's Xiao Junmo, but after careful investigation, the culprit is actually not him, but the emperor. He just followed orders."
Chu Lisang hit her angrily: "Why do you speak for him everywhere?"
Luxiu groaned and pouted: "My lady, you really hit me, it hurts like hell!"
"It's still light, who told you to deliberately look for it?"
"Ma'am, I'm not speaking for Xiao Junmo, I think this person is not bad-hearted." Lu Xiu said, "Let's just say that you were in Gantang Station that day. You passed out. You don't know how much he loves you. Come in and see after a while." Once. Look at him in a hurry, as if the one lying on the bed is his own mother..."
Chu Lisang stared wide-eyed, making a gesture to hit, but Lu Xiu hurriedly dodged.
"Why do you want to beat someone while talking?"
"Who made your dog unable to spit out ivory!"
"Okay, okay, lady, calm down, can't I say the wrong thing?" Luxiu laughed, "But then again, how are you going to settle accounts with him, do you really want to kill him?"
"Does it need to be said? Only by killing him can I vent my hatred!" Chu Lisang gritted his teeth on purpose, but his tone was obviously soft.In fact, she herself felt the same way about what Lu Xiu said just now.That day at Gantang Station, although she cried until she was almost unconscious, she still remembered clearly how Xiao Junmo carried her into the next room.To this day, she still seems to be able to feel the warmth of his chest and the warmth of his palm...
Lu Xiu saw that she was stunned suddenly, and immediately understood what was going on, so she deliberately sighed and said, "Oh, what a pity!"
Chu Lisang came back to his senses: "What's the pity?"
"It's a pity that such a handsome and gentle gentleman is going to become a ghost under the knife of the lady! What is that word called? What kind of thing is violent?"
"You big-headed ghost!" Chu Lisang gave her a hard look, "Did you fall in love with him?"
"Yeah, I've fallen in love with him, is my lady jealous?" Lu Xiu said solemnly.
Chu Lisang finally couldn't take it anymore, he grabbed a broom and threw it over.Green Sleeve dodged lightly, still giggling non-stop.Chu Lisang jumped up suddenly, scolded while searching for something: "You shameless brat, see if I don't beat you to death today!"
Finally, Chu Lisang found a copper ruler, proudly waved it towards the green sleeve, and forced it step by step.Luxiu exaggeratedly yelled: "Oh, killing people, my wife is going to kill people!" He ran out while shouting.
Chu Lisang chased to the door of the room, and accidentally knocked his toe on the threshold, grinning his teeth in pain, quickly threw away the copper ruler, and jumped back into the room with his feet hugged.
There was silence in the yard for a while, and then there was another scream from Luxiu.
"What's the ghost screaming in the middle of the night?" Chu Lisang rubbed his toes and shouted angrily, "Come in here quickly, and rub my feet for me. Let me spare you this time."
It was quiet in the yard, and there was no response at all.
"Damn girl, what the hell are you doing!" Chu Lisang muttered, and limped out.
As soon as he entered the courtyard, Chu Lisang froze.
Two men in black armor each put a knife across the neck of Luxiu, and there were also a dozen men in black armor standing around them, each with their swords in their hands, and the swords were shining brightly.
In an instant, Chu Lisang came to his senses, and just as he was about to make a move, two equally bright dragon head knives were put on her neck, one on the left and the other on the right.Then, another man in black armor came out from the darkness, came straight to stand in front of her, and looked at her with interest.
This man in black armor is actually a young and beautiful woman!
"Chu Lisang, you are more beautiful than I imagined." The woman said to her with a smile.
Chu Lisang looked at her coldly: "Who are you?"
"Let me introduce myself, my name is Huan Dieyi, and I am in the Xuanjia Guard of Chaozhong." Huan Dieyi looked her up and down with a smile, "I didn't expect such a beautiful person like you to exist in such a remote place."
"It's not that our county is poor and remote, but that the envoy is ignorant and ignorant!" When Chu Lisang heard the word "Xuanjiawei", he understood a little bit in his heart, and said with a sneer, "Luozhou is the former capital of the east, looking down on the world; Yique It is a place of outstanding appearance, gathering humanities. It is fine if the envoy has not traveled far, why show off here, it is in vain to make people laugh."
Huan Dieyi grew up in Chang'an since she was a child, and she rarely travels far. In addition, she only likes to practice martial arts but not to study, so she has almost no idea of the mountains, rivers, scenery, history and humanities in various parts of the Tang Dynasty. A little embarrassed, but she still kept a smile on her face: "It seems that Miss Chu is not only beautiful, but also has excellent eloquence. It's a pity that she has fallen into this situation today. How do you say that? By the way, God Jealous of beauty!"
"Isn't this thanks to your Xuanjia Guards?" Chu Lisang said coldly, "Huan Duizheng, isn't he afraid of retribution for doing such unreasonable things like your Xuanjia Guards?"
"What do you know! Xuanjiawei is carrying out the will of the sage and maintaining the discipline of the court!" Huan Dieyi said, "It's no wonder that ordinary people and country girls like you don't understand."
"Stop talking nonsense, what the hell are you trying to do?"
"According to the order of the sage, I invite you to come to Beijing to reunite with your father."
Chu Lisang was surprised: "Going to Beijing?"
"Yes, the Holy One is merciful. I can't bear to see your father and daughter separated, so let you reunite as soon as possible!"
Chu Lisang pondered for a while, and immediately guessed the emperor's intention, thinking that it would be good to see his father as soon as possible, even if he had to die, the whole family could die together, so he smiled coldly: "That's fine, this girl is going to Chang'an , now with your escort, I don’t even have to spend money.”
"Oh?" Huan Dieyi was a little surprised, "Why are you going to Chang'an?"
"To meet an old friend."
"Old friend? Can you tell me who it is?"
"It's okay to tell you. He is a person like you, dressed in black, showing off his might and oppressing good people everywhere."
Huan Dieyi frowned slightly, and immediately realized: "You mean Xiao Junmo?"
"It seems that you know him very well," Chu Lisang sneered, "One guess is right."
"What are you doing with him?"
"Account with him."
"Settle accounts?" Huan Dieyi understood what she meant, and sneered, "What ability do you have that you dare to ask him to settle accounts?"
"What skills do I have, Captain Huan will try it himself and you will know?"
Huan Dieyi raised his eyebrows: "You dare to provoke me?"
"I'm just answering your question."
Huan Dieyi's face darkened, and she stared straight at her.Chu Lisang looked at her without any fear.The eyes of the two were strangled together, and neither of them blinked.After a while, Huan Dieyi smiled coldly, took off the saber at his waist, threw it together with the helmet to a man in black armor next to him, and then said to the two who were holding Chu Lisang: "Back off."
A man in black armor was stunned: "The team is in charge, the general has an order to take Chu Lisang as quickly as possible..."
"I said, step back!" Huan Dieyi's eyes were cold and his tone was stern.
The two men in black armor had no choice but to withdraw their knives and retreat to the side.
Huan Dieyi looked back at the dozen or so Heijia people in the yard: "Listen to me, no one is allowed to help."
All the men in black armor looked at each other in blank dismay.
"Did you hear that?" Huan Dieyi shouted sharply.
"Decree!" The men in black armor hurriedly replied.
Huan Dieyi then turned around and looked at Chu Lisang: "Come on, let me see your skills!"
Chu Lisang smiled brightly: "Have Captain Huan thought about it? In front of so many subordinates, it won't look good if you lose."
Huan Dieyi twisted his wrist and neck like a man, and smiled coldly: "Don't play tricks, make a move!"
As soon as Chu Lisang moved, his right palm immediately slashed towards Huan Dieyi's face.Huan Dieyi dodged sideways and punched Chu Lisang in the chest.Chu Lisang blocked it with his left palm.With a snap, the two of them each took a few steps away...
In Liangyi Hall of Taiji Palace, Li Shimin sat on the imperial couch with a gloomy expression.
Standing side by side below are five ministers: Minister Zuo Pu Shefang Xuanling, Minister Minister Sun Wuji, Zhongshu Ling Cen Wenwen, Minister of Officials Hou Junji, Minister of Civil Affairs Tang Jian.
"Do you know why I called you into the palace tonight?" Li Shimin's voice was low, his eyes swept over the faces of the five people one by one.
The five of them looked at each other in blank dismay, not daring to answer.
"In the past few days, I have thought about it carefully. The five of you have recommended a person to me on different occasions. You said that this person is loyal, diligent, mature and capable, and has a political voice. He is a rare and capable minister. I listened to you and put him in such an important position as the governor of Luozhou. What happened? This person is not only corrupt and perverts the law, but also exploits the common people. The bloody case at Gantang Station is truly a heinous crime! As his recommenders, what do you have to say now?"
According to the Tang system, officials of the fifth rank and above are usually recommended by the six ministers of the three provinces, and then appointed by the emperor directly, which is called "Certification". "Quanxuan".Yang Bingjun was an official of the third grade, apparently conferred by the emperor himself, but if something happened, the recommender must be held accountable, and it is impossible to shift the blame to the emperor.
"I report to Your Majesty that I have committed a crime!" Fang Xuanling took the lead, "I was deceived by Yang Bingjun's clever words and tricks, and recommended him to His Majesty without careful investigation. His crime is unforgivable. Please punish him!" said the official robe With a kick, he immediately knelt down.
"Your Majesty, I also mistrusted official rumors, and I am also guilty!" Changsun Wuji also knelt down.
Immediately afterwards, Cen Wenwen, Hou Junji, and Tang Jian also knelt down at the same time, pleading guilty one after another.
"So, you all only admit that you were deceived, and you don't want to admit other reasons?"
"Returning to Your Majesty, what I said just now is true, there is no other reason, I hope Your Majesty will learn from you!" Fang Xuanling said.Changsun Wuji and others also echoed.
"Could it be that no one has accepted Yang Bingjun's black-hearted money?" Li Shimin played with the expressions of the five people.
Everyone was shocked and denied it.
Li Shimin looked around at them again, and smiled faintly: "Well, since you have said so, I will believe you this time. Cen Wenwen."
"The minister is here."
"You draw up an order immediately, because you and the other five people don't know who they know, and recommend people who are not people, which leads to chaos in the court and unrest among the people. In order to strictly enforce the rules and regulations, you will be punished and confiscated for one year's salary, as a warning to others!"
"The minister leads the order."
"I do this, do you have any objections?"
This kind of punishment is clearly a lenient sentence, how dare everyone have any objections?So everyone talked nonsense, and they all felt lucky from the bottom of their hearts.
Li Shimin looked at them, sneered secretly, and said: "Xuanling and Wuji stay here, and the others can go down."
Cen Wenwen, Hou Junji, and Tang Jian saluted and retired.
Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji couldn't help but exchanged glances, their hearts beating at the same time, wondering what kind of medicine was sold in the emperor's gourd.
Chu Lisang and Huan Dieyi fought back and forth for dozens of rounds, but there was still no winner.
Luxiu and a dozen Xuanjia guards were dazzled by the sidelines, and they were anxious for them.
"Chu Lisang, even if you win, I'm useless, I'll arrest you and take you to Chang'an!" Huan Dieyi scolded softly, his fists and feet were blowing, and the offensive was fierce.
While dodging lightly, Chu Lisang said with a sneer: "That's right, it's the same for me to win or lose, so I can afford to lose. But what about you? Can you afford to lose?"
"Isn't it just to lose face? Is there anything I can't afford to lose?" Huan Dieyi said angrily while attacking with all his strength, "How much face is a catty?"
"That's wrong!" Chu Lisang took a look at the opening and started to fight back, throwing out his legs one after another to sweep the opponent's foot, "You are a majestic Xuanjia guard, and you are not like us ordinary people, how can you lose face?!"
Hearing this, Huan Dieyi became more and more anxious. She was accidentally hit by Chu Lisang's right leg, and immediately fell forward. Fortunately, she reacted quickly, rolled on the spot, and then knelt on one leg, so she didn't get bitten by a dog. mud.Lu Xiu couldn't help but cheered, but was sternly shouted by Xuan Jiawei, and hurriedly shut his mouth.
Chu Lisang looked at Huan Dieyi, and smiled sweetly: "Team Huan is hurrying to invite you, little girl can't bear your big gift!"
It was only then that Huan Dieyi realized that he seemed to be kneeling on the ground to salute, and suddenly became angry from embarrassment, and flew up, grabbing Chu Lisang with his hands like eagle claws, and the attack was more fierce than before.
Chu Lisang's heart shuddered, and he went on the defensive again, but after a moment of dazed attention, Huan Dieyi's fingertips scratched his left cheek, and a streak of blood appeared immediately.
Huan Dieyi smiled triumphantly, kept attacking, and said loudly: "Chu Lisang, you have such a beautiful face, it would be a pity to be caught by me, you should admit defeat!"
Chu Lisang was furious, and simply stopped defending blindly, and changed a routine to attack her.
The fighting between the two sides became more and more intense...
Both Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji were given seats, and Li Shimin's expression softened a bit.
"The two of you are staying here because I want to talk to you about an old matter." Li Shimin looked at them, "Do you still remember those bloody words left by Lu Shiheng 16 years ago?"
"Of course I remember!" Changsun Wuji said first, "I still remember it vividly."
Fang Xuanling was thoughtful, but did not answer.
"I'm sure you all understand that I've been collecting Wang Xizhi's authentic works all these years because I want to solve the mystery of the scarlet characters left by Lu Shiheng, and I've tried everything possible to find Biancai for this purpose." Li Shimin said slowly, "Right now, although Biancai has kept his mouth shut, , I don’t speak a word, and the authentic copy of "Lanting Preface" has not yet been found, but through the Gantangyi case, I have already solved part of the mystery."
Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji couldn't help opening their eyes wide when they heard the words, and subconsciously held their breath.
"The word 'Heavenly Stems' left by Lu Shiheng back then was actually 'Heavenly Punishment'. The two of you must have already guessed this point, but do you know the origin of these two words?"
The two looked at each other and shook their heads.
Li Shimin turned his head and gave Zhao Dequan, who was standing beside him, a wink.Zhao Dequan understood, and immediately took down "Lanting Collection" from the nearby bookshelf, unfolded the scroll, and spread it on the desk in front of Li Shimin.
"You can take a closer look." Li Shimin said.
Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji rushed to the desk, took a closer look, and found that it was a rather long five-character poem. There were two places in the poem marked with two eye-catching circles by the ink brush. The poem reads:
The solidity of the body is not easy, and the three cups can relieve the punishment of heaven.There is no stopping the master in the square inch, and the cutting will be self-leveling.
Although there is no silk or bamboo, Xuanquan has a clear voice.Although there are no whistles and songs, there are lingering fragrances in the words.
One circle is hitting the word "Tian Xing", and the other circle is hitting the word "Xuanquan".
It turns out that this is the origin of the word "Heavenly Punishment"!Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji suddenly realized, and couldn't help but look at each other, but they were completely puzzled why the word "Xuanquan" was also marked.
"As you can see," Li Shimin said, "the word 'Heavenly Punishment' comes from this five-character poem written by Wang Xizhi at the Lanting Meeting. Unsolved. What I want to tell you today is mainly the word 'Xuanquan'."
Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji were waiting to listen seriously, when Li Shimin patted his palms lightly twice, and Li Shiji quietly walked out from behind the screen.Although the two were a little surprised, they were not very surprised, because Xuanjiawei's behavior style had always been like this, and they had long been used to it.
"The next thing, let Shiji tell you." Li Shimin said, motioning Li Shiji to sit down.
Li Shiji and the two greeted each other, sat down on the other side, and said straight to the point: "From the clues obtained from the Gantangyi case, there is currently a huge mysterious force in the rivers and lakes, and it has infiltrated its power into the court. Among the people who infiltrated, there was a person code-named 'Xuanquan'. It was this person who secretly helped Yang Bingjun obtain the post of governor of Luozhou. Therefore, we believe that this person is likely to hold a high position in the court. In other words, he Among the people summoned by the Holy One tonight, that is, among the five of you!"
Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji were shocked when they heard the words.
Changsun Wuji was so frightened that he stood up, and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty has learned! Wuji has always been loyal to our Tang Sheji, and it is absolutely impossible to have anything to do with any power in the world..."
Fang Xuanling couldn't sit still any longer, she quickly stood up and explained.
"Why panic! If I doubted you, would I still tell you this?" Li Shimin said lightly, "Among the five people, the ones I really trust are the two of you. As for the three of them... I feel very suspicious !"
Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling looked at each other, relieved, and then slowly sat back.
Li Shimin signaled Li Shiji to continue.
"Mr. Fang," Li Shiji said, "Just now you said that Yang Bingjun spoke eloquently, implying that he had been in contact with him before?"
Fang Xuanling hurriedly waved his hands: "No relationship at all! It's just that Fang's duty is to ask the Ministry of Officials to recommend some officials with excellent evaluations to report to the Ministry of Ministers after the annual routine official examinations. Yang Bingjun was among the recommendations in [-], so I was deeply impressed."
Hearing this, Li Shiji subconsciously glanced at Li Shimin.
Li Shimin looked at Fang Xuanling in surprise: "You mean, Yang Bingjun was rated as excellent in the official examination?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, for two consecutive years, Yang Bingjun has been awarded the upper middle class, that is, the fourth class."
According to the Tang system, the imperial court had a set of performance assessment methods for officials at all levels, called "the method of examination and class", and the standards were "four goodness" and "27 most". The "Four Kindness" examines the overall conduct, and the standard is "a well-known virtue, a clear and prudent writing, fairness, diligence and relentlessness"; "Quanheng people, who are talented and talented, are the best in the selection of officials." Xingxing, clearing out the subordinates, is the most political and religious", and so on.According to these standards, the Ministry of Officials evaluates officials at all levels, divides the results into nine grades, and reports them to the Ministry of Shangshu for announcement.For officials listed in the first to fourth ranks, a quarter of salary will be added for each rank, and there will be no increase or decrease for the fifth rank, and a quarter of salary will be withheld for each rank of retreat below the sixth rank.
"So, a corrupt official like Yang Bingjun still receives an extra season of salary from me every year?" Li Shimin sneered, "It seems that Hou Junji should have taken Yang Bingjun's black-hearted money a lot!"
Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji looked at each other, not daring to answer.
Li Shimin signaled Li Shiji to continue.
Li Shiji turned his attention to Changsun Wuji: "Master Changsun, you seem to have said just now that you recommended Yang Bingjun because you believed in official rumors. Excuse me, who exactly did you hear good things about Yang Bingjun?"
Changsun Wuji recalled it carefully, and said: "I remember, it seems that Cen Wenwen and Tang Jian both talked about it, and...by the way, a few years ago, Liu Lancheng, the governor of Daizhou, came to the court once and made a special trip to the door. Province, handed me a few official resumes, one of which was Yang Bingjun's. Liu Lancheng praised him for his integrity, diligence, maturity and ability, and I thought there was no problem after reading the resume, so I believed him without thinking too much."
Li Shimin frowned: "You also have a relationship with Liu Lancheng?"
Changsun Wuji was startled, and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, don't misunderstand me. I only met this person a few times and had no contact with him. I remember that when he came to the province, he seemed to be introduced by his colleagues in the court. Otherwise, I would not have met him." will receive him."
"Do you still remember who introduced it?" Li Shimin stared at him.
Changsun Wuji tried his best to think back, and said apologetically, "Your Majesty, forgive me, it happened several years ago, I really can't remember it."
Li Shimin looked disappointed.
Fang Xuanling pondered, and suddenly thought of something, said: "Your Majesty, I remember that this Liu Lancheng has always been Yang Bingjun's immediate boss. Over the years, the two people's promotion paths in their official careers seem to have overlapped, and they are quite synchronized. I doubt , could this so-called 'Xuanquan' be exactly Liu Lancheng?"
Li Shimin frowned: "You mean, Xuanquan is not necessarily in the court?"
"Fang Xianggong's suspicion has some truths." Li Shiji said, "According to Lang Jiang Xiao Junmo's report, what Mingzang said in Gantang Station at that time does not seem to indicate that Xuanquan is a member of the court."
"You repeat the original sentence of Mingzang." Li Shimin said.
"Ming Zang said: 'I really regret it, why did Xuan Quan help get this kind of person into the position of governor.'"
Li Shimin was thinking: "It sounds like this, but it really doesn't mean it. I always think that Xuanquan is the minister of the court, maybe it's a preconceived idea."
Changsun Wuji was puzzled: "Who is this... this Mingzang?"
Fang Xuanling also looked at Li Shiji suspiciously.
Li Shiji said: "According to the current situation, this person should be the leader of this mysterious force."
Both Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling were stunned.
Li Shimin turned back the "Lanting Collection" on the desk, and tapped a certain text with his finger: "Let's take a look."
The two looked closely, and there was another five-character poem on it:
The first teacher had Ming Zang, and An Yongji Shiluo.If you don't want to protect the truth, Qiqi Jishan.
On the word "Ming Zang", there is another circle made with a vermilion brush.
"This is a five-character poem written by Wang Huizhi, the fifth son of Wang Xizhi." Li Shimin said, "Just like 'Heavenly Punishment' and 'Xuanquan', the word 'Mingzang' and the joint codes they used all come from this volume of "Lanting Collection." "!"
Changsun Wuji looked surprised: "I didn't expect that there are so many things hidden in this book!"
Li Shimin snorted coldly: "I believe that there are many things hidden in this book!" After speaking, he suddenly remembered, "Where did I just talk?"
"Return to Your Majesty, and talk about the relationship between Liu Lancheng and Yang Bingjun." Fang Xuanling said.
"Well, since the relationship between these two people is very close, let's investigate!" Li Shimin turned his attention to Li Shiji, "turn the focus of the investigation to this Liu Lancheng, let me investigate thoroughly to see if he is Xuanquan! Also, Hou Jun Whether Ji took bribes, and whether Cen Wenwen and Tang Jian had a private relationship with Yang Bingjun should also be investigated!"
"The minister obeys the order!"
Chu Lisang and Huan Dieyi had been fighting for almost half an hour, both of them were sweating and panting, but neither of them wanted to stop.
Huan Die's clothes were like eagle claws, and she grabbed Chu Lisang's face again. Chu Lisang dodged sideways, but "Eagle Claws" happened to grab her shoulders, and with a swipe, the clothes were torn apart.Chu Lisang's fragrant shoulders were half exposed, and the black-armored men present booed unanimously.Huan Dieyi didn't expect this, she was startled, and pulled her clothes up again casually.
Although it only happened for a moment, Chu Lisang was extremely ashamed and annoyed.She yelled, and attacked Huan Dieyi crazily as if she had suddenly changed into another person.
Although Huan Dieyi's grab was purely unintentional, it was inevitable that he felt a little guilty.After apologizing, the strength in his hands weakened, and he retreated step by step, and was soon forced to a corner of the yard by Chu Lisang.
Chu Lisang's yard is leased, and there are many landlord's things piled up in the corner, such as hoes, shovels, iron rakes, dustpans and so on.Huan Dieyi was preoccupied with defending, without paying attention to his feet. When he was inattentive, he tripped over a hoe lying on the ground, and fell backwards on his back.
At this time, an iron rake was leaning against the corner, and a row of pointed rake teeth were facing the back of Huan Dieyi's fallen head.
At the same time as the Heijia people exclaimed, one hand firmly grasped the collar of Huan Dieyi.Huan Dieyi looked back subconsciously, the sharp rake teeth were less than half an inch away from her eyeballs, if she hadn't been caught in time, she would surely die!
Chu Lisang pulled Huan Dieyi up, gasped and said, "Are you still beating?"
Huan Dieyi glanced at the iron rake behind him again, and couldn't help but feel lingering fear, so he said straightforwardly: "No, you won!"
"That doesn't count." Chu Lisang said, "You can win with an iron rake, and you won't win by force."
Huan Dieyi smiled: "So, let's fight another day?"
"A word is settled!"
Huan Dieyi put on the helmet, put on the saber again, and said to Chu Lisang: "It's already late, hurry up and get on the road!"
"You must let me bring a few changes of clothes?"
"No need, our Xuanjia Guards will provide everything we need."
Chu Lisang smiled wryly: "Forget it. However, I can go with you, but you have to let my maidservant go."
As soon as Luxiu heard this, she became anxious: "Lady, I won't go, I want to be with you!"
"No problem." Huan Dieyi said, "The Holy Majesty only said to invite you, not including her."
Tears burst out of Luxiu's eyes in an instant: "Lady, you...you are so cruel, how could you leave me alone?"
Chu Lisang walked up to her and wiped the tears off her face with a smile: "My dear sister, our fate in this life is over, you take the money and find a good man to marry, if there is an afterlife, we will do it again." Sister!" After finishing speaking, she walked out of the courtyard without looking back.A dozen Xuanjia guards followed immediately.
Lu Xiu's whole body was numb, only tears were left flowing.
When Huan Dieyi came to her side, he couldn't bear it suddenly, and whispered: "Silly girl, she is doing it for your own good..."
"I don't want her to be good for me!" Lu Xiu suddenly burst into a loud cry, and then burst into tears, chasing after her while crying.
Startled, Huan Dieyi slashed the back of her neck with her right palm, causing Lu Xiu to sway her body and collapsed.Huan Dieyi supported her, hugged her to the wall and leaned against the wall, and gently pinched her cheek: "Go to sleep, you won't be sad when you fall asleep. Listen to your sister and live well. Better to die than to live!"
In the Hall of Liangyi, the ministers have all retreated.
Li Shimin sat alone on the couch, staring at the volume of "Lanting Collection" on the desk in a daze.
Zhao Dequan, who was standing by the side, came over and said softly: "Everyone, it's almost midnight, you should rest."
Li Shimin came back to his senses and said, "I'm not sleepy."
Zhao De showed a full expression of worry: "Everyone, forgive me for talking too much, you have to rest even if you are not sleepy! You are responsible for all major events in this world, so you have to take care of your dragon body!"
"Sit down for a while." Li Shimin smiled gently, "You can talk to me."
Zhao Dequan was startled, and then smiled apologetically: "This old servant is clumsy, I really don't know what to say to everyone at this moment."
Li Shimin glanced at him, and said with a faint smile: "It's a lie. You obviously want to ask me a lot, but you still don't admit it."
Zhao Dequan chuckled: "Everyone really deserves to be the real dragon emperor, who can see the old slave's thoughts clearly, just like the Buddhist said 'his heart is connected'."
"Okay, stop flattering, just ask if you have anything to say."
"Yes, everyone, this old slave has been wondering all night. Since you know Mr. Fang is close to King Wei in private, why did you tell him all the secrets of "Lanting Collection"?"
"I just want Fang Xuanling and his son to spread the word, and let Qingque know these things."
Zhao Dequan was puzzled: "Everyone, this old slave is even more puzzled. If you want King Wei to know, why don't you tell him personally?"
"Can it be the same?" Li Shimin glanced at him again, "If I tell Qing Que personally, he won't dare to make a fuss about these things; if Fang Xuanling and his son leak the secret in private, Qing Que will definitely do something. And what I want to see is how Fang Xuanling and his son will leak the secret, and how Qingque will act!"
Zhao Dequan suddenly realized.
Serving the emperor for so many years, he has seen the emperor's imperial skills of controlling his subjects more than once, but each time he only saw it clearly after the fact, and he couldn't touch or guess it before the event.
This time the emperor did this to see if Fang Xuanling and his son and the king of Wei knew about these things, were they helping to maintain the stability of the country and sharing the emperor's worries;If it was the former, Li Shimin might really let King Wei replace the crown prince in the East Palace; if it was the latter, then Fang Xuanling and his son and King Wei could only blame themselves, or even bring shame on themselves.
Zhao Dequan couldn't help sighing in his heart: Since ancient times, the most unpredictable thing in the world is the emperor's mind. Now Li Shimin's emperor's art is even more superb and unfathomable.
It is said that like a father like a son, Zhao Dequan sometimes couldn't help thinking that the reason why Li Chengqian, the prince of the current dynasty, was not following the right track and changing his ways in the world, was it not because he inherited a certain aspect of his personality to some extent? ?
It was cloudy and rainy for several days, Xiao Junmo had nothing to do, so he simply locked himself in his father's study room, flipping through "Lanting Collection", while thinking hard about the mystery of "Lanting Preface".
Just as Li Shimin made three red circles in his "Lanting Collection", so Xiao Junmo also made three black circles in this volume of "Lanting Collection".
They are "Mingzang", "Xuanquan" and "Linchuan".
If it is difficult to judge the commonality of the "Heavenly Punishment", "Mingzang" and "Xuanquan" in Li Shimin's three red circles, then these three words in Xiao Junmo's circle have an obvious commonality-they It's someone's name.
"Mingzang" is the masked man, "Xuanquan" is the lurker, and "Linchuan" is Wei Zheng.
Xiao Junmo couldn't help thinking that since Wei Zheng's codename "Linchuan" originated from the five-character poem written by his ninth ancestor Wei Pang at the Lanting Meeting, then by analogy, the masked man's codename "Mingzang" should be the same.Opening the "Lanting Collection", we can see that the word "Mingzang" comes from the five-character poem of Wang Huizhi, the fifth son of Wang Xizhi. From this, it can be seen that this masked figure is very likely to be a descendant of Wang Xizhi.
In order to investigate eloquence before, Xiao Junmo went to Yongxin Temple in Yuezhou, and learned that Zhiyong, the abbot of the temple, was the seventh grandson of Wang Xizhi, whose common name was Wang Faji.Then, if this masked man is really a descendant of Wang Xi, he may be Zhiyong's nephew or grandnephew.
This clue can only be pushed so far, and the next step is "Xuanquan".However, this "Xuanquan" confused Xiao Junmo.Because the word "Xuanquan" comes from Wang Xizhi's five-character poem at the Lanting Meeting, according to the previous reasoning, this lurker should also be a descendant of Wang Xizhi.But is this possible?
Based on intuition, Xiao Junmo felt that this was unlikely, but there are too few clues at present, and it is difficult to make any effective inferences, so the mystery of "Xuanquan" can only be temporarily shelved.
Xiao Junmo changed his mind, reorganized all the situations he had learned these days, and summarized a few key points:
[-]. Wei Zheng is the leader of a mysterious force. Its members include his father Xiao Henian, Zuo Tunwei Zhonglang Li Anyan and others. They lurk in the court, and their goal seems to be the same as that of Biancai, which is to protect the "Orchid Pavilion Preface" secret.
[-]. Mingzang is the leader of another mysterious force. Its members include Wei Laoliu, Yang Bingjun, Yao Xing, and the lurker "Xuanquan". Want to seize the secret of "Lanting Preface".
[-]. Based on the exact same relationship between Wei Zheng, Mingzang, Lanting Society and Lanting Collection, it can basically be concluded that they all belong to a larger secret organization.But if this is the case, why are their goals of action completely different, and even killed you in Gantang Station?After thinking about it for a while, Xiao Junmo felt that the most likely explanation was that although they belonged to the same organization, there were huge differences in their opinions, which led to their separation and going their separate ways.
The train of thought has almost come to a standstill.Xiao Junmo flicked through various collections of books in his father's study, but found nothing interesting.Finally, his gaze accidentally landed on a wooden box in the corner of the study.
My father has the habit of keeping a diary. Although he doesn't write every day, he will at least record the things he thinks are important.And my father's diaries for so many years are locked in this mahogany box.
Xiao Junmo pried open the box without thinking too much, and dozens of folded diaries appeared in front of his eyes.
In the Tang Dynasty, more important books were written in silk script and bound on a scroll, called "scroll binding"; while ordinary books or essays and notes written by ordinary people would be written on a strip of paper, folded It can be read side by side, and the front and back covers are glued and mounted with hard covers. Because some Buddhist scriptures were bound in this way at that time, this kind of hard-covered books is called "Sutra-folded".
Xiao Junmo moved a large stack of diaries to the desk, and found that the words "a certain year in Wude" or "a certain year in Zhenguan" were written on the cover of each volume, indicating that his father kept one book a year.The diary was written from the second year of Wude to the current 16th year of Zhenguan. There are 24 volumes in total, each of which is different in thickness.
Xiao Junmo looked through five or six volumes of the Wude Nian, and then a dozen volumes of the Zhenguan Nian, but found nothing special. He was a little disappointed. After thinking about it, he directly pulled out "Nine Years of Wude" and "Nine Years of Wude" and " The 16 Years of Zhenguan" in two volumes.
In the ninth year of Wude, the Xuanwumen Incident took place, and a major turning point occurred in both the society and the fate of individuals, so this year should be the most interesting one.The 16th year of Zhenguan is now, and it was written in the last days of my father's deathbed, and it is more likely to leave useful clues.
Sure enough, as soon as he opened the book "Nine Years of Wude", Xiao Junmo's eyes were attracted by the "Lu family extermination case" that caused a sensation in the government and the public.
My father was the county magistrate of Chang'an at the time, not only inspecting the scene himself, but also reporting the case directly to the emperor, and later he was one of the officials in charge of the case, so the records are very detailed.
The murderer's criminal method in this case was extremely cruel. First, he killed fifteen members of the Lu family including the young and old, including the servants, and then burned the corpses to wipe out the traces, creating the illusion of a fire.According to my father's investigation and analysis, fifteen people were killed together, but the neighbors didn't hear anything at all. It can be seen that the murderer is definitely a multi-person gang and well-trained, so no one was left at the scene to solve the case. clues.Because of this, although the emperor personally intervened in this case, and all levels of government tried their best, the murderer was not found in the end, and it became an unsolved case.
It can be seen from the diary that my father regretted this and regarded it as one of the most failed things in his life.
According to the on-site investigation records of this case, Lu's house was reduced to ashes in the fire, which also included many gold and silver artifacts. It can be seen that the murderer's motive for killing was not seeking money, but most likely revenge.But at that time, Lu Shiheng had already died in the Xuanwumen Incident. How could the murderer have such a great hatred and want to destroy the family?
Xiao Junmo felt as if he had fallen into the same predicament as his father back then, and was puzzled by it.
Having no clue, Xiao Junmo had no choice but to pick up the "16 Years of Zhenguan" diary again.
As soon as it was opened, after only a few pages, Xiao Junmo suddenly regained his energy.
He never expected that in his diary on February 23rd, his father would write down many important discoveries related to the "Lu family extermination case" that year, and these discoveries were closely related to the secrets of "Lanting Preface":
[-]. Lu Shiheng's code name is "Wuya", and he belongs to Mr. Mingzang.During the coup that year, he might have betrayed Mingzang and Prince Yin, and secretly took refuge in the then King Qin.As a result, Mingzang's revenge was incurred, leading to the tragedy of exterminating the family.
[-]. Mingzang's destruction of the Lu family may not be entirely out of the purpose of venting anger and killing chickens and monkeys, but to find something called a "winner glass".Ming Zang was worried that the "Yuyang Glass" would fall into the hands of the emperor, which would involve too many secrets and eventually involve him, so he sneaked into Lu's house in order to retrieve the "Yuyang Glass" and eventually caused a bloody case.
[-]. Lu Shiheng left some clues to King Qin before his death, and these clues point to the secret of "Lanting Preface".
[-]. It is precisely because of the clues left by Lu Shiheng that King Qin began to search for Wang Xizhi's authentic works after he ascended the throne. On the surface, he said he loved his calligraphy, but in fact he wanted to crack the secret of "Lanting Preface".
Seeing these discoveries written down by his father in black and white, Xiao Junmo was stunned for a while, and at the same time he was even more confused—the case made his father feel confused and helpless, but when did his father suddenly have so many things after 16 years? Big discovery?
Looking down with this question, Xiao Junmo was finally relieved.
These are all "Mr. Linchuan", which is what Wei Zheng said to his father on February 23!
In fact, Wei Zheng has a clear understanding of these things for a long time, and the reason why he hides them is because he believes that the world has been peaceful these years, so there is no need to mention all these things.But right now, the battle between the king of Wei and the crown prince is intensifying, the court situation is in jeopardy, and once the eloquence is found and the secret of "Lanting Preface" is revealed, the consequences will be even more unimaginable, so I told my father all this, the purpose is It is necessary to take action to maintain the stability of the country, and at the same time prevent the mystery of "Lanting Preface" from being revealed to the world.
Xiao Junmo immediately opened the "Lanting Collection", and found that the word "Wuya" and "Xuanquan" both come from the five-character poem written by Wang Xizhi himself at the Lanting Meeting. The poem is:
Looking up at the blue sky, overlooking the green waterfront.Liao Lang has no boundaries, and the reason is self-presentation.
Xiao Junmo was pleasantly surprised to have obtained so many unprecedented discoveries all of a sudden.However, these clues were not enough for him to continue to investigate, and he felt a little regretful.
Due to the sudden death of his father, this "Zhenguan 16th Year" diary has only written a few dozen pages, and most of the rest are blank.Xiao Junmo turned to the last page with words, which is the diary on February 25.This is the last text left by his father in the world. It is a bit scribbled, and there are only a few dozen words, but when Xiao Junmo looked at it, his eyes suddenly brightened.
There are several names written on the paper, and several words with unknown meanings:
Lv family, Lv Ben, LV Shiheng, Meng Huai let the wine glass avoid misfortune and flee far away
Xiao Junmo has recently studied Wang Xizhi's Lanting Club thoroughly, and he has firmly memorized the names of the 42 participants.So he knew at a glance that Lu Xi and Lu Ben were also two of the participants, a pair of brothers from Rencheng in Yanzhou.Xiao Junmo remembered that they did not compose poems at the Lanting meeting, and one of them was fined three cups of wine for this.Now, the names of these two people were written before Lu Shiheng by his father. Does this mean that they are Lu Shiheng's ancestors?And the code name "Wuya" inherited by Lu Shiheng came from them?
Xiao Junmo thinks the possibility is very high, but this is not the point right now, the most urgent thing is to find out: Who is this Meng Huairang?Why did his father write his name behind Lu Shiheng? What exactly does "Yuglass" allude to? What does "flee away from disaster" mean?
Did my father mean to suspect that before the Xuanwumen incident, Lu Shiheng was worried that he might die in battle, so he secretly handed over the wine glass to this man named Meng Huairang. Then take the wine glass and go away?
Xiao Junmo feels that this is the only reasonable explanation at present.
In order to prove this point, Xiao Junmo immediately opened the diary of "Nine Years of Wude", and sure enough, he saw this name in the clues about the "Lu family extermination case" recorded by his father.
Meng Huairang, a native of Huangshui, Shanzhou, Longyou, served as the brigade commander of Zuotunying during the reign of Wude, and was stationed at Xuanwumen. He was a subordinate of Lu Shiheng, a Zhonglang general in Zuotunying. One day, suddenly the whole family disappeared without a trace.My father thought this was suspicious, so he went to his hometown Longyou to look for this person, but found that Meng Huairang had never returned to his hometown, and no one knew where he had gone.Since there were no other clues to assist at the time, he obviously felt that the matter was very strange, and his father had no choice but to give up the investigation.
Unexpectedly, 16 years later, after listening to Wei Zheng's words, his father suddenly realized that Meng Huairang might have something to do with the "wine glass", so he wrote down his suspicion in the last diary entry.However, with the passage of time, the "Lu family extermination case" has long been forgotten by the world. It is not known where Meng Huairang is hiding and whether he is still alive, so his father can only die suddenly with this question in the end.
So far, although the entire mystery of "Preface to the Lanting Pavilion" is still a boundless fog for Xiao Junmo, with clues such as "Wu Ya", Meng Huairang, and "Yu Yang" and other clues, Xiao Junmo feels that he has at least seen a glimmer of light.
(End of this chapter)
In Yique, Luozhou, dots of lights are scattered in the night.
In a house on the same street as Erya's pawn shop, Chu Lisang and Lu Xiu were sitting under the lamp and talking.
After returning to Yique more than 20 days ago, Chu Lisang used the money Xiao Junmo gave her to bury her mother, and then leased the small courtyard.The small courtyard is not far from Erya's pawn shop. Every day, she and Lu Xiu would go there to stand for a while.Although the original home has been turned into ruins, leaving only the scorched and ruined walls, every time they go back, they still seem to be able to see the happy and harmonious scene of the old family.
Yique got a new county magistrate, and the former county magistrate was arrested. Yang Bingjun, the governor of Luozhou, and Yao Xing, the chief history, were also punished by the three clans, and he himself was wanted by the court.Chu Lisang felt a little relieved by these news.On the day she got the news, she specially lit incense in front of her mother's tablet and told her all the good news.
Of course, she also told her mother that they were wrong to blame Xiao Junmo.At that time, the person who came to copy their house was Yao Xing, and there were his portraits on the Haizhu documents in the streets and alleys, and Chu Lisang recognized him at a glance.
Although she knew that Xiao Junmo wasn't responsible for this, Chu Lisang's hatred for him didn't ease much, because she always believed that he was the one who brought their family to this state!In fact, as early as the day she left Gantangyi, Chu Lisang had already made up her mind. After returning to her hometown to bury her mother and observe mourning for a month, she would go to Chang'an to settle accounts with Xiao Junmo and at the same time try to rescue her father.
That night, Chu Lisang calculated that there were not a few days left in a month, so he asked Lu Xiu to pack his bags.
When Luxiu heard that he was going to Chang'an to settle accounts with Xiao Junmo, he smiled narrowly and said, "It's weird that we spend his gold to settle accounts with him."
Chu Lisang glared at her: "Just this little gold has captivated your heart? You don't want to think about who brought us to this point!"
"Of course I know it's Xiao Junmo, but after careful investigation, the culprit is actually not him, but the emperor. He just followed orders."
Chu Lisang hit her angrily: "Why do you speak for him everywhere?"
Luxiu groaned and pouted: "My lady, you really hit me, it hurts like hell!"
"It's still light, who told you to deliberately look for it?"
"Ma'am, I'm not speaking for Xiao Junmo, I think this person is not bad-hearted." Lu Xiu said, "Let's just say that you were in Gantang Station that day. You passed out. You don't know how much he loves you. Come in and see after a while." Once. Look at him in a hurry, as if the one lying on the bed is his own mother..."
Chu Lisang stared wide-eyed, making a gesture to hit, but Lu Xiu hurriedly dodged.
"Why do you want to beat someone while talking?"
"Who made your dog unable to spit out ivory!"
"Okay, okay, lady, calm down, can't I say the wrong thing?" Luxiu laughed, "But then again, how are you going to settle accounts with him, do you really want to kill him?"
"Does it need to be said? Only by killing him can I vent my hatred!" Chu Lisang gritted his teeth on purpose, but his tone was obviously soft.In fact, she herself felt the same way about what Lu Xiu said just now.That day at Gantang Station, although she cried until she was almost unconscious, she still remembered clearly how Xiao Junmo carried her into the next room.To this day, she still seems to be able to feel the warmth of his chest and the warmth of his palm...
Lu Xiu saw that she was stunned suddenly, and immediately understood what was going on, so she deliberately sighed and said, "Oh, what a pity!"
Chu Lisang came back to his senses: "What's the pity?"
"It's a pity that such a handsome and gentle gentleman is going to become a ghost under the knife of the lady! What is that word called? What kind of thing is violent?"
"You big-headed ghost!" Chu Lisang gave her a hard look, "Did you fall in love with him?"
"Yeah, I've fallen in love with him, is my lady jealous?" Lu Xiu said solemnly.
Chu Lisang finally couldn't take it anymore, he grabbed a broom and threw it over.Green Sleeve dodged lightly, still giggling non-stop.Chu Lisang jumped up suddenly, scolded while searching for something: "You shameless brat, see if I don't beat you to death today!"
Finally, Chu Lisang found a copper ruler, proudly waved it towards the green sleeve, and forced it step by step.Luxiu exaggeratedly yelled: "Oh, killing people, my wife is going to kill people!" He ran out while shouting.
Chu Lisang chased to the door of the room, and accidentally knocked his toe on the threshold, grinning his teeth in pain, quickly threw away the copper ruler, and jumped back into the room with his feet hugged.
There was silence in the yard for a while, and then there was another scream from Luxiu.
"What's the ghost screaming in the middle of the night?" Chu Lisang rubbed his toes and shouted angrily, "Come in here quickly, and rub my feet for me. Let me spare you this time."
It was quiet in the yard, and there was no response at all.
"Damn girl, what the hell are you doing!" Chu Lisang muttered, and limped out.
As soon as he entered the courtyard, Chu Lisang froze.
Two men in black armor each put a knife across the neck of Luxiu, and there were also a dozen men in black armor standing around them, each with their swords in their hands, and the swords were shining brightly.
In an instant, Chu Lisang came to his senses, and just as he was about to make a move, two equally bright dragon head knives were put on her neck, one on the left and the other on the right.Then, another man in black armor came out from the darkness, came straight to stand in front of her, and looked at her with interest.
This man in black armor is actually a young and beautiful woman!
"Chu Lisang, you are more beautiful than I imagined." The woman said to her with a smile.
Chu Lisang looked at her coldly: "Who are you?"
"Let me introduce myself, my name is Huan Dieyi, and I am in the Xuanjia Guard of Chaozhong." Huan Dieyi looked her up and down with a smile, "I didn't expect such a beautiful person like you to exist in such a remote place."
"It's not that our county is poor and remote, but that the envoy is ignorant and ignorant!" When Chu Lisang heard the word "Xuanjiawei", he understood a little bit in his heart, and said with a sneer, "Luozhou is the former capital of the east, looking down on the world; Yique It is a place of outstanding appearance, gathering humanities. It is fine if the envoy has not traveled far, why show off here, it is in vain to make people laugh."
Huan Dieyi grew up in Chang'an since she was a child, and she rarely travels far. In addition, she only likes to practice martial arts but not to study, so she has almost no idea of the mountains, rivers, scenery, history and humanities in various parts of the Tang Dynasty. A little embarrassed, but she still kept a smile on her face: "It seems that Miss Chu is not only beautiful, but also has excellent eloquence. It's a pity that she has fallen into this situation today. How do you say that? By the way, God Jealous of beauty!"
"Isn't this thanks to your Xuanjia Guards?" Chu Lisang said coldly, "Huan Duizheng, isn't he afraid of retribution for doing such unreasonable things like your Xuanjia Guards?"
"What do you know! Xuanjiawei is carrying out the will of the sage and maintaining the discipline of the court!" Huan Dieyi said, "It's no wonder that ordinary people and country girls like you don't understand."
"Stop talking nonsense, what the hell are you trying to do?"
"According to the order of the sage, I invite you to come to Beijing to reunite with your father."
Chu Lisang was surprised: "Going to Beijing?"
"Yes, the Holy One is merciful. I can't bear to see your father and daughter separated, so let you reunite as soon as possible!"
Chu Lisang pondered for a while, and immediately guessed the emperor's intention, thinking that it would be good to see his father as soon as possible, even if he had to die, the whole family could die together, so he smiled coldly: "That's fine, this girl is going to Chang'an , now with your escort, I don’t even have to spend money.”
"Oh?" Huan Dieyi was a little surprised, "Why are you going to Chang'an?"
"To meet an old friend."
"Old friend? Can you tell me who it is?"
"It's okay to tell you. He is a person like you, dressed in black, showing off his might and oppressing good people everywhere."
Huan Dieyi frowned slightly, and immediately realized: "You mean Xiao Junmo?"
"It seems that you know him very well," Chu Lisang sneered, "One guess is right."
"What are you doing with him?"
"Account with him."
"Settle accounts?" Huan Dieyi understood what she meant, and sneered, "What ability do you have that you dare to ask him to settle accounts?"
"What skills do I have, Captain Huan will try it himself and you will know?"
Huan Dieyi raised his eyebrows: "You dare to provoke me?"
"I'm just answering your question."
Huan Dieyi's face darkened, and she stared straight at her.Chu Lisang looked at her without any fear.The eyes of the two were strangled together, and neither of them blinked.After a while, Huan Dieyi smiled coldly, took off the saber at his waist, threw it together with the helmet to a man in black armor next to him, and then said to the two who were holding Chu Lisang: "Back off."
A man in black armor was stunned: "The team is in charge, the general has an order to take Chu Lisang as quickly as possible..."
"I said, step back!" Huan Dieyi's eyes were cold and his tone was stern.
The two men in black armor had no choice but to withdraw their knives and retreat to the side.
Huan Dieyi looked back at the dozen or so Heijia people in the yard: "Listen to me, no one is allowed to help."
All the men in black armor looked at each other in blank dismay.
"Did you hear that?" Huan Dieyi shouted sharply.
"Decree!" The men in black armor hurriedly replied.
Huan Dieyi then turned around and looked at Chu Lisang: "Come on, let me see your skills!"
Chu Lisang smiled brightly: "Have Captain Huan thought about it? In front of so many subordinates, it won't look good if you lose."
Huan Dieyi twisted his wrist and neck like a man, and smiled coldly: "Don't play tricks, make a move!"
As soon as Chu Lisang moved, his right palm immediately slashed towards Huan Dieyi's face.Huan Dieyi dodged sideways and punched Chu Lisang in the chest.Chu Lisang blocked it with his left palm.With a snap, the two of them each took a few steps away...
In Liangyi Hall of Taiji Palace, Li Shimin sat on the imperial couch with a gloomy expression.
Standing side by side below are five ministers: Minister Zuo Pu Shefang Xuanling, Minister Minister Sun Wuji, Zhongshu Ling Cen Wenwen, Minister of Officials Hou Junji, Minister of Civil Affairs Tang Jian.
"Do you know why I called you into the palace tonight?" Li Shimin's voice was low, his eyes swept over the faces of the five people one by one.
The five of them looked at each other in blank dismay, not daring to answer.
"In the past few days, I have thought about it carefully. The five of you have recommended a person to me on different occasions. You said that this person is loyal, diligent, mature and capable, and has a political voice. He is a rare and capable minister. I listened to you and put him in such an important position as the governor of Luozhou. What happened? This person is not only corrupt and perverts the law, but also exploits the common people. The bloody case at Gantang Station is truly a heinous crime! As his recommenders, what do you have to say now?"
According to the Tang system, officials of the fifth rank and above are usually recommended by the six ministers of the three provinces, and then appointed by the emperor directly, which is called "Certification". "Quanxuan".Yang Bingjun was an official of the third grade, apparently conferred by the emperor himself, but if something happened, the recommender must be held accountable, and it is impossible to shift the blame to the emperor.
"I report to Your Majesty that I have committed a crime!" Fang Xuanling took the lead, "I was deceived by Yang Bingjun's clever words and tricks, and recommended him to His Majesty without careful investigation. His crime is unforgivable. Please punish him!" said the official robe With a kick, he immediately knelt down.
"Your Majesty, I also mistrusted official rumors, and I am also guilty!" Changsun Wuji also knelt down.
Immediately afterwards, Cen Wenwen, Hou Junji, and Tang Jian also knelt down at the same time, pleading guilty one after another.
"So, you all only admit that you were deceived, and you don't want to admit other reasons?"
"Returning to Your Majesty, what I said just now is true, there is no other reason, I hope Your Majesty will learn from you!" Fang Xuanling said.Changsun Wuji and others also echoed.
"Could it be that no one has accepted Yang Bingjun's black-hearted money?" Li Shimin played with the expressions of the five people.
Everyone was shocked and denied it.
Li Shimin looked around at them again, and smiled faintly: "Well, since you have said so, I will believe you this time. Cen Wenwen."
"The minister is here."
"You draw up an order immediately, because you and the other five people don't know who they know, and recommend people who are not people, which leads to chaos in the court and unrest among the people. In order to strictly enforce the rules and regulations, you will be punished and confiscated for one year's salary, as a warning to others!"
"The minister leads the order."
"I do this, do you have any objections?"
This kind of punishment is clearly a lenient sentence, how dare everyone have any objections?So everyone talked nonsense, and they all felt lucky from the bottom of their hearts.
Li Shimin looked at them, sneered secretly, and said: "Xuanling and Wuji stay here, and the others can go down."
Cen Wenwen, Hou Junji, and Tang Jian saluted and retired.
Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji couldn't help but exchanged glances, their hearts beating at the same time, wondering what kind of medicine was sold in the emperor's gourd.
Chu Lisang and Huan Dieyi fought back and forth for dozens of rounds, but there was still no winner.
Luxiu and a dozen Xuanjia guards were dazzled by the sidelines, and they were anxious for them.
"Chu Lisang, even if you win, I'm useless, I'll arrest you and take you to Chang'an!" Huan Dieyi scolded softly, his fists and feet were blowing, and the offensive was fierce.
While dodging lightly, Chu Lisang said with a sneer: "That's right, it's the same for me to win or lose, so I can afford to lose. But what about you? Can you afford to lose?"
"Isn't it just to lose face? Is there anything I can't afford to lose?" Huan Dieyi said angrily while attacking with all his strength, "How much face is a catty?"
"That's wrong!" Chu Lisang took a look at the opening and started to fight back, throwing out his legs one after another to sweep the opponent's foot, "You are a majestic Xuanjia guard, and you are not like us ordinary people, how can you lose face?!"
Hearing this, Huan Dieyi became more and more anxious. She was accidentally hit by Chu Lisang's right leg, and immediately fell forward. Fortunately, she reacted quickly, rolled on the spot, and then knelt on one leg, so she didn't get bitten by a dog. mud.Lu Xiu couldn't help but cheered, but was sternly shouted by Xuan Jiawei, and hurriedly shut his mouth.
Chu Lisang looked at Huan Dieyi, and smiled sweetly: "Team Huan is hurrying to invite you, little girl can't bear your big gift!"
It was only then that Huan Dieyi realized that he seemed to be kneeling on the ground to salute, and suddenly became angry from embarrassment, and flew up, grabbing Chu Lisang with his hands like eagle claws, and the attack was more fierce than before.
Chu Lisang's heart shuddered, and he went on the defensive again, but after a moment of dazed attention, Huan Dieyi's fingertips scratched his left cheek, and a streak of blood appeared immediately.
Huan Dieyi smiled triumphantly, kept attacking, and said loudly: "Chu Lisang, you have such a beautiful face, it would be a pity to be caught by me, you should admit defeat!"
Chu Lisang was furious, and simply stopped defending blindly, and changed a routine to attack her.
The fighting between the two sides became more and more intense...
Both Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji were given seats, and Li Shimin's expression softened a bit.
"The two of you are staying here because I want to talk to you about an old matter." Li Shimin looked at them, "Do you still remember those bloody words left by Lu Shiheng 16 years ago?"
"Of course I remember!" Changsun Wuji said first, "I still remember it vividly."
Fang Xuanling was thoughtful, but did not answer.
"I'm sure you all understand that I've been collecting Wang Xizhi's authentic works all these years because I want to solve the mystery of the scarlet characters left by Lu Shiheng, and I've tried everything possible to find Biancai for this purpose." Li Shimin said slowly, "Right now, although Biancai has kept his mouth shut, , I don’t speak a word, and the authentic copy of "Lanting Preface" has not yet been found, but through the Gantangyi case, I have already solved part of the mystery."
Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji couldn't help opening their eyes wide when they heard the words, and subconsciously held their breath.
"The word 'Heavenly Stems' left by Lu Shiheng back then was actually 'Heavenly Punishment'. The two of you must have already guessed this point, but do you know the origin of these two words?"
The two looked at each other and shook their heads.
Li Shimin turned his head and gave Zhao Dequan, who was standing beside him, a wink.Zhao Dequan understood, and immediately took down "Lanting Collection" from the nearby bookshelf, unfolded the scroll, and spread it on the desk in front of Li Shimin.
"You can take a closer look." Li Shimin said.
Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji rushed to the desk, took a closer look, and found that it was a rather long five-character poem. There were two places in the poem marked with two eye-catching circles by the ink brush. The poem reads:
The solidity of the body is not easy, and the three cups can relieve the punishment of heaven.There is no stopping the master in the square inch, and the cutting will be self-leveling.
Although there is no silk or bamboo, Xuanquan has a clear voice.Although there are no whistles and songs, there are lingering fragrances in the words.
One circle is hitting the word "Tian Xing", and the other circle is hitting the word "Xuanquan".
It turns out that this is the origin of the word "Heavenly Punishment"!Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji suddenly realized, and couldn't help but look at each other, but they were completely puzzled why the word "Xuanquan" was also marked.
"As you can see," Li Shimin said, "the word 'Heavenly Punishment' comes from this five-character poem written by Wang Xizhi at the Lanting Meeting. Unsolved. What I want to tell you today is mainly the word 'Xuanquan'."
Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji were waiting to listen seriously, when Li Shimin patted his palms lightly twice, and Li Shiji quietly walked out from behind the screen.Although the two were a little surprised, they were not very surprised, because Xuanjiawei's behavior style had always been like this, and they had long been used to it.
"The next thing, let Shiji tell you." Li Shimin said, motioning Li Shiji to sit down.
Li Shiji and the two greeted each other, sat down on the other side, and said straight to the point: "From the clues obtained from the Gantangyi case, there is currently a huge mysterious force in the rivers and lakes, and it has infiltrated its power into the court. Among the people who infiltrated, there was a person code-named 'Xuanquan'. It was this person who secretly helped Yang Bingjun obtain the post of governor of Luozhou. Therefore, we believe that this person is likely to hold a high position in the court. In other words, he Among the people summoned by the Holy One tonight, that is, among the five of you!"
Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji were shocked when they heard the words.
Changsun Wuji was so frightened that he stood up, and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty has learned! Wuji has always been loyal to our Tang Sheji, and it is absolutely impossible to have anything to do with any power in the world..."
Fang Xuanling couldn't sit still any longer, she quickly stood up and explained.
"Why panic! If I doubted you, would I still tell you this?" Li Shimin said lightly, "Among the five people, the ones I really trust are the two of you. As for the three of them... I feel very suspicious !"
Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling looked at each other, relieved, and then slowly sat back.
Li Shimin signaled Li Shiji to continue.
"Mr. Fang," Li Shiji said, "Just now you said that Yang Bingjun spoke eloquently, implying that he had been in contact with him before?"
Fang Xuanling hurriedly waved his hands: "No relationship at all! It's just that Fang's duty is to ask the Ministry of Officials to recommend some officials with excellent evaluations to report to the Ministry of Ministers after the annual routine official examinations. Yang Bingjun was among the recommendations in [-], so I was deeply impressed."
Hearing this, Li Shiji subconsciously glanced at Li Shimin.
Li Shimin looked at Fang Xuanling in surprise: "You mean, Yang Bingjun was rated as excellent in the official examination?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, for two consecutive years, Yang Bingjun has been awarded the upper middle class, that is, the fourth class."
According to the Tang system, the imperial court had a set of performance assessment methods for officials at all levels, called "the method of examination and class", and the standards were "four goodness" and "27 most". The "Four Kindness" examines the overall conduct, and the standard is "a well-known virtue, a clear and prudent writing, fairness, diligence and relentlessness"; "Quanheng people, who are talented and talented, are the best in the selection of officials." Xingxing, clearing out the subordinates, is the most political and religious", and so on.According to these standards, the Ministry of Officials evaluates officials at all levels, divides the results into nine grades, and reports them to the Ministry of Shangshu for announcement.For officials listed in the first to fourth ranks, a quarter of salary will be added for each rank, and there will be no increase or decrease for the fifth rank, and a quarter of salary will be withheld for each rank of retreat below the sixth rank.
"So, a corrupt official like Yang Bingjun still receives an extra season of salary from me every year?" Li Shimin sneered, "It seems that Hou Junji should have taken Yang Bingjun's black-hearted money a lot!"
Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji looked at each other, not daring to answer.
Li Shimin signaled Li Shiji to continue.
Li Shiji turned his attention to Changsun Wuji: "Master Changsun, you seem to have said just now that you recommended Yang Bingjun because you believed in official rumors. Excuse me, who exactly did you hear good things about Yang Bingjun?"
Changsun Wuji recalled it carefully, and said: "I remember, it seems that Cen Wenwen and Tang Jian both talked about it, and...by the way, a few years ago, Liu Lancheng, the governor of Daizhou, came to the court once and made a special trip to the door. Province, handed me a few official resumes, one of which was Yang Bingjun's. Liu Lancheng praised him for his integrity, diligence, maturity and ability, and I thought there was no problem after reading the resume, so I believed him without thinking too much."
Li Shimin frowned: "You also have a relationship with Liu Lancheng?"
Changsun Wuji was startled, and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, don't misunderstand me. I only met this person a few times and had no contact with him. I remember that when he came to the province, he seemed to be introduced by his colleagues in the court. Otherwise, I would not have met him." will receive him."
"Do you still remember who introduced it?" Li Shimin stared at him.
Changsun Wuji tried his best to think back, and said apologetically, "Your Majesty, forgive me, it happened several years ago, I really can't remember it."
Li Shimin looked disappointed.
Fang Xuanling pondered, and suddenly thought of something, said: "Your Majesty, I remember that this Liu Lancheng has always been Yang Bingjun's immediate boss. Over the years, the two people's promotion paths in their official careers seem to have overlapped, and they are quite synchronized. I doubt , could this so-called 'Xuanquan' be exactly Liu Lancheng?"
Li Shimin frowned: "You mean, Xuanquan is not necessarily in the court?"
"Fang Xianggong's suspicion has some truths." Li Shiji said, "According to Lang Jiang Xiao Junmo's report, what Mingzang said in Gantang Station at that time does not seem to indicate that Xuanquan is a member of the court."
"You repeat the original sentence of Mingzang." Li Shimin said.
"Ming Zang said: 'I really regret it, why did Xuan Quan help get this kind of person into the position of governor.'"
Li Shimin was thinking: "It sounds like this, but it really doesn't mean it. I always think that Xuanquan is the minister of the court, maybe it's a preconceived idea."
Changsun Wuji was puzzled: "Who is this... this Mingzang?"
Fang Xuanling also looked at Li Shiji suspiciously.
Li Shiji said: "According to the current situation, this person should be the leader of this mysterious force."
Both Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling were stunned.
Li Shimin turned back the "Lanting Collection" on the desk, and tapped a certain text with his finger: "Let's take a look."
The two looked closely, and there was another five-character poem on it:
The first teacher had Ming Zang, and An Yongji Shiluo.If you don't want to protect the truth, Qiqi Jishan.
On the word "Ming Zang", there is another circle made with a vermilion brush.
"This is a five-character poem written by Wang Huizhi, the fifth son of Wang Xizhi." Li Shimin said, "Just like 'Heavenly Punishment' and 'Xuanquan', the word 'Mingzang' and the joint codes they used all come from this volume of "Lanting Collection." "!"
Changsun Wuji looked surprised: "I didn't expect that there are so many things hidden in this book!"
Li Shimin snorted coldly: "I believe that there are many things hidden in this book!" After speaking, he suddenly remembered, "Where did I just talk?"
"Return to Your Majesty, and talk about the relationship between Liu Lancheng and Yang Bingjun." Fang Xuanling said.
"Well, since the relationship between these two people is very close, let's investigate!" Li Shimin turned his attention to Li Shiji, "turn the focus of the investigation to this Liu Lancheng, let me investigate thoroughly to see if he is Xuanquan! Also, Hou Jun Whether Ji took bribes, and whether Cen Wenwen and Tang Jian had a private relationship with Yang Bingjun should also be investigated!"
"The minister obeys the order!"
Chu Lisang and Huan Dieyi had been fighting for almost half an hour, both of them were sweating and panting, but neither of them wanted to stop.
Huan Die's clothes were like eagle claws, and she grabbed Chu Lisang's face again. Chu Lisang dodged sideways, but "Eagle Claws" happened to grab her shoulders, and with a swipe, the clothes were torn apart.Chu Lisang's fragrant shoulders were half exposed, and the black-armored men present booed unanimously.Huan Dieyi didn't expect this, she was startled, and pulled her clothes up again casually.
Although it only happened for a moment, Chu Lisang was extremely ashamed and annoyed.She yelled, and attacked Huan Dieyi crazily as if she had suddenly changed into another person.
Although Huan Dieyi's grab was purely unintentional, it was inevitable that he felt a little guilty.After apologizing, the strength in his hands weakened, and he retreated step by step, and was soon forced to a corner of the yard by Chu Lisang.
Chu Lisang's yard is leased, and there are many landlord's things piled up in the corner, such as hoes, shovels, iron rakes, dustpans and so on.Huan Dieyi was preoccupied with defending, without paying attention to his feet. When he was inattentive, he tripped over a hoe lying on the ground, and fell backwards on his back.
At this time, an iron rake was leaning against the corner, and a row of pointed rake teeth were facing the back of Huan Dieyi's fallen head.
At the same time as the Heijia people exclaimed, one hand firmly grasped the collar of Huan Dieyi.Huan Dieyi looked back subconsciously, the sharp rake teeth were less than half an inch away from her eyeballs, if she hadn't been caught in time, she would surely die!
Chu Lisang pulled Huan Dieyi up, gasped and said, "Are you still beating?"
Huan Dieyi glanced at the iron rake behind him again, and couldn't help but feel lingering fear, so he said straightforwardly: "No, you won!"
"That doesn't count." Chu Lisang said, "You can win with an iron rake, and you won't win by force."
Huan Dieyi smiled: "So, let's fight another day?"
"A word is settled!"
Huan Dieyi put on the helmet, put on the saber again, and said to Chu Lisang: "It's already late, hurry up and get on the road!"
"You must let me bring a few changes of clothes?"
"No need, our Xuanjia Guards will provide everything we need."
Chu Lisang smiled wryly: "Forget it. However, I can go with you, but you have to let my maidservant go."
As soon as Luxiu heard this, she became anxious: "Lady, I won't go, I want to be with you!"
"No problem." Huan Dieyi said, "The Holy Majesty only said to invite you, not including her."
Tears burst out of Luxiu's eyes in an instant: "Lady, you...you are so cruel, how could you leave me alone?"
Chu Lisang walked up to her and wiped the tears off her face with a smile: "My dear sister, our fate in this life is over, you take the money and find a good man to marry, if there is an afterlife, we will do it again." Sister!" After finishing speaking, she walked out of the courtyard without looking back.A dozen Xuanjia guards followed immediately.
Lu Xiu's whole body was numb, only tears were left flowing.
When Huan Dieyi came to her side, he couldn't bear it suddenly, and whispered: "Silly girl, she is doing it for your own good..."
"I don't want her to be good for me!" Lu Xiu suddenly burst into a loud cry, and then burst into tears, chasing after her while crying.
Startled, Huan Dieyi slashed the back of her neck with her right palm, causing Lu Xiu to sway her body and collapsed.Huan Dieyi supported her, hugged her to the wall and leaned against the wall, and gently pinched her cheek: "Go to sleep, you won't be sad when you fall asleep. Listen to your sister and live well. Better to die than to live!"
In the Hall of Liangyi, the ministers have all retreated.
Li Shimin sat alone on the couch, staring at the volume of "Lanting Collection" on the desk in a daze.
Zhao Dequan, who was standing by the side, came over and said softly: "Everyone, it's almost midnight, you should rest."
Li Shimin came back to his senses and said, "I'm not sleepy."
Zhao De showed a full expression of worry: "Everyone, forgive me for talking too much, you have to rest even if you are not sleepy! You are responsible for all major events in this world, so you have to take care of your dragon body!"
"Sit down for a while." Li Shimin smiled gently, "You can talk to me."
Zhao Dequan was startled, and then smiled apologetically: "This old servant is clumsy, I really don't know what to say to everyone at this moment."
Li Shimin glanced at him, and said with a faint smile: "It's a lie. You obviously want to ask me a lot, but you still don't admit it."
Zhao Dequan chuckled: "Everyone really deserves to be the real dragon emperor, who can see the old slave's thoughts clearly, just like the Buddhist said 'his heart is connected'."
"Okay, stop flattering, just ask if you have anything to say."
"Yes, everyone, this old slave has been wondering all night. Since you know Mr. Fang is close to King Wei in private, why did you tell him all the secrets of "Lanting Collection"?"
"I just want Fang Xuanling and his son to spread the word, and let Qingque know these things."
Zhao Dequan was puzzled: "Everyone, this old slave is even more puzzled. If you want King Wei to know, why don't you tell him personally?"
"Can it be the same?" Li Shimin glanced at him again, "If I tell Qing Que personally, he won't dare to make a fuss about these things; if Fang Xuanling and his son leak the secret in private, Qing Que will definitely do something. And what I want to see is how Fang Xuanling and his son will leak the secret, and how Qingque will act!"
Zhao Dequan suddenly realized.
Serving the emperor for so many years, he has seen the emperor's imperial skills of controlling his subjects more than once, but each time he only saw it clearly after the fact, and he couldn't touch or guess it before the event.
This time the emperor did this to see if Fang Xuanling and his son and the king of Wei knew about these things, were they helping to maintain the stability of the country and sharing the emperor's worries;If it was the former, Li Shimin might really let King Wei replace the crown prince in the East Palace; if it was the latter, then Fang Xuanling and his son and King Wei could only blame themselves, or even bring shame on themselves.
Zhao Dequan couldn't help sighing in his heart: Since ancient times, the most unpredictable thing in the world is the emperor's mind. Now Li Shimin's emperor's art is even more superb and unfathomable.
It is said that like a father like a son, Zhao Dequan sometimes couldn't help thinking that the reason why Li Chengqian, the prince of the current dynasty, was not following the right track and changing his ways in the world, was it not because he inherited a certain aspect of his personality to some extent? ?
It was cloudy and rainy for several days, Xiao Junmo had nothing to do, so he simply locked himself in his father's study room, flipping through "Lanting Collection", while thinking hard about the mystery of "Lanting Preface".
Just as Li Shimin made three red circles in his "Lanting Collection", so Xiao Junmo also made three black circles in this volume of "Lanting Collection".
They are "Mingzang", "Xuanquan" and "Linchuan".
If it is difficult to judge the commonality of the "Heavenly Punishment", "Mingzang" and "Xuanquan" in Li Shimin's three red circles, then these three words in Xiao Junmo's circle have an obvious commonality-they It's someone's name.
"Mingzang" is the masked man, "Xuanquan" is the lurker, and "Linchuan" is Wei Zheng.
Xiao Junmo couldn't help thinking that since Wei Zheng's codename "Linchuan" originated from the five-character poem written by his ninth ancestor Wei Pang at the Lanting Meeting, then by analogy, the masked man's codename "Mingzang" should be the same.Opening the "Lanting Collection", we can see that the word "Mingzang" comes from the five-character poem of Wang Huizhi, the fifth son of Wang Xizhi. From this, it can be seen that this masked figure is very likely to be a descendant of Wang Xizhi.
In order to investigate eloquence before, Xiao Junmo went to Yongxin Temple in Yuezhou, and learned that Zhiyong, the abbot of the temple, was the seventh grandson of Wang Xizhi, whose common name was Wang Faji.Then, if this masked man is really a descendant of Wang Xi, he may be Zhiyong's nephew or grandnephew.
This clue can only be pushed so far, and the next step is "Xuanquan".However, this "Xuanquan" confused Xiao Junmo.Because the word "Xuanquan" comes from Wang Xizhi's five-character poem at the Lanting Meeting, according to the previous reasoning, this lurker should also be a descendant of Wang Xizhi.But is this possible?
Based on intuition, Xiao Junmo felt that this was unlikely, but there are too few clues at present, and it is difficult to make any effective inferences, so the mystery of "Xuanquan" can only be temporarily shelved.
Xiao Junmo changed his mind, reorganized all the situations he had learned these days, and summarized a few key points:
[-]. Wei Zheng is the leader of a mysterious force. Its members include his father Xiao Henian, Zuo Tunwei Zhonglang Li Anyan and others. They lurk in the court, and their goal seems to be the same as that of Biancai, which is to protect the "Orchid Pavilion Preface" secret.
[-]. Mingzang is the leader of another mysterious force. Its members include Wei Laoliu, Yang Bingjun, Yao Xing, and the lurker "Xuanquan". Want to seize the secret of "Lanting Preface".
[-]. Based on the exact same relationship between Wei Zheng, Mingzang, Lanting Society and Lanting Collection, it can basically be concluded that they all belong to a larger secret organization.But if this is the case, why are their goals of action completely different, and even killed you in Gantang Station?After thinking about it for a while, Xiao Junmo felt that the most likely explanation was that although they belonged to the same organization, there were huge differences in their opinions, which led to their separation and going their separate ways.
The train of thought has almost come to a standstill.Xiao Junmo flicked through various collections of books in his father's study, but found nothing interesting.Finally, his gaze accidentally landed on a wooden box in the corner of the study.
My father has the habit of keeping a diary. Although he doesn't write every day, he will at least record the things he thinks are important.And my father's diaries for so many years are locked in this mahogany box.
Xiao Junmo pried open the box without thinking too much, and dozens of folded diaries appeared in front of his eyes.
In the Tang Dynasty, more important books were written in silk script and bound on a scroll, called "scroll binding"; while ordinary books or essays and notes written by ordinary people would be written on a strip of paper, folded It can be read side by side, and the front and back covers are glued and mounted with hard covers. Because some Buddhist scriptures were bound in this way at that time, this kind of hard-covered books is called "Sutra-folded".
Xiao Junmo moved a large stack of diaries to the desk, and found that the words "a certain year in Wude" or "a certain year in Zhenguan" were written on the cover of each volume, indicating that his father kept one book a year.The diary was written from the second year of Wude to the current 16th year of Zhenguan. There are 24 volumes in total, each of which is different in thickness.
Xiao Junmo looked through five or six volumes of the Wude Nian, and then a dozen volumes of the Zhenguan Nian, but found nothing special. He was a little disappointed. After thinking about it, he directly pulled out "Nine Years of Wude" and "Nine Years of Wude" and " The 16 Years of Zhenguan" in two volumes.
In the ninth year of Wude, the Xuanwumen Incident took place, and a major turning point occurred in both the society and the fate of individuals, so this year should be the most interesting one.The 16th year of Zhenguan is now, and it was written in the last days of my father's deathbed, and it is more likely to leave useful clues.
Sure enough, as soon as he opened the book "Nine Years of Wude", Xiao Junmo's eyes were attracted by the "Lu family extermination case" that caused a sensation in the government and the public.
My father was the county magistrate of Chang'an at the time, not only inspecting the scene himself, but also reporting the case directly to the emperor, and later he was one of the officials in charge of the case, so the records are very detailed.
The murderer's criminal method in this case was extremely cruel. First, he killed fifteen members of the Lu family including the young and old, including the servants, and then burned the corpses to wipe out the traces, creating the illusion of a fire.According to my father's investigation and analysis, fifteen people were killed together, but the neighbors didn't hear anything at all. It can be seen that the murderer is definitely a multi-person gang and well-trained, so no one was left at the scene to solve the case. clues.Because of this, although the emperor personally intervened in this case, and all levels of government tried their best, the murderer was not found in the end, and it became an unsolved case.
It can be seen from the diary that my father regretted this and regarded it as one of the most failed things in his life.
According to the on-site investigation records of this case, Lu's house was reduced to ashes in the fire, which also included many gold and silver artifacts. It can be seen that the murderer's motive for killing was not seeking money, but most likely revenge.But at that time, Lu Shiheng had already died in the Xuanwumen Incident. How could the murderer have such a great hatred and want to destroy the family?
Xiao Junmo felt as if he had fallen into the same predicament as his father back then, and was puzzled by it.
Having no clue, Xiao Junmo had no choice but to pick up the "16 Years of Zhenguan" diary again.
As soon as it was opened, after only a few pages, Xiao Junmo suddenly regained his energy.
He never expected that in his diary on February 23rd, his father would write down many important discoveries related to the "Lu family extermination case" that year, and these discoveries were closely related to the secrets of "Lanting Preface":
[-]. Lu Shiheng's code name is "Wuya", and he belongs to Mr. Mingzang.During the coup that year, he might have betrayed Mingzang and Prince Yin, and secretly took refuge in the then King Qin.As a result, Mingzang's revenge was incurred, leading to the tragedy of exterminating the family.
[-]. Mingzang's destruction of the Lu family may not be entirely out of the purpose of venting anger and killing chickens and monkeys, but to find something called a "winner glass".Ming Zang was worried that the "Yuyang Glass" would fall into the hands of the emperor, which would involve too many secrets and eventually involve him, so he sneaked into Lu's house in order to retrieve the "Yuyang Glass" and eventually caused a bloody case.
[-]. Lu Shiheng left some clues to King Qin before his death, and these clues point to the secret of "Lanting Preface".
[-]. It is precisely because of the clues left by Lu Shiheng that King Qin began to search for Wang Xizhi's authentic works after he ascended the throne. On the surface, he said he loved his calligraphy, but in fact he wanted to crack the secret of "Lanting Preface".
Seeing these discoveries written down by his father in black and white, Xiao Junmo was stunned for a while, and at the same time he was even more confused—the case made his father feel confused and helpless, but when did his father suddenly have so many things after 16 years? Big discovery?
Looking down with this question, Xiao Junmo was finally relieved.
These are all "Mr. Linchuan", which is what Wei Zheng said to his father on February 23!
In fact, Wei Zheng has a clear understanding of these things for a long time, and the reason why he hides them is because he believes that the world has been peaceful these years, so there is no need to mention all these things.But right now, the battle between the king of Wei and the crown prince is intensifying, the court situation is in jeopardy, and once the eloquence is found and the secret of "Lanting Preface" is revealed, the consequences will be even more unimaginable, so I told my father all this, the purpose is It is necessary to take action to maintain the stability of the country, and at the same time prevent the mystery of "Lanting Preface" from being revealed to the world.
Xiao Junmo immediately opened the "Lanting Collection", and found that the word "Wuya" and "Xuanquan" both come from the five-character poem written by Wang Xizhi himself at the Lanting Meeting. The poem is:
Looking up at the blue sky, overlooking the green waterfront.Liao Lang has no boundaries, and the reason is self-presentation.
Xiao Junmo was pleasantly surprised to have obtained so many unprecedented discoveries all of a sudden.However, these clues were not enough for him to continue to investigate, and he felt a little regretful.
Due to the sudden death of his father, this "Zhenguan 16th Year" diary has only written a few dozen pages, and most of the rest are blank.Xiao Junmo turned to the last page with words, which is the diary on February 25.This is the last text left by his father in the world. It is a bit scribbled, and there are only a few dozen words, but when Xiao Junmo looked at it, his eyes suddenly brightened.
There are several names written on the paper, and several words with unknown meanings:
Lv family, Lv Ben, LV Shiheng, Meng Huai let the wine glass avoid misfortune and flee far away
Xiao Junmo has recently studied Wang Xizhi's Lanting Club thoroughly, and he has firmly memorized the names of the 42 participants.So he knew at a glance that Lu Xi and Lu Ben were also two of the participants, a pair of brothers from Rencheng in Yanzhou.Xiao Junmo remembered that they did not compose poems at the Lanting meeting, and one of them was fined three cups of wine for this.Now, the names of these two people were written before Lu Shiheng by his father. Does this mean that they are Lu Shiheng's ancestors?And the code name "Wuya" inherited by Lu Shiheng came from them?
Xiao Junmo thinks the possibility is very high, but this is not the point right now, the most urgent thing is to find out: Who is this Meng Huairang?Why did his father write his name behind Lu Shiheng? What exactly does "Yuglass" allude to? What does "flee away from disaster" mean?
Did my father mean to suspect that before the Xuanwumen incident, Lu Shiheng was worried that he might die in battle, so he secretly handed over the wine glass to this man named Meng Huairang. Then take the wine glass and go away?
Xiao Junmo feels that this is the only reasonable explanation at present.
In order to prove this point, Xiao Junmo immediately opened the diary of "Nine Years of Wude", and sure enough, he saw this name in the clues about the "Lu family extermination case" recorded by his father.
Meng Huairang, a native of Huangshui, Shanzhou, Longyou, served as the brigade commander of Zuotunying during the reign of Wude, and was stationed at Xuanwumen. He was a subordinate of Lu Shiheng, a Zhonglang general in Zuotunying. One day, suddenly the whole family disappeared without a trace.My father thought this was suspicious, so he went to his hometown Longyou to look for this person, but found that Meng Huairang had never returned to his hometown, and no one knew where he had gone.Since there were no other clues to assist at the time, he obviously felt that the matter was very strange, and his father had no choice but to give up the investigation.
Unexpectedly, 16 years later, after listening to Wei Zheng's words, his father suddenly realized that Meng Huairang might have something to do with the "wine glass", so he wrote down his suspicion in the last diary entry.However, with the passage of time, the "Lu family extermination case" has long been forgotten by the world. It is not known where Meng Huairang is hiding and whether he is still alive, so his father can only die suddenly with this question in the end.
So far, although the entire mystery of "Preface to the Lanting Pavilion" is still a boundless fog for Xiao Junmo, with clues such as "Wu Ya", Meng Huairang, and "Yu Yang" and other clues, Xiao Junmo feels that he has at least seen a glimmer of light.
(End of this chapter)
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Chapter 87 2 days ago -
Hong Kong Entertainment 1979: A Beating Up the Manager at the Start
Chapter 114 2 days ago
