Lanting prelude

Chapter 3
In the first month of the 16th year of Zhenguan, Taiji Palace and Ganlu Palace.

In the morning, it snowed heavily.The soft sunlight diffuses in through a row of long carved windows and the open hall door, adding a bit of warmth to the hall.

At this moment, Taizong Li Shimin, who is middle-aged and slightly overweight, is leaning over his desk intently to make a post, with a tube of ivory Zihao decorated with emerald carvings in his hand, walking tiger-like on the white rice paper.Where the ink falls, the pen is strong and magnificent.The post he wrote was Wang Xizhi's famous running script "Quick Snow and Sunny Post".This post has only four lines, just 28 characters.Li Shimin wrote over and over again on the long paper that was spread out, until he reached the end of the rice paper, and then abruptly stopped writing.

"Everyone, you really have become more and more familiar with the samadhi of Youjun's calligraphy!" Zhao Dequan, the servant standing beside him, bowed to take the Zihao, put it on the pen holder, and praised hurriedly, "Look at this character, each and every one of them is phoenix. Zhu Longpan really captivates the world and kills all sentient beings!"

Li Shimin was admiring his work, and couldn't hide his complacency, but he said: "'Phoenix Zhu and Dragon Pan' is my compliment to Wang Xizhi, you are quite courageous, dare to say it to me?"

Zhao Dequan covered his mouth and smiled: "This old servant is clumsy and ignorant, and I have no choice but to use your compliments. Please forgive me!"

Li Shimin glanced at him: "If you say something wrong, slap yourself."

"Yes, the old slave should be beaten, the old slave should be beaten." Zhao Dequan smiled and slapped him in the face.

"Put this post away and give me a cursive one." Li Shimin moved his wrist and stretched his arms a few times.

"Follow the order." Zhao Dequan carefully put away the scriptures on the desk, and walked towards the entire row of bookshelves behind Li Shimin.

A whole row of nanmu bookshelves stand against the north wall, on which are neatly displayed scrolls of carefully framed calligraphy, a considerable part of which are Wang Xizhi's calligraphy works that Li Shimin has spared no effort to collect from all over the world since the ninth year of Wude.So far, 290 papers of Wang Xizhi's regular script and running script have been collected, mounted into [-] volumes; [-] papers of cursive script, mounted into [-] volumes.

However, to Li Shimin's deep regret, until today, the representative work of Wang Xizhi's running script "Lanting Preface" is still missing.Over the years, he has been troubled by the puzzle left by Lu Shiheng back then, and he is neither able to solve it nor get rid of it.Even the tragic family extermination case was settled later, and it became an unforgettable pain for Li Shimin for many years.

"Everyone, how about this volume of "Chrysanthemum Picking Tie"?" Zhao Dequan asked after taking a volume of Fatie from the bookshelf.

Just as Li Shimin was about to answer, a small yellow door walked quickly into the hall, bowed and said: "I would like to inform you, His Royal Highness King Wei, please see me."

"The blue bird is here?" Li Shimin's face was full of joy, "Quickly pass it on!"

Xiao Huangmen agreed to back down.

"Qingque" is the nickname of Li Tai, the fourth son of Li Shimin, the king of Wei.Li Tai was 23 years old at the time, and he was a compatriot with the 24-year-old prince Li Chengqian and the 15-year-old Jin Wang Li Zhi. They were both born to the eldest grandson of Empress Wende. .

Seeing that the emperor was in a good mood today, Zhao Dequan leaned forward and said, "Everyone, it seems that today is a very happy day!"

"Where does the joy come from?" Li Shimin closed his eyes, put his left hand behind his back, and held a pen in his right hand, holding it in the air to write with his mind.This move can not only exercise arm strength and wrist strength, but also train concentration, which is the favorite of those who are good at calligraphy.

Zhao Dequan smiled, knowing that the emperor was knowingly asking: "I heard that His Royal Highness King Wei's imperial masterpiece "Kuo Di Zhi" has been compiled, and his merits and virtues have been completed. He must have announced the good news to everyone today."

Because Li Tai loved literature and was versatile since he was a child, Li Shimin authorized him to open a literature museum in Fuzhong to recruit celebrities from all over the world.From the 12th year of Zhenguan, Li Tai began to compile Kuodizhi with great fanfare with the assistance of a group of scholars and Confucians.This book is a large-scale geography work, with 550 volumes of text and five volumes of preface. It comprehensively records the territorial division and the establishment of prefectures and counties during the Zhenguan period. The history of the establishment and the landscape, products, historic sites, customs, characters, anecdotes, etc. are not only highly academic, but also of great benefit to the administrative governance of the Tang court at that time.

After more than three years, the book was finally compiled years ago.In fact, Li Shimin had received the news a few days ago, so of course he also knew that Li Tai's entry into the palace today should be a formal presentation of a book.

"Dequan, how old are you?" Li Shimin asked coldly with his eyes closed.

Zhao Dequan was startled: "Back to everyone, this old slave is sixty-three this year."

"What kind of supplements do you take to maintain your health?"

Zhao Dequan became more and more confused: "Everyone, old slave...except for three meals a day, this old slave rarely takes supplements."

"Oh?" Li Shimin opened his eyes and looked at him, "That's strange. Since you rarely nourish yourself, why are you still so sharp at this age?"

Zhao Dequan finally heard the overtones, and hurriedly knelt down: "Forgive me, everyone! This old slave also heard about His Royal Highness Wei's affairs by accident. I definitely didn't intend to inquire about it. I hope everyone can learn from it!"

Li Shimin smiled faintly: "Why are you panicking? I didn't scold you, but I just praised you for your strong bones. Look, it scares you."

Zhao Dequan lay down on the ground and kowtowed vigorously: "This old slave entrusts everyone with great blessings and serves you wholeheartedly, so God has mercy on you and let this old slave live for a few more years. If one day you don't need this old slave anymore, this old slave will immediately Dig a hole and bury yourself!"

Li Shimin laughed loudly: "Okay, okay, get up, you said today is a big day, why are you still talking about unlucky things?"

Only then did Zhao Dequan get up tremblingly, with a smirk on his face: "Everyone is right, but this old servant is owed."

At this time, Wei Wang Li Taizhong's angry voice sounded outside the palace gate: "My son kowtows to the father, and I wish the father a long live and a long live!"

"You all go down, I want to talk to King Wei, no one is allowed to disturb you." Li Shimin put away his smile and said seriously.

"Observe the order." Zhao Dequan led the eunuchs in the palace and bowed back, a drop of cold sweat slipped quietly from his forehead.

In the inner hall of Ganlu Hall, four volumes of silk books framed in yellow silk are neatly arranged on the desk, and Li Shimin is sitting on the couch reading another volume in his hand.Wei Wang Li Tai bowed and stood aside, paying attention to Li Shimin's expression.

"Father, these five volumes are the general preface of "Kuo Di Zhi". My son wants you to have a quick look. The 550 volumes of the main text have also been sent to the secret pavilion in the palace. If you want to read them, you can order someone to submit them at any time." Li Tai whispered.He is burly, imposing, with big piercing eyes, and he is exactly like Li Shimin in both figure and appearance.

"Well, there's no rush." ​​Li Shimin still looked at the silk book, and his face gradually showed approval.

When Li Tai noticed it, he was secretly happy.

Li Shimin has always paid great attention to the compilation of "Kuo Di Zhi".From the perspective of the government and the opposition, this is nothing more than Li Shimin's doting on the king of Wei, and he wants to let Li Tai improve his personal and political prestige through this book.However, few people in the ruling and opposition parties know that apart from this superficial reason, Li Shimin asked Li Tai to compile this set of books. In fact, there is another hidden reason. People—a person who is closely related to "Lanting Preface" and is very likely to know its whereabouts.

After a while, Li Shimin flipped through the other four volumes before putting down the silk scroll, and looked at Li Tai with satisfaction: "Qingque, the compilation of this book is a great achievement for the imperial court. I must reward you well."

Li Tai was overjoyed in his heart, but his expression was still restrained: "Thank you, Father, for your appreciation! However, this book was compiled thanks to the grace of the Father, and down to the group of officials and ministers. My sons dare not take credit for it."

"Okay, between us father and son, there is no need to say these polite words." Li Shimin patted the imperial couch next to him, "Come and sit down."

Li Tai couldn't restrain his joy any longer, and bowed his head, "Thank you, Father, for giving me the seat!"

To be able to sit on the same bed with the emperor is obviously not a common honor, not to mention that no one in the civil and military courts of the Manchu Dynasty has this kind of treatment, even if there are more than a dozen sons of Li Shimin, only Li Tai can enjoy this honor.But at this moment, "sitting on the same couch" is not just an honor for Li Tai, but also a hint that he can report something more secret to Li Shimin.

In this regard, their father and son naturally have a tacit understanding.

"Father, I still have a piece of good news to announce." Li Tai sat aside and said in a low voice.

Li Shimin closed his eyes on purpose, rubbed his temples with his hands: "Speak."

"My son has already found clues to the eloquence."

The eloquent talent Li Tai mentioned was a monk and a disciple of Wang Xizhi's seventh monk Sun Zhiyong.According to Li Shimin's initial investigation, Zhiyong, whose real name is Wang Faji, is the descendant of Wang Huizhi, the fifth son of Wang Xizhi. He inherited the family tradition and worked in calligraphy. Emperor Wu Xiao Yan bestowed the name on it and changed it to Yongxin Temple.According to reliable information, the original "Lanting Preface" has always been in Zhiyong's hands.At the end of the Sui Dynasty, the world was in turmoil, and many heroes rose up. Xiao Xian proclaimed himself emperor according to Jiangling. Zhiyong and his disciple Biancai suddenly left Yongxin Temple and went to Dajue Temple in Jiangling, where they later stayed.In the fourth year of Wude, Jiangling was captured by the Tang army, and Xiao Mian was defeated and killed. Zhiyong and Biancai left Dajue Temple without knowing where they were going.

Some of the above information was obtained by Li Shimin from Minister Yu Shinan.Yu Shinan was once one of the [-] scholars of the Qin Palace, and a calligrapher whom Li Shimin admired very much. When he was young, he studied calligraphy with Zhiyong and saw the authentic "Lanting Preface" more than once.After the Lu Shiheng incident in the ninth year of Wude, Li Shimin secretly summoned Yu Shinan many times to inquire about the "Lanting Preface" and Zhiyong's affairs, but Yu Shinan's knowledge was limited and he could not provide more valuable clues.

In the 12th year of Zhenguan, Yu Shinan died of illness.At this time, Li Shimin had secretly instructed Li Tai to start compiling Kuodizhi, and learned through a lot of secret investigations that after Zhiyong and Biancai left Jiangling in the fourth year of Wude, they returned to their hometown Yuezhou and lived in seclusion in Lanzhu Mountain.This Lanzhu Mountain is the place where Wang Xizhi gathered with dozens of friends in the ninth year of Yonghe.It was the Shangsi Festival on the third day of March, and Wang Xizhi and others drank wine and wrote poems on the banks of the Lanting River in the mountains. , later known as "the best running script in the world".

According to Li Tai's subsequent investigation, in the ninth year of Wude, shortly after Li Shimin ascended the throne, Zhiyong passed away without warning one night at the age of 120.After Zhiyong passed away, his disciple Biancai who had been following and serving him also disappeared, and there has been no trace since then.

Based on this, Li Shimin and Li Tai judged that Biancai probably absconded with the original "Lanting Preface", and it was very likely that he would return to vulgar life, change his name and surname, and disappear among the common people.In Li Shimin's view, the only explanation for the reason why Biancai deliberately concealed his whereabouts can only be--"Lanting Preface" hides a certain important secret!This judgment is completely consistent with Li Shimin's judgment from the Lu Shiheng incident, so Li Shimin has always believed in it.

Of course, Li Shimin did not share this with Li Tai.He asked Li Tai to compile "Kuo Di Zhi" and secretly search for Biancai, just because he loved Wang Xizhi's calligraphy, and hoped to find the famous post "Orchid Pavilion Preface" through Biancai.

At this moment, when Li Shimin heard Li Tai say that he had found clues to Biancai, he felt very excited. After all, this was the closest moment to the truth of "Lanting Preface" in the past ten years. reveal all the secrets.

However, as a hero of a generation, Li Shimin's concentration still played a role at this time.With his eyes still closed, he lightly rubbed his temples with his fingers, and his movements were unhurried. After a while, he asked, "What clues have you found?"

"Return to Father Emperor," Li Tai paid attention to Li Shimin's expression, "My son has locked down a total of 17 suspicious objects in the three counties under the jurisdiction of Youzhou, Yangzhou, and Luozhou. According to the comprehensive analysis of various reports, it can It can be deduced that debate is among these [-] people!"

"17 people?" Li Shimin said "Hmm", "It's not bad, much better than casting a net all over the sky and finding a needle in a haystack."

"Yes, father, my son intends to send a group of the most capable personnel to conduct a secret investigation on these suspects. I believe there will be results soon."

"Well, who are you going to send there?"

Li Tai hesitated to speak.

Li Shimin didn't open his eyes until now: "Why didn't you speak?"

Li Tai hesitated and said: "Father, in order to find out the eloquence as soon as possible, my son... I have a merciless request."

"Say."

"My son hopes that you can make an order to mobilize... people from Xuanjiawei."

Li Shimin was slightly taken aback, and pondered.

The Xuanjiawei is a special force that directly obeys Li Shimin's orders. Its number is only over two thousand, but they are all the best of the best.This troop evolved from the most valiant iron cavalry under Li Shimin's command, the "Xuanjia Army". A small part of them are former generals of the Xuanjia Army, and most of them are young talents who have been strictly selected in recent years.

In the course of the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the Xuanjia Army followed Li Shimin to wipe out the heroes and unify the country, and made great military exploits.The Xuanjia Army belongs to the heavy cavalry, which was personally selected by Li Shimin from the Sifang Tang Army.The army is divided into left and right, led by Xiao generals Qin Shubao, Cheng Zhijie, Yuchi Jingde, and Zhai Changsun.Whenever there is a major battle, Li Shimin will personally wear Xuanjia to go into battle, with the Xuanjia army as the vanguard, invincible and invincible, making the enemy frightened.In the third year of Wude, Li Shimin besieged Luoyang. He once led [-] Xuanjia elites to defeat Wang Shichong and captured more than [-] people; More than a hundred thousand people captured Dou Jiande alive and ruled the world in one fell swoop.

After Li Shimin ascended the throne, he reorganized the Xuanjia Army, the former trump card, and most of them were placed under Li Jing's command. They played a key role in defeating the Turks. Then, with the remaining part of the elite as the main body, Li Shiji served as the general and formed the Xuanjia Army. guard.Unlike the Xuanjia Army, which dominates the battlefield and is high-profile, the Xuanjia Guards are low-key and mysterious. They occasionally take on the responsibility of imperial guards when the emperor is on tour, but their main duties are to carry out secret tasks directly assigned by the emperor, such as carrying out tasks against high-ranking officials with problems. Monitoring, investigation, arrest, interrogation, etc., are similar to the Jinyiwei of later generations.In the Tang Dynasty at that time, the governors and governors of civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty and various Taoists, when they heard the word "Xuanjiawei", their faces changed and their hearts trembled.

Xuanjiawei followed the Xuanjia Army system, with the general as the commander, under the jurisdiction of the left and the right, divided by the left and right generals, each leading 80 people; each general has two Zhonglang generals, Each leader has 540 people; each Zhonglang general has two Lang generals, each leading 270 people; each Lang general has three brigade commanders, each with 90 people; each brigade commander has three team leaders, each Lead 30 people.Because it is directly under the emperor's guards, although the number of Xuanjiawei is small, they are of high rank: the general is the third rank, the left and right generals are the third rank, the middle man will be the fourth rank, and the Lang will be the master. On the fifth rank, the brigade commander is on the sixth rank, and the team is on the seventh rank.

Due to the special status and important functions of Xuanjiawei, the equipment is also particularly excellent. All officers and soldiers are dressed in Xuanwu armor, with a dragon's head sword on their waists, and they are all black Yanqi horses.Basalt Armor is a composite of iron armor and leather armor, made of multiple armors with unique craftsmanship. The shape of the knife originated from the ring head knife of the Han Dynasty, with narrow body, long blade and straight back, and further adopted the "Baogang" technology in the forging process of "Hundred Steelmaking" in the Han Dynasty, which has greater hardness and toughness, and removes the The flat ring of the handle head was replaced by a domineering and exquisite dragon head shape, so it was named "Dragon Head", and the overall production cost was very high; Yanqi horses came from the Western Regions. And it can swim in the water, so it has the reputation of "Sea Horse Dragon Colt".

Because the whole body of the Xuanwu armor is black, the handle and scabbard of the Dragon Head Saber are also black, and Yanqi horses are all made of pure black, so when the Xuanwu armor appears, there will be a cold and murderous atmosphere, especially the collective When dispatched, there is an aura of overwhelming black clouds, overwhelming the city.

Such a special force is generally not easily mobilized, so when Li Tai made this request at first, Li Shimin was really unexpected and fell silent for a while.

Li Tai observed Li Shimin's face, a little flustered, and hurriedly said: "Father, this matter is due to my son's lack of consideration, Xuanjiawei really shouldn't be easily transferred..."

Li Shimin raised his hand suddenly to stop him: "No, good steel has to be used on the blade, I'm sure!"

Li Tai was overjoyed: "Father Huang Shengming!"

Luozhou, Yique County.

The shops in the county seat are full of cars and horses, crowded with people, and there are many shops on both sides of the street, which is a bustling and lively scene.

Chu Lisang jumped over the wall from the backyard of his house early in the morning, and sneaked into the market without telling his parents.

Today is February [-]th, the Christmas day of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, and there is an annual temple fair in the Bodhi Temple in the south of the city, with everything to eat, drink and have fun.Chu Lisang has been looking forward to this day since the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and has been pestering her mother to go shopping together, but her mother always said that it is not suitable for a girl to show her face in the crowd, so she refused to agree.Because he couldn't hold back his mother, the itchy Chu Lisang simply changed into a man's outfit, and came out from the backyard over the wall as soon as the sun was bright.

At this time, Chu Lisang was wearing a green and black veil cap, a light green round-neck gown, a white jade leather belt around his waist, and a pair of black leather Liuhe boots. Young scholars who have come out of school.

Just now when Chu Lisang changed into this outfit, when he saw the "man" in the bronze mirror, he was really surprised and almost didn't recognize himself.The green sleeves of the maid who helped her tidy up were even more stunned, and said with a nympho face: "My mother, where did this handsome gentleman come from!"

Chu Lisang was very proud, and said in a rough voice: "What is the purpose of this lady asking such a question?"

Lu Xiu cast her a wink at her: "Your Majesty, you really know what to ask! The meaning of my family is to ask if you have ever been married!"

"How about being married, and what about being unmarried?" Chu Lisang put his hands behind his back, imitating the usual behavior of men.

"Forget it if you're married. If you're unmarried, then..." The green sleeves cooperated very well, looking shy.

"Then what?" Chu Lisang approached her.

Covering her face with her sleeves, the green sleeve turned sideways: "Then... neither the king nor the concubine, why not... why not..."

"Why not?" Chu Lisang lifted her sleeves with a contemptuous expression.

Seeing her lewd look, Lu Xiu finally couldn't help but burst out laughing.Chu Lisang held back for a while, and finally couldn't help laughing and bent over.The two frolicked for a while, until the voice of their mother Chu Yingniang came from the front yard, and they quickly covered their mouths.

When Chu Lisang turned over and rode on the wall of the backyard, he said to the green sleeve standing below: "Remember, if my mother asks, she will say that I was a female celebrity last night until late, and I only lay down in the middle of the night. I haven't woken up yet."

"Let's go quickly, if you don't go, the slaves will also climb over the wall with you!" Lvxiu pouted.

Chu Lisang blinked at her: "Lvxiu boy, I will definitely take you there next time." After speaking, he turned around and quickly jumped off the wall.

Lu Xiu looked at the empty wall with a look of disappointment.

The temple fair was held on the square in front of the Bodhi Temple. Although it was still early in the day, the place was already full of voices and crowds.

Chu Lisang bought a pack of deep-fried broad beans at a street food stall, and while wandering among the crowd, he chewed on the beans and spat the bean skin far away.She likes this kind of unrestrained and free feeling, but it is a pity that she is a daughter, and she has been taught by her parents to be gentle and virtuous since she was a child, and her speech and movements must be in line with etiquette, and she is locked at home all day long. Mai, occasionally when meeting people, he has to lower his brows and lower his eyes, and smile without showing his teeth.

Why? !
Chu Lisang was very unconvinced.Let's just talk about eating snacks in the street, why can men but women can't?So at this moment, wandering around in public with a bag of broad beans, and deliberately spitting the bean skin far away in his mouth, Chu Lisang felt very excited, and even felt a kind of rebellious pleasure in his heart.

The temple fair is filled with all kinds of novelty and fun performances, such as walking rope, corner climbing, knife ladder climbing, fire breathing, snake dancing, cockfighting, monkey playing, singing and dancing, storytelling, etc. The crowd stretched their necks and stood on tiptoes, bursting out from time to time. Out bursts of applause.Chu Lisang gathered together here, took a look there, and was finally attracted by a group of shadow puppet performers.

The play is about a poor scholar and an infatuated woman. When Chu Lisang was a child, he watched it several times with his mother. He only thought the red and green shadow puppets were fun, but he didn't understand them at all.Unexpectedly, as soon as she stopped today, she couldn't help getting into the play just after listening to a few lines of the play.

After going through hardships, the woman and the scholar finally come together.Before the flowers and under the moon, the two talked to each other, only to hear the woman sing in a lingering voice: "The mountains have no tombs, the rivers are exhausted, the winter thunders are shaking, the summer is raining and snowing, the heaven and the earth are united, and you dare to break with the king!"

In an instant, Chu Lisang's heart was hit suddenly.

What kind of unforgettable emotion can make a woman make such a heart-pounding vow of love!And what kind of man should he be to be worthy of this earth-shattering infatuation?

While thinking about and feeling excited, he suddenly felt that the hem of his robe was pulled a few times. Chu Lisang lowered his head, only to see a disheveled little beggar looking at her eagerly, holding a broken bowl in his hand.He is sitting on a skateboard with wooden wheels, and his legs seem to be disabled.Chu Lisang felt pity, and was about to reach out to take money out of his pocket when he suddenly remembered that his mother said that there are many beggars around here who pretend to be sick and crippled to cheat people out of money, so don't be fooled, so she withdrew her hand. Looking at the little beggar, he said, "Hey, you pretend to be lame here all day to cheat money, aren't you afraid of being exposed?"

The little beggar Hua was stunned: "You...you are talking nonsense, why am I pretending to be lame?"

"Don't be stubborn." Chu Lisang said with a smile, "Be careful that one day someone will expose you and beat you into a cripple, then the gain will outweigh the loss."

Knowing that she couldn't be fooled, the little beggar gave her a hard look and cursed in a low voice: "Stinger, save your money and buy a coffin!"

When Chu Lisang heard this, she became anxious: "Hey, you stinking beggar, why do you curse at people as soon as you open your mouth?"

The little beggar was still cursing and swearing, with both hands on the ground, trying to run while holding on to the skateboard.Chu Lisang quickly ran after him and grabbed him by the collar of the back of his neck.The little beggar struggled desperately, and screamed for a while, which attracted the attention of the surrounding people.

"Stop!" A man's deep and deep voice came from behind.

Chu Lisang turned her head suddenly, and saw a young man standing in front of her looking at her majestically.

My mother, what a handsome man!
Chu Lisang's heart skipped a beat.The man was in his early twenties, dressed in an elegant and clean white robe, with sword eyebrows and starry eyes, a straight nose, strong lips and jaw lines, and a handsome temperament, but his expression was not very friendly.

"Brother, you are also a scholar, why do you bully the weak in the street?" The man in white stared at her with a cold tone.

Chu Lisang hurriedly stabilized his slightly swaying heart, curled his lips: "This stinking beggar is a liar, and if he can't lie, he can't hurt others with bad words. Why can't I teach him a lesson?"

"You're talking nonsense!" The little beggar immediately regained her confidence when she saw someone helping her, and shouted, "It's obvious that you are stingy and refuse to give alms, and you still chase me and beat me, can't I afford to offend you?"

Seeing that the kid was plausible, Chu Lisang became more and more annoyed, and raised his right hand as if to hit her. The man in white quickly grabbed her wrist.Chu Lisang only felt the warmth of the man's palm coming from his wrist, his heart fluttered again, and he couldn't help blushing slightly: "You...you let go."

"Let go first." The man said in a deep voice.

It was only then that Chu Lisang realized that his left hand was still holding onto the collar of the little beggar. He wanted to let go, but then he thought that he had become a villain after clearly being reasonable. You didn't see it, so why did you help him speak?"

"I didn't see what happened just now, but I have heard and witnessed you calling him a beggar and chasing and beating him." The man said slowly, "What's more, he's just a disabled child, poor boy. It's pitiful, but brother, you are well-dressed and dignified, even if you don't say that you are bullying others, at least I have to help him to say something fair? Could it be that you still help you to beat him?"

This person spoke in a gentle and well-founded manner, which attracted the crowd to nod in agreement.Chu Lisang seemed more and more wronged, so he angrily let go of the little beggar.Seeing this, the man also let go of her wrist.The little beggar smiled triumphantly and turned to leave. "Little brother, wait a minute." The man took out a money bag from his pocket, poured out ten copper coins, thought for a while, poured out a few more coins, put them gently into the little beggar's bowl, and said softly, " Let's go buy some food. From now on, beggars should be discerning, understand?"

When Chu Lisang heard this, he immediately rolled his eyes in anger, but he couldn't attack.

The little beggar hangs out on the street all day long, so she is very good at "knowing people with eyes". She only glanced at the man's purse, and knew that there was still oil to be squeezed, so her eyes turned red, and she choked up and said: "This man The elder brother doesn’t know, but the younger one is begging here, not to buy food for himself, but for the sick mother at home.”

When the man heard this, his eyes turned red, and he poured all the copper coins in the bag into the little beggar's bowl, which amounted to more than [-] Wen. "I'm sorry, little brother, I don't have a lot of money, so I can only help you so much."

"Thank you, big brother, thank you very much, big brother!" The little beggar nodded frequently, grabbed the copper money and stuffed it into his bosom, and at the same time, he did not forget to give Chu Lisang a provocative sideways glance.

Chu Lisang glared angrily.The little beggar was confident, and actually grinned at her.Chu Lisang became more and more angry, and was about to explode when a few hooligans suddenly appeared from the crowd, pointing at the little beggar and yelling: "You bastard, you ran away when you lost the bet that day, let's see how I deal with you today!"

Erlaizi was startled, and immediately jumped up from the skateboard. His pair of hemp-stalked legs unexpectedly walked like flying, and he swished into the crowd, disappearing in an instant.A few punks chased after him, cursing all the way.The man in white was stunned by this sudden scene, holding an empty purse in his hand, looked at the skateboard on the ground, and then at the place where the bastard disappeared, with a look of astonishment on his face.

Chu Lisang looked at him and laughed heartily a few times.

"Brother, you really know people with your eyes. I admire you!" Chu Lisang proudly strolled to his side, not hiding his gloating expression at all.

The man in white couldn't help laughing, and arched his hands at her: "I just missed it, and I made a mistake, brother, please forgive me!"

"Looking at your well-groomed clothes and dignified appearance, I thought you would be so generous, why did you give the bum so much money?" Chu Lisang expressed a look of revenge, "Could it be that brother's kindness is only worth three dollars?" Dozens of texts?"

"Brother, you are joking." The man was embarrassed, "I have encountered difficulties recently, and my money is indeed not very rich."

"Oh? So, if you have money, you'll give him more?"

"That's natural. If I really have spare time, I won't begrudge it."

"It's easy!" Chu Lisang raised his brows, "There are a lot of scumbags and scumbags who pretend to be sick and crippled in this area. When you get rich someday, if you come to be a good person again, there will definitely be many people who will praise you." Your field, I promise."

The man listened to her sarcasm, but he was not stunned or angry, and smiled lightly: "I will tell you this brother, even if I knew the bum was pretending to be lame, I would still give him alms."

Chu Lisang laughed, completely disapproving: "It's alright, my dear, don't be stubborn, there is nothing wrong with being deceived occasionally, it is wrong to just find excuses for yourself."

The man shook his head: "Brother may not believe it, but what I said below is not an excuse, but from the heart."

When Chu Lisang heard it, he couldn't help but look at him, and saw the man's eyes were sincere, and he really didn't seem to be sophistrying, so he said angrily, "Why?"

"A ten-year-old child will be reduced to pretending to be lame and cheating. If he wants to come home, he must be in a difficult situation. It's hard to even say whether he has a home." The man's tone was indifferent, but there was something warm in his voice, "So even if Knowing that he is a liar, I will not blame him, let alone regret it. What I hate is that I have no ability to help more poor people..."

When Chu Lisang heard the words, his heart suddenly became hot.She thought to herself that she was usually considered a kind-hearted person, but it seemed that she didn't know what true kindness was until today.But when she thought about it again, the man's words seemed to be true, because if everyone in the world was as simple and kind as he was, wouldn't liars be more arrogant, wouldn't all good people become fools?
"Brother, are you stupid for reading sage books? It's good to be kind, but you have to have a principle, right?" Although Chu Lisang had developed a little affection for this man in his heart, he didn't want to agree with him, " To put it bluntly, if everyone in the world is as kind-hearted as you, there will be more fools and not enough liars."

"Brother, what you said is wrong!" The man suddenly said seriously, "The old and the old and the old, the young and the young and the young. This is the bosom of sages and benevolent people who love things. Scholars should encourage themselves by this, How can it be regarded as stupid? Brother, it is all right to ridicule me, but please do not blaspheme the sages!"

Chu Lisang originally wanted to make a joke to ease the atmosphere, but unexpectedly this nerd couldn't understand jokes, he could only repeat the words of the ancients, it was really boring!Chu Lisang said angrily: "You know he's a liar but you still give him money, isn't this a fool and what is it?"

The man's face was slightly sullen, and he clasped his fists together: "Differences do not conspire with each other, since you and I don't agree with each other, it's useless to talk too much. Brother, please go ahead, and I will leave!" After speaking, he walked away without looking back.

Chu Lisang looked at his back as he walked away quickly, and couldn't help being angry and funny.

There was an inexplicable quarrel, the shadow puppet show was coming to an end, the troubled scholar died for some reason, and the infatuated woman cried her heart out.Chu Lisang was heartbroken, and simply pushed aside the crowd, wanting to go for a stroll elsewhere.

As soon as he squeezed out of the crowd, there was a commotion nearby. An old man who looked like a businessman fell to the ground and shouted: "Catch the thief! That villain stole my gold ingot—" Chu Lisang stood on tiptoe Looking around on tiptoes, I saw a bearded man not far away holding a blue cloth bag, trying to push away the surrounding crowd and running away quickly.Immediately afterwards, someone helped the old man up, asked something hastily, and immediately chased after the strong man.

Chu Lisang took a closer look, and it was the man in white who was chasing the thief.

She couldn't help smiling wryly.Although this nerd is not small, judging from the strength with which he grabbed his wrist just now, it can be seen that he is just a frail scholar, and that strong man with a beard who dared to rob property in broad daylight must have accomplices behind him.Even if this self-righteous nerd catches up, he will definitely suffer a loss, or he will be beaten to death by those gangsters.

It is Chu Lisang's consistent creed to draw swords to help when the road is injustice, so she chased in their direction while thinking about it.

Chu Lisang's mother, Chu Yingniang, was born in a family of martial arts. Although she usually hides her skills and rarely shows them to others, she has been practicing diligently in private.Chu Lisang has been lively and active since she was a child, so she pestered her mother to teach her martial arts.The mother couldn't help it, so she taught her some basic self-defense and fitness skills, and then said nothing.Chu Lisang was helpless, so he secretly learned, and stole a copy of the martial arts secret books collected by his mother. For many years, he has been practicing blindly behind his mother's back, but he did not expect to learn it with his clever talent and hard practice. Now, her current skills are at least six to seven times that of her mother's, and ten or eight ordinary men can't get close to her body.

As soon as Chu Lisang chased him out of the temple fair square, he disappeared from the white-clothed man and the bearded man. Then, he walked around the Bodhi Temple for a long time based on his intuition, and finally found them in a remote courtyard.

Sure enough, six or seven gangsters with sticks were surrounding the man in white in the yard.The bearded man who snatched money seemed to be the leader, and the blue cloth bag was on his back at the moment.This courtyard is obviously a den of thieves, and the man in white was deliberately brought in by the bearded man.

When Chu Li Sang Shi ran into the courtyard, everyone was a little surprised.

The man in white saw her and shouted loudly: "Go away, it's none of your business here, leave me alone!"

Chu Lisang grabbed a few broad beans and threw them into his mouth, then spat the skin far away: "I don't care about you, I'm here to watch the fun, you go ahead."

The gangsters looked at each other in astonishment.

The bearded man spat on the ground and looked at Chu Lisang: "Boy, if you are sensible, get out of here, this is not a place to watch the excitement!"

"Believe it or not, I really didn't come to save him. I have a grudge against this idiot, so I just want to see him get beaten." Chu Lisang smiled while chewing beans, "As for beating to death or maiming, you guys Whatever you want, I'm happy anyway."

The man in white was stunned when he heard this.

The gangsters looked at each other, all looking at the bearded man.The bearded man sneered: "Do you think you can walk out of this door just because he is dead?"

"Can't I go?" Chu Lisang pretended to be surprised.

The bearded man sneered and remained silent.

Chu Lisang nodded, walked over to close the courtyard door, and put the latch on, then folded his arms, leaned against the door, and looked at the crowd: "Is this okay? If you want to do it, hurry up, don't dawdle Now, a group of big men are not ashamed to waste so much talk in a fight!"

The bearded man was stunned for a moment, and then he looked up to the sky and laughed loudly: "Okay, you have the guts! I'll fix you after I get rid of this kid!"

The gangsters surrounded the man in white again, and the man suddenly opened his posture: "Don't come here! I just want to get back the property you robbed, and I don't want to hurt you. Don't force me to do it!"

Chu Lisang's eyes lit up slightly.

Could it be that this man is not self-indulgent, but has martial arts?Just thinking about it, the two sticks greeted him one after the other.There were only two slaps, one stick was hit on the back, and the other hit the front door.The face of the man in white immediately burst into flowers, and blood flowed profusely.

The man in white screamed, and the bearded and gangsters burst into laughter.

Chu Lisang closed his eyes in disappointment.

"Boy!" The bearded man laughed loudly, "Kneel down and kowtow three times to me, and call me daddy, maybe I can spare your life."

As soon as the words fell, the blood-stained man in white suddenly spat a mouthful of bloody saliva onto his bearded face, and then laughed a few times.

It seems that although this nerd is a wimp and incompetent, he still has a bit of blood in his bones.Chu Lisang thought.

The beard wiped off the saliva on his face, the muscles in his cheeks twitched a few times, and then he let out a loud drink, and raised the thick stick in his hand, facing the forehead of the man in white.

With this stick down, the nerd's life will die!It was too late to say that, Chu Lisang kicked with his right foot, and a stone flew out of the ground, hitting the bearded wrist, and the stick fell to the ground with a clatter.Immediately afterwards, two more stones flew in and hit the knee bends of the bearded left and right legs respectively.The bearded man screamed in pain, and at the same time his knees softened, and he knelt down in front of the man in white.

This change happened in an instant, and the gangsters were stunned.

"What are you doing in a daze? Why don't you fuck me?!" The bearded man yelled at the top of his voice while reluctantly getting up from the pain.

The gangsters came back to their senses and rushed towards Chu Lisang brandishing their sticks.The bearded man gave the man in white a hard look, then grabbed his stick and joined the battle group.Chu Lisang fought against the crowd with his bare hands, but he looked calm and relaxed.The man in white saw a light blue figure flashing and moving among the flying sticks, as light as a frightened bird, and couldn't help but stare dumbfounded.

"What are you looking at, idiot, why don't you run away?" Chu Lisang shouted.

The man in white finally came to his senses, and wanted to run through the courtyard gate, but he was blocked by the strong wind of the stick after several attempts.In desperation, I saw a wooden ladder under the courtyard wall on the right, and climbed up the wall along the ladder, then staggered to the end of the wall, climbed up to the roof of the courtyard with great difficulty, and touched it tremblingly. At the edge of the eaves, I wanted to jump from here to the roof next door, but I was at a loss because of fear of heights.

While he was hesitating, a hand suddenly patted his shoulder.

The white-clothed man trembled violently, and when he looked back, it was Chu Lisang, and when he looked again, the gate of the courtyard below was wide open, and the gangsters had already been beaten away, leaving only sticks on the floor.

"Here, take it back to that old man!" Chu Lisang handed over the blue cloth bundle.

"You snatched it back, you should pay it back, I can't take away the merits of others." The man muttered.

Chu Lisang was both angry and funny: "I said idiot, you dare to help others catch thieves? Are you afraid that if you fail to help others, you will be beaten to death by thieves instead?"

"There is no need to think too much about righteousness." The man said, "As the "Mencius" said, when a child is about to fall into the well, everyone has a heart of fear and compassion..."

"Okay, okay, don't drop the book bag with me." Chu Lisang stuffed the bag into his arms, "Hurry up and return it, I have something else to do!"

The man refused to pick it up, and pushed the burden back.Chu Lisang turned sideways, turned and left.The man jumped to nothing, slipped his foot, and fell towards the eaves with a whoop.Chu Lisang was shocked, turned around suddenly, stretched out his right hand, and quickly wrapped his arms around his waist.The man's face turned pale with fright, his hands danced wildly, and accidentally grabbed Chu Lisang's chest with one hand.

The man suddenly realized something, and immediately retracted his hand as if it had been scalded.

At this time, Chu Lisang's face was already red to the ears.Embarrassed and annoyed, she subconsciously raised her hand and slapped the man loudly.

The man in white covered his burning cheeks, staring blankly at Chu Lisang flying down from the roof, landed lightly in the courtyard, and then walked out of the courtyard gate without looking back.

Looking down at his palm that caused trouble, the man in white couldn't recover for a long time.

Suddenly, he raised his hand and slapped himself again.

When Chu Lisang jumped from the wall into his backyard, Lu Xiu was already spinning around in a hurry.

"My lady, why did you come back? The mistress has come to look for you three times!" Lu Xiu stomped her feet angrily.

Chu Lisang smiled apologetically, pulled her and ran to the boudoir, then let the green sleeves guard the door of the boudoir, ran into the room by herself, closed the door, and began to take off her hat and untie her hair in a hurry.Unexpectedly, the gauze hat was entangled by the hair, and the more anxious it became, the more difficult it was to untie it, Chu Lisang was so angry that he called damn it.

Outside, Chu Yingniang walked along the corridor with a displeased expression on her face.Luxiu secretly groaned, and confronted her bravely, and said loudly: "Mistress, don't worry, the lady is really fine. She just sleeps, and the slaves told her several times that the sun was shining on her buttocks, but when she turned over, she went back to sleep." Snoring..."

"Lvxiu," Chu Yingniang's face darkened, "How many times have I told you, you should pay attention to your wording, the big girl's mouth is full of vulgar language, what kind of words!"

Lu Xiu smiled: "Yes, yes, what the mistress taught me. The servant is too stupid to remember what you taught me. How do you say that word..."

"It should be said 'three poles in the sun'."

"Yes, yes, there are three poles in the sun, three poles in the sun!" Lvxiu giggled, and said in her heart, damn girl, if you don't hurry up, my ass of Lvxiu will really be hit by a board!

Chu Yingniang smiled, stretched out her hand and tapped Luxiu's forehead, and walked around her to push the door.

Lüxiu was startled, wanted to stop but didn't dare to stop, and jumped in a hurry.At the same time when Chu Yingniang put her hand on the door, Chu Lisang's lazy voice finally came out of the room: "Why is it so noisy? Is your mother here?"

Lvxiu let out a sigh of relief and patted his chest.

Chu Yingniang walked in, opened the beaded curtain of the boudoir, and saw Chu Lisang wrapped herself tightly in the quilt, with only her head and face exposed.

"Mother, what are you talking about with Lu Xiu outside? It's so noisy!" Chu Lisang muttered and yawned long.

Chu Yingniang sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at her: "Sang'er, you are right to learn to be a female celebrity, but you can't wait so late!"

"That's right, Mother is right, let's not make an example." Chu Lisang smiled apologetically, and made a face, "Mother, go now, I have to change clothes."

"Just change it, why did you drive my mother away?"

"I'm already twenty, you still want me to change clothes in front of you?"

"Okay, okay, you've grown up, you can't help yourself!" Chu Yingniang smiled and just wanted to get up, when she suddenly found that her forehead and the tip of her nose were covered with fine beads of sweat, and she frowned slightly, "Why don't you Where are you sweating so much?"

Chu Lisang was startled: "Oh, maybe...the bedding is too thick."

"It's too thick and you still cover it so tightly?" Chu Yingniang said, wanting to lift her quilt.

Chu Lisang let out an "Ah", holding the quilt tightly with both hands inside the quilt: "Mother, I'm sweating all over my body now, if you lift the quilt, I'll catch a cold!"

Chu Yingniang looked at her thoughtfully, and after a while she smiled: "Okay then, come out quickly after you change your clothes, after dinner, Mother will teach you to read the scriptures, it's time to study "Book of Rites" today." After speaking, he walked out.

Chu Lisang let out a long breath until he heard his mother close the door and go out.

She suddenly threw the quilt aside, only to see that the green shirt on her body was already wet with sweat, and the pair of black leather Liuhe boots were still on her feet.

Lu Xiu ran in at this moment, and covered her mouth in shock when she saw this scene.

The mansion of Li Tai, King of Wei, is located in the southwest corner of Yankang Square in Chang'an. It covers an area of ​​nearly [-] mu, with magnificent eaves.

According to the Tang system, all princes, nobles, relatives, and high-ranking officials above the third rank can open their house doors directly on the wall of the square to facilitate entry and exit without having to go through the gate.Therefore, Wei Wangfu opened a main entrance on the south side of the square wall, and opened a side door on the west side of the square wall.Go out from the main gate of King Wei's Mansion and turn left, three blocks to the north is the Imperial City; come out from the west side gate, one block to the north is the West Market; the transportation is very convenient and the location is very advantageous.

One afternoon in late February, when it was almost You, a carriage quietly entered Wei Wang's mansion from the west gate before the sound of the evening drum.

The person who came was Liu Jie, the servant of Huangmen, the deputy chief of the province.

Liu Ji, whose style is thoughtful, is nearly fifty years old, calm and reticent on weekdays, but he is known for his uprightness and courage in the court, and is highly relied on by Li Shimin.Many people believe that within three years, he will surely be promoted to the highest official of the province - Shizhong.

The carriage entered a large courtyard from the west outer gate, and just when it came to a complete stop, Xiao Henian, the Sima of Wei Wangfu who had been waiting at the inner gate, quickly walked down the steps and greeted him.

Liu Jie, dressed in casual clothes, stepped out of the carriage.

"Brother Sidao, why did you come here? His Royal Highness the King of Wei has been waiting impatiently." Xiao Henian smiled and cupped his hands.

Liu Ji returned a salute: "Brother He Nian is here to greet you personally, how dare Liu do it!"

After exchanging pleasantries, the two walked towards the inner door together.

"Your Highness is in a hurry to find me, why?" Liu Ji asked.

"Happy event, great event!" Xiao Henian smiled.

Liu Ji glanced at him and said nothing.

It is said that people are in good spirits on happy occasions.Recently, the king of Wei has been favored by the emperor because of "Kuo Di Zhi", and the rewards have been continuously received in the past few days.For this reason, King Wei himself is naturally full of ambition, and even the officials of all sizes in his house are all elated, wishing to stick the word "Happy" on their foreheads all day long.

Liu Ji was somewhat disapproving.

In his opinion, the more it is like this, the more calm it is.Because seizing the heirloom is a dangerous and tortuous road. If you are not careful, you may fall into the abyss and be lost forever!

When Liu Jie followed Xiao Henian into the main hall, he saw Wei Wang Li Tai and the governor of the mansion, Shi Du Chuke, talking about something, and burst into laughter at the same time.

Liu Ji frowned slightly.

Seeing Liu Ji's arrival, Li Tai and Du Chuke stood up to greet him.Everyone greeted again, and then sat down.

"Liu Shilang, guess what my father told me when he called me into the palace this morning?" Li Tai smiled mysteriously.

Liu Jie smiled slightly: "The amount of gold and silk bestowed to His Highness recently by the Holy Majesty is already innumerable. To make His Highness and all of you so happy, I think it must be a different kind of honor besides money. "

Li Tai laughed loudly: "As expected of Liu Shilang, he hit the nail on the head!"

"Brother Sidao," Du Chuke took over the conversation, "Then guess again, what kind of honor is it?"

Du Chuke is more than 50 years old. He is the younger brother of the founding hero Du Ruhui. His style name is Shanshi.In the fourth year of Zhenguan, Du Ruhui died of illness. Du Chuke became an official under the imperial edict. He used to be the governor of Puzhou.

"Brother Shanshi, please don't be fooled anymore. If Liu continues to guess, he may be suspected of guessing the Sacred Heart." Liu Ji said.

Du Chuke shook his head and said with a smile: "Brother Sidao is boring like this. It is right to be cautious in your words and deeds in the court, but here, do you have to be so cautious? Do you even have to be on guard against His Highness and me?"

Liu Ji smiled and said nothing.

Although they are both confidantes of the King of Wei, their personalities are not in harmony.Liu Ji thinks that Du Chuke is flamboyant, Du Chuke thinks Liu Ji is cowardly, and both of them intend to become the number one counselor under King Wei's command, so they are always competing openly and secretly.

"Okay, okay, it's time to talk about business." Li Tai smoothed things over, "Nian of the Crane, come and talk to Liu Shilang."

Xiao Henian cleared his throat: "The thing is like this, His Highness entered the palace by order this morning. As soon as he entered the Ganlu Hall, the Holy Majesty turned his back and whispered to His Highness: In order to facilitate His Highness' visits and visits, His Highness will be moved to the palace soon." Of course, this matter should not be announced to the public for the time being, the Holy Majesty said that he will choose a day to make a formal decree and announce it publicly at the court meeting."

Wude Hall is located on the east side of Taiji Palace, separated from the East Palace by a wall, closer to Li Shimin's residence than the East Palace.Once the king of Wei lived in this palace, he would be able to "communicate with the emperor" every day, and get more opportunities to participate in the military affairs than the prince, so as to gain more political bargaining chips.This is undoubtedly great news for Li Tai who is determined to seize the crown prince right now.

As soon as this matter was finished, Li Tai, Du Chuke, and Xiao Henian all stared at Liu Ji's face, waiting to see his reaction.To the surprise of the three of them, Liu Ji didn't respond, as if he didn't hear it.

"Liu Shilang, are you listening?" Li Tai looked at Liu Ji suspiciously.

After a while, Liu Ji said: "Of course, Your Highness, how could I not be listening to such an important matter?"

"So, what does the servant think about this?"

"Does Your Highness want to hear the truth?"

"of course."

"For this matter, the next one is joy, and the other is worry."

Du Chuke sneered silently.

Xiao Henian was thoughtful.

Li Tai frowned: "Can the servant speak clearly?"

Liu Jie nodded, but remained expressionless: "Let's talk about joy first. It goes without saying that His Majesty loves His Highness, and the government and the public know it, but this time he offered to let His Highness live in Wude Hall, which is by no means comparable to ordinary favors. In other words , This is a major signal, not only implying His Highness, but also implying the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty and the subjects of the world: His Royal Highness King Wei is only one step away from the East Palace. If the crown prince has no virtue, then the only one in the world who is qualified The person in the East Palace is you, Your Highness! To put it more clearly, once you take this step, Your Highness will be the self-evident 'invisible heir' of the Tang Dynasty. I am happy."

Li Tai's heart was filled with joy, his eyes sparkled brightly.

"Let's talk about worry. It is precisely because His Highness is now in the midst of the royal family, and the limelight seems to overwhelm the crown prince, it is easier to arouse the jealousy and counterattack of the Eastern Palace. Therefore, at this time, it is more low-key, low-key, cautious, and cautious. Lu. What I am worried about is that His Highness is blindly immersed in joy and forgets these things. Try to look at the past and present, and in the past dynasties, there are few things that have caused sadness due to extreme joy, and failed because of complacency?!"

The joy on Li Tai's face gradually faded, and he felt a little uncomfortable.

Du Chuke smiled coldly: "Brother Sidao, your words are a bit alarmist, right?"

"Brother Shanshi is right." Liu Jie looked at him, "Used to scare people with alarming words, this is the foundation of Liu's reputation! The icing on the cake is so obedient, who can't say it? Why should Liu say more ?”

Du Chuke was choked up, and was about to reply when Li Tai suddenly said, "What Liu Shilang said is absolutely true! This is exactly why this king is in a hurry to invite you here. At this time, someone should pour cold water on this king gone."

"Your Highness, now that we have reached this point, I would like to pour another ladle of cold water on you." Liu Ji said.

Li Tai smiled brightly: "It doesn't matter if you say it, Minister!"

"How many people know that His Highness is going to live in the Hall of Martial Virtue?"

Li Tai spread his hands together: "Except for this king, there are only you three."

Liu Ji shook his head: "I'm afraid it's more than that?"

"What does the servant mean by that?" Li Tai raised his eyebrows and looked at Liu Ji.

"As the saying goes, walls have ears. There are so many people in His Highness's house..."

"Brother Sidao," Du Chuke's expression changed, "What do you mean by that? Could it be that you suspect that brother He Nian and I will reveal the secret?"

"No such intention!" Liu Ji said, "I just want to remind you two..."

"That's why you're worrying too much." Du Chuke drew his tone, "Du is the head of the house, so you don't need to teach me about such a trivial matter!"

"Brother Sidao is right to remind you." Xiao Henian said, "This matter is indeed of great importance. If the secret is leaked, Donggong will definitely not sit idly by..."

Du Chuke glanced at Xiao Henian displeasedly.

Xiao Henian quickly fell silent.

Du Chuke is a long history, equivalent to the chief executive of the palace, Xiao Henian is Sima, but his deputy, plus Du Chuke is a strong person, Xiao Henian is modest by nature, so no matter how big or small the occasion is, Du Chuke always dominates Xiao Henian.

"Your Highness, even if ordinary courtiers know about your matter, it will not be a big problem, because they will not help the prince, and even if they want to help, they will not be able to persuade the emperor." Liu Ji said solemnly, "I'm afraid, before the Holy Majesty makes a public decree , let a person know this secret in advance, then this matter, I'm afraid it will be a chicken-and-egg fight."

"Who?" Li Tai looked nervous.

Du Chuke and Xiao Henian also looked at Liu Ji in unison.

"Wei Zheng."

No one noticed, as soon as Liu Ji finished speaking, Xiao Henian's eyes flickered.

(End of this chapter)