C22

Prince Huan hesitated for a moment outside the door before waving his hand to signal the guards to wait outside the mansion while he went to grab an incense burner to light it up. He stood there for a while without speaking.

"Thirteenth Brother is already here."

Prince Huan looked at the people coming and going, and muttered, "These people have arrived quite quickly." After a pause, he added, "It was abnormally fast."

The king frowned, "But if you ask, you won't be able to get anything out of me."

"A few days ago, Ouyang Xiu applied for the position of Minister of Justice because he was too weak to be a secret envoy." It took a few days for his royal brother to agree. He probably didn't even have four hours, and yet he 'died' in the manor. "

"Two secret envoys. Who would believe that there's no problem?"

"Have you asked Ouyang Xiu about this?" King Xin asked.

"So what if you don't ask?" Prince Huan sighed lightly. "With his position, there's nothing he can say."

"Bao Zheng is sick and has never left the manor. The last to arrive were Mo'er and Ouyang Xiu. And the medicine Bao Zheng took before he died was given by Mo'er. At precisely this time, he is not here. "

"I am completely sure that Mo'er did not do this, but there is no evidence."

Duke Huan did not comment, "Ninth brother, to be honest, I am a little afraid. If all of this was done by Puppet Palace, then what kind of scene would this Liangliang City be like where I can't see it? "

The king did not answer immediately, but looked quietly into the distance. "Which is more terrifying, the one who killed Bao Zheng and the maidservants of the crown prince?"

Duke Huan was speechless, and a moment later, he suddenly said, "Bao Zheng is easier to kill."

The King said, "After Ouyang Xiu requested to be transferred from the Privy Council, the maids of the Qi palace were killed."

The messenger king looked around and hesitated, "I think Ouyang Xiu is afraid of something, but he is definitely not afraid of the Puppet Palace."

Duke Huan opened his mouth, swallowed his words, and closed his eyes to carefully digest what the messenger had said. He laughed bitterly, "I have no clue."

The letter king smiled at him. "Let's leave it at this for now. We'll talk about it when Mo'er returns."

"How much does Nine think Mo'er knows?"

"If I were to speak of my own thoughts, he would at least be able to guess a bit about what the Puppet Palace wanted to do."

"Puppet Palace?" Duke Huan subconsciously looked at the mourners and frowned. "It can't be? Ninth Brother, you also said that you believe that he won't kill Bao Zheng. "

Duke Huan's expression changed slightly, as he clearly understood what he meant.

"I suspect that he guessed that Bao Zheng would die, so he deliberately left the mountain."

Prince Huan said, "But once Bao Zheng dies, there's a high chance that the blame will fall on him."

The messenger king replied, "If I were Mo'er, knowing that the Puppet Palace would definitely take action, the one I would rather die to was Bao Zheng, who had an old grudge against me, and not some other innocent person."

"Actually, when Fourth Brother came to find me that day and said that Mo'er had lost control due to fright, I felt that it was a little strange. He ran before I could figure it out. After what Nine said, it was true. "It's a pity that Fourth Brother and Fourth Sister were so scared of him."

The Duke of Xin couldn't help but laugh, "The parents of this world care so much. Fourth Brother cares so much about Mo'er."

Prince Huan stroked his chin. "I remember that Ninth Brother beat up Bai Yi so badly that he didn't dare to go back. He climbed over the wall in the middle of the night and stayed in my manor's woodshed for the night."

The Xin Wang said, "There will always be a time when you get angry. It's naturally fine to hit him a few times without harming your tendons and bones. "When Thirteenth Brother has a son, he'll probably understand."

"Me? It's still early. " Prince Huan didn't seem to care in the slightest. "He's rather happy and at ease alone."

Prince Xin replied, "You're not that old either. Sooner or later, you'll have to have a family. Otherwise, who will you leave to live in the spacious and empty Duke Huan Palace?"

Duke Huan said half-heartedly, "Forget it, let's leave it at this for now. I'll be leaving first. Recently, I've been the only one in the inner palace, so I don't have much free time. If Nine hears Mo Er is back, remember to ask him to come find me. "

The king nodded, "Keep an eye on the inner palace. I'll watch over the estate for you. You just need to leave a few guards behind to help spread the news."

Duke Huan smiled, "Then I'll have to thank Ninth Brother." He pulled one of the guards and left the mansion in a hurry after saying that to the guards in a low voice.

The King of Letters watched him leave, and only after a long while did he shift his gaze away and mutter to himself, "Puppet Palace … Who else? "

— —

"Yun Mo, Feng Yunxuan's news." Lu Sobbing took off the scroll and placed the bird on her shoulder. After glancing at it, she handed it to Zhao Qingyan.

Zhao Qingyan's eyes flickered slightly. He held the paper tightly and looked down at his feet. "I miscalculated."

Lu Sobbing laughed, "It seems like Luo Changxiu is more capable than I thought."

Zhao Qingyan glanced at him and asked, "What's wrong?" You look happy when I lose? "

Lu Sobbing raised his eyebrows, "You borrowed a knife to kill someone. Although your hand was cut by a knife, you can't say that you lost, can you?"

"Maybe." Zhao Qingyan took a deep breath and looked at the sky far away. The long hair that had fallen to his waist was slightly blown back by the wind, a few strands of it were lifted up by the crown, and a moment later, it was blown back again.

It was almost dusk, and even the gentle summer breeze seemed anxious. The hot and dry wind was far from the cool that it should be at this time.

Lu Sobbing took off his bundle from the horse's back, took out a piece of dry rations, rubbed some dregs onto his palm, and let the yellow sparrow on his shoulder jump down to peck at it. He then touched the fur on its chest.

"Lu …"

Just as Zhao Qingyan was about to speak, Lu Sobbing interrupted him, "The fight has already begun, so don't regret it anymore."

After being stunned for a moment, Zhao Qingyan forced a smile and said, "You knew what I was thinking before I said anything?"

Lu Sobbing smiled, "After all, we've both been in the Privy Council for so many years, even if you hate him, you still might have some respect for him. Having endured for so many years, the thrill of getting revenge will not be that intense. "

Weeping Lu tilted her head to look at the bird combing its feathers. For some reason, she began to laugh, "So, revenge is a very interesting and painful thing to do. Without absolute evil, if the avenger has a good heart, he may not have the heart to take revenge. If the heart is not kind, perhaps to him, the matter of revenge is not pleasurable at all, but purely a desire to kill. "

"So, after a long time, if you understand more about the person you want to kill, you won't be able to kill him. It wasn't good to kill them, but if they didn't kill them, they wouldn't be able to loosen their enmity... "That's why it's so complicated and interesting."

Zhao Qingyan smiled and said, "So I wanted to use the Puppet Palace's hands to kill him in order to avoid self-blame. So the pain is not as severe as you said?"

Lu Sobbing tilted his head, "That shouldn't be the case, right? After all, most people seek revenge for the dead, so they will be 'for the dead, let more people grow up with hatred just like me'. Shall we do this? ' It was much more difficult to choose because of such a thought. But for the sake of the living, to avenge them, I believe that it will be worth it no matter what. "

A trace of self-mockery flashed across Zhao Qingyan's eyes. "But we've already grown up with hatred."

Lu Sobbing suddenly let out a laugh, stretched out her hand to pat Zhao Qingyan's head and quickly retreated a few steps, "You are still a child. You are still far from growing up."

Zhao Qingyan was stunned for a moment before raising his eyebrows, "Lü Sobbing!"

Lu Sobbing innocently spread out his hands, "Why are you calling me?"

Zhao Qingyan was both angry and amused. "Forget it, I won't bother with you."

"Are you feeling better?" Lu Sobbing blinked.

Zhao Qingyan curled her lips. "I feel like beating him up."

Lu Sobbing looked around and pointed at her nose. "I'm the only one here besides you, but there are still two horses."

Lu Sobbing laughed, and immediately patted its head to appease it, "I lost my balance, I was wrong. Don't be angry, don't be angry. "Look, here's a piece of dried food for you. Let me gift it to you as my apology, alright?"

He looked at him silently for a moment, then turned his head and continued to fight against the few strands of grass beneath his hoof.

"Are you looking down on me?" Lu Sobbing shrugged, tilted her head and looked at the bird again, muttering in a low voice, "Look, as expected of a horse from the Prince's Mansion, it's rich. It won't eat us, so ignore it. Yun Mo, you take half … " He broke off half of the cake and handed it over, only to see Zhao Qingyan's expressionless face. He could not help but be stunned. You want to beat me up? "

"Wahahahahahaha." Lu Xin didn't hold back her laughter. She laughed so exaggeratedly that the bird on her shoulder flew up into the air. "Can you beat me?"

Zhao Qingyan stood up from the rock and walked to Lu Sobbing. He looked at her and said word by word, "Lu Sobbing, listen."

Lu Sobbing was startled, "Why are you so serious? "It's quite scary."

Zhao Qingyan took two and a half pancakes from his hands and said seriously, "These are your remaining rations, the closest town would need at least two hours to get here." After saying that, he threw the pancake out.

"Hey!" I say, young prince, the whole thing is a big cake! Five copper coins! Just throw it away like that? " Lu Sobbing looked at her empty hands and felt hungry under Zhao Qingyan's reminder. She immediately put on a bitter face, "Those are food grains. It's a waste. Do you know that?"

Zhao Qingyan imitated Lu Sobbing's gait and laughed a dozen times, before putting her arms around the lost hooves, "Half of mine, the other half of the lost hooves, you gave them to me." "Seeing that you're so reluctant, let me buy it. Take a tael of silver and keep it well." He took out a small silver ingot and threw it to him.

Lu Sobbing looked at the bread lying on the ground in the distance, touching his belly, and couldn't help but lament, "How come I didn't know that you were so petty …" Before he could finish his words, he saw Zhao Qingyan smile at the distant red sunset. Her voice also slowly quieted down before stopping.

"Weeping Lu, I'll go back first." When you get back to Bianliang, I'll pay you back. " When most of the sunset glow had dissipated and the sky had almost turned dark, Zhao Qingyan turned back.

Lu Sobbing laughed, "Sure."