Let Me Pursue You

Regarding the invitation to Yuan Cixian, Zheng Zhuo had of course greeted the fiancé in advance, and explained the reason and location. Lu Shiqing agreed very generously yesterday, and there didn't seem to be anything unusual about it.

But Zheng Zhuo still underestimated the ability of this person to linger. It's only Sishi now, Lu Shiqing probably secretly used a little trick to make Dachao break up early, and then flew over with wings.

Looking at "Xu Shan"'s calm and unhurried footsteps at this moment, Zheng Zhuo sneered in his heart, but he had no choice but to cover it up for him and said: "I invited Mr. Xu to come with me."

Yuan Cixian withdrew her gaze, and couldn't help but tighten her expression: "But is there something important?"

How could the three of them meet suddenly? There was no such ostentation before.

Zheng Zhuo nodded: "It's about the King of Diannan, but Mr. Xu and I discussed the countermeasures overnight yesterday. I invite you to come today. One is to relax your mind, and the other is to talk to you. Follow up."

While the two were talking, Lu Shiqing had already arrived at Shiting. But as soon as Yuan Cixian heard that it was about his father, he didn't have the heart to greet him anymore, and only nodded to him and asked Zheng Zhuo anxiously: "Is Jiang Bican here for my father?"

Lu Shiqing choked on his polite "county master" immediately.

Well, don't call without saying hello, anyway, if you fight with Xu Shan, it's useless.

With a deep sigh in his heart, he sat down on the other side of the pavilion backed by rocks.

The edge of the cliff was too dangerous, he didn't want to see Yuan Cixian flirting with Zheng Zhuo later, and fall down when he got angry.

Zheng Zhuo glanced at him, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, but on the face he took Yuan Cixian's words and explained: "It's not bad that the young lady of the Jiang family came here yesterday. After the Jiang family fell, Jiang Siqing entrusted her to the third brother. I hope that third brother Nian will take care of his daughter on behalf of him for the sake of hard work and no credit."

This "third brother" refers to King Ping.

After the Lingnan Iron Mine incident was exposed, although Emperor Huining had no conclusive evidence, he knew in his heart that Jiang Min was working for King Ping. he wings.

King Ping had ended this incident quite well, but he didn't expect that Yuan Cixian, who had hit the nail on the head in his dream, would come out halfway. Because the incident happened suddenly, he had to suffer this hidden loss and didn't try to save Jiang's family, so as not to get worse. Offended Emperor Huining.

In other words, King Ping actually abandoned the Jiang family. Then the so-called "care" of Jiang Bican may not be literally "care". Zheng Zhuo just put his words a little more reservedly.

Yuan Cixian nodded in understanding.

Lu Shiqing glanced at her. She seemed to have always known this sort of thing.

Zheng Zhuo continued: "She admitted that the Jiang family was indeed working for the third brother before, but after her father was imprisoned, he had the opportunity to expose my involvement with General Yuan to the saint, but he didn't do that. In fact, it was just to prevent one day The third brother is unkind, she will lose her trust, so she doesn't want to completely tear herself apart from me."

Yuan Cixian twitched the corner of her mouth. Such an ins and outs sounded reasonable, and Jiang Bican was a man who knew current affairs, and knew that playing tricks would not work at the moment, and being honest would not be easy to be rejected by others.

"She said that she started to obey her father in order to seek a refuge, but unexpectedly, the third brother treated her extremely coldly. She couldn't bear the humiliation, so she wanted to ask for my protection. While the third brother was out, she secretly obtained the invitation card for the Liushang banquet , sneaked here. She said that she had no intention and incompetence to revive the Jiang family, and she did not expect that I would allow her to stay in Chang'an, but now she has nowhere to go. She hoped that I could help her leave the third brother and arrange for her a safe place , even if it is to go to exile to suffer."

Just listening to Zheng Zhuo's narration, Yuan Cixian could imagine how many tears Jiang Bican had shed during the narration.

She raised her eyelids and asked, "Your Highness agreed?"

"Not at the beginning." Zheng Zhuo said, "This request seems simple, but it is not. It's okay for me to help a little lady who lives on the street, but since she is already close to the third brother, if I intervene, it will be regarded as the third brother. Brother, if you have nothing, openly oppose him."

"Seeing that I should not answer, she made an exchange, saying that she had a piece of news about the third brother's recent plan, and as long as she left the city safely, she would disclose it to me. Therefore, I agreed to this matter for the time being and sent her out of the city , Prepare to make plans according to the situation after getting the news.”

No wonder Zheng Zhuo didn't explain the details in the note yesterday, not only because of the rush of time, but because he really hasn't figured out the details yet. Yuan Cixian frowned and asked, "Is this news related to my father?"

Zheng Zhuo nodded: "The note she left stated that the third brother is organizing an assassination recently, and is going to stop the king and princess of southern Yunnan on their way home."

Yuan Cixian's throat choked, and he blinked three times stiffly, but because he remembered what Zheng Zhuo said at the beginning, he had already discussed with Xu Shan overnight and came up with a countermeasure, so he restrained his impatience and asked calmly: "News?" Are you sure?"

"Before I got the news, Miss Jiang had been silenced, and none of the people I sent to take her out of the city survived. I accidentally found that note in her sleeve when I ordered someone to take care of her body afterwards. It should be handed over to my subordinates after she planned to settle down smoothly."

Yuan Cixian frowned deeply: "Your Highness means that Jiang Bican was silenced by Prince Ping, who was worried that his plan would be exposed, but King Ping didn't expect her to keep a hand, and if it wasn't for a coincidence, you might not have found this note." ...so, this is not a fake news that she deliberately sent to the door?"

Hearing this, Lu Shiqing gave a low cough as a reminder. At this point in the conversation, Zheng Zhuo's narrative part has passed, and it's his turn to perform the next wonderful analysis.

Zheng Zhuo glanced at him helplessly, and then said: "My first reaction was the same as that of the county master, but after careful discussion with Mr. Xu, I don't think so."

Lu Shiqing finally managed to take over the conversation when Yuan Cixian looked towards him, and said seriously: "There are three possibilities for this matter. One is what the county lord and His Highness originally thought. But if the whole link is deduced in reverse—Jiang Xiao How could the lady overhear Ping Wang's plan by such a coincidence, how could she have the opportunity to be mixed into the Liushang Banquet by such a coincidence, and how could she still play the role of passing news by such a coincidence after death? There are too many coincidences, I am afraid it will not Call it a coincidence."

Yuan Cixian nodded, agreeing very much: "What Mr. said is not bad."

Lu Shiqing saw that there seemed to be a flash of admiration in her eyes, and he was secretly complacent, but he thought that although he spared Zheng Zhuo the opportunity to show off, he was not adding luster to himself, so he couldn't help sighing for a while.

It's tiring being a person with secrets.

Yuan Cixian saw that he stopped talking, so she took the initiative to ask: "The other two possibilities that Mr. said, maybe this is the case? The first one is that King Ping deliberately asked Jiang Bican to overhear the plan and enter the prince's mansion. Disclose this news to His Highness. The second type is similar to the first type, but Jiang Bican was not deceived unilaterally, but she did this under the instigation of King Ping. After the deed is done, he will gain his trust, but unexpectedly, she will be killed donkey."

Lu Shiqing nodded: "The county master is smart."

After he finished speaking, his throat felt as if he had been stabbed by a needle. I think she is smart, you can use Lu Shiqing's mouth to say, alas.

Yuan Cixian no longer looked at him, and looked at Zheng Zhuo worriedly: "Although Mr. Xu's words are not unreasonable, and may even be closer to the truth, but I can't bet on my father and mother's life, and I have nothing to do. What does His Highness think?"

Zheng Zhuo glanced at Lu Shiqing, indicating that he had to answer when he was asked, rather than ignorant, and then said: "I'm afraid this is the purpose of the third brother. Even if the truth is as Mr. Xu speculates, as long as the king of southern Yunnan There is a one-in-ten-thousandth danger with the princess, so we can't sit still. However, once we take precautions, we may fall into his trap."

When he said this, he said affirmatively: "But don't worry, the county magistrate, I won't take them at risk. Although the note did not specify the time of the third brother's plan, the King of Diannan left Beijing not long ago, and he is still in the northern part of Jiannan Road where there are densely populated counties. It is never appropriate to do anything aggressive, so we still have room to maneuver."

Yuan Cixian said gratefully: "Thank you, Your Highness, for understanding the feelings of being a child." After speaking, he looked at Lu Shiqing, "So, sir, do you have a countermeasure?"

The expression behind Lu Shiqing's mask was slightly displeased.

Oh, look to Zheng Zhuo if you want to make up your mind, and look to him if you want to ask the countermeasures. She just wants to use his brain, doesn't she?

He said silently: "If you want to break the situation, first look at the intentions of the person who set up the situation. The ultimate goal of King Ping is always Your Highness. Dealing with the King of Diannan is like dealing with other hidden stakes that His Highness has arranged in the court. It is just a middle link." King Ping could not get the Sacred Heart because of his great power and restlessness. No matter how many spies he got, empty words would not be able to convince the saint, but it was just to startle the snake for no reason. Therefore, even if he knew that General Yuan was close to His Royal Highness, he would stay on the sidelines until the establishment This game."

"The purpose of this game is not to kill the King of Southern Yunnan, but to find two pieces of evidence. One proves that he may rebel, and the other proves that he is involved with His Highness. In this way, the crime of rebellion can be pinned on His Highness. It’s the so-called catch-all method.”

Yuan Cixian nodded: "The second item is indeed feasible. Jiang Bican told His Royal Highness about King Ping's plan. If the news finally reaches my father, it will prove that His Highness reported the letter secretly. But the first item... She frowned and looked at the two of them, "My father has no intention of rebellion. How can King Ping prove this point in reverse?"

Lu Shiqing secretly sighed in his heart. In fact, King Ping wanted to force Yuan Yi to use his private army in desperation, and then seized the handle and showed it to the saint. After all, private army and rebellion are the same thing in the eyes of the superiors.

But Yuan Cixian didn't know about his father's private army, and he couldn't tell her because of Yuan Yizhi's previous confession that he asked him to hide.

He had no choice but to say: "Perhaps King Ping suspects that the King of Southern Dian secretly raised dead soldiers or troops, so he wants to try it."

Yuan Cixian nodded thoughtfully, although he felt that King Ping's mentality and guessing were reasonable, but Dad had no private army, so he would not be recruited at all. Isn't it too hasty to set up a game with such a lot of effort to prove something that may not exist?

She always felt that something was wrong.

Lu Shiqing was afraid that she would think about it and guess the truth, so he changed the subject and said, "Aiming at King Ping's intention to set up a trap, Xu had already discussed with His Highness last night to come up with one or two countermeasures."

Yuan Cixian was really distracted: "What do you think, sir?"

"This is a conspiracy. The way to break the conspiracy is to change the situation. Since it is not the best time for King Ping to do it, it is the best time for us to do it."

If Yuan Cixian realized something, she said in surprise: "Sir, what you mean is that it is not appropriate for King Ping to do anything now, so let's create an assassination before him, and turn passive into active?"

What can she do if she always has such a tacit understanding with "Xu Shan".

Lu Shiqing nodded unhappily, and said: "Exactly. Xu's idea is that His Highness will quietly arrange a group of assassins to 'assassinate' the King of South Yunnan before King Ping. The northern part of Jiannan Road is densely populated. An 'assassination' will surely get support from all directions, and it will surely alarm the court. The saint is not afraid of the Southern Dian king to the point of killing him, so when encountering such a thing, it is impossible not to make a superficial effort, and he will definitely send someone to **** him."

Yuan Cixian's anxiety disappeared, and she said pleasantly: "In this way, there is no need to take the risk of reporting to my father and reminding him to be careful. Naturally, King Ping will not catch His Highness and my Yuan family. Under the order, the support from the surrounding states and counties is enough to protect Father, and it will be very difficult for King Ping to succeed."

Lu Shiqing nodded. More importantly, Yuan Yizhi will not be forced into a desperate situation and even use private troops.

Yuan Cixian laughed: "Mr. has a clever plan, it's just..." She paused at this point.

Zheng Zhuo and Lu Shiqing both looked at her questioningly.

She originally wanted to say that she was comparable to Lu Shiqing. But the problem is that before Lu Shiqing helped her expose the Jiang family, he borrowed some hidden stakes, and did not show his face in person, so in the eyes of the sage, Zheng Zhuo and other princes and courtiers, this matter has nothing to do with him at all. Now that she suddenly said such a sentence, it will inevitably make the two people present suspicious.

Although she didn't tell Lu Shiqing completely about Zheng Zhuo's affairs, it was relatively impossible to tell outsiders about his private actions.

So she gave a "hehe" dry laugh, and continued, "I'm so impressed!"

Lu Shiqing's eyebrows behind the mask twitched.

Five-body cast? Does she know what kind of pose this is? She just threw herself on the ground!

Zheng Zhuo let out a dry cough, as if he could smell the sourness in the surrounding area, and hurriedly smoothed things over: "Mr. Swords have no eyes, so in order to avoid accidental injury, I hope to get a few pointers from the county magistrate to ensure that the king of Diannan understands the cause and effect in the shortest possible time, so that he can cooperate with me in this scene."

This is the follow-up to what Zheng Zhuo said just now, to communicate with Yuan Cixian.

She nodded: "It's not difficult. Let me tell you a few words. If you want to come and listen to Dad, you will soon be able to guess that the assassin is a friend."

After Yuan Cixian finished explaining, the meeting was over. Before leaving, Zheng Zhuo became playful and asked her: "The county lord is coming to the appointment, I'm afraid Lu Shilang doesn't know about it?"

On the side, Lu Shiqing's neck was straight. Although he knew that Zheng Zhuo was making trouble, he was really curious about Yuan Cixian's answer. After a while, she saw her smiling and said: "I don't know, he is very petty, if he knows it will not be a disaster."

Zheng Zhuo glanced gloatingly at Lu Shiqing, who was obviously already darkened, and asked: "Today's Flower Festival, don't you go out with him?"

"Come on." Yuan Cixian twitched her lips, "I will ask him to step on the mud later, he will find it dirty, and when looking at wild flowers, the flowers and leaves must be all symmetrical. Isn't it difficult to force flowers, and there is no interest in going out in the green!"

Zheng Zhuo laughed out loud.

Lu Shiqing really wanted to beat him up. Sitting on the edge of a cliff, he still dared to laugh so wildly, and he was not afraid of falling backwards and forwards.

Yuan Cixian sighed, her fiancé is such a disappointment.

She sighed and was about to say goodbye to the two of them, but Zheng Zhuo got up one step ahead of her: "I have something important to do, I have to go first, I'm afraid I will have to trouble the county magistrate and sir to wait."

In order to deceive others, the three of them had better go out of the mountain with their front and back feet separated. Originally, Yuan Cixian wanted to leave first to avoid being alone with one of them, but since Zheng Zhuo said so, she had no choice but to nod and said: "No problem, your highness will go first if you have something to do." Get busy."

Lu Shiqing felt a little more comfortable now, glanced at Zheng Zhuo quietly, and signaled him to go as fast as he could.

Zheng Zhuo secretly smiled in his heart, and before leaving, he added to Yuan Cixian: "Since the county lord feels that enjoying the flowers with Lu Shilang is a disappointment, it is better to go around with Mr. Xu. He even told me a few days ago that he lacked someone to go out with him in the spring. "

He left after finishing his work, leaving Yuan Cixian and Lu Shiqing looking at each other for a while.

After a stick of incense, the two left the stone pavilion side by side, and wandered together in the mountains.

Yuan Cixian was a little embarrassed. Originally Zheng Zhuo didn't say that much, she must have gone back home, but now out of politeness, she couldn't help asking Xu Shan to see if he was interested in spring.

After all, he used to be a person who loved mountains and rivers and was keen on traveling. Now in this treacherous Chang'an, in order to hide his identity, he rarely has the opportunity to come out openly. It is normal for him to hope that someone will walk around with him. And he just happened to do her a big favor today, if she didn't even ask a question, it would obviously be unreasonable.

It's just that she was polite at first, and she thought that Xu Shan was probably acquainted, and would not travel alone with a woman who already had a fiancé, so unexpectedly he agreed. Now, even if she knew it was inappropriate, she couldn't refuse.

Of course, there was a reason why Lu Shiqing said "yes". Yuan Cixian's meeting with Zheng Zhuo was for political affairs, and she certainly wouldn't feel sorry for him, but traveling with "Xu Shan" was different. After all, today is different from the past.

He believed that she still had a little conscience. He was very angry with her just now and had no place to vent it. Now he made her feel guilty, and he might get some surprise treatment later.

Even if he earns himself some compensation.

In early spring and February, the color of the grass is still light, and the peach blossoms in the mountains are not fully in full bloom. Most of them are budding buds. On the contrary, clusters of unnamed wild flowers grow on the roadside, making the grass field bright.

Yuan Cixian watched as she walked, feeling a little uncomfortable, and didn't have the nerve to squat down to take a closer look.

Seeing the envy in her eyes, Lu Shiqing actually had the urge to pick flowers for her. When he remembered that he was Xu Shan now, a bunch of flowers had already arrived in his hands.

He couldn't explain this kind of behavior as his love of flowers, and then he would hold this bunch of bright red things in his hands and play with them all the way, so he had to grit his teeth and bite the bullet and handed it to her.

Seeing this, Yuan Cixian was taken aback, and hurriedly said: "Thank you, sir." Then she probably felt that the situation was a bit too ambiguous, so she quickly took the flowers, then stepped up, walked faster, and separated a little distance from him.

Fortunately, she didn't pay attention to the familiar hand.

Seeing that she kept a distance from him, Lu Shiqing was a little relieved, but he couldn't help thinking, if Yuan Cixian didn't have ghosts in his heart, why?

When he slowly followed, Yuan Cixian tentatively asked, "May I ask, sir, where did Xu Sanniang go after Lushui's trip last year? She should be traveling with you today..."

At that time, because of Xu Sanniang's appearance, Yuan Cixian made up his mind to keep a distance from Xu Shan, but she was never seen staying in Chang'an afterwards. She has always been very surprised, Xu Sanniang finally found her old friend, and she just left, could it be that the two had a falling out?

Lu Shiqing had no choice but to find a plausible excuse, and lied: "The situation in Chang'an is unstable, and her staying here will only increase the danger."

The implication is that he sent her away for the sake of her safety.

Yuan Cixian said "Oh", thinking about it was right, she couldn't help but feel the deep friendship between the two of them, and she was thinking about how to end this inappropriate trip as soon as possible, but Xu Shan also had the same intention, and said first: "It's time It's not too early, and it's time for the county lord to return home for lunch. Where is your carriage parked, Xu will take you there."

Originally, it was better for him to separate from Yuan Cixian like Zheng Zhuo did, but seeing that she didn't have a maid by her side, he didn't feel at ease, so he asked this question.

Yuan Cixian waved his hand and said: "My carriage is parked far away, but the maid is waiting at the foot of the mountain, so there is no need for the husband to waste time coming and going."

"So, Xu will send you to the mountain pass."

She didn't shy away any more, and when she got to the mountain pass and had a round with picking branches, she said goodbye to him. To avoid attracting attention, Lu Shiqing did not follow out of the mountain immediately, and stayed nearby for quite a while before leaving.

Today he rode a horse in order to come here as soon as possible. After leaving the mountain, he got on the horse and headed back to Chang'an City. Unexpectedly, he saw a carriage coming in this direction after walking for a long time.

The carriage was nothing special, what was special was that he recognized the driver as Yuan Cixian's maid, Shi Cui.

He wondered why she appeared here at this time, and hurried forward.

Shi Cui also noticed him, drove over, and asked, "Mr. Xu, what is this?"

Lu Shiqing saw that she obviously hadn't received Yuan Cixian yet, so he frowned and said, "I just said goodbye to the county magistrate. You are not waiting for her where you are, what are you doing here?"

Shi Cui was taken aback for a moment: "It was the county magistrate who sent a letter to me and asked me to come to the mountain pass to pick her up."

Lu Shiqing recalled the direction in which Yuan Cixian and Cai Zhi had just seen from a distance. His intuition was wrong, and he shook his head in affirmation: "There is no such thing."

Shi Cui also seemed to understand something, and her expression suddenly became tense, but she didn't have time to ask again, when she saw Xu Shan raised his hand and whipped, and galloped out.

The deserted mountain road is covered with grass and dust.