Golden Stage

Fu Shen's heart was beating wildly, and there were many noises in his ears. This arrow seemed to bring him back to the nightmare-like Shura field. The huge boulder fell on his head, and his crippled legs seemed to have memories, and it was said that he could faint from the pain pain of broken bones.

He bent down deeply and arched his back. This was a subconscious self-protection action. Beads of sweat flowed down his temples, along his skinny cheeks and his neck, where the muscles and veins under his pale skin seemed to be bulging. broke out.

With a "click", the hard wooden box couldn't support his hand strength, and was pinched and cracked.A broken wooden thorn sprang out and pierced into Fu Shen's palm.

However, this subtle and sharp pain was like a golden needle, penetrating his brain in an instant, piercing through many obstacles, and stabbing his crumbling soul with one needle.The lax mind was forcibly gathered, and the overwhelming nightmare was quickly withdrawn.

Fu Shen raised his head dripping with cold sweat. He didn't shed any tears, but his eyes were actually red and bloodshot. His thick black eyelashes drooped down like feathers, revealing a gloomy gaze like a trapped animal stained with blood.

His eyes moved horizontally to the cracked wooden box, and suddenly he found that there was a little edge of paper exposed through the break—the box actually had an interlayer.

Fu Shen carefully pulled out a piece of paper that was folded in half.

Half an hour later, Xiao Xun, who was guarding the door, heard Fu Shen calling for someone from the room. He pushed the door in and frowned, feeling that the room smelled of burning paper.

"Master Hou."

Fu Shen was sitting in front of the desk with a calm expression, maybe a little colder than usual, playing with a long wooden box back and forth in his hand, the box was stained with blood, but he didn't seem to feel any pain, and his expression was normal. Said: "In the past three days, has anyone in the mansion entered the study? Call them all."

Xiao Xun wanted him to bandage his hands first, but Fu Shen didn't even raise his eyes.Xiao Xun didn't dare to disobey him, so he quickly bowed his head and agreed.Just about to go out, Fu Shen suddenly stopped him: "Wait."

Xiao Xun: "Tell me."

He pondered for a moment, then said: "Bring the soldiers in too."

After Qingsha Pass was in danger, the first thing Fu Shen did when he woke up was to ask someone to find the crossbow bolt nailed into the rock, and it was expected that they would return in vain.He thought that the arrow had been buried under the rolling rocks long ago, but unexpectedly someone took the first step.This assassination was done very covertly. If it hadn't happened today, maybe his people would still be chasing after him like headless chickens.

But who on earth has the ability to deliver this key evidence to him without anyone noticing?

——What is the intention to expose this layer of truth?

Not long after, servants of different heights, young and old, stood in a row in front of him one after another, bowing their heads and shrugging their shoulders, wishing to plunge into the soil one by one.A group of Beiyan cavalry were standing outside the house, looking like they were about to come in with their knives at any time and kill people.

Fu Shen's voice was slightly sandy, and he sounded strangely tired. He threw the box on the red sandalwood case and asked straightforwardly: "Who has seen this box, when did it appear in the study, and who put it in?" ?”

In chronological order, the first person who entered the study came forward to identify it, and they all shook their heads and said they didn't know. Until this morning, the people who cleaned the study had a vague impression, saying that they saw such a box on the desk when they came in.They thought it was Fu Shen's old thing, so they didn't dare to move it casually.

All eyes were on the boy who delivered the vase to the study the day before.

It was a child of thirteen or fourteen, wearing a dusty bunt, his parents passed away early, and he followed his grandfather to work in the Hou Mansion. He usually hid in the back kitchen and could not come out. He had never seen such a battle before. Frost's eyes swept away, and he panicked immediately, plopped down on his knees, kowtowed and shouted "Master, forgive me".

Fu Shen rubbed the center of his brows, feeling pain from his crying, and said coolly, "Shut up."

His voice was very soft, probably because he was used to giving orders, but every word was very heavy, as if he could punch a hole in the ground.The child's voice was instantly silenced, but the shaking became more severe.Fu Shen asked, "Did you put this box in?"

"No, no, not..."

"Who is that?"

"Small, I don't know..."

Fu Shen said sadly: "I don't have the patience to watch you sifting through the chaff here, and I'll tell you what happened earlier—I'll give you another chance, and I'll talk about it after I think it over."

The boy bit his lower lip, and rubbed the corners of his clothes with both hands, finally couldn't bear the pressure from Fu Shen, and whispered the truth: "Little one, I really don't know, it might be Wang, Wang Gouer..."

Fu Shen was puzzled: "Who is Wang Gou'er?"

"Yes, he is a boy from the Wang family in Yangshugou in the east of the city. He often comes to the Hou's mansion with his father to deliver food... Last night, Grandpa Fu asked me to come to the study to deliver vases. Wang Gou'er said he also wanted to see... the study of the rich family. What is it like, I thought to myself, Master Hou would not come anyway, so I brought him in together..."

Fu Shen: "Xiao Xun."

Xiao Xun: "This subordinate understands."

Outsiders trespassed on the study of the Hou Mansion, although there were no important items in the study, but it was the guards who made a huge mistake.Xiao Xun immediately took two personal guards to track down this "king dog".Fu Shen slowly glanced around the people standing underground, and suddenly sneered very lightly.

"It seems that I have been negligent all these years, thinking that this 'backyard' is better than nothing, and has no value in setting fire. Who knows that day and night defenses are difficult to guard against house thieves, and the loopholes are actually bigger than a sieve. What happened today is for you all. , It’s also a lesson for myself. Uncle Fu—”

The old servant stepped forward tremblingly: "Please order, Lord Hou."

"Within ten days, all the servants in the mansion will be dismissed, and let them go back where they came from. From now on, the Hou Mansion will be taken over by the Beiyan Army, and no one else will be allowed to stay here. That's it, let's go."

A group of people knelt down in the ground: "Master Hou! Please forgive me...Leave me a way out!"

"Don't make me say it a second time," Fu Shen waved his hand, "Xiao Ding, go to supervise the work."

A personal guard came out in response, picked up the old servant by the collar of his neck and slipped him out.It was a foregone conclusion, and the rest of the people were like quails tied up with a hemp rope, shrinking their necks and following behind him, leaving the study one by one.

Fu Shen dealt with this mess quickly, but the gloom in his chest did not disappear at all.He was physically and mentally exhausted, and he was so annoyed that he wished he could close his eyes and just kick his legs.This idea has not yet been finalized, and suddenly there was a hasty knock on the door outside: "Master Hou, a leader of the imperial army came outside, saying that someone asked him to pass a message to you."

Fu Shen was in the midst of the confusion brought by the wooden box, and he was extremely sensitive to the word "Forbidden Army", so he immediately said, "Let him in."

Wei Xuzhou received a lot of attention all the way, and all the guards in the mansion were soldiers who came down from the battlefield, so seeing him, a pampered general of the imperial army, was a bit unbearable.When he saw Fu Shen in the wheelchair, General Wei almost felt a sense of intimacy: "Your Majesty, General Wei Xuzhou of Zuo Shenshu Army, met Lord Hou."

Fu Shen is now at a stage where everyone is suspicious, but the Beiya Imperial Army is under the control of Yan Xiaohan, so it doesn't arouse him too much suspicion.Strange to say, Fu Shen and Yan Xiaohan have completely different principles of how to conduct themselves in the world, yet they have a profound honesty between them.He had a kind of subconscious trust in this notorious eagle dog in the court, so when he faced Wei Xuzhou, he was much calmer: "There is no need to be polite, General Wei, please sit down. Pour some tea."

Wei Xuzhou didn't dare to get too close to him, fearing that other people would suspect him, so he cut straight to the point: "Your Majesty, don't bother to talk about it, I'll leave after I've finished speaking. Your Majesty the Imperial Chaplain has just been summoned by His Majesty, and before leaving, I've been asked to give a message to Lord Hou. : Recently, there have been secret rumors in the noble families of the capital that you have that... Longyang. You must be careful about this matter, and the Marquis must deal with it as soon as possible."

This news was no less than a thunderbolt from the blue sky, five thunderbolts hit the top, and Fu Shen was numb from the sky to his heels: "What did you say?!"

Wei Xuzhou: "My lord also said, no matter what happens, please be patient for the time being, Lord Hou, and don't act rashly."

"Ok?"

Wei Xuzhou looked back innocently: "That's all, that's all."

There were too many things, piles of piles, each of which was as hard as a rock, choked him almost out of breath.Countless thoughts and suspicions grew rapidly like a demon, occupying all of his mind in an instant——

No matter what happens, don't act rashly.

The iron arrow in the box, the paper in the interlayer, the "king dog" who sneaked into the study... Is he referring to one of these, or are there more conspiracies hidden in the dark that he has not yet noticed?

Was Yan Xiaohan a prophet, or did he premeditate?

"Master Hou! Master Hou!"

While in a trance, the old servant rushed into the study panting, interrupting Fu Shen's crazy thinking.He broke out from the deep inner demons, and suddenly realized that he was too extreme.

"what's up?"

Fu Bo said excitedly: "Imperial decree, our family has come! Father-in-law, please go out and receive the decree!"

Wei Xuzhou winked very much, and immediately got up when he heard the words: "Since Lord Hou still has something to do, I will take my leave first."

Fu Shen met his eyes and nodded knowingly: "Uncle Fu, send this lord out through the corner gate. Wait for me to change into the court clothes and go see the imperial envoy."

Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

"Dream return."

After the prince left, Emperor Yuantai suddenly changed his title.Yan Xiaohan was taken aback for a moment, and then respectfully replied, "Your Majesty."

"I often wake up in the middle of the night these days." Yuan Taidi said: "Sometimes it is clear that I am the only one sleeping in the bedroom, but I always feel that the couch is narrow, and it seems that someone else is sleeping soundly on the side. Tell me, what's going on?"

Although Yan Xiaohan was a military officer, he had read a few books anyway.Hearing this, cold sweat immediately came down.

His thoughts turned, and his reaction was extremely quick. Without saying a word, he knelt down and pleaded guilty: "Your Majesty is the real dragon emperor, and evil spirits will not invade. This matter must be the treacherous Xiao Xiao who is pretending to be a ghost behind his back. The servants are performing the duties of the guardians, and the protection is not effective. As a result, The palace is restless, the holy car is restless, and the crime deserves death!"

He apologized very quickly.Emperor Yuantai's original intention was not like this. For a while, he couldn't tell whether Yan Xiaohan was really stupid or just pretending to be stupid, so he simply made his words clearer: "In the capital city, the Imperial Guards from the North and the South, the Imperial Army and the Five Great Capital Battalions, The soldiers add up to nearly 30, but I still have the feeling of being surrounded by tigers and wolves from time to time.

"Sometimes I even doubt whether the country of Great Zhou, the country of my grandson's family, is in my hands, or is it controlled by an outsider?"

Speaking of this, the sword is already on the verge of breaking out.Yan Xiaohan really couldn't continue to pretend to be stupid, and said, "Please make it clear, Your Majesty."

Emperor Yuantai asked: "Do you still remember what I said when I broke the rules and promoted you as the imperial inspector of Feilongwei?"

Feilongwei, formerly known as "Yufeilong stable", was originally a place for raising horses in the palace, managed by eunuchs.During the reign of Emperor Chunhua, the third emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the power of the civil servants of the previous dynasty was strong, and they once controlled the imperial army, and the monarchy was in jeopardy.In order to open up the situation, Emperor Chunhua changed the Yufeilong stable to Feilongwei, and regained control of the Beiya Imperial Army through the hands of eunuchs.Feilongwei is the emperor's confidant, with great power, and non-emperor's cronies cannot set foot in it.Since then, the Beiya Forbidden Army has been controlled by eunuchs.It was not until the 20th year of Yuantai that Duan Linglong, the former Flying Dragon Guard envoy, passed away, and Emperor Yuantai unexpectedly promoted Yan Xiaohan, who was then Zuo Shenwuwei General, as the new imperial envoy, breaking this situation.

Exactly why Yan Xiaohan came to power is still a mystery, but it is undeniable that Emperor Yuantai really relied on him a lot.Yan Xiaohan had indeed become a lonely minister these years, and under his conditioning, Feilongwei became the sharpest knife in the emperor's hands.

"I am now appointed as the inspector of the Feilongwei to patrol the four directions on my behalf and supervise the hundreds of divisions. What you see with your eyes, hear with your ears, where your body goes, and where your sword points, everything is as if I were there in person."

Yan Xiaohan said: "Your Majesty's earnest expectations, I will engrave them in my heart, and I will never forget them until I die."

"It's not in vain that I have valued you all these years," Emperor Yuan Tai sat up straight and said seriously, "I want you to do something. This matter may take two or three years, or even longer, but if it succeeds, I will Then you can sleep in peace.”

"—I want to marry you and Fu Shen."