startled autumn

For more than [-] years since the founding of the country in the Southern Dynasties, the weather was smooth and the country's fortune was prosperous. Even if there were occasional natural and man-made disasters, it never endangered the country.The first emperor died three years after ascending to the throne, and later succeeded to the throne, cleared out his relatives, and reorganized the government and the public. Now he is in his prime, and the monarch and his ministers are in harmony with each other. He is known as a wise emperor.There is a prince, Lu Peixuan, who is straightforward, good at riding and shooting, and is quite popular among the people.

Everyone in the Southern Dynasties knows the above, except Shen Zhiqiu.

Ever since he entered Moyi, he only had the sword in his heart.

The prince is nearly [-] years old, tall, with a simple appearance, especially hearty laughter, dignified and approachable.

But to Shen Zhiqiu, these are just symbols of dignity. Even now, the crown prince is sitting on his throne and meeting him in person, it doesn't make him feel honored at all.

Shen Zhiqiu got straight to the point: "I was entrusted by Mr. Han Bi to return this item to His Highness the Crown Prince." As he said this, he handed the brocade box in his hand to the attendant of the Prince's, who bent over to take it, then turned around, with a low eyebrow and pleasing eyes Before the ground.

The crown prince winked, and the well-trained attendants opened the brocade box, only to see a pearl lying in it intact, radiant as before, which seemed like a mockery.

The prince changed his face slightly, took a deep breath, and said in a neither happy nor angry tone, "Does Han Bi have something you want to bring?"

Shen Zhiqiu: "Young Master Han said that he is just an ordinary businessman and cannot handle His Highness's business."

The prince sneered and said, "He has hundreds of shops in the capital, sails overseas, and has business routes all over the country. How can he not be able to do my business?"

Shen Zhiqiu replied frankly: "I don't know."

Prince: "You don't know?"

Shen Zhiqiu nodded: "He didn't tell me, of course I don't know."

Prince: "Then what do you know?"

Shen Zhiqiu: "I know that the pearl belongs to His Royal Highness, and I am responsible for returning it to its original owner. I don't know anything about the rest."

Prince: "You don't know anything, why did he send you here?"

Shen Zhiqiu sighed sincerely: "I want to know this too."

The two remained silent for a while, and after a while, the crown prince's falcon-like eyes fell on Shen Zhiqiu: "I saw you wearing Mo Yixing clothes, and I thought you couldn't be an unknown person. Instead of being an errand for Han Bi, why not?" Wouldn't it be better to stay in the Prince's Mansion, then there will be all the glory and wealth."

Shen Zhiqiu: "His Royal Highness, what I seek in life is not glory and wealth." During the journey of swordsmanship, the most important thing is to stick to one's heart and not be moved by external things.

The prince laughed loudly: "...I didn't expect that you have such deep affection for him."

Shen Zhiqiu: "Huh?"

The prince reached out and took out the pearl from the brocade box beside him, and played with it in the palm of his hand. He said regretfully, "I can't bear the dust on the pearl, but there are many cruel people." Then he waved his hand, "Go, I still have to deal with it." Important."

Shen Zhiqiu was at a loss, so he had no choice but to leave.

In the prince's mansion, the incense is wafting, and the maids are walking past, their clothes are fragrant and their temples are shadowed, and Yingying is eagerly, like a fairyland among the clouds.

The owner of this fairyland is usually noble and extraordinary, with one person under ten thousand, but now he shuns others and sits willingly at the next table, with a look of trust and respect on his face.

Prince: "Teacher, Han Bi really thinks too much of himself. I don't think he takes me seriously."

The person called "Teacher" is about 50 to [-] years old. He wears plain brocade clothes. Although he is thin and has white spots on his temples, he has a graceful bearing. He sits upright and speaks unhurriedly. , full of the vicissitudes of the years: "His Royal Highness is a man of heaven and earth, why should you belittle yourself." Then the conversation changed, "Han Bi is the old son of Prime Minister Han, and has earned a fortune. It can be said that he occupies all the good things in the world and does not know current affairs. Some are also normal."

The prince flicked his sleeves impatiently: "No matter what, he is just a merchant!"

The man in brocade clothes said slowly: "No matter what, he is also Empress Han's younger brother."

After being reminded by him, the prince finally remembered this, and said: "The teacher is right, I am impatient."

The man in Jinyi stared at him lovingly: "Your Highness is serious. You must know that after the death of Empress Han, His Majesty has treated the Han family with all kinds of favors, and Han Bi is the only person in the Han family who does not take an official career. Winning over the Han family will definitely not arouse His Majesty's suspicion, the opportunity is once in a thousand years, His Highness must not miss it."

The prince nodded in agreement, and then remembered Mo Yi's disciple who had just come to return the pearl. Mo Yi's clothes were only crow green and black ink, and the latter was only worn by high-ranking inner disciples. It can be said to be very rare. It's so heavy, and thinking of this, I can't help but feel a headache again: "Teacher, I asked someone to give him the pearl, and he just refused my solicitation. Why do you need someone from Mo Yi to run errands? Could it be to me Demonstration, to show that he can drive Mo Yizhong to do things for him at will, but I can't?"

The man in brocade groaned, "Maybe, maybe not."

Prince: "What does this mean?"

The man in Jinyi: "Han Bi is a businessman and is well versed in the art of negotiation. He showed his strength in this way, perhaps in order to increase his bargaining chip in order to get a better price."

The prince was pleasantly surprised: "Could it be that he is just playing hard to get?"

The man in brocade clothes sighed: "I hope so."

The Prince's Mansion in the east of the city was overcast and cloudy, while in Han's Mansion on the other side, there was only a sound of shuttling through the forest. Han Banbu, with a vigorous posture, crossed the garden and turned into the wing room.

Just as Han Banbu was about to speak, he remembered that he was silenced, and scratched his head in pain for a moment.

Seeing him like this, Han Bi showed great mercy: "I allow you to say something like a stick of incense."

Han Banbu was overjoyed when he heard the words, and reported in a rambling manner: "The wooden stake of Mo Yi entered the Prince's Mansion and came out within half a stick of incense. It looks like it's over."

Han Bi was playing with the abacus, and lazily replied: "He is wearing Mo Yi's black running clothes. As long as the prince is not stupid, he will not dare to touch him anyway."

"What if you really do something?" Han Banbu asked curiously.

Han Bi shrugged: "It's his bad luck, so it has nothing to do with me."

Han Banbu asked again: "Since you don't know how to do anything, why do you have to let that wooden stake go to the Prince's Mansion? It's not the same to find someone to go, lest you have to do things for him."

Han Bi smiled lightly: "I said to find news for him, but I didn't say when I would find it. If he can't find it within a year or two, it's just his bad luck. It has nothing to do with me."

Han was half-convinced, and couldn't help cheering: "Young master is wise!"

Han Bi: "As for the prince, he'd better know clearly that if he wants to bribe me, he will have to pay a higher price."

Han Banbu asked in amazement: "Hey, is it possible that you really have a crush on the prince, young master?"

Han Bi immediately asked, "How is it possible?"

Han Bi was in a good mood after solving the Mingzhu matter today, so he was willing to explain a few more words: "The prince is self-willed, even if he is displeased for a while, he will not feel that I sincerely refuse his invitation later, but will think that I am self-promotion Worth, since this is the case, I might as well take the opportunity to mislead..."

Han Banbu: "Then why not let Xiao Shaoling go?"

Han Bi: "Xiao Shaoling's reputation is too great, if he is to be driven by me, it will be full of flaws."

Han Banbu: "In this way, the wooden stake is unknown, which is quite appropriate." Then he couldn't help sighing, "The young master is so smart, no wonder he doesn't like the prince."

Han Bi: "I never think I'm smart. If I really want to say it, it's just that other people are too stupid."

In order to flatter Han Banbu, he has always dared to say anything outrageous: "I think that prince's brains are not half as good as the young master's."

Although these words are endless, Han Bi rarely agrees: "Your Majesty is in his prime, and although the Crown Prince has been established, the East Palace has been left vacant. The Crown Prince can only live in the Crown Prince's Mansion outside the palace, and he rarely participates in political affairs. It can be seen that Your Majesty is not very satisfied with the prince's temperament." After a pause, "But no matter what, the prince is still a prince, and if there is no accident, he cannot be abandoned; the fourth prince Lu Peilang born to Empress Zhao is only three years old, and this prince is actually Anxious like ants on a hot pan, it's amazing."

Han Banbu didn't think so: "The crown prince's biological mother has a humble status. In the palace, a child is always valued by his mother, so he is naturally in a hurry."

Han Bi sneered, "No matter how anxious he is, he shouldn't touch my elder sister's head."

Han Banbu is a servant of the Han family, so he naturally knows that the eldest sister of the young master is the late Empress Han. What's the matter with the queen?"

Closing his eyes lightly, Han Bi seems to have returned to his youth, when the family was happy and harmonious, it was a mirror-like scene, but in the end he could only sigh quietly: "His biological mother is humble, while Empress Han is noble, and has no children all her life. In contrast, doesn't he want to change from a concubine to a concubine, and justifiably enter the East Palace? What's more, it is recorded that at the knee of Empress Han, he won the Han family for nothing. Give it a try. Father doesn't bother to talk to him, so he has no choice but to come and find me to do it?"

Han clicked his tongue in half a step, feeling that his brain couldn't make a turn.

Whenever Han Bi talked about Empress Han who died young, he always felt a dull pain, so he didn't want to mention it any more, but ordered: "By the way, you also need to send someone to investigate the matter of Xiao Shaoling."

Han Banbu: "Hey, young master, didn't you make a plan a long time ago to force that wooden stake to be unlucky?"

Han Bi: "No matter who it is, since he chose to spread rumors about Xiao Shaoling behind his back, it means that this person is incapable of catching Xiao Shaoling's sword face to face."

Han Banbu finally got the hang of it this time: "So, once we find out who this person is, in order to prevent Xiao Shaoling from knowing the truth, this person must be at your disposal, young master, from now on?"

Han Bi smiled and said, "It's just another new deal." He waved his hand, "Go ahead."

This year's cold winter came too early, and before the twelfth lunar month, the capital was full of wind and snow, making this piece of singing and dancing like walking barefoot on ice, everyone was crumbling, and everyone was frightened.