Xijing Chronicle

There is no moon in the sky, but the stars are very bright, densely sprinkled all over the sky.

Gu Huaisheng followed his memory and walked outside the solitary courtyard on the edge of the whole mansion. The courtyard door was still unlocked, and it was wide open as if he had given up on himself. knock.

There has been no sound from the house for a long time. It is so late now, maybe it is because he has fallen asleep, or maybe it is because of the torture at night that he is still in a coma?Gu Huaisheng held his breath and listened for a while, only to hear the slight and long breathing sound from inside the house, he was slightly relieved, and after a little hesitation, he planned to break in the door.

Unexpectedly, a low voice came from inside the room: "Who?"

Although it is clear, it lacks Qi and is extremely weak.

Gu Huaisheng put his hands on the door, "It's me, Gu Huaisheng."

There was a moment of silence in the room before Jin Xuenian said calmly: "It's late at night, Mr. Gu, please go back."

Gu Huaisheng acted as if he hadn't heard of it, and he used his internal force to gather it in his palm, and the door bolt snapped off. He just pushed the door open and walked in openly.

The space inside the house is very small, facing the door is a pair of tables and chairs, and there is a small door next to it, walking in is the bedroom.Jin Xuenian was lying on it motionless, when she saw him coming in, she couldn't help but widen her eyes, startled and angry.

"Your Excellency is good."

"Thank you."

"Young Master Gu came to visit late at night, I wonder what you can do?" Jin Xuenian held back his anger and said, "My house here is completely bare, I'm afraid there is nothing that can catch the eyes of the Young Master."

"I'm here," Gu Huaisheng reached into his arms, took out a white porcelain box and put it on his palm, "a medicine seller."

"..." Jin Xuenian was shocked by his unreasonable behavior, opened and closed his lips, and found his voice after a while, "Then you came to the wrong place, I have no money to buy... "

It's a pity that this interruption, the words of refusal have lost their strength.

"Then owe it first," Gu Huaisheng smiled lightly, "After all, what you owe is not bad."

Jin Xuenian's eyes were somewhat puzzled: "What do you mean by that? Last time I..."

Gu Huaisheng interrupted him: "A box of this medicine is worth a thousand gold, and the money you gave last time was nothing more than mediocre."

Jin Xuenian lost her voice again, and after a long time, said in a hoarse voice: "I'm afraid I won't be able to pay back your son's money in this lifetime..."

"Who knows what will happen in the future." Gu Huaisheng replied flatly.

Seeing that it took only a few words, Jin Xuenian's energy was getting worse and worse, her face was pale, and her eyelids were about to close. Gu Huaisheng didn't care to talk to him anymore, and walked up to the bedside , Gently lifted the quilt covering him.

Under the quilt, Jin Xuenian was undressed, and there were fresh whip marks all over her body, her skin was torn and her flesh was bloody.The previous set of clothes that were scoured to pieces has disappeared, the body has been cleaned, and the wounds have even been smeared with medicine. However, the people in the whole house can do this is the limit. Medicine is not a good medicine. Some of the wounds were barely scabbed, but the deeper welts were still oozing blood, and even the bedding was wet and full of blood.

It's shocking.

The blue veins on the back of Gu Huaisheng's hand holding the quilt horn were exposed, showing the surging emotions in the master's heart at the moment, but his face was still calm.He piled the quilt at the foot of the bed, opened the porcelain box, stretched out his index finger and dug out a large piece without hesitation, and wiped it off Jin Xuenian's body.

The ointment was cool, and it seemed to have magical power when it touched the wound, and it took most of the burning pain away, but Jin Xuenian closed his eyes patiently.

Gu Huaisheng misunderstood, and his hands were a little gentler, "It hurts?"

Jin Xuenian pursed her thin lips tightly and said nothing.

Gu Huaisheng felt a little pity in his heart, and sighed in a low voice: "I really don't know how you survived to this day with such a severe injury."

The room was quiet for a while, and Jin Xuenian's hoarse voice slowly sounded: "Actually, it just looks amazing, I can survive... They don't want me to die, and it's meaningless if I die. With a kind of Gu, my self-healing ability is several times that of ordinary people, as long as it is not a fatal injury, it is not a big problem for me..."

Gu Huaisheng was silent for a moment, then said, "That hurts too."

"Pain?" Jin Xuenian twitched the corners of her mouth and laughed, "Pain! What is pain? I often feel that I am dead. Only when I feel pain can I know that I am still alive..."

His laughter was hoarse and unpleasant, but Gu Huaisheng heard it in his ears, and he felt a panic in his heart, as if a rusty knife was repeatedly cutting his heart. The endless torture was far more uncomfortable than the pain.

The wound on the upper body was quickly painted over, and Gu Huaisheng's hand gradually moved down. Jin Xuenian suddenly trembled, and stretched out his hand to strangle his wrist.

Gu Huaisheng asked in puzzlement, "What's wrong?"

"...It's nothing," Jin Xuenian's palms were wet. He opened his eyes, but instead of looking at Gu Huaisheng, he stared down at a certain place in front of him. His not-so-long but thick eyelashes half-hid the emotion in his eyes. Half-covered, it is hard to see clearly.His Adam's apple moved, and he clasped Gu Huaisheng's hand with a little more force, "I'm much better, I'll do the rest by myself."

"it is good."

Gu Huaisheng took a fixed look at him, then naturally looked away, put the porcelain box in his palm, got up and walked outside the house.

Behind him was only the sound of Jin Xuenian's rapid and restrained breathing, and just as he was about to touch the door, he finally heard Jin Xuenian asking, "Who are you?"

Gu Huaisheng stood there with his back facing him, without moving or making a sound, Jin Xuenian looked at his back in a daze, and murmured: "You are very skilled, and you must have a plan to sneak into the whole house, but even if you Help me, I have nothing to repay you..."

"As a descendant of the Jin family, why do you have to belittle yourself so much? As a century-old general, the Jin family can raise waste," Gu Huaisheng finally spoke, his voice was as cold as the snow that hadn't melted on the top of a mountain for a thousand years. Bo, "I saved you because I really need your help. As for what I want you to do, I will talk about it after you recover."

Today's Jin Xuenian has been tortured for many years, her heart has long been closed, and there is no possibility of shaking.He refuses to touch the outside world, he just wants to live like a dead body with responsibility, until the day he has to die.Sudden kindness will only make him uneasy, make him suspicious, make him feel that he is being pitied and given to others, makes him feel unbearable, angry, and wants to refuse, that's why Gu Huaisheng said this - because you still have value, so I will save you.

Jin Xuenian was already terminally ill, and these words were like a good medicine. Although it had little effect in the face of years of chronic illness, it successfully made him relax his tense nerves at this moment.

Three feet frozen, not a cold day.

Hearing the relief of the people behind him, and a barely audible low mocking, Gu Huaisheng sighed imperceptibly, opened the door in front of him, and left without looking back.

The weather is getting hotter and hotter, and gradually Xue Zinu doesn't even want to go out of the house, lying on the mat with herbal tea all day long, stretching out his hands to eat and opening his mouth, Gu Huaisheng can't laugh or cry at his lazy behavior, but let him do it Hu Lai, at most, I would walk a few more steps to his room every day to discuss the score with him.

Seeing that Quan Chengen's [-]th birthday is one month away, their song is almost completed.Gu Huaisheng didn't show it on the surface, but in fact, he was getting more and more anxious in his heart - because of the late emperor's decree who didn't know where.

Few people in Xijing know that the current emperor's throne is not justified. When the late emperor was dying, He Ze, who was still the crown prince at that time, acted as an agent for government affairs. The absurd thing about forcibly taking the wife of a courtier.

Seeing this, the first emperor became more regretful and annoyed. He secretly recalled the fifth prince He Yi back to Xijing, summoned a group of loyal ministers, and wanted them to support the fifth prince He Yi. Unexpectedly, this move was known by He Ze. He was killed in a hunting ground in the outskirts, and the late emperor was put under house arrest. The late emperor had nothing to do, but died of depression in just over a month.

However, no one knew that before his death, the late emperor left an imperial edict angrily accusing He Ze of licentiousness, immorality, injustice, filial piety and loyalty, killing his brother, father and king.

At that time, the only ones who could see the late emperor were Quan Cheng'en, the chief personal servant, and Zhong Shi, the empress of Xiaohui. emperor.Unexpectedly, this villain Quan Chengen became greedy, and after the death of the first emperor, he killed the Zhong family, and then went to He Ze, using the will as a bargaining chip to blackmail He Ze, in exchange for great wealth.

Quan Chengen thought that this matter was done in a secret, and everyone who knew about it had been silenced, but he didn't know that Empress Xiaohui had been extra careful, told her personal maid about this matter, and then helped her to sneak out of the palace under the pretext of feigning death. After leaving the palace, this loyal court lady heard the news of the tragic death of the empress. She even wanted to fulfill the empress's last wish. She rushed to Pingguo day and night to seek help from the late emperor's most beloved sister, Princess Pinghuai. And Gu Huaisheng got the news from Princess Pinghuai.

Quan Chengen held the edict in his hand, which made He Ze be cautious and dare not attack him.This will is more important than life to Quan Chengen, such an important thing will definitely be placed in the safest place.Gu Huaisheng made many inquiries and observations, and finally delineated three places: the study room, the bedroom and the private warehouse. However, these three places are heavily guarded. He put on night clothes every night to lie in ambush, hoping to find a chance to sneak in, but such a wait It's been more than a month, and there has been no further progress.

That night, when everything was quiet, Gu Huaisheng came to the single courtyard in the northwest corner again after seven days.

No matter how powerful one person is, his strength is limited after all. He calculated that Jin Xuenian's injury should be almost healed, and wondered if he could ask him for a little help.

Unexpectedly, Jin Xuenian was not in the house when he arrived. He was surprised. He heard some movement from the backyard, so he raised his breath and climbed up to the roof, looking down under the cover of the eaves.

I saw a small row of low bungalows at the back of the house, which should have been used for servants when they were built, but now they have been abandoned for a long time, and the weeds grow as tall as adults.And in the middle of this wasteland, a piece of flat land was carefully cleared out, on which a simple and rough shed was built, with wooden pillars and a cloth roof, and Jin Xuenian was kneeling under the shed.

He is burning paper money.

The papers, shaped like copper coins and colored like mourning snow, fell into the fire one after another, rolled by the flames, and turned into ashes in the blink of an eye.

The paper dust swirled upwards and stopped only after hitting the roof of the shed. When the wind from an unknown direction blew, it scattered and floated away again.

The fire is moving, the paper is moving, the wind is moving, only the young man kneeling in front of the fire is still.His back was slightly bent, and his whole body seemed to be a little smaller, and he didn't have the upright strength that he had to stand in front of him before.His face was hidden behind the flames, distorted by the scorching air, making it a bit unreal, but Gu Huaisheng could still feel the sadness pressed on the brows of his eyes, the sadness seemed to be real, strangling Gu Huaisheng's throat and heart round and round , blood vessels, making his breathing heavy and his heart almost stopped.

"Who?!"

Probably because the keen intuition of being a general's child was still there, Jin Xuenian suddenly stood up and looked around vigilantly.Gu Huaisheng carefully restrained the complicated expression on his face, then patted his body to stand up, and landed lightly on the ground.

Seeing that it was Gu Huaisheng who came, Jin Xuenian breathed a sigh of relief, but his vigilance has not disappeared: "Why are you here?"

Gu Huaisheng answered irrelevantly: "Why do you burn paper money?" His voice was a little hoarse, but he didn't realize it.

Jin Xuenian frowned slightly because of his question, and said coldly: "It's none of your business."

"If I remember correctly, your elder brother died in the deep winter, and the rest of the Jin family died in the early spring. There is no day that matches today's date."

It's really not my style to ask repeatedly like this, but at the moment Gu Huaisheng is so distraught that he doesn't care about these things at all.

Jin Xuenian probably also noticed the strangeness in his emotions, hesitated for a while, and said in a low voice: "Mourning an old friend."

Gu Huaisheng followed closely: "Who is it?"

Jin Xuenian finally became impatient: "Master Gu, if you came here just to ask these questions, then please come back."

Gu Huaisheng did not evade, but looked at him fixedly, his gaze was unspeakably complicated.Before Jin Xuenian could continue to attack, he slid his Adam's apple up and down, and uttered a name: "He Rui."

Jin Xuenian froze, his pupils shrank suddenly, and Gu Huaisheng knew that he had guessed right. He moved his gaze to the still burning fire, his dark eyes seemed to hold two clusters of flames, which could burn the past 15 years together. Burn it up.

This name...he thought he would never mention it again for a long time.

"He Rui, courtesy name Huaiyu, the second son of the first emperor, the second prince of Daliang. 15 years ago when Daliang was in decline, he was sent to Houyue to be a proton. One year later, he died of illness in a foreign land. He was posthumously named King Huaide at the age of 15," Gu Huaisheng's voice was hoarse, "Today is He Rui's death day."

Jin Xuenian took two steps back, distanced himself from him, and stared at him suspiciously and vigilantly: "How could you think of the death date of His Highness the Second Prince all of a sudden... Are you his old department? No, no, you Calling His Highness by his name directly, showing no respect to him, will not be his old department. Could it be that you are his enemy?"

Gu Huaisheng remained silent.

How could he forget this day.

How can anyone forget the day he died?

It's just that he never expected that in such an inconspicuous corner, there would be a person mourning for him every year.

"Why?" Thinking this way, he couldn't help asking, "As far as I know, He Rui is not familiar with you. He is six years older than you, and you were only eight years old when he left. Remember him, and even burn paper for him..."

Jin Xuenian just glanced at him indifferently, the resistance in his eyes was very obvious.

Gu Huaisheng was stunned for a moment, and finally smiled.

That's right, for the current Jin Xuenian, how could he always answer his questions when he had hidden so much from him.

The He Rui that Jin Xuenian missed is dead, and the Jin Xuenian in his memory is not at all the tortured young man he is today.

It is nothing more than that to say that things are right and people are wrong.

Gu Huaisheng stopped asking, but walked to the fire that was about to go out, knelt down straight, picked up a stack of paper money and sprinkled it on, the sparks ignited when they met the paper, and rose again in the blink of an eye.

Fortunately, there is a shed blocking it, so people from other places can't see it.

He was born to only kneel down to his parents' world, but now kneeling down, it should be regarded as kneeling down to the past.

The flames burned more and more intensely, and the heat wave boiled over. Gu Huaisheng's eyes were sore from the smoke, and he couldn't help blinking.His vision gradually became blurred, and he was in a trance, thinking of those good times in the past for a while, and thinking of the current bloody feud at the same time.

Life is like a fog and a dream.

Jin Xuenian frowned and stared fixedly at Gu Huaisheng who was kneeling in front of the fire. At this moment, no one was looking at him. His eyes, which had been silent all the time, finally showed some confusion and confusion. He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but Swallowed it back again.In the end, he just knelt on the other side of the fire and quietly burned the remaining paper money with Gu Huaisheng.

"If He Rui knows that you still miss him and burn paper money for him every year, he will be very happy." Through the bright firelight, Gu Huaisheng said softly.

"No," Jin Xuenian shook his head and murmured, "He won't know, he never knew."

Gu Huaisheng froze in place, suspecting that he had heard wrong...

Probably because the atmosphere was so good at the moment, Jin Xuenian looked at Gu Huaisheng's face blurred by the fire, and felt a faint sense of familiarity, and a desire to talk.

"When I was four years old, His Highness saved my life," Jin Xuenian fell into the memory, "That winter hunting, my father took us brothers to the paddock, and I accidentally stepped on the ice and fell into it. It was His Highness who jumped into the water and rescued me."

Gu Huaisheng thought about it carefully, it seemed that there was indeed such a thing, but it was too insignificant to him, if Jin Xuenian hadn't mentioned it at this moment, he would have almost forgotten it.

"We knew each other when we were young, and we are different from each other when we were young. I was only eight years old when His Highness left." Jin Xuenian stared blankly at the fading fire, with emotions that others could not understand, "Your Highness and Big Brother We grew up together, we love brothers and sisters, and we often come to the house to find our elder brother to play with. Usually, my father is very strict with us, and only let us play when His Highness is here, so when I was young, the happiest time was when His Highness came to visit. But later I don't want your highness to come down again, because no one wants to play with me."

"I was young and couldn't speak. At that time, all I could do was stand aside and watch everyone. But His Highness is different. He is a very gentle person. When he sees me alone, he will take the initiative to talk to me. .”

Gu Huaisheng was dumbfounded. In fact, he didn't quite remember what Jin Xuenian said. He would take the initiative to talk to Jin Xuenian at that time, probably because of his own personality, and he didn't want the atmosphere to be too cold, so he said casually...

He didn't know that he was so good in Jin Xuenian's memory, so good that he felt a little ashamed.

"Your Highness likes to eat sweets. Once I accidentally tasted the sorghum glutinous rice made by the cook. I thought His Highness must like it very much, so I secretly learned from the cook for several days, and finally succeeded in making it. At that time , Daliang was defeated, the late emperor sent the second prince away and became more of a hostage, everyone got together to see him off, I couldn't find a chance to talk to him, so I could only quietly stuff caramel into his bag," Jin Xuenian looked up slightly At the beginning, the thin chin drew a graceful arc in the air, looking at the sky alone, "It's a pity, I still want to ask him when he comes back, I don't know if he has eaten it, whether it is good or not, do you know?" I know I did it..."

Gu Huaisheng looked at him, and felt his chest was overwhelmed. Shock, guilt, emotion and other emotions made him almost speechless. He bit the tip of his tongue, and the tingling pain suppressed the strange impulse in his blood. After a long while, he replied in a calm tone as much as possible: "He must have eaten it. It's delicious. If he knows that you made it, he will be very grateful to you."

Thank you very much.

On the most difficult night, he was surrounded by the stench of rotting corpses. Crows and wild dogs were watching him not far away, waiting for him to die completely. He burst out the last will to survive.

The sugar had gone bad, but it was the sweetest he had ever tasted.

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Try to rescue Jin Xiaonian within three chapters (claw!)