Gu Qingci

The little apprentice went outside to work, and I was alone in the small attic looking at the scattered text messages in the past few months. Master's handwriting was scribbled and the content was simple, which seemed normal at first glance.

But the more normal it is, the weirder it is.

I folded those sheets of paper from top to bottom, studied them carefully, and suddenly found something was wrong.

"Zhan Xin'an... see the words as if you have met, and pay homage..." Master wrote letters, never speaking like this.

Master has been a casual person all his life, even though now he seldom interferes in the affairs of the rivers and lakes, his dislike of rules and regulations in his bones has never changed.

He has always been very colloquial in writing letters, never using written language, and he even scolded me before, saying that Xiaoli is a cultural person after all, and he doesn't speak human language when he writes letters.That being the case, how come there are a lot of honorifics in the text messages he wrote?

What's more, the master is respected and the apprentice is humble, so why did he write "goodbye again?" to the little apprentice?

A bad thought was magnified. Is this really a letter from Master?

I stared at those flamboyant wild grasses for a long time, wishing I could see through the paper, but the flowing white ink blots really seemed to come from the master's hand - ordinary people really can't imitate his extremely chic charm.

What is going on?

The contents of these text messages are relatively simple, mainly saying, Master, I am in good health recently, don’t worry about it, and help Senior Sister Yang Hao take care of affairs, don’t have messy private thoughts, or Master, I will come back and beat you on the head.

Hmm... The specific content is very random, but the beginning and the end of the letter are profane, like a lump of mud in a luxurious box, which is extremely abrupt.

When things go wrong, there must be a demon, especially a straightforward person like Master.What is he trying to imply?That's bound to leave a mark.I greeted my little apprentice and took all the text messages back to Yangfu.

There are many books in my study, one of which is dedicated to the study of secret words.I vaguely remember that Master said before that that book is the best to use, and if you want to spread something shady, ghosts will not be able to see it.

Somewhat excitedly, he found the book, and started to solve the problem in front of a stack of text messages.And surprisingly, I guessed it right.

It took a long time, and after noon, I finally deciphered all the secret words that Master hid in the text messages, and this result made people even more flustered—the deciphered secret words were a location.

An unbelievable location.

I should be wrong, right?

He lit the stack of text messages on the candle flame and burned them to ashes, tightly clutching the paper with the answers in his hand.After shaking his head, he returned to the palace without moving his expression.

But I didn't go to Liu Yueying immediately.

Walk along the stone bricks of the inner palace all the way to the northwest corner, wandering to the area of ​​the cold palace.Daxing was passed down to Liu Yueying, but the Three Emperors, Lenggong has been abandoned since the death of Taizu Xing, and has never been inhabited.

The Pixiu and Qilin above the cornices are gray, and if you look closer, they are covered with spider webs.

Pushing open the door of the cold palace, the decayed wooden door creaked.As soon as I entered the door, I saw a lot of dust flying in the air in the inner courtyard. The pond in the middle had already dried up, leaving a pile of withered and yellowed things, which could be vaguely seen to be the shape of lotus leaves.Touch it lightly with your fingertips, and it will turn into powder in an instant.

Push open the third door on the left of the Lenggong.

In this small room there is only a table, a chair, and a square cut out in the wall, enshrining an image of a god.

Looked around and there was nothing else.After thinking for a while, I reached out to touch the statue, but couldn't take it off.This is the mechanism.

After trying to turn left and right a few times, suddenly, the ground shook slightly, and slowly a few bricks and stones moved away, revealing a hole that could only be entered and exited by one person.

The uneasiness in my heart was magnified, I gritted my teeth, and went in from the entrance of the cave.

Entering the underground secret passage, you can feel the extremely wet and slippery surroundings. If you have a candlestick, you can definitely see stone bricks covered with moss.

Gradually, there is a light source ahead.Stride out of the cave at the end and come to a place that looks like a fairy cave.But I know it's not.

How I wish I could be wrong once, how I wish.

This is a valley, surrounded by steep rocks, the rocks are as sharp as a knife, even if you have the power to ascend to the sky, you can't get out.

There are some shade-tolerant trees in the valley, a lot of weeds, and a small stream. After walking a few steps, I saw a thatched house.

Standing in front of the thatched hut, he swallowed a mouthful of saliva and became even more nervous.The answer I solved did not have the slightest deviation. Immediately, I will know the truth.While hesitating, the door was pushed open from the inside.

The person who came out was the master.

Master and I looked at each other for a moment, speechless for a while.

Master was secretly imprisoned by Liu Yueying in a secret room in the palace.

Feeling cold in his heart, he was the one who spoke first: "Did Xiaoli find this place?"

"Well, I deciphered those text messages written by Master."

He laughed out loud, went to sit on the recliner outside the house, and said in a very relaxed tone: "The emperor asked me to write letters regularly to the young apprentices in Shengqinglou. I found some clues, I thought ghosts couldn’t figure it out, but it’s boring for you to figure it out.”

"Master, I'm afraid you still want us to find out the clues, right? I didn't expect the emperor to...I'm sorry for Master." Looking at his no longer young appearance, I have already thought through all the causes and consequences in my heart.

"What nonsense are you talking about. So what if you found this place, as a teacher, I voluntarily stay here."

"Master, why bother to lie to my apprentice? You have spent half your life voluntarily staying in such a place? It must be her. What methods did she use to force you?" After so many years, I have long since ceased to be ignorant.

Everything in the world has its own laws, and many things will not happen without a reason.There is cause and effect, including fate.

Seeing that my emotions were getting agitated, Master waved his hand and refused to say more.

"You are someone who has been here, you must have seen it a long time ago. I have an unclear relationship with her, right?"

In the afternoon, the sun gradually shifted, and there was no sunlight in the canyon.

"Why did she imprison you in this kind of place secretly, without letting us know? What does she think?"

"I don't know what to do, Master. If I can't do it, I ask myself. I have thought about it countless times, but there is no answer. She is the emperor, and she is such a proud person. She is like this, but she shows weakness to me time and time again... I have no way not to forgive her, no way." The tone was murmuring, lost in spirit.

Squat down next to Master, curl up your legs, and cover your face with your hands.

"Master... She has been feeling unwell recently. I want to tell her when she recovers. I want to be with her in an open and honest manner. After this kind of thought came into being, it became difficult for her to discuss politics with other cabinet ministers." Stay in the hall for an afternoon.

I thought some things would pass without saying anything, but that's not the case.It stands between me and her clearly and has never changed. "

"She actually kept our dearest master here without telling me, without telling Xiaozhi, what is this! Have I never entered her heart? I really don't know what to do, Master, you Can you tell me?" As he spoke, his voice was a little whimpering.

Only she can manipulate my emotions and desires so easily, causing the defenses I thought were solid to collapse in an instant.

Master patted me on the back, and finally said: "A gentleman asks for himself, and I feel that my small concerns are a gentleman, so all this is not your fault. Well, it may not be her fault."

"Why is it not her fault? She locked you up here. If I hadn't gone to Shengqing Building to read the text message you sent to the little apprentice, I don't know how long she would have kept it a secret! Master, tell me, she locked you up How long has it been?"

"...Is this important? Xiaoli, who watched hundreds of schools at the age of ten, must understand that since ancient times, which emperor can tolerate his own people threatening their rule? Even if the threat is small, it is still an infection. The sand in her eyes will never last long. What's more, she is still a wise king. The difference between a wise king and a foolish king is that they never judge things by their own likes and dislikes. Master can see that she cares about you very much. But this does not mean that she can tolerate your master calling the wind and rain in the rivers and lakes."

"A lot of things are not so easy to decide. The emperor is also very difficult, but if she is allowed to continue as a teacher, she will definitely feel worried and even implicate you. This is what I, an old man, don't want to see. I How can you become a stumbling block for you young people when half of your body is buried in the ground?" Master smiled heartily.

The more Master understood, the more uncomfortable I felt.He was originally a hero of the generation in the Jianghu, he is as comfortable as the wind, even if he lives in seclusion in Dongshan, no one can shake his status.But because of me, such a hero got involved in political struggles, was feared by the emperor, and was bound hands and feet and locked up in this dark place.

"Master, I'm going to ask her for an explanation!" She stood up abruptly, a raging fire ignited in her heart.

"You mustn't do it!" Seeing me turn around and leave, Master hurriedly stopped me, "She is afraid of me, if you go there rashly, it will only deepen her doubts, and even make her suspicious of you, why bother? Then staying here for so long as a teacher is a waste of all previous efforts!"

"Master, tell me, how long have you been imprisoned? Last year, when the emperor celebrated his birthday in September, Xiaozhi told me that there is no news about you."

The hale and hearty old man knew he had slipped his tongue, lowered his head and laughed at himself, and said in a low voice, "From August five years to now."

In August of the fifth year of Tianjia.It was when Master sent two young apprentices to my Shengqing Building.

Liu Yueying put in so much effort to get rid of Hu Zhongli, she must have been afraid that our Yang family would rise up by relying on Master's power in the arena, so after discovering that Master had a connection with Sheng Qinglou, she immediately shut him down.

Counting it, Master has been here for almost two years, longer than Xiaozhi.

So it turns out that Liu Yueying knew about the existence of Sheng Qinglou so early on.

She is not only afraid of Master, but also afraid of me, Yang Zhi, and our entire Yang Family.

——So she sent Yan Xi abroad because she wanted to find an excuse to drive the couple out of the capital? !

Like falling into an ice cave.The scalp is numb, and the heart is completely cold.