The Ascension of Ghosts

A group of people lightly drove Lu Sheng back to Shitoufang, and they were so surprised that Lu Yuan and his wife opened the door to greet them. The servant named Zhao Fu was a close minister of the emperor, and he had his own dignity, but he was still polite after talking with Lu Yuan for a few words. before leaving.

As soon as Zhao Fu left, Lu Yuan's expression darkened, and he said angrily, "What happened?"

Lu Sheng knew he was wrong, so he knelt silently in front of the table where his parents' tablets were placed, lowered his head and smiled wryly, "Brother, I'm afraid I'm going to violate my mother's legacy."

Zhou was worried that her husband would get angry, so she was about to move forward while supporting her waist, but Lu Yuan held her hand instead, and said softly: "You are heavy, go back and rest, I won't be angry, I will talk to Haosheng Baoyang."

What Zhou wanted to say was said by Lu Yuan first, so he nodded, looked at Lu Sheng, and comforted him: "It's good to be back, it's good to be back."

Lu Sheng lowered his head and responded with a low voice. He heard his sister-in-law being helped by his servants to leave the room. The surroundings were quiet for a while. After a while, Lu Yuan sighed and said, "Forget it, get up and talk."

Lu Sheng moved, but then said dejectedly, "I... have nothing to say."

Lu Yuan lit three sticks of incense, prayed silently, put them into the incense burner, turned around with his hands behind his back, and said with a sneer, "Is there nothing to say, or can't say?"

Lu Sheng's heart became more and more heavy when he was told about it. Unknowingly, he clenched his fingers into fists and said in a hoarse voice, "Brother..."

Lu Yuan didn't scold him, but sat down, put his hand on the armrest, and sighed: "Baoyang, I just ask, is what you are doing right now worthy of my conscience?"

Lu Sheng raised his head when he heard the words, and said word by word: "The sun and the moon are shining brightly, I have a clear conscience."

Lu Yuan smiled, and when he smiled, the deep lines around his eyes and the gray hair on his temples reflected the warm luster under the candlelight, which made him feel very at ease, "I am a child of the Lu family, naturally I am not a person who does evil. Baoyang, go ahead. "

He stepped forward to help Lu Sheng up, and patted his younger brother on the shoulder. Although he sighed, his expression was different from before, and he said seriously: "Back then, my father insisted on joining the army, and my mother couldn't stop me...Brother, I just beg you not to move." Follow in the footsteps of that Li Xiaonu."

Lu Sheng didn't expect Lu Yuan to be so considerate all of a sudden, and quickly responded: "Brother, don't worry!" He hesitated for a moment, then said again, "In that case, I, I..."

Lu Yuan observed his words and expressions, and said again: "Are you leaving now?"

Lu Sheng remembered the copper tripod hidden in his arms, nodded vigorously and said, "I can't go..."

Lu Yuan frowned slightly, but still walked to the window, looked around for a while, then pushed open the wooden door on the side, and said, "Follow me."

He led Lu Sheng through the backyard and approached the firewood room where debris was piled up. The firewood room was adjacent to the backyard of the Yue family. Lu Yuan gently moved a pile of firewood away, touched the corner for a while, and pushed it lightly. , Pushing open a half-person-high wooden door.

Lu Sheng stared wide-eyed. He has lived in this house for 20 years, but he never knew that there was such a mechanism hidden in the backyard. Unknowingly, he looked at his brother with admiration, "Brother, brother, is this—?"

Lu Yuan smiled and said: "Naturally, the two families have discussed this matter. Only the elders in the family know about it. It's just a cunning rabbit's hole, so be prepared. You should keep your voice down when you pass by. If Nan Lai is disturbed, maybe you will be beaten as a thief. "

Lu Sheng agreed with a wry smile. After saying goodbye to his brother, he passed through the secret door of the woodshed and left home from the backyard of the Yue family.The door of the Yue family's backyard is at the corner of the other end of the alleyway. If someone is watching the Lu family, this is a dead corner.

Lu Sheng got away easily, without staying for a moment, and walked to the north gate of the north city in secret. Looking at the towering city wall and the closed city gate, he subconsciously grasped the hard copper tripod through the skirt of his clothes.

Wei Su's confidant was left among the guards of the northern city, and the secret was so deep that even among Wei Su's disciples, only Gao Tai and Lu Sheng knew about him.If he used this ace card in order to get out of the city, he doesn't know... is it right or wrong?

It's just that Xie Rong mentioned, "No one can tell anyone, wait at Dawangzhuang", Lu Sheng naturally understood, he clearly didn't even believe his own mentor... the only person he believed in was Lu Sheng.

What's more, King Pengcheng ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor without making a sound, and successfully established Sima Yu as the prince, which shows that he is not as indifferent to fame and fortune as he pretended before, but has ambitions and wrists. If it falls into his hands, it is impossible to say, and there will be endless troubles.

Whether public or private, emotional or reasonable, he can't stay out of it.

It's just that now, if he wants to involve other people, Lu Sheng has to hesitate and can't make up his mind for a while.

He was about to make up his mind and took a step towards the city gate, but suddenly he heard a deep meow.

From the shadow of the city wall, a knee-high quadruped shadow slowly walked out, with tiger stripes all over its body, lush fur, and a pair of round golden pupils glowing faintly, like two lanterns, looking fierce and frightening in the middle of the night.

Although Lu Sheng couldn't distinguish its appearance, this gigantic giant cat, apart from Yan Ke, whom he had glimpsed in the Western Regions, was really the only cat with no distinction.So he lowered his vigilance and asked in a low voice, "But Yan Xiu's elder brother Yan Ke?"

The giant cat sat on its hind legs, its fluffy tail swayed from side to side, and it grinned when it smiled, revealing its white fangs, "Gong Cao has good eyesight."

Before Lu Sheng asked him about Yan Xiu's whereabouts, he saw the fur on the top of the giant cat's head shaking, and suddenly a tiger-striped kitten, which was dozens of circles smaller and no more than the size of a palm, appeared from the middle, lying on top of the giant cat's head, staring at the same With golden round eyes, he meowed: "Lu Gongcao! My eldest brother was ordered by Mr. Xie to send the juniors of the clan to monitor the city gate every day, and it really came in handy today. Where is Gongcao going? "

Lu Sheng responded, "I want to leave the city and go to Dawangzhuang."

Yan Ke said: "Don't worry about meritorious service, we will do our best to send meritorious service to Dawangzhuang properly."

Before he could ask how to send it off, Yan Xiu had jumped off his elder brother's head. The giant cat stood up straight, and suddenly swelled up like a pony, and then lowered its head and said, "Gong Gong!" Cao please."

Yan Xiu jumped up and down to Lu Sheng's feet, lowered his head and rubbed against his trousers, squinted his eyes and whimpered, "Hmm... still smells like a young master."

Lu Sheng's ears were burning with embarrassment, and he grabbed the tiger-striped kitten in his hand, annoyed, and rode on the giant cat's neck.

Yan Ke told him to grab it, and then he jumped up. His huge body was covered by the night, and he easily climbed up the city wall and turned over.

After landing, he didn't stop, spread his legs, and galloped towards Dawangzhuang.

With the sound of the wind blowing in my ears, this giant cat was actually more stable and quicker than a horse when traveling. Yan Ke only took half an hour for the distance that usually takes two hours to reach.

The gate of Dawangzhuang was closed tightly. After Lu Sheng landed, Yan Ke raised his head and yelled a few times. There was also a response from the door. Then the gate opened, and the crowd swarmed out. Feather is also among them.The owner of the villa, She Qingliu, came out in a hurry, and said with a smile: "It turns out that Mrs. Xie is here, and I am not far away to welcome you, please come in quickly."

The scene was grand, Lu Sheng opened his mouth, but after all it was not the time to care about the address, so he could only nod his head and said: "I want to disturb the family for a few days."

She Qingliu hurriedly said: "What does Mrs. Xie say, my Dawangzhuang is attached to Mr., and it is a great honor for me to do my best."

Yan Ke said: "Master She, I have delivered the person, I hope the owner will take good care of him."

She Qingliu said with a smile: "Brothers from Lao Yan's family, everything will be on me."

Yan Ke grunted a few times, seemingly very satisfied, and said to Lu Sheng: "Gong Cao, please rest assured, my brother... Please ask Gong Cao to take care of him for a few days."

The tiger-striped cat rubbed against Lu Sheng's palm, and said softly, "Don't worry, brother, I will definitely protect Mr. Lu to the death!"

Yan Ke snorted and said, "Let me just believe you." He bent his hind legs, jumped into the night, and ran without a trace.

A group of people surrounded Lu Sheng and entered Dawangzhuang. She Qingliu spent some time tidying up a courtyard and sent a few servants to wait for Lu Sheng to live there.

The courtyard is exquisite and beautiful, with flowers and shrubs planted in the front yard, apricot, pear and bamboo forest in the back yard, a gazebo and rockery outside the house, and carved beams and painted buildings in the house, all meticulous.She Qingliu was still worried about the lack of it, asked carefully, and said with a nervous smile: "It's hard to be thorough in haste, if there is anything wrong, I hope Mrs. Xie Haihan..."

Lu Sheng put Yan Xiu on the window sill, and said with a wry smile, "The owner is too polite, but there is one thing to clarify - I am not Mrs. Xie."

She Qingliu blinked her beautiful eyes, and said understandingly: "Yes... it's my concubine who has been reckless, so I will tell everyone not to rush to address Madam first."

Lu Sheng thought to himself, don't be in a hurry to address them first, and it won't work in the future!But he felt that he was not interested, and he didn't want to argue with her, so he nodded casually in response.She Qingliu breathed a sigh of relief, and was about to leave, but was stopped by Lu Sheng again, Lu Sheng said: "Master She, I watched your actions, did you know that I would come?"

She Qingliu smiled and said: "Because Mr. Xie has given orders, so I know the young master will come, but I don't know when."

Lu Sheng said: "I understand, I dare not bother the owner."

She Qingliu then resigned, dismissed the servants, and the noisy courtyard finally fell silent.

Lu Sheng let the kitten go to play in the courtyard and stand guard. Then he untied his sword and took out the bronze tripod from his arms. The original golden appearance turned old and dull, like an ancient relic excavated after being buried for thousands of years. Usually, the mouth of the tripod is covered with a layer of light, and it is difficult to see what is hidden in the tripod.

It's as if Xie Rong's actions are so unpredictable, as if he is in his calculations every step of the way, but he can't see the intention at all, which makes people feel more disturbed.

"Ah Rong," Lu Sheng unknowingly took the bronze tripod as Xie Rong's neck, gripped it tightly, and gritted his teeth, "What the hell are you doing?"

========

The Sheng'an Palace in the depths of Taicheng is the residence of the current prince.

Now inside and outside the palace, everyone knows that the crown prince has brought a beauty into the palace.The beauty woke up after two days of coma, which made the prince worry about his heart every day. After going to court, he hurried back to the palace to take care of him.

It's just that the beauty is extremely arrogant, and she still does not pretend to be courteous to the prince in every possible way, and she never even stays overnight.

The concubine sent the female officials around her to warn her, but she never saw her face. She was annoyed that this beauty was lawless when she entered the palace. Shut up.

She felt that her face was damaged, so she cried to Sima Yu, but Sima Yu showed a sad face, and said: "It's over, it's over, why did you go to him?"

The concubine became more and more bitter, crying that she did her best to take care of the backyard for the prince, and now that a new beauty doesn't pay attention to her, what face does she have as a majestic mistress?His Royal Highness the Crown Prince spoiled his concubine and killed his wife. If it spread, he would be scolded bloody by the officials.

Sima Yu turned a deaf ear to her and dismissed her in a hurry, then turned and ran to the bedroom.

When we arrived at the bedroom, Xie Rong's face was covered with frost, and when he saw him coming in, he sneered and said, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince, hides beauty in the golden house, and even the Crown Princess was alarmed. I was in the palace and didn't know anything. It's really a crime."

Sima Yu coughed twice, and said with a dry smile, "Your affairs in the palace are top-secret, to keep people from seeing... just let the servants make wild guesses. A man like Mr. Xie, why should he compare himself with ordinary people."

Xie Rong sneered: "Do you think this news can spread outside the palace?" He was dressed in plain white and deep clothes, with long winding hair, clear and picturesque eyes, and intoxicating beauty.If someone saw it at a glance, it would be hard to avoid being wrong.

Sima Yu was careful when his thoughts were exposed, so he simply smiled, lifted his clothes and sat down.

Xie Rong and Ge Hong sat cross-legged facing each other. Between them was a low table with black lacquer mother-of-pearl inlaid with [-]-color peony flowers. On the table were three white porcelain trays with a dead vine and a handful of green peonies. Sand and a long ladle of suet jade with a white and smooth texture, and a round emerald green seed the size of a longan is contained in the ladle.

Ge Zhenren's expression was profound, his brows were tightened, he was looking at the seed without saying a word, and he didn't even have time to take care of the prince's approach.

Sima Yu held the handle of the spoon, and took the seed closer for a closer look, only to feel that although the appearance was ordinary, there was a delicate fragrance, refreshing, making one feel like a new life, and the limbs and lungs were full of energy.

He couldn't help but praised: "It is indeed the source of all medicines. Just by smelling it, you will feel that all diseases will disappear and your life will be prolonged."

But Xie Rong took Sima Yu's hand holding the spoon, brought it up to his nose, and said softly, "Why don't you sniff it, Prince?"

Sima Yu was held by the beauty, he was distracted for a moment, he naturally obeyed, took a deep sniff, the elegant fragrance suddenly turned into a strong stench, as if he had turned into a living thing, penetrated into the internal organs through his nostrils, and caused a world upside down.

So when today's son Sima Jing arrived, he saw his son lying on the jade steps outside the dormitory, retching and tearing profusely, and a group of maids holding water basins with silk handkerchiefs looked nervous.On the other hand, the door of the hall was open, and the two honored guests sat in it, Ge Hong shook his head and sighed, Xie Rong sat drinking tea, very contented.

Seeing his father coming, Sima Yu hurriedly wiped his face, stepped forward on his knees and said, "My son, my son, please refer to the father." He said with a bitter face: "Father, Xie Rong bullied my son, and I want to make decisions for my son." .”

Sima Jing was chubby and kind-hearted, and he hurt the eldest son to the bone, but now his face darkened, and he reprimanded: "You must have provoked An Guohou again, and now you know how powerful it is!" Straight into the palace.

Sima Yu looked at the back of the emperor, and he didn't retch anymore, and only looked thoughtful.Seeing this, Zhao Fu hurriedly bowed and said, "Prince, Your Majesty is also thinking of the Prince."

Sima Yu only waved his hand, waved away everyone, stood up slowly, swept away the embarrassment he described just now, and smiled lightly: "I know it in my heart. In the past, I thought that Dad was courteous to Xie Rong because of Ge Zhenren's face Three points, only now do I know that it is Xie Rong herself that Daddy is afraid of."

Zhao Fu didn't dare to answer, he just folded his hands and bent down, and Sima Yu murmured: "Xie Rong, Xie Rong, who the hell are you?"