treacherous world

Zhan Zhao pulled Xiao Liang over and told him in a low voice, "No matter what, you must ask the fourth son where he saw the dead leaves."

After Xiao Liang accepted the job, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang breathed a sigh of relief - Xiao Liang was probably the only one who could deal with the fourth son anyway.

After drinking for three rounds, the fourth son said that he wanted to see Aunt Pang and Xiangxiang, and the Queen Mother took him by the hand and walked back.Zhao Zhen glanced at Bao Zheng, and Bao Zheng stabbed Taishi Pang with his elbow.

Pang Ji was drinking, so he took a sip of wine from his nose and glared at Bao Zheng.

I saw Bao Zheng looking at the Queen Mother.

Pang Ji quickly jumped up, "The old man is also going to see the princess." After finishing speaking, he hurriedly followed.After leaving the courtyard, the queen mother asked Pang Ji while holding the hand of the fourth son, "Teacher, what do you want to ask Aijia?"

Grand Master Pang immediately gave a thumbs up, "The queen mother is so smart! I can see the old minister's heart, the old minister's admiration for the queen mother is really..."

The Queen Mother took a deep breath and waved her hands.

The fourth son pinched the fat grand master's trouser legs, "Small belly, tell me straight up, no flattering is allowed."

The queen mother was delighted to hear it, and the grand master also smiled and pulled the fourth son to his side, and asked the queen mother in a low voice, "I want to ask you something..."

……

At this time, Zhao Cong was standing not far away, chatting enthusiastically with the ministers, while Zhao Pu was sitting and drinking, and seemed to have something on his mind.

Gongsun picked up a chopstick dish for him, "Don't be so sad, eat something."

Zhao Pu looked at the dead leaves standing quietly behind Zhao Cong, and told Gongsun in a low voice, "Don't go out alone these few days, you know, you follow me wherever I go."

"Yes." Gongsun nodded and patted him on the shoulder, "Don't worry."

Zhan Zhao pays attention to Zhao Cong's situation, but Bai Yutang doesn't pay much attention. He looks around and sees Chen Banban standing in the corridor in the corner looking at him.

Bai Yutang was slightly taken aback, and sure enough, Chen Banban raised his hand and waved to him, as if signaling him to come over.

Bai Yutang and Chen Banban have a deep friendship. After all, Bai Yutang saved his life, and Chen Banban took great care of him.

When he arrived at Chen Banban's side, Bai Yutang was a little puzzled.

"Come here!" Chen Banban beckoned and walked to the garden behind.

Zhan Zhao naturally saw it, Bai Yutang raised his eyebrows at him, Zhan Zhao guessed it was arranged by Zhao Zhen, so he didn't move, continued to drink, while staring at Zhao Cong and the dead leaves.

"Bai Shaoxia." Chen Banban took Bai Yutang to a small hall similar to an ancestral hall, took out a large mouth pot, and put it on the table.This jug is big enough, similar to a wine jar, and seems very heavy.

Chen Banban opened the pot, took out a hairpin from inside, and handed it to Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang frowned slightly, this hairpin was not the kind of hairpin for women, but a simple wooden hairpin for men, with a few shallow patterns engraved on it, which looked quite simple.

"What is this?" Bai Yutang was a little hesitant to pick it up. He was most afraid of touching things belonging to strangers. How could he pick up hairpins stuck in other people's hair? It wasn't the cat's.

Chen Banban smiled helplessly, "Do you know Tai Shigong?"

Bai Yutang laughed, "I know."

"There have been historians in all dynasties, and our dynasty also has a famous historian named Lu Xincheng. Has Bai Shaoxia heard of it?"

Bai Yutang nodded happily, "Of course I heard it, didn't you say that he was beheaded by Taizu's order..."

"Back then, Taizu chopped off his hair in a bun." Chen Banban said, turning the jar around a bit, and saw that there was indeed a plaque of Lu Xincheng engraved on it.

Bai Yutang grinned secretly - it turned out to be an urn.

"Although Lu Xincheng has a stubborn personality and loves to say depressing words, he is extremely smart and has a good memory, and he knows the past and the present. The Taizu is really reluctant to kill him." Chen Banban stuffed the hairpin into Bai Yutang's hand, and put the ashes jar Returning to the throne, "The Taizu has always brought Lu Xincheng by his side, and later led him to fight in the north and south, until one day, Lu Xincheng was suddenly cremated on the spot...and disappeared from the world."

Bai Yutang nodded, he had heard the legend about this strange man.

"It's just that before his death, the late emperor sent word to me that Lu Xincheng was actually not dead. He promised the late emperor to keep a big secret for him that can save future generations and hide himself from the people. This hairpin is the key to finding him. Best lead."

"Just this hairpin?" Bai Yutang took the hairpin and looked it over. It's just an ordinary wooden hairpin with a few patterns. What does it mean?There is no map and no code words, this is a bit difficult... Thinking of Lu Xincheng's wisdom and skills, the puzzle he set up is not easy to break!

"The late emperor ordered that when it is urgent, tell the emperor about this matter, and ask him to find someone he can trust to handle it. It is best for that person not to be a member of the government, but also bold enough and capable enough." Chen Banban smiled awkwardly, "Young Xia Bai, it's not the old slave who compliments you, the best candidate that comes to mind is you, Young Xia."

Bai Yutang smiled faintly, and held the hairpin, "You think I can use this hairpin to find out Lu Xincheng's whereabouts and ask the big secret?"

"Not bad!"

"I'm going to tell Zhan Zhao." Bai Yutang didn't ask for opinions, but told Chen Banban directly that it was impossible to do anything without telling Zhan Zhao.

Chen Banban smiled slightly, "Of course, the old slave just obeyed the holy order and told Bai Shaoxia these things, but as for how the young man went to find it...Of course I don't ask."

Bai Yutang nodded, but still put away the hairpin, "But if you look for it now, you probably won't find Lu Xincheng, right?"

"He probably passed away a long time ago, but Lu Xincheng is a person who values ​​love, righteousness and promises, so he will definitely pass on this secret to future generations." Chen Banban smiled, and bowed his hands to Bai Yutang, "Young Hero Bai is here."

Bai Yutang nodded. Seeing that Chen Banban was about to leave after finishing speaking, he suddenly had an idea, evil intentions came up, and told him to stop, "Wait a minute."

Chen Banban turned his head, "What else does the young man not understand?"

Bai Yutang shrugged slightly, "Zhan Zhao is sent by an official, I am not, there is no reason for me to help in vain."

Chen Banban laughed, "I've heard for a long time that Shaoxia Bai is a rich man, and it shouldn't be for money. According to the character of the young hero, he wouldn't be doing it for power or fame... Could it be that the young hero wants something but can't ask for it? The old slave must try his best Complete."

Bai Yutang smiled, "Banban is polite, it's not a big deal."

"En." Chen Banban seemed to be listening attentively, and Bai Yutang said a few words in a low voice.

After finishing speaking, Chen Banban almost stopped laughing, covered his mouth and nodded, "This is easy to handle, this is easy to handle, young hero, wait a moment, this old slave will do it now."

The corners of Bai Yutang's mouth twitched slightly, and he calmly returned to sit beside Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao was waiting impatiently, thinking that Chen Banban was mysteriously looking for Bai Yutang to find out what?

Seeing Bai Yutang sitting down and continuing to drink, Zhan Zhao quickly patted him and asked, "Hey, what did he want from you?"

Bai Yutang replied lightly, "I want to do you a favor. There are many people here, so I'll tell you the details when I get back."

Zhan Zhao frowned, "They want you to work for them? Why don't you ask for my consent?"

Bai Yutang was slightly taken aback.

Zhan Zhao looked annoyed, "You actually used my Ruhuamei family without authorization!"

Bai Yutang stretched out his hand to rub the center of his eyebrows, just as the little black cat raised by Zhao Yuan came to him, he stretched out his hand to grab it... pinching its tail and pulling its beard, the little black cat meowed and ran away in shock.

Zhan Zhao was proud of himself, at this moment, he saw a few maidservants coming over, and put some desserts and a bowl of sweet soup in front of Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao thanked him politely, but turned around to find that Bai Yutang was not there, and looked aside, and found that both Gongsun and the fourth son were there, he was a little puzzled, "Is it only me?"

The servant girl nodded and said with a smile, "Yeah! The emperor said that this is a snack for the family."

"Family..." Zhan Zhao became angry and serious, "Oh, girl, you are wrong, no matter how you look at it, I am not a family member!"

"But the emperor said that you are... and said that if you don't recognize it, you will be declared to be a relative in public."

Zhan Zhao opened his mouth wide and took a deep breath. Isn't Zhao Zhen's move too ruthless?Turning around, Zhao Zhen raised his eyebrows slightly at Bai Yutang, and Bai Yutang nodded and patted the hairpin on his chest - wrapping it around me.

Zhao Zhen toasted him, Zhan Zhao was furious, and it was agreed!

The little girl gave him a spoon, "Master Zhan, if you can't bear it, you will make trouble."

Zhan Zhao was reluctant to take the spoon, Zhao Zhen is capable of anything, so don't confront him head-on, if he really goes crazy and says nonsense in front of all the officials, he will be pissed .

Thinking of this, Zhan Zhao gave Bai Yutang a depressed look.

Bai Yutang felt that this was really intended to bully Zhan Zhao, but the cat just now had a family member on the left and a family member on the right, so it barked mercilessly.

Zhan Zhao fiddled with the sweet soup twice, and suddenly found a lotus seed, scooped out a spoon full of sweet soup and handed it to Bai Yutang, "Yutang, you eat!"

Bai Yutang was taken aback for a moment, but couldn't move his eyes away. The cat smiled so happily.

Zhan Zhao smiled and put the spoon to his mouth, "Sister-in-law said you like to eat lotus seeds."

Looking at Zhan Zhao's smiling face, Bai Yutang instinctively opened his mouth to swallow the mouthful of delicious food.Sweet soup with crisp and refreshing lotus seeds, and Zhan Zhao's nice voice "Yutang".

Bai Yutang felt his heart fluttering, and when he raised his head, he saw Zhao Zhen sitting on the top dragon chair, rubbing his forehead and smiling wryly, as if he hated iron for being weak.

At the same time, Zhan Zhao had already stuffed a cup of sweet soup into Bai Yutang's hands, "Eat it, there are a lot of lotus seeds in it!"

After speaking, he picked up another piece of walnut cake and sent it over, "Eat it with walnut cake, eat more!" After finishing speaking, all the desserts brought by the little maid just now were moved to Bai Yutang.

So, the little girls beside them covered their mouths and ran away laughing, Bai Yutang also returned to his soul, secretly cursing himself for not living up to expectations, and asked Zhan Zhao to fool him a few times.Looking at Zhao Zhen, he spread his hands and signaled to Bai Yutang - it's not that I won't help you, you can't control yourself!

Bai Yutang sighed helplessly, and simply ate the sweet soup, it tasted pretty good.

Zhan Zhao stretched out his hand and took a piece of sweet-scented osmanthus cake to eat, and his mood turned from cloudy to sunny. Anyway, he is a relative, so he doesn't suffer.

After a while, the Empress Dowager's servant girl came to pass word that Princess Cheshire had been delivered and was really seriously ill.

Zhao Zhen hurriedly ordered the officials to stop here today, go back to rest early, and then took Gongsun Zhao Pu and the others to the backyard.

Zhao Cong also went in, but the dead leaves did not follow, and turned around as if to leave.

Zhan Zhao didn't intend to let him go, he jumped onto the roof to block his way, "Dead leaves."

"Lord Zhan, what advice do you have?" Withered Ye looked at Zhan Zhao impatiently, and saw Bai Yutang standing below, who didn't seem to want to come up, so he sneered, "I'm just a servant of the little prince, As for the killer, Mr. Zhan really misunderstood the person."

Zhan Zhao's eyes froze, remembering that he had said about Bai Yutang that day, he became a bit murderous.

Withered Ye was slightly startled, Zhan Zhao really had deep inner strength, seeing his unfriendly eyes, knew that he had a problem with her, so he asked slowly, "Master Zhan...won't you really plan to compete with me on the roof of the palace, right? "

"Should I choose an empty place?" Zhan Zhao seemed to be insisting on standing up for his family's "beautiful family". Bai Yutang knew that it would be fine to deal with a dead leaf with Zhan Zhao's skills, so he didn't intervene.

At this time, another person came down from the roof and stood beside Zhan Zhao.Everyone saw that it was Nangong Ji, the guard of the palace.

Nangong Ji seemed to intend to stop the fight between the two sides, and waved at the two, "They are all our own people, calm down, it's just a misunderstanding."

Zhan Zhao frowned, how could this be sung?

Dead Leaf just smiled indifferently, "Then everyone, see you in a few days." After saying that, she walked away and left without forgetting to glance at Bai Yutang, as if there was some deep hatred.

Zhan Zhao looked at Nangong Ji, as if asking - does this person really want to freely enter and leave the palace?

Nangong Ji turned around and said to Zhan Zhao in a low voice, "Lord Zhan, please be safe and don't be impatient, the emperor has something to say, it's not the right time, there will be more troubles in the future.

Nangong Ji had left, while Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang felt their ears were ringing—is there something wrong?Isn't that messy enough!

When we arrived at the Empress Dowager's Palace, Bao Zheng and the others were all there in the courtyard, and the Eighth Prince was also here, standing there anxiously waiting, Grand Master Pang was comforting him.

"How is it?" Zhan Zhao went to ask Pang Yu.

Pang Yu told Zhan Zhao in a low voice, "Gongsun said that Princess Chai was poisoned, and it was a rare poison in the Western Regions that is rare in the Central Plains.

"Western Regions..." Zhan Zhao frowned. He has already returned to the Central Plains, why is he still inseparable from the Western Regions?

"How long will it take to detoxify?"

"Daddy said it would take five or six hours."

At this time, the fourth son ran over with the chubby Xiao Xiangxiang in his arms.

Zhan Zhao quickly grabbed him, "Gongsun said what kind of poison is the princess in?"

"Daddy said that although it's a chronic poison, he was poisoned a long time ago, it's not a recent incident!" The fourth son hugged Xiangxiang and patted her twice, shaking her skillfully, while answering Zhan Zhao, " But the princess doesn't remember when she was poisoned."

Zhan Zhao frowned slightly, looking at the Eighth Prince.

The Eighth King also scratched his head, "This... the palace is full of people who have followed me for many years, how could they poison me?!"

"About how many days ago did you get poisoned?" Bao Zheng asked the fourth son.

"Daddy said it's been half a year."

"Half a year?!" The Eighth Prince frowned, as if thinking of something, he fell silent for a long time, "Could it be..."

"No what?" Bao Zheng wondered.

"No..." The Eighth Prince shook his head, stopped talking, and went to the side to sit in a daze.

Zhan Zhao and the others looked at each other in blank dismay. Did they discover something but refused to say it?It is about the life and death of the princess, why did the eight kings stop at this moment?Could it be that he didn't want to pursue it further.

Seeing that everyone was in the same boat, Pang Yu waved his hands to signal don't worry, and winked at Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, and they went out with him.

When I arrived at the gate of the courtyard, I saw a few maids standing there.

The guards in the Forbidden Palace were heavily guarded, and the little girls were anxious and worried about the injury of Princess Cheshire, but they didn't dare to go into the inner courtyard to inquire, and they were running around like ants in a hot pot.

Pang Yu brought Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang out from a distance, and the girls saw it at a glance and watched eagerly.

"Oh... Poor." Pang Yu sighed deliberately.

The oldest maid who followed the princess couldn't take it anymore, so she rushed over and asked, "Young Lord, how is our princess?"

Pang Yu looked at Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang in embarrassment, they looked at the sky and did not speak, waiting for Pang Yu to say something.

"Hey! Why did the princess go to that place?! Really..."

"Where are you going?" the maids were at a loss.

"It's too late!" Pang Yu stomped his foot, "It happened half a year ago, and the day lily is cold now, so I still refuse to talk about it."

"Small half a year ago..." Several servant girls looked at each other in blank dismay.

"Ah! Is it the time to go to the imperial mausoleum to worship the ancestors?" Several maids cried anxiously, "The princess said that she saw a ghost that day, and she also said that she was sick and uncomfortable, so we were not allowed to say anything for fear of alarming the Eighth Prince. of."

"Then what should I do, is the princess still saved?"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang raised their eyebrows slightly when they heard this—the princess went to the Imperial Tomb half a year ago?As we all know, Princess Cheshire is the descendant of the Chai family, and should be the remaining nobles from the previous dynasty.The Chai clan should hate Da Song very much, but Princess Chai is the only one who is righteous. After all, no matter how wrong it is, it is the fault of the previous generation, and she has no interest in pursuing it.But the royal family is the royal family after all, Princess Chai never pays homage to the imperial tombs, especially the Taizu Mausoleum, why go alone?

Probably seeing the doubts of Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, the two girls replied hesitantly, "Well, the one the princess went to is not Taizu Mausoleum, but..."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang knew it well, who else could it be, the tomb of Zhou Shizong Chai Rong?

The maidservants nodded in embarrassment, and Pang Yu pouted and shook his head, thinking that the Eighth Prince couldn't say anything, would he not offend the emperor? After so many years of close relationship, he actually went to pay homage to the former emperor? !

"You said that the princess was not feeling well that day, did you see a ghost?" Zhan Zhao thought it would be better to see a ghost, and asked, "Tell me in detail!"

"That's right!" The maids lowered their voices, "After we worshiped, we slept in the other courtyard for one night. It was rainy and windy that night, and the princess woke up from a nightmare in the middle of the night, saying that someone was shaking at the door. We sent guards to Look, but in order not to let the prince know and not attract attention, we all went secretly, and the guards didn't bring enough. At that time, a flying white-robed ghost flew in and bit the princess on the shoulder a mouthful.

"What?" Zhan Zhao was surprised, "This..."

Before he could finish speaking, he heard a tender voice, "What?! If it was bitten open, it must have been traumatized?"

When the maidservants turned their heads, they saw that it was Xiao Si who was holding Xiangxiang, wandering out at some time, and they listened seriously.

"Well! I bit it open at the time, and the wound has healed for a long time..." Before the maids finished speaking, the fourth son stuffed the incense into Pang Yu, turned around and ran in, shouting, "Daddy, there is a trauma Yes! There are traumas!"

Everyone didn't understand what happened to the fourth son?

Inside the room, after a moment of silence, there was a sudden sound of footsteps, Gongsun kicked open the door and shouted, "If you have trauma, don't tell me earlier, you want to kill the princess!"

Everyone was shocked, only to realize that this could be considered a princess, but she was a bit tougher.

Eight Kings jumped up in shock

Zhao Zhen couldn't help frowning, "What's going on?"

Seeing that the Eighth Prince was still hesitating there, the Queen Mother became anxious, "Old Eight, are you saying that you want to be anxious to death!"

The Eighth Prince stomped his feet, he would die if he died, at worst he would be with his wife, so he told the story of the princess who stole to worship the ancestors that day and was bitten by an evil ghost.

After hearing this, Gongsun thought for a while, turned around and went in again, and asked the servant girl to help open Princess Cheshire's collar to take a look. Sure enough, there was a green mass behind his shoulders.

Gongsun's face darkened, "How vicious!"

Zhao Pu was puzzled.

Zhao Zhen also came in, "Sir?"

Gongsun pierced the bruise on Wang Hao's shoulder blades with silver needles. After a while, he used more than a dozen silver needles to detoxify, until the toxins were almost absorbed, and Wang Hao's complexion gradually recovered, and she was no longer as blank as before. generally.

"It's almost there." Gongsun prescribed a prescription for Chen Banban to find someone to cook the medicine.

Everyone was puzzled, "Didn't you say you need to heal for five or six hours?"

Gongsun shook his head, and stretched out his hand to touch the head of Xiao Sizi, "No, this poison is very similar to the other poison, the only difference is that one has trauma and the other has no trauma. But the antidote for one poison is the poison of the other poison. .In other words, if I hadn't stopped and continued the injection just now, the princess would have died."

Everyone couldn't help gasping—it's dangerous!

"This method is really vicious!" Both Bao Yan and Pang Ji shook their heads.

Bao Zheng sighed softly, "It seems that the person who poisoned did not only want the life of the princess."

The grand master also stroked his beard, "Three birds with one stone."

"Father." Bao Yan asked Bao Zheng, "What do you mean?"

Bao Yan said in a low voice, "Princess Chai was poisoned suddenly when she went to pay homage to her ancestors. The Eighth Prince would suspect who poisoned her? He might suspect the emperor or the queen mother. Mr. Gongsun, a genius doctor, deliberately brought people close this time. If the imperial palace is executed, the Eighth King will probably suspect that it was the order of the Emperor. There will be a rift between the Emperor and the Eighth King. At the same time, the Ninth Prince and Mr. Gongsun will also be suspicious of the two families. Isn’t it just to sow discord? Is it a trick?"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang who were standing at the door glanced at Zhao Cong's expression standing in the corner from time to time.This person, at this moment, has no joy or worry, and no expression on his face.His eyes were looking forward, as if he was paying attention to Princess Cheshire, but his eyes seemed indifferent.

Zhan Zhao looked at Bai Yutang—could he even harm his own mother?

Bai Yutang smiled helplessly—in his eyes, his mother could not let him because of other people's children, and he killed his mother for his own sake, so what's the problem?

Zhan Zhao frowned, never wanting to believe this kind of mother-child relationship.

Bai Yutang patted him lightly on the shoulder - it may not be Zhao Cong's poison, but it must have something to do with him, people's hearts are unpredictable, don't forget Zhao Zhen said that there is still a big mess.