Brother Donggong

Twenty miles outside Yongjing City, there is a fork in the road. Going south is Ranzhuang; going southwest is the ancient royal tomb.

One thousand and three hundred years ago, Dazheng was just a vassal state, and the mausoleums of several generations of kings were built here.

Later, Emperor Taizu unified the world, and the imperial mausoleum was built to Dongshan, so this side was deserted.Although the imperial mausoleum has been moved, the geomantic omen here is not bad, and some nobles of the royal family who have made great achievements can still get a piece of land and build a tomb after a few lifetimes.

There are defenders at the fork, all Ouchi's guards, and most people are not allowed to approach here.Old Cui showed his badge, the defenders opened the pass, Cui Bicheng waved his whip, and turned directly into the pass of the ancient royal tomb in the southwest.

I wanted to stop him and tell him he was going astray, but he waved his whip ahead of me and told me to follow him.I couldn't stop him, so I could only tell Xie Meng and the four Tiqi who came with him to follow Lao Cui to the ancient king's tomb to drink the northwest wind, and then return to Ranzhuang to eat stewed fish in an iron pot.

The few of us used our strength, our legs caught the horse's belly, and followed.

Oh, I forgot to say, Xie Meng has been promoted.

He was transferred from the guards to Tiqi Beizhen Fusi, and became the deputy commander. He wore a waist badge on his waist and could enter and exit the palace at any time.But he still lives in my palace, and I don’t need to worry about food and military pay. Wen Zhan directly allocates money to them from the inner court, so I just turn a blind eye.

Turning into the pass, there is an ancient plank road that stretches for ten miles. There are steep cliffs on both sides of the road. This road is very narrow, with nine bends and eighteen bends. When you look up, you can only see a thin line of sky.The mountain is full of grass, wild vegetables and medicinal herbs, as well as some gray and white ancient hanging coffins.

Only when the sun was setting in the west did I finally see the bright red peach blossom forest over the ancient king's tomb.

Old Cui reined in his Hun horse, which cost five thousand li of silver, and waited for us to arrive. He dismounted and said to Xie Meng, "Thank you for your hard work. Let's take a rest here, drink some water, and have some snacks." , I have something to talk to the prince."

Said and waved to me.

"What can't be said here?"

I got off the horse, threw the reins to Xie Meng and the others, let the horse eat some water and grass, and followed Cui Bicheng and walked forward.

Cui Bicheng said, "Chengyi, do you know why I asked you to bring Xie Meng and the others here this time?"

I shrugged, "Your mind is unpredictable, who knows?"

He pointed his horsewhip in front, "I've been bored in Yongjing all day, you're almost growing mushrooms, I'll take you out for a walk."

I looked ahead and saw a very green cemetery.

I muttered, "Whose grave is this?"

The yard in front of me is said to be a cemetery, but it is actually more like a house.It's just that although the peach blossoms are splendid in a hundred miles around here, it is full of ghosts.So this small courtyard in the col doesn't look like it is inhabited by living people.

It can be seen that the small courtyard in front of me was built not long ago, that is, 30 to 50 years, at most no more than [-] years, but it looks desolate and desolate because no one takes care of it.

Blue bricks and tiles, doors made of logs, no plaques, and no couplets.

Cui Bicheng pushed open the door, next to the threshold, there was a long and slender gravel road under his feet, with tender green grass on both sides, there were three rooms in front, and a large tomb at the back, the tomb was covered with weeds.

Whose tomb is this?

Except for the ancient royal mausoleum thousands of years ago, the noble relatives who were able to get land here later, whoever can build a cemetery here is not a fuel-efficient lamp.No one is like the person in front of me who repaired the graves so miserable that even the crows didn't come to join in the fun.

Old Cui didn't speak, just walked straight forward, I followed him, when we reached the first room, I glanced inside.It is arranged like a study room, with bookshelves filled with books, covered with a thick layer of dust.There is also a table on the other side of the front hall, neatly stacked with the Four Treasures of the Study, a bald pen on the edge of the dried inkstone, a short knife on the crisp and yellow rice paper, and a jade tablet on the handle. The big seal is engraved with the word "Tiqi".

This should be the knife used by the Fusi people in Beizhen to kill people, but it is more gorgeous and old than ordinary knives. The scabbard is covered with pearls, and the silver handle has turned black.

At this time, there was a wind blowing, and the door in front of us creaked open.I squint my eyes and take a step back.After the dust settled, a silk painting hanging in the main hall suddenly appeared in front of me.

In the picture is a man.

Sitting lazily, she held a porcelain cup in her hand and brought it to her lips.

He has a feminine face.

On his pale face, on the edge of his blood-red lips, there was a treacherous but shy and sweet smile.

A tear mole in the corner of the left eye.

Cui Bicheng said, "This is the tomb of the sinner Zhao Runan."

I was taken aback, "Zhao Runan?! Is that the commander-in-chief of Tiqi more than 20 years ago?! The one whose house was ransacked by all the families and who died without a whole body?"

Old Cui nodded.

Me, "Who dares to build his cemetery into the ancient king's tomb? Doesn't it make it clear that he wants to rebel?"

Cui Bicheng shook his head, "I don't know, and I don't want to know either."

I was a little distracted looking at the old silk painting.

... Could this be the portrait of Zhao Runan? ... How did he look like this?

Shouldn't he look like Zhong Kui, have a body like Zhang Fei, have infinite strength, and be exactly like Lu Zhishen?

I know some of this sinner's story because I think this person is special.

Zhao Runan, a throat-cutting knife in the Fenghua period.

He really deserves a word - sex is like a jackal.

His death probably committed a huge crime, and my father sealed all his files and secret files.Those who knew about what happened back then are almost dead, and those who survived were those who didn't know anything.

This man was extremely powerful at the time.Let's put it this way, no one dares to mess with Beizhen Fusi today. Killing a second-rank official of the imperial court is similar to suffocating a bastard, but today's Tiqi Beizhen Fusi commander-in-chief has less power than Zhao Runan back then. one-third of the authority.

More than 20 years ago, all the secret troops in Dazheng were in the hands of Zhao Runan alone.

The sea of ​​people who died at his hands has gone.

My father's concubine brothers were almost killed by Zhao Runan.

The few things he is best at - melon vine copying, prison order, spy.

The so-called "melon and vine copying" means extermination of the clan. Wherever Zhao Runan went, there were no survivors.

'Prison' is a terrifying place. Nowadays, scholars are hard-core, but in Fenghua for more than ten years, the imperial court did not have strong-minded scholars. No matter how tough a man was, he entered the imperial prison and fell into Zhao Runan's hands. He just wanted to confess his crime obediently. , in order to die quickly.

There were more "secret agents" back then than there are now, and Yong Jing was full of his eyeliner. To put it bluntly, court officials farted a few times a night, and picked up a few chopsticks during meals. Make everyone know.

"Chengyi, look at this."

Cui Bicheng made me take two steps back. He held down a copper bottle on his left, twisted it left and right, and there was a big hole in front of us. There were five large wooden boxes neatly placed inside.

I was startled, "What the hell is this?"

Cui Bicheng sneered, "This is the crown prince, the good thing that Du Ge is always trying to get - the private account of the Du family!"

"Huh? So many? I thought you just kept the basic account books."

"How many accounts?" Cui Bicheng looked at me contemptuously, "If it's about the basic accounts, how can the Du family and Jia Wang be afraid of becoming so virtuous? I have the details of the Du family's 20 years in the south of the Yangtze River, and even some The testimonies of officials, businessmen, petty officials who have exchanged money with them, and the autographed letters of Mr. Du Xiaoge. Once I show this thing, the Du family will not kneel down and kowtow to call you father?"

I squatted down, stretched out my hand and opened a wooden box, inside which were neatly coded account books, I took a copy, opened a page, it said 'Fenghua 27 years, in June, Jiangnan Silk weaves [-] pieces of high-quality silk , no need to enter the account with the Ministry of Accounts'.

I muttered, "Fenghua for 27 years...a piece of silk is 18 taels of silver, and 18 pieces are [-] taels of silver. If you don't enter the account with the household department, the money will naturally disappear... Tsk tsk, Lao Du and the others really have money……"

Cui Bicheng was very proud, "How is it? This is something I bought with my life. With it, I can do whatever I want. He can also change the account book for the prince, or he can blackmail the Du family to use it for me. What's the matter, Why don't you speak. Your eyebrows are wrinkled like a dead lump, what are you thinking?"

I suddenly saw a slender confession under the portrait over there, and a box was placed in the center of the case.

I unconsciously wanted to see what was in there.

I walked around the big hole where the wooden box was placed, picked up the box, and opened it. Inside was a golden lock, the longevity lock worn by children when they were full moon.A few lines of small characters were engraved on it, and I looked carefully at the sunlight coming in from the carved window, and it was written: ——No father, no father, no mother, no support, white grass withered, barren roads and ancient roads, whoever is hungry will be full ?

It's like a son talking to his father, and it's like a father talking to his son.

No matter who said it to whom, this sentence is said by the person who died to the person who survived when life and death are separated, when Yin and Yang are separated.

……

Weird feeling.

I felt that my heart seemed to be scratched by something, and it hurt and astringent.

"Hey, Chengzi, don't mess with the things here, who knows if it's poisonous?"

I turned around and asked Cui Bicheng, "How did you put the account books here?"

Cui Bicheng came over, took the box from me, and put it back to its original position respectfully, then he said, "Do you know the cicada-winged knife that Tiqi uses?"

I nodded, "It's a thin, small knife without a handle, it's extremely sharp, and it's the kind of knife that is directly used to cut the opponent's throat?"

"Yes. That kind of knife has always been made by the Weapons Division of the Yongjing Manufacturing Bureau. The Cicada Wing Saber was made by Zhao Runan. The Manufacturing Bureau still has his archives. I checked for a long time before I found it here. This person is very strange, although he is dead. It's miserable, but there is still a decent cemetery, and it is built in a place like the ancient royal tomb, so no one else can disturb it. At that time, I was curious and wandered around, but I found out that there is a secret passage here. Put things, so I put all the secret files brought back from Jiangnan here. Sure enough, no one knows this place except me. The prince and the Du family, their two teams searched the city of Yongjing soon. If I don’t get these things, isn’t it God helping me?”

Me, "Then don't be complacent, I'll show you something. It was given by King Jia. It's an old story about the inner court. Some people can't sleep thinking about it. The thing in your hand is an imitation. The real thing is in Jia In the hands of the king.

As I said that, I took out what I was carrying in my arms, it was also a small wooden box, containing the things Yulan gave me that day, and I handed it to Cui Bicheng.

Cui Bicheng looked at the record carefully, and then he burst out with such a sentence, "Tsk tsk, I really can't tell, your old man is quite romantic, and he didn't even enter the palace, so he gave his body to you." Got it, haha."