Jiang Qing

About January, Xie Xian's carriage stopped outside Pingdong.

Or he had already received Ren Heyu's signal, Xie Xian passed through the city gate this time without any hindrance.

Adhering to the principle of different fiefdoms, Xie Xian did not see anyone sent by the Marquis of Nanyang in the territory of Pingdong.

All the way to the border of Minzhou without hindrance, Xie Xian just arrived at the gate of the post house, and he was greeted with a smiling face.

Xie Xianmeng took a moment, this was a treatment he didn't even have in the post office in Pingdong, he glanced down at the official uniform of the visitor, it was the uniform of the county magistrate, so he didn't say anything.

Facing Xie Xian's cold eyes, the county magistrate was still smiling, bowed his waist to let him in, and said: "Master Hou sent someone to pick you up."

As the county magistrate stepped aside, Xie Xian saw a person sitting at the table behind him, with a long and deep scar on his face, at first glance, it was very scary.

"Master Xie, it's been a long journey, Master Hou sent the last guy to pick you up." He stood up slowly and saluted Xie Xian.

The county magistrate hurriedly introduced from the side: "This is the general in Lord Hou's account, General Fei."

Xie Xian had seen Fei Yongchang's portrait from Bai Bingchen a long time ago, Xie Xian recognized him the first time he saw him, but he still pretended to be the first to see him, stepped forward and said politely: "There is General Lao Fei. "

Fei Yongchang moved people to the table, poured a cup of tea and pushed it in front of Xie Xian, glanced at the woman standing behind him, and said with a smile: "Sister-in-law, why don't you go up and rest for a while, and someone will bring the food up later , this season is when the toon is fresh and tender, my wife can use some, rest for a while, brother Xie and I will have a chat first."

Cheng Nian lowered his head and glanced at Xie Xian. Xie Xian took a sip of tea, silently accepted Fei Yongchang's sudden closeness, and said to her calmly, "Go, I'll chat with Brother Fei, and I'll come to accompany you later."

Cheng Nian went up to the second floor.

Fei Yongchang gave a wink, and the people under him seemed to be ready for a long time, he greeted outside, and someone came in to serve the food.

"Brother Xie and Mrs. Ling have such a good relationship!" Fei Yongchang said with a little envy.

"I should be younger than Brother Fei. If Brother Fei calls me that again, I can't stand it." Xie Xian complimented, "General Fei is Lord Hou's servant, so he took time out of his busy schedule to pick up such a little girl like me Official, Xie is already extremely honored. The next word is Huaide, if General Fei does not dislike it, he can just name him directly."

Fei Yongchang smiled, accepted his compliment, turned his head to look at the greenery outside, and sighed: "Nanyang's water and soil support people. Although Brother Huaide came so late, he is not a disappointment to the spring scene."

"Nanyang Chunjing is quite famous, many literati and poets worship it, and I can't avoid it. If filial piety is not the first, I will always see you even if there is no order from Your Majesty." Xie Xianyan said with a smile. There is a faint longing in it.

Fei Yongchang didn't respond to what he said, and casually chatted with him about the local customs and customs. After the two had a meal, they set off again.

This time, only half a day later, the leading carriage stopped, Xie Xian lifted the curtain and saw the door plaque of Nanyang Hou Mansion in front of him.

"General Fei, this is..." Xie Xian asked without getting out of the car, raising his eyebrows.

It stands to reason that the temporary officials sent from the court should live in the post house in the city, but Fei Yongchang took him directly to the Hou Mansion without any explanation in advance, which is obviously inappropriate.

"The posthouse is simple and simple. If Mr. Xie wants to see the spring in Nanyang, the best place is to be in this Houfu." Fei Yongchang changed his address calmly.

Xie Xian's previous temptation did not get a response. He thought he was too impatient, but he didn't expect that Fei Yongchang still listened to what he said, or in other words, he followed the Lord Hou's wishes.

Xie Xian didn't say any more polite words, he stretched out his hand to help Cheng Nian get off the carriage, walked into this simple and spacious Hou Mansion, and followed Fei Yongchang's guidance to a small flower hall.

As early as halfway, Cheng Nian was taken to the wing room in the backyard by a few maidservants, Xie Xian walked into the flower hall alone, turned the screen, his steps faltered, and he was a little stiff.

The door outside was closed, and Xie Xian was trapped in the screened entrance, unable to move for a while, the dim light concealed the surprise that flashed in his eyes.

In the middle of the flower hall sat Nanyanghou, looking at him with a half-smile.

Xie Xian stepped forward bravely, saluted Nanyang Hou, but couldn't help but glance to the left when he lowered his head.

Sitting there was a pale-skinned man, holding a snow-white cat in his arms, smiling at the corners of his eyes, but not reaching the bottom of his eyes, lazily flicking the ashes in the stove, looking towards Xie Xian He glanced sideways in the direction, and Xie Xian suddenly felt the fabric on his back wet with cold sweat.

Sitting next to Nanyanghou is Pingdonghou, who has been missing for a long time. Does this mean that the two of them are in the same group?

What's more, Marquis Pingdong had seen his appearance when he was in Cangzhou. Although he was here to send Bai Bingchen to recuperate, and he was not paying attention to himself, he had no impression of him at all.

Sun Zhe glanced at him lightly, and slowly stroked the cat in his arms with protruding hands, glanced at Ren Heyu's face, stared at Xie Xian for several times, and then slowly said: "Master Xie seems to be a little bit Familiar face, unknown name and name, where is the ancestral home?"

Xie Xian's eyelids twitched, he raised his head and said, "I'm Xie Xian, my name is Huaide, and I'm from Xiangcheng."

Ren Heyu asked with a smile when he heard the words: "Xiangcheng? Benhou remembers that the cured meat there is a must, with a slightly sweet taste, very appetizing."

"What Hou Ye likes seems to be the sauced meat made by Xiangcheng, with a little sugar. The local people's cured meat is hung on the stove and smoked, and the smoke is heavier. Some foreign businessmen are not used to it. It adds less smoky, sugar-enhanced bacon."

Ren Heyu narrowed his eyes slightly, and after listening to Xie Xian's fluent answer, he made amends for what he said just now: "Really, I only know that Sichuan likes spicy food, but I don't know that there is such a distinction."

"Huai De?" Sun Zhe repeated it twice, and said with a low laugh: "A gentleman cherishes virtue, while a villain cherishes soil; a gentleman cherishes punishment, but a villain cherishes benefits. Lingtang takes this as a thank you word, and he must have high hopes for you. .”

Sun Zhe's eyes were clear, and when he fell on Xie Xian's body, it seemed to be half penetrating, which made Xie Xian feel flustered.

Xie Xian turned slightly to thank, "Thank you..." He paused, and looked at Ren Heyu inquiringly.

"This is Marquis Pingdong and grandson."

Xie Xian was stunned for a moment, his eyes showed surprise that didn't seem to be fake. He originally wanted to fool the past and show that he didn't know Sun Zhe, but he didn't expect that Ren Heyu would directly point out his identity in front of him.

Is he sure that he will not speak out, or is he sure that he has entered the Hou's mansion, and without his consent, he will not be able to take another half step?

"I've seen Lord Hou." Xie Xian gave Sun Zhe the same salute as Ren Heyu, thinking in his mind whether he should ask why Sun Zhe was here, and how to ask so that it would not be obtrusive.

Both Ren and Yu have revealed Sun Zhe's identity in front of them so directly, should they take this opportunity to find out about their relationship?

Xie Xian was thinking in his mind, and just about to say something, Sun Zhe suddenly stopped him with a word.

"Master Xie is quite like an old friend I have met."

Xie Xian felt as if cold water was being poured on him all of a sudden, he came to his senses, Ren Heyu looked over with probing eyes, and said after a long while: "Master Xie has worked hard all the way, let's go to the backyard to rest first, the Hou's Mansion will host a banquet in honor of you in the evening."

Xie Xian clearly felt that Ren Heyu originally wanted to say something to him, but because of Sun Zhe's words, he might have doubts in his heart, so he hurriedly sent him away.

Xie Xian forced himself to think calmly, answered his words gracefully, and walked out of the dim flower hall with his body soaked in cold sweat.

As soon as he opened the door, a dazzling white light flashed outside. After Xie Xian was stunned, he woke up and suppressed his frantic heartbeat. While thinking about how to pass Sun Zhe's affairs in Nanyang Houfu to Mei Shao, he followed the servant Back to the backyard wing.

As soon as he entered the room, Cheng Nian came up, gave the boy who led the way a little reward, then closed the door, turned around and asked in a low voice, "What did he tell you to say?"

Before Xie Xian could reply, Cheng Nian felt a cold hand, and Xie Xian's legs softened suddenly, but fortunately, Cheng Nian held him firmly.

"You are obviously a scholar, you don't understand anything, and you promised him to come to this dragon's pond and tiger's lair, are you short-hearted!" Cheng Nian cursed in a low voice, gritted his teeth.

Xie Xian waved his hand weakly at her, signaling her to pay attention to the fact that the partition wall has ears.

Cheng Nian listened quietly again, and said, "I checked just now, and there is no one."

"You..." Cheng Nian looked at him trying to slow himself down, and asked hesitantly, "What did you say?"

Xie Xian replied in a low voice: "Sun Zhe is in the Hou's residence."

Cheng Nian grabbed his hand tightly.

"Eight or nine times out of ten, Sun Zhe and Ren Heyu have plans. If so, I'm afraid Mr. Mei will be unable to cope with the power of Pingdong and the six states of Nanyang. It's better to tell him the news."

Cheng Nian concentrated his mind and said, "I'll find a way to pass the news on. What you have to do is to protect yourself."

In the flower hall, Sun Zhe turned on the hand stove and added a few pieces of charcoal to the fire.

It was obvious that spring had begun, but he looked very afraid of the cold, his whole body was wrapped in a cloak, and he was so emaciated that he couldn't even hold up his clothes.

Ren Heyu lowered his head gloomily, without outsiders, he sat cross-legged on a chair with his back hunched, and he lost the slightest bit of his gentle manner just now.

"You actually met him?"

"I can't remember clearly, but I have some vague impressions." Sun Zhe put his hands together and said, "Your Majesty should focus on His Majesty's intentions now. What is His Majesty sending a small official here at this time, what do you want to do?"

Ren Heyu said bitterly: "What else could it be for? It's just for testing! The old man who ran away from the mansion may have already sued the imperial court, but I heard that he is Mei Shao's mentor. I hate him the most in my life. These sour Confucians never thought that they would fall into the hands of these stinky literati."

"What kind of trouble is this? The two Confucian scholars in Benzhou, the Lan family actually destroyed the hands of the Hou Ye, and the Zhang family was also under house arrest by the Hou Ye. The Hou Ye's methods are already incomparable to them. Why bother to get angry?"

Ren Heyu was silent for a while, then asked: "In your opinion, this Xie Xian..."

"Kill." Sun Zhe spit out the word without emotion, his eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of fog, without any light, revealing some unpredictable haze.

"It's better to kill by mistake than to let go by mistake. Master Hou must not be soft-hearted if he wants to achieve great things."