Raising Wolves

The lights were cold, and Ning Juan was walking along a long corridor alone.

This is a long corridor that can't be seen at a glance, but he knows in his heart that the person he is looking for is in the room at the end of the corridor.

Consciousness told him clearly that this was just a dream.

A dream repeated countless times.

Finally, after going around a corridor, the wind chimes at the corner of the eaves jingled softly, and the room in the distance came into view.

Dim candlelight was shining in the room, and the warm light outlined a thin silhouette on the window paper. It was just a shadow, but it also looked pure and graceful, and the vaguely visible facial features were as smooth as a famous artist's handwriting.

Ning Juan's breathing became heavy involuntarily. He stared at the figure and stood there for an unknown amount of time before walking over cautiously, fearing to scare the figure away.

But as usual, he walked for a long time without getting any closer. The room was always separated from him by a certain distance. Under anxiety, his steps involuntarily became faster and faster, wanting to run there.

But this had the opposite effect, and suddenly he was farther and farther away from the room, and his shadow became blurred.

Immediately, his eyes suddenly brightened.

The hunting fire started, and the scorching wind rushed to his face. He saw the gorgeous tongues of flame rushing out, scorching away and devouring the shadows on the window.

His heart was trembling, as he had made countless choices as usual, he wanted to rush into the fire scene without hesitation, but was pushed farther and farther by an invisible force, as if falling into the sky, and the raging fire became in sight. A small point.

A distant and indistinct voice came from the fire: "May Your Majesty's rivers, mountains, rivers and rivers be clear, and the world will be peaceful."

"Guoguo, goodbye."

Ning Juan opened his eyes from among the piles of clothes.

His breathing was still a little short, his forehead was covered with cold sweat, he had just woken up from a dream, but his eyes were clear.

After a long while, he was comforted by Mei Xiang wandering around, and slowly calmed down his breathing.

Even if he knew it was a dream, the panic deep in his soul would never disappear.

The room was burning with a faint plum fragrance, and the cold breath was not the one Ning Juan was familiar with, but it was the closest he could find.

The sound outside is still ringing.

Ning Juan sat up with his forehead propped up, and there seemed to be a raging flame burning in front of his eyes. The familiar voice before waking up was like a pair of scissors, twisting his heart and making his voice deeper: "What's the sound outside?"

The Lu residence has almost become the second palace, and Chang Shun often comes over to watch the night. Hearing the sound, he hurriedly replied: "Your Majesty, today is the Lantern Festival, and there are fireworks in the city, are they bothering you? The slaves sent someone to stop it."

Shangyuan Festival?

Is it another year for the yuan?

Ning Juan put on his outer robe, got out of bed and opened the door, and said flatly, "No need."

He doesn't like excitement, but he's also not interested in spoiling other people's excitement.

Looking up, I saw gorgeous fireworks flying into the sky, exploding with a "pop", covering the entire night sky.

Ning Juan leaned against the fence, the familiar voice that lingered in his ears before he woke up from the dream was still echoing in his head.

Lu Qing never entered his dream.

Perhaps as he thought, Lu Qing had already left here and returned to his hometown.

Ning Juan closed his eyes.

Lu Huaixue, when you said goodbye, when did you say goodbye?

fraud.

On the day of Shangyuan, Lin'an Mansion was very lively, with fiery trees and silver flowers, bustling people coming and going, and singing and dancing.

The long street was noisy and full of tryst men and women.

Since the Young Emperor abolished the Guard Party three years ago and took full power and pro-government, the half-dead Daqi seemed to have been injected with a new vitality, and it prospered again under the young His Majesty's hands.

Today's Lantern Festival, there are many uniquely shaped lanterns hanging by the lake. The first to guess the ten lantern riddles given by the organizer will be able to get a special glazed lantern for this year's Lantern Festival.

The glazed lantern hung on the eaves, shining brightly and dazzlingly, compared to the surrounding lanterns.

Not long after the lanterns were hung, many passers-by were crowded to guess lantern riddles, staring intently at the riddles written on the lanterns, and whispering about the answers.

The host made it extremely difficult, and before they could figure it out, the host suddenly tiptoed and took down the glazed lamp: "Someone has already guessed it, and there are other lamps, why don't you all take a look?"

Who is so fast?

There was a burst of booing from the crowd, and they looked in the direction of the glazed lamp.

The one who took over the glazed lamp was a pair of slender and white hands with a cool white color like jade. Under the radiance of the two, they were not inferior to the glazed lamp.

The people who had just been engrossed in reading the lantern riddles followed their hands and found that it was a young man wearing a mask.

It is not uncommon for many people on the street to wear masks during the Lantern Festival, so no one noticed him just now.

Looking at it now, I found that he has a good temperament, wearing a snow-blue robe, with a slender and thin figure, even if he can't see his face clearly, he still feels clear and handsome, with a kind of temperament like the moon's brilliance, which makes people feel close, Another kind of elusive distance.

It does go well with this lamp.

Noticing the burning gazes of the crowd, the young man smiled slightly: "I'm sorry, everyone."

The voice is also like his own temperament, clear and gentle, it is very comfortable to fall into the ears.

Everyone who was still a little bit disappointed hurriedly waved their hands: "It's okay, it's okay, you guessed it first, it's all about your ability."

Lu Qing nodded politely at them, then walked out of the crowd with his glazed lantern.

After counting, he hadn't been to Lin'an Mansion for three years.

Three years ago, after leaving Duan Lingguang's cargo ship at the pier, Lu Qing stopped and went and visited many places.

He has no destination, but he has been in the cage for a long time. After he is free, he intends to walk around and enjoy the mountains and rivers all the way. Apart from getting sick from time to time, which interrupts the trip, he has no other worries.

Occasionally, there will be some dangers, but they can be resolved, and it is not a big trouble.

Although the horses and chariots in this era are slow, they are also another kind of leisure and elegance. It is better to measure the land with your feet than to take a car.

When he had to stop, he cultivated for a period of time in the Zhuangzi secretly run by Duan Lingguang.

Duan Lingguang is willing to let Lu Qing eat and drink for free, but Lu Qing has no face to do that kind of thing.

He has been in the officialdom for a long time, has read many memorabilia, understands the situation in many places, and helped Duan Lingguang make two rather large deals. Although the income is not as good as the astonishingly rich net worth of Mr. Duan, it is not a small amount.

After this, Lu Qing continued to pay some money to Duan Lingguang's bank from time to time with peace of mind.

It's not that he is materialistic, but that after taking the two bottles of medicine that Xu Shu gave him, he had to take the medicine for himself. Fortunately, he kept getting minor problems, but there were no major problems. Small problems are fine.

After finishing training in Duan Lingguang's Zhuangzi, Lu Qing would write something to record before setting off, put it away by himself, and then continue his journey on a donkey.

Last year, he wandered to the southernmost part of Daqi, and saw the sea for the first time in his two lives. It was boundless and magnificent, and he happily rented a fisherman's house by the sea. After living for less than half a month, he was blown by the sea breeze and had a headache. He fell ill for a month, rode his donkey limply north, and went to Sichuan to recuperate for two months. After resting, he leisurely came to Lin'an.

When I arrived at Lin'an Mansion, I happened to meet the Lantern Festival of the Lantern Festival.

When passing by Jiangyou, Lu Qing took a detour and went to Ji'an Mansion to take a look from a distance.

When a flood broke out on the right side of the river, he and Ning Juan secretly went to Ji'an Mansion to rectify it.

At that time, the flood on the right side of the river was raging, the disease spread, and it was lifeless. Looking at it now, the submerged fertile land has reappeared. The new chief executive, Yu Shurong, is diligent and caring for the people.

The Lingshan Temple also resumed its incense and became the largest temple near and far.

Seeing is believing, at least he has seen with his own eyes in the past few years that Daqi has gradually recovered his vitality.

The one in Beijing did not disappoint him.

After wandering around the Lantern Festival for a while, Lu Qing was a little tired, so he walked into a teahouse casually, ordered a pot of tea and sat down.

Guessing lantern riddles outside was a hot topic, so the teahouse was unavoidably deserted. There were only a few middle-aged men in different clothes sitting there.

Lu Qing didn't intend to eavesdrop on what others were saying. In fact, those few people didn't hold back at all. Their voices were too loud. As soon as he sat down, they got into his ears verbatim: "The current sage is working hard, Majestic and magnificent... You don't know, I have seen it from afar when the Holy Majesty went south to Laian!"

Caught off guard by the sound of His Majesty, Lu Qing raised the fingertips of the teacup and gave a slight pause.

He hadn't deliberately inquired about the situation in the capital, and few of the rumors from the left and right folks were true, but he still felt a little dazed when he heard someone discussing it.

After a long while, he slowly sipped his tea, half-closed his eyes, and listened carefully.

Those few didn't notice that someone came in, and the chat became more and more heated: "How about it, is it possible that the Holy One really gave birth to...then what?"

"How can the Holy One do that because of this reason? It must be because the bloodbathed Yanjing three years ago, and the ruthless methods shocked the whole Daqi, so no one dared to get close..."

The sky is high and the emperor is far away, but the people are bold.

For those who celebrate the New Year, drink some wine to get fumigated, and gossip about the superiors without fear of being caught.

Lu Qing was amused.

When he left, the young man in the capital was still a handsome and handsome young man, so he wouldn't be disabled after not seeing him for more than three years, right?

It shouldn't be, how could he be wrong about a good young man from childhood to adulthood?

Hearing that the people behind him were still chatting enthusiastically, Lu Qing finally couldn't help but turned his head and said reservedly: "Several, I heard you right, are you saying... Your Majesty's face is ugly?"

Those people immediately denied: "No, absolutely not, brother, how did you talk, we didn't say that!"

Lu Qing put his chin on his side and asked with a smile: "Then what were you talking about just now?"

Lu Qing was wearing a mask, and his tone was very friendly. Those people were unprepared, and lowered their voices: "The son of the old Wangtou brother next door to my house was stabbed and sent to the palace as a eunuch. Some secrets... The Holy Majesty is twenty-one this year, but the seat in the middle palace is still vacant, and I heard that there are no ministers to urge me, so I guess, is it because His Majesty looks... so no woman dares to enter the palace?"

"..."

Lu Qing was speechless for a while, his brows twitched slightly, and his thoughts drifted away.

More than three years, enough to forget a lot of things.

If you don't have a wife, you haven't met someone you like?

"What kind of secret is that, I know a lot more than you!"

Lu Qing kept quiet and looked like a very serious listener. Another Taoist priest with some fairy spirit stroked the beard on his chin and leaned closer, his face full of dignity of "I'm telling a big secret": "My master's uncle is a master of Taoism. He did a fortune telling for the Holy One. It is said that the killing karma created by the Holy One is too heavy. Only people with compatible fates can fill the position in the middle palace. If the fates complement each other, otherwise it will be detrimental." Your Majesty, it will harm the fate of the country!"

But the crowd didn't appreciate it, showing disdain and disbelief at all: "Tch—you're just a charlatan who sells dog skin plasters, and you know someone who is a master?"

Seeing that other people didn't believe him, the Taoist immediately became anxious: "Two years ago, the Holy Majesty called Taoist monks into the palace. You all know this, right? The Majesty invited my master's uncle. I heard from my master!"

"Is there such a thing?"

"Why haven't I heard of it, what does His Majesty ask Taoist monks to do?"

"I've heard some rumors..."

A few people muttered, but Lu Qing listened, shook his head with a smile in his heart, and took another sip of tea.

Sure enough, it's just folk rumors.

Emperor Chong'an was obsessed with the art of cultivating immortals, which led to chaos in the court and the people were in dire straits.

Contrary to his father, the little emperor never believed in these ghosts and gods. He hated this kind of thing. He hated it to the core. He didn't let people tear down the temples and Taoist temples. He was educated properly. He even invited Taoist priests and monks into the palace. How could it be possible? ?

After resting for a while, his thirst was quenched. He got up and picked up the glazed lamp, and wanted to leave, but he heard the Taoist priest behind him continue to argue for himself: "Of course it is true. I know that the emperor Lu who was stabbed three years ago and died early Is it clear? That one is from our Lin'an Mansion, the Holy Majesty asked the Taoist priests to set up an altar for 49 days on July [-], to summon the soul of the emperor's teacher!"

Lu Qing was caught off guard, and reached out to hold the door frame in time to stabilize his figure, but the glass lamp came out.

Seeing that it was about to fall to the ground and be smashed to pieces, a hand appeared out of nowhere and firmly caught the glazed lamp.

Lu Qing was still a little buzzing in his head, he raised his head a little too late, and bumped into a pair of familiar eyes.

Duan Lingguang wore a mask on his face, held a glass lamp in one hand, and waved a fan in the other, jokingly said with a smile: "This lamp is rare, it's a pity to smash it, if you don't want it, then it's mine."

Lu Qing leaned on the door frame, straightened up slowly, the sound of "Calling the soul for the emperor's teacher" still echoed in his mind, rubbed his temples: "Send it to you."

Duan Lingguang was overjoyed: "Really? Thank you very much, I am a person who likes shiny things, and I can't walk when I see them."

The few people in the store who dared to talk about the Son of Heaven saw the movement, and they all poked their heads over: "Are you all right?"

"Watch the road carefully. Look at your body. You are not as strong as my girl. If you fall, you will have to lie down for a few days. It's New Year's Eve."

"Fellow daoist, I have a health-enhancing pill. After taking it, I can walk like flying. I can guarantee your wife three children in three years. It only costs ten taels of silver..."

"Shut up, you!"

Lu Qing didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and waved his hands to the enthusiastic crowd: "Thank you, no need, everyone, let's have snacks in front of you. Officers and soldiers patrol the city during the Shangyuan Festival. If you hear your comments, you will have to eat Lantern Festival in prison."

These few looked out, and they really saw the patrolling officers and soldiers, so they quickly shut their mouths.

Lu Qing kindly reminded him before stepping out of the threshold, followed by Duan Lingguang who kept laughing.

He originally wanted to speak, but he couldn't help thinking over what those people said.

He couldn't be more clear about Ning Juan's character. When the child was lonely and helpless in the cold palace when he was a child, he was able to live tenaciously in the face of many malices, and he was never a weak person.

It's simply a fantasy.

How could Ning Juan be so weak and believe in the tricks of those Taoist monks.

The so-called summoning the soul for the emperor's teacher is probably just another rumor among the people.

After all, I have been wandering around in the past few years, and I occasionally heard a few familiar names in the countryside, which are all ironic rumors.

Duan Lingguang saw that he didn't know what he was thinking about, and his eyes looked far away, so he couldn't help holding the glazed lamp and shaking it in front of his eyes: "I finally got rid of my eyeliner and found it, why are you leaving me alone like this?"

Lu Qing returned to his senses and blinked: "It seems that I didn't inform you that I came to Anfu."

Duan Lingguang clicked his tongue: "Yes, yes, I came to look for you on my own—what are you thinking, so preoccupied."

Lu Qing was quiet for a few moments, and said casually, "I think about the health-enhancing pills of that quack warlock."

Duan Lingguang felt that he was being perfunctory, but he had no proof, so he could only swallow the words back. Seeing that Lu Qing's exposed hands were a little blue from the cold, he pushed him to the restaurant: "I knew you came, so I specially packed it for you." Restaurant, hurry up and go in to avoid the wind, and take the health-enhancing pills, if you blow it again, it will be over first."

Lu Qing has never been used to having physical contact with others, so he avoided it quietly.

Especially after what happened to Ning Juan, he paid more attention to the distance from other people.

It's not quite narcissistic, thinking that anyone who sees him has to fall in love with him, but it's always right to pay attention to the distance.

With a big heart, Duan Lingguang waved his fan and led Lu Qing upstairs.

After entering the private room, Lu Qing glanced at the shining lights outside the window, and said, "I just saw Jin Yiwei in the city."

Originally, he didn't wear a mask, but when he realized that there were Jinyiwei in Lin'an Mansion, he bought a mask and put it on because he was afraid of meeting someone he knew who had seen him before.

Anyway, there are many people wearing masks on the Shangyuan Festival, so it is not unusual for him to wear them.

"In the past two years, Jinyiwei has become very powerful, and he has been doing errands for the person in the Jinluan Hall everywhere. It is not unusual for you to see him anywhere."

Duan Lingguang put the glazed lamp away, sat down and said, "I read the letter you sent last time, saying that you went to Shuzhong, how do you feel about Shuzhong?"

Lu Qing kept silent, and got even worse: "It's not bad, with only one flaw. It's Ning Cong's territory."

Looking at his expression, Duan Lingguang guessed a bit: "Do you have a problem with him?"

He thought about it again: "So, I have been to the middle of Shu, and I have heard some rumors. It is said that His Royal Highness the King of Shu loves to keep beautiful men and women in captivity. There are so many people in the mansion that they can hold a male and female talent show."

After finishing speaking, looking at Lu Qingze's tightly covered mask, he suddenly realized: "So that's it, I understand."

Lu Qing didn't want to appreciate his reasoning, took off his mask, cleaned his hands, sat down and ate food: "I don't know how many people are raised in Ning Cong's mansion, but I stayed in Sichuan for two months and found him There are quite a lot of private soldiers."

Duan Lingguang raised his eyebrows, and said without hesitation: "Oh? Could it be that he wants to rebel?"

The road to Shu is difficult, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it is far away from the capital. Unlike Lin'an Mansion, where the water transport is well accessible, the emperor's eyes and ears cannot be reached there, so it is indeed very convenient for those with ulterior motives to do things.

Especially in the land of abundance, the land is fertile and there is no need to worry about food.

"If His Majesty was weaker today, he would have turned against him long ago."

Lu Qing looked in the direction of the capital: "The reduction of the vassals in the past two years has caused dissatisfaction among many vassal kings. Now Ning Cong is still holding back, probably seeing that His Majesty has iron-blooded wrists and dare not fight head-on, but if he finds an opportunity, maybe .”

With such a distance, I don't know if Ning Juanxiao knows about the group of private soldiers raised by Ning Cong.

Duan Lingguang saw that he couldn't help worrying about the person above him again, and tapped the bowl with his chopsticks to draw his attention back: "What do you want to do, no matter how hot the fight is, it has nothing to do with us ordinary people, and finally got out. I haven't had enough of my free and carefree days. Or, Lord Emperor, you won't be planning to return to Beijing, will you?"

The last two sentences are a bit of a joke.

Lu Qing raised his wrist, poured a glass of wine, pushed it over to Duan Lingguang, got himself a cup of tea, and met his eyes peacefully: "The capital city was noisy in the past two years, and I avoided going north. The year has passed, and thinking about it, His Majesty has let it go, and the Ching Ming Festival is approaching, and I am going to go back to the north to visit an old friend."

Duan Lingguang said "Oh": "Who are you going to see?"

"General Shi." Lu Qing said with a smile, "I left in a hurry, and I never had a chance to go back to worship. General Ruoquan learned that I am afraid that I have scolded my ancestors for eight generations. Mobei is an important place for the garrison. We It’s not convenient to go, so I can only go to the Clothes Tomb in the suburbs of Beijing.”

"Do you really want to go? Do you want me to accompany you?" Duan Lingguang was not at ease, "After all, it is under the little emperor's feet. If you are discovered, you will be in bad luck."

In the past two years, Lu Qing and Duan Lingguang have become more and more acquainted. They used to be fellow countrymen, but now they are good friends. Lu Qing is not in good health, so he can't help but take more care of him.

Lu Qing bluntly refused: "No, you are busy with business and time is tight, what do you do with me, I just go to meet an old friend."

Duan Lingguang didn't say anything, and pushed the red date pastry by his side.

The two of them sat in the private room and finished eating together. Lu Qingze's complexion looked much better, with a little rosy color, and he thought for a while: "Lin'an Mansion is not close to the capital, and according to my pace, it will take two days. It's time to go, do you have any good wine in your winery? Bring me two jars, and I'll take them back for the general to taste."

Duan Lingguang was shocked: "Don't you want to ride your little donkey back to Beijing again?"

A beautiful woman who is as snowy as the moon, with a fairy spirit, actually rode around on a donkey, he was heartbroken!

Lu Qing laughed: "Then you can't make things difficult for it, I will entrust it to you to take care of it."

Duan Lingguang was dissatisfied: "I am a dignified Mr. Duan, you let me take care of the donkey?"

Lu Qing looked at him sincerely, and said in a serious tone, "It's not very good, that donkey is quite edible, and I'll give you the custody fee?"

"..." Duan Lingguang said, "That's not necessary, the capital is a dragon's lake and a tiger's den, it's best if you can come back after you go."

After chatting for a while while eating, it was getting late, so Lu Qing looked at the sky and prepared to leave and go back to the inn.

Duan Lingguang rubbed his chin, looked at his overly eye-catching face, and suddenly said: "I still think it's a bit dangerous for you to go to the capital like this."

Lu Qing blinked his eyes: "I won't go to Beijing, I'll avoid people burning paper and leave. There shouldn't be any mistakes."

Ning Juan has a lot of things to do every day, how can he have time to go out for a stroll in the palace.

Besides, Ning Juan is not a lively person.

"Then we still need some protective measures. Lin'an is my territory, and I'll know it as soon as you come, let alone the capital?" Duan Lingguang smacked his tongue, "You are too wary of your little emperor, and you don't want to Think, now that his grief has passed, if he finds out that you are still alive, can he let you go?"

This is true.

If Ning Juan found out now, then he might really be summoned.

Lu Qing hesitated for a moment: "Listen to your tone, is there any way?"

Only then did Duan Lingguang smile triumphantly: "Yes, Yi Rong."

Duan Lingguang is involved in all walks of life, and he does have a lot of talents under his command. The so-called disguise is not like in martial arts novels, where a human skin mask is put on to change the appearance, but requires some makeup skills.

After working for more than half an hour, this ancient beauty master finished applying makeup to Lu Qingze, which really changed his face.

The face in the mirror changed from being beautiful and vulgar to being ordinary and handsome. Unless someone who is very familiar with him looked closely, he would not be able to find the slight resemblance of the facial features.

Lu Qing touched his face and sighed: "It's really a miracle."

Duan Lingguang was even more proud, waving his fan and said: "The effect is good, you can take him back to Beijing."

Lu Qing looked at his face in the mirror again, and nodded with satisfaction: "Thank you very much."

He has changed his appearance, even if he meets some acquaintances when he returns to Beijing, he will not be recognized.

The author has something to say:

Ning Juan:?Did the teacher forget that I am a dog hook?

Lu Qingze, a man with flags all over his back.