Lianhua Manlou

In the eighth year of Yuanshuo, King Dingbei succeeded the emperor. King Qin, King Zhao, King Wei, King Jiaoxi, and King Jinan refused to enter the capital due to Jiaojiao's call.

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In Prince Taiping's Mansion, King Taiping paced back and forth in his study, and the bulletins from the front line came like snowflakes, each one becoming more urgent and more tragic.The five princes and kings obviously planned for a long time, and just now they raised their arms and shouted, and they got a lot of response. They caught the court by surprise and retreated steadily.

King Taiping clasped his knuckles on the desk, frowned tightly, stared fixedly at a secret decree, faintly fascinated, it was the former King Dingbei and now Emperor Longde Xiao Yu Send troops to obey the king's will.He is facing a difficult decision at this time, if he wins, the power of Taiping Palace will be raised to a higher level, if he loses, he will lose his fortune and even his life!

"Da da da" knock on the door interrupted King Taiping's thoughts, he scolded impatiently: "Didn't I say, don't anyone bother me?!"

The door creaked and was pushed open, Gong Jiu stood at the door, his eyes were black as ink but with a gentle and polite smile on his face, he said: "Father, you don't seem to be having a good time today?"

"Jiu'er is back." King Taiping rarely pulled out a sincere smile, walked over to pat him on the shoulder, and sighed: "You're thin, it's hard for you to travel around."

Gong Jiu said indifferently: "I dare not say it's hard work for the court."

King Taiping said: "Have you ever found that batch of lost military salaries?"

Gong Jiu said: "No."

King Taiping sighed, he seemed to have expected this result long ago and didn't blame him, he just told him: "Be more thoughtful."

Gong Jiu nodded in response, and said again: "I came back all the way, and met many refugees. I heard that the princes and kings raised troops and did not know how the battle is going. Has the court ever issued an order to the palace?"

King Taiping remained silent, and silently handed the bright yellow secret decree on the case to Gong Jiu.

Gong Jiu took it and looked it over carefully, pressed it down, and asked solemnly: "I wonder what father's plan is?"

King Taiping hesitated for a long time, and said sadly: "It should be... to act according to the order." In the words, there was a faint sense of unwillingness.Emperor Longde was originally a servant of the palace, with a humble status, but because his mother, Yu Shi, was very doted on, the old emperor deliberately promoted him, and gradually the tide rose, and he won a group of courtiers for his use, and finally sat alone in the south and trampled them under his feet .

Gong Jiu lowered her eyelashes, with a mysterious arc drawn at the corner of her mouth, and said slowly: "It is naturally good to act according to the order...but father, don't you think so?"

Will not be reconciled? "

King Taiping jumped up suddenly, his eyes widened, and he said sharply, "You are talking nonsense!"

Gong Jiu showed no signs of fear, and continued calmly: "Emperor Longde's succession to the throne is not justified, otherwise how could there be such a disaster? What's more, in this battle, the victory or defeat is still at odds..."

Panting heavily, King Taiping sat down slowly, his eyes were wide open, his knuckles were worn white, obviously caught in a battle between heaven and man.

Gong Jiu's smile deepened, and he persuaded: "Even if the father doesn't think about himself, he should also think about the hundred and ten people in the Taiping Palace."

King Taiping was silent for a long time, and looked at Gong Jiu steadfastly: "The meaning of Jiu'er is..."

Gong Jiudao: "I'm not saying that I won't send troops, but when? For whom? How? This is the most important thing. Now the situation

The situation is not yet clear, and we are not good to act rashly, it is best to use one word - procrastination! "

King Taiping's eyes lit up.

Seeing this, Gong Jiu's tone became softer and seductive: "The situation on this battlefield is changing rapidly, and no one can say for sure. If the princes and kings can really enter the imperial capital, then it is really necessary for the father to step in." It's a good time to set things right, and with unworldly merits, who else is more qualified to be the emperor besides the father! His name will be left in the history, and his achievements will shine through the past and the present. Father... you should think twice."

"You...!" King Taiping never expected that these words would come out of Gong Jiu's mouth. Things that he had never dared to think about, nor could he think about, now seemed to be within reach, and his heart was full of pride , it seems that I am really omnipotent.

Gong Jiu seemed to be even more excited than him. With a flick of his robe, he fell to his knees and said: "The world is in chaos. Those who are not the talents of Emperor Gaozu of Han and Emperor Guangwu can't calm down the world! Father, please use the country, the country, and the people of Li for the sake of peace." Heavy, to restore the peace of the world."

King Taiping sighed and helped him up himself, but with overwhelming arrogance and ambition in his eyes, he said slowly: "The matter has come to this, what can we do?"

Gong Jiu bowed his head and stood respectfully, his eyes were flickering, but the corner of his mouth was full of unspeakable irony.

Lu Xiaofeng hadn't gambled for money in recent years, he was a gambler, he already knew how to play dice when he was six or seven years old.By the time he was sixteen or seventeen, he was proficient in all the doctor's tricks, lead dice, mercury dice, and iron dice with a magnet under the bowl, in his eyes, they were all just child's tricks.

But at this moment, his hand holding the dice was profusely sweating, and he pursed his lips as he watched the kind and charitable old man who was smiling opposite him.

When the boat docked, a little old man named Wu Ming was picked up. Shangguan Xueer looked very familiar with him, holding his arm and calling him affectionate.The little old man looks ordinary but wears gorgeous clothes, showing his uniqueness everywhere.He took them directly to a path paved with bluestone square bricks, but only 30 meters long, opposite to a delicate small building.

"Little friend, do you know how many square bricks there are?" the little old man asked suddenly.

Lu Xiaofeng was taken aback, but Hua Manlou replied, "No more, no less, it should be 60 yuan."

The little old man shook his head.

Lu Xiaofeng looked carefully and said with a smile: "No, it's 61 yuan, because this small building is built on the biggest square brick."

The little old man laughed, took out six dice from his sleeve, and said with a smile: "The old man likes this way, I wonder if I can play with the old man? The bet is this small building. If I lose, this small building From now on, the building belongs to Xiaoyou. You can come and live here for a while at any time."

Lu Xiaofeng's eyes lit up, but he hesitated and said: "What if I lose?"

The little old man pointed to Hua Manlou and Shangguan Xueer.

Lu Xiaofeng's expression changed: "This is not acceptable, I hate people who betray my friends the most in my life."

The little old man smiled and said, "I'm not asking you to betray your friend, it's just to play a little game."

"Game?" Hua Manlou smiled and said, "Please tell the old gentleman clearly."

The little old man said: "I want to bet my luck with my friend."

Shangguan Xue'er smiled and said, "This is good, this is good! It's not hurtful but also very interesting."

Lu Xiaofeng stroked his beard and laughed dryly, "How do you bet on luck?"

The little old man said: "This small building is inaccessible to idlers. There are 61 traps hidden in these 49 square bricks, and they are constantly changing. Even the little old man, I may not be able to enter there safely."

"You can't either?" Lu Xiaofeng couldn't believe it. Someone actually set up a trap in his own home that he couldn't break. This is really an incredible thing.

"Ashamed." The little old man smiled, but there was no real shame on his face.

"Then how do we play?" Shangguan Xueer asked.

The little old man said: "One of us will roll the dice three times, and according to the number of points, we will point to a square brick for the two of them to settle down. Whoever touches the motive first

Off is lost. "

"Will it hurt people's lives?" Lu Xiaofeng asked with a frown.

The little old man smiled and said nothing.Lu Xiaofeng understood in an instant that this was simply a life-and-death game, and he could neither refuse nor afford to lose!

Shangguan Xue'er seemed eager to wait, and said with high spirits, "Then let's get started."

Lu Xiaofeng looked at Hua Manlou hesitantly, and the other party returned a faint smile, but it was an appearance of trusting him wholeheartedly.In Lu Xiaofeng's heart

Yisong nodded solemnly, and his eyes became brighter.

Gambling is like alcohol. For the prodigal sons, it is not only a way to vent, but also a way of making a living.But the situation is different now. If he wants to stay here, he must have the ability to stay here.

Lu Xiaofeng was sure, absolutely sure.There was a jingle, and the dice fell into the bowl. The first dice that stopped was a three, the second was also a three, and the third was of course a four.He looked at the rolling dice, just like parents looking at an obedient child who can now see the four dots on the dice, red, delicate and beautiful.His dice have stopped, the opportunity has come.He even waved his hand at Hua Manlou and smiled happily.

Unexpectedly, at this last juncture, the dice suddenly jumped again, and when it stopped, it was actually two o'clock.Lu Xiaofeng was dumbfounded.He never dreamed that the little old man was actually a master, possibly higher than him.He was like a dumb man who ate Coptis chinensis and couldn't tell if he was suffering, or like a blind man who ate wontons and knew it well.He didn't panic at all, he just raised his head and glanced at the little old man, and then said to Huamanlou, "The tenth brick."

Of course Huamanlou also saw Lu Xiaofeng's face change, but he also flew up without the slightest hesitation, raised his breath, and landed lightly on the tenth brick, quiet, extremely quiet, as if nothing happened.Lu Xiaofeng's heart tightened even more, and he slowly pushed the bowl towards the little old man.

The little old man was still smiling, so he picked up the dice and said to Lu Xiaofeng: "Actually, your luck is not too bad, there are many things like this in the world, if you are too sure about one thing, you will be negligent instead, So those who should win will lose, but as long as there is a second chance, we can definitely grasp it."

As soon as the bell rang, the dice were thrown into the bowl. The little old man had already stopped two of the dice, of course it was two sixes, but the third dice was still spinning in the bowl.After a long time, finally fell where, a little.He raised his head and smiled at Lu Xiaofeng: "Look, what I said makes sense."

Lu Xiaofeng remained silent.Shangguan Xue'er couldn't wait to fly towards the No.13 brick.Again, nothing happened.

In the second round, Lu Xiaofeng tossed fifteen and the little old man tossed twenty, but still no one touched the mechanism.Lu Xiaofeng's eyes turned to the smooth bluestone road, and he had a bold guess in his heart - there is no mechanism here at all!But obviously, the smiling face of the little old man didn't give him any answer, and made it impossible for him to see the slightest clue.

"This is the last round." Lu Xiaofeng smiled and said, "If it's a tie, what should we do?"

The little old man said: "Of course it's my friend's win."

Lu Xiaofeng smiled slightly, "Then I won't be polite." The dice spun again, and his own Consonant Finger was also unparalleled in the world, so he suddenly stretched out two fingers, and pinched the dice from the air, and the roll did not stop. The rest of the dice stopped unexpectedly, and there were dark dots on it, three to six!

Unexpectedly, at this moment, the little old man suddenly pursed his lips, took a deep breath, and the dice closest to him suddenly rose from the bowl.He flicked his middle finger again, and with a sound of "Bo", the dice actually became shattered, a piece of powder fell down, and it still fell into the bowl, but no one could tell what time it was.

Lu Xiaofeng was horrified, but his reaction was quick and witty enough. He stroked his beard proudly, and said first: "There is no need to compete anymore. There are only two outcomes, a draw, or I win."

The little old man laughed, "Indeed. You have been looking at these bluestone bricks just now. You think I lied to you.

Ben no trap? "

Lu Xiaofeng narrowed his eyes slightly, and said with a laugh: "I always trust my own eyes more."

The little old man said meaningfully: "Seeing is believing, this is a good habit." He suddenly grabbed the dice in the bowl and threw it out. The dice landed vertically on the ninth square brick, only to hear a light "click" In an instant, the bluestone bricks sunk in, and a few streaks of black light, as fine as a cow's hair, popped out, and were firmly nailed to the tree trunks on both sides of the road, leaving only short needles.

Lu Xiaofeng was terrified, if Huamanlou took a wrong step just now... even if he just thought about it, his back would be chilly and he could not stop panicking.

The little old man looked at him very regretfully: "Look, I didn't lie to you. Old people hate lying." He seemed to be so sincere and honest, but he could see through Lu Xiaofeng's mind at a glance. , the kind of person who pretends to be a pig and eats a tiger.

Lu Xiaofeng sighed, and suddenly felt that every bone in his body became weak, he pointed listlessly at the small building and said, "I just want to go in and sleep until I'm full, I don't know if this request is too much? "

The little old man said: "Of course not too much. Maybe you can drink some wine, eat some food, chat with your friends, and maybe you will be reluctant to leave here soon."

Lu Xiaofeng smirked and said, "I'm good at wine, lust, food, and gambling, if I'm allowed to stay in a place where birds don't lay eggs, it will kill me."

The little old man laughed and said: "It can be understood that you are young, strong, and good at martial arts. It's time to show off." Indescribable contempt, no matter whether he really intended it or Lu Xiaofeng was suspicious.Anyway, there is always such a point.

Lu Xiaofeng waved his hands pretending not to know, Hua Manlou had already been waiting in front of the small building, and Shangguan Xue'er ran off to nowhere.

Hua Manlou stretched out his hand and smiled, "Thanks for your hard work."

Lu Xiaofeng held it tightly, and the two looked at each other and smiled.