hellebore flowers hellebore flowers

Before learning about the Moon Appreciation Conference held in the palace, Zhan Zhao always thought that he would spend the Mid-Autumn Festival in Kaifeng Mansion.In fact, even when Bao Zheng told Zhan Zhao to go to the meeting with him, Zhan Zhao did not agree.His explanation was that during this period of time, there were so many things going on in the Kaifeng mansion, and someone needed to be vigilant at all times, especially during the holidays, when others would inevitably relax and cause troubles more easily.The explanation is reasonable, but this time, the young emperor seems to be very interested. Among the ministers present, there are not a few young people, and Zhan Zhao is also among the people named by the emperor. It is impossible to escape.

Zhan Zhao felt quite helpless about this must-go Moon Appreciation Conference, especially when he heard Wang Chao say that the party was called Moon Appreciation, but in fact it was a reward for the son-in-law of the old ministers in the court. Zhan Zhao would rather have a few fights with Bai Yutang anywhere.

Knowing that Zhan Zhao was very impatient for such gatherings, Bao Zheng patted him on the shoulder and didn't say much, but left four words rather meaningfully: play by ear.Zhan Zhao was puzzled when he heard it, and only realized when he met Bao Zheng's eyes with a hint of a smile: Hearing this, I can find an excuse to sneak away halfway, Zhan Zhao raised his eyebrows, maybe he can get a pot It's not bad to go back with fine wine.

Unfortunately, it backfired.

After sending away the seventh old minister who had a good chat with him with a smile on his face, Zhan Zhao realized that it was really easy to come in and difficult to get out of this moon appreciation conference.Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he saw two people approaching again. They looked like Chen Yong, the commander of the Imperial Forest Army, and Wei, Minister of Rites... What's wrong with Wei?Zhan Zhao sighed inwardly, and stretched out his hand to fill another glass of wine, with a look of sadness on the face of a strong man breaking his wrist, it seems that the idea of ​​sneaking back early is probably going to be wasted.It's just that when he was drinking with his head up, Zhan Zhao looked up and suddenly saw a familiar figure.

The guard commander Wang Konglin.

A thought flashed in Zhan Zhao's mind, and before the thought came out clearly, Zhan Zhao had already got up, and walked towards Wang Konglin with a wine glass.

Wang Konglin's face was already flushed from drinking, he was holding his glass and his steps were unsteady, he just looked around, the expression on his face was more like looking for someone.Seeing Zhan Zhao, Wang Konglin seemed very happy. Before he could speak, he hiccupped a bunch of wine, and then greeted Zhan Zhao with his tongue out: "Zhan... Zhan..."

Zhan Zhao held back his laughter, raised his glass and said solemnly, "Commander Wang is... looking for someone?"

Wang Konglin hiccupped again, as if suddenly remembering something, he slapped his forehead and said, "Master Zhan, have you seen Vice Commander Li? Li... Li Ziyan. I want to introduce Feng, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, to him. ...Master Feng, where is Li Ziyan? Why did I see that he was...still here just now."

It seems that Vice Commander Li ran faster than him. Zhan Zhao couldn't help smiling and shaking his head. At the same time, he realized that this was a great opportunity to escape, so he put the wine glass into Wang Konglin's hand without hesitation, and smiled quite gently: "Zhan is also looking for Mr. Li. Commander Wang, you continue to look for him. When Zhan sees Mr. Li, he will convey it on his behalf."

Wang Konglin's head was in a daze, and he just said "huh", when he looked up, he couldn't even see Zhan Zhao's back.

************************************************** *******

Coming out of Yanfu Palace, Zhan Zhao heaved a sigh of relief, and walked out of the brightly lit banquet with the fragrance of wine and vegetables, only to realize that the night was getting dark, the sky was dark, and a full moon had already hung high in the sky.

"Li Ziyan, the deputy commander of the guards." Zhan Zhao murmured the name in his heart, and suddenly there was a movement in his heart. The three words Li Ziyan seemed to be connected with something... More than a month ago, he searched and banned I saw him in the palace. When the woman in white broke into the forbidden palace at night and captured Wang Konglin, she also asked about Li Ziyan, and the woman in white...

Zhan Zhao paused, and suddenly decided to look for Vice Commander Li.

According to the instructions of the little guard on duty at night, Zhan Zhao came all the way to the back garden. The identity of the guard with a sword in front of the imperial palace is like a gold medal in the palace, but this huge back garden is like a maze. Suspicion gradually arose, even if this Li Ziyan was hiding, he didn't have to hide so far, right?

After searching around to no avail, Zhan Zhao gave up this mindless search. Maybe the little guard misunderstood, maybe Li Ziyan just stayed in the back garden for a while... Anyway, there is no point in staying here any longer. It's better to go back to Kaifeng Mansion first, discuss it with everyone, and then make a fuss.

Just as he was about to turn around, Zhan Zhao suddenly stopped and his body tensed up.He smelled it right, the gust of wind just now carried a faint smell of blood.There must be a lot of blood in this back garden.

In a ginkgo forest, Zhan Zhao found blood-stained soil.

The bloodstain was very fresh, apparently it had just solidified not long ago. Near the bloodstain, Zhan Zhao also found a knife mark on a ginkgo tree.Obviously, not long ago, there was a fight here, and someone was injured.

Zhan Zhao frowned, an inexplicable sense of foreboding rose in his heart, he immediately followed the bloodstain all the way, the bloodstain flickered, if he hadn't been particularly sensitive to the smell of blood, he might have followed him within a few steps. leave.But even so, even that trace of bloody smell completely disappeared at the palace wall.On the ground under the corner of the wall, there are several footprints of different shades. Judging from the shape, it should be left by a person.Zhan Zhao carefully checked the surrounding area again, and sure enough, he found traces of blood drops in the grass under the wall, as if the injured person had fled all the way, and then escaped from the palace over the wall.

Looking up at the high palace wall, Zhan Zhao lifted his robe, tipped his toes, and jumped out of the palace.

Outside the palace, there is the Kaifeng night market, and the people who spend the night playing the moon.

Where would a wounded man, perhaps with pursuers behind him, escape from the palace?Zhan Zhao frowned. He took two steps along the palace wall, catching the bloody smell that had almost disappeared in the air, and silently analyzed it in his heart. Judging from the blood stains on the soil just now, if the injured person had no companions to rescue him , then his serious injuries must not be enough to support him to run too far, then when he stood under the city wall, he had only two choices, hiding in the city, or fleeing to the outskirts of the city.Tonight is Mid-Autumn Festival, the night market is full of information, and the city is full of people playing along the streets. It is not easy to hide their whereabouts, not to mention that the man is seriously injured. If a person covered in blood appears, it will definitely cause chaos.And if he ran to the open suburbs, his two primary goals must be to avoid people's eyes and ears, and to find a place where he can heal his injuries as soon as possible.

Zhan Zhao's eyes fell on a place, and he followed the city wall to the east and left the city. Not far away, there was a Town God's Temple.

As expected, outside the dilapidated City God's Temple, Zhan Zhao smelled blood again, and it seemed to be stronger than the smell in the palace.Zhan Zhao stretched out his hand to hold the hilt of the sword, no matter who is in the Temple of the City God, it must be dangerous, just like a wounded beast, it will try its best to make the final blow when it is dying.

The night breeze was cool, and the two wooden doors of the Town God's Temple made low and hoarse "squeak" sounds from time to time, and unknown autumn insects chirped from the knee-high grass, and the moonlight shone coldly on the ruined temple, making it even more deserted , Zhan Zhao took a light breath, stretched out his hand and pushed open the wooden door.

The moment he pushed the door open, Zhan Zhao felt the fierce wind of the knife coming down head-on, powerful and heavy, with a strong murderous aura, as if it wanted to kill him immediately under the knife.Zhan Zhao's eyes turned cold, he twisted his body and retreated, avoiding the sharpness of the knife, at the same time, the Juque sword in his hand was out of its sheath, and slashed directly against the blade, the five fingers of his free left hand were bent like eagle claws, and he grabbed it suddenly .

Sure enough, the saber couldn't hold back, and slashed towards Ju Que, and the man's five fingers were hitting Ju Que's scabbard, as if he had sent it to the door.The man couldn't hold the steel knife in his hand, and couldn't help moaning in pain. Hearing the sound, it turned out to be a woman!Zhan Zhao's heart trembled, if it was the giant sword that was unsheathed just now, the woman's right hand might not be able to keep it.

In the dark small temple, between lightning and flint, the two of them had made one move, but with only one move, Zhan Zhao had already gained the upper hand, but the woman was not slow to react. The elbow slammed into Zhan Zhao's rib.It's a pity that this elbow hit Zhan Zhao's left hand that had just been grabbed, the man's elbow went numb, and his whole body went limp.Zhan Zhao seized the woman's veins and was about to touch her acupuncture points when his eyes suddenly fell on her face. In the small temple, he couldn't see his fingers. He could only see the woman's bright eyes, revealing a familiar expression. look.Zhan Zhao's heart beat violently, and the body in his arms had already slipped softly. He subconsciously reached out to wrap his arms around the woman's waist, and when he bent down, he heard the woman utter two words like a dream:

"Zhan Zhao."

When these two words fell into his ears, Zhan Zhao's heart suddenly skipped a beat, his ears were foggy, and everything around him seemed to be silent suddenly.

That voice belonged to the wood quinoa.

With a sound of "clang", Muchen's steel knife fell to the ground.

Zhan Zhao lay down with Mu Li on his back, the ruined temple was extremely quiet, only the sound of his own heavy breathing could be heard.Zhan Zhao's hands trembled a little, he patted Muchen's cheek, his voice was so hoarse that it didn't sound like his own:

"Muchen, it's me, I'm Zhan Zhao."

Muchen was panting heavily, and his body convulsed uncontrollably, but the light in his eyes dimmed, his eyes were empty and dull, as if he couldn't hear Zhan Zhao's voice at all.Zhan Zhao's heart twitched suddenly, he suddenly recalled the bloodstains in the palace, and the strong smell of blood in this small temple, if the person who lost a lot of blood was Muchen...

With a soft "chi", Zhan Zhao lit up the flame.The moment he saw Muchen, Zhan Zhao even stopped breathing.

There is a steel knife piercing through the abdomen of Muchen, only the handle of the knife is exposed outside.

The author has something to say: If you forget who Wang Konglin is. . .Just turn back and read the second and third chapters O(∩_∩)O~