Dingjiangshan

Two hundred miles outside the capital, there is a post station.

It was mid-afternoon, and the shopkeeper in the post station was resting on the counter with one hand, feeling drowsy in the hot sunlight outside.

Spring has always been a time of peace in the Northwest. The water across the Shule River has thawed, and the pastures have survived the winter when there is no grass. The foreign races are busy herding cattle and horses. When there is plenty of food and drink, they seldom come to invade the border.

There are few letters and paperwork to the northwest, so the post station is idle, and the shopkeeper is used to it, and spends his days casually in spring and summer every year.

The shopkeeper stood behind the counter, casually changed his posture and leaned against the wall, nodding his head. Just as he was about to fall asleep, there was a sudden sound of horseshoes outside.Immediately, the door of the small courtyard outside the station was pushed open, and two young men in common clothes came in one after the other.

This is an official post, and those who are not in official positions are not allowed to enter, and they never receive business convoys.The shopkeeper looked at their plain clothes from the window, and guessed that they might be Jianghu people who had strayed in, and walked around behind the counter, just as he was about to go out to remind them, when he saw the two people walking in familiarly.

"Shopkeeper." The man walking in front said: "Please feed the horse and prepare some hard food to fill your stomach. There is no need to arrange a room."

As the man said, he led the young man behind him to pick up a table near the corner and sit down, then took out a pair of bamboo chopsticks from the chopstick holder.

"This chivalrous man." Although he is a member of the official post, the shopkeeper is also very polite, and said: "This is an official post, and ordinary people are not allowed to enter without permission. If you two want to be top-notch, you can go forward twenty miles After entering Tongchuan, there will be an inn."

"Oh——almost forgot." The man said, patting his head, putting down his chopsticks, digging at his chest for a long time, and took out a copper sign, showing it to the shopkeeper.

The inscription of Xie Jiajun was engraved on the bronze plate, and there was a row of serial numbers underneath.

"So it's from General Xie." The shopkeeper hurriedly said, "I've been negligent."

As the shopkeeper said, he hurriedly turned around and called Xiao Er, and ordered to prepare according to the man's request.

This road is the only way to go to Zhongxing Mansion. If you go out from the capital to the northwest, you have to pass through this inn. The two of Xie Jiajun have been here many times, and they can't be more familiar with each other.

The task Xie Jue gave them was to first go to Zhongxing Mansion to find the Northwest United Defense Army there, and then search for news about Jiang Xuan's home in the local area.

But Xie Jiajun's people are engaged in war, so they do little to investigate cases like this.When Xie Jue returned to Beijing, he only brought his personal guards with him. The Flying Eagle Battalion, who were good at scouting, stayed in the border town without bringing any of them back.

"The general wants to find out what that girl is doing." The older man held two bamboo chopsticks together in his hands and complained in a low voice: "What can a woman have to investigate? Is it possible that our general also wants to give it to His Majesty?" Beauty."

"Don't talk nonsense." The younger youth glared at him and said, "There must be a reason for what the general said, and you and I will just do it."

The waiter who was called out by the shopkeeper came from the back kitchen with a yawn. He first served food to the table in the corner, and then swayed to the door to prepare fodder.

"Why did someone suddenly come over at this hour?" Xiaoer folded the dirty white cloth towel and put it on his shoulders, and chatted with the shopkeeper beside the counter: "Isn't it always in the morning to send letters and brochures to the northwest? .”

"It's not an official." The shopkeeper fiddled with the abacus without raising his head, recorded the few dishes just now, and said casually, "It's from Xie Jiajun."

Before he finished speaking, there was another hissing sound outside the window.

Xiao Er bent down slightly, squinted his eyes and looked out the window, only to find that three men in light armor had just stopped their horses at the door.

"... Hey, today is really weird." Xiaoer muttered, "Why are both of them rushing to come at this time?"

As he spoke, he put the white cloth towel on his body, and went out to meet him swiftly.

The group of people who came this time were different from the low-key Xie family before. They all wore light armor that symbolized their status, and their rank badges were hung on their waists. , It was discovered that it was a person from the Forbidden Army.

——This is very unusual, the shopkeeper thought.

The Forbidden Army generally does not leave the capital, so no matter how important the news is, there is no need for these young masters of the Forbidden Army to run around.What's more, this inn is located in a special place, and the only way to get here is to go northwest.

The shopkeeper smacked his lips, feeling that he couldn't figure it out—the grass on the opposite side of the Shule River hadn't fully grown yet, so why both of them ran to the northwest.

The leader of the imperial army was a young man, his clothes were more refined than the two behind, and the word "Zheng" was engraved on his waist card.

When the man walked to the door, he glanced around subconsciously—this is probably the habit of their soldiers. When they first arrive, they always have to look at the terrain before they can rest assured.

"Your Excellency, you'd better stay in the shop." The shopkeeper asked with a smile, "Maybe we still have good horse feed here."

"No need." Zheng Shaohui said, "Change horses, three."

The shopkeeper was slightly taken aback.

"My lord, this is the first time I have walked this road." The shopkeeper kindly reminded: "If you go further to the northwest, there are few inns. Unless you want to stay in an inn, if you go further, there will be no official post within a hundred miles. It's too late now, and it's dark and we can't go to the next post."

"I know." Zheng Shaohui said succinctly: "Prepare the horse."

Xiao Er and the shopkeeper looked at each other, the latter nodded helplessly at him, the former smiled a little, and led these fierce spirits out again.

"A few adults come with me." Xiaoer said.

The official posts generally keep horses, just for people to replace them when they are on the road. Zheng Shaohui took people around the stables, picked a few good-looking horses at random, and rode away without even drinking their saliva. He left as hastily as he came.

The two men in the room looked at each other after Zheng Shaohui went out, and at the same time saw some doubts on each other's faces.

"...Even the imperial guards have gone out?" The older man absent-mindedly broke a piece of steamed bun and stuffed it into his mouth: "Why do I feel that something is going to happen?"

The young man turned his head to look at the direction Zheng Shaohui left outside the door, but did not speak.

The two of them were silent for a while, the middle-aged man suddenly sped up his movements, broke the steamed bun in his hand into several pieces, stuffed it into his mouth hastily, then touched the saber on the table, stood up and said: "Go!" , let's go too."

The mountain wind blew in from the window, swirled and raised the fringe of the waist tag in the man's hand a little, then passed through the sparse silk thread, and floated out from the back window of the post station.

The draft blows through the hall, and the room is cool.

The forest halfway up the mountain was blown by the wind, and the leaves made a rustling sound. Two very thin shadows shuttled forward in the forest, stepped lightly on the young leaves on the treetops, and passed through the forest at a fast speed.

Half a quarter of an hour later, an extremely beautiful white-tailed kite passed through the forest, flapped its wings, and flew towards the capital.

At the same time, Haidongqing, which flew out of Beijing, had already crossed the night, crossed the huge mountains and rivers in the daytime, and flew over a third of the map, and landed precisely on the On the window sill of Anqing Palace.

Day and night, even a bird of prey like Hai Dongqing was very tired. It landed on the window sill and shook. The bamboo tubes tied to its feet were already a little loose, and it hit the wooden window sill one after another as it moved.

Immediately afterwards, the wooden window that had been closed was pushed open a crack, and a hand stretched out from the window and landed in front of Hai Dongqing.

The hand was coated with a special medicinal powder, and it was exuding a strange fragrance. Hai Dongqing went up to smell it, probably confirmed the identity of this person, and then jumped up obediently, letting others untie his feet on the bamboo tube.

Ning Zheng took off the bamboo tube with one hand, touched Hai Dongqing's head, and let it out from the window again.

"My lord." The woman who had been sitting next to her sat up on the kang table just now, and carefully supported her stomach, she came up and asked, "...Is it the letter from the mother of Jingzhong?"

Ning Zheng pulled out the paper scroll inside and unfolded it, read it at a glance, and let out a hum.

"But is there any news?" The woman asked again.

"...The queen mother said, it's half done." Ning Zheng slowly tightened his fingers as he spoke, the fragile note was deformed and softened in his hand, gradually making it difficult to read the writing inside.

"This little brother of mine usually keeps his cool when he looks at people like dogs, but now he is just trying to test his weakness, so he is so careless." Ning Zheng sneered: "Father chose him as emperor. Did you know that he was so weak-minded when he was here?"

Ning Zheng's words were full of resentment and contempt, as if the resentment when he seized the heirloom had not been exhausted in the past ten years, but had intensified instead.

"Your Majesty is still young." The woman saw that she didn't want to discuss this matter with him, but because of Ning Zheng's complexion, she still persuaded her: "Besides, it's always because of the empress's dealing with it...the empress still prefers it." His Majesty's."

"My mother and the queen are our own mother and child, so naturally they are not comparable to that child." Ning Zheng casually threw the crumpled paper ball on the table, and turned to look at the woman's stomach.

"I didn't sit firmly on the throne in the first place, and dared to think about what I shouldn't have. He deserves his life." Ning Zheng: "Over the years, Ning Huaijin has regarded him so strictly that my mother and I have already planned to give up. .But who let him hit himself, making a mistake is not enough, but also falling on the same rock again and again-how can I blame me."

"Originally, my queen mother and I were still thinking that if he insisted on not wanting him, the queen mother would have to worry more about it. But in the end, he was the one who fell into the queen mother's net." Ning Zheng said: "And since he bumped into Once in, there is no chance of getting out. Jiang Xuan is just the beginning, I want to see my father's spirit in the sky, how the emperor he picked by himself came to a desperate situation step by step, and forced himself into a dilemma. I turned the tide."

"But that is the prince's biological brother after all." The smile on the woman's face was a bit forced: "Does the prince want to do such a terrible thing?"

Ning Zheng was silent for a while without answering.

After a while, he stretched out his hand, scratched the woman's slightly raised belly with the back of his finger, and said, "Take care of him, princess—this is our future hope."